When I was in middle school, my social studies teacher asked me to enter a writing contest. I said no without thinking. I did not love writing. My family came from Brazil, so English was only my second language. Writing was so difficult and painful for me that my teacher had allowed me to present my paper on the sinking of the Titanic by acting out a play, where I played all the parts. No one laughed harder than he did.
So, why did he suddenly force me to do something at which I was sure to fail? His reply: “Because I love your stories. If you’re willing to apply yourself, I think you have a good shot at this.” Encouraged by his words, I agreed to give it a try.
I chose Paul Revere’s horse as my subject. Paul Revere was a silversmith (银匠) in Boston who rode a horse at night on April 18, 1775 to Lexington to warn people that British soldiers were coming. My story would come straight from the horse’s mouth. Not a brilliant idea, but funny; and unlikely to be anyone else’s choice.
What did the horse think, as he sped through the night? Did he get tired? Have doubts? Did he want to quit? I sympathized immediately. I got tired. I had doubts. I wanted to quit. But, like Revere’s horse, I kept going. I worked hard. I checked my spelling. I asked my older sister to correct my grammar. I checked out a half dozen books on Paul Revere from the library. I even read a few of them.
When I handed in the essay to my teacher, he read it, laughed out loud, and said, “Great. Now, write it again.” I wrote it again, and again and again. When I finally finished it, the thought of winning had given way to the enjoyment of writing. If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t care.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A few weeks later, when I almost forgot the contest, there came the news.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I went to my teacher’s office after the award presentation.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Beijing is a city bridging the ancient and the modern. From Buddhist temples to museums, narrow hutong
But for all its ancient buildings, Beijing is also a place
It is a distinct visual contrast (反差) that shouldn’t work,
The
Whenever you have to write a paper, a letter, or any other document for work or school, you probably head toward the computer. Now, most people reach for
Fountain pens
So far, Mr. Lewis is pleased with the results of his experiment. He reports that his students are taking more care with their work, and their self-confidence has improved as well. He is happy with the
4 . I was halfway across Indiana headed home to Kentucky when my car broke down. My phone was
I sat alongside my car for several hours trying to
Right then and there, this total
| A．busy | B．loud | C．dead | D．secure |
| A．mechanic | B．policeman | C．manager | D．guide |
| A．washing | B．parking | C．purchasing | D．maintaining |
| A．feel | B．beat | C．absorb | D．produce |
| A．promised | B．refused | C．stopped | D．volunteered |
| A．solved | B．noticed | C．escaped | D．explained |
| A．surprise | B．regret | C．amusement | D．disappointment |
| A．called up | B．pulled out | C．put down | D．threw away |
| A．liar | B．beginner | C．stranger | D．loser |
| A．free | B．ready | C．uncertain | D．unable |
| A．pronounced | B．agreed | C．discovered | D．doubted |
| A．Tiredness | B．Kindness | C．Loneliness | D．Carefulness |
| A．Folding | B．Drying | C．Soiling | D．Mending |
| A．saved | B．called | C．judged | D．banned |
| A．friend | B．daughter | C．coworker | D．customer |
The frightening day of our diving test was here. Our parents thought we were lucky to have an Olympic-size swimming pool at the school. My mom stressed that the swimming pool was one of the best in our city. But I didn’t feel happy about it at all. Instead, I felt afraid of the swimming pool. It was mainly because I was terribly shy.
I was so shy that I always sat at the back of the room in class so I’d not be called upon to read. As for the present physical education class each Monday morning, I would work my way to the back of the line forming at the diving board so I would not have to practice the dives.
Now, it was another Monday morning - the morning of our diving test. My blood ran cold when the teacher Ms. Robbins announced that we would be graded for our final on the most difficult dive- the jackknife. And she added, “This diving test is important. The one who fails has to spare time in the following Monday mornings to practice diving in this swimming pool and attend this test again.”
My body kept shaking with fear as the line to the scary diving board shortened. As I watched, each student seemed to perform the challenging dive effortlessly. And shortly I would have to attempt something that I had never even practiced before.
Then I remembered someone telling me that when you picture yourself doing a skill over and over, it’s just as effective as physically practicing that skill. So I watched carefully as each classmate jumped at the end of the board once, added a jump for height, folded their body in half to reach for their toes, and finally straightened out like an arrow for going into the water. After carefully watching for a while, I was actually in a state of surprise, because all of a sudden I realized that it was possible for me to perform these four steps of diving.
Eventually all classmates except me finished jumping. The teacher announced that it was my turn.
