1 . Do you know that all sorts of adventures can happen in educational settings after sundown? Here’s a round-up of sites where the fun continues as night falls.

Ripley’s Aquarium

TORONTO, CANADA

Ever wondered how sweet your dreams would be while sleeping in an aquarium’s shark tunnel that holds around 2.9 million litres of water? You can find out during an Overnight Reef Adventure. Green sawfish, sand tiger sharks, Queensland groupers, and green sea turtles will be your companions for the night.

California Academy of Sciences

SAN FRANCISCO, US

This awe-inspiring museum in Golden Gate Park hosts regular Penguins + Pajamas Sleepovers. As the name suggests, pack your pajamas, grab a sleeping bag, and spend a night under the same roof as a colony of African penguins. You can explore a rainforest full of free-flying birds and foreign reptiles (爬行动物) before lights-out. There’s also a planetarium (天文馆) that’s truly out of this world.

Kennedy Space Center

FLORIDA, US

In the Kennedy Space Center, youth groups and visitors making private bookings can have after-hours opportunity to enjoy hands-on challenges, watch a 3D movie in an IMAX theatre, and go on a Q&A session with a former NASA astronaut who’s travelled into space. What’s more, you get to sleep either underneath a 110 m-long Saturn V moon rocket or beside the space shuttle Atlantis.

1. At Ripley’s Aquarium, what will visitors encounter?

A．Foreign reptiles.	B．African penguins.
C．Free-flying birds.	D．Sand tiger sharks.

2. Who will prefer visiting California Academy of Sciences?

A．Travelers seeking sea adventures.	B．Locals eager for outdoor activities.
C．Teenagers attracted by hands-on challenges.	D．Visitors interested in space and animals.

3. What do the three locations have in common?

A．They are all located in the US.	B．They only open after sundown.
C．They all offer overnight experiences.	D．They all feature interactive sections.

2 . There is widespread agreement that climate change threatens our existence. But in our rush to address this challenge, our efforts mustn’t heighten another, more immediate one: the global decline of biodiversity. We are losing species at 1,000 times the natural rate. If we stay on this track, we risk losing up to half of them by the middle of the century.

Sadly, the singular focus on solving climate change has led to people ignoring biodiversity. The alarming result is that many climate efforts unintentionally quicken nature’s destruction. Take the huge need for solar farms for an example. If not located properly, they’ll impact ecosystems and habitats. In Virginia, for example, more than half of solar facilities are being built on forested land rather than areas such as rooftops or parking lots. The state’s push for solar development could lead to the deforestation of nearly 30,000 acres annually.

There is a real risk that badly planned renewable infrastructure (基础设施) will have a greater impact on biodiversity than existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Thus, we need to chart a path that doesn’t address one environmental challenge by creating others.

Indeed, with practical choices, we can do the opposite, using nature to address climate change. Consider carbon removal. Research shows between 2001 and 2019, forests around the world seized more than twice the amount of carbon dioxide that they emitted (排放) — absorbing more than the combined annual emissions of the US and UK. Nature is also critical in setting the adaptation necessary to prepare for increasingly severe weather shocks, such as the role of mangroves (a kind of tree) in absorbing floods.

Governments must think differently, employing better infrastructure planning at all levels. A report from The Nature Conservancy shows careful siting can reduce the effects of the clean energy infrastructure by 70%compared with siting as usual practices. For instance, solar farms can be put on already degraded land.

It would be a tragic irony if, in our efforts to tackle climate change, we end upbringing a big and immediate crisis in the natural world.

1. What is the effect of building solar farms on forested land in Virginia?

A．It damages the forest.	B．It boosts local economy.
C．It reduces human’s living space.	D．It protects the environment.

2. What strategy does the text suggest?

A．Increasing funds for clean energy.	B．Using technology to remove carbon.
C．Locating clean energy projects carefully.	D．Prioritizing renewable energy totally.

3. The“tragic irony”in the last paragraph refers to the possibility that ______.

A．climate change will contribute to more severe issues

B．focus on climate change makes people ignore land use

C．efforts to solve climate change speed up biodiversity loss

D．the development of clean energy quickens climate change

4. What is the overall tone of the text?

A．Pessimistic and critical.	B．Factual and concerned.
C．Subjective and dismissive.	D．Humorous and optimistic.

3 . I once had a strange relationship with money. I always made more money than most people of my age did. But it still stressed me out, and I felt like I never had enough. After coming across The School of Betty, a platform that enables women to create relationships with their money, I found myself inspired to do a no-spend month challenge. The result? I saved more than $1,000. It was like finding money in my winter coat pocket after a long summer.

The most eye-opening thing a no-spend challenge can do for you is shedding light on the emotions and the behaviors you have around your money that have become a habit. Most individuals don’t realize they are spending out of habit and based on their emotions. Figuring out the causes and knowing I was able to save a good sum of money in only 30 days, I set out to do a longer challenge — three months.

