1 .

Discover some of the treasures of South Australia before you start an unforgettable cruise（乘船游览）along the fantastic Murray River Your adventure begins in Adelaide, one of the world’s most-liveahle cities. A full day tour takes you to South Australia’s wine region, where you’ll sample some of the Barossa Valley’s finest wines. You’ll then take a boat to Kangaroo Island, offering nature-based activities, and encounters with koalas, birds, and kangaroos. You’ll then go aboard the PS Murray Princess, a remarkable ship which was built specifically for the Murray River, for an unforgettable three-night cruise along the beautiful Murray River, highlights including river birdlife, nature walks, and delicious regional flavours.		Your holiday includes River Cruise ·3 night Murray River cruise on board PS Murray Princess with all ·meals and sightseeing ·Extend your Cruise! 7 night back to back Murray Princess sailings plus FREE Moarto Zoo visit from $1799 per person, twin share Hotel Stays ·3 night four-star hotel stay in Adelaide with breakfast ·1 night four-star hotel stay in Kangaroo Island with breakfast and lunch Fully Escorted（全程陪同）Tours ·Full day Barossa Valley tour with lunch and wine tastings ·2 day Kangaroo Island tour All flights, taxes and transfers
Departure	Inside Twin From	Outside Twin From	Stateroom（特等舱）From
19 Feb 2024	$3,199 pp	SOLD OUT	$4,199 pp
27 May 2024	$3,299 pp	$3,699 pp	SOLD OUT
5Aug 2024	$2,999 pp	$3;499 pp	$4,199 pp
30 Sep 2024	SOLD OUT	$3,999 pp	SOLD OUT
6Jan2025	$3,299 pp	$3,799 pp	$4,499 pp
24 Feb 2025	$3,499 pp	$3,999 pp	$4,699 pp

1. What is the highlight of the Barossa Valley tour.

A．Wine tastings.	B．Regional cuisines.
C．River birdlife.	D．Natural landscape.

2. What is included in the upgraded River Cruise package?

A．Free Moarto Zoo visit.	B．Fully escorted service.
C．3 night Murray Princess sallings.	D．Four-star accommodation.

3. Which departure date has the lowest price for an outside twin cabin?

A．27 May 2024.	B．5Aug 2024.
C．6 Jan 2025.	D．24 Feb 2025.

2 . How much water does the average adult need to drink every day? “Eight 8-ounce glasses” is common advice, but any truly serious answer to the how-much question will begin with some version of it depends.”

Researchers have long known that a region called SFO in the brain monitors the concentration (浓度) of water and salts in blood and triggers the urge to drink. But they failed to fully explain how we experience thirst. For example, when we gulp a drink, we feel almost instantly satisfied, and yet it takes 10 to 15 minutes for a liquid to enter our bloodstream. Recently neuroscientists have gained other remarkable insights into how thirst is monitored in the body and controlled in the brain.

In a series of elegant experiments with mice, Zimmerman, a neuroscientist, and his associates measured the activity of neurons (神经元) in the SFO. “We saw that their activity changed very fast when the mouse drank water or drank saltwater and when it ate food,” he says. The researchers showed that signals gathered at the SFO from several places. “You get a signal from the blood that tells your current state of hydration (水平衡), a signal from the mouth that tells you how much fluid you drank, and a signal from the gut that tells you what was consumed — was it water, was it something else?” The SFO neurons, he explains, “add these signals together” and then transmit the urge to drink or stop drinking.

The big takeaway of Zimmerman’s work is that for the most part you can trust your thirst system to tell you when you need to drink. But there are exceptions. Because the system’s sensitivity may decline with age. People with certain health conditions, including kidney stones and diarrhea, also need extra water.

Other parts of the brain — the ones used in planning — should help with hydration on hot days and when exercising. Thirsty or not, Zimmerman says, he drinks water before going for a run: “My thirst neurons don’t know I’m about to run 10 miles.”

1. What has long been known about thirst?

A．Thirst experience varies among individuals.

B．Thirst is controlled by the water-salt balance in blood.

C．Thirst satisfaction occurs with water entering bloodstream.

D．Thirst response is influenced by the type of liquid consumed.

