1 . Not all birds sing, but those that do—some several thousand species—do it a lot.

Iris Adam, a scientist at the University of Southern Denmark says, birds have “a drive to sing”. This means hours every day for some species, and that takes a lot of energy. However, singing can be dangerous. “As soon as you sing, you show yourself, for example, where you are and that you even exist—all of that immediately is out in the open for predators (捕食性动物) , for everybody,” she says.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, Adam and her colleagues offer a new explanation for why birds take that risk and whether the muscles (肌肉) that produce birdsong require daily exercise. Adam designed an experiment on zebra finches—little Australian songbirds. Her experiment included keeping male birds in the dark to sever the connection between their brains and-their singing muscles, which prevented them from singing.

After a week, the birds’ singing muscles lost half of their strength. Three weeks later, they were back to the same level when they were juveniles (幼鸟) and never had sung before. When Adam played one of the male’s songs for: a group of female birds, six out of nine preferred the song that came from a male who had been using his singing muscles daily.

Adam’s conclusion (结论) is that songbirds need to exercise their singing muscles to produce top-performance song. If they don’t sing, they lose performance, and their songs get less attractive to females, which is bad.

“What they stress is that you need a lot of practice to improve what you’re doing,” says Ana Amador, a scientist at the University of Buenos Aires. It’s a good rule to live by, whether you’re a bird or a human—practice makes perfect, at least when it comes to singing one’s heart out.

1. Why can singing be dangerous for birds?

A．They can drive predators to sing.	B．They never protect their areas.
C．Their singing can attract predators.	D．Singing does damage to their muscles.

2. What does the underlined word “sever” probably mean in paragraph 3?

A．Remember.

B．End.

C．Risk.

D．Keep.

3. What do we know about Adam’s experiment?

A．It mainly focused on male birds and juveniles.

B．It aimed to protect zebra finches from possible risks.

C．It strengthened birds’ singing muscles in four weeks.

D．It proved exercising singing muscles matters to birds.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Iris Adam’s work is a big success	B．Singing can be dangerous for birds
C．Birds sing to keep muscles in shape	D．Birds and human beings need practice

2 . 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。

In a small town, there lived a girl named Lily and her older brother, Alex. Lily had a dream to become a professional dancer, a dream which filled her life with both excitement and challenges. Alex, who had always been her role model, understood her passion more than anyone else.

While, growing up, Lily looked up to Alex. He was the star athlete of his high school, admired by many. But to Lily, he was more than that; he was her support system, always encouraging her to pursue (追求) her dream. However, Lily’s path to becoming a dancer was filled with difficulties. Financial limits and lack of resources in their small town were constant challenges.

As Lily entered high school, Alex noticed his sister’s struggles and knew he had to step in. He started by organizing dance workshops and fundraising events in their community. He spent his evenings helping Lily practice, turning their garage into a dance studio. His efforts brought the community together, and soon, Lily had a small but devoted group of supporters cheering her on.

With Alex’s help, Lily started to gain confidence. She improved her skills and began to participate in local dance competitions. Each time she performed, Alex was there in the front row, cheering the loudest. His strong belief in her fueled Lily’s determination to succeed.

As Lily’s senior year approached, a significant opportunity arose — a chance to compete in a national dance competition, with the prize being an entry into a famous dance academy. Lily signed up for it and practiced day and night for the competition. The night before the event, Lily felt extremely anxious. Alex stayed up with her, talking through her routines and reminding her of the strength and beauty in her movements. His words calmed Lily down and filled her with newfound confidence.

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。
The day of the competition arrived.
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Thanks to Alex, Lily’s dream was coming true.
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3 . 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。

After four days of wonderful performances, the 7th China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival     1     (come) to an end on December 12 in 2023 in Quanzhou, south China’s Fujian Province. The festival,     2     was held in the hometown of Chinese string (线) puppetry (木偶制作艺术), showed the high-level skills of Quanzhou’s puppetry artists, leaving audiences     3     (amaze).

