1 . Do you remember the last time you got excited over a pair of shoes? Sure, you might have appreciated them, but did you jump for joy and act like they were the greatest thing you’d ever seen? You may not think that shoes are something worth going crazy over, but this woman would disagree. After all, she went wild when she put a pair on for the first time in her life.

It’s amazing how often we take advantage of things in life. When we’re used to something, we don’t always appreciate how lucky we are to have it. While we’re here complaining that our WiFi isn’t fast enough and our videos keep buffering, there are people in Africa who don’t even get to eat three meals a day. While most people work hard for the things they own, it’s important to stop and think of what others don’t have every now and again.

That’s what Laura Grier did one day. The woman was in Bwindi National Park, Uganda, when she felt obliged to stop and help someone by the side of the road. The person in question was standing around without any shoes on, and the sight convinced Grier to give up her own footwear. She had more shoes at home, while this woman had never even worn a pair before.

Laura’s generosity was definitely appreciated by the stranger who treated her benefactor to a celebratory dance. The woman couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she went wild in her brand new shoes. Grier was thrilled that her good deed had made the stranger so happy, and she cheered on the Ugandan woman as she danced in the street.

The next time you buy a pair of shoes, remember how lucky you are to have them.

1. Why did Laura Grier give her shoes to the woman?

A．To show her generosity.	B．To get permission to pass by.
C．To offer her help.	D．To reward her dance for her.

2. How did Laura Grier feel at the woman’s reaction?

A．Nervous.

B．Excited.

C．Thankful.

D．Lucky.

3. What does the story teach us?

A．Never expect too much of life.	B．Try to know more about Africa.
C．Don’t admire what others have.	D．Appreciate what we already have.

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

A．One Woman Overjoyed by Her First Pair of Shoes

B．One Lady Forced to Offer Her Pair of Footwear

C．Ugandan Woman Dances to Welcome Her Guest

D．Grier Greatly Thrilled at Beautiful African Dance

2 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

During summer vacation, I went on a three-day camping expedition (远足). We had to carry all of our own clothes and food, as well as tents, cooking pots and first aid kits(急救药箱).

On the first day, our instructor taught us how to read maps. It's not too difficult     1     (understand) maps, but walking with a 13-kg backpack under the burning sun     2    (be) not the most ideal situation. Each of us carried two liters of water to drink as well.

On the second day, we had to find our own way to the next campsite. My group set     3     at 9 am full of confidence, but soon found     4    (we) lost on a farm!     5     (luck), each group had a tracker (跟踪器) that allowed our instructors to see     6     we were. We were quickly found and got back on     7     right path. We finally got to camp at 7 pm. Having walked 25 km over 10 hours, my body was aching. The third day was a bit     8     (easy). We successfully made     9     back to the car park where our coach was waiting.

I learned so much from this expedition—not just map reading skills,     10     also teamwork and how to deal with emergency situations. It pushed me to achieve something I never thought I could do and gave me important life skills.

3 . Movies about the future often show people travelling around in flying cars. Last Tuesday, that vision came a step closer to reality for a Japanese company called SkyDrive, as it showed off its new flying car, the SD-03, in action. The small car flew around for four minutes, staying about 1-2 meters off the ground.

The SD-03 is powered by batteries and has 8 motors, which lift it straight off the ground. What made this test flight special was that a pilot was on board. Toraohiro Fukuzawa, who leads SkyDrive，said, “Of the world’s over 100 flying car projects, only a handful have succeeded with a person on board.”

Many groups worldwide are working to develop flying cars. Some governments, including Japan’s, are supporting the idea, hoping that in the future, flying cars will be useful for short trips like taxi rides in cities. Flying cars could also help reach places that can’t be reached by road.

What happens when a motor fails? If flying cars are crossing a city, an accident could hurt not just people in the car, but people on the ground, too. That’s why the SD-03 has eight motors—as backups.

Some people believe flying cars reduce traffic jams. But new systems will be needed to help control traffic in the air. With many cars flying around, these systems would be too complicated to be managed in real time by humans. Besides, flying cars are expensive. When it’s ready, SkyDrive’s flying car is expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.

However, people who believe in flying cars point out that cars and airplanes faced challenges at first, too. With time, many of the big problems were solved. By 2050, Mr. Fukuzawa hopes people will be able to fly anywhere inside Tokyo in just 10 minutes. “I think flying cars will become normal in the near future.” he says.

