4 . Children with strong family connections are associated with a high likelihood of flourishing in life, a study found. “What is different about this study is that it shows that family connection is associated with thriving and not just surviving or avoiding harm,” said lead study author Dr. Robert Whitaker.

Researchers surveyed over 37,000 children in 26 countries. In the study, family connection was determined by a mean score of five categories: care, support, safety, respect, and participation. Flourishing was determined by a mean score of six categories: self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, environmental mastery and autonomy. The essence of family connection is children feeling that they are accepted and cared for at home, which allows them to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are in a safe environment as they are building their identity,Whitaker said.

Children with the greatest level of family connection were over 49% more likely to flourish compared with those with the lowest level of family connection, according to the study. The highest scores in both family connection and flourishing came from children who said they lived with both parents, had enough food or never had their family worrying about finances. Researchers then controlled the data for families’ poverty levels to remove the effect they might have had on the numbers. After controlling the data, the strength of family connection still impacted how much children flourished.

According to Whitaker, adults have a very powerful influence on the emotional climate in the home, so it’s important to create a space where children feel seen and heard. A great opportunity to strengthen family bonds is around the dinner table. Adults should create an environment where children feel comfortable speaking freely. While they are talking,grown-ups should show that they have a genuine interest in what their children are saying. Silence is also another powerful form of communication, Whitaker said. Children and parents spending time together in silence or even doing chores can create a connection.

1. What is the study mainly about?

A．The importance of family connection to children’s survival.

B．The relationship between family connection and children’s success.

C．The factors affecting children’ self-acceptance.

D．The impact of poverty on children’s development.

2. Who are more likely to achieve high scores in both family connection and flourishing?

A．Children who live with a single parent.

B．Children who have enough food and money.

C．Children who know of their strengths and weaknesses.

D．Children who have a whole family and economic security.

3. Which of the following might be an influencing factor in the result?

A．Family income.	B．Parents’ educational level.
C．Children’s age and gender.	D．The number of people in the family.

4. How can adults strengthen family bonds during mealtime?

A．By showing respect when children are talking.	B．By talking about their own problems.
C．By keeping silent when disagreements arise.	D．By backing children’s opinions forever.

7 . The cotton harvest is about to get underway in the Texas High Plains, the windswept region that grows most of the crop in the nation’s top cotton-producing state. But Barry Evans, a third-generation cotton grower, has already walked away from more than 2,000 acres (英亩) of his bone-dry fields. “It just didn’t come up. We hardly had anything,” said Evans.

Extreme heat and a lack of rainfall have severely damaged much of this year’s cotton harvest in the U.S., which produces about 35% of the world’s crop. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast that more than 40% of what U.S. farmers planted in the spring would be abandoned because of drought. Nowhere is this more apparent than the flat, dry stretch of Texas. The USDA says Texas cotton farmers are likely to abandon nearly 70% of their spring planting. That has been the worst harvest since 2009.

The region normally receives around 18 to 20 inches of rain per year, but saw less than three inches of rain from August through the summer, as nearly all of Texas baked under drought. Much of the cotton grown in the region needs rain. Even those with irrigated (灌溉的) fields are expecting low yields (产量) this year.

The losses in cotton could cost the Texas High Plains $1.2 billion after farmers receive federal (联邦的) crop insurance payments, estimates Darren Hudson, director of the International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University. That leaves out others who depend on the crop, such as cotton gins (轧棉机) and storehouses. “Any time you have a bad year in cotton, it has a role to play in the overall economy,” Hudson said.

Fortunately, most cotton farmers in this part of Texas plan to use cotton seed varieties that can resist drought. Varieties are continuously developed and will be adjusted to generate high yields if dry conditions continue. “Even though it’s drought resistant,” Hudson added, “we still have to have a little bit of help from Mother Nature.”

1. What are the statistics in paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The impact of extreme weather on U.S. farmers.

B．The world’s cotton distribution.

C．USDA’s measures to address drought.

D．The amount of U.S. cotton harvest in 2009.

