1 . Monique Marshall knew she had to do something for her mother after her stepfather passed away. Monique’s mother, Karin, who is 84 years old, was living in her apartment in New York City
Monique
After much thought and planning, they
Karin is in love with her new living space and new city. When Karin first
“It was overwhelming,” said Karin. “I was so
What a wonderful and
| A．in person | B．at hand | C．on duty | D．by herself |
| A．knew | B．guessed | C．stressed | D．minded |
| A．Eventually | B．Luckily | C．Occasionally | D．Instantly |
| A．revive | B．ignore | C．visit | D．assist |
| A．artists | B．doctors | C．architects | D．teachers |
| A．brought up | B．came about | C．broke down | D．took out |
| A．car | B．house | C．garage | D．kitchen |
| A．consequences | B．issues | C．strategies | D．facilities |
| A．match | B．project | C．distance | D．preference |
| A．awful | B．challenging | C．obvious | D．fantastic |
| A．stepped | B．broke | C．turned | D．drove |
| A．change | B．keep | C．believe | D．open |
| A．confused | B．shocked | C．curious | D．addicted |
| A．specific | B．classic | C．attractive | D．creative |
| A．concern | B．prediction | C．balance | D．warning |
2 . Increasing your reading speed is a journey that combines technique, practice, and a patient mindset. By following these strategies, you’ll improve your reading speed.
Active reading
Active reading involves engaging with the material rather than passively absorbing words. Techniques such as underlining key phrases, quickly taking down notes in the margin (页边空白) and asking questions about the content can significantly enhance your reading speed.
Expand your peripheral vision (周边视觉)
A substantial portion of reading involves the movement of your eyes across lines of text. By expanding your peripheral vision, you can take in more words with each glance. Practice widening your focus to capture groups of words rather than focusing on one word at a time.
Get rid of subvocalisation (默读)
Subvocalisation, or the habit of pronouncing each word in your head as you read, can be a major obstruction to reading speed. Subvocalisation is a natural part of early reading development.
Like any skill, increasing your reading speed requires consistent practice. Mix up your reading materials to expose yourself to various writing styles and subjects. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, academic articles or industry reports, diversifying your reading content enhances your adaptability and speed in processing different types of information.
| A．Practice regularly |
| B．Efficient reading |
| C．However, it can delay progress as you strive to read faster |
| D．Set aside dedicated time each day for focused reading practice |
| E．These actions force your brain to get information more efficiently |
| F．This adjustment can lead to a significant increase in reading speed |
| G．This allows your brain to process information without the inner voice |
Rescue and disaster relief forces, medical teams and urgent supplies are pouring into Northwest China’s Gansu Province and the neighboring Qinghai Province after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted a Gansu county at a
More than 700 people were injured in the two provinces and dozens more were reported missing; more than 155,000 houses
Soon
Dahejia Middle School is located in the severely affected county. The school principal told the media that all 2,100 students and 190 teachers have safely returned home
One morning, as I walked to the market, I saw an old man, with a bandanna(印花大方巾) covering his face, sitting in front of a tea shop. He seemed to be just watching the traffic on the road, not paying attention to anyone. His bandanna was dirty and his clothes were crumpled(褶皱的). His hair stuck out because he wore a cap that didn’t fit well. I quickly assumed he was a beggar asking for money. I decided to give him some change on my way back from the market.
A little further down the road, there was a young man lying on the pavement(人行道) with his arms outstretched(张开的). No one passing by paid any attention to him. It seemed that he had drunk too much. Thus, I thought to myself that he was just a worthless man who had spent all his money on wine.
I finished my shopping at the market and headed back. Before reaching the point where the old man sat, I took out all the change I wanted to give to him. When I approached him and held out the change, he barely looked at me, but still looked ahead. He shook his head as if he was saying he didn’t need it. I insisted and pushed the change into his hand. As I stood there feeling proud of my act of charity, the old man slowly got up and walked to the young man who was lying on the pavement. The old man kept down, woke the young man up and whispered something in his ear. It seemed that they knew each other. The young man seemed to respond and then shook his head. The old man walked back and headed for the tea shop.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I stood there, watching in amazement, as he walked to the tea shop.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The old man noticed that I was still there so he looked up.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . Plastic is everywhere in our modern world. Its toughness makes it an extremely useful material from household items to vehicle parts, but that same toughness makes it hard to break down for recycling or disposal (处理). However, Japanese scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a new plastic material that can be broken down more easily and can self-heal and remember past shapes.
