1 . Binge-watching (刷剧) is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in a row. With developments in the speed and connectivity of the Internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows stream (流播) directly to their television at their convenience.
This behavior is nothing new. In fact, binge-watching has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available concurrently. Once the episode finishes, many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like” suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode.
However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back (一集接一集地), almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and 25% have neglected their household chores (家务活). Next we’ll be missing work!
Bingeing has other connections — binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said, “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist (抗拒) watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?
The countless number of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning, then it becomes a problem. So, what’s the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”
1. How did the writer develop the first paragraph?| A．By giving a definition. | B．By telling a story. |
| C．By listing some examples. | D．By analyzing the cause and effect. |
| A．For convenience. | B．At the same time. |
| C．In detail. | D．Free of charge. |
| A．people can’t control their feelings | B．people can’t resist the temptation of Bingeing |
| C．people have no patience to do work | D．people are addicted to waiting for a new episode |
| A．To keep online media from stopping functioning. |
| B．To enjoy entertainment as much as possible. |
| C．To learn life lessons from the episodes. |
| D．To watch episodes in a moderate way. |
1. 说明你应得A的理由(至少两点)；2. 提出希望。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Ryan,
I’m Li Hua from Class 3._______________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
3 . Food festivals are a common occurrence in the UK and take place in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. Whatever your taste, there’s a food festival to match — no matter how specialized.
1. Meatopia
This three-day, London-based festival takes place at the end of August and is a meat lover’s paradise. In addition to a range of legally sourced meat products, from juicy burgers to tender steaks, attendees can listen to live music, watch butchery demonstrations, and attend informal meat-based workshops.
2. The National Honey Show
If you have a sweet tooth, then it could be that the National Honey Show, which started in 1921 and is the largest event of its kind, is the place for you to be. This three-day event attracts many local entries who showcase their sweet golden honey, some of which is sold globally.
3. The Orange Sauce Festival
Have you heard about a festival that is devoted only to orange sauce? Held in Cumbria, this sweet, fragrant festival has been running for 3 years. What attracts people most is a competition to find the best homemade orange sauce. There are thousands of participants from over 30 different countries across the globe, bringing their local snacks to share here.
4. The Ginger and Spice Festival
If you’d prefer something with a little more kick to it, then you could attend The Ginger (姜) and Spice Festival held in Market Drayton. Unlike other food festivals, it celebrates its town’s historic connection to Robert Clive, who returned from India with ginger. Because of this, they specialize in baking gingerbread, but also sell a range of traditional spices from mild to hot.
1. What do Meatopia and the National Honey Show have in common?| A．Both of them last for three days. | B．Both of them hold workshops. |
| C．Both of them originated from London. | D．Both of them have a long history. |
| A．The Meatopia. | B．The Ginger and Spice Festival. |
| C．The National Honey Show. | D．The Orange Sauce Festival. |
| A．It has something to do with a historic figure. |
| B．The ginger used in the festival is from India. |
| C．It sells spicy food. |
| D．The food is cooked by Robert Clive. |
4 . This winter, the U. S. state of California received unusually large amounts of rain and snow. Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts (融化).
Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods.
More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under a large lake named Tulare Lake. At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. But reservoirs (水库) and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear. However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water.
Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year. That means officials must increase the amount of water they release (释放) from the reservoirs. If too much water is released, the area might flood.
The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods. People are placing sandbags close to elderly neighbors’ houses to block possible flooding. And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other.
California has had very dry weather in recent years. Both cities and farm communities acclaimed this year’s winter rains. If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding. But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow.
Officials announced plans to close parts of Yosemite National Park because of threats of flooding. The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the lake’s size has always changed because of California’s weather. He described the surrounding area this way. “It has been an engineering problem all along,” he said. “This is a bathtub (浴缸) with no way out.”
1. What made Tulare Lake disappear?| A．Lack of rainfall. | B．Natural disasters. |
| C．Human behaviors. | D．Climate warming. |
| A．Feared. | B．Prevented. | C．Stored. | D．Welcomed. |
| A．The government can help them escape. | B．The weather will gradually get warm. |
| C．There will be more rain there. | D．Officials won’t let off water. |
| A．It is difficult to deal with the flood. | B．It is easy to keep the snow water. |
| C．The surrounding area is unfit to live. | D．The lake is already overflowing. |
5 . A Color Run at School
What Is a Color Run?
The event is usually a five-kilometer untimed run. Participants are doused(浇涂上)from head to toe in a different colored powder at each kilometer mark. This activity inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi is perfect for promoting community and happiness.