In China, string puppetry is     4     important form of traditional theater that originated in Quanzhou during the Han Dynasty.     5     (actual), having been passed down over thousands of years, more than 700 traditional plays about folk beliefs and customs have been protected.

Each puppet is equipped with 8 to 16 strings, while more complex performances may require up to 36 strings. The strings     6     (divide) into several groups according to human movements, and all the actions are controlled by the hands of the puppetry artists.

To master string puppetry, skilled     7     (way) to perform puppets are not enough. Puppeteers also need to have rich life experiences     8     (understand) the emotional world of the characters to help bring the puppets to life.

On May 20, 2006, Quanzhou string puppetry was added     9     the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list (非物质文化遗产名录).

As the hometown of string puppetry, Quanzhou was also the first city in China to hold an international puppet festival and succeeded in     10     (host) six sessions in 1986, 1990, 2000, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

4 . After the doctor’s examination, little Lucy was diagnosed (诊断) with a serious disease. Doctors had to perform an operation on her to save her life. Facing a year of treatment, Lucy ________ her mother for a puppy (小狗). Then, the lovely puppy Lucy named Bobby ________ left her side, keeping her company and sitting beside her as she ________ her life after the operation. “I get along well with Bobby, which ________ me that animals can think, feel and suffer as much as we do,” says Lucy.

In 1994, Lucy graduated from college and began a ________ in film. During her free time, she ________ as a photographer for animal rights groups in 2002.

A year later she ________ her film career. Then she worked full-time as an animal caregiver at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. “Farm ________ are typically very shy,” says Lucy. “But in a loving environment, you begin to see how ________ and lovely they are.”

Lucy learned farm life and with her partner, Doug Abel, a film editor, set up the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization aimed at ________ farm animals. Through their website, they ________ the backstory and personality of each of the more than 350 animals living at the farm, ________ them and protected them from being sold.

To help more animals, Lucy and Doug ________ the sanctuary to a 150-acre farm in High Falls, New York, which has a fully equipped kitchen and a dining hall in addition to a barn. The new space has ________ their team of 17 members, to host meaningful classes and a kids’ camp.

“People who came here ________ spending time with the animals. It’s therapy (治疗) for them,” says Lucy.

1.

A．asked

B．punished

C．paid

D．praised

2.

A．surprisingly

B．secretly

C．hardly

D．immediately

3.

A．belonged to

B．led to

C．adapted to

D．referred to

4.

A．warns

B．confirms

C．cures

D．orders

5.

A．relationship

B．job

C．lesson

D．novel

6.

A．regarded

B．revised

C．recognised

D．volunteered

7.

A．quit

B．investigated

C．checked

D．tracked

8.

A．plants

B．workers

C．animals

D．environment

9.

A．friendly

B．terrible

C．ugly

D．stupid

10.

A．trading

B．damaging

C．controlling

D．rescuing

11.

A．invented

B．described

C．believed

D．protected

12.

A．shot

B．protested

C．threatened

D．helped

13.

A．ruined

B．moved

C．donated

D．sold

14.

A．pretended

B．forced

C．allowed

D．hated

15.

A．imagined

B．loved

C．refused

D．admitted

5 . These four good habits will improve some aspects of your life.

Do one thing at a time

    1    . In truth, it’s not the best way to get things done. Instead of jumping from one thing to the next like a ping-pong ball, stick with one task as long as you can. That concentrated time you spend on one thing will be far more productive.     2    .

Create a place for everything

Imagine all things in your home have a place where they live. For example, toys go into a basket when they’re not in use.     3    . If you regularly (定期的) have lots of things that have nowhere to go, it may be time to make some hard choices about what you really want to keep.

    4    

Get up at the same time every day, preferably all seven days a week. A consistent (一致的) sleep schedule helps form your body’s circadian rhythm (昼夜节律). Sleeping late on the weekends is not bad. But it feels better to get regular rests every day.

Learn how to say no

Saying yes to everything can be a difficult habit to break for most of us. But learning how to draw a line is one of the best things you can do for yourself. You have the power not to agree to help everyone else with their problems.     5    . Your time is just as valuable as everyone else’s.

