The day that I met my best friend for the first time, I was anxiously reviewing for an important exam in the local library. Because I kept being disturbed by others, I was unable to make any progress, The last straw was when I heard someone singing behind me. I turned around and gave the person a dirty look. It was a tall girl about the same age as me and she had a slight smile on her face. Standing near the “English Literature” section, she seemed to be looking for a book. “How could she be so selfish (自私的)?” I thought angrily.
I picked up my books, looked into her eyes and said angrily, “Please be considerate in public. I’ve been unable to study because of your terrible singing”
I still hate thinking of that moment. Let me tell you the rest of the story though.
Two hours later, I realized I’d forgotten my most important textbook in the library. What was worse, the library had already closed. I was close to tears. Just then, the phone rang. A soft voice introduced the speaker as Li Hua and asked if I was Jane. After confirming that I was, she told me that she had noticed my book in the library. As my phone number was in it, she called and told me she didn’t live far away and could bring it to me.
Paragraph 1: I sighed (叹息) with relief and agreed to meet her at the store down the road.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Can you believe we became best friends?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . MOOC, an open online course, aims at providing interactive discussion and open access via the web. In addition to
MOOCs
There is a lot of
| A．appealing | B．remote | C．traditional | D．random |
| A．canteen | B．community | C．dormitory | D．gallery |
| A．initially | B．frequently | C．recently | D．last |
| A．put up | B．come up | C．show up | D．signed up |
| A．shaking | B．revealing | C．envying | D．encouraging |
| A．increase | B．decline | C．roll | D．bounce |
| A．confirmed | B．ensured | C．imagined | D．sought |
| A．flexible | B．disturbing | C．annoying | D．impressive |
| A．particular | B．poor | C．inspired | D．fortunate |
| A．excitement | B．caution | C．curiosity | D．carefulness |
| A．significance | B．recording | C．registration | D．restriction |
| A．off | B．out | C．alone | D．behind |
| A．wisdom | B．outline | C．model | D．philosophy |
| A．comedians | B．professors | C．principals | D．psychologist |
| A．Therefore | B．Somewhat | C．Besides | D．After all |
| A．blank | B．full | C．attentive | D．core |
| A．disagree | B．dislike | C．criticize | D．admire |
| A．experts | B．critics | C．witnesses | D．authorities |
| A．lack | B．contain | C．develop | D．integrate |
| A．plain | B．noble | C．famous | D．autonomous |
It was a bright spring afternoon along the Maryland coast, and Jonathan Bauer, 51, and his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, were enjoying it. They were driving with the windows down as they headed home on the Route 90 Bridge, which goes across the shallow waters of Assawoman Bay. Suddenly, the calm was disturbed by a loud sound.
Not far ahead of them, a black car was rushing from one side of the road to the other. To the Bauer’s horror, it knocked into a concrete barrier(水泥路障), and then came to rest over the edge (边沿) of the bridge. Bauer hit the brakes in time to avoid the vehicles in his path, but a white car struck his car.
Bauer stopped the car. “Ava, are you OK?” he asked. She was shaken, but unhurt. He ran to the white car. “Are you OK?” he asked the driver. She nodded, too shocked to speak.
And then an extremely loud sound came from the black car, whose back part hung out, 30 or more feet above the waters of the bay (海湾). The driver’s door opened and a man climbed out. He dropped to the ground, and then ran to the edge of the bridge. Bauer ran up beside him. The man pointed down, saying something in Spanish. In the water was a car seat. Next to it, a girl, about two years old, floated on her back, kicking and screaming.
Matters quickly went from bad to frightening when the little girl rolled over onto her stomach. Bauer waited for the driver to do something, but he didn’t move. Maybe he was in shock.
“Ava!” Bauer shouted, and removed his shoes. “Stay by the car and call 911!”
He held no idea about his chances jumping from this height into such shallow waters. Four feet of depth was the most he could hope for — he’d gotten his boat stuck here a time or two. And were there rocks in the shallow waters?
