Helen and her family moved to a new location in the city. Helen was excited because most of her friends lived in the same street.
It was the first morning in their new house. She woke up early that day and went out on her balcony (阳台). She was expecting wonderful, lovely birds and beautiful greenery with fresh air, but instead it was the complete opposite. There was garbage right outside their front gate. There were no trees and instead of the sweet chirping (鸟叫声) of birds, there were annoying g traffic noises. Helen was angry. “What is this? Why can’t someone do anything about it?” she thought. She went inside the living room. She sat at the dining table, thinking about what she could do about the pollution in her locality.
The next day at school, she went into her class and asked loudly, “Who’s fed up with stinking garbage?” This caught many students’ attention. “Who’s fed up with air pollution and the diseases spread by it?” This time many students answered, “Me!” Helen smiled and then said, “We must clean our surroundings. So help me get rid of the garbage. Help me pick it up! That’s the best thing we can do. We will all go to other classes and ask if they want to join us. I am sure as long as we work together, our community will become a better place!”
In the break time, they all went to other classes, and by the end of the school day, Helen had gathered almost 25 students ready to help her. The day before cleaning, the students took out their pocket money and bought garbage bags, masks and gloves.
注意：1. 续写词数应为120左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The big day came and the students gathered at the school gate.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Soon the headmaster knew what the students did.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Bournemouth in Dorset has always been my favourite seaside town. When I was growing up, Mum and Dad didn’t have much money, but they’d saved enough for a few days in Bournemouth. I was four years old at the time. I don’t actually remember much about the trip, apart from being devastated when we had to leave. Mum said I fell in love with the place and insisted on waving goodbye to the sea when it was time to go. So I grew up believing Bournemouth was a wonderful place.
Forty years on, my wife and I returned for a week’s break. I was nervous, wondering if I’d be able to bring back that delight I’d felt as a child. I needn’t have worried. We had a fantastic time. It helped that the British weather had decided to provide us with high temperatures and plenty of sun. But it was Bournemouth that kept me spellbound, making me feel like a child again.
Bournemouth and its neighbour, Boscombe, are always busy, alive with chatter, music and other lively sounds. But as we stepped into Boscombe Chine Gardens, all the noise faded away. A sense of peace spread through us as we meandered along the paths, delighting in the squirrels climbing up and down the trees and the bright colours of the pretty plants.
One morning, we made a short trip to Poole Quay and took the ferry to Brownsea Island. Owned by the National Trust, it’s a feast for the eyes, from its mock Tudor entrance, to the many peacocks walking around, to the magnificent views of the sun sparkling on the shining waters and boats bobbing up and down, seen from the island’s highest point.
Before we knew it, it was time to return home—but not before waving goodbye to the sea.
1. Which of the following best explains “devastated” underlined in Paragraph 1?| A．Sorrowful. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Thrilled. | D．Desperate. |
| A．The fear of losing childhood memories. |
| B．The adjustment to the new circumstances. |
| C．The uncertainty of recalling childhood delight. |
| D．The exposure to high temperatures and sunshine. |
| A．It boasts seaside views. | B．It belongs to wild animals. |
| C．It is free of the town’s noise. | D．It reminds him of his childhood. |
| A．Farewell to Bournemouth. | B．Working in a wonderful place. |
| C．A childhood unforgettable story. | D．Revisiting a childhood favourite. |
3 . When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me Chinese folk stories before bedtime. My mother is an immigrant. She told me those stories so that I wouldn’t forget the culture that she had left. Even though I hadn’t ever experienced that culture at firsthand, she wanted me to remember it.
Of all her stories, my favourites were about Sun Wukong, the monkey king who had many superpowers. Eventually, though, I moved on to other kinds of heroes. When I was in the fifth grade, I bought my first American comic book. Afterwards, Superman, Spider-man and Captain America replaced Sun Wukong in my heart.
I became crazy about comic books. I loved them so much that I went on to work towards a career in comics. Today I am a professional graphic novelist. My most well-known book is American Born Chinese, published in 2006. Monkey King is one of my main characters, but the book isn’t direct adaptation of my mother’s stories. Instead, I invited Monkey King into my story so that I could talk about the uneasiness of growing up as an Asian American. The character I knew from my childhood expressed his emotions without reservation. I needed him to emote on my pages.
For research, I tracked down an English translation of Journey to the West, the centuries-old Chinese classi that first told the monkey king’s story. As I read it, I realized that American superheroes hadn’t replaced Sun Wukong in my heart after all -they were simply Western expressions of everything I loved about the monkey king. The monkey king’s story has lasted for centuries and travelled across continents and cultures. Journey to the West is the very definition of “timeless”.
