1 . A pickup game is a game of some kind that is not part of a regularly scheduled season of competition or a championship series.    1    . There are no repercussions (负面影响) beyond the final score in terms of standings or future commitment.

    2    . But the types of games that use the term have expanded today. It is now used to refer to casually scheduled games of softball, volleyball, tennis, and even chess.

Pickup games are spontaneous (自发的) and informal.     3    . An all-men’s pickup game may be played as “Shirts vs No Shirts”; it is an easy way to identify teammates and distinguish them from the competitors. “Inside Shirts vs Out Shirts” “White Shirts vs Colored Shirts” and “Men vs Women” are other teams created with the goal of knowing who is who.

Recently, attempts have been made to use the Internet to schedule pickup games. This is a way of helping players connect with other players in their local area and allowing them to have complete teams whenever possible.     4    .   For example, gender, game choice, age, location, and how far they are willing to travel to a game. The main draw of pickup games is that they are meant to be a fun way to practice or show off skills with friends. If a player makes a mistake, he won’t be taken out of the game and worried about losing his playing time.     5    .

A．You could play pickup football, baseball, etc.

B．He can laugh it off and continue on with the game.

C．This method makes the game much more competitive.

D．Potential players are asked to provide their information.

E．The term “pick up game” often refers to basketball games.

F．Instead, it is a game with teams often made up on the spot.

G．But people have a variety of methods to pick teams and identify them.

2 . Floating homes, luxury living and smart home technology aren’t necessarily things that tend to go hand in hand. But Ocean Builders, a Panama-based company that specializes in marine technology, is to unveil a fleet of “living pods” that manage to bring all the three together. They are currently under construction in the Linton Bay Marina of Panama.

Named SeaPod, the pod was conceptualized by Rudiger Koch, Head of Engineering at Ocean Builders, along with Chief Executive Officer Grant Romundt, as a solution to the lack of space in popular beach destinations. It provides77 m² of living space, including a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. With room for two people, the unit utilizes over 47 m³ of hollow steel tubes to float 2.2 meters over the waves, and features big windows and 360-degree ocean views.

       Romundt hopes the design will challenge perceptions of homes and allow residents to live on the water without having to make sacrifices when it comes to the comforts of living on land. “Normally when you live on the water, it's on a boat, which has a living situation that is unacceptable to most people,” says Romundt. And the pods are to equipped with advanced technology, along with applications that tailor the design and function to suit those inside. Meanwhile, special “smart rings” worn by residents will enable them to unlock doors and switch their music on at the wave of a hand.
       As a long-time advocate for oceanfront living, Romundt previously lived in a floating home in Toronto, and says it's lifestyle that's hard to match. "It's very peaceful and beautiful. Most people spend all year dreaming of their two-week vacation where they go to a tropical island hanging out, relaxing, regenerating and restoring themselves." So why not just live like that all year round?

   While those who opt to live in one of these particular units will likely need to have a sense of adventure, as well as a fondness for water, Romundt says the team don’t necessarily have a specific type of customer in mind. In fact, he’s confident that the majority of those who get to experience the SeaPod for just a few minutes will jump at the chance of owning one.

1. Which of the following can best describe the SeaPod？

A．Sustainable.	B．Innovative.
C．Temporary.	D．Profitable.

2. What can replace “utilizes” underlined in paragraph 2？

A．Gets rid of.	B．Puts up with.
C．Makes use of.	D．Ends up with.

3. What can we learn about the SeaPod in paragraph 3？

A．It can be controlled widely.

B．It redefines what a perfect home is.

C．It will make residents feel they are on a boat.

D．It will give residents a land-like living experience.

4. Why does the text mention Romundt’s life in Toronto?

A．To call on people to take a long vacation

B．To promote his company’s floating homes.

C．To show that people long for a peaceful lifestyle.

D．To introduce a new understanding of the floating home.

3 . The need for new learning opportunities throughout life is recognized throughout society. An initial period of higher education is not always enough in times of rapid social, economic and technological changes. Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education is known worldwide as a leading provider of extended learning programs for personal and professional development.

