四川南江县实验中学2025-2026学年高二下学期期中考试英语试题

南江县实验中学2025-2026学年度春学期半期考试 高二英语 （考试时间：120分钟 满分：150分） 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段录音。每段录音后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段录音后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段录音播放两遍。 1. What does the woman want to buy? A. Women’s clothes. B. Men’s clothes. C. Sports shoes. 2. Why is the woman going to the sports center? A. To play sports. B. To sing her songs. C. To attend a concert. 3. What subject does the man prefer? A. Physics. B. History. C. Geography. 4. How will the man go to Chicago? A. By car. B. By plane. C. By train. 5. What is the relationship between the two speakers? A. Father and daughter. B. Teacher and student. C. Doctor and patient. 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. Where does the man really want to go? A. Bridge Street. B. Jay Street. C. College Street. 7. How does the man feel in the end? A. Angry. B. Pleasant. C. Doubtful. 听第7段材料，回答第8、9题。 8. What’s the problem with Josh Price’s reservation? A. The restaurant is closed on Saturday. B. The restaurant has no table for 3. C. His preferred time is fully booked. 9. When is Josh Price likely to dine at the restaurant? A. At 5:00. B. At 6:00. C. At 7:30. 听第8段材料，回答第10至12题。 10. Why did the man leave Los Angeles? A. To get a job. B. To go to college. C. To experience a different life. 11. What’s the man’s next plan? A. Moving to Chicago one day. B. Going to Asia in several months. C. Living in New York for a year. 12. Which city does the woman want to settle down? A. Chicago. B. Los Angeles. C. New York City. 听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。 13. How does the woman feel about rock music? A. It never gets boring. B. It’s an emotion. C. It’s something you have to think about. 14. What did the woman look like? A. She had long black hair. B. She had black eyes. C. She wore leather clothes. 15. What was the name of the woman’s band? A. Up Your Alley. B. The Blackhearts. C. Sly and the Family Stone. 16. What does the woman suggest in the end? A. She still wants to perform. B. People still don’t understand her. C. She didn’t actually have much influence. 听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。 17. Why did van Gogh leave school at 15? A. Because he hated school. B. Because he was poor. C. Because he wanted to draw. 18. When did van Gogh start making his own paintings? A. In 1888. B. In 1818. C. In 1880. 19. What did van Gogh’s mental illness cause him to do? A. Cut off his own ear. B. Cut off his own finger. C. Burn up his own paintings. 20. What did van Gogh do in the hospital? A. He fought with others. B. He made his artworks famous. C. He produced The Starry Night. 第二部分 阅读理解（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 Camping — Yellowstone National Park Wanna hit a wonderful campground? There are four choices in Yellowstone National Park. Madison Campground A central location, this site is just 14 miles east of the West Yellowstone entrance and 16 miles north of Old Faithful near the crossroads of the Gibbon, Madison and Firehole Rivers. Showers and sanitary (卫生的) stations are out of reach. Service for group tours is not offered. Canyon Campground You’ ll find this campground close to the breathtaking Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone near the center of the park. Offer stores, restaurants, a coin laundry (洗衣房) and a sanitary station. Showers are easy to reach. Various group tours are at your service. Grant Village Campground This woodsy campground is located at the southwestern edge of Yellowstone Lake, 22 miles north of the South Entrance. Within a half mile, you’ll find stores, restaurants, pay showers, a coin laundry and a sanitary station. Group tours available yet with limits on numbers. Bridge Bay Campground Bridge Bay is situated near Yellowstone lake, 30 miles from the East Entrance to Yellowstone. It’s also conveniently close to Bridge Bay Marina/boat launch and coffee shop. A sanitary station is available. Access to the coin laundry is denied, and showers are under repair. Limited group tours available. Tips & Rules Camping or overnight vehicle parking in picnic areas, picnic grounds, or any place other than a designated (指定的) campground is not permitted. Essential camping facilities need to be booked in advance. However, camping is often available in neighboring communities and forests outside the park. Following the fires of 1988, thousands of dead trees were left standing in Yellowstone. These dead trees may fall with very little warning, so please be careful and cautious for falling branches in campgrounds. Click Yellowstone Log and you can find more camping information. 1. Which campground is most suitable for group visitors? A. Bridge Bay Campground. B. Canyon Campground. C. Madison Campground. D. Grant Village Campground. 2. What do Madison and Bridge Bay have in common? A. Inconvenient shower service. B. Eye-catching scenery. C. Convenient laundry service. D. Favorable distance to the centre. 