1 . I was quite young when I married. My wife shared with me my love for animals and she got several ________ pets, including one cat.

The black cat was beautiful. We named him Pluto. I liked him best so that I often fed him alone. Our friendship ________ for several years, during which, however, my wife and my job ________ me. Gradually, ________ became my new friend; I became quick to ________; I forgot how to smile and laugh.

One night I came home quite late from the inn. Walking with ________ steps, I made my way with effort into the house. As I entered, I saw Pluto was trying to stay out of my way to ________ me, which made me angry beyond ________. I lifted my foot and gave him a heavy kick ________. The cat burst into a tragic scream, like a ________ cutting through the peaceful dark sky.

It seemed a ring ________ me. I followed up the cry, calling “Pluto”. No response. Turn on the light, and I found him, curled up below a chair. I felt regretful and ________, attempting to comfort it. No response. I knew I had made an ________ mistake.

I made my efforts to ________ him in my manner, feeding him alone and eventually quit drinking. Maybe sometimes some evil things inside ourselves pushed us to do wrong, but we must bear in mind that we ought to treasure what is ________ us accompanying us in our lives.

1.

A．adoptive

B．adorable

C．ambitious

D．adaptable

2.

A．started

B．appeared

C．lasted

D．passed

3.

A．left

B．claimed

C．beat

D．defeated

4.

A．regret

B．silence

C．music

D．wine

5.

A．adjust

B．anger

C．arrange

D．abandon

6.

A．smooth

B．flexible

C．stable

D．uncertain

7.

A．avoid

B．stop

C．bend

D．accuse

8.

A．actions

B．words

C．reason

D．reach

9.

A．constantly

B．purposely

C．intently

D．appropriately

10.

A．storm

B．thunder

C．rainbow

D．lightning

11.

A．awakening

B．striking

C．knocking

D．uplifting

12.

A．stressed

B．frightened

C．guilty

D．delicate

13.

A．unforgettable

B．unforgivable

C．unaffordable

D．unforeseen

14.

A．do away with

B．get away with

C．make up with

D．catch up with

15.

A．observing

B．assisting

C．impressing

D．surrounding

2 . We’re looking at the best Italian countryside escapes to help you find the ideal spot for your real Italian holiday.

Basilicata

Located in southern Italy, bordering Puglia, Basilicata holidays are all about wonderful hilltop towns waiting to be explored. Since this area is relatively unexplored, you’re in for untouched history at your fingertips. If you’re looking for a countryside escape off the beaten track, Basilicata offers an impressive mountain landscape.

Tuscany Countryside

Tuscany countryside holidays are a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’ve all seen photos of the rolling hills, vineyards, and hilltop towns, but believe us when we say that nothing prepares you for experiencing the unique beauty of the Italian countryside in Tuscany firsthand.

Umbria Countryside

For a true Italian countryside, a visit to Umbria is in order. The historic hill towns date back to the Etruscan era, with many structures remaining untouched and authentic. Umbria holidays offer smaller towns that hold tradition close to their hearts and long winding roads in between, where the silence of the countryside is unmatched in any other part of Italy.

Piedmont Countryside

Situated on the border of Switzerland and France, Piedmont is about as picturesque as the Italian countryside gets. It is surrounded by three sides of the Alps, proud of some of the biggest glaciers and highest peaks in Italy. The attractively vast vineyards and rolling green hills, as well as the luxurious lakes of Orta and Maggiore, Piedmont countryside holidays offer Italian beauty at its finest.

1. Which place best suits people who enjoy the scenery of ice?

A．Basilicata.

B．Tuscany Countryside.

C．Umbria Countryside.

D．Piedmont Countryside.

2. In both Basilicata and Umbria Countryside visitors can see ________.

A．something untouched for exploration.	B．large areas of vineyards.
C．rolling hills and hilltop towns.	D．the photos of small towns.

3. Whom is the passage mainly intended for?

A．Adventurers exploring the unknown.	B．Customers wanting to enjoy grape wine.
C．Tourists searching for countryside holidays.	D．Researchers digging for ancient architecture.

3 . 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。

It was almost nine o’clock and Sydney returned to Tellson’s Bank to see Mr. Lorry. Monsieur Manette, however, hadn’t returned from his visits. Mr. Lorry was worried. When he did return, his face told them that he had failed to find someone to save Charles. “Where are my bench and my work tools?” he asked. “I must finish those shoes!”

