1 . It was meant to connect us, make us smarter and our lives easier. And it has. But there’s at least one comer of life where the Internet has made things so much more difficult: gift giving.

Once upon a time, if you were struggling to find a present for a loved one, there were easy options to fall back on-DVDs, CDs, video games and other physical media. This wasn’t even that long ago, but now it’s been snatched from our grasp by the Internet offering us the chance, at a relatively low cost, to watch, listen to or read whatever we want, whenever we want. With everything already watched, listened to, or read, buying a present has become near impossible.

Therefore, we all have to work at becoming perfect gift givers, taking all factors into consideration and searching high and low to seek out the ideal present. If we go the extra mile, there’s less chance that the person we have in mind has already bought what we’re considering online.

But as I now consider this exact plan of action, I’m thinking perhaps it’s not all that bad. Maybe the Internet is delivering us a lesson, firm but fair: the era of half-baked present purchasing is over and it’s time to go hard or go home.

In this era of immediate satisfaction, if you want to give someone a useful present, you do have to actually go to the effort of sourcing something nice for them. Perhaps that’s making for a more rewarding gift experience for all involved. And perhaps it also means fewer gifts that are given as an excuse and end up being unused.

1. How is the topic of gift giving introduced in Paragraph 1?

A．By demonstrating the prospect of the Internet.

B．By showing the difficulty in using the Internet.

C．By pointing out the shortcoming of the Internet.

D．By arguing about the possible benefits of the Internet.

2. What might be a reason for gift giving being difficult according to Paragraph 2?

A．Numerous gift options.	B．Relative high cost for presents.
C．Limited offer from digital giants.	D．Easy access to the Internet versions.

3. What does the author suggest readers do?

A．Purchase satisfactory gifts.	B．Try to select a present.
C．Buy fewer gifts as an excuse.	D．Make more valuable presents.

4. What might be the author’s attitude towards nowadays gift giving?

A．Confused.

B．Critical.

C．Neutral.

D．Acceptable.

2 . People these days are posting about their lives on social media. But what if you’re a private and introverted person like me? What if you want to live in the moment instead of sharing every bit of your life? To be honest, it’s nobody’s business but your own.     1    

Escaping stalkers (跟踪者).

I’ve been a public person as a jazz vocalist for years. It exposed me to stalkers who felt they knew me, just because I was present everywhere. Needless to say, it brought me much anxiety and stress. At some point I asked myself-is being visible more important than my peace of mind?     2     The answer is a clear NO. I just want to spend life doing what I love with the people I love.

Protecting privacy

    3     I need alone time to process what I’m struggling with and honest real talks with the people I trust. I might share a lesson learned from an experience, but now I won’t. I know that by keeping my life private on social media I may miss out on some connections, but I honor and respect the people in my life who value their privacy, so I am being mindful and protect that.

    4    

Another reason I keep my life private is that I prefer to be in the present moment and appreciate it fully. To be on your phone constantly, or to film everything you do, can be quite disrespectful to the people you spend your time with. You lose out on those spontaneous(自发的) moments and a deeper connection. I choose what I share and when I share it, and the rest is for experiencing life without expectations.

Live your life fully, regardless of whether the world knows it or not!     5     I just want you to know it’s OK if you don’t.

A．Experiencing life

B．Living in the moment

C．Don’t I really care about privacy?

D．Are my followers more important than my friends and family?

E．If you feel like sharing your life openly without hesitation, go for it.

F．Here are my reasons for not sharing my personal life on social media.

G．It can be quite challenging to go through tough moments with everyone watching.

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I worked at a local station of the Berlin fire department. We got an alert (警报) around 8:25pm that Friday and rushed to the fire engine, where the printout from the dispatcher (调度员) said there was a nine-year-old boy locked in a safe.

I asked myself: if it were a safe, would it be airtight? I was aware that it might already be too late by the time we arrived. I had to plan for a bad outcome. On the other hand, if we were in time, how long would it take us to open the safe? I knew it would be an incredibly difficult task. It’s what safes are designed for—not to be opened.

