1 . Some of our planet’s power pollinators (传粉昆虫) may have originated tens of millions of years earlier than scientists once believed. In a study published July 27 in the journal Current Biology, a team of researchers traced bee family back over 120 million years to the ancient supercontinent Gondwana (冈瓦纳大陆). While looking deeper into bee history, the team found evidence that bees originated earlier, diversified faster, and spread wider than previously suspected, putting together pieces of a puzzle on the origin of these pollinators.
In the study, an international team of scientists would be in sequence and compared genes from over 200 bee species. They then compared these bees with the traits from 185 different bee fossils and extinct fossils to develop an evolutionary history and genealogical model for how bees have historically been spread around the world. The team was able to analyze hundreds of thousands of genes at a time to make sure that the relationships they inferred were correct.
“This is the first time we have broad genome-scale data for all seven bee families,” study co-author and Washington State University entomologist Elizabeth Murray confidently said in a statement. Earlier studies established that the first bees potentially evolved from wasps (黄蜂), transitioning from predators up to collectors of pollen and nectar (花蜜). According to this study, bees arose in the dry regions of western Gondwana during the early Cretaceous period, between 145 million years ago to 100.5 million years ago.
“There’s been a long-time puzzle about the origin of bees,” study co-author and Washington State University entomologist Silas Bossert said in a statement. “For the first time, we have statistical evidence that bees originated on Gondwana. We now know that bees are originally southern hemisphere insects.” The team found evidence that as new continents formed, the bees moved northward. They continued to diversify and spread in parallel partnership with flowering plants called angiosperms. The bees later moved into India and Australia and all major bee families appear to have split off from one another before the beginning of the Tertiary period (65million years ago).
1. What’s the purpose of bee history researchers do research on?| A．To discover the origin of these pollinators. |
| B．To find out some reasonable proofs. |
| C．To know much about our planet. |
| D．To study the life of bee species. |
| A．in danger. | B．in need. | C．in order | D．in favor. |
| A．Unbelievable. | B．Reliable. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
| A．The earliest home of bees may be in Gondwana. |
| B．The world’s earliest bees were found in India and Australia. |
| C．The researchers are going on doing research on bee families. |
| D．The researchers get a lot evidence to prove their research. |
1. Why did Murphy go to a doctor?
| A．He failed to see anything. | B．He needed some help. | C．He became deaf. |
| A．Cooking a meal. | B．Having dinner. | C．Laying the table. |
| A．She’s generous. | B．She’s nervous. | C．She’s impatient. |
| A．Introducing a treatment. | B．Giving a speech. | C．Telling a story. |
It was a hot day. The sun scorched (炙烤) down and everywhere you looked, you could see the heat waves blowing above the sand. John rolled over, realizing that half of his body was well and truly burnt. He had not meant to sleep in the sun but the heat and late nights studying for his examinations made him miserable. Stretching, he got to his feet, picked up his surfboard and looked around. The beach, which had earlier been crowded in the sun, was now comparatively empty. Seagulls flew down to clean up the food of people’s picnic lunches.
The ice-cream van had gone, and so were the lifeguards who were doing first aid on the beach. John looked up to where the sun was and estimated it was about five o’clock. Time to head home. It was “Mum’s Kitchen Rule” that had him moving homewards. If he did not get home in time for dinner, he would go hungry. Wandering along the water’s edge, he happened to glance out to sea. What made him look up at that particular moment, he never knew, but it was the right time for the swimmer he spotted. His hand was up, signaling distress (险情) and he was calling out something.
Quickly John glanced around the beach — no one else was close enough to help the man, and crucially, no one had noticed. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he shouted “Help” to get the attention of other people on the beach. Someone waved back to him and John pointed to the swimmer. “Get help,” he shouted. Then without hesitation, he jumped into the sea with his surfboard. John was a strong swimmer and had a good skill for distance swimming. His coach had tried hard to persuade him to go into competitions but he was not interested.
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。
Now he was swimming for more than enjoyment or medals.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Fortunately, the sea was not rough and there was no wave.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________People think animals are stupid, that they don’t understand kindness and that they can’t feel trust, or gratitude, or love. But I know they’re wrong and I have the evidence I need. It happened on a winter night, when a duck climbed up the stairs to save his sister.