2. What’s the main idea of paragraph 3?

A．Why we feel thirst.

B．Where SFO gets signals.

C．How we experience thirst.

D．When SFO neurons get active.

3. What’s the major conclusion from Zimmerman’s study?

A．Thirst system is generally reliable.

B．Illness might affect thirst sensation.

C．Brain areas for planning aid in hydration.

D．Brain adjusts to age-related thirst sensitivity.

4. What may be a suitable title for the text?

A．Drink Your Way to Health

B．Application of the Thirst Mechanisms

C．Misunderstanding of Daily Water Intake

D．Body Detects Daily Water Needs Cleverly

3 . Some people may be picky eaters, but as a species we are not. Birds, bugs and whales, we’ll eat them all. Yet our reliance on wild animals goes far beyond just feeding ourselves. From agricultural feed to medicine to the pet trade, modern society exploits wild animals in a way that beats even the most aggressive wild predator (捕食者). Now, for the first time, researchers have tried to capture the full picture of how we use wildlife, including how many, and for what purposes. The research showcases just how broad our influence on wild animals is.

In the study, researchers have found that humans kill, collect or otherwise use about 15,000 species. That’s up to 300 times more than the next top predator in any ecosystem.

Yet according to Chris Darimont, a co-author of the study, the biggest shock isn’t how many species we affect but why we take them. “The result,” he says, “is that we remove, or essentially prey on, more species of animals for non-food reasons than for food reasons.”And the biggest non-food use is as pets and pet food. “That’s where things have gone off the rails (轨道),” he says. The problem is especially serious for tropical birds. The helmeted hornbill, for example, is captured mainly for the pe trade, or for its beak to be used as medicine or to be carved like ivory. Their disappearance limits seed dispersal and the spread of trees around the forest.

Another big difference between humans’ influence on wild animals and that of other predators is that we tend to favor rare and exotic (外来的) species in a way other animals do not. Most predators target common species, since they are easier to find and catch. Humans, nowever, tend to covet the novel. “The more rare it is,” say scientists, “the more that drives up the price, and therefore it may go into extinction.”

If we want wild species to survive, we need to reestablish our relationship with them, perhaps from predator to caretaker.

1. What role do humans play in their present relationship with wildlife according to the author?

A．Picky predators.	B．Protectors of biodiversity.
C．Greedy predators.	D．Caretakers of the environment.

2. What shocked scientists most according to Chris Darimont?

A．More species hunted for non-food use.

B．The impact of pet industries on wildlife.

C．The number of species affected by humans.

D．The consequences caused by species extinction.

3. Which can best explain the underlined “cover the novel” in paragraph 4?

A．Long for huge profits.

B．Favor domestic species.

C．Take interest in pet trade.

D．Seek after new and unique things.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To promote stricter rules for hunting.

B．To advocate eco-friendly pet choices.

C．To reveal how humans affect biodiversity.

D．To highlight the need for wildlife conservation.

4 . On January 14, 2006, Ben Keene received an email that changed his life. He had just taken a sip of hot tea when the message popped up, and Keene did a double-take at the subject line: “A TRIBE IS WANTED”.

From there, Ben co-founded Tribewanted, an eco-friendly sustainable community existing in the virtual world of the internet and on an actual desert island at the same time.

With huge media interest, the courageous and bold idea could have had enormous consequences for tourism. The idea behind Tribewanted was to recruit (招募) a group of similar people online before heading to the Fijian Island of Vorovoro to build a sustainable community alongside the local native tribe.

The idea was swept along with a flood of interest, with the island lease (租约) was secured, the virtual community sprung to life. All major decisions on the island were voted on by an online tribe that anyone around the world could join. The idea was so exciting that the journey was turned into a 5 part BBC series “Paradise or Bust” and a book, Tribewanted.

Ben spent 10 years building and expanding Tribewanted beyond the crowdfunded sustainable-tourism villages on an island in Fiji, to a beach in Sierra Leone and a farm in Umbria. He faced challenges including a fire sweeping through the island in the first week of the project, a military coup (政变), and a hurricane that threatened to destroy the emerging village. Online disagreements also made decision making hard and pushed the project to the edge.

