1 . “What exactly is a nervous breakdown?
You can’t concentrate.
In the short term, stress can increase your brainpower by releasing hormones that improve memory storage and improve concentration. But in the long term, long-time stress makes it difficult to block out distractions from outside.
You can’t stop eating.
Do you reach for a cup of ice cream or a packet of cookies after a long day? There’s a good reason for that.
Your stomach is upset all the time.
Sometimes stress and anxiety can appear as stomach aches and cramps. But if you notice some symptoms that include abdominal (腹部的) pain or different pains, you could have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Skipping basic daily practices can signal you are having a period of depression or an emotional breakdown. You don’t shower or brush your teeth as usual. You spend little or no time on your clothing or hair style. Stress puts burdens on the mind and body, leading to tiredness and indifference, which can cause a loss of happiness or lack of motivation for activities you used to enjoy.
You have a different posture.
Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “That person looks depressed?” We communicate a lot through our posture and non-verbal gestures, including our mental state.
| A．You stop caring about how you look |
| B．You recover from your serious breakdown |
| C．Depressed people may mix up their words |
| D．Stress causes the brain to release hormones |
| E．It affects your ability to focus on projects at hand |
| F．It shows they are feeling very stressed and defensive |
| G．It generally describes the feeling of being under long-term stress |
2 . In a groundbreaking project, China First Metallurgical Group has completed its first overseas waste-to-energy plant in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The largest waste incineration (焚化) power plant in Vietnam has not only revolutionized waste management in the country but has also involved the training of local workers. The plant has addressed the city’s growing waste problem by processing 4,000 metric tons of urban waste every day, about 60 percent of the city’s daily waste, the group said. The technology in the facility not only converts waste into green energy but also ensures environmentally friendly treatment.
Hu Changbing, manager of the group’s Vietnam branch, said, “The plant is an achievement of the cooperation between China and Vietnam. It is a green project that benefits local residents.” Since the first unit started generating electricity in July, 2022, the plant has been operating well, Hu said.
The project was built on the former site of Hanoi's waste treatment center, where the majority of the city’s waste was previously buried in landfill. In addition to generating clean energy through incineration, the plant also produces environmentally friendly bricks from the residue (残渣). The emitted gases and wastewater are treated to meet European Union emission standards and achieve drinking-water quality. Covering an area of 170,000 square meters, the plant consists of waste storage pools, incinerators, treatment and processing plants, and waste gas treatment facilities.
Recalling the start of the project, Hu said to gain the trust of local residents, his group set up a dedicated team of Chinese and Vietnamese personnel to explain the benefits of the project and take on local people. Vietnam lacked experience in waste incineration power plant construction. The Chinese team has set a bench mark (标杆) for the local industry and left behind valuable technical knowledge, Hu said. During the peak of construction, over 80 percent of the 2,000 workers employed were locals. “The local workers proved to be intelligent and diligent. They learn skills quickly,” Hu said.
In 2021, Hu took over the management of the Vietnam project. Hu, a native of Yichang city, Hubei province, has been working with the group for 23 years since graduating from Hubei University of Technology with a degree in civil engineering. Chinese masters led groups of Vietnamese workers, teaching them skills and safety regulations, and assessing their qualifications before allowing them to work.
This success has also inspired the construction of multiple waste incineration power plants in Vietnam, with many workers having gained their skills and experience from the project, he added. The project was carried out under the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and was aimed at contributing to the sustainable development of the Vietnamese capital.
1. How many metric tons of urban waste are produced daily in Hanoi?| A．About 4,000 metric tons. | B．About 5600 metric tons. |
| C．About 6000 metric tons. | D．About 6600 metric tons. |
①Making full use of solar and wind energy
②Planting a lot of trees and growing flowers
③Producing clean energy through incineration
④Dealing with wastewater to reach drinking-water quality
⑤Making environmentally friendly bricks from the residue
| A．②③④ | B．①④⑤ | C．③④⑤ | D．①②③ |
| A．Stubborn. | B．Courageous. | C．Gentle. | D．Hardworking. |
| A．China aids Hanoi with waste-to-power plant |
| B．Chinese masters train local workers in Vietnam |
| C．Achievement of cooperation between China and Vietnam |
| D．Project built on former site of Hanoi’s waste treatment center |
3 . A heart-to-heart talk refers to an honest conversation between two people. When sharing a heart-to-heart talk, people will generally share innermost (内心最深处的) thoughts and feelings. This talk usually takes place without other people being present.
