1 . The “Got Talent” crew is one of the pioneers in finding and publicizing music talents and has been giving the world some of its most favorite artists for almost two decades. This year “Britain’s Got Talent” (BGT) uncovered a musical genius named Malakai Bayoh who amazed the audience with perfect high-note singing. The London-based 13-year-old boy appeared for the show’s audition (试镜) in April, 2023 and was accompanied by his mom and sister. “My big dream is to be a singer. I started singing at 7,” said Bayoh to the BGT team and added jokingly, “My mom made me join the choir (合唱团) because she’s very bossy.” The teenager mentioned she’s his biggest fan.
Bayoh’s mom was shocked as he was about to perform and said, “It scares me because, on his first show, somebody heckled (对……起哄) him. It was bad to think that someone would boo (喝倒彩) a child on stage because it could’ve knocked his confidence completely.” Contrary to his mom’s fear, Bayoh set the stage on fire singing the song “Pie Jesu” and the entire crowd were struck by his beautiful voice. As he ended his song, the audience and the judges gave him a standing applause. Simon Cowell, a judge, had just one word to say and it was “Golden Buzzer”, sending him straight to the semi-finals of the show.
Cowell and the other judges called Bayoh’s performance “flawless” and “heavenly”. His angelic voice made the audience tear up and the judges thanked the teen for coming on the show. Bayoh went on to become one of the finalists of the show.
Bayoh’s audition at the BGT became popular on social media. People loved the boy’s impeccable singing and some musicians even commented on how perfectly he hit the high notes. “I’m a trained singer and a music teacher by profession, and sang this song as a young performer myself. I can say with absolute certainty that this song is most beautifully sung this time. With proper technique and breathing, this boy sang really well,” posted @mayacorinne878.
1. What can be learned about Bayoh from paragraph 2?| A．He comes from a single-parent family. | B．He is humorous in speech. |
| C．His dream was inspired by his fans. | D．His mom used to be a singer. |
| A．Bayoh’s difficulty in singing. | B．The judges’ attitudes to his son. |
| C．Bayoh’s performance on stage. | D．Some audiences’ initial responses. |
| A．Touched. | B．Annoyed. | C．Relieved. | D．Amused. |
| A．To uncover more musical geniuses. | B．To show musicians’ ability to sing well. |
| C．To stress Bayoh’s excellent singing. | D．To contradict some audiences’ comments. |
2 . A film, also called a movie, is a work used to communicate ideas, stories, feelings, beauty and much more through the use of moving images. This article therefore introduces some right movies or TV series which will benefit students in one way or the other.
Like Stars on Earth
This is a heart touching Indian movie that tells the story of a boy named Ishaan Awasthi. He is an 8-year-old boy with dyslexia (阅读障碍) and this greatly influences his performance in school. Ishaan has an amazing talent for art and painting, but no one would like to know him and be his friends until a new art teacher, Ram Nikumbh, arrives. He takes special interest in Ishaan and discovers Ishaan’s problem and his artistic talent.
The Social Network
It tells us the story of young Mark Zuckerberg who is an undergraduate at Harvard and also a computer genius (天才). He begins to work on an idea which grows into a globally recognized social network called Facebook. This makes Mark one of the youngest billionaires existing.
Grownish
Filled with real life situations and grown up people, this series takes us back to university-lifestyle. Grownish through four amazing seasons, teaches us how to navigate (驾驭) the university through the eyes of Zoey Johnson. Zoey is a talented fashion designer and stylist who seems to have the world all planned out for her.
King of Boys 2
If you haven’t already seen the first movie in this series, you should take two steps back so you don’t get lost in this political (政治的) forest. This movie is the type that has you sitting at the edge (边缘) of your seat from start to finish. King of Boys 2 takes us to the underworld of a truly dirty game called “politics”.
1. Why is the 8-year-old boy named Ishaan doing poorly in school?| A．He has difficulty reading. | B．His teachers dislike him. |
| C．He fails to make new friends. | D．He takes no interest in studies. |
| A．Ram Nikumbh. | B．Mark Zuckerberg. |
| C．Zoey Johnson. | D．Ishaan Awasthi. |
| A．An art teacher’s story. | B．A computer genius. |
| C．A fashion designer’s growth. | D．A political game. |
3 . The Chinese Students and Scholars Association in the UK held a Spring Festival gala (庆典) on Wednesday in London to count down to the Chinese New Year. More than 900attendees, including representatives from British universities and education institutions, as well as Chinese students and scholars, joined to enjoy a feast of Chinese culture.
This year’s Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, and 2024 is the year of the dragon based on the Chinese zodiac. The dragon is considered by the Chinese people to represent dignity, prestige, and fortune.
