1 . Most 13-year-olds might have spent those three years preoccupied with schoolwork or hanging out with mates. One teenager, however, spent his nights sleeping in a
“I love camping, it’s one of my
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said: “My friend Rick was absolutely amazing. He
| A．hotel | B．house | C．bedroom | D．tent |
| A．raised | B．donated | C．saved | D．earned |
| A．efficient | B．ridiculous | C．dangerous | D．favourite |
| A．but | B．because | C．so | D．unless |
| A．easier | B．stronger | C．tougher | D．nicer |
| A．helpful | B．meaningful | C．terrible | D．simple |
| A．brilliant | B．committed | C．reliable | D．tricky |
| A．forced | B．troubled | C．commanded | D．banned |
| A．Apparently | B．Certainly | C．Honestly | D．Equally |
| A．sound | B．regular | C．voluntary | D．occasional |
| A．adventures | B．journeys | C．applications | D．generations |
| A．take over | B．pass over | C．get over | D．engage in |
| A．respected | B．recalled | C．annoyed | D．loved |
| A．biggest | B．hardest | C．earliest | D．easiest |
| A．proposal | B．contribution | C．difference | D．donation |
2 . Does it ever seem like something is going on with our attention spans? Gloria Mark, an attention researcher at the university of California, says there is scientific evidence that attention spans have shrunk considerably. “We started studying attention span length over 20 years ago,” Mark said. “In 2003, we found that attention spans averaged about two-and-a-half minutes on any screen before people switched, In the past five, six years, they are averaging 47 seconds on the screen.”
Mark maintains that a shorter attention span has three downsides: The first is that people make more errors when they do attention shifting; second downside is that it takes longer to do something, because we have to adjust to every new task every time we shift; the third downside — maybe this is the worst of all — is that stress increases. When people are working on multiple tasks and they have to shift their attention, their blood pressure rises.
You don’t have to be a professor to guess at the cause of our great distract ability: It’s technology, of course-phones, social media, texting. It might be hard to think of the last time you even had a tech-free hour. So she offered a couple of tips for staying focused: First, when you feel the itch to change tasks, analyze why. If it’s just boredom or procrastination (拖延症), make a deal with yourself to work another 20 minutes, and then treat yourself to a reward.
Second, picture yourself at the end of the day. What do you want to have accomplished? What do you want to feel? “A concrete visualization of yourself sitting on the couch, you know, watching your favourite show is really good motivation,” she said.
The internet has this incredible resource available to us, so rather than be upset by it because it distracts us, how can we turn that around and instead find value from it? And how can we utilize our time best when we use the resources from the Internet without getting exhausted from it? These questions are what Gloria Mark will focus on in her subsequent research.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．Negative effects of short attention spans. | B．Benefits of long attention spans. |
| C．Causes of short attention spans. | D．Ways to deal with short attention spans. |
| A．Necessity. | B．Courage. | C．Desire | D．Choice |
| A．Imagining what you will accomplish at the end of the day is a waste of time. |
| B．Multitasking is a good way to extend our attention span. |
| C．It is necessary to think twice before shifting your tasks. |
| D．We’d better say no to the internet sometimes as it distracts us. |
| A．Are Our Attention Spans Getting Shorter? | B．How Do We Live with the Internet? |
| C．Is Multitasking Possible? | D．What Can We Do to Make Our Attention Spans Longer? |
3 . The Amazon rainforest spreads across nine South American countries but most of it (60%) is in Brazil. Brazilian scientists think they might have found a way to reverse the damage caused by deforestation and turn farmland back into forest. The secret lies in ancient local knowledge of soil.
Amazonian dark earth (ADE) is a thick, black soil found deep in the Amazon rainforest, and it could help restore forests around the world. ADE is a kind of compost — a soil made from dead plants and animals. Various kinds of compost are sold in gardening centers around the world, but ADE is unique. It was created by indigenous people (the descendants of people who lived somewhere before another culture arrived and took over) from the Amazon between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago. The Amazonian people, today known as Amerindians, created ADE using charcoal from fires, animal bones, food waste and poo. It contains microbes, including bacteria that help to turn chemicals in the soil into useful nutrients that feed plants and trees.
