1 . Holiday Stress
The whole point of a holiday surely is to get away from everything, to give yourself some “time off” and to fight the mental tiredness.
Despite a holiday being designed to help you fight stress, it can actually create many stressful issues that you might not have considered beforehand.
Travelling on the plane and even just getting to the airport can be much more stressful when you have to drag around lots of huge cases.
Usually, you are stressed about some aspects of your holiday.
The great thing about holiday is that you get a period of time to deal with any stress you might be facing. When you arrive at your destination and find you are full of holiday stress, why not take a day out to just lie around on the beach and to listen to the waves.
Overall, with all those in mind, you can ensure your trip is more of a positive experience than a negative one.
| A．We will look at what causes holiday stress. |
| B．Nonetheless, it can possible be a stressful thing. |
| C．However, you know the great thing about being on holiday. |
| D．It works to think of how you would manage in that situation. |
| E．This contributes to fighting any stress you might be experiencing. |
| F．It’s a good idea to minimize the amount of luggage you’re carrying. |
| G．You might spend the week packing luggage and worrying about almost everything. |
2 . Europe draws unnecessarily too much on the earth’s food resources, which is why researchers are calling for political actions to reduce food loss and waste on the continent.
According to researchers, “food loss” occurs from the primary agricultural sector to the food processing industry and the wholesale sector, while from the retail (零售) sector towards the service industry and households, we refer to it as “food waste”.
“Halving Europe’s food loss and waste could largely help solve the challenges of food shortages in the world,” says Marianne Thomson, research leader and professor of sustainable food systems at UCPH. The researchers’ calculations show halving food loss and waste in Europe equals saving 8% of the greenhouse gas, along with a saving of about 12% of agricultural areas. In addition, there is a saving of 7% of water consumption, and 14% of energy in the food production for the citizens of Europe.
The calculations apply a consumption-based approach. This includes the greenhouse gas from locally produced and imported food in European countries, while leaving out foods produced inside but exported to other countries.
This is why countries should take actions to reduce food loss and waste at all stages of the food supply chain. Marianne Thomson introduces monitoring and reporting of food loss and waste by all actors along the food supply chain as an important action.
Such an action, combined with other types of similar actions, may be a strong encouragement for companies and the rest of society to put in time and money for new technology and combined efforts to prevent food loss and waste along the food supply chain. Producing companies can cooperate on upcycling (升级改造) products. The service industry can apply upcycled materials produced from food not needed in the wholesale sector, and at the same time encourage costumers to take smaller portions by reducing the plate size.
“Cutting food loss and waste by 50% in Europe requires political actions, and also the actions need to adapt to national circumstances and specific regional and local challenges,” says Marianne Thomson.
1. What is the researchers’ ultimate aim?| A．To decrease food loss and waste. |
| B．To criticize Europe for overusing food. |
| C．To look for new products for Europeans. |
| D．To arouse people’s awareness of food shortage. |
| A．Possible causes. | B．Solving strategies. |
| C．Research findings. | D．Calculating methods. |
| A．It requires producing less food for citizens of Europe. |
| B．It gives no consideration to the food produced out of Europe. |
| C．It needs joint efforts of everyone along the food supply chain. |
| D．It costs too much time and money of food producing companies. |
| A．Food loss and waste appear at every stage of the supply chain. |
| B．Smaller sizes of plates lead to people’s eating more than they need. |
| C．Political actions to reduce food loss and waste meet with no difficulty. |
| D．Cutting food loss and waste in Europe by 50% means saving 14% agricultural lands. |
3 . After seeing the difficult living conditions for children in a migrant (移民) camp in Tijuana, Mexico, Estefanía Rebellón took matters into her own hands.
She could not believe what she saw: families lacking even the most basic supplies. The children, sometimes shoeless and often dirty, clearly had no place to go.
Back at home, Rebellón could think of nothing else. “We have to do something,” she told her partner, Kyle Thomas Schmidt. A school — a safe place for the children to gather and learn — seemed much-needed. So, Rebellón and Schmidt hired volunteer teachers via social media, and using a thousand dollars from their savings, set up a temporary school at the Tijuana border. Classes were held in two large tents.
In five years, that pilot program has grown into the non-profit Yes We Can World Foundation, which operates three classrooms in transformed school buses and two schools in Tijuana, plus another in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican city directly across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Funded by donations, the foundation’s now well-trained teachers have provided a bilingual education to more than 3,000 kids from ages 3 to 15. The schools follow an official curriculum (课程) from Mexico’s education ministry. As well, Yes We Can offers special courses, including one that helps kids understand more about human migration.
“The program’s success is easy to see,” says Josh Phelps, former director of operations for World Central Kitchen, which has provided meals to some Yes We Can schools. “The kids really enjoy it. There are huge smiles on their faces.”
