My husband, Robert Stone and I were enjoying a peaceful afternoon together in Barbados — our vacation destination. It was sunny and warm, and we decided it was the perfect time to go for an ocean dip.
When we were floating around, I said, “What a nice holiday! Let’s swim out, not that far but enough to be out of our depth.” But we hadn’t considered just how strong the current was on that particular day. Although we had visited Barbados several times, we didn’t realize the specific area we floated to was known for its strong current.
Noticing that we were floating in the direction of the neighboring beach, I decided to swim toward the beach we came from, against the current. I soon realized that my husband was falling behind and was suddenly too far away to even hear me. I attempted to swim to the shore to get help but struggled to push past the current. I just couldn’t get anywhere and began to scream out for a lifeguard. But no one came after a few minutes.
Just then I saw two teenage girls boogie-boarding near the shore. “Help! Help!” I screamed. Hearing my cries for help, the girls swam toward me and helped pull me onto the boogie board. One girl told me to hold on tight and tied the boogie board tether (拴绳) to her wrist. The other girl was by her side for support. They managed to swim to the shore and brought me to safety.
Grateful but still scared, I repeated that my husband was stuck farther out in the ocean. I asked for a lifeguard. The girls told me there wasn’t a lifeguard around, and they would go get him. “You can’t do that!” I told them, “Strong current!” The girls reassured me that they were in Barbados as part of a swimming camp and insisted that they were both experienced in the water.
注意：（1）续写词数应为150个左右；
（2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Before I could say anything further, they swam off with the boogie board.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Relief washed over me as the girls and Robert reached the shore.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The 74-year-old art historian Mimi Gates has
Looking back, Gates says
When Fan Jinshi, the then-head of the Dunhuang Research Academy,
3 . On nothing but a “wooden board and four wheels”, a group of women are speeding down windy mountain roads. For most people, this could sound
Austrian Pixner got
That is about to
Though skateboarding was once a sport on the
| A．terrifying | B．exciting | C．surprising | D．amusing |
| A．mixed | B．different | C．normal | D．strange |
| A．dismissed | B．punished | C．disturbed | D．involved |
| A．stand out | B．turn up | C．give in | D．look on |
| A．trouble | B．example | C．exception | D．danger |
| A．reasons | B．comments | C．behaviors | D．memories |
| A．absolutely | B．incredibly | C．unfortunately | D．dramatically |
| A．money | B．excuse | C．energy | D．idea |
| A．change | B．start | C．continue | D．worsen |
| A．monitors | B．inspires | C．designs | D．documents |
| A．themes | B．styles | C．copies | D．rules |
| A．discovered | B．avoided | C．experienced | D．imagined |
| A．entertained | B．cured | C．controlled | D．exhausted |
| A．top | B．front | C．edge | D．basis |
| A．limit | B．reduce | C．ensure | D．expand |
4 . If you are interested in wildlife and also wish to learn the artistry from the masters with their inspiring, practical and informative books, here are some recommended best sellers by world-class wildlife photographers.
British Wildlife Photography By Will Nicholls
This book brings together 250 of the winning images from 2023’s British Wildlife Photography Awards. Entered in nine categories, each image is explained by the photographer with details on how they got shot, making it a useful learning tool.
Photographing Garden Birds By Mark Carwardine
Packed with inspiring images of British birds, Carwardine details which equipment is essential, explains ways to attract different species to your garden, and offer advice on lighting tips, as well as guidance on how to shoot birds in flight. There’s even a chapter on “Working with Birds” and how to take images using your smartphone.
Butterfly Safari By Fusek Peters
View British butterflies in astonishing details in this attractive book by photographer Fusck Peters. Fusck Peters spent four years travelling around the UK in search of butterflies species. His detailed photos reveal the delicate beauty of butterflies.
Wildlife Photography By Susan Young
Photographer Susan Young offers systematic ways to locate British wildlife in this book. Learn about the importance of research before you set out, including how to find a suitable place and what to take. There are also tips on how to observe without disturbing animals.
1. Which book helps to take better smartphone photos?| A．Butterfly Safari. | B．British Wildlife Photography. |
| C．Wildlife Photography. | D．Photographing Garden Birds. |
| A．Lighting tips for photography. | B．Ways on wildlife spotting. |
| C．How to capture animals in motion. | D．How to do wildlife research. |
| A．They focus on British wildlife. | B．They concern natural beauty. |
| C．They are collections of photos. | D．They de tail ways of research. |
5 . Trillions of evolution’s wonders, red-eyed periodical cicadas (蝉) that have pumps in their heads and jet-like muscles in their bodies, are about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries. Crawling out from underground every 13 or 17 years, with a collective song as loud as jet engines, the periodical cicadas are nature’s kings of the calendar. These black bugs with bulging eyes differ from their greener cousins that come out annually. They stay buried year after year, until they surface and take over a landscape.
