1 . One day, my children and I found a homeless, small cat trapped in a burning box. She was
Weeks later, Smoky looked better, but was completely
“Can’t I have any
During Smoky’s second year, she began growing fur. Tiny white hairs gradually grew long. Bill continued to enjoy her
| A．accidentally | B．likely | C．severely | D．lightly |
| A．treated | B．trained | C．caged | D．entertained |
| A．homeless | B．hairless | C．cured | D．deserted |
| A．resisted | B．attacked | C．disliked | D．annoyed |
| A．particular about | B．independent of | C．full of | D．armed with |
| A．flashed | B．sounded | C．smoked | D．slipped |
| A．knocking over | B．turning over | C．taking away | D．picking up |
| A．coffee | B．peace | C．trouble | D．right |
| A．Sooner or later | B．So far | C．On occasion | D．In time |
| A．tired | B．aware | C．tolerant | D．careful |
| A．sick | B．guilty | C．cheerful | D．content |
| A．rarely | B．occasionally | C．casually | D．continuously |
| A．beauty | B．gentleness | C．warmth | D．company |
| A．cattle | B．engine | C．road | D．weather |
| A．behind | B．aside | C．inside | D．out |
2 . While Instagram’s impact on teenage girls’ body image made the news recently, few have thought about its effect on teenage boys and young men. The masculine (男子汉的) body ideal has become increasingly large and more muscular in recent years. Given these pressures, a third of teenage boys report trying to bulk up (增肌).
Social media use is linked to muscle and height dissatisfaction in young men. Boys using social media are more likely to think about using harmful muscle-enhancing products. The pressure to become muscular can lead to muscle dysmorphia (健身成瘾症), which is when individuals become absorbed in the idea that their bodies are too small and not muscular enough. Like common eating disorders among teenagers, muscle dysmorphia can significantly worsen a teen’s physical and mental health.
Because of social media, boys’ bodies are on display now more than ever, especially through influencers’ accounts. Compared to female selfies (自拍照) which are more likely to feature faces, male selfies are more likely to be full-body photos: An analysis of 1,000 male full-body Instagram posts showed that a majority portrayed muscularity, and that images featuring this body type received significantly more likes and comments. Boys who view or post content related to fitness or muscularity on social media are subsequently flooded with other images of bulking teens, leading to an unhealthy cycle of constantly comparing their body with others and possible social media addiction.
While lawmakers debate potential government regulation of social media, concerned parents can start having conversations with their teens and discourage content that makes teens feel worse about themselves. They can also help relieve social media addiction by encouraging their kids to turn off updates, by having social media-free time (such as during family meals) and by having teens keep phones away from their beds while sleeping. Boys suffering from body image anxiety often experience delays in diagnosis and treatment. Parents need to be aware that the negative impact of social media isn’t only impacting their daughters but their sons as well.
1. What is the influence of social media on teenage boys?| A．Their dissatisfaction with their look. |
| B．Their wish to be covered by the media. |
| C．Their falling victim to eating disorders. |
| D．Their addiction to using harmful products. |
| A．To showcase the popularity of Instagram. |
| B．To compare the gender differences on selfies. |
| C．To illustrate features of some desirable body types. |
| D．To explain boys’ motivation for posting full-body photos. |
| A．Parenting matters more than law-making. |
| B．Boys’ body shame requires parents’ attention. |
| C．The use of social media does no good to boys. |
| D．The appearance anxiety is not easy to be cured. |
| A．Ideal Body Shape Is Not Built In One Day |
| B．Selfies Out Of Sight, Anxiety Out Of Mind |
| C．To Be Muscular Or Not. That Is The Question |
| D．Muscular Body Figure, Poisonous Social Media |
3 . As the sun sinks towards the horizon, casting long shadows across the dusty football pitch (足球场) in Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya, one player — Abdirahman —
“When I play with kids my age, I don’t feel
At just 14 years old, Abdirahman’s
Abdirahman was born in Kakuma in 2010, just two years after his parents and older siblings
“In Kakuma, we all have
Football has become an important part of Abdirahman’s life and a(n)
“When I play football, I feel
| A．breaks out | B．stands out | C．calls out | D．drops out |
| A．integrated | B．separated | C．challenged | D．qualified |
| A．explained | B．accused | C．complained | D．appealed |
| A．courage | B．responsibility | C．curiosity | D．pride |
| A．reconstructs | B．prevents | C．replaces | D．reflects |
| A．awkwardly | B．slowly | C．elegantly | D．nervously |
| A．trick | B．kick | C．approach | D．attract |
| A．approval | B．example | C．apology | D．warning |
| A．built | B．crossed | C．broadened | D．removed |
| A．scheduling | B．joining | C．fueling | D．escaping |
| A．gifts | B．concerns | C．achievements | D．dreams |
| A．Nevertheless | B．Instead | C．Besides | D．Therefore |
| A．classify | B．showcase | C．estimate | D．notice |
| A．expanding | B．directing | C．uniting | D．urging |
| A．seen | B．lost | C．exhausted | D．alerted |
4 . Many people fear failure and try to avoid it even when they have the opportunity to succeed. They won’t attempt something if they think they might fail.