Day and weekend events

More than 150 day and weekend courses are offered each year. These one or two-day classes on a single topic are designed to bring you the most up-to-date thinking on a wide range of subjects. You can discuss them with lecturers and speakers who are noted authorities in their field of research. Day-long events usually take place on a Saturday, between 9:45 am and 5:00 pm. Weekend events usually start on a Friday evening or Saturday and run until Sunday lunchtime.

For more information, visit https://www. ox.ac. uk/weekly-classes.

Online courses

Structured as weekly online meetings, our online courses take place in a virtual learning environment. Class sizes are kept small (usually 32 students, or 20 for creative writing)to maximize interaction between students and the tutor. Courses are normally 5-10 or 20 weeks in duration.

For more information, visit https:// www. ox. ac. uk/online-courses.

Professional development

Working with academic experts across the university, we offer around 200 professionally oriented courses in videos, from archaeology through medicine to zoology. They are popular among professional learners from over 120 countries and regions.

For more information, visit https:// www. ox. ac. uk/professional development.

Summer schools

Accredited and non-accredited summer courses of between one and four weeks’ duration for adult learners are held at Rewley House and at Oxford’s historic colleges. There are over 100 summer courses offered each year.

For more information, visit https:// www. ox. ac. uk/summerschools.
1. What programme offers a chance to have a face-to -face talk with top experts?

A．Online courses.	B．Day and weekend events.
C．Summer schools.	D．Professional development.

2. What is a feature of the department’s online courses?

A．They usually take place on weekends.

B．They aim to improve students’ writing skills.

C．They offer degree certificates to their students.

D．They have a limitation on the number of students.

3. Which website is useful for foreign students majoring in medicine?

A．https://www. ox.ac. uk/weekly-classes.

B．https:// www. ox. ac. uk/online-courses.

C．https:// www. ox. ac. uk/professional development

D．https:// www. ox. ac. uk/summerschools.

4 . Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova is a physics professor at Texas A&M who aims to show her students, especially the young women, that there are no limits.

Only 25% of physics undergraduate students are female. Perhaps it is because boys grow up playing with machines and making drawings of fast cars and rocket explosions. But girls are just as curious about the way the world works — they just haven’t jumped into the culture of chemical reactions, energy and magnetic force with as much enthusiasm. That is, until they see one of Tatiana’s videos showing the science behind real life’s magic. Tatiana is really one of the few living female examples they could follow.

Her videos get millions of views. She is a ball of energy with a short haircut, a Russian accent and a lively personality that makes physics accessible to the younger audience. Young girls are attracted to Tatiana’s attractive demonstrations the way they flock to pop concerts. This is real. This is science they can participate in. This is an open door to endless possibilities.

“These short clips are the spark that inspires,” Tatiana says with so much excitement that it lights up the room. Everything she does involves students. She believes the magic in learning is when your peers are part of the demonstration, when you are part of the teaching process.

“She wants everything to be a celebration of science,” says one of Tatiana’s former students. And indeed, the classroom is in a party atmosphere, with students cheering when amazed by Newton’s law of motion, demonstrated by a spinning bicycle wheel held upright by the professor. It’s hard to tell who is more delighted, Tatiana or her students. She is an attraction for female students who are graduating college and working in the sciences in higher numbers than ever before.

Dr. Tatiana’s story began in Russia and her parents were both physicists. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Tatiana moved to Texas with her husband, also a physicist. They both teach at Texas A&M, and when Tatiana isn’t in the classroom, she is doing outreach with schoolchildren, amazing them with spinning lights that soon form words, liquid oxygen that shrinks objects and chemical reactions that expand matter to 10 times its size. But most importantly, she is expanding the audience of female physicists.

1. According to the passage, why do girls sometimes hesitate to jump into the culture of physics?

A．Lack of interest in chemical reactions.

B．Cultural differences in curiosity.

C．Absence of female role models.

D．Fear of liquid oxygen demonstrations.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about the videos mentioned in the passage?

