Today was Community Service Day at school. Maya’s class was going to make cards for the seniors living in a nursing home. It was also the first day Maya would be wearing her leg brace (腿支架) to school, which was designed to help her walk more steadily and smoothly.
It was a cold autumn morning, Maya looked down, feeling embarrassed. To make it lovelier, she had delicately decorated the brace with pretty butterfly patterns. Still, she was unsure about others’ reaction. All morning at school, kids kept glancing at her brace. To her relief, they didn’t say anything.
In the classroom, Maya was drawing little green buds (芽) and pretty flowers when her friend Samir came over and sat by her. She felt his eyes fixed on her brace and heard him asking, “What’s that for?” Not knowing what to say, Maya pretended she didn’t hear him. After a few seconds of awkwardness, she glanced back at him, and found that he looked a little sad.
After lunch, the class set off. The nursing home was on a small hill and all of them walked there happily along the path. Maya found that the brace did make it easier for her to walk up.
Maya and Samir were paired up with a lady who was 83 years old. There at the end of the hall in a wheelchair, with a big smile on her face, sat the lady, wearing a pink coat, with red lipstick and beautiful earrings. She looked bright and full of life. Moving flexibly and fast towards Maya and Samir, she greeted first. “I’m Joan, ” she said cheerfully, “Glad to meet you. ”
Maya and Samir handed her the cards they made. Joan looked at Samir’s card carefully and spoke with admiration, “You’ve written a poem! That’s so artistic!” Samir’s face reddened with shyness. Then Joan turned to Maya’s picture. “The first flowers of spring!” she cried in delight. “You really have a gift for using colour!” she said. Clearly, Joan’s praise added great power into Maya.
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。
In a sudden wave of bravery, Maya asked, “What’s it like being in a wheelchair?”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Deeply impressed by Joan, Maya offered to sit beside Samir on the bus ride back home.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Conscious (有意识的) living is not just a trend.
●Be conscious about your time.
Time is the most precious thing because there is no way to live a moment again.
●
You cannot achieve them unless you understand your needs and intentions. It is easier said than done because most people fail to make an effort to know themselves. Spend time thinking over and knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Once you know yourself better, you can create a plan to work towards becoming more patient, honest, and forgiving.
●Learn to be grateful.
Gratitude takes you a long way towards conscious living. It opens you up to a happier and a fulfilled mindset. Most people are unhappy because they see only the negatives in life. However, everyone has something to be grateful for. Writing a gratitude journal is a good start for counting your blessings.
●Believe in yourself.
It is the key to making the right choices, yet not regretting the wrong ones.
Conscious living is a skill you need to learn as you go, so be willing to make the effort and master it. You will absorb it soon and be a happier person in the long run.
A.Know yourself better. |
B.Accept the person you are. |
C.Life can be a lot better with the right decisions. |
D.It is a healthy choice that enables you to be happy. |
E.Pick it as a daily habit, and you will notice the difference. |
F.The way you spend your time determines the course of your life. |
G.The best way to build self-belief is by reflecting on your own thoughts. |
Maria and Peter lived in a coastal city. The greatest pleasure in summer for them was to swim at their local beach after school. But one day they started to lose their enthusiasm for swimming in the waters. More often than not, they would find plastic bags thrown on the beach. Worse sill, as they swam in the water, some plastic bags would float around them and even stick to their legs when they walked to the shore.
They were upset and decided something needed to be done to stop the beautiful sea becoming consumed by waste.One weekend,Maria and Peter brought a big bag to the beach and determined to clean it up. Sweat streamed down from their forehead while they bent down and picked up the plastic bags. To their disappointment, after a day’s hard work, there were still many plastic bags lying on the beach or floating in the water. Going home with aching legs and arms, Maria and Peter were almost defeated by a strong sense of failure.