As for the first challenge, I was only allowed to buy essentials, which meant my normal bills — lighting, phone, car insurance, gas, oil and groceries. But in my 90-day challenge, I further removed all of the extras — no new clothes, no new shoes, and no lunches at restaurants. I allowed myself one night out with friends per month — to avoid going crazy — but I stuck to a budget. This also allowed me to see what type of experience was worth my money and what type was wasting my money.

90 days later, my jaw hit the floor when I totaled my savings: I was almost $4,000 richer. The rewards were more than financial: I was able to distinguish between my needs and my wants. The process enabled me to spot purchases driven by emotions. Even better, I shifted the way I valued money: The money I spent socializing with friends felt far more valuable than the pleasure of purchasing, say, two new sweaters.

1. How did the author feel after the first no-spend challenge?

A．Stressed and regretful.	B．Surprised and wonderful.
C．Tired but content.	D．Awful but encouraged.

2. Why do people desire to spend according to the author?

A．Because of their unintentional habits.	B．Because of their social communication.
C．Because of their heavy pressure of work.	D．Because of their basic needs.

3. What can we learn about the author from the last two paragraphs?

A．She hung around with friends weekly.	B．She saw essentials as a waste of money.
C．She enjoyed her friends’ company.	D．She bought nothing in ninety days.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To share personal experiences.	B．To advertise a platform.
C．To support an argument.	D．To advocate healthy lifestyles.

4 . Perhaps a friend you’ve known for years has moved away. It’s normal to feel sad and frustrated at not getting to see him in the way you’d like to.     1     Here are some ideas of how to keep your bond strong.

WRITE LOTS OF LETTERS

Seeing a note or card from someone they care about in the letterbox is a sure way to make your friend smile. While it’s good to keep in touch via technology, putting your thoughts down on paper shows how much you care and that you’ve set aside some time to think about them. It doesn’t have to be an essay.     2     These could be from your holidays, but they can also be found in local shops, museums, and art galleries.

SEND A CARE PACKAGE

    3     You could put in a packet of their favourite candies, photos of significant people and places, and other objects you think they’d love. You could also include handmade gifts. It doesn’t have to be expensive.     4     Such a package will make them feel cared about and act as a reminder that you’re there for them, regardless of the distance between you.

SHARE A SHOW

Is there a TV series that you both love? While you may not be able to share a packet of popcorn and view it side by side, you could arrange to watch it at the same time and then talk on the phone about it afterwards, sharing your reactions and opinions.     5    

A．It’s the thought that counts.

B．But staying connected is possible.

C．It can also be an e-mail with photos.

D．Postcards are a lovely way to stay in touch.

E．This works well as a way of regularly staying in touch.

F．Once in a while, make a parcel filled with items that are meaningful to your friend.

G．Even when you live far apart from someone, they can still be a big part of your life.

5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

“Did you hear what I said?” The band director was looking right at me. So was everyone else. “Yes, ma’am. You want me to do the solo (独奏) at the concert.” I said, trying to hide my fear.

I play the jazz saxophone (萨克斯管). I’m the best player in the sax section of my middle school band; I even do concerts with the senior high band. So, what’s my problem? Stage fright. Performing with a group is no problem. Butraying solo? I will freeze like a water balloon in deep space.

The band director continued, “By the way, the director of the Youth Symphony will be there. You know, if he hears someone who’s really good, he invites them to audition (试演).” I tried to look calm as I headed to the door, but the rock in my stomach had just doubled in weight. I’d dreamed of playing in the Youth Symphony for a long time but never had the courage to audition. I could pretend to be sick and stay home. But there are only two concerts each year, and missing one would be really a great pity.

“What should I do?” I went back home and headed downstairs. I usually practice in the basement. The family calls it Kevin’s Dungeon (地牢). I play great in the dungeon. It’s comfortable down there—just me, my sax, and my music. “Why can’t the school auditorium feel like my dungeon?” I said to myself. Then an idea occurred to me—how about sticking a photo of my dungeon inside the bell of my sax? Looking at it while playing might work for me. I immediately took action and practised and practised.

The day finally came. Suddenly, the lights went down, the curtain went up, and we were off and running. Each song started and ended, but it was like somebody else was playing my sax, not me. Then it was time—my solo.

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。

I stood up and walked to the front of the stage.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With the last long note ending, the audience burst into applause.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . What can simultaneously (同时) tear a community apart and knit it together?My husband and I accidentally found our _________.

While we were away, a(n) _________ caused by a storm hit our neighborhood and damaged our town. In our basement, we tried to pull old photo albums and school yearbooks — years’ worth of _________— out of the water and _________ them into bags. Actually, there was little we could _________. But I noticed a pattern. I found myself shouting, _________, “I forgot we had this!” _________, in a year or two, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of the things lost versus the rescued items.

