1 . In the past, music recording was primitive. A recording engineer placed microphones in front of instruments. The producer pressed record and signaled the band to play. There was a human touch to recordings, and this way of recording gave rock music its raw edge. But here we are today. Complex and advanced audio software sits in every recording studio. The higher cost and greater practicality make creating digital music common.
However, the modern recordings aren’t beneficial to a rock record. Let’s not forget, being in a band is laborious. You need like-minded musicians to rehearse for hours on end. Nowadays, this isn’t a necessity.
Programming drums on a computer is as simple as filling cells on a spreadsheet, and there you have it, a drumbeat. Only a few professionals are aware that they aren’t listening to true live drums. Such tech is even accessible on your smartphone. Whether on a train or in a bedroom, you can create a full band track without a live band.
What happened to rock music? With pop and hip hop dominating the charts, it feels like the time for bands is over. Is rock music really dying out? Is it really on its last legs, or are we just not trying hard enough?
Artists, inspired by the great rock bands, seek to put their own spin on this classic genre. The spirit of rock music still remains. One singer mixed soul and rock while one band combined indie rock with elements of techno, both with underlying rock characteristics.
The truth is that fresh rock bands are out there and you just need to dig deeper. A search through online music blogs shows a growing number of new rock bands. While rock bands are now not as popular as before and not receiving mainstream exposure, the flame still burns brightly.
1. Which words can best describe the past music recording?| A．Underdeveloped and low-cost. | B．Easy and time-saving. |
| C．Demanding and complex. | D．Digital and creative. |
| A．Low demands for music. | B．Advanced audio software. |
| C．Deep understanding of music. | D．Help from professional musicians. |
| A．To tell rock music has lost its original attraction. |
| B．To show rock music may be presented in new styles. |
| C．To stress rock music is no longer mainstream music. |
| D．To compare rock music with some other kinds of music. |
| A．Is Rock Music Going Dead? | B．Why Is Rock Music Disappearing? |
| C．A New Kind of Music Is Emerging | D．A Way of Recording Music Is Getting Accepted |
2 . Chinese material scientists have found the soil on the moon may potentially be able to generate oxygen and fuel, a finding that means more possibilities of humans to use lunar resources to further exploration of the moon and beyond.
The researchers at Nanjing University showed that the lunar sample brought back by China’s Chang’e-5 contains active compounds (化合物) that can change carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuel. Initially, they hoped to design a system that took advantage of lunar soil and solar radiation, the two rich resources on the moon, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Joule.
After analyzing the Chang’e-5’s lunar soil, the team found the sample contained metal-rich substances, which could work as a catalyst (催化剂) to make oxygen using sunlight and carbon dioxide. The team proposed a strategy using lunar soil to electrolyze water from the moon and the astronauts’ life support system into oxygen and hydrogen. The process was powered by sunlight. The carbon dioxide breathed out by moon inhabitants can be collected and combined with hydrogen to produce the fuel, also catalyzed by the lunar soil, according to the study. The researchers said with this method, no external energy apart from sunlight would be used to produce oxygen and fuel to support life on a moon base.
“We use the environmental resources to minimize rocket payload, and our strategy provides a scenario for a sustainable and affordable living environment for life out of the Earth,” said the paper’s first author Yao Yingfang from Nanjing University, expressing his assumption.
“The challenge lies in the fact that catalytic efficiency of lunar soil is lower than catalysts on the Earth,” said the researchers. They are testing different approaches in order to improve the design. The team is looking for an opportunity to test the system in space with China’s future manned lunar missions.
