3 . One single night every January, volunteers all over America search parks, woodlands and pavements to count those without shelter. After seeing their own figures for homelessness increase by 20%between 2022 and early 2023. Jersey officials were shocked into action. Officials spent more on rental assistance for those at risk of becoming homeless. More services for people living rough have led to a rise in sheltered homelessness. The state also gathers real time data. In November New Jersey’s Office of Homelessness Prevention released its own figures , showing unsheltered homelessness falling across the state by 23% year on year.

Newark, New Jersey’s largest city and home to the state’s largest homeless population, recorded a 58% reduction in unsheltered homelessness since the start of the year due to the government’s financial support to reduce street homelessness, improve the shelter system and expand housing and prevention services.

Luis Ulerio, the director of Newark’s Office of Homeless Services, says “there’s just been a lot of hard work behind that number.” Mr. Baraka, the mayor (市长)，converted a local primary school into a 166-bed facility. He built temporary housing out of shipping containers. A second cluster (群) of containers with supportive services, called Hope Village II, will open soon. The containers have been altered to look like little cottages. A third cluster is in the works Mr.Baraka wants to create a pipeline from shelters to transitional housing and then to getting long-term homeless people into permanent housing.

More services for people living rough have led to a rise in sheltered homelessness. The city also provides money for overdue rent to prevent homelessness. Beth Shinn of Vanderbilt University points out that it’s cheaper to give $ 200 to help make due rent for the poor than to pay thousands later. The city also relies on data , updated daily by those working with Newark’s homeless people. Real-time data is crucial , he says , in order to carry out interventions in state policy all on the frontline.

1. What can we learn about homelessness in New Jersey from paragraph 1?

A．It has greatly affected people’s lives.	B．Official efforts are lacking to address it.
C．Great progress has been made to ease it.	D．It is the most serious all over America.

2. How did Mr. Baraka help the homeless in Newark??

A．He designed and built the Hope Village series for them.

B．He turned a school and shipping containers into o homes.

C．He joined a permanent pipeline to the homeless houses.

D．He led the volunteers to count people without shelter.

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

A．Extended.

B．Donated.

C．Distributed.

D．Changed.

4. What does Beth Shinn suggest about overdue rent?

A．Rent should be provided for the poor when it’s due.

B．No rent should be charged to stop overdue rent.

C．Real-time data should be in place to spot overdue rent.

D．A limit should be set to avoid large sum of overdue rent.

4 . Cordero is the farm manager at Ollin Farms, not far from Boulder, Colorado. The locally grown vegetables on the farm aren’t just pretty. “We play an important role in public health nutrition programs,” says Cordero’s dad, Mark Guttridge, who started this farm with his wife, Kena, 17 years ago.

At a meeting with about a dozen local farmers, two state representatives, and the Colorado officials of agriculture, Guttridge explains how Boulder county has made creative investments in his farm that could be spread to the state or even national level. Before the meeting, Guttridge shows them one of those investments.

A dozen sheep, which Guttridge raises for wool, feed on root vegetables like radishes that have been leftover for them. “So these guys are out fertilizing the vegetable field,” Guttridge laughs. “They’ll be out here a couple more weeks, and then we’ll get our next summer vegetables planted right there.” Around the field is a special moveable type of fencing that Ollin Farms bought using financial aid from the Boulder County Sustainability Office. It allows them to move the sheep from one field to another, fertilizing as they go. The goal of these investments is “really building up our soil health,” he explains. “That relates directly to the nutrient quality of the food-healthy soil grows healthy food.”

The county also makes an effort to get that healthy food out to different communities to boost public health. That’s where the Boulder County Public Health department comes in. It created a coupon program to give discounts to people buying fruits and vegetables from Ollin Farms. Nutrition incentive programs, like those public health fruit and vegetable coupons, are spreading all over the country, and most are funded through the federal farm bill. Amy Yaroch, executive director at the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, says “It’s a trip le win. It’s basically good for the consumers who live in that particular community because they’re getting the healthy food, it’s good for the farmer, and then it’s good for the economy.”

