1 . Family-Friendly Activities
Canyoning (峡谷漂流) New Zealand
Location: Queenstown
When: Sunday, October 1,2023-Tuesday, April 30,2024
Price: $499 (2 adults & 2 kids)
What: Get your family out and about in beautiful nature with Canyoning New Zealand! This half-day product delivers so much adventure and excitement all rolled into one guided canyoning adventure.
Queenstown Ice Arena
Location: Queenstown Gardens
When: Friday, September 1,2023-Sunday, March 31,2024
Price: $65(2 adults & 2 kids, or 1 adult & 3 kids)
What: Cool down this summer with an afternoon at the Queenstown Ice Arena. Book a family ice skating pass for only S65. This deal includes skates and helmets (头盔).
Family Ziplining Deal
Location:45 Camp Street, Queenstown
When: Sunday, October 1,2023-Wednesday, January 31,2024
Price: Family of 4 (2 adults & 2 kids)-$499(RRP $536) or Family of 5 (2 adults & 3 kids)-$599 (RRPS645)
What: Join a grand and fun adventure through the forest canopy (树荫) high above Queenstown, featuring impressive views across the remarkable mountain range and Lake Whakatipu.
Super School Holidays
Location: Sky Tower, Auckland
When: October 1-16,2023
Price: $365 (2 adults & 1 kid)
What: To celebrate the release of the cinema, DC League of Super Pets, Sky Tower is calling on all superheroes for a super school holiday adventure. It takes you on a super adventure around the Sky Tower.
1. What do the listed activities have in common?| A．They are held in Queenstown. | B．They need to book in advance. |
| C．They are designed for families. | D．They offer adventures in forests. |
| A．Take a can yon tour. | B．Experience ice skating. |
| C．Watch a famous movie. | D．Enjoy an amazing landscape. |
| A．Canyoning New Zealand | B．Queenstown Ice Arena |
| C．Family Ziplining Deal | D．Super School Holidays |
2 . It was June a few years ago, right around the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. A few weeks earlier, the first fireflies (萤火虫) had appeared, blinking their lights on and off in the woods around my house. What a joy it was seeing them again. Their little flickers (闪烁) of light made me smile with delight.
As the daylight was starting to fade, I saw some neighborhood children attempting to catch the slow-moving lightning bugs outside my window. One of the girls went inside and came back with a clear glass jar. After chasing a few without success, she finally caught a firefly inside it. All the other children gathered around to watch it flickering its light on and off inside the jar. Soon, darkness started to fall, and the children’s Mom walked over to them and told them it was time to release the firefly. One of the girls refused but the Mom explained that the firefly would die if left in the jar. Then the girl said something that still stays in my heart to this day: It is time to let this little guy go so it can share its light with the rest of the world!
I remember when I was a child, we all sang, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!” But as adults, we find it hard to do so. We dwell on the darkness too much and keep our light hidden in fear. Don’t hide your light. Don’t keep it in a jar. Share your flickers, no matter how small they may be. Let the love inside you out. Let the glow within you drive the darkness away.
1. How did the author feel about the appearance of fireflies?| A．Amazed. | B．Pleased. | C．Worried. | D．Confused. |
| A．She set the firefly free. | B．She put the firefly in a jar. |
| C．She tried to save the firefly. | D．She stopped chasing the firefly. |
| A．Be brave to face difficulties in life. | B．Share our light and love with others. |
| C．Protect the endangered firefly species. | D．Develop self-confidence and be ourselves. |
| A．Keep Going in Darkness | B．A Firefly Trapped in a Jar |
| C．Shine Like a Flickering Bug | D．A Precious Childhood Memory |
3 . I’d like to share my story of kindness. I had a minor car
This car has some
Richard told me that he
We have been driving around feeling so safe and happy, Richard has made such a
| A．show | B．club | C．accident | D．journey |
| A．time | B．money | C．experience | D．hope |
| A．tough | B．various | C．attractive | D．expensive |
| A．damage | B．force | C．use | D．debt |
| A．cheaper | B．better | C．heavier | D．cleaner |
| A．failed | B．refused | C．decided | D．pretended |
| A．surprised | B．puzzled | C．frightened | D．disappointed |
| A．respect | B．politeness | C．concern | D．curiosity |
| A．learned | B．admitted | C．announced | D．supposed |
| A．blind | B．similar | C．kind | D．devoted |
| A．However | B．Moreover | C．Previously | D．Obviously |
| A．looked for | B．took over | C．gave away | D．filled up |
| A．touched | B．confused | C．embarrassed | D．fascinated |
| A．admiration | B．gratitude | C．regret | D．satisfaction |
| A．fortune | B．mistake | C．difference | D．choice |
4 . Being bored is no fun, especially at work. However, a recent study from the Research School of Management at the Australian National University suggests that boredom may have an unexpected benefit.
