1 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

It was the worst day ever. The exact date was January10, 2010. And my life was changed completely when that accident happened.

Before that day I had just started my college life and loved being at that stage in my life where I could eat all the pizza I wanted, yet engage in adult conversations with my parents about the responsibility to make life better for others. I was pretty sure I could be someone in the future, a great volunteer maybe. Then on that day, all the possibilities were destroyed by a careless driver. The days I spent in hospital were dreadful, suffering severe pain and hearing the doctor telling me that I could never walk anymore.

When I was finally permitted to leave the hospital, I had myself in a small apartment and refused any visit, blaming everyone in the world and drowning myself to despair. After I missed ten calls from my dad, he just couldn’t leave me alone. And when he entered the apartment, it was in a mess, with pizza boxes on the floor and dirty dishes in the sink. In the corner, there was a garbage can around which were pieces of garbage and waste paper. He turned around and finally had his eyes on me. A few steps towards me and he stroke his fingers through my hair, gently asking, “You want to see something?” I felt a little guilty for making my dad so worried, so I faked a smile and nodded my head.

He opened my fridge, searched for a while and took out some ice and some tea leaves after boiling some water in a pot. Mysteriously, he put the ice in the boiling water. After a while, he asked, “How is the ice now?” “What?” I was a little confused about his question, wondering what he was about to do next. When he repeated the move and asked me the same question, I began to feel bored. “How is the ice now?” “What ice? There is no ice in the water now! It melted!” I answered with my eyes fixed on the roof. Suddenly, Dad held my head, looked at me straightly and explained, “The ice was once tough and hard.” Dad continued, “But when it was put in the pot, the boiling water melted it and made it disappear as if it had never existed, just like what the difficulties may do to one’s dream.”

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
“Want to see something different?” Dad went on to pour a spoonful of tea leaves in the boiling water, too.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I knew it was time to change.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . A young man woke up one morning under a bridge. _________, he had nothing but a few dollars. He was _________ as he never found a job. He bought food with his last _________and as he sat down, an old man and two thin and weak children came along. The old man asked him to help them with food _________they had not eaten since a week ago.

With the last bit of _________he had, he gave them all the food he bought. The old man and children thanked the young man and gave him a dirty old coin. The young man said. “You need this coin more than I do—just keep it.” The old man _________ that the young man put it in his pocket— and _________ he did.

Going back under the bridge, the young man suddenly saw an advertisement on an old newspaper_________ people with old coins to come to a particular store. He decided to go there with the coin. As he showed the dirty old coin, the owner screamed loudly, _________ a book and told the young man this old __________was worth $67,000 dollars. The young man was __________ as the owner gave him a check for the full amount. He immediately __________ it at the bank and went ________ the old man and children to thank them and share the money.

However, no one showed up except a lady who came over and handed him a note __________ “You gave us all you had and we have __________ you with the coin.”

1.

A．Undefeated

B．Unharmed

C．Unconcerned

D．Unemployed

2.

A．engaged

B．thrilled

C．frustrated

D．qualified

3.

A．findings

B．savings

C．belongings

D．feelings

4.

A．for

B．once

C．while

D．until

5.

A．kindness

B．depression

C．comprehension

D．obsession

6.

A．prayed

B．acquired

C．proposed

D．insisted

7.

A．hopefully

B．effortlessly

C．finally

D．accidentally

8.

A．urging

B．forcing

C．inviting

D．selecting

9.

A．brought out

B．showed off

C．paid for

D．gave away

10.

A．newspaper

B．coin

C．advertisement

D．shop

11.

A．exhausted

B．scared

C．annoyed

D．overjoyed

12.

A．paid

B．cashed

C．traded

D．drew

13.

A．in front of

B．in company with

C．in search of

D．in line with

14.

A．saying

B．writing

C．talking

D．persuading

15.

A．honored

B．approved

C．authorized

D．rewarded

5 . Vegan Agriculture

Vegan farming (全素农业) has become more and more popular. It is one of the most environmentally-friendly forms of agriculture. Vegan farming is a good way to grow plants such as vegetables without using animal-derived materials such as their waste.     1     Such an approach to farming also helps preserve the environment and regain soil richness and improve its biodiversity.

