2 . Growing old is something that happens to all of us. But often, older people seem “invisible” in society. Many people see them as physically weak, helpless or unable to contribute anything.

Starting in 1990, the United Nations has made Oct 1 of every year the International Day of Older Persons. It is a day to fight this stereotype (刻板印象) and raise awareness of issues faced by older people in society.

How do you feel about getting old? I chatted with my grandma to find out her opinions. Born in 1927, my grandma Solveig King grew up in Sweden during the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War Ⅱ. Everything was rationed (定量配给). There were no outdoor lights and no running water. “But it was a very happy childhood: snow every winter and always sunshine in summer, enough food, but no luxuries,” she said. This explains where she got her habit of keeping old boxes and containers and never wasting any food. It’s a habit many people of her generation seem to have.

In 2015, I went to live with my grandma for a few months. We would sit together and read books, go to the swimming pool, watch some travel programs or documentaries on TV, do some gardening, try some crossword puzzles, and then do it all again the next day. It was quite fun!

Now 96 years old and in a wheelchair, Solveig can’t go swimming any more, but she still keeps up with her other hobbies. “I don’t feel ‘old’, just a little disabled! But I never wish I could do something I know I can’t do. I remember one of my favorite teachers saying: ‘That is just wasted mental energy!’ Nor do I ever wish to relive any part of my life. I am very happy with the road I have taken.”

As for getting older and wiser, Solveig thinks wisdom comes with experience and reasoning, but not everyone is willing to take notice of it. And she keeps a curious and adventurous mindset. “Soon, I’ll need to go live at a nursing home for two weeks while my family is away. I’m excited because I’ll get to learn all about old people!” she said.

1. What does Solveig think of her childhood?

A．It was filled with fear due to the war.	B．It was marked by food shortages.
C．It was joyful despite hardships.	D．It was poor and hopeless.

2. What does Solveig think about her life?

A．She longs to relive it.	B．She regrets wasting her mental energy.
C．She feels upset about aging.	D．She is satisfied with her decisions.

3. What does Solveig think is the origin of wisdom?

A．Curiosity and open-mindedness.	B．Experience and reasoning.
C．Extensive reading.	D．Formal education.

4. Which of the following best describes Solveig?

A．Funny and generous.	B．Curious and positive.
C．Creative and sociable.	D．Friendly and patient.

4 . 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。

Every year after the rainy season, around the     1     (nine) month of the Tibetan calendar, the Potala Palace carries out     2     (it) annual painting project. This year, the “makeover” started on Oct 18. Many people in Lhasa joined in the work of painting the outside walls of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Potala Palace is a landmark of Lhasa, capital of Tibet,     3     was built in the 7th century by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo (松赞干布). According to locals, in the past, painting the Potala Palace would take about a month. Now, thanks     4     the progress in technology, the painting can be finished within a week. Before painting, workers mix local lime (石灰) with things such as milk, honey and sugar. As they     5     (use), locals also call the Potala Palace the “sweet palace”.

Many locals queued up in long lines in the early morning to take part in the painting,     6     (consider) it to be an honor. “We queued for a long time yesterday     7     we failed to enter the palace,” said a young woman. “Today, we came to line up in the early morning. We were so lucky to get the chance     8     (participate) in the painting of the palace.”

“I have been taking part in the annual paintings of the palace for more than 20 years,” said Dawa, 57, another happy     9     (paint). “I consider the palace to be a very     10     (value) heritage, and I am proud to be part of the painting team.”

5 . If your stress-response is always on, your immune system suffers and your blood pressure increases.     1    . So what are some ways to quiet your body’s stress response and gain some much-needed calm?

    2    

The first way to start your relaxation mode is to breathe. Now, you may be saying, “I breathe all day. If I didn’t, I’d be dead.”    3     . But many of us go through our days without breathing deeply. There’s a difference between stressed-out shallow breathing and slow, deep breaths. This kind of deep breathing leads to all sorts of health benefits such as decreased oxygen consumption, decreased blood pressure, and increased carefulness.

Practice Imagination

You can experience that relaxation mode by trying imagination. My favorite is to imagine I’m on a beach. I use all five senses to try to bury myself in the imagined experience of relaxation on a beach. I try to smell the ocean air and see and hear the waves.     4    .

Play Pretend

    5    . I find that if I pretend I’m a professional California surfer, it’s much easier to decrease stress and get into my relaxation mode. A simple “No problem” can go a really long way.

A．That’s kind of true

B．Breathing Exercises

C．Focus On Your Senses

D．And you will easily get into anxiety and depression

E．A little physical exercise could help you better yourself fast

F．I’ve also created another exercise that requires me to play pretend

G．Practice imagination can help us decrease stress by shifting our focus

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。

Out in the fields of rural Kentucky lived a young teenage girl named Amanda. She stayed with her parents in a one-story house on a large plot of land. Her closest friends were far from her, but she didn’t have her driver’s license yet. Amanda could still keep herself busy for hours by exploring the grassy fields, enjoying the natural beauty that surrounded them. On the weekends, Amanda would even volunteer on neighbouring farms to help take care of sheep, goats, and horses.

Still, it was easy for Amanda to feel lonely in her big house without any brothers, sisters, or even a pet she could relate to. That was until one day, just as Amanda was about to leave for another morning spent exploring the fields and rivers nearby, she saw a stray (流浪的) cat jump onto the porch (门廊) with a long, drawn-out meow (喵喵叫) toward her. The cat had long whiskers (须) and a black-and-white fur pattern, which seemed to start from the animal’s chest and move outward, and tiny white paws like little boots. Even though the cat looked dirty, the cat was beautiful, with bright blue eyes.

