【2025全国一卷】One August afternoon, I sat in my kitchen staring at a glass vase that hadn’t seen daylight since my wedding.
My husband and I had just sold our house and we were busy emptying out the beloved home our family had spent 23 years filling up. We had decided on key items for the apartment we were moving to in town, donated what we could, and rented a place to store our supposedly important objects. That left a house still stuffed with things that, while not particularly valuable, didn’t belong in a landfill (垃圾填埋场).
I took a picture of the vase and posted it online, for $10. A couple of messages came in, one wanting additional photos, another asking for a price cut. As our move day drew near, I settled on a new price ($0) and reposted it. The description: “I hate this vase. Maybe you won’t.” In an instant, a woman raced into my house and left happily with the vase.
Encouraged, I posted more. My daily posts and the visits I received became a precious ray of light in the chaos of my house. Each exchange provided a chance to spare the landfill and to please another person I might not otherwise have encountered.
I sit in my apartment today, loving each of the belongings that share our small space. I takejoy in knowing that, somewhere nearby, someone is appreciating something that couldn’t come with us.
【2025全国二卷】Evelyn Donohue is a 65-year-old grandma. She only started to exercise seven years ago after having a wake-up call. She’d been struggling with eating disorders and health issues, which ultimately led her to getting surgery. After that experience, she knew that she needed to make a change. Determined to turn her life around, Ms Donohue began to work out and follow a healthy lifestyle, before discovering a passion for weightlifting.
Since setting out on the journey, the fitness lover has not only managed to grow an impressive set of muscles but also a huge following on social media.
The well-liked grandma regularly posts workout content, explaining there’s no reason others can’t look this good. She said it was all down to some key aspects.
“Hold on: Consider failure as a stepping stone to success and never give up. Stick to your plan,” she said. “Help others: Lift others up on your journey. Success is sweeter when shared.” She previously explained that “you do not need to have an amazing body to exercise... the goal is to feel good, not look good.”
Ms Donohue used to be laughed at for being too old to work out, but she has proved the doubters wrong in the best possible way and has indeed become an inspiration for many social media users.
【2025浙江1月卷】Manuela Ribeiro has a healthy addiction. It’s cooking. A few months ago, the 30-year-old teacher decided it was time to put her hobby to good use. She signed up on the website Bookalokal, and now welcomes strangers into her Brussels flat twice a week for dinner parties.
Ribeiro charges€35 per person for what is usually a three-course meal that can last up to three hours. For Ribeiro, it has become a perfect platform for pursuing her hobby of buying food, trying out new recipes and holding dinner parties.
“It’s a great opportunity to share my passion for food and to meet new people,” said Ribeiro. Sometimes she prepares traditional Brazilian dishes in honor of her native home; other times she pairs dinner courses with her favorite beers.
The platform has enabled Ribeiro to realise her dream with a great deal of freedom, as opposed to a restaurant where the service is impersonal, the menu is known in advance, and the meal is expected to be no surprise.
“But it’s also a great challenge, for it can sometimes take days to organize a single event,” Ribeiro said. “This platform is not only reserved for professional cooks, but also for those willing to discover new experiences.”
【2025北京卷】At 15, I excelled academically yet felt overshadowed and unnoticed. The desireto stand out consumed me, pushing me towards a regrettable decision.
One day, during a class in the IT lab with my classmates, our teacher mentioned missing computer parts. Curious looks exchanged, everyone wondered how it could happen in a(n) locked lab. “It’s possible to open that lock with another key,” I said. Instantly, eyes turned to me with newfound interest and curiosity. It was a rush I had never experienced before. Enjoying all the eyes on me, I demonstrated how to open the lock.
Little did I realize that single moment would ruin everything.
The following day, called to the headmaster’s office, I found myself accused of stealing the missing parts. “I didn’t do it, sir,” I argued, but suspicion clouded his eyes. His repeated questioning intensified, pushing me to the edge of fear and tears. In a desperate attempt to escape the mounting pressure, I falsely confessed (承认).
The headmaster asked my father to come to school, whose shaky faith in me brought a mix of relief and shame. My father gently asked me if I understood the gravity of my actions. Tearfully, I confessed my misguided longing for recognition. In the headmaster’s office, my father listened attentively, and then spoke with quiet authority: “I trust my son. He is not a thief.”
With my father’s support, I learned a valuable lesson: attention cannot be forced; true recognition comes from honourable acts.
【2024新课标Ⅰ卷】I’ve been motivated — and demotivated — by other folks’ achievement s all my life.
