1 . According to Ellen Langer, author of the new book The Mindful Body, your mind can affect your health, and changing your mind in different ways can lead to a healthier life. How can you use your mind to help yourself?
Question online recommendations. Don’t follow all recommendations just because an online expert tells you to. We have our own unique makeup. So, for example, the expert tells you that being one point above the threshold (阈值) for high cholesterol (胆固醇) requires a complete change of diet.
Recognize what counts as “risky” is different from person to person.
Understand that your choices are never completely “right” or “wrong”. You should focus less on regretting “bad decisions” and more on how to make your choices. Look for the positive For example, if you move to a new city and don’t love it right away, you shouldn’t regret your decision to move.
| A．Plan your work carefully. |
| B．Sports could make a difference. |
| C．Avoid comparing yourself with others. |
| D．You can question that before following it. |
| E．Now, let’s take a quick look at Ellen’s advice. |
| F．Instead, you can focus on what the new city offers. |
| G．One person’s risk is the other’s reasonable plan of action. |
2 . The Best School Camps in Victoria
Burnside Camp
Located on the Surf Coast near Anglesea, Burnside Camp is set over 4-hectare beautiful bushland (灌木丛) close to opollution-free peaches, Running throughout the year, Burnside Camp serves as a fantastic base for groups of up to 88 students. Camp programs centre on outdoor adventure activities. These include biking, canoeing, and exciting bush night hikes.
Mill Valley Ranch
Mill Valley Ranch is one of the best school camps in Victoria for large groups of students. It can accommodate up to 100 students. At Mill Valley Ranch, activity programs typically centre on confidence and character building. When outdoors, this sees young people given the opportunity to experience everything from horse riding to archery (射箭). However, it is also possible to organize a wide range of other team games and activities.
Camp Wilkin
Set in Anglesea, Camp Wilkin covers a 15-acre area home to resident kangaroos, which is in easy reach of quiet bushwalks and fantastic beaches. It offers the best school camp accommodation in Victoria for large groups, accommodating up to 163 students. And it also offers a variety of outdoor activity programs. Camp facilities include large meeting rooms suitable for everything from presentations to group learning activities.
Halls Gap
Halls Gap can hold up to 56 students. One of the best school camps in Victoria for natural sightseeing, it features reserved activities taking the form of short journeys to experience some of the largest waterfalls in Victoria. Halls Gap Camp students can also join in rock climbing. Such activities are in the company of local tour guides.
1. What can students do at Burnside Camp?| A．Learn to repair bikes. | B．Run their own startups. |
| C．Attend archery lessons. | D．Go on bush night hikes. |
| A．Halls Gap. | B．Burnside Camp. | C．Camp Wilkin. | D．Mill Valley Ranch. |
| A．It is the best camp in Victoria. | B．It requires advance booking. |
| C．It features outdoor activities. | D．It centres on character building. |
3 . A study published Tuesday in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review found that words expressing angry feelings sound alike in several unrelated languages. They’re less likely than other words to include the sounds L, R, W or Y. And more friendly versions of such words often have these sounds added. The finding suggests that certain rules may link the world’s languages, no matter how different they are.
Ryan McKay, co-author of the paper, happened to discover that some of the English curses (诅咒语) seem to have something in common; They’re often short and include the sounds B, P, T or K. Then Dr. McKay teamed up with his colleague Shiri Lev-Ari to learn whether these rules went beyond English.
During the experiment, they asked fluent speakers of Arabic, Korean, German and Spanish to list the worst words they could think of. Once they’d made a list of each language’s most commonly used curses, the researchers compared these with neutral (中性的) words from the same language. To their surprise, the rules still apply.
Next, the scientists asked the same people to listen to pairs of invented words, such as “yog” and “tsog” and guess which word in each pair was a curse. The subjects were more likely to guess that words without L, R. W and Y, such as “tsog”, were curses. Finally, the researchers looked through the dictionary for English curses and their cleaned-up versions. Once again, the cleaned-up versions included more of the sounds L, R, W and Y.
