People think animals are stupid, that they don’t understand kindness and that they can’t feel trust, or gratitude, or love. But I know they’re wrong and I have the evidence I need. It happened on a winter night, when a duck climbed up the stairs to save his sister.
That day, the temperature had suddenly dropped sharply, with cold winds blowing strongly and big snow falling. It wasn’t until late afternoon that we remembered our two ducks were still at our poorly built small farm. “Have they died due to the cold?” we wondered, worried.
My mother and I hurried to the farm and luckily found they were still alive. Their body was covered with snow; they were too cold to even quack. They stayed close together for warmth. We decided to take them home. Once back in the warm house, we made a nest for them in the basement, using newspaper and towels, and brought them food and water. The ducks gathered together in the warm basement. Near their nest, there were fishing nets we had carelessly left. We didn’t realize that could be a danger to them.
We just decided to leave the ducks alone to warm up and recover. We knew they had enough food and water, so we didn’t go down to the basement again that afternoon. That evening we were reading by the fire in the living room when we heard a strange sound coming from the basement. There was kind of a strange noise, then a pause (停顿), and then the strange sound again-over and over.
“Could that be the ducks?” my mother asked my father. Curious about that, we stood up and went to find out. It was indeed the ducks- at least one of them. We found the duck brother was standing on the second-highest step, beating his wings for balance. He gathered his strength and made the difficult leap to the highest step, the source of the strange noise
注意:续写词数应为 150 左右。
When he saw us, he stayed there and started quacking (呱呱叫) crazily and beating his wings.
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To free the duck sister from the fishing nets, I rushed upwards to bring scissors.
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This is the year 2070. Today is my
I remember when I
I remember there were “Saving Water” warnings in many public places, but nobody
In the past, doctors suggested adults drink eight glasses of water a day. Nowadays, I am allowed half a glass only. Most people are weak and sick.
When my son asks me about my childhood, I tell him about how pleasant it was to fish in the rivers
I hope the people living in the 2020s
3 . A 70-year-old Chinese woman has been called “Super Grannie” after it was reported that she is
Most people
“This lady is as old as my grandmother, how can she run so fast? That’s
So
Wang Guilan
A.crazy | B.angry | C.nervous | D.sorry |
A.refuse | B.promise | C.choose | D.remember |
A.normally | B.certainly | C.especially | D.partly |
A.task | B.rule | C.lesson | D.way |
A.progressed | B.stopped | C.succeeded | D.cheered |
A.prettiest | B.healthiest | C.oldest | D.cleverest |
A.lucky | B.surprising | C.important | D.funny |
A.in | B.for | C.with | D.against |
A.husband | B.neighbor | C.teacher | D.friend |
A.even if | B.because | C.so that | D.unless |
A.herself | B.itself | C.myself | D.yourself |
A.how | B.when | C.why | D.where |
A.height | B.age | C.weight | D.size |
A.loves | B.imagines | C.suggests | D.avoids |
A.hardly | B.easily | C.seriously | D.strongly |
4 . Out of all the relationships we have in our lifetime, the one with our parents is the most important. When you think about it, no other relationship is like the one we have with our mom and dad: when we’re young, our parents care for us; when our parents are old, we care for them. But in the middle of this long bond, there usually comes a time when it seems like our parents are our biggest enemies: when we’re teenagers.
As kids, we love nothing more than spending as much time as we can with our parents.
As US psychologist Lisa Damour wrote recently, “Many parents of teenagers long for the days when their preteen laughed at their jokes and happily came along on errands.” So, why is it that as we begin to enter adulthood, we feel so different about the two people who brought us into the world? “Teenagers are going through a very stressful time in their lives: they want to please us, but they also want to break away,” US psychologist Michele Borba said. Borba’s second point is perhaps the biggest reason why our attitude toward our parents changes as we grow older.
We’re no longer kids, and as young adults, we try to be as independent as possible. We soon start to put our friends before our parents. Before we know it, things at home are completely different. But rather than pushing our parents away, we should pay attention to their advice instead of ignoring it.
