1. 说明比赛要求；
2. 请他推荐英文诗；
3. 请教朗诵技巧。
注意：
1. 词数120左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使内容连贯。
Dear Mr. George,
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Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
2 . What could driving a race car and pointing a camera at the Milky Way have in common? More than you might imagine. Race car driver Bubba Wallace and photographer Batak Tefreshi made a journey together to remote Gooseberry Mesa, for an adventure aimed at taking pictures of the night sky.
Gooseberry Mesa, far from population centers, is protected from the nighttime light pollution, making it perfect for star photographers. Nature night environments such as this are rare.
Camping, hiking, and shooting stars in mountainous Mesa stress the similarity between photography and racing. Bubba notes, “Once you start the engine there’s no turning back—I know I’ll be in that seat for more than three hours.” Batak agrees, “I have the same feeling as soon as I touch the wheel of my camera—I’m ready to continue through the entire night.” For Bubba, developing patience allowed him to become a better driver and it is equally important to his photography.
Seizing the moment is crucial too. “Every minute things are changing—the Earth’s shadow, the moonlight, the rise of stars,” Batak explains. “If you lose the moment, it’s gone forever.” Bubba finds the physical and mental demands of racing as important when travelling in Utah’s rough landscapes under freezing temperatures.
Think incoming clouds, wind, or mist will ruin your chance at a perfect photo? According to Batak. “With wide-angle nightscapes every unexpected weather condition can be an opportunity. Our photos show oranges and blues around the moon you wouldn’t see under a clear sky.”
The team discovered shared interests that go beyond photography. “We are both crazy about bringing cultures together and using our work to break down boundaries(边界),” says Batak. “The night sky has a unifying power. The sky connects the whole world under one umbrella.”
1. Why did Bubba and Batak choose Gooseberry Mesa?| A．It has a small population. | B．It has perfect weather conditions. |
| C．It is free from light pollution. | D．It has beautiful scenery. |
| A．Willpower. | B．Teamwork. | C．Bravery. | D．Creativity. |
| A．Annoying. | B．Disastrous. | C．Positive. | D．Challenging. |
| A．Appreciating the night sky. | B．Connecting various cultures. |
| C．Removing racial boundaries. | D．Protecting the environment. |
3 . Walking in the city is very different from walking in the park. A small psychology study suggests urban environments can slow your step and possibly increase your mental load.
It can ease your mind and quicken your pace. The findings show that natural settings may potentially reduce cognitive (认知的) tiredness and improve reaction time straight away.
The first of the two experiments in the new study focused on people’s way of walking and cognitive load. During this trial, participants were fitted with sensors and a dozen motion control cameras were set up to watch them repeatedly walk down a l5-metre room at their natural speed. The wall opposite them showed an image of either a nature scene or a city scene.
Measuring reaction time in both natural and urban settings, the team found results to support their idea. In urban environments, participants were slower in distinguishing between simple shapes.
| A．Nature influences us in many ways. |
| B．A walk through nature does the opposite, though. |
| C．They said they couldn’t concentrate properly after walking. |
| D．After each, participants were asked to rate their discomfort. |
| E．The study includes two experiments with two different ways. |
| F．The second experiment dug into some higher-level cognitive processes. |
| G．The reason is that urban environments are more likely to take our attention away. |
4 . There is a widespread belief among sleep researchers that many people, especially young adults, regularly obtain skimpy sleep due to work, school, and social activities. The move toward remote work and school has provided a novel opportunity to test this belief.
A new research compared self-reported data on sleep habits from 80 students enrolled in a 2020 summer session course with data collected from 450 students enrolled in the same course during previous summer semesters and suggests that students learning remotely went to bed an average of 30 minutes later than pre-pandemic (疫情前) students. They slept less efficiently, less at night and more during the day, but did not sleep more overall despite the time saved commuting (通勤), working or attending social events. Actually, they have no early classes and 44 percent fewer work days compared to students in previous semesters.
