安徽省阜阳市名校大联盟2023-2024学年高三毕业班月考英语卷(四)

Membership

University of Johannesburg staff and registered students in possession of a valid University card qualify for membership of the UJ Library 

Access to facilities and services

1. Clients have access to all Campus Libraries on presentation of their own university card. 

2. Books are issued to clients on the presentation of their own university card. 

3. Lost cards must immediately be reported in writing to the Team Leader: Lending Services at the Campus Library or to the Campus Librarian. 

Library hours

Library hours are revised annually and made available on the UJ Library web page. Campus libraries will be closed on public holidays. 

Rules of conduct

1. Behavior which disrupts the activities of the Library or affects the right to a quiet and orderly work and study environment of other library clients is not permitted. 

2. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the Library or within a seven-meter radius (半径) of the Library entrance. 

3. Books, other library materials, equipment or facilities may not be defaced, damaged or stolen. 

4. Cell phones must be on silent in the Library. 

5. Use of the computers in the Library is subject to time limits during peak usage periods. 

In addition, clients may NOT:

a) link any device to the network without the written approval of the Information Technology Division; 

b) remove or exchange computer equipment without the written approval of the Information Technology Division.

I'm 52, and as surprising as it may seem. I'm a gymnast. In a sport for young girls, I have found an unlikely path to joy. When I enter the gym, no matter how much stress I might be feeling, my mind clears and I forget my life. I think of nothing but what I am doing.

When I was 9, I went every Saturday to a gymnastic academy. The coach had gray hair and wore ballet shoes and had boundless enthusiasm. He would say, "You are going to be a gymnast." And I believed him. I vividly remember the first time I did a round off back handspring by myself, the weightlessness of it. I lived for Saturday mornings. I only ever did gymnastics recreationally — I didn't even know real gyms existed — but I always loved it.

That longdormant love came roaring back in my forties. It happened in an instant, at parents' day for my daughter's beginning gymnastics class. The bars were just sitting there, and I had this overwhelming urge to grab hold and swing. But I couldn't make it through the warm-up at the first adult class I went. I felt bad during conditioning. I was the oldest person there. But that spark of memory glowed with possibility. I went back to class again, and again. It was hard and it was humbling. But soon I was doing back handsprings like I used to.

There is nothing like the thrill of getting a new skill, that combination of speed, mechanics, timing, muscles, and bravery. There is an indescribable (不可言喻的) element, too, something like faith. By the time we reach middle age, most of us have had to deal with our fair share of unwelcome surprises, like illness, family crisis or the death of a beloved parent. But gymnastics has brought the most delightful surprises — I keep getting better, overcoming what I thought were limits, amazing myself by what I can do. At a time in life when many things feel like they are sliding down the slope (斜坡) towards old, gymnastics is a gift of fluency and competence in motion. I'm in the best shape of my life. I'm a better gymnast now than I was at 16.

The world may have a new supercontinent within 200 million to 300 million years as the Pacific Ocean shrinks and closes.

Researchers at Curtin University in Australia and Peking University in China used a supercomputer to model the evolution of Earth's tectonic plates (地质构造板块) and the formation of a future supercontinent. Their findings were published in the journal National science Review.

"Over the past two billion years, Earth's continents have collided (相撞) together to form a supercontinent every 600 million years, known as the supercontinent cycle. This means that current continents are due to come together again in a couple of hundred million years' time," said lead author Dr. Chuan Huang, a research fellow in Curtin's Earth Dynamics Research Group and the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

The team's simulation showed that due to the fact that Earth has been cooling for billions of years since its formation, the thickness and strength of the tectonic plates beneath the oceans have reduced over time. As a result, the formation of a new supercontinent is more likely to happen by the closing up of the Pacific Ocean. Reducing by a few centimeters per year, the Pacific Ocean's current reach of 10,000 kilometers will close up in less than 300 million years.

"The resulting new supercontinent has already been named Amasia because some believe that the Pacific Ocean will close when America collides with Asia. Australia is also expected to play a role in this important Earth event, first colliding with Asia and then connecting America and Asia once the Pacific Ocean closes," Huang said.

