After graduating from university, I decided to become a pilot and fly commercially. I chose a flying school which had a good reputation, enrolled and joined a class of six other trainees. We completed our ground school, where we were taught all the information we would need to fly an aircraft safely. The basics included the controls of the aircraft, its instruments and the rules we would have to obey while in the air.
Our instructors were all professional pilots and were very knowledgeable but also very strict. It was difficult for them to accept inaccuracy, so we were required to get Straight-A’s in each test. It was explained to us that we could not afford to make an error as it could cost lives, so, to get my license, I doubled my efforts, learning the meaning of the word “thorough”.
Later we had 10 hours of hands-on lessons in an exact model aircraft, a “simulator”. My instructor sat next to me, watching my every move, always with a serious look. Sometimes I thought he over-reacted to my small mistakes.
The time arrived for us to take to the air for the first time. My instructor was an experienced pilot having flown big jets but was nearing retirement. As we went to take off, he pointed out the control tower and told me there was always a person on duty there for emergencies. I nodded firmly, but I never thought there was a chance I would have to call him on the radio.
We were away from our airfield and practising basic turns at about 6, 000 feet. Everything was going smoothly. Suddenly, my instructor started to shake and he put in his hand on his chest with his head falling forward. Thankfully, in control of the aircraft at that time, I steadied the aircraft and turned to look at him anxiously. He seemed to be unconscious. Our lives were in danger, and I had to put aside my uneasiness. It flashed into my mind that situations like this had been covered in ground school.
Paragraph 1:
Armed with what I had learned, I quickly became much calmer.
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Paragraph 2:
Lying on the bed in the hospital, my instructor opened his eyes and saw me sitting beside him.
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1. 我最钦佩的运动员及原因；
2. 表达向他／她学习的决心。
注意: 1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加情节，以使行文连贯。
The Athlete I Admire Most
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3 . Hummingbirds might be instantly recognizable from the hum (嗡嗡声), but the cause of the characteristic has long been a mystery. Now researchers say they have cracked the conundrum, finally taking the “hmm?” out of hummingbirds.
Scientists carried out experiments with a species known as Anna’s hummingbird. In the setup, scientists arranged microphones and high-speed cameras around a cage in which six hummingbirds fed on an artificial flower, one at a time. This allowed them to pick up the sounds produced by the birds to create a 3D acoustic (声学的) map, which was linked visually with the movement of the wings to explore what was driving the sounds, the team sought to measure the lift and drag forces produced by the moving of the wings in another experiment. This picked up the size of the pressure forces produced and how they changed over time.
When the researchers put the information about the forces together with the motion of the birds’ wings, they were able to predict the sounds that would be created from these factors alone. They then compared them with the 3D acoustic map produced from the microphone setup. The results reveal that aerodynamic (空气动力学的) forces produced as the wings move, together with the speed and direction of the wing movements, are enough to explain the hummingbirds’ hum.
The humming sound is caused by the pressure difference between the upper side and the lower side of the wing, which changes in size and direction as the wing flaps back and forth, the researchers explained. “This is why birds and insects make different sounds,” said David Lentink. co-author of the study. “Most birds are relatively quiet because they only produce their lift once in their downward wing beat. Hummingbirds and insects are noisy because they produce two for every beat of their wings.”
The researchers said that while the findings were interesting in themselves, they could also have applications in future technologies, such as new drones (无人机) that are quieter when flying through the air. Of course, with some hummingbirds flapping their wings up to 80 times a second, it’s unlikely that we’ll see drones capable of copying these unique birds anytime soon.
