By the time we reached the airport, my mother was angry. “We’re going to be late,”she said as she pulled into the newly opened parking area.
My husband David and I had come to pick up my oldest son, who had flown to spend theNew Year with the family. As always, Mom had insisted on driving us to the airport.
We picked a lane (车道) that didn’t look too busy. When our turn came, Mom rolled down her window to grab the parking ticket from the machine. We watched and waited for the gate to lift so we could drive through. Instead, we heard a voice,“Please take the ticket.”“Give me a minute,”Mom answered.
It’s a well-known fact that I often talk to myself. So does my mother. So at that time, Ididn’t think anything of my mother’s words.
The machine sounded again. “Please take the ticket.”
“I’m trying. I can’t reach it,”she said.
This time, my husband and I glanced at each other with our eyebrows raised. Certainly,Mom knew the voice was automated (自动化的) and not a real person speaking to her.
“Please take the ticket.”
“I’m trying. I’m trying. It’s too far away. Give me a minute.”
In fairness to my mother, automated machines had recently arrived in the world, and there weren’t many around yet. We had never run into one at the airport before. In the old days, the machine spit out a parking ticket, and if you couldn’t reach the ticket, you simply opened your door and grabbed it. Now, the new metal safety railings (护栏) on either side of the car made it impossible to open the door.
“Please take the ticket.”
“It’s too far. I’m trying. I’m trying.”
The traffic behind us grew impatient. I saw people trying to back their cars so they could find another lane. All the while, the machine continued,“Please take the ticket...”
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。
Mom was frustrated (沮丧的).
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I managed to reach for my mother’s safety belt and tried to unfasten (解开) it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. Why did the speaker go on the tour?
| A．It was the prize of a competition. |
| B．John asked her to go with him. |
| C．It was her travel plan. |
| A．The drinks. | B．The food. | C．The waiters. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Amazing. | C．Terrible. |
| A．She rode an elephant. |
| B．She went to the mountains. |
| C．She relaxed in the hotel. |
It was only a few weeks after my surgery. I went to Dr. Belt’s office for a checkup. It was just after my first chemotherapy (化学疗法) treatment. My scar was still very tender. My arm was numb underneath. This whole set of unique and weird feelings was like having a new roommate to share the two-bedroom apartment formerly known as my breasts — now lovingly known as “the breast and the chest.”
As usual, I was taken to an examination room to have my blood drawn, again — a terrifying process for me, since I’m so frightened of needles. I lay down’ on the examining table. Ramona entered the room. Her warm sparkling smile was familiar, and stood out in contrast to my fears. I’d first seen her in the office a few weeks earlier. She wasn’t my nurse on that day, but I remember her because she was laughing. She laughed in deep, round and rich tones. I remember wondering what could be so funny behind that medical door. What could she possibly find to laugh about at a time like this? So I decided she wasn’t serious enough about the whole thing and that I would try to find a nurse who was caring. But I was wrong.
This day was different. Ramona had taken my blood before. She knew about my fear of needles, and she kindly hid the needle under a magazine with a bright blue picture of a kitchen being remodeled. As we opened the blouse, the catheter (导管) on my breast was exposed and the fresh scar on my chest could be seen. She gently reached over and ran her hand across the scar, examining the smoothness of the healing skin and looking for any irregularities. I began to cry gently and quietly. She looked at me tenderly and said, “You haven’t touched the scar yet, have you?” And I said, “No.”
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。
So this wonderful, warm woman laid the palm of her golden brown hand on my pale chest and she gently held it there.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That night as I lay down to sleep, I gently placed my hand on my chest and I left it there until I fell asleep.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . COVID-19. You read that right. It’s not just that we’re sick of COVID-19 but coronaviruses (冠状病毒) have been with and in us for hundreds of years. A former president called it “just a cold”. The wording might have been slightly clumsy.