Their heart sank. “The last hope is gone!” said Mr. Lorry shaking his head sadly. “Yes, the last hope is gone,” said Sydney. Then he took a piece of paper from his pocket. It was his Leave Pass, with “Sydney Carton” on it. He gave it to Mr. Lorry, and asked him to keep it for him until the next day because he didn’t want to take it into the prison when visiting Charles. Then he looked in Monsieur Manette’s pockets and found his Leave Pass with his name and the names of Lucie and little Lucie on it.

“Look after these, too,” he said. “They are in great danger. Madame Defarge is going to have them all arrested, probably the day after tomorrow. You must have your horses and carriage ready at two o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Lucie and her father must be sitting in the carriage, and so must you. As soon as I arrive, take me into the carriage and drive off. This is very, very important. We must save them!”

On the next day afternoon, Charles Darnay sat alone in his cell, writing a long letter to Lucie and others to her father and Mr. Lorry. Then he lay down to sleep. He woke early, so he got up and walked up and down in his cell. The guard had told him that he would die at three o’clock. Just after the clock had struck one o’clock, Charles heard footsteps approaching. Then the key turned in the lock, and the door opened. He heard the guard Barsad say, “Go in quickly, and do what you have to do. I will wait here.” The person who entered the room with some hidden chemicals was Sydney Carton, who smiled and put a finger on his lips. Was this really happening?

注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“Of all the people in the world that I might have expected to see here, you are the last,” whispered Charles.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now Charles, looking really like the usual Sydney, heard him say, “Quickly! Take this pen and paper, and write down what I tell you.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . 用本学期所学语段中的原词填空。

With technologies first researched and developed for space     1    , we can solve some of the big problems facing mankind, making our lives safer and easier. One of these is earthquake shock absorbers. Shock absorbers     2     applied to the space shuttle launch have also been set up in the cities with a high     3     of earthquakes in order to protect buildings and save lives. Some technologies need     4     research to better solve real-life problems. For example, liquid hydrogen is a clean     5     energy source that is used widely as rocket fuel, and it is     6     that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be mass-produced and     7     in the near future. These scientific and technological     8     can provide benefits to societies on the Earth in many areas     9     health, energy and information technology. This should be a strong     10     for continuing to explore space.

5 . 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。

The heritage hidden in shadows

Have you ever experienced a shadow play (皮影戏)? In ancient China, it     1     (feature) numerous and vivid characters, underwent rapid transformations in the blink of an eye, and even included special effects, music and performances, without using computers.

Merely     2     (rely) on hands, the ancient Chinese art of shadow play is a tradition with a history that     3     (date) back 2,000 years, and it’s also a representative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity recognized by UNESCO.

Dang,     4     identity is the fifth-generation inheritor of Wang’s Shadow, a family troupe (剧团) in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, is famous for making shadow puppets off     5     beaten track. Not only does he     6     (skillful) combine the traditional with the contemporary in his creations, he also pioneers approaches     7     enhancing the presentation and     8     (preserve) of this cultural heritage.

During the China-Central Asia Summit in May, Dang and his team used the puppets to illustrate female heroes from films, along with many colorful scenes and maps introducing the countries     9     (involve) in the Belt and Road Initiative. “We aim to demonstrate the excellence of our traditional culture,     10     its ability to produce remarkable creations. Once people are aware that shadow puppets can be cool, their natural desire will be to participate,” Dang says.

6 . Last week I was driving home from a funeral (葬礼) for my 21-year-old nephew. In a state of _________, I decided to stop at a store. I _________, ran inside and spent 45 minutes looking, trying to _________ the day off.

When I went to the _________, I found my wallet gone! Running out to my car, I kept _________ where it was. My heart _________ as I saw the door of my car open and things lying all over the ground. My car had been _________! Did I leave the door unlocked?

As I got closer, I saw a tall man standing there. I got _________ as no one was around. The man asked if this was my car and I said, “Yes!” He explained that he’d been in his car, _________ me, and that when I closed my car door, the __________ had got in the way, so it didn’t close.

He’d got out to __________ it for me when he saw my wallet and a credit card lying on the ground. He had stood there this whole time __________ it, making sure no one took anything.

For 45 minutes this man had just stood there, for me, a __________! If he were not such an angel, the mistake could have __________ my whole life as my driver’s license, some money, credit cards, my ATM card were all there.

I thanked him 100 times and told him he was my angel. He smiled and said, “Just __________ it on to others.”

1.

A．calmness

B．sorrow

C．worry

D．anger

2.

A．parked

B．attempted

C．sought

D．wept

3.

A．turn

B．waste

C．dream

D．shake

4.

A．store

B．checkout

C．estate

D．entrance

5.

A．doubting

B．remembering

C．wondering

D．exploring

6.

A．sank

B．softened

C．hardened

D．warmed

7.

