1 . For even the most city citizens, a quick escape into nature is always a welcome breath of fresh air. Try looking for an urban garden nearby — they often hide themselves just around the corner. Click here to know more of the coolest gardens in cities around the world.
Sky Garden
As London’s highest public garden, this social space offers splendid 360-degree views of the city. With a restaurant, observation decks and beautiful plant life, there is something for everyone in this city-center escape from urban life.
The BeltLine
In a massive, 22-mile loop (环线) around the city, the BeltLine connects many Atlanta neighborhoods with parks, trails, restaurants and art shows. Although it is still under construction, the sections that are open to the public act as alternative space to enjoy the outdoors.
Jardins de Rubió i Lluch
This walled, shady garden is in the courtyard of the historic Hospital de la Santa Creu. Decorated with lilac and mandarin trees — and string lights in the evenings — this small garden square is the perfect place to sip a coffee away from Barcelona’s crowded atmosphere.
Dumbarton Oaks
The garden at this historic estate in Georgetown was listed as one of the 10 best gardens in the world by National Geographic in 2014. It has both a formal, carefully manicured (修剪整齐的) garden as well as a naturalistic garden — allowing visitors the ability to choose what they want to see.
1. Where is the passage taken from?| A．A magazine. | B．A website. | C．A newspaper. | D．A book. |
| A．Sky Garden. | B．The BeltLine. |
| C．Jardins de Rubió i Lluch. | D．Dumbarton Oaks. |
| A．They are all mixtures of entertainment and art. |
| B．They are all mixtures of urban and rural gardens. |
| C．They are all good places for people to get close to nature. |
| D．They are all quiet places for people to enjoy a relaxed dinner. |
2 . Tom Sawyer Play Is an Adventure
A 35-minute hand-clapping, foot-stomping musical version of a Mark Twain favorite returns with this Tall Stacks festival.
“Tom Sawyer: A River Adventure” has all the good stuff, including the fence painting, the graveyard, the island and the cave. It is adapted by Joe McDonough, with music by David Kisor. That’s the local stage writing team that creates many of the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s original musicals, along with the holiday family musicals at Ensemble Theatre.
This year Nathan Turner of Burlington is Tom Sawyer, and Robbie McMath of Fort Mitchell is Huck Finn.
Tumer, a 10th-grader at School for Creative and Performing Arts, is a familiar presence on Cincinnati’s stages. He is a star act or of Children’s Theatre, having played leading roles in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Wizard of Oz,” and is fresh from Jersey Production “Ragtime”.
McMath is a junior at Beechwood High School. He was in the cast of “Tom Sawyer” when it was first performed and is a Children’s Theatre regular, with five shows to his credit. This summer he attended Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts in Musical Theatre.
Note to teachers: Children’s Theatre has a study guide demonstrating how math and science can be taught through “Tom Sawyer.” For downloadable lessons, visit the official website of Children’s Theatre.
1. Who wrote the music for “Tom Sawyer: A River Adventure”?| A．David Kisor. | B．Joe McDonough. |
| C．Nathan Turner. | D．Robbie McMath. |
| A．They study in the same school. | B．They worked together in ”Ragtime“. |
| C．They are experienced on stage. | D．They became friends ten years ago. |
| A．Research funding. | B．Training opportunities. |
| C．Technical support. | D．Educational resources. |
3 . A team of psychologists led by Dr. Karen McComb at the University of Sussex in the UK have discovered an effective way for humans to communicate with cats through slow blinking (眨眼睛), similar to how cats interact with each other.
Dr. McComb and her team conducted two experiments to study this phenomenon. In the first study, owners were instructed by researchers Tasmin Humphrey and Andrew Wood to slowly blink at their cats from a distance while being recorded. Humphrey and Wood found the cats were more likely to respond with slow blinking of their own compared to when no interaction took place.
To follow up on these findings, McComb, Humphrey, and Wood designed a second experiment without considering the exsisting relationship between humans and cats. Researchers, including McComb, performed the same slow blinking action. Like in the first experiment, the cats in this study also responded more favorably to slow blinking by returning the gesture and more readily approaching an extended hand, according to Humphrey’s analysis.