1. What does Ollin Farms do?

A．It makes public nutrition health plans.

B．It offers financial aid to other farms.

C．It provides cheap food to the local community.

D．It grows fruits and vegetables rich in nutrition.

2. How does Boulder county support sustainable farming practices at Ollin Farms?

A．By raising sheep on radishes.	B．By buying fences for farmhouses.
C．By funding the farm’s soil health.	D．By giving advice about fertilizing fields.

3. What is Amy’s attitude towards “nutrition incentive programs”?

A．Cautious.

B．Dismissive.

C．Unclear.

D．Approving.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Couponing for Health: Stimulating Nutrition Choices

B．Growing Health: Innovations in Farm and Public Health Initiatives

C．Fertile Fields and Furry Friends: A Farming Fairy Tale

D．Local Produce, Global Impact: The Nutrition Choices of Ollin Farms

5 . The World-Famous Nine

By Ben Guterson, illustrated by Kristina Kister

Zander’s grandmother owns the most incredible department store in the world. When a string of mysterious accidents start happening at the store, Zander’s grandmother tells him that a monster called Darkbloom may have returned. The monster, which can control people, wants a magical object that disappeared from the store decades ago. Zander notices that walls on many floors contain mysterious symbols and takes them down in his notebook. Will the 11-year-old boy be able to solve the puzzle and secure the object before Darkbloom does? Packed with suspense, fascination, and a family drama, this mystery may remind you of a cross between Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Ask the Author

The Week: What inspired this book?

Ben Guterson: When I was growing up, Seattle had two big department stores. Something about these big buildings held many possibilities for mystery and discovery to me.

The Week: Why is Zander close to his grandmother?

Ben Guterson: I didn’t want Zander to be alone, so he’s got his loving grandmother there to give him some guidance and keep him safe.

The Week: Do you enjoy mysteries?

Ben Guterson: Yes, I like stories with a mysterious feel to them. I don’t think I have ever been drawn to straightforward realism.

1. What can we learn about Zander?

A．He grows up in Seattle.	B．He lives alone at a store.
C．He wishes to be a magician.	D．He wants to defeat Darkbloom.

2. Who will most probably find the The World-Famous Nine fascinating?

A．A kid loving true-life stories.	B．A kid enjoying fictional works.
C．A kid interested in grandma’s dishes.	D．A kid drawn to online store shopping.

3. What is the text?

A．A writer’s profile.	B．An interview outline.
C．A children’s story.	D．A book recommendation.

6 . Picture the scene: you are sitting at a cafe on a hot summe’s day and decide to order a glass of lemonade. It arrives ice cold and you smile in contentment until the waiter asks if you want a straw. Now you have to choose to either take a straw or not. Actually, the decision is not an easy one.

A study by a European research group showed there are significant health and environmental risks associated with the paper-based and bamboo-based straws that have replaced plastic straws.

The recent ban on plastic straws saw the introduction of the modern paper straw. It was hoped by officials that it would address the environmental issues of single-use plastic. However, scientists observing the performance of the new paper straws found themselves puzzled by their ability of never getting soggy (浸湿的). They wondered what might be allowing paper straws to perform so well.

The first study to investigate this was performed by Alina Timshina and co-workers in 2021. It showed that paper and plant-based straws contain significant PFAS (含氟表面活性剂). These are fluorine-based chemicals that have remarkable properties in resisting water, oil and pretty much anything. And almost nothing degrades or reacts with PFAS which means they persist in the environment and will do so for thousands of years.

They also make it into the human body by migrating from packaging into our food and drink. Once PFAS are in our blood they are associated with a number of health effects such as liver and kidney disease. There is also evidence that PFAS may lead to increased risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women.

