When I was 11, I quite wanted a bicycle-not any bicycle, but a blue bicycle from Jihnston’s store on the Hill, a smal shopping area that was six blocks away from the our house.
The Monday before Christmas, my 9-yea r old Steve and I ran to the Hill to do our Christmas shopping. Past the ice- cream shop and the pet store, we entered the five-and dime store. My brother had his savings (65cents) held in his hand, and I had four dollars, some of which I had got by cleaning the neighbor’s yard. At the store, I picked out writing paper for our sister, a pair of earrings for our mom, and notebook for our 45-year-old since he would be going to college to get a Ph, D. I had enough money left to buy basball cards for Steve.
We went home by way of the bike store, so I could look at my bike. It wasn’t my bike actually, but I was saving money to buy it. I wanted it more than anything else in the world. It was a blue Italian model; I had never seen another one like it. I planned to ride it to school. However, to my shock, the blue bike had been sold. It seemed like my heart stopped and time stood still. For three months,ever since the first day I saw it, I had been saving money to buy it. I ran from the store,fighting back tears.
On the way home, I thought I no longer needed the 12 dollars I had saved. I started to think what I should buy with it.
Back home, when I put my package presents under the tree, I noticed other packages which had been palced by Steve, my sister and my parents.
After dinner, Dad told us that he would go to college and that our family would have a tight (紧的) budget. And he felt sorry for that. Suddenly, I knwe what I would use my 12 dollars for. I ran to my room, and wrote on a card, “Dear Dad, this is for your education.”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右，2.请按如下格线作答。
And I put the paper and the money into a shoesbox.
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When I thought about that blue bike, Mom suddenly said, “Terry, could you go to the kitchen to see if the coffee is ready?”
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2 . In the thick forest, a New Caledonian crow carefully removes a branch, pulls off unwanted leaves and makes a tool from the wood. The crow is a perfectionist. When it’s satisfied, the bird advances the finished tool into a hole in the tree and fishes out a wriggling grub (蠕动的幼虫).
The New Caledonian crow is one of the only birds known to make tools, a skill once thought to be unique to humans. The remarkable originality that Christian Rutz, a behavioral ecologist at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, observed changed his understanding of what birds can do. He started wondering if there might be other ignored animal abilities. Experiments have shown that different crow groups in the forest have distinct vocalizations (发声). Rutz wanted to know whether these vocalizations could help explain cultural differences in tool-making among the groups.
New technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is ready to provide exactly these kinds of insights. Whether animals communicate with one another in terms we might be able to understand is a question of enduring question. “With recent breakthroughs in AI, people realize that we are on the edge of fairly major advances in regard to understanding animals’ communicative behavior,” Rutz says.
Beyond creating chat-bots that attract people and producing art that wins fine-arts competitions, machine learning may soon make it possible to crack (破解) things like crow calls, says Aza Raskin, one of the founders of the nonprofit Earth Species Project. Cracking animal vocalizations could aid conservation and welfare efforts. It could also have a shocking impact on us. Raskin compares the coming revolution to the invention of the telescope. “We looked out at the universe and discovered that Earth was not the center,” he says. The power of AI to reshape our understanding of animals, he thinks, will have a similar effect. “These tools are going to change the way that we see ourselves in relation to everything.”
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 1?| A．Show the New Caledonian crow can make tools. |
| B．Explain why the New Caledonian crow is a perfectionist. |
| C．Tell the New Caledonian crow often makes mistakes. |
| D．Describe how the New Caledonian crow lives in the forest. |
| A．It is humans and crows that can make tools |
| B．Humans may fail to notice some animals’ abilities. |
| C．The New Caledonian crow is the smartest bird. |
| D．The New Caledonian crow has various sounds. |
| A．Chatting with AI. | B．Looking out into space. |
| C．Using AI to crack animal calls. | D．Connecting with the outside world. |
| A．Earth Is Not the Center | B．Start Your Mind and Study Deeply |
| C．Protect Animals to Make the World Better | D．AI Could Help Us Understand Animals |
1. What is the speech about?
| A．A notice. | B．A schedule. | C．An advertisement. |
| A．They can keep dirt away. | B．They may smell well. | C．They look very nice. |
| A．The style. | B．The color. | C．The material. |
| A．75 dollars a pair. | B．29 dollars a pair. | C．49 dollars a pair. |
On an ordinary weekend, Charley went out as usual. Unfortunately, he had a car accident. Charley was hurt badly. With the help of the police and kind people, Charley was sent to a nearby hospital in time. The doctor said Charley might have broken his back and could lose the use of his legs. His life would change forever.
