“Mom! I’m home!” John happily said and ran into the kitchen. His mom was making cookies near the window. Outside, a robin was singing. Pop-Pop, John’s grandpa, who lived with them after John’s grandma died, came shuffling through the door. Pop-Pop said, “When the robin sings, spring is here.” John’s mom added, “Tomorrow, John, let’s do the annual spring cleaning.”
The next day John and his mom cleaned the house. When looking at Pop-pop’s chair, John’s mom said, “That old chair has to go. We’ll buy Pop-Pop a new one. Let’s take it to the roadside. Tomorrow the garbage truck will pick it up.” John agreed because the chair was worn. As they attempted to move the chair, Pop-Pop came. He tried to stop John and his mom, saying he didn’t need a new one. Finally, John’s mom let go of the chair and said, “We’ll discuss it tonight when Matt gets home.” Matt, John’s dad, was still at work.
With a sigh of relief, the old man sank into his chair. “Pop-Pop, why not get rid of this old chair?” John asked when his mother left the room. “You all don’t understand, John,” Pop-Pop whispered. “I sat in this chair, with your grandma right here, when I asked her to marry me. It was so long ago. But when I sit there, I feel she’s near. And the night your father was born, I sat in this chair, too. I was so happy when they placed the tiny baby into my arms.” As Pop-Pop continued telling his connection with the chair, John understood this chair was more like a friend to him.
That night, however, when John and Pop-Pop were asleep, John’s parents carried the chair to the roadside. It was a starless night. Spring had moved away temporarily, and snow fell silently and covered Pop-Pop’s chair. The next morning, when John came downstairs, he saw Pop-Pop standing by the window and looking outside. John followed his sad look. Snow-covered, the chair stood out on the street.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
The noise of the truck pulling up to the house shocked John into action.
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Paragraph 2:
And then John's mom said sorry to Pop-Pop and decided to get his chair back.
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2 . Song Lam, or Waiata to some of her New Zealand Maori friends, argues that Mandarin and Maori have much in common, particularly the five vowels(元音) which sound the same in both languages. And the mythological(神话) figure Maui of Maori legend has a Chinese “twin brother”, the Monkey King. Both could turn themselves into any shape or figure at any time.
Some academics claim that one of the native tribes in Taiwan, China speaks a language similar to Maori, notably in the naming of numbers. Evidence gleaned by archaeologists(考古学家) shows an ancient link between the peoples of Australasia and Taiwan, with the native language of Taiwan having similarities to the prehistoric Australasian language.
Confused by Maori place names and customs when she first moved to New Zealand, Song Lam spent eight years researching and three years writing her book, The Maori of New Zealand, which is believed to be the first Chinese-language publication to include Maori words, values and customs. The 120-page book, including 10 pages of photos and maps, descbribes Maori legends, traditions, history and folk tales.
Song Lam was inspired to write the book in 1990 when she tried to sign up for an education course in New Zealand and was asked for her comments on a local historical event, which she knew nothing about. She involved her two sons in her project and research after explaining to them the stories behind Maori place names. The younger boy, aged 10, used his skill at drawing to contribute an historic map of Maori tribes in New Zealand.
“Both Chinese and Maori like to present a gift when visiting others or receiving warm reception,” Lam says. “My book will be a good gift when I visit a Maori community.”