The festival gala, with a theme of “Soaring Dragon’s Spring Melody”, featured Chinese folk music, dance, singing, martial arts performance and more.
During the event, Zheng Zeguang, China’s ambassador to the UK, made a speech to the attendees, highlighting major accomplishments achieved in the past year and stating China’s future development focuses.
He pointed out that China will determinedly pursue high-quality development and Chinese modernization to advance the great rejuvenation (复兴) of the Chinese nation. China will also call for an equal and orderly multipolar (多级的) world as well as for inclusive economic globalization that benefits all, Zheng noted. “Our motherland has bright prospects for future growth,” he said.
The ambassador praised Chinese students and scholars for being hardworking and behaving in a controlled way, saying that the number of Chinese students in the UK has significantly increased due to the transformation of China. “I hope you will carry on the tradition of patriotism. I hope you will ai m high and work hard. I hope you will unit e and help each other, as well as make friends widely. I hope you will grow into the backbone of the nation in the near future,” he said.
Alistair Fitt, vice-headmaster of Oxford Brookes University, extended warm wishes of good fortune and prosperity in the year of the dragon and expressed hope for progress in Sino-British relations. “I am very sure that our two great nations will continue to expand all of our very successful relationships,” he said.
1. What does the underlined word “prestige” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．The condition of being strange and alone. | B．The condition of being respected and admired. |
| C．The condition of being large and frightening. | D．The condition of being followed and monitored. |
| A．Advertising activities have been organized well in China to promote British universities. |
| B．Chinese students are most attracted by the scenery in the UK. |
| C．The education fees in the UK have been reduced. |
| D．Great changes have taken place in China. |
| A．His suggestions. | B．His surprises. | C．His arrangements. | D．His expectations. |
| A．Spring Festival gala brings joy to Chinese students in UK |
| B．Chinese students in UK count down to Chinese New Year |
| C．Warm wishes of good fortune expressed in year of dragon in UK |
| D．China’s ambassador to UK states China’s future development focuses |
4 . Steps Towards Unlocking Your Inner Wisdom
At the core of your life lies sense, a powerful force that exists within. Knowing how to follow your sense can help you guide your life.
●Seek loneliness and stillness. In a world filled with noises, finding inner peace requires silencing the noise around you.
●Develop self-awareness.
●
●Take action with intention. Once your sense gives guidance, trust yourself enough to act on it on purpose.
| A．Explore the unknown. |
| B．Stay away from unfamiliar paths. |
| C．You need to find a place free from any interruption. |
| D．It is better to think about high-pressure decisions first. |
| E．Learn how to believe in your sense by making small choices. |
| F．Raising your sense requires a deep understanding of yourself. |
| G．And insights gained from your sense can affect everything you do in life. |
5 . Scientists have long believed that Mars was wet around three billion years ago and then lost much of its water. But a new study presents evidence of water activity from about 700 million years ago, posing a new puzzle about Mars and its history for scientists to crack in their future studies.
The new study is based on data from China’s Zhurong rover (“祝融号”火星车), part of the Tianwen-1 mission that touched down on the surface of Mars in May 2021. In particular, the scientists used data the rover gathered during its first 92 Martian days, at its landing site in Utopia Planitia. Yang Liu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), and his colleagues analyzed data from three different instruments on Zhurong. Those instruments studied minerals that suggest the presence of a large quantity of liquid water at the site about 700 million years ago, which scientists previously thought was dry.
“This is a very interesting result. We have very little recorded evidence of young liquid water systems on Mars. And for the ones we have, they were usually in the form of salt minerals,” says Dr. Scheller, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology. He explained Zhurong’s instruments spotted water molecules locked away in the rock, which was different from other young liquid water environments that have been observed.
“One of the major things we’ll have to find out and that I look forward to seeing from the Zhurong rover is how extensive these ‘young’ water-bearing minerals are,” Dr. Scheller said. “Are they common or uncommon in these ‘young’ rocks?” Zhurong has now covered about two kilometers during its more than 350 Martian days and has analyzed a range of features on its travels, meaning more new Martian insights are likely still to come from the rover.
NASA has so far sent its Mars rovers to ancient landing sites, dating back to more than 3.7 billion years ago. Zhurong is not just an extra set of wheels on Mars, but a powerful suite of instruments exploring a new, geologically young site to open new windows of opportunity for research on Mars.
