1 . Pullman is a superb writer and Seagull is a brilliant communicator. They had a debate after Seagull posted a question on his social media platform: “When you were trying to create an environment for learning, what were your best pieces of classical music to listen to?” He received hundreds of suggestions — and one negative reply, from Pullman: “That’s not what classical music is for. Treat it with respect.”
That did it! Everyone — professional musicians, students, teachers — weighed into the argument, and the majority supported Seagull and were criticizing Pullman.
It’s easy to see why people are annoyed. We all want classical music to be as accessible as possible, especially to the young. If some of them are using Bach or Schubert as a tool to help them study, what’s the problem? They may also develop an attachment to classical music.
So is Pullman ridiculous and supercilious by objecting to classical music being used as background music? At first sight, his idea seems stuffy and extreme. By suggesting that classical music should be “treated with respect” and not used as background music, Pullman seems to be closing classical music of to millions of people.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that he isn’t the first to express concerns about classical music being devalued by becoming too commonplace in today’s technologically shaped world. In Benjamin Britten’s 1964 speech, the composer expressed exactly the same worries as Pullman. Britten suggested, “The true musical experience demands some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place, saving up for a ticket, some homework perhaps”. In short, it demands as much effort from listeners as from composers and performers.
I don’t agree with such an extreme viewpoint, but I do think it touches on a reality. You will never fully grasp the beauty of classical music if you half-hear it only in the background. That doesn’t necessarily matter. Music can be enjoyed on many levels. What Pullman and Britten are really saying is that, in a drive for “accessibility”, we shouldn’t deny the emotional and intellectual complexity underpinning (构成) much classical music.
1. What did Seagull’s posting result in?| A．Great admiration for Seagull. |
| B．Public criticism of classical music. |
| C．A discussion about learning environments. |
| D．An argument over the role of classical music. |
| A．Self-important. | B．Open-minded. | C．Impatient. | D．Considerate. |
| A．To show his affection for classical music. |
| B．To introduce young people to classical music. |
| C．To demonstrate classical music is demanding. |
| D．To support Pullman’s idea over classical music. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Uninterested. |
2 . Everyone complains. Even if you argue that you are the happiest person in the world, you still complain sometimes. Sometimes you complain without even realizing it, but rarely is it ever helpful.
When you find yourself thinking or saying a negative comment about something or someone, stop and force yourself to say something positive instead. Seek the help of a cheerful friend to change you when you complain and help you to see the positive in the situation.
Make a list of things you are grateful for.
You often complain about the things you don’t have without noticing those things you already have. Be grateful for what you have in your life because you are lucky simply for being yourselves.
Learn to adapt to the changes.
There are many things you can’t change.
Allow yourself to vent (发泄) your feelings every once in a while.
Constantly ignoring negative thoughts could add up. If you are really going through a rough time, don’t be afraid to share your feelings with a close friend or family member or see a therapist.
Find what makes you happy.
| A．Sometimes this list can be easy, full of hobbies you enjoy. |
| B．The best and only thing you can do is to accept them. |
| C．Change the way you think. |
| D．Are you constantly complaining about your present job? |
| E．Set down things you are thankful for and you’ll see that you don’t have any reason to complain. |
| F．Make friends with positive people. |
| G．So how can you manage to force yourselves to end complaining? |
3 . The cost of living crisis is causing suffering for millions this winter. One in five people are worried about where their next meal will come from. Parents who live near you are burdened with anxiety about how they will afford to feed their children. Families are struggling and don’t know where to turn. Yet while people go hungry, three million tonnes of surplus(剩余的) food is being wasted every year.
Fare Share is a national charity working to get that food to people who are struggling—but we need your help. A gift of £90 could provide three meals a day to a family of four for a whole month. Plus, you may be entitled to recover 25p of tax on every £1 you give as gift money.
Your gift will help us redistribute food to our network of 8,500 local charities and community groups across the UK. You’ll also help people to access other services and support through these groups, strengthening communities and easing loneliness through food.
