I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.
Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly, She had showed me how to knit (编织) a scarf.
I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.
There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.
Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging time, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.
It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it is freezing outside!” Then, he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me by saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great art project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.
注意：1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语己为你写好。
Paragraph 1: I wrapped the scarf around David’s neck.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: Later that day David came back saying Jane also deserved a scarf.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”
Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”
On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 阐明写信事由；
2. 征求建议；
3. 表达感谢。
注意：
1·字数80左右；2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Chris,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
Recently, Guangzhou has successfully hosted the “Understanding China” International Conference 2023, the 5th World Media Summit, and other significant events, once again highlighting its role as
Economy is another crucial aspect in understanding China. In recent years, Guangzhou has
Connecting with the world also requires a highly
Guangzhou’s openness, inclusiveness, vitality, and innovative spirit make it an ideal choice for hosting international events, which, in turn,
5 . Dogs may have earned the title of our best friends through their interactions with humans, but now researchers say these social skills could, be present shortly after birth rather than being learned.
To better understand the role of biology in dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans, the researchers studied 375 eight-week-old service dogs. They looked at how these dogs performed in a series of tasks designed to measure their communication skills. The puppies were still living with their littermates (同窝出生者) and had not been sent to live with a volunteer puppy raiser, making it unlikely that they had learned about his or her behavior.
In the first task, a person hid a treat beneath one of two overturned cups and pointed to it to see if the puppy could follow the gesture. Since dogs are good at using noses to find things a treat was also taped to the insides of, both cups. In the second task, puppies watched as the researchers placed a yellow, block next to the correct cup, instead of pointing to indicate where the puppy should look for the food.
The third task was designed to observe puppies’ tendency to look at human faces. The researchers spoke to the puppy in a voice people sometimes use when talking to a baby. They then measured how long the puppy fixed a stare on the human.
In the last task, researchers sealed a treat inside a closed container and presented it to the puppy. They then measured how often the puppy looked to the human for help in opening the container.
The study found that while many of the puppies were responsive to humans’ physical and verbal cues, very few looked to humans for help with the unsolvable task. Researchers said, “This suggests that while puppies may be born knowing how to respond to human-initiated communication, the ability to initiate communication on their own may come later.” The next step will be to see if specific genes that may contribute to dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans can be identified.
1. Why were eight-week-old service dogs chosen for the study?| A．They were the best age to learn. |
| B．They were cute and safe to deal with. |
| C．They were unlikely influenced by their mates. |
| D．They had had little contact with humans before. |
| A．To provide clues for the puppies’ final decisions. |
| B．To make comparisons between different conditions. |
| C．To prevent the puppies from making use of their smell. |
| D．To check the puppies’ preference for a particular color. |
| A．Puppies can understand our body language. |
| B．Puppies are good at asking humans for help. |
| C．Puppies are born to arouse communication with humans. |
| D．Puppies need specific genes to communicate with humans. |
| A．Dogs—talented performers | B．Dogs—humans’ best friends |
| C．Dogs—born to be able to learn | D．Dogs—born to understand humans |
6 . I’ve never had a great sense of direction. And I often wander into shops and, upon coming back out, can’t remember which way I’ve come from — left or right? Many people are like me, and why do some constantly have no idea where they are?
The hippocampus (海马体) is a region of the brain associated with memory and involved in sense of direction. And a nearby region has also been associated with sense of direction. There are four known types of navigation-related neurons (神经元), found in these regions place cells, grid cells, border cells and head direction cells.
In short, you can think of place cells as an internal cognitive (认知的) map; they identify where you are. Grid cells are like a GPS system in our brain; they tell us about the relationship of this place to other places we’ve been to. Border cells respond to the presence of environmental boundaries at a specific direction and distance from us. Lastly, head direction cells are activated when our head faces a specific direction. These cells will fire electrical impulses when we enter familiar locations, with each group of cells relating to a specific place.
Our reliance on GPS and smartphones may have decreased the ability to use our internal maps. Older adults who regularly used GPS had less activity in their hippocampus, compared with those who did not use GPS. They also performed slightly worse in a cognition test. In contrast, a study involving London taxi drivers found they significantly larger hippocampus than ordinary people.
