1 . This is a talk by a London taxi driver.
“I’ve been a taxi driver for nearly ten years. Most London taxi drivers have their own taxis.” “It’s a nice job most of time. you meet a lot of people. I always work at night, because there is too much traffic during the day. I live twenty miles outside London and I go to work at 5:30 in the afternoon.”
“I usually go home between 2 and 3 in the morning.”
“Some very strange things happened late at night. The other day I was taking a woman home from a party. She had her little dog with her. When we got to her house, she found that she had lost her key. So I waited in the car with the dog while she climbed in through the windows.” “I waited and waited. After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on. I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb in through the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came.” They thought I was a thief.
“Luckily, the woman came downstairs. She must have gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog!”
1. The driver always worked at night because it was easier to ______.| A．drive | B．make money |
| C．climb in through the window | D．meet a lot of people |
| A．she wanted to have a sleep | B．her husband didn’t open the door for her |
| C．she didn’t want to pay the driver | D．she couldn’t find her key |
| A．early in the morning | B．late at night |
| C．20 miles outside London | D．near the police station |
| A．The driver worked until between 2 and 3 in the morning. |
| B．The police made a mistake. |
| C．The woman had no money to pay the driver. |
| D．The woman had forgotten about the driver and the dog. |
2 . A man came home from work late,
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
“That’s
“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
“If you
“Oh”, the little boy replied, with his head down. Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I please borrow $10?” The father got angry immediately and flatly
The man stepped into the little boy’s room
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to
| A．satisfied | B．excited | C．tired | D．surprised |
| A．nothing | B．not | C．none | D．nobody |
| A．specifically | B．strictly | C．seriously | D．impatiently |
| A．need | B．must | C．should | D．dare |
| A．refused | B．accepted | C．opposed | D．denied |
| A．turned down | B．sat down | C．calmed down | D．put down |
| A．quietly | B．rudely | C．politely | D．confidently |
| A．light | B．mood | C．condition | D．company |
| A．asked for | B．waited for | C．paid | D．worked for |
| A．down | B．aside | C．straight | D．still |
| A．yelled | B．said | C．sighed | D．apologized |
| A．hear | B．worry | C．wonder | D．know |
| A．made | B．spent | C．counted | D．lost |
| A．actively | B．carefully | C．directly | D．curiously |
| A．borrow | B．lend | C．buy | D．use |
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。
As artificial intelligence products steadily improve at pretending to be human, people will increasingly be put in the unsettling situation of not knowing
The study used a game in
“Sadly, we failed at this goal,” says Talal Rahwan, a senior author on the paper,
It seems that there is a long way to go before trust in robots is established.
4 . Yue-Sai Kan was born in China. In 1972, she moved to New York. When Kan was a child, she was told by her father that she should always aim to (力争) be the first because no one remembered the second. What her father said has been a driving inspiration over the years for her to become a bestselling author and a successful businesswoman.
Her new book Be a Pioneer, which is the tenth she has written and her first Chinese-language autobiography (自传), was produced after three years, inspired by her father’s words.
When writing an autobiography, the biggest challenge is not how to present one’s life, but to remember it. To help with reconstructing her story, Kan asked many friends and colleagues she made over the years to write down their memories of her from earlier times. So besides featuring Kan’s own words, the new book is also filled with those of her friends’s, which gives Kan a new understanding of herself — a woman who works hard, studies hard. and the most important thing is that she is a woman filled with a sense of responsibility.
“My helper Stephanie mentioned that I was worried because we were running out of money for the company. My housekeeper reminded me that before the start of one of my events she found that I had fainted (晕倒) in the bathroom. I was so tired that I was getting sick. They know more about me than myself,” Kan says.
“Writing a book is a good business to be in, not so much to make money but to grow the brain. I believe what I do will benefit the world. All the things I have done in Be a Pioneer — my successes and my failures — can be a good example to young people in particular. That’s the main reason why I wrote the book,” adds Kan.
1. What can we know about Kan’s book Be a Pioneer?| A．It took her 10 years to finish. |
| B．It is full of her father’s words. |
| C．It was completed with her friends’ help. |
| D．It tops the tenth on the bestseller list. |
| A．Being short of money. | B．Having no supporters. |
| C．Having to write it in Chinese. | D．Remembering her past. |
| A．To tell Kan is weak in health. |
| B．To show Kan is a worried woman. |
| C．To report the path of writing is difficult. |
| D．To state how Kan’s story was reconstructed. |
| A．Setting an example. | B．Earning money. |
| C．Making herself popular. | D．Proving herself to her father. |
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。
Meet Yourself,
Actor Li Xian,
Xu Hailong, an associate professor of cultural industry at Capital Normal University, said that the drama could also
The Hangzhou Asian Games were opened on September 23, 2023, drawing worldwide attention. They are not only a grand sports event,
One of
Known as the world’s largest sporting gala, the Hangzhou Asian Games serve as a platform for the athletes to compete. Most importantly, it’s a stage for people’s communication and
7 . My father brought home a sailboat when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at
The last time Dad and I set sail together was really unforgettable. It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and
“John!
