2020泰州高三第二次模拟考试（5月）英语含答案（含听力）

2020届高三模拟考试试卷

                    英　　语                      2020.5

本试卷分第Ⅰ卷(选择题)和第Ⅱ卷(非选择题)两部分。满分120分，考试时间120分钟。

第Ⅰ卷(选择题　共85分)

第一部分：听力(共两节，满分20分)

第一节(共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分)

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

(　　)1. How old is the man's own car?

A. One month old.  B. One year old.  C. Five years old.

(　　)2. Who did the woman buy the shirt for?

A. Herself.  B. Her daughter.  C. Her son.

(　　)3. What did the speakers think of the movie?

A. Meaningful.  B. Confusing.  C. Boring.

(　　)4. What does the man like most about the park?

A. It's clean there.  B. It's relaxing there.  C. It's beautiful there.

(　　)5. What will the woman do tonight?

A. Paint the living room.  B. Visit her friend Jason.  C. Have dinner at her parents'.

第二节(共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分)

听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。

(　　)6. What is the speakers' relationship?

A. Friends.  B. Neighbors.  C. Renter and owner.

(　　)7. Why does the woman complain about her neighbor?

A. He is always rude to her.  　　　　B. He always wakes her up in the morning.

C. He always fixes things late at night.

听第7段材料，回答第8至10题。

(　　)8. How did Harriet know the time?

A. From her iPhone.  B. From her watch.  C. From the sun.

(　　)9. What does Don think about Harriet's explanation?

A. It's wrong.  B. It's funny.  C. It's too scientific.

(　　)10. Where might the conversation be taking place?

A. In a field.  B. In a classroom.  C. At a computer lab.

听第8段材料，回答第11至13题。

(　　)11. What does the woman say about playing basketball?

A. She finds it pretty easy.  B. She is good at it.  C. She knows the general rules.

(　　)12. Where did the woman buy the basketball?

A. In a store.  B. On the street.  C. At school.

(　　)13. What will the speakers do first?

A. Buy some special shoes.  B. Go home to change.  C. Find a basketball court.

听第9段材料，回答第14至17题。

(　　)14. Where did the woman first meet the man?

A. In high school.  B. In a chemistry competition.  　　　　C. In college.

(　　)15. What did the man do after high school?

A. He went straight to university.  　　　　B. He traveled around the world.

C. He worked at a small school.

(　　)16. What is the school in Connecticut known for?

A. Its famous teachers.  B. Its foreign language department.  　　　　C. Its low cost.

(　　)17. What does the woman mean in the end?

A. It is enjoyable to study Chinese.  　　　　B. It is her lifetime goal to speak Chinese well.

C. It takes a long time to master a foreign language.

听第10段材料，回答第18至20题。

(　　)18. What is the purpose of the staff meeting?

A. To find ways to help Mrs. Smith.

B. To announce Mrs. Smith's current situation.

C. To figure out what's wrong with Mrs. Smith.

(　　)19. Where did Mrs. Smith feel the pain?

A. In her arm.  B. In her lung.  C. In her shoulder.

(　　)20. How long has Mrs. Smith worked at the company?

A. Less than two weeks.  B. About three months.  C. Over five years.

第二部分：英语基础知识运用(共两节，满分35分)

第一节：单项填空(共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分)

请认真阅读下面各题，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

(　　)21. Foreign students and their families can sample the charm of traditional Chinese culture through ________ Peking Opera performance.

A. authentic  B. autonomous  C. artificial  D. ambiguous

(　　)22. The punishment a criminal deserves should be in proportion to the ________ of the offence.

A. gravity  B. division  C. analysis  D. composition

(　　)23. If talks about a new deal ________， the football player will have to leave the club with the end of his current contract.

A. break off  B. break out  C. break down  D. break through

(　　)24. ________， Chinese cuisine is served in shared plates，but now individual portions are recommended.

A. Gradually  B. Typically   C. Approximately   D. Occasionally

(　　)25. After experiments on COVID­19，medical experts conclude that the chances of survival will be great, ________ the infected person tests positive twice.

