1 . An apology tells someone that we’re sorry for the hurt we caused — even if we didn’t do it on purpose. It’s a way of saying we’re aware of what we did and we’ll try to do better in future.
Apologies are one of the tools that we use to get along better with other people. Saying that you’re sorry is more than just words.
Everyone needs to apologize when they do something wrong. For example, if someone is irritated because of something you did, you need to apologize. If you say something that hurts someone, even if you don’t mean it, then you should apologize.
When someone apologizes to you, you may welcome it and be ready to forgive.
A.When you apologize in a caring way |
B.When you accept an apology in a desirable way |
C.It’s difficult to mend a relationship if we don’t apologize |
D.Or you might not feel like being friendly again right away |
E.It isn’t always easy for us to get along well with everyone all the time |
F.If you lose or break something belonging to someone else, you should say sorry |
G.You’re also saying that you respect and care about the other person’s feelings |
2 . Living Well with Others
A good life is one that is beneficial to living well with others, while living comfortably and honestly. However, not everyone can deal with the relationship well with others.
This article will cover some ideas you may want to consider.
Smile at those around you. It’s often been said that a smile is catching. Research suggests that’s true. Studies suggest that friendly engagement (交往) with others improves happiness levels, at least in part.
Help others. Studies have shown that helping others has a direct relation to individual happiness.
Value your friendships with others. The quality of a person’s friendship has a direct effect upon their well-being. Friends can increase a sense of your sense of belonging and purpose.
A.Taking time to care for others has been important to understand “the good life”. |
B.They’re looking to explore new ways to make their life better. |
C.When meeting someone for the first time, shake hands with them. |
D.Treat others with honesty, respect and kindness. |
E.People are more likely to treat a smiling person better than a non-smiling person. |
F.Treat others how you wish to be treated. |
G.They will also help prevent you from developing bad habits. |
3 . Sometimes trees can be a little too respectful of one another’s boundaries. Or maybe they just stop growing when they get too close. The phenomenon is called crown (树冠) shyness-the tops of individual trees do not touch each other, creating a visible gap between the tree crowns.
Experts aren’t exactly sure why the naturally occurring phenomenon happens, but they’ve been studying it for decades and have a few theories. In 1955 a biologist Putz noticed that the trees, which grow close together, can rub against each other when the wind is strong enough. The resulting abrasion (磨损) helps form and maintain the shyness gaps. In 1986, this theory was backed up by Dr. Miguel Franco, who noticed that the branches of Picea sitchensis and Larix kaempferi trees suffered physical damage during abrasion, which killed the leading branches. The presence of broken tips at the points where branches meet lends support to the abrasion theory.
However, one Malaysian scholar suggests that shyness gaps result from the influences individual trees have on one another. Trees cannot move, so if they have nearby neighbors, they are forced to compete for resources, especially light. According to this theory, each tree forces its neighbors into a pattern that maximizes resource collection and minimizes harmful competition. Trees grow in the direction of light, so branches would naturally try to avoid other plants that could shade them or prevent their growth, creating a gap between the tree crowns.
Another possible reason for crown shyness is to prevent the spread of harmful insects, which could eat the tree’s leaves. Still someone believes the best scientific explanation so far is that the leaves of the tree release certain chemicals to stop other trees from growing too close.
The answer could be just one of the above, or a combination of more. But some species have been adapted to take advantage of crown shyness to grow into shapes that go well with nearby trees and therefore economic profits can be maximized out of the phenomenon.
1. What is crown shyness according to the text?A.A behavior exhibited by insects in the crown of trees. |
B.A disease that affects the leaves of certain tree species. |
C.A phenomenon where trees grow taller than surrounding ones. |
D.An occurrence where crowns of trees avoid touching each other. |
A.Supportive. | B.Critical. | C.Tolerant. | D.Uncertain. |
A.The blowing wind effect. | B.The release of a special chemical. |
C.A natural way of shade avoidance. | D.An adaptation to stop insect spreading. |
A.A further explanation of the theoretic framework. |
B.Supporting evidence for the research conclusions. |
C.A reasonable doubt about the research implications. |
D.Practical application of crown shyness phenomenon. |
4 . Van Gogh painted sunflowers for the first time in the summer of 1886. Two years later, his interest appeared again after he settled in Arles. After he had invited the French artist Paul Gauguin, whom he admired, to join his Studio of the South, he began painting sunflowers to brighten up the whitewashed walls of the yellow house he was living in, not far from the town’s railway station.
