John decided to go skiing with his friend, Keith. So they loaded up John’s car and headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible snowstorm. The snow was falling harder and harder and it was more and more difficult to go on driving. So they decided to look for a house along the way to protect themselves from the heavy snow. At last they saw a small farm in front of them. Thus they pulled into the farm and asked the middle-aged lady who answered the door if they could spend the night in her house.
“I realize it’s terrible weather out there but I have this house only big enough for my five children, and I have no spare room for you,” she explained. “I’m afraid that I can’t offer you a comfortable place to spend the night and you have to continue to look for your shelter.”
John and Keith felt disappointed. It was late and they were not sure of finding a safe shelter for the night. They didn’t know what they should do next. John looked at Keith, who kept silent. Just then, he looked around and found an empty storehouse in the yard. An idea struck him. He was determined to beg the lady to permit them to stay in the storehouse.
“Don’t worry,” John said. “We’ll be happy to sleep in the storehouse. And if the weather breaks, we’ll be gone at first light.” The lady agreed, and the two men found their way to the storehouse and settled in for the night.
But there was little furniture in the storehouse, and it was such freezing weather. They were trembling with cold and they might be most likely to freeze at night. It seemed that they would have to sleep in their clothes. Just then, three children walked into the storehouse, with something in their hands.
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。
It turned out that they came to help John and Keith go through the freezing night.
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Waking up the next day, John and Keith found their door blocked by heavy snow.
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Several days ago, local News Channel reported a story between a mother and her son. The mother was a single woman who had been feeling a great deal of anger and bitterness due to her financial and psychological problem, causing her emotions to be unpredictable. Occasionally, she may not pay enough attention to her son or couldn’t respond to his requirements timely. Sometimes, she would even pour her negative emotions onto her child, which made him feel helpless. In fact, this child is a very outstanding and caring boy.
That day, the mother directed her anger towards her child again because of some small matter. Although the child did not resist, the mother still drove the child out of the house, slammed the door shut and left the child outside to reflect (反省).
It was when the mother became calm and a little regretful that she opened her door and found her child missing. Anxious and scared, she searched everywhere, but the child was nowhere to be found. Her anxiety was gradually increasing.
The worried mother thought of seeking help from the police. Quickly, she went to the police station and explained the situation to the officer on duty. The police officer explained that, as a general rule, they couldn’t file a case for a missing child within the first 24 hours. However, they could provide assistance in other ways, such as posting the child’s photo on social media platforms to expand the search area.
After expressing gratitude for the police officer’s kindness, the mother continued searching for her child. Despite trying various methods, the mother still couldn’t find the child. Unexpectedly, the child was wandering in the streets, he felt lost and alone, not knowing where to go or what to do. He felt the tears forming in his eyes but refused to let them down. He didn’t want to show weakness in front of anyone, and it made him feel even more alone.
注意：
1. 写作词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Exhausted and hungry, the child kept walking aimlessly until he finally came across a bench along the street.
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Soon after, the mother arrived hurriedly.
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3 . Exploring unmapped territory on the moon could soon be as easy as slipping on a backpack. NASA researchers designed a new high-tech pack for navigating(给引航)unknown territories in outer space.
The backpack uses a remote-sensing mapping system to create high-resolution(高分辨)3-D maps that astronauts could use to explore the southernmost point on the moon according to a statement. NASA’s dynamic technology is like the technology used by smart cars to alert their drivers of potential collisions(碰撞).
“Basically, the sensor is a surveying tool for both navigation and science mapping, able to create ultra-high-resolution 3-D maps at centimeter-level precision and give them a rich scientific context,”tells Michael Zanetti, a scientist. “It will also help ensure the safety of astronauts and rover vehicles in a GPS-denied environment such as the Moon by identifying actual distances to far-off landmarks and showing explorers in real time how far they’ve come and how far is left.”
NASA plans to have astronauts return to the moon by 2025. The team is set to land near the lunar south pole because previous evidence suggests that the area may contain subsurface water ice. Part of the reason astronauts would need a GPS tracking backpack is because the area on the moon’s south pole is shrouded by shadows, making it difficult for space explorers to estimate distances on the moon.
