1 . Set 40 kilometers northeast of the city of Ambatondrazaka, Madagascar, the Zahamena National Park has overall land coverage of 643 square kilometers, but only about 420 square kilometers is open to the public. It receives an average rainfall level of around 6 feet every year and experiences frequent rain showers even during the dry season between April and October. And elevations (海拔) inside the park range from 250 to 1,560 meters, which has resulted in a diversity (多样性) of climates.
One really interesting thing about the Zahamena National Park is its unique highland landform (高地地貌). The development of several ecosystems that all together exist within its area greatly depends on it. And this is also the reason why the types of wildlife living in one area of its wide range are different in another, which makes it quite exciting to explore.
This protected region’s main area is divided into two parts: the eastern and western areas, with a separate piece of ground in the middle where many small villages are located. Zahamena means “red trees”, which suggests a tree species scientifically called Diatum unifoliatum. It lives only in Zahamena and is characterized by its typically deep reddish-orange color.
Established as a strict natural highland habitat for nature conservation (保护) in 1927, the Zahamena National Park was officially awarded the honorary title of national park in 1997 and was finally opened to the public. Due to its amazing landform and unique local biodiversity, this national park was later listed as a key part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in 2007.
Unluckily, there are no hotels or restaurants around the national park. So Zahamena is not an easy rainforest—this national park needs people with a high level of fitness and people with low requirements concerning accommodations. Everyone who is not discouraged by this will be able to expect an amazing rainforest experience in a location which has a small number of tourists.
1. What do we know about the Zahamena National Park?| A．It is hard to reach due to conservation rules. |
| B．It has changeable weather all year round. |
| C．It has a great difference in elevations. |
| D．It is famous for its traditional villages. |
| A．The complete food chain of wildlife there. |
| B．The wet weather condition there. |
| C．The conservation efforts there. |
| D．The special landform there. |
| A．A cultural belief. | B．A local tree species. |
| C．The unique geography. | D．The local village group. |
| A．The tough condition of Zahamena. | B．People’s high level of fitness. |
| C．Its geographical location. | D．The diversity of climates. |
One day in July, 30 years ago, I was taking a summer class in literature on the campus of SUNY Oneonta in northern New York. Professor James walked into the classroom and announced he’d invited a special guest to class, but his guest had been delayed. The class stirred with curiosity. “Who’s coming?” someone asked.
“All I can tell you is that he’s the author of one of the books you’ve read for this class,” he said. “I need a volunteer to meet him in the hall of the administration building and escort (护送) him here.”
To my amazement, my right hand shot up as though it had a mind of its own. “What am I doing?” I thought. I never volunteered for anything. I was shy and uncomfortable meeting new people. I pulled my hand down quickly, but it was too late.
“Thanks, David,” Professor James said. “You’d better leave now. He’ll be arriving any minute.”
Seeing no way to back out, I unwillingly got out of my seat and headed for the classroom door. When I reached it, I stopped. “Umm,” I said. “How will I recognize him?” Professor James laughed. “Good point,” he said. He pulled me aside and whispered a name in my ear. “Alex Haley,” he said.
“Really?” I said and left the room. Alex Haley is the author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. He was what I wanted to be: a writer.
As I reached the administration building, I found a man with a briefcase standing in the hall. I came up, saying, “Are you Mr. Haley?”
“Yes,” he said with a loving voice.
“I’m from Professor James’s class. Welcome.”
“Thank you,” he said. He extended his hand and we shook hands. He was a man in his forties, medium height, wearing a sports jacket.
On our way to the classroom, I was struck by how approachable this man was. My fear was replaced by curiosity and purpose. So I said, “I’d like to become a writer, but I don’t know if I have the talent. And how did you discover you had a gift for writing?” He stopped and looked at me in the eyes.
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。
“Writing is not just about talent,” he said. “I learned to write through practice and persistence.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After my conversation with Alex Haley that day, I found a newfound confidence in my desire to become a writer.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.活动目的；2.具体行动；3.活动收获。
参考词汇：流浪猫 stray cats
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Looking After Stray Cats.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. What do we know about Pansy?
| A．She couldn’t get through to her mother. |
| B．Her cell phone didn’t work. |
| C．She finished her homework. |
| A．Chocolate. | B．Cakes. | C．Grapes. |
| A．A shopping mall. | B．His wife’s office. | C．His mother’s home. |
Rikki’s mom was preparing baked beans and mixing up potato salad to go with Saturday night barbecue when Rikki stormed in the front door and marched to her room. She glanced out the window and saw their neighbor Lexi walking back to her house across the road. Mother’s intuition told herself this situation might need some direction.