Vast areas of the Amazon have been cut down, mostly to make way for grassland for raising cattle. Scientists are looking for a way to turn grassland back into rainforest and revive forest ecosystems. These support thousands of animal and plant species, many of them unique to the area. Forests also absorb lots of carbon dioxide, a gas that cause climate change.
To see if the Amazon’s special soil could help, the scientists grew grasses and trees in ADE, regular earth and a mixture of both. Trees grown in ADE were up to six times taller than those in regular soil. ADE takes hundreds of years to create, so the scientists can’t simply make more. Team member, Dr. Siu Mui Tsai, said that instead they want to try and “copy its characteristics”, especially its helpful microbes, and see if it could help to restore natural habitats.
1. What are Brazilian scientists trying to do?| A．To bring forests back. | B．To measure damage. |
| C．To reduce farmland. | D．To dig out ancient soil. |
| A．Dead plants. | B．Animal bones. | C．Food waste. | D．Bacteria inside. |
| A．The reasons for cutting down forests. | B．The benefits of raising cattle. |
| C．The significance of forest ecosystems. | D．The influence of climate change. |
| A．Amazonian dark earth is helpful to microbes. |
| B．Amazonian dark earth is produced in large quantities. |
| C．Microbes are beneficial to the revival of forests. |
| D．Microbes are the characteristics of the natural habitats. |
4 . In 1996, someone found some very old clothes in an old mine in Nevada, USA; they included a pair of dirty old jeans. Today, those jeans are very valuable, and they are now in the Levi Strauss Archival Collection, in San Francisco. The jeans, which are over 140 years old, are the oldest pair of Levi’s 501 jeans in the world.
They are almost the same as a modern pair of 501’s; there are just some small differences in the detail For instance, today’s 501’s have two back pockets, the old pair just has one.
In 1853, a young tailor from Germany, called Levi Strauss, began working in San Francisco; Levi sold thick canvas to miners; the miners used the canvas to make tents.
One day, a miner told Levi that he could not find trousers that were strong enough for work in the gold mines. Levi decided to make some trousers out of canvas.
Very soon, he had sold all the canvas trousers he’d made! They were just what miners wanted.
However, the canvas was rather heavy and stiff Levi therefore began to look for a different textile; soon he found a heavy textile from France; it was called serge de Nimes. Americans just called this de Nimes, and this name soon got reduced to denim.
Denim was a bit lighter than canvas but it was very strong: it was ideal for miners.
However, original denim was almost white, and miners did not like the color! Their denim trousers got dirty as soon as they began working!
Levi Strauss therefore decided to use colored denim, and he chose dark blue. In 1873, he began to make denim trousers with metal rivets to make them stronger. This was a radical new idea: “Blue jeans” had arrived!
Levi’s jeans were so popular, that his company got bigger and bigger, soon, other firms were making blue jeans too. Miners liked them, but so did cowboys and other working men. Blue jeans became classic American working trousers. After the Second World War, jeans became popular all over the world. Today, blue jeans are now the international uniform worn by young people.
1. Why did Levi start to make jeans at first?| A．To start a business. | B．To make use of canvas. |
| C．To make a difference. | D．To meet the miners’ needs. |
| A．It was originally dark blue. |
| B．It was introduced from France. |
| C．It was thought little of by cowboys. |
| D．It was heavy and stiff compared to canvas. |
| A．Diligent and honest. | B．Innovative and devoted. |
| C．Noble and persistent. | D．Generous and warm-hearted. |
| A．A creative tailor. | B．A long-existing trend. |
| C．The origin of jeans. | D．The famous brand of jeans. |
5 . With a huge variety of animals, plants, and geological features, it’s no surprise the Rocky Mountains host many national parks in both the US and Canada. Here are a few of the national parks in the region dedicated to preserving the unique environments of the Rocky Mountains.
