1 . At an antiques store near their home, Michael, 11, and his brother Mauro, 9, encountered a link to a real national hero accidentally.

While searching through military memorabilia (纪念品), the boys had unearthed a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and a Good Conduct Medal bearing the name Charles J. George. The shop’s owner said the medals were worth hundreds of dollars, but he agreed to let the boys have them for free on one condition: that they return the awards to the soldier’s family.

The brothers found a Charles George online in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor database, but the listing didn’t show a middle name or an initial. After searching military records at the library and online with no luck. Michael and Mauro found a YouTube video of a memorial service for George conducted in his hometown, Cherokee, by a local service officer Warren Dupree. The boys e-mailed Dupree, who responded with details about the heroic act that carned George the medals. During a war, George died after throwing himself on a bomb to save two fellow soldiers.

As for the middle initial J, the brothers learned that Cherokee don’t take middle names — Charles George had adopted his father’s name, Jacob, as a middle name just in case he would need it to join the army. The mystery was solved.

Dupree invited the brothers to Cherokee to present the medals to George’s family a few months later. “It felt so good to give the medals back,” says Michael, who wants to write a children’s book about the hunt for Charles J. George. “It was an honor,” adds his brother.

1. What can be inferred about the shop owner?

A．He cared about his credit.	B．He wanted to donate the medals.
C．He admired national heroes.	D．He tried to test the young visitors.

2. What ultimately contributed to the return of the medals?

A．Military records.	B．A YouTube video.
C．Online database.	D．The fellow soldiers.

3. Which of the following best describes the brothers?

A．Creative and generous.	B．Ambitious and talented.
C．Determined and trustworthy.	D．Intelligent and knowledgeable.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The value of the medals.	B．The influence of a hero.
C．The journey of treasure hunt.	D．The discovery of a hidden past.

2 . Using a headset at home to deliver a low electrical current to the brain can relieve symptoms of depression. The approach, called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is effective when used several times a week for half an hour at a time.

Previous trials have shown that the therapy works under medical supervision in a clinic or lab. Now, a randomised trial has demonstrated that a tDCS headset can also reduce depression symptoms when worn at home.

Several forms of electrical brain stimulation may have the potential to treat depression. With tDCS, sponge electrodes are placed on the left and right sides of the forehead, causing a mild current to flow from the left to the right. This makes brain cells on the left side more likely to fire, with some studies suggesting that activity in this region is low in people with depression.

Repeated sessions of stimulation may lead to longer term changes in the brain cells, increasing their activity levels, says team member Cynthia Fu at the University of East London. Affecting activity in this region probably alters activity in multiple areas, she says. “There are probably many brain regions causing depression.”

To see if people can benefit from using such a device at home, the team randomly assigned 174 people with moderate or severe depression to receive either a full session of stimulation from the headset or stimulation from the same device that lasted just a few seconds. People felt their skin aching at the start and end of each session.

While the depression symptoms of both groups improved on a 52-point scale, those who got the real treatment showed the most benefit, by about 9 points compared with 7, a degree of difference that is similar to that seen with antidepressants (抗抑郁药), “We found people liked having it at home,” says Fu. “Participants could build it into their day.”

1. What is the function of the headset?

A．Curing depression in patients.	B．Testing the degree of depression.
C．Adjusting brain’s electrical current.	D．Reducing symptoms of depression.

2. How does the tDCS approach work?

A．By making the left-brain cells active.	B．By causing a strong electrical current.
C．By changing the brain wave’s direction.	D．By stimulating all brain regions repeatedly.

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

A．Monitors.

B．Disturbs.

C．Limits.

D．Changes.

4. What can be learned about the participants from the last two paragraphs?

A．They feel relieved to some extent.	B．They remain relaxed in the session.
C．They use different kinds of headsets.	D．They are bound to rely on the headsets.

3 . Should I go for a brownie or a slice of cake? Is it best to take up football or swimming?     1     But it can sometimes lead to feeling scared, uncertain and torn. When you’re able to reach decisions, and accept and learn from your choices, this can give you a sense of calm.

    2     Some decisions can have consequences for your health, school and relationships. Ignoring decision making can completely lead to “burying your head in the sand”. As you grow up. making choices becomes a regular part of life.

