1 . Standing on a hill at Cliveden Gardens on a sunny winter day, its dark-green lake surrounded by centuries-old trees took my breath away.     1     It’s just a local park near London that I’d never heard of during my eight years living in the UK. As I admired the serene garden, it taught me a lesson about the British culture of understatement.

“The English landscape is more beautiful because its beauty is understated,” my friend Will said to me later as we walked through an exhibition at Tate Britain. He pointed to a painting of a peaceful countryside. “This is the landscape I grew up with”, he said. Unlike grand waterfalls or wild forests, this scenery doesn’t shout about its beauty.     2    

I wonder if Chinese tourists will explore beyond London.     3     Indeed, Oxford and Cambridge and the beloved Lake District National Park are some iconic symbols of Britain. But it would be a pity if they miss out on the lesser-known parts of the English landscape.

    4     I remember a straight-A classmate once telling me he “survived exams” and another friend from Oxford introducing himself as “studying in the countryside”. This modesty also has its mirror in Chinese culture. I remember my parents’ telling me to work hard but not to brag about my achievements. Chinese culture is full of proverbs such as “real gold will shine sooner or later”, to encourage long-term dedication to one’s chosen area of expertise.

Experiencing both cultures, I’ve realized that the English and Chinese both express achievements with understatement.     5     It reflects the unspoken charm in both British and Chinese traditions. And it’s an off-the-beaten-path attraction well worth exploration.

A．Cliveden isn’t a famous holiday place.

B．Rather, its beauty is reserved for the locals only.

C．I’ve been impressed by British humor all the time.

D．They tend to prefer places with a strong reputation.

E．But the more I looked, the more I saw its quiet elegance.

F．Over the years, I’ve become familiar with British modesty.

G．This mix makes me appreciate the unusual beauty of Cliveden.

2 . Sometimes I have thought it would be excellent to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize _________ the values of life.

Those who have never_________   the loss of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these capabilities. Their eyes and ears_________ all sights and sounds hazily(模糊地), without concentration and with little_________ . I have often thought it would be a good thing if each human being were stricken _________ and deaf for a few days at some time. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; _________ would teach him the joys of sound.

Recently I was visited by a good friend who had just _________ from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had _________ .“Nothing in particular,” she replied. How was it possible-walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing___________ of notice? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to ____________   me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry (对称) of a leaf and I touch the ____________ of trees hopefully in search of a bud(芽), the first sign of____________ Nature after her winter’s sleep. The miracle of Nature is ____________ to me and the changing seasons are an exciting and unending drama, the action of which streams through my____________ .

If I can get so much pleasure from mere ____________   , how much more beauty must be revealed by sight?

1.

A．constantly

B．sharply

C．deadly

D．merely

2.

A．treated

B．restored

C．suffered

D．prevented

3.

A．take in

B．allow for

C．smooth out

D．brighten up

4.

A．tension

B．appreciation

C．adaptation

D．possession

5.

A．disabled

B．injured

C．speechless

D．blind

6.

A．silence

B．anxiety

C．music

D．voice

7.

A．worked

B．escaped

C．struggled

D．returned

8.

A．predicted

B．targeted

C．observed

D．left

9.

A．full

B．afraid

C．free

D．worthy

10.

A．protect

B．challenge

C．interest

D．tolerate

11.

A．leaves

B．branches

C．fruits

D．barks

12.

A．exploring

B．awakening

C．drawing

D．loving

13.

A．revealed

B．expanded

C．created

D．described

14.

A．hair

B．blood

C．toes

D．fingertips

15.

A．touch

B．smell

C．taste

D．hearing

3 . The curb cut (下斜路缘). It’s a convenience that most of us rarely, if ever, notice. Yet, without it, daily life might be a lot harder—in more ways than one. Pushing a baby stroller onto the curb, skateboarding onto a sidewalk or taking a full grocery cart from the sidewalk to your car—all these tasks are easier because of the curb cut.

But it was created with a different purpose in mind.

It’s hard to imagine today, but back in the 1970s, most sidewalks in the United States ended with a sharp drop-off. That was a big deal for people in wheelchairs because there were no ramps (斜坡) to help them move along city blocks without assistance. According to one disability rights leader, a six-inch curb “might as well have been Mount Everest”. So, activists from Berkeley, California, who also needed wheelchairs, organized a campaign to create tiny ramps at intersections to help people dependent on wheels move up and down curbs independently.

I think about the “curb cut effect” a lot when working on issues around health equity (公平). The first time I even heard about the curb cut was in a 2017 Stanford Social Innovation Review piece by PolicyLink CEO Angela Blackwell. Blackwell rightly noted that many people see equity “as a zero-sum game.” Basically, that there is a “prejudiced societal suspicion that intentionally supporting one group hurts another.” What the curb cut effect shows though, Blackwell said, is that “when society creates the circumstances that allow those who have been left behind to participate and contribute fully, everyone wins.”

