1 . One afternoon, I had to drive through down town Houston during rush hour. As I was
As I
I was
A
Horns were louder, but what happened next stunned everyone to silence. The truck driver
His
| A．rushing | B．traveling | C．touring | D．wandering |
| A．jams | B．noise | C．crowds | D．lights |
| A．started | B．passed | C．parked | D．approached |
| A．enlarged | B．cleaned | C．narrowed | D．increased |
| A．regularly | B．obviously | C．merely | D．casually |
| A．alarmed | B．astonished | C．curious | D．calm |
| A．spotted | B．guarded | C．acknowledged | D．helped |
| A．backed off | B．slowed down | C．checked out | D．set out |
| A．riddle | B．turn | C．solution | D．luck |
| A．flashed | B．shut | C．fixed | D．plugged |
| A．ease | B．block | C．excite | D．reward |
| A．dragged | B．led | C．paused | D．pulled |
| A．tipped | B．left | C．dropped | D．guided |
| A．humor | B．reaction | C．skill | D．effort |
| A．generousness | B．wisdom | C．gratitude | D．popularity |
2 . The Nobel Prize is considered as one of the most recognizable and admirable awards possible, honoring people of the world for their outstanding achievements in different fields.
Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 to a family of engineers in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1850, he met Ascanio Sobrero, the inventor of nitroglycerin (硝酸甘油) in Paris. Interested in its unpredictable nature of exploding under pressure or heat, Nobel started to find a way to control it and make a usable explosive. After years of efforts, in 1867, Nobel invented dynamite, which is much easier and safer to control than nitroglycerin.
During his lifetime, Nobel invented and patented various explosives. He built up his wealth from his 355 inventions, from which dynamite was the most important.
When Alfred’s brother Ludwig died in 1888, a French newspaper mistakenly published Alfred’s obituary (讣告). Reading his own obituary, Nobel was disappointed to find out his public image. The newspaper strongly blamed Nobel for inventing dynamite, giving him the nickname of “the merchant of death” and saying “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”
To Alfred, this obituary was a warning. He spent his lifetime alone inventing things and was deeply concerned with how he would be remembered. This unfortunate event inspired him to make changes in his will, so as to improve his public image, and to be remembered for a good cause. In 1895, one year before his death, Nobel made the last will, saying clearly that his wealth would be used to create a series of prizes for those who have made great contributions to mankind in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. To widespread astonishment, Dr. Alfred Nobel gave away 94% of his total wealth to found the five Nobel Prizes.
1. What led to Nobel’s invention of dynamite according to Paragraph 2?| A．The strong desire to make money. | B．His great curiosity and devotion to science. |
| C．His lifetime dream of achieving success. | D．The valuable help from his family. |
| A．34. | B．40. | C．42. | D．55. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Satisfied. | C．Upset. | D．Supportive. |
| A．To be remembered as “the merchant of death”. | B．To prove the importance of his inventions. |
| C．To publish his findings of scientific research. | D．To leave a good name to the public. |
3 . California has been using recycled wastewater for many years. A team has used it to make ice surfaces for the game of hockey(冰球运动). It has been used to make snow for the sport of skiing. And farmers use it to water their crops. But it has not been used directly for drinking water.
Recently, California officials approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools, and businesses. It is a big step for California.
California’s new rules would let—but not require—water agencies to take wastewater, treat it, and then put it right back into the drinking water system. That means proving to people that recycled water is not only safe to drink but also not dirty. California would be just the second US state to permit this, following Colorado. It has taken officials more than 10 years to develop these rules, a process that included several studies by independent groups of scientists.
A project in San Diego is aiming to produce nearly half of the city’s water through recycling wastewater by 2035. And the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California aims to produce up to nearly 570 million liters(升)a day for its 19 million people. Adel Hagekhalil is with Metropolitan Water. He said the new rules will permit new projects that have not yet been considered.
