1 . Two weeks ago, a 5-year-old girl named Sunshine Oelfke emptied out her piggy bank (存钱罐) onto the living room floor and immediately started counting. Her grandmother, Jackie Oelfke, thought she was playing as she carefully lined up the coins, but then she saw the girl put the coins into a plastic bag and place it in her backpack.
“What are you doing with that money?” Jackie asked her granddaughter.
“I’m taking it to school,” Sunshine replied. “I’m going to take it for milk money. My friend Layla doesn’t get milk— her mom doesn’t have milk money and I do.”
Jackie’s heart melted at Sunshine’s words. Choked with strong feelings, Jackie held her sweet granddaughter tightly in her arms.
Last week, Jackie and Sunshine met with her teacher, Rita Hausher, and handed her the $30 the kindergartner had saved. There are 20 kids in Sunshine’s class and about half don’t get milk. It costs $ 0.45 a carton (纸盒). The total adds up to about $180 a month for every child in the class to have milk every day.
After dropping Sunshine off at school, Jackie posted a tearful video on Facebook to explain her granddaughter’s plan. To her surprise, many people offered to donate toward the cause. Within a week, Jackie raised more than $1,000. Now every student in Sunshine’s class can get free milk for the rest of the year.
Jackie said Sunshine doesn’t see her kind act as a big deal. She was just trying to look out for her friends. “She doesn’t understand the effect she’s brought about,” Jackie said. “But now she knows she can do whatever she puts her mind to.”
1. Why did Sunshine empty her piggy bank?A.She hoped to show off her savings in class. | B.She needed to train her counting skills. |
C.She wanted to play with the coins. | D.She intended to pay for her friend’s milk. |
A.Relieved. | B.Touched. | C.Curious. | D.Proud. |
A.Two heads are better than one. | B.A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
C.Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. | D.There’s no such thing as a free lunch. |
A.Small Coins, Big Changes. | B.Jackie’s Piggy Bank. |
C.Piggy Bank and Carton Milk. | D.A Moved Grandmother. |
2 . People have been predicting (预测) the death of cable TV (有线电视) for a long time, but this really might be it. Just a decade (十年) ago, nearly all Americans — more than 85 percent of U.S. households — paid for packages of TV channels from cable or satellite ( 卫 星) companies. That started to drop slowly at first and then far more quickly in the past few years. Now, the share of American homes that pay for traditional TV service is approaching 50 percent, according to expert Craig Moffett and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan research group.
For comparison, cellphones were around for decades before the percentage of Americans who didn’t have a landline ( 座 机) at home reached 50 percent, around 2017. Maybe it seems predictable that cable TV would go the way of the landline. I promise you that it was not necessarily obvious, even once Netflix started to take off. Old habits die hard. Old industries that make a lot of people rich die even harder. And don’t forget that some new technology habits catch on fast but don’t stick.
What may be a final drop in America’s cable TV industry is a big deal. It shows that technology can change deep-rooted ways of doing things slowly, and then suddenly.
Ian Olgeirson, a research director at Kagan who has been following America’s TV market for about 20 years, told me that he was surprised by how quickly the monthly cable bill went from being standard to outdated for many Americans. Olgeirson and other TV experts I’ve been speaking to didn’t single out a turning point in cable TV’s big drop. They said the downward trend ( 趋 势) was more like a series of progressive changes building up.
It’s clear that the cable TV system that for decades brought joy and headaches to tens of millions of Americans is wearing thin. The wild card is whether Americans keep turning away from cable and satellite TV relatively slowly, or whether it will fail suddenly.
