1 . It’s 1:30 am in Kenya’s populated north, and 50 people are lying on their backs on the shore of a dried-up river, staring up at the night sky. These stargazers have travelled 250 miles to Samburu to _________ the Perseid meteor shower(英仙座流星雨). They are not _________: Every few minutes, arrows of light shoot _________ the sky like silent fireworks.

The Star Safari is organized by a Kenyan astronomer(天文学家), Susan Murabana, who has brought a 50 kg, 170 cm-long _________to allow the group to view Mars and deep-sky objects. But here in Samburu, where _________ pollution is minimal, the Perseid meteors — visible with the naked eye (裸眼) — _________ all the right boxes.

Every two months, Murabana and her husband put their equipment on to the _________ of their truck and _________ to rural communities, where they help up to 300 children to view the planets and learn about constellations(星座) and the _________ of astronomy. Her primary mission is to give __________ an opportunity that she wishes had been available to her.

“There is a common misconception in Kenya that astronomy in general is hard, boring, and only for boys,” she adds. “I’d like to __________ young ladies that it’s not right and that they, too, can become astronomers,” says Murabana.

“When I started this work, I was a lone ranger and I wanted to change that.” She says. __________by a similar outreach activity, which lighted her __________ for astronomy in her early 20s, Murabana set up her own outreach program after her online master’s degree in astronomy in 2011.

She __________ Dr Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, as a role model. “I hope that one day, those small actions can make a butterfly effect that __________ the first African woman in space.”

1.

A．witness

B．protect

C．sweep

D．search

2.

A．surprised

B．satisfied

C．disappointed

D．sorrowed

3.

A．across

B．into

C．toward

D．throughout

4.

A．helicopter

B．telescope

C．cellphone

D．camera

5.

A．water

B．light

C．sound

D．soil

6.

A．tick

B．kick

C．stick

D．pick

7.

A．wheel

B．roof

C．mirror

D．window

8.

A．set up

B．set down

C．set back

D．set off

9.

A．harms

B．papers

C．ruins

D．basics

10.

A．kids

B．guys

C．girls

D．teenagers

11.

A．warn

B．teach

C．beg

D．realize

12.

A．Promoted

B．Comforted

C．Moved

D．Inspired

13.

A．passion

B．imagination

C．impression

D．depression

14.

A．referred

B．recommended

C．regarded

D．requested

15.

A．attracts

B．preserves

C．challenges

D．produces

2 . One Sunday morning my mother walked into my room. “_______!” she said, proudly holding up a yellow _______ with black and white stripes. “I made it just for you. What do you think?”

I _______ my tongue. How could I tell Mom it was the most hideous one I had ever seen? “It’s perfect for _______,” my mother continued. “How I wish someone had made such a stunning piece for me!”

Too small you can’t wear it, I thought. But I knew Mom had spent a lot of time on the dress. Only the world’s most _______ daughter would refuse. Reluctantly, I put it on.

All through church I prayed, Lord, let me get out of here _______ anyone seeing me. Especially Dennis Pearce, the boy I had a crush on. He was one of the cutest guys at Neptune High. Although we were in some of the same classes, Dennis had _______ taken any notice of me.

At the end of the service I _______ for the door. But I had to wait on the steps while my parents chatted with their friends. Just a little while longer.... Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the Pearce’s approaching. _______ I could escape, Dennis was right beside me.

I started gabbing(闲聊) a mile a minute, hoping if I kept it up he wouldn’t ________ my horrible dress. “I am going to college in September,” I said.

“That’s great,” Dennis replied. “I got admitted to the police academy.” Somehow I kept the conversation going. Soon we were walking to the parking lot together. The next thing I remembered was that Dennis asked me ________. We courted through college, and eventually ________. Months after our wedding, I asked Dennis if he remembered the day when he had first asked me out.

“You bet I do,” he said. “You were always ________ in school, almost standoffish (cold-hearted). I didn’t think you’d be much fun. But you were so animated when we talked on the church steps, sparking my ________ in getting to know you better.” Maybe that ________ dress wasn’t what I would have chosen, but that day it was the perfect dress for me.

1.

A．Strange

B．Surprise

C．Interesting

D．Puzzled

2.

