1 . Grace Choi, whose nickname is Sunny, is a gymnast in America. “I remember her doing cartwheels (翻跟头) when she was a kid,” her brother Jin says.
One night at college, Choi saw members of a breaking (霹雳舞) club dancing by accident. She was immediately attracted to the dance and came to a class. Choi’s gymnastics skills gave her an advantage. After graduating from business school, she began working in the cosmetics (化妆品) industry. But on the side, she kept breaking.
Breaking was added to the Paris Olympics program in 2020. In late 2021, Choi attended a camp. It was for the top U. S. breakers. A coach there asked those who wanted to become Olympians to raise their hands. Everyone’s hand went up except Choi’s. Working full-time while training to make the Olympic team seemed impossible.
But after finishing second at the World Games in July 2022, Choi left the cosmetics industry. In 2023, she was chosen for the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the Pan American Games.“I’m so much happier,” she says. “I feel lighter. I have more energy for the things I want to do.”
Thirty-two breakers will go to Paris. “Choi has power moves,” says Mary Fogarty, a professor of dance at York University, in Toronto, Canada. “Choi is someone who has enough material to go all the way through.” Choi struggles with self-doubt. She’ll work on her mindset. She’ll lift weights with a strength coach. And she’ll eat a healthy diet.
Choi is confident about one thing: If you give breaking a chance, you won’t be disappointed. “You feel the energy,” she says. “You feel the excitement. You feel the happiness or the anger or whatever emotion that the dancer is expressing in that moment. What’s so cool about breaking is that you get to be really you.”
1. What introduced Choi to break dancing?| A．An accidental chance. | B．Her gymnastics skills. |
| C．Her brother’s encouragement. | D．The camp for the top breakers. |
| A．Her job. | B．Her health. |
| C．Her college education. | D．Her chance of promotion. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Confident. | C．Uncertain. | D．Unexpected. |
| A．A youth is to be regarded with respect. | B．The young thirst for being famous. |
| C．Where there’s interest, there’s success. | D．Curious minds never feel contented. |
2 . Do you know the following fun holidays?
Yellow Pig Day
The unofficial holiday that falls on July 17 was created in the early 1960s by Princeton mathematics students, David Kelly and Michael Spivak, while they were working on the special properties (属性) of the number 17, which is a prime number (质数) that has significance in mathematics.
Mole Day
It’s celebrated every year with a theme by scientists and chemistry students throughout the United States and around the world between 6:02 am and 6:02 pm (18:02) on October 23 because when written in the month-date format (格式), the date and time 6.02, 10/23 include the digits (数字) in Avogadro’s number (602×1023) in honor of the mole, a measuring unit in chemistry.
Tau Day
This has much to do with Pi Day (圆周率日). It has been held every year since 2010 on June 28. The day began as a way to recognize tau. Tau is equal to 2π or 6.283. In recent years, some mathematicians and physicists have argued for the replacement of pi(π) by tau, but it is not yet widely accepted within the scientific community.
Palindrome Day
Palindrome (回文) is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards as forwards, for example madam. Palindrome Day happens when the day’s date can be read the same way backward and forward. Because date formats vary from country to country, not all dates that are palindromic in one kind of date format are Palindrome Days in another. For instance, April 21, 2024 or 4-21-24 is a palindromic date in the m-dd-yy format, but it isn’t if you write the date as dd-m-yy yy (21-4-2024) or dd-mm-yyyy (21-04-2024).
1. What is special about Mole Day?| A．It has a different theme every year. | B．It was created by a scientist. |
| C．It’s the oldest of the four holidays. | D．It’s celebrated only in America. |
| A．Palindrome Day. | B．Mole Day. | C．Yellow Pig Day. | D．Tau Day. |
| A．They’re celebrated several times a year. | B．They each represent a scientific idea. |
| C．They are enjoyed mainly by students. | D．They are accepted by governments. |
3 . In June 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster introduced Superman to readers. Since then, the Superman has become a cultural symbol, appearing in films, novels, TV series and more.
On April 4, 2024, a copy of that original 1938 Superman comic (漫画) book — called Action Comics No. 1 — sold for $6 million during a Heritage Auctions sale. It’s now the most valuable comic book in the world.
