1 . I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see — the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost — having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
1. How did the author get to know America?| A．From her relatives. | B．From her mother. |
| C．From books and pictures. | D．From radio. |
| A．confused | B．excited | C．worried | D．amazed |
| A．She worked as a translator | B．She attended a lot of job interviews |
| C．She paid telephone bills for her family | D．She helped her family with her English |
| A．her future will be free from troubles | B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
| C．there are more good things than bad things | D．good things will happen if one keeps trying. |
2 . As a teenager in the 1960s, growing up in suburbs south of Boston, I fell under the control of the very pleasantly
So, entering college, I decided to
In 2012, I retired. I began to attend weekly presentations about Chinese affairs sponsored (主办) by George Mason’s Confucius Institute, where by late 2014 this casual (偶然的) contact had led to the
Under the teachers’ guidance the
| A．relaxing | B．inviting | C．developing | D．confusing |
| A．explain | B．deepen | C．uncover | D．evaluate |
| A．look into | B．break off | C．seek out | D．take up |
| A．launched | B．spread | C．delayed | D．shared |
| A．shook off | B．wound through | C．set up | D．lived with |
| A．interaction | B．break | C．improvement | D．exchange |
| A．difficulties | B．encouragement | C．guidance | D．delivery |
| A．strengthened | B．started | C．interrupted | D．ended |
| A．formation | B．breakup | C．factor | D．wave |
| A．regularly | B．highly | C．rapidly | D．suitably |
| A．revised | B．respected | C．annoyed | D．doubted |
| A．weaknesses | B．challenges | C．sufferings | D．strengths |
| A．demanding | B．concerned | C．grateful | D．anxious |
| A．promising | B．cancelling | C．selling | D．promoting |
| A．increasingly | B．discouragingly | C．frighteningly | D．decreasingly |
3 . Ben Francis didn’t become wealthy through a family inheritance (遗产). Instead, the CEO and co-founder of Gymshark used his earnings as a Pizza Hut delivery guy to buy a sewing machine and start his fitness apparel (服饰) company at 19.
Eleven years later, his effort paid off. Francis, 30, who has a reported net worth of $1.3 billion, joined Forbes’ billionaires list. He’s in rare company: the list’s average age is 65 years old.
Originally, Francis and co-founder Lewis Morgan launched Gymshark as a website selling fitness products. But after getting bored with his ill-fitting clothes, Francis suggested pivoting the company.
Francis and Morgan bought a sewing machine. The pair brought Gymshark to a bodybuilding exhibition in 2013, but didn’t have any money to spend on advertising. On a whim (一时兴起), they decided to give popular fitness YouTubers free products. “My heroes were on YouTube,” Francis said. “So it would be so cool if my heroes could come to be with Gymshark at this event. I didn’t really think that much about it.” Some of those influencers went on to wear the clothes on their channels, bringing Gymshark’s sales to $45,000 per day, up from just $450.
Francis quit the CEO role in 2017. “CEO was not the right role for me when I was in my early 20s,” Francis said. “That I’d started a business which had grown very quickly didn’t mean I have the full ability to be a good leader.” He spent the next four years supporting leadership roles within Gymshark---including chief product officer and chief marketing officer – to learn more about the ins and outs of the business, before returning as CEO in 2021.
That year, the company was valued at $1.45 billion. Still, the company’s billion-dollar valuation is a small percentage of the market value of competitors like Nike and Lululemon. “I really think Gymshark can be the UK’s answer to those brands,” Francis said. “But that’s not saying that the UK is where it starts and ends for us. We also want to be a truly global brand.”
1. What makes Ben Francis special on Forbes’ billionaires list?| A．His age. | B．His wealth. | C．His talent. | D．His company. |
| A．Taking control of. | B．Making the best of. |
| C．Making changes to. | D．Attaching importance to. |
| A．To win the support of popular YouTubers. |
| B．To advertise their products in a cheap way. |
| C．To build a good relationship with YouTube. |
| D．To get the chance to meet their heroes on YouTube. |
| A．Gymshark: From a website to a big company |
| B．Gymshark: Taking the lead in fitness clothing |
| C．Francis: Starting the UK’s fastest-growing company |
| D．Francis: From a Pizza Hut delivery guy to a billionaire |
4 . Today, many people spend a lot of time reading online. Whether reading news or e-books, people are spending more time eyeballing (盯住) screens. While online reading opens up a great deal of knowledge to people, there are some disadvantages too, such as eyestrain, headaches, as well as difficulty in focusing on the text. Now a new reading system, Bionic Reading, developed by Swiss typographic designer Renato Casutt, can help people overcome these issues, and most importantly, it aims to help people read faster online and develop a more in-depth understanding of written content.
