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。

Our animal rescue volunteers set up a shelter in a town in reaction to floods there. While out looking for animals left behind, we met a man who had a dog, which he had no intention (意图，打算) of taking with him when he finally left. When we offered to shelter his dog, he said, “Alright!”

Soon, he went into his tiny house’s backyard, returned with the dog and put it into our truck. Amy, one volunteer, asked what the dog’s name was. “He doesn’t have one,” the man said and left, without saying goodbye.

We returned to the shelter. After reaching there, the nameless dog sat still in the truck. When we put him on the ground, he just lay there, remaining still.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. Amy replied that maybe the dog was timid (胆怯的) because of his owner’s long-term neglect (疏于照管). She determined to help the dog and named him Albert.

After that day, Amy often carried the sixty-pound dog around the shelter, since he still refused to stand up or walk. At night, Albert lay next to Amy’s bed. Luckily, six days later, Albert never stopped moving, always keeping up with Amy. Wherever she went, Albert would be no more than two steps behind her.

I began to notice, though, that Albert still didn’t have the energy of an eighteen-month-old dog. Later, a doctor found he had heartworm disease (心丝虫病), a deadly disease.

I called Albert’s owner. When I told him that Albert had heartworm disease and that it would cost at least $300 to treat him, I expected he’d say, “I don’t have the money, so you keep the dog.” But I was wrong. He wanted Albert back.

“If he isn’t immediately treated, he’ll die,” I said. “Yeah. I understand. That’s what happened to all my dogs. Although I don’t have enough money to treat him, I can’t let you pay the fee. I’ll be out shortly to pick up (接) my dog,” the man replied coldly and hung up.

In the distance, I saw Amy and Albert playing games.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。

“How am I going to tell Amy we have to give Albert back?” I whispered.

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While he walked to Albert, I shouted, “Wait! Could I buy that dog from you?”

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4 . Being in nature is really good for you. Even just seeing nature on your way to school will brighten your day. This is the experience that is being recreated in Birmingham, England.

Once the area around Birmingham was filled with orchards (果园), resulting in its being called “a city surrounded by blossoms (花朵)”. However, by the 1900s, industrialization (工业化) had begun to take hold, and the orchards were destroyed to make room for buildings and factories. And according to the National Trust, Birmingham has lost 85% of its trees since the beginning of the 20th century.

But on January 17, 2023 that began to change. According to the website Secret Birmingham, a number 11 bus left its stations filled with trees instead of people. All along its 27-mile path, the bus dropped off those trees to citizens, schools, and community groups, who then planted them. All in all, about 600 trees have been handed out.

“Blossom is not only beautiful, but it’s also important for the wellbeing of the environment,” says Lucy Reid, who’s leading the Birmingham project. “It’s also great for pollinators (传粉者), such as bees, which help trees produce fruit, and the trees also help to clean the air.”

This isn’t the first time the National Trust has helped Birmingham blossom. The Trust created “blossoms pop-ups” as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. According to the project, blossoming tree installations (装置) were set up in various well-known Birmingham locations such as St. Philip’s Cathedral Square.

The National trust has also started blossoming tree projects in other UK cities. In 2021, it created the London Blossom Garden, and now the Trust is planting fruit trees in Plymouth, Newcastle, and Nottingham. Its work is important for the protection of the country’s wildlands and climate. However, their Blossoming Birmingham project shows that protecting a country’s nature not only helps the environment but brings joy and beauty to people as well.

1. What led to the loss of orchards in Birmingham?

A．Extreme climate.	B．Poor management.
C．City development.	D．Decreasing production.

2. How does the National Trust help Birmingham blossom in paragraph 3?

A．By filling the buses with blossoms.	B．By sending its people to plant trees.
C．By providing trees for people to plant.	D．By surrounding bus stations with trees.

3. What is Lucy Reid trying to talk about in paragraph 4?

A．The importance of farming.	B．The purposes of their project.
C．The ways to protect the planet.	D．The benefits of flowering trees.

4. What does the National Trust contribute to doing according to the last paragraph?

A．Beautifying the Earth naturally.

B．Bringing nature back to England.

C．Improving the living conditions for people.

D．Taking the lead in protecting the environment.

5 . Lucy Flores’ father, Luciano Flores, grew up in Mexico and moved his family to the United States when Lucy was only three years old. Her father, who speaks Spanish, shared that his family had few resources, just like the school he attended. He stopped going to school after the first grade and started working to provide for his family.

In spite of this, Lucy did well in school and became the first person in her family to graduate from college. After that, she took up a job of teaching preschool students how to read letters and write their names. “I was thinking to myself, since I’m able to teach these children how to read and write, why am I not doing the same for my own father?” Then she started teaching her father to read and write.