A．torn up

B．tracked down

C．taken in

D．broken into

8.

A．moved

B．scared

C．delighted

D．annoyed

9.

A．with

B．against

C．beyond

D．opposite

10.

A．seatbelt

B．mood

C．wheel

D．accident

11.

A．lock

B．check

C．close

D．watch

12.

A．examining

B．picking

C．guarding

D．gathering

13.

A．driver

B．friend

C．consumer

D．stranger

14.

A．ruined

B．transformed

C．saved

D．spared

15.

A．push

B．pass

C．switch

D．take

7 . How to Practice Gratitude (感激) in Your Daily Life

Gratitude is a positive emotion. Learning how to practice it is an effort to remind yourself of the good in life and to show an internal appreciation for yourself and others.     1    . Whichever exercise you do, it’s vital to remember the elements of gratitude: the awareness of the good things, expressing gratitude to yourself and giving thanks to people you’re grateful for.

Create a gratitude list. The intense stress of life can get you so caught up that we may fail to recognize the positive events or interactions we encounter on a daily basis.     2    . It can also help you picture the biggest and smallest moments that make your day.

    3    . Expressing your gratitude to those you’re grateful for strengthens your relationship with them. Plus, bonding with family and friends is a simple act that can help you feel gratitude for these relationships. Sharing kindness will make you feel happier and healthier. In turn, those benefits get passed along to those you most care about.

Make a gratitude jar (罐). Make the jar fun and personable by decorating it and placing it where you can always see it. Every day, write down what you’re grateful for on a slip of paper and put it in the jar.     4    . Whenever there’s a moment of doubt or sadness, return to the jar and read a few notes to remind yourself of who and what is good in your life.

In conclusion, engaging in daily gratitude exercises can make a great difference. Showing gratitude helps you connect with positive emotions, focus on acknowledging the good, and shift your focus to positive aspects of life.     5    .

A．Share your gratitude with others

B．Seek out opportunities to help others

C．There are several gratitude activities and exercises

D．As you fill it, it serves as a good reminder of good times

E．It is better to keep track of whatever happens in your life

F．You’ll also harvest the greatest rewards when it becomes a habit

G．Writing down the positive moments helps put life into a better perspective

8 . Most people have probably run into this problem. When you’re traveling, you want to take a photo to capture a moment, but you’re alone or your friend is a poor photographer. Now with the help of social media platforms, a “travel-along photographer” can take this worry off your list.

A travel-along photographer is like a travel companion who takes photos for you for an hour or two while accompanying you to the destination of your choice. Due to this year’s travel boom and social media, such photographers have grown in popularity.

“With social media platforms, every photographer can advertise for themselves and be seen,” said Shi Xinqi, a 22-year-old part-time photographer from Xiamen, Fujian province. In the past month, Shi has photographed over 30 clients. Rui Changchang, 27, agrees. Social media platforms help him be seen and find what he has been looking for over the years.

Rui used to be a fashion photographer for celebrities, but he didn’t feel the fundamental joy that he thought photography should create. From the lighting and clothing to the professional models, everything was from an assembly line. Now, he’s a full-time photographer who spends most of his time at Universal Studios in Beijing. “It’s very fascinating to help complete strangers become comfortable in front of the camera and capture a joyful moment for them.” Rui believes that capturing connections between people is what makes photos so touching.

But this is not a one-way service. When photographers capture these moments for their customers, they also learn something about themselves. “Most of my customers are women. I often describe them as the ‘beauty and power of women’,” said Shi, relating one experience with a customer in her 30s. Shi asked her if she had any regrets in her life—to which she replied that she had none. “That woman was so confident and determined. She helped relieve my anxiety about aging.” said Shi.

However, this booming industry also has a dark side. For travel-along photographers, there are no industry standards or measures to ensure the rights of all parties. Even though the photographers are from the same city, their pricing is dramatically different.

1. What does a travel-along photographer mainly do?

A．Run social media platforms.	B．Take worries off a traveler’s list.
C．Take pictures of a traveler along the way.	D．Accompany a traveler to the destination.

2. How is paragraph 4 developed?

A．By drawing conclusions.	B．By giving a definition.
C．By listing examples.	D．By making a contrast.

3. What does paragraph 5 intend to tell us?

A．The services offered by the photographers.	B．The benefits enjoyed by the photographers.
C．The moments captured by camera.	D．The communication promoted by customers

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the industry?

A．Favorable.

B．Objective.

C．Indifferent.

D．Negative.

9 . By flying in silence, the owl (猫头鹰) holds a deadly advantage over its prey (猎物), which is thought to have no idea of its hunter’s approach until its final moments.

