1 . Here are some ways to introduce classical music to your children.

●When you read a story to your children, pick out a classical music piece that matches the emotion of the book.     1     After getting used to reading in time with the music, tell your children you have a special surprise for them. Read them the story in the new way, and they will surely be delighted!

●If your kids are always moving around, try introducing classical music to them by dancing. Instruct your children to listen to the music and dance however the music makes them feel. Parents dance with them!     2    

●Before your kids begin playtime, make a list of classical music pieces with the name of the person who wrote it.     3     Tell them something about the person they picked to listen to. Before long, your children will have a basic knowledge of the person who wrote the piece.

●    4     Make sure your children listen to the music and create their picture to however the music makes them feel. Once everyone is finished, listen to the music again and explain your creations.

●You can pick out three pieces of music to play during the week.     5     At the end of the week have a listening game to see who can remember the name of the piece when you play it. Games are always a fun way to introduce learning concepts.

A．Have your children pick one.

B．Practice reading the story out loud with the music.

C．Mix up the music and see how your children react.

D．Classical music can be fun, and not boring to listen to.

E．Tell your children the name of the piece every time you play it.

F．Make sure you tell your children what the piece is and who wrote it.

G．While you and your children paint, play different classical music pieces.

2 . What have humans done to deserve dogs? They greet us when we come home, comfort us when we’re sad and generally act as loyal companions.

Now, researchers are investigating whether tumors (肿瘤) in dogs may help treat tumors in humans. In early April, the Jackson Laboratory began collecting samples of canine (犬的) tumors. Cells from these tumors inserted into mice could help test new drugs and improve our understanding about how cancer develops and progresses.

Although cancer results from many factors, genes play a critical role. That means the genetic makeup of a tumor can help determine which drugs work against it. So having a broad and diverse pool of genetic makeups increases the chances of finding the right way to attack each disease. This thinking is particularly relevant for rare cancers and rare mutations (突变). Drawing from a larger pool means more genetic mutations to research.

And using tumors from dogs is a nearly ideal way to widen that pool. They’re exposed to many of the same environmental factors that might cause cancer in their owners, notes Dr. Christopher Fulkerson. Some bone and brain cancers are far more common in dogs than they are in people, making samples easier to find.

In many cases, the cells in a dog’s cancer look and act the same as they would in a human. They can even carry the same genetic mutations. However, not all canine cancers will be particularly helpful for human-focused research. For some types, the similarities between human and dog diseases will be significant. But when they aren’t, warns Dr. Jaime Modiano, the differences could have serious consequences for drug development.

But even when the research doesn’t advance knowledge of human cancers, it could still help improve the treatment of dogs diagnosed (确诊) with cancer. That's the least we can do for our faithful friends.

1. What are the purposes of collecting canine tumors?

A．To help design new drugs.

B．To better understand cancer.

C．To prove dogs are our faithful friends.

D．To show cancer results from many factors.

2. Why is using tumors from dogs an ideal way?

A．Many dogs have bone and brain cancers.

B．Dogs and their owners are good companions.

C．Dogs and their owners have similar living conditions and cancer types.

D．Using tumors from dogs can help determine which drugs work better.

3. What does the author indicate by mentioning Dr. Jaime Modiano?

A．It’s useless to study cancers from dogs.

B．Studies on cancers from dogs will bring harmful results.

C．Cancers from dogs may not be helpful for fighting human cancers.

D．Some similarities between human and dog diseases are significant.

4. What’s the author’s attitude to the research?

A．Unconcerned.	B．Doubtful.
C．Pessimistic.	D．Optimistic.

3 . Harvard University’s Claudia Goldi n has won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics for her research on women in the labor market. She studies the changing role of working women through the centuries, and the causes of the consistent pay gap between men and women. The award comes with a prize of about $1 million. Goldi n is the third woman to receive the prize.

“Claudia Goldin’s discoveries have vast society significance,” said Randi Hjalmarsson, a member of the Nobel committee. “She has shown us that the nature of this problem or the source of these possible or underlying gender gap s changes throughout history and with the course of development.”

Goldin’s research showed that women’s role in the job market has not moved in a straight line, but has risen and fallen with social regulations and women’s own ideas about their prospects in the workplace and the home. Some of these ideas are shaped early in life and are slow to change.

“She can explain why the gender gap suddenly started to close in the 1980s and the surprising role of the birth control pill and changing expectation,” Hjalmarsson said. “And she can explain why the earnings gap has stopped closing today and the role of parenthood.”

