1 . States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states.

The Supreme Court’s opinion Thursday overruled a pair of decades-old decisions that states said cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. The decisions made it more difficult for states to collect sales tax on certain online purchases.

The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn’t have to collect sales tax for the state. Customers were generally responsible for paying the sales tax to the state themselves if they weren’t charged it, but most didn’t realize they owed it and few paid.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed. “Each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the States,” he wrote in an opinion joined by four other justices. Kennedy wrote that the rule “limited States’ ability to seek long-term prosperity and has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field.”

The ruling is a victory for big chains with a presence in many states, since they usually collect sales tax on online purchases already. Now, rivals will be charging sales tax where they hadn’t before. Big chains have been collecting sales tax nationwide because they typically have physical stores in whatever state a purchase is being shipped to. Amazon.com, with its network of warehouses, also collects sales tax in every state that charges it, though third-party sellers who use the site don’t have to.

Until now, many sellers that have a physical presence in only a single state or a few states have been able to avoid charging sales taxes when they ship to addresses outside those states. Sellers that use eBay and Etsy, which provide platforms for smaller sellers, also haven’t been collecting sales tax nationwide. Under the ruling Thursday, states can pass laws requiring out-of-state sellers to collect the state’s sales tax from customers and send it to the state.

Retail trade groups praised the ruling, saying it levels the playing field for local and online businesses. The losers, said retail analyst Neil Saunders, are online-only retailers, especially smaller ones. Those retailers may face headaches complying with various state sales tax laws. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council advocacy group said in a statement, “Small businesses and internet entrepreneurs are not well served at all by this decision.”

1. The Supreme Court decision Thursday will ______.

A．better businesses’ relations with states

B．put most online businesses in a dilemma

C．make more online shoppers pay sales tax

D．force some states to cut sales tax

2. It can be learned from paragraphs 2 and 3 that the overruled decisions ______.

A．have led to the dominance of e-commerce

B．have cost consumers a lot over the years

C．were widely criticized by online purchasers

D．were considered unfavorable by states

3. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, the physical presence rule has ______.

A．hindered economic development	B．brought prosperity to the country
C．harmed fair market competition	D．boosted growth in states revenue

4. In dealing with the Supreme Court decision Thursday, the author ______.

A．gives a factual account of it and discusses its consequences

B．describes the long and complicated process of its making

C．presents its main points with conflicting views on them

D．cites some cases related to it and analyzes their implications

3 . The coast of the State of Maine is one of the most irregular in the world. A straight line running from the southernmost coastal city to the northernmost coastal city would measure about 225 miles. If you followed the coastline between these points, you would travel more than ten times as far. This irregularity is the result of what is called a drowned coastline. The term comes from the glacial (冰川的) activity of the Ice Age. At that time, the whole area that is now Maine was part of a mountain range that towered above the sea. As the glacier declined, however, it applied enormous force on those mountains, and they sank into the sea.

As the mountains sank, ocean water charged over the lowest parts of the remaining land. And the highest parts of the former mountain range, nearest the shore, remained as islands. Marine fossils found here are 225 feet above sea level indicating the level of the shoreline prior to the glacier.

The 2,500-mile-long rocky and jagged (锯齿状的) coastline of Maine keeps watching over nearly 2,000 islands. Many of these islands are tiny and uninhabited, but many are home to blooming communities. Mt. Desert Island is one of the largest, most beautiful of the Maine coast islands left behind by the glacier. Measuring 16 miles by 12 miles, Mt. Desert was very nearly formed as two distinct islands. It is split almost in half by Somes Sound, a very deep and very narrow stretch of water seven miles long.

For years, Mt. Desert Island, particularly its major settlement, Bar Harbor, has afforded summer homes for the wealthy. Recently, though, Bar Harbor has become a new arts community as well. But the best part of the island is the unspoiled forest land known as Acadia National Park. Since the island sits on the border between two different geographical zones, the park supports the plants and animals of both zones. It also lies in a major bird migration lane and is a resting spot for many birds.