    2    Organic farming uses natural products to grow plants — that can include even animal waste as fertilizers. On the other hand, vegan agriculture rejects animal-derived products and usually sticks with plant-based organic compounds, which means that, in general, vegan agriculture has stricter rules than organic farming.

Additionally, vegan farming usually chooses more natural ways to protect the plants, like breaking cycles of plants’ diseases with mixed cropping (混作), using mechanical barriers such as nets, or even attracting opposing organisms to fight the harmful ones.     3     However, they might be less effective against certain plant diseases or pests.

One of the reasons to invest in vegan agriculture is that the vegan way of farming replaces synthetic (合成的) pesticides and uses organic pesticides or other non-chemical methods to protect the crops. By contrast, in conventional agriculture, synthetic pesticides are on a very high level.     4    

In the future, it is of great significance not to rely on animals’ waste for feeding plants. Doing so is not only beneficial to vegans.     5     Even if today’s methods of vegan agriculture might not be perfect, scientists worldwide, together with vegan farmers, are working towards developing plant-based solutions as alternatives to animal-derived fertilizers.

A．Accordingly, the amount of it in food products is much higher.

B．It is apparent that vegan agriculture is not the same as an organic one.

C．In today’s world, the vegan diet and lifestyle are increasingly popular.

D．But it’s also good for the whole world, including other animals and plants.

E．Those ways affect the environment less than the ways of traditional farming.

F．The rise of veganism creates new demand for more vegan-friendly agriculture.

G．Also, vegan farmers are far from applying synthetic fertilizers.

6 . You drink diet soda enjoying the sweet taste without the guilt of calories. But scientists have long suspected a link between artificial sweeteners(甜味剂)and obesity in humans. A new study suggests that artificial sweeteners may not be as harmless as once thought. They may not only disturb the microbes(微生物)living in the bodies of humans, but some may even increase the risk of weight gain.

Every human hosts a unique group of microbes. The number of cells that make up this vast community, called microbiome(微生物群), is extremely large in the human body. It not only helps digestion but also protects against diseases. The disturbance to the microbiome occurs because artificial sweeteners, although zero calories for humans, serve as nutrients for some microbes, which then increase rapidly. This causes an imbalance in microbial populations that can lead to diseases.

In the study, scientists first chose 1,375 volunteers to see if they consumed artificial sweeteners in their daily lives. Then, they identified 120 volunteers who were not previously exposed to artificial sweeteners and gave them one of the four commonly used sweeteners—saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, and stevia for two weeks. After that, to test how artificial sweeteners affect the body’s ability to control the sudden increase of blood sugar after consuming sugar as part of meals, volunteers were monitored for blood glucose(血糖)levels after a test glucose drink.

The study showed that sucralose and saccharin pushed the body towards glucose intolerance, which, if sustained, can cause weight gain. However, aspartame and stevia did not affect glucose tolerance at the tested levels. “The study is the first to show that the human microbiome responds to artificial sweeteners. It’s also a convincing study to show how these sweeteners really are affecting the human body,” says Michael Goran, a professor at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“This study provides evidence of both short-term harmful effects and long-term negative effects caused by artificial sweeteners,” David Katz, a nutrition specialist, says. “That does not mean artificial sweeteners should be replaced with sugar. Rather, alternative approaches to reducing sugar intake should be considered.”

1. What does the new study reveal?

A．Diet soda contains more calories than sugary drinks.

B．Exercise can help people reduce the risk of diseases.

C．Artificial sweeteners have negative effects on humans.

D．Obesity is the most common health problem among adults.

2. How do Sweeteners disturb the microbiome?

A．It probably destroys the function of digestion.

B．It usually causes a rapid loss of healthy cells.

C．It sometimes feeds harmful bacteria in the body.

D．It often leads to a sharp growth of certain microbes.

3. Which aspect of the experiment is talked about in Paragraph 3?

A．Its results.	B．Its process.
C．Its background.	D．Its subjects.

4. What does David Katz advise people to do?

A．Introduce a tax on sugary drinks.

B．Ban the use of artificial sweeteners.

C．Raise the prices of sugar-free drinks.

D．Find other ways to limit sugar intake.