More than 6.6 million people live in refugee camps around the world, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Rebellón says she’d like to expand the foundation’s reach and support migrant children globally.
“She is a powerhouse,” says Phelps, “and, I think, one of the most important people doing work at the border right now.”
1. What does the underlined part “took matters into her own hands” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Relied on others. | B．Got rid of it. |
| C．Took it into account. | D．Dealt with it herself. |
| A．To find houses for migrants. |
| B．To establish a school for migrant children. |
| C．To raise money for migrants. |
| D．To provide migrants with daily necessities. |
| A．Easy-going and ambitious. | B．Quick-thinking and generous. |
| C．Open-minded and imaginative. | D．Warm-hearted and responsible. |
| A．How We Can Provide Education for Migrants? |
| B．One Woman Founded Schools for Migrant Children |
| C．One of the Greatest Women in the World — Rebellón |
| D．Yes We Can World Foundation — a Nonprofit Organization |
4 . How To Be A Good Friend
How to be a good friend is the quest of the day. Now many of us are tied to our phones, leaving people feeling lonelier than ever before. Here are some ways to be a true friend to someone.
Be encouragingPeople occasionally have wanted to do something for so long, only to be discouraged by everyone they know. To be someone’s good friend, it’s important to let them know that you support the decisions they make in their life.
This is a good way that helps people acknowledge their feelings, know what a dangerous situation might be, and eventually keep their friendship safe. A lasting friendship needs to ensure that boundaries are always respected to ensure that their friend always feels respected.
Listening is an important skill to develop for being a true friend.
While learning how to be a good friend, you have to be honest and tell the truth.
| A．Be honest |
| B．Be there in tough times |
| C．But it’s not as easy as just hearing the words they say |
| D．Even by telling them a simple “you’re going to be okay” |
| E．Wise people always know boundaries make true friendship |
| F．You’ll make mistakes and say or do the wrong things sometimes |
| G．When someone wants to try something new or pursue their passion |
5 . Over 30 years ago, I stood in the front row of a kindergarten performance, singing to all the parents of the elementary school. At the end of the performance, Mrs. Summers, whom I always tried to impress, made a statement that would impact me for nearly a lifetime. She walked up to my mom and stated, “She certainly was the most excited and eager student I had this year, but she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.”
From that day on, I was always insecure about my singing. Singing became an embarrassment for me and I didn’t want anyone to hear me. When I was home alone, I would belt out (大声唱) songs as if I was singing on the stage. Though I felt insecure, it made my heart dance and my soul get free.
When I started attending church regularly, a woman came up to me and asked why I didn’t join the choir. She stated that I had a beautiful singing voice and appeared to greatly enjoy singing. I laughed and said she must have been joking. With a look of surprise, she simply suggested that I should think about it because I would be a nice addition to the choir.
Why did I have such a hard time allowing others to hear me sing? It was because I had believed some words that came out of my teacher’s mouth as a child. Mrs. Summers was probably trying to be humorous, but as a child, her comment truly hurt me. So I made a decision to stop believing the words I held on to for so many years. The following week, I joined the choir, and I began to feel better. Now I sing in the streets, and I sing in the gym. It doesn’t matter if I can carry a tune in a basket; I carry it on my heart.
1. How did Mrs. Summers think of the author’s performance in the kindergarten?| A．She had a great talent for singing. | B．She was too nervous to sing well. |
| C．Her singing voice was distinctive. | D．Her singing was rather out of tune. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Abandoned. | C．Discouraged. | D．Wronged. |
| A．She played a joke on the author. |
| B．She knew the author’s problem. |
| C．She wanted to sing like the author. |
| D．She appreciated the author’s voice. |
| A．Don’t act for others’ judgement. | B．Love whatever you want to do. |
| C．Learn from your past mistakes. | D．Hard work will finally pay off. |
6 . Around a third of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions come from the global food system, and lost or wasted food is known to contribute to some amount—but it has never been clear to exactly what degree. Now, by following specific foods through their entire life cycle, researchers have determined just how much this wasted food adds to emissions during harvest, transportation and disposal.
For a study in Nature Food, Xunchang Fei and his teammates used 164 countries’ food supply data from 2001 to 2017 to estimate emissions across 54 food products and four categories: cereals (谷物) and beans; meat and animal products; vegetables and fruits; and root and oil crops.
About a third of food is lost during harvest, storage and transportation or wasted by consumers. The team found this food was responsible for about half of total emissions from the global food system. And four countries, including China, the US, India and Brazil, contributed to 44.3 percent, mainly owing to their dietary habits and large populations. Of the four food categories, meat and animal products were the source of almost three quarters of emissions that occurred throughout the supply-chain stage involving food loss.
