1 . 听下面一段较长对话,回答以下小题。
1. Who is the woman talking with?A.Her teacher. | B.Her uncle. | C.Her classmate. |
A.In New Zealand. | B.In America. | C.In Canada. |
A.She got hurt in the earthquake. |
B.She wanted to take a break. |
C.She took an exchange program. |
A.In two weeks. | B.In a month. | C.In two months. |
2 . 听下面一段较长对话,回答以下小题。
1. Who is the woman?A.The man’s classmate. | B.Annie’s sister. | C.Annie’s roommate. |
A.His new address. | B.His visit. | C.Hotel information. |
A.Send him an urgent message. |
B.Dial the phone number 4934975. |
C.Go to Room 668, the Terminal Hotel. |
3 . 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.
SpainThrow 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.
MontenegroDespite 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.
CroatiaDiscover 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 AfricaExplore 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. |
A.Spain. | B.South Africa. |
C.Montenegro. | D.Croatia. |
A.A website. | B.A guidebook. |
C.A novel. | D.A magazine. |
4 . A gene variant (变体) that causes the “alcohol flush (脸红)” reaction increases the risk of heart disease by causing inflammation of blood vessels (脉管), especially in drinkers. Around 8 percent of the world’s populations has a gene variant called ALDH2*2 that impairs the body’s ability to break down alcohol and causes unpleasant symptoms such as flushing soon after people drink. Now, researchers have shown why this change also raises the risk of heart disease.
“We are trying to understand why ALDH2*2 is associated with a higher risk of coronary arte (冠状动脉) disease at a cellular (细胞的) level,” says Hongchao Guo at Stanford University in California.
The ALDH2*2 gene encodes one version of the enzyme (酵素) alcohol dehydrogenase (脱氢酶), which breaks down the toxic acetaldehydes (乙醛) produced when alcohol is metabolized (代谢), and also mops up other harmful substances known as free radicals.
The gene variant also impairs the growth of new blood vessels. “That means that when there is a heart attack, when there is a need of blood vessel growth, carriers have less ability to generate new blood vessels,” says Guo.
The team found that an existing diabetes (糖尿病) drug called empagliflozin may reduce these harmful effects in people with ALDH2*2 who drink a lot of alcohol. But for Wu, the take-home message is clear. “If you’re missing this enzyme, try not to drink,” he says. “If you drink consistently, you are at much higher risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer.”
Given its many negative consequences, there has been debate about why this change spread and became common, today being found in more than a third of people of cast Asian origin.
“My only explanation is that if you are missing this enzyme, you tend to drink less and there’s therefore less chance of you becoming alcoholic,” says Wu.
1. Which of the following may be caused by “alcohol flush”?A.Heart disease and high blood pressure. | B.A gene variant called ALDH2*2. |
C.Inflammation of blood vessels. | D.Diabetes and cancer. |
A.Exiting diabetes drug can help people witALDH2*2. |
B.People with ALDH2*2 shouldn’t drink alcohol. |
C.People with ALDH2*2 have less chance of becoming alcoholic. |
D.Drinking alcohol can bring about diabetes and cancer. |
A.Diabetes drug can free people with ALDH2*2 of alcohol flush. |
B.If you are missing this enzyme, you will easily become alcoholic. |
C.People with ALDH2*2 tend to suffer from cancer. |
D.More than a third of people of cast Asian origin may be affected by ALDH2*2. |
A.To explain the impact of genetic variant causing the “alcohol flush”. |
B.To introduce ways to stop drinking alcohol. |
C.To introduce dangers of drinking alcohol. |
D.To persuade people to get rid of drinking alcohol. |
5 . Obese people experience discrimination (歧视) in many parts of their lives, and the workplace is no exception. Studies have long shown that obese workers, defined as those with a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, earn significantly less than their slimmer co-workers.
Yet the costs of weight discrimination may be even greater than previously thought. “The overwhelming evidence,” wrote the Institute for employment Studies, “is that it is only women living with obesity who experience the obesity wage penalty (薪资损失).” They were expressing a view that is widely aired in academic papers. To test it, The Economist has analyzed data concerning 23,000 workers from the American Time Use Survey, conducted by the Bureau of Labour Statistics. Our number-processing suggests that, in fact, being obese hurts the earnings of both women and men.
