1 . 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。

Beautiful Birthmarks: The Power of Acceptance

Whenever you hear the word “birthmark (胎记)”, you probably think of one of those black or brown spots you have somewhere on your body. However, for me, it’s completely different — I have them both on my lips and inside my mouth, which make them quite visible and, to me, ugly. When

I was young, these birthmarks kept making me feel extremely awkward and self-conscious (难为情的). As these birthmarks always drew a lot of attention, people often asked me, “What are those black marks on your lips?” When I told people that they were birthmarks, they usually said, “How strange！”

In pictures, I used to hide my birthmarks by pursing (噘起) my lips, so I would not have to deal with people’s questions. As I was growing up, the situation didn’t get any better. In the school, my classmates would always tease me, making me feel hurt and helpless. In society, I often encountered individuals who would inquire about my birthmarks even before they knew my name.

Such experiences left me feeling disheartened. I felt like people judged me by my appearance without considering my personality.

My birthmarks are caused by a genetic condition from my mom’s side of the family. My mom’s mom has birthmarks on her lips, and my mom’s uncle and my uncle have some on their bodies. I used to try to cover them up with makeup, but it never looked good. I even consulted a doctor, wanting to have surgery to remove them. But when imagining the process, I would get nervous and eventually give up.

Whenever I cried to my mom about them, she would always comfort me and say, “Learn to accept them and see them as beautiful birthmarks.” However, it wasn’t easy for me to accept my own birthmarks. Every time I showed my birthmarks, people would look at me with strange eyes. I began to regret why I had given up on the surgery and chosen to accept my birthmarks.

注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 词左右。
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:

One day, I met my cousin, who also had a large birthmark on his arm._

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

From then on, when I met people, I began to change myself.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 . I’m from India and I love saris — a traditional costume for Indian women. My first _______ with the sari was with my mother who wore saris every _______ day of her adult lives.

To me, the sari is the love, _______and safety of her daily embrace. However, as a young adult and journalist, I only wore saris on _______ occasions.

I still have such a _______ memory of buying my first sari in my 20s. A family friend in my home state ran a shop. I _______ my friend bringing over a few saris, hoping my mom or I would buy one. I _______ fell in love with a light cotton sari made by a rural woman. And so you see, every sari tells you about not just who’s wearing it but who was _______ in making it. The sari is a(n) _______ of who we are.

As an immigrant trying to ____________ here in the United States, I don’t wear saris regularly.

But when I’m wearing one, my 3-year-old son, who has already come to love the garment, will exclaim that I look ____________.

In 2012 when I was on a ____________ trip for an event, I bought a dark blue cotton sari for my mother in Sri Lanka. After she passed away, I inherited many of her saris, but the blue one ____________ my favorite. Wearing it now ____________ me of my association with my mother, and the ____________ she would feel knowing that I had landed on my feet. No matter where in the world I was, I was always thinking of her.

1.

A．experience

B．association

C．communication

D．realization

2.

A．lovely

B．random

C．unique

D．single

3.

A．warmth

B．grace

C．calmness

D．concern

4.

A．public

B．informal

C．special

D．relaxing

5.

A．beautiful

B．vivid

C．poor

D．rewarding

6.

A．recall

B．picture

C．restrict

D．switch

7.

A．gradually

B．greedily

C．instantly

D．intimately

8.

A．absorbed

B．occupied

C．trapped

D．involved

9.

A．truth

B．key

C．expression

D．expansion

10.

A．give in

B．fit in

C．grow up

D．pop up

11.

A．amazing

B．outstanding

C．influential

D．convincing

12.

A．practicing

B．reporting

C．lecturing

D．researching

13.

A．presented

B．provided

C．remained

D．appeared

14.

A．reminds

B．informs

C．relieves

D．cures

15.

A．security

B．confidence

C．belief

D．pride

3 . Having worked as a village doctor for nearly two decades, Yang Lianying, a 44-year-old deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress, stands out as a voice for her profession. “My biggest hope is that villagers are healthy,” says Yang.

Born in Mengzi, Yunnan, in 1980, Yang was a farmer for many years before she began to receive medical training in 2005 in the hope of making a better living. Speaking about why she chose to become a doctor, she remembers when she was about 8 years old, her mother went into shock due to an allergic reaction. With no village doctor, her mother’s life seemed to hang by a thread. The experience planted a seed in her heart and made her think that if she had a chance to learn medicine in the future, she would work hard, and maybe one day be able to help patients who experienced emergencies like her mother.

In 2008, Yang’s dream came true when she was appointed as a doctor in Henan village, and made responsible for providing basic public health services, but she soon found out that it was not an easy job.

Since Henan village is located in a mountainous area and villagers live far apart, she often has to hike long distances to visit them at home and check on their health regularly. Moreover, village doctors don’t earn much, and have heavy workloads. Yang is responsible for the healthcare of the entire village of nearly 2,000 with one other colleague. Additionally, village doctors don’t earn large pensions for life after retirement. Because of this, few young people are eager to step into the profession.

