Dazu Rock Carvings refers to all of the 102 cliffside carvings in Dazu district, Chongqing. The
So far, 50,000 statues and 100,000 carved Chinese characters
The Dazu Rock Carvings have
According to the UNESCO description, the Dazu Rock Carvings are remarkable
2 . We may weep for the dodo, but could and should we bring this lovely bird back from the dead? De-extinction is the science of restoring lost species and it has been in the news for decades.
The story in modern times began in 1990 when Michael Crichton published his science fiction novel Jurassic Park, in which he imagined a world where scientists were able to bring dinosaurs back to life. Crichton imagined that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology could be a way to amplify (放大) tiny quantities of dinosaur DNA and thus build a living embryo.
Sadly, biologists soon realized that DNA in fact breaks down super-fast; even after 100 years, DNA from museum skins of dodos was decayed (腐烂) beyond repair. They could be sequenced (测定序列) using massive computational power, but then only with considerable uncertainty. And even if you capture a DNA sequence, there’s still the problem of how you get living cells to read that sequence and express proteins that make the dinosaur or the dodo.
But why would anyone want to see mammoths, or something like them, roaming (漫游) present-day Siberia? Well, they were undoubtedly amazing beasts. As well as hunting them, our distant ancestors painted their likenesses in caves across Europe. Fascinating as they may be, there's some ecological justification for the project too.
It was this diversity of land surface, broken up by heavy limbs and randomly fertilised by faeces (排泄物), that supported so much flora (植物群). Without the mammoths, that diversity disappeared. Return them and landscapes would once again be with a variety of species, including flowers and bushes.
True, it’s not de-extinction in the sense of bringing a long-dead species back to life. Instead it’s more like making a “dodo” by engineering a modern pigeon, its closest relative, to become huge and flightless. The result would be a big, fatty pigeon that, whether it looked like a dodo or not, would probably fulfil some of its ecological roles.
As a palaeontologist, I would of course love to see living dinosaurs, mammoths and dodos. In some ways, though, I am relieved that the optimistic claims for cloning and genetic technologies have not been borne out. The slowdown gives us time to consider the outcomes—and hopefully avoid some of Michael Crichton’s more fevered imaginings.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?| A．A science fiction review. | B．The development of DNA. |
| C．An inspired guess of de-extinction. | D．The application of PCR technology. |
| A．DNA is hard to keep for long. | B．Computational power is limited. |
| C．Biologists are opposed to it. | D．Living cells cant be sequenced. |
| A．They expect to seek hunt fun. | B．They lack sources of modern art. |
| C．They need them for research. | D．They want to see biodiversity. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Unclear. | C．Dismissive. | D．Approving. |
When my sister, Dona, and I were little kids, my parents both joined the army. They stayed far away from our town and hardly returned home. My grandpa took on the big responsibility of taking care of us. Still, without our parents by our side, Dona and I sometimes felt lonely and sad, especially one winter.
One morning in that winter when Dona and I were sitting in our bedroom, dull and quiet, Grandpa said, “My dear, how about trying skating for fun?” Our faces immediately lit up and we answered together, “Great, we surely like it, Grandpa!”
He smiled and quickly set about building us a skating rink (溜冰场) in our yard. The process of building a skating rink was not easy. First, Grandpa laid out long wooden boards around the yard. Next, he made the base of the rink flat. Grandpa then began spraying the water, lightly at first, until the first layer of ice was established. He would then put some water onto the ice each night. And thus, the ice became thicker and thicker.
In the darkness of the night, from the kitchen window Dona and I watched Grandpa with great expectations. His back and shoulders rounded to protect him from the freezing wind. He stood alone, busying himself creating a perfect skating rink for us. The only light was from the moon and stars.
One night, Grandpa suddenly pressed his waist and the look on his face showed he was painful. Quite concerned, Dona and I rushed out and asked, “Grandpa! What’s wrong?” “My waist is painful. Don’t worry! I’ll be fine just after a little rest,” he smiled. Dona and I offered to help create the rink. But he said it was too cold outside at night and that building the rink needs much experience and lots of skills. Then, we gave up the idea of offering him a hand, but demanded he build the rink a few days later. Seeing we were determined, he walked into the room with us and had warm tea. Before long, Dona and I were tired and went to bed.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右。
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When we fell asleep, Grandpa quietly walked out into the yard.