3. What can be inferred from Tips& Rules? A. Necessary camping tools are available anytime. B. Visitors could wander in the campgrounds without any danger. C. More information is accessible in the tour books. D. Parking is partially prohibited in the campgrounds. B Terri Bolton is a dab hand when it comes to DIY (do-it-yourself). Skilled at putting up shelves and piecing together furniture, she never pays someone else to do a job she can do herself. She credits these skills to her late grandfather and builder Derek Lloyd. From the age of six, Terri, now 26, accompanied Derek to work during her school holidays. A day’s work was rewarded with £5 in pocket money. She says: “I’m sure I wasn’t much of a help to start with, painting the rooms and putting down the flooring throughout the house. It took weeks and it was backbreaking work, but I know he was proud of my skills.” Terri, who now rents a house with friends in Wandsworth, South West London, says DIY also saves her from losing any deposit when a tenancy (租期) comes to an end. She adds: “I’ve moved house many times and I always like to personalise my room and put up pictures, so, it’s been useful to know how to cover up holes and repaint a room to avoid any charges when I’ve moved out.” With millions of people likely to take on DIY projects over that coming weeks, new research shows that more than half of people are planning to make the most of the long, warm summer days to get jobs done. The average spend per project will be around £823. Two thirds of people aim to improve their comfort while at home. Two fifths wish to increase the value of their house. Though DIY has traditionally been seen as a male hobby, the research shows it is women now leading the charge. 4. Which is closest in meaning to “a dab hand” in paragraph 1? A. An artist. B. A winner. C. A specialist. D. A pioneer. 5. Why did Terri’s grandfather give her £5 a day? A. For a birthday gift. B. As a treat for her work. C. To support her DIY projects. D. To encourage her to take up a hobby. 6. How did Terri avoid losing the deposit on the house she rented? A. By making it look like before. B. By furnishing it herself. C. By splitting the rent with a roommate. D. By cancelling the rental agreement. 7. What trend in DIY does the research show? A. It is becoming more costly. B. It is getting more time-consuming. C. It is turning into a seasonal industry. D. It is gaining popularity among females. C The Stanford marshmallow (棉花糖) test was originally conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s. Children aged four to six at a nursery school were placed in a room. A single sugary treat, selected by the child, was placed on a table. Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat. Then they were left alone in the room. Follow-up studies with the children later in life showed a connection between an ability to wait long enough to obtain a second treat and various forms of success. As adults we face a version of the marshmallow test every day. We’re not tempted (诱惑) by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers. We are tempted by sugary treats because our ancestors lived in a calorie-poor world, and our brains developed a response mechanism to these treats that reflected their value — a feeling of reward and satisfaction. But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, dramatically reducing the cost and effort involved in obtaining calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat. A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a mechanism that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now ceaselessly bombarded (轰炸) with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our caloric consumption, we also need to be more thoughtful about our information consumption, resisting the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively. 8. What did the children need to do to get a second treat in Mischel’s test? A. Take an examination alone. B. Show respect for the researchers. C. Share their treats with others. D. Delay eating for fifteen minutes. 9. According to paragraph 3, there is a mismatch between . A. the calorie-poor world and our good appetites B. the shortage of sugar and our nutritional needs C. the rich food supply and our unchanged brains D. the tempting foods and our efforts to keep fit 10. What does the author suggest readers do? A. Absorb new information readily. B. Be selective information consumers. C. Use diverse information sources. D. Protect the information environment. 11. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. Eat Less, Read More B. The Bitter Truth about Early Humans C. The Later, the Better D. The Marshmallow Test for Grownups D A recent study by a team of researchers from Canada has uncovered that birds living in cities are not just better at problem-solving and more skilled in tasks than those in the suburbs, but also have stronger immune systems! The research, headed by Audet, a PhD student at a university, examined the cognitive (认知的) abilities of city birds with those of their country cousins. The team did their study in Barbados because it needed a broad range of situations: from crowded modern cities to the countryside. They began by catching some birds from various parts of the Caribbean Island. The birds were then given several tasks. Some tested their associative (联想的) learning skills while others were to observe how creative they were at problem-solving. While country birds are also much braver, the city birds appear to be more careful