1 . “The mountains are calling and I must go” — the famous quote is from John Muir(1838-1914), who is described as “the wilderness poet” and “the citizen of the universe.” He once jokingly referred to himself as a “poet-geologist-botanist and ornithologist (鸟类学家)-naturalist etc. etc.!” He is known as the Father of American National Parks.
Famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns recently said, “As we got to know him… he was among the highest individuals in America; I’m talking about the level of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thomas Jefferson— people who have had a transformational effect on who we are.”
So where is the quote from? Well, John Muir was a productive writer. Whether he was writing poetry or simply letters to his family, John Muir was always putting pen to paper. The quote is from within one of his many letters written to his sister:
September 3rd, 1873 Yosemite Valley Dear sister Sarah,I have just returned from the longest and hardest trip I have ever made in the mountains, having been gone over five weeks. I am weary, but resting fast; sleepy, but sleeping deep and fast; hungry, but eating much. For two weeks I explored the glaciers of the summits east of here, sleeping among the snowy mountains without blankets and with little to eat on account of its being so inaccessible. After my icy experiences, it seems strange to be down here in so warm and flowery a climate. I will soon be off again, determined to use all the season in carrying through my work—will go next to Kings River a hundred miles south, then to Lake Tahoe and surrounding mountains, and in winter work in Oakland with my pen. Though slow, someday I will have the results of my mountain studies in a form in which you all will be able to read and judge them. The mountains are calling and I must go, and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly (永不停息地). I will write again when I return from Kings River Canyon. Farewell, with love everlasting. Yours, John |
1. What can we learn from John Muir’s self-description in paragraph 1?
| A．He longed to expand his own career. |
| B．He enjoyed his involvement in nature. |
| C．He wanted to find his real advantage. |
| D．He valued his identity as a poet most. |
| A．Muir’s political influence. | B．A documentary film on Muir. |
| C．Muir’s historic significance. | D．The social circle around Muir. |
| A．Relieved but regretful. | B．Exhausted but content. |
| C．Excited but lonely. | D．Defeated but hopeful. |
| A．To go on with his mountain studies. |
| B．To seek freedom from social connection. |
| C．To attend an appointment in Oakland. |
| D．To experience the hardship of wilderness. |
2 . Travis Gienger set a record for growing the world’s heaviest pumpkin, which weighed about 1,247 kilograms, in 2023. The middle-aged man was named the winner on Monday of the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California. He won the same con test in 2022, whose pumpkin weighed 1,161 kilograms. The past world record for the heaviest pumpkin was set by a grower in Italy who produced a 1,226-kilogram pumpkin in 2021. “I was not expecting that,” Gienger said. He added that it felt good to win the world record.
Gienger is a teacher at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minnesota. He teaches agriculture and growing methods. And he has been producing pumpkins for nearly 30 years like his elders, especially his father, who used to raise pumpkins in the home property, which got him interested in planting. Gienger later devoted himself to working the land to plant.
Gienger first competed in Half Moon Bay’s yearly con test in 2020. He won three of the city’s last four pumpkin contests. “I put in the work so that I can put a smile on people’s faces, and it’s just so nice coming out here to see everyone in this town,” Gienger said.
Gienger, who grew the pumpkins on the farm, had given his plants more care. This included watering them up to 12 times a day and feeding or fertilizing them, a little more than usual. Those contributed to his greater success in 2023.
The pumpkin champion won a $30,000 prize for growing the biggest pumpkin and setting a world record. Gienger’s pumpkin would be shown along with the second-place winners at the city’s upcoming Pumpkin Festival. At the event, visitors would be able to look at the pumpkin prize and take pictures with the growers.
In the United States, pumpkins are popular throughout the autumn. During the US holiday Halloween, on October 31, many people turn them into “jack-o’-lanterns”. A jack-o’-lantern is a pumpkin that has been carved, usually to show a frightening or funny face.
1. How did Gienger feel about his winning the world record?| A．Surprised. | B．Suspicious. | C．Expected. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．His family tradition. | B．His love for his farm. |
| C．His promise to his father. | D．His desire for winning a prize. |
| A．How many awards Gienger got in 2023. |
| B．How long Gienger worked a day in 2023. |
| C．Why Gienger grew pumpkins on the farm. |
| D．Why Gienger’s pumpkin was heavier than before. |
| A．It would be given to a visitor. |
| B．It would be made into a lantern. |
| C．It would be on show at a festival. |
| D．It would be used to decorate pictures. |
3 . Young Artists to Watch This Year
Tafy LaPlancheNew York-based Afro-Latina artist Tafy LaPlanche first discovered her love for portraits (肖像) at 13 when she was hospitalized and drew people who passed by her room. Since then, LaPlanche has explored narratives (叙事) in her portraits, setting women up against bright backgrounds, and adding fruit to create a unique story in every painting.
