1 . Dexter lives in Ouray, Colorado, where, for the past few years, the two-footed dog has been turning heads wherever he goes. His owner, Kentee Pasek, says
When Dexter was a puppy, he escaped his yard, dashed into the
Pasek ran in to get a cup of coffee, came out and
In the six years since, Dexter has become a full-blown celebrity,
The whole thing isn’t considered as a
| A．walking | B．jumping | C．climbing | D．riding |
| A．performance | B．experiment | C．adaptation | D．promise |
| A．crowd | B．playground | C．subway | D．traffic |
| A．understood | B．assumed | C．realized | D．recognized |
| A．shelter | B．walking-stick | C．wheelchair | D．bench |
| A．finally | B．luckily | C．surprisingly | D．occasionally |
| A．covered | B．changed | C．forgot | D．grabbed |
| A．recorded | B．imagined | C．supported | D．observed |
| A．starring | B．admiring | C．waving | D．shouting |
| A．teachers | B．followers | C．designers | D．websites |
| A．peaceful | B．popular | C．humorous | D．beautiful |
| A．gesture | B．problem | C．routine | D．joke |
| A．positive | B．calm | C．serious | D．crazy |
| A．secrets | B．troubles | C．mistakes | D．chances |
| A．carried out | B．put away | C．dressed up | D．knocked down |
2 . Chloe Smith is a girl aged 6 from Atlanta, Georgia. One day, while taking a walk with her father near their home, she
The medal belongs to former canoeist (划艇运动员) Joe Jacobi, who won gold while
Chloe’s dad had seen Jacobi’s story on the news, and
Chloe was
| A．sought | B．buried | C．noticed | D．dropped |
| A．waste | B．object | C．material | D．antique |
| A．embarrassed | B．satisfied | C．frightened | D．shocked |
| A．competing | B．applying | C．coaching | D．preparing |
| A．broken | B．stolen | C．replaced | D．deserted |
| A．purchase | B．register | C．preserve | D．recover |
| A．secured | B．prized | C．advertised | D．priced |
| A．project | B．decision | C．habit | D．idea |
| A．quickly | B．gradually | C．really | D．carefully |
| A．identifying | B．obtaining | C．evaluating | D．investigating |
| A．sorry | B．eager | C．upset | D．hesitant |
| A．In addition | B．In fact | C．In return | D．In advance |
| A．purpose | B．report | C．attempt | D．story |
| A．heart-warming | B．breath-taking | C．eye-catching | D．life-changing |
| A．important | B．simple | C．interesting | D．right |
3 . Zandra Cunningham is the founder of a skincare brand. She has been recognized by the media as one of the youngest and most successful business owners in America.
When she was a kid, Zandra always loved lip balms (护唇膏) and bought a lot of them. But she found they eventually hurt her lips instead of relieving the dryness because of all the chemicals in them. She then started experimenting with different ingredients (成分) together with her mom. They tried a lot of times until they found the natural and healthy combinations they liked. Slowly, Zandra began selling her products at local farmers’ markets and trade events. Before her 10th birthday, she launched her brand and hoped it would empower other young girls.
Soon, it became a challenge for Zandra to separate her personal interests from what her customers actually wanted. “There are a lot of ideas that I feel are excellent but wouldn’t fit into the market,” she said. Being part of the younger market herself, Zandra recognized the issue and improved her products after truly listening to customers. “There are so many brands doing similar things, but there’s still so much room to grow. Your customers are out there, and you just have to reach out to them. That’s what will set you apart,” the 23-year-old shared.
When asked about her experience as a promising young businesswoman, Zandra said, “It wasn’t frightening. When you’re young, fear doesn’t have a strong hold on your mindset. ‘Maybe it’s not going to work’ never really crossed my mind.”
Characterized by encouraging statements and featuring a playful color combination, the packaging (包装) is a big part of why Zandra’s business has been so impressive. “There are a lot of products on the market that seem natural, but they actually aren’t,” she said. “I make sure my packaging can help people understand what each term means, and how to read and check ingredients.”
1. What pushed Zandra to get into the skincare business?| A．Her desire to create skin-friendly products. |
| B．Her interest in doing chemical experiments. |
| C．Her wish to set an example for other young girls. |
| D．Her goal of providing local people with cheap skin products. |
| A．She cooperated with powerful brands. |
| B．She stood by her own business decisions. |
| C．She made an effort to meet real market needs. |
| D．She took inspiration from successful businesswomen. |
| A．Her work experience. | B．Her parents’ support. |
| C．Her creative thinking. | D．Her youthful positivity. |
| A．To catch customers’ attention. |
| B．To collect customers’ opinions on skincare. |
| C．To educate customers about product knowledge. |
| D．To encourage environmental awareness in customers. |
4 . The walls of ancient Egyptian tombs (坟墓) can teach us much about the ancient Egyptians’ life. However, many paintings in the tombs were damaged by unlawful tomb diggers. Now a new study shows how a technology called portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) can be used to better study the paintings.
