1 . Pullman is a superb writer and Seagull is a brilliant communicator. They had a debate after Seagull posted a question on his social media platform: “When you were trying to create an environment for learning, what were your best pieces of classical music to listen to?” He received hundreds of suggestions — and one negative reply, from Pullman: “That’s not what classical music is for. Treat it with respect.”
That did it! Everyone — professional musicians, students, teachers — weighed into the argument, and the majority supported Seagull and were criticizing Pullman.
It’s easy to see why people are annoyed. We all want classical music to be as accessible as possible, especially to the young. If some of them are using Bach or Schubert as a tool to help them study, what’s the problem? They may also develop an attachment to classical music.
So is Pullman ridiculous and supercilious by objecting to classical music being used as background music? At first sight, his idea seems stuffy and extreme. By suggesting that classical music should be “treated with respect” and not used as background music, Pullman seems to be closing classical music of to millions of people.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that he isn’t the first to express concerns about classical music being devalued by becoming too commonplace in today’s technologically shaped world. In Benjamin Britten’s 1964 speech, the composer expressed exactly the same worries as Pullman. Britten suggested, “The true musical experience demands some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place, saving up for a ticket, some homework perhaps”. In short, it demands as much effort from listeners as from composers and performers.
I don’t agree with such an extreme viewpoint, but I do think it touches on a reality. You will never fully grasp the beauty of classical music if you half-hear it only in the background. That doesn’t necessarily matter. Music can be enjoyed on many levels. What Pullman and Britten are really saying is that, in a drive for “accessibility”, we shouldn’t deny the emotional and intellectual complexity underpinning (构成) much classical music.
1. What did Seagull’s posting result in?| A．Great admiration for Seagull. |
| B．Public criticism of classical music. |
| C．A discussion about learning environments. |
| D．An argument over the role of classical music. |
| A．Self-important. | B．Open-minded. | C．Impatient. | D．Considerate. |
| A．To show his affection for classical music. |
| B．To introduce young people to classical music. |
| C．To demonstrate classical music is demanding. |
| D．To support Pullman’s idea over classical music. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Uninterested. |
2 . The cost of living crisis is causing suffering for millions this winter. One in five people are worried about where their next meal will come from. Parents who live near you are burdened with anxiety about how they will afford to feed their children. Families are struggling and don’t know where to turn. Yet while people go hungry, three million tonnes of surplus(剩余的) food is being wasted every year.
Fare Share is a national charity working to get that food to people who are struggling—but we need your help. A gift of £90 could provide three meals a day to a family of four for a whole month. Plus, you may be entitled to recover 25p of tax on every £1 you give as gift money.
Your gift will help us redistribute food to our network of 8,500 local charities and community groups across the UK. You’ll also help people to access other services and support through these groups, strengthening communities and easing loneliness through food.
WILL YOU DO YOUR FARESHARE? PLEASE HELP PEOPLE GOING HUNGRY THIS WINTER | |||
| How could your £90 help feed a family in your community? |
|
|
|
We’d love to keep you up to date on Fare Share’s work including fundraising updates. Please get in touch by calling us on 0300 302 3677 or emailing fundraiser@fareshare.org.uk
To give online, please visit fareshare.org.uk/community 1. For more information please scan the QR code.
| A．Providing gifts for families. | B．Redistributing surplus food. |
| C．Organizing festival events. | D．Offering tax recovery services. |
| A．They will receive a tax refund. |
| B．They will help run the local charities. |
| C．They will be recognized as organizers. |
| D．They will receive free meals for themselves. |
| A．A travel blog. | B．A news report. |
| C．A community noticeboard. | D．An entertainment magazine. |
3 . It is frequently said that the best camera is the one you already have with you. Amazingly, the cameras on modern phones can take killer images without a professional camera. But if you’re struggling to get the quality you want, try a few of these helpful tips.
Pick the right time of day
There are a variety of lighting options that change throughout the day.
Pay attention to lighting
Look for subjects with natural motion like a waterfall, stream, flowers in the wind, etc., and set your shutter speeds to 20 seconds or more. It is vital to have a small secure support to ensure your camera is as perfectly still as possible during the shot.
Photo editing apps
Don’t limit your photos to what you can capture straight out of camera (SOOC).
| A．Long exposure |
| B．Consider composition |
| C．Try to have access to many creative apps |
| D．You can control whether the background is in focus |
| E．Photography is often referred to as painting with light |
| F．It provides an attractive tone for your subject and scenery |
| G．Golden hour is the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset |
4 . Is future you? It might seem like a strange philosophical question. But the answer to how you think about your future self could make the difference between decisions you ultimately find satisfying and ones you might eventually regret.
