1 . I was cutting up lettuce (生菜) in the kitchen when I suddenly remembered watching a video about putting the lettuce stub (残余部分) in water to grow a whole new vegetable. So I took out a wide-mouthed mug (大杯) and placed the stub into it, gave it a little water, and placed it by the window.
On a snowy morning, I noticed the first sign. A first small leaf from its heart spread out. A tiny green flag of hope. Beaten, but not defeated. Within days, it was impossible to see the cuts where I had removed the leaves. The growth was explosive. And when I lifted the blossoming head out of the mug, tiny root threads fell down, seeking for the earth. What is growing here? Lettuce or hope?
If I were a lettuce in a similar condition, I’d want to doubtfully assess where I found myself before being devoted to full growth. Yet for this lettuce, my inadequate offering of water and a place by a window was enough for it to decide to reclaim itself again. It grew in a mug of water, in faith. This is the heart of this lettuce: alive, strong and fearless. It deserved a name. I decided to call it Monty.
Monty wanted to grow, as we all do. I think I gave him a little love and freedom. Those two ingredients were all he needed to return to himself. I see joy in this lettuce. The return to self is always an expression of joy, which is life itself. With the right ingredients, this is the tendency of all living things.
Monty still lives in a mug, but I’m going to transplant him outside. He deserves to become his full self. The only problem I see now is my capacity to support Monty. I hope I have enough of a green finger.
I’m surprised to find myself where I am. Maybe Monty is, too. I have the same choice as he does: give in, or start again. The prospect of starting again is discouraging. But my lettuce-friend, Monty, leads the way. I can only hope to be as brave.
1. Why did the author put the stub in water?| A．To hope that it would grow. | B．To decorate the nice mug. |
| C．To play a game. | D．To remove his bad mood. |
| A．The remaining stub. | B．The small leaf. |
| C．The disappearing cuts. | D．The tiny root threads. |
| A．Hesitant. | B．Fearless. | C．Confident. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．Enjoy your own life to the fullest | B．Believe in yourself when in trouble |
| C．Never be afraid to restart yourself | D．Give freedom to the heart in a way |
When my mom announced that my dad had fixed the old car in his garage, I felt excited—I had wheels! I called my friend Steph and made plans to have dinner at her house the next day.
The following morning, I woke up early and put on a black skirt and jacket. “Aren’t you dressed too lightly?” Mom asked. “There’s a snowstorm coming.” “I’ll be inside,” I replied as I headed out.
As I began the forty-minute drive, I was in high spirits. However, halfway there it started to snow like mad. Cars slowed. The sound of a siren announced the approach of an ambulance and I pulled aside to let it pass. As I inched back into my lane, the traffic light ahead turned red. I stopped.
When the light turned green, I pressed on the gas, but the old car died. I tried to start it. One click, then nothing. Before I could do anything else, two young men raced over from the nearby sidewalk. I rolled down my window a little.
“Give us a second,” one of them said, “We’ll help you out of here.” Soon, they began pushing the car. With their guidance, I steered into a parking spot in front of a grocery store. “You’ll be fine now,” they said, and before I could even thank them, they walked into the grocery store.
The snow was falling faster now. I called Steph on my cellphone to cancel our plan. Next, I called my parents to come and get me. Now all I had to do was wait, but I was very hungry and cold. I sighed, regretting not taking my mom’s advice.
Just as I sat waiting in the car, I noticed a man walking towards me. It was one of the men who had just helped me. I rolled down the window at once.
注意：1. 续写词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After a brief greeting, he told me this was his parents’ store.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3 . “Look, Mum, he paints like me!” Eight-year-old Alexandra Nechita had just discovered Pablo Picasso’s artwork for the first time. The art world
Even at age two, Alexandra spent nearly all her time on her coloring books.
