1 . 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。

Shuttlecock (毽子) kicking is a traditional popular folk game,     1     (date) as far back as the Han Dynasty.The fun game gained popularity during the Tang Dynasty, when     2     (store) specializing in the shuttlecock business appeared. In the Qing Dynasty, shuttlecock kicking reached its peak in terms of both making techniques and kicking skills.

To make a feather shuttlecock, a piece of cloth wrapped around a coin     3     (need). Through the coin hole you can stick some feathers,     4     function is to delay the rising and falling of the shuttlecock.

There     5     (be) a great number of variations in styles and methods of kicking. With one leg fixed on the ground, the shuttlecock is kicked by the inner ankle of     6     other. Some other styles include kicking the shuttlecock backwards and forwards between two people. Those who advance to a high level of mastery can perform some actions that are     7     (fair) wonderful. The challenge of the increasingly difficult levels of shuttlecock kicking has made it a popular and timeless game among Chinese children.

Playing with shuttlecocks is     8     (benefit) to health. When people are kicking shuttlecocks, various parts of the body need to work together, which enhances balance capabilities and physical flexibility and helps them strengthen their legs. Besides, shuttlecock kicking is convenient     9     (play). It can be practiced just about anywhere and anytime.

Since the establishment of the Chinese Shuttlecock Kicking Association in 1987, the national shuttlecock kicking tournament has been held annually, appealing     10     people of all ages.

3 . In the community of Mudgeeraba, a remarkable story has occurred, displaying a more connected society.

Living far from her own family and with her husband having no parents left, Nina, a new mom, was feeling the weight of   ________ in her motherhood journey. Nina found herself ________ not just for company, but for a unique form of cross-generational ________. So she determined to take a ________ step.

Nina put out a heartfelt ________ in her community for an “adoptive grandma” for herself and her baby Millie. The outpouring of support was nothing short of ________. Among the sea of ________, 61-year-old Christine, a resident in the same suburb as Nina, emerged as the perfect ________. Desperate for a grandchild of her own, Christine was seeking for a ________ for filling the emptiness left by the ________ of grandchildren in her life.

Since their initial meeting six months ago, Christine has lovingly ________ the role of Grandma Christine to little Millie, to whom she ________ she has an unlimited supply of love to give. The newfound relationship goes beyond just a ________, with weekly park walks and play dates becoming precious moments for both Nina and Christine.

The unexpected ________ rooted in a simple act of reaching out has not only provided Nina with the care and wisdom of the older generation, dramatically ________ her tension after giving birth, but offered Christine a sense of purpose and connection in her later years.

1.

A．mistrust

B．intervention

C．prejudice

D．loneliness

2.

A．answering

B．longing

C．preparing

D．arranging

3.

A．assistance

B．promise

C．respect

D．recognition

4.

A．debatable

B．familiar

C．courageous

D．generous

5.

A．statement

B．option

C．proposal

D．request

6.

A．unappealing

B．convincing

C．heartwarming

D．confusing

7.

A．comments

B．responses

C．discussions

D．investigations

8.

A．professional

B．relative

C．employer

D．match

9.

A．channel

B．babysitter

C．witness

D．standard

10.

A．departure

B．affection

C．absence

D．objection

11.

A．reflected upon

B．taken on

C．set aside

D．applied for

12.

A．worries

B．remembers

C．denies

D．feels

13.

A．limit

B．title

C．message

D．prize

14.

A．discovery

B．adventure

C．bond

D．reunion

15.

A．releasing

B．exposing

C．encouraging

D．illustrating

4 . Chaudhary weaves (编织) together lengths of rope and grass collected from the nearby riverbank in her village, skillfully shaping the materials into a gift box while instructing a group of women to follow suit.

The ropes being used were once the lifeline for mountain climbers tackling Nepal’s mountains and were then cast away. Diverse measures to remove such discarded materials have rocketed since 2019, when the government launched Clean Mountain Campaign.Around 140,000 tons of waste were collected on Mt. Everest alone, which were handled accordingly, either securely buried or recycled.

