1 . One early morning, I was cleaning the bathroom shower curtain and its liner (衬布) when it hit me. I had to clean a two-dollar plastic liner because I didn’t have a few extra dollars to buy a new one. I couldn’t believe it! Complaining wasn’t how I would start the day, especially when the sun was shining.
To continue the day optimistically, I left the cleaning for my daily walk at the beach. Along the way through the down town area, something on the sidewalk caught my attention. I walked over and picked it up. It was a small paper bag with no markings, so it wasn’t possible to figure out who it belonged to. I assumed someone must have dropped it, perhaps while loading other bags into his/her car. I turned it over for any identification. No store name, but the brand marking on the front clearly specified it was a shower curtain liner!
Speechless, I turned it over many times in my hands. Believe it or not, it was really an unopened shower curtain liner. I just happened to be the person who walked by and found it on the sidewalk. It took me a few minutes to decide what to do next, not wanting to claim something that wasn’t mine. If I brought it to the police station across the street, the police might just share a good laugh over a two-dollar shower curtain liner. I decided to keep it for myself.
But I was still surprised because the worthless plastic liner that had needed cleaning inspired my complaint and an early morning walk had suddenly transformed itself into a gift on the sidewalk for me. How that moment brightened my day!
At home, my focus was on myself, my anxieties, and my limits in being able to fix the problem. Once outside, I relaxed in the perspective of a much bigger picture. My personal complaint changed to thankfulness for the beauty that extended before my eyes in the form of a brand-new shower curtain liner, which matched perfectly with my bathroom!
1. What is the purpose of the author going for a walk on the beach?| A．To seek a replacement for the liner. |
| B．To start her day in an optimistic way. |
| C．To get energetic for the day’s work. |
| D．To get relaxed after the heavy cleaning. |
| A．The curiosity of opening the bag. |
| B．The urge to keep it to herself. |
| C．The chance to find the owner. |
| D．The fear of being laughed at. |
| A．It was strange that a free liner should make her day. |
| B．The worthless liner turned out a gift from friends. |
| C．There was a special way for her financial support. |
| D．A chance meeting gave her confidence in life. |
| A．Learn to be grateful. | B．Fix the problem timely. |
| C．Avoid complaints. | D．Broaden your perspective. |
2 . Sharon downsized her parents’ home and then cleared out her father’s stuff after he died. “So much of it hadn’t been used in years. So I decided that we wouldn’t do the same thing to our children.” Sharon spent six months looking over each object in her home. Each day, she sold, donated or threw one away. “It was liberating,” she said. “Now, life is much simpler and the clutter (杂乱) is gone.”
This process has its own reality TV show, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Inspired by a best-selling book by Magnusson, 89, three Swedes travel across the Atlantic to help Americans clean house and face death. “A loved one wishes to inherit (继承) nice things from you,” mentions Magnusson in her book, “not all things from you.” If you’re lucky enough to meet your material needs, then letting go of some of your stuff, or not buying it in the first place, can bring immediate benefits. The clutter is linked to stress and anxiety, even depression. Prioritizing relationships and experience over possessions has been proven to boost our happiness.
What is Swedish death cleaning? It isn’t about clearing out closets. It’s about rethinking your relationship with things. Rather than making do with less, it’s about getting more from the things that make you happy. Death cleaning happens to agree with scientists’ understanding of our relationship with things and why we’re unwilling to part with them. Decades of research has shown that we subconsciously see our possessions as physical extensions of ourselves. For most of us, of course, a degree of attachment is healthy, but it’s not the number of things or the quality that matters. It’s about the symbolic meaning of it. That can bring a lot of happiness.
Things take up space in our minds, well beyond what our storerooms and garages hold. By clarifying what’s important and what’s not, you make room. Your loved ones can receive what they might like before you go, relieving themselves of the burden of cleaning up once you’re gone.
1. Why does the author mention Sharon’s experience in paragraph 1?| A．To lead to the topic. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To support an argument. | D．To reach a conclusion. |
| A．To reduce the waste. | B．To remember their loved ones. |
| C．To boost their happiness. | D．To make the reality TV show. |
| A．The quantity. | B．The popularity. |
| C．The significance. | D．The degree of attachments. |
| A．Old Stuff: a Heavy Burden or a Sweet Memory. |
| B．Everyone’s Stuff: Physical Extensions of Himself. |
| C．The Way to Deal with Your Belongings: Give Away. |
| D．Swedes’ Secret to Happiness: You Aren’t Your Stuff. |
3 . If the eyes are the romantic’s window into the soul, then the teeth are an anthropologist’s door to the stomach.
