1 . Today, it’s impossible to imagine life without highways which connect goods with markets, employees with work places. “Everything in life is somewhere else,” wrote E.B.White, “and you get there in a car.”

Do highways bring any benefit to our natural world? Yes. Arizona’s highways rainfall softens desert soils for underground-living animals, while vultures (秃鹫) get to expand their diet by roadkill. Butterflies find home on the roadside grassland. In Britain, such habitat is called the “soft estate”—a concept that roads are able to create new ecosystems, even though they sometimes destroy existing ones. A biologist once led me under a highway bridge to show me hundreds of bats resting beneath the bridge, not bothering with the traffic overhead.

But the positive situation isn’t always the case. We tend to ignore the death number as the unavoidable cost of modernity. Although few people ever flatten an animal on purpose while driving on the road, the attraction of the car is so strong that it has caused Americans to kill about 40,000 human lives in car accidents each year, what chance does wildlife have on the road?

Northern America and Europe used to build their road networks with little regard for how they would affect nature. Today, in theory, we know better. Over the last several decades, America and European countries have built bridges for bears, tunnels for turtles, rope webs that allow monkeys to swing over highways without going down to the forest floor. In Kenya, elephants walk under the highways and railways via passages as tall as two-story houses. And road ecology has brought more than crossings: We’ve also learned to map and protect the migrations of animals to design roadsides that benefit bees and butterflies－proof that old mistakes will surely be corrected in the upcoming future.

1. What do E.B.White’s words mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Highways benefit the natural world.	B．People can’t get everything in life.
C．A good car is needed to get somewhere.	D．Highways are essential for our daily life.

2. What is the main function of the “soft estate”?

A．Destroying the ecosystem.	B．Building new ecosystems.
C．Planning road networks.	D．Repairing habitats for animals.

3. Why is the number 40,000 mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．To reveal the negative effects of highways.

B．To explain people flatten animals on purpose.

C．To stress the importance of American modernity.

D．To show the number of animals killed on the road.

4. How does the writer think of the future of road ecology?

A．Optimistic.

B．Unclear.

C．Worried.

D．Doubtful.

2 . Leave the Screens at Home on Your Next Family Road Trip

The other day, a friend sent me an email, asking if I’d consider writing about educational apps for children to watch while on road trips. The email said, “    1     And often with long car rides comes the use of on-screen entertainment. These educational apps can develop their art, math, science, engineering and design skills.”

While the intention is well-meaning, I disagree with his idea. There is so much to see on a road trip!     2     So what can a child do in the car? There are plenty of off-screen activities that a child can do to pass the time.

Take physical books along. Choose some novels for an older reader, get cartoon books, or take interactive books such as I Spy, coloring books, puzzle books, etc.

Play games.     3     Print out a map of the country and color in each state as you notice a license plate from there. Keep a record of the different colored cars you see. Play the old classic alphabet game.

    4     Parents can find online lists of good questions to get older kids talking, such as, “If you could travel anywhere in the world, what are your top three destinations and why?” “If you could have a dinner party with three people, who would you invite?” Not only is this fun, but it keeps the driver refreshed.

Long road trips shouldn’t just be about endurance (耐力); they should also be about learning how to pass the time without a screen. So, challenge yourselves to a screen-free road trip the next time you go somewhere as a family.     5    

A．Have some conversation starters ready.

B．The Great License Plate Search is a fun one.

C．You may be surprised at what a success it is.

D．Collect your kids’ questions before starting off.

E．Many are turning to road trips for a late-summer escape.

F．Help your kids to make a list of things they’ll see on the trip.

G．If they stare at a screen, they’ll miss everything outside the window.

3 . 根据语境选择下框中的单词或短语，必要时用正确的形式填空，框中有两个为多余的单词或者短语。

take advantage of        date back to        go through        decorate        target be capable of        be absorbed in        belong to        believe        base... on

1. The musician bravely ______ a one-year medical treatment for the serious disease.
2. You should volunteer. You ______ performing at music festivals.
3. She realized she could ______ her language skills to get a job as a translator.
4. I have been reading a novel ______ real-life events recently.
5. Orange trees make great gifts and you see them many times ______ with red envelopes and messages of good fortune.
6. Increases in bear sightings around human settlements have lead to a ______ that polar bear populations are increasing.
7. The capital city London is a great place to start, as it is an ancient port city that has a history ______ Roman times.
8. ______ work, he always forgets all about eating or sleeping.

4 . 根据语境，选择框中单词替换句中划线部分的单词或短语，使之意思一致。

A. significant       B. access       C. bridge       D. aim       E. approaching       F. talent       G. evident

1. The poster has been produced with the purpose of increasing sales of the singer’s new album.
2. As Teachers’ Day was around the corner, our class decided to hold a party to celebrate the important day.
3. She believes that it is highly important to get rid of the digital divide.
4. It is clear that the education of the young is vital to the future of a country.
5. We need a better way to get information.
6. Customs play an important role in festivals.
7. Her gift for music showed at an early age.

