1 . Giant pandas are beautiful black and white
Mother giant pandas have only one
So, what action can we take? We should
| A．plants | B．animals | C．flowers | D．trees |
| A．lions | B．dogs | C．bears | D．monkeys |
| A．Russia | B．Australia | C．China | D．India |
| A．bananas | B．carrots | C．bamboo | D．cabbages |
| A．cost | B．afford | C．spend | D．pay |
| A．or | B．and | C．but | D．then |
| A．look as | B．look at | C．look like | D．look up |
| A．difficult | B．comfortable | C．terrific | D．enjoyable |
| A．bigger | B．smaller | C．more | D．fewer |
| A．scientists | B．workers | C．travelers | D．farmers |
| A．anywhere | B．somewhere | C．nowhere | D．everywhere |
| A．protect | B．feed | C．help | D．kill |
| A．write to | B．write about | C．write with | D．write on |
| A．food | B．problems | C．lives | D．environment |
| A．something | B．nothing | C．everything | D．anything |
2 . Are you a sports lover looking for skill development in the off-season (淡季)?
Joy of the Game (JG) has been working for the past 10 years. Come and join JG to develop skills as you prepare for next season.
Classroom Information | |
Ages | Boys 8th — 12th Grade |
Skills | All Skill Levels |
Days | Sunday (A 10-Day Program) Half Day：Morning：9:00 am－12:00 pm Afternoon：1:00 pm－4:00 pm Full Day：9:00 am－4:00 pm |
Schedule(课程) | Morning Period ( 9:00 am－12:00 pm )：Basketball, Volleyball, Floor Hockey Lunch Break：12:00 pm－1:00 pm ( Kids Must Bring Their Own Lunch ) Afternoon Period ( 1:00 pm－4:00 pm )：Basketball, Floor Hockey (室内曲棍球), Soccer, Relay Races (接力赛) |
Costs | Half Day：$ 50 a day Full Day：$ 90 a day |
1. Who can join JG according to the information?
| A．A girl in the 8th grade. |
| B．A girl who likes playing volleyball. |
| C．A boy in the 11th grade. |
| D．A boy who wants to improve baseball skills. |
| A．any time on Sunday | B．from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm |
| C．from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm | D．from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm |
| A．sports magazine | B．novel | C．storybook | D．science book |
3 . “Pop” stands for popular, and a pop singer has to work very hard to stay popular. He must either give the public what they want, or he must find a new way of singing that will attract their attention. Even when he has succeeded, and his records are sold everywhere, he cannot relax. Then he must work harder than ever to remain popular, because there are always younger singers trying to become famous and to steal some of the popularity.
The life of a successful pop singer isn’t easy at all. He can only relax when he is alone, because everything he does is watched and reported in the special newspaper written for the fans. The fans are the most important people in the world for the singer. They buy his records, they go to his concerts, and they make him rich and famous. But they can be very annoying, too. Sometimes their enthusiasm (热情) is so hysterical (歇斯底里的) that they do anything to get a souvenir (纪念品). They steal handkerchief, they tear off buttons, and they even cut off pieces of unfortunate singer’s hair. Many singers have been forced to hide, and some who have not been so lucky as to escape have been stripped (剥) practically naked by their fans. A pop singer has to spend a lot of money on clothes because he must always look smart, or at any rate, different. He must have a luxurious (豪华的) car. And most importantly, he must always keep smiling for the benefit of his public.
1. Pop singer works very hard ___________.| A．to get attention |
| B．to stay popular |
| C．to get more money |
| D．to sell more records |
| A．lovely | B．friendly | C．boring | D．angry |
| A．smart and the same |
| B．smart and different |
| C．healthy and young |
| D．rich and strong |
| A．The Way to Become a Pop Singer |
| B．The Fans of the Pop Singer |
| C．The Pop Singers |
| D．The Success of Pop Singers |
4 . One Saturday morning, Apple Inc’s iPad table computer (平板电脑) went on sale in the United States stores across the country. The iPad can be bought in more than 200 U.S. Apple stores from Apple. Many fans even waited overnight outside some Apple stores, hoping to be the first to get one. Dozens of the people were waiting before the door opened at 9:00 a.m. Hiro Kishimoto, a Japanese computer researcher who had a meeting in San Francisco, came as early as 5:00 a.m. He wanted to read books and magazines with the iPad. “It’s much more comfortable than a laptop (手提电脑). Because the laptop is too heavy to carry all the time, when you are in the living rooms, maybe the iPad is the best one to use.” He said. The iPad models that hit the U.S. Market on Saturday with price starting from 499 dollars, only have Wi Fi (无线宽带) link to the Internet. Apple models that have both Wi Fi and 3G will be on sale in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switland and the UK in late April. With a 9.7-inch touch screen like books and magazines, iPad can let users finish many tasks including making the web, watching videos, playing games and reading e-books. Apple is trying to remake the tablet computer. The iPad doesn’t support Adobe’s Flash software (多媒体软件) that is used to watch many of the videos on the web. “It is short of a keyboard, a mouse, USB ports and multi-tasking.” some researchers said.
