1 . 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.

2. What does the underlined word in para. 3 probably mean?

A．Necessity.

B．Courage.

C．Desire

D．Choice

3. Which of the following may Gloria Mark suggest?

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.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

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?

2 . 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.

2. What made the Amazonian dark earth special?

A．Dead plants.

B．Animal bones.

C．Food waste.

D．Bacteria inside.

3. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?

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.

4. Which of the following might Dr. Siu agree with?

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.

3 . 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.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

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.

3. Where is the passage most likely taken from?

A．A science magazine.	B．A travel brochure.
C．A geography textbook.	D．A wildlife guidebook.

4 . Ambition is a necessary quality in life. It is the ________which drives us on to use whatever talent we have got. If we haven’t got some degree of ambition, these talents will not be used for our own and others’ ________.

Ambition,________ , can have several faults. First of all, it can be________. We may not be able to see the limits of our own abilities, so we do ambitious things that are completely beyond us. Our career masters can see our good qualities and our limitations________. They may tell us that we haven’t the ability to deal with people and would not make good businessmen. We refuse to take their ________. We keep on trying. Many years and many ________ later we are forced to accept their judgement. But what a waste of time our ill-founded ambition has caused us!

Secondly, our ambition can be too concentrated. Our attention is devoted to one   ________aim, such as getting distinctions in a science subject. Everything that may draw us away from this aim is cut out of our lives. In the end we get our distinctions. But what   ________we have caused ourselves in the process! We are isolated beings only caring about a particular examination. And we probably won’t make good scientists. We________the breadth of vision necessary for success at a higher level.

Thirdly, our ambition can be limited to lifeless objectives. We want to gain money, or power, or membership of some circles. Persons who feel inferior try to________by seeking the respect of others through possession of these artificial signs of worth.

Fourthly, our ambition may be ________. Instead of directing some of our ambitions towards community improvement, we may exploit members of the community in the interests of self-advancements. In later life we may be ambitious for the success of our children but we regard this success as only a further ________of our own success.

Ambition is necessary in the lives of individuals—necessary for their own improvement and for the improvement of the community in which they live. But, like all blind forces, it must be ________ if it is not to cause disaster. It must be tightly controlled by the head and the heart. Otherwise ambition may demand too high a price ________human qualities.

1.

A．means

B．action

C．courage

D．force

2.

A．justice

B．affection

C．benefit

D．emotion

3.

A．however

B．therefore

C．besides

D．furthermore

4.

A．unpredictable

B．unusual

C．unfavorable

D．unrealistic

5.

A．positively

B．objectively

C．amusingly

D．negatively

6.

A．notice

B．solution

C．evaluation

D．measure

7.

A．occasions

B．recoveries

C．disappointments

D．miracles

8.

A．narrow

B．broad

C．separated

D．isolated

9.

A．damage

B．interest

C．cost

D．profit

10.

A．omit

B．value

C．own

D．lack

11.

A．give out

B．take in

C．turn down

D．make up

12.

A．self-centred

B．self-disciplined

C．self-satisfied

D．self-controlled

13.

A．time

B．mark

C．design

D．image

14.

A．directed

B．promoted

C．stimulated

D．demanded

15.

A．in the process of

B．in terms of

C．in spite of

D．in honor of

5 . Humans are not the animal kingdom's only fashionistas. Tits ( ill雀) can be fashion followers, too, apparently. A latest study shows that, given the chance, they decorate their nests with this season's must-have colour.

Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin were following up on a study published in 1934 by Henry Smith Williams, an American naturalist. He noticed that when he put various coloured balls of yarn (纱) out in his garden, almost always one and only one became popular that season for being included into local birds' nests. But which particular color was favoured varied from season to season. This suggested that the colour chosen by one of the early birds was spotted and copied by others.

Williams's work was, however, forgotten until they came across it while following up on a different study, published by a team at the University of Toulouse, suggesting fashion-following, too. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin therefore set out to re-run Williams's experiment, but this time to collect some actual numbers.

