1 . Robert was born on August 9, 1910 in the Netherlands. His mother came from a family of musicians and piano manufacturers, a fact that greatly influenced Robert’s life. His father was a physician in army, a position which required frequent foreign postings. The family stayed in various areas of East Asia for most of Robert’s youth. This experience contributed to his appreciation for cultures and mastery of several languages.
Robert was a hardworking academic, collector of art and manuscripts, and translator of ancient writings. He studied and trained to become a master musician on the Chinese guqin, and eventually wrote two books on the instrument. Similarly, his skills as an artist in the traditional Chinese style and knowledge of calligraphy were unparalleled. He wrote and published a number of non-fiction, scholarly articles and books on Chinese music, art, and literature, as well as Chinese culture and folk legends.
In 1940, Robert came across a little-known and anonymous (匿名的)18th-century Chinese novel that would take his career down an unplanned pathway and result in the public fame he never anticipated. The novel, titled Four Great Strange Cases of Empress Wu’s Reign, was a fictional account of the deeds of Judge Dee, one of the heroes of traditional Chinese detective fiction, and was set in the 7th-century Tang Dynasty. Fascinated, Robert not only translated the novel into English, he also did some research on the history of Chinese Penal Code and other legal literature of the period. It was not until 1949 that Robert was able to publish his translation —Dee Goong An: Three Murder Cases Solved by Judge Dee. Robert’s Chinese mysteries comprise over 10 novels and short-story volumes, recording the career of Chinese detective called Di Renjie. Interestingly, the tales first found fame in oriental (东方的)editions, before being translated into English in 1957.
Through all the novels by Robert, he impressively brings to life the sights and sounds of daily Chinese life in the past. His passionate devotion and respect for the Chinese culture was never discounted, yet he also appreciated the purpose of fiction.
1. What inspired Robert’s love for oriental culture?| A．His language competence. |
| B．His previous stay in East Asia. |
| C．His mother’s good family background. |
| D．His father’s professional medical knowledge. |
| A．Robert’s passion for China. | B．Robert’s music proficiency. |
| C．Robert’s early achievements. | D．Robert’s learning experiences. |
| A．He introduced western civilization to China. |
| B．He polished an existing Chinese fiction style. |
| C．He spread Chinese literature to a wider audience. |
| D．He conducted research on famous Chinese detectives. |
| A．Vivid and faithful. | B．Dramatic and realistic. |
| C．Accurate and humorous. | D．Imaginary and accessible. |
2 . On March 7, 1907, the English statistician Francis Galton published a paper which illustrated what has come to be known as the “wisdom of crowds” effect. The experiment of estimation he conducted showed that in some cases, the average of a large number of independent estimates could be quite accurate.
This effect capitalizes on the fact that when people make errors, those errors aren’t always the same. Some people will tend to overestimate, and some to underestimate. When enough of these errors are averaged together, they cancel each other out, resulting in a more accurate estimate. If people are similar and tend to make the same errors, then their errors won’t cancel each other out. In more technical terms, the wisdom of crowds requires that people’s estimates be independent. If for whatever reasons, people’s errors become correlated or dependent, the accuracy of the estimate will go down.
But a new study led by Joaquin Navajas offered an interesting twist (转折) on this classic phenomenon. The key finding of the study was that when crowds were further divided into smaller groups that were allowed to have a discussion, the averages from these groups were more accurate than those from an equal number of independent individuals. For instance, the average obtained from the estimates of four discussion groups of five was significantly more accurate than the average obtained from 20 independent individuals.
In a follow-up study with 100 university students, the researchers tried to get a better sense of what the group members actually did in their discussion. Did they tend to go with those most confident about their estimates? Did they follow those least willing to change their minds? This happened some of the time, but it wasn’t the dominant response. Most frequently, the groups reported that they “shared arguments and reasoned together”. Somehow, these arguments and reasoning resulted in a global reduction in error. Although the studies led by Navajas have limitations and many questions remain, the potential implications for group discussion and decision-making are enormous.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?| A．The methods of estimation. | B．The underlying logic of the effect. |
| C．The causes of people’s errors. | D．The design of Galton’s experiment. |
| A．the crowds were relatively small | B．there were occasional underestimates |
| C．individuals did not communicate | D．estimates were not fully independent |
| A．The size of the groups. | B．The dominant members. |
| C．The discussion process. | D．The individual estimates. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Dismissive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Approving. |
1. 中国传统节日的重要性；
2. 如何推广中国传统节日。
注意：
1. 词数80左右，开头与结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Distinguished judges and dear fellow students,
It’s my honor to stand here and talk about “Promoting traditional Chinese festivals”.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you very much for your attention!
I was invited to a cookout on an old friend’s farm in western Washington. I parked my car outside the farm and walked past a milking house which had apparently not been used in many years. A noise at a window caught my attention, so I entered it. It was a hummingbird (蜂鸟), desperately trying to escape. She was covered in spider-webs (蛛网) and was barely able to move her wings. She ceased her struggle the instant I picked her up.
