1 . Do you believe that a baby can only have one parent? It is widely understood that animals have two parents, each contributing essential DNA. However, a female shark became pregnant and gave birth to a baby shark at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, US,     1    , a new study documented.

This is a phenomenon called parthenogenesis (孤雌生殖), which means “virgin creation” in Greek. For most animals, an egg cell and a sperm (精子) cell are essential to create offspring (后代).     2    . However, in cases of parthenogenesis, the body finds a way to make up for the genetic material usually provided by sperm.

As the female generates an egg cell, small cells called polar bodies are produced in the process. In the case of parthenogenesis, an egg merges with one of its polar bodies, which replaces a sperm cell.     3    . So, the baby is similar to the mother but not a cloned version of her.

    4    . In 2018, a female crocodile who had been living alone for 16 years at a zoo in Costa Rica laid 14 eggs. Scientists found a fully-formed baby crocodile inside one of these eggs. In 2012, scientists incubated (培育) six snake eggs without fertilization (受精), and these eggs developed into healthy baby snakes.

Parthenogenesis may occur in “lower animals” like some species of insects, fish, reptiles and even birds.     5    . So, it is currently impossible for female mammals to reproduce without a male.

A．It is not the best way to reproduce

B．without the involvement of a male

C．with the application of a new technology

D．They each provide one-half of the genetic information for the new life

E．During this process, the mother’s genes get shuffled (打乱顺序) slightly

F．Although seemingly magical, parthenogenesis is not as rare as you might think

G．However, for mammals, including human beings, an egg can not provide all the genes required to form a viable (可存活的) offspring

2 . Birds do it. Bees do it. People do it, though often less than they would like to. Owls do it in the daytime. Sleep is an ancient, universal experience.

But partly because it is the order of the day, for a long time sleep was a subject that scientists had not woken up to. It is only in the past half-century or so that it has attracted the attention of dedicated researchers. A new book from Kenneth Miller, a science journalist, sets out to record the field’s short but fascinating history.

Its contents range from the discovery of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and circadian rhythms (昼夜节律) — the biological clocks that govern humanity’s days — to the effects of sleep deprivation(which can be deadly, at least in lab animals). It also explores the purpose, if any, of dreams.

Sleep is a state of lowered consciousness and reduced metabolism (新陈代谢) which takes up about one third of a person’s life. Two distinct types of sleep have been recognized: REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM(non-rapid eye movement). The latter, which accounts for the major part of sleep, starts with drowsiness (困倦); brain waves become increasingly deeper and slower until brain activity and metabolism fall to their lowest level. In REM sleep, the brain suddenly becomes more electrically active, its blood flow increases, the eyes move rapidly and dreaming occurs.

Discoveries often lead to new questions in turn. That is why neat, tidy endings are hard to achieve in most science books; this one is no different. Despite all the progress of the past 50 years, scientists are still unsure what sleep is for. The fact that it is so widespread suggests it is vital.

But why evolution would see fit to produce animals that must spend large amounts of their time unconscious and unable to respond to threats is still a mystery researchers are trying to solve. For anyone curious about asking the right questions, however, Mr Miller’s book is a good place to start.

1. Part of why scientists failed to explore sleep was because ______.

A．it was so commonplace as to be taken for granted.

B．ancient people had done thorough research into it.

C．there was no high-tech research facility.

D．they regarded sleep as too complicated a phenomenon to explain.

2. How long does the text show a person should sleep every day?

A．About 12 hours.

B．About 10 hours.

C．About 8 hours.

D．About 6 hours.

3. What does the author think of Miller’s book?

A．It is well received by readers.	B．It presents a better ending than most science books.
C．It has little to recommend it.	D．It is instructive despite its limitation.

4. In which section of a magazine may this text appear?

A．Entertainment.

B．Culture.

C．Finance.

D．Sports.

3 . Aum Gandhi, a runner from California, experienced weight changes and mental health issues due to the high stress of his job. But five years ago, once he picked up running by accident, he immediately developed a thirst for taking on greater challenges. A 5-kilometer run led to a half marathon, which led to a full marathon, and after discovering trail running (山径越野跑), he completed his first 100-mile race in April 2021.

Along the way, Gandhi discovered that his running could be more meaningful when it became a vehicle for change. When in college at California State University, Gandhi began volunteering at the Richstone Family Center — a nonprofit devoted to treating and preventing child abuse and family violence. Gandhi soon grew passionate about the cause and began fundraising for the organization in combination with his races.

“I grew up in a similar environment in the Los Angeles area and experienced things such as abuse, being around domestic violence, and seeing the damage of generational pain,” he says, “I saw how passionate their volunteers are and I just see myself in those kids.”

