河南省南阳市第一中学校2023-2024学年高一下学期7月月考英语试题

南阳一中高一年级2024年春期期末模拟考试 英语试题 第一部分 听力（共两节，满分30分） 第一节（共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分） 听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。 1. How does the man find the problem? A. Very hard. B. Very interesting. C. Too simple. 2. Where are the speakers? A. In a gym. B. In a hospital. C. In a classroom. 3. Who went to the cinema yesterday afternoon? A. Peter. B. Tom. C. Jerry. 4. What did the girl forget? A. The dictionary. B. The school bag. C. The key. 5. How did the man get home? A. By bus. B. By taxi. C. On foot. 第二节（共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分） 听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。 听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。 6. What day is it today? A. Monday. B. Tuesday. C. Wednesday. 7. What can we learn from the conversation? A. The woman has got enough information. B. The man has known the date of the party. C. The woman has a Christmas party to arrange. 听第7段材料， 回答第8、9题。 8. Why did the girl leave the basketball team? A. She was not welcome. B She was bad at basketball C. She was the only female member. 9. What sport does the girl often play now? A. Football. B. Badminton. C. Tennis. 听第8段材料， 回答第10至12题。 10. What is Isabel’s? A. A restaurant. B. A clothes shop. C. A toy shop. 11. Who bought an evening dress yesterday! A. Wendy. B. Cindy. C. Mrs Miles. 12 What are the speakers going to do first? A. Have lunch. B. Go to a party. C. Go to a gas station. 听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。 13. What would the woman like to do? A. Visit Britain. B. Make some food C. Go to a Chinese restaurant. 14. How does the woman find most Chinese food? A. Hot. B. Delicious. C. Tasteless. 15. What does the man want to have? A. Soup. B. Fish and chips. C. Noodles. 16. Where will the speakers probably eat today? A. At a British restaurant. B. At a Chinese restaurant. C. At an American restaurant. 听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。 17. How does the speaker feel about the last fire practice? A. Pleased. B. Frightened. C. Unsatisfied. 18. When will the fire practice start next Monday? A. At 10:15. B. At 9:45. C. At 10:00. 19. What should the students do during the fire practice? A. Take their coats along. B. Open the windows first. C. Leave through the front door. 20. Where should the students get together during the fire practice? A. Near the library. B. Near the car park. C. Near the school building 第二部分 阅读（共两节，满分50分） 第一节（共15小题；每小题2.5分，满分37.5分） 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项 A Which book should you read based on your next travel destination? As you’re traveling around Amsterdam, read “The Fault in Our Stars”. There’s also a film version of this book. Amazon Previously adapted into a film in 2014, John Green’s story of star-crossed teenagers famously includes a trip to Amsterdam. The Anne Frank House and The Rijks museum are two of many major destinations mentioned in the book. Plus, the bench from the film adaption of this novel has even become its own tourist spot. Bring “One Hundred Years of Solitude” to read in South America The book is set in South America. Amazon A significant work of literature, Gabriel García Márquez’s classic follows generations of the Buendía family as they live in their South-American town. García Márquez’s magical realism paired with his lush descriptions make the book a perfect read for visiting some of the breathtaking sights of South America. “Call Me by Your Name” by André Aciman should perhaps be read in the summertime, in Italy. The novel is set in part of Italy. Amazon André Aciman’s novel is said to take place in the Northern-Italian seaside region of Liguria. And if you’ve seen the 2017 coming-of-age film adaptation of the book, you’ll already know the story depicts beautiful summers in Northern Italy, complete with seaside encounters and lush greenery. If you’re visiting New York City, enter the mind of Holden Caulfield. The book mentions plenty of NYC landmarks. Penguin Books “The Catcher in the Rye” is a classic tale of a lost teenager’s unplanned trip to New York City. In the JD-Salinger novel Holden visits a nightclub in the East Village, goes ice skating in Rockefeller Center, and takes his sister to the Central Park Zoo. “Midnight’s Children” is a fantastical novel that illuminates some of the histories of India. The book features plenty of magical elements. Amazon Salman Rushdie’s story begins at midnight, on the night of India’s independence, when the 1,001 children born that hour are found to possess magical powers. Featuring lush imagery and magical realism, the book is set during 20th-century India. 