1. What is the main implication of Chinese scientists’ discovery of the moon’s soil?| A．The moon is rich in rare elements. | B．Lunar soil can be used for exploring space. |
| C．The moon can be lived on by human beings. | D．Lunar soil is a new renewable energy source. |
| A．The process of the sun producing light. |
| B．The analysis of China’s Chang’e-5’s work. |
| C．The supportive method producing metal-rich substances. |
| D．The sustainable living strategy employing lunar resources. |
| A．Profession. | B．Contract. | C．Vision. | D．Sponsor. |
| A．The discovery of active compounds on the moon. |
| B．The testing approaches to improving the lunar soil. |
| C．The research on the environmental system of the moon. |
| D．The study of using lunar soil for oxygen and fuel production. |
3 . Life can change in the blink of an eye. For Bridgette Ponson, one of those moments took place in the parking lot at her workplace, Layton Christian Academy. While she was in the parking lot, her 2-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl in tow, a car hit them. This left the mother and her kids trapped beneath the car. Thankfully, the woman driver wasn’t driving very fast. At that moment, she was blinded by the sun. However, she got out of the car to help as soon as possible. Plus, she wasn’t the only one who stopped what they were doing to save Bridgette and her kids.
Soon, Chris Crowder, CEO of the school, became aware of the accident. Without delay, he united a group of students to help. “It was split second,” Chris recalled. “I immediately just ran into the building because I knew I had to get a lot of people to lift this car. The students just heard me shout. All students from different countries just ran out and lifted it up.”
Still, this wasn’t an easy task. The car was heavy. But the whole group of students worked together to lift the car enough for Bridgette and her kids to get free. Finally, one kid was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital while Bridgette and the other kid were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Although Bridgette took the brunt of the injuries, all three of them were expected to make complete recoveries within a few days. The heroic students who helped out certainly got their well-deserved praise.
“I’m very proud of our kids. They ran out without hesitation, and they just knew what to do without even being told what to do. I’m even surprised by the driver who was behind the wheel. She immediately ran to help,” said Chris.
1. Which of the following caused the accident in the parking lot?| A．The car was speeding. | B．The driver was trapped in the car. |
| C．Bridgette ignored the surroundings. | D．The sunlight blocked the driver’s sight. |
| A．To meet foreign students. | B．To avoid the car accident. |
| C．To provide emergency aid. | D．To lift the kids out of the car. |
| A．Many hands make light work. | B．The hospital is no place to be sick. |
| C．Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten. | D．Praise makes good men better and bad men worse. |
| A．Passive. | B．Hesitant. | C．Timely. | D．Expected. |
4 . An apology tells someone that we’re sorry for the hurt we caused — even if we didn’t do it on purpose. It’s a way of saying we’re aware of what we did and we’ll try to do better in future.
Apologies are one of the tools that we use to get along better with other people. Saying that you’re sorry is more than just words.
Everyone needs to apologize when they do something wrong. For example, if someone is irritated because of something you did, you need to apologize. If you say something that hurts someone, even if you don’t mean it, then you should apologize.
When someone apologizes to you, you may welcome it and be ready to forgive.
| A．When you apologize in a caring way |
| B．When you accept an apology in a desirable way |
| C．It’s difficult to mend a relationship if we don’t apologize |
| D．Or you might not feel like being friendly again right away |
| E．It isn’t always easy for us to get along well with everyone all the time |
| F．If you lose or break something belonging to someone else, you should say sorry |
| G．You’re also saying that you respect and care about the other person’s feelings |
5 . Deserts could be the best places on Earth for harvesting solar power. They are spacious, relatively flat, and never short of sunlight. So researchers imagine it might be possible to transform the world’s largest desert, the Sahara, into a large solar farm, capable of meeting four times the world’s current energy demand.
While the black surfaces of solar panels absorb most of the sunlight that reaches them, only around 15% of that incoming energy gets turned into electricity. The rest is returned to the environment as heat, affecting the climate. If these effects were only local, they might not matter in a thinly populated desert. But the area of the installations in the Sahara would be vast, covering thousands of square miles. Heat released from an area this size will be redistributed by the flow of air in the atmosphere, having regional and even global effects on the climate.
