1 . About one in four Americans are physically inactive, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But for many of us, physical inactivity is not an intentional choice. It stems from sitting all day at a desk job, driving to work because there are no suitable walking or cycling routes. But what if the infrastructure (基础设施) around you gave you the opportunity to move your body without taking extra time out of your day?
“An active city would offer you loads of ways to get from A to B,” said Anna Boldina, an architectural researcher and designer who studies active cities at the University of Cambridge in the U. K. “Not only would these active cities be full of variety, but the various elements of an active city also have their own specific benefits: for example, stepping stones improve balanced co-activation of a variety of upper and lower body muscles as well as mindfulness and concentration on’ here and now,’ known as a stress relief.”
This all sounds great for future city design and planning, but how can we integrate these feature s into existing city infrastructure? “The best way to transform a place into an active city is through small interventions here and there: an extra stepping stone shortcut across the grass or extra log across the rain garden,” Boldina said. “Sometimes it is not about adding; it is about removing. It is also important that these routes are accessible to people of all ages and abilities.”
Of course, if there are always less challenging alternatives available, how can we encourage those who are able to take the more physically active routes? “One of our studies was aimed specifically at encouragement,” Boldina said. The study found that the most effective means of encouragement was providing a shortcut. “Other factors included playfulness, crossing water, using natural materials and adding handrails for confidence,” added Boldina, whose group is currently working with architects in Cambridge to create such active landscapes.
1. Which of the following best explains “stems from” underlined in paragraph 1?| A．Relies on. | B．Is caused by. | C．Mixes with. | D．Is changed into. |
| A．They contribute to better health. | B．They offer personalized activities. |
| C．They rely on governmental support. | D．They generally look like each other. |
| A．Protecting the local environment. | B．Adding a variety of safety equipment. |
| C．Making it easy for people to use. | D．Designing as many routes as possible. |
| A．How to motivate citizens to use active routes. |
| B．How to make active routes functional and fun. |
| C．Why citizens have little interest in active routes. |
| D．Why Cambridge can succeed, in adopting active routcs. |
2 . Have more fun. Learn new things. These aren’t bad New Year’s resolutions. But where do you start?
Ask yourself how you want to feel
Hobbies present an escape—they can help you get out of your head and calm down, says Matthew J. Zawadzke, an associate professor of health psychology at the University of California.
Start small
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? The answer could point you toward an appealing hobby, Weiler says. “If you wanted to be a major league player, what can you do now that fulfills that urge for you?” she asks. Joining a softball team or coaching some neighborhood kids could awaken a passion.
Go back to school
Consider signing up for a lesson to learn more about a potential hobby, Weiler advises. Always dreamed of producing a novel?
| A．Take a trip back in time. |
| B．Join a fiction writers group. |
| C．There’s no such thing as one perfect enthusiasm. |
| D．Don’t invest a ton of time and money in a new hobby immediately. |
| E．He suggests asking yourself how you want an activity to make you feel. |
| F．His research indicates that people feel guilty about spending time on leisure. |
| G．Experts can help you to discover the hobbies you don’t yet know you’ll love. |
3 . We have all experienced that feeling of mental exhaustion (疲惫) after focusing on a tricky problem. Detailed thinking certainly feels like hard work, but is it? The answer is a touch less obvious than you might suspect.
The brain is certainly a hungry organ. “It is the most energy-consuming part of the body,” says Nilli Lavie at University College London. Although it accounts for around 2 percent of our body weight, it uses some 20 percent of the energy we burn at rest.
Interestingly, when it comes to energy use, the brain doesn’t distinguish between tasks that we traditionally regard as “hard” and those that come more naturally. This was first demonstrated in the 1950s in a study showing that the brain’s level of metabolic (代谢的) activity is remarkably constant, regardless of whether we are concentrating or letting our mind wander.
Your brain distributes resources to its different parts depending on the mental activity being carried out. But there is a trade-off. For instance, in a study published in November, Lavie and her teammates measured energy use in the brain region responsible for daydreaming and found that it decreased when volunteers carried out a problem-solving task that required focused attention.
