1 . A Maryland couple stranded (滞留) without food in the freezing cold on a Virginia highway. They were getting ________ and more discouraged by the minute.

After almost 21 hours of being ________ on 95 South, Casey and her husband John slept there overnight and not ________ access to food or water. At that time, they ________ a Schmidt Baking Co. truck ahead of them in the standstill. “People around us were very much ________. Many of them had small children, some were elderly and hadn’t eaten in almost a whole day. ” In a desperate bid for a ________, they decided to call the Schmidt Bakery and see if it could help ________ some much-needed food for them, as well as their fellow highway captives.

“I didn’t think it would ________ work,” said Casey, who left a message with customer service. But to their ________, 20 minutes later, they actually got a ________ from Chuck Paterakis, the owner of the bakery. He told them to walk over to the truck driver, Ron, who was given the go-ahead to start handing out ________ to 50 motorists. Then, the couple joined the driver in making ________. Soon, others joined the effort, in which some 300 loaves were ________.

“It felt incredible just hearing people say thank you and hearing them so ________ to finally have food in their car. This was one of the ________ moments I have ever witnessed.” recalled Casey.

1.

A．farther

B．hungrier

C．poorer

D．angrier

2.

A．hit

B．rescued

C．stuck

D．fined

3.

A．seeking

B．having

C．limiting

D．allowing

4.

A．spotted

B．rented

C．searched

D．repaired

5.

A．cheering

B．begging

C．joking

D．struggling

6.

A．job

B．shelter

C．gift

D．bite

7.

A．provide

B．prepare

C．store

D．select

8.

A．occasionally

B．suddenly

C．actually

D．routinely

9.

A．credit

B．amusement

C．surprise

D．honor

10.

A．loan

B．call

C．request

D．visit

11.

A．bread

B．cash

C．flyers

D．permits

12.

A．bookings

B．comments

C．schedules

D．deliveries

13.

A．put away

B．given out

C．cut up

D．hunted for

14.

A．honored

B．concerned

C．generous

D．relieved

15.

A．hardest

B．kindest

C．proudest

D．longest

2 . Jennifer Destefano answered a call from a number she did not recognize. “Mom, I messed up,” her daughter’s voice told her, crying. “These bad men have me.” A man proceeded to demand money, or he would drug her daughter and leave her in Mexico. But while she kept him on the phone, friends managed to reach her daughter, only to discover that she was, in fact, free and well on a skiing trip in Arizona. The voice used on the phone was a fake.

Voice cloning’s influences will be huge. For several years, customers have been able to identify themselves over the phone to their bank and other companies using their voice. Not even a gifted mimic(巧于模仿的人) could fool the detection system. But the arrival of cloning will force adaptation in order to prevent cheating.

Creative industries could face the impact too. Voice actors’ skills, trained over a lifetime, can be copied in a matter of seconds. But some actors may, in fact. find cloning congenial. Val Kilmer, who has lost much of his voice to throat cancer, was delighted to have his voice restored for “Top Gun: Maverick”.

Another industry that will have to come to cope with the rise of clones is journalism. Now who will trust a story based on an audio clip(片段)? Slightly easier to manage might be the false positives: recordings claiming to be someone but which are fakes. The opposite problem—the false negatives—will arise when public figures deny authentic recordings. Proving that a clip is genuine is bard, perhaps even impossible. Journalists will need to show how they obtained and stored audio files.

The term “fake news” had existed long before voice cloning. Now, ever more people caught in a crime are likely to defend themselves. “It wasn’t me. ” And many people will have even more reason to believe them.

1. What does Jennifer Destefano’s experience indicate?

A．The high frequency of fake news.	B．The rising crime rate in Mexico.
C．The danger of voice-cloning technology.	D．The value of bravery in an emergency.

2. What does the underlined word “congenial” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Illegal.

B．Ridiculous.

C．Horrible.

D．Agreeable.

3. Which of the following belongs to the false negatives?

A．Late Beetles’ songs have been restored by voice cloning.

B．A pop star declares an authentic recording untrue.

C．Journalists prove their reports with audio clips.

D．The police identify a criminal through voice.

