1 . To grow sugary dates in the sand, Siwa’s farmers must first make the desert suitable for farming. As an oasis (绿洲) in Egypt, Siwa has been home to humans for thousands of years. Since ancient times, the oasis has had farms producing some of the most valuable dates in Egypt, and sugary dates have appeared on Egyptians, tables.

The desert environment in Siwa is not quite fit for plant, to grow. For example, the water there contains much salt. However, with local people’s efforts, the Siwa oasis contains complex agricultural (农业的) fields, where date trees, crops and other plants grow in harmony (和谐). That impressed me a lot during my visit to the oasis. To make a new piece of field, farmers first move away the top soil and replace it with a mixture of sand and waste matter from animals. The first plants are medicinal plants. Then, farmers plant date trees and olive trees. These farming skills are passed down from generation to generation.

To grow date trees is demanding. And it takes 10 years for a new date tree to grow up, but once it does, the tree produces generous fruit: around 110 pounds of dates per year. Each farmer picks dates with the skilled hands. They climb the trees using nothing more than a belt. In total, Siwa gets more than 25,000 tons of dates from 280,000 trees per year.

The dates can be eaten fresh, or made dry. Every part of the date tree is important in Siwa, from leaves made into beds and boxes to wood used to build houses. And then, of course, there’s the fruit itself. The dates can be cooked with goat meat or mixed with eggs for breakfast. They can also be mixed with flour, water, and olive oil, and boiled slowly to make a local dessert.

Local farmers once developed many unique date varieties, which their camels carried to Cairo. But later many of those varieties perished. And today only several major varieties remain and some have become quite rare and been at risk. The construction of a road in the oasis made the survival of local agricultural tradition even harder.

1. What can we learn about sugary dates from paragraph 1 ?

A．They have existed for a long time.

B．They prefer the desert environment.

C．They’re introduced to Egypt from abroad.

D．They’re the most valuable fruit in Egypt.

2. What impressed the author a lot during his visit to Siwa?

A．The great variety of plants grown there.

B．The hard but happy life of local people.

C．The difficulty in developing the local agriculture.

D．The farmers’ wisdom and contribution to farming.

3. What do the figures mentioned in paragraph 3 show?

A．It is easy to pick dates from the trees.

B．It is worth the effort to plant date trees.

C．It costs a lot to grow date trees in the oasis.

D．It is necessary to develop agriculture in Siwa.

4. What does the underlined word in the last paragraph mean?

A．Improved.	B．Died.
C．Became expensive.	D．Remained unique.

2 . To battle the plagiarism (抄袭), some schools in America have responded to ChatGPT by taking action, according to the New York Times.

New York City public schools, for example, recently prevented ChatGPT access on school computers and networks, saying “concerns about negative influence on students learning, and concerns about the safety of content.” Schools in other cities, including Seattle, have also limited its use.

A US’ online course provider Study. com recently asked 1, 000 students over the age of 18 about the use of ChatGPT in the classroom. The responses were surprising. Around 89 percent said they’ve used it on homework. Over 50 percent said they used ChatGPT to write an essay, while 22 percent admitted to having asked ChatGPT for a paper outline.

While the chatbot (聊天机器人) is raising fears of academic cheating on schools, some educators believe introducing the Al-ended tools to the academics could even overturn the traditional education.

“For researchers, finding valuable scientific problems and solving them in creative ways come first, and then writing academic papers. Some AI-enabled writing tools can create words or even write long text based on a few keywords shortly,” said Zhu Wei, a law professor in China. For example, ChatGPT helps writers gather writing materials for their papers, which not only increases the efficiency of the work, but also allows researchers to devote more energy to more creative work.

“Whether to use ChatGPT depends on whether to use it correctly. For those students who just use it to deal with homework or exams,” Zhu said, “this is putting the cart before the horse, which should be limited.” To avoid this problem, Zhu suggested introducing soft wares to help educators. He believes schools should accept ChatGPT as a teaching aid to unlock creativity in students. “The most important part of such tools is not to replace human thinking, but to improve human thinking.” Zhu said.

1. How does the author describe the results of Study. com’s research in Paragraph 3?

A．By listing figures.	B．By conducting tests.
C．By giving examples.	D．By referring to other studies.

2. What does Paragraph 5 mainly tell us about AI-ended tools?

A．AI-ended tools help increase productivity.

B．AI-ended tools help scientists settle problems.

C．AI-ended tools help people in academic.

D．AI-ended tools help writers collect writing materials.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the usage of ChatGPT?

A．Disagreeable.

B．Favorable.

C．Objective.

D．Unconcerned.

4. What may the author talk about in the following paragraph?

A．Showing how software is applied in schools.

