It was our first winter in Chicago. Just as the animals were hibernating (冬眠), it seemed that so were our new neighbors. As newcomers, we felt alone.
Then something happened. It all began with a simple request from our eight-year-old daughter. “Mommy, let's put up a Christmas tree at home. ”
At first, we didn't pay too much attention to this request, for we had never put up a Christmas tree. But my daughter's repeated request made us go ahead with this first step: loaded with layers of clothing to fight the unfamiliar cold, we tasked ourselves with finding a tree for our daughter.
When we finally selected our tree, we realized we didn't have a car big enough to get it home. Of course, we had not considered that. It was our first time. We had no choice but to carry it home. We had walked only a few steps when a gentleman in our neighborhood stopped his truck and offered us a ride home. Our first friend.
The Christmas tree was propped up (支起) in our living area but it was too dark. We needed Christmas lights! So, the next evening, we went to a store and asked for lights. The storekeeper, who, after getting over the surprise of our seemingly silly questions, explained to us that we needed multi-colored lights. Thanking the kind soul, we left with our lights and his warmth. Our second friend.
That night, we carefully wound the lights around the tree and excitedly held our breaths for the beauty of the first glow. Still, it looked like something was missing: small ornaments (装 饰) . Where would we get them? One lady across the street had a breathtaking tree carefully placed in a window for all to see. Every night, I stood behind the curtain, spending unnatural amounts of time studying the bells and whistles in her tree.
注意：1. 续写词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One evening, seeing the lady clearing snow off her sidewalk, I made a decision.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . It's 8:30 a. m. , traffic at full-flow.
For ten minutes I
Her age-cracked mouth is closed firm, but the lips
A boy often appears next to her and whispers a few words in her ear. She
The traffic
As they finally set foot on the sidewalk on the other side, their
I watch with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye: those who bring
| A．watch | B．leave | C．imagine | D．keep |
| A．build | B．cross | C．block | D．clear |
| A．position | B．rest | C．entrance | D．break |
| A．move | B．tremble | C．ache | D． shut |
| A．smiles | B．cries | C．frowns | D．sighs |
| A．gap | B．difference | C．trust | D．contrast |
| A．dreaming | B．helping | C．struggling | D．hesitating |
| A．thins | B．grows | C．speeds | D．flows |
| A．patting | B．facing | C．calling | D．leading |
| A．track | B．protect | C．satisfy | D．ignore |
| A．guiding | B．pressing | C．rocking | D．hugging |
| A．upset | B．courage | C．relief | D．concern |
| A．invites | B．pulls | C．rushes | D．follows |
| A．lesson | B．training | C．mission | D．exploration |
| A．luck | B．laughter | C．wisdom | D．sunshine |
3 . Lichens (地衣) cover as much as 8% of the planet’s surface, an area larger than that covered by tropical rain-forests. They can be found growing on bark, rocks or walls; in woodlands, deserts or tundra.
Some lichens are familiar to the herbalists who find uses through the “Doctrine of Signatures” (形象学说). For example, species of Lobaria are used to treat lung diseases because of their lung-like appearance. Lichens have also been used for their chemical components. Lichens provide natural dye (染色) stuff in many traditional cultures around the world, including the famous Harris tweed woolens of Scotland. Lichens are also used in the production of perfumes. For example, “oak moss” was used as a component of several high quality French perfumes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Lichens also provide many important ecosystem services. Lichens contribute to biodiversity — they are found in all biomes. Some lichens are pioneers, so they are often the first to occupy newly exposed surfaces. Lichens also contribute to nutrient cycling. In some old-growth forests, lichens contribute up to 50% of the nitrogen. Many animals use lichens. Up to 90% of reindeer’s winter food consists of lichens, and other animals use lichens for nesting material or hiding places. Lichens can also inform us about the condition of our environment. Many lichens require very specific environmental conditions. For example, presence of certain lichens can be an indicator of climate change. Some lichens are sensitive to air pollution and will disappear when air quality is poor.
Lichens are important also because they are beautiful to look at. How colorful would the rocks and cliffs be in the Rocky Mountains without the reds, yellows and greens of the crust lichens? Without these living creatures, our natural areas would look pretty boring and a little more lifeless.
