1 . The tickbird and the giraffe have a connection relationship that some scientists describe as win-win relationship and some as parasitism (寄生). This interspecies partnership is imbalanced in favor of the giraffe because it can live without the tickbird, while the tickbird is dependent on the giraffe for food resource.

The giraffe is a large mammal that lives in Africa along with other large grass-eaters. All these and many others host the tickbird. This bird has long been thought to remove ticks (扁虱) from its host, to the benefit of both—the bird eats the ticks, and the host is relieved of blood-sucking, disease-carrying insects—but recent studies reveal that this process is less than good. A secondary benefit to a host from the tickbirds’ presence is a sort of early warning system, since the birds make a loud sound if they sight an enemy. This is of less benefit to the giraffe than to other hosts because the giraffe has the advantage of great height and keen eyesight and is fully capable of spotting predators without the bird’s assistance. The tickbird is likely of greater benefit in this capacity to the nearsighted rhino.

They cross through the host’s hair looking for insects as their food. According to the researcher Paul Weeks, reporting in the journal Behavioral Ecology, tickbirds can and do enlarge tick bites and other wounds on their host body to seek for food resource, making the host-tickbird relationship unfair. The host, like the giraffe, however, would have a hard time keeping tickbirds off itself. So they tolerate the birds who cling to their bodies and chow down selectively at the buffet on the giraffe’s body.

1. Which statement about the tickbird is TRUE?

A．It doesn’t rely on the giraffe for food.

B．It removes ticks from its hosts.

C．It makes gentle sounds when it spots an enemy.

D．It brings more benefit to its hosts than it gets from them.

2. Why does the giraffe benefit less than other hosts according to Paragraph 2?

A．Because the giraffe has no tick on its body.

B．Because the giraffe has its own warning system.

C．Because the giraffe is tall and has sharp eyesight.

D．Because the giraffe is strong enough to protect itself.

3. The underlined phrase “cling to” can be replaced by “________”.

A．stick to

B．lead to

C．keep away

D．hold back

4. What is the suitable title for the passage?

A．Tickbird and Giraffe: Unequal Relationship	B．Tickbird and Giraffe: Friendly Relationship
C．Tickbird and Giraffe: Mysterious Relationship	D．Tickbird and Giraffe: Conflicting Relationship

2 . Scientists at Stanford University have designed a new paint that could help reduce our growing dependence on air conditioners and heaters. It comes in a variety of colors, and if used properly, it could seriously reduce electricity bills and emissions.

The paint is capable of reflecting about 80 percent of mid-infrared light (中红外光) from the sun, which is 10 times more reflection than traditional colored paints. When used on the outside of a building, the paint keeps heat out, and it can be used on the inside to keep heat in. As such, the developers of the paint say it provides a “year-round energy-saving solution” that can be used in a variety of climates.

When tested in artificially warm conditions, the paint reduced the amount of energy needed to cool the enclosed space by almost 21 percent. Tested in artificially cold conditions, it reduced the energy needed to heat the space by 36 percent. Across an entire building, researchers estimate the paint could save 7.4 percent of the energy needed to heat or cool a mid-sized apartment building.

Different from other paints, this new version from Stanford is not just pure white or silver. Its variety of colors include white, blue, red, yellow, green, orange, purple and dark gray. This rainbow is possible because the new paint has two layers that are applied in a series. The first is the reflective bottom layer, which contains silver aluminum flakes (铝片). The second is an infrared transparent top layer that contains colorful nano-particles. Both of these layers are water-resistant and work in humid and hot environments.

“For both heating and air conditioning, we must reduce energy and emissions globally to meet our zero-emissions goals,” says material scientist Yi Cui from Stanford. The team continues to refine their technology and hopes to commercialize the paint in the future.

1. What do we know about the new paint?

A．It can replace air conditioners and heaters.

B．It is no better than the traditional colored paints.

C．It can be used both on the outside and inside of a building.

D．It has already been well-accepted by people.

2. What can we infer about the new paint from the test?

A．It functions efficiently in any condition.

B．It works more effectively in cool conditions.

C．It is more suitable to be used for large space.

D．It saves little energy when used on an entire building.

3. What’s Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The working process of the two layers.

B．The working environment of the two layers.

C．The difference between the new and other paints.

D．The reason why the new paint has various colors.

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To introduce a new, energy-saving paint.

B．To stress the importance of a new paint.

