I remember that every year in lunar December in my hometown, Xinyang, each family begins to prepare bunches of bacon and sausage hanging from yard to yard
Xinyang, located on the boundary between the north and the south, is rich in rice, wheat and fertile land due to its unique
You’ll never become fully conscious of how much you value it until you
2 . I was first going into this final day, the Junior Sled Dog Championship. We’d trained two years and wanted to beat Blake. I knelt down to pat Kenai and my hands
Just before the count down started, Blake shot me a
“Kenai! No!” My voice came out a howl. Kenai
The race vet examining Kenai, I watched Blake accept the trophy. Kenai squirming in my lap, I leaned over upon him. Just at that moment, I felt a warm tongue on my wet cheek. I smiled and realized that I had the
| A．softened | B．shook | C．withdrew | D．extended |
| A．clever | B．thirsty | C．helpful | D．ready |
| A．broad | B．satisfied | C．tight | D．slight |
| A．As | B．Beyond | C．Before | D．After |
| A．pulled | B．charged | C．jumped | D．barked |
| A．cut | B．missed | C．kept | D．rounded |
| A．took off | B．flew away | C．turned around | D．bent forward |
| A．race | B．difference | C．gap | D．goal |
| A．Suddenly | B．Finally | C．Gradually | D．Occasionally |
| A．way | B．hold | C．temper | D．sight |
| A．quitted | B．insisted | C．sighed | D．froze |
| A．struggled | B．decided | C．refused | D．pretended |
| A．forcing | B．begging | C．ordering | D．persuading |
| A．took up | B．put up | C．brought up | D．wrapped up |
| A．achievement | B．companion | C．prize | D．friendship |
People say that a dog is man’s best friend. Once dogs find their “people”, they will stay by their side until the very end. Sadly, however, many families lost or even gave up their dogs.
Leo is a dog from Thailand. He became popular on the Internet because of his amazing story. About four years ago; the poor dog was left behind by his owners somewhere near a gas station. Hoping his owners would return for him, the dog never left his spot(地点).
Luckily. Leo was never truly alone. Seeing the poor thing, people there decided to help him out. Saowalak, a 45-year-old woman, took the poor dog back to her home after giving him food. However, Leo just kept on running away only to return to his old spot and wait for someone by the side of the road.
In the end, she let him but still brought over some food every day so that Leo wouldn’t be hungry.
Another person, Anuchit, also cared about Leo and decided to put some photos of the dog online to find his family. That’s when the Internet did its magic. After being put on the Internet, the photos finally reached Leo’s missing family. They called Anuchit, telling him how the dog in the pictures looked like their dog.
It turned out that Leo was their dog. They lost him back in 2015. They looked for him for a week but had little hope of finding him. They thought that they would never see him again.
The family and Leo got the chance to see each other again. But while both seemed happy to be reunited(重逢), it also seemed like something has changed with Leo. When the family asked Leo to get into the car and go home with them, Leo stopped. …
1. Did Leo become popular on the Internet because he was cute?2. Why did Leo keep on running away after Saowalak took him back to her home?
3. According to the passage, what does “the Internet did its magic” mean?
4. What did Leo decide to do next? Please write an ending for the passage. (No more than 30 words)
4 . After taking a few steps back, Hadj Benhalima rushed toward the building, pushed himself upward with his foot against the wall and stretched out his arm. At the peak of his jump, he flipped off a light switch, and the bright lights of a nearby barbershop went off immediately.
This is what Hadj and his friends have been doing for the past two years: swinging around Paris and switching off wasteful shop signs at night, in an effort to fight against light pollution and save energy. And they are all enthusiastic about Parkour — a sport that consists of running and jumping over urban obstacles.
While climbing other people’s property to turn off their lights may strike some as a form of trespassing (非法入侵), the Parkour athletes insist their activities are only about enforcing seldom-respected rules.
More than a decade ago, Paris City Hall issued orders requiring stores to turn off all signs and window displays from 1 am to 6 am, but they are widely ignored with little consequence. “for 10 years there has been no follow-up, no control, no punishment,” said Anne-Marie Ducroux, the head of the National Association for the Protection of the Sky and the Night Environment.
That is why Hadj and his friends have taken matters into their own hands. The group often gathers in the so-called Golden Triangle neighborhood, in western Paris, which is the center of French luxury.
Enforcing the orders in place of the authorities certainly enters a legal grey area. But the Parkour athletes say all the police officers they have met during their rounds have allowed their action — as long as it causes no damage.
And it seems that their efforts have produced the desired result, because Hadj says he has noticed that in recent months, several shops have stopped leaving their lights on after his group targeted them. He hopes others will follow suit. “At least, I’ll sleep better,” he said.
