Back in 2008, I lost my job and lived in my car with my wife and two teenage children. I was desperate for a new job, any job, so when I saw an ad for a position as a gatekeeper at a private home, I applied. The money wasn’t great, but the position came with a small one-bedroom apartment to get my family off the streets. And I had to pay debts with over 40% of my small salary every month. My wife and I agreed that whatever food we could afford to buy would go to the children. And whatever were leftovers were our meal, and sometimes there wasn’t much at all.
My boss was a man in his sixties, who showed his employees apparent haughtiness（傲慢）, never responding when I greeted him when I opened the gates. But I wouldn’t quit the job, though. My job consisted of standing watch, opening and closing the gates, and patrolling（巡逻）the grounds.
One afternoon, my rounds brought me around the back where the leftovers were thrown into the garbage bins, most of which stayed untouched. I was so hungry, so I went looking for leftovers in the bins and took them to my wife. Regardless of desperation and shame, I kept doing that almost every day.
Then one day, my boss watched me look for leftovers from a window. Ignoring the embarrassment, I walked away with the food.
The next morning, we were surprised by a large bag on our doorstep. Inside the bag were vegetables, milk, meat and a selection of fruit. We wondered who could have placed it there. My wife and I wept with gratitude. The next week, another bag of groceries arrived on our doorstep. And it appeared the next two years.
Then a shock hit us. The boss, who’d been in hospital for some kind of operation, was dead. I was frightened I’d lose my job, but everything went on as usual.
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 weekly food delivery arrived as usual, but along with my boss’ son this time.
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“He was almost deaf. People sometimes thought he was rude, but he was the kindest man,” said the boss’s son.
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2 . Friendships can hold an exceptional place in our life stories. What is it about the s connections that make them so unique? Before we dive into the science, let’s first observe on in action.
If I could somehow design a best friend, you know, put together all the ideal qualities of my perfect match, that person would pale in comparison to Priya. She’s always there for me. Last year after I failed my important exam, it felt like my whole world was crashing down. Priya was at my door at the news. I was a wreck, but she sat there with me and listened. We were on the same page!
Early childhood, adolescent, and adult friendships are all a little different in part because the brain works in different ways at those stages of life. Adolescence is a unique time when peer relationships take focus, and thanks to the developing brain, there are changes in the way you value, understand, and connect to friends. Teenage friends can seem attached at the hip.
Scientists describe adolescence as a social re adaption as teenagers begin to spend as much or more time with their friends than with their parents. This drive to hang with pals maybe due to changes in the brain’s reward centre. Its activation makes hanging out with others enjoyable and motivates you to spend more time with them. Neuroimaging(神经成像) studies show that this region is highly reactive during your teenage years, which may explain why adolescents seem to place a higher value on social interactions than children or adults.
Teenage friendships can also feel closer than the friendships of your childhood. This deeper connection is possible thanks to improvements in what scientists call Theory-of Mind the ability to understand others’ emotions, thoughts, motivations, and points of view. Babies begin to develop Theory of Mind around 18 months or so. And scientists know that it continues to improve and mature well into your teenage years and beyond. Likewise, regions within the social brain show increased connectivity during adolescence compared with childhood.
As a result, teens can better understand their friend’s perspectives, allowing for deeper connections to develop. The ability to connect with others somewhat depends on the coordination of actions, emotions, physiology, and thoughts. This is what psychologists call interpersonal synchrony.
1. Why did the author mention the exam in paragraph 2?| A．To introduce an exam. | B．To show their close relationship. |
| C．To serve a favorable example. | D．To argue against the opinion. |
| A．Adult friends are attached at the hip. |
| B．Teenagers’ value stay the same. |
| C．The brain is inactive during teenage years. |
| D．Peer relationships play a key role in the life. |
| A．It becomes better developed in adolescence. |
| B．It refers to regions within the social brain. |
| C．Babies begin to develop it around 8 months. |
| D．It refers to the ability to understand our own emotions. |
| A．Are friendships different? |
| B．Are friendships connected with your brain? |
| C．Do friendships matter? |
| D．How do adolescent friendships develop? |
3 . Earth is lighted up by bioluminescence(生物发光)but，for many of us，seeing the natural phenomenon is a rare treat：Catching the glow(光)of a firefly or witnessing a dolphin swimming through electric blue waters is a thrill.
Researchers are currently engineering glowing flowers and decorative plants that can cast a green light onto our living rooms. Observing plant’s health via its glow can be a way to instantly measure its health,and the side effect is anybody who wants a healthy glowing plant in their living room can have one.
A study published on Monday in Nature Biotechnology shows that this goal is well on its way to being a reality. The study authors announce they’ve created a method that causes plants to glow much brighter,and for a longer period of time,than previous efforts.Plants adapted by this method should be available for purchase within a few years.