The athlete uses his social media platform to ask for donations, and at each race, he attaches the Richstone logo to the back of his shirt to spread people’s awareness on the trails. “To me, as long as that money and that awareness is going toward goodwill, good stuff is going to happen in the world,” he says.

For the next year, Gandhi has his eyes set on the Triple Crown of 200 Miles. He’ll have to complete all 654 miles of the series in a calendar year, and he plans to continue upping his fundraising goals — even if that means being overly ambitious. “I’ve always had the mindset of failing big instead of winning small,” he says.

1. What do we know about Aum Gandhi in paragraph 1?

A．He is a popular runner.	B．He is under great stress.
C．He has a passion for running.	D．He has gained fame from running.

2. How does Gandhi help with fundraising?

A．By stop ping violence.	B．By spreading goodwill.
C．By winning running races.	D．By setting bigger running goals.

3. Which of the following best describes Aum Gandhi as a volunteer?

A．Modest.

B．Committed.

C．Intelligent.

D．Adventurous.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Fundraising: A Key to Success.	B．Failing Big: To Run happily.
C．Volunteering: To Prevent Child Abuse.	D．Trail Running: A Path to Transformation.

4 . Festivals in March Around the World in 2024

SXSW Festival, USA

8th-16th March, 2024

SXSW is a famous festival in Austin. This media festival features plenty of film, music, and comedy events. SXSW also hosts tech panels (讨论会). Therefore, you have an opportunity to interact with celebrities and well-known businessmen. Austin is also famous for its outstanding drink and food! Travelers of all ages and interests can find something to enjoy at SXSW.

Pasifika Festival, New Zealand

9th-10th March, 2024

The Pasifika Festival showcases Pacific Island cultures. It takes place in Auckland where you can see contemporary art, music, dance, and cuisine from various Pacific communities. You’ll be able to witness and gain a deeper understanding about cultures like Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, and Maori, among others.

St Patrick’s Day, Ireland

14th-17th March, 2024

St Patrick’s Day celebrates Irish culture, music, food, and entertainment. Wrap up the party on St Patrick’s Day with a massive street carnival on 17th March. You’ll find parades, vendors (商贩), live music stages and fun across the centre of Dublin. You will find festivities all over Ireland, not just in the capital city.

Cape Town Jazz Festival, South Africa

22nd-31st March, 2024

For over twenty years, the Festival has attracted nearly 40, 000 people annually to its five major venues. It features music by dozens of musicians worldwide. Performers play Jazz, R&B, rap and so on. Enjoy the area before and after the Festival. Cape Town has extremely beautiful art and culture, restaurants, bars and outdoor activities.

1. Where can people attend a street carnival according to the text?

A．In Ireland.

B．In South Africa.

C．In the USA.

D．In New Zealand.

2. Which festival lasts the longest?

A．Pasifika Festival.	B．SXSW Festival.
C．St Patrick’s Day.	D．Cape Town Jazz Festival.

3. What can people do during the four festivals?

A．Attend technical panels.	B．Enjoy beautiful music.
C．Meet well-known people.	D．Appreciate contemporary art.

5 . Digital reading appears to be destroying habits of “deep reading”. Amazing numbers of people with year of schooling are in effect illiterate (不识字的). Admittedly, some people have been complaining about new media since 1492, but today’s complaints have an evidential basis, Ljubljana Reading Manifesto says, “The digital area may lead to more reading than ever in history, but it also offers many attractions to read in a shallow and scattered (碎片化的) manner— or even not to read at all. This increasingly endangers higher-level reading.”

Digital literacy has changed reading. When you read a book on paper, you can be entirely inside the experience, absorbing hundreds of pages to capture the world’s complexity. Online, says Maryanne Wolf of UCLA, we are “skimming, scanning, scrolling”. The medium is the message: doing deep reading on your phone is as hard as playing tennis with your phone. Recently, a bright 11-year-old told me I was wasting time on books: he absorbed more information faster from Wikipedia. He had a point. But digital readers also absorb more misinformation. And they seldom, absorb nuanced (微妙的) ideas.

In the white paper that underlies the Ljubljana Reading Manifesto, experts catalogue the passive parts of digital reading: “Recent studies of various kinds indicate a decline of... critical and conscious reading, slow reading, non-strategic reading and long-form reading.” In the 2021 international PISA survey, 49 percent of students agreed that “I read only if I have to”, 13 percentage points higher than in 2000.

As professors from Northwestern University foresaw in 2005, we are returning to the days when only an elite (精英的) “reading class” consumes long texts —despite more people spending longer in education and book sales remaining robust.

People who lose higher-level reading skills also lose thinking skills. That’s horrible, because “higher-level reading” has been essential to civilization. It enabled the Enlightenment, and an international rise in sympathy for people who aren’t like us.

1. What is the advantage of the digital reading?

A．It makes more people start to read widely.

