For courage, my fingers cling to the harness (绳套)on my guide dog Cho’s broad back as we pass my neighbor’s fence. Walking by Mr. Smith’s yard is the best part of our morning walk. …and also the worst. The best part is the roses talking to us with the fragrance that bursts bold as firecrackers.
Now comes the worst part—the unfriendly figure nearby that shades us: Mr. Smith. As usual, friendly Cho wags (摇摆) her tail in excitement. But Cho doesn’t know this neighbor does not like me at all. “Hello, Mr. Smith.” I greet him as I do every morning but he never answers me. I know he’s behind his fence. He sounds out of breath, and the creaky gate swings nervously in his hand.
Maybe he’s afraid of me because I am blind. Disabilities scare grown-ups sometimes. Then I remember: Yesterday I heard him playing checkers with my friend Jimmy who’s in a wheelchair. Cho and I march on, and my thoughts keep step. Why does Mr. Smith ignore me? Why can’t two people who like roses like each other? It’s a mystery to me.
Cho and I stop for a moment near the rose bushes while I think. Dad has told me that some folks do not like people from faraway places. Maybe Mr. Smith does not like foreigners. Then, the sidewalk hums beneath my feet. A skateboard zooms by. “Hello, Mai and Cho!” my friend Jana shouts, “Hi, Mr. Smith.”
I wait. Jana is from Mexico. If Mr. Smith ignores Jana, then my mystery is solved. But his voice calls out, “Hello, Jana!” The sound of it twists my heart. Now I know that unfriendly Mr. Smith likes everyone but not me and Cho…
Me and Cho! An idea brightens my mystery. Maybe I do know why Mr. Smith doesn’t talk to me!
“Down!” I command Cho to sit on the ground.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I lead him back to Cho, and tell Mr. Smith how gentle Cho is.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2 . Which is healthier: a bag of crisps or a vegetable salad? That is easy. Now which is healthier: a pizza made from scratch or one made from the same basic ingredients, with the same number of calories, pulled out of a box in the freezer? Many people would instinctively(本能地) say the former, perhaps showing a vague concern with processed food. Such food can often be delicious. And there is much to cheer about calories being cheap and abundant.
What’s the distinction between “ultra-processed food(upf)” and “processed food”? Almost everything people consume is processed in some form. Rice is harvested; animals are butchered. Upf is usually described as “formulations of ingredients, made by a series of industrial processes, many requiring advanced equipment and technology”.
Upf harms people in ways both known and unknown. It seems to affect the trillions of bacteria that contribute to health in a range of ways. Calorie-rich but usually nutrient-poor, upf contributes to obesity(肥胖症).
Upf displaces healthier alternatives, particularly for poor people.
| A．Environment matters, too. |
| B．It’s cheap to produce and buy. |
| C．But that cheapness and abundance come at a cost. |
| D．Even foods labeled “natural” or “organic” can be processed. |
| E．A pizza made from scratch contains minimally processed food. |
| F．Some people have a particular weakness for salty potato crisps. |
| G．The reasons why upf can be harmful are not always clear, even to scientists. |
Taylor reluctantly opened her sleepy eyes and looked out the window at the foggy field below. “No!” she cried, now fully awake. The cow, a troublemaker, was leisurely stepping on Mama’s beloved daisy (雏菊) garden.
“I must have forgotten to lock the garden gate last night,” Taylor thought, her heart sinking as she realized it was her fault. Mama had poured her heart and soul into this piece of land for months, tending to the soil, removing every weed, and precisely caring for the daisies. She had been taking care of them, patiently waiting for this very moment — the daisies’ long-awaited flowering season. The garden was full of life, its lively daisies turning the once dull space into a breathtaking sea of colors. Mama had ambitious plans to sell daisy bouquets (花束) at the fair next week, hoping to raise enough money to buy a new suit for Papa, who worked tirelessly as a miner in the neighboring state. But now, the cow was greedily eating the delicate flowers, biting their tender leaves with no mercy.
Taylor rushed outside. She tried all her ways to drive the cow out. “When I grow up,” she thought to herself, “I’ll be an artist and paint pictures all day. I’ll never own a cow. They’re just too much trouble.” In truth, even at her tender age, Taylor showed promise as a little painter. Ms. Lizz, her painting teacher, had been astonished by her talent. It was moments like these that fueled Taylor’s dreams of becoming an artist.
