1 . Getting less than five hours of sleep in mid-to-late life could be linked to an increased risk of developing at least two chronic (慢性的) diseases, according to a new study. The research analyzed the effect of sleep time on the health of more than 7,000 men and women over 50. Researchers examined the relationship between how long each participant slept for and whether they had two or more chronic diseases over the course of 25 years.
People who were reported getting five hours of sleep or less at age 50 were 20% more likely to have two or more chronic diseases, as opposed to people who slept for up to seven hours Additionally, sleeping for five hours or less was linked to a 30% to 40% increased risk of multimorbidity (多病症) when compared with those who slept for up to seven hours.
Lead author, Dr Sabia, said: “To ensure a better night’s sleep, it is important to promote good sleep, such as making sure the bedroom is quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature before sleeping. It’s also advised to remove electronic devices and avoid large meals before bedtime. Physical activity and being exposed to light during the day might also promote good sleep.”
Dr Sabia said, “Short sleep increases the risk of chronic diseases that in turn increase the risk of death. However, if a participant has already suffered from a chronic condition, then long sleep time is associated with around a 35% increased risk of developing another illness. Researchers believe this could be due to unnoticed health conditions impacting sleep.” Dr. Sabia added, “This research adds to a growing body of research that highlights how important it is to get a good night’s sleep.”
1. How did the experts carry out the study in Paragraph 2?| A．By making contrasts. |
| B．By having interviews. |
| C．By conducting online surveys. |
| D．By analyzing published papers. |
| A．Being exposed to light at night. |
| B．Avoiding phone use before bedtime. |
| C．Limiting physical exercise in the day. |
| D．Finding a bright and peaceful bedroom. |
| A．Short sleep may increase deaths by 35%. |
| B．Lack of sleep directly leads to more deaths. |
| C．The longer you sleep, the more diseases you will have. |
| D．The research further stresses the importance of good sleep. |
| A．Longer Sleep, Better Health |
| B．Shorter Sleep, Fewer Risks |
| C．Less Sleep, Poorer Health |
| D．More Exercise, Better Sleep |
2 . According to a study done by University of Michigan, shopping to reduce stress was 40 times more effective at giving people a sense of control and shoppers were three times less sad than those only looking at items.
More than half of the 1,000 consumers surveyed by Credit Karma, head researcher of the study, said they have shopped to deal with feelings of stress or depression. About 48 percent of men and 31 percent of women who have stress shopping said they had purchased alcohol when stressed. About 82 percent of women spend on clothing compared to 52 percent of men. Women also lead shopping for jewellery, 42 percent, compared to 22 percent for men.
In some sense, stress shopping can actually help you live a healthier life by making sure that your blood pressure is lowered. The survey found 82 percent had only positive feelings about their purchases and that the positive mood was long-lasting. However, stress shopping, for many, could grow into a drive that uses up money, causes conflict, and therefore adds great stress to life.
Despite the in-time joy from purchases, stress shopping never proves a long-lasting cure to stress or depression. Actually it needs to be avoided anyhow. Whether you’re purchasing Christmas presents or buying groceries having the items you need written down will provide you with brightness while shopping. Reward yourself for sticking to your list and you’ll be more likely to commit to it.
In addition always think about what you struggle with most financially. Do you spend too much money at the mall? Eating out? Vacations? Make a list of where your money is going and take necessary steps to resist your desire. For example, if you spend too much money on dining out on weekends, stuff your cupboard with food on Friday. So you’ll be more likely to stay in and cook. And you need to give up the need to keep up with others. Everyone’s financial situation is different and comparison may lead to debt and dissatisfaction with what you already have.
1. Why does the author mention those numbers in Paragraph 2?| A．To support an idea. | B．To attract readers. |
| C．To call for actions. | D．To introduce a topic. |
| A．Stimulating desires. | B．Recording spendings. |
| C．Turning to medicines. | D．Comparing with others. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Negative. |
| A．Does shopping benefit us? | B．More stressed, women or men? |
| C．Should we compare with others? | D．Can stress shopping reduce stress? |
3 . The AIDA model is the foundation of modern marketing and advertising practice. It outlines the four basic steps used to persuade potentials to make a purchase. The first three steps lie in creating attention (A), decorating interest (I), and building desire (D) for the product, before the fourth step — the “call to action” (A) — tells them exactly how and where to buy. AIDA can channel the customer’s feelings through each stage toward reaching a sale.
