In the classroom of Class 7, Grade 8, students were excited about an upcoming event. The school had organized a speech competition titled “Ways to Become Successful,” and many students were eager to showcase their public speaking skills. Among them was 13-year-old Zora, who, had already won two speech contests and was full of confidence that she could win again.
Zora volunteered to represent her class in the competition, and after a round of voting, she was chosen as the class representative. Although there were only seven days left until the big day, Zora felt a sense of ease about the competition. After all, she had been here before and knew what it took to win.
At home, Zora’s father congratulated her on her achievement, while her mother reminded her to take the competition seriously. Despite her parents’ advice, Zora was convinced that her past successes meant this would be a walk in the park. Her teacher also urged her to prepare diligently, but Zora only sought help once to revise her initial draft.
As the days went by, Zora did not put in the necessary effort to refine her speech. When the day of the competition arrived, she was hit with a sudden wave of panic. She couldn’t remember the content of her speech, and as she stepped onto the stage, her anxiety only grew. After delivering the opening lines, she froze, unable to continue. The supportive applause from the audience only added to her confusion, leaving no room for her to recall her prepared words.
Zora struggled through the rest of her speech, finishing it in a state of embarrassment and shame. As she walked off the stage, she saw the disappointment in her teacher’s eyes and felt the letdown from her classmates. It was a heavy burden to bear.
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。
Back at home, Zora could no longer hold back her tears.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next day, Zora went to school and apologized to her class.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________You can be happy even when you’re suffering from illness, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the aspects of your health
Making exercise a regular habit isn’t just good for the body. It also has a
It doesn’t really matter
Also, getting quality sleep every night directly
3 . In 2012, Laura Eshelman man was in the middle of a mental unsettlement. She was having
As she crossed the street, Eshelman
Eshelman
As she
“That moment on the street was one of the few
| A．fun | B．trouble | C．experience | D．luck |
| A．rejected | B．submitted | C．displayed | D．followed |
| A．relaxed | B．awkward | C．nervous | D．depressed |
| A．remembered | B．guided | C．spotted | D．comforted |
| A．ignored | B．touched | C．rewarded | D．cheated |
| A．hesitated | B．waited | C．escaped | D．approached |
| A．active | B．impatient | C．anxious | D．desperate |
| A．slid | B．struggled | C．got | D．looked |
| A．helpful | B．rude | C．strict | D．particular |
| A．set aside | B．put away | C．dug out | D．used up |
| A．heart | B．pocket | C．store | D．drawer |
| A．handed | B．lent | C．returned | D．awarded |
| A．dangerous | B．normal | C．unpractical | D．unpleasant |
| A．pain | B．choice | C．effort | D．privilege |
| A．instants | B．chances | C．differences | D．flashes |
4 . Tips for Planning a Nature Walk With Your Child
When it comes to planning a nature walk, the key tip to keep in mind is to have fun with it!
If your little one is anxious to crawl (爬) in the dirt to get a better look at worms, then go for it!
Encourage them to stop to turn over rocks, touch moss, and when they can, climb on and over rocks and fallen trees. Whatever the environment, which you assess for any unreasonable danger, the children can set the pace — stimulating confidence, flexibility, problem-solving, creativity, and a sense of wonder.
Get creative.For the older kids, it’s all shout making a deeper connect ion with the world around them. With older kids, you can encourage them to connect with nature on a deeper level by exploring their senses.
| A．Assess environment. |
| B．Have your children lead the way. |
| C．Nature is perfect for a child’s creativity. |
| D．Nature walks don’t have to be complicated. |
| E．Dirt might get a bad reputation, but it shouldn’t. |
| F．Try having them walk barefoot on different surfaces. |
| G．Give them the freedom to play in their own ways. |
5 . Off Australia’s northern coast, the remains of ancient coral reefs (珊瑚礁) form the bedrock of wooded islands, which are home to diverse animals and plants, including mangrove (红树林) forests that blanket their coasts and serve as vital habitats and carbon storers. A recent survey shows that expanding seas might have led to a massive mangrove increase, researchers report November 1 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Mangroves absorb carbon dioxide and store it as “blue carbon”, a term for carbon that is hidden away in ocean environments. “There’s a lot of interest in using mangrove blue carbon to lessen climate change,” says Kerrylee Rogers, an environmental scientist at the University of Wollongong in Australia. But there remain a lot of questions around their capacity to adapt to sea level rise.
In 2021,a team led by Wollongong environmental scientist Sarah Hamylton visited the Howick Islands to do a related research. They walked through the seawater to assess the plant diversity and measure individual trees. Using the measured widths and heights of several mangroves, the team calculated tree widths for the rest of the forest from the data to estimate the total mangrove quantity. The islands host nearly 54,000 metric tons of mangroves, the team estimates, which is roughly 10,000 more metric tons than there was in 1973.
