1 . The Most Beautiful Train Stations in the World
Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building
The wide-open entrance square on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo’s main train station would look more at home in Amsterdam or Paris. Kingo Tatsuno’s classical European design took over six years to complete, finally opening in 1914. The statin has received several facelifts since the Second World War, most recently in 2012. It’s one of the biggest and busiest train stations in the world.
Beijing West Railway Station
The idea of building this station in the capital of China was put forward as early as 1959 but didn’t come to reality until 1996. It was the largest station in Asia at the time, although Shanghai’s Hongqiao Station has since surpassed it. The station itself has a unique architectural (建筑的) style, with the main body of the building having quite a functional Russian look, but the rooftop is decorated with three amazing Chinese pagodas.
Duoliang Station, Taiwan
This is the smallest station on this lit by a distance. In fact we’re not really choosing Duoliang for architectural reasons. This station is all about location, location, location. Surrounded by hi top greenery on one side and amazing Pacific Ocean scenery on the other, it’s one of the most scenic spots in all of Taiwan. This isn’t even a working station anymore, but the platforms have been adapted into viewing spots, extremely popular with local train spotters.
Stazione Milano Centrale in Milan
Milan’s central train station looks pretty much exactly as you’d imagine it. There are a mix of styles at play here, from Art Nouveau to Art Deco, but the entire building is filled with a classic sense of Roman monumentality. The outer look is guarded by two statues, while its insides are equally impressive, as grand stonewalls curve (弯曲) into the station’s glass ceilings.
1. What do Tokyo Station and Beijing West Railway Station have in common?| A．Both have European features. |
| B．Both were built in the early 1990s. |
| C．Both have been rebuilt several times. |
| D．Both are the largest domestic stations. |
| A．Its distance. | B．Its small size. |
| C．Its surrounding scenery. | D．Its architectural style. |
| A．Roman buildings | B．Its various styles. |
| C．Statues on the walls | D．The curving ceilings. |
2 . The last attempt of Ken Campbell to run could date back to high school. When his wife, Susan, injured her foot, she needed support to rejoin her running group, so Campbell went along to keep her company in the recovery.” We were just walking at the beginning,” he says, “I was heavy, and weighed over 90kg.” But as the weeks and months passed, the weight fell away, Susan recovered and Campbell’s abilities grew. At the age of 63, he ran 50km, and at 70, he completed a 100km ultramarathon.
So how does someone with no experience of running become an ultradistance runner in his 60s and 70s? Susan had run marathons before her injury, but for Campbell, the turning point came when Susan’s Fleet Feet running group started training near their home.
Campbell went out to visit Susan’s group, and “the paths were a terrible mess. It had been raining, and I was slipping, sliding and falling. But I thought, well, I like this a lot.” What he liked above all was the feeling of “being wrapped by the path, being hugged by the closeness of the plants and the nearness of the river”.
Running the 100km ultramarathon took Campbell 16 hours. When Campbell crossed the finish line, Susan handed hima100km sticker to display on the back of his truck. “It is a public statement that you are part of this community,” he says. “Wherever we park, I see a line of vehicles with their various stickers and I feel that we area community.”
Campbell suffered from arthritis before he started running, and was “waiting for knee replacement”, but for now, he no longer needs an operation. It can put an end to the running—but the “sense of wellbeing and achievement will carry me on forever”, he says, “If I can’t run, I will walk.”
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．What led to Campbell’s weight loss. |
| B．What made Campbell start running. |
| C．Why Campbell attempted to run marathon. |
| D．What Campbell did for Susan’s recovery. |
| A．Susan’s starting training. | B．Falling down when training. |
| C．Feeling free in nature. | D．His visit to Susan’s group. |
| A．A sense of belonging. | B．Encouragement from his wife. |
| C．A sense of achievement. | D．Display of his happiness. |
| A．Well begun is half done. | B．It is never too late to begin. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
3 . When Millet was a boy he worked on his needy father’s farm. At the rest hour in the fields the other workers would all take naps, but young Millet would spend time drawing. Finally, the village where he lived gave him a little money to Paris to study art.
When Millet reached Paris, he had a tough time. Fortunately, when he was almost starving, someone bought one of his peasant paintings, which enabled his family to leave for Barbizon.
Millet’s pictures of peasants at work were painted in a unique way. The painter would go out on the farms and watch them carefully — digging, hoeing, spreading manure, sawing wood, or sowing grain. Then he would come home and paint what he had seen. So astonishingly accurate was his memory that he could paint at home without models and get all the movements of his figures right. When he did need a figure to go by, he would ask his wife to pose for him.