For those who can’t be very ill, there is an injection that will help their immune system get a head start. The effectiveness doesn’t last quite as long as the disease; that’s not surprising. And the disease (coronavirus infections, any of the five). doesn’t give lifelong immunity anyway, not before 2019, not after 2023. Nothing new: You get seasonal colds every season; these are often coronaviruses.
| A．So what should you do? |
| B．Then who is to turn to? |
| C．And the same rules apply as with any cold: |
| D．But there were already four coronaviruses that caused seasonal colds. |
| E．Because of advances in basic sciences, we could watch the virus change. |
| F．Your family doctor is who knows you and knows all this and a whole. |
| G．With the data we can analyze the virus and apply suitable and personal therapies. |
5 . Isn’t it nice to always have a lovely dog follow you around and respond when asked to sit down or shake hands? What if the dog has some unique skills, such as standing on one leg while resting on a piece of doufu without destroying it, or continuously making back turns? This would be even better.
In fact, a life-like robotic dog developed by Chinese tech company Xiaomi Corp seems like that special one. Weighing 8.9 kilogram, about the size of a Doberman, CyberDog 2 is the latest push by Xiaomi to popularize quadrupedal (四足动物) robotics.
With a black, fantastic, futuristic design, CyberDog 2 can trot along at speeds of 3.2 meters per second, analyze its surroundings in real-time, create navigation al maps, plot its destination, and avoid obstacles.
“Coupled with human posture and face recognition tracking, CyberDog is capable of following its owner and darting around barriers,” said Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi. Behind such functions are Xiaomi’s self-developed CyberGear Micro-actuator, which further enhances the robot’s mobility and supports high difficulty movements. CyberDog 2 is equipped with a combination of sensing and decision-making system, offering 19 sensors for vision, touch and hearing. Lei said CyberDog 2 is designed more for engineers and robotic enthusiasts than ordinary consumers. It is priced at 12,999 yuan ($1,800) and greater efforts are needed to make it multifunctional.
Xiaomi is not alone in showing an interest in quadrupedal machines. US company Boston Dynamics had pioneered the quadrupedal format for robots. Last year, the company brought out Spot for $74,500and the robot has been put to a wide range of uses, from surveying dangerous mines to helping doctors connect with patients remotely. It has also been tested by both law enforcement and the military, though not as a weapon. Earlier this year, Chinese robotics firm Unitree also released a quadrupedal bot to popularize the machines.
1. Paragraph 4 mainly focuses on the ________ of CyberDog 2.| A．function | B．ability | C．mechanism | D．potential |
| A．Cyber Dog 2 is able to distinguish its owner and strangers. |
| B．CyberDog 2 can perform most human-possessed postures. |
| C．CyberDog 2 is ready to be widely applied in households. |
| D．CyberDog 2 is going to stand the test of robotic market. |
| A．the multifunction of robotic quadrupedal machines |
| B．the mighty scientific power of Boston Dynamics |
| C．the prospect of the market of quadrupedal machines |
| D．the appeal of quadrupedal machines |
| A．Xiaomi takes lead in CyberDog research |
| B．Breakthrough made in robotic machines |
| C．Every robotic dog will have its day |
| D．CyberDog 2, a cute pet for your family |
6 . For all programmers and processor industry participants, the RISC-V website is almost a must-visit as an open standard. Instruction Set Architecture, which is defined as the design of a computer from the programmer’s perspective, enabling a new era of processor innovation through open cooperation.
Unlike X86 and ARM, which are owned by certain enterprises, RISC-V is an open one, allowing anybody to download its instructions handbook and use it. Maybe that is why some US lawmakers are targeting RISC-V. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Mark Warner have reportedly been urging US President Joe Biden to take action regarding RISC-V, because, they fear that Chinese companies might make use of the open-source platform to improve their chips (芯片) technology.
Maybe the legislators (立法者) do not realize that by targeting RISC-V they are targeting not only a company or a platform but the idea of openness itself. Being a US company. RISC-V has a global membership, with a number of Chinese and US enterprises as members. It has for long been known as an open-minded institution promoting technological cooperation despite the political tensions, and the US lawmakers targeting it seem to be closing one of the last channels of technology communication between China and their nation.
