1 . Slow travel is about connecting deeply with your travels. Rather than rushing from one place to another, slow travelers treat each experience as an opportunity to learn and feel more deeply to the people, culture, and food they want to explore.
Relax and enjoy
Once, a vacation provided relaxation from the stress of everyday life. But over time, we began trying to put everything we want into a checklist.
Have more memorable experiences
If you’re used to jumping from one attraction after another, the idea of slow travel may feel like you’ll miss the latest Top 10. In fact, you free yourself from scratching the surface of everything without enjoying anything.
Meet people and actually get to know them
When you decide to take the slow travel route, you free yourself up to meet and spend time with others. You can meet locals at a park or restaurant and enjoy a conversation. Learn about the people on your food tour. You may even decide that you like someone enough to meet him/her later for lunch or a coffee.
Traveling by plane, train, and bus has a bad effect on the environment. We can transport ourselves to one location and spend more time exploring it on foot, by bike or on horseback. That’s less harmful to the planet than rushing to the next thing on the list with whatever vehical that will get us there in a hurry.
| A．Be more eco-friendly. |
| B．Experience different means of transportation. |
| C．This created more stress than we were escaping. |
| D．Making a checklist makes your journey more organized. |
| E．Slow travel allows you the time to feel a destination. |
| F．Here are some reasons we think you need to try slow travel. |
| G．Your communication tends to be more relaxed and more real. |
2 . For adults, communicating in our first language feels easy and natural. Yet learning language is a complex process that is influenced by several factors. When young children are beginning to learn language, some influences, such as the amount of speech a child hears and the amount of time they spend in back-and-forth language interactions with others, have what may appear to be obvious connections to language learning. Perhaps less obvious is that children’s own physical experiences with their environment help them learn new words.
In new research in the cognitive sciences, we investigated how this is the case by considering how children learn words that refer to something they can touch, grasp and interact with. We asked parents to rate how easily a child can physically interact with the object, idea or experiences that a word refers to. We found words that refer to objects that are easy for children to interact with are also words that are learned at an earlier age.
For instance, a word such as spoon is usually learned earlier than a word such as sky. And this relationship remains even when we consider other things that can affect word learning, such as how common a word is in everyday language. Words such as spoon and sky are both relevant to everyday life, and so children will probably hear those words quite early in their development. One difference between them is that spoon refers to something they can touch, grasp and interact with, whereas sky does not.
Our findings agree with those of studies where babies wore small head-mounted body cameras to record their interactions with objects. Those studies show that the children’s own physical experiences helps them learn new words. For instance, in one study researchers found that 18-month-old babies were more likely to learn the name of a new object when they held that object, and less likely to learn the name if their parent held the new object. Another study found that 15-month-olds who spent more time using new objects had learned more nouns by the time they were 21 months old.
1. What is the aim of the new research?| A．To see if babies’ physical experiences help them learn new words. |
| B．To investigate how a baby learns names of everyday objects. |
| C．To find out what influences a baby’s language learning. |
| D．To study how a baby interacts with everyday objects. |
| A．Bag. | B．Heart. | C．Milk. | D．Leaf. |
| A．To further support their finding. | B．To summarize the research result. |
| C．To point out new research directions. | D．To introduce results of other findings. |
| A．The author is a parent. | B．The author is a researcher. |
| C．The author is a professor. | D．The author is a journalist. |
3 . How to motivate (激励) a lazy teenager
Here’s how to give the teenagers the motivation they need without nagging (唠叨) them.
A teenager needs between 8-10 hours of sleep every night but most only get about 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep per night. So when a teenager is forced out of bed at 7 am or 8 am to go to school, their natural sleep cycle is thrown off and they will likely appear lazy, unmotivated, all symptoms (症状) of lack of sleep.
It is recommended that teenagers spend no more than two hours a day sitting in front of a small screen and get 60 minutes’ exercise a day.
It’s important for teenagers to help with tasks and learn responsibility.
Teenagers might not act like they need it or want it.
| A．Set a sleep schedule |
| B．Understand their thoughts |
| C．Be sure that teenagers can do homework alone |
| D．Set a plan with teenagers for the daily housework they would prefer to do |
| E．However, they need to know that adults love them, care for them and respect them |
| F．Make sure the teenager goes to bed on time and gets eight hours of sleep a night |
| G．Make screen time a reward by ensuring teenagers finish their homework or tasks first |
4 . Dry lightning(雷电)can still be harmful even when conditions aren’t so dry, said a study published in Geophysical Research Letters last month. Dry lightning during little to no rainfall was previously thought to cause wildfire danger only with less than 2.5mm of rain in a day. A Washington State University-led study of wildfires in the US West found dry lightning caused wildfires despite up to 7.7 mm of rain.
“The rainfall amounts we recorded should help provide a better understanding of just how much rain can cause a fire risk,” said Dmitri Kalashnikov, lead author of the study.
The researchers analyzed(分析)cases on more than 4,600 naturally caused fires from 2015 to 2020. They matched 3,726 of those to the lightning strikes that likely started them with the help of National Lightning Detection Network.