One very consistent finding is a collective delay of sleep timing—people go to bed and wake up later. Not surprisingly, there is also a marked reduction in natural light exposure, especially early in the day. The lack of change in sleep time was a bit of a surprise, as it goes against the assumption that young adults would sleep more if they had the time.
Self-described night owls (夜猫子) were more likely to report a greater positive effect on their sleep, getting to sleep in, instead of waking up early for that morning class, while morning types were more likely to report a negative response to sleeping later than usual.
Sleep plays an important role in immune (免疫的) functioning and mental health, which is why good sleep habits are important. Students and anybody working from home should try to get outside and work out early in the day because the morning light helps strengthen their regular sleep-wake cycle—this should improve their sleep, and allow them to feel more rested and energized during the day.
1. What does the underlined word “skimpy” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Needful. | B．Effective. | C．Unnecessary. | D．Insufficient. |
| A．They sleep more overall. | B．They sleep no more than others. |
| C．They sleep less during the day. | D．They sleep more at night. |
| A．Busy bees. | B．Night owls. | C．Lazybones. | D．Early birds. |
| A．Rising early to do morning exercises. |
| B．Developing irregular sleep-wake cycle. |
| C．Learning more about immune functions. |
| D．Getting rested and energized during the day. |
1. 你的理想工作；
2. 你选择的理由。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My dream job
Good morning, everyone.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Run to Remember
Thirteen can be a challenging age. Not only did I have to adapt to my changing body. I also had to deal with my parents’ bitter divorce, a new family and the upsetting move from my country home to a crowded suburb.
When we moved, my beloved companion, a small brown pony(小马), had to be sold.
Feeling helpless and alone, I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I cried all of the time. I missed my family, my home and my pony. Finally, my father, realizing how much I missed my pony, purchased an old red horse for me at a local market.
My horse, Cowboy, was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. He was pigeon-toed and knock-kneed. But I didn’t care about his faults. I loved him beyond all reasons.
I joined a riding club and faced rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on how I felt, but deep down inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly out of the game. I finally realized that my only chance to compete would be in the timed-speed events. I chose barrel racing(绕桶赛), an event in which a horse and its rider attempt to complete a triangular pattern around three barrels in the fastest time.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The bitter memory of Becky’s smirks(得意的笑)made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month, I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena(运动场地). We practiced for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home. On the way home I would be so tired; those five miles seemed twice as long.
All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the pattern of barrels, finishing the course with case.
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。
My turn finally came.
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No cheers filled the air when I finished my show.
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I’ve had my fair share of travelling around China, and a recent week-long trip to Guizhou was my first time to the province. I tried looking up the meaning and significance of the name Guizhou before the trip,
8 . Some folks spend decades looking for their best friends. I was
As we progressed to high school, a couple of girls
Among our many
At the beginning, we gave each other butterfly hair clips and so on. Those
Holidays with family can be
| A．cautious | B．astonished | C．lucky | D．clever |
| A．mature | B．teenage | C．fashionable | D．strange |
| A．dropped out | B．dropped in | C．showed up | D．showed off |
| A．broken | B．forced | C．separated | D．united |
| A．secret | B．long | C．natural | D．complete |
| A．hobbies | B．traditions | C．ceremonies | D．rules |
| A．caught on | B．took place | C．broke out | D．fell down |
| A．fancy | B．expensive | C．modest | D．generous |
| A．repeat | B．add | C．search | D．make |
| A．instantly | B．literally | C．eventually | D．consequently |
| A．homes | B．schools | C．shelters | D．offices |
| A．held on to | B．gave way to | C．catered to | D．adapted to |
| A．salaries | B．jobs | C．kids | D．families |
| A．rare | B．practical | C．inspiring | D．cosy |
| A．create | B．reform | C．apply | D．recognize |
9 . When asked what his father did for a living, Mike explained to his kindergarten teacher that “he steals things, but it’s OK, because he gets paid to do it. ”
He isn’t wrong. His father is a hacker(黑客), who is proud of his job, just like doctors are proud of the work they do. Thanks to security researchers’ hacking practices, leaks in a new version of the most common Wi-Fi code standard(WPA3)were found before criminals could use them to break into home and business networks. In another case, criminals found an unknown weakness in Google’s Android operating systems before security researchers did, giving the bad guys full control of more than a dozen phone models.
