1 . Middle school. For teens and their parents. the two words can arouse anxiety, fear and even horror. Kids are, all of a sudden, really growing up. Their bodies are changing: they’re dropping some of their childhood interests and trying on new ones. Friendships form and are torn apart. Academic expectations grow bigger.
But some books-like the novel Curlfriends: New in Town, written and drawn by Sharee Miller-remind us of the many possibilities and excitements that present themselves within those challenging years.
The book follows 12-year-old Charlie Harper, beginning her first day of middle school. This is no small change, and in order ta cope. Charlie promises to “completely reinvent” herself. She is tired of letting other people label her and is ready to take control of her own story. What follows is a series of meetings, first with Nola. She introduces Charlie to her lunchtime crew. The girls come together around shared particulars of their lives-homework. girlhood and fashion -even if their differences in tastes and personalities create cracks of uncertainty from time to time.
Curlfriends is a delightful book packed with sunny illustrations. It also cuts into the heart of the challenging tensions that are part of this intermediate stage of life. Young teens want to be known and seen by others, but they are also coming to terms with who they are. It can be tricky, for example, to distinguish between the passions and pastimes that your parents picked for you and those you actively care to pursue. It can be difficult to figure out what you like and what you are like.
Curlfriends is also a book about finding one’s passions, responsibilities and independence despite changing situations. It is as much about expressions of self-respect as it is about showing care for others. The one constant in Charlie’s life is her love of drawing. and it’s through art that she figures out how to mark her place in middle school. It’s not all under her control, but, as with good art, sometimes mistakes along the way end up making for the most amazing details.
1. What is the central theme explored in Curlfriends: New in Town?| A．The challenges of studies during the teenage years. |
| B．The difficulty of making new friends in middle school. |
| C．The transformations and opportunities in growing up. |
| D．The impact of parental expectations on teenagers. |
| A．Listen to others more carefully. | B．Follow her heart and passions. |
| C．Live up to her parents’ expectations. | D．Be more confident and outgoing. |
| A．Serious and formal. | B．Light-hearted and inspiring. |
| C．Humorous and carefree. | D．Cold and indifferent. |
| A．Finding Her Place | B．Maintaining Friendships. |
| C．Changing with Times. | D．Seeking the Passions. |
2 . For his entire life, Sergio Peralta from the US dreamed about playing catch. When he was born, his right hand didn’t fully develop, with only tiny fingers at the end of his arm. So he learned to write, eat and carry books with only one hand. Over the years, the 15-year-old lost hope that anything would change.
Peralta said on his first day of high school he honestly felt like hiding his hand in his sleeve, so nobody would ever find out. But his classmates, to his surprise, supported him in a way he never expected. The school’s engineering teacher, Jeff Wilkins, came and told him that his fellow students might be able to help.
“They ended up offering, ‘We could build your prosthetic (假体的) hand,’ and I never expected it,” he told CBS News. “Like, never in a million years.” Three students used their access to online models of prostheses and a 3D printer to make a plan. After four weeks, their project came to fruition. They used polylactic acid (聚乳酸), a common material in 3D printing that’s also used to make electronic devices, as the hand’s main fabric. They applied another plastic material commonly found in phone shells to make the fingers spread and squeeze objects. And they added a fishing line, so Peralta could fix the hand to his forearm.
Bob Cotter, the principal of Hendersonville High School, told the BBC that his students are encouraged to turn concepts “into reality”, adding that Peralta’s new prosthesis is “a proof to the students who care about each other”.
Peralta-who grew up learning to do everything with his left hand-was even able to catch a baseball with the prosthetic hand created by his classmates. “When I caught it for the first time, everyone started freaking out.” Peralta said with a smile. “It was the first time I caught a ball with my right hand in my IS years.”