Next, NASA is working on bringing the backpack’s weight and size down. Currently. It weighs 40 pounds, but the team hopes that the tech could be small enough to fit on an astronaut’s helmet.
1. What are Michael Zanetti’s words mainly about?| A．The working principle of the backpack. | B．The challenges of the backpack. |
| C．The shortcomings of the backpack. | D．The development of the backpack. |
| A．Mixed. | B．Reduced. | C．Covered. | D．Separated. |
| A．Make the backpack cheaper. | B．Make the backpack more accurate. |
| C．Make the backpack more fashionable. | D．Make the backpack lighter and smaller. |
| A．A travel journal. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．An impressive novel. | D．A personal notebook. |
13-year-old Ryan was a lazy video game addict who always required the help of the housekeeper for everything. His father, Alex, noticed how spoiled(宠坏的) his son was, so he decided to set things right.
One day, Ryan was running late for school, but he was still busy playing video games. He was so distracted that he had no time to put on his socks and shoes, so the housekeeper did it for him.
“Dad, I’m ready. Let’s go!” he finally shouted, taking his school bag. Alex had always driven him to his school even though it was just a seven-minute walk from their home. For Ryan, that would seem like a hundred tiring miles.
That morning, to Ryan’s surprise, Alex asked him to walk to school instead. “What? No! I can’t carry this heavy bag to school on foot. Please drop me off, Dad,” Ryan said. But Alex turned a deaf ear. “You’re a grown-up boy now, Ryan! Just walk. Get used to it,” he said.
Ryan had no choice but to walk along the road. He was out of breath when he got to the school gate. He came into his classroom and sat on the chair quickly. He was tired. He wasn’t used to walking, even for a few minutes. What a lazy and weak boy Ryan was!
When Ryan was still resting, he found a boy he didn’t know entering the classroom in a wheelchair. The boy was Mike, who was new to Ryan’s neighborhood and lived very close to Ryan’s house. He moved in with his grandparents recently after he lost his ability to walk in a car crash that killed his parents. Regardless of his extremely bad luck, Mike decided to be strong, optimistic, confident, brave and independent.
Although Mike was new in class, all classmates welcomed him warmly. Ryan never made a single friend all these years. Nobody liked him because he was lazy. The attention Mike got that day made him more upset.
The next day, Ryan begged his dad to drive him to his school again. But Alex just shook his head. Quite disappointed, Ryan had to walk to school,
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:
Just as he left home, he saw Mike alone on the road, pushing his wheelchair.
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Paragraph 2:
Encouraged by Mike’s words, Ryan decided to try to be independent.
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5 . 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. |
It was one of those sunny mornings when merely breathing seemed to be an event worth celebrating. I was in a particularly good mood as my mother had just given me RM400(马来西亚币)for my daily expenses during the week that she would be away with my father in China to visit her sick grandaunt. I was wondering if I survived on bread and butter the whole week, I would have RM300 to buy the latest computer games! It was certainly a great way to begin the day.
As I neared the classroom, I heard a loud noise coming from it and quickly rushed in. My classmates were gathered around Tommy’s table as he searched through some personal items. Tommy had always been a popular boy in class. Not only was he bright and well-mannered, but he also came from a wealthy family that provided him with all he could ask for.
My classmates told me that Tommy had lost the money that he had brought as a donation to the welfare home that we were supposed to visit that afternoon. Understanding the situation, I suggested that we organize a search around the classroom and inform the class teacher as soon as possible. In no time, Miss Soh rushed to the classroom. She decided to run a search through everyone’s bag. We quickly stood by our tables and emptied the contents of our bags onto the table. When it came to my turn, I took out all my possessions. As Miss Soh took out the RM400 from my wallet, the class fell into a shock.
Up till then, I had no idea that the amount lost was exactly RM400. Everyone stared at me in horror. Miss Soh was pleased that her efforts had borne fruit. In a loud voice, she demanded to know where the money had come from. I told her the truth, but she appeared not to have heard anything that I had said. She claimed loudly that I was the thief, because my family was poor and could not possibly afford to give me RM400.
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。
Her cruel words cut me deeply.
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A week later, when taking Miss Soh’s class, Tommy suddenly found the neatly folded RM400 slip out of his notebook.
