This Friday brought a mix of emotions—both excitement and disappointment — all because of a flyer from school. When I got home, Mum saw the flyer in my hand and asked, “What’s this?”
“A flyer for a five-day art camp,” I explained. “But Emily can’t go.”
“Would you like to attend?”Mum asked. “You’ve always loved art.” Her words reminded me of what Emily had said earlier: “Tessa, you’re the real artist. My brother thought the roses I painted were rocket ships.” I sighed. Mum patted my back. She knew I had a hard time jumping into something with no familiar faces around. “Maybe next year.”
“Maybe,” I echoed. Then I told Mum I wanted to go outside to draw the Westons’ pine tree (松树). She nodded with an encouraging smile.
As I walked into the bright sunshine, I couldn’t help but think about the art camp. I wished I felt a little bit braver. Emily could make friends with a whole bus of kids in ten minutes, but my stomach felt like a little boat tossed in a heavy storm when I was surrounded by strangers... By the time I started drawing, I had made up my mind to forget about the art camp.
I began by drawing the pine tree’s strong and straight trunk, and then added the beautiful branches, making sure the upper ones lifted gently towards the sun. Lost in my work, I jumped when I heard Mr. Weston speak up, “You’ve done a great job showing the strength of that tree on paper.”
“Thanks,” I smiled, glancing up.
As I drew the needles to the branches, Mr. Weston told me something I never knew about pines: If you plant the root ball too deep, the tree dies. Their roots grow out, not down—to get enough water and grow tall.
“You have a good eye, Tessa.”With these words, Mr. Weston nodded goodbye.
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: His words made me pause and think.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: The next Monday, I signed up for the camp.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sophie had to move to a new school in the town from her own village with her family because her father got a new job in a company. At the beginning, she used to sit alone in the class and then one day a girl, Nia, from her class talked to her, hoping that they could be friends. Nia was a modern girl born and brought up in the town. She was kind and a loving girl.
Nia never really had many friends because she used to choose her friends very wisely. When Nia came to Sophie with the hand of friendship, Sophie did not think even for a second and accepted her friendship as she needed friends. As the days passed by, Nia and Sophie had already developed a good friendship. They then promised that they would focus on the better things they would do for each other if they made mistakes.
Soon Sophie made many friends like Stephen, George, Josh and Ernie. She spent a lot of time with most of them as close friends and almost forgot about Nia. One day Sophie along with all her friends decided to do something adventurous: to light up firecrackers (鞭炮) behind the office building.
As word spread very fast among teenagers, Nia heard about it and told her to be aware of her real friends but Sophie paid no attention to it. Nia then knew that Sophie would not be so careful so she decided to look out for Sophie without her knowledge.
When they were pushing Sophie out to light up the crackers with a candle, Stephen saw a teacher coming out of the office room. He waved to the others to run away but left Sophie alone there.
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。
The teacher noticed Sophie and shouted, “Stop!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the headmaster’s room, Nia pulled out her phone.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . Most airplanes are constructed with seats in rows of two or three Mathematically, someone in my family of five has to sit by a
From the time I could speak, I realized that overcoming communication
Since kindergarten, I have loved Chinese culture. In my Junior year of high school, I
Thanks to the strangers in my life, I learn that one must embrace (拥抱) certain new experience. I’m so
| A．kid | B．stranger | C．senior | D．pilot |
| A．possibility | B．mistake | C．task | D．honor |
| A．skills | B．relationships | C．barriers | D．ideas |
| A．owning | B．unlocking | C．ensuring | D．maintaining |
| A．depressed | B．weak | C．deaf | D．blind |
| A．struggling | B．asking | C．wishing | D．helping |
| A．virtual | B．abstract | C．risky | D．difficult |
| A．talent | B．habit | C．passion | D．case |
| A．found | B．valued | C．earned | D．donated |
| A．inconvenient | B．unnecessary | C．unable | D．impatient |
| A．invite | B．encourage | C．train | D．represent |
| A．happiness | B．friendships | C．achievements | D．knowledge |
| A．powerful | B．willing | C．comfortable | D．grateful |
| A．put off | B．add up | C．cut down | D．lead to |
| A．suddenly | B．definitely | C．gradually | D．accidentally |
4 . An atmospheric researcher Lubna Dada, who is part of an international project called CLOUD, and her team conducted a new study. The study looks at the role of trees and the natural compounds (混合物) they release into the atmosphere in cloud formation. The goal is to more precisely understand the climate before the Industrial Revolution — and how it’s changed since.
