1 . On Oct. 11, hundreds of runners competed in a cross-country race in Minnesota. Melanie Bailey should have _________ the course earlier than she did. Her _________ came because she was carrying a _________ across the finish line.

As reported by a local newspaper, Bailey was more than two-thirds of the way through her _________ when a runner in front of her began crying in pain. She _________ to help her fellow runner, Danielle Lenoue. Bailey took her arm to see if she could walk forward with _________. She couldn’t. Bailey then _________ to let Lenoue climb onto her back and carried her all the way to the finish line, then another 300 feet to where Lenoue could get _________ attention.

Once there, Lenoue was _________ and later taken to a hospital, where she learned that she had serious injuries in one of her knees. She would have struggled with extreme __________ to make it to that aid checkpoint without Bailey’s help.

As for Bailey, she is more __________ about why her act is considered a big __________. “She was just crying. I couldn’t __________ her,” Bailey told the reporter. “I feel like I was just doing the right thing.”

Although the two young women were strangers before the __________, they’ve since become friends. Neither won the race, but the __________ of human kindness won the day.

1.

A．designed

B．followed

C．changed

D．finished

2.

A．delay

B．chance

C．trouble

D．excuse

3.

A．judge

B．volunteer

C．classmate

D．competitor

4.

A．race

B．school

C．town

D．training

5.

A．agreed

B．returned

C．stopped

D．promised

6.

A．courage

B．aid

C．patience

D．advice

7.

A．went away

B．stood up

C．stepped aside

D．bent down

8.

A．medical

B．public

C．constant

D．equal

9.

A．interrupted

B．assessed

C．identified

D．appreciated

10.

A．hunger

B．pain

C．cold

D．tiredness

11.

A．worried

B．ashamed

C．confused

D．discouraged

12.

A．game

B．problem

C．lesson

D．deal

13.

A．leave

B．cure

C．bother

D．understand

14.

A．ride

B．test

C．meet

D．show

15.

A．secret

B．display

C．benefit

D．exchange

2 . ________ his restless students occupied with an indoor sport on rainy days, James Naismith created basketball.

A．To be kept

B．Kept

C．To keep

D．Keeping

3 . 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。

My husband and I enjoy seeing life through the eyes of our children. It’s amazing to watch as they discover their world.

While we were outdoors last summer enjoying the sunshine, our oldest daughter, Kaytlin, called me to the doorway. Beneath the steps was a baby red squirrel.

We watched it from a distance, not wanting to disturb it or scare off its mother. But after a long wait—and looking all around our house for signs of a nest or a mother—we realized the tiny squirrel was lost.

Shaking terribly, he was weak, thin, and hungry. We tried to find an expert to help, but the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website showed that there were no wildlife experts in our area. After some quick research, we concluded that the best way to give the squirrel a fighting chance was to care for him ourselves. So a trip to the local store for milk and supplies was in order. More research taught us how much to feed him, how to estimate his age, how and when to wean (断奶) him, and that we should let him go as soon as he could survive on his own.

Our daughters and I took turns in feeding “Squirt.” Kaytlin took on the most responsibility. She taught him to eat from a bottle, and she woke in the night for his feeds.

To our relief, Squirt soon became healthy and strong. Within a few weeks he became more active. He would chatter (吱吱叫) for his next meal, playfully go around the girls, and lie down on them for sleep. It wasn’t long before he was weaned onto solid food and reintroduced to the wild.

His first few visits to the great outdoors were funny. Just like a child, he would play in the grass some and then run back to Kaytlin for safety. Soon she had him climbing trees and finding nest material.

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。

One day in the trees, Squirt met up with a family of gray squirrels.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One night, Squirt didn’t come back to our house and it rained hard.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Quantum ( 量子 ) computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor.

For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.”

As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum.

After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum.

The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.”

Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson.

1. Regarding Johnson’s concerns, the author feels ________.

A．sympathetic

B．unconcerned

C．doubtful

D．excited

2. What leads to Taylor’s optimism about quantum computing?

A．His dominance in physics.	B．The competition in the field.
C．His confidence in PyQuantum.	D．The investment of tech companies.

