河北省石家庄市第二中学2022-2023学年高三下学期开学考试英语试题

2020级高三下学期开学考试

英语试卷

(时间：120分钟，分值：150分)

第一部分 听力(共两节，满分30分)

第一节(共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分)

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

1. What will the speakers probably do?

A. Stay at home.  B. Go to the store.  C. Drive to their parents’ home.

2. What do we know about the man?

A. He lost his car.  B. He was hurt by a truck.

C. His car was damaged in an accident.

3. What does the man suggest the woman do?

A. See a doctor.  B. Rest for a few days. C. Put ice on her knee.

4. Where did the speakers just come from?

A. The school cafeteria. B. A classroom.  C. A theater.

5. How much money did the woman have at first?

A. $5.    B. $12.    C. $17.

第二节(共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分)

听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。

6. How does the woman feel without a phone at night?

A. More forgetful.  B. More anxious.  C. More relaxed.

7. What is the relationship between the speakers?

A. Colleagues.   B. Husband and wife. C. Strangers.

听第7段材料，回答第8至10题。

8. What is Julie interested in?

A. Music.    B. Business.   C. Math.

9. What does Julie think of computer programming?

A. Fun.    B. Difficult.   C. Boring.

10. What will Julie probably do finally?

A. Take the man’s advice.

B. Study what she’s interested in.

C. Talk with her school director.

听第8段材料，回答第11至13题。

11. Where might the speakers be now?

A. At home.   B. In a supermarket. C. At the post office.

12. How much did the speakers spend on the stamps?

A. $1.99.    B. $3.50.    C. $5.90.

13. How does the woman feel at the end?

A. Satisfied.   B. Guilty.    C. Angry.

听第9段材料，回答第14至17题。

14. What does the woman do for a living?

A. She’s a hostess.  B. She’s a director.  C. She’s a movie star.

15. Where was the man first discovered by James Cameron?

A. At a farm.   B. At a bank.   C. At a theater.

16. When did the man star in a commercial?

A. At 10.    B. At 12.    C. At 20.

17. What does the man plan to do with his income from the third film?

A. Donate it to charity. B. Buy his family a farm.

C. Get himself something.

听第10段材料，回答第18至20题。

18. How old was the speaker when he fell into the water?

A.5 years old.   B.10 years old.  C.15 years old.

19. What was the reason for the speaker’s unpleasant childhood?

A. Strict school rules. B. A frightening experience.

C. His fear of making friends.

20. How did the speaker’s life change?

A. By becoming a teacher.

B. By learning how to swim.

C. By saving a girl from the water.

第二部分 阅读理解(共两节，满分50分)

第一节(共15小题；每小题2.5分，满分37.5分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Some are attracted to museums by the art and the culture—but if that isn’t enough, there is always the strange!

Cancun, Underwater Museum

No need to hold your breath to see this one. The Cancun Underwater Museum is, as the name suggests, underwater. More than 500 sculptures anchored in the ocean off Mexico are meant to illustrate the interplay of art and nature. Visitors can either admire the works through a glass-bottom boat or take a scuba diving tour.

Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre

With great attention to detail, New Zealand built the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, which exhibits original aircraft from the First and Second World Wars. Some belong to film director Sir Peter Jackson, who helped create the set designs with his team. Anyone interested in the pioneers of aviation should pay a visit to the museum in Blenheim.

Tenement Museum

At New York’s Tenement Museum, visitors can gain an insight into what life was like for immigrants and the working class in the city from the 1860s through to the 1980s. The museum opened in 1992 and offers guided tours of two tenement buildings with recreated rooms, where costumed ‘residents’ enact the daily lives of the city’s newcomers and workers over the period—leaps and bounds from the money makers of Wall Street.

Cupnoodles Museum

The Cupnoodles Museum in Yokohama, Japan, offers a treat: exhibits can be not only admired, but eaten. Visitors can work in the museum’s noodle workshop, refining creations with their favourite ingredients. While doing so, one can also learn the history of the ramen noodle, one of Japan’s most popular foods.