By doing so they are harming the United States’ own interests and its technological leadership in the world. Open source is a good computing tool that benefits those who share programs as well as those who learn from it. The Android smartphone system, for example, has developed largely because Google decided to make it an open-source system, which attracted worldwide smartphone businesses to adopt its standard.
The US lawmakers might next target GitHub, or, some day, even forbid programmers from accessing the Internet. That will only lead to the US losing its technological edge, never to get it back again.
1. What is RISC-V according to the passage?| A．A website for programmers. |
| B．A computer design standard. |
| C．An open-source platform. |
| D．A US chips company. |
| A．argument | B．background | C．proof | D．connection |
| A．Fairness. | B．Interests. | C．Cooperation. | D．Openness. |
| A．RISC-V enables processor innovation through open cooperation. |
| B．US lawmakers are targeting RISC-V for the technology safety concern. |
| C．The example of Android demonstrates the benefits of technological openness. |
| D．GitHub and the Internet are the next target US will focus on to safeguard its leadership. |
My best friend, Cocoa, and I live in a senior-citizen apartment complex in a lovely small town. Cocoa is a ten-year-old poodle(卷毛狗) and I am a sixty-nine-year-old lady, so you can see we both qualify as senior citizens.
Years ago, I promised myself that when I retired I would get a chocolate poodle to share my golden years. From the very beginning, Cocoa has always been exceptionally well-behaved. I never have to tell him anything more than once. He is extremely neat—when taking toys from his box to play, he always puts them back when he is finished. I have been accused of being obsessively neat, and sometimes I wonder if he mimics me or if he was born that way, too.
He is a wonderful companion. When I throw a ball for him, he picks it up in his mouth and gives it back to me. He does many amusing things that make me laugh, and when that happens, he is so delighted that he just keeps it up. I enjoy his company very much.
But almost two years ago, Cocoa did something that challenged comprehension. Was it a miracle or a coincidence? It is certainly a mystery.
One afternoon, Cocoa started acting strangely. I was sitting on the floor playing with him when he started pawing and sniffing at the right side of my chest. He had never done anything like this before, and I told him, “No.” Usually, one “no” is sufficient, but not that day. He stopped briefly, then suddenly ran toward me from the other side of the room, throwing his entire weight—eighteen pounds—at the right side of my chest. He crashed into me and I yelled in pain. It hurt more than I thought it would have.
Soon after this, I felt a lump (肿瘤). I went to the doctors, and after X-rays, tests and lab work were done, they told me I had cancer.
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。
When cancer starts, a wall of calcium(钙) builds to which the lump or cancer attaches itself.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Was Cocoa just aware of what he was doing?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . Architects often spend months or even years perfecting a design to express their ideas more clearly, convey additional information, or outline the right proportions for a building. However, the urgent issue of climate change is placing new demands on their work. For example, in July, Super Typhoon Doksuri battered China, affecting more than 2.66 million people in Fujian Province alone.
Green architecture that conserves energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions offers a solution, and concerted efforts have been made in diverse research fields over the past three decades to minimize heat loss. In addition, new buildings have to be tailored to the needs of people’s lifestyles.
Ren Jun, a professor at Tianjin University’s School of Architecture, who designed the first near-zero energy house in China in December 2019, said, “You can construct low-energy, environmentally-friendly houses, but if the interior design and environmental quality don’t meet residents’ requirements, these properties won’t be suitable to live in.”
The near-zero energy house, located-in Banbidian village in Beijing’s southern district of Daxing, won the International Design Award in the United States in January last year. The 400-square-meter property, which stands at the entrance to the village, runs on solar power gathered from rooftop panels, with the addition of a small amount of power from the grid (电网).
Ren said the first obstacle to conserving energy in the property was heat retention, which he attempted to achieve by keeping the indoor temperature at a certain level. The property is divided into five areas: a solar garden in the front yard, a central lounge, a water courtyard, a sponge zone, and a back room. For the exterior walls, Ren used three types of insulation (隔热层), including plastic foam, each about 25 centimeters thick.
Ren also looked for ways to deal with emissions at the house. He decided to install a ventilator, which pipes air that is polluted and replaces it with fresh air from outside in every room at the property.
