1 . We drove to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park — a very remote, dry, mountainous place in Utah. I went there when I was about 10 years old, but I can only recall certain things: how cold it got that night as we slept in the tent, the small insects that covered the mountain beside us, and having to use the bathroom in an outhouse.
Huge rocks are hanging dangerously on the jagged (嶙峋的) mountainside, and you know they have to fall eventually. We stopped at Newspaper Rock, a National Historic Site where prehistoric people sketched drawings onto sandstone from B.C. time to A.D.1300. With only a short fence surrounding it, it seems unavoidable that modern-day people would feel the urge to carve their names into this precious historic landmark.
The sky is the bluest I think I’ve ever seen; it’s a beautiful backdrop to the orangey-red cliffs lining the horizon. And the silence — I’ve never experienced a quieter place. When I first got out of the truck at our campsite, I stood still and held my breath, and all I could hear was the ringing in my ears.
In my opinion, only at night can you witness the true beauty of the Canyonlands: the stars. Since the Needles district is an extremely dry place about 80 miles away from any major city’s lights, it offers the clearest view I’ve ever seen of the night sky. It is incredible how many stars you can see out there. I climbed on top of a nearby rock formation and lay on my back just soaking (沉浸) it all in. It was like looking through a window straight into the universe.
I wanted to sleep outside beneath the stars, but then the temperature dropped to 40 degree and I discovered massive ants crawling on the ground, so I quitted that. The next morning, I discovered a nearby camper passed out on the rock formation in a sleeping bag. How he managed to brave the temperatures and the ants, I have no idea.
1. What was the environment of Needles district like to the author as a kid?| A．Confusing. | B．Difficult. | C．Dull. | D．Adventurous. |
| A．It’s a combination of old and new. | B．It’s a piece of prehistoric artwork. |
| C．It’s currently in need of protection. | D．It’s been in existence for 1300 years. |
| A．He was too tired to move. | B．He lost his hearing temporarily. |
| C．He was extremely out of breath. | D．He wanted to feel nature closely. |
| A．To encourage people to travel there. | B．To compare childhood experience. |
| C．To describe his journey in wild nature. | D．To raise awareness of natural protection. |
2 . A cancer diagnosis (诊断) can bring you to the very edge of the cliff (悬崖). It did for Allie Newman. A bright, athletic 16-year-old one day and a cancer
Osteosarcoma isn’t a word that should be in a high schooler’s
“Cancer
You
| A．expert | B．patient | C．reporter | D．nurse |
| A．vocabulary | B．grammar | C．literature | D．homework |
| A．recommended | B．experienced | C．quit | D．imagined |
| A．standard | B．hobby | C．memory | D．attitude |
| A．careless | B．hopeless | C．endless | D．meaningless |
| A．positive | B．anxious | C．intelligent | D．unique |
| A．saved | B．found | C．protected | D．forced |
| A．share | B．begin | C．love | D．need |
| A．hard | B．safe | C．fun | D．late |
| A．frightens | B．confuses | C．knows | D．changes |
| A．passion | B．plan | C．excuse | D．intention |
| A．fed | B．cured | C．affected | D．separated |
| A．only | B．ever | C．still | D．never |
| A．successes | B．purposes | C．fears | D．mistakes |
| A．put off | B．think about | C．set aside | D．laugh at |
3 . A French company called SolarSoundSystem is celebrating its 24th year of hosting solar-and-bicycle-powered parties in Europe. Founder Cedric Carles says “it is necessary to perform in public spaces in order to increase the level of general knowledge and catch public concern about climate change.” The solar-powered sound systems started off in Lausanne, Switzerland, but have now taken off in France, Berlin, the Basque region of Spain and Tel Aviv.
The principle is simple, during the day batteries are charged by solar energy. These are attached to generators which allow the speakers to function and power the DJ turntables (唱机转盘) too. Impressively, the sound quality is so high that it can provide music for up to 500 people. In terms of how long the music can last, the team explains that even with partial sun clouds, the machines can operate for 5 hours without bicycles and 6 to 8 hours with bicycles. With plenty of sun in the sky, the party can go on until dark. Then at night, party-goers are encouraged to take turns donating pedal power, by riding the bikes to keep the music going.