“Rikki, come in here. I need some help with dinner.” Rikki came out with an obstinate look on her face — the kind that kids have when they know they are wrong but have convinced themselves they are right.
“I noticed that Lexi came over but didn’t stay long. She is your age and in your class at school. Why doesn’t she stay longer?” Mom watched Rikki out of the corner of her eye as she continued to prepare food. “I don’t like her,” Rikki whined. “I wish she would stop coming over here all the time. She dresses terrible, and sometimes she doesn’t smell good. Her nose is always runny, and her hair is tangled. None of us like her.” Mom knew that “none of us” meant the popular crowd Rikki ran with.
“That’s not her fault, Rikki. I don’t know what her family is like, but maybe she doesn’t have anyone to help her. Some kids don’t have the extra things that you and your friends have. That doesn’t make them any less worthy than you.” Rikki replied that she knew that, and those things were not the real issue. “I just don’t like to play with her, Momma. She doesn’t like to do the same things that I do.”
Mom told Rikki to go on outside and play. What she didn’t know, however, was that Rikki’s dad had been watching while he was grilling. He didn’t like the fact that Rikki had ignored Lexi, so he decided to intervene. He wanted to know why Lexi was leaving with her head down and looking so sad.
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。
Then Rikki’s father came over and asked what happened.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rikki went with her dad to invite Lexi.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My family had only recently moved into a new neighborhood. All of my neighbors have been very friendly and helpful since we moved in.
However, Mrs Davis, an elderly lady living in the last house on the other side of the road, escaped associating with us, or anyone else. When I asked around the neighborhood why, they warned me not to go after her because they thought she was insane (精神失常的) and preferred staying alone after losing her husband and only daughter in an aircraft crash. After that, she stayed isolated (孤立的) from all the neighbors, refusing all the care and help.
I often saw her on the streets during the evening, but she was always by herself. She appeared weak and I always wanted to help her, but after hearing what my neighbors had said about her, I wasn’t sure whether I should.
One day, when I was on my way to the supermarket, our paths crossed. I was walking past her and overheard her singing a tune. It immediately drew my attention because my parents used to sing the same song with me. I began to sing along with her, and she smiled at me for the first time. But when I smiled back, she quickly hurried her pace and went home.
She seemed very different to me that day. I refused to trust my neighbors’ claims that she had cut herself off from the rest of society because she was insane, so the next day, I knocked on her door. Mrs Davis was home, and instead of letting me in, she just looked at me silently through the window. I noticed her staring at me and was about to walk to the window when she quickly closed the curtains.
The next day, I revisited her house. “Hello, I brought you something,” I called out to her. “It’s the record of the music you were singing yesterday.”
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 door opened and Mrs Davis’ eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me standing there.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Several days later in the morning, the doorbell rang at my house.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Spotted lanternflies (斑点灯笼蝇) are an invasive species. Since 2014, they have been seen all across the eastern United States. The insects are harmful to many plants, and can disturb entire ecosystems. State officials have urged people to kill spotted lanternflies wherever they see them.
When Joy saw the pests in her school courtyard, she thought she had to do something. “I’ve always wanted to take environmental action,” she says, “and show people that no one is ever too small to make a difference.”
So she started a club called Squash (压扁). Its mission is to kill spotted lanternflies around the school. More than 20 students have joined. At first, they trapped the pests in empty water bottles and then squashed them. In a single day, the club managed to kill more than a hundred spotted lanternflies.
Joy wanted to do more. With research, she discovered a plant called milkweed. It’s nutritious for pollinators (传粉昆虫) such as monarch butterflies but poisonous to spotted lanternflies. Joy thought that using milkweed along with the traps made specifically for spotted lanternflies would be a better way to kill them. The issue was that they didn’t have enough money to buy milkweed and the traps.
The kids were hoping to raise money for their school to address the big problem. Their goal was to raise $200, the cost of the equipment needed to kill spotted lanternflies around their school. They got part of the way there, with about $75. They decided to attract more fundraisers. “We discovered that if you find your voice,” Joy says, “you can do much more.”
