1 . At a time when Americans consume more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed (超加工的) foods, there is increasing evidence showing that eating too much of these foods can make us sick. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal finds people who consume high amounts of these foods have an increased risk of anxiety, depression, and certain cancers. The data come from more than 9 million people who participated in dozens of studies.
Ultra- processed foods are ubiquitous in our food supply. Among the most common are highly refined breads, fast food, sugary drinks, cookies, and other packaged snacks. They are often high in salt, sugar, fat and calories and low in fiber and micro- nutrients such as vitamins.
Although no evidence proves that consumption of ultra-processed foods can directly cause anxiety, cancer or other health conditions, a growing body of evidence shows that ultra-processed foods contribute to the development of these conditions.
A study published last year found people in the habit of consuming high levels of ultra-processed foods were about three times more likely to develop cancer, compared to those who consumed the least. When it comes to mood and mental health conditions, a French study showed that adults who maintained an unhealthy diet had more depressive symptoms. “We saw a roughly 20 to 50% increased risk of depressive symptoms in people who had diets that were high in ultra-processed foods,” says Wolfgang Marx, a researcher.
A panel of advisors is currently evaluating all the latest diet and nutrition studies as part of a process to update the country’s Dietary Guidelines. It is possible that they could recommend limits on ultra-processed foods. On the regulatory side, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving ahead to finalize a new definition of the term “healthy”. The FDA says a “healthy” claim on food labels could help consumers identify healthier choices with a quick look and may encourage food companies to improve their products.
1. What does the underlined word “ubiquitous” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Nutritious. | B．Widespread. | C．Cheap. | D．Profitable. |
| A．They are linked to some health problems. | B．They become more popular among adults. |
| C．They directly lead to depressive symptoms. | D．They should be consumed in a proper way. |
| A．Food companies’ future plans. | B．New guidelines for food sales. |
| C．Limits on ultra- processed foods. | D．Responses to ultra- processed foods. |
| A．In a health magazine. | B．In a biology textbook. |
| C．In a medical guideline. | D．In a food advertisement. |
2 . While many of us have only become familiar with AI over the past year or so, artist Refik Anadol has been using the technology for years to create immersive installations (沉浸式装置). Now, his studio is releasing its most ambitious project yet: the Large Nature Model, the world’s first open- source generative AI model focusing on nature.
Under development for DATALAND, Refik Anadol Studio’s future museum and Web3 platform devoted to data visualization and AI art, the Large Nature Model is trained on billions of open-source nature images. Interestingly, the model isn’t just for visuals; it can also produce sound and scent elements.
“Blending art, technology, and nature, our model aims to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire innovative solutions by finding connections among isolated archives (隔离档案),” shared Anadol. “By engaging people on multiple sensory levels, the outputs of the model make the abstract concept of environmental conservation easily acceptable, encouraging a collective responsibility to act.”
Anadol presented the model at the NVIDIAGTC AI Conference, where he transformed a 65-foot by 131-foot wall into a live AI data sculpture. Fed with 2.5 million sourced nature images, the wall exploded with visuals that show the model’s endless creative possibilities, amazing people present at the conference.
The conference is not the only place where the Large Nature Model is on display. At London’s Serpentine Gallery, Anadol’s Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive shows his years-long experimentation with data on coral reefs and rainforests. On view until April 7, the display deepened visitors’ love of nature.
“Anadol’s artworks made me fully understand the unseen yet incredible role of data in our world,” shared art critic Hans Ulrich Obrist in an interview.“I felt enveloped by the data, the richness of information and the beauty found within nature.”
“This project is not about coping or replacing nature; it’s about appreciating, loving and respecting nature. We’re not replacing nature; we’re preserving it,” said Anadol.
1. What can the Large Nature Model do according to the text?| A．Train a number of famous artists. | B．Offer multi- sensory art experiences. |
| C．Track global immersive installations. | D．Identify outdated nature images quickly. |
| A．Making art products available to the public. | B．Inspiring more artists to get close to nature. |
| C．Contributing to environmental conservation. | D．Boosting the development of local museums. |
| A．To prove the studio’s model is incredible. | B．To tell the inspiration for Anadol’s dream. |
| C．To show environmental issues are serious. | D．To highlight the barrier to using the model. |
| A．The power of data. | B．The key role of a gallery. |
| C．The cooperation of humans. | D．The trend of replacing nature. |
3 . When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn’t
I was better at my
My sister became an engineer, but she
Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital. A big crowd of friends and family
Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.