“
Although sometimes it may seem impossible to follow everything our parents tell us, there’s one thing we should remember - respect is something that works two ways:
It means that instead of not following our parents’ wishes, we should show how mature we are by trusting their wisdom. Indeed, as the girl pointed out, “
A.Friendship is the most important thing to me. |
B.Family is the most important thing to me. |
C.But as we approach our teenage years, it seems like everything our parents do is just annoying. |
D.In our mid-to-late teenage years, this is when we start to discover who we really are. |
E.Friends are great, but they’ll come and go. |
F.If we show respect to others, it will be shown back to us. |
G.With time passing by, we want to stay with our friends for long. |
5 . Do Yao Ming, Liu Xiang or Guo Jingjing have anything in common with people like us? You will probably answer “NO!” It seems that top athletes live in a world that is totally different from ours. They don’t have to worry about homework or exams. There are fans everywhere they go, constantly cheering them on. However, if we could see into their minds, it would be clear that they are actually just like us.
We may not all be sports stars, but we have to face similar problems. We set goals and seek self- development. We have to manage our fears before important exams. We worry about our relationships with classmates... Like sportspeople, we try to be mentally strong and do our best on a daily basis.
However, how an athlete becomes a success teaches all of us a lesson. To achieve their goals, sportspeople not only have to prepare physically, but also mentally. They have to get to know themselves, highlight their strong points, manage stresses and develop their powers of concentration. Here is some advice on how to achieve success from China’s top athletes.
China’s top woman badminton player Zhang Ning shows us the importance of motivation. It’s the first step to success. It is her love of badminton and sense of responsibility that contribute to her success.
Teng Haibin’s experience shows that “planning” exactly what should be done in your mind is as important as physical preparation. Give yourself a few minutes before a speech contest, for example. Close your eyes and picture things like your posture. It helps a lot!
How important is concentration? Hurdling star Liu Xiang knows. Focus is not only important for Liu Xiang, but for you too. If you can’t focus in class, you won’t get good grades.
A clear objective encourages a person to pursue their dream. Diving star Xiong Ni won a silver and a bronze in two Olympics. But his goal of winning an Olympic gold medal drove him on.
Top athletes show us that success isn’t simply down to chance and that all people can steer their life’s journey.
1. According to the passage, to achieve their goals, sportspeople should do the following EXCEPT________.A.get to know themselves well | B.manage stresses |
C.develop powers of concentration | D.stop being tough with themselves |
A.success of top athletes largely depends on chance |
B.ordinary people don’t need to become strong-minded |
C.one needs to be physically and mentally prepared to achieve success |
D.sportspeople have similar fears before important exams |
A.medal | B.goal | C.dream | D.decision |
A.Top athletes’ stories of success. |
B.Problems that ordinary people have in common with top athletes. |
C.The importance of physical and mental health. |
D.Lessons drawn from top athletes’ success. |
6 . We all know that some animals adapt to living in very cold environment, like polar bears in the frozen Arctic. But what about the opposite situation? How do animals become adapted to the life in very hot places? A great example of animals beating heat is the camel living in deserts.
A major problem for camels in deserts is the temperature. It’s hot and dry during the day and can be very cold at night. So their fur can not only protect them from the burning sun at daytime, but also help keep warm at night. Another thing is that camels have long necks and legs, so they have large surface area to lose heat easily. They can stand body temperature above41℃, which would be really damaging to living creatures like us humans. And how can they manage to travel a long distance without water at all in deserts? They have large flat feet to spread their weight on the shifting sand. They store fat in their humps to keep them from getting hungry or dehydrated. This helps when they’re not able to find food or water for long periods of time.
In addition to these, camels have other ways to adapt to their environment. In a desert, it can sometimes get very dusty. However, camels don’t mind since they have extremely thick and long eyelashes which protect their eyes from blowing sand. Sand up the nose can be a problem, but not for camels. They can shut their nostrils during sandstorms.
1. What do we know about camels living in deserts?A.Their fur can help keep cool at night. |
B.They have long necks to protect them from blowing sand. |
C.They have large flat feet to walk on the sand. |
D.They can stand body temperature up to 41℃. |
A.Being lack of water. | B.Being lack of food. |
C.Being lack of fat. | D.Being lack of direction. |
A.The Camel —the Best Traveller in Deserts | B.The Camel Needs More Water |
C.The Harder, the Better | D.Be the Best in Deserts |
7 . While the cool weather and bright clear sky may make us want to go outside, the world’s major museums are offering amazing exhibitions to draw us inside. We have selected two must-see museum exhibitions in the city this autumn. Take a look.
Picasso Sculpture, Modern Art Centre
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is one of the most famous painters the world has ever known. But right now, at the Modern Art Centre, it’s his sculptures that are taking centre stage.
Running from 14 February to 7 September, the exhibition shows around 140 pieces created from 1902 to 1964. Large or small, the sculptures made from every kind of material can be found — bronze, steel, wood, and even cardboard.