4. What is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Voice cloning is increasingly used in journalism

B．Voice cloning is challenging our traditional ideas

C．Voice cloning is impacting different aspects of our life

D．Voice cloning is re-establishing life styles for the better

3 . 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。

Chinese Loong Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is a vibrant and festive celebration     1     (mark) the beginning of the lunar calendar. This annual event is deeply     2     (root) in Chinese culture, symbolizing renewal, family reunions, and guiding in of good fortune.

The festivities typically span 15 days,     3     colorful parades, dragon and lion dances, and dazzling fireworks shining the streets. Families come together for plentiful feasts, exchanging gifts, and paying     4     (respect) to ancestors. The air is filled with the sounds of joyous laughter and traditional music.

One of the     5     (much) iconic features of Chinese New Year is the red decorations brightening homes and streets. Red symbolizes good luck and     6     (prosper) in Chinese culture. People also participate in the tradition of giving and receiving red envelopes containing lucky money, known as “hongbao,” as     7     gesture of good wish and well-being.

As the Year of the Dragon, Loong Year is particularly auspicious, believed to bring strength, vitality, and success. People across the globe join in the festivities, creating a sense of unity and     8     (share) celebration.

Chinese Loong Year is a time-honored tradition that     9     (exceed) borders emphasizing the importance of family, cultural heritage,     10     the hopeful anticipation of a prosperous year ahead.

5 . Spain is a country that continues to surprise and let us tell you it’s not all sunbathing and shopping! We’re outlining our top 3 reasons to discover Spain along with our holiday suggestions to help you make up your mind.

Stunning scenery

From the dramatic, imposing mountains to the countless glistening beaches that dot its coastlines, Spain is a country full of natural beauty and inspiring landscapes. If breath-taking views and unique scenery captures your attention then our top suggestion is to experience a holiday to Tenerife where you can enjoy the inspiring its volcanic views and panoramic scenery. The largest of the Canary Islands, just south of Spain, Tenerife has a rugged, volcanic landscape as well as over 200 miles of coastline boasting a huge variety of flora and fauna.

Beautiful beaches

Did you know that Spain has over 5,000 miles of coastline and thousands of beaches? Wherever you go, you are never far from a beach. From undiscovered, hidden alcoves to popular tourist resorts, there’s a beach for everyone and with over 300 days of sunshine each year you’re guaranteed the weather to enjoy them! This beautiful country also has the most blue flag beaches in the world so now you’ve no excuse! With thousands of beaches to choose from, where will you go?

Fabulous food

For many people, one of the highlights of Spain is, of course, the amazing food on offer. The country’s vibrant cities offer up Michelin-starred restaurants and lively tapas bars, while small-town cafés and restaurants offer up traditional dishes such as paella, seafood stew, and chorizo, made with love from family recipes.

Spanish cuisine is known for being delicious, healthy, and full of flavour, so there are many unique dishes available that will tempt your taste buds. If we’ve made you hungry, then you should take a holiday to Costa Brava, a Spanish foodie destination that should not be missed!

1. What is the top suggestion for experiencing stunning scenery in Spain?

A．The beaches of Costa Brava.

B．The mountains in the northern region.

C．A holiday to Tenerife.

D．The hidden alcoves along the coastline.

2. Which of the following is NOT the specialty in Spain?

A．Conventional cuisines and trendy bars.

B．Volcanic views and countless coastlines.

C．Sufficient sunshine and striking beaches.

D．Marine creatures and mouthwatering seafood.

3. What purpose does the author write the passage for?

A．To inform.

B．To report.

C．To review.

D．To entertain.

6 . Have you heard of these four monuments?

Carhenge. Floralis Genérica. Traffic Light Tree. Hand of the Desert — these are four unusual monuments from around the world you might like to visit.

• Carhenge

Carhenge is in Alliance, Nebraska (USA). As the name suggests, it has a lot in common with Stonehenge, the famous stone circle on Salisbury Plain. But while Stonehenge was built with stones, Carhenge was created with cars. The monument was made in 1987 by a local artist Jim Reinders and his family. He used old cars and even an ambulance. At first, the people of Alliance didn’t like it, but they soon changed their minds after it became popular with tourists, who brought lots of money to the town.