when facing unfamiliar things. The results did not surprise the researchers. After all, birds living in cities and towns face many more challenges and dangers than those that live in the country. But as it turns out, the city birds prove to have better immunity and are therefore more resistant to diseases than those living in the countryside. While additional studies need to be done to see if this is true for all, city birds, there is no reason to believe that the results would be any different. Though this is the first time researchers have compared the cognitive abilities of birds living in different conditions, it is not the first study to examine the differences between city and country birds. Previous research has shown that blackbirds in cities are similarly more careful than country blackbirds, and that sparrows and blackbirds living in cities sing at a higher frequency to be heard over city noise and to make up for sound distortions (失真) caused by tall buildings. If only birds knew the advantages of living among humans, maybe more would move to cities! 12. How are city birds different from country birds according to the research? A. Country birds have a wider range of challenges to survive. B. City birds show less caution when facing unfamiliar situations. C. City birds have a weaker immune system because of air pollution. D. Country birds are less skilled at jobs requiring creativity and skills. 13. What does the author think will happen in further studies? A. Country birds are more careful in dangerous situations. B. City birds are more likely to get sick than country birds. C. City birds are more resistant to diseases than country birds. D. Country birds can be taught the advantages of living in cities. 14. Why do city birds sing at a higher frequency than country birds? A. There is too much noise in the city. B. There are a wider range of situations. C. The birds live far away from each other. D. There are more dangers in cities for them. 15. What is the passage mainly about? A. What a PhD student has done has surprised the world. B. City birds are smarter and healthier than country birds. C. The necessity and ways to move country birds to cities. D. The comments on birds’ immune systems and learning power. 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。 Ambivalence (矛盾心理) refers to the frustrating and all-too-common experience of being “on the fence” about making some change. For example, you must have said, “I should start exercising, but it’s tough to find the time.” ___16___ Yet how often do we view ambivalence as some sort of interloper (干涉者), an unwanted and unexpected roadblock on the path to a better life? ___17___ When we lack understanding about the uncertainty, our ability to effectively resolve it becomes limited. Furthermore, without a clear understanding of the underlying reasons, we risk employing harmful labels that may conveniently but inaccurately explain the reason for our inaction and that of others. “I must be lazy.” “She has no self-discipline.” A helpful standpoint for us to better understand the roots of indecisiveness comes from a research-based therapy approach called motivational interviewing. ___18___ You can also make a difference via this method, no matter whether you decide to eat less junk food, lose weight, or reduce screen time. From a motivational interviewing viewpoint, the root of ambivalence is related to the extent of importance and confidence in making a change. If we don’t feel strongly that it’s important to make a change or we lack confidence in being able to take the necessary steps, chances are very high that we will waver (动摇) on moving forward. ___19___ The widespread presence of ambivalence in the face of change is commonly present in human life. It’s true for us, and it’s true for others, including our family members and friends, and those we encounter and serve in our professional lives. ___20___ By doing this, we can more clearly see and skillfully address the root causes of ambivalence. A. And the opposite of that is also true. B. It’ll be problematic if we misinterpret ambivalence. C. Thus, we’ll feel highly motivated to make the change. D. Think about a kind of behavior you’ve been hesitant to change. E. It’s been successfully applied to many cases of behavioral change. F. Such internal swinging is common when it comes to behavioral change. G. Acknowledging this fact is essential for overcoming harmful judgments and labels. 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四个选项中选出最佳选项。 