1 . Storytelling is an ancient art form that has been used to hand down legends, tales and factual stories. Perhaps the first thing that springs to mind when you think of storytelling is the fantasy land that took shape in your mind while Mom or Dad told you stories about princes, castles and monsters, with a unique voice for each character.
Storytelling does not just take place at bedtime or round a campfire, however. It can take some other forms, either via the books we read or the films we watch. But they usually have some elements in common: rather than a list of dry facts, stories have plots and they introduce characters. We respond to stories, particularly when there is emotional detail.
And unlike what we suppose, storytelling is not just a form of entertainment, but a form of learning as well. Long before reading and writing became widely spread and available, oral storytelling had already been a form that the wisdom and knowledge of the people were passed down from elders to children. A good story engages our curiosity, emotions and imagination.
Storytelling helps with learning also because stories are easy to remember. Research has found that learning obtained from a well-told story is remembered more accurately, and for far longer, than from facts and figures.
And above all, stories have a transformative power to allow us to see the world in a different way than we do if we just encounter it on our own. Stories are an entry point to understanding a different experience of the world.
This aspect of storytelling-presenting a different perspective of the world — is important when it comes to connecting with each other. It gives us an opportunity to learn from another person’s experience and it can shape, strengthen or challenge our opinions and values. So, when someone tells us their own personal story, we catch a glimpse of a view of the world that may be slightly or significantly different from our own. When we see the world as they see it, or walk in their shoes, the experience can inspire empathy (共情;同理心) with them.
1. What occurs to us the moment we think of “storytelling”?| A．A child’s imaginary world. | B．Voices of Mom or Dad. |
| C．An ancient art form. | D．Factual stories. |
| A．It carries more wisdom and knowledge. |
| B．It is more widely available to young learners. |
| C．It satisfies our imagination and releases our emotions. |
| D．It makes what is learned more precise and longer lasting. |
| A．By offering us more opportunities to know people. |
| B．By helping us stay connected with the contemporary world. |
| C．By allowing us to understand the world the way they see it. |
| D．By enabling us to tell reality from imagination. |
| A．The History of Storytelling | B．The Power of Storytelling |
| C．The Forms of Storytelling | D．The Art of Storytelling |
2 . How to Make Friends
Good friendship has many advantages.
Start a conversation.
Starting a conversation is an important step in making new friends.
Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friends together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.
Let it grow.
It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to disturb your new friend with too many calls, messages or visits as this would likely make him or her upset and finally you may lose your friend.
Enjoy your friendship.
The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.
| A．Be cheerful. |
| B．Do things together. |
| C．Do not wait to be spoken to. |
| D．Making new friends comes easy for some people. |
| E．For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch. |
| F．The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally. |
| G．Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be. |
3 . I was hurrying to our basketball game one morning when Hillary Barnes, the most popular girl, in school, stopped me. “Are you the twin who won the art competition?” she asked.
“No, that’s Christine. I’m Katie.” I said.
We were not identical twins; we looked quite different. She could defeat Snow White in a beauty contest! Compared to Christine, I felt like one of Cinderella’s stepsisters.
One Saturday Christine gave me a painting lesson because I was always attempting to be artistic too. But I knocked over the vase of flowers, spilling water onto Christine’s painting. Instead of becoming angry, though, she turned the whole mess into a dreamy masterpiece(杰作). You could look at it five different ways and see five different things. With this brilliant creation, she won First Prize in the art competition. I really envied her, but I knew it wasn’t her fault and I was the one with wild, unmanageable hair and no talent.
Joining Christine’s basketball team was my latest effort to be like her.
On the way to the gym, I’d made up my mind to give my best performance in that day’s game. I made preparations with great enthusiasm. “Christine, here!” I tossed her a ball. But it was too high, she leapt for it, it slipped through her fingers and crashed into the tape recorder that was used to play the national anthem before each game.
I muttered apologies as I picked up the broken pieces of the recorder. Coach looked at the mess and asked, “How are we going to play the song now?”
Christine suggested, “Let Katie sing it! She’s always singing at home.”
Coach asked. “Would you?” I found myself nodding.
