1 . Have you ever been annoyed at younger siblings (兄弟姐妹) for stealing your toys?     1    It is true they sometimes bring troubles and problems. But latest studies have found that brothers and sisters can actually boost your physical and mental health, even as an adult.

    2       According to a study from Brigham Young University in the US, having a meaningful and close relationship with siblings can lead to greater life satisfaction and mental well-being. Brothers and sisters can help prevent their teenage siblings from feeling guilty, unloved and lonely. Having brothers and sisters makes you more kind-hearted,     3     Could it be that having a same-generation relative looking out for you motivates you to think about others? If a sibling is warm and kind, the other sibling is likely to display the same qualities.

Siblings help you have a healthier lifestyle. A survey of more than 15,000 people found that 43 percent of people credited their family members for having the biggest positive impact on their physical condition.     4     Spending a lot of time together, they increase the possibility of taking regular exercise and sticking to your diet.

They can help you live longer, In a study from the American Sociological Association, older adults, who described themselves as being “extremely close” to the family members, had a six percent chance of dying over the next five years, compared to a 14 percent risk for the people who didn’t.

Having good friends can bring many of the same benefits. We don’t all have brothers and sisters, or you might not have much contact with them. Don’t panic.     5     It can also boost your health, well-being and long life.

A．Brothers and sisters protect you from depression.

B．Have you ever cooperated with your brothers or sisters?

C．Or did you fight like cat and dog when you were younger?

D．Siblings can make you twice as likely to do good deeds.

E．Develop stable and close relationships with people around you.

F．Siblings are easily available fitness and healthy-eating partners.

G．They made you better at dealing with the tricky situations in daily life.

2 . During the Gold Rush, merchants needed a faster way to ship their goods to the West, turning every voyage into a race. The current record holder was the Surprise, which had made the New York to San Francisco trip in ninety-six days. Ellen planned to break that record with her ship, the Flying Cloud.

To achieve the goal, Ellen learned to use navigation (航海) instruments and do the complicated math calculations from her captain father. She also studied positioning charts made by Lieutenant Marthew, Ellen’s race against time began on June 2, 1851. It was her responsibility to keep track of the ship’s progress and current position and to plan the best course for it to follow. She chose a course different from the ones ships normally used and the Flying Cloud passed the equator two days less than ever before.

Heading south, when Ellen and the Flying Cloud was about to reach the Cape Horn, powerful wind slammed into the ship, tipping it sideways. Thirty-foot waves crashed over the deck. Ellen knew that the fastest way to get there was through the Strait of Le Maire. But it was risky. The narrow strip of water was only fourteen miles wide with rocky coasts on both sides. It would not be a problem on a clear day. But Flying Cloud was hit with their worst storm yet. Between the blinding snow and the lack of daylight, visibility was cut to almost nothing. Ellen used dead reckoning to plot a course she hoped would take the Flying Cloud toward the entrance to the strait.Finally, when the skies cleared, Ellen was relieved to see that she were right and everyone were safe on board. On July 22, lucky winds pushed the ship through the strait.Finally, at eleven-thirty the morning of August 3l, 185l, Flying Cloud had completed its voyage in eighty-nine days and twenty-one hours, beating Surprise’s record by an entire week.Crowds gathered on the beach to watch Flying Cloud’s arrival. News of the broken record spread quickly, making Ellen an instant celebrity. Her achievements were recognized in newspapers across the country, The success of her voyage required a combination of skill, experience and courage. Luckily, Ellen had them all.

1. What was Ellen’s main job on the Flying Cloud?

A．Doing math calculation and making charts.

B．Analyzing the data and predicting the weather.

C．Locating the ship’s position and deciding the course.

D．Following the captain’s instructions and drawing maps.

2. Which of the following words can best describe Ellen?

A．Intelligent and generous.	B．Brave and straightforward.
C．Adventurous and sensitive.	D．Ambitious and committed.

3. Which rhetorical device is used in the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A．Personification.

B．Simile.

C．Metaphor.

D．Repetition.

4. What was the biggest challenge when Ellen crossed the Strait of Le Maire?

A．The powerful waves.	B．The rocky coasts.
C．The narrow strip of water.	D．The low visibility

3 . ChatGPT has been banned by schools in New York and Los Angeles, out of concern that students may use it to cheat on assignments. Despite these concerns, educators needn’t fear Al technology will transform education. Instead, it will help students take ownership of their studies and learn real-life skills. Today’s students need instruction that equips them with the skills of reasoning, analysis and argumentation rather than memorizing basic information. And Al may be a useful tool that promotes these skills.

