2 . 阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语编写两段,使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I was a single mother in my 30s who lived down and out with my daughter Peggy in a small apartment, struggling hard to make our needs meet.

One day, I headed to the downtown for an interview. I sat down in the streetcar, and there against the seat was a beautiful silk umbrella with a silver handle decorated with gold scrolls, among which there was a name carved.

On impulse(冲动) I determined to find the owner myself. I got off the streetcar in the heavy rain and thankfully opened the umbrella to protect myself. Then I searched a telephone book for the name, I found it immediately and called it, waiting patiently, and then a lady answered.

"Yes, “she said in surprise, with extreme excitement." It was my umbrella which had been stolen a year ago.”

So appealing was her pleasure that I forgot I was looking for a job and went directly to her small house. She took the umbrella, with teary eyes, explaining with choking voice that the umbrella was given by her parents, now dead, Her happiness at retrieving(找回)this special possession was such that to have accepted her reward would have spoiled something, so I refused her offer and left.

The following months were hard. I can only obtain temporary employment, for a small salary. What was worse, I had just lost my last job before Christmas, with only fifteen dollars left. Unless a miracle happened, I would be homeless in January, foodless and jobless. I had prayed steadily for weeks, and there had been no answer but this coldness and darkness.

The air was full of Christmas merriment, with the bells ringing and children shouting in the bitter dusk of the evening. But there should be no Christmas for me, I knew, no gifts, no remembrance whatsoever.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t control my tears on my way home, but I managed a smile so could greet my little daughter. She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding desirably for her Christmas gift. There I stood, frozen, overwhelmed by misery.

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

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Peggy rushed to answer it, calling that it must be Santa Claus.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Suddenly, a note attached to one package caught my eyes.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

My husband Fred and I moved to a new place. We bought a small house in a reasonably good neighborhood close to Fred’s office. It was a one-and-a-half-floor brick house built for soldiers returning from World War II. That house impressed nobody except me. We had to decorate it first because it was so old. Fred and I started to paint the walls and the doors. I also worked outside the house, helping Fred break the ugly fence between us and the neighbors and grow some flowers.

After I finished painting walls in the bedroom upstairs, I brought up some water and old towels to wash the window. I washed the inside, then opened the window and stepped out on the kitchen roof to wash the outside. The window was the kind that you couldn’t open from the outside.

I was so devoted to my housework that I didn’t realize the window gradually closed. After finishing cleaning, I stood back to admire the clean glass. And then, I tried to open the window, but I failed. Standing on my kitchen roof, I looked around the neighborhood. That was a lovely afternoon. Where were the neighbor kids riding their bikes? They often rode back from the park. No young voices shouted to one another. The neighbor on the left was at work. Carroll and Julie, an elderly couple, lived in the house at the corner and were our nextdoor neighbors. They were likely to be at home, but our kitchen was on the wrong side of our house for me to call them.

I sat down and thought about my situation. Even if someone came along, he couldn’t walk in the house and open the window. The doors were locked. That was my husband’s doing. “When you’re working on an indoor project, anyone could just open the door and come in. So, just keep the doors closed,” he would say. I just needed a rope to get down. I sat there, thinking how stupid I was and wishing a rope would magically appear.

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。

Suddenly, I heard a little boy laughing.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The boy looked at me for a while and left to ask for help.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . When you open your closet (壁橱), chances are that you will see some unwanted clothes lying in the corner. But instead of throwing them away, wouldn’t you rather give them a second chance to shine? Well, people around the world are doing just that.

This spring, upcycled denim (牛仔布) and sustainable (可持续的) lace are gaining popularity. They are part of the “ethical” (合乎道德的) and “sustainable” trends that have become the biggest buzzwords in fashion in recent years, the Guardian reported.

Upcycling, according to sustainability website TriplePundit, is a way to process an old item to make it just as good, or even better, than it was originally. For example, you could turn some old pajamas (睡衣) into a new summer dress.

Among upcyclable fabrics (面料), denim is one of the most comfortable and fashionable. That’s why many people like to create their own unique upcycled denim items, such as cutting a headband (头带) from a denim shirt.

