1 . Chinese food is well-known for its rich sorts and distinct flavors from different areas. This article highlights four classic dishes that represent the wide range of Chinese cooking.
Dongpo porkDongpo pork is a delicious dish from Zhejiang Province, China. It’s made by cooking streaky pork (五花肉) slowly with ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, and sugar. This makes the meat very soft and full of flavor. The tasty sauce is great for mixing with rice. The dish is named after a famous poet, Su Dongpo.
Hot candied milk tofuHot candied milk tofu is a sweet specialty from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is crisp (酥脆的) on the outside and soft on the inside. It tastes sweet and is suitable for people of all ages to eat. It’s also great for getting more calcium.
Steamed Chinese cabbage in supreme soupSteamed Chinese cabbage in supreme soup is a famous Sichuan cuisine. It is made with the hearts of Chinese cabbage from the north. It’s cooked with chicken, duck, and pork bones to make a clear flavourful soup, which is seasoned with minced chicken or pork. Some chicken oil is drizzled on top. The Chinese cabbage, cooked in the soup, keeps its crisp freshness and soaks up (吸收) the soup, offering a tasty experience.
Steamed fish head with chopped hot chilli peppersIn Hunan Province, the love for spicy food is obvious in a famous traditional dish, steamed fish head with chopped hot chilli peppers. The fish head is marinated (腌) with a generous amount of red chilli peppers and then steamed to perfection. The combination of the fish’s natural freshness and the chilli peppers’ heat creates an unforgettable taste experience.
1. What is the first dish named after?A.A famous chef. | B.A historical figure. |
C.A traditional festival. | D.A specific cooking technique. |
A.Dongpo pork. |
B.Hot candied milk tofu. |
C.Steamed Chinese cabbage in supreme soup. |
D.Steamed fish head with chopped hot chilli peppers. |
A.Sweet and sour. | B.Sweet and fresh. |
C.Salty and sweet. | D.Spicy and fresh. |
2 . Since the old times, art has always been with us. Art has always been very important to people. It shows our feelings, ideas, and what we see around us. From the first simple cave drawings to the latest computer art, the way art has changed is a very interesting part of human history.
But art is more than just pretty. Art isn’t just about looking nice.
Art can make us think and inspire us to do different things. In the 1900s, artists started making abstract art.
How art grows also shows how technology gets better over time.
Art serves as a universal medium for the exchange of ideas, transcending (超越) language and cultural barriers. It allows for a form of communication that is accessible to all. It is away of sharing ideas with everyone.
A.Take the oldest art as an example. |
B.Take the Renaissance as an example. |
C.People can understand it, no matter where they are from. |
D.It means they tried to paint a lot of pictures to make a living. |
E.This means they didn’t try to paint pictures of things we know. |
F.Nowadays, with computers and the Internet, art is changing again. |
G.It can also say important things about society and can help change things. |
3 . It’s easy for consumers to buy food and drinks like a bowl of hot rice and coke online or from neighbourhood shops, but for astronauts such things were impossible in the past.
Members of China’s Shenzhou manned space flight last year, however, were able to enjoy such food, thanks to Joyoung, a Chinese firm. Joyoung created a mobile space kitchen for the astronauts. A drinking water machine, an air heater and a soybean milk maker were all accessible in the kitchen through a smart app. Tang Hongbo, who was a member of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft said in the news that during his three-month trip, he could eat hot food with just half-hour efforts, a contrast to the past when similar attempts required several hours. “If we had time, we would also use equipment to eat homemade yogurt. We could also control the equipment in the space kitchen through mobile phone apps.” he said.
In the past, most foods couldn’t be directly heated in a microwave oven in the space. Conduction equipment often caused uneven (不均匀的) heating. An astronaut had to spend as long as four hours to heat some vegetables in the space kitchen. To solve the problem, Joyoung has developed equipment that gives out hot air to heat vegetables in a 360-degree way. That enables astronauts to eat steaming-hot fish-flavoured pork and Gongbao chicken, a spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish.
Besides Joyoung, a group of companies, including Xiaomi Coip and Huawei Technologies, have contributed their technologies to the development of the space station. A vacuum (真空) cleaner made haircuts on the spacecraft possible. NOLO VR, a Chinese virtual reality manufacturer, has helped astronauts develop an experimental equipment through which laboratory technicians on the ground can see and experience what astronauts are doing in space.
