1 . A television writer is responsible for writing scripts (剧本) for television shows. There are numerous types of shows to which a TV writer can contribute his or her talents.     1     A scriptwriter often writes stories for television dramas, comedies, and soap operas.

Some television writers start out as assistants before working their way up to filling writing positions on shows.     2     As a television writer, success requires a combination of talent, hard work, and determination.

    3     Depending on their role and the show they are working on, they might work individually in the writers’ room or other remote locations. They also spend time on the set, working closely with the production team and actors to ensure the scripts are brought to life as intended.

A television writer might develop their material using a variety of methods. This involves researching and gathering information to ensure the show is accurate and true. A piece of advice given by professionals is to watch all kinds of TV shows. TV writers should note which ones are successful.     4    

A formal college degree is usually not required to be a television writer as educational requirements vary by positions. Writing talent and practical work experience are generally considered just as valuable as a college degree. There are numerous opportunities to learn how to be a TV writer.     5     Continuing education opportunities are also suggested as well as reading reviews and comments.

A．Job titles of a TV writer can change.

B．The workplace of a TV writer can vary.

C．So they learn from them and accept suggestions to create better work.

D．It’s helpful to be located in cities known for their television production.

E．Many TV writers read books and begin self-study to improve their skills.

F．For instance, a TV writer can be a journalist, focusing on news programs.

G．Others may work in other areas, such as film or theater, before turning to television.

2 . Electric vehicles are the eco-friendly choice for many people when purchasing a new car. But not everyone is in the market for a new automobile. Faced with this choice, many people have started looking for ways to convert (转变) their gas-powered cars and trucks into EVs. This makes sense since gas-powered cars contribute to climate change. But there’s concern about what will happen to all the gas-powered cars already on the road once car companies go fully electric, reported EcoWatch.

Converting gas vehicles to electricity isn’t yet common; however, it can be done, according to the US Department of Energy. It would require removing the entire combustion (燃烧) engine entirely, and replacing it with a battery pack, one or more electric engines, wiring, and more. So, as you can see, it isn’t an easy job. Luckily, according to Ecowatch, there’re companies that specialize in EV conversion, such as Zelectric Motors. The problem is that these companies can charge a lot for their services. EcoWatch reports that conversions can cost more than the price of a new electric car.

Treehugger recently published some guidelines for buying an EV conversion kit and converting your car yourself. According to the guidelines, the best types of cars to convert with electricity are those that are relatively light and use a manual transmission (手动变速器). Heavier cars can make the electric engine less efficient, and automatic cars use up too much power. Additionally, you also need a car that can stand the weight of the electric battery packs.

Some cars that are mentioned as good candidates are Nissan Sentra, Ford Escort, and Honda Civic. While conversion kits can also be costly, if you have a newer vehicle you want to keep, it’s a viable solution.

Still, perhaps the best thing the world can do to create less environmentally harmful transportation is to move away from cars to begin with. EcoWatch reports that Mark Watts, the director of C40 Cities, a group of city mayors trying to make their cities more eco-friendly, said that active travel, walking, biking, etc. is the way to go. So, the next time you turn the key on your gas-powered car, consider the fact that one day you could be pressing a button on a clean, electric-powered vehicle or walking instead.

1. What does the author think of the practice of changing gas-powered cars into electric ones?

A．It is urgent but successful.	B．It is hard and labor-consuming.
C．It is expensive and unnecessary.	D．It is meaningful but complicated.

2. What does the underlined word “viable” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Temporary

B．Practical.

C．Universal.

D．Unique.

3. Which of the following can help create low-carbon transportation according to the text?

A．Maintaining electric vehicles regularly.

B．Prohibiting the use of gas-powered cars.

C．Replacing a trip by car with active travel.

D．Reducing the fuel consumption of vehicles.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Will electric cars be available to most people globally?

B．Will conventional cars be replaced by electric vehicles?

C．Can conventional cars be converted into electric vehicles?

D．Can electric cars make eco-friendly transportation possible?

3 . I’ll admit it — when someone asks me how I’m doing, the first word that usually comes out of my mouth is “busy”. It seems that “busy” has become the new normal.

