A(2025·南京市鼓楼区部分学校期中改编)

A: Hi, Tom. What are you reading?
B: The Old Man and the Sea, an English novel 1. by Ernest Miller Hemingway. It has many new words and it's a little bit difficult for me to understand the long sentences.
A: Why not try to use ChatGPT to help you 2. the foreign language into Chinese?
B: ChatGPT? What is that?
A: It is an AI chatbot(聊天机器人) and has been quite popular online recently. It has a strong ability of word processing. It can not only 3. you in a way like a real human being, but also answer almost all kinds of questions you ask in just a few seconds.
B: It sounds like 4. .
A: Exactly! I'm sure it will 5. a whole new world to you.
B: I can't wait to try it now!

B

Dear Opal,
This week I learned something important. I learned that everyone can 1. . Let me tell you how.
It rained hard all week. Then last night, it became a flood. Mr Ruiz found the problem right away. The flood wall in our neighbourhood was about to burst! Everyone started to fill and stack(堆) sandbags. But the water was rising fast. More 2. were needed, so I offered to help.
We stacked hundreds of sandbags. But the situation didn't improve. The water kept going higher and higher. Nobody 3. , though. We all did our duty and kept working hard. 4. , the rain stopped. We all cheered. Our neighbourhood was saved!
Boy, I was tired, but I felt good, too. My help made a difference and we all 5. the importance of working together.
Kemal

C

Do you know what a resolution is? It's a kind of promise. Most of the time, we make promises to other people ("Mum, I promise I'm going to tidy my room when I 1. ______ school. "). However, promises you make to yourself are resolutions, and the 2. ______ common kind is New Year's resolutions. The start of the year is often a time for 3. ______ resolutions. When we make resolutions at the beginning of the year, we hope that we are going to improve our 4. ______ . Some people write down their resolutions and plans for the coming year. This helps them to remember their resolutions. Others tell their family and friends about their 5. ______ and plans.

There are different kinds of resolutions. Some are about 6. . For example, some people promise 7. they are going to start an exercise program or eat less fast food. Many resolutions have to do with self-improvement. These are about making yourself a better person. Some people might say they are going to take up a hobby like painting or taking photos, or learn to play the guitar. Some resolutions have to do with better 8. , like making a weekly plan for schoolwork. For example, a student may have to find more time to study.
Although there are 9. , most resolutions have one thing in common. People hardly ever keep them! There are good reasons for this. Sometimes the resolutions may be too difficult to keep. Sometimes people just forget about them. For this reason, some people say the best resolution 10. to have no resolutions! How about you—will you make any next year?