1 . At 33, I did something brave, or some would say stupid. I _______ Congress (国会). For years, I had existed safely _______ the scenes in politics as an organizer, but in my heart, I always wanted to run. The polls (投票), however, told a very _______ story. I only got 19 percent of the vote. Despite the result, this was the first time in my entire life that I had done something that was truly brave, where I didn’t worry about being _______.

In 2012, I started a company to teach girls to code. We immediately see our girls’ _______ of not being perfect. When the girls are first learning how to code, she’ll say, “I don’t know what _______ to write.” and shows a _______ text editor. But if the teacher presses undo a few times, she’ll see her student wrote code and then _______ it. Instead of showing the _______ that she made, she’d rather show nothing at all.

Some people worry about our budget deficit (赤字), but I worry about our ________ deficit. Most girls are raised to ________ risk and failure. This is ________ women are underrepresented in STEM, in Congress, and pretty much everywhere you look. We have to socialize our girls to be comfortable with ________, and we’ve got to do it now. We have to teach them to be brave in schools and early in their careers, when it has the most potential to ________ their lives, and we have to show them that they will be loved and ________ not for being perfect but for being courageous.

1.

A．ran for

B．lied to

C．voted against

D．traded with

2.

A．on

B．off

C．inside

D．behind

3.

A．classic

B．simple

C．different

D．complex

4.

A．risky

B．perfect

C．stupid

D．beautiful

5.

A．fear

B．effort

C．trouble

D．struggle

6.

A．code

B．answer

C．deficit

D．character

7.

A．random

B．blank

C．marked

D．broken

8.

A．used

B．saved

C．cracked

D．deleted

9.

A．mess

B．success

C．progress

D．difference

10.

A．honesty

B．bravery

C．generosity

D．determination

11.

A．face

B．avoid

C．admit

D．expect

12.

A．why

B．how

C．when

D．where

13.

A．doubt

B．danger

C．uncertainty

D．imperfection

14.

A．earn

B．risk

C．impact

D．enjoy

15.

A．inspired

B．accepted

C．tolerated

D．protected

2 . Some songs might speak to your soul even if you don't know the words. The almost magical way that music reflects and influences our emotions led American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to declare it the “universal language of mankind”. But how universal is it really?

A team of more than a dozen researchers and countless undergraduates set out to collect and interpret descriptions and recordings of musical performances around the world. Their first finding: Music is indeed universal. Or at least statistical modeling strongly suggests that more than 99% of societies have music. Then, they analyzed the song descriptions for sixty very different societies and looked at different qualities related to song performance.

As they classified the songs, they found that three dimensions (方面) accounted for more than a quarter of the variability between songs. The first was how formal or informal a song was. Songs high in formality had large audiences and lots of instruments, often involved ceremonial events, and frequently had adult-only audiences. Informal events had smaller audiences, including children, or no audience at all. The second was how arousing a song was to its listeners. Lively events involving lots of dancing were high on this dimension, while a low value reflected a calmer event, like someone singing to themselves or a baby. The last was how religious song was. Songs used in ceremonies were high in religiosity, while those without a spiritual context scored low.

The researchers applied their findings to four widespread categories of music: lullabies (摇篮), dance songs, love songs and healing songs, and found clear trend. Most dance was highly arousing and formal, but low in religiosity. Lullabies were mostly low in formality and low in arousal. And healing songs scored high in all dimensions while love songs were low in all dimensions. Even more interesting, the distribution of these behaviors was similar in all societies studied.

Scholars say that their database could fuel future research into even more inspiring questions about music universals. And their method might be used to pick out patterns in other hard-to-analyze fields, like storytelling or visual art.

1. How was the research conducted?

A．By making comparison and contrast.	B．By finding similarities.
C．By collecting and analyzing data.	D．By illustrating examples.

2. Which kind of music may involve the most audiences and instruments?

A．Lullabies.

B．Dance songs.

C．Love songs.

D．Healing songs.

3. How is the future of their research findings according to the scholars?

A．Promising.

B．Unpredictable.

C．Impractical.

D．Limited.

4. What can be concluded from the passage?

A．Songs can speak to your soul only if you know their words.

B．Differences in formality lead to the variability between songs.

C．Music is classified by the number of audience and instruments.

D．Research on the universals of music can help explore other fields.

3 . In an attempt to explore unknown environments, a Chinese team created an octopus (章鱼) — inspired flexible robotic arm capable of sensing and controlling objects in limited spaces and underwater.

According to the study published in the latest edition of Science Robotics, the robot allowed blindfolded human operators to guide its arm, using suckers (吸盘) to pick up various objects, including a toy shark and a smooth metal ball, via a single-finger glove.

