Jack was new to Woodberry Forest School this year. He carried a secret burden: a stutter (口吃) that often brought about laughter from his classmates. This made him very upset. Shy and reserved. Jack chose to fade into the background rather than draw attention to himself. He felt like an outsider, never quite fitting in.
Jack was eager to exchange ideas with his classmates, but afraid of getting into trouble. Jack's science teacher, Katherine, a warm and caring woman often wearing a smile, noticed Jack's stutter and shyness. She observed how Jack struggled to express himself in class and how he would shy away when called upon to speak.
Determined to lend a hand, Katherine took Jack under her wing, encouraging him to embrace bravery and believe in his own abilities. Subsequently, Katherine adopted a set of systematic methods to help him. She was glad to find the potential in him, the intelligence and creativity that lay hidden beneath his stutter. Whenever possible, Katherine was always ready to praise his efforts, always declaring, "You are so great!” Whenever Jack stumbled over his words, Katherine always smiled at him encouragingly, providing him with the strength to continue. Day by day, Jack found himself speaking with greater confidence and fluency.
One day, Katherine announced that each student should give a presentation of a science project in front of the class. Jack's heart sank, the familiar fear and anxiety wrapping around him. How could he possibly stand before his classmates to give his ideas clearly, knowing that they would laugh at him? As the presentation drew near, Jack's anxiety mounted. Then came the big day. He watched his classmates take turns to walk up to the front. They gave their presentation with confidence and backed to their seats with satisfaction. However, while Jack was waiting for his turn, his heart beat so violently that he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
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。
Paragraph 1:
It was finally his turn.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
When Jack finished his presentation, the room erupted into applause.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . On a chilly autumn morning in the Italian countryside near Larderello, Tuscany, the misty landscape reminded me why the area is nicknamed the Devil’s Valley. The land here is a web of natural cracks in the rock that let a mix of steam and gases reach the surface.
Unlike the rolling hills and cypress-lined roads of other parts of Tuscany, the landscape here is covered with dozens of grey cooling towers puffing white vapors. The deafening roar of a turbine (涡轮机) at the Valle Secolo geothermal (地热的) plant breaks the quietness, but its violent spinning transforms steam rising from underground into energy for 150,000 families in the region. About 30% of Tuscany’s electricity comes from this energy source. After producing electricity, the leftover steam heats water for nearby districts.
This underground energy has recently proved a vital resource. Italy greatly depended on Russian fossil fuels and in 2023 Italians bore the world’s highest household electricity bills. Factories cut down production and households had to turn down their heaters. But residents of the Larderello area spent the winter in warm homes, thanks to the local geothermal plants working 24/7.
Bruno Della Vedova, president of the Italian Geothermal Union, hopes that in the future other Italian regions could benefit from such a resource, which is extremely important when the whole world looks to transition to renewable energy.
While countries like Iceland and Kenya are taking advantage of their geothermal resources, the industry’s growth has made slow progress in Italy. High set-up costs and difficulties in extraction present significant barriers. And new plants often run into opposition from nearby communities over health concerns.
Italy sits on a geothermal sweet spot. Especially below Larderello, as Della Vedova says. A vast reservoir (储备) of steam and water is trapped between Earth’s inner heat and a layer of clay-heavy rocks. High temperatures lead to the formation of steam directly inside the reservoir, providing a significant source of energy.
But while heat from Earth’s core is practically endless, the water it heats within the planet are not. So Della Vedova says restoring underground water supplies and using them sustainably is critical for the future. “We can’t take advantage of a geothermal resource at will,” he says.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The landscape in the countryside. |
| B．The introduction to a geothermal plant. |
| C．The application of geothermal energy in Tuscany. |
| D．The process of turning underground steam into heat. |
| A．People near new plants object to it. |
| B．Geothermal plants cut down their production. |
| C．There is very little underground water and steam. |
| D．People use less electricity by turning down heaters. |
| A．Unfavorable. | B．Unclear. | C．Optimistic. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Where does geothermal energy lead Italy? |
| B．Is the heat from Earth’s core really limitless? |
| C．Can energy from underground help power Italy? |
| D．How can geothermal energy be used scientifically? |
1. What did Trevor Baylis invent in 1996?
| A．The wind-up TV. | B．The wind-up radio. | C．The telephone-like shoes. |
| A．Funny. | B．Creative. | C．Generous. |
| A．In a dream. | B．On TV. | C．Over the radio. |
4 . The storms in our lives often leave behind gifts if we open our eyes to see them. As the skies clear and you start to emerge from the loss, look for the silver linings.
Going through difficulties requires courage and determination. You have to dig deep and find the strength you didn’t know you possessed to overcome the challenges.
Coming out the other side of trouble sometimes gives you a fresh outlook. Priorities shift.