Attracting the customer’s attention is the first challenge and this may be achieved by using an attracting phrase or picture. Once someone’s attention has been clutched, it must be turned into real interest. This is best done by providing a brief description of the product’s benefits to the consumer rather than simply listing the product’s main features or problem-solving claims.
Now, it is time to transform that interest into a desire for a product or service. This is where consumers need to believe their lives could be better by possessing the product. It could be a vital step towards turning a potential into a real customer.
“Call-to-action” is where all of the initial hard work pays off and leads to the action from a potential customer. For example, they might pick up the phone to discuss the idea of a trial of the services or, alternatively, they may just buy that product or service that has been promoted to them all along.
And AIDA is used to great effect in the movie industry. Movie studios begin their marketing campaigns months in advance. The campaigns develop by offering attractive flashes of the movie without giving too much away. Desire is inspired by the release of the full preview which is fully designed to show the exciting moments of the movie, from special effects to humorous lines of dialogue on the opening weekend. Advertisements in newspapers and on television focus on the movie’s release, inviting the consumer to go and buy a ticket.
1. What is the purpose of practising AIDA?| A．To create jobs. | B．To increase sales. |
| C．To research markets. | D．To introduce products. |
| A．Seized. | B．Freed. | C．Cheated. | D．Affected. |
| A．Action. | B．Interest. | C．Desire. | D．Attention. |
| A．To design an AIDA model. | B．To display how AIDA works. |
| C．To show how to make a movie. | D．To advertise the movie industry. |
4 . If you always sit indoors for too long, putting on weight may become a trouble. Tired of all that fat? If so, these sports can help you burn the most calories.
Running
“Running is one of the best calorie burners out there,” qualified personal trainer Daniel Saltos says. An average person can burn anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories in one hour of running. “Speed, pace, and tolerance are all factors that can impact this range. But running uses every muscle group in the body, allowing you to burn more calories.”
Swimming
“Swimming is a workout that produces the lowest impact on body while it still can burn 500 to 600 calories in just 30 minutes,” Saltos says. Swimming also improves heart health and increases strength—all great reasons for playing in the water.
Boxing
Not only is boxing a great way to release energy, but it also helps improve balance, builds up tolerance and strengthens the upper body and core. “Boxing helps you get a good calorie burn, too, with the average person burning up 400 to 800 calories in an hour session,” Saltos says.
Rowing
The pushing and pulling motion of rowing machines targets multiple muscle groups including the arms, core, and back, helping you to burn more calories. “An hour of rowing will burn 400 to 600 calories on average,” Saltos says.
1. Which sport can burn the most calories per hour?| A．Boxing. | B．Running. |
| C．Swimming. | D．Rowing. |
| A．It enhances balance. | B．It improves tolerance. |
| C．It produces low impact. | D．It builds muscle groups. |
| A．Great athletes. | B．Fitness experts. |
| C．Sports reporters. | D．Overweight persons. |
5 . What is heritage? The word can be difficult to define. Heritage is always something that is passed down by families or other groups for many years.
Many parts of the natural world are also important to cultural heritage. This can include bodies of water, plant life, landforms and more. One example is the Nile River.
The intangible group includes any part of cultural heritage that you can’t feel through touch. Maybe you’ve read about forms of dance, like Flamenco dancing. You might know about the music of Mariachi Bands or holidays like Eid. These are all examples of intangible heritage.
Exploring your own heritage can be fun. It can help you learn about yourself, your family, and your ancestors. But it’s also important to learn about the heritage of others.
| A．They are treasures that can be touched. |
| B．What tangible items can be part of heritage? |
| C．However, heritage isn’t limited to concrete objects. |
| D．Languages, holidays and customs also make the list. |
| E．Therefore, it’s difficult to protect them from fading away. |
| F．Doing so can help you build a stronger understanding of other cultures. |
| G．It has been part of cultural heritage in many African nations for centuries. |
6 . Imagine a new smartphone product. It works the same as any other smartphone, but when dropped, those cracks that appear after an annoying fall slowly begin to fade away, and the phone magically repairs itself、A team of researchers led by chemistry professor Takuzo Aida have found a way to create self-repairing plastics that can be used in smartphones, cars and other products. But their new plastics won’t only be used to create unbreakable products, but also help the fight against growing wastes harming the planet.
