1 . Many years ago, I knew a man named Bob who was friends with my boss. He showed great _________ for learning languages and could speak several fluently(流利地). And he was a very _________ man.

My desk was right at the front, _________ I could see everyone who came in. One day, a man, who looked tired and sad, came in, speaking broken English. After a short _________, I knew he wanted to sell office supplies. _________ , I told him our supplies were sent from our main office. So we couldn’t buy anything.

Bob was just _________ my boss, and he heard the man talking to me. Bob came and asked the salesman a question in a language that sounded _________ . The man answered him with a look of _________. Then they sat down and talked for several minutes, and the man grew _________ by the minute.

Later, Bob __________ that the man was from Italy and that they talked in Italian. Besides, Bob told the man he was from there, too. “Are you really from Italy?” I asked. “No,” he said. “I __________ to him. I’m Irish. But he needed to talk to someone from home, and it didn’t __________ him to think I was Italian.”

Bob’s words have left me a powerful __________ and stayed with me through the years. It’s true that sometimes we just need to talk to someone from home to __________ our spirits. Bob could have __________ the man, but he took the time to make him feel better, and maybe a little less homesick.

1.

A．dislike

B．concern

C．support

D．talent

2.

A．honest

B．friendly

C．successful

D．humorous

3.

A．so

B．but

C．because

D．or

4.

A．period

B．break

C．conversation

D．test

5.

A．Regretfully

B．Bravely

C．Confidently

D．Nervously

6.

A．challenging

B．considering

C．educating

D．visiting

7.

A．official

B．clear

C．unfamiliar

D．common

8.

A．shame

B．surprise

C．fear

D．satisfaction

9.

A．happier

B．kinder

C．prouder

D．stronger

10.

A．explained

B．realized

C．remembered

D．wondered

11.

A．listened

B．pointed

C．lied

D．admitted

12.

A．bore

B．hurt

C．limit

D．shock

13.

A．doubt

B．encouragement

C．responsibility

D．impression

14.

A．control

B．lift

C．match

D．shape

15.

A．forgotten

B．refused

C．ignored

D．recognized

2 . In Florida’s Everglades, few species are more closely tied to this place’s health than an endangered bird, the snail kite, which eats just one thing: snails. Over the last century, due to changing environments, these local snails have become hard to find, and the birds are dying out. But the number of snail kites has increased recently thanks to an unusual invasive (入侵的) snail, which is a pretty uncommon event.

Snail kites got their name from their amazing flying ability. They were one of the last bird species discovered in the U. S. because of where they live, often hidden in the Everglades. Over the past century, as many of their living places became pretty dry and water stopped running through parts of the Everglades, the snail kite population fell rapidly. It was one of the first birds put on the endangered species list in the 1960s. And by 2007, fewer than 800 had remained.

Right shortly after that, this invasive snail came in, and just started flourishing and getting into every wetland. Since then, the snail kite population has been slowly increasing. By last year’s count, there are now more than 3,000 snail kites. And, although it’s early in the season, researchers are finding lots of nests with eggs and young birds.

Efforts to restore (恢复) Florida’s Everglades have also helped the snail kite, bringing back local plants and the flow of water. The restoration work has been in place for more than 30 years with a cost of more than $20 billion. But progress is slow.

Though some scientists say the invasive snail may have saved the snail kite, Professor Robert Fletcher is feeling uneasy about the possible influence the species will have on the Everglades over the long term. He says, “What we should be thinking about is how to restore local snails to get those benefits rather than depending on this invasive species that can harm the ecosystem. The snails may already have a bad effect on some local plants, and a sign trouble may be showing soon.”

1. What does the uncommon event in the first paragraph refer to?

A．The snail kite’s population keeps changing.

B．The local snail kite has found a new food source.

C．An invasive snail positively influences a local species.

D．A local snail has lost its living places to an invasive snail.

2. What is the real reason behind the snail kite’s trouble?

A．Their losing good flying ability.	B．The absence of a protection list.
C．The appearance of an invasive snail.	D．Their long-lasting dry living conditions.

3. What does the underlined word “flourishing” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Falling slowly.

B．Growing rapidly.

C．Changing quickly.

D．Disappearing largely.

4. What do the efforts in Paragraph 4 suggest?

A．The restoration work in the Everglades has stopped.

B．Bringing the Everglades to its normal condition is difficult.

C．The Everglades is facing different kinds of natural disasters.

D．Protecting the Everglades’ water is key to snail kites’ survival.

3 . Welcome to the North Carolina Zoo

We are excited to welcome you to the zoo. The North Carolina Zoo serves and welcomes everyone. Tickets can be bought in advance online or at the gate on the day of your visit.

Hours

The zoo is open all year round, closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

April -October 9 a. m. to 5 p. m.

