1 . In a recent study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers discovered that our brains may replay memories of learning new skills when we rest.

NIH researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and found that during short rest the volunteers’ brains rapidly and repeatedly replayed faster versions of the activity seen while they practiced typing a code. The more a volunteer replayed the activity the better they performed during subsequent practice sessions.

The study was conducted at the NIH Clinical Center. The team of Dr. Cohen, M.D. , senior investigator at the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), used a highly sensitive scanning technique to record the brain waves of 33 healthy, right-handed volunteers as they learned to type a five-digit test code with their left hands. The subjects sat in a chair and under the scanner’s long, cone-shaped cap. An experiment began when a subject was shown the code “41234” on a screen and asked to type it out as many times as possible for 10 seconds and then take a 10 second break. Subjects were asked to repeat this cycle of alternating (交替的) practice and rest sessions a total of 35 times.

During the first few trials, the speed at which subjects correctly typed the code improved dramatically and then leveled off around the 11th cycle. In a previous study, Dr. Cohen’s team showed that most of these gains happened during short rests, and not when the subjects were typing. Moreover, the gains were greater than those made after a night’s sleep and were related with a decrease in the size of brain waves, called beta rhythms. In this new report, the researchers searched for something different in the subjects’ brain waves.

“We wanted to explore the mechanisms (机制) behind memory strengthening seen during wakeful rest. Several forms of memory appear to rely on the replaying of neural (神经的) activity, so we decided to test this idea out for procedural skill learning,” said Ethan R. Buch, Ph.D., a staff scientist on Dr. Cohen’s team and leader of the study. To do this, Dr. Buch developed a computer program which allowed the team to understand the brain wave activity associated with typing each number in the test code.

Interestingly, they found that the more a volunteer replayed, the better their performance was. “We were a bit surprised by these last results. Overall, our results support the idea that the replay activity during waking rest may be a powerful tool that researchers can use to help individuals learn new skills faster and possibly facilitate recovery from stroke.” said Dr. Cohen.

1. What have NIH researchers recently found?

A．The brain activity slowly flows when we learn a new skill.

B．The value of short practice sessions can’t be overestimated.

C．Short rest makes no difference to the neural replay of the activity.

D．The frequency of brain replay contributes to practice performances.

2. What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 3?

A．The process of the research.

B．The facilities of the research.

C．The application of the research.

D．The preparations of the research.

3. Why did Dr. Buch develop a computer program?

A．To distinguish the first 11 cycles from the later ones.

B．To confirm the role of neural replay in skill learning.

C．To explore the potential effects of procedural learning.

D．To find out the reasons for the changes in brain waves.

4. What does Dr. Cohen think of the research findings?

A．Acceptable.

B．Promising.

C．Shallow.

D．Dismissive.

2 . On March 6, the 2024 Douyin E-commerce Female Consumer Trend Data Report revealed that in 2023 the order volume of horse faced skirts -a type of hanfu, the traditional style of clothing worn by the Han people-among female users on Douyin skyrocketed by 841 percent compared to the previous year.

“I’ve noticed that there are so many people wearing horse-faced skirts on the streets now, from young women to children; it’s unbelievable, ” said Wang Zicheng, a 23-year-old hanfu enthusiast.

He recalled that when he wore hanfu for the first time in 2018 at his coming-of-age ceremony, it was still a minority interest. Now, he is confident wearing it everywhere, even outside of China.

As hanfu gains popularity, traditional attire (服装) and modern fashion are merging (融合), influencing not only clothing styles but also cultural perceptions and people’s understanding.

Some hanfu enthusiasts argue that each design and structural form of hanfu carries distinct historical and cultural significance, insisting that these details should be adhered to (遵循) strictly. However, other consumers prioritize the aesthetics (美学) and comfort of the clothing.

Zhou Shuang, 37, specializes in character styling for film and television. She pointed out that for those unfamiliar with traditional clothing culture, it’s understandable for them to desire a mixture of classical elegance with modern fashion.

This combination is referred to as the neo-Chinese style. “Neo-Chinese style clothing design doesn’t merely layer traditional elements, but combines modernity and tradition naturally,” explained Zhou. “It aims to showcase traditional charm that resonates with (与……产生共鸣) the aesthetic preferences of today’s Chinese. ”

Despite the growing hanfu trend in China, there remains a lack of understanding among people abroad. According to Wang, he traveled to a dozen countries while wearing hanfu.

“They guessed about the origin of my clothes…, but none correctly identified that it’s from China,” Wang said. He believed this is because people in other countries have few chances to see authentic hanfu clothes and accessories.

A potential solution could be integrating hanfu into everyday attire. Indeed, Zhou’s students are currently exploring ways to preserve hanfu’s cultural heritage while accommodating the demands of daily fashion choices.

