1 . In 1999, when she was 23, Roxanne Olson left her home in Eureka, California to pursue a dream job, as an assistant producer on a cross-country tour. But party through the _________, she got some terrible news — her father had died of a sudden heart attack.

“I was _________ enough to not even understand that death was part of my world. And so it was a crazy _________,” Olson remembered.

Olson was able to get a plane ticket home, but when she arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, things went _________. Someone had run through security with a bag, _________ the shutdown of the airport.

“It turned out it was over 6,000 people evacuated from the O’Hare airport that day,” Olson said. After _________ of waiting, Olson and the other travelers were allowed back in. But the airport was in complete _________. As she stood there, feeling more and more overwhelmed, a woman approached her, pushing an empty _________.

“And she _________ to me and she said, ‘I’m here to help people like you,’” Olson said. __________, Olson got in the wheelchair. As the woman __________ them through the airport, Olson told her about her father’s death, and her __________ to return back home to California.

“And she just seemed to understand my problem — she talked to whoever the right people were, and she got me on the very first __________ out.”

Olson __________ it home that day. She says she’ll never forget the woman who made it possible. “She just __________ that I was broken and needed help. And she saved me.”

1.

A．country

B．dream

C．job

D．tour

2.

A．old

B．busy

C．young

D．sad

3.

A．shock

B．idea

C．knock

D．world

4.

A．accordingly

B．wrong

C．smoothly

D．well

5.

A．forcing

B．quickening

C．suggesting

D．remembering

6.

A．days

B．hours

C．minutes

D．seconds

7.

A．darkness

B．silence

C．disorder

D．peace

8.

A．suitcase

B．cart

C．wheelchair

D．load

9.

A．looked up

B．gave in

C．turned back

D．walked up

10.

A．Nervous

B．Relieved

C．Disappointed

D．Confident

11.

A．navigated

B．observed

C．tricked

D．pulled

12.

A．attempt

B．dream

C．failure

D．speed

13.

A．class

B．cabin

C．day

D．flight

14.

A．got

B．made

C．brought

D．left

15.

A．admitted

B．heard

C．saw

D．claimed

2 . Few humans have had the opportunity to see Earth from space. And for astronauts living in the International Space Station like Loral O’Hara, that view never gets old. “You know, you see it in photographs, but that doesn’t compare at all to seeing it in person for the first time in 3D,”O’Hara said in a recent interview. “I just saw the ocean and the clouds — this blue and white marble against the blackness of space — and it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.”

O’Hara is a flight engineer for NASA’s Expedition 70 crew, who launched into space in September 2023. She and her team spent the last six months researching a range of topics: How the human brain and body adapt to microgravity, 3D-printed human heart tissue and how space changes the immune (免疫) systems of plants. One of these investigations is the Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research program, or CIPHER, which is intended to help researchers understand how living in space changes human health and psychology.

On Earth, gravity keeps blood and other fluids relatively low in the body. But when astronauts live in microgravity, these fluids are pushed up towards the heart, which can cause swelling, congestion (淤血) and even vision and hearing changes. Onboard the ISS, O’Hara says astronauts keep tabs on these potential health risks, performing regular eye exams and ultrasounds to collect data. The hope is to use this data not only for microgravity research, but also for research on Earth. For example, researchers know astronauts lose about 1% to 2% of their bone density per month during spaceflight. So, O’Hara and her team are analyzing bone marrow stem cells in order to better understand both this bone loss and normal aging on Earth.

O’Hara says the changes aren’t just physical either. She’s even had new types of dreams since she boarded the ISS last September. She says she often finds herself in small, tight spaces, looking for things on the space station.

1. What does the word “that” underlined in the first paragraph refer to?

A．The blue and white marble.

B．The sight of space in pictures.

C．The chance to see Earth from space.

D．The life in the International Space Station.

2. What does CIPHER aim to do?

A．Test the astronauts’ health conditions.

B．Understand the immune systems of plants.

C．Investigate the human psychological issues.

D．Study the impact of life in space on humans.

