1 . 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。

The first “forest library” in Shanghai recently opened to the public, giving readers the chance     1     (relax) and read in a natural environment.

Known as Read & Joy Forest, the forest library that was     2     (joint) launched by Pudong New Area and Shanghai Library     3     (locate) in an urban green space area near Shanghai Library East. Covering an area of 20,546 square meters, it allows visitors to take a pleasant walk in the quiet and green forest,     4     includes many different kinds of trees.

The design of the forest library ensures minimal (极少的) disturbance to the forest, with existing green spaces     5     (connect) by wooden walkways. The library is in the open air and equipped with facilities such as benches and     6     information desk.

    7     (have) a library in the woods is an extension of reading indoors, according to Xu Qiang, one leader of Shanghai Library. “It offers different reading experiences to readers,” Xu added.

Most of the visitors to the forest library were young people and parents with their children, who either immersed (沉浸在) themselves in reading     8     took wanders leisurely in the forest. “The fresh air and the scents of the trees here are really     9     (impress). I’ve spent the whole morning indoors, and wanted to get some fresh air. The library makes it possible to enjoy reading in natural surroundings. I must say I have a     10     (prefer) for it,” said one reader sitting on a bench.

2 . The Benefits of After-school Activities

Your kid is asking for piano lessons, joining a soccer team or taking ballet classes, but you’re not so sure that your money will be well spent.     1     , read these next benefits of participating in hobbies outside the home. It might just convince you to book the first class.

Build confidence through creative hobbies

From arts and poem writing to music and crafts, there are lots of creative after-school activities available out there for kids of all ages. Not only do these classes stimulate your little one’s imagination, but they also encourage curiosity.     2     . Interacting with others, sharing, cooperating and solving conflicts are all added bonuses and they are all extremely helpful tools in building self-confidence.

    3    

These days, the fast-paced world we live in causes stress to us all, including children — and providing fun environments and spaces where they can feel safe and creative is an excellent idea to help your child reduce the stress.    4     . You have to aim to eliminate the stressors in your child’s life, regardless of the type of stress your child is dealing with, be it the case of shyness, social anxiety or pressure from school or home life.

Gain physical and psychological strength with sports

Avoiding childhood obesity has become a real issue in a world where kids spend more and more time indoors, glued to screens. But if your child shows any interest in a sport (even if just by watching it on their iPad), grab the opportunity and introduce after-school activities that focus on said physical activity. In these activities, your kids can also learn important lessons like respecting others and teamwork.     5     .

A．Reduce stress with after-school activities

B．Boost children’s enthusiasm and participation in class

C．When your kids spend 80 percent of their hours at school

D．Besides, they make your child more confident in the process

E．If you can’t decide about sending your kids to after-school activities

F．Choosing activities that don’t put extra pressure on your kids is also essential

G．Most importantly, your children can develop their mental strength while doing sports

3 . 2023年5月19日是濒危物种日(Endangered Species Day 2023)，为提高保护野生动植物的意识，你校学生会向全校师生发布了一条征文信息，请你按要求写一篇短文，内容包括：
1.保护野生动植物的重要性；
2.你校的宣传活动；
3.你的建议。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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4 . 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。

Plastic pollution at sea is reaching     1     (worry) levels. According to a review of hundreds of academic studies, it will continue to grow even if significant action is taken now     2     (stop) such waste from reaching the world’s oceans. The review by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute examined almost 2, 600 research     3     (paper) on the topic to provide an overview ahead of a United Nations meeting later this month.

As plastic breaks down into smaller pieces, it also enters the marine food chain,    4     (take) in by sea creatures from whales to turtles. What’s worse, some regions already contain dangerous levels of plastic, and others risk becoming     5     (increasing) polluted in the future. Getting that plastic out of the water again is nearly impossible,    6     policymakers should focus on preventing any more of it entering the oceans in     7     first place. Matthew MacLeod, a professor of environmental science at Stockholm University,    8     (involve) in a separate study not long ago,    9     also concluded effective measures are required immediately because of the possible global impacts.

