1 . Packaging can play a greater role in keeping produce and other foods fresh, therefore minimizing food waste — especially if consumers can better understand those packaging technologies. That’s among the takeaways of research led by Michigan State University (MSU)’s School of Packaging, detailed in a recently released white paper.

In the United States, food waste in landfills doubled from 1990 to 2020, according to data shared by the US Environmental Protection Agency this year. Researchers cited data showing 40% of the food supply is wasted each year, with 43% of that happening at the consumer or household level.

Ameripen, the only organization exclusively focused on US public policy for the entire packaging industry, and the Environmental Research & Education Foundation funded research that included a survey of more than 1,000 people in the United States. Ameripen said it wanted to know what role packaging could play in reducing household food waste as well as understand consumer awareness of food packaging’s value and functions.

The survey asked consumers about their understanding of packaging forms and willingness to pay more for packaging designed to reduce food waste, among other areas.

The study found that whole fruits and vegetables, particularly bananas and lettuce, are the foods most wasted by households, with dairy products, prepared packaged foods and leftovers also common culprits (罪魁祸首). “Half-eaten packaged food products and food without packaging that went bad before it was eaten are the two primary reasons for food waste in American households, indicating there is opportunity for improved packaging design to help consumers with extending shelf life, reuse and size,” the white paper states.

Researchers reported that while consumers’ current understanding of packaging technologies was “limited”, they indicated “they would pay more for food contained in packaging that extends freshness and shelf life.”

“There’s a need to design packaging for produce that is currently not packaged; that most of the produce in this study was wasted is because there is no packaging at all,” MSU’s Korey Fennel said during the webinar (网络研讨会), also noting the importance of “intelligent packaging” that could indicate the shelf life of food products.

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

A．Showing.

B．Continuing.

C．Recovering.

D．Reducing.

2. What does the author intend to do in the second paragraph?

A．Summarize the previous paragraph.	B．Provide some advice for the readers.
C．Add some background information.	D．Introduce a new topic for discussion.

3. How did the researchers conduct their study?

A．By making observations.	B．By asking questions.
C．By carrying out experiments.	D．By referring to former studies.

4. What is the consumers’ attitude to purchasing packaged food according to the study?

A．Cautious.

B．Unclear.

C．Critical.

D．Favorable.

2 . Estefanía Rebellón was once a migrant (流动的) child. She was 10 when her family fled Cali, Colombia, because of death threats to her father, who had been forced into hiding. They settled in Miami. Despite the challenges she faced as a migrant child, she was lucky to have teachers who advocated for her and guided her along the way.

Rebellón moved from Miami to Los Angeles when she was 21 to pursue an acting career. In 2018, she was so moved after volunteering in migrant camps in Tijuana that she put her career on hold. “There were no schools set up to help these kids. They were walking around the camps barefoot,” she said.

Rebellón and her partner Kyle Schmidt used about $1,000 of their savings to buy tents and supplies and set up a makeshift (临时的) school at the border. They enlisted volunteer teachers to provide learning opportunities in the camps. In the months that followed, when those families living in the camps were moved to shelters, Rebellón and Schmidt wanted to continue offering educational services.

“I thought, ‘Why don’t we turn a bus into a mobile classroom, and we could take it to all the different shelters?’” Rebellón said. Over the next year, Rebellón and Schmidt bought and transformed a bus, partnered with shelters, and drove the bus over the border.

In 2019, she co-founded the Yes We Can World Foundation, a nonprofit organization that believes every child has the right to education and safe spaces regardless of their location, current legal status or economic background.

Rebellón’s organization hires professional teachers and tailors their curriculum (课程) to the specific needs of each student. “The program has been officially approved by the education secretary in Mexico and serves children aged 3 to 15 — a crucial period for education,” Rebellón said.

Today, the Yes We Can World Foundation educates 250 — 300 kids a day through its four school locations along the border and three mobile school buses. “Since 2019, the group has served more than 3,100 migrant children from 10 countries,” Rebellón said.

1. What can be learned about Rebellón from the first paragraph?

A．She received death threats.	B．Her teachers helped her a lot.
C．She was forced into hiding.	D．Her acting career began early.

2. What did Rebellón realize while volunteering in migrant camps?

A．She should value her hard-won life.

