1 . Painting
The art of creating pictures using colors, shapes and lines is called painting. Museums and galleries show the paintings of professional artists. But painting is also a popular form of entertainment and creative expression.
Painters can use their art to express devotion to a religion, to tell a story, to express feelings and ideas, or simply to present a pleasing picture. Religious paintings often show a god or a scene from a sacred text. Other common subjects have been famous legends and events in history, as well as scenes from daily life. Artists also paint portraits (肖像), or pictures of people.
Some kinds of paintings do not focus on people. In landscape (风景) paintings, the focus is on scenes from nature. Artists also paint still objects such as fruit and vegetables.
| A．These works are called still lives. |
| B．These works can communicate a special feeling. |
| C．Humans have been making paintings for thousands of years. |
| D．People of all ages create pictures using a variety of materials. |
| E．Cave paintings generally show animals that early humans hunted. |
| F．The design of a painting is the plan of its lines, shapes and colors. |
| G．Sometimes artists make portraits of themselves, which are called self-portraits. |
2 . I always knew that I depended too much on my phone. But I didn’t know how much. So I decided to do this
Every morning since I got a smartphone, I’ve used The Weather Channel App to find out what to
I couldn’t tell what time it was. I haven’t worn a
Getting places was harder, too. I got
But the number one trouble was not having my contact list. I forgot to write down my friends’ and family members’ phone numbers before I
Even with all the problems, however, I found
This challenge was a(n)
| A．task | B．duty | C．job | D．challenge |
| A．carry | B．wear | C．take | D．see |
| A．carefully | B．strangely | C．thankfully | D．surprisingly |
| A．watch | B．hat | C．suit | D．ring |
| A．making out | B．bringing up | C．calling out | D．picking up |
| A．even so | B．after all | C．in all | D．even worse |
| A．caught | B．changed | C．lost | D．hurt |
| A．easier | B．safer | C．slower | D．quieter |
| A．driving | B．chatting | C．writing | D．moving |
| A．supported | B．forgot | C．started | D．reported |
| A．felt | B．wished | C．liked | D．hated |
| A．peace | B．silence | C．patience | D．confidence |
| A．curious | B．unbelievable | C．comfortable | D．common |
| A．happiest | B．nicest | C．simplest | D．clearest |
| A．spend | B．waste | C．enjoy | D．spare |
3 . San Francisco Fire Engine Tours
San Francisco Winery TourRunning: February 1st through April 30th
This delicious tour goes through the city on its way to Treasure Island where we will stop at the famous Winery SF. Here you can enjoy 4 pours of some of the best wine San Francisco has to offer.(Included in tickets price)
Departing from the Cannery: Tour times upon request.Duration(时长): 2 hours
Price: $90
Back to the Fifties Tour
Running: August 16th through August 31st
This tour transports you back in time to one of San Francisco’s most fantastic periods, the 1950s! Enjoy fun history as we take you through San Francisco for a free taste of ice cream.
Departing from the Cannery: 5:00 pm and 7:30 pmDuration: 2 hours
Price: $90
Spooky Halloween Tour
Running: October 10th through October 31st
Join us for a ride through the historical Presidio district. Authentic fire gear(服装) is provided for your warmth as our entertainers take you to some of the most thrilling parts of San Francisco.
Departing from the Cannery: 6:30 pm and 8:30 pmDuration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Price: Available upon request
Holiday Lights Tour
Running: December 6th through December 23rd
This attractive tour takes you to some of San Francisco’s most cheerful holiday scenes. Authentic fire gear is provided for your warmth as you get into the holiday spirit.
Departing from the Cannery: 7:00 pm and 9:00 pmDuration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Advance reservations required.
1. Which of the tours is available in March?
| A．San Francisco Winery Tour. | B．Back to the Fifties Tour. |
| C．Spooky Hallowen Tour. | D．Holiday Lights Tour. |
| A．Go to Treasure Island. | B．Enjoy the holiday scenes. |
| C．Have free ice cream. | D．Visit the Presidio district. |
| A．Take some drinks. | B．Set off early in the morning. |
| C．Wear warm clothes. | D．Make reservations in advance. |
1. 运动的名称；
2. 推荐的理由；
3. 温馨的提示。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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5 . Gold Fame Citrus
by Claire Vaye Watkins（$ 5.99）
With the flight of its characters through a landscape destroyed by climate crisis, this novel does not indicate much hopefulness for the future. Within it is a series of situations and consequences made more severe in a future California short of water. Across the desert. we follow Watkins' characters through a place so transformed that it needs its own field guide of animals newly adapted for strange survival.
The Ministry for the Future
by Kim Stanley Robinson（$ 18.1）
The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate will affect us all. Its setting is not a deserted world, but a future that is almost upon us. This extraordinary novel from the visionary science fiction writer will change the way you think about the climate crisis.
Breathing Fire
by Jaim Lowe（$ 27）
The front lines of the fight against climate change are peopled with those society has forgotten. Up to 30 percent of the firefighters battling wildfires in California each year are prisoners performing backbreaking labor while earning a 40th of what a civilian makes. This book follows six female prisoner firefighters and their worried families, looking into the human cost of environmental crisis.
Something Under the Sun
by Alexandra Kleeman（$ 28）
In Alexandra Kleeman's new novel, a novelist new to Los Angeles teams up with a former child actor to investigate a conspiracy（阴谋）. But this is L. A. , where wildfires burn all year long and the rich store water while the poor suffer from the consequence of climate crisis. Human weakness is pushing the city toward a disaster.
