1．　　Succulents (多肉植物) can usually stay wet in hot and dry days. They are easy to plant as well.
　　Get the pots (盆) ready. Make sure that you are not using either too large or too small a pot. There should be three or more holes at the bottom of the pot. Clay pots are the best for planting succulents. Fill one third of the pot with small stones.
　　Fill the pots with potting mix. Hold the plant carefully at the center of the pot and place the potting mix around the plant until it covers them up.
　　Provide good sunlight. Succulents prefer bright light. So place the pots in an area where there is plenty of sunlight. The best sun time will be from morning to noon during the summer.
　　Water your plant. The first watering will be done on the third day of planting. Watering at a later time will depend on the growth of the plant. A good rule is that the potting mix should be allowed to dry up before the next watering. It is suggested to water twice a week during the summer, every two weeks during early and late winter and once a month during the coldest weather.
　　Fertilize (施肥) it. Do it during the summer growing season, as you would with other houseplants. Stop fertilizing completely during the winter. The nitrogen content (含氮量) of the fertilizer should always be very low.
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2．　　I was on a train in Switzerland. The train came to a stop and the conductor's (乘务员的) voice gave a message in German, Italian, and French. I'd made the mistake of not learning any of those languages before my vacation.
　　Everyone started getting off the train and an old woman saw that I was confused (迷惑的) and stressed. She could speak some English and told me that an accident had happened on the tracks (轨道). She asked me where I was trying to get to, then went and talked to some workers, and came back to tell me that we'd have to hop trains three or four times to get there.
　　I was really glad she was heading the same way because it would have been impossible for me to find it out on my own. So we went from one train station to the next, getting to know each other along the way.
　　She was really the sweetest woman. It was a 2.5-hour journey in total, and when we made it to the final place, we got off and said our goodbyes. I had made it just in time to catch my train to Rome. She told me she had a train to catch as well. I asked her how much farther she had to go and it turned out that her home was two hours back the other way.
　　She had jumped from train to train and traveled the whole way just to make sure that I made it. I was surprised. A woman spent her whole day sitting on trains and taking her hours away from her home just to help out a confused tourist visiting her country.
　　No matter how many countries I visit, I'll always say the most beautiful country in the world is Switzerland.
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3．　　"Put on your winter coat! You'll catch a cold!" I don't know how many times my mom said this to me when I was a kid. I'd often go outside, even during cold winter months, wearing just a light jacket.
　　Of course, the idea that cold weather can make you sick is only partly true. After all, the things that really make you sick are bacteria (细菌) and viruses (病毒). But I have noticed that in China, people always make sure to wear lots of clothes when it's cold outside.
　　In the time that I've been here, I've been asked by strangers, especially elderly people, about why I'm not wearing more clothing. They think I'm wearing too little during the winter.
　　I guess this might have something to do with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) beliefs. There is a TCM term called yuanqi (元气), which refers to the basic energy that helps one's body work and stay healthy. Anything that unnecessarily consumes this energy is not right. If you don't wear enough clothing when it's cold out, your body will have to use more to keep you warm. Chinese people wear lots of clothing to stay warm and save energy.
　　But I still don't like to wear too much clothing, even when it's cold. I get hot easily — I even sweat (出汗) during winter months if my coat is too warm. I haven't gotten sick because of this yet, so I don't think I have too much to worry about.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

4．　　A student wrote to me the other day. She said she was having a growing interest in listening to music, especially Taylor Swift. But she is also worried about spending so much time listening to music that she will have a hard time paying attention to her schoolwork.
　　Listening to music is a great way to use only half of your brain. I enjoy music while washing my dishes or walking to the store. (1)       Somehow (不管怎样), our brains can sing and drive safely at the same time.
　　(2)       It requires all of your brain's attention. Have you ever noticed that people don't read books while driving? Reading while driving is like asking you to die quickly.
　　So, if you're trying to study, that requires reading. (3)       But if you're also listening to catchy (动听的) music, Taylor Swift's songs don't ask for your attention. They grab (抢走) it.
　　I think you can see the solution to your problem: Don't listen to music while studying. If you must listen to music, choose something without words, like piano jazz. (4)      
　　My favorite background "music" is white noise. Get yourself a white noise app and admire the sound of rainfall while you read your books. (5)      

根据材料内容，从下而五个选项中选出能填人文中空缺处的最佳选项，使文章意思通顺内容完整。
A. Reading is different.
B. Play it softly in the background.
C. And you should pay all attention.
D. I love singing along while I drive as well.
E. Then, when you've finished studying, listen to Taylor Swift for your hard work as a gift.