The birds they followed were part of a well-monitored population of blue tits in a wood near the institute. Most birds in this wood carried tracking devices fitted to them after their capture in mist nets. That allowed the institute's researchers to keep track of a vast number of individuals by recording their arrival at food containers throughout the wood. Instead of food, these containers were loaded with wool of different colors. Interestingly, researchers soon found that most nests of blue tits included only the color of the wool first chosen by a nestbuildcr.

Tits, then, do seem to be “on trend”, when it comes to nest-building materials. Why that should happen remains obscure. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin suspect the fashion leaders are older birds, and that evolution favours younger ones copying their elders since those elders have evidently survived what fortune has to throw at a tit. Williams’s original work, though, suggests such initial choices are at random-a bit like those of the leaders of human fashions.

1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin contributed to William's work.

B．Early birds' color preference was copied by their fellows.

C．The yam was the most popular material to decorate local birds' nests.

D．The color of the yam favored by local birds was fixed throughout the year.

2. How did Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin improve William's experiment?

A．They observed the blue tits.

B．They studied the habits of blue tits.

C．They adopted the data-collecting method.

D．They fitted tracking devices to food containers.

3. What does the underlined word “obscure” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Hidden.

B．Evident.

C．Complicated.

D．Shallow.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Birds favor certain colors in decoration.

B．Young birds follow their elders in fashion.

C．Young birds are just as intelligent as people.

D．Birds are just as fashion-conscious as people.

6 . It’s not hard to be poetic about the broad and deep benefits of spending time in natural spaces,from amazing national parks to the simple loveliness of a walk around a city park or tree-lined neighborhood street, and some time working in the dirt of your own garden.

A new study from researchers at Clemson University has found another benefit to simply putting your body in a natural space: it can lower the amount of money you spend on health care.

“The mechanisms linking nature and health are very diverse,” said Matthew H. E. M. Browning, the principal investigator on the study, "but the benefit is believed to be in part because being in green space can decrease stress, promote healthy behaviors and enable you to breathe fresh air.”

Browning and his team used satellite data to investigate how much green space was within 250,500 and 1,000 meters(820,1,640,and 3,280 feet) of five million northern California residents who were insured by Kaiser Permanente. They then determined the costs the insurance company paid out to those same members over a two-year period. They took into account age,gender,race and a number of neighborhood characteristics including population density and education levels.

Even with all these factors included into their analysis, the researchers found that those who lived near the most green space had an average of $374 less per year in health care expenses compared to those who lived farther from natural spaces.

The researchers hope their findings will support public policies that prioritize(优先考虑) natural elements in residential areas. For you, maybe this learning will inspire you to plant a tree or a potted flower today-or create a beautiful garden to enjoy, with a view of some health-giving, green goodness.

1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 1?

A．Lead in the topic of the text.	B．Summarize a recent study result.
C．Provide some advice for readers.	D．Raise readers’ interest in exercise.

2. What does Matthew H.E.M.Browning try to explain in paragraph 3?

A．Why spending time in nature benefits health.

B．Nature and health can affect each other deeply.

C．How residential green space improves air quality.

D．The benefit of walking in a natural space is obvious.

3. What do the researchers expect of their findings?

A．They can encourage further relevant research.

B．They can delight current insurance companies.

C．They can boost the establishment of green space.

D．They can remind us to purchase more insurance.

4. What can be the most suitable title for the text?

A．Getting Close to Nature Keeps Us Happy

B．It’s Unnecessary to Invest Much in Health

C．It’s Not Hard to Keep Fit for City Residents

D．Being in Nature Reduces Health Care Cost

7 . For many of us, asking for help is a difficult concept. We may feel as if we are admitting a weakness that world would not have known about, had we not asked for help.

However, people who are able to deliver well-positioned requests for help are often seen as very strong individuals. When they demonstrate the humility (谦卑) to ask for help, they earn the respect of others. People who receive a heartfelt request for help are usually honored by the request. In turn, we are strengthened by the very help that is provided.

One of my clients named Kira recently made a shift in how she was interacting with her boss. When asked to prepare presentations, she assumed that she was expected to develop the content, deliver it at the required meeting and then wait for feedback from her boss. However, Kira recognized that she had not yet made use of her boss’s support. She could learn far more about creating attractive presentations by walking through a draft with her boss and obtaining feedback earlier in the process rather than at the back end. So she made the request for his support.

