1 . Emily loved reading. She used to be very shy. She 
her dad got sick. It was very serious. Books became an even bigger comfort for
Emily’s dad got better. And she came up with a plan to
Emily started a book drive in her hometown. She
Emily and her father are very close. When her father learned of her plans for the book drive, he wasn’t surprised. “She was always interested in books,” he says. “
Emily still runs the book drive. The memory of meeting the children she helps sticks with her. “It was the
| A．was afraid of | B．was interested in | C．was good at | D．was sorry for |
| A．music | B．sports | C．books | D．stamps |
| A．me | B．her | C．him | D．it |
| A．teach | B．save | C．move | D．help |
| A．wrote | B．collected | C．read | D．bought |
| A．kids | B．men | C．women | D．newborns |
| A．In short | B．Hardly ever | C．So far | D．On time |
| A．So | B．Or | C．But | D．And |
| A．parents | B．friends | C．teachers | D．neighbors |
| A．saddest | B．best | C．shortest | D．strangest |
2 . Fill your free time with these options on offer in New York City this month.
Pop & Rock
Dec. 1 at Webster Hall, Manhattan
On tour in support of her new release of Softscars, the singer and producer Nat Cmiel will play at Webster Hall on Sunday. A frequent subject of her songs is the solution to the tensions between digital and physical existence. Tickets are $25.
Family Concert
Dec. 10 at the Scheuer Auditorium, Manhattan
Joanie Leeds is adding her voice to those calling for children’s books in libraries and children’s classrooms. With a guitar and other musicians, she’ll celebrate the release of her new work, starting at 10: 30 a. m., in an hour-long concert intended to make young listeners first grow up and later sit down and read. Tickets to the concert are required to be reserved online, starting at $14. Children are admitted free.
Jazz
Dec. 20 at the Village Vanguard, Manhattan
Bold and carefree, Johnathan Blake has come to represent certain of present jazz. This week’s Vanguard stand features his My Life Matters, calling for people to let one another live and grow. Watching the performance of the band will have a lasting impression on you. Tickets are $40.
Sketch Comedy
Dec.22 at the Peoples Improv Theater, Manhattan
The Peoples Improv Theater is welcoming comedy troupes (剧团) across the country for a celebration and discussion of sketch comedy, with Birch & Caven as the opening show. Tickets start at $ 15 per show. Four-day passes are $79, and one-day passes are $30. Tickets are to be bought at the ticket office in person.
1. Whose song discusses digital and real-life interaction?| A．Nat Cmiel. | B．Joanie Leeds. | C．Birch & Caven. | D．Johnathan Blake. |
| A．At Webster Hall. | B．At the Scheuer Auditorium. |
| C．At the Village Vanguard. | D．At the Peoples Improv Theater. |
| A．Online tickets. | B．One-day passes. | C．Four-day passes. | D．Separate tickets. |
3 . “I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over,” The nurse said
The nurse handed me a piece of paper. “That’s my cell number. You can
I
When I had checked into the hotel, the clerk said, “We have a cabinet full of books and games in the corner. We’ll feel
I made it to the hall to
The next morning, when
| A．angrily | B．eagerly | C．apologetically | D．worriedly |
| A．guidance | B．negotiation | C．comment | D．emotion |
| A．believe | B．remind | C．assess | D．reach |
| A．promise | B．update | C．exchange | D．prediction |
| A．physically | B．spiritually | C．practically | D．typically |
| A．lightened | B．melted | C．broke | D．touched |
| A．invited | B．visited | C．emailed | D．texted |
| A．worry | B．duty | C．sympathy | D．anger |
| A．matter | B．work | C．count | D．show |
| A．air | B．nutrition | C．rest | D．advice |
| A．awkward | B．natural | C．annoyed | D．honored |
| A．find | B．purchase | C．donate | D．publish |
| A．introduced | B．enjoyed | C．behaved | D．regarded |
| A．carefree | B．guilty | C．positive | D．careful |
| A．giving up | B．waking up | C．pulling through | D．checking out |
4 . Long-term exposure to low-frequency noise can cause many health problems, but the solution may be found in an unexpected object, a ping-pong ball. Conventionally thought of as the plastic balls that speed through the air during a fast-speed game of table tennis, with a few changes, ping-pong balls can help absorb the city noise.
Low-frequency noise is everywhere in cities, near roads, and by airports. Though potentially heard as background in the acoustic (声学的) landscape, it can lead to earaches, breathing problems and other long-term harmful effects. Because it is produced by a range of sources and is less affected by structures than higher-frequency sound, low-frequency noise can be challenging to avoid.
