1 . While considering comfortable places to hibernate (冬眠) in winter, a 6-year-old black bear picked out a storm culvert (涵洞) near Wannaska, Minnesota. Unfortunately for the bear, this decision didn’t turn out well.
In late February, the snow around him started melting, causing the culvert to flood and then freeze again. The poor fellow was trapped in snow and ice for three days before some kind humans noticed him and called authorities for help.
By the time experts arrived, people had already tried digging the bear out and luring him with a variety of unhealthy (for bears) treats. Luckily, the bear wasn’t interested in food because he was still in hibernation mode.
A wildlife research biologist Andrew Tri arrived on the scene to assess the situation. “He tried to push himself out but got stuck in the place and tired,” the biologist explained. The team injected the bear with an anesthetic (麻醉剂). Once he was asleep, it took five strong men to pull the bear, estimated to weigh between 375 and 400 pounds, out of the culvert. Andrew gave him a full check-up and determined he was in great physical shape, even though he was still a bit sleepy!
The crew pulled him out and transported him to the Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area in Marshall County to finish out the winter. “He’s in the back of a pickup truck now, and we’ll make him a new den (窝点),” said Andrew. “He probably won’t stay, but at least it will give him some protection from the elements after that.”
“If you’re ever concerned about a bear’s safety, by all means give us a call,” the experts advised. “But don’t try to move it or feed it! Doing so can result in a bad situation (either for you or for the bear).” We’re glad this bear got the help he needed.
1. Why was the black bear in trouble?| A．He hasn’t eaten anything for many days. |
| B．He chose the wrong place to hibernate. |
| C．He was in bad condition. |
| D．His feet were caught by a trap. |
| A．exchanging | B．improving | C．attracting | D．beating |
| A．He was very excited. | B．He was very angry. |
| C．He ate many foods. | D．He was still a bit sleepy. |
| A．Don’t try to move a hibernating bear by yourself. |
| B．Bears can be very dangerous when they are sleeping. |
| C．Bears always attack people when people are alone. |
| D．Let the trapped bears continue to sleep, and do nothing. |
2 . I had gone into a chief’s office to talk about a couple of issues that needed to be addressed. She, like all of the men and women in her department, had been through the well-known ‘ringer’. The stress was so intense, one could almost taste it.
I had been assisting the department during a crucial period of being very short-handed, and was watching everyone get close to burn-out. When I inquired about her state of mind, she admitted that her home life was almost non-existent, because she was ‘zombieing through the evening’. The next words out of her mouth expressed a frustration of my own: “This work is not my gift from God. My family is!”
I had heard of hanging all of one’s problems from the office on a“Trouble Tree”while driving home, to be picked up on the way back to the office in the morning, and for a brief second thought about suggesting that scenario to the chief.
But what came out was:“Why don’t we do something different? Let’s have a Blessing Tree. On the way home in the evening, we could pull down a blessing to write a character we adore in our spouse, a particular reason we love them, the love they or our children have for us. The list could be endless.”
When I tried it on the way home that night, the stress seemed to melt away. There was a ‘spring in my step’ and when I arrived, a smile of joy was bubbling up from within! For the first time in 2 weeks, I was overjoyed to greet my wife and children!
The Blessing Tree could make a major difference in your evenings, especially after those REALLY tough days.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The stress of the author. | B．The staff’s stress in the department. |
| C．The issues requiring addressing. | D．The famous ringer of the chief. |
| A．Becoming a zombie in the evening. | B．Being extremely tired in the evening. |
| C．Spending the evening in confusion. | D．Feeling like a zombie during the day. |
| A．By talking about them in the office. | B．By sharing them with family members. |
| C．By making use of a “Trouble Tree”. | D．By making use of a “Blessing Tree”. |
| A．To show the pressure in modern life. |
| B．To persuade readers to pray for blessings. |
| C．To introduce stress — relieving approaches. |
| D．To share how to raise suggestions for the chief. |
3 . When I first picked up Michelle Zauner’s memoir (自传) “Crying in H Mart”, I was attracted by the familiar name of the local Korean market 10 minutes away from my house. Looking through its pages was no different from looking through an old photo album (相册), reminding me of my old memories. And I wanted to look at each and every photo, up close.
Despite being a struggling artist making up for lost time with a sick mother, Zauner somehow made her unique experiences relatable to her audience. One of the factors that helped make this possible was food. Every food and every aspect of Korean culture she described seemed so familiar to me, as I’m a Korean American. Not only this, we have similar experiences, and have common feelings of being torn apart by two cultures that seem to refuse to accept us just for being who we are. Zauner shone a new light on my attitude to my own identity.
