1 . Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
On the distant world of Kiln lie the ruins of an alien civilization. A great mystery awaits humans: who were the builders and where are they now? These questions become realfor Professor Arton Daghdev, exiled (流放) from Earth to Kiln’s off-world labour camp due to his mistake. Facing the planet’s dangerous ecosystem ,Arton fights for survival.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
A sci-fi classic in a brand-new edition. From a high Babylonian tower that connects a flat Earth to the sky above, to an alien language that challenges our very sense of time and reality, Chiang’s unique imagination invites readers to question their understanding of the universe and their place in it.
War Bodies by Neal Asher
In a world ruled by robots, the Cyberat face a rebellion (叛乱) when the human Polity arrives.Piper, raised as a weapon, seeks help from the Polity after his parents are caught by enemies. As war worsens,Piper must face the puzzling technology implanted in his own body. It could either end their fight or cause serious consequences. The future of civilization hangs in the balance as the battle unfolds.
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
In a strange little home built into the branches of a forest live three robots.Vic Lawson,a human, lives there too.The day Vic repairs an unfamiliar android labelled“HAP”, he learns of a shared criminal past between the robots — a past spent in hunting humans. The robots, once hidden and safe, are now exposed.
1. Which book explores the relations between humans and the universe?| A．Alien Clay. | B．In the Lives of Puppets. |
| C．War Bodies. | D．Stories of Your Life and Others. |
| A．Adrian Tchaikovsky’s. | B．Ted Chiang’s. |
| C．Neal Asher’s. | D．TJ Klune’s. |
| A．Book reviewers. | B．Sci-fi lovers. |
| C．Universe researchers. | D．Robot developers. |
Li River, one of China’s most famous scenic areas, was listed
The 83-km-long waterway from Guilin to Yangshuo is like a masterpiece. The landscape
Cruising (航游) on Li River is always a
Mostly, the cruise starts from Zhujiang Wharf(码头). After about an
3 . Is there any such thing as a “salt tooth”? We are familiar with a sweet tooth, and sugar cravings (热望), along with the negative effects of them. We are broadly aware of the disadvantages of too much salt, including high blood pressure, which puts pressure on the blood vessels, the heart and the kidneys. It can also lead to water retention (阻滞). But we don’t tend to police how much salt we eat — at least, not as rigorously as with sugar — or question whether we are listening to our body, which needs some salt for basic muscle function, or is in the control of a desire.
A salt tooth is quite unlike a sweet tooth in that it doesn’t create an appetite for itself at the hormone level. But the more salt you eat, the more you need to get the same satisfaction. This is why chefs can get heavy-handed with it.
As Sam Bloom, a nutritional therapist, explains, “With salt what is generally more concerning is the fat that is used together with it, like salty crisps, fries and fast food. Ready meals are often the worst for hidden salts. Anything that adds flavor that isn’t a herb will probably have salt added to it and is likely to cause cravings... as its flavoring makes you want to cat more. The salt and fat combination in these foods is what causes problems with cholesterol (胆固醇).” She adds, “The salt that people add to a meal is much less concerning.”
Nutritionists’ suggestion is: “When a salt craving hits, avoid going straight for salty snack foods such as crisps and instead ensure you are well hydrated. Seek out whole foods, such as olives and leafy greens. These foods will help you reduce salt cravings, which may often be due to a desire for nutrient-rich food.”
1. What does the underlined word “rigorously” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Strictly. | B．Professionally. | C．Secretly. | D．Carelessly. |
| A．It leads to addiction. | B．It changes the hormone level. |
| C．It poses challenges to chefs. | D．It makes one’s sense of taste decline. |
| A．They make people become lazy and gain weight. |
| B．They have hidden salt and combine salt with fat. |
| C．They cost much but have little nutrition. |
| D．They contain too much herb. |
| A．The benefits of nutrient foods. | B．The reason for getting salt cravings. |
| C．The categories of whole foods. | D．The approach to reducing salt cravings. |
The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Minor Snow, the 20th solar term of the year begins this year on Nov 22 and ends on Dec 5.
Minor Snow refers
In China,
After Minor Snow, the temperature drops
5 . Shivani Bhalla feels a strong sense of duty towards wildlife, and she wants others to feel it too.
