As I inch closer to my sixth decade, I can’t help but reflect on my life’s journey.
My path has taken many twists and turns, as it does for most, and I am grateful for each chapter and all the characters who were a part of my script. Through all the seasons, hills and valleys, I have grown in all areas of life and as a human being in general.
My husband and I have always wanted to retire near the ocean. We are active and love the outdoors. Finally, we were getting closer to our goal. I had put in my final years for retirement at MES, the wonderful school I spent the majority of my teaching career. I had three years left, but with Illinois’ bad weather, I had it in my mind to get us to Florida sooner than expected.
Our son is stationed at Hurlburt Field near Destin, Florida, and after visiting him there, we fell in love with the pretty coast. The salt air,heat,and humidity did my sinuses (鼻窦) and body good. I was back to running daily and did not once suffer from knee pain or sinus issues during our time there. We discussed it when we returned to Illinois, and I decided to act. I applied for teaching jobs in the Destin area.
Fortunately, I landed a teaching job at a great school and left MES. We put our house up for sale and were looking forward to this next adventure.
I moved to Florida in late July to start my next chapter while my husband stayed back to wrap things up.
I got into my new school on Aug. 1st and began preparing to move from teaching seventh to fourth graders.
However, back home, we weren’t selling our house. Besides, we couldn’t find housing in Florida. After much discussion, we decided the timing wasn’t right because of many unforeseen factors, so I packed up and drove back to Illinois.
1. 根据文本内容从方框中选择恰当的词并用其正确形式填入文本图示中，每词限用一次，有两词为多余选项| stay calm reason leave hope nose health grow disappoint expect tire satisfy |
My Life Crossings | ||
| I |  | I’m grateful and |
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| I wanted to | | I was |
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| I visited my son and | | I fell in love with the pretty coast. |
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| I applied and landed a teaching job in Florida. I moved to Florida and got into the new school, | | I was excited and |
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| For some | | I was quiet and |
根据文本内容回答下列问题
2. Why did the author go back to Illinois?
3. What would the author do next?
4. What’s the author’s opinion of her path?
My family and I were taking a well-deserved vacation to Disneyland. I had never been there before and was eagerly anticipating experiencing the magic.
There was another reason that this trip was special. My father was a workaholic who worked long hours. I longed to spend time with him. I wanted to be able to sit down with my father, who I loved more than life, and just talk. It always seemed like there was never time.
The day finally arrived when I was allowed to pack my clothes. I chose only my favourite outfits. I threw in my autograph book and then muscled the suitcase zipper around the overflow of clothes. I set my suitcase on my comforter and smiled. I was ready.
I didn’t get any sleep that night. I lay in my bed and stared out the window. I knew that my father’s work was going to be left at home, finally.
After a brief breakfast we hit the open road. It was all smooth sailing for the first couple of hours until I unexpectedly felt a sharp stop. We coasted to the side of the road, and my dad said something was wrong with the engine. We were in the middle of four lanes of traffic, so he decided the easiest thing to do would be to signal someone to stop and get a ride into town.
An hour later, my dad was still waving his hands at each and every passing car but it wasn’t doing any good. Not a single person would stop to assist my helpless family. Finally, Father gave up and decided to walk into town. I was certain it was a very long distance. I pleaded with him to stay and try again, but he was deaf to my pleading. He just said that he wouldn’t let anything ruin this trip for me. My heart ached as he put on his coat and began to walk away from our car. My dad has a back problem, and he was too stubborn to admit that he wasn’t in any condition to even walk a couple of miles.
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。
Then I saw a man out of the window, who was a truck driver.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After reaching the town, we expressed our thanks again.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . 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. |
4 . The next time San Francisco residents stop a taxi, they may step into a car with no one behind the wheel. Driverless taxis are now allowed to come on the city’s streets. On June 2, 2022, Cruise, a division of General Motors (GM), was approved to charge for rides in its self-driving cars, becoming the first company allowed to operate commercial driverless cars in a major US city.
Though Cruise is regarding it as a big win, its self-driving cars aren’t totally free to run on the streets of San Francisco as they please. Cruise vehicles will be limited to transporting passengers in less crowded areas of the city between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The speed limit is 30 mph. They are also not allowed to operate in heavy rain or fog. The rules are meant to reduce any injuries or accidents.
Cruise plans to launch the service gradually with a team of just 30 cars. The first robotaxis will be improved versions of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt. However, the company is seeking approval to get its custom-built Cruise Origin on public roads. The driverless electric vehicle has no wheels or pedals (踏板) and can attain highway speeds. The car consists mostly of a siting space, where passengers can face each other.
Cruise’s ability to obtain the commercial permit to operate is a big step forward. However, the company still has to convince passengers that its technology is safe. Many remain concerned about safety. A 2021 survey by the American Automobile Association found that 74 percent of Americans are afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle.
It remains to be seen how the new driverless taxi experiment will play out in San Francisco. But based on the vast number of companies that are racing to develop self-driving vehicles and the tens of thousands of people on waitlists for robotaxi rides, the Cruise pioneering program is at least set for popularity, if not success.
1. What can we learn about the Cruise’s driverless ride services?| A．The services have turned out to be a great success. |
| B．The services receive great support from the public. |
| C．The services have run in some major cities of the USA. |
| D．The services are limited to some regions of San Francisco. |
| A．The feature of Cruise Origin. |
| B．The future of self-driving cars. |
| C．The original plan of the company. |
| D．The new version of Chevrolet Bolt. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Opposed. |
| C．Favourable. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Cruise Offers Free Self-driving Ride Services |
| B．Self-driving Cars Are Coming to San Francisco |
| C．Self-driving Vehicles Are Popular in Major Cities |
| D．Companies Begin to Charge for Rides in Self-driving Cars |
1.活动安排：
时间：12月4日星期五上午8点开始，12点结束；
地点：光明体育馆；
内容：欣赏武术表演。
2.谈谈武术对人身心的益处（至少谈及两点）。
注意：
1.词数80左右（开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数）；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇： gymnastics体育馆 kung fu 武术
Dear David,
I’m glad to receive your letter. You asked me about the kung fu performance in our city.