Based on a kind of plastic called an epoxy resin vitrimer, which is brittle (脆性的), the new plastic boasts a huge range of advantages. Once scratched with a knife, it can completely patch itself up after being heated to 150 ℃ for just 60 seconds. When shaped into the shape of a crane, then flattened, it can fold itself back into the crane shape by being heated up. It does all of this much faster than others of its type.
The new plastic can also break down easier. Even if it’s discarded (丢弃) into the environment, it still poses less of a, problem than other kinds of plastic, which the team demonstrated by placing it in seawater for 30 days. It biodegraded by 25% and released molecules (分子) that are essential food for marine life.
The new plastic is more resistant to breaking. It can also repair itself, and can recover its original memorized shape. It even biodegrades safely in a marine environment, according to Shota Ando, a researcher of the study.
The material can be used in a variety of applications, “Infrastructure materials for roads and bridges are often composed of epoxy resins mixed with compounds such as concrete and carbon,” said Ando. “By using the new plastic, these would be easier to maintain as they would be stronger and healable using heat. Unlike conventional epoxy resins, this new material is hard but stretchable, so it could also be expected to strongly bond materials of different hardness and stretch.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic of the text. | B．To show the disadvantages of plastic. |
| C．To highlight the importance of plastic. | D．To indicate his views on previous plastic. |
| A．Change itself. | B．Shape itself. | C．Repair itself. | D．Burn itself. |
| A．It is safe for animals in the ocean. | B．It can provide nutrition for animals. |
| C．It can change its shape when frozen. | D．It is more brittle than previous plastic. |
| A．Research Of New Molecules | B．An Interesting Scientific Study |
| C．The Widespread Application Of Plastic | D．A New Environmentally Friendly Plastic |
6 . Landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom has designed a new green roof on the Rangsit Campus of Thammasat University, about 25 miles north of central Bangkok, Thailand. Her imaginative work challenges the common thinking that urbanization has a negative impact on the planet, whether flooding, excess (过度的) energy use, disrupted (扰乱) biodiversity or the heat island effect.
The 236, 806-square-foot structure, which opened in December 2019, includes a flood water management system and Asia’s largest rooftop organic farm. It combines modern landscape architecture with traditional agricultural knowledge, creating a green and friendly environment.
The green roof, containing an H-shaped landscape, looks like a futuristic hill with a brick building beneath it. The hill features a complex pattern of zigzagging terraces (之字形梯田) of planted beds, leading all the way down to the bottom. When rainwater hits the roof, it flows down the zigzags while being absorbed by the soil in the beds, The excess water is directed into four storage ponds — with a capacity of up to 3 million gallons. The process slows down the flow speed of rainwater runoff compared to a normal concrete rooftop. This keeps the area from flooding during heavy rains.
The roof’s terraces are filled with organically grown crops, including a drought tolerant variety of rice, many local vegetables and herbs. The farm can supply the canteens on campus with a large amount of rice, herbs and vegetables a year. The food waste is composted (把……制成堆肥) to fertilize the farm, and water from the storage ponds is used to water plants, creating an entirely localized and circular system.
The farm serves as an outdoor classroom and a source of local jobs, too. Farmers offer workshops on sustainable agriculture and nutrition as part of the university’s sustainability curriculum. “Students and community members are invited to participate in seasonal seeding, harvesting, and so on,” says Voraakhom. “The urban farm is training a new generation of organic farmers with real-world skills. It also promotes a sense of community.”
1. What can we say about Voraakhom’s work?| A．It’s short-lived. | B．It’s creative. |
| C．It’s demanding. | D．It’s time-consuming. |
| A．To store more water. |
| B．To plant diverse vegetables. |
| C．To slow the speed of water flow. |
| D．To make it look more attractive than other buildings. |
| A．It uses food as fertilizer. | B．It benefits the environment. |
| C．It improves students’ lifestyle. | D．It produces vegetables and fruits. |
| A．Students can learn hands-on knowledge on the farm. |
| B．Farmers working on the farm can become professors. |
| C．The farm prevents government from offering people jobs. |
| D．The farm harms the relationship between university and community. |
7 . Scientists have known for years that plants respond to sounds around them. For example, flowers make sweeter nectar (花蜜) to the sound of buzzing bees. But now scientists in Israel have shown that plants also seem to be doing some “talking”.
Professor Lilach Hadany and her team at Tel Aviv University set up microphones to record tomato and tobacco plants under different conditions. Their recordings showed that the plants made ultrasonic (超声波的) sounds.