The study also found that emissions varied from countries to countries. For instance, developed countries’ advanced waste-treatment technologies could create fewer emissions. Such details showed how “different countries should set different goals for the reductions of food loss and waste,” Fei said, “such as reducing meat production in some areas, and switching from landfills to composting (堆肥) processes in others.”
Prajal Pradhan, an expert in food system, noted that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aimed to halve food waste in the coming years. Based on this study, he said emissions could decrease if high-income countries could focus on saving food thrown away by consumers, and low-and-middle-income countries could prioritize avoiding food loss during harvest, processing, storage and transport.
1. What problem can lost or wasted food lead to according to paragraph 1?| A．Soil pollution. | B．Worldwide starvation. |
| C．Energy shortage. | D．Greenhouse gas emissions. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By analyzing statistical data. |
| C．By stating arguments. | D．By explaining theoretical knowledge. |
| A．Cereals and beans. | B．Root and oil crops. |
| C．Meat and animal products. | D．Vegetables and fruits. |
| A．The United Nations should cut food waste in half. |
| B．Middle-income countries could focus on food waste. |
| C．High-income countries could prioritize avoiding food loss. |
| D．Different countries should have different priorities to reduce emissions. |
7 . The simplest form of blind box marketing is when consumers buy a package from a brand containing unknown products. In China, it’s become a huge business that is growing fast. Simple yet surprising—consumers do not know what they will get until they unpack the box, and it is “the variable reward” that brings extra fun.
However, once the initial excitement of opening a blind box is past, a consumer’s perception of its value is linked to the quality of the products inside. That can be where disappointment sets in. According to analysis by iiMedia Consulting, more than 30 per cent of consumers interviewed felt that the quality of the products did not reflect the price of the blind box.
For brands, blind boxes should be an extra chance to connect with customers rather than a means of offloading inventory (清仓). Petit H Surprise boxes were first launched by French luxury brand Hermès in 2015 to create upcycled products from surplus materials, demonstrating that the blind box concept, executed (执行) with care, has a real appeal for consumers. Hermès offers a return service for customers who are not satisfied. For fashion in particular, when sizing may be inappropriate for a blind box customer, a generous return or exchange policy is essential.
Actually, the concept of blind boxes has been around for centuries. In ancient Japan, leftover fabrics were sold randomly, with even gold woven fabrics included, which were considered symbols of luck and blessing. If that element of magic and emotional connectivity can be injected into the blind box concept, the possibilities are endless. Ivy Yu, a brand marketing consultant based in France, says that blind boxes have the potential to “widen the customer base and at the same time gain a wave of public attention.”
Whether the forecasts for growth in the blind box market turn out to be true remains to be seen, but significant numbers of Chinese consumers right now are still fascinated by the concept.
1. What probably dissatisfies blind box consumers?| A．Poor quality of products. | B．The high price of the box. |
| C．Not knowing what’s inside. | D．Not getting the desired items. |
| A．To prove the popularity of luxury blind boxes. | B．To offer a solution for the mismatched products. |
| C．To recommend a way to reuse surplus materials. | D．To show the key feature of Petit H surprise boxes. |
| A．Efforts to perfect blind box products. | B．Insight into the history of blind boxes. |
| C．Positive influence on consumer delight. | D．Improvement of blind box marketing tricks. |
| A．How to make the blind box market work well. | B．What to anticipate in a luxury brand blind box. |
| C．Where to go for a developing blind box market. | D．How to make profits from the blind box market. |
8 . The polonaise is a traditional Polish dance that is being honored by the United Nations. On December 5, the polonaise entered UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The U.N. organization noted that the dance represents cooperation (合作), understanding, and equality.
The dance is believed to have started in the 18th century. It has been performed at parties for the rich and powerful and at village celebrations. The dance developed from a traditional form called the “walking dance”. By the 18th century, it had become popular at honorable European balls, or dance parties.
In Poland, the polonaise has now become the opening dance at high school pre-graduation balls. Nineteen-year-old Kosmal was among the students at one of Warsaw’s high schools who performed the polonaise this month. She pointed out that although there are conflicts (冲突) between students, they come together when they dance the polonaise. “It’s an amazing moment,” she said.
The polonaise is regularly performed during national anniversaries (纪念日), including the November 11 Independence Day. On this day, people are invited to dance in the streets with officials. Natalia Berna is an 18-year-old student who took part in a large street dance in the central city of Lodz last month. She said the polonaise unites people at a time when the community needs it. She added that it is important to keep the tradition alive.
The leader of the Lodz street dance, Janusz Wielgosz, said the polonaise gives people beautiful enjoyment. “It is a dance that is really very simple, with beautiful music and beautiful costumes. It is worth a try,” he said.