November -March 9 a. m. to 4 p. m.

The last entry (进入) is one hour before closing.

Prices

Adults (ages 13 -61): $15                           Seniors (ages 62+): $13

Children (ages 2-12): $11                           Under 2: Free

Meet the Keeper

Take your zoo day to the next level and plan to attend a “Meet the Keeper” meeting where you can see a range of activities, such as animal feeding and training sessions.

Animal	When	Where
Gorillas	11:30 a.m. Saturdays &Sundays	Gorilla Habitat
Giraffe	2:30 p.m. Saturdays &Sundays	Giraffe Overlook One
Seabirds	2:00 p.m. daily	Rocky Coast
North American Porcupines	10:30 a.m. Saturdays &Sundays	Rocky Coast

Notes

We do not allow picnic-style meals inside the zoo, and bringing branded outside foods (McDonald’s for example) into the zoo is also prohibited (禁止). Guests are welcome to enjoy these foods at one of our picnic areas before entering the zoo. If you exit (出去) to picnic during your visit, please check in with our staff to get a mark on your hand.

Address

4401 Zoo Pkwy, Asheboro, NC 27205

1. How much should a middle-aged couple with their 5-year-old son pay for a visit?

A．$26.

B．$30.

C．$37.

D．$41.

2. What animals may visitors see if they join a “Meet the Keeper” meeting on weekdays?

A．Giraffe.	B．Seabirds.
C．Gorillas.	D．North American Porcupines.

3. What is a special feature of the North Carolina Zoo?

A．Same-day re-entry is allowed.

B．It provides picnic areas inside the zoo.

C．Visitors can feed animals with their own foods.

D．Ticket booking can be made at the gate in advance.

4 . In 1670, two Scottish doctors set up a garden in the city of Edinburgh to find out connections between plants and medicine. That first garden wasn’t very big — about the size of a tennis court. Fast-forward 350 years, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) now covers an area bigger than 1,000 tennis courts. The RBGE’s goal is to “explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future”.

After doctors and distant cousins Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour graduated from university in the mid-17th century, they shared the goal of improving Scottish medicine by looking into botanical (plant-related) research. They found some land near Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh and started to collect plants. They taught students how to grow exotic (外来的) plants and use them to make medicines. As the collection expanded (增加), the garden moved to different sites, including what is now Edinburgh’s Waverley Station.

In 1823, the garden was moved to its current location in Inverleith, a suburb of Edinburgh. It took three years to move the collection of plants and trees using specially built machines. The Tropical Palm House was built in 1834, and it was joined by the larger Temperate Palm House in 1858. Both are still popular with visitors. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the RBGE continued to search for new specimens (标本) from around the world.

The RBGE has about 13,500 species of living plants in its collection today. The herbarium — a collection of dried and protected species — includes more than three million plant samples, which represent more than half of the world’s known plants. The oldest specimen dates back to 1697. Experts continue to recognize new species each year, as well as growing plants that are extinct in their own habitats. The RBGE also works with botanical gardens around the world, including in Africa and South America, and supports them with conservation projects, education and training.

1. Why did Robert and Andrew build up the garden?

A．To teach people some knowledge about exotic plants.

B．To do research on plants and medicine.

C．To protect endangered wildlife.

D．To practice their tennis skills.

2. When was the Tropical Palm House set up?

A．In the mid-17th century.	B．In the 20th century.
C．In1834.	D．In1858.

3. What do we know about the RBGE?

A．It has made achievements in growing extinct plants.

B．It has collected less than half of all known plants.

C．It is going to expand its sites in other countries.

D．It collects native plants only.

4. What is this text mainly about?

A．How the RBGE has expanded.	B．The progress of saving endangered plants.
C．Why a botanic garden was built.	D．An introduction to the RBGE.

5 . 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。

The first time I saw Jeff was when my best friend, Brian, and I were in the fourth grade. When our teacher introduced Jeff to the class, she explained that he was sick and that he might not be able to be in class all of the time.

Jeff was completely bald (秃顶的) from cancer treatments, and he wore a hat. That was one reason that he and I bonded right away. Being the tomboy that I was, I liked wearing a hat — only I wasn’t allowed to wear one in class. Jeff was allowed to wear his hat all of the time. Other than that, he was a normal friend to both Brian and me. Some things he couldn’t do as well as the other kids because he had tubes in his chest for his treatments, but we never thought of him as sick because he didn’t act that way.

The only time that we would realize that Jeff was sick was when he went for his chemotherapy treatments (化疗). We’d notice the difference, but we’d just sort of think, yeah, Jeff was not feeling really well, but then it would pass and things would be back to normal.