Gauguin accepted Van Gogh’s invitation. When he began dragging his heels, Van Gogh painted the last two of the four original Sunflowers for the modest bedroom where his guest would sleep following his arrival that autumn. “Van Gogh saw the Sunflowers for Gauguin’s bedroom as a way of attracting his friend to come from Brittany,” says Bailey.
According to Martin Gayford, “Gauguin was very surprised by the Sunflowers, which he repeatedly praised and asked for as a gift. Years later, Gauguin himself painted some sunflower pictures.”
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers stand for his relationship with Gauguin. “I think he painted them for the joy of it,” says Jansen. “Van Gogh was at the height of his powers in the summer of 1888,” explains Bailey. “He painted the Sunflowers quickly and with great energy and confidence.” Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo in late August, “I’m painting quickly now, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large Sunflowers.”
Van Gogh recognized at once that he had created something important and that his sunflowers were so different. As he told Theo in January 1889, while other artists were known for painting other flowers, “The sunflower is mine.” This, in fact, explains the reason for the popularity of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers today.
1. Van Gogh painted sunflowers in 1888 in order to ________.A.give them to Gauguin | B.make his living |
C.decorate his house | D.show his artistic talent to others |
A.In the British museum | B.In Gauguin’s bedroom |
C.In the town’s railway station | D.In a rich businessman’s house |
A.Putting up his paintings. | B.Packing up his baggage. |
C.Preparing for his departure. | D.delaying his coming. |
A.Van Gogh was not good at painting large Sunflowers |
B.Van Gogh had much trouble in painting the Sunflowers |
C.Van Gogh didn’t like his Sunflowers at all at that time |
D.Van Gogh realized the Sunflowers would make him known |
5 . Reunions offer a chance to reflect on how much has changed. One happened in Hollywood when Here premiered (首映), bringing together the actors, director and writer behind Forrest Gump 40 years later for a new film. The stars were “de-aged” using new AI tools, making them more youthful in some scenes and enabling the filmmakers to see the transformation in real time while shooting.
With the use of generative AI in film making come things worth watching. The first is how AI will be used to tell new types of stories, as storytelling becomes more personalised and interactive. No one is quite sure how the nature of storytelling will change, but it is sure to. David Thomson, a film historian, compares generative AI to the advent of sound. “When movies were no longer silent, it changed the way plot points were made and how deeply viewers could connect with characters.” Cristóbal Valenzuela, who runs a company providing AI-enhanced software, says AI is like a “new kind of camera”, offering a fresh “opportunity to reimagine what stories are like”. Both are right.
Another big development to watch is how AI will be used as a time-saving tool. Generative AI will automate and simplify complex tasks like film-editing and special effects. For a glimpse of the future, watch Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2023. It featured a scene that used a “rotoscoping” tool to edit out the green-screen background and make a talking rock more believable. It shortened into hours what might have otherwise taken days of video-editing.
What is also noticeable is more dramatic conflicts between creators and those running AI platforms. This year is likely to bring floods of lawsuits (诉讼) from authors, musicians and actors about how their works have been used to train AI systems without permission or payment. Perhaps they can agree on some sort of licensing arrangement, in which AI companies start paying copyright-holders.
It will probably be a few years before a full-length film is produced entirely by AI, but it is just a matter of time.
1. What can we learn about the film Here?A.It relates a story about youth. | B.The theme of the film is reunion. |
C.AI tools are employed in the film. | D.It is adapted from Forrest Gump. |
A.Available. | B.Impressive. | C.Representative. | D.Transformative. |
A.To show the high efficiency of AI tools. |
B.To demonstrate the influence of the film. |
C.To analyse a novel way of video-editing. |
D.To praise the hard work behind the scenes. |
A.Conflicts between man and machine. | B.AI’s huge effects on film production. |
C.Drawbacks of dependence on AI tools. | D.Hot debate on the use of technology. |
6 . Kids everywhere love to play. And they know that a ball is a perfect thing to play with. Now scientists report bumblebees (大黄蜂) seem to know the same thing, making bumblebees the first insects known to play.
Lots of animals play. But the behavior is best known in mammals and birds. For many animals, playing is often seen as a kind of training for things they’ll have to deal with in later life. But before this, there were no reports of insects playing.
Dr. Lars Chittka did an earlier experiment, where he trained bumblebees to roll balls into a goal for food. He noticed some bees were rolling balls even when they weren’t rewarded. He wondered if they were playing.
To test the idea, he with other scientists set up a new experiment. First, they marked 45 young bumblebees, both male and female, between one and 23 days old. Then they set up a clear pathway from the bumblebees’ nest to a feeding area. On either side of the open pathway, small colored wooden balls were placed. On one side of the path, the balls couldn’t move. On the other side, the balls could roll around.
