Factors That Influence
the Applicants' Choices of Major
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2 . I like an organized, clean house. I am, however, often in the minority in the house.
Every time I walk in the front door and make the turn to hang my coat in the mudroom (Amudroom is a space set aside in a house where people can take off their outdoor clothing, remove their soiled shoes, store equipment), I frown at the mess that meets my eyes. Lots of shoes littered all over the floor, along with slippers (拖鞋) and anything you can imagine. No matter how many times I attempt to restore the scene, this room immediately ends up back in mess.
The other day I started to think about why the mu droom is the most challenging room to keep in order. I came to the realization that it is because the mu droom is both the beginning and the end, it is the jumping off point to the adventures of our day and it is the storage ground when the sun sets. In turn, those four walls have become a holder of memories, and a museum of my family’s treasures, as each item tells a story of those that I love most.
The bright white Nike high tops cast off on the floor belong to my oldest son, nearing 12,presenting his emerging fashion sense. The worn black and blue runners introduce my youngest,a lively tornado in a 10-year-old’s body.
The slippers belong to my husband. They were a Christmas present from the boys and me many years ago. During the colder months, it is the first thing that my husband does when he return s home from work, he slips on those grey wool slippers and continues to settle in. He loves and wears them so much that the initial pair wore right through the toe. He won’t part with those treasures but now has a second pair; the exact same make and model.
Recently it occurred to me that my annoyance at the mudroom chaos is temporary. This disorder will last only a few years. The boys are getting older, and the toys and mess will move on ... as will my sons eventually. This makes me sad for what I know will feel like a big loss. Each day that I see that collection of goods means that my house is full of love, energy, passion and family.
1. What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 2?| A．Intense desire to be clean. | B．Strong ha te of the mudroom. |
| C．Ongoing struggle to maintain order. | D．Great tension between her and her family. |
| A．Her regret and restart. | B．Her wonder and willpower. |
| C．Her frustration and forgiveness. | D．Her acceptance and appreciation. |
| A．To prove their comfort. | B．To show their emotional value. |
| C．To offer insight into his daily life. | D．To praise his money management. |
| A．Loss? Universal Gain! | B．Chaos? Life’s Loving Marks! |
| C．Litter? Proof of Daily Routine! | D．Mudroom? Family’s Obligation! |
1. Where did the speaker use to live as a child?
| A．In the city. | B．In a village. | C．In the town. |
| A．She is a writer. | B．She is an editor. | C．She is a village official. |
| A．To display her success. | B．To get inspiration. | C．To show her regret. |
1. What happened to Laura in the South Pole?
| A．Her fingers got hurt. | B．Her glasses broke. | C．Some stories frightened her. |
| A．The laptop was stolen. |
| B．The owner failed his duty. |
| C．The police were unprofessional. |
| A．By reading a lot. | B．By learning boat riding. | C．By enjoying herself leisurely. |
| A．Going to islands. | B．Getting married. | C．Climbing a mountain. |
1. What animal does the woman prefer?
| A．Rabbits. | B．Snakes. | C．Parrots. |
| A．In the zoo. | B．In a pet shop. | C．In an animal shelter. |
| A．Go home. | B．Have a party. | C．Stay here. |
6 . With summer fast approaching, it’s time to book your trips.
Fail to disclose pre-existing medical conditions. It’s crucial that you tell your insurance provider about any medical conditions you have.
Don’t let your insurance provider know if there are any changes to your pre-existing medical conditions. To make sure you’re not out of pocket during your holiday, you need to inform your insurance provider of any developments in your medical history.
Get your details wrong when booking travel insurance. Make sure to check your details carefully. You won’t be covered if you’ve given your insurer the wrong information. Double-check everything you’ve entered before finalizing your travel insurance.
