1 . Scientists have found a new way to break down a group of harmful chemicals very hard to get rid of. The discovery could help solve a dangerous and growing problem — how to clean up the pollution of “forever chemicals”.
The group of chemicals known as PFAS (全氟烷基物) are pretty amazing. They’re non-stick, waterproof, and oil proof. They don’t burn easily or dissolve (溶解) in water. So scientists got really excited when they were discovered. Businesses started putting PFAS in all sorts of products, from non-stick pans to waterproof clothes, and from fire-fighting spray to carpets that resist stains. Even things like food wrappers and floss for cleaning your teeth contain PFAS chemicals.
But after a while, scientists realized the same things that made the chemicals useful also caused a real problem — PFAS doesn’t break down in nature. It doesn’t dissolve in water or bum. Not even bacteria can break PFAS down. No wonder these chemicals are known as “forever chemicals”.
As a result, PFAS chemicals surge in the environment. The chemicals are found in air, water, and dirt around the world — and in animals and people. In the US, 97% of humans have PFAS in their blood.
Luckily, scientists in the US have now found a way to break down some PFAS chemicals. Their solution requires boiling PFAS with two other very common chemicals. These chemicals can be found in just about any laboratory.
Dr. Brittany Trang, one of the scientists involved, said she didn’t even want to test the idea at first. “I thought it was too simple,” she said. But the process worked.
The research involved 10 types of PFAS, including two of the most common kinds. That’s a big step. But there are over 12,000 different kinds of PFAS. It’s important to note that the new method can only break down PFAS chemicals that have already been collected. Figuring out how to remove PFAS chemicals from the environment and collect them remains a huge challenge.
1. What can we infer about PFAS chemicals from paragraph 2?| A．Scientists were so excited to invent them. |
| B．They were environmentally friendly at first. |
| C．They are really widely used in our daily life. |
| D．They have more advantages than disadvantages. |
| A．Increase fast. | B．Float everywhere. | C．Extend fully. | D．React quickly. |
| A．It’s already too late to get rid of them. |
| B．There’s still a long way to go about it. |
| C．The new method is too simple to work well. |
| D．It’s impossible to get them removed from the environment. |
| A．Say Goodbye to Forever Chemicals |
| B．PFAS Chemicals Are a Two-edged Sword |
| C．PFAS Chemicals Will Remain a Challenge for Long |
| D．Scientists Find a Way to Break down Forever Chemicals |
2 . Growing up in Kenya, Lesein Mutunkei, together with his family, always celebrated significant occasions by planting trees, which motivated him to protect the environment. It’s what the now 18-year-old soccer player treasures, especially since Kenya has an ongoing problem with deforestation.
Mutunkei follows in the footsteps of the late Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai who founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. This initiative has resulted in the planting of over 51 million trees to date.
In 2018, Lesein decided to start a movement of his own. He started by planting one tree for every goal he scored during a football match. He called it Trees4Goals, and it has grown so much that he now plants 11 trees, one for each member of his team, every time he scores. Through this, he wants to inspire young people, specifically his fellow athletes, to follow in his footsteps, take nature conservation seriously, and promise to plant trees every time they score. As a result, some of them have adapted this practice for their sports. “Seeing that they’re taking that responsibility because of the project I started, for me, that is the biggest achievement,” he said.
The initiative has caught the attention of English football club Arsenal and Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which he now works with regularly and gets advice from.
Like Green Belt Movement, Trees4Goals, which has planted 5,500 trees so far, has made it. While Lesein has received some recognition for his initiative, he sets his sights on making it a worldwide phenomenon. “Football is a universal game, and climate change is a universal problem,” he explains. “It has the power to unite, educate and inspire my generation to create a safer and greener future.” This is why he wants to work with the world’s biggest football federation FIFA.
As for what others can do to fight deforestation or other environmental concerns, the teenager says it’s important to just get involved in some way, no matter how small.
