1 . In an awe-inspiring incident, a young killer whale recently demonstrated remarkable intelligence by seeking assistance from a group of humans to save its trapped mother, which challenged our conventional understanding of wild predators (食肉动物).
The online viral video, shared by Alvin Foo, began with a young killer whale emitting distressing cries towards a group of people on a boat. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the concerned individuals promptly responded by contacting a rescue team. The young whale’s desperate request for help touched more people’s hearts and set a truly extraordinary chain of events in motion.
As the rescue team arrived, they were amazed to witness the young killer whale’s playful interaction with the humans. The whale appeared elated, seemingly understanding that assistance had finally arrived. This interaction between the mother killer whale and rescuers underlined the potential for mutual understanding beyond the boundary of traditional predator-prey relationships.
The young whale took on the role of a guide, leading the rescue team to its mother trapped in a fishing net. It navigated the water with purpose, as if fully aware that the humans possessed the means to save its mother. This display of intelligence left the rescuers in awe, highlighting the complex cognitive abilities of these magnificent marine creatures. With its guidance, the rescue team swiftly initiated the liberation process, carefully cutting the net to free the trapped whale. Astonishingly, they seemed to understand that the humans were there to help and did as asked.
The instant the mother whale was finally freed, an eruption of joyous cries filled the air. The emotional outpouring conveyed the immense gratitude of both the mother whale and the young whale to the humans who had intervened. As the rescue team made their way back to shore, the two whales swam alongside them. This heart-warming sight emphasized the lasting impact of the rescue. The bond formed through this extraordinary rescue operation was well obvious, proving that the profound connections can be established between various species. The journey back to safety symbolized the victory of compassion over adversity.
1. What can we learn about the video from paragraph 2?| A．It spread widely. |
| B．It went unnoticed. |
| C．It documented humans’ requesting help. |
| D．It recorded passive response to the rescue. |
| A．Tired. | B．Excited. | C．Frightened. | D．Confused. |
| A．Wise and cooperative. | B．Complex and mysterious. |
| C．Curious and careful. | D．Wild and rude. |
| A．Adversity is a good discipline. |
| B．It is urgent to protect wildlife. |
| C．Different species can coexist in harmony. |
| D．Human intervention poses a threat to whales. |
2 . Meteorites (陨石) can offer clues about what the early solar system was like. But finding them is far from difficult. Now, some scientists are turning to drones (无人机) and machine learning to help spot freshly fallen meteorites much more efficiently. “A team of six people on a meteorite-hunting expedition can search about 200,000 square meters per day,” says Seamus Anderson, a planetary scientist in Australia.
Around 2016, Anderson began toying with the concept of using drones to take pictures of the g round to look for meteorites. That idea blossomed into a Ph.D. project. In 2022, he and his colleagues reported their first successful recovery of a meteorite spotted with a drone. They’ve since found four more meteorites at a different site. Drone-based searches are much faster than the standard search way. “You’re going from about 300 days of human effort down to about a dozen or so,” he says.
Anderson and his workmates have used drones to search for meteorites in remote parts of Western Australia and South Australia. The team is tipped off about a fall site by networks of ground-based cameras that track meteoroids flashing through the Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers have to do a series of fun but difficult work before the hunt. They pack a four-wheel drive vehicle with drone and computer equipment, battery charging stations, generators, fuel, food, camping equipment, tables, chairs and much more. The drive to the fall site can take more than a day, often on rough or nonexistent roads. Anderson says, “You hope you don’t pop a tire.”
After arriving, the team flies its primary drone at an altitude of about 20 meters. Its camera takes an image of the ground once every second, and the scientists download the data every 40 minutes or so when the drone lands to receive fresh batteries. A typical day of flying can net over 10,000 images, which are then divided digitally into 100 million or so smaller sections. Those “tiles”, each 2 meters on a side, are fed into a machine learning algorithm (算法) that has been trained to recognize meteorites based on images of real land rocks which are spray-painted black.
1. Why do the scientists study meteorites?| A．To spot the planetary course. | B．To promote machine learning. |
| C．To test the functions of drones. | D．To explore the past of solar system. |
| A．Their barriers. | B．Their causes. |
| C．Their efficiency. | D．Their concept. |
| A．Fun and light. | B．Smooth and flexible. |
| C．Difficult and unpleasant. | D．Complicated and tough. |
| A．By dividing them in half. | B．By storing them for analysis. |
| C．By combining them into a picture. | D．By linking them with a digital printer. |
3 . Recent research confirms what our farming ancestors have known for centuries about hedges (树篱). They conserve precious soil by acting as windbreaks and absorbing rainwater that would otherwise wash it from the fields. And hedges store carbon, putting them in the front line of our bi d to tackle the climate crisis.