1. Which category does Breathing Fire fall into?| A．Science fiction. | B．Play. | C．Non-fiction. | D．Biography. |
| A．A novelist. | B．An actor. | C．A firefighter. | D．A minister. |
| A．They are on sale. | B．They show concern over climate. |
| C．They are intended for teenagers. | D．They are set in California. |
Sun Ruifeng, a mother in Beijing, changed some of her plans for her 8-year-old son’s summer vacation,
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this?” The son replied, “This is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”
After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for third time, “What is this?” This time, the son was irritated (生气) and said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”
After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?” This time his son shouted in his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘It’s a crow’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A minute later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered(破旧的) diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel annoyed, but instead felt a deep affection for my innocent son.”
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:
After reading the diary,the son was in tears and began to reflect on the days when he used to sit together with his father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Feeling ashamed, the son got down on his knees before his father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . Today it is common to see people who walk about with colored wires hanging from their ears wherever they go. They move about in their personal bubbles，sometimes unaware of what’s happening around them.
For me, walking around in my own personal bubble is perfect.
Suppose you’re at work and about to make an incredible breakthrough，but a colleague suddenly turns up. At this precise moment，the slightest disturbance would break your concentration.
Pretty soon，not only will we have pretty colored wires hanging from our ears，but also our brains will be directly plugged into some new high-tech instrument. We’ll be in a virtual world，communicating with everyone else，as we like. In this world，we will all be permanently plugged in.
In the end, there is a thin line between using technology as a tool for making life better and being a slave to it! It’s so strange—suddenly. I don’t feel like wearing my earphones anymore.
| A．Our instruments are changing quickly. |
| B．I also have wires hanging from my ears. |
| C．In the home situation，teenagers love these wires. |
| D．I don’t have to deal with the noise from the environment. |
| E．After all，I am listening to my favourite music and would rather not be disturbed. |
| F．They walk around in their own spaces, with their personal “digital noise reduction systems”. |
| G．Listening to music through earphones is one of the perfect ways to ignore such interruptions. |
9 . Madison stared through the window and watched a puffy white cloud pass over the woods across from the school. It must be wonderful to be a bird, she thought. Total freedom. No math class to sit in, and her days would be spent on horseback. She thought of her horse, Star.
“Madison. Could you please join us again?” Mrs. Smith said. “I was just asking the class if anyone had any problems with the homework assignment.”
“Well, I didn’t have any problems doing it, but I had problems remembering to put it in my school bag after I did it.” Some giggling spread through the room.
“Madison. I don’t know what I am going to do with you. You’re such a smart girl but you just don’t apply yourself. Class, clear your desks. Our guest is here and welcome Doctor Landon. He is a veterinarian (兽医). He came here today as part of our continued Career Explorations Program.”
Madison tried to focus as Doctor Landon talked about how important grades were and how he struggled with math when he was a kid. Doctor Landon was still talking but she lost track of what he was saying. Then a word caught her attention. Horse. Was he talking about horses?
Gradually, Madison knew Doctor Landon had come to her town and house when her horse, Star, needed care. She liked it that he even knew her horse’s name. “So, you just travel around and take care of horses all day long?”
Doctor Landon nodded. “I travel with my truck to take care of horses and ponies across the county. It is a lot of work, but I love it.”
Madison’s mouth fell open. What a life that must be, she thought. At that moment, sitting in class, Madison could see her future and her life suddenly seemed bigger. By the time she got off the bus that afternoon, her plans for the afternoon had changed. She was still going to ride Star, but first she was going to spend an hour studying math. Then tomorrow she’d spend an hour studying science.
1. Why was Madison called by Mrs. Smith in class?| A．Because she had problems with math. |
| B．Because she was absent-minded in class. |
| C．Because she was distracted by the birds outside. |
| D．Because she forgot to bring her homework back. |
| A．To call for care for animals. |
| B．To enrich students’ outdoor activities. |
| C．To emphasize the importance of study. |
| D．To help students with their career choices. |
| A．She was greatly inspired. | B．She preferred math to science. |
| C．She didn’t believe Landon’s story. | D．She changed her hobby completely. |
| A．An Exciting Horse Riding | B．An Interesting Math Class |
| C．Madison Dreams Big | D．Madison Pursues Freedom |
10 . A British woman who won a S1 million prize after she was named the World's Best Teacher will use the cash to bring inspirational figures into UK schools.
Andria Zafirakou,a north London secondary school teacher, said she wanted to bring about a classroom revolution (变革). “We are going to make a change, ”she said.“I’ve started a project to promote the teaching of the arts in our schools.”
The project results from the difficulties many schools have in getting artists of any sort - whether an up-and-coming local musician or a major movie star - into schools to work with and inspire children.
Zafirakou began the project at Alperton Community School, her place of work for the past twelve years. “I've seen those magic moments when children are talking to someone they are inspired by - their eyes are shining and their faces light up,” she said. “We need artists . more than ever in our schools."
Artist Michael Craig-Martin said: “Andria's brilliant project to bring artists from all fields into direct contact with children is particularly welcome at a time when the arts are being downgraded in schools." It was a mistake to see the arts as unnecessary, he added.
Historian Sir Simon Schama is also a supporter of the project. He said that arts education in schools was not just an add-on. “It is absolutely necessary. The future depends on creativity and creativity depends on the young. What will remain of us when artificial intelligence takes over will be our creativity, and it is our creative spirit, our visionary sense of freshness,that has been our strength for centuries."
1. What will Zafirakou do with her prize money?| A．Make a movie. | B．Build new schools. |
| C．Run a project. | D．Help local musicians. |
| A．It is particularly difficult. | B．It increases artists' income. |
| C．It opens children's mind. | D．It deserves greater attention. |
| A．Moral principles. | B．Interpersonal skills. |
| C．Creative abilities. | D．Positive worldviews. |
| A．Bring Artists to Schools | B．When Historians Meet Artists |
| C．Arts Education in Britain | D．The World's Best Arts Teacher |
