1 . I woke up one morning with six hungry kids and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. He had never been much more than a presence they _______. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, _______ no food either.

I washed the kids and then _______ them into my old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job.

I tried to _______ whoever would listen that I was willing to learn anything. I had to have a job. The last place we went to was the Big Wheel truck stop. They needed someone from 11 pm to 7 am. They paid $0.65 an hour and I could start immediately.

I called the babysitter and _______ with her. We came to an agreement—$1 a night. So every morning I gave her $1 of my tip money—_______ half of what I averaged every night!

As weeks went by, the tires on my Chevy began to leak. One miserable morning, I _______ myself to the car and found four tires in the back seat. New tires! “Had angels(天使) taken up residence in Indiana?” I _______.

I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn’t enough. Christmas was coming and there was no money for toys. Clothes were a worry too.

On Christmas Eve, the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim. These _______ all just sat around and talked. When it was time for me to go home, I found several boxes in my Chevy filled with little jeans, toys and an enormous turkey. I could not believe my eyes!

I was crying with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that __________ morning.

Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December morning. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop.

1.

A．ignored

B．appreciated

C．feared

D．recognized

2.

A．so

B．but

C．because

D．or

3.

A．loaded

B．moved

C．invited

D．handed

4.

A．question

B．teach

C．consult

D．convince

5.

A．argued

B．bargained

C．agreed

D．planned

6.

A．only

B．definitely

C．fully

D．clearly

7.

A．dragged

B．rolled

C．directed

D．carried

8.

A．prayed

B．concluded

C．announced

D．wondered

9.

A．visitors

B．regulars

C．neighbors

D．strangers

10.

A．comfortable

B．satisfying

C．precious

D．educational

2 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。请在答题卡指定区域作答。

Math causes anxiety in kids, which can last far into adulthood. This is worsened by the pressure of knowing that math is the gatekeeper to science and technology that drive much of our society.

Ironically, this well-known feature of mathematics is its greatest weakness.

When our kids ask why they need to know algebra, we promise them that it will be useful. Do we listen to jazz because it is useful? Humans like the practical, but we also know that there is much more to life. As Aristotle said, knowledge begins with wonder, but what wonder is there in algebra or calculus? As it turns out, not much. Yet they form the cornerstone of today’s math education. No wonder math creates boredom.

Happily, unlocking the pleasure of math is simple: Do what mathematicians do and seek out unexplored, unknown, undiscovered math.

Regrettably, the mathematical journey is imagined as a terrifying mountain: The wide base is arithmetic, accessible to everyone. Climbing higher brings us to algebra, geometry, and eventually calculus and beyond. We believe that new math ideas have been nearly exhausted.

In reality, math is alive and still advancing, and most of it remains a vast and uncharted countryside. Fresh ideas are constantly being discovered, opening up new and fascinating puzzles. These puzzles allow us to play at the very edge of the mathematical unknown, and many of them are accessible for our students.

Here’s one: Can every even number be written as a sum of two prime numbers? Even numbers such as 8 and 30 can be written as 3+5 and 7+23. But can this be done for every even number? No one knows.

As our kids try to solve this kind of problems, a deeply encouraging truth will appear in their otherwise anxious hearts: It’s OK to struggle with math since everyone struggles with math.

These unsolved puzzles are the great equalizers, helping us realize that we are on the same level as the greatest of mathematicians, all of us staring over the unknown abyss, looking for a way down into the mystery.

1. What is the well-known feature of mathematics?
2. Why does math cause boredom?
3. Decide which part of the following statement is wrong. Underline it and explain why.
The author believes math is accessible for students but that new math ideas have been nearly exhausted.
4. What else do you think can make math fun?(In about 40 words)

3 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空自处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Cyclo-cross is a tough but fun sport     1     riders race laps around an off-road circuit such as a park or field. They ride up and down hills, through twists and turns and sometimes over low barriers or steps. At times, they may decide to get off their bike and run through the mud while pushing their bike or carrying it     2     their shoulder. Races usually take place in autumn and winter when the ground conditions and weather make it even     3    (tough).

4 . Online gamers constantly make life and death decisions at their keyboards-but it’s just a game. A Texas gamer was faced with a real-life situation and helped _______ the life of a fellow player - 5, 000 miles away.