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Amazed, we hurriedly put on the skating equipment and rushed out._
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4 . A team of Dutch researchers has discovered that magpies (喜鹊) are using metal spikes (things with sharp points) designed to keep them away from certain urban areas to make their own nests stronger and keep invaders at bay.
Scientists have known for a while that magpies are some of the most intelligent birds in the world, but even they were puzzled by their amazing ability to adapt to hostile urban environments. It’s not unusual for birds to use human trash as tools and building materials for their nests, but seeing them use the very things we humans use against them was nothing short of puzzling for researchers at the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, in the Netherlands.
“I didn’t expect this. These anti bird spikes are meant to deter birds, they are supposed to scare them off, but on the contrary, the birds just use them.” Kees Moeliker, the director of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, told The Guardian.
One particularly impressive magpie nest was discovered in the courtyard of a hospital in Antwerp, Belgium. It was made up of around 1,500 anti-bird spikes, most of which seemed to be positioned with the sharp point outwards, as protection against invaders. After discovering it, researchers checked the roof and confirmed that around 50 meters of anti-bird spike strips had been ripped off the building, leaving only the glue used to fix them in place.
Birds have been known to take sharp objects, from point y branches to nails, screws, into their nests as protection, but the use of anti-bird spikes is kind of ironic, as they are the very things used to keep them away. To scientists like Hiemstra, this is a sort of “beautiful revenge”.
A few years back, we wrote about rich people in the UK installing anti-bird spikes on trees to stop birds from pooping on their luxury cars, but I guess the birds had the last laugh.
1. How did the researchers feel when they found magpies made use of metal spikes?| A．Shocked. | B．Amused. | C．Frightened. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Attract. | B．Threaten. | C．Raise. | D．Protect. |
| A．Supporting evidence for the research result. |
| B．Deeper explanation of the research finding. |
| C．Practical application of the research discovery. |
| D．Further exploration of the cause of the discovery. |
| A．Birds are the masters of architecture. |
| B．Birds respond wisely in face of anti-bird spikes. |
| C．Birds use human trash to make for better adaptation. |
| D．Birds turn out the most intelligent species in the world. |
5 . It’s a known fact that emissions from gas-powered vehicles are harming the atmosphere. In response to this, Porsche, the German sports car brand, began a pilot program of producing e-fuels in Chile last year. Currently, e-fuels will be used only in sports cars at Porsche’s performance and experience centers.
E-fuels are made by passing electricity through water. The electricity separates the hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen is then mixed with CO2 to produce liquid e-fuels. E-fuels can be produced using many renewable energy sources, such as solar energy and wind. They follow the chemical structure of gasoline, making it possible for gas-powered cars to run on e-fuels with little to no modification.
E-fuels are preponderant (占优势的) over gas. E-fuels can help ease the change away from gas-powered cars, for those who may not be able to afford electric vehicles (EVs). They will also help to reduce waste by keeping gas-powered cars in service. Additionally, the use of e-fuels will not require new infrastructure to be built unlike EVs.
Existing gas stations and cars will be able to stay in use, which is already a big saving. However, opinions differ on whether e-fuels are truly eco-friendly. E-fuels are widely said to be nearly carbon neutral, although an independent study indicates that e-fuels release the same amount of CO2 as gasoline. Since e-fuels are still being developed and tested, their true impacts are still unknown.
E-fuels are very expensive to produce, partly due to energy loss during production. Unfortunately, only about 50% of the energy used in producing e-fuels is actually transformed into fuels. Additionally, only about 16% of the energy used in e-fuel production is actually used to power the car.
Even though the use of e-fuels will keep existing infrastructure, it will still take time and money to include it in everyday life. Currently the price of c-fuels is nearly double the cost of regular fuels. Though opinion is divided on e-fuels, with more testing and development, they have been considered as another way to help fight against the climate crisis by many researchers.
1. What can we learn about e-fuels?| A．They were tested in Germany at first. | B．They are applicable to gas-powered cars. |
| C．They were produced relying on solar energy. | D．They need to be mixed with CO2 in actual use. |
| A．E-fuels are greater than gas. | B．E-fuels are rich in gas. |
| C．E-fuels are dependent on gas. | D．E-fuels are equal to gas. |
| A．EVs have enjoyed much popularity. | B．The cost of e-fuels will go down gradually. |
| C．There are many difficulties in advertising e-fuels. | D．The efficiency of e-fuels is lower in powering cars. |
| A．Positive. | B．Scared. | C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
6 . Once the choice of royal household, the watermelon has gained popularity rapidly over the years, and an online grocer reported that the fruit’s sales on the platform had increased sixfold from 2020 to 2022, resulting in increasingly high demand for watermelon quality testers.
