4 . 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。

I was at the back of a group of eight horse riders when one of my fellow safari (观兽旅行) camp guides called my name, nodding to the spot behind me. I turned to see a male lion, fully grown, not 10 metres away.

I’d been working as a guide at the safari camp in Botswana for a year and had seen lions a few times, usually in the heat of the day. Guests paid to come on guided rides between tented camps 20 miles apart. It was a very remote area. We left at 7 am that morning; it was three hours later when the lion appeared.

Just as I saw it, the horses ran wildly, leaving riders hanging on as the lion began its chase (追逐). I wasn’t in control of my horse, Acaba, which was heading into a much thicker bush, away from the path and the rest of the group. I realised that the lion had chosen to drive Acaba away from the others.

I thought we were going to die together. I screamed in pure panic. Suddenly, Acaba ran into a really thick bush and stopped without control, throwing me into a bush. By the time I got myself out of the low woody plants, the lion was killing him.

Unbelievable! Acaba hid me in the bushes and left himself in extreme danger! It protected me! Scared... shocked... moved... my mind went blank. I was only two metres away! Acaba was on the ground, feet in front of him. He tried to push himself up. But the lion was on top of him, covering his body entirely, his front feet around Acaba’s neck.

I seized a device hanging around my neck, which is known as a bear banger. It has a spring, and when you pull the trigger (扳机) the spring fires off containers that explode when they land. It’s like a small firework but as loud as a shotgun.

Somehow my panic died down. I found myself moving closer to Acaba and the lion.

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。

Paragraph 1:

I pulled the trigger, and it worked.

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Paragraph 2:

One of the guides gave me a horse and I planned to find Acaba.

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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。

Giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Tuesday morning, after wrapping up     1     (they) stay in Britain. The pair     2     (touch) down at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at about 6: 50 a.m., before     3     (send) to the Bifengxia giant panda base in Ya’an for a month-long observation and detection.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian,     4     literally mean Sunshine and Sweetie, arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011 on a 10-year loan. The loan extended for an additional two years subsequently.     5     the only pandas in Britain, they acquired significant attention, attracting a record number of visitors to the zoo.

They did not give birth to any cubs (幼崽) during their stay in Britain. There were several attempts to get Tian Tian pregnant     6     none of them were successful.

Before their     7     (depart), Edinburgh Zoo conducted training sessions to acclimate the pair to the upcoming journey.     8     zoo had also prepared fresh bamboo for the pandas as food during the flight.

According to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Chinese pandas     9     (live) in 23 institutions in 19 foreign countries are generally in good health condition, and international cooperation in this respect has been     10     (fruit).

6 . It’s summer. You’re on your favourite beach towel, a friend beside you. You’re both absorbed in books, occasionally taking sips of water. But what happens when it’s time to head home? Will you carry on reading together later? Generally speaking, reading tends to be seen as a solitary (孤独的) pastime.     1     However, the benefits of sharing the experience are numerous and worth sticking with throughout the year.

    2     For example, you don’t have to brainstorm to organize a conversation, because you both have a book in your hands. You can get lost in your book without worrying about seeming rude by not keeping up a constant stream of chatter. As you both enter the same state, your blood pressure will go down, muscle tension will ease, and your worries will fade away. All these put you at ease.     3     A quiet corner of the playground, a blanket spread out on the grass in the garden, or any calm space where you feel relaxed will do.

Spending time together reading can strengthen friendships. As you turn the pages, you might discover interesting facts to pass a long or funny anecdote to giggle (咯咯笑) over. Sometimes, you’ll come across more serious themes, such as losing a loved one or a cherished pet, or facing any one of life’s many challenges.     4    

Reading fiction has been shown to enhance empathy (同理心), which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. As you know, novels allow us to live countless experiences through their characters, which will result in heightened sensitivity.     5     For example, a person’s empathetic response increases as he emerges from being immersed in a story.

8 . Learning anything can be challenging, especially when it comes to figuring out how and what to practice. Repetition is usually essential. But you don’t want something that takes the joy out of you. I’ve been teaching myself to draw for a few years. I had improved a lot but for a long while was going nowhere. I’d tried lots of books and courses, and filled endless pages with boxes, parallel lines and figures. None of these seems to be working.

But something clicked when I started sketchbooking this year. The sketchbooks led to a shift in mindset. Rather than trying to practise, I was engaging in a practice — scribbling (涂鸦). The scribbles weren’t all good but they have become part of a whole. I’ve been absorbed ever since. I scribbled my breakfast, the fruit in the office, and other people on the train.

I spoke to Danny Gregory, a writer who blogs and makes videos about sketchbooking, to try to figure out why I had become so taken by my new practice.

“We think the practice in drawing is like that in piano, where you have to play through a series of musical notes step by step,” Gregory says. “But what if you think about practice in other terms — like a yoga practice or medical practice? With those kinds of practices, you’ve learned some stuff, right? Progress happens naturally. It’s not preparatory. So just follow the process and take pleasure in it. This is what matters.”

I have now filled two sketchbooks just with portraits — more than 100 scribbled over a couple of months. In them I challenged myself to include people on every page. Used to drawing ghost-town versions, the first few pages were a struggle. But I started varying my morning coffee routine to find new places where I could observe life.

My latest sketchbook will tackle the challenge of all my drawings — hands. I’ve always had problems drawing hands. It’s early days, but I’m not fearing it as I would have before because it isn’t just practice any more.

9 . I love learning about customs and practices in other countries. For this post, I asked all of my friends in the Multicultural Kid Blogger group to give me their favorite birthday traditions!

CHINA

The most special of the birthday traditions in China is for babies. New parents give red eggs (an even number) to friends and family for good luck. Common presents include food, silverware, and money wrapped in red paper. On birthdays, it is common to eat longevity noodles (长寿面) without breaking them for good luck to live a long life.

ISRAEL

Sometimes children in Israel wear a crown (王冠) made from leaves or flowers for their birthday. The birthday child sits in a chair, and gets picked up and raised and lowered the chair one time for each year of age, plus one more for good luck. Guests at the birthday party sing and dance around the chair. At birthday parties, kids often play games, such as races with potatoes on spoons.

GHANA

In Ghana, one of the most common birthday traditions is that kids get to eat oto for breakfast: sweet potatoes mixed with onions, made into patties, and fried with hard boiled eggs. Later in the day, Ghanaians sometimes have a party for the child with stew, rice, and kelewele. At the party, girls often like to play a game called ampe.

MEXICO

Mexico families love parties, and celebrate birthdays en grande (盛大地). The 15th birthday, quinceañera is the most important, formal, and well-prepared. Mexicans always sing Las Mañanitas to wake up the child on their birthdays. When the birthday girl or boy blows out their candles, guests call for them to take a bite of the cake (“mordida-mordida!”) and always push their face into the frosting. A Mexican birthday party always has a piñata filled with little toys and candies.