1 . When Jessie Mclndoc _____ her mother’s hand-made wedding dress at the age of 6, she immediately announced that, “I’d love to wear this one day,” ensuring her lips could be easily _____. Within weeks, _____, the dress was forgotten as Jessie and her parents, Denise and Paul, faced _____ news: Denise was diagnosed with _____.

Denise was found her inner ear damaged even before she was born. But the hearing impairment _____ to slow her down as she grew into a woman who always laughed.

Six years after their wedding, Jessie was born. And, of course, from age three, Jessie would _____ the phone. “Mum can’t talk. Can you phone back when Dad’s home?”

Despite the _____, there was plenty her mother could do, including sewing costumes for Jessie’s dance recitals and communicating _____ with her daughter, using hand signals.

When Denise found a huge lump in her breast, with no treatment _____, she returned home, facing life with her usual _____.

Many years later, Jessie was married. As she slipped into her mother’s wedding dress, she _____ a flat rectangle envelope. Reading the few _____ penned words and the “love from Mum” signature at the bottom.

Jessie couldn’t stop _____. Then she dried her tears and prepared to enjoy every moment of the day her mother had pictured as she wrote the last card.

Now, the garment has been carefully preserved in a box, awaiting the moment Jessie will pass it to her own children to touch the fabric that _____ them to their grandmother.

1.

A．put aside

B．took off

C．stepped into

D．wore on

2.

A．read

B．heard

C．seen

D．felt

3.

A．however

B．moreover

C．luckily

D．oddly

4.

A．exciting

B．frightening

C．comforting

D．annoying

5.

A．deafness

B．fever

C．cancer

D．blindness

6.

A．succeeded

B．decided

C．failed

D．attempted

7.

A．fix

B．speak

C．talk

D．answer

8.

A．condition

B．pain

C．flaw

D．trouble

9.

A．formally

B．silently

C．poorly

D．strangely

10.

A．painful

B．impossible

C．effortless

D．available

11.

A．care

B．wisdom

C．energy

D．smile

12.

A．lost

B．presented

C．spotted

D．received

13.

A．independently

B．painstakingly

C．unknowingly

D．hardly

14.

A．touching

B．sobbing

C．complaining

D．shouting

15.

A．bring

B．separate

C．accompany

D．connect

2 . My parents took me camping to the Chilean Lake District every summer while growing up. Back then, before the Internet, we had to _______ maps and guidebooks. So through the endless hours of our road trips, I kept myself _______ glancing at a map and reading about the small towns we passed. It was great fun.

During one trip, my dad _______ me about the Travelers Century Club (TCC), a group for people who have _______ 100 or more of the world's countries. My eyes shone with the thought of being a member, and I made it my _______ .

It was not long before I started _______ to travel to another country. My parents laughed and offered a(n) _______ they'd take me to our neighbor Argentina, my first trip abroad, _______ I had to see more parts of my own country before I visited another _______ . I happily accepted.

What I immediately ________ is that—as much as I wanted to be part of the TCC—the main ________ for travel should center on what I'll get out of a trip, whether that's meeting locals, ________ the typical cuisine, or exploring nature. It shouldn't be just to ________ countries. Ticking countries off a list only because you put your feet there feels ________ to me. What inspires me the most to hit the road is ________ , which can feed my adventurous soul.

1.

A．search for

B．rely on

C．put away

D．pass down

2.

A．entertained

B．organized

C．relaxed

D．educated

3.

A．warned

B．reminded

C．told

D．inquired

4.

A．left

B．served

C．represented

D．visited

5.

A．habit

B．idea

C．duty

D．goal

6.

A．agreeing

B．learning

C．asking

D．waiting

7.

A．compromise

B．explanation

C．opinion

D．service

8.

A．but

B．so

C．and

D．if

9.

A．club

B．country

C．town

D．neighbor

10.

A．remembered

B．predicted

C．expected

D．realized

11.

A．praises

B．preparations

C．suggestions

D．reasons

12.

A．introducing

B．offering

C．tasting

D．packing

13.

A．explore

B．occupy

C．count

D．discover

14.

A．meaningless

B．unnecessary

C．fulfilling

D．important

15.

A．schedules

B．experiences

C．ambitions

D．opportunities

3 . A massive crack through Africa is set to split the continent into two and form Earth’s sixth ocean, an entirely new sea from Ethiopia to Mozambique, scientists have warned.