Jeff, Brian and I were really sports lovers, and we became best friends. We would swim, jump and run together. As fourth grade progressed, Jeff seemed to get worse. During the summer between fourth and fifth grades, we spent tons of time together outdoors, running everywhere, although it had been hard for him to finish the run. Still, he was really happy when he was able to cross the finish line, and so were we.

Before school started, Jeff told me that he would be away for a few weeks to have his operation.

“Bye, see you in a month or so,” I said to him as if nothing much was happening.

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。

Then came the night when the phone rang. It was Jeff’s mom.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brian and I decided to do something to help everybody remember Jeff.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

An International Business “Made in China”

Dominik, a 34-year-old Polish man, founded his own international logistics (物流) company Hao Duo Huo — meaning “lots of goods” in Chinese — in Wuhan, Hubei province.

“The first time I came to China was in 1997,” said Dominik. “Seeing the abundant opportunities in China, I decided to have my university education here.”     1    (influence) by his parents, Dominik chose to study international trade in Wuhan in 2009.

After     2    (complete) his undergraduate studies, Dominik went to Shenzhen to begin a career in trade. It was there that he first encountered the field     3     logistics. “Poland is an important transit (中转) country for the China-Europe Railway Express, and Poland’s logistics system has been developing. I should seize such a good opportunity,” said Dominik as he     4    (mention) the reasons to start his own business.

In April 2021, he     5    (formal) established Hao Duo Huo in Wuhan, a city with     6     good geographical position. Not only is it one of the starting     7    (point) for the China-Europe Railway Express, but it’s also home to many universities that can supply high-quality talent.

Explaining     8     he chose this business name, Dominik shared two main reasons: “The first is that I want my company     9    (have) lots of goods to sell. And second, China offers many quality products, and I want to deliver     10     (they) to every corner of the world, spreading joy and convenience to more people.”

7 . The Impact of AI on Smart Homes

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is surely changing the way we live and work, and smart homes are no exception. With AI, smart homes will become even more automated and responsive.     1    

·Personalized Experience

Smart homes can learn about the people living in it. With special sensors and AI, the home can see which rooms people are in. Then the home can change things like the temperature, lights and other things in that room to make people comfortable.     2     For example, when people enter a room, the lights will automatically turn on.

·Energy Efficiency

Smart homes can save energy and help the environment. With AI, the home can sense when people are not using things like lights. Then the lights will turn off by themselves to conserve power.     3     Smart thermostats (恒温器) and window shades work together to keep the home cool without using much air conditioning.

·Security and Safety

AI has improved home safety a lot. It uses motion sensors and cameras around the home to watch out for things automatically. Security systems with AI can tell if something strange is happening. It will send alarms to owners on their phones.     4     Smoke and gas detectors use AI to detect dangers early, which makes homes much safer.

·Personal Health

    5     Things people wear, like watches and activity trackers, will share data with safety devices around the house. Together they can watch people closer and make sure everyone is okay in the home.

All in all, with the increasing adoption of AI technology, smart homes are becoming more innovative, energy-efficient, safe, and convenient.

A．Other smart devices help keep homes safe too.

B．We should use less air conditioning in summer.

C．Watches helps a lot in monitoring people’s health.

D．Here are some ways AI is impacting smart homes.

E．AI will help connect smart homes to people’s health.

F．AI also helps homes use energy better in other ways.

G．The home can also use sensors to understand what people want.

8 . Today’s teenage generation has been brought up surrounded by one single stereotype (刻板印象): the so-called MTV generation. We’re all constantly glued to our phone and TV screens, the boys are addicted to video games and the girls prefer posting pictures of themselves on the Internet. Both could watch TV series all day and both could do without a book. How accurate is this stereotype?

It turns out that most of them could actually do without a book. “The Kids & Family Reading Report” found that only 24% of 12 to 14-year-olds read five to seven days a week. The percentage goes down to a mere 17% when it comes to 15 to 17-year-olds. And it may come as no surprise that 76% of the former visit social media websites on a daily basis.

Reading frequently has many great benefits: it develops your verbal abilities (especially for kids, it will greatly improve their vocabulary), it improves your focus and concentration, it enhances your imagination, it reduces stress and it’s entertaining! Not only that but research has shown that people who read for pleasure show a greater appetite to engage with stories, texts and learning.

The popular TV show “Game of Thrones” (《权利的游戏》) certainly seems to have motivated a lot of teens to buy George R.R. Martin’s best-selling book series. Sales skyrocketed after the show was first put on in 2011, selling 9 million copies in one year, with many teens and young adults believed to have contributed to this statistic. In contrast, the book series had “only” sold 5 million from the first book’s release till 2011.

With nowadays’ teenagers apparently constantly glued to their screens, TV series “Game of Thrones” seems to have inspired a lot of them to take a break and read a book. Maybe teenagers will end up being the ones solving the issue after all.

