1 . Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is a light-weight material, about 95 percent air, with very good insulation (隔热) properties, according to Earthsource. org. It is used in products from cups that keep your drinks hot or cold to packaging material that protects items during shipping. With the above good features, Styrofoam still enjoys a bad reputation. It cannot be recycled without releasing dangerous pollution into the air. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is the fifth-largest creator of harmful waste.

But now the common worms which are usually disgusting can come to the rescue, specifically, meal-worms. Scientists from the U. S. and China have discovered that meal-worms can digest plastic. One meal-worm can digest a pill-sized amount of plastic a day. Study co-author Wei-Min Wu says that in 24 hours, the plastic is turned into carbon dioxide.

Since Styrofoam has no nutrition at all, are the worms hurt by eating plastic? Much to the scientists’ surprise, the study found that worms eating Styrofoam were as healthy as worms eating bran (谷糠) . The researchers will study the worm’s eating habits and digesting system, looking to copy the plastic breakdown but on a larger scale. Once the way can be put into practice, it will make a revolutionary difference to the disposal of plastic.

“Solving the issue of plastic pollution is important”, says Wu, a Stanford University environmental engineering instructor. After all, our earth is small and landfill space-is becoming limited with too much garbage waiting to be dealt with, he says.

About 33-million tons of plastic are thrown away in the United States every year. Plastic plates, cups and containers take up 25 percent to 30 percent of space in America’s landfills. One Styrofoam cup takes more than 1 million years to recycle in a landfill, according to Cleveland State University.

1. What do we know about Styrofoam?

A．It can be used to cool drinks.	B．It is a weightless material.
C．It is harmful when recycled.	D．It is usually used on ships.

2. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．Meal-worms have amazing digesting power.	B．Meal-worms are not bad in their nature.
C．Meal-worms can rescue people’s lives.	D．People misunderstood meal-worms in the past.

3. In the future, plastic may be recycled _______.

A．by raising amounts of meal-worms	B．by environmental engineering instructors
C．using a method inspired by eating meal-worms	D．without sending out dangerous pollution

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Styrofoam is widely used in daily life.	B．Meal-worms are genius at eating plastic
C．Plastic recycling may be no more a problem.	D．Plastic can be turned into carbon dioxide

2 . 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。

The silk industry in Sichuan is one of the original points of Chinese silk culture. Sichuan brocade (蜀锦) originated from the Spring and Autumn period, and     1    (develop) in the Han and Tang dynasties. It     2    (have) a history of more than 2,000 years and has a far-reaching influence     3     traditional Chinese silk production. Sichuan brocade features light shades integrated in an elegant and care free style,     4     shows Han Chinese characteristics and local traditions.

Sichuan brocade is one of China’s four most famous branches of brocade, the others being Yun brocade in Nanjing, Song brocade in Suzhou and Zhuang brocade in Guangxi. With     5     (it) attractive designs and bright, clear colors that follow the style of Chinese-ink paintings, Sichuan brocade     6     (put) on the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

Silk has been produced in Sichuan Province since ancient times and Chengdu was the starting point of the southern Silk Road. Sichuan brocade is made with local silk and colored silk threads, which are the raw     7     (material). Special embroidery (刺绣) skills are used     8     (turn) brocade into quilt covers, pillowcases, clothes and shoes.

    9     subjects of the Sichuan brocade are rich and varied. Some come from legends, myths, historical stories, and others come from landscape, figures, flowers, birds and animals,     10     (especial) the beasts that symbolize fortune and long life.

3 . From its origins in the California hills in the US to its acceptance on urban streets worldwide, the history of skateboarding spans (跨越) seven decades over which it has developed from an unwelcome sport to an Olympic event in 2020. Now, a London exhibition is to show the path from those humble homemade boards of the 1950s to today’s hi-tech professional models.

The exhibition will feature about 90 rare and unique boards along with more than 100 other related objects, including safety equipment and magazines. Half of the skateboards will be on loan from the Skateboarding Hall of Fame Museum in California. A highlight will be a 1967 Bilbo board produced by European Surfing Company, which was set up at Newquay in Cornwall in southwestern England in 1965 and marketed the first skateboards in the UK.

Also on display will be the famous skateboarder Tony Hawk’s first professional model, from 1982, with its adaptations for the vert style of skateboarding which uses vertical ramps (垂直坡面) rather than level ground; early homemade boards from 1950s California modeled on the design of roller-skates and surfboards; and the first two models to feature a kicktail —the raised tail enabling skaters to turn or balance the board on the back wheels.

It will also feature Laura Thornhill’s Logan Earth Ski from the 1970s, the first women’s professional model. Sky Brown, who at 13 won bronze for Team Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is represented through her first professional model, the Sky Brown & Skateistan Almost model.

“Skateboards, often misunderstood as being just toys, are now hi-tech products responding to constantly changing urban environments,” said Jonathan Olivares, the show’s director. “This exhibition is centred around a single question: how did the skateboard get to positioning the skateboard as a truly unique object.”

1. When were skateboard s invented?

A．In the 1950s.

B．In the 1960s.

C．In the 1970s.

