1 . Evolution (进化) can perform extraordinary makeovers; today’s airborne songbirds evolved from the wingless, earthbound dinosaurs that wandered millions of years ago. But some organisms seem to be unchanged — in other words, escape natural selection. The coelacanth, a modern-day fish, is nearly identical to its410-million-year-old fossils.
Scientists have long wondered how these species do so. It has been assumed that natural selection keeps some species unchanged by selecting for moderate or average qualities (stabilizing selection) rather than selecting for more extreme qualities that would cause a species to change (directional selection).
But a study published in the National Academy of Sciences USA contradicts this idea, showing that evolution constantly favors different qualities in seemingly unchanging animals to improve short-term survival. In the long term, though, “all that evolution cancels out and leads to no change,” says the study’s lead author, James Stroud.
Stroud and his colleagues studied for lizard (蜥蜴) specios; all relatively unchanged for 20 million years. The researchers caught members of these populations every six months for three years. They measured each lizard’s head size, leg length, mass and height, as well as the size of its sticky toes (脚趾头), noting which individuals survived. Stroud expected to observe stabılızıng selection at work preserving moderate qualities. Instead he saw clearer evidence of directional selection: some lizards with unique characteristics, such as stickier toes, survived better.
“The study offers a good explanation for why we see what we think is stabiliring selection,” says Tadashi Fukami, an ecologist studying evolution at Stanford University. Many new qualities are evolving in the short term, but they don’t provide a crucial advantage over the long term. In other words, species staying unchanged may simply have found the best possible combination of qualities for lasting success in their environment. So what happens when the lizards’ environment changes more dramatically? To help answer this bigger question, Stroud is still making trips to visit the lizards.
1. Why does the author mention the “coelacanth fish” in paragraph 1?| A．To demonstrate the power of evolution. | B．To add evidence to natural selection |
| C．To give an example of unchanged species. | D．To prove species' extraordinary makeovers. |
| A．Unsolved mysteries. | B．A common belief. |
| C．A sharp contrast. | D．Unique Characteristics. |
| A．By analyzing lizard fossils. | B．By tracking research objects. |
| C．By illustrating stabilizing selection. | D．By categorizing qualities of lizards. |
| A．Make trips to visit lizard experts. | B．Summarize average features of lizards. |
| C．Reveal the best combinations of qualities. | D．Examine lizards under extreme conditions. |
2 . People can see more and more information about light steel villas (别墅). Their style is very beautiful, which is very attractive for many people who long for high quality of life, especially young people.
However, many people have concerns about the safety and comfort of light steel villas. After all, compared with ordinary building structures, the building structure of light steel villas looks obviously “thin”. For those who are preparing to build light steel villas, they need to have a real understanding of light steel villas before making choices.
In fact, depending on advanced technology, the overall structure of the house is stronger and safer than the ordinary building structure. In addition, thanks to the light weight, the light steel villa is relatively good in seismic (抗震的) performance. What’s more, because the walls of the light steel villa are thinner, compared with the houses under the ordinary building structure, the actual indoor living area is increased, and there are more space for doing activities.
At present, most of the light steel villas on the market are based on two or three floors. If people only intend to build a one-floor house, then it is still recommended that they give up light steel structure and choose ordinary building structure to build houses. After all, the beautiful advantages of light steel structure cannot be reflected, while the cost is relatively high. However, if you plan to build more than two floors of buildings with enough planned money, light steel villas are still recommended.
It must be pointed out that people must avoid blindly focusing on low prices. To know that “good things are not cheap” at any time is an iron law, otherwise it is easy to suffer big losses.
