【推荐1】David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) is delighted to welcome faithful supporters and new friends to join us at our annual Wildlife Ball to celebrate the natural world and conservation. Hosted by the grand Dorchester Hotel in London, the DSWF Wildlife Ball will take place on the 27th July 2024 where we’ll bring the wilderness to life with our very own Sundown Safari (观赏之旅).

Join a black-tie gastronomical (美食) safari

As part of a black-tie gastronomical safari, guests will be treated to a mouth-watering three-course meal, enjoy world-class entertainment and listen to insightful and inspiring speeches about DSWF’s conservation work to turn the tables on extinction.

The DSWF Wildlife Ball helps raise vital funds and awareness for our essential work, protecting endangered species and their habitats across the world. After a year away we are excited to be welcoming you back and look forward to being your guides at what promises to be a night to remember in support of wildlife.

Last year, the virtual Wildlife Ball raised over £ 800,000 for DSWF’s vital conservation efforts across Africa and Asia, despite not being able to celebrate in person. We are really excited to invite you back to the Dorchester Hotel, who are our generous hosts, and together aim to celebrate wildlife and the wilderness in style and to raise vital funds to help in the fight for a greener future.

Book tickets to the Wildlife Ball 2024

Book tickets or register your interest today to avoid disappointment. Either by emailing the team at wildlifeball @ davidshepherd.org or by calling the DSWF office on 01483 272323.

Individual Tickets: £ 200(Children under 12 get 40%off)

VIP packages are available on request.

1. What do we learn about Wildlife Ball 2024?

A．It’ll be held in the wild.

B．It’ll offer guests a delicious meal.

C．It’ll allow guests to watch ball games.

D．It’ll be followed by a guided tour of London.

2. What’s the main purpose of hosting Wildlife Ball 2024?

A．To entertain supporters	B．To celebrate the festival
C．To obtain financial support.	D．To interact with wild animals.

3. What’s the admission fee for a couple with their ten-year-old twins?

A．£ 440.

B．£ 520.

C．£ 560.

D．£ 640.

【推荐2】6-Day Trek (艰苦跋涉) in the Highland National Parks
Destinations: Saigon—Cat Tien National Park—Buon Ma Thuot—Lak Lake—YokDon National Park
Estimated trekking time: Average 4-5 hours／day
Summary: This trip is ideal for those who love trekking in natural forests. From the southern part of Vietnam up to the central highlands, you will cross through two national parks. There will be opportunities to see wildlife and challenge yourself physically at a moderate (中等的) level.
Indulge yourself in the beauty of nature, escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, rediscover yourself in the natural world and refresh both mind and body.
Highlights:
1) Private tour
2) Walk through the forest to a fascinating and beautiful wetland area. If you are lucky, you may be able to see many different kinds of animals using only binoculars (双筒望远镜).
3) Night time wildlife-spotting excursion (远足)
4) Elephant riding
Includes:
1) Travel insurance
2) Private transportation
3) English-speaking guide
4) Guest house-twin shared room
5) Meals as indicated in the itinerary
6) Elephants
7) Canoe
8) Mineral water
9) Entrance fees & all permits
Excludes:
1) Surcharges for other guides in other languages, festival season and peak season surcharges, which will be advised at time of booking
2) Visa
3) Gong show (80 USD／show)
4) Tips
5) Personal expenses
1. During the tour, visitors will trek through _______ national parks.

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

2. In the forest, tourists will be able to _______.

A．ride elephants	B．have barbeques with natives
C．play with wild animals	D．race in canoes

3. Visitors may have to pay extra fees for _______.

A．permits	B．a Gong show
C．meals and water	D．an English-speaking guide

4. This advertisement is especially for visitors _______.

A．from other countries

B．who love wildlife

C．who enjoy country life

D．interested in hiking in forests

【推荐3】With the development of the Internet, it has resulted in a huge increase in credit-card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site.
Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.
On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number — or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25, 000 customers of CD Universe , an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157, 828 to get back the information.
Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web — only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.
Ask about your credit-card firm’s on-line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent(欺骗性的) spending.
And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.
If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Website address may also start https: //—the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, you’re your credit-card information over the telephone.
Keep your password safe: Most on-line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.
1. What is the meaning of “fraud”?

A．Safety.

B．Sale.

C．Payment.

D．Cheating.

2. What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?

A．Fraud on the Internet.

B．Many Web sites are destroyed.

C．Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet.

D．A lot of stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet.