The Howick Islands are uniquely suited to supporting mangroves as the ocean rises. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, around 12,000 years ago, water levels rose around northern Australia, and coral reefs grew upward to fill the space that had opened for them.
When sea levels fell thousands of years later, the exposed reefs became sediment (沉积物). With sea levels now rising again, the mixture of saltwater and sediment makes a perfect home for the salt-tolerant mangroves.
Rogers and Hamylton are now working on a bigger effort to study mangoves around Australia. “If we’re going to invest in mangroves to provide us blue carbon and to protect shorelines, we need to understand how dynamic they are,” Rogers says.
1. What can be known about blue carbon?| A．It is produced by ocean water. | B．It is massively present in the air. |
| C．It is friendly environment. | D．It is nutritious for mangroves. |
| A．To measure the size of mangroves. |
| B．To figure out where to plant mangroves. |
| C．To confirm whether local natural environment is polluted. |
| D．To see how the mangroves respond to sea level rise. |
| A．The diversity of ocean life. |
| B．The increase of coral reefs. |
| C．The combination of salt water and sediment. |
| D．The formation of the bedrock of wooded islands. |
| A．Climate Change Causes Sea Level Rise |
| B．Sea Level Rise Helps Mangroves Boost |
| C．Environment on Australia Islands Is Improving |
| D．Climate Warming Poses Dangers To Mangroves |
6 . The ocean is home to more than 200,000 known species and as many as 2 million that we have yet to discover. And, it is also home to 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics. In 2022, researchers spotlighted how bad marine microplastic pollution, is getting: The total amount of microplastics on the bottom of oceans has greatly increased. in the past two decades.
Microplastic particles don’t just end up at the bottom of the ocean. Animals are eating them — at least 1,500 species have been reported to ingest plastic. And a lot of it. For example, whales in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf consume roughly three million microplastics daily, according to research published in Science of the Total Environment, which analyzed whale waste to see how much microplastics were present.
“Other research has shown that if plastics are small enough, they can cross the gut(肠道) wall and get into internal organs though the long-term effects are still unclear. Plastics can also release chemicals that are harmful to digestive system,” says Kahane-Rapport. “This is concerning, and while we do not yet understand the long-term health-effects, it is likely not a good sign for whales and their prey(猎物) to eat a man-made material like plastic.”
This is obviously bad for whales, but it also has effects on humans and the ocean at large. We are also part of these food chains and are consuming microplastics regularly. They are in our bottled water, in our table salt — they are even in our house dust and in the air we breathe. And we still don’t know what the health effects are. Meanwhile, the impact on whales — and what it indicates — is troubling on many fronts. “Whales are ecosystem engineers,” says Kahane-Rapport. “They can spread the nutrients that they consumed and serve as ecosystem guards — when whales are not healthy, other parts of the system will suffer.”
Kahane-Rapport says more research is needed. “The next research step will be to determine how much plastic the whales excrete(排出) and how much is left in their bodies. Following that, we would be able to determine the direct health effects on their tissues.”
1. What does the underlined word “ingest” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Deal with. | B．Bring up. | C．Take in. | D．Spread out. |
| A．Researches show contradictory results. |
| B．Digestive system is the most affected part. |
| C．Small plastics are more harmful than big ones. |
| D．Much about microplastics’ harm remains unclear. |
| A．The various sources of pollution. |
| B．Tab chain reaction of microplastics. |
| C．Possible solutions to plastic pollution. |
| D．Growing awareness of ocean protection |
| A．Microplastic pollution to the ocean bottom |
| B．The sufferings of other ocean creatures. |
| C．Whales’ contributions to the ecosystem. |
| D．The amount of plastic in whales bodies. |
7 . Are your keys not in the spot you thought you left them? Can’t recall the title of a book? I’ve had those moments. Such instances of “brain freeze” remind us that we should do everything in our power to keep our brains sharp.
A new study finds Tai Chi study can help slow cognitive (认知的) decline and protect against dementia (痴呆). The study included about 300 older adults, in their mid-70s on average, who had all reported that their memory was not as good as it used to be.
As part of the study, all the participants took a 10-mirrute test called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. A normal score is 26-30. A person who scores between 18 and 25 is considered to have mild impairment (损害), which means they don’t have dementia but they’re not as sharp as they used to be and may need to work harder to maintain everyday activities. Once their score drops under 18, people experience quite a bit of impairment from memory loss and cognitive decline.
