1 . Staying focused can be a challenge even when you are doing one thing at a time.     1    , concentrating might appear impossible. Here are a few strategies that can really help you.

Unfocus your brain.     2    . It’s a place where your unfocused mind often make better decisions. This involves pairing your daydreaming with some unimportant activities such as walking and gardening. Doing this several times a day can offer your mind a fresh approach to the job at hand.

Block interruptions before diving into important work. Our days are filled with distractions (干扰), from others and ourselves. To help, turn off text messaging and social media notifications. Pretty basic?     3    . When distracting interruptions are shut off, your brain will get a chance to complete full sentences of thought.

    4    . Do you feel more sharp-minded in the morning? Or are you more clear-minded late in the night? Either way, it doesn’t matter as long as you can do the most important tasks when your brain is at its best performance. Avoid spending your best brain hours doing unimportant work. Instead, reserve it for the big tasks.

Try new hobbies. Hobbies not only give you fun, but also can help you come up with creative solutions to problems you’re facing at work or home.     5    .

A．Release your mind occasionally

B．Make friends with your body clock

C．If you purposefully let your mind wander

D．Then with multiple tasks going on in the world

E．Sure, but they are vital when you want a deep dive into focus

F．So occasionally engage in your favorite activities to unload your stressed brain

G．Schedule into your workday some breaks to let your mind wander into a dreamland

2 . From beautiful bronze (青铜) wine cups to grand bronze ding (food containers), this exhibition features discoveries that will fundamentally change visitors’ understanding of ancient Chinese civilization.

At about the same time that Stonehenge was rising in England, a Bronze Age culture was developing in China that in many respects was seldom equaled and never surpassed. This development seemed to have begun by 1600 BC in the Shang (about 1600 BC — 1046 BC) along the Yellow River. For thousands of years, this area had witnessed cultures of increasing complexity,

which laid the foundation of the Chinese civilization. By the time of the Bronze Age, this culture was characterized by a strong centralized government, urban communities with obvious social classes, a distinctive system of writing, strict religious rituals, diversified art forms, and advanced bronze-producing methods.

Unlike other cultures, where bronze was first used chiefly for tools and weapons, in China, bronze was used to make vessels (容器) that played central roles in official ceremonies and ancestor worship for more than 1,000 years, even after the official beginnings of the Iron Age in 400 BC. Possession of bronze vessels thus became a symbol for the holding of power and rulers used bronze cups and food containers to present offerings of food and wine to royal ancestors and gods.

During Shang times, wine played a major part in such ceremonies, and containers for wine therefore far outnumbered other types. Then, the Shang were criticized for too much wine drinking by its enemy, the Zhou, who felt that the drinking had offended Heaven and given the Zhou the right to overthrow the Shang. Safeguarding its own dynasty, the Zhou replaced the wine vessels with more practical cooking and storage tools.

After the Shang period, bronze vessels became more important as expressions of personal status than as vehicles for official ceremonies. This is evident from the changing content of bronze inscriptions. Carved into the surface of a vessel, these writings first appeared during the late Shang period as an identification of the vessel’s owner or of the ancestor to whom it was dedicated. During the Western Zhou period, inscriptions became increasingly common and lengthier, praising the achievements of the owners.

1. By the time Stonehenge was rising in England, ________.

A．the Chinese had yet to invent their writing system

B．China was still relatively backward in many respects

C．China had already had a strong centralized government

D．social classes just started to emerge in the Chinese cities

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The main applications of bronze in China.

B．The complex official ceremonies in China.

C．The significance of the discovery of bronze.

D．The differences between China and other countries.

3. Which of the following most probably belongs to the Zhou?

A．Huge bronze ding with short religious texts.

B．Bronze vessels showing the kings’ achievements.

C．An unearthed temple with lots of bronze wine cups.

D．An ancient kitchen with lots of bronze cooking pots.

4. From which is the text most probably taken?

A．A science report.	B．An exhibit brochure.
C．A history textbook.	D．A research paper.

3 . Inside a large room at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), tens of thousands of seeds are stored at a constant temperature of -20℃. Some of them may hold keys to helping us face the future.