A．dress

B．coat

C．skirt

D．hat

3.

A．beat

B．cut

C．held

D．caught

4.

A．party

B．church

C．school

D．sport

5.

A．unreasonable

B．ungrateful

C．unwise

D．uncertain

6.

A．beyond

B．against

C．on

D．without

7.

A．never

B．sometimes

C．once

D．ever

8.

A．headed

B．hid

C．escaped

D．walked

9.

A．Until

B．After

C．Not until

D．Before

10.

A．dislike

B．judge

C．overlook

D．notice

11.

A．my number

B．my address

C．out

D．in

12.

A．succeeded

B．married

C．graduated

D．persevered

13.

A．quiet

B．calm

C．silent

D．still

14.

A．sincerity

B．necessity

C．curiosity

D．hospitality

15.

A．lace-trimmed

B．yellow-spotted

C．zebra-striped

D．heart-shaped

4 . 阅读下面的短文，请根据文本回答下面的问题。

Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.

Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.

Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.

It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent (对手) to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?” So, a game of two players began. During the game, Dave went all out to play against this opponent, forgetting all about his height. It was a game he could play to his heart’s content. It was more like an enjoyment than a challenge. “Can we meet again?” Lankas asked.

1. Why did Dave give up the hope of joining the school team? (3 points)
____________________________________________________
2. What made Dave keep playing basketball? (3 points)
____________________________________________________
3. What might happen after the game? (4 points)
____________________________________________________

5 . Papa’s jaw dropped when Mama told him that Sister had cheated on her final exams—not to succeed but to fail. “It’s unbelievable!” he said. “Sister has always been so proud of her good grades!”

“Yes, she has,” said Mama. “But it’s not unbelievable. It just shows how badly she wanted off the swimming team.”

“Wanted off the swimming team?” said Papa. “She never said anything about that to me.”

“Of course she didn’t,” said Mama. “She was afraid you’d blow your top. You already had her getting a swimming scholarship to college and winning gold medals at the Olympics. Can you imagine how much pressure she must have felt? For her, being on the team couldn’t have been much fun.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Papa said, clapping a hand to his forehead. “I’ve been so stupid! I just thought she’d want to be a champion swimmer because she’s so good at it.”

“It’s like anything else, dear,” said Mama. “No matter how good at it you are, if it stops being fun, you won’t want to do it anymore.”

Papa put his head in his hands.

“She must be really mad at me,” he mumbled. “Maybe I should say sorry to her.”

Sister’s footsteps could be heard on the stairs. She came into the kitchen and looked hopefully up at her parents.

“Honey,” said Mama with a smile, “your papa and I have decided that there’s no reason for you to be on the swimming team if you don’t want to.”

Sister’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yippee!” she cried.

“And,” added Papa, “there’s no need for any more drills. I’m sure you’ll bring your grades back up all by yourself.”

Sister ran to Papa and jumped into his arms. She gave him a big hug. “I’m going to go play cards with Lizzy!” she said. “See you later!”

From the kitchen window, Mama and Papa watched their daughter run down the sunny road toward Lizzy’s house.

“It’s good to see her happy again,” said Mama.

“It sure is,” Papa agreed. “As for the swimming team, there’s always next year.” “If?” Mama prompted him.

“Oh, right,” said Papa. “If she wants to.”

Mama smiled. “At least you’re learning, dear,” she said. She kissed him. “Well, you know what they say,” Papa said. “Better late than never.”

1. The underlined expression “blow your top” probably means     .

A．change your opinion	B．become very excited
C．get very angry	D．fall down with fear

2. Mama insisted that the child should do     .

A．what she was willing to	B．what she felt easy to
C．what she was able to	D．what she felt right to

3. Which of the following words best describes Papa?

A．Cruel but reasonable.	B．Crazy but confident.
C．Stubborn but honest.	D．Ambitious but considerate.

4. What message does the passage want to convey?

A．It is easier to say something than to do it.

B．Health is better than wealth.

C．It’s never too late if you really want to learn and change.

D．To do something is better than to do nothing.

