When I was about six years old, my family and I went to Disneyland one weekend and had a wonderful day full of excitement. Little did I know that the real excitement wasn’t to begin until that night.
While we watched the fireworks, I began to get an urge to go to the restroom, but I didn’t want to miss the show. I overheard my sister Isabel talking to my mom, and I got closer to them to hear what they were talking about.
“Mom, I’m going to the bathroom with Lizette, okay?” said Isabel.
“Okay,” my mom replied, “but stay together. I don’t want any of you getting lost. ”
The second I saw my sisters leaving, I didn’t think twice before running after them—without telling my parents. As I followed them through the huge crowd of people, I started to lose sight of them. I began to panic as I scanned the crowd for them. Crazy thoughts ran through my head like “What if I never see my family again?”
I gave up trying to find my sisters and tried to get back to my family, but I was completely mixed up. After searching for what seemed like forever, I couldn’t hold back my tears, and I started crying like I had never cried before.
“Mommy!” I cried out. But everyone around me was too caught up by the fireworks to pay any attention to me.
I tried to stop the scary thoughts that were going through my head and started running as fast as I could...anywhere...everywhere. I was going crazy. I’m only six, and I’ve gotten lost. “What have I done? How could I have been so dumb to run off without telling anyone?” I thought.
With my face wet from tears, I kept running, pulling at people’s pants and crying, “Mommy!” I was hoping, wishing, that one of these adults would be one of my parents.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
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Luckily, I felt a pat on my shoulder and a gentle voice came, “Are you lost?”
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Finally, through the crowd of people, I recognized a face.
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2 . Sports are important in our family. Both of our sons were high-school
My wife and I never told Lauren that she was
I discussed Lauren’s
The season’s first basketball game
Just less than two minutes were left, and Verden was down by seventeen points when Lauren was called in for the game. Lauren
For sixteen years, I’d tried hard to
A.students | B.teachers | C.athletes | D.clerks |
A.disappointed | B.surprised | C.depressed | D.embarrassed |
A.normal | B.ordinary | C.different | D.typical |
A.announcement | B.preference | C.arrangement | D.proposal |
A.if | B.though | C.because | D.so |
A.appeared | B.remained | C.changed | D.arrived |
A.attentively | B.carelessly | C.frequently | D.repeatedly |
A.team | B.shot | C.game | D.shout |
A.regret | B.anxiety | C.admiration | D.sympathy |
A.kept pace with | B.gave way to | C.put up with | D.broke away from |
A.threw | B.missed | C.cast | D.caught |
A.challenged | B.joined | C.left | D.greeted |
A.mistake | B.record | C.mess | D.basket |
A.excuse | B.prohibit | C.discourage | D.shelter |
A.spiritually | B.consciously | C.literally | D.socially |
3 . Have you ever walked through a door and thought to yourself, “What was I going to do?” If you have, you are not alone. Psychologists believe that walking through a door and entering another room creates a “mental block” in the brain. This is generally referred to as the doorway effect.
In the early years of brain research, scientists thought that human memory was like a closet, with many sections in which we could store little boxes of experiences from our lives. Boxes would remain there forever, and whenever we had to look into them, we could just go to that particular section and find that box of memory.
Beautiful as this description of human memory formation sounds, it is not true. Our brain is much more complex than that. Psychological studies suggest that our memories are episodic(情节性的)in general. If you think back on anything, you’ll probably quickly realize our memories don’t function as clear narratives. Instead, they’re more episodic and divided into parts.
A new research led by psychologist Oliver Baumann from Bond University in Australia suggests that it’s not so much the doorways that cause a memory wipe, as moving from one location to a significantly different one—it’s the abrupt change of scene that prepares our minds for something new. “A good example is moving around in a department store,” says Baumann, “Taking the elevator between floors may have no effect on our memory, but moving from the store to the parking lot might cause us to forget something that we need to buy.”
Baumann also points out that a busy and perhaps overloaded brain does seem to play some part in this phenomenon. In other words, walking through open doors is thought to reset memory to make room for a new episode.