It is really brain twisting to make tough decisions.    3     You could start by listing the different options then weighing up the pros and cons of each one. Anita Garai, author of the book, Being with Our Feelings, says, “Follow your true feeling and listen to your heart, especially if your thoughts are confused or you feel anxious. Try to catch your first impulse, before your mind questions things.”     4    

Many people worry about making the “right” decision, especially if you feel disappointed by how things turn out. There’s not always a right choice and a wrong choice.    5     If the one you choose leads to disappointment, try reflecting on it and think about whether you would make a different decision in the future.

A．Are timely decisions vital?

B．Why does choosing matter?

C．People make choices every day.

D．Think carefully before making decisions.

E．Different paths lead to different experiences.

F．But breaking down your thinking can be helpful.

G．Always be careful about making a decision just to please others.

4 . 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。

My husband, Robert Stone and I were enjoying a peaceful afternoon together in Barbados — our vacation destination. It was sunny and warm, and we decided it was the perfect time to go for an ocean dip.

When we were floating around, I said, “What a nice holiday! Let’s swim out, not that far but enough to be out of our depth.” But we hadn’t considered just how strong the current was on that particular day. Although we had visited Barbados several times, we didn’t realize the specific area we floated to was known for its strong current.

Noticing that we were floating in the direction of the neighboring beach, I decided to swim toward the beach we came from, against the current. I soon realized that my husband was falling behind and was suddenly too far away to even hear me. I attempted to swim to the shore to get help but struggled to push past the current. I just couldn’t get anywhere and began to scream out for a lifeguard. But no one came after a few minutes.

Just then I saw two teenage girls boogie-boarding near the shore. “Help! Help!” I screamed. Hearing my cries for help, the girls swam toward me and helped pull me onto the boogie board. One girl told me to hold on tight and tied the boogie board tether (拴绳) to her wrist. The other girl was by her side for support. They managed to swim to the shore and brought me to safety.

Grateful but still scared, I repeated that my husband was stuck farther out in the ocean. I asked for a lifeguard. The girls told me there wasn’t a lifeguard around, and they would go get him. “You can’t do that!” I told them, “Strong current!” The girls reassured me that they were in Barbados as part of a swimming camp and insisted that they were both experienced in the water.

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。

Before I could say anything further, they swam off with the boogie board.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Relief washed over me as the girls and Robert reached the shore.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . 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。

The 74-year-old art historian Mimi Gates has     1     (enthusiastic) participated in the conservation of the Dunhuang relies for years. When speaking about     2     topic, she goes from the cultural and historical background of the caves to the vivid details of certain paintings there.

Looking back, Gates says     3     changed her life was the decision to visit Asia when she was young. She found herself     4     (attract) to Asian culture, and decided to start with China as her primary interest. She paid her first visit     5     Dunhuang in 1995 and “had a brief glimpse of the     6     (great) of Dunhuang”. The Dunhuang grottoes are a 1,600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site     7     (comprise) about 500 caves and a large collection of Buddhist art. She was invited to return in 2009     8     (present) a paper at a conference there. Spending a few days there, Gates visited the caves whenever she had free time.

When Fan Jinshi, the then-head of the Dunhuang Research Academy,     9     (visit) the US to raise funds for the protection of the site, Gates suggested setting up a foundation     10     accepted Fan’s offer to help organize and chair the foundation, for it was such a spectacular site and so important to humanity in her mind.

6 . On nothing but a “wooden board and four wheels”, a group of women are speeding down windy mountain roads. For most people, this could sound _________. But for Anna Pixner, downhill skateboarding at speed brings a _________ feeling: freedom.

Austrian Pixner got _________ in this sport six years ago. When she started competing, she would _________ in crowds of hundreds of men. Journalists point out that she is a(n)_________ in this male-dominated sport, but Pixner has tired of such _________. “There’s not that much of a difference except that we _________ started a bit later. There is no media about it... if you never saw a woman doing that, it’s harder to get the _________ to do that.”