91% of plastic is non-recyclable and filling Earth with waste. The increasing plastic in landfills is a growing concern due to its negative environmental impact. In 2019 about only9% of plastics were recycled globally, leading Japanese scientists to seek to find plastic that can start its own formation or self-repair.
The self-repairing plastics are made by adding a tiny amount of a specialized substance into ordinary plastic to hold the monomers (单体) together by hydrogen bonds (氢键). When the new plastic is broken down by heat, instead of burning to waste, the hydrogen bonds mix and allow for the formation of special shaped monomers to create a foundation for more monomers to layer on and rebuild itself. The team found that their self-healing plastic was able to automatically repair at room temperature over an hour to regain its durability.
The team’s work suggests great prospects for the future of plastic. “The technique could lead to the development of a made-to-last plastic that does not need to be recycled,” lead professor Aida said at the conference, “and can one day be in products from smartphones to cars and even buildings.”
1. What is the special feature of the new plastics?| A．Hard to break. | B．Cheap to produce. |
| C．Good to health. | D．Easy to recycle. |
| A．Global warming. | B．Industrial needs. |
| C．Economic crisis. | D．Green awareness. |
| A．Its social effect. | B．Its main function. |
| C．Its working principle. | D．Its economic value. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. | C．Disapproving. | D．Unconcerned. |
7 . Most teenagers kill time playing video games, or surfing TikTok. Not William Gadoury, a 14-year-old from Matha, Quebec. William Gadoury has been crazy about the Mayans for most of his childhood, ever since his grandparents bought him books about the civilization. What started as a hobby at age 12 snowballed into serious research, and he theorized that the locations of Mayan cities might correspond to stars in Mayan constellations(星座).
Using ancient books, Gadoury analyzed 22 Mayan constellation maps and covered the positions onto Google Earth images of the Yucatan Peninsula, which to this day is home to large local populations and some best-preserved architecture from Mayan culture. He would track the constellations from Google Earth using special sheets, covering them onto the position of Mayan cities on a paper map. The teen was able to show that 117 Mayan cities matched up with the position of the stars, with the brightest stars representing bigger cities.
But when Gadoury was working on the 23rd Mayan constellation, he found a conflict: three stars, but only two ancient cities on Google Earth. The third star pointed to a location on the Mexico-Belize border. However, the area was covered with thick jungle, leaving Gadoury stuck.
Luckily, he asked NASA for images from their RADARSAT-2 satellite. Indeed, there was a square, man-made-looking structure in the heavy forest. Gadoury then learned a fire had swept across the region, thinning out the grass cover. He found images from the agency, and eventually concluded that there was indeed a city there.
Gadoury’s findings eventually took him into the jungle in 2022 to search on foot, along with scientist Francisco Bell. The team discovered a farming village deep in the Mexican jungle, which showed the “backbone” of the Maya’s long-term success, which was down to their ability to work the land and support large cities.
1. What is Gadoury’s finding mainly about?| A．The villages in the Mexican jungle. |
| B．The images from NASA satellites. |
| C．The origins of Mayan culture. |
| D．The locations of Mayan cities. |
| A．By tracking the best-preserved building on maps. |
| B．By analyzing 117 Mayan cities in ancient books. |
| C．By checking star maps against satellite images. |
| D．By updating the Google Earth on the Internet. |
| A．A thick forest. | B．A forest fire. |
| C．Fund shortage. | D．Bad weather. |
| A．Cheerful. | B．Intelligent. |
| C．Ambitious. | D．Sympathetic. |
8 . Arthur Lih of Massapequa sold his first LifeVac, a device to help save people’s life, to a fire department about 18 months ago, when the Jericho Fire Department purchased 21 of the devices. Now about 10 Long Island fire departments have purchased Lih’s invention, which is designed to draw foreign objects from the throats of choking victims when procedures such as the Heimlich Maneuver (海姆立克急救法) don’t work. He has sold about 5,000 LifeVac devices in the United States and abroad since the device went on the market in August 2014.
The Freeport Fire Department is one of Lih’s clients. It bought about 25 LifeVac devices to put on trucks, as well as in chiefs’ vehicles, said Ray Maguire, the department’s executive director. “It’s an extra tool in the toolbox,” Maguire said. “I’d be surprised if anyone who sees it doesn’t purchase it. It’s that tool you may only need once, but it’s the tool you really want in case you need it. It’s affordable. I have it in my car. I have one at home, too.”
