1 . The horse-face skirt, or mamianqun in Chinese, is receiving renewed attention on the fashion stage.
Far from being photoshoot prop, wearing the horse-face skirt has become almost trend among many Chinese celebrities and influencers for various international social occasions. On Douyin, China’s TikTok, individuals who sport the horse-face skirt on city streets in Paris and other international cities can easily gain millions of likes. A popular blogger on Xiaohongshu appeared on a British television program to discuss the development of the English Premier League in China while wearing a horse-face skirt.
From its first appearance during the Song Dynasty to becoming a standout representation of Chinese clothing, mamianqun has crossed nearly a millennium of history. In the current trend of traditional Chinese clothing reconstruction, how has the horse-face skirt stood out to become the most famous clothing?
Mao Zhaoxi, who is a hanfu enthusiast, told the Global Times that Hanfu is the external demonstration of culture, integrating the life philosophies, values, and aesthetic (美学) views formed and inherited (继承) by the Chinese people generation after generation. She said, “Many young people believe that the horse-face skirt is not just a fashion item, but also a cultural symbol. This shows the awakening of traditional aesthetic genes among the younger generations, indicating that the confidence in our own culture is constantly increasing.”
Moreover, Hu Xiao, one of the founders of the ancient Chinese costumes restoration team, analyzed one main reason of this phenomenon lies in the fact that the horse-face skirt has managed to remain relevant, never falling out of fashion. “Many people thought the horse-face skirt had disappeared for a while, but in fact, Chinese brides can always be seen in the costume of mamianqun.” The horse-face skirt possesses a strong sense of inheritance while also possessing fashionable features. This perhaps is the cultural DNA that enables it to become a fashion item.
The momentum (潮流) of Chinese-style clothing has begun, and how to lead the trend of Chinese-style clothing through design and how to stay at the forefront of the national trend is an issue that will not disappear in a short time.
1. What does the underlined word “sport” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Compete. | B．Display. | C．Exercise. | D．Decorate. |
| A．Horse-face skirts are Chinese clothing with a long history. |
| B．Horse-face skirts had become fashionable in Song Dynasty. |
| C．Horse-face skirts have been the main clothing for a millennium. |
| D．Horse-face skirts are leading the clothing design around the world. |
| A．It develops everyone’s aesthetic and philosophy view. |
| B．It represents the ancient Chinese costumes and life. |
| C．It wakens the young to love their own traditional culture. |
| D．It demonstrates the importance of Chinese-style clothing. |
| A．Good beginning and it will lead the world fashion. |
| B．Good beginning and it will fall into the disfavors. |
| C．Good beginning and it will own fashionable DNA. |
| D．Good beginning and it will have a long way to go. |
2 . Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies. “Sleep plays a causal role in how old individuals feel,” Leonie Balter, a sleep researcher at Stockholm University in Sweden and the author of both studies, wrote in an email.
Health and mobility issues can contribute to feeling aged before your time, but when it comes to sleep, nodding off was a key to perceiving oneself as old, according to the studies, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “Insufficient sleep causes feelings of sleepiness. Sleepiness is an important motivational state that makes us prioritize sleep and reduces our energy levels,” she said. A lack of energy and motivation can certainly contribute to feeling older while limiting a person’s ability to remain physically and socially active, both of which contribute to feeling young.
Balter and her colleagues conducted two studies. One tested how well 429 people between the ages of 18 and 70 had slept in their own homes over the previous month. For every night of poor sleep during that time, people reported feeling about a quarter of a year older than their chronological (按时间顺序) age. The second study asked 186 of the same participants to sleep in a lab for two nights, making sure they did not get more than four hours of shuteye each night. The subjective experience of aging was much greater when people experienced this degree of sleep insufficiency: On average, people felt nearly 4 years older than they really were.
“Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of enough sleep in maintaining a youthful subjective age,” said sleep researcher Dr. Chang-Ho Yun, a neurology professor at Seoul National University, who was not involved in the studies, “Feeling young is a good thing which has been associated in studies with living longer, a lower rate of dementia (痴呆), less depression and more positive characters such as optimism, hope and adaptation.”
