1 . It is reported that about 14 percent of Americans aged over 12 have trouble in hearing. And hearing loss increases dramatically to 50 percent or more for those aged over 70. It often comes on so gradually that many ignore it. Only an estimated 15 to 25 percent of adults would use hearing aids, and the use is lowest among people who have less access to health care.

However, recent research has revealed that even mild or moderate hearing loss in older adults is associated with cognitive (认知的) decline. Older adults with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia (痴呆), and the likelihood increases with the severity of the loss.

In July, Frank R. Lin, a professor from Johns Hopkins University, presented results from a first-of-its-kind randomized clinical trial. Participants are 977 adults aged between 70 and 84, including those who have more risk factors for developing dementia and those who are relatively healthy. They received best-practice hearing care, including hearing aids. Three years later, hearing aids did make a difference to the participants in cognitive decline. Especially for those who were at the higher risk for dementia, a 48 percent cut in risk of cognitive decline could be made if they got hearing aids.

When hearing loss is untreated, the brain’s organization changes, says Anu Sharma, an auditory neuroscientist of the University of Colorado Boulder. In adults with mild hearing loss, studies show a decrease in gray matter (灰质) in brain. Sharma found early signs that vision and touch areas of the brain cover and change underused hearing areas. Adults with hearing loss also show more activity in working memory areas. They need to make extra efforts just to listen, Sharma says, which may exhaust cognitive reserves.

Hearing loss is also associated with more falls, higher health-care costs, and increased loneliness and social isolation. “Hearing is fundamental to healthy aging,” says Nicholas Reed, who worked with Frank R. Lin on the cognitive-decline study.

1. What can we learn from the figures in the first paragraph?

A．Americans pay special attention to their hearing.

B．Americans are unaware of danger of hearing loss.

C．Many Americans with hearing loss stay untreated.

D．Most Americans are suffering serious hearing loss.

2. What did Frank R. Lin’s clinical trial reveal?

A．Hearing aids helped reduce cognitive decline.

B．Hearing aids worked on healthy people.

C．Cognitive decline could result in hearing loss.

D．Cognitive decline was unrelated to age.

3. What is paragraph 4 centred on?

A．What sign will appear before losing hearing.

B．How hearing loss impacts cognitive decline.

C．Why hearing loss is left untreated by people.

D．How our brain discourages cognitive decline.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Hearing loss—a new factor connected with dementia

B．Cognitive decline, caused by more than hearing loss

C．Dementia—an incurable but preventable disease

D．Hearing loss, having limited access to healthcare

2 . Humans have made the world less friendly to birds in many ways. One obvious example of this can be found in metal spikes (尖刺), or anti-bird spikes in buildings to prevent birds from landing and even nesting. However, a handful of birds have struck back.

Auke-Florian Hiemstra, a biologist researching animal architecture at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands, studies how wild animals use materials made by humans. He has seen nests that include some unusual materials—things like plastic flowers and sunglasses. But he was surprised when seeing a picture of a magpie (喜鹊) nest, the top of which had anti-bird spikes.

Researchers had learned that the smart species, magpies and crows (乌鸦), were stealing anti-bird spikes as a nest-building material. The two species appeared to use the anti-bird spikes in slightly different ways. For the crows, the spikes seemed purely structural, a material used to fashion a solid foundation. But for the magpies, there was an additional layer of intention: They appeared to use the spikes like humans do-rounded covering over their nests to keep other birds from landing.

One recent study reported that nests with man-made materials have been found all over the world and that the man-made materials include all kinds of man-made materials, including knitting needles, candy wrappers, spiky wires, and cigarette ends. Although magpies and crows haven’t been documented doing this, other birds have. Scientists aren’t sure if birds are using artificial materials because they’re better, or simply because they’re easy to find. What is noteworthy is that human-made materials in bird nests can cause injuries. For example, anti- bird netting, often placed over garden plots, is known to be dangerous for birds, which often end up being entangled in it.