I have always loved TV. I felt like a real grown-up when I first started to pay a huge bill for television, partly to watch my favorite football team. I had reduced my cable TV package, but then a few months ago I was told that my bill was going to increase by about $10 a month. That was it. I’m a no-cable household now, too.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly tell us about cable TV?A.Its falling popularity. | B.Its increasing payments. |
C.Its various TV channels. | D.Its high service standard. |
A.To prove technology can change the world. | B.To show it is not easy for cable TV to go away. |
C.To illustrate there is no market left for cable TV. | D.To explain technology can bring fortune to people. |
A.America’s TV market was down suddenly. |
B.The death of cable TV will come in about 20 years. |
C.Americans turned away from cable TV so quickly. |
D.There are still many Americans showing interest in cable TV. |
A.Cable TV won’t be replaced by satellite TV | B.Cable TV brought joy to Americans |
C.Cable TV has existed for decades | D.Cable TV is the new landline |
3 . A small study out of Skidmore College examined the advantages of morning vs, evening exercise for both women and men. Paul, professor for health at Skidmore, led the study.
“We had the groups divided into evening and morning groups,” he says. “We found women and men answered differently to different types of exercise depending on the time of the day, which surprised us.”
The study showed that for women who want to lower blood pressure (血压), the risk of heart disease or reduce fat, morning exercise works best. Those women hoping for upper body muscle (肌肉) gains or mood (心情) improvement should consider evening exercise. For the men, the findings were somewhat different: Evening exercise lowers blood pressure, the risk of heart disease, and feelings of tiredness. But similar to women, they burn more fat with morning exercise.
“For many people, the best time to exercise will depend on their chronotype,” says Heisz, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind.
“Chronotype is your body’s natural habit to sleep at a certain time—it’s what decides whether you’re a night owl or an early bird. For the 25% of the population that considers themselves a night owl, getting both enough sleep and enough exercise can be difficult,” adds Heisz.
He continues, “Sleep—which provides your body the necessary time to recover (恢复) and make gains from exercise—should always be the first choice. When it comes to exercise, regardless of research on the advantages of certain exercises at particular times of the day, your results will not be good if it doesn’t allow enough time for sleep.”
1. What can women get by doing evening exercise according to the study?A.A fat loss. |
B.A good mood. |
C.A lower blood pressure. |
D.A smaller risk of heart disease. |
A.Give an example. | B.Tell the difference. |
C.Do an experiment. | D.Explain a term. |
A.Enough sleep. | B.Low-fat food. |
C.Plenty of water. | D.Lots of exercise. |
A.A Night Owl or An Early Bird |
B.Why Fitness Plan Being Important |
C.How to Change Your Exercise Time |
D.The Best Time of a Day to Exercise |
4 . In a world where acts of kindness often go unnoticed, a good story that has been discovered reminds us of the power of care and the effect it can have on someone’s life.
It all started with a “Kindness Week Challenge” given to Brennan by his 8th-grade teacher, Ms. Watkins. Little did he know that this challenge would lead to a wonderful friendship with 84-year-old Ms. Ann.
Brennan’s promise to send his little attractive things every day for a week developed a habit of checking up on Ms. Ann and sending gifts regularly(定期地), long after the challenge was over.
Their friendship has now lasted for over five years, and Brennan still visits Ms. Ann every month with flowers, cakes, chocolates, cards and more.
They talk about everything from his high school life to his college goals. The pair has found that they share a common love of chocolates. Ms. Ann always hopes to hear about what he’s doing and loves to share her own stories from a different time. They have become the best friends, with Brennan treating her as his great-grandmother.
Brennan’s mom, Traci, takes pride in her son. She said, “The best thing a teenager can do is to take care of the elderly. I’m so glad my son has added more sunshine to Ms. Ann’s life. I hope he always remembers the joy he’s brought her, and his fun talks with her, keeps his kind heart, and thinks of others.”
Ms. Ann’s daughter Emma, with her husband Gould, has a 2-year-old son. They are thankful for Brennan’s friendship as they cannot always be with Ms. Ann. Brennan’s kind heart has brought more sunshine into Ms. Ann’s life, and her encouraging words have helped to inspire(启发)him in return.