1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Solved the puzzle | B．Broken the silence. |
| C．Learned their lesson. | D．Accepted the challenge. |
①The sizes of their wings
②The speed of the wing movements
③The weights of their bodies
④The forces produced during their flight
⑤The direction of the wing movements
| A．①③④ | B．②③④ | C．②④⑤ | D．①③⑤ |
| A．The market of drones will be encouraging. |
| B．Researchers are disappointed with the findings. |
| C．The new findings will be possibly used in drones in the future. |
| D．New drones will soon be comparable in flying speed to hummingbirds |
| A．What Makes Hummingbirds Fascinating | B．Where to Meet the Most Unique Birds |
| C．How Birds Make Different Sounds | D．Why Hummingbirds Hum |
4 . Eleanor Love, a Virginia-based doctor, knows that wedding create a lot of leftover flowers. That means more
The flowers are still in good
“I just broke down and I cried,”
“When you’re there six to eight weeks, it’s a big
Love worked at the Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital as a medical student. She
“One of the
So in 2019, she started The Simple Sunflower, and so far has delivered more than 760 bouquets to patients. She brought fellow students and other people into her project, and now has more than 200 volunteers on the email
For each wedding, she organizes a team of eight volunteers who help
“It’s so
| A．efforts | B．methods | C．responsibilities | D．opportunities |
| A．size | B．shape | C．colour | D．figure |
| A．laughed | B．shouted | C．recalled | D．thought |
| A．bouquet | B．flower | C．newspaper | D．magazine |
| A．deal | B．trouble | C．success | D．business |
| A．doubted | B．confirmed | C．wondered | D．explained |
| A．supports | B．advantages | C．questions | D．challenges |
| A．devote | B．contribute | C．cooperate | D．subject |
| A．sense | B．friend | C．impact | D．advice |
| A．list | B．service | C．message | D．system |
| A．set up | B．pick up | C．put out | D．send for |
| A．off | B．away | C．down | D．over |
| A．hopeless | B．helpful | C．important | D．individual |
| A．fashionable | B．satisfying | C．admirable | D．disappointing |
| A．implies | B．instructs | C．reminds | D．expects |
One day when I was 5 years old, my dad headed for work while my mum drove me to the town for shopping. Soon we got to a supermarket. While my mum was picking up vegetables, I spotted some attractive apples, which looked big and red and smelt pleasant. All of a sudden I had the desire to eat apples. I begged my mum to buy some and she agreed.
After getting all the groceries, we went for a walk in a park in the town and didn’t return until it was close to noon. Upon arriving home, my mum left the bag of apples in the sitting room and went to prepare the lunch in the kitchen. Right there and then I could hardly wait to taste the apples, so I took one and had a big bite even without washing it. However, to my disappointment, it wasn’t as sweet as expected. Luckily, when I tried another, it was satisfying this time. When I was enjoying it, my mum called me to give some apples to our neighbour. Julie, an old lady living close to our home.
Julie lived by herself. She was a kind lady and treated me very well. When my parents had no time to look after me, I would go to hers and she would help take care of me. And she liked chatting and even playing with me. So when my mum asked me to deliver some apples to her, I was very glad to do that.
I found a plastic bag in which to put some apples. But I hesitated just before picking them up. “Some apples are not that delicious. I should send some good ones to Grandma Julie.” I thought. But how could I tell the sweet ones from the rest? I wondered because I had no idea how to find it out just by their appearance.
Paragraph 1:
Then all at once, a clever idea hit me.
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Paragraph 2:
Returning home from Julies home. I told my mum what I had done with the apples.
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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。
These days, Marathon des Sables runners carry a GPS tracking device and helicopters monitor their path to make sure no one gets lost, but when Mauro, a police officer, participated for the first time in 1994, there were no such safeguards in place. When you’re running through the largest desert on Earth, one wrong turn can cost you your life. Mauro Prosperi did just that during the Marathon des Sables, a six-day ultramarathon that many regard as the toughest foot race in the world.
The race was almost 156 miles long, taking runners across sand dunes (沙丘) with few natural sources of water. Temperatures in the Sahara could reach as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and each runner carried over 20 pounds of food, water, and emergency supplies on their backs. Most of these runners wouldn’t end up finishing the race, which was about the same length as six regular marathons.
That was how, on the fourth and longest days of the race, the runner Mauro encountered a severe sandstorm that turned him around and sent him wildly off course.
He spent eight hours waiting out the storm, huddled in a sand dune. The next morning, he expected to see rescuers heading his way. Instead, all he saw was desert in all directions. “After running for about for hours, I climbed up a dune and still couldn’t see anything,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had a big problem.”
A search party was organized to find Mauro, but rescuers had no idea he had been so far off course. Twice a helicopter circled over his head, and twice they didn’t see him wildly waving at them from below. He sent up his only flare (照明弹) and even set his backpack on fire hoping to catch their attention, but it was no use.
When Mauro’s water ran out, he began drinking his own urine. He found a marabout shrine, an ancient building that once served as a tomb. He took shelter from the sun’s rays there, drinking the blood of bats.
With his energy running out, he thought, “I am bound to die here”.
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After being treated in the hospital for weakness, he made a full recovery!