21. What is special about the Cancun Underwater Museum?

A. The strange name.    B. The number of sculptures.

C. Works about art and nature.  D. Ways of visiting it.

22. Which museum will attract visitors interested in hands-on activities?

A. Cancun Underwater Museum.  B. Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.

C. Tenement Museum.    D. Cupnoodles Museum.

23. What do the four museums have in common?

A. They are about art and history.  B. They display aircraft from world wars.

C. They have unusual features.  D. They record immigrants’ daily lives.

B

Last year, Karen Wooldridge and his friend Laura Hogan had an idea: Take unsold flowers which will be thrown away and send them to old people. “We started working on our kitchen island, and we were really proud of sending flowers,” Wooldridge said. Soon, Hogan added, “We developed.”

Now, they send a thousand unsold bunches of flowers a month, with 150 volunteers working five days a week. Their organization, Bluebirds &. Blooms, is named after their childhood youth troupe (剧团) The Bluebirds. Their flowers brighten 30 communities—mostly homes for seniors who are losing their memories.

Vellie Larson has lost some of her memories, but her daughter Karen Schwartz was in the same Bluebirds troupe as Wooldridge and Hogan, and Larson taught them all music. “When they send flowers to her,” Schwartz said, “She’ll describe them to me and give me a flower report every day.”

“The flowers are also a hint that someone cares,” said Shery Hassan, the center’s director. “They’re sad, and just having such a simple thing as a bunch of flowers brightens their days,” Hassan said. “Families will come in, and they’ll say, ‘Oh who got you flowers? This is beautiful.’ And it says ‘Thinking of you.’ The seniors can just say, ‘Oh, somebody was thinking of me!”

For Wooldridge, the act of kindness brings back great memories of her father, who had Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆). “I know he would have loved visits from these women,” Wooldridge said. And while some might find it difficult to work so closely with those fighting with memory loss, Hogan said, “It makes us happy. We’re doing something good.”

24. What idea did Wooldridge and Hogan have last year?

A. Making profits by recycling unsold flowers.

B. Turning unsold flowers into gifts for seniors.

C. Aiding seniors by selling flowers for a living.

D. Recovering lost memories by sending flowers.

25. What can we learn about Bluebirds & Blooms?

A. It sends flowers on a day-to-day basis.

B. It is named after a best children’s drama.

C. It has grown into a national organization.

D. It mainly serves the old with memory loss.

26. What does the underlined word “hint” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Reminder.  B. Commitment. C. Responsibility. D. Routine.

27. How do the flowers influence the receivers?

A. They promote family harmony.

B. They make their life worthwhile.

C. They cure them of their diseases.

D. They create a sense of well-being.

C

Although we all experience failure in our lives, we don’t all react to it in the same way. An interesting research has emphasized the notion that there are some people who embrace challenges and disappointments as opportunities to re-focus their thinking. These are people with a growth mindset, Then, there are other people who see failure as a complete failure. They believe that they never had the talent anyway, and they probably never will. These are people with a fixed mindset.

Psychologist Dweck has studied these mindsets and provided evidence that most people intentionally place themselves in one of those two groups. The group to which you assign yourself frequently determines how you react to challenges. If you experience failure and give up, you have conveniently assigned yourself to the fixed group. If you experience failure and regard it as a stepping stone, then you have placed yourself into the growth group.

According to the research, people in the growth group tend to generate more creative ideas than those in the fixed group. To illustrate, consider Thomas Edison. In the 19th century, Edison attempted to improve the light bulb and experimented with numerous materials. Over a thousand trials, he managed to discover an element sustaining light. A reporter once asked him, “It seems as though you’ve tried many times and continue to fail each time. Why is that?” Edison answered, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10, 000 ways that won’t work.”

In studies of creative people, psychologists discovered that a distinguishing feature separating them from the non-creative is that they make lots of mistakes and continue to work through them. Most people consider success and failure as polar opposites. In reality, they are both parts of the same process.

