2 . A skywell, or "tian jing", is a typical feature of a traditional home in China. ________ a northern Chinese courtyard, or “yuan zi”a skywell is smaller and less exposed to the outdoor environment. They are________ seen in homes dating to Ming and Qing dynasties, which were designed to________different generations of relatives.

Although a skywell's size and design vary from region to region, it is always rectangular and located in the Core of a house, either________by rooms on four sides or three sides plus a wall. Skywells were designed to cool buildings before air-conditioning existed. When wind blows above a skywell house, it can enter the indoor space through the opening. Because outdoor air is often cooler than indoor air, the ________breeze travels down the walls to the lower storeys and create air ________ by replacing warmer indoor air,   which rises and leaves through the opening.

The main purpose of a skywell is to allow in light, improve ventilation (通风) and ________ rainwater. In Huizhou, a skywell is small but tall, and the rooms around it can ________ sunlight on hot days, enabling the bottom of the skywell to stay cool. ________ hot air inside the house can rise and escape through the opening above the skywell, which“works just like a ________”

As a(n) ________ space between indoor life and the outdoor environment, a skywell acts as an effective heat buffer(缓冲)to shield residents from the hot air outside. But the largest part of skywell's cooling effect actually comes when there are bodies of water in the enclosure.

Evaporated water cools hot air, a process known as evaporative cooling which is ________ in Huizhou skywells. In the past, Huizhou families collected rainwater in their skywells because they believed this could safeguard and boost their wealth. Skywells therefore have channels around them to ________ rainwater coming from the roofs.

Though existing in China for hundreds of years, in recent times they have often been forgotten by people who prefer modern________. Over the past two decades, however, due to a ________ of traditional Chinese architecture, skywell buildings have been making a comeback.

1.

A．Parallel with

B．Different from

C．Close to

D．Symbolic of

2.

A．commonly

B．rarely

C．apparently

D．currently

3.

A．bind

B．gather

C．house

D．honor

4.

A．enclosed

B．separated

C．accompanied

D．replaced

5.

A．calming

B．refreshing

C．incoming

D．upcoming

6.

A．pollution

B．pressure

C．current

D．circulation

7.

A．promise

B．harvest

C．stop

D．process

8.

A．block out

B．bathe in

C．allow for

D．let out

9.

A．Nevertheless

B．Meanwhile

C．Similarly

D．Rather

10.

A．well

B．column

C．chimney

D．ceiling

11.

A．ideal

B．leisure

C．alternative

D．transition

12.

A．well-reflected

B．well-shaded

C．well-developed

D．well-organized

13.

A．collect

B．purify

C．drain

D．evaporate

14.

A．techniques

B．facilities

C．styles

D．inventions

15.

A．reunion

B．reminder

C．renewal

D．rearrangement

5 . 得知不能使用家电，他们才发现没有省力的设备，做家务十分困难。(until; inform)(汉译英)

7 . Directions: Write the words you have learnt according to the meanings given. The first letter is given.
1. v__________   n. a thing that is used for transporting people or goods from one place to another, such as a car or truck.
2. b__________   n. a small magazine, book or information leaflet
3. e__________   adv. to a very high degree
4. n__________   adj. measuring a short distance from one side to the other
5. r__________   v. to tell somebody that something is good or useful
6. p__________   v. to keep a particular quality, feature, etc.; to make sure that something is kept

8 . As is the fate of anyone running a hotel in Kerala these days, Bijoy George is a man with too much to do. Before pandemic-caused lockdowns began in 2020, he managed 40 employees at the Eighth Bastion Hotel in the charming historic quarter of Kochi, a bustling coastal city. Now that business is back to pre-covid levels he needs the same number of staff again. But he has only 20 workers. His plight is shared with every other hotel, café and bar. It is a result of the state’s hospitality (招待) employees moving all together in large numbers to Qatar, not to watch football but to take up employment tied to the World Cup.

As the start of the competition approaches on November 20th, workers are quitting at a rate Mr. George says he has never seen in his 22 years in the business. Qatar, a country with a population of under 3m, will have welcomed more than 1.5m visitors before the matches conclude on December 18th. That means finding staff to run all the new hotels that have been built along with other venues that have been pressed into service to profit from the sports fans.

