1 . Sitting in the classroom, I felt ________. My teacher was pointing at the ________. “Here’s what we’re doing today, open your books and get going,” she said. ________ around, I watched as my classmates put their heads down and started writing away. A wave of ________ washed over me — I couldn’t read the board. It hadn’t ________ at primary school because my teachers had always read aloud what they were writing. But now, they were just ________ us to read.

“What am I supposed to do?” I said to my mum, back home. Then Mum took me to an optometrist (验光师). Within a few days, I was diagnosed (诊断) with a severe sight impairment (损伤). In fact, I was practically ________. Amazingly, I’d managed to reach the age of 13 without anyone ________ my problem, not even me! As a kid living on a farm, I was forever ________ over things. I was known as the clumsy one to my parents and four siblings. I could only ________ the outlines of things and contrasts between different shades. I was given reading glasses but they didn’t ________ much.

________ to let my diagnosis hold me back, I continued doing everything I loved, including milking the cows. As long as everything was in its________ place, I could navigate my way around.

When I was 23, I met Lance at a farm dance and fell in love. We married and had amazing kids. They’ve all been brought up not to leave toys on the floor or move chairs away from the table. “We don’t want Grandma tripping” Lance always said. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed lovely family holidays, but sometimes felt like Lance or the kids were being too ________ of me. Life is precious — you don’t need ________ to see that.

1.

A．proud

B．confused

C．delighted

D．surprised

2.

A．classroom

B．book

C．door

D．blackboard

3.

A．Jogging

B．Walking

C．Looking

D．Smiling

4.

A．panic

B．tiredness

C．anger

D．enthusiasm

5.

A．worked

B．arrived

C．mattered

D．disappeared

6.

A．allowing

B．agreeing

C．promising

D．expecting

7.

A．blind

B．deaf

C．intelligent

D．patient

8.

A．solving

B．handling

C．realizing

D．hiding

9.

A．running

B．climbing

C．falling

D．jumping

10.

A．make out

B．turn down

C．hand in

D．give away

11.

A．disturb

B．help

C．preserve

D．exist

12.

A．Preferring

B．Deciding

C．Hesitating

D．Refusing

13.

A．public

B．regular

C．special

D．convenient

14.

A．aware

B．protective

C．impressive

D．careless

15.

A．energy

B．mind

C．trouble

D．vision

3 . Now that nobody knows for sure what the world will look like in the near future, it can be fun to picture some jobs we might be able to apply for in the coming decade!

Distant drone (无人驾驶飞机)drivers and pilots

How cool would it be to deliver packages from the comfortable office? That’s the way of the future with delivery drones and self-driving trucks. Zach Howard says, “Many delivery companies will soon need lots of drones and a large number of skilled pilots who can run the drones.”

Rewilders

To save Mother Nature, someone will need to remove the damage humans have done to the environment. Through the Jobs of 2030 project, an organization guesses we will need rewilders to remove the damage to the countryside caused by people, factories, cars and farming. These workers will be responsible for removing walls to give flight paths back to birds and replacing roads with forests.

Gamification (游戏化)marketing experts

This future expert will need to make online shopping feel like a game; that is, gamification is about keeping customers more delighted during shopping. The gamification marketing expert will help keep online buyers’ attention by making their experiences more playful and exciting.

1. According to Zach Howard, distant drone drivers and pilots ________

A．can earn lots of money.

B．are required to work outdoors.

C．need update drones regularly.

D．will be in great need.

2. To remove the damage caused by humans, a rewilder’s job will be ________

A．keeping track of birds’ health.

B．returning the roads to forests.

C．constructing more roads for villagers.

D．preserving the cultural heritage.

3. How will the gamification marketing expert most likely influence customers?

A．By creating fun online shopping experiences.

B．By reducing the competition between stores.

C．By decreasing their daily cost of playing games.

D．By making them more likely to communicate.

6 . Winters are long and cold in Finland. That’s why new technology that stores summer heat in a giant sand battery (电池) is used to keep homes warm in the winter. The sand battery can store the heat for months so the energy that was generated by solar power in the summer can be used in the winter to heat homes. Researchers in Finland have installed (安装) the first fully-functioning“sand battery”. They believe it could solve the country’s year-round crisis (危机) in power supply, which is a significant issue for green energy.

The sand battery was installed in the Vatajankoski power plant that runs the heating system for the houses in the area. It works by heating the sand, circulating the heat generated in the sand using a heat exchanger. Researchers used low-grade sand to charge (充电) the devices with heat from cheap electricity coming from either solar or wind energy. The sand battery can store energy and heat up to 500 degrees Celsius, which can be used to warm homes during winter when large amounts of energy were consumed (消耗).

It is a cost-effective method because when the battery releases the hot air, it warms the water for the district heating system that is pumped around homes, offices, and the local swimming pool. Sand is an ideal material because it is cheap and readily available everywhere. While other inexpensive items like water can store heat, sand can be heated to much higher temperatures. The sand used is of the lowest quality so it cannot be used in construction thus making it a sustainable choice. Besides, sand-based batteries last longer than other batteries. According to a study, researchers obtained silicon using quartz sand to create a battery that lasts three times longer than lithium-ion (锂离子) batteries.

