1 . If a pancake could dream, it might long for legs so it could jump off your breakfast plate in pursuit of a better, unchewed life. But legs aren’t necessary for something as flat as a pancake to jump around. A group of scientists have designed a pancake-shaped robot that can jump several times per second and higher than seven times its body height. The new robot named Hop, which swiftly jumps without feet, is an important contribution to the soft robotics.

Many ground robots move by rolling or walking. But it’s more efficient for robots to jump over obstacles (障碍物) than to go around them. Although jumping can offer some robots a competitive edge, engineering that ability has been a challenge for robotics researchers. Some soft robots that store energy can perform a single impressive jump very infrequently. Some lightweight soft robots that don’t store energy can jump frequently but can’t jump high or far enough to successfully cross an obstacle.

For inspiration, the researchers looked to gall midge larvae (瘿蚊幼虫) that miraculously throw themselves across distances 30 times as long as their loglike bodies. A gall midge larva bends its body and squeezes the liquid in its body to one end, making it rigid (僵硬的). The accumulation of liquid builds up pressure, and releasing the pressure sends it soaring (飙升). The robot’s body doesn’t resemble (像) that of a gall midge larva, but it jumps like one. Its body is made of two small plastic bags printed with electrodes; the front bag is filled with liquid and the back one is filled with the same volume of air. The robot uses electricity to drive the flow of liquid, which causes the body to bend and generate force with the ground, resulting in a jump. And the air bag imitates the function of an animal’s tail, helping the robot keep a stable position.

While the robot is currently restricted to Earth, it might be right at home exploring another planet. If this is true, the researchers robot might jump over dusty rocks and large holes on the moon or Mars, going where no pancake has gone before.

1. What does the author want to show by mentioning a pancake?

A．A pancake’s dream to have legs is unrealistic.

B．A robot is capable of serving a good pancake.

C．A pancake-shaped robot can jump without legs.

D．Research on pancakes advances our understanding of robots.

2. What difficultly do robotics researchers have in developing Hop according to Paragraph 2?

A．Hop’s avoiding an obstacle.	B．Hop’s moving around by rolling.
C．Hop’s performing one remarkable jump.	D．Hop’s jumping high and far continuously.

3. What inspiration do the researchers draw from gall midge larvae?

A．They are shaped like logs.

B．They have tails to change positions.

C．They bend their bodies and increase force.

D．They are filled with liquid and have rigid bodies.

4. What is the author’s attitude to the future of the new robot?

A．Intolerant.

B．Positive.

C．Indifferent.

D．Ambiguous.

2 . Native to forests of Central and South America, glass frogs in the Centrolenidae family get their name from their skin and muscles that help them be perfectly fit to live in their jungle environment. Turn the frogs over, where the effect is the most impressive, and you’ll make out their hearts, livers, and other organs through their hyaline stomachs.

And in a study published in the journal Science, researchers have discovered an amazing mechanism (机制) the animals use to become so clear.

When glass frogs go to sleep, they take in 89 percent of their brightly colored red blood cells into sacs (液囊) in their livers, which reflect incoming light and make the frogs appear nearly unseen. With their red blood cells out of view, the frogs become twice to three times more clear -a trick scientists believe helps the animals avoid being killed and eaten by their natural enemies.

“The trick is really hard to do, because their tissues are full of things that take in and spread light. And transparency (透明) is normal for many creatures in water, but hard on land,” says study co-author Jesse Delia. “Red blood cells also take in a lot of light, and we found that the frogs can actually hide themselves by packing them into the liver.”

Not only are the findings interesting, but the researchers attach great importance to them. That’s because many red blood cells in one place usually form a clot (血块), which can block and lead to a potentially life-threatening condition. But the frogs can seemingly clot and expand their red blood cells at will — without any negative effects. This may mean the animals already have what medical researchers have been seeking for decades: a biological mechanism which prevents too much bleeding while also preventing too much clotting.

1. What does the underlined word “hyaline” mean in paragraph 1?

A．See-through.

B．Powerful.

C．Narrow.

D．Good-looking.

2. What is the new discovery about glass frogs?

A．The frogs fit in their environment better.

B．Sacs filled with red blood cells make the frogs clear.

C．Red blood cells in the frogs’ liver reflect light.

D．The frogs are able to take in a lot of bright colors.

3. What does Jesse Delia think of glass frogs’ trick?

A．Interesting.

B．Unusual.

C．Normal.

D．Annoying.

4. Why do the researchers consider the findings important?

A．They help cure serious diseases.

B．They are a blessing for wild animals.

C．They can lead to advances in medicine.

D．They will prevent all clotting and bleeding.