1. According to Song Lam, what do Mandarin and Maori have in common?| A．Fairy tales of the same character. | B．Confusing place names and customs. |
| C．Similar pronunciation of vowels. | D．The magic power of the Monkey King. |
| A．Controlled. | B．Gathered. |
| C．Grown. | D．Switched. |
| A．To tell his curiosity about Maori. |
| B．To prove his unique talent in painting. |
| C．To stress the importance of education. |
| D．To show his help with the publication. |
| A．Cultures Share Language Bond |
| B．The First Book about Maori |
| C．Adaptation to Life in New Zealand |
| D．Languages Bridge Misunderstanding |
3 . It was in the eighth grade at the time that we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me
Later, after the test papers had been
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. I tried to explain about the pen, but all
| A．sobbed | B．shouted | C．whispered | D．cried |
| A．set aside | B．leaned over | C．turned back | D．put off |
| A．precious | B．extra | C．new | D．red |
| A．ink | B．work | C．reach | D．petrol |
| A．cut up | B．cut out | C．turned in | D．turned off |
| A．questioned | B．abandoned | C．trapped | D．dismissed |
| A．pick up | B．grow up | C．pass up | D．fade away |
| A．doubtful | B．helpful | C．responsible | D．ready |
| A．shared | B．stressed | C．discovered | D．collected |
| A．rebuilding | B．decorating | C．cheating | D．annoying |
| A．awfully | B．seriously | C．cheerfully | D．positively |
| A．pretended | B．meant | C．managed | D．chosen |
| A．what | B．that | C．which | D．whose |
| A．ever | B．never | C．right | D．well |
| A．a duty | B．a job | C．a service | D．a favor |
My wife, Megan, and I went out to dinner with an old friend who we had not seen for a while. There had been some talk of COVID-19 on the news, but it was early in the outbreak and people were still going about their daily routines. Even though everyone in group felt perfectly, we took precautions (预防): we washed our hands with soap and used hand sanitizer (洗手液), did not share food, and had no significantly close contact.
A few days later, our friend called and told us that she had tested positive for the coronavirus. She had felt some mild symptoms for a day or so after that dinner and was able to be tested because she is a doctor. On the following day, I started to feel a little tired and my head was a bit cloudy. I decided to stay in the master bedroom away from the rest of my family. The next morning, I woke up with a 39-degree fever. That was when we realized that I might have caught the virus from our friend.
At once, Megan called our state’s coronavirus hotline, who then called in our primary care doctor and the head of our local hospital system’s coronavirus team. We explained that we had been in contact with someone who had been tested positive, and I was having symptoms. They quickly approved me to receive a test at an urgent care center located 5 kilometer’s drive from my house. The result made my heart sink-I was also tested positive, and the local hospital didn’t have the facilities for my disease. As a mild case, I was recommended to stay home and quarantine (隔离) myself.
Following the doctor’s advice, Megan and I quarantined ourselves and our kids. With my symptoms developing, I started isolation in the bedroom, and the only interaction I had with Megan was when she brought in food. She slept on a small couch in our home office away from the kids’ rooms. She also minimized her contact with our kids in case she was carrying the virus.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Para.1:
We decided to call everyone we had contacted over the course of the past week.
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Para.2:
Though worried about the seriousness of the virus, I knew I had to be brave
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5 . My parents’ new dog Mercy would rush out of bed and go-go-go all day long. So when they brought home a Christmas tree, they expected
A few days before Christmas, Polly, my step mom, awoke early as usual. As she
Nature took
Mercy presented the problem, so Mercy provided the
| A．risk | B．chaos | C．fun | D．change |
| A．suddenly | B．naturally | C．gradually | D．immediately |
| A．used to | B．adapt to | C．react to | D．appeal to |
| A．left | B．found | C．heard | D．approached |
| A．dust | B．leaf | C．decoration | D．present |
| A．switch | B．tree | C．pet | D．alarm |
| A．waited | B．lay | C．appeared | D．moved |
| A．cleaned-up | B．fixed-up | C．chewed-up | D．used-up |
| A．failed | B．worked | C．counted | D．improved |
| A．discovered | B．wasted | C．gone | D．rescued |
| A．punishment | B．respect | C．comfort | D．pity |
| A．changed | B．remained | C．ended | D．repeated |
| A．love | B．answer | C．luck | D．food |
| A．guiltily | B．hopefully | C．regretfully | D．regularly |
| A．created | B．offered | C．explained | D．announced |
6 . “Music is where everything started,” Samira Horton says.
The rising hip-hop star uses music to share a message about bullying. “I was bullied a lot,” she says, “even today, especially because of my voice.” DJ Annie Red has a deep voice.
