1 . Napoleon Bonaparte by Emil Ludwig (German1881~1948)
Napoleon Bonaparte is an extraordinary statesman, strategist, the founder of the French First Empire. This biography was written by famous German writer Emil Ludwig, and there’s no doubt that the book is a great success. The writer uses his own writing style to show the charming character of Napoleon to the readers of the book.
Cao Xueqin Biography by Li Jianshu, 2009 (Chinese edition)
The book tells the life story of the novelist Cao Xueqin — author of The Dream of the Red Mansions. Cao was born to a rich family but suffered great poverty for most of his life. He drew on his life experiences to write his famous novel, which was published after his death.
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, 1903
Even though Keller wrote this autobiography when she was only 22 years old, it is considered a great book in American literature. It tells about her dark and silent childhood, and how her teacher — Anne Sullivan opened up a new world to her by teaching her how to communicate.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, 2011
Isaacson interviewed Steve Jobs over forty times, and interviewed hundreds of Jobs friends, relatives, and rivals to sum up Jobs’ remarkable life. The result is an interesting story of a man driven to succeed and driven to make perfect products.
1. Which of the four books is written by Chinese edition?| A．Cao Xueqin Biography. | B．The Story of My Life. |
| C．Steve Jobs. | D．Napoleon Bonaparte. |
| A．Cao Xueqin Biography. | B．The Story of My Life. |
| C．Steve Jobs. | D．Napoleon Bonaparte. |
| A．Cao Xueqin Biography. | B．The Story of My Life. |
| C．Steve Jobs. | D．Napoleon Bonaparte. |
2 . A fully automated process, including a brand-new artificial intelligence(Al)tool, has successfully detected, identified(确认)and categorized its first supernova(超新星). Developed by an international organization led by Northwestern University, the new system automates the entire search for new supernovae across the night sky—effectively removing humans from the process. Not only does this rapidly speed up the process of analyzing and categorizing new supernova candidates(候选), but it also bypasses human errors.
The team reported to the astronomical community the launch and success of the new tool．called the Bright Transient Survey Bot(BTSbot), this week. In the past six years, humans have spent an estimated total of 2,200 hours checking and categorizing supernova candidates. With the new tool now officially online, researchers can redirect this precious time toward other responsibilities in order to speed up the discovery.
To detect and analyze supernovae, humans currently work hand in hand with robotic systems. First, robotic telescopes repeatedly image the same sections of the night sky, searching for new sources that were not present in previous images. Then, when these telescopes detect something new, humans take over. The researchers developed the BTSbot to cut out these human middlemen.
To test the BTSbot, the researchers looked to a newly discovered supernova candidate called SN2023tyk. The ZTF, a robotic observatory that images the night sky in a search for supernovae, first detected the source on Oct. 3. Examining ZTF’s data in real time, BTSbot found SN2023tyk on Oct.5. After determining that the candidate was a Type la supernova, the automated system publicly shared the discovery with the astronomical community on Oet.7.
In the first days of running BTSbot, Northwestern’s Nabeel Rehemtulla, who co-led the technology development, felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. “The beauty of it is that, once everything is turned on and working properly, we don’t actually do anything. We go to sleep at night, and, in the morning, we see that BTSbot and these other AIs firmly do their jobs,” he said.
