1 . Which is more important for parents, making more money to give the kids a better life or spending more time with them? It is a problem for parents and it is not easy to decide. A new study shows that today’s parents are spending more time with their children than parents in the past. According to the study, today’s college-educated mothers spend about 21.2 hours a week taking care of their children. But women with less education spend about 15.9 hours. Before 1995, it was only 12 hours.

Dads are spending more time on ball games. Before 1995, fathers with college educations only spent about 4.5 hours a week playing with their children. Today, it increases to 9.6 hours a week. For fathers with high school education, the time goes up from 3.7 hours to 6.8.

These days, parents don’t care more about the cleaning or the cooking. They are trying their best to spend time with their families. As for the kids, they don’t mind how much time their parents spend with them. They just want to enjoy the time their parents do be with them.

So, take part in the kids’ activities when you are with them, such as helping with homework or playing soccer with them.

1. How long do college-educated mothers spend taking care of their kids a week?

A．About 9.6 hours.	B．About 12 hours.
C．About 15.9 hours.	D．About 21.2 hours.

2. What can we know from the new study?

A．Women with less education spend about12 hours staying with their kids,

B．Mothers in the past spent less time staying with kids than mothers these days.

C．Mothers with college education are lazier than those with less education.

D．Dads spend more time staying with their kids than mothers do.

3. How long did fathers with college education spend with kids a month before 1995?

A．About 4.5 hours.	B．Less than 9 hours.
C．About 13.5 hours.	D．About 18 hours.

4. What do kids care about according to the text?

A．They care about how much money their parents can make.

B．They care about how much time their parents spend with them.

C．They care if their parents are really with them.

D．They care if their parents can give them a better life.

2 . With over 70% of the country blanketed in forest, Bhutan is rich in outdoor activities and charming villages that showcase a distinctive culture found nowhere else on the Earth. Here are our picks for the best places to add to your Bhutan traveling list.

Paro

Less than 10 minutes away from the airport, the historic riverside town of Paro is known for the National Museum, Rinpung Dzong and symbolic Tiger’s Nest Monastery. Wander along Paro’s streets and the Paro Weekend Market to explore shops and stands offering handmade souvenirs. When you’ve worked up an appetite, step into any restaurant for fresh, handmade momo dumplings.

Thimphu

In Bhutan’s capital city, spend the day creating your own stamps at the Bhutan Postal Museum, touring the massive Thimphu’s museums and watching policemen manually direct traffic(there are no traffic lights in the entire city). When the sun sets below the mountains, enjoy yourself at bars like Grey Area, a popular art bar with live music where you can shout “tashi delek!”, a Xizang’s expression for good luck and health.

Punakha

Beloved for riverside farms where cows eat among rice and pepper fields, Punakha is home to what is its most beautiful temple, which sits along the Punakha River. Punakha’s low altitude means it tends to be hotter and sunnier than nearby towns and districts, which means you’ll need to take precautions to avoid sunburn.

Khoma

Fashion lovers can expect to visit behind the curtain in Bhutan’s textile center, Khoma. In the eastern district of Lhuentse, this village is home to roughly 1,000 residents—and few cars. Khoma’s artisans spend their days weaving delicate patterns and designs on traditional Bhutanese looms (织布机), creating colors from the area’s minerals and plants.

1. What is recommended for visitors traveling in Thimphu?

A．Acting as a policeman.	B．Enjoying the nightlife.
C．Purchasing ancient stamps.	D．Trying handmade dumplings.

2. What should visitors carry while traveling in Punakha?

A．Food.

B．Life jackets.

C．Sunblock.

D．Warming clothing.

3. Which attraction best suits tourists who are interested in traditional crafts?

A．Paro.

B．Thimphu.

C．Punakha.

D．Khoma.

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。

A city’s name can often indicate its status in a nation’s history. Nanjing, meaning “southern capital city” literally in Chinese, could claim such an influential     1     (identify) in history.

The city, now capital of East China’s Jiangsu Province, was once     2     (global) considered to have     3     urban history of 2,500 years, a new archaeological research rewrites that. It was founded more than 3,100 years ago when an ancient city named Changgan was recently excavated (发掘).

“    4     (date) from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, archaeologists found that the city’s walls were protected by trenches,     5    is a universally acknowledged indicator of a defensive system     6     (adopt) by ancient cities,” says Chen Dahai, head of the archaeological excavation team. “In the history of the ancient system, trenches     7     (appear) before the walls were constructed. They were built around the living area     8     (prevent) floods and defend against enemies,” he added.