“Most 20th-century language scientists held that any word could have any meaning,” said Dr. McKay. “With curses, though, the sounds themselves seem to carry meaning. This can shape and change our understanding of how languages are formed.”
“It is the first time for researchers to study curses across languages and the finding is very interesting,” said Benjamin Bergen, a language scientist at the University of California, who was not involved in the study. “But it is just another case of what’s called sound symbolism in the language study: A word sounds like what it means.”
1. Which word is most probably not a leaned-up curse according to the text?| A．Rucy. |
| B．Buk |
| C．Yayad. |
| D．Walawah. |
| A．Applying their study to more unrelated languages. |
| B．Studying the neutral words and curses side by side. |
| C．Asking people to listen to pairs of non-existing words. |
| D．Comparing English curses with their friendly versions. |
| A．The study method is really unscientific. |
| B．It will change our understanding in a way. |
| C．It is not a totally new discovery at all. |
| D．The selected languages are too limited. |
| A．To introduce a newly published study. |
| B．To prove the unique rules in English. |
| C．To tell another way of memorizing words. |
| D．To show how to use more friendly curses. |
4 . The first wave of concerns over artificial intelligence(AI)in 2023 appeared soon after New Year’s Day when classrooms reopened and schools from Seattle to Paris started blocking ChatGPT, a powerful software based on AI large language models, because teenagers were using it to do their homework.
The AI large language models behind such products as ChatGPT work by repeatedly guessing the next word in a sentence after having “learned” the rules from a huge amount of/human-written works. Although they often get facts wrong, their answers appear so natural that Keven, their inventors begin to worry about their possible use for spreading false information.
People became more worried when various AI products started to create not just texts but novel images, music and human voices, which threatened the livelihoods of anyone who writes, draws or sings for a living. It led to strikes by Hollywood writers and actors and legal challenges from artists and bestselling authors. Some of the most respected scientists even warned that the technology’s unchecked progress was possibly threatening human existence. “In the longer term, they might manage our attention,” pioneering AI scientist Fei Fei Lisaid. “They would tell us which video to watch, which book to read or whose communication to respond as AI technology’s abilities improve rapidly. They could be a very good assistant, but also with really big risks.”
Li hoped that 2023 is going to be a year for people to think about what Al is, how to use it and what the effects are — all the good, the bad and the ugly.
“It’s easy to forget that they are not the first wave of AI products. Computer vision techniques developed by Li and other scientists have helped sort through a huge database of photos to recognize objects and individual faces and guide self-driving cars. Speech recognition advances have made voice assistants like Siri and Alexa a normal thing in many people’s lives,” said Tom Gruber, co-founder of Siri Inc.
1. Why did schools try to stop their students from using ChatGPT?| A．ChatGPT often got facts wrong in the class. |
| B．Students spent too much time on the software. |
| C．ChatGPT helped students spread false information. |
| D．Students used the software to cheat at their homework. |
| A．AI’s training costs. | B．ATs amazing abilities. |
| C．AI’s possible threats. | D．AI’s fast developments. |
| A．Think carefully about AI’s impact. | B．Welcome AI technology |
| C．Do use ChatGPT more carefully. | D．Upgrade ChatGPT in time. |
| A．A news report. | B．A guide book to a software. |
| C．A product review. | D．An introduction to a person. |
5 . 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. |
6 . For a period of time in the early 80s, I watched I Dream of Jeannie reruns every afternoon in the empty time between school and supper. But I always felt a little deflated when the closing theme came on, since it meant that I had to wait an entire day for the next episode.
Decades later, thanks to the modern technology, on-demand viewing and an endless supply of content now allow us to find exactly the entertainment we want, when we want it. My own kids happily binge-watch Fresh Off the Boat, just as I dreamed of doing with Jeannie.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about a disadvantage of our just-for-you world. My kids miss out on all the things that are not just for them. Looking back, some of my more memorable discoveries as a child came about only because I didn’t have access to entertainment that I would have preferred.
When we would visit our aunts, my sisters and brothers and I didn’t have tablets to keep ourselves occupied while the adults chatted. So we would read whatever we could find. I looked forward to Sunday afternoons at Aunt Rose’s so that I could catch up on aliens and Hollywood stars in Weekly World News. These things—none of which were aimed at my tastes—were all that was on offer. However, they brought me so much enjoyment.