However, finding Mike’s father’s personalized plates for his car with the word ‘HACKING’, an employee of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles quickly took them away, claiming that a license plate displaying “HACKING” publicized criminal activity. While this reaction really isn’t the fault of the well-intentioned employee, it’s a sign of how a deeply rooted misrepresentation of his profession has created a fixed wrong image. It seems that the way that hackers are described in Hollywood has contributed to the word ‘hacker’ paralleling ‘criminal’, where hackers are often referred to as figures in dark rooms engaged in illegal activity while tapping at keyboards.
But actually, hacking is just an activity. What separates any activity from a crime is, very often, permission. People are free to drive, but they do not have permission to drive 150 miles per hour, which is a criminal offense. Since a driver is just a driver, why must a hacker be a criminal? Someone who engages in the illegal use of hacking should not be called a ‘bad hacker’ but a ‘cybercriminal’. Contrary to popular belief, most hackers like Mike’s father undoubtedly play an important role in keeping companies and people safe.
1. What did Mike’s son think of Mike’s job?| A．Admirable. | B．Amazing. | C．Acceptable. | D．Annoying. |
| A．Its weakness. | B．Its importance. | C．Its variety | D．Its security. |
| A．To entertain the renders. | B．To question the employee’s claim. |
| C．To clarify the concept of hacking. | D．To trace the wrong image of hackers. |
| A．Hacking mostly counts. | B．Hacking is actually a crime. |
| C．Hacking is popular with people. | D．Hacking needs licenses. |
10 . In gardens across Britain the grass has stopped growing, which is not drought-stricken. In fact, it is greener and cleaner than ever before. That is because the lawns(草坪)are actually artificial substitutes.
Britons are fascinated by lawns. Country estates(庄园)have long competed to have the most perfectly cut and polished grassland. “What you’re saying in big loud capital letters, is ‘I’m so terribly wealthy’” says Fiona Davison of the RHS(皇家园林协会). With the coming of grass-cutting machines in 1830, the middle classes joined the fun.
But now Britons have fallen in love with artificial grass. Evergreens UK, which sells the stuff, says it has seen a 120% rise in sales since 2015. Artificial grass is popular with families who have children or dogs and don’t want mud dragged through their houses. It has another charm factor, too—people now see gardens as “outside rooms”—pairing carpets of artificial grass with delicately decorated seating and hot containers.
Not everyone is a fan. Artificial grass contains microplastics that ruin soil and risk flooding. A study finds carthworms gain 14% less body weight when operating under rubber, a form of artificial grass, which might not be a problem for its fans, as wormholes are regular disgusting things, but it disappoints green types. Ms Davison says a group of wildlife-loving gardeners is blooming, many having caught the bug during COVID-19 lockdowns. For example, a landscape designer says they like things less neat and try “to capture that wild clement”. These cco-gardeners are influenced by rewilding projects and are more likely to be environmentalists.
While three written documents signed by many people have tried to stop artificial grass spreading, the government says regulating what people do in their backyards is wrong. The RHS is concerned about artificial grass, but prefers persuasion to laws. “We say ‘Let a hundred flowers bloom’,” says Ms Davison.
1. What can be inferred from Davison’s remark in paragraph 2?| A．She is very rich. | B．The gardening competition is fierce. |
| C．Operating a cutting machine is fun. | D．High-quality grassland is greatly valued. |
| A．Advertising campaigns. | B．Gardens’ new function. |
| C．Messy grasslands. | D．Ill-mannered children and dogs. |
| A．Interest. | B．Earthworm. | C．Flower. | D．Virus. |
| A．The barrier of British grassland |
| B．The appeal of grassland for Britons |
| C．The fight to define the great British garden |
| D．The competition to become the best grassland |