1.| A．admit | B．advance | C．quit | D．improve |
| A．admired | B．lacked | C．had | D．enriched |
| A．major | B．project | C．composition | D．instrument |
| A．ambition | B．patience | C．enthusiasm | D．potential |
| A．examine | B．train | C．correct | D．challenge |
| A．available | B．punctual | C．crazy | D．particular |
| A．aired | B．filmed | C．designed | D．commented |
| A．took over | B．picked out | C．waited for | D．turned down |
| A．already | B．even | C．never | D．once |
| A．attitudes | B．careers | C．plans | D．positions |
| A．degree | B．chance | C．scholarship | D．sponsor |
| A．expected | B．provided | C．imagined | D．received |
| A．paid off | B．showed off | C．stayed up | D．turned up |
| A．appropriately | B．anxiously | C．obviously | D．desperately |
| A．sweet | B．awful | C．powerful | D．unique |
4 . Pollination (授粉) is important for the reproduction of many plants. Some rely on the wind or water for pollination, but most depend on animals to serve as the pollinators. Insects like bees, moths, and beetles also serve as the pollinators, helping with this process.
Unfortunately, the worldwide spread of light pollution may be affecting the important interactions (相互作用) between plants and insects, causing bad consequences for both natural areas and agricultural lands.
A team of scientists in Switzerland recently studied how the complex interactions between plants and pollinators were affected by artificial light at night. By setting up several grasslands with LED street lamps, the scientists were able to compare the differences.
Focusing on cabbage thistle, a type of plants, the researchers counted 62% fewer insect visits to the lit grasslands. They also noted 29% fewer pollinators than the ones in the uncontrolled lands, which resulted in 13% fewer fruits on the cabbage thistle plants they were studying.
Based on the fact that there was reduced fruit production in the controlled lands, the scientists found that the pollinators who worked during the day were not able to make up for the reduced activity of the pollinators at night. Additionally, there seemed to be the potential for a very negative effect, because many of the plants some insects are helping to pollinate are the most important sources of food for them.
Artificial light affects pollination, and thus fruit production, in two different, but connected ways, according to a scientist from California. Imagine a moth flying into a light at night — the first way is by misdirecting pollinators. The second way is by confusing the sense of time of plants. Besides, plants and insects respond to varying wavelengths of light differently. More research is needed to understand the complex interactions between plants, pollinators, and different types of light.
“The annually increasing man made light improves humans’ life. It causes bad consequences for the environment, however. We can never base our life on the loss of the environment,” says Knop, lead author of the study.
1. According to the passage, the first paragraph is used to ________.| A．put forward a problem | B．present background information |
| C．inform the purpose of the study | D．introduce the subjects to be studied |
| A．stopped bearing fruits in the end | B．failed to be pollinated |
| C．were visited by fewer insects | D．were more attractive to pollinators |
| A．The starvation of insects. | B．The loss of pollination. |
| C．The reduced fruit production. | D．The death of some plants. |
| A．Misdirected insects confuse plants’ sense of time. |
| B．Pollination and fruit production are related in two ways. |
| C．The different effects of varying light on pollination are clear. |
| D．Artificial light affects plants’ pollination and sense of time. |
Last Thursday China’s State Council
The plan,
Its goals are to reduce PM2.5 degree in cities by 10 percent by 2025,
China will speed up the removal of outdated products and encourage green
Efforts will also be made
6 . Mathematics has always been like a flower to me. I always get great joy and satisfaction from it. The
It was my Grade 7 teacher, Mr. Carson who
As time went on, my parents felt I needed to
“How should I tell Mrs. Helen the news?” I
After a long pause (停顿), I
Mrs. Helen and other teachers had put
This winter, after I won the
| A．gift | B．preference | C．feature | D．skill |
| A．admitted | B．respected | C．improved | D．recognized |
| A．directed | B．drove | C．followed | D．attracted |
| A．put off | B．take on | C．go after | D．pick up |
| A．returned | B．thought | C．kept | D．shouted |
| A．listening | B．pointing | C．writing | D．waving |
| A．silence | B．position | C．discussion | D．question |
| A．promised | B．continued | C．decided | D．failed |
| A．imagined | B．disliked | C．risked | D．avoided |
| A．positively | B．eventually | C．creatively | D．intelligently |
| A．teaching | B．complaining | C．arguing | D．talking |
| A．original | B．considerable | C．mental | D．final |
| A．doubted | B．rejected | C．agreed | D．whispered |
| A．chance | B．support | C．intention | D．freedom |
| A．arrange | B．exchange | C．share | D．review |
7 . I recently watched the Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary on Netflix, and I have to tell you how impressed I was with his life story.
I remember back in high school when Clara and I were the only two girls in the gym working out and lifting weights. Yes, this was back in the dinosaur days when girls didn’t go to the gym. There were all these posters about Arnold. He was the bodybuilder of the day. He won the Mr. Universe title aged 20, and then the Mr. Olympia title seven times. He was a hero to so many of us gym rats.
