广东省六校2024届高三下学期第四次联考英语试卷

What is PayQuick?

PayQuick is a fast payment service for shopping in the biggest supermarket in UK — Tesco. It allows you to add your credit or debit card details to the app so you can use your smartphone to pay for your shopping with just one scan, which means you can go wallet-free in all UK Tesco stores.

What are the benefits?

●Collect your Tesco points automatically

●Pay for your weekly shopping up to £250

●Use PayQuick offline, even with no signal

●Track your spending in Tesco

However, only one qualifying deal per week will collect the extra Tesco points. Additional payments in the same week won't receive extra points. Tesco points will be added to your future Tesco points statement.

How to get your PayQuick?

Available to new customers who sign up by 3^rd March 2024, the PayQuick app can be downloaded from the App Store or our official website. Once you have the app on your phone, register your personal details on the app to get an account. Note that for each customer, only one account is allowed and a family shared account will not be acknowledged. Finally, with all the preparation work done, you'll be ready to shop using just your phone.

Plus, there's no need to worry about your bank details being stored on your phone — they're all securely protected in our data centers. So not only is it quicker and easier, it's safer than going shopping with your wallet as well.

Tonight, our family was going out to play under the full moon.

My husband Todd and I first started going on full moon walks for ourselves, as we needed these little doses of moonlight to stay happy, though sometimes we had to hike through the forest to find a perfect spot. But after we became parents, we did this for our children. We wanted to show Sierra and Bryce that it was not necessary to travel far from home to have an adventure and learn something new, and that there was much magic in the natural world, available to all.

Once we arrived at our location, Sierra and I stood holding hands, waiting to cheer the full moon in its rising—a thin sliver of the appealing moon emerged above the ridge of the mountain afar. Soon, more of the moon came out until it turned into a brilliant orange sphere. Todd explained to Sierra and Bryce that the moon generates no light, but simply acts like a mirror, reflecting the sunlight back to us. "Does the moon's face change?" Bryce asked. I told him that the moon rotates (旋转) around the earth, but does not spin by itself, so the same side of the moon is always facing the earth. Sierra remarked that the moon looked larger and closer when it was rising. I explained that it is a visual illusion (错觉) because it is so close to the horizon that the moon magically tricks our eyes into comparing it with nearby objects, thus creating the impression of the increased size.

Much of the knowledge that I shared with the kids was learned from my parents. During my childhood, they would take me on educational adventures out in the woods, and as I later found, so did their parents. So every time I go for a full moon walk with my beloved family, I thank those wise educators who came before me.

To educate, sometimes all it takes is going outdoors and gazing up at the heavens.

As humanity has got richer, animal's roles have changed. People need their services less than before. Fewer wolves and thieves meant less demand for dogs for protection; the internal combustion engine (内燃机) made horses unneeded; modern sanitation (卫生设备) kept rats in check and made cats less useful. Domestic animals are no longer necessities, but commonly seen companions. Pet-keeping seems to become more and more popular, as a recent survey found that 69% of American households keep at least one pet.

The pet business is growing even faster than pet numbers, because people are spending more and more money on them. No longer are they food-waste-recyclers, fed with the remains that fall from their masters' tables. Pet food shelves are full of cuisines tailored to satisfy a range of appetites, including ice cream for dogs and foods for pets that are old, diabetic, or suffer from sensitive digestion.

In the business, this is called "pet humanization" — the tendency of pet owners to treat their pets as part of the family. This is obvious in the names given to dogs, which have evolved from Fido, Rex, and Spot to Bella, Lucy, and Max.

People still hold the false assumption that pets must be working for humanity in some way, perhaps making people healthier or less anxious. But the evidence for that is weak. New research suggests that dogs have evolved those "cute eyes" to affect human emotions and control them, which works very well. Humans now work very hard to pay for the care of their pets. For example, Americans often refer to themselves not as cat owners but as the cat's "mommy" or "daddy". South Koreans go one step further, describing themselves as cat "butlers (管家)". Watch an unlucky man walking his dog, plastic bag in hand to pick up its mess, and we have to doubt: who's in charge now? Is this relationship what we really want?

Hibernation (冬眠) is a classic topic of science fiction. In movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, or Passengers, crew members are put into a state of sleep to take year-long journeys to space. Now a new study from Washington University has shown that human hibernation may soon become a reality.

The research team carried out tests on rats — animals that do not naturally hibernate. They first identified a group of neurons (神经元) in a deep brain region, which were found to be involved in controlling body temperature during hibernation. They showed that, in mice, these neurons could be stimulated using ultrasound (超声波), which was delivered through a helmet without causing an injury.

When receiving the ultrasound, the mice showed a drop in body temperature of about3℃, and their heart rates fell by about 47%. When the ultrasound system was switched off, they woke up again. The result was "surprising and fascinating", said Hong Chen, a professor who led the work.

Researchers are also trying to determine how to harness the power of hibernation to help humans. They believe that it could be key to addressing health conditions like heart disease, and Alzheimer's. Furthermore, hibernation's ability to slow aging, which was observed in bats, could benefit space exploration, enabling longer missions with less food requirements. Research in animals also suggests that bodies of hibernating astronauts might lose less bone and muscle, making them fit and ready to start challenging exploration soon after they wake up.

By unlocking the secrets of this remarkable process, researchers may uncover ways to improve human health, as well as gain new insights into the natural world. Therefore, the exploration of hibernation is an exciting area that is sure to yield numerous benefits in the years to come.

The scientists now plan to look at how lowered body temperature might affect the cognitive abilities of humans. "Our next experiments will test working memory in monkeys. This is important because while astronauts physically hibernate as they fly into deep space, their brain still needs to be working," said Chen.