1. What was special about this test flight?

A．The car flew higher.	B．The car was cheap.
C．The car flew on its own.	D．The car carried a driver.

2. Why is the SD-03 equipped with eight motors?

A．To ensure its safety.	B．To increase its flying speed.
C．To make it look cool.	D．To enable it to carry more weight.

3. Which aspect of the flying cars is mainly discussed in paragraph 5?

A．Their design.	B．Their application.
C．Their cost.	D．Their disadvantages.

4. What is Mr. Fukuzawa’s opinion about flying cars?

A．They can be easily bought.	B．They have a long way to go.
C．They have a promising future.	D．They are environmentally friendly.

4 . Many people, including some successful men, wear the same clothing daily to focus their decision-making energy on more important things.     1     Julia, an art teacher, is wearing the same dress for the first 100 days of school to create awareness of the environmental costs of fast fashion.

Available online or from various shops, it allows everyone to adopt the latest fashion trends instantly. Though that sounds like a win-win for all, the rapid change in styles and the affordable prices result in impulse (冲动) purchases, many of which are thrown away after being worn just once or twice.    2    

Julia's idea for the “One Outfit (服装), 100 Days” began as a comment she made to her husband during the summer.     3     Moreover, it would serve as a great lesson for her new students. Selecting a perfect outfit for the challenge was a little tricky.After some consideration, Julia settled on a plain dress. Though she has a backup dress, Julia plans to use it only if absolutely necessary.

    4     It has also inspired some of her colleagues and her husband to take up the challenge. Julia says the experiment has forced her to rethink her attitude towards clothes. She values things more now—respecting the planet for her children and trying to value herself in a different way, as opposed to caring so much about what she looks like.     5     Reuse, recycle, and, most importantly, reduce.

A．Julia is also tired of making decisions on small things.

B．The experiment has aroused curiosity of many students.

C．Julia's “One Outfit, 100 Days” challenge, however, has a selfless aim.

D．Thanks to Julia's idea, the whole school began to follow her challenge.

E．She hopes more people will learn from her and apply the 3Rs to their life.

F．Over 21 billion pounds of cloth ends up being waste yearly in the US alone.

G．Thinking further, she decided it would be a way to show her eco-friendly lifestyle.

5 . 阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

“No 7, Jobie Nymble, takes the lead,” cried the announcer. “Just one more hurdle (跨栏) and ...” Cheers broke out. “Jobie Nymble from Riverside Middle School takes first place in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles!” The crowd went wild.

“County championships (锦标赛), here we come,” screamed Jobie, patting her green track spikes (钉鞋). They were her lucky shoes and she loved them. “Next Saturday, we’re taking home the gold,” Jobie whispered to her spikes, excitedly retying them.

“Don’t forget, guys,” said Marisol, one of her teammates. “My birthday party is next Friday at Hidden Park.”

Next weekend couldn’t come soon enough. Jobie smiled with excitement all week long. At track practice, she leaped over those hurdles faster than she’d ever leaped before. And it wasn’t long before everything in her path was a hurdle: flowerpots in her front yard, sidewalk cracks on the way to the bus stop and even her little sister, Teka!

The day of Marisol’s party, Jobie put on her favorite outfit: her blue shorts, an old track T-shirt from her dad, and her lucky spikes. “Perfect.” She smiled at herself in the mirror.

The party was under way when Jobie arrived at Hidden Park. She stopped by the track first, planning to do some practice.

“Jobie!” Two of Jobie’s teammates rushed toward her, breathless and barefoot. “Come on,” they yelled. “You have to try the slide.”

Jobie looked toward the party area. Suddenly, she saw it. The biggest slide she had ever seen was on the far side of the park. Smiling kids zoomed down the slide at unspeakable speeds. Without thinking twice, Jobie took off her spikes and dashed (猛冲) toward the slide. Its ladder stretched to the sky, but she reached the top in no time, closed her eyes and let go.

Jobie couldn’t get enough. She tried again and again. When it was finally time to go home, she unwillingly made her way back to the track where she’d left her shoes.

续写部分：
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语以为你写好；
Paragraph 1：

As she eyed the area from a distance, panic set in.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：

The next day, Jobie turned up in a new pair of spikes for the championships.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . This year’s Olympic Games have been closed to most spectators (观众) because of COVID-19, but the eyes of the world are still on the athletes thanks to five extra cameras—the first step in a 3D tracking system that supplies spectators with instant insights into each step of a race.

