2 . It is recommended that people get 150 minutes of exercise a week. That means that a person should exercise for about 30 minutes a day, five days a week. A half hour of brisk (轻快的) walking can easily help someone meet that goal. You don’t need to walk 30 minutes all at one time to start. An expert recommends that beginners start with three short 10-minute walks. Finally, longer walks will become easier.

One great benefit of walking is that you do not need special equipment (装备). You do not even need to go to a special area to walk. Don’t have workout clothes to wear? You are lucky because what you are wearing right now is probably perfect for walking. Besides, you can walk anywhere at a quick speed.

Many studies show the value of walking and its benefits for your body.

According to a study carried out by Harvard Medical School, brisk walking for 30 minutes can burn over 100 calories (卡路里). Walking also makes your legs strong. Although it may not seem like it, walking is weight training because your legs carry the weight of your upper body whenever you walk. The study also shows that those who walk at least 20 minutes a day, at least five days a week, have 43% fewer sick days than those who exercise once a week or less. And if they do get sick, they become well sooner.

Walking is good for your mind. Walks can be taken in quiet places like parks and forests. Walking in these areas can help a person feel calm. Going on a daily walk gives your mind a break from the busy time of each day as well. A good walk lets you clear your mind and makes you feel better.

1. What can we know from the first paragraph?

A．People have trouble finding time to walk.

B．Longer walks may be hard for beginners.

C．Half an hour’s walk every week is enough.

D．Walking slowly makes the activity enjoyable.

2. What do the findings of the Harvard Medical School’s study show?

A．Walking is better than medicine.	B．Walking has wonderful benefits.
C．The distance people usually walk.	D．The right time for people to walk.

3. What does the last paragraph tell us about walking?

A．It is helpful to one’s mind.	B．It helps discover new places.
C．It makes one’s body busy.	D．It helps save one much money.

4. Why does the writer write the passage?

A．To show how often we can walk.

B．To show why walking is great exercise.

C．To show us the findings of a famous study.

D．To show us what to prepare before walking.

4 . Each spring, millions of people take photos among the famous cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington DC-some even get married there. That’s what Jody Axinn did 10 years ago.

“Now, the romantic spot is unrecognizable. The whole section is under water,” says Axinn who is revisiting the cherry trees with her family. “When I got here 10 years ago, the place was flooded regularly, but certainly not twice a day, every day.”

There are two forces working together to affect the Tidal Basin, the trees and monuments around it. The seawall around the basin, built with mud dug up from the Potomac River bottom, has sunk about five feet over the past century.

“At the same time, the water level in the basin has gone up by more than a foot because of climate change,” explains Leslie Frattaroli, manager of the National Park Service (NPS). “The Tidal Basin looks like a small lake, but it’s actually part of the Potomac River, because there are gates at the upstream and downstream ends of the basin that allow river water to rush through. Therefore, it is gradually rising along with the level of the world’s oceans.”

Combining these two factors, the water is six feet above where the seawall was originally designed to keep it out. Later this spring, the park service will start to raise parts of the walkway around the basin and along the Potomac River.

“It would be impossible to complete the $113 million project without removing the cherry trees along the water,” Leslie says. “The good news is that when the project is completed in 2027, 274 new cherry trees will be planted.”

Among the trees to be removed is a very famous little tree known as “Stumpy”. At high tide (潮汐), the base of the tree is flooded. Although it is in extremely bad conditions, its remaining three or four small branches burst into flower each spring, with the Washington Monument standing tall in the background.

1. What can be learned from Jody Axinn’s words?

A．The famous cherry trees should be protected.

B．The flooding around the basin is more serious.

C．Getting married at the Tidal Basin is unpopular.

D．Washington DC has changed beyond recognition.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The sinking seawalls.	B．The rising sea level.
C．The beautiful scenery.	D．The warming climate.

3. The Tidal Basin is ________.

A．too small to hold the water	B．a small inland lake
C．at the downstream end of a river	D．connected with the oceans

4. Why will Stumpy be removed?

A．It is not in harmony with the scenery.	B．It is in very bad conditions.
C．It happens to be in the reconstruction area.	D．It is attracting too much attention.

