浙江省温州市强基联盟2025-2026学年高二上学期12月月考英语试题

Any parking permit issued by Yale University must be displayed. If you drive another vehicle without a permit, it is your duty to inform the Parking Department.

All cars parked on University property must be registered, insured, and operable.

Members of the Yale community who drive to work and do not participate in the Yale parking program are strongly discouraged from parking on residential streets in neighborhoods around Yale's campus. Yale supports New Haven's residential parking zones which help ensure adequate parking for New Haven residents. Official punishments such as tickets, towing, and booting (锁车轮) of vehicles may result from breaking the parking rules. Please contact the Yale Parking Office for assistance with your parking needs.

Alternatives to Parking on Campus

Call or email CTrides to determine if there's a more cost-effective and sustainable way for you to get to campus.

If you decide not to park on campus, or want to stop using your parking permit to use public transportation instead, you'll receive:

       * Savings on the cost of your monthly bus pass through pre-tax payroll deduction (减免).

       * A Guaranteed Ride Home for carpoolers (搭车人) in case of emergencies.

       * Three free parking stays per month.

       * Six months to get back your current parking space if you don't wish to use public transportation.

As always, you can count on the free Yale campus bus to get around during the day, and use a car anytime if you become a Zipcar Member.

Addressed in fading ink to "Rev. F.E. Ball and family," it arrived at a house long empty of that name. Yet for Postmaster Mark Thompson, the precious artifact was more than lost mail; it was a piece of a life, and he felt a responsibility to see the story delivered.

The mystery of the delayed message and its mysterious sender, "Alan", soon caught the attention of the town. The search was taken up by Terry Carbone, a retired genealogist (系谱学家), and soon the LaSalle County Genealogy Guild, a historical group of the town, joined the search. Acting as detectives of time, they searched carefully through old files and records, patiently weaving together clues from a disappeared world. Their work revealed a clear figure: the sender was Dr. Alan Ball, now 88, retired and living over 1,700 miles away in Sandpoint, Idaho.

When a journalist called to explain the postcard's journey, Alan laughed with surprised delight at the strange poetry of time. Soon after, a postal worker in Sandpoint placed the relic in his hands. "Sorry it's so late," she smiled.

The brief message, penned by a teenager on a stopover (中途停留) in New York on his way to Puerto Rico, had finally come home. It read "We are now in the UN building — extremely modern throughout." A young Alan, who had saved for the trip by doing all kinds of part-time jobs, had mailed it to let his parents know he had arrived that far. He never knew it had disappeared, but thanks to the efforts of strangers who believed some stories are worth finishing, the loop was closed across the miles and years.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota studied hundreds of interviews Swift gave between 2008 and 2019. They focused on three important times in her life: her country music years in Nashville, a transition period, and her pop star years in New York City.

The study found clear proof that her accent adapted to where she was living. While in Nashville, Swift began speaking with hints of a Southern accent. For example, she pronounced words like "ride" in a way that sounded more like "rod". This is a common feature in Southern dialects. When she moved away from Tennessee, this way of speaking faded.

Another change was the pitch (音高) of her speaking voice. During her time in New York, her voice became significantly deeper. The researchers suggest this might have been a conscious choice to sound more confident and authoritative, as she began speaking out strongly on social issues. However, they also note that voices can naturally get a little lower as people age from their teens into their thirties.

This study shows that our accents are more flexible than we might think. They can change based on our community, career, and even the image we want to project. For a global superstar like Taylor Swift, her voice is a tool that has evolved with her career. Fans have even guessed that this is why she waited to re - record her first album — she'd have to bring back a country accent that wasn't her natural way of speaking. The research highlights that how we talk is often a reflection of where we are in life, both physically and socially.

Previously, scientists thought these star-shaped cells just provided support to neurons (神经元), the brain's main nerve cells that create memories. However, research published in Nature shows astrocytes play a much more active role. They help lock in emotional memories for the long term and could be a new target for treating memory disorders like PTSD and Alzheimer's disease.

To test this, researchers studied mice learning to fear a specific cage where they received a mild, unpleasant shock. They tracked a gene called Fos, which acts as a marker of cell activity when a memory is formed.

The surprise came when the mice returned to the cage days later. While recalling the fearful memory, their astrocytes became highly active in brain regions like the amygdala, the emotion center. This activity was much stronger during the memory recall than during the initial scary event.

The researchers found that after an emotional experience, astrocytes produce special "receptors" on their surface. These receptors act like tags, marking the cells as part of an important memory network. This process takes hours or days, which is exactly how long it takes for a memory to become stable (稳定的).

"This is revolutionary for neuroscience," said Maite Solas Zubiaurre, a neuroscientist at the University of Navarra in Spain, who was not involved in the study. The long-standing belief was that only neurons stored memories. This discovery "will bring about new methods of treating some memory problems", potentially by targeting astrocytes to improve memory in health and disease.