Looking back the history of women in the workplace was easier said than done. The Nobel committee said Goldi n often had to deal with spotty records.

Women currently fill nearly half the jobs in the U. S. but typically earn less. They briefly outnumbered men on pay lists in late 2019 and early 2020, but women dropped out of the workforce in large numbers early in the pandemic (大流行病), and their ranks have only recently recovered.

Some forecasters think women’s role in the workplace will continue to grow as they pass men on college campuses and as service fields such as health care expand.

“Understanding women’s role in labor is important for society,” said Jakob Svensson, chair of the prize committee. “Thanks to Claudia Goldin’s groundbreaking research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and which barriers may need to be addressed in the future.”

1. Why was the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Goldin?

A．She realized the importance of women in the labour market.

B．She researched the changing role of working women for a long time.

C．She found the causes of income inequality between men and women.

D．She did pioneering studies on the role of women in the labour market.

2. What does the underlined word “underlying” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Organic.

B．Potential.

C．Fundamental.

D．Preferred.

3. Why did the gender gap suddenly start to narrow in the 1980s?

A．Parenthood played an important role.

B．Women’s own ideas about work have improved.

C．The income gap between men and women has been narrowed.

D．Birth control pills and changes in expectation played an amazing role.

4. What can we infer from paragraph 6?

A．Gender pay gap remains.

B．Women employed had briefly outperformed men.

C．Women’s role in the workplace will continue to grow.

D．Many women pulled out of the workforce in the pandemic.

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Chinese drinking vessels (器皿) have kept evolving throughout the dynasties of China,     1     reflect the ceremony system,     2     (culture) ideas, customs and manners at that time.

In Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, ancient China established itself a complete ceremony system.     3     (drive) by the system, it’s widely believed that it’s impolite to serve     4     alcohol, which helped greatly promote the     5     (popular) and use of bronze (青铜) drinking vessels,     6     (make) them a significant symbol of bronze culture in this period. The drinking vessels came with a variety of shapes and sizes.

Drinking wine was     7     (extreme) popular in the Tang Dynasty. Among more than 40,000 poems included in the Complete Tang Poems, there are up     8     5,400 poems written about wine. The drinking vessels mentioned in Tang poetry are rich in material, including metal vessels as well as ceramic (陶瓷) vessels, which boomed in the Song Dynasty.

Jingdezhen ceramics in Jiangxi Province     9     (last) for five or six hundred years throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, where a surprisingly large number and a wide variety of wine sets were created. Ceramic wine sets reached the peak of perfection in the Qing Dynasty, which     10     (represent) by the set of wine cups with flowers of the twelve months from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.

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。

Facial recognition technology,     1     has been widely used in identifying an individual’s identity, is now moving beyond human faces.

At a digital monitoring center of the Yellow River Delta national nature reserve in Dongying, Shandong province, a variety of data is on display on a large screen, showing the real-time situations of     2     (it) biodiversity. In the past, the vast nature reserve with a diverse bird population     3     (pose) lots of challenges for scientists in tracking the biodiversity and conducting on-site monitoring. Today staff members at the reserve can monitor and record the biodiversity situation in real time     4     (simple) through an intelligent monitoring platform.

The monitoring platform takes advantage of information technologies such as big data, remote sensing and artificial intelligence     5     (establish) an integrated sky-to-ground monitoring network. After terminal collection devices send data to the cloud via a well-covered 5G network, AI performs real-time identification and annotation (注释), presenting results on the monitoring platform while     6     (conduct) a series of data analyses.

The use of science and technology plays     7     significant role in the biodiversity conservation. It helps the reserve with intelligent species recognition and provides real-time monitoring without too much human involvement, effectively enhancing conservation management and the efficiency of     8     (decide) making and problem solving. Seeing     9     disturbing, guarding without interfering (干涉) — that is the     10     (great) respect humankind can show nature.

6 . Climate change isn’t just about rising seas and hotter heatwaves; it’s also bringing about a pothole (坑洞) disaster on our roads! In 2023, the UK reported nearly 630,000 pothole complaints—a shocking five-year peak. Across the road, the USA saw a shocking 57% increase in vehicle damages due to potholes compared to 2021. What’s causing this asphalt (沥青) disaster? Climate change is a key factor, damaging our streets with severe weather and rising temperatures.