Many fashion companies have also joined the trend. For example, there are upcycled denim companies that combine the spirit of vintage (复古的) denim with the principles of sustainability. “For as long as denim has been around, we have found ways to reuse it and upcycle it,” US stylist Kelly Nagel told fashion website sulky.com. “Denim is such a great fabric for so many things, and I especially love it when it has been ‘worn-in’ (磨平的). That is when denim has the most character.”

Lace is another timeless fabric that can be repurposed. According to the Guardian, it can be created from recycled fishing nets and other nylon (尼龙) waste products and used for making elegant dresses or beautiful decorations.

Indeed, fashion holds up a mirror to society. Now, the fashion industry cares not only about creating new looks, but also about its impact on the environment. “Choosing better fabrics is essential to us transforming this industry for the better,” Clara Vuletich, a Sydney-based sustainability expert, told the Guardian. “If you consciously decide to purchase clothes made using a recycled material or an exciting new fiber (纤维), such as cruelty-free leather (皮革) made in a lab, you are supporting companies creating new markets, and avoiding the negative impacts associated with conventional textiles (纺织品).”

1. What is likely to be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．Unwanted clothes to shine	B．Denim or lace ,which is getting more popularity?
C．Fashion, a mirror to society.	D．Trend for recycled fashion

2. What is the idea lying behind upcycled denim and sustainable lace?

A．Making use of advanced production techniques.

B．Making money for charity with unwanted clothes.

C．Being more friendly to the environment.

D．Changing fashion trends as quickly as possible.

3. Why does Kelly Nagel think denim is especially suitable for upcycling?

A．It is a material that lasts a long time.	B．It shows character after being worn in.
C．It matches well with many other fabrics.	D．It is the cheapest fabric to upcycle.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．How fashion reflects social changes.	B．How fashion benefits from social development.
C．The bright future of the fashion industry.	D．Potential problems of upcycling.

5 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．Both are about where to draw the line.

B．Both can continue for generations.

C．Neither has any clear winner.

D．Neither can be put to an end.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them.

D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

3. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.

A．give orders to the other

B．know more than the other

C．gain respect from the other

D．get the other to behave properly

4. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

B．Examples of the parent-teen war.

C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

D．Future of the parent-teen relationship.

6 . Lydia was a smart girl，very smart. She loved being with her friends，going shopping and doing what every other girl likes to do. There was only one ____ that made Lydia self-conscious(敏感):She was ____. One autumn day Lydia and her best friend Judy were taking the train to do one of their favorite ____: shopping. As a normal child，Judy, both caring and patient, spoke to Lydia in ____ language all the time. The train continued to make its occasional(临时) stops when a boy，no older than fifteen years old，sat in the ____ across from Lydia. Lydia couldn’t help but notice how often the boy would ____ over at her to watch her move her ____ rapidly. This was one of the things that made Lydia unhappy.

“Why must everyone stare at me?” Lydia asked her best friend，trying to ____ the boy’s stare. “Doesn’t he ____ that I am deaf? There is no need to stare at me. He is probably thinking that I am very ____ or disabled. I _____people who prejudge(预先判断)others!” Lydia had become quite ____ ...

___, the train came to a pause, waking up the boy in deep thought then. He got up, ready to get off at his ____. Instead of hurrying off the train, however, he ____ to Lydia casually and stared to _____his hands as she had just moments before. “Excuse me，but I couldn’t help but notice that you don’t like it when people stare at you. I’m ____ I made you uncomfortable. To be honest，just because of that，I ____ to get to “talk” to other ____ in here. I feel self-conscious and different，so I was _____when I saw you. I thought maybe we could be friends.” With that，the boy walked off the train.

1.

A．quality

B．detail

C．difference

D．ability

2.

A．shy

B．deaf

C．smart

D．selfish

3.

A．hobbies

B．sports

C．experiments

D．exercises

4.

A．native

B．written

C．foreign

D．sign

5.

A．train

B．seat

C．front

D．back

6.

A．glanced

B．called

C．laughed

D．pointed

7.

A．hands

B．position

C．baggage

D．purse

8.

A．catch

B．avoid

C．disturb

D．face

9.

A．remember

B．care

C．understand

D．realize

10.

A．self-conscious

B．attractive

C．strange

D．painful

11.

A．admire

B．pity

C．dislike

D．appreciate

12.

A．shocked

B．upset

C．frightened

D．worried

13.

A．Suddenly

B．Naturally

C．Immediately

D．Directly

14.