1. What do “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Call Me by Your Name” have in common? A. They were set in summer seaside. B. They included famous characters. C. They highlighted local destination. D. They were once adapted into films. 2. What makes “One Hundred Years of Solitude” a must to read during the trip to South America? A. The vivid description combined with magical realism. B. The breathtaking sights described in this work. C. The generations living in the South-America town. D. The work’s significance in modern literature. 3. Which is you best choice if you are going to New York City? A. “Midnight’s Children” B. “Call Me by Your Name” C. “The Catcher in the Rye” D. “The Fault in Our Stars” B When Aaron Friedland was entering a master’s program in economics at the University of British Columbia, he decided to research whether the distance to school is a major factor leading to higher school dropout rates. So he spent two months living in a rural community in Uganda, regularly trekking (长途跋涉) with a group of kids who walked five miles each day round trip for their education. He deeply felt the hardships of this journey to school. The experience resulted in more than that planned research paper. He founded a nonprofit The Walking School Bus, dedicated to improving access to education, and he started a crowdfunding campaign to publish this children’s book he wrote with the same title. Set in South Africa, his story follows siblings Shaka and Nandi. Their father works far away and their mother’s work keeps her in their village. So the kids have no one to walk them to school. The trip is long and dangerous for just two kids. They find inspiration from a toy school bus in the sand. They finally succeed when they realize they can find safety in numbers with other kids and form a walking school bus. Over the past few years, the nonprofit took off. The book, however, never made it into print until this year. That original text was an unwieldy 128 pages when Friedland brought it to the publisher Greystone Books. “They said, ‘It’s a great idea, but no,’” explains Friedland, who needed to figure out how to rewrite it in a more accessible format. A solution emerged when he connected with Ndileka Mandela. The story resonated with her, and they joined forces on a new version. I wondered what kids who have an easy commute to school would think of this book. I asked my 8-year-old American daughter — who only needs to walk 10 minutes to her elementary school — to read it. Her reaction: “Kids can be very imaginative and creative, and sometimes you just need more people to be able to get where you want to go. Those kids were really willing to go out of their way to get some education.” 4. What did Friedland want to figure out initially? A. How the distance to school impacted attendance rates. B. How the students in rural community attended school. C. How the school responded to increasing dropout rate. D. How the program helped to improve access to education. 5. Which of the following best describe Friedland? A. Suspicious and honest. B. Curious and devoted. C. Brave and sympathetic. D. Caring and determined. 6. What does the underlined word “resonated” in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A. Boost confidence. B. Arouse sympathy. C. Break new ground. D. Earn reputation. 7. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text? A. To raise the awareness of education. B. To introduce a children’s book. C. To encourage kids to walk together. D. To share an unforgettable experience. C Over a hundred years after it sank near Antarctica, the ship of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton has been found using underwater robots. In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his 27 members left England in a wooden sailing ship called the Endurance. Shackleton hoped to become the first to cross Antarctica. But in 1915, the Endurance became trapped in the thick ice over the Weddell Sea. The ice broke the Endurance and later sank it. Then the ship’s captain kept accurate records of the ship’s position, and the ship’s photographer even took pictures of it as it went down. But the ship, deep in the icy waters near Antarctica, had never been found. On Wednesday, a search team called “Endurance 22” announced it had located the ship. The Endurance was found 3 kilometers below the ocean’s surface, about 6 kilometers south of its last known position. According to the Endurance 22 team’s report, the name can be clearly read on the back of the ship, and its wheel looks ready to be turned. Though the ship is made