1 . Reading is often seen as an individual activity, but it definitely doesn’t have to be. If you join a book club, reading with others can be a positive social interaction.
In such a fast-paced world, sometimes it’s challenging to find the time and motivation to read. By joining a book club, you make a commitment to read the book of the month or the week and discuss your insights with others.
Reading is one of the most important things you can do for your brain, but reading with other people can make it even better.
Another plus is that at a book club you get together with your club members regularly, with whom you can share not only your thoughts about books but also other aspects of life.
| A．This can help you meet your reading goals. |
| B．Joining a book club can offer you many benefits. |
| C．Book clubs can boost your happiness and well-being. |
| D．Do you often have difficulty finishing reading a book? |
| E．This brings a sense of community, belonging, and friendship. |
| F．Have you found yourself always reading similar types of books? |
| G．Meeting with others and exchanging ideas about things is the key. |
2 . Top Theme Parks and Amusement Parks in Australia
Magic Mountain Merimbula
Located in the town of Merimbula, this small theme park is situated on the Sapphire Coast. There are multiple attractions in this place including Kiddie Splash Pool, Magic Carpet Slide and the Diamond Pyth on Roller Coaster. You can buy souvenirs from the gift shops for friends and family back home.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 10 am to 4 pm
Price: $90 per person
The Big Banana Fun Park
The Big Banana Fun Park is located in the city of Coffs Harbour and it boasts a large walk-through banana. Guests can go roller skating at the ice-skating rink, enjoy water slides and play golf.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 9 am to 5 pm
Price: $25 per adult (age 13-99); $15 per child (age 1-12)
Wet Wild Gold Coast
Owned and operated by the Village Roadshow Theme Parks, this park features 17 water slides, 4 pools, and 2 children’s areas. If you are traveling during the winter season, there is nothing to worry as the pools and slides are heated according to your convenience.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 10 am to 5 pm
Price: $24 per person
Big Splash Waterpark
Featuring nine slides, a 50-meter (164 feet) pool, and kiddie pools, this park is a perfect spot to chill when the sun is out. Being one of the oldest theme parks in Australia, it boasts the famous Jammo Pool.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm
Price: $150 per adult (age 13-99); 40% discount per child (age 1-12)
Enjoy with your kids at one of the theme parks in Australia.
1. What can visitors do in The Big Banana Fun Park?| A．Ride on a roller coaster. | B．Play golf. |
| C．Buy gifts. | D．Taste big bananas. |
| A．$60. | B．$90. | C．$120. | D．$180. |
| A．Parents. | B．Children. | C．Guides. | D．Swimmers. |
3 . Four Inventions That Changed the World
The course of human evolution has been filled with inventions. The following inventions changed the world in one way or another.
Match
Many of us wonder what life was like before matches. We can thank a British pharmacist and his dirty mixing stick. In 1820s, John Walker noticed a dried lump on the end of a stick while he was stirring a mix of chemicals. When he tried to scrape (刮掉) it off, flames appeared. The initial matches were made of cardboard but soon the matches came in a box equipped with a piece of sandpaper for striking.
Penicillin
Penicillin was discovered in 1928 when a young bacteriologist, Alexander Fleming, was tidying up his lab. After having been on vacation, he returned to work to find that a dish of Staphylococcus bacteria had been left uncovered, and he noticed that mould (霉菌) on the culture had killed many of the bacteria. His further research found that it could kill other bacteria.
Microwave Oven
Of all the sci-fi kitchen appliances, the microwave oven really relieves the load on housewives. It was discovered in the 1940s. When Percy Spencer, an engineer, was working on a magnetron (磁控管), he noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had started to melt due to the microwaves. Spencer found that indeed, when food was placed in the box with the microwave energy, it cooked quickly.
Plastic
The first plastic was invented in 1907 by Leo Hendrik Baekeland. His initial quest was to invent a ready replacement for shellac (虫胶), an expensive product got from lac beetles. Baekeland combined formaldehyde (甲醛) with a waste product of coal, and heated the mixture. Rather than a shellac-like material, he created a substance that didn’t melt under heat and stress.
1. Who invented matches?| A．John Walker. | B．Alexander Fleming. |
| C．Percy Spencer. | D．Leo Hendrik Baekeland. |
| A．A shellac-like material. | B．A product from lac beetles. |
| C．A replacement for shellac. | D．A waste product of coal. |
| A．They were the results of joint efforts. | B．They were the accidental discoveries. |
| C．They were the fruits of years of research. | D．They were unaccepted when coming out. |
4 . What a day! I started my new school this morning and had the best time. I made lots of new friends and really liked my teachers. I was nervous the night before, but I had no reason to be. Everyone was so friendly and polite. They made me feel at ease. It was like I’d been at the school for a hundred years!