For Hiemstra, while the new discoveries are fascinating, he also highlights a broader issue: the unfortunate popularity of anti-bird spikes. “It’s kind of sad to keep fighting against nature instead of accepting it as part of the city,” he said.

1. Why was Hiemstra surprised when seeing the photo of a magpie nest?

A．A magpie decorated its nest with plastic flowers.

B．Magpies and crows are as intelligent as humans.

C．Magpies and crows cooperated to build the nests.

D．The magpie nest was equipped with metal spikes.

2. How do magpies and crows differ from each other in using anti-bird spikes?

A．Crows use them for fashion.

B．Magpies use them for defence.

C．Crows use them to keep off other species.

D．Magpies use them to strengthen the nests.

3. What does the underline word “entangled” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Discovered.

B．Frightened.

C．Released.

D．Trapped.

4. What does Hiemstra intend to do in the last paragraph?

A．Support birds’ using man-made materials.

B．Accept anti-bird spikes as part of the city.

C．Disapprove of humans’ using anti-bird spikes.

D．Stress the popularity of anti-bird spikes in birds.

3 . The stands were always filled with family members to support their favorite players. I attended each of my son’s games. His father worked nights for years, and missed out on most of his games. My son Jorden knew if his dad could, he would be there sitting right beside me.

When Jorden was younger, some family members would occasionally come to watch. But gradually they stopped showing up. Never once did Jorden lead me to believe that this bothered him, but apparently it did. It wasn’t until when he was asked to give a speech at his baseball event that he made it very clear not only to me but a room filled with over 150 people just how important it is to have extra fans in the stands.

His speech was anything but like I thought it would be. It wasn’t short and bittersweet. It wasn’t his quick thank you to his coaches and teammates. He poured his heart out, saying he seldom had grandparents, aunts or uncles coming to support him. He was grateful that his teammates’ family members showed up to support not just their own loved ones but the entire team of boys. Clearly Jorden desired more than just me. Never did I ever think my son would be hurting inside as he looked out to the bleachers to see only me at each and every game.

As he struggled to get each word out through tears, I promised I would attend as many events of the children around as I possibly could. There was no way I could allow another child to feel what my son was feeling. This small simple gesture would mean so much to any child. Neither Jorden nor I was upset with those who never attended his games. Jorden just wanted someone else besides me to witness his craft in action. I understand all of our lives become complicated and that everyone is busy with their own children and jobs that may not allow them as much free time as they’d like.

1. What do we know about Jorden’s father?

A．He had long been misunderstood by Jorden.

B．He had few chances to attend Jorden’s games.

C．He managed to be with Jorden in every game.

D．He had made excuses to miss Jorden’s games.

2. What was Jorden’s speech about?

A．His ambition to win the championship.

B．His gratitude to his mother and coaches.

C．His complaint about his family members.

D．His desire for support from more people.

3. What does the author think of Jorden’s speech?

A．Depressing.

B．Complicated.

C．Astonishing.

D．Absurd.

4. How did the author respond to Jorden’s speech?

A．She tried to be actively involved in children’s games.

B．She promised not to miss out on games of every child.

C．She offered to invite many relatives to Jorden’s games.

D．She decided to lead Jorden to trust his family members.

4 . Here are some things you might not know about black boxes.

They’re not black. Black boxes are the same colour as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.     1    . The Golden Gate Bridge is a darker shade, while the international orange used for black boxes is much brighter.

A black box comes in two parts. The black box is made up of two separate pieces of equipment: the flight data recorder (FDR) and a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). They are compulsory on any commercial flight or corporate jet. They are usually kept in the tail of an aircraft.     2    . The FDRs record things like airspeed, altitude, vertical acceleration and fuel flow. The CVRs track not only the crew’s interactions with each other and air traffic control, but also background noise that can give vital clues to investigators.

    3    . Black boxes start emitting (发出) a pulse if their sensors touch water. They work to a depth of just over four kilometers and can “ping” once a second for thirty days before the battery runs out. If a flight crashed into the ocean, it might take search teams a few years to find and raise the black boxes. However, they are worthy of the time.     4    .

