1 . It is William Shakespeare, the great coiner, who is given credit for the word. Coriolanus, one of his characters, compares going into exile (流放) to a “lonely dragon” retiring to his cave. He was talking about a physical state: someone who was lonely was simply alone. Then, thanks to the Romantic poets, the word took on emotional meanings. Loneliness became a condition of the soul. For William Wordsworth, who famously “wandered lonely as a cloud”, the natural world offered an escape from negative feelings of loneliness — a host of flowers could provide “cheerful company”. Today, loneliness is often seen as a serious public-health problem, creating the feeling of disconnection.
In his book Solitude, Netta Weinstein, a psychology professor wonders the rewards of time spent alone. He begins with an account of stories of solitude created by figures such as Michel Montaigne, a writer, and Edward Hopper, a painter. Netta then draw on laboratory work, interviews and surveys to clarify how being alone really affects the human mind.
It is common to treat loneliness and solitude as synonyms (同义词), but they are not. The author suggests that what is negatively described as one state can be positively expressed as the other. Loneliness, often perceived as negative, can potentially be transformed into a positive experience of solitude. To this end he emphasizes how being alone can help restore people and offers practical advice. In a noisy world, he argues, people should make time to be alone, away from attention-grabbing motives.
The book’s interviewees mostly regard a lack of company as a contributor to autonomy. But this depends on whether solitude is desirable or not. Enforced solitude, such as that experienced by prisoners, typically leads to nothing but suffering. Elective solitude, by contrast, affords space for self-reflection. It can open the door to “peak experiences” such as wonder, harmony, and happiness. In a highly-connected digital age, however, many readers do not fancy their chances of ever taking a long enough break to have such experiences.
1. How does paragraph 1 introduce the concept of loneliness?| A．By tracing its development. | B．By analyzing causes. |
| C．By making a point to be argued. | D．By sharing a romantic story. |
| A．The various terms of solitude. |
| B．The societal impact of solitude. |
| C．The long-standing history of solitude. |
| D．The psychological benefits of solitude. |
| A．stressful | B．essential | C．changeable | D．never beneficial |
| A．Enforced solitude is a matter of choice. |
| B．Enforced solitude contributes to autonomy. |
| C．Elective solitude is rare in the digital world. |
| D．Elective solitude interrupts peak experiences. |
2 . All I needed to do to earn the two dollars was to clean her house for a few hours after school. It was a beautiful house with things that were common in her neighborhood, absent in mine.
Working for her brought me a sense of pride, not only because I could immerse myself in little luxuries like movies and candy, but also because I contributed half of my earnings to my mother, ensuring they were used for necessities. I was not like the children in folktales: burdensome mouths to feed, problems so severe that they were abandoned to the forest. I had a status that doing routine chores in my house did not provide — and it earned me a slow smile and confirmations that I was adult-like, not childlike.
Little by little, I got better at cleaning her house — good enough to be given more to do. After struggling to move the piano, my limbs ached terribly. Despite wanting to decline or voice my discomfort, I feared losing my job and the independence and respect it afforded me. She began to offer me her clothes, for a price. Impressed by these worn things, which looked simply elegant to a little girl who had only two dresses to wear to school, I bought a few.
Still, I had trouble summoning up (鼓起) the courage to object to the increasing demands she made. Despite feeling overwhelmed, I hesitated to voice my concerns, knowing my mother would urge me to quit. However, one day while alone in the kitchen with my father, I expressed my disappointment. In any case, he put down his cup of coffee and said, “Whatever the work is, do it well — not for the boss but for yourself. You make the job; it doesn’t make you. You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.”
I have worked for all sorts of people since then, geniuses and fools, quick-witted and dull, big-hearted and narrow. I’ve had many kinds of jobs, but since that conversation with my father, I have never considered the level of labor to be the measure of myself, and I have never placed the security of a job above my self-worth and family value.
