1 . Growing up, I was fortunate to have dinner with my family almost every day. Sometimes, the family dinner circle_________to include relatives stopping by. Yet, I knew some friends whose parents got home after dinner or even_________the entire evening. So I_________the quality time around our kitchen table, which witnessed countless valuable_________in my life.

_________,my kids cannot relate to my childhood memories. They have been left to_________with babysitters more times than I would like to admit. My husband and I have_________careers. And we often end up staying at the office way past dinnertime. When this happens too often, it_________the balance of our family.

Apart from suffering from_________,what else can a hardworking family do? I think we can all try to__________our own ways to spend time together. Surely there are days when I’m too busy to share a meal with my family. But I would make efforts to__________and chat later that day,__________       setting aside cellphones every time. And I even find a bedtime reading with my kids much__________.I am also proud to have our “big breakfast” routine every Saturday. My husband serves as the head chef, and my younger son__________       him to make the breakfast.

I am aware that my sons are growing up quickly and will be out of the__________someday. But now, I am happy to have so many wonderful things on my plate.

1.

A．widened

B．formed

C．lessened

D．closed

2.

A．missed

B．avoided

C．enjoyed

D．recorded

3.

A．wasted

B．treasured

C．limited

D．calculated

4.

A．shows

B．dishes

C．recipes

D．moments

5.

A．However

B．Otherwise

C．Therefore

D．Besides

6.

A．sleep

B．dine

C．study

D．play

7.

A．suitable

B．flexible

C．satisfying

D．demanding

8.

A．maintains

B．disturbs

C．improves

D．strikes

9.

A．fear

B．anger

C．guilt

D．hunger

10.

A．predict

B．create

C．evaluate

D．accept

11.

A．work out

B．calm down

C．hold on

D．catch up

12.

A．unwillingly

B．casually

C．consciously

D．carelessly

13.

A．louder

B．shorter

C．simpler

D．sweeter

14.

A．assists

B．guides

C．allows

D．orders

15.

A．office

B．kitchen

C．house

D．park

2 . As a child, I was proud of my southern origin. My own voice reflected my family’s past and present-part northern Mississippi, part Tennessee, all southern. There was no sound I loved more than my grandmother’s accent: thick, sweet, warm.

While growing up, I began to realize outside of our region, southerners were often dismissed as uncultured and ignorant. I was ready to leave behind my tiny town in West Tennessee, starting a new life and jumping at big chances in some far-off cities. In that embarrassing space between “teen” and “adult”, my accent was a symbol of everything I thought I hated about my life in the rural South. I feared it would disqualify me from being a noted magazine writer. I would have to talk less “country”. So I killed a piece of myself. I’m ashamed of it, but I’m more ashamed that I tried to kill that part of someone else-change Emily’s accent.

I met Emily in college. She was determined to work for the student newspaper, which was where I spent most of my waking hours, and we became friends. She, unlike me, accepted her roots. Early in our friendship, her mother asked where I was from, assuming it was somewhere up north. Then I felt my efforts paid off and even wanted to ignore the mistake.

Emily is two years younger and she cared about my opinion. I advised her to be more like me and hide her signature Manchester accent. I stressed that throughout our college years, often by making fun of her vowel (元音) sounds. I told myself I was helping her achieve her dream of working as a reporter. Now, I see that it was actually about justifying my hiding part of myself.

Grandma Carolyn used to tell me, “Girl, don’t forget where you come from.” Now I truly understand that. Many things have faded from memory, but this sticks in my mind with uncomfortable clarity. Now that I am grown and have left the South, it’s important to me.

1. What made the author want to leave her hometown?

A．Appeal of convenience in cities.

B．Her dream of becoming a writer.

C．Outside prejudice against southerners.

D．Her desire for the northern accent.

2. How did the author feel about the mistake of Emily’s mother?

A．Upset.

B．Pleased.

C．Ashamed.

D．Surprised.

3. Why on earth did the author try to change Emily’s accent?

A．To prove herself right.	B．To help Emily be a reporter.
C．To make herself influential.	D．To protect Emily’s self-dignity.

4. What message does the text want to convey?

A．Stay true to your roots.	B．Never do things by halves.
C．Hold on to your dreams.	D．Never judge a person by his accent.