The latest archaeological findings may reshape the city’s history, with     9     (it) appearance tracing back to more than 3,100 years ago. Wang Wei, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Archaeology Department, recognizes the discovery     10     a remarkable archaeological finding in tracing the Nanjing’s origins.

4 . Soap (肥皂) might seem like a reasonable way to avoid mosquito bites (蚊子叮) on the basis that if mosquitoes can’t smell you, they can’t bite you. However, a recent study has found that rather than protecting you, certain soaps might actually make you more attractive to mosquitoes.

In the study, conducted at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, four volunteers were asked to wear a sleeve before and after washing with four different brands of soap. The researchers then watched female mosquitoes as only females feed on blood landing on the fabric sample to show their preference. They found that some people washing with some brands of soap, increased their attractiveness to mosquitoes, while washing with other brands of soap tended to repel (驱除) mosquitoes. The repellent effect of some soap may be due to its coconut scent, as coconut oil is known to act as a natural mosquito repellent. The reason behind this attraction is believed to be related to mosquitoes’ sugar intake. When mosquitoes are not feeding on blood, they add their diet with plant juice or sweet water from flowers, “The fact we are taking those flowery and fruity smells and putting them on our bodies means that now the same object smells like a flower and a person at the same time,” said Clément Vinauger, who led the study. It would be like waking up and smelling the smell of coffee and bread, very attractive.

Interestingly, the effects of the soap varied among people, possibly due to the interaction (相互作用) between the soap and each person’s unique body scent. “It’s remarkable that the same person that is extremely attractive to mosquitoes when he is unwashed, but he becomes even more attractive to mosquitoes with one soap, and then become repellent to mosquitoes with another soap,” said Vinauger. Further research is needed to better understand the interaction between different soap and body scents, as well as to develop more effective mosquito repellents.

1. What has the study found?

A．Soap attracts many mosquitoes.	B．Male mosquitoes feed on blood.
C．Some plants drive away mosquitoes.	D．Not all soap can stop mosquito bites.

2. How did the researchers conduct the study?

A．By observing the mosquitoes’ behaviour.	B．By exploring the history of mosquitoes.
C．By interviewing a lot of volunteers.	D．By examining old studies.

3. Why did Vinauger mention coffee and bread?

A．To stress the importance of breakfast.

B．To discuss their probable health benefits.

C．To compare the difference of objects used in the study.

D．To prove the attractiveness of some soap to mosquitoes.

4. In which section of a newspaper may the text appear?

A．Health.

B．Chemistry.

C．Sports.

D．Tour.

5 . As a saying goes, you’re only as old as you feel, but what if different parts of your body aged at different speeds? It turns out they do. The study about the age of our bodies shows that different tissues inside us are effectively different ages. In 2012, Professor Steve Horvath at the University of California, Los Angeles, looked at something new—DNA methylation (甲基化), a naturally occurring process in which DNA is chemically changed over time.

Horvath analyzed the DNA in 8,000 tissue samples from different parts of the body in different people to study these markers. What he found was striking—the amount of methylation in cells from most parts of the body was a good predictor of the person’s age. But there were inconsistencies. Breast tissue, for instance, ages rapidly, whereas muscle ages slowly. The rates of ageing are also different in men and women. “There are many medical implications, from cancer to premature ageing diseases,” says Horvath. It has already been established that tissue that looks significantly older could be cancerous. Horvath’s study found that cancerous tissue has a biological age on average 36 years older than a subject’s actual age.

Could this knowledge help us live longer? “If the markers relate to a process that causes ageing, then it would be theoretically possible to slow down ageing by carefully targeting DNA methylation,” says Horvath. But before scientists got to work on dealing with methylation, they first needed to establish whether these changes were the cause of ageing or just a byproduct of another process. Now, a 2023 study from the University of Michigan has backed up Professor Horvath’s findings, which means they can safely make further studies of methylation.

“Our main aim was to see whether biological age acceleration measured from DNA methylation was predictive of health outcomes and death,” said research associate professor Jessica Faul. “It turned out that it is largely the case. You can use certain DNA methylation markers to predict age and age-related outcomes quite well.”

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To lead in the topic of the text.	B．To summarize the whole text.
C．To offer suggestions to readers.	D．To stimulate readers to imagine.