“Our center holds as many as 120,000 varieties of seeds. Many of them come from crops as old as agriculture itself. Other seeds were selected by researchers who’ve hiked in the past four decades through forests and mountains in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa, searching for wild relatives of wheat, rice, legumes and other crops that are important to the human diet,” says Mariana Yazbek, who manages the research center.

The research center, formed in the 1970s, once mostly helped farmers in poorer countries in hot and dry climates. But now it also sends seeds to scientists in Europe, Canada and the United States, to improve certain crops’ resistance to the effects of climate change.

“What we are collecting is a sample of the diversity that we have in nature,” adds Yazbek. “We save seeds in case extreme droughts, floods or other catastrophic events should wipe out plant species. These wild relatives of crops have witnessed so many different climates. The qualities that help them adapt and survive in these conditions are stored in their DNA. We have this diversity and it can be a tool to help us face the future.”

Yazbek says scientists are particularly interested in crops like the legume because it absorbs a lot of greenhouse gas CO₂ from the atmosphere. It also releases N into the soil, meaning the farmers have to use less chemical fertilizer. And the legume takes very little water to grow because it produces sugar alcohols that act as humectants, a substance that attracts and absorbs water and saves the plant from freezing or drying out.

In another case, a wild wheat seed collected in Iran has allowed scientists in the US to develop new wheat varieties resistant to the Hessian fly, a harmful insect that causes tens of millions of dollars in damage to American crops every year.

1. What can be learned about ICARDA?

A．It has a complete collection of seeds.

B．It just helps the undeveloped countries.

C．It used to develop seeds for rich countries.

D．It focuses on saving ancient and wild seeds.

2. Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “catastrophic” in paragraph 4?

A．Important.

B．Wasteful.

C．Terrible.

D．Unforgettable.

3. What can be inferred about the legume?

A．It will grow much better in wet areas.

B．It is friendly to the environment and soil.

C．It will become the main crop for humans.

D．It has difficulty in adapting to cold climate.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Seeds Stored at ICARDA May Help Us Improve Our Crops

B．A New Invaluable Seed Bank Is Constructed at ICARDA

C．Scientists Have Made Breakthroughs in Ancient Seed Study

D．New Seeds Are Successfully Developed for North America

4 . On March 5, 2024, Riken Yamamoto became the 53rd winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize since it was established in 1979 and the 9th architect from Japan to be awarded the prize.

Yamamoto was born in 1945. His projects, ranging from private residences to public housing, are located throughout the world. His signature works include Nagoya Zokei University (Nagoya, Japan, 2022), The Circle at Zürich Airport (Zürich, Switzerland, 2020), Tianjin Library (Tianjin, China, 2012), Pangyo Housing (Seongnam, South Korea, 2010).

“Yamamoto has spent his entire life creating architecture that enriches the lives of those communities in a very generous and quiet way,” Deborah Berke, head of the Yale School of Architecture, told NPR. “My favorite is the Yokosuka Museum of Art. When I was there, I felt that I was part of something larger. That was really magical.”

The building Yamamoto is proud of might be the transparent firehouse he designed in Hiroshima. “The place is especially popular with children. They like to see the firemen training,” the architect said with a smile. “It’s covered with glass, so they can see the firefighters’ activities from the outside.”

Deconstructing traditional concepts of freedom and privacy while rejecting longstanding conditions that have reduced housing into a commodity (商品) without relation to neighbors, Yamamoto defines community as a sense of sharing one space and tries to bridge cultures, histories and multi-generational citizens, by adapting international influence and modernist architecture to the needs of the future.

“For me, to recognize space is to recognize an entire community,” Yamamoto said. “The current architectural approach emphasizes privacy, while ignoring the necessity of societal relationships. However, we can honor the freedom of each individual while still living together in architectural space as a harmonious community.”

“One of the things we need most in the future of cities is to create conditions through architecture that multiply the opportunities for people to come together and interact. By reconsidering boundary between public and private lives, Yamamoto contributes positively beyond the belief to enable communities,” says Tom Pritzker, chair of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award.

1. Which building does Deborah Berke like most?

A．The Circle at Zürich Airport.	B．Pangyo Housing.
C．The Yokosuka Museum of Art.	D．Nagoya Zokei University.

2. What has made the firehouse in Hiroshima so popular with children?

A．The magic roof.	B．The interesting toys.
C．The beautiful walls.	D．The training activities.