Rocky Mountain National Park
The first of the great national parks in the Rocky Mountains, this park includes 415 square miles of land across the Continental Divide. Because of its size, visitors can experience high mountain peaks, grassy valleys, hidden alpine lakes, and beautiful waterfalls. Rock climbers can scale a thousand feet up the sheer rock cliffs of Longs Peak, and there are many hiking trails.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is probably one of the most well-known national parks. President Ulyssess S. Grant designated Yellowstone as the very first national park in the United States on March 1, 1872. It is famous for its hot springs, boiling mud, fumaroles and geysers such as Old Faithful, which shoots boiling water more than 100 feet into the air. Yellowstone also has its own canyon and magnificent waterfall. Visitors can see bison, elk, wolves and grizzly bears.
Grand Teton National Park
Travelers can leave Yellowstone on a parkway that brings them right to Grand Teton National Park, just north of Jackson, Wyoming. Humans have lived in the area for more than 11,000 years, and traces of this history can be found throughout the park. Grand Teton has many opportunities for hiking, camping, boating, rock climbing, and viewing wildlife, as well as amazing views of the Grand Teton Mountain Range.
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is located near Calgary, in Alberta, Canada. Banff was Canada’s first national park, and is known for its mountain peaks, its hundreds of glaciers, and glacier-fed lakes such as Lake Louise. Banff has many hiking trails and campsites, and winter visitors snowshoe, ski, and skate.
1. Which of the following best suits winter sports lovers?| A．Rocky Mountain National Park. | B．Yellowstone National Park. |
| C．Grand Teton National Park. | D．Banff National Park. |
| A．Rocky Mountain National Park has its own canyon. |
| B．Yellowstone National Park are famous for campsites. |
| C．Grand Teton National Park enjoys the longest history. |
| D．Banff National Park is the first national park in Canada. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A geography textbook. | D．A wildlife guidebook. |
6 . I’ve reached the turn-around point of the day’s kayaking (皮划艇) trip. Sweat runs down my cheek as I
Solo outings had never
In October 2022, I decided to
Pride
Adventuring alone has become like medicine for me! It’s also pushed me to go
| A．dip | B．raise | C．point | D．slip |
| A．exhausting | B．awesome | C．surprising | D．terrible |
| A．crossed | B．lost | C．cleared | D．occupied |
| A．available | B．crucial | C．tough | D．common |
| A．admissions | B．circumstances | C．connections | D．relationships |
| A．bring up | B．take up | C．pull up | D．put up |
| A．appreciate | B．collect | C．cut | D．sweep |
| A．ashamed | B．scared | C．aware | D．tired |
| A．time | B．effort | C．room | D．money |
| A．myth | B．regulation | C．definition | D．truth |
| A．pulled | B．looked | C．coursed | D．carried |
| A．occasionally | B．initially | C．constantly | D．instantly |
| A．visited | B．swam | C．rowed | D．admired |
| A．within | B．into | C．beyond | D．through |
| A．emerged | B．ballooned | C．surrounded | D．encountered |
7 . Fortunately, the days of being spread on thick baby oil and lying in the sun to get you skin yellowish-brown—or more likely burnt—are long over. Many sunscreens work by filtering (过滤) the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays to keep them from reaching skin cells and causing the DNA damage that can lead to wrinkles and skin cancer. But in recent years, the safety of some of those filtering chemical ingredients, particularly oxybenzone (氧苯铜), has been in question.
A 2019 study published in JAMA found evidence that oxybenzone is absorbed into the bloodstream, leading to concerns about whether it might affect functions of our body. Oxybenzone has also been detected in breast milk for newborn babies. Because of concerns about higher intake in children, doctors from the American Academy of Pediatrics advise against sunscreen with oxybenzone for kids.
The Environmental Working Group, an activist organization that monitors chemical safety, has called for a ban, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers sunscreens with oxybenzone safe. “It’s uncertain,” says Deborah S. Sarnoff, president of the U.S. Skin Cancer Foundation. “Just because you’re absorbing the chemical doesn’t mean it’s dangerous.” Further study is required.
