1 . Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges is celebrating becoming a grandfather and is also happy to be back in acting. But life wasn’t so ______ for him in 2021. He had to fight with cancer and suffered from COVID-19 ______ . Recently, he spoke about those hard days, and what kept him motivated (有动力的).

Life suddenly took a ______ turn for Jeff when one day he started getting pain in his stomach. His whole life ______ when a nine-by-twelve-inch tumor (肿瘤) was found in his stomach. ______ was started immediately and the tumor disappeared soon.

But in January 2021, both he and his wife Sue were ______ by COVID-19. Sue was able to recover in five days, while he ______ with it in hospital for months.

“COVID-19 made my cancer look like ______ ,” Jeff recalled. He couldn’t breathe properly and needed oxygen even to roll over in bed. His wife Sue was ______ that he might die.

“I was pretty close to ______ . The doctors kept telling me, ‘Jeff, you’ve got to fight.’ But I was about to ______ . I was ready to go,” said Jeff. But he remembered his ______ to his daughter to dance with her on her wedding day, which gave him the will to ______ back. And he eventually recovered. He was not only able to ______ with his daughter but was also happy to be reunited again with his wife and enjoy the second ______ at life.

1.

A．active

B．peaceful

C．busy

D．social

2.

A．as usual

B．at times

C．in return

D．as well

3.

A．wrong

B．formal

C．specific

D．familiar

4.

A．functioned

B．ended

C．changed

D．approached

5.

A．Defence

B．Treatment

C．Celebration

D．Performance

6.

A．assumed

B．protested

C．attacked

D．impressed

7.

A．debated

B．struggled

C．shared

D．communicated

8.

A．something

B．anything

C．everything

D．nothing

9.

A．annoyed

B．curious

C．confident

D．scared

10.

A．arriving

B．dying

C．agreeing

D．winning

11.

A．give in

B．settle down

C．move on

D．turn around

12.

A．arrangement

B．decision

C．promise

D．demand

13.

A．call

B．pay

C．fight

D．look

14.

A．dance

B．talk

C．play

D．swim

15.

A．breath

B．acting

C．chance

D．progress

2 . New Zealand plans to put a price on sheep and cow burps (打嗝) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (排放). If the plan is passed, New Zealand will become the first country to tax (征税) farmers on each burp of their cattle, since the burps give out methane (甲烷) into the atmosphere.

“There is no question that we need to cut the amount of methane we are putting into the atmosphere, and an effective emissions pricing system for agriculture will play a key part in how we achieve that,” Climate Change Minister James Shaw said.

Animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of global warming. It is reportedly responsible for at least 14.5% of the world’s emissions. Moreover, cows are by far the biggest contributors. This is so because they produce 40% of global methane when they burp, fart (放屁) and produce waste. Also, methane is 80 times more warming than CO₂ although it’s shorter-lived in the atmosphere.

New Zealand, which has a population of five million people, has around 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep. “Almost half the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, mainly methane,” the draft plan explained.

The “burp tax” is expected to take effect in 2025. Mr. Shaw wants farming to be more environmentally friendly. He also wants farmers to change the way they farm. He wants them to feed their animals on seaweed instead of grass. This will produce fewer emissions. Mr. Shaw also said farmers can reduce the tax they pay by planting more trees. Another suggestion is for cows to wear special masks.

New Zealand’s farmers support the government. They want to do their bit to help the environment.

1. Why will cattle’s burps be taxed?

A．To raise more money.	B．To feed more cattle.
C．To limit cattle’s price.	D．To better the environment.

2. Which is a fact about New Zealand according to the text?

A．Its cows produce 40% of global methane.

B．Its agriculture affects greenhouse gas emissions.

C．It is responsible for at least 14.5% of the world’s emissions.

D．There is 80 times more methane than CO2.

3. What can farmers do to pay less tax according to Mr. Shaw?

A．Plant more trees.	B．Correct their way to farm.
C．Feed their animals on grass.	D．Wear special masks when farming.

4. Which can be the best title of the text?

A．New Zealand reducing greenhouse gas emissions

B．New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions and animal farming

C．New Zealand introducing a new tax to help the environment

D．New Zealand’s farmers joining in the fight against climate change

3 . Ethan has always dreamed of becoming a firefighter. Recently, the 18-year-old got a ________ of what it really feels like to save lives!

It all ________ when Ethan and his two friends, Ryken and Jackson, both 17,were heading to a local basketball court. They looked up and saw ________ pouring from the Citadel Mews Retirement Home. Pulling over in their tracks, they ________ to the Retirement Home to see if they could help.

“We knew that the elderly people were struggling ________,” Jackson said.

The ________ teens first went to the rescue members. Learning that there were still people inside the building, they didn’t ________ to go in after them. Thinking nothing of their own ________ , they ran up to the fourth floor and began to carefully ________ the rooms.