A. as though  B. even if  C. in case   D. so that

(　　)26. His new invention is beyond all praise and has quickly occupied the market ________ its superior quality.

A. in terms of  B. by virtue of  C. on behalf of  D. on top of

(　　)27. The spokesman noted ________ some individuals apparently lack is not the means to get the correct information, but the courage and conscience to admit the truth.

A. which  B. that  C. whether  D. what

(　　)28. As a scientist puts it, a virus is color blind, which does not ________ on the basis of skin color, religion, or social status.

A. comprehend  B. interpret  C. correspond  D. discriminate

(　　)29. ________ in the wonderful world of words, students will increase their vocabulary and boost their reading competence.

A. Being involved  B. Involving  C. Having involved  D. Involved

(　　)30. The Education Department of Zhejiang Province ________ a draft regulation on cutting workload for pupils, which has aroused fierce discussions.

A. published  B. is publishing  C. had published  D. was publishing

(　　)31. Morrison said not until national testing capacity had been increased ________ in Australia.

A. the rules would be relaxed  B. would the rules be relaxed

C. that the rules would be relaxed  D. that would the rules be relaxed

(　　)32. People often turn to chinadaily.com.cn, ________ they'll find valuable information regarding  everything they'll be or are going through.

A. which  B. where  C. when   D. why

(　　)33. —I'm fed up with the wet, cold weather here！I wish tomorrow a sunny day!

—Exactly. Actually, it ________ every day in the past two weeks.

A. rained  B. was raining  C. has rained  D. has been raining

(　　)34. A recent survey has demonstrated that a large number of victims during the COVID­19 outbreak ________， if they had worn masks.

A. should have been saved  B. must have been saved

C. need have been saved  D. could have been saved

(　　)35. —It's said that your family will move to another city, why?

—________. The environment in this city is wonderful and relaxing.

A. That depends  B. That's for sure

C. It's not the case  D. It's hard to say

第二节： 完形填空(共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Joe spent 16 years as a fireman and emergency medical technician. He has been honored for his __36__ in risking his life on numerous occasions to save others. However, one emergency call __37__ him to poisonous chemicals that later led to repeated strokes(中风). At only 38, the  man who had grown __38__ to having the physical strength and mobility to save lives was now __39__ to tie his own shoes or button his own shirt. Worst of all，the strokes left him __40__  seizures(痉挛) that would strike __41__．

Before his health __42__， Joe was known for being active and optimistic. But after his strokes, he spent day and night in bed, dangerously __43__. One of his only __44__ joys was  Lucky, his 12­year­old Dalmatian, but Joe's wife Kim __45__something terrible would happen  to Joe when Lucky __46__. She didn't want to wait to find out, so she suggested a new dog should be __47__ to the family.

Then entered Meatball. He was saved as a puppy from an Afghan war zone and brought to the United States for __48__ by Puppy Rescue Mission. Joe and Kim went to the airport to meet Meatball upon his arrival. The moment Meatball came out of his cage, he peed(撒尿) all over Joe－and Joe __49__ his first genuine laughter in months!

Two years later, one night, Kim was awakened by Meatball's __50__ barking. She went to see what was wrong and found Joe having a __51__ seizure. Joe was __52__ to the hospital—Meatball had saved the day. And it wasn't the only time.  “He's always there __53__ me, helping me, making sure I'm okay，” says Joe. “Since I got sick, some of my friends have fallen by the wayside, __54__this beautiful dog always stays with me. That means I'm worth __55__ after all. Pets are the emotional, physical, and spiritual gift we didn't know we needed.”