Changes in the distribution of continents and oceans will cause changes in climates, "particularly when ocean currents are stopped by continental collision, or new ocean currents are formed when continents break apart," said study coauthor Zheng-Xiang Li, distinguished professor in Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences. "Earth, as we know, will be completely different when Amasia forms. The sea level is expected to be lower, and the vast interior (内陆) of the supercontinent will be very dry with high daily temperature ranges."

Researchers expect more earthquakes as the continental plates collide. Surrounded by a new super ocean, the newly formed supercontinent will also have decreased biodiversity.

Scientists are still trying to understand Earth's supercontinent cycle, which is driven by heat and gravity. The research team wants to establish how Earth's tectonic plates started and when the first continents formed, as well as what kicked off the supercontinent cycle."We are only starting to look at the entire Earth system, from its core to its atmosphere, as a closely linked system that evolved together,"Li said.

"Going wireless is the future for just about everything!" That is a quote from scientist Sreekanth Chalasani, and we can't help but agree. Realizing this, a team of scientists has made a breakthrough toward wirelessly controlling human cells using sound, in a technique called "sonogenetics (声遗传学)." This concept may seem strange but let us explain.

Basically, the term "sonogenetics" means using ultrasound (超声波) to change the behavior of cells in a non-invasive manner. "We already know that ultrasound is safe, and that it can go through bone, muscle and other tissues, making it the ultimate tool for controlling cells deep in the body," says Chalasani.

Low-frequency ultrasound waves can target a particular protein that is sensitive to the signal. This research, published in Nature Communications, focused on TRPA

1. When this protein is stimulated through the ultrasound waves, it also stimulates the cells which carry it. What type of cell is being stimulated depends on the outcome. For example, a muscle cell may contract with stimulation, or a neuron (神经元) in the brain will fire. In this experiment, scientists genetically marked cells with an increased concentration of TRPA1, making them the key targets of the ultrasound waves.

Currently, treating conditions like Parkinson's disease requires scientists to implant electrodes (电极) in the brain which stimulate certain disordered cells. Researchers hope that sonogenetics can one day replace these invasive treatments.

In the future, the team wants to adjust the placement and amount of TRPAI around the body using the gene treatment. Gene delivery techniques have already been shown to be successful in humans, such as in treating blindness. Therefore, it's just a case of adjusting this theory to a different sound-based setting.

"Gene delivery techniques already exist for getting a new gene—such as TRPA1—into the human heart," Chalasani says. "If we can then use an external ultrasound device to activate those cells, that could really change pacemakers." There is still a while to go before this treatment can become a reality. The future for sonogenetics, though, looks bright.

Disposing of (处理) unwanted items in our lives often means simply throwing them into the garbage or recycling bin—or, if they're still useful, giving them away. It's different with old credit cards, which should be destroyed so nobody can use them fraudulently (欺诈地). Here's how to get rid of an old card.

Contact the issuer.

If closing the account is your goal, you'll have to call the number on the back of your card and ask to do so. If your card is a rewards card, remember to first redeem (兑换) points or cash back.

Cut up plastic cards.

Sharp scissors will do the job here. "We recommend that consumers cut through the EMV chip, then further cut the card a few times along the short side, and dispose of the sections in more than one trash bag (垃圾袋)," says Sarah Grano, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association.

Send back metal cards.

Contact your issuer. "Typically, you can mail it back for disposal. For example, when American Express sends a replacement card, it also sends an addressed return envelope to mail back an old metal card for destruction," says Heather Norton, spokeswoman for American Express. Check back on your account. You generally won't be responsible for fraudulent charges anyway. Be cautions with debit cards and other plastic forms where fraud could result in financial losses.

Closing an account can hurt you.

Closing a credit card account can lower your credit rating. That's because credit scores consider your "credit utilization ratio", or how much of your available credit you're using. And when you close an account, you have less available credit. Closing an old card decreases the average age of your accounts.

A. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to close the account anyway.

