1 . Is there a friend of yours who always sings out of tune (曲调) but never realizes it? Don’t be so hard on them — they may have amusia — the inability to tell the difference in tunes.

Apart from singing out of tune, people with amusia may also find it hard to recognize music they’ve heard before without the help of song lyrics. Besides, people who suffer from Amusia can have difficulty in recognizing melodies and a total inability to tell between different musical sounds, according to Live Science. However, people with amusia can recognize common environmental sounds as well as the high and lows sounds in human voices, meaning that this inability can be specially related to music.

In many cases, people who have amusia are born with it, as 46 percent of these individuals’ family members were found to have similar conditions, according to a 2017 study. Brain imaging shows that their brains receive and respond to music pitch (音高) information, but it is not reaching conscious awareness, meaning that the mind can’t understand the information.

Scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand also think that amusia is related to people’s special processing skills. They invited people with amusia, musicians and students from non-musical backgrounds to perform a task related to spacial imagination. They were asked to decide whether pairs of images are the same object moving around or mirror images.

The result showed that the amusia group made more mistakes than the other two groups. Amusia might be related to the way brain stores information about the high and low sounds in songs, according to the study.

Although those who aren’t confident about their singing skills often say they’re “tune-deaf”, people with amusia only make up about 1.5 percent of the population, as shown in the 2017 study. “Like dyslexics (诵读困难者) can learn how to read, those with amusia should be able to better their ability to recognize tunes if they start early enough,” Isabelle Peretz, a professor of psychology from the University of Montreal in Canada, told Live Science.

1. According to the article, what is the main difficulty faced by people with amusia?

A．Recognizing tunes.	B．Identifying human voices.
C．Understanding song lyrics.	D．Noticing common sounds in nature.

2. What did the 2017 study tell us about amusia?

A．Amusia is common among children.

B．Amusia is a result of brain damage.

C．Many individuals with amusia are born with it.

D．Those who are tune-deaf often suffer from amusia.

3. What did the study by scientists at the University of Otago show?

A．People with amusia have strong spa cial imagination skills.

B．People with amusia struggle to decide the shape of images.

C．Amusia may be affected by one’s level of music education.

D．Amusia may be related to how the brain stores sound information.

4. How can people with amusia improve their musical ability, according to Peretz?

A．Go for medical treatment.	B．Sing frequently with friends.
C．Learn how to read earlier in life.	D．Start to explore and learn music early.

2 . Whenever we are planning to buy something online, most of us prefer to look at the reviews first. We imagine that they have been left by shoppers like us who want to share their knowledge with others, so the reviews would be of great value to us.     1     Some of them are writing positive review s in return for a payment or gifts from the maker. How do we know this?

A careful study of thousands of reviews on a popular shopping website showed that a surprisingly large number of reviewers gave either four-or five-star ratings to the product. Two-or three-star ratings both accounted for less than ten percent of the total, which looked suspicious (可疑的).     2     Not everything being sold on the shopping website could be first class! We all know that some false information is provided. Some products that you buy on shopping website can be terrible. You would expect therefore to see a variety of scores.     3    

It seems that anyone who writes a large number of good review s is given a special treat by the shopping website.     4     How should a shopper reply to all these “wonderful” reviews? The best thing to do is to have access to a website run by some organizations such as Which in the UK. The Which product evaluation is based on strict tests carried out by experts and then on reviews by trusted shoppers who are Which members. They are not allowed to take free gifts from makers.

    5     So, a good and responsible organization seems to be the best answer.

A．So why are most reviews positive?

B．Reviews differ from person to person.

C．However, not all reviewers are like this.

D．So how can we tell true review s from false ones?

E．These “top” reviewers are then given free products.

F．Shoppers need protection from misleading reviews.

G．If those reviews were true, a broader spread of ratings would be given.

3 . “I was captivated by weightlifting during the London 2012 Olympic Games,” says Fiona Clements, a software developer working in London. “I think it’s partly because the effort is so obvious—you can see every flash of doubt, pain and happiness of success on the athletes’ faces.”

Clements was 48 at the time. She thought she’d left it far too late to even consider trying it, but then she kept thinking about it. “It took until September 2022, but I finally went for it.” Clements signed up for a beginner’s class with Sally Moss, a strength coach who is an expert in Olympic lifting, and loved it from her first class. Now 58, Clements can lift 50kg and push 21kg overhead. She says she has never felt stronger.

Resistance training, to use the term for any type of exercise where you’re working against weight, whether it’s using dumbbells(哑铃), exercise bands or just your own body weight, is extremely beneficial.

“I just thought that it would be impossible to make a difference to my body as an older woman,” says Joann a Blacker, a small business owner, who took up strength training at 53. “I’d gained weight and felt awful. I certainly didn’t think that weightlifting would be the way I would change my body.”