1. What made Lesein get interested in environmental protection?| A．The influence of his family. |
| B．Wangari Maathai’s huge assistances. |
| C．The demand of the football team. |
| D．His fellow athletes’ encouragement. |
| A．To gain Kenya’s support. |
| B．To set an example for others. |
| C．To catch Arsenal’s attention. |
| D．To show his achievements. |
| A．Promoting football’s development. |
| B．Going global with the help of FIFA. |
| C．Beating climate change completely. |
| D．Getting beyond Green Belt Movement. |
| A．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| B．A youth is to be regarded with respect. |
| C．Positive thinking and action result in success. |
| D．Success means getting personal desires satisfied. |
3 . One day as I drove toward my home, I passed the local bus depot. I pulled up as a group of people crossed the road in front of me. As I watched, I noticed a thin, shabbily dressed older lady struggling with a large suitcase.
Witnessing this lady and remembering similar struggles I had experienced in the past when traveling, I pulled up alongside her and leaned over to call out through the open passenger window, “I’m going right into the town,” I said. “I can drop you off. That suitcase looks awfully heavy.” “Well, all right,” she answered. When we got there, she thanked me, “Well, God bless you, lady. No one has ever done me a kindness like that before. I hope someone will do a good turn for you one day.”
Shortly after the encounter with the suitcase lady, I decided to spend a day in the mountains alone. I set off with my dog in my pickup, which was elderly but still serviceable. After driving for nearly two hours, I heard a sudden loud noise and my truck came to a full stop. I found its axle was broken and needed to be towed. In a remote area, with no hope of finding another person, I knew I was in big trouble. Over and over, I blamed my own stupidity for being in a deserted area with no possible chance of help. I hoped that no wandering bear would come to investigate. Or a hungry mountain lion — with babies. My imagination ran riot. I started to panic.
Then faintly, in the distance, came the roar of motorbikes. As they drew nearer, I could see that they were a group of motorcycle riders. “Do you need help, ma’am?” I heard a concerned voice say. The rest is history. My pickup, my dog and I were all transported back to safety. I shall never forget the kindness of the motorcycle riders who stopped. Some people may think it was a happy coincidence, but personally I like to say, it was someone that really did a good turn for me, just as the suitcase lady said.
1. How did the author help the old lady?| A．She gave her a lift to the town. | B．She helped her cross the road. |
| C．She carried the suitcase for her. | D．She took her to a nearby hotel. |
| A．It ran out of gas. | B．It crashed into a tree. |
| C．It broke down halfway. | D．It was attacked by animals. |
| A．She blamed it on the old road. | B．She lost her temper with the dog. |
| C．She stayed calm and asked for help. | D．She felt very uneasy and frightened. |
| A．Do as You Would Be Done by | B．A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed |
| C．What Goes Around, Comes Around | D．God Helps Those Who Help Themselves |
4 . In recent years, multiple studies have illustrated the ways people’s dogs can provide comfort, calm their frazzled nerves, be good listeners, and provide other forms of valuable support, proving that sometimes words are simply not necessary.
When people were asked to perform mental arithmetic (算术) or endure a “cold pressor” test in which their hand is submerged in ice water, those who had their dogs present had smaller increases in their blood pressure and heart rate. More recently, a study in a 2023 issue of the journal Emotion had people engage in a stressful task — involving adding numbers that flashed on a computer screen — then interact with their pet dog, color in a coloring book, or wait quietly for 10 minutes. Those who interacted with their dogs experienced a greater boost in mood and a greater reduction in anxiety than those who waited or tried to destress by coloring.
Research has also found that talking to your dog about emotionally fraught issues can be particularly beneficial. People are more willing to confide (吐露) in their dogs about difficult emotions, such as depression, jealousy, anxiety, apathy, and fear, than they are with their romantic partners or friends. The precise reasons for this may be that pets are good, nonjudgmental listeners because they don’t interrupt or reply. Your relationship with your dog is a safe space because your dog won’t judge you or disagree with you.