(　　)36. A. fear  B. luck  C. bravery  D. hesitation

(　　)37. A. reduced  B. shifted  C. exposed  D. attracted

(　　)38. A. committed  B. accustomed  C. addicted  D. abandoned

(　　)39. A. afraid  B. ashamed  C. unable  D. unwilling

(　　)40. A. to  B. by  C. for  D. with

(　　)41. A. painfully  B. separately  C. randomly  D. automatically

(　　)42. A. recovered  B. improved  C. infected  D. declined

(　　)43. A. depressed  B. puzzled  C. excited  D. embarrassed

(　　)44. A. accessible  B. remaining  C. selective  D. meaningful

(　　)45. A. anticipated  B. suspected  C. predicted  D. worried

(　　)46. A. passed away  B. hung out  C. fell out  D. turned away

(　　)47. A. contributed  B. offered  C. added  D. devoted

(　　)48. A. profit  B. adoption  C. release  D. memory

(　　)49. A. fell into  B. dived into  C. burst into  D. ran into

(　　)50. A. confused  B. panicked  C. surprised  D. shocked

(　　)51. A. violent  B. tough  C. common  D. slight

(　　)52. A. loaded  B. rushed  C. transferred  D. admitted

(　　)53. A. praying  B. guiding  C. tolerating  D. watching

(　　)54. A. so  B. if  C. and  D. but

(　　)55. A. something  B. anything  C. everything  D. nothing

第三部分： 阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Today scientists are creating cool designs with smoother moves.Let's check out the science behind four awesome robots.

(　　)56. If you want to take a close picture of a poisonous snake, which robot is the most suitable?

A. T­HR3  B. SHAPE­SHIFTING   　　C. SALTO 　  D. SPOTMINI

(　　)57. What these robots have in common is that they ________．

A. work by using a remote­control

B. are designed to help with the housework

C. enable people to see whatever they “see”

D. carry out tasks where humans are hard to reach

B

A scientific approach to reducing poverty's many harmful effects via field experiments in schools and other real­world settings has won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both of MIT，and Michael Kremer of Harvard University will receive equal shares of the prize of 9 million Swedish kronor.Duflo is only the second woman ever to be awarded the economics Nobel. “Poverty has deep roots，and we use an experimental approach to examine particular aspects of this problem and determine what interventions(干预) work，” Duflo said.

More than 700 million people globally live in extreme poverty. Half of the world's children leave school without basic language or math skills. Roughly 5 million children under age 5  annually die from diseases that could have been prevented with inexpensive treatments.

The three winners design and test interventions aimed at specific ways to alleviate poverty's effects on education, health care and other areas.Such studies are especially important because policies intended to fight poverty can often cause opposite results.

In the mid­1990s, Kremer led a team that tested a range of interventions aimed at improving learning among students attending schools in western Kenya. Banerjee and Duflo, often with Kremer，then performed similar studies in other countries.One important line of research developed “Teaching at the Right Level” programs, which enable teachers in low­income, developing nations to target instruction to students' learning levels. Teachers in these programs learn ways to keep students from falling behind rather than forcing them through a one­size­fits­all curriculum for each grade.

A 2011 study led by Duflo, for instance，found that grade 1 test scores in a Kenyan school increased when teachers divided students into smaller classes based on their initial learning levels.

A string of studies in the same vein led by the 2019 winners took randomized controlled trials and field experiments from ignored status to standard practice in developing nations.

These studies showed that the virtually unanswerable question “How can we fight global poverty？” could be broken into smaller，testable questions such as “Why do children not attend school？” and “Why do small­scale farmers not use technologies such as modern seeds and  fertilizer(肥料) that are known to be profitable？”

(　　)58. What does the underlined word “alleviate” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A. relieve  B. remove  C. control  D. transform

(　　)59. It can be inferred that the method the 2019 winners applied to education ________．

A. is more suitable for high­level students

B. is an intervention initially created by Duflo

C. will surely get rid of the deep roots of poverty

D. takes into consideration students' learning levels

(　　)60. What can we learn from the experimenting approach the three economists adopt?

A. The authorities concerned should make policies based on scientific findings.

B. Field experimenting is the most scientific way to find whether interventions work.

C. Education should be paid more attention to due to its important part in fighting poverty.

D.  It may be helpful to narrow down the scale of a problem by focusing on specific aspects.

C

Climate change will bring and has already brought a wide variety of threatening destruction to human existence. Some of these are well­known and already operative, like the wildfires racing along California's freeways or the permanent droughts that have been upsetting Mediterranean farmers. But are these all terrible disasters we can come up with that are brought about by climate change?

