1 . In habitats across the planet, animals periodically drop everything to walk, fly or swim to a new place. Some animals such as whales and geese learn migration paths by following their parents. Others, including small songbirds, gain the distance and direction of their migration within their genetic code. And some animals use a combination of genetics and culture to guide their migration.
Another group of migrators does not quite fit either model, and researchers have only recently started to figure out how they find their way. The Cory’s shearwater is an oceangoing seabird that migrates over the Atlantic every year. The young do not migrate with their parents, so culture cannot explain their journeys. And the exact paths vary wildly from individual to individual, making genetics equally unlikely.
Cory’s shearwaters are long-lived, rarely producing young successfully before age nine. This leaves an opening for learning and practice to develop their migration patterns. Researchers call this the “exploration-refinement”, and until now it has been hypothetical (假设的) because of difficulties in tracking migratory animals’ movements.
But a team of researchers has done that by attaching small geolocators to more than 150 of the birds aged four to nine. They found that younger birds traveled longer distances, for longer periods, and had more diverse paths than older birds. “We finally have evidence of the ‘exploration-refinement’ for migratory birds,” says Letizia Campioni, who led the study. Younger Cory’s shearwaters are able to fly just as fast as the adults——but they do not, suggesting that the young do more exploring, which gradually fades as they mature and settle into a preferred course.
“Although it may seem less efficient than other strategies, exploration refinement could be beneficial to birds and other organisms in a rapidly changing world due to unpredictable man-made changes,” says Barbara Frei. “It might be safer to repeat a behavior that was recently successful than to rely on patterns that were perfected long ago but might no longer be safe.”
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?A.It describes animals’ habitats. | B.It compares different species. |
C.It talks about migration models. | D.It introduces a tracking technology. |
A.The opening for learning and practice. |
B.The unique living habit of Cory’s shearwaters. |
C.The process scientists track Cory’s shearwaters’ movements. |
D.The way Cory’s shearwaters form their migration patterns. |
A.They travel as much as adult birds. | B.They lower the speed for exploration. |
C.They move in a predictable manner. | D.They look for a course with their parents. |
A.Exploration refinement contributes to birds’ adaptability. |
B.Man-made changes make migration easier. |
C.Animals make a safer journey via a fixed track. |
D.A combination of strategies assures migration success |
2 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.
Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.
I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.
We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.
Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.
Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.
1. How did the writer first respond to Paul’s travel plan?A.Scared. | B.Puzzled. |
C.Disappointed. | D.Surprised. |
A.He was a western journalist. | B.He had a knowledge of China. |
C.He came to China several times. | D.He was Joseph Rock’s acquaintance. |
A.They honored the ancestors. | B.They set off in high spirits. |
C.They satisfied the locals’ curiosity. | D.They built bonds with people. |
A.To share and reflect on a journey. | B.To suggest a new way of travel. |
C.To advocate protection of biodiversity. | D.To introduce and promote Chinese culture. |
3 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad
When I entered the University of Regina, my dad
The spring semester came. A friend of mine
I went, and that was it. Zumba became my
A.expected | B.allowed | C.forced | D.invited |
A.therefore | B.though | C.instead | D.besides |
A.avoided | B.risked | C.regretted | D.kept |
A.in shape | B.for fun | C.at ease | D.on business |
A.refused | B.happened | C.bothered | D.decided |
A.hardly | B.merely | C.constantly | D.gradually |
A.eager | B.content | C.embarrassed | D.disappointed |
A.cheated | B.comforted | C.asked | D.annoyed |
A.happy | B.proud | C.careful | D.sure |
A.cup | B.part | C.share | D.mouth |
A.curiosity | B.passion | C.fear | D.confidence |
A.perfect | B.positive | C.adorable | D.official |
A.accept | B.feel | C.display | D.compare |
A.witness | B.separate | C.discourage | D.save |
A.trouble | B.sense | C.peace | D.contact |
4 . Technology seems to discourage slow reading. Reading on screens tires eyes easily. So online writing is more skimmable than print. The neuroscientist Mary Walt argued this “new norm” of skim reading is producing “an invisible, dramatic transformation” in how readers process words. And brains now favor rapid absorption of information, rather than skills developed by deeper reading, like critical analysis.
We shouldn’t overplay this danger. All readers skim. Skimming is the skill we acquire as we learn to read more skillfully. And fears about declining attention spans have proved to be false alarms. “Some critics worry about attention span and see very short stories as signs of cultural decline, ” The American author Selvin wrote. “But nobody ever said poems were evidence of short attention spans. ”
Yet the Internet has certainly changed the way we read. First, it means there’s more to read, because more people than ever are writing. And digital writing means rapid release and response. Once published, online articles start forming a comment string underneath. Such mode of writing and reading can be interactive and fun, but is probably lacking in profound reflection.