To mark the 23rd anniversary of the parties last year, the eco-friendly sound system released a vinyl record (黑胶唱片) of the electronic artists that have been playing on their systems over the years. The chosen songs pay tribute to the eight international artists who have supported SolarSoundsystem in the past years, such as Jay Ka and Gregorythme.
1. Why are the solar-and-bicycle-powered parties hosted?| A．To raise the awareness of environmental protection. |
| B．To stress the importance of donating pedal power. |
| C．To explain the bad effects of climate change. |
| D．To mark the contributions of electronic artists. |
| A．The solar-and-bicycle-powered parties have been popular all over the world. |
| B．The vinyl record is released to mark the 23rd anniversary of the parties. |
| C．The music can last 1-3 hours longer with partial sun/clouds with the help of bicycles. |
| D．The batteries are simply charged by solar energy during the night. |
| A．Pay attention to. | B．Show respect to. |
| C．Attach importance to. | D．Make contributions to. |
| A．Solar-powered parties are on the rise in Europe. |
| B．SolarSoundSystem celebrates its 24th birthday. |
| C．An eco-friendly company released a vinyl record. |
| D．Humans should be concerned about climate change |
4 . Some people do live longer than others, and we are all curious to know why that is. In fact, scientists think that genes make up about 20-30 percent of our life expectancy (预期寿命). The remaining 70-80 percent is determined by other factors such as lifestyle and environment.
Bestselling author, Dan Buettner, set out to learn more about why some people lived longer than others. In 2005 he wrote an article about it called The Secrets of Living Longer. He had found, five places where people lived a longer life. He called them Blue Zones, because when he and his team found such places, they drew a blue line around them on the map. The locations were found in Italy, Japan, California, Costa Rica and Greece.
Each of the Blue Zones has common characteristics. Most of the people there eat a plant-based diet. They seldom eat meat more than five times a month. It is also a common factor that the Italians and Greeks often drink a glass of red wine with their meals, but no more than one.
They also found that most residents (居民) of the Blue Zones get seven hours’ sleep every day. Having a nap (打盹) in the afternoon is also popular. But before you head off to your bedroom for a post-lunch nap, researchers have found that napping for more than 30 minutes is not good for you.
As you would expect, exercise is important as well. For Blue Zone residents though, this does not mean heading off to the gym. Most of them are involved in some way with labor work. They are often farmers working in the fields.
One final area of interest about the people who live in the Blue Zones: many of them live in close-knit families, the older generations living with their younger children. Perhaps as they spend time together, the older Blue Zoners pass on tips for a long life to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
1. What did Dan Buettner hope to find out in 2005?| A．The reasons for a long life. | B．The trend in people’s lifestyles. |
| C．The situation of the global environment. | D．The development of human healthcare. |
| A．Eating habits. | B．Labor work. |
| C．Sleeping patterns. | D．Regular exercise |
| A．They eat meat quite often. | B．They often do labor work. |
| C．They have a one-hour nap every day. | D．They drink white wine with their meal. |
| A．Families with many children. | B．Families with few elderly members. |
| C．Families that share the same diets. | D．Families that have strong relationships. |
5 . Join Us in Creating the Sweetest Candy Experience
Search Engine Copywriter
Pay: $80, 000 every year
Job Description:
We are looking for a creative, hardworking person to join our team as a content developer. The responsibilities of the content developer include creating new and interesting content for our website and popularizing that includes product descriptions, social media and technical work.
Shopify Developer
Pay: $120, 000 every year
Job Description:
Candy Funhouse is looking for a Shopify Developer to manage, and improve the e-commerce (电商) store hosted on Shopify. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, you’ll be responsible for developing new product pages, and running A/B tests to continuously improve site performance.
Chief Candy Officer
Pay: $100, 000 every year
Job Description:
We are looking for the world’s first and only Chief Candy Officer! This chance is work-from-home. The job includes deciding whether or not to give each treat with the official “CCO (Chief Candy Officer) Stamp of Approval”.
