In a small town, there lived a young boy named Tom, who came from a poor family. Determined to gather enough money for his education, Tom decided to start a challenging journey, going door to door selling various items. Little did he know, his life was about to change with the arrival of a compassionate (有同情心的) young woman named Lucy.
While talking with Tom, Lucy, a kind-hearted individual, knew about Tom’s struggles. She thought she could do something to help him. She told Tom that education was the key to transforming his life. Determined to make a difference, Lucy gave Tom a sum of money so that he could afford his tuition fee (学费).
Moved by Lucy’s kindness and genuine concern, Tom was filled with gratitude. He was determined to seize this opportunity and remembered Lucy’s act of compassion throughout his journey towards success.
With renewed determination, Tom devoted himself to his studies, working diligently to overcome the obstacles that lay in his path. He strived for excellence and seized every learning opportunity that came his way. Tom’s pursuit of knowledge eventually paid off, pushing him towards a bright and successful future.
Years passed, and Tom worked hard and never gave up. He did really well in his chosen job and people respected him. Even though he achieved a lot, he never forgot how kind Lucy was to him.
One day, fate made Tom see Lucy when she was having a tough time. Even after a long time, Tom recognized her right away and knew he owed her something. Remembering how kind Lucy had been, Tom felt a strong urge to repay Lucy’s kindness, so he went to her and thanked her sincerely. He promised to stand by her side during her tough times. Tom listened carefully as Lucy shared her struggles and problems. He supported her wholeheartedly and offered a shoulder to lean on.
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。
Tom realized that Lucy needed more than just money.
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Besides his support, Tom organized a community fundraiser for Lucy.
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Delia Henderson had always had a dream. She dreamed of taking part in the “Dance World Cup”. It was a famous dance talent show which attracted the best dancers around the world. She was promised by her father that someday she would be taken for an audition (试演) .
The night of her 14th birthday, her city was hit by an earthquake, which, unfortunately, hurt one of her legs terribly. She survived, but the doctor told her that she had to learn to walk with a wooden leg for the rest of her life.
Two years later, Delia saw a notice one day, saying that auditions of the “Dance World Cup” would be held in her city. Painful memories flashed through her mind. It hurt her that she couldn’t live her dream because of her injured leg. However, her mother said, “You learned to walk with your injured leg, so why not learn to dance with it?”
Delia knew it was true but walking was hard, and dancing would be harder. On top of that, she didn’t want to be seen as a joke on the stage. So she told her mother and herself that it was time to say goodbye to her dream.
Her father, however, never forgot his promise to Delia. He signed her up for the show and since he wasn’t sure whether his daughter could get an audition, he did not say a single word to her about the whole thing. Until one day, he got the reply. It was a “Yes”. Excitedly, he took the news to Delia, but she was determined not to go.
Aware of Delia’s worry, her father slowly walked up to her.
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Delia was shaking with nervousness as she made her way to the stage.
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I sat at the breakfast table with my four-year-old son, Matthew, trying to ignore the ache in my stomach. “Mama, want to play?” “Not today, baby,” I shook my head. These days I could barely get out of bed. I was still recovering from a surgery. I hoped for strength and happiness. But the future seemed so hopeless.
Suddenly, Matthew jumped up from his spot on the kitchen floor. “Bird!” he shouted, rushing to our courtyard. Sure enough, there was a white dove (鸽子) seated in a rubber tree. It sat there for a few moments, and then flew away. Strange, I’d never seen one in our neighborhood before.
When I dragged myself to the kitchen the next morning, the dove was back. This time with a mate carrying twigs (小枝). “Look, Matthew,” I said, pointing to the tree. “They’re going to make a nest.” The doves flew in and out of the courtyard all week, building on top of the rubber tree.
Matthew could hardly contain his excitement. Every morning, he’d run into the kitchen and take his spot by the sliding glass door, talking to the birds while they worked. His enthusiasm was influential. As much as I was grieving, I couldn’t help but look forward to the doves’ visits too.
Then it all went wrong. The courtyard was a safe enough spot for a nest, but the rubber tree’s broad, thin leaves were far from stable. One night, a strong wind blew, throwing the doves’ nest to the ground. I heard the twigs break apart.
I surveyed the damage. Nothing good ever lasts. I wouldn’t blame the doves if they never came back. But they returned. And they paid no attention to the pile of sticks that had once been their nest. They started again from scratch. Again, though, the wind destroyed all their hard work. The next day, and the next, they renewed their efforts, as if nothing had happened.
