1 . World’s Best Spicy Foods
When it comes to the world’s best spicy dishes, we have some of the world’s hottest peppers to thank. The following spicy dishes from around the world bring the heat in the most delicious way.
Piri piri chicken, MozambiqueThe Portuguese introduced this spicy dish into Mozambique as far back as the 15th century, when they mixed African peppers with European ingredients. And it’s the red pepper that brings the spiciness to this complex, layered and delicious dish. The dish is also popular in Namibia and South Africa.
Sichuan hot pot, ChinaThe joy of this dish is not only the delightful warming ingredients of the Sichuan peppercorns, but the fact that you can cook exactly what you like in the spicy soup. Duck, seafood, chicken, pork, lamb and seasonal vegetables are all fair game for throwing into the pot to boil in a soup made with Sichuan peppercorns and dried Sichuan peppers.
Som tam, ThailandFrom northeastern Thailand, this fresh and spicy salad is a main dish at Thai restaurants around the world. Som tam turns to green papaya(木瓜) for its main ingredient. The papaya is then put with long beans or green beans and a mix of flavorful Asian essentials that include dried shrimp(虾) and fish sauce among other ingredients. Thai peppers give the salad its necessary kick.
Aguachile, MexicoThis raw marinated(腌制) shrimp dish from the western Mexico tastes as good as it looks. Tiny but powerful peppers, grown throughout Mexico, make the spicy magic happen in the aguachile, which means “pepper water” . Marinate the raw shrimp with ingredients including lime(酸橙) juice, red onion and cucumber and enjoy with fried corn pancakes.
1. How does piri piri chicken differ from the other three foods?| A．It goes with vegetables. | B．It uses a variety of ingredients. |
| C．It is flavored with red peppers. | D．It originated in another country. |
| A．Piri piri chicken, Mozambique. | B．Sichuan hot pot, China. |
| C．Som tam, Thailand. | D．Aguachile, Mexico. |
| A．They are raw foods. | B．They have a long history. |
| C．They are served with pancakes. | D．Shrimp is their main ingredient. |
2 . Food polluted with fungi (真菌) can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins (毒素) high and dry, and that’s potentially good news for food safety.
Some fungi produce toxic chemicals called mycotoxins that not only ruin food such as grains but can also make us sick. “It is a silent enemy,” said fungal researcher Ozgur Bayram of Maynooth University in Ireland, as most people don’t notice when foods like corn or wheat are ruined.
For years, researchers have known that some fungi produce these toxins, but didn’t know all the detail. Now, Bayram and his colleagues have identified a group of proteins responsible for turning on the production of mycotoxins. Genetically engineering the fungus to remove even just one of the proteins prevents the toxins from being made, the researchers reported in the September 23 issue of Nucleic Acids Research.
“The newly identified proteins act like a keystarting a car,” Bayram said. “The researchers wanted to figure out how to remove the key and prevent the starting signal from going through, meaning that no toxins would be made in the first place.”
Bayram and his team identified the proteins in a kind of fungus named A. nidulans, revealing that four proteins come together to make the key. The researchers genetically engineered the fungus to delete each protein in turn. When any of the four proteins are missing, the key does not start mycotoxin ignition(点火装置), the team found.
Fungi and fungi-like organisms are estimated to ruin a third of the world’s food crops each year. If that contamination could be prevented, Bayram estimates the saved food would be enough to feed 800 million people in 2024.
The new research is a good start, but it will still be a challenge to try to understand how this can be operationalized for agricultural purposes. “It’s difficult to apply the technique, and getting US regulatory agencies to approve the use of a genetically modified fungus on key food crops might be difficult,” said Felicia Wu a food safety expert.