1. The large number of small islands along the coast of Maine is the result of ______.

A．the drowning of the Maine coastline	B．glacier’s forcing mountains into the sea
C．the irregularity of the Maine coastline	D．ocean water’s flooding the mountain range

2. What does the underlined word “charge” mean in paragraph 2?

A．To ask an amount of money.

B．To accuse someone publicly of doing something wrong.

C．To rush in a particular direction.

D．To pass electricity through something.

3. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of paragraph 4 of the selection?

A．The wealthy residents of Mt. Desert Island selfishly kept it to themselves.

B．Acadia National Park is one of the best national parks.

C．On Mt. Desert Island, there is great tension between the residents and tourists.

D．Mt. Desert Island supports an incredibly diverse animal and plant life.

4. From the passage, we learn that ________.

A．the coastline of Maine is ten times longer after the Ice Age

B．there are more than 2,500 islands along the Maine coastline

C．Mt. Desert Island has been broken apart by a 7-mile-long water stretch

D．an arts community gave way to the summer homes on Mt. Desert Island

4 .

To the Editors: I am surprised to read that Dr. Strojnik (“Direct Detection of Exoplanets,” September-October2023) states that we have not yet and cannot directly image exoplanets (外部行星). This is incorrect. NASA/IPAC has a list at exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/imaging.html. One example is an image of 51 Eridani b. The planet is 2.6 times as massive as Jupiter and has the same radius (半径). Gerard Kriss Space Telescope Science Institute

Dr. Gerard: I am pleased that my article brought a response. The phrase “planet detection” arouses in people’s imaginations beautiful images of planets that are creative artistic representations of novel worlds. But a blur of brightness is not an image. Exoplanet researchers routinely call videos such as the one below of 51 Eridani b “direct images” because the planet’s light has been separated from that of its star. “Directly imaged” is the standard language of exoplanet astronomy. But to an optical (光学的) scientist such as myself, there is a strong distinction between direct detection (the planet’s light separated from the light of its star) and direct imaging (a proven picture of the exoplanet). From an optical researcher’s perspective, a single bright spot simply is not an image. Indeed, even the word “direct” in direct detection is debatable from an optical researcher’s point of view. The detection of the light of the exoplanet requires significant processing, adding multiple images and removing starlight based on theoretical models of the source signal. But the interpretation of a bright spot as a planet is only possible upon visual inspection and optimistic thinking. As an optical scientist, I cannot look at a single spot and call it an image of exoplanets. A trajectory (轨迹), or a series of bright points, is not an image of a planet, although it very likely represents something that nowadays is described as an exoplanet. Marija Strojnik

1. ________ is the main disagreement between Marija Strojnik and Gerard Kriss.

A．The definition of a planet	B．The importance of detecting exoplanets
C．The artistic representation of exoplanets	D．The use of the term “direct imaging”

2. How does Dr. Strojnik feel about the interpretation of a bright spot as an exoplanet?

A．She supports it, as it is a common practice in exoplanet astronomy.

B．She approves of it, although it does not provide a clear picture of the exoplanet.

C．She believes it is only possible through visual observation and positive assumption.

D．She considers the interpretation to be debatable, as it requires significant processing.

3. Where can you find these two letters?

A．In the textbook.	B．In a local newspaper.
C．In a published essay.	D．In a science journal.

5 . ①The world’s heaviest snake has been hiding a big secret.

② According to a study published today in the open-access journal MDPI Diversity, the animal known as the green anaconda, or Eunectes murinus, is actually two genetically distinct species, despite each species looking so similar that even experts can’t tell them apart.

③“Genetically, the differences are massive,” says Bryan Fry, a National Geographic Explorer, biologist at the University of Queensland in Australia, and coauthor of the new study. “They’re five-and-a-half percent different, genetically. Now, to put that into context, we’re about two percent different from chimps,” he says.