1. What does the underlined word “bypasses” in the first paragraph mean?| A．Causes. | B．Avoids. | C．Reduces. | D．Contains. |
| A．It is simple. | B．It is automatic. |
| C．It is meaningless. | D．It is time-consuming. |
| A．Detecting the supernova. | B．Sharing the supernova. |
| C．Identifying the supernova. | D．Categorizing the supernova. |
| A．He hasn’t had a good sleep for a long time. |
| B．Running BTSbot requires a lot of manpower. |
| C．Researchers benefit greatly from the BTSbot. |
| D．He has no confidence in the success of the test. |
3 . There is no way they just drove into that water, thought Evans. The 16-year-old was
It was around 2:30 a.m. by the time Evans and his friends got to the river’s edge. In the darkness, they could
Evans ripped off his shirt and shoes, threw his phone away then dived into the water. He helped the first girl he saw and, keeping her
There was still one girl who could not swim in the water. She was swallowing water, struggling to stay afloat with
The three girls and officer were taken to the hospital and
| A．holding out | B．hanging out | C．getting along | D．keeping up |
| A．hole | B．road | C．bush | D．river |
| A．directions | B．methods | C．decisions | D．strategies |
| A．simply | B．only | C．barely | D．nearly |
| A．see | B．hear | C．smell | D．notice |
| A．head | B．leg | C．arms | D．neck |
| A．drowned | B．refused | C．panicked | D．jumped |
| A．pushing | B．pulling | C．getting | D．holding |
| A．focus | B．arrive | C．awake | D．stand |
| A．caution | B．care | C．scare | D．relief |
| A．hope | B．breath | C．chance | D．mind |
| A．found | B．witnessed | C．taken | D．grabbed |
| A．rescued | B．cured | C．treated | D．released |
| A．healthy | B．alive | C．gone | D．helped |
| A．honored | B．blamed | C．charged | D．encouraged |
4 . The older you are, the less likely you are to swear (except in the car—studies say most people swear when driving). As we get older, swearing becomes part of the rich lexicon of language that we use to express ourselves, and while we might associate swear words with negative communication. Only eight percent of people actually swear to cause offence. “There are many other reasons that we swear, including positive uses like expressing excitement, emphasis.” says Dr Karyn Stapleton, a senior lecturer in Communication at Ulster University. “And there’s cathartic (宣泄的) swearing, which provides a means of releasing strong emotions, or feelings like anger, pain or frustration.”
Cathartic swearing fascinates scientists as it shows some really interesting facts about bad language. Studies at the UK’s Keele University revealed that when under stress, a person can think of considerably more swear words than someone asked to do the same task when relaxed, and it’s now suspected that rather than being controlled by the normal part of the brain that handles language (the left cortex), swear words are actually processed by the limbic (边缘的) system that normally controls emotional thoughts. Be warned though—the more you swear in general speech, the less effective the cathartic effects of swear words are when you really need them!
What makes a word offensive is also very interesting. “The two main categories of swear words are bodily functions and religion—and that’s not just in English, it’s observed across many languages,” says Dr Robbie Love, lecturer in English Language at Aston University in Birmingham. “It’s like the brain has encoded these words with a special meaning so that it knows they are different in some way. I think there’s almost an innate human need to have some linguistic items that can be used to process intense moments.”
Generally though, we’re swearing less than we used to. Dr Love’s research found the use of 16 common swear words has declined by 27 percent over the last 20 years. According to a survey by the British Board of Film Classification, only 12 percent of those aged 55-64 swear regularly compared to 46 percent of 20-somethings. “It’s possible that as we get older we might have fewer uses for swearing. We don’t need it to bond with coworkers. Also, older adults have often had to spend some time restraining their language around children—no matter how our own feelings about swearing change, we still don’t want to expose children to it,” says Dr Love.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．People swear more easily as they get older. | B．People swear merely to release negative emotion. |
| C．Swearing often offends others. | D．Swearing is a way of expressing ourselves. |
| A．person can think less swear words in relaxation than in pressure. |
| B．Swear words come from the brain system that controls emotional thought. |
| C．Bodily functions and religion are two types of swear words just in English. |
| D．People swearing more in daily life may not release their emotions well on necessary occasions. |
| A．Helpful | B．Offensive | C．Special | D．Indifferent |
| A．Young people swear in order to connect with their coworkers. |
| B．Older people may swear less to create better language setting for children. |
| C．There are fewer swear words people use. |
| D．People swear less than they used to. |
5 . CLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?
When it was announced in 2018 that the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai had created the world’s first cloned monkeys, Zhongzhong and Huahua, heated discussions followed online. In fact, cloning has always been with us. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when identical twins are produced from the same egg. These are both examples of natural clones.
Cloning has two major uses. First, gardeners use it to produce large quantities of plants for sale. Second, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. Cloning plants is fairly straightforward, while cloning animals is much more complicated and difficult. Over the years, many scientists failed in their attempts to clone animals, but their determination and patience paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough—the cloning of Dolly the sheep.