Absolutely not. None of the challenges posed by our warming climate has appeared larger in the popular imagination than sea­level rise, as global populations and wealth are heavily concentrated in low­lying coastal cities.The best available models suggest that 37 million people currently live in places that will be below high tide by 2050—in an optimistic low­carbon­emissions scenario(设想)．

Or rather，that's what such models suggested before this week. On Tuesday，a new study revealed that those alarming statistics were wildly inaccurate. The actual impacts of sea­level rise are going to be much, much worse.

Previous estimates of the impact that rising tides would have on coastal cities relied on essentially a three­dimensional map of Earth obtained from satellite readings. But those readings were fundamentally unreliable because they often measured the planet's upper surfaces—such as treetops and tall buildings—rather than its ground level. These mistakes led scientists to overestimate the elevation(海拔) of many regions of Earth.

In a new study published by the journal Nature Communications, scientists from Princeton University detail this methodological problem，then use artificial intelligence to determine the previous literature's error rate.Their research yields some amazing updates to our conventional understanding of what the next century has in store for our coastlines.

In its optimistic scenario，the Princeton study projects that lands currently occupied by 150 million people will lie below high tide in 2050.But as warming destroys many of the world's  agricultural regions, climate change could accelerate migration from rural areas to coastal cities.

The new study does include one piece of slightly encouraging news. While previous models suggested that 28 million humans currently live in places that already lie below high tide, the actual number is closer to 110 million—which means seawalls and other barriers have proven sufficient to keep many cities dry even as sea levels have risen around them. Still, the scale of barrier construction necessary to save low­lying cities from collapse is now, apparently, far greater than previously understood when the task already looked terribly expensive，particularly for developing countries.

If the Princeton researchers' projections are correct, avoiding mass death and suffering in the coming decades will require not only rapidly reducing carbon emissions and strengthening construction of seawalls but also furthering mass migrations away from low­lying cities and islands and toward higher ground.

(　　)61. The first paragraph is mainly intended to ________．

A. introduce the topic of this passage

B. show various disasters caused by climate change

C. call on people to fix attention on climate change

D. lay emphasis on the seriousness of climate change

(　　)62. All the following statements are true EXCEPT ________．

A. the Princeton study reveals an optimistic picture of sea rising

B. the three­dimensional map produced by satellite is not accurate

C. some measures are mentioned by the writer to deal with sea rising

D. more people are likely to live in coastal cities in the coming years

(　　)63. We can see something encouraging from the Princeton study that ________．

A. it's cheap to construct seawalls as well as other barriers

B. the scale of barrier construction is much greater than before

C. developed countries have less trouble in dealing with rising sea levels

D. seawalls do have the function to prevent coastal cities being drowned

(　　)64. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A. How to protect cities from rising seas

B. Rising seas are going to drown more cities

C. Climate change is endangering human existence

D. Less emission of carbon, fewer fires and droughts

D

In January 2017, snow began to fall across the Apennines. From his home in the Rome suburbs, Edward watched the weather with concern. He and his wife，Caroline, had planned an  overnight getaway to the hotel. But now he wondered whether they should go with the road  covered with snow. Edward phoned the hotel, whose owner, Del Rosso, advised Edward to use chains on his tyres.

After a short talk，Edward and Caroline decided to make the trip.By the time they neared the resort(度假胜地) six hours later, they were battling a total whiteout. When they finally reached the hotel, they were cold and exhausted. They checked into their room, trying to forget their long day in the car.

Suddenly, the hotel began to shake. The windows rattled, and the water in the tub spilt over the edges. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 had struck the mountain. Edward had had enough. “Let's get out of here，” he told his wife, dressing quickly. They were about to head to the parking lot when the snow on the mountain began to slide.

Martin, the resort's caretaker, had been working in the tiny boiler hut about 30 yards from the main building when he noticed something abnormal. Standing on an empty snowfield, he gazed at a trail of complete­destruction—it was as if a giant rake(耙子) had been dragged down the mountain, pulling down beech trees, crushing cars, chewing up everything in its path.

