1 . How to Choose Courses for High School Freshmen
Welcome to the exciting world of high school! As a freshman, you may be feeling unsure of how to choose the right courses. Fear not, we will guide you through the process of choosing the perfect courses for your unique academic journey.
Start with your strengths
The first step in choosing courses is to take a look at your strengths and interests. What courses are you better at?
Consider your career goals
Think about what jobs you are interested in in the future.
Talk to the school advisers
School advisers are your valuable resource when it comes to choosing courses. They can help you find your interests, strengths, and career goals. They also recommend courses that are suitable for you.
When choosing courses, it's important to look at your schedule. Will you have enough time to complete your homework and still have time for other activities? Will the courses conflict with each other? For example, if you have heavy work of math and science courses, you might want to avoid adding another challenging course to your plate.
Research the subjects
Before choosing a course, take some time to research the subject matter. Look for reviews and feedback from present and former students.
| A．Consider your schedule |
| B．Balance your homework |
| C．Science courses are best for choosing a job. |
| D．What courses will help you achieve your goals? |
| E．What subjects do you find yourself naturally attracted to? |
| F．They can help you get a sense of the course content and level. |
| G．In a word, they help you find the perfect choice specially for you. |
2 . Do you know how much India struggles to gather the waste plastic water bottles? According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report from 2012, India produces 15,000 tonnes of plastics a day, of which the gathered ones only achieve 60% . The trashed-but-not-gathered plastic waste leads to land and water pollution, bringing serious threat to the environment.
After seeing such large-scale plastic pollution, Ankur Chawla, a drink expert, undertook research to find a solution. When he realized the biggest problem the country faced was handling plastic waste, he wanted to come up with a solution where they do not add to the problem of waste. Fortunately, Ankur was not alone. He met Bhrigu Seth, who was into green farming. Both of them found that they shared a common goal and it didn’t take long for them to make a plan of action. It is estimated that over 90 percent of aluminium (铝) drink cans in India are recycled and 70 percent of the cans are made through recycled waste. After going through challenges at hand, the pair made up their minds.
Before taking the next step, both co-founders visited five-star hotels and took samples of water in aluminium cans, asking them whether they would give it a shot if something like that comes in the market. The pair received a widely positive response. They then determined to launch Responsible Whatr, a natural spring water drink packed in an aluminium can to solve the problem of plastic bottles waste.
As one of India’s first natural spring water drinks, Responsible Whatr offered an environmentally-friendly and endlessly recyclable aluminium can. It’s a non-alcoholic drink that was launched with an expectation for an eco-friendly future and an aim to reduce single-use plastic pollution.
Going forward, Ankur and Bhrigu aim to cooperate with airports and ecommerce gates which would help them in directly reaching the homes of high income individuals. They also plan to tie up with corporate firms and cinema halls and join hands with NGOs that are fighting for the conservation of beaches and oceans.
1. What inspired Ankur to conduct his research?| A．Plastics waste caused severe pollution. | B．Plastics remained the major bottle material. |
| C．Plastics accounted for most of the daily waste. | D．The amount of plastic waste was beyond control. |
| A．Launching a rubbish sorting program. | B．Increasing the recycling of plastic cans. |
| C．Creating a new popular packaging design. | D．Finding an acceptable alternative to plastics. |
| A．To advertise a non-alcoholic drink. | B．To receive widely positive responses. |
| C．To reduce single-use plastic pollution. | D．To promote recyclable aluminium cans. |
| A．By introducing new products. | B．By establishing various channels. |
| C．By cooperating with high income individuals. | D．By fighting for the conservation of beaches and oceans. |
3 . A new study reveals that pigeons (鸽子) can tackle some problems just like artificial intelligence, enabling them to solve difficult tasks that might challenge humans. Previous research has theorized that pigeons employ a problem-solving strategy, involving a trial-and- error approach, which is similar to the approach used in AI models but differs from humans’ reliance on selective attention and rule use. To examine it, Brandon Turner, a psychology professor at the Ohio State University, and his colleagues conducted the new study.
In the study, the pigeons were presented with various visual images, including lines of different widths and angles, and different types of rings. The pigeons had to peck (啄) a button on the right or left to indicate the category to which the image belonged. If they got it correct, they received food; if they were wrong, they received nothing. Results showed that, through trial and error, the pigeons improved their accuracy in categorization tasks, increasing their correct choices from about 55% to 95%.
Researchers believed pigeons used associative learning, which is linking two phenomena with each other. For example, it is easy to understand the link. between “water” and “wet”. “Associative learning is frequently assumed to be far too primitive to. explain complex visual categorization like what we saw the pigeons do,” Turner said. But that’s exactly what the researchers found.