That is about to _________: Pixner’s journey is captured in a new film “Woolf Women,” which __________ her 5,700-kilometer journey with four other young women across Europe in 2019. One of the central __________ of the film is mental health. Pixner says she finds skating helpful to all kinds of mental issues. “For myself, I __________ it too. I used to be extremely anxious and skateboarding absolutely __________ me.”

Though skateboarding was once a sport on the __________ of society, it is now becoming more mainstream, and in 2021 became an Olympic event. Pixner hopes that downhill skateboarding will soon __________ its appeal to more youngsters.

1.

A．terrifying

B．exciting

C．surprising

D．amusing

2.

A．mixed

B．different

C．normal

D．strange

3.

A．dismissed

B．punished

C．disturbed

D．involved

4.

A．stand out

B．turn up

C．give in

D．look on

5.

A．trouble

B．example

C．exception

D．danger

6.

A．reasons

B．comments

C．behaviors

D．memories

7.

A．absolutely

B．incredibly

C．unfortunately

D．dramatically

8.

A．money

B．excuse

C．energy

D．idea

9.

A．change

B．start

C．continue

D．worsen

10.

A．monitors

B．inspires

C．designs

D．documents

11.

A．themes

B．styles

C．copies

D．rules

12.

A．discovered

B．avoided

C．experienced

D．imagined

13.

A．entertained

B．cured

C．controlled

D．exhausted

14.

A．top

B．front

C．edge

D．basis

15.

A．limit

B．reduce

C．ensure

D．expand

7 . If you are interested in wildlife and also wish to learn the artistry from the masters with their inspiring, practical and informative books, here are some recommended best sellers by world-class wildlife photographers.

British Wildlife Photography By Will Nicholls

This book brings together 250 of the winning images from 2023’s British Wildlife Photography Awards. Entered in nine categories, each image is explained by the photographer with details on how they got shot, making it a useful learning tool.

Photographing Garden Birds By Mark Carwardine

Packed with inspiring images of British birds, Carwardine details which equipment is essential, explains ways to attract different species to your garden, and offer advice on lighting tips, as well as guidance on how to shoot birds in flight. There’s even a chapter on “Working with Birds” and how to take images using your smartphone.

Butterfly Safari By Fusek Peters

View British butterflies in astonishing details in this attractive book by photographer Fusck Peters. Fusck Peters spent four years travelling around the UK in search of butterflies species. His detailed photos reveal the delicate beauty of butterflies.

Wildlife Photography By Susan Young

Photographer Susan Young offers systematic ways to locate British wildlife in this book. Learn about the importance of research before you set out, including how to find a suitable place and what to take. There are also tips on how to observe without disturbing animals.

1. Which book helps to take better smartphone photos?

A．Butterfly Safari.	B．British Wildlife Photography.
C．Wildlife Photography.	D．Photographing Garden Birds.

2. What does Susan Young share in her book?

A．Lighting tips for photography.	B．Ways on wildlife spotting.
C．How to capture animals in motion.	D．How to do wildlife research.

3. What’s the common feature of the four books?

A．They focus on British wildlife.	B．They concern natural beauty.
C．They are collections of photos.	D．They de tail ways of research.

8 . A scanning system combined with artificial intelligence is automatically assessing cows’ health status twice a day on dozens of “smart” dairy farms across the UK.

Overhead three-dimensional cameras film the animals’ backs as they leave the milking bam, while sensors read their individual identity tags. The associated computers then use machine learning to process the data, providing farmers with critical daily information about each cow’s weight, body condition and mobility. “We can detect certain health conditions, including lameness (跛行) , just by scanning the cows walking past, without even having to see their hooves (蹄子),” says Wenhao Zhang at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, UK.

While farmers are well trained to recognise such issues as early as possible, they often miss subtle, day-to-day changes in individual cows. Because they are a prey (猎物) species, cows will also naturally hide signs of discomfort, such as lameness, when they think they are being watched, says Melvyn Smith, who designed the system with Mark Hansen, both at UWE.

In an initial study of 200 dairy cows on one farm, Smith, Hansen and their colleagues placed a computer and 3D cameras in a milking bam. They aimed the cameras over an arrow walkway that cows pass through when they are finished milking. A near tag reader,set at the cows, head level, sets off the cameras to record. “The beauty of this equipment is that it’s just passively sitting there, unobserved by the animal,” says Smith. “And every time they go past — so every time they’re milked, which is usually twice a day — it’s gathering data.”

