1 . When will the plane probably be here?

A．In an hour.

B．In three hours.

C．In two hours.

2 . Blind people have long desired for brightness, but scientists don’t have the technology. To bring that one step closer to reality, Zhiyong Fan, a materials scientist of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, developed a new artificial eye recently. The device, which is about as sensitive to light and has sharper vision and a faster reaction time than a real eyeball, may outperform human eyes.

The human eye owes its wide field of view and clear eyesight to the retina (视网膜) — an area at the back of the eyeball covered in light-detecting cells. The design for a new artificial eye is based on the structure of the human eye and uses a friendly light-sensitive material. At the back of the eyeball, an artificial retina is lined with Nan scale light sensors (纳米级光感器). Those sensors measure light that passes through the lens (晶状体) at the front of the eye. Wires attached to the back of the retina send signals from those sensors to the processor, similar to the way nerve networks connect the eyeball to the brain.

“In the future, we can use this to replace damaged human eyes,” says the lead designer. In theory, this artificial eye could see more clearly than the human eye, because the artificial retina contains about 460 million light sensors per square centimeter while a real retina has about 10 million light-detecting cells per square centimeter. Besides, the artificial eyeball records changes in lighting faster than human eyes can — within about 30 to 40 milliseconds, rather than 40 to 150 milliseconds. Although its 100-degree field of view isn’t as broad as the150 degrees a human eye can take in, the device can see as well as the human eye in poor light.

Hongrui Jiang, an electrical engineer at the University of Wisconsin, though, thinks engineers need a much more practical and efficient way to produce vast series of tiny wires on the back of the artificial eyeball to give it superhuman sight, which is super hard to achieve.

1. Why does Zhiyong Fan develop the artificial eye?

A．To replace people’s real eyeballs.	B．To gain a sharper vision.
C．To help the blind regain their eyesight.	D．To help normal eyes perform better.

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The design of the artificial eye.	B．The structure of the human eye.
C．The advantages of the artificial eye.	D．The material used for the artificial eye.

3. What can we learn about the artificial eye and the human eye?

A．They have the same structure.

B．The artificial eye may see more clearly.

C．The human eye sees better in weak light.

D．The artificial eye takes in a broader view.

4. Which word best describes Hongrui Jiang’s attitude to the artificial eye?

A．Doubtful.

B．Favorable.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Satisfied.

3 . An American company has developed a new technique (技术) to make bread stay fresh for 60 days.

Scientists found that a kind of mould (霉菌) caused bread to go bad. The new technique kills the mould and keeps the food for longer time. This means there will be less waste of food in the world in future.

Food waste is a big problem in most developed countries. In the US, an average (普通的) family throws away 40% of the food they buy, which adds up to $165bn every year, about 330 million tons in weight. Bread takes a larger part. In the UK, 32% of the bread they buy is thrown away as waste when they can still be eaten.

The bread usually goes mouldy (发的) in around 10 days, but the American company says the new technique will keep the bread free from mould for two months.

”We treated a piece of bread in a special machine. At 60 days it had the same amount of mould as it was first made,“ says Mr. Stull, the leader of the company.

Although there are a lot of bread makers interested in the new technique, few customers like the idea. They say they don’t think a piece of bread which lasts for 60 days tastes good.

”We’ll have to make our customers accept the idea. But it will take some time,“ says Mr. Stull.

1. What is the key point of the new technique?

A．It can prevent the world from wasting food.

B．It kills the mould and keeps bread fresh for longer time.

C．It keeps the same amount of mould.

D．It makes bread taste good.

2. How much of the bread is wasted in the UK?

A．Nearly half.

B．A quarter.

C．More than half.

D．About one-third.

3. What can we know from the passage?

A．Food waste can be reduced immediately (立刻) with the new technique.

B．We will buy bread that can last longer.

C．Few customers are sure about the technique.

D．Poor countries are in great need of food.

4. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．A new technique has been invented to keep bread fresh longer.

B．There is great waste of food in developed countries.

C．There is a kind of mould that causes food to go bad.

D．Customers don’t like food that lasts for two months.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What does Mike want to draw?

A．Birds.

B．Flowers.

C．Monkeys.

2. What is the first prize?

A．$50 cash coupon.

B．Some pencils.

C．A notebook.

5 . Where does the conversation take place?

A．At a subway station.

B．At an airport.

C．In a taxi.

6 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容或括号内所给词的恰当形式填空。

SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX

Today marks the last day of the Social Media Detox,     1    fundraising campaign for new sports equipment. At first, over 100 students had been persuaded    2     (stop) using social media in ANY form for seven days. Now, with the detox    3     ( finish), they’ve switched     4    their devices and they’re back online. In the campaign , some students,     5    found the detox was difficult to tolerate threw in the towel halfway while others managed the whole week.