The researchers’ AI model tackled the same tasks using just the two simple mechanisms that pigeons were assumed to use: associative learning and error correction. And, like the pigeons, the AI model learned to make the right predictions to significantly increase the number of correct answers. For humans, the challenge when given tasks like those given to pigeons is that they would try to come up with rules that could make the task easier. But in this case, there were no rules, which upsets humans.
What’s interesting, though, is that pigeons use this method of learning that is very similar to AI designed by humans, Turner said. “We celebrate how smart we are that we designed artificial intelligence: at the same time, we regard pigeons as not clever animals,” he said.
1. What is the purpose of the new study?| A．To test a theory. | B．To evaluate a model. |
| C．To employ a strategy. | D．To involve an approach. |
| A．Draw circles. | B．Correct errors. | C．Copy gestures. | D．Identify images. |
| A．They are of equal intelligence. |
| B．They are good at making rules. |
| C．They respond rapidly to orders from humans. |
| D．They employ simple ways to get things done. |
| A．Pigeons’ trial-and-error method is revealed |
| B．Pigeons outperform humans in tough tasks |
| C．“Not smart” pigeons may be as smart as AI |
| D．AI models after pigeons’ learning approach |
4 . Looking out of the window of his truck, Bob Fitzgerald sees dying forests and empty farmland. Fitzgerald says the land has been in his family since the 17th century. “I can show you land around here that people grew tomatoes on when I was a little boy. And now it’s gone.”
Climate change is making things worse. As sea levels rise, salt water is entering rivers and other waterways. As a result, the land is becoming too salty for crops to grow on. Hundreds of millions of people will be forced to move inland because of rising waters.
Kate Tully, a researcher in the University of Maryland, wants to keep coastal farmers in business as the seas rise. She has seen the forests filled with pine trees killed by the increasingly salty soil. The United States Department of Agriculture gave Tully and other researchers $1.1 million to study the problem. She and her team hope to give farmers ways to stay on their land.
They are testing different crops on pieces of land around the Eastern Shore. “Sorghum (高粱) is my new favorite crop because it can grow without rain and it can grow with lots of rain.” The grain (谷物) crop may be a good choice to feed the nearly 600 million chickens kept in the area each year. As farmers know, chickens can deal with salt, dry weather conditions and heavy rains. Yet just being able to grow a crop is not enough. The crop has to bring in money.
Some people believe the land should be given back to nature. They say the fields should be turned into wetlands, which are popular with duck hunters. “There’s money in duck hunting,” Tully said. “Hunting organizations will pay farmers for hunting on their land. Farmers could make a lot of money from duck hunting.”
Tully and her team are just getting started. It will be a few years before they really understand how to save the farms.
1. What is the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To lead to the main topic. | B．To describe the farm scenery. |
| C．To illustrate a memorable experience. | D．To provide the background information. |
| A．To help farmers stay on their land. | B．To study new crops for coastal farmers. |
| C．To study climate change in recent years. | D．To help farmers start their own business. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
| A．Climate Change Making Things Worse. | B．Rising Seas Forcing Changes on Farms. |
| C．Coastal Farmers Saving Their Homeland. | D．Scientists Teaching Farmers to Plant Crops. |
5 . Museum Day
Museum Day is here for one day and one day only — so you’ll need to hurry if you want to take advantage of the chance to get free Saturday admission to one of the hundreds of participating museums.
This event is hosted annually by Smithsonian Magazine and involves museums and cultural institutions coming together to offer free admission for visitors who would otherwise have to pay for entry.
You just need an email address to get a free ticket.To get a ticket you’ll need to go to the Smithsonian Magazine website and pick which museum you want to go to. You’ll be able to search to see which museums near you are participating, and you just have to put in your email address and name. After that, you can download your ticket and head out for some fun.
A lot of museums are still feeling financial stress from the pandemic.The event is happening as museums are still struggling from the hits they took during the first few years of the pandemic.
The American Alliance of Museums estimated it will take years for museums to fully recover. In February, the group released survey results that detailed those financial losses.
But there’s hope that a free day at the museums might contribute to more future visits.
1. How often is Museum Day held?| A．Once a week. | B．Once a day. | C．Once a year. | D．Once a month. |
| A．By writing an email. | B．By signing up on the Internet. |
| C．By visiting the nearest museum. | D．By downloading Smithsonian Magazine. |
| A．It will help people deal with stress. | B．It will make museums more famous. |
| C．It can help museums to fully recover. | D．It may attract more visitors to museums. |
6 . More than 50 million people in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere follow pastoralism(游牧) as a way of life. The practice has survived for so long because it is designed to change with the environment. Pastoralists move with animals to find new lands and water, leaving behind eaten plants to regrow.