Coach announced the national anthem and everyone stood. Standing before a microphone, I looked up to the flag. The notes seemed to flow from deep inside me, and my voice was steady and clear. When I finished, the gym was silent. Then it was filled with applause. As the game started, teammates patted my back and gave me the “thumbs up” sign. Laura Jamison said. “You should try out for the school musical!” I Nodded and said that I might.
The next morning Hillary Barnes stopped me in the hallway and asked, “Are you the twin who sings?”
“Yes, that’s me,” I answered, grinning(露齿笑) as I walked to class.
1. Why does the author use “Snow White” and “Cinderella’s stepsisters”?| A．To show why Christine could win the art competition. |
| B．To show how dissimilar the twins were in appearance. |
| C．C. To show who was the most popular girl at school. |
| D．To show what the twins characters like. |
| A．Christine was unpleasant to her sister. |
| B．Katie showed a lot of ability in painting too. |
| C．The masterpiece was painted by the two sisters. |
| D．Katie took a reasonably balanced view of her sister. |
| A．Because she would like to help the coach. |
| B．Because she thought Katie should be punished. |
| C．Because she knew perfectly well what Katie had a gift for. |
| D．Because she wanted to repair the damage she had caused. |
| A．People Are Talented in Different Ways. |
| B．Bad Situations Help to Become Popular. |
| C．People Should Always Be Nice to Others. |
| D．Unsuccessful Attempts Are Well Worth The Effort. |
4 . Screen time before bedtime may leave people feeling sleepy in the morning. Cell phones, computers and TVs emit (发出) blue light. And exposure to that bluish light during the two hours before bed can keep us from getting a good night’s rest, a new study finds. It cuts down on the length of people’s sleep. It also leaves them feeling tired in the morning and can disrupt the body clock. Data shows that this blue light tends to make us more alert at night, making it harder to get all the rest we need.
Green and his team surveyed 19 people — all in their 20s — for a sleep study. All spent two hours on a computer right before bedtime. But they didn’t all experience the same light exposure. Looking at screens that gave off intense blue light cut someone’s sleep by about 16 minutes, compared to when they had used screens with red light. Those exposed to blue light also woke up more often at night than if they had been exposed to red light.
“The normal blue light emissions from the computer screen also affect how much melatonin (褪黑素) each volunteer makes. It is released into our blood around 9 p.m. When our bodies make less melatonin, we may still feel too alert at bedtime to fall asleep when the body is tired. And body temperature won’t drop as expected after we use devices emitting lots of blue light. Using screens before bed damages the body’s biological clock,” Green says. “More and more kids are using screens nowadays. Sleep is important, especially during the first few years of life when ‘neural plasticity’ (神经可塑性) is at its greatest. Their brains are still developing the ability to learn and pay attention. That makes the new results worrisome,” Green says.
Rahman says that the new work makes a good point about how blue light from screens can be bad for our bodies. However, he points out, the light in this study is extremely bright. It is far brighter than what a normal computer, tablet or TV will emit. Still, Rahman says the results remind us to think about how we should use screens before bed.
1. The blue light from the screens may cause people to ________.| A．tend to work at night | B．get attentive in the morning |
| C．be less sleepy before bed time | D．be affected less by the body clock |
| A．People’s concern about light exposure. |
| B．A study on blue light’s effects on sleep. |
| C．Reasons for blue light’s effects on sleep. |
| D．Effects of various types of light on sleep. |
| A．Melatonin may affect people’s neural plasticity. |
| B．Blue light may affect children’s brain development. |
| C．Exposure to normal screen has little impact on sleep. |
| D．The low temperature of body helps produce melatonin. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Approving. |
| C．Objective. | D．Critical. |
5 . The ban (禁令) on petrol and diesel (柴油) cars due in 2030 may have to be scrapped because of a lack of charging points for electric vehicles, industry experts warn. The Government wants to outlaw the sale of new fuel models in order to go green and cut pollution. But industry figures suggest this may not be possible. Analysis highlights a lack of high-powered electric vehicle (EV) chargers at motorway service stations.
