1 . “I knew when I saw you, I wanted to take you home,” my dad says to me when I visit him one Saturday. There is a deep-seated
My father has Alzheimer’s (老人痴呆症). He does not
Another Saturday, he points to a photo of me and says, “She’s smart.” Does he know the
Now I bring a spoonful of yogurt to his lips. With a
These words are all he can give now. But they make me understand more
His door was always
Time, advice, money. There were many ways he
And he gives, still. The
| A．fear | B．memory | C．doubt | D．opinion |
| A．gladly | B．eventually | C．generally | D．gradually |
| A．surprises | B．answers | C．amuses | D．calms |
| A．successful | B．same | C．independent | D．responsible |
| A．admiration | B．confidence | C．affection | D．curiosity |
| A．cold | B．feeding | C．firm | D．trembling |
| A．guided | B．followed | C．scolded | D．assessed |
| A．easily | B．deeply | C．quickly | D．carefully |
| A．magical | B．closed | C．open | D．safe |
| A．hesitate | B．intend | C．pretend | D．attempt |
| A．valued | B．divided | C．killed | D．volunteered |
| A．tried | B．took | C．preserved | D．gave |
| A．chat | B．disease | C．visit | D．decision |
| A．known | B．faced | C．left | D．remembered |
| A．important | B．convenient | C．impressive | D．difficult |
Every October, my neighborhood has a Halloween costume contest. And every October, my neighbor Ollie and I race to the announcement board in the park to find out the theme. One year, the theme was “Dress up as your favorite book character.” Another year, it was “Be something scary.” But this year, the theme was kind of, well, themeless.
“Be creative?” I said, reading the announcement board. “That’s not really a theme, is it?”
Ollie hopped off his skateboard s to get a closer look. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I think my favorite theme ever was ‘Superheroes’. I loved my Super-Force Flying Eagles costume so much, I kept that thing hanging in my close t for years!”
“My favorite theme was ‘Farm Animals’.” I giggled. “Remember how you insisted on being a Stegosaurus (剑龙)?”
“When I was five, dinosaurs were my world.” Ollie laughed. “I would have loved to see a Stegosaurus out grazing with the cows.”
“Now that’s the creative spirit we need for this challenge!” I said. “Maybe, since we don’t know exactly what we want to be yet, we should start by choosing some cool costume-making materials. ”
“I’ve got it!” Ollie said, scooping up a bunch of fallen leaves.
“Really?” I said. “You’re going to make an entire costume out of leaves?”
“Why not?” he said, scooping up some more.
“They’re totally free, and I can guarantee, no one will be a tree as great as me.”
“Don’t you mean, a tree as great as we?” I grinned.
“Um, first, that grammar doesn’t sound right,” said Ollie. “And second, no way! Think of your own creative ideas.”
“Aw, come on,” I said. “You should be flattered that I like your idea so much. Plus, I just thought of the perfect way to make branches.”
Finally, Ollie said OK.
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。Paragraph 1: We ended up filling two jumbo bags with different kinds of leaves.
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Paragraph 2: Then the big moment came.
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Yoghurt
It was a rough week. The price of oil skyrocketed as the temperature dropped sharply in Maine. We were looking at a high of eight degrees that week, and I had missed three days of work so my paycheck was going to be lower than normal. I was stressed, to say the least. I shopped strategically, looking for every possible way to cut pennies so I could buy groceries and keep the house warm.
My eight-year-old son didn't understand when I told him we were struggling that week. He wanted a special kind of yoghurt, but I didn't have the extra three dollars to buy it for him. It was the kind of yoghurt with a cartoon kid riding a skateboard on the front of the box, and a mere two spoonfuls in each cup. It was the kind of product that wastes a parent's money and makes me hate advertising.
I felt guilty as a parent when those big eyes looked at me with confusion, as if to say, “It's just yoghurt. What's the big deal?” So I found a way. I put something back as single mothers often do. He got his yoghurt.
On the way driving back from the grocery store, I noticed a homeless man holding a sign by the side of the road. My heart hurt, and I tried not to look at him. I watched people stay away from him on the street and walk by without even meeting his eyes. My son didn't seem to care much, either. I looked at the man closely then — bare hands grasping a piece of cardboard, snot frozen to his face, a worn-out jacket. And there I was struggling because I had to buy oil and groceries. But I decided to help. I pulled over to the man and handed him a five-dollar bill.
Paragraph 1:Seeing this, my son became confused and surprised.
