1 . Grandparents are known as great companions (陪伴) and often give their grandchildren lots of love. Being a grandparent is a big job, but grandparents have a lot of experience. In many cultures, grandparents are looked up to as a source of wisdom (智慧).
Some kids live far away from their grandparents so they stay in touch by phone, through email, and with letters. Other kids live close to their grandparents, making it easy to visit often. And still other kids live with their grandparents.
Sometimes, the family is sharing the grandparents’ house and sometimes the grandparents move into the family’s house. Any change can be difficult to adjust (适应) to. But after the adjustment period, you might find you enjoy having someone else in the house and a new person to spend time with. If your grandparent needs help, you might be the one to lend a hand. And your grandparent might be able to help you by playing a game with you, telling the best stories or fixing you a snack after school.
Quite a few kids live with grandparents who take care of them in place of their parents. Kids who live with grandparents might miss their moms or dads and wish they could live with them instead. The grandparent may find it difficult to keep up with a kid and all of his or her needs. In this situation, both the kid and the grandparent should work together. Loving and caring for each other can be the glue that keeps everything together.
And one more thing: You might want to put the first Sunday after Labor Day on your calendar. Why? It’s Grandparent’s Day!
1. In many countries, grandparents ________.| A．look forward to having a job | B．live far away from their grandchildren |
| C．are regarded as rich in knowledge and experience | D．are considered to be the best friends and companions |
| A．kids don’t like to live with their grandparents |
| B．parents shouldn’t leave children to their grandparents |
| C．grandparents find it too hard to live with their grandchildren |
| D．living together does good to grandparents and grandchildren |
| A．By sharing the best stories. | B．By having common interests. |
| C．By meeting each other’s needs. | D．By loving and looking after each other. |
| A．to celebrate Grandparent’s Day | B．to visit grandparents on Sunday |
| C．that Labor Day is an important day | D．that Grandparent’s Day is on Sunday |
1. Where will the woman go today?
| A．Buckingham Palace. | B．Tower Bridge. | C．The British Museum. |
| A．They had to wear uniforms. |
| B．They couldn’t be taken photos of. |
| C．They were forbidden from moving. |
3 . Western people often host a spooky movie night for friends or family during the Halloween. Here are some tips for planning a fun event.
Schedule a date
A Friday or Saturday night might be a good option, so you can start the movie after dark — making the mood more scary —and not have to worry about staying up too late on a school night. Once you have a date and time picked out, reach out to anyone you would like to invite.
Pick a movie
You can check out the Halloween-themed movies on your family’s streaming services or see what you might be able to download for free from the Internet. If you want friends to help you choose the fun and age-appropriate movie for everyone who is attending, you could narrow the selection down to three options and take a quick vote when everyone arrives.
Serve snacks
Popcorn is a classic movie treat and easy to make for a group. You can serve it plain or set up a popcorn bar. Place one large bowl of popcorn on a counter with several smaller bowls of toppings — like chocolate chips, small candies, and Pamesan cheese. Set out brown paper lunch bags, festive stickers, and black and orange markers so guests can personalize their bags.
Get the room ready
Depending on how many people you are hosting, you may want to add extra seating to your TV area. You could gather beanbag chairs, sleeping bags, and extra pillows to make the space cozy. Decorate the room in a Halloween theme like setting out plastic pumpkins with fake candles inside to help create a spooky mood and cutting out spider and ghost shapes to hang from the ceiling.
1. Why are weekends better for a movie night?| A．Because more friends will come. | B．Because children have no homework. |
| C．Because Halloween is often on Fridays. | D．Because nobody will worry about sleeping late. |
| A．To label the topping bowls. | B．To stick the paper spiders. |
| C．To differ guests’ lunch bags. | D．To decorate the plastic pumpkins. |
| A．A travel flyer. | B．A culture website. |
| C．A fashion magazine. | D．A sales email. |
1. Who is the talk aimed at?
| A．Children. | B．Teenagers | C．Adults. |
| A．They offer courses for beginners only. |
| B．They provide flexible language lessons. |
| C．They give online learning materials for free. |
| A．Native speakers | B．Qualified professors. | C．Experienced travelers. |
| A．To teach communication skills. |
| B．To promote courses. |
| C．To discuss a program. |
5 . The poster child for generative Ai software is a shocking human mimic. It represents a potential new era in research, but brings risks.
It co-wrote scientific papers-sometimes secretly. It drafted outlines for presentations, proposals and classes, churned out computer code, and served as a sounding board for research ideas. It also invented references, made up facts and repeated hate speech. Most of all, it caught people’s imaginations. ChatGPT took on whatever role its interlocutors desired—and some they didn’t.