You can improve your way-finding ability specifically by practicing the skill, according to Aziz, PhD of neurology at Temple University School of Medicine. “The more you get out and go to places, the better,” he says. Physical exercise improves the blood flow to the brain, while mental exercise, such as doing puzzles or learning a new language, stimulates the development of new nerve cells and connections in your brain.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By raising a question. |
| B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By stating personal opinions. |
| D．By referring to scientific research. |
| A．They depend closely on each other. |
| B．They are responsible for different jobs. |
| C．They will decrease in numbers as one ages. |
| D．They will fail to function in unfamiliar situations. |
| A．We will easily be misled. |
| B．Our hippocampus will get enlarged. |
| C．Our cognitive ability will be affected. |
| D．We will have our hippocampus relaxed. |
| A．Build up our body. | B．Take training courses. |
| C．Try different brain exercises. | D．Get out to connect with people. |
7 . When put to tests, bees have long proved that they’ve got a lot more to offer than pollinating (授粉), making honey and being loyal to a queen. The hard-working insects can change their behavior when things seem difficult, and now some scientists find there is proof that they also like to play.
Scientists from Queen Mary University of London performed an experiment, in which they set up a container that allowed bees to travel from their nest to a feeding area. But along the way, the bees could choose to pass through a separate section with some small wooden balls. Over 18 days, the scientists watched as the bees “went out of their way to roll wooden balls repeatedly, despite no apparent incentive (刺激) to do so.”
Earlier studies have shown that the black and yellow bugs are willing to learn new tricks in exchange for food or other rewards. In this case, to get rid of external factors, scientists made sure the bees had adapted to their new home and that their environment was stress-free.
The finding suggests that like humans, insects also interact with objects as a form of play. Also similar to people, younger bees seem to be more playful than adult bees. “This research provides a strong indication that insect minds are far more complicated than we imagine. There are lots of animals who play just for the purpose of enjoyment, but most examples come from young mammals and birds,” said Lars Chittka, a professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, who led the study.
The study’s first author. Samadi Galpay, who is a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London, states that it is more evident that bees may be capable of experiencing feelings. “They may actually experience some kind of positive emotional states, even if basic, like other larger animals do. This finding has effects on our understanding of the sense and welfare of insects, which, consequently, encourages us to respect and protect wildlife on Earth ever more,” she says.
1. What is the new finding about bees?| A．They are fond of having fun. | B．They are faithful to the queen. |
| C．They are adaptable to changes | D．They are skilled at rolling balls. |
| A．By teaching bees new tricks. | B．By rewarding bees with food. |
| C．By making bees feel at home. | D．By building new homes for bees |
| A．The forms of bees’ interaction. | B．The complexity of bees’ minds. |
| C．The examples of mammals’ play. | D．The purpose of mammals’ enjoyment. |
| A．It backs up prior understanding of insects. |
| B．It reveals reasons for bees’ positive feelings. |
| C．It drives research on animals’ emotional state. |
| D．It contributes to wildlife conservation on Earth. |
8 . I was in the back seat of a yellow taxi grabbing my mother’s hand like a 5-year-old. But in fact, I was 28 years old, still
We were coming home from the
I was about to open my mouth to shout at the driver or at least
In the mirror, I could see the driver
In that moment of
| A．scared | B．tired | C．upset | D．confused |
| A．shelter | B．hospital | C．college | D．countryside |
| A．bounced | B．blocked | C．interrupted | D．trapped |
| A．out of shape | B．out of reach | C．out of control | D．out of place |
| A．whisper | B．explain | C．warn | D．complain |
| A．especially | B．doubtfully | C．properly | D．personally |
| A．interesting | B．hard | C．easy | D．familiar |
| A．grateful | B．hopeful | C．great | D．guilty |
| A．proud | B．patient | C．weak | D．soft |
| A．shaking | B．smiling | C．joking | D．applauding |
| A．embarrassment | B．pity | C．satisfaction | D．anger |
| A．receive | B．forgive | C．contradict | D．recognize |
| A．expect | B．experience | C．delay | D．ensure |
| A．crisis | B．account | C．guidance | D．recognition |
| A．Praise | B．Love | C．Trust | D．Communication |
1. 展览的时间和地点；2. 展览的内容和意义。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.活动的时间和地点；
2.活动的意义；
3.表达感谢。
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。
Dear Mr Smith,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
