1 . If you’ve ever discovered unexpected online shopping activity on your accounts- 
worth of See ’n Says, for example-you know the risks of handing your cellphone to a restless preschooler. But children’s impulse (冲动) buys just uncover the surface of potential risks when children and technology meet. With smartphones and the Internet so accessible, children are leaving their digital fingerprints at increasingly early ages, often without guidance on the importance of privacy or security.
For the past eight years, Michigan State University professors Jessica Vitak and Tamara Clegg have talked to parents, teachers and kids about the challenges of surfing the Internet. Their current project, Connecting Contexts, offers a variety of learning opportunities to help kids safely and smartly interact with the ever-progressing technology they encounter. “Having these conversations early,” said Vitak, “will build awareness and habits around privacy they can take into adulthood. ”
“Many of the parents we interviewed didn’t feel they needed to talk about privacy with their kids before middle or high school,” said Vitak. “But if you’re willing to hand your child a smartphone or a tablet, then they are old enough to learn how to use them safely. ”
In December, the Federal Trade Commission proposed massive changes to existing federal rules around how online platforms collect children’s data and make money from it. It grilled (责问) Meta, Discord and other social media companies last month on their efforts to protect children on their platforms. It also carried out six bills before the Congress would tighten online security and safety for kids.
Extending from elementary to middle school, their work offers tested tools and resources for parents, teachers and children-including conversation starters at home, practical tips for building a better password or using social media, choosing learning apps for the classroom and age-appropriate “micro-lessons” that can be integrated into the courses.
1. What does the author describe at the beginning of the text?| A．The typical style of kids’ digital life. | B．The risks of kids’ exposure to technology. |
| C．The convenience of online shopping. | D．The role of smartphones in kids’ growth. |
| A．Parents lack awareness of kids’ online privacy. |
| B．Parents should set age limits for phone use. |
| C．Kids have little self-discipline on the Internet. |
| D．School should be responsible for kids’ online safety: |
| A．It stopped children spending money on social media. |
| B．It made lots of changes to the present rules. |
| C．It collected data from online platforms. |
| D．It introduced several protective bills. |
| A．Kids’ Online Risks and Privacy Education |
| B．Actions Taken to Protect Kids’ Online Privacy |
| C．Kids’ Early Privacy Habits in the Internet Age |
| D．Researchers Create Technology Safety Tools for Kids |
2 . In my work as a teacher in a vocational school over here in Germany, some of my classes are filled with students of different nationalities. More often than not, I will have a few students in the class whose
In the past, I gave them
I do not get extra money for offering such advice. I have
Good integration is so important as it builds bridges and expands horizons. It makes me happy to
| A．fear | B．sight | C．memory | D．command |
| A．lived | B．relaxed | C．injured | D．frightened |
| A．check on | B．carry out | C．star in | D．pick over |
| A．turn | B．accept | C．give | D．attain |
| A．tips | B．scores | C．facts | D．arguments |
| A．put | B．laid | C．took | D．set |
| A．intervening | B．attending | C．distracting | D．alleviating |
| A．still | B．otherwise | C．yet | D．even |
| A．accurate | B．desperate | C．valuable | D．eventual |
| A．freedom | B．gesture | C．bond | D．energy |
| A．demonstrated | B．dominated | C．followed | D．sacrificed |
| A．youngsters | B．ambassadors | C．narrators | D．servants |
| A．excited | B．definite | C．likely | D．undoubted |
| A．gain | B．enrich | C．share | D．estimate |
| A．spread | B．quit | C．ruin | D．overcome |
3 . Maples are known for their autumn colors. Many species put on a display of oranges, browns, yellows, and reds every year. Here are four excellent species of maple for your landscape.
Bigleaf mapleNative Area: North America
Height: 50 to 100 feet
As the name suggests, the leaves are quite large on this tree. It has the biggest leaves of any maple; the classic palm-shape leaves can be over 12 inches wide. This large tree is an excellent shade tree for large landscapes and parks.
Hedge mapleNative Area: Europe and Asia
Height: 25 to 35 feet
The hedge maple is a great choice for the urban garden, as it does well in many severe environments: drought, salty soils, shady locations, and climates where there is ozone deficiency. It can also be used as a street tree if the power lines are high enough.
Norway mapleNative Area: Europe and Asia
Height: usually 40 to 50 feet
Known either as Norway maple or European maple, this popular species was brought to North America from Europe in the 18th century. It has since become one of the most common trees. In the right settings, this species may become invasive (侵入的), so before planting it, check to make sure it is not a problem in your region.