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On that day, my son performed an act that most adults wouldn’t have done.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My parents were deaf, so I grew up living in two worlds, our private world and the “hearing” world outside. Unlike my mother, my father was deaf because of the fever when he was at school age. Even so, Daddy Ben was undefeated. He transformed pain into humor. “It is better to laugh at life,” he'd say. “It makes easier a hard time.” I began to understand what he meant one evening when my mother signaled to me to phone a message to my father at the shop where he worked. I went to a pay phone nearby and dialed the number.
“I have a message for a man called Ben. He is my father,” I told the man who answered.
“I don't know any Ben here.” The man was impatient.
“He's deaf” I explained.
“Oh, you mean the Dummy. Why didn't you say that before?”
I don't remember the rest of that conversation. All I remember is the word dummy. I had heard my parents described as deaf-and-dumb all through my childhood. I always took pains to explain that although they were deaf, they were not dumb.
“Why do you let your boss call you Dummy?” I asked my father the next day.
He shrugged. “It is easier for them. They remember me.”
I was angry. “You are not a dummy. You are a smart man. Tell them your name is Benjamin.”
He smiled. “It is all right. I know I am not dummy. I listen with my eyes and that is enough.” Locked in stillness, he was pleased with himself. But I was not.
Dummy, I wrote the hateful word many times in my notebook, tore out the page and crumpled it into a ball. My father saw my anger. “Don't worry,” he said in a harsh voice. “I will improve my speaking every day. I will learn new words, and you, Ruth, are my teacher. You are my dictionary. And don't waste your sweet voice. Ask your teachers if you have questions.” I hugged him.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
From that moment on, I was determined that no one would call my father by that name again..
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Paragraph 2:
My job of teaching my father also paid me back generously.
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In the coming era of budget cuts to education, distance learning could become the norm.
The temptation for those in charge of education budgets to trade teachers for technology could be so strong that they ignore
Those policy-makers are often fascinated by the latest technology in education and its potential to transform education overnight.
6 . Laurie Horam never thought of himself as musical. At home, his dad never listened to music, while one of his boarding school teachers labelled him tone deaf. But last month he started to play the harmonica (口琴)on the streets of Bradford. People clapped, danced and threw coins into his case for the local food bank. Horam caught himself thinking. “How, at the age of 79, do I come to be playing music to people on the streets?”
The question preoccupied him, because, some years ago at a family gathering, Gavin, his eldest son, said: “You know what, Dad? It can’t be coincidental. We must have got our musical abilities from you.” Horam has three sons and they cover a range of instruments. He was surprised. “There can’t be music in me, because I can’t play! ”he said.
Eight years ago, Horam, a retired civil servant, was on his way back from a trip with his family. Gavin stopped at a music shop. He walked out and said: “Here you are. I bought this for you, Dad. It’s a harmonica. I’ll try to show you how to play a bit.”
They went to a session at their local pub. Gavin played the guitar and Horam sat in the corner with his harmonica, trying to make a sound that no one would hear. After six months, he was invited into the group. He discovered a talent for improvisation(即兴表演),responding to a note within a millisecond without batting an eyelid. “I don’t play by ear. I play by heart.” Actually, Horam says: “My harmonica plays me-how I feel, what I am, what I’ve been.”
Music has enriched life with friendship and made Horam feel “part of something much bigger” than himself. “At a time when the circle of life might be shrinking, mine is expanding,” he says. “Maybe we never know completely who we are or what we can do.”
1. Why did Horam play the harmonica on the streets of Bradford?| A．To recall the good old days. |
| B．To beg food from passers-by. |
| C．To live his childhood dream. |
| D．To collect money for charity. |
| A．Positive. |
| B．Disapproving. |
| C．Doubtful. |
| D．Unclear. |
| A．Enjoy the quiet. |
| B．Listen to his heart. |
| C．Express himself. |
| D．Sharpen his hearing. |
| A．A lost soul. |
| B．A comfortable life. |
| C．A broader circle of life. |
| D．A new perception of family. |
7 . Literature was something I was interested in. At school I was that kid who stuck his hand up to
I lived then in Lagos. The ghetto landlords had unlimited
However, after finishing my A-levels, I had a job working for a paint company.