For those who have never seen Picasso’s art before, this is the place to go, claims the centre’s curator (博物馆馆长). According to him, through this exhibition, people can clearly feel the way Picasso wanted to try new things and how he did it.
The World Goes Pop, Williamson Gallery
You may think of pop art as a way to show US materialism — advertising, television, cola bottles, and soup cans. But Williamson Gallery’s autumn exhibition, held from17 September to 24 January, shows what pop art looks like in different countries. “I’m surprised to find that many of pop art’s famous qualities — flat, bright colours, graphic design, and a playful way of showing stars — went right round the world,” said one visitor after seeing the exhibition.
And the exhibition doesn’t just offer an international view of pop art’s style. It also corrects the idea that pop art is just for men by including 25 female artists, many of whom have never had their work shown in a gallery before.
1. Which place will you choose if you want to see bronze statues created by Picasso?A.Modern Art Centre. | B.Williamson Gallery. |
C.Both A and B. | D.Neither A nor B. |
A.Modern Art Centre. | B.Williamson Gallery. |
C.Picasso Sculpture. | D.The World Goes Pop. |
A.There are only two exhibitions in the city this autumn. |
B.Picasso Sculpture might be too complicated for visitors who have never seen Picasso’s art before. |
C.Visitors can see artworks of some female artists shown for the first time. |
D.The exhibition at Williamson Gallery this autumn shows US materialism. |
A.In a comment on artworks. |
B.In a brochure for tourists. |
C.In a collection of short stories. |
D.On a popular science website. |
词汇:1. be poor at 在……方面不擅长 2. at one’s earliest convenience 尽早
注意:
1. 词数80左右;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
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9 . College. It means that you are finally going to leave your parents’ nest and experience a lot of personal freedom and independence. You’ll wear whatever you want. You’ll make new friends. And you are definitely ready to enjoy your time in “paradise”.
However, college might be different than you have considered. When an English speaking contest was held in Beijing, about two-thirds of the 62 college students recalled their frustrations about their life in college.
Many of them said they didn’t know what they were supposed to do in college. “Most of the time, I lingered around in my dorm, idling hours and hours away, watching entertainment shows or soap operas on the Internet, or chatting with roommates, ”Huang Xuan, 23, from Guangxi University, said of his first two years of college life.
However, one day his mum asked him about his future plans after college. It was then that he realised his future would be ruined if he kept up such self-indulgence.
Li Yan, 20, from Shenzhen University, suffered a loss of not being one of the “marked” students. She was neither the chairman of the Student Union nor the one with the highest scholarship. Sun Tingting, 21, from Suzhou University of Science and Technology, dominated all the exams with the highest scores, but she felt confused because when she was free, she could think of nothing else to do and no one else to talk to. Zhang Xin, 19, from Beijing Foreign Studies University, began to re- examine what “college” means after she noticed many graduates from elite schools ending up in a job that does not pay well. “Our future is not guaranteed by our college, but rather by how we reshape ourselves in college.”
“Young people are experiencing ‘growing pains’,” said Li Fang, a mental health consultant. In the process of self-discovery, she thinks many Chinese young people suffer more than their peers in the West. Their independence comes much later. They are so used to relying on their parents that when independence suddenly comes in college, it can be difficult.
“Relax,“ Li advised. “This is part of growing up.”
1. The underlined expression “idling hours and hours away” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by “________”.A.killing time | B.making use of time |
C.saving time | D.valuing time |
A.They are no longer the “best” students. |
B.They have no friends to talk to in their spare time. |
C.They have trouble communicating with their parents. |
D.They realise that good college doesn’t guarantee a good job. |
A.They often abandon themselves to watching TV or shows on the Internet. |
B.They are accustomed to counting on their parents before coming to college. |
C.They have never left their parents’ nests. |
D.They are definitely ready to enjoy their time in college. |
A.Learn from their peers in the West. |
B.Consult a psychologist. |
C.Relax and consider this as part of growing up. |
D.Stop relying on their parents and learn to take responsibility. |
1. How long is the lecture about ants?
A.60 minutes. | B.45 minutes. | C.30 minutes. |
A.In Theater A. | B.In Theater B. | C.In Theater C. |
A.David Crocker. | B.Monica Chaddha. | C.Jane Smith. |
A.At 2:00 p. m. | B.At 2:30 p. m. | C.At 3:00 p. m. |