Hornbeam mapleNative Area: Japan
Height: 15 to 30 feet
Many species of plant within a genus have a similar appearance, but there can be surprises, as is the case with the hornbeam maple. Its leaves are nothing like what you expect from a maple. This can be a somewhat difficult plant to find for sale, but it can make a good small tree or a large shrub (灌木) in the landscape.
1. What might the name of the first maple be based on?| A．Its height. | B．Its native area. |
| C．The size of its leaves. | D．The function it performs. |
| A．The bigleaf maple. | B．The hedge maple. |
| C．The norway maple. | D．The hornbeam maple. |
| A．Its leaves look like hands. |
| B．It is larger than other maples. |
| C．It is easy to find for sale at the market. |
| D．Its leaves differ from those of typical maples. |
4 . The Grammy Awards’ Music Educator Award recognizes those who have made a significant contribution and demonstrated a commitment to music education. This year it went to Annie Ray. who was honored for her efforts to make music accessible to all students, particularly those with disabilities.
Ray, who comes from a family of musicians, knows firsthand the impact that a great teacher can make on their students. She was inspired in large part by the diversity of the Annandale community, which represents over 60 countries, including many refugees (难民) and immigrants. “There are a lot of cultures that might typically conflict, and they come together in this very beautiful harmony,” Ray explained.
Ray created the Crescendo Orchestra for students with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Crescendo Orchestra, which was born out of the pandemic (流行病), doesn’t necessarily share the social goals of a program like Best Buddies or the Special Olympics. The focus is on teaching students how to play an instrument, through one-on-one instruction tailored to their needs.
The orchestra is about much more than just making music, however. The program gives students a chance to develop their cooperation skills, make mistakes and learn the art of improving something. “They completely changed my educational philosophy and approach of what it truly means to meet a student where they’re at and apply that elsewhere,” Ray added. “I believe they have a truly powerful message to share with everyone.”
As for the Grammy Award, Ray said that it belongs to her students. She also plans to put some of the money towards an ongoing scholarship for students who want to pursue music when they graduate, in any possible way. “It is a hard profession, but that was really touching,” Ray said. “And there’s nothing else like it.”
1. Why did Annie Ray create the Crescendo Orchestra?| A．To settle social conflicts. |
| B．To help disabled children. |
| C．To promote social awareness. |
| D．To support people during the pandemic. |
| A．She created music for each performance. |
| B．She was rewarded for her great music talents. |
| C．She provided more than music to her students. |
| D．She donated all her money to her talented students. |
| A．Annie Ray: Bringing Home the Grammy for Musical Commitment |
| B．Crescendo Orchestra: A Symbolic Image of Great Musical Events |
| C．From Pandemic to Grammy: The Journey to Success of Annie Ray |
| D．Grammy Awards: A Recognition for the Best Musicians in the World |
5 . Situated along a river that winds through the mountains, surrounded by cedar (雪松) and bamboo forests, Nanmoku is about 70 miles northwest of the capital city. Once known for its silk, wood, and konjac root (魔芋根), Nanmoku is now Japan’s most aged village, with two-thirds of its residents over 65. Many buildings are abandoned and the population has dropped from 11,000 in 1955to about 1,500 today, according to town hall figures. At that rate, the village could be empty just over a decade.
Nanmoku is on the front lines of Japan’s rural depopulation, a trend seen in other Asian and European countries. However, some residents are working to change the trend by attracting young people. One such person is 24-year-old Satomi Oigawa, who moved to Nanmoku after graduating from college in Tokyo. She works for the village government, matching abandoned homes with potential new residents. Oigawa is learning about the village’s history as she integrates into the community. “Everything about this house is part of the village’s history,” she says.
Despite efforts to attract new residents, the village faces challenges. There are few jobs for young people, and the nearest hospital is an hour’s drive away. Some residents argue that instead of spending money to attract newcomers, the money should be spent on those already living in the village.
Mayor Saijo Hasegawa aims to keep the village’s population level in 15to 20 years’ time, hoping to maintain it at around 800 people. However, experts like Peter Matan le of the University of Sheffield say that while some villages may boom, they will still experience pushback against the overpowering trend. “Japan is currently losing 600,000 to 700,000 people annually, and that’s going to increase to more than a million by the 2030s,” Matan le says. “Under that situation, how do settlements maintain their populations, let alone increase them?”
