1 . Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let’s believe it is about forty-four years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.

Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window.

Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment of young and old.

What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven’t yet started to take on heir (继承) supply of energy directly. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill forms, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.

Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated (灌溉) with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.

Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.

Such would be our life in 2060.

1. When was the passage written?

A．In about 1960.

B．In about 2004.

C．In about 2010.

D．In about 2016.

2. What will people eat then according to the passage?

A．Biscuits in pill forms.	B．Foods in pill forms.
C．Foods in water forms.	D．Foods in gas forms.

3. What will happen in the future?

A．There is smaller population.	B．There are more pests.
C．There is less water.	D．The crops are getting better.

2 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容或括号内所给词的恰当形式填空。

Nowadays, football is one of the most popular sports in     1    world. Its history    2     (date) back over two thousand years to ancient China, and it was known as cuju then. Modern football started in Great Britain,    3     the new game rules were made.

Football is simple and very cheap    4    (play), which is perhaps the basis of the popularity. People needn’t expensive equipment    5    the football doesn’t cost much money.

Another factor behind    6    (it) global popularity is the creativity on the field. It is attractive    7    millions of people. People can see children playing with a ball everywhere. People also can feel the    8    (excite) of a game even without recognizing the skill of professional players.

What’s more, it has become one of the    9    (good) ways for people to communicate. It doesn’t require    10    (word), but everyone can understand it. It breaks down walls and brings people together on and off the field.

5 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise in earthquake prediction, challenging the long-held belief that it is impossible. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, have developed an AI algorithm (算法) that correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance during a trial in China and provided accurate calculations for the predicted earthquakes.

The research team believes their method succeeded because they stuck with a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical (统计的) features based on the team’s knowledge of earthquake physics, and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the AI provided its prediction of earthquake by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings (隆隆声) in the Earth.

This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. “You don’t see earthquakes coming,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). “It’s a matter of milliseconds ( 毫秒), and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70% accuracy, that’s a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and has the potential to remarkably improve earthquake preparation worldwide.”

While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other places, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. So, their next step is to test artificial intelligence in different places in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNet has 300 earthquake stations there and over six years’ worth of continuous records, making it ideal for these purposes.

Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. “That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, taken together, are what moves science forward,” concludes Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.

1. How does the AI predict earthquakes?

A．By analyzing background sounds in the Earth.

B．By identifying data from remote sensing satellite.

C．By modeling data based on earthquake recordings.

D．By monitoring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.

2. What does Alexandros Savvaidis intend to show in paragraph 3?

A．The ways to reduce losses in earthquakes.

B．The accuracy of AI in earthquake prediction.

C．The limitation of AI algorithms in earthquake prediction.

D．The significance of developing AI-driven earthquake prediction.

3. What does the follow-up research focus on?

A．Conducting tests in different locations.

B．Building more earthquake stations in Texas.

C．Improving the quality of earthquake tracking networks.

D．Applying AI approach to other fields besides earthquake.

4. Which words can best describe the earthquake-predicting technology?

A．Precise but outdated.	B．Effective but costly.
C．Advanced and promising.	D．Potential and economical.

6 . In October, I said to my students, “Why not do some _________ to make some money? Then we’ll buy food for someone in need.”

Then early in that week, they came with their hard-earned money at their homes, _________ to go shopping. We soon picked what we needed. As we headed toward the checkout, someone shouted, “Flowers!” The group rushed to the flowers. However, considering practicality, I said, “You can’t send flowers.” “But please, Mrs. Sherlock,” someone begged, “we want flowers.” Defeated (被打败了), I _________ them to buy some carnations (康乃馨).

An organization had given us the information of a _________ grandmother living alone for many years. After a long drive, we _________ arrived at a small, shabby (破旧的) house. An old lady came out to _________ us. Each box was _________ quickly. But when the woman noticed the carnations, she seemed _________. “She’s wishing it were a bag of rice,” I thought.

“Do you like living here?” Michael asked. Hearing this, the woman _________, “Of course. I’m quite fond of living here.” She told the children about the birds flying to the bread she __________. “Maybe that’s why I could get the food from you,” she said. “Because I __________ my food with the birds.”

We returned to the __________ and saw her wave goodbye. Then she walked past the food, straight to the carnations. She put her face in the carnations, with a smile on her lips. The children were quiet. They had seen the __________ they had to make another’s life __________. And I had seen something too — sometimes a person needs lovely __________ on a cold winter.