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Hope you can come!
Yours truly,
Li Hua
What may well be the oldest metal coins in the world have been identified at an ancient abandoned city known as Guanzhuang in China. Like many Bronze Age (青铜时代) coins from the region, they were cast in the shape of spades with finely carved handles. These ancient coins existed during an in-between period between barter (以物易物) and money, when coins were a novel concept, but everybody knew that agricultural tools were valuable.
Reading about this incredible discovery, I kept thinking about the way modern people represent computer networks by describing machines as having “addresses”, like a house. We also talk about one computer using a “port” to send information to another computer, as if the data were a floating boat with destination. It’s as if we are in the Bronze Age of information technology, grasping desperately for real-world reference to transform our civilization.
Now consider what happened to spade coins. Over centuries, metalworkers made these coins into more abstract shapes. Some became almost human figures. Others’ handles were reduced to small half-circles. As spade coins grew more abstract, people carved them with number values and the locations where they were made. They became more like modern coins, flat and covered in writing. Looking at one of these later pieces, you would have no idea that they were once intended to look like a spade.
This makes me wonder if we will develop an entirely new set of symbols that allow us to interact with our digital information more smoothly.
Taking spade coins as our guide, we can guess that far-future computer networks will no longer contain any recognizable references to houses. But they still might bring some of the ideas we associate with home to our mind. In fact, computer networks — if they still exist at all — are likely to be almost the indispensable part of our houses and cities, their sensors inset with walls and roads. Our network addresses might actually be the same as our street addresses. If climate change leads to floods, our mobile devices might look more like boats than phones, assisting us to land.
My point is that the metaphors of the information age aren’t random. Mobile devices do offer us comfort after a long day at work. In some sense, our desire to settle on the shores of data lakes could change the way we understand home, as well as how we build computers. So as we cast our minds forward, we have to think about what new abstractions will go along with our information technology. Perhaps the one thing we count on is that humans will still appreciate the comforts of home.
1. Many Bronze Age coins were made into the shape of a spade because ___________.| A．a lot of emphasis was put on agriculture |
| B．this stylish design made the coins valuable |
| C．these coins also served as agricultural tools |
| D．the handles made the coins easily exchanged |
| A．To show they both used to be new concepts when first invented. |
| B．To explain abstract digital worlds are different from concrete coins. |
| C．To suggest computers will experience dramatic changes as coins did. |
| D．To highlight their same importance in our civilizational transformation. |
| A．Flexible. | B．Essential. | C．Wasteful. | D．Alternative. |
| A．What Coins and Computers Bring Us |
| B．How Agriculture Loses to Digital Industry |
| C．How Bronze Age Develops to Information Age |
| D．What Ancient Money Tells Us About the Future |
1. 表达歉意
2. 缺席原因
3. 另约时间
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Hua
1. 运动的好处及注意事项；
2. 个人的运动经历与感受；
3. 呼吁大家热爱运动和生活。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Hello, everyone. The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games was held with history-breaking success, putting sports back in the spotlight.
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That’s all. Thank you.
9 . Adults are often embarrassed about asking for help. Its an act that can make people feel sensitive. The moment you ask for directions, after all, you reveal (泄露) that you may be lost. Seeking someone’s assistance can make you feel like you are broadcasting your incompetence. New research suggests young children don’t seek help in school, even when they need it, for the same reason.
To learn more about how children think about seeking help, we asked 576 children, ages four to nine, to predict the behavior of two kids in a story. One of the characters genuinely wanted to be smart, and the other merely wanted to seem smart to others.
Children thought that the kid who wanted to seem smart would be less likely to ask for assistance. They could still conceive of (想象) situations in which the kid who wanted to seem smart would seek help: when assistance could be sought privately (on a computer rather than in person), children thought both characters were equally likely to ask for it.
We also found that they recognize several more behaviors that might make a child appear less smart in front of fellow kids, such as admitting to failure or modestly downplaying successes. Children are therefore acutely aware of several ways in which a person’s actions might make them appear less clever in the eyes of others.
However, a number of solutions can be found to help children. Our Gist instinct may be to motivate seeking help by emphasizing its educational benefits. But reputational barriers likely require reputation-based solutions. For example, instructors could create activities in which each student becomes an “expert” on a different topic, and then children must ask one another for help to master all of die material. If seeking help is understood as a commonplace classroom activity, kids may be less likely to think of it as indicative (表明) of one’s ability.
Seeking help could even be framed as socially desirable. After all, asking for help often benefits not just die help seeker but also others listening in who have similar questions or struggles.
1. What feature do the adults and young children share?| A．They seldom ask for directions. |
| B．They are afraid of being laughed at. |
| C．They hesitate to seek assistance. |
| D．They regard themselves as incompetence. |
| A．Teachers should praise kids for seeking assistance. |
| B．Assistance only works when sought privately, |
| C．It seems possible that children themselves are not struggling. |
| D．Children care deeply about the way others think about them. |
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By referring to an example. |
| C．By introducing a concept. | D．By telling a school story. |
| A．Why Kids Are Afraid to Ask for Help. |
| B．Seeking Help Makes Kids Feel Uncomfortable. |
| C．Unwillingness to Seek Help Stop Academic Progress. |
| D．How Can We Help Children Overcome the Barrier, |
1. 目的；
2. 过程；
3. 意义。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 标题已给出，不计入总词数。
Working Is Most Beautiful
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