1. What might contribute to feeling young according to paragraph 2?| A．Enough sleep. | B．Optimistic attitude. |
| C．Limited sociability. | D．Insufficient motivation. |
| A．All the tested participants were middle ages from Seoul. |
| B．Chronological age is influenced by less hours of naps. |
| C．The hours for sleeping were strictly limited in both studies. |
| D．People in the latter study felt older than those in the former. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unidentifiable. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
| A．The development of good sleep. | B．The adaptation of sleepiness. |
| C．The vitality of sufficient sleep. | D．The characteristics of sleepiness. |
3 . A ship that has spent decades trying to drill nearer to the earth’s mantle (地幔) is preparing for a new voyage to uncover clues to how life began.
With the plan to deepen a hole drilled nearly 20 years ago, two dozen geologists, microbiologists and other scientists will aboard the Joides Resolution to the Atlantis Massif. The hole won’t be the longest in the seafloor but would push closer than ever to the mantle and explore deeper layers of ocean crust (地壳) that haven’t been reached before. Engineers on the ship intend to lower heavy drilling tools through about 5,400 feet of water to find a hole on the seafloor about 15 inches wide. Joides engineers compared the process to standing on a chair and trying to lower a pencil tied to the end of string into the mouth of a soda bottle with a fan blowing.
Samples from the new depths will be taken to investigate whether a special mix of rock and water, Olivine, could have started life on Earth and possibly other planets. This green and magnesium-rich mineral, abundant at such depths, is critical to serpentinization (蛇纹石化), a reaction that occurs when some minerals encounter seawater. Geochemists think the process of serpentinization generates the energy and geochemical conditions favorable to the creation of organic molecules. “These are the building blocks of life,” said Susan Q. Lang, the expedition’s cochief scientist.
The new depth is thought where serpentinization occurs but where temperatures are beyond the limits at which life is known to exist. “If organic molecules are found there, it could help confirm that serpentinization leads to their creation, which contributed to the origin of life.” Dr. Lang said. Finding organic molecules in samples from serpentinization sites could also inform the search for life on other planets. “The geochemistry of fluids in the plumes of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn (土星), have been inferred by astrobiologists to be similar to the makeup of fluids found at the Atlantis Massif.” she added.
| A．14700 feet. | B．12150 feet. | C．11390 feet. | D．10040 feet. |
| A．Deepening the hole will be challenging. |
| B．Engineers will be required to stand high. |
| C．The size of the drill pipe needs to be large. |
| D．The task will be affected by the wind from a fan. |
| A．It may help to find a mineral rich in magnesium. |
| B．It may help to produce the organic molecules. |
| C．It may help to obtain the habitat of life on earth. |
| D．It may help to uncover clues to how life began. |
| A．The Joides Resolution could scale with depth. |
| B．The Wall Street Journal will organize the voyage. |
| C．The new voyage could be named Moho Moonshot. |
| D．The ship will leave for Portugal from Ponta Delgada. |
4 . We are barely a quarter into 2024, and it is already shaping up to be an impressive year for literature lovers everywhere. With new releases spanning various fields, readers are bound to find something to bury themselves in.
Forever and Always
By Brittany J. Thurman (Author), Shamar Knight-Justice (Illustrator)
Publication date: January 16, 2024
Worry and love go hand in hand in this children’s picture book. Olivia waits anxiously for her dad to come home from work, so she makes him something to make the time go by. School Library Journal reviewed, “This book gives oxygen to all the unstated fears, perhaps burning them off, offering a reality right out of the headlines, but by leaving it child-sized has a huge impact.”
A Calamity of Souls
By David Baldacci
Publication date: April 6, 2024
Jack Lee, a white lawyer from Freeman County, has never done anything to raise his voice against racism, but this time he does. He makes the decision to represent a black man named Jerome Washington, who is accused of murdering a wealthy white couple. However, Lee doubts his decision as there are fewer chances of winning. Desire, a black lawyer from Chicago, has always fought for justice and equality, and she partners with Lee to face the legal battle against the best lawyer. Both of them fight together for a fair trial and justice.