That night over dinner with their parents, the pair ate silently. Noticing their low spirits, Mother asked gently, “You two looked so down. What happened?”Exchanging glances with Peter, Maria replied in a low voice,“It’s those annoying plastic bags. We tried to clean up but it was just impossible.”Understanding the pair’s disappointment, their father patted them on the back and comforted,”Well, it’s really hard for just two of you to fix such a big problem.”“Just two of us.”complained Maria and Peter, looking at each other.Suddenly, an idea lashed through their minds, their eyes shining with excitement.“Yes,that’s the point! We should make more people aware of the problem and encourage them to take action!” the pair said in chorus.
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。
Quickly finishing their dinner, the pair went upstairs and started planning.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Excited and nervous, they posted the video and article on WeChat.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Discovering Your True Self Is Vital to Happiness!
Have you found focusing on yourself is at the bottom of the to-do list, because you feel everyone else in your life comes first?
This isn’t just about identifying your favorite outfit, haircut or flavor of ice cream.
There are many tools to help you develop a deeper sense of yourself, including journaling and other forms of creative expression. You can use a guided journal to explore your thoughts and feelings or just free write whatever comes to mind. It’s up to you what you want to do.
An often overlooked yet very important factor in self-discovery is having healthy boundaries in your personal life.
A.It’s one thing to know your personality type. |
B.It’s a great way to show that you care about others. |
C.Taking time for ourselves has been looked down upon. |
D.Another way is to observe your behavior in different situations. |
E.It allows you to focus on the needs of yourself without ignoring others. |
F.But try not to get caught up in the criticism or judgment of your writing. |
G.It’s about understanding your inner world and how you fit into the outer world. |
5 . Marvelous Scenic Walks Near London
There are plenty of walking routes in London. If you fancy something a bit more rural, then the green and pleasant land has plenty to offer.
Goring Gap and the Thames PathIf you’re in the mood for a gentle rural walk, the Thames Path is far from boring. The 5-mile footpath follows the curve of the river, winding past wildflower meadows (草地).
Post-walk pub: Pangbourne’s seventeenth-century pub The Swan serves high-end dishes. Bag a table on the riverside or keep toasty by one of its open fires.
Box HillTo admire this spots rural views, first you’ve got to jump across 17 stepping stones and climb 272 steps to the top of Box Hill, where the path begins. The total distance is 6.8 miles.
Post-walk pub: The cavernous Tree on Box Hill has an attractive menu and huge beer garden, or sample a glass of Juniper Hill at Denbies Winerie.
A South Downs Ridge (山脊)If you’ve already done the classic Seven Sisters clifftop walk or can’t face all those hills, this is a long but lovely alternative. The route covering 14.3 miles snakes along a ridge and a river valley.
Post-walk pub: There are always 10 real beers at the old-school pub The Wellington.
Chess Valley in the ChilternsChess Valley in the Chiltern Hills isn’t home to any chess masters, but it used to produce a kind of water plant. This walk of 4.9 miles follows the river, winding through rolling meadows and woods.
Post-walk pub: The George & Dragon is a simple old coaching pub on the High Street with a log fire, real beers and giant burgers.
1. Which of the following walks covers the shortest distance?A.Box Hill. |
B.A South Downs Ridge. |
C.Chess Valley in the Chilterns. |
D.Goring Gap and the Thames Path. |
A.The pubs are pretty and old-fashioned. |
B.Visitors can relax at special pubs after walks. |
C.There are rivers winding through the meadows. |
D.The food served there is expensive and of high quality. |
A.A geography book. | B.A travel brochure. |
C.A fashion website. | D.A science magazine. |
6 . Before there was the written word, there was the language of dance. Dance expresses love and hate, joy and sorrow, life and death, and everything else in between.
“I adore dancing,” says Lester Bridges, the owner of a dance studio in Iowa. “I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.” Bridges runs dance classes for all ages. “Teaching dance is wonderful.
So, do we dance in order to make ourselves feel better, calmer, healthier? Andrea Hillier says, “Dance, like the pattern of a beating heart, is life. Even after all these years, I want to get better and better.
