Tim and his father were sailing at sea. He tried to remember all the sailing knowledge his father taught. However, it wasn’t easy for him. He could only master the skills to tie ropes and wear a life jacket in case of emergency.
Tim pulled in the sail (帆) of the boat over his head successfully. He looked back at his father, hoping for a smile or a nod. But his dad was looking up at the sail, not at him. Tim enjoyed sailing with his father, but he also felt nervous and different from his confident father.
Suddenly, the wind was blowing angrily. He put on his life jacket nervously. By comparison, his father never wore a life jacket, for he had been swimming and sailing for his entire life .
“Tim, can you take the helm (方向盘) for a minute?” his father asked, “Just keep it going straight. I’ll run up to the back of the boat to check something.” Considering the changing weather, Tim hesitated, but he didn’t want to see the familiar disapproving look on his father’s face. “Uh, sure,” he replied and went to hold the helm tightly.
Suddenly, the wind shifted direction and the boat heeled (倾斜) so sharply that it might turn over. Tim knew he had to let some air out of the sail to help right the boat, but he would have to let go of the helm to do that.
He looked back for his father, but the sail blocked his view. “Dad!” he called, but the wind swallowed his voice. His heart was pounding in his ears. The boat began to heel more. Tim knew he had to act fast. He held the helm with one hand and used the other hand to reach for the mainsail line, trying to loosen it. After a few attempts, he managed to let the air out of the sail. The boat quickly righted itself.
Tim gave a sigh of relief. Then he looked around for his father. But there was no sign of him.
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。
Suddenly, he saw a flash of something in the water.
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His father finally climbed back into the boat with Tim’s help.
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Emily is a sixth-grade student in a small American town. She is a curious and adventurous girl who always dreams of exploring new places. Last summer, her dream came true when she got selected for a student exchange program to visit China.
Emily was super excited, but she knew that going to a different country with a brand new culture might not be easy. When she arrived in China, she had an open heart and lots of hope, but the cultural differences, the language barrier, and the unfamiliar surroundings made her feel a bit overwhelmed.
On her first day at a Chinese school, she felt like she was in a completely different world. The students spoke a language she couldn’t understand, and the way things worked in the classroom was very different from back home. During lunchtime, poor Emily sat all by herself in a corner of the cafeteria, feeling lost and lonely. Just then, a friendly Chinese girl came up to her with a warm smile and said, “Hello, my name is Li Shanshan. I noticed you’re new here. Would you like to be our friend?”
Emily was so relieved and thankful for the friendly offer. “Thank you,” she replied with a big smile. “I’m Emily, and I’m really happy to meet you.”
Shanshan introduced Emily to her group of friends, and they all welcomed her with open arms. They helped Emily with her Chinese language, taught her about Chinese customs, and shared their favorite Chinese foods. Slowly but surely, Emily started to feel more comfortable and understand the Chinese culture better.
One day, as the English teacher was planning her class schedule, she came up with an idea. She decided to assign each student in the class to do a presentation about their hometowns the next week. She believed this could be a great way for the students to learn about different cultures and improve their public speaking skills.
注意：
1．所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2．续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Emily was glad to do this but she didn’t know how to prepare.
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The day finally came and it was Emily’s turn to make the presentation.
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3 . A recent study from psychologist Sarah Kucker at Oklahoma State University suggests shyness can influence a child’s performance in language tests, depending on the level of social interaction (互动交流) required to complete the test.
Shy children tend to keep quiet in everyday life, including communicating with others. The study points out that the behavior can make judging a child’s language abilities more challenging since shy children find it harder to verbally engage with testers (that’s when children are required to speak out) than during less socially demanding tests.
The research by Sarah Kucker was published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and involved 122 children between the ages of 17 and 42 months. Each child underwent a series of three language tasks that required different levels of social interaction: a looking task, a pointing task, and a verbal task. In each, the children were asked to find a known object from a set of pictures. Parents reported their child’s shyness in an early childhood behavior survey.
The results showed significant differences in children’s performance across the tasks depending on shyness. Shyer children did worse in the verbal task than the less-shy children of the same age. However, all children performed well in the pointing task independent of their shyness level. The looking task produced more complicated results, meaning that shyer children were occasionally more accurate (精确的) but less likely to respond.
“A child’s shyness could strongly impact how they will behave in language tasks,” said Kucker. “When children are given language ability tests, testers should take into account the child’s shyness level, perhaps using tasks that are less socially demanding for them, such as pointing tasks instead of verbal ones.”