While consumers can help reduce plastic pollution by changing their behavior, governments have to step up and accept     10     (responsible) for solving the problem. It’s a global problem and it needs global solutions.

5 . It happens to all of us and can be beyond annoyance, so why do we itch? You know the feeling: There’s that spot on your arm, leg or back that just itches and begs for a deep, satisfying scratch.     1     No matter how much you scratch, it just can’t be satisfied.

As we all know, itchy skin is a sensation that makes us want to scratch—but as soon as you satisfy that need, you set off something called the itch-scratch cycle.    2    

The main reason that you feel itchy is that the skin cells or nerve endings near your skin have become annoyed.     3     When you itch, you give yourself a scratch, the area of the body that you have scratched releases chemicals including histamine, and it makes you itch more. That’s why we use antihistamines for allergic reactions but they can also help for insect bites and things like that.

    4     The drier your skin becomes, the more likely the skin gets itchy. However, it is sometimes caused not from the skin, but from what you see or hear. When you hear someone else scratching their skin, or when you see images that suggest itch, like a picture of being bitten by a mosquito, you get the urge to scratch. People with the allergic condition seem to be more easily affected than those without the condition.    5    

A．Causes of itchy skin.

B．It is usually caused by dry skin.

C．It means you are going to end up feeling itchier.

D．Fortunately, there are ways you can get rid of it.

E．Being aware of this phenomenon can help interrupt its effect.

F．But you know giving in to that desire will only result in more problems.

G．Once you start scratching, your body creates a chemical reaction that makes you itchier.

6 . The Masai(马赛人) are continually trying to keep their own ways in an increasingly modern world. They live along the border of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, moving their homes from time to time to follow their cattle, the source of their livelihood. They rely on their cattle in many parts of their life. They like drinking the cows’ milk.

They don’t kill their cattle for food. But if a cow is killed, the parts of its body are used to make containers, shoes, clothin,   ropes, bed coverings and so on. Not all of the men have cows. The more cattle a man owns, the richer he is considered to be. A man who owns 50 or fewer cattle is considered poor. Rich men have a thousand or more. The cattle, though owned by the man, are considered to belong to the man’s entire family. The family names the cattle and can recognize each animal’s special voice.

The Masai men have become known as warriors(勇士), protecting their cattle against other wild animals. They wear their red long hair. Most women often take care of their children, cook food, clean clothes and make clothing at home. They also make necklaces dresses and headdresses. A few women can also become authorities once they are powerful enough. They speak a language called Maa.

The houses of Masai made from sticks and grass, which are held together with a mixture of mud, are not very firm or safe. These plain houses with some basic supplies are built in a circle and make up a Masai village. They are not meant to last long since the migration(迁徙) of the cow population means that the Masai move as well. In the meantime, in order to prevent animals from entering, they also form a wall of branches. The whole setup is to protect the cattle, which sleep at night in the middle of the village. They seem to live a natural and self-sufficient life but lack modern civilisation.

1. What do we know about the Masai?

A．They don’t move in their lives.

B．They each have their own cows.

C．They don’t kill their cattle at all.

D．They are heavily dependent on cattle.

2. What do most of the Masai women work as?

A．Designers.	B．Authorities.
C．Housewives.	D．Warriors.

3. Which word best describes Masai houses?

A．Modern.

B．Lasting

C．Simple.

D．Safe.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Africans: Living a Moving life

B．Africans: Brave People in the World

C．The Masai: Rich People in East Africa

D．The Masai: Maintaining a Traditional Lifestyle

7 . Livestream through channels such as Amazon Live and QVC is a popular way to sell goods online. In a session that lasts between 5 and 10 minutes, someone promotes a product. Viewers can then readily buy it by clicking on a link.

Researchers analyzed 99, 451 sales cases on a livestream selling platform and matched them with actual sales cases.