of wood, it has survived with little damage. Scientists say that the small organisms(微生物) that normally break down wooden objects underwater don’t live in the cold waters around Antarctica. The team ran the project from an ice-breaking ship. To locate the Endurance, the team used two underwater robots called Sabertooths. The robots could travel by themselves under the ice and go where the ship could not. For the last two weeks, the Sabertooth robots have been searching the sea floor in a 390-square kilometer area. The robots were looking for anything above the sea floor. Last Saturday, the ship was found. Once the ship was located, the Sabertooths used high-quality cameras to record the Endurance in detail. Antarctica’s waters are protected by an international agreement, which means the ship can’t be disturbed. So the Endurance 22 team plans to create a digital 3D model of the wreck(失事) site. This will allow scientists to study the ship in detail without disturbing it. 8. Why did the Endurance 22 team know the ship5s possible position? A. They had first-class robots. B. The captain kept a good record. C. Polar explorers recalled the details. D. The icy waters of the ship have changed. 9. What is the Endurance found to be like? A. It is in excellent shape. B. It is trapped in hard ice. C. It is in poor condition. D. It has gone beyond recognition. 10. What plays the most important role in finding the Endurance? A. Luck. B. Patience. C. Weather. D. Technology. 11. What is the best title for the text? A. “Endurance 22” Announced a Great Discovery B. A Polar Explorers’ Ship Found After Over 100 Years C. Untold Finding of Antarctic Explorer Ernest Shackleton D. New Results of the Sabertooth Robots’ Underwater Search D The mass death of flying foxes in extreme heat in North Queensland last month underlines the importance of University of Queensland wildlife research released today. The UQ research sheds light on how various species have responded to major climate events. A study led by UQ School of Earth and Environmental Science researcher Dr Sean Maxwell has spent more than 70 years recording the responses of various species. “The growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, droughts and floods is causing unpredictable and immediate changes to ecosystems and blocking existing management efforts,” Dr Maxwell said. “Some of the negative responses we recorded were quite concerning, including more than 100 cases of dramatic population declines and 31 cases of local population extinction following an extreme event.” “Critically endangered bird species in Hawaii, such as the palia, have been annihilated due to drought, leaving none of its kind, and lizard species have been wiped out due to cyclones in the Bahamas.” Cyclones were the most common extreme event for birds, fish, plants and reptiles, while mammals and amphibians(两栖动物)were most responsive to drought events, with drought leading to 12 cases of major population decline in mammals. Drought also led to 13 cases of breeding declines in bird populations and 12 cases of changes in the composition of invertebrate(无脊椎动物)communities. UQ Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science director Professor James Watson said the detailed information would help affect ecosystem management. “The research clearly shows species will respond, often negatively, to extreme events,” Professor Watson said. “As climate change continues to ensure extreme climate and weather events are more and more common, we now need to act to ensure species have the best chance to survive. Wherever possible, high quality and complete habitat areas should be preserved, as these are the places where species are most resilient(易恢复的)to increasing exposure to extreme events.” 12. How was the UQ research conducted? A. By observing extreme weather events. B. By protecting the endangered species. C. By recording reactions of animals to extreme climate. D. By analyzing the reason why mass animal death happened. 13. What does the underlined word “annihilated” in paragraph 4 probably mean? A. destroyed B. declined C. decreased D. distinct 14. Which of the following sentences is true about extreme weather events? A. Drought caused 13 cases of extinction in bird populations. B. Drought caused 12 cases of population decline in mammals. C. Birds and mammals are most responsive to cyclones. D. Cyclones wiped out populations of lizard. 