1 . Knowing how many kilometers or miles per hour you’ll likely cover while hiking is of great importance.     1     It’s also important to build in time for breaks and extra time in case of bad weather or harder situations than expected.

If you’re not sure what your average hiking speed is, don’t worry.     2     Naismith’s rule is considered useful and was invented by the Scottish mountaineer William W. Naismith. It’s a great way to work out how long it will take you to complete your chosen path and it takes into consideration both distance and elevation (海拔高度).

It can be worked out as follows. One hour for every 3 miles plus an additional hour for every 600m of ascent (升高). So let’s say you wanted to know how long it would take to hike 6 miles with an elevation gain of 1,200m. That’s 2 hours for the distance and another 2 hours for the ascent, for a total of 4 hours.     3     It doesn’t include breaks.

    4     You can choose exercises that you enjoy, whether that’s running, cycling, dance classes or something else. As long as it helps you build muscle (肌肉) strength, it will help you get your average hiking speed where you want it to be. Interestingly, specific weight training also helps increase your average walking speed on the path. It’s common knowledge that hikers should focus mainly on leg strength.     5    

A．Note that’s only your hiking time.

B．There’s an easy way to work it out.

C．Your hiking speed isn’t an exact science.

D．It can ensure that you safely reach your destination.

E．But some hiking places do require you to use your upper body too.

F．Consider how to increase your hiking speed on and off the mountain.

G．One of the best ways to hike faster is to train when you’re not hiking.

2 . What if “looking your age” refers not to your face, but to your chest? Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have developed an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model that uses chest radiographs (光片) to assess a person’s biological age. More importantly, when it is different from the chronological age (实足年龄), it can signal a link with chronic (慢性的) diseases. These findings mark a breakthrough in medical imaging, paving the way for improved early disease detection and intervention.

The research team, led by graduate student Yasuhito Mitsuyama and Dr. Daiju Ueda from the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, first constructed a deep learning-based AI model to estimate age from chest radiographs of healthy individuals. They then applied the model to radiographs of patients with known diseases to analyze the relationship between AI-estimated age and each disease. Given that AI trained on a single dataset tends to over fit, the researchers collected data from multiple institutions.

For the development, training, internal and external testing of the AI model for age estimation, a total of 67,099 chest radiographs were obtained between 2008 and 2021 from 36,051 healthy individuals who underwent health check-ups at three facilities.

To confirm the usefulness of AI-estimated age using chest radiographs as a biomarker, an additional 34,197 chest radiographs were collected from 34,197 patients with known diseases from two other institutions. The results showed that the difference between AI-estimated age and the patient’s chronological age was positively correlated with a variety of chronic diseases. In other words, the higher the AI-estimated age compared to the chronological age, the more likely individuals were to have these diseases.

“Chronological age is one of the most critical factors in medicine,” stated Mr. Mitsuyama. “Our results suggest that chest radiography-based apparent age may accurately reflect health conditions beyond chronological age. We aim to further develop this research and apply it to estimate the severity of chronic diseases, to predict life expectancy and to forecast possible surgical complications.”

1. What is the AI model used to do?

A．Tell a patient’s chronological age.	B．Estimate an individual’s biological age.
C．Develop advanced chest radiographs.	D．Analyze individuals’ workout habits.

2. What did the research team do for their research?

A．They followed patients for over two decades.

B．They obtained data from the same institution.

C．They collected a large number of chest radiographs.

D．They had face-to-face talks with healthy individuals.

3. How did the research team know if individuals might be sick?

A．By making comparisons.	B．By interviewing their doctors.
C．By observing them in their lab.	D．By analyzing causes and effects.

4. Which of the following statement does Mr. Mitsuyama agree with?

A．The research is too complex to be carried out widely.

B．The AI model is expected to have a promising future.

C．Chronological age matters more than AI-estimated age.

D．The research findings have been well received in medicine.

3 . Here are the Disney movies recommended by Brandon Dammit for this weekend.