Finding a signal with his phone seemed to take forever. In fact, it took two hours before Martin finally spoke with the chief of the region's rescue team.

“We're coming，” Crocetta promised.

“How long will it take？” asked Martin.

“Five or six hours.”

Eight hours after Martin had talked to Crocetta, the rescuers finally arrived.There was no movement anywhere—no human sound, just rubble(碎石). Edward lay in a coffin­sized pocket of air beneath 30 feet of snow, ice, and rubble. He could hear nothing of what was happening at the surface. Shock had set in, and he felt no pain, no hunger, no cold. Each time Edward awoke, he faced a new terrible reality: he was buried alive. Despair suddenly seized him. He asked himself, who is going to save us?

Nick and three other rescuers kept digging on, breaking blade after blade on their circular saws(圆锯),  battling toward a faint cell signal detected deep in the ruins. Suddenly they heard a voice. They silenced their saws and listened. It was Edward.He was still fading in and out of consciousness. A vision of his wife stayed with him, an angel of mercy, he thought. She assured him he would be OK.

“Edward, we are here！” Nick shouted, ten feet above where the trapped man lay. “Are you injured？Are you bleeding？”

As the voices and the buzzing of saws grew louder, Edward became more alert. “Where is  my wife？”

“We put her in the car because it's cold，” Nick lied.

At last, at around six in the morning, Nick's saw broke through a final thick layer of insulation(隔绝). He pointed his light toward the opening and spotted Edward's back. Nick could see how the angled beams had created a cocoon that prevented Edward from being crushed to death. Those near him had not been so lucky: Squeezed in the space with him were the bodies of two women—one supporting his head, one curled(卷曲) beneath his left leg.

Rescuers raised the concrete beams off Edward's limbs with a jack(千斤顶). “You are a superhero，” Nick said as he reached beneath Edward's armpits and gently lifted him out of his tomb.

Five days after his rescue, Edward was given the heartbroken news that his wife had died. Her body had been found, crushed by debris, near where Edward had been trapped. The angel who had appeared to him in his dreams had, somehow, never left his side.

(　　)65. Edward was advised to use chains on his tires in order to ________．

A. protect the tyres  B. reduce the risk of slipping

C. make the car stronger  D. put on the weight of the car

(　　)66. What did Martin see after noticing something abnormal?

A. A beautiful scenery of snow.

B. The cars crushed by the trees.

C. A giant rake dragged down the mountain.

D. The snow swallowing everything on its way.

(　　)67. It took Martin two hours to get in touch with the rescue team because ________．

A. his phone was out of power  B. the signal was not strong enough

C. he was too scared to make the call  D. the line was too busy to get through

(　　)68. What was Edward's condition after he was trapped?

A. He was lucky to be safe and sound.

B. He was optimistic and waiting for the rescue patiently.

C. He was in a bad state and came back to life once in a while.

D. He was seriously injured and out of consciousness completely.

(　　)69. Nick lied to Edward when he asked about his wife because ________．

A. he didn't want Edward to lose hope

B. he was a dishonest rescuer and often lied to others

C. he wanted to play jokes with Edward to relax him

D. he wanted to distract his attention to reduce his pain

(　　)70. What does the author want to convey to us?

A. Rescuers are true superheroes.

B. Where there is life，there is hope.

C. Love can help a man survive a disaster.

D. A snow crash goes hand in hand with an earthquake.

第Ⅱ卷(非选择题　共35分)

第四部分：任务型阅读(共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

Is Loneliness a Health Epidemic(流行病)?

Over the last twenty years, more and more studies reveal increasing numbers of people experience loneliness regularly. In the face of such a situation, earlier this year, Britain appointed its first “minister for loneliness”， who is charged with dealing with what the Prime Minister called the “sad reality of modern life”.