1. How did Sergio feel about his hand when he started high school?| A．He felt at a loss for it. | B．He felt unaffected by it |
| C．He was optimistic about it. | D．He was open to accepting it |
| A．It was finished in four months. | B．It could be controlled by a phone. |
| C．Its main material is polylactic acid. | D．Its fingers were not flexible enough. |
| A．The students’ critical thinking. | B．The students’ imagination. |
| C．The students’ determination. | D．The students’ mutual support. |
| A．Feeling panicked. | B．Becoming overjoyed. |
| C．Calming down. | D．Showing concern. |
3 . The Children’s Museum of Manhattan Exhibitions Beginning in 2024
Adventures with Dora and Diego (Ages: 3-6 years)
Join Diego on a series of animal rescue missions. Learn facts about animals and their habitats by helping Diego rescue animals in trouble. Explore a cave, a beach and the rainforest or rub animal footprints, even build a Bear’s nest! By helping Dora and her friends. kids will learn problem-solving skills, and gain a greater appreciator and awareness of Latin American culture.
Inside Art (Ages: 4-10 years)
The exhibition continues our tradition of providing families with access to beautiful, complex, and challenging art, as well as access to working artists and opportunities for art making. Come to celebrate art as a vehicle for building healthy communities and explore ideas of home and identity.
PlayWorks (Ages: birth years)
We’ve designed every aspect of PlayWorksTM to help families prepare children to enter school. By combining hands-on games and learning, PlayWorksTM creates a fun and rewarding experience for children.
For adults, PlayWorksnTM provides an opportunity to observe each child’s unique learning style and appreciate how play creates a strong foundation for later learning. This innovative environment includes Alphie -a giant talking dragon who “cats” letters! Come lo get more resources to support your child’s language development.
Superpowered Metropolis: Early Learning City (Ages: 2-6 years)
The exhibit invites children and their grown-ups to feel like heroes, building their learning brain skills together. These skills, known as executive functions, include self-control. working memory, and mental flexibility. Children practice these learning “superpowers” with Zip, Zap, and Zoom, who guide families on a series of city adventures exploring the subways, parks, music, travel, tree houses, and more.
1. Which exhibition is suitable for a boy aged 3 who is learning spelling?| A．Adventures with Dora and Diego | B．Inside Art |
| C．Superpowered Metropolis: Early Learning City | D．PlayWorks |
| A．Learn more about nature and culture. | B．Draw a map of city subways and parks. |
| C．Graduate with a specific qualification. | D．Get resources for language learning. |
| A．They are free of charge for kids. | B．They are only designed for kids. |
| C．They improve kids’ academic performance. | D．They provide kids with hands-on experience. |
4 . In an awe-inspiring incident, a young killer whale recently demonstrated remarkable intelligence by seeking assistance from a group of humans to save its trapped mother, which challenged our conventional understanding of wild predators (食肉动物).
The online viral video, shared by Alvin Foo, began with a young killer whale emitting distressing cries towards a group of people on a boat. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the concerned individuals promptly responded by contacting a rescue team. The young whale’s desperate request for help touched more people’s hearts and set a truly extraordinary chain of events in motion.
As the rescue team arrived, they were amazed to witness the young killer whale’s playful interaction with the humans. The whale appeared elated, seemingly understanding that assistance had finally arrived. This interaction between the mother killer whale and rescuers underlined the potential for mutual understanding beyond the boundary of traditional predator-prey relationships.
The young whale took on the role of a guide, leading the rescue team to its mother trapped in a fishing net. It navigated the water with purpose, as if fully aware that the humans possessed the means to save its mother. This display of intelligence left the rescuers in awe, highlighting the complex cognitive abilities of these magnificent marine creatures. With its guidance, the rescue team swiftly initiated the liberation process, carefully cutting the net to free the trapped whale. Astonishingly, they seemed to understand that the humans were there to help and did as asked.
The instant the mother whale was finally freed, an eruption of joyous cries filled the air. The emotional outpouring conveyed the immense gratitude of both the mother whale and the young whale to the humans who had intervened. As the rescue team made their way back to shore, the two whales swam alongside them. This heart-warming sight emphasized the lasting impact of the rescue. The bond formed through this extraordinary rescue operation was well obvious, proving that the profound connections can be established between various species. The journey back to safety symbolized the victory of compassion over adversity.