④ To make the shocking discovery, Fry and his coauthors collected blood and tissue samples from green anacondas in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil.The study authors also examined each animal closely to count scales and look for other physical traits that could signal an evolutionary difference. After running the genetic data, they found a clear divide between anacondas sampled in the northern part of the range as opposed to those in the south. And based on those findings, they propose renaming the snakes found in the north as the northern green anaconda (Eunectes akayima), while E. murinus will continue to refer to southern green anacondas.

⑤Fry says his jaw dropped when the analyses completed. “I didn’t expect that level of difference,” he says. “It’s just mind-blowing. We were all of us very much doing happy dances.”

⑥While it may seem like splitting hairs to re-classify two populations of snakes that look identical to one another, Fry emphasizes how important such delineations can be for understanding the threats posed to these creatures. Right now, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the green anaconda as a species of least concern when it comes to extinction risk, but this classification is based, in part, on how widely distributed a species is. “It’s important, because the newly described northern green anaconda has a much smaller range than the southern, and so that means it’s much more vulnerable,” says Fry.

⑦Working with giant snakes isn’t easy. The fact that anacondas are massive, powerful predators is just one reason the animals haven’t been more closely studied. However, more work of this kind may be needed to understand how the northern and southern green anacondas started separate evolutionary tracks. After all, the two species appear to coexist in French Guiana, even as close as being found on opposite riverbanks, says Fry. And yet, there’s no evidence of interbreeding in their genetics.

1. W'hy did the author mention “we’re about two percent different from chimps” in paragraph 3?

A．To show how genetically different green anacondas are.

B．To show how distant we humans are from green anacondas.

C．To show how similar green anacondas are in appearance.

D．To show how hard it is for experts to tell green anacondas apart.

2. Based on the context, what does the underlined word “delineations” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．similarity

B．conservation

C．classification

D．extinction

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Experts suggest continuing to refer to the northern green anacondas as Eunectes murinus.

B．Experts are sure of how green anacondas started different evolutionary tracks.

C．The classification of green anacondas helps arouse awareness of its protection.

D．The two species of green anacondas once interbred in their genetics when living close.

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Eunectes akayima: splitting hairs

B．Eunectes murinus: the world’s heaviest snake

C．Northern green anaconda: a newly found species

D．Green anacondas: two genetically different species

6 . Talking therapies for anxiety and depression

Talking therapies, or psychological therapies, are effective treatments delivered by fully trained and qualified experts. They can help if you’re struggling with things like feelings of depression, excessive worry, social anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

· You can access talking therapies for free on the National Health Service (NHS) in UK.

· You can refer yourself directly to a talking therapies service without recommendation.

· Help is available in person, by video, over the phone or as an online course.

What can talking therapies help with?

You do not need to have a diagnosed mental health problem first. Getting support as soon as you start having difficulties can help to reduce their impact.

You may be:

· feeling anxious

· feeling low and hopeless

· having panic attacks

· finding it hard to cope with work, life or relationships

· struggling with flashbacks and nightmares about things from your past

· feeling stressed

Other things that talking therapies can help with include:

· worrying a lot

· excessive thoughts or behaviours

· fear social situations

· being afraid of things, such as spiders, flying or heights

Types of talking therapies

There are a range of evidence-based talking therapies. Which therapy you are offered depends on which one has been shown to be most helpful for your symptoms.

Examples of talking therapies include:

· guided self-help-where a therapist coaches you as you work through a self-help course in your own time, either using a workbook or an online course

· cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, what we do, and how our bodies feel physically, are all connected. CBT helps you notice and challenge thoughts or behaviours to help you feel better.

· interpersonal therapy (IPT) or dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT)-therapies that look at the link between your depression and your relationships

Talking therapies can also help if you have mental health problems resulting from other conditions, such as diabetes (糖尿病), cancer, long-term pain.