B．Giving examples of how students use ChatGPT.

C．Listing advantages of using AI-ended tools properly in schools.

D．Introducing ways to use ChatGPT to improve students’ creativity.

3 . A successful scientist is generally a good observer. He makes full _________ of the facts he observes. He doesn’t accept ideas which are not based on obvious facts, and therefore refuses to accept authority as the only _________ for truth. He always _________ ideas carefully and makes experiments to prove them.

The rise of modern science may perhaps be considered to _________ back to the time of Roger Bacon, the wonderful philosopher of Oxford, who lived _________ the years 1214 and 1292. He was probably the first in the Middle _________ to suggest that we must learn science _________ observing and experimenting on the things around us, and he himself made many important discoveries.

Galileo, however, who lived more than 300 years later (1564—1642 ) , was one of the greatest men, _________ in Italy, France, Germany, or England, began by _________ to show how many important truths could be discovered by observation. Before Galileo, learned men believed that large bodies fell more __________ towards the earth than small ones, __________ Aristotle said so. But Galileo, going to the __________ of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, let fall two __________ stones and proved Aristotle was wrong. It was Galileo’s __________ of going direct to nature, and proving our _________   and theories by experiment, that has led to all the discoveries of modern science.

1.

A．use

B．time

C．speed

D．trust

2.

A．reason

B．cause

C．advice

D．result

3.

A．thinks

B．checks

C．has

D．learns

4.

A．date

B．keep

C．look

D．take

5.

A．both

B．each

C．between

D．among

6.

A．Schools

B．Ages

C．Days

D．Countries

7.

A．in

B．with

C．on

D．by

8.

A．who

B．when

C．that

D．where

9.

A．ways

B．degrees

C．levels

D．chance

10.

A．slowly

B．rapidly

C．lightly

D．heavily

11.

A．although

B．because

C．when

D．if

12.

A．place

B．foot

C．top

D．ceiling

13.

A．big

B．small

C．equal

D．unequal

14.

A．spirit

B．skill

C．theory

D．discovery

15.

A．plans

B．opinions

C．world

D．ability

4 . It’s school time again! You’re probably feeling excited and maybe a little sad that summer is over. Some kids feel nervous or a little scared on the first day of school because of all the new things: new teachers, new friends, and even a new school. Luckily, these “new” worries only stick around for a little while. Let’s find out more about going to a new school.

Most teachers kick off the new school year by introducing themselves and talking about all the stuff you’ll be doing that year. Some teachers give students a chance to tell something about themselves to the rest of the class, too. When teachers do the talking on the first day, they often go over classroom rules and school rules so you’ll know what’s allowed and what’s not. Please pay close attention.

You might already know a lot of people in your classes on the first day, but it’s a great day to make a new friend, so try to say hello to kids you know and new ones that you don’t. Make the first move and you’ll be glad you did, and so will your new friend!

Seeing friends you haven’t seen for some time can make the first day a good one. You can make the day feel special by wearing clothes that you really like. Maybe you got a great T-shirt on one of your vacations, or a pair of sneakers (运动鞋). It also can make you feel good to be prepared and have all the things you need, such as pencils, folders, and whatever else you’ll be needing. But make sure that you pack them the night before in case you don’t have time in the morning.

1. The underlined phrase “kick off” in the second paragraph probably means “________”.

A．start

B．study

C．find

D．learn

2. The last paragraphs mainly tell us about ________.

A．what to know about a new school	B．how to prepare for a new school
C．what to do on your first day of school	D．how to spend your first day of school

3. According to the passage you usually do everything on the first day of school except ________.

A．introduce yourself	B．learn about the school rules
C．make new friends	D．go over your lessons

4. If you happen to see an old friend on the first day of school, from the passage we know that you will feel ________.

A．nervous

B．mad

C．happy

D．upset

5 . In winter, we often use large amounts of salt to remove dangerous ice from roads and walkways. But when the spring arrives, all that salt can really damage plants along the way. Salt is the chemical sodium chloride.

Salt pulls water from living cells, like plant roots and the healthy ground soil around them. So, spring growth may show up lighter in color than normal, or, in the worst cases, plants may simply die. Rain can wash away much of the salt, permitting some older plants to live. But overusing it unavoidably brings great damage to plants.

There are, of course, other things that can be used in place of sodium chloride. One is the chemical calcium chloride, which does less damage to plants. Calcium chloride can quickly change the melting (融化) point of ice and absorb water, making a much quicker acting agent. It also works when the temperature is below negative 17 degrees Celsius. Salt only keeps its effectiveness at temperatures above negative 12 degrees Celsius. Yet, it’s more expensive and can do more damage to cars.