Aidan, in England, was playing an online game in his bedroom when he had a seizure. His playing partner, Dia, in Texas, just put her headset on and heard what she could only describe as a seizure, so she started to get _______ and asked what was going on and if he was OK. When he didn’t respond, she _______ started to look up the emergency number in the UK. When that didn’t work, she just had to hope the non-emergency number would work. It had an _______ for talking to a real person.

Someone answered the call and she had to force herself not to _______ and to stay calm. “Hi. I’m _______ in the US and in a call with my friend.” Dia told the operator. “He had a seizure and he’s not responding anymore. I do have his _______. No one’s home with him right now, so I’m just trying to get him some help.”

Actually, Aidan’s parents were watching television downstairs and did not _______ their son was in danger until three police officers knocked at their door.

“We are extremely thankful for what Dia did and _______ that we could be downstairs and not know anything was happening, ” Aidan’s mother said. “Dia had our address but didn’t have any contact numbers, so it was amazing that she ________ to get help from so far away. I’ve spoken to her and expressed our thanks-she’s glad she could help.”

1.

A．spare

B．enrich

C．devote

D．save

2.

A．threatened

B．trapped

C．concerned

D．annoyed

3.

A．eventually

B．instantly

C．suddenly

D．especially

4.

A．option

B．order

C．arrangement

D．action

5.

A．explode

B．complain

C．panic

D．quit

6.

A．accidentally

B．currently

C．obviously

D．frequently

7.

A．age

B．name

C．number

D．address

8.

A．decide

B．explain

C．realize

D．judge

9.

A．relieved

B．shocked

C．puzzled

D．bored

10.

A．managed

B．learned

C．hoped

D．promised

5 . If you have no difficulty in understanding what native English speakers say in daily life, there is a whole new world of brilliant podcast (播客) series to explore. If you aren’t sure where to start, have a look at these:

	The Joc Rogan Experience        ★★★★★ The Joc Rogan Experience is a great learning device because of its interesting English conversations between Rogan and his guests. At the time of writing there have been over 1,660 episodes with subjects ranging from comedy and science to politics and sports. Rogan is also a famous stand-up comedian, so the show is full of cultural references and idioms.
	This American Life        ★★★★★ This American Life is a great choice for English learners who want an insight into the culture of the USA. It is a mixture of journalism and storytelling, focusing on real-life tales from citizens of all regions of the country. The stories are new and varied. One episode was taped for 24 hours in an all-night restaurant; another interviewed workers on strike.
	The Writer's Voice            ★★★★☆ The New Yorker is a famous American magazine, and every week it prints a new short story. In this podcast, the week's story is read aloud by its writer. The published work covers a wide range of life experiences across the United States and beyond. It's a great way to enjoy some of the best new fiction in the country.
	Overheard at National Geographic      ★★★★★ National Geographic is a much-loved American magazine (and TV channel) famous for incredible stories and photography related to science and the environment. Overheard is about the discussions Nat Geo employees have had while taking breaks. Expect crazy stories from explorers, photographers, and scientists from around the world.

1. In order to fully enjoy these podcasts, you should________.

A．have interaction with hosts

B．have good English competence

C．be interested in being a podcaster

D．be familiar with American social life

2. Which podcast gives you more stories behind the scene?

A．The Writer's Voice.

B．This American Life.

C．The Joe Rogan Experience.

D．Overheard at National Geographic.

3. What do these podcasts have in common?

A．They enjoy great popularity.

B．Their stories are set in America.

C．They are attached to magazines.

D．Their works are updated weekly.

6 . Every year thousands of people converge(汇集) on the city of Pamplona, in north-eastern Spain, for the opportunity to run for their lives as six fighting bulls are released to charge through the town.

    1     But the event is of interest to more than just adrenaline junkies and animal-rights activists. A paper just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes the insight the event offers into the psychology of panicked crowds.

