3 . Canada’s new Dark Vessel Detection program is using advanced satellite technology to find illegal fishing ships that attempt to steal fish from waters around the world. Illegal fishing is a major contributor to the decrease of fish and their habitat destruction.

It is said that illegal fishing accounts for about 30 percent of fishing activity worldwide. It means that u to 26 million tons of fish are caught at a cost to the global economy of more than $ 23 billion a year. Illegal fishing occurs both on the high seas and within the 200 mile limits of coastal states. It has an especially negative effect on coastal populations in undeveloped areas.

Now, the government’s Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in partnership with the Department of National Defense and MDA (Canada’s space technology maker), has started a new program that has already led to fines on five foreign ships. The $7 million Dark Vessel Detection program uses satellite technology to locate and track ships. Some illegal fishing ships have switched off their location transmitting (传输) equipment, in an attempt to avoid surveillance (监视) and control.

The program offers state-of- the-art satellite data to small island nations and coastal states around the world. The local economies of those places are often influenced by illegal fishing. Finding illegal fishing ships from space will allow these small island nations to focus on their investigations and protect their fish.

“Illegal fishing threatens the health of our fish population and takes resources (资源) away from hard- working, legal fishermen,” said Bernadette Jordan, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, “This state -of the art system will help Ecuador and small island nations in the Pacific region deal with illegal fishing. Such illegal activity will do great harm to the Galapagos Islands and the food and economic security of its people,” she added.

1. What is the purpose of Canada’s new Dark Vessel Detection program?

A．To prevent sea pollution.	B．To assess the loss of fish farms.
C．To observe endangered fish species.	D．To protect the fish population worldwide.

2. What does the data in Paragraph 2 show?

A．The difficulties of undeveloped countries.	B．The slowdown in the global economy.
C．The seriousness of illegal fishing.	D．The general result of overfishing.

3. How do some illegal fishermen get rid of surveillance?

A．By speeding up their ships.	B．By finding remote fishing areas.
C．By hiding signals of their ships.	D．By fishing in the middle of the night.

4. What can be inferred from Bernadette Jordan’s words?

A．Island nations tend to suffer food shortages.

B．The interests of legal fishermen are threatened.

C．The tracking system will be applied to more fields.

D．Stricter laws will be made for the fishing industry.

4 . This will be an essential year for the pioneers developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft (电动垂直起降飞机), popularly known as air taxis. Several firms are hoping their craft can get the necessary certification (证书) in 2023 to put them into business, providing the first passengers with services.

Air taxis generally carry fewer than half a dozen passengers. They land and take off vertically using many small rotors (旋翼). With clever software controlling the rotors, they are easier to fly than a helicopter (a kind of plane) and enable independent flight. These rotors also help improve safety, as the aircraft can continue to fly if one fails.

Some designs use an extra rotor or two at the back of the craft to push the craft along in level flight. Others, like that produced by Joby Aviation, have rotors that bend forward; a set of small wings then provides lift, making more efficient use of the aircraft’s battery and increasing the range.

After scratching their heads about how to certify these flying machines, officials have been working with developers on safety standards. This is a time consuming process. Besides receiving “type” approval, which shows the safety of a new type of aircraft, factories must be certified before production can begin in large amounts. And airline-style permission is required if passengers are to be carried. Companies are working hard to get these approvals. Piloted operations are expected to be approved before independent flights.

In Germany, Volocopter will flight- test a family of eVTOLs. The firm is hoping its smallest, two-seater VoloCity can be certified in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris where the plan is to operate shuttles (航班) between airports and the athletes’ village. Other air taxi firms also hope to provide shuttles in Paris, or at the World Expo, which will take place in Japan in 2025.

1. Which of the following contributes to a safer flight according to the text?

A．More rotors.	B．Smart software.
C．Fewer passengers.	D．Skillful pilots,

2. Which can replace the underlined part “scratching their heads about” in the fourth paragraph?

A．Being satisfied with,	B．Thinking hard about.
C．Being interested in.	D．Passing judgment on.

3. Why does Volocopter hope to get its VoloCity certified early?

A．To show it at the World Expo.	B．To strengthen its pioneering role.
C．To operate it at the Paris Olympics.	D．To attract more visitors to Germany.