1. What do astronauts think of Joyoung’s mobile space kitchen?A.Water-saving. | B.Energy-wasting. | C.Time-saving. | D.Money-wasting. |
A.By making contrasts. | B.By analyzing results. |
C.By providing pictures. | D.By answering questions. |
A.Jayoung needs to further its technology. |
B.What astronauts are doing is significant. |
C.Astronauts on board can do as they wish. |
D.There are more technologies for the spacecraft. |
A.The Hot Diet on the Space Station Needs to be Addressed |
B.Earth to Space, Firms Add Value by Creating Technology |
C.Modern Technology Brings Convenience to Human Beings |
D.Manufacturers Make Big Profits from Inventing Equipment |
4 . Arsh believes in the importance of making the world a more beautiful place. The talented boy not only paints but also sells his artwork and donates the money.
It all started when his parents bought him a set of painting tools for his 8th birthday. Once he had his own materials, he began spending much of his free time putting color on his canvas. As Arsh’s paintings began to grow in number, he decided to give them as gifts to friends and family. Receiving a positive response from people around him, he soon realized his pieces had the potential to get much more than smiles and praise.
His light-bulb moment came shortly after: he would sell his artwork and donate the money to charity. His first plan was to raise $1,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which he accomplished in around nine months by selling his paintings on social media and at local art shows. Since then, he’s broadened his reach to benefit other organizations, including childhood cancer nonprofit Compass to Care and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He’s raised over $16,000 for charities so far.
Arsh’s artwork is often colorful and cheery, as one might expect from a youngster, but it showcases the impressive technique of a gifted artist. Some pieces are more abstract in nature; others feature realistic renditions (演绎) of flowers and animals. They range in size and complexity, and, accordingly, price. Small paintings might sell for $10 while larger canvases, up to five feet, have gone for $800.
Last year, Arsh won The Diana Award, an honor presented by a UK charity founded on Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change their country. And the young artist has advice for other kids looking to make a difference. “Helping others doesn’t have to be, like, money or anything. It can be your time, your skills, your talent,” he says, “and overall, just be kind to other people to make their day better.”
1. What made Arsh interested in painting?A.A birthday present from his parents. | B.His parents’ deep love for painting. |
C.The encouragement of others around him. | D.His fascination with the beauty of nature. |
A.To pay for his painting materials. | B.To get more attention from others. |
C.To attract children’s interest in art. | D.To help those people who are in need. |
A.His fundraising plan is going well. |
B.He will turn his attention to his studies. |
C.All his paintings sell at high prices now. |
D.He is going to teach other children to paint for free. |
A.Every child has a unique talent. |
B.Everyone has the ability to help others. |
C.Talent plays an important role in learning art. |
D.Helping others is the responsibility of young artists. |
5 . Stress often occurs when humans have too much work or are in immediate danger. We communicate our stress to others through our behavior and physiological changes. Thus, stress can communicate information and even be useful for survival in certain situations. On the other hand, the massive spread of stress frequently leads to dangerous situations in groups, such as mass panic.
However, not only humans, but also animals can experience and spread stress. This is the present research focus of Dr Hanja Brand l from the University of Konstanz.
“It has been repeatedly shown that stress can be spread from one human to another,” Brand l says. “Often, a similarly strong physiological response is triggered, even though you have never experienced the stress yourself.” But what is known about stress among animals? Brand l concludes other animals in the group can be just as stressed as the friend who experienced something bad. Stress is evolutionarily deeply rooted and the process is similar in all vertebrates (脊椎动物).
When are animals stressed? To be mentioned primarily are naturally occurring threats to which they are exposed, such as natural enemies. Human influences raise the level of stress. “Increasing changes in the habitat or noise and light pollution also have an impact as these massively influence the environment of the animals.” Brand l explains. “Animals are flexible and can adapt to situations. But at some point, the stress response—the adaptations that otherwise help animals better escape stressors like enemies—no longer gives them a survival advantage,” she adds.
This not only endangers the animals’ health, but also changes the social structure of groups. “If we know how the underlying mechanisms (机制) work, we can better protect animals,” says Brandl.
For humans, too, insights from the animal world are useful, she says. “With humans, we can’t measure the functionality of groups under stress well in natural scenes.” Therefore, Brandl is now continuing her studies. In the future, this will make it easier to respond to and help with the spread of stress in groups of people.
1. What can we learn about stress from paragraph 1?A.Stress is both good and bad. |
B.Group living. can easily cause stress. |
C.Each individual reacts differently to stressful situations. |
D.Poor communication is one of the biggest causes of stress. |
A.Ignored. | B.Eased. | C.Caused. | D.Transformed. |
A.Supply food to them. |
B.Make them live in groups. |
C.Protect their habitat from being destroyed. |
D.Provide opportunities for them to practice their survival skills. |
A.A pet magazine. | B.A news website. |
C.A book review. | D.A technical forum. |
6 . If you’re someone who has been worrying about the rise of the robots—hold on there just a second, and let them help you impress your friends with some newfound skills in a foreign language. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to help us learn and improve those skills is not new—some of the online language tools we turn to every day are powered by AI.
