1 . My mother was stricken with cancer. During the last hospitalization, I watched her mental condition ______ to the point that she began to get confused. Her kidneys (肾脏) didn’t ______, and tumors (肿瘤) had been found in her brain.

Several days after she was ______, I visited her only to have her ______ me angrily about not telling her the “real” reason why she was in the hospital. She went on to ______ that she was really in the hospital for her nerves (神经质), not because of her cancer.

I had never dealt with someone dying. I was ______. But then, my brother arrived for a ______. I wondered how he would deal with her ______. Calmly, he took her hand. As he held it ______ in his, he said softly, “Mother, you know you will not be leaving this hospital ______ .”

Tears welled up in my eyes, nearly clouding my ______. My mother covered his hands with her own, and in a moment of ______ clearly, she whispered, “I know.” They spoke of death as an inevitability (必然性) instead of something ______. Two days later, she died.

I’ve never forgotten the ______ I saw my brother gather that night. He had taken a difficult walk with my mother from her state of denial (否认) to the peace of ______. Sometimes truth isn’t pretty or pleasant, but it can set us free.

1.

A．worsen

B．improve

C．recover

D．maintain

2.

A．work

B．help

C．exist

D．check

3.

A．analyzed

B．admitted

C．rejected

D．cured

4.

A．respond

B．remind

C．question

D．warn

5.

A．deny

B．explain

C．regret

D．command

6.

A．lost

B．wrong

C．angry

D．disappointed

7.

A．visit

B．promise

C．discovery

D．plan

8.

A．addiction

B．embarrassment

C．treatment

D．confusion

9.

A．flexibly

B．energetically

C．gently

D．happily

10.

A．alive

B．asleep

C．alone

D．afraid

11.

A．body

B．heart

C．mind

D．sight

12.

A．speaking

B．thinking

C．hearing

D．seeing

13.

A．amazing

B．frightening

C．normal

D．precious

14.

A．pursuit

B．power

C．courage

D．determination

15.

A．forgiveness

B．refusal

C．agreement

D．acceptance

2 . No civilization is complete without legends about outer space. Our need to challenge the limits of what we know has made humans try to discover new worlds. However, outer space exploration can’t be carried out without heavy investments (投资), which can sometimes become a burden for any country or institution. But this changed forever.

Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by American Jeff Bezos, amazon.com’s CEO. made history on Nov 23, 2015. It successfully launched a rocket to the edge of space and brought it back to Earth for a safe landing. The rocket, named NewShepard, was the first successful reusable rocket in space flight history. The next step is to prove it can fly again, making sure it is indeed reusable.

“We’re getting closer to a new era of space tourism,” commented Discover magazine. Reusable rockets will help companies such as Blue Origin to achieve “a cost-saving means” of transporting humans into space and back, said the magazine.

Previously, whenever a rocket had been sent into orbit, it had always been destroyed or lost in the process. Even the space shuttle, which returned to the ground undamaged and on its own power, was only partly reusable. This problem has made a single launch mission extremely expensive. A completely reusable system makes space travel more affordable and sustainable (可持续的).

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and another big player in private space exploration, called the idea of a reusable system “the breakthrough needed to completely change access to space”.

According to an article in The Atlantic magazine, New Shepard’s success has ended “a private space race” between Bezos and Musk. However, according to Emily Calandrelli, host and producer of Xploration Outer Space on Fox, it is not completely fair “to compare the two companies’ achievements to date” because “their successes could be considered separate unique milestones on two different paths”. Blue Origin is aiming to sell directly to buyers (wealthy space tourists) while SpaceX is aiming to sell to large companies and the government (NASA, the Air Force). These two ideas require very different rockets.

1. Why is outer space exploration difficult to achieve?

A．Because there are no legends about it.	B．Because it needs a lot of money.
C．Because there are no good rockets.	D．Because humans don’t have the technology.

2. Compared with the past, what does reusable rockets enable companies like Blue Origin to achieve?

A．A newer means of space tourism.	B．A safer landing back to Earth.
C．A smaller investment to make profits.	D．A less competition with other companies.

3. What did Emily Calandrelli mean in the last paragraph?

A．The two companies are similiar in technologies.

B．The two companies haven’t ended their space race.

C．The two companies have different target customers.

