Have you ever seen the scene?
Li brocade, created by the Li ethnic group on Hainan Island, has
In recent years, Hainan has invested
To spread Li brocade skills as widely as possible, Hu has compiled teaching materials by
Hainan is vigorously pushing Li culture to go global as well, with the ancient craft expanding its presence on the international stage over the past five years. 2019 was the year
2 . Besides healthy soil, all plants also need water. This makes it hard to grow plants where it’s dry. But researchers in Texas may have found a way to keep plants in dry areas from dying of thirst. They have developed a soil additive. When mixed into the ground, it will take water from the air to share with plants.
Their invention is a super-moisture-absorbed gel (凝胶), or SMAG. It absorbs water from the air during the night. When the sun warms it the next day, that gel releases the water it holds into the root area of the plants.
The gel-based material “can be used as a soil enhancer (强化剂), as well as a replacement for soil in greenhouses for crop planting,” said Mr. Brown. He’s an engineer at the University of Texas-Austin. He led the team that developed the gel. Depending on the plants being grown, he said, this material could be “directly mixed with soil in certain amounts”.
The research decided to use this process to aid plants. The gel they mix with soil absorbs morning dew (露水) and holds it. The next day, the ge l will slowly release that water into the soil.
The engineers tested the soil additive to grow plants on the roof of a building at the school. During an experiment, they compared plants grown only in sandy soil with plants grown in sandy soil that had been mixed with the gel. The gel-treated soil lost about 60 percent of the water that it had started with about a month earlier. By comparison, the untreated soil lost 80 percent of its water in just one week.
Scientists believe future studies will help them understand if the gel could be used for larger, outdoor fields. If it can, the water collected by the gel-treated soil could allow crops to be grown in drier climates, where irrigation is not practical.
1. Why did the researchers develop SMAG?| A．To make soil much softer. | B．To help soil get extra water. |
| C．To protect water resources. | D．To increase agricultural output. |
| A．It can be mixed with soil. | B．It needs to be used after rain. |
| C．It should be used in the morning. | D．It can only be suitable for greenhouse crops. |
| A．By comparing plants in different types of gel-treated soil. |
| B．By comparing the gel-treated soil on roofs with that in greenhouses. |
| C．By comparing different plants with the same kind of gel-treated soil. |
| D．By comparing the water content of the gel-treated soil with that of the normal soil. |
| A．Whether SMAG can help with farming in dry areas is uncertain. |
| B．Scientists will study the side effects of SMAG. |
| C．SMAG should be tested in cold areas. |
| D．SMAG is a practical way of irrigation. |
Laughter is said to be the best medicine in our life. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Laughter lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you more focused on the positive. I like to laugh and be happy whenever there is a reason for it. Cracking jokes usually makes us happy and light-hearted after a day of hard work, and so do many funny incidents which we may sometimes experience in our daily life.
However, today, I would like to talk about a funny incident that happened to me a few years ago, when I was still a student at primary school. That very incident took place at a birthday party held at my aunt’s house. In fact, it was a birthday party held for one of my little cousins.
On that special occasion, everybody, including all of my family members, close relatives and some of the little friends of my cousin’s, was invited to the party on a lovely summer evening in order to enjoy the party. By the way, the party was supposed to be concluded as early as possible, because all the little guests, friends of my cousin’s, needed to return to their homes safely before it was getting too late at night. So, after several hours of busy preparations, the party formally started at around 8 pm. The adults and the kids all came up to the table and gently opened up the various colorful gift boxes one by one with a formal ceremony. Once we were done with opening the gift boxes, the time came for us to sing the “Happy Birthday to You” song in chorus, and we all sang the song in order to wish a very happy birthday to my little cousin. Finally came the moment we all had been waiting for eagerly. And we were ready to open the cake box and cut the birthday cake.
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。
To our surprise, the cake had already been cut!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearing what my aunt said, we expressed our willingness to give our share to the homeless.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________China recently shared exciting news about its space exploration efforts, and revealed the names of its manned lunar lander and a new crew spaceship. This development marks
The crew spaceship has been named Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel,
These names, Lanyue and Mengzhou, were selected
Wearing Hanfu and sitting in front of a Chinese zither (筝), Peng Jingxuan, a young Chinese student, moves her fingers gently along the strings on a street in Paris, France.
