1 . Must-See Destinations in 2024

Are you ready to explore the world in 2024? Whether you dream of sailing down famous European rivers or exploring unique places, our list of must-see destinations is here to inspire your travels.

Spain

Throw yourself into the rich culture and history of Spain. From the sunny beaches of Tenerife to the Moorish architecture (建筑物) of Andalucía, there’s so much to explore in this lively country. Discover the UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) city of La Laguna and become amazed at the beauty of Cordoba, Seville, and La Alhambra, or relax on a beach holiday to Majorca or Tenerife.

Montenegro

Despite its size, Montenegro has beautiful beaches, rich history, and a breathtaking channel. Experience the beauty of the Montenegrin coast — Dalmatia’s jewel (宝石) is the UNESCO World Heritage listed oasis of Dubrovnik, famously praised by Lord Bryon as The Pearl of the Adriatic.

Croatia

Discover the beauty that is Dubrovnik. Explore the 16th-century city’s defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Sail along Croatia’s Adriatic Coast, where attractive villages and beautiful towns like Pula, Rovinj, and Poreč are just waiting to be explored...

South Africa

Explore the wonders of South Africa, from the Garden Route’s nature reserves to the thrill of a Safari drive in the Kariega Game Reserve. Discover the different plants and animals while searching for the “Big Five” on an unforgettable South Africa holiday.

With over 25 years of experience creating holidays for the curious, Travel Department ensures that your journey is in good hands. Plus as a trusted Reader’s Digest Travel partner, you can get special deals when you travel with them across lots of different 2024 holidays. If you want to know more information, please click here.

1. What do Spain and Montenegro have in common?

A．They are both praised by tourists.

B．They both have world heritage cities.

C．They are known for their architectures.

D．They both own beaches and rich history.

2. Which destination will attract people who are interested in creatures?

A．Spain.	B．South Africa.
C．Montenegro.	D．Croatia.

3. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A website.	B．A guidebook.
C．A novel.	D．A magazine.

2 . How to Travel with Your Friends Without Hating Them

The only thing better than a vacation with friends is a well-planned vacation with friends.     1     Choose your friends, destination and activities wisely and your group will enjoy a fun and memorable holiday-and start getting ready to plan the next one.

Not sure how to plan a trip with friends?

Choose friends you get along well with. You’ll be spending a lot of time with your travel companions, so think of people who have similar general travel habits and are flexible and relaxed.     2     Also consider how much you’ll be willing to compromise.

Decide on a date. Ask your friends when they can take time off from school or work.     3     The larger your group is, the harder it will be to find a time that works for all of you. Be patient and flexible and make a deal when you can.

Discuss a budget early on. Ask your friends to be open about how much you’re each willing to pay for the trip between travel, accommodation, food and entertainment costs.     4     For example, you could say, “I know it’s awkward, bat we should talk about a budget before we start planning everything.”

Pick a destination wisely. A key step in planning a fun trip with friends is picking the perfect destination. Big cities are an excellent pick, as there will likely be activities to suit everyone’s interests.     5     Consider the activities you want to do, sites you want to see and the amount of time you have to travel, as these factors will decide your destination.

A．Make your reservations for flights and accommodations.

B．All trips are meant for adventure, relaxation, and enjoyment.

C．Who you choose to travel with can, make or break your holiday.

D．Decide in advance how you will share expenses with your travel mate.

E．With careful preparation, your group will stay energized through the whole trip.

F．Narrow down preferences to a date and duration that works for the most people.

G．However, if you’re hoping to see nature, you may need to travel to more remote locations.

3 . Scientists train AI to read human thoughts

Scientists have created a new tool that can turn people’s thoughts into words. It works by using an AI program called GPT-1 to translate brain activity words. In order to achieve this, scientists did a lot.

First, scientists got everything ready before the tests. They invited some volunteers. Each spent sixteen hours listening to stories in a scanner (扫描仪). They imagined the stories as they heard them, and the scanner recorded their brain activity. GPT-1 made connections between the ideas in the stories and the recordings of the listeners’ brain activity.

Then came the tests. The scientists did them in three different ways.

Test 1

The researchers played a new story. GPT-1 was only given recordings of the volunteers’ brain activity. But the words that GPT-1 predicted were very similar to the words in the story that they were listening to. The words weren’t exactly the same, but they often carried the same meaning. For example, when a volunteer was listening to a story about a woman who didn’t have a driver’s license, the program came up with this: “She hasn’t even started to learn to drive yet.”

Test 2

The scientists also carried out the test when volunteers imagined their own stories. “It really works at the level of ideas. The ideas are the same but expressed in different words,” says Alexander Huth, one of the scientists behind the study.

