1 . Nanako Hama was holding a light envelop. When she tore it open with care, locks of hair emerged. Many strangers send Hama locks of their hair, hoping to recycle it.
People generate a huge amount of hair waste. Nearly all of that waste ends up in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. But hair possesses useful qualities that it’s a shame to simply throw it away. That’s why people all around the world, like Hama, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, including making mats (垫子) out of it for removing oil leaks in the ocean.
Hama is part of the nonprofit Matter of Trust (MoT) members working at more than 60 centers dotted across 17 countries, using machines to make hair donated from local salons and individuals into square mat, which are then used to clean up the floating oil. “Hair is particularly well-suited for this,”says MoT co-founder Lisa Gautier.“That’s because its rough sort of outer layer lets oil stick to it.” MoT’s mats have been used in major oil leaks, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 2007 Cosco Busan incidents.
In a 2018 study, Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia found that mats made of recycled human hair could absorb 0.84 grams of oil onto its surface for every gram of hair—significantly more than polypropylene (聚丙烯), a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up floating oil. Besides, hair is also useful as fertilizer (化肥). Hair contains a relatively high nitrogen (氮), a chemical element crucial for plant growth, and each lock of hair is made of roughly 16 percent of this essential nutrient. Last year, more than 560 gallons of liquid fertilizer made from human hair was sold to farmers in northern Tanzania and the feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging.
“It’s just a great way to use hair in a productive way. Hair is an answer literally hanging in front of our eyes—for oil and soil,” Hama says.
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By presenting a scene. |
| B．By detailing the background. |
| C．By describing the usage of hair. |
| D．By praising an environmentalist. |
| A．Improve soil. | B．Prevent oil leaks. |
| C．Take in harmful gas. | D．Clear the sea of oil. |
| A．Its color and strength. | B．Its length and amount. |
| C．Its weight and flexibility. | D．Its structure and component. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Promising. | C．Doubtful. | D．Worrying. |
2 . During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, there were 10 flower beds (花坛). One of the high-lights (亮点) of these flower beds was to make good use of garden waste.
One of them was in Tian’anmen Square. Its topic was “Wonderful Winter Olympics”. The five Olympic rings and the snowflake shape were at the bottom of the flower bed. To our surprise, all of these were made from garden waste. This could not only save resources but also bring people more beauty. It was generally praised by the public.
Green Olympics is one of the four main ideas of Beijing Winter Olympics. It took more than six years to prepare for the Games. In this process, the designers put the idea of green Olympics into every part. They integrated (融合) green Olympics with the city and its surroundings (环境). Green Olympics can not only make good use of waste and protect the environment, but also be good for the future development of the city. There’s no doubt that the Winter Olympics theme flower beds, which showed the “simple, safe and wonderful” requirements for the competition, added points to the unique charm (独特魅力) of the “City of the Two Olympics”.
As waste is considered as a resource that is put in a wrong place, the designers made the waste in the right place for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Besides, thrift (节俭) and hard work are the tradition of the Chinese nation. We also should save energy and make good use of waste in our daily life.
1. What is special about the flower beds?| A．The size. | B．The material. | C．The space. | D．The number. |
| A．Bing Dwen Dwen and The snowflake shape |
| B．Bing Dwen Dwen and The Olympic flag |
| C．The Olympic flag and The five Olympic rings |
| D．The snowflake shape and The five Olympic rings |
| A．boring | B．surprising | C．proud | D．serious |
(①=Paragraph 1②=Paragraph 2, …)
A． | B． | C． | D． |
3 . Weeks before Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节) on April 4 this year, hundreds of qingtuan were sold each day. The snack was still a must-have for many people.
In the southern part of China, eating qingtuan at the beginning of spring is a kind of tradition. Chinese people started to eat it more than 2,000 years ago. It is made of sticky rice (糯米) and red bean paste (红豆沙), and is famous for its softness, freshness and sweetness. The secret behind its mouth-watering taste is one of its materials—mugwort leaves (艾蒿叶). The plant is mainly found in the Yangtze River Delta (长江三角洲) where it has perfect conditions to grow.