According to Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva Meditation, the desire to keep busy is an essential part of being human. “We love feeling important and needed, which is what ‘busy’ provides us with,” she said, adding that packed schedules are considered a necessary part of achieving big dreams. “It is well known that the intense race has some built-in promises. The harder you work now, the bigger the payoff in the future.” As a result, we fill our days with work and social commitments.

But are you really as busy as you think you are? Most career-driven people would probably guess they spend most of their time at work. But author Laura Vanderkam argues that that’s probably not the case.

In her new book, I Know How She Does It, she asked 143 mothers with six-figure jobs to record what they did for every hour of one week. Surprisingly, she found that these undeniably “busy” women worked only 44 hours a week on average and slept nearly eight hours a night, leaving 70 hours per week for other things.

So what gives? “This is just human nature: we overestimate (高估) the things we don’t want to do — work, housework — and underestimate the things we do want to do,” she says. “Psychologists also have found that negative events tend to stand out in the mind more than positive events.”

Simply tracking how you spend your time, says Vanderkam, is the first step to breaking free of the “busy” trap. “It’s a lot harder to lie to ourselves when we see where the time goes, right there in black and white.”

It is also necessary to recognize that you’re mostly in charge of how you spend your time and that you can choose differently. Another really important thing — Stop telling people how busy you are. Try and take a pause when someone asks “How are you?” to really check in and see what is going on, as opposed to relying on the “busy” line.

1. Why do people like to keep themselves busy?

A．They accept busyness as a normal part of life.

B．They hold that only a busy life is meaningful.

C．They believe that being busy promises success.

D．They just follow the examples of successful people.

2. Why do most people think they spend more time at work than they actually do?

A．They make work the center of their lives.

B．The work they do is relatively challenging.

C．They tend to underestimate their ability to work.

D．Work is something they have a low intention of doing.

3. How does the writer advise us to break the bad habit of busyness?

A．By reducing the time we spend at work.

B．By spending less time chatting with others.

C．By understanding the negative effects of busyness.

D．By avoiding constantly emphasizing busyness.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To get people out of the bad habit of keeping themselves busy.

B．To reveal the different meanings of busyness in different times.

C．To make people understand the harm that busyness can do to us.

D．To uncover why people’s lives are busier and busier these days.

4 . Help us create an eco-paradise

We are Ami + Elise. We live in a little corner of paradise, deep in the forest. We are seeking folks who would like to get involved and help us regenerate this small area of land (19 acres) to support a biodiverse ecosystem, grow food and help people rewild themselves. This project will need lots of help from both “skilled” and “unskilled” lovely people.

Help needed
·Gardening ·Building ·General maintenance
·Farming ·Help with the eco-project
·Help in the house ·Animal care
Working Time & Meals

We ask for a minimum of 4 hours per day of your time in return for free stay and breakfast. We can also offer full board (膳食) for those who want to work a full day. We are very flexible and can adapt days/times for each helper as people will be coming for various amounts of time. We will host you at no cost and provide breakfast (at a minimum) and some vegetables from the garden when available.

Accommodation

We have a few different options for accommodation. Where you will stay will depend on availability at the time as we may have others here. In warm weather, we have a very basic outdoor shower and for the cooler months the shower in our home can be used. We will share some meals together and hope to make new friends and connect with like-minded people in the process, sharing our stories and skills with each other (probably round the campfire when the weather permits).

Getting here

The closest airport is the Birmingham airport.

If you take public transport, our closest train station is Cynghordy (10 mins drive from us) or Llandovery (20 mins drive from us). We are happy to pick you up and drop you off at the station and shops when needed.

If you drive yourself, we’ll provide you with detailed directions as we are deep in the forest.

1. What kind of helpers does the project need?

A．People with various skills.

B．People good at training wild animals.

C．People fond of agricultural work.

D．People aiming to set up eco-projects.

2. How can people get three meals a day for free?

A．By working 4 hours at least.

B．By putting in a full day’s work.

C．By helping with the gardening.

D．By setting flexible working hours.

3. What service can people get from the hosts?

A．They can be dropped off at the airport.

B．They can choose where they like to live.

C．They can share a room with like-minded people.

D．They can be picked up at the train station.