5 . “Earth” has always been an odd choice of name for the third planet from the Sun. After all, if an alien examines it through a telescope, he would note that two-thirds of its surface is covered not by earth at all, but by oceans of water.

However, most of the oceans on Earth remain unexplored. For example, photographers are fond of pointing out that scientists have mapped nearly all the oceans’ surface, but less than a quarter of the seabed. Biologists think the oceans might host more than 2 million species of animals, of which they have so far identified perhaps a tenth.

A new project may change this. Launched in London on April 27th, 2023, Ocean Census aims to discover 100,000 new species of ocean animals over the coming decade. Its first ship, Kronprins Haakon, set sail on April 29 for the Barents Sea.

The project is launched for two reasons. One is that the longer scientists wait, the less there will be to study. “Top on our agenda are species thought to be in the greatest danger from climate change,” says Oliver Steeds, founder of the project. “Otherwise, the forest is burning down and we won’t know what was there before it is lost.”

The second reason is technological. Biologists find about 2,000 new species a year, a rate hardly changed since Darwin’s day. Ocean Census is betting that it can go faster. Fancy cameras on remote-operated vehicles, for instance, allow scientists to scan deep-sea creatures such as jellyfish without removing them from their habitat. Just as the huge pressures of the deep sea are deadly for humans, taking such a jellyfish to the surface for examination may reduce it to gooey slime (黏液).

Exactly what the new effort might turn up, of course, is impossible to predict. But history suggests it will be fruitful. Half a century ago, scientists discovered hot seabeds that were home to organisms living happily in conditions that, until then, had been thought harmful to life. These days, such hot seabeds are thought to be one possible candidate for the origin of all life on Earth.

1. What phenomenon is described in the second paragraph?

A．The oceans are home to most of the animals.	B．The oceans have not been studied in depth.
C．Scientists enjoy photographing the oceans.	D．“Earth” is not a proper name for our planet.

2. What does Oliver Steeds most probably mean?

A．More efforts from scientists are necessary.	B．Animals in the forest should be rescued, too.
C．Climate change is endangering the forest.	D．The project should start with threatened species.

3. What can we learn from the jellyfish example in paragraph 5?

A．It is mature to study the oceans now.	B．Scientists should slow down their studies.
C．It is harmful to study deep-sea animals.	D．Researchers want more advanced equipment.

4. What does the author think of Ocean Census?

A．Dangerous.

B．Creative.

C．Promising.

D．Unnecessary.

7 . Frank Herbert’s science fiction Dune was the first coming-of-age story that helped me survive my lonely junior high school. At age 12, my life was the tiny, boring cycle of home, school and my parents’ store. Dune cracked it all open and led me to a universe that made my little world a lot more bearable. Unlike Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye who kept breaking windows, Dune’s main character, Paul Atreides, equipped me with a junior-high survival guide.

Paul is not a classic underdog. He’s the son of a king. He’s been trained since birth in war arts, politics and critical survival skills by a group of smart and experienced men with impossible-to-pronounce names. But when his world is turned upside down-when he leaves his home, loses his father and enters a physically and politically hostile environment-he doesn’t complain and cry. He adapts.

To this day, I still can recite his words against fear: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total destruction. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

The steady diet of literary fiction assigned by my teachers was escapist and the very act of reading (whatever the content) usually took me out of a given moment, but didn’t provide much advice on how to face my daily conflicts and painful insecurity.

Dune was escapist, too. However, it was expansive and literally redefined possibility for me who had been struggling along with eyes on the ground, just trying to make it through another day of boredom and hardship of being a teenage girl. Paul lifted my eyes up so I could see the stars.

1. Which best explains “hostile” underlined in paragraph 2?

A．Safe.

B．Unfriendly.

C．Unbeneficial.

D．Pleasant.

2. What is probably the author’s deepest impression about Paul?

A．His good education.	B．His noble birth.
C．His courage to face fear.	D．His escapist attitude.