Kucker believes recognizing the impact of shyness will help to ensure language tests are more effective and provide a better understanding of a child’s language development.
1. What does the underlined word “verbally” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．In written forms. | B．With chosen pictures. |
| C．In spoken words. | D．With hand gestures. |
| A．The children took one of three language tests. |
| B．The children were asked to speak in each test. |
| C．Shyer children did worse in most of the tests. |
| D．Shyer children did well in less interactive tests. |
| A．Language test results are not accurate. |
| B．The level of language tests is too high. |
| C．The child’s shyness level is to be tested. |
| D．It’s unnecessary to take a language test. |
| A．Shyness Slows Down Children’s Language Development |
| B．New Study Suggests Language Tests Should Be Changed |
| C．Children Find it Challenging to Communicate with Testers |
| D．Shyness Impacts Children’s Performance in Language Tests |
4 . Even when you have confidence in yourself, your goals will sometimes seem out of reach. When that happens, get hold of the people who
When I was younger, I
Early in my
Even now, I
| A．refer to | B．depend on | C．learn from | D．believe in |
| A．quit | B．struggled | C．regretted | D．argued |
| A．responsibilities | B．dreams | C．opportunities | D．doubts |
| A．stopped | B．admitted | C．allowed | D．considered |
| A．tracked | B．recommended | C．accompanied | D．encouraged |
| A．serious | B．possible | C．hard | D．necessary |
| A．request | B．unwillingness | C．inability | D．attempt |
| A．difficulties | B．options | C．aims | D．standards |
| A．career | B．experiment | C．business | D．recovery |
| A．foolishly | B．simply | C．wisely | D．bravely |
| A．original | B．familiar | C．typical | D．positive |
| A．looking into | B．taking down | C．dealing with | D．pointing out |
| A．introduce | B．remind | C．guarantee | D．warn |
| A．experience | B．describe | C．compare | D．limit |
| A．probably | B．fortunately | C．obviously | D．importantly |
5 . The Cheongsam, also known as Qipao, evolved from the Manchu female’s changpao of the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu ethnic people were also called the Qi people by the Han people in the Qing Dynasty, hence the name. The history of this clothing reflects the rise of the modern Chinese women in the twentieth century.
In 1920s, the cheongsam flourished in Shanghai. Through the 1930s and 1940s it constantly changed, highlighting the femininity（女子气质） of Chinese women in metropolitan cities. The dress got more fitted and body-hugging, with some daring designs featuring side slits （开衩） that reached up to the thigh. It’s customary to pair the dress with high heels. Women tried different fastenings, pipings, and collars, as well as short sleeves, long sleeves, and sleeveless cheongsams. Traditional silks were replaced with cheaper, contemporary textiles. In terms of design, the traditional flower patterns remained widespread, but geometric and art deco patterns also gained popularity.
The cheongsam has heavily influenced designers in high fashion. The Metropolitan Museum of Art did a whole exhibit in 2015 on how Chinese culture influenced world fashion called “Through the Looking Glass”. Elements of cheongsam were even seen in the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Celebrities such as Anne Hathaway and Grace Kelly have been seen wearing a cheongsam.
Today Chinese people seldom wear a cheongsam in their daily life. It is used as a uniform at restaurants and hotels and on airplanes in Asia. Formal occasions such as weddings, parties or banquet dinners, and seasonal celebrations such as Lunar New Year are appropriate times to wear a cheongsam. And the dress is a frequent choice of wear during diplomatic visits.
In 2018, a white girl in a high school in Utah wore a cheongsam to her ball and posted photos online that caused an uproar in the US for cultural appropriation （文化挪用）, opening a huge debate on cultural appreciation versus appropriation. However, netizens in China had a different viewpoint. “I am very proud to have our culture recognized by people in other countries,” said a user on WeChat, “She looks beautiful in it!” they said.