1. Why is the mycotoxin called “a silent enemy”?| A．It is hard to be proved. | B．It tends to be unnoticed. |
| C．Its protein is harmful. | D．Its damage is incurable. |
| A．Pollution | B．Increase | C．Spread | D．Control |
| A．Changing the genes of fungus. | B．Putting the technique to practical use. |
| C．Enlarging the size of farmland. | D．Using genetically modified food. |
| A．Many crops are ruined by fungi each year. | B．Fungi bring great harm to people’s health. |
| C．Deleting a protein can stop toxin production. | D．Researchers found new proteins producing toxins. |
3 . I drove 12 miles to the county newspaper office one day. I had to
Eventually, I was led to the publisher’s office by his secretary. I still felt
I asked him if I could keep writing for him each week. He thought for a moment and then
That was almost 40 years ago. Now, I have my own studio and lead a better life. I
| A．stand | B．sit | C．jump | D．wander |
| A．explain | B．suspect | C．want | D．read |
| A．nervous | B．thrilled | C．tired | D．afraid |
| A．follower | B．clue | C．robot | D．typewriter |
| A．invitation | B．application | C．story | D．letter |
| A．bill | B．edition | C．discussion | D．exhibition |
| A．imagined | B．educated | C．expected | D．analysed |
| A．admitted | B．shook | C．refused | D．agreed |
| A．wrote | B．sent | C．typed | D．coped |
| A．careful | B．cheerful | C．reliable | D．grateful |
| A．remind | B．share | C．change | D．attain |
| A．continue | B．recall | C．hesitate | D．regret |
| A．approve | B．stretch | C．bend | D．grow |
| A．rarely | B．routinely | C．frequently | D．previously |
| A．author | B．celebrity | C．secretary | D．publisher |
4 . It is often said that laughter is the best medicine. But some researchers at the University of Oxford think the ability to belly laughs (捧腹大笑) was unique to early humans. This, they believe, made our ancestors able to form much larger groups.
The researchers first tested the pain thresholds (临界值) of some volunteers. They divided them into two groups. One group was shown 15 minutes of comedy videos, while the other was shown boring programs.
Through this experiment, the researchers found that those who had recently experienced belly laughs were able to withstand (忍受) up to 10% more pain than they had done before watching the videos. To their surprise, the scientists also found that the other group was less able to withstand pain after watching 15 minutes of the “boring” programs.
Professor Robin Dunbar of Oxford University, who led the research, believed that belly laughs release chemicals called endorphins (内啡肽) into the body which make us feel less painful.
However, not all comedy programs had such effects, according to Prof Dunbar. For example, though clever stand-up comedy was found to be enjoyable, it had no effect on raising pain thresholds. “Things that worked very well were interesting comedies such as Mr. Bean. Situation comedies such as Friends also seemed to be particularly successful,” he added.
In order to measure endorphin levels, the researchers put a bag of ice on the volunteers’ arms to see how long they could withstand it. They found that the greater the increase in pain thresholds, the greater the amount of endorphins produced.
The purpose of Prof Dunbar’s study was not to develop a new treatment. Instead, it was to study the role of laughter in the forming of human societies two million years ago.
“The next stage will be to see whether laughing really allows people to keep together and work as a group better and be friendlier towards each other. If that is the case, then it may explain why two million years ago, the first humans were able to form large communities of up to 100,” Dunbar added.
1. Prof Dunbar’s study was to ________.| A．test the pain thresholds of humans |
| B．measure the endorphin levels while laughing |
| C．develop a new kind of medicine that reduces pain |
| D．explore the influence of laughter on forming human societies |
| A．the researcher | B．endorphin level | C．the ice | D．belly laugh |
| A．More experiments about laughter will be carried out. |
| B．People who laugh a lot are friendlier towards each other. |
| C．Laughter makes people keep together and work as a group. |
| D．The first humans could only form small communities smaller than 100. |
| A．Endorphins can make us feel less painful. |
| B．All comedy programs can help us reduce pain. |
| C．Mr. Bean and Friends are both very successful to raise pain thresholds. |
| D．The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups. |
5 . The 2023 China-Germany Automobile Conference was held in Jilin, Henan and Zhejiang recently. At the conference, people discussed plans for new energy vehicles (NEVs) and collaboration between Germany and China.
China has established a competitive edge in NEVs. In 2022, China’s market share of NEVs accounted for more than 65 percent of the global total, maintaining its position as the world’s leading NEV market for eight years, China Daily reported.