One day last winter, I was walking home from work on a busy city street. I wasn’t looking forward to going home and my ____21____ weren’t able to hang out with me. That’s when I walked past a(n) ____22____ person that I hadn’t seen before. He was moving back and forth to stay ____23____, and very gently asking for change. He spoke so quietly that I could hardly hear him. Something made me ____24____, turn around, and walk up to him. All the while anxious thoughts whirled (回旋) around in my head like, “What do you think you’re doing? You’re ____25____; it’s dark out and you’re a woman.” However, I was still ____26____ that he hadn’t had dinner. So I asked him if he would like to join me at a nearby ____27____. He said he would like to. He walked with me to the restaurant and even ___28___ the door for me as we entered. He asked for the ____29____ thing on the menu but I ordered a larger one and ______30______ that the price difference wasn’t worth worrying about. We had a good dinner and a pleasant ______31______ about things like where we grew up. The whole time I just ______32______ to say the right thing and to give him the respect and dignity (尊严) everyone deserves. I didn’t want to ______33______ like I was better than anybody or out to fix someone. I was ______34______ for this experience. I might not have met my friends that evening but I met an unexpected friend and the experience changed my attitude. In the future I will think twice before I ______35______ about something I think I lack (缺少). 21. A. classmates B. sisters C. friends D. parents 22. A. unusual B. impolite C. lonely D. homeless 23. A. warm B. healthy C. energetic D. calm 24. A. answer B. stop C. escape D. observe 25. A. alone B. nervous C. awake D. tired 26. A. confused B. surprised C. annoyed D. worried 27. A. mall B. restaurant C. hospital D. shop 28. A. opened B. locked C. closed D. broke 29. A. best B. smallest C. commonest D. largest 30. A. introduced B. considered C. explained D. noticed 31. A. meeting B. interview C. conversation D. discussion 32. A. hoped B. agreed C. avoided D. failed 33. A. make up B. come across C. carry out D. turn up 34. A. grateful B. sorry C. anxious D. ready 35. A. hear B. think C. talk D. complain 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。 From Oct 16 to 19, the Beijing Book Fair transformed the National Tennis Center from a venue of athletic competition into a celebration of the mind. Beijing’s ____36____ (enthusiastic) for reading extends far beyond this annual event, however. For example, the “Temple of Earth and Me” Beijing Book Fair ____37____ (hold) twice a year by local people. And the city’s “15-minute reading circle” now offers access ____38____ 6,026 public libraries and reading rooms as well as 228 self-service libraries, ____39____ (reach) communities and villages across Beijing. Independent bookstores have also become important threads (线) in the city’s literary fabric, ____40____ (flexible) weaving (编织) Beijing’s rich reading culture into its everyday life. One such example is Possibly Books, ____41____ bookstore in Chaomian Hutong, founded in 2023 by Zhao Chen, who left a state-owned company to return to his childhood neighborhood. Zhao designed interactive areas ____42____ visitors can share their thoughts on books and poetry, and also leave their thoughts in notebooks as marks of ____43____ (them). Beyond the shop itself, Zhao organizes city walks that follow literary threads, guiding visitors through cultural ____44____ (landmark) and the surrounding hutong. One popular series, ____45____ (inspire) by the famous writer Lao She, follows locations from his works. “All these bring warmth and character to the bookstore,” Zhao said with a smile. 第四部分 写作（共两节，满分40分） 第一节（满分15分） 46. 假设你叫李华,听说即将来你校任职的外籍教师David需要一名学生助手,你想自荐做他的助手。请你用英文写一封自荐信,要点包括: 1.写信目的; 2.你作为助手的优势; 3.表达期待。 注意:1.词数:100左右; 2可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。 Dear David, ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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。 One week, we participated in a program that aimed to bring students fun and also strengthen their courage. On the third morning, we left our camp for a hike. We picked our way along a stream in a park. There were six of us. Tall and strong, Sam led the way. After a while, we found a small waterfall and some smaller kids playing in the pool below together with their camp leaders. Forked ribbons of water (分叉的带状水流) leapt about three meters into the pool. We settled ourselves on a large stone above the waterfall. We unpacked our bags and spread out food, eating and laughing. Minutes later, the others carried all the food and attempted to jump across the stream above the waterfall. Soon, they crossed the first narrow ribbon of water and were now standing on the rocks that bordered the second channel. To me, the second channel looked so wide! Scared, I decided to stay right where I was. But they yelled back, “Come on over here! If you want any juice, that is!” I was thirsty. Slowly, I picked my way across a group of rocks till I reached a flat stone opposite where they were grouped. All had their backs to me; they were now busy aiming small stones at a fallen tree on the bank. I glanced down. The very cold water was running past the stone, inches away from my feet. I looked across the belt of water towards the tempting fruit juice! This sight inspired me to take action. I bent down, tensed myself to leap, and then glanced towards the left side. Barely two meters away was the waterfall. Although it was small and there were adults below, I still feared. My knees trembled; I drew back a couple of paces, staring at the running water. “Come along, Jimmy!” Sam said in a gentle voice. I looked up. Sam stood on the other side, barely four feet away from me. He must have seen me hesitating on the edge of the stone and sensed my terror at jumping across this little stream! Embarrassed, I took off my glasses. 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。 