1 . Would you take a trip if you couldn’t use your cellphone? A new tour company called Off the Grid is asking travellers to put their cellphones away and not even use them for photos. The company founder, Zach Beattie, is developing his business, using money he saved from a tech job at a mapping company. He’s hired guides for every trip but will help lead the first few himself.

The first trip is to Lisbon, Portugal, in July. It takes 7 to 10 days, with small groups of up to 16 people. Prices range from $1,500 to $1,650, including accommodations, meals and ground transportation. The plan includes at least three excursions (远足) and two social events, with an emphasis on unique experiences over bucket-list sightseeing. The tour also includes surfing lessons, yoga on the beach, a day of sailing and dinner with a local family.

“When you’re somewhere new, there’s a lot to see and a lot of cool and interesting people to meet,” Beattie said. “Your phone can distract (使分心) you.” The phone ban won’t be enforced quite as strictly as it seems at first glance. “We want it to be voluntary,” he said. “We’re not collecting phones and throwing them in a locked trunk. It’s held by you, but put in your pocket, and you state your intentions for the week, whether that’s checking your social media once or twice a day or a total blackout.”

Tour-goers also get a “dumbphone” without Internet access that’s loaded with numbers for group leaders and other participants, both for emergencies and to promote socializing. Participants may bring regular cameras, but Beattie is hiring a photographer for each tour so there will be plenty of photos to remember the trip. Once the trip is over, participants will have access to those photos for use in social media posts.

1. What can be learned about Zach Beattie?

A．He set up his business at his own expense.

B．He is always guiding every trip personally.

C．He forbids tourists to take along cellphones.

D．He used to earn his living in a tour company.

2. What do we know about the Lisbon trip?

A．The trip features sightseeing.

B．Participants live in homestays.

C．Air ticket is covered in the cost.

D．Tourists experience water sports.

3. What does Zach Beattie expect the participants to do?

A．Lock their phones in a trunk.

B．Post their photos on social media.

C．Free themselves from their phones.

D．Shift their focus onto dumbphones.

4. What can tour-goers do with the dumbphone?

A．Take photos.	B．Access the Internet.
C．Record the trip.	D．Contact group members.

2 . Brothers Mike and Nick Fiorito had a smooth life in the first 30 years. _________, they decided to quit their highly paid jobs since they realized that they often felt unfulfilled. At first they felt _________ about future without knowing what to do, but eventually they came up with an idea to help the homeless folks after _________ their poor situation on the street.

They _________ Blankets of Hope with their own efforts, which turned into a global nonprofit organization that also encourages kindness in schools. The brothers sent the blankets to schools. The kids would write the notes, and then _________ the brothers in delivering the blankets to homeless shelters in their local communities. They _________ students so that every blanket includes a note handwritten in classrooms to _________ homeless folks across the country.

Now, their organization is very _________ — reaching nearly 20,000 people in need across America, Canada and Mexico.

Adults can _________ as well. They can make efforts by donating on a GoFundMe page so that the brothers could have enough money to purchase the blankets. Thanks to people’s generous __________, the brothers aimed at __________ another 20,000 blankets this winter. And they expected these blankets would not only keep people warm, but provide a friendly __________ to another soul. The brothers tried to do what they could to make a __________ despite the sweat. They are __________ that more and more people can join them in __________ the kindness.

1.

A．Occasionally

B．Frequently

C．Consistently

D．Unexpectedly

2.

A．confused

B．prosperous

C．indifferent

D．curious

3.

A．assuming

B．acknowledging

C．resembling

D．witnessing

4.

A．backed down

B．backed up

C．set up

D．cooperated with

5.

A．shunned

B．invaded

C．assisted

D．posed

6.

A．acclaimed

B．involved

C．preserved

D．dominated

7.

A．inspire

B．promise

C．thank

D．teach

8.

A．exquisite

B．fascinating

C．challenging

D．successful

9.

A．disrupt

B．participate

C．commemorate

D．depict

10.

A．glory

B．friction

C．contribution

D．victim

11.

A．giving away

B．giving in

C．handing in

D．wearing out

12.

A．comprehension

B．connection

C．barrier

D．assessment

13.

A．difference

B．date

C．decision

D．estimate

14.

A．objective

B．prosperous

C．hopeful

D．potential

15.

A．understanding

B．receiving

C．paying

D．spreading

3 . Falcons are powerful birds that may be trained to hunt in cooperation with humans. The art of training falcons as “hunting dogs of the skies” is called falconry (训鹰术). It was developed in the ancient Arabian Desert around 4000 B. C. In the past, falconry mainly involved hunting with falcons to supplement one’s diet. But now, it has become the favorite sport and pastime in the Arabian Peninsula.

