1 . A gap year in South Africa after high school lit Emily Parfit’s passion for education, which she loved so much that she considered remaining in South Africa and giving up a college education.

Her father talked with her about how she could have an impact on the kids that came to her classroom every year if she stayed. He also told her she could come back, get a college education and have a much broader, systemic impact. That conversation convinced Parfit to return and concentrate on mechanical engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

She loved math classes, computer science classes and physics classes, as what all of those subjects have in common is finding ways of dealing with problems, and that’s been the theme that runs throughout her career. She loved addressing tricky problems, breaking them down into their component pieces, and dealing with them one at a time.

Parfit combined that love and the method to build a career settling some of the most pressing challenges in education. She’s a partner at Education Resource Strategies (ERS), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that helps U.S. school districts promote fairness in education and improved outcomes for all of their students—especially those with the greatest learning needs and those being furthest from the educational opportunity. “I’m so glad I can apply the skills I built in the field of education,” she said.

Parfit doesn’t stop here. She teamed up with local businesses to offer internships (实习岗位) to high school students, and engaged with community partners who can offer enrichment activities. “For so long, schools have been a place where one teacher faces a fixed number of kids,” Parfit said. “Schools and systems were set up as if all students needed the same things. We’re trying to cooperate with communities to broaden available resources to create learning experiences beyond a classroom that unlock every child’s potential.”

1. What did Parfit do after her gap year in South Africa?

A．She majored in education.	B．She stayed there to teach.
C．She sought higher education.	D．She bonded with her father.

2. How did college education benefit Parfit?

A．It made her a partner of ERS.	B．It enabled her to start a business.
C．It gave access to professional courses.	D．It developed her problem-solving techniques.

3. What is the goal of ERS?

A．To combine love with teaching.	B．To bring equal education to US kids.
C．To meet US students’ learning needs.	D．To help US kids study with a good approach.

4. Why did Parfit go into partnership with the community?

A．To enrich classroom activities.	B．To inspire students’ love for learning.
C．To widen students’ working experience.	D．To offer out-of-class learning opportunities.

2 . In the quest for academic excellence and a deeper understanding of subjects, high school students often seek additional resources to complement their learning. Textbooks, both traditional and digital, play a vital role in this journey. Here’s a look at several textbook options that satisfy different learning styles and needs.

Modern World History Explained

Dive into the complexities of global events with “Modern World History Explained.” This textbook offers comprehensive coverage of historical milestones from the 15th century to the present, enriched with interactive timelines and critical thinking exercises.

Price: $75

Format: Hardcover and digital access

Supplementary Materials: Online quizzes and interactive maps

Advanced Mathematics Unlocked

Unlock the world of advanced mathematics with this textbook designed for students who wish to challenge themselves beyond the standard curriculum. It includes topics in calculus, statistics, and advanced geometry, with problem sets and conceptual explanations.

Price: $65

Format: Softcover and digital access

Supplementary Materials: Video tutorials and practice exams

Chemistry in Context: Applying Chemistry to Society

“Chemistry in Context” is tailored for students who are curious about the role of chemistry in our daily lives and global challenges. It covers basic concepts of chemistry and their applications in environmental science, technology, and health.

Price: $70

Format: Softcover and digital access

Supplementary Materials: Interactive experiments and case studies

Language Arts: Expression and Understanding

This textbook is designed to enhance language arts skills, focusing on literature, composition, and critical analysis. It provides a diverse range of readings, writing prompts (提示) , and grammar exercises tailored to high school students.

Price: $60

Format: Hardcover and digital access

Supplementary Materials: Online discussion forums and writing workshops

1. What is unique about “Advanced Mathematics Unlocked”?

A．It covers multiple topics.	B．It provides online guidance.
C．It suits above-average learners.	D．It assesses academic performance.

2. If a student wants to purchase textbooks over critical thinking, he’ll pay at most ________.

A．$145.

B．$140.

C．$135.

D．$130.

3. What is common to all the textbooks mentioned in terms of availability?

A．They include digital access with purchasing.	B．They come with a suite of video tutorials.
C．They offer interactive experiences.	D．They have hardcover format.

3 . After ending a mining season in Colorado in 2018, Todd was ready to get back in the game. Gold mining runs in his ________. Jack, Todd’s father, mined for gold in the 1980s, but never struck it ________. Now, Todd is more determined than ever to make good on his father’s dreams.

This time around Todd is ________ his life savings into a run-down mine located nearly 100 miles north of Nome, Alaska. ________, after years of greenhorn crews, worn-out equipment, and little to no results, Todd can’t afford any ________.

