1 . When 62-year-old fisherman Kpana Charlie finished the day’s catch, he liked to settle into a wooden chair, thinking about his childhood. Back then, his life on Sierra Leone’s Nyangai Island seemed excellent. He spent endless hours playing with his friends on the island’s white beaches. Whenever he wanted to avoid having to do his housework, he could simply disappear into the forest that covered much of the island. He remembers as recently as ten years ago, it still measured some 2, 300 feet from end to end.

Today, Nyangai is disappearing before his very eyes, covered by the endless sea. The forests are gone. And the land on which Charlie’s family home once stood, has long since disappeared beneath the waves.

In fact, the local government has responded to the sharp increase of sea level by building a concrete (混凝土制的) seawall along the length of the town. But in the many smaller coastal towns and villages in the area, there simply aren’t the resources. Then, the government made a project to protect some of the settlements by planting trees, but this has had limited success. With the population relying on woods for building and smoking-fish, few trees lived longer than the project, which ended in 2021.

Sierra Leone has been identified as one of the world’s most weak countries to the effects of climate change, despite having little influence on global CO₂ emissions (排放). “Weak countries should be getting some support from wealthy nations to strengthen their climate defenses (防御),” says Gabriel Kpaka, the head of the country’s Meteorological Agency. “But we’re not really seeing that.”

With global sea level expected to rise by anywhere between 1 and 3 feet by the end of the century, along with an increase in extreme weather events, the experience of this West African island offers an understanding of the possible future of countless other low-lying areas around the world.

1. Why does the author tell Charlie’s story in paragraph 1?

A．To describe his wonderful life at present.	B．To offer-readers-background information
C．To call on local people to protect the seen	D．To attract more visitors to Nyangai Island.

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The reasons for the changes on the island.	B．The rich natural species in coastal areas.
C．The measures taken to deal with rising sea level.	D．The way to build a concrete seawall on the island.

3. What can be done to help Nyangai Island according to Kpaka?

A．Local government should build a stronger seawall.

B．Local people on the island limit their CO2 emissions.

C．Countries in low-lying areas work together for their rights.

D．Rich countries should offer support about climate defenses.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of other low-lying areas?

A．Concerned.

B．Doubtful.

C．Uncertain.

D．Positive.

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Where did George park his car?

A．On a narrow street.

B．At a parking lot.

C．At a square.

2. What was the time when he got out of his car?

A．At 5:00 pm.

B．At 4:40 pm.

C．At 4:20 pm.

3. Where did George put his keys?

A．In his pocket.

B．In his car.

C．On the bench.

4. Why was George unable to see his car at first?

A．Someone stole it.

B．It was behind another car.

C．He went to a wrong place.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did the woman do with the thief?

A．She did as he asked.

B．She fought with him.

C．She pretended not to see him.

2. What did the thief steal?

A．A necklace.

B．Some money.

C．Nothing.

3. What does the man advise the woman to do?

A．Keep a dog.

B．Call the police.

C．Fit a home alarm system.

4. What does the man say about the woman?

A．She is puzzled.

B．She is brave.

C．She is frightened.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does the woman do the present job?

A．She lives near her workplace.

B．Her company pays very well.

C．She can learn some skills.

2. Which strange job does the woman prefer?

A．A hotel test sleeper.

B．An ice cream taster.

C．A dog food taster.

3. How many strange jobs does the man mention?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

5 . When Belquer first joined a team to make a better live music experience for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, he was struck by how they had developed workarounds to enjoy concerts. “What they were doing at the time was holding balloons to feel the vibrations (震动) through their fingers,” Belquer said. He thought the team could make something to help hard-of- hearing people enjoy live music even more with the technology now available.

Belquer, who is also a musician and theater artist, is now the “Chief Vibrational Officer” of Music: Not Impossible, which uses new technology to address social issues like poverty and disability access. His team started by tying vibrating different cell phone motors to bodies, but that didn’t quite work. The vibrations were all the same. Eventually, they worked with engineers to develop a light haptic (触觉的) suit with a total of 24 vibrating plates. There are 20 of them tied to a vest that fits tightly around the body like a hiking backpack, plus one that ties to each wrist and ankle. When you wear the suit, it’s surprising how it feels.