Peng has shared more than 200
Chinese zither (筝), or guzheng, is an ancient musical instrument with 21-26 strings and a length of 1.63 meters. Peng
Considering her audience’s
6 . Oscar Wilde, a famous poet and playwright, is probably known for his conversation as much as for his literary works. There are some stories
When Wilde was studying Classics at Oxford, he took part in a(n)
On another occasion, Wilde
But it’s
| A．ignoring | B．suggesting | C．challenging | D．contradicting |
| A．training | B．experiment | C．adventure | D．examination |
| A．revise | B．assess | C．translate | D．adapt |
| A．considerate | B．impatient | C．satisfied | D．confused |
| A．stop | B．wait | C．question | D．repeat |
| A．shamefully | B．angrily | C．gladly | D．nervously |
| A．agreed | B．continued | C．hurried | D．promised |
| A．interruption | B．explanation | C．punishment | D．judgment |
| A．arises | B．improves | C．works | D．ends |
| A．assumed | B．declared | C．expected | D．mentioned |
| A．polishing | B．selecting | C．posting | D．memorizing |
| A．came across | B．took out | C．searched for | D．went over |
| A．appropriate | B．useful | C．true | D．rare |
| A．rest | B．exercise | C．study | D．smoke |
| A．match | B．partner | C．supporter | D．witness |
7 . Jungle Cruise
Jungle Cruise hits Disney’s streaming service alongside its arrival at cinemas. As such, you’ll have to pay $30 on top of your subscription fee to see it — a high price for a solo viewing, but a great deal for a family session. That’s good news, because this really is a winner of a family movie, thanks to the production values you’d come to expect from a Disney blockbuster (大片) and the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Inside Out
Just when we thought Pixar was on the decline, it released Inside Out, one of its most thoughtful and powerful movies. Featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling, Inside Out made over $850 million at the box office upon its 2015 release. It wasn’t just a commercial success, as it scored 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Free Solo
Free Solo is one of the best documentaries ever made. Telling the story of Alex Honnold, the first man to “free solo” El Capitan, it’s a character study of a man who makes the impossible look almost ordinary; an Oscar-winning story that culminates (到达极点) — quite literally — in a close-up view of one of humanity’s wildest achievements.
Aladdin
You can agree or you can disagree, but I believe that Aladdin has the best song lineup of any animated movie that Disney has ever produced. A Whole New World, Prince Ali, Friend Like Me, Arabian Nights — banger after banger (一部接一部). That’s reflected in the critical response: Aladdin is one of the best-rated Disney movies ever, with a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
1. What do we know about the movie Jungle Cruise?| A．It takes a total of $30 to see it. |
| B．It doesn’t require a subscription. |
| C．It is mainly intended for children. |
| D．It stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. |
| A．Its music. | B．Its voice actors. |
| C．Its approval rating. | D．Its dialogues. |
| A．Jungle Cruise. | B．Inside Out. | C．Free Solo. | D．Aladdin. |
8 . Norwegian playwright and author Jon Fosse has been awarded the Nobel prize in Literature for his “innovative plays and prose (散文) which give voice to the unsayable”.
The Swedish Academy considers Fosse as “one of the playwrights whose plays are the most widely performed in the world”, although the 64-year-old originally made his name as a novelist, beginning with Red, Black in 1983. He has since written many works of prose and poetry. “His literary works, including a variety of genres (体裁), consist of about 40 plays and a wealth of novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations,” said Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel committee for Literature.
Jon Fosse draws inspiration from his rural living environment and personal struggles which have deeply influenced his distinctive writing style. Growing up in a small coastal village, Fosse was lost in the beauty of nature and the vastness of the sea, which filled him with a sense of being alone and introspection (内省) that is reflected in his works. Fosse’s writing discussed themes of loneliness, longing, and the search for meaning in life. Additionally, his battles with depression have enabled him to explore the depths of human emotions and existential despair.
“He touches you so deeply when you read his works,” said Anders Olsson. “What is special about him is the closeness in his writing. It touches your deepest feelings—anxieties, insecurities, questions of life and death—which are things that every human being actually faces from the very beginning. In that sense, I think he reaches very far and there is a sort of a universal impact of everything that he writes.”
Fosse is the first-ever winner of the award writing in Nynorsk, one of the two official languages of Norway, but only used by just 10% of the population. As The Guardian writes, “Many Nynorsk speakers see Fosse’ as a kind of national hero’ for his supporting and using the language.” Fosse’s being recognized on a global stage contributes to the visibility of Nynorsk as a written standard. It will attract more attention to Nynorsk literature, inspire and encourage Nynorsk speakers to continue preserving and highlighting their language heritage.
1. What made Jon Fosse become famous in the beginning?| A．His novels. | B．His news reports. |
| C．His film reviews. | D．His poetry collections. |
| A．His unfavourable family atmosphere. |
| B．His pleasant rural living environment. |
| C．His struggles against his bad mental state. |
| D．His appreciation for the vastness of the sea. |
| A．How Fosse expresses the bond between human and nature. |
| B．How Fosse’s works deal with questions of life and death. |
| C．How Fosse’s works enlighten and affect readers. |
| D．How Fosse has got inspiration for his writing. |
| A．He has reset writing standards of Nynorsk. |
| B．His works appeal to both the old and the young. |
| C．He promotes culture exchanges between different nations. |
| D．He has used a language spoken by a small number of people. |
| A．She fell and cut her knee. | B．She hurt her left arm. | C．She slipped over on the ice. |
1. What instrument did the speaker play when she was young?
| A．The piano. | B．The guitar | C．The violin |
| A．In London. | B．In Sydney | C．In New York |
| A．They’ll meet famous performers. |
| B．They’ll have a brighter future. |
| C．They’ll get a chance to travel the world. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Seven. |
