1 . Orange chicken, salt and pepper chips, fried rice... Max Burns lists several typical Western-style Chinese dishes that _______ him. For Burns who spent his childhood in China, those cuisines are far from _______. They are invented to satisfy Western preferences.

Actually, many Westerners regard that particular type of _______ as the whole of Chinese cuisine. The average Westerners are not as _______ and educated as they could be. That is why he tries to show Chinese food by vlogging (视频博客) about _______ Chinese dishes at home.

The food adventure has helped Burns grow into an _______ with over three million subscribers worldwide today and helped _______ some people’s ideas about Chinese food. His friends told him they were shocked by the _______ of Chinese cuisine and it took them a long time to figure out categories of Chinese cuisine.

_______, when Burns first started vlogging in 2016 after returning to England, cooking Chinese food at home was a then “________ idea”, because he was never into cooking. At the time, the ________ centered more on explaining aspects of Chinese culture. However, during COVID-19 when Burns couldn’t ________ outside, he had to learn to cook. “Then I instantly fell in love,” he ________. “The more I learned about Chinese cooking, the more I got into it.”

The cooking journey also serves to maintain his ________ with China, even though he has left China for years. Burns ________ the experiences of living in China, enabling him to teach about Chinese cuisine and build a cross-cultural bridge between the East and the West.

1.

A．attract

B．disappoint

C．puzzle

D．scare

2.

A．nutritious

B．simple

C．genuine

D．organic

3.

A．material

B．dessert

C．restaurant

D．fare

4.

A．motivated

B．treated

C．informed

D．recognized

5.

A．making

B．ordering

C．serving

D．ranking

6.

A．influencer

B．amateur

C．employer

D．organizer

7.

A．consider

B．assess

C．overlook

D．shift

8.

A．diversity

B．significance

C．popularity

D．impact

9.

A．Consequently

B．Interestingly

C．Ultimately

D．Obviously

10.

A．negative

B．practical

C．stupid

D．brilliant

11.

A．courses

B．surveys

C．tests

D．videos

12.

A．dine

B．film

C．exercise

D．work

13.

A．defends

B．recalls

C．comments

D．responds

14.

A．business

B．argument

C．difference

D．connection

15.

A．imagines

B．evaluates

C．appreciates

D．describes

2 . Yoga has been around for roughly 5, 000 years but it is more popular today than ever. An estimated 300 million people play yoga worldwide. Experts say its accessibility and the fact that you can practice it anywhere are big reasons why.     1    

Yoga can improve your posture and balance, strengthen bones and muscles and keep your back and joints healthy.     2     Downward-facing dog can help relieve back pain while plank (平板) pose is good for building a strong core and upper body. Typically the final position of a yoga class is ideally done for at least five minutes.     3     After that, you and your classmates usually acknowledge each other with a greeting: Namaste.

Many people adopt yoga as a form of exercise.     4     As recorded in the Yoga Sutras, a classic yoga text, the philosophy of yoga is based on the idea that the mind, body and spirit are one. The practice of yoga consists of not only physical postures but also moral guidelines, breathing techniques, and self-awareness, helping reduce anxiety and improve focus. It is an approach to health and well-being that aims to bring balance and harmony to all aspects of life.

    5     However, a 13-year U. S. study found that between 2001 and 2014, almost30, 000 individuals went to the emergency room with a yoga-related injury. Overstretching tends to be the most common issue, but serious injuries-although rare-can happen even to advanced coaches.

A．Different poses offer different benefits.

B．The detailed advantages are as follows.

C．Actually, yoga is a way of life at its roots.

D．This exercise is said to strengthen your body.

E．Yoga seems unlikely to send you to the hospital.

F．A lot of studies have been carried out about yoga.

G．The aim of this pose is to settle your mind and body.

3 . Many of us remember the feeling of having our braces (牙套) regularly adjusted and retightened at the dentist’s. And interventions are based entirely upon the estimate of dentists and involve a great deal of trial and error, which can lead to too many visits to the dentist’s.

Professor Erleben and his team created a computer model that creates accurate 3D simulations (模拟) of an individual patient’s jaw, which dentists can use to predict how sets of braces should be designed to best straighten a patient’s teeth and plan the best possible treatment. To create these simulations, the computer model was used to map sets of human teeth after getting detailed CT images of teeth and the small, fine structures between the jawbone and the teeth. This type of precise digital simulation is referred to as a digital twin, a virtual model that lives in the cloud.

The virtual model can answer what’s happening in the real world, and do so instantly. For example, one can ask what would happen if you pushed on one tooth and get answers with regards to where it would move and how it would affect other teeth. The model also helps to predict the post treatment effect, achieve “visualization” of treatment, and facilitate patients to understand the plan of straightening their teeth. What’s more, it has enabled more flexible and convenient digital medical follow-up services.