Mongolia is well known for its pastoralism. Agvaantogtokh and his family are herders(牧民). On horseback, he rides with nearly a thousand sheep and goats to help them find water. Sometimes, he and his wife, Nurmaa, stop to help struggling young ones, weak after a difficult winter.
For families like Agvaantogtokh’s, pastoralism is more than a profession. It is a cultural identity that connects generations. At its heart is the human connection to animals. While they consider the animals as their property, they also see them as living beings working alongside them.
Researchers say herders believe in “animal agency”. Agvaantogtokh lets his animals choose the food they eat and where they find water. To him, restricting an animal’s movement and asking it to eat the same thing each day is like putting a person in prison.
In Mongolia, weather extremes are a part of life. When Agvaantogtokh thinks about climate change, he is concerned about humans and animals. Continuous dry and warm weather affects Mongolia. Since 1940, the government says, average temperatures have risen 2.2 degrees Celsius. To keep their practice alive, pastoralists seek ways to modernize. In Mongolia, Lkhaebum recently began using a small vehicle to more easily search for horses. The family uses electricity and has other technologies including a TV and a washing machine. They also use a cellphone to follow the weather and access social media where herders share information.
One of the biggest threats to pastoralism comes from within. Nurmaa and Agvaantogtokh’s 18-year-old daughter studies medicine. Their son spoke about becoming a herder when he was a child, but not anymore. “I won’t regret anything if my child won’t be a herder,” Nurmaa said. “I would like them to do what they desire to do.”
1. What contributes to the survival of pastoralism?| A．Huge pastoralist populations. | B．Adaptation to the environment. |
| C．Herders’ desire to travel to new places. | D．Slow development of modernization. |
| A．The distinct identity of animals. | B．A poorly-paid profession. |
| C．An out-of-date lifestyle. | D．The bond between man and animals. |
| A．Animals’ living in cages. | B．Animals’ eating the same thing. |
| C．Animals’ struggling in shelters. | D．Animals’ moving around freely. |
| A．Modern technology. | B．No government support. |
| C．Young people’s disinterest in it. | D．Lack of information exchange. |
7 . The Spring Festival has come and gone, leaving many young adults with a significant inflow of pocket money from their family and loved ones. When it comes to managing the substantial amount of pocket money you may have received, it’s crucial to approach this new-found wealth with wisdom and foresight.
Also, it’s essential to cultivate the habit of saving.
Before your buying anything, think twice.
Lastly, seek guidance from trusted adults or financial mentors.
| A．Pause and reflect on each purchase. |
| B．First, open a saving account in the bank. |
| C．Setting a budget is of crucial importance. |
| D．Resist the temptation to spend your entire windfall in one go. |
| E．They can provide valuable insights and offer personalized advice. |
| F．Strike a balance between enjoying the present and preparing for the future. |
| G．Maximize the benefits of your pocket money by making wise financial choices. |
8 . “Tick, tick, pzzzz…” the song of the Florida grasshopper sparrow is unusual and surprisingly insect-like. But it almost fell silent forever. In 2012, Joel Sartore, National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark founder, received a call from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: The songbird, an important ecological link in Florida’s dry grasslands, was struggling on extinction. With only a few dozen males in sight, it was among North America’s most endangered bird species.
Funded by the National Geographic Society, Sartore flew to Florida to photograph the bird and work with conservationists to raise awareness of the species’ situation. The story went viral on social media, helping boost government funding for a protecting program. Thanks to these steps, there are now as many as 180 adult birds in the wild, and researchers are working hard to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
This journey reveals the Society’s mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of the world. Over the past 136 years, it has developed a unique explorer-led model, combining science, exploration, education and storytelling to drive impact. The society also supports explorers in more than 140 countries, including Sartore and others whose work relates to this issue: biologist André Green II, photographer Jasper Doest and education advocate Ara Kusuma.
Sartore is now 17 years into his efforts to create an “Ark” of animal photos. Portraits of more than 15,000 species invite audiences to connect and care. With the Society’s support, the images have appeared on the landmarks and postage stamps in the U. S., contributing to on-the-ground conservation efforts.
As Sartore says, “The sounds of birds are the sounds of a health y planet. When we save a bird or another species, we’re actually saving ourselves.”
