1 . The drive to create the new is part of our biological makeup. We build cultures by the hundreds and new stories by the millions.
Through the history of human activities, prior art promotes the creative process. Before 1908, each vehicle was custom built, with different parts assembled in different places and then painstakingly brought together.
However, on closer inspection, Cicoria also turns out to rely on the raw materials around him. He recalls that, after his accident, he developed a strong desire to listen to nineteenth-century piano music. It is difficult to know what the lightning strike did to his brain, but it is clear that he rapidly absorbed these musical products.
We humans are always waiting for the creative lightning to strike.
| A．However, creative ideas evolve from existing memories and impressions. |
| B．We surround ourselves with things that have never existed before, while pigs and llamas and goldfish do not. |
| C．But is there any moment when someone is suddenly struck by an idea that comes from nowhere? |
| D．But Henry Ford came up with a critical innovation of streamlining the entire process. |
| E．It shares the same structure and progression as other paintings. |
| F．No doubt the non-musician surely managed to compose due to the sudden idea flashing through his mind. |
| G．His sudden desire to compose may have come from nowhere, but his basic creative process did not. |
2 . How Sociologists Define Culture
Sociologists recognize that culture plays a crucial role in our social lives. It is important for shaping social relationships, maintaining social order, and in shaping our actions and experiences in society.
In brief, sociologists define the non-material aspects of culture as the values and beliefs, language and practices that are shared in common. Expanding on these categories, culture is made up of our knowledge, common sense, the norms and morals; the symbols we use to express meaning and ideas.
Sociologists see the two sides of culture — the material and non-material — as closely connected. Material culture emerges from the non-material aspects.
| A．Material culture is composed of the things that humans make and use. |
| B．This is why cultural products tend to follow patterns. |
| C．Without culture, we would not have relationships or society. |
| D．Culture is also what we do and how we behave and perform. |
| E．In other words, what we value and believe influences the things that we make. |
| F．Culture is distinct from social structure and economic aspects of society. |
| G．It is composed of both non-material and material things. |
I was always afraid of water. This fear could not be explained, but I knew that the moment I stepped near any body of water, my legs would turn to jelly (果冻). I would imagine myself drowning in the water and thrashing around (乱扑腾) helplessly. That was why I had never gone into a swimming pool until swimming became a school requirement. My school wanted all pupils to pass a swimming test, and if they could not, then they would have to attend weekly swimming lessons in school, which made me tremble.
Thus, my parents signed me up for swimming lessons at the pool near my house. With great unwillingness, I attended those weekly lessons, and each one was great suffering for me. I was naturally clumsy, and my fear of water did not help at all. Every lesson, I would be spending my time thrashing about in the water, while my classmates would be swimming countless laps effortlessly and even turning over like dolphins in the water. How was I going to pass the test at this rate?
In my swimming class, there was an exceptionally athletic girl. Tall and muscular, her name was Kathy. She was the best swimmer in our class and always looked at me with disdain (鄙视), especially when I thrashed about hopelessly in the water.
Once, after a particularly long and hard swimming lesson, I spotted Kathy swimming gracefully in the pool. Gathering my courage, I asked gently, “Kathy, can you teach me to swim?” She stared at me coldly. It was as if I stood at the edge of an endless ocean of inadequacy, my fears appearing like dark storm clouds threatening to drown me. Yet, in that moment, a glimmer of hope flashed within me, a desperate longing for guidance and acceptance. Would Kathy’s icy exterior (外表) melt under the warmth of empathy, or would I remain forever thrashing in the sea of my own fears?