3. What does Riken Yamamoto stress in his design?

A．Social interaction.	B．Individual freedom.
C．National tradition.	D．Futuristic appearance.

4. What is Tom Pritzker’s attitude to the majority of the existing urban buildings?

A．Unclear.

B．Disapproving.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Favorable.

5 . Washington, DC is a theatre town. Here’s where you can get the best performances and cultural experiences offered for every taste in the nation’s capital.

Kennedy Center

Kennedy Center hosts hundreds of world-class performances each year and is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet also counts Kennedy Center as its performance headquarters. The company—under the direction of Farrell—was first invited to perform there in 1993 and has since become one of the venue’s most famous attractions.

Woolly Mammoth Company

Woolly Mammoth Company is an experimental theatre that welcomes original plays that push the boundaries of live theatre. The New York Times has called it “Washington’s most daring theatre company”, and the half dozen plays Woolly produces each year continue to live up to that reputation.

Shakespeare Theatre Company

For more than 25 years, Shakespeare Theatre Company has committed itself to serving as the nation’s classical theatre. It operates out of two spaces, including Sidney Harman Hall at the Harman Center, which seats 775, and the Lansburgh Theatre, which seats 451. The shiny, glass-walled Harman Center showcases classic Shakespeare plays, modern updates and Shakespeare-inspired original shows.

Wolf Trap

For locals, summer isn’t complete without at least one trip to Wolf Trap, the only national park dedicated to the performing arts. The venue is best-known for performances of touring artists. The open-air theatre offers covered seating, but when the weather warms up, we suggest buying seats on the grassland and packing a picnic.

1. When did the Suzanne Farrell Ballet first perform at Kennedy Center?

A．In 1993.

B．In 1998.

C．In 2000.

D．In 2003.

2. Which of the following is known for experimental plays?

A．The Harman Center.	B．Woolly Mammoth Company.
C．The Lansburgh Theatre.	D．Shakespeare Theatre Company.

3. What sets Wolf Trap apart from other theatres?

A．Its covered seating.	B．Its Shakespeare plays.
C．Its selected directors.	D．Its open-air atmosphere.

6 . Most of you may want your kids to stay away from social media because it can bring harm. But social media can have a positive effect on them, like helping them learn how to communicate with others, improve relationships and deal with somebody who isn’t being kind to them.     1    . If you decide to let your kids use social media, follow a few tips to help them better explore the social media world.

Talk to your kids. From the beginning, it’s important to have an open and honest conversation with your kids about what social media is and what it can be used for. Ask why they’re interested in having an account on a particular platform and what they want to use it for.     2    .

Limit screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics (儿科) recommends limiting screen time to two hours a day for kids.     3    , but parents should also focus on a bigger picture—making sure your kids are getting enough physical activity and face-to-face interactions.

Monitor their usage.     4    , whether that’s scrolling through (滚动浏览) their tablet or phone or using a social media monitoring tool. “See what apps are there and familiarize yourself with those,” psychologist Kate Eshleman says. “Ask yourself if this tool is going to fit your goal.”

    5    . Easier said than done, right? But practicing safe and healthy social media behaviors in front of your kids really matters. “It’s much harder for kids to understand the potential dangers or risks of social media when parents engage in the same behaviors themselves,” Eshleman says.

A．Be a role model

B．That’s a good guideline

C．Check on what your kids are consuming

D．Put a ban on improper social media behaviors

E．As they start venturing into the world of social media, keep talking

F．Parents should know how to interact with their kids on social media

G．Therefore, no social media at all might not be the best solution for your kids

7 . Smart accessories are increasingly common. For example, recently researchers introduced the Thermal Earring (热耳环), a wireless wearable device that continuously monitors a user’s earlobe (耳垂) temperature.

The smart earring model is about the size and weight of a small paperclip. A clip attaches one temperature sensor to a wearer’s ear, while another sensor hangs about an inch below it for estimating room temperature. The earring can be personalized with fashion designs in the shape of a flower, for example, without negatively affecting its accuracy.

“I wear a smartwatch to track my personal health, but I’ve found that a lot of people think smartwatches are unfashionable or uncomfortable,” said co-lead author Shirley. “I also like to wear earrings, so we started thinking about developing smart earrings.”

Creating a wearable device small enough to pass as an earring, yet robust (耐用的) enough that users would have to charge it only every few days, presented an engineering challenge.