3 . Several years ago, a neighbor kid kicked a football and broke a basement window of my house. Due to financial problems, I ______ it up, thinking I’d get to it someday.

Over the years, I had planned to upgrade to energy-efficient windows. But with the frame (窗框) rusted (锈) and firmly ______ in the foundation, whoever did it would need to chisel (凿) it out by hand. It would be a ______ process and there were six of those windows in the house. The cost was estimated at $15,000. It was simply ______.

Honestly, the thought of that window ______ me for years. I knew I needed to fix it, but I had built up the ______ so much in my mind that I put it off again and again.

Then I had a job change and needed to sell the house before moving away. But it was almost ______ to find a buyer if there was a broken window. So I pulled off the boards to face this thing head-on. I grabbed some rust remover, ______ it around the frame of the window, and gave it a pull. To my astonishment, it easily ______. I took the window downtown. It only cost me $12. I could have ______ the problem for only $12 when it occurred, but I let it bother me for five years!

______, this isn’t just about my window. Many of us live with broken windows of one type or another. They are things that seriously affect our ______ of life. If you recognize your broken window, don’t ______ to mend it. It may turn out to be ______ than expected. Usually we suffer more in_______ than in reality.

1.

A．tore

B．made

C．boarded

D．packed

2.

A．lost

B．stuck

C．buried

D．mixed

3.

A．brain-burning

B．labor-consuming

C．energy-wasting

D．risk-taking

4.

A．in a mess

B．beyond control

C．at hand

D．out of reach

5.

A．went against

B．relied on

C．ate at

D．appealed to

6.

A．difficulty

B．confidence

C．confusion

D．harm

7.

A．shameful

B．impossible

C．pointless

D．unfair

8.

A．blew

B．turned

C．passed

D．spread

9.

A．broke

B．fell

C．moved

D．missed

10.

A．addressed

B．ignored

C．delayed

D．considered

11.

A．Luckily

B．Consequently

C．Unexpectedly

D．Actually

12.

A．quality

B．pace

C．way

D．meaning

13.

A．attempt

B．guarantee

C．hesitate

D．pretend

14.

A．easier

B．tougher

C．rarer

D．worse

15.

A．practice

B．memory

C．principle

D．imagination

4 . 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。

When my little brother Tom was four, Mom said something like “I’d give anything to have a few more hours in the day.” And Tom said, “Why don’t we buy a bigger clock?” If time worked that way, I could have used an extra-big clock last week!

Our teacher had asked us to make an art project showing how plants eat, “I can’t believe we only have two nights to finish it,” Noah said with a sigh. “I have no idea how I’ll get mine done.”

I didn’t say anything. Not because I was nervous—I wasn’t nervous at all. 1 love art projects! In fact, I was so relaxed that I didn’t work on the project at all on Monday night. I planned to start the minute I got home from baseball practice on Tuesday. But there was just one thing.

I forgot baseball would run later than usual because it was the day of Baseball Buddies, which happens every month, and it’s a chance for us older students to practise baseball with the adorable younger kids. The second I got home, I threw the entire craft box (手工盒) onto the kitchen table, took out my “How Plants Eat” paper, and started to work. But just then, the telephone rang.

It was my friend Ollie, who said his grandmother Abuela had just made cookies and wanted to know if I’d come help decorate them. I love decorating cookies, and I love, love, love Abucla’s world-famous Thanksgiving cookies that only happen once a year!

I had no choice. I had to go. Ollie and I put all the star cookies with red jam filling in one group, and all the snowflakes with white cream-cheese filling in another. It was 7 o'clock when I finally got home.1 planned to work on my project right after we ate. But then another interruption hit me.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just as I was about to start, Dad said, “Joanna, it’s your turn to do the dishes.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking at the big “F” on my paper, I started to reflect on what I had done these days.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . Age is truly just a number if our hearts are young. Lee Minor, an 85-year-old retired psychologist, has________this by finishing his 600th marathon race with 32 members of his family by his side. “Runners don’t have a________line. We just keep going,” he toldGood Morning America. “I felt________running with my family.” Minor has been running three days a week since 1969, and his heart is filled with enthusiasm for running.

“I like to run in all kinds of________. It is so childish as the rain touches your face. And I love to come here after snow and you watch your________as you go along.” he concluded.

