【推荐2】Have you been exercising and eating healthy, but when you step on the scale, it says you’ve gained a few pounds? “That’s normal, and it doesn’t mean that your workouts are not effective”, says Jeffrey A. Dolgan, an exercise physiologist in Miami Beach, Florida.

“A person’s scale mass (质量) is a combination of muscle, fat, bone, blood, and even the air that we carry in our lungs,” he says. “Immediately after a workout routine, the percentage of mass in each body part can shift as much as 15 percent. So if you’re gaining weight while working out and eating healthy, it’s probably not the type of weight gain that you think it is.

The scale can’t tell you how much of your body weight is muscle or fat, which means if your goal is to improve your fitness level, the scale is not the best tool for measuring improvements. When you start to change your body composition with your workouts — by building more muscle mass and decreasing your body fat — your scale weight may increase, while your body fat percentage may decrease. These changes happen over weeks and months (not hours or days) so the scale is useless when tracking them.

You may argue that you weigh a few pounds less after a high intensity (强度) training class. Don’t get too excited—it’s just water loss due to sweat. Water makes up approximately 65 to 90 percent of a person’s weight, and variation in water content of the human body can move the scale by ten pounds or more from day to day.

So ignore the scale and pay more attention to objective measurement tools like body composition. Keep in mind that if you’re exercising but gaining weight, you may actually look slimmer.

1. What can we know from Dolgan’s words from paragraph 2?

A．Your weight changes little during a day.

B．Your scale mass is affected by many factors.

C．Your workout is not effective if you gain weight.

D．Your weight is determined only by muscle and fat.

2. What will most probably happen after you exercise and eat healthy for 3 months?

A．You will weigh more.

B．Your muscle mass will decrease.

C．Your body fat will increase.

D．Your body composition will change.

3. How much water may a man weighing 150 pounds have in his body?

A．30 pounds.	B．60 pounds.
C．100 pounds.	D．140 pounds.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．Why Do We Gain Weight?

B．How to Work Out Effectively?

C．What Is the Composition of Our Body?

D．Why Does My Workout Cause Weight Gain?

【推荐3】A group of blue-faced birds step through the grass shoulder to shoulder, red eyes looking around. They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different.

A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that the vulturine guineafowl of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. In the past, scientists assumed such social structures required a lot of brainpower. But the pea-brained guineafowl are revealing the faults in that assumption.

These large birds wander across the landscape in packs, often walking so closely that their bodies touch. They may fight each other to maintain their strict hierarchies (等级制度), but at other times they engage in friendly behaviours like sharing food.

Suspecting the guineafowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society. For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds, which let them see exactly where every group went, 24 hours a day.

The findings of the research suggest that the vulturine guineafowl have a multilevel society. There are groups within groups within the population as a whole. There even seem to be groups of friends within the small groups. This is the first time anyone has observed such a society in a bird.

And Dr. Farine emphasizes this particular bird’s tiny brain size: “ They don’t only have small brains relative to mammals (哺乳动物), they also have quite small brains relative to other birds, ” he said.

According to him, living in this kind of society might actually make it easier to keep track of the social order. For example, if groups are stable and a bird can identify just one or two individuals within a group, it knows which group it’s looking at — no need for a brain that can recognize every single animal. Multilevel societies also let animals adjust their group sizes based on whatever challenges they’re facing. Depending on what enemies or resources are around, it might make sense to travel in a combined group rather than a smaller one.

“ Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain, ” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have societies as many-leveled as our own.

1. According to the passage, what inspired Dr. Farine to carry out the study?

A．The guineafowl’s social behaviour.	B．Previous assumptions about birds.
C．His interest in animal brainpower.	D．The faults in earlier research.

2. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The research subjects.	B．The research methods.
C．The research findings.	D．The research equipment.

3. What can be learned from the passage?

A．Complex social systems can be a disadvantage to the guineafowl.

B．The guineafowl are good at recognizing individuals in a group.

C．Birds maintain social order by travelling in combined groups.