1. What does the underlined word “crack” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Keep. | B．Doubt. | C．Solve. | D．Create. |
| A．The inaccuracy of data gathered on Mars. |
| B．Functional limitations of instruments on Mars. |
| C．Main reasons for the failure of the Tianwen-1 mission. |
| D．The misconception of past thinking about Martian water. |
| A．The result has been recorded by many scientists. |
| B．Zhurong’s wide analyses will bring more surprises. |
| C．Salt minerals are younger than water-bear ing minerals. |
| D．Young water-bearing minerals are common in young rocks. |
| A．Ancient. | B．Common. | C．Alarming. | D．Promising. |
6 . Travis Gienger set a record for growing the world’s heaviest pumpkin, which weighed about 1,247 kilograms, in 2023. The middle-aged man was named the winner on Monday of the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California. He won the same con test in 2022, whose pumpkin weighed 1,161 kilograms. The past world record for the heaviest pumpkin was set by a grower in Italy who produced a 1,226-kilogram pumpkin in 2021. “I was not expecting that,” Gienger said. He added that it felt good to win the world record.
Gienger is a teacher at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minnesota. He teaches agriculture and growing methods. And he has been producing pumpkins for nearly 30 years like his elders, especially his father, who used to raise pumpkins in the home property, which got him interested in planting. Gienger later devoted himself to working the land to plant.
Gienger first competed in Half Moon Bay’s yearly con test in 2020. He won three of the city’s last four pumpkin contests. “I put in the work so that I can put a smile on people’s faces, and it’s just so nice coming out here to see everyone in this town,” Gienger said.
Gienger, who grew the pumpkins on the farm, had given his plants more care. This included watering them up to 12 times a day and feeding or fertilizing them, a little more than usual. Those contributed to his greater success in 2023.
The pumpkin champion won a $30,000 prize for growing the biggest pumpkin and setting a world record. Gienger’s pumpkin would be shown along with the second-place winners at the city’s upcoming Pumpkin Festival. At the event, visitors would be able to look at the pumpkin prize and take pictures with the growers.
In the United States, pumpkins are popular throughout the autumn. During the US holiday Halloween, on October 31, many people turn them into “jack-o’-lanterns”. A jack-o’-lantern is a pumpkin that has been carved, usually to show a frightening or funny face.
1. How did Gienger feel about his winning the world record?| A．Surprised. | B．Suspicious. | C．Expected. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．His family tradition. | B．His love for his farm. |
| C．His promise to his father. | D．His desire for winning a prize. |
| A．How many awards Gienger got in 2023. |
| B．How long Gienger worked a day in 2023. |
| C．Why Gienger grew pumpkins on the farm. |
| D．Why Gienger’s pumpkin was heavier than before. |
| A．It would be given to a visitor. |
| B．It would be made into a lantern. |
| C．It would be on show at a festival. |
| D．It would be used to decorate pictures. |
7 . Insider Flight Tips for Your Journey
Anyone can book a trip, but not everyone can plan an ultimate adventure that is affordable, accommodating and fun. At www. tripinsiders. org, we aim to provide you with the best insider secrets in the travel business. And on this website, we also offer a state-of-the-art travel comparison tool to make planning easier than ever. Here are some insider tips that we'd like to share with you about flights.
Look for Glitch (小故障) Fares
Online booking systems for airfare don’t come without a pricing mistake every once in a while. Follow deal-minded travel sites and blogs to learn about pricing mistakes that work in your favor. This is the most useful if you live near a major airport and have a flexible schedule.
Consider Alternate Airports
Some major cities have more than one airport, so make sure to check them all for the cheapest fares. For example, if you’re planning to visit the Bay Area of California, check for rates in both San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport.
Cross the Border by Land
Domestic flights are often cheaper than international ones, so if you live near a border and want to fly to a neighboring country, you can save by crossing the border by land and then catching a domestic flight. For example, Toronto residents may save by crossing the American border into Buffalo and then flying to another American city.
Use a Digital Luggage Scale
There’s nothing more frustrating than learning that your bag is too heavy to fly or that it’ll cost you extra when you arrive at the airport. Digital luggage scales are great for making sure that you’re not going over the baggage limit with your new souvenirs.
1. What is the main purpose of www.tripinsiders.org ?| A．To recommend travel websites. | B．To fund the travel business. |
| C．To advertise a travel agency. | D．To uncover travel business secrets. |
| A．Selecting airports. | B．Flying the border. |
| C．Carrying more baggage. | D．Having a fixed schedule. |
| A．They cover all aspects of a trip. | B．They help travelers save money. |
| C．They merely apply to businessmen. | D．They are only for Toronto residents. |
8 . By keeping a diary, you can create a space for self-reflection. With each word you write, you’re taking a step towards a deeper understanding of yourself and moving closer to well-being.
A tool for self-discovery
A diary acts as a mirror, reflecting your innermost thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Help recognize sources of stress
Sometimes people find it challenging to express their emotions verbally (口头上) and tend to block them out. Ignored unexpressed emotions can cause stress and get stored in the body, causing disease and pain. A diary provides a private space to explore and express feelings. This process of externalizing emotions inside can help reduce stress and manage overwhelming emotions.
