1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . 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.

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。

During China’s dynastic period, emperors planned the city of Beijing     1     arranged the residential areas according to social classes. The term “hutong”,     2     (original)meaning “water well” in Mongolian, appeared first during the Yuan Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, the center was the Forbidden City,     3     (surround)in concentric(同心的)circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Citizens of higher social classes     4     (permit)to live closer to the center of the circles. The large siheyuan of these high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen often     5     (feature)beautifully carved and painted roof beams and pillars(柱子). The hutongs they formed were orderly, lined by     6     (space)homes and walled gardens. Farther from the center lived the commoners and laborers. Their siheyuan were far smaller in scale and     7     (simple)in design and decoration, and the hutongs were narrower.

Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing. Thanks to Beijing’s long history     8     capital of China, almost every hutong has its stories, and some are even associated with historic     9     (event). In contrast to the court life and upper-class culture represented by the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven, the hutongs reflect     10     culture of grassroots Beijingers.

5 . The sun was beginning to sink as I set off into the Harenna Forest. I was on my way to _________ a unique honey harvest. Here, in south-east Ethiopia, hand-carved beehives(蜂箱)are placed in the _________. Reaching them to get the honey is difficult—and often _________ .

I _________ beekeeper Ziyad over a wide stretch of grassland before entering a thick jungle. Ziyad began preparations. He _________ handfuls of damp tree leaves, wrapped them with string, and _________ the bunch to create a torch(火把). Then, with one end of a rope tied to his waist and the other end around the trunk of a tree, Ziyad began _________ . He stopped every few minutes to move the _________ higher up the tree trunk.

_________ , Ziyad got close to the hive which was around 20 metres above the ground. Sitting on a branch, he __________ towards it and blew smoke from his torch into a tiny hole in the hive. Suddenly, Ziyad let out a sharp cry. Within seconds, he’d __________ the trunk and was back on the ground.

It was too __________ to collect the honey. A cool summer had delayed __________ . Baby bees were still in the honeycombs(蜂巢). The adult bees were __________ and kept attacking as Ziyad escaped from the tree. He had to wait for the right __________ to go back up.

1.

A．share

B．collect

C．celebrate

D．witness

2.

A．courtyards

B．fields

C．treetops

D．caves

3.

A．urgent

B．dangerous

C．expensive

D．pointless

4.

A．searched

B．recognised

C．followed

D．invited

5.

A．gathered

B．cleaned

C．dropped

D．checked

6.

A．shook

B．lit

C．measured

D．decorated

7.

A．jumping

B．talking

C．testing

D．climbing

8.

A．hives

B．leaves

C．rope

D．honey

9.

A．Finally

B．Surprisingly

C．Naturally

D．Immediately

10.

A．backed

B．dived

C．shouted

D．inched

11.

A．cut off

B．gone up

C．slid down

D．held onto

12.

A．high

B．early

C．fast

D．close

13.

A．hatching

B．training

C．sowing

D．trading

14.

A．curious

B．hungry

C．bored

D．angry

15.

A．moment

B．equipment

C．person

D．order

6 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.

Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.

“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment(InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).

Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.

Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.

1. What do solar developers often ignore?

A．The decline in the demand for solar energy.

B．The negative impact of installing solar panels.

C．The rising labor cost of building solar farms.

D．The most recent advances in solar technology.

2. What does InSPIRE aim to do?

A．Improve the productivity of local farms.

B．Invent new methods for controlling weeds.

C．Make solar projects environmentally friendly.

D．Promote the use of solar energy in rural areas.

3. What is the purpose of the laws mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．To conserve pollinators.	B．To restrict solar development.
C．To diversify the economy.	D．To ensure the supply of energy.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Pollinators: To Leave or to Stay	B．Solar Energy: Hope for the Future
C．InSPIRE: A Leader in Agriculture	D．Solar Farms: A New Development

7 . A machine can now not only beat you at chess, it can also outperform you in debate. Last week, in a public debate in San Francisco, a software program called Project Debater beat its human opponents, including Noa Ovadia, Israel’s former national debating champion.

Brilliant though it is, Project Debater has some weaknesses. It takes sentences from its library of documents and prebuilt arguments and strings them together. This can lead to the kinds of errors no human would make. Such wrinkles will no doubt be ironed out, yet they also point to a fundamental problem. As Kristian Hammond, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Northwestern University, put it: “There’s never a stage at which the system knows what it’s talking about.”

What Hammond is referring to is the question of meaning, and meaning is central to what distinguishes the least intelligent of humans from the most intelligent of machines. A computer works with symbols. Its program specifies a set of rules to transform one string of symbols into another. But it does not specify what those symbols mean. Indeed, to a computer, meaning is irrelevant. Humans, in thinking, talking, reading and writing, also work with symbols. But for humans, meaning is everything. When we communicate, we communicate meaning. What matters is not just the outside of a string of symbols, but the inside too, not just how they are arranged but what they mean.

Meaning emerges through a process of social interaction, not of computation, interaction that shapes the content of the symbols in our heads. The rules that assign meaning lie not just inside our heads, but also outside, in society, in social memory, social conventions and social relations. It is this that distinguishes humans from machines. And that’s why, however astonishing Project Debater may seem, the tradition that began with Socrates and Confucius will not end with artificial intelligence.

1. Why does the author mention Noa Ovadia in the first paragraph?

A．To explain the use of a software program.

B．To show the cleverness of Project Debater.

C．To introduce the designer of Project Debater.

D．To emphasize the fairness of the competition.

2. What does the underlined word “wrinkles” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Arguments.

B．Doubts.