In other ways, this relatability to such a specific target audience can become a weakness. This memoir was obviously meant for a Korean, specifically a Korean American audience. With such a small audience of 0.6% of the United States population in 2019, the story that Zauner wanted to tell would not be received by many.
An avoidable point of the memoir that caused confusion could have been the organization of the timeline. Looking at the book as a whole, there was no specific order in which Zauner organized the events of her life. The most effective way to do this would have been to progress through the book starting with her earliest memories with her mother and ending with her moments of grieving (悲痛).
I felt thankful that I was able to discover such a novel that made me feel understood for the first time in years. And most of all, I felt inspired that there are people like Zauner who make mistakes but try again. Even when the world tells them it’s too late, they try again Even when they feel lost, they try again and find a way. And there was one thing I was sure of after I read the book: I will try again.
1. Which factor of the book attracted the author?| A．Korean audience. | B．Korean families. |
| C．American culture. | D．Similar experience. |
| A．Its small readership. | B．Its difficult languages. |
| C．Its weak market in Korea. | D．Its sales in America in 2019. |
| A．To point out one limitation of the book. |
| B．To describe Zauner’s life in order of time. |
| C．To explain why he falls in love with the book. |
| D．To introduce an effective way to write a memoir. |
| A．To be thankful. | B．To stay positive. |
| C．To understand others. | D．To avoid making mistakes. |
4 . Hiring processes can be considered as a battle between honesty and dishonesty. You might imagine this is a simple fight between truth — seeking companies and self-promoting applicants, and to a certain extent it is. But companies sometimes deliberately twist the truth in a way that is self-destructive.
Let’s start with job applicants. The point of a CV or a LinkedIn (领英) profile is to make reality as appealing as possible. If anyone who has reached a certain level of experience is a leader who is personally responsible for generating millions in revenue (收入), the world economy would be about 15 times bigger than it actually is. The average Briton spends four and a half hours a day watching TV and online videos. But the average job applicant uses their spare time only for worthy purposes, like volunteering in soup kitchens or teaching orphans to code.
The companies also tend to magnify the truth as applicants do. The typical firm will write a job description that describes the work environment as fast -paced and innovative, and then lays out a set of impossible requirements for the “ideal applicant”, who almost does not exist. Sometimes-as when ads demand more years of experience in a programming language than that language has existed for-these requirements include an ability to go back and change the course of history.
Tracey Franklin, a fan of “realistic job previews” (RJPs), says that one effective strategy is, in text or video, to give would-be employees a genuine sense of the negatives and positives of the job, as well as a clear idea of the company’s corporate culture. Such honesty can be its own reward. A paper in 2011 by David Earnest of Towson University and his co-authors concluded that RJPs lead to lower turnover (人事变更率) and higher employee satisfaction.
1. What do we know about a CV or a LinkedIn profile according to the passage?| A．They highlight relevant volunteer work. |
| B．They demonstrate genuine interests and hobbies. |
| C．They exaggerate one’s achievements and skills. |
| D．They accurately represent one’s qualifications and experiences. |
| A．Ironical. | B．Concerned. | C．Serious. | D．Humorous. |
| A．RJPs lead to higher turnover. |
| B．RJPs contribute to the stability of the employees. |
| C．Companies should avoid sharing corporate culture. |
| D．RJPs fail to influence turnover and employee satisfaction. |
| A．Hire, liar | B．Apply, liar | C．Labor, liar | D．Fire, liar |
5 . Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Where: Becket, Massachusetts
When: June 15 — Aug.24
Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights this season include the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s production of Alvin Alley’s “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.
Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22.
Moab Music Festival
Where: Moab, Utah
When: Aug.29 — Sept.9
This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts,” where guests take a 45 -minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.
Tickets start at $25.
Cheyenne Frontier Days
Where: Cheyenne, Wyoming
When: July 19 — 28
There’s something for everyone at this 117 -year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money on the world’s largest outdoor stage. Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23.
The Glimmerglass Festival
Where: Cooperstown, New York
When: July 6 — Aug.24
Each summer, opera lovers from around the country(and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and. Ginger Costa -Jackson. This year’s performances include Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi’s “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers.
Tickets start at $26.
1. Where can a tourist enjoy free performances?| A．Massachusetts. | B．Utah. | C．Wyoming. | D．New York. |
| A．June 15. | B．July 19. | C．September 14. | D．August 30. |
| A．$18. | B．$41. | C．$26. | D．$22. |
6 . As kids, we are taught the importance of forgiving those who hurt us, as this is considered the moral action to take. We are instructed that forgiveness is a virtue and the only way for us to truly move on and heal, freed from the baggage of bearing ill will. Nonetheless, I’m not buying it. While forgiveness can certainly be a lovely gesture, it’s not always the most beneficial option for us. In fact, if someone has hurt you deeply and the relationship isn’t healthy, attempting to “fix” things might actually cause more damage than it’s worth.
