1 . My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise, landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
......
Why did the author do pet sitting?| A．To cover travel expenses. | B．To raise fund. |
| C．To conserve the environment. | D．To shoot beautiful beaches. |
2 . A new study suggests that mindfulness education — lessons on techniques to calm the mind and body — can reduce the negative effects of stress and increase students’ ability to stay engaged, helping them stay on track academically and avoid behavior problems.
After finding that students who self-reported mindful habits performed better on tests and had higher grades, researchers from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University wanted to know if school-based mindfulness training could help more students reap similar benefits.
......
What was the purpose of the study?| A．To examine the techniques for practicing mindfulness. |
| B．To study the effects of group mindfulness training on students. |
| C．To see how students help themselves to perform better on tests. |
| D．To understand why mindfulness training calms the mind and body. |
3 . In recent years, the study of epigenetics has gained significant popularity, especially among psychologists and sociologists. It emphasizes that gene expression or suppression is influenced by the environment just as much as by genes themselves. Factors such as what we consume, what we experience, and how long we live can switch genes on or off, impacting our personality, body shape, and likelihood of contracting diseases.
What does the study of epigenetics show?| A．Genes can be easily expressed or suppressed after birth. |
| B．Genes can control body shape and the possibility of diseases. |
| C．Genes are not the only decisive factor behind our characteristics. |
| D．Genes contribute to certain tendencies and characteristics within us. |
4 . Animal studies have demonstrated the strong impact of a male mammal’s nutritional history on its offspring (后代). For instance, male rats that experience starvation before mating produce offspring with altered blood sugar levels and changes in hormones like corticosterone (which helps fight stress) and insulin-like growth factor (which aids in baby development).
...
Increasingly, biology reveals that a person’s health and well-being significantly impact the health and happiness of their future children. It is not solely because a tough man is more likely to be a great father or due to his genetic makeup. Regardless of a person’s inherited characteristics, the lifestyle choices they make throughout their life, even before considering parenthood, will have a lasting impact on their children’s physical and mental well-being.
What can be learned from the passage?| A．A strong male is likely to leave more offspring behind. |
| B．The lifestyle a male has chosen affects not only himself but also his children. |
| C．A healthy male usually gets the best genes to pass along to his future generations. |
| D．It is unlikely that a happy male will develop anxiety and depression. |
5 . In Saskatchewan, Canada, vegetables have a short growing season. So a very unique farm in Hudson Bay is growing fresh, pesticide-free vegetables in a hydroponic (水培的) farm all year long. There the plants are grown in water instead of soil.
Growing vegetables in the middle of nowhere, about 300 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, may seem like a big risk, but there is no other place for people to get locally grown food. Produce is available in local supermarkets but it is trucked in from far away.
The idea to turn the no longer used Stewart Hawke school into a farm came to the Nels when Hudson Bay asked for bids (投标) for the building in 2018. It was empty and if an alternative use wasn’t found, it would be pulled down.”
......
What did the farm use to be?| A．A supermarket | B．A school | C．A garden | D．A factory |
6 . Polar bears are icons of the Arctic. Detailed monitoring of their populations is crucial for their conservation—but because polar bears are so difficult to find, we are missing critical data about population size. Scientists have now developed a new tool to help: DNA analysis using skin cells left in the bears’ footprints in the snow.
The scientists were inspired by the techniques that can be applied to tiny, degraded DNA samples. With these techniques, it isn’t necessary to physically capture bears, which can be stressful and dangerous for both bears and humans. Instead, the researchers can turn to the snow tracks of polar bears and look at sources of DNA left in passing—environmental DNA. "The tracks usually contain fresh cells, and the DNA is intact because of the cold’ storage’ temperature, "said Dr. Melanie Lancaster of the World Wide Fund, lead author.
The scientists collected snow from individual tracks made by Alaskan polar bears in the wild. Additional materials like hair and saliva(唾液)were sampled, confirming that the tracks provided accurate genotype(基因型) 24 wild polar bear tracks were sampled. The researchers melted and filtered the snow to collect environmental DNA, then carried out micro-satellite analysis. Although the concentrations (浓度)of DNA taken from trucks sampled in the wild were very low, 13 of the wild polar bear samples could be genotype, identifying 12 different individuals.
This technique has huge potential to inform conservation of these animals, to better understand their populations and behavior. Although the sampling has a lower success rate, ease of collection means that it can significantly expand sample sizes.