“This innovation is a part of the smart and green energy transition. Heat storage systems can significantly help to increase intermittent renewables in the electrical grid,” said Markku Ylönen, co-founder of Polar Night Energy. “At the same time, we can make full use of the heat waste to keep the city warm. This is a logical step towards combustion-free (无燃烧) heat production.”

1. What is the function of the sand battery?

A．To charge electronic devices.

B．To store heat from green energy.

C．To provide electricity for power plants.

D．To turn solar energy into chemical fuels.

2. How does the sand battery work?

A．By producing electricity with seawater.

B．By consuming the hot air inside a plant.

C．By circulating the heat from heated sand.

D．By burning a cheap material made from sand.

3. What is the purpose of paragraph 3?

A．To present the advantages of sand batteries.

B．To highlight the power crisis in Finland.

C．To explain the reasons for creating a new battery.

D．To show the process of manufacturing sand batteries.

4. According to Markku Ylönen, the application of sand batteries can be describe as         .

A．robbing Peter to pay Paul

B．barking up the wrong tree

C．putting the cart before the horse

D．killing two birds with one stone

8 . To Better Friendships

It is often said that when you went out to find a friend, friend could not be found. When you went out to be a friend you found them all around.     1     Here are some tips:

Look at everybody you encounter as a potential friend. Every day you probably encounter at least 2-3 people who you have a lot in common with and would be very good friends with. However, because they are co-workers, clients, or even complete strangers, we never open the door to any kind of friendship. Think back about how you met your best friends.     2     There are amazing people out there, don’t miss an opportunity to get to know one of them better.

Don’t be afraid to be nice.     3    . It is a part of our brains to be a little cautious of strangers and in some cases this can keep us out of trouble. But for the most part, you will not be coming across anybody that means you harm on a daily basis. Nobody is going to hurt you if you open a door for them or compliment them on their hair.

Let love direct your actions. You speak kinder, your face looks more friendly, and you become genuinely interested in what they are saying. This results in stronger connections with people and they leave the conversation feeling that you really cared about them. It won’t be long before many of these people will be seeking your friendship.     4    

Go and get them! In most cases people won’t come over to you and initiate a friendship because they are afraid of rejection. If you want to make more friends, you need to go out and get them and bring them into your group. It isn’t enough to wave at them or just say “hi” when you pass by.     5     When you do, they will appreciate it and you will instantly form strong bonds of a friendship that can last a long time.

A．Go and bring them in.

B．We all have our natural defense.

C．They just loved us unconditionally.

D．Be careful to approach them.

E．You’re likely to spend time with your friends a lot.

F．At some point they were just strangers.

G．How can we have more quality friendships?

10 . Eeva Simons shows us that a physical disability doesn’t necessarily bar one from dancing on the stage. With skillful handling, she can make her wheelchair do graceful moves and win applause worldwide. The 34-year-old is among a group of four Finnish performers with different physical disabilities.

Simons has been bound to a wheelchair since jumping from a roof in a suicide attempt that ended her dancing career 16 years ago. She said that for a long time she had been depressed, with no idea how to adapt to her changed conditions. “The incident had a big effect on me,” she said. “I had never thought what it would be like to be a wheelchair user. It was difficult.”

But positive changes came several years later when she met a group of disabled people at a community centre. Their interest in alternative ways of movement lighted her love for dance and life again.

Simons joined the PAA troupe, which experimented with new approaches to performing. In 2000, the group put on their first show. Although many professional dance moves are not possible, the show has been running more than 10 countries in Europe and won the “Theatre Event of the Year 2000” award in Finland.

Simons said her part required the upper part of her body to be strong, especially her arms, which had to perform everything from hand gestures to powering the wheelchair. “It is a challenge. We use our creativity to think of alternative ways to find beauty,” she said.

In one moving scene about her post-accident mental condition, the frustrated Simons sits on the floor, before crawling to a wheelchair and accepting her new tool. Director Paasonen said the dancers were sharing their life experiences, feelings, states and thoughts with audience and that the show was very personal.

“They are people with bodies that have stories to tell,” he said. “The show is about transformation, and how people deal with change, including how to deal with the transformation of our own body after it becomes disabled.”

1. The underlined word “bar” in the first paragraph means ________.

A．save

B．protect

C．encourage

D．prevent

2. From the passage we can infer that Eeva Simons _________.

A．became disabled accidentally.

B．once lost her hope for life.

C．learned how to dance after the incident.

D．wanted to kill herself to end her dancing career.

3. What can we learn about the performers in the PPA troupe?

A．They are creative dancers.

B．Most of them are young.

C．They are able to do all professional dance moves.

D．They are discouraged by their disability.

4. What may be the best title for the passage?

A．A Special Troupe.

B．Disabled Dancers.

C．New Approaches to Dancing.

D．A Wonder in a Wheelchair.