1. What does Wang Zicheng’s experience detailed in paragraphs 2-3 reflect?

A．The diversity of hanfu enthusiasts.

B．The cultural significance of hanfu.

C．The reasons for hanfu’s popularity.

D．The increasing recognition of hanfu.

2. According to Wang, why was his hanfu not correctly identified when he was traveling?

A．His hanfu did not represent a typical style.

B．Western tourists show little interest in hanfu.

C．People abroad were unfamiliar with hanfu culture.

D．Hanfu has mixed clothing styles from other countries.

3. What are Zhou’s students doing now?

A．Cooperating with daily fashion designers.

B．Protecting traditional hanfu in a modern way.

C．Promoting traditional Chinese clothing abroad.

D．Studying the historical evolution of the hanfu style.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Hanfu: Reshaping Modern Fashion

B．Ancient Fashion: The Forgotten Beauty of Hanfu

C．Hanfu: An Evolutionary Journey Through Centuries

D．Hanfu vs. Modern Fashion: A Symbol of Chinese Nationalism

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What will Todd Messegee be responsible for?

A．Directing a play.

B．Writing a play.

C．Starring in a play.

2. What will participants mainly do by the fourth day?

A．Attend a lecture on acting.

B．Practice the play.

C．Perform on stage formally.

3. What is the speaker doing?

A．Drawing up a plan for a program.

B．Advertising an acting program.

C．Announcing arrangements for a play.

4 . Psychologists have long been in disagreement as to whether competition is a learned or a genetic component of human behavior. Whatever it is, you cannot but recognize the effect competition has on academics and many other areas of contemporary life.

Psychologically speaking, competition has been seen as an unavoidable consequence of human drives. According to Sigmund Freud, humans are born screaming for attention and full of organic drives for fulfillment in various areas. Initially, we compete for the attention of our parents.

Current work in anthropology (人类学) has suggested, however, that this view of the role of competition in human behavior may be a fallacy. Thomas Hobbes, one of the great philosophers of the seventeenth century, is perhaps best remembered for his characterization of the “natural world”, that is, the world before the introduction of the will of humanity, as being unpleasant and short. This opinion is still widely held, reinforced by Charles Darwin’s highly influential work, The Origin of Species, which established the doctrine (学说) of natural selection. Darwin’s theory has even been summarized as “survival of the fittest”-a phrase Darwin himself never used-further highlighting competition’s role in success. As it has often been pointed out, however, there is nothing in the concept of natural selection that suggests that competition is the most successful strategy for “survival of the fittest”. Darwin said in The Origin of Species that the struggles he was describing should be viewed as metaphors and couldn’t be separated from dependence and cooperation.

Many studies have been conducted to test the importance placed on competition rather than other values, such as cooperation, and generally conclude that Americans uniquely praise competition as natural, unavoidable, and desirable. In 1937, the world-renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead published Cooperation and Competition among Primitive Peoples, based on her studies of several societies that did not prize competition, and, in fact, seemed at times to place a negative value on it. One such society was the Zuni Indians of Arizona, and they, Mead found, valued cooperation far more than competition. After studying dozens of such cultures, Mead’s final conclusion was that competitiveness is a culturally created aspect of human behavior, and that its popularity in a particular society is relative to how that society values it.

1. What does the author think is commonly seen in many areas of contemporary life?

A．The origin of human drives.

B．The influence of competition.

C．The reasons for human behaviour.

D．The disagreement on competition.

2. What does the underlined words “a fallacy” in the second paragraph mean?

A．A false idea.

B．A hard nut.

C．A losing battle.

D．A mixed blessing.

3. What can we learn from Darwin’s words in The Origin of Species?

A．All species depend on others for survival.

B．The strongest species proves to be the fittest.

C．Struggles for survival include support of each other.

D．Competition is looked on as the best survival strategy.

4. What conclusion did Margaret Mead reach?

A．It is characteristic of humans to be competitive.

B．Americans are uniquely opposed to cooperation.

C．Competition is relatively more popular in Western societies.

D．People’s attitude towards competition is actually culture-bound.

5 . Save A Dog, Inc. is a Massachusetts-based humane society. We take in dogs of all breeds, sizes, and shapes who have become homeless for one reason or another. We work with animal shelters in MA as well as out of state. We try to make the best match for applicant and dog.

To date we have rescued and adopted over 8, 000 dogs. We offer education to our adopters on how to use natural supplements and a good quality food to care for the new dog or pup. We offer on-site puppy kindergarten classes for our adopters during the months when the weather is favorable. We send our rescued dogs home with an adoption contract that ensures the dog will never again end up in a shelter again. We advocate positive reinforcement (强化) training for dogs at home.