The area of research that uses digital twins is relatively new. “However, we need to set up a sufficiently big database if digital twins are to really take root and benefit the healthcare industry,” Erleben said, “In the future, the virtual model can be used to plan, design and improve, and can therefore be used to operate companies, robots, factories and used much more in the energy, healthcare and other fields.”

1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The professional integrity of dentists.	B．The current state of dental treatment.
C．The procedure of retightening braces.	D．The intervention of modern technology.

2. Which was the first step in creating 3D simulations?

A．Predicting treatment effect.	B．Designing a computer model.
C．Drawing the shape of a mouth.	D．Obtaining the details of teeth.

3. What is Professor Erleben’s attitude towards digital twins?

A．Doubtful.

B．Curious.

C．Favorable.

D．Dismissive.

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

A．Why digital twins make a hit	B．Where virtual treatment goes
C．What trouble dentists encounter	D．How a virtual model aids dentists

4 . Language gives us the power to describe countless actions, properties and relations that compose our experiences, real or imagined. As for how languages were created, scientists found iconicity might play a key role.

People can’t bridge language gap and understand each other without iconicity. When playing a game of charades (猜字谜) , we act out our meaning, using our hands and bodies to describe the sizes and shapes of objects. The key to this process of forming new symbols is the use of iconicity. Not limited to gesturing, iconicity appears in our visual communication too. Traffic signs, food packaging, maps. . . wherever there are people communicating, you will find iconicity.

According to our research, iconicity might also exist in our voices. We organized a contest in which we invited contestants to record a set of sounds to express different meanings. The winner of the contest was determined by how well listeners could guess the intended meanings of the sounds based on a set of written options. Critically, the sounds that contestants submitted couldn’t include actual words or onomatopoeias (拟声词) .

Listeners were remarkably good at interpreting the meanings of the sounds. Yet, all of the contestants and listeners were speakers of English. Thus, it was possible that listeners’ success relied on some cultural knowledge that they shared with the speakers. Did the listeners also understand the speakers from completely different cultural backgrounds?

Later, an Internet survey translated into 25 different languages was carried out. Participants listened to each sound from the English speakers and guessed the meaning by choosing from six written words. Guessing accuracy for the different groups ranged from 74 percent for English speakers to 34 percent for Portuguese speakers. It is far from perfect, but well above the chance rate of eight percent expected by us.

Taken together, these studies show that our capacity for iconic communication has played a critical role. Without this special talent, language would likely never have gotten off the ground.

1. Which of the following can explain “iconicity” ?

A．A skill in foreign language learning.	B．The process of acting out our meanings.
C．The connection between form and meaning.	D．A barrier between different language speakers.

2. What can we know about the contest?

A．It required sounds containing meanings.	B．Its winners were creative in recordings.
C．It aimed to prove iconicity in words.	D．Its entries were familiar to listeners.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

A．English pronunciations differ.	B．The research has a limitation.
C．The cultural gap is narrowing.	D．Listening skills vary in cultures.

4. What is the significance of the research?

A．Clarifying the influence of sounds.	B．Proving the necessity of exchanges.
C．Uncovering the origin of languages.	D．Identifying the function of gestures.

5 . Over 40 students with low vision study at a school in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was designed by Anand Sonecha, founder of an architecture company. Featuring a bright yellow entrance door, which stands out against the white walls, the school is decorated with a variety of sweet-smelling plants everywhere. Inside the classrooms, the walls feel smooth in contrast to the rough outside of the building. These all help students familiarize themselves with the area straightforwardly, without any trouble.

The school provides an open space serving as a platform for the visually-challenged students to play, perform, or celebrate festivals and the students are easy to orient themselves according to the sound, smell, sight and touch. “The idea behind the design was to make the school more accessible to the students,” Sonecha says, “They come from remote villages and towns in Gujarat, and I am eager to help them.”

During the construction, Sonecha used contrasting colors so that students could easily distinguish between the elements. Blue was used for all classroom doors, yellow for the entrance gate, black for switch buttons, and yellow and green for the furniture. All these colors contrasted with the white walls of the school, helping the students locate different elements. Different areas are of different height and width, which makes the sounds and noises change according to the echo (回音) produced in these spaces. Furthermore, he cooperated with fellow landscape architect Lokendra Balasaria to plant more than 1, 000 plants of 37 species. These sweet plants have been grown not only to lead the children to move in the school through smell but also to attract butterflies and birds, and provide shade.

“The structure of the building is designed similarly to any other school building, only with a few clever elements. My intention was to avoid making it look distinct from other schools,” Sonecha explains, “I hope that there are no different schools for such students. Instead, all these elements should be added to public spaces for them. And my follow-up efforts may be there.”