However, hedges have had a tough time in the poor countryside, with farmers encouraged to tear them down in pursuit of maximum production and larger field s to accommodate ever-larger machinery. What’s more, some hedges have been ignored. If left to their own devices, they’ll eventually become a line of trees. Some hedges each year lose their structures and fail to fulfil the primary duty as a barrier. Around a half of the nation’s hedges have disappeared in the past century.
There are signs that “the tide is turning”. The search for net zero has aroused many organizations’ interest in the humble hedge’s role as a carbon sink. The Climate Change Committee is recommending a 40 percent increase in hedges: an additional 200,000 km. Such recommendations are starting to drive policy. Cash-pressed farmers will be encouraged to create new hedges and improve their management of existing ones under the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, which will replace many of the existing agricultural support payments in coming years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Close the Gap, led by the Tree Council, is providing funding and support to plug the gaps in existing hedges with new planting. There’s even an app to help time-pressed farmers do a quick survey to spot where their hedges need some help.
This is a good time for hedges. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing the countryside, and indeed, the world as a whole — the climate crisis, soil erosion (侵蚀), insect attack and wider biodiversity loss — and hedges are part of the solution.
1. What does recent research show about hedges?| A．They are unique landscapes in the rain. |
| B．They act as dividing lines between fields. |
| C．They have long been helpful to agriculture. |
| D．They are frequently washed away from the fields. |
| A．Their suffering. | B．Their production. |
| C．Their duties. | D．Their structures. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Concerned. | C．Humble. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Hedges: Ancient Resources |
| B．Hedges: Official Recommendations |
| C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment |
| D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request |
4 . Positive Ways to Greet the Morning
I don’t always get up early in the morning. Even if I’ve got enough sleep, I rarely leap out of bed in a hurry to go. Transitioning from rest to activity just challenges me.
One thing that has made a really good impact is to sleep with the window a little open when it is safe and the weather is not very cold.
Then I meet myself in the mirror with some positive self-talk.
Finally, I eat breakfast happily before going to school. I often remind myself that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
| A．Let the natural taste in. |
| B．I usually praise myself for something. |
| C．The air and wind may stop me sleeping well. |
| D．It gives me nutrition and keeps my mind sharp for the day. |
| E．I’ve also started taking a moment to feel my feet on the floor. |
| F．So lately, I’ve been trying out some new ways to welcome the new day. |
| G．I regularly do warm-up by myself after the self-talk at the end of the day. |
5 . Let’s get to some famous attractions in London!
Chinatown
At the beginning of the 20th century, many Chinese immigrants gathered together in the East End of London and set about creating businesses to provide services for Chinese people who frequented the area. In the 1930s and 1940s, with a large inflow of immigrants from Hong Kong and a growth in popularity of Chinese cooking style, many Chinese restaurants opened elsewhere.
Natural History Museum
It was ever known as part of the British Museum which was established in 1753. The museum exhibits a large number of cultural relics. It holds collections coming from every continent around the globe. It exhibits millions of life and earth samples, and visitors can witness collections having great scientific value like samples that were collected by Charles Darwin.
Madame Tussauds London
The museum is created by the w ax sculptress, Marie Tussaud. Located on Marylebone Road, it is the first Madame Tussaud’s museum, which opened about 200 years ago, though there are now a variety of other branches within different cities around the globe. The museum hosts lifelike figures, including royal people, film stars, sports stars and models.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London, has played a global role in the history of astronomy and navigation. It was established in 1675 with the key function being to set right the places of the fixed stars and find the desired navigational places. With its position overlooking the River Thames in central London, it makes for an excellent tourist attraction on a year-round basis.
1. Where is the text most probably taken from?| A．A course plan. | B．A tourism journal. |
| C．A science magazine. | D．A history textbook. |
| A．Its scientific samples. | B．Its birth city. |
| C．Its Chinese architectural style. | D．Its lifelike figures. |
| A．Chinatown. | B．Natural History Museum. |
| C．Madame Tussauds London. | D．Royal Observatory, Greenwich. |
6 . Humanity’s impact on the environment is often framed in the context of the post-industrial age but new research shows how intensive land use by East Africans in the Middle Ages changed their natural habitat forever.
Unguja Ukuu, a historic settlement located on Zanzibar Island, in Zanzibar, Tanzania, was a key port of trade in the Indian Ocean by the first millennium (一千年) AD when the island was populated by farming societies establishing trade links with the Indian Ocean, China and beyond.
