1 . You may have read that light coming into your eyes sets the body’s clock. Similarly, food changes the clocks in tissues in your liver, muscles, and fat. Human beings developed to eat only during daylight, which lasted 12 hours. That meant we didn’t eat for 12 hours a day. Sticking to that plan may help you stay healthier as well as thinner. However, it’s a surprisingly bad idea to ignore breakfast, eat lunch or dinner late, eat a big bedtime snack, or eat in the middle of the night.

In a study with 776 participants, people who ignored breakfast were 80 percent more likely to have obesity (肥胖症). People who ate lunch after 12:30 (or dinner after 21:00) were 60 percent more likely to have those extra pounds. That was true for both men and women at different ages and regardless of other factors that affect weight including your diet and exercise habits.

Odd hours seem to contribute to uncontrollable eating. When you eat late at night, you tend to eat more. Perhaps driven by hormone (荷尔蒙) increases, we long for sweeter, saltier food at night, research suggests. In one study, night eaters ate about 300 more calories each day.

“Eating late in the day aggravates reflux, writes Jamie A. Koufman, who specializes in voice disorders and acid reflux (胃酸倒流). Many of my patients find that eating late makes them suffer more from their allergies and diabetes symptoms,” he says. “Give your stomach at least three hours to digest before sleeping,” advises Jonathan Aviv, another specialist in acid reflux.

Eating breakfast late may also increase your breast cancer risk by about 17 percent for every hour you delay, according to a study of nearly 1,200 women with breast cancer in Spain, compared to more than 1,300 women who didn’t develop breast cancer. If you eat late at night, another research suggests, you may up the chance of breast cancer occurrence. While researchers work out the details of how our body clocks affect digestion and their downstream effects, one point is clear: Early is better.

1. What can be learned from the first two paragraphs?

A．What you eat makes no difference to your clocks.

B．Not eating for a half day may do good to your health.

C．Eating late may be more harmful than ignoring breakfast.

D．People gain weight because of their diet and exercise habits.

2. What does the underlined word “aggravates” probably mean?

A．Worsens.

B．Comforts.

C．Causes

D．Improves.

3. How is the result found in the text?

A．By experimenting on people of different ages.

B．By summarizing the data from various surveys.

C．By comparing the studies about the eating disorder.

D．By concluding some researches concerning eating habits.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Ignore Breakfast to Lose Weight.	B．Night Eaters Are Much Healthier.
C．Eating Late Is Really Bad for You.	D．Eating More Damages Body Clock.

2 . Christ Mocked, by the Florentine master Cimabue, was sold at auction(拍卖)for €24 million in 2019. But the Chilean buyers never got to include the work in their collection because the French government refused to give it an export licence.

Ministers declared the painting a national treasure, officially giving the Louvre 30 months to raise the funds for its purchase. The Louvre recently reached an agreement with the owners.

Laurence des Cars, the president of the Louvre, said it was a “great joy” to have acquired the painting, which “constitutes a crucial landmark in the history of art”. The museum did not say how much it had paid, nor who had sold the painting, which will be exhibited in 2025.

The painting was spotted four years ago by Philomene Wolf, an auctioneer, when she was asked to assess the content s of a house that was being cleared. The owner, in her nineties, thought it was a painting from Russia of no value and was preparing to put it in the dustbin.

Wolf was struck by its quality and guessed that it could be Italian. Experts using modern technology confirmed that it was by Cimabue, who is widely regarded as having opened the gateway to Renaissance art. It is believed to date from 1280. Christ Mocked is one of about 15 known Cimabue’s works.

The Louvre launched an appeal on Tuesday for donations to buy another painting, The Basket of Wild Strawberries by Jean Simeon Chardin, the 18th-century French still life(静物画)master. The work, which was first exhibited in 1761, was in a private collection from the 19th century until last year, when it was sold for €24.3 million to an American art museum at an auction in Paris.

Luckily, many groups and individuals donated two-thirds of the sum. The museum must pay the remaining € 8 million and is hoping that members of the public will help to ease the burden by responding to its appeal, which aims to raise € 1.3 million.

1. What can we know about Christ Mocked?

A．It is a painting from Russia.

B．It was discovered by Cimabue.

C．It is seen as a treasure of France.

D．It was taken away by Chilean buyers.

