I was an average student in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional F’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.
I didn’t write when I was supposed to write. I talked to others while the teacher was giving instructions. That I could recite what she had said to the class while I was talking was not helpful because I had a negative effect on my classmates’ learning. So I regularly brought home disappointing report cards.
My parents and my teachers didn’t know what to do with me. Punishments didn’t seem to work. Rewards didn’t seem to either. And, frankly, I don’t think I knew what I could do to “apply myself”. And I certainly didn’t know how to not enjoy talking with my classmates! What I knew was that I talked too much. Until grade 5.
That autumn, we had a sudden change in teachers as our elderly teacher took a medical leave. In his place, a young substitute (代课老师) arrived — Mrs Royal. She looked like she was freshly out of university and seemed too young to be cast in the role of being responsible for a class of tween, but there she was, charged with a lively group, and me.
I don’t remember many details of that year except the afternoon when I got my first report card from her. She handed out the report cards right after the afternoon break and invited us to look them over. Then she let us know that we could all talk quietly amongst ourselves while she called each student up one at a time, in alphabetical order (按字母顺序), to discuss our report cards with her.
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。
I looked over my report card, expecting the usual result.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then it was my turn to talk with her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Nguyen Thi Thu is one of the few remaining artists practicing and constantly enhancing the traditional Vietnamese art of sculpting realistic-looking flowers out of papaya (番木瓜树) fruits.
Thu became
Over the years, Thu has
Apart from
| A．confident | B．interested | C．expert | D．talented |
| A．missed | B．held | C．quit | D．took |
| A．traditional | B．modern | C．fashionable | D．contemporary |
| A．return | B．turn | C．move | D．adjust |
| A．appreciate | B．practice | C．change | D．adopt |
| A．access | B．reaction | C．solution | D．resistance |
| A．described | B．imagined | C．painted | D．tried |
| A．grew | B．offered | C．knew | D．bought |
| A．occasionally | B．immediately | C．randomly | D．definitely |
| A．expected | B．reminded | C．forced | D．taught |
| A．abstract | B．expensive | C．complicated | D．fundamental |
| A．depending on | B．accounting for | C．focusing on | D．calling for |
| A．plant | B．sculpt | C．feed | D．invent |
| A．exhibiting | B．judging | C．updating | D．transforming |
| A．replacing | B．celebrating | C．recovering | D．preserving |
3 . In 2018, when Hemesh Chadalavada was 12 years old, his grandmother forgot to turn off the gas after she made herself a cup of tea. This experience caused Hemesh to invent the “Alpha Monitor”, a device designed for dementia (痴呆) patients.
He started creating this device with whatever was at home, with the help of the internet. “The first model I built was a huge box. I learnt how to make a wearable device on the internet by learning which components to use and where I could source them in Hyderabad. I started with a hardware device, after which I learnt coding online and moved to machine learning and data science, to help me perfect my device,” he adds.
The Alpha Monitor has two parts, one, a wearable watch-like device, and the second, an alarm which connects to it. “You attach the device to the patient. In case the patient throws it away or doesn’t like wearing it, you can just put it in a bag and fix it in their pocket or sock or wherever you like. Once you plug in the alarm, you will be warned for every tiny change in movement. As soon as the patient gets up or wanders away, it will warn the family members with a huge alarm sound,” says Hemesh.
The wearable device monitors body temperature, pulse, and detects movement, falls and more. It works using a gyroscope sensor to detect even the slightest movement and health sensors for pulse and temperature. It works without Wi-Fi or bluetooth and has a range of 1-2k m, according to Hemesh. It can also be connected to an app for children staying far away to monitor their parents’ movements.
“The happiest I’ve ever been is seeing how the device actually works for patients with Alzheimer’s. It gives me incredible happiness to see the small impact I’ve managed to create in the lives of these families,” smiles the youngster.