Fantasia 2000

Budget: $80 million

Score: 75%

I remember disliking Fantasia 2000 in theaters as a young child, but I have developed a much deeper appreciation for the fantastic music as an adult. Disney has employed advanced sound tools to produce a movie that was under-appreciated at its first appearance.

Pete’s Dragon

Budget: $65 million

Score: 60%

I love Disney as much as the younger generation. But it’s disappointing to see flavorless remakes like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast harvest billions at the box office while more soulful remakes like Pete’s Dragon is largely ignored.

The Rescuers Down Under

Budget: $38 million

Score: 70%

I won’t lie to you, kind reader. The Rescuers Down Under is the only movie that I’ve never seen here and my honor won’t allow me to pretend otherwise. According to Disney, it’s about the world’s bravest mice, Bernard and Bianca, who race to Australia to save a boy and a rare golden eagle from a cruel hunter. So, you know, normal Disney stuff.

The Great Mouse Detective

Budget: $14 million

Score: 72%

Picture this: a young mouse named Olivia is committed to discovering the truth of her father’s disappearance in 1897 London, and she got the help from his friends, Dr. Dawson and Toby. It’s basically Disney’s Sherlock Holmes.

1. What does Brandon Dammit like about Fantasia 2000?

A．The plot.

B．The dialogue.

C．The music.

D．The actors.

2. Which remake should receive better acceptance according to Brandon Dammit?

A．The Lion King.	B．Pete’s Dragon.
C．Beauty and the Beast.	D．The Rescuers Down Under.

3. How much has Disney spent on the Great Mouse Detective?

A．$14 million.

B．$ 38 million.

C．$ 65 million.

D．$80 million.

4 . A self-taught painter in Chongqing, who spent four years creating 100 illustrations of 100 cities in China, has attracted a lot of attention online.

Pu Zhen, who was born in Chongqing in 1993, ________ in animation design at college. He started teaching himself painting nine years ago. “The most difficult part is to ________ my own painting style through ________ practice,” he said.

In 2018, ________ by an old notebook he had filled with the names of Chinese cities, he ________ the idea of doing a unique illustration for each. “I just ________ my inspiration in creating the city series. Each illustration ________ a city’s typical features,” he said.

The creative ________ of the main elements of each city are ________. Some are mountains, rivers, and iconic (标志性的) buildings, and some are cultural legends. However, they all have the moon as a common image.

“The biggest ________ is myself,” said Pu, adding that during the time-consuming ________, he had to overcome loneliness and inner conflicts. “But I do feel ________ that my works are acknowledged by many fans online. Traditional Chinese city ________ are always worth passing on.”

Not only are Pu’s paintings well ________ online, but the netizens are eager to appreciate more. ________, everyone wants to see their hometowns painted by Pu Zhen. In the future, Pu plans to travel around the country and create illustrations for more cities.

1.

A．applied

B．majored

C．worked

D．researched

2.

A．figure out

B．go over

C．make up

D．turn down

3.

A．casual

B．constant

C．formal

D．random

4.

A．moved

B．encouraged

C．taught

D．inspired

5.

A．put up with

B．came up with

C．took care of

D．made use of

6.

A．invented

B．followed

C．imagined

D．discovered

7.

A．determines

B．suggests

C．reflects

D．impresses

8.

A．sources

B．stories

C．messages

D．materials

9.

A．stable

B．similar

C．obvious

D．different

10.

A．challenge

B．honor

C．improvement

D．victory

11.

A．course

B．process

C．moment

D．stage

12.

A．surprised

B．confused

C．delighted

D．touched

13.

A．cultures

B．policies

C．systems

D．values

14.

A．judged

B．studied

C．attended

D．received

15.

A．Undoubtedly

B．Eventually

C．Hopefully

D．Generally

5 . Blue jeans are as American as eating a hot dog at a baseball game. But have you ever stopped to wonder why most of us have blue jeans but not red, purple, or green jeans?

Jeans are made of denim, which is a type of strong cotton cloth. Jeans became wildly popular in the American West during the California Gold Rush. This period in the mid-1800s saw 300, 000 people pack up their lives and head west in search of fortune (财富). Searching for gold was difficult work, as people would dig into the side of mountains and look for gold that had made its way into rivers and streams, and they needed durable clothing to help them. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis saw a chance not in gold, but in selling clothes to the tens of thousands of people arriving every year. They teamed up to create indigo — washed cloth.