The tracking system being used in Tokyo, an Intel product called 3DAT, feeds live footage (影像) into the cloud. There, an artificial intelligence program uses deep learning to analyze an athlete’s movements and identifies key performance characteristics such as top speed and slowdown. The system shares that information with viewers by displaying the action of slow-motion, highlighting key moments. The whole process, from capturing the footage to broadcasting the analysis, takes less than 30 seconds.

“It’s like having your own personal commentator point things out to you in the race,” says Jonathan Lee, director of the Olympic technology group.

To train their Olympic AI via machine learning, Lee and his team had to capture as much footage of best athletes as they could. They needed recordings of human bodies performing specific moves, but the preexisting footage shows average people in motion, Lee says. “People aren’t usually seven feet in the air,” he notes, but world-class high jumpers reach such heights regularly.

In the footage, a team at Intel record every part of the body—eyes, nose, shoulders, and more. Once those key points were identified, the model began connecting them in three dimensions (维度) until it had a simplified performance of an athlete’s form. Lee thinks the AI could help everyone from Olympians to average gymgoers correct their form and track changes in their moves that may indicate upcoming injury. “Long-term, what this technology will do is help improve an athlete’s performance by giving them more information,” two-time Olympic champion Ashton Eaton said.

1. What does the tracking system provide for the viewers?

A．Information about 3DAT.

B．Live footage from gymgoers.

C．Analysis of the athletes’ personalities.

D．Highlighted key moments in slow motion.

2. Why did Lee and his team need footage of best athletes?

A．To increase the accuracy of AI.	B．To reach the world-class heights.
C．To record moves of average people.	D．To improve athletes’ specific moves.

3. What can the system do for average sports enthusiasts?

A．Lower the risk of injury.	B．Train them to be Olympians.
C．Simplify the training process.	D．Track changes in their heights.

4. What can we infer from Eaton’s words?

A．He benefited a lot from the technology.

B．He was positive about the future of AI.

C．He thought AI was useless for athletes.

D．He wasn’t interested in the development of AI.

7 . TEDEd Hi Katherine!

This December, the TED-Ed team will host a series of 4 calls for students to learn about climate change, as part of our larger TED Countdown Initiative (方案)

Details about call series:

Each week during the month of December, we’ll meet at the same time on Zoom (an online meeting APP). Students should join in the calls on their own. We’d like students to be able to attend at least 3 of the 4 calls.

Register your students’ interest:

As we plan the time when we will meet with students, we’d love to see how many students are interested in this opportunity. Please share this interest with your students so they can register their interest. In this form we’ll ask them for their parent’s email address for permission.

Share this interest form with your students:

https∶//airtable. com/shr4U7DICbrdHuaGM

More about TED Countdown:

On January 25, we’re hosting the Countdown Summit in Scotland— the firstTED conference focusing on climate solutions. In April, TED hosted an online meeting and announced our plan to help the planet. And as always，education plays an important role in this mission (使命). That’s why we have chosen talks for students to do together virtually for a deeper understanding of this global issue and solutions.

We hope your students join us!

Please note that this event is only for studenst aged 3-19, in high school and below!

1. How many call should students attend at least in December?

A．3

B．4.

C．7

D．12

2. What should the students do before the Countdown Summit?

A．Work out plans for the team.	B．Attend online calls with their parents.
C．Register their inerest in an onlin form.	D．Send an email to parents to ask for permisson.

3. What is the focus of the Countdown Conference to be held in Scotland?

A．Education mission.	B．Virtual reality.
C．Global climate solutions.	D．Events organizing.

8 . 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。答案写在题号后的横线上。

Speaking of Post-00s generation, you may think of those young people     1    spend too much money online. However, it's not always true. Although influenced     2    popular culture, the young generation often treats buying more like a process of researching.

Wang Yihan, a high school student, is     3    (typical) such a consumer. Last summer, before she     4    (decide)to buy a Casio watch,she had looked up all the information about the different Casio     5    (watch) on diffrent websites and compared the functions of each model. She thinks researching products is more enjoyable than buying them. She also likes making       6     (she)own journal. She used many old stickers       7    (make)her journal more unique. Besides saving money,she felt much     8     (good)to turn waste into treasure. As     9    lover of Han costumes, she often does research online. Instead of     10    (enjoy)costumes only, she prefers to learn about the culture and history behind them.Indeed, young generation has leart to have independent choices.