注意：1. 续与词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
With my heart knocking wildly, I walked down the diving board towards its end.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Knowing I failed, I climbed out of the pool, embarrassed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . By my mid-20s, I’d finished my master in psychology, and I was working in Dublin as a health researcher. It was mostly data and statistics work staring at a screen. I was earning more than most of my friends, living the city life, going out at weekends. I had a good pension (养老金) and annual leave but it caused a lot of anxiety and worry.I was really unhappy.
I wanted to get back to feeling passionate about something so I started thinking about the things I used to love. As a child, I’d always been involved in the outdoors, and I used to love hiking but all that had stopped after secondary school. I decided to volunteer with a local youth group and within a month, I’d gone camping with them. I absolutely loved it. It was like switching on a lightbulb. This was what I’d been missing.
I started taking courses in mountain skills and wilderness first aid, and by August I was working my usual job in the week, and I was a climbing club leader at weekends. I loved connecting with nature, connecting with other people.
Through all this, I learnt about the whole field of nature-based therapies (疗法). It was the perfect fit to combine my psychology background with my passion for the outdoors. I began taking courses in wild therapy, forest bathing and ecopsychology. I left my government job and in July 2020 I launched my business Nature Therapy Ireland, which is booming now.
I’d thought I’d always live in a city but last year, I moved to Tipperary to live at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by nature. If I’m feeling stressed, I can step outside in my bare feet and stand on the grass to ground myself. In Dublin, the front door felt like a barrier—I had to have my keys, my phone, my jacket before I could even go out and find a green space. My life now is leading nature connection hikes and forest bathing walks. My salary has halved for the moment but I’ve adjusted. I’ve never looked back.
1. What did the writer think of her job in Dublin?| A．Stressful. | B．Valueless. |
| C．Insecure. | D．Demanding. |
| A．She enjoyed her voluntary work. |
| B．She realized what she really loved. |
| C．Recalling the past made her happy. |
| D．A bright future was in store for her. |
| A．Her adventurous experience. |
| B．Her leadership and background. |
| C．Her connection with other people. |
| D．Her major and passion for nature. |
| A．To highlight how boring city life was. |
| B．To call on people to get back to nature. |
| C．To show her satisfaction with her change. |
| D．To indicate how successful her business was. |
Harmony is a core value of China’s Hehe culture, which is
The term “Hehe” (和合)
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi over 300 years ago, high-ranking official ZhangYing received
Zhang replied to their letter with a poem: “A letter is written, just for a wall.
Enlightened by his reply, the Zhang family decided
The alley is now a popular
8 . When I was 13, I climbed my first mountain--a fairly gentle 3,900-foot peak. I was overweight at the time and out of breath when I reached the summit. But I loved challenging myself. Soon I’d climbed nearly 100 peaks. My parents were happy I’d finally found a hobby.
I often go climbing with my friend Mel Olsen. She and I drove to tackle 11, 240-foot Mount Hood. It’s safer to start winter climbs at night when there’s less risk of the sun melting the snowpack. That day, we started at 3 a. m. At around9 a. m., we reached an ice step. It was about three or four feet tall and sloped al a 75-degree angle. 1 volunteered to go first. I placed my left foot on the ice step.
I gained a sense of the ice when 1 stuck my ax and crampons (鞋底钉) into it, and it felt good. Confident I was safe, I put my full weight on it. Suddenly, I heard a crack, and as the snowpack became thinner, a whole piece of ice broke off the step, right under my foot.
In an instant, I fell backward, bouncing off the rock face and rolling down the mountain as if I were a character in a video game. I remember thinking, This is it. You’re done. I stuck out my arms and legs, grabbing at anything. That stopped my rolling down the mountain, but I was still sliding, After 2 few seconds, I came to a stop on a shallow slope.
I asked myself: Where are you? Mount Hood. What’s the date? December 30. Good. My brain was functioning. Then I checked my body to see where I was hurt. For the most part, I was fine, except that I was suffering from a sharp pain in my left leg. Later I’d learn that I’d broken my femur (大腿骨) and that the bone was slicing into my skin and muscle.
At the bottom of Mount Hood, I was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital. The doctors told me it would be a year before I could climb again, but I was back on the trails within six months.