Share personal stories.
Listen to understand. Being an active listener is important during a heartto-heart talk. When you actively listen to what another person is saying, he is more likely to open up.
| A．Raise questions actively. |
| B．Avoid close-ended questions. |
| C．Many times, you may listen to prepare an answer. |
| D．So it’s considered that the talk will be kept secret. |
| E．You should share what you feel comfortable sharing. |
| F．Self-disclosure opens the door to a deep conversation. |
| G．People find comfort in expressing unhappiness with others. |
4 . I played on the high school basketball team. I played the ball before the game started, and then sat on the bench (长凳) cheering for guys who were actually going to play in the game. When we won, I hugged (拥抱) my teammates.
I enjoyed that. But I didn’t know how my dad felt about my role. I imagined it was hard for him. Dad was a gifted athlete. And my older brothers were sports stars at college. I was not sure how he felt about going to games to watch his son SIT. Still, Dad was always there in his suit and tie. After the game, he’d come up to me, smile, shake my hand and say “Good game!”, even though I did nothing to make the game good. It changed until the last game of the season.
It was a great day for our team — we were up by about 20 with two minutes left. The coach suddenly looked towards me and said, “Walker! You’re in!” The next two minutes seemed not real to me. I remember running up and down the field a few times. When someone started counting down the last seconds, my teammate passed the ball to me. I heard guys on the bench shouting “Shoot (投篮)!” as I faced the basket and shot. We won. But then I didn’t know what to do. I was unprepared for a time when I had hit a last second shot. Naturally, I looked for Dad. He was there, smiling at me as he always did.
Whether good times or bad, Dad was always there to smile, to support and to love. Now I’m in my 50s with a teenage basketball player in my family. I keep trying to be there, no matter what, because I know what it can mean.
1. What was the author’s role?| A．He was a green hand. | B．He gave players suggestions. |
| C．He was a fan of the basketball team. | D．He replaced those who couldn’t play. |
| A．Lost. | B．Tired. | C．Calm. | D．Encouraged. |
| A．A Sports-Loving Family | B．A Successful Basketball Match |
| C．Dad Always Being There | D．Dad Helping Me Succeed |
5 . Creative is just a simple short word. However, creative thinking is the key to success, but how to think creatively? Here are tips you can try.
Think that all can be done. Be sure that we can do it for something we are working on.
Increase the quantity and quality of work.
Improve the habit of asking. Asking questions is a sign that our minds are still “alive”.
Become a good listener. A good listener can listen to information from the outside.
| A．Don’t get satisfied quickly enough. |
| B．Look at things from a different view. |
| C．Remove conservative way of thinking. |
| D．With it we have many opportunities to think about what we hear. |
| E．By asking, we can show that we're trying to test our critic power. |
| F．Critical and creative thinking are the two most basic thinking skills. |
| G．Throw away your pessimistic expression like “I might be able to do it”. |
6 . Germany’s top court (法院) has ruled that parts of the country’s 2019 climate action law must be changed because they don’t do a good job of protecting young people. Nine young people aged 15 to 24 took the government to court over the law. They said that the government’s failure to plan carefully was putting their future lives in danger.
The judges (法官) of Germany’s highest court said climate change will influence young people far more than adults. That’s because climate change will become more serious over time. As young people become adults, they’ll be left to deal with any problems that today’s adults don’t deal with.
In 2019, Germany passed a new law, promising that the country would be producing no more CO2 than the forest can take in by 2050. The law made a plan of action until 2030. But the law didn’t have any plans for climate actions that would be taken between 2031 and 2050.
The court has asked the German government to fix the law by the end of 2022. The climate law will now need to have a plan for the actions that will be taken after 2030.
