1 . The moon has no air, no water and an extreme 250-degree celsius temperature range, but among the most tricky challenges for space agencies hoping to set up camp is the dust. It damages space suits, blocks machinery, affects scientific instruments and makes moving around difficult.
Now scientists have come up with a potential solution, demonstrating that moon dust could be melted using a giant lens (透镜) to create solid roads and landing areas. “You might think: Streets on the moon, who needs that?” said Prof. Jens Gunster, of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Berlin and co-author. “But in fact it’s a kind of depressing demand early on.”
Dust has destroyed previous missions, such as the Lunar Surveyor 3 spacecraft — damaged by dust kicked up by the Apollo 12 landing — and overcoming this challenge is a priority for NASA, which aims to establish a permanent lunar base.
Taking building materials to the moon would be too expensive, so new solutions are needed. “You need to use what’s there and that’s simply loose dust,” said Gunster.
He and colleagues experimented with a fine-grained material called EAC-1A, developed by the European Space Agency as a substitute for lunar soil. They used a laser beam (激光) to heat the dust to about 1, 600℃ to melt it. They then traced out bendy triangle shapes, each about 25 cm across, which could be interlocked to create solid surfaces across large areas for roads and landing areas.
The process is slow. Each small geometric unit took about an hour, meaning it would take about 100 days to create a landing spot measuring 10 meters by 10 meters. “It sounds like forever, but think about constructions on Earth,” said Gunster.
The authors calculate that a lens of about 2. 37 sq meters would need to be transported from Earth to act as a sunlight concentrator in place of the laser. But dust would still be an issue for the lens itself. “When you accumulate dust on the lens, it will sooner or later not function any more,” said Gunster, adding that a shaking lens may help ease off this problem.
1. Why is the demand for streets on the moon “kind of depressing”?| A．Streets are not necessary on the moon. |
| B．Streets would get damaged by moon dust. |
| C．Building materials are too expensive to transport. |
| D．There are better solutions available for lunar base. |
| A．Finding a substitute for lunar soil. |
| B．Setting up a permanent lunar base. |
| C．Solving the problem caused by moon dust. |
| D．Repairing the damaged Lunar Surveyor 3 spacecraft. |
| A．Slow but workable. | B．Expensive and fast. |
| C．Important but impractical. | D．Difficult and unnecessary. |
| A．In a personal diary. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In an official report. | D．In a textbook. |
2 . How to Break a Habit
We all form habits we perform automatically in response to a cue or a trigger (诱因). Habits can be good or bad. The good ones produce beneficial results without requiring too much brain power. But some can have negative effects in the long term and often need to be broken.
The key to the replacement strategy is to make sure that the new habit is appealing. Replacing daily smartphone time with a daily run just won’t work in the long term. You might try to create a new habit at the same time.
Whichever strategy you choose can help break a habit.
| A．But how do you break a habit? |
| B．The movie theater is the trigger. |
| C．The key is to do it over and over. |
| D．An after-work walk is a better change. |
| E．Is building new habits challenging and difficult? |
| F．It’s better to replace it with another physical stress response. |
| G．Forming a good habit is fundamental to one’s success and achievements. |
3 . Walking into the on-campus barbershop, the student customers will be greeted by Alexander Garcia with clippers in hand, a barber chair, a full professional clipping set, and customers chatting about Ozzy’s latest DJ set in the background.
Garcia started cutting hair during his junior year of high school. He spent his time learning from barber videos by 360 Jeezy on YouTube about different hair styles. That learning took trial and error, and he spent his time practicing on his younger cousin, but he never intended it to be a business.
He came into college as an Electrical and Computer Engineering major and spent his time in the students’ associations, working as a part-time DJ. His journey of cutting hair on campus began in the second year, with mainly roommates and close friends coming in for a cut and a chat, but his hobby fully developed into CutzbyOzzy earlier this year. Barbers in the city are expensive, he noticed, especially for college students, which pushed him to expand his hobby to a private business.
Garcia is busy, with appointments made usually a week in advance. Customers can pay $18 for a full haircut and $5 for a line-up. His business grows mostly through the word-of-mouth of his customers, who are mainly first-years. “Seeing that most of the customers are freshmen, I like to give them advice, try to explain my own experience and promote student organizations because I feel that enhances my experience,” he said. “I lead them through things I encounter on the way — internships (实习), scholarships, job opportunities, and questions.”
To Garcia, it’s about creating the feel of walking into an actual barbershop; it’s about offering instructions and friendship to his customers. He’s found over time that these students start breaking out of their shells and coming to him with their problems.
“I can just never stay put,” he said. “I always like to try different things in different fields. Apart from being an engineer, the barbershop is truly my life.”
1. What inspired Garcia to start his barbershop business?| A．His hobby as a part-time DJ. | B．The real demand from his friends. |
| C．The high cost of haircut in the city. | D．His barbering experience in high school. |
| A．Discounts for the freshmen. | B．Recommendation by customers. |
| C．Advertisements via social media. | D．Partnership with local barbershops. |
| A．He keeps his barbershop better-equipped. |
| B．He provides a wider selection of hairstyles. |
| C．He shares more practical guidance for students. |
| D．He introduces more job opportunities to graduates. |
| A．Ambitious and adventurous. | B．Multitalented and supportive. |
| C．Knowledgeable and intelligent. | D．Business-minded and fame-seeking. |
4 . To study the behavior of mysterious animals, scientists routinely fix them with GPS location trackers. But such devices’ battery capacity limits how long they operate, often bringing an early end to vital conservation work.
Solar-powered trackers break easily, making them a poor choice for devices tied to larger mammals—and they don’t work for nocturnal (夜行的) creatures. So biologist Rasmus Worsoe Havmoller of the University of Copenhagen and his colleagues turned to another abundant power source: kinetic energy (动能) generated by an animal’s movements.
Their kinetic tracker, which Havmoller’s team recently tested on domestic dogs, a wild small horse and a European bison, could theoretically survive for the entire life span of an active animal. It is also lighter and cheaper to make than its battery-powered counterparts.
“The design is clever and exciting,” says Mark Hebblewhite, a habitat ecologist at the University of Montana, who was not involved with the new work. The proof-of-concept kinetic tracker works by means of a magnetic pendulum (磁摆) that swings around a copper coil, generating electricity as the tagged animal moves. The dogs and bison in the study were active enough to create the energy to transmit one location per day for 14 days and 17 days, respectively. One of the wild horse’s trackers lasted at least 146 days but didn’t generate adequate power for daily transmissions, the researchers reported in PLoS ONE.
“The limited power generated by the animals’ movements means the technology isn’t ready for prime time just yet,” says ecologist Emily Studd of British Columbia’s Thompson Rivers University, who wasn’t involved in the study. When the researchers want to monitor animals closely, they often need GPS fixes more than once a day. But Studd says that “with a bit more development, this could be a game changer for wildlife animal research and monitoring”.
Havmoller and his colleagues hope conservation workers can one day use this technology to track species such as tigers, leopards and wolves, which can easily destroy solar-powered trackers and which hunt and travel at night.
1. What is the main problem with current GPS location trackers used in conservation work?| A．Their batteries are harmful to animals. | B．Their battery life is limited. |
| C．They send weak signals. | D．They break easily. |
| A．It is expensive to make. |
| B．It isn’t suitable for larger mammals. |
| C．It doesn’t work for nocturnal creatures. |
| D．It can’t produce enough power for daily transmissions. |
| A．It needs improvement. | B．It can be widely used now. |
| C．It has reached its prime time. | D．It isn’t good for monitoring wildlife. |
| A．The Importance of Wildlife Trackers |
| B．The Meaning of Monitoring Different Wild Animals |
| C．Tough New Wildlife Tracker Runs on Animal Power |
| D．Conservation Workers Use New Methods to Protect Animals |
5 . Feeling down about money? Do you know you could have thousands of pounds worth of junk hiding in your drawers? Well, here’s some fantastic news to brighten your day: your unwanted tech could be a goldmine, with potential earrings ranging from £1,300 to £6,330.That’s right — that neglected hairdryer, forgotten electric toothbrush, or unused smartphone sitting in your cupboard could be your ticket to some extra holiday cash, a dream summer vacation, or a special weekend treat!
Recent research from Recycle Your Electricals reveals a shocking 880 million unused working electrical items gathering dust in UK households, averaging 31 items per household. The potential earnings? A suriprising £36.7 billion for older, lower, and unbranded items and an astonishing £178.5 billion for newer, higher branded items. It’s an incredible new opportunity!
It’s not just about making money; selling your old electricals is also great for the planet. Waste electricals are the fastest growing e-waste stream, with few people realising that they contain some of the most precious materials on the planet, like gold, aluminium and lithium. So whether you choose to sell or donate your working items, or you recycle the broken ones, it’s going to be good for the environment.
It’s time to unlock that money. Start by taking stock of all your electricals and research their market value by considering factors like brand, age, and condition. Wipe down surfaces, remove dust, and ensure everything is in working order. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words— a detailed description with high-quality photos speaks louder. Select the platform that suits your item and target audience. Above all, security first. Ensure all personal data are securely wiped. If meeting in person, choose a safe, public location. Alternatively, use secure shipping methods with tracking for added peace of mind.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?| A．The wealth from junk is often overlooked. |
| B．People often put plenty of cash in the drawers. |
| C．The potential earnings from wastes are worth a goldmine. |
| D．Electricals are likely to break down if not used frequently. |
| A．Repair work. | B．Metal extraction. | C．Data security. | D．Scientific research. |
| A．Methods of saving money. | B．Ways to promote online sales. |
| C．Procedures of online shopping. | D．Steps to profit from used electricals. |
| A．To offer tips for making a fortune. |
| B．To warn against e-waste pollution. |
| C．To increase the purchase of new electricals. |
| D．To advocate recycling economically and environmentally. |
Laughter is said to be the best medicine in our life. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Laughter lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you more focused on the positive. I like to laugh and be happy whenever there is a reason for it. Cracking jokes usually makes us happy and light-hearted after a day of hard work, and so do many funny incidents which we may sometimes experience in our daily life.
However, today, I would like to talk about a funny incident that happened to me a few years ago, when I was still a student at primary school. That very incident took place at a birthday party held at my aunt’s house. In fact, it was a birthday party held for one of my little cousins.
On that special occasion, everybody, including all of my family members, close relatives and some of the little friends of my cousin’s, was invited to the party on a lovely summer evening in order to enjoy the party. By the way, the party was supposed to be concluded as early as possible, because all the little guests, friends of my cousin’s, needed to return to their homes safely before it was getting too late at night. So, after several hours of busy preparations, the party formally started at around 8 pm. The adults and the kids all came up to the table and gently opened up the various colorful gift boxes one by one with a formal ceremony. Once we were done with opening the gift boxes, the time came for us to sing the “Happy Birthday to You” song in chorus, and we all sang the song in order to wish a very happy birthday to my little cousin. Finally came the moment we all had been waiting for eagerly. And we were ready to open the cake box and cut the birthday cake.
注意： 1.续写词数应为150个左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
To our surprise, the cake had already been cut!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearing what my aunt said, we expressed our willingness to give our share to the homeless.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________China recently shared exciting news about its space exploration efforts, and revealed the names of its manned lunar lander and a new crew spaceship. This development marks
The crew spaceship has been named Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel,
These names, Lanyue and Mengzhou, were selected
My kitchen was a mess. Clouds of flour dusted the counters, the floor, and the aprons of the women gathered there.
Peels from 40 pounds of apples were piled in the corner. Mixing bowls sticky with cinnamon and sugar tipped messily in the sink. The wrappers from 12 pounds’ worth of butter spilled from the trash. But, wow, it did smell sweet.
Six of us had gathered that Saturday morning to make apple pies. Once colleagues, now simply friends, we shared an intense curiosity about all sort s of things, and we loved to chat.
Today our curiosity and chatter were directed to pie-making. While I was no top chef, I knew how to use a rolling pin and I’d had years of practice serving up strawberry cakes, coconut cream, and sour cherry pies to my family.
Pie-making is a lot of work. Whoever coined the phrase “easy as pie” must have meant consuming, not creating. We spent hours peeling, coring, slicing, measuring, and learning to handle delicate dough (面团).
“It’s sticking to the rolling pin,” one of them said, her voice full of depression.
“Oh no, it’s cracking!” came another cry. I assured them the patched crust (皮) would simply serve as a reminder that these pies were home-made.
Outside, an October snowstorm struck heavily. Inside, though, it was all steamy windows, soft music and happy laughter as we finally put our pies into the oven.
When planning “Pie Day”, we decided that we would each make two pies: One for our families and one to donate to someone else.
By early afternoon, 12 pies had been placed on the counter, their perfectly imperfect crusts shining goldenly. We rushed to prepare for delivery, packing the pies messily in boxes and bags. We marched down the driveway. The snow had melted (融化); the roads were clear. It was time to deliver.
Then, disaster struck. One of the painstakingly crafted pies melted through the bag it was packed in and fell onto the driveway. Screams of horror followed.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One friend ran back into the kitchen and returned with forks.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The best part was still to come: Handing out pies was even better than eating pies.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.向他表示祝贺；
2.肯定他的付出。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10 . Becky Turney lost her 19-year-old son two years ago. Turney
Turney didn’t
When Turney’s son, Triston,
After Triston’s heart was donated to Kilby, Turney and Kilby exchanged messages online but had never met
However, when Turney arrived at the aisle, her husband stopped the
Turney’s husband
| A．missed | B．supported | C．believed | D．needed |
| A．drew | B．included | C．printed | D．distributed |
| A．made | B．unrepaired | C．cleaned | D．unoccupied |
| A．desire | B．confirm | C．know | D．acknowledge |
| A．waiter | B．chairman | C．guest | D．minister |
| A．stayed out | B．passed away | C．went out | D．died away |
| A．organs | B．blood | C．riches | D．money |
| A．protected | B．entertained | C．instructed | D．helped |
| A．exchanged | B．received | C．bought | D．delivered |
| A．in person | B．by mistake | C．in public | D．by chance |
| A．quietly | B．hurriedly | C．secretly | D．suddenly |
| A．ceremony | B．tradition | C．plan | D．custom |
| A．kind | B．grateful | C．loyal | D．cruel |
| A．announced | B．agreed | C．realized | D．admitted |
| A．sharp | B．shining | C．dry | D．wide |