There are multiple examples of this principle at work. For example, investing in policies that create more living-wage jobs or increase the availability of affordable housing certainly benefits people in communities that have limited options. But, the action also empowers those people with opportunities for better health and the means to become contributing members of society—and that benefits everyone. Even the football huddle (围成一团以秘密商讨) was initially created to help deaf football players at Gallaudet College keep their game plans secret from opponents who could have read their sign language. Today, it’s used by every team to shield the opponent from learning about game-winning strategies.

So, next time you cross the street, or roll your suitcase through a crosswalk or ride your bike directly onto a sidewalk—think about how much the curb cut, that change in design that broke down walls of exclusion for one group of people at a disadvantage, has helped not just that group, but all of us.

1. By “might as well have been Mount Everest” (paragraph 3), the disability rights leader implies that a six-inch curb may become ________.

A．as famous as the world’s highest mountain

B．an almost impassable barrier

C．a connection between people

D．a most unforgettable matter

2. According to Angela Blackwell, many people believe that ________.

A．it’s fair to give the disadvantaged more help than others

B．it’s impossible to have everyone be treated equally

C．it’s necessary to go all out to help the disabled

D．it’s not worthwhile to promote health equity

3. Which of the following examples best illustrates the “curb cut effect” principle?

A．Spaceflight designs are applied to life on earth.

B．Four great inventions of China spread to the west.

C．Christopher Columbus discovered the new world.

D．Classic literature got translated into many languages.

4. What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

A．Everyday items are originally invented for people with disabilities.

B．Everyone in a society should pursue what is in his or her interest.

C．A disability rights leader changed the life of his fellow men.

D．Caring for disadvantaged groups may finally benefit all.

4 . 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。

In old times, there was a story about a young athletic boy hungry for success, for whom winning was everything.

One day, the boy was preparing himself for a running competition in his small native village. He and two other young boys were to compete. A large crowd had gathered to witness the competition and a wise old man, upon hearing of the little boy, had traveled far to see it too.

The race started. The boy showed his determination, strength and power and he was first. The crowd cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man remained still and calm. The little boy, however, felt proud and important.

A second race was called, and two new young challengers came forward to run with the little boy. The little boy finished first once again. The crowd again cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man expressed no opinion. The little boy, however, felt proud and important.

“Another race, another race!” shouted the little boy. The wise old man stepped forward and presented the little boy with two new challengers, a frail old lady and a blind man. “What is this?” asked the little boy. “Race!” said the wise man. The race was started and the boy was the only finisher. The little boy raised his arms in delight. The crowd, however, was silent showing no happiness. “What has happened? Why don’t they join in my success?” he asked the wise old man. “Race again, ” replied the wise man. “This time, all three of you, finish together,” continued the wise man.

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，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph1:

The little boy thought a little,

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph2:

“Old man, I don’t understand! Who are the crowd cheering for? Which one of us?” asked the little boy.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . Learning doesn’t have to stop at the schoolhouse door. In fact, it shouldn’t.     1     It’s one thing to read a book about a foreign country; it’s quite another to go there and befriend its people, eat its foods and learn its language.     2     My husband Gabriel and I use it to engage with our love of history. We can’t travel to the past in exactly the same way we would go to a foreign country, but we can bring history to us by including as many of its details as possible into our daily lives.

    3     Our house was built in 1888 and 1889. Very little had been added over the past century—although many things had been removed or replaced. Settling in was a long, slow process of bringing back systems and appliances which would have been standard at the end of the nineteenth-century.

Years ago, we started collecting everyday items from the past. We love things people like us were interacting with on a daily basis back in the Victorian (维多利亚时期的)era. Most textbook history focuses on extreme cases: politics, war, and Great Names. We’ve never been privileged to keep company with kings and presidents in the modern world, so we’ve always been drawn far more strongly to people we ourselves can relate to. We love simple stories of approachable people.     4    

    5     When we get them, most are worn out. Some people wouldn’t think twice about getting rid of such low-quality items. We fix them up and put them back to the use for which they were originally intended. As we interact with them, they become our teachers.

A．The best way to learn about something is to live it.

B．This technique can be applied to a variety of subjects.

C．By doing so we’ve created a life which is uniquely beautiful.

D．Currently I’m working on a novel set in the 1880s and 1890s.

E．Using the things they used helps us connect with their culture.

F．The antiques which make up our home are a working collection.

G．When people visit our home they say it’s like walking into a museum.