The day started very early at 7:00 am. I had my breakfast downstairs with my mom. She could tell that I was very nervous. Mom kept asking me what was wrong. She told me I had nothing to worry about and that everyone was going to love me. If they didn’t love me, mom said to have a good talk with them. I couldn’t stop laughing.
My mom dropped me off at the school gate about five minutes before the bell rang. A little blonde girl got dropped off at the same time and started waving (招手) at me. She ran over and told me her name was Abigail. She was very nice and we became close straight away. We spent all morning together and began to talk to another girl called Stacey. The three of us sat together in class all day and we even made our way home together! It went so quickly. Our teacher told us that tomorrow we would really start learning and developing new skills.
I cannot wait until tomorrow and feel as though I am really going to enjoy my time at my new school. I only hope that my new friends feel the same way, too.
1. How did the author feel the night before her new school?| A．Tired. | B．Excited. | C．Happy. | D．Worried. |
| A．Clear. | B．Funny. | C．Reasonable. | D．Excellent. |
| A．She met many nice people. | B．She had a hurried breakfast. |
| C．She learned some new skills. | D．She arrived at school very early. |
| A．She disliked Stacey. | B．She was shy and quiet. |
| C．She got on well with the author. | D．She was an old friend of the author. |
5 . The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their work on mRNA vaccines (疫苗), a crucial tool in holding back the spread of COVID-19.
Karikó,68, is from Hungary. In the 1970s, she began studying a new area of research: messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is a special molecule (分子) which carries instructions that tell cells what proteins to make. Proteins are one of the building blocks of life. They’re involved in almost every process in living things, from fighting diseases to building muscles to helping our bodies work. Karikó was excited about the idea that mRNA could be used to help the body fight many different diseases.
In 1985, Karikó moved to America to continue her research. In 1989, she joined the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Philadelphia as a scientist. But as time went on, the initial excitement surrounding mRNA research started to disappear, and other scientists thought it was too financially risky to fund. Karikó had trouble getting money for her research. She even got a pay cut from the school. What’s worse, at this time, she suffered from cancer. But she stuck at it.
Karikó got to know another UPenn scientist, Drew Weissman in the late 1990s while photocopying research papers. He was hoping to find a way to create a vaccine for a disease known as HIV. The two began talking and soon decided to work together.
One of the biggest problems in using mRNA as a medicine was that the human body saw mRNA as an enemy and fought it off. Together, they came up with an approach to treating mRNA．In 2005, they published their key discovery: mRNA could be changed and delivered effectively into the body to activate (激活) the body’s protective immune system. Thanks to their work, companies were able to develop mRNA vaccines far more quickly than ever before, which have saved millions of lives around the world.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about regarding mRNA?| A．Its reflections on health. | B．Its main components. |
| C．Its threats to proteins. | D．Its research values. |
| A．He met Karikó by accident. | B．He applied mRNA to HIV. |
| C．He invited Karikó to UPenn. | D．He helped discover mRNA. |
| A．Their idea on how to recognize COVID-19 fast. |
| B．Their method of testing the mRNA vaccines’ effect. |
| C．Their way to make the human body accept mRNA. |
| D．Their experiment of activating the immune system. |
| A．We should pursue excellence in our careers. |
| B．Creativity results from challenging authority. |
| C．Scientists’ work follows technological trends. |
| D．Success comes from a lasting desire to explore. |
6 . Larry and I have always had our basic values in common, but our interests are as far apart as opera and basketball. I love art, and he is a huge sports fan. His big passion is seeing basketball games. He has been sharing season tickets with his friends for years. I must admit I’ve been always invited to see the games together.
This morning, I called my brother, Larry, and said, “I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” “Good news first,” Larry answered. “You can go to sleep early tonight,” I said. “Okay. What’s the bad one?” he asked. “We’re going to the opera!” I answered, laughing loudly.
There was a reason for the joke. The last time I invited him to go to the opera, he fell asleep in the theater. I had to admit it was always boring for him, but when I gave him a ticket for my favorite opera, I really thought he might enjoy it. I woke him up, but soon he fell asleep again. When Larry found I was joking, he breathed a sigh of relief on the other end. He said, “But I want you to go to see the last basketball game this autumn with me.” I promised and complained, “Not again!” Actually, most of the time, when the game was on, I’d be texting or daydreaming. Sometimes, my telephone messages would be interrupted when the home team scored. I knew they scored because everyone jumped up and exchanged high- fives and fist bumps.