Researchers have spent more than 80 years trying to solve the mystery of how owls, unique among birds, slice through the air creating just a whisper of audible (听觉的) disturbance. They hope to make use of the findings to reduce the noise generated by aircraft wings, fans and wind turbine blades (涡轮机叶片).

Extensive progress has been made, including developing innovations that have reduced noise from a wind turbine by as much as ten decibels (分贝), the difference between passing car and a passing truck, according to the authors of the study, Justin Jaworski and Nigel Peake.

However, in the study, published in the Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, they conclude that “the primary barrier to the design of owl-inspired technologies remains the lack of understanding of the essential physics of silent owl flight”. The slight swoosh (嗖) made by an incoming barn owl is below the reach of human hearing until the bird is just under one metre away, laboratory measurements have shown.

In 1934, Robert Rule Graham, a British bird enthusiast and pilot, noted three structural aspects of owl wings that may help to explain their quiet approach: an unusual “comb” structure projecting from the wing’s leading edge, a soft layer of downy feathers that covers most of the wing and a ragged fringe (外围) of feathers that line the trailing wing edge. His theory is widely cited (引用).

Some researchers found that many larger owl species, such as the barn owl, can continuously track their prey in flight by hearing alone, meaning that any aerodynamic noise does not interfere with their tracking ability. When an aeroplane lands, much of the noise comes not from its engines but from the flow of air rushing around it. The ragged, feathered fringes of the owl’s wings may help to reduce the noise.

1. What is the purpose of the researchers’ study on owls?

A．To understand the flying techniques of owls.

B．To increase the flying speed of aircraft.

C．To help hunters catch their preys with ease.

D．To put the secret of owls’ quiet flight to use.

2. The underlined part in paragraph 3 is used to ______.

A．compare the noise of cars with that of trucks

B．illustrate the great achievements of the research

C．show the striking difference between trucks and cars

D．explain there is still a long way to go in reducing noise

3. What is the major difficulty in designing owl-inspired technologies?

A．Lacking the source of inspiration.

B．Limited sense of hearing of human beings.

C．Failing to understand how owls fly silently.

D．Blindness to the structure of owls’ wings.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Owls don’t move their wings when hunting for their prey.

B．The flying barn owl can follow their prey just by hearing.

C．Much of the plane’s noise comes from its engines when landing.

D．The feathered fringes of the owl’s wings generate the flow of air.

10 . Visitors won’t find many straight rows in the organic garden at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California. Sometimes the beds look like hearts, eyes, question marks or a rainbow. And then there’s the lovely drainage ditch (水沟), called the “Middle River,” which laughing, muddy students carved right down the center of their one-acre land.

As he looks around, Kelsey Siegel, the young teacher in charge of the garden, can’t help but smile. “So many of the youth we work with have grown up in front of TV and video games; they haven’t really had this experience of playing in the mud and water,” he notes. The schoolyard farm “fills in something that’s missing in their lives.”

Before they planted their garden five years ago with the help of highly-praised chef Alice Waters, few of the students at this multicultural Northern California school had even tasted vine-ripened (藤熟的) tomatoes, let alone raised them seedlings. Teachers worried that some children weren’t eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables at home, and the school wasn’t much help either: Like many state campuses, King replaced its hot-meal cafeteria years ago with a more cost-effective outdoor “snack-shack (小吃棚).”

For Waters, the founder of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant, the thought of children having to rely on such reheated junk — right in her own backyard — was too much to stomach. The small, visionary (有远见卓识的) woman is widely regarded as the Julia Child of organic cuisine in America, the person who’s taught millions the joy of cooking simple dishes with locally grown, chemical-free produce. Waters remembers poking (戳) at mystery food in her school cafeteria as a kid. But today, she says, the spread of vending machines and fast food in America’s schools has become downright evil. “What is it, one in three kids is overweight now? It’s just horrifying,” she sighs, drinking mineral water at a quiet table downstairs in her hugely popular restaurant, about a mile from the King campus “I don’t know what has to happen before we wake up.”

1. What does paragraph 1 highlight?

A．Students’ creativity in farming the schoolyard.

B．Students’ knowledge of building the schoolyard.

C．The strange look of the organic garden.

D．The nice environment of the organic garden.

2. The garden has a(n)______ impact on students.

A．unnoticeable

B．predictable

C．modest

D．far-reaching

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Waters preferred fast-food to her school’s mystery food.

B．Waters is indifferent to what is happening to children.

C．Waters has taught people to grow organic plants.

D．Waters is deeply concerned about students’ diet and health.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Field of dreams	B．Garden of pleasure
C．Junk-free restaurant	D．Cost-effective campus