It took less than five minutes to reach the property. When I saw a woman crying on the street,

I knew the situation was serious. She was the boy’s mother and she led us into the basement. She told us the boy was alive and we started talking to him; he was very calm. We asked how it had happened: during a game of hide and seek with his five-year-old brother, he had thought the safe would be a good place to hide.

The boy’s parents had got the house from his mother’s father. The unlocked safe had been there when they moved in and was in an area they didn’t use much. The boy’s little brother had shut the safe, then, when he couldn’t open it again. The only person who knew the combination was the boy’s late grandfather.

From the outset, the biggest priority was getting oxygen to the boy. We got oxygen from the hospital. The boy said that he could feel a thin stream of air. I asked his parents if anyone had opened the safe before and they said no. So we had to guess a six-digit code (密码). We started typing them in—but we had to wait 10 minutes between each attempt before we could try again. So quickly we tried them all. No luck.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卷的相应位置作答。

We were fully prepared at this point to open the safe by force, starting with a drill.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Then, just as we started to make the first cut, my workmate typed in the correct code.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Falling birth rates are a major concern for some of Asia’s biggest economies. Government s in the region are spending hundreds of billions of dollars trying to reverse the trend. Will it work?

Japan began introducing policies to encourage couples to have more children in the 1990s. South Korea started doing the same in the 2000s, while Singapore’s first fertility (生育) policy dates back to 1987. China, which has seen its population fall for the first time in 60 years, recently joined the growing club.

While it is difficult to quantify exactly how much these policies have cost, South Korean President YoonSuk-yeol recently said his country had spent more than $200bn (£160bn) over the past 16 years on trying to boost the population. Yet last year South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate, with the average number of babies expected per woman falling to 0.78. In neighbouring Japan, which had record low births of fewer than 800,000 last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to double the budget for child-related policies from 10tn yen ($74.7bn; £59.2bn).

Having a bigger population who can work and produce more goods and services leads to higher economic growth. And while a larger population can mean higher costs for governments, it can also result in bigger tax revenues (税收). Also, many Asian countries are ageing rapidly. Japan leads the pack with nearly 30% of its population now over the age of 65 and some other nations in the region are not far behind. Compare that with India, which has just overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation. More than a quarter of its people are between the age of 10 and 20, which gives its economy huge potential for growth. And when the share of the working age population gets smaller, the cost and burden of looking after the non-working population grow. “Negative population growth has an impact on the economy, and together with an ageing population, they won’t be able to afford to support the elderly,” said Xiujian Peng of Victoria University.

1. Which Asian country first took measures to increase population in this passage?

A．Japan.

B．South Korea.

C．Singapore.

D．China.

2. What can we learn about the population of Asian countries from the passage?

A．Japan hit the lowest record of new-born babies last year.

B．India has the largest and youngest population in the world.

C．China’s population has been decreasing in the recent 60 years.

D．South Korea had the lowest population record last year in the world.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．The economy of India will overtake that of Japan.

B．Negative population growth leads to an ageing population.

C．The larger the population is, the better the economy will be.

D．A bigger share of working age population helps support the elderly.

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Low birth rate is a negative factor for economy.

B．China is joining the countries of low birth rate.

C．Many Asian countries came to negative population growth.

D．Many Asian countries are trying all out to battle low birth rate.

5 . Cruise through many neighborhoods or parks around the world, and you will find no shortage of well-mowed expanses of grass. Lawns (草坪) do look attractive.     1     Additionally, they can require environmentally questionable practices to maintain. Researchers and landscape architects are increasingly considering alternatives that are more sustainable, demand fewer resources and help people connect more intimately with nature. Here follows an edited excerpt of the conversation between researchers MariaIgnatieva and Marcus Hedblom.

Why did lawns become so popular?

    2     They were like a special frontier that separated cities and towns from the wilderness. A lawn was always a symbol of how a civilized society should be. That’s why it was so powerful. And of course, they are also important for recreation.

What environmental problems are lawns causing?

Lawns are homogenizing the environment, not only in terms of biodiversity but also visually. You compare countries’ and cities’ urban landscapes around the world, and they look exactly the same.     3    Mowers burn fossil fuels and emit gases that heat up the atmosphere.

