1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A California woman went viral (走红) on TikTok after she posted about her pet pig named Merlin. Mina Alali     1     (buy) a small pig last year after claiming to have wanted one for her entire life. Merlin is a mini-Vietnamese potbelly pig. When he’s     2     (full) grown, he could weigh up to 80 lbs. Alali said that training Merlin to be calm     3     (be) a challenge at first—noting that she had to teach him not     4     (scream) when someone picked him up. With time, however, Merlin grew closer to his new owner. Alali takes the pet pig     5     her everywhere—in the car, on walks, to dinner with friends and even on trips to Starbucks.

In the videos on TikTok, Alali shows off her pig’s many skills and abilities. Merlin learned how to press electronic buttons     6     say “outside,” “eat” and “ice” to better communicate with his owner. He can also perform     7     (trick) such as high-fives or “sit” and “stay”—similar to a trained dog. Alali and Merlin     8     (invite) to be on the TV show “America’s Got Talent”     9     the owner declined (谢绝). She said she felt the experience would be too     10     (stress) for her pet pig, she said.

2 . It was snowing in the midwinter, in a rural highway outside of town. Pepper and Cooper, a pair of beagles (小猎犬) walked with great difficulty through the ________ night. Cooper, a father-to-be ________ the roadside for a spot, where his struggling companion might rest safely. Her way was made ________ by the new life growing inside her. They needed a ________, dry place safe from the bitter wind.

That December night, Gus Kiebel was driving home from work when he ________ the pair in the flash of his headlights. Feeling curious and ________, he parked his truck and ________ the animals. Gus ________ down and stretched out his hands to the beagles, which made no effort to ________. He ________ the dogs on the passenger seat of his truck. Then he ________ his phone and called the number from the dogs’ tags. A man answered and immediately grew ________ and impatient when Gus told him why he was calling. ________, the man declined to ________ the dog. These beagles were ________, no home at all in this world. Then he called his wife Katie. “You can’t put them back in the ________,” she said. “Bring them home.”

Without enough ________ for two more dogs in their small house, the next day, Katie took them to a shelter nearby. In the days following, Katie phoned the shelter ________ to check up on Pepper and Cooper. Soon after Christmas, the beagles were ________ - as a pair, by a loving family. This touching story speaks to the best of our nature. And when kindness and love overcome ________ and neglect (忽视), it can feel like the greatest miracle of all.

1.

A．freezing

B．dark

C．wonderful

D．unforgettable

2.

A．noticed

B．scanned

C．witnessed

D．watched

3.

A．longer

B．fitter

C．heavier

D．stronger

4.

A．quiet

B．clean

C．crowded

D．warm

5.

A．spotted

B．trained

C．dropped

D．crashed

6.

A．thrilled

B．disappointed

C．concerned

D．delighted

7.

A．caught

B．chased

C．approached

D．freed

8.

A．bent

B．sat

C．lay

D．fell

9.

A．jump

B．bark

C．leave

D．escape

10.

A．locked

B．placed

C．threw

D．hid

11.

A．put out

B．pulled out

C．handed out

D．gave out

12.

A．positive

B．objective

C．supportive

D．defensive

13.

A．Fortunately

B．Unsurprisingly

C．Hopefully

D．Interestingly

14.

A．declare

B．consider

C．claim

D．discuss

15.

A．abandoned

B．discovered

C．ignored

D．kept

16.

A．rain

B．storm

C．snow

D．sun

17.

A．water

B．food

C．time

D．room

18.

A．calmly

B．casually

C．temporarily

D．repeatedly

19.

A．adopted

B．adapted

C．adjusted

D．admitted

20.

A．impatience

B．cruelty

C．anxiety

D．fear

3 . Read and finish the exercises

There was a little boy whose name was Peter. He lived in a village close to the sea. The villagers built sea walls to keep sea water from the doors of the houses. But once the sea walls almost put the village in great danger.