5 . 阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

For a dish that some people regard as a bioweapon, luosifen soup is     1     (surprising) popular and in demand. A specialty of Liuzhou, a city in     2     southwestern Guangxi of China, luosifen soup, or river snail rice noodle soup, was first introduced in the 1970s by people     3     started cooking rice noodles and river snails together.

The street food wasn't really known outside Liuzhou until it was featured on the popular television show, A Bite of China , in 2012. In 2014, the first instant luosifen factory     4    (found). Luosifen really took off when a manager at a luosifen factory live-streamed（直播）how the noodles were made and took orders live,     5    （sell） more than10,000 packets in just two hours.

Luosifen packets were the     6     (popular) food item on Taobao in 2019, with    7     (sale) of more than 28 million packets. Luosi fen is also becoming popular overseas, with exports to more than 100 countries or regions.

There are five tastes of luosifen    8    total. According to Ni Diaoyang, the head of the Liuzhou Luosifen Association     9     a director of the Luosifen Museum," It only takes three bowls     10     (attract) you".

6 . It is a well-known fact that not all animals have the ability to instantly recognize themselves in the mirror. However, a few animals can recognize themselves, such as dolphins, Asian elephants, and of course humans! A species of fish with the ability to recognize itself in the mirror is commonly known as the cleaner fish.

Found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, cleaner fish exist as “cleaning stations” for other fish (known as hosts). They “clean” the dead skin and parasites (寄生虫) from other fish. This is of benefit for cleaner fish, which get a meal, as well as for the other fish species, which are freed from parasites. Such a type of relationship is known as mutualism.

Recently, a group of scientists in Japan found that cleaner fish might have the ability to identify (识别) themselves in photographs! It was already known that cleaner fish could recognize themselves in mirrors and would attack unknown cleaner fish. So, the team wanted to test whether the same was seen in the case of photos as well.

Thus, the team of scientists showed four types of photos to the cleaner fish. The first type was a photo of themselves, while the second involved an unknown cleaner fish. The third type of picture was a photo of an unknown cleaner fish with the fish’s own face edited onto it. The fourth type of photo included its own body but with the face of an unknown cleaner fish.

They found that cleaner fish attacked only those photographs which did not have their own faces. This result was similar to the ability of humans to recognize each other based on their faces and not by their bodies.

This study suggests that self-awareness may be far more widespread among animals than scientists once thought. People shouldn’t be surprised that fish could have a sense of self given that they have already been shown to have complex behavior including tool use and planning.

1. What does the underlined word “mutualism” probably mean in paragraph 2?

A．A host-parasite relationship.	B．A master-servant relationship.
C．Dependence on each other.	D．Beneficial cleaning behavior.

2. What is the new finding about cleaner fish?

A．They can identify themselves in the mirror.

B．They can recognize themselves in the images.

C．They have the same sense of self as humans.

D．They have a better sense of self than some animals.

3. Which types of photos would cleaner fish most probably attack?

A．The first and second types.	B．The second and fourth types.
C．The first and third types.	D．The second and third types.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward the study?

A．Unclear.

B．Doubtful.

C．Supportive.

D．Unconcerned.

7 . For years, animals have been used in the testing of medicine to make sure the products are safe to use for humans. A law that doesn’t require labs to test on animals any more has been signed recently. Before the new law was in place, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required new medicine to be tested on animals before the labs could move on to test on humans. Companies were required to test their products on animals like a monkey or dog. This causes companies to test on tens of thousands of animals every yar. Now the new law lifts the requirement for animal testing.

According to Science, researchers have been wanting to move away from animal testing. Paul Locke, scientist and lawyer at Johns Hopkins University, told the website: “We have many important drugs that have been developed using animal tests. But as we get into some of these more difficult diseases, especially neurological (神经系统的) diseases, the animal models just aren’t serving us as well.”

The chief scientist of the FDA says that they want to try and get rid of (摆脱) all animal testing. “We support other methods that are backed by science and provide the necessary data showing whether products are safe and effective,” Namandjé Bumpus told Science. One of their choices is called “organs-on-chips (器官芯片)”. These are small chips that contain human cells (细胞). The chips are used to test the effects of medicine. They mimic certain human body functions. For example, they are very soft, there can be some kind of blood flow and they are physically active, just as our bodies.

Aysha Akhtar, a neurologist and president and CEO of the Center for Modern Sciences said: “The decision is still up to the FDA to decide whether the method is to be put into practice.” Anyway, Akhtar expects that new methods of testing will be used.

