1 . People are trying to build “green buildings” that are friendly to the environment. They might not seem any different from common buildings. But let’s take a closer look.
Stay cool and warm. It takes a lot of energy to light rooms. It also takes energy to heat and cool buildings. So green buildings are designed to do all these things with much less energy. An energy-smart building starts with thick walls. Special insulation (隔热材料) inside keeps heat inside in winter and keeps heat outside in summer. This saves energy for heating and cooling. Some green buildings don’t need any radiators (散热器) or air conditioning at all!
Save the trees. What a building is made from can also help the planet. To save forests, some green buildings have bamboo floors instead of wood. Bamboo looks like wood, but it’s actually a grass. It grows back 20 times faster than a tree. Another way to build green is to use recycled materials. That saves the cost and reduces pollution of producing something new. Make better home. City planners like green buildings because they save money and they are healthier for the people who work and live inside. But you don’t need to build a whole new building. Simple changes like shading windows and planting trees can make any home greener—and a better Earth home for us all.
As more people become concerned (担忧的) about climate change, more buildings are going green. Experts are finding new ways to build green buildings. We also need to change our mind. Let’s take action now!
1. How does an energy-smart building save energy for heating and cooling?| A．It uses air conditioners. | B．It uses smart radiators. |
| C．It has special thick walls. | D．It has fewer room lights. |
| A．it is a recycled material | B．it grows back much faster |
| C．it can keep the room warm | D．it can save a lot of money |
| A．build a whole new green building |
| B．pay attention to climate change |
| C．make small changes to our home |
| D．use only gas to cook our meals |
Thanks to Earth, we have fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink and warm sunshine to enjoy. In fact, our earth is facing lots of environmental challenges. But it seems that we may not realize that our planet is getting sick.
Among all the environmental challenges, climate change sits at the top. Global temperatures have risen by more than 0.5 ℃ since 1992. A half-degree temperature rise is a big deal. It means that heat waves can last around a third longer and rainstorms will be about a third stronger. The increase in sea levels will be much higher, according to NASA. Countries like Singapore and Tokyo that are at low altitudes (海拔) may be covered by the ocean in the future.
But this is not the only problem people are facing. It’s getting harder to get fresh water. Ocean pollution has become serious. Since 1992, the human population has grown by 2 billion, while the populations of all other animals have dropped by nearly 30 percent. Scientists say that we are experiencing the sixth mass extinction (物种大灭绝) in history. More than two thirds of the world’s wildlife could be gone if action isn’t taken soon, according to the WWF.
However, we have made some progress by making the hole in the ozone layer (臭氧层) smaller. That’s because we gradually stopped using chemicals that can break down ozone. This shows that when we make quick and strong decisions, we can make positive changes.
| Our earth is facing lots of environmental challenges but we human-beings 1 them 1 |
| Climate change ● Moaning: Global temperatures. have risen over 0. 5 ℃ since 1992: ● Influence: Longer heat waves, more strong rainstorms, rising sea levels. ● Possible danger: 2 at low altitude Other challenges ● Ocean pollution ● Difficulty in getting fresh water ● Rising in human population, and 3 animal kinds. |
| We need to make quick and strong decisions so that cur action can really 5 in protecting our earth. | The hole in the ozone becomes smaller because we stopped using ozone-harming chemicals. |
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3 . Do you like writing by hand or with a keyboard?
A new brain (脑) study at Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that choosing handwriting instead of using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.
“When you write your shopping list or class notes by hand, you simply remember what you wrote better later,” said Audrey van der Meer, who did the study.
12 young grown-ups and 12 children took part in the study. Special machines were used to follow and record brain wave (电波) activities. Each person wore a special cap with over 250 electrodes (极) on the head, and was asked to write by hand and use a keyboard. The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes picked up the activities that took place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes for each person.
The results showed that the brain in both young grown-ups and children was much more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses become active by holding a pen and putting it down on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These build connection (关联) between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.
Van der Meer believes that the results let us know the importance of children being asked to draw and write at an early age, “Learning to write by hand is a slower course, but it's important for children to experience the tiring step of learning to write by hand,” she said.
The hand movements used to form the shapes (形状) of letters are helpful in several ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand needs control (控制) of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning condition as often as possible,” Van der Meer added, For example, you might use a keyboard to write an article, but you should take notes by hand during a class.
1. Which is the correct order of the study?①Record and study the results.
②Put a special cap on each person.