Your struggles and pain have given you understanding for what others maybe going through in their own lives. You now recognize the suffering of people around you and desire to help ease their burdens. Use your experience to be there for friends and family members facing difficulties.
| A．Dramatic changes often lead to transformation. |
| B．They’re there if you are bent on searching for them. |
| C．Offer a listening ear and share your story with them. |
| D．Storms shape us, but the silver linings make us suffer. |
| E．What seemed important before now pales in comparison. |
| F．Now you know you have the inner power to weather storms. |
| G．This new perspective removed previous doubt about yourself. |
In the town of Willowbrook, young Sarah was in a state of great excitement. Her school was putting on its annual play, and she had been offered a principal role. The school hall had been abuzz for weeks with rehearsals, prop (道具) preparations, and the students practicing their lines. Sarah had spent countless hours rehearsing, wanting to get every word and movement absolutely right.
However, underlying her anticipation was a growing sadness. Sarah’s dad, Mr Thompson, worked as an engineer in a big city, and his job often kept him away from home for a long time, which meant he frequently missed out on most of the special moments in Sarah’s life. This play seemed to be another addition to that growing list. He had a vital business meeting on the same day, and Sarah, although understanding, couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Her classmates talked excitedly about their families coming to watch, increasing her sense of loss.
It was bright and sunny on the day of the play. The school’s hall was noisy with students. Students in costumes rushed about, teachers gave last-minute instructions, and the air was thick with anticipation. Sarah peeped out from behind the curtains and saw the hall filling up with eager parents, siblings, and friends. Every seat was taken, except one — her dad’s.
The play started on time with Sarah and her classmates’ performance being the first. The actors delivered their lines with passion and the audience responded with laughter and applause at all the right moments. Sarah played her part with a mix of excitement and longing, wishing her dad could see her shine.
Halfway through, the host called for a surprise guest to enter. He described him as a “mysterious stranger” whose brief appearance would provide a turning point in the plot. As the lights dimmed slightly and suspenseful music played, a tall figure stepped onto the stage.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Sarah’s heart jumped faster.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When the final scene concluded and the curtains drew to a close, applause thundered through the hall.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . A speech in a play by Shakespeare can be as short as a word or as long as several hundred. But what is the most common length?
Staying away from Shakespeare himself for a moment, we can take Ben Jonson’s play Volpone (1606) and count the number of speeches and their lengths. The most common length is four words. The next most common length is five words. Of the other 16 Jonson’s plays, 12 also have a speech length mode (模式) of four. It was not just Jonson; it was everybody. After 1602, four-word speeches were the most common kind across all the early modern plays that survived.
The London theatre industry took off in the late 1580s and early 1590s and we see a concentration of speech length modes of nine or ten. After 1602, the mode of four predominated. If we look just at Shakespeare’s plays, we find him doing what everyone else did: changing from favoring nine-word speeches to favouring four-word speeches around 1597-1602 and never going back.
Our suggestion is that the playwrights (剧作家) learned progressively from one another how to represent more closely the speech lengths of everyday exchanges and found that audiences responded well to these. They started to focus less on strict writing rules and more on the liveliness of everyday speech.
Another way to think of this is offered by the Russian literary scholar Boris Yarkho. He put forward an “index (指数) of liveliness” — the ratio of the number of speeches to the total number of lines in a play. He researched the works of the 17th-century French playwright Pierre Corneille and found that his comedies have a higher index because of their shorter speeches. The move from a mode of nine words to a mode of four represents the shortened average speech, and thus a move to livelier drama in Yarkho’s terms.
Nevertheless, we have no record of any dramatist or playgoer reflecting on the shortening of average speech lengths; our only knowledge of it comes from counting the words in the plays for ourselves.
1. What happened in English plays around the 1600s?| A．Their storylines were about famous writers. | B．They were influenced by a poetic writing style. |
| C．They featured different storytelling techniques. | D．Their speeches were generally shorter in length. |
| A．Remained unique. | B．Took the leading position. |
| C．Disappeared slowly. | D．Played an educational role. |
| A．To challenge traditional writing rules. | B．To stand out by applying their unique style. |
| C．To avoid being affected by social values. | D．To create realistic and acceptable speeches. |
| A．It saved actors the trouble of memorizing their lines. |
| B．It reflected people's preference for serious dialogues. |
| C．It helped present dramas in an active and pleasant way. |
| D．It made the characters express their feelings effectively. |
I will share the kind act that I met with all of you. We had dozens of restaurant options within a short distance, so we often took advantage of this luxury. On one occasion, I ran out to get some food. I saw the clouds in the distance and decided I could make it there and come back in time, but I was wrong. I was about to leave the restaurant when the rain just poured. The street was flooded within minutes.
But I had my little girl and husband waiting for me back at home, and they were hungry, so I knew I had to make a run for it. The owner of the restaurant tried to encourage me to wait inside, but I insisted that I should go. At this point, he grabbed his umbrella and said, “Okay, let’s go.” Of course I tried to convince him that it wasn’t necessary for him to walk me home, but I knew I wouldn’t prevent him from doing so. So off we went. We quickly realized that the umbrella wouldn’t help much in keeping us dry. He walked me all the way to my apartment building, where he said goodbye and ran back to the restaurant.