So thinking hard does burn more energy in the brain region involved, but this is offset by energy savings in other parts of the brain. The amounts of energy involved are very small. Actually, a self-control task, such as keeping your hand in icy water for as long as you can, “burns up 1 calorie of glucose”, says Ewan McNay, at the University at Albany in New York. However, although this is a tiny amount of fuel, your brain doesn’t see it that way. “It worries about an imbalance of supply over demand,” he says. If the brain detects local drainage (排泄) of glucose—the sugar that fuels the brain—it perceives it as something bad, says McNay. This is what gives rise to the feeling of being exhausted after prolonged (长时间的) focus.
1. How does the author look at detailed thinking?| A．It can develop the less-used brain areas. | B．It can make the brain become tired quickly. |
| C．It is beyond the assumption of most people. | D．It is both mentally and physically demanding. |
| A．It is always in a hungry state. | B．It treats mental tasks equally. |
| C．It burns less calories when at rest. | D．It has a natural tendency to wander. |
| A．connects with other regions | B．solves a difficult task |
| C．receives more resources | D．becomes less active |
| A．Our brain has anxiety over the proper distribution of energy. |
| B．Our brain burns much more energy than it is supplied. |
| C．Our brain distributes energy to the wrong brain areas. |
| D．Our brain sometimes miscalculates the energy used. |
4 . I started to imagine how I’d lead my own tour. Working as a guard at the Guggenheim, I first liked reading the wall text—the paragraph-long explanation on the wall beside many of the artworks. Occasionally it’s helpful, and for years I thought it was downright rude when museums and galleries didn’t label each work. But now, more often than not, I wanted to tear all the labels down. The wall text stays just to the side of art, like the answer key at the bottom of a word search, its definitive tone sending the message that there’s only one right answer to the art.
I realized that art historians could be unreliable narrators (叙述者). The Richard Serra sculpture “Tearing Lead,” consisting of wrinkled lead (铅), took on a different look every time it was exhibited. Guards were given a board with the original photo of the sculpture and instructions “Please indicate where the piece was touched,” so an assistant could reposition the sculpture to match the picture. But an assistant I talked with told me that the sculpture was meant to have the metal pieces arranged haphazardly (杂乱地). The work looks different every time it’s shown —not that you’d know it from the wall text.
Therefore, I insist that you don’t look at the little label beside each artwork. When I guarded a Brancusi sculpture, I tried to stand in front of the wall label so people couldn’t see it, and I heard their interpretations go wild. They saw a finger, a woman giving birth, a graph, a Kurosawa character, a dolphin, a nose, a fish.
If I learned one thing as a guard, it’s that sometimes being forced to look at an artwork, even when you don’t want to, is life-changing. Fight the urge to see what you expect to be there; focus instead on what is there. I’m not concerned with whether you think it’s good. Just watch the thing in front of you.
1. What can we learn about the author from paragraph l?| A．He is forming his own judgement. | B．He likes traveling with his friends. |
| C．He wants to make his voice heard. | D．He writes explanations for artworks. |
| A．To introduce a special assistant. | B．To prove that wall texts can be wrong. |
| C．To call for protection of artworks on show. | D．To show how art historians describe works. |
| A．To prevent the visitors getting closer to the sculpture. |
| B．To make visitors have a better view of the sculpture. |
| C．To push the visitors to appreciate on their own. |
| D．To interact with the visitors in a fun way. |
| A．How I Rose from a Museum Guard to an Art Expert |
| B．What Categories of Artworks Museums Like Showing |
| C．How Working in a Museum Makes Me Have a Life Purpose |
| D．What Being a Museum Guard Taught Me about Looking at Art |
5 . This year’s hiking events have kicked off and we are introducing some walking festivals in the following.
Crickhowell Walking Festival (9-17 March)
One of the earliest of the year’s festivals, the walking festival offers 81 different walks this year, ranging from 2 to 17 miles. All are graded in terms of effort and difficulty, from an easy walk along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, to a—new for 2024—hike through the western Fans.
Isle of Wight Walking Festival (11-19 May and 5-13 October)
The Isle of Wight Walking Festival laces (系) up its boots in spring and autumn, on the 500 miles of footpaths on the island. There are walks focusing on every aspect of the island’s history. Walks are graded according to pace and difficulty.
Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival (14-24 June)
A great choice for those looking for other activities to enjoy besides walking, this 10-day celebration includes everything from boating to bird-watching. The walks range from gentle seaside wanders to endurance(耐力) hikes through the Cairngorms, with five different grades of difficulty.
Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival (27 September-6 October)
Choose from self-guided or expert-led walks along a 75-mile stretch of the Saltmarsh coast, picking up the region’s maritime (海洋的) history, or learning about the rich variety of bird species. The festival features guided walks taking in vineyards (葡萄园), nature reserves and vast skies along the shoreline.
1. Which walking festival is held in two seasons this year?| A．Crickhowell Walking Festival. | B．Isle of Wight Walking Festival. |
| C．Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival. | D．Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival. |
| A．Make samples of rare species. | B．Volunteer in nature reserves. |
| C．Observe birds and go boating. | D．Attend a class on marine science. |
| A．It has the longest path. | B．It provides graded walks. |
| C．It offers guide choices. | D．It serves as history tour. |
6 . Dealing with school stress is something most students have to learn to do during the course of their education.
Ask for help.
Practice thought-stopping. Sometimes feeling overwhelmed (不知所措) in a stressful situation leads to fast, or “racing” thoughts. If this happens to you, try a way named “thought-stopping”.
| A．Know the source of your stress |
| B．When you have stress, keep an objective attitude |
| C．Get to know the way your body experiences stress |
| D．If you don’t know how to deal with a stressful thing |
| E．They may try their best to help you solve the problem |
| F．However, many students still don’t know how to deal with it |
| G．This means stopping your thoughts and turning your attention to something else for a while |
7 . Around 2 million deaths each year are linked to physical inactivity. And a sedentary (久坐的) lifestyle is one of the leading causes of death in the world.
A new study published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that regular short exercise “snacks” throughout the working day might be enough to mitigate the effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
For the study. 11 participants (参与者) sat for 8-hour sessions. During the sessions, they followed one of four exercise “snacks” — 1 minute of walking after every 30 minutes of sitting, 1 minute after 60 minutes, 5minutes every 30 minutes, and 5minutes every 60 minutes — or a “snack” with no walking.
The researchers found that participants’ blood sugar and blood pressure levels were reduced after 5minutes of walking for every 30 minutes of sitting.
Lead study author Dr Keith Diaz, associate professor of behavioral medicine, said the most exciting part of the new research is that they’ve answered how to prevent the harmful health effects of sedentary sitting.
The researchers also found that all exercise “snacks” resulted in a reduction in participants’ tiredness, and an improvement in mood when compared to no walking at all.
“Beyond improving your physical health,” Dr Diaz said, “having regular walks to break up your sitting will put you in a better mood and help you feel more energetic.”
Dr Diaz added that the next steps for the research include finding more ways to reduce the harmful effects of sitting.
“We hope to find the least amount of movement you have to do to prevent the health harm of sitting.” Dr Diaz said. “The reality is that many adults will find it hard to walk every half hour. So finding a more practical recommendation is still needed.”
1. What does the underlined word “mitigate” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Measure | B．Reduce | C．Decide | D．Manage |
| A．It got published in a journal. |
| B．It used a new research method. |
| C．It proved the harmful effects of sitting too long. |
| D．It found a way to prevent the harm of too much sitting. |
| A．People’s tiredness | B．People’s weight |
| C．People’s blood pressure | D．People’s blood sugar |
| A．The finding is likely to be wrong. | B．The solution may have side effects. |
| C．The solution is not suitable for all. | D．The study hasn’t got much attention. |
8 . Cats are often considered to be colder especially when compared with dogs. But if you find your cat friend is a little hard to get close to, maybe you’re just not speaking their language.
Research shows that it’s actually not so difficult. You just need to smile at them more. Not smile in the human’s way, by showing your teeth, but the cat’s way: by narrowing your eyes and blinking (眨眼睛) slowly. It’s similar to how human eyes narrow when they are smiling, and usually occurs when cats are relaxed and content. The expression is explained as a kind of cat smile.
Jackson Galaxy, a cat behavior expert, says there are some pretty strong feelings behind the cat’s slow blink. He calls it “I Love You Blink”. Galaxy says the cat will blink slowly when cats and people are completely opening up to one another in sharing affection.