Public­health leaders immediately praised the idea—and for good reason.In recent decades, researchers have discovered that loneliness left untreated is not just psychically painful; it also can have serious medical consequences.And numerous studies have linked loneliness to heart disease, cancer, depression, diabetes and suicide. Vivek Murthy, the former United States surgeon general, has written that loneliness is “associated with a reduction in life span similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity”．

Anxiety about loneliness is a common feature of modern societies. Today, two major causes of loneliness seem possible. One is that societies throughout the world have embraced a culture of individualism. More people are living alone, and aging alone, than ever. Liberal social policies have turned workers into unstable free agents, and when jobs disappear，things fall apart fast.Labor unions, civic associations, neighborhood organizations, religious groups and other traditional sources of social unity are in steady decline. Increasingly, we all feel that we're on our own.

The other possible cause is the rise of communication technology, including smartphones, social media and the Internet.A decade ago, companies like Facebook，Apple and Google promised that their products would help create meaningful relationships and communities. On the contrary, we've used the media system to deepen existing divisions, at both the individual and group levels. We may have thousands of “friends” and “followers” on Facebook and Instagram, but when it comes to human relationships, it turns out there's no choice but to build them the old­fashioned way, in person.

But is loneliness, as many political officials and experts are warning，a growing “health epidemic”？ I don't believe so, nor do I believe it helps anyone to describe it that way. Social  disconnection is a serious matter, yet if we arouse a panic over its popularity and impact, we're less likely to treat it properly.

In places like the United States and Britain, it's the poor，unemployed，displaced and migrant populations that suffer most from loneliness. Their lives are unstable, and so are their relationships. When they get lonely, they are the least able to get adequate social or medical support.

I don't believe we have a loneliness epidemic.But millions of people are suffering from social disconnection. Whether or not they have a minister for loneliness，they deserve more attention and help than we're offering today.

第五部分：书面表达(满分25分)

请阅读下面文字，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。

Due to the outbreak of COVID­19，schools across the country have put off opening.For more than two months, students have been taking online classes at home.

　　【写作内容】 1. 用约30个单词概述上述信息的主要内容；2. 结合上述信息，谈谈“自律”的重要性(至少两点)；3. 就如何培养“自律”，提出你的建议(至少两点)。

【写作要求】 1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；3. 不必写标题。

【评分标准】 内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。

2020届高三模拟考试试卷(泰州)

英语参考答案及听力材料

听力

1～5　CCBAC　6～10　CBABA　11～15　CBBAA　16～20　BCBAC

单项填空

21～25　AACBB　26～30　BDDDA　31～35　BBDDC

完形填空

36～40　CCBCD　41～45　CDABD　46～50　ACBCB　51～55　ABDDA

阅读理解

56～57　BD　58～60　ADD　61～64　AADB　65～70　BDBCAC

任务型阅读

71. appointment/appearance　72. suffering　73. earlier/early　74. causes　75. steadily

76. Contrary/Opposite　77. substitute/replacement　78. improper　79. disadvantage　80. worthy

书面表达

One possible version：

During the extended holiday, Su Hua completed various tasks on schedule while Li Jiang failed to fulfill the requirements with regret. The obvious difference shows the great importance of self­discipline.

Self­discipline is one of the essential qualities that contribute effectively to a person's progress. To begin with, it is evident that students with self­discipline tend to stay focused for a longer time, which enables them to attain their goals. Moreover, self­disciplined students are liable to resist various temptations and develop a higher sense of control, thus shaping their characters.

To cultivate self­discipline, one first needs to divide a great goal into small plans, which will help direct his efforts on a regular basis. Secondly, it is beneficial to measure his current behavior against past performance to keep him motivated, enhancing his self­discipline. Last but not least, there is one thing to keep in mind: One discipline leads to another discipline.

听力材料

Text 1

W: That's a nice car. Did you buy it last month?

M: No, I rented this car for my wedding. And my own car I bought five years ago is still in good condition.

Text 2

W: I'd like to return this shirt, please. It is too small for my son.  I would like to return it and buy this dress for my daughter instead.

M: No problem, madam. Come this way, please.

Text 3

M: Did you understand that movie? I liked the actors, but I was confused about the story.

W: Yeah, I wish I knew more about the Spanish War. It would probably make more sense.