Minor’s enthusiasm for running is________. “It is my joy. And I want to live as long as I can. And I mean live, not________.” His words ring true for Ron Robert, a man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease who decided to ________ a three-year bachelor of artsprogram at King’s University College in London, Ontario. “I was always taught early in life that the brain is like the most ________instrument we have in our body,” said Robert.

Last fall, Robert graduated from the university, despite the challenges of his illness. “When I went across the stage, and as I’m getting my________, the kids all stood up andyelled and clapped,” he________. “I had to hold back the tears. It was something else, just wonderful.” He hopes that his story will give hope to others facing________difficulties. “There will come a time when I won’t be able to, and I fully________that. Butin the meantime, I’m living a full life.”

The stories of Minor and Robert are reminders that age and illness need not________us. We can choose to pursue our________and live life to the fullest, no matter whatchallenges we may face.

1.

A．proven

B．approved

C．won

D．imagined

2.

A．starting

B．center

C．finishing

D．bottom

3.

A．depressed

B．thrilled

C．calm

D．uneasy

4.

A．weather

B．zones

C．illness

D．phases

5.

A．position

B．footprints

C．reflections

D．route

6.

A．infectious

B．temporary

C．blind

D．restricted

7.

A．wait

B．abandon

C．exist

D．run

8.

A．award

B．suspend

C．quit

D．pursue

9.

A．powerful

B．visible

C．boring

D．accurate

10.

A．uniform

B．application

C．certificate

D．license

11.

A．slid away

B．gave up

C．broke in

D．choked out

12.

A．emotional

B．identical

C．financial

D．abstract

13.

A．enjoy

B．reject

C．doubt

D．expect

14.

A．save

B．define

C．distinguish

D．witness

15.

A．scholarship

B．fitness

C．passion

D．career

6 . At the age of 12, I withdrew into my bedroom with my guitar. I had neither musical talent — many_______music lessons had proved that — nor musical training. My fingers ached as I tried to press down on the strings without making them buzz (发出嗡嗡声). _______, I worked my way through 2-, 3- and even 5-chord (和旋) songs and discovered the _______ thrills of these musical notes. No one _______ me to do this. I did this myself and of my own free will for a week, and the sense of happiness－ true happiness _______ in absorption in something － has _______ me. Fifty years later, that week’s self-directed practice became a model and _______ for almost every meaningful thing I have done since. It makes me understand the _______ between achievement and accomplishment.

The world favors achievement while _______ accomplishment. The former is the completion of the task imposed (强加) from the outside — the ________ being a path to the next task. The latter is the end point of an activity we have chosen, whose bonus is the sudden ________ of happiness.

The seeking of accomplishment always ________ people. I learned so long ago in that ________ week that simply lifting one finger from the guitar’s C chord, you should get the most moving ________ in tune. I didn’t know then it was a major 7th chord, a favorite of some masters’. I just ________ accomplishment. That’s real human “achievement”.

1.

A．added

B．tailored

C．expected

D．failed

2.

A．Besides

B．Instead

C．Therefore

D．However

3.

A．fruitless

B．matchless

C．effortless

D．senseless

4.

A．wished

B．allowed

C．required

D．invited

5.

A．masked

B．rooted

C．set

D．stuck

6.

A．waited for

B．passed by

C．departed from

D．stayed with

7.

A．exchange

B．reason

C．foundation

D．priority

8.

A．relationship

B．difference

C．balance

D．similarity

9.

A．ignoring

B．avoiding

C．assessing

D．defending

10.

A．origin

B．process

C．decision

D．reward

11.

A．lack

B．need

C．rush

D．dream

12.

A．amazes

B．concerns

C．frightens

D．discourages

13.

A．adventurous

B．dangerous

C．memorable

D．horrible

14.

A．impression

B．performance

C．scene

D．harmony

15.

A．pursued

B．accepted

C．interpreted

D．analysed

7 . I stopped at the top of the hill, my right foot pressed back against the coaster brake (脚刹) on my bicycle. All I needed to do was to_______ my foot, and I would be swept down the hill. But I _______ . To my 12-year-old eyes, the hill was a mountain and the slope was _______ steep, which prevented me taking up the challenge.

