1 . Leonardo da Vinci experimented with chemicals while painting some of his representative works — including The Mona Lisa — forming a poisonous layer hidden beneath the celebrated art. Researchers studying a tiny microsample from a corner of the painting found a substance known as plumbonacrite (水白铅矿), a poisonous compound (化合物) formed when oil and lead(Ⅱ) oxide (氧化铅)are mixed together.
The Mona Lisa, and many other paintings from the Renaissance era in the early 1500s, were painted on wooden panels. These required a thick base layer to enable artists to create their works on top. The most common method was using a substance called gesso, which comes from plaster of Paris, but the presence of plumbonacrite suggests Da Vinci layered his painting with lead white paint, mixed with oil infused (泡) with lead(Ⅱ) oxide.
Writing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the authors said, “The most remarkable signature in the sample is the presence of plumbonacrite, a rare compound that is stable only in an alkaline(碱性的) environment. Leonardo probably attempted to prepare a thick paint suitable for covering the wooden panel of The Mona Lisa by treating the oil with a high load of lead(Ⅱ) oxide. ”It is thought the lead(Ⅱ) oxide may have been used to help the paint applied on top of it to dry.
The team reviewed Da Vinci’s writing to find reference to his use of the chemicals, but found only “unclear references” to plumbonacrite. It seems once again the famous scholar was ahead of his time, with the technique only found in other paintings by Rembrandt in the 1600s. Use of plumbonacrite at the time seems to have been limited to skin and hair treatment.
In addition to The Mona Lisa analysis, the team used high-resolution analytic techniques on 17 samples from across the surface of The Last Supper and found it also contained the same poisonous base layer.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．A poisonous compound was found in The Mona Lisa. |
| B．Da Vinci created his painting through trial and error. |
| C．Researchers damaged the famous painting while studying it. |
| D．Da Vinci buried some poison under the painting to protect it. |
| A．He used lead to decorate the painting. |
| B．He applied oil to cover the wooden panel. |
| C．He treated skin and hair with plumbonacrite. |
| D．He mixed oil and lead together to create a thick paint. |
| A．To support the finding above. |
| B．To show how talented Da Vinci is. |
| C．To explain the process of artwork creation. |
| D．To stress the importance of analytical techniques. |
| A．Mona Lisa, a Mysterious Woman |
| B．Poisonous Chemicals Help Create Artworks |
| C．Da Vinci, a Distinguished Painter as Well as a Chemist |
| D．The Mona Lisa Reveals a Poisonous Secret Hidden in the Painting |
2 . Many of us seem to have lives that follow a certain way. From kindergarten all the way to getting married, every stage of our lives seems to be preset (预置). And although this works well for a lot of people, according to British scholar Jay Shetty, there is no “right” schedule to live our lives by.
A few months ago, a video of Shetty’s speech “Before You Feel Pressure” became popular on the Internet across the world. In the video, he sends an important message that we should think “outside of the way” and have the courage to follow our hearts. As Shetty says in the video, we don’t have to get stressed and put ourselves in the race with our peers (同龄人) or judge our lives based on others’. “Everything in life happens according to our time, our clocks,” he says.
In his inspiring speech, Shetty points out that UK author J. K. Rowing got her famous “Harry Potter” series published at age 32, after being turned down by 12 publishers. Shetty also mentions that Chinese businessman Jack Ma didn’t even start the Alibaba Group until he was 35 years old. So we shouldn’t let anyone rush us.
As physicist Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that is counted truly counts. The key to staying on our own tracks is to be patient and keep our own interest.” In Australian nurse Bronnie Ware’s best-selling book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”, she recorded the dying regrets of her patients, and the top one on the list was: “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the one others expected of me.”
Indeed, we are all unique in our personalities and gifts, and there is no perfect fit for all. We should listen to our inner voices and ignore what the world has taught us, and what we have picked up from people around us. “It is important to allow people to go back to being self-aware of their own interests, needs and concerns”, Shetty told the magazine. “It’s disconnecting from what makes sense to what actually moves you and what makes sense internally (内在的).”
1. What does Jay Shetty agree to?| A．All people live their lives according to schedules. |
| B．The stages of our lives should be preset. |
| C．Few people have lives that follow a certain way. |
| D．We can live our lives not according to the given way. |
| A．To show everyone can be a winner. |
| B．To show great new life can begin anytime. |
| C．To show hard work is the key to success. |
| D．To show success does not happen in one’s youth. |
| A．The top dying regret was not living the life people wanted. |
| B．We should count and analyze everything in life. |
| C．One should live a life as expected by others. |
| D．Everything that is counted truly counts. |
| A．people should listen to others’ advice |
| B．we should follow the heart and do what we want to do |
| C．what makes sense should not be about what people care internally |
| D．needs and concerns are not acceptable |
3 . English businessman Richard Branson made history on July 11, 2021 as he and three other crewmates became the world’s first space tourists. The flight was made by a spacecraft named VSS Unity that was built by Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic. The flight lasted slightly more than an hour, and took Branson and crew to an altitude (海拔) of 53.5miles above the Earth, just a little above the boundary (边界) of space which lies 50 miles above the Earth.
At that height, the atmosphere turns into the black of outer space and the Earth becomes a bent ball of blue. Travelers also exhibit weightlessness as there is no gravity, the force that keeps our bodies walking on the Earth’s surface. Therefore, Branson and his fellows were able to float around in VSS Unity while enjoying the views. They were able to do that for three minutes before the spacecraft began its downward journey. It landed back at Virgin Galactic’s space port in New Mexico, United States, which is the same place from where it had taken off 90 minutes before.
On landing back, Branson said, “I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid but honestly, nothing could prepare you for the view of the Earth from space. It was just magical. I’m just taking it all in, and it’s unreal.”
July 11’s flight is the start of space tourism for one and all. In early 2022, customers who can afford a ticket for a quarter of a million dollars can line up for a seat on a trip to space. And guess what — they will have a choice of spacecraft. Jeff Bezos, who owns a famous company, is all set to launch himself into space on July 20 on board a spacecraft built by his new branch company Blue Origin. Blue Origin will also carry tourists to space.
1. What is Richard Branson famous for?| A．His success in tourism. |
| B．His company of Virgin Galactic. |
| C．His spaceship named VSS Unity. |
| D．His first commercial space travel in history. |
| A．Unbelievable. | B．Adventurous. | C．Regrettable. | D．Worthless. |
| A．Take a spacecraft of Virgin Galactic. |
| B．Pay $250,000 for the rocket tour. |
| C．Pass the fitness test for astronauts. |
| D．Line up for a position in Blue Origin. |
| A．Humans will move to other livable planets. |
| B．Ordinary people will soon land on the moon. |
| C．Private rocket space travel is growing gradually. |
| D．Some companies abandon their proper business. |
4 . Food waste across the globe continues to fuel climate change, nature loss and pollution while hurting the global economy according to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, which says it is important for countries to connect the fight against hunger and the three global crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
The report, whose findings revealed that the total food loss on the global economy is estimated at roughly $1 trillion, emphasized that reducing food waste is an opportunity to reduce costs and tackle some of the biggest environmental and social issues of our time: climate change and food insecurity.
While making opening remarks at the conference that launched the report, Dechen Tsering, acting director of the climate change division at the UNEP, said government polices, such as tax rebates (退税) and waste collection fees, could be used to stimulate changes in business practices and consumer behavior. In addition, better data on the cost of food waste and the environmental, economic, and social benefits of limiting food waste could help influence investors and consumers.
According to the report, as of 2022, only 21 countries had included food loss and waste reduction in their national climate plans, including China, Namibia, Sierra Leone, etc. Meanwhile, the number of people who are food insecure and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the Greater Horn of Africa rose to 74 million at the end of February, according to another report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other agencies.
The international agencies said that the 2023 El Nino rains contributed to the rise in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region. With wetter-than-normal conditions forecast in most parts of African countries during the 2024 March-May rainfall season, the situation may not improve.
1. What does the Report 2024 indicate?| A．Food loss is the biggest problem to tackle. |
| B．Serious pollution can cause food insecurity. |
| C．Food waste worsens the environmental situation. |
| D．Many countries are cooperating to fight against hunger. |
| A．Effective measures should be taken by government. |
| B．Unnecessary costs in climate lead to development problems. |
| C．Data make no sense to consumer behavior and investors’ decision. |
| D．Avoiding waste collection fees is beneficial to limiting food waste. |
| A．Humanitarian assistance is the only way to help African people. |
| B．Food insecurity is still a big challenge to many African countries. |
| C．The situation of food waste in Africa becomes more and more severe. |
| D．The number of people needing help is increasing mainly due to bad weather. |
| A．To reveal the urgent financial situation in Africa. |
| B．To stress the necessity of food waste prevention. |
| C．To call for the joint efforts of governments in climate. |
| D．To raise the awareness of environmental conservation. |
5 . Scientists have designed plenty of devices that can pick up solid objects. Big mechanical claws can lift cars. Small claws can pluck (摘，拉) prizes from a glass box in an arcade game (街机游戏). But these new pluckers can lift something else entirely — a liquid.
Engineers have built the device, which can pick up and move a single drop of liquid. The device is made of two flexible crossed pieces. It is about the size and shape of a finger. Experimental tests showed that the pair can lift up a drop of liquids as small as 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) across.
Such a device might help scientists safely handle biological liquids like blood, says Arun Kota. That task could be particularly useful in laboratories where samples are tested for signs of flu or other infectious diseases. Kota is a mechanical engineer at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He worked on these new devices.
The new device combines tech from two fields of engineering. One is soft robotics. Unlike robots made from hard and heavy materials such as metal, soft robots are made from soft stuff. The other field is materials science. “Many materials are repellent to water, but in alcohol or oil they’re no longer able to do it,” Kota says. Working with Wei Wang, an engineer in his lab, he developed such materials, which will not let any liquid pass through them.
The group completed their design by 2017. Yet cool as it was, it had no obvious use. Xiaoguang Dong, an engineer at Vanderbilt University, doubts whether infectious disease labs are looking for such a device. “To me, this is not really practical,” he says. “The number of droplets that can be lifted is very small. They need independently robotic fingers to lift several droplets. If you want to control hundreds of droplets, how do you do that?”
1. Why are the big mechanical claws and small claws mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the function of the new invention. |
| B．To show the common usage of mechanical tools. |
| C．To give examples of some recent scientific findings. |
| D．To reveal the importance of accurately lifting liquids. |
| A．Its future. | B．Its feature. | C．Its creator. | D．Its principle. |
| A．Exposed. | B．Resistant. | C．Connected. | D．Similar. |
| A．It should be easier to use. | B．It should be safer in disease labs. |
| C．It should combine low-cost materials. | D．It should carry many more drops of liquid. |
6 . Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
This is the memoir (回忆录) and first book of Michelle Zauner, lead singer of the band Japanese Breakfast. Zauner writes about growing up as a Korean American and how losing her mother to cancer when she was 25 forced her to reconnect with her identity. It’s a story of Zauner’s grief and an exploration of all the gifts (language, food, history) her mother left behind.
Overwhelmed, by Brigid Schulte
You’ve probably heard by now that you won’t be sleeping much after you welcome your bundle of joy and noise into the world. Parenthood can be challenging and tiring, but you don’t have to feel like you’ve lost yourself while you’re creating a life for someone else. Journalist Brigid Schulte lays out how our always-on culture can get the best of us and what you can do to take back some time for yourself.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese-American poet and his first novel is written in the form of a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Exploring race, class, and manhood, the novel handles difficult topics with beauty and the kind of lines that will hang in the air long after you’ve set the book down.
24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week, by Tiffany Shlain
In 24/6, filmmaker and popular speaker Shlain introduces readers to what she calls a “Technology Shabbat” -the one day, every week, where she and her family turn off all electronic devices. Beyond detailing the many ways she and her family have benefited, Shlain gives helpful, reassuring advice for setting your own tech shabbat and controlling device use.
1. Who are the main target readers of Overwhelmed?| A．Children. | B．Parents. | C．Writers. | D．Journalists. |
| A．Crying in H Mart. |
| B．Overwhelmed. |
| C．On Earth We’re Brie fly Gorgeous. |
| D．24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week. |
| A．They are related to family life. |
| B．They are on the theme of growing up. |
| C．They are written by mixed-race authors. |
| D．They are concerned with electronic devices. |
7 . If you’ve ever seen a sparrow steal your dog food or a crow open a garbage bag, you get a sense of that some birds have learned to take advantage of new feeding opportunities—a clear sign of their intelligence. Scientists have long wondered why certain species of birds are more innovative than others, and whether these capacities stem from larger brains or from a greater number of neurons (神经元) in specific areas of the brain.
It turns out that it’s a bit of both, according to a recent study by an international team that included members from McGill University published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.
The researchers used a new technique to estimate the number of neurons in a specific part of the brain called the pallium in 111 bird species. The pallium in birds is equal to the human cerebral cortex (大脑皮层), which is involved in memory, learning, reasoning, and problem-solving, among other things. When these estimates about neuron numbers in the pallium were combined with information about over 4,000 feeding innovations, the team found that the species with the higher numbers of neurons in the pallium were also likely to be the most innovative.
“The amount of time chicks spend in the nest as their brains develop might also play a crucial role in the evolution of intelligence,” says McGill University Emeritus Professor Louis Lefebvre who spent more than 20 years gathering examples of feeding innovations. “Larger species of crows and parrots, which are known for their intelligence, spend longer in the nest, which allows more time for the brain to grow and accumulate pallial neurons.”
The results of the study help to deal with previously opposed views of the evolution and significance of brain size and show how a life-history perspective helps to understand the evolution of cognition.
1. What may a sparrow be thought of when it steals dog food?| A．It is lovely. | B．It is immoral. | C．It is heartbroken. | D．It is intelligent. |
| A．Assessed the neurons in their pallium. |
| B．Tested a new technology on their brain. |
| C．Trained them to learn to feed individually. |
| D．Compared their pallium with the human cerebral cortex. |
| A．Their large shape. |
| B．More time in their nest. |
| C．Their learning ability. |
| D．More feeding innovations. |
| A．Health. | B．Society. | C．Science. | D．Culture. |
8 . I am asked repeatedly why anyone would want to keep an “ugly” building or a building that is dirty and clearly in need of work. I guess you could say we preservationists (文物保护者) look at buildings through a different angle — an angle that can see the swan in the ugly duck, the story in the simple lines, and the book behind the cover.
The Queen Emma Building is remembered by many as one of the ugliest buildings in town. Yet the angle from which a preservationist views the building is that it is uniquely constructed with an artistical sun shield to block the sunlight, a decorative wall designers used concrete bricks to form. Unfortunately, it was removed in 2011, making the building one of many contemporary buildings in town.
Other times, when a beautiful site is replaced by a “horrible” building, people hate it and can’t get over their anger, even when that “horrible” building becomes an important part of our story. This is particularly true in San Francisco with many Victorian buildings, which are many. preservationists’ favorite. Yes, it was a tragedy that many Victorian buildings. got torn down several decades ago, but those losses also tell another important story. It tells the story of the 1950s and 1960s when there was hope for a more equal society with inexpensive housing for the working class. Should that history be wiped from our memories?
Preservation is not just about keeping pretty, well-kept buildings, but about holding on to parts of our history — not just the history of huge events, but the story of how everyone used to go to a certain corner market. Our history cannot be told only in buildings that meet someone’s criteria of beauty; sometimes our history is painful, but no less important.
1. Which section might the passage come from?| A．Opinion and Views. | B．Health and Well-being. |
| C．Space and Exploration. | D．Business and Finance. |
| A．It’s incredible. | B．It’s regrettable. | C．It’s inspiring. | D．It’s entertaining. |
| A．To wipe the history of the Victorian era. |
| B．To make land available for cheap housing. |
| C．To ease the deep anger of the working class. |
| D．To revive the architecture of the Victorian era |
| A．To analyze the role of preservationists. |
| B．To introduce buildings with historical value. |
| C．To explain why architects make ugly buildings. |
| D．To stress the significance of preserving “ugly” buildings. |
9 . Despite extreme cold, cruel ice and being brushed off as mad, Slovenian Davo Kamicar became the first person to ski non-stop down Mount Everest. After a dramatic fall over almost sheer cliffs of snow, stones and ice, 38-yeur-old Kamicar returned to his base camp after five hours of skiing. “I feel only absolute happiness and absolute tiredness,” he said.