Reflecting on the journey of leading Chinese electric car manufacturer (制造商) BYD, Chairman Wang Chuanfu recalled about 2003 when BYD entered into the NEV industry amid doubts and mockery, as few people back then believed in the future of NEVs. Surprisingly, within a few years, China’s NEV exports increased greatly. In 2022, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported an impressive total export volume of 679,000 NEVs.
In the European market, Chinese brands, such as BYD and Hongqi, have entered the top 50 best-selling motor companies across Europe, The Times reported. Shu Youxing, general manager of BYD International Cooperation Division and the European Automobile Sales Division, said that the company’s pure electric buses have now hit the roads of more than 100 major European cities such as Amsterdam, London and Copenhagen, helping Europeans cut carbon emissions by over 200,000 tons.
NEVs made in China are also popular in Mexico. One local, Israel Aguilar, is deeply impressed. After nearly a year of trying out a Chinese NEV, Aguilar said he may never go back to driving his traditional petrol car, stating that the NEV offers better comfort.
“Technology is truly very important in these times, especially for a vehicle. And it has been truly extraordinary for me to handle these technologies that come from China,” Aguilar told Xinhua.
The thriving global expansion of Chinese NEVs is primarily thanks to the efforts of companies to improve their capability for innovation. One major example of this is China’s drive to become the global leader in making EV batteries, fueled by an advantage in the supply chain and raw materials such as lithium (锂) and cobalt (钴).
1. What can we learn about BYD?| A．BYD exports 679, 000 NEVs each year. |
| B．BYD suffered hardship in its development. |
| C．BYD lost hope due to doubts and mockeries. |
| D．BYD always maintains the world’s leading position. |
| A．Chinese NEVs can help protect the environment. |
| B．Pure electric buses have caused many road accidents. |
| C．Importing Chinese NEVs is a main task for The Times. |
| D．Only BYD and Hongqi have entered the European market. |
| A．Satisfied. | B．Opposed. | C．Unclear. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Cooperation with partners. | B．The big overseas markets. |
| C．The ability of creation. | D．Great leaders of the companies. |
6 . John Nelson, 92, grew up in Michigan and volunteered for the army in 1945. The 18-year-old managed to get accepted, despite being colourblind. He landed on the island of Iwo Jima in the first days of the American attack to take the island from the Japanese. Nelson fought day and night for 10 days before receiving a serious wound to his right arm. The other seven men in his squadron (中队) all died. American losses included 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded.
Nelson saw the American flag being raised on Mount Suribachi after the island was taken by the American forces. The arm would continue to trouble him the rest of his life. Suffering from anxiety and flashbacks, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (创伤后应激障碍).
Al Elders was a Grandville farm boy. He joined the Navy and was stationed on Guam when the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and 9,1945, basically ended the war with Japan.
War often develops lasting friendships. But for the two World War II veterans (老兵) living at Sunset Manor in Jenison, their friendship didn’t begin until about a year and a half ago. One day, Elders noticed a man sitting at a cafeteria in the Sunset Village, and that was Nelson. Seeing his Marine cap, Elders thought they would have something to talk about. And they did. The war in the Pacific is a common bond.
The two men later worked together to serve other residents at Sunset Manor. John began detailing cars during good weather and cleaning walkers in winter. Elders became his advertising manager. They donated most of their income to the Wounded Warrior project. John is less mobile now and is in care at Sunset. Elders continues to visit and to encourage his friend. A friend of Elders’ who traveled to Iwo Jima brought back a jar filled with sand from the rock y island. Elders sent the gift, along with his own wartime collections, to the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park.
1. What do we know about John Nelson?| A．His hometown was ruined by the war. |
| B．He joined the army through strict tests. |
| C．He joined the army with his good friend. |
| D．He was physically and mentally injured in the war. |
| A．They had the same interest. | B．They both felt sad and lonely. |
| C．They studied in the same school. | D．They shared a common war experience. |
| A．were devoted to contributing to the society |
| B．started a successful business |
| C．visited Iwo Jima together after the war |
| D．supported young people to join the army |
| A．How people tried to survive the war. |
| B．The meaning of peace for ordinary people. |
| C．Two old soldiers’ life experiences and friendship. |
| D．Two old soldiers’ touching friendship during wartime. |
7 . One early morning, I was cleaning the bathroom shower curtain and its liner (衬布) when it hit me. I had to clean a two-dollar plastic liner because I didn’t have a few extra dollars to buy a new one. I couldn’t believe it! Complaining wasn’t how I would start the day, especially when the sun was shining.