Lee, 32, is extremely busy in the summer months. Just by holding the watermelon near his ear and knocking on the surface with his fingers, Lee says, he can tell by the sound if the fruit is ripe enough to be eaten or not. He works for a rural cooperative set up by a group of watermelon farmers, and puts thousands of watermelons through the “knock test” daily, before they are shipped to downtown warehouses where the platform sources its supplies.
The practice of knocking on watermelons to determine their ripeness can be found across cultures. In China, it is considered a national habit. Smart buyers tap on the fruit before purchase to ensure their money is well-spent. Some buyers knock on the fruit despite not knowing what the hollow sound means just to negotiate a better deal from the seller.
As fruit sales have moved to online platforms in a big way, those who make a living by checking the quality of the fruits with their fingers are much in demand. Lee is one among the growing group. Their task is to conduct knock tests on behalf of e-buyers and ensure that the fruits selected to be sold online are uniform in size and quality.
Lee, who was once an award-winning soccer player, now describes himself as a “goalkeeper for watermelons”. He quit soccer about four years ago and learned about melon-knocking as an emerging profession and decided to become an apprentice(学徒) to an experienced farmer.
After a year’s trial and error, Lee worked independently as a quality checker. “It is a highly demanding task. During the apprenticeship, I often cracked open melons to confirm my judgment. There are just no shortcuts, ” he said.
1. What is the main purpose of the text?| A．To introduce an emerging profession. |
| B．To describe Lee’s career transformation. |
| C．To discuss the importance of fruit quality testers. |
| D．To explain the cultural role of watermelon-knocking. |
| A．The popularity of watermelons. | B．The big harvest of watermelons. |
| C．An increase in watermelon prices. | D．A rapid rise in online watermelon sales. |
| A．He was once an award-winning soccer player. |
| B．He dreams of being a professional melon-knocker. |
| C．He was taught by an experienced watermelon farmer. |
| D．He ensures that customers enjoy watermelons of quality. |
| A．Seeing is believing. | B．Every man has his value. |
| C．Great efforts and practice matter. | D．Excellence can be found in any profession. |
7 . Student Film Festival
Student Film Festival celebrates learning across the curriculum through the exciting and dynamic medium of short film.
Through film, students can tell stories, investigate ideas, document learning in any area of study and express the complexity of their thinking through a range of genres and technical approaches.
With the creative use of digital media, students can integrate their personal perspectives to explore the diverse and challenging issues of our time.
It’s open to all students, regardless of school. We are accepting submissions in the following categories:
Cartoon (up to 30 mins)
Documentary(纪录片)(up to 60 mins)
Music Video(under 10 mins)
Science Fiction Short (up to 25 mins)
Situational Comedy (under 10 mins)
Web Series(up to three episodes, no more than 30 mins each)
So far, more than 20 entries have been selected across all categories. We will gradually announce the chosen entries for each category, giving you a chance to watch all the films online and vote for your favourites. Winners in all categories will be announced on Wednesday, 27 December.
Over the years, our film festivals have attracted thousands of filmmakers from around the world. Each festival features live screenings in our own school theater. Our 80-seat theater is outfitted with a 4K projector and seven speakers throughout the venue, delivering high quality in a first-class screening environment. Filmmakers whose works are accepted into our festival will receive free passes to the school theater, invitations to film masterclasses, and are considered for awards.
1. Which of the following can be a suitable submission to the festival?| A．A 20-minute recording of a short play. |
| B．A two-hour film recording your daily routine. |
| C．A five-minute fun video about students’ dormitory life. |
| D．A 22-minute educational video explaining popular science. |
| A．Receive a film award. | B．Watch films for free in the school theater. |
| C．Interview film masters. | D．Deliver a speech in the venue. |
| A．A schedule for the film selecting process. |
| B．An invitation to a filmmakers’ celebration. |
| C．An announcement of a film festival awards. |
| D．An advertisement for an upcoming festival. |
“I look like a clown (小丑)!” Winston thought sadly. He pulled his cap down, thankful for the cover it provided. He wanted to escape the attention of the people outside the barbershop (理发店). He looked around before hurrying away into the darkness to put some distance between himself and the curious eyes of others.
