1 . I’d been exploring the 40-hectare woods around our cottage my whole life and I knew the way well. So it was a _________ when I found myself lost there.

One dull cold February afternoon, I had a sudden _________ to hike the hill with my two daughters. Putting on our snowshoes, we immediately _________ northwestward. While making our way up the hill, my daughters stopped occasionally to investigate unknown plants and to look at the abandoned deer beds… These really made their _________.

As the shadows started to _________, we moved further up. Soon, weariness began to _________ enthusiasm. We decided to return. Instead of backtracking over our _________ route, I chose to walk down the steep (陡峭的) side of the hill, _________ my general sense that ahead of us lay the stream that would guide us to the road. But as the terrain (地形) leveled out, I had my first major moment of _________: Where was the stream? Were we off course?

I instinctively (本能地) pulled out my phone to get my location, but it __________ in my hand in the cold air. __________, I started feeling a bit panicky. However, I quickly __________ myself, reassuring my daughters to continue walking. Focusing on the landmarks, I spotted a familiar tree and eventually __________ the road.

That winter’s day taught me a valuable lesson about habitual reliance on technology. If my phone had __________ then, I might have directly followed the GPS, ignoring the old __________ of depending on surroundings and life skills.

1.

A．challenge

B．shock

C．reward

D．reminder

2.

A．discovery

B．response

C．worry

D．urge

3.

A．escaped

B．drove

C．headed

D．looked

4.

A．reputation

B．dream

C．day

D．way

5.

A．lengthen

B．swing

C．emerge

D．fade

6.

A．fuel

B．witness

C．overlook

D．outpace

7.

A．original

B．rough

C．offbeat

D．roundabout

8.

A．appreciating

B．trusting

C．envisioning

D．assessing

9.

A．curiosity

B．comparison

C．doubt

D．anticipation

10.

A．died

B．slipped

C．flashed

D．rang

11.

A．Reportedly

B．Admittedly

C．Seemingly

D．Surprisingly

12.

A．exposed

B．composed

C．defended

D．behaved

13.

A．got off

B．laid down

C．came across

D．made out

14.

A．worked

B．remained

C．changed

D．overheated

15.

A．theory

B．standard

C．practice

D．routine

2 . 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。

Were you born in the Year of the Tiger, the Rabbit, or maybe the Loong? Read on to find out more about the Lunar New Year.

The lunar calendar     1     (base) on the cycles of the moon. so the date of the Lunar New Year is different each year. In China and in many other places,     2     Vietnam, Singapore and Korea, the Lunar New Year is usually celebrated in January or February.

Each year is named after one of 12 animals. There is a traditional story about     3     the animals were chosen. The Jade Emperor,     4     important god in traditional Chinese religions, wanted to find a way to measure time. He decided     5     (have) a race for all the animals in the country. Only 12 animals actually managed to get to the race and the Jade Emperor rewarded them by     6     (name) the 12 years of the lunar calendar after them. The first to finish     7     (be) the rat, so the first year was the Year of the Rat. The other eleven, in order, were the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the loong, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig. In many countries, the animals are the same as these. However, in some places they are of a bit     8     (different).

Different places celebrate in     9     (slight) different ways, but the Lunar New Year is indeed a family celebration everywhere. The younger generation greet their parents and grandparents with good wishes for the year ahead. Older members of the family give younger ones     10     (gift) of money, traditionally in small packets.

3 . There are many reasons bears rub (摩擦) against trees. Sometimes they use smells to leave messages on trees for other bears, at other times they remove hair and rub that hard-to-reach part. A new study uncovers an additional benefit: keeping ticks (蜱虫) at bay.

When bears rub against bark, the trunks of the trees they move back and forth against leak out tars (焦油), a kind of thick sticky liquid. The substances, which are extremely unpleasant for ticks, stick to skin, and are water-resistant, making them really suitable to be an effective natural medicine that can drive away ticks.

Biologists have observed that brown and black bears have affection for certain types of trees, such as beech trees. The appeal of the tar is so strong that scientists use its strong smells to attract bears for studies. To test the guessing that the tar is a tick-warding medicine, Biologist Agnieszka Sergiel found herself staring at long containers which the widespread ticks she caught were placed into. She watched to see if they would run away from the tar on one side and toward safe, plain water at the other end of the container. And run they did!