The brain patterns that emerge on an MRI (核磁共振成像) when people think about their future selves most like the brain patterns that arise when they think about strangers. This finding suggests that, in the mind’s eye, our future selves look like other people. If you see future you as a different person, why should you save money, eat healthier or exercise more regularly to benefit that stranger?
However, if you see the interests of your distant self as more like those of your present self, you are considerably more likely to do things today that benefit you tomorrow. A paper in the journal PLoS One revealed that college students who experienced a greater sense of connection and similarity to their future selves were more likely to achieve academic success. Relationships with our future selves also matter for general psychological well-being. In a project led by Joseph Reiff, which includes 5, 000 adults aged 20 to 75, he found that those who perceived a great overlap (重叠) in qualities between their current and future selves ended up being more satisfied with their lives 10 years after filling out the initial survey.
So how can we better befriend our future selves and feel more connected to their fates? The psychological mindset with what we call ”vividness interventions“ works. We have found, for instance, that showing people images of their older, grayer selves increases intentions to save for the long term. Besides, you might try writing a letter to-and then from-your future self. As demonstrated by Yuta Chishima and Anne Wilson in their 2020 study in the journal Self and Identity, when high-school students engaged in this type of ”send-and-reply“ exercise, they experienced elevated (升高的) levels of feelings of similarity with their future selves.
Letter-writing and visualization exercises are just a couple of ways we can connect with our future selves and beyond, but the larger lesson here is clear: If we can treat our distant selves as if they are people we love, care about and want to support, we can start making choices for them that improve our lives-both today and tomorrow.
1. What’s the function of paragraph 2?| A．Generating further discussion. | B．Introducing a research result. |
| C．Showing the effect of the finding. | D．Concluding various viewpoints. |
| A．By offering relevant statistics. | B．By using quotations. |
| C．By referring to previous findings. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Benefits of befriending our future selves. |
| B．Ways of connecting with our future selves. |
| C．Methods of changing psychological mindsets. |
| D．Possibilities of us becoming our future selves. |
| A．Making future plans makes a difference. |
| B．Our future selves look like other people. |
| C．Getting to know your future self benefits. |
| D．Your choice affects the fates of strangers. |
1.体育课活动项目；
2.课外活动项目；
3.你最喜欢的运动及感受。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Bob,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
6 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.
Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.
I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.
We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.
Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.
Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.
1. How did the writer first respond to Paul’s travel plan?| A．Scared. | B．Puzzled. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Surprised. |
| A．He was a western journalist. | B．He had a knowledge of China. |
| C．He came to China several times. | D．He was Joseph Rock’s acquaintance. |
| A．They honored the ancestors. | B．They set off in high spirits. |
| C．They satisfied the locals’ curiosity. | D．They built bonds with people. |
| A．To share and reflect on a journey. | B．To suggest a new way of travel. |
| C．To advocate protection of biodiversity. | D．To introduce and promote Chinese culture. |
7 . When Jason Arday was aged three he was diagnosed with
Arday has always wanted to help people. As a child he remembers
Supported by his college
When Arday told Sandri that he wanted to
Sandri was right, and now Arday is a
| A．symptom | B．phenomenon | C．autism | D．disease |
| A．affect | B．lead | C．reflect | D．change |
| A．paint | B．play | C．rest | D．read |
| A．oldest | B．smallest | C．youngest | D．biggest |
| A．linking | B．thinking | C．living | D．saying |
| A．then | B．soon | C．though | D．also |
| A．director | B．manager | C．president | D．tutor |
| A．master | B．degree | C．rank | D．position |
| A．worked | B．toured | C．visited | D．inspected |
| A．why | B．where | C．how | D．when |
| A．encouragement | B．movement | C．discouragement | D．engagement |
| A．abandon | B．interrupt | C．defend | D．continue |
| A．work on | B．depend on | C．take on | D．rely on |
| A．student | B．doctor | C．assistant | D．professor |
| A．taking | B．doing | C．giving | D．driving |
8 . Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous religious buildings in the world. Here are some of the famous people buried at Westminster Abbey.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens, who died in 1870, is buried in Poets’ Corner, the resting place and remembrance location for writers of all kinds.
Dickens is known for many of his works, and A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities are two of his most widely known works. It was popular opinion among the people and his fellow writers that Dickens should be buried in Westminster Abbey.
Stephen Hawking
Hawking was a scientist, physicist, and author, who died in 2018. Carved onto his stone is a series of rings, surrounding a darker central ellipse (椭圆). The ten characters of Hawking’s equation express his idea that black holes in the universe are not entirely black but send out a glow that would become known as Hawking radiation.
