1 . Traveling itself is an experience hard to be described in words.     1     Especially the solo (独自) traveling experience is so transforming that it lives with you forever. Here I am sharing some lessons.

    2     Thinking how I would manage my entire day among strangers on campus, I pretended to be sick. Then I had the same feeling when I was planning to travel alone. Exploring a city on my own was a big fear for me but I successfully managed it all and now, I seek out new opportunities and experiences. I love to push myself.    3    

Having grown up and lived all my life in a single place, I had a small set of friends since my school days which continued till my college days.    4     I met a few very interesting people with whom I could feel an instant connect and got some new friends for life.

I totally agree that traveling with family and friends is fun and enjoying. But traveling alone is satisfying too. It’s among those few things that you do for yourself and nobody else.    5     During my solo travels I have explored my inner self and have expanded my boundaries which people around me have acknowledged at times.

A．I want to experience more.

B．But all this changed with my first solo trip.

C．I never thought I would travel alone in my life.

D．I was so scared when I went to school first time.

E．Every journey prepares you for the journey of life.

F．The farther you travel, the more independent you become.

G．After all you need to take care of yourself a bit too at times.

2 . 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。

It is well known that aero(航空) sports have been popular in the US, New Zealand and other countries for years. China’s Hainan is famous for its natural     1     (beautiful) of endless sea, and golden beaches.     2     a warm climate and over 300 sunny days each year also provide favorable conditions for aero sports here.

Aero sports, including items such as skydiving and hot air ballooning,     3     (be) in rapid growth in China, and Hainan has seen the combination of such sports and tourism thriving over recent years. A great many frequent visitors     4     China’s southernmost island province choose to admire Hainan’s fantastic scenery not just at the beach, but also from high above with the help of     5     (professional) qualified skydiving coaches. Visitors can give full expression to their feelings and personalities, and liberate     6     (they) from their sometimes boring everyday life by participating in aero sports. What is shown in statistics is     7     a skydiving club saw a record-breaking single-day reception of 166 customers during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.

With the     8     (rise) popularity of aero sports, as well as advantageous policies in building the Hainan Free Trade Port,     9     increasing number of people from home and abroad have settled in Hainan. The province     10     (host) several national-level aero sports events in the past few years and is striving to build a national sports tourism demonstration zone by 2025.

3 . Born in 1940 in Nyeri, Kenya, Wangari Maathai spent her childhood in the Kenyan countryside and her young adult life in the United States. She studied biology at Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas, then obtained a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh. After returning to Kenya and pursuing her PhD at the University of Nairobi, Wangari became the first woman in East Africa to receive a doctor’s degree.

In the 1970s Wangari was an active member of the National Council of Women of Kenya. Women came to the council in part to search for solutions to the environmental problems—deforestation and desertification had caused many of the resources women relied on for food and clean water to decrease.

Fuelled by her knowledge of biology and her passion for helping others, Wangari decided to take action. Wangari had two goals in mind: to help restore environmental resources and give women the ability to support their families in a self-sufficient, sustainable way. To achieve her goals, she came up with a practical but impactful idea: to plant trees. The trees would reduce the effects of deforestation, in addition to providing food and firewood for local families. Wangari’s plan inspired the formation of the Green Belt Movement in 1977, an organisation dedicated to environmental conservation and poverty reduction in Kenya.

As the Green Belt Movement grew, Wangari began to focus on several different but interconnected causes: environmental conservation and human rights. In the late 1980s, she called on her community to oppose the construction of a skyscraper (摩天大楼) in Uhuru Park, Nairobi’s central public space. In 1999 she led a protest against the privatisation of Karura Forest in Nairobi, during which Green Belt Movement members were beaten by private guards. Despite facing ongoing opposition and even danger, Wangari’s belief in her work was never shaken.

Wangari served on the boards of countless environmental organisations, and spoke to members of the United Nations. Due to her tireless work Wangari received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

1. What do we know about Wangari Maathai?

A．She had a hard childhood in Kenya.

B．She acquired an excellent education.

C．She was the first woman to get a degree.

D．She came back to Kenya due to her colour.

2. What contributed to the foundation of the Green Belt Movement?

A．Wangar’s family’s support.

B．Wangari’s achievements in biology.

C．Wangari’s tree-planting idea.