When Alexandra was four, her parents began to notice the figures she
Alexandra’s classmates would sometimes
Within a year, Alexandra had several other exhibitions. By then, she had
Today Alexandra
| A．improved | B．agreed | C．waited | D．broke |
| A．friendly | B．talented | C．worried | D．honest |
| A．Afraid | B．Sure | C．Proud | D．Ashamed |
| A．promised | B．proved | C．reported | D．hoped |
| A．called | B．drove | C．brought | D．sent |
| A．drew | B．counted | C．explained | D．met |
| A．stopped | B．started | C．suggested | D．avoided |
| A．learn from | B．seek for | C．point at | D．laugh at |
| A．conference | B．system | C．party | D．exhibition |
| A．completed | B．used | C．copied | D．lost |
| A．role | B．taste | C．selection | D．attention |
| A．directly | B．suddenly | C．still | D．seldom |
| A．style | B．time | C．energy | D．money |
| A．on holiday | B．in power | C．on duty | D．in need |
| A．campus | B．confidence | C．love | D．injury |
I came to England last summer. I
At first it was very difficult for me
I have lots of English
5 . There are many ways in which a person’s body language can give you information about whether they are lying or not.
One of the biggest signs that a person is telling lies is that he avoids eye contact during conversation. He may also touch his face often, covering his mouth with his hand very often. Touching the nose is also said to be a sign of taking others’ attention to cover up lies. A person who is not telling the truth may be trying to make you focus on his actions rather than his words.
When a liar (说谎者) tells lies, his physical expression is often very stiff (僵硬的). If he is smiling as he speaks, only the mouth will move. A real smile naturally causes movement of the mouth, eyes, forehead, cheeks, and jaw.
The liar’s hand, leg and arm movements are toward his own body. He takes up little space. The person’s body language is closed off. Liars do not look relaxed, even though they may be trying to give the impression that they are.
When explaining something, a liar usually feels uncomfortable with pauses (停顿) or silences. The person may speak gently or in disordered words. A very skillful liar is able to speak directly and with confidence. In fact, some salespeople are best at this skill.
If you doubt someone is lying, change the topic of conversation suddenly. The liar will willingly change topics with you and become more relaxed. A person who is telling the truth will generally become confused by this sudden change. Another sign of someone telling a lie is yawning (哈欠) — the person may try and look as relaxed as possible, and yawing and stretching are ways of achieving this.
1. Why do liars often cover their mouths?| A．To show their own skill. | B．To avoid the mouth’s stiffness. |
| C．To smile because they feel shy. | D．To change the listener’s attention. |
| A．They speak softly. | B．They say “by the way”. |
| C．They speak confidently. | D．They are anxious while lying. |
| A．Uncomfortable. | B．Relaxing seemingly. | C．Worrying. | D．Exciting. |
| A．By giving explanation. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By using others’ words. | D．By showing results of research. |
6 . All we know about the abandoned (被抛弃的) newborn cat that made news for its genetic rareness comes from a web. A user named Vodkaholy posted a handful of photos of the tiny cat with a few background details.
No one knows how the newborn cat ended up in a rubbish bag, but it is very common for heartless people to abandon cats they choose not to care for. Luckily, Vodkaholy’s aunt heard the tiny mews that the cat was letting out. It appears she was the one who rescued the baby, who was only a week old. Not only had the cat been immediately abandoned after it was born, but it was injured and had developed a serious illness. Just a few days old, it had a broken leg and a badly injured paw (爪). Sadly, after the cat’s rescuer took it to the vet (兽医), they found out that the paw couldn’t be saved.
No doubt it was a shock to find such a sad cat abandoned in the rubbish bag, but the vet had another big surprise for the woman. It was a male calico cat (花斑猫)! The vet said it was really scarce for calico cats to be male. However, it won’t be a dad to any more calico cats. It was born with some kind of illness, but the vet said it’s normal for male calico cats. “Except for that, it is a normal happy cat, healthy as a horse,” Vodkaholy said.
Vodkaholy’s aunt is keeping the cat. It grows healthy and happy even if it only has 3 paws. And it is not the first cat this sweet aunt has brought home.