1. Why did the author and her friend set out at 3 a. m. ?| A．It was the best time to enjoy scenery. | B．It was more challenging to climb at night. |
| C．They wanted to finish the climb before sunset. | D．They hoped to avoid some possible dangers. |
| A．To show her strong character. | B．To make her idea more convincing. |
| C．To help readers imagine the scene. | D．To add to the humor of the description. |
| A．By recalling what had happened. | B．By checking whether she was injured. |
| C．By calling an ambulance for rescue. | D．By asking herself some factual questions. |
| A．She is too brave to pay attention to any danger. |
| B．R She has a strong desire for professional knowledge. |
| C．Setbacks can’t stop her from challenging herself. |
| D．The love for nature sets her apart from her friends. |
9 . 3M and Discovery Education announced Sean Jiang from Gilman School as one of the top ten finalists from across the nation for the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge. It’s a competition that encourages students to identify an everyday problem and submit a video showing the science behind the solution he or she came up with.
14-year-old Jiang decided to help those who can’t see. Blind people had a hard time navigating (导航) objects that are medium to far range. So Jiang wanted to design something to give them a heads-up on obstacles (障碍) that may be incoming.
Jiang’s inspiration came from the powers of the hearing system. “I learned in school that bats and whales are able to use echolocation (回声定位) to help them navigate and just use their sense of hearing and I also saw on YouTube some very skilled blind people that use echolocation to help them walk,” said Jiang.
Jiang started with a virtual reality setting and then made it a reality. His creation uses a depth camera that can detect how close objects are, thus giving enough time to dodge the obstacles. When a blind is walking with the device, the sensor of the depth camera gathers the information regarding the obstacles’ position and distance. Then the AI system in it will turn the distance data into musical sound guidance. This could significantly increase the walking speed of a blind person as well as decrease the number of obstacles they hit.
Some other similar programs were alright at finding objects that were in close range, but Jiang still wanted the blind to experience the world even fuller so they were able to see stuff that was much further away than their circle of reach.
In October, the top ten finalists will compete in person in Minneapolis for the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” and a $25, 000 prize.
1. What can we learn about Jiang from the first two paragraphs?| A．He was the champion of the 2023 3M event. |
| B．He invented technology to remove road obstacles. |
| C．He sought to assist the blind in walking smoothly. |
| D．He developed a new navigation app for his school. |
| A．To show the development of technology. |
| B．To present the difficulties the blind face. |
| C．To stress the significance of hearing. |
| D．To explain the inspiration of his invention. |
| A．Avoid. |
| B．Encounter. |
| C．Challenge. |
| D．Remove. |
| A．3M facilities intended for the blind. |
| B．A teen using sound to help the blind. |
| C．An invention to cure vision problems. |
| D．A competition to improve the blind’s life. |
10 . Metin Sitti at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, and his colleagues have developed tiny robots called “microrollers” that can carry cancer drugs and selectively target human breast cancer cells. The team drew inspiration for the design of the robots from white blood cells in the human body, which can move along the walls of blood vessels (血管) against the direction of blood flow.
The microrollers are round and made from glass microparticles. One half of the robot was coated with a thin magnetic nanofilm (磁性纳米膜) made from nickel and gold. The other half was coated with the cancer drug doxorubicin as well as molecules that recognize cancer cells.
The team tested the robots using mouse blood and artificial channels lined with human endothelial cells—the kind of cells that line the inner walls of our blood vessels. The robots were exposed to a mixture of cancerous and healthy tissue. The microrollers selectively attached to the cancer cells and were activated using UV light to release the doxorubicin.
By applying magnetic fields, the team was able to control the movement of the microrollers, both with and against the flow of blood. The microrollers can reach a speed of up to 600 micrometers per second. “If you come to a spot where you need to take the right path and if you miss it, then you could go back and go to the right one,” says Setti.
In future, the researchers want to use other methods to start the drug release, such as heat or near-infrared light. They also plan to try making microrollers out of materials that would break down in the body over a few weeks or months.
The team hopes to test the microrollers in animals soon. “The rollers need to carry enough cancer drugs, which is why we need to have them in large numbers,” says Setti. “But since we can locally take drugs to the right target, we don’t need huge dosages (剂量).”
1. What can the microrollers be used for?| A．Repairing blood cells. | B．Delivering drugs. | C．Improving blood flow. | D．Performing operations. |
| A．Their shape. | B．Their advantage. | C．Their design. | D．Their application. |
| A．Their direction can be adjusted. | B．They might miss the target cells. |
| C．They might get stuck in the blood. | D．Their speed can change automatically. |
| A．Put the microrollers to clinical use. | B．Sell the microrollers in large quantities. |
| C．Tear the microrollers down in the body. | D．Experiment with the microrollers further. |