California’s new rules require the wastewater be treated for all bacteria and viruses, even if they are not present in the wastewater. In fact, the treatment is so intense that it removes all of the minerals that make fresh drinking water taste good. That means the minerals need to be added back at the end of the process. Polhemus is a director of the drinking water group for the California Water Resources Control Board. “It’s at the same drinking water quality, and probably better in many instances,” he said, adding that it takes time and money to build these treatment centers. So, they will only be available for bigger cities at first.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly tell us about the recycled wastewater?| A．Its qualities. | B．Its functions. |
| C．Its target users. | D．Its disadvantages. |
| A．They made some new rules on pollution. |
| B．They spent ten years recycling wastewater. |
| C．They tried to make wastewater safe to drink. |
| D．They requested water agencies to speed up treating water. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．The Process of Recycling Wastewater Is Complicated |
| B．California Tries to Reduce the Wastewater Generation |
| C．California Permits Turning Wastewater to Drinking Water |
| D．New Wastewater Treatment Projects Have Been Approved |
4 . Aniza Khan, a young girl from Lahore has devoted her life to rescue animals for the past 10 years. Having about 35 cats and 16 dogs at home, Khan has rescued 1,500 plus animals so far. Taking inspiration from her parents, Khan has been rescuing animals since childhood.
Currently working completely in welfare, Khan has been financing her project by herself along with family and friends. She has registered a web page to call for donations, which helps her with some of her funds.
Talking about her experience in rescue, she stated, “Each animal has their own lifestyle, making each one of them different with individual needs. We cannot keep all animals together. We have to keep them separately. It not only is good for their environment but also helps in case of any viral spread of disease.”
Due to the lack of space in her home, Khan has bought land to set up her own animal shelter. Along with rescuing, Khan has been feeding stray (无主的) cats and dogs.
Animal rescuing culture is not found in the country, where dog killing campaigns are run by the government. Khan mentioned her struggles: “Most of the days I wake up to another cat being thrown on my gate. I have both cats and dogs and it is always hard to protect the new addition. People do not contact and leave them by my doorstep.”
Khan promotes the concept of “Adopt don’t Shop”. She says, “If you are looking for love, you will find it from a stray cat with broken legs. You do not need to have an expensive species to show or get love.”
“We need to understand that animals are living creatures just like us humans, having needs and a heart just like us. We need to take care of them because they can’t voice their own needs,” she says.
1. What does Khan do to keep the rescued animals healthy?| A．Keep them in single shelters. | B．Satisfy their curiosity. |
| C．Maintain a balanced diet. | D．Feed them together. |
| A．The reasons for feeding animals. | B．The increase of rescued animals. |
| C．The tendency of protecting animals. | D．The facts of animals being treated badly. |
| A．Take them into their own family. | B．Keep these strays healthy. |
| C．Raise expensive species of them. | D．Treat their leg injuries. |
| A．Voicing a common concern of the whole society. |
| B．Raising the awareness of protecting endangered animals. |
| C．Spreading the message of coexistence and mercy to animals. |
| D．Promoting better understanding between humans and animals. |
5 . 
If you have ever seen a snowflake design on jewelry or a bag, chances are it was based on one of Wilson Bentley’s more than 5,000 photomicrographs of snow crystals (晶体).
At first, though, Bentley did not have any way to share his enjoyment of the delicate hexagons (六边形) other than to draw them. He spent hours outside or inside his unheated storeroom with a microscope. He would pick up a snow crystal and transfer it to a microscope slide. There, he flattened it with a bird feather. Then, holding his breath, he observed the crystal and hurried to draw what he saw before it turned forever into thin air.
A few years later, Bentley began his pursuit to photograph a snow crystal. He attached a microscope to a camera. Time after time, his negatives appeared blank. The following winter, he finally figured out that too much light was reaching the camera. His solution was to place a metal plate with a tiny hole in the center beneath the stage of the microscope. It cut down the stray (杂散的) light and allowed only the light waves carrying the image to reach the camera.
On January 15, 1885, at the age of 19, Bentley finally photographed a snowflake! He spent many hours over the next 45 years in his tiny darkroom developing negatives.
Bentley lived his entire life on his childhood farm. He farmed for a living. To his friends and family, he was kind, gentle, and funny “Willie”. But to scientists, he was the untrained researcher who became a snow crystal pioneer. He wrote for science journals. He not only photographed snow crystals but also became an authority on dew (露水) and frost. He kept a detailed daily log of local weather conditions throughout his life. He developed a method to measure the size of raindrops too.