28. What might people with a growth mindset agree with?

A. Challenges are welcomed.   B. Mistakes can be avoided.

C. Success is due to good luck.  D. Only talent leads to success.

29. What does the underlined phrase “a stepping stone” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A.A road to nowhere.    B. A challenge in the way.

C. An outcome to expect.   D. A chance to advance.

30. Why does the author mention Thomas Edison in paragraph 3?

A. To make a prediction.    B. To present a fact.

C To support a viewpoint.   D. To clarify a principle.

31. What is the main idea of the text?

A. How people interpret failure often determines their creative output.

B. Learning from success plays an important part in improving creativity.

C. Growth mindset people see challenges differently from fixed mindset ones.

D. Which group people put themselves in decides how they react to challenges.

D

Radiocarbon dating has revealed two fake (伪造的) paintings in France—probably the first time the technique has been used in a police investigation. The paintings were supposedly works from around the early twentieth century. But a team led by scientist Lucile Beck at the University of Paris-Saclay dated them to sometime within the past 70 years.

The use of radiocarbon dating is gaining popularity, thanks to advances that require smaller samples than ever before. Removing tinier samples from artwork is becoming more palatable to museums and owners of paintings. If there is a chance that a painting is genuine—and therefore valuable—they don’t want the collection of larger samples to damage it.

All living things take in carbon, including radioactive carbon-14, from the atmosphere and from food. When a plant commonly used to make oil painting cloth dies, the carbon-14 that it contained continues to fall off. Radiocarbon dating measures what's left to estimate the time that’s passed, says Mariaelena Fedi, a physicist at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics in Florence, Italy.

Atomic-bomb (原子弹) testing, which began in the 1940s and took off in the 1950s, quickly increased the amount of carbon-l4 in the atmosphere. Carbon-l4 peaked around 1964 and went down after a partial ban on nuclear tests. Researchers can easily identify materials containing modern bomb-produced radiocarbon because their carbon-14 concentrations are higher than pre-1950s levels. Beck’s team tested its samples to see whether they bore the feature of that bomb-produced radioactive carbon-14.

The canvas fiber from the paintings clearly contained carbon from either the mid-1950s or after the year 2000, the researchers reported. Beck acknowledged that, ideally, the team would do further chemical analysis to support its findings, but the researchers were limited by the tight time.

32. What does the underlined word “palatable” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. Impressive.  B. Acceptable.  C. Expensive.  D. Difficult.:

33. How does radiocarbon dating work?

A. By analyzing samples from artwork.

B. By removing the smaller samples.

C. By measuring the carbon-14 left.

D. By testing the carbon in the sample.

34. What can we learn about atomic-bomb testing in Paragraph 4?

A. It produces more carbon-14.  B. It helps identify fake paintings.

C. It reduces carbon concentration.  D. It has been stopped completely.

35. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A. Paintings waiting to be identified

B. Two fake paintings found in France

C. New technology in painting becomes a hit

D. Radiocarbon dating proves an anti-fake helper

第二节(共5小题；每小题2.5分，满分12.5分)

阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

What is heritage? The word can be difficult to define. Heritage is always something that is passed down by families or other groups for many years.   36   It can also be the customs, traditions, and values shared by groups of people. One way to think about heritage is to break it down into three groups. These are the tangible (有形的), the natural, and the intangible.

   37   It can include many human-made objects that hold cultural value. Some examples are national monuments and works of art. Many ancient sites are also part of this group. On a smaller scale, a family home can be part of an individual’s heritage.

Many parts of the natural world are also important to cultural heritage. This can include bodies of water, plant life, land forms and more. One example is the Nile River.   38   Efforts to protect natural heritage are key in many cultures.

The intangible group includes any part of cultural heritage that you can’t feel through touch. Maybe you’ve read about forms of dance, like Flamenco dancing. You might know about the music of Mariachi Bands or holidays like Eid. These are all examples of intangible heritage.    39  

Exploring your own heritage can be fun. It can help you learn about yourself, your family, and your ancestors. But it's also important to learn about the heritage of others.   40  

It can also lead you to find things you may have in common with others!

