1 . Enjoyable and immersive hobbies have the power to make us happier and healthier. Hobbies lead to better physical health, more sleep, lower stress, greater life satisfaction, a larger social network and improved work performance.
Be open.
“Keeping an open mind and not dismissing potential hobbies even if they seem out of your wheel-house is key,” says Katina, a clinical psychology researcher. “We’re wired as humans to be curious and open, but in a very burned-out world, we forget that,” she says. “It’s the first thing to go.” So next time someone hands you a flier or invites you to an event, seize the opportunity.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? The answer could point you towards an appealing hobby. If you wanted to be a major league player, what can you do now that fulfills that urge for you? Joining a softball team or coaching some neighborhood kids could inspire a long-dormant passion.
Go back to school.
Consider auditing (旁听) a class at a university or signing up for a lesson to learn more about a potential hobby.
Take an assessment.
Lots of colleges offer career assessments to help students determine what to major in and how to guide their professional lives.
| A．Take a trip back in time. |
| B．But where do you start? |
| C．Turn your dream into a hobby. |
| D．Always dreamed of writing a novel? |
| E．It could introduce you to something you never guessed you’d love. |
| F．You can also use these tools to gather insights about potential hobbies. |
| G．If a hobby makes you healthier and happier, everyone around you will benefit. |
2 . Fingerprints have been used to identify individuals for centuries. But now scientists may have finally figured out how those patterns are formed, according to a paper published in the journal Cell in February.
Previous studies have shown that fingerprints can be influenced by the shape and size of the blood vessels in the skin and how fast the different layers of skin grow. Denis Headon at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and his colleagues started their study from a new viewpoint: how genes affect fingerprint patterns. They identified the genes related to limb (肢体) development, which could serve as the groundwork for print formation, according to their work published in 2022.
However, many genes are not involved in the process. “The key is how they form,” Headon told Nature, a science journal. The team studied the ridges (脊) on mouse toes and human cells grown artificially.
They found two kinds of elements work against each other. A protein called WNT, which is important in skin development, promotes ridge formation. Another molecule (分子), called BMP, impedes the ridges. With the two elements “fighting” each other, they create the patterns of waves. The team also changed the timing and the location of the origins of the waves in experiments. They discovered that the waves would collide in different ways, which helps to create the diversity of print patterns.
Interestingly, the analysis of the fingerprint patterns supported the Turing reaction-diffusion system. It was first proposed by UK scientist Alan Turing in 1952 to describe a self-organizing system that creates patterns in nature, such as the feather patterns in birds and stripes on zebra. The researchers also built a computer model that can recreate print patterns by following the Turing system.
Based on the new study, it may be possible that the structures of human skin might be all generated by the same mechanism, Sarah Millar, a US biologist, told the website Science News. However, more studies on how the skin matures are needed to solve the mystery.
1. What did Denis Headon and his colleagues focus on in their study?| A．The relation between skin growth and fingerprint formation. |
| B．The influence of blood vessels on fingerprint patterns. |
| C．The impact of genes on fingerprint patterns. |
| D．The analysis of mouse toes’ ridges. |
| A．They experimented with mouse toes and artificial human cells. |
| B．They compared mouse toes with human hands. |
| C．They did research on human hand anatomy. |
| D．They planted human cells in mouse toes. |
| A．Supports. | B．Stops. | C．Generates. | D．Influences. |
| A．It uncovers how the skin is generated. | B．It promotes Alan Turing’s theory. |
| C．It may further research on skin maturation. | D．It shows the mechanism of skin formation. |
3 . My husband made a little two-story house that mirrored our own in color and design for our Little Free Library, while I carefully selected books from our shelves. The idea resonated (引起共鸣) with us immediately — instead of loading boxes into the car for yet another used book sale, we could simply walk them to the roadside.
Fifteen or so years later, it’s safe to say that thousands of books, as well as the occasional DVDs, CDs and jigsaw puzzles have been shared through our little library. Situated on a busy street just a few blocks from a subway station, our little library sees dozens, perhaps hundreds, of passers-by each day.
Many of those who use our library do not hesitate to share their love of this neighborhood resource. One gentleman regularly stops by to pick up books for a nearby retirement home. At other times, we have received cards and gifts, including chocolates and even a personalized drawing from a local artist.
Like the people who use our library, the books that come and go reflect the broad diversity of our city. Arabic, French and Russian books are staples among the dominant English-language books. I’ve even collected favorite books of mine in languages I don’t understand, simply for the joy of adding another edition to my collection. Surprisingly, our library hasn’t dealt with our book storage problem —if anything, we now have more books than ever before.