Yan XinyueThirty-year-old Chinese artist Yan Xinyue is one of the artists to watch at this year’s Frieze New York. Xinyue’s work looks at how everyday life is impacted by rapid urban development through her imaginative paintings. Constantly touching the line between fantasy and reality, Xinyue’s work explores society and the individual.
Narumi NekpenekpenThe Nigcrian-Japanese artist’s layered (分层的) approach to sculpture caught the eyes of collectors during Art Basel Miami Beach design week. The deeply emotional pieces painted throughout her residency at Versailles have a “Sanrio” quality, which makes them seem both distant and friendly.
Emma McIntyreAlso featured at this year’s Frieze New York is New Zealand-born, Los Angeles-based artist Emma McIntyre. The self-aware abstract (抽象的) painter is sure to turn heads with her presentations of memory, weather, and the environment. McIntyre’s colorful style makes the viewer feel like they’re slipping into a different dimension and makes it difficult to turn away.
1. What element does Tafy LaPlanche often use in her paintings?| A．Fruit. | B．Sanrio. | C．Hospitals. | D．Weather. |
| A．Tafy LaPlanche. | B．Yan Xinyue. |
| C．Narumi Nekpenekpen. | D．Emma McIntyre. |
| A．Exploration of narratives. | B．Layered approach to sculpture. |
| C．Bright backgrounds in self-portraits. | D．Self-awareness in abstract paintings. |
4 . Hawking was one of the most famous scientists in the world. But humor was always a big part of Hawking’s effort to bring physics to the masses. In his 2010 book, The Grand Design, for instance, he describes how, in 1277, the religious government declared scientific laws such as gravity to be wrong, since they seemed against their belief. “ Interestingly,” the text adds in a humorous way, “ the religious leader was killed by the effects of the law of gravity a few months later when the roof of his palace fell in on him. ”
Hawking was only 21 when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis — ALS (肌萎缩侧索硬化). For most people, the condition would have been a disaster. But Hawking rolled over difficulty as if it were just a rock under his wheelchair. “Life would be tragic (悲剧的),” he once said, “ if it weren’t funny. ”
So Hawking made jokes. There was the time when talk show host John Oliver asked him about parallel (平行的) universes. “ Does that mean there is a universe out there where I am smarter than you?” Oliver joked. Hawking’s dry reply: “ Yes. And also a universe where you’re funny.” Hawking liked physical humor too. He reportedly enjoyed wheeling his chair over the feet of people who annoyed him, including Prince Charles. “ A malicious (恶意的) rumor,” Hawking said. “ I’ll run over anyone who repeats it. ”
Hawking’s greatest hit, humor-wise, was probably the cocktail party he held in 2009. It was a “welcome reception for future time travelers,” he said, so naturally he sent out the invitations the day after the party. No one showed up yet. “ Maybe one day someone living in the future will find the information and use a wormhole time machine to come back to my party,” Hawking explained. After all, he never missed a chance to have fun.
1. Why did Hawking mention the death of the religious leader in his book The Grand Design?| A．To enhance the credibility of his book. |
| B．To show the result of going against science. |
| C．To illustrate the law of gravity humorously. |
| D．To question the power of the religious government. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Positive. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Confused. |
| A．People showed no interest in time travel. |
| B．The party was in fact a joke by Hawking. |
| C．There was no such thing as a time traveler. |
| D．The wormhole time machine wasn’t there yet. |
| A．The Humorous Side of Hawking | B．Great Achievements of Hawking |
| C．A Party with No One Attending | D．The Personal Life of Hawking |
5 . Akira Toriyama, one of Japan’s leading comics authors, whose manga (漫画) “Dragon Ball” achieved worldwide success with its mix of comedic characters and electrifying martial arts battles, died on March 1. Mr. Toriyama’s body of work, which also includes “Dr. Slump” and “Sand Land,” has influenced generations of manga artists and cartoonists.
His best-known work, “Dragon Ball,” follows a young boy named Son Goku who embarks on a journey to collect the seven magical balls that summon a wish-granting dragon. Since its creation in. the 1980s, it has sold millions of copies worldwide and become one of the most famous manga.