Our experience with Al is perhaps best understood when compared with previous disturbances in education. When printed books, for example, began to occur in the mid-1400s, university professors were filled with panic. At that time, lectures depended on a specific model: Professors read from their hand-written texts, while students hurriedly copied whatever they heard. If students could simply buy the books, teachers likely thought that they wouldn’t need to come to class. Yet in practice, printing had the opposite effect: The number of universities exploded along with the total number of books. The new technology disturbed the mechanical aspect of education, but in doing so it allowed educators to refocus on higher-level skills.

Similarly, ChatGPT will replace the mechanical production of text, but it won’t decrease the need for higher-level skills. Possessing the skills to ask the right questions or state the right opinions will become crucial as the production of a logical essay becomes a simple task for a machine. Al will serve as a tool for information gathering and mechanical organization, but it won’t remove the fundamental need for critical thinking.Schools must remember that education’s value isn’t a head full of facts but a person with the skill to use these facts with the available tools to enhance their impact on the world. Al is one of these tools and, when used strategically, can improve students’ learning and performance in ways not yet seen. Therefore, it is essential for schools to provide an education that trains students in how to use the available tools for information. Unless they adapt quickly to the changing trends of education, they will be left behind by rapid innovation and change.

1. What is the educators’ major concern about Al technology?

A．The possible changes in education.

B．Students’ grades of the assignments.

C．Students’ fear of technological reform.

D．The lack of instructions and equipment.

2. Why does the author mention the invention of printing technology?

A．To justify the concern of the professors.

B．To show the similar value of Al technology.

C．To clarify previous disturbances in education.

D．To highlight the influence of printing technology.

3. What is the author’s attitude toward the use of Al technology?

A．Doubtful.

B．Concerned.

C．Critical.

D．Supportive.

4. What does the author recommend schools to do in the last paragraph?

A．Replace the mechanical production of text.

B．Design their courses based on Al technology.

C．Catch up with the quick evolution of education.

D．Provide a course focusing on information gathering.

4 . Twelve grams of moon arrived at Ferl’s laboratory in an undecorated delivery box. Ferl, a gardening expert at the University of Florida, had waited more than a decade for that moment. The small box of dirt held some of the last remaining unopened samples of moon dust, called regolith, collected by astronauts on the lunar missions. Despite months of practice, he lifted the sample with trembling hands. “It’s freaky, scary stuff,” he says, “mean, what happens if you drop that?” Ferland his team were about to become the first researchers to grow plants in actual lunar soil.

The experiment was part of a lunar research which aims to send humans back to the moon later this decade in a more sustainable way. Longer duration stays require astronauts to have a source of food. “All of human exploration has been driven by the ability to keep crews fed,” says Gil, a researcher not involved in the study. And Ferl’s experiment offers a significant first step in this journey.

To test the moon soil, Ferl’s team divided the samples into 12 pots of 900 milligrams a piece and planted seeds in them. The seeds developed successfully, but the plants had trouble growing healthy roots. The moon soil lacks important microbes, which play a significant role in regulating plant growth hormones (激素), reducing environmental stress, and absorbing essential nutrients. Without natural microbes, the plants struggled to absorb nutrients and manage stress. Additionally, the lack of water can cause the soil to become difficult to work with.

The seedlings failed to grow strongly in regolith alone, but Ferl hopes to continue studying how life might take hold in otherwise low-yield soil, with an eye toward both boosting humanity’s prospects off the planet and improving agriculture in low-yield soils here at home. “Most of us are not going to go to space,” he says, “But if we can engineer a way to produce these kinds of crops in such an unforgiving environment — like the lunar surface — we can apply that to meet our food challenges in areas that just can’t grow food anymore.”

1. How did Ferl feel when receiving the box?

A．moved and surprised.	B．scared but curious.
C．worried but relieved.	D．cautious and nervous.

2. Why did Ferl carry out the experiment?

A．To feed the crew of his research team.

B．To ensure food supply for space exploration.

C．To provide sustainable energy for lunar missions.

D．To send the astronauts back to the moon in a shorter time.

3. What can be done to improve lunar crops production?

A．Adding microbes and watering it properly.

B．Dividing regolith equally and managing stress.

C．Growing healthy roots and making regolith dry.