D．Small-brained animals can form multilevel societies.

【推荐2】It has been more than 40 years since anyone spotted a Japanese river otter (水獭). And the once common Yangtze River dolphins have either disappeared or are very rarely seen. These are just a few of the species that have been listed as extinct or locally extinct in recent years. But the advancement of technology could mean the extinction of other species is not a given (假定事实).

A huge challenge scientists and conservationists encounter is tracking species facing extinction to help them. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about a revolution in the way data on these species is collected and analyzed. One example is the Maui dolphin, one of the rarest and most threatened dolphins in the ocean. Familia r with their summer behavior, researchers knew there were just 54 living off the coast of New Zealand. However, because of weather conditions, researchers knew next to nothing about their winter behavior. After four years of developing, testing and fundraising, these scientists received permission to use a drone (无人机) with Al that tracked the dolphins no matter the season.

In parts of Australia, koalas were declared endangered in 2022 due to bushfires, habitat destruction and road accidents. Saving them was challenging because their locations and numbers were relatively unknown. So Grant Hamilton, an associate professor at Queensland University of Technology, began using drones with infrared imaging to locate them. An Al algorithm analyzes images to determine if a sighting is a koala. That information is then used to monitor and protect the species by restoring their habitats and providing health protection.

In Zambia’s Kafue National Park, home to more than 6,000 elephants, AI is being used to prevent illegal hunting. Cameras record any boats that try to illegally enter the park. Al immediately detects this activity and sends signals to the park rangers to deal with the illegal hunters.

The use of AI has helped to speed up action and increase conservationists’ ability to protect the natural world for generations to come.

1. What's the major problem scientists face to help the endangered animals?

A．Lack of funds.	B．Tracking their behavior.
C．Being forbidden to use drones.	D．Limited knowledge about their habitat.

2. What can we say about Maui dolphins?

A．Researchers spent 4 years tracking them.

B．They have already grown in large numbers.

C．They bring about a technical and data revolution.

D．Researchers can observe them in any season with drones.

3. How are koalas tracked in Australia?

A．By depending on drones with AI.

B．By using AI algorithm to analyze data.

C．By applying drones with infrared imaging.

D．By monitoring their behavior with cameras.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Drones with AI Help us Save Nature

B．The Extinction of Endangered Species

C．Saving Nature with Technology's Help

D．Saving Endangered Animals Has a Long Way

【推荐1】Many people heard about the “Little Free Library”, which was a movement that let people swap a book for another or take it and bring it back. Now, people are joining in the “Little Free Pantry” idea, which shares a similar value of spreading kindness with mini pantries.

One family who live in Boise, Idaho, have a three-year-old son who wanted to build something for his third birthday, so they decided that they would build a community pantry box that they would share with their neighbors. They felt that they had everything they wanted, so they wanted to give a little something back to the community and help the people in need.

The idea is that the family fill this box up with non-perishable (不易腐的) items, which include tins, toiletries, and other goods. However, it’s meant to be a community give and take, so other people would also contribute to adding to this mini-pantry.

It seems that the idea has taken off in other communities who also want to give a little something back and help those in need. It’s the kind of movement that helps the struggling members of the community, allowing them to live knowing that they can have a can of soup for dinner if they have nothing else. Or that sanitary products are available.

The Millers keep their little pantry going, realizing that it’s emptiest toward the end of the month, so they know that it’s really helping people. They don’t believe that anyone has taken advantage of it and that it’s only helped people.

Various other communities have taken on the mini pantries project in order to spread a little kindness within their community.

1. Why is “Little Free Library” mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．To show the striking difference between it and “Little Free Pantry”.

B．To help readers have a better understanding of “Little Free Pantry”.

C．To encourage people to take “Little Free Library” as an example.

D．To prove that most people are just so kind as to help those in need.

2. Why did the family build the “Little Free Pantry”?

A．To let others know about their son’s birthday.

B．To show that they lived in great abundance,

C．To egress gratitude and offer help to others.