The average score of participant s at the start of the study was 25. The study found that people who practiced a simplified form of Tai Chi twice a week for about six months improved their score by 1.5 points, meaning that they’re going to get three extra years before they hit that decline into dementia.
Researchers also tested a more stricter type of Tai Chi, called Cognitively Enhanced Tai Chi, where they provided extra challenges. For example, participants were asked to spell a word, backward and forward, as they moved through a series of Tai Chi moves. The people who practice this type of cognitively enhanced Tai Chi improved their scores by about 3 points, meaning they are given six extra years of cognitive function.
The theory on why Tai Chi is effective is that it combines the memorization of the movements, known as forms, almost like composing dancing moves.
1. Why are two questions raised in the first paragraph?| A．To present the author’s doubts. | B．To expect answers from readers. |
| C．To analyze the causes of forgetfulness. | D．To introduce the main topic of the text. |
| A．Cognitive assessment methods. | B．The process of running the test. |
| C．Cognitive measurement criteria. | D．The test results of the participants. |
| A．Most of them suffer from, dementia. | B．They remain as quick-minded as before. |
| C．Many of them have slight cognitive decline. | D．They can protect themselves against dementia. |
| A．It helps resolve challenges. | B．It involves mind-body movements. |
| C．It puts off cognitive decline by three years. | D．It improves the participants academic level. |
8 . The Amazon
The Amazon River, the basin of which covers 2.3 million square miles, is incredibly biodiverse with over 30,000 species of plants and 1,800 species of birds. It plays an important role in adjusting the climate in North and South America. The River and its forests are threatened by human activity, primary pollution and rapid resource depletion (损耗). The Office of the American States Department of Sustainable Development is working to manage the threats.
The Mississippi
The Mississippi rises in western Minnesota and flows south for 2,530 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of people in over 50 cities use water from the Mississippi, and the river is also used for shipping and agriculture. Hundreds of animal species, including 60% of North America’s birds, call the area around the Mississippi River home, but river pollution and shoreline habitat destruction threaten to displace them. Fortunately, many projects and organizations are devoted to its conservation.
The Danube
The Danube River begins in western Germany, flowing over 1,775 miles into the Black Sea. It spans 19 countries. The Danube features a richly diverse ecosystem, hosting 55 different species of fish. Cities across Europe use the Danube for power generation and agriculture, and there are more than 700 dams in total. Unfortunately, this river is overfished and heavily polluted. The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River was established in 1998 to manage its conservation.
The Mekong
The Mekong River is a necessary part of Southeast Asia’s landscape, culture, and economy. Also called the Lancang River, it starts in China, stretching over 2,850 miles through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its basin provides more than 65 million people with food, drinking water, power, and transportation. Dams and power plants are harming Mekong’s ecosystems. Organizations such as Conservation International are working to protect the river by advocating for its sustainable development.
1. Birds are affected most around________.| A．The Amazon | B．The Mississippi | C．The Danube | D．The Mekong |
| A．70. | B．65. | C．55. | D．50. |
| A．They contribute to power production. |
| B．They How through multiple countries. |
| C．They are troubled by dam constructions. |
| D．They are under protection of organizations. |
Yang Jiang was a well-known Chinese playwright, translator, and author. She belonged to
Yang was born into a rich family in 1911,
Other than translations, Yang
10 . When grandparents bond with their grandchildren, these little ones will feel more secure and happier. And being grandparents benefits the grandparents, too. Your grandchildren are treasures that do more than just make you smile.
It helps your cognitive (认知的) skills remain sharp.
Spending time with your grandchildren is good for your brain health. An Australian study studying the role of grandparenting in senior women’s cognitive health found that women who cared for their grandchildren once a week showed higher performance on memory and mental tests than those who spent little time with their grandchildren. “
It keeps you physically active.
Physical activity is good for you.
It makes you less lonely.
Nowadays, loneliness has increased, which has led to increased depression. That’s why spending time with other people is so important.
When you interact with your grandchildren while they learn and explore, you are inspired to learn something. This is especially true if seniors play word games like memory games or strategy games like chess. In fact, learning anything new can boost your cognitive ability and help keep your brain sharp. “With memory decline being one of the biggest things people fear, any time you learn something new, it’s a big deal,” said doctor Kristine Arthur.
| A．It keeps you learning |
| B．It allows you to enjoy sports |
| C．But physical activity isn’t limited to physical exercise |
| D．Instead, you can play an important role in your grandchildren’s lives |
| E．Having grandchildren around keeps you social and helps you get rid of loneliness |
| F．In fact, spending time with your grandchildren comes with a wide range of benefits |
| G．Interaction with others could stimulate certain nerve pathways that benefit our brain |