A. They are treasures that can be touched.it.

B. What tangible items can be part of heritage?

C. However, heritage isn’t limited to concrete objects.

D. Languages, holidays and customs also make the list.

E. Therefore, it’s difficult to protect them from fading away.

F. Doing so can help you build a stronger understanding of other cultures.

G. It has been part of cultural heritage in many African nations for centuries.

第三部分 语言运用(共两节，满分30分)

第一节(共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分)

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Natalie Te Paa, a blind singer, was in London for her birthday with her friend Claire Sara. The two decided to go to geta   41   together at a restaurant. What happened after they ate   42   them both. The staff presented Natalie with a plate that   43   “happy birthday” written in Braille(盲文) using   44   !

In previous birthday celebrations, the staff in the restaurant simply sang to their birthday guests. But this was the first time the restaurant had   45   disability in such a special way. The staff went to great lengths to   46   her birthday—from looking up how to write the message in Brille to making sure the chocolate was cold enough so it would not   47   when Natalie touched it. And their efforts   48   Natalie was moved to tears.

Natalie’s friend, Claire,   49   a video of the sweet moment, and she shared it online. The   50   scene was viewed more than 16 million times, receiving over 4.3 million likes.

“The fact that people have responded so much just shows how much the world needs   51   right now,” Natalie said. And the birthday girl went on to talk about how she hoped the video would   52   people to have a larger conversation about inclusivity (包容性).

“   53   . is not easy. There are a lot of times when you do face discrimination and other things that are   54   and tough. So, the fact that they did that for me   55   opened up a conversation of awareness,” she added.

41. A. gift   B. meal   C. job   D. rest

42. A. confused  B. amused  C. surprised  D. comforted

43. A. read   B. wrote   C. suggested  D. declared

44. A. cream   B. butter   C. milk   D. chocolate

45. A. cheered   B. recognized  C. considered  D. understood

46. A. celebrate  B: greet   C. congratulate D. share

47. A. disappear  B. collapse  C. move   D. melt

48. A. paid off   B. got across  C. worked out  D. ended up

49. A. released   B. shot   C. launched  D. found

50. A. dramatic  B. touching  C. common  D. simple

51. A. concern   B. sympathy  C. equality  D. warmth

52. A. support   B. press   C. lead   D. persuade

53. A. Loneliness  B. Friendliness C. Deafness  D. Blindness

54. A. exciting   B. frightening  C. challenging  D. boring

55. A. really   B. eventually  C. seemingly  D. actually

第二节(共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分)

阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin   56   an irrigation and flood control system, Dujiangyan is a remarkable example of ancient engineering skill and is still in use today.

During the. Warring States Period, people who lived along the banks of the Minjiang River   57   (trouble) by flooding. Irrigation engineer Li Bing investigated the problem   58   (thorough). He led a team to construct a levee (防洪堤) to redirect a part of the river’s flow. Then they cut   59   channel through Mount Yulei to let the water flow. through it. After the system was finished, no more floods   60   (occur). What’s more, it made Sichuan one of the most productive agricultural   61   (region) in China because the redirected water from the Minjiang River could be used for irrigation. If you visit Dujiangyan, you will see an unusual construction   62   looks like a fish’s mouth. This famous   63   ”(attract), Yuzui, together with two other important parts, namely Feishayan and Baopingkou, was scientifically designed   64   (control) the water flow throughout the year.

   65   (recognize) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dujiangyan has irrigated farmland while preventing floods for over 2,000 years.

第四部分 写作(共两节，满分40分)

第一节(满分15分)

假如你是李华，学校要在近期为高三学生举行一场成人礼(a coming-of-age ceremony)，你希望参加此次活动的策划工作。请根据以下提示，用英语给学校写一封申请信，内容包括：

1.你对此活动的认识；

2.你的活动创意。

注意：1.写作词数应为80左右；

2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Sir/Madam,

Yours sincerely

Li Hua

第二节(满分25分)

阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Price of a Miracle

Only a very costly operation could save him now and it was looking like there was no one to lend them the money. She heard Dad say to her tearful mom with desperation, “Only a miracle can save him now.”