The study provided clear evidence that ticks were avoiding the tar, said Hannah Tiffin, a scientist specializing in ticks. “I think it’s an interesting route to go and could make sense,” she said. “Using natural medicines to war d insects off has been seen in the wild. Monkeys rub their skin with orange trees and dolphins may treat their skin with an undersea material. Your cat may even use some plant to keep insects away.”

Expanding the limited database of ticks found on bears will be one of the most important steps to improve this work, Sergiel noted. There’s still a lot to be learned about tar functioning as a medicine to war d off ticks. Collecting skin samples from different bears and testing ticks’ responses could also be useful, she added.

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Which trees produce sticky liquids.	B．What substances from trees attract ticks.
C．Why bears coat their body with sticky liquid.	D．How tree rubbing drives away ticks for bears.

2. What did Sergiel do in her experiment?

A．She attracted bears to a kind of trees.	B．She studied the way ticks reached bears.
C．She observed ticks’ reaction to a special liquid.	D．She compared effects of water and tar on ticks.

3. How does Hannah Tiffin prove the reliability of Sergiel’s findings?

A．By concluding the root cause.	B．By citing other animals’ behaviors.
C．By referring to some other studies.	D．By summarizing her previous findings.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Responses of tested ticks vary.	B．Collecting plentiful data is hard.
C．Further deep research is needed.	D．More work is required to study bears.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. How did the man get the cat?

A．He bought him from a pet store.

B．He got him from his neighbour.

C．He found him on the street.

2. How old was the man when the cat saved his life?

A．35.

B．36.

C．40.

3. Where did the man’s wife find him?

A．In the bedroom.

B．In the dining room.

C．In the bathroom.

4. What can we know from the conversation?

A．The man has heart trouble

B．The cat woke the man up.

C．The woman doesn’t like pet.

5 . 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。

Facial recognition technology,     1     has been widely used in identifying an individual’s identity, is now moving beyond human faces.

At a digital monitoring center of the Yellow River Delta national nature reserve in Dongying, Shandong province, a variety of data is on display on a large screen, showing the real-time situations of     2     (it) biodiversity. In the past, the vast nature reserve with a diverse bird population     3     (pose) lots of challenges for scientists in tracking the biodiversity and conducting on-site monitoring. Today staff members at the reserve can monitor and record the biodiversity situation in real time     4     (simple) through an intelligent monitoring platform.

The monitoring platform takes advantage of information technologies such as big data, remote sensing and artificial intelligence     5     (establish) an integrated sky-to-ground monitoring network. After terminal collection devices send data to the cloud via a well-covered 5G network, AI performs real-time identification and annotation (注释), presenting results on the monitoring platform while     6     (conduct) a series of data analyses.

The use of science and technology plays     7     significant role in the biodiversity conservation. It helps the reserve with intelligent species recognition and provides real-time monitoring without too much human involvement, effectively enhancing conservation management and the efficiency of     8     (decide) making and problem solving. Seeing     9     disturbing, guarding without interfering (干涉) — that is the     10     (great) respect humankind can show nature.

6 . 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。

One day my mom and I read a story on a magazine called Humane Society News. A wild dog named Solo died for lack of medical care after he was ill. I knew how sad the story was because my own dog, Kela, had recently died. My world had ended when I lost Kela. She had been my best friend since I could remember. The article continued to tell about wildlife rehabilitators. They nursed the sick animals back to health, but as more and more animals were rescued, the medical expense became a big burden for them. I immediately determined to do something for them. I may be a kid, but why can’t I do a fund-raiser to help save more dogs?

My mom thought it was hard for an eleven-year-old girl to raise, but she told me to go ahead and try it anyway. I realized that I needed a name for the fund-raiser and thought since I was trying to protect dogs’ life, I would call my program Help Dogs. I decided that pet stores would be really good places to go with donation boxes and Help Dogs flyers (传单). I used little green Chinese take-out boxes, decorated with a picture of Tiko, one of the dogs I chose to help, and me. I wrote on each box “Help protect the life of dogs by donating a dollar”. I thought my actions might not raise much money for the dogs, but they can at least increase people’s awareness of wild animals protection.

One afternoon, after all the boxes had been distributed throughout our community, I got a call from a local newspaper reporter who had seen one of my flyers. The reporter decided to do an article about Help Dogs. After the article came out, I waited for a few days before checking to see if there were any donations.