2. Which can replace the underlined word “constitutes” in paragraph 3?

A．Sums up.

B．Acts as.

C．Finds out.

D．Points out.

3. How did Wolf get Christ Mocked?

A．She purchased it at auction.	B．Cimabue sent it to her.
C．She got it from an old woman.	D．She found it when she cleaned up.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．The Painting Christ Mocked Was Sold

B．The Louvre Was Appealing for Donation

C．French Government Takes Back Its Words

D．Painting Saved From Bin Was to Hang in the Louvre

3 . Tropical cyclones(热带气旋), including hurricanes and typhoons, are now moving at a slower speed than they did decades ago, new research shows.

While having a cyclone travel with less speed may seem like a good thing, it’s actually just the opposite. Wind speeds within the storm remain high, but the whole system itself moves slower, allowing punishing rains to stay longer over communities. “Nothing good comes out of a slowing storm,” says James Kossin, author of the paper. “It can increase the amount of time that buildings suffered from strong wind. And it increases rainfall.”

In his paper, Kossin showed that from 1949 to 2016, tropical cyclones across the globe slowed their movement by 10 percent on average. In some regions (地区), the speed of those storms slowed even more as they hit land. In the western North Pacific, the decrease was much more manifest—almost a third. That means a storm that may already hold more moisture (水分)will have time to drop more of it in each spot.

Kossin’s work was based on details of almost 70 years’ worth of storms, but he didn’t try to determine what was causing the slowdown. Still, the change is exactly what he and other cyclone experts said, which would be expected from climate change. With the polar regions warming faster than other parts of the globe, that is changing the pressure and reducing the winds that push these storms.

Christina Patricola, a scientist, called Kossin’s work important and new and said she found it reliable. “I was not surprised by his findings,” she says. “But I was surprised by the speed of the slowdown.”

Kossin hopes that scientists will begin building models that show which places are likely to face the most risk. Given that storms in some regions are moving towards polar regions and already increasing in intensity(强度), cyclones causing unusually powerful rain may threaten places not normally in their paths. Scientists must take action to make those places suffer less from the disasters.

1. Why is the decrease in cyclones’ speed a bad thing?

A．It leads the cyclones to move faster on the ground.

B．It causes the cyclones to have higher wind speed outside.

C．It makes hard rains and strong wind last longer in one place.

D．It results in more typhoons taking place in some communities.

2. What does the underlined word “manifest” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Obvious.

B．Satisfying.

C．Confusing.

D．Impossible.

3. What does Paragraph 4 suggest?

A．Climate change in the polar regions is under control.

B．Scientists find it hard to understand the slower cyclones.

C．Scientists should do further experiments in polar regions.

D．Climate change may be the cause of the slowdown of the cyclones.

4. Why does Kossin want scientists to build models in the last paragraph?

A．To find out the normal paths of serious cyclones.

B．To prove the speed of the cyclones can be controlled.

C．To reduce the damage from cyclones to possible areas.

D．To call on scientists to focus on the danger of climate change.

4 . In the late 1930s, people could donate blood, but very few hospitals could store it for later use. Whole blood breaks down quickly, and there were no methods at the time for safely preserving it. As a result, hospitals often did not have the appropriate blood type when patients needed it. Charles Drew, a Black surgeon and researcher, helped solve this monumental problem for medicine, earning him the title “Father of the Blood Bank.”

In 1938, while obtaining his doctorate in medicine, Drew became a fellow at Columbia University’s Presbyterian Hospital in New York. He studied the storage and distribution of blood, including the separation of its components, and applied his findings to an experimental blood bank at the hospital.

As Drew was finishing his degree at Columbia, World War II was erupting in Europe. Great Britain was asking the United States for desperately needed plasma (血浆) to help victims. Given his expertise, Drew was selected to be the medical director for the Blood for Britain campaign. Using Presbyterian Hospital’s blood bank as a model, Drew established uniform procedures and standards for collecting blood and processing blood plasma from nine New York hospitals. The five-month campaign collected donations from 15,000 Americans and was considered a success. His discoveries and his leadership saved countless lives.

With the increasing likelihood that the nation would be drawn into war, the United States wanted to capitalize on what Drew had learned from the campaign. He was appointed as the assistant director of a three-month pilot program to mass-produce dried plasma in New York, which became the model for the first Red Cross blood bank. His innovations for this program included mobile blood donation stations, later called bloodmobiles.