In a study, 52 participants (参与者) were given a boring task of separating red from green beans for 30 minutes, while another group of 49 participants was asked to create art projects with paper, beans, and glue. Then both groups were instructed to spend five minutes on a creative task. Surprisingly, the group that had performed the boring task produced a higher quantity and quality of creative ideas than the group that had taken part in the art project.
“Boredom is not necessarily terrible based on my research,” says the study’s lead author, Guihyun Park. “People want to get out of a boring state, so they tend to find novelty, which can lead to unique thinking and bring out creativity.” Moreover, it’s also worth noting that studies have found that not everyone experiences the same level of creative benefits from boredom. Researchers have discovered in one experiment that participants who are open to new experiences and driven to achieve specific goals are more likely to see positive effects from being bored.
Finally, Park admits that not every type of job allows a state of boredom, and it really can be detrimental to some important work. “I would say at safety jobs where you need to stay alert (警惕的) all the time, like police or safety guards, boredom will keep your mind wandering, which is really bad,” says Park. “Also, those jobs require less creativity but much attention to details instead; boredom won’t help much there.”
But for designers and anyone in a creative field, boredom is not something to fear, but to embrace (欣然接受). J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has shared how she would spend hours sitting on trains, letting her mind wander and coming up with new ideas for her stories. This boredom allowed her to tap into her creativity and imagination, leading to one of the most beloved book series ever.
1. What did the recent study find about boredom?| A．It inspires creative ideas. | B．It raises people’s patience. |
| C．It improves work efficiency. | D．It leads to negative feelings. |
| A．People who are afraid of change. |
| B．People who tend to focus on details. |
| C．People who are willing to try new things. |
| D．People who enjoy competing with others. |
| A．Attractive. | B．Harmful. | C．Necessary. | D．Challenging. |
| A．To show the power of embracing boredom. |
| B．To encourage people to stay bored in their daily life. |
| C．To prove the importance of creativity and imagination. |
| D．To explain the creation process of the Harry Potter series. |
5 . Young boys often dream of superpowers to solve their problems. “If I could just click my fingers, my homework would be done,” many have imagined. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster put their ideas down on paper.
It was 1933, and while the country was in the throes of the Great Depression, Cleveland was thriving. Jerry and Joe, growing up in a middle-class neighborhood, became friends on the high school. They escaped potentially embarrassing encounters by becoming crazy about comics.
Joe was the artist and drew all the time, using bits of any kind of paper he could find. He hung out at newsstands poring over magazines, especially Amazing Stories, and then recreated them at home with a pencil or pen. Jerry was the storyteller and the more ambitious of the two. He describes how the creation of Superman came to him in the middle of a sleepless summer night: I hop out of bed and write this down, and then I go back and think some more for about two hours, then get up again and write that down. The inspiration for Superman’s origin story started taking shape, and the next morning, I ran to Joe’s place and showed it to him, we just sat down, and I worked straight through.
As is often the case, when we experience something traumatic in life, we deal with the feelings through creative expression. Jerry’s father had owned a store and died during a robbery. A young child might process that experience by wishing something could have prevented it. For Jerry, out came the Man of Steel, who had superpowers and bravery to protect innocent people. Creating storylines must have helped Jerry with the grieving process.
The story of Superman has inspired kids for generations. It has calmed their fears and driven their dreams. Most importantly, the Man of Steel has inspired us all to find our superpowers and use them to help others.
1. What happened to Jerry and Joe during the Great Depression?| A．They were forced to quit school. | B．They became addicted to comics. |
| C．They went broke and lost their jobs. | D．They moved to Cleveland with friends. |
| A．Jerry was much more talented. | B．They co-created the Superman. |
| C．Joe was better at telling stories. | D．They produced their own magazine. |
| A．Painful. | B．Strange. | C．Wonderful. | D．Adventurous. |
| A．A Lifelong Friendship | B．The Best Comics Ever |
| C．The Birth of Superman | D．A Little Boy’s Last Wish |
6 . You might have heard the theory that a meteor (a huge rock from space) destroyed most life on Earth, including many dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. However, scientists have come up with a reason why this caused so many species to go extinct.