We charge an adoption fee. Our adoption fees vary. For senior dogs (9 years and older), the adoption donation ranges from $150 to $350. For adult dogs (older than 1 year) the donation is $450. Adolescent dogs range from $450-500, and the donation for puppies is $600. We are a 501c3 organization privately funded by donations and the adoption fees. We are always very grateful if you can add a little extra donation to help us continue our rescue work.

Our shelter is small and we cannot accommodate drop-in visits at this time. If you would like to meet our rescued dogs, please fill out an application for free and we will send you the next steps. If you have additional questions, the best way to reach us is via email to adoptions@saveadog.org.

1. What is the focus of Massachusetts-based humane society?

A．Deserted dogs.

B．Animal shelters.

C．Rescued animals.

D．Homeless persons.

2. What does Save A Dog, Inc. offer to adopters?

A．Reinforcement training.

B．Long-term home care.

C．Guidance on dog caring.

D．An employment contract.

3. What can we learn about Save A Dog, Inc.?

A．It can be contacted and visited any time.

B．It charges most for adult dogs’ adoption.

C．It requires an application at an extra charge.

D．It encourages donations to help with the work.

6 . The human voice is a delicate thing. Each person’s distinctive voice is produced when air from the lungs causes the vocal cords (声带) to vibrate (震颤). These vocal cords can easily get damaged. According to a 2005 study, 30% of the population will experience a voice disorder at some point in their life.

In a study published in the journal Nature Communications this week, a group of bioengineering researchers from the University of California have put forward an attractive solution. They have designed and tested a soft patch (小片) that can be stuck onto a person’s neck, where it will pick up muscle movements and, with the help of machine-learning algorithms (算法) that process the signals, translate them into speech.

When a person loses their voice today, the easiest fix is to turn to typing, texting, or writing notes to communicate. Typing can be slow and convenient, says Jun Chen, the paper’s lead author, and writing notes is only possible in good lighting. The new solution would therefore be able to clear all these hurdles.

Dr. Chen’s device works based on something called the magnetoelastic effect. Essentially, when tiny magnetic (磁性的) bits are placed into soft materials, their magnetic properties can change as the material is stretched.

When the throat muscles move under the soft patch, the resulting magnetoelastic effects can be changed into electrical signals. In a test with eight participants, the variations can be changed by electrical signals.

Researchers recorded the signals as the subjects spoke and mouthed five different sentences. They then trained a machine-learning model which was then able to predict which of the five sentences the participants spoke-whether aloud or in silence-with more than 90% accuracy.

There is a way to go yet, for now the device can only recognize the five phrases it was trained on. Plus, to make it practical at scale, the researchers will need to collect a lot more data.

1. In paragraph 1, the author mainly wants to tell us that____.

A．lungs are easily damaged

B．the human voice is unique

C．vocal cords vibrate to produce sound

D．voice disorders are a problem worthy of attention

2. Why does the author mention the biometric effect?

A．To explain the working principle.	B．To present a solution.
C．To introduce the challenge.	D．To make a comparison.

3. What is the function of the soft patch?

A．Predicting five different sentences.

B．Destroying the background magnetic field.

C．Slowing the movements of throat muscles.

D．Helping turn muscle movements into electrical signals.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Predicting the Importance of Voice Restoration

B．Using Algorithms in Bioengineering Research

C．Overcoming Voice Loss with an innovative Patch

D．Finding the Principle of Communication Devices

7 . Wildfires are common nowadays. Lightning, campfires, power lines or other sources may lead to big wildfires.     1     But when they break out on populated places, wildfires can endanger human lives and property.

Still, wildfires have always been a part of some forest ecosystems.     2     For one thing, wildfires can get rid of trespassers(入侵者). The native animals often know how to escape a wildfire. But harmful species may not, so they could get wiped out.

Fires can prevent trees from overcrowding each other, which allows smaller plants and animals that need sunlight to grow below. Plus, wildfires burn up a lot of leaf litter, pine needles and other dead matter on the ground. This clears out junk that may stop new plants from growing and releases nutrition back into the soil.     3    

There are also species that have evolved (进化) to depend on regular wildfires. Banksia trees in Australia, for instance, only release their seeds in the heat of a wildfire.     4     And birds such as the black-backed woodpecker prefer to live in recently burned areas, because newly burnt trees may offer easy access to a feast of insects.

    5     They set these fires only in areas and under weather conditions where they're sure they can control the flames. Specific burns are meant to provide the benefits of natural, low-intensity fires. So, one important way to protect against fires is professionals setting them.

A．The leaf litter can fuel more dangerous wildfires.

B．These trees need fires if they are to produce more trees.

C．They might cause more fires that could threaten wildlife.

D．As a result, fire experts start fires in certain places regularly.

E．They mainly destroy natural areas, such as forests and grasslands.

F．And regular burns can be vital for keeping those ecosystems healthy.

G．Importantly, it also prevents the buildup of dead matter that catches fire easily.