C．Errors.

D．Differences.

3. What is Project Debater unable to do according to Hammond?

A．Create rules.	B．Comprehend meaning.
C．Talk fluently.	D．Identify difficult words.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Social interaction is key to understanding symbols.

B．The human brain has potential yet to be developed.

C．Ancient philosophers set good examples for debaters.

D．Artificial intelligence ensures humans a bright future.

8 . Live with roommates? Have friends and family around you? Chances are that if you’re looking to live a more sustainable lifestyle, not everyone around you will be ready to jump on that bandwagon.

I experienced this when I started switching to a zero waste lifestyle five years ago, as I was living with my parents, and I continue to experience this with my husband, as he is not completely zero waste like me. I’ve learned a few things along the way though, which I hope you’ll find encouraging if you’re doing your best to figure out how you can make the change in a not-always-supportive household.

Zero waste was a radical lifestyle movement a few years back. I remember showing my parents a video of Bea Johnson, sharing how cool I thought it would be to buy groceries with jars, and have so little trash! A few days later, I came back with my first jars of zero waste groceries, and my dad commented on how silly it was for me to carry jars everywhere. It came off as a bit discouraging.

Yet as the months of reducing waste continued, I did what I could that was within my own reach. I had my own bedroom, so I worked on removing things I didn’t need. Since I had my own toiletries (洗漱用品), I was able to start personalising my routine to be more sustainable. I also offered to cook every so often, so I portioned out a bit of the cupboard for my own zero waste groceries. Perhaps your household won’t entirely make the switch, but you may have some control over your own personal spaces to make the changes you desire.

As you make your lifestyle changes, you may find yourself wanting to speak up for yourself if others comment on what you’re doing, which can turn itself into a whole household debate. If you have individuals who are not on board, your words probably won’t do much and can often leave you feeling more discouraged.

So here is my advice: Lead by action.

1. What do the underlined words “jump on that bandwagon” mean in the first paragraph?

A．Share an apartment with you.	B．Join you in what you’re doing.
C．Transform your way of living.	D．Help you to make the decision.

2. What was the attitude of the author’s father toward buying groceries with jars?

A．He disapproved of it.	B．He was favorable to it.
C．He was tolerant of it.	D．He didn’t care about it.

3. What can we infer about the author?

A．She is quite good at cooking.	B．She respects others’ privacy.
C．She enjoys being a housewife.	D．She is a determined person.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．How to get on well with other family members.

B．How to have one’s own personal space at home.

C．How to live a zero waste lifestyle in a household.

D．How to control the budget when buying groceries.

9 . 假设你是晨光中学英语口语社的成员李津。为招募新成员，口语社请你用英语为社团纳新活动录制一段短视频。请按照以下提示，撰写视频的文字稿：
(1)向同学们发出入社邀请；
(2)介绍口语社的主要活动(如英语演讲比赛、观看英语电影等活动)；
(3)分享本人入社以来的收获。
注意：(1)词数不少于100；
(2)可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯。
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . Ralph Emerson once said that the purpose of life is not to be happy, but to be useful, to be loving, to make some difference in he world. While we appreciate such words of wisdom, we rarely try to follow them in our lives.

Most people prefer to live a good life themselves, ignoring their responsibilities for the world. This narrow perception of a good life may provide short-term benefits, but is sure to lead to long-term harm and suffering. A good life based on comfort and luxury may eventually lead to more pain be-cause we spoil our health and even our character, principles, ideals, and relationships.

What then, is the secret of a good life? A good life is a process, not a state of being : a direction, not a destination. We have to earn a good life by first serving others without any expectation in return because their happiness is the very source of our own happiness. More importantly, we must know ourselves inside out. Only when we examine ourselves deeply can we discover our abilities and recognize our limitations, and then work accordingly to create a better world.

The first requirement for a good life is having a loving heart. When we do certain right things merely as a duty, we find our job so tiresome that we’ll soon burn out. However, when we do that same job out of love, we not only enjoy what we do, but also do it with an effortless feeling.

However, love alone is insufficient to lead a good life. Love sometimes blinds us to the reality. Consequently, our good intentions may not lead to good results. To achieve desired outcome, those who want to do good to others also need to equip themselves with accurate world knowledge. False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. If love is the engine of a car knowledge is the steering wheel(方向盘). If the engine lacks power, the car can’t move; if the driver loses control of the steering, a road accident probably occurs. Only with love in heart and the right knowledge in mind can we lead a good life.

With love and knowledge, we go all out to create a better world by doing good to others. When we see the impact of our good work on the world we give meaning to our life and earn lasting joy and happiness.

1. What effect does the narrow perception of a good life have on us?

A．Making us simple-minded	B．Making us short-sighted.
C．Leading us onto a busy road.	D．Keeping us from comfort and luxury.

2. According to the author, how can one gain true happiness?

A．Through maintaining good health.

B．By going through pain and suffering.

C．By recognizing one’s abilities and limitations.

D．Through offering help much needed by others.

3. According to Paragraph 4, doing certain right things with a loving heart makes one________.

A．less selfish	B．less annoying
C．more motivated	D．more responsible

4. In what case may good intentions fail to lead to desired results?

A．When we have wrong knowledge of the world.

B．When our love for the world is insufficient.

C．When we are insensitive to dangers in life.

D．When we stay blind to the reality.

5. According to Paragraph 5, life can be made truly good when ________.

A．inspired by love and guided by knowledge

B．directed by love and pushed by knowledge

C．purified by love and enriched by knowledge

D．promoted by love and defined by knowledge