③Find 12 young grown-ups and 12 children.
④Ask the people to write by hand and use a keyboard.
| A．②④①③ | B．③②④① | C．③④②① | D．②①④③ |
| A．You can remember what you write better if you use a keyboard. |
| B．Fewer people choose handwriting and more people use a keyboard. |
| C．The brain is more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. |
| D．It is easier to put your brain in a learning condition when you use a keyboard. |
| A．The letters you are learning to write, |
| B．The skills you use to write an article. |
| C．The sense experiences when you write by hand. |
| D．The different parts of the brain relative (相关的) to writing. |
| A．Ways to take notes by hand. |
| B．How to control your fine motor skills. |
| C．Examples of using a keyboard. |
| D．Why hand movements in writing are helpful. |
4 . For thousands of years, tea is loved by many people around the world. It has finally received top-level global recognition as a shared cultural treasure of our humans. On November 29, 2022, traditional tea processing techniques and their related social customs in China were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产名录). Following “Wangchuan Ceremony (送王船)” in 2020, this project is the 43rd one to be successfully added to the list and there are 44 sub-projects in total belonging to this main project.
Chinese tea culture began as early as over 5,000 years ago. It’s said the ruler Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink by accident. But during the Three-Kingdom Period, people paid more attention to its medical value. In the Tang Dynasty, tea-tasting became an important part for poets’ life. Bai Juyi wrote 64 poems about tea in his lifetime.
According to UNESCO, in China traditional tea processing techniques are closely connected to location and natural environment. The area of tea planting in China is about between 18°-37° N and 94°-122° E. Tea-related customs are not only found across the country, but also influenced the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road. In western countries, tea firstly became popular in Britain in the 17th century, and then the whole of Europe. When it came to the late 18th and 19th centuries, 10% of a British person’s income at the time was spent on tea, making it one of the most important expensive goods.
1. Which city is the most impossible to grow tea in the map of China?
| A．A | B．B | C．C | D．D |
A． Shakespeare | B． Defoe |
C． Dickens | D． Orwell |
| A．One project of China can be added into the list every year. |
| B．Tea was used as a kind of medicine when Shen Nong discovered it. |
| C．In total, there are 44 projects from China on the list now. |
| D．Tea travelled to the west by the Silk Road in ancient times. |
| A．Big Ceremony. | B．Western Culture. |
| C．Accidental Invention. | D．Travelling in China. |
5 . It might sound like magic, but in February, a paralyzed (瘫痪的) patient was able to drink water on his own by controlling a special glove with his brain. The glove then acted as his hand.
This was a success in brain-machine interface (BMI, 脑机接口) technology made by a team of Chinese scientists and doctors.
BMI refers to creating a connection between the human brain and external devices (外部设备), making communication between the brain and computers. For paralyzed people, BMI can allow them to move and do simple things by themselves.
On Oct 24, 2023, the team put a BMI chip (芯片) in the patient’s head. The chip can receive neural signals (神经信号) from the brain.
After three months of home recovery training, the patient can now use his brain signals to control a special glove powered by air pressure. This helps him do things like drinking water on his own.
BMI technology usually means putting chips directly onto the patient’s brain. However, this project is minimally invasive (微创的), making sure the patient’s brain is not harmed. So it is an important achievement. It also uses a wireless power supply (无线电源), so the implanted (植入的) device doesn’t need a battery.
Li Yuanning from ShanghaiTech University told CCTV News that BMI is now mainly used in the medical field to improve the lives of people with brain-related problems or speech difficulties.
In China, BMI technology is still in the early stages of research, with no products on the market yet. Some people are worried that tests may influence patients’ independence (独立) and even who they are. Ethical concerns (伦理问题) related to BMI also need to be soled. These include whether the patient has a clear understanding of what is going on when they agree to take part in the test.
1. What is China’s recent success in BMI?| A．A BMI chip was successfully put into a patient’s brain. |
| B．BMI helped a paralyzed patient drink water on his own. |
| C．A paralyzed patient can move freely with a BMI chip. |
| D．A paralyzed patient can communicate with computers. |
| A．A BMI chip. | B．A neural signal. | C．The brain. | D．An air pressure-powered glove. |
| A．It doesn’t harm patients’ brains. | B．It doesn’t need any power. |
| C．It understands patients’ needs correctly. | D．It helps people improve their speech skills. |
| A．Many people are against BMI technology. |
| B．The tests of BMI are at high risk of failure. |
| C．BMI technology is still under development. |
| D．BMI technology is widely used in the medical field. |
6 . If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things.
Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. The clearest example of this between literate and non-literate history is perhaps the first conflict, at Botany Bay, between Captain Cook’s voyage and the Australian Aboriginals. From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in fight after his first experience of gunshot. If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports.
In addition to the problem of miscomprehension from both sides, there are victories accidentally or deliberately twisted, especially when only the victors know how to write. Those who are on the losing side often have only their things to tell their stories. The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．How past events should be presented. |
| B．What humanity is concerned about. |
| C．Whether facts speak louder than words. |
| D．Why written language is trusted. |
| A．His report was scientific. | B．He represented the local people. |
| C．He ruled over Botany Bay. | D．His record was one-sided. |
| A．Problem. | B．History. | C．Voice. | D．Society. |
| A．How Maps Tell Stories of the World | B．A Short History of Australia |
| C．A History of the World in 100 Objects | D．How Art Works Tell Stories |
7 . The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics used almost 100% man-made snow, creating 1.2 million m³ of snow. This was the first time the Winter Olympics had taken place on almost 100% man-made snow.
This year’s Winter Olympics was held in Beijing, China, and in two areas northwest of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. The areas get cold in winter, but they don’t get lots of snow.
That meant some major changes were needed to hold the Winter Olympics there. Since making the snow took about 185, 500 liters of water or more, China took water from a reservoir（水库）and sent it to a nearby（附近的）river. To carry the water to the mountains, the country ran miles and miles of pipes（管道）.
China hired（雇佣）an Italian company called TechnoAlpin to create the snow. For the snow in this year’s Winter Olympics, TechnoAlpin laid over 64 km of pipes and brought in（引进）hundreds of snow-making machines. And the machines can make several different kinds of snow according to the needs of different sports.
It’s useful to be able to make snow when nature doesn’t provide enough. But man-made snow isn’t the same as natural snow, which has more air and less water. An athlete used to natural snow might have to adjust his /her style on man-made snow.
As the world warms because of climate change, problems like this are expected to become far more common. By the year 2080, only one of the past 21 Winter Olympic hosts will still have right winter conditions for the Games.
1. Why were any major changes made?| A．Because a large amount of water were needed to create snow. |
| B．Because different sports need different kinds of snow. |
| C．Because Yanqing and Zhangjiakou are warm enough in winter. |
| D．Because there isn’t lots of snow in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. |
| A．The pipes were used to take water from a reservoir to a river. |
| B．The pipes were used to carry the water from rivers to the mountains. |
| C．The pipes were used to bring in snow-making machines. |
| D．The pipes were used to make many kinds of snow. |
| A．设计 | B．创新 | C．调整 | D．检查 |
| A．Almost 100% man-made snow were used in the Winter Olympics before 2022. |
| B．Man-made snow is different from natural snow. |
| C．We will not see any problems because man-made snow can be made. |
| D．Some Winter Olympic hosts will still have right winter conditions for the Games in 2080. |
| A．how man-made snow is made |
| B．nature doesn’t provide enough snow in winter |
| C．the man-made snow in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics |
| D．our world is becoming warmer and warmer |
For middle and primary school students, being able to cook has become a must. They will also need to learn how to plant vegetables, raise poultry (家禽) and maintain home appliances under new requirement, for labor education.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) brought out a new standard for labor education in schools last year. Starting from the 2022 fall semester, students in primary and middle schools have to take courses on labor skills at least once a week. Labor education helps students value hard work. It includes things like household chores (家务), on-campus labor and community volunteer services.
The new standard includes three types of labor tasks. The first is for things like everyday chores, including cleaning, organizing, cooking, and using and maintaining home appliances. Next is productive labor, including agriculture, making traditional handicrafts, and applying new technologies such as 3D printing and laser cutting. The third type is service work, which includes volunteer work.
Schools in China have traditionally placed more focus on studying, and many have seen household chores as a waste of children’s time. But according to the MOE, labor education must be built up to help students cultivate (培养) social values and develop an interest in labor.
Online, people have been busy discussing the new standards on social media.
Liu Fang, a mother of 6-year-old twins in Beijing, strongly supports labor education. For the past year, she has trained her daughters to do household chores and make simple dishes for the family.