8 . Imagine a world where anyone can learn how to do anything in multiple languages in ordinary and extraordinary ways. That’s the world we want to create. We’re looking for a few talented, cooperative, delightful employees to join our cause. Are you in?

Fast Facts

●wikiHow is the only company in the Comscore top 150 that has under 30 employees.

●wikiHow helps 100 million people every month, in 19 languages. We have ambitions to push our mission much further.

●wikiHow is completely remote-friendly. We have people working from far and near, but we love having a comfortable office to work in when we can.

●wikiHow is considered to be one of the Internet’s most influential websites.

Open Position.

●Staff Writer

If you’re applying for the Staff Writer position, please send a brief introductory email with the subject line “Staff Writer — City you live in — Topic area (Lifestyle/Tech/Both)” to writing@wikihow. com. The email should include your resume (简历), a short cover letter, one writing sample(if you have an example of published work intended for a broad audience, please share that), and a brief (4-5 sentences) sample introduction to one topic you are expert in. Please use this as an opportunity to show us your unique voice and style.

One Thing to Keep in Mind

We’re already profitable, financially stable, and we all love working here, so we aren’t in a rush to sell out. For 15 years, we’ve committed to our step-by-step teaching model, and we continue to refine our content to create the best how-to experience. We’ve helped millions of people solve problems, learn new skills, strengthen relationships, pick up healthy habits or try out a new hobby.

1. What quality is required for applicants?

A．Being willing to team up.	B．Speaking several languages.
C．Having work experience.	D．Achieving financial independence.

2. Which should be included in the application email?

A．A finished article.	B．A published book.
C．An introduction video.	D．A recommendation letter.

3. What is wikiHow?

A．A sales company.	B．A social app.
C．A language school.	D．An education website.

9 . In recent years, much of my life as a consumer has shifted to what I like to call background. As I’ve subscribed to more apps and streaming platforms, significant sums of my money tend to slip away each month without my ever thinking about it.

Think of it as an automated trade. Spending without the trouble of spending. Acquaint ion without action. Or thought.

But while this flood of subscriptions was sold to me on the condition that it would make my life more trouble-free, there was a certain shock I felt upon discovering how much I was spending without realizing each month ($179.45).

You see, the thing about background spending is that it tends to happen, well, in the background without your full attention. And there lies the point.

“Hand over your credit card details and let us take care of the rest,” these companies promote. But by again sing their name, we’ve become lazy, positive consumers. And this laziness breeds (导致) more laziness because most of us can’t be bothered with conducting regular reviews of our subscription spending. We’re too lazy to even notice or cancel it!

I know it’s not just me who is suddenly living life as a smart-braised subscriber. The average consumer spends $273 per month on subscriptions, according to a 2021 study of 2,500 by digital services firm West Morose. Not a single person surveyed knew what his actually monthly spending was.

It’s understandable why this model is so attractive to businesses. As companies questioned traditional advertising models, subscription offered the promise of “selling once and earning forever.” And while subscription services have been around for decades (think Wine of the Month Club), more customers have been willing to sign up thanks to the widespread availability of smartphones and the increasing ease of home delivery.

While these subscription promise ease and happiness, not all of us are satisfied. Last year, the Kameny Institute found 40 percent of consumer believe they have too many subscriptions. Almost half of us also think we pay too much for streaming video-on-demand subscriptions.

1. What can we know about background spending in paragraph 2?

A．Its purpose.

B．Its feature.

C．Its procedure.

D．Its requirement.

2. What makes it possible for background spending to happen?

A．Its attractive price.	B．Some people’s poor habit.
C．Its secure service.	D．Some people’s addiction to it.

3. Why is the subscription model appealing to businesses?

A．It offers good home delivery services.

B．It is like traditional advertising models.

C．It is popular among smartphone producers.

D．It brings repeated profits through a single sale.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards background spending?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Critical.

D．Unclear.

10 . 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。

Yang Jiang was a well-known Chinese playwright, translator, and author. She belonged to     1     unique and beautiful existence in Chinese literature. She was the first Chinese academic     2    (translate) Miguel de Cervantes’ Spanish novel Don Quixote to Chinese and at that time, her translation     3     (honor) as the recreation of the original work       4     the basis of loyalty.

Yang was born into a rich family in 1911,     5    (original)named Yang Jikang. After eventually     6     (graduate) from Soochow University, she enrolled at the graduate school of Tsinghua University. She met her husband there, Qian Zhongshu, another acclaimed writer in China.

Other than translations, Yang     7     (author) many plays, novels, and essays during her writing career. Her short novel Mr. Wang,     8    (write) in 1984, was selected as an article in the textbook. In 1986, she got the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, a famous Spanish civil order, for her     9     (achieve) in Don Quixote. Her bestseller was We Three in 2003,     10     sales exceeded 180,000 copies in two months. Yang passed away in 2016, at the age of 105.