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
By Shubnum Khan
Publication date: January 9, 2024
When Sana and her dad move into Akbar Manzil, Sana can’t help but be fascinated by the house there. She endlessly explores the rooms, trying to unearth the house’s mysteries. But Sana is most curious by the locked room, which once belonged to a woman named Meena, the long-dead wife of the original owner of Akbar Manzil. Within the room’s walls also lives a sorrowful djinn who now watches Sana as her interest in Meena and the house’s mysteries turns into obsession.
1. What is special about the second book?| A．Its plot is extremely mysterious and complicated. |
| B．It themes on the love among children and parents. |
| C．It displays justice and fairness against the racism. |
| D．It encourages readers to maintain bravery and curiosity. |
| A．Readers who prefer horror novels. | B．Readers who favor detective tales. |
| C．Readers who are fond of romantic stories. | D．Readers who are fascinated by science fictions. |
| A．A Calamity of Souls | B．Forever and Always |
| C．School. Library Journal | D．The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years |
5 . Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives. For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite. Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of Earth to show how clouds are moving. Satellites are also used to connect our phone calls.
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and the Internet also use satellites. Many of our TV programs come to us by satellite. Airplane pilots sometimes also use a satellite to help them find their exact location.
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another. They are usually 35,880 kilometers above the equator (赤道). Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place. This is because it is moving around the world at 11,000 kilometers an hour — exactly the same speed that the Earth rotates (转动). A satellite must move around the Earth with its antennae (天线) facing the Earth. Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit (轨道), so there are some rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position. This usually happens about every five or six days.
Space is not empty! Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit Earth. A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years. Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to Earth to be repaired. Often, very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit Earth for a very long time. This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other.
1. Which of the following is NOT done by satellite according to the passage?| A．Sending information for weather forecasts. |
| B．Taking photographs of the Earth. |
| C．Sending TV pictures to the Earth. |
| D．Providing food for airplane pilots. |
| A．35,880 kilometers per hour. |
| B．335,880 kilometers per hour. |
| C．11,000 kilometers per hour. |
| D．110,000 kilometers per hour. |
| A．A satellite moves around the Earth forever. |
| B．A rocket always keeps a satellite’s company. |
| C．A satellite seems to stay in the same place in the sky. |
| D．The satellite puts the rockets in the right position. |
| A．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years. |
| B．Every time a satellite gets broken, it is thrown away. |
| C．A broken satellite is never left in space. |
| D．Broken satellites always crash into each other. |
6 . My interest in body language began with a professor of mine at university. He mentioned “Pinocchio” to me one cold morning after saying that I always rubbed my nose when giving excuses for being late to his courses. Actually, when someone tells a lie, the person’s blood rushes to the nose and the extra blood makes it itchy (发痒的). This little example of non-verbal communication inspired me to become a body language expert. Now, I earn my living by training people in non-verbal communication. Knowing when someone is lying and knowing how to persuade people are two of the most important skills you’ll ever learn.
I have spent a lot of time studying the ways the human body gives and they provide more reliable information than the words we speak. The words say one thing but the body may say something completely different. We know that crossed arms can be seen as either defensive or aggressive (攻击性的), but what about facial expressions, postures and gestures? All of these say a lot and can only be understood if you know how to make sense of the signs.
Business companies always need my services and I try to improve their confidence by teaching them about body language. I give advice about handshakes, which should always be firm and steady, and I teach the importance of personal space. They may seem like small matters, but these codes of behaviour can be the key to making or breaking a business deal.
My working life gives me a great deal of satisfaction. I feel that I’m providing a public service, but it is a service that has had its downside. Whenever I meet someone new and I tell them what I do for a living, they immediately put their guard up and they’re no longer relaxed. They quite literally freeze in the attempt to hide all the signals that they think I’m reading. It makes life difficult at times, but I consider it a small price to pay for a job I enjoy so much.