Ren said it would take three to five years before more ultralow or near-zero energy buildings appeared in Chinese cities.
1. Which is not an important factor for designing green houses?| A．Energy consumption. | B．Carbon emission. |
| C．People’s lifestyle. | D．Architecture style. |
| A．The house consumes little electricity. |
| B．The house is deliberately designed to keep heat. |
| C．The house is equipped with many intelligent facilities. |
| D．The house is the first International Design Award-winning building in China. |
| A．He designed the house in five stories to trap heat in it. |
| B．He applied 75 centimeters of plastic foam to exterior walls. |
| C．He tailored the interior design to the demand of local people. |
| D．He installed a ventilator to cut down carbon dioxide emissions. |
| A．Green Homes Offer Hope amid Climate Change |
| B．Green Houses Feature Near-Zero Energy Consumption |
| C．Ren Jun Won the International Design Award |
| D．China Strives for Low Carbon Strategy with Green Houses |
Taimur and Daniyal were twins and had been my next door neighbors since I was five years old. Not only did we go to the same school, but our evenings and weekends were spent together too. It was like we were inseparable. I never felt that I needed any friends other than them. Unexpectedly, one evening their parents shared the news of them moving to another country — Australia.
I was shocked to realize that we would never be together. I started recalling all the good times we had spent together, such as playing in the school breaks, the play dates, and all the fun things we did. Was it all going to end?
When we had been through so many highs and lows together, shared secrets and supported each other through thick and thin, their moving away felt like my heart was being taken away. The news of their departure left me feeling empty and lost.
I was thinking about the biggest change that I was going to face in a few days. It was a difficult pill to swallow, but I knew I must move on. Though it wasn’t easy at first, I was trying my level best to beat the mental pain I was in.
After hearing the news, every day felt like a struggle, the school didn’t feel the same; the lunch breaks had no purpose. Soon there would be no one to compare the test marks with, homework remarks would not excite me like before, and so on. I couldn’t help but feel lost and alone already.
For a few days, I even felt less confident while rehearsing (排练) for my performance at the upcoming school’s annual event. But what I learned at this point in life was that your family can be the strongest support when you don’t even realize it. Turn to your family for support if necessary. Reach out to people who care about you. Find meaningful connections and share how you feel.
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。
Seeing my condition, my family advised me to make the most of the time that was left before they moved.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, but it set my heart at ease to realize that we could still be the closest friends.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“I challenge you to a hundred-meter race,” my opponent, Julius, declared. He had beaten me countless times during practice, but I wanted to prove him wrong for a change. “That’ll wipe the smile off his face!” I thought, even as fear started to pool in my stomach. He was well-known around the school for being the fastest runner on the track-and-field team, while I tailed behind in second place- a respectable position, but not yet good enough to surpass(超过)him. Nevertheless, I shook his hand and said, “Challenge accepted!” However, negative thoughts flooded my mind. Would I be able to win? After all, Julius’ speed of light would guarantee a sure win!
Soon, all my friends and the teachers had gathered around to watch the challenge. “Oh no, I will lose and be embarrassed in front of the whole school!” I spoke in a low voice. Nevertheless, I turned my worried expression into a determined smile. To keep myself from sinking into self-doubt, I did some stretches and jumping jacks to warm up my body.
Finally, the crucial moment arrived. The referee(裁判)fired the starting gun and we took off like a shot. Adrenaline(肾上腺素) rocketed through my body as I launched myself forward. True to my expectations, Julius caught up with me easily and was in the lead! “No way will I lose! Victory, here I come!” I motivated myself as anger coursed through my body. As the race progressed, my eyes locked onto Julius, his athletic form effortlessly moving ahead. His quick steps and strong focus showcased his impressive skills. Yet, I refused to let doubt consume me. A fierce fire burnt within, fueled by a mix of unwillingness to admit defeat and anger. How dare he assume he was unbeatable? With every step, my determination solidified(变坚定), and my resolve to surpass him strengthened.
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。
“Faster!” I screamed and in that instant, I felt like Superman.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Yi Rou! Yi Rou! Yi Rou!” The whole school was cheering my name!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
