1 . Growing up in a small village in southern Ghana, Osci Boateng watched many of his family members and neighbors struggle to access basic health care. In many regions of the country, it can take hours to get to the nearest hospital. Boateng said many people lost their lives due to preventable or treatable diseases. His grandmother and aunt were among them.
Feeling an urgent call to help, Boateng decided he would make it his life’s mission to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana where education and preventative health care were lacking.
Boateng wanted to find a way to remove these barriers to health care access and education. He started his nonprofit organization, OKB Hope Foundation. In 2021, he converted (转变) a van (面包车) into a mobile doctor’s office and started bringing health care directly to those in need. A few times a week, the mobile clinic and medical team travel long distances to remote communities and provide free routine medical care.
On each trip, Boateng’s team consists of a nurse, a physician assistant, a doctor, and an operation assistant. In the van, they can run basic labs like bloodwork and urinalysis (尿液分析) as well as provide medicine. “It’s like a one-stop shop for people, ” said Boateng, adding that most of the people they see have one health issue or another. Since its launch, the Hope Health Van has served more than 4,000 Ghanaians across more than 45 rural communities who otherwise don’t have easily accessible medical care, according to Boateng.
Boateng has gone all in on his OKB Hope Foundation, recently quitting his job to dedicate his time to bringing health care to his home country. But for him, the sacrifices (牺牲) are well worth. “Words cannot describe the feeling that you provide care for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be alive if your mobile health van wasn’t there.” He has big plans for the future. He hopes to expand them to provide more consistent and high-quality medical care not only to those living in remote areas of Ghana but those in other countries.
1. What is the purpose of mentioning the example in paragraph 1?| A．To show the importance of life. | B．To describe how hard Boateng’s family lived. |
| C．To point out what’s wrong with the hospital. | D．To stress the seriousness of lacking health care. |
| A．He operates on patients in the van. | B．He rents a doctor’s office wherever he goes. |
| C．He provides medical care by charging some fees. | D．He offers people health care using mobile clinic. |
| A．It really works. | B．It makes a profit. |
| C．It serves the whole Ghana. | D．It produces some good medicine. |
| A．Reliable and creative. | B．Caring and ambitious. |
| C．Considerate and humorous. | D．Determined and demanding. |
2 . 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 |
3 . 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. |
4 . 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. |
5 . Fantastic Fall Festivals You Won’t Want to Miss
Seymour Apple Festival
Admission to the Seymour Apple Festival is free and so is the entertainment! More than 15,000 people from all over the region come out to take part in the activities, ranging from drawings, vendor booths, food, apple contests, bike-decorating contests and more.
Humansville Fall Festival
The Humansville Fall Festival may be hosted by a small town, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking big fun. Perfect for all ages, this fall festival is celebrating its 70th year and will provide three full days of fun. This year’s festival will feature live music from fantastic local musicians, which will definitely make it different from the ones in other years. You’ll also find fun carnival rides, talented craftsmen selling their goods, and an amazing parade to wrap up the event on Saturday.
Southside Fall Festival
The Southside Fall Festival is perfect for family celebrations, with an alcohol-free environment and free admission. Enjoy a colorful parade and float contest, delicious food stores, live music, karaoke and more.
Fall Into Arts Festival
Make sure to bring the kids along for this festival that celebrates all things creative. The Fall Into Arts Festival features a host of kid-friendly activities like a lego build, sand art, bubble stations, chalk the sidewalk, a jump house and more. Parents will have plenty to do as well, with an excellent variety of artists, festival food, a mini film festival and much more.
1. What do Seymour Apple Festival and Southside Fall Festival have in common?| A．They are free of charge. | B．They are for family celebrations. |
| C．They have parade events. | D．They host kid-friendly activities. |
| A．Fun activities on Saturday. | B．Musicians’ live performance. |
| C．The area of the hosting town. | D．The celebration of the festival. |
| A．Humansville Fall Festival. | B．Fall Into Arts Festival. |
| C．Seymour Apple Festival. | D．Southside Fall Festival. |
6 . Claw machines (娃娃机) are very common in shopping centers or movie theaters. You might get your favorite toy after paying some coins. It seems to be a low-cost and the game rules are easy to understand for most people. So many children, young people and even some old people like to play on the claw machines again and again.
However, simple rules and easy-to-use machines do not mean everyone can easily win a prize. You may watch your toy being caught but suddenly dropping at the last second. There are some reasons why people like claw machines, even though they may face many difficulties.
The purpose of playing on claw machines is to deal with stress for quite a few Buddhist (佛系的) players. While grabbing the stuffed (毛绒的) animal, they pay so much attention to this game that they forget their troubles from daily life. No matter what the result is, they enjoy the process.
Some people say they enjoy the sense of achievement when they catch a prize from a claw machine. They take pride in managing to do what most people cannot. People around the machine also express their congratulations and admiration for winners.
Stuffed animals or goodies from a claw machine, which have far more meaning than what you can buy in a nearby store, can be a good gift for the ones you love. It is a great way to show effort and thoughtfulness since winning a prize from a claw machine requires time and money, as well as skills.