1. What are Hadj Benhalima and his friends trying to do at night?| A．To practice their Parkour skills. |
| B．To remove possible urban obstacles. |
| C．To turn off unnecessary store lights. |
| D．To ensure the safety of their neighborhood. |
| A．They are too strict to follow. |
| B．They have achieved the desired effect. |
| C．They put great pressure on stores. |
| D．They are not carried out effectively. |
| A．Worried. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Why Parkour is so popular among young people in Paris. |
| B．Why it is difficult to fight against light pollution in Paris. |
| C．How the lighting of shop signs affects the night view of Paris. |
| D．How young people in Paris help save energy through Parkour. |
My story started one autumn morning, at the bend on a path.
I was 13 years old, and was on the way to school. It was the first time I had caught sight of a fox. Fascinated to the point that I forgot all fear, I dared to go up to it. I had never come so close to a wild animal. There was nobody else around, only me and the fox.
“Hey, fox!” I tried to greet it, though my voice was so weak that it felt like I was saying hello to myself. It didn’t hear me. It stayed there and I watched it. My heart was beating flat out. It was so cute. For a moment, I thought I might be able to touch it.
Throughout the day at school, I could only think of the fox at the big beech (山毛榉) tree. At my return to the place where we met, I was sure I’d find it there.
And I did. This time I gathered a little bit more courage and called out to it, “Fox!” Of course it escaped. But that only made me long to meet it again. I decided that if I could find its kennel (洞) and catch it, I would try and tame (驯服) it, making it my friend.
Thus, I spent most of my free time in the forests trying to find the fox during the following months. But I never saw it again before winter came. During the winter, I followed its footprints far across the fields. Suddenly I was alarmed by the howling of wolves near me. I ran away frightened, stumbled and hurt my ankle. It healed very slowly, so that I had to stay at home during the winter, reading a book about animals of the forest and foxes.
When spring arrived, I was free again. I looked for fox kennels and waited for my fox. To my amazement, it had got young ones but kept moving because of my observations; therefore I decided to observe the fox from a longer distance.
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。
Paragraph 1:
Finally, it would let me get close.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
To my surprise, the day after I took it home, it fled.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . A blind fish living within a Mexican cave system’s deep, enduring darkness still maintains some ability to sense light. As the cave fish no longer seem to rely on an internal daily cycle and some sleep very little, biologist Inca Stein-dal and her colleagues were keen to see if their bodies can still regulate cyclically through time. Most animals on Earth have an internal clock for this the circadian rhythm (昼夜节律) that uses light levels to make our bodies fit in with our planet’s day and night cycles. This rhythm is then used to cycle through different biological processes that can influence our behaviour, such as our hunger cycles.
The Mexican blind cave fish live in a complex of over 30 isolated caves, within which they have each independently adjusted to the dark. Their bodies are extra sensitive to vibrations (震动), allowing them to sense changes in water currents for navigation (导航) in compensation for their limited or complete lack of sight. This adaptation occurred despite the fish from each cave evolving from the same species with fully functioning eyes. This ancestral group still lives in the surface waters in the El Albra region of Mexico and some parts of the Southwestern US.
Steindal and her team took tissue samples from the blind cave fish, from three isolated caves, and their surface relatives and tested the cells in different conditions. They detected the activation of several molecular (分子的) clock mechanisms when the cells were exposed to light, even in the cave fish cells. “Non-visual light detection is maintained at a fundamental cell-based level,” the researchers explain,although the cave fish cells did not respond as strongly as those cells from surface fish. While there were some similarities between the fish from the different caves compared to their surface relatives, there were also differences that confirm their biological clock changes each evolved independently of one another via different molecular mechanisms.
“We have provided proof that despite being blind, cells from the Mexican blind cave fish can detect light and make their clocks fit in with a light/dark cycle,” Steindal and her colleagues conclude. The team hopes these can help us learn more about the circadian rhythm and provide an easier way to study animal adaptations to dark environments.
1. As to the cave fish, what did Steindal and her fellows try to find out?| A．If they have a circadian rhythm. | B．If they rely on an internal daily cycle. |
| C．If they need to sleep. | D．If they are able to sense light. |
| A．The Mexican cave fish’s ancestors had normal vision. |
| B．The Mexican cave fish’s home is in the dark deep sea. |
| C．The Mexican cave fish have adapted to darkness. |
| D．The Mexican cave fish have trouble navigating. |
| A．Cave fish’s unique molecular structures. |
| B．Non-visual light detection in cave fish cells. |
| C．The cave fish’s adjustment t0 molecular clock mechanisms. |
| D．Biological clock changes evolved independently. |
| A．Why Do the Mexican Cave fish Live in the Darken“ |
| B．A Blind Cave fish Can Still Perceive Light. |
| C．How Can the Mexican Cave fish Fit in with the Day Cycles? |
| D．The Biological Clocks of the Life in the Sen Are Constantly Changing. |
7 . A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can damage human brain function in only a matter of hours.
“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”
For the study, the researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust (柴油废气) and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” said Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author. “While more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it’s possible that they may impair (损害) people’s thinking or ability to work.”