But as new technologies flood into the market, now is a great time to take advantage of the tech. And according to experts, these tools aren’t replacing teachers—they’re making their lives easier. One of the things that stops some of us from practicing speaking in a new language is a lack of self-confidence. AI can help—chatbots don’t judge you. Of course, teachers don’t either, but for some people, communicating with a bot may erase that fear of failure or shyness.
The latest chatbots use something called natural language processing that allows them to understand human speech or writing, providing a human-like response right away. While chatbots are extremely useful for learners working individually, teachers can also offer course material and ask an AI system to produce personalized textbooks for groups of students. The AI can also provide feedback (反馈) in seconds—gone are the days of waiting a week for work to be graded.
Past online language tools and games were able to tell you when you were wrong, but they weren’t always able to explain why. Now, not only has that changed, but the explanations are detailed and immediate. But this is not to underestimate the role of the teacher, who can use the technology to help learn more about the strengths and shortcomings of their students and personalize their teaching.
So, if you want to impress your friends with your perfect speech, don’t be afraid of AI. Just think of it as a useful tool for both teachers and language learners, which will give you more time and space to enjoy learning something new!
1. What is the main idea of the article?A.The dangers of Al-robots. |
B.The history of online language tools. |
C.The benefits of AI in language learning. |
D.The role of teachers in the modern classroom. |
A.Because bots grade work faster. |
B.Because bots provide textbooks. |
C.Because bots are more knowledgeable. |
D.Because bots may remove the fear of failure or shyness. |
A.It saves time for teachers. | B.It reduces the cost of education. |
C.It meets individual students’ needs. | D.It provides detailed lesson plans. |
A.weakness. | B.awareness. | C.witness. | D.darkness. |
7 . A study following nearly 30,000 older adults for more than 10 years has found six key healthy lifestyle factors can significantly reduce memory loss and those adults engaging in between four and six of the healthy lifestyle behaviors could dramatically reduce their risks of developing dementia (痴呆), even when carrying genes that increase their risks of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Six healthy lifestyle aspects were assessed: a healthy diet, regular physical exercise, active social contact, active cognitive (认知的) activity, never smoking, and never drinking alcohol,” the researchers explained in the new study. Participants were classified (分类) into the favorable group if they had four to six healthy lifestyle factors, into the average group for two to three factors, and into the unfavorable group for zero to one factor.
The study found that people with four to six healthy habits had a much slower loss of memory than those with fewer healthy habits. People with these good habits were also much less likely to get dementia than those with one or no healthy habits. Those who had two or three good habits were 30% less likely to get dementia.
The study didn’t figure out which of the six healthy habits is the best for stopping dementia or which combination is the best. However, the information did show that eating healthy seemed to help prevent memory loss the most, with brain exercise and regular physical exercise also very helpful.
About 20% of the people in the study had a gene that makes Alzheimer’s disease more likely. Even so, having several good health habits helped slow down memory loss. This shows that changing how we live can really help.
Even though each health habit helped in a different way, overall, the study found that people with more good health habits had much less memory loss than those with fewer good habits. This suggests that the choices we make in how we live can help protect our memory. The study adds to the evidence that we might be able to change our risk of memory loss.
1. What were the groups categorized based on?A.The participants’ age. | B.What hobbies the participants got rid of. |
C.The healthy lifestyles the participants had. | D.What the participants’ attitudes to factors were. |
A.The favorable group was happier than the other two. |
B.More healthy lifestyles were of more benefit to health. |
C.Healthy habits had little impact on memory or dementia. |
D.People with a healthy diet wouldn’t suffer a loss of memory. |
A.A healthy diet. | B.Active social contact. |
C.Active cognitive activities. | D.Never drinking alcohol. |
A.Healthy Lifestyles Slowing Memory Loss | B.A Study Making A Great Breakthrough |
C.A Healthy Diet Being The Best Lifestyle | D.Old Adults Suffering From Health Problems |
8 . Thomas was a well-known wise man. One day, he wandered in a beautiful small town. Because of his fame, people from nearby towns who heard of his arrival all came to visit and seek his advice.
Many who came sought help with difficulties in daily life, and Thomas, unable to bear turning them away, patiently offered suggestions. Word spread quickly, and more and more people came to see Thomas for guidance.
One day, dozens of people crowded outside Thomas’s door, all clamoring (大声地要求) that their problems were the most serious and urgent, each insisting that Thomas address their concerns first, with no one willing to yield (让步).
After a moment of thought, Thomas took out some paper and a pen and said, “I can’t hear clearly with everyone talking at once. How about everyone write down your problem on a piece of paper and place it in this basket beside me?”
Once everyone had placed their notes in the basket, Thomas shook the basket and said, “Please each take a piece of paper from the basket and read what it says.”
