1 . After skating, skiing or shoveling snow, nothing warms you up better than a cup of hot cocoa. Though today it will be topped with marshmallows (棉花软糖) or stuff like that, you may not know that chocolate was first consumed in liquid form by the Olmec people of northwestern Central America around 1500 B.C.

However, the Olmec people didn’t serve their cocoa hot. And since sugar had not yet arrived from Europe back then, the drink was often flavoured with peppers and spices. After the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, liquid chocolate made its way across the pond, where wealthy Europeans added sugar and drank it warm. According to Chocolate: History, Culture and Heritage, hot chocolate became “the drink of the aristocracy (贵族)”, as sugar was still a luxury.

Soon enough, though, hot chocolate caught on with the masses. Chocolate houses started springing up around 17th-century Europe. In these lively places, hot chocolate was poured from pots into elegant cups. But by the end of the 18th century, chocolate houses had mostly died off, because the input of chocolate was much dearer than that of coffee or tea.

Marshmallows first came into the picture in 1917, when the company Angelus Marshmallows published a recipe for hot cocoa topped with their product. Instant cocoa is another American invention, created in the late 1950s when dairy company owner Charles Sanna faced an oversupply of powdered coffee creamer. His solution was mixing the creamer sugar and cocoa powder together, thus creating a formula (配方) favored by many.

Taking a tour of international cups of cocoa, you can try cioccolata calda, a thick, pudding-like version in Italy. In Colombia and Ecuador, chocolate is served with a teaspoon of soft farmer cheese, and Filipino hot chocolate, sikwate, is served with mango chunks.

However, you choose to jazz up your own cup, the simple pleasure of drinking a warm, chocolaty drink is one that hasn’t gotten old for thousands of years.

1. Which of the following is unlikely to happen in the 1500s?

A．Angie used sugar to add flavour to hot chocolate.

B．Eva enjoyed drinking hot cocoa during breakfast.

C．Barton consumed hot cocoa at a chocolate house.

D．Leo couldn’t afford to put much sugar in the cocoa.

2. What led to the disappearance of chocolate houses?

A．Public health awareness.	B．High cost of material.
C．Policy reform of the time.	D．Changing drinks’ trend.

3. What can we learn from Charles Sanna’s story?

A．A man can do no more he can.

B．One good turn deserves another.

C．Constant dripping wears away a stone.

D．Innovation unlocks the door of success.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．A Journey To A Cup Of Comfort

B．An Accidental Invention Of A Drink

C．Hot Cocoa: A Combination Of Global Cultures

D．Hot Cocoa: From The Aristocracy To The Public

2 . Starting the new year on the right foot is all about adopting a healthy mindset. Here’s how to have a successful start, according to wellness experts.

Start daydreaming

Focused daydreaming, a state caused by mind wandering while focusing on “mindless” tasks such as walking or housework, allows you to start thinking more creatively.     1    . So making them a part of your daily routine this year guarantees more creativity and innovation in all areas of your life.

Do something different every day

Bring more varieties into your life by trying something different every day.     2    . Eat a different breakfast, sit in another place at the table, or take a different route to work. Read a newspaper that you never read. Variety is the spice (调味品) of life, so add some spice.     3    

Focus on what you have and not what you lack

So often in our lives we find ourselves come from a place of shortage. We don’t have what we want and things aren’t going as well as we’d like.     4    . Whether it’s internal confidence or external resources, focus on what you have that you are grateful for. Build a practice of appreciating who you are, what you do and what you have. This will set you free to stop striving and start thriving.

    5    

New year, new feelings, new goals? Yes, and the most important part is that every change, in order to be effective, should come from our gut and our own self-motivated driver. Try to focus on one to three things that you would like to improve in the new year, and from there, set simple habits for each one. Then, set a schedule for how you will incorporate these new habits inside your daily routine.

A．Make a not-to-do list

B．Focus on forming healthy habits

C．Deliberately change your routine

D．This year, turn your mind to what you do have

E．If you normally go to the bridge club, then go to similar clubs

F．You will find that it gives you new experiences and fresh ideas

G．Daydreaming breaks are associated with increased brain activity

3 . 6 Days Small Group Tour from Beijing to Xi’an

Tour Type: Small Group (max 18), guaranteed departures

Guide & Driver: An English-speaking guide, an experienced driver with an air-conditioned coach

Accommodation: 5 nights at good 5-star hotels

Day 1: Arrival in Beijing

Welcome your arrival anytime at the airport and transfer to the hotel.