Again I encountered this act of kindness when I was making my way to the bus. As I waited at the crosswalk (人行道), it began to rain lightly. Nothing was too bad, but a young guy nearby felt like it was heavy enough to make him step next to me and hold his umbrella above both of us. After a while, the lights turned green. I thanked him and walked across the street.
Getting around the city when you are six months pregnant (怀孕的) and have a two-year-old kid can be challenging sometimes. One spring afternoon, I realized I needed something from the store to finish preparing for dinner. The weather seemed a bit questionable but the store was around the corner so I decided to risk it.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
It wasn’t raining when we left so we didn’t carry my umbrella.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph2:
As we crossed the street the woman offered me her umbrella.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. How do students enter the library?
| A．With a password. | B．With a student card. | C．With a library account. |
| A．At most 11. | B．At most 12. | C．At most 9. |
| A．Books borrowed by local citizens. |
| B．Books published recently. |
| C．Books loved by many people. |
| A．Tell the students where to buy drinks. |
| B．Show the students around the library. |
| C．Take the students on a campus tour. |
I’ve always had a love for basketball, so when it came time to continue my basketball journey at Columbia High School, I resolved to make it onto the school’s varsity (校队) basketball team. Any time I wasn’t studying, I was putting on my sports shoes and hitting the school stadium. Just before bed, I’d look up videos of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, trying to learn from the professionals. Day and night, all I could think about was how to get better and how to improve.
After months and months of practice and playing on the junior varsity team, Coach Moore finally told me one day that I was going to be playing for our school’s varsity basketball team going into my junior year. Success! Time for the big league! What I didn’t know, however, was that I was going to face a pretty big challenge in the form of a new transfer student: Chet Harrison.
Harrison had just transferred from another school, Westmoreland High School, where he had already been playing for the varsity team. There were rumors floating around that he was nearly guaranteed a spot playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and maybe even the National Basketball League someday.
I’ll admit, the kid was a natural talent when it came to playing basketball. But Harrison’s biggest weakness was his personality. He seemed selfish and sometimes acted like a bully, always seeking attention and showing off after scoring goals. Despite his loyal following of fans, I couldn’t stand him. But after Coach Moore said that Harrison and I would be playing together, I decided to accept it and make peace with the situation.
After months of putting up with Harrison’s attitude, I nearly had enough. Just before the winter break, however, we played a home match against Harrison’s old school Westmoreland and we lost. Harrison in particular felt utterly embarrassed.
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 found Harrison struggling to fight off tears in a corner of the boys’ locker room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After months of working together, we found ourselves again facing Westmoreland on the basketball court for the finals.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . Willful ignorance exists in large amount in daily life. People regularly look the other way rather than examining the consequences of their actions. Despite plenty of scientific evidence for climate change, for instance, many people still avoid engaging with facts about global warming.
We wanted to understand how common willful ignorance is and why people engage in it. After collecting data from multiple research projects that involved more than 6,000 individuals, we discovered that willful ignorance is common and harmful, with 40 percent of people choosing “not to know” the consequences of their actions to free themselves of guilt while maximizing their own gains. But we also found that about 40 percent of people are unselfish: rather than avoiding information about the consequences of their actions, they seek it out to increase the benefits to others.
In the experiments, the decisions were made in one of two settings. In the transparent (透明的) setting, decision-makers had information about how their choice would affect themselves and their partner. In an ambiguous (模糊的) setting, decision-makers knew how their choice would matter for themselves but not for their teammate — although they could request that insight.
The overall balance tipped toward selfishness when participants had the option to avoid information. Only 39 percent of people in the ambiguous setting made the choice that ultimately benefited their partner — a significant drop from 55 percent in the transparent condition.
If we can avoid putting a strong moral emphasis on decisions, it may make people feel less threatened and, as a result, be less willfully ignorant. Other research groups have found promising ways to do this. For instance, we could encourage people to think more positively about good deeds rather than guilt-trip them for what they have failed to do. Highlighting recent global achievements, such as healing the ozone (臭氧) layer, can inspire people to keep up the good work rather than feeling like the battle is lost and that the situation is hopeless.
In short, we can encourage one another and ourselves toward more selfless and generous actions.
1. Why do some people choose not to know the consequences of their actions?| A．To make easier choices to be a good person. |
| B．To increase their own benefits more than others’. |
| C．To avoid the influence of consequences on actions. |
| D．To get the most benefits without a sense of shame. |
| A．By focusing less on its morality. | B．By stressing its potential threat. |
| C．By being more positive about oneself. | D．By getting people aware of their actions. |
| A．Culture. | B．Environment. | C．Psychology. | D．Biology. |
| A．The reason for willful ignorance. |
| B．The results of willful ignorance. |
| C．The harmful effects of willful ignorance. |
| D．The influence of willful ignorance on environment. |