In a study published recently in the journal Science, Peter Ungar of the University of Arkansas and his partner, Matt Sponheimer of the University of Colorado, US, examined the teeth of ancient human beings to find out what they were really eating.
They already knew that different foods cause different marks on teeth. Some cause scratches, while others cause pits(坑). The carbon left on teeth by different foods is also different. Tropical grasses, for example, leave one kind of carbon, but trees and bushes leave another kind because they photosynthesize(进行光合作用)differently.
Traditionally, scientists had looked at the size and shape of teeth and skulls to figure out what early humans ate. Big flat teeth were taken to be signs that they ate nuts and seeds, while hard and sharp teeth seemed good for cutting meat and leaves. But this was proved wrong.
The best example was the Paranthropus(傍人属类人猿), one of our close cousins, some of whom lived in eastern Africa. Scientists used to believe that they ate nuts, fruits and seeds because they had big crests(突起)on their skulls, suggesting that they had large chewing muscles and big teeth. If this had been true, their teeth should have been covered with pits like the surface of the moon. They would also have had a particular type of carbon on their teeth that typically comes from tree products, such as nuts and seeds.
However, when the two scientists studied the Paranthropus, it turned out to have none of these characteristics. The teeth had a different kind of carbon, and were covered with scratches, not pits. This suggested they probably ate grass, not nuts and seeds. It was the exact opposite of what people had expected to find.
Carbon “footprints” give us a completely new and different understanding of what different species ate and the different environments they lived in, which also provide a groundbreaking perspective on the diets and habitats of various species. This method has reshaped our understanding of ancient human diets, challenging previous assumptions based on tooth and skull morphology.
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined sentence?| A．Anthropologists can know the structure of human stomachs by studying their teeth. |
| B．Anthropologists can find out the diet of early humans by studying their teeth. |
| C．Anthropologists can learn whether humans were healthy by looking at their teeth. |
| D．Anthropologists can get the most useful information about humans from their teeth. |
| A．Pits on teeth are caused by eating grass or leaves. |
| B．Scratches on teeth are caused by eating nuts or seeds. |
| C．Different foods leave different marks and carbon on teeth. |
| D．Early humans with hard and sharp teeth at e meat and leaves. |
| A．To show they had different eating habits from other humans. |
| B．To prove living environment makes a difference to skull structure. |
| C．To demonstrate they were one of our close cousins living in eastern Africa. |
| D．To reveal the size and shape of teeth don’t show accurately what early humans ate. |
| A．Cause and effect. |
| B．Problem and solution. |
| C．Comparison and contrast. |
| D．Listing and classification. |
4 . Interlibrary Loan is the service that the Osterhout Free Library offers for free to our patrons (顾客). You can use Interlibrary Loan to borrow an item (books, DVDs, music CDs, etc.) from within the continental 48 states if it is unavailable in the Luzerne County Library System.
How to request an Interlibrary Loan item·To request an Interlibrary Loan item, you must either call the Osterhout Free Library, or come to our Information Services Desk.
·You must know exactly what item(s) you would like. We do not accept requests for general topics, for instance, “I would like books on antique cars.”
·Be sure to check the Luzerne County Library System’s catalog before asking Interlibrary Loan for an item.
Interlibrary Loan Processing
·When a patron requests Interlibrary Loan items, they are allowed to request more than one item, but there is a maximum of 5 requests in the system per patron.
·When the item comes in, the patron will be contacted via phone to ask him/her to pick it up. If the item is not able to be obtained, the patron will be notified via e-mail.
·If you wish to renew your Interlibrary Loan item, you must call us at least one week before the due date.
Interlibrary Loan Penalties (处罚)
·Interlibrary Loan overdue fees are $0.50/day per item.
·The following actions will result in an additional $3.00 per item fine:
(1)Returning an Interlibrary Loan item to any library other than the Osterhout Free Library.
(2)Returning an Interlibrary Loa n item without the paperwork with the due date.