With the bird in my cupped hand, I looked around to see how she had gotten in. The broken window glass was the likely answer. I stuffed a piece of cloth into the hole and took her outside, closing the door securely behind me.
When I opened my hand, the bird did not fly away; she sat looking at me with her bright eyes. I removed the sticky spider-webs that covered her head and wings. Still, she made no attempt to fly. Perhaps she had been struggling against the window too long and was too tired? Or too thirsty?
As I carried her up the blackberry-lined path toward my car where I kept a water bottle, she began to move. I stopped, and she soon took wing but did not immediately fly away.
Hovering (悬停), she approached within six inches of my face. For a very long moment, this tiny creature looked into my eyes, turning her head from side to side. Then she flew quickly out of sight.
During the cookout, I told my hosts about the hummingbird incident. They promised to fix the window. As I was departing, my friends walked me to my car. I was standing by the car when a hummingbird flew to the center of our group and began hovering. She turned from person to person until she came to me. She again looked directly into my eyes, then let out a squeaking call and was gone. For a moment, all were speechless. Then someone said, “She must have come to say goodbye.”
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。
A few weeks later, I went to the farm again.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was just about to leave when the hummingbird appeared.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jimmy is an automotive mechanic (汽车修理工), but he lost his job a few months ago. He has a good heart, but he always feared applying for a new job.
One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview in order to support his family. His appointment was at 10 a.m. and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him, that he just helped someone in need, and that he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said. “Well. I could take you to the office for your interview. It’s the least I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy agreed.
Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applicants waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease (油腻物) on him after the car repair, but he didn’t have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer’s office with a disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked. “Do you really need to be interviewed? Jimmy’s heart sank (低落).” “With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview” He thought to himself.
Paragraph 1:
Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy’s surprise,
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Paragraph 2:
Seeing this, the manager said.
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1. 助残的必要性；
2. 如何关爱残疾人；
3. 发出倡议。
注意：1.词数在80词左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.题目已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Caring for Disabled People Is Our Duty
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7 . Wholesale prices for gas and electricity are increasing suddenly across Europe,raising the possibility of increases in already-high utility (公共事业）bills and further pain for people who have taken a financial hit fromCOVID-19.
Governments are struggling to find ways to limit costs to consumers as scant natural gas reserves present yet another potential problem, exposing the continent to even more price increases and possible shortages if it’s a cold winter.
In the U.K., many people will see their gas and electricity bills rise next month after the nation’s energy regulator approved a 12% price increase for those without contracts that lock in rates. Officials in Italy have warned that prices will increase by 40% for the quarter that will be billed in October.
There are multiple causes for the price increases, energy analysts say, including tight supplies of natural gas used to generate electricity, higher costs for permits to release carbon dioxide as part of Europe’s fight against climate change, and less supply from wind in some cases.
Analysts at S&P Global Platts say electricity prices have risen due to strong demand from places like data centers and electric cars, but above all because of the rise in the price of natural gas used in generating plants. Utility companies’ exposure to natural gas prices has increased as high-emission coal plants have been retired, while utilities face higher costs for carbon allowances required by the European Union’s emissions trading system, which is aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
The tight gas market could bite even more sharply if there’s an unusually cold winter. That’s because European distributors did not refill reserves reduced during last winter as they typically had done in summer months. In March 2008, when the freeze named “the beast from the east” hit Europe, industrial users in the U.K got a notice that there was a risk of interruption, although it didn’t come to that.
Could Europe run out of gas? “The short answer is Yes, this is a real risk,” said James Huckstepp, an analyst at S&P Global Platts. “Storage stocks are at record lows and there isn’t currently any spare supply capacity that is exportable anywhere in the world.The longer answer is that it’s hard to predict how it will play out given that Europe has never run out of gas in two decades under the current distribution system.”
1. What does the underlined word “scant” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Total. | B．Additional. | C．Limited. | D．Regular. |
| A．The closure of some coal plants. |
| B．The great demand for electric cars. |
| C．The competition between utility companies. |
| D．The change in the emissions trading system. |
| A．More natural gas will be needed for industrial use. |
| B．European distributors don’t make good preparations. |
| C．It is not easy to fill reserves during the cold weather. |
| D．Utility companies work can be easily interrupted. |
| A．Europe is expected to seek help from other countries. |
| B．It is hard to control the gas price in Europe at present. |
| C．Europe might face a serious shortage of gas in the future. |
| D．There’s something wrong with Europe’s distribution system. |
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。
My best friend Lily and I met in high school. Ever since then, we had spent New Year’s Eve together. We’d watch together on TV the New Year celebration in Times Square, a the world-renowned tradition for millions to welcome the new year. Every year, thousands of people will gather in Times Square New York in person on New Year’s Eve counting down to the new year, with celebrations and performances after midnight. And we’d always say that one day we should go there ourselves.