1. What mainly enabled the author to bear the burden of work?| A．Abundant exposure to entertainment. |
| B．Satisfaction gained from social work. |
| C．Inborn abilities to handle work stress. |
| D．Pride in shouldering family obligations. |
| A．Determined and independent. | B．Responsible but innocent. |
| C．Family-oriented and humorous. | D．Ambitious but stubborn. |
| A．Don’t abandon her moral principles. |
| B．Don’t be pessimistic about her identity. |
| C．Try to express her dissatisfaction in a free way. |
| D．Try to make a distinction between work and life. |
| A．Success isn’t always guaranteed by hard work alone. |
| B．Family support can alleviate the pain of challenging work. |
| C．Don’t regard work achievement as a criterion for defining oneself. |
| D．Social expectations may lead individuals away from their genuine goals. |
Brrrring! The bell rang as I tapped out a quick beat on my desk. I’ve figured it out, finally! I couldn’t wait to play it for my neighbor Mia.
Mia and I had been working for weeks on a song for Saturday’s band competition but we had been stuck on the ending.
I waved when I saw a familiar face jogging toward me down the hall.
“Hey, Will!” Liam grinned. “Ready for some training after school? I’ve been working on my jumper.” He turned around and shot an imaginary ball into the air.
Uh-oh. I’d forgotten all about basketball. I didn’t want to fail Liam, but I was dying to try out the new ending. Maybe if I had a reason to skip…
“Hey, Liam. I don’t feel so great.” I gave a small cough for effect. “Another time?”
“Sure, no problem. Feel better soon, OK?” Then Liam left immediately.
Lying was easier than I imagined. I could finish the song and Liam’s feelings weren’t hurt.
After playing the ending, I looked at Mia hopefully, “What do you think?”
“Perfect!” She exclaimed in delight.
”That sounded great, guys.“ Liam stood on my basement steps with his eyebrows raised.
Oh, no. Busted. ”Thanks, “ I said, trying to think quickly. ”It was strange. I came home and suddenly felt fine. I would have met you at the court, but it was too late. And then Mia stopped by, and—“
”But, in fact, you called me,“ Mia said, shaking her head.
”I had intended to call to ask a homework question, and then…” My voice trailed off(逐渐减弱). I coughed, but it sounded fake. “I can’t remember how it went exactly, but I’m feeling better now.”
"Well, that’s good, I guess.” Liam forced a smile.
Before I could think of something to say, Liam tossed(扔)a case of a movie intended to comfort me onto the couch, Captain Crush, Part 2, the sequel to our favorite movie in which an evil villain’s little lie turned into a big mess, and left with eyes filled with disappointment, followed by Mia.
注意:1. 续写词数应为75左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。(注: 第一段的续写已给出, 请根据第二段首句续写成完整的短文)
Para.1: After Liam and Mia left, I grabbed the movie and popped it in. I needed a distraction from how awful I felt. When watching the movie, I couldn’t help but thinking what if I lost two friends because of my lie. In my mind, two voices battled. The angel urged me to be frank and apologize to him while the devil argued that it was a white lie/a good excuse to spare his feelings. The two voices tortured me so much that I couldn’t bury myself in the movie. What’s worse, the hesitation left me tossing and turning restlessly for a whole night.
Para. 2: The next morning, I met Liam at the bus stop.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Do I think the sky is falling? Sort of.
My husband and I were recently in Egypt, where the temperature was a bit warm for my tiny princess self. So, we left Egypt. Back home, my dearest friends struggled with health stuff, with family craziness…
The game of life is hard, and a lot of us are playing hurt.
I ache for the world but naturally I’m mostly watching the Me Movie, where balance and strength are beginning to fail. What can we do as the creaking elevator of age slowly arrives? The main solution is to get outside every day, ideally with friends. Old friends even thoughts of them-are my comfort.
Recently I was walking along a beach with Neshama. We go back 50 years. She is 84, short and strong. Every so often, she bent down somewhat tentatively (踌躇地) and picked up small items into a small cloth bag. “What are you doing?”
