Have you ever seen guide dogs? Guide dogs are the best “helping hands” for the blind. Most guide dogs are both their     1     and their good friends. What makes dogs become guide dogs? The elementary requirement (基本要求) is that a guide dog must be     2     and have a good temper (脾气). Second, one of the dog’s parents must be a guide dog.     3    , when they are two months old, they would be sent to the training center. People there train them how     4     along with people. Then they can understand how to help people. Fourth, when they are one year old, they have to return to the     5     center to learn more skills. Then, if they pass the test, they     6     guide dogs.

Guide dogs are helpful to the blind. Can other animals help     7     people, too? In the USA, people trained some monkeys to     8     people who can’t move anymore. The monkeys can normally (正常情况下) put a CD into the CD player, open the fridge to get something, turn on the light and even hand the owner the TV remote control.     9     these are simple tasks (任务), the monkeys have to receive about 18 to 24 months’ training to be able to do     10    .

Animals are not only our pets, but also our best helpers.

Weather is one of the things we are unable to control.     1     But if we study the signs around us correctly, we can tell changes about the weather. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting (天气预报).

Sometimes distant (遥远的) objects such as hills seem to be very clear and near. This is a sign of much water vapour (水蒸气) in the air.     2    

    3     With the coming of wet weather, people will feel uncomfortable in their bones. Some birds fly high if fine weather is coming but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way.

    4     Such rainbows always come in the evenings and the following days will become clear. If the stars twinkle (闪烁) clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a frog (青蛙) appears in the morning, just about sunrise, then the day will be warm. Instead, if a frog appears in the evening, we should be careful.     5    

How do animals live in the cold winter? They do many different and amazing things to get through the winter.

Some of them “migrate (迁徙)”. This means they travel to other places where the weather is warmer or they can find food.     1     The trip can be dangerous, no some animals travel in large groups. Other kinds of birds fly alone.

Some animals keep active in winter. They must fit the changing weather.     2     To keep warm, animals may grow thicker fur in autumn.

Some animals begin to collect their winter food in autumn. When it’s very cold, they stay in their homes.     3     Squirrels collect seeds and nuts. They’re safe and warm in their homes in winter.

    4     They’re in hibernation (冬眠). They eat much food in autumn. In winter they eat nothing. They’re very hungry when they wake up in spring. They usually look for food in March or April.     5    

Winter is cold in northern countries. Some animals are smart. They can spend winter safely.

5 . Lightning (闪电) is shocking, and it happens all over the world! Scientists think that there are more than three million lightning strikes (袭击) every day in the world—that’s thirty strikes every second.

Lightning can also be very dangerous. Every year, lightning kills people because it can start big fires or because it reaches temperatures up to 28,000 degrees centigrade. American Roy Sullivan, who worked in a park, holds the record for surviving the most lightning strikes. Between 1942 and 1983, he was hit seven times!

So, why does lightning strike? Lightning strikes happen when ice and water in clouds rub (摩擦) together, and cause atmospheric (大气层的) changes. When this happens, it creates a static charge (静电电荷). Lightning can strike inside the cloud, between two clouds and between a cloud and Earth. It’s the last type of strike that is the most dangerous for humans. About 1,000 people get struck by lightning every year in the United States, and about 100 of them die as a result.

Lightning is certainly not something to toy with. When lightning strikes, it’s best to stay inside a large building. To stay safe, do not stand under trees, on hills or near water. Trees attract lightning. Also, do not lie down on the ground, otherwise the electricity may go through you and cause a heart disease.

7 . 赵钱孙李，周吴郑王，《百家姓》大家都知道。英文中的姓氏也是很有意思的，那么你知道它们是怎么来的吗？来一起了解一下吧！请阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的A、B、C三个选项中，选出一个最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

What’s your family name? Everyone(每个人) has a family name. In China, the family name is the first name, but in English countries the family name is the last name. Do you know how English people get their family names? And what do they mean(意思是)?

First, some family names are from the place(地点) of people’s homes. If a man lives on or near a hill, his family name may be Hill. In England, people’s family names may be Wood or Lake, because they live near the wood or lake(树林或湖). Second, family names are from a person’s job. If a person is a cook, he may be Mr. Cook. Third, many people get their family names from their fathers’ given names. If you hear the family name “Jackson”, you will know that he is the son of Jack.

A talk show is a TV program. People talk about different topics (话题) on it. The program is very popular because most topics are about people’s life. The TV talk show became popular in 1948. At that time, not each family had a television. From 1949 to 1973, about half of the TV shows were talk shows. And many of the talk show hosts became big stars

Why are there so many talk shows?

Because talk is cheap. A talk show costs less than $100,000 an episode (一集), but a soap opera takes more than $1 million an episode. Still, it takes a lot of work.

These years, there are some successful talk shows in China. People have fun while watching — this is the most important for a TV show.

At 00:23 on Oct 16th, 2021, the Shenzhou XIII spacecraft rose into the sky. Three Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu set off for the Tiangong space station.

During their six-month stay, they set up robotic arms and did medical experiments among other tasks. Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to take a spacewalk.

It’s not an easy job to do all these things. Chinese astronauts get difficult training before going to space. All the Chinese astronauts are excellent pilots with hundreds or even thousands of hours of flight time. They also receive hundreds of classes to prepare for space travel.

“We may have to repeat（重复）such training every single day for years or decades,” said Wang. “But there is no ‘give up’ in our dictionary.”

Do you know? When Chinese astronauts do the high-G training, they have a red button on hand. If they feel too sick and can’t bear（忍受）it anymore, they can press it to stop the spinning machine. But for more than 20 years since China set up its first astronaut team in 1998, not a single person has ever used it. “The ‘stop’ button never exists（存在）in our hearts,” Wang Yaping said.

Have you ever heard of Iceland? Iceland is a European country. It used to     1     one of the richest countries in the world. Its total area (总面积) is 103 thousand square kilometers.

Summer in Iceland is very short, which lasts     2     June to August. Its winter starts from September     3     ends next May. In 1980, Iceland started to develop its tourist industry (旅游业). Forty years     4     passed since then. In summer, plenty of tourists from all     5     the world come here to have a visit.     6     winter, people in Iceland have to spend the long dark night. They usually have a lot of special activities, such     7     skating, riding motorbikes and having parties     8     have an exciting night.

Because     9     a long cold winter, Iceland has a short growing season. Food problem was always a headache     10     Iceland in the past. Now the problem is being solved.