1 . Sending your rugs (小地毯) to the cleaners can get expensive. A growing number of brands are making rugs designed to be thrown directly into your own washing machine.

Revival Washable Rug

Price: $109 and up
Size: 2 ft. × 3 ft.
Care: Machine-washable, hang-dry for 36 hours.
Consumer Reports' take: This small rug feels soft under your feet and hides stains (污渍) well. After having coffee dropped on it, a 30-minute gentle cycle in a washer got rid of the resulting stains.

Lorena Canals Rug

Price: $629
Size: 5 ft. 7 in. × 7 ft. 11 in.
Care: Machine-wash in cold water. Dry on low heat.
Consumer Reports' take: A single machine washing got rid of the big coffee stain made on this wool and cotton rug. It can go in the dryer, too, and may require 2 hours to get completely dry.

Ruggable Moroccan Rug

Price: $309 and up
Size: 5 ft. × 7 ft.
Care: Machine-washable. Dry on low heat or hang-dry for 36 hours.
Consumer Reports' take: This super-soft rug is easy to clean. A damp towel alone removed a juice stain. The other stains on the rug disappeared after machine-washing it on a gentle cycle.

Ruggable Jonathan Rug

Price: $119 and up
Size: 2 ft. × 3 ft.
Care: Machine-wash in cold water. Dry on low heat or hang-dry for about an hour.
Consumer Reports' take: This rug stayed in good shape even though it was used in a high-traffic kitchen. All stains were gone after washing it using a gentle cycle.
1. How long does a washer take to remove coffee stains on Revival Washable Rug?

A．36 hours.

B．30 minutes.

C．2 hours.

D．23 minutes.

2. Which rug is suitable for kitchen use according to Consumer Reports' view?

A．Revival Washable Rug	B．Lorena Canals Rug
C．Ruggable Moroccan Rug	D．Ruggable Jonathan Rug

3. What do these rugs have in common?

A．They all cost $119 and up.	B．They are very similar in size.
C．They dry only on low heat.	D．They are machine-washable.

2 . Everything went wrong for American climber Beck Weathers on his trip to Mount Qomolangma in May of 1996. His eyes response to the extremely thin oxygen levels near the highest summit on Earth was “snow blindness”. Weathers could not see more than 3 feet in front of him. His guide, Rob Hall, made him agree not to climb to the summit and he would wait for Hall till he got back.

Another group of climbers returning down from a powerful snow storm came upon Weathers. They decided to help him down, but a storm with 70 mph winds forced them to merely gather together for warmth. During a quiet period of the storm, one man went back to the camp for assistance. Hours later help returned, but they decided Weathers was too unresponsive and appeared to be beyond saving. He was left waiting for death.

“I woke up in the snow, opened my eyes, and directly in front of me was my ungloved righthand, which was clearly dead,” Weathers remembered. "It looked like a marble sculpture of a hand. I hit it on the ice and realized that so much of my tissue was dead, so I wasn't feeling any pain. That had the wonderful effect of focusing my attention. If I didn't stand up, I realized I was going to die on that spot. I figured I had three or four hours left to live, so I started walking. All I knew was, as long as my legs would run, and I could stand up, I was going to move toward that. camp. If I fell down, I was going to get up and keep moving until I hit that camp.” As everybody thought Weathers could not survive, he struggled to stand up and move forward for survival in the face of adversity. Finally, he made it. It's believed that his success relied on his strong belief and courage.

1. Why did Beck Weathers give up climbing the Mount Qomolangma?

A．Because the tough environment took his breath away.

B．Because the cold weather froze his hands and feet.

C．Because the thin oxygen level narrowed his eyesight.

D．Because the terrible storm damaged his equipment.

2. What does the underlined word “unresponsive” mean in the second paragraph?

A．Reactionless.

B．Emotionless.

C．Faithless.

D．Fearless.

3. How did Beck Weathers manage to return to the camp?

A．By focusing attention.	B．By awaiting rescue.
C．By remaining standing.	D．By keeping walking

4. Which of the following best describes Beck Weathers?

A．Ambitious.

B．Courageous.

C．Dynamic.

D．Responsible.

3 . Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Epic (史诗) of Gilgamesh, composed 4,000 years ago in what is now Iraq and Syria. Early poems developed from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing, or from a need to retell the actions of great men and women or about a nation’s history.

Ancient attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle’s Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition, verse form and thyme, and emphasized the aesthetics (美学) which distinguish poetry from more objectively informative forms of writing. From the mid-20th century, poetry has been more generally regarded as a creative act employing language. Poetry uses forms to suggest different interpretation to words, or to produce emotive responses. Devices such as rhythm are used to achieve musical effects. The use of ambiguity (模糊不清), symbolism, and other stylistic elements of poetic description often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly figures of speech such as metaphor and simile create a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived.