Annie Red believes that standing up to bullying is more important than ever.
| A．But she sees a brighter future ahead. |
| B．People have told her she sounds like a boy. |
| C．She encourages kids of all ages to stand up to bullying. |
| D．DJ Annie Red has performed at schools, festivals and Brooklyn Net games. |
| E．Her 2017 book, The Bully Stop, is based on her song “No You Won't Bully Me”. |
| F．The 13-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, is known to the world as DJ Annie Red. |
| G．That's because people can bully others on social media while hiding behind a username. |
7 . Many people think daydreaming is bad for their emotions and has negative effects on their life and those around them. It makes adapting to life very hard and brains work less effectively.
Contrary to common ideas, the brains of people who are daydreaming might not stop working, but may be working harder, new research has shown. Scientists scanned the brains of people lying inside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, as they pushed buttons or rested in turn. The scans showed that the “default (默认的) network” deep inside a human brain becomes more active during daydreaming.
In a surprise finding, the scans also showed strong activity in the executive network, the outlying region of the brain associated with complex problem-solving, says Professor Kalina Christoff, who is a co-author of the study. “People assume that when the mind wanders away, it just gets turned off—but we show the opposite. When it wanders, it is turned on.” says Christoff.
The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest, “People who let themselves daydream might not think in the same focused way as when performing a goal-oriented task, but they bring in more mental and brain resources,” says Christoff.
F. Diane Barth said at Psychology Today that the more we daydream, the more our brain is able to hold onto the task when we are being bombarded (轰炸) from all sides by all kinds of noises, information input, and conflicting demands. You're not trying to escape the task at hand; rather, you're trying to get rid of all of the information and stimuli (刺激物) that could pose as bothers.
According to Christoff, people typically spend one third of their waking time daydreaming. “It is a big part of our lives, but it has been largely ignored by science,” she says. “The study is the first to use MRIs to study brain activity during spontaneous thoughts and subjective experiences. Until now the only way is to use self-reports that are not always reliable.”
1. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Scientists. | B．Scans. | C．MRI machines. | D．Study subjects. |
| A．may help us get relaxed | B．may be beneficial to our health |
| C．may use less energy than focusing | D．may help us arrive at solutions faster |
| A．Daydreaming provides us with many stimuli. |
| B．Daydreaming is actually an act of concentration. |
| C．Daydreaming can make us forget unhappy things. |
| D．Daydreaming reminds us of more useful information. |
| A．MRIs are reliable to study brain activity. |
| B．People should spend more time daydreaming. |
| C．More studies about daydreaming need to be done. |
| D．People should make full use of daydreaming time. |
8 . The key to a successful garage sale is to get the word out. The best way of advertising your sale is to place an ad in the local newspaper. If you have a city and neighborhood paper, make sure you advertise in both. The ad should be large enough to stand out. It should also include information on where the sale is located with directions, the “hot" items you're selling and the time when the sale will start and end. An ad should be placed at least two days before the sale and run until the day of your event. That way people can plan their route to the sale in advance.
Signs must be another great way to inform your community. Post them where people gather, such as stores and community centers. Some businesses have a central bulletin board, which is the best place to advertise. Other places to post are at the local college or university campus. This is especially helpful if your sale is happening in August or early September when students have returned to school and are looking for cheap finds.
Post signs round your neighborhood. You should also place both ads and direction signs, especially if you're located on a side street without a major presence. Signs will attract and direct people. Just make sure your print is in bold letters and use large direction signs so that people can read the information from the front seat of their car.
1. You should place an ad at least two days before the sale so that people can ________.| A．get enough cash for the sale | B．compare prices of the items |
| C．select the items they will buy | D．decide on their route beforehand |
| A．Schools are nearby. | B．There are many stores. |
| C．Students often meet there. | D．More people gather there. |
| A．Colored signs are preferred. | B．Bold letters should be used. |
| C．Large pictures should be included. | D．Phone numbers should be provided. |
| A．Advertising Garage Sales | B．Advantages of Garage Sales |
| C．Importance of Garage Sales | D．Printing Ads for Garage Sales |
9 . When American Matt Stopera’s iPhone went missing, he thought, “Well, bad luck. These things happen.” One year later, Matt’s misfortune has turned to good fortune as he found a new friend and became an Internet celebrity in China.