Hit by the recession (经济衰退), Todd Hoffman decided to take the biggest ________ of his life and headed north in search of gold. ________ with little more than a dream and devoted crew, Todd learns gold mining in a ________ way. Conditions are dangerous, pay dirt (矿石) are never ________, and disaster hides around every corner.

In order to make his dream a reality, he’s ________ his closest family and friends. Joining Todd in Alaska will be his father Jack and his son Hunter along with an experienced crew of ________. For Todd, it’s more than just finding gold — this could be Todd’s last ________ to set up his family for generations to come and share the wealth with his friends who’ve ________ by his side over the years. This is Todd’s time to prove he has what it ________ to hit the ultimate mother-lode (终极矿脉). One thing is for sure… the ________ is on.

1.

A．blood

B．head

C．eye

D．skin

2.

A．important

B．valuable

C．strong

D．big

3.

A．depositing

B．expanding

C．emptying

D．narrowing

4.

A．Besides

B．However

C．Moreover

D．Otherwise

5.

A．mistakes

B．savings

C．crews

D．dreams

6.

A．fortune

B．risk

C．discovery

D．promise

7.

A．Impressed

B．Satisfied

C．Armed

D．Compared

8.

A．skilful

B．different

C．new

D．hard

9.

A．guaranteed

B．reflected

C．suspended

D．updated

10.

A．agreeing with

B．picking up

C．working out

D．bringing in

11.

A．instructors

B．miners

C．competitors

D．owners

12.

A．dream

B．game

C．chance

D．success

13.

A．stuck

B．passed

C．got

D．fixed

14.

A．means

B．decides

C．takes

D．seems

15.

A．future

B．gold

C．friendship

D．pressure

4 . Electric vehicles (EVs) are due for huge upgrades in driving range and charging times as new battery technologies are introduced. Lithium (Li) -ion (锂离子) batteries could be out of date in a few years as alternatives like Li-sulfur, Li-air and Li-metal enter production. Meanwhile, quantum (量子) battery charging promises to reduce charge times from hours to seconds.

Scientists at the University of Michigan have produced a stable Li-sulfur battery using Kevlar, the material used in body armor, to increase the amount it can be charged and discharged. Fibers in the Kevlar stop certain parts of lithium from growing between the electrodes (电极) and destroying the battery. Research group leader Nicholas Kotov called the design “nearly perfect” in terms of capacity and efficiency. The battery can handle summer heat and winter cold extremes, and in real-world driving conditions, its lifespan should be 1, 000 cycles or ten years.

Sulfur is a great alternative for EVs because it is a tiny amount of the cost of metals like what is used in Li-ion battery electrodes, and there is simply more of it. Mainstream electric cars fitted with its battery could achieve around 900 miles on a single charge. Battery researchers say the Li-sulfur battery’s energy density could theoretically be 10 times higher than the best Li-ion battery, so it will drive further, be safer and more environmentally friendly, for less money.

In Japan, university researchers have teamed up with a telecommunications company to develop a Li-air battery with an energy density (500 Wh/kg) two to five times better than Li-ion.

Newer quantum technologies that will speed up vehicle charging times are added to these breakthroughs in battery materials and energy density. Li-metal, often talked about as solid-state batteries, are long-lasting and capable of rapid charging, especially when they are paired with quantum technologies that connect all the battery cells simultaneously. And once investments in quantum charging and batteries are made, it could revolutionize transport and the way we use energy worldwide.

1. What can we learn about Kevlar?

A．It will speed up vehicle charging.	B．It can lengthen battery’s cycle life.
C．It can boost EV range to 1000 miles.	D．It will break down in extreme weather.

2. Why is Sulfur a fantastic option for EVs?

A．It has been tested in Li-ion battery.

B．It is less expensive and more accessible.

C．Li-sulfur battery has been installed in mainstream EVs.

D．Li-sulfur battery features a higher energy density than Li-metal.

3. What can we conclude from the last paragraph?

A．Quantum technologies give rise to Li-metal.

B．Battery materials determine vehicle charging speed.

C．Li-metal is more efficient in charging than Li-sulfur.

D．More investments are needed in quantum technology.

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

A．Which Battery Suits Evs Best?

B．What Is The Future Road Of EVs?

C．Why Will Li-ion Batteries Be Replaced?

D．How Will Reformed Lithium Batteries Influence Evs?

5 . Aviation is a big polluter. Cutting the sector’s impact on global warming is high on the agenda. Although many governments are regulating emissions from cars and trucks, air transportation is technologically rooted in old patterns.