Research the alternatives.
Another way to overcome the fear of failure is creating a contingency plan (应急计划).
Taking action is the best way to reduce fear and build confidence. As soon as you do, you’ll begin accumulating experience and knowledge.
All in all, failure and success are two sides of the same coin.
| A．Understand the benefits of failure. |
| B．Everything is hardest the first time. |
| C．You should be prepared for the worst. |
| D．The unknown is a major source of fear. |
| E．One truly cannot exist without the other. |
| F．The following strategies will help you overcome the fear of failure. |
| G．Even if your first option fails, a solid Plan B can maintain the status quo (现状). |
5 . In 2009, Kevin Pearce was at the height of his professional snowboarding career and bound for the Winter Olympics. But in an instant, it came to an end. During training, he struck his head on the edge of a pipe, resulting in a traumatic (创伤的) brain injury. It changed the course of the then-22-year-old’s life.
He had to relearn how to walk and talk and essentially start over. His older brother Adam quit his job and moved across the country to help him through rehab.
He eventually started doing yoga, and his family saw how it transformed him and gave him a sense of hope: “It was the first time I remember so clearly coming out of a class with him and just seeing in his face this new expression, this new person.” Adam Pearce said, “We were like, ‘We need to figure out why and how that just happened.’”
Wanting to bring hope and healing to others through yoga and meditation (冥想). Adain and Kevin co-founded the Love YourBrain Foundation in 2014. The nonprofit offers week-long meditations and community-based yoga classes across the United States for people who are living with long-term brain-related disabilities. “I think people feel isolated after brain injury because they don’t feel able, and when you don’t feel able, you generally retreat back inside.” Adam said, “At these retreats, people are given the space to lean into those deep challenges and express them and talk about them.”
Ultimately, the organization aims to create a safe space and supportive community where people with brain-related disabilities can heal together. “Connection happens quickly because there’s such a shared common understanding among the group.” Adam said. “Once someone sees someone be vulnerable, it instantly allows the next person (to be). By the end, people start to see vulnerability as a superpower.”
1. What prevented Kevin from career development?| A．A severe brain cancer. | B．A new training routine. |
| C．A devastating accident. | D．A snowboarding test.. |
| A．To pick up snowboarding. | B．To regain respect. |
| C．To recover from brain injury. | D．To learn how to meditate. |
| A．Costly. | B．Ambitious. | C．Diverse. | D．Healing. |
| A．Nature and universe. | B．Social innovations. |
| C．Technological discoveries. | D．The magical world. |
6 . Mixuc landed its presence in Sydney with the first store opened in Sydney’s World Square last Sunday. Founded by Zhang Hongchao in 1997, Mixue ice Cream and Tea opened its first overseas store in Vietnam in 2018 and currently has 600 stores in 11 Asian countries with 21,000 stores in China.
Featuring a design with floor-to-ceiling windows that cover the entire wall and red steel frames and its iconic “Snow King”, the Chinese tea chain has already set two Australian branches open in Brisbane and Melbourne, with three more planned to kick off in the following month.
A-marketing campaign by Mixue offering “1,000 Sydney students to have a drink for free” was launched for the brand’s first location in. Sydney. Mixue said that although the price will be different, the quality will not change.
To offer the sincerest apologies to all amazing customers for the overwhelming during the grand opening that led to some offers not being fully fulfilled, they’re extending the promotion:
From April 10th to April 14th, be one of the first 100 customers every day since the store opened and got a FREE Mixuc King Conc (甜筒)!