But Yang keeps going. “Actually, I love this job and regard all the difficulties I encounter as obstacles to conquer. I get on well with the villagers, and they trust and respect me. It’s a great pleasure to hear them call me ‘doctor’,” she says.

She has suggested that the government offer village doctors more support, especially in terms of pensions and medical training.

1. Why did she choose to be a doctor?

A．To live a different life.	B．To help the poor in need.
C．To be in honor of her mother.	D．To rescue people in an emergency.

2. What do the underlined words “hang by a thread” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Escape from death.	B．Be in great danger.
C．Hang out.	D．Be in a balanced state.

3. What did she meet as a village doctor?

A．Bad working condition.	B．Satisfactory salary.
C．Abundant pension.	D．Misunderstanding of villagers.

4. Which may be a suitable title for the passage?

A．A Heartbroken Village Doctor	B．Medical Development for Villages
C．From Farmer to Healer	D．China’s Healthcare Dilemma

4 . Want to “Feel Something” When You Look at Art?

Many of you would love to have deep connection with art when you look at a painting or sculpture. But how do you do that exactly?     1    

Keep an open mind

Some artworks may be surprising, and others might be a letdown. And that’s OK. So allow yourself to feel however the art makes you feel.     2    Studies have shown that it can lower stress— particularly when people view images of landscapes and seascapes. And it makes you feel good.

    3    

First, be realistic about how long you can spend at the museum. You don’t need more than an hour or two. After that, it becomes “information overload” and it’s hard to stay focused. Next, be strategic about what you want to look at. Either way, there’s no right way to go through an art museum. So mind your time and make sure you concentrate on what really interests you.

Observe the art in person

Get up close and personal. We have the luxury of seeing the real thing at a museum. So take your time to observe qualities about a work that may not come through on a computer screen.     4    Besides, Consider the subject of the art, which can have a profound effect on how you feel about the work.

Appreciate and reflect

    5    It can also help you make sense of the world around you. When you look at art and open yourselves to understanding it, you gain a deeper understanding not just of artists, but also different kinds of ways of making arts.

A．Arrange your time properly.

B．Reflection is a key to art appreciation.

C．Keep your museum visit short and focused.

D．The following tips may help you better enjoy art.

E．Viewing art can have a profound impact on your psychology.

F．This will help you see and feel what it is like from the artist’s perspective.

G．The observation can help you appreciate how artists express their emotions.

5 . Two and a half months before the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins, forecasters have already predicted and warned that warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and the development of a La Niña in the Pacific may create a “perfect storm” of the conditions needed for major hurricanes.

Key to the formation of any tropical cyclone (气旋) is the combination of warm ocean temperatures and the absence of what is known as wind shear. Alex DaSilva, a forecaster, explains that wind shear occurs when wind changes direction and speed at different heights in the atmosphere. When there’s much wind shear, it essentially knocks over those clouds and prevents tropical systems from really becoming stronger. Besides, hurricanes also need surface water to be at a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or higher. That warm water, and the warm air just above it, provides fuel for the storm. The record data for February are 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal.

Over periods ranging from three to seven years, the waters of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean alternately (交替地) warm and cool as a result of a repeatedly occurring climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During an El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific increase, and those warmer temperatures affect the path of the Pacific jet stream, which in turn brings drier, warmer weather to the northern United States and Canada, and wetter conditions to the Gulf Coast and southeast. El Niño reduces the possibility of Atlantic hurricane formation because it lowers hurricane activity and increases wind shear. La Niña has just the opposite effect of El Niño. During the 2023 season, ENSO was in an El Niño phase. By the time the 2024 season starts, it is likely to have shifted fully into a La Niña.

“If a tropical storm system comes into this area, it could rapidly intensify, potentially close to land,” DaSilva cautions. “And that’s why people need to be on alert and have their hurricane plans ready. Because any system with these kinds of conditions can explode very quickly. That’s what we’re concerned about.”

1. Where can you probably read this article?

A．www.huffpost.com/entertainment/

B．www.bbc.com/innovation/science

C．www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/

D．www.nytimes.com/spotlight/global-culture-sports

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The explanation of wind shear.

B．The timing of the hurricane season.

C．The process of hurricane formation.

D．The reason for warmer surface water.

3. How can a La Niña affect the formation of hurricanes?

A．Generate less wind shear.

B．More rainfall in the Gulf Coast.

C．Block the path of the Pacific jet stream.

D．Higher temperature in the northern America.

4. What is the purpose of writing this article?

A．To report the hurricane-struck areas.

B．To remind people of getting prepared.

C．To introduce some geographic knowledge.

D．To explain the features of El Niño and La Niña.

6 . Robots have proved very useful in different situations. But those robots are small remote-controlled tanks with a mechanical (机械的) arm, and they can get stuck on narrow stairwells (楼梯井) and are stopped by ladders. “A lot of the places where you do disaster recovery are only accessible for people,” says Marc Raibert, the president of Boston Dynamics, which is providing advice and help for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to create the most advanced robots on earth. “If you have a humanoid (a machine or creature with the appearance and qualities of a human), access can be increased and you can use available tools.” In the future, DARPA hopes a humanoid robot will be able to drive trucks, and enter power plants.