2. What does Hudson stress in paragraph 4?

A．Texas is unfriendly to cotton farmers.	B．Cotton is vital to the American economy.
C．Farmers depend much on Mother Nature.	D．Cotton gins are unaffected by cotton losses.

3. What will cotton farmers most likely do next?

A．Build effective irrigation systems.	B．Apply for federal crop insurance.
C．Switch to growing a different crop.	D．Use further improved cotton seeds.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Drought pushes cotton prices to a new high.	B．The world’s cotton supply keeps falling.
C．Texas cotton takes a hit during drought.	D．Drought impacts the quality of cotton.

8 . 现今，大城市普遍存在着交通问题。它不仅给人们的生活和工作带来不便而且还威胁到了人们的生命安全。请以“Traffic Problems in Big Cities”为题，根据以下内容提示完成作文：

1. 描述两个常见的交通问题；

2. 简要分析导致这些交通问题的主要原因；

3. 根据你的分析，从社会规范（rules and regulations）和个人行为两方面谈谈你得到的启示（不少于两点）。

注意：词数120左右，开头已给出，不计入总词数。

Nowadays, traffic problems are common in big cities.

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9 . Teens正在就我国社会老龄化越来越严重的问题举办征文活动。请你写一篇短文投稿，内容包括：1.关爱老人的原因；2.关爱老人的方式；3.倡议大家共同关爱老人。
注意：字数100左右。
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10 . Zhang Xingli, a 60-year-old villager, sat on a stone in front of his house and struck a pose as painters quickly sketched him and his traditional house. At his age, Zhang _________ thought he could earn money working as a _________ in Sanhe, a poverty-stricken mountain village in Songxian County, Henan province.

The village welcomes _________ who come to draw landscapes and _________ the beauty of its traditional houses. Villagers were recently preparing for the upcoming travel season and building an exhibition hall, a _________ of Sanhe’s rapid development.

_________ in the depths of Funiu Mountain, the village was once mired(陷入) in poverty and the surrounding rolling hills and deep gorges made it difficult to _________. Most of the land was not _________and there was no mineral wealth under the ground. One-third of the 415 village _________lived in poverty.

In 2016, changes began when Feng Yake, a college-trained artist, ____________ to the village, who had taken his students to many spots to draw landscapes, making him realize the ____________ of this remote village. Later, he ____________ his parents to tear down their house and build the first agritainment(农家乐) ____________ in the village to accommodate students who want to paint and draw landscapes. Six months after the resort opened, he and his family had ____________ 200,000 yuan.

Feng’s success ____________ other villagers. In a short time, the village was redesigned and rebuilt. Old houses and a bean curd workshop were repaired. The walls were painted white, to ____________ with the gray roof tiles, and a pavilion was built. The village signed contracts with ____________ 70 art studios to receive artists and students.

In 2020, the village was completely lifted ____________ . Over the past two years, 25 agritainment resorts have been built in the village, ____________ more than 30,000 tourists and generating an annual ____________ of over 4 million yuan.

1.

A．never

B．still

C．ever

D．always

2.

A．painter

B．model

C．organizer

D．villager

3.

A．tourists

B．students

C．artists

D．teachers

4.

A．destroy.

B．change

C．miss

D．recreate

5.

A．figure

B．gesture

C．symbol

D．signal

6.

A．Developed

B．Isolated

C．Forbidden

D．Exploited

7.

A．arise

B．access

C．settle

D．build

8.

A．fertile

B．fragile

C．bare

D．wild

9.

A．areas

B．districts

C．households

D．communities

10.

A．came

B．got

C．led

D．returned

11.

A．situation

B．state

C．location

D．value

12.

A．forced

B．allowed

C．convinced

D．ordered

13.

A．workshop

B．museum

C．resort

D．hall

14.

A．lost

B．earned

C．spent

D．paid

15.

A．inspired

B．persuaded

C．frustrated

D．envied

16.

A．contrast

B．compare

C．cooperate

D．contradict

17.

A．less than

B．more than

C．rather than

D．other than

18.

A．all of a sudden

B．in the air

C．in a dilemma

D．out of poverty

19.

A．refusing

B．calling

C．meeting

D．receiving

20.

A．wage

B．salary

C．income

D．fare