广东省广州市越秀区育才中学2025-2026学年高二上学期期中考试英语试题

AMHS International Dinner FAQs

Saturday, November 5,6-8pm

What is this event?

International dinner is a celebration of culture and diversity within the Magnet community, complete with entertainment from some of Magnet's talented musicians thanks to Mr. Grimshaw!

Who can participate?

Made for all to attend as a community building event.

What does the canteen provide?

The canteen provides the tables, plateware, chafing dishes (保暖锅), serving pans, drinks and gloves. $75.00 will be offered per table to help offset (补偿) food costs.

What do I (or my team) have to provide?

The table for each country (which can be one person or a few people working together) will have to pick a country and provide 2-4 dishes from that country. The dishes should each be made to serve 150 small sample size portions. The pans provided will fit neatly into chafing dishes. Please also bring your own serving containers and any decorations that might enhance the table. Examples would be tablecloths from the country or a small flag from the represented country.

When do I bring the food?

The food should be brought hot (if to be served hot) the night of between 4:45-5:00pm.

Who can volunteer?

Anyone can volunteer — students, parents, supporters. Students can volunteer and will be used as servers and clean up the night of and for set up on Friday, November 4 (3:45-5:30pm). Our biggest need is for people to take a table and bring food for that table. Sign up here.

What is the ticket price?

Ticket price is $15.00 per person or $40.00 for a family.

Questions? email amhsinternationaldinner@gmail.com

AMHS= Academic Magnet High School       FAQs= frequently asked questions

Aware of Aubrey's problem, her band director proposed her for Tech Engineering for Kids, a program which is run through a junior-level engineering course of the Tennessee Tech University. It involves students working in teams to design a form of custom assistive technology for children with special needs. Up to now, they have created toys and devices for children with sensory disorder.

Learning about Aubrey's story, a team of ten engineering students of the program decided to create 3D-printed prostheses (义肢) specifically designed for drumming. They would send a certain design to Aubrey, who would then provide feedback, like "I think this is good, but it's a little bit long. Could it be shortened?' or "It's a little bit hot on my arm. Could you potentially, like, make it a little bit more breathable?" The team created about six iterations of the prostheses until they were satisfied with the final product, which was not only hard-wearing but also flexible, allowing for drumstick attachments on both arms. This innovation not only improved sound quality but also provided the flexibility needed for advanced drumming techniques.

Aubrey was very grateful for this technical solution. "I was really excited that I was going to be able to use the new prostheses and try them out," she remarked. "They are becoming a very useful and resourceful tool to help me with my drumming." With her newfound drumming freedom, Aubrey sets her sights on mastering a full drum set. Meanwhile. Tech Engineering for Kids readies itself to extend its reach, bridging the gap between limitations and ambitions through technology.

But some worry that so much messaging leads to less communication. For instance, when hanging out with friends, we'd be texting secretively at the same time, pretending to maintain eye contact but mentally somewhere else.

New technologies often upset the way we relate to one another, of course. But such division caused by texting has a strong echo in the arguments we had over telephone a hundred years ago. The small device gave us a new way to contact one another and quickly promote new forms of socializing. Callers arranged regular "visiting" calls, dialing remote family to catch up on news.

Soon, though, social critics thought it would be so easy to talk that we'd never leave each other alone. Others worried that the telephone sped up life, demanding instant reactions. The use of the telephone gave little room for reflection. It produced a craziness in the ordinary concerns of life which didn't make for domestic happiness. "We shall soon be nothing but transparent piles of jelly (果冻) to each other," a London writer moaned in 1897.

However, nowadays the telephone call seems like a throwback to a gentler era. When Jenna Birch, a communication professor at the University of Iowa, started dating a man who insisted on calling her on the phone, she found it warm and delightful. So she doesn't think the shift to texting has degraded our interactions. According to her study, teenagers who text the most are also those who spend the most time face to face with friends. Communication, it seems, brings more communication, and — as she argues — just because talk happens in text doesn't mean it's not meaningful.

Michéle Martin of Carleton University, thinks we're living through a replay of the telephone, where the things that made it valuable — instant communications — are the same that made it annoying. "People believe they are liberated because they can bring the mobile phone everywhere," Martin says. "But at the same time, they are slaves to it."

Scientists at Linkoping University in Sweden said that a "brain of gold" might just be what we need to fight nervous system diseases. The plan is to put gold electrodes (电极) into the affected part of the brain. They will act as "telephone operators" between nerve cells and electronic medical devices, enabling communication so that the nervous system can function normally.

Treatment plans that involve connecting medical devices to the brain already exist. However, the electrodes used are usually made of hard metals, while the brain is like a jelly that "shakes" at the body's slightest movement.

"As the body is constantly in motion, achieving close contact between something that is hard and something that is soft and breakable becomes a problem," explained Klas Tybrandt, one of the scientists.