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

A．Green Transport Is Beginning to Take Shape	B．Flying Craft Have a Long Way to Go
C．Flying Taxis Win the Game	D．The Air Taxi Is Coming

7 . Traditional tea processing techniques and social practices in China were added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List (非物质文化遗产名录) on November 29. China now ranks first in the world with 43 items on the list.

    1     They include the knowledge, skills and practices about tea planting, picking of tea leaves, and the processing, drinking and sharing of tea. According to UNESCO, in China traditional tea processing techniques are closely associated with geographical location and natural environment.     2     Based on natural conditions and local customs, tea producers have developed several popular kinds of tea: green, yellow, dark, white, oolong and black teas.

In China, there are 44 registered items of national intangible cultural heritage related to tea. More than 40 vocational (职业的) colleges and 80 universities in China offer majors in tea science or tea culture.     3    

Tea is everywhere in Chinese people’s daily life. You can find it at home, work, tea houses, restaurants, temples and even at social events like weddings or ceremonies.     4     Sharing tea with guests and bonding over tea-related activities is a common practice among various ethnic groups. It helps to create a sense of identity and community for individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

Tea has delighted and fascinated the world for many thousands of years. It is a shared cultural treasure of mankind.     5     They have also influenced the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road and trade roads. Being included in the list of UNESCO will also help better protect and hand down the techniques and related tea culture.

A．It’s a big part of Chinese culture.

B．The techniques are related to many ways.

C．Tea was eventually spread to the west and beyond.

D．Most tea grows between 18°—37° N and 94°—122°.

E．E. Tea- related customs reflect Chinese people’s values.

F．Experts explored the long history of this universal drink.

G．Every year over 3,000 graduates enter tea production and art.

8 . New research has found caring for grandchildren can make a difference to seniors. Publishing their findings in the journal Aging & Mental Health, a team of experts from Germany and the U.K. reviewed data from 28 studies which included 191, 652 adults from 21 countries.

People aged 60 or above who cared for their grandchildren for an average of 12 hours a week were 60% less likely to experience loneliness than non-caregivers, one of the reviewed studies found. Five other studies, out of a total of seven, also produced data showing a negative connection between loneliness and care-giving for grandchildren. What’s more, five out of six reviewed studies found seniors who volunteered in their communities felt less lonely than those who didn’t.

“This is the first review of its kind to look into the relationship between care-giving, volunteering, and loneliness in old people,” co-author Dr. Matthew Prina said. “Further research could help find the best dose (剂量) of caring for grandchildren. But valuing their unpaid activities will likely play an important role in their well-being. We also looked at studies that focused on care-giving for partners with serious health conditions. In those cases, seniors reported having higher levels of loneliness. This kind of care-giving may bed a lonely experience when there is lack of support from others.”

Experts further explained that when caring for children, older adults tend to be more drawn into society, through things like school, play dates and other social events. For example, seniors can actively join in different activities and continuously learn things from a younger generation.

While not everyone has young children in their life, volunteering opportunities also work. Now one group called Eldera is bringing the two concepts together. It focuses on connecting generations by pairing experienced adults aged 60 or above with children across the world. The wisdom of the elders, with years of experience, knowledge and common sense, is the most valuable resource for the younger generation. It can help them imagine a better future.

1. What did the new research find out about the elderly?

A．60% seniors are less likely to suffer loneliness.

B．Many of them are willing to be volunteers.

C．Their mental health is related to their personality.

D．Caregiving and volunteering can reduce loneliness.

2. What can we infer from Dr. Matthew’s words in Paragraph 3?

A．The needs of the elderly are always placed second.

B．The elderly hardly get support from their family members.

C．Respecting the old’s contributions is beneficial to their health.

D．It is a tough job for the elderly to care for their grandchildren.

3. What effect does caring for grandchildren mainly have on the elderly?

A．It inspires them to understand the society.

B．It helps them get more social opportunities.

C．It enables them to improve common sense.

D．It enhances their working ability.

4. What is the benefit of creating Eldera?

A．Providing volunteer opportunities for the young.

B．Calling on people to care more about the elderly.

C．Spreading the wisdom of the old to the young.

