Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, which I knew deeply from my grandson. As a result of a rare disease, I lost most of my hair. Being hairless felt strange, I tried to cover my head. I experimented with each of my hats to find a proper covering. Unfortunately, they were all either too warm or too tight. It was really painful.
During the day, I usually put on a scarf at home. However, wore is away from the house. The wig certainly improved my appearance, but it wasn’t comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time.
When my grandchildren visited me some months later, I wore my wig all the time. I put it on when I got up in the morning and didn’t take it off until bedtime. Since the piece looked similar to my natural hair, the kids weren’t aware of the difference.
All went well until my four-year-old granddaughter unexpectedly walked into my bedroom one morning. I was taking a shower and had temporarily placed my wig on top of a lampshade to keep it from flattening. My granddaughter saw the wig hanging over the lampshade and cried in terror (恐惧). She tore out of the room, sounding the alarm that something terrible had happened to her grandma. She grabbed her brother and dragged him back into my room to investigate.
Wondering what was happening outside, I walked out of the bathroom, with a bathrobe but nothing on my head. I couldn’t understand why my granddaughter was looking at me as if I were a monster (怪兽) from outer space.
She continued to stare at me in panic, as if wondering why this hairless creature was wearing her grandmother’s clothes. Where had her grandmother gone, and who was this strange person with the hairless head?
My grandson, who was seven and had heard about my disease, understood a few things about wigs. He tried to calm his sister, but she was still too upset to recognize me.
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。
I explained to her that the wig was fake hair.
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Several weeks after my grandchildren returned home, I received a small package.
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Looking over the top of the book, I glanced across at the new girl named Rochelle. She only joined our class at the beginning of the week. It must be hard starting a new school in the middle of the year.
At last, the bell went for the end of the day. I spotted Rochelle running towards a tall woman who must be her mum. Then I saw a surprising thing. Rochelle’s mum was waving her arms round and making shapes with her fingers, and Rochelle was doing the same with hers. It was like they were talking to each other with their hands. Oh, could her mother be deaf? My mind was filled with questions.
The next day, I was reading this week’s words when I felt a tap (轻拍) on my shoulder. I looked up and Rochelle was standing in front of me. “Shall we test each other?” she asked, pointing to my spelling book.
“Yes, of course,” I replied. But I was still wondering how to ask the questions that had been tumbling (翻腾) around in my head since yesterday.
“So, um, that hand thing you did with your mum…”
“Signing.”
“Yeah, signing. Is it because she’s, um, deaf?”
“Yes, both my parents are deaf, so I communicate with them through sign.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That must be really difficult.” I could tell by the frown on Rochelle’s face that I’d said something wrong, but I didn’t know what. “So, did your parents need someone to help them look after you when you were a baby?”
“Of course not,” Rochelle got annoyed. “Why would being deaf mean they can’t look after me? Being deaf doesn’t mean they’re stupid,” she was almost shouting. “In fact, they’re much cleverer than most people I know.” Hearing that, I got bet all over. I didn’t say her parents were stupid. But before I could explain, the bell went and she strode (阔步行走) out of the classroom. I hurried after her, but when I tried to speak to her, she kept her back to me as if I were her enemy.
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。
After school, I saw Rochelle and her mother moving their hands quickly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________All of a sudden, Rochelle was coming over to me, with her eyes watery and red.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . My phone was an extension of myself. I couldn’t go anywhere
When I was watching TV shows or movies and there was a boring part, I
I have welcomed silence into my life with open arms and am enjoying the increased
As much as having a smartphone was
| A．through | B．without | C．despite | D．upon |
| A．updates | B．instructions | C．assessments | D．decisions |
| A．symbol | B．responsibility | C．reality | D．addiction |
| A．conscious | B．shameful | C．foolish | D．random |
| A．sell | B．pull | C．throw | D．mind |
| A．avoided | B．denied | C．missed | D．allowed |
| A．assist | B．improve | C．associate | D．occupy |
| A．requests | B．thoughts | C．directions | D．comments |
| A．instead of | B．regardless of | C．but for | D．apart from |
| A．creativity | B．productivity | C．knowledge | D．independence |
| A．routine | B．necessity | C．loneliness | D．temptation |
| A．genuine | B．grateful | C．direct | D．desperate |
| A．naturally | B．certainly | C．seemingly | D．gradually |
| A．wonder | B．imagination | C．interest | D．authenticity |
| A．depressive | B．comfortable | C．stressful | D．boring |
4 . Going against the tide of flocking to well-known tourist destinations on vacation, a growing number of holidaymakers in China tend to spend their leisure time at lesser-known attractions. Reverse tourism (逆向旅游) has appeared as a new trend among young holidaymakers in China.
According to data from an online travel agency, the number of rooms booked at hotels in less-traveled cities during the holiday was up 30 percent year-on-year. Bookings for four-star or five-star hotels in less-traveled places all increased ten times at a minimum. Some lesser-known scenic spots posted double-digit (两位数的) growth during the holiday. Baimaiquan Park in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, received 52,100 visits in the seven days, up to 15.78 percent year-over-year.
Besides crowds, some vacationers chose less-traveled places to save on the cost of trips to popular destinations. In addition, lesser-known attractions are not as “commercial” as developed ones and are able to offer more actual experiences and natural encounters.
Essentially speaking, total relaxation is becoming a real expectation for many people when they travel. Changes in demand may be the fundamental reason for the popularity of reverse tourism. COVID-19 is another key factor fueling reverse tourism. As preventive measures continue, traveling has an unpredictable quality. Travelers have thus become more cautious and tend to choose local attractions or places with fewer tourists.
“The rise of reverse tourism is not a bad thing,” said Zhengzhou Daily. It means that vacationers now have more options, which brings more possibilities to the tourism market. More importantly, it noted, the trend is set to force popular destinations to improve themselves instead of resting on their past honor.
Jiang Han, a senior researcher, said that reverse tourism will become one of the future directions for the market. To give a real boost to the tourism market, Jiang suggested that more efforts be made to tap the potential of underestimated, lesser-known destinations. It is necessary to dig deeper into the local customs and highlight the local characteristics to improve the quality of local tourism.
1. What do the statistics in paragraph 2 tell us?| A．The popularity of travel agency in China. |
| B．The high income of hotels during holidays. |
| C．The contributions of tourism to the economy. |
| D．The increasing trend of reverse tourism in China. |
| A．The impact of COVID-19. |
| B．Holidaymakers’ changing needs for travel. |
| C．The lower cost of heading to less-traveled places. |
| D．The lack of innovative improvements in famous attractions. |
| A．It will drop with the recovery of economy. |
| B．It benefits both tourists and the tourism market. |
| C．It is beneficial to spread local culture to tourists. |
| D．It blocks the development of some popular resorts. |
| A．Upgrading the supporting facilities in tourist areas. |
| B．Improving the management rules of tourist attractions further. |
| C．Exploring the potential and features of lesser-known attractions. |
| D．Promoting the local characteristics of China through online media. |
One day my grandfather gave me a gift — a piggy bank. It had an opening through which one could put money in, but the opening was not big enough to reach in and get the money out. The only way to get at the money was to break the piggy bank open. My grandfather explained that was the whole idea: the piggy bank would help save my money so that, at the end of the year, I might have enough for that bike I dreamt about. He asked if I would put some of the money he gave me into the piggy bank. I agreed immediately and promised that I wouldn’t break it open until I could afford my dream bike.
Whenever he gave me a little bit of money, he would say, “This is for spending. But you can save some and put it in the piggy bank if you want to save it up.” When he gave me larger amounts, it was clearly for saving in the piggy bank. For some time, this worked fine. I loved shaking the piggy bank and hearing the sound of the coins. As it became heavier, I grew more excited, dreaming about buying my new bike, and all the adventures I could have on it.
Whenever I wanted to take some money from the piggy bank to buy delicious ice-creams or beautiful pens, I would imagine riding my bike on the street, and thinking of that, my thoughts about ice-creams or pens went away. So for almost six months, I only put money into the piggy bank without taking any out. I thought I wouldn’t break my piggy bank for anything. But one day something unexpected happened. I saw a piece of news on the television that a serious earthquake (地震) had happened in a nearby province. As many houses were destroyed, a lot of children became homeless. Seeing their shabby clothes and crying faces, I was sleepless that night.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1: I knew I should do something.__________________________________________________________________________________
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Paragraph 2: My grandfather was surprised by my behavior._____________________________________________________________________
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6 . Most glitter(小发光物品), which is made up of tiny pieces of plastic, is a huge danger to the environment. “Everyone talks about the mountain of plastic floating in the ocean. You can grab empty bottles from the water, but with tiny pieces, it’s impossible,” says Victor Alvarez, a chemical engineer who sells an eco-friendly alternative to glitter.
In the early 2,000s, Alvarez worked for Mercedes-Benz in Germany, where he became fond of any technology that protected the environment. A few years after leaving Mercedes-Benz, he founded Blue Sun International in Miami, which makes specialty ingredients for the skin and hair care industries.