D．In the 1980s.

2. What can we know about Tony Hawk’s skateboard on the display?

A．It is a homemade board with a kicktail.

B．It is probably suitable for vertical camps.

C．It is designed to skate on the level ground.

D．It is modeled on the design of roller-skates.

3. Which is the first women’s professional model?

A．Bilbo.

B．Newquay.

C．Sky.

D．Logan Earth Ski.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．Skateboards are still low-tech products.

B．Skateboarding won its acceptance immediately.

C．Skateboarding will be very popular around the world.

D．Skateboarders were always admired by the public.

4 . Connected to each other like never before, young people today are becoming agents of change, increasingly contributing to innovative solutions that improve people’s lives and the planet’s health. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research is therefore delighted to launch the Young Leaders Online Training Programme, a four-week e-Learning course, to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to fully unfold their potential as global leaders.

◆CONTENT

◇Online Learning Modules

Module 1: The United Nations (3—9 June 2024)

Module 2: Conference Diplomacy (外交) (10—16 June 2024)

Module 3: Sustainable Development Goals (17—23 June 2024)

Module 4: International Communication (24—30 June 2024)

Each module will comprise about 30 pages of literature, external links, videos, and other relevant material, corresponding to a total workload of 40—45 hours during the four weeks.

◇Live Components

Each e-Learning module will go with a series of live meetings with UN experts. These will have varying lengths and formats, including e-workshops, mock (模拟的) interviews, etc.

◆COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS

Participants are qualified for a course certificate upon successful completion of the components below:

◇Reading the four modules’ content. You may wish to study the material through the interactive programme Articulate Storyline or simply download the PDF version of the content. They are identical in content and are meant to give participants flexibility in the way to study.

◇Participation in the discussion board forums (论坛). You are supposed to answer questions on every module in short texts. Your posts will be evaluated according to both quantity and quality.

◇Passing the multiple-choice assessments. Each module features an assessment quiz at its end. It contains 10 questions, and passing the module requires at least 8 out of 10 questions correctly answered.

1. What is the main aim of the course?

A．To build up the youth’s global leadership ability.

B．To improve the lives of young people.

C．To connect the youth around the world.

D．To collect innovative ideas from young people.

2. What will participants do in each module?

A．Appreciate great works of art.	B．Spend 40--45 hours on learning.
C．Have online meetings with UN experts.	D．Make videos for the United Nations.

3. To get a course certificate, a participant needs to ______.

A．post questions on each module	B．take part in the discussions
C．copy the PDF version of the content	D．answer all the test questions correctly

5 . Losing an eye might be an unthinkable thing, especially for a young woman, but not for Xintong. She chose to become an ocularist (义眼师) who makes artificial eyes for herself and people in the same ________ to help them get back their ________. Xintong is the name that she gave to herself — which she ________ people to call her instead of her real name — because “xintong” in Chinese sounds like “new pupils”.

Nearly 10 years after ________ her right eye in a car accident , 28-year-old Xintong from Beijing transformed the empty of her eye socket (眼眶) into a fashion statement. She ________ a short video online in which she wears a charming artificial eye. As she ________ her hand, the artificial eye begins to ________ with red light. With another wave, the light ________ to green and then purple and white. The video soon became ________ on social media, with many ________ praising her. But that wasn’t the case 10 years ago. “The artificial eye I ________ at that time was suffering,” Xintong said. “It ________ and gave me a red eye socket. I was young and I wanted to look ________.”

She started ________ artificial eyes. Beginning in 2019, she dedicated about two years to mastering the production techniques and skills under the ________ of an ocularist. This journey ________ her own artificial eye studio, providing personalized services for those ________ them.

Now when Xintong hears her ________ say words such as “Finally, I can ________ myself” or “Now I feel free to take photos”, she feels deeply ________.

1.

A．silence

B．statistic

C．achievement

D．situation

2.

A．theme

B．misunderstanding

C．humor

D．confidence

3.

A．swings

B．prefers

C．hates

D．prevents

4.

A．selling

B．ignoring

C．losing

D．repairing

5.

A．shared

B．downloaded

C．deleted

D．watched

6.

A．waved

B．washed

C．transported

D．invented

7.

A．shine

B．alarm

C．break

D．test

8.

A．points

B．controls

C．devotes

D．changes

9.

A．ridiculous

B．ancient

C．unfair

D．popular

10.

A．lessons

B．lectures

C．comments

D．dramas

11.

A．subscribed

B．wore

C．decorated

D．predicted

12.

A．hurt

B．improved

C．cheated

D．left

13.

A．generous

B．attractive

C．strict

D．old

14.

A．researching

B．refusing

C．harvesting

D．spying

15.

A．system

B．guidance

C．measure

D．permission

16.

A．stared at

B．cut down

C．led to

D．adjusted to

17.

A．scaring

B．requiring

C．adapting

D．creating

18.

A．agents

B．relatives

C．students

D．customers

19.

A．accept

B．hear

C．dress

D．understand

20.

A．dizzy

B．bored

C．moved

D．nervous

6 . Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain.     1    . Music therapy (疗法) is an intervention sometimes used to promote emotional health. help patients cope with stress, and boost psychological well-being.