Get morning sunlight

Start your day with sunlight. Open your blinds or go outside for 20 minutes in the morning. Sunlight is like a reset button for your body's 24-hour clock. It stops your brain from making melatonin (褪黑素), so you feel awake and ready for the day. 

Skip afternoon coffee

 Even if you think it doesn't affect you, its effects last 5-7 hours. A 4 p.m. latte means half the caffeine is still in your body at bedtime — making it harder to get deep sleep. Stick to caffeine only in the morning!

Working out helps you sleep better by reducing stress and tiring your body. Even small amounts of activity work — one study found older adults who exercised more slept an hour extra each night. Eating well (like fruits, veggies, and whole grains) also cuts stress and boosts sleep!

Keep your bedroom screen-free

Phones, iPads, and TVs give off light that stops melatonin production.  Research shows reading on an iPad blocks more melatonin than a real book. Make your bedroom a calm, dark place just for sleep.

A. Exercise regularly

B. Eat enough vegetables

C. Caffeine blocks the "sleepy chemical" in your brain

D. Replace screens with a paper book or magazine before bed

E. Studies show morning light helps you fall asleep faster at night

F. Caffeine from tea is milder than coffee, so an afternoon cup of tea won't impact sleep

G. Poor sleep can make you more anxious, sad, gain weight, or even hurt your memory long-term

One evening, an American girl named Talia crossed the road. We discovered we3 the same birthday — November 19th, which created an immediate4. A friendship5from this coincidence (巧合). Her daily6 brought cookies, video games, and wonderful conversations. Most significantly, she became the first person to show me the ocean, and its vastness filled me with awe and7 my world.

When Talia returned to America, we promised to8. Her faithful letters became a lifeline, connecting us across the9. Through this correspondence (通信), her family learned about my life and invited me to visit. This journey opened my new10, introducing me to amusement parks, baseball, and extraordinary11. Their support continued through my university education in engineering.

Their belief12 a life that was headed for poverty and ignorance. I worked hard, and then started my own company. Years later, I was invited to13 scholars at a MIT conference as one of their top innovators under 35. The14 friendship that began by a dusty road had15 a life transformed. All this was because a girl who was born on the same day as me crossed the road.

After the conference, I revisited Talia and her family. Only this time, I paid for my own journey.

Chinese food has become a fundamental part of American culture. This journey began in the mid-1800s Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States. At the time, America lacked a strong national food identity, China, which had a rich culinary (烹饪的) history. Chinese immigrants brought their cooking skills and traditions with them.

In the 20th century, a dish called Chop Suey became (huge) popular. Meaning "odds and ends", it was a stir-fry of meat, eggs, and vegetables, (serve) with rice. This dish is a classic example of Chinese-American fusion (融合), created (suit) local tastes. Cheap and (taste), these restaurants became (favorite) in cities. Despite their popularity, the number of Chinese restaurants was limited.

major turning point was a change in U.S. immigration laws, which brought chefs from different regions, introducing Americans to diverse styles like Sichuan and Hunan cuisine.

The result is a lasting culinary legacy. Today, there are over 45,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., a number that (be) more than all the major American fast-food chains combined. As one commentator noted, there's "nothing so all-American as Chinese food", (prove) it is now a staple (主要食物) of the national diet.

1.你的经历;

2.你的感受。

注意：

1.写作词数应为 80 左右;

2.开头已给出。

Good morning, everyone!_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The distance between my grandson Leo and me had grown slowly but surely since he started high school. His world was now full of new friends, sports games, and the bright screen of his phone, which he looked at all the time. I felt like a background character in his life, a person he saw every day but only gave a quick nod to before rushing off.

The space between us grew wider one Tuesday afternoon. He had his friends over, and their loud laughter and talking filled the living room. Hoping to feel close to him again, I brought in a plate of his favorite cookies, still warm and soft. Seeing him so relaxed on the couch, I was hit by a strong memory of when he was small. I reached out and affectionately ran my fingers through his carefully styled hair. "Who's my favorite boy?" I asked, my voice soft.

The room went quiet at once. Leo moved back quickly, as if my touch was hot, his face turning a deep red. He pushed my hand away. "Grandma, stop it! It's so embarrassing!" he whispered, his voice tight and angry. A few laughs from his friends made my own face feel hot with shame. I said I was sorry quietly and walked out. The sound of their happy talking started again, and it made me feel like I was a joke to them.

A week later, on my birthday, I thought it would be a very quiet day. But I heard banging and mumbling from the kitchen. The scene there was a beautiful mess. Leo stood in the middle of it, with flour (面粉) dust on his clothes and a tired look on his face. He was staring sadly at a cake that was black on top and had sunk in the middle. He'd tried to make a birthday cake for me, but something had gone very wrong. "I followed the exact steps," he mumbled, his eyes looking wet, as he pointed to a recipe on his messy phone.

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。

Seeing his despair, I decided to help.

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As we put the finished cake on the table, he finally spoke.

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