1 . An impressive invention made by a 17-year-old teenager, called Anna Du, is helping to clean up small pieces of plastic from the ocean.
While walking along her local beaches in Massachusetts, the young student began collecting waste plastic bags and bottles. But what she noticed was a large number of tiny pieces of plastic or microplastics that were impossible to pick up. At just 12 years old, Du set out to solve the problem. After testing a few prototypes(原型)in her backyard, she invented a remotely operated vehicle that uses the infrared camera(红外摄像机)to detect microplastics on the ocean floor. More recently, Du has also created a simulation(模拟)model that uses artificial intelligence to predict where microplastics are located.
Du’s robot invention has earned her awards at top science fairs in the US, and she’s now a nationally recognized advocate for microplastic awareness and pollution prevention. “When I first started doing science fairs, I had no idea that a young girl without lots of money and just a little advanced engineering knowledge could make a difference in the world. I’ve learned that I truly love working on a problem that’s so much larger than me,” Du said.
Du has also released a new book to help spread the word not only about the dangers of microplastics but also about the ways to relieve the problem. Titled Microplastics &Me, the book follows Du’s own story of how she went from worrying about the environment to designing award-winning solutions. Writing for kids her own age, the young girl alerts her readers to the threat of microplastic pollution and urges them to care about the environment. The book hopes to encourage young students to get into science, technology, engineering and math(STEM)subjects and to inspire a new generation of inventors and engineers. What’s more, Du has even raised more than $7,000 to distribute the book free to kids and libraries in high-need communities.
1. What inspired Du to make the invention?| A．There was too much rubbish along the beaches. | B．The plastics were too small to collect by hand. |
| C．The sea was polluted seriously. | D．She was interested in AI. |
| A．She has a spirit of challenge. | B．She is too poor to make a difference. |
| C．She doesn’t study hard in engineering. | D．She wins international recognition. |
| A．Innovation. | B．Voice. | C．Culture. | D．Art. |
| A．To inspire readers to share their stories. |
| B．To raise the awareness of microplastics pollution. |
| C．To encourage high schools to offer STEM subjects. |
| D．To collect money for kids in high-need communities. |
2 . A man named Randy liked to look for big trees and old trees. He made maps to show where these trees were. He did not want to cut them down. He wanted people to take care of them.
Randy was told that there was a very tall tree on Vancouver Island. The tree was said to be 314 feet tall. That would make it the tallest tree in Canada. Randy started to find the tree.
But someone else found it first. It was found by a logger (伐木工). Loggers wanted to cut down Canada’s tallest tree and all the trees around it.
Randy made a path in the forest so people could see the tallest tree. The tree was so big and beautiful that it would bring them enjoyment. More and more people wanted to save that forest. Thanks to these people, that forest is now a park. Canada’s tallest tree is still there.
1. Why did Randy make maps of big trees and old trees?| A．To carry out his duty carefully. | B．To avoid getting lost in forests. |
| C．To show where these trees were. | D．To get information for selling them. |
| A．Take care of it. | B．Cut it down. |
| C．Take pictures of it. | D．Make it famous. |
| A．To help people cut it. | B．To help people see it. |
| C．To help people water it. | D．To help people move it. |
| A．It is now a park. | B．People burned it down. |
| C．It will disappear soon. | D．People lost interest in it. |
3 . Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, recently signed two bills into law that strictly limit children’s use of social media platforms. Under the law, which takes effect next year, social media companies have to check the ages of all users in the state, and children under age 18 have to get agreement from their parents to have accounts. Parents will also be able to use their kids’ accounts, apps won’t be allowed to show children ads, and accounts for kids won’t be able to be used between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am without parental agreement.
While some people argue age limitation allows tech companies to collect even more data about users, let’s be real: These companies already have much private information about us. To solve this problem, we need a separate data privacy law. But until that happens, this concern shouldn’t stop us from protecting kids.
One of the key parts of the law is allowing parents to use their kids’ accounts. By doing this, the law begins to help address one of the biggest dangers kids face online: harmful content.