The slow blink expression involves partially closing the eyes briefly, copying a relaxed, friendly facial expression in humans. McComb notes that for cats, it appears to signal good intentions as constant staring could be seen as threatening. Wood says that cats may have developed this language to acknowledge humans who react positively to the signal. Being able to effectively communicate acceptance in this subtle cat way seems to strengthen the bond between cats and their owners, McComb adds.
McComb, Humphrey and Wood hope their findings can provide insight into cat behavior and thinking. They also aim to apply this knowledge of cross-species communication to evaluate cat health in various places like veterinary (兽医的) clinics and shelters, according to Humphrey. A deeper understanding of how cats interpret and respond to humans can improve our ability to properly care for household and outdoor cat populations, McComb concludes.
1. How was the second experiment different from the first one?| A．It recorded the interactive behavior of cats. |
| B．It required cat owners to blink from a distance. |
| C．It studied how cats communicate with each other. |
| D．It focused on how cats react to strangers’ slow blinking. |
| A．To attract their owners’ attention. |
| B．To show friendliness to other animals. |
| C．To respond to humans’ positive reactions. |
| D．To send out a signal for help to their partners. |
| A．Improving cat behavior and habits. |
| B．Assessing health conditions of cats. |
| C．Developing ways to treat cats’ diseases. |
| D．Helping cat owners train their cats quickly. |
| A．Humans can communicate with cats by blinking slowly. |
| B．Extending hands to cats can strengthen the bond with them. |
| C．Cats respond favorably to humans’ friendly facial expressions. |
| D．Understanding cat signals improves humans’ ability to care for them. |
4 . There are many differences in ways of thinking between East and West. Many of them are reflected in daily behaviour. In particular, Chinese people sometimes attach more importance to their appearance and social status than to their inner qualities, while Westerners think the opposite. However, Socrates (Ancient Greek philosopher) and Confucius share significant similarities that are universal.
Both philosophers share several teachings in common; for example, their understanding of the nature of knowledge and their opinions on education. Socrates believed “There is only one good, knowledge;and only one evil, ignorance.” Similarly, Confucius said, “Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?” But both also acknowledge the limits of knowledge. Socrates said: “All I know is that I know nothing.” Similarly, Confucius said, “When you know a thing, to hold you know it; when you don’t know a thing, to allow you don’t know it-this is knowledge.”
However, there are important differences in their understanding of morality. Confucius believed each person should follow certain regulations according to virtue(德行). Everyone should play their role in a society where people are interdependent in order to achieve harmony in the whole society. For instance, when asked how to govern a country, Confucius stated “An emperor should act like an emperor, a subject should act like a subject.” Socrates, however, places self-knowledge over social knowledge.
Another difference between them is their attitude towards political domination(支配). Confucius believed the best way to govern a country isn’t through legal system, but through virtue. Socrates, by contrast, declared that “nothing is more important than justice”.
Why have East and West developed such different cultural values? A widely accepted theory holds that Eastern civilization was an agricultural civilization. Hence the need for a collective society and friendly relations with neighbors was strong. Western civilization, however, was nomadic(游牧的). Their mobility makes them less dependent on society after migration.
In spite of their differences, the two cultures have more in common than differences. The shared concern for moral values in the teachings of Socrates and Confucius also shows us more fundamental similarities between Eastern and Western cultures in their pursuit of virtuous lives.
1. What do the two philosophers share about knowledge?| A．The learning of knowledge is easy. | B．The learning of knowledge is endless. |
| C．A man without knowledge is foolish. | D．A man shall not pretend to understand. |
| A．Nothing is more important than a legal system. |
| B．I am not a Chinese, but a citizen of the world. |
| C．Not everyone should play his own role in society. |
| D．A man does what is proper to the position he is in. |
| A．The difference in political atmosphere. | B．The difference in the length of history. |
| C．The difference in economic development. | D．The difference in levels of social dependency. |
| A．Reasons for similarities of Eastern and Western cultures. |
| B．The introduction of great figures of two different cultures. |
| C．Comparisons of the thoughts of the two great philosophers. |
| D．The contributions of two great philosophers to civilization. |
5 . The first apes evolved 20 million years ago in the forests where they would go up a tree to get their food, and then come back down to move on to the next tree. Getting out of a tree presents all kinds of new challenges. Big apes can’t afford to fall because it could kill or badly injure them. Natural selection would have favored those with body structures that allowed them to descend safely.