This spring, an unusual cicada double population is about to invade a couple of parts of the United States in what University of Connecticut cicada expert John Cooley called “cicada-geddon”. The last time these two broods (a group of creatures) came out together was in 1803. Thomas Jefferson, the then president, wrote about cicadas in his Garden Book but mistakenly called them locusts (蝗虫). Usually mistaken for hungry and unrelated locusts, periodical cicadas are more annoying rather than causing great economic damage. They can hurt young trees and some fruit crops, but it’s not widespread and can be prevented.
The largest geographic brood in the nation—called Brood XIX and coming out every 13 years—is about to march through the Southeast, having already created countless boreholes in the red Georgia clay. It’s a sure sign of the coming cicada occupation. “They emerge when the ground warms to 64 degrees, which is happening earlier than it used to because of climate change,” scientists said. “The bugs are brown at first but darken as they mature.”
Soon after the insects appear in large numbers in Georgia and the rest of the Southeast, cicada cousins that come out every 17 years will inundate Illinois. They are Brood ⅩⅢ. “And when you put those two together… you would have more than anywhere else any other time,” University of Maryland entomologist Paula Shrewsbury said. “These two broods may actually overlap—but probably not interbreed-in a small area near central Illinois.”
1. How are periodical cicadas different from their greener cousins?| A．They appear once a year. | B．They look more beautiful. |
| C．They have stronger muscles. | D．They have a longer life circle. |
| A．They are a type of locusts. | B．They have underestimated advantages. |
| C．They are Thomas Jefferson’s inspiration. | D．They only eat young trees and fruit crops. |
| A．The red Georgia clay is more beneficial to them. |
| B．Climate change may be confusing their schedules. |
| C．The adult ones only live 4-6 weeks before they die. |
| D．They are expected to be found throughout the world. |
| A．Strike out. | B．Give up. | C．Flood into. | D．Jump at. |
6 . North Rim to reopen on June 2 with limited services available
News Release Date: May 17, 2023Contact: Joëlle Baird, 928-606-3154
Grand Canyon, Ariz
The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open as scheduled, on June 2, with limited visitor services and water conservation measures due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline. A landslide from winter storms destroyed more than 300 feet of the North Rim water pipeline.
Visitor ServicesThe Grand Canyon Lodge will operate day-use services with limited food and beverage service beginning on June 2. No overnight accommodations will be available until at least July 23, 2023.
The North Rim Campground, managed by the National Park Service, will operate as scheduled beginning on June 9 with potable drinking water and toilets available. The public laundry and shower facilities will not be open at least through July 23, 2023.
The North Rim Visitor Center and Grand Canyon Conservancy’s bookstore open as usual, 8 am to 6 pm daily, with a variety of ranger programs offered.
Visitors exploring the North Rim this summer should be self-sufficient and should bring adequate food and water for the day as services are limited and may be subject to change. Nearby, accommodating is available at the Kaibab Lodge and food services and fuel at the North Rim Country Store. Year-round accommodating, food services and fuel are located 45 miles north of the North Rim at Jacob Lake. As a result of substantial winter rockfall and landslides, trail (步道) repair work on the North Kaibab Trail continues. There is a trail closure in effect on the North Kaibab Trail and it will officially reopen on June 16, 2023.
1. Which was not affected and opens as usual?| A．The public laundry. | B．The Grand Canyon Lodge. |
| C．The North Kaibab Trail. | D．The North Rim Visitor Center. |
| A．It offers food service. | B．It is around Jacob Lake. |
| C．It is under repair now. | D．It opens all the year around. |
| A．To warn visitors of the oncoming landslide. |
| B．To inform visitors of schedules of some attractions. |
| C．To appeal to more visitors to the Grand Canyon National Park. |
| D．To advertise the products of the Grand Canyon National Park. |
7 . 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. |
| 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. |
| A．Severe mental problems. | B．The habit of overeating. |
| C．Over-exercise for a long time. | D．The poor athletic performance. |
| 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 |
8 . Are your keys not in the spot you thought you left them? Can’t recall the title of a book? I’ve had those moments. Such instances of “brain freeze” remind us that we should do everything in our power to keep our brains sharp.
A new study finds Tai Chi study can help slow cognitive (认知的) decline and protect against dementia (痴呆). The study included about 300 older adults, in their mid-70s on average, who had all reported that their memory was not as good as it used to be.
As part of the study, all the participants took a 10-mirrute test called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. A normal score is 26-30. A person who scores between 18 and 25 is considered to have mild impairment (损害), which means they don’t have dementia but they’re not as sharp as they used to be and may need to work harder to maintain everyday activities. Once their score drops under 18, people experience quite a bit of impairment from memory loss and cognitive decline.
