1 . Whether you work at a desk, drive in a car, or take a bus or a train, you spend plenty of time in your seats. But do you know what this means for your body?
In the 1950s, a study compared bus drivers with conductors (售票员) who walked around the bus to sell tickets. It showed that drivers who spent many hours sitting at the wheel were twice more likely to have heart problems than the conductors.
In fact, nowadays we know that sitting for long is connected to different health problems. When we sit all day, we burn fewer calories (卡路里). Some people say it also slows down our body’s ability to control sugar levels, which can increase the chance of getting diabetes (糖尿病).
One possible solution to this problem for desk workers is to use standing desks—to spend at least part of their day on their feet. A study showed that office workers who stood for three hours after lunch had smaller increases in their blood sugar levels. Researchers at the University of Chester also found that if we stand for three or four hours a day, five days a week, we will burn as many calories as ten Marathon (马拉松) runs in a year!
However, some experts question these numbers and say that standing all day can also cause problems like leg or back pain. They suggest gradually increasing the time spent on standing if you want to use a standing desk. They also point out that there are many other choices besides sitting or standing. For example, walking burns far more calories than just standing around.
1. Why does the writer ask the question in Paragraph 1?| A．To get an answer. | B．To show a fact. | C．To introduce a topic. |
A． | B． | C． |
| A．a skill to do a better job |
| B．a way to solve a problem |
| C．a medicine to treat an illness |
| A．All of us should use standing desks. |
| B．Walking is the best choice for desk workers. |
| C．Standing for too long might cause back pain. |
| A．Time to stand up! | B．Know your body! | C．Better to walk! |
2 . Back when I was little, I was shy. I was afraid to speak up in class or make new friends. My heart would beat fast whenever someone asked me a question, and my face would turn red like a tomato. I spent most of my spare time playing video games and watching cartoons. I was comfortable in my little world, but I knew something was missing.
One day, I met a new friend, Sarah. Sarah was different from me. She loved trying new activities and meeting new people. She encouraged me to step out of my world. We went on bike rides, climbed trees, and tried painting together. I was scared, but Sarah taught me that it’s OK to make mistakes and that failure is a steppingstone to success.
Slowly but surely, I started to change. I began to raise my hand and share my thoughts in class. It felt great to be heard and valued by my classmates and teachers. I even joined school clubs and took part in talent shows.
Now, I’m different. I’m shy sometimes, but I’ve learned to be proud. I’ve discovered that being myself is the best way to make true friends. Thanks to Sarah, I see the world as a place full of possibilities. I’m not afraid of trying new things because they help me grow. I’m thankful for what I’ve become—someone brave, confident, and ready to explore the world, one step at a time.
1. The writer enjoyed ________ when she was little.| A．making new friends | B．asking questions | C．playing video games |
| A．is a very scary thing | B．can make people more confident | C．can bring people closer to success |
| A．Serious and strict. | B．Friendly and wise. | C．Shy and hard-working. |
| A．I met a friend named Sarah. |
| B．I watched cartoons on weekends. |
| C．I made changes little by little. |
| A．Don’t be afraid to make a change. |
| B．We should take every chance in life. |
| C．The more friends you make, the more successful you will be. |
E-books mean electronic books. You can use a device (设备) called an e-book reader to read e-books.
First, they are cheaper. In general, e-books are about 8% cheaper than paper books. Second, they are faster and easier to buy. You don’t have to go to a bookstore.
E-book sales in the US are increasing every year. At the same time, paper book sales have been going down. In 2020, e-book sales were only $3. 04 billion. Paper book sales were $11.9 billion.
Some experts say that e-books will sell more than paper books in the future. They predict (预言) this will happen in the US by 2026. On the one hand, e-book sales will rise to $12.8 billion.
| A．You can change the size of the text. |
| B．E-books are popular for many reasons. |
| C．Between 2020 and 2023, e-book sales grew fast. |
| D．It is convenient to take notes on paper books. |
| E．On the other hand, paper book sales will keep falling. |
| F．You can pay for and download the books from the Internet. |
International Paper Cutting Competition
To further develop the culture of paper cutting and help teenagers become more creative, we invite middle school students aged 13—19 from all over the world to take part in the competition and show their excellent works to the public.
Size: The size of each entry (作品) must be no bigger than B2-size (51.5 cm×72.8cm ).
Entry fee: Free.
Rules: One entry per person.
Entries must be original (原创的) and unpublished (未出版的).