D．The two companies have the same goals.

4. What can be the best title of the passage?

A．The Rise of Private Space Exploration Companies

B．The New Form of Space Travel

C．Comparing Achievements in Private Space Exploration

D．The First Successful Reusable Rocket in Space Flight History

3 . Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker, one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, has an unusual ability to express people in their various moods. Rembrandt is also known as a painter of light and shade and as an artist who favored an uncompromising (不妥协的) realism.

Early in his career and for some time, Rembrandt painted mainly portraits (肖像). Although he continued to paint portraits throughout his career, he did so less frequently over time. Nearly one-tenth of his paintings consist of studies of his own face as well as more formal self-portraits.

Seen over his whole career, the changes in Rembrandt’s style are worthy of attention. His approach to composition and his expression of space and light tend to make a gradual change, even within a single work. The painting known as Night Watch (1642) was clearly a turning point in his stylistic development. These changes are not the result of an involuntary evolution (无意识的演进); rather they should be seen as a clear-minded search in pictural and narrative sides, sometimes as if he were in discussion with his great previous generations.

Rembrandt quickly achieved fame among Dutch art lovers and an art-buying public for his history paintings as well as his portraits and self-portraits. His unusual drawings, which in fact were done as practice exercises or as studies for other works, were also collected by current art lovers. Certain artists in 18th-century Germany and Venice even adopted his style. He was respected during the Romantic era and was considered a forerunner (先驱) of the Romantic movement; from that point he was regarded as one of the greatest figures in art history. In the Netherlands itself, his fortunes have once again risen, and he has become a symbol of both greatness and Dutchness.

1. Why is Rembrandt called “one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art” in Paragraph 1?

A．He was good at telling good stories.	B．His own life story is well worth telling.
C．He could use light and shade skillfully.	D．He could show people’s moods vividly.

2. What features Rembrandt’s early career?

A．His preference for portraits.	B．His vivid description of beauty.
C．His unintended search of changes.	D．His high fame among art lovers.

3. What can we expect from Night Watch?

A．A painting style without any change.

B．Different expression of space and light.

C．An involuntary evolution in narrative respects.

D．Similar content to that of those painted before.

4. What do the underlined words “that point” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Rembrandt’s contributions to the Romantic movement.

B．Rembrandt’s influence on contemporary art lovers.

C．Rembrandt’s unusual portraits and self-portraits.

D．Rembrandt’s influence on artists in 18th-century Europe.

4 . As a high school student, you might be wondering what you can do now to help change the world and better your community. Fortunately, plenty of volunteer opportunities are available to help you do those things.

Habitat for Humanity

Related majors: Architecture, Construction Management and Technology

Habitat for Humanity helps low-income individuals and families build or improve their homes. Volunteering here will give you a great insight into how large-scale projects are organized and carried out. Plus, you’ll learn real-life home repair skills that can be useful later in life regardless of your career path.

The Humane (人道的) Society of the United States

Related majors: Animal Science, Biology

The Humane Society of the United States aims to create a humane and sustainable world for all animals. As a volunteer, you could walk dogs and do the cleaning at a shelter, or even help out at one of its clinics.

National Park Service

Related majors: Environmental Science and Studies, Ecology

If you love nature and want to help preserve the environment, consider volunteering with the National Park Service. Whether you’re working in the visitor center or monitoring wildlife in the area, you’ll learn a lot about the preservation of nature.

Goodwill Industries International

Related majors: Social Work, Counseling (咨询)

Volunteering with Goodwill Industries International is a great way to make a difference. This organization is devoted to providing employment, education, and skill-building opportunities for people around the world. As a volunteer, you can help people build skills, get jobs, and strengthen their finances, which can give you an inside look into how these types of social services function and succeed.

1. Which organization will you join if you are an animal lover?

A．Habitat for Humanity.	B．National Park Service.
C．Goodwill Industries International.	D．The Humane Society of the United States.

2. What is special about the National Park Service?

A．It allows students to improve building skills.

B．It helps students contact with more visitors.

C．It suits students majoring in Biology and Ecology.

D．It brings students close to nature and its preservation.

3. What can you obtain in both Habitat for Humanity and Goodwill Industries International?

A．Home repair skills.	B．Experience with large projects.
C．A chance to work with people in need.	D．An inside look into the donation system.