Then we both went to college. Struggling through exams and schoolwork, we had little time to meet up. We missed each other terribly and decided it was time: to finally go to New York ourselves, to be present at the New Year’s celebration, and to do something fun together.
We worked out our schedule, bought tickets for everything and, most importantly, planned how to survive the long hours of waiting in the biting cold before the celebration — we wanted the best spot possible, and there’s only so much space, so we had no choice but to get to the Time Square early.
When the big day finally arrived, it became snowy and colder than any cold we had ever experienced. Actually it was one of the coldest New Year’s Eves on record. Everyone thought we were going to back out.
But we didn’t. We didn’t make it that far to back out.
We woke up and set off early. And, of course, we did freeze along the way, but we kept cheering each other up. Once we got there, we found our way to the line pretty quickly, considering everyone else was pushing their way in the same direction. We got in line and waited to finally get into our area in the Time Square, which thankfully was pretty spacious and close to the stage.
Halfway through the day, my friend and I couldn’t feel our toes.
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“Three, two, one. Happy New Year!” we screamed the words as loud as possible.
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There were only two tickets to the big basketball game. All three of us paid our attention to the tickets in Dad’s hand. Marcus, the oldest, asked the question running through everyone’s mind. “Only two tickets? But Dad, which of us gets to go with you?”
“Yeah, Daddy, who gets to go?” repeated Caleb, the youngest. “Dad, can’t you get any more tickets?” I asked. I was the in -between sister, but I also wanted to go out with Dad. “I’m Afraid not,” Dad answered. “Mr. Williams only had two tickets. He was thoughtful enough to offer the tickets to me when he found out he’d be out of town this weekend.”
Dad was lost in thought. “Caleb, don’t you think you ‘re too young to enjoy a professional basketball game?” “No!” Caleb shouted “I know all the best players! I know the team’s record! I know…” “All right, all right,” Dad finally had to agree. He turned to me and tried again. “Jill, since you’re a girl…” Before I could reply, Mom said, “Jill’s out there practicing with Marcus and all of his friends, and she’s better than quite a few of them!”
“Okay, okay,” Dad held up his hands. “I guess I’ll have to find out a fair way of choosing among the three of you by tomorrow morning. I’ll have to decide who deserves it most.”
The next morning, Marcus hurried into the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast table. “Where’s Dad?” he asked as he reached for a box of biscuits. “He and Mom went to pick up some books from the library,” Caleb answered, reaching his hand out for a biscuit. “And he said we should all get started on our Saturday chores (家务) as soon as we finish the breakfast,” I added, enjoying my apple juice. “Chores? He must be kidding,” Marcus said. “How can we do the chores when the big game is only eleven hours away? I’m going to play basketball.” “Wait for me!” Caleb added, drinking the last of his milk and running after his brother.
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。
Paragraph 1:
I looked at the messy breakfast table in front of me.
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Suddenly, a white envelope on the left side of the breakfast table caught my attention.
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On market days when the farmers around Darrowby brought their goods to the little town to sell, I used to take a walk across the square to meet the farmers who gathered there to chat. One of the farmers was telling me about his sick cow when he saw a little dog among the market stalls (货摊). The thing that made us notice the dog was that he was sitting up, paws dangling (悬垂), head pointing expectantly, begging, in front of the stall selling cakes and biscuits.
“Look at that little fellow,” the farmer said. “I wonder where he’s from.”
As he spoke, the stallholder threw the dog some bread which the animal ate eagerly, but when the man came round and stretched out a hand the little thing ran away.
I was standing there, trying to see where he had gone, when a young policeman came up to me.
“I’ve been watching that dog begging among the stalls all morning,” he said, “but I haven’t been able to get near him.”
“Yes, it’s strange. You can see he’s friendly, but he’s also afraid. I wonder who owns him.”
“I think he’s a stray (无主的宠物), Mr. Herriot. I know just about all the dogs around here. But this one is a stranger to me.”
I nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. Anything could have happened to him. He could have been ill-treated by somebody and run away, or he could have been dumped from a car.”
“Yes,” the policeman replied, “I don’t know how anybody can leave a helpless animal to fend for (照料) itself like that. I’ve had a few tries at catching him, but it’s no good.”
A week passed before I met the policeman again in the market.
“Have you caught the dog, sir?” I asked.
The policeman looked very serious. “Yes,” he replied, “I’m afraid he’s been arrested.”
“Arrested?” I said in astonishment. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” he said, “it seems that it’s against the law for a dog to go begging in the market square.”
“I still don’t know what this is all about,” I said. “Where is he now?”
“I’ll take you to him,” the policeman replied.
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。
We walked a short way along the road to a pretty cottage.
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A wave of relief swept over me.
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