Though traveling is not a big deal for me today, before my trip to the mountains, I used to be a homebody. I had friends to hang out with, several hobbies, and I felt completely comfortable spending weeks or even months in my hometown — or sometimes even on my block — without going anywhere. All my demands of novelty were satisfied by the Discovery and National Geographic channels, and I seriously thought there was no difference between seeing something on the TV and with one’s own eyes.
The situation changed when one day David, my best friend who always has a couple of colorful bugs in his head (or, in other words, was always carrying out several crazy plans at once), walked into my room and declared his disgust (厌恶) for civilization. I will not describe how he managed to persuade me to join him on his journey to the Rocky Mountains; all I will say is that we departed in five days. This was my first time in the mountains, so I was turning my head in all directions. Unfortunately, the weather was foggy most of the time, and the higher we got into the mountains, the worse the visibility was.
Even despite this fact, I still enjoyed the hike — I felt like I was Bear Grylls, whose show I used to watch with excitement: in the wild, with food and water in my backpack, carrying a flashlight and a knife. On the first day, we were making our way along the foothills; but the next day, we started to climb on one of the peaks. Though it was not that steep and high, I was still excited. I regularly hastened, and because of that, I ran out of energy long before we got to the top; David, on the other hand, was more well-paced.
When we finally got to the top, nothing had changed. The same fog was covering the surroundings, and even though I was filled with positive emotions, I felt disappointed, because I counted on seeing the view from above and perhaps being able to take some photos.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
We spent a couple of hours on the top, and decided to turn back.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing all this scenery with my own eyes was truly an eye-opening experience for me.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . During Thanksgiving dinner, my grandmother would ask us to share a story of a person we were grateful to during the past year. And then she would ask, “Did you
I will always remember the warm and happy
When I got married and Jesselie and I started our own Thanksgiving
I hope all of us can start a new tradition — a tradition of assessing our lives and actions,
| A．like | B．thank | C．encounter | D．inform |
| A．support | B．principle | C．actions | D．negotiations |
| A．feelings | B．vacations | C．parties | D．comments |
| A．loved | B．greeted | C．invited | D．helped |
| A．point | B．turn | C．mess | D．difference |
| A．intentionally | B．entirely | C．internally | D．frequently |
| A．challenges | B．traditions | C．discussions | D．standards |
| A．died down | B．got along | C．stood out | D．took off |
| A．fix | B．enjoy | C．share | D．deliver |
| A．delay | B．permission | C．hesitation | D．interruption |
| A．gift | B．reminder | C．discovery | D．experience |
| A．missed | B．promised | C．touched | D．forgotten |
| A．purchase | B．food | C．fruits | D．colors |
| A．removing | B．explaining | C．representing | D．assessing |
| A．regular | B．influential | C．inclusive | D．relaxing |
3 . While they were still growing up, kids are basically vacuums for vocabulary. It is estimated that a normal kid at the age of 6 possesses a remarkable vocabulary of about thirteen thousand words!
That’s an amazing accomplishment because preliterate children just perceive spoken words and do not have a chance to work on those words. Rather, they learn a fresh vocabulary every 2 hours when awake, regularly. This is particularly extraordinary since the best effective ways for mnemonic devices（记忆术） do not assist with words individually.
A mnemonic has been a training method that changes what we wish to recall to more unforgettable things. For instance, if you desire to get an education on reading music, an easy approach to learning the EGBDF has been recalling the sentence Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. However, that doesn’t apply to individual words. Due to the lack of simple methods to recall words, children’s brains need to have an inherent（固有的）, strong structure for fast learning a language.
But, as we become older, we start to miss those remarkable skills. Every adult finds it difficult at the time of learning a different tongue, as the ability seems to decline with age. A psychologist, Elisa Newport, did research on people who immigrated（移民） to the US. She discovered that the people who immigrated in the age range of 3 — 7 had been as expert in the grammar of English as those who were US-born. But those who arrived in the age range of 8 — 15, did much worse.
A similar thing can be noticed at the time of learning the initial language. In the past, a small number of kids were raised with no human touch, regularly as a result of negligence. They are called the “wolf children”, similar to “Genie”, the girl who was found at the age of 13 around 1970. Since she was raised with no human touch, she could not create even simple grammatical sentences.