B．Children could be happy in any environment.

C．Migrant kids lacked opportunities for schooling.

D．She was lucky to have the ability to help others.

3. Why did Rebellón turn a bus into a classroom?

A．To set the scene for her show.

B．To realize her childhood dream.

C．To give full play to the value of a bus.

D．To offer children convenient access to education.

4. What can we say about the impact of the Yes We Can World Foundation?

A．It’s far-reaching.	B．It’s predictable.
C．It’s short-lived.	D．It’s unidentifiable.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What can the students read in the No.1 Reading Room?

A．Books in Chinese.

B．Books in foreign languages.

C．Newspapers and magazines.

2. Where is the No.3 Reading Room?

A．On the first floor.

B．On the second floor.

C．On the third floor.

3. Which is for teachers only?

A．The No.2 Reading Room.

B．The No.4 Reading Room.

C．The Reference Materials Center.

4. How long can the students keep the books?

A．For two weeks.

B．For a month.

C．For five weeks.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does the woman say thanks to the man?

A．He is driving her around.

B．He introduced a friend to her.

C．He recommended a job to her.

2. What do we know about the first flat?

A．It is far from the supermarket.

B．It has an old-fashioned kitchen.

C．It is unaffordable for the woman.

3. What do the two girls most probably want to do?

A．Sell their apartment.

B．Look for a roommate.

C．Share a room with the woman.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does Sarah feel sad?

A．She has lost her cat.

B．She has quarreled with her friend.

C．The schoolwork is so hard for her.

2. What does Mr. Thompson advise Sarah to do?

A．Get a new cat.

B．Look for Tony.

C．Read a book.

3. What does Sarah promise to do?

A．Get home early.

B．Focus on her lessons.

C．Talk to Miss Lennon.

6 . On one side of the room sits the cutest life-size stuffed animal (填充玩具) you’ve ever seen. On the other side rests a real dog — the same size, shape and even the same name as the stuffed version. You get to sit next to both of these furry friends and pet their fur. Guess which one will make your brain light up?

If you guessed the real dog, you’re right. Stuffed animals, as cute and lovely as they may be, just don’t effectively activate our frontal cortex (额叶皮层), the part of the brain overseeing how we think and feel, according to a new study published in the journal PLOSONE. The study found an even stronger rise in brain activity when the person petted the fur of a real dog versus a stuffed animal.

“We chose to research the frontal cortex because this brain area is involved in several executive (执行) functions, such as attention, working memory, and problem-solving. But it is also involved in social and emotional processes,” said study lead author Rahel Marti, a doctoral student in the division of clinical psychology at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

Why is this finding important? It provides additional evidence that live human-animal interaction therapy (疗法) may promote cognitive and emotional activity in the brain. Marti said, “If patients with deficits in motivation, attention, and socioemotional functioning show higher emotional involvement in activities connected to a real dog, then such activities could increase the chance of learning and of achieving treatment aims.”

“This is an interesting, seriously conducted study that provides new insight into associations between human-animal interaction and regional prefrontal brain activity in healthy adults. We found that brain activity increased when the contact with a real dog or a stuffed animal became closer. This confirms previous studies relating closer contact with animals to increased brain activity,” Marti said.

1. How does the author introduce the subject of the text?

A．By listing some figures.	B．By giving an example.
C．By setting a situation.	D．By analyzing a phenomenon.

2. Why did the researchers choose to study frontal cortex?

A．It is involved in several body parts.

B．It is the most important part of the brain.

C．It plays a key part in performing functions.

D．It provides evidence for live human-animal therapy.

3. What does the underlined word “deficits” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Styles.

B．Faults.

C．Adventures.

D．Sources.

4. What may be a suitable title for the text?

A．What Petting A Dog Can Do For Your Brain?

B．Why A Pet Dog Is Important To A Person?

C．Which Part Of The Brain Is Involved In Emotion?

D．How Can A Patient Benefit From Petting A Dog?

7 . I was on holiday in the Dominican Republic ________ the hotel offered me a trial scuba dive (水肺潜水). It was something I’d always ________, so I gave it a go.

The first session was extremely short but, ________, it was enough time to familiarize the equipment. After ________ it, I was alarmed at suddenly being in ________ of what we can’t ________ without — air. But actually, it’s no different from driving a car. You have an air gauge (气压表) for your tank, which you watch ________ it were the fuel supply.