★All entries must be sent to Mr. Wang’s office (No. 3 Middle School, Fuguojie Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100032) between May 1st and May 31st. Please write your school name, nationality and home address on a piece of paper and send it with your entry.
PRIZES
·1st Prize / 1 winner/ A trophy (奖杯) and ¥10,000
·2nd Prize/1 winner/ A trophy and ¥5,000
·3rd Prize / 1 winner/ A trophy and ¥3,000
·Prizes for Excellence /5 winners/ A trophy and ¥1,000 for each
For more information, please call Mr. Wang at 010-05148477.
1. Who can take part in the competition?| A．Léon, 15, France. | B．Rajesh,11, India. | C．Wu Ling, 9, China. |
| A．Send two entries to Mr. Wang. |
| B．Hand in their entries after 31st May. |
| C．Make sure the entry is in B2-size or smaller. |
①The student’s school name. ②The student’s grade.
③The student’s home address. ④The student’s nationality.
| A．①②④ | B．②③④ | C．①③④ |
| A．Five. | B．Eight. | C．Eleven. |
| A．Sports News | B．Safe and Health | C．Culture and Art |
5 . Emily Bhatnagar loves reading. “As a kid, I was really shy, so I always read books,” she said. “They became my best friends when I didn’t have one.”
In 2019, Bhatnagar’s father got a serious illness (病). The news was terrible for the family. Books helped Bhatnagar change (改变) her bad feelings into something good. After her father got well, she came up with an idea to help others with books.
Soon Bhatnagar started a book drive (捐书) called For Love ＆ Buttercup in her hometown to collect (收集) books and give them to the ill children in local hospitals. Her father was not astonished after hearing about this plan. “She was always interested in books and wanted to do things for others,” he said. Bhatnagar started it on the Internet by asking people in her area to donate (捐赠) books. At first she felt she wouldn’t get much attention (关注). But after news stations started reporting it, lots of people were ready to give a hand.
Campbell works at one of the hospitals where Bhatnagar has donated books. She said, “The sick children in the hospital don’t have many chances to read. The books have brought them hope and made a big difference to their life.”
Now Bhatnagar is still running the book drive and she has collected over 10,000 books. She still remembers the first time she visited the children who had received her books. “It was the best day of my life.” she said. “I think I want to do this kind of work forever.”
1. Bhatnagar chose to help others with books because ________.| A．books helped her make friends |
| B．books helped her father get well |
| C．books helped her through a difficult time |
| A．surprised | B．worried | C．pleased |
| A．difficult | B．interesting | C．meaningful (有意义的) |
| A．Book lovers help others with books |
| B．Reading makes sick children feel better |
| C．A girl’s love for her father surprised people around the world |
| A．notebook | B．magazine | C．dictionary |
| Town Camp Campers will discover the animals’ great abilities to live through the winter months, and learn about their natural environment. Please call Mr. Lin at 26172308 for more information. Cost: ¥270/person | Fire Camp It provides campers with a chance to learn a lot of self-growth skills through outdoor games. If you are interested in this, please send us e-mails! E-mail: Millercamp@hotmail.com Cost: ¥230/person |
| 5-Day Holiday Course Do you want to know more about how to play soccer? Big kids (age 8~12) are lucky enough because they will have this chance to learn that. Also, this 5-day course will make them become more interested in sports! Cost: ¥260/person Tel: 27509863 | Rock Camp Whether you are a young rock star (age 3~7) or a beginning band player(7+), this camp has a place for your music level. Cost: ¥240/person (Half price under age 7) E-mail: Rocklover@gmail.com |
1. If you are interested in animals, you can choose ________.
| A．Town Camp | B．Fire Camp | C．5-Day Holiday Course |
| A．Language skills. | B．Self-growth skills. | C．Singing skills. |
A． | B． | C． |
| A．¥120. | B．¥240. | C．¥360. |
| A．26172308. | B．Millercamp@hotmail.com. | C．Rocklover@gmail.com. |
We do eye exercises. We wear sunglasses. We do lots of things to protect our eyes.
Ears help us hear the world. But many things, such as loud noises, can cause hearing troubles. So how can we protect our ears?
Keep your ears dry and warm
Dry your ears with a towel (毛巾) after swimming or taking a bath. If you feel water in your ear, shake your head a little bit.