One huge challenge the law helps parents get over is the amount of time kids are spending on social media. A 2022 survey found that, on average, children aged 8 to 12 spend 5 hours and 33 minutes per day on social media while those aged 13 to 18 spend 8 hours and 39 minutes daily. It’s warned that lack of sleep is connected with serious harm to children — everything from injuries to depression (抑郁), fatness and diabetes. So, parents need to have a way to ensure their kids aren’t up on social media platforms all night.
Considering the experiences many kids are having on social media, this law will help Utah’s parents protect their kids. Parents in other states need the same support. Now, it’s time for the government to step up and ensure children throughout the country have the same protection as Utah’s kids.
1. Which is allowed according to the new bill?| A．Ads can be put on to children. |
| B．Children can use social media freely. |
| C．Parents can check their kids’ accounts. |
| D．Related companies protect users’ accounts. |
| A．Because children’s right to surf the Internet is limited. |
| B．Because more personal information may be given away. |
| C．Because it prevents the data privacy law from taking effect. |
| D．Because children may become too dependent on the Internet. |
| A．Higher learning efficiency. |
| B．Better personal eating habits. |
| C．Easier access to healthy media. |
| D．Improved physical and mental health. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Flexible. | D．Negative. |
4 . I was hurrying to our basketball game one morning when Hillary Barnes, the most popular girl, in school, stopped me. “Are you the twin who won the art competition?” she asked.
“No, that’s Christine. I’m Katie.” I said.
We were not identical twins; we looked quite different. She could defeat Snow White in a beauty contest! Compared to Christine, I felt like one of Cinderella’s stepsisters.
One Saturday Christine gave me a painting lesson because I was always attempting to be artistic too. But I knocked over the vase of flowers, spilling water onto Christine’s painting. Instead of becoming angry, though, she turned the whole mess into a dreamy masterpiece(杰作). You could look at it five different ways and see five different things. With this brilliant creation, she won First Prize in the art competition. I really envied her, but I knew it wasn’t her fault and I was the one with wild, unmanageable hair and no talent.
Joining Christine’s basketball team was my latest effort to be like her.
On the way to the gym, I’d made up my mind to give my best performance in that day’s game. I made preparations with great enthusiasm. “Christine, here!” I tossed her a ball. But it was too high, she leapt for it, it slipped through her fingers and crashed into the tape recorder that was used to play the national anthem before each game.
I muttered apologies as I picked up the broken pieces of the recorder. Coach looked at the mess and asked, “How are we going to play the song now?”
Christine suggested, “Let Katie sing it! She’s always singing at home.”
Coach asked. “Would you?” I found myself nodding.
Coach announced the national anthem and everyone stood. Standing before a microphone, I looked up to the flag. The notes seemed to flow from deep inside me, and my voice was steady and clear. When I finished, the gym was silent. Then it was filled with applause. As the game started, teammates patted my back and gave me the “thumbs up” sign. Laura Jamison said. “You should try out for the school musical!” I Nodded and said that I might.
The next morning Hillary Barnes stopped me in the hallway and asked, “Are you the twin who sings?”
“Yes, that’s me,” I answered, grinning(露齿笑) as I walked to class.
1. Why does the author use “Snow White” and “Cinderella’s stepsisters”?| A．To show why Christine could win the art competition. |
| B．To show how dissimilar the twins were in appearance. |
| C．C. To show who was the most popular girl at school. |
| D．To show what the twins characters like. |
| A．Christine was unpleasant to her sister. |
| B．Katie showed a lot of ability in painting too. |
| C．The masterpiece was painted by the two sisters. |
| D．Katie took a reasonably balanced view of her sister. |
| A．Because she would like to help the coach. |
| B．Because she thought Katie should be punished. |
| C．Because she knew perfectly well what Katie had a gift for. |
| D．Because she wanted to repair the damage she had caused. |
| A．People Are Talented in Different Ways. |
| B．Bad Situations Help to Become Popular. |
| C．People Should Always Be Nice to Others. |
| D．Unsuccessful Attempts Are Well Worth The Effort. |
5 . The ban (禁令) on petrol and diesel (柴油) cars due in 2030 may have to be scrapped because of a lack of charging points for electric vehicles, industry experts warn. The Government wants to outlaw the sale of new fuel models in order to go green and cut pollution. But industry figures suggest this may not be possible. Analysis highlights a lack of high-powered electric vehicle (EV) chargers at motorway service stations.