Glitter is a popular ingredient in cosmetics, such as eye shadows and lipsticks. So Alvarez began researching an alternative that didn’t contain plastic to make his products safer for the environment. That’s when he came across Ronald Britton Ltd., a company which had developed a plastic-free, biodegradable product called Bioglitter. It is made from regenerative cellulose(纤维素) sourced from hardwoods, primarily eucalyptus(桉树). Alvarez worked with the company to become the first retailer to sell Bioglitter in America. In 2018, he formed Today Glitter in order to sell the biodegradable glitter directly to consumers through its website.
Today Glitter sells two kinds of biodegradable glitter Bioglitter Sparkle and Bioglitter Pure. Both are almost plastic-free and can biodegrade in a short time. Meanwhile, they are as shiny as regular glitter. All these products are third-party tested by TÜV, an international organization that provides testing and certification for compostable (可降解的) and biodegradable products.
Despite its benefits, the hardwoods needed to make biodegradable glitter cause it to cost about twice as much as conventional glitter. A small glass container that contains just 6 grams of Bioglitter costs $10, while the same amount of regular glitter could cost at least half that amount. Alvarez expects the price will come down over time. He also expects the company’s sales to cross $1 million next year. But more importantly, Alvarez says, his main goal is to effect a meaningful change.
1. While at Mercedes Benz, Alvarez .| A．developed a way to grab glitter in the sea | B．became interested in the environment |
| C．attempted to live a plastic-free life | D．created a kind of harmless glitter |
| A．It is a plastic-free ingredient for eye shadows. |
| B．It will soon be on sale in the American market. |
| C．It is very difficult to break down in the wild. |
| D．It was invented by Blue Sun International. |
| A．To show Bioglitter Sparkle and Bioglitter Pure are popular. |
| B．To stress it provides a broad range of testing services. |
| C．To prove Today Glitter’s products are eco-friendly. |
| D．To explain many plastic products are low-quality. |
| A．The complex process of making glitter. | B．How to expand its overseas market. |
| C．How to attract potential investors. | D．The high cost of raw materials. |
The telephone rang. Jack answered the call from his mother, “Mr. Richard died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel (新闻影片) as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son.
“Jack, did you hear me?”
“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him.” Jack said.
“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisced (追忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.
After Jack’s father died, Mr. Richard stepped in to make sure Jack had a man’s influence in his life and it was Mr. Richard who taught Jack many things. Jack wouldn’t have been in this business if it hadn’t been for Mr. Richard.
Busy as he was, he returned home and attended the funeral, which was small and uneventful. Mr. Richard had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before Jack had to return home, he and his mother stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the middle of the room, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... Jack stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” Mom asked.
“Where is the watch, the thing he valued most?” he seemed to ask himself.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
“It was a gold pocket watch that he used to wear every day,” he told his mom.
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One day Jack received a package on his desk.
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The weather was extremely hot as the midday sun shone with all its might. 23-year-old Richard had just gotten down from a truck he hitchhiked(搭便车)and could barely stand on the hot road. His feet were getting baked in his smelly sneakers. He panted heavily, looking around for a drink. But as far as his sunken eyes could see, there was not a drop of water.
Since Richard’s band in Los Angeles broke up several weeks ago, he had to come to reunite with his parents. Just as he finished a two-mile hike on the deserted highway, he stopped on the roadside. Suddenly, he noticed a little bike lying there.
When he approached near, he saw a water bottle and a small helmet lying nearby. He leaned closer and noticed fresh little muddy footsteps disappearing into the woods. Richard’s brows shot up in terror as he hurried toward the entrance of the dense forest. It seemed very unusual for a little kid to be all alone there.
Imagine a little kid out there alone! Richard’s instincts(直觉)told him something was wrong, so he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to the child. Suddenly, he heard a faint cry from the heart of the woods. It was a little girl’s cry for help.
“Don’t give up! I’m coming!” Richard ran quickly after noticing a little girl and her dog holding onto a log(原木)and floating on the river.
The current was washing away almost everything on its course, and the girl was lucky that the log was stuck onto something under the surface. But that would not hold on for long as the current grew faster and stronger.
Richard wanted to pull the two out to the shore before they were washed toward the edge of the waterfall, which was just meters away. However, he couldn’t think of anything immediately. Just then, his mind acted fast, and he ran back to get something.
“Hold on…I’ll be right back,” he assured her.
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。
Moments later, Richard returned with a long vine(藤).
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“Thank you so much!" the girl cried as she finally fell on the muddy shore.
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9 . We’ve all felt the tap to the soul you get from driving by your old high school or hearing a tune you once danced to. But why is that feeling so universal?