Clouds are not only important for the weather — they also help shape the climate. Some clouds act as a layer of protection between incoming solar radiation and Earth, cooling the atmosphere. Other clouds do the opposite: they act like a blanket and trap heat.
“But many current climate models don’t account for either the warming or cooling effects of clouds, or the role aerosols play in cloud formation. That is the biggest uncertainty in climate science at present.” Dada says.
Dada and the team are trying to figure it out using a steel, cylindrical room that roughly recreates the atmosphere. To do that, the team covers the room with tape. It has lights that seem like different layers of the atmosphere, and the researchers can change the humidity and temperature levels to create a given geographic location. Then, Dada and her team can add specific vapors into the room to study their effects. Dada says that previous research has looked at the effects of two kinds of organic emissions released by plants: monoterpenes and isoprene. But another kind of compound, sesquiterpenes (倍半萜烯), has largely been ignored.
In a recent study from the CLOUD project, scientists tested the effects of sesquiterpenes on cloud formation. They added all three compounds — monoterpenes, isoprene and sesquiterpenes — into the CLOUD room to see how many new particles (微粒) formed. They found that sesquiterpenes formed ten times more particles than the other two substances at the same concentrations.
Dada says this finding will help scientists understand the role natural emissions played in the preindustrial climate and how much humans have changed that.
1. Why did the researchers conduct the study?| A．To recreate the preindustrial climate. |
| B．To explore the warming effects of clouds. |
| C．To understand cloud formation and climate changes better. |
| D．To access the impact of trees on weather patterns more precisely. |
| A．Climate model. | B．Cloud formation. |
| C．The cooling effect of clouds. | D．The warming effect of clouds. |
| A．It plays a significant role in cloud formation. |
| B．It is more important than the other two compounds. |
| C．It has been largely ignored in the previous research. |
| D．It forms less particles than the other two compounds. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Finance. | C．Culture. | D．Environment. |
When I was seven years old, my family moved from Mexico to America. In Mexico, I was a cheerful girl who loved making people laugh with my jokes and inventing fun games to play with my friends. However, when I arrived in America, I found it hard to fit in, and I became quieter.
We lived in a small house with a modest yard where we grew vegetables—my responsibility. While I took pride in watching them grow, there were times when I dreamed of having a beautiful garden like my schoolmate Luella’s, with its delicate tulips (郁金香). Although Luella lived in the same neighborhood as me, we barely knew each other.
It was after a tornado that Luella and I finally became close friends.
The tornado struck on a Sunday afternoon.The gentle breeze transformed into a strong wind, and thick gray clouds filled the sky. Gradually, the tornado took shape, starting as a thin rope and growing into a large black funnel (漏斗). My entire family gathered in the bathroom, seeking shelter from the storm. Terrified, I sat close to my mom, knees in my chest. After the storm had passed, our worries and fears were replaced by relief that we were unharmed and that our house had remained undamaged.
As I stepped outside, I witnessed the extent of the damage the tornado had caused to our neighborhood. Across the street, a tall tree had fallen, crushing Luella’s garden in front of her yellow house. We hurried over to check on it. Fortunately, her family seemed to be away at the time, and no one was injured. However, her once-beautiful garden was in ruins, with the fallen tree destroying the tulips and debris (碎片) spread everywhere. I could only imagine how heartbroken they must feel seeing this.
Then my mom’s usual words rang in my ear, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and my family started to think about how we could help.
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。
Just at that moment, Luella’s family returned in their car.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Even after the debris was cleared, I could still sense Luella’s sorrow for her lost garden.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the town of Willowbrook, young Sarah was in a state of great excitement. Her school was putting on its annual play, and she had been offered a principal role. The school hall had been abuzz for weeks with rehearsals, prop (道具) preparations, and the students practicing their lines. Sarah had spent countless hours rehearsing, wanting to get every word and movement absolutely right.
However, underlying her anticipation was a growing sadness. Sarah’s dad, Mr Thompson, worked as an engineer in a big city, and his job often kept him away from home for a long time, which meant he frequently missed out on most of the special moments in Sarah’s life. This play seemed to be another addition to that growing list. He had a vital business meeting on the same day, and Sarah, although understanding, couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Her classmates talked excitedly about their families coming to watch, increasing her sense of loss.