How to clean your ears
Don’t listen to loud music on your headphones for a long time. Follow the 60:60 rule: listen to music at 60 percent of your headphone’s maximum volume (最大音量) for no more than 60 minutes a day. Over-the-ear headphones are better than in-ear ones. They do a better job of stopping outside noise so you can listen at a lower volume.
| A．How to use headphones |
| B．Let’s take a look together |
| C．Usually, our ears clean themselves |
| D．This can help you get the water out of your ears |
| E．If you want to clear your ears, ask the doctor for help |
| F．But we usually forget another important part of our body, the ears |
8 . Most people agree that being honest is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can’t talk but can they lie in other ways? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Dishonesty (欺骗) often helps them live on.
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. A bird called the plover sometimes pretends (假装) to be hurt in order to protect its young. When an enemy gets close to its nest (巢), the plover pretends to have a broken wing. The enemy follows the “hurt” adult, leaving the baby birds safe.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, hide its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays also steal food. They watch where others hide their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when others are watching them. So they get back later, get the food again, and hide it again somewhere else.
Chimpanzees can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimpanzee will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimpanzee puts out its hand, too, the chimpanzees are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimpanzee take the winner’s hand and start fighting again. When chimpanzees find food, it’s natural for them to cry out. Then other chimpanzees come running. But some clever chimpanzees learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimpanzees don’t hear them, and they don’t need to share the food.
1. Why does the plover pretend to be hurt?| A．To show its friendliness. | B．To save its young. | C．To catch the enemy. |
| A．They eat their food alone. |
| B．They hide their food twice. |
| C．They watch their food carefully. |
| A．smart | B．friendly | C．strong |
A． | B． | C． |
| A．Do animals actually lie? |
| B．How do animals protect lives? |
| C．Does Mother Nature fool animals? |
9 . 
Type in “A cat wants to go to space” and ask the robot to write a bedtime story. Just one second later, you’ll get the story of Max, who gets through many difficulties to sing among the stars.
This robot writer is real. It’s called ChatGPT. US company OpenAI developed it to create human-like texts. It can translate languages, talk with people and write songs, poems and even jokes. It’s the most powerful AI of its kind which can write almost like a real person!
People around the world have tried ChatGPT and posted their results on social media (社交媒体). Some used it to write about history, some asked it to take notes in class, and some got advice on how to communicate with people at a party.
The power of ChatGPT lies in its speed and understanding of different matters. We may spend hours researching, understanding and writing an article. But ChatGPT can produce a well-written one in seconds. Another good thing about it is that if you ask dark, harmful questions, such as how to make guns, it will not give you an answer.
ChatGPT comes along at a time when AI can do many creative tasks. The things they create are difficult to tell from those made by humans. This brings many problems. The robot is trained using words from the Internet, so it can also pick up on the Internet’s biases (偏见) about certain groups. These are all the things that humans need to solve.
Will ChatGPT be good, bad, or somewhere between for humans? It may be answered in the near future.
1. The writer starts to introduce the topic by ________.| A．comparing facts | B．making a survey | C．giving an example |
| A．A robot | B．Open AI | C．ChatGPT |
| A．It will tell a funny joke. |
| B．It will give you no answer. |
| C．It will write an article in seconds. |
| A．How people feel about robot writing. |
| B．Why AI can help people solve problems. |
| C．What problems may come with AI writing. |
| A．He doesn’t know whether ChatGPT is good or not. |
| B．He thinks ChatGPT will change our lives in a good way. |
| C．He thinks ChatGPT will help solve all kinds of problems. |
10 .
| Russian Ballet The Russian Ballet will tour our country and will be shown in Beijing. Time: 8:00 pm, June 2—3 Place: Dongfang Theatre, 46 Xiyihuan Road, Dongfang District Price: 100 yuan Tel: 6502-1167 |
| Chinese Opera A new production of Sichuan Opera is now on in Beijing. Time: 7:30 pm, June 15 Place: Chaoyang Theatre, 24 Dongsanhuan Road, Chaoyang District Price: 80 yuan; Free for children under 12 Tel: 8239-4890 |
| Italian Concert Musicians of the Italian National Symphony Orchestra will hold a concert in Beijing. Time: 8:00 pm, June 8 Place: Xiwang Theatre, 41 Dongdajie Street, Dongcheng District Price: 60 yuan Tel: 6392-8877 |
1. Tony is free on the evening of June 3. What can he enjoy?
| A．A Chinese opera. | B．A Russian ballet. | C．An Italian concert. |
| A．Chaoyang Theatre | B．Xiwang Theatre | C．Dongfang Theatre |
| A．60 yuan. | B．80 yuan. | C．160 yuan. |
| A．6502-1167. | B．8239-4890. | C．6392-8877. |
| A．Newspaper. | B．A novel. | C．A diary. |