A study in a 2022 issue of the International Journal of Public Health found that when people interact with their dogs while teleworking, it replenishes the humans’ self-regulatory resources — by engaging in micro-breaks to pet their pup, the people are able to relax and refresh themselves — in ways that interacting with unfurry family members doesn’t.
“Dogs are fantastic at reading us — they can sense when we’re upset — and they are arguably better at reading us than some people are,” says Kogan, a professor in the clinical sciences department at Colorado State University, “because we intuit that our dogs read us so well, we regulate ourselves so as not to upset our dogs, which is helpful for us as well. It’s a positive feedback loop.”
1. What did the study in paragraph 2 find?| A．Interacting with dogs can cause anxiety and stress. |
| B．People with dog companions have lower stress levels. |
| C．Dogs can improve their owners’ academic performance. |
| D．Dogs’ owners tend to reduce stress by coloring or waiting. |
| A．Dogs can help them fix the problems. | B．They get a sense of security from dogs. |
| C．Their partners or friends are not reliable. | D．They have a closer relationship with dogs. |
| A．Replaces. | B．Researches. | C．Refills. | D．Removes. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Unclear. | C．Skeptical. | D．Intolerant. |
5 . “So, Mr. Albert, you’ve told us about your strengths but what about your weaknesses?” It’s a common interview question. To which a classic humblebrag (谦虚自夸) reply is, “Well. I must admit that I’m a bit of a perfectionist.” After all, what company wouldn’t want to employ somebody who seeks perfection? But it turns out that there is a profound difference between high-achievers and perfectionists. In a cruel irony, the perfectionist traits could actually prevent someone from achieving their full potential.
The roots of perfectionism actually lie in a deep desire to feel perfect. Most often a perfectionist personality is formed in reaction to some form of childhood trauma. For example, following her parents’ divorce, a young girl might strive to always be good, to always be perfect because at some level she believes that it must have been her fault that her parents separated. So as long as she is perfect, nothing so terrible would happen again.
Given such origins, it appears that the thinking and emotional styles associated with perfectionism are particularly dangerous to mental health. Think of the harshest and merciless perfectionists you know. They always, always, always find fault. Their cognitive (认知) styles include all-or-nothing thinking, where only perfection is seen as an acceptable result; fear of failure, where a perfectionist is driven by fear rather than pulled by the prospect of success in their endeavors; defensiveness in the face of constructive criticism. All of these seem to be linked to a wide range of psychological problems including eating disorders, anxiety and depression, and even suicide.
Changing this mindset is the key to treating the condition when it becomes a disorder but it is difficult to achieve. Perfectionists are essentially in an abusive relationship with themselves. It’s hard enough to withdraw from abusive relationships with others. How much harder is it when you yourself are the abuser? So perhaps a better answer to the interview question posed at the start of this article would be, “I used to be a perfectionist but now I’m well on the road to recovery.”
1. Why does the author mention the interview question in paragraph 1?| A．To provide an example. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To support the argument. | D．To attract the readers’ interest. |
| A．A high- achiever. | B．A person who always finds fault. |
| C．An overconfident man. | D．A son of a violent alcoholic father. |
| A．Perfectionism often has three different types. |
| B．Perfectionism has a bad effect on physical health. |
| C．Perfectionism is caused by high personal standard. |
| D．Perfectionism is a risk factor for psychological disorders. |
| A．It’s hard for people to get rid of it. | B．It drives people to achieve success. |
| C．It’s more of a strength than a weakness. | D．It inevitably leads to mental problems. |
6 . Birmingham is the second largest city of the United Kingdom. It lies near the geographic center of England. It’s one of England’s major industrial and commercial areas. Here’re some places in Birmingham you may be interested in living in.