Perhaps we should slow down. Reading is constantly promoted as a source of personal achievement. But this advocacy emphasizes “enthusiastic” or “eager” reading — neither suggest slow absorption. To a slow reader, a piece of writing can only be fully understood by immersing oneself in their slow comprehension of words. The slow reader is like a swimmer who stops counting the number of pool laps he’s done and just enjoys how his body feels and moves in water.
The human need for this kind of deep reading is too determined for any new technology to destroy. We often assume technological change can’t be stopped, so older media are kicked out by newer, more virtual forms. In practice, older technologies can coexist with new ones. The Kindle hasn’t killed off printed books any more than cars killed off bicycles. We still want to enjoy slowly-formed ideas and carefully-chosen words. Even in a fast-moving age, there is time for slow reading.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards Selvin’s opinion?A.Favorable. | B.Critical. | C.Doubtful. | D.Objective. |
A.Advocacy of passionate reading helps promote slow reading. |
B.Digital writing and reading tends to ignore careful reflection. |
C.We should be aware of the impact skimming has on the brain. |
D.The number of Internet readers declines due to technology. |
A.To demonstrate how to immerse oneself in thought. |
B.To stress swimming differs from reading. |
C.To show slow reading is better than fast reading. |
D.To illustrate what slow reading is like. |
A.Slow Reading is Here to Stay |
B.Technology Prevents Slow Reading |
C.Reflections on Deep Reading |
D.The Wonder of Deep Reading |
5 . Central Park
Explore Central Park, one of the largest city parks in the world and one of the most famous symbols of New York. Let’s have a look at its main sights.
Central Park is New York’s largest city park and one of the biggest in the world, with an area of 843 acres (about 3.4km2). This park is home to man-made lakes, waterfalls, grass and wooded areas. You will also find the Central Park Zoo, among other attractions in this greenspace of New York.
Besides being the city’s primary green lungs, Central Park is also a favorite spot for many New Yorkers. It is perfect for sunbathing, going for walks, or doing any outdoor sports. Something that we found curious is seeing so many people running with their babies in prams (婴儿车).
On Foot or by BicycleTo get to know some of the wildest parts of Central Park we suggest walking. However, to get a general feel for the whole park, the best thing to do is hire a bicycle and enjoy the scenery.
If you decide to hire a bike, you will find lots of bike rental stores around Central Park that are not very expensive.
Open TimeFrom 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
From 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.
PriceEntry to the Park is free. But if you visit some parts like Central Park Zoo, you need to buy a ticket.
TransportSubway: Line 5, 6, 7, A, B, C and D.
Bus: Line M1, M2, M3, M4 and M10.
Nearby placesMetropolitan Museum of Art (447 m)
Guggenheim Museum (564 m)
American Museum of Natural History (688 m)
Whitney Museum of American Art (1 km)
The Frick Collection (1.3 km)
1. What can we learn about the Central Park from the text?A.It is home to lakes and waterfalls. |
B.It is perfect for doing outdoor sports. |
C.It is the largest city park in the world. |
D.It is the most famous symbol of New York. |
A.Hiring a bicycle. | B.Entrance to Central Park. |
C.Visiting Central Park Zoo. | D.Going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
A.In a science report. | B.In a geography book. |
C.In a fashion magazine. | D.In a travel guide. |
6 . Marilu Arce loves her job, but for a time she considered leaving. The traffic-plagued commute from her home to her office, nearly two hours each way, meant her daughters couldn’t enroll in after school activities because she couldn’t get home in time to take them.
Then her employer adopted a policy permitting her to work from home two days a week, and “I feel like it changed my life,” she said. Her stress level has dropped. Her daughters are thrilled. She likes her job more. That’s the type of reaction Arce’s boss likes to hear as the company measures the success of the work-from-home policy which was instituted three years ago in hopes of improving employee retention. So far, it seems to be working: turnover was less than five percent last year—its lowest ever.
Flexible work policies top employee wish lists when they look for a job, and employers increasingly have been offering them. Studies have shown working remotely increases employee engagement, but in moderation because there is still value in the relationships nurtured when colleagues are face to face. The key, advocates of flexible work policies say, is to match the environment with the type of work that needs to be done.
The flexibility hasn’t hurt productivity, which is up 50 percent. There is “something lost” when colleagues don’t gather at the water cooler, but it’s outweighed by the retention and happiness gains, he said. As jobs that require physical work decline, thanks to technological advances, life superficially appears to get better. Consumers benefit in the form of cheaper prices. Labor-saving appliances all make things easier and suggest that even more and better benefits are on the horizon. But is something lost?