1. What does the new law state?

A．New medicines are to be tested on humans.	B．The requirement for animal testing is stopped.
C．The skills of animal testing need to be improved.	D．More animals are to be used to test new medicine.

2. Why do researchers want to get rid of animal testing?

A．They think it difficult to find enough animals.

B．Animal testing fails to function well sometimes.

C．Some difficult illnesses get worse after animal testing.

D．The medicine is too expensive to be tested on animals.

3. What does the underlined word “mimic” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Put an end to.

B．Keep away from.

C．Make up for.

D．Model themselves on.

4. What is Akhtar’s attitude to new testing methods?

A．Doubtful.

B．Disapproving.

C．Positive.

D．Uninterested.

8 . 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。

A Pleasant Surprise

It was one week before Christmas and my house was filled with festive cheer. The only thing I hoped to get from my Christmas wish list was a puppy (小狗). I had always dreamed of having a puppy, as I was the only child, and it could be quite lonely at times. However, I did not want to get my hopes up, as I knew neither of my parents liked the thought of having a puppy around the house and all that came with it.

Every time I begged for a puppy, my parents would say, “It is a lot of responsibilities, and you will have to clean up after it, give it baths, feed it regularly and walk it.”

I knew the responsibilities and was ready to take them on. Unfortunately, even with my enthusiasm (热情) and determination, my parents still disagreed to get me a puppy. There were very few chances of getting it, but I still tried asking them again that week.

“Oh honey, pick something else instead. There are so many toys that you can pick,” my parents responded as usual. As expected, I thought, giving a resigned sigh (无奈的叹息). For the rest of the evening, I decorated the Christmas tree as my parents hung some stockings. That night, I went to sleep with the hope that my dream would ever come true.

My alarm clock woke me up. “Oh my goodness, it is finally Christmas day!” I shouted excitedly and rushed down the stairs to the living room.

“Good morning, Bella!” both my parents chatted with huge smiles on their faces that were brighter than usual. My curiosity was inspired and many questions rushed into my mind. They played Christmas carols, and they sang along to the merry tunes. Just then, I caught my father smiling at my mother as if they had a secret plan and walking out of the door. When I asked my mother where my father had gone, she simply said that he had gone to pick something up. I grew confused.

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 wondered what they could be hiding from me.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I fell in love with the puppy at first sight and named her Daisy.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The dizi, the Chinese flute, is a traditional Chinese woodwind instrument     1     has been played for thousands of years. It is one of the oldest     2     (know) bamboo wind instruments and is still widely used today in various     3     (style) of Chinese music.

The dizi is     4     (typical) made from bamboo. It is a thin, long and hollow（空的）pipe with a blowing hole at one end and several finger holes along the body. It produces a clear and bright sound. It is used in a variety of     5     (music) contexts, including traditional folk music and classical bands. Usually, it     6     (play) an important role in Chinese opera and dance accompaniments（伴奏）. Dizi players use a variety of skills     7     (improve) the instrument’s expressiveness. These skills include circular（循环）breathing, which allows for continuous play without taking a breath.

The dizi is     8     unique and necessary instrument in traditional Chinese music. With     9     (it) beautiful sound and rich history, it continues to attract audiences around the world     10     remains an important part of China’s cultural heritage.

10 . As a high school student, you’re likely used to learning through reading textbooks.     1     This lies at the heart of “experiential appreciation,” a philosophy that encourages you to engage directly with the world around you. It’s about learning from real-life experiences, and discovering a more profound and engaging way to learn.

To practice experiential appreciation, you can start by getting involved in hands-on activities related to your subjects. They will provide a firsthand understanding of the concepts you’re studying, making learning active and meaningful. So, try joining a sports team, picking up a paintbrush, or taking part in a local charity event.     2    

As you dive deeper, immerse (沉浸) yourself fully in the surroundings and activities. When you’re in nature, don’t just look around.     3     Touching the leaves, feeling the wind and listening to the birds can enrich your learning and make each moment more memorable.

    4     After trying something new, ask yourself what you learned and how it made you feel. Write in a journal or discuss it with friends. This self-discovery turns experiences into life lessons and offers a deeper understanding of the world.

Experiential appreciation transforms learning from a task to be completed into a journey to be treasured.     5     So, explore the world around you, let every experience shape you, and discover the endless possibilities that await. This is the core of true learning, where every moment is a step towards a richer, more enlightened life.

A．It extends learning beyond textbooks.

B．These activities bring learning to life.

C．Mind the impact of your actions on the environment.

D．Instead, activate your senses for a stronger tie with it.

E．Take your experiences further by reflecting on them.

F．Textbooks offer a systematic introduction to essential concepts and principles.

G．Now consider expanding your learning from just reading to actively participating.