D．To test if people in the community are honest.

3. Whom is Free Pantry most helpful to?

A．Those who can’t go shopping often.	B．Those who want to show kindness.
C．Those who want to celebrate birthdays.	D．Those who live in great poverty.

4. How is the “Little Free Library” idea going?

A．The community pantry box is always empty.

B．People take advantage of others’ kindness.

C．More items are badly needed to refill the box.

D．It is gaining more and more popularity.

【推荐2】I’m Dina Asher-Smith. Growing in Orpington, southeast London, I love being the hunter. The one in pursuit. In training, I’ll latch on to the boys and chase them down. Even when I was younger, I tended to race girls who were older than me — at 17 I was racing 30-year-olds. It’s where I’m comfortable. But the hunter can go on to become the hunted. And this year at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, I won gold in the 200m. At 23, I became the first British woman to win a world championship sprinting (短跑) title. The morning after the race, I was in the media tent and was told that I’d been mentioned in the Parliament.

Track and field is a mental game. You’re in your own little world, competing to be the person who can run the fastest in a straight line. My job is to take my body to a place where I think it can’t do any more and then keep going. To do that, I need to know my strengths and weaknesses. People get caught up in embarrassment or shame when they’re not good at something, but I just don’t have that in me. I do have a voice in my head that tells me if I’m not good at things, but it doesn’t make me feel negative about myself I use it to identify where I can improve and then I just keep going to training every day.

I’ve inherited personality traits from my parents that help me in my career. My mum is excitable and when I’m on the track, I have her fire-wanting to go for everything. I always know when I finish a race that I can turn around and find her in the front row, jumping up and down. My dad is more reserved. He has a cool exterior and that’s useful for me when I need calmness. I know to look for him a few rows behind my mum. They gave me opportunities to try whatever I was interested in. When I wanted to try golf my dad bought me cut-down clubs and had me attempting to putt balls (推球入洞) in the back garden. My mum used to play hockey with me outside the house. They took me to so many clubs and classes.

I started training with my coach, John Blackie, in my mid-teens. We met when I was eight as he ran the kids academy at my running club. Along with my parents, the three of them always emphasized that they just wanted me to be happy. They never pushed me too early. And, as I’ve got older, I’ve realized that’s unique. When running became serious, I knew that if it all stopped being fun for me, I could stop doing it. They put Dina the person before Dina the runner. Yes, the public might be disappointed and the newspapers might have a pop (抨击), but my parents and friends are still going to love me, and my coach is still going to be there. That knowledge allows me to stay relaxed under pressure.

Being as prepared as I can be is crucial as it keeps me calm and able to deliver in the moment. When I was studying history at university, I’d choose exams over coursework because I knew I could put the work in and perform under pressure. I was studying heavy things every day, like people facing prejudice because of their skin, or women sacrificing their lives for others to have the right to vote. It made me realize how lucky I am that the thing that gets me most frustrated is somebody beating me on the track. While, yes, I make sacrifices-some easy, such as not drinking and going out, and some harder, like restricting the food that I eat — ultimately, what I do is entertainment.

Everyone’s asking me about Tokyo Olympics, but I’m more focused on today. It’s important for me to keep my hopes and dreams separate from other people’s. I’m grateful everybody wants me to do well, but my next step has to be for me, not anyone else.

1. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Asher-Smith is the victim of the sprinting world.

B．Asher-Smith becomes the focus of media coverage.

C．Asher-Smith now runs faster than those she chased.

D．Asher-Smith is no match for older racers in competitions.

2. Paragraph 4 indicates that Asher-Smith’s parents and coach                 .

A．prioritize her personal well-being

B．justify her failure to continue running

C．put her interests above the other runners

D．shelter her from the criticism of the media

3. What impact does her university life have on her?

A．It makes her lead a cosy life today.

B．It allows her to face prejudice bravely

C．It enables her to be better prepared as an athlete.

D．It inspires her to fight for women’s human rights.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．What it takes to be a gold medal sprinter.