In Journal of Applied Physics, researchers from the University of Lille and the National Technical University of Athens describe an acoustic metasurface (超表面) that uses ping-pong balls to prevent sound passing through.
“Ping-pong balls are well-known, everyday objects, present in large numbers all over the world,” said author Robine Sabat. “Our motivation was to use these easily accessible objects to create a low-frequency soundproof panel structure. Ping-pong balls therefore present a suitable alternative to sound insulators.”
Acoustic metasurfaces are materials specially engineered to handle sound waves. This metasurface uses ping-pong balls with small holes, acting as Helmholtz resonators (共振器). More resonant frequencies meant the device was able to absorb more sound. At the success of two coupled resonators, the researchers added more, until their device looked like a square sheet of ping-pong balls covered with holes, multiplying the number of resonant frequencies that could be absorbed.
By adjusting the number of balls, number of holes, and hole sizes, the researchers could change the metasurface’s acoustic properties, proving it is possible to design a sound absorption panel without expensive materials.
“The potential of this metasurface extends beyond sound absorption,” said Sabat. “It can be broadened to achieve various functions similar to other metasurfaces. These functionalities include sound focusing, unconventional sound reflection and more.”
1. What makes low-frequency noise hard to avoid?| A．Its dull background. | B．Its covering range. |
| C．Its various sources. | D．Its surrounding structures. |
| A．Sources. | B．Levels. | C．Effects. | D．Barriers. |
| A．It costs little to make. | B．It has light weight. |
| C．It is convenient to use. | D．It is environmentally friendly. |
| A．Low-frequency Noise Can Cause Diseases |
| B．Ping-pong Balls Function Well as Sound Absorbers |
| C．Acoustic Metasurface Can Address Noise Problem |
| D．Ping-pong Balls Show Potential in Many Research Fields |
5 . People in Detroit, Michigan take their sport seriously. Comerica Park, the home of the Tigers, a baseball team, and the Little Caesars Arena, which is home to the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, draw enormous crowds. Far older than both is the Cadieux Café, on the eastern edge of the city. Locals there take part in a game called “feather bowling” most nights.
In the game, developed from Flanders, players roll a wooden wheel along a rough earth lane (路) towards a pigeon feather planted at the other end. The idea is to get your wheel as close as possible—while blocking those of the opposing team or knocking them out of the way.
Everyone in Grosse Pointe in Detroit plays feather bowling. Photos of champions line the wall of the Cadieux Café, which is founded in the 1930s by Belgian immigrants, says John Rutherford, a musician who has co-owned the place since 2019.
Having been preserved for the best part of a century, feather bowling is now spreading. A few other bars in Michigan have set up their own lanes. Having seen a video of people playing feather bowling at the Cadieux Café, Dave Plate decided it was exactly the game to bring to a large space he had rented, and flew to Michigan to learn it. Last year, he opened a bar with the game in a neighborhood in New York City. The lanes are now booked up for weekends in advance. Most of the players are young, and a growing number of parents are bringing their children, too.
Mr. Rutherford welcomes the copycats. The Cadieux Café, he says, could become to feather bowling what St. Andrews in Scotland is to golf: somewhere true fans will always want to play. But he’s critical of what competitors are offering—something like golf court. “For it to be truly feather bowling, you need a real dirt course like ours,” he says. Even worldwide, Detroit may now be a good place to play the game.
1. Where does the Detroit Pistons basketball team usually play?| A．At Comerica Park. | B．At Grosse Pointe. |
| C．At the Little Caesars Arena. | D．At the Cadieux Café. |
| A．It was held mainly in broad daylight. | B．Its players have to roll a wooden wheel. |
| C．Its competition rules are friendly and fun. | D．It was invented by the Belgians in the 1930s. |
| A．To praise his contributions to feather bowling. |
| B．To prove the limit of feather bowling in big cities. |
| C．To show the growing popularity of feather bowling. |
| D．To illustrate the importance of bowling for children. |
| A．A wooden court. | B．A grass court. | C．A concrete court. | D．A dirt court. |
6 . Every June, we have a tradition at our house. Our children are given bowls and asked to collect pieces of summer nature. They leave those bowls on the front doorstep and we go for a walk. When we return, we find fairies (仙女) have transformed the bowls’ contents into ice cream.
“When are the fairies coming?” Six-year-old Anna had been asking last June with expectation. Meanwhile, Joshua, nine, was getting wise to fairies and such silly things. As the evening arrived, the children collected leaves, grass and dead insects. We put their bowls on the front doorstep and we were on our walk. After a while, I said that I had forgotten my keys and needed to go back, but then I said I found them. Joshua smiled knowingly, and then was beginning to get a bit confused.