Earlier, scientists had argued that the meteor strike caused wildfires, earthquakes and tsunamis, which destroyed habitats all over the planet and made it impossible for many creatures to survive. However, the new report suggests that more attention should be given to another effect of the meteor — the trillions of tons of dust that were sent flying into the air.
This dust would have gone around in dark clouds, blocking out (封锁) the Sun and causing temperatures around the world to drop sharply. Plants, which need sunlight to live and grow, would have died, leaving animals that eat plants without food. When they died, animals that eat other animals would have had no food either. This led to the extinction of 75% of species on Earth, including most dinosaurs — although the ones that survived later became birds.
The researchers tested their theory by running computer simulations (模拟) of the effect of the meteor strike. These simulations took into consideration real measurements of dust caused by the meteor effect, taken from a site in North Dakota, US. The simulations suggested that the dust could have stayed in the atmosphere for up to I5 years after being thrown into the sky.
Philippe Claeys, co-author of the new research, said that although the meteor strike was disastrous for the dinosaurs, it probably helped humans of the future. “Dinosaurs dominated (统治) the Earth and were doing just fine when the meteor hit,” he said. “Without the impact, my guess is that mammals (哺乳动物) — including us — had little chance to become the dominant creature on this planet.”
1. What probably made so many species extinct according to the new research?| A．A huge burning rock in space. | B．Earthquakes caused by the meteor strike. |
| C．A large population of creatures on the planet. | D．Dust caused by the meteor strike. |
| A．Types of disasters. | B．Measurements of dust. |
| C．Sites of meteor strikes. | D．Lasting time of dust. |
| A．Chance favors the prepared mind. | B．God helps those who help themselves. |
| C．Where there is life, there is hope. | D．Every disadvantage has its advantage. |
| A．How Dust Destroyed Dinosaurs | B．How the Meteor Struck the Earth |
| C．How Mammals Came into Being | D．How Scientists Performed the Research |
7 . From my childhood on, my mother didn’t have a job. If she was asked to
There is an old
What I
| A．take out | B．make out | C．fill out | D．check out |
| A．simple | B．empty | C．hard | D．unknown |
| A．video | B．photograph | C．note | D．survey |
| A．chances | B．fear | C．humor | D．regrets |
| A．puzzled | B．put | C．read | D．expressed |
| A．eyes | B．mouth | C．hands | D．stomach |
| A．improves | B．ruins | C．changes | D．proves |
| A．Yet | B．So | C．And | D．Or |
| A．begged | B．forgave | C．concerned | D．admired |
| A．for a drink | B．for a rescue | C．for a living | D．for a start |
| A．demanded | B．learned | C．developed | D．remembered |
| A．school | B．work | C．hospital | D．church |
| A．looking | B．waiting | C．caring | D．fighting |
| A．waste | B．need | C．symbol | D．risk |
| A．progress | B．efforts | C．sense | D．excuses |
8 . Some new museums are opening around the world. Here are four of them.
Maison Gainsbourg, Paris
The Parisian townhouse where the French singer Serge Gainsbourg lived has been closed off to the public since his death in 1991. This spring, though, it’ll finally open as a museum focusing on his life and work. The project has been led by his daughter and the main attraction will surely be Serge’s living area, with his piano and a huge collection of paintings.
National Museum of Norway, Oslo
This year, the National Museum of Norway will open in Oslo, becoming the largest museum in the Nordic countries. The museum collection includes 100, 000 objects, including the Norwegian Baldishol tapestry (挂毯) and a collection of Golden Age Flemish landscapes.
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The rebuilding of the Art Gallery of New South Wales has cost a cool $177 million. Visitors enter via a huge glass wall, which hangs above a pair of oil tanks from the Second World War period. Torres Strait Islands’ artists’ artworks enjoy priority (优先权) in the new spaces.
Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru
Opening towards the end of the year, this new gallery in India was founded by businessman Abhishek Poddar. He’s known for his collection of art and photos and more than 18, 000 of his own pieces will be on show here. What’s more, the museum is going to have digital exhibits on its website, so you can get your culture enjoyment far away.