People in this area usually put qingtuan on the tombs (墓) of their dead family members to cherish the past memory. Making qingtuan is also a chance for family members to get together at home. It really takes time and effort to make the snack.
Now, qingtuan has already spread its special taste to the northern part of China. Li Yuan, a 30-year-old engineer who grew up in Zhejiang Province, brought qingtuan back to Beijing where he works. “It tastes different in and out of my hometown,” he said. “There’s no place like home.”
Qingtuan has many different tastes inside it, such as apples and bean milk, to meet customers’ tastes. The difference of the taste shows that it’s getting more and more popular across the whole country.
Even though there is warm weather and green leaves in spring, the season wouldn’t be complete without a taste of qingtuan.
1. Tomb Sweeping Day is in ________.| A．spring | B．summer | C．autumn | D．winter |
| A．sticky rice | B．green color | C．red bean paste | D．mugwort leaves |
| A．forget | B．miss | C．sweep | D．guess |
| A．Growing up in Beijing | B．Planting Rice in Zhejiang |
| C．Meeting Customers’ Tastes | D．Marking the Start of Spring |
4 . German physicist Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of all time, the personification of genius and the subject of a whole industry of scholarship. In The Einsteinian Revolution, two experts on Einstein’s life and his theory of relativity — Israeli physicist Hanoch Gutfreund and German historian of science Jürgen Renn — offer an original and penetrating (犀利的) analysis of Einstein’s revolutionary contributions to physics and our view of the physical world.
For the first time ever, by setting Einstein’s work in the long course of the evolution of scientific knowledge, Gutfreund and Renn discover the popular misconception of Einstein as an unconventional scientific genius who single-handedly created modern physics — and by pure thought alone.
As a large part of the book explains, Einstein typically argued that science progresses through steady evolution, not through revolutionary breaks with the past. He saw his theory of relativity not as something from scratch, but a natural extension of the classical physics developed by pioneers such as Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei and English physicist Isaac Newton in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as nineteenth-century physicists.
The authors highlight how classical physics cannot be separated cleanly from modern Einsteinian physics. The book also includes substantial sections on Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo whose methods inspired Einstein. When Einstein considered himself as standing on their shoulders, he meant that, without their contributions, he would not have formulated (阐述) the theory of relativity.
The Einsteinian Revolution is an important and thought-provoking contribution to the scholarly literature on Einstein and his surprising scientific creativity between 1905 and 1925. Gutfreund and Renn might not have given the final answer as to why Einstein, of all people, revolutionized physics in the way that he did. But they argue in fascinating detail that, to understand his genius, one must take into account not just the earlier history of physics but also the history of knowledge more broadly. Although not always an easy read, the book will interest physicists and historians alike.
1. What’s the attitude of Gutfreund and Renn to the popular viewpoint on Einstein?| A．Opposing. | B．Favorable. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．From nothing. | B．Up to a certain standard. |
| C．By learning from others. | D．With previous knowledge. |
| A．Their ideas were rejected by Einstein. |
| B．Their devotion to physics impressed Einstein. |
| C．Their research contributed to Einstein’s success. |
| D．Their hard work deserved the worldwide respect. |
| A．A guidebook to a course. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．An essay on Albert Einstein. | D．A review of physics development. |
5 . Many students suffer from stress (压力) in their daily lives. They are under stress because their lives are not balanced. They worry about their study, getting on with classmates and what others think. You may want to know if stress is a serious problem. The answer is “Yes”. You should realise that stress is a risk to your health. If you want to live a long and healthy life, you need to try to prevent (防止) stress from a young age.
Here are some ways to deal with stress and bring balance to your life:·Be positive
One way to stop being stressed is through positive thinking. You should always look on the bright side of life, and imagine you will have a happy and successful future.