Tess went to her bedroom and poured all the change she had saved out on the floor and counted it carefully: 47 cents. She slipped out of home and made her way to Rexall’s Drug Store. She waited patiently for the pharmacist (药剂师) to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Finally, she took a quarter from her pocket and banged it on the glass counter. That did it! “And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago Medical University whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle.”

“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little “Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.” Tess answered with a blind faith.

The pharmacist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?” “I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up.

“I just know he’s really sick and Mom says he needs an operation. But my dad can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”

注意：

1.续写词数应为150左右；

2.请按如下格式作答。

英语答案

听力：1-5. CCBCB  6-10. CAACB  11-15. ABAAB  16-20. BCABC

阅读：21-23. DDC   24-27. BDAD  28-31. ADCA   32-35. BCAD   36-40. CBGDF

完形：41-45. BCADC   46- 50. ADABB 51-55. DCDCA

语篇填空：56. as  57. were troubled  58. thoroughly  59. a  60. occurred

61. regions  62. which/that.  63. attraction  64. to control   65. Recognized

应用文参考范文：

Dear Sir/Madam,

Knowing that the, coming-of-age ceremony for Senior 3 students will be held in our, school recently, I am writing to apply for the position of the activity planner.

From my perspective, this once-in-a-lifetime ceremony is a golden opportunity to impress upon us students the. significance of shouldering responsibility as a young adult. To make it memorable, each student will be presented with an adult certificate as well as a letter from their parents bearing best wishes and expectations. Thousands of balloons will be released into the sky and meanwhile photos and videos will record the special occasions.

I hope, my creativity above will land me this position.

Yours sincerely

Li Hua

读后续写参考范文：

“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago. “47 cents!” Tess replied without any hesitation. To her surprise, the man said that he was a doctor and that it was a fair price for a miracle. Overcome with excitement, Tess grasped his hand, leading him to her home. With doubt and hope, Dad and Mom had Andrew checked by the man, who declared that he would perform an operation on the boy and promised it wouldn’t be long before he could pick himself up. Hearing his words, the whole family burst into tears of joy.

The operation was completed. Hardly had Andrew been sent back home when his parents went to thank the doctor with Tess, for they knew that 47 cents was a joke for an operation. They promised to save enough money to pay for the bill only to be told that Tess had paid for it. “It’s a fair deal,” the doctor explained to the parents, and then looked into Tess’s eyes, smiling, “47 cents was what it cost—plus the faith of a little girl.”

附：听力原文

Text 1

W: Mom just called. She can't make it this afternoon because she is too tired. Dad said he will still come over after he stops at the store.

M: Let’s drive over to their place instead. (1)

Text 2

W: Oh, John, what’s wrong with your car?

M: I crashed into the truck in front of me when I tried to turn left. (2)

Text 3

W: My knee still hurts from falling on the ice yesterday. I wonder if I broke something.

M: I’m not a doctor, but it’s not black and blue or anything. Maybe you just need to lie in bed for a few days. (3)

★black and blue:遍体鳞伤；青一块紫一块

I’m not a doctor, but it’s not black and blue or anything.我虽然不是医生，但是那里既不青也不紫，没什么大事。

Text4

M: That was a good movie! I thought the acting was fantastic. Do you still have popcorn left?

W: No, I left it inside. (4) Let’s hurry. We need to catch the bus if we want to make it to our French class on time.

Text 5

M: Could you lend me some money?

W: Sure. But 1 have only five dollars in my pocket. I just spent seven dollars on a tape. (5)

Text 6

M: Don’t forget about the new schedule on Monday. Should I call you on Sunday to remind you?

W: All right, thanks. But please call me before dinner. I never use my phone after 7:00. (6) I used to, and it made me so anxious that I couldn’t sleep.