Falconry includes three major processes: acquiring the falcons, training them, and hunting with them. Every year, falconers begin capturing wild falcons in June and July, the migration season. The best birds to catch are the ones with naturally nurtured hunting skills, aged one or two years. Once the falcons are captured, their heads are immediately covered with a leather hood. This is essential because they imprint as their master whomever they see first after the hood is removed. Right after a bird is caught, the training process starts. It begins by depriving (剥夺) the bird of food to make it easier to tame. The birds are taught to know their own name and respond to their master when called. Arab falconers live with their birds day and night in order to build a strong relationship with them.

By the end of October or mid-November, the trained falcons are ready to hunt in the desert. They have excellent vision, 2. 6 times greater than that of a human. They are also the fastest divers on the planet. One hunting technique that sets them apart from other animals is that they can be trained to deliver their prey, without killing it first. This is vital in Islamic culture because animals used for food must still be alive to ensure that the meat is halal, that is, properly prepared according to Islamic law.

Falcons have played such a crucial role in traditional Islamic cultures that a number of countries in the Middle East have made them their national bird. Falconry has grown so popular that specialist hospitals have been established to take care of these magnificent birds. Falcons are even issued their own passports. They are the only animals in the United Arab Emirates that are legally allowed to travel inside planes, enjoying a level of luxury that some humans can only dream of.

1. What is the main reason for Arabic people to hunt with falcons today?

A．To serve as entertainment and exercise.

B．To supplement their diet.

C．To replace the practice of hunting with dogs.

D．To honor their national bird.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Falconers don’t give food to falcons in order to capture them.

B．Falcons are not allowed to see their masters during the training process.

C．Wild falcons with natural hunting skills are ideal for falconers to catch.

D．The trainers’ names are written on the hoods covering the birds’ heads.

3. What especially makes falcons a unique species for hunting in Islamic culture?

A．Falcons keep their prey alive before delivering it to falconers.

B．Falcons can form a strong bond with their owners quickly.

C．Falcons’ vision is particularly suitable for hunting in deserts.

D．Falcons are relatively easy to train for specific hunting.

4. According to the article, what privilege do falcons enjoy in the Arab world?

A．Free air ticket.	B．Passports issued by the King.
C．Expensive meals.	D．Access to specialized medical care.

4 . Last year, my friend, Kydee Williams, and I started a non-profit project because we wanted to do charity work differently. Thus, The Pop-Up Care Shop was _________.

TPUCS is a traveling shop of _________ donated goods for people in need. During the holidays, we _________ clothing drives and then went to women’s shelters. Our main goal was to help inspire women who were _________ with hope as well as bring a little holiday cheer to our local communities. _________ any project or movement wasn’t easy. Brainstorming and coming up with cool ideas was the _________ part, but actually bringing those ideas to life can seem almost _________ at times. However, there were lessons about _________ that we didn’t fully realize until we started this journey.

From our experience, we learned smaller shelters, especially those in less-commercialized areas were often _________ when it came to getting community support. Actually, they were typically more __________ to new and creative ideas and would greatly welcome __________ who offered help. Under our inspiration, many __________ people devoted themselves to non-profit work. Many shelters are understaffed and the staff overworked. Working directly with them helped us __________ the specific needs of the shelter.

While material things like food, clothes, money, and shelter can help people survive, what __________ helps people live is the intangible (无形) necessities like love, presence, patience. Even though we can’t help every single person in the world, we can __________ a world of difference for at least one person.

1.

A．found

B．donated

C．born

D．purchased

2.

A．cheap

B．free

C．value

D．messy

3.

A．quit

B．chose

C．forbade

D．held

4.

A．homeless

B．fearless

C．guiltless

D．restless

5.

A．Ceasing

B．Highlighting

C．Starting

D．Monitoring

6.

A．hard

B．fun

C．odd

D．core

7.

A．crucial

B．unnecessary

C．impossible

D．logical

8.

A．breaking down

B．giving back

C．keeping up

D．pulling through

9.

A．ignored

B．emphasized

C．mentioned

D．estimated

10.

A．harmful

B．relevant

C．opposed

D．open

11.

A．shoppers

B．pioneers

C．officers

D．volunteers

12.

A．reliable

B．selfless

C．creative

D．courageous

13.

A．understand

B．satisfy

C．anticipate

D．illustrate

14.

A．originally

B．slightly

C．truly

D．barely

15.