3. What can we learn from paragraph 3?

A．Astronauts can suffer hearing changes on Earth.

B．Researchers check their eyes to reduce health risks.

C．Microgravity leads to some physical changes.

D．Bone loss research is welcome among astronauts.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．What’s It Like to Live in Space?

B．The Research of Microgravity in Space

C．Do You Dream of Living in Space?

D．An Extraordinary Woman Flight Engineer

4 . Empathy (共情) is one of the most important skills a teacher can have, but it is not always easy to respond to student behaviour with empathy. However, when you demonstrate to students that you understand and respect their feelings, you build mutual trust and friendly relationship.

According to new research, teaching children in a way that encourages them to empathize with others improves their creativity and may lead to a variety of other beneficial learning outcomes. The findings are the result of a year-long University of Cambridge study with year 9 Design and Technology (D &T) students (ages 13 to 14) from two inner London schools. Pupils at one school spent the year following curriculum-required lessons, while students at the other school used a set of engineering design thinking tools to improve students’ ability to think creatively and empathically while solving real-world problems.

Both sets of pupils were assessed for creativity at both the start and end of the school year using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking: a well-established psychometric test (心理测试). The results showed a statistically significant increase in creativity among pupils at the intervention school, where the thinking tools were used. At the start of the year, the Creativity scores of pupils in the control school, which followed the standard curriculum, were 11% higher than those at the intervention school. By the end, however, the situation had completely changed: Creativity scores among the intervention group were 78% higher than the control group.

Nicholl, Senior Lecturer in Design and Technology Education, who trains teachers studying on the University’s D & T PGCE course, said, “Teaching for empathy has been difficult despite being part of the D &. T National Curriculum for over two decades. This evidence suggests that it is a missing link in the creative process, and vital if we want education to encourage the designers and engineers of tomorrow.” Nicholl added, “When I taught Design and Technology, I didn’t see children as potential engineers who would one day contribute to the economy; they were people who needed to be ready to go into the world at 18. Teaching children to empathize is about building a society where we appreciate each other’s thoughts. Surely that is something we want education to do.”

1. What will a teacher with empathy do?

A．Share knowledge with students.

B．Understand students’ emotions.

C．Improve important teaching skills.

D．Respond to students’ behaviour.

2. Why were thinking tools used by the pupils of the other school?

A．To spread the ideas related to empathy.

B．To learn the curriculum-required lessons.

C．To promote problem-solving abilities.

D．To inspire creativity with mutual trust.

3. What did the results of the test suggest?

A．The standard curriculum didn’t encourage creativity.

B．The intervention school was more popular among students.

C．The control group lacked the ability to empathize with others.

D．The empathetic class contributed significantly to creativity.

4. What did Nichol l think of the study?

A．Unarguable.

B．Influential.

C．Distinctive.

D．Inaccurate.

5 . Europe’s series record-breaking hot and dry summers have broken an easy link to climate change. Climate models show Europe warms faster than the rest of the planet and the Arctic melting eventually causes massive ocean currents (洋流) and regional hot air circulation patterns.

Arctic melting is adding roughly 6000 cubic kilometers of water or more to the ocean per decade. As that fresh-water pours into the North Atlantic Ocean, it sits on top of heavier ocean salt-water and stops mixing. With less heat being stirred in from below, the surface water gets colder than usual during the fall and winter months, says Marilena Oltmanns, a climate scientist at the U.K. National Oceanography Centre. This phenomenon may explain the so-called “cold blob”, an area of sea in the North Atlantic that NASA nodeling suggests is one of the few spots on Earth getting colder.

To explore how the fresh water from Arctic ice might be affecting weather, Oltmanns and her colleagues developed a way to combine data from satellites, and weather stations. They found when the freshwater-caused cold blobs were more intense, the boundary was sharper, bringing more powerful westerly (向西的) winds. As a result, the stronger westerlies move a warm ocean flow from roughly 45°N to 60°N. That shift can continue into the next summer. And like a barrier, this warm current, curls up and around the British Isles, allowing a mass of hot, dry air to camp out over Europe.

