Javon was the shortest kid in the class. It had been that way since the third grade. He’d had to ask to get his gym locker changed so that he didn’t have to struggle so much to reach it. For most kids, being short would be a problem, but Javon didn’t let being short bother him at all.
That was Javon’s attitude about most things except school work. And Javon had worked hard. By the middle of seventh grade, Javon was one of the top kids in the class. So, he hadn’t been too concerned when Mr. T announced they were starting a new unit in math. For Javon, math used to be easy. He figured that since he had ten fingers, he could do most of it. But when Mr. T threw letters into math problems, he couldn’t wrap his mind around using these letters. Mr. T had given them all sorts of rules for what to do when there were letters in math problems. But Javon couldn’t remember what they all were and he didn’t think he even understood the rules he did remember. Soon he was hopelessly lost in math class. Even worse, it was time for the class to take the chapter test.
The test was quite demanding. Javon was confused by the very first question. He was nervous and kept losing track of what he was doing. When the class period ended, he hadn’t finished all of the problems.
The day came when the class finally got their papers back. Seeing “D” written in red ink on the corner of the paper, he felt desperate. In the seat next to him, Tyler sighed slightly, catching Javon’s attention. He couldn’t help but see the big, red “C” on Tyler’s paper. He felt so upset.
When they started packing up to leave after class, Tyler accidentally told Javon he got extra time on the test. Upon hearing this, Javon burst out, “It was unfair!” He dropped his books, face hot.
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。
At this very moment, Mr. T came up to see what happened to them.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eventually, Javon understood what a reading disorder was and how to ask for help.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Digital mindfulness is the application of mindfulness practices in your digital life. According to Jon KabatZinn, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medicine School, mindfulness is “a means of paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”. Here two main key points are emphasized when it comes to mindfulness as a practice in your digital life.
The first point is that you must learn to do things on purpose. For instance, you use your phone as a habitual escape from boredom or stress, which is thought by many as a quick solution to all those negative feelings. But what if you get only negative responses from your phone — the news or posts are negative? Instead of finding peace, you find more boredom and more stress. The solution that mindfulness provides is purposeful and intentional choice. Therefore, you are empowered to choose how to respond to the stimulus (刺激) behind such feelings as boredom, loneliness, and stress and not just treat the symptoms (症状).
The other key is going through the experience nonjudgmentally. When you feel sad or angry because of a post on social media, all you ever do is to go through the experience and let it flow. At its core, mindfulness involves the acceptance of your memories, feelings, and thoughts minus any judgment on yourself or others because of those things. These feelings, memories, and experiences come and go. After they have passed, you are still you and in control. You will become more aware of your inner world. It’s this internal monologue (独白) that pushes you to grab your digital technology (phone, Alexa speaker, TV, etc.).
Digital mindfulness is not about avoiding the negative things in life. Through mindfulness practice, you regain the power to learn from these experiences and healthily deal with the negative. Mindfulness will also teach you to be aware of all your emotions, so you learn to deal with the things that you used to avoid. Finally, digital mindfulness brings you peace of mind in an everchanging and increasingly connected world.
Now, I would rather prefer to think of it as one of many tools that we can use in our daily life.
1. What does the author suggest readers do when they feel stressed in their digital life?| A．Find something interesting to do. |
| B．Use the phone as a habitual escape. |
| C．Keep away from the negative responses. |
| D．Deal with the root cause of the problem. |
| A．Negative feelings should be avoided or controlled. |
| B．Mindfulness involves both acceptance and judgment. |
| C．Mindfulness helps us fully experience life as it happens. |
| D．Digital technology is the key to understanding our inner world. |
| A．How Can You Avoid Negative Feelings? |
| B．How Can You Define Digital Mindfulness? |
| C．How Can Digital Mindfulness Help You? |
| D．How Can Digital Mindfulness Harm You? |
| A．Applications of mindfulness in communication. |
| B．Ways of practising mindfulness in the digital age. |
| C．Development of mindfulness in medical field. |
| D．Benefits of practising digital mindfulness in daily life. |
3 . Discovering Your True Self Is Vital to Happiness!
Have you found focusing on yourself is at the bottom of the to-do list, because you feel everyone else in your life comes first?
This isn’t just about identifying your favorite outfit, haircut or flavor of ice cream.
There are many tools to help you develop a deeper sense of yourself, including journaling and other forms of creative expression. You can use a guided journal to explore your thoughts and feelings or just free write whatever comes to mind. It’s up to you what you want to do.
An often overlooked yet very important factor in self-discovery is having healthy boundaries in your personal life.
| A．It’s one thing to know your personality type. |
| B．It’s a great way to show that you care about others. |
| C．Taking time for ourselves has been looked down upon. |
| D．Another way is to observe your behavior in different situations. |
| E．It allows you to focus on the needs of yourself without ignoring others. |
| F．But try not to get caught up in the criticism or judgment of your writing. |
| G．It’s about understanding your inner world and how you fit into the outer world. |
Recently, a Chinese college research team has released China’s first large language model (LLM) “Xunzi”,
This model, named
The research on Chinese traditional classics is
At the end of my junior year, election for student body officers caused quite an excitement among students. It appeared that Debbie would run unopposed for president. Talking among a group of dissatisfied girls, I whispered, “There must be someone who’d run against her.”