7 . I’ve always described myself as a perfectionist. I wore it like a badge(徽章) of honor. I credited my perfectionism with good grades at school, turning in essays that were rewritten until they felt perfect. I’d always thought of myself as someone who tried his best, but the truth is that I was a quitter, not a trier. I gave up anything that I wasn’t immediately good at. I was so afraid of failing and I wasn’t even trying anymore. It tuned out that perfectionism actually means the fear of failure. And there was so much I wanted to try. There were so many things I felt sure I’d enjoy but never had a go at. What if I failed? What if I was rubbish? The idea was so unbearable that it was easier to leave it as the unknown. If I didn’t try, I couldn’t fail.

And then one day I accidentally stepped into an art supply store. Before I could stop myself, I bought a tiny set of paints, some paper, and brushes. I headed home full of anticipation, opened them up, and started painting. And the results were…really bad. Frustrated, I pushed everything into a drawer and decided to forget the idea. But then a weird thing happened—I kept thinking about being a quitter, so I got the paints back out and started again. I was still terrible at painting, but my motivation this time never lessened. I decided to share my paintings on social media, showing my progress and the efforts behind the scenes instead of the so-called perfection.

Now, three years later, I paint almost every day and have set up my own art business. I regularly fail and make a mess, but I never quit. And even better, I’m constantly trying new things that just a few years ago I couldn’t even have imagined. I enjoyed the moments in the painting workshops and attended drawing classes. I’ve made friends with fellow creatives from around the world. Most importantly, I’ve failed a bunch of times and just kept going. Because I’m no longer aiming for perfection or even excellence, I’m simply enjoying the process. And I’m so much happier. So pick something you’ve always wanted to try and get stuck in. You won’t regret it.

1. What can we know about the author from Paragraph 1?

A．He actually is proud to be a perfectionist.

B．He was brave and preferred to try everything.

C．He was afraid of failure though he wanted to try.

D．He didn’t perform well when he was a student.

2. Why did the author share his paintings on social media?

A．To focus on the process.

B．To demonstrate his perfection.

C．To make more friends.

D．To prove he wasn’t a trier.

3. Which of the following words can best describe the author?

A．Intelligent and reliable.

B．Hesitant and shallow.

C．Persistent and positive.

D．Caring and generous.

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

A．Always be a perfectionist.

B．Painting conquers perfectionism.

C．The advantages of painting.

D．The significance of perseverance.

8 . Popular topics during 2023 Spring Festival

E-CNY

Currently, 17 provincial-level regions in China have begun the use of digital yuan, or e-CNY. The Tianjin branch of China Construction Bank has also launched a digital yuan promotion activity, offering discounts of up to 50 percent to those who spend digital yuan on shopping during the Spring Festival holiday.

January box-office market

The first month of 2023 took a giant leap and became the highest-earning January of all time in China, selling a total of 201 million tickets for 10 million screenings in over 10,000 cinemas. Insiders said people started a new custom of going to cinemas during the Spring Festival and China’s improvement of COVID-19 control measures further made the January box-office earnings rise.

Tourism market

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said the tourism market recovers remarkably, with an increase of 23.1% compared to the same period last year. As for the income of the domestic tourism industry, travel data showed Chengdu, Shanghai and Guangzhou were the top 3 domestic destinations. It is also said that more than 2.3 million people have crossed the border, with 1.2 million entering and 1.1 million exiting.

The year of the cat instead of rabbit

Why? Legend has it that the cat and the rat were riding across a river on an ox to win the last seat in the zodiac (生肖) when the rat pushed the cat into the water and won the race. However, in the Vietnamese version — where there was no rabbit — the cat could swim and ended up arriving first. Funny as the story is, the change actually has something to do with language misunderstanding, as the word tied to the sign of the rabbit and pronounced mao (卯) is similar to mèo, the Vietnamese word for cat.

1. What may people in Tianjin do during the Spring Festival?

A．Get encouraged to go shopping.

B．Use e-CNY to promote an activity.

C．Start a new custom of traveling.

D．Offer discount to someone in need.

2. What do January box-office market and Tourism market have in common?

A．Bouncing back out of the same reason.

B．Encouraging a new trend during the holiday.

C．Experiencing a sharp decline several years ago.

D．Using statistics to show the industrial recovery.

3. What really makes the Vietnamese celebrate the year of cat instead of rabbit?

A．Lack of rabbit in their country.

B．Different legends about the zodiac.

C．Similar pronunciation with certain Chinese.

D．Vietnamese’s preference for swimming eats.