Light the Cities of the Future
A previously unlit cycle path in the Netherlands has recently drawn our attention. It has been resurfaced with a material that consists of thousands of shining stones in order to create a well-lit route. The Van Gogh Path, so called after the artist who lived in the town of Nuenen in 1883, combines the traditional with the contemporary in a gesture that acknowledge ledges Van Gingh’ masterpiece The Starry Night, but also shows the way ahead for city lighting. The Van Gogh Path is not a single case; it is not difficult to foresee a time when natural materials could help light the cities of the future.
Why should we care about city lighting? What’s wrong with current electrical city lighting anyway? Well, the problem that it causes is two-fold. First, of course, electrical lighting in most cities comes from non-renewable resources. According to the International Energy Agency, almost 20% of global electricity is consumed for lighting, which is responsible for high levels of carbon emissions. But there’s also the belief that electrical light itself is a form of pollution by destroying our view of the night sky.
From the above reasons, then, it seems wise to investigate other approaches. The city of Glasgow is attempting to use intelligent street lighting to monitor how citizens interact with the urban landscape and minimize electrical consumption and thus emissions. This “Smart City approach” is seen by many as the way of the future, but some designers aren’t convinced. They are pioneering the altogether more original approach of using materials from the natural world in order to replace electrical light entirely. They believe that this new “technology” can one day completely replace microchips and digital systems as we find better ways of making use of the light-producing mechanisms (制) that already exist in the natural world.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Kim’s family moved frequently from one place to another due to his father’s profession. Kim had to start a new school every few years. Therefore, Kim’s school life was terrible. He didn’t have any best friends.
One day, Kim went to his classmate Rocky’s home. As soon as they entered the house, Rocky’s pet jumped on Rocky and started licking his face. Rocky said, “My doggy loves me very much. Animals can’t speak, but they have feelings, too.” His words were so touchy that Kim thought about keeping a pet.
Kim talked with his mother. She was afraid of dogs. She said that if Kim kept a dog at home, then it would be entirely his responsibility. The real task for Kim was his father. They were pure vegetarian. His father knew that animal needs meat for growth, which he never bought in the market. Therefore, he said a clear no to Kim’s demand.
One day, Kim saw a puppy in the park, who was in pain because of an injured ear. The puppy was weeping. Kim couldn’t stop himself and took it home. He took good care of it and decided to keep it permanently at home. When his father saw the dog, he scolded Kim, the little pup sitting in the corner and listening to them. Since Kim requested him a lot, finally, he agreed unwillingly.
Kim named that cute puppy Dooner. He trained Dooner and took care of his food, water, and cleanliness. Dooner and Kim became good friends. Everyone loved Dooner except Kim’s father. Every time his father got home, Dooner would hide somewhere in the house.
Then the day came when the results of the examination were declared. Kim failed in one subject, which made Kim’s father disappointed. He scolded Kim and even blamed Dooner for Kim’s failure.
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。
Dooner hid himself in the corner, listening to everything.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Although Dooner had left the house for several days, he decided to pick up Kim’s father’s wallet on the ground of the market and returned it.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________More than 20 hours earlier, my friend Emma and I had stood at the entrance to the cave. We laughed and joked as I climbed down the steep mouth and she followed. Six of us had gone on that camping trip, but after a full day of exploring caves, the others had gone back to the campsite to eat. Emma and I decided to explore one more cave.
The mud of the cave floor was soft and sticky as we snaked our way through the tunnel. The air was damp and heavy. As the passage twisted through the earth, it became smaller. Then, suddenly, after a tight squeeze, I came into a larger room.
“Once you make it past this narrow spot you can almost stand,” I told Emma, as I stretched out my arms and legs and enjoyed the big space. “Alright, I’m almost th...” Emma’s sentence was cut short. I turned around. “Are you alright?” I asked. All I could see was her face, and her eyes were full of fear. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m stuck.”
Emma and I tried everything we could to free her. But it became apparent that we needed help. I took out my cell phone to call my other four friends, but there was no signal. I couldn’t go to seek help because Emma was stuck between me and the cave mouth. That was why we were so relieved when we heard voices behind us. A beam of light shot down the tunnel.
“What’s going on here?” rang a young man’s voice. “We need help,” I shouted. “She’s stuck.” “I’ve got two buddies with me,” he said. “They can go to find a park ranger (公园管理员), but I’ll stay here and see if I can help from this side.”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。
The next several hours were long and arduous (艰难的).