A．They were made by a female physician.

B．They feature engaging demonstrations.

C．They are meant for Tatiana’s homeland.

D．They have received millions of likes online.

3. What is the primary focus of Dr. Tatiana’s outreach activities with schoolchildren?

A．Appealing to students with fascinating demonstrations.

B．Teaching students some difficult physics concepts.

C．Explaining the history of Newton’s law of motion.

D．Encouraging girls to attend parties and pop concerts.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Female Professor Rejecting Gender Barrier

B．Russian Physicist and Female Scientists

C．Physics Professor Stimulating Girls’ Passion

D．The Significance of Online Short Videos

5 . I observed one child hugging her beloved toy dog while reading a book to her friend — both she and her dog were actively turning the pages — and with every page turned, she looked down at her dog, lovingly. As a longtime educator of toddlers and a current PhD student studying transitional phenomena and object relations, I have had the pleasure to witness the presence of transitional objects in the kindergarten.

The term transitional object, coined in 195l by D.W. Winnicott, refers to any material to which a child attaches a special value and by means of which the child is able to make the necessary shift from the earliest oral relationship with mother to genuine object-relationships. It is typically something soft, such as a blanket or a soft toy, that is similar to the mother’s warm arms.

It may also be the subject of the child’s fantasies, for example where a teddy bear is spoken to, hugged, punished, etc. It thus becomes a tool for practicing interaction with the external world. Moreover, the transitional object supports the development of the self, as it is used to represent ‘not me’. By looking at the object, the child knows that it is not the object and hence something individual and separate. in this way, it helps the child develop its sense of ‘other’ things.

If the object is denied in any way, attachment difficulties may arise later in life. The object allows for and invites emotional well-being, and without such an object, true feelings may be hidden or dismissed as the child has no other means to cope with and comprehend the world. Worse still, the object is intimately bound up with the identity of the child. Taking away the object is also taking away something of the child itself.

Winnicott noted that transitional objects continue through the course of our lives, as “sacred monuments” which pull us back to “a place and time of great comfort and memory”. The attachment to certain objects like self photographs defines both memorials, and more importantly a state of connection and presence in the world.

1. How does the writer introduce the topic?

A．By sharing feelings.	B．By illustrating a term.
C．By relating an experience.	D．By providing background information.

2. What does the term “transitional objects” refer to according to the passage?

A．Tools used by educators to aid teaching.

B．Items to which a child becomes deeply attached.

C．Toys designed to amuse kids in the kindergarten.

D．Expensive personal possessions gifted by parents.

3. What might happen if a child’s transitional object is denied?

A．Ho might lose his imagination.

B．He may become more independent.

C．He is less likely to share personal feelings.

D．He probably distances himself from his mother.

4. What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To introduce how to develop a sense of ‘other’ things.

B．To do research on the psychological development of kids.

C．To show how to enhance the bond between mother and child.

D．To stress the importance of transitional objects to children.

6 . 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。

For many years, the Future City Competition has brought together young people to create visionary(幻想的) designs,     1     (require) skill and imagination. This year’s theme, “The Age-Friendly City,” invited students to design small cities,     2     would enable older people to live     3     (independent).

The competition, which     4     (encourage) students to hone (磨炼) their engineering skills while working to create a better world, is open to kids in    5     (grade) six through eight. After more than 44, 000 students participated in regional competitions, finalists    6     (choose) for the top competition.

The grand prize went to “Halona,” a city of the future    7     (create) by students from Edlin School in Reston, Virginia. The team researched and developed their model city     8     the help of teacher Vasantha Ayala and volunteer mentor ( 导师) Nandhini Kuntipuram. For their grand prize,     9     Edlin students won $7, 500 for their school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program.

Tom Chmielenski, a computer software engineer, served as a judge. “It’s very nice as an engineer to see young people have these futuristic ideas,” he said. “We can’t wait     10     (see) what the future holds.”

7 . The more you meditate and achieve mindfulness, the better you’ll feel. There are many free meditation apps that offer guided sessions, calming playlists.