1. How did the task “Kindness Week Challenge” affect Brennan?A.He discovered his love of chocolates. |
B.He became a good friend of Ms. Ann. |
C.He developed a habit of receiving gifts. |
D.He learned how to choose attractive things. |
A.Flowers. | B.Cakes. | C.Chocolates. | D.Cards. |
A.His kindness to others. |
B.His talent for telling stories. |
C.His good performances at school. |
D.His ability to earn money for the gifts. |
A.Worried. | B.Sorry. | C.Thankful. | D.Surprised. |
5 . Four years ago, Rome Leykin was on his way to work when he accidentally fell onto the tracks of Brooklyn's train as a subway was approaching. The incident resulted in the loss of both of his legs.
But surprisingly, with the loss of his legs, Leykin gained a new passion for racing. Before his accident, he wasn't really that athletic. He would just occasionally play basketball. But that all changed after he was introduced to hand cycling. “When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is great. You don't even need legs to use it. This is perfect.’” he said. “So, I got on it, I rode and fell in love with it right away.”
Within a few months, he completed the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile ride through New York City. After that, he did his first marathon in 2021. He fished that race in 2 hours and 11 minutes, placing 12th out of 38.
“I'm going to attend this year's marathon and take on challenges. My hands are on the wheel, my eyes are focused, and I think my time is going to speak for itself.” he said. He's made a significant commitment to training. He hand cycles at least 13.1 miles a couple times a week and spends a lot of time in the gym.
And he plans to keep pursuing his athlete goals. He wants to complete the Abbott Six-the world's six largest marathons. One day, he said, he'll maybe even make the Paralympics.
For those who might be following his journey, he hopes they will take some lessons from his story. “There will be ups and downs but the trend is what's important. Focus on the good,” he said. “And also, take your big problems and split them into small solutions. And then all of a sudden, your big problems turn into many small wins.”
1. What can we learn about Rome Leykin from paragraph 2?A.He once was an excellent basketball player. |
B.He considered hand cycling difficult in the beginning. |
C.He made hand cycling more popular among the disabled. |
D.He showed an interest in hand cycling the moment he saw it. |
A.Worried. | B.Curious. | C.Confident. | D.Nervous. |
A.Easy-going and reliable. | B.Kind-hearted and helpful. |
C.Open-minded and creative. | D.Strong-willed and ambitious. |
A.Stick to your dreams. | B.Break down your goals. |
C.Focus on your strengths. | D.Achieve success at all costs. |
6 . Many educators fear students will use the artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT to write their reports or cheat on homework. But other teachers are including it in the classroom.
Donnie Piercey is a teacher in Lexington, Kentucky. He told his 5th-grade students to try and beat the tool that was creating writing tasks. Piercey says his job is to prepare students for a world where knowledge of Al will be required. He describes ChatGPT as just the newest technology in his 17 years of teaching that caused worry about the possibility of cheating.“As educators, we haven’t worked out the best way to use AI yet,” he added. “But it’s coming, whether we want it to or not.”
One lesson in his class was a writing game between students and the machine.
Piercey asked students to “Find the Bot”. Each student wrote a short report about boxer Muhammad Ali. Then they tried to find out which was written by ChatGPT.
After playing “Find the Bot”, Piercey asked his class what skills it helped them learn.“How to properly summarize and correctly capitalize words and use commas.” said one student. Another student felt that sentences written by students “have a little more feeling... more flavor.” Students Laksi and McCormick, both 10, said they could see the good and bad parts of working with chat bots. They can help students who have trouble putting their thoughts into writing. McCormick said students could use it for suggestions, but should not use it to do all the work. “You shouldn’t take advantage of it,” McCormick said, “You’re not learning anything if you type in what you want, and then it gives you the answer.”