One day, Peter was walking on his way back home along the sea wall when it began to rain. All of a sudden, he saw a hole in the wall, from which the sea water was running. Peter shouted for help because he knew the hole meant that the sea was making its way through the sea wall, but no answer came. He thought he should do something else as quickly as possible, or the sea water could be pouring over the whole village. He started to rush towards his village. At the same time, the rain became heavier and heavier.

It was getting dark, but Peter rushed on and on. He felt cold and hungry. In the rainstorm, he fell down over and over again. Many times he thought about giving up, but he fought on. He remembered his father’s words, “Lots of strong men have made every effort to build the walls which can keep the village safe from danger. The sea walls are really important.”

Finally, when the boy’s father saw him, Peter was black and blue all over. The boy told the villagers what happened to the sea wall. They repaired it in time. “Thank God! He saved the village,” they praised Peter. All the villagers called him “Peter the Guard（守卫）” from then on. Peter’s parents were really proud of him!

根据短文内容回答下列问题。
1. Where did Peter live? （No more than 9 words）
2. What did Peter do first after he saw a hole in the wall?（No more than 5 words）
3. Who told Peter about the importance of the sea walls?（No more than 5 words）
4. Why did the villagers call Peter “Peter the Guard”?（No more than 5 words）

4 . 阅读下面的短文，并根据短文内容回答后面的问题。

69-year-old Xia Boyu recently became the oldest double amputee (双侧截肢者) to climb Mount Qomolangma. That is amazing, but even what is more impressive is the fact that he did it after he tried four times.

Xia Boyu’s first try to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma was in 1975, as part of an expedition (远征) by the Chinese Government. With only 250 meters to go from reaching the top, the team was stopped by bad weather. To make sure that everyone made it back alive, the team decided to turn back and finish their dream another time.

On the way, Xia Boyu gave his sleeping bag to one of his teammates who was in worse shape than him. Unluckily, this selfless act made him lose both his feet to frostbite (冻伤).

In 1996, Xia Boyu got cancer. But it also didn’t stop the mountain climber from realizing his dream of climbing the world’s highest peak. “Climbing Mount Qomolangma is my dream, ” Xia said. “I have to realize it. It also stands for a personal challenge, a challenge of fate. ”

Over twenty years after losing his feet, Xia Boyu trained to get his body ready for another try at climbing Mount Qomolangma. In 2014, he tried again, but finally had to turn back because of bad weather. The same thing happened the following year, as well as in 2016.

In 2018, Xia Boyu finally reached the top of Mount Qomolangma on his fifth try. He thus became only the second double amputee to climb the world’s highest mountain top, after Mark Inglis from New Zealand, who did it in 2006, and the first to do it from the Nepal (尼泊尔) side.

Answer the following questions with no more than 7 words.
1. How many times did Xia Boyu try to climb Mount Qomolangma?     
________________
2. Who is the first double amputee to climb the world’s highest mountain top?
________________
3. When was Xia Boyu’s first try to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma?        
________________
4. Why did Xia Boyu give up trying while climbing Mount Qomolangma in 2014?
________________
5. What happened to him after Xia Boyu gave his sleeping bag to his teammate?
________________

5 . It was the most destructive wildfire in California history. It started in Paradise (天堂镇) and caused $16.5 billion in _________, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings and killing 85 in all. The beauty of this _________ named place was gone.

Grammer, working in Los Angeles, grew up there. When his friend Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney — the only part of his house to survive — he felt _________. And then he had an idea.

“I’ve got to _________ that chimney,” he says, “I’m not trying to say anything. I’m an artist. It was an opportunity for me to _________.”

Grammer spent three hours painting an image of a woman on the _________ — a reminder of the chimney, of the beauty of life, or even just of _________ itself.

Grammer posted the image on Instagram. The victims of the fire, _________, could not calm down. Someone _________, “You bring beauty and hope.”