Blacker can now lift 40kg for 10 repetitions and feels more than ready to deal with training alone. Clements, at the same time, has already signed up with her local gym, for the days she’s not training with Moss. “I can feel these bands of hard muscle when I move my arms and legs that I’m pretty sure weren’t there before,” she says. “But the best part is that I’m actually able to understand the sport I love. It still feels like magic when that bar goes overhead.”

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

A．Uninterested.

B．Attracted.

C．Upset.

D．Satisfied.

2. Why did Clements fail to try weightlifting in 2012?

A．She was fearful of the pain.	B．She found it hard to get a top coach.
C．She was doubtful about its lasting effects.	D．She thought she was too old to have a go.

3. What did Blacker benefit from taking up weightlifting?

A．She increased her willpower.	B．She improved her body shape.
C．She found a part-time job in this field.	D．She had her busy daily life changed.

4. What does Clements say about weightlifting?

A．She has a deeper understanding of it.	B．She suggests starting it at a local gym.
C．She enjoys muscle-building most of all.	D．She finds it more magic than hard work.

4 . 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。

Have you ever eaten a “painting”? Here it is, the     1     (tradition) Chinese folk art—sugar painting. Spoon as pen, liquid sugar as ink, everything in the world can be drawn quickly.

As is said, Chen Zi’ang, a great poet in the seventh century (Tang Dynasty), liked to eat brown sugar. But he ate it in     2     unique way. He melted the sugar on a clean and smooth table,     3    (make) it into     4     (variety) of shapes of small animals. After cooling down, it could be held in the hand, eaten and enjoyed. Later, Chen went to the capital city,     5     he brought this art. Since then, sugar painting has become a lasting craft. In the 17th century (Qing Dynasty), sugar painting became     6     (increase) popular, and the production skills     7     (be) more advanced. The objects include flowers and birds, fortune symbols and the 12 zodiac signs and other designs. The art of sugar painting combines food, culture and handicraft. The painting is done in one go without any draft.

The sugar painting     8     (create) today shows greater creativity in forms — Cartoon sugar painting, 3D sugar painting, bringing new life     9     conventional ones. The culture of China, and the spirit of sugar painting,     10     (pass) down through the sugar spoons of generations of craftsmen.

5 . Bill Samuel was having a tough Friday. The 71-year-old, who was struggling with kidney (肾) failure, found himself at a medical center 30 miles from home for the second time in 24 hours. Samuel was on the transplant (移植) list, but no _________ had been found yet. Without a _________ bus service for his trip, Samuel took a taxi to and from his _________ to meet his doctor.

Taxi driver Timothy Letts took Samuel as his _________ even though the trip was out of his way, feeling Samuel might need _________. During the 40-minute drive, Samuel shared his positive energy and the struggles of his _________ , saying he was searching for a kidney donor.

As they neared Samuel’s home, Letts _________ him by expressing interest in being a kidney donor. Shocked but excited, Samuel _________ contact information with Letts. After the initial excitement, Samuel started feeling a bit less _________ . He was touched by Lett’s __________ , though he wondered if it has just been a(n) __________ moment. But Letts was true to his __________ . He got in touch with Samuel just a few hours later, and by the next week, Letts had __________ the kidney transplant program. After a months-long screening process, the results were in: Letts and Samuel were a __________ match.

On Dec 7, 2021, they had their operations. It was a __________ . Letts and Samuel still keep in touch to this day.

1.

A．patients

B．matches

C．doctors

D．families

2.

A．cheap

B．effective

C．convenient

D．voluntary

3.

A．arrangement

B．operation

C．recovery

D．hospital

4.

A．partner

B．friend

C．passenger

D．neighbour

5.

A．attention

B．guide

C．delivery

D．aid

6.

A．needs

B．treatments

C．adventures

D．distance

7.

A．confused

B．inspired

C．annoyed

D．surprised

8.

A．kept

B．offered

C．exchanged

D．collected

9.

A．anxious

B．optimistic

C．frightened

D．curious

10.

A．offer

B．suggestion

C．contribution

D．request

11.

A．heartfelt

B．awkward

C．unforgettable

D．emotional

12.

A．word

B．name

C．action

D．saying

13.

A．organized

B．conducted

C．contacted

D．accepted

14.

A．unique

B．perfect

C．strong

D．weak

15.

A．success

B．challenge

C．failure

D．test

6 . A team of scientists is studying the sound of the forest in Ecuador to learn how artificial intelligence (AI) could follow animal life in recovering environments.

When scientists want to measure new forest growth, they can study large areas of land with tools like satellites. But understanding how fast and in what number wildlife is returning to an area is more difficult. Sometimes it requires an expert to listen through sound recordings and pick out animal calls.