A．identify

B．detect

C．reveal

D．make

5 . Plastic is everywhere, from the Arctic ice to vital organs in the human body. In fact, previous estimates suggest that the average person swallows a credit card-worth of microscopic plastic particles(颗粒) every week. But new research shows that this could actually be an understatement.

Microplastics are plastics smaller than 5 millimeters, found in industrial waste, beauty products, and formed during the degradation of larger plastic pieces. Over time, they break down into even smaller nanoplastics. These tiny particles can pass through our intestines and lungs into our bloodstreams, reaching vital organs like the heart and brain.

While the idea of eating plastic is unsettling in itself, the major concern here is that these plastic particles contain chemicals that can interrupt our body’s natural release of hormones, potentially increasing our risk of reproductive disorders and certain cancers. They can also carry toxins(毒素) on their surface like heavy metals.

In the past, researchers have shown bottled water can contain tens of thousands of identifiable plastic fragments in a single container. However, until recently, only the larger microplastics were detectable with available measuring tools, leaving the area of nanoplastics largely a mystery.

Using Raman microscopy (显微镜学), capable of detecting particles down to the size of a flu virus, the team measured an average of 240, 000 particles of plastic per liter of bottled water, 90 percent of which were nanoplastics, a revelation 10 to 100 times larger than previous estimates.

These plastics likely originate from the bottle material, filters used to “purify” the water, and the source water itself. “It is not totally unexpected to find so much of this stuff, ” the study’s lead author, Columbia graduate student Naixin Qian, said in a statement. His team hopes to expand their research into tap water and other water sources to better inform our exposure to these potentially dangerous particles. “The idea is that the smaller things get, the more of them I reveal, ” he added.

1. What is the primary focus of the new research?

A．The presence of plastic particles.	B．The use of plastic in everyday products.
C．The detection methods for microplastics.	D．The potential risks of nanoplastics to human.

2. What is the advantage of Raman microscopy?

A．Finding the source of plastic particles.	B．Helping to cure the deadly flu virus.
C．Detecting the smaller plastic particles.	D．Improving the quality of bottled water.

3. Why will the team expand their research into tap water?

A．To focus on areas with higher plastic pollution.

B．To be aware of the dangerous particles in daily life.

C．To further measure the types of particles in tap water.

D．To detect the smaller plastic particles in industrial areas.

4. What is Qian’s attitude towards his research?

A．Skeptical.

B．Objective.

C．Conservative.

D．Positive.

6 . Peter worked at a grocery store. Recently, he _______ a second job to help pay for his sick friend Dan and his own son’s _______.

Although the job was boring, there were times Peter especially _______. At that time the supermarket was _______, being full of customers. One day, a young woman named Angela caught Peter’s _______ when she turned to her two children, “Sorry, babies. Mommy can’t _______ to get your sweets and snacks, so please put them back, okay?”

The children began to cry and Angela tried to _______ them. Then Peter quickly swooped (接近) in, _______ to help her to pay for the _______. Peter was glad to see the children happy and Angela a little at ease.

The next day Angela returned to the store and explained to Peter, “Thanks for your kindness. It really ________ a lot. I’m a single mother and lost my job, so things are a bit ________.”

“Well, I am ________ aware of your situation. I need help with my friend’s medical bills and my kid’s college. Nothing comes cheap.”

Angela was grateful for Peter’s help. Peter’s actions and ________ touched Angela, and she thought to herself, “This man had his share of ________, yet he was still kind enough to________ and help me. I should pass this kindness on.”

1.

A．watched over

B．put aside

C．took up

D．gave up

2.

A．shopping

B．schooling

C．travelling

D．housing

3.

A．enjoyed

B．expected

C．deserved

D．imagined

4.

A．quiet

B．noisy

C．dirty

D．crowded

5.

A．interest

B．impression

C．attention

D．feelings

6.

A．decide

B．afford

C．promise

D．expect

7.

A．calm

B．save

C．encourage

D．protect

8.

A．continuing

B．preferring

C．offering

D．preparing

9.

A．toys

B．food

C．clothes

D．drinks

10.

A．improves

B．wastes

C．changes

D．means

11.

A．tough

B．positive

C．unique

D．natural

12.

A．hardly

B．basically

C．slightly

D．completely

13.

A．efforts

B．words

C．requests

D．suggestions

14.

A．troubles

B．rights

C．styles

D．choices

15.

A．impress

B．rescue

C．remind

D．comfort

7 . For most of December, Adele Adkins had the top-selling album in Australia, followed by Ed Sheeran, and then there was a collection of songs that took everyone by surprise.

