3 . There is no doubt that when you receive a compliment, you feel good and when you receive a criticism, you feel upset and want to refuse it.

You shouldn’t be surprised by your reaction to the negative comment, as it’s human’s survival mechanism to avoid being criticized. Clearly, we don’t want to be seen as failures, so we’d rather shut our eyes and cover our ears than have to take any criticisms from others.

Imagine you’re learning to play the guitar, and you have just done your first public performance. Your teacher says, “You did well,” which may not be as useful in helping you improve your performance skills as “Your timing needs some work.” So I believe that criticisms are better than compliments.

No one would argue that healthy nutrition is a bad thing. However, too much food or drink — no matter how healthy they may be — can make us ill. Too many compliments take us away from our original enthusiasm of enjoying an activity. We start doing the activity only for the sake of receiving self-satisfying praise. Without the expectation of praise, our enthusiasm to complete things begins to be lost.

Launched in 2010, Microsoft KIN only lasted on the market for 48 days. It was very obvious that most 15 to 30-year-olds preferred Androids, BlackBerrys and iPhones to the Microsoft KIN. If criticism and feedback from the target group had been received while the phone was in development, Microsoft KIN could have avoided the huge embarrassment and its final failure.

Just to be clear, I’m talking about constructive criticism, which I like to think of as “healthy criticism”. The right kind of criticism is honest feedback that will benefit you. Feedback forces you to reconsider your actions and the way you work. If you use constructive criticism wisely, it can guide you away from bad practices, giving you support and courage to move forward to be a better person in the future.

1. What can we learn about compliment and criticism in Paragraph 1?

A．People’s response to them.	B．People’s ways to express them.
C．People’s understanding of them.	D．People’s different opinions on them.

2. How would people be when receiving too many compliments?

A．More annoyed.

B．More satisfied.

C．Less worried.

D．Less interested.

3. How can healthy criticism be helpful according to the last paragraph?

A．To encourage growth.	B．To develop intelligence.
C．To avoid embarrassment.	D．To reduce enthusiasm.

4. What is a suitable title for the passage?

A．Criticisms are better than compliments.

B．Constructive criticism contributes to better future.

C．Honest feedback comes from healthy criticism.

D．Enough enthusiasm is vital for further development.

4 . A study published Tuesday in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review found that words expressing angry feelings sound alike in several unrelated languages. They’re less likely than other words to include the sounds L, R, W or Y. And more friendly versions of such words often have these sounds added. The finding suggests that certain rules may link the world’s languages, no matter how different they are.

Ryan McKay, co-author of the paper, happened to discover that some of the English curses (诅咒语) seem to have something in common; They’re often short and include the sounds B, P, T or K. Then Dr. McKay teamed up with his colleague Shiri Lev-Ari to learn whether these rules went beyond English.

During the experiment, they asked fluent speakers of Arabic, Korean, German and Spanish to list the worst words they could think of. Once they’d made a list of each language’s most commonly used curses, the researchers compared these with neutral (中性的) words from the same language. To their surprise, the rules still apply.

Next, the scientists asked the same people to listen to pairs of invented words, such as “yog” and “tsog” and guess which word in each pair was a curse. The subjects were more likely to guess that words without L, R. W and Y, such as “tsog”, were curses. Finally, the researchers looked through the dictionary for English curses and their cleaned-up versions. Once again, the cleaned-up versions included more of the sounds L, R, W and Y.

“Most 20th-century language scientists held that any word could have any meaning,” said Dr. McKay. “With curses, though, the sounds themselves seem to carry meaning. This can shape and change our understanding of how languages are formed.”

“It is the first time for researchers to study curses across languages and the finding is very interesting,” said Benjamin Bergen, a language scientist at the University of California, who was not involved in the study. “But it is just another case of what’s called sound symbolism in the language study: A word sounds like what it means.”

1. Which word is most probably not a leaned-up curse according to the text?

A．Rucy.

B．Buk

C．Yayad.