Throughout his career, Mr. Toriyama said in a 2013 interview with the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, he did not care if his work did anything besides entertaining its readers. He was, he suggested, unlike “other manga artists concerned about conveying educational messages.” “The role of my manga,” he said, “is to be a work of entertainment through and through.”
When “Dragon Ball” was first published in 1984, it was an immediate hit. “Dragon Ball” was serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump until 1995. In the year after the series ended, the magazine lost about one million of its six million readers.
As a productive manga artist, Mr. Toriyama did not necessarily have an appetite for the genre as a reader. “I have always had a hard time reading manga, including my own work,” he said in a 2018 interview. He led a private life and gave few interviews. In a 2013 interview with the Japanese singer and actress Shoko Nakagawa, he said that he did not even share all his work with his family.
“To tell you the truth, no one in my family has ever seen ‘Dragon Ball,’” he said, laughing. “I am also a hikikomori,” he added, using the Japanese word for a loner.
1. According to Akira Toriyama, what role does his manga primarily serve?| A．A tool for education. | B．A window to culture. |
| C．A form of entertainment. | D．An insight into tradition. |
| A．Manga was not popular among readers any more. |
| B．The magazine faced the crisis of ceasing publication. |
| C．Readers preferred other manga series to “Dragon Ball”. |
| D．“Dragon Ball” had a great impact on the magazine’s popularity. |
| A．outgoing personality | B．a strong sense of privacy |
| C．passion for reading manga | D．deep interest in entertainment |
| A．“Dragon Ball”: Manga’s Future Model |
| B．The Art of Manga: Techniques and Tips |
| C．Akira Toriyama: A Manga Legend’s Journey |
| D．The Legacy of “Dragon Ball”: Beyond the Manga |
6 . Born in Anhui Province, Tao Xingzhi (October18, 1891-July 25, 1946) was one of the greatest educationalists, social activists and patriots in modern China. When he was young, Tao lived in a poverty-stricken area and had witnessed miserable life of Chinese people, especially that of the peasants who accounted for 80% of the nation’s population, under the suppression of foreign invaders (外国侵略者的压迫) at that time.
After graduating from Nanjing University as the top student with the highest scores in all courses, Tao set out for the US to further his education. At first, he studied politics in University of Illinois but soon he found that politics offered no help for saving the country, and then he changed his major into education.
Six-year experience abroad let Tao Xingzhi come to realize the sharp contrast between China and developed countries, and drove him to make up his mind to change the situation in China. Tao declined a number of invitations from many famous universities and gave up high salaries as a college professor. Instead, he set up Xiaozhuang Normal School in the countryside of Nanjing to develop educational cause in rural areas. When he returned to China from Japan in 1939, Tao set up Yu Cai School in Sichuan Province for the kids who lost their family in Anti-Japanese War (抗日战争). He picked out those with special talents and trained them to be useful men for the nation. Zhou Enlai, former Chinese premier, once paid a visit to this school and gave a high praise.
As an educationalist, Tao devoted his entire life to the educational-cause for Chinese. Quite different from other major educationalists at that time, Tao carried out life education and said that “life education means an education of life, by life and for life”. Because of overtoil (积劳成疾), he died on July 25, 1946 in Shanghai. Chairman Mao praised him as “a great educationalist for the people”. In memory of this great man, Tao Xingzhi Museum was built in Shanghai in 1986.
1. The underlined phrase “accounted for” in the first paragraph has the same meaning of the phrase “______”.| A．depended on | B．took up | C．carried out | D．put off |
| A．Mr Tao returned from Japan to China |
| B．Mr Tao set up Yu Cai School in Sichuan Province |
| C．Mr Tao picked out some with special talents and trained them |
| D．Mr Tao established Xiaozhuang Normal School in Nanjing |
| A．Tao Xingzhi’s great contribution | B．Tao Xingzhi’s diseases |
| C．Tao Xingzhi’s daily life | D．Tao Xingzhi’s educational theories |
| A．a tourist website | B．an entertainment website |
| C．an educational website· | D．a scientific research website |
7 . In astronomy, star classification is governed by the Morgan-Keenen system, which categorizes stars based on their composition and surface temperature. The origins of this system can be traced back to the work of Annie Jump Cannon, a late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century astronomer who spent over forty years classifying stars based on their unique spectra (光谱) of transmitted light.