Dartmouth researchers report in the journal Royal Society Open Science that apes probably evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies. These flexible body parts passed on from ancestral apes would have allowed early humans to climb trees at night for safety and comedown in the daylight unhurt. When early humans transitioned from forests to open savannas (热带稀树草原), flexible shoulders and elbows were crucial for gathering food and using tools for hunting and defense.
The researchers used sports analysis and statistical software to study how primates(灵长目动物) like chimpanzees and small monkeys called mangabeys climbed in the wild. They found that chimps and mangabeys scaled(攀爬) trees similarly, with shoulders and elbows mostly bent close to the body. When descending, however, chimpanzees extended their arms above their heads to hold on to branches, much like a person using a ladder, to counteract(抵消) their heavier weight pulling them downward.
Luke Fannin, the lead author of the study, emphasized that their findings highlight the importance of “down climbing” in the evolution of apes and early humans. He explained, “Our research introduces the idea that down climbing played a significant role in shaping the structural differences between monkeys and apes, which eventually manifested in humans.”
“Our field has thought about apes climbing up trees for a long time, but we’ve been ignoring the second half of this behavior,” said Professor Jeremy DeSilva, “The findings are among the first to identify the significance of “down climbing” in the evolution of apes and early humans.
1. According to paragraph 1, apes would have been favored by natural selection if .| A．they have sufficient food resources. |
| B．they come down from trees securely. |
| C．they master skills of climbing up trees. |
| D．they cure themselves when they’re injured. |
| A．The similarity of two primates in tree climbing |
| B．The evolution of two primates’ adaptation to nature. |
| C．The analysis of primates’ tree scaling and descending |
| D．The application of different research methods and tools. |
| A．Descending trees has been neglected by researchers for a long time. |
| B．The study is the first to recognize the significance of down climbing |
| C．The evolution of apes and early humans is a result of down climbing. |
| D．Studies on climbing down trees are more likely to have new findings. |
| A．Chimpanzees and Mangabeys: Researches in Natural Settings |
| B．Apes and Humans: A Comparative Study of Climbing up Trees |
| C．Shoulders and Elbows: Evolved as Brakes for Downclimbing Apes |
| D．Apes’ Climbing Strategies: How to Use Different Body Parts Flexibly |
6 . At noon, the Tongxin Cafeteria near the Jing’an Temple downtown has a queue that exemplifies its multi-generational popularity. The menu, with over 60 dishes rotated daily, is liked by a series of tastes.
“Compared with food ordered for lunch online, this place is much better.” said Chen Luo, an accountant from a nearby office building. Chen, who lives alone, formerly depended heavily on delivered meals ordered online until her parents raised concerns about the nutritional value and what they called “bad food materials.”
Cooking for herself is too time-wasting, she said. “I used to spend two hours cooking and washing dishes, only to eat for 10 minutes,” Chen said. “The nearby community canteen (餐厅) is a perfect solution. These cafeterias, once known as ‘senior canteens’, were originally built to provide healthy meals at affordable prices to older folks who might not be getting enough nutrition at home. From 2019 to 2021, the Shanghai government set a goal of building 200 new community canteens, bringing the total at the end of last year to 1,608.
A basic meal with one meat dish and two vegetables costs less than 20 yuan (US$2.70), far cheaper than prices in mainstream downtown restaurants. And all meals are prepared on site with fresh materials. The government supports these cafeterias—sometimes with rent-free space; sometimes with reduced water and electricity charges.
Li Jiajun, the manager of a local community canteen, said the prices of the dishes are 20 percent lower than popular market rates because of the government assistance. His canteen provides elderly diners from 10:30—11:30 am and 4:30—5:30 pm. Apart from those hours, people of all ages are welcome.
Li said cafeteria managers are required to maintain detailed records, including 48-hour food samples and daily uploads to food safety platforms. This approach ensures the paths of all materials. Some community cafeterias have become so popular that they appear on WeChat and other lifestyle sharing platforms.