A．school

B．home

C．stop

D．store

15.

A．drove

B．rushed

C．announced

D．headed

16.

A．move

B．shake

C．raise

D．wave

17.

A．sorry

B．surprised

C．relieved

D．frustrated

18.

A．agree

B．promise

C．expect

D．continue

19.

A．tourists

B．girls

C．boys

D．passengers

20.

A．curious

B．determined

C．sad

D．excited

7 . Many of us have had this experience: we lie down in a bed other than our own, perhaps at a friend’s house or in a hotel room, and find it difficult or impossible to fall asleep. Is it because the bed is uncomfortable? Maybe, but perhaps there can be other reasons.

According to a new study published in Current Biology, a significant reason is what the scientists call “first night effect”. They believe that one side of the brain acts as a “night watch” to warn us about potential dangers. It forces us to stay awake on the first night in a new environment.

For the study, 35 young volunteers were asked to sleep in a sleep lab for several days. Meanwhile, researchers watched their brain activities.

According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were more active than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity decreased as days went by, falling even to the point of complete calm. In this process, the participants got an increasingly better sleep experience.

The findings suggest that the different rhythms of the sides of the brain affect our sleep. When the two sides work differently, the balance between them is broken. Thus, the brain can’t relax and is sensitive to anything strange in the surroundings, just as it is in daytime.

“At some level, the brain is continuing to analyze things, even though you are not aware of the analysis,” US professor Jerome Siegel told Smithsonian Magazine. “If something unusual happens – if a door opens or you hear a key in a lock – you can be alert, even though the intensity of the stimulus is quite low.”

More surprisingly, this phenomenon is similar to the way some animals sleep. Whales, dolphins, and many birds can sleep with half of their brain while the other half stays awake, with its corresponding eye staying open.

The researchers think that it is the result of evolution, and works to protect us in potentially dangerous environments.

If you have ever had what you think is “first night effect”, researchers suggest that you bring your own pillow or sleep in a room similar to your bedroom next time you sleep away from home.

1. What did the new study published in Current Biology find?

A．A comfortable bed could help people sleep well in a new environment.

B．Most people could sleep well in a new environment after the first night.

C．Brain activities affected people’s sleep in a new environment.

D．The right brain determined how well people slept in a new environment.

2. What was found out about the volunteers?

A．Their left brains were more active on the first night.

B．Their right brains became more active as days went by.

C．Their right brains kept them awake the whole night.

D．They slept better in the sleep lab than at home.

3. What do the researchers think makes the brain sensitive to new things?

A．The bad sleep experiences people have had.

B．The tiredness that people suffer from in daytime.

C．The imbalance between the two sides of the brain.

D．The strangeness of the things that people come across.

4. What do the researchers think of “first night effect”?

A．It has evolved as a way to protect us.

B．It’s a characteristic that animals don’t have.

C．It’s completely different from the way animals sleep.

D．It helps people to get used to new environments quickly.

8 . Three-quarters of a million tourists flock to the white beaches every year, but this booming industry has come at a price. Poisonous smoke rising from open fires, rubbish made up of plastic bottles，packets…”,it’s a far cry from the white sands, clear waters and palm trees that we associate with the Maldives(马尔代夫）,the paradise island holiday destination set in the Indian Ocean.

Of its 200 inhabited islands,which are spread across an area of 35,000 square miles,99 are good resorts (旅游胜地).So many tourists come every year, more than double the local population. Of these, over 1 00,000 travel from the UK. The capital，Male，is four times more densely populated than London. Given these facts, it’s hardly surprising that the Maldives has a waste disposal problem.

Years ago，when the tourists left，the government had to deal with a stream of rubbish. Their solution was to turn one of the islands into a dumping ground. Four miles west of Male is the country’s dumping ground, Thilafushi. What you are seeing here is a view of the Maldives on which no honeymooners would like to clap eyes. Each visitor produces 3.5 kg of waste per day. The country dumps more than 330 tons of rubbish on the island every day.

Now, since many waste boats, tired of waiting seven hours or more, directly offload then goods into the sea, the government of the Maldives has banned the dumping of waste on the k land. So,the waste boats ship the rubbish to India instead.