The data we analyzed cover men and women aged between 25 and 54 and in full-time employment. At a general level, it is true that men’s BMIs are unrelated to their wages. But that changes for men with university degrees. For them, obesity is associated with a wage penalty of nearly 8%, even after accounting for the separate effects of age, race, graduate education and marital status.
The conclusion — that well-educated workers in particular are penalized for their weight — holds for both sexes. Moreover, the higher your level of education, the greater the penalty. We found that obese men with a Bachelor’s degree (学士学位) earn 5% less than their thinner colleagues, while those with a Master’s degree earn 14% less. Obese women, it is true, still have it worse: for them, the equivalent figures are 12% and 19%, respectively (分别地).
Your line of work makes a difference, too. When we dealt with the numbers for individual occupations and industries, we found the greatest differences in high-skilled jobs. Obese workers in health care, for example, make 11% less than their slimmer colleagues; those in management roles make roughly 9% less, on average. In sectors such as construction and agriculture, meanwhile, obesity is actually associated with higher wages.
These results suggest that the total costs of wage discrimination borne by overweight workers in America are greater than expected. Now, it’s time for our governments to take it seriously.
1. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in paragraph 2?A.Obese men earn less salary. |
B.Only obese women earn less salary. |
C.Both obese men and women earn less salary. |
D.Weight discrimination may be greater than previously thought. |
A.A fat woman office director. |
B.An obese construction worker. |
C.An obese man with a bachelor’s degree. |
D.A heavier female doctor with a Doctor’s degree. |
A.Supportive | B.Objective | C.Subjective | D.indifferent |
A.Overweight discrimination in other countries. |
B.The reason of discriminating obese people in their lives. |
C.American people’s attitude towards overweight discrimination. |
D.Actions taken against overweight discrimination in workplaces. |
赞成(40%)的理由 | 1. 电子词典笔便于携带,查单词容易; 2. 功能多:可以纠正发音,练习听力等。 |
反对(60%)的理由 | 1. 电子词典笔有其它功能,导致学习分心; 2. 容易产生依赖性,不再下功夫记单词。 |
你的观点 | …… |
2. 可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
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“We finally have the first look at our Milky Way black hole, Sagittarius A*,”an international team of astrophysicists(天文物理学家)and researchers from the Event Horizon Telescope team announced
For years, the supermassive black hole in the dark center of the Milky Way galaxy
What made capturing the image extra
“Although we cannot see the black hole
The
8 . Influential people have a great impact on everyone they encounter. Yet, they achieve this only because they exercise so much influence from inside, on themselves. Their focused pursuit of excellence is driven by five habits that you can follow and absorb until your influence expands (扩大):
1. They think for themselves.
Influential people aren’t affected by the latest trend or by public opinion.
2. They welcome disagreement.
Influential people do not react emotionally to different opinions.
3. They are proactive (主动出击的).
Influential people don’t wait for things like new ideas and new technologies to find them; they seek those things out.
4. They respond rather than react.
If someone criticizes an influential person for making a mistake, or if someone else makes a mistake, influential people don’t react immediately and emotionally. They wait. They think.
5. They believe.
A.Instead, they welcome them. |
B.And then they deliver a proper response. |
C.Influential people always expect the best. |
D.They’re influential because they see what’s coming. |
E.They form their opinions carefully, based on the facts. |
F.They never believe that one person can change the world. |
G.They fight back against these critics as hard as they could. |
9 . A new study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA)seems to suggest busy students listening to sped-up video lectures can actually understand a lot.
In the experiment, Alan Castel and a Dillon Murphy divided 231 undergraduate participants into four groups. Each group watched two video lectures: one about the Roman Empire and the other on real estate appraisals (房地产评估). The videos, at normal speed, ranged hetween13 and 15 minutes long. One group watched each video at its normal speed, the second watched them at 1.5 times normal speed, the third at double speed and the fourth at 2.5 times normal speed.