Suddenly Liz focused her attention on me. “Why not you?”
“Me? No way. I work after school. I can’t stay for all those meetings. ”
My closest friend, Linda, smiled, “Why not? Just think how great our senior year would be! You could get a real senior trip approved and get better bands for the dances. ”
My little group continued to ignore my protests as they imagined the wonderful changes I could make. By the end of the week, they’d gotten enough signatures to put my name on the ballot (选票).
Debbie and I had very different campaign styles. Because I was always skipping around, I earned the name “Rabbit”. Signs soon appeared around campus with the slogan (口号) “Make your votes count with Rabbit!” My platform aimed for more fun and less restrictions. We wore uniforms and I advocated more free dress days and a broader interpretation of what was acceptable on regular dress days.
My opponent, on the other hand, avoided any implication of silliness on her posters. Catchy slogans had no place in her serious campaign. What she offered was the opening Lawn to all students and a reformatting of the yearbook that would mix ninth through twelfth graders rather than highlight seniors in oversized photos. Gone would be the yearbook with seniors’ quotes and many exciting activities. Lowerclassmen (低年级生) loved Debbie’s idea; would-be seniors, however, were angry.
My classmates supported me and were confident they could persuade enough lowerclassmen to vote my way. Each day I got reports of a few more of lowerclassmen coming to my side.
On election day, I felt fairly confident. I was even looking forward to quitting my job and focusing on school politics.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；2. 续写部分分为两段, 每段的开头语已为你写好。
However, by the end of the day, the votes were counted and Debbie was declared the winner.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That’s when I noticed my teacher Mr. Laskey, who turned to me and smiled. “Congratulations!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Stamp collecting has recently emerged as a fresh and innovative approach for young people to document their travels. Instead of
Shi Junchu, 29, from Yunnan province, came across stamp collecting three years ago while traveling in Wuhan, Hubei province. She found it to be a better way of commemorating her travels
“Stamp collecting has added more meaning to my travels. Turning the pages of those notebooks
She currently operates a private museum in Kunming. Since last October, she has also introduced stamp-collecting services
7 . I was 68 when I first stepped on stage as a standup comedian in 2003. I’d never set foot in a comedy club before. I’ve always been a performer - I’ve worked as a singer, actor and musician - but all that came to an end after 9/11. I live in New York, and we watched the twin towers fall from my apartment building. For a year afterwards, nobody wanted to go out or be entertained.
It was then that I started to think about comedy. I realised people needed to laugh, to enjoy themselves again, and thought that with a little training I could do it. I took a few classes, tried to work out a routine, and finally plucked up the courage to get up on stage. That first time was terrifying. I had no idea what the audience would make of me.
In New York, comedians are typically young men with beards. It’s hard enough to break through as a woman, even harder as someone old enough to be their grandmother. As I stepped on stage that first time, people laughed nervously. They were clearly surprised to see me. I introduced myself, stated my age and tried my first joke. There was silence. But by the time I got to the third line, people were properly laughing, I was addicted.
Now my sets differ. I might be on stage for 10 minutes in front of a dozen people, or my one-woman show is a full hour in front of a crowd of 100. Even today, I’m nervous before I step out. My first line is, “Hello, everybody. I’m 88 and three-quarters years old. I’m telling you that in case I don’t make it all the way through the show.” Then people laugh and I relax.
After a show, people young and old come up to me, saying what an inspiration I am. They say they want to be as active as me when they reach my age. I’m pleased I can show that as an older person you don’t need to take a back seat in life.
I’ve no intention of stopping comedy. I’m taking all these pills, trying to stay alive, and I hope to still be performing when I’m 100. My goal is to still be up there making people laugh. It’s hard work, but it stops me being bored. I’d only be playing golf otherwise
1. What made the writer take up comedy?| A．She wanted to overcome her fears | B．She wanted to brighten others’ lives |
| C．She was unwilling to quit performing | D．She wanted to work out a routine |
| A．To show the challenge she was facing |
| B．To explain her attraction to the job |
| C．To illustrate her special advantage |
| D．To describe her new friends in comedy |
| A．She now performs before larger audiences |
| B．She no longer feels nervous before performances |
| C．She remains on the stage for a longer time |
| D．She has learned to make a joke of her age |
| A．Age is just a number |
| B．Advancing years bring greater wisdom |
| C．Old age means a chance to sit back |
| D．Being elderly means you have to slow down |
8 . We’ve all been there. It has been a long day, there is nothing in the fridge, cooking seems arduous and the solution is obvious: takeaway. It’s easy for takeaways to become a regular habit. At some point, you have to wonder: even if you don’t look different in the mirror, is it doing you any harm?