1. What can we learn about the video from paragraph 2?| A．It spread widely. |
| B．It went unnoticed. |
| C．It documented humans’ requesting help. |
| D．It recorded passive response to the rescue. |
| A．Tired. | B．Excited. | C．Frightened. | D．Confused. |
| A．Wise and cooperative. | B．Complex and mysterious. |
| C．Curious and careful. | D．Wild and rude. |
| A．Adversity is a good discipline. |
| B．It is urgent to protect wildlife. |
| C．Different species can coexist in harmony. |
| D．Human intervention poses a threat to whales. |
5 . From the moon to Mars, scientists have been hunting for alien life in the solar system for decades.
However, Venus was not regarded as an ideal place because of its hot temperature and dry atmosphere. But a recent discovery of traces of a gas in the clouds of Venus has excited astronomers, as it may serve as a potential sign of life.
On Sept 14, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada announced that scientists have detected phosphine (磷化氢) in the clouds of Venus. Phosphine is a colorless, toxic gas that has an odor of garlic. Though toxic, it is viewed as a possible sign of life because on Earth the gas is made by microorganisms that live in oxygen-free environments.
“I was very surprised, stunned, in fact.” astronomer Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales and lead author of the research, told MSN. “There is a chance that we have detected some kind of living organism in the clouds of Venus.”
This layer of clouds is about 48 kilometers above the Venus surface, with its temperature ranging from 30 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (about -1 to 93℃). Scientists have inferred that if life exists on Venus, this cloud deck is likely the only place where it would survive.
Scientists went through every possibility that could have led to the formation of phosphine gas in Venus’ clouds, including volcanoes, lightning strikes, small meteorites (陨石) falling into the atmosphere. But they ruled all of them out. It was concluded that there is no explanation for the existence of this gas in Venus’ clouds, other than the presence of life, USA Today reported.
Although the detection of phosphine is not strong evidence for life, this finding is great enough to change scientists’ view on Venus, which is thought to be a completely inhospitable planet.
What signs of life we looking for?
(1). Liquid water: It can dissolve a huge range of molecules needed for life and facilitate their chemical reactions.
(2). Mild temperatures: Temperatures higher than 122 ℃ will destroy most complex organic molecules, and make it almost impossible for carbon-based life to form.
1. What can we learn about phosphine from the text?| A．It has no smell at all. | B．It only exists on Venus. |
| C．It can be produced by microorganisms. | D．It is a sign of the existence of oxygen. |
| A．Various living organisms have been detected on Venus. |
| B．The higher the cloud is above Venus, the warmer it is. |
| C．The cloud deck is rich in phosphine. |
| D．If life exists on Venus, it is likely in the cloud deck. |
| A．It could be formed as a result of the falling of meteorites. |
| B．It could be a sign that there is life in Venus’ clouds. |
| C．It could be caused by volcanoes and lighting strikes. |
| D．It proves that Venus is another hospitable planet. |
| A．A newly detected gas may indicate possible existence of life on Venus. |
| B．Scientists found the most hospitable place on Venus. |
| C．The environment on Venus changed in favor of life. |
| D．Phosphine formed on Venus means alien life is present. |
6 . Meteorites (陨石) can offer clues about what the early solar system was like. But finding them is far from difficult. Now, some scientists are turning to drones (无人机) and machine learning to help spot freshly fallen meteorites much more efficiently. “A team of six people on a meteorite-hunting expedition can search about 200,000 square meters per day,” says Seamus Anderson, a planetary scientist in Australia.
Around 2016, Anderson began toying with the concept of using drones to take pictures of the g round to look for meteorites. That idea blossomed into a Ph.D. project. In 2022, he and his colleagues reported their first successful recovery of a meteorite spotted with a drone. They’ve since found four more meteorites at a different site. Drone-based searches are much faster than the standard search way. “You’re going from about 300 days of human effort down to about a dozen or so,” he says.
Anderson and his workmates have used drones to search for meteorites in remote parts of Western Australia and South Australia. The team is tipped off about a fall site by networks of ground-based cameras that track meteoroids flashing through the Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers have to do a series of fun but difficult work before the hunt. They pack a four-wheel drive vehicle with drone and computer equipment, battery charging stations, generators, fuel, food, camping equipment, tables, chairs and much more. The drive to the fall site can take more than a day, often on rough or nonexistent roads. Anderson says, “You hope you don’t pop a tire.”
