2 . Lots of students know what a marathon (马拉松赛跑) is, but perhaps they don’t know what triathlon (铁人三项) is. The triathlon is a sport that has three parts swimming, bicycling and running. It is not an easy sport, but a man named Joe Salter is very good at it. A few months ago, he finished a special triathlon—he juggled (抛起接住) three balls all the time during the triathlon. That is to say, he kept on throwing and catching three balls while he was swimming, riding a bicycle and running.

31-year-old Joe is from Florida, the USA. He loves juggling and he started at the age of 8. Joe did well in juggling. Later, he got the idea to do a triathlon and juggle at the same time to make it more fun. Many juggling fans laughed at his idea and thought it was just a joke. But Joe didn’t give up and he kept practicing it. Because of his hard work, he made it at last.

Talking about his triathlon, Joe said swimming was the hardest part. “It was difficult and complex,” he said. “I basically only used my legs, so it took quite a lot of work. Also, swimming in open water made it a little harder. It was not like in a pool.”

1. According to the writer, the common (普通的) triathlon ________.

A．is a difficult sport

B．is more famous than the marathon

C．includes the three parts and juggling

D．includes the marathon and swimming

2. Joe’s triathlon was special because ________ during the triathlon.

A．he picked up three balls

B．he played juggling

C．he carried his bicycle on his shoulder

D．he threw away all his balls

3. Many juggling fans thought Joe’s idea ________.

A．could not be realized

B．should not be laughed at

C．should be realized as soon as possible

D．could make triathlon more exciting

4. The underlined part “made it” in the 2nd paragraph probably means“________”.

A．forgot	B．failed
C．succeeded	D．left

5. Swimming was the hardest part for Joe mainly because ________.

A．he swam in open water

B．his swimming skills were bad

C．he was very tired when swimming

D．he almost could only swim with his legs

4 . The recent criticisms of Taylor Swift for her silence on the war in Gaza highlight a strange issue: the unrealistic expectations we place on celebrities to be know-alls. It’s a topic worth looking into.

While many are quick to urge figures like Taylor Swift to make their voices. to global issues, a concerning pattern emerges on the flip side: celebrities navigating the dark waters of complex issues with limited knowledge. Take, for instance, Billie Eilish’s fashion choice at the Oscars — a red hand pin. This wasn’t just any accessory (配饰); it’s rooted in the upset history of the cruel treatment of two Israelis. It raises the question: Was Eilish aware of the weighty story this symbol carries? This moment serves as a reminder of the nuance (微妙的) balance celebrities must strike between being supportive and the profound responsibility of using a public platform.

The celebrity culture in the United States, where public figures are promoted to almost god-like status, plays a significant role in such behavior. They are seen as perfect, their opinions holy. When we prioritize a celebrity’s opinion over those with professional knowledge, we do severe damage to the complexity of these issues.

As a society, we must reevaluate our extreme pursuit of celebrity culture and recognize the limitations of depending on entertainers for guidance on complex issues. This doesn’t mean celebrities can’t or shouldn’t speak out on matters. It’s entirely sensible for Taylor Swift to publicly support political candidates in her home country. The action originates from personal values, which are different from commenting on international conflicts without a deep understanding of the nuances involved.

In advocating for this sensible approach, we’re not suggesting celebrities should remain silent on all matters of public concern. Instead, we’re calling for a transformation in how we, as the public, understand and react to their involvement in social and political issues.

Ultimately, the goal should be to create a more sympathetic, informed society that values extensive knowledge and genuine activism over celebrity support. By encouraging public figures to use their platforms responsibly and directing our attention to where they can make a real difference, we take a step toward a more insightful understanding of global issues.

1. Why is “a red hand pin” mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．To make fun of Billie’s limited knowledge on debating.

B．To demonstrate Billie’s unawareness of irresponsible recommendation.

C．To sing high praises for Billie’s good taste for fashion at the Oscars.

D．To criticize Billie for her misapplication of the public platform.

2. What does “such behavior” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Billie’s unreasonable selection of a red hand pin at the Oscars.

B．Celebrities’ irresponsible opinions on critical global conversations.

C．Public’s great desire for celebrities to comment on key global issues.

D．Taylor Swift’s golden silence about the crucial international concern.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Experts tend to increase the complexity of the issues.

B．Celebrities’ voices are as important as those of experts.

C．Celebrities should voice views on matters at home and abroad.

D．We should reassess the social and political roles of celebrities.

4. Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?

A．Expect the Unexpected	B．Public Platforms, Powerful Places.
C．The Drawback of Celebrity Recommendation	D．The Nature of Celebrity Responsibility

5 . Certain Chinese cuisines, such as the well-known Beijing Roasted Duck or the delicious Tianjin-style Pancakes, have gained global recognition. The appeal of these delicacies is deeply rooted in vast geographical diversity.

Extending from the extremely cold northern plains to the southern rainforests, different regions have their unique ingredients and cooking techniques.     1    , commonly referred as the “Eight Major Cuisines of China.”