1. Why does the author mention “The Kids & Family Reading Report” in paragraph 2?

A．To prove a fact about teenagers’ reading.

B．To stress the importance of daily reading.

C．To introduce some social media websites.

D．To encourage teenagers to read more each week.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The importance of verbal abilities.	B．The ways to read for pleasure.
C．The advantages of frequent reading.	D．The appetite to engage with learning.

3. What does the underlined word “skyrocketed” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Dropped slightly.	B．Increased quickly.
C．Changed frequently.	D．Remained surprisingly.

4. How does the author think of the TV series “Game of Thrones”?

A．Positive.	B．Defensive.
C．Cautious.	D．Doubtful.

9 . A pair of best friends from Texas are proving that adventure doesn’t have an age limit — even when you’re 81.

Ellie Hamby, a photographer, and Sandy Hazelip, a physician, toured the world in 80 days, adventuring from the beaches of Bali to the deserts of Egypt.

Their first stop was Antarctica. “The beauty of the Antarctic is just unbelievable,” Hamby recalled. Since then, the pair have visited 18 countries across all seven continents.

And despite the challenges international travel presents, the best friends say they finished their trip without any arguments.

“We’re both independent, very stubborn. But we seem to allow each other to give space,” said Hamby. “We just understand each other and we know this is a good thing we’re doing and we kind of respect each other’s feelings.”

For Hamby, the most interesting aspect of the trip was the people they met along the way.

“We love all the sights that we saw, but the things that we remember the most are the people that we met,” she said. “We met some of the most wonderful, kindest, friendliest people in the world. We just have friends now all over the world that we love dearly.”

And they shared an important piece of advice for any travelers worried about the language barrier on their own adventures.

“You know, people ask us often about the language, how we manage it,” said Hamby. “We say with Sandy and Ellie, there’s one language and that’s a smile. And we found that worked wonders because we were often aware that there was not English spoken. But a smile covers all languages.”

1. Why did they finish the trip without arguments?

A．They had different personalities.

B．They prepared presents for each other.

C．They understand and respect each other.

D．They allowed each other to voice their ideas.

2. What part of the trip impressed Hamby most?

A．The beautiful sights.	B．The wonderful people.
C．The interesting activities.	D．The cultural experiences.

3. What did Hamby suggest travelers do with the language barrier?

A．Rely on the smile.	B．Be more adventurous.
C．Hear English spoken more.	D．Learn more languages.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Language Struggles: Testing Friendship

B．Travel Troubles: Friendship Tested Abroad

C．Talking Struggles: Adventures Lost in Translation

D．Limitless Adventure: Two Friends Break Age Barriers

10 . Amusement Parks in Seattle
·The Seattle Great Wheel

The Seattle Great Wheel, open to the public in 2012, is a popular landmark in the city located on the west coast. The great Ferris wheel is 175 feet high. Appropriate for all ages, it is a must try ride in the city for a full view of Seattle. Fine dining restaurants and great wheel light shows add up the cheer to the place.

Timings: 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Ticket Price: $14 (Adults) $9 (Kids)

·Great Wolf Lodge

The Great Wolf Lodge was opened in 2008 with variety of amusement activities. Attractions like body slides, tube slides, lazy river etc. are featured in the amusement mark, making it perfect for all age groups. Fun rides, fitness centre and food court increase the enjoyment in the park.

Timings: 11:00 AM to 08:00 PM

Entry Fee: $50 per person

·Wild Waves Theme Park

Wild Waves Theme Park is one of the major amusement parks in Seattle. It was opened in 1977, serving Seattle’s population with an exciting and fun experience. Rides and attractions in the park are divided into 5 major sections. It also celebrates annual festivals with lights, making the place more attractive.

Timings: 11:00 AM to 06:00 PM

Entry Fee: $34 (Adult) $24 (Children)

·Oaks Amusement Park

One of the oldest amusement parks around Seattle, Oaks Amusement Park was opened in 1905. Among various amusement divisions, rides, skating rink, miniature golf court are few popular spots. The rides section of the park featuring kiddie rides, thrill rides, family rides, and height rides.

Timings: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Entry Fee: $10 to $100 (Varies as per the activities)

1. What can visitors do at the Seattle Great Wheel?

A．Have a full view of Seattle.	B．Play in the golf court.
C．Enjoy the festival celebration.	D．Experience the body slides.

2. How much would a couple with one child pay to visit Wild Waves Theme Park?

A．$37.

B．$50.

C．$92.

D．$100.

3. Which of the following is the earliest to open?

A．The Seattle Great Wheel.	B．Great Wolf Lodge.
C．Wild Waves Theme Park.	D．Oaks Amusement Park.