Pot On Happy Face
Sarai was attempting to halter (给……套上缰绳) her bay (棕红色) horse, Amadore, when an unfamiliar voice caught her attention. “I know what your problem is.” said a boy from the stall doorway.
Sarai threw a look over her shoulder but her focus remained on the horse in front of her.
Holding out a hand to her horse. Sarai said. “You heard what Dad said yesterday. If I can’t get this halter on you by tomorrow, we’ll have to send you back to the rescue ranch. I don’t want to send you back.”
“I know what your problem is.” the boy persisted, introducing himself as Cody.
Sarai sighed, propped her hands on her hips, and turned enough to see the boy but keep Amadore in her sight as well.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” said Sarai, frowning. “If you don't know me or my horse, how can you know what my problem is?”
“I just do,” Cody smiled again.
Sarai rolled her eyes and turned her back on Cody. Despite Sarai’s skepticism and her insistence on working alone, he offered to stay around in case she needed help.
The following morning, Sarai’s efforts were met with the same resistance from Amadore. Seeing him push himself back into the corner even further when she approached with breakfast, she frowned again, feeling frustrated and broken-hearted.
Realizing she might need assistance after all, she sought out Cody, who was now grooming a horse named Monty, preparing him for the Great Mustang Challenge.
“How's it going with Amadore?” Cody asked.
The words stuck in her throat, “Well…I need your help. Yesterday you said you knew what my problem was.” “It’s your face,” said Cody. “Horses can read a person’s facial features and determine what might happen because of the look on the face.”
Noticing Sarai’s struggle, Cody explained that her frown, likely a result of concentration, could be misinterpreted by the horse.
“That's silly,” said Sarai skeptically.
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。
“I can prove it,” Cody smiled with a camera in his hand.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a quick pace, Sarai went back to her own horse.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was a kid, my parents and I lived near the forest. They often told me that our family was a team that needed to work together for the household to function smoothly. There was always an abundance of work to do — cooking, cleaning, and walking dogs. I volunteered to walk our dog, Max, who had been adopted one month before. I never dared let this giant dog off the lead (牵狗绳), just in case he took off.
One morning, we were walking along in the forest when Max started pulling on the lead. At first, I was able to hold on despite the wet ground from a recent shower. But the more I tried to stop him pulling, the more it turned into a tug of war. And thanks to the slippery ground, I lost.
Pulling his lead, Max shot off like a bullet, leaving me screaming behind. I chased him but lost my footing and fell face-first into some mud. I stumbled (踉跄) to my feet, but looking ahead, I found him running back towards me. I thought he was going to stop and give me his “Sorry” look. But instead, the dog shot past me and returned after a while.
As soon as we got home, my mother immediately attended to Max with a warm towel and a doggy treat. I thought seeing me stumbling and covered in mud, I would also get a warm cup of tea and a motherly kiss. Instead, I got a very loud lecture about letting the dog loose in the forest.
I felt frustrated. It wasn’t fair that she didn’t understand how difficult it was to control Max. I fought back, “Stop lecturing me! Why is everything my fault?” With these words, I stormed into my bedroom and slammed the door shut.
In the evening, I heard my mother call Max and take him out. It wasn’t long before I heard my mother screaming and the door opening again.
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。
I walked out of my room.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Dad stepped in, suggesting that we work together to train Max.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . For all programmers and processor industry participants, the RISC-V website is almost a must-visit as an open standard. Instruction Set Architecture, which is defined as the design of a computer from the programmer’s perspective, enabling a new era of processor innovation through open cooperation.
Unlike X86 and ARM, which are owned by certain enterprises, RISC-V is an open one, allowing anybody to download its instructions handbook and use it. Maybe that is why some US lawmakers are targeting RISC-V. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Mark Warner have reportedly been urging US President Joe Biden to take action regarding RISC-V, because, they fear that Chinese companies might make use of the open-source platform to improve their chips (芯片) technology.
Maybe the legislators (立法者) do not realize that by targeting RISC-V they are targeting not only a company or a platform but the idea of openness itself. Being a US company. RISC-V has a global membership, with a number of Chinese and US enterprises as members. It has for long been known as an open-minded institution promoting technological cooperation despite the political tensions, and the US lawmakers targeting it seem to be closing one of the last channels of technology communication between China and their nation.
By doing so they are harming the United States’ own interests and its technological leadership in the world. Open source is a good computing tool that benefits those who share programs as well as those who learn from it. The Android smartphone system, for example, has developed largely because Google decided to make it an open-source system, which attracted worldwide smartphone businesses to adopt its standard.
The US lawmakers might next target GitHub, or, some day, even forbid programmers from accessing the Internet. That will only lead to the US losing its technological edge, never to get it back again.