So why did they use indigo(blue)to color their jeans? It has to do with the character of indigo. While most other colors penetrate (渗透) deep inside clothing, indigo stays on the surface of the threads (线). This means that when clothing colored with indigo is washed, some of the threads and coloring are removed. Over time and after much cleaning, jeans colored with indigo become softer and more comfortable as well as get that “worn in” look we all love.

Blue jeans are blue — or indigo — because they need to be tough and stand up to a hard day’s work, and also be soft and comfortable. And while many of those in search of gold never found their fortune, Levi Strauss’ blue jeans became wildly popular, and the company is still selling blue jeans 150 years later.

1. Why is Gold Rush mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．To prove people’s hard lives then.

B．To tell us why blue jeans were created.

C．To share Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis’ story.

D．To show an important period in American history.

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

A．Bright.

B．Fashionable.

C．Strong.

D．Beautiful.

3. Why was blue used to color the jeans?

A．The color and threads could be removed easily.

B．The jeans could become much stronger.

C．It could color the jeans’ threads easily.

D．It penetrated deep inside clothing.

4. What can we learn from Levi Strauss’ success?

A．Success results from hard work.

B．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

C．Failure is meaningful if we learn from it.

D．Fortune prefers those who use their judgement.

6 . Study Abroad Scholarships to Apply for in 2024

Found the perfect study abroad program, but don’t know how to pay for it? Fortunately, here are some study abroad scholarship opportunities for students looking to take their studies overseas!

Trenchard Cox Scholarship

All you have to do is write two 400-word reasoned descriptions: one on a work of art you love and one that you hate. The scholarship, established in memory of Sir Trenchard Cox, awards the winner an Art History Abroad 2-week summer course in Venice.

Requirement: At least 16 and no older than 18 years of age

Deadline: March 1, 2024

Arcadia Abroad Scholarships & Financial Aid

Did you know that Arcadia Abroad provides financial aid to around 70% of students who apply for it? It values equity, diversity, and inclusivity when awarding scholarships. Students who apply for scholarships will need to write a 300-word essay.

Requirement: Must be included in an Arcadia Abroad program

Award: $ 500-$ 2,500

Deadline: February 1, 2024

AIFS Study Abroad Scholarships, Grants & Financial Support

We believe a study abroad experience is an important part of well-rounded university education and we are committed to providing financial help to as many students as possible. AIFS also offers internship (实习期) and study abroad + internship mixed programs to support the development of personal and professional skills.

Award: $ 500- $ 5,000

Deadline: June 1, 2024

American Association of University Women(AAUW) Fellowships & Grants

The AAUW supports women searching for a variety of graduate academic opportunities. There are no barriers (障碍) to full participation in this organization. Preference is given to those who show great interest in the advancement of girls and women.

Requirement: Women only

Award:$ 2,000- $ 50,000

Deadline: November 15, 2024

1. What is required to apply for Trenchard Cox Scholarship?

A．Being over 18 years of age.	B．Fluency in English and Italian.
C．Two 400-word essays on artworks.	D．A member of the Art History Abroad summer course.

2. Which of the four scholarship programs ends the earliest?

A．Trenchard Cox Scholarship.

B．Arcadia Abroad Scholarships & Financial Aid.

C．AIFS Study Abroad Scholarships, Grants & Financial Support.

D．American Association of University Women(AAUW)Fellowships & Grants.

3. Who is most likely to receive the AAUW Fellowships & Grants?

A．A freshman suffering economically.	B．A graduate needing internship abroad.
C．An art student from a developing country.	D．A female student devoted to women education.

7 . Everyone has ever been in a situation where they need some help. Unfortunately, it can feel tough to ask for help. Maybe you feel embarrassed or scared that you’ll be turned down.     1    .