1. What is a must when you borrow a book from Interlibrary Loan?| A．Renewing the book 3 days in advance. | B．Specifying your desired book. |
| C．Visiting the Osterhout Free Library. | D．Giving priority to Interlibrary Loan. |
| A．Being reminded of an unavailable item by e-mail. |
| B．Borrowing at least 5 items at a time. |
| C．Being given unlimited renewal of an item. |
| D．Having a free delivery service. |
| A．$4. | B．$6.5. |
| C．$7. | D．$3.5. |
5 . NGS (National Geographic Society) websites collect certain information automatically and store it in log files. We use this information to help design our site to better suit users’ needs. We may also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to manage our website, analyze trends, track visitor activity, and gather broad information that assists us in identifying visitor preferences.
● Cookies
Our site also uses Cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on a user’s computer and allow websites to remember information about users.
You have the choice to set your browser (浏览器) to accept or reject these Cookies. However, if you do not accept Cookies from us, your ability to use some areas of our site will be limited.
● SMS Services
If you sign up for SMS Services, data obtained from you in connection with this SMS service may include your mobile phone number, your carrier’s name and the date, time and content of your messages. We may use this information to contact you and provide the services you request from us.
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If you click on or interact with a hyperlink (超链接) that you find on the Services, including but not limited to nationalgeographic.com, you have left our Services and are sending information to a different website or application. You should read the terms and policies of the third-party website provider to see how your personally identifiable information will be treated on its site.
1. Which of the following will restrict your access to NGS websites?| A．Gathering broad information. |
| B．Rejecting Cookies from NGS. |
| C．Signing up for SMS Services. |
| D．Using your IP address. |
| A．You will be still on NGS Services. |
| B．Your personal information will be treated similarly. |
| C．You are sending information to another website or app. |
| D．Your privacy will be leaked by NGS Services. |
| A．Promotion of an application. | B．Advertisement for a computer. |
| C．Introduction to an browser. | D．Use for a website. |
6 . On the day he almost died, Kimbal Musk had food on the brain. The Internet startup talent and restaurateur had just arrived in Jackson Hole from a conference where chef Jamie Oliver had spoken about the benefits of healthy eating. This was something Musk thought about a lot — how he might make a difference to the food industry — but beyond expanding his farm-to-table movement along with his restaurant, Musk hadn’t yet broken the code. Then he went sailing down a snowy slope (坡) and fell over, breaking his neck. The left side of his body was paralyzed.
Musk eventually made a full recovery, but it involved spending two months on his back, which gave him plenty of time to come up with a plan. Since then, he has launched an initiative to put “learning gardens” in public schools across America; attracted Generation Z to the farming profession by changing shipping containers into high-tech, data-driven, year-round farms; and this year, is kicking off a new campaign to create one million at-home gardens.
Aimed at reaching low-income families, the Million Gardens Movement was inspired by the pandemic, as both a desire to feel more connected to nature and food insecurity have been at the forefront of so many people’s lives. “We were getting a lot of inquiries about gardening from people that had never gardened before,” says Musk. “People were looking to garden for a bunch of reasons: to supplement their budget, to improve the nutritional quality of their diets, or just to cure the boredom that came with the lockdown.”
The program offers free garden kits that can be grown indoors or outdoors, and will be distributed through schools that Musk’s non-profit, Big Green, has already partnered with. It also offers free courses on how to get the garden growing and fresh seeds and materials for the changing growing seasons. “I grew up in the projects when I was young, in what we now call food deserts,” says EVE, one of the many celebrities who have teamed up with the organization to encourage people to pick up a free garden. “What I love about this is that it’s not difficult. We are all able to grow something.”
1. What inspired Musk to make a difference to food industry?| A．A skiing accident. | B．Jamie Oliver’s lecture. |
| C．The pandemic. | D．The Million Gardens movement. |
| A．Advocating people to value nature. |
| B．Providing free food for low-income farming. |
| C．Launching “learning gardens”across America. |
| D．Educating new gardens to grow their own food. |
| A．confident | B．stubborn | C．charitable | D．ambitious |
| A．To encourage people to start a free garden. |
| B．To introduce his experience in a food desert. |
| C．To share free courses on getting garden growing. |
| D．To clarify the reason why he loves growing something. |
7 . Kenya is home to Africa’s predators (捕食者), particularly lions, which frequently hunt farmers’ livestock (牲畜). To protect their animals, farmers often use poisons. While these have been successful in protecting farmers’ livestock, their use has resulted in a sharp decline in the lion population, which stands at just 2,500 now.