Beginning early in her life, Cannon demonstrated an exceptional talent for the physical sciences. As a child, she developed an interest in astronomy and transformed her study into a temporary observatory. Later, as a student at Wellesley College, Cannon earned a degree in physics and became an expert in spectroscopy, the process by which light is separated into its component wavelengths. During this period, she also took up photography and traveled extensively in order to experiment with the newly invented black-box camera.
Cannon’s background in physics, astronomy, and photography provided her with a unique skillset that would serve her well for the rest of her career. After working as a research assistant for a number of astronomers at Wellesley and Radcliffe Colleges, Cannon was hired by Professor Edward Charles Pickering, the director of the Harvard College Observatory. Under Pickering, she classified over 300,000 stars — more than any other human in history — using only a telescope, a spectrometer, and a camera. Using this knowledge, she developed her own classification system that relied on the surface temperature of the stars, which could be accurately estimated using the spectra of light transmitted from stars. It was said that Cannon could classify three stars a minute and, using a magnifying glass, could classify stars down to the 9th magnitude — sixteen times fainter than what can be seen by human eyes.
Today, Cannon’s unique classification system is used by countless astronomy enthusiasts around the world. Harlow Shapley, the astronomer who succeeded Pickering, once referred to Cannon’s contribution to astronomy as “a structure that probably will never be duplicated (复制) in kind or extent by a single individual.”
1. What do we know about Cannon according to the passage?| A．She invented black-box camera. | B．She built a star-watching spot at home. |
| C．She majored in photography in college. | D．She spent forty years in studying light transmission. |
| A．The camera could receive the spectra of light. |
| B．A star’s light could tell its external temperature. |
| C．The light of stars could be classified into nine types. |
| D．Approximately 300,000 stars possessed the same spectra. |
| A．Ambitious and generous. | B．Persistent and brave. |
| C．Work-addicted and honest. | D．All-around and creative. |
| A．A Woman Classifying the Stars | B．A Pupil Outdoing Her Master |
| C．Science Knows No Gender | D．Astronomy Taps Potential |
8 . In the late 1930s, people could donate blood, but very few hospitals could store it for later use. Whole blood breaks down quickly, and there were no methods at the time for safely preserving it. As a result, hospitals often did not have the appropriate blood type when patients needed it. Charles Drew, a Black surgeon and researcher, helped solve this monumental problem for medicine, earning him the title “Father of the Blood Bank.”
In 1938, while obtaining his doctorate in medicine, Drew became a fellow at Columbia University’s Presbyterian Hospital in New York. He studied the storage and distribution of blood, including the separation of its components, and applied his findings to an experimental blood bank at the hospital.
As Drew was finishing his degree at Columbia, World War II was erupting in Europe. Great Britain was asking the United States for desperately needed plasma (血浆) to help victims. Given his expertise, Drew was selected to be the medical director for the Blood for Britain campaign. Using Presbyterian Hospital’s blood bank as a model, Drew established uniform procedures and standards for collecting blood and processing blood plasma from nine New York hospitals. The five-month campaign collected donations from 15,000 Americans and was considered a success. His discoveries and his leadership saved countless lives.
With the increasing likelihood that the nation would be drawn into war, the United States wanted to capitalize on what Drew had learned from the campaign. He was appointed as the assistant director of a three-month pilot program to mass-produce dried plasma in New York, which became the model for the first Red Cross blood bank. His innovations for this program included mobile blood donation stations, later called bloodmobiles.
1. What problem did hospitals face in the late 1930s regarding blood donations?| A．The shortage of blood donors. | B．The inability to preserve blood. |
| C．The challenge of blood infection. | D．The failure to identify blood types. |
| A．He gathered different standards for the blood collection. |
| B．He worked on the bloodmobiles for easy access to donors. |
| C．He helped send life-saving drugs overseas to aid in the war. |
| D．He organized the collection and processing of blood plasma. |
| A．Groundbreaking. | B．Unpredictable. | C．Economical. | D．Controversial. |
| A．The life of Dr. Charles Drew. | B．The inventor of the Blood Bank. |
| C．A Savior of Lives during Wartime. | D．A Pioneer in Blood Transportation. |
9 . The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) is currently hosting “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited”. The exhibition spotlights Henson’s unique contributions to children’s education, including his creation of the Muppets (布偶).
Born in 1936 in Mississippi, Henson grew up in Maryland. His creative talents were evident when he was a student at high school. He loved cartooning and creating sets for school theater productions. While a freshman at university, Henson made puppets for a local TV station. The station’s producers were so impressed that they asked him to produce his own puppet show. Called Sam and Friends, the program started in 1955. Viewers loved Henson’s playful characters, including an early version of Kermit the Frog.