Back near our house, I warned that the fairies might not have arrived—we might need to walk a bit longer. Joshua seemed relieved. “Yes,” he said, “they probably hadn’t come.” Yet when we reached the front door, the bowls were in the same place we had left them—filled with ice cream.
Anna accepted all this with complete innocence. She felt happy, excited and eager to eat. But Joshua was astonished, speechless. He looked up at me, at his dad, then gazed around the neighborhood in amazement. “The fairies must have come,” he whispered as we all sat down to feast. “But was this really magic?”
I kissed Anna and Joshua good night, but at 2:00 a. m., Joshua crawled into bed next to me, whispering, “Mummy, how did you do it?”
I told my nine-year-old boy the truth. I had asked a neighbor to help us. Shortly after we left on our walk, she had slid over to our house and switched the bowls. Joshua smiled in relief and thanked me for telling him. Then he fell asleep. Just at that moment, I believed in magic, too.
1. What’s the author’s family tradition in June?| A．Lining up to greet the fairies. |
| B．Filling the bowls with charity food. |
| C．Attracting kids to nature with ice cream. |
| D．Teaching the kids to make ice cream. |
| A．She felt grateful neighbors are so kind. |
| B．She was pleased fairies had prepared them. |
| C．She was aware her mother had made them. |
| D．She felt relieved she finally went back home. |
| A．His appreciation of a neighbor’s kindness. |
| B．His excitement from the outdoor experience. |
| C．His strong desire to stay with his mother. |
| D．His curiosity about the source of the ice cream. |
| A．Collecting Fruit from Nature in Summer |
| B．Watching the Magic of Making Ice Cream |
| C．Revealing the Secret of Nature to Children |
| D．Growing up with the Ice Cream Fairy Tradition |
7 . “In high school, I decided to stop eating meat. I love animals. I couldn’t see them suffering.” Babulski says, who is a biologist at Monroe Community College in New York. Teenage Babulski initially lived on starches (淀粉食物) and salads. Eventually she learned to eat a more balanced vegetarian (素食者的) diet. But, Babulski remembers, her mom still wished she’d give up the madness. Mom thought she was going to straight up die.
The decision by Babulski and others to go vegetarian can be threatening to those who view eating animals as typically American. Eating meat is the norm in the United States, even though medical experts have long encouraged people to eat less processed and red meat for health reasons. What is becoming clear is that a meat-heavy diet is also terrible for the planet.
Shifting demand from meat to beans, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts could have many benefits for the climate. A more recent April report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, suggests that the world’s wealthiest individuals could greatly decrease emissions (排放) through lifestyle changes. That’s because households with incomes in the top 10 percent produce roughly 36 to 45 percent of global emissions, while households with incomes in the bottom 50 percent contribute just 13 to 15 percent. Therefore, wealthier individuals, who adopt a low-carbon lifestyle, can help establish new, more sustainable social norms.
Babulski learned about the environmental impacts of meat production. She now shares her personal journey with students in her environmental science course. Many of her students come to realize the power of their individual choices. The little things they do actually do add up and make a difference.
1. Why did Babulski’s mother object to her becoming a vegetarian?| A．She felt threatened. | B．She was a meat lover. |
| C．She misunderstood her. | D．She was worried about her health. |
| A．It is a personal lifestyle. | B．It can cause health problems. |
| C．It is harmful to the environment. | D．It is an essential part of their life. |
| A．The factories. | B．The government. |
| C．The low-income families. | D．The wealthy people. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Supportive. | C．Critical. | D．Uninterested. |
8 . Bill Porter was born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫), which made it difficult for him to move his arms and legs and even speak. There was much prejudice against people in his situation. This is because few understood that a person only had limitations for certain activities, not for all of them. Only one person trusted him: his mother. She knew the boy was smart and interested in learning.
After entering adulthood, Bill didn’t want to give up his life to inactivity. He dreamed of being useful and successful. In fact, he loved sales, as he liked being in contact with others. Many people told him that becoming a salesman would be impossible in his condition. After several unsuccessful job searches, Bill applied for Watkins company. At first, he was rejected. When Bill proposed to run the route of least profit, the manager reconsidered and decided to hire him. Bill didn’t go well on the sales route. In the first few days, Bill had a lot of cold shoulder treatment, and he began to doubt whether he was really suitable for the job.
One day, Bill went to a park to enjoy the meal his mother had packed for him. It was a simple sandwich. However, there was something very special in it. It had two words written with ketchup (番茄酱): “patience” and “persistence”. Bill regained the excitement he had been losing door after door in the morning after seeing his mother’s message.
His efforts finally paid off. The door that once shut began to keep open to him. Some customers even became his friends. Bill Porter found his path to success, both financially and personally. In fact, he became Watkins’ top salesman in a short time.