注意：
续写词数应为150左右。
He climbed onto the edge and jumped.
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A moment later a boat took Bauer and the rescued girl aboard.
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4 . Scarlett did not eat regularly when she was three years old. At the time, her parents thought she was just a picky eater, but after a blood test and some other tests, they learned she had a rare heart condition.
“I was shocked. I always thought it was her stomach, but the result was beyond our imagination,” her mom, Shanna Tabron, says. “It was really tough to understand and let it sink in. The heart is the engine to your body, and it was heart-broken to hear it.”
In the following 5 years, Scarlett was in and out of the hospital while she waited for a new heart, before receiving a transplant in 2019. Since then, Scarlett said she’s been “feeling better”. And she is a cute and active girl and has found great joy through dancing, which she finds both fun and challenging. This year, when the doctor told Scarlett’s parents that they should not worry about Scarlett’s heart any more, the family even held a dance party for the lucky and brave girl.
Out of all the dancers in the world, Scarlett’s biggest inspiration is the amazing Rockettes. “They are the best,” Scarlett says. “Even when I was sick and went through so many tests, I could felt the power and energy they gave me.” She always wished to see the Rockettes in person.
Through a partnership between Make-A-Wish Southern Florida and Make-A-Wish Metro NYC, Scarlett and her family recently got to fly to New York City for an unforgettable weekend.
And when she found out that her dream of going to New York City to meet them was coming true, she was excited. “I’m really excited to go dancing with the Rockettes and watch their performance,” she said, after changing into a special dancing suit to show off her high kicks.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
In tears, Scarlett’s mother observed the little girl during the show.
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Then, Scarlett got to attend a private meet with the Rockettes dancers in person.
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When I was in middle school, my family moved to Seattle, where my parents started their new business — a small grocery store downstairs my house. As a girl of shy and reserved nature, I had to take a fresh start to fit into the sophisticated city life.
One sunny day, my school announced an exciting event, a talent show for the local food bank. Students were encouraged to showcase their unique talents in front of the public in the city hall on National Day. A buzz of excitement fed the school as everyone began preparing for the big day. Deep down, I felt a spark of curiosity and a desire to participate. However, my self-doubt held me back, “I don’t have any special skills to share.”
Days turned into weeks, and the talent show drew closer. I couldn’t shake the upsetting feeling until one day, Emma, one of the most popular girls in my class, came to me while I was helping in the grocery store after class. “How about singing together in the talent show?” She grinned, “I heard you singing a tune, along the way back home. I can’t help following you here.” Gosh, I couldn’t believe my ears. Emma, with personality and popularity, acknowledged my little talent. Since Emma had the world’s prettiest voice, I felt like being favoured by fortune.
“You two? The talent show for the food bank?” My mum bent towards us and her face lit up. “A big occasion.” Then a light bulb seemed to go in her head. “Why not practise right now upstairs? I bet you’ll be a perfect match.” Winking at us, she seemed to know we were thinking alike.
Emma and I embarked on rehearsing almost every single day after school. We brainstormed, exchanged ideas and rehearsed the scene. As the days rolled by, I was feeling pretty good about our act. But the day before the performance, Emma called that she had an acute stomachache and was not in any shape to perform.
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。
Paragraph 1:
I was completely knocked out by the news.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Finally came the big moment.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Children as young as ten are becoming dependent on social media for their sense of self-worth, a major study warned.
It found many youngsters (少年) now measure their status by how much public approval they get online, often through “likes”. Some change their behavior in real life to improve their image on the web.
The report into youngsters aged from 8 to 12 was carried out by Children’s Commissioner (专员) Anne Longfield. She said social media firms were exposing children to major emotional risks, with some youngsters starting secondary school ill-equipped to cope with the tremendous pressure they faced online.