However, today, as I looked around at thousands of people cheering and getting increasingly excited, I decided to at least give it a try—for my brother’s sake, if not for my own. The game was intense, and I was hooked soon. When the other team scored, I eventually felt a bit disappointed with the rest of my crowd. My brother was surprised to see me getting involved. I was astonished myself! I didn’t keep glancing at the clock, counting the minutes until we got out. Time flew. The game was over before I knew it.
1. Why does the author quote his conversation with Larry in paragraph 2?| A．To show their common values. | B．To show their sense of humour. |
| C．To show the trust between them. | D．To show the difference in their interests. |
| A．Casual. | B．Curious. | C．Puzzled. | D．Pleased. |
| A．Bored. | B．Disappointed. | C．Addicted. | D．Satisfied. |
| A．Art and Sport | B．From Opera to Basketball |
| C．Cheering for the Home Team | D．Developing a Passion for Opera |
7 . A new study shows homing pigeons (鸽子) combine precise internal compasses and memorized landmarks to retrace a path back to their home—even four years after the previous time when they made the trip.
Testing nonhuman memory keeping is challenging in research studies. “It’s rare that there is a gap of several years between when an animal stores the information and when it is next required to get it back,” says Dora Biro, a zoologist at the University of Oxford. In a recent study, Biro and her colleagues compared domestic homing pigeons’ paths three or four years after the birds established routes back to their home from a farm 8.6 kilometers away. The study built on data from a 2016 experiment in which pigeons learned routes in different social contexts during several flights-on their own or with peers that did or did not know the way.
Using data from GPS devices temporarily attached to the birds’ backs, the researchers compared the flight paths a group of pigeons took in 2016 with many of the same birds’ routes in 2019 or 2020, without the birds visiting the release site in between. Some birds missed a handful of landmarks along the way, but many others took “strikingly similar” routes to those they used in 2016, “It was as if the last time they flew there was just the day before, not four years ago,” says Oxford zoologist and study co-author Julien Collet.
The team found that the pigeons remembered a route just as well if they first flew it alone or with others and performed much better than those that had not made the journey in 2016. “The result is not surprising, but it provides new confirmation of homing pigeons’ remarkable memory. It closes the distance a little bit between our overconfident human cognitive (认知的) abilities and what animals can do,” says Verner Bingman, who studies animal navigation at Bowling Green State University and was not involved in the study.
1. What does paragraph 1 mention about homing pigeons?| A．The time of leaving home. | B．The location of their birth. |
| C．The ways they navigate home. | D．The reasons for their taking trips. |
| A．Through questionnaires. | B．Through information assumptions. |
| C．Through lab experiments on animals. | D．Through comparative analysis of data. |
| A．Prediction method. | B．Tracking method. |
| C．Expert consultation. | D．Literature consultation. |
| A．They are underestimated. | B．They have been declining. |
| C．They are much lower than humans’. | D．They have never been confirmed. |
8 . We have recently heard some interesting ways that 5G technology might change our lives in the future. 5G promises Internet speeds between 50 to 100 times faster than 4G systems. Such improvements are sure to be popular with 5G users worldwide. While it is set to start only in just a few areas of the United States this year, much of the rest of the world is not expected to receive this service until 2023.
One project in Britain, though, is already testing this super-fast technology, but not on humans. Instead, the experimental subjects are an unlikely group of Internet users— cows. The system connects the animals to 5G in an effort to automate (使自动化) the milking process.
The project was developed by American technology company Cisco Systems. Testing areas were set up at farms in three rural areas of England. The cows are equipped with 5G-connected devices that link up to a robotic milking system. The system uses sensors (传感器) and machine learning to fully automate the process.
System designers say technology takes over after a cow feels ready to be milked and walks toward an automatic gate. The device is designed to recognize each cow. It then positions equipment to the right body position for milking. During the process, machines offer food for the cow as a reward.
One of the test areas is in the town of Shepton Mallet in southwest England. There, about 50 of the farm’s 180 cows are fitted with 5G smart collars and ear sensors. Project officials say the devices do not harm the cows and the sensors help farmers immediately find problems or health concerns.