A 2018 study used a climate model to assess the effects of building massive solar farms in the Sahara. The model revealed that when the size of the solar farm reaches 20% of the total area of the Sahara, the heat released by the darker solar panels creates a big temperature difference between the land and the surrounding oceans that ultimately lowers surface air pressure and causes wet air to rise and condense (凝结) into raindrops. With more rainfall, plants grow and the desert reflects less of the sun’s energy since vegetation absorbs light better than sand and soil. With more plants present, more water is evaporated (蒸发), creating a better environment that causes vegetation to spread.
So, a large solar farm could generate enough energy and at the same time turn one of the most abominable environments on Earth into a habitable place. Sounds perfect, right? Not quite. In a recent study, we used an advanced Earth system model to closely examine how Saharan solar farms interact with the climate. It showed there could be unintended effects in remote parts of the land and ocean.
We are only beginning to understand the potential consequences of establishing massive solar farms in deserts. Solutions like this may help society reduce the use of fossil energy, but Earth system studies like ours underscore the importance of considering the numerous coupled responses of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface when examining their benefits and risks.
1. What can be learned about solar farms?| A．They are mainly located in deserts. |
| B．They can affect the local and even global climate. |
| C．They can make the best use of incoming energy. |
| D．They satisfy the world’s current energy demand. |
| A．It might become greener. |
| B．It might reflect more sunlight. |
| C．Its surface air pressure will increase. |
| D．Its temperature difference between day and night will decrease. |
| A．Addictive. | B．Dynamic. | C．Sensitive. | D．Unpleasant. |
| A．It is an impossible task. |
| B．It will do more good than harm. |
| C．It calls for more consideration. |
| D．It might be the solution to fossil fuel pollution. |
6 . When you think of a map, is north on the top or the bottom? Usually, maps are designed with north on top, though when we think about it, there is no logical reason for this bias (偏见). After all, there is no up or down in space. So what is wrong with south, east or west being on the top of the map? The answer is: nothing at all. In fact, north-up maps only became the norm in the last few hundred years.
Ancient Egyptian maps had south at the top because the Nile River flows downhill from mountains in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Mecca was to the south of most early Muslim civilizations, and south-up maps were designed so that viewers would look up to see Mecca. Medieval Christian maps had east at the top, as they believed the Garden of Eden was in the east. The only early maps that had north at the top were those of early China because the emperor lived in the north.
North seems to have settled at the top of maps during the 16th century, largely thanks to a Flemish mapmaker, Mercator. Mercator was a great admirer of an early Greek mapmaker, who, for reasons now unknown, put north at the top of maps, so Mercator did, too. When Mercator’s world map became the standard map to navigate the oceans, north up became standard as well.
What is the implication of this north-view of the world? Psychologically, people tend to think of up as good and down as bad. Just think of words and phrases like “upmarket”, “upbeat” and “moving up in the world”, and how they contrast with their opposites. Because north is so consistently put at the top of maps, people now think of north as good, too.
Several attempts have been made in recent years by introducing south-up maps to the market. These maps not only give us a chance to see the world differently, but also give everyone the chance to see themselves on top.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．North-up maps were rare in ancient times. |
| B．Deciding up or down in space is ridiculous. |
| C．Mecca maps were based on a legend. |
| D．The south-up map first appeared in ancient Egypt. |
| A．An illogical reason. | B．The spread of Mercator’s maps. |
| C．People’s preference for up. | D．An age-old tradition in Greece. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Supportive. | C．Uncaring. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．To criticize a phenomenon. | B．To compare various facts. |
| C．To correct a cultural bias. | D．To argue for a viewpoint. |
7 . Argentina lies in the South America. There are many festivals in Argentina during the year. Therefore, you can enjoy the different interesting festivals when traveling there.
First of all, we should talk about the Tango (探戈) Festival inArgentina, which is held in the capital of this country — Buenos Aires, from February to March. You ought to know that Argentina is the home of tango, so Argentinians admire this dance very much. Even if you cannot dance perfectly, you should join the people and try to perform this dance.
The next festival in Argentina is Open Polo (马球) Tournament. You should go to Palermo to see this festival in Argentina. This festival is held every year and is the most important polo tournament in Argentina.This kind of sport is considered the most important in Argentina.
