1 . One of the most common questions I get from concerned gardeners is how to deal with climbing plants, like ivy. The thinking behind this is that climbers are a dragon brickwork and can cause structural damage to buildings. But when you actually look at the science, very few of these f cars are based on any evidence.
A 2020 study of a range of climbing plants on model brick buildings found that the shade cast by the plants’ leaves cooled the surface of the buildings in the summer by as much as 5.7℃, reducing the wide swings between day and night temperatures-a key driver of surface structural damage. It also lowered summer temperatures inside the buildings by up to 7.2℃, and was even projected to reduce heating bills by as much as 20 percent in the winter. Despite concerns that plant strap moisture (水分) against brickwork, leading to damp issues, the same trial showed ivy didn’t significantly raise moisture levels-rather, it helped stabilise them, minimising changes that could damage the buildings surfaces
It is worth bearing in mind that these results were from model buildings with new brickwork. What about well-used buildings? Well another study, this one from 2011, found that in five historical buildings, bare walls experienced average maximum temperatures 36 percent higher and minimum temperatures 15 percent lower compared with those coated in leaves.
The researchers concluded that the living protection provided by those climbing plants would “reduce the likelihood of frost and salt damage to the building materials, thus contributing to their conservation”. They also found that the leaves’ ability to trap pollution could reduce the damage to historical walls.
Imagine if there was a new material that could cool cities and cut energy bills, all while looking beautiful. Did I mention it was also self-cleaning and carbon negative? The truth is that we have had this amazing material all along, but rather than appreciating it we have spent huge amounts of time worrying about bow to tear it down.
1. What are gardeners commonly concerned about?| A．Poor quality of brickwork. | B．Weeds competing for space. |
| C．Damage caused by construction. | D．Potential dangers of climbing plants. |
| A．A temperature adjuster. | B．A moisture tester. |
| C．A pollution monitor. | D．An air purifier. |
| A．Possible doubts about the findings. | B．Analysis of the experimental data. |
| C．Supporting evidence for the findings. | D．Explanation for the research process. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Dismissive. | C．Appreciative. | D．Tolerant. |
2 . As social creatures, research has histoncally pointed us away from time alone. But recently, more people are spending time away from the crowd, and even seem to desire it. In Solitude (独处) — The science and power of being alone, a book co-written by Heather Hansen, an award-winning journalist and author, with the researcher Thuy-vy Nguyen, they set out to understand how everyday solitude affects people’s lives.
In the largest study of its kind, thousands aged between 13 and 85 participated in online surveys. For some, think of the word “solitude”, and they will think of a determined hiker alone in the wilderness. Most people described experiences of solitude achieved while, for example, walking in a park or writing in a journal. Surprisingly, some described solitude as having a psychological distance from others, but not necessarily a physical one.
In several separate experiments, Nguyen found that when people spend 15 minutes alone, there is a “deactivation effect”, meaning “high excitement” emotions like anxiety are decreased, while positive “low excitement” feelings like calmness are increased, which wasn’t seen when people spent 15 minutes with another person. One caveat is that sometimes solitude also increases the negative low excitement feeling of loneliness. However, a further experiment showed that this increase could be weakened when individuals chose to think about positive thoughts or when they were given a choice whether to spend time alone.
The list doesn’t end there, though. Several studies link time alone and creativity, but only when people avoid social interactions because of what is known as a “non-fearful” preference for solitude. On the other hand, there is no such link in those whose fear or anxiety prevents them from interacting with others, or because of avoidance, where people disliked social interactions.
Now think about the next time you will be on your own. Will you enjoy or suffer it? As evidence increases for how time alone can be a positive force in shaping our lives, Hansen and her colleagues recommend planning for it-and protecting it.
1. What is the survey in paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．When solitude is needed. | B．What solitude looks like. |
| C．How solitude affects people’s lives. | D．How people make the best of solitude. |
| A．Trap. | B．Bonus. | C．Warning. | D．Prediction. |
| A．prefer to take risks | B．choose to be alone without fear |
| C．dislike social interactions | D．enjoy negative emotions |
| A．The Power of One | B．Profit of Socializing |
| C．The Urge to Live Alone | D．Battle Against Solitude |
3 . On a hot summer day when I was 13, I was bored in my attic (阁楼) bedroom. Thinking about how to
When I looked inside the open space
I began spending all my free time reading Bartlett’s. It felt like a new world
When I went to college, Bartlett’s came with me. Over the years, I’ve kept my
| A．relieve | B．knock | C．experience | D．defend |
| A．picked | B．turned | C．popped | D．came |
| A．curiously | B．patiently | C．aimlessly | D．secretly |
| A．let | B．pulled | C．reached | D．kicked |
| A．challenging | B．familiar | C．important | D．acceptable |
| A．although | B．after | C．supposing | D．since |
| A．leaf through | B．check over | C．look for | D．tear off |
| A．cultures | B．emotions | C．themes | D．lessons |
| A．changing | B．marching | C．unfolding | D．passing |
| A．mess | B．grasp | C．expect | D．question |
| A．identify | B．hide | C．control | D．express |
| A．a live | B．misty | C．mixed | D．weak |
| A．original | B．special | C．handheld | D．complete |
| A．works | B．styles | C．products | D．editions |
| A．shocked | B．sheltered | C．liberated | D．defined |
Atule’er village in southwest China’s Sichuan province, known
In the past, villagers used handmade ladders
Chen Jie, a photographer and a
After being covered by5G signals, Atuleer village has become more widely known through live-streaming shows and seen a growing number of tourists. Even the steel ladder becomes
Lhasa, the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau, has been the administrative capital of Tibet since the mid-17th century. If you’ve ever had the chance
The Barkhor Street,
You can find many surrounding sites attractive and get almost everything here: beautiful objects, a constant stream of tourists and some seriously passionate pilgrims. All this is
6 . Feeling guilty about your daily afternoon nap (小睡)? Don’t. Research shows that catching a few ZZZs after lunch can be good for your brain.