My mother now has Alzheimer’s. She’s forgotten all of the stories she used to tell me, but I remember. In many ways, I’ve built my whole career on those moments before bedtime. With every comic book I create, I am trying to relive the wonder I felt when my mother told me the stories of Sun Wukong.
1. What did the author’s mother expect him to do?| A．Earn a living by writing. | B．Keep their cultural root. |
| C．Experience Chinese art first hand. | D．Remember all the stories she told him. |
| A．It uses the character Sun Wukong as a symbol. |
| B．It reflects the growing pains of American children. |
| C．It is the best-seller among American born Chinese. |
| D．It encourages people to seek their roots back in Asia. |
| A．It’s really a popular classic works. | B．It’s more attractive than western comic books. |
| C．It’s easy to understand. | D．It’s a book reflecting the real world. |
| A．The author’s concern for his mother. |
| B．The approach to creating comic books. |
| C．The author’s memory of his childhood experience. |
| D．The influence of the stories of Sun Wukong on the author. |
On a sunny day, a shepherd (牧羊人) walked with his two
The shepherd was about to help them when he was surprised to find that one of them should
5 . A recent study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has discovered that river erosion (侵蚀) can lead to increased biodiversity in areas with minimal tectonic (地壳构造的) activity. The researchers focused their attention on the Tennessee River Basin and examined how the erosion of various rock types by the river had led to the separation and diversification of a type of fish called the greenfin darter. As time passed, these separate fish populations evolved into distinct families with genetic differences.
Scientist Thomas Near observed that the greenfin darter was exclusively found in the southern half of the Tennessee River Basin. The researchers analyzed the genes of each fish in Near’s data set and constructed an evolutionary tree. This tree helped them comprehend the evolution and differences of the greenfin darter species. They discovered that the fish within the same branch of the river were more closely related to each other than to the fish in other branches.
This study provides evidence that river erosion significantly impacts biodiversity in regions with low tectonic activity. It illustrates how changes in the landscape caused by river erosion can lead to the division and diversification of species over time, even in peaceful environments. These findings enhance our understanding of the mechanisms (机制) that drive biodiversity and evolution, even in areas that are not typically associated with intense tectonic activity.
Subsequently, the team discovered a strong correlation between the habitats of the greenfin darter and the type of rocks present. The southern half of the Tennessee River Basin consists of hard, tightly packed rocks, resulting in turbulent (湍急的) waves in the rivers that flow through it. This characteristic may be favored by the greenfin darter. As a result, the team assumed whether the distribution of greenfin darter habitats had been influenced by the changing rock types, as the rivers eroded the land over time. To test this assumption, the researchers developed a simulation model. Remarkably, the results confirmed their assumption.
1. What is new about the MIT study?| A．It finds river erosion can enhance biodiversity. |
| B．It further proves the mechanisms of river erosion. |
| C．It proves the geographical features of biodiversity. |
| D．It classifies a type of fish called the greenfin darter. |
| A．Their appearances vary between families. | B．Their genetic constitutions have diversified. |
| C．They prefer the deep and slow-flowing river. | D．They go extinct in the changing landscape of rivers. |
| A．By creating an evolutionary tree of the fish. |
| B．By offering the fish’s genetic data. |
| C．By reasoning out the time the fish evolve and separate. |
| D．By analyzing the genetic similarity between different fish. |
| A．River Erosion Can Shape Fish Evolution | B．Genetic Change in the Greenfin Darter |
| C．Evolutionary Tree Analysis of the Greenfin Darter | D．The Impact of Climate Change on Fish Diversity |
6 . In the US housing market, 3D-printed houses are catching buyers’ attention and coming into their consideration. In some of the hottest markets, 3D-printed houses are competing against traditional wood-frame houses with features of “cheap”, “safe” and “eco-friendly”.
In Riverhead, New York, a 3D-printed house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a 2-car detached garage is listed for sale online with a price of $299, 999, much cheaper than a traditional wood-frame house like this. In Austin, Texas, another construction technology company, ICON, is building two-to-four-bedroom homes, wishing to be the first to get involved in this area. Their aim is to take over the market as soon as possible.