But oxybenzone is a risk to coral reefs. Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands have banned the sale of sunscreens with oxybenzone. In a 2022 study published in Science, researchers found that some certain sea plants, when exposed to sunlight, turn oxybenzone into energy or something needed in a way that damages and kills corals.
Some companies have been trying to stop using oxybenzone gradually in stages, and many big brands offer oxybenzone-free options. For anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, or simply looking to avoid these chemical filters, Dr. Sarnoff recommends mineral sunscreens, which contain mainly physical barriers.
1. What is the advantage of sunscreen?| A．It gets your skin yellowish-brown. | B．It stops wrinkles and skin cancer. |
| C．It keeps UV rays from harming you. | D．It prevents skin cells from DNA damage. |
| A．They don’t want children to absorb more oxybenzone. |
| B．They don’t want oxybenzone to hurt babies’ functions. |
| C．They know oxybenzone can affect children’s bloodstream. |
| D．They know oxybenzone has been found in newborn babies. |
| A．Coral reefs in Hawaii were damaged or killed by sunscreens. |
| B．More research is needed to prove the danger of oxybenzone. |
| C．Some organizations have already banned the use of sunscreens. |
| D．Mineral sunscreens are much safer than those with oxybenzone. |
| A．The findings about sunscreens with oxybenzone. |
| B．Questions on safe use of oxybenzone raised by doctors. |
| C．Discussion on safety of oxybenzone between organizations. |
| D．Effects of sunscreens on humans and plants in recent studies. |
8 . “I was in the ICU. I’d been told I’d be released the next day. The worst, it seemed, was behind me.” Jake Ryan didn’t know it at the time, but the worst was not totally behind him. After his open heart surgery, he was about to enter a different and difficult journey on the road to physical and emotional recovery.
Upon discharge (出院), the hospital gave Jake a “care package.” “I miss my 3-year-old twins. I remember thinking how much I wished there was a book in the package that would offer guidance for how to be a dad following surgery. There wasn’t, but it was out of that thought that this book was born.”
Dear Diary Franklin is a novel written in the voice of 11-year-old Hannah Brody, whose father had suddenly collapsed on a gym floor and was in need of serious medical attention. The book is written in diary format, which gets readers deep inside the head and heart of its young heroine.
Through her diary, readers hear about Hannah’s feelings and frustrations as she copes with the anger, fear and confusion of the impact of her father’s surgery. What are they keeping from me? And why? She repeatedly hears the catchall cliché (陈词滥调) “everything is going to be fine” so many times that she can only think anything but. Her own translation: “Normal was over.” While her dad does his best to keep things as normal as possible, his recovery, as you’d imagine, is slow and his routine changes. Meanwhile, there’s the matter of school and Hannah’s place within what for some is a terrifying social universe—she has few friends.
While Ryan said his motivation was to help men (or parents in general) deal with the aftereffects of major surgery in their families and themselves, he has delivered a valuable story for children and grownups alike in how to tackle a difficult life event that nobody can truly prepare you for.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph l refer to?| A．That he was sent to the ICU. |
| B．That he had got past the worst things. |
| C．That he would go through a tough recovery. |
| D．That he would be discharged from the hospital. |
| A．To share a personal journey of recovery. |
| B．To provide support for parents after surgery. |
| C．To explore the challenges of post-surgery life. |
| D．To offer guidance for children with sick parents. |
| A．She terrifies her friends away. | B．She buys what is told to her. |
| C．She changes her father’s routine. | D．She suffers lots of hardships. |
| A．A news report. | B．A child’s diary. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A book review. |
9 . Imagine you’re out for an evening stroll (闲逛) in a foreign city, looking to find a restaurant for dinner. You will look for the busiest restaurant with the most diners because its popularity is bound to reflect on the quality of food and service. But is this true?
In tourist areas, which lack regular, local customers, the number of diners is unlikely to hold information about the quality of the meal. In this case, following the example of others could have led to a sub-optimal (次佳的) dinner choice in an overcrowded restaurant.
