周末加油站（Ⅰ）

Task 1

Word on the street is that gossip（流言） is the worst. An Ann Landers advice column once characterized it as “the faceless ghost that breaks hearts and ruins careers”. The Talmud describes it as a sword that kills three people： the teller， the listener， and the person being gossiped about. And Blaise Pascal observed， not unreasonably， that if people really knew what others said about them， there would not be four friends left in the world. Convincing as these remarks seem， however， a significant body of research suggests that gossip may in fact be healthy.

Despite gossips evil reputation， a surprisingly small share of it—as little as 3 to 4 percent—is actually malicious（不懷好意的）. And even that portion can bring people together. Researchers at the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma found that if two people share negative feelings about a third person， they are likely to feel closer to each other than they would if they both felt positively about him or her.

Gossip may even make us better people. A team of Dutch researchers reported that positive gossip inspired self?improvement efforts， and negative gossip made people prouder of themselves. In another study， the worse participants felt upon hearing a piece of negative gossip， the more likely they were to say they had learned a lesson from it.

By far the most positive assessment of gossip， though， comes from the psychologist Robin Dunbar. In his account， our primate ancestors bonded through grooming（梳理毛发） their mutual backs—scratching ensuring mutual self?defense in the event of attack by enemies. But as they grew more intelligent and more social， their groups became too large to unite by grooming alone. Thats where language—and gossip， broadly defined—stepped in.

So the next time youre about to gossip about others， fear not—you may actually be promoting cooperation， boosting others self?esteem， and performing the essential task of the human family.

1. What can we learn from the remarks of gossip？

A. Gossip involves three people. B. Gossip will kill three people.

C. People will get hurt because of gossip. D. Only three friends remain because of gossip.

2. What did researchers at the University of Texas find？

A. Positive feelings make people become self?satisfied.

B. Malicious gossip draws people together.

C. Negative gossip makes people feel bad.

D. Gossip makes people better.

3. What do we learn from the report of Dutch researchers？

A. Gossip is the worst in some way.

B. Positive gossip helps people improve themselves.

C. Negative gossip helps people promote cooperation.

D. The more negative the gossip is， the more useful it will be.

4. What is Robin Dunbars account about？

A. Gossip is in fact powerful.

B. Gossip unites our ancestors together.

C. Gossip helps our ancestors defend themselves.

D. Gossip comes from our ancestors grooming.

Task 2

Writing a simple college application letter

The letter that helps determine whether or not you will be accepted to the college of your choice is a big feat.1No specific letter?writing approach can promise that you will get admission， but a few tips help you to have a better chance of obtaining acceptance.

Convey why you want to attend.

The main thing the letter needs to convey is why you want to attend this specific college. It is important not to embellish（潤饰） too much and end up sounding unrealistic.2

Market yourself.

Every college has a type of student that they specifically look for.3Clearly， you must mention the academic qualifications you have. While applications do look at academics， admittance is not all based on a persons academic standing.

4

After talking about why you are perfect for the college， start focusing on what the college offers that is good for you. You can focus on anything from the local art club to the desire to be a part of the football team. Keep in mind that there will be thousands of other individuals who have great greats applying as well.

Double?check the letter.

5Have others look over the letter and make sure it is error free. While it may be a pain， a well spelled letter does impress the admissions counselors.

A. So market yourself as that student.

B. Thank you for your attention to my application.

C. Clarify that you have something unique to offer.

D. This letter is a formal request for admission.

E. The admissions process has increasingly become more competitive.

F. Honestly lay out all the reasons why you think this college is perfect for you.

G. The worst thing you can do is submit a letter with grammatical or spelling mistakes.

Task 3

One spring morning many years ago， I had been searching for gold along Coho Creek on southeastern Alaskas Kupreanof Island when I found a huge Alaskan wolf— 1in the trap.

Confused and frightened at my2 ， the wolf backed away. The wolf was3suffering. Each time I moved in her4 ， she gave out a howl （嚎叫）.

I spotted a leg of a dead deer and threw it to the wolf. I whispered in a5tone， “OK， your dinner is6 . ”

Over the next few days， I7my time between searching and trying to win the wolfs8 . I talked gently with her. I was careful to remain beyond the9of her chain. The big animal never took her dark eyes off me. I said， “You want to go back to your friends on the mountain. Relax.” Then I slowly placed my hand on the wolfs10leg. She backed but made no11move. I applied pressure， and the trap was opened. The wolf was12 .

Slowly， she sniffed（嗅） my hands and arms. I was13 . This went against everything Id ever heard about wolves. Yet， strangely， it all seemed so14 .

After a while， the wolf was ready to15and began to run toward the forest.

Four years later， I returned to Coho Creek. There， standing on a rock， I gave out a long， low wolf

16 . Then， far off， I saw a dark17moving slowly in my direction. I knew at once that familiar shape. The wolf stopped a few yards off， her tail wagging18

I left Kupreanof Island a short time after that， and I never saw the animal again. But the19she left with me will always be there， a reminder that there are things in nature that exist outside the laws and20of man.

1. A. caught B. moved C. appealed D. touched

2. A. warmth B. companion C. approach D. luck

3. A. rarely B. clearly C. previously D. suddenly

4. A. construction B. expression C. direction D. introduction

5. A. careful B. curious C. sudden D. gentle

6. A. behaved B. managed C. added D. served

7. A. divided B. explored C. counted D. knew

8. A. chance B. trust C. hope D. encouragement

9. A. companion B. example C. length D. warmth

10. A. legal B. injured C. normal D. silent

11. A. promising B. trembling C. acting D. threatening

12. A. brave B. clear C. free D. alive

13. A. astonished B. excited C. touched D. changed

14. A. equal B. natural C. common D. easy

15. A. fit B. grow C. leave D. stay

16. A. call B. lesson C. match D. help

17. A. effort B. shape C. occasion D. surprise

18. A. flexibly B. casually C. obviously D. slightly

19. A. exploration B. joy C. record D. memory

20. A. understanding B. ambition C. prediction D. improvement

Task 4

第一节 语法填空

A capsule carrying a crew of three from the International Space Station returned to Earth Thursday. They came down 1. （safe） in Kazakhstan.

One of the three was Christina Koch of the United States. She spent a total of 328 days in space. That broke the record for the 2. （long） continuous stay in space by a woman. During her time 3. the International Space Station， Koch traveled over 223 million kilometers. That is how far you would travel if you go to the moon and back 291 times. Kochs task in space began on March 14， 2019. Since then， she 4. （leave） the space station and completed “spacewalks” six times.

Koch made history on October 18 by 5. （work） outside the space station with another female astronaut， Jessica Meir. It was the first walk in space by 6. all?female team. One reason this has not happened before is that the space station had only one spacesuit 7. was the right size for a woman. Peggy Whitson held the record for the longest space flight by a woman until Koch 8. （break） it in December.

The US space agency NASA says Kochs task will provide researchers with the chance

9. （see） the effects of a long?duration spaceflight on a woman. The space agency is also preparing for the human 10.

（explore） of the planet Mars.

第二节 书面表达

你受校学生会委托为你校的国际生写一则有关野生动物保护的通知，请大家观看一部英文短片How to Protect Wild Animals，内容包括：

1. 短片内容;

2. 放映时间、地点;

3. 欢迎对短片提出意见。

注意：

1. 詞数100左右;

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。