• Floralis Genérica

Floralis Genérica is a massive statue of a flower. It stands in a pool of water in front of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eduardo Catalano, a native of Argentina, gave the statue as a gift to the city in 2002. Every morning, the flower opens. Ask anyone who has seen it and they’ll tell you that watching it open is an unforgettable sight. In fact, many people believe it is one of the most beautiful statues in the world.

• Traffic Light Tree

The Traffic Light Tree is situated at Heron Quay, in one of London’s financial districts. The tree has 75 sets of traffic lights. It was created by French artist, Pierre Vivant, and was installed in 1998. A computer controls the lights, which are turned on and off randomly. The roundabout where the tree is was voted the most popular roundabout in the UK in a recent survey.

• Mano del Desierto (Hand of the Desert)

The Hand of the Desert is in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The sculpture was designed by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrazabal. From a distance, it looks as if there’s a giant in the sand who has stuck his hand out of the ground.

If you’re looking for something new to see, you know where to go!

1. Why did the people of Alliance change their attitude toward Carhenge?

A．It reminded them of Stonehenge.	B．It brought them financial benefits.
C．It added beauty to their community.	D．It displayed the creativity of the designer.

2. Which of the four monuments was designed by a foreign artist?

A．Carhenge.	B．Floralis Genérica.
C．Traffic Light Tree.	D．Mano del Desierto.

3. Where is the text probably from?

A．A guide book.	B．A news report.
C．A science magazine.	D．An architecture advertisement.

8 . Templer was a tour guide in Zimbabwe, leading a canoe (皮划艇) safari down the Zambezi River. During the expedition, Templer’s canoe _______ the way, with the other two canoes to follow.

Things were going the way they were supposed to go. Everyone was having a pretty good time. Eventually, they _______ a dozen hippos, which were territorial animals. That’s not _______ on the Zambezi, Africa’s fourth-longest river. They weren’t alarmed at first as they were at a safe _______.

Templer tried to steer (率领) the group safely around them. However, the third canoe was off the planned _______ and was attacked by an aggressive hippo. The guide named Evans on the canoe fell into the water. Templer went to _______ him. He was getting closer to Evans. He was _______— it was kind of a made-for-Hollywood movie — Evans was reaching up. Their _______ almost touched. And then the water between them just _______. Before he knew it, Templer was up to his waist down a hippo’s throat. His legs were trapped but his hands were ________. So he tried to hold onto the hippo’s tusks (长牙) to ________being torn apart. The hippo must have been uncomfortable because it spat him out. So he quickly burst to the ________, and breathed some fresh air. With others’ help, Templer and Evans made it out of the river.

Despite the unpleasant experience, Templer ________to work as a tour guide. He also became an advocate for hippo ________, recognizing that the animals were not inherently aggressive but were ________ defending their territory.

1.

A．made

B．found

C．led

D．wound

2.

A．encountered

B．interrupted

C．saved

D．killed

3.

A．unfortunate

B．unexpected

C．uncertain

D．unnecessary

4.

A．speed

B．angle

C．vision

D．distance

5.

A．line

B．control

C．course

D．duty

6.

A．watch

B．comfort

C．stop

D．rescue

7.

A．leaning over

B．turning away

C．looking up

D．calming down

8.

A．hearts

B．fingers

C．heads

D．thoughts

9.

A．appeared

B．flowed

C．froze

D．erupted

10.

A．free

B．empty

C．hurt

D．skinny

11.

A．risk

B．avoid

C．permit

D．finish

12.

A．surface

B．bottom

C．bank

D．sky

13.

A．hoped

B．continued

C．refused

D．hesitated

14.

A．habitat

B．safety

C．conservation

D．suffering

15.

A．readily

B．finally

C．casually

D．simply

9 . Vitamin C for a cold? A good dose of Vitamin D on a sunny day? We all know that vitamins are critical for our health, but how did they get their names and when were they discovered in the first place?

American nutrition scientist Elmer McCullum conducted a variety of feed experiments with different animal populations and discovered that an “accessory” substance contained in some fats was essential to growth. That fat-soluble (脂溶的) substance became known as Vitamin “A” for “accessory.”

McCollum and others also conducted further experiments with rice-bran-derived nutrient, naming it Vitamin “B” after beriberi, which can cause heart failure and a loss of sensation in the legs and feet. Eventually, it turned out that the substance known as Vitamin B was a complex of eight water-soluble vitamins, which were each given individual names and numbered in order of discovery.