Attending this festival in Argentina, you will be able to communicate with different people and admire the fascinating competition between the teams of different countries, such as Argentina, England, Australia, as well as the US. This festival in Argentina is usually held between November and December every year. So don’t miss the opportunity if you travel to Argentina at this time.
The other festival in Argentina is the Semana Musical Liao Liao. This is a festival of classical music. The festival was created in 1993 and is held at the Liao Liao Hotel, near Bariloche. The festival is held yearly in October. So if you admire this kind of music, you should travel toArgentina in October.
There are also many carnivals in Argentina in summer. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about festivals in Argentina into just one article. We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye-catching.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．Entertainments in Argentina | B．Festivals in Argentina |
| C．Travel to Argentina | D．A brief introduction to Argentina |
| A．is organized by the government |
| B．welcomes everyone to take part in it |
| C．is held in summer |
| D．holds parties for different dances |
| A．Open Polo Tournament. | B．Every carnival in Argentina. |
| C．The Tango Festival. | D．The Semana Musical Liao Liao. |
| A．Buenos Aires in spring | B．Palermo in April |
| C．Palermo in winter | D．Bariloche in October |
8 . Imagine a world where nothing ends up in landfill. Instead, everything can be reused and recycled, creating products that never reach their “end of life”. According to a recent report by the Circle Economy Foundation, only 7.2% of all used materials are being cycled back to be reused and recycled without creating waste.
An Italian company aims to change this by creating furniture products made from a plastic-like biomaterial, which is fully organic and biodegradable (可生物降解的), and can be used over and over again. Using fruit peel, orange seeds and coffee grounds collected from businesses in Italy, the company can redistribute products to the same businesses for use in their offices, instead of furniture made from common plastic. If, by mistake, any of the material ends up in the ocean, it doesn’t produce any microplastics.
Each product is made through a four-step process. First, the food waste is dried and crushed into a very fine powder. Then, the powder is mixed with a biodegradable plastic alternative known as polyhydroxybutyrat (PHB), with the fruit waste making the PHB more study (坚固的). The material is then turned into a filament (细丝) and, using a spool, put into a 3D printer.
Because a lot of food waste would be buried and incinerated in the landfill, which would produce lots of carbon dioxide, Reusing fruit peel and coffee grounds decrease carbon dioxide from the production of plastic, according to the director of operations in the company. He adds that the biomaterial is as sturdy as wood, and won’t begin to break down unless it’s touched by water, bacteria or acidity.
Despite its eco-friendly benefits, the biomaterial is expensive. It costs probably six times more than common plastic, and it is a very difficult and expensive process, so this is why many companies aren’t doing it.
However, the director is hopeful that in a few years, as-more consumers and businesses are forced to face the damage that unsustainable plastic is doing to the planet, the biomaterial will be much more widely used. “We really believe this is the material of the future,” says the director. “Little by little, a step at a time.”
1. What is a problem faced by the current world according to paragraph 1?| A．Pollution is becoming milder. |
| B．The rate of recycling is too low. |
| C．Plastic poses a threat to the ocean. |
| D．New material needs to be improved. |
| A．It is of benefit to the environment. |
| B．It is cheaper than common plastic. |
| C．It is given a welcome by businesses. |
| D．It has gradually replaced common plastic. |
| A．Damaged. | B．Burned. | C．Selected. | D．Recovered. |
| A．New Material: One Way To Regain Fruit Peel |
| B．From Landfill To Furniture: The Journey Of Furniture |
| C．Sustainable Material: The Future Of Eco-Friendly Furniture |
| D．Italian Businesses Using New Strategies To Manage Industrial Waste |
9 . Are aliens trying to contact the Earth? Six new mysterious blasts of radio energy are detected from deep space. While the source of the waves remains unknown, some suggest the mysterious bursts of energy could be a sign of alien life trying to contact us. The waves were detected by researchers from McGill University in Montreal.