Test 3

The researchers showed the volunteers silent movies, with no spoken words at all. GPT-1 could still figure out the basic ideas.

After the tests, the scientists say that GPT-1 is the first AI program to turn what people are thinking into words without brain surgery (外科手术). The tool isn’t something that can be easily used today, mainly because of the size and the cost of the scanner. In the future, they believe, a similar but cheaper tool could help people who have lost the ability to speak because of an injury or disease.

The scientists say their tool can’t be used to “read people’s minds” without permission. The tool only works if the person wants to share their thoughts.

1. What was the scanner used to do?

A．Record brain activity.	B．Read the volunteers’ ideas.
C．Catch the ideas of stories.	D．Work out the ideas.

2. What was GPT-1 used to do?

A．Receive sounds.	B．Test the scanner.
C．Produce silent movies.	D．Turn recordings of brain activity into words.

3. In which way was information put into volunteers’ brain in Test 3?

A．Listening.

B．Imagining.

C．Watching.

D．Reading.

4. Who could the tool help according to the passage?

A．People who can’t speak.	B．People who can’t hear.
C．People who can’t read.	D．People who can’t drive.

4 . 阅读下面句子，从方框所给的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并用铅笔把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。注意，每个选项只能使用一次，方框中有五个多余选项。

A. typical   B. in particular   C. go all out   D. convenient   E. pick up F. replace   G. annual   H. observe   I. in case   J. positive K. gather   L. occasions   M. lose track of   N. recover   O. decorations

1. If you’d like to have Gong Bao Chicken for dinner, don’t forget to ________some chick on your way home and try this recipe out.
2. Although ready meals are quick and ________ to prepare, we should eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.
3. If you can focus your attention on just one thing at a time and ________for it, I’m sure you can make great progress in a short time.
4. Do you think you could write something out of nothing? You cannot make a meal without rice．So ________ some information first.
5. Take an umbrella just ________, since you can never depend on the British summer weather.
6. With colorful ________of lanterns and lamps, shopping centres have been organizing events and activities to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival for years.
7. I felt sorry when my family decided to move to a new town because that meant I might ________ all my old friends.
8. On social media, people tend to post only ________ updates that make them appear happy and friendly.
9. I’ve found television watching a really poor way for me to ________ energy compared with socializing or going for a walk.
10. Many animals move from one place to another at certain times of the year．This ________ movement is called migration.

5 . Cultural Websites

Ancient Greece

This is a guide with rich information and pictures to Ancient Greece, covering art, architecture, politics, Olympics, geography, history and other topics. The photo gallery with bird’s-eye images of Greek art is of note. Contents include maps, biographies and related links, though little in the way of engaging multimedia. The website last updated in 2008, and some links are broken.

Getty

Getty, an online museum, focuses on the visual arts and serves both general audiences and specialized professionals. Its Research Library is accessible to both on-site and far-away users. The Explore Art part permits you to look through many of the works of art on show. You can also view present or past exhibitions. There are also topics for discussion on many sides of art and art history.

Library of Congress

The website contains main source materials connecting to the history and culture of the United States. It offers more than 7 million digital artworks from more than 100 historical collections. You can select collections to search and explore teaching and learning ideas with American memory.

Internet History Sourcebooks Project

The website is wonderful collections of public area and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use. With pages designed specifically to help teachers and students, it contains hundreds of well-organized sources and also includes links to visual and hearing materials, as art and archeology play an important role in the study of ancient history.

1. How is Ancient Greece different from other websites?

A．It covers art.	B．Its renewal is suspended.
C．Its topics include history.	D．It contains historical culture.

2. What can visitors do in the Explore Art part of Getty?

A．View artworks on display.	B．Purchase art pieces online.
C．Serve the Research Library.	D．Join the scientific discussion.

3. What do the last two websites have in common?

A．They focus on ancient science.	B．They provide teaching materials.
C．They deal with American issues.	D．They have several hundred pages.

6 . Animals deserve to live a safe and healthy life as much as humans do.     1     Some people try to get profit from everything and sometimes animals become victims. It is vital that we take action to protect animals. Below are some simple ways in which we can all contribute towards the protection of endangered animals.

Spread awareness. One way to protect endangered animals is to create awareness about them.     2     Having seminars (研讨会) is another way of creating awareness. Also, familiarize people around you with the importance of the animals in your surroundings. Our routine activities directly or indirectly influence their lifestyle.