The study found that 15.3% of those were holdover fires which burn without smoke, bringing about over a hundred fires each year. Analyzing the rainfall amounts around the time of the lightning strikes showed greater rainfall than previously thought among the earlier found fires ranging from 1.7 mm to 4.6 mm.
While humans still cause most fires either by accident or on purpose, lightning-caused wildfires burn the most areas. Nearly 70% of the wildfire-burned land in the West was from lightning-caused fires according to the study. For example, the largest wildfire burn area in California history took place in August 2020 after dry lightning caused many wildfires at once.
Dry lightning can also start wildfires in places that are hard for firefighters to reach. This study found the places where holdover fires happened repeatedly were in the forested mountains of the Southwest as well as the middle and southern Rocky Mountains. Holdover fires cause the problem because they are so hard to notice.
1. The new study found dry lightning can still cause wildfires with a daily rainfall of __________.| A．7.7 mm | B．8.0mm | C．9.4mm | D．10.2mm |
| A．The finding of the research. | B．The number of the cases. |
| C．The process of the study. | D．The designers of the test. |
| A．They are difficult to notice. | B．The fire service is short-handed. |
| C．Campers often smoke there. | D．The locals fail to call firefighters. |
| A．A history textbook. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A course plan. | D．A book review. |
5 . There’s nothing like a good conversation!
What makes someone a good conversationalist?
Curiosity
Positivity
Holding a conversation with someone who has a negative perspective(消极视角) can be a real downer.
Confidence
Samuels finds confidence to be another key quality that good conversationalists share.“
In a word, leaning how to carry a quality conversation can empower you to have stronger job interviews and avoid small talk to make more meaningful connections with people.
| A．Don’t worry about being the most confident talker. |
| B．It gets you thinking and may even get you a better job. |
| C．Practicing can make some conversations less awkward. |
| D．Think about the people in your life who you love talking to. |
| E．But positive people know how to drive any conversation in the right direction. |
| F．Curious people often ask meaningful questions, which makes for great conversations. |
| G．Having confidence in yourself lessens the chance of being influenced in a conversation. |
6 . During work hours in Becker’s bread shop, the kitchen is especially quiet except the sound of the machine. The quiet environment is not the result of the strict rules, but because all the workers are deaf. They use sign language to communicate with each other from time to time.
Becker’s shop is in Changsha City, Hunan Province. It sells many kinds of German bread, cakes and coffee. It is very popular for the story of Becker who opened it.
Over twenty years ago, Becker and his wife heard about a Chinese public project. It provided language training for the disabled children, but it was short of trainers in Changsha. So they came in 2002 with a common wish to do something meaningful in life.
In Changsha, together with other Chinese trainers, they helped children improve their hearing and language pronunciation. Every little progress each child experienced was a great encouragement to them, and they achieved their goal in life.
After ten years of working for this project, they found that the disabled adults couldn’t be independent because they had no professional skills. Then Becker and his wife set up a bread shop to teach these people how to make bread. With their help, all of them were able to live on their own.
Luckily, Becker and his wife have also got the support from the local government. More people join them and understand that disabled people can work as well as others when they have the same chances.
1. What makes Becker’s bread shop popular according to the passage?| A．Its owner’s story. | B．Its quiet environment. |
| C．Its strict rules. | D．Its good location. |
| A．For about 10 years. | B．For about 15 years. |
| C．For about 20 years. | D．For about 30 years. |
| A．In a travel guide. | B．In a notice. |
| C．In a science report. | D．In a magazine. |
| A．A Silent Bread Shop | B．A Training Course |
| C．A Beautiful City | D．Delicious Local Food |
7 . I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, my parents were very busy. In order to entertain myself. I found pens and paper and started drawing.
At that time, I thought of drawing just as a hobby. When I was tired of doing homework, I wanted to do something creative. One day, it hit me. How nice would it be if I could do something I love for a living? I did research on the best art schools around the world. One of my friends studied art in the USA. She advised me to go to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Luckily, I was accepted into RISD. At first, I felt a little down. I didn’t have my own style. I tried many different things. Finally, Chris Baselli, one of my teachers helped me find it.
Now, I’ve been working as a full-time illustrator (插图画家) for ten years. I’ve drawn for newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times and The New Yorker. I often get letters from readers. They love my style.
I’m still in the early part of my career (职业). The biggest fear that I have is losing the excitement. I hope that will never happen so that I can keep creating wonderful artworks in the long period.
1. The writer started to draw in order to ______.| A．make money | B．entertain herself |
| C．help her parents | D．help her mother |
| A．she helped her find a good job |
| B．she helped her find her own drawing style |
| C．she got her interested I being an illustrator. |
| D．she helped her make money |
| A．She is worried, she will lose her job. |
| B．She reads newspapers and magazines every day. |
| C．She feels she still has a long way to go in her career. |
| D．She reads book every day. |
8 . Have you ever heard of King Charles the Twelfth of Sweden? He was born in 1682. When he was only three or four years old, he was able to speak German as well as Swedish. He became a good horse rider at the age of eight. As a king, he was famous for his courage in defending his country.