“Thursday was a historic day for a historic comic book, and we expected no less,” says Barry Sandoval, vice president at Heritage Auctions.
The comic has been given a “very fine” grade of 8.5 out of 10 by CGC, a third-party grading service for pop culture collectibles. It’s one of just 78 copies CGC has graded, though the company thinks around 100 still exist. Just 200,000 copies of Action Comics No. I were published in 1938. The price beats out the previous record-holder, a 1939 issue of Superman No. I that sold privately for $5.3 million in 2022. Until then, the record had belonged to a copy of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 — which introduced readers to Spider-Man in 1962 — that sold for $3.6 million in 2021.
Action Comics No. 1 tells the story of a baby boy who was born on a dying faraway planet. His father places him in a space capsule (太空舱) and sends him away just before his home planet gets destroyed. Finally, the capsule lands on Earth, where a passing driver discovers the sleeping baby and saves him. The child — Clark Kent — grows up and realizes he has superhuman strengths and abilities.
Superman’s popularity skyrocketed in the following decades, and Action Comics continues to this day. “Without Superman and Action Comics No. 1, who knows whether there ever would have been a Golden Age of comics — or if the medium would have become what it is today?” says Sandoval.
1. What do we know about Action Comics No.1?| A．It is based on the writer’s true story. | B．It contains the character of Spider-Man. |
| C．It has a history of more than 80 years. | D．It is the world’s most expensive novel. |
| A．To present a topic. | B．To explain a phenomenon. |
| C．To raise a question. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．He destroys his home planet. | B．He inspires Siege l to write. |
| C．He is the Superman. | D．He is the passing driver. |
| A．To remember a writer. | B．To introduce a book. |
| C．To promote values of comics. | D．To encourage studies on culture. |
4 . On the surface, Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert might appear calm. But deep underground, blind moles (鼹鼠), also called kakarratul, covered in silky yellow fur are “swimming” through the sand. These creatures that are considered elusive spend so much of their lives below the surface that they remain largely unknown to wildlife biologists.
Now, Aboriginal rangers (护林员) have made a sight of one of the kakarratuls by the Martu, the local people of central Western Australia. This marks the second kakarratul sight in just six months. Historically, people only see the species five to ten times every decade.
Kakarratuls are very small and can’t see very clearly. Their bodies are covered in soft fur, and they primarily eat worms (蠕虫). They’re also perfectly adapted for life in the tough Australian land. Rather than living in the hot sun, they live almost entirely underground — digging holes as far as 8.2 feet below the surface — where they move through the sand in a unique way. The kakarratul is an amazing creature that “swims” through the sand of Australia’s western deserts. They carve a path and fill it in as they go forward through the sand.
“The creatures can survive by just breathing the air that moves between sand,” wrote Joe Benshemesh, a biologist with the National Malleefowl Recovery Group, for Australian Geographic. “They save energy and resources by allowing their body temperature to reflect that of the surrounding sand,” he added.
The moles periodically come to the surface, especially during periods of cool, rainy weather. But they don’t appear often, so wildlife scientists don’t know their population size. They are regarded as a species of “least concern”. “Local rangers try their best to take good care of kakarratuls, but they aren’t easy to find,” said Lynette Wildridge, a senior Nyangumarta ranger.
1. What does the underlined word “elusive” in paragraph I mean?| A．Dangerous to approach. | B．Difficult to find. |
| C．Expensive to buy. | D．Easy to feed. |
| A．Attractive. | B．Frightening. | C．Unforgettable. | D．Unusual. |
| A．They may appear in rainy days. |
| B．They are well taken care of by the rangers. |
| C．They can find food more easily underground. |
| D．They dig holes to get away from the extreme weather. |
| A．Kakarratuls: Swimmers Through Desert Sand | B．Kakarratuls: Unique Animals to Australia |
| C．Local Rangers Look After Kakarratuls Well | D．Australia Is Trying Hard to Save Kakarratuls |
5 . The saying goes that a dog is man’s best friend, but this companionship isn’t unique to dogs. Even though rabbits are smaller and quieter than dogs, they are also intelligent, outgoing, active, and social and they make great pets. Here are five reasons for adopting (养) a rabbit.