Drive carefully in forest areas. It is important to watch the road when you are going through roads in forest areas. Many animals die while trying to cross the road because people do not pay attention to them.     3    

Avoid plastic items. Do you know what happens to a plastic bag thrown into a river?     4     Plastic is a big threat to wildlife. And we have to reduce the overconsumption of life-threatening products to protect the endangered species. Prevent plastic items such as bags and containers. Shop in a handmade woven bag and recycle the boxes.

    5     As a volunteer, you can offer support to animal rescue teams in your area. Such organizations are always short of funds and are looking for animal lovers to support the cause. Spending a portion of your daily or weekly schedule is one step towards saving wildlife and protecting endangered species.

A．Change your regular routine.

B．So, we highly suggest careful use of water.

C．Spend time rescuing animals in your locality.

D．Sadly, this does not have universal acceptance.

E．So we can save their lives by being more careful.

F．It is probably eaten by an adult turtle, choking it to death.

G．You can create local community groups that work for this cause.

7 . A lot more animals glow under a special light than scientists previously thought. This ability to glow is known as fluorescence (荧光), which happens when light is absorbed as one wavelength and emitted as another wavelength.

Travouillon, a scientist from Harvard, wondered why so many animals had this unusual quality, and he asked one key question: Is there a function behind the ability? To address the question, Travouillon and his team took a closer look at the life histories of the glowing mammals.

The team discovered that the fluorescence was mainly found in light-colored areas of an animal’s skin and fur. Then they looked at where the fluorescence was found in the animal’s body. They compared that to the animal’s diet and how the animals moved. They also checked whether the animal was nocturnal or diurnal, Travouillon explained. Animals that are nocturnal are most active at night, whereas animals that are diurnal are most active during the day.

One finding was that fluorescence was more common among ground-dwelling, tree-dwelling and burrowing mammals compared to animals that live in water, Travouillon said. The team also found that having a fluorescent coat was more common among nocturnal animals compared to diurnal animals. One potential explanation for that fact is that having a fluorescent coat could help no cturnal animals become more visible to potential partners.

“So, for example, with a species like a quoll that has white spots on its back, the fluorescence would simply brighten their spots,” Travouillon said. “In this way, they are more easily seen. Fluorescence might help members of a species find each other and perhaps recognize each other from a distance,” Travouillon added.

On a closing note, Travouillon cautioned wildlife enthusiasts not to go searching for glowing critters with a UV light. That’s because UV light can damage the animal’s eyesight. Instead, if you want to look for animals in the dark, he recommended using a red light, since it isn’t as bright.

1. What kind of animals are most active at night according to the passage?

A．Diurnal animals.

B．Nocturnal animals.

C．Glowing animals.

D．Underwater animals.

2. Why was a fluorescent coat more common for nocturnal animals?

A．To live in water.	B．To help them move easily at night.
C．To see the members of their species clearly.	D．To brighten other nocturnal animals’ spots.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．UV light is harmful for the animal’s eyesight.

B．Wildlife enthusiasts can’t search for glowing critters.

C．Nocturnal animals can be found easily by wildlife enthusiasts.

D．Wildlife enthusiasts had better use bright light to search for glowing mammals.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Active mammals with fluorescent.	B．Suggestions for animals enthusiasts.
C．Animals glow under special lights.	D．Mammals with an unusual ability in the night.

8 . Not getting good sleep can harm your health and mental well-being, leading to issues like low energy, bad focus, and even diseases like Alzheimer’s.     1     . In order to get that good night’s sleep, here are some tips which can help.

Sticking to a sleep routine

    2    . It is a great way of increasing the quality of your sleep. This is because we are creatures of habit and our brains know when to expect a certain event or task. If you are able to from a routine which sees you go to sleep at the same time every evening, you’ll find it far easier to sleep.

Reducing tech use before sleep

When we look at phone or tablet screens, the light from then activates our brains encourages brain activities and keeps us alert. This of course is the last thing that you need when you are going to sleep.     3     Seeing a timer on your TV to turn off at a certain time is a good idea. This helps prevent sudden noise from waking you up during the night.

    4    

Even natural light will wake the brain up and this is also why you should do all that you can to ensure maximum levels of darkness in your bedroom. Even if you are able to fall asleep with the light on, your brain won’t allow you to fall into a deep sleep because the light which it recognizes will keep it alert.