PFAS have also been found in plastic straws but at lower levels. The only material determined to be free of PFAS was stainless steel, which are currently not widely used, so you risk the embarrassment of sounding like a very demanding customer when asking for one. But then again, maybe we should all be more demanding when it comes to preserving the environment and human health.

1. Why does the writer mention the scene in paragraph 1?

A．To show the politeness of waiters.	B．To reflect the necessity of drinks.
C．To highlight the importance of straws.	D．To lead to the following findings.

2. What can be inferred about PFAS from the passage?

A．They are life-threatening.	B．They are chemically stable.
C．They allow paper straws to resist water only.	D．They are less in paper straws than plastic.

3. What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?

A．Insisting on using steel straws.	B．Imposing a ban on paper straws.
C．Putting steel straws into mass production.	D．Promoting the use of plastic straws.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The availability of stain straws.	B．The inefficient ban on plastic straws.
C．The negative effects of paper straws.	D．The characteristics of different straws.

7 . 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。

Today was February 5th, a cold rainy morning, the sort of start that made me wish that I could skip school and head back to my warm home, and bed. Though it was my senior year, most days seemed to re-main the same boredom.

Being late for 5 minutes, I dashed up the stairs, swung open the door to my British Literature class, like a sopping wet dog, and plopped down (砰然坐下) in my seat. The eyes around the room glared at me, as my teacher cleared her throat, “Mathew maybe go and see the lost-and-found for a change of clothes.” I felt my face turn red and stormed out quickly.

The lost-and-found bin did not look promising, until I came across an oversized navy coat at the bot-tom. I put it on and zipped up, this would do for the next couple of hours. Freezing up, I dug my hands deeper down into the pockets to keep warm. Then I hit something, and pulled out a somewhat crinkled (皱巴巴的) piece of notebook paper with some words. “To you, yes you.” I read aloud, realizing that this must be a letter from someone. “Dear Person, I don’t know exactly who you are, but I believe that this letter found you for a reason. I am the least likely of people to write something of this sort, but it’s my senior year, and I thought that I would make true friends. If you would like to participate in this experiment, please leave your response in locker 115, second floor.” My eyes brightened.

I finished my letter by the bell, as I made my way through the crowd, Charlie jammed his shoulder into mine from the opposite direction. “Hey! Out of my way!” I shouted. He just ignored me, not looking back. Charlie is popular in our school and people like him (but not me). I know Charlie never likes me, ever since primary school. I finally made it to the second floor, slipped the letter into the locker, and left secretly.

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。
Paragraph 1: Soon my unseen pen pal and I wrote letters every day. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: I waited for my pen pal in the stadium after school that day.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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。

The lantern fair in Zigong, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, which     1     (own) a history of more than 1,000 years, is once again fascinating visitors with its brilliant shining lanterns.

Covering     2     area of nearly 37 hectares, the 30th International Dinosaur Lantern Show received around 450,000 visitors during the Spring Festival holiday from February 10 to 17.

To mark the Year of the Dragon, many of the lanterns     3     show feature the Chinese sign of the zodiac (生肖), but there are also a wide variety of other lantern designs to meet different needs. Visitors     4     prefer traditional lanterns can find lanterns with flowers and birds, legendary figures, and landscapes, while lanterns with modern themes such as cartoon characters, cultural trends and online games are gaining     5     (popular) among young people.

The lantern show is also expressing the concept of environmental protection. For example, a dragon lantern     6     (measure) over 200 meters long was made by tying together some 200,000     7     (abandon) water bottles.

This year’s show received more than 3,000 children’s artworks from around the world. Some of the art pieces were turned into lanterns by     8     (profession) craftsmen. Visitors can also enjoy acrobatics (杂技), folk arts, and Chinese music performances during     9     (they) lantern-viewing tours.

Famous for lantern-making, Zigong saw its lanterns lighting 80 cities across China during the Spring Festival holiday and Zigong lanterns     10     (light) up in more than 20 countries overseas last year.