Headspace

This app is simple and approachable for meditation beginners. Most of the free sessions focus on teaching the users how to meditate and easing them into the practice, while also acknowledging that meditation can be difficult. Yet to get into the really good stuff, you need to pay for the full membership.

Insight Timer

The app offers a multitude of meditation bells and calming musical notes during self-guided meditations. Featuring a variety of professional instructors and courses, Insight Timer also offers more contents for free users than other apps. Although the free option is extensive, the premium version (高级版) offers courses, downloadable meditations, night mode, and daily insights.

Meditation Studio

The app groups all its free meditations together, so it’s easy to use it without paying. These meditations run from 5 to 30 minutes and are available for download, a feature that other apps typically reserve for premium members. The number of free contents, however, is limited and included mostly basics. The design of the app is also relatively plain.

Breethe: Meditation & Sleep

A nice feature about Breethe is the calming background music that plays while the app is open, even without opening a meditation or music. Breethe offers a lot of sleep contents, including visualizations and bedtime stories. The app does offer a few 7-day courses for free, but the majority (1,000-plus meditations) is locked behind the paywall.

1. Which app is completely free of charge?

A．Headspace.	B．Insight Timer.
C．Meditation Studio.	D．Breethe: Meditation & Sleep.

2. What is special about Headspace?

A．Courses from professional coaches.

B．Advanced instructions of meditation.

C．Bedtime stories and calming background music.

D．Guidelines on how to get into meditation at the beginning.

3. What do Insight Timer and Breethe: Meditation & Sleep have in common?

A．They have a night mode set.	B．They provide contents on sleep.
C．They have calming background music.	D．They offer free contents of the same period.

8 . Starting to write short stories: An online workshop with Stuart Evers

This is an online paid event organized by The Guardian

Award-winning writer Stuart Evers leads a highly practical and confidence-building master class in writing short stories.

Regardless of your experience, under Stuart’s expert guidance, you will take the first crucial steps in short storytelling, with a special focus on coming up with ideas, so that you will have a newfound confidence in your ability to continue crafting short stories, far beyond the course.

Course content

●What makes a short story?

●How to generate ideas for short stories

●Writing techniques that can be put into practice instantly

●Writing exercises that allow different ideas to spark off one another

This course is for…

▲A Writers who want to learn the fundamentals of the short story form and develop their skills through practical writing exercises

▲Anyone looking to build their confidence in storytelling

Course Details

★Date: Tuesday 31 June 2024

★Time: 6pm-9pm (GMT)

★A catch up recording will be shared after the class and will be available for two weeks.

You will be sent a link to the webinar 24 hours and 30 minutes before the start time. Please email masterclasses@theguardian.com if you do not receive it.

This event will be hosted on a third-party live streaming platform Zoom, please refer to their privacy policy and terms and conditions before purchasing a ticket to the class.

Once a purchase is complete we will not be able to refund you if you do not attend or cancel your event booking. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.

1. What does the course pay more attention to?

A．Creating characters.	B．Writing techniques.
C．Forming creative ideas.	D．Writing exercises.

2. What makes you have to send an email?

A．Not receiving the access link.	B．Learning the online workshop.
C．Getting some learning materials.	D．Purchasing a ticket to the class.

3. What service is guaranteed for the participants?

A．Unconditioned refund.	B．A recording of lectures.
C．Free booking on Zoom.	D．24 hours of broadcasting.

9 . Last May, my 15-year-old son Ben, informed his mother and me that he would like to attend an upcoming rap concert of Kendrick Lamar. We told our son that he was too young to go to a concert in Toronto alone. But my son refused to take no for an answer.

A few weeks later I happened to be in Ottawa visiting my mother and her sister, Martha. I complained to them about the absurdity (荒唐) of my situation: a man in his fifties attending a rap concert so that his son could go! Then they told me a story.