This is why the Swedish scientists are using a new material called "gold nanowires" (金纳米线). As the name suggests, these are long, extremely thin gold threads — 1,000 times thinner than human hair. By putting them into rubber, the scientists have successfully created electrodes that are soft enough to connect comfortably with the human brain.

Gold can be made into structures as small as nanowires. According to Live Science, gold can be stretched, pressed or even rolled into all kinds of shapes without breaking. What's more, gold doesn't react with other chemicals in the human brain, making it a safe choice. Once placed in the brain, gold nanowires can last for at least three years, which is longer than many materials currently in use.

Maintaining a positive mindset allows you to draw in luck. When you expect good things to happen, you are more likely to take risks that could lead to fortunate outcomes. By embracing this positive attitude, you become stronger in the face of challenges. This allows you to try again after failure and find new opportunities.

A wider network leads to more opportunities in your pursuit of fortune. According to psychologist Richard Wiseman, the No. 1 predictor of how many lucky breaks person has is how interconnected they are with others. Additionally, the presence of a supportive community and friendships further enhances your chances of experiencing good fortune.

Many lucky breaks occur as a result of bold (大胆的) actions. Even if you're not typically seen as bold, you can still enhance your confidence. For example, if you're feeling unhappy about your career prospects, polish your resume (简历) and apply to job listings that interest you. By welcoming risks, you create opportunities for luck to find you.

Luck favors those who are willing to consider new ideas. Being open to new concepts can help put your good-luck train on a new and faster track. But remember: Stay realistic. It's not just about the mindset but the consequent actions that will be beneficial.

A. These actions help generate ideas.

B. You also bounce back more quickly.

C. Social connections can affect your luck.

D. However, luck is not just a matter of chance.

E. Actually, luck is something you're born with.

F. Making such a move is tough but well worth it.

G. They are vital to turning opportunities into gains.

We saw an ambulance headed in the same direction as the4 had traveled. Proceeding5 through the woods and across 12th Street, we then hurried to the6 with unease. A group of about five people stood over a figure face down on the sidewalk. When the rescuers7 the victim, we were8 to discover it was our friend Benny. People around were looking up into a big tree for the9 as to what had hit the10 kid, who now had a lump (肿块) on his forehead about the size of a pebble.

At the time, and for years, Arnold and I were11 by guilt and anxiety to12 the whole thing to Benny. But it wasn't until 25 years later that we had Benny to dinner and13 everything. He touched his forehead, but he didn't14 us. He thought, and still thinks. Obviously, he forgot everything! If Benny reads this account, Arnold and I would like to offer him15, saying something we should have said long ago: Sorry!

After exploring every corner of their native city, Hu Sisi and her travel partners wanted to experience something different. So, they (direct) headed to a distillery (酿酒厂).

During their tour of the Shazhou Youhuang Cultural Park in Zhangjiagang, the group learned about the techniques for making huangjiu, a type of Chinese rice wine traditionally (serve) warm.

"Traveling while gaining knowledge is a whole new experience for me," said Hu, a 29-year-old from Suzhou. "All the huangjiu-related products here (be) very unique to the scenic area and unavailable online, which only heightens my desire to buy them."

After first emerging as concept in Europe around the mid-20th century, industrial tourism, involves visiting factories and other sites of industrial heritage, began taking root in China in the late 1990s. Over the years, it has grown into a (profit) section, thanks to growing investment and government support.

The country now has more than l,000 industrial tourism sites nationwide, ranging from the century-old steel plants in the northeast shiny, high-tech electric-vehicle plants in south.

Many cities and provinces have included industrial tourism in their (policy) to boost the local tourism market. For example, Shanghai's three-year tourism development plan, which (release) last February, highlights the potential for transforming abandoned factories into cultural attractions, helping local businesses through ticket sales and spin-offs (周边产品) while (preserve) the city's industrial heritage.

Every weekend, my grandma her old friend who lives in the nearby community, and she usually bring homemade pastries to share.

Words have a powerful effect on your brain, and it influences your action greatly.

Although she always pretends to be tough and independent, , she still hopes to have someone who can support her when she faces difficulties in life.

When a big fire in the shopping mall last night, the security guards immediately activated the fire alarm and guided customers to escape through the emergency exits.

much of his time researching renewable energy technologies, the engineer developed a more efficient solar panel design that reduced production costs by 30%.

内容包括：

1、分析其带来的主要好处及可能存在的弊端；

2、提出自己的简要看法。

写作要求：

1、词数：100词左右。文章标题已给出，不计入字数。

2、内容充实，结构完整，语言流畅。

3、文中不得出现真实的人名和校名。

参考词汇：无人机drone, 自动灌溉automatic irrigation

The Pros and Cons of Smart Agriculture

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