It’s 2023 now. Joyce is a 90-year-old mother of nine, grandmother of 17, and great-grandmother of 24. You may think the old woman has stopped doing anything, but you’d be wrong. Joyce just made history as one of the oldest graduates of a university.

Back in 1951, Joyce went to university, hoping to get a degree. She almost made it to graduation. But three-and-a-half years later, she met a good looking guy. The two decided to get married. Putting her degree on hold, Joyce had three babies in three years. Five years later, her husband died. A few years later, she married again and had six more children. She clearly had her hands full, but she never stopped thinking about her unfinished college degree.

Years later, Joyce mentioned this feeling of unfinished business to her children. They bought her a computer and encouraged her to finish the degree. Finally, she went to the university again. She took online courses. Every day, she sat down and did some school work. She kept going even when it was hard and she felt like giving up. “A lot of time I would have given up. But there were just too many people who knew about it. I didn’t want to let them down,” Joyce said. Her hard work paid off when she finally graduated.

Joyce encourages anyone who’s considering challenging themselves like she did. “Keep going. Don’t give up,” she said. “You might feel like giving up, but just hang in there because the end will come and you will win.”

1.How old was Joyce when she first went to university?

A 90.

B 17.

C 24.

D 18.

解析：选D。D数字计算题。根据第一段的“It’s 2023 now. Joyce is a 90-year-old mother of nine”可知乔伊斯出生于1933年；结合第二段的“Back in 1951, Joyce went to university”可知乔伊斯上大学的时候18岁。故选D。

2.What does the underlined part mean?

A Her life was hard.

B She was very sad.

C She was very busy.

D Her family was unlucky.

解析：选C。C句意理解题。根据划线部分前文“A few years later, she married again and had six more children”和后文“never stopped thinking about her unfinished college degree”可知乔伊斯再婚，又生了6个孩子，加上之前还有3个孩子，她需要照顾9个孩子，由此推断她非常忙。故选C。

3.Joyce’s children _______ when she wanted to get a degree.

A let her down

B backed her up

C laughed at her

D learned from her

解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据第三段第一、二句“Years later, Joyce mentioned this feeling of unfinished business to her children. They bought her a computer and encouraged her to finish the degree.”可知，当乔伊斯向孩子们提到她那未完成的学位时，孩子们给她买了一台电脑，鼓励她完成学位。即孩子们支持了她。let sb. down让某人失望；back sb. up支持某人；laugh at sb.嘲笑某人；learn from sb.向某人学习。故选B。

4.Which is TRUE about Joyce?

A She was lazy.

B She worked hard.

C She did nothing every day.

D She never thought of giving up.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第三段的“Every day, she sat down and did some school work”以及“She kept going”等可知，她非常努力。故选B。

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A Grandma Gets Lots Of Grandchildren

B Great-Grandma Gets Degree At Old Age

C 90-Year-Old Graduate Wins Special Prize

D You Will Be Different If You Do Something New

解析：选B。B主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，文章主要讲述了90岁的乔伊斯努力获得大学学位的故事。故选B。