“The main idea is to let them share responsibility as family members and become independent as early as they can,” said Liu. “Through doing housework, their hand-eye coordination (协调), time management and organization skills can be trained and it’s also good to help them relax.” Through such education, Liu said her twins have found pleasure when doing chores and are more independent.
Labor education for primary and middle school students
| Introduction | A new Students |
| Students have Doing household chores has been seen as a waste of time. Students can build up social values and develop interests in labor | |
| Three types of labor tasks | It is necessary to learn everyday chores like cleaning, organizing and cooking. Productive labor Students also have a chance to work as |
| An | Liu Fang, mother of 6-year-old twins in Beijing, gives labor education a |
9 . Many people say that when they use weighted quilts (被子), they have better sleep, lower stress and anxiety, and are more relaxed than using a light one.
But there aren’t many studies to show the benefits of lying under a weighted quilt. Recently, researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden did a study to find out whether using a weighted quilt can actually help sleep.
Twenty-six young, healthy adults took part in the study. In one stage, they were covered with a weighted quilt (weighing about 12% of their body weight) for one hour before bedtime, then they had an eight-hour sleep. Researchers collected their saliva samples (唾液样本) during the pre-sleep hour to record changes in melatonin (褪黑素) and other hormone concentrations (激素浓度). In the next stage, participants (参与者) were covered with a light quilt (2.4% of their body weight) for the night.
They found that when participants laid under a weighted quilt for an hour before bedtime, they showed a 32% increase in salivary melatonin concentration (唾液褪黑素浓度).
Melatonin plays a big role in body’s sleep-wake cycle. The body produces melatonin at night, and there are a few ways to get melatonin from other sources—certain foods (like cherries and milk) or melatonin supplements (补充剂).
While this study is small and just a first step exploring the health benefits of weighted quilts, it does suggest that weighted quilts may help sleep. More related studies will be carried out in the future.
1. What does the underlined word anxiety probably mean?| A．Happiness. | B．Concern. | C．Excitement. | D．Fear. |
| A．By recording how long the participants have deep sleep. |
| B．By asking if the participants sleep well the whole night. |
| C．By collecting participants’ saliva samples before bedtime. |
| D．By giving participants medical examination after sleeping. |
| A．About 1.5 kg. | B．About 3.5 kg. | C．About 7.5 kg. | D．About 12.5 kg. |
| A．Drinking milk can help people sleep well. | B．The body can not produce melatonin itself. |
| C．Melatonin can hardly influence one’s sleep. | D．Melatonin supplements can be used every night. |
| A．Better sleep, better health | B．Earlier bedtime, better sleep |
| C．Melatonin: your sleep saver | D．Weighted quilts: a better choice |
Chinese scientists have released a new geologic map of the moon. They say it is the world’s most detailed map of the moon’s surface to date. The mapping project took more than a hundred researchers 10 years to complete.
The mapping work used data from the Chang’e missions as the main source. It also used high-quality data from international exploration programmes. China started the Chang’e programme in 2004. Since then, the country has sent various landers and rovers (探测器) to the moon in order to collect data.
The new map was drawn at a scale of 1: 2, 500, 000. On this map, we can see 12, 341 impact craters (撞击坑), 81 impact basins (撞击盆地), 17 different rock types and 14 unique types of structures. The map also shows the locations of the leading sites of the Chang’e missions.
The most detailed map provides a lot of information about the geology of the moon and its evolution. It is expected to make a great contribution to scientific research. It can also help select the landing sites on the moon for future exploration missions.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has made a number of regional maps of the moon with data from the Apollo missions. However, those maps were completed at different times with different levels of quality. So they were not able to be directly used together. The Apollo programme succeeded in preparing and landing the first humans on the moon between the years of 1968 and 1972.
“The USGS did put its regional maps together to complete a 1:5 million-scale map in 2020,” said the researchers. “That map, however, is less detailed in comparison to China’s 1: 2.5 million scale map.”
1. Which word can be used to best describe the mapping work?| A．Simple. | B．Boring. | C．Difficult. | D．Surprising. |
| A．It was drawn at a scale of 1: 250, 000. |
| B．It is more detailed than the map by the USGS. |
| C．It provides some information about the earth’s evolution. |
| D．It shows the locations of the leading sites of the Apollo missions. |
| A．Date from landers and rovers. |
| B．Date from the Apollo missions. |
| C．Date from the Chang’e mission. |
| D．Date from international exploration programmes. |
| A．A report. | B．A diary. | C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