As he moved quickly down the street,Winston wondered why he hadn’t spoken up to prevent the terrible haircut. He felt sad and questioned why this had happened to him. Did the barber give him this messed-up haircut on purpose? Winston didn’t believe it because the barber looked very friendly. But it seemed so crazy! Could he have unknowingly offended the barber,and this disastrous hairstyle was the barber’s way of getting back at him?
Winston was also worried that Jack would laugh at him. Jack was his cousin and liked playing jokes. But maybe he wouldn’t; he was understanding too. Winston kept thinking about it.Upon entering his new home, ,Winston’s mom greeted him from the kitchen. She called out to him,asking to see his new hairstyle. Winston walked into the kitchen, his cap still on, and slowly took it off.
His mother looked very surprised. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Oh déar,” she shouted. “What happened?” Winston stood silently for a moment before letting out his anger. He blamed his mom for bringing him to this place, torcing him to attend a new school where he believed everyone would make fun of him. He also said he hated this terrible hairstyle, and his hair was beyond fixing.
Just as his anger was about to grow, the doorbell-rang. Winston’s mom calmly told him to answer it. As he opened the door, he forgot to cover his terrible haircut, and there stood his cousin Jack. Since it was Saturday today, they had planned to go skating together. Winston felt extremely embarrassed.
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。
Jack looked at Winston in disbelief.
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That afternoon, Winston returned to the barbershop, hoping to find out the truth.
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It was a typical Monday morning for Jenny, a diligent high school senior. The sound of her alarm clock woke her up, a rude awakening from her sweet dreams. She unwillingly opened her eyes, knowing what waited for her-another 5 long days at school.
Dragging herself out of bed, Jenny went through her usual morning routine. She hurriedly got dressed, grabbed her backpack, and rushed to the kitchen for breakfast. Her mother had prepared a nutritious meal, but Jenny had no appetite. She was too occupied with thoughts of an upcoming exam in her most challenging subject, mathematics.
As Jenny walked to school, her mind wandered back to the countless hours she had spent studying and practicing equations (方程式). She had put in lots of effort, hoping to improve her grades. However, despite her dedication, she was struggling to achieve the desired results. Doubts started crawling in, and anxiety stayed in her mind like dark clouds.
As students settled into their seats, Mr. Johnson, their math teacher, announced that the exam would take place that afternoon. Jenny started to feel afraid. She suddenly realized that she had forgotten her calculator at home, an essential tool for the exam. Panic turned into hopelessness, as she knew that borrowing one during the test would be strictly prohibited.
Jenny’s friends, Emma and David, noticed her worry and approached her after class. They offered their help. Emma suggested that Jenny be honest to Mr. Johnson and explain her situation. David, however, had a different plan. He proposed sneaking (偷偷给) his calculator to her during the exam, risking punishment for cheating.
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。
Jenny’s heart sank.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The exam started.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was my very first trip to Africa. We were driving along a track that skirted the southern bank of the Chobe River, when my friend suddenly noticed something up ahead — a large shape jammed in-between a couple of big trees, right beside the road. We edged the car closer and, to our surprise, found ourselves looking at a young calf snuggled (偎依) up against a sizeable elephant (most probably its mother).
Our dilemma now was this: Was it OK to just drive slowly past the pair of elephants on that narrow track? Or would that cause the mother to become upset and charge, in which case we should either wait for them to move on or turn the car around? A bit unnerved by the close encounter, we chose to head back the way we’d come.
In the following days, I had a number of conversations with national park staff and fellow travelers about what to do when you suddenly come across an elephant while driving in the African wilds.
Sometimes people told me it would be OK to slowly drive past the mother and calf, because the wild animals of Chobe have become pretty used to humans in cars. Elephants seldom pose a threat to us. So there’s no need to adopt an attitude of permanent near-panic calm decisiveness is your true ally (助手) in such situations.
But then sometimes I was told to switch off the car and wait until the elephant had departed the scene. The idea was that the rumble (隆隆声) of an automotive engine could be interpreted by the animal as a kind of challenge. Keeping silent would reassure the elephant that you weren’t going to cause any trouble, and eventually it would go on its merry way. OK, that also sounded reasonable enough.
A week later, my friend and I were driving by a river, watching elephants meet on the water for a drink, and were driving back to our lodge (度假小屋) when we found our route blocked by a young male elephant. As surprised as we were, the elephant planted his feet in the dirt and seemingly prepared to fight against our car.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
The track was narrow and bordered by thick bush, so we couldn’t go around him.
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The elephant walked right up to the car.
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