of a smiling Chinese girl. The child was about seven years old and was wearing a Snow White costume. That's Melanie, now in the first grade," she said. I could hear the motherly pride in her voice. She's pretty," I said. "I love her costume." The woman explained that she felt strongly about teaching her daughter about Chinese customs and maintaining ties to her shoes. "What made you decide to adopt her?" I asked. "I didn't want work to be my whole life," she said.

I'm not sure if she saw the tears in my eyes as I replied, I don't either, but I'm afraid it's too late." I was 51 when I adopted Melanie, she said. "And it's the most rewarding, exciting thing I've ever done."

When my husband and I returned from China with our nine-month-old daughter, Madeline, in November 2017, Jill was one of the first people I e-mailed. I did it!" I wrote. "I'm a mother and she's beautiful"

Congratulations," she wrote back. We recently reconnected on Facebook, and I told her, "You changed my life."

24. What can be inferred from Paragraph 1?

A. The author regretted her marrying too early.

B. The author was recovering from a serious disease.

C. The author didn't have a child of her own due to some illness

D. The author had been eager to be a happy mother for a long time.

25. Which words can best describe Jill according to Paragraph 3?

A. Elegant and generous.

B. Caring and considerate

C. Friendly and determined.

D. Practical and independent

26. What can we learn about the author from the text?

A. She wouldn't devote her whole life simply to work.

B. She appreciated the picture drawn by Melanie

C. Her husband was against her adopting.

D. Her dream was eventually realized in the company of Jill

27. What in the author's purpose in writing the text?

A. To stress the influence of the kindness

B. To show us the hidden beauty in our world

C. To call on us to adopt more homeless children

D. To share her meaningful adoption story with us.

答案：21-23 DCB 24-27 CBAD

C

A new study shows students who write notes by hand during lectures perform better on exams than those who use laptops (笔记本电脑)．

Students are increasingly using laptops for note-taking because of speed and legibility (清晰度)．But the research has found laptop users are less able to remember and apply the concepts they have been taught．