6 . 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。

A lesson from my sister

My elder sister was different. She was socially awkward. She could not look at people in the eye. She would mumble (嘟哝) to herself and repeat the words she had just said. The child psychologist had termed it as “Asperger Syndrome”.

She, however, was academically capable. Therefore, we attended the same primary school. Despite this, I never, ever admitted in public that she was my sister. There was one incident, however, that changed how I viewed my sister. It was the incident that changed me.

Being in primary six, about to graduate, the school had made it a must for everyone to perform. Due to my sister’s inability to work together with others, she had to do it individually.

“I’ll sing,” my sister told my parents confidently. Hearing that, I was completely shocked. How could my sister, who was socially awkward, sing in front of the school? I knew so well that if this happened, she would surely embarrass me.     

Silently I prayed I would not have to watch my sister disgrace herself. It is fine. No one knows she is your sister. I remember telling myself these exact lines as I sat in the hall, waiting for the performances to start.

The lights dimmed and the curtains parted to reveal the only solo — my sister. It took about a whole minute for her to speak out her name and class and by that time, whispers were heard in the audience. “Why is she taking so long?” People around me asked. I sat nervously in my seat, wishing I were somewhere else.

注意：
1. 所续写短文的总词数应为120左右;
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1

Finally my sister started to sing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2

Guilt (内疚) and shame filled my heart as I listened to my sister’s wonderful singing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . Milo is a dog, adopted by 20-year-old Makayla Swift from an animal shelter. One morning in November 2021, Swift opened her front door in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Milo immediately ________ to the house across the street. Milo seemed ________, so he ran to the one next door, Swift on his tail. “He started scratching (抓) the front door,” Swift says. “I’m thinking, why is he insistently trying to ________ her house?” She was embarrassed for not everyone wants a(n) ________ dog to leave marks on their property. But as she tried to drag Milo away, she could hear a voice yelling “help” coming through an open upstairs window. Hours ________, around 4 a.m., Sherry Starr had risen from her bed. “All of a sudden, standing there between the toilet and the tub, I ________,” she says. “I slumped on the floor.” Starr is 85. “I could not move at all”, says Starr, who was ________ between the toilet and the tub. Starr was scared and thought she was going to die there. Her best ________, she decided, was to listen for the letter carrier in the afternoon and scream. For the next few hours, Starr practiced yelling: “Help! Help! Helllp!” “Her voice was very ________,” says Swift. “You had to be right at the front door to hear Mrs. Starr yell for help ________ you were Milo, the dog.” It ________ heard Starr the instant Swift opened her own front door. Swift called 911. Rescuers thought they’d have to break down the toilet to ________ Starr, but they gave one last pull — and out she popped. Though injured, Starr ________ a trip to the hospital.

Swift has known her share of ________ for living alone. Two years ago, her mother died. She says Milo has helped her with her grief too. “That dog is a ________,” she says.

1.

A．ran

B．walked

C．leaned

D．wandered

2.

A．anxious

B．terrified

C．embarrassed

D．excited

3.

A．setting off

B．turning over

C．keeping off

D．breaking into

4.

A．adorable

B．strange

C．angry

D．reliable

5.

A．later

B．earlier

C．on

D．away

6.

A．jumped

B．hesitated

C．slipped

D．swept

7.

A．lost

B．tired

C．stuck

D．secured

8.

A．bet

B．interaction

C．result

D．prediction

9.

A．loud

B．faint

C．special

D．distinct

10.

A．if

B．though

C．as

D．unless

11.

A．ultimately

B．quietly

C．gradually

D．accurately

12.

A．edge

B．detect

C．remove

D．observe

13.

A．took

B．favored

C．obeyed

D．declined

14.

A．barrier

B．passion

C．suffering

D．pressure

15.

A．blessing

B．danger

C．bother

D．pleasure

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写最后一段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

My story started one autumn morning, at the bend on a path.

I was 13 years old, and was on the way to school. It was the first time I had caught sight of a fox. Fascinated to the point that I forgot all fear, I dared to go up to it. I had never come so close to a wild animal. There was nobody else around, only me and the fox.

“Hey, fox!” I tried to greet it, though my voice was so weak it felt like I was saying hello to myself. It didn’t hear me. It stayed there and I watched it. My heart was beating flat out. It was so cute. For a moment, I thought I might be able to touch it.