“The study convincingly puts meat on the bones of an expectation I and others have had for a while — that the cold blob south of Greenland would influence North Atlantic weather patterns, as well as those downstream over Europe,” says Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center.

1. What does the underlined word “cold blob” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Climate models.	B．Ocean current.
C．Cold water zone.	D．Air circulation patterns.

2. What does paragraph 3 focus on?

A．Introduce the form of cold blob.

B．Present a phenomenon of climate changes in Europe.

C．Survey some data for the study.

D．Analyze the reason of hot and dry summer in Europe.

3. What is Jennifer’s attitude toward the study?

A．Approving.

B．Indifferent.

C．Doubtful.

D．Unclear.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Human activities change climate models.

B．Arctic melting contributes to European heat waves.

C．Climate changes have little impact on ocean currents.

D．Global warming results in the rise of the temperature.

6 . It is well established that eating vegetables is good for us. Why, then, do some people like them but others don’t? A new study has found that other people’s likes and dislikes could play a part. According to the research, people who eat vegetables and show an obvious distaste for them can influence others.

A team of scientists in the UK set out to investigate how the facial expressions people make as they eat affect a person watching them. They asked more than 200 young women to watch videos of other adults eating raw broccoli. The people in the videos had different expressions while eating. They would smile, seem neutral (neither happy nor sad), or look disgusted by what they were tasting.

The study found that participants who watched someone else react with disgust while eating broccoli began to like broccoli less. The opposite was not true, however. When someone had a positive facial expression while eating broccoli, people watching them did not end up liking broccoli more.

Humans learn which behaviors, including eating, will benefit them by watching the reactions of others. Known as social modeling, this tendency can have a strong influence on people’s eating habits. Scientists believe that people might avoid food that appears disgusting because it could help protect them from eating something that tastes bad or could even be dangerous.

Although the research focused only on adults, experts think the results could also apply to children. This means that if children see their parents or siblings not enjoying certain foods, including vegetables, they might not want to eat them either. A previous study found that children between the ages of 4 and 6 were more likely to eat broccoli if they had seen video clips of adults enjoying it.

The team said further research is needed to understand more about how the behavior of adults influences children’s enjoyment of food. This could help experts find ways to encourage young people to eat more of the foods that are healthy for them.

1. What was the purpose of the UK scientists’ study?

A．Assess young women’s eating habits.

B．Examine the effect of raw broccoli on people.

C．Investigate facial expressions during eating.

D．Study the impact of diners’ expressions on viewers.

2. What does social modeling in paragraph 4 refer to in the text?

A．Correcting others’ behaviors.

B．Socializing one’s behaviors by learning from others.

C．Developing others’ eating habits.

D．Learning beneficial behaviors from observing others.

3. According to the text, what is the likely reason that children refuse to eat vegetables?

A．Impact of friends.	B．Influence of family members.
C．Personal taste preferences.	D．Unpleasant taste of vegetables.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Developing Good Habits: The Importance of Modeling.

B．Impacting Food Preferences: The Power of Eating Habits.

C．Influencing Food Choices: The Power of Facial Reactions.

D．Encouraging Vegetable Consumption: The Importance of Healthy Eating.

7 . You’ve probably followed a few cute dogs and cats on social media. However, are you aware that Ai-generated pets are also gaining popularity nowadays? They are just as adorable as real dogs and cats but also exhibit human-like characteristics.

Chai Dada, 21, runs an AI-generated dog account called “Shizhuangzhuangya” on Xiaohongshu and has already got more than 10,000 followers. Her AI-generated pet Zhuangzhuang is a fluffy Shiba Inu with a big belly who likes to eat and work out. “Zhuangzhuang is actually a reflection of me,” Chai said. “Its life and mood basically reflect my own.”