Bill Porter worked for 40 years for that company and collected awards, medals, and even admirers. A local newspaper reported his story in 1995. TNT turned his story into a movie in 2002. He died at the age of 81, in 2013.
1. Why were people prejudiced against Bill?| A．He was badly disabled. | B．He was not intelligent. |
| C．He had little schooling. | D．He was poor-spirited. |
| A．The jokes of others. | B．The salary of salesmen. |
| C．The attitude of customers. | D．The rejection of the manager. |
| A．She was good at cooking. |
| B．She set an example for her son. |
| C．She encouraged Bill to do what he liked. |
| D．She hoped Bill would give up his dream. |
| A．Determined. | B．Energetic. |
| C．Warm-hearted. | D．Considerate. |
9 . THE BEST PARIS ART EXHIBITIONS IN 2022
Lovers of art and culture will be spoiled in Paris in 2022 with some excellent shows at the city’s impressive museums and galleries. We’ve rounded up 3 of the best Paris art exhibitions this year to attract you.
THE MOROZOV COLLECTION. ICONS OF MODERN ART
Fondation Louis Vuitton
One of this year’s flagship Paris art exhibitions, The Morozov Collection. Icons of Modern Art at Fondation Louis Vuitton shares 200 Impressionist and Modern art masterpieces from the collection of brothers Mikhail and Ivan Morozov, the first time it has travelled outside of Russia. Expect French works by Manet, Matisse, Monet, Pissarro, etc., alongside Russian talents such as Malevich, spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
GAUDI
Orsay Museum
Gaudi is the first major show of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi’s work in Paris in 50 years, honoring his novel art buildings. Exhibited at Orsay Museum, it digs into his love of space, decoration and color, captured in his extraordinary palaces, hotels and churches. It’s also a rare chance to see some of Gaudi’s furniture designs, never before shown in France.
CÉZANNE, THE LIGHTS OF PROVENCE
Lighting Studio
Kids will adore immersive (沉浸式的) digital art space Lighting Studio in the 11th district, where vivid images of artists’ works are projected around a former foundry (铸造厂), with videos and music combining to impressive effect. Offering an exhibition Cézanne, the Lights of Provence explores the life and works of French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne.
1. What do these art exhibitions have in common?| A．They are held in Paris. | B．Their artworks are from France. |
| C．They are based on a common theme. | D．Their artworks are first exhibited. |
| A．Russian works. | B．Post-Impressionist art masterpieces. |
| C．Furniture designs. | D．Mikhail and Ivan Morozov’s paintings. |
| A．Fondation Louis Vuitton. | B．Orsay Museum. |
| C．Lighting Studio. | D．A modern foundry. |
10 . Four Theaters in Minnesota
Lakeshore Players, Inc.Lakeshore Players is one of Minnesota’s oldest community theaters producing musicals, children’s shows, and a yearly Festival of 10-Minute Plays. It also offers youth & adult acting classes and a summer youth project in which students perform as well as giving help in the field of acting. Besides, there is some local food and drinks to choose from.
Hours & Dates: Tuesday-Friday, 10 am to 3 pm.Rates: $25 with free parking.
Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret
Laugh with the Stevie Ray’s Comedy Troupe (剧团) as the members create immediate comedies (喜剧) based on the audience’ suggestions. Besides, full food and drink service is provided during the show.
Hours & Dates: Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm.Rates: $28 for the show only; $43 for dinner and the show.
Pillsbury House＋Theatre
Pillsbury House＋Theatre is a multi-cultural company of artists. In partnership with Pillsbury United Communities, one of the largest human services organizations in the state, Pillsbury House＋Theatre is a model for social services and arts organizations nationwide.
Hours & Dates: All main stage productions open on Fridays and run from Wednesday to Saturday in the following week at 7:30 pm.Rates: All main stage ticket prices range from $10-$20. Chicago Avenue Project productions are free for the public.
Mantorville Theatre Company
Melodramatic (情节剧式的) productions are presented for families in the summer and quality theatrical productions are offered for the rest of the year.
Hours & Dates: Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2 pm.Rates: Melodramas are $10 for adults and $8 for students/seniors. Full-length shows are $I5 for adults and $13 for students/seniors. Musicals are $20 for adults and $17 for students/seniors.
1. How is Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret different from the others?
| A．It offers acting instruction. | B．It produces shows for families. |
| C．It includes affordable food service. | D．It stresses communication with the audience. |
| A．Lakeshore Players, Inc. | B．Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret. |
| C．Pillsbury House＋Theatre. | D．Mantorville Theatre Company. |
| A．$8. | B．$10. | C．$16. | D．$20. |