One of his noted artworks is called “The Sower”, which shows a man seeding. He reaches into his bag for seed and then swings backward to scatter the seed, and with each swing of his hand the sower strides forward. In Millet’s picture the sower has been working hard, but his swinging step and arm still move smoothly, like a machine. Only the man’s head reveals his great tiredness.
Another masterpiece is called “The Gleaners”. A gleaner is someone picking up the leftover in the field after the wheat harvest. When farmers near Barbizon are extremely badly-off, even the little the gleaners can find is a help. You can see from Millet’s picture what back-breaking work gleaning must be.
1. What do we know about Millet?| A．His wife supported him to be a painter. | B．He was keen on painting as a kid. |
| C．He spent his whole life in Barbizon. | D．He was brought up in Paris. |
| A．Asking models for help. | B．Imagining figures in the field. |
| C．Remembering what he had observed | D．Recalling the days on his father’s farm. |
| A．The farmers’ hardships. | B．The scene of farming. |
| C．His love for the village. | D．His anxiety about the farmers. |
| A．A short-story collection | B．A personal diary |
| C．A magazine of art | D．A science magazine |
4 . Have you ever dreamed of having a fashionable watch of great value?
A small watchmaker in Switzerland in 1922 designed the first automatic watch to show day, month, and date. Only seven of these splendid watches were ever made and these watches were almost lost to history. Today, it is so hard to get an original watch that some watch historians are even willing to offer $ 200,000 for one.
These watches attracted a lot of people for their splendid color, fashionable style, and uses in the 1920s.The owners of the watches were admired and set apart from the crowd. Because the number of the original watches is very limited, owning such a watch will make you feel very special.
Today, you are offered the same kind of watch with improvement. It has a 24-jet mechanical movement, the kind desired by watch collectors. The watchmaker has made movement of the watch much more modern with an automatic rotor (上弦装置) so that the watch never needs to be wound by hand. The watch comes in a very beautiful case with a crocodile design on it. To get a watch in such a perfect design means to get a chance to know a piece watch-making history and to wear such a watch will show your personal taste and social position.
You can get the watch either in person or by mail at an affordable price. You will also receive good service from the watch seller. If you are not satisfied with the watch after you get it, you simply return it within 30 days. Don’t miss the chance to realize your dream.
1. The original automatic watches are valuable because________.| A．the watches were made many years ago |
| B．the watches were made by a Swiss watchmaker |
| C．only rich people can afford the watches |
| D．only a few watches of the kind were made |
| A．mechanical movement | B．splendid color |
| C．fashionable style | D．new uses |
| A．buy the watch | B．return the watch |
| C．wear the watch | D．receive the service |
5 . As a result of trade, travel and migration, different cuisines have spread across the world. Many recipes, chefs and restaurants try to announce that their food of a country or region is the most authentic (正宗的). But is this a good thing?
People care about authenticity because food traditions are closely linked to identity, particularly for migrant communities. Sociologist and professor of food studies, Krishnendu Ray, explains that home cooking is often the last way that communities can show their identity. British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was accused of trying to take advantage of positive feelings about Jamaica. His ready meal product had a Jamaican name, but was unlike real Jamaican cooking.
However, food consultant Sara Kay asks whether there are problems with the idea of authenticity. She stresses that these ideas often come from the expectations that majority cultures have about minority cultures and their food. These can be restricting—restauranteurs have complained that people expect Asian food to be cheaper than that from European cultures. Expectations can also give people a false idea of what is authentic. While large cities are full of eateries representing different countries—China, India, Italy, Mexico and more—these labels can oversimplify the reality of food from these countries. Stephanie Elizondo Greist is surprised by the recognition that foods in Mexico are more authentic than what she ate growing up as a Mexican-American in Texas, because she feels that both are authentic examples of Mexican food.
A more controversial view of authenticity was stated by American Chef Andrew Zimmern, who claimed that he could bring in Chinese dishes in a more authentic way than existing restaurants—many of which are owned by Chinese-Americans. Writer and food podcaster Ruth Tam points out that while these restaurants altered their menus to suit local tastes, so does Zimmern. So, while food and identity are closely linked, and failure to respect authenticity can cause offence, could there be problems with the whole idea of authenticity?