5 . 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。

A group of researchers and scientists from home and abroad are working together    1    (record) and collect digital images of the cultural relics from the Mogao Caves, in an effort to promote the    2    (appreciate) of China's ancient cultural heritage. Nearly 500,000 high-quality digital photographs    3    (produce) since the international project started in 1994. The Mogao Caves, as    4    key stop along the Silk Road throughout China’s ancient history, have long been a meeting point for different cultures. The caves are    5     international as they were at the time    6    people travelled the Silk Road.

The group hopes to promote even    7    (wide) interest around the world in China’s ancient history, culture and traditions. They also hope to further educate people about the importance of    8    (protect) historic and cultural relics for future generations to understand and appreciate. As one researcher working    9    the project explains, “Appreciating one’s own cultural heritage    10    (be) very important for understanding oneself. Appreciating the cultural heritage of other countries is very important for international communication and understanding.”

6 . 你所在的城市正在举办“我为家乡代言”英文征文活动，请你写一篇短文参赛。内容包括：
1.介绍你的家乡—安康；
2.邀请前来参观。
注意：1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

My Hometown Ankang

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this section by 40% in the US. The approach is called ATES, short for aquifer thermal energy storage(含水层热能储存).

“We need storage to absorb energy from the sun and wind. It’s crucial to creating affordable, reliable, and deeply environmental-friendly electricity systems. Most people are interested in batteries and other kinds of electrical storage. But we were wondering whether there was any opportunity to use geothermal (地热的) energy storage,” said first author A. T. D Perera. “With ATES, energy can be stored for a long period of time, without adding an additional burden to the grid (输电网).”

ATES is a pleasantly simple concept that takes advantage of the heat-absorbing property of water and the natural geological features of the planet. You simply pull existing underground water up and heat it at the surface in the summer with environmental heat or energy. Then you send it back down. It stays fairly hot because the Earth is a good insulator (绝热体).

“Unlike above-ground tank-based water or ice storage systems, ATES will not need space. It’s also more efficient and can support larger communities in cooling or heating than traditional geothermal heat pump systems that rely on heat moving with the underground soil,” added coauthor Hong Tianzhen.

A major benefit of ATES is that it will become more efficient as weather becomes more extreme in the coming years due to climate change. The hotter summers and severer winters could increase the amount of free thermal energy that can be stored with ATES. “It’s very much a realistic thing to do and this work is really about showing its value,” said Perera. “This technology is ready to go, so to speak. We just need to do it.”

1. What do we know about ATES?

A．It is aimed at replacing natural energy.

B．It mainly relies on batteries to function.

C．It is technologically demanding.

D．It helps achieve an environmental-friendly society.

2. How does Hong Tianzhen explain ATES’s advantages?

A．By giving examples.	B．By discussing results.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By analyzing principles.

3. Which will affect ATES’s efficiency most?

A．Extreme weather.	B．Insulated materials.
C．The time of storage.	D．The type of energy.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A Turning Point in Energy Usage

B．A Transformation in the US Electricity System

C．A Solution to Green Cooling and Heating

D．A Discovery About Geothermal Energy Storage

8 . 2025 Illustration Competition

Enter the competition most respected and admired in the industry for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Selected by distinguished professionals, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and on commarts.com, ensuring important exposure of the creations. Each winner will receive a professionalized Award of Excellence, made from solid aluminum, and an award certificate. Communication Art’s Award of Excellence is one of the most desired awards. If chosen, winning places you in the highest ranks of your profession.

What To Enter With

Any illustration first published or produced from Jan. 2024 to Jan. 2025 is qualified. Entries may originate from any country. Description sin English are necessary for the judges to read.

Entries Can Be Submitted In The Following Formats

Digital Images: RGB images in JPG format with a maximum file size of 2 MB. GIF images maybe livelier but would be turned down, and so would the PNG ones.

Motion Entries: In MOV, MP4 or MPG format, with a maximum file size of 500 MB.

Illustration Competition Categories & Entry Fees

Category	Single illustration	Series of illustrations
Books (covers, jackets, etc.)	$40	$80 (limit of 5)
Motion (media for films, videos, etc.)	$90	$180 (limit of 3)
Student Work	$20 (Image) $45 (Video)	$40 (Images, limit of 5) $90 (Video, limit of 3)

For more categories, please download the category PDF.

Late Fees

Entries must be registered no later than Jan.13, 2025. Entries registered after that date will be charged a fee of $10 each. No entries can be registered after Jan. 27, 2025.

1. What will the winner gain?

A．A personalized award certificate.	B．Wide recognition in the industry.
C．Several world-famous paintings.	D．A bonus from Communication Arts.