1. What problem did hospitals face in the late 1930s regarding blood donations?

A．The shortage of blood donors.	B．The inability to preserve blood.
C．The challenge of blood infection.	D．The failure to identify blood types.

2. How did Drew contribute to the Blood for Britain campaign?

A．He gathered different standards for the blood collection.

B．He worked on the bloodmobiles for easy access to donors.

C．He helped send life-saving drugs overseas to aid in the war.

D．He organized the collection and processing of blood plasma.

3. Which of the following best describes the three-month pilot program?

A．Groundbreaking.

B．Unpredictable.

C．Economical.

D．Controversial.

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

A．The life of Dr. Charles Drew.	B．The inventor of the Blood Bank.
C．A Savior of Lives during Wartime.	D．A Pioneer in Blood Transportation.

5 . Certain areas near the moon’s poles stay everlastingly in shadow, never receiving direct sunlight. Recent studies suggest these so-called permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) contain rich ice resource that could show details about the early solar system; they could also help future visitors make fuel and other resources. But these areas are hard to photograph from satellites moving around the moon and thus are a challenge to study. The few photos PSRs reflect are often flooded by camera noise and quantum effects (量子效应).

Now researchers have produced a deep-learning algorithm (算法) to cut through the interruption and to see these dark zones. “Our images enable scientists to identify the features of craters and boulders (陨石坑和巨石),” says Valentin Bickel, a planetary scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Solar System Research in Germany and lead author of a Nature Communications study testing the new algorithm.

The researchers used more than 70,000 images of completely dark lunar areas — with no light signal — together with details about the camera’s temperature and position in orbit to train their algorithm to recognize and remove camera noise. Next they dealt with the rest noise through information learned from millions of sunlit lunar photos, together with copied versions of the same images in shadow. Ignacio Lopez-Francos, a study co-author and engineer at the NASA Ames Research Center, says using such man-made shadow was necessary because sunlit PSR images do not exist. A similar technique is also used in low-light digital camera photography.

The researchers used their algorithm to analyze the size and number of craters and boulders in several PSRs that might be explored by NASA’s Artemis moon program. They also found the likely origins of some boulders and established a potential route for an astronaut through a PSR on the moon, avoiding obstacles and slopes steeper than 10 degrees.

“It’s an interesting application of machine-learning technology, and the noise model seems realistic and useful for this real case,” says computer scientist Chongyi Li, who uses similar strategies to enhance underwater images at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and was not involved in the study.

1. Why is exploring the PSRs a challenge?

A．Because satellites are remote.	B．Because the solar system is complex.
C．Because the photos are often covered.	D．Because the moon has abundant resources.

2. How did the researchers train their algorithm?

A．They trained it through photos and images.

B．They trained it by cutting through the interruption.

C．They trained it through numerous images of sunlit lunar areas.

D．They trained it by using low-light digital camera photography.

3. What is Chongyi Li’s attitude to this algorithm?

A．Doubtful.

B．Objective.

C．Indifferent.

D．Favorable.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

A．To appeal to us to explore lunar areas.	B．To promote our understanding of moon.
C．To introduce an application of technology.	D．To describe the reasons of lunar shadow lands.

6 . Fiji is an island nation with mountains to climb, jungles to explore, vast reefs under the waves to dive, and beaches to walk on. You can go to the open-air souvenir markets to shop for authentic Fijian crafts (工艺品) like wooden kava bowls and visit the Fiji Museum. You can also attend Fire walking ceremony, the traditional practice of fire walking, where men walk barefoot across hot stones.

Best Time to Go

There is no bad time for Fiji vacations. However, November to April is the wet season, when temperatures and humidity (湿度) are higher and there is a greater risk of hurricanes. August and October are some of the most popular months to visit Fiji’s islands, but this also means you will have to deal with high-season crowds and prices. Brave the heavy but short downpours in the wet season if you want to escape the crowds and get some great deals.

Accommodation & Transport & Food

Some restaurants are expensive and attract the world’s rich and famous, but you can find much cheaper options with equally beautiful locations. Budget hotels start at around $30 a night for a double room with sea views.

If you don’t mind getting about on a bus, you will find this is a cheap and efficient form of transport. Traveling from Suva to Nadi, for example, costs around $25 for a four-hour trip.