D．Wangari’s desire to fight world poverty.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Wangari’s efforts to expand her influence.

B．Wangari’s ways to fight for human rights.

C．Wangar’s strategies to establish a reputation.

D．Wangari’s plans to handle growing opposition.

4. Which of the following best describes Wangari Maathai?

A．Honest and hard-working.	B．Patient and unselfish.
C．Considerate and generous.	D．Determined and inspiring.

4 . As AI grows more sophisticated and widespread, the voices warming against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence grow louder. “The development of artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” according to Stephen Hawking.     1     “AI scares the hell out of me,” Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk once said. Below we take a closer look the possible dangers of artificial intelligence.

Job losses due to AI automation

AI-powered job automation is a pressing concern as the technology is adopted in industries like marketing, manufacturing and healthcare. Eighty-five million jobs are expected to be lost to automation between 2020 and 2025.    2    And while it’s true that AI will create new jobs, many employees who won’t have the skills could get left behind.

Social control through AI algorithms (算法)

TikTok runs on an AI algorithm that fill a user’s feed with content related to previous media they’ve viewed on the platform. Criticism of the app targets this process and the algorithm’s failure to filter out harmful and inaccurate content, raising doubts over Tik Tok, ability to protect its users from dangerous and misleading media.     3     So it really leads to a situation where you literally cannot believe your own eyes and ears.

    4    

Blue-collar workers have experienced wage declines as high as 70 percent because of automation. On the other hand, white-collar workers have remained largely untouched. From this sense, if the trend continues, the existing social and economic gaps between different races and classes will be further widened. Weakening ethics and goodwill If mankind’s so-called technological progress were to become an enemy of the common good, this would lead to a heavy blow to modern civilization. The rapid rise of the conversational AI tool ChatGPT gives these concerns more substance. Many users have applied the technology to get out of writing assignments.     5    

A．This fear has become a reality

B．Widening socioeconomic inequality

C．Financial crisis brought about by AI

D．No one knows what’s real and what’s not

E．It threatens academic integrity and creativity

F．The famous theoretical physicist isn’t alone with this thought

G．As AI robots become smarter, the same tasks will require fewer humans

5 . Top Exhibitions to See in London in 2023

Architectural: Vanishing Points

While we like to think of architecture existing purely in the real world, emerging designers and architects are using platforms like Instagram to create structures in the virtual world. This collection of works, which range from the practical to the fantastical, are all by architects who have gathered significant social media followings.

In the Digital Universe at ROCA London. 8 February—31 July, free.

Flowery: Orchids

This annual festival is back in bloom (开花), this time inspired by the beauty and biodiversity of Cameroon. Just like previous years, the orchids are spread throughout the various zones of the Princess of Wales conservatory and accompanied by sculptures that are just as colourful as the flowers on display.

At Kew Gardens. 4 February —5 March, &16.50—entrance to the gardens included.

Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint

Art history has often shone a light on the men of Abstract Expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Well, now’s the time to let the most important women of the movement take the limelight in an exhibition that includes works by American artists such as Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler, but spreads the net wider to include the female abstract artists from Europe, Asia and the wider world, with whom most of us will be unfamiliar.

At Whitechapel Gallery. 9 February—7 May, £ 16.50—concessions available.

Powerful Portraits (肖像): Alice Neel

The largest UK exhibition to date of American painter Alice Neel’s work will bring together her figurative pieces from across her 60-year career. Neel went against the popular grain by painting figures when abstract works were most popular, and she painted subjects that other artists ignored — pregnant women, labour leaders, black children, civil rights activists and strange performers. It’s high time we had a major show of her work in London, and the Barbican has duly provided.

At Barbican Art Gallery. 16 February—21 May, & 18.

1. Which of the following exhibitions is held once a year?

A．Flowery: Orchids.

B．Powerful Portraits: Alice Neel.

C．Architectural: Vanishing Points.

D．Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint.

2. When can visitors appreciate Lee Krasner’s works?

A．On February 8.

B．On January 7.

C．On April 7.

D．On May 8.

3. What can we learn about the artist Alice Neel?

A．She is 60 years old now.

B．Her works didn’t follow the trend.

C．She often ignored some common subjects.

D．She is the most popular American painter in the UK.

6 . The New Yorker picks four of the year’s best books in 2022 and shares them with you.