Choose the right time

Don’t ask someone for help when they are obviously busy. For example, don’t ask your professor for help with homework right as they are trying to start class. If you’re not sure whether or not it is a good time, just ask. You can say, “I’d love to ask for your help with something.     2    ?”

Speak up

In most cases, if you don’t ask for help, you won’t receive it. Sometimes people might be hesitant to step up and offer help. If you need something, speak up and ask.     3    . If you’re lost, step into a nearby store to ask for directions, or ask the bus driver which bus station you want to go to. Don’t feel embarrassed by asking for help.

    4    

People aren’t mind readers. Instead of just saying “I need help.”, clearly state what it is that you need. For example, instead of saying to your teacher “I’m confused. Can you help me?”, say “I don’t understand how to solve the math problem. Can you please show me a sample problem?”

Be determined

    5    . That can be frustrating (令人沮丧的). However, it is important not to give up. Keep trying to get help and make it work for you. You might feel like you don’t receive the sort of helpful advice that you are hoping for. Just try again. Sometimes, you may need to reach out to a few people before getting assistance.

A．Be specific

B．Ask in a positive way

C．Can you help me again

D．Here are some tips for you

E．Is there a time that’s good for you to talk

F．For example, maybe you’re traveling alone in a new city

G．Sometimes, the help you get might not be what you expected

8 . Why Traveling Is Essential for Personal Growth

There’s something about traveling that stirs up a sense of adventure within us all. It’s like a call to explore new places, meet new people, and create unforgettable memories.     1    . It’s also an essential tool for personal growth.

Giving you confidence

Traveling, especially for the first time, can be challenging. If you stay in the same place for a long time you become fearful of any change.     2    . But what if you take a risk and do it? You’ll definitely gain more confidence about traveling. The more challenges you come across during your travels, the stronger you become.

Redefining your comfort zone

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine and stay within your comfort zone.     3    . By actively seeking out new experiences, you’ll discover sides of yourself that you never knew existed and create unforgettable memories along the way.

Taking risks and facing challenges

While traveling, it’s not uncommon to encounter obstacles, but it’s all about how we overcome them and accept changes as part of the journey.     4    . This can be as simple as navigating (导航) a new city or as complicated as communicating with locals in a foreign language.

    5    

It can be easy to get caught up in busy daily life. When you travel, you’re forced to slow down and really enjoy each experience. You get to enjoy all the little moments that make life so special, like sunsets in a new city or quiet conversations with strangers. Traveling helps us appreciate the beauty of the world around us and be grateful for what we have right here, right now.

A．Appreciating the present moment

B．Connecting with different cultures

C．Naturally, we appreciate what we have already accomplished

D．But traveling isn’t just about having fun and taking pretty pictures

E．We need to adapt and find creative solutions to unexpected situations

F．As a result, new places, faces or routines don’t seem as profitable as they really are

G．But pushing yourself outside of those boundaries can lead to rewarding experiences

9 . After the first half-day of kindergarten, Abe had something on his mind. His mum, Ricki Weisberg, had made him a sandwich for lunch but Abe wasn’t having it. It was not a good sandwich. So after he stepped off the school bus, he said, “Mommy. Terrible sandwich by the way. Really terrible.”

The honest exchange between Abe and his mum was recorded on video by Weisberg. Weisberg shared it online and it became a hit and brought a lot of laughter to so many people. “It makes me happy because of the gaiety it probably brought to people,” said Weisberg. “For me, I just love that piece of that. Life is hard. So giving people laughter makes me happy.”

But most people just wanted to know one thing: What was the sandwich?

Well, the “terrible” sandwich was a hurried, thrown-together butter and jelly sandwich, said Weisberg. On Abe’s first day, Weisberg reread the school communication and realized she would need to pack him food. At first, Weisberg thought she could make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But because of food allergy (过敏) considerations at the school, peanut butter was out of the question. So she made him a butter and jelly sandwich.

Weisberg said, “I thought I made a good sandwich and I was being a good mum, so I was just expecting him to be happy. I was quite surprised when he hit me with that sandwich review.”