3. What does the underlined word “prone” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Open.

B．Cool.

C．Useful.

D．Resistant.

4. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Is Johnson More Competent Than Taylor?

B．Is Quantum Computing Redefining Technology?

C．Will Quantum Computers Ever Come into Being?

D．Will Quantum Computing Ever Live Up to Its Hype?

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。

For Greek photographer George Doupas, Beijing is home now. During the past decade, he has been photographing the city, capturing its beauty     1     sharing these photos online and in exhibitions.

“This     2     (true) represents Beijing — the old and the new, nicely mixing together,” Doupas said while showing his photograph of the Zhihua Temple, a delicate Ming Dynasty building. It     3     (locate) in front of a modern office building, Galaxy SOHO, which features weaving bridges and interlocking passageways.

With rich historical heritage, Beijing     4     (be) an important center of traditional Chinese culture since the Ming Dynasty. Doupas often gets     5     (lose) in the city’s splendid ancient architecture. Meanwhile, he is also amazed by the modern city     6    (combine) high-end businesses and various industries. “It is fascinating to see a rapidly-developing city that invests so much effort in preserving its past, which is     7     I decided to pursue my career here,” he said.

Doupas is determined to continue with his career in China, hoping to serve as     8     bridge between China and the West. The     9     (display) that show his photos about Beijing have attracted a large audience in Greece and the Czech Republic.

“I call Beijing my home now,” he said, “I’ll keep sharing photos of China     10     the rest of the world.”

6 . In the sport of track and field, athletes compete not only with one another but against themselves to achieve a new personal best. Aiming to ______ his own record, Cerveny pushed himself hard. However, his legs cramped(抽筋)and ______   him with only 200 meters to go. Determined to ______, Cerveny rose from the ground and continued on, only to fall again after another 50 meters.

______, his coach asked Cerveny if he wanted to stop. He didn't. With great ______ Cerveny pulled himself up and with a(n)   ______ pace, moved forward for one final push. ______, it wasn't enough. 100 meters from the finish line, his legs simply ______ .

Before his coach could ______ him, another runner- Brandon-was at his side to help. His first attempt to get Cerveny up failed, but he   ______ to quit too. With a second pull, Cerveny was ______. At a measured jog, the two completed the final 100 meters of the course, with Cerveny holding Brandon for ______ Brandon even made sure Cerveny crossed the finish line first,securing his______a faster time

In today’s ______ world in which the emphasis in athletics is so often put on breaking records, it was ______ to see that for an athlete like Brandon, the value of true sportsmanship still had legs.

1.

A．play

B．beat

C．check

D．measure

2.

A．failed

B．warned

C．dragged

D．raised

3.

A．rest

B．win

C．leave

D．finish

4.

A．Relieved

B．Exhausted

C．Concerned

D．Disappointed

5.

A．luck

B．effort

C．passion

D．respect

6.

A．rapid

B．relaxed

C．unsteady

D．impatient

7.

A．Normally

B．Eventually

C．Unbelievably

D．Unfortunately

8.

A．gave out

B．broke up

C．fell down

D．slowed down

9.

A．guide

B．reach

C．serve

D．blame

10.

A．refused

B．hesitated

C．regretted

D．pretended

11.

A．in his hand

B．out of breath

C．on his feet

D．out of danger

12.

A．direction

B．support

C．courage

D．comfort

13.

A．assistant

B．teammate

C．follower

D．opponent

14.

A．diverse

B．well-developed

C．competitive

D．ever-changing

15.

A．urgent

B．common

C．confusing

D．inspiring

7 . I was ten when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Prior to that, she had been a(n) _______ woman, active to an extent most people found astonishing. As a child, I was amazed by her accomplishments. But at thirty-one, her life _______. And so did mine.

She could do anything, I _______. She won tennis tournaments. She took photographs and held her own exhibition. She _______ as a newspaper columnist, and she cooked Spanish dishes for the family.

Now, she faced her illness with the same _______. Words like “disabled” and “physical therapy” became part of a(n) _______ new world we entered together. _______, I began to help take care of her. And it became routine to _______ her into the kitchen, where she instructed me in the _______ of peeling carrots and potatoes and how to prepare a decent breakfast.