1. Which opinion will Donnie Piercey possibly agree with?A.The best way to use AI is to put it in classroom. |
B.Students should not use AI for all tasks. |
C.Students should be prepared to live with AI. |
D.AI is the best tool to help with students’ learning. |
A.summarizing given texts properly | B.capitalizing words correctly |
C.correct use of commas | D.adding more flavor to sentences |
A.totally depend on chat bots |
B.search for some suggestions |
C.want to learn something with it |
D.have difficulty expressing thoughts in writing |
A.Environment. | B.History. | C.Travel. | D.Science. |
7 . From Asia to America and everywhere in between, Swing — an energetic form of dance that includes six-step and eight-step rhythms (节奏) — has taken the world by storm. Making a recent comeback, swing dance floors have popped up all over the world. Many clubs make fans of Swing happy by holding nights when swing music is played, and sometimes even offering classes to attract customers.
Though Swing is now popular worldwide, it first appeared alongside the jazz movements of the 1920s and 1930s in New York City. While listening to jazz, the young black people of that time developed the movements of the Lindy Hop — a style of dance that is best known for a break away or “swing out” move and sudden improvisation (即兴表演).
It was reportedly given this name when a reporter was interviewing a person at the dance hall who was watching other couples dance. When asked what that dance was called, the watcher looked at a newspaper next to him that had an article about Lindbergh — the first person to fly alone across the Atlantic (大西洋) — which was titled, “Lindy Hops the Atlantic”. Then the watcher announced that “Lindy Hop” was the name of the dance, and it has stuck since then.
In 1926, the Savoy Ballroom was the first large business to offer a place for people to listen to swing music and dance. With its huge dance floor, the Savoy became a big success overnight, attracting some of the best dancers and musicians in the New York area.
Within ten years, the Lindy Hop was sweeping through the United States and became a symbol of unity, as young people of all racial (种族的) backgrounds crowded into dance halls to swing the night away. Traditional dance teachers did not welcome it because they thought it was not even a real dance and were quite sure about its demise but Swing has proved them wrong; it continues to be one of the world’s most fun dances.
1. What’s the purpose of this passage?A.To introduce a popular form of dance. |
B.To discover the fun secrets of a dance. |
C.To tell stories about an energetic dance. |
D.To describe the special moves of a dance. |
A.Challenge. | B.Change. | C.Development. | D.Death. |
A.It’s a lively dance with strict rules. |
B.It has a close connection with a pilot. |
C.It has a history of over 90 years. |
D.It attracts mostly young black people. |
A.The dance style will soon be accepted by traditional dance teachers. |
B.The name was changed from “Lindy Hop” to “Swing” in the 1940s. |
C.The movements of different Swing dancers always look the same. |
D.The dance might have become unpopular sometime in its history. |
8 . While I was jumping rope, my smartphone took a fall to the floor which created cracks (裂缝) on my screen. However, the music kept playing. 30 minutes later, I could see only one-tenth of my screen while the rest was black. The next morning, I decided not to use it for 24 hours. I felt a sense of calm that day, which led to my not using it for one week. One week ended up becoming 60 days in total without my smartphone.
Here are some advantages I noticed in this challenge.
You’ll become “bored”
Without my phone, I became bored, but my mind went through all kinds of topics, Boredom (无聊) is a perfect way to create new ideas on a business or project. When you are bored, you allow your mind to relax to reach all possibilities.
You’ll be able to reduce your “work” hours
A survey found that adults checked their smartphones 85 times a day, or once every 10 minutes. As I learned in my challenge, by not having my smartphone, I fell into deep work more easily, so I completed my tasks in a shorter time.
You’ll improve your mental health
Without my phone, I avoided reading negative news and comments. While that helped make a big improvement in my mental health, the biggest reason for it was truly communicating with people. It brought me more connections with humans in the real world. I went to more dinners with friends and asked more questions to strangers.
1. Boredom is a good way for the writer ________ .A.to create new ideas | B.to start a business |
C.to set up a project | D.to relax the body |
A.more terribly | B.more quickly |
C.more carelessly | D.more comfortably |
A.Chatting on the phone. | B.Reading negative news. |
C.Communicating in the real world. | D.Avoiding meeting friends and strangers. |
9 . When you set a foot outside of your door to drop trash, go to a social event or go for a walk, thoughts like “I hope I don’t see anyone I know” or “please don’t talk to me” may run through your mind. I’ve also said such things to myself. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is to talk with someone, especially someone new.