The science behind this damages is astonishing. Dr. Hassan Davani, an engineering expert, explains that intense heat can soften roads, leading to cracks and potholes. Floods, another climate change mark, wash away road surfaces. Adding to the mess are increased freeze-thaw (冻融) cycles, which create damaged ice lenses under the road. When these melt, they leave behind the terrible potholes.

But fear not! There’s hope on the horizon with cutting-edge innovations. Certain regions are adopting pavements designed to endure broader temperature ranges. Gabe Cimini, a pavement engineering expert, points to California’s use of specialized asphalt mixes that can resist temperatures from58℃ to a freezing -32℃.

And there’s more! Modern Hydrogen, a pioneering climate tech startup backed by Bill Gates, is transforming road repair. By using solid carbon from carbon capture in asphalt, they’re crafting roads that are 250% more solid, enduring higher temperatures and reducing CO₂ emissions. This revolutionary asphalt is already hitting roads in the US and Canada.

Self-healing pavement, or “smart asphalt,” is another game-changer. Imagine roads that can repair themselves! Some newer versions use steel fibres that heat up, melting the mortar (灰浆) to completely mend potholes.

While these innovations promise smoother and more solid roads in our climate-impacted world, widespread adoption might still be a few years away. So prepare for an uncomfortable ride, but remember, smoother streets are on the horizon!

1. How does the author stress the serious pothole disasters?

A．By stating viewpoints.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By making a list of cases.	D．By supposing a situation.

2. What does the author mainly intend to do in paragraph 2?

A．Analyze causes.	B．Describe scenes.
C．Make arguments.	D．Conclude science findings.

3. What did Gabe Cimini do to solve the problem of road damage?

A．Increase the temperature of the asphalt.	B．Use solid carbon to make asphalt stronger.
C．Improve the endurance of asphalt mixture.	D．Get the road to repair itself by smart asphalt.

4. What does the author think of the innovations?

A．None of them are available now.	B．They will be more widely used in the future.
C．They need support from the governments.	D．They are impractical solutions to the current disaster.

7 . Christmas jobs for you

With Christmas getting more expensive year on year, it’s a time when many of us consider how we might be able to make a little extra cash over the festive period—for all the wine and cheese we want to buy, of course. Luckily, this time of the year is great for jobseekers, as thousands of temporary seasonal job roles crop up, creating a unique opportunity to earn an extra bit of cash to cover the cost of the extra food and gifts we’ll all be buying. So, if you need to boost your bank account this festive season, or just want to avoid getting into debt, here are several top Christmas jobs to consider.

Picker Packer

As a Picker Packer, you’ll be expected to pack a range of goods ready to fill the shelves for Christmas shoppers.

Location: Throughout the UK

Salary: £9.50 per hour

Ice Rink Marshall

Ice skating and winter go hand in hand. That’s where you come in. As an Ice Rink Marshall, you’ll be responsible for ensuring skaters stay safe and leave with smiles on their faces.

Location: London and Surrey

Salary: £11.21 per hour

Christmas Postal Worker/Mail Sorter

Mail increases over the Christmas period. From cards to gifts, as a Postal Worker, you’ll be responsible for delivering Chrismas parcels(and cheer)to homes across the UK. You may need a UK driving license for some roles.

Location: Throughout the UK

Salary: £12.00 per hour

Santa

Think you’ve got what it takes to imitate Saint Nick? Apply for a role as Santa. A theatrical spirit and ability to work well with children will help (along with a booming “ho, ho, ho.”).

Location: Throughout the UK

Salary: £9.60 per hour

Apply for other Christmas jobs, please click here for more information.

1. Where is a Picker Packer supposed to work?

A．On the ice.

B．In a factory.

C．In the post office.

D．In a shop.

2. Which job has the highest salary?

A．Santa.

B．Picker Packer.

C．Postal Worker.

D．Ice Rink Marshall.

3. Where is the text from?

A．On the Internet.	B．In the newspaper.
C．In a travel journal.	D．On the television.

8 . 听下面一段独白, 回答以下小题。
1. When did Peter Brook pass away?

A．In 2020.

B．In 2021.

C．In 2022.

2. Which film was showed in 1970?

A．A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

B．Lord of the Flies.

C．King Lear.

3. What did Peter Brook do in 1972?

A．He gave up his main career.

B．He decided to settle in Paris.

C．He started an adventure across Africa.

4. Who might Oliver Sacks be?

A．A director.

B．A writer.

C．An actor.

9 . Peer-to-Peer lending has become the poster child of the alternative finance industry. By the end of March 2016, the sector had attracted over £5 billion in investments. If the P2P phenomenon has escaped your attention, now it might be just the right time to take note.