When I returned to my hometown more than three decades later with my friends Dave and Scott, we _______ to the base of the hill and walked our bikes _______ . We stood once more at the top of that hill, looking down from the edge, but this time with a _______ set of eyes. To our surprise, now the _______ seemed more obvious, even larger than we’d imagined as kids. We knew that once we started down, there was no stopping or _______ . And right at the bottom of the hill, we would have to turn left to _______ dumping into the stream.

Dave went first. Then I was next. My heart was pounding. I ________ on the bike for a moment. Then I released the brake and yielded myself to ________ . I skidded to a stop next to Dave. Scott followed. The three of us spent several minutes laughing, draining off the adrenaline (肾上腺素) . We had ________ the childhood challenge of riding our bikes down the steep hill.

We didn’t know it then, but we’d face many similar ________ over the years — leaving home, getting married, moving to a different town, starting a new job, and many others — that would cause us to pause at the ________ and collect our courage ________ we launched ourselves down the trails of our lives.

1.

A．stamp

B．break

C．lift

D．keep

2.

A．paused

B．started

C．charged

D．fell

3.

A．unnecessarily

B．incredibly

C．occasionally

D．hardly

4.

A．ran

B．rode

C．climbed

D．wandered

5.

A．out

B．off

C．away

D．up

6.

A．similar

B．whole

C．different

D．smart

7.

A．risk

B．stream

C．slope

D．assumption

8.

A．turning back

B．looking down

C．giving in

D．breaking out

9.

A．get

B．avoid

C．make

D．search

10.

A．called

B．improved

C．smiled

D．balanced

11.

A．pressure

B．fate

C．gravity

D．difficulty

12.

A．recalled

B．completed

C．forgotten

D．received

13.

A．activities

B．troubles

C．lessons

D．periods

14.

A．corner

B．route

C．edge

D．line

15.

A．when

B．because

C．after

D．before

8 . Recently, I accidentally found a set of Hanfu l only wore once from the bottom of the cupboard. I remember buying them simply to match the ancient-style hair accessories (配饰) a friend gave me. It occurred to me that 1 had been trapped in the “birdcage effect”.

“Birdcage effect” means that when you get an item one day, you will prepare more things to match it. Weeks ago, I was in the company of friends engaged in shopping. One said that she wanted to buy a good writing pen to match the delicate notebook that her sister gave her, so that she would fall in love with taking notes on reading, and thus love reading, not just reading. I joked that she must have fallen for the “birdcage effect”. But the friend said with a smile: “Why not use the ‘birdcage effect’ instead?”

For the first time, I heard that the “birdcage effect” can be used in reverse (逆向). However, this can’t help but remind me of middle school, and I seem to have used the “birdcage effect”. Passing by a bookstore one day, I purchased a magazine and saw the call for contributions published in the magazine, so I started writing with eager hands, and then I fell in love with writing.

After shopping with my friends that time, I began to proceed to use the “birdcage effect”. I bought a small fresh tablecloth to decorate my desk, and a beautiful notebook to record my inspiration. When everything was ready, I started writing again.

But how can we get rid of the “birdcage effect” in many things, and even use the “birdcage effect” in the opposite way? Various “birdcages” unavoidably appear in life, but we can distinguish them. If it is not in line with the actual situation, it is a “negative birdcage”, then we must learn to stop losses in time and maintain a heart of abandonment and separation. If it is a “positive birdcage” that motivates us to develop upward, we can clarify our goals, shop or decorate appropriately, and motivate ourselves to move towards our goals. At this time, you will find that the “birdcage effect” is actually not so terrible!

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The application of the “birdcage effect” in life.

B．The necessity of using the “birdcage effect” in life.

C．The turning point of the author’s idea on the “birdcage effect”.

D．The author’s conflict with her friend over the “birdcage effect”.

2. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning her middle school experience?

A．To recall her delightful days at school.

B．To explain the reason for her love with writing.

C．To confirm the positive of the “birdcage effect”.

D．To prove her knowledge of the “birdcage effect”.

3. How can we make use of the “birdcage effect” positively?

A．By realizing this effect has two sides.

B．By promoting our personal consumption.

C．By recognizing this effect is not so terrible.

D．By guiding our acts to go with reasonable goals.

