2 . PREVIEWS AND OPENINGS

Queen of the Mist
Charing Cross Theater
Previews from Saturday, 15 August. Opening Wednesday, 19 August.

Queen of the Mist, directed by Elizabeth Margolius, will have its first showing at the Charing Cross Theater. The musical is based on the true story of Anna Edson Taylor, who in 1901 set out to be the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel (桶) of her own design.

The Son
Duke of York’s Theater
Previews from Monday, 24 August. Opening Wednesday, 2 September.

Written by internationally known Florian Zeller who is praised by The Guardian as “the most exciting dramatist of our time”, The Son, which focuses on intergenerational relationships, family relationships and teenage depression, is directed by Michael Longhurst.

The Fishermen
Trafalgar Theatre Studio Two
Previews from Thursday, 3 September. Opening Saturday, 5 September.

In a small town in Nigeria, Ben and his three older brothers go to fish at a magical river. Unnoticed and carefree, they continued until the predictions of a mad man change the course of their lives forever. The Fishermen is based on the Man Booker Prize novel by Chigozie Obioma, who appears as an original new voice of west African literature. The play is directed by Jack McNamara.

Groan Ups
Vaudeville Theater
Previews from Sunday, 20 September. Opening Saturday, 10 October.

Directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward, Groan Ups is a completely new play which looks at how people grow up and develop. Are we the same at 30 as we were 13?

1. What is the play directed by Elizabeth Margolius probably about?

A．A risk-taking trip.	B．A birthday party.
C．A career as a designer.	D．A person’s entire life.

2. Who directs a play set in a Nigerian town in Africa?

A．Michael Longhurst.	B．Chigozie Obioma.
C．Jack McNamara.	D．Kirsty Patrick Ward.

3. When does the play about personal growth and development open?

A．On Wednesday, 19 August.	B．On Wednesday, 2 September.
C．On Saturday, 5 September.	D．On Saturday, 10 October.

3 . I have been volunteering for Tri-County Wildlife Care (TCWC) for 7 years. The job is emotionally demanding, and even more _________ for a migraines(偏头痛)sufferer．So why do l throw myself into it? Because at the most difficult time in my _________,saving wildlife saved me too.

I have had migraines for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it was a(n) _________to attend school. I would have to put my head _________ my desk to reduce the pain. So I chose to study at home. But being disconnected from the rest of the world made me feel _________.

“I can’t_________this anymore!” When Mum came to get me from the clinic, I nearly _________.

Then on our way back home, I _________a fallen nest. Two baby birds lay on the ground. Were they still alive? I _________closer. Thankfully they were__________! “You’re going to be okay,” I said to the birds. “I promise.”

The next day Mum and I __________took them to a wildlife care center. For the first time in a long time, I felt helpful instead of helpless. It was as if the baby birds' __________for me was stronger than my pain. I did find something__________ to do.

Then I began volunteering for TCWC. Every time I hold a bird in my hands, I feel a sense of __________, because it brings me so much __________to help these homeless animals.

1.

A．puzzling

B．comforting

C．challenging

D．interesting

2.

A．training

B．work

C．study

D．life

3.

A．honour

B．adventure

C．struggle

D．commitment

4.

A．into

B．against

C．above

D．over

5.

A．useless

B．clumsy

C．shallow

D．fearless

6.

A．stand

B．own

C．follow

D．support

7.

A．threw up

B．broke down

C．set out

D．turned back

8.

A．took

B．caught

C．destroyed

D．spotted

9.

A．jumped

B．drove

C．walked

D．flew

10.

A．singing

B．breathing

C．recovering

D．waiting

11.

A．gratefully

B．carefully

C．modestly

D．frequently

12.

A．need

B．lack

C．search

D．love

13.

A．necessary

B．creative

C．normal

D．meaningful

14.

A．victory

B．regret

C．gratitude

D．guilt

15.

A．trust

B．justice

C．imagination

D．joy

5 . There’re plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables available in local markets. But while those red juicy strawberries look fresh, consumers have no way of knowing how long the fruit can be stored at home. The same goes for distribution centers and supermarkets.

Now, the food technology startup OneThird, located in the Netherlands, is looking to change that with an infrared (红外线) scanner that can accurately predict how long fresh fruits and vegetables will last. The startup is named OneThird because one-third of food is wasted due to spoilage (变质) every year.