1.

A．shopping

B．reading

C．exercise

D．housework

2.

A．nervous

B．excited

C．unwilling

D．afraid

3.

A．taught

B．forced

C．encouraged

D．allowed

4.

A．brave

B．poor

C．reliable

D．sick

5.

A．finally

B．already

C．suddenly

D．hardly

6.

A．thank

B．guide

C．help

D．welcome

7.

A．carried in

B．left behind

C．sent back

D．handed out

8.

A．satisfied

B．worried

C．surprised

D．angry

9.

A．cried

B．replied

C．asked

D．complained

10.

A．hid away

B．put out

C．picked up

D．brought in

11.

A．cook

B．find

C．share

D．buy

12.

A．house

B．woods

C．car

D．stores

13.

A．power

B．time

C．money

D．desire

14.

A．healthier

B．deeper

C．longer

D．better

15.

A．food

B．birds

C．flowers

D．kids

7 . Camel Conversation

A mother and a baby camel were lying around under a tree.

Then the baby camel asked, “Mom, _______ do camels have humps (驼峰)?”

The mother camel considered this and said, “We are desert animals and we have the humps to _______ water so we can survive with very _______ water.”

The baby camel _______ for a moment and then said, “Okay, why are our _______ long and our feet rounded?”

The mama _______, “They are meant for walking in the _______.”

The baby paused, and then asked, “Why are our eyelashes (睫毛) _______? Sometimes they get in my way.”

The mama responded, “Those long thick eyelashes _______ your eyes from the desert sand ________ the strong wind blows in the desert.”

The baby camel thought and thought. Then he said, “I see. So the hump is to store water when we are in the desert, the legs are for ________ through the desert and these eyelashes protect my eyes from the desert sand. Then why are we in the ________?”

We were given all ________ skills and abilities. These special gifts are to bring about the satisfaction we all ________. That satisfaction comes in helping others.

Don’t sit around in a zoo. Use your gifts and talents to help ________. You’ll be glad of what you did.

1.

A．why

B．how

C．whether

D．where

2.

A．drink

B．flow

C．bring

D．store

3.

A．few

B．little

C．less

D．much

4.

A．missed

B．wished

C．asked

D．thought

5.

A．arms

B．hands

C．feet

D．legs

6.

A．replied

B．asked

C．wanted

D．yelled

7.

A．sea

B．desert

C．garden

D．yard

8.

A．thin

B．weak

C．long

D．short

9.

A．depend

B．prevent

C．stop

D．protect

10.

A．when

B．although

C．as

D．because

11.

A．flying

B．walking

C．covering

D．driving

12.

A．desert

B．zoo

C．country

D．city

13.

A．worthy

B．expensive

C．special

D．seasonal

14.

A．disturb

B．differ

C．disgust

D．desire

15.

A．others

B．another

C．other

D．else

8 . 假如你是某中学学生李华，上周日你参加了学校举行的元宵节 (the Lantern Festival) 庆祝活动，请给你的英国朋友Peter写一封信，分享你这次的活动经历。内容包括：
1.活动内容：吃汤圆，赏灯，猜灯谜，舞龙舞狮 (the dragon and lion dance) 等；
2.感受与收获。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.可适当增加细节以使行文连贯。
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9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

According to a recent survey, violence (暴力) did happen in schools. Students showed their fear and parents and teachers were also     1     (annoy) at it. Experts hope     2     whole society should pay more attention to the mental health of     3     (teenager).

The topic of school violence is     4     (particular) hot now, and it calls for our great concern. We should try our best     5     (stop) violence happening at school because more and more students     6     personal safety could not be guaranteed (保证) would drop out of school. In fact, violence can     7     (learn). Children learn violent     8     (behave) from adults or from what they see on television or on the Internet.

If I meet with school violence, I will not answer violence with violence, for it will lead     9     more fighting. I will tell my teachers and parents about it. I think they will help medeal with it well and protect me from the bad guys.

All in all, we students should be responsible for     10     (we) and keep away from violence.

10 . 随着网络的高速发展，越来越多的青少年利用网络去做各种事情。假定你是李华，请你就网络的利弊写一篇英语博客，谈谈你的看法。
注意：
1. 词数 80 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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