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。

I was really nervous when I finally went to collect the money.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I realized many people feel the same way as I did but didn’t know how to help.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . In a groundbreaking project, China First Metallurgical Group has completed its first overseas waste-to-energy plant in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The largest waste incineration (焚化) power plant in Vietnam has not only revolutionized waste management in the country but has also involved the training of local workers. The plant has addressed the city’s growing waste problem by processing 4,000 metric tons of urban waste every day, about 60 percent of the city’s daily waste, the group said. The technology in the facility not only converts waste into green energy but also ensures environmentally friendly treatment.

Hu Changbing, manager of the group’s Vietnam branch, said, “The plant is an achievement of the cooperation between China and Vietnam. It is a green project that benefits local residents.” Since the first unit started generating electricity in July, 2022, the plant has been operating well, Hu said.

The project was built on the former site of Hanoi's waste treatment center, where the majority of the city’s waste was previously buried in landfill. In addition to generating clean energy through incineration, the plant also produces environmentally friendly bricks from the residue (残渣). The emitted gases and wastewater are treated to meet European Union emission standards and achieve drinking-water quality. Covering an area of 170,000 square meters, the plant consists of waste storage pools, incinerators, treatment and processing plants, and waste gas treatment facilities.

Recalling the start of the project, Hu said to gain the trust of local residents, his group set up a dedicated team of Chinese and Vietnamese personnel to explain the benefits of the project and take on local people. Vietnam lacked experience in waste incineration power plant construction. The Chinese team has set a bench mark (标杆) for the local industry and left behind valuable technical knowledge, Hu said. During the peak of construction, over 80 percent of the 2,000 workers employed were locals. “The local workers proved to be intelligent and diligent. They learn skills quickly,” Hu said.

In 2021, Hu took over the management of the Vietnam project. Hu, a native of Yichang city, Hubei province, has been working with the group for 23 years since graduating from Hubei University of Technology with a degree in civil engineering. Chinese masters led groups of Vietnamese workers, teaching them skills and safety regulations, and assessing their qualifications before allowing them to work.

This success has also inspired the construction of multiple waste incineration power plants in Vietnam, with many workers having gained their skills and experience from the project, he added. The project was carried out under the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and was aimed at contributing to the sustainable development of the Vietnamese capital.

1. How many metric tons of urban waste are produced daily in Hanoi?

A．About 4,000 metric tons.	B．About 5600 metric tons.
C．About 6000 metric tons.	D．About 6600 metric tons.

2. How does the plant make sure it is environmentally friendly?
①Making full use of solar and wind energy
②Planting a lot of trees and growing flowers
③Producing clean energy through incineration
④Dealing with wastewater to reach drinking-water quality
⑤Making environmentally friendly bricks from the residue

A．②③④

B．①④⑤

C．③④⑤

D．①②③

3. Which can replace the underlined word “diligent” in Paragraph 5?

A．Stubborn.

B．Courageous.

C．Gentle.

D．Hardworking.

4. Which is the best title for the news report?

A．China aids Hanoi with waste-to-power plant

B．Chinese masters train local workers in Vietnam

C．Achievement of cooperation between China and Vietnam

D．Project built on former site of Hanoi’s waste treatment center

8 . 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。

When I was a kid, my parents and I lived near the forest. They often told me that our family was a team that needed to work together for the household to function smoothly. There was always an abundance of work to do — cooking, cleaning, and walking dogs. I volunteered to walk our dog, Max, who had been adopted one month before. I never dared let this giant dog off the lead (牵狗绳), just in case he took off.

One morning, we were walking along in the forest when Max started pulling on the lead. At first, I was able to hold on despite the wet ground from a recent shower. But the more I tried to stop him pulling, the more it turned into a tug of war. And thanks to the slippery ground, I lost.

Pulling his lead, Max shot off like a bullet, leaving me screaming behind. I chased him but lost my footing and fell face-first into some mud. I stumbled (踉跄) to my feet, but looking ahead, I found him running back towards me. I thought he was going to stop and give me his “Sorry” look. But instead, the dog shot past me and returned after a while.

As soon as we got home, my mother immediately attended to Max with a warm towel and a doggy treat. I thought seeing me stumbling and covered in mud, I would also get a warm cup of tea and a motherly kiss. Instead, I got a very loud lecture about letting the dog loose in the forest.

I felt frustrated. It wasn’t fair that she didn’t understand how difficult it was to control Max. I fought back, “Stop lecturing me! Why is everything my fault?” With these words, I stormed into my bedroom and slammed the door shut.

