1 . An early morning winter storm had brought several inches of snow to my small town in the mountains. Schools were canceled, roads were dangerous and all I wanted to do was to stay in bed. Still, I knew I had to get the day started so I put on warm clothes and walked outside. The snow got all over my shoes. The cold wind dried my lips and my eyes. My 47-year-old back ached in anticipation (预想) of the shoveling (铲雪) I would have to do if the snow didn't stop soon.
Yet, when I looked out on the white blanket that covered the ground, I couldn't help but smile a bit. It was so beautiful. It softened the bare trees and hid the dead grass. In the distance I could hear the sound of the snowplow on the road, the barking of a happy dog and the laughter of children playing outside, enjoying their day off from school.
The sweet music of that laughter brought back a hundred memories of winters past. I remembered catching snowflakes (雪花) on my tongue, building snowmen, making snow angels, running down hills and always losing snowball fights with first my brothers and then my own children. Standing there in that warm coat of memories made the wind a little less cold and my back a little less sore. I turned up my head, stuck out my tongue and for the first time in years caught a snowflake on it. It tasted so fresh and clean. It tasted like youth, like joy and like love.
May you always feel young in spirit, no matter how old or achy your body may be. May you always delight in the simple joys of life. May you always share your happiness with the hearts of children. And may you always give your love, your light, your laughter and your warmth to others even on the coldest days.
1. What was the author's first reaction when he knew it snowed heavily？| A．He felt worried. | B．He was upset. |
| C．He was indifferent. | D．He felt in danger. |
| A．felt too cold because the snow didn’t stop |
| B．didn't want to start his day on such a snowy day |
| C．ached in his back because of the cold weather |
| D．would make greater efforts to clear up the snow |
| A．Taste and smell. | B．Sight and smell. |
| C．Sight, hearing and taste. | D．Smell, hearing and taste. |
| A．We should always stay young at heart. |
| B．Snow brings both fun and trouble to humans. |
| C．Memories can change our opinion in all aspects. |
| D．Appreciate every moment spent with your family. |
As a young boy, I was always a troublemaker and up to no good. I liked playing tricks and enjoyed treating animals in an unfriendly way, like running after cats crazily, making them scared at the sight of me. Besides, I often used a handmade catapult (弹弓) to shoot at birds on the trees.
All this did afford me indescribable pleasure but also got me unkind stares and blames from people around. My parents disapproved of my behavior and were constantly criticizing me for the tricks I played. I was even given a good beating from my father from time to time. Nevertheless, I ignored their warnings and did not correct my ways until an incident occurred.
One summer noon when I was eight, I was alone at home and just finished lunch. Feeling very hot and bored, I decided to hang around the neighborhood, holding my trusty catapult.
Soon, I came to Mr Smith’s house. His pet dog, big and strong, was tied to a post outside his house, lying in the shade lazily. Looking around, I found that no one was in sight. I decided to make good use of my catapult to play tricks on the massive dog. Picking up a few small stones from the ground, I aimed at the dog and fired them one by one. Several stones hit the poor dog and it began to bark (吠) loudly in pain and jump up and down. But I felt so fun that I didn’t stop doing so. Eventually, the dog’s anger was fueled and it barked wildly at me while struggling to break away from the rope. Not realizing anything wrong with my crazy behavior, I was just laughing happily.
Suddenly, the rope that tied the dog loosened and the big dog got free from its bonds. In no time, with a few powerful steps the dog was on me. Its sharp teeth sank into my leg. I screamed with pain and fright and fell to the ground, shouting out for help.
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。
Luckily, my miserable shouts caught Mr Smith’s attention.
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His words left me ashamed and I decided to make a change.
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Anxiously and hurriedly, two young firemen，Adam and Ben arrived at the apartment of a single mother with two children after they answered a 911 call. To their surprise, they discovered that there was no emergency at all, only to find that the younger child, about three years old, was playing with the phone. Adam told the mother that she should let the kids play their own toys instead of the telephone. The mother said sorry to them, promising that she would make the kid far away from the telephone. The similar things would happen many times a year. All the firemen were not angry about it, especially with a three-year old kid. Adam and Ben looked around their house again and made sure there was really not any danger before they left their house. After they go on their fire engine (消防 车), Adam asked curiously, “Have you noticed something strange in their house?” Ben thought for a while and answered, “All of them weren't smiling. It seemed like they weren’t happy at all.” “Yes, you are right! But anything else? I still felt there was something wrong in their house." The two young men looked at each other, and cried almost at the same time, “There was no Christmas tree!”
It was December 23rd. It was a day when all families were preparing their Christmas buying gifts, making the delicious food, decorating their Christmas trees and so on, busy but happy. But the family they just met didn't have a Christmas tree in their house! It was pretty obvious that the family was having a poor life and they couldn't afford to buy a single Christmas tree! “Maybe they weren't going to have a Christmas this year. It was terrible!” Ben murmured (低声说) to himself.
注意：续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:Two young firemen left the house with a plan.
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“We are not firemen this time!" Adam said.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 介绍上课时间、地点及授课教师；
2. 说明邀请他参加的原因；
3. 询问对方的意向。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Sam,
How are things with you?
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Yours,
Li Hua
At the beginning of the new term, a teacher at Ringrose Kindergarten decided to do something different to choose “the Excellent Kid” of this term. One day the teacher brought a bag of boiled seeds, and then called the kids together, and said, “I am going to give each one of you a seed today, a very special seed. You are to plant the seed, water it and come back here at the end of this term with what you have grown from the seed you bring to me, and the one I choose will be “the Excellent Kid”.