Talking therapies are oftered in different ways, including:

· using a self-help workbook with the support of a therapist

· as an online course

· one-to-one sessions either in person, over the phone or as a video consultation

· in a group

1. You are recommended talking therapics if you are________.

A．feeling optimistic about the future

B．suffering from diabetes or cancer

C．lacking in thoughts or behaviours

D．afraid of getting along with others

2. During the therapy, which of the following might happen?

A．You conduct a self-help course all by yourself.

B．Your thoughts and how your body feel disconnect.

C．You feel better after noticing and challenging thoughts.

D．You have to work in a group to receive talking therapies.

3. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To inform people of talking therapies.

B．To persuade people to take talking therapies.

C．To call for donation for talking therapies.

D．To describe the history of talking therapies.

7 . It is certainly difficult to make money. But should money be difficult to give away? In The Gilded Age, industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller worried about waste and misuse; Carnegie wrote in 1889 that $950 of every $1,000 that went to charity was “unwisely spent”.     1     Donors ran lengthy application processes, provided funds and fulfilled painstaking reporting requirements. In 2006 The Economist called it “philanthrocapitalism (慈善资本主义)”.

    2     The 400 richest Americans have given away just 6% of their combined fortunes, according to Forbes. At the last count in 2022, almost $1.2 trn was sitting in American private foundations and $230bn in donor-advised funds, a sort of savings account for donors. Plenty of money is being marked for charity. But it is not getting to worthy causes fast enough.

Fortunately, a new generation of donors is once again shaking up the world of big philanthropy (慈善事业). Leading the mission is MacKenzie Scott, who simplified the process of giving and is donating billions of dollars a year with few conditions. This “no-strings giving” is changing mega-donors’ long-held assumptions.     3    

One is the recognition that philanthropists do not have to do everything themselves.     4     An upside of a decades-long trend for businesslike philanthropy is that armies of consultants have emerged to help donors draw up a strategy and conduct due diligence on potential recipients. Donors can team up and share the work, too.

Another lesson from the no-strings crowd is that philanthropists can trust recipients to put money to good use once the proper due diligence is in place. That means analyzing a nonprofit organization’s annual reports and interviewing its leaders and other funders.

A．It offers lessons for those struggling to get money out of the door.

B．In addition to that, her charity work is too numerous to mention.

C．However, this idea that charities’ money is wasted has been proven wrong by evidence.

D．Mega-donors no longer need to endure the trouble of setting up a foundation and hiring staff.

E．Two decades on, however, it’s become clear that all this paperwork puts the brakes on giving.

F．Around the turn of the millennium donors looked to data and rules as a way to stop waste.

8 . Adapted from Shanghai writer Jin Yucheng’s Mao Dun Literature Prize winning novel, Fan Hua (Blossoms), the series — which primarily takes place between 1993 and 1994 — follows the jouney of Ah Bao, an ambitious everyman who takes every chance and rises to become a legendary figure in the city’s most upper-class commercial circles. Aside from emphasizing his ability to seize opportunities in the stock and foreign trade markets, the plot also follows his delicate, and romance-like relationships with three women.

The enthusiasm the drama has stirred up has led to tourists flooding to the show’s locations, such as the Fairmont Peace Hotel, which is where he rents a luxurious room to do business, and Huanghe Road, which was lined with the most high-end restaurants in the 1990s. Other examples include fans waiting in long queues outside restaurants to order a plate of fried pork chops with rice cakes, a traditional Shanghai dish that Boss Bao always orders. The drama’s popularity even extends to its soundtrack. Steal One’s Heart, a song used to set the heartbreaking atmosphere in a particular scene gains newfound popularity.

Considered by some critics as a love letter from the director to Shanghai, the city shot through the lens arouses a feeling that is both familiar and fresh. While showing landmarks like the Bund and the Oriental Pearl Tower, the drama also presents Shanghai’s cityscape in a brighter and warmer manner, as if the city has been polished by the memory of someone who loves it deeply.