This new invention created by a team of researchers, led by Wen Li from Beihang University was inspired by the octopus, which moves its soft arms to catch its games with sensitive suckers.

A simple strategy like this can be used as a model for robotic grasping, controllable with a few inputs, as well as a highly deformable arm with sensing capabilities.

Wen’s team fixed electronics and circuits into the robots while maintaining their deformability. The researchers presented a stretchable electronics-integrated soft octopus arm with 16 air-driven devices and multiple degrees of freedom.

The robot's stretchable, liquid-metal-based electronic circuit can stand super stretching force to perform tasks autonomously in a limited environment, findings from the study showed.

The soft arm with two rows of sensory sucking cups that connect with the wearer's finger can perform a reaching-grasping-returning motion across a range of up to 1.5 times its original arm length, similar to the biological counterpart (对应方), the study revealed.

“This robotic model provides new prospects and development ideas for the future interactive applications of flexible robots, including medical robots, seabed exploration robots, and so on” said the expert.

1. What inspired the invention of the robotic arm according to the passage?

A．The limited spaces underwater.

B．The special biological structure of the octopus.

C．The desire to explore the living environment of octopus.

D．The team work of the researchers from Beihang University.

2. What's the meaning of the underlined word “deformable” in paragraph 4?

A．Powerful.

B．Changeable.

C．Steady.

D．Active.

3. Which device is integrated into the robot?

A．Plastic circuits.	B．Suckers of octopuses.
C．Electronic sensors.	D．Arms of octopuses.

4. What do the experts imply in the last paragraph?

A．Octopus is a very magic underwater creature.

B．Creativity plays a very important part in science.

C．The unknown world offers possibility for innovation.

D．One invention can bring about a chain reaction of breakthroughs.

4 . Amy was a dear little girl, but she often tended to waste time in getting ready to do her tasks, instead of doing them at once as she ought to.

In the village in which she lived, Mr. Thornton kept a store where he sold fruit of all kinds, including berries in their season. One day he said to Amy, whose parents were quite poor, “Would you like to earn some money? ”

“Oh, yes,” replied she, “for I want some new shoes, and papa has no money to buy them with. ”

“Well, Amy,” said Mr. Thornton, “I noticed some fine, ripe blackberries in Mr. Green’s field today, and he said that anybody was welcome to them. I will pay you thirteen cents a quart (度量单位) for all you will pick for me”

Amy was delighted at the thought of earning some money; so she ran home to get a basket, intending to go immediately to pick the berries.

Then she thought she would like to know how much money she would get if she picked five quarts. With the help of her slate (书写板) and pencil, she found out that she would get sixty-five cents.

“But supposing I should pick a dozen quarts,” thought she, “how much should I earn then?” “Dear me!” she said, after figuring a while, “I should earn a dollar and fifty-six cents.”

Amy then found out what Mr. Thornton would pay her for fifty, a hundred, and two hundred quarts. It took her some time to do this, and then it was so near dinner time that she had to stay at home until afternoon.

As soon as dinner was over, she took her basket and hurried to the field. Some boys had been there before dinner, and all the ripe berries were picked. She could not find enough to fill a quart measure.

1. Why did Mr. Thornton invite Amy to pick berries?

A．To help her buy new shoes.	B．To help her make some money.
C．To help her get rid of bad habits.	D．To help her enter the fruit business.

2. What should Amy do if she wanted to earn the money?

A．Calculate how much she earned.	B．Make use of her slate and pencil.
C．Ask for permission from her parents.	D．Get a basket and pick berries quickly.

3. Which of the following words can best describe the character of Amy?

A．Considerate and smart.	B．Reasonable and realistic.
C．Idealistic and impractical.	D．Unselfish and independent.

4. Which one can be the best title of the story?

A．Lost Blackberries.	B．A Girl Picking Berries.
C．How Much Amy Can Earn.	D．The Money Amy Didn’t Earn.

5 . Post of Executive Director of the AEC Committee

Asia Economic Cooperation (AEC), with 21 Member Economies, is a unique cooperative economic forum that has been successful in promoting regional economic growth through trade and investment liberalization, and capacity building since its foundation in 1989. It has achieved this through open dialogue, trust building and voluntary commitments.

The AEC Committee, based in Singapore, fulfils an important role is supporting the AEC process, including policy, technical and communications services to an extensive range of shareholders.

AEC is looking for a dynamic Executive Director for a 3-year term (with the option for a 1-3year extension) to lead the Committee from January 2025.

The successful candidate should be from an AEC Member Economy and must possess strong leadership qualities, public sector experience, senior management experience, and organizational development experience, high political sensitivity and multilateral work experience, preferably in trade or economic related areas. The candidate should also have managed multi-cultural work environment. The candidate must indicate how their experience and qualifications match those required.