I wiped them, searching for a reason to avoid crossing the water. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Then I gathered my courage, took a step forward, and jumped lightly across the channel. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 南江县实验中学2025-2026学年度春学期半期考试 高二英语 （考试时间：120分钟 满分：150分） 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段录音。每段录音后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段录音后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段录音播放两遍。 1. What does the woman want to buy? A. Women’s clothes. B. Men’s clothes. C. Sports shoes. 2. Why is the woman going to the sports center? A. To play sports. B. To sing her songs. C. To attend a concert. 3. What subject does the man prefer? A. Physics. B. History. C. Geography. 4. How will the man go to Chicago? A. By car. B. By plane. C. By train. 5. What is the relationship between the two speakers? A. Father and daughter. B. Teacher and student. C. Doctor and patient. 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. Where does the man really want to go? A. Bridge Street. B. Jay Street. C. College Street. 7. How does the man feel in the end? A. Angry. B. Pleasant. C. Doubtful. 听第7段材料，回答第8、9题。 8. What’s the problem with Josh Price’s reservation? A. The restaurant is closed on Saturday. B. The restaurant has no table for 3. C. His preferred time is fully booked. 9. When is Josh Price likely to dine at the restaurant? A. At 5:00. B. At 6:00. C. At 7:30. 听第8段材料，回答第10至12题。 10. Why did the man leave Los Angeles? A. To get a job. B. To go to college. C. To experience a different life. 11. What’s the man’s next plan? A. Moving to Chicago one day. B. Going to Asia in several months. C. Living in New York for a year. 12. Which city does the woman want to settle down? A. Chicago. B. Los Angeles. C. New York City. 听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。 13. How does the woman feel about rock music? A. It never gets boring. B. It’s an emotion. C. It’s something you have to think about. 14. What did the woman look like? A. She had long black hair. B. She had black eyes. C. She wore leather clothes. 15. What was the name of the woman’s band? A. Up Your Alley. B. The Blackhearts. C. Sly and the Family Stone. 16. What does the woman suggest in the end? A. She still wants to perform. B. People still don’t understand her. C. She didn’t actually have much influence. 听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。 17. Why did van Gogh leave school at 15? A. Because he hated school. B. Because he was poor. C. Because he wanted to draw. 18. When did van Gogh start making his own paintings? A. In 1888. B. In 1818. C. In 1880. 19. What did van Gogh’s mental illness cause him to do? A. Cut off his own ear. B. Cut off his own finger. C. Burn up his own paintings. 20. What did van Gogh do in the hospital? A. He fought with others. B. He made his artworks famous. C. He produced The Starry Night. 第二部分 阅读理解（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. B 2. A 3. D B 【4~7题答案】 【答案】4. C 5. B 6. A 7. D C 【8~11题答案】 【答案】8. D 9. C 10. B 11. D D 【12~15题答案】 【答案】12. D 13. C 14. A 15. B 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. B 18. E 19. A 20. G 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四个选项中选出最佳选项。 【21~35题答案】 【答案】21. C 22. D 23. A 24. B 25. A 26. D 27. B 28. A 29. B 30. C 31. C 32. A 33. B 34. A 35. D 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. enthusiasm 37. is held 38. to 39. reaching 40. flexibly 41. a 42. where 43. themselves 44. landmarks 45. inspired 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 David, I’m Li Hua, Chairman of the Students’ Union. It’s great to learn that you are coming to teach in our school as an oral English teacher next semester. I was asked to write to you, recommending myself, a Senior 2 student, aged 17, to be your assistant. I’m a diligent student, who can use the computer skillfully and has a gift for communicating with others. What’s more, I’m an expert at spoken English and always ready to help others in need. I am confident that I can he helpful in your work and life in China. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’m looking forward to your coming. Yours, Li Hua 第二节（满分25分） 【47题答案】 【答案】 I wiped them, searching for a reason to avoid crossing the water. After putting them on again, Sam was still there. “I don’t want any juice!” I said. Sam nodded understandingly. “Fine!” he spoke pleasantly and stood waiting. Frustrated by my own weakness, I took a deep breath, preparing myself to jump across the water. Once again, fear overwhelmed me. I looked towards where the others sat. Much to my relief, they still had their backs turned; only Sam stood opposite me, looking straight into my eyes, patiently. Then I gathered my courage, took a step forward, and jumped lightly across the channel. A slight slip of my heel on a stone was quickly steadied by Sam’s strong forearm against my back. As I glanced up, I couldn’t help but notice Sam’s towering height — the tallest among us. “Well done, Jimmy!” he said, nodding in approval while praising me for my bravery. Meanwhile, he handed me a bottle of juice. While drinking it, I felt a sense of pride in myself and gratitude towards Sam for his kindness. 第1页/共1页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $