1 . Polar bears normally feed on ringed seals that they catch on ice floes (浮冰) offshore. But as the ice disappears in a warming world, many bears are spending greater amounts of time on shore, eating birds’ eggs, berries and grass. However the animals rapidly lose weight on land, increasing the risk of death. The polar bear has become the victims for global climate change, but the reality of the impact on this species is complicated.
Increasing global temperatures are now seen as their biggest threat. That’s because the frozen Arctic seas are key to their survival. The animals use the sea ice as a platform to hunt ringed seals, mostly in late spring and early summer. But during the warmer months many parts of the Arctic are now increasingly ice-free.
To understand how the animals survive as the ice disappears, researchers carried out a study, where they followed the activities of 20 polar bears during the summer months over a three-year period. As well as taking blood samples, and weighing the bears, the animals were fitted with GPS-equipped video camera collars. This allowed the scientists to record the animals’ movements, their activities and what they ate.
In the ice-free summer months, the bears adopted different strategies to survive, with some essentially resting and conserving their energy. The majority tried to search for vegetation or berries or swam to see if they could find food. Both approaches failed, with 19 of the 20 bears in the study losing body mass, by up to 11% in some cases. On average they lost one kilogramme per day. “Regardless of which strategy they were trying to use, there was no real benefit to either approach as far as being able to prolong the period that they could survive on land,” according to lead author Dr Anthony Pagano, from the US Geological Survey in Alaska.
“It is likely that polar bears will disappear from areas where sea ice will be lost in future, but difficult to say just when and where,” said Jon Aars from the Norwegian Polar Institute who was not involved in the study.
1. Why is global warming seen as the biggest threat to polar bears?| A．Polar bears can not survive in warm environment. |
| B．Polar bears can not find bird’s eggs, berries, and grass. |
| C．There are fewer ringed seals in warm environment. |
| D．There are fewer ice floes for polar bears to hunt for food. |
| A．To record the polar bears’ health condition. |
| B．To figure out how the bears survive without sea ice. |
| C．To observe the daily activities of these polar bears. |
| D．To fit the bears with GPS-equipped video camera collars. |
| A．The bears haven’t found ways to live on land. |
| B．It’s efficient for the bears to rest and conserve energy. |
| C．All the bears in the study lose weight greatly. |
| D．The bears can not survive without ice floes. |
| A．A science fiction. | B．A book review. |
| C．An entertainment magazine. | D．An environmental journal. |
2 . Lamar Giles is the author of several praised novels and short stories for young adults. His most recent novel is called The Getaway (Scholastic Press, 2022).
I recently spoke with Giles via video. Born and raised in Virginia, he has had a passion for writing, he told me, since he was a child. “It was just amusing to me,” he said.
Growing up in Hopewell, Giles experienced poverty and racism. He recalled a frightening moment when he and his friends were stopped by police officers. “They were pulling out really big, scary weapons,” Giles recalled, “threatening us for no reason, other than the fact that we were young, Black children.”
When Giles was in his early 20s, he met professional authors who showed him that he could make a living doing what he loved. At age 21, he saw one of his stories published in a little-known magazine. It took another decade for Giles to write and publish his first novel.
The challenges Giles met with when growing up proved to be a catalyst (催化剂) for his writing. “When something scares me, I’ll write about it,” he said. “If I write a story around it, it makes me feel better about the fear and anxiety.”
The author’s thriller (惊险小说) for young adults, Fake ID (Amistad Books for Young Readers, 2015), tells the story of Nick Pearson. The character, who is Black, faces racial profiling in his hometown, as Giles did. Nick is suspected of committing a crime because of his race and his “shady” neighborhood. In one scene, he is held at the county jail after being falsely accused by a governor of a state.
Giles is also a co-founder of We Need Diverse Books. The nonprofit organization promotes diversity initiatives in the publishing industry, supporting authors whose stories are often ignored. The goal, Giles said, is to enable all kids to see themselves in the books they read.
1. What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Video. | B．Novel. | C．Passion. | D．Writing. |
| A．He tried his best to write books. | B．He lived in poverty and horror. |
| C．He lived under police protection. | D．He got along well with his friends. |
| A．They inspired him to write. | B．They changed his attitude to life. |
| C．They prevented him turning a writer. | D．They made him become strong-willed. |
| A．He was Giles’ best friend. | B．He devoted himself to writing. |
| C．He was wrongly imprisoned. | D．He founded a nonprofit organization. |
3 . Londoners love a market. It’s the combination of eating, chatting and browsing. Lovely stuff. Locals and tourists continue to rush to the capital’s best stalls and these days there’s a huge range of markets across London. Below you’ll find the very best markets in London.
Broadway Market
Since being reopened in 2004, this Hackney Street market has become attractive to fashion lovers. It is packed every Saturday from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. with arty students and East End creative types filling their large handbags with organic groceries, vintage clothes, fresh flowers, coffee, books and unusual handmade gifts.
Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road Market is really five markets in one, with different sections dedicated to second-hand goods, clothing and fashion, household essentials. You’ll find the greatest range of antiques stalls on Saturdays.
Borough Market
Next to London Bridge, this food market has existed in some form since at least 1014. It’s now best known as a foodie’s paradise where Londoners come to buy top-quality meats, fish, fruit and veg, fresh-baked bread, cakes and sweet treats, oils and vinegar, and pretty much anything else they desire. Borough Market is open Monday to Saturday, with Saturday the busiest day.
Brick Lane Market
The streets of East London’s Brick Lane are lined with stalls selling anything and everything on Sundays. You can find bargain fruit and veg, and electrical products, but this market’s Unique Selling Point is its unpredictability (不可预测): You could bag a second-hand bargain, or spend hours selecting through inexpensive goods.
1. Who would most likely enjoy Broadway Market?| A．Poor people. | B．Art lovers. |
| C．Those who like used items. | D．Those who have no time. |
| A．They show cultural relics. | B．They sell the cheapest goods. |
| C．They sell second-hand goods. | D．They are busy on the same day. |
| A．Borough Market. | B．Brick Lane Market. |
| C．Broadway Market. | D．Portobello Road Market. |
4 . The Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation (PPIE) was started in 1987 to raise money by organizing running events for local schools. Based in Pleasanton, California, a suburb of San Francisco, the nonprofit recently hosted a family-focused fitness event for the community.
“Our event helps to bring the community together,” said Mindy Louie, events and outreach manager for PPIE. “We have more than 3,000 participants, hard-working volunteers, and viewers.”
This year’s fitness event took place on April 30 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. It featured races of two miles, five kilometers, and 10 kilometers. A new Kids Challenge consisted of a quarter-mile run to encourage younger children to participate.
When asked to describe the run, 11-year-old Jeremy Louie said, “Fun, exciting, and enjoyable.” Jeremy added that he was happy to help support his school.
The PPIE supports all 15 schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District, which includes more than 14,500 students and 800 teachers and staff. The nonprofit tries to fund education programs affected by budget cuts, while encouraging fitness and athleticism. Up to now, the PPIE has raised $1 million for the school district.
A local runners’ group called the BURN Youth Development (or B. Y. D.) participated in the fundraiser. The B.Y. D. has since grown to include more than 100 youth members, 30 of whom ran in April’s PPIE event. “The B.Y. D. was born in the darkest days of COVID-19 to keep kids running,” explained Jerry Wu, the group’s founder and lead coach. “Watching them running strong and happy makes me smile every time.”
Wu encourages teamwork and teaches the students valuable running techniques. Eighth grader Ollie Gu, a B.Y. D. member, was one of the top finishers in the 10K run. He completed the race in 40 minutes and 46 seconds and won first place in the 12-15-year-old age group.
“The race was extremely rewarding,” Ollie said. “I’m looking forward to it next year.”
1. Which race was newly created?| A．Two miles. | B．10 kilometers. | C．Five kilometers. | D．A quarter-mile. |
| A．To gather money for students. | B．To keep kids active in a hard time. |
| C．To train kids to attend competitions. | D．To help PPIE organize sports games. |
| A．He coaches them in running. | B．He teaches the lessons online. |
| C．He offers food and drinks to them. | D．He helps them fight against illness. |
| A．Benefits from Sports Activities | B．Popular Events Among Students |
| C．Running to Support Education. | D．Lending a Hand to Schools in Need |
5 . The glass armonica (玻璃琴), also known as a glass harmonica or simply armonica, is a musical instrument that produces sound by rubbing glass with wet fingers. It was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761.
The instrument consists of a series of glass bowls of varying sizes, fixed straight on a spindle (轴). The glass bowls are arranged in order of size, with the largest bowl on one end and the smallest on the other.
Franklin came up with the idea after attending a concert in Cambridge. The performer was rubbing wine glasses to produce musical notes. Franklin thought that was not efficient. He decided to invent a set of musical instruments made of glass.
So, he hired a London glassmaker to construct 36 bowls to specific thicknesses and sizes. He fixed the bowls horizontally on a spindle with the largest bowl on one end and the smallest on the other. In this way the musician can play the glass bowls like a keyboard.
The glass armonica became prevalent during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Mozart and Beethoven both composed chamber pieces for it.
But by the 1820s, it was nearly a forgotten instrument in fears that it had the power to drive the listener mad. Some armonica players became ill and had to stop playing the instrument. They complained of muscle spasms (痉挛), nervousness, cramps, and dizziness. A few listeners were also affected. The instrument was actually banned in a few towns. “The armonica too inspires the nerves, drives the player into a troublesome depression and later into a dark and sad mood that is a method for slow self-destroying.”
However, no explanation or proof was ever really given to any of these claims. Franklin himself ignored all of the argument and continued to play the instrument until the end of his life.
1. How are the glass bowls arranged to form this instrument?| A．By their thickness. | B．By their shapes. | C．By their weight. | D．By their sizes. |
| A．A failed performance. | B．An unsuccessful concert. |
| C．An unusual performer. | D．A couple glasses of wine. |
| A．Fearful. | B．Popular. | C．Strange. | D．Tiresome. |
| A．Bad remarks about the instrument. | B．Terrible sounds made by the instrument. |
| C．Bans on this instrument everywhere. | D．This instrument’s great appeal to people. |
6 . Three young men were on a crowded train when they encountered a heavily armed terrorist. With little regard for their personal safety, they rushed the terrorist and controlled him. Only some people seem capable of this split-second form of heroism. Why some men rise to the occasion — and others don’t — has been a bit tricky to explain. Psychologists have explored this question through biological and personality psychology.
Of course, heroism and courage can appear in many forms, and men and women risk their reputations, health, and social standing to do what they think is right. When it comes to physically risky bravery, people assume that men will take the lead. There are sound biological reasons for this fixed image. One of the most common fears in men is that they’ll be outed as a coward (懦夫), and a man who fails to display physical courage will suffer damage to his reputation in a way that a woman will not. Throughout human history, attaining a position of high status or dominance among one’s peers (同龄人) has been the ticket that needs to get punched for men to attract mates and father children.
People tend to have an idea of what heroes are like. When rating the personalities of movie heroes, participants expected them to be more careful and hard-working, open to experience, agreeable, and emotionally stable than the average person. But some studies indicate that people who exhibit heroic behavior score high on personality usually associated with madmen: risk-taking, sensation seeking, coolness under stress, and a tendency to take over in social situations.
The study of the relationship between personality and heroism is at an early stage. Psychologists are still at a loss to predict in advance who will heroically step up when needed. Often, the hero is an otherwise ordinary person who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances. Meanwhile, some individuals trained to behave heroically might hesitate during a crisis. Future disasters will cry out for further acts of true heroism. Hopefully, the right mix of circumstances and personalities enable courage to carry the day.
1. How is the topic introduced in the first paragraph?| A．By presenting a question. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making a comparison. | D．By drawing a conclusion. |
| A．Be bought. | B．Be talented. | C．Be abandoned. | D．Be acquired. |
| A．There are numerous factors affecting heroism. |
| B．Heroes and ordinary people are always difficult to tell apart. |
| C．Unknown circumstances play a crucial role in heroic acts. |
| D．Individual personality is not a reliable indicator of heroism. |
| A．How Are Heroes Trained? | B．Why Are Heroes Important? |
| C．What Makes a Person Heroic? | D．Who Are the True Heroes? |
7 . Jokes and humor are often thought of as unimportant. If the lawyer defending you in court couldn’t stop joking, you’d be understandably alarmed.
However, regarding humour as insignificant is a mistake. Humour, jokes and laughter, have a vital role to play in human behaviour and interaction. They are a powerful part of social bonding and are genuinely beneficial for health via their stress-relieving properties.
Why do we respond, in such powerful and rewarding ways, to things that objectively make little sense? A substantial amount of data has been generated regarding how humour works in the brain and on the various types of recognisable jokes that trigger it.
Verbal puns, the most familiar type of joke, involve words that convey two meanings at once. For example, “Why did the golfer wear two pairs of trousers? In case he got a hole in one.” Here “hole in one” has two possible interpretations. Their simplicity and familiarity mean most people recognise the humour in puns. So, the brain’s humour processes are still engaged.
But where does humour arise from in the brain? Considerable research points towards a specific system in the brain for recognizing humour. This system seemingly detects and resolves incongruity (不和谐). Our brains know how things, like language and behaviors, should work. But, in the real world, many things don’t match our expectations. It seems our brains have evolved a system to recognise when this happens.
If normality is subverted, it means we don’t know what’s going to happen, which creates cognitive (认知) tension. However, the system that recognises incongruity seemingly also resolves it, by providing an explanation, or at least a confirmation that the incongruity has no negative consequences. This removes the uncertainty, relieving the tension. So, we experience a rewarding feeling. If the incongruity is not resolved, however, humour is absent. If the answer to “Why did the golfer wear two pairs of trousers?” is “in case the metal owl that lives in his gold bag attacks him”, that’s not funny. There’s unresolved incongruity.
Humour is essentially our brain going, “This isn’t how things usually work... but I’m okay with it!”
1. What does the author say about humor in the first two paragraphs?| A．Its positive role is often underrated. | B．It mainly serves to entertain and amuse. |
| C．Its harmful effects shouldn’t be ignored. | D．It is essential for professional communication. |
| A．To prove a theory. | B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To illustrate a concept. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．Detected. | B．Overturned. | C．Established. | D．Repeated. |
| A．How Jokes Affect Brain Structures | B．Using Humor to Boost Brain Power |
| C．Jokes and the Brain’s Reward System | D．Unlocking Brain Secrets Behind Humor |
8 . Norwegian playwright and author Jon Fosse has been awarded the Nobel prize in Literature for his “innovative plays and prose (散文) which give voice to the unsayable”.
The Swedish Academy considers Fosse as “one of the playwrights whose plays are the most widely performed in the world”, although the 64-year-old originally made his name as a novelist, beginning with Red, Black in 1983. He has since written many works of prose and poetry. “His literary works, including a variety of genres (体裁), consist of about 40 plays and a wealth of novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations,” said Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel committee for Literature.
Jon Fosse draws inspiration from his rural living environment and personal struggles which have deeply influenced his distinctive writing style. Growing up in a small coastal village, Fosse was lost in the beauty of nature and the vastness of the sea, which filled him with a sense of being alone and introspection (内省) that is reflected in his works. Fosse’s writing discussed themes of loneliness, longing, and the search for meaning in life. Additionally, his battles with depression have enabled him to explore the depths of human emotions and existential despair.
“He touches you so deeply when you read his works,” said Anders Olsson. “What is special about him is the closeness in his writing. It touches your deepest feelings — anxieties, insecurities, questions of life and death — which are things that every human being actually faces from the very beginning. In that sense, I think he reaches very far and there is a sort of a universal impact of everything that he writes.”
Fosse is the first-ever winner of the award writing in Nynorsk, one of the two official languages of Norway, but only used by just 10% of the population. As The Guardian writes, “Many Nynorsk speakers see Fosse ‘as a kind of national hero’ for his supporting and using the language.” Fosse’s being recognized on a global stage contributes to the visibility of Nynorsk as a written standard. It will attract more attention to Nynorsk literature, inspire and encourage Nynorsk speakers to continue preserving and highlighting their language heritage.
1. What made Jon Fosse become famous in the beginning?| A．His news reports. | B．His novels. | C．His film reviews. | D．His poetry collections. |
| A．His appreciation for the vastness of the sea. | B．His struggles against his bad mental state. |
| C．His pleasant rural living environment. | D．His unfavourable family atmosphere. |
| A．How Fosse has got inspiration for his writing. |
| B．How Fosse’s works enlighten and affect readers. |
| C．How Fosse’s works deal with questions of life and death. |
| D．How Fosse expresses the bond between human and nature. |
| A．He has used a language spoken by a small number of people. |
| B．He promotes culture exchanges between different nations. |
| C．His works appeal to both the old and the young. |
| D．He has reset writing standards of Nynorsk. |
9 . Key railway stations in England
St Pancras International
Located in London’s city center on Euston Road, St Pancras International is one of the leading terminals (终点站) for Eurostar international train services from London to France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
St Pancras station was established in 1868 and is one of the masterpieces of Victorian engineering. It impresses people with Victorian Gothic architecture and is one of the world’s most elegant railway stations.
Paddington railway station
Paddington railway station is also known as Paddington Underground Station. Situated in Paddington, central London, the station is close to Marylebone and Bayswater. Paddington was opened in 1838 and is the London terminal of services operated by the Great Western Railway.
King’s Cross railway station
Located on the edge of Central London in the UK, King’s Cross station, or London King’s Cross, is one of the country’s busiest stations. It was opened in 1845 and named in honor of King George IV.
Today, London King’s Cross is one of the main hubs (中心) of the UK railway routes, connecting many major cities, including Edinburgh, Inverness, York, Cambridge, Newcastle, Glasgow and many other domestic routes. What’s more, the famous Harry Potter platform 9³/ ₄ is set on London’s King’s Cross station.
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is the central railway station in Liverpool, England. Established in 1836, the station is the oldest still-in-use grand terminal mainline station in the world. Plus, the building itself is quite impressive; its front was designed in the Renaissance Revival style.
Trips from Liverpool Lime Street cover plenty of destinations across England, Wales and Scotland. And being the busiest station in Liverpool, it serves over 16 million passengers a year.
1. Which station was put in use the latest of all?| A．St Pancras International. | B．Paddington railway station. |
| C．King’s Cross railway station. | D．Liverpool Lime Street railway station. |
| A．Outside of London. | B．On Euston Road. |
| C．Near Marylebone and Bayswater. | D．On the edge of Central London. |
| A．It can help people travel to England, Wales and Scotland. |
| B．It is a major terminal for Eurostar international trains. |
| C．It is one of the masterpieces of Victorian engineering. |
| D．It serves no more than 16 million passengers a year. |
10 . Do you know that all sorts of adventures can happen in educational settings after sundown? Here’s a round-up of sites where the fun continues as night falls.
Ripley’s Aquarium
TORONTO, CANADA
Ever wondered how sweet your dreams would be while sleeping in an aquarium’s shark tunnel that holds around 2.9 million litres of water? You can find out during an Overnight Reef Adventure. Green sawfish, sand tiger sharks, Queensland groupers, and green sea turtles will be your companions for the night.
California Academy of Sciences
SAN FRANCISCO, US
This awe-inspiring museum in Golden Gate Park hosts regular Penguins + Pajamas Sleepovers. As the name suggests, pack your pajamas, grab a sleeping bag, and spend a night under the same roof as a colony of African penguins. You can explore a rainforest full of free-flying birds and foreign reptiles (爬行动物) before lights-out. There’s also a planetarium (天文馆) that’s truly out of this world.
Kennedy Space Center
FLORIDA, US
In the Kennedy Space Center, youth groups and visitors making private bookings can have after-hours opportunity to enjoy hands-on challenges, watch a 3D movie in an IMAX theatre, and go on a Q&A session with a former NASA astronaut who’s travelled into space. What’s more, you get to sleep either underneath a 110 m-long Saturn V moon rocket or beside the space shuttle Atlantis.
1. At Ripley’s Aquarium, what will visitors encounter?| A．Foreign reptiles. | B．African penguins. |
| C．Free-flying birds. | D．Sand tiger sharks. |
| A．Travelers seeking sea adventures. | B．Locals eager for outdoor activities. |
| C．Teenagers attracted by hands-on challenges. | D．Visitors interested in space and animals. |
| A．They are all located in the US. | B．They only open after sundown. |
| C．They all offer overnight experiences. | D．They all feature interactive sections. |
