We sat on the bus waiting while other passengers piled on. A blond-haired girl, about nineteen years old, took the seat in front of us. The bus driver followed behind her. He demanded her fare.
“You pay $40 or get off the bus!” the driver said.
“I paid already. Yesterday, online,” the girl insisted.
“No, no record of it!” the bus driver pointed to the paper in his hand and waved it in her face. “See. No pay! You pay, or you must get off.” He angrily pointed to the exit door.
“But I don’t have money. And I paid already. Please.”
The bus driver picked up his mobile phone and made a call to find out if there had been an error with the paperwork. After failing to get through, he was getting angrier with the girl. So he cut the call and didn’t try.
“No, you have not paid. You must pay.”
“But please, I don’t have any money on me. I must get to LA today. Please.”
Tears streamed down her face.
I had boarded a bus headed to Los Angeles. I was very excited about experiencing LA. My dream of visiting Disney Land was about to come true. But while I sat there comfortably in my seat, thinking about my next adventure, this young girl was in tears, with a man standing over her, demanding money.
I wasn’t sure what I should do. Was she telling the truth? It wouldn’t be the first time someone had extracted money by telling a sad story that turned out untrue. Did she really not have any money? Maybe the bus driver would show some sympathy and allow her to sort the payment out later?
But no, the bus driver continued to demand she pay $40 or get off the bus. The young girl insisted that she didn’t have enough money for the fare and had no one she could contact for help. It seemed the driver would throw her off the bus.
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。
Suddenly, a messy grey-haired woman with a weathered face stood up.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At the next rest stop, I noticed that woman had no money for food.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Goldfish may seem like simple creatures swimming in a glass tank, but they possess a rather complicated navigation system, as discovered by researchers at the University of Oxford Led by Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux, the study aims to shed light on our understanding of how fish, and potentially humans, estimate distances using what could be described as an internal GPS.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Sibeaux and colleagues report how they created a tank in their experiment with 2cm-wide black and white vertical stripes (条纹) on the walls, connected by similar stripes across the floor. The team trained nine goldfish to swim a set distance of 70cm and then return to their starting point when waved at. The experiment aimed to investigate how the fish would estimate this distance without any gestures, under different patterns.
Over multiple trials, the goldfish averaged a swim distance of 74cm, give or take 17cm, when presented with the vertical 2cm-wide stripes. However, when the stripe pattern was altered to either narrower vertical stripes, checked patterns, or horizontal stripes, the fish’s behavior changed significantly. Narrower vertical stripes led them to overestimating the distance by 36%, while horizontal stripes resulted in highly inconsistent estimations.
According to the researchers, the goldfish appeared to be using an “optic (光学的) flow mechanism” based on the visual density of their environment. They kept track of how frequently the vertical pattern switched between black and white to estimate how far they had traveled. The study suggests that different optic flow mechanisms are used by mammals, including humans, based on angular (有角度的) motion of visual features. The study implies that the use of visually based distance information could have emerged early in the evolutionary timeline.
“This study is novel because, despite knowing that fish respond to geometric information regarding direction and distance, we don’t know how they estimate distances,” Professor Colin Lever, although not involved in the study, said, “it’s exciting to explore fish spatial mapping because fish navigation evolved earlier and better than most mammals.”
1. Why did Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux conduct the study on goldfish?| A．To test the accuracy of goldfish’s internal GPS. |
| B．To create an advanced navigation system for humans |
| C．To uncover how an inbuilt GPS helps calculate distances. |
| D．To explore the relationships between goldfish and humans |
| A．People gestured the goldfish throughout the experiment |
| B．The tank was decorated with colorful background patterns |
| C．Goldfish tended to underestimate distances with horizontal stripes. |
| D．The change in the tank setting led to the goldfish's incorrect judgment. |
| A．optic flow mechanism is unique to humans |
| B．mammals developed flow mechanism long before goldfish |
| C．goldfish evaluated the distance with multidimensional visual information |
| D．visual density of the environment strengthened the locating ability of goldfish |
| A．Neutral. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Disapproving. | D．Favorable. |
3 . A new method of lie detection shows that lie tellers who are made to multi-task while being interviewed are easier to spot. The extra brain power needed to concentrate on a secondary task other than lying was particularly challenging.