“I’m picking up micro litter. I try to help where I can.”
I reminded her of an old story. A great warhorse comes upon a tiny sparrow (麻雀) lying on its back with its feet in the air, eyes tightly shut with effort. The horse asks it what it’s doing.
“I’m trying to help hold back the darkness.”
The horse laughs loudly, “That is so funny. What do you weigh?”
And the sparrow replies, “One does what one can.”
This is what older age means. We do what we can.
We continued our walk. Neshama bent tentatively to pick up bits of litter and started to slip, but I caught her and we laughed. We are so physically weak in older age, but friendship makes it all a rowing machine for the soul. We can take it, as long as we feel and give love, and laugh gently at ourselves as we fall apart. We know by a certain age the great lies in our life—if you do or achieve this or that, you will be happy and rich. Love and service make us rich.
1. What contributes most to making the author happy at present?| A．Watching movies. | B．Meeting old friends. |
| C．Traveling in Egypt. | D．Walking on the beach. |
| A．Neshama’s fear. | B．Neshama’s dream. |
| C．The author’s approval. | D．The author’s doubt. |
| A．Determined and helpful. | B．Responsible and caring. |
| C．Narrow-minded but friendly. | D．Bad-tempered but supportive. |
| A．Staying with families. | B．Being rich and healthy. |
| C．Doing what one can. | D．Living a comfortable life. |
5 . My four-year-old son, Will, suffered from autism spectrum disorder (自闭症). And he went through many hours in
One summer afternoon, with a bucket (桶), Will and I were walking along the
“Will, why do you keep on
“Mom, this one looks like a smile when you hold it this way. ” He showed a broken shell and explained. “It
My eyes were full of tears as I
| A．experiments | B．foods | C．exercises | D．treatments |
| A．river | B．lake | C．beach | D．stream |
| A．threw away | B．looked into | C．left behind | D．turned over |
| A．unpleasant | B．unusual | C．colorless | D．useless |
| A．sharply | B．clearly | C．perfectly | D．commonly |
| A．puzzled | B．delighted | C．discouraged | D．embarrassed |
| A．gather | B．reject | C．count | D．spread |
| A．covering | B．decorating | C．preparing | D．filling |
| A．pushed | B．reached | C．buried | D．moved |
| A．uniquenesses | B．styles | C．symbols | D．qualities |
| A．informs | B．persuades | C．reminds | D．warns |
| A．observation | B．performance | C．adventure | D．expression |
| A．agreed | B．realized | C．pretended | D．decided |
| A．relieved | B．removed | C．examined | D．saved |
| A．wisdom | B．power | C．wealth | D．beauty |
6 . He really did look like a tourist, with a camera around his neck and a bottle of sunscreen sticking out of his bag. The fat man sat on the terrace (草坪), drinking lemonade, a little bit each time, and
As I brought him what he had ordered, he coughed up a “thank you” and looked at me
I walked back inside with my empty tray (托盘), shaking my head. He looked
Then it
He was gone.
I moved his saucer and found his tip, along with a
I am deeply
I trembled. The night of my car accident, I was heading for an interview in a shady dance club. Seeing human kindness through his
I
I said a silent
| A．pretending | B．asking | C．refusing | D．burning |
| A．beautified | B．masked | C．protected | D．comforted |
| A．picture | B．bottle | C．dish | D．page |
| A．shyly | B．worriedly | C．briefly | D．fixedly |
| A．kind | B．familiar | C．sad | D．puzzled |
| A．attracted | B．failed | C．moved | D．hit |
| A．funny | B．wealthy | C．mysterious | D．hungry |
| A．rushed | B．inched | C．struggled | D．danced |
| A．book | B．card | C．notice | D．poster |
| A．committed | B．attached | C．guilty | D．grateful |
| A．rob | B．visit | C．help | D．manage |
| A．friendly | B．heroic | C．traditional | D．exciting |
| A．happiness | B．glory | C．honesty | D．faith |
| A．dropped | B．doubted | C．unfolded | D．weighed |
| A．prayer | B．hello | C．congratulation | D．apology |
7 . After years of observing human nature, I have decided that two qualities make the difference between men of great achievement and men of average performance curiosity and discontent. I have never known an outstanding man who lacked either. And I have never known an average man who had both. The two belong together.