1. What can we know about the polonaise from Kosmal’s words?| A．It helps students leave aside disagreements. | B．It improves students’ confidence. |
| C．It has gone through a difficult time. | D．It should be recognized worldwide. |
| A．Enriching school life. | B．Developing friendship. |
| C．Bringing people together. | D．Making Poland world-famous. |
| A．Peace. | B．Beauty. | C．Strength. | D．Confidence. |
| A．Traditional Dance Interests Polish People | B．Famous Dance Performed on Polish Holidays |
| C．Most Popular Dance Among Polish Students | D．Poland’s Traditional Dance Is Honored by UN |
9 . Scientists flew over more than 200 landfills across 18 states from 2018 to 2022, claiming it to be the largest measurement-based survey of America’s landfills. Their results revealed that average methane emissions (排放) were much higher than those officially reported, according to a new study published in the journal Science.
Methane — an invisible gas with over 80 times more warming power than CO2 in the near term — is produced by various sources, the biggest of which are oil, gas and agriculture. Landfills tend to be a less well-known methane source, but they also have a huge impact, estimated at around 20% of global human-caused methane emissions. Landfills produce methane when organic wastes such as foods, paper and wood decompose without oxygen, creating the perfect environment for methane-producing bacteria.
Most landfills in the US are required to measure methane emissions four times a year through walking surveys using handheld sensors. However, those types of measurements are really not designed to do anything about emissions, but rather just detect methane “hotspots”, as people tend to avoid areas that are unsafe to walk through, and where garbage is actively being dumped.
The results of the new study show current reporting systems, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), are missing large methane sources. Average methane emission rates from landfills were 1.4 times higher than those being reported to the GHGRP. The study also found landfill methane emissions were generally much more persistent (挥发慢的) than those from oil and gas production, with 60% lasting for multiple months or even years.
The rapid reduction of methane is one of the most effective ways to slow climate change because of its powerful short-term planet-heating impact. Yet most methane policies in the US target the oil and gas industry. “If we’re going to hit our climate targets, reductions in methane emissions can’t come from oil and gas alone,” said Daniel Cusworth, lead author of the report.
1. What can be learned about methane from paragraph 2?| A．It is a colored gas. |
| B．It is mostly produced in landfills. |
| C．It has less warming power than CO2. |
| D．It can be produced from a variety of sources. |
| A．To show walking surveys are not necessarily reliable. |
| B．To discuss advantages and disadvantages of handheld sensors. |
| C．To stress the value of measuring methane emissions in landfills. |
| D．To explain what workers at most landfills do in the United States. |
| A．It is impossible to slow climate change in the short term. |
| B．Methane emissions from landfills should be taken seriously. |
| C．Little impact is made by methane emissions from the oil industry. |
| D．The US government should not limit the development of agriculture. |
| A．A review of modern landfills. | B．A guidebook to cooking food. |
| C．An introduction to a gas industry. | D．An article on environmental protection. |
10 . Volunteer in South Africa with Plan My Gap Year (PMGY), which is an award-winning, international volunteer abroad organization with programs in Africa, Asia and South America. PMGY provides safe, trusted and affordable programs, with a wide range of projects, including Childcare, English Teaching, Wildlife opportunities.
PMGY South Africa has projects located in the picturesque city of Cape Town and the Eastern Cape Town of Port Elizabeth. Our projects in South Africa run across the year and students can join us from 1 — 24 weeks. Volunteers in South Africa are provided with an extensive pre-departure support service, airport pick-up, training, meals, accommodation and local support.
Program Highlights★Most Affordable — PMGY’s programs are accessible to every student who wants to make a difference, through low fees and high-impact projects.
★Best Support — Our international and local teams provide extensive around-the-clock services to assist you at every step of your PMGY adventure.
★Safety Prioritized — Since safety is PMGY’s number one priority, we have taken all necessary precautions to ensure our programs are as safe and structured as possible.
★Extraordinary Experiences — With PMGY, you have the opportunity to truly immerse yourself in amazing cultural and travel experiences, ensuring you leave with unforgettable memories.
★Friendships for Life — Your PMGY experience not only opens up a doorway for new experiences and exciting memories, but also for life-long friendships when meeting new people from around the world.
1. Whom is the text written for probably?
| A．Educators. | B．College students. |
| C．Wildlife protectors. | D．Retired people. |
| A．Paying a small sum of money for their project. |
| B．Getting to the airport at their own expense. |
| C．Affording their own accommodation during the program. |
| D．Being patient and skilled in communicating with others. |
| A．To describe possible dangers in Africa. | B．To encourage donations to Africans. |
| C．To show the benefits of the program. | D．To introduce PMGY’s history. |