The Government has promised that every motorway service area has at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023. But only 27 out of 119 motorway services in England meet that target. This will fuel “charge point anxiety”, which experts warn is preventing drivers from buying electric cars in case they cannot power them up while on journeys. Lisa Watson, director of sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: “The UK is set to fall significantly short of its charging point targets.”
This could have a far-reaching effect on consumer uptake of alternative fuel vehicles. If more isn’t done to improve charging infrastructure (基础设施), the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles will seem an increasingly tough task. Rapid charge points can add about 100 miles of range to an EV in 35 minutes and are seen as crucial to encouraging more motorists who use their cars for long journeys to make the switch to electric.
There are also concerns over the distribution of public charging points.While Westminster has 2,196, there are just 1,593 across Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders expects plug-in battery electric vehicles to account for 18.4% of car sales this year and 22.6% next year-down from previous forecasts of 19.7% and 23.3%.
A government spokesman said, “The importance of ensuring high-powered charging is readily available up and down our motorway network can’t be highlighted enough. A lack of charging facilities is becoming one of the most widely quoted reasons for drivers not going electric.”
1. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “scrapped” in paragraph 1?| A．Passed. | B．Canceled. | C．Suggested. | D．Strengthened. |
| A．Charge point anxiety. | B．Bad motorway service. |
| C．The imperfection of law. | D．Too slow charging speed. |
| A．They are hard to popularize. |
| B．They can lead to an increase in drivers. |
| C．They will boost people’s confidence in EVs. |
| D．They enable an EV to run 35 minutes. |
| A．Sufficient high-powered charging must be provided. |
| B．The excuse for drivers not to buy EVs is unacceptable. |
| C．There is too much focus on high-powered charging. |
| D．The lack of charging devices will continue for a long time. |
6 . Favored by many internet influencers, the city of Zibo, once a sleepy industrial city, has gone viral on Chinese social media platforms. The topic Zibo “barbecue” on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, was played 4.96 billion times since the city stormed the Internet for over a month. On 29 April, Zibo Railway Station saw a record 87,000 train trips to and from the station, according to Chinese news website Caixin.
Local authorities in Zibo have been quick to respond to the sudden flow of visitors. A barbecue zone that can accommodate 10,000 people, featuring live band performances, was built overnight. Volunteers have been dispatched to the railway station to offer advice and recommendations to tourists. Designated (指定的) buses and trains bring tourists to and from the hottest barbecue spots. The government has even threatened to punish profiteering hotels who raise prices by more than 50% .
What makes Zibo barbecue so special is that it does offer a distinctive (独特的) dining experience. The skewers (烤串) are 70-80 percent cooked before they are brought to the table, where diners can finish cooking them on their own stoves, offering an immersive dining experience.
Zibo’s low prices are also appealing. Many college students in Shandong have made concrete plans to enjoy Zibo barbecue at the least cost, and traveling back and forth by train for only 200 yuan ($29.1). So what better way to attract adventurous, hungry college students with a tight budget other than “tasty barbecue that makes you full for only 50 yuan!”
The locals seem happy enough about the arrival of visitors and shy away from hot spots to make space for outsiders, saying they are proud that their hometown has gained nationwide fame.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The history of Zibo. |
| B．The influence of social media. |
| C．The newfound popularity of Zibo. |
| D．The crowdedness of Zibo Railway Station. |
| A．Unique dining experience. | B．Convenient transportation. |
| C．Wonderful performances. | D．Affordable prices. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Worried. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Critical. |
| A．To promote an industrial city. |
| B．To introduce barbecue in Zibo. |
| C．To explain how to attract tourists. |
| D．To show the popularity of barbecue. |
7 . Theophilus Tetteh is an African contemporary artist from Ghana. He buried himself in the study of graphic design and painting at school while experimenting with different media themes.
Now we hear about African painters stepping into the spotlight, but it might be challenging for Ghanaian artists to bring their careers to commercial success and critical recognition. The art market as such is not yet established in Ghana. The country doesn’t even have a national gallery to preserve and promote Ghanaian art. It can be problematic for young painters who cannot afford to move to Europe or the US to promote and market their art. Besides, many young artists can even have trouble getting painting materials.