Over the next month, as Charley was in hospital, his friend Tad felt an strong sense of worry. When he picked up the courage to visit, he found a sad Charley. Looking small and pale, Charley shouted, “I can’t walk. What should I do?” Tad tried to comfort him, but words were not enough.
When Charley got out of the hospital, Tad went over to his house a few times and helped him with the lessons, but it just wasn’t the same. Not only was Charley’s body damaged, so was his spirit. Gradually, because of busy study, Tad didn’t have much time to visit Charley. He felt sad and guilty (内疚的) that he wasn’t spending more time with Charley. He wanted to help him but didn’t know how to do it.
On returning to school, Charley’s challenges became more obvious. Sitting in a wheelchair brought him several difficulties, from picking up his schoolbag to getting trapped by gym doors. Though Charley wasn’t hurt, he was so embarrassed that he didn’t talk to anyone during the rest of the day. Tad wanted to help his friend to make it all better but he knew his help was limited, so he needed to seek help from other people or organisations. He knew that Charely always loved dogs. He remembered reading on the Internet that therapy (治疗) dogs can help reduce anxiety and sadness. So he made every effort to find organisations that had therapy dogs and told them about Charley, hoping they could help him. In the end, Tad showed up in the Charely’s with a big black dog.
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 dog, named Rowdy, was a trained service dog to help Charley.
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Tad could be aware that something had changed.
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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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was young, we lived in a small town. Everyone knew Roy as he was a top student in the town. He was of my age, but he lost his parents in an accident at the age of 8. So he lived alone and delivered newspapers to support himself and his education.
Every time he delivered newspapers to our home, he wore a broad smile on his face and greeted my mom gently. My mom was greatly surprised when she knew his daily routine. He got up every morning by 5 o’clock and walked 5 kilometers from where he lived to the newspaper office to collect the newspapers. By 6:00, he carried 50 pieces of newspapers — more than 5 kilograms and walked 3 kilometers back. After sending the newspapers, he rushed another 3 kilometers home to cook a simple breakfast before hurrying to school.
This morning, seeing he left hurriedly in a strong wind, my mom and I decided to do something for him. After school, I waited for him at the school gate and told him that my mom would like to invite him to our home. When he asked why, I replied, “You will know soon!” Thinking for a short while, he followed me to my home nearby. It was possible that he assumed my mom would continue to subscribe to the newspaper.
注意：1. 续写词数应为100个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My mom stood at the door, waiting for us.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing the bike in front of him, he couldn’t hold back his tears.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was a beautiful May morning. As usual, I started my day by sitting outside breathing the fresh air as I read my book and drank my coffee. Afterwards, there were two things I was determined to do. First, make sure my husband got our small Christmas trees down from the attic(阁楼) and, second, take several bags of clothes, blankets and comforters to the donation center. I had been faithful in doing that every year, but for whatever reason, I had delayed this year and the bags were now piling up and overflowing.
After reading for a while, I went into the bedroom to ask my husband to bring the trees down. He was asleep so I figured I’d surprise him and get them down by myself.
I went to the garage to access the attic storage and moved our tall metal ladder into place. I had to move the bags of clothing and blankets out of the way, determined once again to get those to the donation center.
I climbed the ladder, and two steps from the top I was able to reach up and push open the attic door. Then, with my feet on the very last step and part of my upper body in the attic, I saw my trees. I awkwardly raised my leg to climb onto the attic floor. Looking down, and then looking up again, I decided that this was actually too much for me. I should wait for my husband to get them.
As I stepped down, my foot missed the shaky ladder’s step. With one foot swinging and the other on the top step, I grabbed(抓住) the attic floorboard and called my husband. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear me. As I went to take another step down, the ladder suddenly came out from under me, loudly crashing onto the concrete(混凝土的) garage floor, leaving me hanging from the attic with sweaty hands. In that second, which seemed like a century, I prayed and then called my husband.
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。
With my body swinging in midair and my hands slowly sliding closer to the edge, I fell.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Arriving at the emergency center, I anxiously waited to see the doctor.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On the Saturday morning, I could see rays of sunlight as I said good morning to my brother, Willie aged six while I was nine. Breaking up for a summer holiday, I felt at ease and plotted (暗中策划) our own delightful day.
“Good morning, sleepy head,” Mum smiled at me. “Get yourself dressed, Shawn. Run out and collect some firewood. I’ll fix you some hotcakes.”