In my memory he could fix any
Before I could respond, a wave of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller
I swam to Dad quickly and assisted him in climbing onto the hull（船壳）of the boat. Upon sitting on the hull, Dad was a little awkward about his flash of
That was the first time Dad had counted on me in a moment of emergency. More importantly, I found it was my turn to start
| A．boating | B．running | C．swimming | D．teaching |
| A．enjoyed | B．desired | C．hated | D．learned |
| A．sent | B．ordered | C．invited | D．allowed |
| A．calm | B．icy | C．stormy | D．thundery |
| A．repeatedly | B．lightly | C．hardly | D．violently |
| A．danger | B．place | C．sport | D．job |
| A．suffered | B．fell | C．froze | D．quit |
| A．Look | B．Help | C．Run | D．Jump |
| A．problem | B．relationship | C．machine | D．boat |
| A．turned to | B．lived with | C．argued with | D．objected to |
| A．if | B．for | C．after | D．but |
| A．got through | B．poured into | C．turned over | D．lifted up |
| A．ashamed | B．protective | C．tired | D．afraid |
| A．pain | B．anger | C．fear | D．shame |
| A．making up | B．getting ready | C．paying off | D．looking out |
In a recently conducted study, researchers have found that the Chinese martial art of Tai Chi could slow down the progression of Parkinson’s (帕金) disease by years.
Tai Chi, with its slow, meditative (冥想的) and deliberate movements,
Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder
9 . Which of your children is your favorite? Your response is probably “none of them.” What kind of parent would choose one child as his or her favorite? The truth might be surprising to you.
Years of research supports what many have suspected-most parents have a favorite child. Studies have explored reasons from birth order to gender (性别) and shared interests. Yet even with years of research that supports this idea, most parents tend to deny the fact that they have a favorite child. Even if there is no obvious parental favorite among siblings (兄弟姐妹), studies have shown that children often feel preferential treatment of their sibling by their parents. Favoritism often results in family conflicts and feelings of sadness among family members whether parents’ favoritism is real or only felt. Thus both the kids and their parents tend to be plagued by the favoritism.
The question isn’t whether or not you have a favorite child, since it’s pretty clear that many parents do. Typically, favoritism has little to do with loving one child more. It is more about how your personality resonates (产生共鸣) with one child’s personality more than the others’. Essentially, it’s a question of “like”. Still, why is it so hard for us to admit that one of our children might be our favorite? Some parents might worry about harming their children emotionally or psychologically. Some parents confuse liking one child’s personality with the love they show to each child. However, when recognizing that you might hold preferential feelings towards one child you are taking an important step towards creating a better relationship with all of your children.
Instead of denying the fact, you can reflect on how you relate to each of your children. Examining your feelings towards each of your children can provide a greater insight into your own personality and how you function in relationships -- and in fact, how you consider your children might reflect more about your thoughts and feelings of yourself than them. Increased awareness about your inner world can help you build and keep healthier relationships with your children.
1. How do most parents respond to the result of the research?| A．They’re quite concerned about it. | B．They’re unwilling to admit it. |
| C．They’re sensitive to it. | D．They’re regretful about it. |
| A．Encouraged. | B．Troubled. | C．Separated. | D．Confused. |
| A．Because the child is worth more love. |
| B．Because the child has a good personality. |
| C．Because the child has more in common with them. |
| D．Because the child knows how to please them |
| A．Is it OK to have a favorite child? |
| B．What kind of kids do parents prefer? |
| C．How can parents get along well with children? |
| D．Why do parents treat their kids differently? |
10 . When you eat a traditional ice cream in the summer, you need to finish it quickly to make sure the treat doesn’t end up melting down your hand. Reach for an ice cream sandwich instead, and the ice cream seemingly stays solid longer magically. An ice cream that refuses to melt seems unnatural, but you might be surprised by what’s really behind its practically heat-proof (耐热的) abilities.
Ice cream without a container in the freezer would inevitably lead to ice blocks because of its water content. Most packaged ice cream-whether it’s in a cone or sandwiched between two cookies-contains some elements called emulsifiers (乳化剂) that can keep water to fat to prevent ice blocks. They go a step further by helping to keep ice cream consistent, even under the hot sun. On an element list, you might find different chemicals with the same goal: to hold water in so the ice cream doesn’t melt quickly. Ice cream sandwiches generally contain more of those chemicals than hand-made ones.
If you’re worried about those elements, and some additives (添加剂) might create images that belong to a lab rather than your kitchen, then you’d better be at ease. Even natural ingredients (成分), which come from beans, might give you pause if you’ve heard about their use and misuse in weight-loss efforts.
Of course, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes any of the side effects of those chemicals into account, and the amount you’d find in an ice cream sandwich isn’t enough to cause health problems. While we meet someone willing to share their ice cream cookies with us, there ‘s no reason to fear your kids’ safety if they want to enjoy a store-bought treat. A slow melt rate method causes you less cleanup.
1. What’s the main function of the emulsifiers in ice cream sandwiches?| A．To cover the ice cream so that it avoids sunlight. |
| B．To make the ice cream sandwiches taste better. |
| C．To make the ice cream stay in the cookies longer. |
| D．To protect the ice cream by keeping water out. |
| A．natural ingredients can sometimes be dangerous |
| B．the elements in ice cream are actually harmless |
| C．emulsifiers in ice cream can make people fat |
| D．additives should be avoided in losing weight |
| A．Replace the cookies with something natural. |
| B．Restrict the amount of the cookies. |
| C．Feel easy to give kids permission. |
| D．Gently refuse the kid’s request. |
| A．The side effects of ice cream sandwiches. |
| B．The food to melt down your hand in hot summer. |
| C．The methods of avoiding ice cream. |
| D．The elements behind your ice cream cookies. |