D．Walawah.

2. What did the researchers do in their last step?

A．Applying their study to more unrelated languages.

B．Studying the neutral words and curses side by side.

C．Asking people to listen to pairs of non-existing words.

D．Comparing English curses with their friendly versions.

3. What did Benjamin Bergen mean?

A．The study method is really unscientific.

B．It will change our understanding in a way.

C．It is not a totally new discovery at all.

D．The selected languages are too limited.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To introduce a newly published study.

B．To prove the unique rules in English.

C．To tell another way of memorizing words.

D．To show how to use more friendly curses.

5 . Biomedical breakthroughs sometimes happen in the most unlikely places. Take the deep sea for an illustration. Under extreme conditions, at times of no oxygen, microbes (微生物) not only survive there, but they thrive. This incredible adaptation offers insight into how life evolved billions of years ago and how modern humans may be able to fight infections and diseases — tests used to diagnose (诊断) some viruses were developed with the help of enzyme (酶) separated from microbes found in ocean.

“We’ve found marine microbes that produce antimicrobials — basically chemical weapons that help them fight off other organisms and resist viruses,” says Virginia Bdgcomb, a microbiologist investigating deep-sea bacteria. These microbes feed on tough substances and produce antimicrobial chemicals.

The deep sea has already given us chemicals to treat certain cancer or nerve damage. Breakthroughs have also come from the ocean depths in the form of diagnostic tools.

The pathway to developing tests started back in 1969 when some heat-loving microbes were found in the depth of 5000 meters beneath the sea. By mid-1980s, the humble microbes

had enabled a major advance in the emerging field of genetics, Scientists found that their enzymes remained stable enough to make millions of copies of a single DNA sequence (序列) in just a few hours, essentially upgrading geneticists’ tools.

“A lot of people think of the deep sea as a desert,” Virginia says. “To our naked eye, it looks like there’s nothing there but there’s huge potential. What I can do as a science researcher is record the remarkable diversity of microbes and make their gene sequence available, which may help lead to treatment or diagnostic tool in the future.”

“We need to have people constantly exploring the fascinating habitats in order to continue uncovering a new page of medically-relevant enzymes,” Virginia says. “This is tough, but I do hope people realize that the more we can learn about microbes, the better off we are.”

1. What does paragraph 1 aim to tell us ?

A．The need to deal with infections and diseases.

B．Incredible conditions for microbes to survive.

C．Biomedical inspirations from undersea microbes.

D．Significant breakthroughs of human development.

2. It can be inferred from the text that marine microbes __________.

A．develop adaptability even in tough conditions

B．merely enhance our understanding of diseases

C．lead to progress in tools to test stable enzymes

D．present us with treatment for common cancers

3. What do Virginia Edgcomb’s words in the last two paragraphs suggest?

A．More awareness of microbes will benefit humans.

B．The deep sea microbes may help us with desert issues.

C．Researchers’ future task is to record medical treatment.

D．We should explore more habitats to free us from microbes.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Chemical weapons against viruses

B．Finding answers in the deep ocean

C．A look back at research in microbes

D．Future ways to upgrade human DNA

6 . To help you plan a memorable 2024 winter vacation trip with the best travel experiences, we specifically designed Featured China Winter Tours including winter-featured destinations suitable for in-depth exploration. Travel with us!

Xishuamgbanna

Nicknamed “Litle Thailand”, Xishuangbanna owns awe-inspiring scenery, unique Dai minority culture and an all-year-round pleasant climate.

What to do:

●Enjoy tropical botanical landscape, and experience an exciting walk on the “air corridor” hanging 100 meters above the original rainforest.

●Visit local markets and step into some best-preserved Dai villages and royal gardens.

Chengdu

Whether you want to enjoy a short break in Chengdu, or extend to the impressive sites in its west, you are spoiled with many choices.

What to do:

●Get to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda to see over 100 giant pandas.

●Travel a little further to Huanglong National Park. During the winter season, it’s less visited and full of poetic atmosphere with all previous colors turning into silver. To relieve altitude (海拔) sickness, you need sleep well and keep a calm mood.

Harbin

Having the most bitterly cold winters among major Chinese cities with average daytime temperatures as low as —13°C, Harbin is referred to as “Ice City”.

What to do:

●Visit Ice and Snow World to appreciate ice snow sculptures, enjoy the featured architecture capped with snow, or take part in some activities on the ice.

●Add two days to China Snow Town, where you can immerse (沉浸) yourselves in the fairytale world and enjoy various snow activities. Since the shuttle bus to Snow Town is subject to change in winter, please check out the link for real-time schedules.

1. What can you do in Xishuangbanna?

A．Get inspiration from scenery.	B．Admire the beauty of local plants.
C．Walk in the rainforest directly.	D．Volunteer to preserve Dai culture.

2. What do the destinations have in common?

A．High altitude landscape.	B．Mild winter temperature.
C．Plentiful historical sites.	D．Multiple selected attractions.

3. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A website.

B．A fairytale.

C．A yearbook.

D．A newspaper.

7 . Getting into science is often difficult for some kids, It’s something Ahmed Muhammad learned quickly while babysitting his niece and nephew.

Muhammad is an 18-year-old senior from California. who attends Oakland Tech High school. One day he asked his niece and nephew if they wanted to do science, and he was upset by their reaction.

“Whenever I babysit them, we do things like playing chess, playing video games, or watching TV or whatever. When I tried to do science with them, they were like, No, I hate science. I’m bad at it.” It was that moment that fueled Muhammad to create his nonprofit called “Kits Cubed” with a mission to introduce kids to science through fun, affordable and accessible means.

“I went into my room and I pulled out some science books. Then I went online and did some research and was able to design some science experiments for them to do at home. The materials were composed of fairly cheap stuff we have around the house, and they loved it” Muhammad said.

After witnessing their joy, he realized other children could benefit from it as well. “Having noticed the long-standing absence of science experiments in our school, I really feel like well need some science kits in the hands of kids,” Muhammad said.

That’s when he took the $200 he had saved to create a website and began creating science kits to sell, and eventually donated the earnings to kids in need. “I had enough money to make the website and enough to put together like 10 or 15 kits. My initial goal was the joy that my niece and nephew felt. I wanted it to get to as many kids as possible,” Muhammad said.

Muhammad, who has been accepted to Stanford University, is just thrilled he was able to help change his niece and his nephew’s opinion of science while inspiring others as well.

1. What is the main pursuit of Kits Cubed?

A．To solve the absence of science at school.

B．To promote acceptance of scientific spirit.

C．To provide free access to household stuff.

D．To set in motion kids’ passion for science.

2. What made Muhammad decide to share the science kits?

A．Online research he carried out about materials.

B．Enjoyable reactions he observed from the kids.

C．Science books he published about experiments.

D．Science fairs he participated in at his own school.

3. What can be known about his website?

A．It targeted at kids aged from 10 to 15.

B．It received donations for kids in need.

C．It was primarily funded by local school.

D．It initially profited from sales of science kits.

4. Which of the following best describes Muhammad?

A．Composed.

B．Childlike.

C．Charitable.

D．Cooperative.

9 . Stories have long been employed to instill (灌输) moral and cultural values in young children, but there is little research exploring the effectiveness of such stories.

“As parents, we want to know how effective the stories actually are in promoting honesty.” say lead author Kang Lee of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto and co-author Victoria Talwar of McGill University. “Is it ‘in one ear, out the other,’ or do children listen and take the messages to heart?”

To find out, Lee and Talwar conducted an experiment with 268 children aged 3 to 7. Each child played a game that required guessing the identity of a toy based on the sound it made. In the middle of the game, the experimenter left the room for a minute, instructing the child not to glance at a toy left on the table. For most children, this temptation (诱惑) was too hard to resist. When the experimenter returned, she read the child a story, either The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Pinocchio, or George Washington and the Cherry Tree. Afterward, the experimenter asked the child to tell the truth about whether he or she glanced at the toy.

Contrary to the experimenters’ expectations, Pinocchio and The Boy Who Cried Wolf , which associate lying with negative consequences, were no more effective at promoting honest behavior than a fable unrelated to honesty, in this case The Tortoise and the Hare. Only the made-up tale about young George Washington seemed to inspire the kids to admit glancing: Children who heard the tale in which the future first president was complimented because of admitting his mistake and rewarded a candy were three times more likely to tell the truth than their fellows who heard other stories.

“Our study shows that to promote moral behavior such as honesty, emphasizing the positive outcomes of honesty rather than the negative consequences of dishonesty is the key,” note they. “This may apply to other moral behaviors as well.”

They also warn that more research is necessary to determine whether moral stories influence kids’ behavior in the long term. Still, they have been quick to take advantage of the findings. Talwar reports a shift in her own parenting practices: “It really seems to work. I use this now with my child.”

1. What is the aim of the experiment mentioned in the text?

A．To find out which story is instructive at school.

B．To make sure if the children can resist the temptation.

C．To see the effectiveness of stories in promoting honesty.

D．To ensure the precision in guessing the identity of the toy.

2. What does the underlined word“complimented”mean in Paragraph 4?

A．Criticized.

B．Praised.

C．Ignored.

D．Respected.

3. What does Talwar mean in the last paragraph?

A．She will apply the finding to her child.

B．Her child shows a strong interest in the story.

C．Her parents have changed their way of education.

D．She perceives the positive influence on her child.

4. Which word can describe the author’s attitude in the text?

A．Unclear.

B．Contradictory.

C．Sympathetic.

D．Objective.

10 . High school seniors missed out on so much in 2023—no proms, no traditional graduation ceremonies. But that has not stopped some of them trying to solve the world’s biggest challenges. And Lillian Kay Petersen from Los Alamos, New Mexico, is among them.

Petersen invented a simple tool for predicting harvests early in the growing season, which could facilitate food allocation(分配) planning and offer useful resources to those working to tackle global food insecurity. She first tested her tool, which analyzed daily satellite imagery using accepted measures of vegetation health, on known domestic crop data. She then carried out experiments for countries in Africa and successfully predicted harvests with high accuracy against reported production.

Petersen won first place and the $250,000 top award in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2023, one of the oldest and most reputable science and math competitions for high school seniors in the US.

In 2014, Petersen’s family adopted her three younger brothers and sisters, all of whom suffered from malnutrition due to food insecurity in their childhood. Their struggles against the lifelong effects left a deep impression on her. After reading about a disastrous drought in Ethiopia between 2018 and 2019, she put her computer science knowledge to use. “I wanted to find a way to help aid organizations monitor crop condition as droughts evolve, to help them respond to food crises with a better time, and to help children so that they don’t face malnutrition and lifelong consequences,” she said.

While in high school, she began monitoring droughts in Africa using satellite imagery. Later, she published her first paper on the subject in a peer-reviewed journal. She has also met with the International Food Policy Research Institute to discuss the global pandemic and its effects on crop production in Africa.

1. What benefit could Petersen’s invention bring?

A．It could ensure food security.	B．It could boost crop production.
C．It could collect crop data accurately.	D．It could make food distribution planning easier.

2. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．What inspired Petersen to invent the tool.

B．Why food crises in Africa were so serious.

C．When Petersen began to monitor crop condition.

D．Why Petersen’s brothers and sisters were adopted.

3. Which words can best describe Petersen?

A．Innovative and far-sighted.	B．Generous and committed.
C．Competent and risk-taking.	D．Intelligent and competitive.

4. Why does the author write this text?

A．To draw public attention to food insecurity.

B．To emphasize challenges Africans encounter.

C．To appeal to young people to handle global issues.

D．To share the benefits of conducting scientific research.