The first
Then, one morning, a letter came from Longmans' African Writers’ series. I remember giving a cry of
| A．think | B．read | C．cry | D．speak |
| A．libraries | B．charities | C．exhibitions | D．attractions |
| A．act | B．write | C．cook | D．paint |
| A．talents | B．wealth | C．powers | D．freedom |
| A．friendship | B．possibilities | C．injustices | D．welfare |
| A．memory | B．suffering | C．service | D．adventure |
| A．Traffic | B．Climate | C．Accommodation | D．Security |
| A．making up for | B．getting down to | C．looking forward to | D．setting out for |
| A．resigned | B．retired | C．returned | D．resolved |
| A．option | B．draft | C．visit | D．picture |
| A．freed | B．inspired | C．fired | D．prevented |
| A．re-writing | B．withdrawing | C．job-hunting | D．exploring |
| A．friends | B．teachers | C．writers | D．publishers |
| A．fear | B．joy | C．pain | D．sorrow |
| A．ended | B．changed | C．began | D．improved |
Exhibition of Chinese Zodiac (生肖) Culture, which is an annual Chinese New Year cultural series exhibition at the Chongqing Three Gorges Museum,
Open to the public until March 10, the exhibition
The dragon, as
In addition to the exhibition, the Chongqing Three Gorges Museum will continue to host a series of
9 . After years of efforts, China’s space station has been fully operational.
Over the past 19 years, from China’s first manned space mission Shenzhou V to the latest Shenzhou XV launch, the nation’s space projects have progressed from a single-astronaut mission to the long-term stay of several astronauts in space, and the length of time the astronauts stay in space has expanded from just 23 hours to six months.
After the Shenzhou XV spacecraft docked (对接) with the Tiangong space station, the three astronauts handed it over to the three new arrivals before returning to Earth. During the week-long transition (过渡) period there were six astronauts living in the space station. That’s really a huge step forward. Actually, China’s space progress has been advancing. It took eight years to go from Shenzhou V to the Tiangong I space lab, and five years from Tiangong I to the more advanced spacelab Tian gong II.
With the arrival of the Shenzhou XV spacecraft and it screw (全体工作人员) , the Chinese space station is opening a new chapter for China’s space program, as the astronauts will conduct a series of scientific experiments in space. More than 40 space science and technology experiments will be conducted by the Shenzhou XV astronauts. And with more scientific research equipment to be sent to the space station, it will be equal to having a world-class university laboratory in space.
Besides, requests have been received from several countries to send astronauts to take part in the space station experiments, and China is coordinating (协调) with them and actively preparing for the training of foreign astronauts.
The International Space Station has conducted over 3,000 experiments during its time in service, and the Chinese space station won’t waste a minute in this regard. As the only space station after the ISS is retired, it will continue to expand human’s understanding of space. That is worth looking forward to.
1. What can we know from Paragraph 2?| A．Shenzhou V could only take one astronaut to space. |
| B．Shenzhou V is China’s first man-made spacecraft. |
| C．Shenzhou XV is China’s first space station. |
| D．Shenzhou XV stayed in space for just 23 hours. |
| A．An advanced university laboratory will be sent to Tiangong. |
| B．Foreign astronauts will probably work in Tiangong in the near future. |
| C．The International Space Station will be replaced by Tiangong. |
| D．Crews from Shenzhou XV has done many experiments in space. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. | C．In different. | D．Positive. |
| A．Tiangong space station is open to the world. |
| B．Shenzhou crews meet in Tiangong space station. |
| C．Tiangong space station and its functions. |
| D．Shenzhou XV and its advanced techniques. |
10 . WHY A DOSE OF FEAR IS GOOD FOR YOU
Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” She was onto something. Science has shown that feeling fear — in the right doses (量) — has several benefits.
·Feeling fear is fun and exciting. Many people scare themselves on purpose.
When you step outside your comfort zone, it is fear that makes you feel alive, which is fun and exciting. The excitement generated can also help reduce depression by increasing adrenaline (肾上腺素), which in turn increases excitement and glucose (changed into energy).
·
·Fear makes you aware of what’s really important in life. How often have you said to yourself: “When I have more time, I’ll spend it with my family, pursue my passion, eat healthier or exercise more”? Fear makes you realize that “now” is the only time you have to achieve and follow through what is most important.
Some say where fear meets courage is the sweet spot in which mountains get scaled and rivers are run.
| A．Fear helps you succeed. |
| B．“Later” is never ensured. |
| C．Fear allows you to live life to the fullest. |
| D．They watch scary movies, ride roller coasters or go skydiving. |
| E．And every time you come through a challenge, you feel empowered. |
| F．Most of all, fear can be the birth place of change, creativity and innovation. |
| G．Actually, it’s nearly impossible to be thinking of your worries when you are experiencing fear. |