With the advances of scientific research, cloning will have several major uses in the future. For one thing, it could be used to breed animal species which are endangered, or even bring back species which are now extinct. For another, it could be used to grow human organs or tissue in animals, which could be used for human organ transplants or medical treatments. Finally, cloning could be used to breed animals that will provide us with higher quality meat, milk, or eggs.
While there are technical issues that need to be worked through to make widespread cloning possible, the biggest concerns are moral. For example, if scientists brought an extinct animal back into existence, it would probably end up living in a zoo. That is not very good for the animal. Even worse for the animal is using it as a source of organ transplants—because it will be injured or even die. ln addition, many people worry that eating animal products that result from cloning might be harmful to our health over time. The possibility of using cloning to produce human beings is an even bigger concern. What would happen if such knowledge ended up in the wrong hands?
When it comes to cloning, we wonder, ultimately, whether cloning will help or harm the world. No doubt, we will be talking about this question for a long time to come.
1. Which of the following is not the use of natural clones today?| A．Gardeners take cuttings from the plants to make new ones. |
| B．Identical twins are produced from the same egg. |
| C．Scientists created the world’s first cloned monkeys. |
| D．Gardeners use cloning to produce large quantities of plants for sale. |
| A．Possible uses of cloning in the future. | B．Current uses of cloning. |
| C．Whether cloning is good or bad. | D．Moral and ethical concerns about cloning. |
| A．It might not be fresh. | B．It might not be nutritious. |
| C．It might not be clean. | D．It might be harmful to our health. |
| A．The cloned animals end up living in a zoo. |
| B．The cloned animal is used as a source of organ transplants. |
| C．Using cloning to produce human beings is a bigger concern. |
| D．Someone uses cloning to do immoral things. |
6 . It is 10 in the morning, and I am travelling by raft down the Li River. The sun is already burning hot even though it has not yet reached full strength, but a calm breeze cools my skin. So far the day is wonderful, but the purpose of my trip is not just to have fun: I am following in the footsteps of Xu Xiake(1587-1641), the famous Chinese travel writer and geographer. Though Xu was from Jiangsu, he spent more than 30 years travelling throughout the country, and greatly admired my destination today—ox Gorge.
As we flow down the river, we are surrounded by steep hills sticking up into the sky-karsts. Karsts are rock formations made of limestone. They have been sculpted by water and millions of years of erosion into these beautiful natural sculptures. Guangxi is full of karsts, giving it some of the most interesting—and beautiful—scenery in the world. Xu was one of the first people to make a careful study of Guiln’s karsts and their related cave systems. He, like many people today, found them fascinating.
Suddenly, our raft hits some rapids, and I find myself covered in water. I turn to my raftsman and we share a laugh. The water not only keeps us cool, but it is all part of the adventure.
What made someone like Xu spend years traveling thousands of kilometres away from home? Perhaps it’s the same reason as mine: to explore the world and to discover new things. As Xu wrote, “A great man should in the morning be at the blue sea, and in the evening at Mount Cangwu. Why should I restrict myself to one corner of the world?
Xu was not alone. Much like today, the late Ming Dynasty was a golden age of tourism within China. People travelled hundreds of kilometres to visit temples, go mountain climbing, or explore scenery.
Yet, perhaps no one in China travelled farther or longer than Xu Xiake. At least, if anyone did they did not write about it.
1. Why did the author decide to go to the Guilin?| A．Just to have fun and relax himself. |
| B．To explore the world and discover the new things. |
| C．To enjoy the scenery and recall a Chinese famous travel writer |
| D．To travel by raft down the Li River. |
| A．Xu Xiake admired the scenery of ox-Gorge but he had not been here. |
| B．Guilin’s karsts are formed by water’s erosion over the years. |
| C．The author felt frustrated while he fell into the water from the raft. |
| D．People in the Ming Dynasty enjoyed travelling around the country. |
| A．Limit. | B．Control. | C．Improve. | D．Behave. |
| A．Hardworking | B．Adventurous | C．Courageous | D．Ambitious. |
7 . Electrically powered vertical-take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft—flying cars are an idea whose time has not quite yet come, but is fast approaching. Many firms are offering various designs. None of these, however, will be Jetson-like family flying cars. Pivotal, based in Silicon Valley, by contrast has crafted something that people can purchase and pilot themselves. Helix is a single-seat vehicle, so “flying motorbike” might be more accurate. From next year, many people will be able to order one for personal use, though they will not be able to take delivery until June.