7 . Happiness is a state of mind. When you learn to observe your thoughts and emotions (情感), you can nurture a joyful life and think more positively. After all, everyone has the potential to feel happy.     1    

Keep a thought diary

Write down thoughts as they come up throughout the day. When you’ve finished, go back and read your thought diary out loud. Can you identify negative(消极的) self-talk that might hold you back from feeling joyful? When these situations arise in the future, step back for a moment. Think about why you think this way and what happened the last time you were in this situation.     2    

Control the monkey mind with meditation (冥想)

Is your mind full of questions like “What do I really want to do with my life?” “Am I happy?” “Did I remember to lock the door?”     3     If you want to develop a happy, peaceful mind, you must make friends with them. Train your monkeys and give them a job to do, like watching your breath, repeating a phrase, or simply observing the present moment. These meditation practices train your mind and help calm the monkeys.

Respond vs react

    4     Even so-called negative emotions, like anger, sadness, or fear, have their function. After all, a healthy fear of heights keeps you from falling off a cliff (悬崖)! The trick is to not allow your emotions to overcome you.     5     When you react, the unconscious mind takes over. You may take action without thinking, and do something you regret. Response means taking a step back and observing your emotions.

A．What kinds of thinking habits do you usually have?

B．Learn to respond to your emotions, rather than react.

C．Following these practices, you’ll think more positively and be happy.

D．Sometimes that voice in your head behaves like a bunch of monkeys.

E．You can start by understanding what causes negative thought patterns.

F．People cannot block thoughts and emotions because they are necessary.

G．Perhaps you can even come up with other good opinions on the situation.

8 . Lake Victoria is best known to the general public following the introduction of the 2004 documentary Darwin’s Nightmare, which focuses on the environmental and social effects of the Nile perch (河鲈) fishing industry. The Nile perch is the largest freshwater fish, which can grow up to two metres long and weigh 200kg. Its introduction into Lake Victoria in the 1950s and its rapid population growth in the 1960s gradually wiped out the native fish species living in the lake, causing a major ecological disaster. Today, the Nile perch population can be found everywhere but has reduced slightly due to overfishing, allowing some species to partially recover.

What is less well known, and perhaps interacting with the presence of the Nile perch, but equally damaging to the ecosystem, is the general water quality of the lake. “This declined sharply between the 1960s and the 1990s due to eutrophication (富营养化), which is caused by increased inputs of nutrients (营养物) into the water bodies as a result of increased human activities in the catchment area.” explains Alberto Borges, FNRS Research Director at the Laboratory of Chemical Oceanography from the University of Liege.

From 2018 to 2019, a research team led by Alberto Borges, studied the biomass (生物量) and composition of phytoplankton (浮游植物) as well as the nutrient status of the lake during three scientific missions. This study shows that the phytoplankton camass has decreased by about seven times compared to the 1990s.” says the researchers. “and that the species composition has also changed in a subtle way.” What seems to be good news for the environment of Lake Victoria may only be on the surface.

“This means that the current improvement in water quality in Lake Victoria may only be temporary and that conditions could become worse again in the future due to continued climate warming.” says Alberto Borges.

1. Why was the documentary Darwin’s Nightmare made in 2004?

A．To honor Darwin’s great contributions.

B．To make Lake Victoria known to the world.

C．To record the serious pollution in Lake Victoria.

D．To show how the Nile perch fishing industry affected Lake Victoria.

2. What do we know about the introduction of Nile perch into Lake Victoria?

A．It was disastrous to Lake Victoria.

B．It helped control other species in Lake Victoria.

C．It benefited the fishermen a lot in Lake Victoria area.

D．It greatly improved the water quality in Lake Victoria.

3. What mainly makes eutrophication in Lake Victoria happen?

A．The fishing industry.	B．The decreased number of fish.
C．The decrease of phytoplankton.	D．More and more inputs of nutrients.

4. What’s Alberto Borges’ attitude to the future of Lake Victoria?

A．Hopeful.	B．Deeply concerned.
C．Indifferent	D．Cautiously optimistic

9 . Since the pandemic (流行病) hit, we’re on video calls more than ever before, and many are finding it extremely tiring.

