1 . In the heart of the Cyclades, Mykonos has long been an attraction for visitors. The beaches on the island’s southwest coast are among the Mediterranean’s best wild-party scenes, but head east and travelers will find something quite different. Here, the crowds slowly fade away, revealing what originally made the island famous: its beauty with rocky coastline and sandy bays.

Fokos Bay

Park your vehicle in the dirt lot and climb over the low dunes (沙丘) to find perfect little Fokos Bay, where deep, sheltered waters offer delightful swimming for all ages. Once you’ve worked up a bit of an appetite, head on over to the famous Greek cafe overlooking the sand for a lazy seafood lunch.

Mersini Beach

Head west around the headland to the next beach along — the Mersini Beach, which is usually the least-crowded on Mykonos. Bring your own sun mat and even an umbrella as this beach is completely wild and raw.

Agrari Beach

If getting your own wheels isn’t an option, Agrari is only a 15-minute walk east of the more famous Elia Beach and on the south coast beach ferry(渡轮) route. It’s one of the closest uncrowded beaches to Hora, Mykonos’ main town, and home to a restaurant that provides sunbeds and drinks and snacks.

Kalafati Beach

In the far southeast, about seven miles from Mykonos town, the Kalafati Beach is beloved for its steady winds that blow the sails of windsurfers and kite surfers. Rent boards and get lessons right at the beach at Windsurfing Mykonos.

1. What can be done in Fokos Bay?

A．Get surfing lessons.	B．Take car rides on dirt tracks.
C．Rent sun mats and umbrellas.	D．Sample the delights of seafood.

2. What feature does Mersini Beach have?

A．It’s service-free.	B．It’s heavily populated.
C．It’s on a coast beach ferry route.	D．It’s within easy reach of Hora.

3. Which beach is perfect for wind sports?

A．Fokos Bay.	B．Mersini Beach.
C．Agrari Beach.	D．Kalafati Beach.

2 . I opened the door: the morning dishes weren’t in the sink, and the floor had been cleaned. The pile of junk mail on the counter disappeared, replaced by a single ________. Then I replayed the casual ________ I had made that morning: “You never helped out around the house...”

I picked up the letter, ________ his apology and gratitude for everything I did. But when I read the first line, I felt incredibly ________ myself.

“I’m tired of being ________ of not helping around the house. Yesterday, I washed the windows. I also picked up your car from school and took it for an oil change. Did you ________?”

I glanced through our ________ windows. My car? I did know he took it to the garage so I didn’t have to waste a precious Saturday morning on vehicle ________.

The letter continued in the same________ — a little anger, a lot of hurt. I deserved every word since I wasn’t________ unaware of his household contributions, but instead of giving him ________ for the tasks he did, I complained about the tasks he ________ to do.

I ________ a pen and notebook but my hand paused above a blank page. Careless, ________ words had rolled out so easily from my mouth, but these new words must be deliberate and meaningful, worthy of ________. I wrote, “I’m sorry.”

1.

A．flower

B．envelope

C．paper

D．book

2.

A．comment

B．update

C．decision

D．assessment

3.

A．issuing

B．anticipating

C．accepting

D．publishing

4.

A．scared of

B．amazed at

C．ashamed of

D．concerned about

5.

A．suspected

B．cured

C．informed

D．accused

6.

A．notice

B．quit

C．agree

D．mind

7.

A．fancy

B．spotless

C．soiled

D．frosted

8.

A．emissions

B．repairs

C．maintenance

D．registration

9.

A．tone

B．breath

C．situation

D．sense

10.

A．temporarily

B．seemingly

C．painfully

D．completely

11.

A．credit

B．envy

C．comfort

D．sympathy

12.

A．intended

B．promised

C．failed

D．attempted

13.

A．put down

B．reached for

C．took apart

D．picked out

14.

A．similar

B．plain

C．priceless

D．hurtful

15.

