I sat down to watch a recorded TV play after my husband left for his night-shift job. Not ten minutes into my favorite TV play, I was alerted to the unmistakable beep (哔哔声) of the smoke alarm indicating a low battery. Sighing, I paused my program and got up from the sofa.
I got a stepladder, climbed up it and quickly replaced the battery. The second I sat down and started watching my play, the beep started again. Evidently, the replacement battery was dead, too, so I went through all the motions again. I’d barely picked up the remote and pressed Play a third time when the alarm went off yet again. I gave out some unladylike comments. This time, I was one rung down when the same thing happened.
By then, I was out of all the batteries. I had to search the entire house for some electronic equipment that housed the same kind. I finally found one in an old clock. I crossed my fingers, hoping the battery still had some juice, and popped it in.
No luck! That round, plastic thing that was designed to save lives was about to make me have a nervous breakdown! Frustrated, I pulled the entire thing out of its “nest” and actually yelled at it to shut up before I tore it up into pieces. Holding it, I climbed back down and almost killed myself by practically falling over the dog and two cats who always watched every move I made and every breath I took. Driving my pet s away, I threw the alarm on the table and reminded myself to sleep fully clothed in case I smelled smoke. Carbon-monoxide (一氧化碳) detection would be taken care of by our back up alarm downstairs.
I glared at the troublesome item once more before walking off to seat myself on the sofa again. My program was already forty-five minutes into the play because I’d forgotten to pause it. Within seconds, that sound hit my ears again!
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 realized that my frustration was not the solution to the problem.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The technician arrived shortly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.
I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.
Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.
For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, without warning, my strength was running out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a warm home, a young girl named Shireen was busily preparing for a special occasion. As she tiptoed (踮着脚走) to tie a balloon, hunger was evident in her eyes. How did her family do this every year? It was so hard to go without food or drink from lunch until sunset. She found this period especially challenging, because today also turned out to be her grandfather Babajoon’s birthday.
Suddenly the phone rang. Shireen answered to find her friend Amy on the other end, inviting her to the park. “Can I join Amy and Maya? They want to show me their new toys,” Shireen begged her mom. Understanding the struggle of Shireen, her mother gently replied, “Sorry, sweetie. You’ll get tired and thirsty running around in the sun, especially on an empty stomach.”
Disappointed, Shireen felt angry, thinking of her friends enjoying themselves. The burst of hunger and anger made Shireen question the significance of giving up meals of the period. Realizing Shireen’s upset, her mom explained that the most important thing was to know how it felt to be hungry, allowing them to understand those less lucky people’s feeling and experiences and developed compassion (同情).
To cheer Shireen up, her mom suggested baking a birthday cake for her grandfather. Her dad was passing by and heard their conversation. He considered it a bad idea, fearing that it would be too hard for Shireen on an empty stomach. However, Shireen had made her mind. She wanted to surprise Babajoon with a cake, not just any cake, but a beautiful chocolate one.
Shireen and her mom set out the materials: cocoa powder, sugar, flour (面粉),eggs and butter. Her mom selected the cocoa and flour. Shireen measured sugar into the mixer and added the butter. She liked watching the mixer turn the separate materials into a soft yellow paste. She cracked the eggs one by one into the bowl. “Oops! There’s some shell.” Shireen tried getting it out with a spoon.
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 process of making the cake brought moments of joy.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finally evening approached.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Alexis Langlois, who manages a large farm, heard her neighbor crazily knocking on her front door on a Monday afternoon.
“There’s an emergency”, Amber Countryman yelled. “The horses are stuck in the water.” Langlois was struck with “absolute panic”. She threw on her winter boots — without socks — and rushed toward the small pond on the 80-acre property. She was surprised by what she saw: four horses were in the water up to their necks in 10 feet of ice water.
She immediately called 911.While waiting for help to arrive, “people just started showing up,” she said. “Neighbors were pouring in. People came with ropes, chainsaws, shovels and pick axes.”
“I grabbed a bunch of supplies,” said Countryman, whose two teenagers and their friend also as sited with the effort.
“It was-8℃that day,” she said, adding that she brought out handwarmers and water for the helpers.
Everyone was determined to get the horses out of the pond — which is about 15feetwide.
Beneath a six-inch layer of ice, the water was “just barely above freezing”, said Chris Yerkes, the South Kalispell Fire Department chief who rushed to the pond with about a dozen volunteer personnel.
When the firefighters arrived, neighbors had already attempted to pave a path through the ice toward the edge of the pond using pick axes, sledgehammers and shovels, and “we continued with that effort.” Yerkes said. Unfortunately, “as we got closer to the edge, we realized there was about three to four inches of mud.”
The thick layer of mud — which the rescuers couldn’t cut through — blocked the horses from climbing out. Firefighters enlisted additional support from Flathead County Animal Control, as well as staff from local equestrian organization Rebecca Farm.
“There had to have been at least 60 people here,” Langlois said. “It was very swift action on everybody’s part.”