To personify the character more, the young content maker places Zhuangzhuang in various daily life scenarios. For instance, responding to the recent increase of “hui nan tian”— the super humid (潮湿的) weather in southern China in spring — Chai posted images of Zhuangzhuangmopping a wet floor, with the caption. “It’s wet everywhere at home”; vividly capturing the mood. In the comments section, many have expressed sympathy (同情), for the poor dog.

“Many scenes may seem ordinary, but when a very lifelike and adorable human-like pet appears in these familiar scenes, it looks interesting,” Chai said. Since Zhuangzhuang closely resembles a human in a dog’s body, many followers have come to believe in its real existence. This has provided Chai with opportunities to monetize by partnering with brands for product advertisements. Aiming to expand her reach, Chai expressed a desire to dive deeper into AI to bring her AI pet to life not just in pictures but also in videos.

She also observed that more and more people like her are becoming AI pet bloggers, which has intensified competition in this industry. To attract more fans, bloggers are constantly learning more AI skills and brainstorming to create more interesting storylines. “I want to develop Zhuangzhuang into an intellectual property and create related cultural and creative products such as dolls and stickers,” said Chai.

1. What do we know about the AI pet Zhuangzhuang?

A．It is a digital recreation of Chai’s childhood pet.

B．It has gained over one million followers online.

C．It is a virtual representation of a real Shiba Inu.

D．It mirrors the life and personality of its creator.

2. Why is the “hui nan tian” example mentioned in the text?

A．To show the fun Zhuangzhuang brings Chai.

B．To illustrate how Chai humanizes Zhuangzhuang.

C．To describe Zhuangzhuang’s daily struggles.

D．To suggest Zhuangzhuang’s growing fan base.

3. What does the underlined word “monetize” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Commercialize.

B．Promote.

C．Maximize.

D．Monitor.

4. What does Chai plan to do?

A．Perfect Zhuangzhuang’s features.	B．Cooperate with other AI pet creators.
C．Create lifelike videos of Zhuangzhuang.	D．Write a book featuring Zhuangzhuang.

8 . The standard public health threats are all-too familiar: smoking, high blood pressure, cancer. But a new government advisory made headlines in 2023 by adding an unexpected major to that list. Loneliness, stated the report from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, is a widely under recognized U.S. health crisis. In recent years, about 50 percent of Americans have experienced loneliness, which results in adverse effects. Lonely people, as Murthy’s report warns, run the same mortality (死亡) risk as people who smoke 15 cigarettes a day.

On its face, Murthy’s warning sounds awfully alarmist. It’s hard to understand how a lack of companionship could be as threatening as an addiction or global pandemic. But humans are so biologically wired to be social that isolation damages our systems. People who lack social support have a 29 percent higher risk of heart disease, a 32 percent higher risk of stroke, and a 26 to 29 percent higher risk of premature death, according to the report. What’s more, such health effects in isolated older adults have led to about $6.7 billion in Medicare spending each year.

Scientists now know that loneliness can cause lots of health problems. That may be because our ancestors thrived (繁荣) in supportive communities. “Our brains function more efficiently when we are with others.” Says Julianne Holt Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University.

Since loneliness can feel so much like personal failure, it’s easy to assume people should just try to handle it on their own. But in reality, many of the factors that promote social isolation are structural ones. “It could be workplace policies that don’t allow flexibility to support personal relationships.” Holt Lunstad says. “It might be busy or unsafe streets that are barriers to getting to know your neighbors.”

1. What does the underlined word “adverse” in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Slight.

B．Negative.

C．Indirect.

D．Immediate.

2. Which is true about loneliness according to passage?

A．Loneliness is a great health threat to people.	B．Loneliness does more harm than a pandemic.
C．Lonely people run the same risk as the smokers.	D．Loneliness is a well-recognized health problem.

3. What can be inferred from Holt Lunstad’s words?

A．Social isolation can be solved on one’s own.

B．Social anxiety holds back personal interactions.

C．The absence of social support worsens loneliness.

D．Tight working schedules lead to tense relationships.

4. What might be written in the following paragraph?

A．The causes of loneliness.	B．The effects of loneliness.
C．The definition of loneliness.	D．The solutions to the loneliness.