Together, these deep human urges (驱策力) count for much more that ambition. Galileo was not merely ambitious when he dropped objects of varying weights from the Leaning Tower at Pisa and timed their fall to the ground. Like Galileo, all the great names in history were curious and asked in discontent,“Why? Why? Why?”
Fortunately, curiosity and discontent don’t have to be learned. We are born with them and need only recapture them.
“The great man,” said Mencius (孟子), “is he who does not lose his child’s heart.” Yet most of us do lose it. We stop asking questions. We stop challenging custom. We just follow the crowd. And the crowd desires restful average. It encourages us to occupy our own little corner, to avoid foolish leaps into the dark, to be satisfied.
Most of us meet new people, and new ideas, with hesitation. But once having met and liked them, we think how terrible it would have been, had we missed the chance. We will probably have to force ourselves to waken our curiosity and discontent and keep them awake.
How should you start? Modestly, so as not to become discouraged. I think of one friend who couldn’t arrange flowers to satisfy herself. She was curious about how the experts did it. How she is one of the experts, writing books on flower arrangement.
One way to begin is to answer your own excuses. You haven’t any special ability? Most people don’t; there are only a few geniuses. You haven’t any time? That’s good, because it’s always the people with no time who get things done. Harriet Stowe, mother of six, wrote parts of Uncle Tom’s Cabin while cooking. You’re too old? Remember that Thomas Costain was 57 when he published his first novel, and that Grandma Moses showed her first pictures when she was 78.
However you start, remember there is no better time to start than right now, for you’ll never be more alive than you are at this moment.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ______.| A．propose a definition | B．present an argument |
| C．reach a conclusion | D．make a comparison |
| A．Trial and error leads to the finding of truth. | B．Greatness comes from a lasting desire to explore. |
| C．Creativity results from challenging authority. | D．Scientists tend to be curious and ambitious. |
| A．Observe the unknown around you. | B．Follow the fashion. |
| C．Lead a life of adventure. | D．Develop a questioning mind. |
| A．Lack of talent and time is no reason for taking no action. |
| B．The genius tends to get things done creatively. |
| C．Gaining success helps you become an expert |
| D．You should remain modest when approaching perfection. |
8 . I am a guide at the California Academy of Sciences. Weeks ago, I was
I was so
I recently purchased my first laptop computer. In discussions with the
| A．seeing | B．visiting | C．leaving | D．saying |
| A．trapped | B．called | C．caught | D．fascinated |
| A．quickly | B．slowly | C．frequently | D．temporarily |
| A．going about | B．going by | C．going for | D．going through |
| A．expected | B．forced | C．urged | D．persuaded |
| A．satisfied | B．astonished | C．rigid | D．excited |
| A．wisdom | B．patience | C．passion | D．guilt |
| A．used | B．tried | C．pretended | D．forgot |
| A．fortune | B．greed | C．discontent | D．benefit |
| A．cashier | B．host | C．salesman | D．waiter |
| A．broken | B．old | C．favourite | D．dusty |
| A．want | B．need | C．hope | D．mind |
| A．obviously | B．specially | C．simply | D．necessarily |
| A．violent | B．absurd | C．shiny | D．similar |
| A．promise | B．identify | C．possess | D．access |
9 . We cannot argue with reality. We cannot argue with science. Therefore, we simply cannot argue with the fact that there are no straight lines in the universe.