1. Which of the following factors causes people to care about authenticity?| A．Position. | B．Decoration. | C．Taste. | D．Price. |
| A．Eateries in different countries contribute to the authentic problem. |
| B．Expectation about authenticity may cause problems. |
| C．Asian food is cheaper than European food. |
| D．You can enjoy the traditional taste of Mexican food both in Mexico and America. |
| A．There can be only one authentic taste in a country. |
| B．What she eats in Texas means nothing to her. |
| C．The regional specialities should be the same in a country. |
| D．Every person can have his or her own recognition of authenticity. |
| A．Food & Culture | B．Science & Technology |
| C．Sports & Health | D．Literature & Art |
6 . While the remaining 8 teams of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar compete in the quarter-finals, it is worth noting that it is not only soccer that has captured the world’s attention, but also the video assistant referee (VAR) technology.
Like it or hate it, the VAR is a part of football games today.
Many football fans question whether the system made the game better or if it added unnecessary some complication to the beautiful game, especially this time in Qatar, as a number of controversial (引起争议的) decisions were made involving VAR – it slows down the game, offside law (越位规则) is sometimes not flexible.
The introduction of the VAR means at the top-level football now tends to pause and delay with the on-field referee often waiting for decisions to be made by those located in offices often far away from the stadiums themselves.
Actually, the use of video match officials (VMOs) in football was included in the 2018/2019 edition of the Laws of the Game and was already used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Since then, the system has been used in over 100 competitions worldwide.
Despite criticisms, FIFA thought VAR’s first show to be a success, with referee committee head Pierluigi Collina claiming that 99.3 percent of “match-changing” decisions were called correctly at the World Cup – “very, very close to perfection”. Without VAR, referees called 95% of incidents correctly.
We should admit that sports tech is still far from perfect in the field of sports events. People’s emotions are not towards those technologies themselves, but the current shortcomings of the application of the technology.
The controversies in the football field are not caused by VAR alone as there are too many uncertain factors on the court, which is a part of the game drama. For example, the penalty kick (点球) in the penalty area is judged in a variety of situations.
1. What made fans dissatisfied in Qatar?| A．The use of VAR technology. |
| B．The results of soccer games. |
| C．The changes of match laws. |
| D．The decisions made by coaches. |
| A．Viewer. | B．Athlete. | C．Judge. | D．Host. |
| A．It reduces the burden of the referees. |
| B．It has become a part of football games. |
| C．It is widely applied in many fields of sports. |
| D．Its “match-changing” decisions proved more exact. |
| A．World Cup 2022 is a turning point |
| B．Is VAR technology ruining football games? |
| C．Should VAR be popularized in the sports world? |
| D．The 2022 World Cup saw the first show of VAR |
7 . Zhu Dejun’s first job after graduating from college was as a road design engineer in his hometown, Alshaa League, North Chin’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region(内蒙古自治区). In 2011, when Zhu was conducting a road survey along with his colleagues, he saw a plant that he didn’t recognize. Later, Zhu learned that the plant was a saxaul (灌木梭梭) tree which is an excellent tree species for sand fixation and afforestation (造林) in desert areas. Known as a desert guardian, a fully grown saxaul tree can hold together a 10-square-meter patch of desert land, according to Zhu.
Zhu quit (辞去) his job at the design institute in 2014 and joined a nonprofit organization, the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Conservation, or SEE, in the same year, concentrating on dealing with desertification (沙漠化) .During the past eight years, Zhu has been leading a team from SEE to plant saxaul trees in sandy areas in Alshaa League and other places of Inner Mongolia.
In 2014, the SEE launched a project titled “one million saxaul trees”, aiming to reach that number from 2014 to 2023, turning the desert of more than 133, 330 hectares (公顷) back into a satisfying ecosystem. By the end of 2018, half of the organization’s goal had been achieved. In 2016, Ant Finance cooperated with SEE to introduce the Ant Forest platform, not only encouraging people to choose “a low-carbon way” of shopping, traveling and living, but also to help control desertification.
Through the participation of a greater number of online users, who grow virtual trees, the SEE Foundation, set up in 2008, has been providing subsidies (补助金) for local herdsmen and farmers while also offering technological support to plant saxaul trees in desert areas. Now, Zhu is the head of the foundation’s project to fight desertification. He also gives lectures about saxaul trees and the fight against desertification at schools, hoping to raise awareness among young people.
1. What did Zhu Dejun do first after graduation?| A．Here searched on saxaul trees. |
| B．He joined a nonprofit organization. |
| C．He found ways to fight desertification. |
| D．He focused on road design engineering. |
| A．They are easily taken care of. |
| B．They can grow fast in deserts. |
| C．They are perfect for holding water. |
| D．They can fight desertification effectively. |
| A．They teamed up with Ant Finance. |
| B．They planted one million saxaul trees. |
| C．They held online lectures on desertification. |
| D．They encouraged donation from online users. |
| A．By providing subsidies. | B．By raising awareness. |
| C．By planting trees online. | D．By offering technological support. |
8 . Top Scientific Breakthroughs in 2023
The pace of innovation never slows, and the impact of the breakthroughs will redefine the way we live, work and connect with the world.