2. Which of the following is unfit for the competition?

A．A student work from Argentina.	B．An illustration made in May in 2024.
C．A series for covers of three illustrations.	D．A PNG image with a file size of 1 MB.

3. How much should be paid for three cover illustrations submitted on Jan.20, 2025?

A．$ 80.

B．$ 90.

C．$ 110.

D．$150.

9 . Social media allows teenagers to create online identities, communicate with others and build social networks. These networks can provide teenagers with valuable support. Teenagers also use social media for entertainment and self-expression. And the platforms can expose teenagers to current events, allow them to communicate across geographic barriers and touch them about different kinds of subjects. However, social media use can also, negatively affect teenagers, distracting them, influencing their sleep, and exposing them to bullying (恐吓), rumour (谣言) spreading, untrue views of other people’s lives and peer pressure.

There are steps you can take to encourage responsible use of social media and limit some of its negative effects.

Set reasonable limits. Talk to your teenager about how to avoid letting social media affect his or her activities, sleep, meals or homework. Encourage a bedtime routine that avoids electronic media use, and keep cellphones and iPads out of teenagers’ bedrooms. Set an example by following these rules yourself.

Monitor your teenager’s accounts. Let your teenager know that you’ll be regularly checking his or her social media accounts. You might aim to do so once a week or more. And make sure you follow through.

Explain what’s not OK. Discourage your teenager from gossiping, spreading rumour, bullying or damaging someone’s reputation — online or otherwise. Talk to your teenager about what is appropriate and safe to share on social media.

Encourage face-to-face contact with friends. This is particularly significant for teenagers who are easily hurt by social anxiety disorder.

Talk about social media. Talk about your own social media habits. Ask your teenager how he or she is using social media and how it makes him or her feel. Remind your teenager that social media is full of unrealistic images.

If you think your teenager is under the anxiety or depression related to social media use, talk to your child’s health care provider immediately.

1. How does the author mainly develop the first paragraph?

A．By providing reasons.	B．By making comparison.
C．By listing numbers.	D．By raising questions.

2. What’s a better way to avoid being affected by cellphones according to the passage?

A．Powering them off.	B．Putting them in the schoolbag.
C．Listening to them instead of watching.	D．Keeping them out of bedroom.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Teenagers’ social media accounts should never be checked by other people.

B．It is not necessary to explain what is not good in social media.

C．Face-to-face contact is no longer important for teenagers in the Internet era.

D．You should ask for help if your teenager is experiencing the negative effects of social media.

4. Who is the text written for?

A．Parents.

B．Teenagers.

C．Officials.

D．Doctors.

10 . There’s that old saying: How you do one thing is how you do everything. Therefore, as you become more kind and considerate, it _______ in everything that you do, even when you are playing _______.

I recently went to a music show with some other musicians in town (many of whom I was meeting for the first time). When I used to play with other musicians, I spent more time in my head _______ my drumming. _______, I paid no attention to what was going on. This time though, I found that I was more attentive and was able to _______ the other musicians more through my playing.

Because of this, our music was _______ than ever before, and I could feel the audience was _______ the music more, too, because the music was no longer about me, it was about all of us connecting through the _______ language of music.

Afterwards, the musicians I played with told me they felt like our hearts were _______ while playing. They felt ________ that we were able to achieve a new level of playing together thanks to the adopted ________ . When playing, there was no self or one-upping. There was just us sharing ourselves with our ________ hearts.

I believe that the best ________ in the world have this in common: which is to see their own egos (自我), and to connect with their audience and fellow musicians. I've ________ all of this thanks to my practice of being a more considerate and ________ person.

1.

A．shows

B．ranks

C．misses

D．sinks

2.

A．garbage

B．sports

C．bats

D．music

3.

A．giving up

B．shaving off

C．thinking about

D．giving off

4.

A．Actually

B．Recently

C．Fortunately

D．Suddenly

5.

A．reform

B．advertise

C．fine

D．support

6.

A．cheaper

B．better

C．worse

D．lower

7.

A．tolerating

B．broadcasting

C．enjoying

D．envying

8.

A．miserable

B．negative

C．universal

D．strange

9.

A．tested

B．connected

C．crushed

D．submitted

10.

A．happy

B．disappointed

C．nervous

D．bored

11.

A．graph

B．perseverance

C．agenda

D．approach

12.

A．cruel

B．open

C．bitter

D．unhealthy

13.

A．candidates

B．dentists

C．musicians

D．clients

14.

A．realized

B．refused

C．forgotten

D．released

15.

A．rich

B．stupid

C．strict

D．caring