The project survived, and for a while, thrived. From there Ben joined Escape the City, a global community with the mission to help one million people to do work that matters to them and the world, inspiring thousands of talented career changers and ambitious businessmen to take the leap and launch their ideas into the world. Ben led the Escape school team for 5 years, and became a business advisor and guider at Virgin Startup, and Zinc. Ben has supported and guided thousands of people to set up impactful businesses on a limited budget.

1. What is Tribewanted?

A．A voting software.	B．An island adventure project.
C．An employment plan.	D．An eco-community in virtual and real worlds.

2. Which phrase may best replace the underlined “sprung to life”?

A．passed on.	B．came into being.
C．got involved.	D．struggled to survive.

3. What might be Ben’s intention of joining Escape the City?

A．To seek funds for his Tribewanted.

B．To call for investment in remote islands.

C．To support people to launch influential businesses.

D．To help ambitious businessmen to change careers.

4. In which column can you read this text?

A．Inspiring people.	B．Connected lives.
C．Inventive solutions.	D．Global business.

5 . If you’ve heard of “pickleball,” chances are that you connect the sport with seniors. That’s not surprising, as it was the 55-plus set that began growing the sport at the end of last century. But today, pickleball is attracting players of every age as it becomes more and more popular across the U.S. and around the globe.     1    

Pickleball is a combination of badminton, ping-pong and tennis. It’s played on a badminton-sized court with a low net like that used in tennis. Players use a bat that’s smaller than a tennis racquet (球拍), but larger than a ping-pong bat.     2     Most games are played to 11 points, with a two-point spread needed to win, and each game typically lasts just 15 to 20 minutes.

In 2021, more than 4.8 million people in the U.S. were playing pickleball. That’s about four times as many people as were playing in 2010, and makes pickleball one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. and North America. So, what’s the appeal?

    3     Also, it doesn’t take a lot of time to play and is accessible, as players just need a racquet and ball. It provides a great exercise, too. And for experienced players, pickleball can become a fast-paced, strategic game. It’s also just plain fun.

In North America, indoor and outdoor pickleball courts can be seen everywhere. About 66 new locations open every month. In addition, the game is being introduced to kids in middle school and high school PE classes.     4     Many professional players are appearing.

Pickleball may even become an Olympic sport one day, especially if the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) gets its way. Created in 2010, the IFP’s goal is to make pickleball universally present around the world.     5     IFP membership has spread fast to over 60 countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, Pakistan, the Philippines and Spain.

A．It’s well along the way.

B．But what, exactly, is it?

C．Then what is the reason behind this?

D．It’s also a sport on many college campuses.

E．Games may be played as singles or doubles.

F．It has long been a favorite in places like community centers.

G．That pickleball is easy to learn is perhaps the basis of its popularity.

6 . For the Birds! (FTB!) is a place-based city conservation education program serving 2,000+ New York City youth and community members with a focus on schools and communities across all five boroughs (行政区) that are underserved by environmental education. The mission of FTB! is to get youth excited about helping birds and the places they need to survive. FTB! not only provides knowledge of local species and habitats but also encourages a sense of ecological place in one’s own community and empowers youth to take an active interest in protecting their local environment for birds and people.

For the Birds! Program Options

In-person Programs: During a 4, 8, or 12 session program, program participants learn about birds and local habitats in their neighborhood through both in-class and outdoor lessons. The curriculum is adaptable for grades 6-12. Each program ends with a field trip to a local park and/or a habitat project designed to attract birds and other wildlife to their community. Click here for our full course catalog.

Contact FTB!

To get started, learn more, or for questions about New York City FTB! programs, please contact our New York City team member.

Located outside of New York City? Audubon New York centers also offer FTB! program and volunteer opportunities. Reach out to a center near you to learn more.

New York City Lianne D’Arcy, Senior Coordinator, Education & Volunteer Outreach lianne.darcy@audubon.org	Finger Lakes Region Montezuma Audubon Center 2295 State Route 89, Savannah, NY 13146 montezuma@audubon.org
Hudson Valley Region Rebecca Schultz, Education Manager Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary 127 Warren Landing Road, Garrison, NY 10524 rschultz@audubon.org	Long Island Julie Nelsen, Education Manager Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center 134 Cove Road, Oyster Bay, NY 10524 jnelsen@audubon.org

1. What is the goal of FTB!?

A．To build up community connections.	B．To get youth involved in bird protection.
C．To raise money for bird-saving programs.	D．To inform youth of endangered bird species.