A New Era for Space Exploration
Space exploration is one of the core missions in many countries. Recently, the newest mission to the moon was launched as NASA’s Artemis Program, which would pave the way for a future mission to Mars. This new era of space exploration will drive technological advancements in fields beyond astronautics and stimulate progress in real-world applications like materials, food science, and modern industry.
A Milestone in AI Predictions
For decades, the scientific community has chased a greater understanding of relationships between protein functions and 3D structures. In July 2023, Deep Mind revealed that the folded 3D structure of a protein molecule (分子), which reduced the number of human proteins with unknown structural data from 4,800 to just 29. While there will always be challenges with AI, the ability to predict protein structures in biology has implications across all life sciences.
Greener Fertilizer Production
Every year, billions of people depend on fertilizers for the ongoing production of food, and reducing the carbon footprint and expenses in fertilizer production would reshape the impact agriculture has on emissions. To reduce energy requirements, researchers from Tokyo Tech have developed a noble-metal-free catalyst (催化剂), which is much more environmentally friendly and safer to the agricultural produces.
Supercomputer—Exascale
Exascale computers, which can perform a mind-boggling quintillion (1018) mathematical operations per second, finally arrived in 2023. They’ve already helped refine weather forecasts and design new materials, and new ones will be coming online soon. The world’s most powerful supercomputers, operating at the far frontier of speed known as the exascale, have now begun to boom. These results from exascale machines coming online in the next few years promise to open a new window into materials, climate science, and medicine.
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1. What do the Space Exploration and Fertilizer Production have in common?| A．They take a lot of time. | B．They make influence on the food. |
| C．They need government cooperation. | D．They cost a big sum of money to maintain. |
| A．A New Era for Space Exploration. | B．A Milestone in AI Predictions. |
| C．Greener Fertilizer Production. | D．Supercomputers—Exascale. |
| A．A textbook. | B．An exam paper. | C．A magazine. | D．A science fiction. |
9 . Driving is a dangerous activity. Every single day people, for a variety of reasons, are hurt or killed in accidents. One woman, an emergency nurse in the Phoenix,
On the morning of July 26, Leigh Ann just
Obviously, it was a(n)
She then quickly
As for what put her in that
| A．hesitated | B．promised | C．refused | D．pretended |
| A．statistic | B．witness | C．intervention | D．survivor |
| A．arranged | B．exchanged | C．deserved | D．completed |
| A．stunned | B．homesick | C．exhausted | D．cheerful |
| A．figure | B．scene | C．shadow | D．scenery |
| A．realized | B．suspected | C．recalled | D．remembered |
| A．avoidable | B．similar | C．consistent | D．recent |
| A．retrained | B．arrived | C．swept | D．calculated |
| A．unwillingly | B．safely | C．innocently | D．casually |
| A．assessed | B．imagined | C．exposed | D．presented |
| A．considerate | B．conscious | C．reliable | D．grateful |
| A．encountered | B．followed | C．approached | D．convinced |
| A．cared for | B．depended on | C．subscribed to | D．brought up |
| A．protection | B．preparation | C．position | D．opportunity |
| A．lesson | B．service | C．career | D．path |
10 . “Look, Mum, he paints like me!” Eight-year-old Alexandra Nechita had just discovered Pablo Picasso’s artwork for the first time. The art world
Even at age two, Alexandra spent nearly all her time on her coloring books.
When Alexandra was four, her parents began to notice the figures she
Alexandra’s classmates would sometimes
Within a year, Alexandra had several other exhibitions. By then, she had
Today Alexandra
| A．improved | B．agreed | C．waited | D．broke |
| A．friendly | B．talented | C．worried | D．honest |
| A．Afraid | B．Sure | C．Proud | D．Ashamed |
| A．promised | B．proved | C．reported | D．hoped |
| A．called | B．drove | C．brought | D．sent |
| A．drew | B．counted | C．explained | D．met |
| A．stopped | B．started | C．suggested | D．avoided |
| A．learn from | B．seek for | C．point at | D．laugh at |
| A．conference | B．system | C．party | D．exhibition |
| A．completed | B．used | C．copied | D．lost |
| A．role | B．taste | C．selection | D．attention |
| A．directly | B．suddenly | C．still | D．seldom |
| A．style | B．time | C．energy | D．money |
| A．on holiday | B．in power | C．on duty | D．in need |
| A．campus | B．confidence | C．love | D．injury |