15. What is the best title of the passage? A. UQ Wildlife Research B. Extreme Weather Events are Threatening C. Ecosystem Management Counts D. Negative Responses to extreme weather events 第二节（共5小题；每小题2.5分，满分12.5分） 阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 What’s the use of language? Why does the human race learn to speak, write, and sign? ____16____ Certainly the primary purpose of language is for communication. We use language to communicate our ideas and opinions to each other. We use it to tell others our thoughts. Sometimes we tell the truth. Sometimes we tell lies. But in all these cases, the basic aim is clear: to get the ideas in our head into someone else’s head. ____17____ But there are several other uses of language where the basic aim has nothing to do with communicating ideas. ____18____ Earlier in the book, I talked about accents and dialects. These tell people who we are and where we come from. In both ways we express our identities. Here’s another use of language: to express our emotions. Imagine you’re hammering a nail into a piece of wood, but something goes wrong and you hit your finger instead. What will come out of your mouth? ____19____ But quite a few would shout, “Stupid hammer!” as if it was the hammer’s fault. What sort of language is this? The hammer doesn’t have a brain, so it can’t possibly understand us. So what are we doing? Actually, we just want to get rid of our nervous energy. By shouting at the hammer, we feel a bit better. We also use language to avoid embarrassment and get on with other people. Imagine people sometimes say such things as “Looks like rain” or “Lovely day” when they meet each other. They don’t want to start a proper conversation, but they feel it would be rude to pass by in silence. ____20____ A. Therefore, they make a comment on the weather. B. One of these uses of language is to express identity. C. Of course, if you’re very brave you might not say anything. D. It shows that we’re getting on well with the people we’re talking to. E. And for that to happen, we must speak them, write them, or sign them. F. We might think the answer is very simple: to communicate with each other. G. Rather a large number of people, I suspect, would shout out something bad. 第三部分 语言运用（共两节，满分30分） 第一节（共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分） 阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B，C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。 When I suggested my 13-year-old try tennis, she quickly shot me down. “I’m not ____21____ , so stop trying to get me to do sports,” Julianna said. I suggested it because some of my recent happiest memories were of playing ping-pong with her. Tennis seemed like a natural progression from ping-pong and a great way to ____22____ some of her growing teen worries on a larger playing field. But my suggestion was always met with ____23____. Still, I was undiscouraged. I was convinced that ____24____ some physical energy would help Julianna. I’ve seen how sports help deal with stress. It ____25____ for me when I was a teenage girl. Midway through summer, we stayed at home one afternoon, really bored. “Do you want to play tennis?” I asked. “Sure,” she said. Arriving at the ____26____ , we set down our bags, picked up our rackets (球拍), and ____27____ towards our sides of the court. The net felt like the visual representation of a growing ____28____ between us — I desiring a connection and my teenage daughter longing for independence. I started by hitting a ball over the net, and Julianna took a big swing and ____29____ . We repeated this several more times. I resisted the ____30____ to tell her she was ____31____ the racket too close to the neck or to step more into her forehand. We just repeated the ____32____ of me hitting the ball and her missing it a few times before she finally got it back over the net. “This is fun,” she said with a mixture of surprise and joy and then she smiled ____33____ . Now we always find time to play tennis. We’re both eager for an activity that can ____34____ tensions between us in daily life. It’s nice to have a place where both of us can release our ____35____ feelings and let them go. 21. A. mindful B. incredible C. sporty D. refreshed 22. A. knock out B. work out C. figure out D. leave out 23. A. agreement B. insight C. resistance D. isolation 24. A. releasing B. identifying C. reproducing D. nurturing 25. A. emerged B. shone C. interfered D. worked 26. A. parking B. court C. source D. milestone 27. A. dragged B. turned C. inched D. headed 28. A. divide B. hate C. affection D. objective 29. A. acquired B. fell C. missed D. grabbed 30. A. imagination B. alternative C. urge D. appeal 31. A. holding B. scratching C. removing D. charging 32. A. illustration B. pattern C. measurement D. frequency 33. A. desperately B. disappointedly C. specifically D. widely 34. A. fuel B. target C. transmit D. ease 35. A. relevant B. negative C. prospective D. personalized 第二节（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分） 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。 