The Government has promised that every motorway service area has at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023. But only 27 out of 119 motorway services in England meet that target. This will fuel “charge point anxiety”, which experts warn is preventing drivers from buying electric cars in case they cannot power them up while on journeys. Lisa Watson, director of sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: “The UK is set to fall significantly short of its charging point targets.”
This could have a far-reaching effect on consumer uptake of alternative fuel vehicles. If more isn’t done to improve charging infrastructure (基础设施), the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles will seem an increasingly tough task. Rapid charge points can add about 100 miles of range to an EV in 35 minutes and are seen as crucial to encouraging more motorists who use their cars for long journeys to make the switch to electric.
There are also concerns over the distribution of public charging points.While Westminster has 2,196, there are just 1,593 across Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders expects plug-in battery electric vehicles to account for 18.4% of car sales this year and 22.6% next year-down from previous forecasts of 19.7% and 23.3%.
A government spokesman said, “The importance of ensuring high-powered charging is readily available up and down our motorway network can’t be highlighted enough. A lack of charging facilities is becoming one of the most widely quoted reasons for drivers not going electric.”
1. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “scrapped” in paragraph 1?| A．Passed. | B．Canceled. | C．Suggested. | D．Strengthened. |
| A．Charge point anxiety. | B．Bad motorway service. |
| C．The imperfection of law. | D．Too slow charging speed. |
| A．They are hard to popularize. |
| B．They can lead to an increase in drivers. |
| C．They will boost people’s confidence in EVs. |
| D．They enable an EV to run 35 minutes. |
| A．Sufficient high-powered charging must be provided. |
| B．The excuse for drivers not to buy EVs is unacceptable. |
| C．There is too much focus on high-powered charging. |
| D．The lack of charging devices will continue for a long time. |
6 . The driver who cuts you off in traffic. The neighbors who don’t pick up after their dog. Situations such as these get our hearts racing and send our stress levels skyrocketing. Anger isn’t a pleasant feeling. Some of us bottle up the feeling, while others explode in a wild rage (狂怒). Both habits do considerable harm to our bodies, our minds, and our relationships.
“Anger may feel uncomfortable and a lot of people think they have to get rid of their anger,” says Patrick Keelan, a registered psychologist in Calgary, Alberta. “But anger is an emotion built into us to signal that something needs to be addressed. When we take notice of that signal and actually wrestle with the problem instead of turning a blind eye to it, we’re usually much better for it.”
Unfortunately, many of us have been conditioned to keep our emotions hidden. Increasingly, research is suggesting that this can have long-term effects on our health. Investigators at the University of Rochester noticed that people who contain their emotions tend to live shorter lives.
Is it better, then, to scream and howl whenever something makes you mad? That’s probably the reason why “rage rooms” have popped up in many American cities, where folks are invited to let steam off by violently smashing (打碎) stuff in a “safe” environment. However, the research indicates that when people display anger aggressively, it can actually increase the intensity of the anger — and increase the likelihood of aggressive actions in the future. It doesn’t take much imagination to predict how such behavior can affect your relationship with your spouse, your kids, or your colleagues. It also hurts your health. A large 2016 study at McMaster University found that people are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack after an angry explosion.