Calcium magnesium acetate, also called CMA, is a more popular alternative than salt and calcium chloride. It is made by combining limestone, a type of rock, and vinegar. It breaks down naturally so it does not damage plants or soil. It stays on roads and does not hurt cars. CMA does have problems, however. It is most effective at around negative 9 degrees Celsius. And it is better at stopping ice from forming rather than removing it.

Some materials-such as sand or very small pieces of wood-can also work against ice. They might be very messy, but in the interests of plants grown in the ground near a road or where a car is parked, all of them could be a better choice than salt.

1. What advantage does calcium chloride have over salt?

A．It pulls little water from plants.	B．It can melt ice in a shorter time.
C．It has no bad effect on plants.	D．It works at higher temperature.

2. What should we do when using CMA?

A．Break it into small pieces.

B．Use it before water or snow freezes.

C．Combine it with rock and vinegar.

D．Remove it from roads after use.

3. How does the author develop the text?

A．By using data.

B．By raising doubt.

C．By drawing comparisons.

D．By explaining principles.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Salt Does More Harm than Good

B．Vary Ways to Clear Ice with Conditions

C．Ice Removal Could Damage Plants

D．To Help Plants, Use Less Salt

6 . We are what we eat. From high-calorie meals to low-fat lunches, much of our health depends on what we eat. We all know about the benefits of eating properly for our physical health, but food—and cooking it—is proving to be good for our mental well-being as well.

Some people are now advocating the therapy value of cooking food. It’s not just about the end result but the experience we go through. Dr Mark Salter told BBC: “Baking and cooking are good therapies that help develop planning skills, short-term memory and social skills-all of which suffer in mental illness.”

TV chef and author Nadiya Hussain agrees that cooking is great for helping our mind. She loves to bake and became the champion of the TV show, The Great British Bake Off . “Baking has always been about therapy. It’s never really been about the cake”, she said. And she thinks that baking is an important tool for our socialization and mental health.

Certainly, creating delicious food has helped take our mind off things and given us something to do. People have said that preparing dough to make bread, for example, has given them a sense of calm and control. Research has shown that doing creative tasks, like cooking, makes us feel happier. Nicole Farmer, who studies how food impacts our biology, behaviour and mental health, told BBC online that “cooking represents the shared human experience of food, and nurturing people through food, so I think that’s where it brings us an opportunity for immediate positive emotions.”

Of course, cooking can be a very sociable activity and sharing the end result, a rewarding experience. Hopefully, as we start to mix with friends and family again, we can enjoy the benefits once more and put us all in the right frame of mind.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．Cooking benefiting mental health.	B．Different opinions on cooking.
C．Benefits of food for physical health.	D．An author’s cooking experience.

2. What does Dr Mark Salter talk about?

A．The therapy value of cooking.	B．The enjoyment of cooking.
C．The types of mental disease.	D．The physical benefits of food.

3. What do the underlined words “the cake” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．Food quality.

B．The end result.

C．The TV show.

D．The champion.

4. What does Nicole Farmer mean about cooking?

A．It is a sociable activity.	B．It gives us delicious food.
C．It is the process of creation.	D．It results in a pleasant feeling.

9 . I’m a strong believer in learning different languages, which makes you look incredibly good when you’re in a foreign country and can understand and speak the language. The following are 4 apps that will help you learn a foreign language! You can download them for free.

Babbel

Babbel’s lessons are mainly quiz-styled and use audio, pictures and words to help you with the grammar and vocabulary of your chosen language. It helps you use most of the skills needed to learn a language. Your skills are improved by carrying out different tasks, such as completing sentences with missing words, translating, placing words in order and so on.

FluentU

FluentU takes native language content like music videos, news and inspiring talks and turns them into language learning lessons. The videos all make use of interactive (交互的) subtitles (字幕) to ensure understanding, allow users to save material for later review, and make the experience more enjoyable. Clicking on a word or phrase brings up extra information, including example sentences and other video clips that use the language item.

Tandem

Rather than have you work through tasks and memorise different things, the app matches you up with people who share your interests but speak the language you want to learn. You can then have text, voice and video conversations with people to learn their native language, and in return they can learn yours, all by simply communicating with each other.

Busuu

This app is perfect if you want to learn English. There are all sorts of audio and visual learning aids. You’ll find yourself working through interactive tests and learning tools for the vocabulary and dialogue.

1. Which app suits you best if you want to learn through communication?

A．Babbel.

B．FluentU.

C．Tandem.

D．Busuu.

2. What do the apps have in common?

A．They cover all languages.	B．They focus on grammar.
C．They contain many tests.	D．They are free to download.

3. What is the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To sell apps to language learners.	B．To teach languages through apps.
C．To introduce language learning apps.	D．To teach language learners to use apps.