Finally, the cow ran through the open gate of the garden, and with a heavy heart, Taylor closed and locked it securely. She turned back to survey the flower garden, the sight before her a scene of destruction. Most of the daisies lay either half-eaten or damaged, the delicate flowers bearing the signs of the morning’s unexpected chaos (混乱).
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。
Mama came out of the house.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The morning of the fair, Mama and Taylor filled their stand with some daisy bouquets and, more in numbers, the paintings of daisies.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This story happened in a small village in North America, where a disabled boy named Tom lived with his parents. When Tom was born, his right leg was a little twisted (变形的). When Tom could neither walk nor stand upright for two years, his parents took him to a doctor. After a careful examination, the doctor said complete recovery was impossible. So the doctor made a structure of iron rods (杆) that could be tied through Tom’s shoe to a belt over his knee. With the help of the structure, Tom could stand properly and walk at times, and his life became a little easier than before. But one thing always bothering him was that he could not play like other children, although he was still happy.
On the way to Tom’s school, there was a small flower shop. Its owner was a kind old man. In this shop, there lived his five small pet puppies. One of the puppies was lame (瘸的). It always dragged its leg and followed the rest of the puppies. Tom often stood in front of this flower shop after school and watched the puppies. Of the five, Tom liked that little lame puppy most.
One day, Tom saw a board hanging in front of the shop. It read “Puppies for Sale at $50” Tom went straight into the shop. Pointing at the lame puppy, he asked the old man to sell it to him. Tom took a $5 note out of his pocket and gave it to the old man. “I only have $5 now and you keep it. I’ll pay 50 cents a month for the rest,” Tom said. “But it is a puppy which will limp for the rest of its life. It will never be able to run with you or play with you in the park. Do you still want to buy it?” the old man asked in surprise.
Tom told the old man firmly, “Yes, I want this puppy.” Then the old man returned Tom’s $5 and said, “If you want this puppy, I’ll give it to you for free.”
Paragraph 1:
Tom got a little upset after hearing this from the old man.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Then, Tom approached the lame puppy with his twisted right leg.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . Nile crocodiles are uniquely sensitive to the cries of painful primate (灵长类) babies, according to a new study — and the more anxious the cry, the more interested they become. To make the find, Nicolas Grimault, a scientist at the University of Lyon, and his colleagues visited a zoo in Morocco, which houses more than 300 Nile crocodiles. The researchers set up loudspeakers alongside four ponds where, at each, as many as 25 crocodiles sunbathed on red rocks. The speakers played a series of cries expressing varying levels of pain from primate babies. The cries were recorded in different situations to find out which aspects of the voices interest the crocs most.
Many of the crocs, male and female, responded to the cries by suddenly turning their heads, seeking out the source of the sound, rapidly approaching the loudspeaker and sometimes even biting it. One individual even showed protective behavior by positioning in front of the speaker as if to defend it from others. Interestingly, their response depended on the characteristics of the cries they heard: crocs were more likely to react to recordings with acoustic (声音的) features closely related to very upset babies, such as sudden changes and disharmony in frequency, smoothness and tones.
When the researchers asked human volunteers, all of whom had experience with human babies, to listen to the same recorded cries and estimate the level of pain, the participants used different features than the crocs did to evaluate the sounds, basing their decisions largely on the pitch of the cries — how high or low a sound is. But it varies among individuals and across species. That makes it less reliable and accurate than the alternative acoustic clues picked up on by crocodiles.
The findings of the study raise the possibility that emotion may be communicated across species lines in more ways than scientists thought. As Grimault puts it, “If crocs can do it, probably many other animals can do it, too.”
1. Why are the cries collected from different situations played?| A．To discover which crocodiles are smart. | B．To identify what appeals to crocodiles. |
| C．To develop how to protect crocodiles. | D．To record when crocodiles interact. |
| A．Guarding the speakers. | B．Sunbathing on the rocks. |
| C．Attacking other crocodiles. | D．Moving towards the sound. |
| A．The volume of sound. | B．The source of the cries. |
| C．The evenness of tone. | D．The pitch of the voice. |
| A．Humans are sensitive to voices of other species. |
| B．Emotions may be shared beyond species borders. |
| C．Crocs tend to be friendly to babies of any species. |
| D．Cross-species communication is an unfading skill. |
| draw a conclusion have a preference for switch off up to keep in touch with in the absence of break down |
2. At that time, I
3. We have been
4. It was bad luck that my car
5. There are many people around the world who live happily
8 . Quantum mechanics (量子力学) is a branch of science that studies the smallest particles (粒子) in the universe, like atoms (原子) and even smaller things. It might sound super complex, but let’s break it down in simple language.