Music can improve mental performance.

Research suggests that background music improves mental performance. Playing more positive music leads to improvements in processing speed.     2    , turn on a little music in the background for a boost in your mental performance.

Music can help you eat less.

    3    . To lose weight, listen to soft music and dim the lights. According to one study, people eating at low-lit restaurants where soft music was played consumed less food. Music and lighting help create a more relaxing setting where participants may consume their food more slowly and feel full sooner.

    4    .

Sleeplessness is a problem that affects people of different age groups. While there are many approaches to treating this problem, research has demonstrated that listening to relaxing classical music can be a safe, effective, and affordable therapy.

Music can help you manage pain

Research has shown that music can be very helpful in the management of pain. One study of fibromyalgia (纤维性肌痛) patients found that those who listened to music for one hour a day experienced a significant reduction in pain.     5    .

A．Music can reduce stress

B．The psychological effects of music can be powerful

C．So next time you are working on a task

D．Music can help you sleep better

E．The result of the study suggests music therapy can help treat some diseases

F．Some people enjoy listening to music before they go to sleep

G．Music can be a helpful weight-loss tool

7 . 你校正在举办以“用英语讲好中国故事”为主题的英语征文大赛，请以我最喜欢的中国传统节日为题，写一篇短文参赛。
内容包括：1. 最喜欢的节日；2. 节日简介；3. 喜欢的原因。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。

The Traditional Chinese Festival I Like Best

There are many tradition festivals in China.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . We are encountering real-world examples of how AI can harm human relations. As digital assistants such as Alexa or Siri become popular, we become accustomed to talking to them as though they were alive. Writing in these pages several years ago, Judith Shulevitz described how some of us are starting to treat them as friends and therapists. Shulevitz herself says she confesses (忏悔) things to Google Assistant that she wouldn’t tell her husband. If we grow more comfortable talking to our devices about our secrets, what happens to our human marriages and friendships? Designers and programmers typically create devices whose responses make us feel better—but may not help us be self-reflective or think over painful truths. As Al goes deeper into our lives, we must face the possibility that it will prevent our emotions and deep human connects.

Besides, we will fight with some other challenges. The age of driverless cars, after all, is upon us. These vehicles promise to considerably reduce the exhaustion and distraction that put human drivers in danger, thus preventing accidents. But what other effects might they have on people? Driving is a very modern kind of social interaction, requiring high levels of cooperation. I worry that driverless cars, by taking away from us an occasion to exercise this ability, could contribute to its decline.

Not only will these vehicles be programmed to take over driving duties and hence to remove from humans the power to make moral judgments (for example, about which pedestrian to hit when a crash is unavoidable) , they will also affect humans with whom they’ve had no direct contact. For instance, drivers who have steered awhile alongside an autonomous vehicle traveling at a steady, changeless speed might drive less attentively, thus increasing their likelihood of accidents once they’ve moved to a part of the highway occupied only by human drivers. Alternatively, experience may reveal that driving alongside autonomous vehicles travelling in perfect accordance with (按照) traffic laws actually improves human performance.

Either way, we should be careful to launch new forms of AI without first taking such unexpected social effects into account. We must apply the same effort that we apply to the hardware and software that make self-driving cars possible to managing AI’s potential effects on those outside the car. After all, we install brake lights on the back of your car not just, or even primarily, for your benefit, but for the sake of the people behind you.

1. What can be inferred about human relationships from the first paragraph?

A．AI will lead to distant inter-personal relationships.

B．We will feel comfortable speaking to others online.

C．AI will enable people to communicate more with others.

D．We will be more self-reflective in interaction thanks to Al.

2. In Paragraph 2, the phrase “its decline” refers to the decline in _______..

A．drivers’ interaction with the cars

B．drivers’ exhaustion and distraction

C．our ability to cooperate with others while driving

D．our ability to deal with emergencies while driving

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of driverless cars?

A．They may be better at making more judgments than human drivers.

B．They need to vary their speed to make contact with human drivers.

C．They may make human drivers in other cars drive more safely.

D．They need to force human drivers to concentrate in the car.

4. What’s the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

A．To present the challenges brought by AI.

B．To explain the reason why AI may harm human relations.

C．To put forward how to solve the unexpected effect of AI.

D．To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of driverless cars.

10 . A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift-$7, 000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially,” says Dave.

But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in others, it was more than $100, 000.

It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $3 million-they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.

Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They liked comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.

Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything.” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden. “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”

Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy, a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents, should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.

Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.

1. According to the text, the Fusses _______.

A．were employed by a truck company	B．were in financial difficulty
C．worked in a school cafeteria	D．lost their home

2. Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?

A．They decided to open a store.	B．They wanted to save money.
C．They couldn’t afford expensive things.	D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids.

3. According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were _______.

A．Understanding

B．optimistic

C．Childlike

D．curious

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．The community of Alto was poor.

B．The summer camp was attractive to the parents.

C．Sandy Van Weelden got a legacy from the Hatches

D．The Hatches would like the neighbors to follow their example.