2. Which can best describe FTB! programs?

A．They feature online lessons.	B．They involve hands-on activities.
C．They focus on global environment.	D．They offer 6 options for program duration.

3. Which website can help the youth in Long Island learn more about FTB!?

A．lianne.darcy@audubon.org	B．rschultz@audubon.org
C．montezuma@audubon.org	D．jnelsen@audubon.org

7 .

Crab traps (蟹笼) work like this: crabs crawl in, but they don’t crawl out.     1     However, when traps get lost at sea, they become a threat to all sorts of animals.

With no one there to get them back, the traps continue to fish, says a researcher. “Marine life gets into the trap. Eventually, they can’t eat so they die, and then other marine life becomes attracted to it. They get into the trap, and they die.     2    ”

Abandoned crab traps harm wildlife and affect other fishers, especially shrimpers (捕虾者). Large and heavy crab traps get caught in shrimping nets, tearing them open or blocking them from catching shrimp. Helpless shrimpers, with nowhere to put the smelly traps, generally just throw them back, continuing the cycle.

But a group in Mississippi has found a solution:     3     In just three years, the program has removed almost 3,000 crab traps from Mississippi waters. Crab traps are marked, and those that are still in good condition are returned to their owners, while traps that are too broken down are recycled.

    4     Wildlife is safer, the water is cleaner and there’s been a clear trend that shrimpers are encountering fewer traps.

Chloé Dubois, head of a nonprofit focused on marine debris (废弃物), calls it “a great success story.” Dubois says there have been programs historically very successful at recycling waste products at the end of their life cycle. But in the ghost fishing and marine debris field, she says, “     5     There aren’t many examples of programs like this.”

A．It’s a real win-win.

B．The Mississippi program is a pioneer.

C．It just becomes this awful cycle of death.

D．Shrimpers are informed of basic knowledge of fishing.

E．In the meantime, the Mississippi program is expanding.

F．That’s good news for crab fishers’ chances of pulling in a good catch.

G．A $5 reward is paid to shrimpers to collect and recycle abandoned crab traps.

8 . About two months ago, I removed Uber Eats from my phone. Not because I didn’t like using it. I loved it. Like most cheap, modern luxuries though, there are hidden costs.

“Restaurants are barely surviving. Delivery apps will kill them” was a headline in a newspaper, one of many stories exploring the unfair sign-up strategies and high fees taken by these tech companies. Moreover, there were reports about bad working conditions for delivery riders, leading to tragic accidents, even deaths. That’s truly unbearable!

I deleted the app and haven’t used it, or any of its competitors, since. Instead of ordering online, now I either cook something or get takeaway nearby. Cooking better food has been a great motivation for me. On lazy nights, I’ve discovered that I can still make a satisfying meal by using whatever ingredients I have on hand. This approach has also saved me much money. As with lots of online shopping, I’d been ordering food without much thought about the cost. Cooking is almost always cheaper and so is old-school takeaway.

These changes have cost me one thing — time. One reason the apps are so popular is that they meet the needs of the convenience-seeking, time-starved individuals. But rather than adding to my stress, having to plan meals again somehow made life less so. Some days it’s been a good motivation to stop work earlier, and engage in activities like going to the shops, or start chopping onions. Walking to pick up takeaway forces you to go for a walk. The change in habit forced me to be on my devices a bit less and to be in my actual life and neighbourhood a bit more.

The process has made me think about how technological advances do save us time, but time for what? For me, the answer was often just more time working, or more time online. Making my own food feels like taking back time I had given up for things far less nourishing (有营养的).

1. Which might be the reason for the author to remove Uber Eats?

A．Her passion for cooking.	B．Her boredom with online ordering.
C．Her preference for another app.	D．Her concern for its negative impacts.

2. What does the author think of cooking?

A．Addictive and money-saving.	B．Cheap and convenient.
C．Time-consuming but rewarding.	D．Motivating but stressful.

