贵州省铜仁市2023-2024学年高一上学期1月期末质量监测...

JOBS

I was on one of my usual group bike rides on a quiet country road in Santa Barbara, riding with about 30 other road cyclists, when a car tried to change direction suddenly to avoid a runner. From what I've been told, the driver moved around us so fast that he lost country of his car and hit me.

I don't remember any of this because I was thrown off my bike and directly into a tree. I had a serious brain bleed （出血）— despite the fact that I was wearing my helmet. I also broke a number of bones. Luckily, with good treatment I survived.

That accident happened four years ago. Because of my brain injury, I had to stay off my bike for a year because if I fell and again got my head hurt, it would be worse. To get back on my bike, I started running. I was still in a lot of pain, but I was determined. Nobody was going to hit me, change my life and then keep me from doing what I like at some point.

A year after my accident, I finally got back on my bike. But it had left an influence on me. If there are cars behind me, I will feel strained. However, I still ride.

Before my accident, I never raced. Now I'm faster than ever. One reason is that I have lost about 30 pounds. When I got hit, I weighed 205 pounds. After six weeks of being on a feeding tube（饲管）, I walked out of the hospital at 175 pounds, and I've stayed around that number ever since. I also think I'm faster because my accident lifted my competitive spirit. Since my accident, I've loved bike racing.

At the end of the day, I wanted to prove to myself that I could get back to doing what I loved — and I did that.

How much do you love animals? Maybe not as much as photographer Joel Sartore. He is traveling the world to take pictures of as many animals as he can find, which allows people to focus on the beauty and uniqueness of each animal.

Sartore is working to take photos of all 20,000 different types of animals living in the world's zoos, aquariums（水族馆）and wildlife shelters. And he's already taken nearly 15,000! He hopes his photos will raise awareness of these planet's most endangered creatures, and that he can document them before they're gone. "My job is to tell their stories and hope that the world cares in time," he told The Weather Channel in 2022.

Sartore calls his project the Photo Ark, like the story of Noah's Ark, in which a large boat is built to save every type of animal in the world from a flood. He founded the Photo Ark in 2006 in his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska.

He doesn't just take his animal photos in the usual zoo environment, however — he puts each animal on a black or white background with studio lights. This helps him photograph their true colors, and lets people see a little mouse as clearly as a big elephant — and look each animal right in the eye. "When people connect to animals through eye contact, we've got a real chance at changing human behavior," Sartore says.

The response has indeed been huge. Sartore has more than 1.6 million followers online and a best-selling series of Photo Ark books. He asks people to buy his books and photos, give money to the Photo Ark, and support zoos, aquariums and wildlife shelters near where they live.

India has successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon. It's the first time that a country has safely landed at the moon's south pole. The landing is a huge success for India, which has been working on the project for years.

The Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July 2023. In early August, the spacecraft began orbiting（环绕……运行）the moon. Then, the lander, called Vikram, made a successful "soft landing" at the moon's south pole. Leader of the project, Sreedhara Somanath, announced, "India is on the moon." Before this, only three other countries had ever made soft landings on the moon.

In 2019, an earlier Indian mission, Chandrayaan-2, ended when the lander crashed onto the lunar surface unexpectedly. But India learned from its mistakes. It made several changes to the lander to make it stronger and improve the computer programs that control it. Pragyan, the rover（探测器）that the lander carries, hasn't changed since the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

All Indians were excited about the landing. Across the country, people gathered to watch and cheer for it. Now that India's lander is safely on the moon, Vikram and Pragyan will start studying it. They have special tools to study the moon from different aspects（方面）, including studying its temperature and materials. The machines are solar-powered, and are expected to work for about 14 days. After that, the sun will set at the south pole, and the machines will no longer have power.

One reason why the moon's south pole is worth studying is that there exists ice. Learning more about this frozen water could help astronauts on future trips to the moon. India has many more plans for space, including sending Indian astronauts into space, and possibly even planning trips to other planets. The country has also worked hard to encourage private Indian companies to develop space programs.