1. How does the author introduce lichens in paragraph 1?| A．By explaining the standard definition. | B．By describing the growing process. |
| C．By stating the wide range of coverage. | D．By showing the diverse species. |
| A．To treat lung disorders. | B．To dye natural stuff. |
| C．To make perfumes. | D．To remove chemicals. |
| A．They are sensitive to air quality. |
| B．They can survive in extreme weather. |
| C．They provide nesting material for birds. |
| D．They indicate old-growth conditions. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
4 . Everyone knows this: Slowly turn up the heat on a frog in a pot of water, and the frog won’t hop out. Unaware of the slight increase in heat, it will stay put until — well, until it dies. When it comes to the effect of rising global temperatures on amphibians (两栖动物), the frog-boiling fable is more than just a metaphor (隐喻).
Climate change is becoming one of the biggest threats to frogs and other amphibians, according to a major study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Between 2004 and 2022, rising temperatures became the primary reason why more than 100 amphibian species were slipping toward extinction.
The spread of disease among frogs and the destruction of their habitats have long been recognized as reasons why many amphibians are decreasing. But this new study establishes climate change as a major risk for amphibians around the world, too. The soft-skinned animals lack the fur and feathers to help adjust their temperature in this hotter and more drought-stricken world.
Less attention is paid to frogs and other amphibians compared to more well-known groups like birds. But losing amphibians would be disastrous because they often act as a key link in the food web of ecosystems, wolfing insects down and, in turn, being eaten by larger predators (捕食者).“Without those amphibians to fill that role, we will see the breakdown of this food web,” said Neam, who works for an Austin-based environmental group.
Luckily, habitat protection and other conservation measures have been taken to help recover more than five dozen amphibians from Costa Rica to Malaysia. “It’s not all bad news,” said Jennifer Luedtke, an amphibian group leader with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “But we really must build on this improvement and significantly increase investment in amphibian conservation.”
1. How is the topic introduced?| A．By listing facts. | B．By explaining ideas. |
| C．By sharing a story. | D．By raising a question. |
| A．The spread of disease. | B．The loss of habitats. |
| C．The rise of temperature. | D．The lack of feathers. |
| A．The food chain will be destroyed. | B．Wolves will depend more on insects. |
| C．Predators will be the key role of the web. | D．The ecosystem will become more diverse. |
| A．Worried. | B．Hopeful. | C．Uncertain. | D．Curious. |
5 . Christmas didn’t feel like a holiday right now. A month earlier my two-year-old son had been diagnosed with autism (自闭症), and it came with many food sensitivities (过敏). That meant we had to
It started snowing outside. First snow of the season. My five-year-old daughter was
And that was when a sudden
My family returned as snow was getting
My husband looked into my eyes,
“Yes, it’s
Just then my daughter was shouting about getting the Christmas tree out. After we
| A．attend | B．avoid | C．hold | D．ruin |
| A．upset | B．interested | C．frightened | D．amazed |
| A．shouting | B．comforting | C．whispering | D．requesting |
| A．faded away | B．spilled over | C．came along | D．died down |
| A．supply | B．select | C．gather | D．remove |
| A．awareness | B．desire | C．silence | D．inspiration |
| A．matter | B．work | C．call | D．apply |
| A．dirtier | B．softer | C．heavier | D．lighter |
| A．agreed | B．continued | C．cried | D．joked |
| A．shocked | B．embarrassed | C．angry | D．scared |
| A．typical | B．plain | C．common | D．safe |
| A．set | B．added | C．turned | D．made |
| A．tree | B．snow | C．holiday | D．chocolate |
| A．present | B．culture | C．fortune | D．tradition |
| A．ancient | B．ordinary | C．beautiful | D．diverse |
6 . In the 1930s, the first cake mixes (蛋糕粉) which only required water were invented and some people argued that this approach, the easiest, was the best. But others thought cooks would want to do more. The cake-mix argument may be out-dated, but its central question remains: Just how demanding do we want our technologies to be?
Then what is a demanding technology? Two elements are included: One is that it is technology that takes time to master, and the other is that its operation includes some real risk of failure.
Therefore, a piano is a demanding technology, as is a programming language or a machine system.
However, so-called easy technologies usually require little concentrated effort and produce predictable results. Clearly, easy technologies have remade human society over the past century, but the problem is that, as every individual task becomes easier, we demand much more of both ourselves and others. As a result, we are faced with a larger number of small tasks(writing hundreds of e-mails)instead of fewer difficult tasks (writing several long letters). And, when every task is easy, nearly all people are multitasking (多任务处理).