To continue the day optimistically, I left the cleaning for my daily walk at the beach. Along the way through the down town area, something on the sidewalk caught my attention. I walked over and picked it up. It was a small paper bag with no markings, so it wasn’t possible to figure out who it belonged to. I assumed someone must have dropped it, perhaps while loading other bags into his/her car. I turned it over for any identification. No store name, but the brand marking on the front clearly specified it was a shower curtain liner!
Speechless, I turned it over many times in my hands. Believe it or not, it was really an unopened shower curtain liner. I just happened to be the person who walked by and found it on the sidewalk. It took me a few minutes to decide what to do next, not wanting to claim something that wasn’t mine. If I brought it to the police station across the street, the police might just share a good laugh over a two-dollar shower curtain liner. I decided to keep it for myself.
But I was still surprised because the worthless plastic liner that had needed cleaning inspired my complaint and an early morning walk had suddenly transformed itself into a gift on the sidewalk for me. How that moment brightened my day!
At home, my focus was on myself, my anxieties, and my limits in being able to fix the problem. Once outside, I relaxed in the perspective of a much bigger picture. My personal complaint changed to thankfulness for the beauty that extended before my eyes in the form of a brand-new shower curtain liner, which matched perfectly with my bathroom!
1. What is the purpose of the author going for a walk on the beach?| A．To seek a replacement for the liner. |
| B．To start her day in an optimistic way. |
| C．To get energetic for the day’s work. |
| D．To get relaxed after the heavy cleaning. |
| A．The curiosity of opening the bag. |
| B．The urge to keep it to herself. |
| C．The chance to find the owner. |
| D．The fear of being laughed at. |
| A．It was strange that a free liner should make her day. |
| B．The worthless liner turned out a gift from friends. |
| C．There was a special way for her financial support. |
| D．A chance meeting gave her confidence in life. |
| A．Learn to be grateful. | B．Fix the problem timely. |
| C．Avoid complaints. | D．Broaden your perspective. |
8 . Sharon downsized her parents’ home and then cleared out her father’s stuff after he died. “So much of it hadn’t been used in years. So I decided that we wouldn’t do the same thing to our children.” Sharon spent six months looking over each object in her home. Each day, she sold, donated or threw one away. “It was liberating,” she said. “Now, life is much simpler and the clutter (杂乱) is gone.”
This process has its own reality TV show, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Inspired by a best-selling book by Magnusson, 89, three Swedes travel across the Atlantic to help Americans clean house and face death. “A loved one wishes to inherit (继承) nice things from you,” mentions Magnusson in her book, “not all things from you.” If you’re lucky enough to meet your material needs, then letting go of some of your stuff, or not buying it in the first place, can bring immediate benefits. The clutter is linked to stress and anxiety, even depression. Prioritizing relationships and experience over possessions has been proven to boost our happiness.
What is Swedish death cleaning? It isn’t about clearing out closets. It’s about rethinking your relationship with things. Rather than making do with less, it’s about getting more from the things that make you happy. Death cleaning happens to agree with scientists’ understanding of our relationship with things and why we’re unwilling to part with them. Decades of research has shown that we subconsciously see our possessions as physical extensions of ourselves. For most of us, of course, a degree of attachment is healthy, but it’s not the number of things or the quality that matters. It’s about the symbolic meaning of it. That can bring a lot of happiness.
Things take up space in our minds, well beyond what our storerooms and garages hold. By clarifying what’s important and what’s not, you make room. Your loved ones can receive what they might like before you go, relieving themselves of the burden of cleaning up once you’re gone.
