1 . Flaco the owl (猫头鹰) is gone, but his life had all the elements of a classic hero’s story, not soon forgotten. Flaco lived a dozen years in a comfortable cage in the Central Park Zoo where little happened and less was needed. His life was a safe existence without freedom. Then, a year ago, someone released him.

On Friday, when he died of injury, perhaps from a collision (碰撞) with a Manhattan apartment building’s glass windows, his death offered us a chance to reckon with the question at the heart of many a hero’s journey: Can we put a price on freedom?

Flaco’s liberation from his cage came at a cost — he spent the final year of his life free, but threatened from all sides by a booming city. Was it worth it?

Almost from the moment he was released, Flaco became a symbol of hope for many of the people who followed his story and recognized parts of themselves in him. Some saw him as the symbol of the American dream, an outsider who had come to Manhattan and made a life for himself here, like millions of others who arrived penniless and unconnected in search of freedom.

As a result, he flew around the city. We were terrified that he’d succumb to (屈服于) the dangers of city life. Flaco had no experience living outside a cage, and New Yorkers initially doubted his chances of survival. We worried that he’d eat a rat with enough poison in its system to kill him. But Flaco never looked back. Perhaps freedom itself was the home he’d discovered.

And though we feared for him, his new life excited us. How many of us, our circumstances familiar and sale, are too frightened to seek our more fully realized selves?

How many of us, viewing our confinements as nothing out of the ordinary, have long stopped wondering what our wings are for?

Have we not all desired a life beyond the range of the one we lead? Flaco showed that our desire is not misplaced. His choice proved a truth that given a chance, living things choose freedom of movement.

1. What do the underlined words “reckon with” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Bring up.

B．Deal with.

C．Reflect on.

D．Look into.

2. What happened to Flaco the owl after he was released from his cage?

A．He died a natural death.

B．He was caught and returned to the zoo.

C．He died from a collision with a building.

D．He lived a free life but faced many threats.

3. What was the initial reaction of New Yorkers towards Flaco’s release?

A．They were excited and supportive.

B．They were worried about his survival.

C．They were indifferent and unconcerned.

D．They were angry and opposed to his release.

4. What does the author want to convey through the story of Flaco?

A．The importance of protecting wildlife.

B．The risks and rewards of seeking freedom.

C．The value of overcoming challenges in life.

D．The need for more awareness about animal rights.

2 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

“She needs me.” Those were the exact words I spoke to my husband when I spotted Dottie, a little dog we found at a local shelter eight years ago.

Dottie leaned (倾斜) away when I tried to pet her and refused to let me hold her. While the other dogs jumped and barked, Dottie returned to the back of the cage, curled up in a ball, hoping us to leave her alone.

On the entire drive home, Dottie was in fear. So, upon arrival at our house, we got right to work. I held her as much as possible, touching her head and softly singing in her ear. We learned that she loved belly touch, so every time we passed by, we would offer a gentle touch. Eventually, we noticed her presenting her belly as we walked by her. I knew we were making real progress when I found her quietly sleeping on a chair one day, her head resting on one of my shoes. My heart melted (融化) as I realized she had brought it there because it contained my smell, and she wanted it nearby.

Ever so slowly, our little dog came to life. She began to play with toys, enjoy walks, and rest on our laps. There was no special treatment, no fancy food or toys. All we did was love her. And she grew well. She was so broken when we first met her that we had no idea what her true personality would be. But now we found a sweet, playful, loving soul.

One day, a few years after her adoption, I was busy doing housework around the house, doing laundry and climbing the stairs from the basement up to the main floor. When I finished, I sat down and enjoyed a well-deserved break. That’s when I realized I hadn’t seen Dottie for a while. I called to her and began searching. My heart raced and my pace quickened as I began checking under beds and behind sofa.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Suddenly, I remembered the door to the basement.

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I held her in my arms tightly, telling her how sorry I was.

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3 . Ricochet, San Diego’s favourite surfing therapy (治疗) dog, has caught her final wave. The 15-year-old golden retriever — a pioneer of canine-assisted (犬只辅助的) surf therapy who helped countless veterans (老兵) and kids — died on Friday, owner Judy Fridono said Saturday.

Ricochet was raised to be a service dog, but the energetic pup was more fond of chasing birds than assisting with household chores. In 2009, the dog found her career. That was the year Ricochet got on a surfboard with local quadriplegic (四肢瘫痪的) surfer Patrick Ivison. A viral video of the encounter got more than 6 million views on YouTube. “That day she hopped on the board with Patrick, she was reborn,” Fridono said in a 2012 interview.

Throughout her life, the beloved dog touched the lives of kids with special needs, wounded service members and families of fallen veterans. Ricochet was known as an affectionate companion and a shameless belly-rub beggar and had a feeling for people who needed a hug.

