Jack was new to Woodberry Forest School this year. He carried a secret burden: a stutter (口吃) that often brought about laughter from his classmates. This made him very upset. Shy and reserved. Jack chose to fade into the background rather than draw attention to himself. He felt like an outsider, never quite fitting in.
Jack was eager to exchange ideas with his classmates, but afraid of getting into trouble. Jack's science teacher, Katherine, a warm and caring woman often wearing a smile, noticed Jack's stutter and shyness. She observed how Jack struggled to express himself in class and how he would shy away when called upon to speak.
Determined to lend a hand, Katherine took Jack under her wing, encouraging him to embrace bravery and believe in his own abilities. Subsequently, Katherine adopted a set of systematic methods to help him. She was glad to find the potential in him, the intelligence and creativity that lay hidden beneath his stutter. Whenever possible, Katherine was always ready to praise his efforts, always declaring, "You are so great!” Whenever Jack stumbled over his words, Katherine always smiled at him encouragingly, providing him with the strength to continue. Day by day, Jack found himself speaking with greater confidence and fluency.
One day, Katherine announced that each student should give a presentation of a science project in front of the class. Jack's heart sank, the familiar fear and anxiety wrapping around him. How could he possibly stand before his classmates to give his ideas clearly, knowing that they would laugh at him? As the presentation drew near, Jack's anxiety mounted. Then came the big day. He watched his classmates take turns to walk up to the front. They gave their presentation with confidence and backed to their seats with satisfaction. However, while Jack was waiting for his turn, his heart beat so violently that he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
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。
Paragraph 1:
It was finally his turn.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
When Jack finished his presentation, the room erupted into applause.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was several days before Christmas.Gray clouds covered the sky. The air was cold. The temperature was below freezing. It was snowing heavily. And the internet was out. Now I found that having the internet out could be a blessing for me. I decided to prepare my turkey meat for dinner, and get a few things done.
After the regular housework was done, I pulled the air conditioning units out of the windows and put them up for the winter. Next, I walked into the storage closet and pulled out the Christmas decorations and the artificial(人造的) tree. I unpacked my new picture and placed it lovingly on my old record player.
Then I set up my Christmas statues of Santa and Dickens’ books on the shelf along with the Christmas angel.Next I unpacked, fitted and put up the tree. After that I pulled out the lights, metal wires and decorations. I put each one on the tree gently and with great care while my son Marvin played Christmas music and decorated his own room.
In no time at all, everything was done. I looked at the tree and then outside again. This time, however, it didn’t seem so cold, gray, and gloomy. Instead, it felt warm and Christmas seemed to be in the air. Even the snowflakes floating in the wind felt more like a gift from Heaven. I heard “Away in a Manger" coming from my son’s CD player and hummed along (跟着哼唱).
This life certainly can seem full of pains at times. It is up to us, though, to make each one a blessing(祝福) in our life. Since there are benefits without the internet, we can turn it off for a while now and then.
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在下面作答。
I proposed to discuss how it felt to be without the internet at dinner.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We made it a rule to have Sunday meal without the internet and we did it this weekend.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. Where is the man probably?
| A．At the office. | B．At home. | C．At a travel agency. |
| A．Go to the theatre. | B．Travel abroad. | C．Meet their friends. |
| A．At 3:15 pm. | B．At 6:15 pm. | C．At 7:00 pm. |
| A．He is sensitive. | B．He is dishonest. | C．He is humorous. |
4 . The feeling of envy (忌妒) strikes at many moments these days: When a friend buys a house, or when a neighbor shares good news about their successful side project while you’re caught by sky-high debts, and when a co-worker gets a new job while your career has no progress.
“It’s normal to feel envious. After all, envy is a universal emotion, and we don't have to feel ashamed by it,” psychologists (心理学家) say. In fact, psychologists suggest trying a powerful method and analyzing our envy to get clues about what we really want out of life. Doing so can help us figure out next steps in our careers and personal lives.
“Two distinct types of envy exist. Malicious (怀有恶意的) envy arrives with anger, annoyance and a sense of wanting to take an advantage away from another person,” says Jan Crusius, psychologist and professor of motivation and emotion at University of Greifswald in Germany. Benign (良性的) envy, on the other hand, is when you wish you were in someone else’s position but don’t feel like tearing them down. That envy can inspire self-reflection and the motivation to set new goals. Research from Crusius has shown that marathon runners who were to experience benign envy also set higher goals for themselves, and tended to run faster in their races.
Rather than bottle up envy when it occurs, start by asking who inspires a mix of admiration and envy in your life. If they’ve achieved a particular milestone, investigate why you’re drawn to that achievement. The answer may point you on a more fulfilling path. Changing your thoughts helps you view someone as a model to catch up rather than an opponent (对手) to defeat, and helps you focus on what you can control.