In the summer of 1964, my aunt Martha, then an 11-year-old girl begged her father, Cuthbert, who was 61, to attend a concert of the Beatles. Cuthbert had to drive Martha from Ottawa to Montreal to see the Fab Four. Once the band came on the stage, the crowd exploded. Poor old Cuthbert didn’t know what had hit him. But as the band started to sing, Cuthbert found he was getting into it. His foot was tapping (轻拍). By the time McCartney started to sing, Cuthbert appeared to have forgotten that he was a respected lawyer.

If Cuthbert could attend a Beatles concert without embarrassing his daughter, I could do something similar for my son. The first thing to do was to learn something about Mr. Lamar and his music. I downloaded and listened to all his albums. I even had some discussions with Ben about what to wear.

The truth is the concert was great. While Kendrick Lamar may still not be my favourite, I’m glad my son introduced me to him, and I’m glad I went.

Often, we don’t keep an open mind to new things and new experiences. Fortunately, we have children, like Ben and Martha, to help us do that.

1. What did the author complain about to his mother and aunt?

A．He was too old to go to a rap concert.

B．His son argued with him again.

C．His son was so crazy about travel.

D．He had too many questions to answer.

2. What happened to Cuthbert when McCartney started to sing?

A．He got a bad headache.

B．He began to enjoy the concert.

C．He forgot the time for his work.

D．He was knocked off his feet.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．The Beatles concert.

B．The author’s feelings about the concert.

C．The author’s preparation for the concert.

D．Differences between the two concerts.

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

A．New Information About My Family

B．How a Rapper Lifted My Day

C．What My Grandfather Did for His Kid

D．How My Son’s Determination Changed Me

10 . Cafeterias have been filled with challenges — right from planning, purchasing, and preparing, to reducing waste, staying on budget, managing goods, and training staff. Through the tedious process, restaurateurs lacked a unified platform for efficient management. To bring consistency to the unorganised catering (餐饮) industry, childhood friends Arjun Subramanian and Raj Jain, who shared a passion for innovation, decided to partner in 2019 to explore opportunities in the cafeteria industry.

In May 2020, they co-founded Platos, a one-stop solution for restaurants with a custom technology kit to streamline all aspects of cafeteria management. The company offers end-to-end cafeteria management, staff selection and food trials to ensure smooth operations and consistent service. “We believe startups solve real problems and Platos is our shot at making daily workplace food enjoyable again. We aim to simplify the dining experience,   providing a convenient and efficient solution that benefits both restaurateurs and customers and creating a connected ecosystem,” says Subramanian, CEO and co-founder.

Platos guarantees that a technology-driven cafeteria allows customers to order, pay, pick up, and provide ratings and feedback. It also offers goods and menu management to effectively perform daily operations. Additionally, its applications connect all shareholders for a smart cafeteria experience. “We help businesses that are into catering on condition that they have access to an industrial kitchen setup where they’re making food according to certain standards,” Jain states.

Since the beginning, Platos claims to have transformed 45 cafeterias across eight cities in the country. Currently, it has over 45,000 monthly users placing more than 200,000 orders. Despite facing challenges in launching cafeterias across major cities in the initial stages, Platos has experienced a 15% increase in its month-over-month profits.

As for future plans, the startup is looking to raise $1 million from investors as strategic partners, bringing in capital, expertise, and networks. “Finding the right lead investor is the compass that points your startup toward success,” Subramanian says.

1. What does the underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Time-consuming.	B．Breath-taking.
C．Heart-breaking.	D．Energy-saving.

2. What is the purpose of founding Platos?

A．To connect customers with a greener ecosystem.

B．To ensure food security and variety in cafeterias.

C．To improve cafeteria management with technology.

D．To make staff selection more efficient and enjoyable.

3. What can we learn from the statistics in Paragraph 4?

A．Platos has achieved its ultimate financial goal.

B．Platos has gained impressive marketing progress.

C．Challenges in food industry can be easily overcome.

D．Tech-driven cafeterias have covered most urban areas.

4. What is Subramanian’s future plan for Platos?

A．To reduce costs.	B．To increase profits.
C．To seek investment.	D．To innovate technology.