SolihullLocated 7.5 miles southeast of Birmingham, Solihull offers the best of both worlds for the perfect combination of city and country living. With several top-rated schools, Solihull is a perfect location for families, and with over 1,500acres of parks, there’re plenty of green spaces to keep the kids entertained as well. With easy transport links into Birmingham, it’s a great choice for commuters (通勤人员) and what’s more, Birmingham Airport is located in Solihull.
ErdingtonSituated five miles northeast of the city center, Erdington has to be one of the best places to live in and around Birmingham. This is a very well-connected city suburb, with easy motorway access, great bus links and a railway station on the Cross City Line.
DigbethIf you’re looking to buy your first home in Birmingham, Digbeth could be the perfect choice. The area is a hub for the creative industry, with the Custard Factory and Fazeley Studios both hosting a huge variety of digital and cultural businesses. It’s very tolerant of all kinds of culture, making it one of the most dynamic places to live in.
EdgbastonEdgbaston is one of the richest areas in Birmingham, well-known for its green spaces and Birmingham Botanical Gardens. There’re many other attractions for those not interested in sports, including the pretty Victorian campus of Birmingham University and multiple Michelin-starred restaurants. It is a suitable place to live in.
1. What’s special about Solihull?| A．It is very suitable for the old. |
| B．It has the largest park in Birmingham. |
| C．It is the trading center of Birmingham. |
| D．It shows the mix of rural and urban life. |
| A．Digbeth. | B．Erdington. |
| C．Edgbaston. | D．Solihull. |
| A．Attend university. | B．Go on a tour. |
| C．Buy houses. | D．Start businesses. |
7 . In a policy address to lawmakers, Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said the country’s population problem was a case of solving the issue “now or never”, and that it “simply cannot wait any longer because it can affect social functions”.
“In thinking of the sustainability and inclusiveness of our nation’s economy and society, we place child care support as our most important policy,” he said, adding that he wants the government to double its spending on child-related programs, and that a new government agency would be set up in April to focus on the issue.
Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and it recorded fewer than 800,000 births in 2022 for the first time since records began in 1899. The country also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world; in 2020, nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan were age 100 or older, according to government data.
These trends have driven a growing population problem, with a rapidly aging society, a shrinking workforce and not enough young people to fill the gaps in the stagnating (停滞) economy. The country’s high cost of living, limited space and lack of child care support in cities make it difficult to raise children, meaning fewer couples are having kids. Experts point to the pessimism young people in Japan hold towards the future, many frustrated with work pressure and economic stagnation.
How about other parts of East Asia? South Korea recently broke its own record for the world’s lowest birth rate, with data from November 2023 showing a South Korean woman will have an average of 0.79 children in her lifetime — far below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. Japan’s birth rate stands at 1.3, while the United States is at 1.6. Meanwhile, China’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time, adding pressure to its economic growth.