Dr. Lee Smith at Northwell Health said that if a choking victim can’t breathe, he or she becomes a candidate for the Heimlich. If the Heimlich doesn’t work, the victim would probably lose consciousness because of a lack of oxygen.
A challenge for any new medical device is convincing potential users that it works and is safe. In tests, the LifeVac successfully removed an obstruction (阻塞物) from the throat of a dead human body on the first try 49 out of 50 times, according to an August research article in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Lih invented the product in his garage, inspired after he went with a friend to a hospital while the friend’s mother was going through tests. The friend said the last time he was there, a 7-year-old child had choked to death on a grape.
1. What’s the function of the LifeVac device?| A．To put out the fire. | B．To remove foreign objects. |
| C．To design procedures. | D．To treat victims’ throats. |
| A．Its target users. | B．Its practical necessity. |
| C．Its major advantages. | D．Its reasonable price |
| A．A kid’s death. | B．His client’s suggestion. |
| C．A garage accident. | D．Material rewards. |
| A．A productive inventor. | B．A convincing cure. |
| C．An anti-choking device. | D．An important toolbox. |
9 . Voices offer lots of information. It turns out that they can even help diagnose an illness. The National Institutes of Health is funding a massive research project to collect voice data and develop an AI that could diagnose people based on their speech.
Everything from your vocal cord vibrations(声带振动)to breathing patterns when you speak offers potential information about your health, says Dr. Yael Bensoussan, a leader on the study. “We asked experts: If you close your eyes when a patient comes in, just by listening to their voice, can you have an idea of the diagnosis they have?” Bensoussan says. “And that’s where we got all our information.” Someone who speaks low and slowly might have Parkinson’s disease. Speaking unclearly is a sign of a stroke. Scientists could even diagnose depression or cancer.
The team will start by collecting the voices of people. “We were really lacking large what we call open source databases,” Bensoussan says. “Every institution has their own database. But to create these networks was really important to then allow researchers from other generations to use this data.” The ultimate goal is an app that could help bridge access to rural or underserved communities, by helping general practitioners refer patients to specialists. To get there, researchers have to start by collecting data, since the AI can only get as good as the database it’s learning from. By the end of the four years, they hope to collect about 30,000 voices, with data on other biomarkers — like clinical data and genetic information — to match.
There are a few roadblocks. HIPAA — the law that regulates medical privacy — isn’t really clear on whether researchers can share voices. “Let’s say you donate your voice to our project,” says Yael Bensoussan. “Who does the voice belong to? What are we allowed to do with it? What are researchers allowed to do with it? Can it be commercialized?”
1. What does Yael Bensoussan mean in Paragraph 2?| A．Voices may help with illness diagnosis. |
| B．Scientists can rely on an AI to detect illness. |
| C．Disease symptoms can be noted by machines. |
| D．It’s necessary for doctors to listen to patients talking. |
| A．By building a base. |
| B．By collecting data. |
| C．By connecting communities. |
| D．By matching clinical information. |
| A．To prove the researchers’ idea. |
| B．To explain the procedures of the study. |
| C．To imply the problems with the research. |
| D．To ensure the commercial value of the study. |
| A．An Application for Voice Study |
| B．Data-collected Approach to Research |
| C．A Breakthrough in Medical Findings |
| D．Sound-aided AI Helps With Diagnosis |
10 . Communication Tips
Here are some suggestions about making your talk with your parents turn out for the best.
Be honest.
If you’re always honest, your parents will be likely to believe what you say. If you sometimes hide the truth, parents will have a harder time to believe what you tell them.
Be brave and start talking.
It’s easy to say “Hi, Mum” or “Dad, can you pass the potatoes?”
If you have a disagreement, can you consider things from your parents’ points of view? If you can, telling your parents you understand their views and feelings helps them be willing to understand yours, too.
Try not to argue.
Using a friendly and respectful tone makes your parents more likely to listen to you and take what you say seriously.
What if it doesn’t work? If you still can’t talk to your parents, seek other adults’ help.
| A．Explain your situation. |
| B．Try to understand them. |
| C．If you lie, they’ll find it hard to trust you. |
| D．Parents are the most important people in your life. |
| E．But it can be harder to start talking about personal topics. |
| F．It also makes it more likely that they’ll talk to you in the same way. |
| G．Find a relative or a teacher who will listen to, understand and care about you. |