Most of us would probably agree that forgiving a wrongdoer means letting go of negative emotions — like anger and bitterness — towards them, as if the offense never occurred. Actually this approach is not truly beneficial. It pressures us to minimize our feelings and revise our boundaries—to say “it’s OK” when, in reality, it isn’t for us. While it’s not a good idea to focus on negative thoughts, recognizing and working through all of that pain is an important part of the healing journey. Moreover, when someone fails to make us feel understood or secure, forgiving them can actually reduce our self-worth.
A 2010 research paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that folks who forgave partners that didn’t make them feel valued had less respect for themselves. Letting minor offences that happen now and again slide can be great for any relationship, but repeatedly forgiving bad behavior can encourage that person to keep hurting you.
At least, that’s what 2011 research by psychology professor James McNulty argues. He found that when a partner was more likely to forgive those acts, the aggressor was more likely to keep committing them. McNulty suggests that this is because facing the consequences of their actions is what motivates people to change their ways, and being offered a clean slate can be a kind of pass to avoid making changes. So forgiving frequent and major offences, like verbal or physical abuse, can do more harm than good.
From my perspective, this highlights the central conflict within the concept. Rather than viewing forgiveness as a magic medicine, we can shift our focus to acknowledging the truth and finding resolution, without feeling any necessity to forgive the person who hurt us.
1. What does the author think about the message in paragraph 1?| A．Arguable. | B．Undeniable. | C．Convincing. | D．Logical. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By presenting statistics. |
| C．By sharing his own experiences. | D．By citing the opinions of experts. |
| A．A repeated offence. | B．A magic medicine. |
| C．A complete forgiveness. | D．A terrible consequence. |
| A．Forgiving is always a virtue. | B．Forgiving sometimes depends. |
| C．Forgiving can change everything. | D．Forgiving always seems impossible. |
The museum houses more than 2 million works spanning (跨越) 5,000 years and is the attraction second to none in New York City, attracting over 5 million visitors annually. Even those who think art or museums are not their cup of tea can spend days here and still not experience a small part of its art collections, famous exhibits, special events and much more!
Admission: $22 adults, free children under 16.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space MuseumThe Intrepid is a wonderful place in New York City that offers something for everyone in the family. It’s one of the most popular activities in NYC. Children or anyone who is genuinely interested in war history and transportation shouldn’t miss it. Private events such as weddings are a great opportunity to have the museum all to yourself for one night.
Admission: $30 adults, $15 children under 12.
American Museum of Natural HistoryA lot of New Yorkers believe that this is the best among all the museums in New York City. Anyone who grew up in NYC has fond memories of their school trips and Saturdays spent with their parents at the museum. Check out the fantastic new space show, “Journey to the Stars”, which is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and makes it stand out from other museums. The show takes place every half an hour.
Admission: $33 adults, $20 children aged 2 — 12.
Guggenheim MuseumThis international museum collects and displays modern and contemporary art in New York City. If you plan to visit the museum, be sure to book your tickets online, as they are available at 10 a. m. the day before. The Guggenheim also hosts really awesome art events focused on a special exhibition or program, making the museum one of the city’s trendiest places.
Admission: $25 adults, $18 students and seniors (65 +), free children under 12.
1. Which museum is the best choice for visitors passionate about war history?| A．Guggenheim Museum. |
| B．Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
| C．Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. |
| D．American Museum of Natural History. |
| A．$50. | B．$79. | C．$104. | D．$130. |
| A．Visitors can gain insight into history there. |
| B．They offer something for the whole family. |
| C．They enjoy great popularity among New Yorkers. |
| D．Performances take place in the museum every day. |
8 . Do you feel stuck in life and wish you weren’t so terrified of making mistakes? Do you often worry about making the wrong choices and end up not doing anything at all?
Trying something different or somewhat risky will not ruin your life. You cannot expect everything to be perfect.
You might hear this all the time and it really is true. Making mistakes doesn’t mean you are weak or incompetent. It does not mean you’re a failure. On the contrary, it means you are brave enough to go after what you want. Most successful people leave a trail of mistakes before finally reaching their goals.
If you keep playing it safe, you will never grow. New challenges will broaden your horizons and open up a whole new world for you. You will discover new skills, meet more like-minded people, and eventually feel more confident. Figure out what you really want, then take it one step at a time. Go at your own pace and don’t worry about what people think. What matters is that you are trying something.