B．It makes more people begin to think deeper.

C．It helps the young to make use of the Internet.

D．It helps people take advantage of their spare time.

2. What is Maryanne Wolf’s attitude towards digital reading?

A．Supportive.

B．Opposed.

C．Objective.

D．Unconcerned.

3. What can be inferred about the teens now according to paragraph 3?

A．Teens should change the critical and conscious reading.

B．Nearly half of the teens never read at all.

C．They don’t believe what the experts indicate.

D．The trend of reading books is increasingly declining.

4. Which statement is fit for the underlined word in paragraph 4?

A．More and more books are purchased.

B．It’s unnecessary for people to buy books.

C．More and more people like to visit the bookstores.

D．The sales of books keep still for a really long time.

6 . How long does it take to become an elite (精英) in your field?     1     That’s what John Hayes, a cognitive psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, wanted to know.

For decades, Hayes has been investigating the role of effort, practice and knowledge in top performers.     2     The research focused on people like Mozart and Picasso-to determine how long it took them to become world-class at their craft.

Let’s talk about what Hayes has discovered about world-class-performers. And more importantly, let’s discuss how you can use these insights to achieve your goals and become your best.

    3     He analyzed thousands of musical pieces produced from 1685 to 1900. The central question that drove his work was, “How long after one becomes interested in music is it that one becomes world-class?” Eventually, Hayes developed a list of 500 pieces of “masterworks” in the field, which were created by a total of 76 composers.

text, Hayes mapped out the timeline of each composers career.     4     What he discovered was that virtually every single “masterwork” was written after the tenth year of the composer’s career. Not a single person produced incredible work without putting in a decade of practice first. Even a genius like Mozart had to work for at least ten years before he produced something that became popular.     5    

In follow-up studies, Hayes found similar patterns among famous painters and popular poets. These findings have been further confirmed by research from professors like K. Anders Ericsson, who produced research that revealed that you needed to put in “10, 000 hours” to become an elite or expert in your field.

A．It takes time to achieve your goals.

B．And what do people like doing in their spare time?

C．He has studied the most talented creators in history.

D．Hayes started his research by examining successful composers

E．Professor Hayes began to refer to this period as the “ten years of silence”.

F．And what do the successful people do differently than the rest of us?

G．And then he calculated how long they had been working before they created their popular works.

8 . When it comes to popular symbols of marriage, one can not look past the wedding ring. The wedding ring serves as a perfect symbol of everlasting love — a ring is a circle and thus has no beginning or end, representing the never-ending union of marriage. Wedding rings have long and rich histories.

Evidence suggests that wedding rings were used in ancient Egypt around 6,000 years ago. However, unlike the metals and gemstones used today, they were crafted from materials such as reeds, leather or bone. In the centuries that followed, the wedding ring tradition was picked up in the West, where it spread first in ancient Rome and Greece, subsequently throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and eventually to Eastern culture. Throughout history, the circular shape of the ring has endured, and so has the tradition of wearing it on the fourth finger of the left hand. The latter practice stemmed from an ancient belief that a vein ran directly from this finger to the heart. Although this belief has since been proved false, the custom has persisted.

Regarding customs surrounding wedding rings, there was a time when only the bride wore a wedding ring. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the practice of grooms wearing rings gained popularity. This change was influenced by soldiers going off to war, who wore rings as reminders of their loved ones waiting for them at home. Today, the exchange of wedding rings remains an integral part of the wedding ceremony, symbolizing the commitment and love shared between two individuals embarking on a life together.

Wedding rings hold a symbolic significance that binds the two members of a married couple. In an ever-changing world, the wedding ring stands as an ancient tradition that is likely to continue for generations to come, reflecting the timeless and eternal love celebrated through marriage.

1. What is the main reason wedding rings are considered symbols of marriage?

A．They are made of precious materials.	B．They have profound histories.
C．They are worn on left hands.	D．They have circular shapes.

2. According to the passage, what is an example of a common myth instead of a fact?

A．Women were wearing wedding rings long before men were.

B．One finger on the left hand contains a vein leading to the heart.

C．Both ancient Romans and Egyptians wore the ring on the same finger.

D．The wedding ring tradition began in Egypt thousands of years ago.

3. Which of the following aspects of a wedding ring is NOT discussed in the passage?

A．How the tradition of it spread around the world.

B．What couples do with their wedding rings.

C．How to choose suitable wedding rings.

D．Materials used to make early rings.

4. How does the author feel about the tradition of wedding rings?

A．It will most likely last forever.	B．It has already fallen out of date.
C．It should be taken more seriously.	D．It holds no significance in modern society.