I have heard some complaints that Little Free Libraries do not always serve the purpose of building community and may compete with our public libraries and independent bookstores. This has not been our experience. We continue to buy more books than we need and we are fiercely loyal users of the public system. Our Little Free Library has enhanced our love of reading and has connected us to a community of book lovers in the heart of our busy neighborhood.
1. Why did the author and her husband create the Little Free Library?| A．To make friends with book lovers. | B．To deal with their unwanted books. |
| C．To prepare for used book sales. | D．To make use of community resources. |
| A．The multiple resources of the library. |
| B．People’s contributions to the library. |
| C．The friendships between library users. |
| D．The author’s impression of her neighborhood. |
| A．Its superiority to public libraries. |
| B．Its close distance to a busy street. |
| C．Its success in solving book storage. |
| D．Its reflecting city diversity through books. |
| A．The Cozy Reading Corner: Promoting Reading |
| B．The Whispering Pages: Tales from a Shared Library |
| C．The Little Free Library: Contributing to Tighter Bonds |
| D．The Magic Bookshelf: Account of Neighborhood Harmony |
4 . Creativity is advocated everywhere these days. But most of us don’t know how to set it off. Here are some ways to start the process.
Work in a blue room. As we grow up, colors take on specific associations. Red means danger, and blue relates to peace.
Why the difference?
Sleep on it. Sleep helps generate new ideas in several ways. During sleep, the brain strengthens memories. That act of strengthening actually reorganizes thoughts, much like reorganizing books on a shelf.
Live in a foreign land. People who had lived abroad performed better on creative problems and tasks. A week in Paris isn’t enough to light the creative spark, delightful though that trip may be.
| A．Watch a funny video |
| B．Such associations affect how we think |
| C．However, don’t expect this to work every time |
| D．Red makes us anxious, and anxiety causes us to focus |
| E．The new arrangement can help generate new associations |
| F．If we can let our mind wander, we are more likely to solve the problem |
| G．It has to be long enough to challenge our habitual ways of thinking and living |
5 . The Zero Energy Building in Singapore, which has been entirely powered by sunlight since it began operating in 2009, is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. Transformed from a former workshop, the three- story building may hold the key to the island’s effort to reduce its dependence on imported fuel.
Generally, green building strategies can be categorized into passive and active solutions. Active solutions involve improving lighting and the HVAC(Heating, Ventilation (通风) and Air-conditioning)systems that consume most of the energy in buildings. Passive solutions aim to provide more energy-efficient architectural improvements (such as building envelopes and roofs) to reduce the reliance on active solutions. Research has shown that passive strategies are much less costly compared to active solutions. Therefore, passive design is recommended in many green and sustainable design guidelines.
“However, passive solutions, such as daylight and natural ventilation, are sensitive to climatic and outdoor conditions and therefore have their limitations of application,” said project officer Letchimi Palanisamy. “For example, buildings in the tropics (热带) usually have a North-South direction to avoid facing the sun directly. But the Zero Energy Building has an East-West orientation, which made the task more challenging.”
Innovations that are being tested at the Zero Energy Building include personalized ventilation and a new air-conditioning system patented by the National University of Singapore (NUS). Different plants have also been planted on the roofs and along the walls of the building to reduce heat absorption, yet allow maximum natural ventilation and daylight into the building to lower the need for air-conditioning and artificial lighting. The biggest improvement is the addition of a new roof that can turn sunlight into 500,000KWH of electricity each year.
“The Zero Energy Building is a test bed for the green building technologies in the tropics,” Letchimi Palanisamy said. “If they are successfully commercialized, they will help Singapore cut its energy consumption in the buildings by 50%.”
1. What does the second paragraph mainly focus on?| A．Methods to improve the HVAC systems. |
| B．Ways to classify green building strategies. |
| C．Major innovations adopted in green buildings. |
| D．The benefits and limitations of green technologies. |
| A．Buildings in the tropics usually face the sun directly. |
| B．Passive designs depend heavily on the natural conditions. |
| C．Active strategies are much less expensive than passive solutions. |
| D．The energy consumption in the Zero Energy Building is cut by 50%. |
| A．Natural ventilation. | B．Plants grown along the walls. |
| C．Innovations for maximum daylight. | D．NUS’s air-conditioning system. |
| A．A project profile. | B．An on-site test. | C．An advertisement. | D．A government plan. |
6 . Tourists at the Acropolis this holiday season can walk around the ancient Greek site to see how it looked like 2,500 years ago. They will even see a collection of sculptures that were removed from the site more than 200 years ago and are now on display at the British Museum in London. All they need is a smartphone and an app called Chronos.