1. How did the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By showing a definition. | B．By telling a story. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By listing a series of findings. |
| A．Improvement. | B．Anger. | C．Happiness. | D．Gratitude. |
| A．Set a goal for ourselves. | B．Defeat our opponent. |
| C．Just let it be. | D．Bottle up our envy. |
| A．In a news report. | B．In a psychological magazine. |
| C．In a book review. | D．In a novel. |
5 . A humanoid robot can relay video and touch sensations to a person wearing a haptic (触觉内) feedback suit and a virtual reality (VR) headset hundreds of kilometres away, offering away for people to attend events without travelling.
The iCub 3 robot is a 52-kilogram, 125-centimetre-tall robot with 54 joints across its body. Its head contains two cameras where a human’s eyes would be, and an Internet-connected computer where the brain would go. Along with the cameras, sensors covering its body send data to the robot’s “brain”. These sensations are then reproduced on a suit and VR headset worn by a remote human operator.
When the operators react to what they see and feel, the suit’s sensors pick up the movements and the robot matches them. “The key is to translate every signal and bit of digital data that can be sent through the network.” says Stefano Dafarra, who was part of the iCub3 team. There can be a small delay of up to 100 milliseconds to capture and transmit the visual shots, but the operator can case this by moving slightly slower than normal.
The team demonstrated the robot at the Venice Biennale, where it wandered through an exhibition while its operator stood 290 kilometres away in Genoa. Dafarra hopes people will use the iCub3 to attend events remotely, reducing the need to travel. “But at present, a fall could be hugely damaging to the robot, and it’s uncertain whether it could stand up again on its own," he says.
“iCub3 is an interesting robot and offers clear advantages from the previous versions.” says Jonathan Aitken, whose laboratory owns a prior version of the robot. However, he is disappointed that the team wasn’t clear in its research about the data transmission requirements of the new version of the robot. “It would be good to know just how much data was required, and what the upper and lower bounds were.” he says.
1. What’s the principle behind the humanoid robot?| A．It conveys sensations to the wearer and acts accordingly. |
| B．It receives commands from an operator through the Internet. |
| C．The cameras take pictures and then interact with the sensors. |
| D．The computer in the robot processes the data and gives orders. |
| A．Medical consultation. | B．Sports events. |
| C．Outdoor workouts. | D．Virtual tourism. |
| A．It fails to appeal to potential investors. |
| B．Its performance hasn’t been evaluated clearly. |
| C．Its present version still requires to be updated. |
| D．Its transmission of data came across technical problems. |
| A．Humanoid robots with sense of touch catch on |
| B．iCub 3 robot combines with VR to benefit more people |
| C．Humanoid robots let people see and feel things remotely |
| D．New advances in technology enable people to travel at work |
6 . Buried deep within the cracks of an old, wooden desk, a worn-out notebook lay forgotten. Its pages, yellowed with
Dickinson, a
One
Her children decided to fulfil her mother’s dream. They found a cottage
The cottage became a place where Dickinson’s family and friends could gather and shared stories about her. It was a place where they could feel her
| A．age | B．light | C．shade | D．colour |
| A．envisioning | B．illustrating | C．shaping | D．recognizing |
| A．devoted | B．retired | C．professional | D．serious |
| A．materials | B．masterpieces | C．possessions | D．instructions |
| A．lyrics | B．remarks | C．entries | D．references |
| A．particular | B．random | C．typical | D．abstract |
| A．resting | B．planted | C．stretching | D．housed |
| A．security | B．resolution | C．harmony | D．accommodation |
| A．relevant | B．identical | C．opposite | D．unique |
| A．provided | B．decorated | C．covered | D．surrounded |
| A．getaway | B．dedication | C．celebration | D．memorial |
| A．existence | B．spirit | C．atmosphere | D．wisdom |
| A．lying | B．nesting | C．hanging | D．reflecting |
| A．reminder | B．evidence | C．symbol | D．relic |
| A．describe | B．pursue | C．cherish | D．embrace |
7 . A new drug-delivery system could replace needles with puffs (股) of air. Gassensmith studies bioengineering at the University of Texas. His team’s new tech goes beyond patient comfort, though. The device quickly delivers drugs without touching the bloodstream. And that could reduce the risk of spreading disease. He tested it out on his own arm. “I could feel it, but it wasn’t painful,” he reports.
The technology works by blowing in a puff of air through the skin. That gas carries a powder made of tiny bits of vaccine (疫苗) wrapped in metallic crystals (晶体). The crystal coating is really strong, Gassensmith says. As a result, the vaccine powder does not have to be refrigerated while stored. The air contains carbon dioxide, or CO2. Once in the body, the CO2 that carries the powder will mix with water. It creates a weak acid that breaks down the crystal cover. Released, the vaccine bits are then able to enter the bloodstream.
This gas-based drug-delivery system is an upgrade over previous ones. For instance, adjusting the gas that carries the vaccine powder can customize how fast the tiny crystal capsules release the drug. Testing showed that the drug released fastest when delivered with carbon dioxide. Plain air led to a slower, gentler release. Vaccines work best when released slowly. That allows them longer contact with the immune(免疫) system. But the team hopes the device could work for other medicines too. And some medicines must be released quickly. One such example is insulin, a crucial drug for many people with diabetes.