The butter, Weisberg would later find out, had gone bad. The sandwich tasted really terrible. “It’s really hard being a mum. You never really know if you’re doing it right. I just want to encourage parents to build that level of trust with your kids so they can be honest with you,” said Weisberg.

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

A．Confusion.

B．Challenge.

C．Awkwardness.

D．Joy.

2. Why didn’t Weisberg make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that day?

A．Peanut butter wasn’t allowed in kindergarten.	B．She wanted to make something different.
C．Her son didn’t like peanut butter.	D．Her son had an allergy to peanut.

3. What made Weisberg surprised?

A．Abe’s first day in the kindergarten went smoothly.	B．Abe thought the sandwich was awful.
C．Abe learned honesty in kindergarten.	D．Abe tried her creative sandwich.

4. What does Weisberg think of her relationship with Abe?

A．Interesting.

B．Strange.

C．Close.

D．Hard.

10 . Heads or Tails?

Careful: It’s not 50-50

The phrase “coin toss” is a classic synonym for randomness. But since the 18th century, mathematicians have _________ that even fair coins tend to land on one side slightly more often than the other. Proving this tiny bias, _________, would require hundreds of thousands of carefully recorded coin flips, making laboratory tests a logistical (后勤的，组织协调的) _________.

František Bartoš, currently a Ph.D. candidate studying the research methods of psychology at the University of Amsterdam, became interested in this _________ four years ago. He couldn’t _________ enough volunteers to investigate it at first. But after he began his Ph.D. studies, he tried again, recruiting 47 volunteers from six countries. Multiple weekends of coin flipping later, including one 12-hour marathon _________, the team performed 350,757 tosses, breaking the previous record of 40,000.

With one side initially upward, the flipped coin landed with the same side facing _________ as before the toss 50.8 percent of the time. The large number of throws allows _________ to conclude that the nearly 1 percent bias isn’t a fluke (侥幸). “We can be quite sure there is a bias in coin flips after this data set,” Bartoš says.

The leading theory explaining the _________ advantage comes from a 2007 physics study by Stanford University statisticians, whose calculations predicted a same-side bias of 51 percent. From the moment a coin is launched into the air, its entire track — including whether it lands on heads or tails — can be calculated by the laws of __________. The researchers determined that airborne coins don’t turn around their symmetrical axis (对称轴); __________, they tend to move off-center, which causes them to spend a little more time high in the air with their initial “up” side on top.

For day-to-day decisions, coin tosses are as good as random because a 1 percent bias isn’t __________ with just a few coin flips, says statistician Ameli, who wasn’t involved in the new research. Still, the study’s conclusions should eliminate any lasting doubt regarding the coin flip’s slight bias. “This is great experiment-based evidence __________ the bias,” she says.

It isn’t difficult to prevent this bias from influencing your coin-toss matches; simply __________ the coin’s starting position before flipping it should do the trick. But if your friends are __________ the tiny bias, you may as well benefit from your slight advantage. After all, 51 percent odds beat a casino’s house advantage. “If you asked me to bet on a coin,” Bartoš says, “why wouldn’t I give myself a 1 percent bias?”

1.

A．confirmed

B．denied

C．recorded

D．suspected

2.

A．therefore

B．however

C．for example

D．vice versa

3.

A．nightmare

B．context

C．intervention

D．delay

4.

A．coinage

B．discipline

C．challenge

D．phrase

5.

A．cooperate with

B．round up

C．shrug aside

D．count on

6.

A．analysis

B．race

C．interview

D．session

7.

A．upward

B．evenly

C．downward

D．uniformly

8.

A．volunteers

B．gamblers

C．psychologists

D．statisticians

9.

A．accidental

B．dominant

C．subtle

D．prejudiced

10.

A．mechanics

B．relativity

C．geometry

D．chemistry

11.

A．moreover

B．instead

C．likewise

D．initially

12.

A．insignificant

B．accessible

C．inclusive

D．perceptible

13.

A．reversing

B．integrating with

C．backing up

D．rejecting

14.

A．concealing

B．shifting

C．perceiving

D．anchoring

15.

A．favourable to

B．opposed to

C．unaware of

D．suspicious of