Text 4

W: What do you think of this park? I think it is one of the most beautiful places in the city. I also like how quiet it is.

M: I agree，but what I like best is you don't see any waste paper or plastic bags on the ground. Everyone is doing their part to protect the environment here.

Text 5

M: I've got to go. Jason is waiting for me by the lift. I've offered to help him paint his living room.

W: All right. Just make sure you are home before six. We're going to my parents' house for dinner tonight.

Text 6

W: I have had a problem with the person living one floor above me. He wakes up at 6：00 a．m. and walks around loudly. It wakes me up every morning.

M: I understand. People here are usually respectful of each other. It usually doesn't become a problem after a short conversation.

W: Well, I have spoken to this person before, and he just told me, “Too bad！”

M: Oh, that is unacceptable. I will speak to him on your behalf. Don't worry.

W：Thank you. I also still need some repairs done on the bathroom sink when you get a chance.

M: I'll send someone over to look at it right away.

Text 7

M: What time is it, Harriet?  I'm starving, but I guess it's not time for lunch yet.

W: Let's see...according to my iPhone, it's just a few minutes past noon.

M: What? I thought my watch was wrong. Shouldn't the sun be overhead if it's noon?

W: Oh, Don. I can tell you weren't listening in science class last week. The sun is only overhead at noon for two days a year.

M: Ha­ha. Very funny.

W: No, really. Mrs. Sorenson explained it. The earth goes around the sun at an angle, and that changes where the sun is at noon.

M: But...then those old clocks that measured time by the sun's shadow are all wrong?

W: Umm, not exactly. They're just not the same as the time we keep on our computers.

M: I wish I were sitting at a computer right now instead of out here. I'm starting to hate nature.

Text 8

W: Will you teach me how to play basketball?

M: Sure, it's pretty easy.

W: I know. I've played before, and I know the general rules of the game. I'm just not very good at it.

M: Do you have a basketball?

W: Yes, I just bought a new one today. There was a man selling them on the street by my house.  What do you think about it? Is it a good one?

M:  It's not bad. How much did you pay for it?

W: It was only $5.

M: That's a good deal. So, is there a basketball court near here?

W: We can use the one at the school down the road. No one is ever there.

M: OK. Let us just run home first to change. Do you have any basketball shoes?

W: Do I need special shoes to play basketball?

M: No. Just make sure you have a pair of shoes that will support your ankles.

Text 9

M: Do you mind if I sit here?

W: No, of course not. Go ahead.

M: Don't I know you?

W: Yes. Now that you mention it, I think we had a chemistry class together in high school.

M: You're right!  How are you? It's been a long time!

W: What did you do after high school?

M: I went straight to university afterwards.  What about you?

W: I took a year off to go traveling.

M: That sounds exciting. Where did you go?

W: I went all over the world. It was the best year of my life. Where did you go to school?

M: I went to a small school in Connecticut. It has a very good reputation for its foreign language department.

W: Oh, did you study a foreign language?

M: Yes, I received some money to study Chinese.

W: That's a very difficult language to learn, isn't it?

M: It is, but it's very enjoyable.

W: So, you can actually speak Chinese?

M: I can, but not as well as I'd like to. I'll probably be studying Chinese until the day I die!

W: I think most languages take a lifetime to learn well.

Text 10

Hello, folks. Thanks for coming to this staff meeting. I want to update all of you on Mrs. Smith's situation.  As most of you know, Mrs. Smith was told that she had cancer a few months ago. She went to the doctor because of the pain in her arm,  and a tumor was found in her upper lung near her shoulder. Mrs. Smith has two young children and a husband. Most of you know her family very well, since she has worked at our company for over five years. First, I want to say how impressed I am with your kindness to her family. For the last three months, someone has brought her family a meal to eat every single night! Your concern for her and her loved ones moves me. Mrs. Smith is very thankful for all your help during this difficult time. And lastly, I want to give you some good news. The doctor told Mrs. Smith that she is much better. She will have an operation in two weeks. If all goes well, she will survive. Thank you all for caring!