1. What is many people’s concern about light steel villas?| A．They don’t look good. | B．They are hard to build. |
| C．They cost too much to build. | D．They don’t seem strong enough. |
| A．The advantages of light steel villas. |
| B．The appearance of light steel villas. |
| C．The building process of light steel villas. |
| D．The methods of choosing light steel villas. |
| A．A person longing for living in a traditional house. |
| B．A person expecting to own a one-floor building. |
| C．A person wanting to spend less money building a house. |
| D．A person intending to spend enough money on a two-floor house. |
| A．Culture. | B．Industry news. | C．Nature. | D．Family life. |
3 . Recently, some scientists have created a new type of rice that not only has a meaty pink color but is also packed with beef protein (蛋白质) and fat cells (细胞).
Rice is already one of the most nutritious foods available in nature, but thanks to some scientific ‘magic’, it could soon become an available, sustainable alternative to meat. The researchers managed to create a type of rice laced (添加) with beef protein and fat cells. The new pink rice has 8 percent more protein and 7 percent more fat than regular rice, and while it doesn’t yet taste like beef, it does carry a “unique smell, including a slight taste which is characteristic of meat”. Hopefully, this new pink rice could one day become a complete meal by itself, ensuring a rich, sustainable food supply for the whole world and reducing the food shortage stress in the world.
“Imagine obtaining all the nutrients we need from cell-cultured protein rice,” said Park So-hyeon, co-author of the study. “Rice already has a high nutrient level, but adding protein and fat from animals can further improve it.”
The rice is firmer and crisper than natural grains, and when cooked they remain their traditional appearance. While the rice doesn’t really taste like beef yet, it “offers a pleasant and new flavor experience,” and pairs well with a variety of dishes.
For their first experiments, scientists used cells from hanwoo cattle killed at the local butchery, but in the future, they plan to use sustainable supplies of cells that can be maintained in the lab. They are also exploring the possibility of lacing the rice with other types of meat or fish, in order to meet different tastes. For now, the percentage of protein in the new rice is still relatively low. To actually replace meat, researchers would need to increase protein content significantly.
1. What can we know about the new type of rice?| A．It tastes like beef. | B．It looks better. |
| C．It has replaced meat. | D．It contains more fat. |
| A．It may bring down the food cost. |
| B．It may help people become stronger. |
| C．It may help ensure world food safety. |
| D．It may satisfy the tastes of different people. |
| A．The disadvantages of the new rice. |
| B．The tastes the new rice has already had. |
| C．The ways the scientists made the new rice. |
| D．The scientists’ plan to improve the new rice. |
| A．To advertise a new type of rice. | B．To call on people to save food. |
| C．To compare different kinds of rice. | D．To introduce the findings of a study. |
4 . At West Exe School, students have access to a wide range of electronic resources to support heir progress through the curriculum. Below are a range of resources, with a brief introduction of what they are. If you have any questions regarding E-Learning, please do not hesitate to contact Toby Holland who will be able to help you.
Electronic Resources
| Type | Brief introduction |
| Class Charts | Class Charts is the one-stop shop for students, parents and teachers to add and track homework, merits and performances. More details can be available by calling 88097144 |
| Moodle | Moodle is our online learning platform which provides students with a means by which to access lesson content for some subjects, especially math at home. |
| Heggarty Maths | Heggarty Maths is used to provide students with engaging mathematical challenges. These are largely set for homework and involve watching video content. |
| Lexia | Lexia is being used by the English department to improve literacy across the school. This highly effective online learning programme is widely considered to be the best of its kind. Lexia Strategies can be accessed here: http ://wwwlexiastrategies.com/ |
| Tassomai | Tassomai is a highly effective, adaptive learning platform for Science. Many schools that have used this platform have seen gains of up to 2 grades in Science through the platform’s engaging design and content. |
| A．Class Charts. | B．Moodle. | C．Lexia. | D．Tassomai. |
| A．Turn to Tony Holland for help. | B．Call West Exe School directly. |
| C．Read the brief introduction in detail. | D．Surf the web for further information. |
| A．Heggarty Maths. | B．Lexia. | C．Tassomai. | D．Moodle. |
5 . There tend to be two types of teachers when it comes to poetry: Ones who love it and bring it into the classroom freely and often. Then, others stay clear.
Build Reading, Speaking & Listening Skills
Children need to learn to read various texts, and poems are one of those forms. They learn to attend to the words they hear and think about what they mean together. Children strengthen their reading skills and build reading fluency through repeated reading. The dots connect in a child’s brain when they see, hear, and say it aloud.
Inspire Poetry Writing
Teach how poems are constructed and the words they contain. It is the first step to writing.
Poetry is a form of expression. Writing lets us express our feelings and thoughts on a subject, while reading encourages us to connect and find meaning in our experiences. Poetry can have a positive impact on children’s social and emotional learning. It may offer them a new way of thinking about something.
Build a Love for Reading
Expose children to various styles and types of text as they learn to read. As teachers, we want them to love the act of reading and what they read as they learn. Reading can be hard work, and the books children learn first often lack that unique ingredient. Poetry is different.
| A．Encourage Creative Thinking |
| B．Explore Language and Vocabulary |
| C．Poetry offers a memorable and motivational way to teach. |
| D．It has that special sauce that children long for and so much more! |
| E．Poetry teaches us how to combine words to form meaning and context. |
| F．This may be because they don’t think it fits with the curriculum and what they are teaching. |
| G．Reading comprehension also results in discussions about meaning, connecting, and visualizing. |
6 . At Denver, many passengers got on the train which travelled east. In one coach, there sat a very pretty young woman, who was richly and beautifully dressed. Among the newcomers were two men. The younger one was good-looking with a bold, honest face; the other was a sad-faced person, large and dressed in cheap clothes. The two were handcuffed (用手铐铐住) together.
When they reached the coach, the only empty seats were the ones facing the pretty young woman. Here the pair seated themselves. The woman quickly looked at them, and then with a lovely smile, she held out her hand. When she spoke, her voice showed that she was used to speaking and being heard.
“Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, I think I must. Don’t you ever say hello to old friends when you meet them in the West?”
The younger man looked surprised to hear her voice. He seemed a little embarrassed, but immediately he held her fingers with his left hand. “It’s Miss Fairchild, he said, with a smile. “I’ll ask you to excuse the other hand. I can’t use it just at present.”
He slightly raised his right hand, which was handcuffed to the left one of his partner. The delightful look in the woman’s eyes slowly changed to doubt and fear. Easton, with a little laugh, was about to speak again when the other cut him short. The sad-faced man had been watching the young woman’s face with his sharp, searching eyes.
“You’ll excuse me for speaking, Miss. But I see you know the marshal (警官) here. If you’ll ask him to speak a word for me in prison, he’ll do it. It’ll make things easier for me there. He’s taking me to Leavenworth prison. I’m going to be in prison for seven years.”
“Oh!” she said, with a deep breath and returning color. “So, that is what you are doing out here. A marshal!”
1. Why did the two men sit near the woman?| A．She was attractive. | B．They knew one another. |
| C．She liked to speak to people. | D．There were no other seats. |
| A．He was impolite. | B．He was busy. |
| C．He was doubtful. | D．He was delighted. |
| A．He wanted to be set free. | B．He wanted a better life in prison. |
| C．He wanted her to forgive Mr. Easton. | D．He wanted to make friends with her. |
| A．A friendship had to be ended. | B．Mr. Easton recognized the woman. |
| C．A misunderstanding was cleared up. | D．The woman made fun of Mr. Easton. |
7 . For some, rice is simply bought at the market, ready to take home and steam or boil. But have you ever wondered about the journey the grains of rice take before they reach your plate or bowl, or fork or chopsticks?
Sowing the seeds
First, the seeds are sown. Sometimes, they are planted directly in the fields, but often they are sown in nurseries where they spend their first 30 days putting forth shoots and grow into seedlings (苗).
Transplanting to the fields
After about 30 days, the seedlings are transplanted to the fields. Transplanting is exhausting, tiring work that requires standing in water and repeatedly bending over.
Harvesting
When the mature plants are a golden yellow colour, the new grains are ready to harvest. Sometimes farmers use a mechanical reaper, but often they use only a sharp knife or sickle (镰刀).
Threshing (脱粒)
Threshing separates the grains from the stalks (秆). This can be done with mechanical threshers or combines, but often the stalks are simply pounded against a hard surface. When threshing is done without machinery, the rice is tied into bundles (捆) and dried in the sun first.
Drying the rice
Drying is very important because if the moisture (水分) content is too high, the freshly harvested grains will spoil easily. In many countries, the grains are laid out to dry wherever space is available, from basketball courts to sections of major highways. Wealthy farmers may put large quantities of grains into heated airdryers.
After that, some of these grains, after certain kinds of processing and transporting, will end up in your bowl; others will be saved for the seeds next year.
1. What will happen before the grains are harvested?| A．Grains will be separated from stalks. |
| B．Seeds are usually planted in nurseries. |
| C．Seedlings are transplanted to fields by machines. |
| D．A month after seeds are sown, seedlings will be transplanted. |
| A．Knives or sickles. | B．Mechanical threshers. | C．Basketball courts. | D．Heated airdryers. |
| A．To tell us the way to process rice. |
| B．To show the importance of rice to human beings. |
| C．To introduce a new way of increasing production of rice. |
| D．To explain what happens before rice becomes our food. |
8 . TikTok is making a mark on the world of publishing. Much of this is done through BookTok, the app’s community of users who comment on books. It is among the largest communities on the app; videos with this tag have been viewed 179 billion times, more than twice as many as BeautyTok. Whoever said books are dead has not spent much time on TikTok, nor in bookstores, which now have whole displays promoting titles “as seen on TikTok”.
Last year in Britain one in four book buyers used TikTok. Although the sales share is still very small, TikTok’s influence is significant and growing. The largest group of book buyers—women aged 54 and younger—are more likely to use the app than their male peers. TikTok recommendations influence their purchases, creating new literary stars and unearthing unlikely past ones, too.
One way to think about BookTok is as a book club for the Internet age. Just as stars like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama can cause copies to fly off bookstore shelves by updating their lists of recommended reads, BookTok does something similar. However, the tastemakers are not usually celebrities (名人) but attractive book girlies doing reading challenges, often in artfully lit bedrooms.
Some old-fashioned bibliophiles (藏书家) may suspect that BookTok is less about books than about people seeking attention by promoting them. But BookTokers are already swaying bestseller lists. For example, novels categorised as “romance” have enjoyed the biggest push due to the promotion of BookTok. In addition, because TikTok is so visual, the app has an outsize impact on sales of physical books in particular. E-books do not make such attractive visual props. BookTokers show off their notes and flick through pages. Filming themselves finishing a book in a single day against a backdrop of hundreds of them on shelves is all part of the performance, and viewers will be extra impressed if the book looks thick.
1. How has TikTok influenced the world of publishing?| A．By promoting the celebrity authors and their works. |
| B．By encouraging people to read e-books. |
| C．By creating a community of users who comment on books. |
| D．By focusing on promoting e-books. |
| A．Changing direction rapidly. | B．Causing change. |
| C．Moving back and forth. | D．Remaining still. |
| A．The visual nature of TikTok makes physical books more appealing as props. |
| B．TikTok users prefer reading physical books over e-books. |
| C．E-books already have a more popular platform than TikTok. |
| D．TikTok offers discounts on physical books but not on e-books. |
| A．TikTok’s impact on book sales is limited to specific genres such as romantic novels. |
| B．The popularity of TikTok has significantly decreased the sales of physical books in bookstores. |
| C．TikTok has a great impact on the purchasing decisions of young women aged 54 and below. |
| D．TikTok’s influence on book sales primarily results from the recommendations of celebrities. |
9 . Certain Chinese cuisines, such as the well-known Roasted Duck from Beijing or the delicious Tianjin-style Pancakes, might appear commonplace to the Chinese, but they have gained global recognition. The appeal of these delicacies is deeply rooted in vast geographical diversity.
Stretching from the extremely cold northern plains to the southern rainforests, different regions have their unique ingredients and cooking techniques.
Climate plays a crucial role in shaping regional cuisines. In Sichuan, for example, the hot and wet climate, coupled with the region’s mountainous physical geography, has led to a preference for spicy foods, like Stir-Fried Tofu in Hot Sauce or Spicy Chicken. The spicy flavors add appetite to dishes. In addition,
One of the most noteworthy contrasts between southern and northern Chinese cuisines lies in the employment of ingredients. Southern dishes tend to be lighter and more delicate, featuring seafood, vegetables, and rice. In contrast,
Another important aspect of Chinese dining culture is the significance of table manners. Meals are often shared among family and friends, with each person taking turns to serve and pour. Chopsticks, rather than forks or knives, are preferred, symbolizing closeness and familiarity. The act of eating together goes beyond food alone.
| A．northern cuisines are heavier and more hearty |
| B．they serve to warm up and remove dampness from the boday |
| C．This diversity comes down to its geographical and climatic conditions |
| D．The Chinese people have for centuries crafted varieties of delicious dishes |
| E．This geographical diversity has given birth to eight major cooking traditions |
| F．That is to say, it represents a sense of community and the strength of bonds |
| G．Chinese cuisines share emphasis on the perfect harmony of color, flavor and taste |
10 . My family and I had set out on a day trip from Shillong to Cherrapunji, a town known for being one of the wettest places on Earth. However, after we had been stuck in traffic for more than four hours, one of my sisters proposed going back to the city as a last attempt to save whatever remained of the day. A quick online search revealed other must-visit spots around Shillong. Most were familiar, but one caught our attention—Nartiang with its mysterious monoliths (独石碑). The photo showed tall stones piled together in a strange formation, appealing to us to explore further despite the lack of details provided.
That is how I found myself standing in the shadow of the huge monoliths of Nartiang, which is home to the thickest and largest collection in the region. Curious to uncover their history, I approached Maryo Symblai, a village elder I met later that day, who told me the story of the monoliths that has been orally passed down over generations. She said, “Back in the day, Nartiang didn’t have a bazaar (集市) and the nearest one was at Raliang. On one such bazaar, a giant named Mar Phalyngki was caught in heavy rain on his way back. He requested to borrow an umbrella from the Raliang chief’s youngest daughter, but she wanted to test his legendary strength instead. ‘Why don’t you go lift that huge stone in the bazaar and use it as an umbrella?’ she said dismissively. Emboldened by her challenge, he just did that, but before reaching Nartiang, he placed it in a forest when the rain had stopped.”
“There is a certain overlap of ancient story and memory in the case of the Nartiang monoliths. The locals’ account of how the place came to be is based on ancient stories or folk customs. But they also remember it because it served their ancestors as a weekly marketplace, a memorial, and a place for political gatherings. That is how oral history works. It mixes fact and fiction into collective memory”, said Dr Reeju Ray, a local writer.
Today, even though the traditional customs and more confirmed historical accounts offer some insight into the site, the mystery(奥秘)of the stone giants lasts.
1. Why did the author and his family come to visit the monoliths of Nartiang?| A．It was in their original trip plan. |
| B．They had to choose it as an alternative. |
| C．It was the only remaining place to visit. |
| D．An elder village r gave them the suggestion. |
| A．Threatened. | B．Moved. | C．Stimulated. | D．Frightened. |
| A．To info rm what the monoliths served as. |
| B．To illustrate how the mysterious story came into being. |
| C．To introduce the feature of Nartiang monoliths. |
| D．To deny the overlap of ancient story and memory. |
| A．A Trip to the Monoliths. | B．The Mystery of Shillong. |
| C．The Formation of the Monoliths. | D．A Disappointing Travel Experience. |