    4       

You have to find your own local solution. We can take inspiration from the natural plant communities around us. In suburban and rural areas, that might mean having a meadow or prairie. In other places, it might be a savanna like environment or mountain plants. You can have a “grass-free” lawn; with only low-growing plants that create the same effect as a lawn, and you can walk on it.

How can we persuade people to adopt these alternatives?

When people see them, they appreciate them and like them.     5     We also have to try to change the minds of decision makers, including politicians. We need to show the public there are different ways of handling our urban environment and making it better.

A．So it is all about education.

B．What are these alternatives?

C．And it is understandable fondness.

D．What are the inspirations of lawns?

E．However, they choke out biodiversity.

F．Lawns came to be seen as a symbol of civilization and a way of life.

G．Lawn upkeep takes resources, fertilizer and pesticide that enter groundwater and runoff water.

6 . Leadership is a quality that is hard to define. Everyone can think of inspiring leaders from history but managers who think they can base their style on Nelson Mandela or Elizabeth I are suffering from misunderstandings of greatness.

The biggest mistake is to consider leadership entirely equal to charisma(魅力). Billy McFarland was just 25 when he set up the Fyre festival which promised attendees a luxury experience on a deserted island in the Bahamas. As shown by the Netflix documentary, “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened”, Mr McFarland was an unusual salesman. He convinced investors that he was a visionary businessman and persuaded talented young people to work for him.

But he lacked the skills to put his vision into practice. Festival guests arrived to find their food consisted of cheese sandwiches, rather than first-class cuisine. They were housed not in luxury villas, but in tents left over from a hurricane-relief program. The whole event ended with Mr McFarland being sentenced to six years in prison.

His example could have been a case study for the book by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic— “Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?(and how to fix it)”. As an organisational psychologist, he points out that people tend to assume that confident individuals are competent, when there is no actual relationship between the two qualities. Those confident people are promoted and then their abilities turn out to be over-estimated.

Mr Chamorro-Premuzic argues that competence is more important than charisma or confidence. Managers need enough presence to persuade their teams to follow the business plan, but they should think in terms of coaching rather than inspiration. Employees are more likely to be engaged with their work if they get frequent feedback from their bosses, and if they are involved in setting their own goals. Another key factor in leadership is the ability to set a good example. Subordinates(下属)notice what behaviour gets rewarded and which standards are set by the person at the top.

1. What can we infer from paragraph 1?

A．Leadership is a quality impossible to evaluate.

B．Nelson Mandela and Elizabeth I are both overrated.

C．You can’t become leaders by simply imitating others.

D．Charismatic people are more likely to be great leaders.

2. According to the text, what kind of a leader was Billy McFarland?

A．Unconfident.

B．Visionary.

C．Incomparable.

D．Incompetent.

3. What does Mr Chamorro-Premuzic reveal in his book?

A．The assumption that confidence equals competence.

B．The phenomenon that competent people can’t lead well.

C．The connection between competence and career success.

D．The reason why confident people are popular in workplaces.

4. What does Mr Chamorro-Premuzic suggest for good leadership?

A．Respecting the privacy of employees.	B．Giving employees frequent feedback.
C．Inspiring employees with big visions.	D．Following the examples of good employees.

7 . Twenty-two years ago, I won a Nobel Prize, together with Tim and Leland Hartwell, for our work on how cells control their division.

The prize changed our lives. Suddenly you become a public figure being asked to do all sorts of things: to give lectures, quite often on topics you know little about; to sit on committees and reviews you are not always well qualified to be on; to visit countries you have barely heard of. It is like having a whole new extra job, with upwards of 500 requests a year.

A recent study suggests that in general the extra commitments that Nobel winners take on result in fewer papers after their awards. There may be some truth to this given the extra demands on one’s time, but of course prestigious awards also allow new projects and research to be undertaken.

What effects did the Nobel Prize have on my subsequent career and work? It has certainly helped me to get scientific leadership positions. Within a year of getting the prize I was offered and accepted the presidency of Rockefeller University in New York. Having the prize also helps to get things done. For example, I have been involved in the merging of two separate cancer research charities to form Cancer Research UK. And it has helped me support causes I care deeply about. I became an ambassador for Ukraine education and science to help raise money for schools in that shattered country. Moreover, having a Nobel does help attract high-quality research colleagues. I have just started three excellent new PhD   students. It is a privilege for me to be able to pursue curiosity-driven research at this late stage of my career.