A．admiration

B．encouragement

C．forgiveness

D．mention

3 . At an antiques store near their home, Michael, 11, and his brother Mauro, 9, encountered a link to a real national hero accidentally.

While searching through military memorabilia (纪念品), the boys had unearthed a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and a Good Conduct Medal bearing the name Charles J. George. The shop’s owner said the medals were worth hundreds of dollars, but he agreed to let the boys have them for free on one condition: that they return the awards to the soldier’s family.

The brothers found a Charles George online in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor database, but the listing didn’t show a middle name or an initial. After searching military records at the library and online with no luck. Michael and Mauro found a YouTube video of a memorial service for George conducted in his hometown, Cherokee, by a local service officer Warren Dupree. The boys e-mailed Dupree, who responded with details about the heroic act that carned George the medals. During a war, George died after throwing himself on a bomb to save two fellow soldiers.

As for the middle initial J, the brothers learned that Cherokee don’t take middle names — Charles George had adopted his father’s name, Jacob, as a middle name just in case he would need it to join the army. The mystery was solved.

Dupree invited the brothers to Cherokee to present the medals to George’s family a few months later. “It felt so good to give the medals back,” says Michael, who wants to write a children’s book about the hunt for Charles J. George. “It was an honor,” adds his brother.

1. What can be inferred about the shop owner?

A．He cared about his credit.	B．He wanted to donate the medals.
C．He admired national heroes.	D．He tried to test the young visitors.

2. What ultimately contributed to the return of the medals?

A．Military records.	B．A YouTube video.
C．Online database.	D．The fellow soldiers.

3. Which of the following best describes the brothers?

A．Creative and generous.	B．Ambitious and talented.
C．Determined and trustworthy.	D．Intelligent and knowledgeable.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The value of the medals.	B．The influence of a hero.
C．The journey of treasure hunt.	D．The discovery of a hidden past.

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

A．To confirm the address of the bank.

B．To ask about the operating hours.

C．To get an identification form.

2. When does the bank close at weekdays?

A．At 3 p.m.

B．At 4:30 p.m.

C．At 5 p.m.

3. How can the man save time?

A．By making a reservation.

B．By filling out a form in advance.

C．By opening the bank account online.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What stimulated the woman’s interest in lighting?

A．The lighting in a play.

B．A light show at a rock concert.

C．A fireworks display at an event.

2. What does the woman say about her job?

A．It’s simple to operate.

B．It’s highly thought of by many people.

C．It’s important for people to understand a play.

3. What did the woman do at school?

A．She acted on a dark stage.

B．She made a lighting plan for a play.

C．She assisted the teacher to write a play.

6 . Profits from cutting down rainforests are surprisingly small. A freshly cleared square kilometer of the Amazon rainforest fetches an average price of only around $ 12. By contrast, the social costs of clearing it are huge. Some 500 tons of carbon dioxide are pumped into the atmosphere. By an estimate, that does $ 25,000 of harm by accelerating climate change.

Yet still the world’s trees are disappearing. The senseless men cutting down trees receive the profits, but all 8 billion people on the planet pay for the costs. Clearly, if the owners of the rainforest were paid not to destroy it, everyone would be better off. If rainforests were in places with clear landownership and a firm rule of law, the world would no doubt already have funded such a deal. Sadly, they are not.

Local officials are often in league with the loggers, and may be loggers themselves. Consider Brazil. It had a leader, who sided with illegal loggers and ranchers (大农场主). He stopped fining forest criminals and told illegal miners on local reserves he would legalise the mining. On his watch the pace of deforestation rose by 60%. Local communities often refuse to follow the law and order since they see more benefit from deforestation than protecting it. And the land ownership is a mess. When it’s unclear who owns a piece of land, it’s unclear whom to pay to protect it, or whom to fine for destroying it.

Leadership matters. But even under better leaders, people living there should see benefits in protecting them. That will require a big, reliable flow of cash which should come from rich-country governments and from private firms buying carbon credits to make up for their emissions (排放).