After arriving, the team flies its primary drone at an altitude of about 20 meters. Its camera takes an image of the ground once every second, and the scientists download the data every 40 minutes or so when the drone lands to receive fresh batteries. A typical day of flying can net over 10,000 images, which are then divided digitally into 100 million or so smaller sections. Those “tiles”, each 2 meters on a side, are fed into a machine learning algorithm (算法) that has been trained to recognize meteorites based on images of real land rocks which are spray-painted black.
1. Why do the scientists study meteorites?| A．To spot the planetary course. | B．To promote machine learning. |
| C．To test the functions of drones. | D．To explore the past of solar system. |
| A．Their barriers. | B．Their causes. |
| C．Their efficiency. | D．Their concept. |
| A．Fun and light. | B．Smooth and flexible. |
| C．Difficult and unpleasant. | D．Complicated and tough. |
| A．By dividing them in half. | B．By storing them for analysis. |
| C．By combining them into a picture. | D．By linking them with a digital printer. |
7 . Recent research confirms what our farming ancestors have known for centuries about hedges (树篱). They conserve precious soil by acting as windbreaks and absorbing rainwater that would otherwise wash it from the fields. And hedges store carbon, putting them in the front line of our bi d to tackle the climate crisis.
However, hedges have had a tough time in the poor countryside, with farmers encouraged to tear them down in pursuit of maximum production and larger field s to accommodate ever-larger machinery. What’s more, some hedges have been ignored. If left to their own devices, they’ll eventually become a line of trees. Some hedges each year lose their structures and fail to fulfil the primary duty as a barrier. Around a half of the nation’s hedges have disappeared in the past century.
There are signs that “the tide is turning”. The search for net zero has aroused many organizations’ interest in the humble hedge’s role as a carbon sink. The Climate Change Committee is recommending a 40 percent increase in hedges: an additional 200,000 km. Such recommendations are starting to drive policy. Cash-pressed farmers will be encouraged to create new hedges and improve their management of existing ones under the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, which will replace many of the existing agricultural support payments in coming years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Close the Gap, led by the Tree Council, is providing funding and support to plug the gaps in existing hedges with new planting. There’s even an app to help time-pressed farmers do a quick survey to spot where their hedges need some help.
This is a good time for hedges. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing the countryside, and indeed, the world as a whole — the climate crisis, soil erosion (侵蚀), insect attack and wider biodiversity loss — and hedges are part of the solution.
1. What does recent research show about hedges?| A．They are unique landscapes in the rain. |
| B．They act as dividing lines between fields. |
| C．They have long been helpful to agriculture. |
| D．They are frequently washed away from the fields. |
| A．Their suffering. | B．Their production. |
| C．Their duties. | D．Their structures. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Concerned. | C．Humble. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Hedges: Ancient Resources |
| B．Hedges: Official Recommendations |
| C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment |
| D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request |
8 . Let’s get to some famous attractions in London!
Chinatown
At the beginning of the 20th century, many Chinese immigrants gathered together in the East End of London and set about creating businesses to provide services for Chinese people who frequented the area. In the 1930s and 1940s, with a large inflow of immigrants from Hong Kong and a growth in popularity of Chinese cooking style, many Chinese restaurants opened elsewhere.
Natural History Museum
It was ever known as part of the British Museum which was established in 1753. The museum exhibits a large number of cultural relics. It holds collections coming from every continent around the globe. It exhibits millions of life and earth samples, and visitors can witness collections having great scientific value like samples that were collected by Charles Darwin.
Madame Tussauds London
The museum is created by the w ax sculptress, Marie Tussaud. Located on Marylebone Road, it is the first Madame Tussaud’s museum, which opened about 200 years ago, though there are now a variety of other branches within different cities around the globe. The museum hosts lifelike figures, including royal people, film stars, sports stars and models.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London, has played a global role in the history of astronomy and navigation. It was established in 1675 with the key function being to set right the places of the fixed stars and find the desired navigational places. With its position overlooking the River Thames in central London, it makes for an excellent tourist attraction on a year-round basis.