Talk long enough to the most accomplished academics, they will brag about a long-ago college summer job waiting tables or repairing hiking trails. They might praise the installer who redid their kitchen. There seems to be a human instinct to want to do physical work. The proliferation of hard-work reality-television programming reflects this apparent need. Indeed, the more we have become immobile and urbanized, the more we tune in to watch reality television’s truckers, loggers, farmers, drillers and rail engineers. In a society that supposedly despises menial jobs, the television ratings for such programmes suggest that lots of Americans enjoy watching people of action, who work with their hands.
Physical work, in its eleventh hour within a rapidly changing Western culture, still intrigues us in part because it remains the foundation for 21st century complexity. Before any of us can teach, write or speculate, we must first have food, shelter and safety. And for a bit longer, that will require some people to cut grapes and nail two-by-sixes. No apps or 3D printers exist to produce brown rice. Physical labour also promotes human versatility: Those who do not do it, or who do not know how to do it, become divorced from—and, at the same time, dependent on—labourers. Lawyers, accountants and journalists living in houses with yards and driving cars to work thus count on a supporting infrastructure of electricians, landscapers and mechanics. In that context, physical labour can provide independence, at least in a limited sense of not being entirely reliant on a host of hired workers.
1. The author mentions the example of Arce to show that________.A.she dislikes the present job for the long commuting time |
B.she is having trouble balancing work and school life |
C.people usually don’t work hard outside office |
D.employers are facing the problem of staff drain |
A.it helps to increase job satisfaction for the employees |
B.it improves harmonious relationship among colleagues |
C.the decline in physical work gives employees more mobility |
D.employees are entitled to request it according to their work |
A.They entertain those employees burned out with overwork. |
B.People can learn some basic labour skills from these programmes. |
C.There’s an ongoing need for physical labour skills that technology doesn’t possess. |
D.They offer instructive information for both employers and employees. |
A.The Emergence of Alternative Work Arrangements |
B.The Rise of Automation, the Decline in Need for Labour |
C.Time to Rethink in the Face of the Evolution of Work |
D.New Challenges for Today’s Employers and Academics |
7 . The Best Writing Contests of 2023
A.No entry fee is required. |
B.Local culture is the focus. |
C.There is maximum word count for entries. |
D.One entry per person for each week is allowed. |
A.Top prize winner will be awarded $300. |
B.It is open to anyone from across the world. |
C.Children’s stories on any theme are greatly appreciated. |
D.Contest entries should be submitted before July 31, 2023. |
A.Weekly Writing Competition. | B.Anthology Travel Writing Competition. |
C.Fiction Factory Flash Fiction. | D.Imagine 2200. |
8 . In Scotland, 600,000 tonnes of food are thrown away every year. This amount of food, which could feed about 1.2 billion poor people, is almost a third of household (家庭的) waste. And food waste isn’t just a big problem in Scotland.
Money, time, and resources are often wasted by throwing away good food. It also causes very harmful greenhouse gas, which is perilous to the planet.
In the production stage, some foods do not enter the food chain for many reasons. Supermarkets usually care about the quality of food from farms. They often refuse strange-looking and unusually sized produce. However, they seem to forget that it is almost impossible to grow the perfect produce. Food waste at the consumption (消费) stage includes food going out of date and leftovers (剩饭) because of too much food. In households, even mostly fresh fruit and vegetables are thrown away.
In order to reduce food waste, here is what we can do:
Understand the terms “use by” and “best before” dates. “Use by” dates are there for your safety. It is dangerous to eat food after the use-by date and doing so risks your health. “Best before” dates tell you how long the food will be at its best quality. Once the food passes the date, it isn’t necessarily bad, but you should still check, just to be sure.
Every time you go shopping and bring back new food, put them at the back of your fridge and bring the food that will expire (到期) soon closer to the front. That way, you know what needs to be eaten first.
If you have any food that will expire soon, give it to charity if you aren’t going to eat it. They will really appreciate the food you have given.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 1?A.Food waste is the biggest part of household waste. |
B.Household waste hasn’t drawn much attention. |
C.People in Scotland waste the most food. |
D.Food waste is a common problem. |
A.Valuable. | B.Dangerous. | C.Different. | D.Unnecessary. |
A.Pick usually sized produce. |
B.Improve the quality of farm produce. |
C.Order produce directly from farmers. |
D.Avoid buying too much food at a time. |
A.Buy food that will expire soon to reduce waste. |
B.Place food carefully according to its expiry date. |
C.Throw away food that passes the best-before date. |
D.Give food that has passed its use-by date to charity. |
9 . Christmas is a time for eating great food, giving and receiving presents, and most importantly spending time with your family watching some classic Christmas movies.
