1 . Shrewsbury is an ideal getaway with visitors.
Shrewsbury eBike HireBEST FOR: SEEING THE SIGHTS AT A GENTLE PACE
Set off on a self-guided tour of Shrewsbury on one of the town’s new e-bikes. The route is easy to follow with lots of stops along the way, including the Welsh Bridge, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery and the Victorian-era Shrewsbury Prison. It’s most suitable for ages 14-plus.
Shrewsbury Flaxmill MaltingsBEST FOR: INSPIRING ARCHITECTS
This was the world’s first iron-shaped building when it was built in 1797-a forerunner of the modern skyscraper (摩天大楼). A new visitor centre opened in September-it’s also the end point of the Heritage Trail e-bike tour. An exhibition explores how the building has grown and been repurposed over the years.
Shrewsbury Market HallBEST FOR: FOOD AND SHOPPING
Situated in the centre of town, this was an innovative example of modern architecture when it opened in 1965. Recent upgrades mean it’s now home to more than 70 independent businesses, including traditional market stands, artisan producers, craft shops and antique dealers.
Riverside CabinsBEST FOR: QUIET STAYS
Opened in 2020, Riverside Cabins is a rural collection of wooden cottages built in18th century, a 20-minute drive from Shrewsbury. Cabins sleep between two and six guests and each come with their own hot baths, as well as Wi-Fi and smart TVs. Try your hand at boating along the river, with equipment available to borrow on site. From £ 135 for a minimum of two nights for a family of four.
1. What is an advantage of e-bike tours?| A．They organize architecture lessons. |
| B．They provide professional guides. |
| C．They offer a relaxing way of travelling. |
| D．They are accessible to all ages. |
| A．Shrewsbury eBike Hire. | B．Riverside Cabins. |
| C．Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings. | D．Shrewsbury Market Hall. |
| A．history | B．food | C．transport | D．fashion |
When I was seven years old, my family moved from Mexico to America. In Mexico, I was a cheerful girl who loved making people laugh with my jokes and inventing fun games to play with my friends. However, when I arrived in America, I found it hard to fit in, and I became quieter.
We lived in a small house with a modest yard where we grew vegetables—my responsibility. While I took pride in watching them grow, there were times when I dreamed of having a beautiful garden like my schoolmate Luella’s, with its delicate tulips (郁金香). Although Luella lived in the same neighborhood as me, we barely knew each other.
It was after a tornado that Luella and I finally became close friends.
The tornado struck on a Sunday afternoon.The gentle breeze transformed into a strong wind, and thick gray clouds filled the sky. Gradually, the tornado took shape, starting as a thin rope and growing into a large black funnel (漏斗). My entire family gathered in the bathroom, seeking shelter from the storm. Terrified, I sat close to my mom, knees in my chest. After the storm had passed, our worries and fears were replaced by relief that we were unharmed and that our house had remained undamaged.
As I stepped outside, I witnessed the extent of the damage the tornado had caused to our neighborhood. Across the street, a tall tree had fallen, crushing Luella’s garden in front of her yellow house. We hurried over to check on it. Fortunately, her family seemed to be away at the time, and no one was injured. However, her once-beautiful garden was in ruins, with the fallen tree destroying the tulips and debris (碎片) spread everywhere. I could only imagine how heartbroken they must feel seeing this.
Then my mom’s usual words rang in my ear, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and my family started to think about how we could help.
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。
Just at that moment, Luella’s family returned in their car.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Even after the debris was cleared, I could still sense Luella’s sorrow for her lost garden.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . The greatest sports moments often have a wonderful flow state behind the victories or performances. Being in flow refers to the moments where distraction reduces, and concentration
It was a
Facing the desperate situation, I could
5 points to go, 4 points to go... My opponent started getting visibly
Despite a small game, it inspired me a lot. Not being able to control how our opponent plays, we can
| A．limits | B．decreases | C．heightens | D．changes |
| A．tough | B．competitive | C．crazy | D．close |
| A．lose | B．win | C．tie | D．restart |
| A．adjustments | B．reservations | C．efforts | D．mistakes |
| A．call | B．make | C．leave | D．take |
| A．defense | B．attack | C．celebration | D．relief |
| A．figured | B．tried | C．pointed | D．stuck |
| A．Sighing | B．Breathing | C．Regretting | D．Struggling |
| A．attention | B．interest | C．insight | D．appreciation |
| A．confused | B．desperate | C．exhausted | D．uneasy |
| A．right | B．impossible | C．opposite | D．previous |
| A．swollen | B．bright | C．sharp | D．bloodshot |
| A．wild | B．silent | C．mad | D．deaf |
| A．Going against | B．Cutting off | C．Holding to | D．Recovering from |
| A．wonder | B．determine | C．predict | D．consider |
4 . When it comes to high-proof fathering lessons, few adventures can compare with the motorcycle trip I shared with my 20-year-old daughter Ewa.