They’re almost undestroyable. The FDRs are usually double-wrapped in titanium or stainless steel.     5    . The crucial part that contains the memory boards can bear a 227 kg weight with a pin attached to it, which is dropped onto the unit from a height of three meters. Researchers try to crush it, destroy it in an hour of 1,100 degrees Celsius fire, submerge it in a pressurized salt water tank and immerse it in jet fuel.

A．They need to be updated in time.

B．It can take a long time to find one.

C．They are a tone of international orange.

D．They must be able to stand extreme conditions.

E．They can make the entire transport system safer.

F．They’ll provide valuable information about the crash.

G．They are more likely to survive a crash at such a place.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Woodblock printing is an ancient printing technology with a significant impact     1     human civilization. It originated in ancient China. The earliest woodblock printing     2     (invent) during the Tang Dynasty. The process involved carving words, designs or images onto wooden blocks, applying ink and transferring the ink onto paper through pressure.

Creating woodblocks demands patience and skill     3     (ensure) clear and accurate characters for high-quality prints. Through continuous refinement and practice, woodblock printing became widely used and developed in China and neighboring regions. This technology     4     (gradual) spread to other countries.

Woodblock printing is of     5     (significant). Firstly, it facilitated the spread and preservation of written works,     6     (enable) the dissemination (传播) of knowledge on a broader scale. Secondly, it promoted the exchange of diverse cultures and     7     (idea), driving the progress of human civilization. Lastly, woodblock printing,     8     development provided valuable insight for innovations like movable type printing and lithography, served as a foundation for the following printing technology.

Although we     9     (enter) the digital age, woodblock printing remains a crucial milestone in the printing technology. Its historical importance in disseminating knowledge     10     its role in advancing the printing technology are worthy of recognition and appreciation. Woodblock printing stands as a testament to human ingenuity and it has enduring influence on the development of civilization.

6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Henry Crawley was a cab driver who drove long circuits every day. His job kept him away from family for long hours. It was the topic of many quarrels he had gotten into with his wife, who understood why he was away so often but could not resist the urge to cry out for her husband’s physical absence.

To make up for not always being there for his daughter, Leslie, Henry was determined to make it to her 16th birthday party on time. On the day of her birthday, Henry conveyed as many passengers as he could as usual. When he finally finished the last order to a distant town outside the city, Henry rushed back to his city for the small party.

However, he got caught up in a heavy snowstorm that restricted mobility on his way back. Stubbornly, he decided he would press on anyway and continued driving even though he had to go at a snail’s (蜗牛的) pace.

It was 6: 00 pm and Leslie’s party started at 6: 30 pm. He complained about the weather as he fastened his eyes on the slippery road. As time passed, he got closer to the city. Suddenly, he spotted a person sitting beside the road. He stopped his car to check on it, and found it was an elderly woman who was unable to speak but almost freezing. Her bedroom clothes told him she must be from the town nearby he just drove past.

Henry decided to take the woman to her town, but he remembered that his wife would be upset with him if he missed his daughter’s birthday party. He called his wife to explain things. As he predicted, she said nothing, ending up the call. That made him uneasy and almost turn back to his car. But he knew that he could not leave the woman helpless. “I’d want someone to care for my wife or daughter if they ended up in such a tough situation,” he said to himself.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Without any hesitation, Henry was determined to help the stranger.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Upon his arrival, it was late at night and Henry became more uneasy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . Tenzing Bodosa was awoken at midnight by a sound outside. He got up and saw several wild _________ in his farm. For many farmers, seeing such animals appear in the farm is _________. However, for Bodosa, who ran a large tea farm in the state of Assam, India, it meant everything was working _________.

The Asian elephants has been listed as a(n) _________ species by International Union for Conservation of Nature and their population has _________ by half in the past decades for various reasons. One is _________ to the vast tea farms, which elephants regard as parts of their forest habitats and their migratory routes over centuries.

