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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A plan for the house | ||
| The ground floor | On your left | On your right |
| The | The dining room | |
| The games room (leads to the | The kitchen | |
| The first floor | At the top of the stairs: a(n) On the right: the bathroom At the front of the house: At the back of the house: a(n) | |
5 . I spoke to my parents last night and for a moment I forgot I wasn’t really speaking to them, but to their digital replicas (复制品). They live inside an app as voice assistants constructed by the company HereAfter AI.
In fact, my parents are still alive and well; their virtual versions were made to help me understand the technology. Grief tech, which lets you “talk” with the people you’ve loved and lost, has been appearing in science fiction. But now it’s becoming a reality. Although the thought of it makes some frightened, it’s not hard to see the appeal that people might turn to digital replicas for comfort.
However, there is one major limitation. These replicas may sound like someone you love, but they know nothing about you. Anyone can talk to them, and get the same reply in the same tone. “The biggest issue with the technology is the idea that you can generate a single universal person,” says Justin Harrison, founder of a technological service.
Creating a virtual avatar you can have more conversation with contributes to your feeling connected to someone you loved and lost, says Erin Thompson, a clinical psychologist. But a grieving person needs to know that these bots can only capture a small part of someone rather than replace healthy, functional human relationships.
And there are other risks. Any service that allows you to create a digital replica of someone without that person’s participation raises complex moral issues. While some might argue that permission is less important with someone who is dead, can’t you also argue that the person who generated the other side of the conversation should have a say too? And what if that person is not, in fact, dead?
If digital replicas become mainstream, there will inevitably need to be new regulations around what we leave behind online. And we’ll be better off if we cope with the possibility of these replicas’ misuse before, not after, they reach mass adoption.
Anyway, I feel lucky to still have the precious opportunity to spend more time with my parents, face to face, no technology involved.
1. Which of the following is not a drawback of digital replicas?| A．They can’t vary their response accordingly. |
| B．They can’t mirror every aspect of a person. |
| C．They may pose threat to the interests of people alive. |
| D．It’s hard to gain permission from someone who is not alive. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Reasonable. | C．Critical. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Technology is advancing faster than imagined. |
| B．Safety risks can be surely avoided by regulations. |
| C．Replicas will not be misused before widely adopted. |
| D．Cherish the beloved ones when they are still around. |
| A．Reflections on grief tech. | B．Ways to overcome our grief. |
| C．Technology to change our life. | D．Controversy over digital replicas. |
6 . In our human-centric view, the ability to shoot ink or change colors may seem odd, but you know what’s really odd? Menopause (更年期). You can count species other than humans known to experience and outlive menopause on one hand. Only Oracs (虎鲸) and some whale populations have females that live long past their reproductive years to become grandmothers. But a new, landmark study confirms that at least one population of chimpanzees can now be added to the list.
The discovery comes as the result of 21 years’ worth of observing the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Studying urine from 66 Ngogo females, aged 14 to 67, showed that their hormone levels changed after approaching 50, confirming they were in menopause. Interestingly, 50 is also the age when many people begin to experience menopause. “It’s really cool to finally have that piece of the puzzle come into place,” says Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist who was not part of the new study.
But Catherine points out that the Ngogo community lives in a chimp paradise: the resource-rich, well-protected Kibale National Park that also lacks leopards, their main predator. And because the Noggo community is found in the heart of the park, its only neighbors are other chimps — not humans who can expose chimpanzees to viruses that have devastated other communities. “The Ngogo population may be an outlier (局外人) when it comes to the rest of the species,” she cautions.
And there is a question concerning “the grandmother effect”, according to which a grandmother has a decidedly beneficial effect on her children and grandchildren. Chimpanzees do not form long-term pair-bonds and females leave in search of new communities when they reach maturity, which means grandmother chimpanzees likely don’t know who their grandchildren are in the same way humans or even orcas do. What they do after the menopause remains a question of interest. “And that’s all future work to be done.” said Catherine.
1. What can be learned about menopause?| A．It is rare among animals. | B．It is unique to human beings. |
| C．It just occurs at the age of 50. | D．It is experienced only by females. |
| A．Scientist have found the solution to menopause. |
| B．What happens to the 66 Ngogo females remains a puzzle. |
| C．There is a puzzle whether chimpanzee females experience menopause. |
| D．The latest discovery casts new light on the puzzle of animal menopause. |
| A．To stress the importance of protecting chimpanzees from viruses. |
| B．To remind researchers of the potential limitation of the new study. |
| C．To prove that Ngogo chimpanzees are perfect subjects of the study. |
| D．To argue that the discovery of the new study is completely groundless. |
| A．By offering a definition. | B．By drawing a conclusion. |
| C．By presenting relevant facts. | D．By giving examples and opinions. |
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.
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Paragraph 2:
Then, Tom approached the lame puppy with his twisted right leg.