That day, the temperature had suddenly dropped sharply, with cold winds blowing strongly and big snow falling. It wasn’t until late afternoon that we remembered our two ducks were still at our poorly built small farm. “Have they died due to the cold?” we wondered, worried.
My mother and I hurried to the farm and luckily found they were still alive. Their body was covered with snow; they were too cold to even quack. They stayed close together for warmth. We decided to take them home. Once back in the warm house, we made a nest for them in the basement, using newspaper and towels, and brought them food and water. The ducks gathered together in the warm basement. Near their nest, there were fishing nets we had carelessly left. We didn’t realize that could be a danger to them.
We just decided to leave the ducks alone to warm up and recover. We knew they had enough food and water, so we didn’t go down to the basement again that afternoon. That evening we were reading by the fire in the living room when we heard a strange sound coming from the basement. There was kind of a strange noise, then a pause (停顿), and then the strange sound again-over and over.
“Could that be the ducks?” my mother asked my father. Curious about that, we stood up and went to find out. It was indeed the ducks- at least one of them. We found the duck brother was standing on the second-highest step, beating his wings for balance. He gathered his strength and made the difficult leap to the highest step, the source of the strange noise
注意：续写词数应为 150 左右。
When he saw us, he stayed there and started quacking (呱呱叫) crazily and beating his wings.
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To free the duck sister from the fishing nets, I rushed upwards to bring scissors.
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“Why did Dad’s job make us move to South America anyway?” I asked Mom. “The TV shows are in Spanish and I miss going to school. The worst part is that I don’t have any friends here. All of the kids speak Spanish.”
“I know it’s hard, sweetheart. I’m lonely here too,” Mom said. “It’s hard to make friends when I can’t talk to anybody.”
Mom hugged (拥抱) me. “We’ll only be living here for eight more months.”
At that moment, eight months sounded like forever. A few days later, Dad said that a man at his work had a daughter my age. “Would you like to invite her over to play?”
“Does she speak English?”
“No,” Dad said, “but I can teach you a few Spanish words so the two of you can talk a little bit.” I shrugged ( 耸 肩 ). “It’s hard to be friends with someone when you can’t really talk to them.” Dad nodded. “I understand, but you wished for a friend.”
“I mean a friend who speaks English.”
“I know, but this might be fun anyway. I’m going to ask her dad to bring her over to our house.”
The following afternoon, Maria and her dad came over. I felt funny because I didn’t know how we’d play together without being able to talk to one another.
“Hola,” I said quietly, which means “hi” in Spanish.
Maria smiled and said something I didn’t understand. I looked at Dad and whispered (低声说), “This isn’t going to work.”
“Give it a chance,” he said.
Then Maria showed me a cardboard box. She’d brought a game called Connect Four. Dad smiled. “You don’t need to speak the same language to play that game.”
Maria and I went to my bedroom and set up the game. We took turns putting the colored disks (圆片) into the board, trying to get four in a row. Suddenly Maria smiled and pointed at the four red pieces in a row.
I smiled and said, “You won. Good game.”
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150 左右;
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Although I’m sure Maria didn’t understand my words, I could tell she understood my smile.
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As we were both laughing, I realized that although we spoke different languages, I’d actually made a friend.
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I have never been creative, so despite enjoying most of school, I had a tough time with creative writing assignments. One year, we had a short story assigned that was especially big — ten to twenty pages — and worth an especially large part of that semester’s final mark. I was unable to think up even a bad idea, let alone a good one.
Then, the Sunday before it was due, I awoke having had a dream that would work fine for the short story! I wrote it all down. A young man killed all the bad men in the village, but then more people became bad guys. In the end, the young man realized that killing could never make the world a better place.
Monday arrived, but the teacher announced an extra week was being given since many kids were having trouble getting their stories done on time. So, a few of us who had our stories ready exchanged them to read. My friend read my story. I said, “I had great trouble doing it, but then, like a miracle, this came to me in a dream!”
My friend was surprised, “That wasn’t out of your subconsciousness (潜意识). That was the story of the last movie you saw. How could you forget? ! We watched it three weeks ago.”
“Oh my God. You’re right! What have I done? This is cheating!”
I was a good kid who got good marks easily, so I had never even for a moment considered cheating before. But I had no other story idea with which to redo the assignment. Eventually, I persuaded myself it was morally acceptable because I had written it in my own words, with the story of my choice, not copied something completely, and I had not stolen the idea purposely. So, I handed it in.