At the age of nine, Turere was asked to care for his father’s cattle beside Nairobi National Park, one of Kenya’s most famous wilderness areas, where people frequently experienced conflicts with lions. Turere couldn’t bear to see lions harmed by humans when lions hunted cows, because he loved these creatures deeply. Determined to find a solution benefiting both local farmers and wildlife, Turere started experimenting. But no way worked at first. The only thing that worked later was when he wandered around the livestock pen with a torch in hand. The sight of him walking around at night with a light made the animals runaway.
This inspired Turere to develop the Lion Lights system, a series of flashing LED lights strategically placed on the cattle fences to scare away predators. “The lights flash irregularly to trick lions into thinking that someone is walking around with a flashlight. Thanks to it, we went from losing three cows a week to none,” says Turere. This innovative solar-powered light system—which can also run on wind power—costs just $20.5 per unit, making it affordable and eco-friendly.
Turere’s invention is not only protecting the livelihoods of local communities, it, is also changing the viewpoints of local communities on wild life. “Since the introduction of the Lion Lights system, there have been no predator-related incidents. As a result, local people no longer view wildlife as the enemy,” he notes. “This is great news for these wonderful animals as it means that local communities are more open to wildlife conservation.”
1. What is the problem with farmers using poisons in Kenya?| A．It threatens the lion’s survival. |
| B．It often harms their livestock. |
| C．It arouses the public’s opposition. |
| D．It damages the local environment. |
| A．To take good care of his father’s cattle. |
| B．To stop farmers from hunting lions. |
| C．To protect the livestock from being killed. |
| D．To find ways for farmers and lions to coexist. |
| A．It can keep domestic animals from running away. |
| B．It works with all the lights on all the time. |
| C．It’s inexpensive and environmentally friendly. |
| D．Only three cows have been lost since it was used. |
| A．Exploring the world is a must for children. |
| B．Local communities have been preserving the wildlife. |
| C．Protecting the livestock of local communities is the top priority. |
| D．Turere’s invention contributed to wildlife conservation. |
8 . Following a design shown on her cell phone, Ruan Xiyue, 35, quickly sketched a manned spacecraft on a gourd (葫芦), completing the first step of gourd sculpture, an intangible (非物质) cultural her it age of northwest China’s Gansu Province.
Coming from a family engaged in gourd sculpture for almost 90 years in Lanzhou, Ruan is not satisfied with just perfecting her technique. Instead, the fourth-generation inheritor (继承人) aims to bring traditional craftsmanship closer to young people through marketing and sharing.
Dating back over 1, 600 years, gourd sculpture was first developed as a decoration on people’s portable wine pots made of gourds. The pronunciation of “gourd” in Chinese, which resembles that of “luck and fortune”, partly explains its lasting popularity.
For Ruan, the fragrance of gourds is the smell of home. Upon graduating from college, she started learning gourd sculpture from her mother, sitting for hours every day practicing calligraphy and painting, which she views as the essential training to become a qualified sculptor. Later, Ruan developed innovative products such as gourd mirrors and gourd necklaces to tap the market potential, believing they can help the craft reach more people.
Her family opened a gourd sculpting studio in 2010, displaying their works as well as a history of the art. Ruan likes talking with visitors to the studio, and their interactions inspired her to launch a curriculum for people to experience the craft in 2016. According to Ruan, around 800 people attend the courses every year. Among them are students eager to learn something new, and young parents who bring their kids along to enjoy some lovely family time. “Many participants told me that our courses enable them to know more about the history of Lanzhou, and help make the city’s memories last longer,” said Ruan.
Under Ruan’s influence, her mother is now live streaming on social media everyday sharing her stories of gourd sculpture with viewers across the country. “Sharing is inheriting,” said Ruan. “When we share our skills and knowledge with more people, the traditional culture will naturally be spread on a wider scale,” said Ruan.