Encourage solutions to problems and reflection
Facing a challenge that you can’t seem to figure out? Put pen to paper. Writing about challenges can help clarify the issue, explore potential solutions, and reflect on past experiences that may offer insight.
Even if you’ve never keep a diary before, it’s easy to begin. Persistence (坚持) is key to keeping a diary.
| A．Release and process feelings |
| B．Keep a diary during the spare time each day |
| C．Reflection can make you puzzled on your personal journey |
| D．Writing about worries or challenges every day can be a way out |
| E．Keeping a diary gives you a way to blame your friends or family |
| F．This way improves decision-making and encourages a positive attitude towards challenges |
| G．You can uncover patterns in your thinking or behavior, leading to increased self-awareness |
9 . With amazing Christmas lights and some very special guests, Pallion Action Group kicked off the festive season in style after another year of giving much-needed support to the Sunderland community.
“We’ve got wreath making, our singers and dancers and, of course, a visit from Santa. This event brings out so much enthusiasm in the community,” said organizer Karen Noble. “We’ll also go and surprise anyone we know who’s going to be lonely at Christmas.”
Pallion has been at the heart of the community here since 1993, but the past couple of years have seen people increasingly struggling financially and feeling lonely. “This time last year, people were in great poverty,” said Karen. “But if we’ve done our job properly, they’ve become more financially resilient (可迅速恢复的) or less lonely and we should be helping different people this year. And a lot of those who were helped last year are volunteering for us now. People are so kind — we get loads of homemade thank-you cards. But I think the biggest thanks we get is knowing we’ve helped somebody to the point where they’re independent and getting on with life.”
Karen and the team organize a wide range of activities, from after-school clubs and cookery sessions to line dancing and computer classes to keep older people connected. But all this wouldn’t be possible without funding from People’s Health Trust, with money raised through The Health Lottery (彩票). Every time you play The Health Lottery, not only could you win up to £100,000, but you’re also helping to raise much-needed funds that go straight to the heart of the community. “So playing The Health Lottery is not just the chance to win a prize. You could be making a real difference,” said Karen.
1. What can we know about Pallion Action Group from the first two paragraphs?| A．It needs much support. |
| B．Its main task is holding festivals. |
| C．It cares for the community. |
| D．It offers a chance to visit Santa. |
| A．It is of no use. | B．It has paid off. |
| C．It needs improving. | D．It is not satisfactory. |
| A．By funding from an organization. |
| B．By raising money themselves. |
| C．By receiving donations from different people. |
| D．By receiving money from the government. |
| A．Sensitive and skeptical. | B．Ambitious and energetic. |
| C．Talented and intelligent. | D．Caring and enthusiastic. |
10 . Several art projects are on show to warn people of the climate change happening around us.
Video on the walls
Photographer Camille Seaman has traveled to both the North Pole and the South Pole, where she has captured the disappearing ice in photographs and video. Camille Seaman made a video with some of her most powerful photos of melting ice for people in four coastal cities to display on their buildings. The video ends with a prediction that sea level will rise by 2050 without relative action.
Mural (壁画)changing color
Temperatures in Austin, Texas, are on the rise, and climate change will put the city at higher risk of extended drought, wildfires, intense rain and flooding. Artist Lope Gutiérrez-Ruiz designed a unique mural that changes color as it gets hotter. This art work calls for people to change the world and change climate change, underlining the importance of individual actions to the collective future.
Public billboard (广告牌)
Artist Christine Sun Kim released a public billboard on the 710 Freeway called The Sound of Temperature Rising. It points to the reality of climate disaster that has become all too clear on the West Coast and the need for significant change now. The illustration features a graph (图表) of music notes that get progressively longer and redder.
Anti-Extinction Library
Globally, species are disappearing at an unheard-of rate. In response, architect Mitchell Joachim created The Anti-Extinction Library in New York. The sculptural piece is not only beautiful but also functional. Their unique egg-shaped library has a special freezer storing test tubes with the frozen cells and DNA of rare animals and plants. It’s important for people to realize we must quickly work to protect the rights of different species in our area.
1. What is the key feature of the mural?| A．It lights up at night. |
| B．It moves with the wind. |
| C．It plays music when it rains. |
| D．It changes color with temperature. |
| A．Camille Seaman’s. | B．Lope Gutiérrez-Ruiz’s. |
| C．Christine Sun Kim's. | D．Mitchel l Joachim’s. |
| A．To praise artists’ participation. |
| B．To call for people to take action. |
| C．To show the severe result of climate change. |
| D．To facilitate the combination of art and climate. |
