6 . Recently an old friend reached out to me to ask about the success I’ve had in my life (or at least what looks like success on social media XD) and how I achieved it. He has similar goals as me: get in shape, get into music more seriously, and be fluent in Japanese.
Though I haven’t entirely reached my long-term goals yet in any of these 3 ways, he’s seen that I’ve made some progress on my journey to achieving these goals and wanted my advice.
We had a nice hour and a half chat on the phone about this and it seemed like he was pretty motivated by the end of the chat. A week went by and he told me that he signed up for a personal fitness trainer, was studying music theory, and sent me clips of him studying Japanese. He’s posting regularly on social media about all the progress he’s making. He’s motivated and doing great!
At last I’ll have to remind him that progress isn’t linear (线性的) and that he’ll finally meet with some challenges in the road, but I’m letting him enjoy the present progress in the meantime and will help him tackle them when that time comes.
I’m grateful for him giving me the opportunity to serve him and give him advice, and I’m grateful to see that he’s investing the time and money to promote his life. He even posted recently about how grateful he is with all the recent changes in his life.
Even if you’re still not where you want to be, there are a lot of people out there who want what you have and who are impressed with how far you’ve come. It’s extremely joyful to be aware how far you’ve come, be proud of yourself, and recognize how much you can help others achieve the same.
1. Why did the author’s friend contact him?| A．To thank him for the advice on success. |
| B．To consult him about some proposals. |
| C．To require him to share his success on XD. |
| D．To ask for advice on how to set goals to achieve. |
| A．get over | B．apply for | C．focus on | D．relate to |
| A．Anxious and outgoing. | B．Responsible and wise. |
| C．Purposeful and active. | D．Motivated and humorous. |
| A．You should make use of your advantages. |
| B．You should take pride in what others achieve. |
| C．You’ve come a lot further than you realize. |
| D．You should turn to others when you feel confused. |
7 . Earlier this year, I had a chance to go to space. I was really excited and made full preparations for it.
Finally, the day arrived. With all the noise, we lifted off. I could see Earth disappearing. As we ascended (上升), I was at once aware of pressure. The force of gravity pulled at me. There was an instrument that told us how many g’s (重力加速度的倍数) we were experiencing. At two g’s, I tried to raise my arm, and I could barely do so. At three g’s, I felt my face being pushed down into my seat. I thought, “Will I pass out? How many g’s can my ninety-year-old body deal with?” Suddenly, no g’s. Weightlessness. We were floating.
We got out of our safety belt and began to float around. And I got to the window as quickly as possible to see what was out there.
I looked down, and I could see the hole that our spaceship had left in the atmosphere. I continued my self-guided tour and turned my head to face the other direction, staring into space. I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. My excitement disappeared, and I felt really down. I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature (曲度) of the Earth, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was Mother Earth.
The contrast between the coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with great sadness. In space, I had the strongest feeling ever that Earth is the only home we have. But we were doing many things that threatened our survival on Earth. I know we should devote ourselves to our planet and love all around us.
1. How did the author think of gradual changes in g’s?| A．He found he could raise arms easily. |
| B．He felt his face was pressed against the safety belt. |
| C．He thought he would pass out because he was too old. |
| D．He believed he could deal with the gravity for he was strong. |
| A．The black hole in space. | B．A cold and white emptiness. |
| C．Other beautiful planets in space. | D．The outline of the earth with white clouds. |
| A．The author felt extremely lonely. |
| B．The author found the trip very boring. |
| C．The trip was inconsistent with the author’s expectation. |
| D．The trip filled the author’s fellows with depression. |
| A．We should live in harmony with aliens. | B．We should value the earth and protect it. |
| C．We should try to move to the other planets. | D．We should consider escaping from the earth. |
8 . A lot of glass today made from sand and sodium carbonate(碳酸钠) can be reused or melted down and recycled into new items, but it doesn’t break down in the environment and will sit in landfills for thousands of years. A team of Chinese scientists aimed to deal with this environmental concern by developing an eco-conscious alternative.
In a study published recently in the journal Science Advances, a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Process Engineering describe how they engineered biodegradable glass made from amino acids(氨基酸). That glass would have a smaller impact on the environment and can break down in a few weeks or in several months.
In a test, glass beads(玻璃珠) made out of amino acids were placed under the skin of mice, and the breakdown of the bead and the skin healing process were observed for 30 days. A diagram from the study shows how the mice’s bodies broke down the beads. In that month, the glass implant degraded(降解) beneath the skin, the wound site healed, and fur grew back. “Throughout the experimental period, no mice showed any pain-related behavior that may have been caused by the glass implantation, and none of them experienced obvious weight loss,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
Although amino acids do degrade over time in the environment, this biodegradable glass is not as durable as traditional glass, because amino acids can break down quickly in heat. In order to overcome this barrier, the researchers chemically modified the amino acids using the heating-cooling procedure applied in glass making. This is when materials for the glass are heated to become soft and then rapidly cooled so as to make the glass tougher.
“It’s important to point out that this biodegradable glass is currently in the lab stage, and far from large-scale commercialization,” emphasized Yan Xuehai, a professor involved in the study, in a press release.
1. What did the researchers study during the experiment?| A．The mice’s skin healing process. | B．The breakdown of the glass beads. |
| C．The medical value of the new glass. | D．The glass degradation with less injury to the mice. |
| A．Adding more amino acids. | B．Heating the glass and rapidly cooling it. |
| C．Using special chemical substances. | D．Changing the producing process of glass. |
| A．Transformed. | B．Melted. | C．Enlarged. | D．Produced. |
| A．A New Kind of Perfect Glass | B．Amino Acids Make Glass Tougher |
| C．Large-scale Commercial Glass Products | D．Environment-Friendly and Biodegradable Glass |
When David was a boy, he was embarrassed to be seen walking with his father. His father was short and severely crippled (跛腿的). When the father and the son walked along the street together, the father’s hand was on David’s arm for balance, which attracted a lot of unwanted attention. At that moment, David always felt ashamed and wanted to run away. But the father said: “We just walk differently.”
Almost every weekday David had to accompany his father to go to work. Their usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how his father got to work. It was hard for the father to walk, but he stuck to work, even if he was sick or the weather was bad. He never missed a day.
When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with others’ help. At such times David would pull him through the streets on a child’s sleigh (雪橇) to the subway entrance. Once there, the father would cling to (抓住) the handrail until he reached the lower steps where the warmer tunnel air kept ice-free. Fortunately, the subway station was the basement of his office building. After arriving at his office, he would not have to go outside again until David met him to go home. However, he had never complained, instead, he always said: “There is always a way to arrive.”
One Friday, when they walked back home as usual, David looked upset. His father asked the boy whether he met something terrible. David lowered his head and said nothing. “My dear, maybe I can give you a hand.” said the father. “No. You cannot.” the boy sobbed. Then the two men went on walking silently. After getting home, the father received a call from David’s teacher. He was informed there would be a parent-child football game next Friday on the school playground, and he was expected to take part.
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: After saying thanks to the teacher, the father went to the sobbing David.
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Paragraph 2: David watched as his father was standing on the playground with other parents.
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1.流感简介；
2.科学防范措施；
3.祝愿和倡议。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear friends,
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Li Hua