The average score of participant s at the start of the study was 25. The study found that people who practiced a simplified form of Tai Chi twice a week for about six months improved their score by 1.5 points, meaning that they’re going to get three extra years before they hit that decline into dementia.
Researchers also tested a more stricter type of Tai Chi, called Cognitively Enhanced Tai Chi, where they provided extra challenges. For example, participants were asked to spell a word, backward and forward, as they moved through a series of Tai Chi moves. The people who practice this type of cognitively enhanced Tai Chi improved their scores by about 3 points, meaning they are given six extra years of cognitive function.
The theory on why Tai Chi is effective is that it combines the memorization of the movements, known as forms, almost like composing dancing moves.
1. Why are two questions raised in the first paragraph?| A．To present the author’s doubts. | B．To expect answers from readers. |
| C．To analyze the causes of forgetfulness. | D．To introduce the main topic of the text. |
| A．Cognitive assessment methods. | B．The process of running the test. |
| C．Cognitive measurement criteria. | D．The test results of the participants. |
| A．Most of them suffer from, dementia. | B．They remain as quick-minded as before. |
| C．Many of them have slight cognitive decline. | D．They can protect themselves against dementia. |
| A．It helps resolve challenges. | B．It involves mind-body movements. |
| C．It puts off cognitive decline by three years. | D．It improves the participants academic level. |
9 . In 2012, Laura Eshelman man was in the middle of a mental unsettlement. She was having
As she crossed the street, Eshelman
Eshelman
As she
“That moment on the street was one of the few
| A．fun | B．trouble | C．experience | D．luck |
| A．rejected | B．submitted | C．displayed | D．followed |
| A．relaxed | B．awkward | C．nervous | D．depressed |
| A．remembered | B．guided | C．spotted | D．comforted |
| A．ignored | B．touched | C．rewarded | D．cheated |
| A．hesitated | B．waited | C．escaped | D．approached |
| A．active | B．impatient | C．anxious | D．desperate |
| A．slid | B．struggled | C．got | D．looked |
| A．helpful | B．rude | C．strict | D．particular |
| A．set aside | B．put away | C．dug out | D．used up |
| A．heart | B．pocket | C．store | D．drawer |
| A．handed | B．lent | C．returned | D．awarded |
| A．dangerous | B．normal | C．unpractical | D．unpleasant |
| A．pain | B．choice | C．effort | D．privilege |
| A．instants | B．chances | C．differences | D．flashes |
10 . Off Australia’s northern coast, the remains of ancient coral reefs (珊瑚礁) form the bedrock of wooded islands, which are home to diverse animals and plants, including mangrove (红树林) forests that blanket their coasts and serve as vital habitats and carbon storers. A recent survey shows that expanding seas might have led to a massive mangrove increase, researchers report November 1 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Mangroves absorb carbon dioxide and store it as “blue carbon”, a term for carbon that is hidden away in ocean environments. “There’s a lot of interest in using mangrove blue carbon to lessen climate change,” says Kerrylee Rogers, an environmental scientist at the University of Wollongong in Australia. But there remain a lot of questions around their capacity to adapt to sea level rise.
In 2021,a team led by Wollongong environmental scientist Sarah Hamylton visited the Howick Islands to do a related research. They walked through the seawater to assess the plant diversity and measure individual trees. Using the measured widths and heights of several mangroves, the team calculated tree widths for the rest of the forest from the data to estimate the total mangrove quantity. The islands host nearly 54,000 metric tons of mangroves, the team estimates, which is roughly 10,000 more metric tons than there was in 1973.
The Howick Islands are uniquely suited to supporting mangroves as the ocean rises. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, around 12,000 years ago, water levels rose around northern Australia, and coral reefs grew upward to fill the space that had opened for them.
When sea levels fell thousands of years later, the exposed reefs became sediment (沉积物). With sea levels now rising again, the mixture of saltwater and sediment makes a perfect home for the salt-tolerant mangroves.
Rogers and Hamylton are now working on a bigger effort to study mangoves around Australia. “If we’re going to invest in mangroves to provide us blue carbon and to protect shorelines, we need to understand how dynamic they are,” Rogers says.
1. What can be known about blue carbon?| A．It is produced by ocean water. | B．It is massively present in the air. |
| C．It is friendly environment. | D．It is nutritious for mangroves. |
| A．To measure the size of mangroves. |
| B．To figure out where to plant mangroves. |
| C．To confirm whether local natural environment is polluted. |
| D．To see how the mangroves respond to sea level rise. |
| A．The diversity of ocean life. |
| B．The increase of coral reefs. |
| C．The combination of salt water and sediment. |
| D．The formation of the bedrock of wooded islands. |
| A．Climate Change Causes Sea Level Rise |
| B．Sea Level Rise Helps Mangroves Boost |
| C．Environment on Australia Islands Is Improving |
| D．Climate Warming Poses Dangers To Mangroves |