Such carbon credits could be used to promote a greener local economy, and clean up local land registration. If there’s enough cash, conditionally paid, locals will be encouraged to protect trees and less likely to elect irresponsible leaders. To preserve such a huge carbon sink — never mind the biodiversity it contains — this would be a bargain.

1. What does the author intend to tell in Paragraph 1?

A．Climate change is accelerating.	B．Rainforest clearing is rather profitable.
C．Carbon dioxide is harmful to the atmosphere.	D．The costs of deforestation outweigh the profits.

2. What makes the world’s trees disappear constantly?

A．Clear landownership.	B．The absence of related law.
C．Profit-driving logging.	D．People’s willingness to buy trees.

3. What is needed to protect the rainforest according to the author?

A．More landownership funds.	B．Bringing in more private firms.
C．Awareness of saving biodiversity.	D．Paying the locals for the preservation efforts.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Cash for Saving Rainforests	B．Fight Illegal Logging in Brazil
C．Dilemmas of Rainforest Protection	D．Rainforest Deforestation and Climate Change

7 . 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。

Imagine a vehicle that can pick you up outside your home, drive to the nearest railway line, and change itself into a train. It may sound like a story from “Thomas the Tank Engine,”     1     that’s exactly what Japan’s DMV Road-Rail buses have been doing since they    2     (launch) on Christmas Day 2021.

With a capacity of 23, the DMV is a diesel-powered (柴油驱动的) bus fitted with a set of retractable (可缩进的) rail wheels    3    can be put in place in about 15 seconds. Lighter than a traditional train, the DMV also consumes less fuel and is    4     (cheap) to maintain.

    5     (advertise) as “the world’s first operational dual-mode vehicle,” it is actually the latest in a long series of similar experiments    6     (improve) rural rail services. As far back as the 1930s, similar vehicles    7    the DMV were tested in England and West Germany.

Tokushima government hopes that the DMV buses    8       (become) a tourist draw in their own right. It also believes that the vehicles could also be useful for reaching isolated communities in the event of natural    9     (disaster) such as earthquakes, which can leave sections of roads or railway lines    10     (usable).

8 . There’s no doubt that loneliness hurts. Functional MRIs show that the area of the brain triggered by social rejection is the same area that’s triggered by physical pain. To understand why loneliness hurts, let’s take a closer look at friendship through the eyes of two heavyweight philosophers.

In one corner we have Aristotle, who wrote that without friends, there’s no reason to live. The Greek great believed that friendships are based on the virtues of the friend.     1     But the problem with Aristotle’s theory is that if you lose some virtues, you should also expect to lose some friends. And that’s not how friendships work — at least not the good ones.     2    

So as a sharp counterpunch to Aristotle, let’s turn to the renowned Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, who said that all people have value regardless of their virtues. Since we view our true friends with this kind of unconditional love and respect, we can assume they view us the same way.     3     Being away from our friends takes away these life-affirming interactions. Worse, having no friends means our value, or dignity, isn’t being appreciated.

    4     This may seem obvious, but there’s a catch. Your connection has to be oriented (以……为方向) toward the other person — not in what they can do for you and your loneliness. So say hi to a neighbor, hold the door for someone, or volunteer at the soup kitchen.     5     However, they’ll help you feel more connected to the world. And the more of these small steps you take toward connection, the farther away from loneliness you’ll get.

A．This may sound fine at first.

B．They last through thick and thin.

C．This tells us why loneliness hurts.

D．These acts may not make you a lifelong friend.

E．The more friends you have, the happier you’ll be.

F．We feel like we’re not accepted by the people around us.

G．Thus, the cure for loneliness can be found in other people.

9 . Almost no one knows the world of competitive climbing like Janja Garnbret, an Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion. Having risen to the top of the sport, the Slovenian now is using her platform to raise awareness of the “cultural trap” in climbing. She says it is contributing to a widespread issue with eating disorders.