In 2023, we
My old Harley had no gas gauge (汽油表). So, when the main gas tank was empty, the motorcycle
Ewa headed into the distance
I learn from the trip that however old my child is, I will never stop being a father.
1.| A．shared | B．started | C．expected | D．treasured |
| A．riding | B．winning | C．testing | D．desiring |
| A．long | B．simple | C．special | D．familiar |
| A．request | B．debate | C．theme | D．conversation |
| A．fell | B．slowed | C．began | D．continued |
| A．claim | B．sell | C．use | D．check |
| A．stop | B．conclusion | C．solution | D．decision |
| A．unsure | B．unaware | C．considering | D．confirming |
| A．fortunately | B．gradually | C．happily | D．eventually |
| A．requiring | B．raising | C．comparing | D．accompanying |
| A．heart | B．talent | C．comment | D．lead |
| A．found | B．seized | C．introduced | D．quit |
| A．play | B．deal | C．assist | D．wait |
| A．reliable | B．confident | C．firm | D．regretful |
| A．gave in | B．turned up | C．got through | D．broke down |
5 . Scientists are worried about the future of the axolotl (蝾螈), an unusual Mexican salamander(蜥蜴), and they’re asking for help. A new program lets people “adopt” an axolotl to raise money to support efforts to save the endangered animal.
If an axolotl loses a leg, or even part of its heart, brain, or lungs, it can regrow them. Scientists have long been interested in this. Some people think the information could help solve some human medical problems.
The Mexican axolotl is only found naturally in Lake Xochimilc o near Mexico City. This is not a big and open lake, but a collection of canals and smaller bodies of water. Sadly, axolotls are in trouble. The number of axolotls in Xochimilco has dropped 99.5% in less than 20 years. Scientists used to find thousands of axolotls in a fairly small area. Now, they’re only finding dozens.
There are a number of reasons for the drop in axolotls. One is that the water in the canals has become more and more polluted. Another is that there are invasive fish in the lake which are eating the axolotl’s food and even their babies.
Scientists at Mexico’s National Autonomous University(UNAM) have been working for years to try to protect the axolotls. Last year, the UNAM scientists started a program they called AdoptAxolotl. They asked people to donate money to help pay for efforts to save the axolotl. The program was a big hit, and raised more than $26,000. The money was used to help clean up some of Xochimilco’s canals and for a program to raise axolotls in a safe environment.
This year, the scientists are trying AdoptAxolotl again. The program offers several ways for people to support axolotls. For $30, you can virtually “adopt” one of the animals for a month. Smaller donations can help pay for food for an axolotl. Larger donations are aimed at improving areas where axolotls live, and include a visit to the protected area where UNAM is raising axolotls.
1. What have the scientists had an interest in?| A．How axolotls cure themselves. | B．Who can address medical problems. |
| C．How soon axolotls will go extinct. | D．Why some people focus on axolotls. |
| A．To promote axolotl research. | B．To blame the Mexican residents. |
| C．To show the severe conditions. | D．To expand the habitat for axolotls. |
| A．collected enough money | B．turned out very popular |
| C．helped to build new canals | D．moved students at UNAM |
| A．New Projects Are Needed to Protect Axolotls |
| B．Amazing Axolotls Live in Hash Environment |
| C．Everyone Can Help to Stop Adopting Animals |
| D．Scientists Work to Save Mexico’s Axolotls |
6 . Everyone can experience loneliness from time to time, which causes concern about our health and well-being.
Some of us are lonely because we don’t have close relationships in our lives. But if that’s not the case for you, by all means let your friends or family know how you’re feeling and ask for support. Calling or texting can be an active way to shift your mood and help relieve loneliness.
Adopt a pet
There are many reasons to have pets.
Try loving-kindness meditation (冥想)
Not everyone likes to engage in loving-kindness meditation. But it has been found to reduce loneliness, perhaps because it helps you to accept negative emotions more easily.
Count your blessings
| A．Reach out to friends or family |
| B．Be kind to the relatives around you |
| C．What can you do when you feel lonely |
| D．Even though this practice can help you feel much happier |
| E．It can also help you increase a sense of connection to others |
| F．While expressing gratitude toward others can fight loneliness directly |
| G．One of them is that they can provide companionship and unconditional love |
7 . The recent spread of “fake news” may make it seem like misinformation is a relatively modern invention. But falsehoods (假话) and wild claims have been part of human culture for about as long as it’s existed. This is because misinformation originates with, and is spread by, fellow humans.