1. Which word can best describe preliterate kids’vocabulary learning?| A．Formal. | B．Complex. | C．Consistent. | D．Tough. |
| A．It can be easily forgotten by little kids. | B．It involves only letters and listening ability. |
| C．It is actually meaningless to most people. | D．It can’t be used to recall individual words. |
| A．People’s language abilities decline as they age. |
| B．3 — 7 is a better age range for learning a new language. |
| C．Kids lose their interest in grammar as they grow older. |
| D．Kids aged 8 — 15 can’t learn a foreign language well. |
| A．It’s better to immigrate to learn a foreign tongue. |
| B．It’s urgent to learn a language at the proper age. |
| C．Every animal possesses a language of their own. |
| D．A language can be acquired without human touch. |
4 . Do you wish you could create something meaningful? Do you wish you had the time to work on that thing you’ve always wanted to produce — that novel, that piece of art and that passion project?
Look at yourself in the mirror. It’s time for you to be honest with yourself. Either you’re accomplishing what you want to accomplish or you’re not.
Stop worrying. We tend to worry about the naysayers (拒绝者). People are going to judge you. Some people are going to think what you’re doing is stupid. Others will think you’ve lost your mind.
Change your beliefs. One of the biggest reasons we don’t accomplish what we set out to accomplish is our limiting beliefs. For years you’ve told yourself that you’ll never be this, you’ll never do that, or you’ll never be good enough. But you’re no different from the people who have constructed their masterpieces. The people who create something special — something lasting — aren’t necessarily smarter or funnier or better or more attractive than you.
| A．Stop making excuses |
| B．There is no in-between |
| C．Kill things getting in your way |
| D．They simply believed they could do it |
| E．No need to keep wishing your life away |
| F．However, their perspectives hold no significance |
| G．Most people are going to praise you for what you do |
5 . As someone who often mans the 24-hour hotline, I’m accustomed to early morning calls reporting various marine mammal strandings (搁浅). Even still, I doubt whether I could have fully prepared for this call. August 9 at 8: 01 am was the first time my jaw physically dropped when manning the hotline. The harbormaster reported 30 stranded dolphins in one of the trickiest areas of Wellfleet. I immediately sent all workers we had and sent out the call for any additional help we could gather.
Our team gathered at our Rescue Operations Center, grabbing all the specialized equipment we possibly could. Our trained volunteer responders arrived on the scene shortly after the initial report to give me updated information — 45 dolphins in total, 43 of which were alive. With a stranding this large, it wasn’t feasible to pull all 43 animals from the mud, get them to our mobile veterinary clinic, and transport them for release at a more favorable open-ocean location all before the tide came in. The day was getting hotter, and the animals were already suffering from both heat and sun exposure.
Upon getting on the scene, there was no time to react to the sheer chaos that lay ahead. After a quick scan of the situation — 45 animals widely distributed, only a few staff members and several volunteers — there wasn’t a second more to wait. We began the hard process of getting as many animals as we could into special slings (吊带), onto the cart, and off the marsh as quickly as possible. This was not without its own challenges. The mud trapped and enveloped our feet, adding weight with each step, most animals were highly fractious (易怒的) when approached, and the heat became unbearable in dry suits. But none of that was going to stop us from doing all we could for these animals.
1. How did the author react to the call on the morning of August 9?| A．He thought it was a joke. | B．He was shocked to the bone. |
| C．He didn’t take it seriously. | D．He was at a loss what to do. |
| A．Efficient. | B．Practical. | C．Urgent. | D．Remarkable. |
| A．The tide was coming in very quickly. |
| B．It was hard to find an open-ocean location. |
| C．The volunteers failed to contact each other. |
| D．There was deep mud around to walk through. |
| A．A rescue effort. | B．A volunteer program. |
| C．A festive activity. | D．A charity organization. |
6 . It is no accident that so many fairy tale characters find themselves having to cross dangerous areas of woodland. In a most practical sense, as the ancients dreamed up those stories and even when the oral traditions were finally written down in the middle ages and later, the lands of northern and western Europe were thick with woodland. The dangers were obvious: from robbers lying in wait for unsuspecting travelers to opportunistic wolves hungry for the kill.
In many cultures, the forest is for god or ancestor worship. In An Illustrated Encyclopaedia Of Traditional Symbols, JC Cooper writes, “Entering the Dark Forest or the Enchanted Forest is a threshold (门槛) symbol: the soul entering the dangers of the unknown; the world of death; the secrets of nature, or the spiritual world which man must go through to find the meaning.”
The forest is a place of magic then, magic that can be dangerous, but also a place of opportunity and transformation. In the tale of Beauty and the Beast, the merchant is directed by invisible forces within the forest to the Beast’s castle, only then to be directed by invisible hands to his fate.