Researchers carried out two experiments. In the first experiment, owners slow-blinked at 21 cats from 14 different families. Once the cat was settled and comfortable in one spot in their home environment, the owners were asked to sit about a meter away and slow-blink when the cat was looking at them. The second experiment included 24 cats from 8 different families. This time, it wasn’t the owners doing the blinking but the researchers, who’d had no earlier contact with the cats. They found that not only were the cats more likely to blink back, but that they were more likely to reach the human’s hand after the human had blinked.
Dr Tasmin Humphrey, the first author of the study from the University of Sussex, said: “Understanding positive ways in which cats and humans interact can increase public understanding of cats, improve its welfare, and tell us more about the socio-cognitive (社会认知) abilities of this species.”
1. What is “a kind of cat smile”?| A．Showing teeth. | B．Narrowing eyes. |
| C．Narrowing eyes and blinking slowly. | D．Smiling like a human. |
| A．45 | B．24 | C．21 | D．14 |
| A．To help cats live well. | B．To explain cats are clever. |
| C．To provide a way in which humans can touch cats. | D．To show how humans can communicate with cats. |
| A．Cats and their “I Love You Blink” | B．Love your cats more |
| C．Ways to get close to your cats | D．Cats and their owners |
9 . Mother Teresa was born in Skopje on August 27, 1901. Her father worked in a store. Her family was not rich, but it was a happy family. She went to school when she was seven years old. She said that she had wanted to be a Missionary (传教士) when she was only 12. She took part in a nun (修女) organization when she was 18 years old. In 1928, she was sent to a church school to teach. But she left the school and went out to help the people who suffered from hunger and cold in 1946. Then she left the nun organization and set up a school in the open to accept the children who had no home.
She set up a nun organization in 1950. Now the organization is an international organization with 3500 nuns to accept the refugees (难民). She got the Noble Peace Prize in 1979. But she contributed all of the money to the poor people and the patients who suffered from illnesses. Also she sold the medal to help the people who needed help. We won’t forget the great woman, who looks like a sunshine and is the hero of the world!
1. In which year did Mother Teresa say that she wanted to be a Missionary?| A．1908. | B．1913. | C．1928. | D．1946. |
| A．Sick children. | B．Small children. | C．Homeless children. | D．Rich children. |
| A．Mother Teresa used to be a teacher in a church school. |
| B．Mother Teresa was born into a rich and happy family. |
| C．Mother Teresa set up a church for homeless children. |
| D．Mother Teresa worked hard to support her own family. |
| A．She sold it to buy a new house. | B．She kept it in a museum. |
| C．She contributed it to an organization. | D．She sold it to help people in need. |
10 . Step into Some of the Most Magical Places That Sell Books
Many bookshops hold events such as author readings, and the booksellers are usually happy to help visitors find their perfect title. To celebrate bookshops, here are some of the most interesting ones around the UK.
Tales on Moon Lane
This shop won Children’s Bookseller of the Year at The British Book Awards in 2020 and 2021. There are now two branches (分店) in London and one in Ramsgate, Kent. Tamara Macfarlane, the owner says, “The true magic of a bookshop is that the people who work there hold all the golden tickets ----and all you have to do to get one is just ask for some advice.”
Richard Booth Bookshop
The Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye is famous for its bookshops. Richard Booth was the person responsible for turning the small market town into a literary (文学的) destination. He opened his first bookshop in the town’s old fire station in 1962 and it is still there today.
How Brave Is the Wren
This is a mobile bookshop and tours the country visiting schools, festivals and markets. Jenny Moore, who creates and runs the mobile bookshop, says that one of the best parts of her job is selecting books to send out.
Bags of Books
This store in Lewes, England, aims to inspire young people. Owner Rachel Givertz and supervisor Nika Pavlinic say their favourite part of the job is “when people come back to tell you they loved the book you recommended”. They say if you’re feeling sad or angry, books can take you away from reality for a little while.
1. Which of the following won Children’s Bookseller of the Year in 2021?| A．Richard Booth Bookshop | B．How Brave Is the Wren |
| C．Tales on Moon Lane | D．Bags of Books |
| A．Jenny Moore | B．Richard Booth |
| C．Rachel Givertz | D．Tamara Macfarlane |
| A．It has many branches. | B．It was opened in 1962． |
| C．It welcomes kids and teens only. | D．It can travel to different places. |