When you’ve ever had to communicate an important, but complex, issue to a general audience, you may have a sea of the most reliable data, the most elegant PowerPoint slides and the full backing of every famous expert in the relevant field. And yet, you can still be less persuasive than someone whose entire argument is: “A guy I met down the pub told me something different.”
In a perfectly sensible, logical world, someone who is loosely connected with a certain field or industry wouldn’t have the same influence as actual data, or the leading experts in the field. But humans aren’t perfectly sensible, logical creatures and neither is the world we live in.
The ability to think rationally and analytically is a relatively recent addition to our mental abilities (in the evolutionary sense). And it costs our brains a lot of energy and effort, The more established, fundamental systems in our brain, which shape memory and learning, are heavily reliant on emotion. The more emotionally stimulating something is, the easier it is to remember. That’s why we can spend months revising the material for a crucial school exam, but struggle to remember any of it once we’ve passed. Meanwhile, the embarrassing tine we slipped and landed on our backside in the school canteen. that memory will last until our dying day.
The most determined sceptics (无神论者) will often say, “Facts don’t care about your feelings,” which is correct. But feelings don’t necessarily care about facts either. And ultimately, feelings have more of a say in what we think and do. And that’s why your mate down the pub can seem more believable than a pile of published research.
1. What contributes to the spread of “fake news”?| A．People factor. | B．Human culture. |
| C．Modern invention. | D．Information accuracy. |
| A．They prefer making sensible analyses. | B．They ae more likely to be emotional. |
| C．They have more trust in authority. | D．They overestimate themselves. |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By explaining a concept. | D．By citing experts’ words. |
| A．To reveal secrets. | B．To share emotions. |
| C．To criticize a decision. | D．To describe a phenomenon. |
8 . Since the mid-1990s, tourists have paid storm-chasers to take them to places in the American Great Plains where they expect to see tornadoes. Why, a reasonable follow-up question might go, would anyone want to get so close to something so disruptive? These tourists, a study found, characterized their relationship to severe weather as a “passion”, describing their feelings about tornadoes using words like “enjoyment”, “fascination” and “love”. Some people seem spiritually moved by tornadoes-one tourist called the storms “humbling” -but the main motivator seemed to be simple: Twisters are cool.
America has many more tornadoes than any other country, and its people have long regarded twisters with a mix of fear, awe and thrilled pleasure. Fast-moving and dramatic, tornadoes have been irresistible parts for popular entertainment. One needn’t be an extreme-weather enthusiast, however, to take a brief and far-less dangerous tour: of culture tornadoes have inspired and of the transformation of American society’s feelings about these storms from fear to excitement.
European colonists in the future United States were fascinated-and sometimes horrified-by their new land’s weather. In the Early Republic, the influence of romantic ideas about the terrible and wonderful power of nature became clearer in American tornado culture. Some people began to write about tornadoes in terms of awe, and to produce art that explored the phenomenon’s natural beauty, while also moralizing about its meaning. Since the 1930s, American tornadoes have been less deadly: the country has much better early-warning systems, fewer people live in rural areas and tornado activity has largely shifted from the southeast to the thinly-populated Great Plains.
Storm-chasing-a scientific, thrill-seeking activity that most Americans found out about via the1996 blockbuster film Twister, is still incomprehensible to many who don’t practice it. “I find it difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t chased what forces us to seek pleasure from risk,” wrote Jennifer Henderson, a scholar and crazy storm-chaser, characterizing her feelings while chasing as “a sense of exposure and revelation tightly coupled”.
1. What does the underlined word “disruptive” in the first paragraph mean?| A．Amazing. | B．Ruinous. | C．Costly. | D．Sensitive. |
| A．They are small and have a slower moving speed. |
| B．They tend to be less common in American history. |
| C．They have aroused interest in weather tours in America. |
| D．The American people have suffered less damage from them. |
| A．The population of America was declining gradually. |
| B．There was no tornado activity in the southeastern America. |
| C．America has made greater progress in natural disaster warning. |
| D．The natural environment in tornado areas has been damaged. |
| A．The thrill of storm chasing | B．The tour of watching tornadoes |
| C．The formation of tornadoes | D．A unique phenomenon in nature |
1. What does the man want the woman to do?
| A．Help him stop smoking. | B．Go jogging with him. | C．Have a talk with his friends. |
| A．The woman asks him to give up smoking. |
| B．His parents ask him to do so. |
| C．He suffers from bad breath. |
1. Where are the speakers?
| A．In a hotel room. | B．Just outside a hotel. | C．At a hotel reception. |
| A．Someone locked the door from inside. |
| B．The man forgot where he put his wallet. |
| C．An animal came into the room through the window. |
| A．By the tree. | B．In the drawer. | C．In the fruit bowl. |