That future is a long way off. Simple movements like squatting (蹲) are almost impossible for something with metal parts and skin that cannot bend, says Raibert. Still, recent progress is impressive enough that the military has begun to develop legged robots. The Office of Naval

Research is working with Virginia Tech on a humanoid firefighting robot, and Dynamics showed off its latest projects: Cheetah, a four•legged and headless robot able to run 28 miles per hour and do backflip. It can run with energy efficiency that could compete that of real running animals. “Half the land on earth is too rough, sandy, or rocky for wheeled things,” says Raibert. “Humans and animals can go to those places. However, they don’t have the capacity to carry heavy loads in all kinds of terrains (地形). Legged robots like cheetah are the only successful examples that do what we’re trying to do.”

None of the walking robots is meant to fight. They’re designed to put out fires and clean up industrial accidents. But they are all funded by the military. “I’m well aware of how the world works,” says Dennis Hong, founding director of Virginia Tech’s robotics lab. “Robots for me are tools to help society, not to fight in wars. But once a technology leaves our lab, there’s no way to control how people can use it.”

1. What is a humanoid robot designed to do according to Marc Raibert?

A．To accomplish complex tasks.

B．To be controlled efficiently.

C．To appear friendly.

D．To survive disasters.

2. Which of the following is most likely to be Cheetah?

A．

B．

C．

D．

3. Why do the scientists create the legged robot?

A．It can run as fast as running animals.

B．It can improve the energy efficiency.

C．It can adapt to different surroundings.

D．It can help human in tough situation.

4. How does Dennis Hong feel about using robots in wars?

A．Supportive.

B．Careful.

C．Uninterested.

D．Disapproving.

7 . 2024 年 8 月 15 日是第二个“全国生态日（National Ecology Day）”，你校目前正为此筹备各种活动。假如你是李华，你的好朋友 Alan 对此非常好奇。请你给他写一封回信，要点如下：
1.介绍活动；
2.你的看法；
3.欢迎他参加。
注意：
1. 词数 80 词左右；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
3. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Alan,

I’m excited to tell you about the campus activities to celebrate the second National Ecology Day on August 15, 2024.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Best regards,

Li Hua

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The appearance of text-to-video artificial intelligence technology, Sora, has the potential     1     (change) advertising, movie and short video industries.     2     a new AI model developed by the AI research company OpenAI — creator of chatbot ChatGPT, Sora has recently made a     3     (stun) hit all over the world. It adds the multimodal large language model,     4    possesses the ability to generate high-resolution video clips     5     (base) on given text prompts(文本提示). Sora is a future development direction for generative AI, and will add strong power to a new round of industrial development.

Sora can generate videos up to a minute long while it     6     (maintain) visual quality according to users’ instructions. It is able to generate complex scenes with multiple     7     (character), specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background.     8    model understands not only what the user has asked for, but also how those things exist in the physical world.

Liu Xingliang, director of the Beijing-based Data Center of China Internet, suggests that more resources should     9     (put) into accumulating more training data, improving computing capacities and cultivating talent in the field of AI-powered video generation models. Anyway, Sora is     10     (definite) a major breakthrough for AI.

9 . 4 Transit Stations Worth Seeing

Transit stations are often a place to be passed through on the way to somewhere else. Here come some of the most amazing transit stations you must see when traveling.

Union Station (Toronto, Canada)

Even to the tired 21st-century eye, Toronto’s Union Station is still vast and magnificent in its cool ways. It used to witness a high time of train travel when passengers went out of their way to the station’s barbershop and even baths.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai, India)

The mighty Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus presents visitors with their first impression of Mumbai, yet it is not typical of Indian architecture. Its English architect toured Europe for inspiration. So this Italian Gothic architecture is greatly combined with traditional Indian domes and pointed arches to create a mixed style.

Grand Central Terminal (New York City, U.S.A.)

One of the famous sights at Grand Central is the clock made of Tiffany glass. Upon its completion, this formed the largest sculptural group in the world. As cars gained favor over the railways from 1950, the station fell into decline. However, since the 1980s, renovation projects have sought to preserve this extraordinary building.

Union Station (Los Angeles, U.S.A.)

The Los Angeles Union Station bears much architectural resemblance to the Christian missions. The station reflects the importance of the railway in the United States before the era of mass air travel. Today the building has become part of the city’s subway system. It also plays its role in everyday life in Hollywood.

1. Which transit station enjoys a mixture of two cultural styles?

A．Union Station (Toronto, Canada)

B．Union Station (Los Angeles, U.S.A.)

C．Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai, India)

D．Grand Central Terminal (New York City, U.S.A.)

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．People can enjoy train travel now at the Union Station in Canada.

B．The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is typically an Indian architecture.

C．The popularity of vehicles led the Grand Central Terminal to decline.

D．The Union Station in the U.S.A. saw the growing popularity of air travel.

3. Who is the passage mainly intended for?

A．Travelers.

B．Designers.

C．Engineers.

D．Architects.