Some waste is now finding fresh life, transformed by skilled hands like Chaudhary’s into items to sell, thanks to an initiative led by Acharya, an owner of a waste processing business and an advocate for sustainable waste management. She has been working with the cleaning campaign, aiming at mountains like Mt. Everest.

“Metal waste goes through the recycling process, but we weren’t capable of recycling these ropes and cooking gas cans,” Acharya says. It didn’t occur to her that the waste which couldn’t be recycled could be reused until she met Rai at an art exhibition and a solution emerged.

Rai, a businessman dealing in craftworks, helped connect Acharya with Chaudhary and her team of craftswomen in hopes of unlocking the economic value of the mountain waste. With flexible hours, the project gives the craftswomen an opportunity to earn money even as they maintain their household responsibilities.

“While this seems insignificant compared to waste in the mountains, it’s a start. We can’t supply sufficient raw material with waste sorting and cleaning processes taking plenty of time and money,” Acharya says, desperate to expand the program to involve more women and treat more waste. But progress has been slow. “We need investment to mechanize the cleaning and processing of waste in the initial phase to provide the crafting team with enough materials to meet their demand,” she adds.

1. What were the ropes mentioned in paragraph 2 initially intended as?

A．Tools for tying up weeds.	B．Villagers’ basic necessities of life.
C．Raw materials tor unique artworks.	D．Life-saving devices for mountaineers.

2. What inspired Acharya’s resolution of non-recyclable waste?

A．A journey to the rural area.	B．An encounter with a trader.
C．Information from a product launch.	D．Attendance at an academic conference.

3. What does Acharya expect to do based on the last paragraph?

A．Train more senior technicians.	B．Obtain a better reputation.
C．Drop waste washing procedures.	D．Bring in advanced equipment.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Chaudhary: An Eco-Minded Folk Artist

B．Nepali Women Are Turning Garbage into Crafts

C．Clean Mountain Campaign Has Already Taken Effect

D．A Headache: Mt. Everest Is Heavily Littered with Waste

5 . You may well remember the last time you made a fool of yourself when asked a question in front of the entire class or when you felt you stood out, either positively, like scoring a perfect goal in a soccer game, or negatively, like wearing a piece of clothing that made you look entirely out of place.

These situations differ greatly, but one thing is for sure: in none of them did people pay attention to you to the extent that you might have thought they did. We estimate our own significance from our perspective, colored by the fact that we are all the center of our own universes, which is the noted “egocentric bias”, represented by the spotlight effect.

A study conducted by Tom Gilovich and other researchers found the participants greatly overestimated the number of people who might have noticed an embarrassing T-shirt they were wearing. But when required to view a recording of a third person wearing an embarrassing T-shirt, they got the estimate of the number of people who noticed it nearly right. What seems to shift the memorability of the T-shirt in our eyes, then, is us.

The spotlight effect doesn’t apply merely to appearance but to actions. In another part of the same study, the student participants similarly overestimated how much importance their classmates in a group discussion attached to their performance. Having an accurate idea of how much our performance matters to other people is vital. Overestimating how impressed our classmates are with our positive performance can cause us to have a ballooning sense of self-importance. Yet understanding fewer people than we realize actually care about our negative performance or errors can be incredibly freeing.

If we continuously fall into the trap of the spotlight effect, it may harm our mental health. We may respond with inaction to opportunities we want to participate in based on a mistaken assumption that others will analyze and judge us for them. The comforting truth is that just reminding ourselves of the fact that others almost never notice us as much as we think they do can be enough to counteract the spotlight effect.

1. What occasions are mentioned in paragraph 1?

A．When you are judged.	B．When you feel noticed.
C．Highlights of your life.	D．Your embarrassing moments.

2. Why did researchers ask participants to watch a third person in an embarrassing T-shirt?

A．To make a comparison.

B．To apply the spotlight effect.