The reading system improve the reading process by guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points. To make it short: some parts of the words are displayed in bold (粗体). As a result, the reader only focuses on the highlighted letters and lets the brain center complete the rest. Your brain can “read” faster than your eyes, so by essentially reducing the number of letters your eye needs to look at, you can read faster while still preserving the full context.
Cassult discovered the system by accident. He was working on designing a book in a foreign language and realized he could read it if he sectioned it off. He worked for six years to develop Bionic Reading and is still working to adjust it.
A preliminary (初步的) study was conducted by the Swiss Institute InnoSuisee, but more research is needed before it can be definitively shown that the system improves reading. Some people with ADHD (多动症) prove that Bionic Reading helped them focus and comprehend what they are reading. Other people don’t seem to notice a big difference compared to regular text. There’s also no evidence to suggest Bionic Reading is any better than regular text. The best way to know if the Bionic Reader helps you read better online is to try it yourself.
1. What is the main purpose of Bionic Reading?| A．To point out people’s reading problems. |
| B．To teach people necessary reading skills. |
| C．To reduce readers’ screen time and eye stress. |
| D．To improve people’s reading speed and comprehension. |
| A．Words displayed in capital letters. | B．Useful expressions. |
| C．Difficult sentences in the text. | D．Bold letters. |
| A．It is complex. | B．It can be beneficial. |
| C．It needs to be improved. | D．It has little effect on them. |
| A．A reading project for ADHD. | B．A research on language learning. |
| C．A system to help with online reading. | D．A tool for treating reading disability |
5 . A new study shows that getting half of American 8-to 11-year-olds into 25 minutes of physical activity three times a week would save ＄21.9 billion in medical costs over their lifetimes.
The increase from the current 32 percent to 50 percent of kids taking part in exercise, active play, or sports would also result in 340,000 fewer overweight teenagers.
“Physical activity not only makes kids feel better and helps them develop healthy habits, it’s also good for the nation’s bottom line,” says Bruce Y. Lee, executive director of the Global Obesity Prevention Center at Johns Hopkins University. “Our findings show that encouraging exercise and investing in physical activity when kids are young pays big dividends as they grow up.”
The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, suggests an even bigger advantage if every 8 to 11-year-old in the United States exercised 75 minutes over three times in a week. In that case, the researchers estimate (估计), ＄62.3 billion in medical costs over the course of their lifetimes could be avoided and 1.2 million fewer youths would be overweight. And the money would increase if not just current 8-to-11 year olds, but every future elementary school child joined their game.
Exercise at least 25 minutes a day, three days a week, is a guideline developed for kids by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. An overweight person’s lifetime medical costs average ＄62,331. For the overweight person, these amounts are great.
“Even a little increase in physical activity could cause billions of dollars in savings,” Lee says. He also says there are other benefits of physical activity that don’t affect weight, such as improving bone density, improving mood, and building muscle.
Lee says “We need to be adding physical education programs and not cutting them. We need to encourage kids to be active, to reduce screen time and get them running around again. It’s important for their physical health and the nation’s financial (经济的) health.”
1. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?| A．Getting kids to run would save money. |
| B．Physical activity is important for kids. |
| C．Physical education programs: adding or cutting? |
| D．Overweight person’s lifetime medical costs are increasing. |
| A．Pays much money. | B．Pays little money. |
| C．Plays an important part. | D．Is a serious question. |
| A．The number of American kids from 8 to 11 who take part in physical activity is increasing. |
| B．Physical education programs should be cut to encourage the nation’s financial health. |
| C．25 minutes of physical activity three times a week may result in fewer overweight teenagers. |
| D．Physical activity can only make kids feel better but can’t help them develop healthy habits. |
6 . For new students at Binghamton University, the first few weeks can be an exciting time. Their focus is largely on finding a sense of community. For Antoinette “Toni” Stefanakos, now a senior majoring in (主修) marketing, her sense of belonging (归属感) started with a flyer from Off Campus College Transport (OCCT).
“One day I was leaving the classroom and there was a flyer advertising (征聘) for student drivers,” Stefanakos said. “I had no idea that the buses on campus were run by students. So I called my dad, and said, ‘I’m going to be a bus driver.’”
OCCT is Binghamton University’s student-run bus service. The blue buses are a hallmark of the campus, and they are all driven in the lane (车道) by students.