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John Brown is a college student, who is performing well in all aspects. But when he was two years old, he suffered from autism (孤独症) that delayed his brain’s growth. The basic symptoms included inability to pick up social cues, a refusal to interact with friends or family, and a lack of skills in processing speech, thinking and learning.
John’s parents, who were teachers, were initially shocked at the revelation. What’s worse, they learned the bad news that John was going to become blind when he grew up. Even so, they kept his illness as a secret under medical advice, and were always there for their son.
As little John was at school, he began to notice how other kids were able to answer questions in class a lot faster than he did. Because of his significantly slow thinking, it took him many minutes to come up with an answer to the best of his abilities. But he worked harder than other classmates for his coursework, such as sitting in front of the class to read the words on the blackboard better, and spending longer time studying to pass tests.
John’s parents still stood by him, encouraging him and saying, “You are the best!” They recorded every detail of his growth in a notebook. But they were not prepared for how the following events positively changed their son’s life forever. Through primary and secondary schools, John began to change from keeping to himself to interacting with his classmates.
When he entered the college, he joined the marching band, something he never had any interest in, but his mom convinced him that it was a great way to not only make friends, but also help gain more confidence in himself. Later, he played the trumpet (小号) well and got along well with the band members.
At the same time, he showed his talent for creative writing and wrote his first essay about a brave man. His thinking ability and imagination made leaps. As he got even older, he taught his fellow classmates how to write essays well, and even shared what original pieces he wrote with them, despite the fact he was still unaware about his illness.
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。
However, one day when John came home from college, he accidentally found a medical chart in his parents’ room.
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Now, as an excellent college student, John is full of confidence and hope.
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I had a very peaceful childhood and I mostly ignored the fact that my elder sister was different. She got “Asperger Syndrome” (社交困难症). It turned my parents’ world upside down - but they never let it affect me. My parents worked very hard at ensuring that everything seemed pleasant and quiet for me.
It was only at the age of ten that I started to notice the differences and became aware of my social life and self-image that I had carefully built up. My sister on the other hand, was socially awkward. She could not look at people in the eye. She would whisper to herself and repeat the words she had just said. However, she was academically capable, so we attended the same primary school. Despite this, I never admitted in public that she was my sister.
However, there was one incident that changed how I viewed my sister and changed me.
Being in primary six, about to graduate, my sister and her classmates had to put on a performance, whether in a group, or on their own. Because she failed to join others, she was the only one left without a group. The school had made it a must for everyone to perform, so my sister had to do it by herself. “I’ll sing,” my sister told my parents, somewhat confidently.
Hearing that, I was completely shocked. How could my sister who was socially awkward, sing in front of the school? I knew so very well that if I allowed this to happen, she would embarrass me. “No!” I protested. My parents shot me a look and I knew my sister was going to perform anyway, and I was going to be part of the audience watching her. Silently, I wished that something would happen and I would not have to watch my sister lose face.
注意：1. 续写次数应为130左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
On the day of performace, I sat in the hall.
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I felt relaxed and appreciated it with excitement.
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10 . Almost everyone who has studied English has been warned about the way Brits love their manners. It is part of our national identity, as much as fish and chips or complaining about the weather. Recently I have been wondering where this comes from and I read online that we say sorry up to eight times a day. Probably the same amount of times that any other person says “hello” or “how are you”. It is almost like greetings to us! It was only when I was explaining how there are five steps of saying thank you when you buy something from a shop to a Mexican friend of mine that I realised how mad it sounded.
After some research online I have not been able to find any specific reasons why we are the way we are. I suppose for centuries manners and how we eat at the table and talk to other people have been the barriers between the lower and upper classes and represent your social status. Britain has traditionally been a quite conservative country. There are many articles suggesting that this seemingly polite attitude of always saying please and thank you is quite false because it is impossible to always feel that you want to thank someone or say please.
Maybe it is for this reason that people are going one of two ways: they are incredibly polite and hold back on their feelings or not polite at all, and express their true feelings. Some Brits are fed up of pretending that they are always content and having to please people. Sometimes because we feel we have to be polite, we are prevented from saying what we truly think. Do you think it is better to not hurt people’s feelings and be polite or to let people know the truth? In your country what is the custom? I know in some countries if someone is considered to be doing their job, the clients think that they do not need to be thanked.
1. What does the author think of the British way of saying “Thank you”?| A．Normal. | B．Surprising. | C．Exciting. | D．Pleasing. |
| A．Why the British like to complain about the weather. |
| B．Why the British love their way of showing manners. |
| C．Why the British are fond of fish and chips so much. |
| D．Why the British have five steps of saying thank you. |
| A．Wealth and health. | B．Social status. | C．Politeness. | D．Attitudes. |
| A．They want to express their true feelings. |
| B．They want to let people know the truth. |
| C．They are kept from saying what they think. |
| D．They want to represent their social status. |
