1 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

What did you have for dinner Tuesday night of last week? If someone     1     (ask) you that question Wednesday morning, you would     2     (possible) have had no problem recalling what you had for dinner the night before.

But as days pass, the memories of all the other meals you     3     (eat) since then start to interfere (干扰) with your memory of that one particular meal. This is a good example of     4    psychologists call the interference theory of forgetting. Forgetting is the result of     5     (vary) memories interfering with one another. The more similar two or more events are     6     one another, the more likely interference will occur.

Getting rid of interference altogether is impossible, but there are a few things you can do to minimize its effects. One of the best things you can do is rehearse (排练) new information in order to better commit it to memory. In fact, many experts recommend overlearning important information,     7     involves rehearsing the material over and over again until it can be reproduced perfectly with no errors. Another strategy for fighting interference is to switch up your routine and avoid     8     (study) similar material back to back. Sleep also plays an essential role in memory     9     (form). Sleeping after you learn something new is     10     efficient way to turn new memories into lasting ones.

2 . I used to stutter (口吃) quite badly. I felt very ________ , like I was less of a human being.

I didn’t have any ________ when I left special school. So I got a job as a trainee hotel porter. I enjoyed it because I was meeting new people and earning my own ________ . I felt like a proper adult. But the other men ________ me mentally because of my disability. They’d imitate (模仿) me ________ because of my speech impediment (障碍). I got very down. I was ________ inside.

The stepping stone to self-belief for me was ________ I got help from KeyRing—an organization which helps disabled people to live ________ . I couldn’t write very well, but I could ________ that. Apps on computers meant I could dictate (口授) my emails. I got the government ________ for disabled people in work. It paid for me to help with paperwork two mornings a week.

________ I heard about a job going at the human rights charity CHANGE. I got an ________ that got me the job of international project consultant. I travel all over the world to ________ professionals to work better with people with learning disabilities. This builds my ________ . I lost my stutter in the end.

My learning disability was a bit of me, but it doesn’t ________ me. It’s just a label people put on me. It hasn’t stopped me having a life.

1.

A．tense

B．small

C．frightened

D．annoyed

2.

A．impressions

B．requirements

C．qualifications

D．challenges

3.

A．wage

B．degree

C．honour

D．friendship

4.

A．supported

B．coached

C．confused

D．abused

5.

A．talking

B．working

C．living

D．studying

6.

A．calm

B．brave

C．dying

D．lost

7.

A．where

B．why

C．how

D．when

8.

A．comfortably

B．peacefully

C．independently

D．colourfully

9.

A．get around

B．decide on

C．ask about

D．seek for

10.

A．intervention

B．funding

C．guidance

D．permit

11.

A．Gradually

B．Eventually

C．Surprisingly

D．Desperately

12.

A．email

B．appeal

C．option

D．interview

13.

A．train

B．persuade

C．promise

D．expect

14.

A．vocabulary

B．wealth

C．confidence

D．strength

15.

A．remind

B．abandon

C．confirm

D．define

3 . Bottled water has long been marketed as a safe drink—if it doesn’t come straight from a mountain spring, it’s at least clean and free of chemicals. But a new study demonstrates that bottled water may not be so safe when it comes to microscopic plastic pollutants capable of passing into the bloodstream.

For years scientists have raised the alarm over microplastics, which form when plastics break down into increasingly smaller particles (微粒), ranging from five millimeters down to one micrometer. Previous studies have found that a liter of bottled water can contain tens of thousands of identifiable plastic particles. But they stopped at the one micrometer level due to technological restrictions.

The study used a new technology to find even smaller particles, and detected an average240,000 plastic particles per liter of bottled water. About 90% of the particles were considered nanoplastics, smaller than one micrometer. Unlike microplastics, they are capable of passing through some organs like lungs into the bloodstream. From there they can stay in the heart muscle and other organs, pass into the brain, and even into the bodies of unborn babies.

So far, little research shows what nanoplastics exactly do once they enter the bloodstream. But there is much evidence that chemicals used in plastic production are bad for human health. Even if nanoplastics themselves are not deleterious, they can serve as carriers for the dangerous chemicals, increasing the risk of cancer and impacting key organs such as the heart.

“There is a huge world of nanoplastics to be studied,” said the researchers. Even if nanoplastics make up 90% of the number of plastic particles found in bottled water, they make up far less in mass, they said. However, this fact provides little comfort: It’s the numbers rather than mass that matter; and the smaller things are, the more readily they can get inside us.

1. What does the technological barrier in the previous studies concern?

A．The number of microscopic plastics.	B．The quality of water bottles.
C．The distribution of plastic pollutants.	D．The size of plastic particles.