In the evening, I heard my mother call Max and take him out. It wasn’t long before I heard my mother screaming and the door opening again.

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。

I walked out of my room.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dad stepped in, suggesting that we work together to train Max.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . My parents had purchased an Island Packet 445 ten months prior, and the day to board this boat had finally come. I was 11 years old and knew absolutely nothing about this cruising (海上航游) lifestyle my father had been speaking so highly of for the previous five years. The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to leave my home. My father was excited, my mother nervous, my brother disinterested, and I sullen. I was not at all eager about this change in my lifestyle.

The first three months on the boat had not been very easy. What my dad called an adjustment period I called a nightmare. But, after three months of traveling, we had a lucky break. In La Paz, there was another cruising boat with a 13-year-old boy aboard. Two weeks later, Glen and I could be seen endlessly boogie boarding (趴板冲浪) the crashing waves to the beach. After meeting Glen, cruising for me began to get better and better. At some point during these months, I decided to give this cruising idea a chance.

One year later, we continued touring through the South Pacific. I was learning new skills and learning how to work independently. I often took a five-hour watch during the dark hours of long passages. This was quite a bit of responsibility to hand over to a 13-year-old, especially considering I was in charge of adjusting sails as the conditions changed, and keeping an eye and ear out for any problems. Almost everybody in the cruising community treated me as an adult while still understanding I was a child, thereby giving me the flexibility to make childish mistakes.

As of this writing, my family has now been aboard for three years. We have plans to return to Canada in 12 months and, similar to how I opposed moving onto the boat, I am now completely opposed to moving off it. I have so much fun and learn so many things on this boat that I can’t imagine ever returning “home”, a place I hardly even remember.

1. What does the underlined word “sullen” in the first paragraph probably mean?

A．Upset.

B．Calm.

C．Confused.

D．Astonished.

2. What made the author start to embrace the cruising idea?

A．Overcoming the fear of nightmares.

B．Having fun with someone of his age.

C．Learning how to work independently.

D．Making a breakthrough in boarding skills.

3. Which of the following words can best describe the author?

A．Stubborn but reliable.	B．Childish but adaptable.
C．Inconsiderate but flexible.	D．Dependent but responsible.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Benefits of the Cruising Lifestyle

B．First Day aboard Island Packet 445

C．What Motivates a Teenager to Change His Lifestyle

D．How a Young Sailor Learns to Love the Cruising Life

10 . Animal Families, Animal Friends (NorthWord Books for Young Readers) is all about how animals work and play together, and how they help one another and keep each other safe.

I got the idea for this book from an article I read in a science magazine. It talked about how scientists, who used to focus on how animals compete in nature, are now studying how they coexist peacefully and even help each other.

I decided to write a book for children on the subject. I had lots of fun doing research for this book, I went to the library first and read about all sorts of animals. Then I made my choices based on my reading and my own experience. I love the sound of loons calling at night on a Maine lake. I watched beavers build a home on a stream in the Maine woods. I watched dolphins swim and dive alongside my sailboat in California. I visited Mission Wolf, a wonderful wolf refuge in Colorado. I saw prairie dogs in the Badlands of South Dakota.

I haven’t seen some of the animals in the wild—elephants, chimpanzees, caribou, emperor penguins. But I read books and watched videos online to learn how they live together. Who can watch the film March of the Penguins and not fall in love with them?

I used the Internet to listen to the sounds these animals make. And I made a collection of stuffed animals and puppets for my school presentation of Animal Families, Animal Friends.

Now I’m having a wonderful time visiting schools, libraries, and even a zoo to talk about the animals in my book. A highlight of these visits was a few days spent in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, speaking to children whose town was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. These children, their families, and their communities have given us all a fine example of how to live together and help each other.

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing Animal Families, Animal Friends?

A．To help adults know animals better.

B．To raise public awareness of wildlife protection.

C．To report some latest findings about the animal world.

D．To inform children how animals coexist with each other.

2. How did the author get materials about emperor penguins?

A．By visiting zoos.	B．By analyzing previous data.
C．By taking advantage of the Internet.	D．By consulting experts.

3. Why did Ocean Springs leave the author a deep impression?

A．It is an environment-friendly place.	B．People there live together harmoniously.
C．People there get on well with animals.	D．It was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

4. How does the author feel about his present life?

A．Confused.

B．Anxious.

C．Content.

D．Tired.