1. Where is the text most probably taken from?| A．A course plan. | B．A tourism journal. |
| C．A science magazine. | D．A history textbook. |
| A．Its scientific samples. | B．Its birth city. |
| C．Its Chinese architectural style. | D．Its lifelike figures. |
| A．Chinatown. | B．Natural History Museum. |
| C．Madame Tussauds London. | D．Royal Observatory, Greenwich. |
9 . JESSICA WELLS had always wanted to be a nurse. In 2006, she
Eventually, Wells, who is deaf, blossomed,
After college administrators asked an employee whether Wells, a
On January 22, however, just before the spring 2008 semester began, Wells received a letter from the school,
“She’d done just fine in her training,” says Wells’s lawyer, Rita Sanders. "The school’s decision had no
However, the college replied, arguing that the loss of hearing will
| A．turned | B．admitted | C．ceased | D．applied |
| A．Unfortunately | B．Surprisingly | C．Finally | D．Unbelievably |
| A．extracted | B．rejected | C．enrolled | D．inquired |
| A．tendency | B．belief | C．performance | D．assessment |
| A．but for | B．thanks to | C．apart from | D．up to |
| A．interpreters | B．editors | C．professors | D．advisers |
| A．hearing-disabled | B．strong-willed | C．kind-hearted | D．short-sighted |
| A．ambitious | B．successful | C．tough | D．reasonable |
| A．skipping | B．employing | C．escaping | D．dismissing |
| A．seldom | B．slightly | C．totally | D．greatly |
| A．social | B．academic | C．clinical | D．athletic |
| A．goes against | B．turns down | C．calls for | D．gets through |
| A．consequences | B．grounds | C．faiths | D．theories |
| A．yield | B．mark | C．switch | D．pose |
| A．recognition | B．dilemma | C．prejudice | D．preference |
10 . Astronaut Neill Armstrong, the first man on the moon, passed away at 82. He commanded the Apollo 11spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, and has been best remembered by saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.
Armstrong was born Aug 5, 1930, on a farm in western Ohio. He took his first airplane ride at the age of 6 and developed an interest in aviation (航空) that pushed him to build model airplanes and conduct experiments in a homemade wind tunnel. As a boy, he took flying lessons and was licensed to fly at 16, before he got his driver’s license.
Armstrong enrolled in Purdue University to study aircraft engineering but was called to work with the US Navy in 1949 and flew 78 fight tasks. Armstrong was accepted into NASA’s astronaut class in 1962. He was a support commander for the Apollo 8 task in 1968. In that flight, Commander Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and BiIIAnders circled the moon 10 times, and got ready for the moon landing seven months later.
On July 20, 1969, an estimated 600 million people—a fifth of the world’s population watched and listened to the landing, the largest audience for any single event in history.
Parents crowded with their children in front of the family television. absorbed by what they were witnessing. Farmers gave up their duties at night, and drivers pulled off the highway and checked into hotels just to see the moonwalk. Television-less travelers in California ran to their cars to catch the word on the radio. Afterward, people walked out of their homes and stared at the moon, in awe of what they had just seen. Others watched through telescopes in hopes of spotting the astronauts.
“I can honestly say-and it’s a big surprise to me that I have never had a dream about being on the moon.” he once said.
Armstrong married Carol Knight in 1994, and the couple lived quietly in Indian Hill, a Cincinnati suburb. He had two adult sons from a previous marriage.
1. What’s the purpose of the text?| A．To introduce the first man to land on the moon. |
| B．To tell people Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. |
| C．To illustrate an estimated 600 million people witnessed the event in history. |
| D．To explain the saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. |
| A．Armstrong circled the moon 10 times. |
| B．Armstrong was called to work with the US Navy. |
| C．Armstrong gave lectures in NASA’s astronaut class. |
| D．Armstrong conducted experiments in a homemade wind tunnel. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Astonished. | C．Disappointed. | D．Overjoyed. |
| A．Armstrong got his driver’s license at 16. |
| B．Armstrong took his first airplane ride at a very young age. |
| C．Armstrong had a childhood dream about being ont he moon. |
| D．Armstrong married Carol in 1994 and then had two sons. |