When I was a teenager, a neighborhood friend won a marathon race. Feeling motivated, I started running regularly, but then two things happened. First, a girl I met one day told me she was training for a “super,” referring to a 52.4-mile double marathon. Then, the next day I went on my longest run — 15 miles. To be honest, I hated it! Between the girl making my achievement seem small and the pure boredom of jogging, I decided that the only reason I’d ever run again is if a big dog was running after me!
So I turned to cycling. I got a good bike and rode a lot. I dreamed of entering cycle races until I flew to San Diego to visit my sister. While she was at work one day, I borrowed her bike and went for a ride. The problem: The roads there went through large valleys where I’d be riding uphill for miles at a time. I’d never faced such challenges. That day, I got passed by about 100 “local” bikers who were used to such roads. When I got back home, suddenly riding my bike didn’t seem quite as appealing.
I’ve matured a lot since then. I’ve come to accept that whatever goals I set for myself, they just have to be my own.
【2024新课标ⅠⅠ卷】When I decided to buy a house in Europe ten years ago, I didn't think too long. I liked traveling in France, but when it came to picking my favorite spot to settle , Italy was the clear winner.
During my first visit to Italy, I struggled to ask for directions or order in a restaurant. But every time I tried to string a sentence of Italian together, the locals smiled at me and praised my language skills. That encouragement helped me to get through the language barrier . After I made Italy my permanent home, I discovered how warm-hearted Italians are. Neighbors will bring me freshly made cheese and will come to my door to remind me to close the window in my car when rain is coming. It's these small acts of kindness that make a new country feel like home.
As a foodie, the way to my heart is through my stomach, and nowhere fuels my appetite quite like Italy. Each town has its own traditional dish , and every family keeps a recipe passed from one generation to another. Families gather for big meals on Sundays, birthdays, and whatever other excuses they can come up with. These meals are always accompanied by laughter and joy. Whatever disadvantages life in Italy might have, the problems are forgotten once you sit down to a big meal with friends and family.
【2024浙江1月卷】While taking a 20-hour train ride along the edge of the Taklimakan Desert in northwestern China, I had the kind of humbling, educational, and above all else, wonderful encounter with a local that all travelers long for. A young Chinese man approached me on the train. My new friend spoke virtually no English, so I happily took the chance to practice my Chinese.
Over several hours, he would tell me about how he hadattended a two-year professional school to quickly find a jobbuilding highways in order to help support his family. Perhaps the most remarkable, however, was the fact that this man spent hours studying every day after hard physical labor. Without batting an eye, he would quote a translated Emerson passage before asking about the literary influence of American writers as a whole. ”And what do you all learn about Russian authors?” I recallhim asking at one point.
It would have been easy to rely on my assumptions about this highway builder who had never been more than a few hundred miles from home. But this highly informed, self-educated , and admirable person prevented me doing so. In the course of a couple of hours, he showed me just how much one can gain from traveling with an open mind, and a willingness to engagewith locals from all walks of life.
【2023年新高考全国Ⅰ卷】On Oct. 11, hundreds of runners competed in a cross-country race in Minnesota. Melanie Bailey should have finishedthe course earlier than she did. Her delay came because she was carrying a competitor across the finish line.
As reported by a local newspaper, Bailey was more than two-thirds of the way through her race when a runner in front of her began crying in pain. She stoppedto help her fellow runner, Danielle Lenoue. Bailey took her arm to see if she could walk forward withaid. She couldn’t. Bailey then bent down to let Lenoue climb onto her back and carried her all the way to the finish line, then another 300 feet to where Lenoue could get medical attention.
Once there, Lenoue was assessed and later taken to a hospital, where she learned that she had serious injuries in one of her knees. She would have struggled with extreme pain to make it to that aid checkpoint without Bailey’s help.
As for Bailey, she is more confused about why her act is considered a big deal. “She was just crying. I couldn’t leave her,” Bailey told the reporter. “I feel like I was just doing the right thing.”
Although the two young women were strangers before the meet, they’ve since become friends. Neither won the race, but the display of human kindness won the day.
【2023年新高考全国Ⅱ卷】In April last year, I saw a post on the PNP (Pilots N Paws) website from a family in Topeka. They had to move to Virginia but they were on a very tight budget. They could not afford to pay for transportation for their dog, Tiffy, and desperatelywanted to take her with them.
It just happened that I was planning another PNP flight with another pilot, Karen, who offered to take Tiffy from Kansas City to Virginia. What I was to do was fly to Topeka to pick up Tiffy.
When I met Tiffy’s owners, they seemed very nervous. George, the husband, was trying to be calm, but I could tell this washard for him, having to leave his dog to a stranger and trust that everything would work out_.