Some poetry types are specific to particular cultures and respond to characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. Readers used to identifying poetry with Dante, Goethe, and Rumi may think of it as written in lines based on rhyme and regular meter; there are, however, traditions that use other means to create rhythm. Much modern poetry reflects a criticism of poetic tradition, playing with and testing the principle of rhyme itself, sometimes altogether giving up rhyme or set rhythm. In today’s increasingly globalized world, poets often adapt forms, styles and techniques from diverse cultures and languages.

1. What did early poetry originate from?

A．Folk songs.	B．Ethnic music.
C．Ancient stories.	D．Historical events.

2. What do we know about poetry according to paragraph 2?

A．Modern poetry study focuses on the uses of speech.

B．Poetry uses rhythm to achieve good visual effects.

C．Poetry has been treated as a creative act for years.

D．Form makes poetry different from other writings.

3. What can be inferred about modern poetry?

A．Poets will strictly follow the principle of rhyme.

B．Poets will adapt more diverse forms and styles.

C．Poets will emphasize local language characteristics.

D．Poets will develop new forms of figures of speech.

4. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．Science fiction.	B．Newspaper.
C．Fashion magazine.	D．Encyclopedia.

4 . Today, most researchers describe sleep as occurring in two main phases: rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep comprises three stages, known as N 1, N 2 and N 3, which are characterized by specific brainwave patterns that reflect neural (神经的) activity.     1     , and people who sleep well typically experience four to six cycles every night.

    2    , their brain shows a mixture of high frequencies in which a lot of neurons (神经元) are firing, but not in a completely consistent way. Then, as the person starts to go into a light sleep, or the N l stage, those frequencies slow down into a pattern called theta waves. This stage typically lasts for one to ten minutes.

During the second phase of sleep, N 2, body temperatures drop, heart rates and breathing slow down and muscles relax. Brainwave frequencies now keep changing between slower wave sand short bursts of neural activity.     3    , but gets progressively longer in later cycles, ultimately comprising about half of a person's sleep time each night.

Slow-wave sleep occurs in the N 3 stage, which is characterized by slow, high waves called delta waves. This 20-40-minute phase makes up about one-quarter of a person's sleep time. Some evidence suggests that slow-wave sleep plays a crucial part in restoring energy levels, repairing and growing tissues, clearing waste and boosting the immune (免疫) system.     4    .

Neural activity picks up when the body enters REM sleep, which is when dreaming occurs. In this phase, which comprises one-quarter of sleep time each night, the brainwaves follow a beta-wave pattern. As the night progresses, the periods of slow-wave sleep shorten and REM sleep increases.     5    , such as emotional regulation, memory and creative problem-solving.

A．When someone is awake.

B．Sleep is a brain-wide network effect.

C．When someone enters non-REM sleep.

D．REM sleep is important for cognitive functions.

E．Slow-wave sleep also aids learning and makes memory stronger.

F．This phase generally lasts 10-25 minutes during the first sleep cycle.

G．These three stages of non-REM sleep plus REM sleep comprise the sleep cycle.

5 . For many young students, the school break is not a time for play, but rather a period of intense working out at weight loss camps. The extreme popularity of these camps is a sign of the alarming trend in China — childhood obesity (过度肥胖). According to a report published by the National Health Commission in 2020, one in five Chinese youth aged 6 — 17 years is overweight or obese, up from just one in 20 in 1995.

This increase is driven by multiple social factors. For instance, heavy coursework at school and a ready availability of digital devices are fixing the country’s younger generations in a more inactive lifestyle. Also, an age-old belief that more food consumption equals better growth has led many parents to spoil their children with an unlimited supply of junk food and late night snacks. Besides, weight gain during their mother’s pregnancy, regularly skipping breakfast, high intake of sweet foods and drinks, and insufficient sleep can all add to the risk of becoming overweight.

Extra weight gained in childhood may likely be carried into adulthood and increase the risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disorders and cancers. What’s more, the strong feeling of social disapproval related to obesity can also have a dangerous effect on a child’s emotional well-being and self-esteem (自尊). Some of overweight teenagers can’t even finish their primary education.

Therefore, parents should closely monitor their children’s weight from an early age so that they can intervene without delay when signs of obesity show. That does not mean that parents should rely on dietary restriction or slimming pills for dramatic transformations. A balanced diet, regular physical activity, limited screen time and sufficient sleep are enough to help children maintain a healthy weight.

1. How did the obesity rate for Chinese youth change from 1995 to 2020?

A．It more than doubled.	B．It became four times.
C．It stayed the same.	D．It dropped by half.

2. What contributes to the increase in childhood obesity?

A．A drop in physical activities.	B．An limited supply of snacks.
C．Reduced intake of sugary drinks.	D．Right amounts of restful sleep.