That session was ________ by a dive in the sea. I was taken ten meters down and, despite being followed by a guide, I had the greatest feeling of ________ in this completely silent world.

I knew then that I wanted to take up this new hobby seriously. So after flying back to England, I started a Diving Skills ________. A ________ came four months later when I did an open water dive at a place called Grangewaters. When I went in, it was full of black mud, so I couldn’t see anything. By then I had done all the theory, I ________ and found my way out finally.

Now, I ________ scuba diving at a top dive center. It’s so ________, especially when you meet someone who has done their first dive — they have discovered an exciting new world without ________, a world I love so much.

1.

A．until

B．unless

C．before

D．when

2.

A．ignore

B．desire

C．analyze

D．tolerate

3.

A．intentionally

B．unfortunately

C．surprisingly

D．desperately

4.

A．putting on

B．taking off

C．picking up

D．taking apart

5.

A．charge

B．favor

C．memory

D．search

6.

A．react

B．survive

C．faint

D．escape

7.

A．as if

B．even though

C．now that

D．given that

8.

A．disturbed

B．instructed

C．followed

D．defined

9.

A．grief

B．freedom

C．panic

D．joy

10.

A．experiment

B．course

C．presentation

D．game

11.

A．signal

B．failure

C．passion

D．shock

12.

A．calmed down

B．looked up

C．ran off

D．rolled over

13.

A．skip

B．restrict

C．await

D．teach

14.

A．skilful

B．specific

C．satisfying

D．awkward

15.

A．diving

B．cars

C．mud

D．boundaries

8 . Grammy Awards don’t only go to the people who produce and perform songs. For just over a decade, they’ve also been given out to those who teach others how to make music. The Music Educator Award, presented by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum, recognizes those who have made a “significant contribution and demonstrate devotion to music education”.

This year it went to Annie Ray, the performing arts department chair and orchestra director at Annandale High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. She was honored for her efforts to make music accessible to all students, particularly those with disabilities. Ray got to attend the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, take selfies with pop stars and bring home both a $10,000 prize and matching grant for her school’s music program.

Ray created the Crescendo Orchestra (管弦乐队) for students with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as a parent orchestra that teaches nearly 200 caregivers a year to play the same instrument as their child.

She was inspired in large part by the diversity of the Annandale community, which she says represents over 60 countries, including many immigrants. “There’s a. lot of cultures that might typically clash, and they come together in this very beautiful harmony,” Ray explained. “And that’s really uniquely expressed in the orchestra classroom, where we’re just all music-ing together.”

Ray says the Crescendo Orchestra, which was born out of the pandemic, doesn’t necessarily share the social goals of a program like the Special Olympics. The focus is on teaching students how to play an instrument, through one-on-one instruction tailored to their needs. That involves tools like music scarves, egg shakers, rhythm sticks and cardboard instruments. Ray also works with a local charity to give damaged instruments a second life in her classroom.

The orchestra is about much more than just making music, however. Ray says the program gives students a chance to develop their collaboration skills, make mistakes and learn the art of refining something.

1. Which of the following is the reason for Annie Ray’s winning a Grammy?

A．Her determined effort to make music.	B．Her contribution to the high school.
C．Her commitment to music education.	D．Her excellence in performing songs.

2. What mainly provided inspiration for Ray?

A．Her enthusiasm for instructing music.	B．The diverse cultures of the community.
C．Her burning desire to win a Grammy.	D．The severe disabilities of her students.

3. According to Ray, what is the purpose of the Crescendo Orchestra?

A．To fix damaged instruments for a local charity.

B．To help students to face the pandemic bravely.

C．To make students familiar with music devices.

D．To give students need-centred music teaching.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．A music teacher won a Grammy	B．A music teacher changed lives
C．A Grammy winner took selfies	D．A Grammy ceremony was held

9 . Summer sea ice in the Arctic could melt almost completely by the 2030s — roughly a decade earlier than projected — even if humans cut back drastically on greenhouse gas emissions, new research suggests.

An ice-free summer, also called a “blue ocean event”, will happen when the sea ice drops below one million square kilometers, writes Jonathan Bamber, a professor of physical geography at the University of Bristol, in the Conversation.