Kerala has long been a significant source of hospitality workers for Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. Its state government provides good schools with English-language instruction but few jobs. More than 2m people, 17% of its working population, already work overseas, largely in the Gulf.

The appeal of Qatar is straightforward. Starting salaries approach $1,000 a month, more than six times the level for similar jobs in Kerala. To replace those who have left, Kerala’s employers have been casting their nets wider. Recruiters have been extending their searches to many other Indian cities. But that means the most common word on name-tags pinned to the breast pockets of workers is “trainee”.

Among the many skills that need to be taught, says Mr. George, is smiling at customers — the failure to do so a result of shyness among those new to the workforce. The danger is that after a week or so when confidence grows, even these employees may slip away to the Gulf.

Most contracts run for three months, concluding at the end of December, not long after the World Cup final. Returning workers will be welcomed back with open arms. Filling the gaps is even more important as Indian tourism and weddings have restarted. The reunions, though, may be short-lived. The game these workers will have learned from the World Cup is how to be paid better. That means leaving India.

1. The underlined sentence in paragraph one implies that __________.

A．other hotels, cafes and bars will share Bijoy’s 20 employees

B．other hotels, cafes and bars will have to lay off some workers

C．other hotels, cafes and bars also send the workers to Qatar

D．other hotels, cafes and bars also find it hard to employ enough workers

2. Which of the following DOESN’T contribute to hospitality workers in Kerala taking up jobs in Qatar?

A．Millions of tourists have to be served during the World Cup.

B．Hospitality workers are in high demand with new hotels and venues open for business in Qatar.

C．Qatar provides good education and English training for potential workers in Kerala.

D．The salaries of similar jobs in Kerala are much lower than those in Qatar.

3. Which of the following difficulties do Kerala’s employers face due to lack of workers?

A．Kerala’s employers have to take on new employees in Asian cities.

B．Many of the new employees will pin their name tags to their breast pockets.

C．The new employees will not greet the customers as a result of shyness.

D．The new employees may soon follow the trend of going to the Gulf.

4. What makes the reunions between Indian workers and employers probably a short-lived one?

A．Jobs outside India can provide Indian workers with a more decent life.

B．It will soon be the off season for Indian tourism and weddings.

C．Another grand occasion will soon begin in the Gulf.

D．The workers only sign short-term contracts with the employers in India.

9 . Armed with a toolkit of techniques and tricks to calm the mind and bring focus back to your body, you can stop stressful situations from sabotaging your day, says Katy Georgiou.

GROUND YOURSELF

Making contact with the ground is your baseline go-to response for stress. This technique can be especially helpful if you find your stress regularly turns into panic. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, place your feet flat on the ground so that you feel stable, and then close your eyes. If you’re able to sit on the floor cross-legged or to lie down flat, then even better.

Think of this as earthing: really connect with the ground beneath your body. Some studies suggest that this simple act can help reduce or relieve symptoms of stress such as pain and fatigue, reduce blood pressure, and improve sleep. If you’re feeling disconnected from the world, it can also remind you that you belong to it and are a crucial part of it — the ground will always be there for you.

LOVE THYSELF

Adopting regular, daily or weekly routines for self-care can be very containing, creating consistency amid all sorts of stressful life events happening around you. Looking in the mirror each day can actually remind you that you exist, so feel free to factor some reflective gazing into your daily routine, whether it’s while applying moisturiser, shaving, or brushing your hair. Studies have shown that being confronted with your reflection can have powerful effects, taking us out of our heads and into the immediate present. For added effect, pay attention to the way your products interact with your hair and skin as you apply them.

Playing around with smells, colours and textures in your hands will also engage your senses. Using a scented shampoo or smoothing on body lotion after a warm bath can be easy ways to do this.