Throughout the day at school, I could only think of the fox at the big beech (山毛榉) tree. At my return to the place where we met, I was sure I’d find it there.

And I did. This time I gathered a little bit more courage and called out to it, “Fox!” Of course it escaped. But that only made me long to meet it again. I decided that if I could find its kennel (洞) and catch it, I would try and tame (驯服) it, making it my friend.

Thus, I spent most of my free time in the forests trying to find the fox during the following months. But I never saw it again before winter came. During the winter, I followed its footprints far across the fields. Suddenly I was alarmed by the howling of wolves near me. I ran away frightened, stumbled and hurt my ankle. It healed very slowly, so that I had to stay at home during the winter, reading a book about animals of the forest and foxes.

When spring arrived, I was free again. I looked for fox kennels and waited for my fox. To my amazement, it had got young ones but kept moving because of my observations; therefore I decided to observe the fox from a longer distance.

Finally, it would let me get close. Finally, it would let me get close.

But before that, several days had seen my distant and patient observation, during which time the fox gradually got accustomed to my presence and finally quit moving. Delighted to see its attitude transformation, I started to bring some food, put it outside the kennel and soon returned to my distant observation site to avoid disturbing and frightening the fox. Every time, it carried the food back to the kennel after cautiously sniffing. Several times later, I attempted to get close and was astonished to find that it didn’t get away. What thrilled me further was that it would even initiatively walk to me and lie beside me for a while. So thrilled was I that one day I impulsively took it home, imaging to tame it with tips from my book.

注意：
(1) 续写词数应为80个左右；
(2) 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

To my surprise, the day after I took it home, it fled.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . Eduardo reached into his backpack, searching for his cell phone. He was scared of having to spend the spring break at Aunt Letty’s farm. Although he had protested, his parents decided that spending time on the farm would be a great experience for him. They grew up on a farm and believed that responsibility, hard work, and respect for the land were valuable lessons.

“So have you ever ridden a horse?” Aunt Letty asked, trying to turn his attention away from his phone. “Hmmm, no,” he answered. “Well, we’ve got a nice calm horse I think you’ll like. Hercules sounds like a beast, but he’s basically a gentle giant — big, but kindhearted!” she said, smiling. Eduardo glanced at his aunt, annoyed that he was expected to work. He tried to text a friend but there was no cell reception.

The next few days were busy. The crow of the roosters woke them up, and they had breakfast before dawn. Then they went out to the barn to get the feed while the animals waited to be fed. The afternoons were filled with transporting hay, cleanup, and caring for the animals. At dusk, when the farm was finally quiet, Aunt Letty stretched her arms out and inhaled (吸气), “Just take a deep breath of that sweet country air!” Eduardo, exhausted from his chores, was unable to appreciate his work.

On the third day, without warning, Aunt Letty announced, “It’s time to meet Hercules.” She led Eduardo into the stables. Aunt Letty was right. Hercules was remarkable!

Aunt Letty held her hand open for Eduardo to take. Reluctantly, he let her guide his hand toward Hercules and allowed the magnificent creature to sniff his palm. Softly, Hercules rubbed its nose and mouth against him.

“It feels like velvet (天鹅绒)!” Eduardo beamed. An hour later, Eduardo was scratching Hercules on his neck and offering him carrots.

That night, as they headed toward the house, Eduardo was inspired. His arms spreading wide, he inhaled and said, “Take a breath of that sweet country air!”

1. Why did Eduardo’s parents send him to the farm?

A．To get him close to nature.

B．To better his views on life.

C．To change his attitude to Aunt Letty.

D．To keep him from using a mobile phone.

2. What can we infer about Eduardo from the last four paragraphs?

A．He discovered the horse was wild.

B．He realized hard work would pay off.

C．He found Aunt Letty demanding but inspiring.

D．He came to appreciate the life on the farm.

3. The writer organized this passage _______.

A．in space order	B．in time order
C．from general to specific	D．from specific to general

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Aunt Letty’s Farm	B．A Remarkable Horse
C．Sweet Country Air	D．Busy Country Life