·Learn to relaxMake yourself take a break from your studies and worries about exams. You can do this by taking a walk, reading a book, going to a concert or seeing a film, or just sitting in a private place and being silent for a moment.
____△____
Learn to paint, take up skating, or start playing a musical instrument. When you are busy with a hobby, you leave all your worries behind.
·Take care of your bodyStress does harm to your body. Taking exercise, eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep are all the things that can help you.
·LaughSometimes laughter is the best medicine for stress. Seeing a funny film or telling jokes with friends will often cheer you up when you are not happy.
1. Many students are under stress in their daily lives because they ________.| A．have a boring life | B．are afraid of studying |
| C．have too many worries | D．can’t get on well with their parents |
| A．eating a healthy diet | B．playing a musical instrument |
| C．telling jokes with friends | D．going to a concert or seeing films |
| A．See a doctor | B．Take up a hobby | C．Stay with friends | D．Be patient |
| A．How to keep healthy. | B．How terrible stress is! |
| C．How to live a balanced life. | D．How can we improve ourselves? |
How do you like your school? Have you ever written to your head teacher to express your idea? What would you like to suggest? Here are some posts by students from different schools.
Li Ming, 14, Liaoning Province
I will give some suggestions about our school uniform (校服). In our school, we students have to wear uniforms every day. But the grey and blue sports kit (服装) looks really dark and old. It can’t stand for lively spirit. We can add some red or orange colours and make a new type of uniform.
Wang Ping,14, Zhejiang ProvinceI have a suggestion for my head teacher. I think we should have more classes in science, such as model plane making class and computer programming class. It is really boring to study basic subjects all the time.
Liu Hua, 15, Shanxi ProvinceI’d like to give my thanks to my head teacher. About one week ago, I got a bad cold after playing basketball. Our head teacher came to me after he knew about it. He took care of me until my parents came. I really want to thank him for that.
He Xiaolei, 14, Shandong ProvinceI want to talk about the possibility of personalized (个性化的) classes. Now many middle schools are using the “personalized class” system. Students can choose lessons they want to take. I think it is more effective.
1. What is Li Ming’s suggestion about the school uniform?2. Why does Liu Hua want to thank his head teacher?
3. How many students give suggestions about classes in school?
4. What suggestion would you like to give to your head teacher? Why? Write 30 words or more.
7 . ①With the development of technology, education is changing. The classroom of the future will surely not be the same as the classroom of today. So what will the future classroom be like? Let’s try to find it out.
②To start with, facing the blackboard will be a thing of the past. Students will take classes by looking at their touch-screen (触摸屏的) desks. And doing homework, taking down notes, and taking tests will be just a click away (点击鼠标即可). The walls of the classroom will also be filled with real-time screens for students and teachers to show any information they want.
③In the coming years, another technology called metaverse (元宇宙) will make learning more exciting. Metaverse is a 3D virtual (虚拟的) world where people can meet, play, and work with others through digital avatars (数字化身). In the metaverse, people can do things like going to the mall, attending a concert or buying virtual clothing. The only difference is that they’ll do all these in a virtual environment. Teachers and students can get into a virtual classroom, while in real life, they may be sitting on the sofa at home. The experience will be like being in an actual classroom. Students can also “visit” historical sites, see the real geography of the planet, take tours through international universities or research labs, and much more.
④Besides, the classroom of the future holds several learning styles for students. They will be free to learn things in the way they want. This includes learning through video lectures. Everyone moves at their own pace (节奏), with teachers guiding them along the way. This practice will help students learn faster and have better results.
