2 . There are always some people teaching you important lessons about life. They come into your life suddenly when you have no ________ of their arrival.

Several years ago I was diagnosed (诊断) with a disease that was ________. Due to vision problems caused by it, I could no longer ________ and would have to deal with other medical related ________. In light of this, some people ________ and their doings have enriched my life and ________ it forever.

First of all, my son, Eric, who ________ in the hospital throughout my surgery and recovery. He would whisper ________ words in my ear every night, “Don’t give up... Keep on ________ …Hang in there...” For three years since my return home, he has made the daily two-hour ________ from his home to my home to help me handle various things. Secondly, when my neighbors learned at first that I was unable to drive, they formed a group of ________ -women who drive me each week wherever I need to go. For three years I have ________ missed an appointment.

Dozens of lovely people ________ week after week, month after month. There are so many such people in my life-too many to ________-and I am grateful for their gesture. ________ you aren’t one yet, you can try to become one!

1.

A．control

B．need

C．guarantee

D．expectation

2.

A．incurable

B．serious

C．unusual

D．communicable

3.

A．exercise

B．swim

C．dance

D．drive

4.

A．issues

B．surgeries

C．rules

D．tensions

5.

A．looked on

B．held out

C．stepped forward

D．came by

6.

A．made

B．generated

C．transformed

D．restarted

7.

A．researched

B．operated

C．suffered

D．remained

8.

A．exciting

B．inspirational

C．comforting

D．humorous

9.

A．adjusting

B．trying

C．fighting

D．defending

10.

A．trip

B．effort

C．march

D．visit

11.

A．volunteers

B．specialists

C．nurses

D．housewives

12.

A．always

B．never

C．even

D．still

13.

A．wander

B．combine

C．insist

D．pour

14.

A．admire

B．recognize

C．name

D．thank

15.

A．Realizing

B．Supposing

C．Considering

D．Imagining

6 . Hurricane Ian hit Florida in October and brought with it flooding, winds, and a record high storm. Many residents like Karen Lauder _________ to leave their homes because they _________ the intensity of the storm. Karen is 84 and relies on a wheelchair to _________ because of a missing leg. Her son, Johnny Lauder, tried repeatedly to get her to _________, but in vain.

Johnny had to stay but he and his family lived in another district. They kept in _________ touch with Karen. When Karen _________ that the water in her house had reached her waist, he knew he had to take _________.

Johnny jumped out of a window and began to _________ to his mother’s. As he made his _________ through the water, Johnny stopped occasionally to snap selfies(自拍) to show his __________ family that he was okay.

Johnny was racing against __________. He only had a short period of time to get there before the water rose above Karen’s __________. It took him 40 minutes to swim four blocks. Karen’s yell sounded like __________ to his ears! She was still alive! But Johnny saw Karen __________ like a leaf, so he found some clean sheets and wrapped her up on a table to get __________.

Everyone in Johnny’s family is now __________. They’ve all lost everything they __________, including their houses, but they’re __________ just to be here.

“I didn’t lose hope. So we’re still here. __________ is like a computer. There’re two buttons: There’s a reset and a power — and __________ it was just a reset button that got hit and not the power,” he said.

1.

A．decided

B．attempted

C．expected

D．refused

2.

A．assessed

B．understood

C．underestimated

D．analyzed

3.

A．get around

B．get through

C．stand up

D．go on

4.

A．agree

B．leave

C．apply

D．participate

5.

A．impossible

B．temporary

C．constant

D．limited

6.

A．heard

B．concluded

C．evaluated

D．reported

7.

A．action

B．effect

C．place

D．care

8.

A．ride

B．run

C．drive

D．swim

9.

A．difference

B．way

C．presentation

D．decision

10.

A．embarrassed

B．guilty

C．worried

D．disappointed

11.

A．time

B．weather

C．pressure

D．disease

12.

A．waist

B．head

C．knees

D．wrists

13.

A．signal

B．reminder

C．order

D．music

14.

A．shaking

B．whispering

C．standing

D．dancing

15.

A．focused

B．clean

C．warm

D．accessible

16.

A．competent

B．efficient

C．responsible

D．safe

17.

A．owned

B．stored

C．discovered

D．remembered

18.

A．fascinated

B．grateful

C．willing

D．determined

19.

A．Disaster

B．Difficulty

C．Life

D．Misfortune

20.

