1 . The stands were always filled with family members to support their favorite players. I attended each of my son’s games. His father worked nights for years, and missed out on most of his games. My son Jorden knew if his dad could, he would be there sitting right beside me.

When Jorden was younger, some family members would occasionally come to watch. But gradually they stopped showing up. Never once did Jorden lead me to believe that this bothered him, but apparently it did. It wasn’t until when he was asked to give a speech at his baseball event that he made it very clear not only to me but a room filled with over 150 people just how important it is to have extra fans in the stands.

His speech was anything but like I thought it would be. It wasn’t short and bittersweet. It wasn’t his quick thank you to his coaches and teammates. He poured his heart out, saying he seldom had grandparents, aunts or uncles coming to support him. He was grateful that his teammates’ family members showed up to support not just their own loved ones but the entire team of boys. Clearly Jorden desired more than just me. Never did I ever think my son would be hurting inside as he looked out to the bleachers to see only me at each and every game.

As he struggled to get each word out through tears, I promised I would attend as many events of the children around as I possibly could. There was no way I could allow another child to feel what my son was feeling. This small simple gesture would mean so much to any child. Neither Jorden nor I was upset with those who never attended his games. Jorden just wanted someone else besides me to witness his craft in action. I understand all of our lives become complicated and that everyone is busy with their own children and jobs that may not allow them as much free time as they’d like.

1. What do we know about Jorden’s father?

A．He had long been misunderstood by Jorden.

B．He had few chances to attend Jorden’s games.

C．He managed to be with Jorden in every game.

D．He had made excuses to miss Jorden’s games.

2. What was Jorden’s speech about?

A．His ambition to win the championship.

B．His gratitude to his mother and coaches.

C．His complaint about his family members.

D．His desire for support from more people.

3. What does the author think of Jorden’s speech?

A．Depressing.

B．Complicated.

C．Astonishing.

D．Absurd.

4. How did the author respond to Jorden’s speech?

A．She tried to be actively involved in children’s games.

B．She promised not to miss out on games of every child.

C．She offered to invite many relatives to Jorden’s games.

D．She decided to lead Jorden to trust his family members.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where does the woman work?

A．In a transport business.

B．In a shopping centre.

C．In a hospital.

2. How will the woman go to work?

A．By car.

B．By bus.

C．By train.

3. What is the man’s opinion on parking in Broadgreen?

A．It is costly.

B．It is easy.

C．It is hard.

4. What is the disadvantage of Broadgreen?

A．It is far from the shopping places.

B．There is a lot of noise.

C．The rents are high.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When did Hemingway produce his first collection of short stories?

A．In 1923.

B．In 1932.

C．In 1952.

2. What is Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises about?

A．A group of reporters.

B．Some writers and artists.

C．His childhood experience.

3. What do we know about A Farewell to Arms?

A．It came out in 1924.

B．It was Hemingway’s third novel.

C．It describes something related to World War I.

4. What was The Old Man and the Sea based on?

A．The story of a reporter.

B．An old fisherman’s real life.

C．Hemingway’s experiences of going fishing.

4 . After three decades of teaching, Jim Stanley, a chorus and piano teacher at Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia, Atlanta, is getting ready to retire. But before he goes, there was one thing he wanted to do: __________ with some of his former students for one last performance. That wish __________ on May 13 with a heartfelt rehearsal (排练) and alumni (校友) concert at Cartersville’s auditorium (礼堂). Video of the rehearsal was captured and quickly went __________ online with 2 million views and counting.

Stanley __________ the idea of inviting his former students back to Cartersville last year, __________ this would just be a good__________ to reconnect with those kids reaching adulthood.

Little did he __________ at the time that a small group of 20 to 25 alumni would quickly balloon into a __________ of nearly 100 former students, some of whom __________ back to Georgia from other states and as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia to give Stanley a tremendous send-off into retirement.

“I choked up a little bit. But I tried to keep the __________ from flowing.” he added. “It was __________ an emotional day for me and I think for a lot of the kids too. We were all in a __________ place.”

Stanley was __________ to become an educator himself after taking a chorus class in the ninth grade and credited his own chorus teacher for the __________ he needed to pursue the profession. He hopes he has made a positive __________ on his students over the years.

1.

A．exclaimed

B．restored

C．reunite

D．fortified

2.

