1 . 20-year-old Colen Nulgit and his girlfriend, Shantelle Johnson, had gone out for a daytime fishing trip at Keep River National Park in Australia last week when their car became stuck in some mud (淤泥). When they were unable to free the car from the mud, they began to worry. The park’s waterways are usually full of crocodiles (鳄鱼), and the couple had already seen plenty of crocodile tracks running through the mud. Not only that, they had only brought a few bottles of water and little food for the trip.
Nulgit and Johnson tried to fall asleep in their car—but as the sun set and the nearby water levels began to rise, they feared that the high water would bring the crocodiles closer to their car. The young couple then moved towards dry land and hoped for rescue. They even used a piece of wood to write the word “HELP” into the mud along with a line pointing towards their car.
Thankfully, the couple had told Nulgit’s parents where they were going and when they expected to be home before they left. So when they failed to return the very same night, his worried mother called the police. Rescuers began searching the area by airplane the next morning. Upon hearing the sound of the plane, the couple started a fire so the rescuers would see the smoke. As the plane drew closer to the smoke, the rescuers successfully located the couple after they caught sight of the “HELP” sign pointing towards the car.
Nulgit and Johnson were very thankful for the rescue. They now plan on putting together a set of emergency survival tools for the car.
1. Why did the young couple move to dry land?| A．Because their car became stuck in some mud. |
| B．Because they wanted to fall asleep in their car that night. |
| C．Because they were afraid the crocodiles would come to their car. |
| D．Because they only brought a few bottles of water and little food. |
| A．They wrote a sign for help. | B．They went fishing for food. |
| C．They started a fire for warmth. | D．They called their parents for help. |
| A．The evening when they should have arrived home. | B．The moment their car became stuck in some mud. |
| C．The minute she received their call for help. | D．Upon hearing the sound of the plane. |
| A．At the sight of the rescuers, the couple brought into tears. |
| B．The couple successfully caught the rescuers’ attention by smoke. |
| C．The rescuers began searching the area the moment they received the call. |
| D．After being rescued, the couple bought some survival tools for car at once. |
2 . 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 |
3 . For people suffering from depression, there’s an all-natural treatment they should use — getting more exercise. It could help fight depression, even if people have a genetic risk, new research shows.
For the study, researchers collected information from nearly 8,000 people and found those with related genes were more likely to have depression over the next two years after examining them. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had a family history of depression. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk of depression.
Both high-intensity (高强度) exercise and low-intensity activities were associated with a reduced risk of depression. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode (一段经历) of depression by 17%, according to the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, being physically active has the potential to remove the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically risky,” said lead author Karmel Choi. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each day may help people to reduce their risk and protect against future depression episodes.”
Depression is a common mental illness globally, with more than 264 million people affected. “Depression is so ubiquitous, and that underlines the need for effective approaches that can impact as many people as possible,” Choi said. And mental health and primary care providers can use the findings to advise patients that there’s something meaningful they can do to lower their risk of depression.
1. How did the researchers reach their conclusion?| A．By analyzing a mass of data. |
| B．By conducting genetic research. |
| C．By comparing various levels of activity. |
| D．By tracking the subjects for many years. |
| A．Physical activity betters medical treatment. |
| B．Exercise is able to decrease and prevent it. |
| C．Different levels of exercise intensity matter the same. |
| D．Exercising 35 minutes daily is the most effective treatment. |
| A．Harmful. | B．Complex. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Common. |
| A．To discuss a disease. |
| B．To introduce a method. |
| C．To analyze a genetic risk. |
| D．To explain a phenomenon. |
4 . The Seychelles — that remote island chain off the coast of northern Africa is heaven for scuba divers (水肺潜水). With more than 100 islands, most of which are uninhabited, and a relatively small amount of tourists impacting the oceans and beaches, the Seychelles has some truly best scuba diving.
Fisherman’s Cove Reef
If you’re a beginner diver who loves gentle drop-offs and sea turtles, make sure Fisherman’s Cove Reef is on your scuba diving radar. The site is very popular as there’s rarely a current, it’s very shallow, and has a colorful reef with everything from eagle rays to small leaf fish, which can be very difficult to find against the seagrass and coral.
Ennerdale Wreck
If you love wreck diving, head right for the Ennerdale, a British oil tanker that accidentally sunk in 1970. Because of the medium-to-strong current and depth, it’s for divers with advanced open water cert. They’ll be able to swim around the wreck’s propellers, penetrate the frame, and likely see reef sharks and the occasional bull shark.
Baie Ternay Marine Park
The shallow, protected area of ocean has healthy and varied coral, and a lively reef. Both snorkelers and beginner divers are likely to see sea turtles grazing on the seagrass, coaching reef fish, and small eels poking out of the sandy ocean floor.