1. Why did Sonecha design the school in Gandhinagar?

A．To explore architecture styles.	B．To raise funds for his company.
C．To offer convenience to the students.	D．To improve students’ learning ability.

2. What does the underlined word “orient” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Relax.

B．Waken.

C．Cheer.

D．Direct.

3. How does the school help students perform daily routine?

A．By expanding activity areas.	B．By stimulating multiple senses.
C．By offering behavioral guidelines.	D．By strengthening safety measures.

4. What will Sonecha probably do in the future?

A．Promote accessibility in the public regions.	B．Modernize architecture with smart devices.
C．Build special schools for disabled students.	D．Decorate schools with traditional elements.

6 . 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。

When we think of the Silk Road, the first thing that appears in people’s minds is trade. However, trade isn’t just limited to goods     1     includes culture.

Since ancient times, strong connections between the Chinese and the Turkish people     2     (build) by cultural exchange along the Silk Road. Some historians believe Karagoz, Turkish traditional shadow puppetry (皮影) , drew     3     (inspire) from Chinese shadow puppetry art. Karagoz originally     4     (find) its place in Bursa, a city in northwestern Turkey, and it first rose to popularity in the 16th century.

Karagoz is a dramatic form of storytelling     5     shadows are projected onto a white screen, with a multitasking performer     6     (sing) the tunes and words of the story and the lead puppeteer controlling the movement of the puppets. The performances     7     (main) center around social events and public criticism, whose primary objective is     8     (educate) people via entertainment.

The tradition’s popularity in Turkey is credited     9     people’s sense of nostalgia (怀旧) . Historically, Karagoz performances served as     10     educational tool for people of all classes. As society progresses, there is often a tendency to reconnect with the past.

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。

Driven by a great passion for guqin,     1     is an ancient Chinese instrument, Li Xiangting, a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing     2     (devote) nearly 70 years to mastering and promoting it since his first encounter with it.

In 1958, Li became the only gugin major in the Traditional Chinese Instruments Department. Given that guqin was     3     (relative) unknown, Li was often ignored. Everyone considered it out of date,     4     he thought it deserved an important position and was determined to make it     5     (appreciate) by everyone.

In order to introduce it     6     a global audience, Li innovated while honoring the instrument’s rich traditions. Later, he also produced teaching videos,     7     (publish) books, and released albums, significantly boosting the instrument’s     8     (popular).

In the following years, more enthusiasts and musicians like Li worked on the art. With     9     (they) efforts, the UNESCO recognized the art as an intangible (非物质的) heritage of humanity in 2003. Moreover, his daughter, Li Pengpeng, has followed in her father’s footsteps,     10     (serve) as an ambassador in promoting traditional Chinese culture.

8 . The 13-year-old girl Anna Grace is a volleyball manager, a basketball manager, and a theater volunteer, but perhaps her greatest_________is the fact that she has beaten cancer twice.

Anna was first diagnosed（诊断）with a rare type of_________in December of 2019. A softball player at the time, she told her parents she was experiencing muscle _________ in her left arm, only lifting it about eye-level. She had to_________ surgery on her left arm.

For the following weekends after the surgery, doctors scanned her_________to make sure she was cancer-free and then in August of 2023, doctors_________a spot on her lungs. She had another_________on September to remove it. Anna said later the first time with cancer, it felt like a learning stage. The second time around, it was a little _________to accept the news.

And throughout all of this, Anna has had to_________school work and hospital life. Her sufferings with cancer forced her to really__________herself because she was out of school for quite a while. Now she has__________and has straight As. Anna’s father, Eric Bartel, said her journey has inspired him to __________ every moment, enjoying time with his loving daughter.

Anna is doing well these days though. She’s__________in theater and is a coach’s assistant. “When you’re on__________you have to keep fighting, ”Anna said. “Always live life to the fullest each day. You’re loved. Your life   __________ .”

1.

A．excitement

B．achievement

C．devotion

D．ambition

2.

A．pain

B．cold

C．cancer

D．fever

3.

A．weakness

B．growth

C．recovery

D．relief

4.

A．perform

B．have

C．attend

D．refuse

5.

A．briefly

B．occasionally

C．partly

D．regularly

6.

A．noticed

B．erased

C．ignored

D．marked

7.

A．assessment

B．appointment

C．examination

D．operation

8.

A．harder

B．easier

C．stranger

D．better

9.

A．solve

B．connect

C．abandon

D．balance

10.

A．apply

B．control

C．convince

D．forgive

11.

A．caught up

B．held back

C．dropped out

D．blown up

12.