1. What is RISC-V according to the passage?| A．A website for programmers. |
| B．A computer design standard. |
| C．An open-source platform. |
| D．A US chips company. |
| A．argument | B．background | C．proof | D．connection |
| A．Fairness. | B．Interests. | C．Cooperation. | D．Openness. |
| A．RISC-V enables processor innovation through open cooperation. |
| B．US lawmakers are targeting RISC-V for the technology safety concern. |
| C．The example of Android demonstrates the benefits of technological openness. |
| D．GitHub and the Internet are the next target US will focus on to safeguard its leadership. |
4 . Although literacy appeared independently in several parts of the prehistoric world, the earliest evidence of writing is the cuneiform Sumerian script on the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia, which, archaeological detective work has revealed, had its origins in the accounting practices of commercial activity. Researchers demonstrated that preliterate people, to keep track of the goods they produced and exchanged, created a system of accounting using clay tokens as symbolic representations of their products. Over many thousands of years, the symbols evolved through several stages of abstraction until they became wedge-shaped (cuneiform) signs on clay tablets, recognizable as writing.
The original tokens were three-dimensional solid shapes — tiny spheres, cones, disks, and cylinders. A debt of six units of grain and eight head of livestock, for example, might have been represented by six conical and eight cylindrical tokens. To keep batches of tokens together, an innovation was introduced whereby they were sealed inside clay envelopes that could be broken open and counted when it came time for a debt to be repaid. But because the contents of the envelopes could easily be forgotten, two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional tokens were impressed into the surface of the envelopes before they were sealed. Eventually, having two sets of equivalent symbols — the internal tokens and external markings — came to seem redundant, so the tokens were eliminated, and only solid clay tablets with two-dimensional symbols were retained. Over time, the symbols became more numerous, varied, and abstract and came to represent more than trade commodities, evolving eventually into cuneiform writing.
The evolution of the symbolism is reflected in the archaeological record first of all by the increasing complexity of the tokens themselves. The earliest tokens, dating from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, were of only the simplest geometric shapes. But about 3500 B.C.E., more complex tokens came into common usage, including many naturalistic forms shaped like miniature tools, furniture, fruit, and humans.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about clay envelopes?| A．They contained batches of tokens. | B．They could be reused frequently. |
| C．They had markings on the outside. | D．They could be used to record debts. |
| A．Later tokens were made of many different materials, but earlier ones were made only of clay. |
| B．Later tokens often looked like the commodities that they represented, but earlier ones did not. |
| C．Later tokens represented agricultural products, but earlier ones represented finished products. |
| D．Later tokens were based on pictographs, but earlier ones were based on naturalistic forms. |
| A．Sumerian script, the earliest known form of writing among prehistoric writing systems, was first used on clay tablets for accounting purposes. |
| B．Although the earliest Sumerians engaged in commercial activity and practiced accounting, they were not as literate as people in other parts of the prehistoric world. |
| C．Archaeologists have discovered that literacy was developed in several parts of the world, including ancient Mesopotamia. |
| D．Archaeological detective work has revealed the commercial accounting practices of the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia and provided a written record of their intense commercial activity. |
| A．Evidence of the Earliest Writing | B．A long history of tokens |
| C．Evolution of the symbolism | D．Origins of the symbols |
5 . I came across the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less from a library app and I can say that after reading, it did not disappoint.
The book fits into the personal development category. It talks about how important it is to focus on absolutely important things and remove the unnecessary distractions. The common problem, Greg McKeown says, is spotting the important things. Essentialism means continuously defining where we can create the most value, then finding ways to execute these tasks most effortlessly.
In Essentialism, McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the pursuit of less. More importantly, by applying a more selective standard for what is essential, the pursuit of less allows us to regain control of our own choices so we can channel our time, energy and effort into making the highest possible contribution toward the goals and activities that matter.
McKeown further explores the difference between an essentialist and a non-essentialist. He gives fantastic and relatable examples from his life as well as from others to illustrate how functioning as a non-essentialist is harmful for both you and those around you. He says the primary difference in both of them is the one who says yes to everything and the other (the essentialist) says yes only to the things that matter.
He also tells that a non-essentialist will commit to everything and put his personal priorities (优先事项) on the side while that is opposite in case of the essentialist. Whether it is in work-life or personal life, a non-essentialist will try to do more by quick-fix solutions but an essentialist will focus on removing barriers and nothing else. He also gives us examples of famous people like Mahatma Gandhi who followed essentialism.
Finally, the book tells us how to set out the important things in our life — like a routine of 8 hours of sleep, daily journal or playing or relaxing every day to let our minds rest. In today’s fast-paced life, McKeown says, restfulness is a precious escape from the noisy world.