Things changed for Tetteh when he got featured in BE OPEN Art, an online gallery of contemporary art. It was founded by philanthropist Elena Baturina with a desire to provide emerging artists worldwide with an opportunity to show their works to the world of art professionals. The platform especially welcomes artists who don’t have resources or promotional opportunities such as graduates and self-taught artists.
In December 2020, Tetteh was voted the Artist of the Month by the visitors of the BE OPEN Art. Later, he was chosen as the gallery’s first-ever Artist of the Year. The award brought him favorable publicity, so he was noticed by the art community, the media, collectors, etc. In 2021, he was interviewed frequently by the media and featured in a famous magazine. All these things let the prices of the artist’s work inch upwards.
Tetteh thinks the world can be a better place if young artists are guided on their way without any form of disregard, but with support of the senior. As his name has hit headlines of the arts world media, he hopes to help promote emerging talents in his native country. “The art makes the man and the man makes the art,” he says.
1. What can we learn about Ghanaian artists from paragraphs 1-2?| A．They tend to combine designs with media themes. |
| B．They have established an art market to promote works. |
| C．They desire professional guidance on preserving national art. |
| D．They lack a supportive platform to realize commercial value of their works. |
| A．To promote ancient African art treasures. |
| B．To broaden the artistic vision of self-taught artists. |
| C．To provide chances for young artists to display artistic talents. |
| D．To sponsor a project for the contemporary emerging artists from Ghana. |
| A．Socially responsible. | B．Amazingly talented. |
| C．Commercially smart. | D．Culturally conservative. |
| A．All that glitters is not gold. |
| B．Opportunity favors the prepared. |
| C．The strong is not without tears. |
| D．A good name is easier lost than won. |
8 . You’re in the shower. You grab the showerhead. What do you do? You sing.
Have you ever wondered about this phenomenon? Some of us wouldn’t sing in public if someone paid us. Yet we’ll sing in the shower without embarrassment. Believe it or not, there’s a scientific explanation behind it.
First, let’s look at why we’re relaxed enough in the shower to burst into song. Think about it: you don’t sing when you’re sad (unless you’re singing the blues, of course). For many people, shower time is the only time they’re alone all day. You’re in a warm, small, safe environment. You’re comfortable enough to be yourself! When you relax, your brain releases dopamine (多巴胺), which can give your creative juices an extra kickstart.
Warm water is rushing over you, and now you’re relaxed and feeling good. It turns out that singing makes you feel even better. Singing, because of the breathing you put into it, gets more oxygen into the blood. This gives you better circulation, which in turn improves your body and mood. And because you have to breathe a little deeper to belt out a song, you get some of the same relaxation and mind-clearing benefits as meditation (冥想). Another neat thing is that when you’re singing, you really can’t think about your problems—more stress relief.
But the best thing about singing in the shower? The acoustics (音响效果)! You can never ask for a better sound system than a bathroom. Because bathroom tiles (墙砖) don’t absorb sound, your voice bounces back and forth around the room before fading away, which makes your voice hang in the air longer. And because the shower is a small space, it boosts your voice, making your singing sound more powerful. So you will sound better than you actually are, which is a confidence boost.
We don’t sing in the shower simply because we have “Call Me Maybe” stuck in our heads. It turns out we do it for many reasons: stress relief, happiness, great acoustics, or maybe just because we like to hear our own voices. Whatever the reason, keep it up. It’s good for you. And if you’ve never tried it, pick a song, grab the showerhead and put on your own private concert.
1. Why do many people feel comfortable singing in the shower?| A．The acoustics are perfect in public places. | B．Shower time is relaxing and private. |
| C．Singing boosts stress levels. | D．Showering improves vocal abilities. |
| A．Released dopamine due to relaxation. | B．Increased exposure to blues music. |
| C．Enhanced oxygen absorption from water. | D．Strengthened lung capacity. |
| A．The bathroom’s small size encourages relaxation. |
| B．Breathing while singing improves circulation. |
| C．Singing removes the need for deep breaths. |
| D．Tile walls absorb sound and stress. |
| A．Science. | B．Technology. | C．Culture. | D．People. |
9 . Scientists have discovered how plants manage to live alongside each other in places that are dark and shady. Plants in the deep darkness of a thick forest, where natural supplies are not very great in amount, wont attempt to top their neighbors in growth as those in moderate (中度的) shade do. In deep shade conditions, it would be a waste of energy and harmful to survival because green shoots would never be able to top their larger neighbors in growth.