1. Which of the following can best describe current Nanmoku?| A．Old and timeless. | B．Undamaged and charming. |
| C．Remote and developing. | D．Historic and declining. |
| A．To get job opportunities. | B．To learn about the history. |
| C．To refresh the village. | D．To experience the rural life. |
| A．They are facing significant challenges. |
| B．They are likely to succeed at the moment. |
| C．They are widely supported by all residents. |
| D．They need more support from the government. |
6 . Economic growth is often considered as a sure way of increasing the well-being of people in low-income countries, and global surveys in recent decades have supported this strategy by showing people in high-income countries tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction than those in low-income countries. This strong connection might suggest that only in rich societies can people be happy. However, a recent study conducted by ICTA-UAB and McGill University in Canada suggests that there may be good reasons to question whether this link is universal.
While most global surveys gather thousands of responses from the citizens of industrial and urban societies, they tend to ignore people in simple-and-tiny societies on the fringe, where social group has a limited number of members and where the exchange of money plays a minimal role in everyday life with natives and local communities depending directly on nature.
The research, published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), consisted of a survey of 2,966 people from local communities in 19 globally distributed sites. Only 64% of surveyed households had any cash income. The results show that “surprisingly, many populations with very low incomes report very high average levels of life satisfaction, with scores similar to those in wealthy countries,” says Eric Galbraith, researcher at ICTA-UAB and McGill University and lead author of the study.
The average life satisfaction score across the studied simple-and-tiny societies was 6.8 on a range of 0-10. Although not all societies reported high satisfaction levels, four of the sites reported average scores higher than 8, despite many of these societies having suffered histories of neglect and control. The results are consistent with the opinion that human societies can support very satisfactory lives for their members without necessarily requiring high degrees of material wealth.
“While the reasons behind these findings remain unclear, the study provides valuable insights into how diverse communities achieve satisfying lives. It offers hope that understanding these factors can help others improve their well-being while addressing sustainability concerns.” Galbraith concludes.
1. What does the research focus on according to the passage?| A．The impact of cash income on locals’ well-being. |
| B．Income-satisfaction connection in industrial societies. |
| C．Economic growth’s concerns in low-income countries. |
| D．Relation between wealth and happiness across societies. |
| A．Edge. | B．Surface. | C．Horizon. | D．Scene. |
| A．To indicate the research’s limitations. |
| B．To prove the reliability of the findings. |
| C．To emphasize high satisfaction scores. |
| D．To show the number of people surveyed. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Unclear. | C．Promising. | D．Critical. |
7 . The Atacama Desert in northern Chile stretches from the Pacific to the Andes across an expanse of red-orange rock mountains and peaks. It’s a dream destination for tourists. But the Atacama Desert is also one of the world’s fast-growing dumps (垃圾场) of abandoned clothes. The scene in northern Chile has been shown in one online video-large amounts of abandoned clothes stretch as far as the eye can see.
Chile is home to one of South America’s largest duty-free ports-located in the coastal city of Iquique. The duty-free port was established in 1975 to help generate jobs and improve local economy. As fast fashion exploded, so did imports. Millions of tons of clothes arrive annually from all over the world.
“The free zone was a ’true transformation’ for the city’s residents,” says Bernardo Guerrero, a sociologist that studies Iquique’s history and culture. “They suddenly had access to things they could never have imagined.” Clothing began washing in and out of Iquique like waves as global fashions changed. Guerrero recalls a time when almost everybody in the city wore the same style of puffer jacket.
The free zone has also developed into a sorting site for abandoned clothes. Mehmet Yildiz, who operates a clothing import business, brings in clothes from the United States and Europe. Once the clothes reach Iquique, workers separate them into four categories according to quality. Yildiz then exports the best to other countries for resale. Clothing that the importers don’t want will be delivered a few miles outside Alto Hospicio, where it goes through another cycle of sorting and resale in street markets. Clothing that doesn’t sell at the market is sent to the desert, and much of it is made from materials that won’t biodegrade (生物降解).
As helpful as resale markets might have been in an earlier era, they’ve been flooded with the large amounts of the mounting discards. New efforts, large and small, are under way to deal with clothing waste, and attention to the mess in the desert may inspire additional projects.
1. What does the online video show about the Atacama Desert?| A．Its large area. | B．Its considerable fame. |
| C．Its natural beauty. | D．Its endless waste. |
| A．It brought about disasters to Iquique. | B．It changed local people’s life rapidly. |
| C．It created lots of jobs for local people. | D．It was affected by the history of Iquique. |
| A．They are made in Iquique. | B．They are of excellent quality. |
| C．They may harm the environment. | D．They boost local economy greatly. |
| A．Things thrown away. | B．Clothes out of fashion. |
| C．Markets out of business. | D．Deserts occupied by waste. |
8 . A new course on world heritage and its conservation offers a good opportunity for the young people to learn about the legacy (遗产) of humanity and gain a sense of responsibility to help protect the planet we live on.