To determine the emotional expression of the salesperson, researchers used two deep learning models: a face detection model and an emotion classification model. The face detection model discovers the presence or absence of a face in a frame of a video stream. The emotion classifier then determines the probability that a face is exhibiting any of the six basic human emotions： happiness, sadness, surprise, anger, fear or disgust.

We wanted to see the effect of emotions expressed at different times in the sales cases, so we counted probabilities for each emotion for all 62 million frames in our database. We then combined these probabilities with other possible aspects that might drive sales —such as price and product characteristics—to judge the effect of emotions…

We found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, when salespeople convey more negative emotions—such as anger and disgust—the volume of sales went down. But we also found that a similar thing happened when the salespeople display high levels of positive emotions, such as happiness or surprise.

A likely explanation, based on our research, is that smile can be disgusting because it lacks true feelings and can reduce trust in the seller. A seller’s happiness may be taken as a sign that the seller is gaining interests at the customer’s expense.

We also found that the negative effects on sales are the strongest when people express emotions in the middle rather than at the beginning or the end of sale. A potential reason for this finding is that the middle is typically when the salesperson offers more details about the product, and it’s likely that viewers are turned off by emotions at this point.

1. What can we know about the livestream selling goods?

A．It challenges the family business.

B．It only helps big company sell goods.

C．It is very convenient for the buyers.

D．It helps the sellers develop fixed expressions.

2. How did the researchers get the findings?

A．By referring to a theory.

B．By concluding different views.

C．By giving some examples.

D．By analyzing previous data.

3. Why do customers dislike seller’s smiles during livestream?

A．They hate seller’s look.	B．They prefer complex emotions.
C．They feel cheated.	D．They are so tired.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Livestreamers Sell Products Successfully

B．Expressions Affect Selling Products Online

C．Emotions and Faces: What’s the Difference

D．Smiles Can Increase the Sales in Reality

8 . A famous company’s leader believes there’s only one way to know if you truly understand a subject: Can you explain it to a child? But the man with lifelong love of math recently found it didn’t always go well when he tried explaining mathematical concepts(概念)to his then-school-aged children.

He thinks that learning with kids to see what’s puzzling to them and what’s easy for them are the final test of whether you know a topic—whether you can explain it.

Teachers often ask students to give a statement on a subject to show that they understand it. Studies show that people are more likely to remember and understand concepts they’ve learned after explaining them to someone else or even to themselves.That means you can testyour own knowledge in a subject simply by trying to teach it to a friend,to see both how much information you’ve kept and how well you actually understand its concepts. If they successfully learn from you, it’s a good sign that you’re on the right track.

The leader, who studied math and computer science at university, noted that while hewas personally good at math as a high school student, he had trouble passing that enthusiasm(热情)to his three kids.

He loves doing math, but in the past his younger daughter would always say that he made it so complicated (复杂的) and he didn’t need to explain this to her. Because she just wanted to know the answer.

Today, his three children are all in their 20s.While they may not have enjoyed the math lessons, he says that one of his favorite things is teaching calculus(微积分)to the kids.There are a few very difficult concepts in calculus.He must explain why calculus is so important and why calculus has those funny symbols. It’s crazy and it’s probably the thing he enjoys the most.

1. What happened to the leader recently?

A．He explained Chinese well.

B．He developed his lifelong love of math.

C．He met a challenge in playing with his kids.

D．He had trouble explaining mathematical concepts to his kids.

2. What does the author encourage people to do in paragraph 3?

A．Communicate with others actively.

B．Build relationship with others.

C．Manage to describe themselves.

D．Know about their own learning by teaching others.

3. What did the leader’s younger daughter care about?

A．Describing an example.	B．Learning with her father.
C．Getting the final answer.	D．Keeping enthusiasm high.

4. What does the leader think of his teaching calculus to his children?

A．It brings him happiness.	B．It helps his kids grow.
C．It gives him a lesson.	D．It improves his maths.

9 . A study from the University of California, Davis is the first to document personality in golden-mantled ground squirrels, which are common across the western US and parts of Canada, The study found the squirrels show personality for four main aspects: boldness（大胆）, aggressiveness, activity level, and sociability. The findings suggest that understanding how an animal’s personality influences the use of space is important for wildlife conservation.

