Two days before Christmas, I got a call from my old and sometimes forgetful mom, “I sold my towels and made $ 200, two 100-dollar bills!” “That’s amazing,” I said, glad that people bought the decorative towels she had made day and night.
For months, Mom had been making towels to sell at the local yearly holiday craft fair. “They bought every single one,” she said. “Now I have money to buy Christmas presents for the girls on the fifth floor of my apartment building.”
After having dinner on that happy snowy evening, Mom went to the grocery store to buy a bag of food for breakfast, Later, she safely drove back home. At 9:30 that night, I received a second call from her. She cried, “I lost all $ 200 I had earned. My Christmas is ruined.” “Don’t worry, Mom,” I said, completely unaware that she had gone out in the snow.
I told her I would drive to her place in the morning and that we would find it. “No. It’s gone. It was in my pocket when I went to the store. But when I checked it tonight, it wasn’t there,” she said. “I searched my car. Then, I drove back to the store to see if I left it there. But it wasn’t there. Then, I walked through the parking lot, looking for it but it wasn’t anywhere.”
My heart broke at the thought of her going out on the snowy and windy night, “It’ll be OK, Mom,” I comforted her. “I’ll give you two 100-dollar bills...” However, I knew that wasn’t what Mom wanted.
It took me several hours to drive to Mom’s apartment the following morning. But before I got there, she had already driven back to the grocery store again even without having breakfast. She called me to tell me to wait for her in her apartment and she said she would be back soon.
With tears in her eyes, she shared her story about the money she had earned with the store manager and asked if he could check any other places for her two 100-dollar bills.
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
The manager began searching for my mom’s money.
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I took the food out of the bag and saw two 100-dollar bills in the bag, wondering how Mom had found her money in the grocery store.
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1.保持心理健康的益处;
2.自己或他人的一次相关经历;
3.呼吁大家关注心理健康。
注意:1.写作词数应为 80个左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear teachers and fellow students,
Today, I'd like to talk about the importance of keeping psychologically healthy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you.
Archaeological (考古的) discoveries at the Chenghe site in Jingmen, Hubei province, have revealed a water-control system dating back about 5,000 years ago.
However, some questions still leave archaeologists
Archaeologists reveal they found an artificial ridge (山脊) to
Based on explorations, archaeologists think this ridge
Another artificial ridge
The discovery enhances our understanding of ancient
4 . I was always interested in biology. However, it wasn’t until I saw a
Cave diving requires special
Although underwater caves might seem far removed from surface environments, research has shown that these worlds are
The cave ecosystem is suffering from climate change. If we didn’t take action to
A.film | B.story | C.paper | D.book |
A.adopt | B.feed | C.rescue | D.study |
A.caves | B.creatures | C.views | D.divers |
A.believed | B.dreamed | C.doubted | D.disagreed |
A.photos | B.ecology | C.names | D.news |
A.artificial | B.shallow | C.modern | D.natural |
A.time | B.equipment | C.information | D.space |
A.starving | B.valuable | C.invisible | D.dying |
A.deny | B.promise | C.learn | D.imagine |
A.adapting to | B.appealing to | C.breaking up | D.clearing up |
A.created | B.mirrored | C.linked | D.interpreted |
A.suddenly | B.barely | C.originally | D.negatively |
A.conserve | B.explore | C.decorate | D.construct |
A.permission | B.desire | C.decision | D.chance |
A.happen | B.return | C.disappear | D.begin |
5 . Alan was not only a close friend but also one of my best performing actors. When I found out that he had passed away, I started thinking of the first time when we cooperated.
When I was getting ready to make my movie The Russians Are Coming, I remember that I called Alan up and said, “
Alan was new to film, but it didn't show, He was relaxed on set, He didn't seem to be tense at all.
Maybe it's good that he wasn't a well-known actor at the time, because people accepted his brilliant performance to the point where they believed he was a Russian. That was not easy for an American like Alan.
Alan and I stayed close, but I never had the opportunity to work with him again, I just never had a part that I thought was right for him. Alan understood that and appreciated my consideration. Years later, he told me, “I think I enjoyed making The Russians Are Coming more than anything.” And he looked at me and said, “
A.That movie worked because of you |
B.I'm glad to have cooperated with you |
C.Alan's performance was more than believable |
D.To prepare for the role, Alan spared no efforts |
E.The most important thing for an actor is believability |
F.I need someone who can play a Russian and be completely believable |
G.He always showed the confidence I saw in really great and experienced actors |
6 . With a quick look, could you tell the difference between a group of 20 dots (点) and a group of 30? What about 20 and 21? It seems like there must be a point at which you’d simply be guessing, but recent research suggests otherwise. Given enough opportunities, people consistently perform better than chance on this kind of task even when the numerical difference is extremely small, according to a study published in the Journal of Numerical Cognition.