The vibrations are mixed by a haptic DJ who controls the location, frequency and intensity of feeling across the suits, just as a music DJ mixes sounds in an artful way. “What we’re doing is selecting and mixing what we want and send it to different parts of the body,” said the DJ. The haptic suits were just one component of the event. There were American Sign Language interpreters; the music was captioned on a screen on the stage.

The suits are the star attraction. Lily Lipman, who has auditory processing disorder, lit up when asked about her experience. “It’s cool, because I’m never quite sure if I’m hearing what other people are hearing, so it’s amazing to get the music in my body.”

1. What surprised Belquer about people with hearing problems?

A．The way they enjoyed music.

B．The attitude they held to life.

C．The love they had for balloons.

D．The frequency they vibrated fingers.

2. Why did the team’s initial attempt fail?

A．The motors were the same.

B．The vibrations lacked variety.

C．The motors hardly worked.

D．The vibrations were irregular.

3. What did the DJ do?

A．He interpreted the sign language.

B．He captioned the music on stage.

C．He selected suits for the attendees.

D．He helped people feel the music.

4. What does Lily Lipman think of the suit?

A．Comforting.

B．Challenging.

C．Satisfying.

D．Encouraging.

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why did the woman decide to become a professional poet?

A．Because she met a famous poet

B．Because she did a poetry course

C．Because she won a poetry prize.

2. What is the woman’s new book about?

A．Environment protection.

B．Personal relationships.

C．Climate change.

3. What does the woman say about poetry written a long time ago?

A．It’s well written.

B．It’s difficult to understand.

C．It’s as good as modern poetry.

4. What would the woman like to do in the future?

A．Organize a poetry festival.

B．Take a break from writing poetry.

C．Turn some of her poetry into songs

7 . Not all birds sing, but those that do—some several thousand species—do it a lot.

Iris Adam, a scientist at the University of Southern Denmark says, birds have “a drive to sing”. This means hours every day for some species, and that takes a lot of energy. However, singing can be dangerous. “As soon as you sing, you show yourself, for example, where you are and that you even exist—all of that immediately is out in the open for predators (捕食性动物) , for everybody,” she says.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, Adam and her colleagues offer a new explanation for why birds take that risk and whether the muscles (肌肉) that produce birdsong require daily exercise. Adam designed an experiment on zebra finches—little Australian songbirds. Her experiment included keeping male birds in the dark to sever the connection between their brains and-their singing muscles, which prevented them from singing.

After a week, the birds’ singing muscles lost half of their strength. Three weeks later, they were back to the same level when they were juveniles (幼鸟) and never had sung before. When Adam played one of the male’s songs for: a group of female birds, six out of nine preferred the song that came from a male who had been using his singing muscles daily.

Adam’s conclusion (结论) is that songbirds need to exercise their singing muscles to produce top-performance song. If they don’t sing, they lose performance, and their songs get less attractive to females, which is bad.

“What they stress is that you need a lot of practice to improve what you’re doing,” says Ana Amador, a scientist at the University of Buenos Aires. It’s a good rule to live by, whether you’re a bird or a human—practice makes perfect, at least when it comes to singing one’s heart out.

1. Why can singing be dangerous for birds?

A．They can drive predators to sing.	B．They never protect their areas.
C．Their singing can attract predators.	D．Singing does damage to their muscles.

2. What does the underlined word “sever” probably mean in paragraph 3?

A．Remember.

B．End.

C．Risk.

D．Keep.

3. What do we know about Adam’s experiment?

A．It mainly focused on male birds and juveniles.

B．It aimed to protect zebra finches from possible risks.

C．It strengthened birds’ singing muscles in four weeks.

D．It proved exercising singing muscles matters to birds.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Iris Adam’s work is a big success	B．Singing can be dangerous for birds
C．Birds sing to keep muscles in shape	D．Birds and human beings need practice

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

In a small town, there lived a girl named Lily and her older brother, Alex. Lily had a dream to become a professional dancer, a dream which filled her life with both excitement and challenges. Alex, who had always been her role model, understood her passion more than anyone else.

While, growing up, Lily looked up to Alex. He was the star athlete of his high school, admired by many. But to Lily, he was more than that; he was her support system, always encouraging her to pursue (追求) her dream. However, Lily’s path to becoming a dancer was filled with difficulties. Financial limits and lack of resources in their small town were constant challenges.