Climate plays a critical role in shaping regional cuisines. In Sichuan, for example, the hot and wet climate, combined with the region’s mountainous physical geography, has led to a preference for spicy foods. The spicy flavors add appetite to dishes. In addition,     2     .

One of the contrasts between southern and northern Chinese cuisines lies in the employment of ingredients. Southern dishes tend to be lighter, featuring seafood and vegetables. In contrast,     3     They have a wealth of wheat-based dishes like noodles and dumplings.

    4    , regardless of their differences. Dishes are attentively cooked to stimulate the senses and promote a sense of pleasure. The use of fresh, seasonal ingredients, along with the close attention to details in preparation and presentation, defines Chinese cuisine.

Another important aspect of Chinese dining culture is the significance of table manners. Meals are often shared among family and friends, with each person taking turns to serve and pour. Chopsticks, rather than forks or knives, are preferred, symbolizing closeness and familiarity. The act of eating together extends beyond food alone.     5    .

A．northern cuisines are heavier and more considerable

B．they serve to warm up and remove dampness from the body

C．This diversity comes down to its geographical and climate conditions

D．The Chinese people have for centuries crafted varieties of delicious dishes

E．This geographical diversity has given birth to eight major cooking traditions

F．That is to say, it represents a sense of community and the strength of bonds

G．Chinese cuisines share emphasis on the perfect harmony of color, flavor and taste

6 . If you could be anybody in the world, who would it be? A few people have experienced what it might be like to step into the skin of another person, thanks to an advanced virtual reality device. Rikke Wahl was one of the participants in a body switching experiment at the Be Another lab. She switched with her partner, using a machine called The Machine to Be Another and temporarily became a man.

The set-up of the experiment is relatively simple. Both users wear a virtual reality headset with a camera on the top. The video from each camera is sent to the other person, so what you see is the exact view of your partner. To get used to seeing another person’s body without actually having control of it, participants start by raising their arms and legs very slowly, so that the other can follow along. Eventually, this kind of slow synchronized (同步的) movement becomes comfortable, and participants really start to feel as though they are living in another person’s body.

Using such technology may transform people’s behaviour afterwards — potentially for the better. Studies have shown that virtual reality can be effective in fighting racism — the bias (偏见) that humans have against those who don’t look or sound like them. Researchers at the University of Barcelona gave people a questionnaire, which measures the strength of people’s associations between, for instance, black people and adjectives such as good, bad, athletic or awkward. Then they asked them to control the body of a dark skinned digital character using virtual reality glasses, before taking the test again. This time, the participants’ bias scores were lower. The idea is that once you’ve “put yourself in another’s shoes” you’re less likely to think ill of them, because your brain has internalized the feeling of being that person.

The creators of The Machine to Be Another hope to achieve a similar result. “At the end of body switching, people feel like holding each other in their arms,” says Arthur Pointeau, a programmer with the project.

1. Which of the following best explains “switching” in paragraph 1?

A．establishing

B．exchanging

C．demonstrating

D．transforming

2. What can be inferred from the experiment at the Be Another lab?

A．Our feelings are related to our bodily experience.

B．We can learn to take control of other people’s bodies.

C．Participants will live more passionately after the experiment.

D．The Machine to Be Another can help people change their genders.

3. What can we know about the participant s before they used virtual reality glasses?

A．They struggled strongly against racism.	B．They scored lower on the test for racism.
C．They changed their behaviour dramatically.	D．They were more intolerant of those unlike them.

4. What message can be concluded from the passage?

A．Technology helps people realize their dreams.

B．Our biases could be removed through experiments.

C．Virtual reality helps promote understanding among people.

D．Our points of view about other people need changing frequently.

7 . For more than a century, the Mississippi Delta has been a popular destination for immigrants. Recently, I was assigned to learn more about one immigrant group: the Chinese in Greenville, a small city along the Mississippi River. There I met Raymond Wong. whose family has long been part of the community.

The first wave of Chinese immigrants came to the Mississippi Delta soon after the Civil War, and the pace picked up by the early 1900s. The Chinese initially came to pick cotton, but they quickly started opening grocery stores, mostly in the African-American communities where they lived.

“On my street alone, there were no less than four grocery stores. I’m talking about a minor street,” Wong recalls. “I was raised in a grocery store. All my family — six of us — lived in a couple of rooms at the back of our store. As soon as I could calculate money I had to work in the store.”

In 1968, Wong’s father opened a Chinese restaurant, one of the first in the town. “The restaurant existed for 40 years.” Wong says. Wong remembers a time of big excitement when his family finally could afford to buy a house in a white neighborhood. Then suddenly, that conversation stopped.

“When people found out that we were moving in, they started throwing bottles in the driveway,” Wong says. “We ended up building a house directly behind the grocery.”

And the future? It’s probably not in the Delta. Wong remembers the question his son raised when he was still in high school: “Dad, do you want me to take over the store when you retire?” Wong’s response was immediate: “No. I want you to live better than me.” That’s the story of the typical Delta Chinese.