Professor Aldert Vriji from the University of Portsmouth designed an experiment to identify lie tellers. The 164 participants in the experiment were first asked to give their levels of support or opposition about various societal topics that were in the news. They were then given a truth or lie condition by chance and interviewed about the three topics that they felt most strongly about. Truth tellers were instructed to report their true opinions while lie tellers were instructed to lie about their opinions during the interviews.
For the secondary task, participants were given a seven-digit (数字) car number and instructed to recall it back to the interviewer. Half of them received additional instructions that if they could not remember the car number during the interview, they may be asked to write down their opinions after the interview.
Participants were given the opportunity to prepare themselves for the interview and were told it was important to come across as convincing as possible during the interviews — which was incentivized by being entered into a prize draw.
The results showed that lie tellers’ stories sounded less reasonable and less clear than truth tellers’ stories, particularly when lie tellers were given the secondary task and told that it was important.
“The pattern of result suggests that the introduction of secondary tasks in an interview could help lie detection but such tasks need to be introduced carefully. It seems that a secondary task will only be effective if lie tellers do not neglect it. This can be achieved by either telling interviewees that the secondary task is important, or by introducing one that cannot be neglected,’’ said Professor Vriji.
1. What can we learn about participants in the experiment?| A．Some truth tellers gave false opinions in the interview. |
| B．Not all participants knew the importance of the secondary task. |
| C．Participants didn’t express opinions about news topics. |
| D．Participants chose a truth or lie condition by themselves. |
| A．Motivated. | B．Chosen. | C．Completed. | D．Corrected. |
| A．When participants took it seriously. |
| B．When participants had strong brain power. |
| C．When participants paid little attention to it. |
| D．When participants had the chance to prepare. |
| A．Interviewing Lie Tellers. | B．Covering up the Truth. |
| C．Challenging a Secondary Task. | D．Exposing Liars by Distraction. |
In China, the use and cultivation (种植) of green tea goes back thousands of years. While there is no precise way to know
Legend assigns the discovery of tea to mythological emperor Shennong, who is said
5 . Group discussions are a way of expressing your thoughts and opinions with other people. It is an opportunity to learn more about other people and develop your own personality. You become better at group discussions because it will help you throughout your whole life.
Learn about the subject
Be confident when you speak
The best way to make your discussion go well is by being confident. When someone else is speaking, make sure that you consider their opinion and not simply wait for your turn to speak.
One of the most important aspects of group discussions is to be a good listener. Active listening is one of the most important skills in life, which is why you need to practice using it.
Use group discussion to express yourself
Group discussions are a way of expressing yourself. It is not just about talking; it is more about putting your thoughts in front of other people.
| A．Been an active listener |
| B．Choose your words wisely |
| C．When there is a conflict in opinion |
| D．When you are confident while speaking |
| E．Speaking your heart out can be hard at times |
| F．If you are also struggling with such kinds of discussions |
| G．It is very important that you first collect information about the topic |
6 . As cities balloon with growth, access to nature for people living in urban areas is becoming harder to find. If you’re lucky, there might be a pocket park near where you live, but it’s unusual to find places in a city that are relatively wild.
Past research has found health and wellness benefits of nature for humans, but a new study shows that wildness in urban areas is extremely important for human well-being.
The research team focused on a large urban park. They surveyed several hundred park-goers, asking them to submit a written summary online of a meaningful interaction they had with nature in the park. The researchers then examined these submissions, coding (编码) experiences into different categories. For example, one participant’s experience of “We sat and listened to the waves at the beach for a while” was assigned the categories “sitting at beach” and “listening to waves.”
Across the 320 submissions, a pattern of categories the researchers call a “nature language” began to emerge. After the coding of all submissions, half a dozen categories were noted most often as important to visitors. These include encountering wildlife, walking along the edge of water, and following an established trail.
Naming each nature experience creates a usable language, which helps people recognize and take part in the activities that are most satisfying and meaningful to them. For example, the experience of walking along the edge of water might be satisfying for a young professional on a weekend hike in the park. Back downtown during a workday, they can enjoy a more domestic form of this interaction by walking along a fountain on their lunch break.