In May, Joy and other students from Squash gathered in Columbus Park, in New York City. They set up a table with lemonade, cookies, and origami figures for sale. The money will be used to buy milkweed and the traps.
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 attract more attention, the students divided their work into various roles.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the day progressed, the students’ efforts paid off.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Marcus sat by his window, gazing at the blinking lights on other buildings. He thought of Papa, who was visiting Marcus’ sick grandpa in Jamaica. “I’ll try to help Mama while you’re gone,” Marcus had promised his father. His little brother, Peter, sat beside him. “When are we getting our Christmas tree, Marcus?” Peter asked. “I can’t wait to decorate it with Mama’s straw birds (草编鸟).”
“We’re not getting a tree this year, Peter.” “Why not?” “Too many bills with Grandpa sick. Mama said we can’t afford one.”
Marcus walked slowly to his room and shook his piggy bank, seven dollars in quarters, dimes and nickels fell out, his tips from helping at the market. With school out, he thought, maybe I can earn enough in two days to buy a tree and surprise Mama and Peter.
The next day, he stayed busy pushing cars to help shoppers. By the time he left, six more dollars jingled in his pocket. My lucky day, he thought. Thirteen dollars should buy a small tree.
He whistled all the way to the Christmas tree lot. But even the smallest trees were $15 or more. Tomorrow will be busy with shoppers, he thought. I’ll earn those extra dollars.
“Can you save this tree for me, sir?” he asked the man in the lot. “I can’t,” the man said, “but come back tomorrow. It might still be here.” “I’ll be back.” Marcus waved and dashed off.
The telephone rang early the next morning. Mama came into his room. “The babysitter is sick, Marcus,” she said. “I’ll need you to take care of Peter for a day.” Marcus pleaded(恳求), “It’s the busiest day at Mr. Smith’s market, Mama. He needs me there.” “I’m so sorry. There’s nothing else we can do.” Mama gave Marcus a hug. “I’ll try to come home early.”
I’ll never get a tree now, Marcus thought.
Later, Peter asked, “Can we go to the dollar store(一元店)? I have a dollar.” Marcus nodded. “OK. We can buy our Christmas presents.”
When they walked by the tree lot, Peter said, “Wish we were getting a tree.” Marcus didn’t answer. He saw that most of the trees were gone including the one he’d wanted. Then he saw a small tree in a can. “Is that one for sale, sir?”
注意：1. 续写词数为150词左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: “That’s my last growing tree,” the seller said. “It’s small now, but it will grow tall.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: They hurried home. Marcus set their tree and presents they’d bought on the table.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________December strode (阔步走) into the mountains of Colorado, shooting snowflakes and blowing them into a thick blanket of white. As Christmas approached, the farmers there closed down most wooden houses for a holiday cheer. Not all were closed, however. There was still work to be done, and someone had to stay. That someone was Slim Carter.
Old Jake, another farmer there, had offered to keep him company, but Slim shook his head. “After all, a young man like me has got plenty of Christmases ahead,” Slim joked. Before Jake offered to stay again, Slim hurried on. “I’ll just have a private Christmas this year, and that’s the way I want it.” So he was left alone at the house. Alone, with his horse in the farm and the wolves roaring in the forest nearby.
Truth was, Slim had decided not to celebrate Christmas at all. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Christmas. In fact, his Christmas memories were good ones. His mother would fill their house with the light of candles and the smell of candy. His father would make their Christmas tree hunt an all-day, men-only affair. Slim smiled as he remembered sitting on the broad back of their horse with the freshly cut tree along behind. Back home, they would cover the tree with paper snowflakes and homemade decorations and sing all the Christmas songs they knew. And that’s the way he liked it. Those were the memories he pulled out on nights when he was working alone. Such memories warmed him inside, even if his outsides were aching with cold.
This was Slim’s first year away from home. “Christmas is nothing if not spent with family,” Slim declared to the empty house. That was the real reason he’d sent Jake away. He figured he would handle Christmas better if he just pretended it was an ordinary winter workday.
But on Christmas Eve, as Slim headed back with snow beneath his feet and stars overhead, his head hung low. It was Christmas, even without the tree and the gifts. Christmas, and he was all alone.
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。
Then he remembered decorating the tree with his family again.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________While singing to his decorated Christmas tree, Slim heard a knock on the door.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