2. What does the text imply about microplastics?

A．They are not very likely to pollute bottled water.

B．Their number per liter of bottled water is constant.

C．They are less potentially risky to health than nanoplastics.

D．Their number in springs is larger than that of nanoplastics.

3. What does the underlined word “deleterious” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Large.

B．Useless.

C．Safe.

D．Harmful.

4. Why do nanoplastics need further research?

A．They are too small to identify.	B．They have easy access to organs.
C．They are dangerous regarding mass.	D．They have a higher percentage in life.

4 . The impact of technology on language is a topic that often causes concern, with many assuming that it is simply ruining it. However, language experts resist such pessimism, noting that there is little evidence to support the view that speech is getting worse. Gretchen McCulloch, in her book Because Internet, focuses on what can be learned about language from the internet rather than talking about its supposed negative effects.

McCulloch compares studying language online to growing bacteria (细菌) in a Petri dish,where trends emerge and disappear quickly, allowing language experts to observe changes that would otherwise take a considerable amount of time. The influence of strong ties like friends or family vs weaker ties on language change is analyzed, with computer simulations (模拟) revealing that having both strong and weaker ties helps spread updates in a community.

The role of social media platforms in language change is also discussed. Twitter, with its mix of strong and weak ties, is shown to drive more language change than Facebook, which is controlled by stronger ties. Emoji is highlighted as a universal digital expression of gestures, not a language. Additionally, there is evidence that the use of internet“innovations”such as“omg”dates back to pre-computer eras.

McCulloch’s book focuses on the birth of a new medium rather than a new language. The rise of mass writing on the internet, characterized by frequent, error-filled, and short-lived communication, challenges traditional ideas about writing’s importance. McCulloch suggests future historians should see this as a return to more casual (随意的) language, paying more attention to the value of tools that improve social interaction online. The book argues against the idea that these changes might lead to the end of “real” writing, advocating for an appreciation of anything that enhances human connection and the enjoyment of each other’s company.

1. How might McCulloch sound in her book Because Internet?

A．Sensitive.

B．Scientific.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Dismissive.

2. What does paragraph 3 focus on?

A．The development of digital language.

B．The difference between social media platforms.

C．The influence of the internet on language change.

D．The connection between humans and the internet.

3. Which of the following would McCulloch probably agree with?

A．Interpersonal bonds play a role in online communication.

B．Formal language is unlikely to improve social interaction.

C．The birth of new media has removed writing’s importance.

D．Mass writing can make web-based conversations effective.

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

A．How to Achieve Network Effect?	B．Technology, Fear or Convenience?
C．What If Faced with Media Terms?	D．Internet Degrades or Helps Speech?

5 . In the joyful summer Chadalavada spent with Jayasree, his grandmother in 2018, the pair watched endless movies. Late one evening, Jayasree, who had recently been diagnosed (诊断) with Alzheimer’s, got up in her nightdress and went to make tea at her home in India. After she returned to her bedroom, Chadalavada went into the kitchen to find that his grandmother had left the gas on!

Chadalavada decided to invent a wearable device to help people like his grandmother. Now aged 17, Chadalavada is ready to start making the Alpha Monitor. The device, which can be worn as an armband, sets off an alarm when the wearer with Alzheimer’s starts to move and warns a caregiver if the patient falls or wanders off.

Most similar devices run on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so when a person moves out of their frequencies’ limited range the connection is lost and with it the monitoring. But the Alpha Monitor can detect a person more than a mile away in cities and three miles in the countryside thanks to the long-range technology, known as LoRa, it uses.

Teaching himself with YouTube videos about robotics and electronics, Chadalavada has developed several prototypes (模型). To understand the needs of people with Alzheimer’s, he spent time in a day centre run by the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India. There, the cofounder told him that the device “had to be something light that can be worn on any part of the body”. She says: “Many patients don’t like having to wear a watch and they take it off.”

In March, when Chadalavada’s school exams are over, he will put the finishing touches to the monitor, with the aim of getting the device ready for market by September. He is confident that it should be sold at an affordable price for most people.

Chadalavada hopes to study robotics at a university abroad. His aim is simple: “I want to create products to help people in India for the whole world.”

1. Why did Chadalavada invent the Alpha Monitor?

A．To treat Alzheimer’s.

B．To entertain senior citizens.

C．To improve Alzheimer’s caregiving.

D．To ensure fire safety at the elderly’s homes.

2. What is an advantage of the Alpha Monitor?

A．It is more comfortable to wear.	B．It has a longer service time.
C．It offers a remoter monitoring.	D．It uses higher frequency controls.

3. What did Chadalavada want to explore while he spent time in a day centre?

A．Where his invention could be polished.