Napping for 30 to 90 minutes can provide significant brain benefits. Researchers looked at data from 2,974 adults in China. They discovered that those who napped for 30 to 90 minutes bad better word recall and figure drawing abilities than those who didn’t nap or napped for longer than 90 minutes. However, longer naps, particularly those longer than 90 minutes, might cause problems.
Charlene Gamaldo, M.D., medical director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, emphasizes the importance of considering individual sleep needs and cycles when it comes to napping.
The study also suggests that both too much and too little sleep can be linked to poor health and a shorter life.
| A．It symbolizes a good memory. |
| B．Resting more during the day is restorative. |
| C．Therefore, it’s essential to get the right quantity. |
| D．But keep in mind that the length of your nap matters. |
| E．One reason is that they suggest poor quality in nighttime sleep. |
| F．A well-timed nap helps maintain thinking skills and good health. |
| G．While napping is beneficial, it should not disturb nighttime sleep. |
7 . One Sunday, we arrived home from a wedding to find our neighbors siting among a pile of buckets, bot les, and anything they could fill water in. After inquiring, they said they had been waiting for the water truck. In some parts of Johannesburg, South Africa, homes have not had water in their taps for weeks and months on end.
Thankfully, my dad’s planning ahead blessed our home with a precious borehole (钻井) that provides us with freshwater every day. Sometimes, because we are off the grid (网格), we are not even aware of what is happening around us, especially with the lack of water-until we see people queuing up, waiting for the water trucks the government sends. Often, the trucks are late or run out of water before reaching our street.
In the spirit of Ubuntu, a Zulu (祖鲁语) term meaning humanity that also translates to: “I am because we are”, we encouraged the neighbors to collect their water from our borehole. We opened the gate and connected the pipe. Very quickly, the word spread, and old and young gathered with various-sized containers to collect this life-giving liquid. There was much laughter and chatter, along with some singing as bucket after bucket was filled. It was heartwarming to watch the young help the elderly carry their water home before returning for their own bucket. And as long as our family’s borehole is working, we practice Ubuntu.
“It is not safe to let strangers on to your property,” some say. But humanity drives us to take the risk because the burden is lessened when shared. It is what we need for our collective survival.
A simple act of sharing water has spread hope in the community that we can overcome the difficulties we face together.
1. What did the author find when arriving home?| A．Plastic bottles piled upon the road. |
| B．Neighbors were short of water. |
| C．Water trucks were out of service. |
| D．Public facilities were damaged. |
| A．Forward-looking. | B．Hard-working. | C．Well-educated. | D．Self-confident. |
| A．One good tum deserves another. |
| B．A man can do no more than he can. |
| C．Hardship makes a man wise, not rich. |
| D．We are stronger when standing together. |
| A．Property. | B．Humanity. | C．Risk. | D．Burden. |
8 . & Juliet Musical on Broadway
She’s stronger than yesterday! Following a successful three-year run in London’s West End, the pop musical Juliet is now on Broadway with nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.
What is & Juliet about?
It kicks off nearly where Romeo & Juliet left off: right before Juliet’s death. This isn’t a retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy, though. It’s a whole new story in which Juliet decides losing Romeo doesn’t mean she should die. Instead, she goes on a journey of self-discovery to Paris. Accompanied by her friends, including some characters from the original play, like the nurse, as well as new characters, like her friends Francois and May, she goes to parties, makes new friends, and sees what the world has to offer beyond the walls of Verona.
What songs are in & Juliet?
You may listen to top 40 radio, but you’ve never heard your favorite songs like this. & Juliet has one new song, but the show mostly includes existing popular music. All 30 pop songs in & Juliet were written or co-written by Max Martin, who’s behind the hits of stars like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and The Backstreet Boys. Anyone who grew up with, or just knows all the words to, hits from the 90s through today will relive their teenage dreams at this show.
More information about & Juliet
Since having its world premiere (首映) in 2019 in London’s West End, & Juliet made its North American debut in Toronto and also its Australian premiere in Melbourne in February 2023.