From April 15th to April 17th, take a spin at our: “Wheel of Fortune” with a guaranteed 100% win! Prizes include free drinks, toys, and much more!
NO limit throughout the extension: Buy any 2 drinks or more and receive a FREE Mixue King Cone. Grab as many mates as you can!
Limited offer on the secret menu; The Northeast Chinese Big Flower Cup at. Mixue Sydncy ONLY! Hurry, it’s super cute and available exclusively for the. first 100 customers daily from April 18th to April 20th! Don’t miss out on this limited-edition cup and get a 20% off!
1. How many Mixue stores are there in Australia when the text is written?| A．1. | B．3. | C．6. | D．11. |
| A．Be a student. | B．Buy three drinks. | C．Spin the wheel. | D．Order on the secret menu. |
| A．A local newspaper. | B．A business report. | C．A fashion magazine. | D．A travel guide. |
We had moved to a new town for my husband’s work. After living here for just a couple of weeks, I was more than ready to pick up my luggage and move back home. I was lonely for a friend. My boy Samuel was lonely. My husband, Lonny, adapted just fine, but he was occupied with work most of the time.
I missed our old neighborhood. It had been like a closely knitted community where neighbors chatted over fences. Newcomers were welcomed with chocolate brownies (巧克力蛋糕) and carrot bread. It had been easy to find friends there.
Our new community was different. It seemed that family roots grew deep. Deep as the Mississippi River that flowed past this tiny river town. Breaking in was tough.
“I’m so alone here,” I said to Lonny one evening. Lonny is a good listener, and a problem solver. “What have you done to meet people?” he asked. “I go to the park every day. I even dropped by a book salon (读书沙龙) at the library the other day and came across a nice lady with a boy.”
“Sounds not bad,” he said. “Did you talk to her?” The answer was no. It wasn’t that people here were unkind. I just didn’t feel like initiating conversations, and I preferred minding my own business in a new environment.
A few more months passed and winter settled in. It was harder than ever to meet people. I began to feel bitter. I was tired of trying to fit in a place where we didn’t belong.
Lonny noticed my low spirits. “Amy, you look unapproachable, with your arms crossed and everything,” he whispered in my ear one afternoon. He and I were sitting in the yard. Samuel, our five-year-old was playing baseball next to us.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to have friends here.” Just then Samuel looked up. He must’ve heard our whispers. “Mom’s right, Dad. We’ll never ever have friends here. And we just want to go back to our old home.” I sat there and looked at my tiny innocent son. His words mirrored my attitude. And I didn’t like the disturbing reflection.
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。
That’s when I knew that I needed an adjustment.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One afternoon, Samuel and I ran into the lady with her boy again at the library.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . On Thursday, June 28th, California passed the country’s toughest online laws. Starting January 1st, 2020, this law will allow consumers to ask an online organization what data is being held about them, why they require this data, and if there is any other company the organization will be sharing the data with. They can also request the removal of this information, and choose not to take part in the sale of personal data.
Many people reacted very favorably towards this new law, but big organizations like Google are against it. So why did California decide to create stricter online laws?
A man named Alastair Mactaggart, who is a real estate developer, spent more than 3 million dollars and secured more than 600,000 signatures on a ballot initiative. Ballot initiatives are petitions (请愿书) that are put to a public vote after receiving a certain number of signatures.
In an article from National Public Radio, Mactaggart recalled the moment when he became a privacy advocate. About four years ago, during a party, he asked a Google engineer whether he should be worried about his online privacy. The engineer responded by saying that “If you just knew how much we know about you, you’d be really worried.”
California’s lawmakers, to his relief, rushed to pass the bill. The law that was passed in June was close enough to the ballot initiative so Mactaggart agreed to withdraw it.
People believe that this new law will make companies more accountable for how they handle their information. However, it is not without loopholes (漏洞).
Under this new law, companies won’t be able to sell people’s personal information, but they can still “share” it. In the next few months, this new law could be modified. Companies such as Google are constantly trying to change the law in their favor, since data is a huge asset (财产) for these large enterprises.
The state’s lawmakers are expecting to create “clean-up laws” after the first 18 months the law goes into effect. We will have to wait and see how the law develops as it gets changed.