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

The Nobel Prize winner’s most recent novel is a sweeping origin story of modern Tanzania, and a love story between Afiya and Hamza. Their search for a place in the world unfolds against the monumental absurdness of empire, focusing on the East African campaign of 1914-1918. The book questions the costs and rewards of the war’s occasional solidarities.

Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk

The Nobel awardee’s latest novel opens like a starry romantic chronicle (编年史): a steamer is making its way at night to an island, the Mingheria in 1901. On board are three medical scientists, and the group comes to Mingheria because of an outbreak of bubonic plague (黑死病). What is most vital in this book is Pamuk’s lovingly obsessive creation of the island itself. He places his humans in this “three-dimensional fairy tale” and observes what happens to the state when an epidemic tests its tolerances.

The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee

In an account that’s both lyrical and extensive, Mukherjee takes us through an evolution of human understanding: from the seventeenth century discovery that humans are made up of cells to our leading technologies for manipulating (操纵) and deploying (部署) cells for medical purposes.

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff

As a son of a Boston businessman, Samuel Adams was born in 1722. In detailing how Adams went on to shape every significant event in New England’s run-up to war, this book weaves a pleasing tapestry (织锦) of incident and inference. Schiff describes him as a master of the eighteenth-century version of fake news. The result is a wildly entertaining exploration of the roots of American political theatre.

1. What do Afterlives and Nights of Plague have in common?

A．They are romantic chronicles.

B．Their authors won the Nobel Prize.

C．They describe the outbreak of the war.

D．Their authors question the costs and rewards of the war.

2. Which book is about the exploration of medicine and the new human?

A．Afterlives.	B．Nights of Plague.
C．The Song of the Cell.	D．The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams.

3. What kind of book is The Revoluttionary: Samuel Adams?

A．A drama.	B．A novel.
C．A chronicle.	D．A biography.

7 . It is never easy to be away from our loved ones.

Samantha Norris has missed her mother, Tamie Norris, for the past 11months every day. Tamie spent those months working in Jordan, far away from the family’s home in Austin, Texas. When the mom went back home earlier than expected, she decided to surprise her daughter who was still teaching students in the classroom at that time.

Samantha is a first-grade teacher at Harmony School of Innovation in Austin. This is her first teaching job, and she wanted to share every moment with her mother.

In a video of the big moment, Samantha’s jaw(下颌)hit the floor when her mom walked confidently into the classroom without telling her. Her eyes were filled with tears as Tamie gave her a big hug.

Students suddenly looked up to see their teacher tearfully hugging a woman. They had heard stories about Samantha’s mother, but seeing her was very exciting! “My kids were excited when they understood what was happening, of course, ” Samantha said. “They have always been so curious about her!”

Not only was it a surprise to the students, but Tamie also brought along a box of donuts (甜甜圈) for a sweet treat. Tamie made a big impression on the kids that day.

Later, Samantha shared the video and photos of her mom’s visit on Instagram. “11 months too long without giving my mom a hug-the best surprise, welcome home!!” she wrote.

What a special treat for Samantha—and her students! Tamie is a wonderful example of a strong woman and mother. We’re so glad she’s back in the homeland for a while.

1. What do we know about Samantha?

A．She is a teacher of Grade Two.

B．She is an experienced teacher.

C．She once worked in Jordan for 1l months.

D．She hasn’t seen her mother for l1 months.

2. How did Samantha feel about her mother’s sudden visit?

A．Amazed and hopeful.

B．Disappointed and sad.

C．Surprised and excited.

D．Worried and depressed.

3. What can be inferred from the story?

A．Tamie came back home later than expected.

B．Tamie is a confident and considerate mother.

C．Samantha didn’t share the video of her mom’s visit.

D．The students’ first impression of Tamie was favourable.

4. What could be the best title of the story?

A．A Sweet Surprise.

B．A Confident Mother.

C．An Interesting Class.

D．A Surprised Daughter.

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。

For thousands of years, people have told fables (寓言)     1     (teach) a lesson or to pass on wisdom. Fables were part of the oral tradition of many early cultures, and the well-known Aesop’s fables date to the     2     (six) century, B. C. Yet, the form of the fable still has values today,     3     Rachel Carson says in “A Fable for Tomorrow.”