I slipped on my clothes, grabbed the ax and headed straight for the outhouse. There father sat freely with a bottle of beer in hand. During the summer holiday, he would find time to take us to catch some fish for supper. However, his fishing pole missing, we could have no choice but to try something different.
I walked with my chin up as I thought about what a great day this was going to be. Willie and I were going to ride our bikes into town, and I was sure we’d find some empty bottles, maybe enough to buy some ice cream, my favorite while Willie had a preference for sweets. With the birds bouncing (跳动) up and down in the tree, I thought it was going to be a great day.
Everything done, Mum’s hotcakes were waiting for me. Willie finished his breakfast in a flash.
“Mum, can we go now?” I asked, as I swallowed down the last forkful of hotcakes.
“Now, Shawn, you be careful. Willie hasn’t gone out on the roads much, so you let him ride ahead of you. Keep a good eye on him. OK?”
“Take care, Willie,”I screamed when we cycled towards a mountain called Andover, the peak of which was the perfect spot to find empty bottles. Stark’s Store paid cash, two cents each, and we thought we were rich every time Mr. Stark handed us our reward in real money. Cycled up the mountain was a lot of work, but it was worth it.
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: Tired but delighted, we arrived at the peak of Andover.
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Paragraph 2: In front of me was Stark’s shelves with everything kids dreamed of, but I hesitated.
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It was 1:00 a.m. Thursday in the town art gallery. A window suddenly opened and a figure flashed out. It was Harry Black, a thief. He drew out his knife and took the painting worth $1 million out of the frame skillfully and carefully. Then he went back across the hall to the window where he had just climbed in. In the darkness, he bumped into a table with a beautiful blue glass vase on it, falling on the floor and breaking into pieces. Harry murmured to himself, “Is this $1 million vase? But I didn’t mean to.” Running across the pieces of glass, he disappeared.
Harry had a room in Mrs. Allen’s rooming house. He went up to his room as quietly as a mouse. Mrs. Allen and her daughter Janay were sleeping soundly. Harry took the painting, put it in a newspaper, hid them under his bed and left.
The next morning, Janay was in the kitchen, old bottles put into a box. Every Friday morning, a recycling truck would come and she was used to taking botties and old newspaper for recycling from every room in the house.
On the TV, an anxious reporter was making a live report at the very art gallery. “It’s $1 million painting,” he was saying. “Here’s a photo of it.” Then he was introducing a blue glass vase, “It’s in 100 pieces now.” Janay looked at the photo of the vase carelessly, asking her mother if she had some old bottles.
Janay opened Harry’s door and looked into his room. “There’s a newspaper under Harry’s bed.” She felt as if she’d found a priceless treasure.
Meanwhile, Harry was whispering with a man on the phone. Finally, a smile came out of Harry’s face. It was obvious that they had finally settled the price of the painting. But when Harry came back to the house, he saw the recycling truck going away and Janay smiling. It suddenly occurred to him that today was Friday. “NEWSPAPER! Oh no!” he exclaimed in despair and chased after the truck, “Wait! Wait!”
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。
Janay watched him puzzled.
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Janay hurried home and dialed the police.
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I have never been creative, so despite enjoying most of school, I had a tough time with creative writing assignments. One year, we had a short story assigned that was especially big — ten to twenty pages — and worth an especially large part of that semester’s final mark. I was unable to think up even a bad idea, let alone a good one.
Then, the Sunday before it was due, I awoke having had a dream that would work fine for the short story! I wrote it all down. A young man killed all the bad men in the village, but then more people became bad guys. In the end, the young man realized that killing could never make the world a better place.
Monday arrived, but the teacher announced an extra week was being given since many kids were having trouble getting their stories done on time. So, a few of us who had our stories ready exchanged them to read. My friend read my story. I said, “I had great trouble doing it, but then, like a miracle, this came to me in a dream!”
My friend was surprised, “That wasn’t out of your subconsciousness (潜意识). That was the story of the last movie you saw. How could you forget? ! We watched it three weeks ago.”
“Oh my God. You’re right! What have I done? This is cheating!”
I was a good kid who got good marks easily, so I had never even for a moment considered cheating before. But I had no other story idea with which to redo the assignment. Eventually, I persuaded myself it was morally acceptable because I had written it in my own words, with the story of my choice, not copied something completely, and I had not stolen the idea purposely. So, I handed it in.
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。
A few days later, I was called into the teacher’s office.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I couldn’t accept this excellent award with peace of mind.
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