1. What is the author’s purpose of mentioning his professor?| A．To describe his professor’s success. |
| B．To explain why he chose his career. |
| C．To show his professor’s study of the “Pinocchio” effect. |
| D．To introduce what impressed him most during his career. |
| A．The body language can tell you the real story behind words. |
| B．It takes a plenty of time to study the body language. |
| C．Crossed arms can be regarded as an impolite way. |
| D．Facial expressions play an important part in the body language. |
| A．They dislike his services. |
| B．They think he is too proud. |
| C．They consider him unreliable. |
| D．They believe he is studying them. |
| A．He thinks little of minor gestures. |
| B．He travels the world giving advice. |
| C．He is happy with his work. |
| D．He is good at pretending. |
7 . After 18 years of devotion to rhythmic gymnastics, Fanni Pigniczki claimed the gold medal on the international stage. The 23-year-old Hungarian topped the podium (领奖台) not just once but twice!
In a remarkable display of skill and determination, she secured victories in both the individual all-around and Ball at Chengdu Sport University Gymnasium. “It was an amazing feeling to see the Hungarian flag rising up,” Pigniczki said after the medal ceremony. At the Chengdu games, Hungary has secured three gold medals, with Pigniczki, the country’s only rhythmic gymnast then, responsible for two of those. But it was not without a sense of regret — her errors in the concluding pose denied her a medal in another round. Pigniczki vowed to learn from that setback. “I need to improve my stability in the coming training.” she said.
Actually, this positive attitude should be credited to her psychology background at Karoli Gaspar University in Budapest. This major benefits her athletic pursuits, helping her to better manage her emotions. “I have learned to stay calmer and think less during competition. I have also learned that I need to relax and concentrate on the ‘now’ of competition,” added Pigniczki.
“When I was a kid, I tried all kinds of activities like swimming, basketball, and ballet. Seeing the sparking outfit, I fell in love with rhythmic gymnastics instantly. But what truly attracts me is the feeling of readiness in the sport, as I could always improve more.” she said. It is this feeling that has motivated her to set numerous records for Hungarian rhythmic gymnastics. Her outstanding performances at the 2021 European championships earned her a spot at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. Pigniczki became the first Hungarian rhythmic gymnast to grace the Olympic stage since Viktoria Frater at the Sydney 2000 Games. At the Olympics, she finished 20th in the qualification round for the individual all-around. Last year, she continued to make history by becoming the first Hungarian to claim a World Cup medal in rhythmic gymnastics.
Her role in inspiring the next generation of gymnasts was recognized in May when she was honored with the Smart Scoring Shooting Star award.
1. What was Pigniczki’s notation towards her errors in competition?| A．She looked down upon them directly. |
| B．She had strong sense of regret for them. |
| C．She promised never to make them again. |
| D．She analyzed them with stable emotion. |
| A．The gold medals she won for her country. |
| B．The opportunities to perform at Olympics. |
| C．The feeling of making improvement constantly. |
| D．The attractive outfit she saw for the first time. |
| A．Motivated. |
| B．Responsible. |
| C．Dominated. |
| D．Predictable |
| A．Pride goes before a fall. |
| B．Care and diligence bring luck. |
| C．The power of example is endless. |
| D．All the roads lead to Rome. |
8 . Low and no motivation can be a sign of a serious problem like depression or anxiety. Are you experiencing long-term anxiety? Everything you need to do can leave you to feel scary and hard because you are constantly thinking of what could go wrong.
Don’t “eat the frog.”
The idea of eating the frog refers to doing the task you are least motivated to do first. Ask yourself, “
Plan to work on a high-priority task for 90 minutes, then take a break. Would you like to take a walk or lie out in the sun? Would you like to browse swimsuits for a vacation you have coming up?