Social Media Personality
Pay: $110, 000 every year
Job Description:
We’ve got a pretty sweet brand, and we want someone to help make that brand as wonderful online as it is in real life. We’re looking for someone with good knowledge of both candy and pop culture, a natural ability to relate to fans, and someone who is willing to do the work necessary to help the brand be great on social media.
1. Which post offers the best pay?| A．Shopify Developer. | B．Chief Candy Officer. |
| C．Social Media Personality. | D．Search Engine Copywriter. |
| A．Popularizing a brand on social media. | B．Developing new product pages. |
| C．Creating fun product description. | D．Managing the e-commerce store |
| A．Privacy Center. | B．Job Search. |
| C．Modern Technology. | D．Company Review. |
6 . A good vegan milk (纯素奶) needs to look like milk and taste like milk, whether it contains fat or not. Vegan milk is only one example in the growing types of plant-based alternatives (替代品) to animal products, such as meat, cheese, eggs and fish. Burger King and McDonald’s sell vegan pies. Last year the world’s largest producer of canned tuna, Thai Union, began to sell a plant-based product. Growing sales show the growing taste for this type of food, which means alternative proteins have come a long way since 1980s.
Producing techniques have been improved, resulting in better products and lower prices of them, which meet the needs of a growing number of people. Some vegetarians say no to meat, but yes to fish. Some people are trying to cut fat for health reasons. Fitness lovers want to develop muscular mass and strength without building up fat. Concerns about animal rights and greenhouse gas from raising livestock (家畜) are driving the environmentalists to limit their intake of animal-based proteins. As is reported, producing a gram of beef gives off 25 times the amount of greenhouse gas as producing a gram of tofu.
However, plant-based proteins are a tough sell in giant markets like India, where diets are already plant-rich, or Nigeria, where meat-eating is a sign of being rich. That limits their global popularity. What’s more, animal products, including milk and meat, are better for children’s bone development, though lab-grown meat and dairy are becoming more nutritious.
All this suggests that alternative proteins have far to go to replace the animal kind. Plant-based foods may no longer be only a side dish in diets, but their makers’ place as the main dish is another matter.
1. Why does the author mention vegan milk in the first paragraph?| A．To encourage a healthy diet. |
| B．To show people’s growing taste. |
| C．To stress the importance of milk. |
| D．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| A．Ways to meet the needs of people. |
| B．Benefits of animal-based products. |
| C．Results of improved producing techniques. |
| D．Reasons for choosing plant-based products. |
| A．Indian Diets are rich in plant. |
| B．Eating meat means being rich. |
| C．Plant-based products are produced in labs. |
| D．Plant-based products are bad for children. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Unclear. |
7 . As a physically fit 89-year-old big band singer, Tony Bennett performed timeless ballads (民歌，情歌) perfectly. He was an exception to the belief of aging and decline.
However, the trouble with his
After receiving the diagnosis, Bennett insisted on continuing to perform. “Tony has always had a very
As one of only a few artists to produce chart-topping records every decade since the 1950s —
In February 2021, Bennett
As the disease
| A．memory | B．appearance | C．finance | D．origin |
| A．charged | B．assigned | C．diagnosed | D．choked |
| A．negative | B．positive | C．professional | D．confident |
| A．as | B．like | C．except | D．if |
| A．adopting | B．discounting | C．packing | D．totaling |
| A．beats | B．instances | C．plots | D．hits |
| A．Though | B．Unless | C．Despite | D．Unlike |
| A．incredible | B．honorable | C．convincing | D．dynamic |
| A．publicly | B．secretly | C．instantly | D．critically |
| A．response | B．priority | C．influence | D．resolution |
| A．how | B．why | C．when | D．what |
| A．topic | B．title | C．theme | D．model |
| A．spreads | B．exposes | C．progresses | D．explodes |
| A．hopeful | B．original | C．faithful | D．merciful |
| A．moving the goalposts | B．walking on air | C．taking no notice | D．leading the way |
8 . The sky began to show red in the early morning as we drove across the Minnesota state line to New York for my new PhD program. The move was good for me professionally, but I worried about my husband and daughters. I also feared that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids the childhood they deserved.