CLEAR YOUR MIND

Abandon all your thoughts and try to focus only on your surroundings. What can you see, hear, smell, taste and touch? Identify three things you can hear, one thing you can taste, four things you can see and two things you can feel on your skin. Pick out colours in the room you are sitting in, notice textures and different kinds of light. If somebody is with you, tell them what you are experiencing. The point here is that your senses are your best and easiest route back to feeling calm, by coming out of your head and rooting yourself back in the present. This is incredibly helpful if you’re having a panic attack or flop response.

1. If your friend Jane always feels worn out and suffers from sleep deprivation, which of the following techniques will you especially recommend to her?

A．Connect her body to the ground beneath her.

B．Adopt a daily gaze at her reflection in the mirror.

C．Exchange her scentless shampoo for an aromatic one.

D．Focus on what she can see, hear, smell, taste and touch.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Lying down flat can better relieve your stress.

B．Grounding yourself can give you a sense of belonging to the world.

C．Brushing your hair while looking in the mirror can remind you of your existence.

D．Those having a panic attack should shut their senses down.

3. The passage is intended to __________.

A．help people understand themselves better

B．introduce some practical methods for stress management

C．emphasize the significance of exploiting multiple senses

D．promote a mindset of living in the moment

10 . Are fields full of solar panels (太阳能电池板) a bad thing for England’s green and pleasant land? Some figures at the top of the UK government certainly think so.

“I think one of the most ___________ sights when you’re driving through England is seeing fields that should be full of crops or livestock full of solar panels,” said Liz Truss, then UK prime minister, in August. “___________ lands … should be used for food production.”

This is an issue in many other countries too. China, ___________, is reportedly considering a ban (禁令) on ___________ on farmland and in forests. In England, existing rules already ___________ solar farms on the most productive agricultural land. Nevertheless, the UK government was reportedly planning to effectively ban them on most English farmland.

With Rishi Sunak, who has previously criticized solar farms on farmland, now having replaced Truss, it is unclear whether the UK government will ___________ the ban nationwide as planned, but ___________ of solar on farmland must know three things.

First, a lot of food is being turned into biofuels — even though food-based biofuels increase greenhouse emissions, harm biodiversity and ___________ food prices.

Second, plants aren’t great at  ___________ solar energy. Crops typically turn less than 1 per cent of the solar energy that hits them into useable biofuel, whereas solar panels ____________ about 20 per cent of light energy into electricity.

Third, farming is very polluting, ____________ a third of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as many other pollutants. In the UK in 2020, 121,000 hectares were used to grow crops for producing heat, electricity or biofuels ____________ food. That is five times as much as the 23,000 hectares covered by ground-mounted solar.

To see which is a better use of land, let’s ____________ what we get from solar panels and biofuels. Per year, a hectare of wheat can produce enough bioethanol (生物乙醚) for a car to drive around 23,000 kilometres, Simon Evans at the climate site Carbon Brief has calculated. A hectare of solar, by contrast, can produce enough electricity in a ____________ for an electric car to drive 2,570,000 kilometres. So a hectare of solar gets you 50 to 110 times further — and with much less pollution along the way. This is why it makes no sense ____________ or environmentally to ban solar on farms, while continuing to allow farms to grow foods and turn them into biofuels.

1.

A．unlikely

B．rare

C．impressive

D．depressing

2.

A．Agricultural

B．Empty

C．Unused

D．Native

3.

A．as a result

B．on the contrary

C．on the other hand

D．for instance

4.

A．crops

B．solar

C．livestock

D．pollutants

5.

A．expand

B．exert

C．exclude

D．exploit

6.

A．enforce

B．intend

C．survive

D．suffer

7.

A．advocates

B．opponents

C．neutralists

D．politicians

8.

A．drive down

B．push up

C．bid up

D．hold on

9.

A．producing

B．consuming

C．capturing

D．supplying

10.

A．put

B．throw

C．pressure

D．convert

11.

A．competing for

B．responsible for

C．allowing for

D．calling for

12.

A．rather than

B．in spite of

C．due to

D．out of

13.

A．analyze

B．assess

C．evaluate

D．compare

14.

A．month

B．week

C．year

D．decade

15.

A．economically

B．mathematically

C．spiritually

D．chemically