For thousands of years, the Indian Ocean was a place where globalization started to develop, with extensive trade and exchange networks operating between East Africa, Southern Arabia and Southeast Asia, which predicted modern global shipping networks.
According to Dr Ania Kotarba-Morley, the lead author of a study, the islands of Zanzibar experienced many changes in their environment and culture as they became a center for maritime trade, cross-cultural interactions, and global exchange.
As a result, people started getting rid of remains and waste, taking part in more agricultural activities and using more land, Unfortunately, these human activities had a negative impact on the sediment (沉积物) buildup along the island, “Our study outlines clearly how human activities in a natural environment impacted coastal landforms and sediments on a remote East African island already over 1,000 years ago and directly changed the fortunes of the coastal inhabitants in the area as a result,” said Dr Ania.
The researchers applied a variety of standards and new techniques to find new patterns which improve our understanding of the changes in the make-up of the sediment along the coastline of local creeks (小海湾) and the bay on the island, directly impacted by human activity.
To help understand how and why these ancient ports thrived or declined, it is important to know how the coastal landscape influenced the way traders undertook their commercial activities, or drove decisions, including mooring (停泊) locations and investments of labour and capital by local communities and any central authorities.
The researchers say these processes might be responsible for the decline, and eventual abandonment of Unguja Ukuu at the turn of the second millennium AD—a period of regional socio-political and economic transformation of coastal African societies that marked the appearance of maritime Swahili culture.
1. What can we infer about Zanzibar Island in the first millennium AD?| A．It had the busiest port of trade. | B．It had developed agriculture. |
| C．It was the center of the world trade. | D．It was the settlement of the first Africans. |
| A．Agricultural activities promoted global exchange. |
| B．The Indian Ocean was the birthplace of globalization. |
| C．The building of Unguja Ukuu destroyed the shoreline. |
| D．Ancient humans influenced the African island environment. |
| A．The fish numbers. | B．The bay on the island. |
| C．The coastal landscape. | D．The make-up of the local creeks. |
| A．Unguja Ukuu was deserted. | B．The Swahili culture disappeared. |
| C．The cross-cultural interaction started. | D．The trade links were established in the world. |
7 . Tightening your belt to beat the cost of living doesn’t have to mean cutting out all entertainment. Use these tricks to get cheap theatre tickets, TV and more.
Decide what you’ll see on the day. If you’re flexible about which shows you see, and are willing to miss out on the most in-demand productions, then a great way to save at the theatre is to go for reduced “stand by” tickets.
Be a seat filler. A similar way to save on plays, but also comedy shows, gigs and occasionally sporting events, is to be a seat filler.
Become a member. Memberships can be a huge waste of money if you don’t use them. But signing up for unlimited entry for a year can also be fantastic value for money.
Go midweek. It’s often the case for events that they’re cheaper from Monday to Wednesday than at the weekend.
| A．Borrow your books |
| B．Just be sure you’ll get the most out of it |
| C．Make the most of what you already have |
| D．That’s especially true for cinema tickets |
| E．These are generally made available on the day |
| F．Most people choose to watch movies on weekends |
| G．The idea is that you’ll fill out the crowd if they’re a bit thin |
8 . Kenny Lake School in Alaska is small, with about 60 students from kindergarten to high school seniors. Jennifer Hodges, a teacher, said, “My students sit only at desks for 20 minutes a day. They do a lot of practical learning, such as raising salmon (鲑) from egg to fry (鱼苗) in the classroom and then releasing them into lakes.”
It is through a program called Salmon in the Classroom. Kate Morse, program director for the project, is in charge of the program. With this project, students have a completely different attitudes because they know what it takes to actually go through the stages of a salmon.
They think learning about the habitat temperature and the effects of climate change is more crucial now than ever. In 2022, the Arctic had its sixth-warmest year on record. But this is unusual in raising salmon, which require cold water to survive. “We had a failure in our equipment and it brought the temperature up about five degrees”, said Hodges. “Just warming it that much just killed our eggs.”
They can also observe how deadly pollutants can be to salmon’s habitat. During the months when the salmon are in the classroom, students like to sit by the tank to observe. “For instance, putting hand sanitizer (消毒剂) on your hands and then putting your fingers in the tank, you’ve polluted the tank,” said Hodges.
Each year in May, she takes her students on the Salmon Field Trip, where they will name the fish and get to release the salmon they’ve raised in class.
“The best part is getting to release them after watching them hatch from eggs and grow into fry and taking care of them,” said Fisher, a student. “You get to say goodbye.”