They can just point their phones at the Parthenon, and then the sculptures housed in London will app ear back on the temple. Other less widely known features also appear: Many of the sculptures on the Acropolis are painted in striking colors. A statue of Athena in the main hall also stands over a shallow pool of water.
“The only time I’ve seen this kind of technology before was at the dentist,” Shriya Parsotam Chitnavis, a tourist from London, said after checking out the app on a hot afternoon at the hilltop Acropolis. “I’m more of a visual person, so this app has really helped me appreciate it.”
The app employs augmented reality (AR) to place the ancient impression of the site onto the screen, matching the real-world view as you walk around the temple. The app also covers three other monuments at the Acropolis, a neighboring Roman theater and parts of the Acropolis Museum built at the foot of the hill.
Greece’s Culture Ministry is enthusiastic to adopt the AR technology. Another company, Microsoft, partnered with the ministry two years ago to launch a digital tour at ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games in southern Greece.
“The software will offer tourists a more immersive experience, allowing them to share photos and videos from museums and other sources as more content becomes digitized,” said Maria Engberg, co-author of the book Reality Media.
1. How is Shriya Parsotam Chitnavis’s reaction to the software?| A．Positive. | B．Dismissive. | C．Skeptical. | D．Scared. |
| A．The ancient Roman theater. | B．The birthplace of the Olympic Games. |
| C．Parts of the Acropolis Museum. | D．Three other monuments at the Acropolis. |
| A．Unnatural. | B．Adventurous. | C．Painful. | D．Vivid. |
| A．A tourist’s experience at the Acropolis. |
| B．A new way to restore ancient cultural sites. |
| C．A very helpful app to be introduced at the Acropolis. |
| D．The popularity of AR technologies at ancient attractions. |
7 . In spring 1955, Rosalynn Carter was doing what she had been avoiding since she married Jimmy Carter: keeping house and raising children in the same tiny town where they grew up.
But her husband called for help from his family’s farm one day and said that he couldn’t manage the farm on his own. So Rosalynn Carter gathered their sons and returned to the tiny town. Soon she was managing finances and handling customers. “Finally, I got used to our new life and knew more about the business than he did, and he would take my advice about things,” Rosalynn Carter told The Associated Press in 2021.
Their marriage was almost a decade old when she went to the farm, but that was perhaps the true beginning of a partnership that helped Jimmy Carter win the Georgia governor’s office in 1970 and then the White House in 1976. Six years later, they co-founded The Carter Center and committed themselves to charity work for four decades in more than 145 countries, where many children, now adults, were named Jimmy or Rosalynn or Carter. Along that path was a small-town love story that included 77 years of marriage and two decades of family friendship before that. Their shared journey ended on November 19, 2023, with Rosalynn’s death at the age of 96.
“It’s hard to think of one of them without the other,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend who saw the couple often during Rosalynn Carter’s last months. “When Jimmy was president. she even attended all White House meetings and discussed what she heard with him at home. They had nightly phone calls when they traveled separately.”
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished.” Jimmy Carter said in a statement released upon her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
1. How did Rosalynn Carter probably feel when she was asked to work on the farm?| A．Interested. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Proud. | D．Unwilling. |
| A．They bought a new farm in a small town. |
| B．They ran for the Georgia governor’s office. |
| C．They started to do charity work in the world. |
| D．They traveled in different countries as tourists. |
| A．Rosalynn Carter was an ambitious woman. |
| B．The couple were very attached to each other. |
| C．Jimmy Carter was not a qualified president. |
| D．They should not share the secret information. |
| A．Young Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter’s Love Stories |
| B．The World’s Responses to Rosalynn Carter’s Death |
| C．The Close Bond Between Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter |
| D．The Lasting Relationship Between the Carters’ Families |
8 . Here are trips near Beijing for every age, taste, and budget.
Badachu
Badachu takes its name from the eight temples that make up the area’s main attraction. Its history as a religious site goes all the way back to the Tang Dynasty（618-907AD). The first of the eight temples, Chang’an Si, is actually located right outside the park. The second temple, Lingguang Si, is Badachu’s main attraction and the only one that still has monks inside. Take the nearby chairlift（RMB 30）or continue exploring the other temples on foot.
Admission: RMB 10.