The startup’s founders were inspired by a UK company that uses this type of technology in the medical field and decided to see if it was applicable for food. “I looked at the challenges in the food-supply chain and found out that 40 percent of food waste is fresh produce. One of the biggest causes of waste is that nobody knows shelf life.” founder and CEO of OneThird, Marco Snikkers said.

Quality inspections at farms and distribution centers are done manually (手动地). An inspector checks the fruits and vegetables and makes notes about the size and quality. Then the food is sent to consumers without considering travel time or how long the produce will remain usable.

Using the infrared scanner at the distribution center means that inspectors can use the information to approve shipments that will ensure the produce can be distributed on a timely basis. This means that a shipment of rip e tomatoes will not be sent long distances away.

OneThird’s scanner combines the technology of optical scanners, image modeling, and Artificial Intelligence to provide accurate shelf-life predictions.

The startup found that the technology can reduce up to 25 percent produce waste that was caused by spoilage. “Global food waste has an enormous environmental impact; reducing global food waste cuts global greenhouse gas emissions and promotes global food security,” said Jacob Smith, a climate expert from the University of Maine.

1. What problem does OneThird aim to solve?

A．The high cost of storing fresh fruits and vegetables.

B．Inefficient quality inspections at distribution centers.

C．Food waste caused by uncertainty about its shelf life.

D．Consumers’ difficulty judging the freshness of produce.

2. What inspired OneThird to come up with the idea of using infrared scanner?

A．The use of the device in another field.	B．Observation of the food-supply chain.
C．Consumer demands for fresher produce.	D．Experts’advice on food waste reduction.

3. What can we learn about the manual quality inspections?

A．They are time-consuming and costly.	B．They are not performed at a regular time.
C．The inspectors tend to make wrong judgement.	D．The shipping time is not taken into consideration.

4. What’s Jacob’s attitude to OneThird’s effort?

A．Approving.

B．Doubtful.

C．Tolerant.

D．Dismissive.

6 . Suppose you come across two doctors. One is handsome while the other looks plain. Who would you trust with your surgery? Most people would probably want to get treated by the handsome one. And most people are likely to be wrong about that.

When you look at the sun, you sometimes see it clearly. But sometimes you’ll see it shining way bigger than its actual shape. That circle of light called a halo makes it look bigger. This effect, known as the halo effect, also happens when a person, product, or company shines like the sun. Then we don’t see them clearly and associate all sorts of unrelated qualities to them.

The halo effect was once studied by the psychologist Edward Thorndike, who asked flight commanders to evaluate their pilots in various distinct aspects such as physical appearance, intelligence, and leadership. He found that the pilots who got high scores for their physical appearance, also got rated high on intelligence and leadership skills — a link that seemed wrong. It appears that the commanders were unable to evaluate specific qualities independently of others. They thought of their pilots in broad terms, either “good” or “bad”, and allowed this general feeling to influence the specific qualities they credited to their pilots. Some pilots profited from their halo.

The halo effect also explains why some teachers give better-looking students higher grades. One study looked at the grades of 4,500 pupils, who were sorted by volunteers into three groups: below-average, average, and above-average looking. The researchers then compared students’ grades between classes taken in conventional classrooms with those taken online where there was no face-to-face interaction. The researchers found that students who were rated as good-looking earned significantly lower grades in online courses compared to conventional classrooms.

Since the physical appearance of good-looking people seems to naturally make them also appear intelligent, strong, and trustworthy, here is one good rule. If you meet with an accident and have to choose between two equally qualified doctors, ignore their halo and choose the less handsome one. He might have worked twice as hard to gain the same reputation and is likely better at his job.

1. What is the purpose of the second paragraph?

A．To explore a natural wonder.

B．To spread scientific knowledge.

C．To explain a psychological tendency.

D．To interpret social rules at the workplace.

2. How did the commanders tend to evaluate their pilots in Thorndike’s study?

A．In a general way.	B．With common sense.
C．From a specific aspect.	D．By an objective criterion.

3. What does the 4,500-pupil study find about better-looking students?

A．They were fairly treated by their teachers.

B．They were less attentive in online courses.

C．They probably had natural learning abilities.

D．They were overvalued in conventional classes.

4. What can be learned about the halo effect?

A．It relieves appearance anxiety.

B．It leads to inaccurate judgments.

C．It causes trust crisis among people.

D．It intensifies workplace competition.