3. What does “the process” refer to in the last paragraph?

A．Reflecting on the influence of hi-tech.

B．Adapting to life free of delivery apps.

C．Getting into a healthy eating habit.

D．Rediscovering the fun of cooking.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．My Order Never Arrived

B．Why Uber Eats Gets Less Active

C．What Delivery Apps Can Not Offer Me

D．The Convenience Was Not Worth The Cost

9 . Are you looking for teen volunteer opportunities that provide a rewarding experience for high school students to be completely involved in new cultures while giving back to communities around the world? Whether you’re looking for volunteer opportunities for high school students, mission trips for teens, or teen summer service trips, International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) enables teen volunteers to give back on meaningful community development and conservation projects in destinations like Bali, Costa Rica, Portugal and more.

Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Bali

IVHQ’s Sea Turtle Conservation project is on the small but breathtaking island of Nusa Penida off the southeastern coast of Bali. Volunteers will gain experience in turtle care and marine conservation while helping to increase the population of these incredible creatures in Indonesia.

Animal Care Volunteer Project in Costa Rica

IVHQ’s Animal Care project sets volunteers up to assist at veterinary clinics (兽医诊所) and animal welfare programs that aim to re-home abandoned or stray (流浪的) animals. Volunteers gain experience caring for animals while helping to provide them with medical treatment, companionship and playtime so they are ready to find their forever homes.

Environmental Scuba Diving Volunteer Project in Portugal

IVHQ’s Environmental Scuba Diving project is an exciting opportunity for volunteers to assist with marine conservation efforts in Portugal. Volunteers gain scuba and environmental protection experience while learning about the challenges marine ecosystems face and what can be done to help overcome them.

1. What are volunteers expected to do in the project in Bali?

A．Take care of sea turtles.	B．Discover new turtle species.
C．Rescue endangered animals.	D．Post animal photos on social media.

2. What do the projects have in common?

A．They all provide medical training.

B．They all help with ocean ecosystem.

C．They all get communities connected.

D．They all engage teens in new cultures.

3. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A brochure for a teen travel agency.

B．A plan for a social practice program.

C．A website of a volunteer organization.

D．A newsletter from a conservation organization.

10 . The printed book is back. Recent studies have shown that students remember more information when they read a paper book compared to reading an e-book. One school responded to these findings by ditching its e-readers. The students found that “the ease of navigation (导航)” was greater when using a traditional book.

I love the way we now judge printed books using the language of the digital world. E-books may come with “navigational tools,” but it turns out the best navigational tools are the “devices” at the ends of your arms. You can use them to flip the pages forward and backward.   

Fans of digital books may point out that e-readers have a handy “search” tool. Old-fashioned books also have a search function, in which you turn back to the opening part to help you remember the hero’s name. They even have a “bookmark system,” which uses something called a “bookmark.”

Can a traditional book offer all the features of an e-book? Alas, no. It has no “progress bar (进度条)” indicating how much of the book has been read. Luckily, a clever tip is available: turn your book so that it can be viewed from the side or top. It will naturally form two parts joined in the middle. If the left part is thicker than the right one, you are more than halfway through.

Admittedly, e-books are lighter than paper books, but one must question whether this is really an advantage. In secondary school my body figure was actually transformed by the daily need to carry textbooks. For me and my fellow students, these weighty books would draw our shoulders back and our chests forward.

Educational fashions come and go, so maybe the return of traditional books won’t last. But for the moment, I find myself welcoming their wonderful return.

1. Which can best replace the underlined “ditching” in paragraph 1?

A．Referring to.	B．Getting rid of.
C．Getting used to.	D．Making use of.

2. What can serve as the “navigational tool” of printed books?

A．Bookmarks.

B．Fingers.

C．The progress bar.

D．The opening part.

3. What purpose does the example in paragraph 5 serve?

A．To explain an opposing idea.	B．To provide additional information.
C．To support the author’s argument.	D．To connect paragraph five and paragraph six.

4. What might be the best title?

A．Why the Printed Book Is Back?

B．How the Printed Book Benefits us?

C．What Future the Printed Book Faces?

D．Which Is Better, Printed Book or E-book?