Aldabra Atoll
It doesn’t get much more remote than the Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO site. The coral reef continues underwater, which makes all the island’s dive sites stunning. Advanced divers can do drift dives in a channel with a chance of seeing sharks, while beginners can stay closer to the reefs, checking the various species of marine life in the Indian Ocean off their must-see list. The island is home to nearly 100,000 giant tortoises, as well as several other rare species
1. Why is the Seychelles known as heaven for scuba divers?| A．Its close distance to northern Africa. | B．The high chance to spot the fish in the region. |
| C．Its relatively small number of inhabited islands. | D．The effect of the oceans and beaches on tourism. |
| A．The chance to see a sunken ship under the ocean. | B．The numerous sharks and large marine creatures. |
| C．Its remote location away from the main islands. | D．Its attraction to both snorkelers and divers. |
| A．Aldabra Atoll. | B．Ennerdale Wreck. |
| C．Fisherman’s Cove Reef. | D．Baie Ternay Marine Park. |
5 . 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. |
6 . Various sports attract fans for different reasons: Spectator sports draw even more fans who just love to watch. Here are some of the most beloved sports worldwide.
Hockey-2 billion fans
Hockey, both on ice and on a field, wins a following of two billion enthusiastic fans worldwide. Field hockey is mainly played in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, while ice hockey is particularly popular in Canada and the US, where kids grow up playing pond hockey. Unlike ice hockey, field hockey usually does not involve body contact in the form of checking and hitting.
Football-4 billion fans
Football, better known as soccer in the US, is by far the most popular sport in the world. Experts estimate that the origin (起源) of football may go as far back as two thousand years, beginning in ancient China during the Han Dynasty. One major reason for football’s global popularity is that unlike other sports that require expensive equipment, all you need to play football is a ball and your feet.
Volleyball-900 million fans
Volleyball pits two teams across a high net, each attempting to smash the ball onto the opponent’s floor. A popular variant, beach volleyball, is competed on sand by pairs rather than the regular six players per team. The crowd appeal of beach volleyball has grown greatly in recent years.
Tennis-1 billion fans
An estimated one billion people worldwide follow professional tennis tournaments and matches. In tennis, players on both sides of a net try to hit a ball with a racket so that it either goes past their opponent (对手) or bounces twice on their opponent’s side of the court to score points. Tennis superstars like Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams are now household names around the world, with huge international fan bases.
1. Which sport attracts the most fans according to the text?| A．Volleyball. | B．Hockey. | C．Football. | D．Tennis. |
| A．Its long history. | B．Its great convenience. |
| C．Its unique origin. | D．Its huge fan bases. |
| A．Playing ice hockey involves body contact. |
| B．Soccer is American people's favorite sport. |
| C．Beach volleyball has attracted the most sports fans recently. |
| D．A tennis player loses one point if his ball goes past his opponent. |
7 . From AI-made jokes to Harry Potter fashion videos, AI can be used to make funny stuff. But can it be as funny as a human? And if it can, does it present a danger to comedy writers in the future? That’s something performers have been looking at in this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, running from Aug 4 to 28.
Anyone can put on a show at the Fringe, and this year even robots were getting in on the act. One of Fringe’s big shows even used a small robot to come up with jokes from audience suggestions, which were then performed by humans. The results could be very funny, but sometimes they weren’t funny at all. That was part of the point, explained Piotr Mirowski, the show’s co-maker.
“We do not use humans to ‘show off’ AI; instead, we use AI ‘to show’ its limitations, to showcase human creativity on the stage,” said Mirowski, according to the Guardian.
But one performer at the Fringe said he’s using AI to make jokes for him because he’s out of ideas. Comedian Peter Bazely’s show has him playing a supporting role to “an entirely computer-generated comedian” called AI Jesus. The Fringe review website, Chortle, talked about today’s AI concerns: “In a world where artists are worried that AI could end up doing their jobs for them, Bazely is said to be praying this one will do exactly that.”
The reasons for companies wanting to use AI are certainly understandable, but the dangers they present to many people’s jobs are becoming more and more real, and that’s not very funny. From concerns in schools and colleges about students using ChatGPT for their work, to writers and actors worrying that AI could be used to replace them, fears about the dangers of AI are a hot topic in the world.
Back in March of this year, a letter calling for a six-month stop on advanced AI development was signed by over 1,000 people working with AI technologies including Elon Musk and other well-known tech leaders, reported The New York Times. Then, in May, leaders in the AI industry signed a document from the Center for AI Safety warning that AI could present an extinction-level danger and “should be a global priority alongside... pandemics and nuclear war.”