Make a difference at school

Besides being a great place to learn, school offers a great opportunity to make friends, try new things, and give back to others. The beginning of a school year is a good time for you to take advantage of opportunities and activities that your school offers. ① . Here's how to get started.

Reach out

Try to be more involved in activities, clubs, and teams. All of these help you meet more people, including teachers and staff, who can give you an idea of the needs the school might have. ② . Ask if you can attend meetings to share ideas and listen to what others want to change at school.

③ 

Your school may have a variety of clubs — from robotics to anime. If you have an interest that's not covered by a current school club, you could consider forming your own. Many schools have a standard process for approving clubs, which may include asking a teacher to advise the club, and finding a place and time to meet.

Identify a need and take action

Think about what makes you feel happy at school. Maybe you enjoy having lunch or playing soccer during break. Now think about ways those could be even better. You might wish there were more food options or more balls to play. Once you have your idea, talk to a staff to see if students could help. ④ .

Be kind

⑤ . However, you can help create a positive atmosphere at school by being kind and respectful to others. This includes respecting a teacher's rules, saying thank you when a student helps you, cleaning up any mess you make, and saying hello to others in the hallway. Attitude is infectious!

A. Start something new

B. Find what appeals to you

C. It may seem like a simple action

D. For example, involve yourself in the student union

E. You can also take full advantage of what you have on hand

F. It's also a good time to think of ways to make a difference to your school

G. You could offer to develop a diverse meal plan or organize fundraising for new balls

My mom loved to pass her wisdom to me: "Nothing beats a good bite that bites back." She was referring to her bitter-taste foods like dill pickles and rhubarb (大黄叶). But I was not a big fan.

Three years ago, I finally decided to ask if I could 1 out her rhubarb while weeding the garden. "2 not!" Mom gasped, throwing me a(n) 3 look. Clearly, I had underestimated her4 for it. However, as I continued 5 , I thought about how rhubarb is one of the first to appear in spring. It 6 the snowy ground before the arrival of other plants. How can anyone fail to 7 it? When those first sprouts (嫩芽) appeared, Mom would count them like a 8 counting a newborn's fingers and toes.

When I was a kid and my mom gave me that pie, it made me 9  to try. In my teens, it made me complain about the bitterness. Even ice cream or candies did not 10  the deal for my young taste buds (味蕾). Rhubarb was something to be 11  at all costs.

Then, last summer, I came across the 12  for her rhubarb pie in an old drawer. So I decided to give it a 13 . A few attempts later, I served rhubarb pie to family and guests. All agreed, including me, that it tasted incredible.

Since then I've come to a 14 about rhubarb. Rhubarb's taste may be lost on children, but adults can15 it. Like my wise mother, I now understand that "Nothing beats a good bite that bites back."

What might your hometown look like in someone else's eyes? ① (fascinate) by the unique cultural atmosphere of Beijing, Russian illustrator Liuba Vladimirova draws romantic and peaceful images of the Chinese capital.

Since childhood, she ② (develop) a love for drawing and painting. ③ attracts Vladimirova most is Beijing's historic hutong. These narrow alleyways, rich in history and culture, serve ④ a source of inspiration for her art pieces. It allows her to observe the ⑤ (local) as they chat casually about the weather, savoring tea, and playing games.

Liuba's fresh perspective allowed her to arrive in the city with fresh eyes and an eager heart, offering⑥ unique blend of culture, history, and natural attractions. For instance, Vladimirova thinks⑦ interesting that elderly parents will gather in parks ⑧ (find) potential marriage partners for their adult children. She also notes the absence of the 4th floors in some Chinese buildings due to the superstition (迷信) associated with the number four, the pronunciation of ⑨ is nearly identical to that of the word for "death" in Chinese.

"I wanted to share my personal experiences and observations of Beijing and Chinese culture in a fun and⑩ (access) way, in the hope that readers would relate, reflect, and consider their own experiences," Vladimirova said.

1.志愿服务的意义；

2.你的经历；

3.你的感悟。

注意：

1.词数80左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

My Volunteering Experience

Li Hua

I sat in my parents' car. Mom had insisted I go with her to pick up Dad from work. Across from Dad's office is a bike store. That was the day my eleven-year-old eyes first saw the purple BMX Mongoose bike. From that day on, all I could think about was that bike. I even drew pictures of the bike in class. Every evening afterward, at five thirty, I eagerly went along with Mom to get Dad.

And every day I told my parents, "I want that bike!" But they disagreed and replied that I had already had a perfectly good bike at home. I'd argue it was old and ugly, thinking that my happiness depended on that purple bike. Days later, I found the store had sold that bike. I knew I'd never be happy again.

A week later, returning home from school, I tripped over something. Lying in the weeds near a river and some wooded lots, was a bike — the exact bike from the store. "Hey, whose bike is this?" I shouted, scanning the area. No one replied, and there was no one in sight. Maybe its owner didn't want it any longer. I couldn't leave it lying in the weeds. So I took it home and hid it behind the garage. Every day after school, I sat there, admiring it. But I didn't feel like riding and didn't feel as happy as I had thought. Thinking about the bike made my stomach tighten and uncomfortable.

A few days later, during lunch at school, my friend said, "Did you hear about Tyler, in the other fifth-grade class? He lost his new purple BMX Mongoose bike he had just gotten for his birthday. He left it by a river while playing in the woods. It got dark, and he couldn't find it."

"I'd never go off and leave a new bike like that. He doesn't deserve to have that bike," I replied. My friend added, "Kids say he's nice. And they say Tyler is upset because his dad worked overtime to buy the bike for him." For the rest of the day, I couldn't stop thinking about Tyler.

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。

After school, I returned home and dragged to my room.

"I know Tyler's house," Mom said. "I'll drive you there."