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Almost five hours after we had entered the cave, the rescue team arrived.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a small community located at a suburb of Exeter, a disheartening issue had been troubling the neighborhood for years. The once pleasant surroundings were ruined by piles of waste that seemed to multiply with each passing day. Residents were growing tired of the worsening environment, leading many to abandon their homes in search of cleaner neighborhoods. It was in this terrible situation that two young students, Emma and Mia, decided to take matters into their own hands.
Emma and Mia were classmates and best friends from Phillips Exeter Academy, both passionate about environmental preservation and deeply concerned about the pollution crisis their community was facing. Witnessing more and more neighbors’ leaving, they knew they couldn’t stand by any longer. Determined to bring about a change, they undertook a mission that would soon catch the attention of the entire community.
Their journey began with thorough research and planning. The two girls searched carefully on the Internet for information on environmental initiatives and connected with local environmentalists. They organized meetings with residents to understand the issues at hand, collecting data on the types of waste, the sources, and the areas most affected. Armed with this knowledge, Emma and Mia worked out a comprehensive plan and announced it to ask for opinions from the residents. Surprisingly it was strongly supported.
Their strategy was twofold. First, they initiated a waste classification and recycling program. They distributed recycling bins(回收箱) to every household and educated the community about the importance of responsible waste management. Soon, the streets began to show signs of improvement as the volume of garbage inappropriately thrown away decreased gradually.
The second part of their plan was more ambitious. Emma and Mia gathered volunteers from their school and the neighborhood to take part in a massive clean-up campaign. Armed with gloves and trash(垃圾)bags, they began systematically clearing the waste from the streets, parks, and even the local bodies of water. Their firm commitment and hard work inspired others to join the cause.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Half a year later, the changes were significant.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Emma and Mia received recognition and honors for their work.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was hard to say goodbye to a pet, especially for children. Nancy Lowe. 5, from Walton-on Thames, England, experienced the loss of her beloved cat, Tintin, earlier this year. She died from heart failure and Nancy had been struggling to adjust to life without her best friend. Concerned and anxious, Nancy’s mom, Tamara, said, “Nancy and Tintin were best friends, and they had a really close bond, Whenever they saw each other, the two of them were so happy.”
Nancy desperately missed Tintin and she was worried the cat would be lonely, so she decided to write a letter to her cat up in heaven. She was warned by her mother, who told her that heaven might be too far away and that Tintin might have found a new friend, but Nancy insisted on writing the letter. When she was asked what she had written, she showed the letter to her mother generously. It read, “Dear Tintin, I miss you. Have you found a new friend in heaven?” Tamara was touched by her daughter’s sincere love and kindness. She didn’t want to disappoint her daughter so they posted the letter together.
Before they put the letter in a post box, once again Tamara tried to let her know she probably wouldn’t receive a reply, but Nancy addressed the envelope to “heaven” and mail edit off anyway.
Tamara said, “When we sent the letter I didn’t expect anything to comeback and I don’t think Nancy did, either. But it was important for her to say a proper goodbye. Getting a response was the last thing we expected.” Tamara and Nancy didn’t know a postman named Clive Edwards was on duty that day and he saw the letter addressed to heaven and wanted to help Nancy find some comfort in her loss.
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。
To their surprise, they received a letter from “Tintin” just a week later!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tamara shared the story on the Internet hoping to find the sender.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jenny always admired powerful and attractive marathon runners and dreamed that one day she could also run a marathon.
To make it, one day, she began to seriously prepare. At first, she only set the small goal of running one kilometer each morning. However, she still found it tiring and soon gave up running. As days went on, her weight gradually increased. Upset about her health, she finally decided to lose weight by doing exercise. She began running again.
As usual, in the following days, her big problem with exercising was always how to stay motivated. She tried to find guidance from running experts and books. And everything she read indicated that she’d better pair up with a running partner. She followed the advice, but human exercise companions always let her down. Her last exercise companion quit with excuses like, “It’s my turn to do the dishes” at six o’clock in the morning! She hated to admit it, but she had made similar excuses to others and disappointed them in similar ways.
Then Brucie appeared in Jenny’s life, a birthday gift from her husband, John. John couldn’t work out with Jenny because he had a bad back. So that job was left to Brucie, a yellow dog. Brucie was quite energetic, which made him destined(注定的) to be a running partner.
In the beginning, Brucie and Jenny ran only fifty paces at a time, each set mixed with one hundred paces of walking. “I don’t look foolish starting this way,” thought Jenny, “because Brucie’s bones are too young to make him run much harder.” She was right, and Brucie’s early limitations gave her time to start slowly without feeling awkward.