But he is so much more than that. He is an Austrian and American actor, a businessman, a filmmaker, a politician (政治家), and a retired professional bodybuilder. Most people know him for his action movies, like The Terminator. In case you didn’t know, he also served as the 38th governor (州长) of California from 2003 to 2011, and was among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2004 and 2007.
But what touched me was his determination to get where he is today. He had a dream, and he went after it. He came from a small town on the other side of the world. They said he couldn’t make it in body building, but he went on to be one of the world’s most famous bodybuilders. They said he would never be an actor because of his accent (口音), but in spite of that, he became box office gold. They said it was impossible for him to become a governor, but he showed them, winning not one but two terms in office and making some world changes while in there.
I love stories like these. It gives us hope that we can do anything as long as we set our minds to it. The lesson here is to never give up, to hold onto your dream no matter how crazy others may think it is.
1. What does the author show us about Arnold in paragraph 2?| A．He worked as a fitness coach. | B．He was a hero to young girls. |
| C．He stood out as a bodybuilder. | D．He changed some people’s lives. |
| A．An actor. | B．A bodybuilder. | C．A filmmaker. | D．A politician. |
| A．He was the most influential man in the world. |
| B．He was unwilling to listen to others all the time. |
| C．He was the youngest to win the Mr. Olympia title. |
| D．He was always determined to do what he wanted to. |
| A．Every dog has its days. | B．Gold will shine everywhere. |
| C．You can’t judge a book by its cover. | D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
Many people don’t know that French fries are not really French. In fact, they come from Belgium originally but people call them “pommes frites” in France. French fries are made of potatoes, and they are cut and fried. The fried potatoes are called French fries because they were first seen by Americans in Belgium, but they were fried in the French way. The French way is to fry potatoes twice with a small pause in the middle.
During World War I, there were a lot of hungry American soldiers in Northern France and Belgium. They ate French fries in Belgium. After the war was over, the soldiers went back home to America. However, they missed French fries so much that they made French fries at home. That’s how French fries were first introduced to America.
French fries were called Belgian fries once, but the name was finally changed to French fries. Sometimes French fries are just called fries.
French fries are one of the most popular potato foods in America. American fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King have French fries on their menus. French fries are freshly fried, and usually served with hamburgers.
If you visit any fast food restaurant in America and order a hamburger, you will probably hear “You want fries with that?” Why don’t you think about the history of French fries a little while, and say “ Yes, please. Thank you.” ?
1. What is the passage mainly about? (no more than 6 words)2. Where were French fries first made? (no more than 2 words)
3. Why are the fried potatoes called French fries? (no more than 8 words)
4. Who first introduced French fries to America? (no more than 3 words)
5. What does the underlined “that” in the last paragraph refer to? (only 1 word)
First, find out which is north, south, east, and west. Next, look for the special signs and symbols on the map. This means you must find out what things stand for other things.
For example, a red line usually stands for a main highway or freeway. A black line stands for a street, and a black line with little lines across it stands for a railroad. A blue line usually stands for a river. The size of cities is indicated by the size of a black dot. An airport is shown by a tiny plane.
All this information explaining what the lines and the shapes stand for is given in “the legend (图例)”. It is called the legend because it tells the story of the map. The legend is usually found at the bottom of the map.
Then, of course, in order to find your way, you must know where you are first. Mark this place on the map. Then, find the place on the map where you want to go and mark it. Now you can read the map to see what seems the best way to get to your destination.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?2. What does a blue line stand for in this passage?
3. Suppose you are going from Qingdao to Beijing by coach for the first time, but you don’t know how soon you will get there. What can you do with a map first?
4. Where can we find the legend in the map?
5. What must you know in order to find your way according to the passage?
10 . Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site (世界文化遗址). It’s 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.
People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a country government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial (商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its Lacquer ware (漆器) became well known.
In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, and ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.
In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “World Culture Heritage Site”.
1. What does the underlined word “them” (in the 2ⁿᵈ paragraph) refer to?| A．Historic buildings and sites. | B．The three temples. |
| C．The country government seats. | D．The 2,700-year history. |
| A．Its location (位置). | B．Its tourism. | C．Its business. | D．Its history. |
| A．agriculture | B．raising cattle | C．commercial trade | D．making gold coins |
| A．Sunrise Prosperity | B．Zhengguo Temple | C．A lacquer war e store | D．A commercial house |
| A．Pingyao was the center of commerce | B．There are many ancient architecture in Pingyao |
| C．Pingyao was listed in World Heritage List | D．Pingyao is a historic cultural city |