A．spare

B．appreciate

C．imagine

D．create

13.

A．active

B．graceful

C．dominant

D．cautious

14.

A．vacation

B．trust

C．treatment

D．duty

15.

A．declines

B．suffers

C．matters

D．waits

9 . Like many people over the past few years, I have found myself turning to audiobooks as my main means of reading literature. I find it far more comfortable to “read with my ears” while my eyes are resting. My consumption of new books has doubled as a result--but a recent paper makes me wonder if this will come at the price of my comprehension.

The study comes from Boaz Keysar and Janet Geipel, both at the University of Chicago, and it draws from the “dual process model” of mental processing. According to this-view, we have two ways of assessing information. System 1 is intuitive (直觉的),   relying on natural ability and feeling. It is quick, but likely exposed to misinformation. System 2 is analytical involving the use of logic reasoning. It is mentally demanding. When it is engaged, we think our way through the material step by step. For decades, psychologists have designed various tests to determine which of these two systems a person is using. As one example, consider the/ following question: How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark (方舟)? If you answered two, you were probably only considering the core of the question, which is System 1 thinking. To get to the right answer-zero, you need to think more carefully about the wording, which would allow you to remember it was Noah who built the Ark, not Moses. That is the kind of analytical process.

Keysar and Geipel’s brilliant idea was to investigate whether the sensory form-seeing vs. hearing-of the information would make a difference. They found that it did: when answering these kinds of simple questions, participants were more likely to make errors when the sentences were spoken out loud, rather than written.

A greater reliance on our feelings could be a problem if we are consuming information that needs logical study. For this reason. I will return to reading non-fiction with my eyes rather than my ears. But I won’t stop listening to novels. I am quite happy to go with the flow of my emotions while my critical mind takes a break.

1. What does the author think of listening to audiobooks?

A．It is economical.	B．It is demanding.
C．It is time-consuming.	D．It is relaxing.

2. Which of the following best describes System 2 model?

A．Fairly reliable.	B．Fully automatic.
C．Question-centered.	D．Emotion-involved.

3. Why is the Ark mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．To present a fact.	B．To illustrate a view.
C．To introduce a topic.	D．To draw a conclusion.

4. What does the author intend to tell us?

A．Listening to books comes at a price.

B．Reading non-fiction books benefits.

C．Critical thinking is a must in reading.

D．Ways of processing information differ.

10 . A new study reveals that pigeons (鸽子) can tackle some problems just like artificial intelligence, enabling them to solve difficult tasks that might challenge humans. Previous research has theorized that pigeons employ a problem-solving strategy, involving a trial-and- error approach, which is similar to the approach used in AI models but differs from humans’ reliance on selective attention and rule use. To examine it, Brandon Turner, a psychology professor at the Ohio State University, and his colleagues conducted the new study.

In the study, the pigeons were presented with various visual images, including lines of different widths and angles, and different types of rings. The pigeons had to peck (啄) a button on the right or left to indicate the category to which the image belonged. If they got it correct, they received food; if they were wrong, they received nothing. Results showed that, through trial and error, the pigeons improved their accuracy in categorization tasks, increasing their correct choices from about 55% to 95%.

Researchers believed pigeons used associative learning, which is linking two phenomena with each other. For example, it is easy to understand the link. between “water” and “wet”. “Associative learning is frequently assumed to be far too primitive to. explain complex visual categorization like what we saw the pigeons do,” Turner said. But that’s exactly what the researchers found.

The researchers’ AI model tackled the same tasks using just the two simple mechanisms that pigeons were assumed to use: associative learning and error correction. And, like the pigeons, the AI model learned to make the right predictions to significantly increase the number of correct answers. For humans, the challenge when given tasks like those given to pigeons is that they would try to come up with rules that could make the task easier. But in this case, there were no rules, which upsets humans.

What’s interesting, though, is that pigeons use this method of learning that is very similar to AI designed by humans, Turner said. “We celebrate how smart we are that we designed artificial intelligence: at the same time, we regard pigeons as not clever animals,” he said.

1. What is the purpose of the new study?

A．To test a theory.	B．To evaluate a model.
C．To employ a strategy.	D．To involve an approach.

2. What were the pigeons expected to do in the experiment?

A．Draw circles.

B．Correct errors.

C．Copy gestures.

D．Identify images.

3. What do pigeons and AI have in common according to the study?

A．They are of equal intelligence.

B．They are good at making rules.

C．They respond rapidly to orders from humans.

D．They employ simple ways to get things done.

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

A．Pigeons’ trial-and-error method is revealed

B．Pigeons outperform humans in tough tasks

C．“Not smart” pigeons may be as smart as AI

D．AI models after pigeons’ learning approach