Marshall Helm, ____36____ 80-year-old Air Force ex-soldier from Salem, Illinois, had been walking his granddaughter to the bus stop early in the morning when the bus driver drew his attention to the smoke and flames ____37____ (arise) from the house next door. Helm ran over to the endangered home and threw open the garage door only ____38____ (find) flames climbing up one of the building ____39____ (wall). Though the Vietnam ex-soldier has been battling cancer, he did not hesitate to charge past the flames and into the house so he could make sure his neighbors ____40____ (be) safe. Gary and Kathy Benjamin had been sleeping upstairs when they ___41___ (awake) to hear Helm shouting about the fire. Although they were ___42___ (confuse) by the noise, they managed to run into the hallway and escape with Helm ____43____ the backdoor just as the flames were filling the garage door ____44____ he had come in only a minute before. Thanks to Helm’s quick actions, the Benjamins suffered only minor smoke intake—and even though they lost their home in the fire, they are _____45_____ (simple) grateful to Helm for saving their lives. “Lifesaver—lifesaver is all I can say,” Mr. Benjamin told KMOV. His wife added, “Hero, he’s our angel.” 第四部分 写作（共两节，满分40分） 第一节（满分15分） 46. 假定你是学生会主席李华，你校将举行主题为“My Youth, My Dram”的英语演讲比赛，请你给外教Sara写一封邮件，邀请她担任评委。内容包括： 1.比赛目，时间和地点； 2.邀请她的原因； 3.期待她的参与。 注意：1.词数80左右； 2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯； 3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。 Dear Sara, ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Yours. Li Hua 第二节（满分25分） 47. 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。 My story began in one autumn morning, as I rounded a bend on the path to school. I was 13 years old, and was on the way to school. It was the first time I had caught sight of a fox. Fascinated to the point that I forgot all fear, I dared to go up to it. I had never come so close to a wild animal. There was nobody else around, only me and the fox. “Hey, fox!” I tried to greet it, though my voice was so weak it felt like I was saying hello to myself. It didn’t hear me. It stayed there and I watched it. My heart was beating fast. It was so cute. For a moment, I thought I might be able to touch it. Throughout the day at school, I could only think of the fox at the big tree. At my return to the place where we met, I was sure I’d find it there. And I did. This time I gathered a little bit more courage and called out to it,“Fox!”Of course it escaped. But that only made me long to meet it again. I decided that if I could find its cave (洞) and catch it, I would try to tame (驯服) it, making it my friend. Thus, I spent most of my free time in the forests trying to find the fox during the following months. But I never saw it again before winter came. During the winter, I followed its footprints far across the fields. Suddenly I was alarmed by the calling of wolves near me. I ran away frighteningly, stumbled and hurt my ankle. It recovered very slowly, so that I had to stay at home during the winter, reading a book about animals of the forest and foxes. When spring arrived, I was free again. I looked for fox caves and waited for my fox. To my amazement, it had got young ones but kept moving because of my observations; therefore I decided to observe the fox from a longer distance. 注意： 1.续写词数应为150个左右； 2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。 One day, as I sat quietly at the door, the fox cautiously approached. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ But to my surprise, the day after I brought it home, it escaped. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1-5ABAAC 6-10ACACB 11-15BCCBB 16-20ACBCA 南阳一中高一年级2024年春期期末模拟考试 英语试题 第一部分 听力（共两节，满分30分） 第一节（共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分） 听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。 1. How does the man find the problem? A. Very hard. B. Very interesting. C. Too simple. 2. Where are the speakers? A. In a gym. B. In a hospital. C. In a classroom. 3. Who went to the cinema yesterday afternoon? A. Peter. B. Tom. C. Jerry. 4. What did the girl forget? A. The dictionary. B. The school bag. C. The key. 5. How did the man get home? A. By bus. B. By taxi. C. On foot. 第二节（共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分） 听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。 听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。 6. What day is it today? A. Monday. B. Tuesday. C. Wednesday. 