The fact that ground squirrels have personalities may not seem surprising. But the scientific field of animal personality is relatively young, as is the recognition that there are ecological consequences of animal personalities. For instance, bolder, more aggressive squirrels may find more food or defend a larger area, but their risky behavior may also make them easily hurt by predators（捕食者）or accidents. Lead author Jaclyn Aliperti conducted the study while earning her PhD in ecology at UC Davis.

Scientists have been studying golden-mantled ground squirrels at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado for decades. It was established as a long-term study site more than 30 years ago by Aliperti’s advisor, Dirk Van Vuren. Aliperti drew from this powerful data set for her study, while also starting a series of experiments there over the course of three summers to observe and quantify the squirrels’ personalities. Overall, the study, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, found that bolder squirrels had larger core areas where they concentrated their activities. Bold, active squirrels moved faster. Also, squirrels that were bolder, more aggressive and more active had greater access to habitats, such as rocks. The location of the habitat is important because it can provide a belter point for observing and evading predators. Interestingly, habitat is also associated with sociability.

“Animal personality is a hard science, but if it makes you relate to animals more, maybe people will be more interested in conserving them,” said Alipcrti.

1. What’s the significance of the findings in paragraph 1?

A．To better protect wildlife.

B．To know more about space.

C．To observe squirrels’ behavior.

D．To explore squirrels’ personalities.

2. What do bolder squirrels tend to do in paragraph 2?

A．Hunt for more food.	B．Work against each other.
C．Show their personalities.	D．Attract less predators.

3. What does the underlined word “evading” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Keeping.	B．Refusing.
C．Killing.	D．Avoiding.

4. What’s Aliperti’s attitude towards doing research on animal personality?

A．Skeptical.	B．Supportive.
C．Worried.	D．Tolerant.

10 . When one door closes to Li, another one opens. Born with severe hearing loss, Li has found her way to communicate with the world—through painting. Moreover, painting led Li to meet her husband Hu at the Changsha Vocational and Technical School. Losing his hearing due to medication when he was 1 year old, Hu is also an art-lover.

Before learning to paint in primary school, Li always felt lonely in a silent world. She knew she was different from her peers because she could not hear. But a painting class opened for her a door to creativity and away of expression.

Graduating from college in 2005, Li got a job as a typist at a public institute in Zhuzhou, Hunan. It was a decent job in the eyes of her father, but Li was not happy because she could not communicate with other colleagues and the lonely feeling from childhood came back.

In 2016, Li quit the job and joined her husband’s company, which specializes in 3D wall and ground paintings, to be a wall painter. All the five painters there are hearing-impaired. “I know how difficult it is for hearing impaired people to find a job. So I want to help those who are passionate about painting to pursue their dreams,” said Hu, adding that the company is more like a family.

As all the people are hearing-impaired, communication with clients is the most common challenge that the team faces. Li said, “We communicate through typed words, which is slow and has caused us to lose some clients.” Apart from that, Li is confident about the team’s painting and design skills.

Li hopes that their stories can inspire more people facing similar battles. The painter said, “Life can be challenging to the hearing loss community who are somehow excluded (排除) from conversations, but we are not alone, and we can find our way of expressing ourselves.”

1. What does Li have in common with her husband?

A．They are crazy about painting.

B．They were born with hearing loss.

C．They set up a company after graduation.

D．They started learning painting before primary school.

2. Why did Hu hire hearing-impaired people in his company?

A．To please his wife.

B．To realize his painting dream.

C．To prove they can do everything.

D．To help the same people as him.

3. What can we infer about Li’s team members?

A．They are professional.

B．They are all Li’s family.

C．They are famous artists.

D．They can’t communicate with others.

4. What do Li’s words in the last paragraph mean?

A．Life is not fair for the disabled.

B．She hopes to be treated as a normal person.

C．She is hopeful about her career and future life.

D．Working in her husband’s company makes her depressed.