“It’s a tricky balance,” said Shirley. “Typically, if you want power to last longer, you should have a bigger battery. But then you sacrifice size. Making it wireless also demands more energy.”

The team made the earring’s power consumption as efficient as possible, while also making space for a Bluetooth chip, a battery and two temperature sensors. Instead of pairing it with a device, which uses more power, the earring uses Bluetooth advertising mode—the transmissions a device broadcasts to show it can be paired. After reading and sending the temperature, it goes into deep sleep to save power.

In a study of six users, the earring outperformed a smartwatch at sensing skin temperature during periods of rest. It also showed promise for monitoring signs of stress, eating and exercise. But they need more data to train their models for each use case and more thorough testing before the device might be used by the public.

For future versions of the device, Shirley is working to integrate heart rate and activity monitoring. She’s also interested in potentially powering the device from solar or kinetic energy from the earring swaying.

1. What can be learned about the smart earrings from paragraph 2?

A．Its target users.	B．Its design.
C．Its energy consumption.	D．Its application.

2. What difficulty did the researchers meet when inventing the earrings?

A．Selecting a light material.

B．Testing out wireless connection.

C．Charging the smart earring quickly.

D．Balancing the size and the energy capacity.

3. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 6?

A．How the earrings read and send the temperature.

B．What the researchers did to save energy of the earrings.

C．How the researchers paired the earrings with bluetooth.

D．What principles the researchers used in the invention.

4. What is Shirley working on?

A．Putting the smart earrings into market.

B．Testing the smart earrings on the patients.

C．Adding more functions to the smart earrings.

D．Comparing smart earrings with other smart products.

8 . As dawn breaks over the Rockies, the streets of Colorado awaken, walkers and cyclists moving through the city’s streets. But beneath this lies a growing concern: the safety of these road users is increasingly under threat.

Recent statistics reveal a reality, with fatalities (死亡) rising, casting a shadow over Colorado’s busy streets. Among these fatalities is the story of Nick Cordova, a cyclist whose life was cut short, becoming a catalyst for change and a symbol of the urgent need for safer streets.

In the wake of these accidents, the community has found a discomforting way to remember and advocate: the “ghost (幽灵) bike”. Painted white and chained near the site of fatal accidents, these bikes are used to remind people of the lives lost and the critical need for change. The recent rescheduling of a “ghost ride” memorial for Nick Cordova emphasizes the community’s resolve.

Janice Jim, vice president of CycleWR, emphasizes that while some cities have excellent bicycle infrastructure (基础设施), the battle is far from over. Areas like Victoria St in Kitchener, known for accidents, are in great need of attention and improvement. Jim’s words mirror a view shared by the majority: the infrastructure can and must be better, for the sake of all who share the road.

The concept of Vision Zero, an initiative aimed at getting rid of all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, fair mobility for all, has found a foothold in Colorado. However, the journey towards this ambitious goal is faced with challenges. Funding and policy changes are the foundations upon which this vision rests.

Advocates argue that investment in cyclist safety isn’t just a matter of public health; it’s an investment in the very fabric of the community, an acknowledgment that every life is precious and deserving of protection. As Colorado stands at this crossroads, the push for more funding and policy changes continues, fueled by stories like Cordova’s and the unyielding spirit of those left to carry the torch.

1. Which word can best replace the underlined word “catalyst” in paragraph 2?

A．Barrier.

B．Fuel.

C．Fear.

D．Link.

2. Why are “ghost bikes” placed in the street?

A．To serve as a reminder.	B．To mark dangerous areas.
C．To add to shared bikes.	D．To prove the government’s action.

3. What can we know about Vision Zero?

A．It is put forward by Cordova.

B．Its realization needs policy support.

C．Its aim is to get rid of all traffic accidents.

D．It has been achieved in Colorado.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．The Story of Cordova	B．The Concept of Vision Zero
C．Colorado’s Ghost Bikes	D．Colorado’s Call for Street Safety

9 . Phil Gibson didn’t set out to revolutionize how seniors record their life stories. He was just having a dinnertime conversation.

In the summer of 2006, Gibson’s mother-in-law Jane mentioned that she had recently visited a friend in a rest home. She was disappointed that the woman had faded so much.