1. What do we know about the Florida grasshopper sparrow?| A．It died out entirely in 2012. | B．It has lost its singing voice. |
| C．It is crucial to the ecology. | D．Only a few females were left. |
| A．Adventurous. | B．Dangerous. | C．Eventful. | D．Fruitful. |
| A．It is a costly but unproductive project. | B．It centered on creating a unique model. |
| C．It aims to control the species’ population. | D．It involves multi-field’s strength and efforts. |
| A．Demanding and generous. | B．Responsible and devoted. |
| C．Talented and considerate. | D．Determined and sensitive. |
9 . Scientists in South Africa have found that ceramic (瓷的) nest boxes can protect endangered African penguins from climate change.
In the past, the penguins laid eggs in holes dug into centuries-old layers of their own droppings, most of which was shipped by traders to the United Kingdom as fertilizer (肥料) in the 1800s. Since then, many penguins have nested in the open, exposing their eggs and themselves to the burning heat.
Because penguins evolved to keep heat in cold water, they can easily overheat on land. Typically, penguins leave their nests regularly to cool off in the sea. But without proper holes, this leaves their eggs unprotected. Since 1900, the African penguin population has dropped from three million to only 48,000.
Fortunately, a team of researchers seem to have found a way. Over the past years, the team has put more than 1,500 handmade ceramic nest boxes in five areas where the penguins live, including Bird Island in Algoa Bay, South Africa, which is home to nearly half of the world’s remaining African penguins. Looking like small round houses, the double-walled ceramic nests can keep African penguins cool.
“The nests are so useful,” says Welman, a zoologist, “Even if adults had to leave nests for some reason, their eggs would never be at any risk of overheating.” Christina Hagen of Bird Life South Africa, who was not part of the study, says finding effective conservation solutions is important given the decreasing population of African penguins.
The main threat to African penguins is overfishing of anchovy and sardines, the penguins’ favorite food. Scientists and conservationists are pushing the South African government to close commercial fishing around the five African penguin breeding (繁殖) colonies until populations recover. But without protection from rising temperatures, those efforts alone may not be enough. Ceramic nests could help to give these beloved penguins a fighting chance.
1. What can we learn about African penguins from the passage?| A．They well adapt to high temperatures. |
| B．They are mainly threatened by pollution. |
| C．They are suffering a lot from overheating. |
| D．They have a population of over three million. |
| A．There is a vast population of African penguins. |
| B．It enjoys the best climate for African penguins. |
| C．African penguins there can nest in the open. |
| D．There are holes for penguins to lay eggs. |
| A．To allow the penguins to stay cool inside. |
| B．To protect the penguins from being hunted. |
| C．To provide a place for the penguins to rest. |
| D．To save enough room for the adult penguins. |
| A．Creating more nesting areas for the penguins. |
| B．Stopping people fishing where the penguins breed. |
| C．Introducing new species of fish for the penguins. |
| D．Providing man-made cooling facilities for the penguins. |
10 . I have quite a bit of experience with Toastmasters, an organization aiming to help people overcome speech anxiety. I joined many years ago with the hope of improving my public speaking. After one of my speeches, the comments I received were harsh. Constructive or not, the critique was hard to take. I felt my feelings were hurt.
I learned many things from my time with Toastmasters, and one was the value of good feedback. Welcoming the critique of others is hard for adults, even when it’s well-intentioned. So naturally, we can expect that children will also struggle with it. But the feedback our children receive from teachers and parents is important to their growth and development. So as parents, we must learn how to deliver our feedback effectively, and we’ll need to train our children on how to accept it with openness and wisdom.
The way parents deliver their feedback is as important as the specific words used. It’s possible to have good intentions, but when feedback is poorly given, it can be harmful and not helpful.
It’s important to create a welcoming, safe environment in the home for intaking and processing feedback. Especially between a child and parent, the feedback needs to be healthy, constructive and regular.
The words used are also important. In a New York Times article written by Dr. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School, he shares that it is “22 to 29 percent more effective” to encourage children with nouns than verbs, but when it comes to giving negative feedback, it’s generally better to use verbs.
A parent’s feedback provides the scaffolding (脚手架) for how a child will manage their inner monologue. Consider, as an example, a discussion you may have with your child about their goals. Your feedback can encourage them not just to focus on where they are now but to reflect on how far they’ve come. This kind of feedback can spur them on to reach the finish line.
1. Why does the author mention his experience with Toastmasters?| A．To tell us what is good feedback. | B．To tell us to join Toastmasters. |
| C．To show the main function of feedback. | D．To show the necessity of proper feedback. |
① You’re a big helper. ② You’re a poor math learner.
③ You’ve been helpful this afternoon. ④ You didn’t do well on this math test.
| A．①② | B．①④ | C．②③ | D．③④ |
| A．Limit. | B．Monitor. | C．Persuade. | D．Inspire. |
| A．The way to respond to feedback | B．The value of accepting feedback |
| C．How to give effective feedback | D．How to become a better speaker |