1. What do we know about Maison Gainsbourg?| A．It exhibits paintings by Serge. | B．It is open to the end of the year. |
| C．It focuses on musical instruments. | D．It used to be a singer’s house. |
| A．The Norwegian Baldishol tapestry. | B．A huge glass wall from the Second World War. |
| C．Works of Torres Strait Islands’ artists. | D．Abhishek Poddar’s collection. |
| A．A science report. | B．A literature review. |
| C．A travel magazine. | D．A research paper. |
9 . The 61-year-old potato farmer Cliff Young won the 1983 Westfield Sydney-Melbourne Ultramarathon, which took runners days to finish, in Australia.
When Cliff showed up in the race, he stuck out like a sore thumb in his everyday clothes different from the other professional runners’, quickly attracting the attention of reporters present.
“I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses. Whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go out and round up the sheep,” Cliff told reporters. “Sometimes I’d have to run those sheep for two or three days, but I’d always catch them. I believe I can run this race.” No one actually believed him. Most competitors were in their 20s and early 30s, with years of training and marathon experience.
On the first day of the race, Cliff was left far behind. But he had one advantage that no one had expected. He didn’t plan on stopping until he reached the finish line while all the others had been training to run for 18 hours a day and then stop and sleep for the other six.
When dawn broke, the other runners were shocked to learn that the old farmer was in the lead and that they would have to catch up with him. Although running slowly, he was the first to cross the finish line and received $10,000 as a prize. But he kept none of the prize and donated it to the homeless.
Cliff continued to run. In 1997, he set out to raise funds for homeless kids by running all 16, 000 kilometers of the Australian coastline. In 2000, Cliff achieved a world age record in a six-day race in Victoria. Cliff Young died at 81, but his legend lives on.
1. What does the underlined part in paragraph 2 mean?| A．He had a special thumb. | B．He suffered a hand injury. |
| C．He seemed nervous. | D．He was very noticeable. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Respectful. | C．Doubtful. | D．Curious. |
| A．He saved his energy at first. | B．He received good training. |
| C．He sped up in the last two days. | D．He continuously ran without sleep. |
| A．Imagination and generosity. | B．Dream and devotion. |
| C．Determination and kindness. | D．Willingness and wisdom. |
10 . After waking up, you may feel annoyed that you cannot recall the dreams you had last night. Artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help.
Previously, there have been AI models that can turn text into images. They can do this by learning from a large amount of data from both tests and images. This time, researchers from Osaka University in Japan have trained an AI system called Stable Diffusion to recreate images based on people’s brain scans, reported Science magazine.
The researchers used an online data set provided by the University of Minnesota, US, which consisted of brain scans from four participants as they each viewed a set of 10,000 photos. The scans were recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The AI then learned about the brain activities by analyzing changes in blood flow shown by the fMRI data — when a part of the brain is activated (激活), more blood will flow to it. It then matched the brain activities with the photos. Through this method, AI learned how human brains would react when seeing different photos.
Finally, the researchers tested the AI on additional brain scans from the same participants when they viewed photos of a toy bear, airplane, clock and train. If the person looked at an airplane, for example, the AI would use the brain scan data to create an image of a very blurry (模糊的) airplane. Then, it would turn on the previous “text-to-image” model and improve the quality of the image by feeding itself the keyword “airplane”. The final images were “convincing” with about 80 percent of accuracy (精确), according to the researchers.
The new study created a novel approach that includes texts and images to “decipher (破译) the brain”, Ariel Goldstein from Princeton University, US, told Science magazine. In the future, scientists hope that the technology can be used to record imagined thoughts and dreams or allow people to understand how differently other animals understand reality.
1. What do we know about Stable Diffusion?| A．It can help train people’s minds. | B．It can fully present people’s dreams. |
| C．It was created to draw people’s brains. | D．It can produce pictures from people’s thoughts. |
| A．By analyzing activities of human thoughts. | B．By studying patterns of blood flow in the brain. |
| C．By recording brain scans from four participants. | D．By examining 10,000 photos about human brains. |
| A．By employing a “text-to-image” model. | B．By adjusting various brain scan data. |
| C．By combining additional brain scans. | D．By inputting text from human observers. |
| A．To improve text-to-image models. | B．To create more accurate brain scans. |
| C．To learn how animals view the world. | D．To help people interpret their dreams. |