Pick your tickets
| A．She follows Romeo’s footsteps. | B．She starts a new chapter. |
| C．She returns to Verona. | D．She travels globally. |
| A．They feature classical styles. | B．They reflect teenage dreams. |
| C．They are originally composed. | D．They are created by a master. |
| A．May 7. | B．May 20. | C．May 26. | D．May 30. |
9 . Europe draws unnecessarily too much on the earth’s food resources, which is why researchers are calling for political actions to reduce food loss and waste on the continent.
According to researchers, “food loss” occurs from the primary agricultural sector to the food processing industry and the wholesale sector, while from the retail (零售) sector towards the service industry and households, we refer to it as “food waste”.
“Halving Europe’s food loss and waste could largely help solve the challenges of food shortages in the world,” says Marianne Thomson, research leader and professor of sustainable food systems at UCPH. The researchers’ calculations show halving food loss and waste in Europe equals saving 8% of the greenhouse gas, along with a saving of about 12% of agricultural areas. In addition, there is a saving of 7% of water consumption, and 14% of energy in the food production for the citizens of Europe.
The calculations apply a consumption-based approach. This includes the greenhouse gas from locally produced and imported food in European countries, while leaving out foods produced inside but exported to other countries.
This is why countries should take actions to reduce food loss and waste at all stages of the food supply chain. Marianne Thomson introduces monitoring and reporting of food loss and waste by all actors along the food supply chain as an important action.
Such an action, combined with other types of similar actions, may be a strong encouragement for companies and the rest of society to put in time and money for new technology and combined efforts to prevent food loss and waste along the food supply chain. Producing companies can cooperate on upcycling (升级改造) products. The service industry can apply upcycled materials produced from food not needed in the wholesale sector, and at the same time encourage costumers to take smaller portions by reducing the plate size.
“Cutting food loss and waste by 50% in Europe requires political actions, and also the actions need to adapt to national circumstances and specific regional and local challenges,” says Marianne Thomson.
1. What is the researchers’ ultimate aim?| A．To decrease food loss and waste. |
| B．To criticize Europe for overusing food. |
| C．To look for new products for Europeans. |
| D．To arouse people’s awareness of food shortage. |
| A．Possible causes. | B．Solving strategies. |
| C．Research findings. | D．Calculating methods. |
| A．It requires producing less food for citizens of Europe. |
| B．It gives no consideration to the food produced out of Europe. |
| C．It needs joint efforts of everyone along the food supply chain. |
| D．It costs too much time and money of food producing companies. |
| A．Food loss and waste appear at every stage of the supply chain. |
| B．Smaller sizes of plates lead to people’s eating more than they need. |
| C．Political actions to reduce food loss and waste meet with no difficulty. |
| D．Cutting food loss and waste in Europe by 50% means saving 14% agricultural lands. |
10 . After seeing the difficult living conditions for children in a migrant (移民) camp in Tijuana, Mexico, Estefanía Rebellón took matters into her own hands.
She could not believe what she saw: families lacking even the most basic supplies. The children, sometimes shoeless and often dirty, clearly had no place to go.
Back at home, Rebellón could think of nothing else. “We have to do something,” she told her partner, Kyle Thomas Schmidt. A school — a safe place for the children to gather and learn — seemed much-needed. So, Rebellón and Schmidt hired volunteer teachers via social media, and using a thousand dollars from their savings, set up a temporary school at the Tijuana border. Classes were held in two large tents.
In five years, that pilot program has grown into the non-profit Yes We Can World Foundation, which operates three classrooms in transformed school buses and two schools in Tijuana, plus another in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican city directly across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Funded by donations, the foundation’s now well-trained teachers have provided a bilingual education to more than 3,000 kids from ages 3 to 15. The schools follow an official curriculum (课程) from Mexico’s education ministry. As well, Yes We Can offers special courses, including one that helps kids understand more about human migration.
“The program’s success is easy to see,” says Josh Phelps, former director of operations for World Central Kitchen, which has provided meals to some Yes We Can schools. “The kids really enjoy it. There are huge smiles on their faces.”
More than 6.6 million people live in refugee camps around the world, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Rebellón says she’d like to expand the foundation’s reach and support migrant children globally.
“She is a powerhouse,” says Phelps, “and, I think, one of the most important people doing work at the border right now.”
1. What does the underlined part “took matters into her own hands” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Relied on others. | B．Got rid of it. |
| C．Took it into account. | D．Dealt with it herself. |
| A．To find houses for migrants. |
| B．To establish a school for migrant children. |
| C．To raise money for migrants. |
| D．To provide migrants with daily necessities. |
| A．Easy-going and ambitious. | B．Quick-thinking and generous. |
| C．Open-minded and imaginative. | D．Warm-hearted and responsible. |
| A．How We Can Provide Education for Migrants? |
| B．One Woman Founded Schools for Migrant Children |
| C．One of the Greatest Women in the World — Rebellón |
| D．Yes We Can World Foundation — a Nonprofit Organization |