Now based in Samburu in northern Kenya, the conservationist has worked for over 17 years with lions in the region. As lion habitats have become smaller due to land-use change, conflict between lions and humans has increased. Bhalla and her team aim to relieve these conflicts and seek solutions that benefit both sides.
Bhalla has seen firsthand the challenges facing the lions. Kenya’s recent economic growth has also included agricultural and industrial expansion into lion habitats. Habitat loss from agricultural and industrial expansion has created tension between lions and communities. As lions struggle to find enough of their natural prey(猎物), they target livestock. Impacted communities sometimes defend their livestock and livelihoods via killings of the lions.
Habitat changes have also changed the lions’ social structure. “In Samburu,” Bhalla says, “we don’t have prides(狮群). We actually have lions that live alone or live in small groups. Lions adapt to their environment and they learn how to survive with what they have.”
Lions have also changed their behavior in an apparent attempt at self-protection. As soon as they leave protected land and enter more populated areas, they tend to become noctumal—active at night, and hiding in thick bush during the day.
Bhalla and her team have developed a number of successful programs designed to respond to the new reality of increased human-lion encounters. Looking to the future, a Lion Kids camp program provides conservation education and experiences to children. Bhalla says she hopes to inspire these young conservationists to do work in Kenya.
“People talk about children as the next generation of conservationists,” she says. “I like to call them a ‘new’ generation because children can be conservationists today.”
For Bhalla, it’s about more than just saving the species; she’s working to protect something key to national identity.
1. What is Shivani Bhalla’s primary goal in her conservation work?| A．To protect endangered species. | B．To promote agricultural practices. |
| C．To expand industrial development. | D．To protect lion populations and reduce conflicts. |
| A．They fight for what they need. | B．They form small groups. |
| C．They treat humans as friends. | D．They become more active during the day. |
| A．It improves children’s hunting skills. |
| B．It raises children’s awareness of conservation. |
| C．It trains children to be professional researchers. |
| D．It encourages children to become industrialists. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Doubtful. | C．Confident. | D．Unclear. |
6 . Rewards at West Exe School
West Exe School is a fully inclusive comprehensive secondary school. Listed below are the ways the school celebrate success with students, parents and staff during the academic year.
Merit BadgesMerit badges are awarded in line with the student qualities. E.g., when a student reaches 200 merits in a semester for being kind, they receive their kind merit badge. The West Exe shield is awarded to students who have achieved all six merit badges.
The Golden TicketEvery two weeks, all members of staff have a ‘Golden Ticket’ which they can award to any student who has displayed what the student qualities stand for. There will be a bi-weekly focus on one of the student qualities as positive reinforcement. The golden tickets awarded are then placed in a prize draw, for prizes suggested by the student body.
Punctuality AwardStudents who are on time for every lesson across the week will be entered into a prize draw. This is to promote the importance of punctuality in school and in life.
Headteacher RewardHeadteacher’s Reward is given to students who have been nominated (提名) by staff members every month for demonstrating the qualities, behaviors and values of what it means to be an exceptional West Exe Student. They are also awarded to students who have shown exceptional achievement, either in school or as part of an extracurricular activity. This includes a certificate and pen, with a letter going home to parents to share news of the young person’s achievement.
1. Which of the following rewards is given most frequently?| A．Merit Badges. | B．The Golden Ticket. |
| C．Punctuality Award. | D．Headteacher Reward. |
| A．All staff members can be nominated for the award. |
| B．Students rewarded will receive a certificate and a letter. |
| C．Parents of the students awarded will be honored with a letter. |
| D．Only students making outstanding achievements in school can be awarded. |
| A．A school website. | B．A news report. |
| C．A travel leaflet. | D．A book review. |
7 . When I was 10 years old, my aunt and uncle lived far away from my parents.