However, one thing I am glad to say that the Nobel Prize did not influence was peer review from my fellow scientists, assessing the suitability of my own research for publication, and my grant applications for funding. My rejection rates have remained essentially the same before and after the prize. And that, of course, is exactly how it should be.

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing paragraph 2?

A．To share his pride in winning a Nobel.

B．To express his regret at the changing of life.

C．To show his self confidence in handling the extra jobs.

D．To display his overburdened tasks after winning a Nobel.

2. What does the underlined word “merging”   in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Competition.

B．Comparison.

C．Combination.

D．Construction.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The special privileges the Nobel winner has.

B．The positive impacts the Nobel Prize generates.

C．The great contributions the Nobel winner makes.

D．The scientific leadership the Nobel Prize provides.

4. What message does the author mainly want to convey in the last paragraph?

A．The spirit of science lies in seeking facts and truth.

B．Winning a Nobel Prize has an impact on peer review.

C．Extra commitments make Nobel winners less productive.

D．The approval a Nobel winner receives is equal to rejection.

8 . Released on Aug 30, a three-episode web series titled Escape From the British Museum has gone viral online for its touching and innovative narrative (叙事). The series follows the journey home of a Chinese jade teapot that has come to life as a girl. She runs away from the British Museum and comes across a Chinese journalist who helps the artifact return to China. The series, created by two Chinese vloggers, aims to raise broader awareness of Chinese artifacts that were stolen or looted (掠夺) from China and are displayed or stored in the British Museum.

The video series echoes the Chinese people’s call for the British Museum to return these Chinese artifacts. However, some UK media outlets said that the video series promotes nationalism (民族主义). In fact, every country whose artifacts are displayed or stored in the British Museum wants them back. These countries, such as Greece, Nigeria and Sudan, have already issued their demands for the return of artifacts. It’s fair enough to say these demands are shared. They can correct centuries-old wrongs by having the UK return artifacts to their rightful homes.

An opinion in the UK newspaper The Telegraph said that if the British Museum gives back its collection of artifacts, then nationalism will win over humanity’s common heritage. It also said that the artifacts were “lawfully acquired (合法取得)” by the UK. By “lawfully acquired”, does the writer mean the artifacts were acquired with the “help” of machine guns and warships? Or does he mean that the cultural artifacts of African, Asian and American countries should be kept in the hands of looters, rather than in their land of origin?

1. What is the video series Escape from the British Museum mainly about?

A．Cultural artifacts looted by the UK.

B．Hidden dangers in the British Museum.

C．The arguments about the British museum.

D．The journey of a Chinese artifact coming home.

2. What does the video series aim to highlight?

A．Protests against UK’s nationalism.

B．The beauty of Chinese cultural artifacts.

C．The desire of stolen artifacts to be returned.

D．Efforts made by Chinese activists to get artifacts back.

3. What’s the author’s purpose in mentioning countries like Greece, Nigeria and Sudan?

A．To show the UK did something wrong in the past.

B．To stress China’s demands are shared by many countries.

C．To emphasize former colonized countries have grown stronger.

D．To highlight diverse artifacts are housed in the British Museum.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward the opinion in The Telegraph?

A．It’s totally unacceptable.	B．It’s a little bit reasonable.
C．It lacks enough evidence.	D．It shows the writer’s ignorance.

9 . Turning around corners, weaving through traffic, every second matters. It is neither a street race nor a 007 chase, but the risky journey of a sushi (寿司) roll.

The streets of China are filled with delivery drivers racing noodles, sandwiches and soups across cities. While the everyday consumer may find these services convenient, most do not realize the true cost of their delivery. How much is that late-night snack really worth?