B. Alternatively, you can feed cards into a specialized machine.

C. Credit scores also factor in the length of time you've had the card open.

D. Disposing of a metal card on your own is more challenging and potentially unsafe.

E. You can skip this step if you're just replacing an expired or compromised cord.

F. Don't obsess about identity theft of an old credit card.

G. However, correctly disposing of a payment card can be confusing, especially with newer metal credit cards.

Ricky often looked out of the window during one of my ninth-grade history classes early in my teaching 1 . He was quiet, and his good grades and mild manner were the reason 2 I did not move him away from the seat by the window.

One day, I3 over his shoulder and quietly asked, "What are you looking at?"

He said, "I am looking at the band."

"If you like the band so much that you have to look at them during this class every day, I want you to go down to Mr. Overby (the band teacher) and tell him that I4 you. Tell him that you want to be in the band," I said.

The next day Ricky went to Mr. Overby and told him I had sent him and he wanted to be in the band. He added that he did not know how to play any instrument.

When Ricky visited me ten years later, he 5 me for telling him to go to Mr. Overby because he fell in love with music and discovered his musical talent that had not been 6 . His musical talent resulted in him getting a(n) 7 to college and earning a degree that allowed him to provide for his family. Most of all, 8 had brought great pleasure and satisfaction to his life.

After Ricky thanked me, I 9 that he did all of the hard work it took to become the wonderfully talented person that he was. I did not make him walk downstairs to join the band, practise his 10 , and get the good grades that led to his college scholarship.

Ricky responded that I could have yelled at him for looking out of the window. Instead, I gave him a(n) 11 that changed his whole life.

After he left, I thought about his words. I12 that I was teaching children with every word I said, every action I took, and with every decision I13 . Ricky's story14 my teaching bar. Most of all, I have never forgotten the lesson Ricky taught me, a15 teacher.

The Confucian Analects or The Analects (论语) is a collection of the sayings and teachings of Confucius and his disciples (门徒). It  (compile汇编) in the early Warring States Period, over 70 years after the death of Confucius, from the notes that his disciples took according to the answers  their questions.

The present-day Analects is based on the Lu version compiled during the Han Dynasty and represent  Confucian concept of ren or humanity or benevolence (仁慈). Ren is rich in content, and varied in form.

The core of the concept is "The benevolent love of others" or universal love, is the basic virtue of a gentleman of noble character. Confucius believes that being benevolent does not mean (be) without principles. One should be clear about what (love) or hate. Ren comes from learning and self-cultivation: it can be seen from a person's appearance. To be sure, li or rites and yue or music are important., ren is the No. 1 principle of being a decent man. It is actually the essence of li and yue. Without ren, li or yue would be (meaning).

Apart from ren, Confucius put forward another concept, which is yi or righteousness. Yi is the codes of conduct under the (guide) of ren. "The virtuous man cherishes a respect for the law, the morally bad man values generous treatment."

1. 人物事迹简介;

2. 给你的启示。

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。

I was a broke university student. I should have been going to university on a scholarship because I came from a low-income family, but a last-minute £100-a-year pay rise for my mum pushed my family over the threshold (门槛) for what defined "low-income" and I was suddenly no longer qualified for £15,000 a year in scholarship money. This news came after I'd been accepted by the university and signed the lease (租约) for my accommodation.

Despite my family not being labelled low-income anymore, I still wouldn't receive any financial support from my family as all the income went toward taking care of my disabled brother and paying their own bills. It would be tight, but because I had savings from my part-time job, I decided to go to university anyway. After paying my rent, I had £

10.20 a week for everything else including food, toiletries, and school supplies.

As I was in a new city, I really wanted to make friends, which was difficult when most of the social activities were expensive. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to do a relatively cheap coffee shop trip with my roommates who were pleasant to me.

I had £20 with me to get a cheap cup of coffee and my food shopping for a few weeks. So I headed for the coffee shop. While paying, I pulled out the note and a handful of change and realized I could pay without breaking the note, so I put it back in my pocket. It wasn't until I arrived at the supermarket that I realized the note was gone. What should I do? I was desperate it was the equivalent (相等物) of two weeks of money. My roommates helped me look for the note. However, it was in vain. Finally, I went to school empty-handed.

注意：