Being on a video call requires more focus than a face-to-face chat, says Gianpiero Petriglien, an associate professor at Insead. Video chats mean we need to work harder to process facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, and body language: paying more attention to these consumes a lot of energy. “Our minds are together when our bodies feel we’re not. That causes people to have conflicting (互相冲突) feelings, and i: is exhausting You cannot relax into the conversation naturally.” he says.

“Silence is another challenge.” he adds. “Silence creates a natural rhythm in a real-life conversation. However, when it happens in a video call, you become anxious about the technology.” It also makes people uncomfortable. One 2014 study by German Scholars showed that delays (延迟) on phone or conferencing systems shaped our unpleasant views of people: even delays of 1.2 seconds made people regard the responder as less friendly or focused.

An added factor, says Marissa Shulffer, an associate professor at Clemson University, is that if we are physically on camera, we are very aware of being watched. “When you’re on a video conference, you knew everybody’s looking at you; you are on stage, so there comes the social pressure and feeling like you need to perform. Being performative is nerve-wracking.” It’s also very hard for people not to look at their own face if they can see it on screen, or not to be conscious (有意识的) of how they behave in front of the camera.

Both experts suggest limiting video calls to those that are necessary. Turning on the camera should be optional and is general there should be more understanding that cameras do not always have to be on throughout teach meeting. Having your screen off to the side, instead of straight ahead, could also help your concentration, particularly in group meetings, says Petriglien. It makes you feel like you’re in a next-door room, so you may be less bring.

1. What does Gianpiero Petriglien think of video calls?

A．They need more concentration.	B．They go on more naturally.
C．They are more relaxing.	D．They take longer time.

2. What makes people uncomfortable according to the 2014 study?

A．Facial expressions.	B．Occasional silence.
C．Processing body language	D．Not receiving a timely reply

3. What does the underlined word “nerve-wracking” in Paragraph 4mean?

A．Causing excitement.	B．Causing disappointment.
C．Making one feel nervous.	D．Making one feel surprised.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．The convenience of video chats.	B．Why video chats are so exhausting.
C．The development of mobile phones.	D．What technological development brings

10 . I had always struggled with my body weight since my childhood. Though I was the one who wore a women’s size 16 dress. I had never been teased or bullied (欺凌) in my school thanks to the help of my best friends.

After I started to work, I decided to join the gym with my colleague. At the gym, I stepped on the scale to weigh myself. and when 170 pounds hit on the scale, it was the most terrifying moment. I thought after a few months of going to the gym and doing rigorous (严格的) works I would come down to 150 pounds. However, owing to the work stress and lack of time. I had to drop out of my journey.

In 2015, I went to a gym again and began my weight loss journey—one that lasted for 12 months and concluded with me losing 20 more pounds so that I could be a bridesmaid (伴娘) of my best friend. I could hit 130 pounds on the scale. Sure I lost some pounds in the journey, however, when I again went to my old habits. I regained all the weight that I had lost.

The day I reached my weight back to 150 pounds thanks to all the pizzas, sodas and junk foods. I was set on fire with motivation to change my life. Just as I’d done for the past few years. I again started to go back to the gym this time with determination and healthier eating.

A little over a year after I’d started. I stepped on the same scale I’d first weighed myself on. I hit 110 pounds on the scale. It was the most transformative experience of my life—and not simply in the ways one might expect.

Even now, when I feel my confidence flagging (衰落) or self-doubt creeping in, I think back to having successfully finished that, and I can draw strength.

1. Why did the author stop going to the gym for the first time?

A．She was already satisfied with her weight.	B．She had to devote her time to her work.
C．She didn’t experience any weight loss.	D．She was laughed at by others.

2. What problem did the author face after managing to lose some weight?

A．She lost confidence in herself	B．She became too busy to work out.
C．She developed some new bad habits.	D．She had difficulty keeping weight off.

3. What can we learn about the author after her weight loss experience?

A．She could be at self-doubt.	B．She expected to help others.
C．She lost interest in going to the gym.	D．She cared more about her appearance.

4. What message does the author’s story want to tell us?

A．It’s important to live a full life.	B．We should always focus on our weight.
C．We should try our best to change our life.	D．It requires determination to keep a healthy lifestyle.