According to a world heritage education programme jointly launched by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and China’s Ministry of Education, the course will first be offered at several schools in Beijing before being included as a mandatory course (必修课) for high school students nationwide.
The new course covers photos, slide shows and documentaries on the magnificence of the world heritage sites. The class aims to tell children what world heritage is and why and how it should be protected. A total of 177 nations, including China, have signed the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Listed are 754 sites all over the world, of which 29 are in China — the third most after Spain and Italy. Currently, protection of the country’s cultural and natural resources leaves much to be desired. Education is undoubtedly the best way to cultivate people’s sense for protecting cultural and natural resources.
The introduction of such a programme in Chinese classrooms will certainly help our young people realize the significance of common heritage, learning about world heritage sites, the history and traditions of different cultures, ecology, and the importance of protecting biological and cultural diversity.
More importantly, it will help cultivate a sense of responsibility in the minds of young participants. This is critical in protecting these cultural and natural legacies, as well as our living environment and the limited resources for sustainable development.
1. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage？| A．The world heritage education programme was jointly launched by the United States and China’s Ministry of Education. |
| B．The course will first be offered at all the schools in Beijing. |
| C．Protection of the country’s cultural and natural resources has been perfect thanks to people’s efforts. |
| D．China ranks high among the countries with 29 sites listed on the list. |
| A．What world heritage is. |
| B．Why we should protect world heritage. |
| C．How world heritage should be protected. |
| D．All of the above. |
| A．distribute | B．exploit | C．develop | D．improvise |
| A．To inform us of the reason for protecting the heritage. |
| B．To tell us the way to protect the heritage. |
| C．To tell us a new course. |
| D．To tell us heritage preservation starts with education. |
9 . 12-year-old Ryan lives in a family with a tight budget. Despite their
With December’s cold
Sensing their unease, Ryan
Weeks passed, and Ryan’s pockets were filled with coins and bills. With a mix of
This deeply
| A．favorable | B．difficult | C．normal | D．unique |
| A．ensure | B．prove | C．stress | D．remember |
| A．honesty | B．understanding | C．generosity | D．appreciation |
| A．letting up | B．picking up | C．setting in | D．giving in |
| A．delight | B．concern | C．expectation | D．disappointment |
| A．affording | B．delivering | C．returning | D．collecting |
| A．refused | B．needed | C．resolved | D．agreed |
| A．credit | B．experience | C．recognition | D．cash |
| A．training | B．tending | C．keeping | D．seeking |
| A．gratefully | B．hesitantly | C．willingly | D．humbly |
| A．surprise | B．excitement | C．fear | D．confusion |
| A．handed | B．lent | C．awarded | D．paid |
| A．painful | B．brave | C．impressive | D．creative |
| A．ignoring | B．weighing | C．passing | D．sharing |
| A．power | B．right | C．thought | D．motivation |
10 . Recently, the organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics have suggested that breakdancing be included in 2024, making it closer to becoming an Olympic sport. The other 3 sports-surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing-will all make debuts in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That is to say, audience will be able to watch these three sports as Olympic events for the first time.
The organizers stressed that four sports had been chosen since they would reflect the city’s identity and help take the Olympics to the street. They added that the purposes were to deliver a Games that was able to keep up with the times and encourage new audience and attract young people. Breakdancing is a typical example which can be played without the limitations of time and places in urban and other environments.
As one of the sports at the Young Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, breakdancing now could see its popularity greatly raised. But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) needs to approve the French suggestion before it can be formally added to the 2024 Paris Olympics sports programme.
With new IOC rules first introduced to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Host cities can select sports and propose them for inclusion in those Games if they are popular in that country and add to the Game’s appeal.
Antonio Espinos Ortueta, the president of the World Karate Federation said, “Our sport has grown rapidly over the last years. We believe that we have met all the requirements and that we have the perfect conditions to be added to the sports programme. However, we have learned today that we still haven’t had the chance to prove our value as an Olympic sport.”
1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “debuts” in paragraph 1?| A．announcements | B．appearances | C．admissions | D．advertisements |
| A．It attracts people of all ages. |
| B．It is the symbol of Paris. |
| C．It was performed in 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. |
| D．It can be played anytime and anywhere. |
| A．Give useful advice. | B．Offer enough support. |
| C．Give detailed explanations. | D．Have the last word. |
| A．He thought it easy for a new sport to be included in Olympics. |
| B．He thought breakdancing was far from ready to be an Olympic event. |
| C．He couldn’t be sure of the final decision of IOC. |
| D．He found it likely for breakdancing to be performed in Olympics. |