You may already be familiar with this story since it spread on Weibo for weeks during the Spring Festival, but it started when Matt began seeing photos of a Chinese man in front of an orange tree on his photo stream (照片流). He wrote about it and some Chinese readers decided to see if they could find the mysterious man. They did. It turns out that “Brother Orange,” as he became known, owned a restaurant in Guangdong and the iPhone he was using, a gift from a nephew, was Matt’s old phone.
Matt and Brother Orange began messaging each other and a friendship blossomed with Matt invited to China to feast at Brother Orange’s restaurant on his delicious Hakkacuisine (客家菜). Matt was also overwhelmed by the warmth of the millions of Chinese who were following the story. When he opened a Weibo account he had 22 million followers almost overnight, many of them inviting him to their hometowns and offering to be his tour guide.
Matt’s story is another example of how powerful the Internet and social networking has become in bringing people together. But there is a darker side to this story and that involves how Matt’s missing iPhone turned up in China. Over three million smart-phones were stolen in America last year. Because of identification numbers, these phones can’t be used in America, so they are sent to other countries and many of them end up in China, where they can be re-activated. This is why Matt and Brother Orange could share the same iCloud account.
You should keep this in mind when buying a second-hand phone and check the serial number to see that it has not been stolen. Finding a friend through social networking is wonderful, but using a stolen phone isn’t really the best way to make the connection.
1. What happened to Matt one year after he lost his phone?| A．He was fortunate enough to get his phone back. | B．He became a famous figure on American website. |
| C．He gained friendship and became popular in China. | D．He lost another phone because of his iCloud account. |
| A．Brother Orange’s photo was found on the Internet. |
| B．Chinese readers tried their best to find Brother Orange. |
| C．Brother Orange received an iPhone from his nephew. |
| D．Brother Orange contacted Matt and invited him to China. |
| A．cautiously | B．enthusiastically | C．anxiously | D．humorously |
| A．It’s wonderful to find a friend through social net-working. |
| B．A stolen phone is the best way to make connections. |
| C．People should be careful when buying a second-hand phone. |
| D．Matt and Brother Orange set a good example to us. |
10 . Childhood is particularly important for learning. We obviously can't do all the work as every child is different. However, we're hoping that these learning apps for kids can help!
ClassDojo
Price: $2.99
Download on Amazon App Store
ClassDojo is one of a few virtual classroom style learning apps. Using this app, parents, students, and teachers can all interact with one another. Unlike many, it doesn't replace the classroom experience but acts more as a positive reinforcement (强化) and communication tool to help keep everyone on the same page. The most important thing is that you'll need to find teachers who would want to use this kind of tool.
Cram.com Flashcards
Price: $ 169. 4 per year/$29. 95 per month
Download on Ubuntu Software
Cram.com Flashcards is a study app. It allows you to create flashcards about any subject. This is a great study aid for almost anybody. The app features cross-platform syncing (同步), and provides access to over 75 million flashcards that others have made, and it works both offline and online.
Duolingo
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Download on George Play
Duolingo is one of the best learning apps for kids when it comes to learning a new language. It has a variety of language supports, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Irish, Danish, and even English. What makes the app so great is that it's completely free to download and use.
DragonBox series
Price: $24. 99 or $27. 99
Download on App Store
The DragonBox series are a set of education games that help kids learn basic math. There are five learning apps for kids in total. All five of them deal with numbers to some extent. Math is hard to understand sometimes so it might be good to teach these concepts via the app. All five games require an up-front payment, but none of them have in-app purchases.
1. When using ClassDojo, you should ________.| A．keep up with others | B．get support from teachers |
| C．use it in your classroom | D．be able to make flashcards |
| A．$149. 75. | B．$75. | C．$29. 95. | D．$169. 4. |
| A．Learn high-level math in a fun way. | B．Figure out difficult math problems. |
| C．Design educational games about math. | D．Master math concepts through games. |