Marcus Leng founded Pivotal in 2011, and some back-of-the-envelope calculations he made suggested that electric lift-off of a human-carrying craft, using motors powered by the lithium-ion batteries ought to work. He thus built a model and flew it in the garden of his house in Warkworth, Ontario.
Now, after ameliorating it, the firm thinks it has something marketable. The aircraft has, nevertheless, changed little in its fundamentals over the years. It has two pairs of wings and eight propellers (螺旋桨), making it slightly resemble a squashed “H” when seen in the sky from below. And there is no undercarriage. Instead, its belly is curved in a way similar to a humpback whale’s, so it rocks to stability after landing.
Pilot’s licence or not, buyers will still need some training to fly a Helix. Pivotal insists on this. For the same reason, the craft’s software will stop the pilot doing anything that does not fit its safety rules. And if, despite this, something does go wrong, it is fitted with a parachute（降落伞）.
The Helix’s top speed is a respectable 100 kph, but its range is only 30 km. And refueling it is a bit of a pain. Filling up from the mains takes four and a half hours, though a special high-power system similar to those employed for electric cars can bring that down to 75 minutes. While Helix still doesn’t compare to the flying car from the Jetsons, it could be a step forward.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．Helix has been used in Warkworth widely. |
| B．Flying cars won’t be allowed for personal use. |
| C．Leng was the first person to design flying cars. |
| D．Helix is only suitable for one person to drive. |
| A．Testing. | B．Driving. | C．Improving. | D．Repairing. |
| A．Helix’s relative devices. | B．Helix’s training process. |
| C．Helix’s safety measures. | D．Helix’s working principle. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Indifferent. | D．Cautious. |
8 . On July 28, I retired from my position. After teaching for many years, I looked forward to kayaking (划独木舟) with my grandsons, seeing friends and traveling for leisure with my husband. But my body had other plans for me. A broken spine (脊椎) in my back took me down a path that upended my plans.
I have long had back pain. However, I pushed through the pain to do my work, which worsened my condition. Doctors urged an operation when increased disability meant I could not sit, stand or walk for a long time. But I wanted to see whether physical therapy (治疗) could create an easier option.
Indeed, hard work with a great physical therapist has let me improve my mobility, sitting and standing. But X-rays told a different story. My spine was unstable and bending. After careful consideration and a second opinion from another professional, I agreed to surgery yet in the near term. Needless to say, the past months have been tough and the way ahead will be even tougher. Kayaking with my grandsons in the peacefulness of the lake is all out of reach, for now.
When I met my physical therapist for the first time, I was a mess. He listened to me outline my history with tears and then calmly said, “You have to make friends with your body.” I have repeated that line to myself daily and worked to embrace my body. I have focused on gratitude. I’m grateful that I do not have a fatal disease. I’m grateful that the body I have remains alert to the world, loved by family and friends. I’m grateful that I am still myself.
I don’t know exactly how the future will play out. The surgeon assures me that I should be able to get in my kayak by summer. But I may have to make friends with a different body, one that is mine regardless of the shape.
1. Why did the author’s condition become worse?| A．She disliked physical therapy. |
| B．She hurt her back when kayaking. |
| C．She still worked despite back pain. |
| D．She was unwilling to have an operation. |
| A．She forgot to kayak with her grandsons. |
| B．She decided to accept an operation right away. |
| C．She completely recovered after physical therapy. |
| D．She asked another doctor for advice on the operation. |
| A．Her wish to enjoy retirement life. |
| B．Her physical therapist’s advice. |
| C．Her worsening physical condition. |
| D．Her love for her family and friends. |
| A．Learning to accept my body |
| B．Enjoying my retirement life |
| C．Fighting against my back pain |
| D．Being grateful for what I have |
9 . Volunteer at the EcoTarium! We simply could not offer the programs and special events that make the EcoTarium a unique resource to our community without our diverse and dedicated corps of volunteers. To be considered for a more specific position, look through the volunteer listings below, and submit an application.