Kate Dutton-Regester at the University of Queensland in Australia says the system is “a great innovation”. “The dairy industry needs an automated, non-intrusive (非侵入式) monitoring system that can aid dairy farmers in observing the health of their herd in a timely and efficient manner, and this technology meets those criteria,” she says.

1. What can we know about the scanning system?

A．It was designed by Wenhao Zhang.

B．It can monitor the health of the cows.

C．It can help cure the lameness of the cows.

D．It provides farms with farming information.

2. Why are well-trained farmers mentioned in paragraph 3?

A．To compare different scanning devices.

B．To demonstrate their high skills in farming.

C．To stress the advantage of the scanning system.

D．To introduce the operation of the scanning system.

3. What is the highlight of the scanning system?

A．It includes a 3D camera.	B．It can gather data.
C．It can’t be noticed by cows.	D．It is beautifully designed.

4. What do Kate’s words imply?

A．The dairy industry needs improving.

B．Well-trained farmers will be replaced.

C．The scanning system has been widely used.

D．The scanning system benefits the dairy industry.

9 . 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。

Education tourism has become popular among people of all ages in China. More than 6 million people joined study tours last year,    1     (high) even than the pre-pandemic number of 4.8 million in 2019.

Study travel date back to the Song and Ming dynasties,     2     many poets wrote of their experiences on study travels. China formed an industry for study travel during the period of reform and opening-up, which     3     (see) rapid development in the past decades. So far, students in primary and middle schools have been the main participants in education tourism.

The development of education tourism has promoted the social education of students, which has also played     4     important role in mixing culture and tourism.    5    , the nation’s education tourism still faces problems, such as having a weak connection with the national courses, and fewer practice     6     (opportunity) during trips.

Xu Huayu, president of Anhui Global Culture Tourism Group, said, “Many people     7     (involve) in education tourism are those who used to work for travel agencies, and some people just take it     8     a business. It’s necessary to produce more professional study travel guides     9     recruit(招募)talents to develop courses.”

“We also need a state-level standard     10     (help) us better set up recruiting requirements and training for employees,” he added.

10 . My mother was always knitting (编织). She recently agreed that knitting helped her ________stresses of raising four children. My mother taught me to knit when I was about 6, but I soon ________ the project, as it was boring.

My next knitting adventure was ________ when I was in graduate school and feeling the pressure of the program. One day, as I passed the knitting ________, the gloves in the display area caught my fancy, and I determined that I would ________to knit such sweet gloves. Too big a project for a ________, but the shop assistants were kind and ________ with my daily visits for instruction. The project ________to a gift of gloves for each of my dear friends, and ________, the gloves saved my soul in that________ semester of studies.

Knitting during the pandemic eased my________ at not being able to participate in my usual volunteer activities. I knitted dozens of scarves to ________, which helped me feel ________ to the community.

My mother’s estate is vast, but the major life lesson she taught me through knitting is that there is a step-by-step ________ of building, tearing down and rebuilding. It requires patience and a ________that stitches (针脚) that are cast off can always find their way back on.

1.

A．keep off

B．get through

C．figure out

D．put away

2.

A．accomplished

B．developed

C．abandoned

D．improved

3.

A．awakened

B．ended

C．shared

D．forgotten

4.

A．school

B．factory

C．museum

D．store

5.

A．learn

B．promise

C．apply

D．refuse

6.

A．beginner

B．stranger

C．foreigner

D．customer

7.

A．satisfied

B．pleased

C．patient

D．comfortable

8.

A．decreased

B．related

C．belonged

D．expanded

9.

A．possibly

B．unexpectedly

C．usually

D．repeatedly

10.

A．pitiful

B．regrettable

C．stressful

D．forgettable

11.

A．guilt

B．disappointment

C．terror

D．embarrassment

12.

A．collect

B．sell

C．wear

D．donate

13.

A．accustomed

B．sensitive

C．connected

D．superior

14.

A．campaign

B．process

C．strategy

D．program

15.

A．belief

B．plan

C．theory

D．conclusion