“We’re trying to generate a language that helps bring the human-nature interactions back into our daily lives. And for that to happen, we also need to protect nature so that we can interact with it,” said Peter Kahn, a senior author of the study.
1. What phenomenon does the author describe at the beginning of the text?| A．Pocket parks are now popular. | B．Wild nature is hard to find in cities. |
| C．Many cities are overpopulated. | D．People enjoy living close to nature. |
| A．To compare different types of park-goers. | B．To explain why the park attracts tourists. |
| C．To analyze the main features of the park. | D．To find patterns in the visitors’ summaries. |
| A．Walking is the best way to gain access to nature. |
| B．Young people are too busy to interact with nature. |
| C．The same nature experience takes different forms. |
| D．The nature language enhances work performance. |
| A．Language study. | B．Environmental conservation. |
| C．Public education. | D．Intercultural communication. |
“Howie! You can’t go in! Mom told us to avoid Mrs. Carrigan’s house at all costs! We can’t go in there,” Howie’s big brother, Archie, yelled at the boy who had entered the older woman’s yard upon seeing her Halloween decorations.
The little kid turned and looked at his two big brothers angrily. “But she put up decorations. She wants us to come in,” Howie said, pointing at the pumpkins in the yard and the trick-or-treat sign on her doorway.
“Come out, Howie! Let’s go! I think Mom thinks she’s a ... a witch,” his other big brother, Bobby, whispered the last part. “What? Are you afraid of her?” Howie laughed, knowing that his brothers would not like that. He saw their frowns, but his words were true. They were afraid. No one in the neighborhood went into Mrs. Carrigan’s house or even stayed close.
The old woman was strange. She only dressed in black and never brushed her hair. She couldn’t walk straight and never smiled at anyone, so people avoided her the few times she was seen outside. But Howie was not afraid. He was going to knock. The worst that could happen was being ignored or told to go away. Despite his big brothers’ words, he went up the tiny steps and rang the doorbell.
“Howie! Howie! No!” his big brothers whisper-yelled at him from the sidewalk, and Howie turned and put his finger to his mouth, signaling for them to shut up. But he saw their eyes widen and their faces pale even beneath the Halloween makeup they were all wearing. Howie felt something behind him and turned slowly, not knowing what to expect. He felt the cold air; he felt like ringing the bell was not a good idea.
The old woman was there, staring at him surprisedly. He saw her black clothes, and he knew precisely why everyone thought she was a witch. She looked like the ones in cartoons. But Howie squared his shoulders, raised his plastic pumpkin bucket, and said, “Trick or Treat!”
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。
Mrs. Carrigan stared at him for a few seconds.
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“Guys! Come here! There are lots of candies!” Howie shouted at the top of his lungs, waving his hands.
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It was a happy Tuesday afternoon. After a long day of classes, the students were now hurrying back home. Maaz put an arm around Hamza’s neck. “It’s the first time I scored full marks in the math exam you helped me prepare for,” Maaz added a little giggle. “My mum will be happy, Thank you!”
Hamza and Maaz were close friends ever since they were kids, but they were opposites. While Hamza was very confident, a born genius and a part of all social activities at school, Maaz was more of an introvert. He preferred to stay in his comfort zone and wasn’t very strong academically but was very hardworking.
The next day, Hamza had been sleeping through all classes. Maaz came over and thumped his back, “what’s wrong bro?”
Hamza opened one drowsy eyelid, “I played video games all night, I’m exhausted.” Maaz tugged at his shirt, “You have done the history assignment, right?”
Hamza suddenly sat up and held his head. It had completely escaped his mind. “Maaz, can you let me go through your work? I just have to check how long it will take me,” Hamza frowned in worry.
“Sure buddy,” Maaz added as he handed over his assignment and dissolved into the crowd of students rushing for recess.
In history class the next day, Ms Afsheen looked furious. In a voice that wasn’t loud, but echoed through the silent classroom, she said: “Maaz Ali, stand up.”
Ms. Afsheen pursed her lips and glared at him. “Maaz thinks that he is so smart that he will copy Hamza’s entire assignment and the teacher won’t even know, Hamza’s face turned pale.
“Class, today I will tell you the consequences of a student who tries to cheat. Maaz gets a zero on his assignment,” Ms. Afsheen announced.