The good news is that experiencing such forgettable episodes after entering another room does not tell you anything about your memory and intelligence. So when you enter a room and suddenly forget why you are there, you should not think that Alzheimer’s disease is creeping up on you!
1. Which of the following would most probably be “doorway effect”?A.You missed a call and forgot to ring back. |
B.You read a book and forget what it is about. |
C.You entered the office and forgot what to get. |
D.You saw a man years ago and forget who he is now. |
A.All memories are linked in the brain. |
B.Memories are clearly separated in the brain. |
C.Not all the memories can be found in the brain. |
D.Memories are stored in particular sections of the brain. |
A.Taking an elevator stimulates new memory. |
B.Walking through open doors results in memory loss. |
C.A sudden change of the scene boosts intelligence development. |
D.An overloaded brain increases the possibility of doorway effect. |
A.Insignificant. | B.Beneficial. |
C.Influential. | D.Damaging. |
4 . Scientists have solved a puzzle about modern humans, after research showed that a famous skull of a human ancestor found in South Africa is a million years older than experts thought. This discovery has changed what we know of human history.
The skull, which scientists have named “Mrs Ples”, is from an ape-like human relative from a species called Australopithecus africanus (南方古猿). It was found near Johannesburg in 1947 and, based on evidence from its surroundings, was thought to be between 2. 1 and 2. 6 million years old. This puzzled scientists, because although Mrs Ples looks like a possible early ancestor of early humans, the first true humans had already evolved by the time she apparently lived. For this reason, scientists had decided that Australopithecus afarensis, a similar species from East Africa that lived about 3.5 million years ago, was our most likely ancestor instead.
To get a more accurate age for Mrs Ples, a team led by Professor Darryl Granger of Purdue University in Indiana, US, used a new method to date the sandy rocks where the skull lay. They measured the amount of certain chemicals in rocks, which form at a steady rate when they are exposed to cosmic rays (宇宙射线) on Earth’s surface. Once rocks are buried, these chemicals stop forming and slowly disappear;the surviving amount reveals how much time has passed since the rock (or bones) were on the surface.
The new study shows that Mrs Ples and other australopithecine bones nearby are between 3.4 and 3.7 million years old. This means they lived at the same time as their East African relatives, so that either group could have given rise to modern humans. However, team member Dr Laurent Bruxelles pointed out that over millions of years, at only 2,500 miles away, these groups had plenty of time to travel and to breed with each other. In other words, the groups could quite easily have met, had children together and both been part of the history of modern humans.
1. What can we learn about Mrs Ples from the first two paragraphs?A.It is a skull found in East Africa. |
B.It is the most possible ancestor of humans. |
C.It is a million years older than scientists expected. |
D.It is proved to live between 2.1 and 2.6 million years ago. |
A.By studying the effect of cosmic rays. |
B.By calculating the forming rate of chemicals. |
C.By locating the sandy rocks where the skull lay. |
D.By measuring the surviving amount of chemicals. |
A.Modern humans came into being in East Africa. |
B.Mrs Ples travelled and had children with East African relatives. |
C.The history of modern humans might begin 3.5 million years ago. |
D.Ape-like species from Africa could have interacted with each other. |
A.Historical Puzzle Unsolved | B.Ancestor Mystery Solved |
C.Mrs Ples: The Earliest Human Being | D.Mrs Ples: A Famous Skull |
5 . Sitting in the classroom, I felt confused.