The Grinch (2000)
This is a Christmas must-watch and one of Jim Carrey’s best performances. It was also originally a nursery tale book written by Dr Seuss. It’s the story of a green monster who wants to ruin Christmas but in the end discovers the power of love and generosity. I promise it’s a great film with plenty of laughs along the way.
Love Actually (2003)
While this is not a personal favourite of mine, people in the UK absolutely love this film. It has many featuring actors and actresses. It might be a little difficult to follow as there are complex plots, so I recommend watching a translated version. However, the heart-warming elements of the film make it worth watching.
Home Alone (1990)
This amusing masterwork is one of my favourite films of all time. It tells the story of a boy, Kevin, who is left alone in his house when his large family forgets to take him on vacation with them. While other family members are away, burglars try to rob the house and Kevin must protect his home by setting traps. The trips, falls and traps will have you laughing out loud as you watch an 8-year-oldboy beat two grown men.
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
You can’t have Christmas in an English-speaking country without watching this movie. It’s not funny like Home Alone or The Grinch, but it is incredibly touching. It’s about a man who claims to be Santa, but nobody believes him except a lawyer and a little girl. The storyline may seem a little childish but you can enjoy it at any age.
1. Which film is adapted from a fairy tale?A.The Grinch. | B.Home Alone. | C.Love Actually. | D.Miracle on 34th Street. |
A.An unsuccessful family vacation. |
B.A boy protecting his home by himself. |
C.A terrible suffering of a little boy. |
D.An 8-year-oldboy’s practical jokes. |
A.Owing to its moving plot. |
B.Because of its funny story. |
C.Due to its childish storyline. |
D.Because of its famous actors and actresses. |
10 . A growing body of research suggests that the gut microbiome (消化道菌群) could play a major role in a rising chronic disease that makes us physically weaker. The illness, which is commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), is characterized by intense fatigue, gastrointestinal (胃肠道的) issues, muscle pain, and cognitive challenges such as headaches and difficulty concentrating, among other symptoms. It often follows a viral infection which can lead to a “disruption” in a balanced gut ecosystem. Actually, an increasing number of Americans have been the sufferers since the outbreak of COVID-19.
Two recent studies published in Cell Host &Microbe point to changes in the microbiome as a possible cause of CFS. Research groups at Columbia University and the Jackson Laboratory performed detailed analyses of the microbes in stool (粪便) samples from patients with CFS and compared them to healthy controls.
The two groups found similar bacteria species were less present in CFS patients compared to control patients. They focused on bacteria that produce butyrate, a fatty acid involved in regulating metabolism and the immune system. “Butyrate plays several roles in directing the body’s response to infections, while also protecting the barrier between the intestine (肠) and the circulatory system, regulating genetic changes in cells, and more,” says Brent Williams, lead author on the Columbia study. Williams and his colleagues extensively analyzed the role of butyrate in CFS patients’ guts, even identifying a correlation between low levels of bacteria that produce this acid and more severe symptoms.
Parallel findings from the Jackson Laboratory team suggest the bacteria that produce butyrate could be used to diagnose CFS. Previous research has identified microbiome issues in CFS patients, but the new findings help clarify which microbes could be related to the illness.
More research on butyrate-producing bacteria and other species identified in the studies is necessary to investigate these potential biomarkers of CFS, the authors say. If the findings are replicated, specific gut bacteria could be used to diagnose the illness, which is currently identified based on symptoms alone.
The findings additionally point toward possible treatments, such as probiotics or microbiome-focused diet adjustments—though patients who have been sick for long periods may require drugs that alleviate the damage done to their metabolism or immune system.
1. What do we know about CFS?A.It is caused by COVID-19 only. | B.It is an illness with systemic symptoms. |
C.It breaks the balance of the gut ecosystem. | D.The number of the infected is on the decrease. |
A.By controlling data. | B.By identifying genes. |
C.By analyzing samples. | D.By comparing symptoms. |
A.Butyrate’s multiple functions are promoted. |
B.Targeted gut microbes may be used to diagnose CFS. |
C.Certain microbes responsible for CFS are narrowed down. |
D.Probiotics supplement with drugs can be a treatment for CFS. |
A.Gut microbiome may be the key to CFS. | B.Microbes help digest food and aid absorption. |
C.Man’s gut is a rich, diverse tropical rainforest. | D.New method for diagnosing CFS are provided. |