The so-called Eastern African Rift (东非大裂谷) formed at least 22 million years ago but has shown activity over the last few decades. Ken Macdonald, a professor, said, “What we do not know is if this rifting will continue on its present pace to eventually open up an ocean basin, like the Red Sea. Or might it speed up? At the present rate, a sea about the size of the current Red Sea, might form in about 20-30 million years.”

Eastern African Rift System (EARS) stretches from the Gulf of Aden in the north to Zimbabwe in the south. Researchers believe EARS is growing larger because two tectonic plates are moving away from each other. It likely formed because of heat flowing up from the hotter, weaker, upper part of Earth’s mantle (地幔). Now, a study found that a massive eruption of super-heated rock coming up from our planet’s core is driving the rifting.

Geophysicist D. Sarah Stamps compared a rifting continent’s different deformation styles with playing with Silly Putty (黏土玩具). “If you hit Silly Putty with a hammer, it can actually crack and break,” said Stamps. “But if you slowly pull it apart, the Silly Putty stretches. So on different time scales, Earth’s lithosphere (岩石圈) behaves in different ways.”

The recent crack in 2018 is being debated among the scientific community, as some believe it is showing the separation in real time, while others believe such progression is impossible. One resident named Eliud claimed he saw the crack run through his home. And he could only collect some of his belongings before his house collapsed. Damages were seen on a busy road in Kenya.

1. What is the potential outcome if the rifting continues at its current pace?

A．Immediate formation of a large ocean.	B．Rapid formation of new mountain ranges.
C．Complete closure of the Eastern African Rift.	D．Creation of an ocean equivalent to the Red Sea.

2. What contributes to the crack of Eastern African Rift System?

A．The stretches of the Gulf of Aden.	B．The eruption of super-heated rock.
C．The crashes of moving tectonic plates.	D．The split of weaker part of Earth’ score.

3. Why does Sarah mention the Silly Putty in paragraph 4?

A．To stress the flexibility of continents more.	B．To better introduce the behaviors of players.
C．To further analyze the formation of continents.	D．To vividly explain how rifting continent changes.

4. What might be the attitude of the scientists toward the real -time rifting?

A．Indifferent.

B．Negative.

C．Contradictory.

D．Optimistic.

4 . When an animal passes, it leaves holes that need time to repair.

Neki was my best friend. I met her _______ in my 20s. One cold morning, I was walking to work when a tiny face poked (探出) through a bush. She was _______. I picked her up and warmed her. But since I had no spare time for a cat, I put it down and continued _______. Seconds later, pin-like claws (爪) attached themselves to my _______. Orange eyes peered up into mine. I had no _______. I took her home. She slept next to me for the rest of her life.

When Neki died, I didn’t think I would be consumed with _______. She was only a cat, after all. But the ache I felt was real. I _______ myself at work but still was on the verge of tears at the mere thought of it. My work greatly suffered. _______, my contract ended. But being fired was _______ because it was in this stillness that I began the healing.

I tried to ________ the sorrow at first but it forced me into isolation. Then I learned to talk about my grief openly and ________ it with my family. This made me feel ________ and stronger. I granted (准许) myself the time to ________ Neki’s objects. My home felt empty but the expectation of Neki’s presence remained. All I could do was ________.

Slowly, the ache eased. After a year, I surprised myself one morning when I woke up and didn’t ________ to see Neki. She finally rested in my memory.

1.

A．in time

B．in person

C．by choice

D．by accident

2.

A．trembling

B．starving

C．stretching

D．resting

3.

A．weeping

B．praying

C．walking

D．complaining

4.

A．face

B．ankle

C．knee

D．shoulder

5.

A．clue

B．option

C．chance

D．intention

6.

A．fear

B．tension

C．guilt

D．sadness

7.

A．enjoyed

B．proved

C．pushed

D．challenged

8.

A．Similarly

B．Unsurprisingly

C．Temporarily

D．Unrealistically

9.

A．the last straw

B．a mixed blessing

C．a hot potato

D．the bottom line

10.

A．hide

B．avoid

C．erase

D．ignore

11.

A．argue

B．connect

C．share

D．leave

12.

A．moved

B．satisfied

C．healed

D．inspired

13.

A．clear away

B．give back

C．sort out

D．take apart

14.

A．wait

B．cry

C．stop

D．recall

15.

A．afford

B．pretend

C．manage

D．expect

5 . As a nature educator, Han, 30, enjoys taking teenagers to discover the magic of trees. He always plays a game called Encounter My Tree. He blindfolds children and let them explore a tree using their hands. “When my students find their tree, it feels like a reunion with an old friend, filling them with joy,” Han said.