The research team showed more than 400 participants dot groups for just one second. On easy practice trials such as 30 versus (对比) 20 dots, participants chose the larger group correctly almost every time. For 20 versus 21 dots, they were right nearly 60 percent of the time. And even in the hardest comparison — 50 versus 5l dots — participants consistently answered correctly on 51.3 percent of trials.
“If you are asked to make a judgment about which of two groups contains more stuff, and you have a little bit of intuitive (直觉的) feeling that one of them is more than the other, you should trust that,” says study lead author Emily M. Sanford.
The researchers tested two mathematical frameworks for thinking about this situation: one with a hard limit on the fine numerical difference people can perceive and one almost without. They found their data fit better with the second model, suggesting that even with numbers as high as 100 versus 101, the task would become harder but not impossible.
“The implications go far beyond number sense,” Sanford says. “because the study builds on a theory describing perception across many different stimuli: the work suggests that when deciding which of two circles has a larger area, for example, a person wouldn’t be truly guessing unless the circles were exactly the same size.”
“We can’t easily tell that 5l is greater than 50, so we sort of forget that our perceptual system is doing that,” says psychologist Sami Yousif from the University of Pennsylvania. “I see it as a landmark paper in the sense that it really reveals some of the assumptions that have, in my opinion, troubled this field for a long time.”
1. Which of the following dot groups is the easiest comparison according to the study?A.20 versus 21. | B.20 versus 25. | C.40 versus 41. | D.40 versus 45. |
A.Our ability to tell differences can be seen in many areas. |
B.We can easily decide which of two circles has a larger area. |
C.Our intuitive feeling prevents us making right decisions. |
D.We tend to guess when it comes to spotting tiny differences. |
A.It shows that our perceptual system fails to work well. |
B.It proves that people always trust their intuitive feeling |
C.It leads to a challenging problem in the field of science. |
D.It contributes to a better understanding of perceptual ability. |
A.Tiny Numerical Differences Are Hard to Distinguish |
B.We Have Little Awareness of Our Perceptual System |
C.Most People Are Able to Finish Complex Perceptual Tasks |
D.Humans Can Rely on Intuitive Feeling to Spot Differences |
7 . American companies have learned to love renewable resources. Now, they are beginning to get involved in next-generation climate solutions.
An advanced geothermal(地热的) project supported by Google began generating electricity last week, a big step in seeking for technology that can affordably fill gaps in wind and solar generation with carbon-free power. The pilot project in northern Nevada uses drilling and fracking(水力压裂法) techniques employed by the oil and gas industry to get heat from Earth to generate power.
Geothermal technology has long been viewed as a potential way to tap the natural heat of Earth to make carbon-free power. But it has traditionally been limited to locations where there are natural underground lakes of hot water, which are hard to access. In 2021, geothermal energy accounted for less than half a percent of America's power generation.
Fervo Energy, a Houston-based startup gives an answer-to use drilling and fracking techniques
In Nevada, the company drilled two wells to a depth of about 8,000 feet and then extended them horizontally(水平地) for more than 3,000 feet. Then Fervo injected(注入) cold water under high pressure to cause the rock between the wells to be fracked, creating fractures(裂缝). Water is then pumped into the first well, absorbing heat as it flows through the fractures and returning to the surface via the second well at temperatures high enough to make steam and spin an engine.
The project represents a convergence of two companies’ climate ambitions. Fervo had sought to apply advances in oil and gas drilling to geothermal technology. But finding financing to prove that the company's technology worked was a challenge. Luckily for Fervo, Google had just started reconsidering it; approach to clean energy around the time when Fervo was looking to test its technology.
“The demand for clean, firm power is so urgent, especially now,” said Gabriel Malek, chief of staff at Fervo. “And we're recognizing that the geothermal project is one workable option available to us. It is promising, actually.
1. What is the problem with geothermal energy?A.It is in little demand. | B.It still produces CO2. |
C.It is not easy to employ. | D.It is rarely seen on Earth |
A.How drilling and fracking techniques come. |
B.How natural heat on Earth comes into being. |
C.Fervo's solution to pollution caused by energy. |
D.Fervo's approach to harvesting geothermal energy. |
A.Source. | B.Barrier. | C.Combination. | D.Shift. |
A.His company has self-funded the project. |
B.He is hopeful about the geothermal project. |
C.He promises to provide clean power for free. |
D.His company cooperates with many businesses. |
8 . Do you ever worry that your kids aren’t getting enough exercise? Maybe they spend a lot of time doing inactive things such as playing computer games or reading books. Do you tend to say, “Go outside and get some fresh air!”?
Years ago, I always looked for ways to include physical activity into my kids’ days. They’d go for walks and do hunts along the way. Before we left home, I often wrote a list of things for them to look out for: a black cat, a red car, a bike and a Banksia bush. Or I organized obstacle courses (障碍赛跑) in the park for my children to run around: “Run to the big tree, climb up the ladder and skip to the picnic table.”