ChatGPT’s only objective is to plausibly continue dialogues in the style of its training data. But in doing so, it and other generative artificial-intelligence(AI) programme are changing how scientists work. They have also reopened debates about the limits of AI, the nature of human intelligence and how best to adjust the interaction between the two.
For some researchers ChatGPT has become an invaluable lab assistant—helping to summarize or write manuscripts, polish applications and write codes. ChatGPT and related software can help to brainstorm ideas, enhance scientific search engines and identify research gaps in the literature, says Marinka Zitnik, who works on AI for medical research at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
But the technology is also dangerous. Automated conversational agents can aid cheats and plagiarists; left unchecked, they could damage the well of scientific knowledge. Undisclosed AI-made content has begun to spread through the Internet and some scientists have admitted using ChatGPT to generate articles without declaring it.
No one knows how much more there is to get from ChatGPT-like systems. Their capabilities might yet be limited by the availability of computing power or new training data. But the generative AI revolution has started. And there’s no turning back.
1. Which aspect of ChatGPT is Paragraph 2 about?| A．Its potential. | B．Its influence | C．Its application. | D．Its working theory. |
| A．Secretly. | B．Fairly. | C．Reasonably. | D．Immediately |
| A．Positive. | B．Critical. | C．Concerned. | D．Unclear. |
| A．More Users’ Welfare: ChatGPT | B．AI Revolution; No Turning Back |
| C．ChatGPT: More Functions Developed | D．ChatGPT and Science: for Good and Bad |
6 . The following are some unsung heroes bringing a unique viewpoint and approach to the global challenge of environmental conservation.
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg, a young environmental voice from Sweden, has not only caught global attention but transformed it into a powerful movement. Through her “Fridays for Future” initiative, Greta encourages students worldwide to advocate for climate action, calling for the urgency of addressing climate change. Her touching speeches at international forums, coupled with a refusal to accept inaction have made her a symbol of youth-driven environmental advocacy.
Wangari Maathai
The late Nobel Peace Prize winner from Kenya left a permanent mark through her pioneering Green Belt Movement. This grassroots initiative empowered communities, particularly women, to fight against deforestation through tree planting. Maathai’s legacy lives on in the millions of trees planted across Africa, reflecting her belief that sustainable development starts at the grassroots level, with communities actively engaged in preserving their environment
Isaton Ceesay
Isatou Ceesay, an environmentalist from The Gambia, has emerged as a pioneer in the fight against plastic pollution. Recognizing the detrimental impact of plastic waste on local communities and ecosystems, Ceesay founded the “Women’s Initiative Gambia”. Through creative recycling initiatives, she empowers women to repurpose plastic waste, promoting economic independence within communities.
Ma Jun
Ma Jun began his career as an investigative journalist, but has quickly risen to become an outstanding Chinese environmentalist, known for his pioneering work in water pollution control. As the founder of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs(IPE), Ma Jun developed the China Water Pollution Map, an interactive online tool that tracks water quality data and exposes pollution sources across the country.
1. What group of peoples “Friday’s for Future” for?| A．Women. | B．The grassroots. | C．Young students. | D．Poor farmers. |
| A．Preserving trees. | B．Community cooperation. |
| C．Plastic pollution. | D．Addressing climate change. |
| A．Greta Thunberg. | B．Wangari Maathai. | C．Isatou Ceesay. | D．Ma Jun. |
7 . The future is coming, and sooner than you think. These emerging technologies will change the way we live, how we look after our bodies and help us prevent a climate disaster.
E-skin
 | A soft e-skin could make giving and receiving hugs over the Internet a reality. It can sense the wearer’s movements and change them into electrical signals, which are picked up by another e-skin system via Bluetooth and changed into mechanical vibrations (振动) that copy the movements. |
 | Thanks to a computer algorithm (算法) and a brain-computer interface, a brain-reading robot arm has been created by Swiss researchers. It’s especially intended for patients who can’t move their upper or lower body. It could learn users’ preference and be designed accordingly. |
 | Researchers in the US developed a novel method to 3D print cooked food. It makes a 7-ingredient cheesecake using food inks. The technology could be used to create personalized meals for everyone from professional athletes to patients with dietary conditions. |
 | American Researchers have turned red bricks, the cheap and widely available building material into “smart bricks” that can store energy like a battery to power up electric devices. They can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times within an hour. |
1. What could be realised via E-skin technology?
| A．Assisting the disabled. | B．Changing skin of hands. |
| C．Imitating human’s skin. | D．Hugging a person online. |
| A．E-skin. | B．Brain reading robots. |
| C．3D-printed food. | D．Energy storing bricks. |
| A．They have similar target users. | B．They use the same research methods. |
| C．They both provide personalized design. | D．Their research staff are from the same country. |
8 . Donna Edmonds certainly knows a thing or two about getting children outside of the classroom. Having been a teacher for 23 years, she’s now in charge of Farms For City Children, a program enabling children in cities to explore the farms in the British countryside. Visiting children can take part in the farm tasks: growing and harvesting in the gardens; caring for chickens and looking after the land; and cooking up a home-grown meal in the farmhouse kitchen.
