Self-Portrait
Alia was disappointed to find herself in the drawing studio. She had been sick with the flu during the week when everyone else got to pick their classes. She had hoped for Astronomy or Marine Biology, but they were full by the time she got to choose. She loved everything about science, from the way it used facts and formulas to how it revealed the basic nature of things. But art was so un-scientific.
The first class project was self-portraits. Some students were drawing self-portraits using mirrors. Others were working from photographs. Alia glanced at the incomplete sketches, feeling like a cat in a dog show. But she had no choice. Hesitantly, she lifted a pencil, only to pause before the canvas. Confusion and reluctance were evidently written on her face; she had no idea how to proceed with her strokes.
The teacher came up to Alia’s easel (画架). Seemingly having noticed her trouble, he sat next to her.
“Every portrait begins with a circle,” he said. “Then you create a series of lines.”
To demonstrate, he drew a group of small, quick portraits. He began each one with a circle, some straight lines, and a triangle to determine where the eyes, nose, and chin should go. To Alia’s amazement, each portrait on the paper took form. Alia had never thought about it, but the features of everyone’s face were in the same spots. “Go ahead and give it a try.” The teacher handed the pencil back to her.
Taking a deep breath, Alia began her own self-portrait. She drew the basic form of a head, the way she had been shown. From there, she used lines to plot the features of her face. She had to take note of each detail, with each stroke, line and curve demanding her close attention. One wrong measurement could throw off the whole portrait.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The process took patience and precision.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Admiring her work, Alia suddenly realized drawing was just what she had hoped for.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Every Friday night the Chevron gas station food mart offers a discount on the leftover food. To ensure the best selection, my mother and I pile into our old car and
Chevron shopping
Grocery shopping at Chevron has its
I’m
And that is why I hold on to the idea of
| A．settle down | B．pull up | C．hang about | D．show off |
| A．award | B．share | C．change | D．credit |
| A．continued | B．started | C．ran | D．worked |
| A．encounter | B．match | C．inspection | D．visit |
| A．dismiss | B．develop | C．bend | D．accept |
| A．but | B．so | C．when | D．unless |
| A．purposes | B．drawbacks | C．features | D．grounds |
| A．excited | B．guilty | C．grateful | D．anxious |
| A．declines | B．suffers | C．hurts | D．struggles |
| A．threatens | B．promises | C．agrees | D．pretends |
| A．shocked | B．confused | C．embarrassed | D．bored |
| A．avoid | B．join | C．arrange | D．cancel |
| A．simplicity | B．generosity | C．integrity | D．flexibility |
| A．pride | B．bitterness | C．heat | D．sweat |
| A．figure out | B．wait for | C．agree on | D．break off |
3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Who lives above the speakers?| A．Mrs. Green. | B．Mr. Black. | C．Mr. Jones. |
| A．In another city. | B．In his apartment. | C．At the fire department. |
| A．Phone for help. |
| B．Break down the door. |
| C．Stop the water from reaching his carpet. |
4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. When was the last time the speakers were in a theater?| A．January. | B．March. | C．July. |
| A．Cats. | B．Romeo and Juliet. | C．Hamilton. |
5 . If you want to make a good first impression in that important business meeting, it is no longer about wearing the sharpest suit or the firmest handshake but about making sure that the little Zoom window with your face in it projects professionalism. But this isn’t always easy.
• Don’t hold your phone.
If you absolutely must join the meeting on your phone, then don’t hold it in your hand.
•
How the light falls on our faces counts. So make sure that you don’t have a big, direct source of light behind you, because all it will do is make your face dark and hard to see — and that’s the most important part!
• A professional microphone makes up for bad video.
The built-in microphones inside our computers can be pretty good, but they’re never truly great.
• Don’t rely on the default (默认) camera.
| A．Lighting makes the difference. |
| B．Do put on make-up on your face. |
| C．Instead, obtain a phone stand to hold it. |
| D．The ideal position for your camera is at your eye-level. |
| E．What can you do to ensure a successful business meeting? |
| F．So it’s worth spending the money on a dedicated external microphone. |
| G．So what can you do to make sure your video calls project the right image? |
6 . Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas. Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into the modern age, for example the ability to recognise fake news.
Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. In nature, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.
Critical thinkers rigorously (严厉地) question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They will always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire picture and are open to finding that they do not.
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is to decide what you are aiming to achieve and then make a decision based on a range of possibilities.
Once you have clarified that aim for yourself you should use it as the starting point in all future situations requiring thought and, possibly, further decision making. Where needed, make your workmates, family or those around you aware of your intention to pursue this goal. You must then discipline yourself to keep on track until changing circumstances mean you have to revisit the start of the decision-making process.
However, there are things that get in the way of simple decision making. We all carry with us a range of likes and dislikes, learnt behaviours and personal preferences developed throughout our lives; they are the hallmarks of being human. A major contribution to ensuring we think critically is to be aware of these personal characteristics, preferences and biases (偏见) and make allowance for them when considering possible next steps.
The more clearly, we are aware of ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, the more likely our critical thinking will be productive.
1. What will you be by using critical thinking?| A．A creative philosopher. | B．A passive recipient of information. |
| C．An independent organizer. | D．An active learner. |
| A．Setting up direct targets. | B．Coming up with imaginative ideas. |
| C．Analysing original reasons. | D．Making various possible decisions. |
| A．Personal preferences will change critical thinking. |
| B．Individual behaviours will stop you pursuing the goal. |
| C．Tastes and preferences vary from individual to individual. |
| D．Critical thinking gets in the way of simple decision making. |
| A．What is Critical Thinking? |
| B．How does Critical Thinking work? |
| C．How is Critical Thinking Productive? |
| D．What effect does Critical Thinking cause? |
7 . There’s more to the jungle than just The Jungle Book. Let’s find out.
| Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes launched the legend of an orphaned (孤儿的) boy who is adopted by apes in the African jungle. Named Tarzan, the boy eventually has to prove himself on two fronts: the animal kingdom and the even more threatening world of humans. |
| Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Brian Robeson is only 13 years old when his bush plane crashes in the forest. Now he must survive — with nothing but a hatchet (短柄小斧). This book won the 1987 Newberry Award and has since been published in four sequels (续集). |
| The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Rudyard Kipling published this book in 1894 as a collection of stories about a “man-cub” Mowgli who grows up with wolves in the forest. Here’s your chance to meet the original conceptions of these beloved characters yourself: from Baloo the bear to Bagheera the black panther and the infamous tiger She re Khan. |
| The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle An expedition to an Amazon basin in South America to find prehistoric dinosaurs goes wrong in this 1912 novel by Sir Arthur Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is nowhere to be found, but this book does introduce the disreputable character of Professor Challenger, the founder of the mission. |
1. Which book won Newberry Award?
| A．Tarzan of the Apes. | B．Hatchet. |
| C．The Jungle Book. | D．The Lost World. |
| A．Edgar Rice Burroughs. | B．Gary Paulsen. |
| C．Rudyard Kipling. | D．Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. |
| A．Brian Robeson. | B．Mowgli. |
| C．Sherlock Holmes. | D．Professor Challenger. |
8 . Grail, LLC., a health care company, announced the results from the pathfinder study after using a blood test as part of a multi-cancer early detection screening. Researchers presented their findings at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022 in Paris.
The pathfinder study involved 6,662 people who were 50 years older, which researchers believe have a higher risk of developing cancer. Part of the study involved participants being followed for 12 months after enrolling in the study. Researchers detected a cancer signal in 92 participants with 35 participants actually diagnosed with cancers. Of the confirmed cancer patients, 71% of participants had cancer types that had no routine cancer screening available. Nearly half of non-recurrent cancers were found in the early stages.
Researchers said the blood test had a 97% accuracy in detecting cancer which was followed up by a professional diagnosis from a doctor. Some of the cancers detected were Stage I cancers of the liver, stomach, and Stage II pancreatic (胰腺的), bone, and oropharyngeal (口咽的) cancers.
