1 . A mirror coated in red paint, a banana stuck to the wall with tape, and an unseen sculpture- these are just a few of the abstract artworks that have recently sold for surprising amounts. Now, Dutch artist Jens Haaning has taken the genre to a whole new level. His appropriately named “TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN” masterpiece, consisting of two empty frames, has set a local museum back $84 000!
Earlier this year, the Kunsten Museum in Aalborg appointed Haaning to create two pieces for their coming “Work It Out” exhibit. According to their written agreement, the artist would use the $84 000 lent to him by the museum to reproduce two of his previous artworks about labor. The first, An Arerage Austrian Year Income, displayed euro bills on a canvas (画布) in a framework, while the second, focusing on Danish incomes, did the same using krone notes. But when the museum opened the boxes the artist sent before the exhibit’s opening on September 24, 2021, they found two blank frameworks titled “TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN”.
The museum officials admit that Haaning’s artwork is unique. But museum director Lasse Andersson expects the artist to fulfill his contractual (合同的) duty and return the money when the exhibition ends. “I absolutely want to give Haaning the right to say that a new work has been created in its own right, Andersson told Danish radio. “But that is not the agreement we had.”
However, Haaning thinks his artwork is perfect for the exhibit, which examines the relationship between art and labor. He argues that the empty canvases stressed the unfair working conditions of many artists, including himself. He says the museum’s $2 300 pay for the artworks was not even enough to cover his costs. “The work is that I have taken their money,” he told Danish radio. “It’s not theft. It is breach (违背) of contract, and breach of contract is part of the work.”
1. What does the underlined word “genre” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Theory. | B．Quality. | C．Number. | D．Style. |
| A．To organize “Work It Out” well. |
| B．To produce his former works again. |
| C．To create fine arts about labor. |
| D．To copy An Average Austrian Year Income. |
| A．Approving. | B．Dissatisfied. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．A Surprising Exhibition | B．A Humorous Artist |
| C．An Unsettled Agreement | D．Two Blank Canvases |
1. 大扫除的过程；
2. 参加大扫除的感受。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Finding Joy in School Clean-up
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Allison stood in line with the rest of her class, waiting for the school doors to open. This was the last day before school closed for Christmas break. She couldn’t wait for secret gift swap (交换) happening in class today. Alison tuned to say something to her best friend, Wendy, then froze. She was surprised to see Wendy looking down at the ground with her books pressed tightly to her chest.
“What’s wrong, Wendy?” Allison asked quietly.
Wendy shook her head, her eyes connecting with Allison’s. Allison could see that Wendy’s face was as dark as a cloud, with no smile in sight.
“My parents didn’t give me anything to bring to the gift swap,” she whispered. “They said they didn’t have extra money for stuff like that.”
Allison looked at Wendy, confused. “But, we weren’t supposed to bring anything expensive. Just something small that didn’t cost a lot of money.”
Allison thought back to the last time she’d been at Wendy’s house. She’d opened the refrigerator looking for something to drink, only to find that it was mostly empty. The furniture in Wendy’s house looked old and beaten up.
“It will be okay, Wendy,” Allison said. “We get to have all that time off for Christmas. Come on, cheer up!”
Wendy gave her a small smile, then looked away. At that moment, a whistle blew, and the kids started walking into the school building. The Christmas party was about to start.
One by one, the kids dropped their gifts into the bag the teacher was holding. Allison looked over at Wendy. Most of the kids were smiling around the bag, eager to get started, but Wendy stood off to the side, looking down at her feet. Allison hated seeing her friend so upset. She wished there were something she could do about it.
“Come on up, Allison. It’s your turn,” the teacher said.
Soon everyone had pulled out a gift and unwrapped it.
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。
Paragraph 1:
Allison looked down at her gift: a little glass cat.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
“Wendy, I want you to have this,” she said.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . If you intend to hold a party for your friend traveling overseas, it is necessary to have the party area decorated to your theme. Here are some useful tips that can help you.
Make full use of colors for the decoration. Use colors that match the country your friend is leaving and the country your friend is going to.