Han is always surprised at his students’ amazing imaginations. They might call a walnut tree a “bomb tree” because its falling walnuts are just like “bombs”. Chinese privet, in their eyes, may look like a “drone”, so they call it “drone tree”.

“Although observing trees is a simple and equipment-free activity, there are quite a few things you can do,” noted Han. You can study a tree by looking at the bark’s appearance and color and looking for tiny pores on the trunk which the tree uses to “breathe”....

Meanwhile, you can engage with a tree’s life journey, from a seed to a full-grown tree. “You can feel the passage of time by touching the tree trunk with your eyes closed, or sense the energy flowing inside by pressing your ear against the trunk,” Han said.

The key challenge in the tree observation is patience and letting go of preconceived ideas. Patience is extremely important as it allows you to immerse yourself in the tree’s world. Practicing meditation or playing the Encounter My Tree game can help you connect with trees faster. People with extensive plant knowledge may overlook the beauty of a tree’s unique details. Each living being is distinctive, and every tree has its own story and growth marks.

“For me, the joy of observing trees sometimes goes beyond the trees themselves,” noted Han. Up in the tree, you’ll find a tiny world with busy ants, hidden spiders, and even parasitic plants completing their life journeys, he added.

1. What does the underlined word “blindfold” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Lose one’s sight.	B．Bend something blindly.
C．Set somebody free.	D．Cover one’s eyes thoroughly.

2. During tree observation, the following senses are activated except _________ .

A．smell

B．sight

C．touch

D．hearing

3. Which statement may Han probably agree with?

A．Tree observation is never a hard nut to crack.

B．Nothing but simply observing is involved in tree observation.

C．Pleasure of observing trees mainly comes from the trees themselves.

D．Abandoning presupposed thoughts plays a crucial part in tree observation.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．A Nature Educator.	B．A Tree Observer.
C．Exploring Trees.	D．Approaching Trees.

6 . Pablo Picasso, born in 1881 in Malaga, was an active artist for most of his long life. His father, an artist himself, was his first and most formative art teacher. Picasso had one of the most fruitful and creative careers in history.

Picasso went through many creative periods in his career. His “Blue Period” started in 1901, when one of his dear friends, a painter and poet named Carlos, passed away in a cafe in Paris. Picasso was deeply affected, and sank into a depression that lasted several years.

In 1904, Picasso moved to Montmartre in Paris, and settled into the community of artists and creators there. Coming out of his depression, Picasso moved on from dark and serious subjects in his paintings to more lighthearted compositions featuring harlequins, clowns and carnival performers. His color palette (调色盘) warmed up as well, with his paintings now bathed in reds, oranges, pinks and earth tones. This period was known as Picasso’s “Rose Period” and it lasted until 1906.

From 1906 to 1909 Picasso was heavily inspired by African art, after he was exposed to traditional African masks (面具) and other art objects coming from Africa into French museums in Paris. This stage was called his “African Period”, and was a precursor (先驱) to his most famous period, “Cubism”. Influenced by Paul Cezanne’s experimentation with three-dimensional spacing and perspective on art, Picasso and Georges Braque led the artistic movement known as Cubism. This way of breaking down a form to its most basic forms and reconstructing them in an abstracted way is what Picasso is most known for.

Throughout his life, Picasso took inspiration from everywhere in his life, whether it be working through his emotions, responding to a difficult life event, or the works of his fellow artists. In turn, his life’s works have inspired and influenced millions of people around the world and forever changed the history of art.

1. Which event caused Picasso’s “Blue Period”?

A．His moving to Paris.	B．The death of his friend.
C．The influence of his father.	D．The infection of a serious disease.

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．Picasso’s paintings were warm-colored before 1906.

B．Picasso went to Africa for new ideas in the 1900s.

C．Picasso was the pioneer in the use of 3D techniques.

D．Picasso’s painting style changed with his life experience.

3. What’s purpose of this text?

A．To show the difficulties Picasso met with in his life.

B．To explore when Picasso’s paintings stood out.

C．To introduce how Picasso got inspired for his art.

D．To tell the way Picasso’s success has influenced the world.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A guidebook.

B．A book review.

C．A news report.

D．A biography.

7 . The summer reading season is here. Some people will opt for paperbacks because they’re easy to borrow and share. Others will go for e-readers. But which is the more environmentally sustainable option?

According to 2023 data from the literary industry research group Words Rated, when it comes to pulp (纸浆) and paper, print book publishing is the world’s third-largest industrial greenhouse gas producer, and 32 million trees are cut down each year in the United States to make paper for books.