As Lily entered high school, Alex noticed his sister’s struggles and knew he had to step in. He started by organizing dance workshops and fundraising events in their community. He spent his evenings helping Lily practice, turning their garage into a dance studio. His efforts brought the community together, and soon, Lily had a small but devoted group of supporters cheering her on.

With Alex’s help, Lily started to gain confidence. She improved her skills and began to participate in local dance competitions. Each time she performed, Alex was there in the front row, cheering the loudest. His strong belief in her fueled Lily’s determination to succeed.

As Lily’s senior year approached, a significant opportunity arose — a chance to compete in a national dance competition, with the prize being an entry into a famous dance academy. Lily signed up for it and practiced day and night for the competition. The night before the event, Lily felt extremely anxious. Alex stayed up with her, talking through her routines and reminding her of the strength and beauty in her movements. His words calmed Lily down and filled her with newfound confidence.

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。
The day of the competition arrived.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks to Alex, Lily’s dream was coming true.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . 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。

After four days of wonderful performances, the 7th China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival     1     (come) to an end on December 12 in 2023 in Quanzhou, south China’s Fujian Province. The festival,     2     was held in the hometown of Chinese string (线) puppetry (木偶制作艺术), showed the high-level skills of Quanzhou’s puppetry artists, leaving audiences     3     (amaze).

In China, string puppetry is     4     important form of traditional theater that originated in Quanzhou during the Han Dynasty.     5     (actual), having been passed down over thousands of years, more than 700 traditional plays about folk beliefs and customs have been protected.

Each puppet is equipped with 8 to 16 strings, while more complex performances may require up to 36 strings. The strings     6     (divide) into several groups according to human movements, and all the actions are controlled by the hands of the puppetry artists.

To master string puppetry, skilled     7     (way) to perform puppets are not enough. Puppeteers also need to have rich life experiences     8     (understand) the emotional world of the characters to help bring the puppets to life.

On May 20, 2006, Quanzhou string puppetry was added     9     the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list (非物质文化遗产名录).

As the hometown of string puppetry, Quanzhou was also the first city in China to hold an international puppet festival and succeeded in     10     (host) six sessions in 1986, 1990, 2000, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

10 . After the doctor’s examination, little Lucy was diagnosed (诊断) with a serious disease. Doctors had to perform an operation on her to save her life. Facing a year of treatment, Lucy ________ her mother for a puppy (小狗). Then, the lovely puppy Lucy named Bobby ________ left her side, keeping her company and sitting beside her as she ________ her life after the operation. “I get along well with Bobby, which ________ me that animals can think, feel and suffer as much as we do,” says Lucy.

In 1994, Lucy graduated from college and began a ________ in film. During her free time, she ________ as a photographer for animal rights groups in 2002.

A year later she ________ her film career. Then she worked full-time as an animal caregiver at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. “Farm ________ are typically very shy,” says Lucy. “But in a loving environment, you begin to see how ________ and lovely they are.”

Lucy learned farm life and with her partner, Doug Abel, a film editor, set up the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization aimed at ________ farm animals. Through their website, they ________ the backstory and personality of each of the more than 350 animals living at the farm, ________ them and protected them from being sold.

To help more animals, Lucy and Doug ________ the sanctuary to a 150-acre farm in High Falls, New York, which has a fully equipped kitchen and a dining hall in addition to a barn. The new space has ________ their team of 17 members, to host meaningful classes and a kids’ camp.

“People who came here ________ spending time with the animals. It’s therapy (治疗) for them,” says Lucy.

1.

A．asked

B．punished

C．paid

D．praised

2.

A．surprisingly

B．secretly

C．hardly

D．immediately

3.

A．belonged to

B．led to

C．adapted to

D．referred to

4.

A．warns

B．confirms

C．cures

D．orders

5.

A．relationship

B．job

C．lesson

D．novel

6.

A．regarded

B．revised

C．recognised

D．volunteered

7.

A．quit

B．investigated

C．checked

D．tracked

8.

A．plants

B．workers

C．animals

D．environment

9.

A．friendly

B．terrible

C．ugly

D．stupid

10.

A．trading

B．damaging

C．controlling

D．rescuing

11.

A．invented

B．described

C．believed

D．protected

12.

A．shot

B．protested

C．threatened

D．helped

13.

A．ruined

B．moved

C．donated

D．sold

14.

A．pretended

B．forced

C．allowed

D．hated

15.

A．imagined

B．loved

C．refused

D．admitted