Make sure you compare key features and benefits of travel insurance policies, and not just the price. Insurance is vital for your trip, so make sure you take the time to understand what you’re paying for.
| A．Leave buying insurance until the last minute. |
| B．Taking out an annual policy for a long-stay trip. |
| C．This includes any medical problems you have experienced. |
| D．Ensure you check your details as soon as you receive your documents. |
| E．Insurers ask for medical changes in order to give you the right level of cover. |
| F．Make sure you have travel insurance and cards to avoid any unexpected payments. |
| G．However, there are several travel insurance mistakes to stop you from getting a payout. |
7 . Cut into the trunk of a pine tree, and you will see a familiar series of concentric (同中心的) rings. But not all trunks tell the same story. A study published in November reveals that the world’s oldest trees had a very different structure.
Some 370 million years ago, cladoxylopsid trees stood at least eight meters tall, covered by branches instead of leaves. Today their rare remains reveal little about their insides; in most cases their inner structures had rotted before the trees fossilize, and storms had filled them with sand. But the recent find of two well-preserved fossils in China has exposed the trees’ inner workings — which are like no other species studied before.
The cladoxylopsid tree was empty inside. Around the edges were thick, vertical strands (缕) containing xylem (木质部), a plant tissue that conducts water and mineral salts from the roots to all other parts. Modern trees add new layers of multiple xylem as they grow, creating a woody trunk with a single set of concentric rings. But in cladoxylopsids, “each strand of xylem had its own growth rings,” says scientist Christopher M. Berry of Cardiff University in Wales.
Over a tree’s lifetime the strands would weave and cross. “It’s just incredibly complex,” Berry says. He likens these networks of flexible tissues and structures to the Eiffel Tower—if tower could grow, extend and split itself apart over time.
Although the cladoxylopsid tree has no living descendants today, it is very important. Brigitte Meyer-Berthaud, a scientist, explains that these trees were among “the major carbon reservoirs of the Paleozoic”, a time period from 542 million to 251 million years ago. Cladoxylopsids made up our planet’s first forests, capturing carbon from the atmosphere and playing a part in adjusting Earth’s climate. Given this fact, maybe we should study these trees for the forests.
1. What makes it hard to study cladoxylopsid trees?| A．Their thick leaves. | B．Their amazing height. |
| C．Their poorly preserved remains. | D．Their fossilized inner structures. |
| A．They had many separate growth rings. |
| B．Their solid cores contributed to their growth. |
| C．They had a single set of regular concentric rings. |
| D．Their roots needed more mineral salts than water. |
| A．To stress the beauty of the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．To prove the economic status of the tree. |
| C．To disclose how limited the tree’s lifetime is. |
| D．To show how complex the tree’s networks are. |
| A．They were the only trees present during the Paleozoic era. |
| B．They helped scientists better protect rich historical culture. |
| C．They played a significant role in shaping the Earth as it is. |
| D．They determined the carbon content in the Earth’s atmosphere. |
8 . On the day after Thanksgiving, Allison Scott and her boyfriend, Alfred Valdivia, Jr., made the decision to head up to Big Bear Lake in California for a last-minute camping trip. The couple packed up their
Allison and Alfred
“He had a stick with a water bottle on it trying to signal. He couldn’t
Allison and Alfred climbed down to Eric and learned that he’d
Eric told the couple it was a “Thanksgiving miracle” they’d
Once Eric had been
| A．clothing | B．food | C．equipment | D．entertainment |
| A．fight | B．rescue | C．interest | D．adventure |
| A．picked | B．noticed | C．fetched | D．observed |
| A．paid | B．kept | C．gave | D．caught |
| A．Curious | B．Delighted | C．Frightened | D．Embarrassed |
| A．called | B．trapped | C．helped | D．absorbed |
| A．drink | B．eat | C．talk | D．walk |
| A．infected | B．influenced | C．impressed | D．improved |
| A．gave out | B．put out | C．set out | D．let out |
| A．breathe | B．acknowledge | C．compete | D．survive |
| A．saved | B．discovered | C．assisted | D．comforted |
| A．starving | B．healthy | C．uneasy | D．confused |
| A．fortunately | B．happily | C．safely | D．comfortably |
| A．stuck | B．tracked | C．panicked | D．treated |
| A．showed | B．pronounced | C．warned | D．promised |
9 . When a group of college students put their sorrows into action, they never imagined the project would fuel a nationwide movement to help deal with hunger and control on food waste.