Songs Of Disappearance is a collection of calls from endangered Australian birds. Last month, it briefly reached No.3 on the country’s top 50 albums chart (排行榜) — ahead of Taylor Swift.

Anthony Albrecht, a PhD student at Charles Darwin University, produced the album with Professor Stephen Garnett. “I knew it was a crazy thing to suggest. But Stephen’s a little bit crazy like me and he let me do it,” Albrecht said.

Songs Of Disappearance was published with a university report which found that 1 in 6 Australian bird species are now threatened. The album records 53 of those species.

“Some sing what you might think of as bird songs, but not all of them,” said SeanDooley, who represents the conservation organization Bird life Australia. “Songs from the golden bowerbird sound like a death cry from some sci-fi series. And the love songs from Christmas Island frigate bird, which has a piece of skin hanging under its mouth that caninflate (膨胀) like a huge red balloon, sound as bizarre as its unusual looks.”

There’s also the Christmas Island pigeon. When people hear that pigeon, they might think that it’s a human making silly noises, Dooley added.

The Charles Darwin University and Bird life Australia report does document successes in protecting endangered birds, the hope being that the album will protect more species.

“The increased awareness can make a difference,” Dooley said. “When we have a community on board, that brings pressure to the government to do the right thing. We know that these conservation actions do work.”

1. Whose album reached No.1 on the chart in December?

A．Taylor Swift’s.

B．Adele Adkins’.

C．Ed Sheeran’s.

D．Anthony Albrecht’s.

2. What can be learned from the university report?

A．About 53 bird species are threatened in Australia.

B．It has not found success in protecting endangered birds.

C．One sixth of Australian bird species are now endangered.

D．Music is very powerful in encouraging people to protect birds.

3. Which is closest in meaning to “bizarre”in paragraph 5?

A．Strange.

B．Beautiful.

C．Loud.

D．Sharp.

4. What does Sean Dooley think of Anthony Albrecht’s project?

A．Crazy.

B．Amusing.

C．Uncreative.

D．Helpful.

8 . Professor Kuniyoshi L. Sakai from the University of Tokyo is an enthusiastic musician, as are many of his colleagues. Inspired by a mode of musical training known as the Suzuki method, which is based on ideas of natural language acquisition (获得), Sakai and his team decided to explore common neurological (神经系统的) aspects of learning music and language.

“In the field of neuroscience, it is well established that there are areas of the brain that deal specifically with language, and even specialized regions that correspond to different aspects of language processing, such as grammar,” said Sakai. “We wondered if training using the Suzuki method might lead to activity in such areas, not when using language, but when engaging with music.”

For their study, the team classified 98 Japanese secondary school students into three groups: Groups S and E were both musically trained from a young age, with Group S using the Suzuki method while Group E not, and Group L was either musically trained at a later age or not trained at all. All the students had their brains scanned and were requested to identify errors in some pieces of music played to them, which had errors in one of four musical conditions: pitch (音高)，tempo (节奏), stress, and articulation (发音)。

During the exercises, Groups S and E showed more overall brain activity than Group L, especially under the pitch and articulation conditions. Furthermore, Groups S and E showed activity in very specific regions depending on the kind of error being tested for.

Interestingly, Group S showed some unique patterns of activation (激活) in areas of the right brain, associated with emotion and melody, under the tempo condition, supporting the ideas behind the Suzuki method.

“The striking observation was that regardless of musical experiences, the highly specific grammar center in the left brain was activated under the articulation condition. This might explain why everyone can enjoy music even if they aren’t musical themselves,” said Sakai. “Other researchers, perhaps those studying neurological characteristics of artistic experts, may be able to build on what we’ve found here. As for ourselves, we wish to dig deeper into the connection between music and language by designing novel experiments to find out more subtle details,” he added.

1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The research background.	B．The significance of the research.
C．Sakai’s comments on the Suzuki method.	D．Sakai’s previous scientific achievements.

2. What do the researchers want to confirm through their research?

A．Whether the Suzuki method can bring out the best in students.

B．Whether advanced language training can enhance musical skills

C．Whether music training promotes activity in certain brain areas.

D．Whether brain regions specialize in handling different aspects of language.

3. What did Groups S and E have in common?

A．Their performances under the tempo condition were alike.

B．Their active brain regions changed with the errors in music.

C．They received the same musical training before the research.

D．They were better at handling stress and articulation than Group L.

4. What can we learn about the researchers from the last paragraph?

A．They were uncertain about their findings.

B．They were unsatisfied with their experiments.

C．They’ll begin to study the neurological features of artistic experts.

D．They’ll further explore the link between music and language.