Day 2: Beijing

· Visit the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City including the Treasure Gallery;

· Enjoy à la carte (按菜单点菜) welcome lunch with authentic Peking Duck;

· Further explore royal culture at the Yonghe Temple and the Temple of Heaven;

· Watch Peking Opera and see artistic face painting.

Day 3: Beijing

· Visit the Great Wall by a round-trip cable car;

· Visit the Bird’s Nest;

· Take a rickshaw ride through hutong alleys and visit a local family in a traditional courtyard house.

Day 4: Beijing to Xi’an by flight

· Visit the Panda Hall and the Summer Palace;

· Taste local flavors for lunch;

· Fly to Xi’an and transfer to a hotel.

Day 5: Xi’an

· Visit Terracotta Army and the discoverer’s home;

· Have a unique experience to make your own mini clay warrior (陶俑);

· Continue to visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda;

· Enjoy a dumpling dinner and the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show.

Day 6: Departure from Xi’an

· Connect with local people at the City Wall Park and learn to practice tai chi from amaster, then visit the City Wall;

· Taste local flavors for lunch;

· Take a taxi to the airport by yourself.

A pleasant onward journey!

· $1,059 per person

Includes:

· Domestic airfare

· Hotel accommodation with breakfasts

· The à la carte lunches as route specifies

· Professional English-speaking guides

· Drivers & air-conditioned vehicles

· Entrance fees to tourist sites

· Tips or gratuities for hotel doormen

Excludes:

· International airfares

· Entry visa fees

· Personal expenses

· Tips or gratuities for guides and drivers

1. How can tourists get to the Great Wall?

A．By cable car.

B．By train.

C．On foot.

D．By water.

2. What can tourists do on Day 4?

A．Enjoy Peking Duck.	B．See lovely pandas.
C．Try artistic face painting.	D．Make a clay warrior.

3. Which of the following will cost extra?

A．Tips for hotel doormen.	B．Flying from Beijing to Xi’an.
C．Souvenirs for friends.	D．Air-conditioned vehicles fees.

4 . We adopted Franny, our crazy and lovable Boston puppy, from a local rescue at the start summer in 2022. However, two weeks later she was nowhere to be found.

We often leave our yard doors open to allow Franny and our another dog, Olive, to visit enclosed backyard and lie on the deck (甲板). My heart sank severely when I failed to find any. No sooner had I sensed that than my wife and I charged to our car to comb for this missing dog swiftly. I was scanning the yards a few blocks over when my phone rang all of a sudden: A woman and her daughter had our dog. Franny had been jogging down the alley (小巷) behind their lawn when they grabbed her and called the number on her tag (标牌).

I located and blocked off the gap in the fence that Franny had squeezed through in case she went out secretly and got lost again. However, she was on the run again one month later.

This time she made it much farther — all the way to a high school, where a man found it eating lunch in the sun with some students. Franny was returned to us, her big brown eyes looking ashamed as the man handed her over to me.

These days, our backyard is secured like a maximum-security prison. We love this crazy dog more than ever, and Franny finally seems content to stay put now.

Mostly, I’m thankful for the kind folks who took the time to grab our adorable runaway and return her to us. All of them refused any recompense, regardless of how much I pushed. These minded our family that the world is filled with those who will go out of their way to lend others a hand.

1. Where did the woman first find the dog?

A．In the alley.	B．In the gap of the fence.
C．On her lawn.	D．On the deck of her backyard.

2. What did the author do to prevent his dog from getting lost for the second time?

A．He tied a tag to her.	B．He kept track of her.
C．He bridged the fence’s crack.	D．He rebuilt a firm new fence.

3. What does the underlined word “recompense” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Criticism.

B．Request.

C．Proposal.

D．Payment.

4. What is the author’s purpose to write the text?

A．To show off his puppy.

B．To extend his gratitude.

C．To call on us to care for the homeless animals.