Greatly inspired, Grammer returned eight times. Outside one house, he found a photo of a girl, Eleanor. He painted a picture of her on the wall of her home left ______________. It was a stamp that life was here and that life can ______________ to be here. The painting has __________ meaning for the homeowner. Eleanor’s father, recalls how she used to play just feet away. Eleanor herself returned once to ______________ the painting.

Iconically (讽刺的是) that first painting, on the chimney in Paradise, ______________ only a few months — the bulldozer (推土机) is a cruel art critic. However, Grammer couldn’t be more delighted. It means that the ______________ of Paradise is rising again.

1.

A．damage

B．collection

C．debt

D．reserve

2.

A．academically

B．generally

C．beautifully

D．seriously

3.

A．disappointed

B．Interested

C．helpless

D．fearless

4.

A．beautify

B．paint

C．build

D．repair

5.

A．succeed

B．improve

C．practice

D．express

6.

A．chimney

B．wall

C．window

D．door

7.

A．art

B．life

C．nature

D．beauty

8.

A．finally

B．naturally

C．actually

D．especially

9.

A．argued

B．insisted

C．posted

D．suggested

10.

A．standing

B．existing

C．fallen

D．destroyed

11.

A．pretend

B．afford

C．continue

D．decide

12.

A．new

B．special

C．practical

D．real

13.

A．copy

B．handle

C．donate

D．admire

14.

A．flashed

B．suffered

C．survived

D．waited

15.

A．spirit

B．size

C．fame

D．power

6 . Social worker Nate Carroll is a father of three. Being 45 years old hasn't ________ him from setting a new world record for ________ over 1.5 million push-ups(俯卧撑) in a single year. He started his mission(任务) for two ________. First, he hoped to teach his children a lesson in the power of perseverance(坚持不懈）.“I wanted to show my kids what goals that seem ________look like when they're broken down into daily manageable parts,”he said.

Besides being a good ________ for his children, Carroll was also devoted to raising money for a ________ in which he truly believes:the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization aimed at reducing the ________ burden(负担) for the needy families.

With a full-time job, finding the time during his busy ________ to perform thousands of push-ups per day was one of Carroll's biggest ________. “To set aside time to do 4,000 push-ups is tough,”he said. “I have to weave(编) it into my day and ________ it.”

________,he did it--at work, at home, and even while doing chores(家务).Whenever a(n)________   presented itself, he would grasp it and give it his all.“________ a goal, and go after it,” he added. “When life throws stones in your way and offers you excuses to ________, you find a way to work towards it. Winning these mini-battles each day can build strength and ________   one’s perspective on what is possible.”

1.

A．rescued

B．protected

C．removed

D．prevented

2.

A．selecting

B．completing

C．tackling

D．restoring

3.

A．means

B．options

C．purposes

D．consequences

4.

A．impossible

B．unimportant

C．ambitious

D．realistic

5.

A．image

B．model

C．present

D．honour

6.

A．goal

B．belief

C．career

D．cause

7.

A．physical

B．emotional

C．economic

D．social

8.

A．schedule

B．journey

C．activities

D．preparations

9.

A．adventures

B．challenges

C．awards

D．lessons

10.

A．see to

B．take to

C．stick to

D．adjust to

11.

A．Also

B．Already

C．Otherwise

D．Indeed

12.

A．opportunity

B．answer

C．need

D．solution

13.

A．Identify

B．Establish

C．Accomplish

D．Promote

14.

A．complain

B．struggle

C．abandon

D．withdraw

15.

A．share

B．provide

C．exchange

D．shape

7 . 阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

“No 7, Jobie Nymble, takes the lead,” cried the announcer. “Just one more hurdle (跨栏) and ...” Cheers broke out. “Jobie Nymble from Riverside Middle School takes first place in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles!” The crowd went wild.

“County championships (锦标赛), here we come,” screamed Jobie, patting her green track spikes (钉鞋). They were her lucky shoes and she loved them. “Next Saturday, we’re taking home the gold,” Jobie whispered to her spikes, excitedly retying them.