8 . In a world of music streaming services, access to almost any song is just a few clicks away. Yet, the live performance lives on. People still fill sweaty basements, muddy fields and gilded concert halls to hear their favourite musicians play. And now neuroscientists might know why—live music engages the brain’s emotion centres more than its recorded counterpart.

Concerts are immersive (沉浸式的) social experiences in which people listen to and feel the music together through crescendos, key changes and rhythmic drops. Moreover, they are dynamic — artists can adapt their playing according to the crowd’s reaction.

It was this last difference that led neuroscientists, based at the Universities of Zurich and Oslo, to study the brain responses of people listening to music. In the “live” experiment, participants lay in an MRI scanner listening to the music through earphones, while a pianist was positioned outside the room. The pianist was shown the participant’s real-time brain activity as a form of feedback. In the recorded condition, participants listened to pre-recorded versions of the same tunes.

The scientists were interested in how live music affected the areas of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly the amygdala, an area deep inside the brain. The results, just published in the journal PNAS, revealed that live music had a significantly greater emotional impact. Whether the music conveyed happiness or sadness, dynamic live performances led to increased activity not only in the amygdala but also other parts of the brain’s emotion processing network. The researchers also found that participants’ brain activity tracked the acoustic (声学的) features of the music, like tempo and pitch, far more closely when it was played live.

While the study didn’t fully recreate the live concert experience, the findings suggest that artists’ ability to adjust their performance in real time contributes to the emotional resonance (共鸣) of live music. Some musical acts now attempt to recreate live concerts, such as ABBA Voyage, an immersive pre-recorded VR concert, but without artists’ capacity to read audience’s mood and respond accordingly, it will never quite match the real thing.

1. Why do people attend live shows despite music streaming services?

A．Because they prefer being with friends at a concert.

B．Because they enjoy the process of finding popular music.

C．Because they intend to meet their favorite musicians in person.

D．Because they value the emotional connection live music brings.

2. The role of the pianist play in the “live” experiment is to _______.

A．observe the participants’ brain activity as feedback

B．compare the effectiveness of live performances and recorded ones

C．provide live accompaniment to participants inside the MRI scanner

D．demonstrate their ability to read and respond to the audience’s mood

3. What did the study published in PNAS find about the impact of live music on the brain?

A．Live music affected only the amygdala of the brain.

B．The brain responded more intensely to acoustic features of live music.

C．Live music had a reduced emotional impact compared to recorded music.

D．The participants’ brain activity was especially sensitive to dynamic music.

4. What does the author suggest by mentioning ABBA Voyage in the last paragraph?

A．It fails to create a perfect performing atmosphere.

B．It matches the sound quality of live performances.

C．It greatly stirs up the audience’s emotional response.

D．It lacks artists’ response based on audience’s feedback.

10 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms, which reflect the Chinese people’s understanding of time. Here several special solar terms are listed.

Rain Water

Rain Water signals the increase in rainfall and rise in temperature. With its arrival, the river water defreezes, wild geese move from south to north, and trees and grass turn green again. Extra care is needed to cope with a returning cold spell in this period. The wet and damp weather during Rain Water period is considered harmful for people’s spleen (脾) and stomach according to Chinese medical practice. Therefore, a bowl of nutritious porridge is the best choice to nourish the body.

Awakening of Insects

As the third solar term in the lunar year, its name implies that animals sleeping in winter are awakened by spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural activities. Modern meteorological science shows that around this period, the earth becomes wet, the hot humid air from the north is strong and creates frequent winds. For this reason, thunder often occurs.

Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, the sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere. Standing an egg upright is a popular game during this period. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

Grain Rain

Grain Rain originates from the old saying, “Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains", which shows that this period of rainfall is extremely important for the growth of crops and people are busy working on the land. Grain Rain falls between the end of' spring and the beginning of summer, with infrequent cold air moving to the south and lingering cold air in the north. With dry soil, an unsteady atmosphere and heavy winds and sandstorms become more frequent.

1. What can we know about Rain Water?

A．River water starts to freeze.

B．Taking off the thick coats is advisable.

C．Lively spring-like scenery can be seen.

D．It falls between the end of spring and the start of summer.

2. What do Awakening of Insects and Grain Rain have in common?

A．Farming season.	B．Animal activities.
C．Air temperature.	D．Frequent thundering.

3. In which solar term would people most probably put on masks?

A．Rain Water.	B．Grain Rain.
C．Spring Equinox.	D．Awakening of Insects.