1 . Here we are, wrapping up 2023 in a red bow like one of the holiday presents in a TV commercial. It was a year full of poetic discoveries for our editorial team and especially for me. I encountered so many new-to-me poets. Diana Solís from the December 2022 issue and Joyce Mansour from the June 2023 issue are examples of this: poets with whom I was unfamiliar and who have now become part of my daily conversation. Living in Chicago, I might have encountered Diana Solís some other way. She is an icon of revolutionary poetry and photography. What a gift to learn, to be enthusiastic about new poetics like I’m still in the front row of the classroom, trying to do my best.
Two truths I’ve learned about Chicago since moving here: Chicago is a city that holds things close and doesn’t need to show off about its riches. And there are riches everywhere —great music all over the place, the best pizza, an embarrassment of architectures, and, of course, poetry on every corner. Nelson Algren said every great writer must spend time in Chicago.
The final version of 2023 is from a distinguished Chicagoan, the poet and journalist Frank Marshall Davis. When I read his work for the first time, I was struck by the truth of the poems, his clear-eyed critique(批评). He was a truth teller when no one wanted to listen. This issue also includes poems of another Chicago great, Li-Young Lee. His poems taught me how to think about romance as an engine for a poem. Multiple generations of poets have been using the man’s gestures in their love poems, often without realizing it, because even their teachers were borrowing from Li-Young Lee too.
So maybe that is why this issue has me in my holiday feels. Poems can be for the poet and the community concurrently, an offering of the self that indicates the care of the giver.
1. What is the occupation of the author?| A．A magazine editor. | B．A news reporter. |
| C．A blog writer. | D．A Chicagoan poet. |
| A．Everything was new in this year. | B．It was a year of poetry revolutionary. |
| C．New poets led the way in this year. | D．It was a year of discovery and learning. |
| A．The great art everywhere. | B．Its multicultural atmosphere. |
| C．The economic development. | D．Its hidden music and poems. |
| A．To set examples for young poets. |
| B．To show the great impact of poems. |
| C．To promote their unique writing technique. |
| D．To emphasize the importance of poetry reading. |
I was eight years old and wasn’t aware of all the arrangements being made for our journey as a family to London in 1950. My mother was in great pain and wished to visit specialists in London. My father reluctantly had to sell our property in Queensland. The day before we boarded the ship, Father unwillingly said goodbye to his five-year-old cattle dog, Spider, who was loved by us all. Father’s friend Sandy was to be his guardian while we were overseas, as he had been getting to know Spider for many weeks.
Six weeks later, an airletter arrived from Sandy, giving my father the news that Spider had run away just two weeks after we had sailed. Sandy had advertised constantly on ABC and other regional newspapers. Despite many “sightings”, the dog was never found. It seems Spider just kept running and searching for us. As he was cattle dog, my father thought he would shoe or dingo-trapped, because of his appearance. But our family thought that Father held a secrets hope that Spider was still alive.
We sailed back to Australia two years later and re-established our home. My father immediately began his own search for Spider. One cold winter’s Saturday morning eight months after our return, my father had a call from an elderly lady living on her own on the outskirts of the town. As she told my father on the telephone, it was “just glimpses of a dingo-type dog in the shadows” of her disused tennis court. That was enough for my father to interrupt my homework.
We set off in his blue and black Jensen car which he had brought back from England. It was hardly the right vehicle for the rough roads we travelled that day. Five and a half hours later, we found the run-down old property. Sadly, she told my father that the “dingo dog” hadn’t been around for a few days. My father had a strange look in his eye. He put two fingers to his lips and did his special whistle for Spider.
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。
Suddenly there was a sound in the bush.
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Once home we had the task of getting all the prickles (刺) off him.
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4 . He is a Chinese superstar, a piano genius who has sold millions of albums worldwide. Lang Lang has also used his fame and fortune to help state schools around the world that lack music, warning at a 2019 awards ceremony in London that such lessons had become “a real challenge” for children in the most disadvantaged communities.