Every accomplishment was a ________ for us both: the electric typewriter, the car with power steering and brakes, her return to ________, where she earned a master’s degree in special education. She eventually founded an activist support group called The Handicappers. One day, without ________ much beforehand, she took me to a Handicappers meeting. I had never seen so many people with so many ________. I returned home, thinking how ________ we really were.

Because my mother accepted her condition with such optimism, I rarely felt sad or resentful about it. Instead, I viewed her drive to look forward to things I ________ as a great mystery and powerful inspiration in my life.

1.

A．gentle

B．energetic

C．talented

D．decent

2.

A．changed

B．failed

C．improved

D．paused

3.

A．imagined

B．admitted

C．doubted

D．believed

4.

A．applied

B．spoke

C．wrote

D．studied

5.

A．success

B．sincerity

C．enthusiasm

D．wisdom

6.

A．familiar

B．strange

C．exciting

D．changeable

7.

A．Gradually

B．Particularly

C．Alternatively

D．Finally

8.

A．drag

B．pull

C．guide

D．wheel

9.

A．art

B．significance

C．safety

D．plan

10.

A．solution

B．milestone

C．dream

D．warning

11.

A．hospital

B．court

C．work

D．college

12.

A．saying

B．hiding

C．pretending

D．showing

13.

A．gifts

B．disabilities

C．weaknesses

D．privileges

14.

A．strong

B．hopeless

C．helpful

D．fortunate

15.

A．took into account

B．bore in mind

C．took for granted

D．kept in check

8 . When she first came to Britain as a refugee (难民) from Nigeria six years ago, Kemi had a three-month-old daughter, a room in a shared house and ￡5.39 to survive on each day. Finding money for new clothes was out of the question.

After four years, Kemi was granted (给与) refugee status and secured her first job interview — unsurprisingly, she had nothing to wear. However, she was referred to a small social enterprise called Give Your Best, which asked her her size and what kind of clothes she liked. “And they gave me three beautiful shirts. Those clothes were like gold to me. They asked me what I actually wanted. That makes you feel valued.”

The initiative was launched by Sol Escobar, who had spent several years volunteering at refugee camps in northern France. A friend put her in contact with a household of refugee women who couldn’t access any clothing. Escobar realised she had surplus (剩余) clothes she could donate, and appealed to her friends and networks for help. She was flooded with offers, but didn’t want to overload the women with potentially improper clothing. “So I thought, if I take photos of all of these items and put them on an Instagram page, they can all choose the things that they actually want.”

Eighteen months later, Give Your Best has processed almost 11,000 items of clothing, and has more than 800 refugee women approved to “shop” for free on its virtual shopfront. It is aiming for much more, however. Having reached the very limit of donations and requests it could handle through Instagram, the enterprise has just launched a new digital platform that will allow it to hugely upscale.

Like the hugely successful clothing resale app, clothes are photographed and uploaded to Give Your Best, where customers select those they like and donors then post the item. Crucially, however, no money changes hands.

As well as giving choice to its users and minimising fashion waste, Escobar says one consequence has been the small but intimate (亲密的) connections established between donor and shopper. Many donors choose to include a supportive note and a small gift — hugely welcomed by recipients (接受者), but also a reminder that “on the other side of your package, there’s a woman who is your size and has your fashion sense, because she’s shopping from your wardrobe (衣橱)”.

1. What’s the purpose of the enterprise?

A．To offer job training to refugees.

B．To provide childcare for refugees.

C．To give refugees dignity of choice.

D．To strengthen refugees’ social position.

2. What does paragraph 3 focus on?

A．How the enterprise survived.

B．How the enterprise advertised.

C．How the enterprise was named.

D．How the enterprise was initiated.

3. What do we learn about the enterprise from the text?

A．It is warmly received.

B．It is difficult to operate.

C．It makes huge profits.

D．It needs to be more creative.

4. What does the enterprise bring to its donors and recipients?

A．Enjoyable shopping experience.

B．A sense of social responsibility.

C．Close interpersonal relationship.