Bentley never made more than a few thousand dollars from his work. It had been a labor of love, and he was satisfied to be able to share the beauty of his snow crystals with the world. And today, he is remembered as Snowflake Bentley.
1. Why did Bentley draw the snow crystals?| A．To design products. | B．To become an artist. |
| C．To share his pleasure. | D．To research the weather. |
| A．improved the microscope | B．changed the negatives |
| C．turned down the light | D．invented a camera |
| A．He lived a successful but boring life. | B．He was laughed at for lack of training. |
| C．He earned a lot of money from his photos. | D．He was not only an artist but also a scientist. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Intelligence is the key to success. |
| C．Love and devotion makes a person. | D．Chances are for those who are prepared. |
6 . Since I let go of my ayi before the Spring Festival, I’ve been on the look-out for a new one. My WeChat groups have recommended a Home King app, which has a more poetic Chinese name that means good health at home.
This app allows you to hire an ayi to either just clean, or cook + clean + watch kids, on a one-time basis. The sessions are four hours each and start from RMB 229. If you pay for a package of 25 sessions, it’ll cost you RMB 4,999 upfront, but ultimately comes out to less than RMB 200 per session. You can choose from a morning session from 8 a.m. to noon, or an afternoon session from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
One benefit of using the app is that they have a small army of ayis on standby and are ready to assign one to you at any time, though they do have a tendency to book out a few days in advance. Plus, once you find one that you really like, you can take note of her name and ask for her to return next time. This service also enjoys a reputation with many locals as being professional as well as friendly.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to hire an ayi through the app after you’ve downloaded it. After completing the registration, which is easiest by syncing with your WeChat account, you can choose either the blue button on the left for deep cleaning, or the orange button on the right for cooking, watching kids, and cleaning.
For instance, if you choose the deep-cleaning option on the left, on the next page click the second tab from the left. This lets you book an ayi for a single visit. Then click the button with the price on it to book your time slot (时段). Click the Buy Now button in the bottom right of the next page and click through the options until you get to the final page, where you’ll have to choose the date and time. To ensure how reliable the service is, a short message is always sent to you for confirmation.
1. How much can you save at least if you pay for a package of 25 sessions?| A．RMB200. | B．RMB726. | C．RMB126. | D．RMB800. |
| A．they can receive free service by putting down the ayi’s name |
| B．they can easily download the app by one click |
| C．they can get a 40% discount if booking ahead of time |
| D．they can hire friendly and professional people to help with housework |
①register ②download ③choose & click ④confirm
| A．②④③① | B．②①③④ | C．①②④③ | D．④①②③ |
7 . Literary festivals all over the USA offer opportunities for readers to meet their favorite authors and learn about their new projects. You can start planning your next literary vacation!
Summer WordsDates: June 19-22
Price: Free
It’s one of America’s most respected literary festivals and writing conferences. Authors are able to attend advanced workshops in order to improve the craft of writing. Besides, they can meet editors and literary agents and attend public panel discussions to gain inspiration and insight.
Book BonanzaDates: June 23-24
Price: $250
It is a celebration of books covering multiple styles and always nets a huge list of incredible author attendees. What makes it stand out, however, is not just its impressive list of attendees: it’s the charitable focus. All proceeds are donated to charitable causes, including those that benefit women and children.
Los Angeles Times Festival of BooksDates: April 22-23
Price: Free, although indoor panels will require tickets
It is a massive celebration of books and the bookish community, with book signings, panel discussions with distinguished professors and experts, art performances and book giveaways. The two-day event has grown to become an essential element of the L.A. cultural scene.
Imaginarium Book FestivalDates: May 20-21
Price: Free, but VIP tickets for early entry to signing rooms ($45), tickets for the brunch ($50)
It celebrates all things about fantasy and science fiction. In addition to panels where authors will answer your questions, you’ll get to meet and acquire signed books from your favorite authors and have the option of brunching with them at the cosmic (宇宙的) brunch buffet.