3. What should parents do to help their children avoid obesity?

A．They should stop their children having sweet foods.

B．They should limit their children's time spent indoors.

C．They should keep close track of their children’s weight.

D．They should ask their children to take slimming pills.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Childhood Obesity in China	B．Concerns about Public Health
C．Increase in Children’s Height	D．Healthy Lifestyle Recommended

6 . What to Say to Someone Who Is Hard on Their Body

What should you say or do when your friends start criticizing how they look? How can you effectively respond to your friends who are always too hard on their body? The following tips may save you from embarrassment.

Don’t reject their complaints

When you hear your friends criticizing themselves, your immediate response may be to tell them they’re wrong.     1    . Actually it could easily seem like you’re ignoring their concerns, which could do more harm than good.

    2    

While praises about their external beauty are great, insincere ones are generally easy to see through. So don’t overstate it by telling your friends they’re the most beautiful person on the planet.     3    . If admiration about physical appearance comes too often, they’ll strengthen the belief that appearance matters hugely.

Acknowledge their talents

Trying to help your friends focus attention on things they love about their appearance is a worthy goal. But even better is helping them see how great they are outside of how they look. For example, express your appreciation for their athletic ability, incredible cooking skills and so on.     4    .

Help them rediscover what their body can do

Try to help your friends reconnect with how awesome their body is for what it can do. What should you do?     5    . Stick with an option like yoga or Pilates that requires developing a more sensitive awareness. This could help your friends realize there’s more to their body than just the way it looks.

A．Avoid high frequency of praises as well

B．This may seem like the right thing to do

C．They’ll probably stop expressing themselves

D．Be careful of exaggerated evaluation on their looks

E．These praises can help them identify their advantages

F．You can offer to join a sports team or mind-body fitness class together

G．Remind them that the perfect images they see in the media aren’t real

7 . Artificial Intelligence Professional Program

Stanford Online Artificial Intelligence courses let you virtually step into the classrooms of Stanford professors who lead the AI revolution. The courses, beginning on Wednesday May 1,2024, are based on Stanford graduate courses, but adapted for the needs of working professionals.

Before enrolling in your first course, you need to apply for an online interview with your professor (15-20 minutes). The interaction allows you to tell your professor about your interest in joining, as well as confirm that you meet the essential requirements (Proficiency in Python, College Calculus, Linear Algebra and Probability Theory).

The courses will equip you with the skills and confidence to:

Learn basic AI technologies to operate AI models and tools.

Evaluate performance of AI models accurately.

Carry out search algorithms (算法) to find the shortest paths and plan motions for the general-use robots.

Guard against various types of cyber crimes to keep information safe.

What you will earn:

You’ll earn a Stanford Professional Certificate in Artificial Intelligence when you successfully complete either three 10-week courses in the AI professional education program or two courses in the AI professional education program plus one course in the AI graduate program. All the courses in the program will be accessible through Wednesday July 31,2024.

1. What is necessary to enter for the program according to the text?

A．A graduate certificate.

B．A Stanford’s scholarship.

C．An interview on the Internet.

D．A professor’s recommendation.

2. Which of the following skills can be gained from the program?

A．Updating AI models.

B．Maintaining cyber security.

C．Predicting future accurately.

D．Inventing robots with new functions.

3. How long will the program last?

A．Four weeks.

B．Two months.

C．Ten weeks.

D．Three months.

8 . A giant black bear is forcing himself out of a gap under an abandoned house in South Lake Tahoe, California. This is one of the pictures from the “Cities Gone Wild” project launched by photographer Corey Arnold. A series of more images show how the bear slowly but surely moves its big body out of the hole, off to seek for its dinner. Later that night, the camera recorded its returning and stuffing itself back into its home.

The bear’s size results from its diet of human garbage. In parts of the US, where black bears are living in and around cities, both their behaviors and shapes have changed. Urban bears are less active than those in the wilderness and live on a diet of human food rich in sugar. As a result, they are sometimes double in weight.

For three months in the field, Arnold photographed the animals in various cities across the US as they went about their daily life — tracking where they slept, how they found food, and their relationship with humans. It’s these animals that were the stars of his “Cities Gone Wild” series. Initially authorized by National Geographic, the project was recognized in the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards, winning first place in the wildlife and nature category.

The “Cities Gone Wild” project offers a fresh view on the wildlife that inhabits our cities. It demonstrates the potential dangers as cities grow, native habitats are destroyed, and humans and animals live in closer distance. It also throws lights on the life of these animals and hints that the more we understand them, the more likely we are to find ways to get along with them. “There’s always going to be a bit of conflict. We have to strike a middle ground where we’re not eliminating them, but we’re just learning to live with them and keep our distance,” says Arnold.