A.So why do we dance? |
B.Dance in the U.S. is everywhere. |
C.If you like dancing outdoors, come to America. |
D.My older students say it makes them feel young. |
E.I keep practicing even when I’m extremely tired. |
F.Dancing seems to change their feeling completely. |
G.They stayed up all night long singing and dancing. |
7 . California has lost half its big trees since the 1930s, according to a study to be published Tuesday and climate change seems to be a major factor(因素).
The number of trees larger than two feet across has declined by 50 percent on more than 46, 000 square miles of California forests, the new study finds. No area was spared or unaffected, from the foggy northern coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the San Gabriels above Los Angeles. In the Sierra high country, the number of big trees has fallen by more than 55 percent; in parts of southern California the decline was nearly 75 percent.
Many factors contributed to the decline, said Patrick McIntyre, an ecologist who was the lead author of the study. Woodcutters targeted big trees. Housing development pushed into the woods. Aggressive wildfire control has left California forests crowded with small trees that compete with big trees for resources(资源).
But in comparing a study of California forests done in the 1920s and 1930s with another one between 2001 and 2010, McIntyre and his colleagues documented a widespread death of big trees that was evident even in wildlands protected from woodcutting or development.
The loss of big trees was greatest in areas where trees had suffered the greatest water shortage. The researchers figured out water stress with a computer model that calculated how much water trees were getting in comparison with how much they needed, taking into account such things as rainfall, air temperature, dampness of soil, and the timing of snowmelt(融雪).
Since the 1930s, McIntyre said, the biggest factors driving up water stress in the state have been rising temperatures, which cause trees to lose more water to the air, and earlier snowmelt, which reduces the water supply available to trees during the dry season.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?A.The seriousness of big-tree loss in California. |
B.The increasing variety of California big trees. |
C.The distribution of big trees in California forests. |
D.The influence of farming on big trees in California. |
A.Ecological studies of forests. |
B.Banning woodcutting. |
C.Limiting housing development. |
D.Fire control measures. |
A.Inadequate snowmelt. | B.A longer dry season. |
C.A warmer climate. | D.Dampness of the air. |
A.California’s Forests: Where Have All the Big Trees Gone? |
B.Cutting of Big Trees to Be Prohibited in California Soon |
C.Why Are the Big Trees Important to California Forests? |
D.Patrick McIntyre: Grow More Big Trees in California |
8 . When most of us get a text message on our cell phone from an unknown person, we usually say "sorry,
On March 19, Dennis got a group text
"Congratulations! But I think someone was mistaken," Dennis
Much to the family’s surprise, Dennis stuck to his
Teresa
A.unlucky | B.secret | C.new | D.wrong |
A.received | B.translated | C.copied | D.printed |
A.reasonable | B.special | C.necessary | D.practical |
A.convincing | B.reminding | C.informing | D.warning |
A.wake-up | B.recovery | C.growth | D.arrival |
A.responded | B.interrupted | C.predicted | D.repeated |
A.coming in | B.setting out | C.passing down | D.moving around |
A.opinion | B.anxiety | C.excitement | D.effort |
A.comparing | B.exchanging | C.discussing | D.sharing |
A.accept | B.know | C.believe | D.bother |
A.parents | B.doctors | C.patients | D.visitors |
A.dream | B.promise | C.agenda | D.principle |
A.bearing | B.collecting | C.opening | D.making |
A.discouraged | B.relaxed | C.astonished | D.defeated |
A.admit | B.need | C.appreciate | D.expect |
A.found | B.selected | C.developed | D.posted |
A.confirmed | B.simplified | C.clarified | D.accompanied |
A.pity | B.blessing | C.relief | D.problem |
A.smart | B.calm | C.sweet | D.fair |
A.sympathy | B.attention | C.control | D.trust |
9 . Dance Classes
Ballet
Ballet teaches grace, posture (姿势) and flexibility. Students focus on the use of proper ballet items (物品), expanding their knowledge of classical ballet techniques and improving motor skills for classical ballet practice. The class is a formal ballet class.