If we shouldn’t bottle up our angry feelings but aggressive behavior isn’t healthy either, how should we handle things that tick us of? It’s the extreme highs and lows that cause the damage. If you’re able to apply techniques that smooth out some of those peaks and valleys, you can have a gentler ride.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．All people lose their temper when offended. |
| B．When feeling angry, some people hold back the emotion. |
| C．Anger does harm because it causes heart problems and stress. |
| D．Only exploding in a wild rage is harmful. |
| A．Uncomfortable and avoidable. | B．Terrible and threatening. |
| C．Confusing and complex. | D．Normal and natural. |
| A．It leads to people’s shorter life. | B．It warns people against violence. |
| C．It adds to people’s anger. | D．It causes many "rage rooms" to be smashed. |
| A．Possible causes of anger. | B．Tips on handling anger. |
| C．Possible harm of anger. | D．Tips on avoiding anger. |
7 . Favored by many internet influencers, the city of Zibo, once a sleepy industrial city, has gone viral on Chinese social media platforms. The topic Zibo “barbecue” on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, was played 4.96 billion times since the city stormed the Internet for over a month. On 29 April, Zibo Railway Station saw a record 87,000 train trips to and from the station, according to Chinese news website Caixin.
Local authorities in Zibo have been quick to respond to the sudden flow of visitors. A barbecue zone that can accommodate 10,000 people, featuring live band performances, was built overnight. Volunteers have been dispatched to the railway station to offer advice and recommendations to tourists. Designated (指定的) buses and trains bring tourists to and from the hottest barbecue spots. The government has even threatened to punish profiteering hotels who raise prices by more than 50% .
What makes Zibo barbecue so special is that it does offer a distinctive (独特的) dining experience. The skewers (烤串) are 70-80 percent cooked before they are brought to the table, where diners can finish cooking them on their own stoves, offering an immersive dining experience.
Zibo’s low prices are also appealing. Many college students in Shandong have made concrete plans to enjoy Zibo barbecue at the least cost, and traveling back and forth by train for only 200 yuan ($29.1). So what better way to attract adventurous, hungry college students with a tight budget other than “tasty barbecue that makes you full for only 50 yuan!”
The locals seem happy enough about the arrival of visitors and shy away from hot spots to make space for outsiders, saying they are proud that their hometown has gained nationwide fame.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The history of Zibo. |
| B．The influence of social media. |
| C．The newfound popularity of Zibo. |
| D．The crowdedness of Zibo Railway Station. |
| A．Unique dining experience. | B．Convenient transportation. |
| C．Wonderful performances. | D．Affordable prices. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Worried. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Critical. |
| A．To promote an industrial city. |
| B．To introduce barbecue in Zibo. |
| C．To explain how to attract tourists. |
| D．To show the popularity of barbecue. |
8 . You’re in the shower. You grab the showerhead. What do you do? You sing.
Have you ever wondered about this phenomenon? Some of us wouldn’t sing in public if someone paid us. Yet we’ll sing in the shower without embarrassment. Believe it or not, there’s a scientific explanation behind it.
First, let’s look at why we’re relaxed enough in the shower to burst into song. Think about it: you don’t sing when you’re sad (unless you’re singing the blues, of course). For many people, shower time is the only time they’re alone all day. You’re in a warm, small, safe environment. You’re comfortable enough to be yourself! When you relax, your brain releases dopamine (多巴胺), which can give your creative juices an extra kickstart.
Warm water is rushing over you, and now you’re relaxed and feeling good. It turns out that singing makes you feel even better. Singing, because of the breathing you put into it, gets more oxygen into the blood. This gives you better circulation, which in turn improves your body and mood. And because you have to breathe a little deeper to belt out a song, you get some of the same relaxation and mind-clearing benefits as meditation (冥想). Another neat thing is that when you’re singing, you really can’t think about your problems—more stress relief.
But the best thing about singing in the shower? The acoustics (音响效果)! You can never ask for a better sound system than a bathroom. Because bathroom tiles (墙砖) don’t absorb sound, your voice bounces back and forth around the room before fading away, which makes your voice hang in the air longer. And because the shower is a small space, it boosts your voice, making your singing sound more powerful. So you will sound better than you actually are, which is a confidence boost.
