江苏省南京市重点中学2023-2024学年高二上学期期初考试...

The turn of the year is traditionally the time for reviewing one's life, and perhaps for making some resolutions as to what to concentrate on in the coming year; and for many years past I have taken advantage of the holiday period to review my own goal and ambition.

One thing I do decide to do this year, with some unwillingness, is to give up writing the Grumpy Old Bookman column in this magazine. It's not that I've lost interest in the book world, you understand. But Leonard Woolf, husband of writer Virginia Wool, used to say that a man should change his career every seven years. Though personally I would say that changing your whole career so often is going a bit far, I do find, during my own working life, that it acts as a great refresher if you can occasionally try a new job within the same organization or line of business.

It is in fact well over 15 years since our editor wrote to me and asked if I would be interested in writing a regular piece about what was, even then, a rapidly changing publishing scene. He approached me because since 2004 I had been writing a regular blog called, amazingly enough, Grumpy Old Bookman.

As my monthly survey of developments in both traditional and digital publishing continued, in this magazine, I began to realize that writers in this century, of both fiction and non-fiction, are living in something close to a paradise. Once, you struggled for years to find a publisher-or an agent if you wanted one-but now you can publish your own stuff, either digitally or in paperback, without it costing you a penny piece. Amazing.

After about five years of producing such columns, at just under a thousand words a time, it occurred to me that, rather than let these essays drift away on the seas of time, it might be of value to potential readers to publish my thoughts and comments in book form. Hence, in 2014, I published the first 69 GOB columns in paperback format, using Amazon's Create space facilities. Title: Writers Rejoice! A monthly diary of the dawn of the digital age, which was my first trial. And now I sincerely wish a new 2022.

Working from home has become common, during the course of the pandemic (疫情), leaving many with 2 new-found appreciation of the freedom and flexibility of working remotely. However, while the traditional idea of an office-a place away from home, typically owned or rented by the business-may have changed, the need for specific office space hasn't.

In fact, this period of working from home has highlighted just how important it is to have a place of work, which is separate from daily family life. Without that, many have noted concerns over a worsened work-life balance.    

Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of the office of the future will be its hybrid solution. It should marry the beneficial parts of a physical company-owned work space with the benefits of working from home.

As teams have proven their ability to efficiently get their jobs done remotely, employers will be much more open to the flexible approach moving forward. The positive impacts of a physical office on things like company culture, communication, team spirit and shared knowledge should not be ignored, which is why tangible space is still very much a necessity.

The solution for the future will enable employees to come into the company's workplace in order not to miss out on these valuable office benefits, but also work from home when required for a better work-life balance. Both large and smaller companies have already started to adopt this new approach, allowing teams to create schedules for when they will be working from home, or even use an online booking system to secure a desk space in the shared facility This way, the company can manage the number of people in the office at one time, meaning spaces can be downsized to save costs,and social distancing and thorough cleaning procedures can be maintained.

You probably get your eyes tested to protect your sight, maybe have a yearly hearing test to check your ears-but, protecting your nose... eh? Recent research has discovered more than 600 genes in the human body associated with the sense of smell and that it's actually important to the human body.

Smell can help keep us alive by warning us of dangers such as food that might make us sick or the threat of fire, and it does this within only 100-150 milliseconds of breathing. "Smell also helps create the flavour of food and plays a role in controlling the variety of our diet and the nutrients we consume," says Jeanne Hort, a professor at News Zealand's Massey University.

In fact, each of us has a unique sense of smell and the strength of our unique smell is related to the genes you guess inherit from your parents which determine which smell receptors (感受器) are expressed in the nose. Other factors further determine how sensitive your sense of smell is. Women generally have a stronger sense of smell than men while damage from air pollution means people who live in highly polluted cities have a less sensitive sense of smell than those in rural areas. "We also know the sense of smell declines with age," says Professor Hort. "And if you've damaged your nose through head injury, illness or breathing in something that causes pain and discomfort, your sense of smell can also be negatively affected."

Protecting your nose from such damage is therefore the first step in activating your sense of smell. Avoid breathing in strong scents like chemicals. Then, keep your nose busy. For example, sniff vegetables and fruit as part of determining ripeness before you buy them and sniff more different smells exposed to your nose. "The sense of smell is a bit like a muscle, you can train it to become stronger by exercising it," says sensory expert Eugeni Roura.

"If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need." This is a piece of wise advice from Waren Buffet, arguably one of the greatest financial minds of the 21^st century.This is true especially in the present economic climate.

While the idea of being frugal (节俭的) has long been a part of Eastern culture, the relatively recent growth of wealth in China as well as the ease of purchasing has led to increased consumerism for many across the country. Yet this increased consumption of goods has been pushing up the prices of certain bare essentials such as housing, transportation and food, which is forcing people to reevaluate their priorities while spending money. 