Anne, our first daughter, came into the world when I was a junior majoring in biology in college. It was challenging to balance classes, work schedules, and being a mom. But I got through it, finding moments of joy along the way. On the nights when I was home, I’d read my class notes out loud with my daughter. She’d respond by asking questions, such as “Mom, what are bacteria (细菌)?” It helped us both learn.
After I graduated, I knew that I would need a PhD to land the kind of job I wanted. I arrived in New York feeling more than the usual new-graduate-student anxiety. I also suffered from a more personal fear that I was being selfish—that my decision to invigorate my career was going to have long- term bad impacts on my kids. So, I made a rule to never be visibly upset about my work in front of my children.
Over the past year, though, I’ve started to let go of some of this worry. I’ve realized that we have not only adapted to our new situation, but things are getting better. My husband landed a job that he is happy with. Anne dreams of becoming a biologist. Recently, while driving past the cancer institute I work at, Anne said, “Thinking about people having cancer is so sad, but I feel better knowing that you are researching it to help.”
Pursuing academic career as a young mother is hard, but it’s also rewarding. My kids are learning to look at the world through science, and watching their mom succeed inspires them. I look forward to seeing them follow my footsteps, whatever path they choose.
1. How did the author feel about the move for her PhD program at first?| A．It was fruitful but boring. | B．It was hopeful but challenging. |
| C．It was the last thing she would do. | D．It was promising for the whole family. |
| A．Advocate. | B．Escape. | C．Evaluate. | D．Prioritize. |
| A．She is proud of her mother. | B．She is interested in biology. |
| C．Her mother takes her job seriously. | D．She is ready to help patients with cancer. |
| A．Ups and Downs in Life | B．Like Mother Like Daughter |
| C．Double Gains of Mom’s Pursuit | D．Generation Gap Narrowed by Love |
9 . Patrick, Scheels store’s fishing manager, always helps customers with their angling (垂钓) needs, but one
One day, a young boy named Xander entered the store with his mother, Brynn. Patrick noticed his eye were filled with
Brynn shared the
However, Patrick’s generosity didn’t
Patrick’s kindness was
| A．argument | B．journey | C．adventure | D．encounter |
| A．curiosity | B．nervousness | C．concern | D．regret |
| A．debated over | B．bonded over | C．stuck to | D．turned to |
| A．wisdom | B．evidence | C．significance | D．definition |
| A．missing | B．blaming | C．admiring | D．persuading |
| A．Annoyed | B．Touched | C．Amused | D．Surprised |
| A．gifted | B．lent | C．showed | D．made |
| A．ambitious | B．strange | C．genuine | D．urgent |
| A．practical | B．avoidable | C．secure | D．common |
| A．root | B．stop | C．appear | D．reach |
| A．recording | B．postponing | C．organizing | D．canceling |
| A．reveal | B．stress | C．prove | D．ensure |
| A．accompanied | B．monitored | C．assessed | D．sponsored |
| A．possibly | B．initially | C．truly | D．mainly |
| A．deal | B．experience | C．task | D．performance |
10 . It was the final part of the 2016 World Triathlon (铁人三项) Series in Mexico. With just 700 meters to go, Alistair in third place and his younger brother, Jonny, was in the
For Alistair, the choice was clear. His brother was
The brothers have been doing triathlons since they were children.“
Watched by millions, the ending to the race has
| A．end | B．lead | C．beginning | D．way |
| A．annoying | B．confusing | C．burning | D．outgoing |
| A．fall | B．stand | C．run | D．jump |
| A．lose | B．quit | C．serious | D．win |
| A．in danger | B．in trouble | C．in power | D．in sight |
| A．packed | B．quit | C．challenged | D．pushed |
| A．unexpected | B．unknown | C．unhappy | D．unlucky |
| A．advanced | B．pulled | C．rushed | D．addicted |
| A．Anxiously | B．Obviously | C．Luckily | D．Excitedly |
| A．request | B．contact | C．encourage | D．fight |
| A．arguments | B．discussions | C．injuries | D．movements |
| A．positive | B．negative | C．active | D．confident |
| A．advanced | B．divided | C．confusing | D．supportive |
| A．attracted | B．commented | C．praised | D．organized |
| A．player | B．brother | C．competitor | D．teacher |