Donna’s connection with the charity led to a life-changing experience. She explained, “In November 2000, my headteacher said we’d got this trip going to a farm. I didn’t want to do that. I’m from south London and had no interest in farming.” But the week at Farms For City Children changed Donna’s entire life.
Donna said, “Quite honestly, the nature connection gap in our society is embarrassing; there are so many children who haven’t been to the countryside. I remember asking them what cows drank and they replied “milk”. Seeing them fall in love with nature was incredible to my life.”
Donna believes there is a strong need for teachers to bring city children into close contact with nature. Farms for City Children was founded in 1976, and it has now embraced a new direction — more children from different backgrounds can get into the countryside and they may one day even make a career from it.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．It praises an excellent teacher. | B．It introduces a school program. |
| C．It tells the adventure of a field trip. | D．It shows the difficulty in education. |
| A．They badly need to connect with nature. | B．They felt embarrassed in the countryside. |
| C．They are unlikely to fall in love with nature. | D．They know nothing about biology knowledge. |
| A．Help with young people’s career plan. | B．The right direction of farming development. |
| C．Improvement of children’s school performance. | D．Better ways to improve farmers’ living conditions. |
9 . A wellness holiday refers to tourism activities based on improving and enhancing a person’s well being. With wellness tourism expected to grow quickly, it is clear that more of us than ever before are placing wellness at the top of our travel agendas.
Wellness travel for the mind
If travel broadens the mind, it can also benefit mental health and spiritual well being. Meditation retreats (a practice of thinking) that support self-development, observation, and awareness are popular destinations and often feature exercises like yoga which improve both physical and mental well being.
A strong body means a healthy mind. Travel breaks that combine physical activity with relaxation treatments tick multiple boxes. Many destinations feature health clubs and modern gyms.
Wellness travel for the family
Wellness travel can deliver the same benefits for the whole family.
| A．Wellness travel for the spirit |
| B．Wellness travel for the body |
| C．Any holiday can be described as a wellness holiday |
| D．People also seek out places for spiritual deep thinking |
| E．That’s why many spas and wellness centers suit for all age groups |
| F．Let’s explore the features that make wellness tourism such a large industry |
| G．They also include personal training facilities and a range of exercise classes |
Alice Walker
Set in rural Georgia at the turn of the last century, Alice Walker’s epic novel weaves the heartbreaking and hopeful tale of Celie, an uneducated black teen fighting for her dignity and freedom. The novel bravely and honestly addresses issues like women’s struggles and ultimate resilience. Published in 1982, it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award.
Catcher in the Rye
J. D. Salinger
Poetic and heartfelt Holden Coalfield is one of the most famous literary characters of all time. Published first in 1951, Catcher in the Rye brilliantly captures the lonely teen experience of having to grow up and leave the tenderness and innocence of childhood behind. Though young adult fiction didn’t exist in its current form when J. D. Salinger wrote the novel, it’s considered one of the first teen books and consistently appears on high school reading lists.
The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende
The 1982 novel—the best-selling Spanish-language novel of all time—revolves around three generations of Trueba women. Females’ struggle and themes of ancestors exist in all parts of the book, as is magic; no surprise since this work of magical realism was influenced by Gabriel Garcfa Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, which won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan
This 1989 classic book explores four Chinese American families who gather and eventually recount their pasts in China and struggles as immigrants (移民) in the United States. Heart warning, heartbreaking, and a delight to read, The Joy Luck Club is one of the classic books that influenced a generation of Chinese American creators.
1. Which of the following books was published the earliest?| A．The Color Purple. | B．Catcher in the Rye. |
| C．The House of the Spirits. | D．The Joy Luck Club. |
| A．Isabel Allende. | B．J.D.Salinger. | C．Alice Walker. | D．Amy Tan. |
| A．They are relevant to females’ fight. | B．They influence three generations. |
| C．They address some teen problems. | D．They won the prizes in the same year. |