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7 . You’ll probably be familiar with the North American spelling of the word “airplane”. However, if you’ve ever been on an international flight leaving the United States and going to another English-speaking country like the United Kingdom, you’ve probably noticed that there are a few differences between the American and British spellings of words with the same meaning.
Let’s look at the root of the phenomenon.
There’s a good reason why words that mean the same thing are spelled differently, and why that will continue to happen. “
| A．Every country has different culture |
| B．Your spelling tells people where you’re from |
| C．The word “airplane” happens to be an example |
| D．Airplane is a much better word than aeroplane |
| E．American English and British English have similar historical origins |
| F．There’s a lot of history that goes beyond words and dives deep into politics, government, and science |
| G．A lot of words in the English language are borrowed from other languages, like Latin, Greek, and French |
8 . The first attempt to mix visual arts and technology together dates back to the 60s’ when New York-based artists teamed up with scientists and engineers to deliver remarkable performances. Speaking of influential artists mixing tech and arts, Andy Warhol immediately comes to mind. He was among the first to create digital drawings on an Amiga computer in 1985.
When Covid-19 hit, the art industry struggled. About 95% of art-related events were canceled while 24% of organizations were forced to reduce staff. And yet, 65% of them are still managing to deliver content. Let’s see how technology impacts the art industry and helps it overcome the pandemic-induced challenges.
The artists try to use all kinds of technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots, sensors and IoT, AR and VR to create. For example, artists Julian Adenauer and Michael Haas created a robot that moves around on a canvas (画布) leaving a colorful trail. This art piece is fixed on the wall of the Berlin Gallery. It is changing every day as the robot keeps moving around, adding color in response to Haas’s idea of creation, “the process of creation is ideally endless.”
There are issues that we need to address when using technology in the arts. For example, in online streaming, paying the intellectual property taxes became a complicated matter. Another concern is who owns the copyrights of AI-generated art. Despite these obstacles, technology widens our horizons whether we produce or simply enjoy arts. If you have an idea of bettering your studio, museum, or art research with technology, don’t hesitate to reach out.
1. What is Andy Warhol’s influence?| A．He gave perfect performance in the 60s’. |
| B．He could draw pictures without computer. |
| C．He was the first man to combine tech with arts. |
| D．He was a leading artist using digital technology. |
| A．The painting skills are developing rapidly. |
| B．The employment rate is far below average. |
| C．The art industry undergoes great depression. |
| D．The work efficiency has been greatly improved. |
| A．How artists develop technologies. | B．How high-tech assists art creation. |
| C．How to draw pictures on the wall. | D．How to control AI robot. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Uncertain. | D．Objective. |
Hunger
When I was a young boy, my mother would place spoonfuls of vegetables onto my plate whether I wanted them or not and the rule in our family was that we always had to clean our plates. However, I rarely saw my mother eat the vegetables herself. She always served us first. She seemed never hungry.
She worked for a rich lady in town, and I always assumed that the reason why she didn’t have our tasteless meals was that she had eaten meats and sweets in the rich lady’s kitchen. Our meals were boring, and there was never enough since there were ten of us — my parents plus eight children.
One afternoon my older sisters were sick, so they couldn’t take care of me. Therefore, my mother had no choice but to bring me with her. It was a long winter day and as my father hadn’t had much work, we had even less food than usual. So I was very excited to go to the rich woman’s house.
My mother placed me in a corner while she rolled out pie crust (饼皮). Then she cooked some meat, and by the afternoon, the pleasant smell filled the kitchen and was making its way into my empty stomach. Then, a bell rang in the kitchen and my mother told me, “Don’t move” and then left.
I tried to do as told, but then I thought it wouldn’t matter if I ate just one blackberry. So I put a single blackberry into my mouth. What an explosion of flavor! The wonderful taste hitting my empty stomach was more than I could handle! Soon I was throwing blackberries into my mouth with two hands! It wasn’t until I was staring at the empty bowl that I noticed the empty, unbaked pie crust sitting on the table waiting for the berries. I looked around for more berries, but there was none. Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching, so I quickly hid into the cupboard (碗柜).
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just at the moment, my mother entered the kitchen, following a well-dressed lady.
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After the lady left, I crept(爬) out of the cupboard with tears streaming down my face.
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