“People didn’t recognize how active this woman had been when she was healthy,” Gibson recalls. “My mother-in-law told me she wished there was a board attached to her friend’s bed that could display her poems, stories and artwork so people could realize the passion this woman had had when she was younger.”

Shortly after this conversation with his in-laws, Gibson, 48, made another unexpected discovery.

“I was at dinner with a group of business friends and was shocked by the fact that every one of us had experienced a major life-changing event with one of our parents or in-laws passing away in the last three months,” Gibson said. “In conversations, it was clear that none of us had prepared for losing that valuable connection to our histories and these very important people in our lives.”

So Gibson began to create a new, easy-to-use website to collect senior and family stories. After nearly a year of development and testing, he launched a free online service called GrearLifeStories.com. The site guides anyone through the process of capturing, sharing and preserving the life stories of previous or current generations before they are lost forever.

These new technologies are the latest developments to give seniors, family members, and caregivers tools to help improve the mental, emotional, and physical health of older adults. As tools, they offer seniors a structured way of telling their life stories and passing their legacies along to future generations. And they often enable family members to be more compassionate, informed and effective in providing care.

Recording the life story of a senior can often be an activity that benefits both the young and the old and actually, everyone can benefit from the process of helping a senior recall treasured life memories.

1. What made Gibson’s mother-in-law feel let down?

A．Her friend couldn’t recognize her.

B．Her friend went to live in a rest home.

C．Her friend’s health condition was worsening.

D．Her friend lost talent for literary creation.

2. Why did Gibson mention his dinner with friends?

A．To prove how valuable friendship is.

B．To indicate anyone is likely to experience loss.

C．To show friends’ attitude toward the changes in life.

D．To explain how he got the idea of collecting stories.

3. What is the significance of GreatLifeStories.com?

A．It teaches the old advanced technology.

B．It provides a tool for the old to earn money.

C．It promotes the general well-being of the old.

D．It offers seniors a platform to interact with each other.

4. In which section of a website might this text appear?

A．Society.

B．History.

C．Literature.

D．Technology.

10 . As humans, we might believe that we are the smartest and perhaps the only creatures in the world capable of having feelings and subjective experience, but is this really the case? A new study finds that bumblebees (大黄蜂) like to play. They like to roll around small wooden balls with no apparent motivation — it likely makes them feel good.

Previous evidence suggests that bees have positive and negative emotion-like states usually when they are given food rewards to test their abilities. However, in an experiment of the new study, some researchers had trained bumblebees to roll balls into a target in exchange for a sweet treat. They noticed that sometimes bumblebees would roll the balls outside of the experiment area for no reward.

This observation gave rise to new questions: What are they doing? Why? Is this random or intentional?

To answer these questions, the researchers set up more experiments. In the latest experiment, they watched 45 bumblebees in an enclosed area where they could walk through a clear path to reach a feeding area, or they could go off the path into areas with wooden balls. They found the bumblebees went out of their way to sit on the balls or push them. Each rolled the balls between one and 117 times during the experiment.

The researchers say that because they did it repeatedly with no food payoff, it suggests that the ball rolling was rewarding.

“The behavior was voluntary,” says study first-author Samadi Galpayage. “Bees have a reputation for being hard workers, but the prospect of bees engaging in something like play is really novel and exciting because it shows that bees may experience pleasure and don’t only carry out duties that are strictly essential for immediate survival.”

Galpayage adds, “Personally, I find this behavior fascinating because it tells us that bumblebees, like many other animals, are more than little robotic beings, but have a richer behavior and life than we would have previously thought.”

1. What is probably humans’ typical view on bumblebees according to paragraph 1?

A．They have no subjective feelings.	B．They are friendly to human beings.
C．They like rolling balls for pleasure.	D．They are smarter than other creatures.

2. What did bumblebees do in the latest experiment of the new study?

A．They rolled their food around.	B．They played with the balls.
C．They stayed in the feeding area.	D．They shared food with each other.

3. How does Samadi Galpayage feel about bumblebees’ behavior in the new study?

A．Calm.

B．Regretful.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Amazed.

4. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the text?

A．Bumblebees Are Hard Workers	B．Bumblebees Roll Balls for Food
C．Bumblebees Are Selfless Insects	D．Bumblebees Probably Enjoy Playing