Zoo Ambassador Volunteer
Our zoo ambassador volunteers will assist the Zoology Department to connect with guests through engaging educational experiences about our animal residents. We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about animals and excited to interact with guests of all ages. Volunteers may also complete behavioral studies on numerous animals within the care of the EcoTarium to help enhance the welfare for our animals!
Animal Care Volunteer
Animal care volunteers will aid in all areas of husbandry (农牧业), including feeding, cleaning, record keeping, training animals, and behavioral observations. They will work with a variety of animals under our care, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The position is physically demanding and requires working in all weather conditions.
Education Program Volunteer
Through conversations and hands-on activities, education program volunteers help visitors make meaningful connections to our exhibits, encourage curiosity and scientific inquiry, and challenge visitors to dive deeper into the concepts explored at our museum.
Collections Volunteer
The EcoTarium seeks volunteers who are interested in making a contribution to science by uncovering lost specimens (标本) in the EcoTarium collection! Photograph, measure, and take notes on birds, eggs, seashells, or pressed flowers. This is an excellent position for a high school or college student considering a career in biology or lab science. It is also appropriate for citizen scientists of any age. It offers an opportunity to see examples of rare or extinct plants and animals.
1. What can an animal care volunteer do?| A．Collect lost specimens. |
| B．Learn to feed and clean animals. |
| C．Finish some studies on the exhibits. |
| D．Help elderly visitors interact with animals. |
| A．Collections Volunteer. | B．Animal Care Volunteer. |
| C．Education Program Volunteer. | D．Zoo Ambassador Volunteer. |
| A．To list the advantages of volunteers. |
| B．To spread knowledge about volunteers. |
| C．To train more people to become volunteers. |
| D．To introduce some positions about volunteers. |
10 . For years, doctors have given blood to patients who need it to survive. These transfusions usually include giving red blood cells to patients.
Blood transfusions aren’t as simple as taking blood from one person and giving it to someone else. There’re several different blood types that don’t all mix well. If someone gets a transfusion of the wrong kind of blood, their body will reject the blood cells, causing problems. For the first time ever, scientists from the University of Bristol, Britain, are carrying out a new trail: testing red blood cells grown in a laboratory on human volunteers. The scientists have used stem cells (干细胞) from a blood sample to grow billions of brand new red blood cells.
This could be even better than a regular blood transfusion. For one thing, they can be adjusted for people with different blood types. That’ll be extremely helpful for people with rare blood types. Also, a normal transfusion has red blood cells of all different ages, which means only a small part of them are brand new. The red blood cells grown in the lab are brand new, and this means they last longer and that patients will need fewer transfusions.
To test its safety, researchers have given a couple of teaspoons of the blood to two healthy people, both of whom seem to be doing just fine after the transfusions. In all, they’ll be tested on 10 people, and compared to normal transfusions. The new process doesn’t indicate that normal blood transfusions will disappear. Meanwhile, growing red blood cells in a lab is extremely expensive. And a lot of work and testing still need to be done. But if it’s successful, the process could make life much easier for patients who often need transfusions—even those with rare blood types.
1. Why are the scientists carrying out the research?| A．The blood reserve is not adequate. |
| B．Normal blood transfusions are out of date. |
| C．More and more people need blood transfusions. |
| D．They want to find a new trail of blood transfusions. |
| A．They suit the patients of all different ages. |
| B．They have red blood cells from different races. |
| C．They are effective to the patients for a longer term. |
| D．It is extremely economical and makes life much easier. |
| A．The research still has a long way to go. |
| B．Normal blood transfusions will disappear soon. |
| C．Ten people have received the lab-grown brand new blood. |
| D．The brand new blood isn’t fit for those with rare blood types. |
| A．Blood Transfusions Get Easier | B．Rare Blood Types Are Not Rare |
| C．Scientists Test Lab-created Blood | D．Rare Blood Cells NeedDonating |