Paragraph I:I knew I had to do something.
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“It works! The birds are back!” Matthew announced.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Nash equilibrium (纳什均衡) is named after John Nash, an American mathematician. It is a kind of concept, which attempts to determine mathematically and logically the actions that participants of a game should take to secure the best outcomes for themselves.
To find it in a game, one would have to model out each of the possible scenarios to determine the results and then choose what the most satisfactory strategy would be. In a two-person game, this would take into consideration the possible strategies that both players could choose. If neither player changes their strategy knowing all of the information, a Nash equilibrium has occurred.
Imagine a game between Tom and Sam. In this simple game, both players can choose strategy A to receive $1, or strategy B to lose $1. Logically, both players choose strategy A and receive a payoff of $l. If you revealed Sam’s strategy to Tom and vice versa (反之亦然), you see that no player’s choice is different from the original one. Knowing the other player’s move means little and doesn’t change either player’s behavior. Outcome A represents the Nash equilibrium.
Nash equilibrium helps a player determine the best payoff in a situation based on not only their decisions but also the decisions of other parties involved. It can also be used in many aspects of life, from economics to social behavioral sciences, from business strategies to a house sale and so on.
Unlike dominant strategy, Nash equilibrium doesn’t always lead to the most satisfactory outcome. In most cases, such as in war, whether that is a military war or a bidding war, an individual rarely knows the opponent’s strategy or what they want the outcome to be. It just means that an individual chooses the best strategy based on the information they have. Nash equilibrium can only occur if a player chooses to remain with their current strategy if they know their opponent’s strategy. Furthermore, in multiple games played with the same opponents, it does not take into consideration past behavior, which often predicts future behavior.
1. Which kind of concept does Nash equilibrium belong to?| A．Game theory. |
| B．Secrecy strategies. |
| C．Player information. |
| D．Participation qualifications. |
| A．By quoting sayings. | B．By drawing a parallel. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By giving an illustration. |
| A．Its elements. | B．Its drawbacks. |
| C．Its applications. | D．Its backgrounds |
| A．Resistant. | B．Objective. |
| C．Confused. | D．Curious. |
Thirty years ago, I was a sixteen-year-old boy, tall and thin. It was the end of summer and the cool winds of fall were in the air. In front of a house, there was a truckload of wood, which my father, my brother and I had unloaded the day before.
My father and my brother were out to do farm work, so I needed to move these pieces of wood around the house again and again to where we were piling the chooped wood. And then I would cover it with oilcloth to keep it from getting wet. In those days, we used to use these wood fires to cook. We tried our best to collect firewood because we still needed some to get through the whole winter.
I worked fast at first, but soon I realized that I needed to go slower if I didn’t want to make myself too tired. Then I spent much time piling the wood and tying it together with a rope in case of falling down. To start with, I thought the work was boring. But then it became a game for me. Seeing that I could pile the wood so neatly, I smiled during the hard work.
After a while, the wood was all piled up, and my skinny arms felt a little sore. However, I didn’t stop working. I still needed to fetch some water with containers from the spring near our home. Our well water was so full of iron that it tasted terrible, so all cooking and drinking water had to come from the spring. The five-gallon containers felt like they weighed a ton, but I picked one at a time and carried them all up the hill to my house.
As I carried the last container back home, I saw my mother smiling at me at the door with a glass of tea in her hand. She said to me, “Here you are, baby. Just take a break.” We sat down with our dogs at our feet, watching the leaves blowing in the wind. Relaxing in the moment of peace and harmony, I figured out a good way to get water easier.
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。
I decided to make a pipe to convey water.
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My neighbors came to my house to get water at dusk.
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At the end of the fifth grade, there was a burst of excitement in the classroom. The school year was almost over, and we would be moving on to a new school for the sixth grade. All the girls made autograph books (签名册) and collected signatures.
As I signed my classmates’ books, I noticed their moms had written in them, too. Such sweet thoughts were expressed, “I couldn’t be prouder of you. Can’t wait to see how you like junior high!” “You’re graduating. Congratulations! We love you and know you have a bright future!” ...