Easy technologies supposedly free us to focus on what matters, but sometimes what matters gets eliminated. Everyone knows that it is easier to drive to the top of a mountain than to hike; the views may be the same, but the feeling never is. Following the same idea, we develop into beings that can do more. However, we can’t get the same satisfaction as we expect.
I don’t mean that everything needs to be done the hard way. But we must take challenges seriously, or we’ll face the danger of becoming creatures whose lives are less satisfying.
1. What makes demanding technologies different from easy technologies?| A．It requires much effort. | B．It takes little attention. |
| C．It achieves intended effect. | D．It deals with machines. |
| A．More time for concentration. | B．Writing much longer letters. |
| C．Lower expectations on others. | D．Doing various tasks at a time. |
| A．Noticed. | B．Stressed. | C．Improved. | D．Removed. |
| A．The Argument Over Cake Mixes | B．What Is A Demanding Technology? |
| C．The Problem With Easy Technologies | D．What Challenges Do Humans Face? |
Many people hold some memory of a kite from their childhoods, but nobody knows exactly when a kite was first flown. One legend goes that the first kite
Although
8 . When Hailey Fort was six, she saw a person standing on the street in her town. She wanted to
Hailey kept thinking about the man and what it would be like to be
“There was a garden in our backyard, and we weren’t using it,” she said. “I asked my mom if I could use that garden to grow food for the homeless.”
Now, several years later, Hailey’s garden had
While
Due to her mom’s
Hailey had learned a lot since she gave away her first sandwich — and not just about gardens and
| A．feed | B．adopt | C．help | D．rescue |
| A．hungry | B．miserable | C．lonely | D．generous |
| A．adjustable | B．accessible | C．affordable | D．possible |
| A．appealed | B．applied | C．happened | D．occurred |
| A．equipped | B．supplied | C．connected | D．satisfied |
| A．harvested | B．sold | C．cooked | D．preserved |
| A．by chance | B．at least | C．in total | D．on purpose |
| A．trying out | B．setting out | C．handing out | D．figuring out |
| A．accidentally | B．absolutely | C．eventually | D．regularly |
| A．center | B．shelter | C．platform | D．community |
| A．patience | B．attention | C．permission | D．guidance |
| A．temporary | B．fixed | C．necessary | D．flexible |
| A．production | B．collection | C．selection | D．construction |
| A．big | B．small | C．long | D．short |
| A．grow | B．change | C．believe | D．understand |
Ever since I was little, my favorite season was winter. I loved to play in the snow and enjoyed the hot chocolate. Unfortunately, winter never gave me the special gift of snow on my birthday. The snow disappeared before my birthday and started after it. The seed of receiving that special gift was deeply planted in my heart.
As I lived with my grandparents in my girlhood, I would always ask my grandmother why it didn’t snow on my birthday. She would laugh and tell me I asked too many questions, and my grandfather would always smile at me affectionately, sitting beside the stove. But one day, my grandmother promised that she would make it snow when I was enjoying life to the fullest. I thanked her and asked for snow on my next birthday, but my mind was occupied with confusion. “How can you make it snow?” My grandmother didn’t reply but shot me a determined look. It seemed that she had already hatched (策划) a plot.
But that year, before my birthday, my grandmother passed away. I was at an emotional loss, but angry because she had promised me to make it snow. The day of my sixth birthday, I woke up and ran to my window, hoping to see just one snowflake. Unfortunately, there was no snow. I cried and cried all day because my grandmother had let me down, but my grandfather said with certainty that my grandmother would keep her word.
Before my birthday every year, I would pray but it never came. By my sixteenth birthday, I had lost all hope of getting my snow, even though I still wished for it. During my party, I had the best time ever! I enjoyed the company of my friends and family, and I was truly happy.
I was outside with a friend when she asked me if I was having a good time. I told her I was enjoying my life to the fullest. Then I saw the white snow falling all around. I became like a little child on Christmas morning as I ran around screaming and laughing. I was so excited that my friend looked at me as if I were crazy, and laughed at me. She asked me if I had ever seen snow before, and I laughed and said that I had, but that this snow was very special to me.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。Paragraph 1:
Curious about my reply, my friend asked, “Why was this snow so special?”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Hearing my friend’s advice, I decided to head for my grandfather’s home.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Humans like to think of themselves as individuals, capable of making their own decisions without consulting anyone else. They
Studies suggest that peer pressure from a child’s friends becomes more significant during adolescence. The pressure grows
But how much social pressure a teen feels depends on who they spend time with.