Now he is bringing music to British state schools in an ambitious project that will set up modern “piano labs” in needy schools across the nation. Each lab will have 20 to 30 keyboards. The plan is inspired by his programmes in the US and China, in which he has invested tens of millions of pounds.
In the US, he has set up piano labs in 86 schools, giving 70,000 kids access to keyboards. In China, he has installed them in 104 schools, enabling 110,000 children to make music. This is primarily for pupils aged seven to 12.
The first UK school to benefit is the Winns primary school in Waltham Forest, London’s 12th poorest area. It will receive 30 keyboards within the next few weeks. Every lab is accompanied by a curriculum created by the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and Lang Lang, with ongoing teacher-training, financial support, and headphones, allowing group piano classes.
Asked what inspired him to support UK schools, Lang told the reporter: “We were able to identify many similarities between state schools in the UK and public schools in the US in terms of the way access to music and arts can be extremely limited when budgets are cut…I was so surprised by how music classes are never guaranteed. The schools and teachers are incredible, and are so dedicated to providing their students with everything they can. But it shocked me how access to music education can be so limited.”
His charity quotes the Greek philosopher Aristotle: “Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.”
Lang Lang said: “When I visit our partner schools and see the joy on the students’ faces or hear from our teachers about the progress students are making, I’m reminded of why we created this programme—to give children an opportunity to discover what they’re capable of achieving and to find their voices through music.”
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To offer background information. | B．To introduce an argument. |
| C．To discuss Lang Lang’s plans. | D．To highlight Lang Lang’s reputation. |
| A．Private schools. | B．Ambitious schools. |
| C．Remote schools. | D．Disadvantaged schools. |
| A．The teachers are doing a good job. |
| B．Music classes aren’t always available. |
| C．The budgets are always being cut. |
| D．The schools are dedicated to helping students. |
| A．Lang Lang—a kind and caring pianist |
| B．Lang Lang teaches the world to play piano |
| C．Chinese superstar brings music to British kids |
| D．Chinese piano genius looks for future piano stars |
An Outdoor Trip That Speaks Louder Than A Regular Class
One day, as Jack, a science teacher, stressed the pressing need for protecting Tangerine Darters, a kind of fish, students in his class seemed uninterested and bored. Jack continued, but his students showed little enthusiasm.
He paused for a moment, allowing the silence to settle in the classroom. Then he went on in a different way.
“Imagine,” Jack began, his voice filled with passion, “the feeling of wading (趟水) through the clear shallow waters of Pigeon River, surrounded by the gentle sunlight. Picture the colors of the Tangerine Darters as they gracefully swim through the currents, their orange bellies (肚子) shining like rays of sunshine, or in that moment, a Tangerine Darter in your hands, its orange belly shining in the sunlight.” He painted a vivid picture with his words. Curiosity lit in his students’ eyes as they bent forward, eager to know more.
Jack continued, “The darters are very picky about their habitats. The place where they live should be very clean, and slight pollution could drive them away or even endanger their very existence.”
As Jack spoke, his passion spread quickly among his students, who started to ask questions, wanting to know more about the Tangerine Darters. Inspired by their newfound interest, Jack had an idea. Why not take students to the Pigeon River, where they can witness the beauty of the Tangerine Darters firsthand?
A week later, they were on the trip to the Pigeon River in Canton, North Carolina, where the environment was well preserved in comparison with other industrial areas.
Sunshine bounced off the Pigeon River, and cool water flowed over rocks and boulders (卵石)—the preferred habitat of Tangerine Darters. With Jack, it was the first time that the students had stood in the shallow water, eager to see their target of this fish eco logy class field trip.