After each individual video, the participants were given a test made up of 20 questions to measure how well they remembered the information. The normal-speed group averaged 26 correct answers out of 40, and were closely followed by the 1.5-speed group and double-speed group, which each scored 25 out of 40. It wasn’t until participants watched the video at 2.5-speed that their performance on the test significantly dropped, to an average of 22 out of 40 questions answered correctly. A week later, when the same participants took new tests without rewatching the videos, the new scores saw the same order of decrease (降低).
The study suggests that, while sped-up videos did not improve student learning comprehension (理解力), they did not put them far behind, either —at least until the speed reached 2.5 times normal speed..
The increase in efficiency that students get from finishing a video in half the time could allow them to take more effective notes. “Students can spend the same amount of time studying, but in perhaps a better way,” Murphy said “That opens the door to the potential benefits of that additional study opportunity.”
The videos in the study were for subjects that can be explained in words pretty easily, Murphy explained, whereas students watching a difficult physics or chemistry lecture at high speeds might see different results. Further research on the same topic could provide details on how well students remember information offered at higher speeds when it comes to those kinds of more challenging topics, the researchers said.
1. Which best describes how the participants watched the two videos?A.The first group watched videos at different speeds. |
B.The second group watched the two videos twice. |
C.The third group watched for less than 15 minutes. |
D.The fourth group watched for more than 40 minutes. |
A.The normal-speed watchers did no better than other groups. |
B.Sped-up videos sometimes affected only a little to the watchers. |
C.There were great differences among the 4 groups in the testing result. |
D.The content of the video made no difference in the experiment. |
A.Critical. | B.Curious. | C.Doubtful. | D.Supportive. |
A.Give participants more difficult tests after they watch videos. |
B.Observe the effects of watching videos at lower speeds. |
C.Let participants watch videos of more complex topics. |
D.Ask students from various majors to watch videos. |
10 . For 18 years, I’ve feared the yearly event of writing a “vision statement (愿景宣言)” for our son, Ethan. He has autism (自闭症). In theory, the vision statement is a lovely idea — an opportunity for parents to express the future they plan for their child five years down the road. In reality, as Ethan grew up and his limitations became clearer, I found it harder every year to write the short paragraph.
This year, as Ethan completed his final year in the school system, we signed Ethan up to work at a local farm that employs young adults with disabilities assuming it would go the way he always has. He’d be interested at first, then bored, and then — because he was bored — silly and unsafe around the equipment in a way that would get him removed from the program. It was his pattern and if there’s anything we’ve learned, autistic kids love repeating their patterns.
Surprisingly, after a year, we were told he’d made it onto a landscaping team. “What do you do in the team?” we asked. Eth an listed a few machines we assumed he was watching other people operate. We’ve lived with Ethan for 21 years. We know his limitations.
At our last meeting for the vision statement, a man from the farm read a report on Ethan. Ethan was operating those machines, safely and effectively, along with the final line: “Ethan makes us laugh every day.” I could hardly believe it.
Ethan wrote his own vision statement this year. He read it aloud:
“I plan to work at Prospect Meadow Farm until I retire and live. at home with my family as long as I can. My goals for the future are to learn how to drive a lawn mower (割草机).”
I had tears in my eyes. Not simply because Ethan had made his own entirely reasonable vision statement, but because it involved the part of his present life that brings him joy. After years of making up visions for a future we never honestly thought possible, Ethan was offering one that was both hopeful and extremely simple: I want my life to keep looking the way it does NOW.
1. How did the author feel about writing a vision statement for her son?A.It was difficult. | B.It was boring. |
C.It was annoying. | D.It was embarrassing. |
A.To show her concern for Ethan’s safety. |
B.To show her familiarity with autistic kids. |
C.To show her low expectations for Ethan’s farm job. |
D.To show her special responsibility as Ethan’s parent. |
A.He went beyond his limits. |
B.He made silly mistakes. |
C.He liked watching others working. |
D.He could hardly get along with others. |
A.Success is built on failure. |
B.Never lose faith in your high goals. |
C.Family support helps to develop confidence. |
D.The future should look like the best parts of the present. |