Fuel yourself
Understand how fuel influences your personal concentration, focus, and motivation. Test out what works for you. For example, try eating a high-protein yogurt and see if that gives you the little boost you need.
| A．Plan your reward. |
| B．You are not alone. |
| C．Would you like to message a friend? |
| D．Do a few minutes of quick but satisfying tasks. |
| E．Planning and choosing take enormous mental energy. |
| F．Physical boosts may have meaningful but small effects. |
| G．What’s the most productive task that is within my capacity right now? |
9 . Whether exploring distant universe or dashing about a fantasy world, virtual reality has immersed humans in extraordinary places. Now, it seems, mice will be able to join us.
Researchers have developed a pair of virtual reality “goggles” that can bring the mice into various situations, from navigating mazes (导航迷宫) to experiencing the threat of natural enemies.
With a pair of lenses (镜片) and screens mounted on stands either side of a mouse’s head, the recently updated version of “goggles” provides each eye of mice with a 180-degreefield of view. The researchers placed the animals on a treadmill (跑步机) in front of a large screen displaying a digital scene, with their heads fixed to monitor the brain activities. This not only allows mice to see the virtual environment in 3D and gets rid of visual clues of the lab, but offers a way to present virtual images from above —for example, of a hovering hawk. This stimulation causes mice to freeze or flee the same as they react in real environment to survive a hungry bird attack in the wild. When the mice froze, activity from neurons (神经元) in their brains involved in navigation suggested they were in a different location from where they actually were. “It was as if they were thinking about where they would rather be — a safe, covered location up ahead.” Dombeck said, adding such results might help explain how imagination arises in the brain.
The team are also working to identify neurons involved in forming memories when mice navigate a maze, as well as which connections between them are improved to form memories. Answering these questions will help us understand how our brains know where we are in the world around us, how we form memories of those experiences, and ultimately how those memories are degraded in neurodegenerative diseases.
1. What might the mice see and do wearing “goggles”?| A．It will always see a hawk in the fields. | B．It will enjoy an amazing 3D fiction movie. |
| C．It will notice the surroundings in the lab. | D．It will detect virtual dangers from above. |
| A．Be attached. | B．Be displayed. | C．Be collected. | D．Be hatched. |
| A．To teach mice how to face the virtual reality by itself. |
| B．To study how imagination arises smoothly in the brain. |
| C．To remind mice how to escape from approaching dangers. |
| D．To explore how memories are degraded in neuron diseases. |
| A．Mice take pleasure in the virtual reality. | B．Goggles on mice benefit brain research. |
| C．Goggles play a key role in the research. | D．VR helps mice navigate mazes successfully. |
10 . Weddings are one of life’s biggest celebrations, and they are observed in just about every country and culture on the planet. Here are some wedding traditions from around the world.
Scotland
Scottish weddings usually feature the handfasting ceremony. During the ceremony, the bride (新娘) and bridegroom each hold a piece of cloth. These are carefully wound around the couple’s joined hands. When they pull their hands apart, the pieces become tied into a knot (结) — a symbol of the new union.
Germany
Guests at a German wedding get to see an interesting sight: the newly married couple — still dressed in their suit and wedding dress — cutting a length of a tree in half with a two-person saw (锯). In this way, they show their ability to work as a team to face any challenge they will meet in life.
Norway
A Norwegian wedding cake is made up of progressively smaller layers of iced cake rings, which give the cake the shape of Christmas tree. The inside is empty and has gifts or even a bottle of wine. The bride and g room lift the top ring of the cake, and the number of layers that stick to it is said to represent the number of children they will have!
England
Brides in England typically wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue” for their big day. The modern practice comes from a traditional English song, and the things themselves represent protection, cheerfulness, good luck, and purity, respectively.
Though the customs might vary, the feeling remains the same. Across the world, weddings are times to celebrate love, happiness, and family.
1. Why is a two-person saw used in the German wedding?| A．To entertain the wedding guests. | B．To mark the couple’s united efforts. |
| C．To represent the upcoming challenges. | D．To keep the couple from hurting each other. |
| A．The Scottish wedding. | B．The German wedding. |
| C．The Norwegian wedding. | D．The English wedding. |
| A．Rules to follow. | B．Special customs. |
| C．Ways to treat guests. | D．Cultural backgrounds. |