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。
Suddenly, Jack bent and quickly caught a fish.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing the students’ interested looks, Jack raised a question.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Amazonian natives are facing home destruction. To arouse people’s awareness of protecting them, Thomas, an American documentarian, decided to record the lives of the Awa, a
Thomas
The rainforest is amazing, but it was challenging to work in it. Heat, rain, and various unwanted souvenirs from Amazonian
To make audience better understand the Awa, Thomas focused on something
With tireless efforts, Thomas presented the
| A．mysterious | B．rural | C．religious | D．diverse |
| A．performing | B．documenting | C．following | D．organizing |
| A．unknown | B．unaffected | C．unchanged | D．unnoticeable |
| A．Instead | B．Somehow | C．Unfortunately | D．Accordingly |
| A．towering | B．taking | C．watching | D．concerning |
| A．physically | B．culturally | C．mentally | D．comfortably |
| A．worried about | B．waited for | C．talked about | D．turned to |
| A．fooled | B．amused | C．cheated | D．impressed |
| A．barriers | B．education | C．rules | D．experience |
| A．humorous | B．welcome | C．entertaining | D．accomplished |
| A．communities | B．climate | C．insects | D．ceremony |
| A．boredom | B．objection | C．unwillingness | D．struggle |
| A．unique | B．similar | C．typical | D．positive |
| A．express | B．reflect | C．share | D．exchange |
| A．fantastic | B．novel | C．independent | D．real |
7 . The Decluttering Philosophy That Keeps Your Home Organized
When you sit at your desk, you may constantly be confronted by chaos.
When it comes to organizing, don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you start off with too big a goal, you might get discouraged if the job takes too long.
Once you’ve chosen an area to declutter, make a list of everything you have in that space. Then comes the hardest part: figuring out what to get rid of. At this stage, please look at your items with neutral eyes.
Admittedly, it’s easy to be organized the day after decluttering, when tidiness is still top of mind. But what happens when you come home from a trip and are too tired to unpack your luggage? Or when you get the flu and are too sick to clean up?
| A．Everyone’s clutter tells a personal story. |
| B．So don’t restore your entire garage in one afternoon. |
| C．The key is to create practices that can be easily maintained. |
| D．It can help you let go of things you don’t need but feel attached. |
| E．Comparatively speaking, the job taking shorter time will be easier to finish. |
| F．At this time you may wonder how to clean up your space and keep it that way. |
| G．If you are worried about these situations, you can delay your decluttering schedule. |
8 . A wild African bird that will lead people to trees with honeycomb (蜂巢) seems to somehow learn the distinct whistles and calls of the human foragers (觅食者) who live near them.
This bird species has far more information about what the bees are doing than humans ever could. In Tanzania, Hadza foragers can use a special whistle to attract this bird, which will then fly down and start leading them to honey. With its noisy chattering sound, the bird is very conspicuous. Once the bird arrives at a tree with honey inside, it will rest near the beehive silently, seemingly not to disturb the bees. “That’s the signal to the Hadza to really start searching,” says Brian Wood, an anthropologist at University of California, Los Angeles. Pretty soon, the foragers will locate the hive and cut open the tree trunk.
It is found that the birds are more likely to show up when the familiar signal used by the locals is being broadcast. According to the research, the birds appear 82% of the time when Hadza whistles are being played. But they appear only 24% of the time when the researchers play the whistles traditionally used in a different country.
This makes it clear that the birds have learned what their human neighbors do when they want to partner up and go honey-hunting. “This is a very strong result which supports the idea that there’s a learning process involved,” says Wood.
But how do the birds learn? It’s still unclear. What is clear is that this human-animal communication seems to benefit both parties, and it may go back many thousands of years. When the honeycomb is out, the birds get some of the beeswax, which they love to eat. And the human foragers get the honey—which is an enormously important food for the Hadza. Wood has calculated that the Hadza get about 10% of the calories in their annual diet with the help of the birds.
1. What does the underlined word “conspicuous” in Para.2mean?| A．Eye-catching. | B．Care-free. | C．Naughty. | D．Attractive. |
| A．They are raised by humans. | B．They help cut open the tree trunk. |
| C．They feed on honey as their annual diet. | D．They can distinguish different whistles. |
| A．A complex dilemma. | B．An unfair trade. |
| C．A double-edged sword. | D．A win-win cooperation. |
| A．The familiar signal in the forest. |
| B．A talented expert in hunting the bees. |
| C．A wonderful guide to collecting honey. |
| D．The human-animal communication in Tanzania. |
9 . Best Sellers In Architecture
We are displaying products shipped to your location. Shop our best selling books today!