After about nine months, though, Brucie was old enough to run several miles a day and Jenny was fit enough to keep up. From spring to autumn, they logged the miles together every day. However, as winter approached and the weather got colder, maintaining a daily running routine required lots of dedication and determination. And Jenny started to think the dog would be like her previous human partners and that she couldn’t count on the little dog for help with motivation.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
What happened later proved that Jenny was wrong.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One spring morning, Jenny started her first marathon, accompanied by Brucie.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________要点：1．你为环境保护做了什么。
2．你的感受和收获。
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Spotted lanternflies (斑点灯笼蝇) are an invasive species. Since 2014, they have been seen all across the eastern United States. The insects are harmful to many plants, and can disturb entire ecosystems. State officials have urged people to kill spotted lanternflies wherever they see them.
When Joy saw the pests in her school courtyard, she thought she had to do something. “I’ve always wanted to take environmental action,” she says, “and show people that no one is ever too small to make a difference.”
So she started a club called Squash (压扁). Its mission is to kill spotted lanternflies around the school. More than 20 students have joined. At first, they trapped the pests in empty water bottles and then squashed them. In a single day, the club managed to kill more than a hundred spotted lanternflies.
Joy wanted to do more. With research, she discovered a plant called milkweed. It’s nutritious for pollinators (传粉昆虫) such as monarch butterflies but poisonous to spotted lanternflies. Joy thought that using milkweed along with the traps made specifically for spotted lanternflies would be a better way to kill them. The issue was that they didn’t have enough money to buy milkweed and the traps.
The kids were hoping to raise money for their school to address the big problem. Their goal was to raise $200, the cost of the equipment needed to kill spotted lanternflies around their school. They got part of the way there, with about $75. They decided to attract more fundraisers. “We discovered that if you find your voice,” Joy says, “you can do much more.”
In May, Joy and other students from Squash gathered in Columbus Park, in New York City. They set up a table with lemonade, cookies, and origami figures for sale. The money will be used to buy milkweed and the traps.
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。
To attract more attention, the students divided their work into various roles.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the day progressed, the students’ efforts paid off.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________人类活动已经对动物造成了直接和间接的伤害, 甚至使很多动物濒临灭绝。一方面, 打猎和捕鱼已直接影响了动物的数量。有些人为了获得食物猎杀动物, 有些人为了时尚, 然而还有一些人仅仅是为了找乐子。另一方面, 对动物有着间接影响的人类活动有时可能有着一样的破坏性。空气、水、噪声和光污染都能在离污染源很远的地方产生深远及破坏性的影响。随着人类人口持续增长, 我们对动物的影响也是如此。
写作要求:
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯。
Human activities’ harm to animals
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a very cold January, a puppy wandered around Mr. Lacey’s house, where he lived with his wife Mamie and their daughter Doris. Icicles (冰锥) hung three feet or more from the roofs of houses and snow swallowed up cars.
The puppy had been abandoned, and it made its way down the road toward the Laceys’ small house, with its ears down and trembling from shyness and cold. Doris, whose school had been called off because of the snow, was clearing the steps when she spotted the puppy on the road.
“Come on, little dog!” she called it over. The puppy shyly wagged its tail when Doris approached. As soon as Doris put the dog down in the kitchen, her mom, Mrs. Lacey, asked where the dog came from. Mr. Lacey, who was cleaning his fingernails with his pocketknife at the table, said, “I don’t know where it came from, but I know for sure where it’s going.” Doris hugged the puppy hard against her. She said nothing.
Because of the snowy weather, Mr. Lacey couldn’t take the puppy to the shelter right away. So, it stayed in the basement, and Doris fed it leftovers, even though her mom didn’t want to waste food. Doris thought the puppy was around six months old and would be quite noisy sometimes. Surprisingly, the puppy behaved well, didn’t cry or make trouble in the basement, and only followed Doris upstairs when she invited it. Doris often found it on the basement steps listening to the kitchen talk and smelling the food. She felt the puppy wanted company.
Even after a week, Doris didn’t name the dog, knowing her parents wouldn’t let her keep it. Her father made so little money that any pets were out of the question. Desperate to keep the dog, Doris tried to convince her parents by praising the dog’s good behavior and expressing her love for it, but her parents didn’t give a definite answer.
Despite her efforts, Doris secretly wished the bad weather would never go away, fearing the puppy’s unavoidable trip to the shelter. However, nine days after the dog had arrived, the sun was shining.
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。
Doris knew it was time to say goodbye to the dog and felt rather worried.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Doris put her hand to her mouth and couldn’t believe what she had heard.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