D．Choosing suitable seeds and regulating hormones.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The original goal of the study.	B．The limitation of space farming
C．The application of the experiment result.	D．The factors causing the experiment failure.

5 . Having a quality first aid kit allows you to treat minor injuries, prevent infections, and even increase the chances of keeping an accident victim alive until proper medical help arrives. We tested dozens of the top-rated first aid kits in lab. Based on our testing, here are the best ones available online.

Adventure Medical Kit
Recommended uses: Picnics
Item Feature:

Kit measures approximately 6x8.5x3 inches. It provides critical information on wound care,stabilizing sprains, and medications for children. It contains a wide range of medications to treat pain, and common allergies (过敏), packed in nylon outer bag with a waterproof inner plastic storage bags.

Protect Life Kit
Recommended uses: Traveling
Item Feature:

Designed by doctors and EM’Ts & CPR instructors, the first aid medical kit is packed full of first aid supplies. It is packed in a hardshell case with lightweight. The bag can be refilled, so it is an ideal mini first aid kit for businesses.

Disaster Zone Kit
Recommended uses: Emergencies
Item Feature:

The pack is designed for first responders in disaster zones, with all emergency necessities.Whatever adventures you engage in, take our tactical first aid kit. Should you have any issues without first aid kit, contact us immediately and our medical team will be in touch.

Outdoor Emergency Kit
Recommended uses: Emergencies
Item Feature:

Designed by survivalists, it contains essential first aid supplies and survival tools required for emergencies. Weighing only 2 pounds, the waterproof kit is a must-have for your adventures. It is stuffed with blanket, flashlight, multi-function bracelet (compass, whistle), knife, two 12-hour glow sticks and emergency raincoats.

1. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce the best first aid kits.	B．To ask the readers to buy first aid kits.
C．To advocate the importance of first aid.	D．To inform the readers of online first aid.

2. Which kit promises medical team support?

A．Adventure Medical Kit.	B．Protect Life Kit.
C．Disaster Zone Kit.	D．Outdoor Emergency Kit.

3. What do Adventure Medical Kit and Outdoor Emergency Kit have in common?

A．They are light-weighted.

B．They are water-resistant.

C．They are intended for children.

D．They are designed by rescuers.

6 . Chinese Teapot Escaping from British Museum Goes Viral

   

Chinese state media has praised a viral video series, Escape from the British Museum, which tells the story of a jade teapot coming to life and escaping from the British Museum to make its way back home.

In the video series released online on Sept 5^th, a female vlogger plays the role of an ancient Chinese jade teapot, while her male partner acts as a journalist who helps it return to China.

The plot line taps into growing criticism of the British Museum after reports last month that more than 1,500 priceless objects, including gold jewelry, gems and glass items, were missing, stolen or damaged, which made headlines around the world. Also, the jade teapot’s reaction reflected the “casual attitude of the British Museum toward Chinese cultural relics, as many of them are crammed into just one cabinet for exhibition”. Problems in the management and security of cultural objects in the British Museum exposed have led to the doubts about a long-standing and widely-spread claim that foreign cultural objects are better protected in the British Museum.

The video series stirred up the emotions of Chinese people after first being released by independent vloggers on Douyin by showing how the teapot experienced the happiness of returning to China to see pandas and watch a flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square. Many netizens expressed their eagerness for cultural artifacts overseas to return home with dignity and honor.

In August the state media Global Times also called for the return of Chinese artifacts from the museum “free of charge” in the wake of the controversy. It strongly supported the video series for touching on a “powerful message” about the importance of cultural heritage and reflecting “Chinese people’s strong and emotional desire for the repatriation of the Chinese cultural relics”.

State broadcaster CCTV gave the short films a glowing review saying “We are very pleased to see Chinese young people are passionate about history and tradition. We are also looking forward to the early return of Chinese artifacts that have been displaced overseas.”

1. What is the writing purpose of paragraph 3?

A．To discuss the problem in management.	B．To introduce the content of the video series.
C．To express criticism to the British Museum.	D．To provide background of the video series.

2. What does the underlined word “repatriation” (Para. 5) probably mean?

A．Return.

B．Reserve

C．Repair

D．Reflection.

3. What can we learn about the video series from the text?

A．Chinese netizens expressed anger towards it.	B．The Chinese media showed appreciation for it.
C．The British Museum took it quite seriously.	D．The viewers were eager to learn history from it.

4. Where may the text be taken from?

A．A guidebook.	B．A story book.
C．A news report.	D．A book review.