1. What do we know about Ruan?| A．She is a designer of manned spacecraft on a gourd. |
| B．She took up gourd sculpture under the influence of her family. |
| C．She first sculpted on a portable wine pot made of a gourd. |
| D．She is good at teaching young people the craftsmanship. |
| A．Inspiring and touching. | B．New and memorable. |
| C．Popular and enjoyable. | D．Lovely and practical. |
| A．Spreading the gourd sculpture is to share the stories. |
| B．Stories of gourd sculpture a reviewed across the world |
| C．Live streaming on social media is the best way to share. |
| D．Traditional culture will be spread wider through sharing. |
| A．Ruan Xiyue: an Inheritor of an Intangible Cultural Heritage. |
| B．Gourd Sculpture: a Traditional Craft Popular with the Chinese. |
| C．Social Media: a Useful Tool to Share Gourd Sculpture. |
| D．Cultural Courses: an Approach to Learning Something New. |
9 . The news industry has had a rough decade. Print readership is steadily dropping, newspapers are closing, and journalists with decades of experience are being laid off. In response, major newspapers have made significant changes. They’re attempting to combat declining reader interest by shortening stories, creating clickbait (诱饵性标题), and most especially, using social media to their advantage.
With the rise of social media sites, many people have claimed that we are entering a new age in which news must be delivered in 140 characters or fewer. People’s ability to focus on long-form content and engage in deep reading has also been declining due to the endless distractions and excessive information in today’s world. This change in reading habits has led to a preference for short, easily understood news pieces that can be quickly consumed. To interest a more specific and generally younger readership, newspapers have revised content, prioritizing articles that are visually appealing instead of having depth.
But, in reality, there is still a demand for in-depth reporting. In this era of misinformation and clickbait, readers are seeking reliable sources of news that provide context, analysis, and accountability. Depth reporting explores the fundamental causes, involves multiple perspectives, and uncovers the hidden truths that shape our world, helping readers get a more comprehensive understanding of complicated matters.
While social media have changed the way we consume news, the quality of news remains essential for the public. It’s crucial for the news industry to achieve a balance between catering to changing reader preferences while also maintaining the integrity (完整性) of news. This means providing both quick updates and in-depth analysis, and using social media to promote their content, but not at the cost of accuracy or integrity. By doing so, news organizations can ensure that they remain relevant and trusted sources of information in a rapidly changing media environment.
1. What problem does traditional news industry face?| A．The lack of experienced journalists. |
| B．The shortage of social media sites. |
| C．The spread of unreliable information. |
| D．The drop of readership. |
| A．Placing importance on. | B．Cutting down. |
| C．Calling on. | D．Crossing out. |
| A．People’s need for reliable news is decreasing. |
| B．Social media has played a key role in promoting hidden facts. |
| C．In-depth reporting can improve readers’ comprehension of complex issues. |
| D．Clickbait greatly increases readers’ interests in exploring truths. |
| A．providing quick updates and focusing on popular topics |
| B．stating matters in multiple perspectives and shortening articles |
| C．changing news sources and maintaining the accuracy of contents |
| D．satisfying readers’ preferences and ensuring the quality of news |
10 . What is a GPA?
A GPA, or Grade Point Average, typically ranging from one to four, is a number reflecting your course performance on average. It’s used by universities to determine whether students meet academic standards and by students to enhance job prospects or secure admission into post-graduate programs.
How to calculate a GPA?
● Determine the letter grade and the number of credit hours for each course you take in a term;
● Translate the letter grade to grade points using your school’s grading system;
● Multiply the grade points by the credit hours for that course;
● Add up all the credit hours for the courses;
● Divide the total number of grade points by the total credit hours and you get the GPA.
Example: Academic Transcript of Jane Smith Winter 2023 | |||||
Courses | Letter Grade | Grade points | Credit hours | Total points | GPA |
Creative Writing | A+ | 4.0 | 3 | 12 | - |
Psychology | A- | 3.7 | 3 | 11.1 | - |
History | B+ | 3.3 | 3 | 9.9 | - |
Computer Science | F | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | - |
Total | - | - | 11 | 33 | |
What are the consequences of failing college courses?
● Every failing grade (F) significantly impacts your GPA for that academic year, limiting clubs, organizations and program choices, as competitive programs require top GPAs.
● Most financial aid programs require a specific GPA. A sharp drop in GPA due to several course failures may lead to withdrawal from financial aid programs, unless you retake the courses and pass.
● For college athletes on sports scholarships, failing courses repeatedly can lead to losing scholarships and team spots.
● Failing multiple courses can result in school removal and affect future applications.
1. What is Jane Smith’s GPA this term?| A．3.3. | B．3.0. | C．2.8. | D．1.0. |
| A．School removal. | B．Loss of financial aid. |
| C．Choice limitation. | D．Disqualification in sports. |
| A．An academic course guide. | B．A campus job fair poster. |
| C．A graduate application form . | D．An athletic team schedule. |