As everyone read a note from someone else, they all realized that indeed, each person has their own troubles, and every household has its own challenges. Then Thomas spoke up, “Now, whose problem is the most urgent to solve?” Hearing that question, no one spoke again, because now no one dared to claim that their problem was the most severe.
Often, we are bound by our immediate feelings. When difficulties and problems strike, it feels as though we are caught in a vortex of pain. But if we shift our focus from ourselves and look towards others, we might discover that the problems we face are not so significant. Perhaps others are the ones who need help more urgently, or maybe there is something within our power that we can do for them.
1. Why did people visit Thomas?A.For advice. | B.For a meeting. |
C.For a competition. | D.For introductions. |
A.He ignored them. | B.He listened to each one individually. |
C.He prioritized the problems himself. | D.He asked them to write down their problems. |
A.The complexity of their difficulties. | B.The similarity of their situations. |
C.Their need for more advice. | D.Their living conditions. |
A.Competition. | B.Sympathy. | C.Prioritization. | D.Self-confidence. |
9 . Jiang Shumei wasn’t educated as a child, learning her first Chinese character at the age of 60. Now, the 87-year-old grandmother is the proud author of six books. She learned her first character in 1996, after her husband died in a car accident, when her daughter Zhang Ailing suggested that she learn to read to take her mind off the loneliness and sorrow.
Zhang says that her mother had her own way of learning. Whenever she came across characters she didn’t know at bus stops or shop signs, she found someone to ask. Once Jiang had learned enough characters, Zhang started giving her books to read. Enjoying the books, Jiang told her daughter that she wanted to write down her own stories to share.
She first put pen to paper in 2012, at the age of 75. It was not easy. Sometimes,completing a single sentence could take a day. Jiang usually started writing at 3 or 4 am, and revised the pieces several times until she was satisfied.
Zhang began publishing her mother’s stories on social media platforms in 2013. When Zhang and her mother drew the attention of Zhang’s writer friends, the pair made a decision to publish them. The first book, Time of Trouble, Time of Poverty, was published later that year, and proved to be a success. Some critics even praised it as the “live history of a nation plagued by tough times”. The book earned Jiang a lot of fans and sympathy.
So far, the elderly woman has published six books, totaling more than 600, 000characters in length. She lives a healthy life, exercising every day, drinking milk and soy milk, as well as having regular exercise. “If I could live as long as 130, would you still say that it is too late for me to start after 60?” she asks, jokingly.
1. Why did Jiang learn to read in her later years?A.To become a proud author. |
B.To make up for not going to school. |
C.To encourage her friends and families. |
D.To reduce the impact of her husband’s death. |
A.A strong inner desire. | B.The attention from other writers. |
C.Her daughter’s encouragement. | D.The development of social media. |
A.Aided. | B.Enlarged. | C.Troubled. | D.Defeated. |
A.One is never too old to learn. |
B.All roads lead to Rome. |
C.Where there is life, there is love. |
D.Gold can’t be pure and man can’t be perfect. |
10 . Exciting Celebrations And Festivals Around The World
Vivid Sydney, Australia: A Festival of Light, Music, and Ideas.
When: Friday, 26 May 2023 to Saturday, 17 June 2023
Where: Sydney, Australia
Age group: All ages, a family-friendly event
About: Vivid Sydney is one of the most popular annual events in Sydney. While it is the light installations (装置) shining on the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge that gain the most attention, the festival combines dozens of light installations, music al performances, and ideas to encourage and celebrate creativity.
Merrie Monarch Festival, USA
When: Sunday, 9 April 2023 to Saturday, 15 April 2023
Age group: All ages, although better for older kids and teens interested in Hawaiian culture
About: It includes a 3-day celebration of traditional and modern Hawaiian hula dancing that takes place on the Big Island of Hawaii It’s an intense hula competition with participants (参与者) from all around the world. There are also incredible Hawaiian craft fairs, a parade, and other activities.
Parintins Folklore Festival, Brazil
When: 24,25, and 26 June 2023
Where: Parintins Town, Amazonas State, Brazil
Age group: Kids between 10 years old and older are allowed into the outdoor sports ground.
About: It is an important part of Brazilian culture because it celebrates an old local legend (传说) about a lady and an ox. It combines the local legend and culture with modern rhythms and themes from the whole country, which is why it is recognized as a cultural heritage of Brazil.
1. What can you do when attending Vivid Sydney?A.You may gain the most attention. |
B.You can help with the light installations. |
C.You have a chance to take part in a hula competition. |
D.You can enjoy musical performances and shining lights. |
A.They are family-friendly. | B.They both last three days. |
C.They’re both suitable for older children. | D.They’re celebrated to promote traditional dances. |
A.An art magazine. | B.A tourism website. |
C.An academic article. | D.A geography textbook. |