3. What does the author say about herself as a teenager?

A．She was an optimistic girl.	B．She was not loved by her parents.
C．She had a carefree childhood.	D．She felt insecure and unconfident.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Catcher in the Rye Should Be Banned

B．Teenagers Should Not Read Literary Fictions

C．Dune Became My Junior-High Survival Guide

D．Science Fiction Is Better Than Literary Fiction

9 . Here are some of the stereotypes or false impressions about Germany that we’re sick and tired of hearing.

Germans are unfriendly

If you’re living in Germany, don’t expect to make casual chat at the supermarket or bus stop. But it doesn’t mean Germans are unfriendly. The truth is that a lot of Germans are just more particular about when they socialize. If you’re in a space that’s made for socializing-anything from a dinner party to a nightclub-that cold shoulder you get in public will usually disappear.

Germans put efficiency ahead of everything

To some degree, it is true. For example, you might notice that the bus runs usually on time, and that there’s a lot of enthusiasm for recycling and careful uses of resources. On the other side, though, anyone who has lived in Germany might have had painful experiences with its public services. From taxes to gas bill, almost everything happens slowly and on paper.

German food is terrible

Ask foreigners about food in Germany and it’s likely that they will say it is too heavy on tasteless sausage and bread. But those complaints overlook a wealth of fantastic food, both cheap and fancy.

For one thing, Germany has 309 restaurants with Michelin stars, more than any other country except France, Italy and Japan. For those who don’t want to throw down € 100 on a meal, Germany also has a variety of bakeries. The country’s bread-making culture has its own UNESCO listing, and sweet treats from apple or cherry cakes to doughnuts are excellent, too.

1. Where do Germans most likely have small talks?

A．In a gym.

B．In the office.

C．At the supermarket.

D．At a dinner party.

2. What can we learn about the public services in Germany?

A．The public transport isn’t well-managed.	B．Waste is rarely recycled.
C．Online services aren’t easily available.	D．A lot of resources are wasted.

3. Which of the following best describes German food according to the author?

A．Diverse.

B．Cheap.

C．Boring.

D．Expensive.

10 . May is a beautiful month full of sunshine and flowers. It is also the __________ when we show thanks to our mothers on Mother’s Day.

In my family, the celebration of Mother’s Day is __________ every year. Two years ago, I made a big __________ for my mom and she still remembers all the dishes I cooked that morning. Last year, I __________ some of my old books and I bought her a scarf with the money. She uses it all the time.

I wanted to do __________ special on Mother’s Day this year. In late April, I started to look for different gift __________ on the Internet. It took me about two weeks to get a final idea. __________ , I decided to make several (几个) cards by hand. And then I put the cards and a bag of colorful __________ in a box. Of course, I wrote some____________ on the cards. The words were all about __________ jobs I could help my mom do at home, like doing the dishes and cleaning the floor.

On the night before Mother’s Day, I went into my mom’s room __________ and put the gift on her bed when she was sleeping. When she __________ in the morning, she found the cards. She was very excited about my gift and __________ a lot of time looking at the cards and enjoyed the candies.

Mother’s Day is a happy moment (时光) for me to __________ my mom. I will try to show my love __________ she cares about me so much every day. Mother’s love is the best in my heart.

1.

A．day

B．week

C．month

D．year

2.

A．different

B．boring

C．famous

D．simple

3.

A．model

B．breakfast

C．plan

D．seat

4.

A．made

B．sent

C．gave

D．sold

5.

A．something

B．anything

C．nothing

D．everything

6.

A．ideas

B．times

C．places

D．shapes

7.

A．In fact

B．Of course

C．For example

D．At last

8.

A．chips

B．pies

C．candies

D．chocolates

9.

A．phrases

B．words

C．warnings

D．suggestions

10.

A．important

B．popular

C．small

D．hard

11.

A．quietly

B．loudly

C．seriously

D．comfortably

12.

A．stayed up

B．got up

C．grew up

D．woke up

13.

A．wasted

B．stopped

C．spent

D．began

14.

A．believe

B．thank

C．help

D．care

15.

A．although

B．and

C．or

D．because