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1. How many kinds of items can a person remember at a time?
| A．5 to 7. | B．4 to 6. | C．3 to 4. |
| A．About 20 seconds. | B．About 7 seconds. | C．About 4 seconds. |
| A．Moving items away. |
| B．Setting down things. |
| C．Remembering things once. |
| A．Learning ability. | B．Human mind. | C．A memory theory. |
8 . Despite their endless social activities, closely packed urban environments often come with the hidden phenomenon of increased loneliness. According to Dr. Vivek Murthy, United States Surgeon General, the global “loneliness epidemic” is an overlooked consequence of urban living that carries serious risks, associated with heart disease, depression, anxiety, and dementia.
While there are many ways to overcome loneliness, such as redesigning urban architecture to help facilitate social interactions or making it easier for people to own pets, a new study also recommends adding nature into the mix.
The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, follows a review of assessments provided by more than 750 U. K. residents who volunteered to use a custom — built smartphone app for two weeks. The participants were questioned randomly three times a day using a technique called an “ecological momentary assessment”. In addition to questions about overcrowding and social inclusion (融入), the volunteers were asked about their natural surroundings, such as “Can you see trees, plants and water right now?” Feelings of“momentary loneliness” were then ranked on a five-point scale.
According to the more than 16, 600 assessments received, overcrowded environments increased feelings of loneliness by a shocking 38%, regardless of age, gender, education level, or occupation. When people were able to interact with green spaces or hear birds or see the sky, however, loneliness dropped by 28%. Social inclusivity, defined by the research team as feeling welcomed by a group or sharing similar values, also dropped loneliness by 21%.
These findings appear to correlate (联系) with previous research into the mental benefits of walking through natural areas. Johanna Gibbons, leader of the research team, further indicates that high-quality green and blue spaces such as parks and rivers in dense urban areas, which is often viewed as a key weapon in the fight against climate change, can also be critical in improving our own well — being and reducing feelings of isolation. She said, “I believe deep in our souls, there are really deep connections with natural forces.”
1. What problem is discussed in paragraph 1?| A．Urban living lacks social connection. |
| B．Loneliness is a growing threat in cities. |
| C．Modern cities are getting overcrowded. |
| D．Aging population are facing more risks. |
| A．How loneliness affected people of all ages. |
| B．What the root of the loneliness in cities was. |
| C．How hi-technology improved people’s lives. |
| D．What people’s favorite living surroundings were. |
| A．A life experience in nature. | B．Low rates of social activities. |
| C．An overcrowded environment. | D．A design of urban architecture. |
| A．Playing hard is harmful to mental health. |
| B．People in green spaces may be more cheerful. |
| C．Global warming changes our characteristics. |
| D．Everything is connected with natural forces. |
Lushan National Park, in the south of Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, is a well-known tourist attraction both in China and abroad. It has appealed
The national park covers an area of 500 square kilometers and has more than 90 mountain peaks (山峰). The tallest one of these is Hanyang Peak which has a
Wulao Feng,
Sandie Spring
As a young boy, I was carefree. Every vacation I looked forward to two things—seeing my grandpa and hearing his wonderful stories. My grandpa was a very good storyteller. He had worked various odd jobs when he was young and wove his adventures and misadventures into fantastic tales. These wonderful tales colored my childhood.
As I grew up, I had to admit that Grandpa’s stories went on a little long, even a little boring and gradually lost their magic. However, not wanting to upset him, my brother and I would sometimes take turns sitting in the living room, listening to grandpa tell his stories.
When my grandpa was approaching 91, he suffered from serious memory-loss. It was kind of what doctors called dementia (痴呆), probably the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Following the doctor’s directions, we moved him into a Sunrise Assisted Living Community, where he could get a better care. After that, grandpa hardly came to our house.
One weekend before my grandpa’s birthday, I came to visit him. Seeing grandpa sitting in his armchair, dull-looking, I was consumed with mixed feelings. I wheeled grandpa to the sunshine in the courtyard, talking to him. He couldn’t express himself clearly and spoke in short bursts, but I listened to him patiently and carefully just as I used to be a little boy.
It was then that I noticed a shadow box with some old and yellowish photos in it. I picked one up, in which my brother, several boys in our neighborhood, and I were playing basketball with grandpa cheering us on twenty years before. My mind flashed back to those beautiful memories. Back then, Grandpa was in good physical condition and we were all wearing basketball jerseys, playing and laughing with abandon. I presented the photo to my grandpa, pointing at each member and reminding him of their names. Incredibly, grandpa could speak out the name of every player. I even caught a soft light in grandpa’s eyes and a smile on his lips.
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。
A bright idea for grandpa’s birthday came to my mind.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing “the same players” playing there, grandpa seemed to have thought of something.
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