Jorg Muller, an expert on birds, wondered if there was a different way. So, he turned to bioacoustics (生物声学), which uses sound to learn more about animal life and their living environments. Muller and his team recorded wildlife sounds in Ecuador. They first had experts listen to the recordings and list the sounds of different animals. Then, they examined the sound quality to measure the environment. Finally, they ran two weeks of recordings through an AI computer program trained to understand 75 different bird calls.

The program was able to pick out the calls on which it was trained. However, scientists wondered if the program could correctly identify the number of different kinds of plants and animals in each environment. To see if the program could do that, the team used two different controls. One was from the experts who listened to the recordings, and the second was based on examples from each environment, which can be used to understand biodiversity (生物多样性).

Since the number of sounds that are found to be used to train is limited, the AI program could only identify one-fourth of the bird calls experts could. But it was still able to correctly measure biodiversity levels in each environment, the study said. It also said the results show the AI program is a powerful tool to measure the recovery of animal societies in some forests. The study showed that biodiversity found from recordings can be measured in a cost-effective and complete way and measure environments.

There are still areas for improvement, including the lack of animal sounds on which to train AI models. And the method can only catch animals that use sound to communicate.

1. What does the study focus on?

A．Studying plant growth.	B．Observing birds’ behavior.
C．Understanding AI’s effect on wildlife.	D．Measuring wildlife recovery.

2. What method did the team use to learn wildlife sounds in Eduador?

A．Bioacoustics.	B．Satellite recording.
C．Sound recording by AI.	D．Direct observation by experts.

3. What did the AI program prove to be useful for?

A．Identifying plant species.	B．Tracking weather change.
C．Measuring biodiversity levels.	D．Identifying all the bird calls.

4. What did the study suggest for improvements?

A．Measuring more bird environments.

B．Catching animals that use sound to communicate.

C．Training the program on a wider variety of sounds.

D．Having experts study more and understand bird calls.

7 . When 62-year-old fisherman Kpana Charlie finished the day’s catch, he liked to settle into a wooden chair, thinking about his childhood. Back then, his life on Sierra Leone’s Nyangai Island seemed excellent. He spent endless hours playing with his friends on the island’s white beaches. Whenever he wanted to avoid having to do his housework, he could simply disappear into the forest that covered much of the island. He remembers as recently as ten years ago, it still measured some 2, 300 feet from end to end.

Today, Nyangai is disappearing before his very eyes, covered by the endless sea. The forests are gone. And the land on which Charlie’s family home once stood, has long since disappeared beneath the waves.

In fact, the local government has responded to the sharp increase of sea level by building a concrete (混凝土制的) seawall along the length of the town. But in the many smaller coastal towns and villages in the area, there simply aren’t the resources. Then, the government made a project to protect some of the settlements by planting trees, but this has had limited success. With the population relying on woods for building and smoking-fish, few trees lived longer than the project, which ended in 2021.

Sierra Leone has been identified as one of the world’s most weak countries to the effects of climate change, despite having little influence on global CO₂ emissions (排放). “Weak countries should be getting some support from wealthy nations to strengthen their climate defenses (防御),” says Gabriel Kpaka, the head of the country’s Meteorological Agency. “But we’re not really seeing that.”

With global sea level expected to rise by anywhere between 1 and 3 feet by the end of the century, along with an increase in extreme weather events, the experience of this West African island offers an understanding of the possible future of countless other low-lying areas around the world.

1. Why does the author tell Charlie’s story in paragraph 1?

A．To describe his wonderful life at present.	B．To offer-readers-background information
C．To call on local people to protect the seen	D．To attract more visitors to Nyangai Island.

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The reasons for the changes on the island.	B．The rich natural species in coastal areas.
C．The measures taken to deal with rising sea level.	D．The way to build a concrete seawall on the island.

3. What can be done to help Nyangai Island according to Kpaka?

A．Local government should build a stronger seawall.

B．Local people on the island limit their CO2 emissions.

C．Countries in low-lying areas work together for their rights.

D．Rich countries should offer support about climate defenses.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of other low-lying areas?

A．Concerned.

B．Doubtful.

C．Uncertain.

D．Positive.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does the woman invite the man to the beach?

A．To relax.

B．To see a whale.

C．To collect some plastic.

2. Who will deal with the garbage?

A．The community.

B．The government.

C．A recycling company.

3. What is the woman like?

A．Lazy.

B．Responsible.

C．Emotional.

9 . Why did the man choose the guitar?

A．He needs a cheap instrument.

B．He wants to be like his friends.

C．He thinks it is cool to play the guitar.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Which is the woman’s favorite hobby?

A．Doing exercise.

B．Writing at home.

C．Collecting recipes.

2. Why does the woman suggest cooking?

A．It is a creative hobby.

B．It is good to do alone.

C．It helps avoid going to restaurants.

3. What does the man probably think of cooking?

A．It’s hard to learn.

B．It’s healthy to cook his own food.

C．It’s a fun thing to do with his family.