WILL YOU DO YOUR FARESHARE? PLEASE HELP PEOPLE GOING HUNGRY THIS WINTER | |||
| How could your £90 help feed a family in your community? |
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We’d love to keep you up to date on Fare Share’s work including fundraising updates. Please get in touch by calling us on 0300 302 3677 or emailing fundraiser@fareshare.org.uk
To give online, please visit fareshare.org.uk/community 1. For more information please scan the QR code.
| A．Providing gifts for families. | B．Redistributing surplus food. |
| C．Organizing festival events. | D．Offering tax recovery services. |
| A．They will receive a tax refund. |
| B．They will help run the local charities. |
| C．They will be recognized as organizers. |
| D．They will receive free meals for themselves. |
| A．A travel blog. | B．A news report. |
| C．A community noticeboard. | D．An entertainment magazine. |
4 . For most of December, Adele Adkins had the top-selling album in Australia, followed by Ed Sheeran, and then there was a collection of songs that took everyone by surprise.
Songs Of Disappearance is a collection of calls from endangered Australian birds. Last month, it briefly reached No.3 on the country’s top 50 albums chart (排行榜) — ahead of Taylor Swift.
Anthony Albrecht, a PhD student at Charles Darwin University, produced the album with Professor Stephen Garnett. “I knew it was a crazy thing to suggest. But Stephen’s a little bit crazy like me and he let me do it,” Albrecht said.
Songs Of Disappearance was published with a university report which found that 1 in 6 Australian bird species are now threatened. The album records 53 of those species.
“Some sing what you might think of as bird songs, but not all of them,” said SeanDooley, who represents the conservation organization Bird life Australia. “Songs from the golden bowerbird sound like a death cry from some sci-fi series. And the love songs from Christmas Island frigate bird, which has a piece of skin hanging under its mouth that caninflate (膨胀) like a huge red balloon, sound as bizarre as its unusual looks.”
There’s also the Christmas Island pigeon. When people hear that pigeon, they might think that it’s a human making silly noises, Dooley added.
The Charles Darwin University and Bird life Australia report does document successes in protecting endangered birds, the hope being that the album will protect more species.
“The increased awareness can make a difference,” Dooley said. “When we have a community on board, that brings pressure to the government to do the right thing. We know that these conservation actions do work.”
1. Whose album reached No.1 on the chart in December?| A．Taylor Swift’s. |
| B．Adele Adkins’. |
| C．Ed Sheeran’s. |
| D．Anthony Albrecht’s. |
| A．About 53 bird species are threatened in Australia. |
| B．It has not found success in protecting endangered birds. |
| C．One sixth of Australian bird species are now endangered. |
| D．Music is very powerful in encouraging people to protect birds. |
| A．Strange. |
| B．Beautiful. |
| C．Loud. |
| D．Sharp. |
| A．Crazy. |
| B．Amusing. |
| C．Uncreative. |
| D．Helpful. |
5 . It is frequently said that the best camera is the one you already have with you. Amazingly, the cameras on modern phones can take killer images without a professional camera. But if you’re struggling to get the quality you want, try a few of these helpful tips.
Pick the right time of day
There are a variety of lighting options that change throughout the day.
Pay attention to lighting
Look for subjects with natural motion like a waterfall, stream, flowers in the wind, etc., and set your shutter speeds to 20 seconds or more. It is vital to have a small secure support to ensure your camera is as perfectly still as possible during the shot.
Photo editing apps
Don’t limit your photos to what you can capture straight out of camera (SOOC).
| A．Long exposure |
| B．Consider composition |
| C．Try to have access to many creative apps |
| D．You can control whether the background is in focus |
| E．Photography is often referred to as painting with light |
| F．It provides an attractive tone for your subject and scenery |
| G．Golden hour is the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset |
6 . Smartwatches and fitness trackers (健身追踪器) have gained popularity recently. These tools can record your daily steps, heart rates, etc.
It’s a struggle to overcome the addiction to fitness trackers.
Of course, failing to meet your daily goal can be discouraging. You might focus on your shortcoming rather than your progress. Another problem is that you might find yourself paying too much attention to the step number rather than how your body feels.
Therefore, if you’re spending too much time looking at your smartwatch, limit your daily step count to a comfortable level.
| A．How can you tell whether you’re addicted to your fitness tracker? |
| B．Actually this addiction to step count can be risky, mentally and physically. |
| C．Don’t overuse your smartwatch. |
| D．However, do you find yourself checking your steps and heart rates too often? |
| E．After all, reaching a daily step count can be so appealing. |
| F．Besides, you can find other things to do that don’t involve checking your fitness tracker. |
| G．It doesn’t covey what you’re really feeling. |
7 . It has been more than 40 years since anyone spotted a Japanese river otter (水獭). And the once common Tangtze River dolphins have either disappeared or are very rarely seen.