Facing the reality that the sector will keep emitting a lot, ICAO has established an international carbon-trading plan—Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA. This encourages wide use of offsets (抵消) : aviation companies can buy emissions credits or invest in sectors that store carbon, such as forestry, to allow them to carry on as normal. CORSIA aims to keep CO2 emissions at 2019 levels through such purchases for emissions over that year’s baseline. ICAO predicts that increasing demand might reach 1. 7 billion tons by 2035, potentially making aviation the largest offset market in the world.

Yet offsetting faces a fundamental challenge: the size of the offset requires estimating flows of warming pollution that would have occurred if the carbon-removal project hadn’t existed, and comparing them against flows with the project in place. The former — a baseline that is unobservable — is a hotbed for shady accounting.

The vast majority of offsets today and in the expected future come from forest-protection and regrowth projects. The track record of reliable accounting in these industries is poor, because they lack convincing baselines. Even with oversight, forest projects are often troubled by wild assumptions, for example that trees would disappear completely from these areas in the absence of those projects, even when there are other forest protections in place. Such assumptions drive up baselines and flood the market with huge volumes of offsets. They make it easier for accountants to claim a net reduction in emissions even though the atmosphere sees little or no benefit. These problems are essentially unfixable. Evidence is mounting that offsetting as a strategy for reaching net zero is a dead end.

In our view, this approach could prove dangerously narrow. Removing aviation’s impact on global warming means upending the industry. The longer that reality is overlooked, the harder it will be to find effective solutions.

1. What does aviation refer to in the passage?

A．A project which needs revising.	B．A resource which needs trading.
C．A market which needs expanding.	D．An industry which needs reforming.

2. Why should aviation companies buy emissions credits?

A．To support the development of forestry.	B．To earn the largest profit in offset market.
C．To keep the levels of emission unchanged.	D．To make up for emissions over the baseline.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．Too many offsets are filling the market now.

B．Some projects may cheat to create more offsets.

C．Offsetting contributes a lot to reducing emissions.

D．Trees would totally disappear without the projects.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the CORSIA?

A．Disapproving.

B．Confused.

C．Favorable.

D．Unconcerned.

6 . Here are a few places to harvest some of the best treats of spring, summer, and fall.

Waters Orchard (果园) |Gaithersburg, MD

This is a great place for apple picking. Just come in late summer and fall. After parking, it’s a 5-10 minutes’ walk to the orchard. Hours are12:00 — 5:00 p.m. on Fridays, and 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. on weekends. Pick-your-own (PYO) pricing is by the peck (配克) — $15/half peck, $22/peck, and an entry fee for two is included. It’s $5/guest after that.

Homestead Farm | Poolesville, MD

Homestead Farm no longer grows strawberries. Its first crop will be tart cherries in June, and other berries will be ripe soon after. Peaches and apples come later. There are also animals to visit (goats, pigs, and chickens), and watching goats climb along the goat walk is always a trip for kids. The farm operates seven days a week, and PYO hours are 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m..

Hollin Farms | Delaplane, VA

Hollin Farms’ strawberry picking season will begin in late May and last several weeks. Hours are 9:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday. If you come in summer, peaches, blackberries, red raspberries and sour cherries are available. Apples are ready in late summer, and fall brings green vegetables, potatoes, and dig-your-own peanuts. And a special P.S. (备注) to meat lovers: they pride themselves on their grass-fed beef.

Great Country Farms | Bluemont, VA

Great Country Farms is well-known for its seasonal festivals and fun farm-themed attractions. Their U-pick strawberry fields will open in May. The weekends of May 20 — 21 and May 27 — 28 are the annual Strawberry Jubilee with live music, pie-eating contests, tasty food, and more. Admission is $10/child and $12/adult, and it’s open daily during 9:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m..

1. How much should a family of four pay if they buy 2-peck apples?

A．$40.

B．$44.

C．$49.

D．$54.

2. Which time is suitable for people to visit Hollin Farms?

A．3:00 p.m. on Monday.	B．11:00 a.m. on Thursday.
C．8:30 a.m. on Saturday.	D．5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

3. What can visitors do at Great Country Farms on May 21?

A．Pick strawberries and peaches.	B．Enjoy grass-fed beef for free.
C．Interact with goats and chickens.	D．Take part in a pie-eating contest.

7 . Loneliness is a bigger health threat than smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new research. Our ancestors likely did not suffer from a lack of companions. Why has loneliness become such a threat? How might it be addressed?

In the distant past, there were few complaints about loneliness. Indeed, every person in a community including children was up to speed on every detail of the lives of everyone else. Instead of suffering from loneliness, our distant ancestors were oppressed (被压迫) by a lack of privacy.     1     They facilitate distance. How did loneliness take over contemporary life?

