1 . Taylor Hash desired to become a career pilot and she was under training. One day, she had just started building up hours of flight time when a(n)
Taylor was
Therefore, Yates
Despite feeling unsure, Taylor trusted Yates. With palms sweaty and lips
No sooner had Yates extended his arms than Taylor hugged him tightly with tears of
| A．event | B．disaster | C．fantasy | D．idea |
| A．sign | B．slide | C．mission | D．outing |
| A．afraid | B．clear | C．unaware | D．conscious |
| A．process | B．progress | C．show | D．flow |
| A．calm | B．strange | C．experienced | D．warm-hearted |
| A．radioed | B．socialized | C．controlled | D．managed |
| A．panic | B．peace | C．relief | D．delight |
| A．complained | B．claimed | C．realized | D．responded |
| A．changed | B．praised | C．criticized | D．comforted |
| A．wait | B．pause | C．touch | D．circle |
| A．blamed | B．instructed | C．understood | D．appreciated |
| A．aching | B．wiping | C．swinging | D．trembling |
| A．narrowly | B．smoothly | C．basically | D．particularly |
| A．scare | B．regret | C．surprise | D．gratitude |
| A．deal with | B．tear apart | C．take up | D．leave out |
2 . Are you an “I person” or an “E person”? These two personality labels in particular are widely discussed online. They are part of a popular personality test called the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI. All of the results have four letters, and there are 16 results in total. “I” and “E” refer to “introverted” and “extroverted”, respectively.
Even if someone is typically quiet, many online discussions suggest that an “I” person can still be outgoing at times. For example, when an introverted person is with a group of introverted friends, they might become more social like an “E” person.
According to psychologists, this idea of temporarily switching personalities is called “masking”. That is hiding your true personality in specific situations. “Human beings want to feel they belong, and they might become people-pleasers to do so,” wrote the Master Class website.
Using the MBTI result to identify and describe someone’s personality seems fun. However, I went too far at one time. My sister was excitedly making a day-to-day travel plan when I remembered from an article that “P people” don’t like to make or stick to plans, so I said to her, “You don’t seem like a ‘P person’.” “Why?” She asked back. “Since when do I need to follow what my personality test tells me to do?” It was then that I realized I’d taken the result too seriously.
The MBTI personality test may show something you don’t know about yourself and can even be a fun ice-breaker question when meeting new friends. And that’s all it is —for fun. On the other hand, knowing someone’s MBTI result doesn’t mean you really know this person. And those four letters of yours don’t define who you are.
1. In which of the following situations an “I” person may perform more sociably?| A．Having a conversation with an “E” person. |
| B．Wanting to feel someone’s sense of belonging. |
| C．Taking the personality test and accepting its result. |
| D．Staying with some friends with similar personalities. |
| A．Pleasing. | B．Escaping. | C．Pretending. | D．Controlling. |
| A．The MBTI result is of great help to identify a person. |
| B．A “P” person is unwilling to make or stick to plans. |
| C．People need to follow the advice of the MBTI test. |
| D．Don’t take the MBTI result too seriously all the time. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Objective. | C．Positwe. | D．Negative. |
3 . I just had the most beautiful experience with Woolworths in Gladstone Park Shopping Centre. I did an online
Five to ten minutes later I got four miss
The online gentlemen
Half hour later the lovely Adrian from Gladstone Park Woolworths, who had
| A．trip | B．order | C．dinner | D．look |
| A．unique | B．simple | C．important | D．expensive |
| A．dealt with | B．stuck to | C．let go of | D．took advantage of |
| A．materials | B．flowers | C．wines | D．groceries |
| A．talks | B．calls | C．strangers | D．pictures |
| A．message | B．speech | C．letter | D．gift |
| A．accepted | B．refused | C．questioned | D．realized |
| A．reminded | B．noticed | C．explained | D．warned |
| A．judge | B．know | C．admit | D．decide |
| A．unfortunately | B．immediately | C．exactly | D．especially |
| A．company | B．office | C．street | D．store |
| A．understanding | B．encouraging | C．helpful | D．honest |
| A．sorry | B．anxious | C．happy | D．positive |
| A．supported | B．recognized | C．seen | D．served |
| A．lent | B．gave | C．sold | D．showed |
4 . The Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation (PPIE) was started in 1987 to raise money by organizing running events for local schools. Based in Pleasanton, California, a suburb of San Francisco, the nonprofit recently hosted a family-focused fitness event for the community.
“Our event helps to bring the community together,” said Mindy Louie, events and outreach manager for PPIE. “We have more than 3,000 participants, hard-working volunteers, and viewers.”
This year’s fitness event took place on April 30 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. It featured races of two miles, five kilometers, and 10 kilometers. A new Kids Challenge consisted of a quarter-mile run to encourage younger children to participate.