The custom of naming vitamins alphabetically in order of discovery continued. Today, four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and nine water-soluble vitamins (Vitamin C and the eight B vitamins) are considered essential to human growth and health. Only one vitamin bucked the oh-so-logical naming system: Vitamin K, discovered by Danish researcher Carl Peter Henrik Dam in 1929. The substance should have been in line to be called Vitamin F given its discovery date. But Dam’s research revealed that the vitamin is essential for blood coagulation (凝固) — known as Koagulation in the German journal that published his research — and his abbreviation for the vitamin somehow stuck.

It’s been decades since the last essential vitamin — Vitamin B12 — was discovered in 1948. It now appears unlikely that scientists will ever discover a new essential vitamin. But even if there’s no Vitamin F or G in our future, that doesn’t mean nutritional discovery has stopped completely. If the golden age of vitamin discovery was an appetizer (开胃菜) of sorts, scientists are devoted to the main course — a rapidly evolving understanding of the ways food shapes our lives, one microscopic substance at a time.

1. What can we learn from paragraph 2 and paragraph 3?

A．Vitamin A is a water-soluble substance.

B．Vitamin B was named after a kind of disease.

C．The eight B vitamins got names from their functions.

D．The subjects of McCullum’s experiments are home.

2. What does the underlined word “bucked” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Created.

B．Destroyed.

C．Broke.

D．Followed.

3. What is the author’s attitude toward nutrition research?

A．Indifferent.

B．Unclear.

C．Doubtful.

D．Confident.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the text?

A．How Do Vitamins Influence Our Health?

B．Who Discovered Various Vitamins for Us?

C．Why Is There a Vitamin K but No Vitamin F?

D．How Many Vitamins Are Still Left to Be Discovered?

10 . One night two millennia ago, a Han Dynasty general sent a square-shaped collection of bamboo and cloth into the air above enemy territory in central China. He was trying to measure how much earth his men would need to tunnel through to tear their enemies’ defense line.

It is one of the most famous early stories of kite-flying. Similar devices were later used by other Chinese armies; they launched them after dark in whipping winds in hopes that the noise would scare off enemies, and used them to deliver threats via missives (信函) tied to the kites’ tails.

Today, of course, these delicate aircraft — built from light wood or plastic frames shaped to create lift, covered in a thin material such as paper or silk, and piloted via long strings — are considered as toys. In the 1990s and early 2000s, kite-flying experienced a boom in the American West and parts of Europe, due in part to the popularization of kites surfing. Groups of kiters began to take interest in its lore (知识).

Thus a wave of younger artists have been inspired to pioneer new forms. In Austria, Anna Rubin, often employs ancient methods for her art, including hand-splitting the bamboo for the frames and using hand-pressed natural fibres to cover them. She wants to carry on traditions she fears may be lost by a culture fixated on the future, but she’s equally inspired by the joy of work. “Everyone should, once in their life, make a kite and fly it,” she says.

And in New York, visual artists Jacob Hashimoto, assembles massive installations from dozens of palm-size kites to hang from the ceiling of his studio or gallery. He inherited (继承) his interest in kite-making from his father. “The kite-making is a pan-cultural practice that makes it a beautiful, democratic thing,” he says. “In many ways, it’s a global property — we all own the relationship between us and the sky.”

Their work is a reminder that kites offer us a means to defy gravity. In the hands a willing flier, they give us a way up and out.

1. What was the kite used for in ancient China?

A．A tool of warfare.	B．A kind of recreation.
C．A sign of good luck.	D．A way of communication.

2. What are today’s kites like?

A．They are lightly structured.	B．They are widely used in Europe.
C．They are less popular in China.	D．They are considered as a science.

3. What made Anna keep the tradition of kite-making?

A．The popularity of kites in Austria.

B．Her enthusiasm in Chinese culture.

C．Her father’s encouragement and support.

D．Its pleasure and her sense of responsibility.

4. Why does the author mention Anna and Jacob?

A．To remind us that kites will lose their cultural value in the future.

B．To tell us some young artists are taking kite-making to new heights.

C．To list some examples of the difficulties promoting kites in the world.

D．To show that only a few people consider kites worthy of preservation.