D．A good insight into fashion trend.

9 . Monet: The Immersive (沉浸式) Experience

Monet: The Immersive Experience in Liège invites you to step into the world of the French painter Claude Monet, one of the greatest artistic geniuses of the nineteenth century!

Explore some of the most breathtaking paintings by Claude Monet with the help of a digital 360-degree presentation. The unique exhibition concept is staged with state-of-the-art multimedia technology, which shows very large images of Monet’s paintings on the walls and floors of the building. It has music, the smell of flowers, and voice-over in several languages to make the paintings come alive in a way never seen before.

To fully get into the world of the French painter, visitors are guided through three experience rooms. Each room is a highlight on its own and provides visitors not only with an insight, but also with new experiences and new viewpoints on Monet’s life, his work and his masterpieces.

Practical info

·Date: from March 2024

·Opening hours:

Wednesday, Thursday: 10: 00 am-7: 00 pm

Friday: 10: 00 am-8: 00 pm

Saturday: 9: 00 am-8: 00 pm

Sunday: 9: 00 am-7: 00 pm

Monday and Tuesday: Closed

·Duration: the visit will take around 60 to 75 minutes

·Location: Eglise Saint-Pholien, Rue Saint-Pholien, 4020 Liège

·Please consult the FAQs of this experience here

1. How does the exhibition help visitors explore Monet’s paintings?

A．It uses digital technology.	B．It gives lectures on art.
C．It offers stages to visitors.	D．It provides language services.

2. What will visitors experience in the three rooms?

A．An exploration on French art.	B．An introductory tour of painters.
C．A unique journey to Monet’s world.	D．An encounter with Monet-inspired artworks.

3. Which of the following is a recommended visiting time?

A．11: 30 am (Wed, Feb 21).	B．10: 00 am (Tue, Mar 19).
C．6: 30 pm (Thur, Mar 28).	D．4: 00 pm (Sun, Apr 7).

10 . Kala has deep ties to her Hawaiian roots. Her ancestors navigated (航行) the oceans for centuries using their knowledge of the stars, the sun, the currents and the wind. It’s not that she does it in a canoe without technology, but rather uses the natural technology around her. It’s called Way finding, and was taught to her by her father.

“My father was my foundation, my rock.” she says of her first voyage with him from Oahu to Lahaina in a traditional canoe. He taught her how to read the stars, the ocean swells and how to use them to hold the course. “Over 200 stars have specific names and purposes when you are Way finding. You have to look at each and determine if they are rising or setting. You know this star and the direction it represents. If you can do that, you can use it as a tool to orient (确定方向).” Kala added.

Kala Tanaka sailed the canoe in the ocean for up to three weeks. During the day, Kala used the sun until it hit a certain height. When she got closer to land, she looked for certain species of land birds and clouds that indicated there was land below. When Kala sailed she felt “I feel very connected to the crew and the canoe. We’re a family.” The longer voyage required Kala to spend hours studying the day and the night skies. It was demanding physical work. But it also had its moments of awe. For Kala, the beauty was in tying together the past and the present to enjoy the moment. So when she was not sailing, she was teaching Way finding skills to school-aged children in hopes of preserving the skills her ancestors relied on.

It’s easy to be lost in the immediacy of the technology of our day, to be consumed by screens and miss the nature that unfolds around us. But if we will take the time to look up, to see the stars and the sun, the way the clouds move, the miracle of life beneath and above us, we will discover something deep inside us, something that will always lead to happiness.

1. How does Kala navigate the ocean in a canoe?

A．By observing the natural elements around.

B．By following the course of ocean currents.

C．By using hi-technology navigation devices.

D．By recalling the first voyage with her father.

2. What did Kala think of the three-week canoe voyage?

A．It was a heroic adventure.	B．It brought great joy to her life.
C．It was school children’s favorite.	D．It represented a kind of innovation.

3. What does the author suggest we do?

A．Enjoy the screens.	B．Explore the universe.
C．Get close to nature.	D．Keep the earth clean.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Finding Our Way	B．Navigating the Ocean
C．The Wisdom from Ancestors	D．An Unforgettable Journey