Typically, people move away from family and friends for work opportunities. Yet, cities often function as gatherings of relative strangers rather than functional communities. The many people wandering around in a city are irrelevant if we have no social connection with them. Migrants to cities may establish various meaningful social links.     2     These might be the people we work among, those who frequent a coffee shop, or members of a gym or sports club. Such associations are not made automatically.     3     In some cases, those who eagerly need social connection can fare poorly in cities.

    4     According to the U. S. Surgeon General’s Report on Loneliness, people who spend more time online are lonelier. People who claim thousands of online “friends” are often chronically anxious, disconnected and depressed. Perhaps, they would gain better social bonus by being kind to people in real life.

Virtually, not everyone needs constant companionship. This is not merely a question of how extroverted a person is.     5     People with a strong sense of external purpose barely suffer from loneliness, whether they perfect their dance moves, get involved in political activism or train service dogs. In this vein, anyone who cultivates a love of nature may become a part of the natural world. That is an endless source of peace, happiness, and connection.

A．Their habits contributed to loneliness.

B．They require openness, initiative and effort.

C．Rather, it reflects how someone leads their life.

D．Outgoing people will live a busy life with social media.

E．Today, social media bring back the invasions of privacy.

F．Many turn to social media for companionship with mixed results.

G．However, associations are often formed through accidental networks.

8 . When it comes to technology, never before have we been both more dependent, and more cautious. Society is more connected, but also more lonely ; more productive, but also more burnt-out; we have more privacy tools, but arguably less privacy. Would it be wrong to say we are becoming disappointed with it?

There’s no doubt that some tech innovation has been universally great. A new antibiotic that killed a previously deadly superbug was invented by an Al tool. Machines that can suck carbon dioxide out of the air could be a huge help in the fight against climate change. But on the other hand, tech-related scandals (丑闻) dominate headlines. Stories about cyberattacks and horrible online abuse are regularly on the news. “Like everything, tech has a dark side. It is a two-edged sword,” says veteran Silicon Valley watcher, Prof Mike Malone.

“Fundamentally, if there was a problem people would, should, stop using it,” Paolo Pescatore, an analyst, says . But he then goes on to talk about the peer pressure to remain plugged in -from colleagues, friends and family, and even from governments wanting to switch to digital services.

Mr Halgas, a young tech boss with big ambition, tells me that the industry has become a more easily affected place for its staff. “Tech workers were very comfortable in our jobs,” he explains. “People used to say , ‘Google isn’t a job; it’s a retirement plan’. Those days are long gone.” “Tech workers thought they were safe from automation: now we are among the people who might be replaced by code-writing Al tools,” he says.

A recent survey by PR firm Edelman suggested that 52% of people in the UK believed tech innovation was developing too fast, and 70% thought tech bosses should develop new tech slowly.

Realistically, there is practically zero chance of that happening. The money and power that is flooding in, particularly to the AI sector, speaks for itself. “But the outpouring of public debate that also centers around it is healthy”, argues Prof Malone.“ We’re not just blindly embracing new tech anymore and that’s a good thing,” he says.

1. What do Mr Halgas’s words indicate?

A．Tech industry is taking a bad turn.	B．Workers in tech industry are comfortable.
C．Google provides detailed retirement plans.	D．Tech workers may be replaced someday.

2. What can we learn about new tech from the last 2 paragraphs?

A．New tech is well received currently.	B．New tech can not flood into the Al sector.
C．New tech is under sensible discussion now.	D．New tech is criticized for developing too slow.

3. What will the follow-up text focus on?

A．A bolder attitude to developing new tech.	B．An urgent appeal to welcome new tech.
C．A balanced approach to embracing new tech.	D．A comprehensive plan to advance new tech.

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

A．Should the Public Embrace Digital Services?	B．Can Innovative Technology Follow Up?
C．Is It Good to Slow Tech Innovation Down?	D．Should We Have Faith in Technology?

9 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What instrument did the speaker play when she was young?

A．The piano.

B．The guitar

C．The violin

2. Where is the theater located?

A．In London.

B．In Sydney

C．In New York

3. Why is winning this competition important to the listeners?

A．They’ll meet famous performers.

B．They’ll have a brighter future.

C．They’ll get a chance to travel the world.

4. How many hours will the performances last?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Seven.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. How long did the hike take?

A．Three days

B．Eight days

C．Fourteen days.

2. What was the main landscape during the hike?

A．Mountains.

B．Woodlands

C．Desert.

3. What animal did the man see in camp?

A．A lion.

B．A wolf.

C．A snake