One day he was working in a small house. The house was almost between two armies. He asked one of his officers to sit down and write a short order for him.
The officer began to write, but jus as he finished the first word, a bomb came through the roof of the house and struck the floor close by him. He dropped the pen and sprang to his feet. He was pale with fear. “What is the matter?” asked the king .
“Oh, sir. The bomb! The bomb!” he answered.
“Yes, I see,” said the king. But what has the bomb to do with what I wish you to write? Sit down, and take your pen. When your country is in danger, you should forget your own safety.”
1. From the first paragraph we can infer that_________.| A．Charles was clever as a child | B．Charles dreamed to be a ride |
| C．German was kind of difficult for Charles | D．Charles preferred riding to languages |
| A．His kindness. | B．His knowledge. |
| C．His learning skills. | D．His courage. |
| A．Far from the enemy. | B．In a small house by a river. |
| C．Between two armies. | D．In an old house in a city. |
| A．a bomb struck near him | B．he was very excited |
| C．he was afraid of the king | D．his pen was broken |
9 . Like a lot of people, I started running to lose weight. That was in 2004 when I was in college, battling the 40-plus pounds I’d gained from my diet of pasta, fries and sweets. It took me over five years to lose weight, but I never was able to get super lean and muscular like I had always wanted to be.
As a mother, I have gone through two pregnancies (怀孕), gaining 50-plus pounds during each, and always ran to lose weight. Even running 45 minutes three to four times a week didn’t help me lose those last 10 pounds. Running an hour five times a week and doing long training runs on the weekend just made me super hungry, and I ended up gaining weight.
I gradually gave up running. I wasn’t excited to do it anymore because it wasn’t offering the results I thought it should have. I decided to take a leap and sign up for a month-long program for CrossFit. I started going there five days a week. After one month of CrossFit, I was shocked at how my body had changed. In the first month I was there, I never repeated the same exercise. Before trying CrossFit, I put in a lot of miles running, but my heart rate never got as high as it does doing five minutes of wall balls, box jumps and burpees.
It has been three months since I started CrossFit. I love my new exercise routine (一套动作) because I’m actually excited to go when my alarm goes off at 4:40 am. It’s fun to try a new exercise routine. I’m proud to see what I can achieve and how strong I’m getting, and I also look forward to sweating alongside the same dedicated (热忱的), supportive, and inspiring group of people in the morning.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 1?| A．The author had a sweet tooth. | B．The author led a relaxing life. |
| C．The author succeeded in losing weight. | D．The author was a strong-minded woman. |
| A．She was tired every day. | B．She lost the last 10 pounds. |
| C．She stayed fit and healthy. | D．She was putting on weight. |
| A．A running routine. | B．A kind of exercise. |
| C．An interesting game. | D．A kind of equipment. |
| A．Helpful. | B．Difficult. | C．Cheap. | D．Boring. |
10 . Having a hobby can greatly enrich a teenager’s life. Hobbies can increase physical activity and social interaction, provide stress relief, teach valuable skills, and of course be a lot of fun! However, many teens are unwilling to try a hobby. So you need to use some insight and gentle guidance to help your teens to explore their interests and find their perfect hobby.
Ask your teens what makes them feel good about themselves. One way to help a teenager find a hobby is to pay attention to their strengths and what makes them feel good. Many teens may only focus on weaknesses or things they have failed in. Instead, emphasize anything that they enjoy doing or that makes them happy. A person doesn’t have to be good at a hobby to enjoy it. Hobbies aren’t necessarily talents. As long as they feel good while doing it, it can turn into a hobby.
Ask your teens what they want to do. Maybe your teen has been wanting to try something for a long time but has been unsure if you would agree to it. However, you might just get a shrug (耸肩) in response (回应). That is normal. Asking “What do you want to do?” is a pretty vague (模糊的) and broad question. Tell your teens to think about it, and then ask them about it later.
Determine if your teen has already taken part in hobbies. Teenagers spend much of their life away from the eyes of parents and don’t always offer up information. As a result, sometimes adults are not entirely aware (意识到的) that teens are developing hobbies. Your child may be developing hobbies away from home, so you may not have to encourage them to take up new ones. Instead, you can support their present hobbies.
1. What can you do if your teens are uninterested in developing a hobby?| A．You can compare them with other kids with hobbies. |
| B．You can have a talk with them and give some guidance. |
| C．You can tell them how perfect a person is if he has a hobby. |
| D．You can provide them with money to explore their interests. |
| A．value. | B．Success. | C．Enjoyment. | D．Talent. |
| A．They are too busy to talk to the children. |
| B．They are not able to understand teens’ world. |
| C．The children are too shy to share their ideas. |
| D．The children don’t talk about this with them. |
| A．Some Helpful Guidance for Teens | B．Help Your Teen to Find the Perfect Hobby |
| C．A Dialogue between Parents and Children | D．Having a Hobby Is Important to Everyone |
