B
In 1905, I took a British ship from India to London. Among all the passengers, no one would fail to notice Padishah as he kept showing off his diamond (钻石). The big diamond successfully attracted attention, including that of the five ostriches (鸵鸟) on the deck (甲板).
One morning, as Padishah passed by the ostriches, one ate his diamond suddenly. The bird ran around and mixed itself with the others in no time.
“Whose are these stupid ostriches? Get my diamond back!” Padishah shouted. News spread quickly to a man named Potter. After lunch, Potter said, “I’ve called the ostriches’ owner. He accepted my offer for all five and now I have the right to keep the birds and the diamond inside.” I thought Potter was rather smart and regretted deeply at a lost chance.
Padishah was so angry and said, “There’s no way you can get my diamond!” He continued as he got calmer, “I can offer you 100 pounds for the birds.” Potter simply refused and left.
After a while, Potter came back to the hall with a crafty smile. He announced that he wanted to sell four birds separately to separate people by auction (拍卖). The starting price was 80 for a bird. One of them, he would keep for himself.
Before the crowd realized what was happening, a businessman got one bird for 100 pounds. The prices for the following birds rose higher. After the fourth being sold, Potter seemed suddenly sorry and said, “I should have kept them all. But... The last bird must be the one.”
I looked at the last bird for quite a while and asked Potter for a private conversation. After a long talk, I finally got the bird for 700 pounds. ▲
The next morning, I was waiting in line to get off the ship, picturing the amazing future life in my mind. Then, I saw Padishah and Potter walk arm in arm on the shore, just like old friends. At that moment, I learnt a lesson worth a diamond.
() 4. What happened to Padishah on the deck?
A. He was hurt by a passenger.
B. He failed to get others’ attention.
C. People shouted angrily at him.
D. An ostrich took away his diamond.
() 5. Potter came back to the hall to .
A. say sorry to Padishah
B. tell people he was the new owner
C. sell ostriches at high prices
D. talk with the diamond businessman
() 6. Which of the following can be put into “ ▲ ” in paragraph 7?
A. How worried I was!
B. What a great deal it was!
C. How sad Padishah was!
D. What an honest man Potter was!
() 7. What does the writer mean by the last sentence in the last paragraph?
A. He learned showing off led to great loss.
B. He realized friendship was valuable.
C. The diamond was found in his ostrich.
D. He was fooled and it cost him a lot.
() 8. What is the best title for this story?
A. A Diamond Trick
B. Padishah’s Regretful Journey
C. The Diamond in the Ostrich
D. A Smart Business Deal on Board

三、信息还原（10分）
Movies, TV series and books often feature amazing scientific ideas, and quantum mechanics（量子力学）is one well-known example. 1. Let's explore a few of them.
The Big Bang Theory（《生活大爆炸》）
The Big Bang Theory is a comedy in the USA. It takes place in California and follows the daily lives of funny scientists. 2. The characters often talk about difficult ideas on physics. These moments make the comedy unique and give us a taste of scientific ideas.
Interstellar（《星际穿越》）
The movie Interstellar is set in the future, when earth is suffering from terrible weather and food shortages. 3. A wormhole is a special tunnel（隧道）in space. Creating a wormhole would require negative energy, a phenomenon（现象）predicted in quantum physics.
The Three-Body Problem（《三体》）
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin is a famous Chinese science fiction novel. In the story, aliens create a "sophon（智子）" that can communicate across four light-years, an idea likely inspired by quantum mechanics. 4.
Science fiction mixes imagination with scientific knowledge beautifully. 5. It will surely bring you fun and spark your curiosity about science.
A. The comedy is famous for mixing humour with science.
B. So in your spare time, why not choose a sci-fi work to enjoy?
C. The programme explores questions about doing the right thing.
D. Quantum mechanics is too hard for ordinary people to understand.
E. The book mixes fun storytelling with science, making readers curious about space.
F. A group of astronauts travels through a wormhole to search for a new home for humans.
G. Plenty of popular science fiction works present this theory in interesting and creative ways.