As my kids have grown to be teenagers, they have become unwilling to follow “Mother’s Orders”. They might get to the point when they no longer want to play outside or go for walks. After trying to force my kids to leave their books and do something that raises their heartbeat, I have learnt that it’s impossible to force kids to exercise. If they don't want to do it, we’ll end up frustrated and angry. So will they. It’s much better if our kids decide for themselves that they want to be fit because this is a healthy and enjoyable thing to do.
So should we just hang around waiting for the day to arrive when our child might say, “I think I’ll go for a run... join the gym...go swimming...take up a sport”?
Maybe we should reflect on ourselves. We often want our children to do things we’re not prepared to do ourselves. We want them to be fit and healthy, but we make excuses for why we can't exercise.
For many years, fitness had been a big part of our family life. However, there are times when we've lost our enthusiasm. Last week, after doing a lot of online searches, I signed up for a free trial of the Walk at Home app. I'm challenging myself to get fitter and stronger. I want to regain my enthusiasm for exercise. I'm doing this for myself and also for my kids.
1. What did the author do to her kids years ago?A.She tried to involve them in exercise. |
B.She asked them to make exercise plans. |
C.She trained them to be professional athletes. |
D.She encouraged them to enjoy inactive things |
A.They have become less active. | B.They have lost interest in reading. |
C.They always follow her orders. | D.They try their best to de sports. |
A.Indifferent. | B.Unclear. | C.Opposed | D.Positive. |
A.Waiting for their kids to be active. |
B.Setting a good example to their kids. |
C.Arranging various activities for their kids. |
D.Finding easier ways to exercise for their kids, |
9 . Snow and ice festivals are something to look forward to in winter. All around the world, people make the most of the cold weather to compete in winter sculpting competitions. The results are works of art that inspire awe and wonder. Thousands of visitors want to enjoy the festivities. Here are some amazing winter festivals.
Geilo Ice Music Festival-Geilo, Norway
This unique ice music festival that began 19 years ago is truly unique and brings ice sculpting to an all-new level. Artists gather in Geilo to create musical instruments from ice. The performance takes place in an igloo(圆顶小屋). This year's festival will take place from February 19 to February 24.
International Ice and Snow Festival-Harbin, China
The annual festival in Harbin, the largest in the world, restarted in 1985. Some people actually compare it to a frozen Disneyland because the festival's actions are learned by several theme parks and include, thrilling rides. There's also a fantastic evening display of ice sculptures. The festival is open on January 5 this year.
Ice Magic Festival-Banff, Canada
The festival has been taking place in Banff National Park for over 20 years. This year's competition will run from January 26 to January 28 and from February 2 to February 4. The final artworks are displayed for visitors who can participate in other activities including freestyle ice sculpting and ice games. You must have tickets to attend.
Kiruna Snow Festival-Kiruna, Sweden
This snow festival held in Kiruna, which is deep inside the Arctic Circle, began in 1986. The main part of the festival is a snow sculpting competition that includes artists from around the world. But there are plenty of activities to keep visitors busy during the competition, including sledding(滑雪橇), figure skating and a snowblower contest where participants work to see who can clear a path through a 40cm deep pile of snow, This year's festival takes place from January 24 to January 28.
1. Where should you go to attend a festival if you are available in early January?A.Kiruna, Sweden. | B.Harbin, China. | C.Banff, Canada. | D.Geilo, Norway. |
A.Free tickets for the festival. | B.Unique musical instruments. |
C.The chance to admire final ice artworks. | D.The permission to live in an igloo. |
A.It has the longest history. | B.It is aimed at removing snow. |
C.It is funded by several theme parks. | D.It features a snow sculpting competition. |
10 . I was having coffee with a friend recently when she leaned across the table and said, “No matter what I do as a parent, I feel like I’m being taken for granted. All my child seems to do is shout at me,
Let’s face it — parenting is often a
It’s not easy to set
A.adjust | B.explore | C.ignore | D.puzzle |
A.general | B.unappreciated | C.slight | D.literary |
A.thankless | B.mechanic | C.original | D.voluntary |
A.responses | B.trusts | C.potentials | D.expectations |
A.affecting | B.changing | C.understanding | D.raising |
A.giving out | B.acting out | C.sticking out | D.working out |
A.reality | B.job | C.process | D.suggestion |
A.simply | B.definitely | C.obviously | D.sincerely |
A.performances | B.limits | C.shows | D.difficulties |
A.However | B.Moreover | C.Therefore | D.Otherwise |
A.treatments | B.tips | C.goals | D.solutions |
A.constant | B.noisy | C.peaceful | D.practical |
A.admit | B.warn | C.inform | D.guide |
A.decision | B.position | C.situation | D.demand |
A.deliver | B.calculate | C.need | D.deny |