“Knock on every door, say, ‘There’s a fire; everyone gets out,’” Jackson ________. “After that we’d open the door and take a ________ look through to make sure no one was in and go to the next ________.”

Smoke began to ________ the hallways, and the roof was in flames, but they were so focused on evacuating (疏散) everyone that they didn’t have time to be ________. “The only thing that was going through my mind was to get out all the people ________ in the building,” said Ethan. Soon he found an old lady ________ to make her way downstairs, and he picked her up and ________ her outside.

The three teens are receiving lots of ________, but they insist they were just raised to do what they thought was ________.

After this experience, Ethan said he is more convinced than ever that he wants to be a ________.

1.

A．choice

B．taste

C．secret

D．purpose

2.

A．stopped

B．changed

C．appeared

D．started

3.

A．storm

B．light

C．smoke

D．liquid

4.

A．drove

B．wandered

C．rushed

D．returned

5.

A．getting out

B．settling down

C．showing up

D．turning away

6.

A．ambitious

B．intelligent

C．honest

D．brave

7.

A．hesitate

B．regret

C．promise

D．refuse

8.

A．future

B．safety

C．career

D．performance

9.

A．decorate

B．occupy

C．tidy

D．empty

10.

A．recalled

B．observed

C．complained

D．announced

11.

A．gentle

B．curious

C．brief

D．doubtful

12.

A．car

B．door

C．school

D．court

13.

A．ruin

B．fill

C．block

D．crash

14.

A．upset

B．excited

C．cautious

D．afraid

15.

A．stuck

B．injured

C．working

D．missing

16.

A．devoting

B．deciding

C．struggling

D．offering

17.

A．forced

B．carried

C．threw

D．pushed

18.

A．encouragement

B．comfort

C．praise

D．warning

19.

A．real

B．funny

C．lucky

D．right

20.

A．firefighter

B．volunteer

C．champion

D．superhero

4 . One Monday afternoon in April, 45-year-old Rene Compean set out for a hike in Angeles National Forest in Southern California.

Rene parked his car near the Buckhorn Campground and headed up a trail in the Mt. Waterman area. Later, he texted a picture of setting foot on a rock to a friend, and the unclear image ended up saving his life!

A few hours into the hike, Rene took a wrong turn because a path marker was missing due to recent forest fires. He realized he was lost and texted his friend for help, explaining that he had no idea where he was and his phone was about to die. Unfortunately, he didn’t have location services on his mobile phone, so search and rescue teams couldn’t find him using GPS.

Rene was reported missing around 6 p.m. Temperatures dropped rapidly in the mountains, and rescuers searched through the night with no success.

When they set out in search of Rene the next morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office posted Rene’s picture to their social media pages, asking the public to help them identify the area.

Thankfully, the photo made its way to satellite mapping enthusiast Benjamin Kuo. As luck would have it, Ben has “a very strange hobby” that came into use in this situation. “I love taking a look at photos and figuring out where they’re taken,” Ben explained.

He studied the area below Rene’s legs for clues and came up with coordinates (坐标) for where he thought the hiker was. He then provided the details to the Sheriff’s Office. Thankfully, Ben’s coordinates had exactly pointed out his location! Believe it or not, officials found the hiker within three-quarters of a mile of the GPS coordinates Ben sent them. A helicopter was sent to the site, and there was Rene, tired out and cold from his night outside but otherwise unharmed.

1. What made it difficult for search and rescue teams to find Rene?

A．Fires broke out in the forest.	B．The path marker was not correct.
C．Rene couldn’t be located by GPS.	D．Rene’s picture was not clear enough.

2. Why did the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office post the picture on social media?

A．To help locate Rene’s position.	B．To attract the attention of the readers.
C．To seek satellite mapping enthusiasts.	D．To inform people of Rene’s getting lost.

3. Why could Benjamin exactly figure out where Rene got lost?

A．Because he loved hiking and taking photos.

B．Because he was quite familiar with the area.

C．Because he was sent to the site by a helicopter.

D．Because he was good at finding clues from photos.

4. What mainly led to Rene eventually being rescued?

A．The bravery and calmness of Rene.	B．The extraordinary talent of Benjamin.
C．The excellent photography skill of Rene.	D．The search and rescue teams’ rich experience.

5 . You don’t need to_____________ the blame for their failure.

A．balance

B．shape

C．shoulder

D．harvest

6 . What is food to one man may be_____________ to another.

A．prison

B．poison

C．award

D．reward

7 . To overcome a_____________ of medical staff, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.

A．majority

B．storage

C．shortage

D．minority

8 . The villages received weak TV_____________ in old days.

A．symbols

B．symptoms

C．signals

D．singles

9 . He always goes to bed at ten—he is a_____________ of habit.

A．crop

B．colleague

C．creature

D．cruelty

10 . There is only one word to describe Chinese women’s football team as_____________. Especially, they beat their opponents in the final.

A．average

B．awful

C．awesome

D．ashamed