Our teacher pointed at the blackboard and gave us instructions. Looking around, I watched as my classmates
Mum took me to a(n)
However, despite all the difficulties, I’d amazingly
Life is
A.raised | B.lowered | C.turned | D.shook |
A.regret | B.passion | C.panic | D.courage |
A.relate | B.change | C.happen | D.matter |
A.doctor | B.teacher | C.engineer | D.architect |
A.entirely | B.frequently | C.hopefully | D.nearly |
A.managed | B.decided | C.expected | D.preferred |
A.bring out | B.turn out | C.make out | D.work out |
A.classes | B.glasses | C.apps | D.skills |
A.Anxious | B.Delighted | C.Sorry | D.Unwilling |
A.launched | B.enjoyed | C.organized | D.avoided |
A.generous | B.tolerant | C.protective | D.trustworthy |
A.vision | B.intelligence | C.confidence | D.pay |
A.Puzzled | B.Confused | C.Touched | D.Excited |
A.downtown | B.coast | C.village | D.countryside |
A.classmates | B.colleagues | C.tourists | D.families |
A.supporting | B.lecturing | C.pushing | D.persuading |
A.easy | B.short | C.simple | D.safe |
A.education | B.wisdom | C.imagination | D.confidence |
A.adventures | B.lessons | C.actions | D.experiments |
A.peaceful | B.precious | C.plain | D.permanent |
Shen Kuo (沈括) was a scientist of the Northern Song Dynasty. He was
Thanks
This extraordinary story is the origin of Shen's the Dream Rivulet Diary (《梦溪笔谈》). The Dream Rivulet Diary was a milestone in the history of Chinese science. So far, this amazing scientific work
7 . Steve Greig lost his dog Wolfgang seven years ago, then his life changed forever. Since that loss, he has adopted more than a dozen dogs, all of whom have been in their last few years of life. He chose to rescue senior dogs because they otherwise wouldn't have had a home.
Greig started posting family photos of his animals on Instagram, and his following has grown quickly to more million Instagram followers. Moreover, he has a pig, two rabbits, two ducks, four chickens, two cats, and a 22-kilogram turkey.
His mission didn't begin with the intention of going viral, but rather simply to honour Wolfgang's memory. He wanted something good to come out of the tragedy, so he went to a local animal shelter and adopted the oldest dog there. After that, he started photographing his daily life with his animals.
He also didn't originally intend to inspire others, but that's exactly what happened. Shortly after he started posting, his inbox filled with messages from people who had also adopted senior dogs. His fame led to a book, which teaches kids about valuing what is old instead of looking for the next new thing. He now keeps nine elderly dogs at a time, and when they pass away, he adopts new ones in their honour and in honour of Wolfgang.
Part of Greig's popularity on social media is from his family portraits and his updates of the animals, but the other part is from the unique names he gives his pets. Besides Bikini and Tofu, which he named “because it was funny”, his other pets have “elderly” names like Loretta and Wilhelmina. He has a new dog named Edsel after the failed Ford model from 1958. He chose the name “because when it originally came out it was worthless, but now it's a collector's item”. His attitude towards Edsel is his attitude towards all of his pets, and it demonstrates his value for life in general.
Greig's touching experience with older animals has helped him value humanity even more. Whether he's helping an overlooked and forgotten aging dog or homeless person, there's a common point: sympathy. “They deserve attention, conversation, and help. ” he says.
1. Why did Greig adopt animals?A.He dreamed of being well-known to the media. |
B.He intended to call on the public to care for animals. |
C.He wanted to set up an animals shelter with friends. |
D.He meant it as a memorial means for his dead pet dog. |
A.Tolerant. | B.Caring. | C.Hardworking. | D.Honest. |
A.Never too old to adopt animals. | B.One good turn deserves another. |
C.A good dog deserves a good bone. | D.A small kindness makes a difference. |
8 . In a highly-connected world where your phone is always with you, information is being collected and shared every second.“So what?” you say. “I have nothing to hide.”
The problem is that while companies and data brokers are hovering up all the information they can, there are no laws governing what they can do with that information.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
A.Don’t be so sure. |
B.Yet we do little to block the spies. |
C.Care about who owns and controls the data. |
D.We don't want to prevent all Internet spying. |
E.Privacy is not just about freedom from embarrassment. |
F.You can minimize some unwanted spying by taking these measures. |
G.That includes things you thought were private, such as your health data, beliefs and daily habits. |