The German government has said that it will quickly begin working to make the needed changes. One important part of high court decisions like this is that they act as guides or examples for future decisions. This means that in the future, Germany’s lawmakers will be more likely to think about the climate future of young people as they create their laws.
1. Why did the judges make such a decision?| A．They decided the new law made no sense. |
| B．They wanted to give the young more rights. |
| C．They focused more on the future of the young. |
| D．They thought it’s hard to solve climate change. |
| A．It failed to take action before 2030. |
| B．It was producing more and more CO2. |
| C．It refused to consider the young’s rights. |
| D．It didn’t plan the climate actions after 2030. |
| A．It will make more decisions on climate change. |
| B．It will ask the young to help make climate laws. |
| C．It will consider the young when making climate laws. |
| D．It will encourage the young to protect the environment. |
| A．They were brave and forward-looking enough. |
| B．They couldn’t bear the present climate change. |
| C．They wanted to take part in law-making. |
| D．They planned to work in the government. |
7 . In July 2021, kids from around the world watched the first appearance of skateboarding at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The four medal events for men and women in park and street boarding showed the gifts of 80 athletes from all over the world.
Bryce Wettstein is one of the top competitors from the United States in park skateboarding, which requires athletes to show skills that combine (使结合) art and athleticism in a bowl that looks like an empty swimming pool. At 17, Bryce shows her skills in a way that celebrates the skateboarding community.
Skateboarding began in the late 1940s and early 1950s in small Southern California beach towns. Born into this community, Bryce has won a place at the center of the sport. “Skateboarding just seems like it can be everything and anything all washed together in some washing machine of color,” she said.
Bryce shares her California hometown with international skateboard pioneer Tony Hawk. He was chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an ambassador (大使) in its “Stronger Together” competitive sport, which celebrates this year’s athletes. In an IOC video, Hawk summarized the unlikely rise of skateboarding. “We used to see ourselves as a family of misfits (不合群),” he said. “But now the world calls us Olympians.”
Skateboarders celebrate each other’s natural abilities and achievements, while working to help the sport develop. This is shown in the friendship between Bryce and top Australian competitor Poppy Starr Olsen. Both athletes have dreamed of acting for their own countries at the Olympic Games since they skateboarded together as kids.
“I think skateboarding is going to be really different from all the other sports,” Poppy said. “We’re all kind of like a family.” Bryce agreed. “That’s what makes skateboarding such a great sport,” she said.
1. Which of the following best describes Bryce Wettstein?| A．A skateboarder who likes everything colourful. |
| B．An excellent skateboarder easy to get on with. |
| C．An excellent skateboarder from the birthplace of skateboarding. |
| D．A skateboarder having a special understanding of skateboarding. |
| A．He does much to celebrate the athletes. | B．He made skateboarding rise in the world. |
| C．He is a skateboard pioneer all over the world. | D．He made an important speech in an IOC video. |
| A．It gets family members together. | B．It is the dream of many children. |
| C．It is a means to celebrate success. | D．It can bring people close together. |
| A．Top athletes at the Olympics. | B．A new Olympic sports event. |
| C．Some skateboarders’ success. | D．Opinions on an Olympic sports event. |
8 . Summer volunteer chances for students
Finding a summer volunteer chance is easier than you think. There are national programs all over the US that you can take part in. Check out these volunteer chances for students.
UN Volunteer ProgramIf you are an 18-year-old high school student, you might choose to volunteer in a UN organisation. The UN Volunteer Program (paid) is looking for excellent adults aged 18 to 55. Volunteer projects explore peace-building, climate change and disaster management (气候变化和灾害管理). Those looking for a summer program will also receive training before and after a short-term task.
National Park ServiceTeens aged 15-18 can take part in National Park Service and get paid. The volunteers work outdoors on several different projects including cleaning up campgrounds, improving wildlife habitat (栖息地), environmental education planning and teaching, and more! You’ll also take part in educational field trips where you’ll be able to see wildlife before your eyes.