Why do we go out of our ways to avoid people? Do we think meeting new people is a waste of time? Or are we just lazy, thinking that meeting someone new really is a trouble?
Communication is the key to life. We have been told that many times. Take the past generations, like our parents, for example. They seem to take full advantage of that whole “communication” idea because they grew up talking face to face while Generation-Y grew up staring at screens. We spend hours of our days sitting on Facebook. We send messages to our friends and think about all of the things we want to say to certain people that we don’t have the courage to do in reality.
Nowadays, we are so caught up in our little circle of friends—our comfort zone. We love it that they laugh at our jokes, understand our feelings and can read our minds. Most importantly, they know when we want to be alone. They just get us.
Holding a conversation with someone new means agreeing with things that you don’t really believe and being someone you think they want you to be—it is, as I said before, a trouble. It takes up so much energy, and at some point or another, it is too tiring.
But meeting new people is important. Life is too short, so meet all the people you can meet, make the effort to go out and laugh. Remember, every “hello” leads to a smile—and a smile is worth a lot.
1. What do we learn about the author?A.He likes to meet someone new. | B.He feels stressed out lately. |
C.He’s active in attending social events. | D.He used to be afraid of talking to others. |
A.They rely on the Internet to socialize. | B.They are less confident in themselves. |
C.They have difficulty in communicating. | D.They are unwilling to make new friends. |
A.They think it troublesome. | B.They are busy with their study. |
C.They fear to disappoint their friends. | D.They want to do meaningful work. |
A.To stress the importance of friends. |
B.To give tips on how to meet new people. |
C.To encourage people to meet new people. |
D.To display the disadvantages of Generation-Y. |
10 . “Funny or die” has a whole new meaning, thanks to a study published in April in a medical joumal. Women with a strong sense of humor were found to live longer although they were ill, especially for those with heart problems and infection (感染). Happy men seemed to be protected against infection.
The researchers reported the findings from a 15-year study on the connection between the sense of humor and death among 53,556 women and men in their country. The team studied the influence of humor on people’s way of thinking, social skills and emotion development, and examined death from different conditions: heart problems, infection and other health problems.
The findings showed that for women, those who had high scores on a humorous way of thinking had a 48 percent less risk of death from all causes, a 73 percent lower risk of death from heart problems and an 83 percent lower risk of death from infection. For men, a connection was found only for the risk of death from infection — those with high humor scores had a 74 percent reduced risk. The researchers suggested the sex differences could be due to a small decrease in humor scores as the men aged. No connection was found for the influence of humor on social skills and emotion development.
“The humorous way of thinking plays an important role in people’s personality (性格) and may influence the way people cope with everyday life,” said study co-researcher Sven Svebak. “In this way, it may help reduce fighting in daily life, preventing the build-up of stress.” Although the sense of humor is a natural characteristic (特征), it can also be developed through social activities.
“I expect that children whose parents have no sense of humor when feeing challenges are less likely to develop their sense of humor to cope with everyday life when they grow up,” Sven Svebak said. “But if you had a humorless childhood, never fear — studies show people can learn to be humorous at any age.”
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?A.Humor could benefit people’s health. |
B.Joyflil women can live longer than happy men. |
C.Women who seldom laugh may fall ill easily. |
D.Humor makes people pay more attention to their health. |
A.men have poor memories as they age |
B.men become less humorous as they grow older |
C.men have bad sleeping quality as they grow older |
D.men take part in fewer social activities as they age |
A.By listing data. |
B.By giving examples. |
C.By stating arguments. |
D.By making experiments. |
A.Humoriess people have an unhappy childhood. |
B.Children must learn to be humorous at an early age. |
C.Humorous people can better deal with pressure in life. |
D.Parents with a sense of humor are better at child education. |