B．Why it is hard to rise to fame in sprinting.

C．Who one can turn to in pursuit of the dream.

D．How parents discipline a sprinting champion.

【推荐3】Mr Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea.""OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn't remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?"
"Burnt yesterday evening."
1. Mr Brown told his son that _____.

A．he would be away from home for four days

B．he would be back in seven days

C．he would be back in a month

D．he liked a cup of tea

2. Mr Brown wrote the words down on ________.

A．the wall

B．the door

C．a piece of paper

D．his son's pocket

3. A man came to visit the boy's father on ________.

A．the second day

B．the third day

C．the fourth day

D．the fifth day

4. What was burnt? ___________.

A．The piece of paper

B．Mr Smith

C．The visitor

D．The boy

【推荐1】When you buy fresh-cut flowers, do you think about where they came from？You might think they were grown somewhere nearby. The reality, though, is that the cut flower trade is increasingly International. Today, thanks to airplanes and high-tech cooling systems, even the most delicate flower be exported and sold thousands of kilometers away from where it was grown.

The Netherlands handles about 60 percent of the world’s cut flowers. And its auction houses（拍卖行）are very large---Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, is auction house in the sense that Tokyo is a city, or Everest a mountain. About 120 soccer fields would fill its main building. Nineteen million flowers are sold here on an average day.

The Netherlands is also a world leader in developing new flower varieties. Dutch companies and the government invest a great amount of money in flower research. Their scientists look for ways to lengthen a flower’s vase life, to strengthen flowers to prevent them from being damaged while traveling, and also to strengthen the natural fragrance of the flowers.

There are also many other places with a better climate for growing flowers, and the climate of Ecuador is almost perfect. With predictable rainy periods and 12 hours of sunlight each day, Ecuador’s roses are famous for their large heads and long, straight stems（茎）. Every year, Ecuador sells about 500 million flowers to the U.S. alone. The industry has brought employment opportunities and a stronger economy to the country. “My family has TV now. There are radios.” says Yolanda Quishpe, 20, who picked roses for four years.

To others, the increasingly international nature of the flower trade is very bad news. In recent years local growers in the U.S. faced huge competition from international flower companies, and many lost their businesses. Lina Hale, an independent rose grower said her father had predicted the situation in the 1980s. “I see a train coming down the track,” he warned her, “and it’s coming straight towards us.”

1. What do we know about Aalsmeer?

A．It’s very large.

B．It’s as big as Tokyo.

C．19 million flowers are grown there.

D．60% of the Netherland’s flowers are sold there.

2. What is one aspect of the Netherlands’ flower research?

A．How to increase flower production.

B．How to avoid climate’s effect on flowers.

C．How to speed up the process of flowering.

D．How to keep flowers fresh during transportation.

3. What does the author want to show through Yolanda Quishpe’s words?

A．Flowers from Ecuador are beautiful.

B．Ecuador could grow even more flowers.

C．The flower trade in Ecuador benefits the local.

D．Rose-picking is a very popular job in Ecuador.

4. What Lina Hale’s father said suggested that ______.

A．he was excited to see the train

B．he knew his business would be affected

C．he was sure customers wouldn’t want

D．he thought trains were a new way to deliver flowers

【推荐2】Jules Verne was born on 8 February 1828 in the French city of Nantes. From an early age, he had a fascination with exploration and discovery. When he was six, his teacher, Madame Sambin, told him stories about her husband, who disappeared while travelling the world on a ship 30 years before. She told her class that he was like Robinson Crusoe, a fictional (虚构的) castaway who lived on a desert island. Verne would later write stories about similar characters.

In 1847, Verne was sent by his family to study law at a university in Paris, but he preferred to write novels, poems and plays. After graduating, he realized he wanted to write science adventure stories. This had never been done before, but Verne was sure that it would be a success. His first story, Five Weeks in a Balloon, was published in September 1862. His career lasted for more than 40 years, during which time he wrote more than 60 gripping (扣人心弦的) stories.