Electronic searching now takes us directly to what we seek. We are less likely to come across things that have nothing to do with what we are looking for. But finding something by accident is powerful in its purposelessness. It’s nature throwing things up against a wall to see what sticks. It’s the force that drives evolution.
Getting exactly what you want all the time sounds great. But as anyone who is familiar with fantasy stories knows, there’s always a catch.
1. What does the underlined word “deflated” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Depressed. | B．Thrilled. |
| C．Convinced. | D．Ashamed. |
| A．Latest tablets. | B．Brothers and sisters. |
| C．different reading materials. | D．Pleasant conversations. |
| A．It contributes to the evolution. |
| B．It’s absolutely beneficial to adults. |
| C．It’s a blessing of this modern world. |
| D．It takes unexpected joy away from people. |
| A．What was on offer in the early 80s |
| B．What our kids miss out in a just-for-you world |
| C．How adults had fun with inaccessible entertainment |
| D．How anxious-to-please Internet changed the future of kids |
7 . Walking might seem simple. “But it’s not,” explains Peggy Cawthon, a professor at Harvard Medical School. “It’s an amazingly complex behavior when we try to understand how to improve our lives as we age.”
Don’t stop exercising
Cawthon agrees that the worst thing a person can do is to stop exercising. “You’ll feel the effects almost immediately,” says Cawthon. Sitting for hours leaves her uncomfortable, and it’s the days when she types that her arthritis (关节炎) doesn’t cause much pain.
Train yourself to walk with skill
To truly improve your walking, you need to think like an athlete. Imagine you want to play tennis, but you have a bad backhand. Playing lots of tennis won’t fix the problem, Cawthon says.
Give your brain a boost (激励)
So when should we face the music about our mobility? There is no final answer for when walking problems begin to come up. “You should be as active as you can at any age,” Cawthon says, noting that people who are healthy in their 20s and 30s are best equipped to deal with future age-related challenges. “The best time to start is now. Next best is tomorrow,” she says.
| A．Start planning now |
| B．Be in pretty good shape |
| C．You need to improve your skill |
| D．So what steps should we take to do it right |
| E．How can you sweat your way to good health |
| F．It is a helpful reminder that our bodies need action |
| G．Basically, the body part controlling everything is your brain |
8 . People tend to use trees for papermaking. But maybe electronics (电子) engineers are missing out on something here. “It turns out that two major building blocks of wood have a lot of electrical qualities,” says Magnus Berggren, a professor at Linköping University.
His team has been working to make parts for electronics from the forest. Right now, they’re focusing on two materials of trees. The first material is cellulose, which can make energy. Lignin, the second material, can store that energy, just as a battery does. The team has found when pressed, cellulose can produce electricity.
Some device must then store the electricity until it’s needed. Batteries can do this. But batteries aren’t very green. They have harmful materials. That’s where lignin comes in.
Batteries cause electrons to flow from one place to another, which can produce electricity. In a typical battery, one material must give electrons. The other must accept them. Lignin can do both. A weak acid (酸) encourages lignin to produce electrons. “With a metal wire (金属线) to guide those electrons, you’ll have electricity,” says Berggren.
Berggren’s team use this quality to create its new lignin-based battery. Typical batteries use a metal wire as a path to guide the flow of electrons into or out of the device. But since Berggren wants to make a battery of the forest, he looks for a natural way. Once again, he turns to cellulose.
This natural material can serve as a wire-like path for electrons. To make it work well, Berggren lines them with another chemical known as PEDOT, which isn’t from a tree. But when PEDOT is added to cellulose, they can conduct electricity like a wire. “With a weak acid, now you have a battery,” Berggren says. “And two of its three materials come from the forest.”
Berggren can imagine one day having mobile phone batteries made largely from forest products. Tree-based electronics might also be useful in lighting.