A．eventually

B．fortunately

C．similarly

D．unexpectedly

7 . Mining rare-earth (稀土) elements (REEs) has long been considered a dirty business, as it can lead to water and soil pollution, but a new technology developed by Chinese scientists may change the trend, offering a greener alternative for the industry.

REEs, especially heavy ones, are an essential part of many high-tech devices, from the engines of electric cars and smartphones, to LED lights. More than 90% of the global heavy REF demand is sourced from ion-adsorption deposits (离子吸附沉积物), which form within weathering erasts (硬壳). However, conventional mining applies overmuch usage of chemical agents to recover REEs front these deposits, not only exhibiting low efficiency but also polluting the environment.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry proposed a new approach in the journal Nature Sustainability earlier this month, showing that employing electrokinetic mining techniques to extract (提取) REEs from weathering crusts can be both clean and efficient. Using this approach, researchers generated an electric field by putting electrodes (电极) on the top and bottom of a volume of soil. The electrokinetic effect can speed up the migration of REEs, reducing the need for harmful chemical agents.

To evaluate the practicality of the new method, they carried out several experiments of different scales. Results suggested that the new method outperformed traditional mining techniques. For instance, the scaled-up experiments achieved a recovery efficiency of 96% within 67 hours by using electrokinetics. Using the conventional technique, it was only 62% at 130 hours.

The difference between the impact of the old and the new approaches was even more significant in an on-site field test: Using electrokinetics can achieve a recovery efficiency higher than 90%, an 80% decrease in polluting agent usage and a 70% reduction in impurity.

The study confirmed that this novel electrokinetic technology enabled green, efficient and selective recovery of REEs. Researchers also noted that the new method has great potential for use in the mining of other critical metals under conditions in which the metals exist in ionic states.

1. Why is the new technology referred to as a “greener alternative” for REE mining?

A．It is based on cleaner energy.

B．It achieves a higher recovery efficiency.

C．It recovers REEs from weathering crusts.

D．It depends less on the use of chemical agents.

2. How does the author present the practicality of the new technology?

A．By analyzing causes.	B．By listing examples.
C．By providing test results.	D．By giving instructions.

3. What can we know about the new technology?

A．It contributes to the extraction of purer REEs.

B．It causes REEs to be mined at a higher cost.

C．It is widely adopted in mining critical metals.

D．It frees REE mining of the impact on nature.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A new technology with great potential in mining metals.

B．A greener REE mining technology with higher efficiency.

C．The difficulties in mining REEs from ion-adsorption deposits.

D．The differences between conventional and new REE mining methods.

8 . When I was a child, my family went to the beach often. However, we _________ played in the sand or swam in the ocean. Nature was to be _________ far away, with the car windscreen in between. We would wave to the sea from our _________, watch the sunset and drive home. My parents were _________ in crowded and polluted cities. Their upbringing made them think maybe it was _________ for kids to stay inside. Without knowing it, I was _________ by their attitudes.

It was my own children who led me to another _________. They liked observing earthworms and jumping in mud. Their such _________ about the natural world allowed me to see it in a _________ way. On beach trips, I found myself __________ to dig into the sand with them and __________ its cool graininess (颗粒感) as they buried me in it.

Last summer, my love for __________ led to us buying a house in a farming town near a mountain. It’s something I wouldn’t have __________ as a city girl. I’ve found a deeper connection to nature and I’m grateful for it. There are miles of tracks around us that I __________ every day. I walk through snow, mud and rain, __________ my boots — which I bring straight into the house.

1.

A．still

B．never

C．always

D．sometimes

2.

A．transformed

B．evaluated

C．appreciated

D．greeted

3.

A．vehicle

B．tent

C．house

D．hotel

4.

A．hired

B．raised

C．involved

D．trapped

5.

A．warmer

B．happier

C．funnier

D．safer

6.

A．influenced

B．confused

C．bothered

D．reminded

7.

A．career

B．future

C．finding

D．path

8.

A．concern

B．doubt

C．curiosity

D．knowledge

9.

A．systematic

B．standard

C．general

D．different

10.

A．hesitant

B．astonished

C．anxious

D．disappointed

11.

A．shared

B．enjoyed

C．interpreted

D．showed

12.

A．shore

B．sand

C．farming

D．nature

13.

A．achieved

B．imagined

C．supported

D．acknowledged

14.

A．explore

B．notice

C．measure

D．preserve

15.

A．washing

B．cooling

C．dirtying

D．polishing

9 . History has been made at Harvard University, as Claudine Gay becomes the first black person—and the second woman—to be named president of the school.