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
It took nearly two hours to find a workable solution that could bring all four horses to safety.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
To get the horses out, they used a powerful tractor (拖拉机) to get the animals out of the mud and ropes to pull them over the edge.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . How perfect the wings of a bird are! However, they will never
I used to outdo my classmates
As I further accept new life skills, I realize how much remains
| A．assist | B．feed | C．follow | D．guide |
| A．musical | B．political | C．literary | D．economic |
| A．urgent | B．impossible | C．dangerous | D．particular |
| A．consider | B．understand | C．mention | D．remember |
| A．physically | B．emotionally | C．psychologically | D．academically |
| A．rejected | B．ignored | C．blamed | D．interrupted |
| A．attempt | B．mistake | C．decision | D．promise |
| A．words | B．borders | C．numbers | D．expectations |
| A．appreciated | B．reported | C．discovered | D．Recommended |
| A．fault | B．business | C．excuse | D．dream |
| A．admitted | B．needed | C．received | D．possessed |
| A．message | B．approach | C．program | D．campaign |
| A．offer | B．gain | C．order | D．select |
| A．as for | B．apart from | C．due to | D．instead of |
| A．learn | B．afford | C．demand | D．pretend |
| A．regret | B．delight | C．amusement | D．embarrassment |
| A．undone | B．unusual | C．unfortunate | D．uncertain |
| A．Surprisingly | B．Gradually | C．Hopefully | D．Suddenly |
| A．so | B．but | C．if | D．before |
| A．view | B．power | C．honor | D．faith |
6 . Ekaterina Sky is a wildlife conservation (保护)artist. She began her art journey at the School of Fine Arts in Yaroslavl, Russia. There, she completed a fine arts program, which gave her the background she needed to become a conservation artist. She also received a scholarship to the Art School of Museum of Tel-Aviv. There, she expanded upon her knowledge and skills, learning to create her own unique style. She combined her love for animals and art to create the works we see today.
Ekaterina painted pictures at wildlife reserves and rescue centers, in high schools and in visitors’centers. She painted a piece for the Burning Man festival, choosing to paint primates(灵长类动物的)eyes since they are closely related to humans. This piece gave her the confidence to start a world tour, as she had never painted a picture that size before.
Ekaterina went on a tour to different countries worldwide, painting pictures of various endangered species. She hoped that her paintings would encourage viewers to look deeply into their own lifestyles and question how they might harm animals. She said, “We all can make a difference if we look at ourselves as a small piece of a greater whole.”
With each picture, she made the audience look directly into the animals’ eyes. She painted pictures to encourage people to show more compassion and care to animals and raise awareness of the importance of efforts in wildlife conservation. “As I believe, we connect through our eyes, which are windows into our soul, and I believe that when we get to meet someone’s soul, we don’t have a heart to hurt them,” she said.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly tell us about Ekaterina Sky?| A．Her art works. | B．Her unique drawing skills. |
| C．Her love for animals. | D．Her road to a conservation artist. |
| A．The painting gave her confidence. | B．Primates are closely related to humans. |
| C．She’d like to make more money. | D．She wanted to expand on her skills. |
| A．Pity. | B．Blame. | C．Motivation. | D．Gratefulness. |
| A．Reducing garbage thrown by tourists. | B．Introducing various animals worldwide. |
| C．Drawing attention to endangered animals. | D．Advertising the school she graduated from. |
1．个人经历；
2．好习惯养成的秘诀及好处。
注意：1．词数80左右。
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was a rainy winter evening. Joe could see an old lady on the side of the road waiting for help. So he stopped his car and got out of his car. When he came closer to her, the lady looked in despair. No one had stopped to help her for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe. Joe could see that she was scared. Knowing how she felt, Joe said quickly. “I’m here to help you, ma’am. It is too cold outside. Please go and stay inside the car. By the way, my name is Joe.”
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. While Joe was changing the tire, the lady rolled down the window and started to talk to him. She told him that she was only passing through. She was very grateful that he came to help her. Joe just smiled as he put the flat tire in the trunk (后备箱).
“How much do I owe you?” the lady asked, then adding that any amount would be all right. Joe, however, rejected the payment. “You don’t owe me a thing. I’m only passing through. Someone once helped me out. Just the way I’m helping you. If you want to pay me back, please pay it forward. Don’t let the chain (链条；连续) of love end with you.” Joe responded. He waited until the old lady had started her car and driven off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but Joe felt joyful as he set off for home.
Paragraph1: A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph2: There were tables to clear and people to serve, but the pregnant (怀孕的) waitress felt a rush of warmth.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . Some people have a dependency on an afternoon nap.
Napping is a great way to feel more rested and alert-and some research shows it car benefit our cognitive function.
While short naps are great for increasing energy, longer naps are more beneficial for learning. According to the research, they improve activation of the hippocampus—an area of the brain important for learning and memory.
Although napping has many positive short-term effects, they are not recommended for people who suffer from insomnia（失眠症）. Because naps decrease sleepiness, they may make it harder to fall asleep when going to bed in the evening.
| A．But many more prefer not to |
| B．It is to catch up on lost sleep. |
| C．How has napping become so popular? |
| D．Naps should also be avoided in some situations |
| E．Why short naps are so beneficial is not well understood |
| F．However, you may want to consider how long you have to nap. |
| G．A one-to-two-hour nap benefits both motor skills and memory abilities. |
10 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”
1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?| A．They’re unfair. | B．They’re conservative. |
| C．They’re objective. | D．They’re strict. |
| A．They think themselves smart. |
| B．They look up to great thinkers. |
| C．They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
| D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
| A．Improved global communication. |
| B．Less discrimination against women. |
| C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts. |
| D．Changes in people’s social positions. |
| A．Geniuses Think Alike | B．Genius Takes Many Forms |
| C．Genius and Intelligence | D．Genius and Luck |