Age: 8 — 10
Date: September 7, 2019 — May 16, 2020
Time: 10:30 am — 12:00 am on Saturdays
Creative Movers
Students can explore creative movement, balance, focus, the development of skills, motor planning and balance. The class helps build strength, flexibility and self-confidence, and allows children to realize expression in a positive and encouraging environment. Children use their imagination to celebrate movement and have lots of fun.
Age: 3 — 5
Date: September 7, 2019 — January 18, 2020
Time: 9:00 am — 9:45 am on Saturdays
Jazz
Jazz includes movements from both classical ballet and dance techniques. This class will focus on traditional Jazz dance. Students will be introduced to jazz-style rhythms and movements. In order to ensure proper placement for your child, we invite all students to participate in a sample (示例) class. Students and parents work with program staff to meet students’ personal dance goals.
Age: 5 — 6
Date: September 7, 2019 — May 16, 2020
Time: 2:00 pm — 3:00 pm on Saturdays
Hip Hop
Students will be introduced to several different aspects of hip hop dance including Popping, Locking, Breaking and Tutting in a high-energy environment. Our hip hop instructors are highly knowledgeable and will provide students with a wonderful view of hip hop dance.
Age: 7 — 10
Date: September 7, 2019 — May 16, 2020
Time: 1:00 pm — 2:00 pm on Sundays
1. Which class is suitable for 4-year-old children?A.Ballet. | B.Creative Movers. | C.Hip Hop. | D.Jazz. |
A.Make use of all the ballet items. | B.Learn the long history of jazz. |
C.Dance with famous modern jazz dancers. | D.Get to know jazz-style movements. |
A.It is open in the afternoon. | B.It is available on Sunday. |
C.It teaches traditional dances. | D.It has the most skilled teachers. |
10 . A new study reveals that pigeons (鸽子) can tackle some problems just like artificial intelligence, enabling them to solve difficult tasks that might challenge humans. Previous research has theorized that pigeons employ a problem-solving strategy, involving a trial-and- error approach, which is similar to the approach used in AI models but differs from humans’ reliance on selective attention and rule use. To examine it, Brandon Turner, a psychology professor at the Ohio State University, and his colleagues conducted the new study.
In the study, the pigeons were presented with various visual images, including lines of different widths and angles, and different types of rings. The pigeons had to peck (啄) a button on the right or left to indicate the category to which the image belonged. If they got it correct, they received food; if they were wrong, they received nothing. Results showed that, through trial and error, the pigeons improved their accuracy in categorization tasks, increasing their correct choices from about 55% to 95%.
Researchers believed pigeons used associative learning, which is linking two phenomena with each other. For example, it is easy to understand the link. between “water” and “wet”. “Associative learning is frequently assumed to be far too primitive to. explain complex visual categorization like what we saw the pigeons do,” Turner said. But that’s exactly what the researchers found.
The researchers’ AI model tackled the same tasks using just the two simple mechanisms that pigeons were assumed to use: associative learning and error correction. And, like the pigeons, the AI model learned to make the right predictions to significantly increase the number of correct answers. For humans, the challenge when given tasks like those given to pigeons is that they would try to come up with rules that could make the task easier. But in this case, there were no rules, which upsets humans.
What’s interesting, though, is that pigeons use this method of learning that is very similar to AI designed by humans, Turner said. “We celebrate how smart we are that we designed artificial intelligence: at the same time, we regard pigeons as not clever animals,” he said.
1. What is the purpose of the new study?A.To test a theory. | B.To evaluate a model. |
C.To employ a strategy. | D.To involve an approach. |
A.Draw circles. | B.Correct errors. | C.Copy gestures. | D.Identify images. |
A.They are of equal intelligence. |
B.They are good at making rules. |
C.They respond rapidly to orders from humans. |
D.They employ simple ways to get things done. |
A.Pigeons’ trial-and-error method is revealed |
B.Pigeons outperform humans in tough tasks |
C.“Not smart” pigeons may be as smart as AI |
D.AI models after pigeons’ learning approach |