Previous assessments using models have estimated an ice-free summer under high and intermediate emissions scenarios by 2050. But researchers noticed differences between what climate models predicted about what would happen to sea ice and what they’ve actually seen through observations. “The models, on average, underestimate sea ice decline compared with observations,” says Nathan Gillett, an Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist.

Now, in a new study published in Nature Communications, Gillett and his teammates changed these models to more closely fit satellite data collected over the past 40 years. Using these adapted models, the researchers projected ice changes under different possible levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Their paper suggests that regardless of the emissions scenario, “we may experience an unprecedented ice-free Arctic climate in the next decade or two.”

While sea ice naturally decreases in the summer and refreezes during the winter, summer ice coverage has steadily been declining over the past few decades because of climate change. And Arctic ice melting happens faster itself — as ice disappears, it exposes more of the dark blue ocean, which absorbs more heat and leads to more melting. This process has led to the region warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the globe since 1979.

Sea ice decline could have disastrous consequences that extend to the rest of the planet, including sea level rise and disturbance to weather patterns and ecosystems. Animals like polar bears and seals that rely on Arctic ice to survive could be placed at risk.

1. According to the new research, what will happen concerning summer sea ice in the Arctic?

A．Its complete melting may occur earlier than expected.

B．Its vanishing once and for all will be in less than 10 years.

C．Its dropping will give rise to so-called “blue ocean event”.

D．Its melting can be prevented in greenhouse gas emissions.

2. What effort did the researchers make after figuring out the problem of the previous assessments?

A．They abandoned the attempt to use models.

B．They collected satellite data over the past 40 years.

C．They adapted the models to be consistent with the actual cases.

D．They predicted accurately ice changes in regions of the Arctic.

3. How is the last paragraph but one developed?

A．By listing statistics.	B．By giving definitions.
C．By making a comparison.	D．By analyzing cause and effect.

4. What message may the text be trying to convey to readers?

A．Pride comes before a fall.	B．Man proposes, god disposes.
C．A good beginning is half done.	D．If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.

10 . Torrie, 16, and her friend Azarria were driving back home when another car hit them. When Torrie opened her eyes, she _________ their car had been pushed into a tree. There came _________ from the gathering crowd as the car was smoking. Torrie’s door wouldn’t open, but her window became an escape _________.

“Everyone ran away, fearing the car was going to _________. But turning around, I didn’t see Azarria. I ran back and saw she was _________ in the back seat. I decided to help her out of the _________.”

“I didn’t know how I made it. I just became stronger at that moment,” she says. She _________ a bystander to call 911 and started CPR.

After 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths, Azarria began to show _________ of life. Just then, the paramedics _________ to rush Azarria to the nearest hospital.

__________ for both girls, their Lakewood High School offers a First-Aid Skills class taught by Erika Miller. Torrie had earned her __________ in the class just the day before this accident.

“I was absolutely astonished,” Erika says. “In my years of teaching, I never __________ a student would finish the course and in 24 hours have to __________ CPR on her friend.”

“I was grateful to Torrie, but I wasn’t surprised.” Azarria says. “She would have done that for anyone. That’s just __________ of her.

“First-aid training should be a(n) __________ in schools,” Torrie says. “It can make a difference between life and death.”

1.

A．examined

B．recognized

C．determined

D．panicked

2.

A．antiques

B．breakthroughs

C．refreshments

D．screams

3.

A．route

B．frame

C．release

D．motion

4.

A．proceed

B．explode

C．slip

D．crash

5.

A．noble

B．humble

C．swollen

D．unconscious

6.

A．highlight

B．duration

C．chaos

D．insight

7.

A．instructed

B．stimulated

C．alarmed

D．disturbed

8.

A．symbols

B．routines

C．luxury

D．signs

9.

A．blew up

B．relied on

C．rolled up

D．carried on

10.

A．Fortunately

B．Literally

C．Particularly

D．Urgently

11.

A．barrier

B．certificate

C．deadline

D．living

12.

A．defended

B．grasped

C．anticipated

D．dominated

13.

A．perform

B．cast

C．cite

D．expose

14.

A．awesome

B．elegant

C．fond

D．typical

15.

A．intervention

B．requirement

C．exception

D．perspective