A huge challenge scientists and conservationists encounter is tracking species facing extinction in order to help them.
In Brazil, AI quickly analyzed over 150, 000 satellite images, revealing that the world’s largest tropical wetlands lost 74 percent of its surface water.
The use of AI has helped to accelerate action and increase conservationists’ ability to protect the natural world for generations to come.
| A．Give animals on the edge of extinction a fighting chance to survive |
| B．In Zambia’s Kafue National Park, home to more than 6, 000 elephants |
| C．Not until that revelation (揭露) were authorities aware of how desperate the situation was |
| D．Saving them was challenging because their whereabouts (行踪) were relatively unknown |
| E．These are just a few of the species that have been listed as extinct or locally extinct in recent years |
| F．However, because of weather conditions, researchers knew next to nothing about their winter behavior |
| G．This is where AI has brought about a revolution in the way data on these species is collected and analyzed |
8 . Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world to have completed a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, setting the record for the oldest female to complete a marathon.
Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Come rain or shine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t take up running until she was 46 years old —after a friend suggested running two miles per day.
“The Honolulu Marathon is my favorite marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate at a certain time, which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races. Fantastic registration (注册), set-up and management make it a joy to run the race.”
Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her down, thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.
Mathea said it was her career as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind respond to diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress rather than ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”
Mathea thought getting through the finish line and winning a Guinness World Record title was the excitement of her life. “My family completely surprised me after the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, in which I achieved the world record, by wearing matching T-shirts stating my achievements,” she said.
1. What do we know about Mathea from the first two paragraphs?| A．She used to be in poor health． |
| B．She is the oldest to win a marathon． |
| C．She runs daily regardless of the weather． |
| D．She was encouraged by her patient to run． |
| A．It gives winners the best awards． |
| B．It provides runners with quality service．． |
| C．It has no time limit for runners to finish． |
| D．It allows runners to set a world record easily． |
| A．Her professional experience． | B．Her training courses． |
| C．Her views on stress in life． | D．Her hobby from young． |
| A．Practice makes perfect． |
| B．Interest is the best teacher． |
| C．Age is no barrier to success． |
| D．Ups and downs make one strong． |
9 . Being minimalist is about intentionally reducing your possessions to the items you value most and increasing the amount of time you spend on the people and activities you truly enjoy. It can take many forms.
Try clearing away your possessions
If you think hard, you will realize that the physical things you own are not the most important parts of your life. In this case you can clear away all but the most essential things in sweeps. Focus on keeping things that you value deeply.
You must have many friends, but how many of them are people who motivate and inspire you to grow and learn? Becoming minimalist means that you evaluate how well they fit into your ideal life and maximizing your social time spent on people who lift you up. Then you can also free up more time to spend on other priorities in life.
Take time for introspection
Introspection, which means you sitting with your own thoughts, is what people are terrified of in so “busy” a world.
Even though everyone embraces minimalism differently, each path leads to the same place: a more meaningful life with more time and more freedom. Hopefully you will get there.
| A．Have less possessions to enjoy more |
| B．Anyway, you should make space to think |
| C．People are eager for another way of living |
| D．Consider your lifestyle around relationships |
| E．Get rid of things that you don't need any longer |
| F．It’s worth focusing your time on people that matter |
| G．The important part is to figure out your flavor of minimalism |
10 . Say many things, and people will remember none. Say some things, and people will remember some. Say ONE thing, and people will remember ALL. Want to express clear viewpoints?
Express more, explain less.
Limit paragraphs to three sentences. If you’re writing your idea in a document or email, try to make paragraphs to three sentences or less. This makes it easier for readers to understand your points because they have less content to process. And because you’re writing in short, direct points compared with long pieces of text, you may find yourself writing less overall.
Hear your own words. No matter how much you review your own, writing, hearing it aloud will always identify places to cut.
| A．Remove unnecessary ideas |
| B．Know your “Need-to-Know” |
| C．These four tips shouldn’t be missed |
| D．You can’t change the style of your writing |
| E．Explaining is often an understanding behavior |
| F．Everyone benefits from applying this writing rule |
| G．You can read it aloud yourself to find out the words |