Imagine you have a small particle, like an atom. In the world of quantum mechanics, these particles don’t behave like the things we see in our everyday lives, like balls or cars. Instead, they act kind of like waves and particles at the same time, which is really strange!
One of the most famous ideas in quantum mechanics is the “Uncertainty Principle”, raised by physicist Werner Heisenberg. This principle says that we can’t precisely know both the position and the speed of a particle at the same time. It’s not because our measuring tools are bad; it’s because the particles themselves are naturally uncertain.
Another weird thing about quantum mechanics is something called “Entanglement.” Imagine you have two particles that are connected in a special way. If you change one of them, the other instantly changes, no matter how far apart they are. It’s like they’re talking to each other faster than the speed of light, which goes against what we know from everyday experiences.
Quantum mechanics also deals with probabilities. Instead of saying, “This particle will be here at this exact time,” scientists say, “There’s a certain chance it’ll be here, and a certain chance it won’t.” It’s like predicting the weather, but on a super small scale.
In a nutshell, quantum mechanics is a strange and fascinating world where particles act both like waves and particles, where you can’t know everything about a particle at once, and where particles can be mysteriously connected no matter how far apart they are. It’s a mind-boggling field that challenges our understanding of how the universe works, and even though it’s tough to grasp, it’s an essential part of modern physics.
1. How does the author illustrate the behavior patterns of particles in paragraph 2?| A．By presenting reliable technical data. |
| B．By comparing them to everyday objects. |
| C．By clarifying quantum mechanics concepts. |
| D．By associating them with chemical reactions. |
| A．Their physical appearances. | B．Their speed limitations. |
| C．Their unusual properties. | D．Their predictable movements. |
| A．Accurate forecasts are tough. |
| B．They are analyzing lots of data. |
| C．The scale of studies varies greatly. |
| D．Detailed studies are time-consuming. |
| A．Its developmental history. | B．Its research challenges. |
| C．Its unexpected applications. | D．Its underlying principles. |
Kat was learning to adapt to the new home, but Aunt Lucy sensed that deep inside her niece was a place that no one could reach. She had set up a barrier to keep herself from others since her parents passed away. She made friends at school, but never had close friends. Kat was a loner and too proud to tell anyone why she lived with her aunt. Back home, in Kat’s heart, not her own home, she often helped do housework but was unwilling to participate in any entertainment. It seemed that she was interested in nothing. Kat even told Lucy that she didn’t ‘want to go to school. Aunt Lucy decided to do something to change all that.
Aunt Lucy was a teacher and her home was filled with books. Lucy got an idea that it might be helpful to lead Kat to a world of books, where Kat could heal (治愈) herself by reading. She told the young girl there was a wonderful world in the library. “Read, and you will learn where you came from and where you’re going. You will understand more about life and dreams, baby.” Sitting on the doorway side by side with Kat, Lucy said. Kat looked up at the moon in the sky with her hands supporting her head. “Dreams?” Kat repeated the last word of her aunt and seemed to ask herself. “Yes, dreams. You can become anybody you want to be, a movie star, a scientist, or a sport legend.” Aunt Lucy put her arm on Kat’s shoulder and answered her niece. Kat turned to her aunt and said seriously, “I want to be a doctor to help children who lose their parents.” “But you have to get an education first,” Lucy told 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。
Kat became crazy about reading and found a new world in books.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Instead of pursuing her initial dream to be a doctor, she chose to be a teacher like Lucy.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10 . My grandparents were always busy with food. My grandmother could pull out the feathers of a chicken in less than half an hour. They picked vegetables from their garden. Animal fat was saved.
It took hours and made my fingers hurt. After an adult life spent buying rather than growing food, as a so-called new farmer, I finally began to understand my grandparents.
My grandparents’ generation spent a third of their income on food.
But until I began talking to the farmers around me, I had not understood the human costs faced by those asked to produce milk sold for less than bottled water.
Research has found that regenerative farming not only benefits the land, but profits can be 78% higher than conventional farms.
| A．We spend less than a tenth. |
| B．And any leftover meat was cut up for pies. |
| C．Regenerative farming is welcomed by thousands of farmers now. |
| D．I began to understand the work that we took for granted. |
| E．I realized that keeping a big family was really a big burden for them. |
| F．New technology helped these farmers raise a diversity of crops and farm animals. |
| G．Then I came across a farming reform that sought to change this traditional system. |