5 . In 4-H Club, you’ve developed your passion. You’ve found your purpose. You’ve inspired others and now you’re moving forward. The 4-H Youth in Action program shows various stories and the leadership of 4-H youth who are making a difference in their communities every day. It is an excellent community of 4-H ers who are preparing for their future while showing how 4-H change their lives and equip them to change the lives of others.

Awards & Recognition

All Youth in Action program applicants (申请人) will receive storytelling training from national 4-H professionals, and get admission into our national 4-H story database. For the four award winners, they will receive a scholarship for higher education, to be paid directly to the institution (机构), including two-year and four-year colleges, trade schools or other advanced learning opportunities. Besides, the winners can get a year of national opportunities to serve as a spokesperson and key thought leader in their program area.

Application Requirements

Applicants should be between ages 14-19. Respond to short-answer questions regarding your 4-H story. Two aspects should be included in your application: Describe how 4-H affected you and describe a project, program, 4-H activity or series of activities in which you showed leadership. Your story should highlight (突出) a description of experiences, not just a list of achievements.

Selection Process

Online Application: Applications will open on January 29th and should be submitted (提交) no later than April 1st.

Finalist Selection &Virtual Interview: National 4-H Council will review all applications and select finalists for the scholarship program. Finalists will be required to participate in a virtual 1: 1 interview on May 20.

Award Winner Selection: Finalists will be reviewed by a selection committee and will be informed of their status by National 4-H Council on July 6.

1. What can every applicant get?

A．Local community acceptance.

B．Special events invitation from 4-H Club.

C．A scholarship for two-year higher education.

D．Storytelling training and access to a database.

2. What is required of the applicants?

A．Being no less than 18 years old.

B．Highlighting their achievements.

C．Giving a speech about a 4-H project.

D．Answering questions about their 4-H experience.

3. When is the interview conducted?

A．On January 29th.	B．Before April 1st.
C．On May 20th.	D．After July 6th.

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。

Last month, my good friend Ollie and I came home from school. When we passed by the community advertising board, we saw a poster about a recycled-sculpture contest for Trash (垃圾) to Treasure Day. “Look,” I said. “It says anyone can enter, and the first prize is a gift certificate (礼品券) to ask ate shop! Other winners can get gift certificates for ice cream!”

“Sounds fun,“ said Ollie. We both desired new skate boards and decided to team up and divide the prize if we won.

In that case, we needed to figure out what we were going to make before going there. Thinking twice, we chose to make a dragon because dragons are undeniably excellent and impressive. Ollie and I spent the rest of the day researching. On the contest day, I was prepared with the perfect dragon picture to use as our guide.

“Whoa!” Ollie said when we got there. “Look at all these people!” There were piles of recycled stuff, including cardboard, containers, used toys and so on. Each workstation had tape, scissors, glue (胶水),paint, and markers.

Ollie and I found a place, and began to make our dragon. As I reached for a big red zipper   (拉链) which could be made into a pretty mouth, another hand picked it up.

“I was going to use that zipper for a dragon mouth!” I said.

"Really?" asked the girl who'd picked it up. "It could be made into a perfect mouth for my monster. we had the same idea!"

I smiled, “You know what they say—great minds think alike.”

“They also say birds of a feather stick together!” she smiled back. “I’m Shoshanna, and I’m just working over there by myself. Want to work together and make a great dragon?”

We certainly didn't mind. In fact, Ollie and I had been so serious while working that we weren’t having any fun.

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 soon as Shoshanna joined our team, everything became better.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally we won gift certificates for ice cream.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . As we grow older, it is not so easy to keep close friendships. The demands for family and jobs are increasing and free time is more limited.     1     A survey also found that 88% of people in the U. S. have lost touch with a close friend, and 71% wish they could reconnect. 40% of Americans say they spend twice as much of their free time alone.

    2     They support us through tough times and help avoid feelings of loneliness. How do we keep friendships? Studies show that it usually takes about a few hundred hours to go from just getting to know someone to becoming close friends. Of course, we can’t measure friendships in hours spent together, but quality time does matter.     3     Opening up and sharing personal stories are important ways to strengthen (加强) these bonds (联系),   ensuring that the time spent together builds a meaningful connection.