So many publishers are switching to on-demand printing. For example, Chronicle Books, are reducing their initial print runs to see how well the titles sell before they print more. “We felt that it was better to have a higher cost and have less waste,” said Chronic le Books president, Tyrrell Mahoney.

Publishers are also rethinking book design. It might be a surprise, but certain fonts (字体) can be more climate-friendly by using less ink and less paper.

Digital reading seems to have a considerable eco-advantage over print because it is paperless, so it saves trees, pulping and shipping. Moreover, tech companies that make e-readers such as Amazon, which sells the market-leading Kindle e-reader, offer recycling programs for old devices.

“By choosing e-books as an alternative to print, Kindle readers helped save an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions over a two-year period,” said Corey Badcock, head of Kindle product and marketing.

But digital devices also come with a substantial carbon footprint, mainly at the producing stage. Their cases are made with fossil-fuel-derived plastics and the minerals in their batteries require resource-heavy mining.

Berners-Lee, the author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything , said the average e-reader has a carbon footprint of around 80 pounds. “This means that I’ve got to read about 36 small paperback books-worth on it before you break even,” he said.

“If you buy an e-reader and you read loads and loads of books on it, then it’s the lowest carbon thing to do,” Berners-Lee said. “But if I buy it, read a couple of books, and decide that I prefer paperback books, then it’s the worst of all worlds.”

1. Why are publishers switching to on-demand printing?

A．To further reduce costs.

B．To increase market sales.

C．To make books more durable.

D．To be more environmentally friendly.

2. What is the author’s attitude towards digital devices’ carbon footprint?

A．Optimistic.

B．Dismissive.

C．Objective.

D．Defensive.

3. What can we say about the carbon footprint of reading according to Berners-Lee?

A．Heavy e-readers will have a lower carbon footprint.

B．Paperback readers contribute less to carbon emissions.

C．The carbon footprint of reading is unworthy of attention.

D．There’s no way to measure the carbon footprint of e-readers.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．An Eco-Debate: Is My E-Reader Really Greener?

B．The Decline of Paper: A Look at Modern Publishing

C．The Future of Reading: E-ink Technology Advances

D．What’s Better for the Climate: A Paper Book or an E-Reader?

8 . Clean energy may also be called renewable energy or green energy, and it specifically refers to energy produced from renewable resources without creating environmental problems. There are several other ways that this term can be explained, however. It may refer to energy processes that pollute less or, alternately, to energy that doesn’t pollute at all and doesn’t use resources that can’t be easily renewed, The basic forms of clean energy are often referred to as those that come from water, wind, or sun.

It’s hoped that using this type of energy, especially as a total replacement for use of things like oil, might help to reduce global warming and greenhouse gas emission, creating a safer world for all people. In reality, clean energy has its problems too, which have not been fully realized that it is not a complete replacement for energy created by non-renewable resources. For instance, wind farms that can provide power may have significant effect on local bird populations, and birds of some types can face serious reduction of numbers when they live near wind farms.

Nevertheless, these negative consequences tend to be smaller in comparison to the use of oil or non-clean coal. Many environmentalists reason that, though no power source is completely without risk, green energy could have a wide-reaching effect on helping the planet to recover and perhaps stopping the trend of global warming. An additional reason why it can be so desirable is that it tends to come from sources that are free. While controlling this energy costs money, wind and sun aren’t owned by anybody in particular. Otherwise, political problems may be created and wars may be fought for a certain resource. For example, most of the oil in the world is gathered in a few places, and the majority is located in the Middle East. So they believe that wind or solar energy could lead not only to a cleaner planet, but also a more peaceful world.

Much remains to be done to figure out how to best control renewable energy sources and how to use them to their best advantage. One issue is how to transport collected energy from one place to another, since many places that produce this energy are located in remote locations. Changing the power net to adapt to different sources of energy can help this problem, but this has yet to occur on a wide range.

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The definition of clean energy.	B．The importance of clean energy.
C．The basic forms of clean energy.	D．The bright future of clean energy.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?

A．Clean energy can be a total replacement for other resources.

B．The efficiency of clean energy is great enough to stop global warming.

C．It is not a good idea to build wind farms for producing energy.

D．New problems may be brought about by using clean energy.

3. Many environmentalists hold the view that ________.

A．the negative part of clean energy can be totally ignored.

B．it is free of charge for people to control clean energy.

C．the power from wind and sun is open to everyone.

D．using clean energy may lead to wars between countries.

4. What’s the writer’s attitude towards renewable energy sources?

A．Unclear.

B．Positive.

C．Negative.

D．Cautious.