1. What can we learn about Hemesh from the first two paragraphs?| A．He received little formal education. | B．He had a strong self-learning ability. |
| C．He invented the device to stop gas leaks. | D．He got support from a computer engineer. |
| A．By speaking into their phones. | B．By producing a loud noise. |
| C．By making an emergency call. | D．By announcing the time automatically. |
| A．It can analyze patients’ health data. | B．It can prevent patients from falling down. |
| C．It can track patients’ movements remotely. | D．It can make a difference to patients’ recovery. |
| A．Caring and creative. | B．Generous and talented. |
| C．Determined and honest. | D．Independent and brave. |
4 . People who experienced trauma (精神创伤) as a child or adolescent were found to be 48 percent more likely to have serious and repeated headaches as an adult than those who had not experienced trauma in their early years, according to research published in the journal Neurology. The finding came from the analysis of data from 28 studies, involving 154,739 people.
Overall, nearly one-third of the participants reported having experienced a traumatic event at least once before age 18, and 16 percent had been diagnosed as an adult with a primary headache disorder, which means that their headaches are the main problem, rather than a symptom (症状) of an underlying disease or condition.
The researchers categorized traumatic events as either threat-based (such as physical or emotional abuse, witnessing or being threatened by violence, and serious family conflicts) or deprivation-based (including neglect, financial trouble, parents’ separation, divorce or death, and living in a household with mental illness, alcohol or substance abuse). Physical abuse and exposure to family violence were among the most commonly reported traumas.
Of those who had experienced at least one traumatic event as a youth, 26 percent subsequently were diagnosed with primary headaches, compared with 12 percent of those who had not experienced trauma.
As the number of traumatic events experienced by a child or adolescent increased, so did the odds of their having headaches later in life. For example, those who had experienced four or more traumatic events were more than twice as likely to have a head ache disorder. Also, certain traumas — physical abuse and neglect — were linked to greater risk for headaches than other types of trauma.
The study found an association between trauma as a youth and headache disorder as an adult, rather than direct proof that one led to the other. But the researchers wrote that traumas experienced as a child or adolescent “are important risk factors for primary headache disorders in adulthood,” which one of the researchers described in a statement released by the American Academy of Neurology as “a risk factor that we cannot ignore.”
1. What does the research focus on?| A．The different types of trauma experienced by children. |
| B．The reasons why headaches are so common among adults. |
| C．The influence that childhood experiences have on later life. |
| D．The link between childhood trauma and headaches as an adult. |
| A．Witnessing violence. | B．Physical abuse. |
| C．The loss of a parent. | D．Criticism from teachers. |
| A．Complexity. | B．Frequency. | C．Seriousness. | D．Chance. |
| A．It causes headaches. | B．It deserves attention. |
| C．It can be prevented. | D．It can be life-threatening. |
1. How does ChatGPT help with Jamie’s paper writing?
| A．By offering opinions. |
| B．By structuring outlines. |
| C．By providing information. |
| A．Romances. | B．Science fiction. | C．Historical fiction. |
| A．A writer. | B．A researcher. | C．A programmer. |
| A．Devin. | B．Jamie. | C．Robert. |
1. Why did the school introduce the new desks?
| A．To keep classroom lively. |
| B．To help with schoolwork. |
| C．To make students lose weight. |
| A．They are functional. |
| B．They are uncomfortable. |
| C．They are energy-consuming. |
| A．65. | B．24. | C．3. |
1. What will the weather be like in London next week?
| A．Rainy. | B．Sunny. | C．Foggy. |
| A．Toothbrushes. | B．Free breakfast. | C．Airport bus service. |
| A．Bring their passports. |
| B．Have fish and chips. |
| C．Wear sunglasses. |
8 . On one side of the room sits the cutest life-size stuffed animal (填充玩具) you’ve ever seen. On the other side rests a real dog — the same size, shape and even the same name as the stuffed version. You get to sit next to both of these furry friends and pet their fur. Guess which one will make your brain light up?
If you guessed the real dog, you’re right. Stuffed animals, as cute and lovely as they may be, just don’t effectively activate our frontal cortex (额叶皮层), the part of the brain overseeing how we think and feel, according to a new study published in the journal PLOSONE. The study found an even stronger rise in brain activity when the person petted the fur of a real dog versus a stuffed animal.
“We chose to research the frontal cortex because this brain area is involved in several executive (执行) functions, such as attention, working memory, and problem-solving. But it is also involved in social and emotional processes,” said study lead author Rahel Marti, a doctoral student in the division of clinical psychology at the University of Basel in Switzerland.