So how do plants prevent such growth in deep shade conditions? The arcanum lies in the clocks inside them, say scientists from the John Innes Centre and the University of Bristol.
They have discovered that when plants notice deep shade, this changes the expression of genes in certain parts of the circadian clock (昼夜节律时钟) — the internal daily timer found in plants and other living things. These clock components perform an additional role in preventing plants from lengthening and overtopping neighbors.
The work identifies a previously unknown role of the circadian clock in controlling plant development, and the findings may have possible effects on both natural plant populations and crops. Professor Antony Dodd of the John Innes Centre said, “The biological clock of plants plays a big part in their development and fitness. This work casts new light on a new role of the circadian clock in adapting plants to competition with other plants in their environments.” “It also gives us new insights into how plants adapt to very deep shade, where resources are very limited,” said Professor Kerry Franklin at the University of Bristol.
This work provides evidence for the stability of the circadian clock in stressful environments, and information that may be useful in developing new generations of crops in a challenging climate.
1. What do plants normally do in moderate shade?| A．Struggle to preserve energy. | B．Compete for limited resources. |
| C．Depend on each other to survive. | D．Try to outgrow their neighbors. |
| A．Secret. | B．Note. | C．Grammar. | D．Award. |
| A．It changes their gene expression. |
| B．It makes them realize light change. |
| C．It controls their growth in deep shade. |
| D．It helps them adapt to the darkness. |
| A．To introduce the role of the deep shade. |
| B．To share a new discovery about plants. |
| C．To explain plants’ secret of living in the water. |
| D．To compare plants living in certain conditions. |
10 . In August 2019, two citizen scientists, Sunniva Sorby and Hilde FalunStrom landed on Spitsbergen, in Norway’s Svalbard island group. They planned to work through the winter, then go home in May 2020. But their ship could not come because of COVID-19 shutdowns. For fourteen months, they lived in a small cabin on an icy island near the North Poles. Sometimes, hurricane-force winds forced freezing air through the cabin’s slats. Once, wind ripped the door open. Sunniva and Hilde couldn’t close it until the storm ended! Between storms, silence settled on the cabin. Then, they could hear the crunch-crunch-crunch of polar bears walking in the snow.
Their days started at 7 am and ended after midnight. Each morning, they wore down-stuffed jackets and pants as they waited for the wood-burning stove to heat the cabin. They cut pieces of freshwater ice to melt for drinking, cooking and bathing. For the stove, they gathered driftwood. They cooked their meals, including pizza! These tasks used up large stretches of each day. They also kept in touch with schools and other groups. They wrote blog entries and answered e-mails. For fun, they danced to music, exercised, practiced yoga and read.
“We are efficient here,” Sunniva wrote. “We have a routine, habits, and systems. We have time for what matters most living safely while making a contribution to our understanding of a changing world.” They conducted lots of experiments. They gathered data on climate change, using a drone (无人机) to measure sea-ice temperatures. They observed wildlife and tested new technologies, including an electric snowmobile.
To stay four extra months, they had to eat smaller amounts of food so they wouldn’t run out. “It was difficult being here, so far away from everything,” Sunniva wrote. “Food, shelter, and warmth are often taken for granted until you are on your own.” But, they wrote, “We have packed our patience, our smiles, and good spirits.” And they enjoyed the adventure, finding ordinary miracles every day.
1. What can we learn about the two scientists on Spitsbergen?| A．They lived a boring life there. | B．They could always keep the door closed. |
| C．They brought drinking water with them. | D．They stayed in contact with other groups. |
| A．They watched the wildlife carefully. | B．They invented an electric snowmobile. |
| C．They conducted experiments on drones. | D．They collected data of new technologies. |
| A．Generous. | B．Optimistic. | C．Sensitive. | D．Honest. |
| A．Well begun, half done. | B．It’s easier said than done. |
| C．Every cloud has a silver lining. | D．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
