There was once a troubled family. The parents spoiled their children. The son, John, loved to play video games all day long when summer vacation was around and he did not like to study. The daughter, Emily, on the other hand, loved studying without play. To her, video games were for foolish people who were unable to achieve anything useful. Life went on with parents complaining and not changing anything.
One day two new neighbors arrived in their neighborhood. One lived on the right side of John’s house while the other lived on the left side of John’s house. These two people were twins. They did not communicate with anyone other than themselves. John and his family felt uncomfortable living right between them. Strange sounds came from their houses every midnight until the afternoon. People heard and saw thunder and lightning coming from the house. After a couple of weeks of lightning flashing, machines roaring, this disturbed every household. Everyone could not help but wonder what their new neighbors were doing. It was whispered that they were inventing a time machine in secret.
People were beginning to dislike them. Every moment they heard these noises, they felt like something was going to explode soon. To deal with this problem John and Emily’s parents walked to both houses to speak with the owners. But on each door hung a sign that said, “DO NOT DISTURB!” They tried knocking the door and no one responded or came out from the house. The machine noise kept going but once in a while it did stop for a small break before it continued. They tried nearly every day to get the attention of their new neighbors. But in the end they gave up. They decided to send their kids to get their attention instead. So they made a plan and the kids successfully entered the neighbor’s houses.
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。
Paragraph 1:
Unexpectedly, the kids both experienced a journey to their own future there.
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Paragraph 2:
After returning from the neighbor’s houses, the two kids changed totally.
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| A．used to look up | B．is used to look up |
| C．is used to looking up | D．uses to look up |
要求：
1.80-120词，开头已给出，不计入总词数；
2.文中不能出现自己的姓名和所在学校的名称。
参考信息：
1.你的观点（赞成还是反对）及原因；
2.你对学校管理手机的建议；
3.……
Recently, the Ministry of Education published a notice to forbid primary and middle school students to bring their phones into schools.
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4 . I love outings to the ballpark. My ears perk (竖起) up at the whack of a precisely hit ball, my nose enjoys the scent of hot dogs, and my heart jumps at the possibility of winning it all. But a few years ago I discovered the best way to watch a baseball game might be not to watch at all.
This discovery arose the year I got married. The first apartment my husband and I rented could charitably be called “charming”, although “diminutive” better describes it. But to young newlyweds, the 41-square-metre apartment felt sublime. The best thing about the apartment, in my opinion, was its location a quarter-mile from baseball’s oldest stadium, Boston’s Fenway Park.
The only problem? My husband was not a Red Sox fan. I hadn’t anticipated this stumbling block. He was an avid sports fan, and he’d only just moved to Boston. Surely a love of the hometown team would seep into his heart as naturally as fish take to water.
My hopes faded as the season began. A Seattle Mariners hat remained firmly planted on his head. Matching Red Sox T-shirts earned a veto.
As newlywed disagreements go, this one wasn’t horrible. Plenty of couples flourish with dueling team loyalties. But a worry nagged: If he couldn’t root for the Red Sox, would he ever truly make Boston home?
As a student, when the magic in the air that season permeated (传播) the girls’ boarding school I attended outside Boston, we begged our house directors to let us stay up past curfew to watch the games on TV, and when they at first refused, we listened on radios in our rooms and gleefully burst into the halls to cheer.
So when my husband said he’d never be a Red Sox fan, my heart clenched. But one delightful spring day our teeny apartment came to my rescue. As we sat at our dining room table, we heard a roar swell to a crescendo. This was the first indication that we could hear the stadium crowds from our home.
1. What do we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．She has a good appetite. |
| B．She used to be a very energetic player. |
| C．She is very alert to smell. |
| D．She is a baseball fan. |
| A．Very smart. |
| B．Very small. |
| C．Extremely broken. |
| D．Extremely old. |
| A．She tolerated them. |
| B．She ignored them. |
| C．She argued with her husband frequently. |
| D．She attended school for baseball games. |
| A．Watching games with her husband at home. |
| B．Listening to the games from the neighboring stadium. |
| C．Communicating with her husband while dining. |
| D．Listening to the games on radios at home. |
A GIFT FOR GRANDPA
Summer vacation was coming. Jack and his brother Berlin were filled with excitement as they thought of visiting their grandparents again.
The big day came at last. After the happy family got ready, they set out for the grandparents’ eagerly. On the way, the brothers were excitedly talking about the fun they had with grandparents.
A little blue house with a tall white chimney finally appeared. Behind the property was the forest carrying their good memories with Grandpa. They arrived at the driveway, at the end of which Grandma was waiting for them joyfully.
Jack and Berlin each gave Grandma a big hug and then swept to the living room, shouting excitedly “Grandpa, we are back!”
Seeing his grandsons, Grandpa was wild with joy and tried to get up with all his strength from the chair but in vain. A helpless expression flashed on his face. Grandma explained that his health was declining rapidly and maybe couldn’t stand up on his own forever. But Grandpa declared stubbornly (倔强地), “I can!” Certainly, he was stuck in his boyish way. Mum and grandparents were happy to meet again after a long time. They sat together and chatted about what happened recently.
The brothers were soon bored with adult conversation, went out and wandered into the forest. Tall trees stretched up to the heavens with large branches crossing each other, while young ones rose straight like soldiers. Grandpa was once a great explorer full of wisdom. He could tell where the birds came from only by their calls and songs. The trees, birds, lizards, lots of bugs...How many merry moments they spent with Grandpa in the kingdom!