Like the others, a boy named James received a seed. He went home and told his mother the story excitedly. She helped him get a pot and soil, and he planted the seed. Evert day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other kids began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
James kept checking his seed, but nothing grew. Four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were all talking about their plants, but James didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Two months went by, there was still nothing in James’ pot. He just knew he had ruined his seed. Everyone else had tall plants, but he had nothing. James didn’t say anything. However, he just kept watering the fertilizing (给……施肥) the soil, expecting the seed to grow.
A term finally went by. All the kids brought their plants to the teacher for inspection. James told his mother he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to go, and to be honest about what happened. James felt restless because it would be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his mother was right.
Paragraph 1:
He took his empty pot to the classroom.
Paragraph 2:
All the other kids looked at the teacher in surprise.
7 . Two years ago I spent three months traveling around South America. We visited so many places and it was a great experience. One of the most
The day after we visited the waterfalls we were
Today would be the day that we would jump out of a plane.
That afternoon we were picked up and taken to the Skydive Center. We put on our gear and we were given some
There were 14 of us in a very small space as we took off into the
Suddenly we were 3,000 meters above the ground.
After about 20 seconds of
This was one of the scariest but most
| A．typical | B．shocking | C．essential | D．amazing |
| A．reading | B．working | C．purchasing | D．relaxing |
| A．came across | B．enter into | C．look into | D．take in |
| A．unique | B．strange | C．crazy | D．funny |
| A．tests | B．instructions | C．warnings | D．lectures |
| A．air | B．water | C．space | D．forest |
| A．Hopefully | B．Eventually | C．Naturally | D．Fortunately |
| A．protect | B．enjoy | C．comfort | D．behave |
| A．ready | B．willing | C．able | D．eager |
| A．heart | B．mind | C．attention | D．breath |
| A．flying | B．falling | C．rising | D．shaking |
| A．passed away | B．brought up | C．slowed down | D．sped up |
| A．exciting | B．inspiring | C．annoying | D．exhausting |
| A．extreme | B．physical | C．strength | D．team |
| A．bothers | B．scares | C．motivates | D．satisfies |
8 . According to the US economist Robert Gordon, all the “impressive stuff” has been created; we have run out of the big, life-changing ideas needed to encourage rapid economic growth and engineers are now only just making slight changes. Inventions such as mobile phones, Gordon says, have had less impact than, for example, the invention of indoor plumbing (管道系统).
But this is a misunderstanding of how engineers work. There is no “Wow!” moment. The development of new technology happens little by little. You build upon the work of those before you, thinking about what could be done better and what could be improved. It’s an unending task. Michael Faraday invented the first electric motor. But Faraday’s breakthrough followed William Sturgeon’s invention of the electromagnet (电磁铁), and Alessandro Volta’s invention of the battery before that. Faraday would have expected future engineers to pick up the baton (接力棒) later down the line.
Reduced energy supplies, increasing populations and mass urbanization keep clever young engineers awake at night. Those, for example, who enter the yearly James Dyson Award invent things that solve these problems and more. The 2012 winner Dan Watson designed a clever system of escape rings for fishing boat nets that deals with the issue of overfishing — not an exciting topic, but his invention is exceptional. Human inventiveness remains unreduced in the face of new global challenges.
Our problem is patience. We expect new technology at a rate like never before. I can’t tell you the world’s next big invention. Last week brought news that we’ve invented a new way to deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Next week may bring a major development in another field. The biggest thing holding invention back is our impatience. With enough time and support, bright young engineers will develop exciting new technology to solve the world’s trickiest problems. Many have already begun.
1. Why does the author mention what Robert Gordon says?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To illustrate a new invention. |
| C．To provide background information. | D．To express his opinion about the topic. |
| A．New technology has been developing step by step. |
| B．New inventions fail to deal with new global challenges. |
| C．Michael Faraday set a good model for William Sturgeon. |
| D．Technology helps future engineers achieve success smoothly. |
| A．His young age. | B．His patience with technology. |
| C．His effort to solve real world problems. | D．His wish to win the James Dyson Award. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Disapproving. | D．Optimistic. |
9 . For most people, life has become a burden on their shoulders, and its weight is growing heavier and heavier, until one day they can’t carry it anymore. So how can we design a life that is less complex and more meaningful? With minimalism (极简主义).
Appreciate all the amazing things you already have. We constantly compare ourselves to others who seem happier, more beautiful and more important than us. We try our best to imitate those we envy.
Do one thing at a time. Minimalist living actually means making the most out of each and every moment. We’re usually carrying out different tasks at the same time. So whatever we are doing, our mind is partly wondering somewhere else.
Develop mindfulness.
| A．It is about enjoying life more with less. |
| B．Stop consuming products you don’t need. |
| C．Yet no matter how much we try, we always fail. |
| D．Get rid of things that don’t serve your happiness. |
| E．minimalist living requires a calm and undisturbed mind. |
| F．Stop multitasking and concentrate on a single thing at a time. |
| G．Unfortunately, our minds are filled with worries in our busy lives. |
1. Who are the speakers?
| A．A host and a hostess. | B．Fellow travelers. | C．A host and a guest. |
| A．Singing. |
| B．Watching videos. |
| C．Eating out. |
| A．He supports it. |
| B．It astonishes him. |
| C．He dislikes it. |
