1. Which country is Stephen from?
| A．The United States. | B．Mexico. | C．Australia. |
| A．His family. | B．The books he read. | C．His friend’s death. |
| A．In 1970. | B．In 1972. | C．In 1974. |
| A．Stephen didn’t make money from it. |
| B．Stephen almost gave it up. |
| C．Stephen didn’t finish it. |
1. Where does Peter get travel tips?
| A．On the Internet. | B．From the magazines. | C．Through travel guide books. |
| A．Impractical. | B．Just so-so. | C．Useful. |
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. |
1. Why is Maria making the phone call?
| A．To ask about work. | B．To ask for sick leave. | C．To ask for a big favor. |
| A．Maria’s husband. | B．Maria’s boss. | C．Maria’s doctor. |
| A．Avoid going out. | B．Go to the hospital. | C．Buy some masks. |
7 . Carol-Anne O’Callaghan, a former teacher from Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, has fought hard to protect ancient oaks near her home, which she says are home to rare bats.
In February 2021, O’Callaghan was walking her dogs when she spotted yellow dots stuck on some of the 99 oak trees in a narrow country lane close to her home. The dots indicated trees marked for destruction. After she learned the trees would be felled as part of the HS2 high-speed railway works, she called the HS2 helpline and was told there was nothing that could be done as an over-road would be built. She gets choked up remembering the moment she realized many of them were to be cut down.
O’Callaghan loves that ancient line of oaks. They were planted in the 19th century. “My family and I would picnic under them,” she says, “climb them, have rope swings on them. The trees are amazing and beautiful and meant so much.” One of the last photos of her mother, taken shortly before she died, was of her sitting in a swing in their branches.
She noticed that on the other side of the lane, to the north, there were no ancient oaks. So she began campaigning to save the trees. With the help of her daughter, Blaize, she started a petition(请愿书), which went on to get nearly 43,000 signatures. “I saw someone passionate about giving a voice to those who don’t have one, someone not afraid of asking questions and calling out large, daunting businesses for doing the wrong thing,” says her neighbour Victoria.
Buckinghamshire Council has got involved, and the felling is paused. A final decision has yet to be made about the proposed over-road. “We’re optimistic that they’ll hear our argument and take the ecology of the lane into account,” says O’Callaghan. “We want them to put in a green crossing in the gaps between trees, for the bats, and we’d like the place to become a conservation area. For the trees and the bats—this is what we are fighting for!”
1. What did the yellow dots on the oaks indicate?| A．These oaks would be cut down. | B．The narrow lane would be widened. |
| C．Rare bats would get protected. | D．A railway station would be built. |
| A．Due to the oaks’ long history. | B．Due to the natural beauty. |
| C．Due to the precious memories. | D．Due to the diverse wildlife. |
| A．Creative. | B．Humorous. | C．Generous. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．The ecology is being improved. |
| B．The felling has been put off. |
| C．The Council canceled the proposal. |
| D．The area becomes a reserve. |
8 . A majority of the people do not read the classics. Their reasons begin with the language being too difficult and end with the storyline too distant to the present context. Love for classics is obviously not at first sight.
Don’t be afraid to be confused.
We get it: it’s hard to power through confusion. It doesn’t feel great when a book makes you feel confused. Every reader has to start somewhere.
Research, research, research.
Just pick the book up.
This step is self-explanatory. While it’s not hard to just pick a book up, we know how difficult it can be to convince yourself to do so.
Remember: there is no right answer.
There is no perfect way to read a classic text. There is no defining interpretation, no singular, exact answer. Your goal as a reader is to discover what aspects and insights are meaningful to you. Enjoy the process.
| A．It is a gradual affair. |
| B．Allow the book to grow with you. |
| C．It has some form of historical influence. |
| D．Before you turn to page one, do some digging. |
| E．Never beat yourself up for not knowing something. |
| F．Remind yourself that it’s a new learning opportunity. |
| G．Consider what confuses you, read with intention, and think critically. |
9 . You might find a few good recommendations to be helpful when it comes to adding to your reading list.
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
$26.67
Jess needs a fresh start and leans on her half-brother, Ben, who lives in Paris, for a place to stay. When she arrives at his apartment, however, he’s not there. Although she comes to the city of lights to escape the past that has been disturbing her, she finds herself digging into Ben’s future.
The It Girl
by Ruth Ware
$26.67
It’s a mystery about one woman’s search to find answers about her friend’s murder. Hannah must search for the truth all over again, which might hit closer to home than she expects. You can start reading this pick on July 12.
The Candy House
by Jennifer Egan
$25.20
Bix Bouton is 40, father of four kids and hungry for new ideas. After he joins a conversation group, he gets his big new idea: “Own Your Unconscious.” With this technology, you can access every memory you’ve ever had — and exchange them for the memories of others. You can find this book on shelves on April 5.
South to America
by Imani Perry
$26.67
In this story, a native Alabaman returns home and looks at her state with fresh eyes — and learns about the stories and experiences of others she’s met along the way. By weaving these stories together, Perry has crafted (精心制作) a book that takes you not only below the Mason-Dixon line but also through the country as a whole. It will be available starting Jan. 25.
1. What is Yong Mungo about?| A．How we can make candy easily at home. |
| B．What an Alabaman experiences in his state. |
| C．How a girl travels to someone else’s future. |
| D．What is the truth behind a person’s murder. |
| A．The Candy House | B．Young Mungo |
| C．The It Girl | D．South to America |
| A．A textbook. | B．A book list. |
| C．A course plan. | D．An academic article. |
10 . Eco-Friendly Changes You Can Make to Your Home
As part of the move to save the environment and money, many people have made lots of changes to their homes over the past few years, and the trend (趋势) is set to continue in the years ahead.
Switch out your light bulbs (灯泡)
You might not think that this could make a big difference.
Turn to solar energy (太阳能)
Rising energy costs are forcing people to look for new methods of powering their homes.
Wind power is more stable than solar, and it can be used to produce power. Like solar options (选择；选项) , using wind means that it won’t matter as you’ll have a continuous power source of your own.
Seal (密封) gaps around doors and windows
One very low-cost option to help your home be more efficient is to stop the air from leaving your home. If you have gaps around doors and windows, the air from your air conditioning system will be heading literally straight outside.
| A．Is wind power an option |
| B．The sun is one resource that isn’t going away |
| C．Is it a challenge to take advantage of wind power |
| D．So make the most of your air conditioning system |
| E．We’ve listed a few options to make your home more eco-friendly |
| F．This will increase your energy bill as your system will work harder |
| G．However, lighting accounts for around 9%of a typical home’s energy use |