2. What do we know about Horvath’s discovery about methylation?

A．It helps people live much longer.	B．It doesn’t always predict one’s age.
C．It exists in some parts of one’s body.	D．It causes the different rates of ageing.

3. What does the underlined phrase “backed up” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Consulted.

B．Contradicted.

C．Approved.

D．Predicted.

4. How does Jessica Faul find DNA methylation as a predictor of health?

A．Avoidable.

B．Unrealistic.

C．Risky.

D．Potential.

6 . Can you name a famous elephant? Babar, perhaps? Or Dumbo? Though these names may be memorable to humans, they sound nothing like the names elephants give each other. “If you’re an elephant, your name is something more like a low, rumbling sound (隆隆的声音),” scientists say. Researchers have found that African elephants emit sounds in response to individuals in their social group, and the receivers respond accordingly.

Researchers recorded 527 elephant calls in northern Kenya and 98 calls in southern Kenya. They then distinguished which members were separated from the herd at the time of each call, or which members were close to the herd. Researchers correctly identified the receivers of 20.3% of the 625 recorded calls. This marks a step forward in understanding how these highly intelligent animals communicate.

“There’s a contact rumble, an anti-predator rumble and a greeting rumble. If you look at a spectrogram (声谱图) with your eyes, they all look almost exactly the same,” said Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell, an elephant biologist at Harvard Medical School. “That’s why artificial intelligence(AI)has been exciting. It allows us to really figure out what the elephants are saying.”

As it turned out, the calls were distinct to the receivers. Even calls from different callers to the same receiver were similar. The pattern was less obvious than it was between a single caller and his or her receiver. This may be because rumbles encode multiple messages at the same time, so the AI system in computer model may not have been able to pick out the “name” used in each call. “It just highlights the complexity of what’s going on. And we’re not skilled enough in these measurements to figure out what’s going on,” said Caitlin.

However, the research shows how elephants are navigating through a large landscape and can still keep in touch with specific individuals. It allows them to spread out much further and still have very close tabs on individuals, not just the group.

1. What can we infer from paragraph 1?

A．Elephants seem to have their own names.

B．Elephants’ sounds differ from other species.

C．Elephants’ names sound exactly like humans’.

D．Elephants’ names sound different from each other.

2. How did the researchers conduct their study?

A．By grouping the elephants based on intelligence.

B．By observing the elephants’ reactions to the calls.

C．By analyzing the relationship within the elephants.

D．By copying the elephants’ voice to call their names.

3. What is the function of AI in the research?

A．Simplifying the process.	B．Creating a spectrogram.
C．Letting out various rumbles.	D．Making out each rumble.

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

A．How do elephants contact each other?	B．Why do elephants make their voice?
C．Do elephants name one another?	D．Do elephants like to be called?

7 . People are always living with technology nowadays. Here comes a smart home, which is controlled by the touch of a button.     1     This acts like a remote control to activate household systems and monitor inside temperatures. If done successfully, a smart home system will be integrated so seamlessly that a household will appear to run itself.

Home automation is designed to introduce efficiency to a home.     2     An efficient smart home uses sensors to prevent over watering of outdoor gardens and control room temperatures, all of which can reduce expenses. In addition to cost savings, home automation often provides a sense of security to homeowners.

Families with children or elderly adults in the home may be reassured by some safeguards in smart home security, like fire alarms that alert the appropriate agencies in the event of a problem. Lighting activation runs on timers, which can be a life saver if an oven is left on when someone leaves the home.     3    

Home automation is not just for safety, however.     4     With a centralized control unit, a person does not have to leave the couch to turn down the blinds or even order groceries, which can be automated.

    5     Such a home becomes dependent on technology for routine tasks. If something goes wrong with the central automation unit, it is not just one appliance at risk as malfunctions can disrupt systems that are vital to running a home. As a result, for all people, a home can become a place of technical faults that repeatedly require repair.

A．A smart home doesn’t apply to all family members.

B．It achieves this by saving homeowners time and money.

C．There are some drawbacks with an automated home system.

D．It can also provide convenience for people living in the home.

E．Home automation depends on furniture and home temperatures.

F．Through home automation, an entire house can be connected via a smart controller.

G．Besides protecting people, it also offers security for expensive items inside a residence.