I asked my mother to sign mine, too. She was busy, but she said she’d sign it. Several days later, when I asked about it, she told me she just forgot. Anyway, she handed it back to me later. I was anxious to see what encouraging words she had written. And this is what I found on the page:
When a thing is first begun,
Never leave it till it’s done.
Be the labor great or small,
Do it well or not at all.
Mom
My heart sank. That was it? I was disappointed that there were no words of pride or encouragement. It was just a stupid poem-another indication to me that if I couldn’t be perfect, I wasn’t good enough.
I held back my tears, not expressing my disappointment.
That page in that handmade book bothered me for years,
I battled perfectionism and low self-respect and never felt good enough for most of my life. Many times, I gave up on things after I barely got started. All I could hear was "You’re not good enough."
When my mother was in her eighties and in a nursing home, I gave her a book to fill out so we could know more about her. It had hints (暗示) at the top of each page and then blank space to respond. I wanted her to write down her memories and a lifetime of experiences, so I. along with her grandchildren, would have some precious sections of her life.
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。
In the beginning, she was very excited.
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One day I went to the nursing home to see her, only to find her sleeping, with the book lying beside her.
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Magnet (磁铁) fishing is a new trend in which a heavy-duty magnet is pulled through a body of water to see what metal objects can be brought to the surface, And while most of these treasure hunters find common items like cans, nails and bicycles, some lucky people have been able to find something surprising.
George Tindale, a 15-year-old with an adventurous spirit, searches riverbeds for lost treasures as a hobby. One lucky day, he struck gold when his heavy-duty magnet pulled out a safe (保险箱) containing thousands of dollars. Then he surprised everyone by tracking down the safe’s rightful owner and returning the safe to him.
George made his unbelievable discovery one day when he was searching the River With am in Grantham, Lincolnshire, with his father, Kevin. They both enjoy magnet fishing: using a strong magnet to pull lost metal objects out of river and ocean depths.
When George and Kevin’s magnet found a heavy object, the curious pair pulled it out to see what they had discovered. They wiped years of river sand and mud from a small safe and forced it open.
Inside, they found some wet business documents, an old wallet and a bag containing $2,500. Further check discovered that the safe also contained several bank cards, which listed the name they needed to track down the rightful owner. After some online searching, they learned that a local businessman of the same name, Rob Everett, reported his safe stolen 22 years ago. George and Kevin helped right the wrong 22 years later.
George and Kevin found Rob through his current business. Shocked that someone had found his safe 22 years after it had been stolen, Rob made plans to meet George and Kevin in his office.
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。
The owner of the safe told them the story of how it got lost.
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Rob was so impressed with George’s honesty that he would offer him a job.
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| A．By plane. | B．By car. | C．By train. |
1. What is the purpose of the speaker?
| A．To forecast the weather. | B．To keep people informed. | C．To make an advertisement. |
| A．A terrible storm. | B．Heavy air traffic. | C．Mechanical problems. |
| A．Change their flight route. | B．Offer them free hotels. | C．Return all their money. |
| A．Cairo. | B．Panama. | C．Buenos Aires. |
It is hard not to desire victory with all your efforts when the world seems so competitive, especially if you’re a boy growing up with those values. A boy called Edward grew up in a similar environment where winning was all that was valued, and he longed to succeed. He was good at running, so he called everyone in the nearby villages for a race. A large group of people from around came to see this exciting event!
Edward had been training hard for this race. He ran among the strongest boys from around the villages, and the young boy came out victorious! The crowd went wild with excitement as they cheerfully held banners (横幅) praising him. The boy loved the attention. It made him feel happy and energetic.
There were two types of races-short distances and long distances. The boy was unbeatable in both the races he competed in. The crowd loved him even more after the second victory; they clapped with excitement. The boy felt very proud of his achievements.
But among the crowd was a wise older man who did not seem as impressed with the boy’s performances as the rest. Just as the boy thought the races for the day were over, the old man shouted from the crowd, “There is one more race left, the most important one.” The boy was surprised by the additional race, but he was, confident he could win any race.
The old man brought two new competitors for the boy, a blind man and a weak old lady. “What type of race is this? I can easily win them,” the boy said. “The most important one,” repeated the old man. So, the boy ran the race as he knew he would win this time, too. When the boy crossed the finish line, the blind man was still at the start, and the old lady had just started to move. The boy was successful, and he raised his hands with great joy after his victory.
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 his disbelief, the crowd was very silent.
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Finally, all three crossed the finish line together.
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