3. How can the thieves get the information of the credit card?

A．The customers give them the information.

B．The thieves steal the information from Web sites.

C．The customers sell the information to them.

D．The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms.

4. You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping. com, and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest you do?

A．Order the TV set at once.

B．Do not buy the TV set on this site.

C．E-mail the site your credit-card information.

D．Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.

5. How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you?

A．six.

B．three.

C．Five.

D．four.

【推荐1】Who is the best foreign cross-talk（相声）comedian? People have always wondered how the Canadian with his standard Mandarin pronunciation, practised skills on Chinese expressions and special humour with a Beijing accent, Dashan has become a household name across China.

The Canadian can be so skillful in the Chinese language even though it is considered by many as one of the most difficult languages in the world. But to Dashan, the great challenge was a piece of cake due to his deep interest, proper method and the excellent environment he created for himself.

"Interest is the best teacher." That is a universal principle. Even if the 20-year-old Mark Rowswell—Dashan's real name—hadn't fully realized what attracted him to the Chinese department at the University of Toronto in Canada, he was already deeply interested in Chinese culture when he decided to have further studies in Beijing.

Entering the Chinese department of Peking University in 1988, Dashan felt like a duck to water. Study is always a hard job, no matter how much interest you have. Therefore, effective ways are necessary to improvement. "Learn for life and learn in life" is Dashan's belief.

As a freshman at the University of Toronto, the student did study textbooks, with especially aimed on foreign Chinese learners. They did help him build a solid foundation.

However, that's far from enough to grasp the Chinese language. Starting in his junior year, Dashan began to read original Chinese novels, Chinese newspapers and even the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping. "Only the material for Chinese native readers could give me a proper sense of the language," he said.

The language that is the daily means of communication is the principle that Dashan always keeps in his mind. What you have really learned depends on what you can use, not necessarily your mastery of textbooks.

To learn in daily life requires a favourable language environment, which is also necessary for improvement. Dashan admits it is hard for Chinese English learners to be brought into a good English speaking environment, but insists, "to listen and speak as much as possible does help."

To help Chinese English learners develop a favourable environment, Dashan took part in a VCD programme— "Travel with Dashan" — to teach daily and up-to-date English in real-life situations.

1. What can we learn from this text?

A．Dashan thinks Mandarin is the most difficult language in the world.

B．Dashan's reading Chinese in the original helps him build a solid foundation.

C．Dashan's VCD programme "Travel with Dashan" helps Chinese learn English.

D．Dashan began to show interest in Chinese culture when studying in Peking University.

2. The underlined sentence "Learn for life and learn in life" in Paragraph 4 means "       ".

A．learn things in our daily life

B．learn more to lead a better life

C．practice the language frequently

D．learn to live and learn in our daily lives

3. Dashan read the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping         .

A．to kill the time	B．to get a proper sense of Chinese
C．to admire the former leader	D．to learn more of the spirits of Chinese

4. What is this text mainly about        ?

A．why Dashan came to China to learn Chinese

B．what is the best way to learn a foreign language

C．how Dashan has become a household name across China

D．how Dashan teaches English through VCD in real life situations

【推荐2】In 2017,the United Arab Emirates announced its ambition to colonize Mars within the next 100 years. But architects are already imagining what a Martian city might look like-and planning to recreate it in the desert outside Dubai.

Mars Science City was originally scheduled to cover 176,000 square meters of desert-the size of more than 30 football fields-and cost approximately 135 million dollars. To create a space for Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to develop the technology needed to colonize Mars,architects Bjarke Ingels Group were asked to design a prototype of a city suitable for sustaining life on Mars-and then adapt it for use in the Emirati desert.

For this unique commission,the architects first had to overcome the immense challenges of creating a design to make the severe environment of Mars habitable. Mars has a thin atmosphere and no global magnetic field,so there's little protection from harmful radiation. Temperature is another problem-the average on Mars is a chilly 63 degrees C. The thin atmosphere also means there's little air pressure,so liquids quickly evaporate into gas; despite freezing temperatures,an unprotected human's blood would boil on Mars.But according to Jonathan Eastwood,director of the Space Lab at Imperial College London,the biggest challenge in terms of a sustained presence on Mars is not the engineering or scientific challenge,but the human and personal one.More researches need to be done to test the effects of isolation on mental and physical health of astronauts.

The MBRSC hopes that,in future,such research could take place in Mars Science City.This is going to be our platform where we can develop the science and the technology that will help us in our future missions to Mars,said Adnan AlRais,Mars 27 Program Manager at MBRSC."We want to come up with a totally new facility that will help the international community.”