7. What can we learn from the conversation? A. The woman has got enough information. B. The man has known the date of the party. C. The woman has a Christmas party to arrange. 听第7段材料， 回答第8、9题。 8. Why did the girl leave the basketball team? A. She was not welcome. B. She was bad at basketball C. She was the only female member. 9. What sport does the girl often play now? A. Football. B. Badminton. C. Tennis. 听第8段材料， 回答第10至12题。 10. What is Isabel’s? A. A restaurant. B. A clothes shop. C. A toy shop. 11. Who bought an evening dress yesterday! A. Wendy. B. Cindy. C. Mrs Miles. 12. What are the speakers going to do first? A. Have lunch. B. Go to a party. C. Go to a gas station. 听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。 13. What would the woman like to do? A. Visit Britain. B. Make some food C. Go to a Chinese restaurant. 14. How does the woman find most Chinese food? A. Hot. B. Delicious. C. Tasteless. 15. What does the man want to have? A. Soup. B. Fish and chips. C. Noodles. 16. Where will the speakers probably eat today? A. At a British restaurant. B. At a Chinese restaurant. C. At an American restaurant. 听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。 17. How does the speaker feel about the last fire practice? A. Pleased. B. Frightened. C. Unsatisfied. 18. When will the fire practice start next Monday? A. At 10:15. B. At 9:45. C. At 10:00. 19. What should the students do during the fire practice? A. Take their coats along. B. Open the windows first. C. Leave through the front door. 20. Where should the students get together during the fire practice? A. Near the library. B. Near the car park. C. Near the school building 第二部分 阅读（共两节，满分50分） 第一节（共15小题；每小题2.5分，满分37.5分） 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项 A 【1~3题答案】 【答案】1. D 2. A 3. C B 【4~7题答案】 【答案】4. A 5. D 6. B 7. B C 【8~11题答案】 【答案】8. B 9. A 10. D 11. B D 【12~15题答案】 【答案】12. C 13. A 14. B 15. D 第二节（共5小题；每小题2.5分，满分12.5分） 阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 【16~20题答案】 【答案】16. F 17. E 18. B 19. C 20. A 第三部分 语言运用（共两节，满分30分） 第一节（共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分） 阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B，C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。 【21~35题答案】 【答案】21. C 22. B 23. C 24. A 25. D 26. B 27. D 28. A 29. C 30. C 31. A 32. B 33. D 34. D 35. B 第二节（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分） 【36~45题答案】 【答案】36. an 37. arising 38. to find 39. walls 40. were 41. awoke 42. confused 43. through 44. where 45. simply 第四部分 写作（共两节，满分40分） 第一节（满分15分） 【46题答案】 【答案】Dear Sara, On behalf of the Student Union, I’m writing to invite you to judge our English speech contest. This contest entitled “My Youth, My Dream” aims to strengthen students’ motivation for pursuing their dreams. We believe that the contest will set off a wave of positive energy among the students. It will be held at 8:00 am on February 23rd in our lecture hall. As you are an expert in life planning, your knowledge and experience will provide us with access to valuable insights and advice. Your participation would be worthwhile and highly appreciated. We are desperate for your early reply. Yours, Li Hua 第二节（满分25分） 【47题答案】 【答案】One day, as I sat quietly at the door, the fox cautiously approached. I held my breath, not wanting to startle the little creature. As it came closer, I could see the trust in its eyes, and I knew that it had got accustomed to my presence and that our bond had deepened. Over time, I was able to bring it food and even stroke its fur and occasionally, it would huddle peacefully against me as we sat on the green grass, like two old friends. And just like what I’d do to an old friend who seemed to need help, I took it home, thinking I could better take care of it and we could better enjoy each other’s company. But to my surprise, the day after I brought it home, it escaped. It jumped out of an open window and in no time vanished into the woods. As I watched it slip away, with a nimbleness and grace that was a joy to behold, darting through the underbrush with a fluidity that spoke of its wild nature, I suddenly realized that perhaps the wild called to it more strongly than I ever could. I should never have tried to keep it as a tame pet, because wild creatures were supposed to be roaming in their own home, rather than being confined in mine. I didn’t see it then — not even with the help of that book about foxes, but now, on looking back, I know that my self-acclaimed “love” for it was not love at all, but possession. 1-5ABAAC 6-10ACACB 11-15BCCBB 16-20ACBCA 第1页/共1页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$