As for Little Red Riding Hood, straying from (偏离) the path and into the woods is similarly dangerous and filled with treachery (背叛). Symbolically, those who lose their way in the uncharted forest are losing their way in life, losing touch with their conscious selves and voyaging into the state of the subconscious.
And yet, in legends such as Robin Hood, or the great Hindu love story of Rama and Sita, the forest becomes a hiding place. The forest provides refuge (庇护) for great heroes who after a period of hard time come back to fight for justice. Their time in the forest could perhaps be interpreted as a period of personal development.
Today, still, woodland remains as a refuge from institutional order, from control and limitation of personal freedom. Forests are places full of mystery, where imagination and the subconscious can run free, where we can return to our original selves.
1. What does the author think of the woodland dangers in fairy tales?| A．They are created without reasonable basis. | B．They are a reflection of real-life dangers. |
| C．They differ greatly from those in real life. | D．They are apparent and can be easily avoided. |
| A．The hidden dangers in the forest. | B．The symbols in different cultures. |
| C．The symbolic meaning of the forest. | D．The educational functions of the forest. |
| A．Rama and Sita |
| B．Beauty and the Beast |
| C．Little Red Riding Hood |
| D．An Illustrated Encyclopaedia Of Traditional Symbols |
| A．By following time order. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By explaining a principle. |
7 . Events at Olbrich for This Month
Alcohol Inks & Acrylic Bouquets
June 4, 2024, 1: 00 pm
In this workshop, we’ll use alcohol inks and special paint to create two 9 × 12 flower bouquet (花束) paintings. Learn techniques that transform abstract backgrounds and use negative-space painting to create beautiful works of art.
Macro Botanical Photography & Bouque t Making
June 6, 2024, 2: 00 pm
Join us to learn how to make your own bouquet and then gain some tips on how to photograph your flowers to make their beauty last. All levels welcome and no previous photography education necessary. Bring your DSLR camera, and ensure you have its basic working knowledge as we will not be able to help onsite. You will leave with a flower bouquet and macro photography tips booklet to ensure you’ve got the essential knowledge.
Virtual Tai Chi Meditation at Home
June 7, 2024, 6: 00 pm
“Move like a great river; be still like a mountain” instructs the age-old description of the meditative exercise and movement art of Tai Chi Chuan. This class offers standing movements and seated practices rooted within the Chinese tradition of Tai Chi and Chi Kung for the enrichment of body, mind and spirit. All physical abilities welcome, including those in need of chair-based practice.
Bike for Butterflies Virtual Lecture — Sara Dykman
June 9, 2024, 1: 00 pm
Join us for a special virtual lecture by an inspiring professional working hard to bring more attention to butterfly conservation. Learn how he combines long biking journeys with his passion for butterflies.
1. What’s one requirement for you to learn macro photography?| A．Taking good care of your flowers. |
| B．Bringing a flower bouquet. |
| C．Being able to operate a DSLR camera. |
| D．Taking along your previous flower photographs. |
| A．It is aimed at specific age groups. | B．It offers face-to-face instructions. |
| C．It is a kind of chair-based exercise. | D．It welcomes even the physically disabled. |
| A．On June 4, 2024. | B．On June 6, 2024. |
| C．On June 7, 2024. | D．On June 9, 2024. |
1. Why did Rebecca go to France?
| A．To learn with some artists. |
| B．To earn money. |
| C．To open a restaurant. |
| A．Because no one would teach her there. |
| B．Because she couldn’t find a job there. |
| C．Because she wanted to learn some French. |
| A．He can lend Rebecca some money. |
| B．He can teach Rebecca some French. |
| C．He can give Rebecca a job. |
1. What is the speaker mainly talking about?
| A．His feeling after receiving an award. |
| B．His experience about traveling around. |
| C．His preference for different music types. |
| A．Ireland. | B．Scotland. | C．England. |
| A．A single song. | B．A three-song collection. | C．A twelve-song collection. |
| A．A young musician. | B．One of the speaker’s fans. | C．The host of the ceremony. |
1. What does the man find hard?
| A．Doing the course in English. |
| B．Finding his accommodation. |
| C．Understanding other students’ jokes. |
| A．Writing an essay. | B．Looking for a job. | C．Preparing for an exam. |
| A．She has no interest in it. | B．She doesn’t have time. | C．She can’t afford a trip. |