Due to the severe weather conditions, Kamicar flung himself back down the mountain as soon as he reached the top rather thin have a rest as planned. At one point, he had to speed over stretches of ice that collapsed and broke underneath him and could have sent him falling into the deep crevasses (裂缝) that dot the mountain.
The descent (下落) had been widely regarded as extremely dangerous. The Darwin Awards website, known for documenting foolhardy deaths, urged people to log on to their website and “keep your eyes peeled for a live Darwin Award”. However, the only body to make the news was the corpse (尸体) of an unknown mountaineer which Kamicar zipped past as he descended, one of an estimated 120 corpses, thought to litter the slopes. “This mountain is always full of surprises. Seeing a dead man out there was still a shocking experience,” he said.
Thanks to strategically placed cameras on the mountain and one attached, to his safety helmet, hundreds of thousands of people witnessed the process online, which was one of the record highs ever of more than 650,000 hits: The website was once jammed as people tried to access the site.
A previous failed attempt had already cost Kamicar two fingers when he got frostbite as a fierce storm hit the peak, Coming from a skiing family and had his first Himalayan skiing expedition in 1989, he has been ever since tireless in raising funds and sponsorship for more expeditions, with Everest as the permanent goal.
1. How did Davo Kamicar make history?| A．By skiing down Mount Everest without rest. |
| B．By attracting the largest number of online audience. |
| C．By descending Mount Everest within the shortest time ever. |
| D．By becoming the first to film his descent down Mount Everest. |
| A．Daring but thoughtless. | B．Natural but tragic. |
| C．Peaceful and lonely. | D．Slow and heartbreaking. |
| A．His heavy falling off a sheer cliff. |
| B．The sudden appearance of other climbers. |
| C．The unexpected collapse of an icy hillside. |
| D．The sight of 120 corpses littering the slopes. |
| A．Darwin Award for Survivors |
| B．Body of Mountaineer Found on Everest |
| C．Mad Man Skis down Everest |
| D．Extreme Sports Hero Slides to a Record |
10 . More than 400 athletes across a variety of sports, ages and levels of experience were questioned for the study by sports psychology experts from Staffordshire University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The findings reveal that athletes’ belief systems — specifically irrational (非理性) beliefs — are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety and depressive symptoms.
“Phrases that reflect self-depreciating (贬低) beliefs such as ‘If I lose, I’m a failure’ or ‘If I face setbacks, it shows how stupid I am’ are warning signs,” said the authors. Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, said, “Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure. We investigated athletes’ beliefs, how they view stress, their levels of self-confidence and put all this data together to work out what might predict psychological well-being. We found irrational beliefs to be a core reason for symptoms of poor mental health in athletes.”
This is the first known study that has examined irrational beliefs, self-confidence, and the psychological well-being of athletes all together. Irrational beliefs are extreme, rigid, and illogical ideas that people hold. For example, a person might believe that they “must” get what they want, or that just because they have failed, they are a “complete failure”.
“We can all work to help athletes develop mindsets that help them deal with the challenges of sport and life. By encouraging rational and logical beliefs about performance, we can help athletes to stay healthy amidst the high demands of competitive sport,” said Paul Mansell.
The author s propose Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) as an effective tool for protecting self-confidence. REBT helps athletes to challenge these self-depreciating beliefs and develop beliefs that are more helpful and healthy. For example, rather than believe “I am a failure if I fail”, this might be countered with “Failing is not ideal, but it does not mean that I am a failure”.
1. What did the study centre on?| A．Physical health of athletes. |
| B．The competition state of athletes. |
| C．Psychological health of athletes. |
| D．Competition habits of athletes. |
| A．Worsened. | B．Examined. | C．Promoted. | D．Recognized. |
| A．Setbacks won’t stop me. |
| B．If I fail, I will lose everything. |
| C．It is a world full of competition. |
| D．What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. |
| A．Psychological benefits of physical activity |
| B．Effective tools for protecting self-confidence |
| C．Rational and logical beliefs about performance |
| D．Warning signs of poor mental health in athletes |