“I interviewed, and it went really well,” Stefanakos said.
Stefanakos’s interest in public transportation continued to grow after she saw a job flyer for Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS). “I knew that TAPS was advertising for a marketing student,” she said. “And I thought that was great for me as a marketing major and someone who works with buses.”
Stefanakos began working with TAPS. Because of this job, Stefanakos found a new path. Now, she deals with public relations and trains new drivers for OCCT. “I can share my knowledge and experience as someone who is a driver,” she said.
The people make the job all the more worthwhile for Stefanakos. “One day, a passenger came up to me and told me I was her driver every Tuesday morning. And she told me that every time she was on my bus, she knew it was going to be a good day. I didn’t even realize that a simple ‘good morning’ could make someone’s day like that,” she said.
Stefanakos will surely miss the blue buses when she graduates, but she’ll always have unforgettable memories (回忆) to look back on.
1. What decision did Stefanakos share with her father?| A．To be a school bus driver. |
| B．To invite him to visit her campus. |
| C．To complete a major in marketing. |
| D．To start the student organization OCCT. |
| A．It awakened her interest in public transportation. |
| B．It was a perfect match for her major and job. |
| C．It was an encouragement for her to run OCCT. |
| D．It filled her father with great pride. |
| A．She is very friendly to her driver. |
| B．She has a gift for making friends. |
| C．She is spoken highly of because of her job. |
| D．She has met passengers from all walks of life. |
| A．Driven by love, a journey of hope | B．On the bus, connect with others |
| C．Life in the blue bus lane | D．The path less traveled |
7 . Vehicles on our roads are now mostly petrol and diesel (柴油) cars, but their days cannot continue for much longer. A recent university study found that current electric cars could be used for 87 percent of daily car journeys in the US. That figure could rise to 98 percent by 2020.
One hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric cars has been “range anxiety” — drivers concerns about running out of electricity on a journey. While petrol stations are conveniently located across national road systems, the necessary network of electric charging stations is still being developed. That said, charging points are becoming increasingly common throughout the USA.
Attitudes towards electric vehicles have changed greatly over the last few years. Not that long ago, electric cars were met with distrust, and their high prices drove customers away. Thanks to improvements in battery capacity, recharging times, performance and price, the current generation of electric cars are starting to persuade picky consumers. Plug-in cars will soon give internal combustion engine (内燃机) models a run for their money.
As well as development on the road, electric vehicles are taking to the seas and skies. Electric boats are among the oldest methods of electric travel, having enjoyed several decades of popularity from the late 19th to the early 20th century before petrol-powered outboard motors took over. Now, the global drive for renewable energy sources is bringing electric boats back. Steps towards electric air travel are also being made, with Airbus and NASA among the organizations developing and testing battery-powered planes. The experiments could soon make commercial electric flight a reality.
Electric vehicles do not produce any emissions (排放). If the US could replace 87 percent of its cars with electric vehicles, it would reduce the national demand for petrol by 61 percent. However, because of the production processes and the generation of electricity required to charge these vehicles, they cannot claim (声称) to be completely emission-free. That said, as many countries continue to increase their use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles will become even cleaner.
1. The underlined word “hurdle” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.| A．aim | B．difficulty | C．result | D．step |
| A．They were very poorly made. | B．They were not widely promoted. |
| C．They were expensive. | D．They couldn’t travel at a high speed. |
| A．To introduce the history of electric travel. |
| B．To explain why the world needs more electric cars. |
| C．To show why more people have interest in electric cars. |
| D．To describe different ways electric vehicles can be used. |
| A．Driving into a Cleaner Future | B．History of Electric Cars |
| C．Problems with Petrol and Diesel Cars | D．Best Means of Transportation |
8 . The most obvious benefit of a single currency is that it will no longer be necessary to incur (引起) the costs of exchange from one currency to another. Travelers know that these costs are not negligible. First of all, there is a commission
Another benefit is that the removal of exchange rate
A single currency provides the
| A．money | B．sum | C．tip | D．charge |
| A．on | B．at | C．in | D．over |
| A．different | B．infers | C．differs | D．variable |
| A．float | B．contrast | C．similarity | D．variation |
| A．appropriate | B．cooperative | C．corporate | D．reasonable |
| A．account | B．count | C．mind | D．range |
| A．decide | B．locate | C．choose | D．invest |
| A．largest | B．maximum | C．medium | D．optimum |
| A．effect | B．effectiveness | C．deficiency | D．efficiency |
| A．shade | B．firework | C．framework | D．door |
| A．rise | B．reduction | C．revival | D．cause |
| A．same | B．different | C．similar | D．excessive |
| A．in | B．on | C．over | D．at |
| A．While | B．Thus | C．However | D．Although |
| A．rise | B．arise | C．raise | D．set |
9 . A powerful earthquake hit Morocco, killing thousands of people and causing huge damage over a large area.