The rainforest of the Amazon region of Brazil in South America covers five percent of the world's land.The area is also the home of 220,000 people from about 180 tribes（部落）who live deep in the forest. The rainforest itself is an important environment but, because of its size and location, it also plays a key part in controlling the world's climate.

However, large areas of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down to make more land for farmers.This is as six football field being opened up every minute. Much of the destruction, which leaves the land dry and dusty, is against the law.

Some people use most of the new land to grow soya, which they export to other parts of the world to be used as animal food. Millions of chickens in Western European countries are fed in South American soya beans. Increasingly, some soya beans also begin to be turned into food for humans, because many vegetarian foods are based on soya beans. Other people clear the rainforest to use the land for their cows, to sell the valuable hardwood from trees, or to find more oil.But they are at the expense of the future of the global environment.

Deforestation（滥伐森林）destroys ancient forest and changes the world's climate.They are dependent on the rainforest for everything they need, from food and tools to medicines and shelter.

To some, fishing is a hobby. But to William "Big will" Dunn, it's a（n）1 that has led him to change the lives of thousands of children.

It all2 with one child: Cameron Delong. When the two of them met, the then 8-year-old was3 with his home life. William didn't know why until he found out Cameron's4 was not in his life.

Growing up, William had a hard time in Miami,5 peace and solace（安慰）in fishing. Hoping that it could have the same6 on Cameron, he asked Cameron's mom if he could take her son out fishing every once in a while. They7 doing so several times a week.

"He started doing8 in school, showing more respect to his mom, and just becoming more of a man of the household because his dad was still not in his life," William said.

Inspired by the9 impact their fishing trips made on Cameron, he founded Take a Kid Fishing, a（n） 10 that utilizes（利用）fishing as a way to teach children life skills and to be11 inside and outside of the classroom. "We take them out, show them a12 day, and spend time with them and everything," he said. "Just to get out of the boat, you see the13 in them."

Today, William 14 tries to help those children in his own way, making the others realize that the15 kindness can make a great impact.

Wild mushrooms have become a new favorite in Chinese cuisine. Asmatter of fact, the rising interest is helping the business develop fast in China's southwestern Yunnan Province,（know）as the "kingdom of wild fungi（菌类）".

A key recipe for this dish is soup. The ingredients include（variety）of wild mushrooms, chicken, and mineral water,are cooked together for four hours. Just like chefs, the diners also need（patient）. The mushrooms have to be cooked for around 20 minutes before they can（consume）, because some of them might be poisonous if not fully cooked.

So far, people's ideas towards the natural cuisine（change）greatly, according to Wang Wenzhong, the founder of Juncai Wild Mushroom Hot Pot Chain. At first, many were（familiar）, and now they've developed a real taste.

Juncai,a rapidly growing brand（品牌）, plans to develop business beyond Yunnan. "（original）, my purpose in opening the business was to carry forward our food culture, and it's also the mission of my company."

注意：1.写作词数应为80左右； 2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Notice

……

The English Club

I am Denise Clarice, the only one in my class who does not have a pet. No dog waits for me at the bus stop. No cat sits beside me while I read. I don't even have a tiny, furry hamster（仓鼠）to hold in my hand. But I don't feel sorry. Why?

The rule about no pets at our house is not because I am too young to have pets, because I am 1l years old. Besides, I am very responsible. I always return library books on time and I do my homework every day, even when I would rather play in the grass. The rule about no pets is because of Kevin. He is my little brother and he is sensitive to pets, which make him sneeze（打喷嚏）.

One day, when I was walking home from school, I heard a soft little sound from behind a garbage. I stopped and listened. There it was. I heard the sound again. I walked quietly up the driveway and looked behind the garbage. A tiny ball of gray fur looked up at me and said, "Meow." Before I knew it, I was holding the cat. Before I knew it, I was walking toward home, holding the cat in my arms. She must be lost. "Finders keepers," I thought.

I took the cat upstairs to my room. We played with a ball, and she jumped high to catch the ball. I was excited that I made a comfortable little bed for her in a box with a small blanket and gave her milk to drink. Soon, my mother called me to dinner.

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。

Not long after I sat down at the table, Kevin started sneezing.

……

In the end, I had to return the cat.