C．To persuade people to give up the traditional paints.

D．To call on people to save energy and reduce emissions.

3 . 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。

I was sitting down in the examining room chair, annoyed that my mom had even scheduled the appointment when the doctor arrived and dove right in to the basic small talk about my health history. But then he threw in a question that shocked me, “So Robin, what are you going to do after high school?”

What was I going to do after high school? Was he kidding me? “don’t know,” I mumbled (嘟囔). I was seventeen. I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do after high school. My high school guidance teacher told me in certain terms that I wasn’t “college material” and I believed her. My grades were far from satisfactory. Education wasn’t exactly emphasized in my family.

“You don’t know? Well, why don’t you go to college to become a doctor like me?” He smiled as he glanced at his watch. Go to college to become a doctor? Who was this man kidding? I thought he was crazy for even suggesting it. No one in my family had even graduated from college, let alone become a doctor. And I wasn’t college material. “I’m not smart enough to be a doctor. ”

Hearing this, the doctor immediately turned toward me. He looked at me straight in the eyes when he very seriously said, “Let me tell you something: you don’t have to be smart to be a doctor. You just have to be persistent.” Then he turned around to gather his things and rushed off to his next appointment. I never saw him again.

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。

On the ride home I found myself thinking about the conversation with the doctor

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So, I began to focus on classes and break down the difficult things into steps

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4 . 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。

I didn’t know how powerful a tool humor could be till the day I     1     (accidental) discovered it I remember I was 16 years old or so, and like most     2     (teenager), I too was a difficult kid. My careless attitude would get on my mom’s nerves, leading to huge fights. For me, it felt like she hated me and picked on every move     3     I made.

It was on a regular day, in the middle of the day’s fight, when my mom shouted at the top of her voice as I had again forgotten to wipe the floor after my shower. And not     4     my surprise, she had slipped on it again. As she came to me     5     (scream), I remember holding her face in my hands all of     6     sudden and expressing as I teased her, “Oh, did you fall again? Sorry!” to which she shouted, “Of course I did!” Looking at each other for a second we began laughing and that was the first time that our fight     7     (end) on a good note. It was on that day that I realized how my harsh (尖刻的) words were only adding fuel to the fire when all it needed was a little humor.

Conflicts cannot be avoided     8     talking about a relationship. Although it does spice up relation, just like too much of anything is bad, too many conflicts do a lot of harm to a relationship. This is the time when humor can act as its role     9     (ease) the situation and help share some lighter moments of fun. So     10     (laugh) or humor is the best medicine.

5 . Life is filled with numerous victories and downfalls; what matters is how you handle each situation. May it be your love life or a serious life struggle, we must learn to move on. Here’s how you can create a new chapter in your life.

Learn from others.

    1     Since they know the hardships, they will be able to assist you better. Never let go of hope, find aspiration and motivation in others even when you can’t find it in yourself. When you start learning and depending on others, you will notice the different patterns which made them successful. Some people plan the solutions while others actually live the solutions, always go for the latter. If people are truly free of their issues, they will be able to help you out truly.

Try everything you can imagine.

Sometimes we might feel that we have tried out so much but still nothing is working out for us. In this kind of situation, what can we do?     2    . Try solutions that you never ever dreamed of, and who knows, they might actually make things better for you.

Let go of your past.

In order to move on from every struggle and heartbreak, you must let go of the past, guilt and resentment. No matter what, negative feelings are always going to be counter-productive. You may feel like justifying them but they are only going to drain you out in the long run, so you have to avoid them.     3    

    4    

In stressful situations, most people tend to get busy doing the things that don’t get them anywhere     5    . What really helps in such situation is to make sensible and favorable choices for yourself. Don’t follow the path to anger and des troy what is good for you. Picture your goals in your mind and make sensible steps towards them with each passing day. Let nothing stand in your way.

A．Do what actually works.

B．Make plans for your future.

C．The answer to this question can be easily found in our daily life.

D．The only advisable solution that I would offer you is to think outside the box.

E．It is an amazing approach to find people that have gone through the same experience as you have.

F．Forgive the people that have hurt you in the past and start venturing towards the path of enlightenment.

G．For example, many people resort to alcohol or smoking to relieve the stress, which just kills them slowly.

6 . A Chinese woman who lost an eye in a road accident a decade ago has received high praise for developing cool-looking artificial eyes as she struggles to overcome appearance anxiety that often accompanies such a loss.