1. People waited outside Apple stores early, because ________.| A．they could get a gift when the store opened | B．the price of the iPad was low at first |
| C．they were eager (渴望) to own the iPad | D．there were a few iPads on sale |
| A．is from San Francisco | B．came to an Apple store at 5:00 p.m. |
| C．wanted to buy an iPhone there | D．thought laptops were too heavy |
| A．￥299 | B．$299 | C．￥499 | D．$499 |
| A．Canada, France and Russia | B．China, Japan and France |
| C．Spain, Australia and Germany | D．Italy, the UK and Greek |
| A．It has a keyboard and a mouse. | B．It has a 9.7-inch touch screen. |
| C．People can read e-books with it. | D．People can play games with it. |
5 . We have an English corner in our classroom. Every morning many of my classmates come to the corner. My teacher Miss Zhang comes here, too. At the corner, we all speak English.
The corner started last year. At first, there were only
It’s a good
| A．a lot of | B．a few | C．a little | D．a bit of |
| A．excited | B．interested | C．angry | D．afraid |
| A．Talked | B．spoke | C．listened | D．came |
| A．help | B．laugh at | C．stop | D．fit into |
| A．happy | B．interesting | C．sad | D．afraid |
| A．then | B．now | C．today | D．that |
| A．saying | B．of talk | C．to speak | D．telling |
| A．to | B．at | C．for | D．from |
| A．late | B．often | C．early | D．too |
| A．room | B．place | C．home | D．school |
6 . We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom is passive, and so is the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines. Conditioned (习惯) as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay (传闻) and rumor (谣言).
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping (打上标记) it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be restated as a fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
1. What is the meaning of the words in Para.1 “experience”?| A．经历 | B．环境 | C．专家 | D．苦难 |
| A．doing a medical experiment | B．solving a math problem |
| C．visiting an exhibition | D．doing scientific reasoning |
| A．a message may be changed when being passed on |
| B．a message should be delivered in different ways |
| C．people may have problems with their sense of hearing |
| D．people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor |
| A．Active learning is less important | B．Passive learning may not be reliable |
| C．Active learning occurs more frequently | D．Passive learning is not found among scholars |
| A．introduce the advantages of passive learning | B．persuade us to adopt active learning |
| C．explain why passive learning can be bad | D．compare active learning and passive learning |
7 . Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony: My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry: The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger (陌生人)!
1. Tony arrived at school late that morning because ________.| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop |
| C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
| A．slapped the woman in the face | B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard his wife screaming in the street | D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
8 . I was blind, but I was ashamed of it if it was known. I refused to use a white stick and hated asking for help. After all, I was a teenage girl, and I could not bear people to look at me and think I was not like them. I must have been a terrible danger on the roads. Coming across me wandering through the traffic, motorists probably would have to stop rapidly on their brakes. Apart from that, there were all sorts of disasters that used to occur on the way to and from work.
One evening, I got off the bus about halfway home where I had to change buses, and as usual I ran into something. “I’m awfully sorry,” I said and stepped forward only to run into it again. When it happened a third time, I realized I had been apologizing to a lamppost (街灯柱). This was just one of the stupid things that constantly happened to me. So I carried on and found the bus stop, which was a request stop, where the bus wouldn’t stop unless passengers wanted to get on or off. No one else was there and I had to guess if the bus had arrived.
Generally in this situation, because I hated showing I was blind by asking for help, I tried to guess at the sound. Sometimes I would stop a big lorry and stand there feeling stupid as it drew away. In the end, I usually managed to swallow (吞下) my pride and ask someone at the stop for help.
But at this particular evening no one joined me at the stop; it seemed that everyone had suddenly decided not to travel by bus. Of course I heard plenty of buses pass, or I thought I did. But because I had given up stopping them for fear of making a fool of myself, I let them all go by. I stood there alone for half an hour without stopping one. Then I gave up. I decided to walk on to the next stop.