1. What did the Delta Chinese originally do shortly after the Civil War?

A．Working in cotton fields.	B．Running restaurants.
C．Importing Chinese food.	D．Opening grocery stores.

2. What can we learn from paragraph 3?

A．Raymond Wong had a fun and care free childhood.

B．The store owners’ children were very talented in math.

C．There was intense competition among the grocery stores.

D．The Wong family was among the most successful families in Greenville.

3. Why did the Wongs stop buying their ideal house?

A．Because the house owner raised the price.	B．Because their business failed unexpectedly.
C．Because they did not have enough money.	D．Because the white people did not accept them.

4. How do the typical Chinese feel about their life in the Delta?

A．Embarrassed.

B．Insecure.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Optimistic.

8 . What is a GPA?

A GPA, or Grade Point Average, typically ranging from one to four, is a number reflecting your course performance on average. It’s used by universities to determine whether students meet academic standards and by students to enhance job prospects or secure admission into post-graduate programs.

Example: Academic Transcript of Jane Smith       Winter 2023
Courses	Letter Grade	Grade points	Credit hours	Total points	GPA
Creative Writing	A+	4.0	3	12	-
Psychology	A-	3.7	3	11.1	-
History	B+	3.3	3	9.9	-
Computer Science	F	0.0	2	0	-
Total	-	-	11	33

How to calculate a GPA?

● Determine the letter grade and the number of credit hours for each course you take in a term:

● Translate the letter grade to grade points using your school’s grading system:

● Multiply the grade point s by the credit hours for that course;

● Add up all the credit hours for the courses:

● Divide the total number of grade points by the total credit hours and you get the GPA.

What are the consequences of failing college courses?

● Every failing grade (F) significantly impacts your GPA for that academic year, limiting clubs, organizations and program choices, as competitive programs require top GPAs.

● Most financial aid programs require a specific GPA. A sharp drop in GPA due to several course failures may lead to removal from financial aid programs, unless you retake the courses and pass.

1. What is Jane Smith’s GPA this term?

A．3.3.

B．3.0.

C．2.8.

D．1.0.

2. What would be a result if you get one F in college?

A．School removal.	B．Loss of financial aid.
C．Choice limitation.	D．Disqualification from sports.

3. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．An academic course guide.	B．A campus job fair poster.
C．A graduate application form.	D．An athletic team schedule.

9 . Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup.

Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境) — the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

1. What can we infer from this story?

A．The girl liked the coffee best.

B．The father was good at cooking.

C．The girl didn’t like the potatoes and eggs.

D．Different people have different reactions to adversity.

2. What does the underlined word “fragile” mean in the 5th paragraph?

A．thick

B．hard

C．strong

D．easily-broken

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Challenges and responses.	B．Adversities and a chef.
C．A chef and coffee beans.	D．Father and daughter.

10 . Climate change, not human hunting, may have destroyed the thylacine(袋狼) , according to a new study based on DNA from thylacine bones.

The meat-eating marsupials (有袋动物) died out on mainland Australia a few thousand years ago, but survived in Tasmania, an island of southeast Australia separated from the mainland, until the 1930s. Until now, scientists have believed the cause of this mainland extinction was increased activity from native Australians and dingoes (Australian wild dogs).

Scientists behind the University of Adelaide study, which was published in the Journal of Biogeography on Thursday, collected 51 new thylacine DNA samples from fossil bones and museum skins. The paper concluded that climate change starting about 4,000 years ago was likely the main cause of the mainland extinction.

The ancient DNA showed that the mainland extinction of thylacines was rapid, and not the result of loss of genetic diversity. There was also evidence of a population crash in thylacines in Tasmania at the same period of time, reducing their numbers and genetic diversity.

Professor Jeremy Austin said Tasmania would have been protected from mainland Australia’s warmer, drier climate due to its higher rainfall. He argued that climate change was “the only thing that could have caused, or at least started, an extinction on the mainland and caused a population crash in Tasmania.”

“They both occurred at about the same time, and the other two things that have been talked about in the past that may have driven thylacines to extinction on the mainland were dingoes and humans. So the only explanation that’s left is climate change. And because that population collapse happened at the same time that the species went extinct on the mainland, our argument is there’s a common theme there and the only common theme is that there is this change in climate.”

1. What did scientists believe in the past according to the passage?

A．Marsupials were all meat-eating animals.

B．Dingoes should be removed from Australia.

C．Thylacines had no enemies on mainland Australia.

D．Human activities may cause the extinction of thylacines.

2. What’s the difference between mainland Australia and Tasmania?

A．Tasmania has more dingoes.

B．Tasmania has more native activities.

C．Tasmania has a higher temperature.

D．Tasmania has more rainy days.

3. What does the underlined word “collapse” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．change

B．aging

C．decline

D．increase

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The result of warmer climate in Australia

B．The ways of protecting meat-eating animals

C．The cause of disappearance of thylacines

D．The effect of climate change on wildlife