The former dancer and actress from Beijing, who is known by her online nickname, Xintong, completed the process of becoming a self-taught artificial eye maker, in 2020.

She spent years improving her skills through trial and error, driven by a desire to help others with a similar disability rediscover their confidence.

A decade after she lost her right eye in a car accident aged 18, and following years of self-hating, Xintong now runs her own artificial eye-making workshop.

From the beginning, her aim has been to help people like her by providing them with custom-made artificial eyes. “Because I once got wet in the rain, I now want to give others an umbrella,” she said.

The idea came from a “very cool” overseas artificial eye maker who did not care what other people said or thought about people who had lost an eye.

“People already look at me in a strange way, so why not exaggerate how I appear and use that to my advantage?” Xintong said.

However, Xintong found the artificial eyes she had to wear both ugly and uncomfortable. “I thought to myself, it would be great if I could produce ones according to my own taste,” she recalled.

She pursued her dream and in 2020 quit her teaching job to devote herself full-time to artificial eye-making.

Now she’s mastered the technique of making her ideal artificial eyes, opened a workshop and hired three assistants.

1. What do we know about Xintong?

A．She lost both of her eyes in a traffic accident recently.

B．She was worried about her looking after losing her eye.

C．She is highly praised for overcoming her appearance anxiety.

D．She learnt to make artificial eyes from others in 2020.

2. Why does Xintong run an artificial eye-making workshop?

A．To make money.

B．To rediscover her confidence.

C．To provide the disabled with custom-made artificial eyes.

D．To buy others an umbrella to avoid getting wet.

3. How did Xintong feel about the artificial eyes in the beginning?

A．She was unsatisfied with them.	B．She found them very comfortable.
C．She thought them very attractive.	D．She found them suitable to her taste.

4. Which of the following can best describe Xintong?

A．Humorous and positive.	B．Caring and persevering.
C．Generous and creative.	D．Reliable and independent.

9 . With ADD (注意缺陷障碍), I could look straight into your eyes and not hear a word you’re saying. I could _________ to be listening to you but my mind was somewhere miles away.

In middle school, I took Language Arts with Mrs. Smith. That first day, she told us her rules. Then I knew I had better “_________” myself. So I told her I might need to take home some reading assignments because my _________ is better in a quiet setting and asked her if I could use my word processor at home to do written assignments because my “fine motor skill (精细动作技能)” problems made my _________ look messy. However, she refused, saying it was _________ for my classmates. The result was that each paper came back with Mrs. Smith’s flaming red X’s.

One day, again I asked her for _________ to complete the written assignment at home. But she still refused my _________. Therefore, to prove to her, or rather to myself, that I could do the work under the right conditions, I took the assignment home __________

That night, the story, which had seemed so _________ in class, became quite clear to me in the __________ of my room. It was about Louis Braille, a __________ boy. During his time, society prevented the blind having much of an education, but Louis Braille “defended” himself. He developed a reading system of raised dots for the blind, __________ him to read like his peers.   I was like Louis in my class. I was made to learn like the other students.

I used my word processor to set down my thoughts and explain myself __________Louis and many other famous people different in their learning styles and abilities, hoping Mrs. Smith would finally understand me.

As Mrs. Smith handed my paper back, I found an A instead of her usual X. Below were her __________ red penned words, “See what you can do when you __________ yourself?”

1.

A．pretend

B．appear

C．happen

D．deserve

2.

A．defend

B．examine

C．adjust

D．delight

3.

A．feeling

B．limitation

C．energy

D．concentration

4.

A．writing

B．handwriting

C．listening

D．reading

5.

A．unfair

B．great

C．impossible

D．remarkable

6.

A．cooperation

B．interaction

C．permission

D．forgiveness

7.

A．suggestion

B．care

C．offer

D．request

8.

A．openly

B．secretly

C．gently

D．luckily

9.

A．confusing

B．relaxing

C．amusing

D．frightening

10.

A．brightness

B．tidiness

C．quietness

D．beauty

11.

A．selfish

B．blind

C．deaf

D．kind

12.

A．enabling

B．assigning

C．forcing

D．forbidding

13.

A．because of

B．in honor of

C．in terms of

D．in spite of

14.

A．casually

B．wildly

C．messily

D．neatly

15.

A．respect

B．encourage

C．apply

D．cheat