Notably, the furry do-gooder helped raise $ 1 million for charity and the donation of more than 1 million bowls of food for homeless animals.

Her work brought numerous awards, media attention and a loyal fan base on social media. The dog had more than 141,000 followers on Instagram and more than 270,000 on Facebook.

Ricochet’s legacy (遗产) will live on through the sponsorship of Jose Martinez, an Army veteran and parasurfer, and through donations to adaptive surfing organizations. “People believe in Ricochet’s mission… she didn’t do it alone,” Fridon o said. “Her supporters are an extension of her legacy and her roots in helping others heal through dog intervention and therapy. Now that she’s gone, I don’t want people to be sad. I want them to celebrate and continue supporting what she started.”

1. What was Ricochet’s career?

A．Canine-assisted surf therapy.	B．Assisting with household chores.
C．Bird catching.	D．Working as a service dog.

2. Which of the following can best describe Ricochet?

A．Brave but lazy.	B．Naughty but caring.
C．Cute and handsome.	D．Fierce and strong.

3. What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about?

A．The contribution of Ricochet.	B．Social media’s influence on Ricochet.
C．Recochet’s popularity.	D．Donations to the homeless animals.

4. Where can we probably find the text?

A．In a diary.	B．In a textbook.
C．In a newspaper.	D．In a guidebook.

4 . The Enduring Appeal of Peter Rabbit

“I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits, whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter,” wrote Beatrix Potter, an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist in 1893, in a letter to a little boy who was suffering from a serious infectious disease.

Like many children-story authors, Potter was not a writer by profession. Her chief enthusiasm was natural history. Childhood family holidays in Perthshire and the Lake District had given her the freedom to experience the natural world first-hand.     1     Owing to Potter’s illustrations, the humanized rabbits seemed to exist in a recognizably real place. As Potter once admitted, the “careful botanical studies of my youth” informed the reality of her fantasy drawings.     2     In these images, Peter in the vegetable garden ate radishes (萝卜) or jumped off the wall.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit was first published by Frederick Warne in 1902.     3     However, Warne disagreed. Only after Potter had the book privately published did Warne change his mind. It was an immediate success, much to Potter’s surprise. “The public must be fond of rabbits! What a shocking quantity of Peter,” she said. The original tales, under the Warne imprint, are still available today.

    4     In 1903, she registered a Peter Rabbit doll, making him the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. After that, there were licensed wallpapers, board games and painting books. She earned large amounts of money. After her death, almost all her property was left to the National Trust.

A．Potter surely had a business mind.

B．A decade later, with slight adjustments, the lines formed the opening to what became the bestselling.

C．It was this experience that gave Peter Rabbit its unique atmosphere of believable wonder.

D．Potter was determined that the book should be small enough to fit into a child’s hands and inexpensive.

E．She spent holidays in the Lake District, developing a love of landscape, which she closely observed and painted.

F．Though her later stories would contain more strikingly detailed illustrations, The Tale of Peter Rabbit has charming pictures of its naughty hero.

5 . To a regular person, Spitfire may look like just an ordinary dog, but to fans of the dock diving circuit, he is an incredible athlete in the same league as sport stars like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant

Before COVH-19, eight-year-old Spitfire and his 16-year-old owner, Sydney, dominated the dock diving circuit like never before in the history of the sport. If you’re unfamiliar with the sport of dock diving, it’s essentially dogs running on a wooden dock and jumping as far or as high as possible before diving into a pool of water. And no dog did this better than Spitfire. Between 2016 and 2019, he broke 21 world records.

Spitfire came into the Mackey family in 2013. Back then, he was just an adorable dog with big eyes that Sydney instantly fell in love with. Sydney and her mother learned about dock diving in 2016, from a family friend who encouraged them to try it with Spitfire. In May of that year, they decided to give the sport a try and their pet proved to be a natural.

It wasn’t long after that very first jump that Sydney and Spitfire started making waves in the world of dock diving. They took the sport by storm and they dominated events across the United States like no team had ever done before. In three years^, time, they broke many world records, and became known as an unbeatable pair of players.

Before he jumps into the air, the world’s best dock diver reaches a speed of about 30 miles per hour, and when he takes to the air he can reach a distance of 31 feet before hitting the water, or 8 feet 6 inches when he’s going for height. It’s no wonder they call him the flying dog.

But while Spitfire is undoubtedly the star of the show, most dock diving experts are convinced that despite his athletic abilities, he would have never reached his true potential without his young owner’s guidance. Sydney’s “Ready? Ready? Go, Go, Go!” pep talk to get Spitfire fired up has become famous on the dock jumping circuit.

1. Why are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．To show Spitfire owns the same number of fans.

B．To show Spitfire’s incredible talent in basketball.