"We hope this method will be taken up by the polar bear research community, with the involvement of hunters, volunteers, and local communities, as a new way to collect information on polar bears, "said Lancaster. "We also hope the method will be expanded to other animals living in snowy environments. "
1. Why do scientists develop the new method?| A．To improve the environment in the Aretic. |
| B．To protect humans from the polar bears attack. |
| C．To find solutions to global climate change. |
| D．To gather essential data for monitoring polar bears. |
| A．Unknown. |
| B．Undamaged. |
| C．Unusual. |
| D．Unstable. |
| A．They tracked and caught polar bears in the wild. |
| B．They recorded the bears’ behaviors with cameras. |
| C．They analyzed DNA from polar bears’ snowy footprints. |
| D．They compared the polar bears’ genotype with other animals? |
| A．Disapproving. |
| B．Favorable. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Suspicious. |
7 . I was surprised to find the congestion (拥塞) outside Layla’s primary school was unusually absent—I’d driven right into a parking space, and I was on time, for once. The school bell rang, and in a moment a stream of children made their way through the gate. But something was different—the kids were piling into vehicles in threes and fours.
Before I could enquire my daughter Layla, Mr Trent, the deputy head, approached. “Mrs Pavis, did you not read our letter?” Letter? What letter? I had a history of not looking out for them, and not reading them in most cases. “The letter? Of course. It must have just slipped my mind—I’ve been away with work.”
Now I was digging around in Layla’s messy schoolbag at home. Eventually, I found several letters, all addressing the same topic—parking outside the school gates. Apparently with some parents parking illegally, the police were about to get involved. “Why didn’t you give me these letters?” I demanded. Layla shrugged. “I forgot.” I was about to launch into a severe lecture when it occurred to me that I had always forgotten—I had forgotten to give Layla her money for cookery that morning and forgotten to hang out the kids’ washed clothes.
I contained myself and figured out that they wanted the parents to car-pool (拼车). I spent the next half hour ringing round Layla’s friends’ parents, enquiring if they would like to car-pool with us. Unfortunately, they were all sorted. It was my own fault—I should have read those letters ages ago. “Er... I overheard others talking about it,” Layla said, “They said they didn’t know who would car-pool with us, because we’re always late.” I flushed instantly. We were a disorganised family, and I was the one to blame.
I resolved to change. With responsibility for my kids, I find I am never, ever late. It’s good for Layla and for her older brothers, and it’s good for me, because now I never leave the house unprepared. I’ve even started checking the kids’ schoolbags for notes from school.
1. What did the author notice when the school was over?| A．It was hard to find a parking space. | B．Children were picked up in groups. |
| C．Her daughter was absent from class. | D．She arrived much earlier than others. |
| A．The reflection of her daily routine. | B．The realization of her carelessness. |
| C．The knowledge of her kid’s character. | D．The awareness of her kid’s depression. |
| A．Because they contacted them late. | B．Because they failed to keep the house tidy. |
| C．Because they couldn’t be on time. | D．Because they ignored the school’s request. |
| A．Action creates motivation. | B．Mother’s love never changes. |
| C．It’s never too late to mend. | D．Patience is the key to success. |
8 . Guided City Tours
The 2.5-hour tour covers the Gooyer Windmill, the Skinny Bridge, the Rijksmuseum, Heineken Brewery and much more. The tour departs from Dam Square every hour on the hour, starting at 1:00 pm every day. You can buy your ticket in a MacBike shop or book online.
Where does the guided city tour start?
| A．The Gooyer, Windmill. | B．The Skinny Bridge. |
| C．Heineken Brewery. | D．Dam Square. |
9 . PRACTITIONERS
Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831-1895) worked as a nurse for eight years before studying in medical college in Boston in 1860. Four years later, she was the first African American woman to receive a medical degree. She moved to Virginia in 1865, where she provided medical care to freed slaves.
Who was the first African American with a medical degree?
| A．Jacqueline Felice de Almania. | B． Tan Yunxian. |
| C． James Barry. | D．Rebecca Lee Crumpler. |
10 . Turning soil, pulling weeds, and harvesting cabbage sound like tough work for middle and high school kids. And at first it is, says Abby Jaramillo, who with another teacher started Urban Sprouts, a school garden program at four low-income schools. The program aims to help students develop science skills, environmental awareness, and healthy lifestyles.
What do we know about Abby Jaramillo?| A．She used to be a health worker. | B．She grew up in a low-income family. |
| C．She owns a fast food restaurant. | D．She is an initiator of Urban Sprouts. |
