Paul’s old clock was supposed to wake him up at six in the morning of August tenth, but, unfortunately, the hour hand stopped in the early hours again. Instead, Paul was awoken by the noisy breakfast-table talk of the Stephen brothers next door.
“Now. I’ve won the National Poetry Creative Award!” the older brother shouted loudly.
“You have to do the housework for the coming whole week!”
“Okay,” the younger responded unwillingly.
Paul rushed down the stairs of his apartment to the news kiosk (报刊亭) by the street in his pajamas. Among the crowd of the seven o’clock Los Angeles, he was unique, in a funny manner, like a clown escaped from a circus group. Despite that, he caught the eyes of nobody. He threw a few coins into the glass jar and then grabbed the newspaper from the old kiosk owner. His behavior didn’t frighten the old woman-he was the most loyal customer of her store for the past few years.
Paul liked to invent something, and he was fond of literature and had been dreaming of becoming an editor. He skimmed through the annual nomination (提名) on the front page of the newspaper, the brightness in his eyes turned less bright as he moved down the list of names, which eventually faded when he reached the end. He lifted his sight from the newspaper and started staring at the kiosk owner dully (无精打采地), an expression similar to that when he arrived. The old woman sighed-she was so accustomed to this lifeless look on his face but had prayed to see something new every August.
“Bad luck”, with this, Paul slid away rapidly. When approaching the corner of the street, he narrowly knocked down an old gentleman, the kiosk owner’s husband, Arthur, who once was a chief editor of a local famous magazine and now he was retired.
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。
After hearing what his wife said about Paul, Arthur decided to give him a hand.
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One morning of next year’s August, with the magazine he had edited in hand, Paul stood beside the news kiosk nervously to sell it.
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2 . Dressed in a kachhad, a traditional Nepalese clothes, Umesh Balal walked into his meetings at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on climate change in Dubai with a sense of determination.
Balal, who has physical disability, was there to publicly
As a student, Balal was
The more Balan
And it is even harder for people with
In an interview, Balan said, “
| A．control | B．achieve | C．support | D．measure |
| A．ignored | B．studied | C．respected | D．issued |
| A．anxious | B．particular | C．worried | D．curious |
| A．sold | B．lent | C．introduced | D．awarded |
| A．brought | B．knew | C．complained | D．quarreled |
| A．affected | B．prepared | C．organized | D．admitted |
| A．devoted | B．changed | C．limited | D．helped |
| A．comparing with | B．coping with | C．differing from | D．resulting from |
| A．warmer | B．cleaner | C．poorer | D．quieter |
| A．confidence | B．calmness | C．honesty | D．crisis |
| A．rights | B．disabilities | C．degrees | D．advertisements |
| A．objection | B．attention | C．access | D．gratitude |
| A．Fortunately | B．Secretly | C．Similarly | D．Naturally |
| A．forced | B．ordered | C．warned | D．allowed |
| A．occupy | B．want | C．cheer | D．blame |
1. What is the speed limit on the highway in America?
| A．25 miles an hour. | B．35 miles an hour. | C．55 miles an hour. |
| A．The price of the car. | B．The traffic rules. | C．The amount of fine. |
| A．He can’t drive for some time. | B．He will be put in prison. | C．He can’t drive forever. |
| A．Very light. | B．Quite heavy. | C．Not so heavy. |
1. What do we know about the woman’s father?
| A．He felt lonely. | B．He got sick. | C．He fell over. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Unsure. | C．Disapproving. |
| A．54 years old. | B．57 years old. | C．60 years old. |
| A．To make friends. | B．To enjoy professional services. | C．To live in a pleasant environment. |
An exhibition titled Symbiosis of the Chinese Zodiac (生肖) opened at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama on Dec 19 and would run until Jan 20.
Sally Huang,
The exhibition
The lead institution applying for the project was Beijing Normal University,
The opening ceremony was joined by representatives from both countries, such as the Chinese ambassador to Panama and the vice-minister of culture in Panama.