Amanda’s feeling of surprise quickly gave way to a feeling of pity. Thinking of what she could offer the cat, Amanda hurried to the kitchen and prepared two bowls: one filled with fish and the other with water. After sniffing (嗅) them carefully, the cat then began to hungrily eat the bowls’ contents. Once it finished its meal, the cat ran away into the thick grass and disappeared.

From that point onward, at the same time each day, the cat would appear on the porch in the morning and beg for food and water, and Amanda would always be there ready. Their relationship started to deepen as Amanda enjoyed regularly seeing her new “furry neighbour”. The cat was too nervous to be taken indoors, but Amanda enjoyed its company.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:

However, one day, everything took a different turn.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

As Amanda approached, she could hear some soft sounds of kitten s meowing.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . I started collecting shopping lists around 1997. It was just by ________. I was shopping for my wife’s birthday party in St Louis, and I remember coming across a yellow sticky note. I picked it up and it was somebody’s shopping list. I thought, “That’s ______ Whenever I see them at the store, I am going to ________ them. ”

At first, it was just people I knew who would ________ lists for me. In 2000, I put it online. The Internet then was fun and friendly. A lot of people ________ me. Therefore, I set up a(n) ________ and started receiving lists from everywhere in the world. Around 2005, a publisher approached me and wanted to turn my ________ into a book. That’s when I started going through all my lists, figuring out ways to interpret (诠释) and ________ them.

I found lists written on ________ things: leaflets (传单), clothing tags (标签), tax return forms and even a piece of wood. Some lists are written in detail. Others are ________ or short. There is one with just “toothbrush”, and another with just “celery (芹菜)”—not exactly the one-item list you would expect. Lists can ________ you all sorts of things about a person. Some of us are ________ and divide lists into parts—fruit, vegetables and drinks. Most of us are careless. Some are saving ________ and you can really tell from their lists, perhaps just “sandwich 50% off”.

Everyone writes lists, and I just saw the potential in something that seems without ________. It’s an everyday kind of art that everyone can make. You can find similarities in the most ________ places.

1.

A．invitation

B．luck

C．mistake

D．chance

2.

A．interesting

B．surprising

C．boring

D．encouraging

3.

A．read

B．stick

C．keep

D．copy

4.

A．save

B．write

C．search

D．post

5.

A．recognized

B．reached

C．recommended

D．inspired

6.

A．organization

B．system

C．workshop

D．mailbox

7.

A．collection

B．contribution

C．instruction

D．operation

8.

A．group

B．separate

C．mark

D．check

9.

A．extra

B．regular

C．important

D．various

10.

A．strange

B．unique

C．unclear

D．different

11.

A．tell

B．report

C．describe

D．send

12.

A．stressed

B．experienced

C．organized

D．determined

13.

A．space

B．money

C．energy

D．time

14.

A．order

B．cost

C．value

D．support

15.

A．unspoken

B．unexpected

C．unknown

D．unforgettable

8 . The Yellow River is the cradle of China’s civilization. And flood control and prevention have always been key to the well-being of the people living along it. Now, scientists can better work on these issues by giving the river a digital twin.

The digital twin of the Yellow River uses various technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. Devices (设备) set up along the river collect and transmit information to the center. Based on the information, a 3D model of the river is presented on the computer screen. It’s like the Yellow River has a twin that reflects its real conditions.

One big breakthrough in the river’s digital governance (治理) is “smart stones”. According to Wang Qin, a lead researcher at the Information Center of Yellow River Henan Bureau, a smart stone is a water-proof stone-shaped device with chips, a battery, and a signal transmitter. They are buried in important dike (堤坝) locations to record and report the movement of dike stones. “Upon feeling movement of the dike stones, the smart stone sends an alarm to the center for quick response,” Wang said.

“In the past, researchers had to learn the conditions of the dike on the spot by themselves, putting their lives at risk,” said Zhao Xiao from the bureau. “Now the smart stones can do this for us, more safely, quickly, and accurately.”

And in the sky, drones (无人机) are flying. On the routes designed by engineers, the drones become expert patrollers (巡逻员) of the river, looking at its dikes and flood prevention projects. According to Shen Lin from the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, thanks to the drones, researchers at the command center can get first-hand photos and information. “Researchers then update the 3D model according to the changes the drones reported. The newly updated model helps us test our floodwater release plans in case we ever need to batten down the hatches (未雨绸缪), ”said Shen.

Under the water and up in the sky, intelligence systems are helping to protect the Yellow River Basin on all fronts. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, in the future, we can expect to see the construction of an even more comprehensive digital system for this important river.

1. What is the main purpose of creating a digital twin of the Yellow River?

A．To conduct historical research.

B．To create a virtual tourist attraction.

C．To raise public awareness of river protection.

D．To improve flood control and prevention efforts.

2. How do the smart stones contribute to the river’s digital governance?

A．They record water quality.

B．They improve the river’s beauty.

C．They monitor and report dike movements.

D．They serve as markers for important locations.

3. What is one of the functions of drones in the digital governance of the Yellow River?

A．Entertaining tourists.	B．Collecting information on dike conditions.
C．Patrolling and take wildlife photos.	D．Testing water quality.

4. What does the under lined word “comprehensive” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Complete.

B．Basic.

C．Beautiful.

D．Natural.