Watching your diet

To get the best quality of sleep you’d better eat nothing but water in the final 3 hours before you sleep. Remember that food is a source of energy. If you have a large meal before bed, your body will mainly focus on breaking down the recently eaten nutrients (营养物质).     5    

A．Sleeping in darkness

B．Go to bed early and get up early

C．Go to sleep at the same time each night

D．Keeping enough natural light in your room

E．Therefore, your body will not get the necessary rest and cell repair

F．That’s why in the final hours before you sleep, you should avoid using tech

G．So the importance of getting a great night’s sleep cannot be undervalued

9 . In the 19th century the novel came into its own. Thousands upon thousands of novels were published. Of those novels, very few are remembered today. However, there are exceptions: the works of Jane Austen—Pride and Prejudice (《傲慢与偏见》)，Sense and Sensibility (《理智与情感》)—for example. They achieved only modest success at first but grew and grew in fame (名声) and reputation.

How did Jane Austen become so popular? Of course, the novels are romantic (浪漫的). Everyone knows the love story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett (in Pride and Prejudice), and how they overcome their own pride and prejudice to live happily ever after. The lovers are almost as famous today as Romeo and Juliet.

But there is more to Austen’s popularity than the fact that she wrote about love. The books are very witty (机智的) and ironic (讽刺的), and show a great understanding of society and of people. Pride and Prejudice opens with what must be the most famous sentence in the English novel: “It is a truth universally acknowledged (认可), that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

The truth, of course, is the opposite: wealthy, unmarried young men are extremely attractive to young women. And women—especially penniless (身无分文) or near­penniless ones—are the subjects of Austen’s tales.

Women nowadays may be more equal to men than they were in Jane Austen’s day. However, a sense that women still basically live in a world dominated (控制) by men ensures that Austen still has many keen readers.

1. What is the point of the article?

A．To describe the status of women in Jane Austen’s time.

B．To promote Jane Austen’s novels among teenagers.

C．To explore the characteristics of Jane Austen’s novels.

D．To analyze why Jane Austen’s novels have such a lasting appeal.

2. What can be concluded from the first paragraph?

A．Jane Austen wrote a total of four novels in her lifetime.

B．Most of the novels written in the 19th century are romances.

C．Jane Austen is one of the most successful novelists of the 19th century.

D．Jane Austen’s novels were a hit when they were first published.

3. According to the article，most of the heroines in Austen’s works________ .

A．are poor and young

B．are happily married

C．marry wealthy men

D．are penniless but witty

4. According to the author, what made Jane Austen’s works so popular?

a．They are mostly love stories.

b．Most of them have a happy ending.

c．They are full of wit and irony.

d．People can still relate to them today.

e．They explain how to succeed in a male­dominated society.

A．a，b，c	B．a，c，d
C．c，d，e	D．b，c，e

10 . MicroSD cards are common in smartphones, tablets, and action cameras. Finding the right microSD card doesn’t have to be difficult — we can help you find the best microSD cards for your needs.

Samsung EVO Select MicroSD Memory Card

This microSD card can handle the needs of nearly any device and any type of user, and it offers the fastest speeds and highest storage of the cards we considered while keeping a low price tag. The write speed isn’t provided for this microSD card, which isn’t uncommon — manufacturers often focus on read speed instead because it’s where you’ll notice a la g if there is any.

SanDisk 256GB Extreme Memory Card

Bob Sacha, a photographer and associate professor of video storytelling, recommends getting a card like this one. “This card may have a lower read speed and write speed, but it works in all the cameras I use,” he says. This microSD card is also shockproof, waterproof, and able to withstand high temperatures, which makes it suitable for action cameras.

SanDisk Ultra 512GB Memory Card

If you’re into portable gaming, and are planning on keeping more than a game or two on hand at any given time, you’ll need enough storage to back that up. The SanDisk Ultra 512GB is just a version of our pick for Switch gaming with more storage, since the read and write speeds are perfectly fine for gaming. It also has plenty of storage to work with a 4kdrone (无人机) or a home security camera.

PNY U3 Pro Elite 512GB MicroSD Card

Where write speed really comes into play is when you’re recording video. That’s also when you’ll want to pay attention to the video class, which measures the minimum levels of write speed for recording video. Ultra-high-speed class is a number inside a U on the front of the card. A U1 card should be able to handle 1080p recording without any issues, but if you want to record 4K, get a U3 card like the PNY Pro Elite.

1. What is special about Samsung EVO Select MicroSD Memory Card?

A．The fastest speed.	B．The highest storage.
C．An affordable price.	D．No write speed.

2. Which of the following is not the feature of SanDisk 256GB Extreme?

A．Shockproof.	B．Waterproof.
C．High speed.	D．Temperature-resistant.

3. Which microSD card is recommended for 4K video recording?

A．SanDisk Ultra 512GB Memory Card.

B．SanDisk 256GB Extreme Memory Card.

C．PNY U3 Pro Elite 512GB MicroSD Card.

D．Samsung EVO Select MicroSD Memory Card.