“I went to release them last year and the lake was still covered with ice,” said Styrling, a student. “I fell in. It was cold, but it was still funny.”
1. What do we know about the students in Kenny Lake School?| A．They raise salmon for their eggs. | B．They always sit at desks all day. |
| C．They can receive hands-on education. | D．They can combine learning with hobbies. |
| A．To stress the role the program has played. | B．To introduce the founder of the program. |
| C．To explain ways that students raise salmon. | D．To emphasize Kate Morse’s responsibility. |
| A．Climate change has a minimal impact on salmon habitats. |
| B．Salmon eggs are sensitive to the rise of water temperature. |
| C．Their equipment failure caused a decrease in water temperature. |
| D．Students observe the tank to learn about pollution caused by salmon. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Neutral. | D．Indifferent. |
9 . The artificial intelligence algorithms (算法) behind the program of an AI chat app, which has drawn attention for its ability to generate humanlike written responses to some of the most creative queries, might one day be able to help doctors detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. Research from Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems recently proved that the program of the AI chat app can identify clues from spontaneous (自发的) speech that are 80% accurate in predicting the early stages of dementia (痴呆) .
The current practice for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease typically involves a medical history review and lengthy set of physical and neurological evaluations and tests. While there is still no cure for the disease, spotting it early can give patients more options for ways of treatment and support. Because the language disability is a symptom (症状) in 60%-80% of dementia patients, researchers have been focusing on programs that can pick up on unobvious clues, such as hesitation, making grammar and pronunciation mistakes and forgetting the meaning of words, as a quick test that could indicate whether or not a patient should have a full examination.
“The AI systemic approach to language analysis and production makes it a promising possibility for identifying the unobvious speech characteristics that may predict the beginning of dementia,” said Felix Agbavor, a doctoral researcher in the school and the lead author of the paper. “Training the app with a lot of data of interviews, some of which are with Alzheimer’s patients, would offer the information it needs to select speech patterns that could then be applied to identify markers in future patients.”
To build on these promising results, the researchers are planning to develop a web application that could be used at home or in a doctor’s office as a pre-screening tool.
“Our proof-of-concept shows that this could be a simple, accessible and fully sensitive tool for community-based testing,” Felix said. “This could be very useful for early screening and risk assessment before a clinical diagnosis.”
1. What does the underlined word “queries” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Solutions. | B．Details. | C．Comments. | D．Questions. |
| A．The hearing loss. | B．The speech barrier. |
| C．The increase of age. | D．The difficulty in moving. |
| A．Promising. | B．Confusing. | C．Challenging. | D．Complex |
| A．The AI algorithms behind an app has drawn attention |
| B．Speech patterns could be applied to identify Alzheimer’s |
| C．An AI chat app may help detect early signs of Alzheimer’s |
| D．A medical history review is involved in diagnosing dementia |
10 . Here are the introductions and achievements of four scientists.
Jöns Jacob Berzelius
Jöns Jacob Berzelius was a Swedish chemist, often referred to as one of the founders of modern chemistry. He developed a system of chemical symbols, which laid the foundation for the establishment of the modern periodic table. Berzelius also made important discoveries in the field of electrochemistry.
Niels Henrik David Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist. He proposed the atomic (原子的) model known as the Bohr model, which explained the behavior of electrons moving in fixed energy levels or orbits around the atomic nucleus. His model helped explain the spectra of elements and laid the groundwork for further developments in atomic physics.
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle, born in Ireland, was regarded as one of the founders of modern chemistry, known for Boyle’s law. Boyle’s law describes the relationship between the pressure and volume (体积) of a gas at constant temperature. Boyle’s work laid the foundation for the modern understanding of gas behavior and promoted the development of scientific experimental methods.
William Lawrence Bragg
William Lawrence Bragg was a British physicist born in Australia who made significant contributions to X-ray crystallography (晶体学). Together with his father William Henry Bragg, he developed the famous Bragg’s law. This discovery revolutionized the field of crystallography and paved the way for determining the atomic and molecular structures of various substances, including DNA and proteins.
1. What do we say about Jöns Jacob Berzelius?| A．He invented a new chemical substance. |
| B．He established the modern periodic table. |
| C．He was referred to as a founder of modern physics. |
| D．He made important achievements in the field of electrochemistry. |
| A．Jons Jacob Berzelius. | B．Niels Henrik David Bohr. |
| C．Robert Boyle. | D．William Lawrence Bragg. |
| A．They were born in Denmark. | B．They made a contribution to physics. |
| C．They discovered new models for chemistry. | D．They did research together with their family. |