D．To demonstrate the solutions to adopting dogs.

5 . Honeybees command a lot of attention in insect conservation circles, as they are important for pollinating our food supply. But the findings from researchers emphasize the importance of prioritizing other pollinators or insects like wild bees, moths and butterflies in conservation efforts, too.

For the study, ecologists Joshua Kohn and Dillon Travis from the University of California, painstakingly tracked the pollination of flowers from two plant species in San Diego — white sage and Phacelia distans. Often Travis sat for hours waiting for a single pollinator, honeybees or other insects, to land on a flower. Each time he put a mesh (网状的) bag on the flower to prevent any new visitor, then back to collect seeds from different visitors. Back in the greenhouse, the team grew the seeds, analyzing characteristics that reflected their quality, such as how many seeds grew and survived and how many leaves or flower seedlings (幼苗) grew from them.

They found flowers pollinated by honeybees make fewer and lower-quality seeds than flowers visited by other pollinators. The white sage and Phacelia distans plants produced roughly half the amount of seeds from flowers pollinated by honeybees compared with other pollinators. And Phacelia distans seeds from honeybee-pollinated plants grew into seedlings with fewer flowers.

The researchers also found that honeybees visited about twice as many flowers on one plant before moving to the next than the average of other pollinators, causing honeybees to transfer more pollen in flowers of the same plant, thus resulting in fewer and lower-quality and more inbred (近亲繁殖的) seeds. Other pollinators more often flew between different plants, probably transferring more diverse pollen.

Travis says, “Honeybees’ pollination habit can impact ecosystems and agriculture in the long term. One potential consequence could be that native plant populations decline as next generations become more inbred, reducing biodiversity.”

“It is time to actually shift our dependence for pollination from largely honeybees to other native species as well,” says Jaya Sravanthi Mokkapati, an entomologist at Penn State University.

1. What does paragraph 2 focus on about the research?

A．Its procedures.	B．Its members.
C．Its impact.	D．Its significance.

2. Why do plants pollinated by honeybees produce fewer and lower-quality seeds?

A．Honeybees cause big damage to plants’ seeds.

B．Honeybees are less selective while pollinating.

C．Honeybees’ pollination efficiency is unexpectedly low.

D．Honeybees prefer to pollinate flowers of the same plant.

3. What did Travis think of their findings?

A．Misleading.

B．Worrying.

C．Creative.

D．Helpful.

4. What is Jaya Sravanthi Mokkapati’s point of view?

A．Native plant populations are declining at a high speed.

B．Honeybees’ pollination impacts plant seeds temporarily.

C．More attention should be paid to protecting other pollinators.

D．Honeybees’ pollination depends more on other native species.

9 . As fall approaches, like many of us who either follow an academic calendar for our work or have children in school, I’m preparing for a significant change in my schedule. As I anticipate more demands on my time, I reflect on how to maintain some sense of balance in my life.     1    

First of all, it is sensible to think small. We often feel like our values-based actions need to take a significant amount of time.     2     Look over the areas that you are having trouble fitting into your life. Is there a way to engage in a small part daily or weekly? Maybe instead of 90 minutes of yoga, you can do a few poses in the morning or stretch during work break.

    3     A good friend of mine often sets up calls with me while she is taking her daily walks. She still gets her exercise and her time outside, and we also get to connect. Doing housework as a family can help parents have valued family time while still keeping their homes running smoothly.

As we know, life is messy and ever-changing. It’s also important to pay attention while we are doing the actions that matter to us. It can be easy to think of the areas we aren’t engaged in.     4     Bringing mindfulness to our actions makes them more rewarding.

One more thing that needs to be added is the fact that no matter how much attention we bring to balancing our lives, we will unavoidably fall out of balance again.     5     Please be gentle with ourselves. And it may be helpful to think of the saying, “Fall down seven times; get up eight.”

A．Don’t take it too much to heart

B．We may put meaningful actions together.

C．However, we don’t notice what we are doing.

D．Balancing our lives requires planning and action.

E．I often underestimate how long it takes me to do a task.

F．Hence, I can do what matters to me across many areas of my life.

G．Even small numbers of values-based actions can be meaningful, though.