For three hours a day over 14 days, the scientists opened the pathway. The bumblebees never had to leave the pathway to find food, but they left anyway. They weren’t so interested in the side where the balls couldn’t move, but they made lots of visits to the side with the rolling balls.
Grabbing the balls with their legs, the bumblebees would beat their wings to pull on the balls, causing them to roll. The 45 marked bumblebees did this 910 times during the experiment. Though some only did it once, others did it a lot. The scientists found the younger bumblebees spent more time rolling balls, and that males seemed more likely to play than females.
The scientists say it’s not clear why the bumblebees roll the balls or whether they enjoy it. But the experiment raises important questions about how the insects’ minds work and whether they have feelings.
1. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 refer to?A.The discovery that many insects like playing. |
B.The experiment about mammals’ living habits. |
C.The report that bumblebees play for fun. |
D.The comparison between insects and birds. |
A.Bumblebees’ types. | B.Bumblebees’ habitats. |
C.Bumblebees’ behavior. | D.Bumblebees’ food. |
A.Male bumblebees tend to play balls more often. |
B.Colorful balls are bumblebees’ favourite toys. |
C.Younger bumblebees are better at rolling balls. |
D.Bumblebees show interest in anything round. |
A.Bumblebees Act Just Like Kids | B.Balls Are a Perfect Thing to Play with |
C.Playing Is Animals’ Second Nature | D.Bumblebees Are First Insect Known to Play |
7 . There’s been growing concerns about the damaging impact of human travel on the environment in recent years. Irresponsible tourism is a main cause of environmental destruction. The destruction of the natural environment is an urgent matter as it directly affects everyone’s well-being.
Avoid takeaways as many as possible
Buying “food to go” seems logical when you are in a rush. Though convenient, this kind of take-out packaging often uses disposable (一次性的) plastic boxes and bags, which can contribute significantly to environmental pollution if not properly disposed of.
Go for train or bus when traveling nationally
Transportation accounts for nearly a third of all greenhouse gases produced in the environment. Flying and driving, in particular, are major contributors to carbon emissions within the transportation sector, with domestic flying emitting more carbon than driving.
Stay on designated roads and foot paths
Responsible tourism is about having as minimum physical interaction with the wild as possible. We not only protect the fragile ecosystems around us but also ensure our own safety.
Pick up trash after yourself and others
In conclusion, responsible tourism is traveling with awareness, respect, and consideration for the places you visit. It’s about ensuring that your travel experiences enrich not only your own lives but also contribute positively to the destinations you explore, leaving them better than you found them.
A.Therefore, hike for some trips at times. |
B.So stick to marked roads and footpaths. |
C.Pay attention to the trash while traveling. |
D.Make a habit of collecting trash after yourself. |
E.Therefore, use public transport for short travels. |
F.You don’t have to be in a rush when on holiday. |
G.These concerns have resulted in the green travel campaign. |
8 . Adding to the achievements of a remarkable year, Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.
Already a superstar before 2023, Swift’s career has reached new heights thanks to the beginning of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour performance to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil. Promoted by her tour, Swift has been named the most-streamed female artist in the history of Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, the tour made about $900 million (about 6.4 billion yuan) in 2023. In addition, the tour’s movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the biggest concert movie of all time, taking more than $250
million globally.As she was declare a billionaire by Bloomberg in November, a hidden “Taylor Swift economy” also promoted sales for business owners across the US. From soaps to a cruise inspired by her different “eras”, interest in Swift-related products went way up.
Apart from her financial contributions, Swift made a significant cultural impact by taking back control of her music. In 2019, her old record label, Big Machine, sold the master tapes of her first six albums (专辑) to Scoot er Braun. The sale meant that she didn’t have the rights to the albums. In response to this, Swift began re-recording her first six albums, tagging (加标签于) them “Taylor’s Version”. This move stressed her belief that artists deserve to own their work. “It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she told Time. “I respond to extreme pain by resisting.”
Heading into 2024, Swift will start the Eras Tour again in Japan and Australia. As USA Today noted, “Her current top has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning.”
1. What do we know about Taylor Swift?A.She broke a new record on her tour. | B.She toured South America before 2023. |
C.Her achievements received great recognition. | D.Her performance began with the Apple Music. |
A.She proved herself to be an artist. | B.She learned to make some products. |
C.She had influence on music culture. | D.She sold her master tapes to a company. |
A.She will end her music career. | B.She will continue her Eras Tour. |
C.She will reach her top in Japan. | D.She will make a record in Australia. |
A.Admirable. | B.Uncaring. | C.Doubtful. | D.Critical. |
9 . Every Thursday afternoon, the food pantry (食品储藏室) at the local high school opens up to provide fresh food bags for families who can hardly make both ends meet to get their meals to last through the weekend. Nearly a hundred families rely on the extra food. Some are between jobs, some got hit hard with medical bills for a few months, and some are new to the neighborhood, placed there by refugee services.