C．To show Spitfire’s excellent performance in sports.

D．To show the importance of sports stars to the league,

2. At first, what inspired Sydney to try the dock diving with Spitfire?

A．His friend’s encouragement.	B．His devotion to the dock diving.
C．Spitfire’s good performance in diving.	D．The popularity of the dock diving.

3. What can we learn about the dog and bis owner from the fourth paragraph?

A．They didn’t perform well at the beginning.

B．They achieved impressive results in the events.

C．They were ever defeated by other teams.

D．They seldom participated in the events in US.

4. What do most experts think of Spitfire?

A．He can’t live up to the title of sports star.

B．He doesn’t obey his owner’s orders at times.

C．They doubt whether he has his athletic abilities.

D．Sydney’s guidance contributed to his achievements.

6 . Paul Beer, head of rhino section at Port Lympne, said:“Obviously we’re all absolutely delighted to welcome another calf to our black rhino family. She’s healthy, strong and already eager to play and explore. Her mother, Solio, is a first-time mum and she is doing a fantastic job. It’s still a little too cold for them to go out into the open, but as soon as the weather warms up, I have no doubt that the little one will be out and about exploring and playing every day.”

What does Paul Beer say about the new-born rhino?

A．She loves staying with her mother.

B．She dislikes outdoor activities.

C．She is in good condition.

D．She is sensitive to heat.

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整短文.

A spider (蜘蛛) was looking for a suitable place to make its web. He wanted his web to be in such a place where a lot of insects and flies would come and get trapped in his web. In this way he wanted to spend his life eating, drinking and relaxing happily.

Soon, he found a corner (角落) of the room of a house and started preparing to make his web there.

Just when he started weaving (织网) the web, a cat passing by started laughed loudly after seeing him. When the spider saw the cat laughing, he asked, “Why are you laughing?”

The cat replied, “I am laughing because you are foolish. Can’t you see how clean this place is? No flies or insects will come here. Who will fall in your web?”

After listening to the cat, the spider gave up the idea of making a web in that corner and started looking for another place.

Then he saw a window and started weaving his web there. The spider had prepared half of the web. Then a bird came and started making fun of him, saying, “Have you lost your mind? Why weaving your web near this window? A strong wind will blow and your web will fly away.”

The spider understood and stopped weaving the web on the window and started looking for another place. While searching, his eyes fell on an old cupboard (橱柜). The door of that cupboard was slightly open. He went there and started weaving a web. Just then a cockroach (蟑螂) came and said, “It is useless to make a web at this place. This cupboard is very old. It will be sold in few days. All your hard work will go fruitless.”

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。
Para 1: The spider listened to the advice of the cockroach and stopped making the web in the cupboard and started searching for another place.
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Para 2: An ant who was watching all this went to the spider and said.
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8 . When Byron Thanarayen and his wife Melissa returned to their home recently, their 13-year-old dog named Chucky was completely wet. The couple assumed the dog had splashed around in his water bowl and made a mess in the house. When no evidence could be found inside, they turned to their security footage (录像).

What they saw made the blood freeze in their veins. Chucky was walking near their backyard swimming pool when he stumbled (绊倒) and fell in. Since the dog is so tiny, he was unable to get a purchase on the slick sides of the pool.   Instead, he paddled around, searching in vain for a way out. After a few desperate moments, the couple's other dog appeared on the scene. Jessie is a 7-year-old dog who became noticeably upset when she saw her friend struggling to keep his head above the water. She began circling the pool's edge, following Chucky as if she was encouraging him not to give up.

For 34 minutes, Jessie worked to rescue her friend. She repeatedly tried to grab hold of the smaller dog with her mouth, but Chucky kept slipping out of her grasp. Finally, after several failed attempts, Jessie succeeded in grasping Chucky's neck and dragging him out of the pool.

When Byron and Melissa realized Jessie was a hero, they were unspeakably grateful for their sweet girl! “We still struggle to watch that video today, just thinking of what could have happened if Jessie was not there,” Byron said. “I'm really proud of her, considering she is the youngest.” The family now plans to install a pool cover to keep their pets safe. Thankfully, they have a wonderful life-dog on duty just in case anything ever goes wrong!

1. What was the couple's first thought finding their messy house?

A．Someone had broken in.

B．The dogs had been too naughty.

C．They had forgotten to clean the house.

D．Chucky had swum again in the swimming pool.

2. How did the couple feel when they found the evidence?

A．Shocked.	B．Scared.
C．Excited.	D．Annoyed.

3. What did Jessie do to help her friend?

A．She encouraged him to stay above the water.

B．She circled the pool's edge to find a way out.

C．She used her mouth to pull him out of the pool.

D．She ran out immediately to ask others for help.