1. What does the underlined word “execute” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Carry out. | B．Switch between. | C．Watch out for. | D．Get away from. |
| A．The significance of essentialism. | B．The inspiration for the book. |
| C．Achievements of essentialists. | D．Strategies for pursuing less. |
| A．Commitment to daily work. | B．High efficiency in work. |
| C．Positive influence by celebrities. | D．Concentration on priorities. |
| A．Avoid tiring work if possible. | B．Find meaning in everyday life. |
| C．Take a break when necessary. | D．Remain restless and unmotivated. |
“Bang. . !” Sara pushed the door open. She threw her school bag onto the floor and called out, “I’m home!” No answer. The house was silent. It sounded empty, but she knew it wasn’t. Her mum and dad were working upstairs.
Sara got a glass of orange juice, went into the conservatory (玻璃房) and sat down in her favourite chair. The garden was still in the dark afternoon. On one side, her mum’s garden was neat and tidy with boring short grass, boring straight flowerbeds and boring straight paths. But on the other side, Sara’s Nature Garden looked wild and exciting with big dead sunflowers and tall grasses.
“Nobody is interested in me. Mum and dad only think about their work,” she thought sadly.
Then she recalled: One month earlier, she learned in a magazine that many dogs were abandoned because their owners got bored with them; One hour earlier, she saw a cute dog wagging its tail and licking her friend’s face.
Sara knew today was special. Today things were changing. She couldn’t wait any longer. It’s time to talk to her parents.
So Sara got up from her chair and climbed all the way to the loft (阁楼). “Mum, I want a talk.” said Sara. “Just a minute!” Her mum clicked on the keyboard, took off her glasses and turned to her daughter. Sara coughed, took a deep breath, and told her mum that she wanted a dog. “No, Sara. That’s impossible,” her mum said firmly. Sara went to her father but got the same answer. She rushed into her room angrily and slammed the door shut.
Later, Sara’s mum knocked at the door and went in. “Darling, we know this is important to you. You can have a dog if you take the responsibility. But look at your Nature Garden, your school bag, your bedroom! What a mess! Do you think you can take good care of a dog?” said her mum.
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。
Sara was lost in thought and decided to make some changes.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With the dog’s company, Sara began her busy but joyful life.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World is one of the more important books about climate change to have been written. Hayhoe is a gifted public speaker and Saving Us is a follow-up to her awesome TED talk in 2018, “The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it”.
One of the many refreshing aspects of this book is that Hayhoe recounts both her successes and her failures to communicate, through which she has gathered evidence about what works and what does not. Much of the book’s advice is common sense, all backed up not just by Hayhoe’s experience but also with convincing research by psychologists and social scientists.
Hayhoe advises against trying to engage with a small minority, the “Dismissives”, who “angrily reject the idea that human-caused climate change is a threat; they are most receptive to misinformation and conspiracy theories (阴谋论)”. There is a warning that offering up more facts about climate change can actually increase polarisation among them.
The book includes amusing examples of her encounters with the “Dismissives”, almost entirely older men-including an engineer who was unconvinced about the evidence but with whom she was able to establish mutual (相互的) respect through a shared passion for knitting (打毛线衣)—and is packed with inspiring accounts of how she has won over even the most suspicious of crowds. Her motto is “bond, connect and inspire”, which represents her approach of always looking for points of commonality.
She also tells of a man who approached her after an event in London in 2019. He had been so inspired by her TED talk that he had started to speak to everybody he could in his neighborhood of Wandsworth. He showed her details of 12, 000 conversations that had taken place as a result, claiming that they had helped to convince the council to declare a climate emergency and to switch investments from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
And so, while it may feel difficult to influence the outcome of the COP26, Hayhoe’s uplifting book makes a persuasive case that we can all do our bit to bring about success just by talking about the issue.
1. What does the book mainly focus on?| A．Sharing climate communication tips. |
| B．Teaching presentation skills with TED talks. |
| C．Exploring critical thinking through literature. |
| D．Promoting people’s insight into climate change. |
| A．Humorous but one-sided. | B．Novel but contradictory. |
| C．Serious and hard to follow. | D．Well-based and workable. |
| A．By changing their political identity. |
| B．By challenging their fundamental beliefs. |
| C．By offering more facts about climate change. |
| D．By seeking common ground built on a shared love. |
| A．World shift to clean energy is unstoppable. |
| B．We should help people prepare for the climate crisis. |
| C．Policymakers are less responsive to market changes. |
| D．Conversations can influence climate decision-making. |
Timmy was a boy aged twelve. One day, while he was walking home from school, he found a stray (流浪的) dog wandering aimlessly on the street. The poor creature looked dirty and hungry. It looked up at Timmy with big, pleading eyes, as if to say, “Please take me home.” Timmy couldn’t resist the sad face of the small dog. Without hesitation, Timmy decided to take the dog home with him. He knew that his parents would be surprised because they had never kept a pet, but he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the animal alone. When he arrived home, he introduced the dog to his family. To his surprise, his parents agreed to let it stay.