1. What can we infer about the abandoned cat?| A．It had three paws at birth. | B．It was abandoned by a naughty boy. |
| C．It was in bad condition when it was found. | D．It called loudly when Vodkaholy passed by. |
| A．She is warm-hearted and caring. | B．She is smart but impatient. |
| C．She is hard-working but rude. | D．She is kind and curious. |
| A．Graceful. | B．Challenging. | C．Frightening. | D．Unusual. |
| A．A Funny Story of a Kind Aunt | B．A Young Cat Lost Its Way Home |
| C．A Kind Lady Saved a Cat in a Dustbin | D．A Kind Lady Asking for Help on the Internet |
Long long ago, there was a little prince who was used to having everything he wanted. He was so badly behaved that he wouldn’t let anybody have a new toy if he didn’t have it first. If any child in the land wanted a new toy, they had to buy two and give one to him. Therefore, the little prince had no friends except for his toys.
One day a magic toymaker, who invented the most wonderful toys, came to the land. The little prince liked his toys so much that he invited him to spend an entire year in the palace, promising him great wealth if he made him a new toy every day. The toymaker set just one condition: “My toys are very special and need an owner who will play with them” he said. “Will you be able to devote a little time to each one every day?” “Of course, I will” the little prince replied impatiently.
From then on, every morning the little prince received a new toy. Every day the toymaker delivered a toy better than the previous ones. The little prince appeared very happy.
But the toy collection kept growing and, after a few weeks there were simply too many toys to play with all of them every day. So, one day the little prince put a few toys to one side, hoping that the toymaker wouldn’t notice. However, when it was night time and he was ready to go to bed. The toys that had been put away lined up in front of him and, one by one, demanded their daily playtime. The little prince couldn’t get to sleep until well past midnight because he had to play with every single toy.
Next day, tired after all his efforts, the prince slept very late. In the little time left of the day, he had to get to know a new toy and then play with all the others too. Once again, he finished very late and was so tired he could hardly stop yawning (打哈欠).
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。
Every day was a little bit worse than the one before, with the same amount of time but one extra toy to play with.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The children saw the prince, wondering whether the prince would force them to hand over their toys just like before.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 . Speaking two languages deeply affects the brain and changes how the nervous system reacts to sound, and researches have shown that learning a foreign language can strengthen brain power, but a new study suggests that the effects go further to those who begin in middle childhood.
It indicates that people who began learning a foreign language at 10 and were always exposed to the language, meaning they heard and used it in daily life, had improvements in the structure of the brain’s white matter compared with people who grew up speaking only one language and did not learn a foreign language.
These “higher levels of structural integrity(完整性)” were in areas responsible for language learning and semantic(语义的)processing, which occurs when the meaning of a word is encoded and related to similar words with similar meaning.
The new findings, published in the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, studied brain scans from 200 subjects(实验者), all around the age of 30, who lived in Britain for at least 13 months. They all started learning English as a foreign language at the age of 10.
Their imaging scans were compared with people of similar age who spoke only English. The study was led by Christos of the University of Kent School of Psychology in Britain.
“Everyday dealing with more than one language benefits specific language-related brain structures by preserving their integrity, and therefore it protects them against deterioration in older age,” the study found.
1. Who may have stronger brain power according to the text?| A．A person who learns English as a foreign language. |
| B．A person who speaks English as a mother language. |
| C．A person who can speak English well at an early age. |
| D．A person who hears and uses English in everyday life. |
| A．The 200 subjects lived in Britain to learn English. |
| B．The 200 subjects studied English at the age of 30. |
| C．The structure of their brains’ white matter improved. |
| D．The structure of their brains’ white matter disappeared. |
| A．Evolving. | B．Reaction. | C．Worsening. | D．Formation. |
| A．Speaking two languages affects the brain seriously. |
| B．Speaking two languages changes how the brain works. |
| C．Learning a foreign language can affect people’s childhood. |
| D．Learning a foreign language at 10 strengthens brain power. |
9 . Jindalee State School
Email:info@jindaleess.eq.edu.au
Phone:(07)3725 5777
Website:www.jindaleess.eq.edu.au
7th November 2023
Class Placement Information
Dear Parents,
We are now providing you with information about your child’s 2024 class placement. Your child Najera Ochoa Ava is in 1W in 2024. The teacher for this class is Mrs Shelly Waner in room B11b.