When asked to describe the run, 11-year-old Jeremy Louie said, “Fun, exciting, and enjoyable.” Jeremy added that he was happy to help support his school.
The PPIE supports all 15 schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District, which includes more than 14,500 students and 800 teachers and staff. The nonprofit tries to fund education programs affected by budget cuts, while encouraging fitness and athleticism. Up to now, the PPIE has raised $1 million for the school district.
A local runners’ group called the BURN Youth Development (or B. Y. D.) participated in the fundraiser. The B.Y. D. has since grown to include more than 100 youth members, 30 of whom ran in April’s PPIE event. “The B.Y. D. was born in the darkest days of COVID-19 to keep kids running,” explained Jerry Wu, the group’s founder and lead coach. “Watching them running strong and happy makes me smile every time.”
Wu encourages teamwork and teaches the students valuable running techniques. Eighth grader Ollie Gu, a B.Y. D. member, was one of the top finishers in the 10K run. He completed the race in 40 minutes and 46 seconds and won first place in the 12-15-year-old age group.
“The race was extremely rewarding,” Ollie said. “I’m looking forward to it next year.”
1. Which race was newly created?| A．Two miles. | B．10 kilometers. | C．Five kilometers. | D．A quarter-mile. |
| A．To gather money for students. | B．To keep kids active in a hard time. |
| C．To train kids to attend competitions. | D．To help PPIE organize sports games. |
| A．He coaches them in running. | B．He teaches the lessons online. |
| C．He offers food and drinks to them. | D．He helps them fight against illness. |
| A．Benefits from Sports Activities | B．Popular Events Among Students |
| C．Running to Support Education. | D．Lending a Hand to Schools in Need |
5 . Imagine driving behind a huge truck shooting clouds of smoke into the air while your new fully electric vehicle cleans up its carbon emissions (排放). This dream may soon be a reality. A team of students in the Netherlands has created an electric car that not only doesn’t produce carbon dioxide when driving, but actually pulls it out of the air.
The two-seater sports car was designed and built in less than a year by a team of 32 students at Eindhoven University of Technology. Called “ZEM”, which stands for “zero emission mobility”, the car is equipped with special devices that remove carbon dioxide from the air as it drives. The team says if ZEM is driven about 32,000 kilometers, it can remove 2 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the air. That s not a huge amount. The team calculates that 10 ZEM cars on the road for a year would remove as much carbon dioxide as a typical tree does during that time. However, they also point out that there are over a billion passenger cars in the world that could be using this technology. And if a billion cars were removing carbon dioxide instead of producing it, the result would be huge.
ZEM also has several other innovations that help to make it more capable of being sustained: the car’s frame and panels (面板) are 3D printed to reduce waste; it was built using recycle and recyclable materials; and it can be easily taken apart so that many of its parts can be reused. ZEM’s battery is also reusable and has another handy feature: it can be charged with solar panels on the car’s roof — and can even be used to provide power to your house when the car isn’t on the road.
According to the statistics, transportation was responsible for over 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 — and of those emissions, cars were responsible for 41%. The Eindhoven team says its goal is to challenge the electric car industry: If 32 students can build a car like this in less than a year, then surely car manufacturers (生产商) are expected to adopt these innovations, too.
1. What is special about ZEM?| A．It can end the world’s CO₂ release. | B．It can cut the truck’s CO₂ emissions. |
| C．It can reduce the level of CO₂ in the air. | D．It can absorb dirty air as well as CO₂. |
| A．To show a promising future of ZEM cars. |
| B．To explain how ZEM removes CO₂ as trees do. |
| C．To illustrate the ongoing change in car making. |
| D．To show the influence of ZEM on the car market. |
| A．They are of high quality. | B．They are easy to process. |
| C．They are convenient to print. | D．They are environmentally friendly. |
| A．Sharp increase in fuel consumption. | B．More production of eco-friendly cars. |
| C．Big success in beating other car makers. | D．Reduced costs in transportation. |
6 . Millions of Trip Advisor users voted New York, Chicago, Charleston and Las Vegas as the top four travel cities in the United States.
New York City
More than 50 million people visit New York City every year. The five regions of New York have some of the most easily recognized attractions in the world. Visitors whose things are tight can take a free boat from Manhattan to Staten Island for a great view of the Statue of Liberty by the sea and the Manhattan skyline.
Las Vegas, Nevada
The desert city of Las Vegas is known around the world for its casinos (娱乐场) and bright lights. Visitors stay at world-class hotels, eat at top chefs' restaurants, and usually see a spectacular show or concert.