C．To stress the essence of evaluation.

D．To analyze external factors’ effect on thinking.

3. If we perform poorly, insight into the spotlight effect may make us________.

A．gain respect	B．feel liberated
C．take pride in ourselves	D．break down mentally

4. What does the underlined word “counteract” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Act out.

B．Find fault with.

C．Cancel out.

D．Take notice of.

6 . Having dragged everything I owned halfway across the country, I reached my university a complete fresher.     1     Noisy and busy, it felt somewhat overwhelming. Soon I realized everyone was just as anxious about the idea or starting the next chapter in life. But I wouldn’t exchange my university experience for anything. The only thing I wished I had done is a proper exploration in advance of the maddening first day. So I hope to share something you should know before your arrival at university.     2    

The first point I’d like to make is that you’re in charge of your degree. Outside of your scheduled lectures, you’re the one who determines whether to carry on studying or to spend the rest of your day relaxing.     3     Are you going to be the student starting their assignment weeks beforehand, or the one pulling an all-nighter before a 10 am deadline?

Multiplicity is everywhere. University is where you ‘ll meet people from all over the world. Our eyes begin to widen to distinctive cultures, values, and morals around us.     4     So, whoever is there can fit in.

Remember going to university isn’t just about studying, but you have to learn to balance your work and life. Every university has sports teams, societies and voluntary activities to get involved with. Every university has a Students’ Union, where your voice comes in.     5     Some universities even offer job opportunities in bars, shops and food outlets.

Bothersome as your early university life may be, it’ll be incredible once you find your feet.

A．I’d done zero research about it.

B．Every choice made is up to you.

C．Why not make up for your lost youth?

D．Every university is both inclusive and diverse.

E．It may ease you into a most significant change of life.

F．And your feedback can positively affect your university.

G．I had carried out an in-depth study of multiple universities.

7 . 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。

American football can be pretty competitive. From old opponents to fan drama, it’s just another part of the game. There have even been all-out violent fights in the name of defending your team. However, one high school football player Mario Hoefer showed that his love for the sport didn’t take priority over helping a person in need.

One afternoon in September, Charles City High School football team Mario was on faced nearby New Hampton in a Friday football game. Mario was captain of his team and Carter the quarterback of the opposing team.

It was really foggy and awfully hot. Filled with excited audience in the stands, the stadium felt like a heated steamer. Every player was we win sweat even during the warm-ups. All this meant the game would be a tough one and a test or the mind and body of both teams.

Soon the game began and for the first three quarters, each team seemed to have a chance to win and they took the lead by turns. So exhausted was Mario running back and forth that he cramped (抽筋) up twice. Each time he got a cramp near the New Hampton sideline, his teammates came to his assistance and stretched his leg to ease the cramp. Though feeling uncomfortable and worn out, Mario soldiered on as Charles City protected a slim lead and New Hampton attempted a late comeback.

In the fourth quarter, Mario saw his teammates across the field break up a crucial pass intended for Carter. Mario was about to cross over to the other side of the field to high five his teammates when he noticed that beside him, Carter fell onto the ground, screaming in pain, his eyes wide open and a look of panic on his face. Carter grabbed his left calf (小腿肚), trying to move his leg in different positions. Judging from Carter’s desperate expression, Mario realized Carter was possibly experiencing an unbearable cramp just as he himself had gone through minutes before. But the New Hampton players were farther away from the quarterback.

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。
Mario knew what to do next.
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The photo was posted on social media.
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8 . Do you know cultivated meat? Typically, making this sort of meat starts with cells from domestic animals. The cells are grown in bioreactors full of nutrient-rich liquid, and then harvested, and eventually become products such as steak or chicken. In a homely kitchen of Eat Just, a startup, a slice of such meat was fried and then served with peppers. The first mouthful of it was extraordinary because the meat was grown in a lab, rather than on an animal. Meanwhile, it was also dull, because the texture, taste, look and smell of the meat was almost identical to that of chicken.