1. How does the Japanese government feel about the falling birth rate?| A．Surprised. | B．Confused. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Worried. |
| A．The rapidly aging society. | B．The high life expectancies. |
| C．The shortage of workforce. | D．The various stresses of life. |
| A．Ignorance of the birth rate. | B．Serious population crisis. |
| C．Weak care services for children. | D．Potential harm to women’s health. |
| A．Society. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Science. |
8 . A mere four months ago, a black cat named Bounty had no idea just how adventurous his life was about to become. Although the cat was
One of their first adventures included a
Since that first cycling tour, Bounty and Doina have
The two of them have cycled the entire length of the Italian peninsula! If you’d like to
| A．originally | B．temporarily | C．eventually | D．actually |
| A．gave out | B．broke out | C．turned out | D．found out |
| A．Shocked | B．Frightened | C．Embarrassed | D．Excited |
| A．necessities | B．products | C．presents | D．fruits |
| A．generous | B．creative | C．efficient | D．ambitious |
| A．hotels | B．journeys | C．problems | D．vehicles |
| A．skiing | B．hiking | C．flying | D．cycling |
| A．accustomed | B．opposed | C．blind | D．sensitive |
| A．cure | B．enjoy | C．protect | D．feed |
| A．cried | B．ran | C．sang | D．slept |
| A．offered | B．expected | C．finished | D．discovered |
| A．bicycle | B．cat | C．tour | D．carrier |
| A．protest | B．agreement | C．challenge | D．trust |
| A．have fun with | B．put up with | C．keep up with | D．get along with |
| A．helps | B．plans | C．orders | D．documents |
9 . I hate heights. I
But I was
Years later, on a family trip to Lake Erie’s islands, we
The next morning, I
Then, I was high up in the sky. I kept waiting to
| A．show off | B．turn up | C．reach out | D．back off |
| A．comment | B．persuasion | C．trust | D．permission |
| A．nervously | B．casually | C．tentatively | D．curiously |
| A．responsible | B．desperate | C．prepared | D．unsuitable |
| A．skipping | B．arguing | C．waving | D．slipping |
| A．wondering | B．explaining | C．whispering | D．complaining |
| A．in advance | B．in person | C．at random | D．on end |
| A．applied | B．pretended | C．agreed | D．happened |
| A．limitations. | B．instructions | C．options | D．competitions |
| A．beach lovers | B．pioneers | C．attention seekers | D．parasailers |
| A．cooperated | B．corresponded | C．compared | D．struggled |
| A．contact | B．relax | C．quit | D．change |
| A．sympathetic | B．familiar | C．thrilling | D．discouraging |
| A．panic | B．doubt | C．respond | D．test |
| A．feeling | B．opposite | C．expectation | D．impression |
10 . In today’s digital era, social media users are increasingly coming across fake news online. This leads to the pressing issue: What causes people to fall for misinformation on the Internet?
According to researchers at the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, users can easily fall into an echo chamber (回声室)—a sort of virtual space where users consume only one-sided news, eventually distrusting any opposing views. “We all tend to agree with the group opinion. Hence, people naturally get together with others who hold the same opinion,” said Dongwon Lee, one of the researchers. “But if you’re not cautious, there is a high risk of falling into an echo chamber.”
To prevent this phenomenon, the researchers have crafted a novel tool, a game named ChamberBreaker, to help players resist echo chambers and reduce the rate of fake news spread. The fundamental approach employed by ChamberBreaker centers around a decision-making procedure that mirrors the creation of echo chambers. In ChamberBreaker, a player is tasked with trying to have community members fall into an echo chamber. To begin, the player is randomly assigned a situation that focuses on a health, political or environmental issue, and is presented with six pieces of news on that topic. Then, the player selects news that could cause the other members to fall into an echo chamber while at the same time maintaining their trust. If successful, the community members will fall into an echo chamber and the player will witness the resulting negative effects on the community.
After developing ChamberBreaker, researchers tested it with over 800 subjects to see if it raised awareness of echo chambers and changed news consumption behaviors. The researchers found that those who played ChamberBreaker were significantly more likely to state their intention to observe online information from more diverse perspectives and showed an increased awareness of the echo chamber phenomenon.
Ultimately, the researchers hope that their methodology can excite a greater interest in the scientific and scholarly study related to information consumption. The application of tools like ChamberBreaker, which focuses on fostering analytical reasoning, may lead us towards a more informed online community.
1. What can be learned about an online echo chamber?| A．It encourages well-judged views. |
| B．It gathers like-minded individuals. |
| C．It functions as a virtual reality platform. |
| D．It serves as a tool for identifying fake information. |
| A．Assignment of situations. | B．Trust-building exercises. |
| C．News selection strategy. | D．Community impact assessment. |
| A．The results of scientific testing. |
| B．The theoretical framework of the game. |
| C．The description of the game procedures. |
| D．The common challenges faced during gameplay. |
| A．Reducing news inquiry. | B．Encouraging passive reading. |
| C．Strengthening prejudiced views. | D．Enhancing critical thinking. |