After some goodbyes, I asked George and his wife to help me load Tiffy into the plane. I promised to take care of Tiffy and call them as soon as we got to Kansas City.
The flight was uneventful, and Tiffy was a great passenger. The next day, she flewwith Karen and made it back to George in Virginia within a few days. He was so thankful and sent me a nice e-mail with pictures. It felt great to know that I had helped bring this family together again.
【2023年浙江1月卷】The sun was beginning to sink as I set off into the Harenna Forest. I was on my way to witnessa unique honey harvest. Here, in south-east Ethiopia, hand-carved beehives(蜂箱)are placed in the treetops. Reaching them to get the honey is difficult—and often dangerous .
I followedbeekeeper Ziyad over a wide stretch of grassland before entering a thick jungle. Ziyad began preparations. He gathered handfuls of damp tree leaves, wrapped them with string, and lit the bunch to create a torch(火把). Then, with one end of a rope tied to his waist and the other end around the trunk of a tree, Ziyad began climbing . He stopped every few minutes to move therope higher up the tree trunk.
Finally , Ziyad got close to the hive which was around 20 metres above the ground. Sitting on a branch, he inched towards it and blew smoke from his torch into a tiny hole in the hive. Suddenly, Ziyad let out a sharp cry. Within seconds, he’d slid down the trunk and was back on the ground.
It was too early to collect the honey. A cool summer had delayed hatching . Baby bees were still in the honeycombs(蜂巢). The adult bees were angry and kept attacking as Ziyad escaped from the tree. He had to wait for the right moment to go back up.
【2023年全国乙卷】To become the Olympic champion in the individual (个人) all-around event, Gabby Douglas had to leave everything sheknew best. She had to pack up her bedroom in Virginia. She had to say goodbyeto her two dogs and to the beach, where she loved to ride waves on her board. But it was time to take the leap (飞跃), however heartbreaking it would be. Even at 14, Douglas knew that. So she went off about 1,200 miles away from home, to train with a coach from China. She lived with a family she had nevermet and everything was new to her.
As it turned out Douglas did exactlywhat she needed to do to become Olympic champion when she defeatedtwo Russians. The Chinese coach transformed Douglas into one of the best gymnasts in the world, helping her skyrocket from anaverage member of the national team to the top of the sport. Bywinning the Olympic all-around title, she became the first black woman to do so. She led the competition from beginning to end. She said she had felt confident all along that she would win.
Not so long ago, Martha Karoly the coordinator (联络人) of the women’s national team, did not think Douglas had what it took to be an Olympian. As time went by, she thought more and more that she could make the London Games-and win.
“I’m going to inspire so many people,” she said. “I’m ready to shine.” And shine she did.
【2023年全国甲卷】Many years ago, I bought a house in the Garfagnana, where we still go every summer. The first time we stayedthere, we heard the chug chug-chug of a motorbike makingits way down the hill toward us. It was neighborcalled Mario, coming tobring us a box containing some tormatoes and a bottle of wine. It was a very nicegesture for him to make. But when we looked at the tomatoes, we were worried because they were so misshapen: not at all like the nice, round,shiny things you get in a supermarket. And the wine was cloudy, in a funny old bottle with no label (标签) on it. These can’t be any good, we thought. But we werethankful for his kindness, so we tried them.
What we discovered is that it’s unwise to judge what you eat only by its appearance. Those tomatoes hadtastethat reminded me of the ones my uncle used to grow when I was a child. Nowadays supermarket tomatoes look perfect but taste of water. Nobody’s going to have a happy_ memory of those. It’s a surprise they haven’t managed to grow square ones so that they can pack them easily. Mario’s wine may have been cloudy and come out of an old bottle, but it was perfect.
It’s good to eat things at the correct time, when they’re in season, and as close as possible to where they were grown. What Mario hadgivenus was the taste of the Garfagnana.
【2022年新高考全国Ⅰ 卷】My husband, our children and I have had wonderful camping experiences over the past ten years.
Some of our memories are funny, especially from the early years when our children were little. Once, wecampedalong Chalk Creek. I was worriedthat our 15-month-old boy would fall into the creek (小溪). I tied a rope around his waist to keep him near to our spot. That lasted about ten minutes. He was uncomfortable, and his crying let the whole campground know it. So instead of tying him up, I just kept a close eye on him. It worked— he didn’t end up in the creek. My three-year-old, however, did.
Another time, we rented a boat in Vallecito Lake. The sky was clear when we headed off, but storms move in fast in the mountains, and this one quickly interrupted our peaceful morning trip. The wind picked up and thunder rolled. My husband stopped fishing to start the motor. Nothing. He tried again. No luck. We were stuck in the middle of the lake with a dead motor. As we all sat there helplessly, a fisherman pulled up, threw us a rope and towed (拖) us back. We were safe.