That is a useful topic to explore. Architects,civil engineers and urban planners must try to work out how people will behave in the event of a disaster like a fire,a flood or a terrorist attack so they can design their creations to avoid potentially deadly crushes.     2     Ethics-review boards, after all,are likely to frown on researchers putting volunteers into deadly danger simply to study how they might behave.But Daniel Parisi,a physicist and computer scientist at the Technical Institute of Buenos Aires,and the paper's lead author, realised that the Pamplona bull-runs offered the perfect natural experiment

Dr Parisi and his team went to two different rooftop locations in Pamplona in July 2019,and recorded footage of the runners as the animals were released.     3     The researchers brought their recordings back to the lab to calculate the velocities(速度)of the runners, the density of the crowd and the probability of a runner tripping and falling.They also examined the trajectories of the bulls,the responses of individual runners as bulls came near to them,and the relationship between runner-group density and velocity.

    4     Less expected was the finding that the speed of individual runners increased with the density of the crowd. At the crowd's maximum speed of around four metres per second,density reached roughly one pedestrian per square metre.This finding is at odds with a long-held assumption in architectural and urban-design circles that people will slow their pace as group density goes up,in order to lower the risk of a collision,which could lead to a fall and,perhaps,injury or death as a runner is trampled by others.Dr Parisi's data suggests that groups of fast,crowded runners are indeed at risk:of 20 people who fell,all did so within a fast-moving,dense group. Most(14 of the 20) involved two or more people,with one person tripping another.

Yet it seems that, in the heat of the moment, people pay little heed to the danger of colliding with each other, and do not slow down. The duty therefore falls upon urban designers to work out how best to plan the construction of future alleys, tunnels, bridges and other passages that restrict flow.     5    .

A．Unfortunately,solid information is hard to come by.

B．The only option may well be to make them wider.

C．Goring(顶伤)is much less common but potentially life threatening.

D．A wave of people running at top speed raced past their cameras a few seconds ahead of the bulls.

E．There are dozens of injuries every year,and there have been at least 15 deaths recorded since 1910.

F．Perhaps unsurprisingly,the researchers found that runners sped up when the bulls drew near.

G．A set of wooden fences is erected to direct the bulls along the route and to block off side streets.

7 . Lia Thomas, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, is an excellent swimmer. She often beats her rivals by tens of seconds, breaking records. Her success is based on three things. One is natural talent. Another is persistent training. And the third is biology.

For although she identifies as a woman,Ms Thomas was born male.Since humans cannot change their sex (unlike their self-identified gender),she remains that way.On the eve of her biggest competition, Ms Thomas finds herself at the centre of the bad-tempered debate about whether trans women-males who identify as women-should compete in women’s sports.That,in turn,is part of a broader argument: should brute (纯粹的) biological facts sometimes override people’s deeply held feelings about their identities?

This newspaper believes it is almost always unfair to allow transgender women to compete in women’s sports.The advantages bestowed by male puberty (青春期) are so big that no amount of training or talent can enable female athletes to overcome them.Florence Griffith Joyner’s 100-metres world sprinting record has stood for three decades.A male matching it would not even make it to the Olympics, let alone the final.In 2016,at an American event for high-schoolers, four of the eight boys in the 100-metres final ran faster.

Much of the male advantage is granted by testosterone (睾丸素), a potent anabolic steroid whose levels rise sharply in male puberty.For many years,many sporting bodies, following the lead of the International Olympic Committee, hoped to deal with the issue by allowing trans women to compete in women’s events provided they took testosterone-suppressing drugs.But the science suggests this does not level the playing field.Suppressing testosterone in adults, it seems, does little to undo the advantages granted by a male adolescence.

Sports must therefore choose between inclusion and fairness; and they should choose fair play. That does not mean, as is sometimes claimed, that trans women would be barred from all sport.One way to make that clear would be to replace the “men’s” and “women’s” categories with “open” and “female” ones.The first would be open to all comers.The second would be restricted on the basis of biology.

Sport is public, and results can be measured objectively. That means the argument that the material facts of biology should sometimes outrank a person’s subjective sense of identity is easier to make. But bias exists, as a Republican bill in Florida to restrict “instruction” in schools about gender identity or sexual orientation makes plain.

That should be resisted. Most of the time,it costs little or nothing to respect people’s choices about how they wish to present themselves.In the rare cases where rights clash (不相容), society must weigh the balance sensitively and with open eyes.