1. In which literary festival can you catch a show?| A．Summer Words. |
| B．Book Bonanza. |
| C．Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. |
| D．Imaginarium Book Festival. |
| A．Its profits go to charity. |
| B．It’s meant for women and children. |
| C．It doesn’t charge admission fee. |
| D．It features workshops for notable writers. |
| A．Get an author-signed photograph. |
| B．Dine with your admiring writers. |
| C．Interact with science fiction supermen. |
| D．Obtain one-on-one reading training. |
8 . Like flavors of ice cream, people have different tastes and preferences for music. You need to map out your playlist based on the theme of your essay. Here are a few film scores for different themes, you can decide which is the best music for writing:
Nutmeg by Alexandre Desplat
Fear Will Find You by Hans Zimmer
The Station Inspector by Howard Shore
If you are a student writing a reflection paper about a movie your teacher asked you to watch, listening to its film score would get your creative juices flowing. Besides, you can even add what you feel about the music and its impact on the movie. So less work for you and more additional points on your paper.
Some would be happy to listen to anything while others are more specific. For example, there are people who would happily listen to any music while some are more particular and prefer classical music to jazz. If you are one of them, here are a few classical pieces you can listen to while writing:
Tambourin chinois, Op. 3 by Fritz Kreisler
The Gadfly Suite, Op. 97a: VIII. Romance by Dmitri Shostakovich
The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams
The number one problem that writers complain about is writer’s block. Even if you are not a professional and just writing a 2000-word research paper, you can still experience writer’s block and not know how to get started. With that, here are a few songs to get you all pumped up to write:
Iron Maiden’s by The Trooper
Run Boy Run by Woodkid
Knights of Cydonia by Muse
If popular songs are not your thing, then you can just listen to famous scores from movies.
1. Which is classical music?| A．Nutmeg. | B．Run Boy Run. |
| C．Iron Maiden’s. | D．The Lark Ascending. |
| A．Hans Zimmer. | B．Howard Shore. |
| C．Muse. | D．Fritz Kreisler. |
| A．Listen to famous songs from movies. |
| B．Listen to songs recommended by others. |
| C．Listen to songs sung by famous singers. |
| D．Listen to songs created by famous artists. |
THE AMAZING ANIMALS OF AUSTRALIA
Our topic today is “Creatures Unique to Australia”, with questions answered by wildlife expert, Dr Jim Smith.
Australia has lots of unique animals, but which animal is a symbol of the country?
It has to be the kangaroo, as it has a wide distribution throughout the country. It’s a tough animal that has to survive in a difficult environment. Also, it cannot walk backwards, so it is always moving forwards. This expresses the strength and resolve of the Australians as individuals and as a nation. Baby kangaroos weigh only two grammes at birth. They then find their way into their mother’s pouch—a kind of pocket—to stay safe and warm. They sleep and drink milk in that temporary, protected environment until they are about seven or eight months old. After this phase, they go out to try their legs. After they learn to jump, they gradually spend less time with their mother and learn to be independent. Kangaroos may look cute, but encounters with them don’t always end so well. Kangaroos can hit and kick very hard, so please folks, if you see some kangaroos, remember they’re not for petting!
Koalas are cute, and we see so many pictures of people holding them. But in many places in Australia, it is against the law to even touch them. Can you clarify that?
They are really quite cute, but the truth is, koalas are very sensitive creatures who can easily panic because of even small changes in their environment. They spend quite a lot of time eating, sleeping, and hanging onto tree trunks, so interaction with humans can cause them a lot of stress.
Because of this, the government began to make laws against touching koalas, in the interest of animal protection, as well as public safety. So, if you see one in the wild, you shouldn’t approach it to pick it up or even touch it. If you want to hold a koala, you have to go to certain licensed zoos where animal experts make sure that the koalas selected for each session are in a good state for human contact and that they are handled for only a limited time and on a limited frequency of occasions.
So, we’ve talked about some cute animals. What about animals which aren’t so cute?
My favourite is a little creature called the Tasmanian devil. If you are out camping in Tasmania and come across one, the experience might scare you! Tasmanian devils hunt at night, so you won’t usually see them, but you may hear their loud cries when they are fighting or eating. The noise they make could wake the dead. Frightening! They are about the size of small dogs and look like rather large black rats. They also have a terrible smell! Their diet is mostly dead animals. Fortunately, despite their name, they are generally not violent towards people.