Experts suggest that we should make an effort to keep in touch with our closest friends, especially when life gets busy.     4     Therefore. deep conversations and providing support to each other in meaningful activities can enhance friendships more significantly than passive activities like watching movies. Don’t make excuses not to connect. Online communication is OK.     5    

In short, friendships are important and keeping friends close requires effort, openness, and willingness in our busy lives.

A．But try some outdoor activities.

B．Start with something you are interested in.

C．That's why it is tough to hang out like we used to.

D．Remember meeting in person is usually more effective.

E．Besides, deep conversations and shared experiences are key.

F．However, friendships are important for our health and happiness.

G．Keeping the bond strong includes regular contact and taking part in meaningful activities.

8 . When I first saw Oscar, he seemed the most relaxed young dog ever, five months old, lying peacefully on a sofa in a foster (寄养) home in Sussex.

Our Oscar ________ to be healthy, lovable, as well as something of a “thief (小偷)”. My wife. Lara, and I had a variety of ________ on an island in the middle of the lake. Oscar used to swim out to the island. It was not until one morning in October 2017 that he did something very ________. He stole a(n)________.

Around 10 am Oscar walked with quiet steps in our ________ with something in his mouth, came over and ________ me, wanting to show it to me. I thought it was a stone and patted him, but pretended not to ________ him as I was on the phone. He then went over to Lara, who ________ in shock. “It’s an egg!”

I ________ told him not to let it drop, as it would make the room smelly. Then, much to our ________, it made a tapping (轻敲) noise. That ________ why he had shown it to us.

Two days later, it hatched (孵化) into a tiny duck. We named him Mickey and ________ him in the house for five months as he grew. He would ________ on the sofa with Oscar and watch TV.

Sadly, Oscar died three years ago, but we still have Mickey. Every time we see Mickey, we would be ________ of the dog who stole the egg and our hearts. More than anything. it was a ________ experience in my life.

1.

A．broke out

B．figured out

C．set out

D．turned out

2.

A．hens

B．ducks

C．cats

D．birds

3.

A．energetic

B．flexible

C．different

D．passive

4.

A．tomato

B．potato

C．egg

D．pudding

5.

A．office

B．room

C．vacation

D．cafe

6.

A．bit

B．visited

C．pleased

D．touched

7.

A．show

B．hire

C．believe

D．notice

8.

A．shouted

B．guessed

C．decided

D．suggested

9.

A．honestly

B．immediately

C．finally

D．gradually

10.

A．regret

B．disappointment

C．satisfaction

D．surprise

11.

A．questioned

B．promised

C．explained

D．confused

12.

A．prevented

B．complained

C．kept

D．gathered

13.

A．sit

B．depend

C．feed

D．focus

14.

A．made

B．reminded

C．warned

D．cured

15.

A．warm

B．worrying

C．scary

D．embarrassing

9 .

The Ant Bully Actor: Julia Boberts Hova (voice) , Nicolas Language: English Run time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes Price: Weekdays. $30       $15 (Children under7) Weekends. $40     $20 (Children under 7)

I really enjoyed this movie. It’s a fun movie for the whole family. I had really good laughs.

—James

I have seen several movies of this kind, but this one is the best. It is so well made and some of the scenes are so beautiful.

—John

I went to see this film today with my 8-year-old daughter this Tuesday, really without knowing too much about it. My daughter and I were surprised at how funny it was. We just couldn’t help laughing.

—Mary

1. From the poster, we can tell that _________ is spoken in the movie.

A．Chinese

B．French

C．English

D．Japanese

2. The poster shows the movie last _________.

A．75 minutes

B．85 minutes

C．95 minutes

D．105 minutes

3. John likes the movie because of _________.

A．the beautiful scenes	B．the sweet voices
C．the wonderful music	D．the funny actors

4. According to the passage, the movie most probably tells a _________ story.

A．true

B．sad

C．terrible

D．funny

10 . 假定你是李华，请你给刚刚病愈的美国朋友Tony 写一封信，就如何保持健康提出建议，内容包括：
（1）保证健康的饮食和充足的睡眠；
（2）坚持锻炼身体。
注意：
（1）词数60左右；
（2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
（3）开头已写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：work out 锻炼
Dear Tony,

I’m glad to learn that you have recovered.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua