1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In November 2023, China launched a three-year action plan to promote the use of bamboo as a replacement     1     plastic. Actually, I’ve been using bamboo products more often over the years.

The look and feel of bamboo are absolutely above and beyond plastic,     2     there must be more positive aspects to bamboo other than just aesthetics (美学). When compared to    3     (healthy) plastic, bamboo is a highly renewable, natural material that is biodegradable (可生物降解的) and     4     (become) the “green gold” of modern times in recent years because it has so many good qualities.     5     (live) in a time when most of our homes are filled with plastic, I think it’s time     6     (wake) up to the green alternative and realize     7     (it) full potential as a planet protector.

This super-powered plant is actually a grass and looks like a weed in terms of     8     quickly it can grow and where it can live. The production costs of bamboo are     9     (extreme) low due to the easy availability of this material, and it requires almost zero adjustment when people produce bamboo products. From household objects to decorative settings, the quantity of uses bamboo has     10     (go) beyond our wildest dreams and I’d love to see it becoming more popular as time goes on.

2 . Scientists have observed a planet being swallowed by its host star for the first time. They believe this could be a preview of what could one day happen to Earth — but don’t worry, that won’t be for about another five billion years.

The US astronomers said that when the sun finally does swallow Earth, it will cause only a “tiny change” compared to the cosmic (宇宙的) explosion they just witnessed. Most planets are believed to meet their end when their host star runs out of energy, turning into a red giant that massively expands, destroying anything unlucky enough to be in its path.

Astronomers had previously seen the before-and-after effects of this process, but had never caught a planet in the act of being consumed. Lead researcher Kishalay De said the accidental discovery unfolded like a “detective story”.

“It all started about three years ago when I was looking at data from the Zwicky Transient Facility survey, which took images of the sky every night,” Dr. De said.

He came across a star that had suddenly increased in brightness by more than 100 times over a 10-day period. The star is in the Milky Way galaxy (银河系), around 12,000 light years from Earth near the Aquila constellation (天鹰座). Dr. De had been searching for binary star (双星) systems, in which the larger star takes bites out of its companion, creating incredibly bright explosions called outbursts. But data showed that this outburst was surrounded by cold gas, suggesting it was not a binary star system.

And NASA’s infra-red space telescope NEOWISE showed that dust had started to shoot out of the area months before the outburst. More puzzling still was that the outburst produced around 1,000 times less energy than previously observed mergers (合并) between stars.

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．US astronomers are concerned about the future of Earth.

B．The harm the cosmic explosion may bring.

C．A prediction made by US astronomers about Earth.

D．Harmony between the Earth and the Sun is of great importance.

2. What can be learned from what Kishalay De said?

A．He loves detective stories.	B．His efforts paid off at last.
C．The survey made him suffer.	D．He took pride in his discovery.

3. What is the feature of the star newly found by Dr. De?

A．It is near the Aquila constellation.	B．It has the strongest brightness.
C．It can swallow other host stars.	D．It causes explosions constantly.

4. In which section of a website can you read the text?

A．Science.

B．Literature.

C．Documentary.

D．Education.

3 . Edinburgh is famous for its many museums where you can learn its rich history.

Museum on the Mound

Located in the heart of Edinburgh’s city center, this appealing museum takes a fresh look at money — and much, much more. You will see coins and banknotes from over the ages, including the first Scottish banknote printed in 1727. There are also interesting interactive displays and you can even try your hand at opening a safe!

The Writers’ Museum

It is housed in the beautiful Lady Stair’s House, a category A listed building. The collection celebrates the legacy (遗产) of Scotland’s literary contributions, with special emphasis given to Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns. The museum is home to numerous paintings, books and manuscripts (手稿), and you can also see Burns’ writing desk and Scott’s chess set.

Our Dynamic Earth

It celebrates the beauty of the earth via technology. Interactive exhibits allow visitors to experience earthquakes, the ocean floor, ice ages and mountains by the use of computer software. Particularly interesting is the “tour” around the eleven Earthscapes. It is educational fun for the whole family and can serve as a good introduction to concepts surrounding the formation of the planet and the creatures we share the earth with.

National Museum of Scotland

The diverse collections here include the history of Scotland with exhibitions of international interest. The natural world, science and technology, discoveries, art, and world cultures are all explored. There are interactive elements and activities to suit children of all ages, including science experiments and musical instruments.

1. Which might be the most attractive to finance majors?

A．Our Dynamic Earth.	B．Museum on the Mound.
C．The Writers’ Museum.	D．National Museum of Scotland.

2. What do The Writers’ Museum and National Museum of Scotland have in common?

A．They have an artistic atmosphere.	B．They have interactive exhibits.
C．They provide hands-on activities.	D．They showcase world cultures.

3. What can you do at Our Dynamic Earth?

A．Play with your family.	B．Tour the world virtually.
C．Design computer software.	D．Learn about ancient creatures.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Which country is Stephen from?

A．The United States.

B．Mexico.

C．Australia.

2. According to some people, what influenced Stephen’s writing?

A．His family.

B．The books he read.

C．His friend’s death.

3. When did Stephen graduate from college?

A．In 1970.

B．In 1972.

C．In 1974.

4. What is surprising about the novel Carrie?

A．Stephen didn’t make money from it.

B．Stephen almost gave it up.

C．Stephen didn’t finish it.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where does Peter get travel tips?

A．On the Internet.

B．From the magazines.

C．Through travel guide books.

2. How does Peter find the tips?

A．Impractical.

B．Just so-so.

C．Useful.

3. How many cities will Peter travel?

A．3.

B．4.

C．5.

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
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.

2. Who is Luis?

A．Maria’s husband.

B．Maria’s boss.

C．Maria’s doctor.

3. What does David ask Maria to do?

A．Avoid going out.

B．Go to the hospital.

C．Buy some masks.

7 . A great skill to have is the ability to solve problems effectively, specifically interpersonal and behavioral problems. In order to achieve this, you need to follow a few key requirements.     1    

First, you should understand “why” the problem exists.     2     If you know something about why the problem exists, you’ll have a better time to resolve the problem. Let’s take the example of a child who doesn’t want to come to school. Before you can reach a solution, it is important to find out why the child doesn’t want to come to school.

Once you have clearly identified the problem, you need to understand what you have control over and what don’t.     3     You may not control whether a child comes to school, but you are able to deal with the barrier to the child not wanting to attend school.

Don’t jump to conclusions. Once you have all of your information, analyze it carefully and look at it from various viewpoints. Be as objective as possible and don’t be quick to judge.     4     This is a time for you to use your critical thinking skills.

    5     How many options do you have? Are you sure? Which options seem reasonable? Have you weighed the pros and cons (事物的利与弊) of your options? Are there any limitations of your options? Are there any options better than others and why? Are there advantages and disadvantages you need to take into consideration?

A．Now determine your options for solutions.

B．Remain judgment-free as much as possible.

C．Ask yourself questions about what options you have.

D．That means figuring out the actual root cause of the problem.

E．Read on to find how to become a more effective problem solver.

F．The strategies in problem-solving are good lifelong skills to have.

G．Your efforts must be within the areas where you are in the driver’s seat.

8 . Writer Andrew Leland started losing his sight 20 years ago, when he was in high school, as a result of a progressive eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa (色素性视网膜炎). His first experience of loss of sight happened temporarily at night, in which he was confused that everyone else seemed to see in the dark so much better than he did. Over the years, his disease has progressed gradually. He’s now legally blind, although he still has a narrow field of vision, which allows him to see about 6% of what a fully sighted person sees.

Leland analogized his vision to the view you might get by looking through a toilet paper tube or a keyhole. He said, “Imagine having that toilet paper tube tied to your head and trying to walk down the street; there’s a whole bunch of things you don’t see but that you really ought to, like dogs.”

In his new book, The Country of the Blind, Leland writes about losing his vision and preparing for blindness, how his condition impacts his identity, how the world sees him and his marriage, and something valuable he has learned.

He said he was not going to try to tell people that having vision was not an unbelievably useful thing for a human being for many reasons. When talking about the experience of being alive and being conscious, he referred to James Joyce — Joyce believed that he was only losing one world among many, and that vision was only a tiny part of experiences when he was going blind.

He thought if you looked at the things that blind people were capable of imagining, like John Milton writing Paradise Lost as a blind person, there was this unbelievable richness in humans’ consciousness that vision had nothing to do with. Other realms (领域) such as the mental and emotional realms were all so rich that they could also help unfold things on earth before you.

1. What do we know about Leland?

A．He went totally blind in high school.

B．He experienced night blindness at first.

C．He was born with a narrow field of vision.

D．He was aware of his condition throughout.

2. Which is closest in meaning to “analogized” underlined in paragraph 2?

A．Connected.

B．Reduced.

C．Compared.

D．Exposed.

3. Why is James Joyce mentioned?

A．To help explain an opinion.

B．To stress the value of good vision.

C．To state his considerable influence.

D．To show the inconvenience of blindness.

4. What message is conveyed in the last paragraph?

A．Practice is the best teacher.

B．The blind have more vivid imagination.

C．Things are not set in concrete.

D．Vision is not the only window in the world.

9 . He promised her that he ________ an end to the situation, but failed to do so.

A．would put

B．had put

C．has put

D．put

10 . You should have a good rest and exercise more ________ energetic at work.

A．keeps

B．keep

C．to keep

D．kept