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。
To my surprise, she nodded after a few moments of silence.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Congratulations!” Kathy said when she learnt I had passed the swimming test.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”
Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”
On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
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。
Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . Painting, the execution of forms and shapes on a surface by means of pigment, has been continuously practiced by humans for some 20,000 years. Together with other activities that may have been ritualistic (仪式) in
The major existing examples of early painting anywhere in the world are found in Western Europe and the former Soviet Union. But some 5,000 years ago, the areas in which important paintings were
Western painting is in general
In the 20th century, these interests
| A．realism | B．origin | C．resource | D．silence |
| A．abuse | B．reputation | C．mistake | D．understanding |
| A．melt | B．moderated | C．survived | D．cheated |
| A．universal | B．contradictory | C．negative | D．unusual |
| A．admitted | B．objected | C．replied | D．shifted |
| A．Therefore | B．Nevertheless | C．Otherwise | D．However |
| A．released | B．distinguished | C．offered | D．divided |
| A．size | B．annual | C．form | D．figure |
| A．nuclear | B．religious | C．educational | D．economic |
| A．linking | B．separating | C．reforming | D．expressing |
| A．watercolor | B．sand | C．landscape | D．oil |
| A．immediately | B．increasingly | C．rarely | D．suddenly |
| A．reaction | B．action | C．interaction | D．campaign |
| A．relied on | B．shaved off | C．adapted to | D．contributed to |
| A．nature | B．fault | C．rank | D．cue |
Last summer vacation, I traveled to Sanya in Hainan, China. When my dad told me one of the items on the journey would be one of the highest water slides (水上滑梯) in Asia, I asked my dad repeatedly whether I could stay at home. But my dad said that I would love it and we should go together.
Three days later, I was standing in front of that water slide in Atlantics Waterpark. The slide was located in a building. When I looked up at the tens of thousands of stairs leading to the peak of the building, I thought to myself, “If I fall from that place, I will definitely die.”
As we started climbing the stairs, I saw three words on the wall: Leap of Faith. I had never heard of these words, and at that time they reminded me of Road to Death. Five meters, ten meters ... I looked down and thought, “I am going to die today.” Fifteen meters, twenty meters ... I thought about the many things I hadn’t done and asked my dad whether I had life insurance. Twenty-five meters, thirty meters ... and we were finally at the top, ready to jump into the slide. I looked at the three people next to me and thought, “These are the last three people I will see in my life.”
Suddenly, the teenage boy ahead of me stopped in front of the slide and turned around, “Look down there. If we fall into the shark tank, we will be eaten by those hungry sharks.” We all paused and looked down at the shark tank above the slide tunnel. Just then, a younger boy next to me said, “Excuse me, if you don’t want to go now, I will go first.” Then he walked past the teenage boy and me and jumped into the slide, disappearing in an instant.
My father said to me jokingly, “Look, that boy is not even half of your height. Come on, Selina. You can do it.” The teenager turned and stared at me too, “Now, you go first.”
Paragraph 1:With a deep breath, I stepped closer to the edge of the slide.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2：
A moment later, my father came down.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, in the highlands of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is the bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, in deep, varied hues of blues and greens; interspersed with red and yellow to form complex patterns and designs.
Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5,000 people, most of them indigenous (土著的) and dependent on agricultural work. As agriculture began to dry up here, decline for the town and poverty for many of its families came. To deal with poverty and stimulate economic growth through tourism, a small but mighty group of laborers, artisans, domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.
The project was initially to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors, in an effort to change the hillside town into a work of art. “We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community,” says the project’s executive director Stephany Blanco. “A range of designs were created so that families can choose designs for their house that are representative of the family.”
One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue huipil, a traditional blouse which has been worn prominently by local women since the 16th century. That deep sky blue was chosen as the primary color for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in the sunsets and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive. As for the designs that would be used, they would also find inspiration in local culture, symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, Mayan-styled butterflies and the national bird of Guatemala.
Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful. “At first, the idea of the project left many unsure about participating, but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,” Melissa Whitbeck said. “The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality of life of the people. It uplifts the people’s mood and encourages them to be proud of where they come from.”
1. What problem did Santa Catarina Palopó face?| A．A labor shortage. | B．Poor economic conditions. |
| C．A rapid increase in population. | D．Outdated agricultural technology. |
| A．Building art galleries in Guatemala. |
| B．Creating job opportunities for local artisans. |
| C．Developing local tourism by selling artworks. |
| D．Transforming the town into a cultural destination. |
| A．The nearby lake. | B．Mayan-styled butterflies. |
| C．A type of traditional clothing. | D．The national bird of Guatemala. |
| A．Positive. | B．Uncaring. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Disapproving. |
When I worked as a nurse, I was on day duty while my workmates were on night duty. On one shift, I sensed something strange just before going off duty at 1 1 am. I put down the tray (托盘) on the table and suddenly it fell off the table. At first, I didn’t care as I thought I had accidentally knocked it over, but then I felt the whole building shaking and heard patients were screaming and running madly.
At that moment, I realized that an earthquake was happening. My first thought was to rescue my patient and protect myself. I quickly caught hold of a nearby patient, who was terribly frightened and pushed her under a bed. And then, I got under another bed myself. As soon as the earthquake stopped, I decided to try and get the patient safely outside. I carried her out and helped her down to the grassland, where several other people had gathered.