M: I would feel more anxious without my phone! Have you noticed a difference since you followed your new rule? (6)

W: Now I sleep like a baby! (6)

M: I’ve never understood that expression. My wife and I have a one-year-old son. He screams all night and then wants to play at 5:00 in the morning!

W: Yes, when I started out at the company like you, I also had a young child. (7) I know what you mean!

Text 7

W: Dad, I was talking with my school director today.

M: Oh, good. What did she recommend? Majoring in business?

W: Not really.

M: Then what did you talk about?

W: Ah, well...I’m thinking about studying music. (8)

M: Music? Ah...Julie, (8) trust me: you’ll never get a job that way.

W: But, Dad, that’s what I’m interested in. (8)

M: Well, interests are fine, but you have to plan to study something useful, like business.

W: Business? Dad, I hate business.

M: Well, why don’t you study computer programming? You’re good at math and computer science.

W: Computer programming? That’s so boring. (9)

M: Well, Julie, you’re going to have to think about this a little more. College is your way to get a good job.

W: But Dad, college is a way for me to learn more about what I’m interested in. So, I still want to choose music as my major. (10)

Text 8

W: OK, put the bags in the kitchen. (11) I want to add up what we spent.

M: I think we spent too much.

W: Well, it’s better to have good food than to buy cheap things. And the supermarket is

cheaper than the local store.

M: But we have to travel farther that way.

W: I still think it makes sense.

M: Well, let’s see what we’ve got here. Do you have the receipts?

W: Yes, here they are. Remember, we went to the post office as well. I bought a book of 12 stamps, and that was three dollars and fifty cents. (12)

M: And we sent Ingrid’s letter by airmail.

W: Yes, that was quite expensive—two dollars and forty cents.

M: So, we need to add on five dollars and ninety cents to our supermarket bill.

W: We bought a lot of nice things, though. Look at these lovely strawberries.

M: How much were they?

W: One ninety-nine.

M: We bought cream to go with them. That was a bit much.

W: Only eighty cents for a big box... We deserve it. We work hard! (13)

Text 9 (第14题为推断题)

W: Thank you for sitting down with me today, Martin.

M: Thank you for having me, Mary.

W: You have a pretty interesting story, don’t you?

M: Yes, I came from a small farming town in Nebraska. My family was poor, and the bank was threatening to take our land.

W: I’m so sorry. So, then what happened?

M: I remember my dad brought me with him to the bank, (15) He thought they would lend us some money if they felt sorry for me.

W: That’s when you met James Cameron for the first time. (15)

M: That’s right. (15) I didn’t even know he was a famous director at the time. But he said I was perfect for a movie he was filming.

W: I remember you doing a TV advertisement. You must have been around 10 years old, (16)

M: I was two years older than that. (16) I’ve always looked young for my age.

W: Now you are 20, and you already have millions of dollars. What are you going to do with the money from your third film? (17)

M: Well, I bought the farm after the first one, and I donated money to build a school after the second. I might do something a little more selfish this time. (17)

W: If anyone deserves it, it’s you. Thank you for joining us, Martin.

M: It’s my pleasure.

Text 10

Ronnie, let me tell you something. I, too, was afraid of water when I was young. I was walking on the beach with my family one day when I was five years old. All of a sudden, a large wave came over us and pulled me deep into the water. (18) A lifeguard rescued me, but it was a frightening experience. For 10 years, I was too afraid to go in the sea. (19) How do you think other people felt about me? My family understood, but my friends all thought I was a coward. If I had to go to the beach for a school trip, I would feel left out. Not only could I not swim, but I was also too shy to play games on the sand. Finally, when I was 15, something happened that changed everything. I was looking out at the sea on one of those school trips and saw a little girl playing in the shallow water. Then all of a sudden, she was gone. I raced to where I had last seen her and saw her under the water. I pulled her out and helped her breathe again. (20) The water wasn’t deep for me, but she had fallen in a place where it was over her head. From that moment on, my fear of water changed into a desire to help other people learn how to swim. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a swimming teacher.