1. What is the purpose of the new law?| A．To protect online privacy. | B．To charge for online information. |
| C．To collect personal information legally. | D．To encourage the development of the Internet. |
| A．He once worked for Google. |
| B．He took part in the law-making process. |
| C．He was in favor of the lawmakers’ decision. |
| D．He was worried about the future of his business. |
| A．Sell its users’ personal information. | B．Share its users’ personal information. |
| C．Get support from the government. | D．Charge its users money. |
| A．Passed. | B．Explained. | C．Prepared. | D．Improved. |
9 . There’s a restaurant in the UK called The Long Table that has been changing the way we think of dining out. This catery and community center, located in the town of Stroud in South West England, has recently gained the attention of the public because it has been employing an unusual but revolutionary dining idea — a pay-as-you-can model. When someone enters The Long Table, they simply order their meal, say how much they would like to pay, and receive meal token as they wait for their food.
The Long Table serves lunch five days a week, and the store portion of the restaurant is open every morning for coffee and cake. They also offer hot dinners on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The restaurant features a new menu every day, including plant-based and gluten-free options, meaning that their diners never quit know what to expect.
In addition to their accessible food model, they also place an emphasis on conversation and community among their patrons. The restaurant got its name from the long tables located at the center of their establishment. The nature of their dining setup encourages customers to sit across from each other and talk as they enjoy their meals. As their website states, “At The Long Table, community and great food sit side by side. Whoever you are, whatever your story, pull up a chair and join us as we evolve the very notion of what a restaurant can be.”
Sadly, the restaurant that they repurposed may be on its way out as it was sold to a new landlord. But members of the community are still holding out hope and have created an open letter urging the new landlord to allow for The Long Table to remain at the Brimscombe Mill.
Even though The Long Table’s future may be uncertain, the impact it is having on the local community certainly is not. One line of the open letter reads, “Collectively we hope a solution can be found which means that this loved, and very much needed, community resource can remain at Brimscombe Mill.”
1. What is the unique dining idea employed by The Long Table?| A．A fixed-price menu. |
| B．A pay-as-you-can model. |
| C．A take-away only option. |
| D．A membership-based dining club. |
| A．Entertainment. |
| B．Education. |
| C．Conversation and community. |
| D．Health and fitness. |
| A．Diners. | B．Locals. | C．Staff. | D．Neighbors. |
| A．The Long Table is a popular community resource. |
| B．The future of The Long Table is completely uncertain. |
| C．The open letter is addressed to the local government. |
| D．The Long Table may bring conflicts to the people. |
My husband Kenny and I grew up playing sports. We both worked in the field of physical education and coach youth high school track and field. So, Kenny and I weren’t surprised when our daughter, Becky, showed early athletic promise.
Watching her outrun other kids on the playground, I knew she was destined for winning medals on the track. Slowly but surely, track took over our lives. Weekends were devoted to training. We stopped taking vacations so the girl wouldn’t miss any practices. We missed her birthdays and family outings. I even restricted the time she could spend hanging out with her friends, which would consume the energy she needed for competition:
We didn’t really ask Becky if that was what she wanted. Of course she did! Who wouldn’t want to use a God-given talent to the fullest? Occasionally, Becky would open up after a loss, “I wish you were the same even if I have a bad day on the track. I feel like you don’t accept me just for who I am.”
Honestly, that hurt. In my heart, I knew what she said was true. I could behave more like a coach than a Mom on the sideline. But I didn’t mind. Ensuring her on the track of winning was my only goal. I probably cared more about the medals than she did. By the time Becky started middle school, our family life had revolved around (以……为中心) practices and competitions. I had visions of college scholarships, maybe even the Olympics.
One day, at a regional Junior Olympics qualifying event, she twisted her leg and ended up in a heavy fall, screaming in pain. This was not supposed to happen. Kenny and I pushed her too hard the day before and she attempted to break the record which was clearly beyond her reach.
We rushed her to the hospital right away. Never did I imagine sitting in a doctor’s office, staring at the X-ray result as the doctor calmly explained that Becky’s posterior cruciate ligament (后十字韧带) — the thick tissue stabilizing the back of her knee—was torn.
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。
“Her professional career as an athlete was over,” the doctor broke the news to me.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Following the hard-fought recovery, I watched her running with a new attitude.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