D．Teaching old people skills of caring for children.

9 . Why would anyone want to write a poem? One reason to write a poem is to dig from yourself some thought, feeling, comprehension or question that you didn’t know was in you, or in the world. Other forms of writing, such as scientific papers, political analysis and journalism, attempt to record something known. Poetry is a release of something previously unknown.

Poetry opens our eyes and offers increase of reach. We live so often on a lonely island, separated from ourselves and others due to social or personal reasons. To step into a poem is to agree to risk. Writing takes down all protections to see what steps forward. Poetry is a trick of language, in which the writer is both magician and audience. You reach your hand into the hat and surprise yourself with a rabbit or memory, with unusual verbs or rhymes. Poems lead to revolutions of being. Whatever the old order was, a poem will change it.

What we want from art is whatever is missing from the lives we are living and making. Something is always missing, and so art-making is endless.

There is also the matter of connection. You can’t write an image, a metaphor (暗喻), a story, a phrase without approaching the shared world, without recognizing that your supposed solitude (独处) is at every point touching some others. You can’t read a good poem without recognizing your own face in the poet’s experience. It allows us to feel more strongly and accurately what is already present. Then it expands that and expands us.

Does art change anything by its existence or non-existence? I’d argue that art, if it is genuinely art, is a force for the good. That the rearrangement of words can reopen the potential of both inner and outer worlds — I cannot say why I feel this to be true, except that I feel it so when I read good poems.

1. How does the writer introduce the topic?

A．By listing numbers.	B．By giving examples.
C．By quoting a saying.	D．By making a comparison.

2. What is the similarity between poetry and magic?

A．They bring surprises.	B．They follow traditions.
C．They change the world.	D．They are arts of language.

3. What can a good poem do according to the text?

A．Criticize social reality.	B．Apply new expressions.
C．Bridge poets and readers.	D．Remind readers of the past.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards art?

A．Objective.

B．Favorable.

C．Unclear.

D．Doubtful.

10 . Older adults often complain about the loss of the good old days when neighbors were friends instead of strangers, and everyone in the neighborhood left their doors unlocked. While home security is one thing, interesting new research out of Rutgers University has found that feeling connected to one’s neighbors appears to promote better health outcomes.

About 27 percent of people aged 60 or older live alone in the USA, according to the Pew Research Center. Living alone has been linked to a number of unfavourable health outcomes such as heart disease, depression, and poor overall biological health. So, researchers believed it important to identify which factors may or may not help reduce the negative effects of living   alone.

The project focused on neighborhood cohesion (凝聚力) among Chinese Americans living within the greater Chicago area. Study authors investigated if perceptions of trust and connection among neighbors had an impact on the death risk among that population. Subjects living alone, and reporting minimal interactions or connections with their neighbors, had a 48.5 percent increased risk of death in comparison to those living with other people Meanwhile, people who lived alone and reported strong cohesion with their neighborhood displayed death risks very similar to those living with others.

Establishing a clearer understanding of how different types of neighborhoods may influence locals’ health outcomes can help in the creation of new social policies and public health initiatives aimed at promoting better, more inclusive neighborhood environments.

“Our findings show the particular challenges faced by older adults who live alone in communities with little interaction,” concludes Yanping Jiang, author of the study. Enhancing neighborhood cohesion may be a promising way to reduce early death for older adults.

Future studies should focus on additional contributors involved in neighborhoods, and how they may or may not influence the health of older adults. On an individual level, we can all do our part. Consider being just a little friendlier to your neighbors, especially those who live alone.

1. What can we learn about old people living alone in America?

A．They account for 27% of the US population.

B．They are responsible for social insecurity.

C．Their health deserves more attention.

D．Their problems are quite uncommon

2. What contributes to lower death risks among the old according to the study?

A．The number of family members.	B．Neighbours’ health conditions.
C．A strong connection with nature.	D．An interelativeship with the neighbours.

3. What do the researchers plan to do next?

A．Widen the range of subjects.	B．Focus on seniors’.
C．Identify other potential factors	D．Establish better health students.

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

A．Get to Know Your Neighbors	B．Watch Your Overall
C．Choose a Safer Neighborhood	D．Say No to Living Alone