We don’t sing in the shower simply because we have “Call Me Maybe” stuck in our heads. It turns out we do it for many reasons: stress relief, happiness, great acoustics, or maybe just because we like to hear our own voices. Whatever the reason, keep it up. It’s good for you. And if you’ve never tried it, pick a song, grab the showerhead and put on your own private concert.
1. Why do many people feel comfortable singing in the shower?| A．The acoustics are perfect in public places. | B．Shower time is relaxing and private. |
| C．Singing boosts stress levels. | D．Showering improves vocal abilities. |
| A．Released dopamine due to relaxation. | B．Increased exposure to blues music. |
| C．Enhanced oxygen absorption from water. | D．Strengthened lung capacity. |
| A．The bathroom’s small size encourages relaxation. |
| B．Breathing while singing improves circulation. |
| C．Singing removes the need for deep breaths. |
| D．Tile walls absorb sound and stress. |
| A．Science. | B．Technology. | C．Culture. | D．People. |
9 . Scientists have discovered how plants manage to live alongside each other in places that are dark and shady. Plants in the deep darkness of a thick forest, where natural supplies are not very great in amount, wont attempt to top their neighbors in growth as those in moderate (中度的) shade do. In deep shade conditions, it would be a waste of energy and harmful to survival because green shoots would never be able to top their larger neighbors in growth.
So how do plants prevent such growth in deep shade conditions? The arcanum lies in the clocks inside them, say scientists from the John Innes Centre and the University of Bristol.
They have discovered that when plants notice deep shade, this changes the expression of genes in certain parts of the circadian clock (昼夜节律时钟) — the internal daily timer found in plants and other living things. These clock components perform an additional role in preventing plants from lengthening and overtopping neighbors.
The work identifies a previously unknown role of the circadian clock in controlling plant development, and the findings may have possible effects on both natural plant populations and crops. Professor Antony Dodd of the John Innes Centre said, “The biological clock of plants plays a big part in their development and fitness. This work casts new light on a new role of the circadian clock in adapting plants to competition with other plants in their environments.” “It also gives us new insights into how plants adapt to very deep shade, where resources are very limited,” said Professor Kerry Franklin at the University of Bristol.
This work provides evidence for the stability of the circadian clock in stressful environments, and information that may be useful in developing new generations of crops in a challenging climate.
1. What do plants normally do in moderate shade?| A．Struggle to preserve energy. | B．Compete for limited resources. |
| C．Depend on each other to survive. | D．Try to outgrow their neighbors. |
| A．Secret. | B．Note. | C．Grammar. | D．Award. |
| A．It changes their gene expression. |
| B．It makes them realize light change. |
| C．It controls their growth in deep shade. |
| D．It helps them adapt to the darkness. |
| A．To introduce the role of the deep shade. |
| B．To share a new discovery about plants. |
| C．To explain plants’ secret of living in the water. |
| D．To compare plants living in certain conditions. |
10 . For many people, the perfect career would be one in which they do what they love to make a living, but in
After graduating in 2010, he started as a junior animator in Guangzhou. Struggling for 6 years with childish work, he was looking to do something he was really
His childhood hobby has now turned into a(n)
| A．reality | B．turn | C．order | D．place |
| A．political | B．religious | C．financial | D．cultural |
| A．ashamed | B．afraid | C．aware | D．fond |
| A．for | B．into | C．within | D．against |
| A．variety | B．group | C．flash | D．block |
| A．developing | B．combining | C．abandoning | D．losing |
| A．Additionally | B．Gradually | C．Accordingly | D．Initially |
| A．When | B．If | C．While | D．Because |
| A．message | B．complaint | C．access | D．notice |
| A．prove | B．assess | C．display | D．explain |
| A．approach | B．response | C．solution | D．boost |
| A．promising | B．inspiring | C．challenging | D．discouraging |
| A．defeat | B．pursue | C．raise | D．reduce |
| A．current | B．future | C．distant | D．past |
| A．go off | B．take off | C．pay off | D．kick off |