P2P lending is the now well-established practice of lending money to individuals or businesses through online services that match lenders, investors, directly with borrowers, enabling both parties to bypass conventional providers such as banks.

Lenders typically achieve better rates of return than would be available from traditional providers. Likewise, borrowers have gain access to flexible and competitively priced loans since the banking crisis of 2008. And that’s why P2P is confidently anticipated to become an ever-increasing force within the financial marketplace, even when interest rates begin to climb, given its significantly lower cost relative to traditional lending providers.

From 6th April 2016, through the introduction of the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA), savings accounts started paying interest tax-free and, as a result, an astonishing 95% of all UK adults no longer pay tax on any of their savings — it’s the biggest shake-up in the savings market for at least a generation.

Comparing P2P lending with deposit-based investment is relatively easy, but less so when comparing it to investing in the stock market (股市). Shares offer the potential for two types of return: an increase in the capital value of the shares themselves, plus a regular — and ideally increasing — income by way of the dividends (股息) paid by that company. What’s interesting to note, however, is that under the new PSA rules, dividend income from shares will not fall within your annual tax-free allowance and so they won’t enjoy the benefit of the favorable tax treatment afforded to investments such as P2P loans.

In the following articles, we’ll be discussing some of the other interesting aspects of this revolutionary way of investing. But, if you’re still suffering from all-time low interest rates in your savings account, it really could be time to consider doing something interesting with your money.

1. How is P2P lending distinct from traditional lending?

A．Money can only be lent to individuals online.	B．Lenders and borrowers are connected directly.
C．It provides flexible and higher priced loans.	D．It has attracted more money in investments.

2. Why does the author mention PSA in the passage?

A．To highlight the advantage of P2P lending.	B．To explain the shake-up in the savings market.
C．To illustrate the effects of PSA on investment.	D．To compare P2P lending with other investments.

3. What’s the best title of the text?

A．P2P, a New Way of Investing	B．High Risk, High Reward
C．PSA Shakes up the Market	D．Farewell, Traditional Providers

4. What will the author most probably talk about in the next article?

A．Some valuable suggestions on P2P.	B．Further analysis of low interest rates.
C．Another interesting investment way.	D．More noteworthy facts about P2P.

10 . Tours & Admission ｜Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

Explore the former estate (庄园) of F. A. Seiberling, co-founder of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

Guided Manor House Tour

Experience the Manor House through the eyes of a trained tour guide and learn more about what life was like at the estate when the Seiberling family lived here. This tour lasts about 75 minutes.

Non-member Adult 18 +: $21                  Non-member Youth（ages 3-17）: $10
Children 2 & under: Free                         Stan Hywet Members: 50% off the non-member price
Nooks & Crannies Tour

Take this tour to learn more about the domestic staff who worked and lived at the estate. This tour lasts about 90 minutes. It includes several flights of stairs and narrow passageways and is not recommended for guests who are unable to stand or walk for long distances.

Non-member Adult 18+: $ 30                  Non-member Youth（ages 3-17）: $ 15
Children 2 & under: Free                       Stan Hywet Members: 50% off the non-member price
Gardens, Gate Lodge & Corbin Conservatory

Enjoy Stan Hywet's historic gardens and grounds at your own pace on this self-guided grounds tour. Purchase the ticket upon arrival.

Non-member Adult 18+: $ 15                 Non-member Youth（ages 3-17）: $7
Children 2 & under: Free                       Stan Hywet Members: Free
Guided Garden Tour

The Guided Garden Tour takes guests around the estate and focuses on how the Seiberlings worked closely with their landscape architect on the overall design of the property. This tour is offered at 11:30 am & 2:30 pm, May through September.

Non-member Adult 18+: $ 21                  Non-member Youth（ages 3-17）: $ 10
Children 2 & under: Free                         Stan Hywet Members: 50% off the non-member price
1. How much should a non-member married couple pay to explore the Manor House?

A．$ 10.

B．$ 20.

C．$ 21.

D．$ 42.

2. What is special about Nooks & Crannies Tour?

A．It runs seasonally.	B．It is physically demanding.
C．It offers a trained tour guide.	D．It is only targeted at members.

3. Which one allows you to tour at leisure?

A．Guided Garden Tour.	B．Nooks & Crannies Tour.
C．Guided Manor House Tour.	D．Gardens, Gate Lodge & Corbin Conservatory.