While at university, Henson majored in home economics. At the time, it was the only major that offered classes in sewing and textiles (纺织品). Henson not only honed his creative skills at university, but he was also good at marketing and business. “He was an entrepreneur who happened to get into puppetry,” said Deborah Wood, MCHC’s learning manager.
In 1959, Henson married Jane Nebel, whom he had met at university. The couple established Muppets Inc. which later became the Jim Henson Company. It was there that Focus Bert, Ernie, Miss Piggy, and other Muppets were created for Sesame Street, a popular children’s television program. Generations of children around the world have grown up watching and laming from the Muppets.
Henson, who died in 1990, created not just the Muppets, but also films, TV commercials, variety shows, and more. The exhibition shows every aspect of his career. This includes some lesser-known works, including The Cube, a short experimental film that was nominated(提名) for an Academy Award.
Visitors also get a chance to appreciate Henson’s creative process and inventiveness through hands-on displays. They can even make their own Muppets. “For me, I think the really powerful message of this exhibition is the fact that it covers Henson’s whole life and his whole career,” said Chloe Green, public programs manager at the MCHC.
1. What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．An interesting exhibition about Henson. | B．Viewers’ attitude to Henson’s works. |
| C．Henson’s exceptional talents in creation. | D．Characters in Henson’s famous works. |
| A．Improved. | B．Changed. | C．Found. | D．Shared. |
| A．A less well-known experimental film made by Henson is on exhibition. |
| B．The aim of the exhibition is to commemorate an educator. |
| C．The exhibits are composed of every aspect of Henson’s life. |
| D．Opinions vary on this exhibition. |
| A．Creative and courageous. | B．Talented and productive. |
| C．Humorous and passionate. | D．Courageous and intelligent. |
10 . Curiosity — the desire to know, to discover, to learn. Inspired by curiosity, humans are found everywhere on our planet, and beyond it in space. Yet according to human behaviourist and author of Curious, Ian Leslie, although we are all born curious, not all of us bring this into adulthood, and we can lose out as a result.
As Leslie explains, curiosity shapes us from the start. By trying new things, we build knowledge, and want to know more. “We are born aware that we don’t know stuff — we want to experience and discover.” However, the contrast between childhood and adulthood is clear. “We ask 40,000 questions a year between the ages of two and five,” says Leslie — around 110 each day; adults, in comparison, ask just 20.
As we get older, we may feel hesitant about asking questions, believing this reveals gaps in our knowledge. We can become scared to share unconventional ideas for fear of criticism or misunderstanding. We can also be a victim of our success, as Leslie explains. “Once you’ve worked out how to do your job, then you don’t feel curious anymore. The need to learn goes away — in a way, curiosity has done its job. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cultivate it.”
Leslie’s tips for cultivating curiosity begin with spending time with the experts — children. “Talk to your kids, and try to answer those weird, difficult questions they have — like ‘What is air?’ This makes you think about things you’ve taken for granted — it reawakens your curiosity in what’s around us and how we perceive the world.”
So does finding what Leslie calls an ‘informal mentor’, through work or other circles, who is happy to share their expertise, from a skill, technology, to a field of learning. “Try to think of people the way children think of adults — as sources of secret knowledge, a great store of learning you can tap into,” says Leslie.
Leslie also suggests creating a ‘spark file’ — a digital or physical notebook in which you collect interesting thoughts. “Fill it with facts you’ve come across, sentences you like, insights that strike you. Let it be random. And let it build. Over time you’ll build up a rich source of inspiration, and you’ll think, ‘Oh that’s interesting, that relates to this…’ And suddenly your mind starts firing away with new ideas and ways of thinking.”
1. According to Leslie, what happens as we get older?| A．We gradually lose our natural curiosity. |
| B．We are less aware of our knowledge gaps. |
| C．We are unwilling to let others benefit from our ideas. |
| D．We may think asking questions makes people foolish. |
| A．A day’s planning is best done at daybreak. |
| B．In the eyes of a lover, Xi Shi will appear. |
| C．A master can lead you to the door, but the rest is up to you. |
| D．When three people walk together, one can surely be my teacher. |
| A．It is carefully organized. | B．It can help people connect ideas. |
| C．It only contains complete sentences. | D．It can help people improve their memory. |
| A．To prove Ian Leslie’s arguments. | B．To summarise Ian Leslie’s viewpoint. |
| C．To question Ian Leslie’s conclusions. | D．To introduce Ian Leslie’s achievements. |
