1 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

3 . Noted for his profound description of life along the Chinese railway, Wang Fuchun passed away on March 13th at the age of 79. His engaging photographs capture the substance of China’s ever-changing landscape.

Being artistic and good at painting and calligraphy, Wang found that photography bridged the two worlds: he could make art with his camera and increasingly he felt that his goal was not art, but life.

In the late 1970s, when he started taking his photographs, everyone on a railway platform looked reserved and orderly. By the late 1980s, a great rush to the cities had begun on the trains. He recorded young migrant workers shedding their shirts, running with sweat, seeking coolness on top of the seats. He did not ask anyone’s permission to take them, and he preferred to act secretly, like a thief in a way, as it captured the authentic (真实的) moments of people’s lives—and so mirrored all the more clearly how China was changing.

His project was all-consuming. Over 40 years he estimated he had ridden on 1, 000 trains and covered more than 100, 000 kilometers, on every line in China. Each trip was neatly noted down in a notebook; he took about 200, 000 pictures, and logged each by its place. From those pictures, he felt the migrants’ poverty too keenly, and he preferred to capture the hope that pushed people on to trains.

China was rushing to the modern world. Steam was fading; the green-skinned trains acquired fans and air-conditioning. Then came express trains, then high-speed rail. The aisles were clear, the windows sealed. However, in the reclining seats (躺椅座位), everyone reclined. In the ordinary seats, everyone’s noses were buried in their tablets and their phones.

He liked the message of hope; he was proud of what China had achieved. But how sad, he also thought that on that dashing train there was no mess, no collision of life and no good subjects for him, and that Chinese people should once again look so orderly, reserved and unconcerned about each other, even on a train.

4 . When was the last time you used a telephone box? I mean to make an actual phone call — not to shelter from the rain. Ages ago, right? The last time I used a phone box for its intended purpose was…2006. I was conducting auditions (试演) for my play in my tiny old shared house in London. Hoping to impress some talented actors to come and work for me for nothing, I spread some throws over the sofas and lit candles to make it seem a bit more ”young professional”.

As I rushed outdoors to empty the wastepaper baskets, the door swung shut behind me. Suddenly I was locked outside. My mobile phone was inside, but luckily there was a telephone box across the street. So, I called Directory Assistance, got put through to our landlady’s managing agent, and had a spare key sent to me with just enough time to get back in before the actors arrived.

As it has been many years since I last used one, I should hardly be surprised that then are no longer any public telephones near my house. The last one standing has just been turn into a “mini community library”: any passer-by can “borrow” a book from its shelves return it later, or replace it with another title from their own collection.

For a few months after the “library” opened, I didn’t bother taking a look, as I had assumed that it would be stuffed full of cheese love stories. Then I noticed fork conducting spring cleans dropping boxes of voluminous books on various subjects there. And these books were free. This unbeatable price-point encouraged me to experiment with dozens of titles that I would never normally consider buying. And I’ve discovered some great books!

If I ever get trapped outside my house again, my local telephone box will, sadly no longer be able to connect me with my keys. But it can certainly keep me entertained while I wait for my wife to rescue me.

Last year I went back to the US to visit family, friends and     1     number of old places. I started in the desert of California, crossed the prairies(大草原) and farms of Iowa, and then rose into the     2    (amaze) mountains and woodlands of Tennessee and North Carolina.

I went to Iowa City to visit my good friend, Matt, and     3    (he) wife. Though there’s not much to recall(回忆) about the city, I will never forget the great time we had     4    (hang) out together. We     5    (sing) with guitars, cooked dinners, played board games, and walked in the woods.

One place I visited was     6    (extreme) special to me: Asheville, North Carolina. It is a mountain town where I went to college.     7    (memory) were everywhere I looked. I walked by my college dormitory and thought of my old roommate, David. I remembered late nights when we would cook pizzas     8    complain about our schoolwork and professors. Nothing had changed—except the people. Everyone I knew had moved away.

A good trip     9    (teach) you something. I learn that a place is only as good as the people whom you share it     10    .

7 . As a child, I had spent my holidays travelling our village in Bangladesh — running across the rice fields or farms and fishing in lakes. But, this had started to wear off as a teen. One thing I remember about that trip was when we were only about half an hour from our village, we had to get out of our car. The road in front of us was completely under water. We all got on a bamboo boat for another two or three hours.

That was 15 years ago — the last time I visited our village. One by one, many other villagers left there. But my father has been working hard to build it up. He doesn’t want it to be lost.

Yes, we should protect our home. But there is something else to think about: climate crisis (气候危机). Bangladesh is at the centre of the climate crisis — it is hit by floods, droughts, storms and other natural disasters. “I jokingly say, Bangladesh is God’s laboratory for natural disasters,” says Prof Ainun Nishat, an expert on climate change from Bangladesh.

The period from June to October sees heavy rains. But the rainfall time is becoming more erratic (无常的). In 2020, Sylhet, my hometown, was hit by huge floods that affected thousands of families, whose homes were swept away. In fact, over a quarter of the country was flooded. Nearly 1.3 million homes were damaged, and hundreds of people died.

The weather is getting more extreme (极端的). It is getting too hot. And the supply of water can’t be relied upon, leaving the land getting drier.

Although people have worries about droughts and floods, unlike in the past, the country is well-prepared to deal with them. Prof Nishat says, “Maybe 20, 30 years back we depended on external (外部的) support to return to normal from any natural disaster, but now it’s different. The country has developed, and we suffered these disasters many times, so the people are one of the most prepared.”

9 . Computers vs. Books

Mia Murphy was tired when she got home from school last Friday. It had been a long week. She was working on a computer project and has stayed late at school to finish her work. After stepping off the bus and trudging home, she settled herself onto the chair in the kitchen.

“What’s up, Mia?” Mr. Murphy asked, He was making Mia her favorite after-school cheese sandwich.

“This project is taking me forever!” Mia replied. “I have to design a website page for my computer class.”

“Wow, fancy!” Mrs Murphy shouted from the living room. “When we were in middle school, we didn’t even know how to use computers.” She walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Mia. She asked her daughter if she had anyone to help her with her project.

“We have partners—mine is named Ali,” she explained. “Today we learned how to insert pictures into our page.”

Mr. and Mrs. Murphy looked at each other and smiled. Mia noticed their little exchange.

“What?” She asked, wondering what they were thinking.

“Well, we first met when we were working on a project on American Indian history together in high school.” Mr. Murphy explained.

Mrs. Murphy chimed in. “But we didn’t have computers back then, so we have to go to the library every day to do research!” She explained that they didn’t have online search engines; they could only rely on books. They didn’t have cell phones to text each other when they needed help. They have to work together at each other’s houses.

“But that sounds so tough!” Mia said. “I can’t imagine completing a project without the help of a computer.”

Mr. Murphy chuckled. “I know. But I have that project to thank for meeting your mom! All those countless hours in the library. We have to spend much time together,” he said.

Now Mia was curious. She wondered what else was different when her parents were growing up. So she asked.

Mrs. Murphy stared to list off things she didn’t have as a child, like MP3 player and a flat-screen television. “Also, since I have many brothers and sisters, we have to pitch in more. I helped my mom cook dinner, and we repaired our torn clothes,” she said, tapping Mia on the nose. “How about you help me cook dinner tonight then?” Mrs. Murphy suggested, laughing.

“Sure!” Mia exclaimed. “How about something that you used to make as a child?”

“Chicken noodle soup it is,” Mrs. Murphy said with a smile.