The problem is from an outdated idea that weighing less means you climb faster. Such a mindset has created an environment where young athletes start skipping or cutting down on meals, she says, sometimes to disastrous effect. Despite not having issues with eating disorders herself, she is more than aware of friends and fellow competitors who have damaged their bodies in the pursuit of a thinner figure.

“I have to recognize that weight does have some role to play in the sport. I also want to win, but I’m a strong believer that you can do climbing, or any sport, in a healthy way. Luckily I didn’t fall into this trap.” She says.

“I was trying hard to help them get out of it, but it didn’t work. It was really hard for me to see them destroying themselves, mentally and physically.” It was experiences such as this that inspired Gambret to post a message on the social platform in July 2023 about eating disorders. The post sparked a huge response throughout the climbing community and attracted support from the likes of US rock climber Sasha DiGiulian.

In her message, Garnbret spoke about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) — a syndrome (综合征) that occurs when someone of any gender has overtrained and/or undereaten for a long period in an attempt to improve their athletic performance, often without knowing the dangers of failing to compensate (补偿) for the energy they consume in training, racing and their daily lives. Left untreated, medical experts say REDs can damage an athlete’s bone health, immune system, and psychological health, as well as his athletic performance.

1. What does the “cultural trap” in the text refer to?

A．The defeat of eating disorders.	B．The pursuit of a thinner figure.
C．The idea of keeping daily meals.	D．The mindset of climbing to the top.

2. Why did Garnbret decide to post the message on the social platform?

A．She used to fall into the cultural trap.	B．Her efforts to help dieters were in vain.
C．Her achievements deserved to be shared.	D．She wanted to receive support from DiGiulian.

3. What may lead to REDs according to the text?

A．Severe mental problems.	B．The habit of overeating.
C．Over-exercise for a long time.	D．The poor athletic performance.

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

A．The Road to a World Champion	B．Rising to Fame on Social Media
C．The Challenge of Climbing with REDs	D．Warning against Cultural Trap in Climbing

10 . Using a headset at home to deliver a low electrical current to the brain can relieve symptoms of depression. The approach, called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is effective when used several times a week for half an hour at a time.

Previous trials have shown that the therapy works under medical supervision in a clinic or lab. Now, a randomised trial has demonstrated that a tDCS headset can also reduce depression symptoms when worn at home.

Several forms of electrical brain stimulation may have the potential to treat depression. With tDCS, sponge electrodes are placed on the left and right sides of the forehead, causing a mild current to flow from the left to the right. This makes brain cells on the left side more likely to fire, with some studies suggesting that activity in this region is low in people with depression.

Repeated sessions of stimulation may lead to longer term changes in the brain cells, increasing their activity levels, says team member Cynthia Fu at the University of East London. Affecting activity in this region probably alters activity in multiple areas, she says. “There are probably many brain regions causing depression.”

To see if people can benefit from using such a device at home, the team randomly assigned 174 people with moderate or severe depression to receive either a full session of stimulation from the headset or stimulation from the same device that lasted just a few seconds. People felt their skin aching at the start and end of each session.

While the depression symptoms of both groups improved on a 52-point scale, those who got the real treatment showed the most benefit, by about 9 points compared with 7, a degree of difference that is similar to that seen with antidepressants (抗抑郁药), “We found people liked having it at home,” says Fu. “Participants could build it into their day.”

1. What is the function of the headset?

A．Curing depression in patients.	B．Testing the degree of depression.
C．Adjusting brain’s electrical current.	D．Reducing symptoms of depression.

2. How does the tDCS approach work?

A．By making the left-brain cells active.	B．By causing a strong electrical current.
C．By changing the brain wave’s direction.	D．By stimulating all brain regions repeatedly.

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

A．Monitors.

B．Disturbs.

C．Limits.

D．Changes.

4. What can be learned about the participants from the last two paragraphs?

A．They feel relieved to some extent.	B．They remain relaxed in the session.
C．They use different kinds of headsets.	D．They are bound to rely on the headsets.