The blood test, also known as Galleri, uses next-generation sequencing technology to analyze patterns of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the bloodstream, which can carry cancer-specific information. DNA methylation is a process used by cells to regulate gene expression. If a cancer signal is detected, Galleri will pinpoint where in the body the cancer is coming from to help health care providers determine the appropriate next steps for patient treatment.
“The PATHFINDER study is an exciting first step towards fundamental change in the approach to cancer screening,” Dr. Deb Schrag of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York said in a news release. “The study found cancer in about 1% of participants including types for which there is no established screening method. The study demonstrated the practicability of this paradigm (范例) and solid test performance.”
1. Who do researchers think suffer from cancers easily?| A．Children. | B．The middle and the old. |
| C．The adult. | D．The senior. |
| A．Confirm. | B．Describe. | C．Announce. | D．Interpret. |
| A．Demanding. | B．Promising. | C．Costly. | D．Well-paid. |
| A．Stages of researching cancers. |
| B．Methods of cancer early detection. |
| C．Blood test can avoid the risk of cancers. |
| D．Blood test can detect multiple cancers early. |
9 . An icon (偶像) from my childhood, Linda Ronstadt announced this week that she has Parkinson’s disease and has lost her ability to sing. One of her songs that I was singing for a long time without realizing it was, “Poor, poor, poor, me, poor, poor, pitiful me.” However, she is doing anything but saying, poor me. She is embracing (欣然接受) her accomplishments and bringing enlightenment (启迪) to the world by sharing her journey. It is wonderful that they are recording her voice via interviews for the generations to come, as she will more than likely lose her ability to speak clearly. I have enjoyed listening to these interviews.
As a young girl, I had dreams about being a journalist one day. I put those dreams away with reality, along with my writing. I was singing poor, poor, poor me for a long, long time. Once I changed my song, opened myself up to the world and allowed things to flow my way... I continue to be constantly amazed.
People actually notice what I have to say. Yes, I have found my voice...and I like it! I am overjoyed each week when over 700 followers of The Year of the Cicadas blog read what I have floating around in my head. If you are reading this blog, thank you. It really does matter to me.
Last week I was asked to submit a blog for consideration to the Huffington Post. Do you know they have over 43,240,000 readers every month?! I have no idea if it will be accepted or not, that is not the point. The point is that I was asked and they wrote me back and said,“Perfect. Thank you so much for doing the work. It was worth it.”Wow, this is a big moment for me, and for that young girl who one day long ago dreamed about writing an article that would be published.
1. How does the author begin the text?| A．By providing an example. | B．By conveying an opinion. |
| C．By introducing a conclusion. | D．By describing a saying. |
| A．Her dream changed. | B．She had many readers. |
| C．Her mental state changed. | D．She began to learn singing. |
| A．Her article got recognized. | B．Her blog was extremely popular. |
| C．Her opinion received support. | D．Her work was published. |
| A．It is the first step that costs. |
| B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．Things come true to those who dream. |
| D．The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill. |
10 . Developing friendships can make people’s lives richer and more meaningful.
Reducing stress and improving quality of life
Medical News Today, reports that people with close friends have higher self esteem. These relationships cause the release of the oxytocin hormone(荷尔蒙) and significantly reduce levels of stress, depression and anxiety.
Psychologist Lee Chambers explains on his blog that socializing helps protect people from mental health disorders. The emotional and mental benefits of friendships are reflected in the sense of companionship and joy of cooperation that friendship motivates.
Biological need for connection
Some have a harder time making friends than others. It may sometimes seem like there are those who are naturals at social interactions and at initiating conversations.
The bottom line is that having friends can promote a healthier life in every way. Of course, like anything worthwhile, these relationships require some attention and nurturing(培养). But for those who have experienced the joy of a real friendship,
| A．Staying healthy, mind, body and soul |
| B．it is likely to reduce the risk for diseases |
| C．Close friendships lead to a higher quality of life |
| D．Creating friendly relationships and closeness with others |
| E．it is clear that the benefits are far greater than the investment |
| F．The reality is that humans are social beings naturally connected |
| G．Science shows close friendships can improve people’s health and happiness |