But now Grandpa couldn't get up. This made them worried. “We’d think out a way to cheer him up.” Jack said. “Grandpa is a bird lover, and we can catch him a bird.” Berlin suggested. “But he hates birds being caged!” Jack shook his head.
Then a bright idea came to Jack’s mind. “Why not make a cane (拐杖) out of a young tree!”
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。
Berlin thought it was a good idea.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jack and Berlin handed the cane to Grandpa.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 表示欢迎；
2. 介绍你家的食宿情况并询问他的生活习惯；
3. 询问到达时间和地点，以便迎接。
注意：
1. 词数100左右，开头与结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
2. 文中不可出现有关个人的真实信息。
7 . Mindfulness—in basic terms, the practice of being “present” in the moment and paying attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings—has seen something of a boom over the last few years. While it certainly has its benefits, some argue that it encourages blind acceptance of the status quo, taking us so far into ourselves that we forget the rest of the world. In a new preprint on PsyArxiv, Michael Poulin and colleagues from New York’s University at Buffalo also find that mindfulness can decrease prosocial behaviours (亲社会行为).
The first study was designed to look at the impact of mindfulness on prosocial activity, and in particular, whether this depends on a person’s “self-construal”. In short, if someone has an independent self-construal they see the self as separate from others, rather than thinking more collectively and conceptualizing themselves as part of a wider group.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, one oriented around mindfulness meditation, and the other focusing on a control meditation in the form of mind wandering. Those in the mindfulness condition listened to a tape designed to inspire mindfulness through mindful breathing, while those in the mind wandering condition were instructed to “let your mind wander and think freely”.
After listening to the tapes, participants read about a local poverty and homelessness charity, before being asked whether or not they wanted to stuff envelopes in support of the organisation. Participants who decided to take part were left to do so for as long as they wanted. The team also measured participants’ self-construal by asking them to indicate how much they identified with friends, family, and wider groups compared to how much they thought of themselves as independent.
Most participants (84%) stuffed at least some envelopes after the task. People who participated in the mindfulness meditation stuffed 15% more envelopes than those who did the control mediation—if they had an interdependent self-construal. But for those with independent self-construals, mindfulness decreased the number of envelopes stuffed by 15%.
As the second study took place online, participants were not asked to stuff envelopes, but instead to sign up (or not) to chat online with alumni donors to request financial support for the same charity. And similar to the results of the first study, those in the interdependent condition saw an increased likelihood of volunteering after the mindfulness task, while those with independent self-construal were less likely to volunteer after listening to the mindfulness exercise.
Mindfulness has often been positioned as a panacea (灵丹妙药), not only for anxiety or other mental health conditions but in other areas, too: productivity, creativity, personal relationships, and particular traits or habits. Rather than treating it as a wholesale good, however, it may be better to understand when mindfulness might be truly beneficial—and, importantly, for whom.
1. What does the underlined word “stuff envelopes” in Para. 4 mean?| A．To employ people. | B．To write letters. | C．To donate money. | D．To open envelopes. |
| A．people less value charity work |
| B．people more willing to volunteer |
| C．interdependent people more independent |
| D．independent-minded people less prosocial |
| A．closely related to charity | B．not as popular as it used to be |
| C．useful under certain circumstances | D．effective in solving social problems |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Neutral. | D．Critical. |
注意：1. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
2. 80-100词左右；
3. 文中不能出现可能透露考生真实身份的任何信息。
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Henan Province
Nearly 11.45 million residents in 139 counties across the province were affected due
Though flooding during the summer months is an annual occurrence in parts of China, recent rains have alarmed scientists and officials, raising questions as to whether we should be prepared
10 . Getting drunk on ice cream used to be the stuff of dreams, but thanks to Will Rogers, inventor and owner of WDS Dessert Stations in Hinkley, Illinois, it has become a delicious reality. The Below Zero ice cream machine uses a unique technique to freeze alcohol, which allows you to turn beers, cocktails and even spirits (烈酒) into delicious soft —serve ice cream.
Rogers was trying to create a highly — caffeinated espresso ice cream flavor when he realized he could use the same technique with alcoholic beverages. He started experimenting with various gums and stabilizers commonly used in the ice cream industry and eventually patented something called the NEA gel. It’s this magical concoction (调制品) that allows the alcohol to freeze to a near solid inside the Below Zero ice cream machine.
Even though Below Zero changes the texture (质地) of beer, cocktails and even spirits, essentially turning them into soft —serve ice cream, it does not affect the alcohol content at all. The ABV (酒精度) remains exactly the same, which means you can get drunk on ice — cream just as you would on the same concoctions in liquid form.
Will Rogers claims that it takes around 30 minutes for beer to go from liquid to ice cream form, but higher alcohol content drinks take longer. Essentially, the higher the alcohol level, the longer the wait.
The American inventor plans to sell Below Zero ice cream machines to bars and breweries wanting to surprise their patrons. Metro reports that machines will sell for about 6,000.
1. What’s the name of the machine which can change beer and spirits into ice cream?| A．Will Rogers | B．WDS Dessert Stations |
| C．Hinkley | D．Below Zero |
| A．gums. | B．stabilizers. | C．NEA gel. | D．ABV. |
| A．The machine can change all liquids into ice cream. |
| B．It takes 20 minutes for beer to change into ice cream. |
| C．The higher the alcohol level, the shorter the wait will be. |
| D．The machine changes the texture of beer, cocktails and even spirits. |
| A．The machine affects the alcohol content. |
| B．You can get drunk if you have ice—creams made from spirits. |
| C．The American inventor doesn’t want to sell the magical machine. |
| D．Bars and breweries will not become potential buyers of the machine. |