Suffering from a severe disease
One day, my father and I went to see them, and my aunt asked me to get a
I learned a lot from my father about
| A．forced | B．enabled | C．arranged | D．expected |
| A．detected | B．wished | C．considered | D．reserved |
| A．Already | B．Instead | C．Also | D．Strangely |
| A．social | B．different | C．mental | D．financial |
| A．box | B．cup | C．shock | D．rise |
| A．turned over | B．put back | C．reached into | D．looked at |
| A．pitiful | B．curious | C．guilty | D．lucky |
| A．result | B．account | C．establishment | D．amount |
| A．admitted | B．agreed | C．believed | D．learned |
| A．hidden | B．returned | C．found | D．withdrawn |
| A．supported | B．attracted | C．embarrassed | D．surprised |
| A．forgotten | B．declined | C．blamed | D．offered |
| A．instruction | B．leave | C．help | D．discovery |
| A．comment | B．introduction | C．speech | D．debate |
| A．generosity | B．praise | C．honesty | D．friendship |
I still remember what I felt on a bright Saturday morning in late September, at a five-kilometer race in Clarkston, Georgia.
It was an unusual morning. About an hour earlier, when we drove into town to participate in the race, my 11-year-old son noticed a green tree cricket（蟋蟀） on my car. It was friendly, no longer than a fingernail. It jumped onto my son’s finger, and walked across my shirt, and then went back to my son’s hand, where it stayed so long that we eventually gave it a name: Little Friend.
The walk from the car to the registration table was perhaps a quarter of a mile. Little Friend stayed with my son. Then, we walked back across the railroad tracks and waited for the race to start. A few minutes before the race, Little Friend either fell or jumped off my son’s hand and landed on the sidewalk. Maybe it wanted to go free. But this was not a good place for that. Pedestrian（行人） traffic was heavy, so Little Friend was in danger. My son knelt and reached out his hand. It came back.
The race was about to start, and the tiny green insect was in for a wild ride. My son would run fast, and the race would be long. The race began. I ran well enough, and felt excited at the finish line. But that thrill gave way to anxiety when my son didn’t show up.
I knew he could run 5 kilometers in about 30 minutes. When I didn’t see him at the 35-minute mark, I began to wonder what had gone wrong. And as the 40-minute mark approached and he still didn’t appear, I went out looking for him. Had he got lost? I crossed the railroad tracks and looked down a long straightaway, hoping to see his face. Finally, there he was, just ahead of the 45-minute mark.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Little Friend was riding proudly on one finger of my son’s right hand.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Smiling, we walked back to the car with Little Friend.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 表示祝贺；
2. 请教学习方法；
3. 期待在中国见面。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Peter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
10 . If you’re looking for inspiration to get healthy and stay active, look no further than Edna Giordano.
Edna, who lives in Canada, has become famous for the fitness level she maintains at age 91. The mom of five, grandmother of twenty-one and great-grandmother of four still drives now. “I’ve always had a busy lifestyle because, let’s face it, with that many children, you have to be busy,” Edna said. “So, I never really thought about it. That’s just the way I live.” She said she only really began to focus on her fitness in her 60s, when she was forced to retire from her job at a local hospital. She had to face the fact that she was 60.
To keep herself busy, Edna began gardening again that she had to abandon due to her busy work. She said she also started going to the gym in her 60s, which she still does every other day. “I have to keep my feet to the fire because it’s cold in the morning in winter, and when it’s snowy or icy out there, I don’t really get enthusiastic about going outside,” she said. “But I make myself do it and mark it on the calendar. So I cannot take any shortcuts.”
Edna said she focused on walking at the gym for her cardiovascular (心血管) health and also included lots of weight lifting in her routine to maintain her bone strength. “When in the gym, I don’t try to break any records or compete with anyone else,” Edna said. “I only push myself to do better all the time, and I only compete with myself.”
When it came to her age, Edna said the people at the gym didn’t realize she’s 91. She prefers it that way, because when people do realize she’s in her 90s, they’ll surely demand to help her. “I know them well. But I don’t really want help,” said Edna. “It’s funny to say that, but I like to be independent.”
1. What made Edna leave her job in the hospital?| A．Her turning 60. | B．Her looking after many kids. |
| C．Her wish to live a busy life. | D．Her suffering from a disease. |
| A．She lives in a cold place all year round. | B．She manages to be a regular at the gym. |
| C．She develops a new hobby for gardening. | D．She likes to take shortcuts in her daily life. |
| A．Competitive. | B．Humorous. | C．Humble. | D．Caring. |
| A．The elderly also enjoy trends. | B．Experience beats youth. |
| C．A positive attitude extends life. | D．Fitness is fit for everyone. |