A color run is a fun event perfect for schools. It is a way to promote health and activity among children. Schools can choose whether they want to host a color run by themselves or have one organized by an event organizer.
Why Should I Take Part in a Color Run?
Taking part in a color run will help you improve your overall physical health. It’s a great way to burn calories and get out. You will also be able to meet new people.
How to Set Up a School Color Run?
To set up a school Color Run, you will first need to decide what time you want it to start. Then, you will need to contact the principal at your school. They will then tell you if there is enough space available at the named location. You will need to inform the class teachers and include information in the student handbook. Next, you should contact the parents/guardians of the students at the school through a mailed letter or email. With everything listed above completed, you will have your event organized and ready to go!
1. What do we know about a Color Run?| A．It sees runners covered from head to toe. | B．It used to be a part of Holi. |
| C．It’s designed for schools only | D．It sets no time limit. |
| A．Better physical health. | B．Prize money from the race. |
| C．Friendship with the principal. | D．T-shirts with a rainbow pattern. |
| A．To advertise. | B．To inform. | C．To entertain. | D．To criticize. |
6 . For some people, nothing beats a long walk on a sandy beach. But there’s no denying that it’s not as easy or as fast to get around on the beach as it is on a road or a sidewalk. But why is it so hard to walk on sand?
The problem with sand is that it’s soft; you “sink in” at each step. This forces you to use 2.1 to 2. 7 times more energy with every step you take. Another idea is that people walk more difficultly on soft than they do on hard surfaces, a study found. The researchers compared how people walked on foam (沫) and hard surfaces by analyzing the forces under their feet and how much oxygen each person consumed. They found that walking on soft surfaces, such as sand, mud and snow, caused people to take longer steps — actions that use more energy than walking on a hard surface.
But as experienced beach walkers know, there’s a way to make it easier to walk on sand: Just add water, When sand is wet, it becomes more compact (紧密), and walking on it is more similar to walking on hard surface. In other words, it’s much easier to cross a beach by walking along the shoreline, where the waves roll in and out. This is a balance though; too much water could make the sand soft once again. If water isn’t an option, there is another way to make walking on sand easier — increasing your surface area. This could be accomplished by wearing shoes.
Although it’s more difficult, there are some good reasons to exercise on sand. The impact forces are lower on sand than on hard surface. Research suggests that walking across sand is much easier on your joints (关节) and muscles, especially compared with an unforgiving surface such as concrete (混凝土). This means sand is a better surface for helping athletes recover more quickly from workouts.
1. Why is the question raised in the first paragraph?| A．To show problems. | B．To call up readers’ memories. |
| C．To invite readers to answer it. | D．To draw readers’ attention to the topic. |
| A．By putting on shoes. | B．By taking longer steps. |
| C．By walking in the water. | D．By using special breath methods. |
| A．Sand. | B．Concrete. |
| C．Foam. | D．Snow. |
| A．Tips for Beach Vacation | B．All Kinds of Sports on the Sand |
| C．Why Is It So Hard to Walk on Sand? | D．Where Are We With the Sand Research? |
7 . Did you know that honeybees aren’t the only insects capable of producing the sweet, sticky, and brown-to-golden-colored natural product we know as honey? There is perhaps the most unusual insect able to change nectar(花粉) into honey called the honeypot ant. Belonging to a kind of ant species, honeypot ants are specialized workers that act as living storage for their fellow ants when food is scarce. Most species of honeypot ants are found in dry regions in Australia, the USA, Mexico and on the African continent, where finding food sources can be tough, so the production and storage of honey is believed to be an adaptation to survive in these rough environments.
Worker ants constantly feed honeypot ants nectar collected from various plants. The only job of honeypot ants is to wolf down nectar. At one point, the honey ants’ abdomens(腹部) become so big that they are unable to move and ready to spill(溢 出) ant honey, so they just hang from the roof of their nest until their fellow ants are in need of food.
Honeypot ants are such a valuable resource that other ant groups will sometimes attack and steal them. In Australia, the locals also prize the honey-filled insects and will dig around for them. In the1990 documentary Trials of Life, David Attenborough himself was filmed putting a honeypot ant into his mouth.
So how does honeypot ant honey compare to honeybee honey? According to one study, researchers find that there are two obvious differences between them. Although the two varieties look very similar at first glance, the honeypot ant honey is sweet, but not quite as sweet as the treat we humans are used to, and has a sour taste that cannot be detected in the honeybee honey.
