1 . You don’t know me. I have chosen you to be my pen friend. Our English teacher said it would be a good thing if we all chose a pen friend, as it would help with our writing. I chose you from a list of people wanting a pen friends in last Sunday’s paper. I hope you haven’t had so many letters that you can’t reply to me.

I chose you for two reasons. I like the sound of your name, and you live in the country. I’ve only been to the country once. We live in high buildings — our flat is on the tenth floor. But that doesn’t mean people can’t look in. I mean in the city planes go past all the time, and you never know who could be in them. And, anyway, at night when the lights are on, people from other flats can look in, and who would want that?

I’ll tell you a bit about myself. I’ve worked hard at being interesting, because I’m not much to good at. My name is Maria. I hate it. There are five Marias in our class. I am by far the most exciting of the five.

I live in Richmond, in Melbourne, with my beautiful mother and boring father, and a brother who is best ignored. I go to South Richmond High School, and I’m fourteen, just.

My mother works with a cosmetic company (化妆品公司). My father is a public servant and does nothing. Actually, he is a clerk in the railways but I prefer to call him a public servant. It makes him sound cleverer than he is.

I think you are the only one called Emily in your class. Please answer soon and tell me about yourself and your family and everything.

1. Why did Maria choose Emily as her pen friend?

A．The girl was good at writing.	B．The girl was different from her.
C．The girl loved reading newspapers.	D．The girl wanted to be her pen friend.

2. What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Being seen by others.	B．Seeing planes flying by.
C．Living in high buildings.	D．Having unfriendly neighbors.

3. What does Maria think of herself?

A．Clever.

B．Boring.

C．Interesting.

D．Good-looking.

4. What does Maria expect Emily to do?

A．Serve the public.	B．Reply to her letter.
C．Work hard at school.	D．Teach her how to write.

3 . When a woman bought a painting that appeared to bear the signature (签名) of N. C. Wyeth at a store in 2017, she joked that the 4-dollar item might actually be a real work by the Maine painter. Her joke was no laughing matter, and the painting is now estimated to fetch as much as $250,000 at auction (拍卖会) in September.

According to experts at Bonhams Skinner auction house, the seller unknowingly bought the work at a Savers store in Manchester, New Hampshire, while searching for frames to reuse. At that time, the Wyeth painting had been put against a wall along with mostly damaged posters and prints.

The woman took the piece home, and then made a quick Internet search but could not find any information about the work. After hanging the painting in her bedroom for several years, she eventually stored it in her study.

She rediscovered the painting this past May while doing cleaning, and this time posted images of the work on an online page titled “Things Found in Walls”, which is devoted to “stories of things you have found in walls, dug up in your backyard, or in that spare house across the street from your grandma’s”, according to the group’s description.

Comments on the post led her to contact Lauren Lewis, a former curator who worked with paintings by three generations of the Wyeths: N. C. Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth and his grandson Jamie Wyeth. So she did.

“After seeing the piece in person, Lewis was 99% certain it was authentic instead of a copy,” she told The Boston Globe. “While it certainly had some small scratches (划痕), it was in remarkable condition considering none of us had any idea of its journey over the last 80 years.”

Wyeth often produced cover art for publishers of periodicals and novels. The painting up for sale in September is one of four he completed for a 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s book Ramona, originally published in 1884. In it, Wyeth painted the young title character facing her elderly mother.

1. What was the woman’s joke?

A．The storekeeper was lazy and foolish.

B．The painting she bought might be valuable.

C．The signature of N. C. Wyeth was wrong.

D．The Maine painter would appear at auction.

2. How did the woman deal with the painting shortly after she got home?

A．She put it in her study.	B．She sold it to Lauren Lewis.
C．She sent it to her friend.	D．She searched online about it.

3. What does the underlined word “authentic” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Real.

B．Damaged.

C．Famous.

D．Stolen.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A world-famous artist in the US.	B．A novel by Helen Hunt Jackson.
C．A painting getting its recognition.	D．An expert going on a treasure hunt.

4 . Humans have a positive view of nature. But is this due to an approach we have learned while growing up, or is it something we are born with? The answer is “Both”, according to researchers at the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Our love of nature is highly individual and should influence how we plan our cities, say the researchers.

It is well known that nature has a positive effect on people. In cities in particular, studies have shown that trees and other greenery contribute to people’s wellbeing. However, experts do not agree on the reasons behind this phenomenon.

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have reviewed several studies within this field that examine both innate factors and what individuals experience during their lives, primarily as children.

In a Japanese study, subjects were asked to walk in a forest and in a city while their heartbeat was measured. This showed that positive emotions increased in 65% of people while they are walking in a forest. Thus, far from everyone had a positive view of nature.

Another environmental psychology study found that research subjects are unconsciously (无意识地) drawn to nature instead of cities, and that this attraction was strengthened in those whose childhood was rich in nature.

An additional study on identical and non-identical twins showed that a genetic (遗传的) component influences an individual’s positive or negative relationship with nature. But the study also highlighted the importance of environment in terms of attitudes towards nature.

Moreover, nature can mean completely different things to different people. Some enjoy parks with lawns and planted trees, while others prefer being in the wilderness. The researchers believe that this variation is also determined by both genetics and environment.

“So it’s important that we don’t standardise nature when planning greenery in our towns and cities,” adds Marcus Hedblom, a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and co-author of the article. “We shouldn’t replace wild greenery with a park and assume that it will be good for everyone.”

1. How did the author introduce the topic?

A．By bringing up an argument.	B．By listing a series of facts.
C．By referring to different opinions.	D．By asking and answering questions.

2. What does the underlined word “innate” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Social.

B．Inborn.

C．Extra.

D．Unique.

3. What did the Japanese study indicate?

A．People had a negative experience in nature.

B．People were unconsciously drawn to nature.

C．All people didn’t respond to nature positively.

D．The feeling toward nature was related to childhood.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Why Do We Love Nature?	B．How Do People Feel in Nature?
C．What Makes Nature So Powerful?	D．Why Is Nature Important to Humans?

5 . A study led by the University of Eastern Finland suggests that teenagers who engage in active school transport (walking/cycling to or from school at least once per week) and leisure-time physical activity perform better at secondary school than their inactive peers (同龄人). Regular leisure-time physical activity was also associated with lower possibilities of school burnout (倦怠). The findings were published in the European Journal of Public Health.

The relationship of physical activity and academic achievement is complex. However, previous studies have found that especially school-based physical activity, such as physical education, can improve classroom performance — particularly in mathematics. Despite this, few studies have examined the association between active school transport and educational outcomes.

In the recently published study of over 34, 000 teenagers, researchers observed that active school transport was associated with higher chances of high perceived academic performance and self-reported competence in academic skills. Being physically active before school could, for example, enhance concentration in class. The association was even stronger for leisure-time physical activity. Similar to previous studies, the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and mathematical skills stood out.

Leisure-time physical activity was also inversely associated (负相关的) with school burnout. As little as 30 minutes of weekly activity was associated with 24% lower possibilities of school burnout. Teenagers who engaged in leisure-time physical activity for 4 to 6 hours a week had 46% lower possibilities of school burnout compared to their physically inactive peers. Both leisure-time physical activity and active school transport were also positively

associated with school enjoyment.

“To the best of my knowledge, this was the first large-scale study to examine the association between physical activity and school burnout among teenagers. Leisure-time physical activity can be an effective way to disconnect from schoolwork and the potential stress related to it. If schools can increase the amount of leisure-time physical activity among youth, both learning and wellbeing benefits can be significant,” said Juuso Jussila, a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland.

1. Which aspect of the study does paragraph 1 focus on?

A．Its purpose.

B．Its subjects.

C．Its result.

D．Its process.

2. According to the text, the relationship between workout and academic performance is ________.

A．complex

B．clear

C．meaningless

D．simple

3. How may a student cycling to school perform?

A．Feel tired in class.	B．Pay more attention in class.
C．Be afraid of learning mathematics.	D．Be eager to do physical activity.

4. What’s Jussila’s suggestion for schools?

A．Asking students to respect teachers.	B．Teaching students how to be happy.
C．Focusing on improving students’ scores.	D．Increasing students’ time for physical activity.

8 . From July 19 to 24, I travelled to the Shiyanghe Basin in Wuwei, located in the heart of a desert in Northwest China’s Gansu province. Looking down from the plane on the way to the destination, all I saw was endless ranges of desert mountains and sands, which made it a breathtaking transformation when I saw green gardens and fruit farms upon arrival.

A local farmer in this landscape shared his success story of enlarging his farm through greenhouse crop production with me. Thanks to the greenhouse technology, his farm has grown from 10 workers, to around 100 within 10 years. The key role of women in agriculture is also praised, as their contributions increase the energy of the landscape.

We also visited a greenhouse with vertical (垂直的) watermelon farming. It was a well-aired, strategically positioned structure with shade cloth, vertical supports, drip irrigation (滴灌), good lighting, and insect management. It was amazing how technology can transform limited space into a great agricultural powerhouse, which not only increases outputs but also reduces environmental impact. What’s even more impressive is that it’s a great approach: It doesn’t stop at farming but can be used in food processing industries. This ensures that the journey from seed to consumers is seamless (无缝的), maintaining product quality and reducing waste.

I learned that Wuwei, although located in a region famous for its dryness, has attempted to become a major supplier of fruits and vegetables, competing with other regions in southern China which have sufficient water resources and good weather conditions. Through advanced irrigation techniques like drip systems, controlled environments, and effective resource management, they show the power of sustainable agriculture and the untiring spirit of those who transform deserts into fruitful landscapes.

1. What can we learn about the local farmer from paragraph 2?

A．He has more than 100 workers on his farm.

B．He is a new-type farmer who likes to share stories.

C．He is successful in adopting greenhouse technology.

D．He doesn’t admit women’s contribution to agriculture.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．A pleasant visiting experience.	B．Benefits of watermelon farming.
C．Traditional agricultural approaches.	D．A greenhouse with advanced techniques.

3. According to the author, what is special about Wuwei?

A．It has enough water resources.	B．It experiences drought most often.
C．It has the same conditions with southern regions.	D．It establishes fruitful landscapes in the desert area.

4. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A newspaper.

B．A guidebook.

C．A research paper.

D．A book review.