You can eat for as little as 5insmallrestaurants, and mid—range restaurants start at around 15 for a meal. Many accommodation options include meals, so you can take full advantage of this to save some money.

All up, Fiji is a very reasonably priced destination with priceless experiences on offer. So, what are you waiting for?

1. What can tourists do in Fiji?

A．Witness a special ceremony.	B．Walk on hot stones with shoes.
C．Shop in large indoor souvenir markets.	D．Make wooden kava bowls by themselves.

2. In which month are people more likely to avoid crowds of tourists?

A．May.	B．July.
C．September.	D．December.

3. What can be learned about Fiji?

A．It is friendly to budget tourists.	B．It takes five hours to get there.
C．It can be reached only by bus.	D．It offers free meals in any hotel.

7 . The holidays can be a difficult time to stay on track with your fitness goals.     1    . Even the most disciplined people can find it difficult to stick to their fitness routines during the holiday season. Here are some expert-recommended tips that can help you stay on track.

    2    .

Planning is the best way to make sure you don’t lose track of your goals. Plan your workouts for the week and mark them in your schedule to assure they are a part of your day.

Exercise early.

    3    . Make sure workouts are in the morning and you’ll set yourself up for a productive day. Then you can enjoy holiday activities and time with family without worrying about when you’ll have time to exercise.

Keep moving.

Research shows that getting up for just five minutes every 30 to 60 minutes and performing light activities reduces the risk of heart disease risk factors. Small efforts to get moving can help your overall health during the holidays. In addition to staying active, try to avoid sitting for long periods of time, such as when watching football games or eating.     4    .

Think out of the box.

The holidays are busy, but do your best to avoid the “all or nothing” mentality when it comes to physical activity.     5     — like taking a family walk around the neighborhood before opening Christmas presents.

A．Plan ahead

B．Plan out your route before you go

C．Exercising in the morning is one of the biggest tips

D．Remember: too much sitting is harmful to your health

E．Your schedule will be filled with family gatherings and celebrations

F．Get creative with exercise and make physical activity a family affair

G．Rather than skipping the gym altogether, make time for a quick workout

8 . From Milan to Riyadh, these culture-packed cities offer creative experiences, whether through interesting street arts, innovative exhibitions or award-winning architectures.

Milan

Milan’s fashion heritage dates back to its days as an important trading center, when rich businessmen would bring luxurious clothes to the city and improve their bartering (以物易物) skills in its streets. The area’s fashion-forward reputation was later strengthened by design masters such as Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace, all of whom grew their brands here.

Shanghai

Shanghai has a long history in the fields of art and architecture, and has long attracted creative professionals both domestically and internationally. But today, the integration of traditional temples into the surrounding modern metropolis (大都市) continues to attract tourists. Begin with a wander through the streets of the original Old City, taking in the 600-year-old City God Temple and the nine-bend Jiu Qu Qiao. Then, make for the Shanghai Museum, where more than a million artifacts — including ancient sculptures, china and calligraphy — are on display.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen’s architecture has been awarded many honors over the years, including UNESCO World Capital of Architecture 2023. Today, many of the city’s most popular tour routes centre on these eye-catching aspects. The harbour-front Copenhagen Opera House presents a neo-futuristic style while the Black Diamond Royal Library and the Bicycle Bridge dot the skyline with their distinctive designs.

Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s largest city Riyadh has actively positioned itself as a global destination for creative travellers and to this end, it has established the Riyadh Art initiative. The first public art project of its kind in the country, Riyadh Art aims to transform the city into a “gallery without walls” through public art installations, festivals and workshops.

1. What is Milan famous for?

A．Its festivals.

B．Its fashion products.

C．Its architecture.

D．Its modern art.

2. Where will you go if you want to visit the Bicycle Bridge?

A．Copenhagen.

B．Shanghai.

C．Milan.

D．Riyadh.

3. What do we know about Riyadh?

A．It is Saudi Arabia’s second largest city.	B．It has a lot of galleries without walls.
C．It aims to attract creative visitors.	D．It plans to set up the Riyadh Art initiative.

9 . Sounds from human activity flood across the oceans, causing trouble to ocean creatures. And climate (气候) change may make some places even louder.