The research was conducted through a teamwork between three scientific institutions and Plant,a biotech startup in Moscow.When this team examined a poisonous mushroom,they discovered that caffeic acid is responsible for its bioluminescence. In this new study, the team employed that information and inserted(嵌入)enzymes(酶) —which are specific to the mushroom —into the DNA of tobacco plants.In turn,the enzymes were able to interact with the caffeic acid in the tobacco plants,and cause them to glow both in the dark and in the daylight.
This method,the scientists claimed,made the plants 10 times brighter than previous efforts and the continuous light production didn’t harm the health of the plants. Interestingly, the light decreased as the leaves aged—but it also increased when the leaves were damaged. In turn, the team suggested this method could also help other researchers monitor plant responses to various pressures and changes in the environment. If a plant is short of water or a hungry sheep is harming a plant,bioluminescence could warn of this damage before it’s too late.
1. How can people quickly identify a decorative flower’s health condition?| A．By monitoring its glow. | B．By making it greener. |
| C．By testing the chemicals in it. | D．By putting it in the living room. |
| A．They may take the place of lamps. | B．They will appear on the market. |
| C．They can light up a whole living room. | D．They glow less bright than previous efforts. |
| A．They inserted caffeic acid into it. | B．They made it give out brighter light. |
| C．They grew it on the tobacco plants farm. | D．They put its enzymes into the tobacco plants. |
| A．Warning of potential damage from glowing plants. |
| B．Increasing light when glowing plants receive damage. |
| C．Effects of continuous light production on the glowing plants. |
| D．Benefits of combining specific enzymes with caffeic acid in plants. |
1. What did the second prize winners get each last year?
| A．A stamp book. | B．A bunch of roses. | C．An electronic dictionary. |
| A．The title of the story. |
| B．The prize they’ll get. |
| C．The style of the story. |
| A．By sending the story to The Book Show. |
| B．By posting the story to Acton Library. |
| C．By e-mailing the story to the speaker. |
| A．Age. | B．School background. | C．Family background. |
Last week, I watched an old couple when they walked through a local thrift (节俭) store. I had just dropped off a bag of clothes and a few other items I no longer wanted. When I got the opportunity, I stopped by just to look through the old records. Yes, I called them records, not CDs or MP3s, simply records, those round plastic things from ancient times that had music recorded on them.
Anyway, this couple moved slowly around me in search of items they had on a list they held tight in hand. They didn’t say much, but occasionally talked with the other and picked an item up. “No, it’s not suitable for her and she dislikes it,’’ one would say and move on.
My curiosity always got the best of me until I satisfied it by asking. “Can I help you find something?” I asked. They stopped, looking at me. Then the man said, “We are looking for old things that look new. Look, every new year in the past we tried to begin the year with new things. It was a goal to surround ourselves with things fresh and new so that we had new direction, new hopes and dreams for the year ahead. More importantly, we can give some gifts to Eva.”
“Eva? Who is she?” I asked. “She is a lovely 10-year-old girl we adopted three years ago. Her parents died in a serious traffic accident. She always wants to be a singer,” the man replied. When hearing those words, I felt sad and said, “I’m sorry for the girl. Can you tell me how does your search work out?” The lady sighed and said, “It took a long time for us to find a special gift, but we discovered it was in vain (徒劳的).”
I knew it’s difficult for the couple to solve the problem, so I decided to take action immediately. I said to the couplet can do you a favor. Please wait here for me.
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 turned around and ran out of the store.
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When I returned to the store, the couple sat near the counter (柜台).
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Peter must be dancing, shaking the whole room. Is at up suddenly and shouted out to my little brother above me, “Stop shaking the bed,would you?”In the meantime, he was saying, “It’s not me. It’s you.”
Seconds later, Mum rushed into our room with an extra worried face and a crying baby in her arms, screaming to us to run out of the house. By then I found things were flying everywhere. The room was shaking like a “jelly (果冻)”. The bookshelf fell on the ground.“What’s happening?”I was thinking. Peter was too scared to move. All of a sudden, I completely woke up and realized what was going on was the first earthquake I had ever experienced in my life. I grabbed a blanket from the bed, dragged Peter down, and left on foot in a flash.
In a second, I was shirtless and shoeless in the street with my neighbors, being thrown back and forth by the ground that seemed to turn to liquid. The tremble I felt from beneath the earth was like a truck passing or the subway moving underneath. The house swung and twisted as if it were made of paper. As we all stood in the street, some tried to call their family and friends but the networks broke down, and they couldn’t get through to anyone. People were hugging each other, anxiously trying to reach their loved ones or weeping in panic.
The chaos and noise kept growing when we sensed the smell of gas floating in the air. A woman in the crowd pointed to the front gate of a small house with a courtyard and a gated entrance. Obviously, it was close to collapsing, as glass and pieces of concrete rained down on the sidewalk. “Shut the gas and turn off the electricity. There’s a leak!”shouted the woman. It was our house. Mom must have been cooking just then and forgot the gas when the earthquake struck.