Spontaneously (不由自主地) copying other people’s thoughts or choices or simply going with the crowd is often referred to as “Herd behaviors”. It is a frequent occurrence among humans as well as many other animals, a common example being sheep.
Herding can appear to make a lot of sense. Average judgements of large groups of people often outperform individual choices. Furthermore, following the crowd appears to offer protection and comfort — after all, there’s “safety in numbers” — while helping to maintain a favourable reputation. Finally, following the herd reduces the effort needed to make a personal or unique decision.
Herd behaviors, while common and easy to explain, can have many harmful effects. Blindly following the herd can have grave consequences when trying to escape from danger. As seen in examples during earthquakes, herding may result in the entire crowd rushing for the same door, even if other exits are available. This unavoidably affects evacuation (撤退) efforts and may result in avoidable injuries or even deaths.
Psychology research suggests that it’s surprisingly difficult to resist the influences of the herd. In an experiment involving financial decision making, researchers found that warning messages about the potential errors of the crowd were surprisingly ineffective in helping customers make better choices. It appears there is no quick and easy fix. Instead, it is advisable to involve individuals adopting more critical approaches towards peers’ opinion, and questioning others’ behaviors as opposed to blindly following them.
1. What does the author want to tell us by the restaurant example?| A．Undesirable outcomes of herding, | B．Wise dinner choices of most customers. |
| C．Practical ways of avoiding herding. | D．Poor conditions of popular dining places. |
| A．Its application. | B．Its disadvantages. |
| C．Its definition. | D．Its benefits. |
| A．Send warning messages. | B．Follow peers’ opinions. |
| C．Stop behaving critically. | D．Have our own judgments. |
| A．Why can’t you find the reasons for herding? |
| B．Why shouldn’t you follow the crowd blindly? |
| C．When should you avoid influences of herding? |
| D．How can you discover wisdom of crowds? |
10 . As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, one of Greenland’s previously most stable glaciers is now reducing at an unheard-of rate, according to a new study.
The study was led by researchers at The Ohio State University. The team found the truth. Between 2018 and 2021, Steenstrup Glacier in Greenland reduced about 5 miles, thinned by about 20% and doubled in the amount of ice that went into the ocean. According to the study, such a rapid change is so extraordinary among Greenland’s ice formations that it now places Steenstrup Glacier in the top 10% of glaciers that contribute to the entire region’s total ice discharge.
Steenstrup Glacier is part of the Greenland Ice Sheet, a body of ice that covers nearly 80% of the world’s largest island, which is also the single largest contributor to the global sea rise from the cryosphere (冰冻圈), the portion of Earth’s ecosystem that includes all of its frozen water. While the region plays a crucial part in balancing the global climate system, the area is steadily reducing as it loses hundreds of billions of tons of ice each year because of global warming.
As far as scientists knew, Steenstrup Glacier had been stable for decades. It was hardly influenced by the rising temperatures that had influenced so many other regional glaciers, likely because of its special position in shallow water. It wasn’t until Thomas Chudley, lead author of the study, and his colleagues collected observational and modeling data from previous remote sensing analyses on the glacier that the team realized Steenstrup Glacier was likely experiencing melting due to anomalies (反常现象) in deeper Atlantic water.
According to Chudley, the current situation in Greenland serves as an early warning sign for possible future events in West Antarctica within the next few centuries. He also expressed the importance of conducting direct observations in the fjord to understand the reasons behind the changes observed in Steenstrup Glacier.
1. Why does the author mention the figures in paragraph 2?| A．To count the number of global glaciers. |
| B．To show the severity of melting glaciers. |
| C．To tell people the percentage of glacier water. |
| D．To stress the consequence of global warming. |
| A．Its location. | B．Its content. | C．Its sort. | D．Its big coverage. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Concerned. | C．Disappointed. | D．Confident. |
| A．A once-stable glacier in Greenland is now rapidly disappearing. |
| B．The Steenstrup Glacier is the largest contributor to the global sea rise. |
| C．Researchers try to enter Greenland to observe how it has changed. |
| D．Glaciers play a crucial part in balancing the global climate system. |