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。
A few days later, I was called into the teacher’s office.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I couldn’t accept this excellent award with peace of mind.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . In our information-driven society, shaping our worldview through the media is similar to forming an opinion about someone solely based on a picture of their foot. While the media might not deliberately deceive us, it often fails to provide a comprehensive view of reality.
Consequently, the question arises: Where, then, shall we get our information from if not from the media? Who can we trust? How about experts—people who devote their working lives to understanding their chosen slice of the world? However, even experts can fall prey to the allure of oversimplification, leading to the “single perspective instinct” that hampers(阻碍)our ability to grasp the intricacies of the world.
Simple ideas can be appealing because they offer a sense of understanding and certainty. And it is easy to take off down a slippery slope, from one attention-grabbing simple idea to a feeling that this idea beautifully explains, or is the beautiful solution for, lots of other things. The world becomes simple that way.
Yet, when we embrace a singular cause or solution for all problems, we risk oversimplifying complex issues. For instance, championing the concept of equality may lead us to view all problems through the lens of inequality and see resource distribution as the sole panacea. However, such rigidity prevents us from seeing the multidimensional nature of challenges and hinders true comprehension of reality. This “single perspective instinct” ultimately clouds our judgment and restricts our capacity to tackle complex issues effectively.
It saves a lot of time to think like this. You can have opinions and answers without having to learn about a problem from scratch and you can get on with using your brain for other tasks. But it’s not so useful if you like to understand the world. Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you would like to understand reality.
Instead, constantly test your favorite ideas for weaknesses. Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields. And rather than talking only to people who agree with you, or collecting examples that fit your ideas, consult people who contradict you, disagree with you, and put forward different ideas as a great resource for understanding the world. I have been wrong about the world so many times. Sometimes, coming up against reality is what helps me see my mistakes, but often it is talking to, and trying to understand, someone with different ideas.
If this means you don’t have time to form so many opinions, so what? Wouldn’t you rather have few opinions that are right than many that are wrong?
1. What does the underlined word “allure” in Para.2 probably mean?| A．Temptation. | B．Tradition. | C．Convenience. | D．Consequence. |
| A．They meet people’s demand for high efficiency. |
| B．They generate a sense of complete understanding. |
| C．They are raised and supported by multiple experts. |
| D．They reflect the opinions of like-minded individuals. |
| A．Simplifying matters releases energy for human brains. |
| B．Constant tests on our ideas help make up for our weakness. |
| C．A well-founded opinion counts more than many shallow ones. |
| D．People who disagree with us often have comprehensive views. |
| A．Embracing Disagreement: Refusing Overcomplexity |
| B．Simplifying Information: Enhancing Comprehension |
| C．Understanding Differences: Establishing Relationships |
| D．Navigating Complexity: Challenging Oversimplification |
8 . Samsung Electronics America announced that Galaxy device owners can make their own repairs to the Galaxy S20 and S21 family of products, as well as the Galaxy Tab S7+, starting August 2nd.
Samsung is cooperating with iFixit, the leading online repair community, to deliver their Self-Repair program. This program adds to Samsung’s continued expansions for convenient repair for consumers and helps them with sustainable solutions to support a more circular economy by extending the life of their devices, as well as minimizing e-waste.
Samsung consumers who wish to make their own repairs can now purchase real device parts and convenient, easy-to-use repair tools, available through iFixit, Samsung retail (零售) and service locations, at the same pricing offered to our repair providers. In addition, Galaxy device owners will have full access to online repair guides that provide both visual and written step-by-step instructions, and best of all, at no cost.
“Making replacement parts available is a key sustainability strategy. We’re excited to be working directly with Samsung and their customers to extend the lifetime of their phones,” said CEO of iFixit.
Starting today, Galaxy device owners can replace the phone screen, back glass, and charging ports. In the future, Samsung plans to expand self-repair to include more devices and repair options from our extensive product portfolio (档案).
Furthermore, the program makes it easy for consumers to return their thrown-away parts for responsible recycling, as the new display kits will come with a return label to ship thrown-away parts back to Samsung — at no cost to the consumer.
In addition to the convenience of these new self-repair options, Galaxy smartphone owners have a choice on how they can extend the life of their devices across Samsung’s expansive care options, including: Through Samsung’s perfect care network, customers have access to over 11,000 Samsung Mobile certified repair technicians in the U.S.