Students return to school on 27th January 2024.
The office will close at 3:30 p. m.9th November 2023 and reopen on 20th January, 2024.
SNACK SHACK(零食铺)
The Jindalee Snack Shack is now closed for cleaning—we will not be taking any orders this week.Wewillreopenonthefirstdayofschoolandwillcontinuetoacceptonlineordersonly viawww.quickclig.com.au.Snackswillcontinuetobeavailableforpurchaseduringsecond break.
THE UNIFORM (校服) SHOP
The Uniform Shop will be taking orders online during December but items(物品) will not be available for collection until January. The shop will open on 20th January.
BY APPOINTMENT(预约) ONLY—please check our P&C Facebook page or the school newsletter for a booking link. Please do not come to the shop without an appointment.
The shop will continue to operate on an appointment system in 2024 and will be open on the first day of school. We will then resume(恢复) trading on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the term, for appointments and online order processing, from 28th January.
A calendar of the 2024 school year can be viewed at the following website, www.education.qld.gov.au.
On behalf of the Jindalee State School family, I wish you all a happy holiday.
We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Yours sincerely
Ms Penny Grant
Principal
1. When will the new academic year begin?| A．7th November 2023. | B．9th November 2023. |
| C．20th January 2024. | D．27th January 2024. |
| A．Students should check the school newsletter to order uniforms. |
| B．Visitors are not welcome without an appointment. |
| C．It will remain closed after 3:30 p. m. each day. |
| D．It will not take orders until January 2024. |
| A．By calling(07)3725 5777. |
| B．By contacting Mrs Shelly Waner. |
| C．By visiting www.education.qld.gov.au. |
| D．Byemailinginfo@jindaleess.eq.edu.au. |
10 . Holly Cooke wasn’t a fan of weekends. Whenever Friday rolled around, it was a reminder that she had no one to spend her spare time with.
“I was lonely,” said Cooke, who relocated from Stoke-on-Trent — a city in central England — to London when she was 22. “I moved here knowing no one.” She had high hopes of going to restaurants, bars and the theater as she had done before, but she didn’t want to do those activities alone. “I was desiring community: people who wanted to hang out and have fun,” said Cooke, now 26.
She grew so eager for company, she said that she eventually found herself Googling: “How to make friends in London.” The search proved futile, though she found a few other women who were also lonely in London on some social media apps.
Cooke decided to create a Facebook group called “The London Lonely Girls Club,” and invited the people she connected with on the apps to join. She then asked everyone to meet for brunch (早午餐). “It was so difficult,” she said, adding that she asked a friend from out of town to come in for the brunch, in case no one else showed up. “Saying that you’re lonely and you don’t have people around, admitting to that was really scary.”
Cooke was pleasantly surprised when five women showed up and they all got along well. This proved she was not alone in her loneliness, and that she could help others in the same situation. She decided to start planning meetups every few weeks, and word slowly spread about the Facebook group. Now, five years later, the London Lonely Girls Club has more than 35,000 members.
Cooke said she lost count of how many women have made lasting friendships through her group. “It’s beautiful and rewarding, and it’s the reason I’ve carried on,” she said. “As long as there is a need, we will be here.”
1. What can we learn about Holly Cooke?| A．She was alone because of being addicted to social media apps. |
| B．She got used to the lifestyle of being alone on weekends. |
| C．She had little time to make friends after moving to London. |
| D．She used to meet friends on weekends when in Stoke-on-Trent. |
| A．Unsuccessful. | B．Unstoppable. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Unclear. |
| A．She wanted to have an optional plan in case it didn’t work. |
| B．She wanted to introduce her friend to the other women. |
| C．She needed someone to help her to organize the meetup. |
| D．She was afraid that no one else would come as planned. |
| A．It is well received. | B．It is not rewarding. |
| C．It is less creative. | D．It is not fruitful. |