5．　　Mr. Dawson was an old grouch (脾气坏的人) and everyone in town knew it. Kids knew not to go into his yard to pick a delicious (1)      . Because old Dawson would come after you (2)       his baseball bat.
　　One Friday, 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her (3)       Amy. They had to walk by Dawson's house on the way to Amy's house, but as they got close, Janet saw him sitting on his front porch (门廊) and (4)       they crossed over to the other side of the street. She was (5)       of the old man.
　　Amy said not to worry, Mr. Dawson wouldn't (6)       anyone. Still, Janet was growing more (7)       with each step closer. When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown (皱眉), but when he saw it was Amy, a big smile (8)       his face as he said, "Hello! Miss Amy. I see you've got a friend with you today."
　　Amy smiled back. Dawson (9)       them each a fresh-picked apple. They (10)       accepted. Dawson had the best apples in town.
　　When they got out, Janet asked Amy, "Everyone says he's the (11)       man in town. Why was he so nice to us?"
　　Amy explained that when she first walked past his house, she was afraid of him. She pretended (假装) he was wearing a smile and so (12)       always smiled back. It took a (13)      , he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. He was very kind now.
　　Amy said, "My grandma told me that (14)       I pretended he was smiling at me and smiled back, sooner or later he would really smile." Giving a smile away takes so little effort, let's (15)       that we're not the one that others have to pretend to be wearing a smile.

6．
　　The small town of Hay, on the River Wye, sits on the border (边界) between England and Wales. You can (1)       reach it on small country roads and the trains no longer stop there. It was a quiet place until 1961. That year, a (2)       man Richard Booth came with a lot of secondhand books. He bought the town's old fire station and changed it (3)       a shop to sell them. For the next 10 years, he bought (4)       empty shops and made them into bookshops too. Hay became the world's (5)       "book town".
　　Then Booth bought the town' s old castle (城堡). On April 1, 1977, he jokingly called (6)       King of Hay and said the town was now an independent country! His horse was the head of the government, and he even (7)       people passports. Some local people thought he was a little crazy.
　　But the joke made more people come to Hay and buy secondhand books. By the 1980s, there were 1 million books in the town's over 30 bookshops. Then in 1988 a literature (文学) festival (8)       in the town. Writers talked about their new books, along with (9)      , politicians and even the President of the US!
　　Now there are (10)       towns in Europe, Australia, Canada and even Malaysia. Not bad for something that started in a small town of 1,300 people.

7．　　Pandas look cute with their black-and-white fur (毛). But the color is not just for looking good! (1)       new study shows pandas' black-and-white color helps them hide in the wild.
　　Wild pandas live (2)       mountain forests in southwest China. (3)       are shady (成荫的) places, as well as snowy areas. Tim Caro, from the University of Bristol, UK, said pandas' faces and bellies (肚子) are white to help them hide in snowy areas, (4)       their arms and legs are black to help them hide in the shade.
　　Pandas eat bamboo. They can never store enough fat (5)       go through winter. So they go out to look for food all year long. The combination (组合) of black and white can help it hide in different seasons.

8．(Reem and Jack are talking in front of the house. Jack — J Reem — R)
J: Hey, Reem. You look upset. (1)      ?
R: I've argued with my father!
J: (2)      ?
R: Well, you know we were planning to go horse riding during the May Day holidays.
J: Yes.
R: Well, it's not going to happen! (3)      .
J: Well, that's not so bad! He probably thought it was a good chance.
R: I know, but (4)      . Anyway, we argued, and he hasn't spoken to me all day!
J: Look, Reem, it's not the end of the world. He's probably upset at the moment, too. Cheer up, boy. (5)      ?
R: Good idea. Thanks, Jack.

9．每一个人都有长处，都有精彩的一面。让我们发挥自己的长处，做精彩的自己。请以"I am the best"为题，根据以下要点和要求，写一篇英语短文。
要点：
(1)你的长处是什么；
(2)表现在哪些方面；
(3)未来如何突破自我。
要求：
(1)文中不要出现所在学校的校名和师生姓名；
(2)词数100左右。
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