1. What can we know about the cheongsam in the Qing Dynasty?| A．The traditional flower patterns were popular then. |
| B．There were different fastenings to go with it. |
| C．There were side slits reaching up to the thigh. |
| D．It was more body-hugging than today’s cheongsam. |
| A．It influences world fashion. | B．It is a symbol of Chinese culture. |
| C．It is popular with foreigners. | D．It is a regular outfit of urban women. |
| A．The case of the girl in Utah warned against wearing cheongsam in America. |
| B．The popularity of cheongsam shows the rise of modern Chinese women. |
| C．Cheongsam didn’t highlight femininity initially as much as it does now. |
| D．Grace Kelly was seen wearing cheongsam in the 2016 Victoria’s fashion show. |
| A．To display the cultural value of cheongsam. |
| B．To introduce the influence of cheongsam on fashion. |
| C．To review the history of cheongsam. |
| D．To present an overall introduction to cheongsam. |
6 . Lay eggs and make noises — that’s it? Anyone involved in chicken farming knows that the animals are capable of much more. Researchers have found evidence that roosters (公鸡) could recognize themselves in a mirror. Whether this is successful, however, depends on the experimental contexts.
Whether animals can recognize themselves and thus have self-awareness is one of the central questions in behavioral research. The mark test, a classic test for self-recognition came to the scientists. In the test, if an animal stands in front of a mirror and begins to explore the colored mark placed on its body, this is considered proof that it recognizes its reflection as itself.
“However, our goal was to conduct the mirror test in an environment that is better adapted to the ecologically relevant behavior of the roosters,” says Sonja, a researcher from the University of Bonn. She came up with the idea of using a natural behavior of roosters for the experiment.
Initially, the researchers set up a test area and placed a net to separate two compartments (隔间), through which the roosters could see each other. Then a picture of a fox was placed onto the ceiling of one compartment. Faced with the predator, the roosters let out 77 alarm calls in the presence of a partner, but only 17 when they were alone. The result shows that most roosters, faced with a fox, do alarm partners, which is the perfect illustration of the animals’ self-awareness. The next step was to place a mirror between the two compartments instead of the net. In all, only 25 alarm calls were let out. “The result indicates that the roosters don’t mistake their reflection for a partner, and possibly recognize themselves in their mirror image,” says Sonja.
For comparison, the team also performed the classic mark test. Here, the roosters didn’t recognize themselves in the mirror. The research team sees clear evidence that the classic mirror-mark test produces more reliable results when the behavior of the particular species is included in an ecologically relevant context. “In the classic situation, a rooster may not show self-recognition,” says Sonja. “But when a fox threatens him, it becomes clear that his reflection is not another rooster, but himself.” Further research on animals’ self-awareness is needed so as to better understand animal rights and animal welfare.
1. What is the purpose of the mark test?| A．To explain why animals show certain behavior. |
| B．To discover what behavioral research focuses on. |
| C．To tell whether animals can identify their mirror image. |
| D．To reveal how animals get used to the natural environment. |
| A．Enemy. | B．Partner. | C．Researcher. | D．Reflection. |
| A．To present the experiment result. | B．To change the experimental condition. |
| C．To replace the experiment subject. | D．To simplify the experimental process. |
| A．Animal behavior draws researchers’ attention. |
| B．Animal welfare deserves more human efforts. |
| C．Roosters’ self-recognition works in classic mark tests. |
| D．Roosters’ self-awareness improves in threatening contexts. |
7 . AI could make it less necessary to learn foreign languages. That is good news for travelers, bad news for soulful connection.
Travel has long been a motivator for study — unless people start to feel AI tools offer a good-enough service. Some are concerned that apps are turning language acquisition into a dwindling pursuit. Douglas Hofstadter, a writer, has argued that something important will disappear when people talk through machines. He describes giving a hesitant, difficult speech in Mandarin, which required a lot of work but offered a sense of achievement at the end. Who would show off taking a plane to the top of Mount Everest?
Others are less worried. Most people do not move abroad or have the kind of sustained contact with a foreign culture that requires them to put in the work to become fluent. Nor do most people learn languages for the purpose of humanizing themselves or training their brains. On their holiday, they just want a beer and pizza.
As AI translation becomes a more popular labour-saving tool, people will divide into two groups. There will be those who want to challenge their minds, put themselves in other cultures or force their thinking into new pathways. This lot will still take on language study, often aided by technology. Others will look at learning a new language with a mix of admiration and confusion, as they might with extreme endurance (忍耐力) sports: “Good for you, if that’s your thing, but a bit painful for my taste.”
But a focus on the learner alone misses the fundamentally social nature of language. It is a bit like analyzing the benefits of close relationships to heart health but overlooking the inner value of those bonds themselves. When you try to ask directions in broken Japanese or make a joke in hesitant German, you are making direct contact with someone. And when you speak a language well enough to tell a story with perfect timing or put subtle (微妙的) shading on an argument, that connection is still deeper.