7 . You’re never too old to achieve your dreams — or even break records. A 104-year-old woman named Dorothy Hoffner is such an example. She has just become the oldest person to skydive (跳伞), and she had the time of her life doing it. After touching ground following her jump with a US instructor, she proudly said, “Age is just a number.”

Hoffner took to the skies of Northern Illinois with the help of Skydive Chicago, making her way to the town of Ottawa for the jump. For all the excitement, this wasn’t her first time jumping out of the plane. Hoffner’s first skydiving took place a few years ago, when she was100. Although back then the instructor helped push them out together, this time she insisted on leading the jump from 13, 500 feet up in the air.

A video shared by Skydive Chicago shows Hoffner determinedly advancing towards the plane on her red walker (助行架) before being helped on board. Sitting among her fellow skydivers, she is all smiles as she waits for her turn. Once the door opens, the woman confidently jumps out of the plane head first.

Before Hoffner’s jump, the record for the oldest person to skydive belonged to 103-year-old Linnea Ingegard Larsson from Sweden, who set it in May 2022. Now, Skydive Chicago is requesting Guinness World Records to certify Hoffner’s jump as the new record.

As for Hoffner, she seems happy with having achieved this, describing the jump as an amazing experience. “It was wonderful up there. The whole thing was wonderful, and couldn’t have been better,” she says. Now that she has completed this achievement, she is now thinking of her next adventure. Since she is turning 105 in December, she is thinking of celebrating by riding a hot air balloon, saying, “I’ve never been in one of those.”

1. What do we know about Hoffner?

A．She set a world record in 2022.

B．She loved to meet new challenges in life.

C．She took up skydiving from an early age.

D．She improved her physical fitness through sports.

2. Why does the author mention Hoffner’s red walker in paragraph 3?

A．To show her determination despite physical difficulties.

B．To encourage people struggling in life to be brave.

C．To explore the reason why she took to skydiving.

D．To compare different types of walkers.

3. Which of the following best describes Hoffner?

A．Calm.

B．Thoughtful.

C．Responsible.

D．Courageous.

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

A．Woman Braves Difficulties to Achieve Success

B．104-Year-Old Woman Takes the World by Storm

C．Woman with Disability Stands Out with Hard Work

D．The Oldest Person Breaks World Record for Skydiving

8 . 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，并将正确答案填写在答题卡上。

David was one of     1     most helpful students that we ever had. In 2004, he went to university in London and became     2     (interest) in Chinese culture.

After his graduation     3     university, he went to China to study Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University. Two years later, he was able to speak Chinese     4     (fluent) and achieved high grades in all subjects.     5     (finish) his studies, he started travelling in China. Some of the cities in China he likes most     6     (be) Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin and Nanjing. In China, he developed an interest in teaching English to Chinese students. Most of the students whom he taught     7     (become) his friends ever since.

When he returned to Britain two months ago, he     8     (bring) back from China many interesting books, dictionaries, paintings and photos     9     (spread) Chinese culture. He donated most of them to our school library. Some of the books were gifts he got from his Chinese friends and students. The paintings that David donated to the school are being shown in the exhibition room. Teachers and students at our school wish to thank David for his     10     (kind).

9 . My first visit to Angkor Wat (吴哥窟) was in 1980. The country had been at war for many years and the temple was deserted and falling to pieces. Plants were growing out of the roofs, and trees were growing in the yards.

Today, the temple is the scene of a busy repair program. A team of 15 Indian experts are organizing a workforce of 400 Cambodians, most of them women, who are cleaning, repairing and rebuilding parts of this temple.

As I walked through the yards, I noticed the Cambodian women devote hours to cleaning carefully a tiny area of stone. Boards are laid down to protect the precious painted stones while the repair work is going on. There are very few machines and little heavy equipment. Workers carry building materials in buckets at the end of long poles. Piles of stones lie in a corner of the yard, waiting to be replaced.

The work of cleaning the stones is watched over by three Indian chemists. It is a very slow task. First they clean the stones with brushes using buckets of a weak chemical. Then gaps between the stones are filled in. Finally another material is painted onto the stones which will protect them from water forever.

Work starts every day at 7 am and goes on until late afternoon six days a week, with a break at midday.

Evening is the best time to visit the temple, after the tour groups have left. As the sun sinks lower, shadows spread across the yard. After sunset, the sky turns pink. The grey stone towers take on a golden color before turning pink. Nowhere else in the world can there be such a quiet, beautiful place.

1. According to the author, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in the repair work?

A．The women workers.

B．The Indian workers.

C．Machines.

D．Skilled workers.

2. The underlined sentence “the temple was deserted” probably means that ________.

A．there was no one in the temple and it was in a poor state

B．the temple was built on a desert and nobody noticed it

C．the temple was very old with a long history

D．the temple was repaired by the Cambodians, most of whom were women

3. To clean the stone, how many steps should be followed?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

4. Which work needs a lot of time to do?

A．To get rid of certain types of plants.

B．To carry the building materials.

C．To replace the stones.

D．To clean the stones.