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。
No time to hesitate,I hurried back in, leaving Mom and Peter frozen where they were.
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When I came out and joined my family, everythingseemed to stop shaking.
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Teresa Perkins was driving 80 miles per hour along Route 340 on Wednesday. The woman knew she was going too fast, but it was the only hope she had. Her dog, Jett, was dying in the backseat. About a half hour earlier she had received a call from her daughter, who had been playing with Jett, a 3-year-old, 120-pound black German Shepherd. The ball they were playing with got stuck in Jett’s throat. The dog was struggling to breathe.
Perkins raced home to see if she could help, but the dog slobber (口水) had made the ball too slippery to pull out by hand. They put the dog in the backseat of her car and began their race to the vet in Waynesboro.
About halfway there, Perkins got caught in construction traffic. Jett was struggling even more at that point and Perkins knew she only had minutes, but she was now stopped in a line of cars. She began blowing her horn (喇叭) to get the attention of someone, anyone, when three construction workers walked up to her. In a panicked voice, she told them her dog was dying.
“By then my dog was pretty much dead,” Perkins said on Wednesday night. “He was lying in the car, not moving. I had heard him breathe, broken- winded, but then he quit. I was wildly crying and praying.”
Cavaja Holt was one of the workers standing there. He stuck his hand down the weak dog’s throat and pulled out the ball, but Jett still wasn’t breathing. “And the guy behind Holt tried to breathe in Jett’s mouth,” Perkins said. “And he did.” Perkins jumped out of the car and helped start doing first aid on Jett. The two were working together to save the dog’s life, when Holt cried, “He’s awake.”
Perkins began crying and just thanking Holt over and over. When she saw the line of cars, she thought she had made a mistake going that direction. It turned out that it was the best choice she could have made.
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。
Once Jett began breathing again, Perkins continued her trip to the vet.
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After arriving home, Perkins thought she was so anxious that she forgot to ask Holt’s name then.
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8 . Maryland is expected to become the first state of the USA to ban foam (泡沫橡胶)food packaging, takeout containers and cups The new proposed law passed both of the state's legislative bodies (立法机关)this week with enough votes to override a potential rejection signed by Gov. Larry Hogan, who has not publicly signaled whether he supported the law or not. The law would become the latest in a growing effort worldwide to ban kinds of single-use plastic products, due to their impacts on the environment.
With the statewide previous ban effort, Maryland's two counties, Prince George and Montgomery, had already banned foam packaging. Del. Brooke Lierman, who introduced similar legislation last year and in 2017, says changing public opinion helped her third attempt succeed.
“I think we have reached a danger point,” she says. “People are seeing how common single-use plastics are, and that they are not recyclable and never going away. People are beginning to understand the importance of living more sustainably. "
The new law would ban foam food packaging for products packaged in-state, including restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and grocery stores. The final version of the bill includes exceptions, such as meat. The ban would go into force on July 1, 2020 and would carry fines of $ 250.
The legislation was opposed by the Maryland Retailers Association, which warned that outlawing foam packaging could hurt small businesses by higher costs. Foam packaging remains popular among restaurants and the food industry because it is lightweight, inexpensive, and keeps food and drinks hot.
Foam food containers have been banned in cities or counties in 11 states, including Seattle, Portland, Washington D. C. , San Francisco, and numerous other cities in California. A ban in New York City took effect at the beginning of this year after a long legal battle ended last summer.
1. How did Maryland carry out the ban of foam food packaging?| A．By passing a new law. |
| B．By fining foam packaging users. |
| C．By closing some local companies. |
| D．By teaching people to focus on the environment. |
| A．Explain. | B．Prove. | C．Reject. | D．Tolerate. |
| A．Learning from other cities. | B．Getting medium's support. |
| C．Changing public opinion. | D．Hurting small businesses. |
| A．Foam food packages will disappear in the world. |
| B．People in Maryland support the law absolutely. |
| C．Foam food packages haven't any advantage at all. |
| D．Meat will be allowed to be sold in foam food packages in America. |
1. Why does the man refuse to fly?
| A．He wants to enjoy the scenery. |
| B．He thinks it's dangerous. |
| C．He likes taking the bus. |
| A．The car. | B．The bus. | C．The train. |
1. How old should the volunteers be?
| A．From 12 to 16. | B．From 12 to 60. | C．Over 60. |
| A．Show people the way. | B．Help the doctors. | C．Take care of children. |
| A．Selling flowers and trees. |
| B．Teaching people how to look after plants. |
| C．Looking after homeless dogs and cats in the garden. |
| A．By making a call. |
| B．By sending an e-mail. |
| C．By visiting its website. |