Fear of needles keeps many people from getting vaccinations. Gassensmith is optimistic that this new system might get around that. Future research must ensure that gas-delivered vaccines build immunity to disease as expected, said Weniger, a doctor, who studied vaccine technology for 30 years for the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
1. What can we learn about the new drug-delivery system from paragraph 1?| A．It causes the loss of feeling. | B．It improves the use of needle. |
| C．It cares about patient comfort. | D．It blocks the spread of disease. |
| A．To create a weak acid. | B．To absorb carbon dioxide. |
| C．To clean the bloodstream. | D．To contain the vaccine. |
| A．Flexibility. | B．Durability. | C．High speed. | D．Gentle release. |
| A．The effectiveness of gas-based vaccines. | B．The acceptance of getting vaccinations. |
| C．The influence of vaccine on disease control. | D．The operation of the new drug-delivery system. |
8 . When you try a new restaurant or book a hotel, do you consider the online reviews? Do you submit online reviews yourself? Do you pay attention if they are filtered (过滤)? Does that impact your own online review submissions?
In 2010, Yelp shared a video to help users understand how its review filter works and why it was necessary. In recently published research, T. Ravichandran, Ph. D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his team compared reviews of over 1,000 restaurants on Yelp to those same restaurants on TripAdvisor, which did not openly share its review filter policies. They found that the number of reviews submitted to Yelp decreased. Those submissions were increasingly negative and shorter in length compared to TripAdvisor. Also, the more positive a review, the shorter it was.
“Platforms are pressured to have content guidelines and take measures to prevent fraud (欺诈) and ensure that reviews are reliable and helpful,” said Ravichandran. Platforms use advanced software to flag and filter reviews. Once a review is flagged, it is filtered out and not displayed, and it is not factored into the overall rating for a business. “However, most platforms do not openly disclose their policies, leading consumers to suspect that reviews are controlled to increase profit by filtering so-called dishonest content,” Ravichandran added.
Whether or not to disclose review filters is a critical decision for platforms with many considerations. Users may put less time and effort into their reviews if they suspect that they have a significant chance of being filtered, or they may do the opposite to make their reviews less likely to be filtered. Since most false reviews are overly positive, users may assume that positive reviews are most likely to be filtered and act accordingly.
“Review moderation(审核) openness comes at a cost,”said Ravichandran. “Although openness helps to position a platform as fair toward advertisers, the resultant decrease in the number of reviews submitted impacts the platform’s usefulness to consumers.” Online reviews pose great opportunity for firms, but also raise complex questions. Platforms must earn the trust of users without sacrificing engagement.
1. What did Ravichandran’s research find?| A．Positive submissions to Yelp went up. |
| B．TripAdvisor adopted better filter policies. |
| C．Reviews on TripAdvisor dropped in number. |
| D．Yelp’s practice discouraged longer reviews. |
| A．To increase net profit. | B．To protect user privacy. |
| C．To guarantee review reliability. | D．To improve business reputation. |
| A．Users. | B．Reviews. | C．Considerations. | D．Platforms. |
| A．Enhance User Trust Through Review Moderation |
| B．To Filter Online Reviews? Think Before You Start |
| C．How Review Moderation Openness Shapes User Conduct |
| D．Online Reviews: Filter the Fraud, But Don’t Tell Us How |
Honking cars, blasting stereos and babbling neighbors are
The cameras
However, Erica Walker, who studies the joint
On the other hand,
Have you ever been so depressed that you can’t sleep? You also can’t eat. You can’t read. You have no friends to call up and nothing is good on TV. So you sigh, press your face down harder into your pillow, and shed a few tears.
This was my life two years ago. I had just turned 14 but already found life a struggle. As I lay in my bed one Saturday, Mom peeked (瞄) into my room to make her regular “Is Emily still alive” check. I knew that if I spent more time like this, she would begin dusting me. After suggesting a few things for me to do that I immediately rejected, Mom made her move, “Emily! Get dressed! I’m taking the dog out for a walk, and you’re coming with me!” “Why?” I protested. “Because it’ll make you feel better.”
The thought of moving was unbearable. I felt as if all of my body parts were weighed down by tons of bricks I couldn’t remember the last time I had gone outside. Somehow I found the strength to slip on a pair of jeans and a black sweatshirt. Mom was waiting at the door, leash (狗绳) in hand and dog at her side.
Then, we stepped outside. It was a warm March day and it had been a long time since the warmth of the sun had touched my cheeks. Mom led the dog and me down some dirt paths, through a big field and reached Halsey Pond. But the signs of spring had yet to appear and the scene was rather colorless throughout the entire journey.
“I’m tired! It’s boring, Mom! When can we go home?” “Not yet,” she’d say. Mom stopped to say hi to every jogger, dog walker, runner, and bicyclist who passed us. Sometimes she would get into a conversation. They would talk about weather, dogs, and all small talk topics. She seemed happy, and was literally glowing (容光焕发). After walking for what seemed an age, Mom finally said it was time to go back.
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: When I got home, a new feeling seemed to be awakened.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: A new Saturday found me asking Mom if I could take the dog out.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