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

A．Getting Rid of the Birdcage Effect Confidently

B．Motivating Ourselves to Move Towards Our Goals

C．The Birdcage Effect: Influence on Consumer Behavior

D．The Birdcage Effect: How to Use It to Your Advantage

9 . “I can’t connect with your characters.”

I kept hearing the same feedback and was unable to understand why and not sure what to do. I was a character-driven writer. How could I mess up the one thing I was supposed to be good at? I was determined to convince my agent that these characters were real. After all, I knew they were real. My main character Lotus had lived inside me for years. I just needed to clarify her on the page.

I wrote and edited for a year, trying to respond to this agent’s feedback. But Lotus’ personality began to disappear. I tried to have her make “better” decisions, wear smarter fashion, and have more friends, as my agent said she acted “immature” and was “isolated”. And when this agent ultimately parted ways with me, I felt like I had failed. Now with time and distance, I realize I tried to fit Lotus into a neurotypical style to please my agent. And as a result, Lotus lost her Lotus-ness.

When that agent discouraged me from writing Lotus as autistic(自闭的), he said that would make Lotus seem more “vulnerable(脆弱的)” or an “obvious victim”. I didn’t want Lotus to seem vulnerable. Lotus’ autism is what makes her powerful, I tried to explain. But from a neurotypical perspective, Lotus’ autism could only be seen as a weakness.

Unsure of how to convince my agent of the strength and power autistic women hold, I began to write Lotus as “neurotypical”. And I failed miserably. After all, what do I know about being neurotypical? My whole life, autism was my default. Not being diagnosed until 2020, I assumed the way I saw the world was “normal”.

My current agent encourages me to write from my neurodivergent(神经多样性的) experience. With this invitation, I revisited Lotus and saw her the way I first wrote her. And when I did, the characters and the entire narrative began to make more sense.

Identifying my characters as neurodivergent not only gives me joy as a writer, but it has produced my strongest writing. For so long, I’ve combatted the advice to “write what I know”, in part because I didn’t know what I actually knew. I didn’t know I was neurodivergent. But as I mine the specificity of my lived experience, my writing is stronger. There is a power to our lived experience. It’s not a limitation on our craft, but a swinging open of the gates.

1. How did the author feel when receiving the repeated response from the first agent?

A．Confused.

B．Convinced.

C．Determined.

D．Disappointed.

2. Lotus’ personality got lost because ______

A．Lotus no longer lived inside the author	B．the author attempted to please the agent
C．the agent failed to sympathize with Lotus	D．Lotus was considered childish and lonely

3. What do we know about the author?

A．She regretted parting with the agent.

B．She owed her success in life to autism.

C．She was aware of her autism in the early years.

D．She was empowered by her autistic experience.

4. What has the author learned from her own experience?

A．Stick to your dream despite discouragement.

B．Be true to yourself and write from your heart.

C．Giving in to authority is the barrier to success.

D．Everyone is born an original instead of a copy.

10 . Everyone knows that the choices we make affect our future. Suppose I am an intelligent student with good marks. However, being lazy, I do badly in my examinations. I am refused entry to university and cannot find a good job. The golden future will never be.    1    

However, your choices affect your future in a way that is more complicated.    2     Your character is displayed through your choices, but it is also formed by them. Whenever you make a choice, your character changes or grows, depending on whether the decision you made is wise or foolish.     3     And so, you become the sort of person who will make a certain kind of choice in a certain situation.

    4     After all, the field of human choice is a narrow one. Most of the things that form us in our lives are not subject to choice. We cannot choose when and where to be born, whether our families will be rich or poor, kind or cruel. We cannot even entirely control who we will meet in our lives. With so much that we cannot choose, how can we be said to be responsible for anything?

However, we do have some power of choice, and we do control the most important thing of all: how we respond to circumstances.    5     It is our key to having confidence in the future. It is human nature to fear the future, as the future is unknown. You cannot entirely control what will happen to you tomorrow. But if you have confidence in your character, then you do know one thing for certain about the future: no matter what happens, you will make a choice that you will be proud of.

A．Some will argue this is not true.

B．All these are from a bad choice!

C．Too many choices can be confusing.

D．This ability to choose how we behave is a great gift.

E．We can choose to keep struggling in hard times, or to give up.

F．Your character is being made by you, bit by bit, choice by choice.

G．This is because nearly all the choices you make affect your character.