Duncan Forbes, the project leader, told Reuters that so far, he thinks the project shows the farm’s cow operations can be greatly improved with 5G technology.
Forbes added that the experiment provides strong evidence that 5G technology can be widely used in the future “not just on farms, but in rural communities right across the country”.
1. What do we know about 5G technology from the first two paragraphs?| A．It has changed our lives. | B．It has more users than 4G. |
| C．It has not been widely used. | D．It has been used on cows in the US. |
| A．The introduction of 5G devices. | B．The milking process with 5G technology. |
| C．The purpose of system designers. | D．The way machines provide cows with food |
| A．To recognize every cow. | B．To judge their position. |
| C．To reduce the harm from devices. | D．To find their health problems |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Doubtful. | C．Worried. | D．Uncaring |
9 . Programs from the Pierson Library Dinoman Visits Today: The Shelburne Town Gym will be filled by huge dinosaurs at 1:00 pm. Learn about these animals that once walked on the earth during a visit by Dinoman on Thursday, July 5.
Book Discussion: The book group for men meets at La Villa at 7:30 pm on July 5 to discuss Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. Join Andrew Everett for reading and discussing the book as well as enjoying cookies and drinks.
Family Free Help: Volunteer John Kelley is in the library on Wednesday afternoons. Have John help you learn how to find out your family trees using the library.
Summer Study Programme: Kids need to keep a reading record to keep track of the number of pages read through August 16 at 8:00 pm. The student with the highest page count will take home a $50 gift card for the Flying Pig Bookstore.
Musical Story Time: Get ready for a guitar concert at 10:30 am on July 7. Music teacher Sue Rule leads a morning of music and stories with the guitar concert. For ages 3 and up. Guitars are provided.
Special Programmes: Some special programmes include Field Days at 1: 00 pm on August 12and the Teddy Bear Picnic at 10: 30 am on August 14. The library is also preparing for its move to the Shelburne Field House on Athletic Drive on August 16 ahead of the library rebuilding project. The library will be closed during the move.
1. What can visitors do in Dinoman Visits Today?| A．Watch animals on the earth. | B．Find out their family trees. |
| C．Learn about dinosaurs. | D．Visit a writer named Jennifer Egan. |
| A．They include a guitar concert. | B．They will take place in August. |
| C．They include a course on buildings. | D．They will take place after the library rebuilding project. |
| A．Family Tree Help and Musical Story Time. |
| B．Dinoman Visits Today and Book Discussion. |
| C．Book Discussion and Summer Study Programme. |
| D．Summer Study Programme and Musical Story Time. |
10 . British chip maker Walkers is being flooded with mail deliveries of its own packaging. An online petition (请愿) with more than 312,000 signatures so far encourages those who signed to mail their empty chip plastic bags to Walkers as an act of protest against the bags’ non-recyclable design.
As petition organizer Geraint Ashcroft explained, the majority of chip packets, made from plastic coated with metal, are not recyclable and have been found fully undamaged up to 33 years after consumption. The UK alone consumes 6 billion bags of chips a year, and Walkers turns out 11 million bags daily. Ashcroft wrote, “At today’s consumption rate in 33 years’ time, there will be 200 billion packets either sent to landfill or polluting our oceans. Many will be eaten by fish or birds, leading to a slow death.”
Mailing the bags to Walkers is a way to hold the company accountable for its packaging and to pressure it to come up with a better design. But it is controversial. Because the Royal Mail postal service isn’t happy about the sudden in flow of packages, asking people calm down to help with ease of delivery. Critics on Twitter also question the logic of buying a product in order to protest against its producer and suggest that giving up chips altogether would improve one’s health as well as the environment.
Walkers issued a statement on Wednesday, saying it will make its packaging plastic-free by 2025. “We have received some returned packets and recognized the efforts being made to bring the issue of packaging waste to our attention. The returned packets will be used in our research as we work towards our commitment of improving the recyclability of our packaging.”
1. Why do people mail their empty chip bags to Walkers?| A．To oppose Walkers’ plastic packaging. |
| B．To exchange them for some new chips. |
| C．To make Walkers use them once more. |
| D．To appeal to people for not using the bags. |
| A．The production of plastic bags. |
| B．The cause of animals’ death. |
| C．The potential harm of chip bags. |
| D．The opinion of Geraint Ashcroft. |
| A．Explainable. | B．Responsible. | C．Significant. | D．Anxious. |
| A．Doubtfully. | B．Indifferently. | C．Positively. | D．Cautiously. |
