Jenny’s Choice

Background

Jenny Lawson was an actress and her husband Gilbert is a film director. Now Jenny stays at home, in their nice house, but she wants more. She wants to live a little...before she...! Gilbert loves Jenny, but a wife must stay at home, he thinks. Suddenly something happens to Gilbert, and then he understands Jenny.

Other Characters in the Play

Henry, a young man, a film student Laura, a friend of Jenny’s from school

A waitress at the airport cafe two women and one man at the airport

A British Airways man at the airport check-in desk

Performance Notes

Scene 1: In a garden with a table, two chairs, breakfast (with bread), a book.

Scene 2: At the airport cafe, with a table, two chairs, a big bag, a coffee.

Scene 3: A check-in desk, some plane tickets.

Jenny must have a watch.

Scene 1

It is a hot summer day. Jenny and Gilbert Lawson are having breakfast at a table in their garden.Gilbert is reading a book.

Jenny: Gilbert, can I come with you? To America?

Gilbert (He is reading. Looking up): What?

        …
16. What might Jenny Lawson be now?

A．She is an actress.	B．She is a film director.
C．She is a housewife.	D．She is a waitress.

17. How many characters are there in the play?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Seven.

D．Nine.

18. In which part of a magazine may we read this passage?

A．Stories.

B．History.

C．Education.

D．Nature.

①As a grandma, who played on the Banff girls’ ice hockey (冰球) team 50 years ago, I finally worked up the courage to play the sport with my 8-year-old grandson and his dad.

②“Grandma scored,” my grandson shouted.

③“Of course she did.” my son-in-law said. “She was on a hockey team a really long time ago.”

④My heart melted.

⑤Memories of playing hockey as a teenager began to flood my mind. In the mid-1970s, two brave Banff High School teachers started our girls’ hockey team. We had many difficulties to overcome before our first game: learning the rules, skating on the ice as fast as we could and passing, and mastering more skills.

⑥Our first real game was against a team from Jasper. They skated fast. They passed and zipped up and down the ice like superstars. And then our captain got pushed into the boards hard.

⑦I stood there with my mouth open. My teammates wore similar expressions, and our coach speechless. Then, as I was making a pass to a teammate, I got a hit. I got up on my knees and gasped (喘气) for air. That hurt. A lot.

⑧“It’s a long way from your heart,” our coach shouted. “Get up.” Those were the exact words I needed to hear to stop the tears and get back in the game.

⑨We lost 13-0. We should have been sad about it but we weren’t. We were so thankful that we could all still walk to the dressing room. A month later we played with Jasper again. We lost 4-0 but they hadn’t killed us this time-both physically or on the scoreboard. A proud loss! I thought. Our final game against Jasper was at the Easter Tournament on my home ice. And guess what, we scored a goal—the only goal of the game. We won!

⑩Next month, my grandson will play on the ice where we beat Jasper. I can’t wait to walk down to him and show him our team picture while stepping onto the ice wasn’t as wobby (摇晃的) for me as it is today.

19. Who found the courage to play the sport with an 8-year old boy?

A．His grandpa.

B．His grandma.

C．His father.

D．His mother.

20. How did the writer feel after they lost the game again?

A．It’s a piece of cake.	B．No pain, no gain.
C．Do your work with all your heart.	D．Hold their head high.

21. Which is the following best shows the structure of the passage?

A．①/②③/④⑤⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩	B．①②③④/⑤⑥⑦⑧⑨/⑩
C．①/②③④/⑤⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩	D．①②③④/⑤⑥⑦⑧/⑨⑩

22. Why did the writer show a team picture to the boy?

A．Because the grandma would share her experience after watching the game.

B．Because the boy’s father had overcome many difficulties to fight against Jasper.

C．Because the team won the game with the help of the coach and the writer.

D．Because they are from the same school team and compete on the same ground.

You’ve probably followed a few cute dogs and cats on social media. However, are you aware that the popularity of AI generated (生成) pets has risen nowadays? They are just as cute as real dogs and cats but also show human-like characters.