Born to Haitian immigrants (移民), Gay is set to step into the new role on July 1, 2023. “For me, this role is about using the power of ideas and supporting the people who go after them,”Gay says. “Few things give me more joy, more energy, than talking to a coworker working in a field that’s new to me or hearing the questions that are in the mind of a new generation of students. These conversations let me see the world with a different eye.”

Gay mentioned the path her parents paved that led her to choose a career in the academic field. “They believe that education makes everything possible. Being an academic opened up my world, and helped me achieve a dream I could never imagine.” Gay obtained her BA in economics from Stanford University with honors and distinctions before earning her PhD at Harvard in 1998.

Gay is regarded as a leading voice on the issues of American political participation. Among the issues she has explored is how a range of social and economic factors shape political views and voting. She is also the founding chair of Harvard’s Inequality in America Initiative, which studies issues like the effects of child poverty and the deprivation (剥夺) of educational opportunity and inequalities in STEM education on a global level.

Looking back on the achievements of the university, Gay expressed her commitment to continue carrying on the “powerful legacies(遗产)” of the previous leaders. “Our community is a large and diverse team and we are joined together by a shared commitment to academic excellence and leadership and all the values that ensure it. Treasuring those values, especially academic freedom and wide open inquiry, is not only the path to excellence but it’s how we build the legacies that our institution deserves.”

1. What can we learn about Claudine Gay?

A．She is a native American by birth.	B．She is to make academic history.
C．She is willing to accept fresh ideas.	D．She is Harvard’s first woman president.

2. What mainly makes for Claudine Gay’s career choice?

A．Her parents’ influence.	B．The lifelong dream.
C．Her educational background.	D．The academic atmosphere.

3. What is the focus of paragraph 4?

A．Gay’s life purpose.	B．Gay’s successful attempts.
C．Gay’s main achievements.	D．Gay’s contributions to Harvard.

4. Where can the text be found?

A．In a novel.	B．In a newspaper.
C．In a diary.	D．In a brochure.

10 . Committed to helping humans communicate with and understand as many species as possible, a California-based nonprofit organization, Earth Species Project (ESP) is taking the lead.

“We are species-independent,” Raskin said to The Guardian, adding that ESP is developing translation algorithms(算法) that can be applied to biological systems of all kinds, from worms to whales. Raskin acknowledges that the goal is similar to going to the moon. Instead, the ESP roadmap involves solving a series of smaller problems to achieve the big picture. These tools will assist researchers in revealing the secrets of species under study using artificial intelligence.

Bees, for instance, do a special “waggle dance” to signal to each other that they should land on a certain flower, which is a form of non-verbal communication. A noisy social environment can make it difficult to determine which animal is making the sound within a group. This phenomenon is known as the “cocktail party problem”.

Though there are many challenges, some progress has been made, such as an algorithm that can produce imitated animal sounds to talk directly with them.

“It’s making the Al speak the language, although we don’t know what it means yet,” Raskin said, “These are the tools that allow us to understand entire communication systems.” As we can see, Artificial Intelligence is once again being used by scientists to break barriers and open new doors that would otherwise be unopenable. More and more scientists are turning towards artificial intelligence for help in various fields, despite many well-known scientists warning that AI must be controlled and looked over.

Last year, a former Google engineer claimed that the Al was sentient(有感知能力的). Although this isn’t likely to be the case, it shows just how far artificial intelligence has progressed. Interestingly, and in a somewhat connection to ESP, Professor Avi Loeb has proposed that Artificial Intelligence developed by humans could one day maybe identify Alien AI and communicate with it.

1. Which statement would Raskin probably agree with?

A．The purpose of EPS is to land on the the moon.

B．Researchers are studying independent animals.

C．Solving challenging problems is just the priority.

D．AI will offer humans help to understand animals.

2. Why does the author mention “waggle dance” and “cocktail party problem”?

A．To show recent discoveries researchers made.

B．To demonstrate difficulties researchers face.

C．To reveal the secrets of species to the public.

D．To arouse readers’ interest in certain animals.

3. What can we know about Al in Paragraph 5?

A．AI has been abandoned by scientists.	B．Al is gradually taking scientists’ place.
C．Scientists have different opinions of AI.	D．Problems can only be solved by AI alone.

4. What does Professor Avi Loeb imply in the last paragraph?

A．People need to lay great stress on the alien communication.

B．AI needs to be constantly updated to match alien technology.

C．We’ll be surely able to communicate with aliens aided by Al.

D．AI has a great potentiality in the field of scientific research.