An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year -old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) perched (栖息) on their window.
The father asked his son, “what is this?” The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father , I have just now told you, it is a crow!”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son for the third time, “What is this?”
At this time some expression of irritation (恼怒) was felt in the son’s tone when he said to his father with a rebuff (生硬回绝) . “It’s a crow , a crow.” A little while later, the father again asked his son the fourth time, “ What is this?”
This time, the son shouted at his father, “ Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?’
A little while later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered (发皱的) diary, which he had maintained since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I did not at all feel annoyed but I rather felt love for my innocent son.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
After reading the diary,
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Paragraph 2:
Feeling ashamed , the son got down on his knees before his father.
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4 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.
“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.
You can see the irony (讽刺) here.
Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.
The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.
So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.
1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To express the people’s love for all festivals. |
| B．To talk about the meaning of the festivals. |
| C．To appreciate the value of the festivals. |
| D．To bring out the topic of the passage. |
| A．To help people save money. | B．To cut the cost for daily life. |
| C．To prevent over-consumption. | D．To set up a new sales record. |
| A．Opposed (反对的). | B．Supportive. |
| C．Unknown. | D．Neutral (中立的). |
| A．Creating a New Lifestyle | B．Buy Nothing Day |
| C．Festivals Around the World | D．A Change in People’s Life |
| A．A ticket seller. | B．A police officer. | C．A driver. |
Last Saturday David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yelling: “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.
David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs. Brown in middle school. After he entered middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David believed.
But one day it all changed. That day, in an English writing class, Mrs. Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He had never expected to be praised. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.
That day after he returned home, he wrote another short story and gave it to Mrs. Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short dories and asked Mrs. Brown to read them and correct them for him. Mrs. Brown always gave him good advice to improve them. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He gained his confidence and was hopeful about his future.
He succeeded in entering college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published, becoming famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs. Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.
注意：1. 续写的词数应为150左右。2. 请按照如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The mother was ashamed when she heard that.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . I have dreamed of taking a trip to Hawaii since I graduated, but the best thing always needs waiting.
I took a trip with my friends to Haleakala National Park, which lies in Hawaii.
When we arrived at Haleakala National Park, we were advised to watch the early morning sunrise. I was lost in the sightseeing (观光) that afternoon, so I could hardly wait to see the sunrise. The next morning, we all got out of bed very early and got to the seaside at 3 o’clock. In the first half an hour, we imagined how wonderful it would be when the first light came out through the thick clouds and how soft it would be when the light touched our skin, so we waited and waited. However, another half an hour later, I gradually lost my patience since there was nothing but the chilly darkness, and I felt that I was frozen to death. (冻死) But my friends were still extremely cheerful.
Nearly another one hour later, “Amazing!” Judy burst out and we all shouted to welcome the light, which was really unbelievable. Until today, I dare say that it is the most impressive sunrise in my life. However, waiting in the morning darkness is also one memory I can’t forget forever.
Waiting sometimes is really a hard thing for most of us as it needs patience and strong-willed determination (决心) , but what about the result after that? It might turn out to be pleasing and unbelievable. So, it is really worth (值得的) waiting for the best.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．he author’s friends and the author took a trip to China. |
| B．Hawaii is a good place to enjoy the sunrise. |
| C．Sometimes, it is worth waiting for the best. |
| D．The author enjoyed the worst sunrise in his life. |
| A．About 3 o’clock. | B．About 4 o’clock. |
| C．About 5 o’clock. | D．About 6 o’clock. |
| A．Total. | B．Cold. | C．Terrible. | D．Interesting. |
| A．Excited all the time. | B．Afraid all the time. |
| C．Firstly excited then afraid. | D．Firstly excited then impatient. |
8 . Kings Camps
About Our CampsKings Camps is part of the Kings Active Foundation and is devoted to helping young people reach their potential. We provide sports camps and summer camps at over 40 places across the UK for children aged 4-17. We bring together the very best parts of sports and holiday clubs to provide friendship, fun and exciting adventures for young people from the UK and around the world.
Why Choose Kings Camps※Creative, inspiring camps: We have a strong belief that sport has an important role to play in a happy childhood and our not-for-money state enables us to provide some places and invest in new and creative ways to inspire.
※Learn important life skills: Kings Camps prepare children with important life skills and an understanding that being active is important to health and well-being.
※International students are welcome: We welcome children from outside of the UK who will make friends here by communicating with kids from different backgrounds, but we do require that they at least understand English to make sure of their safety and that of others, and of course their enjoyment.
CommentsRyan has enjoyed every part. When we’ve asked about his day, he’s said it was “amazing and fantastic”. All the staff are extremely friendly, enthusiastic and have a true belief in what they are doing.