The ambassador expressed some
6 . Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed a Sphinx statue (狮身人面像) with a smiley face near the Hathor Temple, one of the country’s best preserved ancient sites. The smiling Sphinx is much smaller than the famous Sphinx in Giza, which is 20 metres high. The stone work of art, believed to be a stylized representation of an ancient Roman emperor, was found inside a two-level tomb near the temple in southern Egypt.
Next to the beautifully and accurately carved Sphinx, researchers had found a Roman stone written in hieroglyph (象形文字). Once fully translated, the stone may unveil the identity of the sculpted ruler, who could be Emperor Claudius.
The smiling Sphinx is among a series of discoveries announced over the past few months. The country has uncovered major archaeological discoveries in recent months, primarily in the Saqqara cemetery (墓地) south of Cairo as well as in Giza, home to the only surviving structure of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Recently, Egypt announced the discovery of a hidden nine-metre passage inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, which may lead to the actual burial room of pharaoh (法老) Khufu, or Cheops. Further south, in Luxor, archaeologists had discovered a 1,800-year-old complete residential city from the Roman times.
Hathor Temple, about 500 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, was home to the Dendera Zodiac, a heavenly map which has been displayed at the Louvre in Paris for more than a century. Since Frenchman Sebastien Louis Saulnier took it out of the temple in 1922, Egypt has been attempting to get it back.
Some experts see such announcements as having more political and economic weight than scientific, as Egypt is counting on tourism to revive its vital tourism industry in a severe economic crisis. The government aims to draw in 30 million tourists a year by 2028.
1. What do we know about the smiling Sphinx?| A．Its owner was confirmed as an ancient Roman ruler. |
| B．It has been the best-preserved Sphinx till now. |
| C．It is as high as 20 metres like the Sphinx of Giza. |
| D．It was discovered close to the Hathor Temple. |
| A．Reveal. |
| B．Seek. |
| C．Deny. |
| D．Maintain. |
| A．The diversity of cultural relics in Egypt. |
| B．The discoveries made recently in Egypt. |
| C．The status of the Great Pyramid of Giza. |
| D．The new discovery about pharaoh Khufu. |
| A．Scientific progress. |
| B．Political position. |
| C．Economic advance. |
| D．Cultural exchange. |
7 . For many runners, a marathon can often be a challenge — but sometimes what gets a runner through the tough 26.2 miles is looking out into the crowd and seeing his or her loved one holding up a sign and shouting words of encouragement. For one mom, though, her loved one was a bit more hands-on.
While running the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon in Salt Lake City, Courtney Rich, a self-taught baker and mother of two, was beginning to run out of energy just yards from the end when she was suddenly joined by her 10-year-old daughter, Avery.
The touching moment, caught on video and posted on social media, shows Avery running to her mother’s side to support her as she approached the end of the race. Rich’s face lit up when Avery joined her and helped her cross the finish line.
Rich later said in the video’s caption that being joined by her daughter to finish the race was “a moment I hope neither of us ever forget”. Rich said that her daughter could tell she was struggling after a phone call near the end of the race. “She knew I had struggled the last few miles,” Rich said. “She saw tears in my eyes when I called on mile 24.”
In the video, Rich’s facial expression changes from tiredness to a smile after seeing her daughter emerge from the crowd to join her. Then, Rich and her daughter ran hand-in-hand to the finish line. “Nothing could have prepared me for the moment my 10-year-old daughter would jump out of the crowd and run with me to the finish line,” she said. When the race was done, the two hugged each other at the finish line. The video ends with a final caption, “And then she just held me. She held me.”
In the past, the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon has had other memorable moments of mothers caring for their children, but perhaps not as hands-on as this one.
1. What happened to Rich when she was coming to the finish line?| A．She fell down all of a sudden. |
| B．She was far behind others. |
| C．She felt herself struggling. |
| D．She was interrupted by Avery. |
| A．She helped Rich run to the finish line. |
| B．She tried to call for help at once. |
| C．She ran the rest in place of Rich. |
| D．She shouted encouraging words to Rich. |
| A．Doubtful. |
| B．Content. |
| C．Concerned. |
| D．Expected. |
| A．A Mother Would Never Give Up On Her Marathon Dream |
| B．A Mother Encouraged Her Daughter To Pursue Her Dream |
| C．A Daughter Got Involved In Her Mother’s Race By Mistake |
| D．A Daughter Cheered For Her Mother By Joining In Her Race |
In a small village called Brightville, there lived three friends: Kimberley, John and Alicia. They were all students at Brightville High School. Kimberley was a hardworking and determined girl; John was a curious and creative boy; and Alicia was a kind and helpful girl. They shared a common dream of achieving their goals through education.