To begin with, Verne wrote positive and optimistic books. Many of these were to be his most popular creations. Although some included fantastical elements, they were usually based on scientific facts, making them believable. These happy stories weren’t to last. As he got older, Verne became less confident in the idea that science and technology were always good for the planet. His books started to include more scientists who used technology for their own—sometimes evil—purposes. Verne died on 24 March 1905, but new books continued to be published until 1919. These stories were based on ideas Verne had written about while he was still alive, but featured new characters and plots created by his son, Michel.

In the 20th century, his books were translated into more than 140 languages and several successful film versions came out. His creations have been recognized as an inspiration for many scientists and inventors. Many of the futuristic ideas from his most popular books have since come true.

1. What is the function of paragraph 1?

A．To describe Verne’s discovery.

B．To introduce the characters of his stories.

C．To present the adventure of Sambin’s husband.

D．To show the teacher’s impact on Verne’s writing.

2. What does the underlined word “This” refer to in paragraph 2?

A．Studying law.

B．Graduating from university.

C．Writing novels, poems and plays.

D．Writing science adventure stories.

3. What can be learned about Verne’s later works?

A．They covered happy elements.

B．They were unbelievable stories.

C．They revealed Verne’s doubt on science.

D．They were partly written by Verne’s son.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Verne?

A．Talented and productive.	B．Popular and caring.
C．Optimistic and generous.	D．Friendly and honest.

【推荐3】Kieron Graham always knew he had an older brother. His adoption papers, signed and sealed when he was three months old, listed a sibling named Vincent but no last name. Though Kieron spent years thinking about Vincent, he could never track him down.

That changed in December 2017, when Kieron’s adoptive parents gave their four adopted children AncestryDNA tests as Christmas gifts. Kieron, now 21, sent his saliva sample in for analysis. When his results came back, he was stunned to find he had a slew of DNA matches for relatives who had also taken the test. Most were distant connections, but one match was so strong that it was labeled “close family”. His name was Vincent Ghant. Kieron looked for him on Facebook and soon made a possible connection. “This is going to sound so wild … but I think you’re my brother,” Kieron wrote on Facebook’s Messenger app.

“I was given up for adoption in 1997 and it says on my paperwork that my mother has a son with your name and your birth date. Her name is Shawn.”

“OMG do you know your real name?” wrote Vincent, now 30.

“I think it was Tyler.”

“OMG YES!!! You are my brother.”

“Wow,” wrote Kieron.

“This is crazy,” said Vincent.

The craziness was just beginning. As they talked, the brothers realized they lived about 20 minutes from each other, outside of Atlanta. More mind-blowing, they attended the same university and majored and minored in the same subjects: political science and legal studies.

“We were like, what are the odds we’re separated our entire lives and then end up at the same school with the same interests?” says Kieron.

Vincent was nine when Kieron was born and remembers caring for his baby brother. But times were tough, and Shawn, who worked 15-plus hours a day as a nurse, decided that placing Kieron for adoption would give him the best chance to succeed.

Now the brothers had the chance to make up for lost time. They decided to meet at a local tea shop that week. “I was really nervous,” says Kieron. “I was wondering what I should say, what I should do.” As he waited outside the shop, he heard someone call his name, and he suddenly found himself in a hug with the brother he’d thought about his entire life.

The men went inside and talked. “We connected,” says Vincent, “like we already knew each other.”

1. The underlined word “mind-blowing” is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．desperate

B．grateful

C．ridiculous

D．surprising

2. Which of the following statement is true about the two brothers?

A．Kieron was given up for adoption as soon as he was born.

B．They grew in different environment but had a similar educational background.

C．Kieron had met Vincent before as they lived quite close to each other.

D．It was rather difficult for Kieron to track down his own brother after the AncestryDNA test.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Adopted children usually show deeper affection for their birth family.

B．Vincent lives with his mother all the time.

C．Kieron’s mother was unwilling to give him up but she had no choice.

D．The four adopted children have found their birth family after the AncestryDNA tests.