“Sadly, in India, _________ between humans and wild elephants often end up _________,” said Bodosa. “I decided that there must be a way for us to live _________.” Then Bodosa began a natural tea farm in 2007.

To create an elephant-friendly area for elephants, Bodosa planted organic grass, fruits and tea. He also provided them with easy __________ by making sure there were no fences or other __________ to restrict wild elephants’ movement.

Gradually, his tea farm __________ other animals’ visiting. Many human visitors followed, too, and some even volunteered here. Bodosa’s tea farm was __________ as “the world’s first elephant-friendly tea farm”. He has also trained many farmers in organic farming. “We have to work hard to __________ the lives of both wild elephants and humans,” Bodosa said. The tea from such farms does have an economical and __________ impact on Assam.

1.

A．strains

B．elephants

C．fields

D．plants

2.

A．entertaining

B．satisfying

C．alarming

D．embarrassing

3.

A．as usual

B．by contrast

C．after all

D．in advance

4.

A．primitive

B．representative

C．privileged

D．endangered

5.

A．dropped

B．risen

C．doubled

D．changed

6.

A．adapted

B．connected

C．compared

D．exposed

7.

A．ranges

B．differences

C．encounters

D．adventures

8.

A．awkward

B．tragic

C．humorous

D．controversial

9.

A．publicly

B．privately

C．significantly

D．harmoniously

10.

A．passages

B．solutions

C．assignments

D．calculations

11.

A．criteria

B．associations

C．regulations

D．barriers

12.

A．lived off

B．resulted from

C．appealed to

D．turned down

13.

A．misread

B．diagnosed

C．imagined

D．credited

14.

A．extend

B．secure

C．involve

D．threaten

15.

A．ecological

B．religious

C．cultural

D．negative

8 . Have you ever wondered how mosquitoes are so good at finding you? A new study has just identified a new way they home in on us. It’s visual. Mosquitoes just like the look of our skin.

Claire Rusch and her colleagues have been working to uncover ways to avoid mosquito bites. And this biologist knows plenty about that. After all, to study mosquitoes, “you get bitten a lot,” she notes. “It’s not easy to work with an animal that preys(捕食) on you.”

To test whether a mosquito has color preference, Rusch got help from a software engineer who designed a test box that was 450 mosquito-body-lengths long. Lined with cameras, it recorded the insects’ flight patterns. Two small colored disks were laid on the floor of the box.

The researchers released about 50 starved mosquitoes into the box. Mosquitoes don’t start hunting until they’ve smelt carbon dioxide(CO₂). So, the team sprayed(喷) CO₂ inside the box as part of the experiment. Cameras recorded where’ the mosquitoes flew and how they interacted with the colored disks. Whichever disk the mosquitoes flew around longer would be the color the insects preferred.

They found before CO₂ was sprayed, the mosquitoes ignored all the colored disks. With CO₂, mosquitoes ignored any disk that was green, blue or purple. But the insects did fly toward disks that were red, orange or light blue. These colors, apparently, were inviting. The mosquitoes seemed to especially like red.

The result was beyond the researchers’ expectations because scientists long thought that mosquitoes relied mostly on body smells and heat to find humans. Now, they know that vision also plays an important role.

There is still much to learn about how mosquitoes see their world. It seems logical that mosquitoes might be attracted to red since that is the color human skin appears to them. Still unknown is why they are also attracted to light blue. And, importantly, how might these new data on color preferences be used to design better mosquito traps?

1. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．identifying various mosquitoes.	B．Teaming up with other colleagues.
C．Avoiding being bitten by mosquitoes.	D．Uncovering ways to catch mosquitoes.

2. Why did the researchers use carbon dioxide in the experiment?

A．To stop mosquitoes flying away.	B．To track mosquitoes more easily.
C．To make mosquitoes hunt actively.	D．To put more pressure on mosquitoes.