1. The   underlined part in paragraph can probably be understood as“     ”.

A．It’s quite similar to

B．It’s a long distance from

C．It’s a loud shout from

D．It’s totally different from

2. What is the main cause of the waste disposal problem?

A．The large local population.

B．Too many waste boats.

C．The large number of tourists.

D．Dumping rubbish into the sea.

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．It is much more crowded in Male than in London.

B．Another island will be used as a dumping ground.

C．No honeymooners are willing to visit the Maldives.

D．Waste on islands will be offloaded directly into the sea.

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To attract more tourists to the Maldives.

B．To state the waste disposal problem in the Maldives

C．To call on us to protect the environment,

D．To explain the causes of pollution in the Maldives.

9 . Raised in a motherless home，my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home，Dad never met me，even in severe weather. If I grumbled，he’d say in his loudest father-voice，“That’s what your legs are for！”

The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.

It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop，I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.

A row of hedge(树篱)edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey，I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening，the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge，moving toward the house. Upon closer observation，I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew，each time I’d come home，he had stood behind the hedge，watching，until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care，after all.

On later visits，that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home，I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair.“ So！My son，it’s you！”he’d say，his face lengthening into pretended surprise.

I replied，“Yes，Dad，it’s me.I’m home.”

1. What does the underlined word“grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Agreed willingly.	B．Explained clearly.
C．Spoke unhappily.	D．Accepted happily.

2. What made the author feel upset was         .

A．the tiredness after long hours in labs

B．the feeling of being less than valued

C．the fear of seeing something moving

D．the loneliness of riding the bus home

3. The author’s father watched behind the hedge because____

A．he was concerned about his son’s safety

B．he wanted to help his son build up courage

C．he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway

D．he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Riding Bus Alone.	B．My College Life.
C．Terrible Journey Home.	D．My Father’s Secret.

10 . Parrots have been known to imitate words, but have you ever thought how they communicate? The sounds they make may sound meaningless to us, but new research has found that wild parrots are actually given names by their parents.

According to a study led by Karl Berg of Cornell University in the US, baby birds are given a unique sound of their own, which stays with them for their entire lives.

In the study, the team placed hidden cameras in the nests of 17 different wild parrots. After studying their sounds, the team identified slight differences in the calls parents used to communicate with each chick. And even before the baby birds had learned to communicate properly, the baby birds seemed to recognize and imitate their calls.

Sounds very similar to humans, doesn’t it?

The study also proved that these signature calls are acquired socially not genetically. To do this, scientists switched the eggs in nine of the 17 nests, so that half of the parrots were raising baby birds that weren’t theirs. Using the recordings, the scientists concluded the baby birds all used names similar to those the parents (whether biological or nonbiological) called them for the first weeks of their lives.

Lucie McNeil, from National Geographic, said, “this would be the first [proven] example of a non-human species teaching acoustical (声学的) communication.”

Lead scientist for the study, Karl Berg told National Public Radio of the US, “Most people say, ‘Well, all those calls are just noise,’ but I think they’re having conversations.”

Fox News also asked Berg what else the parrots might be saying? He replied, “The theory is that these birds are deciding where the food is, ‘Do we want to go 3 km North-Northwest?’ “Do we want to go to that field?’ They are sort of arguing or discussing.”

Natural science author, Virginia Morell, wrote: “Very gradually, scientists are learning to decode the conversations of very different animals that live lives rich with plans, quarrels, and romance.”

You never know, if the science of animal translation keeps advancing, we might one day be watching a reality series about parrots.

1. What did the new research find about wild parrots?

A．They can talk by learning from people.

B．The sounds they make are meaningless.

C．They have names given by their parents.

D．They have a unique way of making sounds.

2. What does the study suggest?

A．Different parrots are called differently by their parents.

B．Baby parrots can tell who their biological parents are.

C．Baby parrots can mimic their biological parents’ calls better.

D．Parrots are the most skilled animals in acoustical communication.

3. Why did the scientists switch the eggs in the study?

A．To see whether the parents could recognize their own babies.

B．To see whether the parrots made the same sounds all their lives.

C．To see whether the signature calls were acquired socially or genetically.

D．To see whether biological and nonbiological parents named babies differently.

4. The underlined word “decode” in the second-to-last paragraph is closest in meaning to “_____”.

A．imitate	B．understand
C．practice	D．create