The earthquake struck around 11 pm on Friday night. It was not only one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Morocco, but also the country’s deadliest earthquake in over 60 years. So far, the earthquake is reported to have killed over 2,900 people. The earthquake was especially precarious as it happened at night, when most people were asleep at home.
The center of the earthquake was in the Atlas Mountains, about 72 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh, a large city popular with tourists in the center of Morocco. Fortunately, many of its modern buildings survived the earthquake. However, the old part of the city, called the Medina, whose buildings are over 1,000 years old, was hit hard, leaving many of those buildings in ruins.
Outside of Marrakesh, the earthquake caused even more damage. In the Atlas Mountains, the earthquake’s center, there were many small villages. Many people in the area lived in simple houses made of mud, a traditional way of building in Morocco. But they’ re not strong enough to survive earthquakes and many of these houses simply fell apart, turning into sand. The Moroccan government has laws requiring buildings to be built more safely, yet these rules were often overlooked.
In larger cities, rescue efforts seemed to be going well. But it took a lot longer for help to reach remote (偏远的) areas in the mountains. That meant the local people in those areas had to deal with the situation on their own. They had to dig through the ruins with their hands, searching for survivors who were trapped. Moreover, many people were sleeping outside, unsure if their houses were safe enough.
More help was on the way. Many outside countries offered teams of experts and emergency supplies. But the government said too many different rescue teams could make the situation more confusing.
1. Why did the earthquake lead to the most deaths on record in Morocco?| A．It struck a large and tourist city. | B．It was powerful and happened at night. |
| C．The rescue teams arrived too late. | D．The traditional houses were not strong enough. |
| A．Dangerous. | B．Powerful. | C．Unique. | D．Impressive. |
| A．They had no shelter to stay. | B．They ran out of food supplies. |
| C．They lost contact with the outside world. | D．They couldn’t get necessary rescue in time. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A travel journal. |
| C．A news report. | D．A cultural website. |
10 . As newer, more advanced technologies come out, huge amounts of electronics (电子产品) are thrown away, instead of being reused. These goods often end up in landfills, where the chemicals inside them may be a danger to the environment. Electronics can contain harmful materials. If these materials get into the ground or water, the pollution can cause serious problems. Most electronics require metals. These metals must be mined from the Earth. Often the mining process creates serious pollution.
A group known as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum is trying to make people more aware of the problems of e-waste. Recently, the WEEE Forum asked researchers from the United Nations (UN) to study a kind of e-waste that’s often not noticed because people don’t consider the goods to be electronics. The WEEE Forum calls this kind “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste.
The UN study shows that about 1/6 of all e-waste is “unable-to-be-seen”. Though it’s “unable-to-be-seen”, it’s certainly not a small amount. The “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste weighs about 9 billion kilograms. The WEEE Forum says that if this e-waste were put into 40-ton trucks and the trucks were then lined up, the line of trucks would be about 5,630 kilometers long.
The surprising kind leading the “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste group was toys. Worldwide, roughly 7.3 billion electronic toys are thrown away each year. These include goods like car racing sets, electric trains, and musical toys. They also include toys with electronic parts, like dolls that speak or games with electronic timers. In all, toys make up about 35% of “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste. But the problem is far larger than just toys. The report also shows that other everyday goods like home alarms, smoke alarms, power tools, and computer cables (电缆) are also big sources of “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste.
The WEEE Forum is hoping that as more people and governments become aware of e-waste, they will make a much greater effort to make sure electronics get reused.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The amount of electronics. | B．The development of electronics. |
| C．The ways of reusing electronics. | D．The pollution of electronics. |
| A．People’s interest in electronics’ character. |
| B．People’s impression on electronics’ package. |
| C．People’s misunderstanding of electronics. |
| D．People’s struggle to adapt to electronics. |
| A．By showing numbers. | B．By providing examples. |
| C．By making a summary. | D．By making a comparison, |
| A．Designing advanced electronics. | B．Making electronics get reused. |
| C．Stopping giving away electronics. | D．Reducing electronics’ production. |