1. Why is the menu mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To describe the menu. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To arouse readers’ curiosity. | D．To highlight the dishes. |
| A．Chen Luo’s parents were too busy to cook nutritional meals for her. |
| B．From 2019 to 2021, the Shanghai government built 1,608 new community canteens. |
| C．The community canteens needn’t pay for electricity with the government assistance. |
| D．The community canteens were once built to provide healthy meals for seniors. |
| A．nutrition value | B．fresh materials |
| C．government support | D．lower prices |
| A．Community canteens growing in popularity |
| B．Tongxin canteen liked by multi-generations |
| C．Community canteens shared on platforms |
| D．More community canteens built for seniors |
7 . Creative ways to change your workouts
Most people know working out is good for your health, both physical and mental.
Create a word or image with your exercise route
Runners often map routes through city streets that create a word or image, then use a GPS device to “draw” it as they run.
Join a free fitness group
Exercising can be more fun with others, so look for group fitness opportunities. Many communities offer free exercise opportunities. Fitness in the Park is a summer-long activity that has been operating in New York state for a decade. Everyone is welcome to head to one of 18 different parks.
Sure, you can run a 5 K. But why not try orienteering (定向越野赛)? This timed navigational sport requires you to use detailed maps to find orange-and-white flags that are hidden in parks or remote areas. Races involve difficult running routes
Dance
Whether you take a class or practice at home, dancing is a great way to get your body moving. Dancing doesn’t seem like exercise to a lot of people, which is why it’s always a popular choice.
| A．Hit the road. |
| B．Sign up for a new-to-you event. |
| C．Participants have ranged in age from about 10 to over 70. |
| D．But staying motivated — especially for the long term — can be a struggle. |
| E．The event is timed, so people often jog or power walk from flag to flag. |
| F．You can do the same, whether your favored exercise is running, walking or biking. |
| G．It’s also something you can do anywhere, to any kind of music, salsa, hip-hop — it all works. |
8 . 3 Most Walkable Cities in Europe
Walking on holiday is a great way to stay fit, but also to see the sights a city has to offer. Here are the three most walkable cities in Europe.
Athens, Greece
Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world. The capital of Greece ranks fifth, with a slightly longer—but very worthwhile—route of 2.1 miles between its top-rated tourist attractions.
Visitors to Athens can set off at the Acropolis, climbing to discover the ancient Parthenon that stands as a landmark to the city’s ancient legacy. Then it leads to the Acropolis Museum, with the neighbourhood of Plaka waiting to be explored in the shadow of the Acropolis. The National Archaeological Museum is also close-by.
Seville, Spain
Seville is home to some wonderful sights that are best seen when walking. Seville in Spain takes the top spot as Europe’s most walkable city, offering the shortest walking route between the top five tourist attractions.
Visitors to this charming Spanish city can explore the impressive Plaza de Espana public square, before wandering over to the UNESCO-listed palace of Real Alcazar and Seville Cathedral. After that it’s only a short trip on foot to visit the beautiful Barrio Santa Cruz neighbourhood and admire the Torre Giralda bell tower hanging above. With just 20 minutes of walking between these attractions.
Venice, Italy
Venice is famous for walkers, so it’s no surprise it ranks as the second best location for walkable city breaks. Walking is the best way to explore the bridges over the canals the city is famed for. There are endless charming alleyways to explore, as well as plenty of bridges over the canals that the city is famous for. Just under half an hour of walking here will take you on a tour of the impressive Grand Canal.
1. What’s the recommended starting point of the city walk in Athens?| A．Plaka. |
| B．The Acropolis. |
| C．The Acropolis Museum. |
| D．The National Archaeological Museum . |
| A．It offers some wonderful sights. |
| B．Visitors can explore five tourist attractions. |
| C．It makes visitors enjoy their time to the full. |
| D．Visitors can tour five tourist attractions in the shortest walking distance. |
| A．Those who are hiking during the vacation. |
| B．Those who want to find suggestions on where to travel. |
| C．Those who are looking for the best traveling destinations. |
| D．Those who usually choose walkable cities for their vacation. |
9 . The Nobel economics prize was awarded on Monday to Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin for research that has advanced the understanding of the gender (性别) gap in the labor market.