A．Set a realistic goal

B．Keep a consistent sleep schedule

C．In this way you spare lots of time for yourself

D．If so, tidying up your home gets a whole lot quicker

E．Most of us sometimes do several things at the same time

F．Being efficient with the time you have is crucial for productivity

G．Instead, you will easily feel tired when trying to finish three things meantime

6 . Zhang Zening, a hanfu supporter and lover in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province, started a surprising journey eight years ago to restore (使复原) this traditional Chinese clothing. Inspired by ancient murals (壁画), Zhang, 41, studied the artistry of hanfu in various museums, changing paintings into touchable and wearable pieces.

Upon graduating from college, Zhang first worked in material research, burying herself in the laboratory, conducting chemical experiments for the study of raw materials. At the time, she was one of the earliest lovers of hanfu in China, frequently organizing various hanfu activities in her spare time. Now as the owner of a hanfu studio, Zhang has worked with women’s re-employment organizations, looking for full-time stay-at-home women with sewing (缝纫) skills. This matched with her need for the production of hanfu.

Around 2015, Zhang began to focus independently on the process of hanfu restoration. In that year, she visited Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province where she was attracted by the beautiful murals there, wondering how she could possibly change them into beautiful costumes.

In the past years, she has traveled to more than 10 cities across China, constantly studying murals and conducting research to restore hanfu from different dynasties. She managed to restore more than 50 sets. She referred to different materials including various murals, other cultural relics and literature to make sure that the restoration is as correct as possible. Thanks to her work, many young people wear restored hanfu when they visit museums, and Zhang is excited to see more of them doing so.

1. What can we learn about Zhang Zening according to paragraph 1?

A．She longed to be a scientist.

B．She was addicted to traveling widely.

C．She was fond of Chinese traditional art.

D．She enjoyed watching museum visitors.

2. Why does Zhang work with some organizations?

A．To recover traditional Chinese clothing.

B．To reduce employment pressure.

C．To increase her business influence.

D．To help the companies in trouble.

3. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Dunhuang?

A．To explain how hard Zhang works.

B．To show the start of Zhang’s independent hanfu restoration work.

C．To promote various Dunhuang’s artworks.

D．To introduce Zhang’s rich travel experiences.

4. Which of the following best describes Zhang’s restoration work?

A．Effective.

B．Short-lasting.

C．Dangerous.

D．Costly.

7 . Frosty Ridge Resort (FRR) is a popular tourist attraction with a long history. Do you want to join the proud tradition of service at FRR? Welcome to join us!

Parking Host

The responsibility of a parking host is to help guests properly park their vehicles (交通工具), informing guests of parking steps and answering questions. You must be at least 18 years of age. A driver’s license (执照) is required. It’s necessary to have a team player attitude and be able to work with people of diverse cultures. The ability to work with different groups of people in a calm and professional manner is also a must.

Child Care Provider

Previous child care experience is preferred. You should provide quality child care, by meeting the needs of various age groups and guest demands in a positive way. Show positive communication skills, and offer children funny activities. Climb stairs to work space and work at a desk or computer work station for one or two hours.

Ski Instructor

Teach ski lessons to guests with the specific focus on students’ goals while emphasizing (强调) safety, fun and learning. You should be able to ski or snowboard. Great customer service skills and good adaptability are required. In particular, unlike the two positions above, you must work during the Christmas week.

1. What should people in the parking host position do?

A．Teach ski lessons to guests.

B．Help guests park their cars.

C．Look after guests’ children.

D．Answer questions from FRR director.

2. What is specially required for a ski instructor?

A．Being communicative.	B．Providing fun for guests.
C．Working during Christmas week.	D．Having related working experience.

3. Who is the text intended for?

A．Job hunters.

B．Project managers.

C．Local visitors.

D．College students.

8 . The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.

The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any fishbowls that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer four-sided ones.

The company said it was animal abuse (虐待) to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration. Filtration is the process of removing small waste from the water with a device.

AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently used the term “impulse”—meaning a sudden strong desire to do something—to describe why many adults buy goldfish. “People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse, but if they knew what torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly,” Lambeaux added.

Goldfish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums (养鱼缸) or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months. Lambeaux said goldfish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium requires some special equipment and knowledge.

Germany and several other European countries have long banned (禁止) fishbowls, but France has no laws on the problem.

Lambeaux explained the company’s decision further by saying, “We cannot educate all our customers by explaining that keeping fish in a bowl is terrible. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give customers that choice.”

“There is demand for fishbowls,” he said, “but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility of seeing goldfish die slowly.”

1. What makes the French company stop selling certain fishbowls?

A．Their size.	B．Their price.
C．Their weight.	D．Their popularity.

2. What does the underlined word “torture” probably in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Progress.	B．Pleasure.
C．Difficulty.	D．Suffering.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The age goldfish can reach.	B．Costs of keeping goldfish.
C．Proper living conditions for goldfish.	D．The advice on how to choose fishbowls.

4. What does the company prefer to do based on Lambeaux’s words?

A．Raise the price of the fishbowls.	B．Remove the chances of harming goldfish.
C．Keep goldfish outside in the wild.	D．Educate parents to care for goldfish.

9 . 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 stood in front of the house, waiting for Grandma’s box of cookies. Every Saturday, a box of cookies would arrive on our doorstep tied with a brown string. As far as I could remember, Grandma, carrying the box, was always there on time.

Jack, my younger brother, had always been fonder of the cookies. He was still childish, maybe not understanding the value of time with family. As for me, I was always Grandma’s little girl, and possibly she loved me more than Mom. There was something about Grandma that made her so special. In fact, seeing her every Saturday was the happiest thing all week for me.

Jack played in the yard and picked flowers for the dinner table. Mom always wanted the prettiest ones, and Jack just knew which ones she would love most.

“The weather report says today will be a rainy day. So will Grandma still come?” Jack asked.

“I’m not sure,” I answered, looking up at the sky. The clouds were dark gray and thick, which just made me more upset. However, Jack didn’t seem too excited about the cookies this time. He was arranging his flowers attentively.

“You’d better come in! I can feel a few raindrops on my head,” Mom shouted. Jack quickly ran towards her, carrying many flowers. Some even slipped out of his hands, creating a colorful trail behind him.

“I brought you some roses, Mom!” Jack said, shoving (猛推) the flowers into her hands. I found he left some flowers in his hand. Who was he going to give them to? Mom then looked back at me. “Would you rather be outside in the rain?” she questioned. I shook my head. “It’s just a box of cookies. I can get it next Saturday,” I thought. However, I knew it was more about the cookies — it was a lot of love from Grandma.

Mom gave me a small smile and repeated, “I knew you wouldn’t want to get wet. Come in, baby.” I was about to step inside when a familiar voice came, “Jenny, I’m coming!” I turned back and saw Grandma shuffling (拖着脚走) towards me.

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。

I rushed towards Grandma with open arms.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Grandma, you brought the cookies again!” Jack said happily.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . 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。

My parents tried to talk me out of it when they heard about my plan     1     (cycle) alone across western China.     2     I didn’t change my mind. Even though I lived in China for six years, mostly in Beijing, I really felt like I     3     (understand) very little of the country before. So I decided to go on     4     one-month journey to discover more.

China is so safe. I never had a moment     5     I found I was in danger. Wherever I went, there was always a phone signal and even mobile payment. One of the best parts of the whole experience was Chinese people. I met people from different ethnic     6     (minority) across China. I once got to attend a local wedding, and a girl even lent me a     7     (tradition) dress for the day.

The food was     8     (definite) another highlight of my journey. I tasted local food in every place I went to. My favorite was the cuisine of Sichuan, a province     9     (know) for its spicy flavors and interesting dishes. By the end of my journey, I had wanted to keep going.

If anyone had an interest in traveling in China, I would highly recommend     10     (go) by bike!