1. What makes urban bears over-sized according to the text?

A．Free movement in the city.	B．Unlimited amount of food.
C．Insufficient night-time sleep.	D．Intake of sugary human food.

2. What is the focus of the pictures taken by Arnold?

A．The changes of cities.

B．The dangers people face.

C．The urban animals’ routines.

D．The conflicts among animals.

3. Which of the following can be the best title of the text?

A．Black Bears: Our Friends Forever

B．Sony Awards: Lifelong Pursuit of Artists

C．Corey Arnold: An Influential Photographer

D．Cities Gone Wild: The Coexistence Promoter

9 . Eradajere Oleita, a 26-year-old student and environmental advocate from Detroit, has designed an innovative (创新的) solution to settle two urgent problems in her community: waste and poverty. Known as the Chip Bag Project, Oleita encourages local snack enthusiasts to donate their empty chip bags instead of throwing them away. These donated bags are then transformed into sleeping bags for the homeless.

Chip consumers can drop off their empty bags from popular brands like Doritos and Lays at specific locations in Detroit, including a print shop and a clothing store. Here, Oleita and her team of volunteers collect the bags, clean them thoroughly with soapy hot water, and carefully press them together. They reuse stuffing and liners from old coats to line the insides of the sleeping bags.

Creating each sleeping bag is a labor-intensive process, taking approximately four hours of sewing and requiring anywhere from 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on their size. The resulting sleeping bags are said to be resistant to water, light in weight, and convenient to transport.

Since its beginning in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has successfully collected over 800,000 chip bags and has produced 110 sleeping bags as of last December. While it may seem simpler to raise funds to purchase new sleeping bags, Oleita and her dedicated volunteers are driven by a shared mission — to make a social impact while also dealing with environmental concerns.

Furthermore, the project carries symbolic significance by rescuing chip bags that would otherwise end up in landfills and reusing them to aid the homeless. This initiative underscores the interconnectedness of environmental issues and poverty, serving as a powerful reminder of the need to deal with these challenges collectively. As Oleita states, “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.”

1. What inspired Oleita to start the Chip Bag Project?

A．Her interest in sewing and crafting.

B．Her passion for environmental activism.

C．Her desire to address both waste and poverty.

D．Her enthusiasm for snacks like Doritos and Lays.

2. How are the chip bags collected for the project?

A．By purchasing them from community stores.

B．By organizing cleanup events in the community.

C．By encouraging local businesses to donate them.

D．By urging local residents to donate their empty bags.

3. What are the three main characteristics of the resulting sleeping bags?

A．Expensive, colorful, and stylish.

B．Durable, heavy, and difficult to carry.

C．Expensive, luxurious, and fashionable.

D．Waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry.

4. Which words best describe Oleita?

A．Selfless and energetic.	B．Devoted and innovative.
C．Hardworking and responsible.	D．Talented and enthusiastic.

10 . In this present age, we are heavily dependent on science and technology. Involving courses such as physics, chemistry and biology, a science-based education system can not only equip the young with knowledge of the rules of the world but also develop their scientific curiosity and problem-solving skills. With the benefits and objective attitude formed when learning, the young have more opportunities to be employed in cutting-edge research projects and big companies. So as for Arts or Science, they prefer the latter.

However, we still rely much on the Arts to understand the world. Literature courses can help students to learn about different cultures by exposing them to various aspects of life and excite their imagination required by out-of-box ideas. Studying politics increases the awareness of global world. History can enrich them intellectually and socially, providing a deeper understanding of the world and their place within it. Also, Arts can develop emotional skills and moral values.

A science-based education concentrating only on the latest scientific developments and breakthroughs, may overlook the study of moral values as well as significant historical affairs. For instance, countless possibilities can be realised through cloning, but science does not reveal the moral dilemmas (两难境地) of its indulgent development. It is essential for students to assess the far-reaching influence of science on the world and realise that it must ultimately be pursued reasonably and controllably.

In conclusion, a science-based education certainly has its limitations. Nevertheless, a science-based education combined with enough exposure to values and the humanities would provide students with a deeper insight into the world.

1. Why is a science-based education system popular among the young according to the text?

A．It has diverse courses.

B．It provides more challenges.

C．It favors their dreams of being a scientist.

D．It contributes to more career opportunities.

2. How does the author introduce the role of Arts?

A．By collecting data.

B．By giving professional reports.

C．By sharing personal experiences.

D．By listing the values of different courses.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “indulgent” in paragraph 3?

A．Uncontrolled.

B．Normal.

C．Difficult.

D．Sustainable.

4. What is the writing purpose of the text?

A．To highlight the difficulty of science courses.

B．To offer guidance on how to learn all subjects well.

C．To recommend Science & Arts combined education.

D．To stress the importance of the science-based education.