— Tracy Lee
Fantastic & friendly staff! It’s an action-packed week of multiple sports. My sweetheart made new friends, overcame swimming fears & came away more confident too! I cannot recommend it enough!
— Kay Court
1. What does Kings Camps aim to do?| A．Mix sports and holiday clubs. |
| B．Get kids to play outdoors. |
| C．Provide adventurous and challenging camps. |
| D．Encourage kids to develop their potential. |
| A．Awareness of safety. |
| B．Love for media. |
| C．Basic English ability. |
| D．Good communicating skills. |
| A．Parents. | B．Teachers. | C．Campers. | D．Staff. |
9 . For the first time, the World Health Organization has included Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in its globally influential medical compendium (汇编),according to an international science journal.
An article published by Nature said that TCM had been included in the latest version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) released last year. Starting from the 1800s, the ICD has been revised and published in a series of editions, reflecting the advances in health and medical science over time. It serves as the foundation for the identification of global health trends, and the international standard for diseases and health conditions.
The latest ICD is based largely on the work of the International Classification of Traditional Medicine (ICTM) project’s experts from around the world, who had been working on traditional medicine research and practices for years.
China has been promoting the modernisation of TCM and pushing for TCM to gain acceptance worldwide. Tu Youyou, a Chinese expert focusing on the scientific study of drugs and medicines, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in2015 for her research in TCM. Her discovery has saved millions of lives in developing countries in South Asia, Africa and South America. TCM is sure to grow in popularity globally.
While the use of herbal medicines, acupuncture (针刺疗法) and other traditional medical practices has been on the rise, there’s still a shortage of global classification and terminology (术语) tools for traditional medicine now, according to officials of the WHO.
“The decision is to promote the safe and effective use of traditional medicine by regulating, researching and combining traditional medicine products,practitioners and practice into health systems,where appropriate,”the WHO was quoted as saying by Nature.
1. What can we learn about the ICD from Paragraph 2?| A．It will include TCM this year. |
| B．It has a history of over 200 years. |
| C．It is published in various languages. |
| D．It provides therapies for diseases worldwide. |
| A．To imply the worldwide popularity of TCM. |
| B．To prove TCM’s gaining worldwide acceptance. |
| C．To introduce a breakthrough in the medical field |
| D．To show Chinese people deserve the Nobel Prize for their contribution. |
| A．The classification of TCM. |
| B．The standard of TCM terms. |
| C．The official promotion of TCM. |
| D．The use of traditional Chinese medicine. |
| A．Lifestyle. | B．Opinion. |
| C．Health. | D．Technology. |
10 . I was 11 years old when I asked my mom for piano lessons in 2010. We were in the economic crisis. She said a polite “no”.
That didn’t stop me. I searched the measurements of a keyboard, drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one—keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. I spent six months playing without touching a real piano. Once my mom saw that I was serious, she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.
I still remember the first one. I was struck by how real the sound of the piano was. I sat my grade one after eight lessons. Once I started secondary school, we couldn’t afford lessons again. I passed grade three, and then grade five, practicing only on my piece of paper.
One evening, when I was about 13, my mom said she had a surprise for me; it was an electronic keyboard, bought with more borrowed money. It was the first time I’d played for her. She was in shock.
My school didn’t offer music A-level. I found the Purcell School for young musicians. But I had to pass a difficult test. Some of the questions involved an evaluation of the composer or when some piece was written. I felt overwhelmed. To my amazement, I was offered a place.
At the Purcell School. I spent two years working as hard as I could, performed to raise money and saved enough to buy my first piano.
When I left the Purcell School, I was awarded the senior piano prize and senior academic music prize. I am now at the Guildhall School in London. I feel proud—it’s been 10 years since I drew my paper piano, and I’m at one of the world’s leading music schools.
The irony is that I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano--what we call mental practice. The paper piano helped arouse my curiosity about how music works and the building blocks that form the pieces.
1. Why did the author’s mom buy him lessons at last?| A．She was shocked by his first performance. |
| B．She had no doubt about his talent for piano. |
| C．She realized he meant what he said. |
| D．She suddenly made a fortune. |
| A．Honest. | B．Determined |
| C．Humorous | D．Optimistic |
| A．The author felt surprised. | B．The author felt proud. |
| C．The author felt satisfied | D．The author felt disappointed. |
| A．To introduce the method of mental practice. |
| B．To share how he convinced his mom to buy a piano. |
| C．To describe how costly it is to learn an instrument. |
| D．To encourage people to stick to their dreams. |