Carson uses a simple, direct style common to fable. In fact, her style and tone (口吻) are seemingly directed at children. “There was once a town in the heart of America,     4     all life seemed to enjoy peaceful existence with its surroundings,” her fable begins,     5     (borrow) some familiar words from many age-old fables. Behind the simple style, however, is a serious message     6     (intend) for everyone.

    7     (difference) from traditional fables, Carson’s story ends with an accusation instead of a moral. She warns of the environmental dangers facing society, and she teaches that people must take responsibility     8     saving their environment.

The themes of traditional fables often deal with simple truths about everyday life. However, Carson’s theme is a more weighty     9     (warn) about environmental destruction. Carson proves that a simple literal form that has been passed down through the ages can still     10     (employ) today to draw attention to important truths.

9 . Dogs greet other dogs nose-first, as it were—sniffing each other from fore to (especially) aft. People are not quite so open about the process of sniffing each other out. But the size of the perfume industry suggests scent is important in human relations, too. There is also evidence that human beings can infer kinship (亲戚关系), deduce emotional states and even detect disease via the sense of smell.

Now, researchers of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, have gone a step further. They think they have shown, admittedly in a fairly small sample of individuals, that friends actually smell alike. They have also shown that this is probably the case from the beginning, with people picking friends at least partly on the basis of body odour (气味), rather than the body odours of people who become friends subsequently converging (趋同).

They stated their research by testing the odours of 20 pairs of established non-romantic, same-sex friends. They did this using an electronic nose and also two groups of specially employed human “smellers.” The e-nose employed a set of gas sensors to assess T-shirts worn by participants. One group of human smellers were given pairs of these shirts and asked to rate how similar they smelt. Those in the other group were asked to rate the odours of individual T-shirts on five subjective dimensions: pleasantness, intensity, attractiveness, competence and warmth. All three approaches yielded the same result. The T-shirts of friends smelt more similar to each other than the T-shirts of strangers. Friends, in other words, do indeed smell alike.

Why scent might play a role in forming friendships remains obscure. Other qualities related with being friends, including age, appearance, education, religion and race, are either immediately obvious or rapidly become so. But while some individuals have strong and noticeable body odour, many—at least since the use of soap has become widespread—do not. It is present. But it is subconscious.

1. Why are dogs and the perfume industry mentioned in Paragraph 1?

A．To list some examples.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To make a comparison.	D．To provide relevant evidence.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．The body odour is the beginning of friendship.

B．People start to smell alike after becoming friends.

C．Many people are involved as the research samples.

D．Odour-matching may be a reason for being friends.

3. How did the researchers conduct the experiment?

A．By trying to yield the same result with three approaches.

B．By testing the odours of 20 non-romantic friends of the same sex.

C．By asking each group to rate the odours of T-shirts on five dimensions.

D．By employing e-nose and human smellers to assess the odours of T-shirts.

4. What does the underlined word “obscure” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Unclear.

B．Important.

C．Obvious.

D．Subjective.

10 . How to learn a new language as an adult

Learning a new language can be a tough challenge at any age. However, it seems to be exceptionally difficult to get the hang of a foreign tongue as we age.     1     Yet, you can still master a foreign tongue as an adult with these tips:

It’s about connection.

It’s important to remember that learning a language is not really about learning a language.     2     Try to connect with people you may know by sharing your experience, or listen to podcasts and music in your target language, or read about the country’s history.

    3    

Watching TV shows in another language is an excellent way to get used to hearing a foreign tongue spoken in real-time.     4     TV shows, films, podcasts and even video games are all great forms of entertainment for learning a new language. Not only will these forms of entertainment lend added cultural and regional insights, but they’ll help you have fun while doing it.

Patience is key.

While you are learning, be patient with yourself. Learn to love your progress and celebrate your successes. Did you know the word “piano” means “piano”, “slow” and “quiet” in Italian? Adding a single new word to your vocabulary can be so beautiful and rewarding.     5    .

A．Make it fun.

B．Listen to it spoken frequently.

C．Anything entertaining that exposes you to the language is great.

D．What you’ re actually learning is to communicate in a new way with others

E．It is contradictory to the popular belief: an adult can acquire a new language easily.

F．Drive slow so that you will be rewarded the amazing view along the hard road to fluency.

G．This is because human brains become less proficient in processing new information about language learning.