But there are some things I won’t forget. I won’t forget the coolers full of water, cold drinks and sandwiches neighbors set outside, or the local restaurants generously offering _________ food and drinks for those too tired to make dinner. I’ll _________ the neighbors standing outside our door with masks and buckets, who __________ to help us clean out our basement. They stayed all day until it was __________. Looking around, I felt as though we had lost much but __________ so much more thanks to the __________ of friends and strangers alike. That memory will __________.

I watched members of our community hang a large sign over the most damaged part of town that __________ “Together, we will rebuild.” I know we definitely will.

1.

A．goal

B．answer

C．inspiration

D．response

2.

A．typhoon

B．earthquake

C．flood

D．fire

3.

A．memories

B．concerns

C．efforts

D．analyses

4.

A．turned

B．hid

C．filed

D．piled

5.

A．discover

B．avoid

C．select

D．save

6.

A．sooner or later

B．now and then

C．at random

D．for fun

7.

A．Interestingly

B．Obviously

C．Specifically

D．Consequently

8.

A．expensive

B．fancy

C．cold

D．free

9.

A．remember

B．respect

C．assist

D．recognize

10.

A．happened

B．volunteered

C．promised

D．agreed

11.

A．decorated

B．built

C．tidied

D．searched

12.

A．gained

B．helped

C．thrown

D．recovered

13.

A．courage

B．trust

C．kindness

D．wisdom

14.

A．change

B．return

C．stay

D．form

15.

A．spoke

B．revealed

C．wrote

D．read

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I was not sure why my dad and my uncle always disagreed with each other in the beginning. They spent many Sundays sitting at opposite ends of the table, arguing about everything. I didn’t think they got along well.

When I was eighteen, I got a call in my college dorm that my dad was having a health problem. My mom picked me up at midnight, so I could be there the next day when my dad was scheduled to transfer(转移) to a better hospital. I didn’t sleep that night, not a while. I was nervous and almost crazy when we arrived at the hospital early the next morning before the transfer.

That morning, as my mom and I walked down the hallway of the hospital, we could see straight into my dad’s room. A tall man wearing a stylish suit stood beside my father’s bed with his back to us. In surprise, my mom said to me, “How nice it is for a doctor to come by to see your dad so early in the morning.” The man was quiet and still, looking down, but he was holding both of my dad’s hands in his own. It seemed not to be a typical doctor’s behavior.

“It’s not a doctor,” I whispered softly to my mom. When the man turned around, we found that it was my uncle. However, little did I know I would continue to reflect on that quiet moment for decades. And it would be the beginning of something truly wonderful.

The hours that followed were some of the most hardest time of my youth. My dad had a serious stomach problem and had to be in hospital for quite a long time. My uncle stayed with us the entire time. For one thing, my uncle tried every way to get my dad to eat something. For another thing, he brought me healthy snacks and made sure I actually ate them even though I had no appetite. When my mother and I were scared that my dad’s illness would get worse, my uncle was always by our side.

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。

Throughout those difficult days in the hospital, I watched my uncle in a new light.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From then on, the relationship between my dad and my uncle became closer.

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8 . Steps Towards Unlocking Your Inner Wisdom

At the core of your life lies sense, a powerful force that exists within. Knowing how to follow your sense can help you guide your life.     1    

●Seek loneliness and stillness. In a world filled with noises, finding inner peace requires silencing the noise around you.    2     Try taking a relaxing walk, dipping yourself in nature, deep thinking, or simply enjoying a quiet coffee while observing the world. Engage in activities that calm your soul to achieve a state where your sense flourishes in its full glory.

●Develop self-awareness.     3     Strong intuitive people often spend time on self-examination and spare time for self-awareness training. Instead of running from their emotions, they hug them with openness and acceptance. To follow your inner voice, consider all that lies within. Ask yourself, "What am I feeling right now?" Explore desires, fears or goals that come to light. Take time to sit with your body and run through a full body scan.

●    4     Life is not foretold. Many people struggle to maintain aspects of their lives. Despite inner fear of uncertainty, following your sense may lead you down unfamiliar paths. Welcome this uncertainty with an open heart and an eager spirit. By trusting in its guidance, sense provides priceless help through each stage of life.

●Take action with intention. Once your sense gives guidance, trust yourself enough to act on it on purpose.     5     The idea of gradually progressing to more important, high-pressure decisions increases your ability to deal with discomfort more effectively.

A．Explore the unknown.

B．Stay away from unfamiliar paths.

C．You need to find a place free from any interruption.

D．It is better to think about high-pressure decisions first.

E．Learn how to believe in your sense by making small choices.

F．Raising your sense requires a deep understanding of yourself.