In the US, the first 3D-printed housing community will be built in Rancho Mirage, a desert resort city in California, according to developer Palari. The houses in the Rancho Mirage project will take a month to install as opposed to three to six months using traditional methods, Palari CEO Basil Starr told the Los Angeles Times. A typical project of this scale would take around three years, but they are planning for no more than a year and a half, he said. The pre-sale campaign started in late February and sold out within days, said Starr, adding that most of the buyers were young people with a passion for sustainability.
Apart from the construction speed, the companies also emphasize that 3D printing is more eco-friendly than conventional building methods because 3D printers generate the precise amount of material, while building wood-frame houses will result in construction garbage. The 3D-printing technology also provides “much safer, more adaptable to changes” houses that are designed to withstand (承受)fire, flood, wind and other natural disasters better than conventionally built houses, according to ICON.
Will 3D-printed houses replace traditional houses? Only time will tell.
1. What is the advantage of a 3D-printed house?| A．There is large space in a 3D-printed house. |
| B．There is a 2-car garage in the house. |
| C．It’s better than a wood-frame house in keeping warm. |
| D．It is friendly to the environment. |
| A．3D-printed houses are to appear in housing market. |
| B．Buyers are attracted by the design of 3D-printed houses. |
| C．Construction technology companies are competing in the new field. |
| D．The new technology has helped solve the problems caused by the lack of housing. |
| A．Neutral. |
| B．Indifferent. |
| C．Doubtful. |
| D．Negative. |
| A．3D-printed houses bring up housing costs |
| B．3D-printed houses make life safer and easier |
| C．3D-printed houses raise the eco-friendly needs |
| D．3D-printed houses emerge in the US housing market |
7 . We humans often navigate(导航) using road signs and GPS.
Allen and her colleagues investigated that idea by testing African elephants' ability to track a very specific smell: urine(尿液)．
But first, they needed some urine. So they headed to a spot along Botswana's River and waited. They waited for elephants to urinate. Within 20 minutes, they went and collected these fresh urine samples.
Then they set up camera traps on elephant trails.
Their findings appear in the journal Animal Behaviour. Based on these results, they hope conservationists might be able to use elephant urine to help with their work.
| A．Elephants don't, though |
| B．By catching the elephants along the trails |
| C．Elephants urinate some 12 to 15 gallons a day |
| D．Next, they placed those urine samples along the trails |
| E．Finally, they tested the chemicals of the urine samples |
| F．After observing the elephants' natural behavior on the paths |
| G．But she also suggests that maybe the smell is vital to the long movements |
A traditional Chinese dance performed underwater
With simulated splits in the air, a man
He is Chinese dancer-choreographer Ma Jiaolong, who
After Ma’s videos circulated widely online, he received lots of messages from people around the world, many of
10 . Yu Zeling, an award-winning master of paper cutting, fills her studio with cutouts of animals, people, and scenes that are so vivid that they seem to leap from the walls. Her art covers village life in Ansai, a rural district in Shaanxi Province.
Ms. Yu came to paper cutting in the late 1970s as naturally as she breathed the earthy air.“We were very poor, and when it was time to celebrate the New Year, we all put paper-cuts on the windows to decorate our houses,” she says, recalling the holiday at her childhood home. Ms. Yu and others are working to keep the folk art alive, even as it evolves away from its roots as adornment for farmhouses.
The art originated in China in the centuries after paper was invented in A.D.105. Full of auspicious (吉利的) symbols from daily life, the decorations represented good weather, many offspring, long life, wealth, and happiness.
Using newspaper, Ms. Yu first practiced cutting the image of a Chinese national flag that she saw in a school textbook. She cut it 100 times before she was satisfied. Then her aunt took over, introducing her to increasingly complicated traditional themes.
Ms. Yu was later invited to train in the Ansai's Cultural Center. After years of training,Ms.Yu became a master in her own right, winning one award after another. Her works are on display in museums. But she's humble about her achievements. “I was, and still am, a farmer,” she says with a smile.
Hoping to carry on and grow the folk art, Ms. Yu volunteers to teach at free community training sessions. Paper cutting is also taught in Ansai’s public schools. Ms. Yu is aware of the need to go beyond protecting traditions and embrace new paper-cut experiments.
1. What does the underlined word “adornment” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Celebration. | B．Symbol. | C．Invention. | D．Decoration. |
| A．It has cultural value. | B．It features animals. |
| C．It attracts the young. | D．It remains in fashion. |
| A．Authoritative. | B．Vain. | C．Devoted. | D．Competitive. |
| A．A brief history of paper cutting. |
| B．A new approach to paper cutting. |
| C．An introduction to a paper cutting master. |
| D．The direction of a traditional paper cutting. |