1. What information can you get about the Martian city?

A．It is planned to be completed in the next 100 years.

B．It occupies more than 30 football fields of Dubai.

C．It has been put into use in the desert outside Dubai.

D．It serves as a prototype for sustaining life on Mars.

2. Which is not the challenge for living on Mars?

A．A thin atmosphere exposes people to harmful radiation.

B．High temperature makes unprotected human's blood boil.

C．Little air pressure causes liquid to turn into gas quickly.

D．A long period of isolation may affect physical health.

3. What's the attitude of Adnan AIRais towards building MBRSC?

A．Positive

B．objective

C．critical

D．skeptical

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

A．The research on the effects of living on Mars.

B．A Martian city designed for the desert outside Dubai.

C．The United Arab Emirates' ambition to colonize Mars.

D．The challenges of surviving the inhabitable environment of Mars.

【推荐3】When a corporation is formed, it issues stock (股票), which is sold or given to individuals. Ownership of stock entitles you to vote in the election of a corporation’s directors, so in theory holders of stock control the company. In practice, however, in most large corporations, ownership is separated from control of the firm. Most stockholders have little input into the decisions a corporation makes. Instead, corporations are often controlled by their managers, who often run them for their own benefit as well as for the owners. The reason is that the owners’ control of management is limited.

A large percent of most corporations’ stock is not even controlled by the owners; instead,   is controlled by financial institutions such as mutual funds (financial institutions that invest individuals’ money for them) and by pension funds (financial institutions that hold people’s money for them until it is to be paid out to them upon their retirement). Thus, ownership of I Corporations is another step removed from individuals. Studies have shown that 80 percent of the largest 200 corporations in the US are essentially controlled by managers and have little effective stockholder control.

Why is the question of who controls a firm important? Because economic theory assumes the goal of business owners is to maximize profits , which would be true of corporations if stockholders made the decisions. Managers don’t have the same motivation to maximize profits that owners do. There’s pressure on managers to maximize profits, but that pressure can often be weak or ineffective. An example of how firms deal with this problem involves stock options. Many companies give their managers stock options-rights to buy stock at a low price - to encourage them to worry about the price of their company’s stock. But these stock options dilute (稀释)the value of company ownership and decrease profits per share and can give managers an incentive (激励, 刺激)to overstate profits through accounting tricks, as happened at Enron, Xerox, and a number of other firms.

1. Why can’t the stockholders control the company?

A．Because they are separated from the managers.

B．Because they have a little input in making decisions.

C．Because they are limited in the control of management.

D．Because they are restricted to the ownership of the company.

2. Which of the following statements is true of the ownership of corporations?

A．Ownership is controlled by managers.

B．Ownership is separated from control of the company.

C．Ownership is removed from the stockholders.

D．Ownership is controlled by financial institutions.

3. What is used to encourage managers to maximize profits?

A．Stock option.	B．The right to own stock.
C．Controlling power.	D．Effective   stockholder control.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Who Controls Corporation?	B．When should the Stock be Issued?
C．Importance of Financial Institutions	D．Stockholders and Managers

【推荐1】Mya Le Thai is a scientist studying at the University of California, Irvine. She recently discovered a process that may result in batteries that last forever. Thai said she had been discouraged that the batteries for her wireless devices degrade. Over time, they fail to charge fully.

Thai did not like to have kept her wireless laptop connected to an electrical outlet. She decided to do something about that problem.

At first, she and her team thought about inventing a new battery. But as they experimented, Thai discovered something that might permit lithium-ion(锂离子) batteries to last forever. Lithium-ion batteries power most wireless devices. Over time, the batteries lose the ability to hold a charge. Most of these batteries have a life span of about 7,000 charging cycles before they die.

One of the reasons lithium-ion batteries degrade is their use of nanowires(纳米线) to carry electricity. Nanowires are extremely thin. A human hair is thousands of times thicker, for example. Nanowires are extremely efficient carriers of electricity, which makes them useful in batteries. But Thai said their thinness also makes them weak. “Nanowires break over time,” she said. “That's why they lose capacity(能力).”

But, Thai had a theory: The nanowires might last longer if covered with a material. She and the team tested her theory. The team tried many coverings for the wires. PMMA was one of them. The nanowires were coated with PMMA and cycled through charges 200,000 times. The PMMA coated nanowires showed no evidence of damage. The results suggest that batteries could last forever, without losing charging ability.