Steeple Chasing:Churches are all around London. They contain art and architectural wonders. Award-winning writer Peter Ross sets out to tell their stories, and through them a story of Britain. Join him as he visits London’s great cathedrals with their histories of fire and love. It is about people as much as place.
E-book Edition: £12.99 Hardcover: £13.67 Paperback: £8.99
The Art Of Home:In The Art Of Home, the author Shea McGee takes us through every room of the house, starting with an explanation of process and then guiding our entry ways, living rooms, kitchens, offices and kids’ rooms. With step-by-step guidance, Shea helps us transform the most important parts of our lives and how we live.
E-book Edition: £16.99 Hardcover: £19.27
Sort Your Life Out:The first official book from the life-changing BBC show, Sort Your Life Out will give you the tools to transform your home in three simple steps:
1. CLEAN — how to let go and clear out the chaos.
2. SORT — time to sell, donate, recycle and upcycle.
3. SYSTEMISE — learn how to organise, fold and store in a way that is manageable.
E-book Edition: £7.99 Hardcover: £16.99
Never Too Small:Small footprint design proves that living better doesn’t have to mean living larger. Following the success of their first book, the second volume of Never Too Small that explores small space living showcases 30 new and outstanding homes from around the world. The book features beautiful photography and offers an inspiring model for the future of housing.
Hardcover £27.6
1. What is Steeple Chasing about?| A．Exploring history behind London’s churches. |
| B．Spreading knowledge of church construction. |
| C．Showing beautiful photography of great cathedrals. |
| D．Sharing experience of being an award-winning writer. |
| A．They have the same prices. | B．They are both adapted from a show. |
| C．They share the similar focus. | D．They both guide readers in three steps. |
| A．Less is more. | B．Live smaller but better. |
| C．The smaller, the better. | D．Enlarge your space, enlarge your life. |
10 . Every morning at 5 am when most people are asleep, a figure would be busy in the kitchen, cooking meals until the rest of the volunteers arrive. Day in and day out, Mr Tay and his team prepare, cook, pack and deliver the food to various parts of the island.
His journey started when one of his neighbors, Lisa, asked him to collect vegetables and give them away at Bukit Ho Swee, a poor and less-privileged neighbourhood, and thus, he continued to do so for a period of time. During one of these visits, his wife noticed that the elderly folk did not take the vegetables. Asked why, one replied that she could not cook, so she only ate the rice delivered to her. Mrs Tay then offered to cook for her, and that single meal sparked Willing Hearts, which has since served about 650,000 meals.
The soup kitchen sees many volunteers, some of whom are new, while others have been around since the organisation’s early days. They learn how to cook, interact with people from all walks of life, pick up different languages, gain greater knowledge about social issues, and most importantly, they will form a strong tie with one another. Through Willing Hearts, Mr Tay hopes to make “the country’s backyard” known to the younger generation, to allow them to see and experience firsthand what goes on behind closed doors.
As a non-profit organisation, Willing Hearts depends heavily on donations and food collections. However, this does not faze Mr Tay. He believes that you have to let things flow in gradually, and not be stopped by concerns which create an unnecessary amount of stress. He calls the volunteers of Willing Hearts the organisation’s eyes and ears, as they are always on the lookout for the poor to lend a hand.
1. What does Willing Hearts do?| A．It collects vegetables. | B．It delivers rice to the poor. |
| C．It helps the elderly to cook. | D．It makes meals for the needy. |
| A．Cooking skills. | B．Learning languages. |
| C．Working experience. | D．Connecting with people. |
| A．Satisfy. | B．Trouble. | C．Hurt. | D．Push. |
| A．Mr Tay and his wife. | B．Ways of helping others. |
| C．Importance of volunteering. | D．Stories behind Willing Hearts. |