“Don’t forget, guys,” said Marisol, one of her teammates. “My birthday party is next Friday at Hidden Park.”

Next weekend couldn’t come soon enough. Jobie smiled with excitement all week long. At track practice, she leaped over those hurdles faster than she’d ever leaped before. And it wasn’t long before everything in her path was a hurdle: flowerpots in her front yard, sidewalk cracks on the way to the bus stop and even her little sister, Teka!

The day of Marisol’s party, Jobie put on her favorite outfit: her blue shorts, an old track T-shirt from her dad, and her lucky spikes. “Perfect.” She smiled at herself in the mirror.

The party was under way when Jobie arrived at Hidden Park. She stopped by the track first, planning to do some practice.

“Jobie!” Two of Jobie’s teammates rushed toward her, breathless and barefoot. “Come on,” they yelled. “You have to try the slide.”

Jobie looked toward the party area. Suddenly, she saw it. The biggest slide she had ever seen was on the far side of the park. Smiling kids zoomed down the slide at unspeakable speeds. Without thinking twice, Jobie took off her spikes and dashed (猛冲) toward the slide. Its ladder stretched to the sky, but she reached the top in no time, closed her eyes and let go.

Jobie couldn’t get enough. She tried again and again. When it was finally time to go home, she unwillingly made her way back to the track where she’d left her shoes.

续写部分：
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语以为你写好；
Paragraph 1：

As she eyed the area from a distance, panic set in.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：

The next day, Jobie turned up in a new pair of spikes for the championships.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . On a bright morning on the warm sands of Hawaii, US, I made what could possibly be one of the unwisest choices of my life. I decided to follow in the footsteps of my friends... who were jumping off of a cliff (悬崖) – into water, of course.

It was over 30 feet (9 meters) high, extremely rocky and completely terrifying. There were only two ways to get up the cliff: either swim out in the ocean to an area where you could scale (攀登) a slippery sea wall that had crevices (裂缝) to grasp, or traverse (穿过) across sharp rocks to reach the point on the cliff where it was safe to take the leap of faith into the water. Both routes had their risks yet were also safe enough to use, so eventually, I chose the latter.

It was probably wiser to swim out to sea and climb up the wall, which, sadly, I learned too late. To my disappointment, crossing the rocks was much more difficult than I had originally thought. It took me a while to walk across the first stretch of rocks near the water, mostly because the rocks were damp due to waves crashing against them, and because there were huge insects that were crawling (爬行) across them. The rest of the time I was just focused on making sure I kept my footing. So far, no one had been injured by climbing or jumping off the rocks, so I was determined to get up there safely as well. Surprisingly, I did.

From afar, the spot that people were jumping off from looked like no big deal. It didn’t appear to be too high or too scary to leap from, but I was very wrong about that. It was surreal (离奇的) standing on top of the cliff and looking out at the ocean that lapped at the rocks below me. However, I wasn’t in the mood to stay standing at the edge of a cliff and thinking about my very poor life choices, so I decided to complete the inevitable (不可避免的) task as soon as I could. Without a second thought, I jumped off the cliff.

Time seemed to slow as I plummeted (骤降) down towards the sparkling blue sea. It was more terrifying than any roller coaster (过山车) I had ridden before, but also more fun. I hit the water with a painful “smack!” because I had landed wrong, but I loved it! I ended up deciding to give it another go.

Jumping off a cliff.

1. What was the main reason the author had difficulty crossing the first stretch of rocks?

A．The cliff was too steep.

B．There were insects on the damp rocks.

C．She badly injured her foot.

D．There were big waves.

2. What did the author do after she reached the point on the cliff?

A．She jumped off without any fear.

B．She tried to climb back down.

C．She jumped into the water nervously.

D．She enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

3. How did the author feel about jumping off the cliff?

A．It was easy and relaxing.