His epitaph (墓志铭) reads, “HERE LIES WHAT WAS MORTAL OF STEPHEN HAWKING”.
Laurence Olivier
Famous actor Laurence Olivier is also buried in Westminster Abbey. Born in 1907, his career began on the stage in England, and he eventually became a film legend until his death in 1989.
It’s well known that he had won Academy Awards, while also being honoured with special Oscars. Olivier’s grave is located in the South Transept in Poets’ Corner of the Abbey, in front of Shakespeare’s memorial.
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton is considered one of the most important scientists of all time. He was a physicist, mathematician, and astronomer. He formulated the Law of Motion as well as the Law of Universal Gravitation.
Artist William Kent designed Newton’s complex funerary monument, and it was sculpted by Michael Rysbrack.
1. When did the author of A Christmas Carol die?| A．In 1870. | B．In 1907. | C．In 1989. | D．In 2018. |
| A．They won Academy Awards. | B．They were buried in Poets’ Corner. |
| C．They were praised by Shakespeare. | D．They were famous actors and writers. |
| A．Charles Dickens’s. | B．Stephen Hawking’s. |
| C．Laurence Olivier’s. | D．Isaac Newton’s. |
We call Talent Show the biggest stage in our country. I stood on that huge stage, with my throat dry. As I stared at the audience, I knew this moment could change my life forever. When judges asked my name and I tried to speak,nothing came out. The crowd fell silent, waiting for the words to come. Finally I stuttered(结巴地说) my name and my age. “As you can tell,” I said, “I have a speech disorder…”
I’d love to sing and had already signed up for the school talent show in fourth grade when I started stuttering.Fortunately, most of the kids at my school were kind, and I was rarely made fun of. I tried speech therapy too, but it didn’t help. I feared to sing in the school talent show. Therefore, I decided to practice at home. To my surprise, the words came smoothly when I sang. And then I decided to learn to play the guitar, which was given as a birthday gift by my father.
One afternoon, I walked into the basement, where I kept my musical equipment. My eyes lit on the guitar. I picked it up and started playing. I opened my mouth, and the words came flooding out. Then I wrote a song called I Will Trust,telling the pain IP’d experienced. The next day, I filmed a video of performing the song and posted it online. Hundreds of strangers left comments that I had uplifted them with my music. Ever since, I’ve been writing songs.
Last year, I started college and majored in music production. When I saw Talent Show audition(试唱)announcement pop up on my computer, I wanted to have a try. Several months later, I was standing on that stage, trying to calm my nerves as I introduced myself, “I have a speech impediment.” I said, “It was definitely something that caused me to…” I took a long pause to find the words. “…to hide. But I found that I don’t stutter when I sing.”
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 began to sing a new song I’d just written.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My performance on Talent Show had a deep influence on me.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was moving as fast as I could, stepping carefully from rock to rock along the uneven jetty (防波堤). “Too slow, sister!” I heard my brother Sam yell as he jumped with ease.
I’ll show him and attempted a double jump. What a mistake! My left foot came down hard between the edges of two gray rocks, scraping (刮伤) my ankle. “Ouch!” I yelled.
I tried to pull my foot out, but my shoe was stuck. I bent closer to the rock, and that’s when I saw it: a shiny, square shaped stone attached to a shining gold chain. It was just lying there on the wet sand, and a few seconds later it was in my pocket.
“Why do you look strange?” my brother asked once I’d freed my foot and caught up to him. “I don’t look strange,” I said. Sam looked at the sun. Could he tell I was hiding the most perfect discovery of the summer? I kept turning the treasure around in my pocket, pushing each corner of the square stone into my finger. I was excited, but I didn’t want Sam to notice. He liked to tell everybody my business.
“Ryan kept the paper napkins (餐巾) from the Andersons’ barbecue!” he had once announced. They were stamped “R.A.” Those are my initials! “Ryan saved the mini cola bottle from the carnival!”
My family calls me their “little collector”. Some mean kids at school call me “trash (垃圾) girl”.
Sam and I walked along the main street. Through the window of the candy shop I could see tubes of colourful jelly beans. A sign on the window’s glass read LOST: Gold and blue necklace. Verry special. If found, call Chrissy at 555-9924.
Chrissy had drawn a crayon version of the necklace at the bottom of the poster. The necklace looked different from the one I clutched (抓) in my pocket, I decided. Rounder, bluer. The poster appeared old and weathered. It must have been put up months ago.
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。
Once home, I placed the necklace into my box, attracted by it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in a café across from Chrissy.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