There is some evidence that too many takeaways is linked to weight gain, but the relationship isn’t clear. A 2022 study found a connection between eating takeaway-style food in the 24 hours before taking the survey and increased BMI in participants, although the researchers were careful to point out that they didn’t know whether frequently eating takeaways made people overweight, or whether overweight people frequently eat takeaways. There is, however, evidence that simply living near(or walking past)a takeaway outlet or two can have an impact on body weight, with exposure to outlets near the workplace, most likely to tempt people.
But why? Well, takeaway food tends to be high in fat and salt - ingredients that are relatively cheap and taste good, making you more likely to reorder. There is also some evidence that junk food can be addictive, as the combination of salt, fat and sugar makes it hard to stop eating.
There is also the nutritional quality of the ingredients themselves. “Most takeaways contain highly processed ingredients and additives, nutrient-poor carbohydrates and plenty of deep-fried foods cooked in oil repeatedly heated to high temperatures, says Pearson.
So, what is the message? If you must place that order, consider the options:
The worst offenders on any menu are likely to be fried foods, or anything covered in high-sugar sauces. If you order Chinese food, go for steamed dumplings, grilled fish or soup. If you are going for Indian food, go heavy on the side dishes, like bean and potato curries, which are often more flavourful and healthy.
Finally, try to cut your consumption: consider switching your daily routes, hide the menus, and delete the apps on your phone.
1. What does the underlined word ‘arduous’ in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Attractive | B．Troublesome |
| C．Confusing | D．Dull |
| A．The cause and effect relationship of takeaways and being overweight |
| B．Whether there is any connection between takeaways and being overweight |
| C．Which ingredients in takeaway food are the most addictive |
| D．Whether takeaways near the workplace are more likely to attract people |
| A．Hamburgers and fries | B．Indian main courses |
| C．Fried noodles | D．Steamed dumplings |
| A．Takeaways make you fat |
| B．Are takeaways harmful? |
| C．How to choose the best takeaway |
| D．How to avoid takeaways |
9 . For decades, I was a hard drinker who could drink anyone under the table. This lasted from the age of 27 until after 50, a golden time during which I felt very sorry for ex-drinkers and people who couldn’t or wouldn’t drink. How did they make it through social situations, especially parties? What did they do at the end of a workday to celebrate and relax?
When I first tried to quit drinking myself in my early 50s, I wasn’t sure at first how it would work for me. But I did it anyway.
During these years, I didn’t love not drinking. But I had to admit that when I was off booze, I looked and felt better physically: I slept more deeply, had more energy, exercised more. My mind was clearer. My moods were brighter. Parties were hard, and so was cooking at the end of a day of writing without a glass of wine at my elbow.
I finally quit drinking for real almost four years ago, on 12 July 2019, when a writer friend stayed with my husband and me after his wife kicked him out. After my husband had gone upstairs to bed, my friend sat on our sofa drinking an entire bottle of gin, complaining about his fate, until he passed out next to our dog, whose bed that sofa was.
I’m not going to lie: being sober is not a hot-air balloon ride.
| A．My body demanded it. |
| B．My health started improving rapidly. |
| C．It’s more like a hike in the mountains. |
| D．How did they quit drinking? |
| E．It was a wake-up call. |
| F．But the pluses seemed to outweigh the minuses. |
| G．How did they get through life? |
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to have a treehouse as a child? Well, we’ve got a list of the best treehouse staycation spots to visit this summer.
The TokinTree (Cave Junction, Oregon)
First things first, this treehouse is exactly what its name suggests, a flower-friendly outdoor paradise. For $250 a night, this rental comes with a seasonally available garden tour for you and up to three more guests — all over the age of 21, of course.
The Tiny House Treehouse (Campobello, South Carolina)
This staycation spot in the South is a great way to be immersed in nature while enjoying the comfort of a cozy home. It’s only two acres of land and nearly 20 minutes away from a nearby city Tyron, North Carolina and 10 minutes away from Downtown Landrum. It holds up to 4 guests and will cost you around $265 a night before taxes.
The Sugar Maple Treehouse (Hancock, Vermont)
This neat getaway houses two guests and is located near a quiet area in central Vermont, in the wilderness of the Green Mountain National Forest in three trees above high ground. And during your stay, you can arrange on in-house massage (按摩) therapist, so you’ll likely never want to return home. A night at the Sugar Maple for you and a guest sits at about $159.
The Peaceful Treehouse With Ocean View (Aptos, California)
This next one is a bit of a luxury stay. At $800 a night for you and 5 others, the “Peaceful Treehouse With Ocean View” is bound lo lake your breath away. This house in the trees is full of floor-to-ceiling windows and slide doors inspired by Japanese screens.
1. Which treehouse is the most economical for each guest?| A．The TokinTree. |
| B．The Tiny House Treehouse. |
| C．The Sugar Maple Treehouse. |
| D．The Peaceful Treehouse With Ocean View. |
| A．Its neat house. | B．Its relaxing service. |
| C．Its beautiful scenery. | D．Its convenient location. |
| A．A travel magazine. | B．A gardening guide. |
| C．A hiking programme. | D．A botanical introduction. |