Chai Dada (not her real name), 21, runs an AI-generated dog account called “Zhuangzhuangya!” and has already got more than 10,000 followers. Her AI-generated pet Zhuangzhuang is a dog with a big stomach who likes to eat and work out. “Zhuangzhuang is another me, in fact,” Chai said. “Its life and mood basically reflect my own.”

In 2023, the rise of AI tools made Chai very curious. She used it to generate different animals that acted like humans and posted them on Xiaohongshu for fun. “Gradually I came to focus on Zhuangzhuang because it is the cutest and represents me the most,” Chai commented.

To make the character livelier, the young designer places Zhuangzhuang in various daily lives now. For example, as young people pay much attention to “hui nan tian”—the super humid weather in southern China in spring, Chai posted images of Zhuangzhuang mopping a wet floor, with interesting pictures and short words. “It’s wet everywhere at home, ” many readers have expressed their feelings and “pat” it.

“Many scenes may seem normal, but when a very lifelike and cute pet appears in these familiar scenes, it looks interesting,” Chai said.

Since Zhuangzhuang closely resembles (像) a human in a dog’s body, many followers have come to believe in its real existence. Aiming to broaden her reach, Chai expressed a will to explore deeper into AI to bring her AI pet to life not just in pictures but also in videos.

She also observed (观察) that more and more young people like her are becoming AI pet bloggers, which will raise more competitions in this area. To attract more fans, Chai want to develop Zhuangzhuang into an intellectual one and create related cultural and creative products such as dolls and stickers.

23. Who is Zhuangzhuang according to this passage?

A．A girl who owns dogs.	B．An AI-generated dog.
C．A dog with a big stomach.	D．Another Chai Dada.

24. What does “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The daily life.

B．The wet weather.

C．Interesting pictures.

D．Short words.

25. What does Chai think of the characters she created?

A．They are really the cutest but never show her life and feeling the most.

B．They attract more and more young people because of their real voice.

C．They will be shown to people not only in pictures but also in videos.

D．They must create different AI competitions with people in the future.

26. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．New pets find new followers.	B．New pets and their competitions.
C．Interesting research on dogs.	D．Creative products of New pets.

Can you imagine putting your life up for a sale? Last month, a class from Taiyuan Lingde Middle School held a “life charity sale”.

At the beginning, every student got 10,000 yuan, which represents their lifetime. Then the teacher showed the list of things the students could choose to “sell”. It included things like close friends, a wonderful city library, a meal with parents or letters from students’ dream high schools. Students chose one or more items. But the sale activity could end at any moment, which meant your “life” was over.

Liu Yuxuan paid for close friends for 5,000 yuan. I was poor at making friends in the primary school, so I didn’t have any friends and felt lonely,” said Liu. “Now I realize the importance of friendship. I hope to find some like-minded people to do something big together in the future.”

Kang Jiaxin said he wanted to become famous, so he bought a letter from his dream school. “My idols are those who made contributions to China’s scientific development, like Deng Jiaxian. I want to be someone like them. Becoming famous is just a result, so what I really care about is to work hard in science. I really want to learn more.” Kang said.

Zhou Zheng bought a library at the highest price. “A quiet library is the best place to read books and get knowledge,” Zhou said. “I just want a place like that for myself.”

Yang Yang ________________

In the end, 17 students didn’t get anything. “I hesitated for a while and now it’s a pity!” said a student.

After the activity, students explored the trade-balance that come with life. They learned that achieving dreams means putting in time and effort. At the same time, we should catch opportunities at once and just do it.

27. According to the list, what might you “buy” in the “life charity sale”?

A．Our best friends and family members.	B．A wonderful library in your new school.
C．Meals with your teachers and classmates.	D．A letter from your dream high school.

28. How much did Zhou Zheng paid for a library?

A．1,000 yuan.

B．5,000 yuan.

C．10,000 yuan.

D．Nothing.

29. What does the underlined word “trade-balance” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The reason why students put their life up for the sale.

B．The price that represents students’ life in the activity.

C．The moment when the charity sale activity would end.

D．The chance students catch to pay for the things or not.

30. If you were Yang Yang, what would you pay for in the charity sale activity? Why? (本题请根据上下文进行填写，不能抄袭原文，词数不超过20词。)
Yang Yang would pay for ________________________________