1. Why does the author mention Sharon’s experience in paragraph 1?| A．To lead to the topic. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To support an argument. | D．To reach a conclusion. |
| A．To reduce the waste. | B．To remember their loved ones. |
| C．To boost their happiness. | D．To make the reality TV show. |
| A．The quantity. | B．The popularity. |
| C．The significance. | D．The degree of attachments. |
| A．Old Stuff: a Heavy Burden or a Sweet Memory. |
| B．Everyone’s Stuff: Physical Extensions of Himself. |
| C．The Way to Deal with Your Belongings: Give Away. |
| D．Swedes’ Secret to Happiness: You Aren’t Your Stuff. |
9 . I grew up playing sports. My husband, Kenny, was working as a basketball coach. We weren’t surprised when our daughter Kennedi showed early
By the time she turned 13 years old, our family life was full of practices and track meets. I had
I couldn’t help
The good news was that Kennedi
| A．musical | B．academic | C．technical | D．athletic |
| A．greatness | B．fairness | C．humbleness | D．vividness |
| A．choices | B．comment | C．visions | D．experience |
| A．promised | B．denied | C．admitted | D．announced |
| A．starting | B．spending | C．recognizing | D．recalling |
| A．priority | B．principle | C．wisdom | D．standard |
| A．depended on | B．took over | C．gave way to | D．put up with |
| A．appointment | B．vacation | C．practice | D．target |
| A．appreciated | B．restricted | C．offered | D．stretched |
| A．Reflecting on | B．Identifying with | C．Looking up to | D．Breaking up |
| A．ignorant | B．afraid | C．proud | D．ashamed |
| A．distinction | B．reservation | C．change | D．suggestion |
| A．traditional | B．similar | C．different | D．healthy |
| A．played | B．recovered | C．remembered | D．knew |
| A．originally | B．completely | C．consequently | D．barely |
10 . If the eyes are the romantic’s window into the soul, then the teeth are an anthropologist’s door to the stomach.
In a study published recently in the journal Science, Peter Ungar of the University of Arkansas and his partner, Matt Sponheimer of the University of Colorado, US, examined the teeth of ancient human beings to find out what they were really eating.
They already knew that different foods cause different marks on teeth. Some cause scratches, while others cause pits(坑). The carbon left on teeth by different foods is also different. Tropical grasses, for example, leave one kind of carbon, but trees and bushes leave another kind because they photosynthesize(进行光合作用)differently.
Traditionally, scientists had looked at the size and shape of teeth and skulls to figure out what early humans ate. Big flat teeth were taken to be signs that they ate nuts and seeds, while hard and sharp teeth seemed good for cutting meat and leaves. But this was proved wrong.
The best example was the Paranthropus(傍人属类人猿), one of our close cousins, some of whom lived in eastern Africa. Scientists used to believe that they ate nuts, fruits and seeds because they had big crests(突起)on their skulls, suggesting that they had large chewing muscles and big teeth. If this had been true, their teeth should have been covered with pits like the surface of the moon. They would also have had a particular type of carbon on their teeth that typically comes from tree products, such as nuts and seeds.
However, when the two scientists studied the Paranthropus, it turned out to have none of these characteristics. The teeth had a different kind of carbon, and were covered with scratches, not pits. This suggested they probably ate grass, not nuts and seeds. It was the exact opposite of what people had expected to find.
Carbon “footprints” give us a completely new and different understanding of what different species ate and the different environments they lived in, which also provide a groundbreaking perspective on the diets and habitats of various species. This method has reshaped our understanding of ancient human diets, challenging previous assumptions based on tooth and skull morphology.
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined sentence?| A．Anthropologists can know the structure of human stomachs by studying their teeth. |
| B．Anthropologists can find out the diet of early humans by studying their teeth. |
| C．Anthropologists can learn whether humans were healthy by looking at their teeth. |
| D．Anthropologists can get the most useful information about humans from their teeth. |
| A．Pits on teeth are caused by eating grass or leaves. |
| B．Scratches on teeth are caused by eating nuts or seeds. |
| C．Different foods leave different marks and carbon on teeth. |
| D．Early humans with hard and sharp teeth at e meat and leaves. |
| A．To show they had different eating habits from other humans. |
| B．To prove living environment makes a difference to skull structure. |
| C．To demonstrate they were one of our close cousins living in eastern Africa. |
| D．To reveal the size and shape of teeth don’t show accurately what early humans ate. |
| A．Cause and effect. |
| B．Problem and solution. |
| C．Comparison and contrast. |
| D．Listing and classification. |