Habitat for HumanityYou can find a lot of summer volunteer fun through Habitat for Humanity. Not only can you help build houses, but you can join in improving your community and helping out at the donation (捐赠) center. Youths aged 16 or older may take part in this program, and must have turned 16 by the first day of the project.
American Red CrossThe American Red Cross is always looking for youth volunteers. Its Red Cross youth programs offer students and young adults meaningful chances of leadership training and community service. The chances are given to all junior and senior high school students.
1. What is special about the National Park Service?| A．It allows its volunteers to camp. | B．It offers chances to see wild animals. |
| C．It offers job-related training to volunteers. | D．It allows volunteers to explore new interests. |
| A．Clean up houses. | B．Enjoy some fun games. |
| C．Make money to help people in need. | D．Make their community better. |
| A．UN Volunteer Program. | B．National Park Service. |
| C．Habitat for Humanity. | D．American Red Cross. |
9 . When you throw cats and dogs in a scene where they are falling from the sky, it might be hard for an English learner to know exactly what it means. So English learners should know the meaning of English idioms (习语).
It’s important to not only teach the meaning of idioms, but also teach how to use them correctly and effectively (有效地). When a non-native speaker uses an idiom correctly, he or she will sound very fluent. But on the other hand, if they use the phrase wrongly, they will sound the exact opposite.
Learning idioms is appropriate for intermediate to advanced (中到高级的) students. If you teach an idiom lesson to beginners or low-intermediate learners, they are very likely to use it wrongly. So how should teachers teach English idioms correctly?
Provide idioms in context, so students can fully understand the meaning. Be sure to provide a conversation around it as an example.
Watching videos of native speakers talking is a great way to show your students how idioms are used in the real world. FluentU is a great resource that can help you highlight the usage and context of various idioms used. FluentU takes real-world videos — like music videos, news and inspiring (鼓舞人心的) talks — and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
Teach idioms in spoken form, not written, and explain to students how they are conversational, rather than formal. Have students practice the idioms in dialogue to help them understand how they’re used in spoken English.
Don’t just hand out a long list of idioms. Be sure to provide a small selection of 5-10 idioms and explain each one. If you provide too many examples, it’ll simply turn into an introduction of what an idiom is, rather than how to actually remember the meaning and use one effectively in dialogue.
1. Why does the author give the example in Paragraph 1?| A．To explain why English is difficult to learn. |
| B．To show English idioms are quite interesting. |
| C．To show idioms can be difficult to understand. |
| D．To tell us the meaning of an English idiom. |
| A．Using English idioms correctly in conversation. |
| B．Finding the meaning of idioms themselves. |
| C．Sounding fluent by avoiding English idioms. |
| D．Learning English idioms as low-intermediate learners. |
| A．It has the latest music videos and movies. |
| B．It is appropriate for low-intermediate learners. |
| C．It provides various resource books for teachers. |
| D．It provides real-world videos on the usage of idioms. |
| A．How to teach English in a fun way. |
| B．How to learn English idioms by yourself. |
| C．How to teach English idioms correctly. |
| D．How to use English idioms in dialogue. |
10 . Music is arguably the most life-enriching academic subject.
Increase language capabilities
Music and language have a far-reaching relationship. Musical training stimulates the same part of the brain that deals with understanding language. Children who have some exposure to music al education will, therefore, have a greater understanding of tones and how different phrases are arranged.
Improve hand-eye coordination (协调)
Music is a great way for your child to meet new people and create lasting friendships. If they decide to take up music as an extracurricular (课外的) activity, they’ll be bonding with like-minded children who share their passion. In a time when children are increasingly interested in communicating online and focusing on digital skills, music is a refreshing return to face-to-face contact.
Bring about a sense of achievement
When your child does achieve a musical goal, they get the incredible satisfaction that comes from working hard to obtain something.
| A．Develop social skills |
| B．Encourage teamwork |
| C．In that sense, music is a great confidence builder |
| D．Hand-eye coordination is important in many sports |
| E．Learning an instrument to a high level is no easy task |
| F．It activates emotional responses and creativity like no other |
| G．It can be incredibly useful if your child is learning a second language |