Maaz stood with his head bowed, glistening tears silently dropping to the floor. Hamza was looking everywhere, but at him. He couldn’t face his friend.
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。
Hamza was going through a battle inside him because it was he who had copied Maaz’s work.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With new courage filling his heart, Hamza walked to the staffroom in search of Ms. Afsheen.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Tell me if this sounds familiar: You’re trying to get some work done, and you find yourself continually picking up your cell phone. In frustration, you might slam the phone down beside you and swear to leave it alone—theoretically allowing you to focus on what you’re doing. Right now my phone is sitting next to me untouched. But have I really protected myself from its distractions or its ability to impact my mind?
The answer is no, according to a well-known study in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research from 2017 entitled “Brain Drain (认知流失): The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity.”
Cognitive and social psychologist Adrian Ward and his colleagues proposed the “brain drain hypothesis” by showing that just having a phone next to you could impact cognition—specifically, working memory, or the mental system that helps us hold information about what we’re currently doing at a given moment.
The way we measure it is by having people remember words and solve math problems at the same time. And the idea there is that those are two very different cognitive skills, word memory and math problems, but they’re tapping into that same general cognitive resource. In those experiments, people either had their phones on a desk, in their pockets or bags, or in the next room. The farther away a person’s phone was, the better they did on those tasks. Even when you’re not consciously thinking about your phone, the process of not thinking about your phone requires some cognitive resources.
This was an interesting, though slightly concerning, finding that led to more studies on how the presence of our smartphones might be influencing how well we’re able to think. But in a new meta-analysis that looked at data from 27 different brain drain studies, the story of the brain drain hypothesis has gotten a little more complicated. If it’s just sitting next to you while you’re working, is that a problem or not? And I think that’s quite an important question to answer, to know more about.
1. What’s the purpose of paragraph1?| A．To classify a concept of the passage. |
| B．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| C．To make an overall outline for the passage. |
| D．To offer a general background of the passage. |
| A．Smartphones enable constant connection to latest information. |
| B．Mobile device use does not affect performance on mental system. |
| C．Cognitive capabilities are largely determined by working memory. |
| D．The presence of smartphones accounts for the damage to cognition. |
| A．They were only required to perform mathematical tasks. |
| B．The outcome was better if phones were used less frequently. |
| C．They consciously thought about phones when memorizing words. |
| D．The distance from phones to people was related to their performance. |
| A．How does Your Phone Damage Your Memory? |
| B．How does Your Phone Wear Your Brain out? |
| C．Is Your Phone Actually Draining Your Brain? |
| D．Is Your Phone Influencing Your Working Performance? |
Since it was the first day of my high school, I rushed towards my bus stop to catch the bus to school. However, to my horror, I realized that my wallet was missing. I had no money to buy a ticket and no way of making any contact either. I felt worried and began to panic as I knew I couldn’t make it to school without the bus.
I sat on the bench, opened my backpack and found everything in it, but still couldn’t find my wallet. As the bus arrived, I was anxiously packing up all the things on the ground, feeling helpless and defeated. All of a sudden, a lady dressed in a gray dress crouched down and asked if I needed help. After learning my situation, she kindly reached out and handed me the change I needed for the bus. I repeatedly expressed my gratitude to the lady.
As I boarded the bus, I managed to get a seat and tried to gather my thoughts. It was then that I noticed the lady struggling to get on the bus. She was trying to carry a huge suitcase but it was too heavy and she just couldn’t manage it alone. I decided to lend her a helping hand, and together, we successfully carried her suitcase into the bus. I couldn’t help but curiously asked her, “May I ask what are in this suitcase?” She smiled mysteriously and said, “They are gifts!” I laughed in surprise and said, “That must be great! ”
Soon, I reached my bus station. As I made my way towards my school, I noticed the lady slowly walking behind me. Considering that day was my first day of school, I didn’t want to be late and leave a bad impression on my classmates and teachers. I simply said farewells to the lady and wished her a beautiful day, and then rushed to school with my backpack.
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。
In the classroom, my new classmates and I were curiously waiting for our teacher.
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When she opened the suitcase, we were amazed by the various fancy handmade notebooks.
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