A．came out

B．calmed down

C．came true

D．woke up

3.

A．viral

B．artificial

C．rewarding

D．accessible

4.

A．stood by

B．came up with

C．resulted in

D．learned from

5.

A．entering

B．thinking

C．confirming

D．showing

6.

A．melody

B．emphasis

C．association

D．opportunity

7.

A．mistake

B．launch

C．witness

D．know

8.

A．gathering

B．jumping

C．winning

D．singing

9.

A．swam

B．flew

C．bounded

D．sought

10.

A．tears

B．ban

C．emotion

D．happiness

11.

A．definitely

B．tightly

C．violently

D．deeply

12.

A．smart

B．loyal

C．delightful

D．difficult

13.

A．sent

B．inspired

C．achieved

D．reserved

14.

A．acceptance

B．arrival

C．charm

D．encouragement

15.

A．encounter

B．count

C．impact

D．mess

5 . New Mexico is famed for roasted green chillies with a distinctive smoky flavour, but it comes at a cost — producers in the state typically use propane (丙烷) as fuel, releasing an estimated 7,800 tonnes of CO2 a year. Ken Armijo at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) wanted to see if he could match the flavour without the need for fossil fuels.

Armijo, whose family owns a chilli farm, works with solar concentrators at NSTTF, normally used for experiments boiling liquid to produce electricity, or simulating (模拟) the effect of re-entry on materials used in spacecraft. The facility uses rings of mirrors to focus sunlight on a 60-metre tower at the centre. He improved a traditional chilli roaster and loaded it with 10 kilograms of chillies before placing it in the tower to roast at 480°C.

A group of green chilli connoisseurs (品鉴师) blind-tasted the solar-roasted version alongside the traditional variety and rated them higher for both flavour and smell. Armijo says infrared (红外线的) imaging showed solar heating produced a more even distribution (分布) of heat with fewer hotspots. “Solar-roasted chillies appeared to have a much cleaner taste because the localised heat from propane roasting can cause localised burning,” says Armijo.

Although this test took place at a research facility, Armijo says the cost of solar concentrators is dropping and it could be possible to use technology developed at Sandia to build small solar concentrators at low cost. These could produce the high temperatures needed for roasting chillies and other foods.

Armijo is eager to try the technique with other foodstuffs, including cocoa and coffee beans, which are grown in lower-income countries and could be solar roasted.

Pete Schwartz at California Polytechnic State University, who has been exploring solar cooking for many years, said that he was not sure “whether solar concentrators will catch on in lower-income countries, where he has seen many solar projects fail due to lack of training and technical support.”

Armijo says he has been approached by at least 15 companies and is in discussions on ways to commercialise the technology. He is seeking extra funding from the US Department of Energy and other organisations to pursue small solar concentrators for food processing.

1. Why did Armijo roast green chillies using solar concentrators?

A．To increase profits.	B．To create a new recipe.
C．To reduce air pollution.	D．To improve chillies’ taste.

2. What advantage do solar concentrators have over traditional ones?

A．They are lower in production cost.

B．They work with higher efficiency.

C．They spread heat more equally.

D．They are easier to operate.

3. What is Schwartz’s attitude to solar concentrators’ application in poor countries?

A．Favourable.

B．Intolerant.

C．Unclear.

D．Doubtful.

4. What can we infer about Armijo’s technology from the last paragraph?

A．It has been adopted by some companies.

B．It is on its way to the market.

C．It has been officially recognised.

D．It is in need of technical support.

6 . Four Preschool Winter Stories

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Keats captures that childhood joy of playing in the snow. The boy, Peter, puts on his snowsuit and heads out into the beautiful snow. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. It is full of fun. Peter takes some snow home with him in his pocket only to find that it melted while he was taking a bath. Oh no! Is that the last of snow? Not to worry, the snow is waiting for Peter in the morning.

How to Catch a Yeti (雪人) by Adam Wallace

In this silly snowy adventure, the kids set a whole bunch of clever traps to catch a yeti.

However, the yeti easily escapes and the traps backfire on the kids with funny results. If you look closely at the illustrations, you can find “hidden” members of the yeti’s family watching the kids.

Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer

This is a sweet story that teaches kids about how animals spend the winter. As the first snowflake falls on the fox’s nose, fox wonders what he is supposed to do in winter. The other forest animals tell him how they prepare for winter. Some fly south, others store food, and some hibernate (冬眠) . Unfortunately none of these ideas will work for fox. Finally, another fox comes along and shares what foxes do in winter— they dance in the falling snow!

Bear is Awake: an Alphabet Story by Hannah E. Harrison

With hardly any words, the reader pieces the story together from the fantastic illustrations and the alphabet letter and corresponding word on each page. In this book, a bear awakens too early (A=awake) and sets off in search of food. It finds a little girl in a cabin, who, through a series of humorous events, helps the bear return to its home and go back to sleep.

1. In which book is the leading character Peter?

A．The Snowy Day.	B．How to Catch a Yeti.
C．Winter Dance.	D．Bear is Awake: an Alphabet Story.

2. What’s the book Winter Dance about?

A．The joy of playing in the snow.	B．The way animals spend the winter.
C．The story of animals hibernating.	D．A bear in search of food.

3. Who wrote the book with hardly any words?

A．Ezra Jack Keats.	B．Adam Wallace.
C．Marion Dane Bauer.	D．Hannah E. Harrison.

7 . At the times in my life that I had been upset or angry, a good hug was usually a very quick cure for what was bothering me. After receiving a warm and genuine embrace from a loved one or friend, the tension in my body would melt almost immediately.

How does a hug deliver such a remarkable effect so quickly? Touch is a powerful means of communication and a great way to relieve the response to stress. Through touch, a person’s intention is readily discernible–you can tell comfort from potential harm easily. In the positive mode, hugs are one type of touch that relays the message: “I care about you. You matter.”

We require touch with other living beings to grow well. Children who are not held or hugged have significant developmental and socio-emotional delay accompanied by smaller brains. This means that physical contact is not only critical for how these children behaved, but for the development of the brain itself.

For adults, touch affects the response to everyday conflict. Some researchers interviewed404 adults daily for 14 days regarding their health, conflicts, how they felt emotionally (positive or negative), and whether or not they received a hug. People who had received a hug and had an interpersonal conflict reported feeling more positive with less severe negative reactions on that day. It has also been found that hugging may favorably influence the rate of infection from a cold as well as symptoms.

As hugs are a great way to relieve the response to stress, it is not surprising that the number of hugs that a woman receives from her partner is highly related to lower blood pressure as well as higher levels of hormone known as oxytocin, colloquially labeled the “love hormone”.

Hugs, of course, are a form of touch that share elements with other types, like massage (按摩) as well as gentle, light touch. Like hugging, massage is a great way to release tension.

1. What does the underlined word “discernible” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Complex.

B．Evident.

C．Abstract.

D．Varied.

2. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．Hugs can settle the conflicts.	B．Hugs can effectively cure a cold.
C．Receiving a hug can cause positive reactions.	D．The researchers take education into account.

3. What will the author probably discuss after the last paragraph?

A．Advantages of touch.	B．Different types of hugs.
C．Fear of inappropriate hugs.	D．Positive functions of massage.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Touch is a great way to relieve the response to stress.

B．Children require touch from loved ones to grow well.

C．Hugs from partners can bring women lower blood pressure.

D．Caring touch can bring mental and physical benefits to people.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The revitalization (复苏) of abandoned properties in rural China is on the rise. Each     1     (locate) in remote Chinese towns, the following three striking hotels are far from the hustle of the city.

WuYuan Skywells Hotel in Jiangxi province, a previously neglected 300-year-old mansion, was     2     (incredible) restored to its former glory, while maintaining its regional architectural feature Tianjing, a narrow and tall courtyard pulling sunlight inside,     3     introducing elements of modern comfort.

Similarly, by the end of 2022, designers     4     (restore) the Bamboo Craft Village near Chengdu city, preserving the construction traditions to build an extremely     5     (impress) roof. Seen from above, the shape of this building is like a figure “8” or the infinity sign “∞”.

The Treewow Tribe in Zhejiang province     6     (feature) houses that are surrounded by a sea of bamboo trees to provide tourists     7     comfortable privacy. Notably, the free-form roof imitates the free-flowing lines of nature, gracefully     8     (invite) the green landscape into the private space.

Marrying the charm of traditional Chinese designs and the     9     (rich) of modern living, these hotels will definitely offer you     10     unforgettable experience and a perfect getaway.