It was bright and sunny on the day of the play. The school’s hall was noisy with students. Students in costumes rushed about, teachers gave last-minute instructions, and the air was thick with anticipation. Sarah peeped out from behind the curtains and saw the hall filling up with eager parents, siblings, and friends. Every seat was taken, except one — her dad’s.
The play started on time with Sarah and her classmates’ performance being the first. The actors delivered their lines with passion and the audience responded with laughter and applause at all the right moments. Sarah played her part with a mix of excitement and longing, wishing her dad could see her shine.
Halfway through, the host called for a surprise guest to enter. He described him as a “mysterious stranger” whose brief appearance would provide a turning point in the plot. As the lights dimmed slightly and suspenseful music played, a tall figure stepped onto the stage.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Sarah’s heart jumped faster.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When the final scene concluded and the curtains drew to a close, applause thundered through the hall.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . A high school teacher and his students have discovered that an asteroid (小行星) hit by a NASA spacecraft, in a test run for saving the Earth from an impact, is behaving unexpectedly. The find could have effects on future planetary defense missions.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a project designed to launch and crash a fridge-sized spacecraft into an asteroid called Dimorphos, orbiting a larger asteroid Didymos. The purpose of the exercise was to see how significantly the previous path of Dimorphos could be changed by the impact. Before DART’s impact, it would take Dimorphos 11 hours and 55 minutes to complete a lap around Didymos. NASA was hoping the DART crash could change the cycle by about 73 seconds, but observations made in the weeks following the impact determined that the results were much more significant, reducing Dimorphos’ orbital period by some 33 minutes.
But California high school teacher Jonathan Swift and his students discovered that Dimorphos’ orbital period was a full minute longer than the time reported by NASA last year. They used the school’s observatory to track Dimorphos and Didymos for several months last fall. Swift presented his class’ findings at the American Astronomical Society conference in June. The DART team has since confirmed that Dimorphos did indeed continue slowing in its orbit up to a month after the impact.
Scientists aren’t sure exactly what is behind the slowdown of Dimorphos. But recent observations of the asteroid have revealed a vast field of large rocks were kicked up by the impact. It’s possible that some of the larger space rocks fell back onto Dimorphos within that first month, slowing its orbit further, DART team member Harrison Agrusa said.
The DART team plans to release its own report on the unexpected findings in the coming weeks. However, complete answers may have to wait until 2026, when the European Space Ageney’s Hera spacecraft is scheduled to investigate the crash site up closely.
1. What was the purpose of launching the NASA spacecraft?| A．To change Dimorphos’ orbital cycle. |
| B．To stop Dimorphos hitting the Earth. |
| C．To reduce Didymos’ path around the sun. |
| D．To make Didymos move in a bigger orbit. |
| A．1 full minute. | B．2 minutes or so. |
| C．Nearly 33 minutes. | D．About 32 minutes. |
| A．How seriously Dimorphos was damaged. |
| B．What happened to the rocks on Dimorphos. |
| C．Why Dimorphos slowed down for a month. |
| D．What Dimorphos looked like after the impact. |
| A．To crash into another asteroid nearby. |
| B．To measure the previous impact results. |
| C．To affect the motion of the twin asteroids. |
| D．To identify the asteroids threatening the Earth. |
8 . People in Australia have been really cautious about using natural or alternative treatments compared to other places, according to Dr. Paul Laver, a professor at the University of Sydney. He thinks this is because doctors in Australia have always been very powerful, and they are unwilling to let others take their place. In many other countries, regular treatments and these alternative treatments have worked closely together for a long time. For example, in Germany, medicines made from plants account for 10%of the country’s medicine sales. In the United States, more people visited these alternative therapists (治疗专家) than regular doctors in 1990.
During the past 20 years, more people in Australia have started to like these alternative treatments. In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people say they had contacted alternative therapists like chiropractors or herbalists. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population. Rather than criticizing this trend, increasing numbers of doctors in Australia, especially the younger ones, are starting to work with alternative therapists or take courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism. Part of the motivation was financial, Dr Laver said. The bottom line is that most doctors don’t want to lose patients. If they see potential patients going elsewhere, they might want to be able to offer a similar service.
In 1993, Dr. Laver did a survey in Sydney and found that people who went to alternative health therapists were usually those who hadn’t been helped much by regular medicine. These people liked the holistic approach of their alternative therapists, and the friendly, concerned and detailed attention they had received, which they didn’t always get from regular doctors.
