I sat in the breakfast corner with my four-year-old son, Matthew, trying to ignore the ache in my stomach. I was still recovering from a surgery. I hoped for strength and happiness. But the future seemed so hopeless.
Matthew jumped up from his spot on the kitchen floor. “Bird!” he shouted, rushing to the sliding door. Sure enough, there was a white dove seated on a rubber tree. It sat there a few moments, and then flew away. I’d never seen one in our neighborhood before.
When I dragged myself to the kitchen the next morning, the dove was back. This time it was with a mate carrying twigs (嫩枝), “Look, Matthew,” I said, pointing to the tree. “They’re going to make a nest.” The doves flew in and out of the courtyard all week, building on the top of the rubber tree. Matthew could hardly contain his excitement. Every morning, he’d run into the kitchen and take his spot by the sliding glass door, talking to the birds while they worked. As much as I was grieving (感到悲伤), I couldn’t help but look forward to the doves’ visits too. We watched their progress as if it were a real-life soap opera unfolding before us. Gradually, my pain disappeared, replaced by joy.
Then it all went wrong. The courtyard was a safe enough spot for a nest, but the rubber tree’s broad, thin leaves were far from stable. One night, a strong wind blew through, throwing the doves’ nest to the ground. I heard the twigs break apart. Nothing good ever lasts. I wouldn’t blame the doves if they never came back. But they returned. And they paid no attention to the pi le of sticks that had once been their nest. They started again from scratch, though the wind destroyed all their hard work. The next day, and the next, they renewed their efforts, as if nothing had happened.
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: I knew I had to do something for the poor creatures.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:“The birds were back!” Matthew announced.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . When we’re facing an annoying problem, we often gather a group to brainstorm. We’re looking to get the best ideas as quickly as possible. I love seeing it happen — except for one tiny wrinkle. Group brainstorming usually backfires.
In brainstorming meetings, many good ideas are lost — and few are gained. Extensive evidence shows that when we generate ideas together, we fail to maximize collective intelligence. Brainstorming groups fall so far short of their potential that we get more ideas — and better ideas — if we all work alone. As the humorist Dave Barry joked, “If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings’.”
To unearth the hidden potential in teams, instead of brainstorming, we’re better off shifting to a process called “brainwriting”. The initial steps are solo. Start by asking everyone to generate ideas separately and then share them unnamed among the group. To preserve independent judgment, each member evaluates them on their own. Only then does the team come together to select and improve the most promising options. By developing and assessing ideas individually before choosing them, teams can appear and advance possibilities that might not get attention otherwise.
For instance, Dow Chemical invited people to enter an innovation tournament to save energy and reduce waste. They invited any proposals that cost no more than $200, 000 and had the potential to pay for themselves within a year — and invested in the most promising ones. Over the next decade, they bet on 575 ideas that saved the company an average of $110 million per year.
Research by organizational behavior scholar Anita Woolley and her colleagues helps to explain why this method works. They find that a key to collective intelligence is balanced participation. In brainstorming meetings, it’s too easy for participation to become lopsided (倾向一方的) in favor of the biggest egos (自我价值感), the loudest voices, and the most powerful people. The brainwriting process makes sure that all ideas are brought to the table and all voices are brought into the conversation. The goal isn’t to be the smartest person in the room — it’s to make the room smarter.
1. Which is the closest in meaning to “backfire” in Paragraph 1?| A．shoot from behind the back | B．make a fire in the backyard |
| C．produce an unexpected result | D．achieve what was planned |
| A．Limited time for discussion. | B．Lack of diverse perspectives. |
| C．Difficulty in reaching agreement. | D．Overemphasis on individual ideas. |
| A．To encourage independent ideas. | B．To speed up the idea generation process. |
| C．To give more attention to promising ideas. | D．To increase the influence of powerful individuals. |
| A．To prove the effectiveness of brainwriting. |
| B．To illustrate the principle behind brainwriting. |
| C．To emphasize the value of traditional brainstorming. |
| D．To make a comparison between brainstorming and brainwriting. |
3 . Joe’s single dad parenting story unfolds in a touching video that swept through the hearts of online users on TikTok.
On his daughter’s school Mother’s Day celebration, Joe
As the video unfolds, we witness an emotional hug between Joe and his 15-year-old daughter, Nong Cream. She hugs Joe tightly. Joe
Joe, also known as “Teacher Joe”, is a proud PE instructor at his daughter’s school. He shared his
Cream responded, “I don’t feel embarrassed. This year’s Mother’s Day, I want to say I love my father. I’m
| A．stayed up | B．dressed up | C．woke up | D．grew up |
| A．leave | B．turn | C．part | D．place |
| A．designed | B．reserved | C．selected | D．decorated |
| A．empty | B．wet | C．dirty | D．cold |
| A．compares | B．links | C．returns | D．refuses |
| A．nervously | B．gently | C．eagerly | D．skillfully |
| A．motivation | B．thirst | C．interest | D．requirement |
| A．annoyed | B．scared | C．worried | D．ashamed |
| A．response | B．opposition | C．commitment | D．attention |
| A．translated | B．broke | C．led | D．transformed |
| A．demanding | B．challenging | C．rewarding | D．amusing |
| A．gesture | B．choice | C．promise | D．effort |
| A．grateful | B．faithful | C．helpful | D．hopeful |
| A．rescuing | B．educating | C．raising | D．protecting |
| A．strengthened | B．created | C．balanced | D．measured |
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2. 你推荐的食物；
3. 推荐的理由。
要求：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear students,
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The Student Union
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