On a sunny day, the three friends gathered at their favorite spot near the village river. They often met there to discuss their dreams and motivate each other. Kimberley always emphasized (强调) the importance of studying and setting goals. John loved exploring new things and finding creative ways to learn. Alicia, with her caring nature, always supported and encouraged her friends.
One day, they came across an old abandoned library in the heart of Brightville. The library was filled with dust-covered books. Kimberley saw this as an opportunity for their dreams to come true. She suggested turning the library into a learning center for the village.
The three friends spent months cleaning, organizing and renewing the library. They reached out to the villagers, and soon, volunteers joined them to set up the learning center. They created a friendly and welcome environment where students could come to study, read books, and seek help.
Word about the learning center spread throughout the village. Students from all ages and backgrounds started attending. Kimberley, John and Alicia devoted their after-school hours to tutoring (指导) the students. They understood that education was not just about memorizing facts but also about nurturing curiosity and passion for learning.
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。
As days turned into months, they saw the effect of their hard work.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The success of the learning center in Brightville caught the attention of the local government.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Say many things, and people will remember none. Say some things, and people will remember some. Say ONE thing, and people will remember ALL. Want to express clear viewpoints?
Express more, explain less.
Limit paragraphs to three sentences. If you’re writing your idea in a document or email, try to make paragraphs to three sentences or less. This makes it easier for readers to understand your points because they have less content to process. And because you’re writing in short, direct points compared with long pieces of text, you may find yourself writing less overall.
Hear your own words. No matter how much you review your own, writing, hearing it aloud will always identify places to cut.
| A．Remove unnecessary ideas |
| B．Know your “Need-to-Know” |
| C．These four tips shouldn’t be missed |
| D．You can’t change the style of your writing |
| E．Explaining is often an understanding behavior |
| F．Everyone benefits from applying this writing rule |
| G．You can read it aloud yourself to find out the words |
10 . When you go on vacation next time, make sure to take lots of pictures of the wildlife you see. These photos can help save different types of wildlife because of a new field called “imageomies”. Imageomies uses computers to study pictures of wildlife and learn information from them.
Until recently, scientists didn’t have the technology to analyze (分析) the data in wildlife photos. But now, machine learning and computer vision are helping researchers unlock valuable information hidden in these images.
There are platforms where people can share their wildlife photos, like cBird, iNaturalist and Wildbook. These platforms help scientists keep track of different species and create databases. If you have rare (稀有的) photos of wildlife, it’s a good idea to share them on these platforms.
Scientists have limited time and resources to study all endangered wildlife in the world. By using artificial intelligence (人工智能) to analyze public photos, we can learn more about different species and their behaviors. This technology can even help us find things in photos that humans might miss.
It’s important to use the collected information responsibly and protect it from poachers (偷猎者). If we do that, imageomies can not only help save wildlife but also contribute to other fields like medicine and agriculture.
1. How can imageomies help scientists study wildlife?| A．By offering information from wildlife. | B．By analyzing the data in wildlife photos. |
| C．By analyzing the trend of human population. | D．By knowing the origin of biological processes. |
| A．eBird, iNaturalist and Wildbook. | B．Imageomics, eBird and Wildbook. |
| C．Imageomics, eBird and iNaturalist. | D．Photos of wildlife, iNaturalist and Wildbook. |
| A．To appreciate the beauty of wildlife. | B．To contribute to the public safety. |
| C．To inspire others to protect nature. | D．To help scientists study wildlife. |
| A．Computers help identify the biological features | B．Poachers stop killing threatened animals |
| C．Photos can save wild species | D．Photos can protect our environment |