Developed in the early 20th century by physicist Henry Moseley, XRF and pXRF can be used to decide materials’ elemental composition (元素组成). Rather than the huge and immovable tool often used to study historical objects in labs, the tool needed in the pXRF study weighs only a few kilograms and can be taken into the field.
The research team headed by Philippe Martinez from Sorbonne University used the new tool to perform chemical imaging on paintings on site, allowing for the study of paint composition. As the ancient Egyptians used paints made from minerals (矿物), the paints have specific chemical markers. By using pXRF, scientists can use the chemical markers to create a map of damaged areas.
The team used the pXRF tool in the study of a painting of Ramesses II found in the tomb of Nakhtamun, which has traditionally been dated at the19th dynasty of ancient Egypt. And they discovered the necklace worn by the king in the painting may have been changed.
The king was first painted to be wearing a shebyu necklace, which was trendy during the 20th dynasty, some years after Ramesses II’s death. And it appears that the necklace was later changed to a wesekh necklace, which usually appears in paintings during his time. This means the tomb painters at first painted this 19th-dynasty ruler wearing a 20th-dynasty necklace, realized their mistake and then corrected it. The technology enabled the team to learn that the tomb owner, Nakhtamun, may actually have lived in the 20th rather than the 19th dynasty, and that the painting is not of a living king, but rather of a former ruler.
According to the researchers, the pXRF technology allows in-depth studies while helping prevent further damage. And it presents important details about the technological and artistic achievements of the ancient Egyptians.
1. What can be learned about the pXRF technology from Paragraph 2?| A．It only works in laboratory settings. |
| B．It requires a large and fixed tool to operate. |
| C．It was developed to prevent painting stealing. |
| D．It is more convenient than the earlier technology. |
| A．The process of repairing the tombs. |
| B．The researchers’ working methods. |
| C．The introduction to the technology’s inventor. |
| D．The valuable materials of the paints used in the paintings. |
| A．Confusing. | B．Acceptable. | C．Popular. | D．Expensive. |
| A．Ramesses II paid great attention to his appearance. |
| B．Ancient Egyptian painters were careless about details. |
| C．The new tool was important to the dating of historical objects. |
| D．Technology developed very quickly during Ramesses II’s time. |
1.讲座的时间和地点；
2.讲座的具体内容及反响。
注意：
1.词数80词左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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6 . Chances are that you can name a few animals that are facing extinction. But what about plants? With some 40% of plant species under threat of extinction — and given humankind’s dependence on the plant world — one might think they should be protected as soon as possible. However, so many people suffer from plant blindness which refers to the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment, leading to the inability to recognize the importance of plants.
Now a paper published by Oxford University Press might have found a solution for that. That’s watching nature documentaries. Having noticed that TV shows like Seven Worlds, One Planet, Planet Earth II, and Blue Planet II increased viewers’ interest in the animals on the shows, the researchers set out to discover if TV shows could do the same for plants.
For the paper, they focused on The Green Planet. The show was watched by nearly 5 million people in the United Kingdom. It features various plant species and doesn’t shy away from environmental concerns. To figure out if the documentary attracted viewers enough to make them want to learn more, the researchers noted which species appeared on the show and then looked at data on Google Trends and Wikipedia page hits for those same species before and after the episodes (剧集) of the documentary aired.
Actually, some 28.1% of search terms representing plants mentioned in The Green Planet had peak (高峰时期的) popularity in the UK, measured using Google Trends, the week after the broadcast of the relevant episode. Wikipedia data showed this as well. Almost a third (31.3%) of the Wikipedia pages related to plants mentioned in the documentary showed increased visits the week after the broadcast. The researchers also noted that people were more likely to do online searches for plants that enjoyed more screen time on The Green Planet.
“Our results suggest that the viewers found certain plant species particularly attractive. These plants could be used for promoting plant conservation efforts,” said the paper’s lead author, Joanna Kacprzyk.
1. What is the problem mentioned at the beginning of the text?| A．The harm of introduced plant species to native plants. |
| B．Limited education about local wildlife protection |
| C．The lack of public awareness about plants. |
| D．People’s increasingly poor eyesight. |
| A．By showing news about extinct plant species. |
| B．By comparing its popularity with other TV shows’. |
| C．By measuring people’s online behavior towards it. |
| D．By recording viewers’ preferences for social media sites. |
| A．Better sales of natural products. |
| B．A rise in online searches for specific plants. |
| C．Growing public interest in outdoor activities. |
| D．More educational websites related to wildlife. |
| A．An effective solution to animal protection |
| B．The changing views about nature programs |
| C．Plant blindness: a widespread phenomenon |
| D．Nature documentaries: a hidden guardian of plants |