As I was afraid that my other workmates were in danger, I went back inside the building again. When I met Lucy, our head nurse, I found her patient couldn’t walk. We made a seat for the patient by linking our hands and arms, and carried her outside together. We went back through the building to check if anyone was left behind in our sickroom.
Just then, we saw that a man doctor was calling for volunteers to go down to other sickrooms with him to help more patients and medical workers. So we followed him together. The doctor went ahead of us and found one of the nurses partially covered with broken stones, luckily still alive. Suddenly, the aftershock struck and the doctor ordered us to leave. The brave doctor intended to stay alone and risk his own life to save the nurse.
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。
But no one was willing to leave.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My next task was to settle and care for the sick on the ground.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Once upon a time, there lived a young man who wished he could support himself. While exploring what business he would take on, he met a very well-traveled man. The man told the young man great tales of his travel, and then he talked about a country that had no onions.
Without any further thoughts, he bought onions, filled his cart and set his journey towards this wildly fantastic land without onions. Finally, after several days he arrived in the onion-less country. “I bring you a great gift from my country,” the young man proudly announced. “The plant is native to my place but new to yours. It has the unique ability to improve the flavor (滋味) of any food. It would be great if I could offer you this magic plant which you, in turn, introduce to your people.” The emperor was a little cautious about letting the strange plant in at first, but he later allowed the young man to prepare some foods using the onions.
The young man used all his skills to prepare the feast using the onions. All the empire’s ministers, the nobility and senior officials were invited to the dinner that night. After the young man did the initial tasting, the feast began. Then, everyone in the room started eating the food. It didn’t take long for the hall to get into a great noise of excitement. All praised the smell and the taste of the food. The emperor thanked the young man a lot, demanded all of the onions, and paid him its weight in gold.
On his journey back home, the young man met a trader. For hours that night, the young man told what he had seen in that faraway land, where gold was worth less than onions. He also told the trader that he learned that the country did not have garlic (大蒜). The trader was excited.
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。
The trader carried huge bags of garlic and took on the journey to the country without garlic.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The trader was very excited and made several tasty dishes using garlic.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . The highlights of every World Cup are the impossible goals, especially the arc (弧线) ball goals. It’s breathtaking to watch. Every spin (旋转) of the ball moves air across the surface, pushing it into a bend.
When a soccer ball flies, the air forms a layer around the surface of the ball. As the balls pins, it changes the direction of the air to one side, says John Bush, an applied mathematician at MIT. This air pushes the ball in the opposite direction. The player starts with a strike on the outside of his right foot, which hits the left side of the ball, starting a clockwise spin. It throws the air off to the left, and the force created by the air leaving the ball pushes it to the right, explains Bush. Thus, a ball spinning to the right (that’s clockwise) will also are towards the right. This force is called the Magnus Effect.
It helps the goalkeepers, because they see uniform curvature (曲度) when players are taking bending shots at them. If they can pick up the spin right, it’s going to be the same amount of curvature, and they know where to put their hands. This is partly why players are much more likely to take bending shots during free kicks when goalkeepers can’t see their kicks quite as well because of the wall of defenders. If a ball isn’t spinning, it does something called knuckling, where the air turns the ball to one side in random directions, causing it to bounce in the air unpredictably. “It’s usually achieved when a player manages a sharp, fast touch of the ball, typically right on the air valve where the ball is most firm.” says Bush. Its lack of spin kept the goalkeeper from being able to predict where it was going until it was too late. All the goalkeepers tremble before the kicker that can shoot this kind of soccer ball.
1. What is the Magnus Effect according to the text?| A．The force applied to a spinning ball. |
| B．The theory proposed by John Bush. . |
| C．The direction opposite to a player’s strike. |
| D．The goal scored with a bending ball. |
| A．Because they can change the ball’s curvature. |
| B．Because they can take bending shots more easily. |
| C．Because they can get a cover from the wall of defenders. |
| D．Because they can help their team’s goalkeeper. |
| A．A free-kick shot. |
| B．A fast shot without spinning. |
| C．A shot with a unique curvature. |
| D．A bending shot without defensive blocking. |
| A．The Development of Football | B．The Principle of a Bending Ball |
| C．The Secret of Blocking a Goal | D．The Theory of Applied Mathematics |