1. In what way is the Fringe unique this year?| A．Some jokes were created by robots. | B．It presented dangers to comedy writers . |
| C．Harry Potter fashion videos were shown. | D．The AI-made jokes were very funny. |
| A．AI Jesus is an expert in jokes. |
| B．AI was used to show its creativity. |
| C．Bazely was positive about using AI. |
| D．Chortle was concerned about the use of AI. |
| A．Because many people will use AI to show off. |
| B．Because some people will probably be out of work. |
| C．Because well-known tech leaders will stop developing AI. |
| D．Because AI can present pandemics and nuclear war. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Unclear. | D．Objective. |
8 . China is one of the world’s ancient civilizations and has the earliest outstanding bronze casting technology. Here we’ve created a list of 4 museums where you can gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese bronze.
Sanxingdui Museum
Address: Sanxingdui Ruin Site, 133 Xian Road, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan province
Hours: Comprehensive Gallery (the first exhibition hall): 8:30-18:00; Bronze Gallery (the second exhibition hall): 8:30-18:30. Last tickets sold at 17:00. Closed on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve
Ticket booking: 0838-5651526
General admission: Gallery ticket 80 yuan
Note: Children shorter than 1.2m (including 1.2m) can visit the gallery free of charge. The ticket must be used on the day it is sold and authorizes one visit to each gallery.
National Museum of China
Address: East side of Tian’anmen Square, Dongcheng district, Beijing
Hours: 8:30-17:00 (no entry after 16:30)
General admission: Free (passport required for entry), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
E-mail: webmaster@chnmuseum.cn
Shanghai Museum
Address: 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
E-mail: webmaster@shanghai-museum.org
General admission: free (a max of 8, 000 admitted daily)
Hunan Museum
Address: 50 Dongfeng Road, Changsha, Hunan province
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) and the eve of Chinese New Year
Tel: (+86-731) 8415833, 84475933
E-mail: web@hnmuseum.com
General admission: Free (passport required for entry)
1. Which museum should you choose for your family to visit next Monday?| A．Sanxingdui Museum | B．Hunan Museum |
| C．Shanghai Museum | D．National Museum of China |
| A．They are all free of charge. | B．They all set a deadline for entry. |
| C．They all lie in the south of China. | D．They can all be available through E-mail. |
| A．Science | B．Today’s News | C．Entertainment | D．History and Culture |
9 . Home workout
As long as there is a space at home, we can move. It will take time if we go outside as time is precious, especially in this fast- paced age. So many people like to exercise at home. However, without trainers, getting good exercises at home can be difficult.
Avoid over-training. Nowadays, a lot of people prefer to do some popular programs they see on social media. But a lot of these programs are high-in-tensity (高强度的) and designed to make you feel tired.
Do yoga in a suitable way.
| A．It can be tricky to do yoga at home. |
| B．Yoga is the most effective in the presence of an instructor. |
| C．Here is something you should pay attention to when you choose to exercise at home. |
| D．Instead, you should try a program that is working toward a goal, with exercises you’re able to do. |
| E．Watch your form. |
| F．But having bad form can lead to injury. |
| G．People find it easy to do these programs. |
10 . When I talk to kids about writing, I often compare it to the roller coaster (过山车) to remind them to mix laughs with tears in writing, because nobody wants to ride a roller coaster that’s a long, never-ending and terrifying one. Even Shakespeare, in his darkest tragedies, opens each act with a funny scene before the bad things come out. We need amusing relief in literature, a break in the tension (紧张).
I have always tried to write stories for kids that mix the heart-racing thrill of a mystery with a few jokes. Maybe this is because, when I was in the fifth and sixth grades, the fun magazine was my favorite reading material. When I first moved to New York City, I performed with one of the city’s top comedy (喜剧) groups. Comedy, I have discovered, is a great teaching tool. It is also a wonderful defense against fear.
One of my favorite e-mails I’ve ever received was sent to me in 2009 by a young reader who loved my stories. Here’s what he wrote:
Dear Mr. Grabenstein,
I just wanted to let you know that I really, absolutely love your books. I’m in 6th grade and recently finished The Hanging Hill after reading The Crossroads. Your stories mix action, humor and horror together in a perfect combination.
Thanks so much!
Will R
Comedy is a writer’s tool for releasing tension and it also simply makes books more fun to read. I used humor in my middle grade novel The Island of Dr. Libris to make classic literature feel more accessible to young readers. I also think it’s why so many reluctant readers — including kids who haven’t read a book in years — have been crazy about Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics. Learning the Dewey DecimaI System in maths class can be fun if it is presented in a funny way because when we’re laughing, we never think we’re working too hard.
1. Where is the text probably from?| A．A literature textbook. | B．An autobiography. |
| C．A writing guideline. | D．A writing outline |
| A．To prove a theory. | B．To explain a concept. |
| C．To support his opinion. | D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．Boring. | B．Effective. | C．Useful. | D．Simple. |
| A．Drama suit, a decoration for writing | B．Imagination, the soul of writing |
| C．Magazine, a guide for writing | D．Fun, the basis in writing |