1. The girl refused to ask for help because she thought ________.| A．she might be recognized | B．asking for help looked silly |
| C．being found blind was embarrassing | D．she was normal and independent |
| A．began to run | B．hit a lamppost by accident |
| C．hit a person as usual | D．was caught by something |
| A．to find more buses there | B．to find people there |
| C．to find the bus by herself there | D．to find people more helpful there |
9 . “Woman reading book, under a night sky, dreamy atmosphere,” I type into Deep Dream Generator’s Text 2 Dream feature. In less than a minute, an image is returned to me showing what I’ve described.
Welcome to the world of AI image generation, where you can create what on the surface looks like top-rank artwork using just a few text prompts (提示). But closer examination shows oddities. The face of the woman in my image has very odd features, and appears to be holding multiple books. And, while there’s an initial thrill at seeing an image appear, there’s no creative satisfaction.
AI image generation could influence everything from film to graphic novels and more. Children’s illustrators were quick to raise concerns about the technology. They say AI-generated art is the exact opposite of what art is believed to be. Fundamentally, art is all about translating something that you feel internally into something that exists externally. Whatever form it takes, true art is about the creative process much more than it’s about the final piece. And simply pressing a button to generate an image is not a creative process.
Beyond creativity, there are deeper issues. To create images from prompts, AI generators rely on databases of already existing art and text. This could lead to the creation of images that are intentionally meant to imitate the style of other artists, without their agreement. There is an argument that AI generators work no differently to humans when it comes to being influenced by others’ work. However, a human artist is also adding emotion and nuance (细微差别) into the mix. AI doesn’t do the same — it can only copy.
The increasing use of AI will also lead to a devaluing (贬低) of the work of artists. There’s already a negative prejudice towards the creative industry. People will begin to think that their “work” is as excellent as that created by someone who has spent a career making art. It’s nonsense, of course. You can use your mobile phone to take a nice picture of your daughter, but you are no match for professionals.
1. What does the writer think of his image creation?| A．Exciting. | B．Appealing |
| C．Unsatisfying. | D．Shocking. |
| A．The creating process. | B．The final work. |
| C．Personal feelings. | D．External forms. |
| A．The styles of human artworks and AI ones. |
| B．Human artists’ influence on AI generators. |
| C．Different means used in human and AI art creation. |
| D．The drawbacks of drawing from existing art and text. |
| A．Art is the mirror of life. | B．Rome is not built in a day. |
| C．No man can do two things at once. | D．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
10 . Household chores (家务活) may contribute to healthy aging, according to a study published in the journal BMJ Open. Researchers from Singapore found that regular physical activity, including tasks like dusting, scrubbing floors, and washing windows, can improve physical and mental health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and decrease falls, immobility, dependency, and mortality among older adults.
The study involved 249 participants aged 21 to 64 and 240 participants aged 65 to 90. Participants completed cognitive (认知) function tests and physical capability assessments. They were asked about their levels of physical activity, including light housework (such as dusting) and heavy housework (such as floor-scrubbing). The researchers found that older adults who engaged in high amounts of heavy housework had higher cognitive and attention scores compared to those who did low levels or no heavy housework at all. These participants also had lower sit-to-stand times and were at a lower risk of falling. Similarly, older adults who reported high levels of light housework had higher cognitive and memory scores compared to those who did low levels of such tasks.
Dr. Shiou-Liang Wee, co-author of the research, emphasized that health messaging on staying active should not only focus on recreational physical activities. He highlighted that housework is a purposeful activity performed by many older adults and is linked to sharper memory and better fall protection.
However, experts urge caution when interpreting the study’s findings. Professor Gill Livingston from University College London noted that people who are not well may be expected to do less housework, and the study did not establish a causal relationship between housework and health outcomes. Professor Charlie Foster from the University of Bristol highlighted that the study relied on self-reported levels of household chores, which may be inaccurate, and did not fully consider other factors that could influence the results. While the study suggests that household chore may have benefits for older adults’ health, further research is needed to better understand the relationship between housework and healthy aging.
1. How did the researchers measure the participants’ levels of physical activity?| A．By analyzing the participants’ daily routines. |
| B．By doing household chores with the participants. |
| C．By carrying out a test on the participants. |
| D．By listening to the participants’ spoken reports. |
| A．Household chores, heavy or light, do help. |
| B．The more housework for the elderly, the better. |
| C．The subjects are of similar age. |
| D．Light housework improves health better. |
| A．Objective. | B．Meaningless. | C．Partial. | D．Successful. |
| A．Definite limitation of a study on healthy aging. |
| B．The introduction to a study on household chores. |
| C．Housework arguments among different experts. |
| D．Possible function of household chores for healthy aging. |