When the researchers adjusted their recordings so that humans could hear them, they heard sharp clicking noises. Plants clicked hardly at all when they had enough water. But as their soil got drier, they clicked more and more. When scientists cut off a stem (茎) from the plants, the plants also clicked more. But the clicking wasn’t the same as when the plants needed water.
It’s not clear how the plants make the sounds and whether the plants are making the sounds on purpose. But the plants are definitely making noises, and creating much more noises when they’re stressed (not enough water, stem cut off) than when they’re not.
The researchers trained an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to identify the different kinds of clicking sounds. The system was able to tell the difference between plants that needed water and plants with cuts about 70% of the time. The result suggests that researchers may one day be able to use a plant’s sounds to figure out when it is having trouble, and what trouble it is having. That could be very helpful to farmers.
The new discovery raises many more questions. One important question is: Do plants make sounds to communicate with each other? Other research has shown that plants do seem to communicate in some ways. Plants being attacked by insects send chemicals into the air. Soon, nearby plants (that haven’t been attacked yet) start to make other chemicals that don’t taste good to insects. It’s possible that the ultrasonic sounds could work in a similar way.
1. What do the researchers find in their recordings?| A．Plants’ stems click less when they are cut off. |
| B．Plants click harder if they have enough water. |
| C．Plants make more noises when they are thirsty. |
| D．Flowers make sweeter nectar to the sound of bees. |
| A．There are still some unknown issues. |
| B．Not all of them are able to make sounds. |
| C．There are ultrasonic sounds around them. |
| D．They make less noises when they’re stressed. |
| A．To help farmers drive away insects. |
| B．To identify people who are in trouble. |
| C．To show the growing process of plants. |
| D．To distinguish types of clicking sounds. |
| A．Methods for plants to protect themselves. |
| B．Other questions raised by the new finding. |
| C．When plants communicate with each other. |
| D．Under what conditions plants attract insects. |
1. 感谢帮助；
2. 学习收获；
3. 期待保持联系。
注意：写作词数应为80左右。
Dear Mr Smith,
I’m writing to express
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sincerely yours,
Li Hua
This winter,
Harbin has long been a major tourist attraction in winter, and it has garnered more attention this winter. It ranked
She said the city has been rolling out plans since the beginning of 2023
To “rescue” tourists
“We want to impress tourists
10 . Staying in on a Friday might feel like a good idea—you could really use the “alone time” after a busy week—until you get on Instagram. You see your friends eating at that new restaurant you have been wanting to try, and then you start watching another friend’s story before they set out on an exciting road trip.
Suddenly, that alone time you chose doesn’t feel so good anymore. You feel like it’s boring to stay at home—you may even question the purpose of your very existence. Don’t worry, that anxiety is common—and not that new. You are experiencing FOMO, or the fear of missing out.
We are always comparing ourselves to people around us, but sometimes that self-comparison can lead to some pretty bad feelings. “FOMO” is about having thoughts on missing out on opportunities which might increase our happiness,” says Dr. Aarti Gupta. “Humans are social beings and depend on each other to survive, and being left out or not being in the know could have, once upon a time, been a matter of life or death.”
If you find yourself comparing yourself to others in a way that doesn’t feel productive, Gupta recommends practicing an abundance mindset: “This means remembering that there are plenty of opportunities to go around for everyone, and just because someone else found success doesn’t mean that you won’t.” So next time you see someone else win, try congratulating them instead of feeling unhappy.
So the next Friday night you decide to stay in, keep in mind that we are always missing out on something. Choosing one activity or path simply means you’ll miss out on others.
“I think the irony of all of it is that it’s called FOMO, the fear of missing out. But actually, what it is doing is that it’s making you miss out on today and that comfortable bed that you are in right now, or the job that you’re in right now or the relationship that you are in right now because you are so worried about what else is out there,” says Gupta. You can fight FOMO simply by being more fully present and invested in the life you have today.
1. What would make you experience FOMO when staying at home?| A．Having dinner alone. | B．Having nothing to do. |
| C．Hearing friends’ bad news. | D．Seeing friends’ colorful life. |
| A．The effect of FOMO. | B．How to avoid FOMO. |
| C．The reason for FOMO. | D．How to deal with FOMO. |
| A．Being more creative. | B．Being less competitive. |
| C．Being less self-doubting. | D．Being more self-dependent. |
| A．Making more new friends. | B．Living in the here and now. |
| C．Following your own feelings. | D．Taking part in more activities. |