1. The author mentions Joyner’s 100-metres world sprinting record to show that ________.

A．most female athletes can’t rival trans women athletes

B．male puberty is the best time for sports competition

C．it is unfair for Ms Thomas to compete in women’s sports

D．this record can’t make a male reach the threshold of the Olympics

2. What does “that” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．bill

B．bias

C．instruction

D．identity

3. What is the author’s attitude towards trans people in sports competition?

A．disagreeable

B．open-minded

C．sympathetic

D．conservative

4. Which might be the best title for the passage?

A．Inclusion and Fairness	B．Respect People’s Choices
C．“Open” and “Female” in Sports	D．Biology Matters A Great Deal

8 . I hated wearing a burqa. It made me itch; it made me sweat. And it made me invisible. Mine was blue with a small lace opening for the eyes, though underneath I wore a short-sleeved dress and tights. Walking in a burqa, I lost my usual confident gait: I hung my head lower, both hands clutching the edge of the fabric so I wouldn’t stumble. The very fact of wearing it made me feel inferior. To leave the house, when I became a teenager about a decade ago, I had to transform myself into a thing.

My way of protesting was to go out as little as possible, which seemed to be the only way I could protect my individuality. But I yearned to participate in life directly rather than simply observe it through my veil.

My parents, too, wanted me to step into my fullest potential. When other mothers praised their daughters for their cooking and housework, mine would claim that a woman’s real jewel is her education. When other fathers focused on how quickly they could marry their daughters, my father laughed if someone came to our house with a marriage proposal.

On some nights, when the neighbourhood was sleeping and only stray dogs occupied the roads, my father would walk with me outside the house to give me a taste of the world without a burqa. In the shadow of moonlight, we would stroll, hearing the sounds of crickets and dogs rummaging through rubbish. With each step I took, I felt free. Once my father disguised me as a boy to swim in the river that I used to go to when I was a child. He didn’t want me to forget what it felt like to be free.

Sometimes I would get angry and loudly complain that I was forced to cage myself in a burqa. My mother would look at me with a solemn expression, place her hand on my head, and say, “Be someone who can leave this place.” She encouraged me to learn English.

And I did. Armed with an iPad, the internet and a free education website called Khan Academy, I taught myself English, philosophy, maths, science, and history. While most young women my age were getting married, I was learning how to argue like Socrates or apply mathematics like Newton. With each new thing I learned, I began to feel alive, like a plant that blooms when it gets water after it has been parched and dying. By allowing me the freedom of education, my parents gave me a window to the world. More than that, they gave me the tools to create my own identity and make myself visible again.

1. As a teenager, ________.

A．she felt inferior to others	B．she was too shy to go out
C．she made up herself into a thing	D．she was aware of her individuality

2. When someone came to propose a marriage, her father ________.

A．laughed at their proposal	B．felt it weird and stupid
C．refused with laughter	D．concealed his anger with laughter

3. She studied hard in order to ________.

A．make herself visible to the world	B．free herself from the trap of her parents
C．be capable like Socrates and Newton	D．fulfill her parents’ dream of getting education

10 . Types of Maps

Different types of maps have different uses. Tourist maps, for example, have signs to show places of interest in an area. When tourists read these maps, it is easy for them to find where to go and what to see in a place and it is easy for them to go and find their ways to these places.

Road maps show large areas so that people can plan long journeys. Different types of roads are given different numbers. For example, if you want to go to Wood Green, you just follow No. 621 Road and keep looking at the road signs.

Distribution maps use colors or signs to show facts about an area. For example, where different languages are spoken, how many people live in an area, how cold and hot some places are, or whether a place is short of water.

Some maps, such as railway maps, use straight lines to show everything. This is easy for people to read. Trains are fast. People don’t have to think about small places they go past. They just need to know the two ends of their trips.

1. How can you tell different roads on road maps?

A．By using different colors.	B．By finding the numbers.
C．By following No. 621 Road.	D．By looking at the road signs.

2. Which of the following can distribution maps tell us?

A．How to get to Germany.	B．How to plan a long journey.
C．Where a famous museum is.	D．Which place is short of water.

3. Why do railway maps use straight lines?

A．Because railways are straight.

B．Because people like straight lines.

C．Because people can read them easily.

D．Because railways have only two ends.