1. What might happen according to Paragraph ②?| A．Students won’t need to take tests. | B．There will be no desks in the classroom. |
| C．Students won’t need to do their homework. | D．There will be no blackboard in the classroom. |
| A．An AI tool. | B．A virtual world. |
| C．A new kind of class. | D．A robot teacher. |
| A．describe how the metaverse will change our life |
| B．show how students will learn at their own pace |
| C．tell how the classroom will change in the future |
| D．explain how virtual classrooms will become popular |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
8 . Singapore started to put labels (标签) on every drink recently. The labels are from A to D. A is the most healthy, and D is the least healthy. The more sugar and saturated fat (饱和脂肪) a drink has, the less healthy the drink is. D-grade drinks aren’t allowed to be advertised (打广告) by companies to attract customers.
| A．Grade A | B．Grade B | C．Grade C | D．Grade D |
| A．<1%. | B．1—5%. | C．5—10%. | D．>10%. |
| A．To stop people buying drinks. | B．To guide people to choose healthy drinks. |
| C．To tell people how much sugar is in the drinks. | D．To show there are many kinds of drinks. |
| A．Music and Movie. | B．Sports and Travel. | C．History and Culture. | D．Life and Health. |
9 . You may think that having less water is because of having less rain, but it is now a problem in southern China, an area in which it rains often.
The government said that Shenzhen was facing its most serious water shortage ever. Other cities in the southern part of China, like Chengdu and Guangzhou, are also becoming “thirsty” though they have more rain and are close to more rivers and lakes, The Paper reported. So why are they still short on water?
In these big cities, populations are growing fast. As a result, people and factories need more water.
Climate change is making the water problem worse. Most cities in Guangdong province depend on the Dongjiang River as their main source of water. In 2021, the river was reported to be drying up.
Water pollution also makes it harder to get clean drinking water. Factories and farms don’t use water well. Some cities have enough rain but don’t have big lakes or reservoirs (水库) to store water, so the water goes out into the sea.
But there is a hidden water resource (资源) right under our feet. That’s “groundwater”. We can’t see it. However, it plays an important role in our lives. About 98 percent of Earth’s fresh water is groundwater. It is 60 times as plentiful as the fresh water in lakes and rivers. But in many places, people overuse and pollute groundwater. We should pay more attention to this hidden water resource.
1. Why are Chengdu and Guangzhou becoming “thirsty”?| A．They are in south China. | B．They are short on water. |
| C．They are close to rivers. | D．They are having less rain. |
| A．Climate change. | B．Population growth. | C．Water pollution. | D．Hidden resources. |
| A．For showing the result of more factories. | B．For explaining how to solve the pollution. |
| C．For facing the water shortage problem. | D．For introducing how to use groundwater. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
10 . You may sometimes notice athletes with purple circles on their skin from cupping. Or maybe you know someone who swears (极其信赖) acupuncture for their back pain. More and more people use practices from traditional Chinese medicine like these not only to fight disease, but also to prevent it.
TCM is short for traditional Chinese medicine. It is an ancient system of health and wellness. It’s been used in China for thousands of years. Western medicine focuses mainly on treating disease. But TCM looks at your entire well-being.
Western medicine tends to view the body a lot like a car. It has different systems that need the right inputs and outputs. It’s very specific (具体的) and logical.
TCM is based on balance, harmony (和谐) and energy. There are two central ideas behind TCM. One is qi, the other is yin and yang. Qi is also called life energy or vital energy. The belief is that it runs throughout your body. It’s always on the move and continually changes. TCM treatments often focus on ways to promote and maintain the flow of qi.
Yin and Yang are opposites that describe the qualities of qi. The belief is that everything in life has a little bit of its opposite, too, and balance is the key. For example, a drug from your doctor might cure disease. But it’s dangerous if you take too much of it.
According to TCM, these ideas play out in our bodies. When you balance the yin and yang of qi, you feel healthy and well. If they’re in disorder, you feel sick. TCM aims to create harmony and a healthy flow of qi.
Experts believe it’s safe, if you go to someone who knows what they’re doing. This is especially true of acupuncture, tai chi, and cupping. With a little background on how it’s used, I believe you can make wiser choices to improve your health.
2. What is TCM based on?
3. When do you feel healthy and well according to TCM?
4. If you don’t feel well, would you like to try TCM? Why?