Let’s start with science. The science of a straight line falls under the subject of physics. It might seem like a complicated topic, but the theory behind it is pretty simple. If you start rowing in a boat from one place and keep sailing, the concept of the curved (弯曲的) Earth will take you in a circle and you will end up where you started. The brain forms the concept of a straight line to simplify what you see in nature. Consider it a tool for the mind to recognize reality.
The concept of straight lines was controversial and heavily influenced the politics and society of Europe from the 15th century to the 17th century. Greek thinkers and scholars like Aristotle in the 5th century already proved that the Earth was a globe, but many Europeans at that time did not believe in this idea! However, some Europeans during the Age of Exploration denied this belief. Just as the famous Italian scientist Galileo Galilei was persecuted (迫害) for advocating a heliocentric (日心的) model of the solar system, many thinkers like Giordano Bruno were shamed for believing that the Earth was round.
Well, my friends, let’s move on to life. The concept of nothing going in a straight line can be associated with life as much as it relates to science and architecture. Whenever you do something, it never turns out to play out exactly as planned. I especially know that as a thirteen-year-old! Life is a rough road—every time you go forward, it is followed by two steps back or to the side. Just like how science explains it, life is a curvy path full of unexpected twists, turns, and adventures that nobody can ever predict.
1. What does paragraph 1 function as?| A．An introduction to the topic. | B．A means to attract readers. |
| C．An explanation of a common sense. | D．A proof of the author’s opinion. |
| A．The mind could not recognize realities. | B．Things in nature might look complicated. |
| C．What you see in nature could seem simple. | D．People in the 16th century might find the Earth flat. |
| A．Plain and smooth. | B．Easy but fruitless. | C．Long and tough. | D．Bothersome but safe. |
| A．A Straight Line: Everything Simple | B．A Straight Line: People’s Good Wish |
| C．A Straight Line: Difficult To Prove | D．A Straight Line: Simply Nonexistent |
10 . “Sating from now on, to be healthy, I will NOT eat any snacks besides granola bars (燕麦棒),” is what I told myself yesterday, and yet here I am today chewing a Chocopie. I’m aware that I’m breaking my own promise to myself. Instead of eating this, I should be working out or something. But the thing is, chocolate is too good at this moment for me to refuse it!
As I type this, I’m experiencing what’s called instant gratification — the desire to experience pleasure or fulfillment without delaying it for a future benefit. Essentially, when you want it, you get it.
Instant gratification is also the exact opposite of what we’re taught to do-delayed gratification: deciding to put off satisfying our current want to gain something better in the future. We’ve all encountered instant gratification before. Should I sleep in or wake up early to work out? When I get home, should I rest and watch TV first or get started on my homework?
All humans have the tendency to seek pleasure and avoid pain, which is a basic but fundamental concept known as the pleasure principle. Originally coined by Sigmund Freud, it clearly states that all humans are driven, to some extent, by pleasure.
Constantly seeking quick pleasure may bring subsequent troubles. However pleasant not doing your homework may seem pleasant right now, it only results in pleasure plagued by guilt and last-minute panicking late at night. An inability to resist instant gratification may result in underachieving in the long term and failure to meet certain goals.
Instant gratification, however, is not necessarily a bad thing. You don’t always have to say no to things you want at that moment, and it’s good to treat yourself when you need it. In other words, times where you “treat yourself” are only valuable in combination with delayed gratification. While my Chocopie may taste good now, it’ll taste even better if I only eat it after I’ve worked out or done something healthy.
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By making a contrast. | B．By giving a definition. |
| C．By citing a personal case. | D．By listing detailed problems. |
| A．Purchasing items regardless of budgets. | B．Exercising regularly for long-term health. |
| C．Limiting time on social media platforms. | D．Finishing homework before watching TV. |
| A．Reminded. | B．Highlighted. | C．Introduced. | D．Bothered. |
| A．Delayed gratification is pointless. |
| B．Instant gratification should be prioritized. |
| C．Enjoying the moment brings in endless pleasure. |
| D．Instant treats paired with delayed gratification are sweeter. |