Rabbits are budget-friendly.
Rabbit care is much less expensive than the budget (预算) required for taking care of a dog or cat.
It’s easy to fit a rabbit into the schedule.
Rabbits are awake in the early morning and early evening, and spend most daytime and nighttime sleeping.
Rabbits are clean, quiet, and contained.
Rabbits are clean animals that generally don’t make large messages. Rabbits don’t require as large living spaces as a dog or cat does, so they are apartment-friendly.
Rabbits are intelligent and lovely.
| A．Rabbits don’t make loud noises. |
| B．And a rabbit requires less care time. |
| C．They can always be a good part of the community. |
| D．It costs about $50 monthly to feed and care for a rabbit. |
| E．This works well for someone with a typical day job schedule. |
| F．Rabbits, like dogs, are smart enough to be trained to do all sorts of tricks. |
| G．People should make sure they are ready for the responsibility before adopting. |
6 . Sunday sadness is real, for tomorrow is the start of working days.
An excellent choice is exercise. Breaking a sweat has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, boost mood and improve sleep, all good ways to fight Sunday stress. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, just five minutes of aerobic exercise can reduce anxiety.
●Take a nature pillActually, any form of exercise or movement can increase your fitness level while decreasing your stress.
Some folks turn to drinking alcohol, even crazily, to cope with the Sunday night blues. That’s a poor choice: Alcohol rattles your normal sleep patterns, trapping you in lighter stages of sleep and dramatically reducing the quality of your rest at night.
“It continues to pull you out of rapid eye movement and the deeper stages of sleep, causing you to wake up not feeling restored,” said Rebecca Robbins, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health, in a previous CNN interview.
●Wind downThis is going to sound impossible, but try to avoid your cell phone and work email on Sunday. Being constantly connected keeps us excited even on our days off, discouraging relaxation.
Does the idea make you even more nervous?
Unconsciously worrying about all the things you have to do Monday brings you restless sleep, even insomnia(失眠), so write down a list of all the things you have to do Monday – or even the entire week. You can go so far as prioritizing them if you like. Not only will putting the tasks on paper jump-start your Monday morning, you’ll feel like you’ve purged your worries.
| A．Then try to check in as early in the evening on Sunday as you can. |
| B．Avoid overdrinking |
| C．Here’s how to battle the pre-workweek blues. |
| D．Here are some following ways to help you relax at weekends. |
| E．Why not increase that effect by enjoying nature? |
| F．Then relax and keep texting till your bedtime. |
| G．In fact, writing in a journal has been scientifically shown to improve overall health. |
7 . April 23 marks World Book and Copyright Day. Here are four widely praised books which received agreeably high scores on Douban in China.
The Death of a PrincessThe Death of a Princess is a work of legal history. The author describes in detail the classic case of Princess Lanling of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), who was beaten by her husband and suffered the loss of her baby, leading to her death, exploring important and profound legal and married moral issues such as domestic violence and the low status (地位) of women.
Delivering Packages in BeijingAuthor Hu Anyan has worked as a delivery man, a night shift stock picker, a convenience store clerk and a security guard. He transforms the bits and pieces of everyday life and the joys and sorrows of work into a sincere narrative. He finally realizes that a life filled with anger is not worth living.
The Annoyance of the GodsAuthor Ma Boyong, who has written The Longest Day in Chang’an, uses the classic Journey to the West as a backdrop to describe a series of workplace issues, such as how to write a work report during a project and how to respond to emergencies.
Bright NightWritten by Choi Eun-young, the book is a female version of Yu Hua’s To Live. It tells the story of the friendship and struggle of four generations of women. The women in the book are no longer characters to be pitied against one another, nor do they play supporting roles in the lives of men.
