【题目】My grandmother was a master gardener that could make anything bloom. Even me.

She spent most of her life living on a farm in the mountains of North Caroline, where she got married, raised four children, and watched the changing of the seasons. When I was 12 years old, my dad gave up working downtown and moved back to the farm to turn to gardening. I visited on weekends to keep them company.

Every time my farm chores were done, I was free to climb the mountain, singing songs and gathering flowers. Sometimes the plants scratched me. My grandmother would say: “Beauty has a price. I hope it was worth it.” I would say, “Yes, ma’am. It was.” Then I’d scratch some more. At dusk, we’d sort the flowers and make bouquets(花束): One for the living room, one for the kitchen, and three for the bedrooms.

Even then as a child, I knew that what I desired most from my grandmother was not her flowers but her time. She has been gone for decades, but sometimes when I reach down to pick a flower or pull a weed, I see her hand, not mine. I thought I’d grow up to be a gardener as well. I informed myself, someday, when my children had childrenI would be a gardening grandma. Then the grandbabies started showing up, and I discovered I would much rather chase after them than go digging.

The truth is, I’m no gardener. I’m a picker, not a planter. I don’t need to plant a garden. My children are my flowers. They delight me and complete me with a beauty that is worth any price.

My grandmother and I differ in lots of ways, but from her, I do learn what a grandmother means. I also learn that I need attend to my grandbabies with time and water them with love. I hope that, one day, when they hold their first grandchild, they might see my hand.

1Why did the author go to the farm on weekends?

(No more than 8 words) (2 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

2How did the author and her grandmother deal with the collected flowers?

(No more than 12 words) (3 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

3What did the author want most from her grandmother when she was a kid?

(No more than 4 words) (2 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

4What does the author learn from her grandmother?

(No more than 15 words) (3 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

【题目】Karl Fleming joined the military because he needed a change in his life. He had a successful career with a shipping company but he wanted to do something more. He found that something in the U.S. army. Fleming began his service in 2009 and never looked back.

A few years later, Fleming volunteered to go to Afghanistan. There, he worked as a bodyguard for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He enjoyed it, except for the almost-nightly rocket attacks. Karl was never hit directly by a rocket, but he didn’t need to be to feel its effects. The rockets caused severe shaking, shaking so bad that Fleming was left with many injuries. He was also diagnosed with concussions(脑震荡) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD).

Fleming said he was down but not out. Once he returned from Afghanistan, Fleming underwent one test after another. At first, Fleming said he thought he could recover or be able to return to duty and realize his dream of becoming an officer. But then came the news he had never imagined: Fleming would never be an officer because he was too injured to continue.

Fleming said he was depressed after learning his military career was over. Add that to the memory loss, extreme anxiety and the many painful medical procedures he was already experiencing. He rarely ventured outside on the weekend. Instead, he preferred to sleep in. All that changed, however, with Fleming’s service dog, Kuchar.

Fleming said he had heard dogs could help people suffering from PTSD, so he started doing research. Karl eventually selected K9s for Warriors, which is where he met Kuchar, a yellow lab. Fleming and Kuchar trained together for weeks, before returning to Fort Benning. K9s for Warriors provided Fleming with Kuchar and the training for free.

Life with Kuchar has been life-changing. Fleming doesn’t sleep in any more because Kuchar won’t let him. Instead, they venture out into a world Karl was once afraid of — a world for Fleming that now seems impossible to imagine without Kuchar by his side.

1Karl Fleming joined the army because ___________.

A. he had a successful career

B. he loved to be a soldier

C. he wanted to have a change

D. he expected to work in a shipping company

2From Paragraph 2, we can learn Karl Fleming was __________.

A. forced to go to Afghanistan

B. struck directly by a rocket one day

C. satisfied with everything in the army

D. injured because of the shaking from the rockets

3Fleming suffered from the following illnesses except ___________.

A. concussions B. PTSD

C. memory loss D. a heart attack

4Karl Fleming recovered with the help of ___________.

A. an experienced bodyguard B. a well-trained dog

C. a laboratory engineer D. a military officer

5The passage is mainly about Fleming’s__________.

A. change of life B. service in the military

C. medical procedures D. experiences in Afghanistan

【题目】Hanukkah is an eight-day winter holiday, which celebrates the successful struggle of the Jews against King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria. There are many traditions to celebrate the day, such as lighting the menorah (多连灯烛台),frying potato pancakes and spinning the dreidel (四面陀螺).

One night in the 1990s, we tidied up wrapping paper and toys while the lighted menorah stood on the kitchen table. When we were not there, as the many-colored candles broke, our long-haired black-and-white cat, Ladybug, jumped onto the kitchen table and brushed past them.

"Do you smell something?" asked my husband, Donny. "Is something burning?" asked Molly, our oldest, age ten.

It was Ladybug! The fur on her left side had been burnt. She wasn't hurt, but she wore an upset expression all evening, and for the rest of the week she hid whenever we began chanting the Hebrew(希伯来语)blessings over the candles. "Though her fur grew out as thick as ever, Ladybug took a dim view of Hanukkah after that, clearly preferring less flammable holidays, like Labor Day.

The following year, for fifth-grade homework about family traditions, Molly wrote about Ladybug's story with the Hanukkah candles. The teacher, Lynn Fink, a sporty and funny woman, enjoyed Molly's story and gave it an A.

Three years later, Seth got Ms. Fink for fifth grade. He also worked the burnt cat fur into a writing assignment, and he, too, got an A.

Our son Lee, three years later: the same teacher, the same story, the same A. We had no idea these retellings were piling up.

The year Lily got Ms. Fink for fifth grade, she also felt inspired to write down what happened that night. By now, we were very fond of Ms. Fink. We invited her to join us for a night of Hanukkah. It was her first time to experience the Jewish holiday. Happily, she ate her potato pancakes. Gamely, she spun the dreidel. Delightedly, she opened the small gift of home-made cookies the children had prepared for her. As the evening seemed to be winding down, she clapped her hands, rubbed them together as if before a big dinner, and said excitedly," So! When do we torch the cat?"

【1What happened to Ladybug when the family celebrated Hanukkah that year?

A. She was seriously hurt that night.

B. She broke the candles on the menorah.

C. She had some of her fur burnt.

D. She got a surprising present from the family.

【2What can we learn from the passage?

A. Hanukkah lasts for only one night.

B. The writer has at least four children.

C. The family saw Ladybug jump onto the kitchen table that night.

D. Frying potato pancakes is not a tradition to celebrate Hanukkah.

【3Which proverb can best describe the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?

A. It's easy to be wise after the event.

B. Where there is a will, there is a way.

C. He that falls today may be up again tomorrow.

D. Once bitten, twice shy.

【4We can infer from the last paragraph that Ms.Fink _____.

A. forgot the story of Ladybug

B. came to the writer's home unexpectedly

C. knew all the traditions of Hanukkah well

D. thought people would torch the cat to celebrate Hanukkah

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