Streamers (饰带) are always good decorations. Get streamers in the person’s favorite colors, or ones symbolic of something to do with the farewell.
Think about including a special area where you can place a book or card for everyone to sign and write a note. You can also tailor this to your theme. If your friend is moving overseas, maybe you get a bottle and small roles of paper. Thus people can write notes on the paper.
| A．Notes are important to deliver messages. |
| B．You can even use streamers to make a map. |
| C．Maybe you can divide the party area in half. |
| D．And then they can place the notes into the bottle. |
| E．How about providing a bookshelf to attract your guests? |
| F．Have little clocks or similar work items for someone retiring. |
| G．Why not decorate a corner of the room to look like a reading area? |
5 . I was on my way home when I saw two old men sitting and talking in the sun near the bus stand. What stuck me about them was not their position, but rather her clothes. Both were wearing
Recently, I’ve been
The men were absorbed in
“Luckily, the sun shines in the day and offers some heat in the cold, but how can we
Knowing that they would
Again, they did not see me approach. “Here you go, uncles. It’s cold these days. These might be
Words can’t describe the
“No, I am not. But angel sent me here to answer your
| A．thick | B．old | C．fancy | D．clean |
| A．smiling | B．jumping | C．trembling | D．waving |
| A．missing | B．creating | C．seeking | D．seizing |
| A．changing | B．moving | C．declining | D．expanding |
| A．urgently | B．gradually | C．permanently | D．constantly |
| A．work | B．game | C．conversation | D．thought |
| A．bowed | B．inched | C．rushed | D．drove |
| A．deal with | B．struggle for | C．take advantage of | D．break away from |
| A．consideration | B．security | C．space | D．protection |
| A．hesitate | B．wander | C．argue | D．stay |
| A．shoes | B．pillows | C．quilts | D．shirts |
| A．worthwhile | B．useful | C．adoptable | D．precious |
| A．surprise | B．mercy | C．puzzlement | D．fright |
| A．escaped | B．survived | C．succeeded | D．appeared |
| A．prayer | B．call | C．letter | D．question |
Herbal medicine (草药) is
Reishi, or Lingzhi in Chinese, is known as the “king of mushrooms” because of its health benefits. In TCM,
With a rate of about 1 in every 4 000 mushrooms
7 . Max Woosey, an l1-year-old from the United Kingdom, has spent his time during COVID-19 doing something pretty meaningful. He slept in a tent for over 500 nights in a row. And he did this not only because he loves the outdoors but in service to others.
Max’s father is a Royal Marine (皇家海军陆战队员), so he has courage and love for outdoor activities in his blood. Max’s family was looking after their neighbor, Rick, who was dying of cancer. Before Rick passed away he gave Max a tent and had him promise to have an adventure.
So, after Rick died, Max had an idea. He decided to raise money for Devon Hospice (救济院) , which cared for Rick in his final days. When the first lockdown happened, Max had realized that much of the hospice’s fundraising (筹资) also came to a stop. But outside the hospice, a number of people were waiting for help. So Max set a goal to raise 100 pounds by camping out in his front garden.
On March 29th, 2020, Max started his camping adventure in, Rick’s tent. As he passed hundreds of days camping out, he attracted national attention from the media and even the Prime Minister, who later paid him a visit. More people have donated to Devon Hospice.
Now, 500 days later, he is still camping! Through storms，rain, high winds and cold, he stuck to it. The lessons his dad taught him from the Royal Marines, to never give up, show kindness, honesty and try hard helped support him in tough times.
In all, Max has raised more than 750 000 pounds for Devon Hospice! This made up for about half of the donations they had lost for the year! Max even organized a huge camp at his school playground to show people what children can achieve if they all work together.