But that’s exactly what the Farmlink Project has done since 2020, bringing together hundreds of young volunteers to rescue nearly 77 million pounds of excess food and deliver it to those in need. The organization’s efforts help farmers, the environment, and people struggling to feed their families all at once.
“In the United States, 40 million Americans don’t have enough food to eat. They don’t know where their next meal is going to come from,” said Aidan Reilly, who co-founded Farmlink. “Meanwhile, in the United States we’re throwing out over 100 billion pounds of food every year.”
Back in 2020, Reilly and his childhood friend James Kanoff were reading and watching news about food shortages, and they learned that area farms were forced to destroy excess produce that they couldn’t sell, especially with restaurants, schools and hotels closed. Reilly, Kanoff and a core group of friends worked together over Zoom, texted and e-mailed to contact farms coast to coast. “We didn’t really set out to start a nonprofit,” Reilly said. “We just thought, ‘There’re so many people suffering, if we can figure out one way to help, then that’ll be great.’”
In California, they found a farmer who had 13,000 eggs that could be donated, and Reilly offered to do the pickup and delivery himself. That was the first of many more deliveries. With “we’ll come to you,” as their catchphrase (标语), the group rented U-Haul trucks and attempted to do all the food pickup and deliveries themselves.
“We had a lot of hiccups in the beginning,” Reilly said. “We broke axles (车轴), loaded in 40,000 pounds of potatoes in a wrong way and had to try to drag them out by using another truck and a rope. But we made it work.”
“Farmlink has worked with more than 100 farms and 300 communities in the US, rescuing and moving enough food to distribute more than 64 million meals,” Reilly said.
1. What can we learn about Farmlink Project from the text?| A．It cooperated with the farms worldwide. | B．It helps relieve American poverty. |
| C．It was launched by college students. | D．It is supported by the government. |
| A．The produce was of poor quality. | B．Nobody came to purchase the produce. |
| C．The farmers refuse to sell it at a low price. | D．The produce was destroyed by natural disasters. |
| A．They were lack of experience. | B．They overloaded the supply. |
| C．They are mistake-free. | D．The vehicles are inadequate. |
| A．Americans faced a food shortage crisis. |
| B．How to reduce food waste in poor areas. |
| C．How to deliver farm produce to those in need. |
| D．Students took action to tackle hunger and food waste. |
I was anxious, sitting outside an operating theatre, worried about the fate of my son who had had a very serious accident. We lived in the remote area, and there was only small hospital nearby. My son was lying unconscious inside and waiting for the only surgeon in the hospital to treat him. For me, every moment seemed longer than a year. Suddenly, a doctor rushed towards the operation room while his assistant handed him a white apron (白大褂). I just could not control my anger, starting shouting at the doctor. “I am shocked to see how casual you can be! My son is lying in the operating theatre for so long and you can only manage to come and see him now?” The doctor stared at me, and, holding his shoulder gently, said, “This is the earliest I could get here. I was not in the hospital. Now, please let me do my work and you take a seat there.”
I became more furious. Although the doctor went inside the theatre, I continued expressing my dissatisfaction. An hour passed. Still the red light outside the operating theatre was on. Three more hours went by; I then began to think of all the frightening things that I might have to hear once the doctor gave him the conclusion.
I looked up and suddenly realized that the light had gone off. The doctor came out of the room, rushing as he handed over his apron to the nurse. Before I could ask him anything, the doctor said, “Your son is safe now. Please talk to the nurse if you need to know anything more. Excuse me.” Before I could ask him anything more, the doctor rushed away.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I lost my temper again.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was frozen on the spot, not uttering a word.
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