1. What is cellulose used to do in the study?| A．Act as a weak acid. | B．Collect rainwater. |
| C．Produce electricity. | D．Make quality paper. |
| A．Well-received. | B．Eco-friendly. | C．Harmful. | D．Heavy. |
| A．They may change farming practices. | B．They might save a lot of wood. |
| C．They would serve the elderly. | D．They could light the rooms. |
| A．A Green Way to Make and Store Energy | B．An Attempt to Raise Power Production |
| C．Practical Suggestions on Planting Trees | D．Recent Advances in Mobile Phones |
9 . Our two-year investigation into caged (关在笼中) tigers in America sent us through 32 US states—with some truly shocking experiences. But as the deadline neared, I still needed a powerful and hopeful image.
When we began our reporting in 2017—Sharon, writing; me taking photos; and our son, NickRuggia, filming—more tigers likely lived in cages in the US than remained in the wild. The number ranged from 5,000 to 10,000, but without strict government oversight, no one knew for sure.
Roadside zoos that allowed tourists to take pictures of young tigers were the main cause of what’s been called a US tiger crisis (危机). Caged cats often ended up in the illegal wildlife trade. Young tigers, parted from their mothers at birth, were fed poorly and touched by hundreds of people. When they grew too big and dangerous to pet at around 12 weeks, young tigers were put on show, or simply disappeared.
While we documented the unpleasant part of this industry, we also wanted to show the good life these impressive animals could have. With two weeks left before my deadline, I headed to the Wild Animal Sanctuary near Denver, where well-cared cats walked freely in their habitat.
There I met Clay, Daniel, and Enzo, three of 39 tigers rescued from an animal park in Oklahoma. These nearly grown cats raced beside our car, which I’d seen only in the wild. It was a hot July day and soon two of the cats jumped into a pool to cool off. The third rested beside them on the ground. I crossed the road to take a picture of them. Then quietly, I came up close, trying not to disturb (打扰) them. I had the shot.
1. Why did the author start her reporting?| A．To dig out the dark truth of caged tigers. | B．To explore the amazing land in the country. |
| C．To tell people that baby tigers are harmless. | D．To share the happy moment during the trip. |
| A．Forest fires. | B．Climate change. | C．Roadside zoos. | D．Water pollution. |
| A．They prefer to stay indoors. | B．They are badly treated. |
| C．They get used to the changes. | D．They are traded legally. |
| A．To praise her family for their effort. | B．To explain what the animals suffered. |
| C．To introduce a special kind of tigers. | D．To show some tigers lead an easy life. |
10 . Leah Brown aged 36 fell several hundred feet from Oregon’s highest mountain right before the eyes of a group of volunteer rescue workers who rushed to her aid and helped save her life.
The woman was coming down a popular path (小路) on Mt. Hood, about 70 miles east of Portland, on Saturday morning, according to the local police. Mt. Hood is the highest in Oregon, standing at around11.240 feet.
The fall was seen by members of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR), a volunteer organization focused on helping people in mountainous areas. The group called 911 and rushed to the woman, providing medical care. They helped keep the woman warm for seven hours as the police worked to get her off the mountain safely. Finally, the woman was evacuated (转移) to a parking lot at 9:30 pm and taken to a hospital.
The climber, Leah Brown, said she didn’t know what caused her fall. “I can only guess it was either an ice tool or a crampon (冰爪) that didn’t land and stick like it should have, so I became detached from the mountain,” Brown said. “The thing I’d like to most stress is my appreciation for the members of PMR who evacuated me and took good care of me the whole time,” Brown added. “They saved my life. ”
In a statement after the rescue, PMR warned of the dangerous winter conditions at the mountain. “The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the conditions tend to be much steeper. Climbing the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult,” the group said.
1. What happened to Brown on Saturday morning?| A．She lost her way in a forest. | B．She hurt her eye unexpectedly. |
| C．She failed to call her family. | D．She fell down on a downhill path. |
| A．Different. | B．Hidden. | C．Separated. | D．Tired. |
| A．Thankful. | B．Regretful. | C．Surprised. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Climbing requires teamwork. | B．Climbing in winter is too risky. |
| C．We must remain positive in hard times. | D．We can admire the view on sunny days. |