B．What people with Alzheimer’s felt like.

C．How Alzheimer’s disease could be cured.

D．Whether his invention would be profitable.

4. What can we learn about Chadalavada from the text?

A．He enjoys living simply.	B．He has an innovative mind.
C．He used to be a health worker.	D．He longs to be a robotics professor.

6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Cindy nervously glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. Five minutes before midnight. Her parents were still out there celebrating their 15th anniversary.

“They should be home any time now,” she thought as she put the finishing touches on the chocolate cake. It was the first time in her 12 years she had tried to make a cake from zero, and to be honest, it wasn’t exactly an artistic success. The cake was... well, lumpy. And the coating was bitter, as if she had run out of sugar or something which, of course, she had.

And then there was the way the kitchen looked. Imagine a huge blender(食物搅拌器) filled with all the stuff needed for chocolate cake -including the bowls, plates and tools. Now imagine that the blender is turned on. High speed. With the cover off.

Do you get the idea?

But Cindy wasn’t thinking about the mess. She was anxious for her parents to return home from their date so she could present her anniversary gift to them. Picturing her parents’ surprised faces when they saw the cake, she could feel a wave of excitement washing over her. She turned off the kitchen lights and waited excitedly in the darkness, hoping to give her parents a big surprise. Time seemed to her to be crawling with feet of lead while she anxiously awaited her parents’ arrival. When at last she saw the flash of the car headlights, she positioned herself in the kitchen doorway, her heart thumping like a drum. By the time she heard the key sliding into the front door, she was THIS CLOSE to exploding.

Assuming Cindy was already sound asleep, her parents tried to steal in quietly, but Cindy would have none of that. She turned on the lights dramatically and trumpeted “Ta-daaa!” She gestured grandly toward the kitchen table, where a slightly off-balance chocolate cake awaited their inspection.

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: But her mother’s eyes never made it all the way to the cake.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: “Wow, look at the beautiful chocolate cake,” her father exclaimed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . 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。

Chang’an Tower, also known as the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, is an architectural wonder     1     (locate) in Xi’an, China. With its rich historical significance and stunning beauty, this ancient tower stands as a masterpiece of China’s cultural heritage.

    2     (original) built during the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, Chang’an Tower served as a Buddhist pagoda, housing Buddhist materials that the monk Xuanzang brought from India. Its construction     3    (order) by Emperor Gaozong to promote Buddhism and facilitate (使……便利) the translation of Buddhist scriptures (佛经)     4     Chinese.

Rising to a     5     (high) of 64 meters, the square-shaped, thirteen-storey tower showcases the splendid craftsmanship of ancient Chinese craftsmen, each storey of     6     exhibits unique architectural features,     7     (reflect) the cultural influences of the time. Visitors can go up the internal staircase to the top for magnificent     8     (view) of the city. Surrounding the pagoda, the serene gardens and the Da Ci’en Temple offer a peaceful retreat as well.

Whether it is for experiencing a piece of history     9     exploring cultural wonders, Chang’an Tower is     10     essential destination for those exploring China’s vast historical landscape.

8 . The first time I saw the real Santa, he drove a big, charcoal-colored truck, not a cherry red sleigh, in the August heat. He wasn’t what I _______ at all.

My husband had lost his job early in July, and we’d been _______ expenses everywhere we could. He’d been looking for a job but _______.

One afternoon, we were feeling particularly _______ so we decided to treat ourselves to a meal from McDonald’s. Just a quick drive-through run, no big deal. When we got to the window to pay, the employee said our meal had been taken care of by the car _______ us. We attempted to keep the pay-it-forward chain going by offering to pay for the _______ for the car behind us. “No, that man just paid for everyone in line,” said the employee. She _______ toward the truck that was slowly pulling away to _______ the parking lot. We had no choice but to get _______ with the fact that a stranger had just done something kind for us, and there was no way to repay it, pay it forward, etc.

I looked toward the truck and thought I could see the man’s grin in the driver’s side ________. He ________ his hand out the window and gave a cheerful wave, and it ________ reminded me of the illustration of a Christmas poem where Santa was flying away into the night, gloved hand up in a goodbye wave.

It seemed like a little ________ that we’d be alright. My husband found a wonderful job shortly after that. We’ve gone on to do random acts of ________ for others, remembering the effect this free meal had on us that ________ day when Santa drove a truck and left with a big grin and a little wave.

1.

A．revealed

B．expected

C．predicted

D．reflected

2.

A．getting rid of

B．coming down with

C．making up for

D．cutting back on

3.

A．in vain

B．in effect

C．in debt

D．in issue

4.

A．awkward

B．low

C．ashamed

D．nervous

5.