Being bold will get you furtherYou don’t need to be an outgoing or over-confident person to make bold choices.
| A．Be calm to face mistakes |
| B．Mistakes can help you grow |
| C．Just believe in yourself and your own capabilities |
| D．The key is to keep going no matter what life throws at you |
| E．That’s not how the world works because nothing is perfect |
| F．Making mistakes is the ladder of your growth and progress |
| G．If you want to make the most of your life, you can’t hide behind your fear forever |
9 . Fourth Wing, a novel by Rebecca Yarros, gained attention on BookTok, TikTok’s book community, last year. Published on May 2, its sequel (续集), Iron Flame, followed just six months later on Nov. 7, bringing Yarros fame. Yarros released the first two books quickly because she had written part of Iron Flame beforehand. However, she decided to slow down the release of subsequent books.
The rapid release of these books sparked a debate about whether quality is sacrificed for speed in publishing. Yarros faced criticism for mispronouncing Scottish Gaelic words during a Barnes & Noble Q&A event on the sequel’s release day. Critics suggested better preparation, like hiring a Gaelic proofreader (校对员), to avoid such errors. Despite criticism, Fourth Wing soared to the top of the New York Times’ Best Sellers List within its first week, fueled by BookTok’s influence. This phenomenon parallels fast fashion’s trends, reflecting social media’s impact on reading preferences. Yarros’ ability to blend genres and appeal to BookTok’s favorite tropes contributed to the book’s success.
When books become hugely popular, publishers and authors often rush to take advantage of their success, expanding the series quickly. This rush mirrors the fast fashion industry, where items are rapidly produced to meet trends, sometimes sacrificing quality. Rushed publishing, influenced by platforms like BookTok, may result in insufficient time for writing and editing, potentially compromising the overall quality of the books. Despite concerns, popular books recommended on BookTok can still be enjoyed, whether they’re fancy hardcovers or simple paperbacks.
1. What can be learned from the first paragraph?| A．BookTok users demanded a faster release. |
| B．Fourth Wing was published on May 2 this year. |
| C．Iron Flame was published earlier than Fourth Wing. |
| D．Yarros released the first two books quickly due to pre-written content. |
| A．Ignoring them. | B．Preparing fully for them. |
| C．Expanding the release quickly. | D．Releasing statements to defend them. |
| A．Because they produce the series rapidly. |
| B．Because they prioritize quantity over quality. |
| C．Because they produce quickly to make profits. |
| D．Because they make use of the success and meet consumers’ demands. |
| A．Culture. | B．Life. | C．Science. | D．Technology. |
10 . Throughout history, humans have assigned names to objects and each other as a means of efficient communication. Additionally, we often give names to animals that are close to us, such as our pets. To date, evidence has been scarce to indicate that animals engage in naming each other. However, an exciting new study indicates that elephants use unique sounds as a way to identify one another. Isn’t that fascinating?
A few animals, including parrots and dolphins, have been known to use sounds that are similar to names. Each dolphin invents a signature whistle that is unique to it, and other members of its species communicate with it by simulating this special call. The new study, led by Michael Pardo of Colorado State University, shows that wild African elephants use names in a way that is not just copying sounds and is much closer to the way humans use names.
For the study, the researchers recorded 625 sounds made by wild African elephants in Kenya that they called “rumbles (隆隆声)”. This is the most common type of call produced by elephants, and it can travel long distances — as far as 3.7 miles. It takes place at a very low frequency, which means humans can’t hear it.
The researchers analyzed the sounds using computers and found that certain rumbles were directed at specific elephants to get their attention They found that all the elephants in the herd used the identical call to get a particular elephant’s attention — these calls were not just nicknames used by one of the elephant’s friends. Also, unlike the way dolphins communicate, the rumbles were not just imitations of the elephant they were trying to communicate with.
The researchers then played back some of the recorded rumbles to the elephants. They found that elephants responded more to their own name than to other calls, coming toward it more quickly or calling back faster. Cartlin O’Connell-Rodwell, an elephant expert, said, “The study shows that elephants can still keep in touch with one another even across a large area.” She told Live Science, “The rumbles were magical, which allow them to spread out much further and still keep a watchful eye on individuals.”
1. Which word can replace the word “simulating” in paragraph 2?| A．Inventing. | B．Transforming. | C．Copying. | D．Receiving. |
| A．By using specific languages like people’s. |
| B．By using names in a way closer to people’s. |
| C．By making certain rumbles heard by people. |
| D．By making specific noises with a high frequency. |
| A．Elephants’ rumbles carry far. |
| B．Each elephant has a special rumble. |
| C．They only talk to friends with rumbles. |
| D．Elephant rumbles are not imitations of other elephants. |
| A．Rumbles aid communication with other species. |
| B．Rumbles enable elephants to stand or play closer. |
| C．Elephants use rumbles to avoid each other in large areas. |
| D．Rumbles help elephants stay connected over long distances. |