Charleston, South Carolina
Some say Charleston is one of the most beautiful and historic places in the United States. The coastal city has a very rich history. The Civil War began at its waterfront, at Fort Sumter, which visitors can explore. But present-day Charleston has a lot to offer, too. Conde Nast Traveler voted it the number one U. S. city, for its beautiful architecture, food, and friendly people.
Chicago, Illinois
America's third-largest city offers world-class museums, great food, sporting events and symbolic architecture — including Willis Tower, America's tallest building. But what places the Midwest city above others is comedy. It's well-known for comedy shows. The Second City theater is where many famous comedians get their start, including Mike Meyers and Tina Fey.
1. If you are a backpack traveler on a tight budget, which would be your best choice?| A．New York City. | B．Chicago, Illinois. |
| C．Charleson, South Carolina. | D．Las Vegas, Nevada. |
| A．New York and Chicago. | B．New York and Charleston. |
| C．Charleston and Las Vegas. | D．Chicago and Charleston. |
| A．World-class museums. | B．Landmark buildings. |
| C．Comedy and comedy shows. | D．Sporting events and tasty food. |
7 . Adding to the achievements of a remarkable year, Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.
Already a superstar before 2023, Swift’s career has reached new heights thanks to the beginning of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour performance to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil. Promoted by her tour, Swift has been named the most-streamed female artist in the history of Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, the tour made about $900 million (about 6.4 billion yuan) in 2023. In addition, the tour’s movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the biggest concert movie of all time, taking more than $250
million globally.As she was declare a billionaire by Bloomberg in November, a hidden “Taylor Swift economy” also promoted sales for business owners across the US. From soaps to a cruise inspired by her different “eras”, interest in Swift-related products went way up.
Apart from her financial contributions, Swift made a significant cultural impact by taking back control of her music. In 2019, her old record label, Big Machine, sold the master tapes of her first six albums (专辑) to Scoot er Braun. The sale meant that she didn’t have the rights to the albums. In response to this, Swift began re-recording her first six albums, tagging (加标签于) them “Taylor’s Version”. This move stressed her belief that artists deserve to own their work. “It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she told Time. “I respond to extreme pain by resisting.”
Heading into 2024, Swift will start the Eras Tour again in Japan and Australia. As USA Today noted, “Her current top has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning.”
1. What do we know about Taylor Swift?| A．She broke a new record on her tour. | B．She toured South America before 2023. |
| C．Her achievements received great recognition. | D．Her performance began with the Apple Music. |
| A．She proved herself to be an artist. | B．She learned to make some products. |
| C．She had influence on music culture. | D．She sold her master tapes to a company. |
| A．She will end her music career. | B．She will continue her Eras Tour. |
| C．She will reach her top in Japan. | D．She will make a record in Australia. |
| A．Admirable. | B．Uncaring. | C．Doubtful. | D．Critical. |
8 . Three young men were on a crowded train when they encountered a heavily armed terrorist. With little regard for their personal safety, they rushed the terrorist and controlled him. Only some people seem capable of this split-second form of heroism. Why some men rise to the occasion — and others don’t — has been a bit tricky to explain. Psychologists have explored this question through biological and personality psychology.
Of course, heroism and courage can appear in many forms, and men and women risk their reputations, health, and social standing to do what they think is right. When it comes to physically risky bravery, people assume that men will take the lead. There are sound biological reasons for this fixed image. One of the most common fears in men is that they’ll be outed as a coward (懦夫), and a man who fails to display physical courage will suffer damage to his reputation in a way that a woman will not. Throughout human history, attaining a position of high status or dominance among one’s peers (同龄人) has been the ticket that needs to get punched for men to attract mates and father children.
People tend to have an idea of what heroes are like. When rating the personalities of movie heroes, participants expected them to be more careful and hard-working, open to experience, agreeable, and emotionally stable than the average person. But some studies indicate that people who exhibit heroic behavior score high on personality usually associated with madmen: risk-taking, sensation seeking, coolness under stress, and a tendency to take over in social situations.
The study of the relationship between personality and heroism is at an early stage. Psychologists are still at a loss to predict in advance who will heroically step up when needed. Often, the hero is an otherwise ordinary person who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances. Meanwhile, some individuals trained to behave heroically might hesitate during a crisis. Future disasters will cry out for further acts of true heroism. Hopefully, the right mix of circumstances and personalities enable courage to carry the day.