On one breezy afternoon, two young mothers walked in together, each accompanied by a young child. There was nothing different about their dress, but their manner revealed a shyness that they struggled to overcome. When they spoke, it was clear why: Their accents were thick, even though they were trying hard to make their English sound American. They were uncertain of being understood. But the pantry is run by grandmothers who are never pressed for time when it comes to conversations. So they sat for a moment and told their story while the little ones were held in arms so very familiar with children.
The two lived in apartments in the basement of the Methodist Church. They had been in the United States for one month. Their husbands were well-educated but working labor jobs to pay for food and save for more typical apartments.
Both had fled the war in Eastern Europe, one family from Ukraine and one from Russia. They ended up in the same church basement and discovered that they needed each other. They became fast friends. Their children played together. They shared meals and navigated their new world together.
There were no bombs or soldiers or rations in their new neighborhood, only a chance to start over. Friendships are sometimes hard to come by, yet matter so much to each of us. A good friend gives us strength, love, laughter and the courage to keep trying.
These two families — worn down by uncertainty and war, thrown together in a new country, a new community with a new language — found so much in common. And isn’t that what we all need? A friend who faces the same life challenges, even if the forces above them have different political views. We are, after all, just mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors.
1. In the article, who primarily benefits from the services provided by the food pantry?A.High school students. | B.People with disabilities. |
C.Families with tight budgets. | D.Underpaid individuals. |
A.Their clothing. | B.Their language. |
C.Their children. | D.Their ID documents. |
A.They both live in the basement of the same church. |
B.They met at the same restaurant. |
C.They are from the same country. |
D.They both have similar professions. |
A.Challenges of Life and New Friendship | B.The Story of the Food Pantry |
C.New Life in America | D.From War to Peace |
10 . In the rich countries of the West, the electric vehicle revolution is well occurring. Climate-conscious consumers drive Teslas or Polestars for reasons of morality (道德) and fashion. Poorer countries are also experiencing a wave of electrified trend. In Bangladesh, electric three-wheeler taxis, known as tuk-tuks, are rapidly replacing gas-powered ones on the streets. Such electric vehicles are climate friendly, cost effective, and help reduce air pollution.
Yet a glance under the hood (引擎盖) of these vehicles shows a poisonous secret: each tuk-tuk runs on five massive lead-acid batteries (铅酸电池), containing almost 300 pounds of lead (铅) in total. Every year and a half or so, when those batteries need to be replaced and recycled, about 60 pounds of lead leaks into the environment. Battery recycling, often at small-scale unregulated factories, is a highly profitable (高利润的) but deadly business.
Lead is dangerous, and any exposure to it is harmful to human health. Lead that has entered the environment hurts people on an unexpected scale. The numerous ways lead enters air, water, soil, and homes across the developing world and the enormous damage it does to human health, wealth, and welfare cause one of the biggest environmental problems in the world yet receives little attention.
The World Bank estimates that lead kills 5.5 million people per year, making it a bigger global killer than AIDS, malaria, diabetes, and road traffic deaths combined. On top of the shocking deaths, the social burden of lead poisoning is heavy, as is its contribution to global inequality — our research on the cognitive (认知的) effects of lead poisoning suggests that it may explain about one-fifth of the educational achievement gap between rich and poor countries.
But unlike many challenges faced by developing countries, lead poisoning is a problem that can be resolved through financial investment (财政投入). Better monitoring, research, and rules can help protect children all over the world from the unpleasant effects of lead poisoning and reduce the massive global costs it brings.
1. How does the author describe the lead problem in paragraph 2?A.By listing some numbers. | B.By analyzing hidden causes. |
C.By making an interesting comparison. | D.By explaining its working principle. |
A.Lead enters poor countries in one way. |
B.Lead leaking has been avoided in all the countries. |
C.Lead will definitely not harm anymore. |
D.Lead poisoning may make poor societies poorer. |
A.Fixing these used batteries. | B.Reducing the cost of recycling lead. |
C.Ignoring the illegal use of lead. | D.Putting certain effort and money. |
A.The Impacts of Lead Poisoning on Man. |
B.The Global Lead Poisoning Problem. |
C.The Ways to Solve Lead Problem. |
D.The Benefits of Using Electric Vehicles. |