Some social apps were popular among the children even though they supposedly require users to be at least 13. The youngsters admitted planning trips around potential photo-opportunities and then messaging friends — and friends of friends — to demand “likes” for their online posts.
The report found that youngsters felt their friendships could be at risk if they did not respond to social media posts quickly, and around the clock.
Children aged 8 to 10 were “starting to feel happy” when others liked their posts. However, those in the 10 to 12 age group were “concerned with how many people like their posts”, suggesting a “need” for social recognition that gets stronger the older they become.
Miss Longfield warned that a generation of children risked growing up “worried about their appearance and image as a result of the unrealistic lifestyles they follow on platforms, and increasingly anxious about switching off due to the constant demands of social media”.
She said: “Children are using social media with family and friends and to play games when they are in primary school. But what starts as fun usage of apps turns into tremendous pressure in real social media interaction at secondary school.”
As their world expanded, she said, children compared themselves to others online in a way that was “hugely damaging in terms of their self-identity, in terms of their confidence, but also in terms of their ability to develop themselves”.
Miss Longfield added: “Then there is this push to connect — if you go offline, will you miss something, will you miss out, will you show that you don’t care about those people you are following, all of those come together in a huge way at once.”
“For children it is very, very difficult to cope with emotionally.” The Children’s Commissioner for England’s study — Life in Likes — found that children as young as 8 were using social media platforms largely for play.
However, the research — involving eight groups of 32 children aged 8 to 12 — suggested that as they headed toward their teens, they became increasingly anxious online.
By the time they started secondary school — at age 11 — children were already far more aware of their image online and felt under huge pressure to ensure their posts were popular, the report found.
However, they still did not know how to cope with mean-spirited jokes, or the sense of incompetence they might feel if they compared themselves to celebrities (名人) or more brilliant friends online. The report said they also faced pressure to respond to messages at all hours of the day — especially at secondary school when more youngsters have mobile phones.
The Children’s Commissioner said schools and parents must now do more to prepare children for the emotional minefield (雷区) they faced online. And she said social media companies must also “take more responsibility”.
They should either monitor their websites better so that children do not sign up too early, or they should adjust their websites to the needs of younger users.
Javed Khan, of children’s charity Barnardo’s, said: “It’s vital that new compulsory age-appropriate relationship and sex education lessons in England should help equip children to deal with the growing demands of social media.
“It’s also hugely important for parents to know which apps their children are using.”
1. Why did some secondary school students feel too much pressure?| A．They were not provided with adequate equipment. |
| B．They were not well prepared for emotional risks. |
| C．They were required to give quick responses. |
| D．They were prevented from using mobile phones. |
| A．they didn’t adequately check their users’ registration |
| B．they organized photo trips to attract more youngsters |
| C．they encouraged youngsters to post more photos |
| D．they didn’t stop youngsters from staying up late |
| A．less friendliness to each other |
| B．lower self-identity and confidence |
| C．an increase in online cheating |
| D．a stronger desire to stay online |
| A．circulate their posts quickly |
| B．know the qualities of their posts |
| C．use mobile phones for play |
| D．get more public approval |
| A．The influence of social media on children. |
| B．The importance of social media to children. |
| C．The problem in building a healthy relationship. |
| D．The measure to reduce risks from social media. |
It was in the afternoon before the end of the Second World War that Antonio Black, who was twelve, caught sight of a beautiful brooch (胸针) in a shop window. The brooch is so beautiful that he was unwilling to leave the store until he had purchased it. But it was too expensive — $5. His family was very poor and his parents struggled to make ends meet. Five dollars would buy almost a week’s food for his family.
Antonio couldn’t ask his father for the money. Everything his father made through fishing went to his mother, Susan. Slim and beautiful, his mother was the center of the home and the glue that held it together. The housework was never-ending, and she struggled to feed and clothe their five children, but she was happy as her family and their well-being were all she cared about.