1. Which of the following explores the low status of women in society?| A．Bright Night. | B．Delivering Packages in Beijing. |
| C．The Annoyance of the Gods. | D．The Death of a Princess. |
| A．describes his delivery job |
| B．shares his own stories |
| C．narrates his transformation |
| D．explores people’s life in Beijing |
| A．Children. | B．Men. | C．Women. | D．Seniors. |
8 . Before traveling to Lake Tahoe, make sure your plans are in order. Complete vacation packages of the area are now offered online.
| Package 1. Get Outdoors in Lake Tahoe Package Get outdoors and explore! With this fun vacation package, you can stay in the Lake Tahoe area for three nights and have a few adventures along the way. This package also features Lake Tahoe Sport Fishing, allowing guests to get out and fish! Click here to book | Package 2. Lake Tahoe Family Vacation Package If your next trip happens to be in the Lake Tahoe area, then consider booking this one. It is great because it can offer you four full nights at the hotel of your selection and an amazing sightseeing tour through the Emerald Bay. You also can enjoy Lake Tahoe Hot Air Balloons tours and the Wild West Tour. Click here to book |
| Package 3. Lake Tahoe Romantic Getaway Package This is perfect for people who want to have a romantic time. It includes a two-night stay at the hotel of your choice and one of the finest activities in all of Lake Tahoe — the Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay Sunset Boat Tour on the Bleu Wave. During this romantic sail, you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Lake Tahoe. Click here to book | Package 4. Lake Tahoe Weekend Getaway Package The Lake Tahoe Weekend Getaway Package is great for people of all ages, so this is a great choice for families. This package includes a two-night stay at the hotel you choose. It also includes a trip which takes place on the Bleu Wave by boat. Click here to book |
| A．Package 1. | B．Package 2. | C．Package 3. | D．Package 4. |
| A．Their boat tour. | B．The hotel for staying. |
| C．The places for traveling. | D．Their target customers. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A travel report. | C．A local newspaper. | D．A website. |
9 . The event took place on Sunday, the 25th of June. On that particular day, a south wind had been gusting (劲吹) on and off all morning. It was not strong enough to cause us any concern, so we carried on our daily work, not doubting what was about to happen.
The storm gave us very little warning. Black clouds appeared over the distant horizon (地平线) so suddenly that we were taken by surprise. Even then, we were not really worried, as the clouds seemed to be moving over our house and towards the distant mountains. Then, just as the clouds had moved inland, the wind suddenly blew around in a full circle and we were facing a major storm.
Very soon, we were busily preparing for the worst. The whole family had experienced such a storm before and everyone remembered the damage it had caused to stock and crops. There was very little we could do about the crops. But we needed to protect the animals in case the river flooded again. My older brother called his sheep-dog and began driving our small flock of sheep to higher ground above the river. If the river flooded, they should be safe there.
In the meantime, my father was mending a shed roof that had partly fallen down after many years of fine service. If the tin flew off, it could damage the house. My younger brother began hurriedly carrying firewood under the shelter. My job was to help Mum board up the windows. If the storm developed into a cyclone (旋风)，the boards would protect the glass.
The storm lasted for four hours, pouring more rain on us than we had seen in the last five years. As expected, the river broke its banks and came slowly up towards the house and the stock.
Then, just as we were beginning to lose hope, the storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The animals were safe, and the roof was still nailed on. “All’s well that ends well ,” said my mother.
1. When the black clouds appeared suddenly in the distance, _______.| A．the family were surprised | B．they were extremely worried |
| C．they were preparing for the worst | D．they faced the storm bravely |
| A．little damage would be done to the crops |
| B．they had everything ready for the crops |
| C．they felt unable to protect the crops |
| D．the crops should be safe enough there |
| A．Money owned by the family. | B．Goods for sale. |
| C．Supplies for family use. | D．Farm animals. |
| A．they had no damage at all | B．everything was as fine as before |
| C．everything was under control | D．the family had a good result |
10 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.
If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.
Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.
Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.
1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?| A．To explain a concept. | B．To introduce a topic. |
| C．To provide a solution. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．The severity of natural disasters. | B．The worst air quality in New York City. |
| C．The extreme damage by flash flooding. | D．The cause of the forests fires in Canada. |
| A．He advocated a twofold strategy. |
| B．He suggested forbidding carbon emissions. |
| C．He required people to use more electric cars. |
| D．He emphasized the awareness of climate changes. |
| A．The Hottest Month in History | B．Natural Disasters in the World |
| C．Extreme Weather Could Get Worse | D．Green Technology Would be Needed |