8 . The design theory behind a pair of tiny robots may one day find its way into environmental monitoring, as well as search and-rescue tasks. Modeled after a water strider (水黾), an insect, the two robots each weigh in at 8 and 55 milligrams, and may mark the smallest, lightest, and fastest fully functional micro-robots in the world, according to Washington State University (WSU).

Developed by a team of WSU researchers, the robots’ tininess largely relies on a material known as a shape memory alloy (合金). Although shape memory alloys change form when heated, they can “remember” their original shapes and return to them after cooling. Because of this, the two micro-robots do not require standard motors, and they use light and small ones instead of bulky moving parts.

Both the robots’ motors are each made up of two shape memory alloys, allowing them to move their fins as fast as 40 times a second while also lifting over 150 times their weight. “They’re very technologically sound. The development of the very lightweight robots opens up new possibilities in micro-robotics,” said Conor Trygstad, a material engineering PhD student and study lead author. “Although the robots are impressive when compared to other robots, the pair still fall behind their biological relatives’,” Trygstad said. They can currently move at a speed of about six millimeters a second; a water strider, by comparison, speeds along at about a meter per second. For now, the robots also require wired (连线的) power sources, thus seriously preventing any real-world applications for the moment.

Going forward, however, the team plans to copy other small insect species while also creating a new water strider robot which can move at a higher speed. Depending on using small batteries could also greatly increase the robots’ areas of use, If the breakthrough designs continue improving, similar micro-robots could one day be employed to monitor hard-to-reachor dangerous environments.

1. What is the inspiration for the two robots?

A．A special monitor.	B．The lightest micro robot.
C．An insect species.	D．A search-and rescue task

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

A．Cheap.

B．Huge.

C．Cool

D．Fast.

3. What might Conor Trygstad agree with?

A．Both robots can identify sound.	B．Both robots need wireless power sources.
C．Both robots work better than water striders.	D．Both robots have weaknesses besides strengths.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Robots Are Saving Environment	B．Shape Memory Alloys Are The Key
C．Human Beings Learn From Animals	D．Two Micro robots Can Play A Big Part

9 . 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。

A team of     1     (expert) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, working with a colleague from the National University of Mongolia, conducted a study of the 405-km wall in eastern Mongolia. They used     2     variety of ways in order to learn more about     3     (it) history and purpose. In their published paper, the group     4     (describe) the techniques and technology they used to study the wall.

They mapped the wall,     5     stretches (延伸) from the Dornod Province to the Sukhbaatar Province, roughly along the border (国界) between Mongolia and China. They found that it was unclear when the wall was built, estimated to be between the 11th and 13th centuries. The team referred     6     weather records to learn more about what the wall had experienced over the years and satellite imagery to learn more about connections between wall locations and terrain (地形).

The research team found some surprises. The     7     (big) of all surprises was that the wall had large gaps that suggested it was not made to keep out all invaders (侵略者)—it appeared that it was built     8     (quick) to deal with certain invaders. There was also evidence that suggested the wall was built as a means of     9     (control) the movement of people or animals. Though there were many discoveries, the researchers intended     10     (continue) their work, hoping to learn more.

10 . 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Jack and Dane were great friends. Every evening they played together. They studied in the same class in the same school. They were good students.

One evening, Jack and Dane were playing with a ball. After a while, Jack said, “I am so bored. Shall we go for fishing in the river?” “That is a great idea.” replied Dane.

Jack called out to his mother, “Mama, we are going fishing in the river, okay?”

“Okay,” Jack’s mother said, “but be careful not to get into the water. Your father said there are crocodiles in the river.”

Both the children said that they would not get into the river. They gathered their fishing lines with the hooks (钩), and a can full of fish food. They headed to the river, and soon began fishing.

However, even after a long time, they did not get any fish. They began to feel bored again. “This river looks not so deep. Why does mother say not to swim here?” asked Jack.

“Remember, your mother said there are crocodiles here.” said Dane.

“Well, I don’t find any.” said Jack.

Dane was quiet for a while. Finally he asked, “Do you think we can swim?”

Jack jumped up and shouted excitedly, “Yes, let us swim. Come on, dive.”

The two friends dove in, and splashed (泼水) around happily. They found some logs of wood floating on the river, and tried floating with them. It was then that something unexpected happened.

Dane was playing with a log of wood, and suddenly, the log was caught in a strong current (水流), and he was hit in the head. He became unconscious immediately.

注意: 1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Jack saw what happened, and he swam fast to his friend’s rescue.

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Suddenly, a loud splash was heard.

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