The announcement went a tiny step to closing the Nobel committee’s own gender gap: Goldin is just the third woman to win the prize out of 93 economics laureates (获奖者). She has studied 200 years of women’s participation in the workplace, showing that despite continued economic growth, women’s pay did not continuously catch up to men’s and a divide still exists despite women gaining higher levels of education than men. “I’ve always been an optimist. But when I looked at the numbers, I found in the 1990s, our labor force participation rate for women was the highest in the world, and now it isn’t the highest in the world,” Goldin told The Associated Press.
“Although Goldin’s research does not offer solutions, it allows policymakers to deal with the problem,” said Randi Hjalmarsson, a member of the Nobel committee. “She explains the source of the gap, and how it’s changed over time and how it changes with the stage of development. By finally understanding the problem and calling it by the right name, we will find a solution.”
Goldin, 77, told AP that what happens in people’s homes reflects what happens in the workplace. Women often have to take jobs that allow them to be on call at home—work that often pays less.
“Goldin tried to fill in missing data for her research,” Hjalmarsson said. For parts of history, systematic labor market records did not exist, and, if they did, information about women was missing. “So Goldin had to be a detective to find novel data sources and creative ways to use them to measure these unknowns.”
1. What can we infer from the second paragraph?| A．Men gained higher levels of education than women. |
| B．The women’s pay caught up to men’s 200 hundreds years ago. |
| C．Many women scientists have won the Nobel economics prize these years. |
| D．At the late 20th century, American women labor force participation rate was the top. |
| A．Randi Hjalmarsson didn’t agree with Goldin. |
| B．Most of the women usually prefer to be housewives. |
| C．What happens in family life often mirrors that in the workplace. |
| D．Goldin’s research offered the policymakers solutions to the problem. |
| A．Lack of experience. | B．Lack of support. |
| C．Lack of money. | D．Lack of data. |
| A．A Solution to the Gender Gap in the Labor Market |
| B．Claudia Goldin—a Great Economics Data Detective |
| C．The Third Woman Who Wins the Nobel Prize in the World |
| D．Nobel Economics Prize Goes to Harvard University Woman Professor |
10 . In 1867, Caroline Shawk Brooks and her husband, Samuel, had a farm in Arkansas. Life on the farm was not easy. From sunrise to sunset, Caroline and Samuel milked cows, gardened, and picked cotton. This left Caroline no time for her dream of becoming an artist.
Time was not the only problem. Money was a worry too. The cotton crops were failing. What could Caroline and Samuel do?
Caroline decided to make butter (黄油) from their cows’milk and sell it at market. But other farms also made and sold butter. How would Caroline set her butter apart from the rest? This is where Caroline’s artistic talent came in. To draw attention to her butter, she began making small butter sculptures (雕塑). She used many different tools, such as butter paddles (搅拌器的浆叶), broom straws, and tree sticks. She also put the butter in a shallow tin pan, which sat in a larger tin pan filled with ice to stop the butter sculpture from melting.
Caroline’s butter sculptures were a hit. Before long, she was displaying them at fairs and exhibitions. One of her largest butter sculptures was a life-size statue called A Study in Butter. It was transported all the way to Paris for the 1878 world’s fair.
Caroline also made sculptures using marble (大理石). She eventually opened a studio in New York City where she created many marble sculptures, some of which were shown at the 1893 world’s fair in Chicago.
But Caroline never stopped making butter art. She considered butter a superior material to work with. At the 1893 fair, she also displayed her butter techniques with a sculpture of Christopher Columbus.
Caroline Shawk Brooks died in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1913. She is remembered as the first known American butter sculptor.
1. Why did Caroline make butter sculptures?| A．To realize her dream. | B．To make her butter stand out. |
| C．To make her farm famous. | D．To display her sculptures at the fair. |
| A．Caroline made her art works all by machine. |
| B．The sculptures were all made from cow's milk. |
| C．Ice was used to keep the butter sculptures in shape. |
| D．Caroline stopped making sculptures after being world-famous. |
| A．Talented and successful. | B．Confident and caring. |
| C．Creative and rich. | D．Brave and famous. |
| A．A Farming Pioneer. | B．A Great Sculptor. |
| C．The Butter Sculptures. | D．The Butter Artist. |