A．close by

B．behind

C．ahead of

D．beyond

6.

A．menu

B．order

C．service

D．expense

7.

A．gestured

B．glanced

C．yelled

D．edged

8.

A．enter

B．approach

C．seek

D．exit

9.

A．ashamed

B．stressed

C．comfortable

D．grateful

10.

A．door

B．mirror

C．window

D．seat

11.

A．struck

B．shot

C．stuck

D．lent

12.

A．quickly

B．ultimately

C．automatically

D．instantly

13.

A．reminder

B．memory

C．image

D．example

14.

A．kindness

B．gratitude

C．heroism

D．sacrifice

15.

A．mild

B．freezing

C．hot

D．damp

9 . Each fall, the flu emerges as a terrible force.     1     Influenza viruses cause millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths in the United States each year. So it’s necessary to know more about the flu viruses.

What’s the difference between Type A and Type B?

Influenza A viruses come in many varieties. Four subtypes commonly affect humans. But many more influenza A viruses have been identified in animals, which makes it a potential source of pandemics whenever a new type of influenza A jumps to humans.     2     They are divided into just two lineages (谱系) that cause seasonal outbreaks.

What are symptoms of an influenza infection?

If you do get sick with the flu, you’ll have common symptoms like fever, muscle aches and respiratory ailments. Most otherwise healthy people are sick for three to seven days.     3     The flu can also trigger inflammatory (炎症反应) responses in the body and worsen existing chronic conditions like asthma or heart disease.

    4    

Some rapid tests available at doctors offices can distinguish between influenza A and B, although they tend to have low sensitivity. Doctors can also order more sensitive P. C. R. tests to identify the specific flu virus causing infection.

How do you treat influenza?

To treat the flu, we can take approved antiviral medications that are commonly used to shorten the duration and severity of illness. Stay hydrated, get plenty of rest and use over-the-counter medications to reduce fever as needed. But if you develop a sustained fever of 39℃, you have difficulty breathing or you experience severe chest or stomach pain, it is important to seek medical attention immediately.     5    

A．How do you get tested for influenza?

B．How do you know which type you have?

C．Influenza B viruses, however, only circulate in humans.

D．In some cases, the cough and fatigue can linger for two weeks.

E．These may be signs that you need a stronger influenza treatment.

F．There are two players every flu season: influenza Type A and Type B.

G．Public health officials recommend everyone six months and older get an annual flu shot.

10 . Falling birth rates are a major concern for some of Asia’s biggest economies. Government s in the region are spending hundreds of billions of dollars trying to reverse the trend. Will it work?

Japan began introducing policies to encourage couples to have more children in the 1990s. South Korea started doing the same in the 2000s, while Singapore’s first fertility (生育) policy dates back to 1987. China, which has seen its population fall for the first time in 60 years, recently joined the growing club.

While it is difficult to quantify exactly how much these policies have cost, South Korean President YoonSuk-yeol recently said his country had spent more than $200bn (£160bn) over the past 16 years on trying to boost the population. Yet last year South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate, with the average number of babies expected per woman falling to 0.78. In neighbouring Japan, which had record low births of fewer than 800,000 last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to double the budget for child-related policies from 10tn yen ($74.7bn; £59.2bn).

Having a bigger population who can work and produce more goods and services leads to higher economic growth. And while a larger population can mean higher costs for governments, it can also result in bigger tax revenues (税收). Also, many Asian countries are ageing rapidly. Japan leads the pack with nearly 30% of its population now over the age of 65 and some other nations in the region are not far behind. Compare that with India, which has just overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation. More than a quarter of its people are between the age of 10 and 20, which gives its economy huge potential for growth. And when the share of the working age population gets smaller, the cost and burden of looking after the non-working population grow. “Negative population growth has an impact on the economy, and together with an ageing population, they won’t be able to afford to support the elderly,” said Xiujian Peng of Victoria University.

1. Which Asian country first took measures to increase population in this passage?

A．Japan.

B．South Korea.

C．Singapore.

D．China.

2. What can we learn about the population of Asian countries from the passage?

A．Japan hit the lowest record of new-born babies last year.

B．India has the largest and youngest population in the world.

C．China’s population has been decreasing in the recent 60 years.

D．South Korea had the lowest population record last year in the world.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．The economy of India will overtake that of Japan.

B．Negative population growth leads to an ageing population.

C．The larger the population is, the better the economy will be.

D．A bigger share of working age population helps support the elderly.

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Low birth rate is a negative factor for economy.

B．China is joining the countries of low birth rate.

C．Many Asian countries came to negative population growth.

D．Many Asian countries are trying all out to battle low birth rate.