G．And insights gained from your sense can affect everything you do in life.

9 . Scientists have long believed that Mars was wet around three billion years ago and then lost much of its water. But a new study presents evidence of water activity from about 700 million years ago, posing a new puzzle about Mars and its history for scientists to crack in their future studies.

The new study is based on data from China’s Zhurong rover (“祝融号”火星车), part of the Tianwen-1 mission that touched down on the surface of Mars in May 2021. In particular, the scientists used data the rover gathered during its first 92 Martian days, at its landing site in Utopia Planitia. Yang Liu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), and his colleagues analyzed data from three different instruments on Zhurong. Those instruments studied minerals that suggest the presence of a large quantity of liquid water at the site about 700 million years ago, which scientists previously thought was dry.

“This is a very interesting result. We have very little recorded evidence of young liquid water systems on Mars. And for the ones we have, they were usually in the form of salt minerals,” says Dr. Scheller, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology. He explained Zhurong’s instruments spotted water molecules locked away in the rock, which was different from other young liquid water environments that have been observed.

“One of the major things we’ll have to find out and that I look forward to seeing from the Zhurong rover is how extensive these ‘young’ water-bearing minerals are,” Dr. Scheller said. “Are they common or uncommon in these ‘young’ rocks?” Zhurong has now covered about two kilometers during its more than 350 Martian days and has analyzed a range of features on its travels, meaning more new Martian insights are likely still to come from the rover.

NASA has so far sent its Mars rovers to ancient landing sites, dating back to more than 3.7 billion years ago. Zhurong is not just an extra set of wheels on Mars, but a powerful suite of instruments exploring a new, geologically young site to open new windows of opportunity for research on Mars.

1. What does the underlined word “crack” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Keep.

B．Doubt.

C．Solve.

D．Create.

2. What does the new study show according to paragraph 2?

A．The inaccuracy of data gathered on Mars.

B．Functional limitations of instruments on Mars.

C．Main reasons for the failure of the Tianwen-1 mission.

D．The misconception of past thinking about Martian water.

3. Which of the following does Dr. Scheller convey?

A．The result has been recorded by many scientists.

B．Zhurong’s wide analyses will bring more surprises.

C．Salt minerals are younger than water-bear ing minerals.

D．Young water-bearing minerals are common in young rocks.

4. Which word can best describe Zhurong?

A．Ancient.

B．Common.

C．Alarming.

D．Promising.

10 . Travis Gienger set a record for growing the world’s heaviest pumpkin, which weighed about 1,247 kilograms, in 2023. The middle-aged man was named the winner on Monday of the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California. He won the same con test in 2022, whose pumpkin weighed 1,161 kilograms. The past world record for the heaviest pumpkin was set by a grower in Italy who produced a 1,226-kilogram pumpkin in 2021. “I was not expecting that,” Gienger said. He added that it felt good to win the world record.

Gienger is a teacher at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minnesota. He teaches agriculture and growing methods. And he has been producing pumpkins for nearly 30 years like his elders, especially his father, who used to raise pumpkins in the home property, which got him interested in planting. Gienger later devoted himself to working the land to plant.

Gienger first competed in Half Moon Bay’s yearly con test in 2020. He won three of the city’s last four pumpkin contests. “I put in the work so that I can put a smile on people’s faces, and it’s just so nice coming out here to see everyone in this town,” Gienger said.

Gienger, who grew the pumpkins on the farm, had given his plants more care. This included watering them up to 12 times a day and feeding or fertilizing them, a little more than usual. Those contributed to his greater success in 2023.

The pumpkin champion won a $30,000 prize for growing the biggest pumpkin and setting a world record. Gienger’s pumpkin would be shown along with the second-place winners at the city’s upcoming Pumpkin Festival. At the event, visitors would be able to look at the pumpkin prize and take pictures with the growers.

In the United States, pumpkins are popular throughout the autumn. During the US holiday Halloween, on October 31, many people turn them into “jack-o’-lanterns”. A jack-o’-lantern is a pumpkin that has been carved, usually to show a frightening or funny face.

1. How did Gienger feel about his winning the world record?

A．Surprised.

B．Suspicious.

C．Expected.

D．Embarrassed.

2. What affected Gienger’s career choice?

A．His family tradition.	B．His love for his farm.
C．His promise to his father.	D．His desire for winning a prize.

3. What does the author want to explain in paragraph 4?

A．How many awards Gienger got in 2023.

B．How long Gienger worked a day in 2023.

C．Why Gienger grew pumpkins on the farm.

D．Why Gienger’s pumpkin was heavier than before.

4. What do we know about the award-winning pumpkin in 2023?

A．It would be given to a visitor.

B．It would be made into a lantern.

C．It would be on show at a festival.

D．It would be used to decorate pictures.