1. What does the underlined word “scarce”in the first paragraph mean?| A．Free. | B．Lacking. |
| C．Cheap. | D．Sufficient. |
| A．In the desert. | B．In the zoo. |
| C．On the river. | D．By the sea. |
| A．When they are able to move freely. |
| B．When they want to breathe fresh air. |
| C．When they are ready to spill ant honey. |
| D．When they want to refuse to feed fellow ants. |
| A．A method of judging the quality of honeybee honey. |
| B．The importance of protecting the precious honeypot ants. |
| C．The efforts for the locals to stop honeypot ants being attacked. |
| D．The other difference between honeypot ant honey and honeybee honey. |
8 . Alicia Quarles has her hands full these days — both of them, at all hours of the day and night.
“Having a baby unexpectedly at 41 is one thing; having twins is a whole other beast,” says the global entertainment editor.
Actually, until her pregnancy Quarles had been living at breakneck speed. It went so until last year. “I was exhausted,” she says. “I’d been working three jobs, doing my charity and going nonstop. I was afraid my mental health was getting worse.” In early August she took herself to the hospital, to see if she was OK. Doctors ran multiple tests and told her that she had had an anxiety attack, and she was 11 weeks pregnant.
“She was stressed and decompensated (代谢失调的), so everything just came to more than she could handle at the time,” explains doctor Miriam Barnes, who began treating her. “Fortunately, she tried to be positive and seek help from me immediately. I told her not to have any medication at that stage and advised her to take natural therapy (疗法).”
A week later Quarles learned that she was having twins. But instead of that news adding to her anxiety, “a total peace came over me, and it felt like it all made sense,” she says. Quarles, who did not take any medication, returned home to her loved ones in North Carolina, where she gave birth to Hudson and Harlow on Feb. 16. “There’s nothing like family,” she says. “I found out through working on myself in natural therapy that there were a lot of things I hadn’t dealt with. I just kept going.”
These days Quarles uses social media to document her joyful motherhood journey. Quarles has put her anxiety behind but remains in therapy — and wants to encourage others who feel stressed to get help. “At first I felt guilty and embarrassed,” she admits. “I don’t anymore. My message is you can fall down. But you can stand up, by yourself or with the help of others. It’s not a shame, and it’s a blessing.”
1. Which of the following best explains “breakneck” underlined in paragraph 2?| A．Safe and slow. | B．Fast and dangerous. |
| C．Exciting and terrifying. | D．Gentle and comfortable. |
| A．Keep standing up. | B．Fall down if needed. |
| C．Face whatever comes. | D．Obtain assistance when necessary. |
| A．An Anxious 41-year-old Mother |
| B．A Mother’s Astonishing Experience |
| C．An Interesting Taste of Motherhood |
| D．A Mother Fighting Her Mental Breakdown |
Hangzhou is recognized as the “City of Well-Being” in China. Hangzhou made its name
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10 . Argentinians aren’t known for helping strangers, but young people are leading the way in tough times.
There are thousands of people living on the streets across the capital, and 43% of the country’s population lives in poverty. It’s a reflection of the terrible economic crisis and sky- high inflation (通货膨胀) that’s enveloping the country. Some 600 volunteers are working to fill the void(空白) where government services and the labor market are falling short. These volunteers may not be well off, but they offer whatever they can to lift their neighbors up: a hand, a meal, or simply some of their time.
Generosity of time and affection is generally reserved for family and close friends in Argentina. But there are significant increases in volunteering in times of the greatest crisis.
Study found a correlation between volunteering and general satisfaction. Some 23% of respondents who said they volunteered last year indicated Argentina as the best place for them to live, compared to only 14% of non-volunteers.
Carmela Pavesi, an organizer in her mid-20s said, “You don’t need a lot of money or a lot of things,” she said. “With the people you have nearby, wherever you are, you can do something with what you have.”
“Today there are more people living on the streets, more people in need, more people begging for money or help,” said Eduardo Donza, a researcher with the Social Debt Observatory at the Universidad Católica de Argentina. “If we don’t generate more wealth, if we can’t create more good jobs, we’re never going to come out of this.”
The crisis itself pushes people together, uniting in empathy (共鸣). “Volunteering can’t solve these wider issues on its own. But it seems to me like solidarity has increased. That willingness to help matters,” he added.
1. What do we know about the Argentinians mentioned in paragraph 2?| A．They are unwilling to help the poor. | B．They are applying to be volunteers. |
| C．They are going through hardships. | D．They are leaving their hometown. |
| A．It mainly involves the students. | B．It brings about life satisfaction. |
| C．It makes people wealthier. | D．It costs a great deal. |
| A．Inflation. | B．Satisfaction. |
| C．Wealth. | D．Unity. |
| A．Helping neighbors in hard times | B．Getting rid of poverty together |
| C．Showing sympathy for the poor | D．No longer living on the streets |