Now, every year when my husband pulls our camper out of the garage, we are filled with a sense ofexcitement, wondering what camping fun andadventure we will experience next.
【2022年新高考全国Ⅱ卷】Like many young people, Jessica wants to travel the globe. Unlike most of them, this 25-year-old is doing it full-time . She and her husband have spent the last two years traveling the world, stopping everywhere from Paris to Singapore. It might sound like one long, expensive vacation , but the couple has an unusual way to make their travel affordable .
They’re part of a new form of the sharing economy: an online group of house sitters. Throughout their no-cost stays in strangers’ homes, they feed pets and water plants in the homeowner’s absence .
It’s not all sightseeing. The two travelers carefullyplan their trips, scheduling their days around the pets that are sometimes difficult to please . But house sitting also offers a level of comfort they can’t find in a hotel. “It’s like stayingat a friend’s house,” Jessica says.
The couple has a high success rate in getting accepted as house sitters and they always go beyond the homeowner’s expectations . For Jessica, that means sendingplenty of pictures of happy pets, keeping the housecleanand leaving a nice small gift before heading to the next house. “You want to make the homeowner feel that they made the right decision ,” she says.
【2022年全国甲卷】You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his dogs.
For many years, I enjoyed living with my dogs, Tilly and Chance. Their companionship was nearly enough to keep my loneliness at bay. Nearly. Last year, I started dating, but withreservations . When I first dated Steve, Ilearned he had a dog, Molly, and a cat, Flora. While I was amusedthat he was an animal lover, I worried that three dogs were perhaps too many, and my dogs might attack Flora, the cat.
The next week we walked our dogs together. It was a hot day. When we paused to catch our breath , Steve got down on one knee. Was he proposing (求婚)? I liked him too, but so soon ? He poured water from a bottle into his hand and offered it to my dogs. In that moment, I began to fall for him.
We continuedto date, though neither of us brought up the future. And then in late November, Tilly had an operation on her leg . I took the dogs out four times a day, and I worried that Tilly constantly climbing the stairs could reopen the wound. Then Steve suggested his house. All worked fine . The three dogs formed a pack that, with coaching, respectedFlora’s space; Steve and I formed a good team caringfor Tilly. We made good housemates.
A year later, much to mydelight, this man produced a little box with a ring and proposed to me. He did not kneel (跪) down, nor did I need him to. That’s only for giving waterto the dogs that brought us together.
【2022年全国乙卷】Young children across the globe enjoy playing games of hide and seek. For them, there’s something highly exciting about escaping someone else’s glance and making oneself unable to be seen.
However, we all witness that preschool children are remarkably bad at hiding. They often cover only their eyes with their hands, leaving the rest of their bodies exposed .
For a long time, this ineffective hiding method was interpreted as evidence that children are hopelessly “egocentric” (自我中心的) creatures. But our surprising research results in child developmental psychology contradictedthat idea.
We brought young children aged 2-4 into our Minds in Development Lab at USC. Each child sat down with an adult who covered her own eyes orears. We then asked the child if she couldseeor hear the adult. Surprisingly, children replied that they couldn’t. The same thing happened when the adult covered her own mouth: Now children said that they couldn’t speakto her.
A number of experiments ruled out that the children misunderstood what they were being asked. The results were clear: Our young subjects comprehended the questions and knew exactly what was asked of them. Their responses to the questions reflected their true belief that “I can see you only if you can see me, too.” They simply insist on mutual (相互的) recognition and regard. Our findings suggest when a child “hides” by putting a blanket over her head, it is not a result of egocentrism. In fact, children consider this method effective when others use it.
【2022年浙江卷6月】Small children are easy to throw up in the air and catch-and they love it. “Again, Daddy, again!” Jacky shouts as I throw him skywards and catch him on the way back down again. He throws his arms and legs out as ifhe were flying, his eyes wide with excitement. His trust in me is absolute, which is quite a nice feeling, but at the same time gives me a huge sense ofachievement .
I hope Jacky will always trust me fully, but I know that, as he gets older , it will need more effort and sound judgmenton my part . Trust is such an important part of aparent-childrelationship that it’s something that can’tafford to lose. Every time I introduce Jacky to something new, he’ll do it only because he trusts me and feelssafe in the knowledge that he won’t get hurt .For example, teaching Jacky to swim means he has to believethat, when he’s swimming in the big pool, I’ll come to his rescue if his doggy paddle lets him down.