The outcome? Her boss was delighted to coach Kira and was enthusiastic about teaching presentation skills to her. By taking the time to work together on presentation for a number of Kira’s key presentations, she benefited from her boss’s thought process and thus improved her own presentations. Kira’s presentations now have punch!

Some of us are uncomfortable asking for help because we believe that our request places burdens on the other person. However, we may miss an opportunity to show others how we value and respect them. People who know you and think well of you are often highly motivated to help. Furthermore, the more specific you can be about what you need from them, the easier it is for them to assist you.

1. Which of the following may the author agree with?

A．Weak people often need more help.

B．Helping others is helping oneself.

C．Well-positioned requests for help are welcomed.

D．Asking for help means admitting weaknesses.

2. What can we learn about Kira’s request for help?

A．It turned out rewarding.	B．It led to her promotion.
C．It was turned down.	D．It benefited her boss in return.

3. What does the underlined sentence “Kira’s presentations now have punch” means?

A．Her presentations are forceful.	B．Her presentations are controversial.
C．Her presentations are positive.	D．Her presentations are motivating.

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To illustrate how to ask for help.	B．To call for attention to others’ requests.
C．To show the importance of mutual help.	D．To encourage people to ask for help.

8 . Paris has set a goal of making the Seine swimmable by 2024 when it will host the Olympic Games. If it _________ it will be the first time that _________ in the Seine is legal in over 100 years. To do that, though, the city will have to significantly _________ the levels of toxic (有毒的) bacteria that flow through the river. Then there’s _________   treasure hidden at the bottom.

Around 360 tons of plastic are found in the Seine every year.

_________ for Paris,11-year-old Raphael is on the case. For nearly two years, he has _________ nearly every weekend with his dad, _________ debris (垃圾，残骸) out of the almost 725-kilometer stretch of water. A typical _________ can include anything from an iPhone to an electric scooter.

It all started in 2019 when Raphael saw a video from someone doing something _________. So, Raphael asked his parents for ropes, a hook and a powerful magnet (磁铁) that could __________ metal objects weighing more than a ton.

“At first, it was just meant to be a leisurely weekend __________,” Raphael said. “But once I saw just how much __________ there was buried at the bottom of the river, it became like a full-time __________ and I wanted other people to know, too.”

Last October, Raphael was even awarded the Medal of Paris for his __________. While he’s not sure if he can make the entire Seine glisten by the 2024 Olympics, he hopes he’ll be one of the first __________ in the water once it’s declared safe.

1.

A．hosts

B．finishes

C．happens

D．succeeds

2.

A．touring

B．bathing

C．surfing

D．boating

3.

A．improve

B．control

C．reduce

D．change

4.

A．reserved

B．covered

C．trapped

D．buried

5.

A．Lucky

B．Grateful

C．Eager

D．Ready

6.

A．disturbed

B．lost

C．wasted

D．spent

7.

A．fetching

B．searching

C．piling

D．fishing

8.

A．process

B．catch

C．campaign

D．movement

9.

A．similar

B．mysterious

C．funny

D．dangerous

10.

A．seize

B．break

C．lift

D．attract

11.

A．challenge

B．game

C．activity

D．entertainment

12.

A．jewelry

B．garbage

C．coal

D．iron

13.

A．job

B．hobby

C．business

D．life

14.

A．bravery

B．courage

C．efforts

D．results

15.

A．players

B．cleaners

C．divers

D．swimmers

9 . After decades of development and many trials and frustrations along the way, the James Webb Telescope has finally started to deliver what it came for. On July 12, NASA released the first science observations made by the suite of instruments carried on board the mission, marking what we eagerly anticipate will be the beginning of a new era in astronomy.

After the nail-biting launch on Christmas Day, a series of critical deployments followed to open up the telescope and its sunshade. If any of these operations had failed, James Webb would have been an unusable disaster. But the programme was perfectly executed, as the amazing observatory it has been planned to be.

It was very exciting to see the new images selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA. Scientists were not prepared for the level of crispness and fine detail that can be seen. It’s a joy to finally have such high-quality data.