9 . From the very first cellphone developed by US company Motorola in 1973 which could only make phone calls for 30 minutes at most to today’s 5G smartphones, the shape of the mobile phone has been constantly changing and its features have become more and more diverse.

While current foldable phones are limited to folding the screen up and down or left and right, AI tools predict that in the future, phones will become completely flexible, according to the website mobiles.co.uk.

Motorola revealed a flexible phone with an adaptive display that can be worn like a bracelet and bent into multiple shapes in October 2023. Apple is also working on a way to make foldable screens with fewer creases.

The phones of the future may also be “self-healing” — who hasn’t experienced that awful moment when you drop your phone and the screen cracks? So an “unbreakable” phone would really come in handy.

In 2023, Zhenan Bao at Stanford University, US, developed a synthetic (合成的) skin that can heal itself using heat and magnets. This artificial skin can stretch like human skin without tearing. This new type of thin film can rearrange itself automatically as it heals.

The way phones are powered will also see a shift, such as by using solar energy. Many innovative technologies and devices have come out of this field. In 2016, Kyocera Corporation from Japan and French company SunPartner launched a solar-powered phone, using solar panels built into the screen to collect solar energy.

It took about three minutes of sunlight to charge the phone for one minute of talk time. Due to the longer relative charging time when using solar power, the phone still needed traditional batteries to be practical. However, as the tech develops and solar panels can charge things more efficiently, we may see a rise in using solar energy to charge smartphones.

1. Which feature of future mobile phones is NOT mentioned in the text?

A．Safety.

B．Flexibility.

C．Endurance.

D．Sustainability.

2. What makes it possible for the future phone to heal itself?

A．A special animal skin.	B．An artificial light.
C．A synthesized magnet.	D．An innovative material.

3. Why are Japan and French companies mentioned in Paragraph 6?

A．To prove that built-in solar panels in future cellphones is no longer a fantasy.

B．To argue that the way cellphones are charged in the future is constantly changing.

C．To illustrate that numerous technologies and products of innovation have emerged.

D．To indicate that Japan and France lead the way in developing solar-powered phones.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards solar-powered cellphones in the future?

A．Reserved.

B．Optimistic.

C．Concerned.

D．Indifferent.

10 . It was 11 p. m. when Alex saw a woman standing by the railing on the Main Street Bridge, peering down at the rushing river below. Maybe she was fishing, Alex thought. He continued driving to his home for some tools as his friend’s car had broken down. Tools in hand, he climbed into his car.

Instead of taking a shortcut, though, he chose to head back over the bridge. Something about that woman didn’t sit right. Why would she be fishing this late at night in May when it was still cold in this city? As he crossed the bridge, Alex saw the woman standing in the same spot. He pulled a U-turn and parked his car with the hazards (警示灯) flashing, blocking one of the four lanes (车道). In case there was trouble, he hoped another driver would take note and help.

He stepped out and got a clearer picture of the scene. The woman was in her 20s, dressed in pants and a heavy coat. “Hey, what’s going on?” Alex called out. The woman didn’t answer or turn around. Alex stepped closer, asking again, “What’s going on?” The woman remained silent, but Alex kept probing (追问), eventually pulling from her that she was going through a particularly rough patch. She was jobless, not doing well in school—in short, life wasn’t working out as she’d hoped.

“Not everything goes as planned,” agreed Alex. He started talking about the ups and downs in his life. As he talked, he inched closer. For the next hour he found enough topics of conversation to keep the woman engaged and even laughing. She grew comfortable enough to let him get within a few feet of her.

Then a switch seemingly went off. Without warning, she climbed onto the railing. Alex reached for her swiftly and exhausted all his strength to pull her off. Suddenly, the police arrived. Soon, the woman was taken to a hospital.

Sadly, this was not the first time someone tried to end it all on one of the city’s bridges. What was unusual was what Alex did.

1. Why did Alex park his car with the hazards flashing?

A．To check what was going on.	B．To get another helping hand.
C．To block one of the four lanes.	D．To help his friend fix the broken car.

2. Which of the following best describes Alex’s personality?

A．Kind and generous.	B．Brave and determined.
C．Helpful and patient.	D．Ambitious and warm-hearted.

3. What can we learn about the woman from the passage?

A．The woman did well at school but was out of work.

B．The woman remained silent throughout.

C．The woman showed no interest in Alex’s topics of conversation.

D．The woman’s life didn’t go on as well as she had hoped.

4. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．A Few Kind Words	B．An Anxious Night
C．A Warm-hearted Man	D．An Unforgettable Experience