The detection follows 11 previously recorded fast radio bursts (FRBs) from the same location, called FRB121102. This is the only known repeater of FRBs. Although there have been a number of FRBs from the site, the origin of the radio bursts remains a puzzle to researchers.
But the researchers say that the repeated FRBs imply that whatever is causing the FRBs is not a one-time event, such as an explosion or a collision. Instead, they say that flares (耀斑) from a young neutron star (中子星) are a promising candidate.
Previously when waves have been detected, astronomers have also asked Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) to take a closer look at whether they could be a message from aliens. But it is unclear whether the researchers will ask SETI to help this time.
If there were any intelligent alien life forms out there, in Stephen Hawking’s opinion, we were playing a dangerous game by trying to contact them. If alien s discovered the Earth, they would likely want to conquer and colonize our planet.
But the co-founder and former director of the SETI Institute, Jill Tarter, doesn’t think this will be the case. She argues any alien s who have managed to travel across the universe may be friendly and peaceful. “The idea of a civilization which has managed to survive far longer than we have... and the fact that the technology remains an aggressive one, to me, doesn’t make sense,” she said.
1. What is the purpose of the question in paragraph 1?| A．To draw readers’ attention. |
| B．To indicate commonality in astronomy. |
| C．To emphasize the mystery of the source. |
| D．To highlight the discovery’s significance. |
| A．Messages from aliens. |
| B．The explosion of a star. |
| C．Flares from a neutron star. |
| D．A collision between two stars. |
| A．We should try to find the aliens. |
| B．The aliens may conquer the Earth. |
| C．We can play games with the aliens. |
| D．The aliens may live with us one day. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Critical. | C．Indifferent. | D．Supportive. |
10 . From a fish and chip stall, Jenny has come to be the toast of London’s foodie scene. She has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming a famous chef, a distinction that has been a dream coming true for her. “It’s still sinking in,” she said, expressing her surprise at the overwhelming social media response to her accomplishment.
Her restaurant is a unique space where modern West African cuisine takes center stage, highlighting the rich culinary (烹饪的) traditions of Nigeria’s Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo ethnic groups. “In my restaurant, I bring together these three culinary traditions, providing an exciting journey for diners,” Jenny described. Each dish tells a story, from a black sauce for fish, a postpartum (产后的) meal for new mothers, to a fermented tomato sauce.
Jenny’s love for food began at a young age, but she was initially guided towards a more traditional career path. She studied biological sciences in university, where she also ran a fish and chip cart. Her move to the UK in 1999 marked the beginning of her journey towards culinary success.
As for her, her restaurant is not only a restaurant but also Jenny’s way of honoring her heritage and the food her grandmother used to prepare. “The memory of my grandmother’s cooking inspires me every day,” she shared. Jenny’s cooking shows heartfelt respect for her roots, and her mission is to showcase the flavors of her culture.
Jenny longs to be a role model for chefs from diverse backgrounds. She recognizes the value of representation and hopes her success can inspire other chefs in the UK. She notes that while the industry is slowly becoming more inclusive, it’s crucial for employers, landlords, critics, and investors to expand their perspectives to support a variety of cuisines.
Her fame is a testament (证明) to her talent and dedication, but it’s the personal connection to her dishes and the memories of home-cooked meals that truly fuel her passion. Jenny’s story is a shining example of how one can achieve their dreams while staying true to their cultural identity.
1. What is the character of Jenny’s restaurant?| A．It serves traditional British cuisine. |
| B．It is famous for postpartum meals only. |
| C．It is managed by a social media influencer. |
| D．It features West African culinary traditions. |
| A．Being a biological sciences student. |
| B．Being a social media influencer. |
| C．Being a corporate executive. |
| D．Being a professional chef. |
| A．She prioritizes commercial success over culture. |
| B．She aims to westernize traditional Nigerian cuisine. |
| C．She uses her restaurant as a medium for scientific research. |
| D．She integrates her personal history with her professional knowledge. |
| A．Celebrity status. | B．Culinary revolution. |
| C．Diversity in cooking. | D．Profits of her restaurant. |