The survey suggested that people visited alternative therapists for various problems like muscle pains, stomach issues, and emotional stress etc. It suggested that calling it “complementary medicine” might be better because people use it alongside regular medicine, d especially when regular medicine doesn’t seem to help.
1. Traditionally, how have Australian doctors differed from doctors in other countries?| A．They’ve resisted alternative therapists. |
| B．They’ve provided alternative medicines. |
| C．They’ve worked with alternative therapists. |
| D．They’ve had less power than alternative therapists. |
| A．doctors’ salaries are decreasing | B．younger doctors are in more demand |
| C．doctors are receiving more complaints | D．doctors are choosing to learn new skills |
| A．Regular doctors were not available in their area. |
| B．People received more care from alternative therapists. |
| C．Alternative therapists had better medical equipment. |
| D．People paid much higher expenses for regular doctors. |
| A．Challenges Faced by Regular Doctors |
| B．The Rise of Alternative Therapies in Australia |
| C．Financial Motivation Behind Doctors’ Choices |
| D．The Development of Medical Practices Worldwide |
When I was in high school, like many other teenage boys, I played in a band. Most of our families came from South Africa, so, we mixed our favorite hard rock and heavy metal songs with elements of South African rhythms and melodies. Although our band didn’t achieve widespread success, we had a special night that I would never forget, when we realized the unique impact of music on lonely hearts.
At our school’s talent show, we weren’t the best, but we were good enough to come in third place, which made us more confident. Then, we decided to test the waters beyond our classmates. When we were booked for a charitable event at a large hospital, we were delighted. This opportunity was a thrilling breakthrough. Yet, beneath our excitement, we felt a sense of anxiety to perform for strangers-could our tunes really touch an audience unfamiliar with our sound?
For two weeks, we threw ourselves into intense practice sessions, meeting daily after school to practice hard and learn enough songs to fill a one-hour show.
On the concert day, we arrived early to check the stage. We felt nervous as we stood there and looked out at the hundred or so empty chairs lined up below us. After setting up and doing a quick sound check, we went backstage to have a soda and rest, doing anything to calm our nerves. While we were back there the hospital’s entertainment director came over to chat with us.
“Okay, boys, there are a couple of important details you should know,” she began. “Many in the audience today are suffering from severe physical and/or mental disabilities. Don’t be surprised by that. These patients have very few chances to see live entertainment of any kind, so they enjoy any kind of musical act that we can provide. Just go ahead and play your regular show, and you’ll do fine.” After saying that, she left, joining into the theatre to help the volunteers and staff who were assisting the patients to their seats.
注意：1.续写的词数应为 150 左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Before long, it was time to begin our show.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Don’t go! You don’t understand—they love your performance!” said the director.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Mom, please,” Ann a begged eagerly. “Please, let me do it by myself!” She had never made cookies by herself before, but at the age of nine, she felt capable of handling many things. Her friends had been baking cupcakes for a year. Yet, it seemed her parents had little faith in her.
“Anna is going to make cookies? Alone?” her brother, Carl, asked with a laugh. “That is going to be disaster!” Carl used big words to act smarter than Anna. Having a big brother could be annoying. Admittedly, Anna always appeared clumsy. But that was before she turned nine. She thought her parents should realize she would do better now.
At her words, a flash of uncertainty crossed her parents’ faces. Would they agree? Holding her breath, she had waited for what seemed like ages. Surprisingly, Mom nodded, saying, “Okay, but please be careful, and remember to take a look at the cookbook first.”
Fueled by determination, Anna raced to the kitchen. With each step, there was a sense of purpose and confidence growing within her. She had already done it with Mom a million times before. Putting the cookbook aside, she got down to baking cookies from memory, breaking eggs, dropping a cold stick of butter, adding salt and then…um…yes, mixing it well! Using a mixer was easy. She turned on the mixer at the medium speed—and whoa. Whoa. Whoa! Butter splattered (飞溅) everywhere, making the kitchen in a mess. Collecting herself, she turned back to the mixing bowl and started again. This time with softer butter.
Anna placed rounded spoonfuls of mixture onto the cookie pan and put it into the oven (烤炉). Within a few minutes, a fantastic smell filled the kitchen- the smell of cookie success! She was going to silence all those doubts. No more eye-rolling from her big brother. No more “You’re too young, Anna” from her parents. She believed she was grown up and mature enough to be relied on.
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。
The moment Anna pulled the pan out of the oven, Carl stepped into the kitchen.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now she decided to have another try, carefully following the cookbook.
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