Extensive travel is expected.

More information on AEC can be found at our website www. aec. org. Applications should reach us no later than 15 July 2024 via e-mail hr-recruit@aec. org or mailed to the Human Resource Director, AEC Committee, 35 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore119616.

Your application must indicate how your experience and qualifications match those required.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

1. What do we know about the The AEC Committee?

A．It is based in Singapore.	B．It leads the AEC process.
C．It deals with political issues.	D．It has 21 Member Economies.

2. What is required of a qualified candidate?

A．Strong political background.	B．High-level leadership expertise.
C．Advanced multi-linguistic skills.	D．Sharp environmental awareness.

3. In which section of a magazine may this text appear?

A．Cover Story.	B．News Updates.
C．Career Opportunities.	D．Volunteering Information.

6 . It was in this important competition ________ I got second place ________ I realized my hard work indeed changed my career path.

A．when; that	B．where; that
C．where; when	D．that; where

7 . For many students, math class is the subject of nightmares. Many who enthusiastically show off their counting skills in pre-school years later consider math class the most hated hour of the school day. The problem, according to a Stanford education professor, is a matter of mindset.

Jo Boaler, professor of mathematics education at Stanford, has studied how students learn math, to identify why so many students end up hating or fearing math, and, too often, underachieve. In her new book, Mathematical Mindsets, Boaler describes how society has traditionally valued one type of math learner — one who can memorize well and calculate fast — as opposed to others who have the same potential but may be deeper, slower.

The “testing culture” in American schools is a major problem for math learners, Boaler said, noting that exams and tests are far more pervasive (普遍) in math than other subjects. The combination of frequent testing, procedural teaching and uninteresting questions disconnected from students’ lives causes many students to regard math as a “cold, lifeless subject” without a human connection.

The good news is that any student’s negative perception of math can dramatically change, Boaler said. She works with Stanford psychology Professor Carol Dweck to deliver growth mindset interventions to teachers and students. A “growth mindset” is built around the idea that most basic abilities can be developed and expanded upon through dedication and hard work. By contrast, with a “fixed mindset,” people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits (特征).

“When we open up mathematics and teach broad, visual, creative math, then we teach math as a learning subject instead of as a performance subject,” Boaler said, “The outcome is that the subject becomes deeper and filled with more connections, so students enjoy it more and achieve at higher levels.”

Critics such as Marina Ratner, professor of mathematics at the University of California, express skepticism towards moving away from traditional methods. Math is math; there is no shortcut. They argue that without solid basic skills, students might struggle with subjects like algebra (代数), let alone tackling any other higher-level STEM courses.

1. What problem is presented in the text?

A．Students fear math due to abstract concepts.

B．There is a lack of standardized tests in math.

C．Math learners focus on advanced concepts too early.

D．Traditional math teaching discourages many students.

2. Which pair best describes the contrast between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset?

A．Dynamic methods vs. standard methods.	B．Group learning vs. individual learning.
C．Improvable abilities vs. inborn abilities.	D．Long-term results vs. short-term results.

3. How might Jo Boaler recommend teaching the division of 10 by 5?

A．By integrating timed drills.	B．By rewarding quick calculations.
C．By encouraging repeated reviews.	D．By employing pictures and models.

4. What is Marina Ratner’s attitude towards traditional methods of math teaching?

A．Unclear.

B．Supportive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Critical.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

CCTV’s Sports Channel uses the slogan “sport is power”, and these words proved true when China     1    (host) the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from July 28 to Aug 8.

Nothing is     2    (powerful) than letting thousands of foreign athletes, team members and visitors from around the world     3    (witness)and experience the energy of China. The games successfully showed China’s achievements to the world.

Chinese media should capitalize on the success of the games by producing more     4    (video) that highlight the amazing and touching aspects of the games     5    sharing them on social media platforms. This will help spread China’s success stories around the world.

For China the games will facilitate the     6    (grow) of university sports in the nation,     7     is crucial for improving the physical health of its students. It is most fitting that China     8    (take) Aug 8 as National Sports Day ever since.

It is only natural     9     the nation to work hard to host more international sports events, as these provide the perfect platform to showcase China’s successes. There are already other upcoming opportunities. China might also aim to host a FIFA World Cup,     10    (regard) as the most spectacular international sporting event.

9 . In recent years, a global campaign ______ by the Space Agency to promote further development of the manned aviation.

A．launched

B．has launched

C．was launched

D．has been launched

10 . The epidemic swept through the city, and conditions got worse and supplies ______.

A．ran out

B．ran across

C．ran for

D．ran off