Researchers have expected the oceans to get noisier because of increasing human activity. “The more goods you buy, the more shipping you have, so the more noise you have.” says Luca Possenti, a scientist studying sound in the ocean at the Royal Netherlands Institute. But Possenti and his co-worker realized that climate change might also influence how sound travels through the water.

Human-caused climate change is changing ocean temperatures, salt levels and acidity (酸度). So Possenti’s team used computers to model how those factors (因素) influence noise levels across the world’s oceans.

When waters become more acidic, they can’t take in sound at some wavelengths as well, so those sounds can travel further, adding to the noise in some areas. This effect is relatively small. Other changes impact the sound level more, the researchers found. Changes to temperature and salt levels can change how well different layers (层) of the ocean mix, which, in turn, impacts how sound travels.

The team predicted (预测) models of the world in about 70 years if climate change continues. And then they compared them with models of the world now. In the North Atlantic, they saw an increase in sound levels in the upper 125 meters of the ocean. This was caused mostly by ice melting (融化) off of Greenland, forming a cold layer of water near the ocean’s surface. Sound traveling through water tends to go toward the coldest area. As a result, sound waves tended to get stuck in the cold top layer-spreading further out across the water, instead of traveling deeper. That increased the noisiness at this depth in the North Atlantic. The models suggested that a single ship could sound about five times as loud underwater because of this. Considering all the ship traffic between Europe and North America, that may stress animals, many of which communicate, and catch food with sound.

1. How is paragraph 2 developed?

A．By quoting an expert.	B．By using examples.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By presenting research findings.

2. What is paragraph 4 mainly talking about?

A．Effects of temperature changes.	B．Some risk factors for a nosier sea.
C．Impacts of acidity on wavelengths.	D．Ways oceans mix and sound travels.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Sea animals will be protected from noises.

B．Added meltwater does more harm than good.

C．Greenland is hit the hardest by climate change.

D．The result of the research is based on prediction.

4. What leads to the sound change in the North Atlantic according to Possenti’s research?

A．Increase in salt levels.	B．Failure of acidity control.
C．Change in the ocean depths.	D．Formation of a cold water layer.

10 . Study Abroad Scholarships to Apply for in 2024

Found the perfect study abroad program, but don’t know how to pay for it? Fortunately, here are some study abroad scholarship opportunities for students looking to take their studies overseas!

Trenchard Cox Scholarship

All you have to do is write two 400-word reasoned descriptions: one on a work of art you love and one that you hate. The scholarship, established in memory of Sir Trenchard Cox, awards the winner an Art History Abroad 2-week summer course in Venice.

Requirement: At least 16 and no older than 18 years of age

Deadline: March 1, 2024

Arcadia Abroad Scholarships & Financial Aid

Did you know that Arcadia Abroad provides financial aid to around 70% of students who apply for it? It values equity, diversity, and inclusivity when awarding scholarships. Students who apply for scholarships will need to write a 300-word essay.

Requirement: Must be included in an Arcadia Abroad program

Award: $ 500-$ 2,500

Deadline: February 1, 2024

AIFS Study Abroad Scholarships, Grants & Financial Support

We believe a study abroad experience is an important part of well-rounded university education and we are committed to providing financial help to as many students as possible. AIFS also offers internship (实习期) and study abroad + internship mixed programs to support the development of personal and professional skills.

Award: $ 500- $ 5,000

Deadline: June 1, 2024

American Association of University Women(AAUW) Fellowships & Grants

The AAUW supports women searching for a variety of graduate academic opportunities. There are no barriers (障碍) to full participation in this organization. Preference is given to those who show great interest in the advancement of girls and women.

Requirement: Women only

Award:$ 2,000- $ 50,000

Deadline: November 15, 2024

1. What is required to apply for Trenchard Cox Scholarship?

A．Being over 18 years of age.	B．Fluency in English and Italian.
C．Two 400-word essays on artworks.	D．A member of the Art History Abroad summer course.

2. Which of the four scholarship programs ends the earliest?

A．Trenchard Cox Scholarship.

B．Arcadia Abroad Scholarships & Financial Aid.

C．AIFS Study Abroad Scholarships, Grants & Financial Support.

D．American Association of University Women(AAUW)Fellowships & Grants.

3. Who is most likely to receive the AAUW Fellowships & Grants?

A．A freshman suffering economically.	B．A graduate needing internship abroad.
C．An art student from a developing country.	D．A female student devoted to women education.