1. What made Max decide to raise money for Devon Hospice?| A．Government’s requirement. | B．His father’s influence. |
| C．Rick’s death. | D．Devon Hospice’s instruction. |
| A．Arousing more public concern for Devon Hospice. |
| B．Being awarded a medal by the Prime Minister. |
| C．Improving the reputation of Devon Hospice. |
| D．Starting a worldwide camping activity. |
| A．It used to raise about 1.5 million pounds a year. |
| B．It received more donations during COVID-19. |
| C．It was specially built for cancer sufferers. |
| D．It helped Max go through difficult camping times. |
| A．Active and easy-going. | B．Kind and strong-minded. |
| C．Humorous and considerate. | D．Clever and aggressive. |
8 . Thanks to the hard work of companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin, space tourism is well on its way to becoming a reality. Now, California-based Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) expects a chance for visitors to extend their “out-of-the-world” experience by checking into a grand hotel in low Earth orbit.
The 650-foot-wide Ferris-wheel-like Voyager Space Station (VSS) will consist of two rings. The inner circle will be fitted with spacecraft stations for guests. The outer ring will house the rooms. Restaurants, bars, gyms, and scientific research labs. The solar-powered hotel will spin at speeds high enough to create artificial gravity. ensuring (确保) occupants a comfortable stay, OAC hopes to attract not just tourists but also scientists and astronauts on long-distance missions.
While the idea is attractive, making VSS a reality will take time. The team is currently building modules (舱室) for a smaller model ring. The modules will be set up in zero-gravity using semi-automatic robotic tools made for the purpose. Once they are completed, OAC engineers will attempt to create artificial gravity similar to what Mars has.
Even if the model is wildly successful, transporting the VSS modules to space will cost tens of billions of dollars. However, OAC, which expects to charge $5 million per person for each 3-day stay, is confident they will take back the expense. Though the cost may seem too much, it is cheap compared to the $55 million it costs to stay on the International Space Station (ISS).
Visitors will also be able to participate in amusing activities that are not possible on Earth. Among the planned ideas are zero gravity basketball games. Blincow says, “When you jump in the air, you jump five times higher.” Also under consideration are spacewalks to allow visitors to enjoy clear views of Earth and space. If everything goes according to plan, the company plans to start construction in 2026 and welcome the first visitors to the VSS in 2027.
1. Why will the hotel spin at a certain speed?| A．To make people in it feel at ease. |
| B．To keep pace with the inner circle. |
| C．To meet the requirements of scientific studies. |
| D．To attract more tourists and other people. |
| A．Theoretic research. | B．Early experiment. |
| C．Mass building. | D．Ending stage. |
| A．The financial difficulties faced by VSS. |
| B．The total expense on the model rings. |
| C．Income and expense expectations of VSS. |
| D．The transporting plan about VSS modules. |
| A．It will spin in high Earth orbit. | B．It will start building modules in 2027. |
| C．It will offer some extraordinary experiences. | D．It will have the same gravity as the Earth’s. |
The movie “Hi, Mom”
Written and directed by Jia Ling, the film
The success of “Hi, Mom” also shows the increasing
Ellen Kalish runs the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in New York. She is used to getting calls about taking in wild animals. When a man called asking if she could rescue an owl（猫头鹰）, she was happy to help. Then, the caller told her where this tiny owl was hiding out. It was found inside the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Center, where it is a yearly tradition to decorate trees. But this year，the tree looked a little worse. Many people made fun of its sagging（低垂的）branches. They called the tree a “symbol of 2020”, meaning its sad look reminded them how tough the past year was.
The tale of the owl's rescue quickly became the highlight of this year's tree. Before the tree was put up to decorate, one of the workers spotted the creature. It was buried in the base of the tree. The owl most likely traveled with the tree on its journey to Manhattan. So, how did it end up stuck in the tree in the first place?
Kalish offered a few possibilities. The owl could have flown to the tree to hide there because it was injured and then got trapped later. Or maybe once the tree was loaded onto a truck, the branches squeezed it into the trunk. The bird may have just been too scared to move. Actually, there is no proof about where it came from. “That would be the last place it would want to go. Why would it pick that tree if it had a choice not to? It's smart and it wouldn't do that. ,” she explained.
In that case, the worker had to bring the owl home. He decided to find a place that rescues wildlife animals. That was why he called the Center. After Kalish got the full story about the bird. she met the man at a gas station. Then the man handed her a box with the owl inside.
Paragraph 1:
Kalish opened the box gently.
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Paragraph 2:
Several days passing, the owl looked in good shape.
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