1. Who will do the repair work under the Self-Repair program?| A．The iFixit community. | B．The Galaxy consumers. |
| C．Samsung Repair staff. | D．The devices themselves. |
| A．To promote a circular economy. | B．To make full use of the old parts. |
| C．To enrich the life of the phone users. | D．To ensure better service by iFixit. |
| A．The Samsung device parts. | B．New Samsung products. |
| C．The written repair instructions. | D．The easy-to-use repair tools. |
| A．A New Invention | B．A New Technology |
| C．A Successful Cooperation | D．An Initiative practice |
9 . At most universities, core (核心) curriculum or general education is required, whether that is two or more courses in core academic subjects. These core academics consist of mathematics, science, history and English, which are used to provide students with a broad range of academic knowledge and aid in their individual development.
However, are these courses more beneficial or harmful to students? Based on studies from across the district there is a gap between the necessities and burdens of general education courses. According to an article by Best Value Schools, students sometimes discover a hidden passion for a field of study while taking general education courses. Although this may be true, many students consider the program as “a collection of courses without connection, consistency or meaning”. The negative concept of these courses could possibly be connected to the fact that many students don’t actually obtain these skills.
Many schools have been working to improve their core curriculum program by developing the adoption of mission, goal and outcome statements. Some University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) professors have recently been requiring students to take self-assessments and complete assignments based on how to develop critical thinking, communication and cooperation skills, as well as apply them within and outside of the classroom. It is through these channels of self discovery that students can often find their passions, which can possibly lead to choosing a major.
Typically, one-third of first-time college students change their major within the first three years. Major changes can be for a variety of reasons. It can be associated with a dissatisfaction in coursework. It can also be due to the discovery of a major which simply fits a student better. General education classes can play an important role in helping to make this discovery. Though students’ opinions vary on the importance of core curriculum, the basis of the program should be taken into consideration. At the same time, institutions should continue to work towards developing more authentic ways to provide a sense of importance and pride in the program to aid in student learning and the development of real-world skills.
1. What is the function of core curriculum?| A．Laying foundation for students’ future. |
| B．Developing students’ good characteristics. |
| C．Determining students’ major in college. |
| D．Releasing students’ burden of study. |
| A．Why it is needed in careers. | B．Whether it is really important. |
| C．What advantages it brings about. | D．Who will benefit most from it. |
| A．Stick to their majors. |
| B．Focus on core curriculum. |
| C．Improve academic performance. |
| D．Assess themselves and develop skills. |
| A．The reasons for students’ changing majors. |
| B．The significant part core curriculum plays. |
| C．The necessity of reforming core curriculum. |
| D．Opinions students hold to general education. |
10 . A simple blood test that can tell how well a person is likely to age is on the horizon after scientists uncovered blood signature patterns which predict ill health. The breakthrough means doctors will soon be able to check the likelihood of dementia(痴呆), cardiovascular disease and a range of other conditions many years before patients show any symptoms.
Researchers at Boston University learned to recognize combinations of specific biomarkers (生物标志物), or chemicals found in the blood, of 5,000 people in a study. They then matched these with the participants’ health outcomes over a period of eight years. They found specific patterns associated with disease and disability-free aging, as well as patterns associated with the threat of several diseases.
While various techniques already exist for predicting specific conditions, such as heart disease, the new approach will, for the most part, enable doctors to paint a comprehensive picture of their patient’s overall future health. It also promises to give people the chance to change their lifestyles or begin preventative treatment to circumvent diseases considered as a risk by their blood composition.
“These signatures show differences in how people age, and they show promise in predicting healthy ageing, changes in cognitive(认知的) and physical function, survival and age-related diseases like stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer,” the research team said. “We can now measure thousands of biomarkers from a small amount of blood with the idea of eventually being able to predict who is at risk of a wide range of diseases long before any clinical signs become apparent.”
1. What can the new technique be used to do?| A．Cure a person’s dementia. |
| B．Prevent people from aging. |
| C．Tell a person’s future health. |
| D．Change people’s blood composition. |
| A．understand | B．spread | C．record | D．avoid |
| A．Its practical use. | B．Its original theory. |
| C．Its development process. | D．Its widespread popularity. |
| A．In an economic report. | B．In a medical magazine. |
| C．In an investigation report. | D．In an entertainment newspaper. |