Australia also has some animals that many people have never heard of, for example, the duckbilled platypus. Is that some kind of bird?
Not at all. While it may lay eggs in a nest like a bird, it’s really a primitive mammal, with a unique biology. Its eggs hatch after about ten days, and then the baby platypus nurses from its mother like all other mammals. Its nose looks like a duck’s bill, and it has feet like a duck’s so it can dive under the water, but it’s covered in hair. Do you know what’s really strange about a platypus? The platypus doesn’t use its senses of sight or smell to find food. It has a capacity to find food in the water by using electrical sensors in its bill. There are only a small handful of animals in the world that can do that!
1. What can we infer from the last two sentences of the first part?| A．Kangaroos can be dangerous sometimes. | B．It is hard to take kangaroos as family pets. |
| C．Meeting kangaroos is always a lucky thing. | D．It is always good to pet a cute kangaroo. |
| A．After they were born for ten days. | B．Until they can dive under the water. |
| C．Since they were born immediately. | D．When they are about seven or eight months old. |
| A．It may disturb their daily activities. | B．It can change their living habits. |
| C．It will bring pressure to their life. | D．It may attack people by surprise. |
| A．They are aggressive against humans. | B．They frighten their prey to death. |
| C．They belong to a rat family. | D．They make loud and frightening noise. |
10 . Scientists regularly make vital new discoveries, but few can claim to have invented an entirely new field of science. Chemist Carolyn Bertozzi is one of them. Her discovery of biorthogonal chemistry (生物正交化学) in 2003 created a brand-new discipline of scientific investigation, which has enabled countless advances in medical science and led to a far greater understanding of biology at a molecular (分子的) level. On October 5, Bertozzi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, jointly with two other professors. She is also the only woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize in science this year, after an all-male line-up in 2021.
Bertozzi was the middle daughter of an MIT physics professor and a secretary. Few predicted that Bertozzi would be the most famous person in the family. While her academic performance was not bad in high school, she was fond of playing soccer. She end ed up being admitted to Harvard University. Despite her talent in soccer, she found it too time-consuming and quit the sport to devote herself to academics.
But before becoming a rock star scientist, Bertozzi almost became an actual rock star. When she started at Harvard, she was tempted to major in music. That idea was “unpopular” with her parents, and she was timid about defying them. Instead, she chose the premed (医学预科的) track that included classes in math and sciences, and declared herself a biology major at the end of her first year of college.
Her interest in music did not completely fall by the wayside, however. Bertozzi played keyboards and sang backup vocals for a hair metal band. Bertozzi, however, did not play with the band for long. Once the band’s practices and performances conflicted with her labs and classes, there was only one outcome.
Plus, she’d soon have organic chemistry to think about a course which is infamous for weeding out pre-meds. Without any clear career ambitions up to that point, Bertozzi had been thinking about possibly becoming a doctor when, in her sophomore year (大二学年), she suddenly fell so head over heels in love with her chemistry course that she couldn’t tear herself away from her textbooks long enough to go out on Saturday nights. A torture to many was pure pleasure for her. Bertozzi changed her major from biology to chemistry a year later.
Bertozzi has sometimes joked about her having missed out on her chance to follow Morello to LosAngeles. “I didn’t get on that bus, and my playing is now limited to ‘The Wheel's on the Bus Go Round,’ I’m waiting for my sons to get old enough to appreciate 1980s heavy metal!”
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Bertozzi is one of those scientists who made significant new discoveries. |
| B．Bertozzi was the only female to win a Nobel Prize in science in 2021. |
| C．Bertozzi played keyboards and sang backup vocals throughout her college years. |
| D．Bertozzi initially planned to become a doctor. |
| A．tell | B．disobey | C．approach | D．threaten |
| A．easy and enjoyable |
| B．difficult to pass for pre-med students |
| C．popular among hair metal band players |
| D．a required course for all college students |
| A．Brave and sympathetic. |
| B．Athletic and critical. |
| C．Humble and passionate. |
| D．Talented and creative. |