Playing at the claw machine is a fun memory for many. Do you enjoy playing claw machines? Have you ever actually won something out of one?
1. The first paragraph doesn’t tell us ________.| A．where we can find claw machines | B．why people like to play on claw machines |
| C．how people can play on claw machines well | D．what people may get after playing on claw machines. |
| A．Not everyone can play by the rules. |
| B．Everyone enjoys playing on the claw machines. |
| C．Not everyone can catch a toy from a claw machine easily. |
| D．Nobody has an interest in playing on claw machines. |
| A．angry | B．relaxed | C．uncomfortable | D．nervous |
| A．A text book | B．A travel brochure | C．A magazine | D．A scientific research |
7 . If you go to a fast food restaurant, you will probably see a lot of teenagers. Today, many teenagers are overweight, and some of this is because of their bad eating habits. Most teenagers love food with a lot of fat, oil, salt and sugar. People often call this kind of food “junk food”.
But bad eating habits go beyond fast food. We find many teenagers eat unhealthily. Some don’t have breakfast before they go to school. During the day, some don’t have a proper meal for lunch. In a recent survey at one school, scientists found that over two-thirds of the students didn’t follow a health y diet. They didn’t like vegetables, and many of them didn’t like to eat fruits. They preferred to eat food with a lot of salt, sugar or fat.
Parents today also worry about their children’s diet. Some doctors give the following advice:
Teenagers shouldn’t eat too much junk food.
Teenagers shouldn’t eat food with too much salt. Salt can cause high blood pressure in the future.
Teenagers should eat food with less fat, oil and sugar.
Teenagers need to eat some fruits and vegetables every day. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and have little fat.
Teenagers need to drink more milk. Milk will help their bones grow.
Teenagers need to eat breakfast every day. This is good for their body and mind.
1. “Junk food” contains a lot of ________.| A．milk and sugar. | B．fruits and sugar. |
| C．vegetables and salt | D．fat, oil, salt and sugar. |
| A．超出 | B．不如 | C．相等 | D．在后面 |
| A．food with no vitamins | B．fat and sugar |
| C．vegetables and fruits | D．salt and oil |
| A．Bad habits | B．Junk food |
| C．Unhealthy food | D．Advice on healthy eating |
We had finally decided to skip our traditional family dinner and participate in Manhattan’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with our five-year-old daughter, Kerry. We never expected what Kerry would get from the experience, or how it would affect our lives for years to come.
We caught the early train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central along with hundreds of other excited people. Like many other families, we packed a small backpack with sliced turkey sandwiches and juice boxes. Eating in New York City is expensive. Kerry was wide-eyed. This was not an ordinary outing with Mom and Dad.
As the train pulled into the station, everyone rose and anxiously waited to get off. We headed towards the parade route along Fifth Avenue. As we walked up to the entrance to the station, Kerry spotted a homeless woman sitting in the shadows. The woman was invisible to all except my curious daughter.
“What’s that?” she asked. Linda and I looked at each other, unable to know how to explain such an unexpected question, something very different from the happy scene that we were about to join. Before that, we had discussed how we would explain topics about love and death. But homelessness? We weren’t prepared. We gave a simple and honest explanation, so that we could continue going to the parade.
The following year, we decided to attend the parade again. So the night before Thanksgiving Day, we went to buy sliced turkey for sandwiches. Again, Kerry surprised us. “Can we bring some sandwiches for those people?” she asked. We knew immediately whom she meant. How could we refuse? More importantly, why would we refuse? This was a golden opportunity to honor Kerry’s sense of charity. Our six-year-old daughter was teaching us an important lesson.
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。
That night, we prepared and packed two-dozen sandwiches into our backpack.
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We were moved by Kerry’s action of kindness on Thanksgiving Day.
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When I think of the word perfect, I think of something only a few can achieve, like high beauty standards, the super-smart girl in my class, or anything that I can compare myself to.
For a few weeks now, I have been noticing this one girl who is in a few of my middle school classes. She has fabulous long dark brown hair, big eyes, and the most beautiful face. She always wears the prettiest outfits and seems to be the most popular girl in school, at least in my point of view. It seems like she has a perfect life, lots of friends, all As (全A), and everything anyone could ever want.
One day, I was in language arts talking to my teacher about one of the upcoming tests, when I saw the girl staring at me in this strange way. I immediately started to get panicked and think, “Why is she looking at me? Did I do something wrong? Is my hair messed up?”
When the class was dismissed and everyone was rushing to their next class, she caught up to me and said, “I just thought you should know, I think you are really pretty.” I replied, “Oh my god, thank you!” I then watched her as she walked away and thought, “She thinks I am pretty?”
The whole day, I ended up thinking about one thing. That was, “Why does she think that?” After thinking about that topic in my head through each second of the day, I met her again in the class.
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。
Paragraph 1:
When I was considering whether to say hello with her, she
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Paragraph 2:
I looked at myself with a big smile.
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1.时间和地点；
2.活动内容；
3.表示欢迎。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Eric,
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Yours,
Li Hua