Notably, the changes in the brain were temporary and participants’ connectivity returned to normal after the exposure. Dr. Carlsten assumed that the effects could be long lasting where exposure is continuous. He said that people should be mindful of the air they’re breathing and take appropriate steps to minimize their exposure to potentially harmful air pollutants like car exhaust.
1. How does traffic pollution affect people according to the study?| A．Exhausting their body. | B．Decreasing their income. |
| C．Endangering their safety. | D．Harming their brain function. |
| A．Growth. | B．Sport. | C．Memory. | D．Behaviour. |
| A．Avoid being exposed to the polluted air constantly. |
| B．Be mindful of the air quality in a new city. |
| C．Measure the brain activity in laboratories. |
| D．Stay inside a house as often as possible. |
| A．A Role Of Brain Will Be Ruined |
| B．Traffic Pollution May Impair Brain Function |
| C．A Famous UK University Did A Vital Study |
| D．A Source Of Pollution Has Drawn People’s Attention |
8 . At ancient sites across the Amazon River basin, mysterious plots of unusually rich soil dot (点缀) the landscape. Scientists have long debated the origin of this “dark earth”, which is darker in color than surrounding soils and richer in carbon. Some people think this dark earth formed naturally, but the latest research has shown that modern Kuikuro people in Brazil create similar soil around their villages on purpose, which adds evidence to the idea that long-ago Amazons deliberately made such soil too. Perron, an earth scientist at MIT, reviewed interviews of Kuikuro people conducted by a Kuikuro filmmaker in 2018 and found that Kuikuro villagers actively make dark earth by using ash, food bits and controlled burns. “When you plant in hilly land, the soil is weak,” explained elder Kanu Kuikuro in one of the interviews. That is why we throw the ash, manioc peelings and manioc pulp. When comparing soil samples from ancient and modern sites, researchers found “striking similarities” — both were far less acidic than surrounding soils and contained higher levels of plant-friendly nutrients.
Analyses also revealed that dark earth holds twice the amount of carbon as surrounding soils on average. Scans (扫描) of the Xingu region suggest that the area is dotted with dark earth, and that hold as much as about 9 million tons of carbon — the annual carbon emissions of a small, industrialized country. “This number could roughly equal the annual carbon emissions of the United States when all dark earth across the Amazon is taken into consideration,” Perron says.
Figuring out the true value of carbon stored in the Amazon’s dark earth will require more data. Still, the research has significant influences on the Amazon’s future. The technique highlights how ancient people were able to live in the Amazon by developing sustainable farming that doubled as a carbon-storing technique. With more and more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, it could also provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in the soil, helping fight climate change.
1. What can we infer from the dark earth across the Amazon River basin?| A．They are more acidic than surrounding soils. |
| B．They contain more organic nutrients. |
| C．They formed naturally. |
| D．They contain less carbon. |
| A．To explain the difficulty of protecting dark earth. |
| B．To show the wide distribution of dark earth in Amazon. |
| C．To stress the huge carbon-storing capability of dark earth. |
| D．To reveal the large carbon emissions of the United States. |
| A．The importance of developing sustainable farming. |
| B．The advanced farming technology in ancient tomes. |
| C．A possible solution to climate change. |
| D．A way of green agriculture. |
| A．Urgency of Sustainable Development | B．Facts About the Dark Earth |
| C．Advantages of the Dark Earth | D．Wisdom of Ancient Amazons |
1. Where are the two speakers?
| A．On the street. | B．In a park. | C．At a square. |
| A．Golden retriever. | B．Chihuahua. | C．Samoyed. |
| A．He’s cute. | B．He’s shy. | C．He’s dangerous. |
| A．A large-sized dog. | B．A brave dog. | C．A smart dog. |
10 . Some of the oldest living things on our remarkable planet are trees. The record holders are bristlecone pines (狐尾松) of the western United States, quite a few of which are known to be more than 3,000 years old. One individual, discovered in 2012, is estimated to be more than 5,060 years old, making it the oldest known non-clonal tree in the world!
So, how do trees survive for thousands of years?
The other part of the answer has to do with how trees age. In fact, there is quite a debate about whether ancient trees can be considered “immortal (永生的)”. That is, will such trees ever die if they are not killed by an outside force? We may never know the answer to that, but, at the very least,
Older trees benefit greatly from having bodies made mostly of dead woody tissue. In fact, an old tree might be as much as 95 percent dead tissue! Given that it isn’t alive, wood does not require metabolic (新陈代谢的) activity to maintain it,
| A．so an old tree doesn’t really need to do much to keep living |
| B．This is a question that has something to do with the good luck of trees |
| C．However, bristlecones are certainly not alone in terms of the oldest creatures |
| D．This is a fascinating question for biologists that does not yet have a settled answer |
| E．What’s more, some ancient trees have superior chemical defenses against pests and diseases |
| F．which means that trees can survive everywhere without being limited by external and internal conditions |
| G．we know that ancient trees age in ways that are dramatically different from the ways that most animals and even other plants age |