7 . There are thousands of languages in the world. But which language is the oldest? Experts use different methods to find out the age of a language.

Finding the oldest language is a challenging task, according to Danny Hieber, an expert in the study of endangered languages. “If we think that most languages can date back to an original human language, all languages are equally old,” Hieber said. However, it’s impossible to find out such language —the direct ancestor of every language in the world. Accordingly, some experts believe that the “oldest language” should belong to one with a well-established written record.

Many of the earliest recorded examples of writing come from languages that used cuneiform script (楔形文字). Among these languages are Sumerian and Akkadian, both dating back at least 4,600 years. Experts have also found Egyptian hieroglyphs that date to around the same historical period. These hieroglyphs, which can be translated into “He has united the Two Lands for his son, Dual King Peribsen,” are considered the earliest complete sentence ever discovered.

Experts generally agree that Sumerian, Akkadian and Egyptian are the oldest languages with a clear written record. All three are extinct, meaning that they are no longer used and don’t have any living followers which can carry the language to the next generation.

As for the oldest language that is still spoken, several competitors appear. Hebrew and Arabic stand out among such languages for having timelines that experts can reasonably find, according to Hieber. Although these earliest written languages only date back around 3,000 years, Hieber said, “both of them belong to the Afroasiatic language family, whose roots date back to 18, 000 to 8,000 B. C. E. , or about 20,000 to 10,000 years ago.” Even with this wide period of time, it is widely accepted that Afroasiatic is the oldest language family. But the exact point in time when Hebrew and Arabic separated from other Afroasiatic languages is heavily debated among experts.

1. How do experts determine the age of a language?

A．By studying its spoken dialects.	B．By analyzing its basic grammar.
C．By examining its written records.	D．By comparing it to other languages.

2. What is the value of the Egyptian hieroglyphs?

A．They’re an example of cuneiform script.	B．They belong to the Afroasiatic language.
C．They provide evidence of the oldest language.	D．They’re the earliest-known complete sentences.

3. What does the underlined word “extinct” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Gone

B．Ancient.

C．Outdated.

D．Active.

4. What is the main disagreement among experts regarding Hebrew and Arabic?

A．The reason for their standing out.	B．The exact time of their separation.
C．The appearance of their competitors.	D．The roots of earliest written languages.

8 . Not all birds sing, but some species(物种)do it a lot. They sing to protect their place and impress possible mates (配偶). “Why birds sing is relatively well-answered,” says Iris Adam, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Southern Denmark. The big question was:Why do birds sing so often?

In a new study, Adam and her team members offer a new explanation, suggesting that songbirds may have to sing a lot to give their vocal (声音的) muscles the regular exercise they need to produce top-quality song. These findings could be related to human voices too. “Anytime you stop speaking, you might experience a loss in vocal performance,” said Adam, “songbirds one day could help us improve how we train and restore our own voices.”

To figure out whether the muscles that produce birdsong require daily exercise, Adam designed a set of experiments on zebra finches.

One of her first experiments was about taking males at the top of their game, and cutting off the connection between their brains and singing muscles. “After two days, they had lost some of their performance,” she said. “And after three weeks, they were back to the same level when they were young and never had sung before.”

Next she prevented the birds from singing for a week by keeping them in the dark almost around the clock. After a week, the birds’ vocal muscles lost half their strength. When she played it for a group of female birds, six out of nine preferred the song that came from a male who’d been using his singing muscles daily.

Adam’s finding is that “songbirds need to exercise their vocal muscles to produce top-performance song. If they don’t sing, they lose performance, and they get less attractive to females.”

It’s a good rule to live by, whether you’re a bird or a human — practice makes perfect, at least when it comes to singing one’s heart out.

1. What’s the focus of Adam and her team members’ study?

A．How birds train their vocal muscles.

B．The effect of music on birds’ behaviour.

C．The relationship between brain function and birds’ song.

D．Whether birds need to sing often to keep their singing ability.

2. What was the effect of preventing the birds from singing for a week?

A．Their vocal muscles became stronger.

B．They became more attractive to females.

C．Their vocal muscles lost half their strength.

D．They didn’t show any change in singing performance.

3. How did the female birds react to the male bird using vocal muscles daily?

A．They did not show any preference.

B．Most of them preferred his song.

C．They found his song less attractive.

D．None of them were interested in his song.

4. What’s the main message conveyed by the study?

A．Birds need to sing to impress possible mates.

B．Birds sing to mark their place and attract females.