3. What was the discovery of the new study?

A．Mosquitoes track people by smelling.	B．Mosquitoes are good at finding their targets.
C．Mosquitoes see the world in a different way.	D．Mosquitoes can use eyes when hunting food.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The things remaining to be explored.	B．The world in the eyes of mosquitoes.
C．The color preferences of mosquitoes.	D．The practical application of the findings.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Xiechi Lake, also known as Yuncheng Salt Lake in China’s Shanxi Province,     1     (become) popular on social media websites in the past few years.

Now, China wants to transform that online     2     (popular) into real-life tourism. “As the Chinese ‘Dead Sea’, floating here is     3     unforgettable experience, and one you can’t find anywhere else,” reads a tourism advertisement     4     (sponsor) by the Yuncheng Salt Lake Tourism Development Company. Yuncheng Salt Lake is a sulfate (硫酸盐) lake. “If the sulfate in your water is greater than the calcium (钙), all the calcium is used up,     5     leaves you with large amounts of sulfate and you have a sulfate lake,” explains geography professor Bernie Owen. Xiechi is also a “closed basin” lake,     6     (mean) it doesn’t flow out to a river or ocean, which explains how its salt content stays so high. It is possible for salt lakes to freeze over, although not as     7     (quick) as other lakes — after all, think about what happens when we spread salt over icy roads. Saltwater freezes at     8    (low) temperatures than fresh water.

In an effort     9     (boost) Xiechi Lake’s international profile, China is reportedly taking steps to get it recognized     10     a UNESCO World Heritage site.

10 . The “little voice in your head” can be your worst critic and greatest supporter. It’s been known to help with directions, give advice, and even remind you to put potatoes on the grocery list.

But does everyone have an inner monologue(独白)? For a long time, it was assumed that an inner voice was simply part of being human. But it turns out, that’s not the case—not everyone processes life in words and sentences.

“By inner monologue, we mean that we can have private speech that’s addressed to ourselves and that is carried out without any sound,” said Helene Loevenbruck, a senior neurolinguistics researcher at CNRS.

With true inner speech, you almost “hear” your inner voice, she told Live Science. You’re aware of its tone and intonation (语调). For example, the voice can “sound” angry or worried.

This long-held assumption was first challenged in the late 1990s by Russell Hurlburt, a psychologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Hurlburt studied participants’ inner speech by asking them to wear a beeper(传呼机). Whenever the device beeped, they had to write down what they were thinking or experiencing in their mind just before the sound.

Perhaps the participant wrote down, “I need to buy some bread.” He would then ask if that’s what they actually thought. “Or did you think ‘bread’? Or were you hungry?” Loevenbruck explained. After several meetings, participants got better at articulating (流利连贯地表达)their true thoughts, she said. Eventually, this method revealed that some people had inner speech every time the device beeped. But others had less inner speech than usual, and some didn’t have inner speech at all. They experienced images, sensations and emotions, but not a voice or words.

The lack of an inner monologue has been linked to a condition called aphantasia (心盲症)sometimes called “blindness of the mind’s eye.” People who experience aphantasia can’t mentally picture their bedroom or their mother’s face. Many times, those who don’t experience visualizations don’t experience clear inner speech, either, Loevenbruck noted.

1. What was previously assumed about the inner monologue?

A．It rarely existed in humans.	B．It could help solve all kinds of problems.
C．It was something everyone was born with.	D．It was mainly displayed in the form of writing.

2. What does Loevenbruck say about an inner monologue?

A．It lacks tone and intonation.	B．It is delivered in public.
C．It can be heard by others.	D．It can convey emotions.

3. What did Hurlburt do in his study?

A．He used a beeper to note down participants’ inner speech.

B．He required participants to describe their grocery lists.

C．He checked participants’ notes and asked about their true thoughts.

D．He placed something in participants’ heads to record their inner speech.

4. Why do some people never experience an inner monologue?

A．They suffer serious brain damage.	B．They cannot distinguish what they see.
C．They misunderstand their true thoughts.	D．They fail to mentally picture what they see.