Nevertheless, he opened the shop’s door and went inside. Standing proudly and straight in his flour-sack (面粉袋改做的) shirt and washed-out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, “But I don’t have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time?”
“I’ll try,” the shopkeeper smiled. “People around here don’t usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.”
Antonio respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out. He would raise the money and not tell anybody, for he thought Mum would be surprised when she saw that brooch. On hearing the sound of hammering (锤打) from a side street, Antonio suddenly had an idea that he could raise money by selling the used nail bags. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails bought in bags from a local factory. Sometimes the used bags were thrown away at the construction site, and Antonio knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece. That day he sold two nail bags and hid the money in a rusty soda tin.
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。
Every day after school, Antonio started his plan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The day finally came!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.
An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”
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。
At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Imagine you need milk, so you go to the grocery store to pick some up, only to find there are dozens of options. These days, you have to make a decision on not only the percentage of fat you want, but also what source you want your milk to be coming from: cows, soybeans... You have no idea what milk to pick. There are so many choices that you are confused.
This phenomenon is known as the paradox (悖论) of choice and it is becoming a concern in the modern world, where more and more options are becoming easily available to us. While we might believe that being presented with multiple options actually makes it easier to choose one that we are happy with, and thus increases consumer satisfaction, having too many options actually requires more effort to make a decision and can leave us feeling unsatisfied with our choice.
The idea was popularized by American psychologist Barry Schwartz when he published his book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Schwartz, who has long studied the ways in which economics and psychology intersect (交叉), became interested in seeing the way that choices were affecting the happiness of citizens in Western societies. He identified that the range of choices that we have available to us these days is far greater than that people had in the past; however, consumer satisfaction has not increased as much as traditional economics theories might expect.
Schwartz identified that the paradox of choice carries the most consequence for people that are maximizers. Maximizers, unlike satisficers, are concerned with making the best choice instead of simply making a choice that they are happy with. When there are many options available to maximizers, it becomes harder for them to determine which is the best, which can cause them to feel a great deal of regret after they have made a choice.
Instead of believing that freedom of choice is unlimited, Schwartz advocates that the role of psychology and behavioral economics should be to find the kind of limitations on freedom that can lead to the greatest level of happiness within society.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in mentioning buying milk in paragraph 1?| A．To lead in the topic. |
| B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To show that we have more choices when shopping. |
| D．To indicate that people pay greater attention to health when shopping. |
| A．More options mean less satisfaction. |
| B．Consumer satisfaction has greatly increased. |
| C．People are happy with more choices. |
| D．Modern people are happier than their ancestors. |
| A．They aim for the very best. | B．They tend to follow their feelings. |
| C．They often regret their decisions. | D．They have trouble making a decision. |
| A．Hold on to their beliefs. | B．Accept their own behavior. |
| C．Give up freedom. | D．Limit their own choices. |
Father’s Principle
It was in New Hampshire. Cody was an 11-year-old boy. Just like other boys, he enjoyed running around the lake, and sometimes picked yellow daisies for his mother’s kitchen table along the path. But the thing he liked best was fishing. He went fishing whenever he got a chance from the dock(船坞) at his family’s cabin on an island in the middle of the lake and he was proud of his fishing skills.
On the day before that year’s bass (鲈鱼) season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure (诱饵) and practiced casting. The lure struck the water, stirring up colored ripples in the sunset, and then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake. It was an unusually quiet evening. The gentle breeze from the lake was so refreshing. After what seemed like a long time, Cody noticed his fishing pole doubled over, and he knew at once that something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
Finally, he very carefully lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 p.m.—two hours before the season opened. He looked at the bass, then at Cody.
“You’ll have to put the fish back, son,” he said. “Dad!” cried the boy.
“There will be other fish back, son," said the boy’s father gently but firmly. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy again.
续写要求
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。
Cody looked around. It was dark and quiet. And there was no one in sight.
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Do we do the right things when no one is looking?
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