Strict time limits are the main concern for delivery drivers. The Chinese delivery app Meituan decreased the maximum time allowance from 50 minutes to 30 or even 20. Time literally means money: Surpassing the limit can result in fines, which are paid to the firm rather than to the consumers. Yet, beyond fines, there is often a greater cost. According to Pandaily News, one delivery worker is injured or killed in accidents every 2.5 days in Shanghai and, sadly, companies seldom provide insurance claims when their time limits lead to these consequences. Drivers are pushed to break traffic rules and risk their lives so your sushi is not a minute late.

Furthermore, low wages and extensive working hours exacerbate these issues. Some companies in China take advantage of the economic inequalities between China’s large cities and less developed interior to offer extremely low pay to migrant delivery drivers while demanding long hours. Yet these long hours and low pay are common throughout the global delivery industry. In the United States, advertised earnings of $22 per hour are largely exaggerated while workers complain that food delivery apps rarely give them all their tips.

What is the solution? First, consumers should recognize what is behind their impossibly cheap and fast delivery: exploitation. We should expect more from the delivery app companies and less from their drivers. That is, we should pay more and wait longer while only ordering from companies who offer their drivers fair wages, insurance and a safe working environment. In the end, your sushi is just not worth it.

1. Who will be paid the fines for a delayed delivery?

A．The delivery firm.	B．The delivery worker.
C．The sushi restaurant.	D．The ordinary consumer.

2. What does the underlined word “exacerbate” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Integrate.

B．Comprise.

C．Worsen.

D．Alleviate.

3. Why does the author mention the “earnings of $22 per hour” in the US?

A．To indicate that delivery drivers shouldn’t expect much.

B．To emphasize that delivery companies should provide insurance.

C．To prove that the pay and working environment are better in the US.

D．To show that low pay and overwork are common issues in the industry.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Harm of Delivery Services	B．The True Cost of Convenient Deliveries
C．The Overrated Popularity of Sushi	D．The Benefits and Problems of Delivery Apps

10 . It was a regular school day, and the air was filled with the usual sounds of chatter and laughter as students prepared for their lessons. Little did I know that this day would soon take a ________ turn, making it an unforgettable day.

As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of our English class, we entered the classroom, completely ________ of the coming danger. The teacher began the lesson, and we were really ________ our literature lesson when, out of nowhere, a loud fire alarm ________ everything.

Panic spread as we understood how ________ it was. Smoke filled the hallway, and a sharp burning smell hung in the air. The neat classroom turned into a mess as everyone ________ to the door, trying to get away from the coming danger.

In all the chaos, I noticed my ________ Sarah looking obviously scared by her desk. I quickly ________ she needed help. Without hesitation, I rushed over, took her shaky hand, and told everyone to stay calm. We went through the thickening smoke together, and each ________ felt like a really long time.

As we reached the door, it felt hotter, and we knew we had to hurry. With hearts ________, we hurried into the playground where teachers and students were making sure everyone stayed sate.

Outside, we took a moment to catch our breath, ________ by the loud sounds of approaching fire trucks. Seeing parts of the building on fire, a sense of ________ washed over us, knowing that we had made it out unharmed.

After everything happened, I couldn’t help but reflect on the events of that day. ________ it taught me it’s important to stay calm when things get ________ and how helping others during hard times matters. It was a day when ordinary students became unlikely heroes, bound together by the shared ________ to overcome the unexpected challenges.

1.

A．classic

B．dramatic

C．powerful

D．graceful

2.

A．independent

B．tolerant

C．fluent

D．unaware

3.

A．into

B．onto

C．behind

D．against

4.

A．destroyed

B．interrupted

C．buried

D．sheltered

5.

A．formal

B．unique

C．severe

D．awkward

6.

A．hurried

B．delivered

C．jogged

D．hesitated

7.

A．sister

B．mother

C．classmate

D．teammate

8.

A．protested

B．reminded

C．stressed

D．realized

9.

A．flight

B．step

C．wave

D．foot

10.

A．racing

B．debating

C．suffering

D．begging

11.

A．greeted

B．conducted

C．surrounded

D．attracted

12.

A．stress

B．sadness

C．confidence

D．relief

13.

A．Breaking through

B．Going through

C．Making out

D．Working out

14.

A．tough

B．plain

C．various

D．specific

15.

A．contribution

B．ambition

C．determination

D．addiction