The internet is flooded with advice on where one can save money as well as good opinions about how the should spend their money. For example, clothes can be bought second-hand, but you should never skip a visit to the dentist. In the meanwhile, you should limit those that are fancy but not entirely necessary. Of course, it is still fine to occasionally spend money on a nice vacation, but buying thirty pairs of shoes you will only wear a few times is neither responsible nor sustainable.    

Hopefully, we all fully understand at this point that the resources on the earth are indeed limited.As a result, the choice (forced or not) to be frugal is not only good for one's wallet, but also beneficial to the planet in the long run. Have you ever chosen to starve yourself to get a pair of limited-edition sneakers?

A. These words have always not been taken seriously by young people. 

B. A continuous growth model on this planet is by no means sustainable. 

C. They are meant to encourage people to buy more stuff than they need.

D. It makes sense to prioritize goods and services that directly affect your health. 

E. It is no wonder then that being frugal is once again becoming a dominant trend. 

F. Many young people today appear to be taking these words very much to heart. 

G. If so, it is high time you started making changes for yourself and for all humanity.

Someone recently asked me when I became more confident about my abilities as an entrepreneur. I thought it was a funny question, 1 I'm not very confident at all, and constantly filled with 2 about every decision I make.

It doesn't exactly hold me back in my work; it is just that I am very 3 of what I do, and I'm always 4 on the way I work, think and talk. I have also learned over the years that making a decision is often more important than making the right decision. Preferably your decisions are the right ones, but inaction or indecisiveness is more 5 than making the wrong decision every now and then.

There is one thing I have learned over the years that I wish I had learned earlier in my career. And that is the 6  that I am not stupid.

It sounds logical, but I often sat in on meetings and heard people explain things and then 7 to myself, "I don't understand that. Maybe I'm stupid?" or I would hear about a startup and I would not 8 their business model and think I'm stupid. Or I would hear an entrepreneur speak and think, "That all 9 like bullshit, but I must be stupid, because other people seem to love it."

A couple of years ago, I came to the 10 that I was not stupid at all. When people in meetings say things I don't understand I speak up and tell them so. Usually, I hear a sigh of 11 in the room and find out nobody understood what was being talked about.

When I don't understand a business model it usually means there is not one, or it sucks. Turns out I'm not stupid and 12 I don't understand it, most people won't understand it at all. 13 doubting my own abilities I've learned to trust my "bullshit radar" a bit more and not understanding something is a clear sign that something is off.

My advice to young entrepreneurs is this: you are not stupid! If something does not make 14 , if it sounds stupid, if you do not understand it, something is wrong! Trust your gut (本能的) 15 . Feel free to not know and be honest when you don't understand something!

Traditional Chinese Ink Painting

Traditional Chinese ink painting, also known as brush painting or shui mo hua, (be) an art form that has a long-standing history in Chinese culture. It is characterized by  use of black ink and fine brushwork to portray scenes from nature.

Often associated the concept of balance and harmony, ink painting requires precision and (patient), (demand) thorough brush control and a deep understanding of composition by minimal brushwork. Such is the essence captured by artists it allows for the viewers' imagination to fill in the details themselves.

The subjects (present) in Chinese ink painting cover a wide range of natural elements, ranging from majestic mountains and (flow) rivers to delicate flowers and graceful birds. Certain techniques (employ) to create depth and visual interest based on them,  normally include the use of shading, texture, etc.

Above all, Chinese traditional ink painting showcases the timeless beauty of nature and embodies the profound artistic expression of the traditional Chinese culture.

注意：1. 词数 80 左右，开头与结尾已给出，不计入总词数;
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Distinguished judges and dear fellow students,

It's my honor to stand here and talk about "Promoting traditional Chinese festivals".

……

Thank you very much for your attention!

As I stood in line waiting to cash out at a "pack your own" kind of store, where customers pack their items by themselves, I stared at the customer in front of me reading the magazines. She was young, but she already had a tired look to her, with heads bent forwards-as if life had beaten her down too many times.

Her face looked pale from extreme tiredness. Her winter coat was thin and unbuttoned. The well-worn scar around her throat probably did little to protect it from the cold weather. Her hands running a few pages, were rough and red. When I looked down at her boots, I could see a small piece of a clear plastic bag partially visible through a hole in her left boot.

The items in her cart (购物车) included the cheapest cuts of meat and some things like rice and potatoes. There were also lots of noodles. Day-old bread, inexpensive soap, and tissues on sale-well, almost. In a far corner sat a little toy and a pretty dress that was 50 percent off.

She continued to look at the magazines as we waited, and more people lined up behind us. She finally took one out and turned it over several times, trying to find a price before finally turning to me.

"I'm sorry to bother you," she began in a shy and nervous tone. "But can you tell me how much this is? I forgot my glasses at home."

"Of course" I said with a smile.

When I finally found the small print and told her, she shook her head and put it back. "They've become so expensive, haven't they?" I said sympathetically.

"Next!" The cashier called in a gentle voice before she could answer, and she moved forward to begin her transaction (交易).

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式将答案写在横线上。

When told the cost, the woman's face paled.

……

I approached the cashier and whispered "Include her removed items in my bill, please."