9 . Scientists have identified two minerals never before seen on Earth in a meteorite (陨石) weighing 15.2 metric tons. The minerals came from a 70-gram slice of the meteorite, which was discovered in Somalia in 2020, according to a news release from the University of Alberta.

Chris Herd, the curator (馆长) of the university’s meteorite collection, received samples of the space rock so he could classify it. As he was examining them, something unusual caught his eye—some parts of the samples weren’t identifiable by a microscope. He then turned to Andrew Locock, head of the university’s Electron Microprobe Laboratory, since Locock has experience of describing new minerals.

“The very first day he did some analyses, and he found two new minerals in there,” Herd said in a statement. “That’s extraordinary. Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral.”

One mineral’s name: elaliite, comes from the space object itself, which is called the “EI Ali” meteorite since it was found near the, town of EI Ali in central Somalia. Herd named the second one elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, an outstanding professor in that university’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and the principal investigator of NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission. “Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form,” Herd said. “It makes sense to name a mineral after her.”

Locock’s work went perfectly smooth for a reason. Similar minerals had been synthetically (合成地) created before, and therefore, he was able to match the composition of the newly discovered minerals with their human-made counterparts, according to the University of Alberta release. “It’s just accidental that a researcher will find a mineral in a meteorite that hasn’t been known before, and then that the same compound (化合物) has been created previously by materials scientists,” said Alan Rubin,a meteorite researcher.

Meanwhile, the researchers are still analyzing the minerals to find out what the conditions were in the meteorite when the space rock formed.

1. What did Chris Herd do after he found something unusual?

A．He sought external support.	B．He weighed the meteorite again.
C．He carefully preserved the samples.	D．He examined the rock with a microscope.

2. What impressed Chris Herd a lot?

A．The weight and volume of the meteorite.

B．The significant value of minerals in the meteorite.

C．Locock’s quick identification of two new minerals.

D．Locock’s professional analyses of the rock samples.

3. Why was one mineral named elkinstantonite?

A．To indicate the place where the meteorite was found.

B．To show the major component of the meteorite.

C．To remind people of who discovered the rock.

D．To honor Lindy’s contributions to science.

4. What made Locock’s smooth work possible?

A．The existence of similar artificial minerals.

B．The regular composition of the new minerals,

C．His rare ability to create new materials in labs.

D．His extensive cooperation with materials scientists.

10 . Nasugraq Rainey Hopson is an author and illustrator (插图画家). She has written short stories and made art inspired by her Iñupiaq culture. The Iñupiaq people are native to Alaska, the US. Hopson’s first and only novel to date, Eagle Drums, is set in Iñupiaq tales about a great festival. The great festival is still celebrated locally today.

In the book, the hero Pina struggles with the suffering from losing his brothers, who have traveled to a nearby mountain and never returned. Pina decides to go to the same mountain, trying to uncover the facts, where he happens to meet Savik, who gives Pina a choice: To follow him or to meet the same fortune as his brothers. Pina’s decision takes himself on a journey that exposes himself to the dances and songs that are part of Iñupiaq culture. Eagle Drums describes aspects of Iñupiaq life as a world that doesn’t exist much in the current world, such as walking in the tundra (苔原) and imagining mythological beings and talking animals everywhere. It will definitely inspire the teen magical thinking in its beauty.

Hopson wants to write more Iñupiaq stories. “We have a lot of oral history and stories in our culture,” she says. Hopson explains that Iñupiaq people use their voices, facial expressions and movements to express emotions as they tell a story. “But you can’t do that when you’re writing,” she says. “It’s very uncomfortable, in a way, to have to write down something that is a performance.” But she’s up for the challenge.

Eagle Drums is for anyone who is looking for a vivid adventure. Hopson says that when Iñupiaq kids read her work, they get excited about seeing something from their own area and their own culture. Other kids who read her work tell Hopson they’re excited about experiencing a story they’ve never experienced before in a new place. “You know, that’s the best part, hearing feedbacks,” she says.

1. What do we know about Eagle Drums?

A．It is based on the author’s culture.	B．It is about a world-famous festival.
C．It is one of the author’s best novels.	D．It is rich in illustrations on each page.

2. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about Eagle Drums?

A．Its intention.	B．Its background.
C．Its content.	D．Its comment.

3. Why does Hopson think it uncomfortable to write Iñupiaq stories?

A．The Iñupiaq people are poor performers

B．The Iñupiaq culture is too rich for words.

C．The Iñupiaq language is difficult to catch on.

D．The Iñupiaq stories are little known by people.

4. What is the text?

A．A news report.	B．A childhood story.
C．A diary entry.	D．A book review.