Similarly in the workplace, trust is important for strongleadership . It is something that every manager should work hard todevelop among their team. If people don’t trust you, they’re unlikely tofollow your directions and willingly become a loyal (忠诚) team member. Alack of trust can make people work against you rather than for you. At the very least, it means that people are not going to begiving you their best. Good management, like good parenting, is a long-term commitment.
【2021年新高考全国Ⅰ 卷】My life as a tax-paying employed person began in middle school, when, for three whole days, I worked in a baking factory.
My best friend Betsy’s father was a manager at Hough Bakeries, which, at Easter time, made little bunny ( 兔 子 ) cakes for all its storesthroughout Cleveland. It happened that the plant downtown needed eight kids for temporary help during our spring break, for which I had no plans beyond listening to my favorite records. I’d earn minimum wage. I’d see how a factoryworked. My parents thought all of this was a grand idea and called Betsy’s dad with their permission.
Ourrolesin the factory were simple: Place cakes on a moving belt. Attach icing (糖霜) ears. Apply icing eyes and nose.Remove bunny from the belt. This was harder than it sounds.Slow downa bit and the cakes pile up. As I told my parents at dinner that first night, it was all a little more high-pressure than I’d expected .
Dad smiled. The son of a grocer, he’d spent the summers of his childhooddelivering food in Benardsville, New Jersey. This was the sort of work that made youappreciate the dollars you earned and respect those who did the work, he told me.
【2021年新高考全国Ⅱ 卷】Over the past 38 years, Mr. Wang has pretended to be someone else many times,and has even learned to speak_ different dialects（方言），leading to him being described as an “Oscar-winning actor".
The 60-year-old is not an actor, but a policeman However,he is more devoted to his “role "than any real actor.
In the 1990s, a group of thieves often sold stolen goods with the help of some beggars. To look into the case，Wang disguised（伪装）himself and joinedthe beggars. Dirty shorts and old shoes gave him the appearance of a real beggar and his convincing dialect soon won him the trust of the beggars.
“I often invited them to drink alcohol. Once they were drunk_,they began to talk a lot,"Wang said. “I'd then excuse myself to use the toilet, note down what the beggars said, and send the information to my teammates.”
Wang，who is often in dangerous situations， is also a judo （柔道） master. “As long as I get close enough, no criminal can escape from me," he said.
Wang's courage won him several honors, including a National May Day Labor Medal and 11 Citations of Merit.Paris.
【2021年全国甲卷】It's the seaside birds that deserve at least part of the blame for getting Nick Burchill blacklisted at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, Canada.
Burchill was packing at the hotel on business and planning to visit some friends in the area. They had asked him to bring some pepperoni (辣香肠) from back east. So he filled a suitcase full of pepperoni. As he was_worried that it would be too warm, he laid it out on the table near an open window. He thought his pepperoni was safe and well chilled (冷却) and he left .
That's when things went wrong“I remember walking down the long hall and opening the door to my room to find an entire flock of seagulls,” Burchill said in a recent letter of apology to the 4-star hotel. "The seagulls immediately went wild . They rushed to the window, 30 or 40 birds all trying to get out at the same time, and pepperoni—everywhere. The curtains were falling down, the lamps were falling down, It was a real mess .
Older and wiser now, Burchill chalked up the incident to youthful indiscretion (莽撞).
“I have matured and I admit responsibility of my actions,” he said in the letter. “I come to you, hat in hand , to apologize for the-damage I had indirectly caused and to ask you to reconsider my lifetime ban from the hotel.”
His letterworked . Banned from the hotel since 2001.Burchill is now welcome to come back, the Fairmont said.
【2021年浙江卷6月】My mother is 92. Unless I have to be out of town, each week I take my mother to do her shopping and visit the doctor, providingcompany_ and transportation. During the week, however, she likes to go to a nearby store to buy some small things she needs.
Last week she walked up to the store, but when she went to pay for her groceries, she was shot about three dollars. The onlyway to pay for the groceries was to take off the things she could do without: a bottle of rubbing alcohol（医用酒精）and a bar of soup. By taking of these, she was able tobring the new total to the amount of cash she had with her.
At this store, people check out and then go off to the side to bag their own groceries. My mother was putting her groceries into shopping bags when a stranger came up to her and said, "Here are the things that you put back ." handing her the rubbing alcohol and the soap . My mother, who is never speechless, was speechless. She asked for the woman's name and address so that she could repay her. The woman told her it was her gift .
My mother was so touched by her gesture that she decided to go back to the store and give the cashier（收银员）a five-dollar bill to keep on hand in case the same happened to someone else if they didn't have enough money for all of their groceries.
So, whoever you are, thank you for the random act ofkindness that not only helped my mother out, but made her day too.