Longqing Gorge
Longqing Gorge is known for the Longqing Gorge Ice Sculpture Festival in winter and peaceful mountain views in summer. Often compared to the Yangtze River’s famous Three Gorges, Longqing Gorge also ranks favorably with Guilin’s mountain and water views. Besides sightseeing, tourists can go boating, rock climbing and horseback riding here. Baihua Dong is best avoided, as the only signs of “flowers” are made with plastics.
Admission: RMB 40.
Shang Fang Shan
As a national forest park, Shang Fang Shan is known for its diversity of plants and ancient trees that are over a thousand years old. There are nine caves in the mountain. The best-known one is called Yunshui Cave, meaning “the cave of clouds and water”.
Admission: RMB 40.
Huanghuacheng
If your idea of relaxation is losing yourself in hiking along the wild Great Wall, then Huanghuacheng, which is named after the yellow flowers that blanket the site in summer, is for you. Here you can explore the Great Wall at any time for free. The exploration starts at Jintang Lake and the moon-shaped Huanghuacheng Reservoir, which breaks the Great Wall into three sections. Huanghuacheng is also known as “Water Great Wall” because part of the wall is underwater.
1. How much should you pay if you visit the temples by chairlift in Badachu?| A．RMB 10 | B．RMB 20 | C．RMB 30 | D．RMB 40 |
| A．Go for a sculpture festival in summer. | B．Visit a cave with beautiful flowers. |
| C．Enjoy pretty mountain and water views. | D．See various plants and ancient trees. |
| A．It can be visited free of charge. | B．It is best-known for its natural beauty. |
| C．It is famous for yellow flowers in spring. | D．It offers free access to many religious sites. |
9 . Robins (知更鸟) are considered as a symbol of the festive season and are known for their lively, curious nature around humans. But even robins get road rage because they can become aggressive when there’s noise, a new study shows.
Researchers from the UK found that the sound of traffic made rural robins — not urban robins — “more aggressive”. The study was conducted by experts at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. Human activity has a colossal effect on wildlife, including on their social behavior,” the team said in their paper.
For their study, the team investigated the behavior of male European robins living in urban parks and rural forests in Istanbul. They measured aggression towards another robin intruder, which wasn’t a real robin but instead a model in the shape of an adult bird. The fake robin was equipped with a speaker, through which the team could play audio, and then attached to trees at the parks and forests. The audio consisted of recordings of robin songs, while additional traffic noise was added through another separate speaker nearby.
After recording the birds’ behavior during interactions with the fake intruder, they found the urban robins typically displayed more physical aggression than rural robins. However, rural robins became more aggressive with the addition of traffic noise — possibly because they’re less used to traffic noise than urban birds, which are already living in noisier habitats. What’s more, physical displays of territoriality could increase because the traffic noise interferes with their birdsong. “In normally quiet surroundings, we found that additional traffic noise leads to rural robins becoming more aggressive,” said Dr Caglar Akcay at ARU. “We believe this is because the noise is interfering with their communication.”
Overall, by comparing urban and rural robin reactions, the study provides a valuable glimpse into how urban-living species adapt to “life in a noisy world”. “Our results show that human-produced noise can have a range of effects on robins, depending on the habitat they live in,” said Dr Akcay.
1. What can we learn about the robins according to the text?| A．They like larger habitats. |
| B．They cannot stand other intruders. |
| C．They prefer villages to urban areas. |
| D．They can remind people of joyous seasons. |
| A．Positive. | B．Mutual. | C．Weak. | D．Dramatic. |
| A．It affected their communication. |
| B．It severely damaged their hearing. |
| C．It prevented them from finding food. |
| D．It made it hard for them to return to their habitats. |
| A．To persuade people to protect the robins. |
| B．To compare the differences between robins. |
| C．To show man-made noise’s effect on robins. |
| D．To prove that human and birds are connected. |
10 . How to Be Funny?
Humor can help you connect with other people and make unpleasant situations a little more bearable.
Learn from funny people. You can expand your reach a good deal by listening to other funny people. Whether they’re professional comedians, your parents, your kids, or your boss, learning from the funny people in your life is a key step towards being a funny person.
Broaden your factual knowledge for joke material.
Read, read, read. Get your hands on everything that is funny, and consume it like your mom told you not to. Chemists become chemists by reading and practicing chemistry. Sports writers become sports writers by reading and writing about sports.
| A．Strike while the iron is hot. |
| B．Trust in your inner sense of humor. |
| C．Observe the funnier things these people say or do. |
| D．Being funny might seem to take a great deal of work. |
| E．It’s much easier to find funny moments in familiar material. |
| F．You’ll become a humorous person by reading and practicing jokes. |
| G．The better you know someone, the easier it will be to make them laugh. |