After four months of working together, Lucy’s father can now write a lot of words and is reading some books on his own. As she taught her dad, Lucy shared their journey by posting videos on TikTok. “I don’t know if he understands how many people are watching him and following him,” said Lucy. “But I took it as a chance to encourage him.” Followers on TikTok share lesson plan ideas and have sent school supplies and books to the family.

Apart from watching her dad’s progress and inspiring others to never give up on their dreams, the most satisfying part for Lucy of teaching her dad has been the change in the family atmosphere (气氛). “In the past, we did not get along as my dad was quiet and not someone who liked to share his feelings or sit down and play with me when I was a kid,” said Lucy. Luciano said because of his daughter, he’s excited to continue to focus on learning letters and numbers and to spend time with his family.

1. What can we learn about Lucy’s father from paragraph 1?

A．He began making a living when small.	B．He preferred working than studying.
C．He had difficulty living in Mexico.	D．He wanted Lucy to attend a school in the US.

2. What made Lucy decide to teach her father?

A．Her father’s eagerness to learn.	B．Her students’ suggestions.
C．Her teaching experiences.	D．Her family background.

3. What have Lucy’s videos on TikTok led to?

A．People’s surprise at her teaching skills.	B．Her father’s being greatly encouraged.
C．An increase in the number of her students.	D．People’s warm support for her father’s studies.

4. What satisfies Lucy most about her teaching process?

A．She has helped her father get a degree.	B．She can share her experiences on TikTok.
C．Her father is able to adapt to life in America.	D．She manages to improve her family relationship.

6 . Antarctica (南极洲) is a great, icy land mass, surrounded by the huge Southern Ocean. The ice in Antarctica doesn’t just cover the land. There’s also a huge area of sea ice which floats (漂浮) on the ocean’s surface.

However, scientists have reported that Antarctica’s sea ice is at a record low level. That’s worrying because the sea ice is an important part of the Earth’s cooling system. When it’s frozen, sea ice throws sunlight back out into space. But when the sea ice melts (融化), the water left behind is darker, and takes in and keeps more heat.

Every year, the sea ice at the South Pole goes through a cycle of melting and freezing. In summer, the huge masses of sea ice melt to their smallest point. Over the colder winter months, the sea ice grows and grows until it covers an extremely wide area. For most of this time, Antarctica has seemed to be almost unaffected by the changing weather conditions. In fact, until recent years, Antarctica’s sea ice area mainly set records for growing. That began to shrink.

This year, Antarctica’s sea ice was at a new record low — not just by a little bit, but by a lot. The last time Antarctica’s low sea ice set a record at the end of winter was in 1986. And this year, there’s about 398,000 square miles less sea ice than in 1986.

Scientists are working hard to better understand Antarctica. It’s not yet clear if the low sea ice level is a short-term problem, or part of climate change. The concern is that the melting sea ice could start a cycle that might cause even more ice to melt.

The ice loss problems in Antarctica are fairly recent, but the same is not true at the North Pole. where the low level of sea ice has been a concern for years. But the present situation is now similar in both places.

1. What makes the sea ice important for humans？

A．It helps cool the planet.

B．It increases the area of land.

C．It affects the height of the sea level.

D．It has the cycle of melting and freezing.

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

A．Cooling off.

B．Moving.

C．Breaking up.

D．Reducing.

3. What do we know about the low sea ice level in Antarctica?

A．It will become a long-term problem.

B．It will take time to discover its cause.

C．It will lead to rapid changes in climate.

D．It will affect its melting-and-freezing cycle.

4. The author mentions the 1986 record and the North Pole to show________.

A．the influence of Antarctica’s low sea ice level

B．the seriousness of Antarctica’s low sea ice level

C．the importance of dealing with climate change

D．the differences between Antarctica and the North Pole

10 . 阅读下列短文，在空白处填入适当单词或短语。

Amundsen was the first     1     on 8 September, 1911. He had teams of dogs     2     the sledges and all his men were on skis. Because of this, he made rapid progress.

Even Amundsen was moved by Scott’s death saying “Captain Scott left a record, for honesty, for sincerity, for     3    , for everything that makes a man”. Scott had failed to win the race to the Pole, but the great courage shown by Scott and his men made them heroes.

The reason     4     this was difficult was that the team had limited resources. They did not have enough staff, and the laboratory     5     they worked had poor air quality. However, after hundreds of failed experiments, they     6     came across a promising chemical.

Reeve became a     7     and energetic advocate for people with back injuries and disabilities raising millions of dollars     8     support of medical research.

With a sense of energy and commitment, Reeve undertook an intense exercise programme to help him achieve this goal. He     9     in a wide range of exercises     10     to rebuild muscle, and made remarkable progress.