4. Which words can describe Jessie?

A．Clever and inspiring.	B．Wise and energetic.
C．Naughty and lazy.	D．Brave and loving.

9 . My parents’ new dog Mercy would rush out of bed and go-go-go all day long. So when they brought home a Christmas tree, they expected _________. But to their astonishment, Mercy didn’t seem to care. She paid zero attention to the tree _________ growing in the living room. Nor did she _________ the fancy gifts under it.

A few days before Christmas, Polly, my step mom, awoke early as usual. As she _________ the living room, she stopped cold. She saw that every last _________ was gone. Only the tree was still there. To find out the burglar, Polly walked toward the back door. She pushed the _________, bathing the backyard in light. Oh, yes, it was Mercy. She _________ in a nest of torn wrapping papers, _________ boxes, and curling bits of ribbons. Clearly Mercy’s self-control had _________. She’d silently carried one after another out of the doggy door and anything edible (可吃的) was __________including cookies, chocolates, and four pounds of Milk-Bones.

Nature took __________ on Mercy, and she eventually survived her midnight snack. Only one problem __________. With all the gift tags destroyed, how could my parents send back thank-you cards?

Mercy presented the problem, so Mercy provided the __________. A few days later, Polly happened to find Mercy __________ licking a plate where a doughnut had just been. Polly shot a picture of the shamefaced puppy and used it to make the cover of the thank-you card. Inside, the whole story was __________. We all laughed off the ruined presents and admitted that amid all the gift-giving, it’s really a season for MERCY.

1.

A．risk

B．chaos

C．fun

D．change

2.

A．suddenly

B．naturally

C．gradually

D．immediately

3.

A．used to

B．adapt to

C．react to

D．appeal to

4.

A．left

B．found

C．heard

D．approached

5.

A．dust

B．leaf

C．decoration

D．present

6.

A．switch

B．tree

C．pet

D．alarm

7.

A．waited

B．lay

C．appeared

D．moved

8.

A．cleaned-up

B．fixed-up

C．chewed-up

D．used-up

9.

A．failed

B．worked

C．counted

D．improved

10.

A．discovered

B．wasted

C．gone

D．rescued

11.

A．punishment

B．respect

C．comfort

D．pity

12.

A．changed

B．remained

C．ended

D．repeated

13.

A．love

B．answer

C．luck

D．food

14.

A．guiltily

B．hopefully

C．regretfully

D．regularly

15.

A．created

B．offered

C．explained

D．announced

10 . One night Buck woke up and heard the call again, a long howl. He ran into the forest. And there, his nose pointing to the sky, sat a wolf. The wolf started to run, and Buck followed him. They ran for hours through the forest, and then suddenly Buck remembered John Thornton. He turned and started to run back.

Thornton was eating dinner when Buck returned. Buck jumped all over him, and for two days never left his side. But after two days the call of the wild came again, and he remembered the forest and the wolf that had run with him.

He started to sleep out in the forest at night, sometimes staying out for three or four days. He ate well, and he grew stronger and quicker and more alive. His golden brown coat shone with health as he ran through the forest, learning its every secret, every smell, and every sound.

Nobody saw the change that happened when Buck was inside the forest. At once he became a thing of the wild, stepping softly and silently, a passing shadow among the trees.

In the autumn, Buck started to see moose (驼鹿) in the forest. One day he met a group of about twenty. The largest was two meters tall, and his antlers were more than two meters across. When he saw Buck, he got very angry. For hours Buck followed the moose; he wanted the big one, but he wanted him alone. By the evening Buck had driven the big old moose away from the others, and then he began his attack.

The animal weighed six hundred and fifty kilos—he was big enough and strong enough to kill Buck at once. Patiently, Buck followed him for four days, attacking and then jumping away. He gave him no peace, no time to eat or drink or rest, and slowly the moose became weaker. At the end of the fourth day Buck pulled the moose down and killed him. He stayed by the dead animal for a day and a half, eating, and then turned towards camp and John Thornton.

1. Why did Buck run into the forest according to Paragraph 1?

A．He was curious about the call.

B．He wanted to find something to eat.

C．Thornton was there studying the sky.

D．He wanted to do some morning exercise.

2. What can we learn about Buck from Paragraph 3?

A．He enjoyed staying out in the forest.

B．He made friends with wild animals.

C．His fur changed from brown to golden.

D．He ate a lot and put on too much weight.

3. Why was the moose finally killed?

A．He insisted on fighting Buck alone.

B．Buck got timely help from his friends.

C．He was too old and weak to fight Buck.

D．Buck had employed effective strategies.

4. Which words can best describe Buck?

A．Gentle and cautious.	B．Patient and smart.
C．Realistic and motivated.	D．Energetic and caring.