In June, Eat Just and Upside Foods became the first two companies to win regulatory approval to sell cultivated meat in America. A handful of other firms are trying to bring cultivated meat to market. But the hope is fading owing to continued high costs and troubles with mass production.

The UN reports meat and dairy production already accounts for 12% of humanity’s greenhouse-gas emissions, Demand for meat is skyrocketing among the growing middle classes of Africa and Asia. Lab-grown meat could help meet that demand without the world breaking its carbon budget. By contrast, two-fifths of Americans claim to restrict their meat consumption either for ethical(伦理的) reasons or environmental ones. Lab-grown meat may seem less ethically worrisome than eating animals. And the early success of plant-based meat alternatives gave investors hope. Beyond Meat, one such firm, went public in 2019, and saw its value shoot to $14 billion.

Though lab-grown meat offers an alternative to farm-grown meat, questions have been raised about how climate-friendly it can be. A study published earlier this year found that in some circumstances cultivated meat could be more polluting than the conventional stuff because the bioreactor is in great need of power to control its temperature. Consequently, only if renewable energy is used in the production process will cultivated meat cut the carbon footprint of the meat industry.

Whether this effort can make lab-grown meat attractive and cheap enough to attract consumers remains to be seen.

1. What does the author focus on concerning cultivated meat in paragraph 1?

A．Its characteristics.	B．Its health benefits.
C．Its cooking methods.	D．Its similarities to artificial meat.

2. What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A．Most Americans skip meat.

B．Asians prefer lab-grown meat.

C．Beyond Meat is facing financial collapse.

D．Lab-grown meat may have a vast consumer market.

3. In which aspect does the cultivated-meat industry damage the environment?

A．Poisonous chemical leaks.	B．Land occupation.
C．Grecnhouse-gas emissions.	D．Water consumption.

4. What’s the author’s attitude to lab-grown meat?

A．Opposed.

B．Favorable.

C．Uncaring.

D．Reserved.

9 . The 2024 Consumer Electronics Show is upon us and we’ve chosen four most functional-seeming ones to share with you.

A desk bike to charge your phone

Combining the health benefits of a pedal (脚踏) desk with the energy savings of a body-powered phone charger, Ampera Bike seems ideally suited for office multitaskers. A half-hour of pedaling can charge the average phone about 50 percent. The bike, small and unnoticeable enough for a home office, allows workers to finish the same tasks moving as they did sitting still.

Walking assist robot

For many, walking is a challenge because of aging, illness or muscle weakness. That’s why WIM, a robotic assist device tied around your waist and legs, was created. It reduces the energy needed to walk by 20 percent, potentially enabling walkers to go farther and feel less tired. The entire device weighs 3 pounds and folds up to the size of a purse. WIM can also be used in an exercise mode, providing resistance similar to walking in water and targeting specific muscles.

A mental health mirror

How do you feel when looking in the mirror in the morning? BMind Smart Mirror can take one look, use AI and natural language processing to analyze your expressions and gestures, tell your moods and then offer “personalized mental health coaching” to help. This technology that can monitor for heath changes has the potential of improving the quality of millions of lives.

Targeted hearing device

People with hearing loss have difficulty listening to a specific voice in a noisy space. OrCam Hear addresses this issue with a system of earphones and an AI-powered app. The app samples voices and creates speaker profiles, which then allows users to select to select their wanted voice and deaden other ones, making a game-changing, experience for hearing aids in general.

1. What is special about Ampera Bike?

A．It’s handy to carry about.

B．It charges phones with batteries.

C．It integrates fitness with energy supply.

D．It’s an economical form of transportation.

2. Which of the following devices may read your thoughts?

A．Ampera Bike.	B．WIM.
C．BMind Smart Mirror.	D．OrCam Hear.

3. How does OrCam Hear favor the hearing-disabled?

A．By restoring damaged hearing.	B．By screening out undesired sounds.
C．By boosting the volume of hearing aids.	D．By turning unclear voices into words.