C．Regular exercise is for keeping birds’ singing performance.

D．Human singing performance can be improved by studying songs.

9 . In the continuing fever for outdoor sports and activities, China’s young generation now find themselves drawn to a new activity—lure fishing (假饵钓鱼).

Traditional fishing methods use real bait (饵) and often require hours of patient waiting. However, lure fishing takes a different approach. Here, fishermen use man-made bait to copy the movements of a fish’s natural prey (捕食) such as swimming, struggling and escaping. In this way, fish will mistake the bait for the real prey and make attack. Because fishermen need to frequently throw and take back the line to seek for fish, the sport looks elegant and is called “water golf”.

“The fish shakes and struggles sharply. The feeling is just like putting your hand out of the window while driving at fifty miles per hour,” a fishing lover says, recalling his experience of catching a big fish using a lure fishing technique.

In recent months, many young Chinese have taken to social media to share their experiences. The topic “lure fishing” has over 140,000 posts on the lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, and videos with the same tag have billions of views on the short video platform Douyin.

Another feature that attracts the young generation is lure fishing’s environmentally-responsible approach. By using green man-made bait, the activity does not bring trouble to the natural environment of the water. Also, the general agreement in the lure fishing community is to “catch and release”, which is to let the little fish go and grow, in order to protect fish.

Moreover, lure fishing is beginner-friendly and requires less equipment compared with traditional fishing. A basic set costs between 500 and 2,000 yuan. But costs can rise significantly if you seek to take a more professional approach.

“Each fishing scene has its fishing rod (竿), and each fishing technique also has its fishing rod,” another lure fishing lover says. He adds he has seven to eight sets of fishing rods, which should come to thousands of yuan in cost.

1. How is lure fishing different from traditional methods?

A．It is a more active way.	B．It uses real small fish as bait.
C．It is a more time-consuming way.	D．It saves fishing lovers’ energy.

2. Which of the following best describes the feeling of the lure fishing lover in paragraph 3?

A．Tired.

B．Relaxed.

C．Surprised.

D．Touched.

3. Why is lure fishing thought as environmentally-friendly?

A．It uses more natural bait.	B．It requires fewer resources.
C．It improves the quality of water.	D．It maintains fish’s living condition.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about lure fishing?

A．Its expenses.

B．Its skills.

C．Its benefits.

D．Its audiences.

10 . One of Twitter’s main characters recently was a man who chose to keep his middle seat between a couple on a flight instead of moving to the side. The situation raised some questions: Who are these middle-seat lovers? What do they want?

Many of the thousands of replies suggested that the majority of the flying public cannot understand why someone would ever choose the middle over a window or an aisle (走廊). But among the majority appeared a few people who endorse middle seats. “In the middle seat I don’t feel I should lean one way or another and generally sit pretty comfortably,” one person wrote. Another added: “I’m not getting hit by someone walking down the aisle or luggage either.”

Kyle Burke, in Florida, said on Twitter that he usually exchanged seats when asked. “I didn’t want to sit between a couple that were upset with me,” he told The Washington Post. At 6-foot-7, Burke, 41, said he didn’t fit well in plane seats, anyway. So, he preferred the middle, which gives him double chance of having a chatty neighbor.

Frederick resident Samantha Jones told The Post by email that she usually chose the middle seat when traveling alone. As a mother of three, “Having personal space is a far-off memory.” she said. “Middle seats have the least amount of responsibility,” she wrote. “I don’t control the window shade and only have to get by one person to get out or to go to the bathroom.”

Despite the few fans, middle seats are still not likely to get much respect. “There’s nothing good in the middle seat,” Scott McCartney, the writer of the journal Middle Seat said. “The position’s infamy (臭名昭著) was part of the reason for the journal’s name.” He added: “People really care about the ‘middle seat’, so they are more likely to pick up this magazine on seeing it.”

1. How does the author start the text?

A．By challenging a common belief.	B．By raising a couple’s questions.
C．By comparing travelers’ preferences.	D．By presenting an unusual seat choice.

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

A．Exchange.

B．Resist.

C．Support.

D．Indicate.

3. Why does Samantha prefer the middle seat?

A．It provides larger space.	B．It reduces unnecessary trouble.
C．It avoids family responsibilities.	D．It offers networking opportunities.

4. Why did Scott choose “Middle Seat” as the name of his journal?

A．To catch readers’ eyes.	B．To voice his own taste.
C．To make people think.	D．To urge airlines to change.