Timmy named the dog Max, and the two quickly became inseparable. They spent their days playing together in the park and exploring the countryside. Max was always by Timmy’s side, whether he was riding his bike or playing soccer with his friends. When Timmy returned home from school, Max would run to him and jump up into his arms, licking his face with joy.
One sunny day, Timmy and Max were playing in the park when they came across a beautiful pond. Max couldn’t resist the temptation (诱惑) to take a swim in the cool water, so it ra n towards the pond. Timmy followed it, but as soon as they reached the edge of the pond, Max jumped right in without any hesitation.
Timmy watched as Max swam around in the water, having the time of its life. He wanted to join in the fun, but he didn’t know how to swim. As he peered into the water, he noticed that it was much deeper than he had thought. Suddenly, he lost his balance and fell into the pond. He tried to stand up, but the water was too deep, and he started to panic.
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。
Max quickly realized that something was wrong.
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Word spread that a stray dog had saved a boy’s life.
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9 . 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。
Lily was renowned for her desire to achieve perfection in everything she undertook. Whether it was school projects, art assignments, or even helping her parents with household chores, Lily’s commitment to excellence was unwavering.
One sunny summer day, Lily’s family decided to spend a day at the beach. As they arrived, Lily’s eyes were immediately drawn by a group of children who playfully built and then tore down their sandcastles. They giggled and shouted, their excitement on full display. “How silly, ” she thought, not quite getting why they enjoyed doing that.
Lily, being herself, decided to build a perfect sandcastle that would become the envy of all beachgoers. She began to plan every detail in her mind, from the balanced structures of the towers to the delicate decorations. Then, she set about piling sand to make the towers and walls of her sandcastle. Painstakingly, she crafted each feature of her work, carefully smoothed the surfaces and adjusting every detail to her vision.
Jake, Lily’s younger brother, didn’t seem too concerned with building a fantastic sandcastle. He picked a spot nearby and amused himself with the sand. He scooped up handfuls of sand, let it slip through his fingers like grains of time, and then molded it into careless shapes with the carefree abandon of a child. Jake’s happiness was contagious. Mom and Dad joined him, laughing and joking over Jake’s playful creations. From time to time, they called out to Lily and invited her to join the fun, knowing that the pursuit of perfection could be exhausting.
Nevertheless, Lily stayed where she was, determined to create an impressive sandcastle. She frowned at Jake’s unconventional, abstract art-like sandcastle shapes and persisted in her efforts. However, the process didn’t go as smoothly as she had anticipated. The sand didn’t always hold its shape, and the waves constantly lapped at the edges of her creation.
Para 1: As the day wore on, Lily’s sandcastle kept losing its form.
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Para 2: With bitter smile, Lily decided to join her family.
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I was eating breakfast at home in Hampshire in March this year, scrolling through social media on my phone, when a story caught my eye. It was about a nine-year-old dog, Charlie, dubbed (称为) the loneliest in Britain. He had been in a rescue centre in Somerset for more than 500 days.
For some reason, nobody wanted to adopt him. I clicked on the link and straight away these huge, sad eyes stared back at me. I was emotional. I turned to my husband, Sam, and said: "We’ve got to have him.” He read the article over my shoulder and felt exactly the same way. We wanted to give Charlie a happy home and a new lease of life.
Over the past few years we have tried to adopt a few different dogs, but we haven’ had any luck — we were never top of the list. Sam and I got used to filling in forms and not hearing anything. We’d almost given up hope.
But Charlie is an older dog and we felt we’d be suited — even older dogs have a lot of love left to offer. So we took our time with the application, sent photographs of our house and garden. We explained why Charlie would be happy with us, and then forgot all about it.
A few days later we received an email from Brent Knoll animal centre, saying we’d been shortlisted. We were thrilled. They asked us to visit Charlie to be interviewed and to see if he liked us.
When we arrived we were taken to the staff room. We didn’t know what to expect. We hadn’t been told much about Charlie’s circumstances, but as he had been given up for adoption and hadn’t been placed with a new owner for so long, we thought there might be issues. But the dog that bounded (蹦跳) in was full of joy and charisma.
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。
He came straight over to us.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We feel proud that we’ve given Charlie a new home and a second chance.
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