Unveiled by US president Joe Biden, the stunning images of SMACS 0723, a cluster of thousands of galaxies, were released on July 11. The massive foreground galaxy groups magnify and twist the light of objects behind them, helping us to have a closer look at very faint objects in time.

The image shows the galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. Images such as this will help us understand how the first stars and galaxies formed. Some of these may be among the most distant objects known, from the beginning of the universe.

The size of a telescope-its aperture (孔径) -is the key thing that decides the ultimate quality of the images and the detail that can be observed. Bigger is better. With its six-metre aperture, James Webb is the largest telescope ever launched into space and from its vantage point a million miles from Earth, free from the Earth’s atmosphere, it is expected to deliver the best, most detailed views of the universe we have ever seen. There is no doubt that it will revolutionize our understanding of the universe, just as its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, once did.

1. What marked the beginning of a new era in astronomy?

A．The successful launch of the James Webb Telescope.

B．The perfect operation of the James Webb Telescope.

C．The first scientific exploration mission carried out by the James Webb Telescope.

D．The new images about the galaxy cluster unveiled by US president Joe Biden.

2. What made scientists surprised?

A．How the first stars and galaxies formed 4.6 billion years ago.

B．The clear and detailed images observed by the James Webb Telescope.

C．The programme of the James Webb Telescope was perfectly performed.

D．The James Webb Telescope went through decades of development and tests.

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

A．Unclear.

B．Tiny.

C．Weak.

D．Blank.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The James Webb Telescope is larger than the Hubble Space Telescope.

B．The Hubble Space Telescope covers a distance of six metres.

C．Our understanding of the universe has been completely changed by the James Webb Telescope.

D．A million miles from Earth is the best location for astronomy observation.

10 . By April 2017,my husband, Spencer, and I had been trying to conceive(怀孕)for over three years. Diagnosed with a condition called “unexplained infertility(不育症)”, we had hovered hopefully over dozens of pregnancy tests only to see them come back negative. I was near-constantly consumed by the painful disappointment of not having a baby-that is, until the Easter weekend of 2017, when a rabbit showed up on our front lawn.

I found him nestled in the grass while I was walking down our yard. Since the bunny decided to take up residence on my lawn, I felt a genuine sense of responsibility for him. During that first weekend the bunny stayed with us, we tried our best to spread the word that we’d found him. In the meantime, we named the rabbit Easter and gave him his own bedroom. Sometimes I would let him bounce around my bed while I read books or watched TV. Other times I would cradle him like a baby and stroke his tiny head.

At the time the bunny showed up, I was in my late 30s and I knew my chance of conceiving were decreasing. I also knew that the despair of not being able to have a baby, was taking its toll on my mental health.

After a few weeks after we’d taken Easter in, I learned that bunny was indeed domestic-a Rex, to be specific; a plush, velvety breed that originated in France in 1919. I learned that it’s very common for rabbits to be abandoned, especially around Easter, when they are produced for amusement and then simply “let go”.

We finally contacted a nearby animal rescue shelter about finding Easter a forever home. We struggled as we said goodbye.

And within a week of letting him go and saying goodbye, I was pregnant. My daughter turned three this year and sleeps in the same room in which the rabbit lived. I am not sure I believe in magic, but when I hold my daughter close to me in the middle of the night, I think of the rabbit we took in that year, and I know I still believe in hope.

1. Why did the writer feel responsible for the bunny?

A．Because the rabbit was very cute and pure breeding.

B．Because the rabbit was abandoned by the writer.

C．Because the rabbit appeared at the time when the writer was in despair.

D．Because the rabbit took the writer’s front lawn as his home.

2. Which of the following words can best describe the writer?

A．Thoughtful, caring.

B．Kind, generous.

C．Optimistic, patient.

D．Careful, confident.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The writer had already given up having a baby when she met Easter.

B．It was the rabbit that brought the baby to the writer.

C．The bunny was named Easter because it showed up on the Easter weekend.

D．The writer didn’t believe in magic before she met Easter.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．My Struggle with Infertility	B．A Special Rabbit
C．Grief over Something I have Lost	D．A Bunny at My Door