1. What does the word “dwindling” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Growing. | B．Lasting. | C．Declining. | D．Challenging. |
| A．Using AI tools to do the translation. |
| B．Doing the work that gives you satisfaction. |
| C．Making effort to learn a new language. |
| D．Studying a language aided by technology. |
| A．People should stretch their minds in life. |
| B．AI translation tools offer a good service. |
| C．Extreme endurance sports are worth trying. |
| D．Language learning builds deep connection. |
| A．Language learning benefits learners alone. |
| B．Language learning is of value to human health. |
| C．We should reflect on language learning methods. |
| D．We should adopt a new angle on language learning. |
9 . Have you ever got the feeling that your dog is judging you? Well, you’re in for a surprise because it’s actually your dog who might be viewing you with a critical eye. Eliza Fletcher and her colleagues wondered whether dogs might rate us in terms of our skillfulness, particularly when those skills might come in handy for our four-footed little friends. So they set up a simple experiment.
They showed 60 dogs two persons opening containers. One person is competent. That person was able to pop open the top after just a couple of twists while the other person failed at this task. That person tried to open the lid, but then gave up. The actors repeated the performance on a second container, with the same results. Then the researchers handed both actors a third container. In some trials, this container was empty. In others, it contained a treat. And what they found was that female dogs spent more time staring expectantly at the person who had previously demonstrated container-opening know-how. And they were more likely to approach the competent person, but only when they thought they might get free food. Dogs in the empty condition showed no preferences.
So, why would females be more careful observers of people’s performances than males? Female advantage in the social cognitive domain (认知领域) has been reported across many species including humans. In other words, in many cognitive studies, furry females seem to show a higher social IQ than males. And sex differences have been seen in other dog studies. For example, females look at their owners more frequently and longer than males when facing unsolvable task. Female dogs solve significantly more tasks than males in social learning task.
So, next time Fifi looks at you with those puppy dog eyes, you might be thinking, what a good dog! But she might be thinking, eeem, you could do better.
1. Why did Eliza Fletcher do the experiment?| A．To figure out the rate of human skills. |
| B．To prove dogs have better skills than humans. |
| C．To test whether dogs judge human’s skillfulness. |
| D．To find out whether some human skills are easy for dogs. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By making inferences. |
| C．By giving explanation. | D．By analysing figures. |
| A．To remind people of the research result. |
| B．To entertain readers with a vivid picture. |
| C．To prove that dogs are intelligent enough. |
| D．To show close relation between men and dogs. |
The fourth graders’ school day was coming to an end. Wilson was filling his backpack when a voice came out of the loudspeaker. “Good afternoon, students. This is a reminder that the All-City Math Contest will be in two weeks. The contest is open to fifth and sixth graders, and the top prize is fifty dollars. Please speak to your teacher if you’d like to participate.
“I am confident that I could excel in that contest,” Wilson thought to himself. Determined to participate in the competition, he rushed to his teacher’s desk and told her that he wanted to enter that math contest.
Ms. Jones looked up from her papers and said, “That’s wonderful, Wilson, but I’m afraid that this contest is for fifth and sixth graders only. Besides, our class has not yet covered some of the topics that will be tested.”
Wilson was not ready to give up. He knew he had a natural talent for math. “But you know that I’m good at math!” Wilson protested. “I do math problems with my brother all the time - and he’s in sixth grade! I think I could do really well!”
“You are a very good math student, Wilson, but rules are rules. I’m sure that you can enter next year.”
Wilson came home frustrated and disappointed, stormed upstairs without saying a word to his mother, and slammed the door to his room shut. His mother quickly appeared at his door, knocked, and came in. “Dear, did something happen today?” She was concerned.
Wilson was quiet for a minute, then it all came out. In a burst of emotion, he told his mom about the contest, how excited he was to enter, and how angry he felt when his teacher told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to do so this year. “It’s just not fair, Mom,” he complained. “I know I could really do well on it. Why won’t they let me?”
Wilson’s mother put her hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, son,” she said softly, “people follow rules even when they don’t make sense. Perhaps you can persuade your teacher to make an exception for you.”
Wilson perked up: he had an idea.
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 next day, Wilson went straight to Ms. Jones’ office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Forty minutes later, he finished Ms. Jones’ test and handed it to her.
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