9 . One single night every January, volunteers all over America search parks, woodlands and pavements to count those without shelter. After seeing their own figures for homelessness increase by 20%between 2022 and early 2023. Jersey officials were shocked into action. Officials spent more on rental assistance for those at risk of becoming homeless. More services for people living rough have led to a rise in sheltered homelessness. The state also gathers real time data. In November New Jersey’s Office of Homelessness Prevention released its own figures , showing unsheltered homelessness falling across the state by 23% year on year.

Newark, New Jersey’s largest city and home to the state’s largest homeless population, recorded a 58% reduction in unsheltered homelessness since the start of the year due to the government’s financial support to reduce street homelessness, improve the shelter system and expand housing and prevention services.

Luis Ulerio, the director of Newark’s Office of Homeless Services, says “there’s just been a lot of hard work behind that number.” Mr. Baraka, the mayor (市长)，converted a local primary school into a 166-bed facility. He built temporary housing out of shipping containers. A second cluster (群) of containers with supportive services, called Hope Village II, will open soon. The containers have been altered to look like little cottages. A third cluster is in the works Mr.Baraka wants to create a pipeline from shelters to transitional housing and then to getting long-term homeless people into permanent housing.

More services for people living rough have led to a rise in sheltered homelessness. The city also provides money for overdue rent to prevent homelessness. Beth Shinn of Vanderbilt University points out that it’s cheaper to give $ 200 to help make due rent for the poor than to pay thousands later. The city also relies on data , updated daily by those working with Newark’s homeless people. Real-time data is crucial , he says , in order to carry out interventions in state policy all on the frontline.

1. What can we learn about homelessness in New Jersey from paragraph 1?

A．It has greatly affected people’s lives.	B．Official efforts are lacking to address it.
C．Great progress has been made to ease it.	D．It is the most serious all over America.

2. How did Mr. Baraka help the homeless in Newark??

A．He designed and built the Hope Village series for them.

B．He turned a school and shipping containers into o homes.

C．He joined a permanent pipeline to the homeless houses.

D．He led the volunteers to count people without shelter.

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

A．Extended.

B．Donated.

C．Distributed.

D．Changed.

4. What does Beth Shinn suggest about overdue rent?

A．Rent should be provided for the poor when it’s due.

B．No rent should be charged to stop overdue rent.

C．Real-time data should be in place to spot overdue rent.

D．A limit should be set to avoid large sum of overdue rent.

10 . Cordero is the farm manager at Ollin Farms, not far from Boulder, Colorado. The locally grown vegetables on the farm aren’t just pretty. “We play an important role in public health nutrition programs,” says Cordero’s dad, Mark Guttridge, who started this farm with his wife, Kena, 17 years ago.

At a meeting with about a dozen local farmers, two state representatives, and the Colorado officials of agriculture, Guttridge explains how Boulder county has made creative investments in his farm that could be spread to the state or even national level. Before the meeting, Guttridge shows them one of those investments.

A dozen sheep, which Guttridge raises for wool, feed on root vegetables like radishes that have been leftover for them. “So these guys are out fertilizing the vegetable field,” Guttridge laughs. “They’ll be out here a couple more weeks, and then we’ll get our next summer vegetables planted right there.” Around the field is a special moveable type of fencing that Ollin Farms bought using financial aid from the Boulder County Sustainability Office. It allows them to move the sheep from one field to another, fertilizing as they go. The goal of these investments is “really building up our soil health,” he explains. “That relates directly to the nutrient quality of the food-healthy soil grows healthy food.”

The county also makes an effort to get that healthy food out to different communities to boost public health. That’s where the Boulder County Public Health department comes in. It created a coupon program to give discounts to people buying fruits and vegetables from Ollin Farms. Nutrition incentive programs, like those public health fruit and vegetable coupons, are spreading all over the country, and most are funded through the federal farm bill. Amy Yaroch, executive director at the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, says “It’s a trip le win. It’s basically good for the consumers who live in that particular community because they’re getting the healthy food, it’s good for the farmer, and then it’s good for the economy.”

1. What does Ollin Farms do?

A．It makes public nutrition health plans.

B．It offers financial aid to other farms.

C．It provides cheap food to the local community.

D．It grows fruits and vegetables rich in nutrition.

2. How does Boulder county support sustainable farming practices at Ollin Farms?

A．By raising sheep on radishes.	B．By buying fences for farmhouses.
C．By funding the farm’s soil health.	D．By giving advice about fertilizing fields.

3. What is Amy’s attitude towards “nutrition incentive programs”?

A．Cautious.

B．Dismissive.

C．Unclear.

D．Approving.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Couponing for Health: Stimulating Nutrition Choices

B．Growing Health: Innovations in Farm and Public Health Initiatives

C．Fertile Fields and Furry Friends: A Farming Fairy Tale

D．Local Produce, Global Impact: The Nutrition Choices of Ollin Farms