Buxiang, a phrase that means “keeping silent” and which represents the concept of keeping a low profile in the Shanghai dialect, is one of the most frequently heard phrases in the drama. However, the show’s popularity has caused the phrase to become a hit, as some fans on major review sites like Douban, where the drama has received a rating of 8.5 out of 10, have commented.

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the book Fan Hua?

A．The novel once won Mao Dun Literature Prize.

B．Its hero Ah Bao born from a wealthy family became a legend.

C．The novel focuses on Ah Bao’s ability to catch opportunities.

D．Ah Bao’s relationships with other female characters are vividly described.

2. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?

A．Why is the drama so popular among tourists?

B．What do some critics think of the drama?

C．How do people show their love for the drama?

D．What kinds of food are mentioned in the drama?

3. Which of the following can be used to describe Shanghai presented in the drama?

A．Popular but hard to understand.

B．Familiar but somewhat different.

C．Bright but dark at heart.

D．Warm but distant in some way.

9 . The ancient Egyptians thought so little of the brain that when a king died, they removed the brain from his body and threw it away. The Egyptians assumed, like many people before and after them, that consciousness — your mind and your thoughts existed in the heart.

Now we know that the mind is a product of the brain, but how exactly does this 1.5-kilo piece of matter create a mind that allows you to think about yourself, experience happiness and anger, or remember events that happened 20 minutes or 20 years ago? This isn’t a new question. Today, however, powerful new techniques for visualizing the sources of thought, emotion, behavior, and memory are transforming the way we understand the brain and the mind it creates.

Have you ever stopped and thought, “What’s wrong with me today? I just don’t feel like myself”? Perhaps you were more tired or worried than usual — but somehow, you knew that something was different about you. This self-awareness - the ability to think about yourself and how you’re feeling-is an important part of being human.

This part of of your mind has its origins in the prefrontal cortex — a region of your brain just behind your forehead that extends to about your ears. Before this area began to function (around age two), you didn’t understand that you were a separate individual with your own identity. As this part of your brain developed, you became more aware of yourself and your thoughts and feelings.

Though humans may share certain emotions and recognize them in others, we don’t all have the same emotional response to every situation. In fact, most emotional responses are learned and stored in our memories. The smell of freshly cut grass, for example, will generate happy feelings in someone who spent enjoyable childhood summers in the countryside, but not in someone who was forced to work long hours on a farm. Once an emotional association like this is made, it is very difficult to reverse it. “Emotion is the least flexible part of the brain,” says psychologist Paul Ekman. But we can learn to control our emotions by becoming consciously aware of their underlying causes and by not reacting automatically to things in our environment.

For centuries, people have studied the brain, but it is only in recent years that we have really started to learn how it works. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before we understand our mind’s many complexities.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How we create and control emotions.	B．How the mind works.
C．How human beings are distinct.	D．How emotions are processed.

2. Why does the author mention the ancient Egyptians’ practice in the very beginning?

A．To illustrate the importance of the heart in ancient Egyptian culture.

B．To introduce the core theme of the mind-body connection and evolution.

C．To provide an example of how the brain has been misunderstood throughout history.

D．To contrast the ancient Egyptians’ views on the brain with the modern one.

3. Which of the following statement is NOT true?

A．Self-awareness develops before the age of two.

B．The prefrontal cortex affects a person’s emotions.

C．The prefrontal cortex is located at the front of the brain.

D．Self-awareness strengthens with the development of the brain.

4. What does the passage suggest about the flexibility of emotions?

A．Emotions are universal and do not change over time or with individual experiences.

B．Emotions are generally learned and stored in our memories, making them quite flexible.

C．Emotions are influenced by our personal experiences and can vary from person to person.

D．Emotions are the least flexible part of the mind, and they cannot be controlled.