B．It was fascinating but frustrating.

C．It was challenging but interesting.

D．It was cool and calming.

4. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To recommend a way of entertainment.

B．To encourage people to go on an adventure.

C．To compare two different ways to get up a cliff.

D．To share her experience of jumping off a cliff.

9 . 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。

Some researchers think there might be a connection between UFOs and angel sightings. They say the angels and heavenly figures might actually have been extraterrestrials(外星人)。

After his experience in the 1980s with "the most beautiful thing" he ever saw, Lewis might agree with that assessment.

It was a Saturday morning in Mariposa, California, and Lewis had to work that day. The air was fresh from a cool rain the night before, and the morning sky was bright with a few scattered clouds.

"I was heading out to my car in the back parking lot of the apartment complex where I lived when I noticed someone kneeling next to my car," Lewis says. "This person saw me and quickly stood up holding a crowbar(撬棍),"

The young man was quite obviously astonished by Lewis's interruption, and although Lewis sensed the boy was up to no good, it hadn't yet hit him what he was doing. Then Lewis looked through the passenger window of his car and saw that the steering wheel column had been stripped(脱去)of its cover. He realized that the young man was trying to steal his car.

"I asked him what he was doing," Lewis recalls, "He gave me a lame story about his friend's car being stolen last night and that my car looked like his friend's and so on. I didn't want to hear it. I told him I was going to call the police, which I did on my cell phone."

Lewis dialed 911 and gave the dispatcher(调度员)the address. He told the would-be thief that the police were on their way and warned him not to leave. "If he did, I wasn't going to try to stop him because he had that crowbar," Lewis says.

As Lewis was questioning the young man, trying to detain(扣留)him, he began to notice three rather large clouds in a single-file formation that were almost overhead.

"Then I saw it," he says."A shiny object exited from the first cloud and entered the next and then came out of that one. It was shiny, like brightly polished objects, moving at a good speed. I couldn't make out the shape."

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

By this time, Lewis was so distracted by the UFO.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"As it sailed overhead, some of the arms and legs would move up and down, giving the impression of being alive!"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . My 12-year-old niece was staying with us for a couple of days. She was remembering some acts of kindness that we did together when she was less than five years old. We talked about how so much had changed, and with the pandemic, how difficult it would be to do so many of those things, especially when it comes to strangers.

The next day, I needed something from the downtown area and happened to take her with me. As we walked

around on the street, we heard a beautiful male voice singing a very soulful song. We turned around to see a middle-aged man sitting on a street comer with his guitar. A couple were sitting on a bench nearby and listening to his music.

After getting a few things done, we happened to sit at an outdoor dining restaurant across from him on the other side of the street. My niece was learning how to sing herself, and she kept smiling and saying how wonderful his singing was. Seeing how moved she was by his music, at the end of our meal, I gave her a ten-dollar bill and asked her to walk across the street and put it in his bowl.

She was a little surprised. “Really?” she asked with bright eyes. I nodded. So she headed over and as she approached, the man was just finishing a song and started talking to her, and they ended up having a sweet conversation. She told him how touched she was by his music, and he ended up telling her that she made his day. As she was excitedly repeating the conversation back to me, she mentioned, “He didn’t even know how much it was. He was just thankful that someone was enjoying his music.”

1. What did the author and her niece do in the first paragraph?

A．They thought back to the past.

B．They decided to do good deeds outside.

C．They made a plan for going downtown.

D．They talked about meeting more strangers.

2. What caught the author and her niece’s attention on the street?

A．A guitar.	B．A restaurant.
C．A couple.	D．A voice.

3. What did the author want her niece to do?

A．Talk with the man.	B．Praise the man.
C．Learn music from the man.	D．Give money to the man.

4. What do we know from the meeting of the man and the author’s niece?

A．They shared singing skills.

B．They felt thankful to each other.

C．The man was proud of his singing.

D．The girl introduced the author to the man.