Why is this finding important? It provides additional evidence that live human-animal interaction therapy (疗法) may promote cognitive and emotional activity in the brain. Marti said, “If patients with deficits in motivation, attention, and socioemotional functioning show higher emotional involvement in activities connected to a real dog, then such activities could increase the chance of learning and of achieving treatment aims.”
“This is an interesting, seriously conducted study that provides new insight into associations between human-animal interaction and regional prefrontal brain activity in healthy adults. We found that brain activity increased when the contact with a real dog or a stuffed animal became closer. This confirms previous studies relating closer contact with animals to increased brain activity,” Marti said.
1. How does the author introduce the subject of the text?| A．By listing some figures. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By setting a situation. | D．By analyzing a phenomenon. |
| A．It is involved in several body parts. |
| B．It is the most important part of the brain. |
| C．It plays a key part in performing functions. |
| D．It provides evidence for live human-animal therapy. |
| A．Styles. | B．Faults. | C．Adventures. | D．Sources. |
| A．What Petting A Dog Can Do For Your Brain? |
| B．Why A Pet Dog Is Important To A Person? |
| C．Which Part Of The Brain Is Involved In Emotion? |
| D．How Can A Patient Benefit From Petting A Dog? |
9 . Over the past year, just about every major streaming service has raised its subscription (订阅) fees. At the same time, there are more membership deals, ad-supported subscriptions and streaming services overall.
First, you should decide what kind of viewer you are by creating a TV diary.
If the fees from all your subscriptions come from the same credit card or bank account, you can more easily track spending and end payments quickly. Also, online resources can help track regular subscription payments.
Check your streaming services occasionally. Frequently call up each streaming service you access, and look up your account information.
| A．It remains the biggest concern for the consumers |
| B．You can also drop and add services regularly |
| C．Major streaming services promise ads will be limited |
| D．This can help avoid the occurrence of repeated charges |
| E．Make sure the grade of subscription meets your needs |
| F．You may have some challenging time ahead as a streaming user |
| G．Write down what you watch and where you might find it |
10 . In 2019, after retiring from her career as a social worker, Ane Freed - Kernis decided to build a home workshop and devote all of her free time to stone carving. “I might be covered head to to e in dust but I’m happy — it was something I needed more of in my life when I hit 60,” she says.
This appeal has its origins in Freed - Kernis’ childhood. Growing up on her father’s farm in Denmark, she used to wander through the fields with her eyes fixed on the ground, looking for stones to add to her collection. “I’ve always been drawn to the shapes and textures (质地) of stones,” she says.
After moving to England in 1977 and training as a social worker, Freed - Kernis soon became occupied with her busy career and the demands of raising her son. Stones were the last thing on her mind, until her father died in 2005. “He took a stone carving course in his retirement, and I always thought stone seemed so fun but never had the time to look into it myself,” she says. “After he died, I became determined to learn in his honour.”
Signing up for a week-long stone carving course at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Freed-Kernis began to learn how to turn a block of rock into well-designed shapes. “It was really scary at the start because you would spend hours just hammering (锤打).”
Now 65, Freed-Kernis has a thriving small business built largely through word of mouth. She creates 12 to 15 pieces a year that can take anywhere from a few days to three weeks to complete, while her prices range from £ 200 to £ 3,000. “I’m making smaller ones,” she says. “I don’t have to depend on the money much, so I want to keep prices in the range that people can afford, mainly just covering costs and labour (劳动力).”
1. Freed-Kernis was first attracted by stones when ______.| A．she was 60 | B．she was a child |
| C．her father died | D．she moved to England |
| A．She never cared about her father. |
| B．She led a disappointing life in Denmark. |
| C．She spent lots of time studying stone carving. |
| D．She learned stone carving under the influence of her dad. |
| A．Hopeful and proud. |
| B．Confident and satisfied. |
| C．Nervous and frightened. |
| D．Impatient and unprepared. |
| A．They are easier to move by her. |
| B．They are more affordable to people. |
| C．She wants to save costs and labour. |
| D．She is too old to focus on making large ones. |