Thai hopes to continue her research to understand why this material works so well and to see if any other material could create better results.

“It's kind of cool,” she said, “I'm really glad people are showing interest in my work and not just in the work itself, but also in technology and energy.”

1. What caused Thai to do research on the batteries?

A．Weak power of the batteries.	B．Her habit to use her computer.
C．Inconvenient use of batteries.	D．Her preference for batteries.

2. What's the disadvantage of lithium-ion batteries?

A．They have a limited service life.	B．They need charging very often.
C．They are not quite dependable.	D．They are easy to break down.

3. Why did Thai try covering the nanowires with a certain material?

A．To convey more electricity.	B．To make them a thicker cover.
C．To make them much safer to use.	D．To protect them from being damaged.

4. What can probably be a suitable title for the text?

A．Batteries Would Work Without Recharging

B．Lithium-ion Batteries Might Come to an End

C．Batteries Lasting Forever Could Be Near Soon

D．Batteries Would Be Replaced By A New Power

【推荐2】Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity appears to spread through social ties, much like a virus. When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow. But the finding might also offer hope.

If friends help make obesity acceptable, then might also be influential in losing the fat. The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced problems, like alcoholism.

The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, The researchers used information collected from 12,000 people. It was collected between 1971 and 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study.

The information was highly detailed. There was even contact information for close friends of the people in the study.

The researchers examined more than 40,000 social ties. They found that a person’s chances of becoming severely overweight increased by 57% if a friend had become obese.

A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40% increased chance of becoming obese. The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that.

Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead investigator in the study. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend.

The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence. In same-sex friendships a person had a 70% increased risk of becoming obese. Men had a 44% increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in brother. In sisters, it was 67%.

The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in relation to each other. James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, was the other lead investigator. He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people’s health is tied to their social connections.

Both investigators say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but a public health problem.

1. What does the underlined sentence in Para. 2 mean?

A．Obesity has a negative influence on a close friend.

B．Friends might also play a part in losing weight.

C．One might have a positive influence on one’s friend.

D．Friends usually don’t follow each other to lose weight.

2. Who is mostly likely to gain weight?

A．A man who has a fat brother	B．A husband who has a fat wife
C．A wife who has a fat husband	D．A woman who has a fat female friend

3. Which of the following statements doesn’t the passage agree with?

A．You are sure to lose weight if you have a skinny friend.

B．If one gains weight, one’s friends are likely to get fat.

C．A person’s health is closely linked with his /her social relationship.

D．Even if the friend lives far away, the influence still remains.

4. The reason why the study involves both family members and friends is that_______.

A．researchers fail to find a more different sample

B．researchers have different ideas for family members and friends

C．researchers can meet these people regularly

D．researchers can compare the results

【推荐3】Last - Minute Father’s Day gift ideas

Okay, it’s officially last minute for deciding and choosing Father’s Day gifts. Here are some last-minute ideas.

The gift of music. If you’ve got the cash, and think Dad might like his own MP3 player to enjoy, go with an Apple iPod nano ($ 60), which would allow him to listen to and wirelessly buy all kinds of music via a Yahoo! Music subscription. If he’s strictly a CD man, burn one for him with some new tunes you think he’d like.

Digital camera. The most expensive thing on this last-minute list, the Canon PowerShot SD600 IS Digital Elph ($ 102) is a can’t - miss choice for excellent photos with simple - to - use features. It slips into a pocket and makes taking great pictures of the kids nearly effortless.

Do something for him. Sometimes the best gift is noticing what Dad does around the house to keep things running smoothly, and then offering to do it in his stead. Mow the lawn. Take out the garbage and recycling for a month. If you don’t live near your Dad, you can promise to do a few   things to help out around the house on the next visit. Remember it is free of charge!

Something simple. Kids can make a unique, personal T-shirt ($5) for Dad quickly and easily with EasyImage.

Sunday will be here before we know it. Don’t put it off another day!

1. If Tom’s father is crazy about music, how much will it cost Tom to buy the gift for him?

A．$102

B．$60

C．$10

D．$5

2. Who might be most interested in the camera?

A．A senior high school student with little pocket money .

B．A father who likes traveling and taking photos for his kids

C．A professional photographer

D．A grandpa who is too sick to walk about

3. The author doesn’t suggest that we should help the father ________.

A．mow the lawn	B．wash the car
C．take out the garbage	D．make a unique, personal T-shirt