Nostalgia, a combination of the Greek words nostos (homecoming) and algos (pain), was a special type of homesickness associated with soldiers fighting far-off wars. Seventeenth century physicians worried such thoughts put health at risk. In the 19th century, doctors believed it could cause irregular heartbeat, fever, and death.
Our understanding of nostalgia has developed since then. “It’s a very mixed emotion,” says Frederick Barrett, a neuroscientist. That makes it hard to fit into existing theory, which typically categorizes emotions as either positive or negative. And triggers—the cars, music or smells—are extremely personal. Therefore, designing a standardized study is difficult.
But we do know nostalgia has a marked effect on us: brain imaging studies show that those experiences have their own neural signature. Neuroscientists argued that the emotion is co-produced by the brain’s recall and reward systems. They found that nostalgic images use the memory-managing hippocampus (海马区) more than other sights, as people mine autobiographical (个人经历的) details deep in the past. This mental effort pays off: as the hippocampus activates, so does one of the brain’s reward centers.
That longing for the past might be a protective mechanism, says Tim Wildschut, a professor. His work also suggests a more primitive purpose for the feeling: it developed to remind our ancient ancestors of pleasant physical feelings during periods of discomfort and pain.
Recent research suggests the occasional look backwards can give us a boost in unnoticeable ways: by increasing self-respect and protecting against depression. Nostalgia’s apparent power to jump-start one’s memory also seems to improve recall ability in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
New flavors of “reminiscence therapy” (回忆疗法) are emerging around the world. In 2018, the George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers opened its first Town Square, an adult daycare facility designed to look like a small town in 1950s America. Though Town Square has yet to publish peer-reviewed data on the success of the program, clients say it has helped seniors access dusty memories and reconnect with loved ones.
Scientists need a lot more information to adequately characterize this complex and bittersweet feeling. But while centuries of doctors considered nostalgia a deadly disease, we now know: it can help us make it through today.
1. What can we learn about nostalgia?| A．It was a well-defined scientific idea. | B．It’s more common among soldiers. |
| C．It was first discovered in Greece. | D．It’s set off by personal experiences. |
| A．Categories. | B．Effects. | C．Causes. | D．Characteristics. |
| A．It protects people from Alzheimer’s disease. | B．It helps ease people’s discomfort. |
| C．It gives seniors a sense of security. | D．It improves people’s learning ability. |
| A．Textbook. | B．Scientific magazine. | C．Autobiography. | D．Laboratory report. |
10 . About 20 years ago, Daniel Hoffman, a classically trained violinist met a young musician playing in the town square in Marrakech, an ancient city in Morocco. They communicated in the little French they both knew, but their main common language was music. On the back of a motorbike of the fellow violinist, Hoffman weaved through the back streets of the city and then learned his first lessons in Andalusian music, the classical music of North Africa.
That experience gave birth to an idea: What would it be like to try to learn how to play different violin styles around the world in just one week? Oh, yes, and at the end of that week, play a concert. He even got a name for the concept “musical extreme sports”.
It took him almost two decades to launch that dream with a friend, who introduced him to the wonders of Kickstarter, a funding platform for creative projects. Up to now, the dream has taken the form of a new documentary currently airing on American public television stations called “Otherwise. It’s Just Firewood.”
In the documentary, Hoffman travels to County Clare, Ireland, where he takes lessons with James Kelly, a master Irish violin player, for less than a week and then performs together with him in front of an audience; many of whom are star Irish musicians.
The film is what Hoffman hopes will be the first of an eventual series of short documentaries, showing him learning to play the violin in a variety of styles, including the folk music of south India, Sweden, Greece, Romania, and West Virginia.
That would add to his extensive repertoire (全部曲目), which already includes Balkan, Middle Eastern, and Turkish styles. “The big joke is what’s the difference between the fiddle and the violin? It’s the person who plays it,” says Niall Keegan, a traditional flute player. “It’s the music you make on it that makes it Irish or English or French or classical or jazz or whatever else. It’s how we imagine it and how we create through it that make it and give it character.”
“Otherwise, it’s Just Firewood.” he says, words that became the film’s title.
1. Where does Hoffman’s idea of musical extreme sports come from?| A．His sightseeing tour on a motorbike seat. |
| B．His exploration of the local music. |
| C．His constantly changing taste in violin styles. |
| D．His cooperation with the young violinist. |
| A．Influential. | B．Time-consuming. | C．Challenging. | D．Controversial. |
| A．record Hoffman’s experience in learning various violin styles |
| B．help Hoffman to become a master violin player |
| C．are funded by American public television stations |
| D．introduce different styles of musicians around the world |
| A．the power of diversified artistic expression | B．the pleasure in learning traditional music |
| C．the technique of instrument playing | D．the importance of famous artists |