9 . When my little sister Indi turned six,she started _______my every move. She would repeat whatever I said or did,which got me annoyed（恼怒的）.

One afternoon my friend Mareya and I were making bracelets（手链）."What are you doing?"Indi asked, _______down next to us at the table."May I make one too?"I_______ but Mareya said yes. Indi squeezed（挤）in so _______ to me that I could hardly see what I was doing.I asked her to give me more _______ but she said she was trying to see my move clearly."You don't have to see what I'm doing. You can make your own design!"I told her in a(n)_______ voice."I can!" she said. But she was still using _______ the same thing as I was using.

Later.Mareya suggested playing the guitar.I didn't want Indi to _______ me so we went to the backyard._______ ten minutes later,Indi turned up."You are always following me,and I'm________it!"As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I wished I had never said them. Indi was surprised and her eyes started filling up with ________. She ran away________I could say another word.

I disliked the shadow（影子） that didn't belong to me，but I also felt________about what I said."It's worth trying to________the way you see the situation.She acts like your shadow because she looks up to you."Mareya said to me.

Now I till remember Mareya's words and feel less bothered by Indi's behavior. Anyway, she should be treated with________and kindness.

1.

A．correcting

B．copying

C．admiring

D．inspiring

2.

A．putting

B．writing

C．sittng

D．looking

3.

A．refused

B．waited

C．accepted

D．asked

4.

A．well

B．much

C．apart

D．close

5.

A．room

B．freedom

C．options

D．opinions

6.

A．nervous

B．impatient

C．excited

D．curious

7.

A．gradually

B．finally

C．exactly

D．hardly

8.

A．support

B．surprise

C．follow

D．recognize

9.

A．But

B．So

C．Or

D．Until

10.

A．proud of

B．impressed with

C．unfamiliar with

D．tired of

11.

A．tears

B．life

C．trust

D．joy

12.

A．if

B．though

C．before

D．since

13.

A．positive

B．sorry

C．powerful

D．confused

14.

A．ignore

B．challenge

C．learn

D．change

15.

A．panic

B．humor

C．anger

D．respect

10 . Mr Jason has taught math in a remote rural area for ten years. Last year, he was awarded (奖励) $2,000 as “The Amazing Teacher”. People thought he would move with his parents to a nice house in the city. But he surprised then all. When students came back from their holiday, they found the chairs, desks and projectors (投影仪) were all replaced. Even the walls of the classroom were painted white.

As a teacher, Mr Jason not only focuses on students’ studies, but also helps students overcome the difficulties in life. In the rural area, most families are poor and some students often dropped out of school. Mr Jason always tries to help then out.

When interviewed, he said, “When I was in middle school, a Mr Smith helped me until I graduated from university. I attempted many times to find him after graduation, but failed. I thought maybe what he most wished was not my thankfulness but another Mr Smith. So I am here.”

“Mr Jason is the best teacher I have ever had. Without his help, my whole life would end in the village. When I was in Senior Two, my family couldn’t afford my tuition (学费) so I stayed at home. At that time, I felt hopeless. It was Mr Jason who asked my parents to send me back to school. Luckily, I was admitted into my ideal university finally,” said Julia, a fresh college student. “Now, I believe the road                           ahead is promising.”

Mr Jason’s goodwill touches many people. When the activity “The Amazing Teacher” was launched, someone posted his story on the Internet. And it soon spread over.

Later, Mr Jason wrote: I just have done what a teacher should do. I hope people could pay attention to those children in need and help them realize their dreams.

1. What did Mr Jason do with the money he was awarded?

A．He settled down with his family in a big city.

B．He improved the study environment for students.

C．He helped the poor improve their living conditions.

D．He built many schools in rural areas.

2. Why did Mr Jason choose to teach in the rural village?

A．To finish Mr Smith’s last wish.

B．To escape from the noisy city life.

C．To do research on education there.

D．To continue Mr Smith’s kindness.

3. What can we infer from Julia’s words?

A．She wants to become a teacher like Mr Jason.

B．It’s difficult for her to communicate with her parents.

C．Mr Jason makes her future filled with opportunities.

D．It’s a great challenge for her to study in college.

4. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “goodwill” in Paragraph 5?

A．Wish.	B．Admiration.
C．Kindness.	D．Confidence.