1. How is the topic introduced in the first paragraph?| A．By presenting a question. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making a comparison. | D．By drawing a conclusion. |
| A．Be bought. | B．Be talented. | C．Be abandoned. | D．Be acquired. |
| A．There are numerous factors affecting heroism. |
| B．Heroes and ordinary people are always difficult to tell apart. |
| C．Unknown circumstances play a crucial role in heroic acts. |
| D．Individual personality is not a reliable indicator of heroism. |
| A．How Are Heroes Trained? | B．Why Are Heroes Important? |
| C．What Makes a Person Heroic? | D．Who Are the True Heroes? |
9 . The Canadian town of Churchill is well-known for its arctic (北极的) wilderness. This town of extremes is home to about 900 year-round residents. However, 500, 000 tourists, more or less, flood here throughout the year.
In this setting, there’s a special find in a simple shipping container just outside the town. It’s a new project called Rocket Greens, led by the Churchill Northern Studies Centre(CNSC). Rocket Greens has successfully demonstrated the possibility of planting fresh, leafy produce regardless of seasons or weather conditions.
Erin Greene, a Churchill resident since 2015, became one of the first subscribers to Rocket Greens’s CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. “When I first moved here, it was very hard to get good-quality fruits and vegetables. We would never get fresh herbs and never see things like Swiss chard or kale,” recalls Greene, who says she now maintains a healthier diet and has become more self-sufficient as a result of the program.
In addition to Rocket Greens, CNSC has set up a seeding project for community garden support. This involves planting seedlings during the late fall and early spring that have been distributed to local community members free of charge in summer. Due to the short growing season and the challenging agricultural conditions, this seeding project offers a head start. “Community members can receive plants at no charge. It’s an educational tool to learn how to seed a field properly and how to grow your own food in your own home,” explains Dylan McCart, director of CNSC. This year’s seeding program will include a variety of crops such as peas, corn and peppers to make up for the traditional vegetables that are typically planted during Churchill summers.
“Considering the challenges of operating in a remote location like Churchill, we were one of the first ones to be able to do it, so it’s great that we were able to have that vision at that time. And it’s still successful today,” McCart says.
1. Why are so many people attracted to Churchill?| A．They want to live in the wilds. | B．They like to enjoy the unique scenery. |
| C．They can taste fresh produce from the locals. | D．They wish to become members of Rocket Greens. |
| A．To advertise the lifestyles of locals. | B．To show the diversity of local food. |
| C．To prove the difficulty of living there. | D．To illustrate the effects of the program. |
| A．It adds fuel to the fire. | B．It teaches a man to fish. |
| C．It pulls a rabbit out of the hat. | D．It kills the goose that lays the golden egg. |
| A．Curious. | B．Relieved. | C．Astonished. | D．Proud. |
10 . Imagine getting ready for bed, brushing your teeth, setting your alarm and then putting a device on your head that allows you to control your dreams. It might sound like something unfeasible, but it’s the real-life promise of a new futuristic-looking headband called Halo, at present in development by US tech company Prophetic.
Expected to be released in 2025, Halo aims to allow you to have more lucid dreams (清醒梦). In some cases, you might also exercise a degree of control over what happens in these dreams, perhaps in ways that benefit your waking life, such as solving work problems, practicing guitar and more.
Earlier research has shown lucid dreams could be used for real-life benefits. For example, one study carried out by researchers at the University of Bern, Switzerland showed that participants who practised casting coins into a cup in their lucid dreams showed superior performance the next day.
The team behind Halo are using technologies like EEG (脑电图) to collect vast amounts of brain data from volunteers experiencing lucid dreams. The idea is to build a detailed map of what’s happening in the brain during different types of lucid dreams. This information will be key for the second main area of investigation, which involves using TUS (delivered via the headband) to control brain activity. TUS, a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, can change brain function by using high-frequency sound.
“It’s seemingly true that the sound stimulation could contribute to the high-frequency brain activity that’s associated with lucidity,” says Professor Mark Blagrove, a sleep scientist based at Swansea University. “Sound stimulation has been used to cause low-frequency slow waves in slow wave sleep, so the method suggested is believable.”
However, TUS is a relatively new approach to brain stimulation and it’s not entirely clear what the long-term results of stimulating your brain with high-frequency sounds might be. Moreover, some sleep scientists believe dreams have basic functions, including processing emotional experiences. By using a device to change the nature of your dreams, maybe you risk interrupting the usual purpose of your dreams.
1. What does the underlined word “unfeasible” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Impossible. | B．Significant. | C．Logical. | D．Meaningless. |
| A．To suggest a way to dream a dream. | B．To provide a theory for developing Halo. |
| C．To prove the benefits of lucid dreams. | D．To indicate the meaning of being awake. |
| A．The way in which EEG works. | B．The reason for designing Halo. |
| C．The changes brought by Halo. | D．The methods used by the team. |
| A．Hal o has got widespread recognition. | B．There may be some side effects about Halo. |
| C．Dreaming doesn’t have any functions. | D．Lucid dreams cause emotional experiences. |
