1 . Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake, because you can control yourself.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a person who likes to keep secrets. You worry a lot and you’re always easily becoming sad. You’re very stubborn, but you aren’t very ambitious. You are satisfied with your life the way it is. You usually live for today not for tomorrow.
If you sleep curled up(卷曲), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You don’t usually like meeting people.
| A．You prefer to be on your own. |
| B．You seldom express your real feelings. |
| C．This means you enjoy having a good time. |
| D．Changing position will cause sleeping problems. |
| E．If you sleep on your side, you have good control of your behavior. |
| F．But when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. |
| G．If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. |
2 . As winter arrives, the problem of fogged-up car windscreens (挡风玻璃) becomes more pressing for drivers. Anti-misting sprays are one way to deal with such fogging. But they need frequent reapplication. Another approach is to fix a set of electrically powered heating wires. But because of the visual distraction (干扰) created, that doesn’t work for a car’s front windscreen.
Iran Hachler and Dimos of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have, however, come up with another way of warming something up to stop fog forming. Their new material is a coating ten nanometer (纳米) thick. It is flexible, easily made, and can be applied as a coating to glass or plastic, or inset inside such materials. Its demisting system is powered by sunlight.
In effect, it is a gold sandwich. The “bread” of this sandwich is a pair of layers (层), top and bottom, of a chemical material. The filling is a four-nanometre deep golden material. The whole structure lets visible light pass unlimited, while absorbing invisible lights and transforming them into heat. It is the filling that warms the glass. Gold acts as a medium in the heating process. The network will now absorb heat if left in the sunshine.
Glass coated with Mr Hachler’s and Dr Dimos’s invention is, they claim, four times more effective at preventing fog than an uncounted surface. It absorbs around 30% of solar radiation incident upon it, which, on a sunny day, increases the temperature of what it is applied to by around 8℃ On a cloudy day, that temperature rise is closer to 3-4℃. But in either case the enhancement is enough both to remove any fog that has formed and to prevent new fog forming.
The next step, Mr Hachler says, is to find the product’s best market. Even though gold is used, the cost of adding this extra one is low. For the two inventors, though, the idea might prove a gold mine.
1. What is the disadvantage of anti-misting sprays?| A．They lack lasting effect. | B．They damage the windscreens. |
| C．They need constantly powering. | D．They distract the drivers’ attention. |
| A．It is easy to set. | B．It looks like a coat. |
| C．It is made of plastic. | D．It is naturally powered. |
| A．It is unable to work at nights. | B．It can protect the cars’ surface. |
| C．It is more effective on sunny days. | D．It can lower the temperature to 3-4℃. |
| A．It has hit the market. | B．It may be of high profit. |
| C．It needs further improvement. | D．It cost the inventors a gold mine. |
3 . One late winter day in Manchester, UK, as I step inside the University of Salford’s latest research building, the cold 3°C air bites immediately. In fact, it’s a giant climate-controlled room, designed to test how homes built today will deal with the wilder weather climate change could bring.
Inside the £16-million room, researchers can create any weather they want with the touch of a button, from -20℃ cold to 40℃ heatwaves, alongside strong winds, snow and ice. “Anywhere people live, we can recreate those conditions,” says Fitton, who leads the Energy House 2.0 project for the university.
Inside the building are two new-build homes, complete with brickwork and pot plants. Both are equipped with cutting-edge green technology, like electric vehicle charging points, and will act as test beds to build greener homes in the UK. In 2025, the Future Homes Standard(FHS)will require all new homes to be built without gas central heating and with other green measures. Homes built to the FHS must deliver a 75% to 80% reduction in carbon emissions compared with homes built today.
That is why Bellway, partnering with the project, has built the rooms inside the Energy House 2.0. Yet clearly this is no ordinary new-build. For one thing, packed inside are three different heating systems: two air source heat pumps, plus panel heaters dotted around the walls and ceilings. There’s also a solar power input, a battery and a smart hot water tank that heats water using solar generation.
Over the coming months, Bellway will test different combinations of these technologies to find the most cost-effective way of meeting the FHS regulations.
Financially, things are promising. Based on energy-performance calculations, Bellway says its Future Home could have energy bills of just £11 a year.
Energy House 2.0 will let researchers see how houses perform in the UK’s future climate. “We can cycle through the climate change predictions 50 years into the future and see if we have any problems.” says Fitton.
1. What’s the aim of building the climate-controlled room?| A．To help homes resist climate change. |
| B．To examine the quality of today’s homes. |
| C．To explore the most suitable homes for humans. |
| D．To find a way for homes to handle climate change. |
| A．There will be no heating system. |
| B．They will be controlled by a button. |
| C．They will be more environmentally-friendly. |
| D．There will be green plants to absorb carbon. |
| A．It will be tested continuously. | B．It will change the future climate. |
| C．It will make future houses recycled. | D．It will cause environmental problems. |
| A．Energy-Saving House Leads the Future |
| B．Climate Change Affects Home Designs |
| C．Research into Homes for Future Climate |
| D．The Leading Place of the UK in Home Designs |
4 . In 2017, an earthy bicycle repairer appeared on the stage of the TV show Chinese Poetry Congress.
Wang Haijun, 65 in 2017, was born in Inner Mongolia, and he loved reading since he was little. However, when he was in the fourth grade, Wang had to drop out of school because his father wanted him to herd sheep to make a little bit extra.
From then on, Wang only reads after a day’s work. Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Three Hundred Tang Poems were his favorite books. “There weren’t any bookstores around, so I borrowed them from others. I read them so much that the pages began to tear off.” Later, Wang and his wife moved to Shijiazhuang where he set up a stall and repair bicycles for more family income.
The job is not busy, so Wang has time to read. Once, he heard in a radio program that a disabled girl wrote some excellent poems. Encouraged by the story, Wang began to write his own poems on the back of the package paper of the tires with a pencil. At night, he wrote with a torch in the dark. He even got a small blackboard from the recyclers and put poems on it. He hung the chalkboard in his stall and asked the passers-by to help him improve his poems. If anybody’s advice was adopted, he would buy him or her a bottle of beer.
In 2017, when Wang was invited to Chinese Poetry Congress, he thought “it was a fraud”, because he never imagined that people would appreciate the poems written by a bicycle repairer. “But it turned out to be a great experience reading my poems on the stage.” he said.
After the show, many people came to his stall to discuss poetry with him. “It feels like a dream come true. Poetry belongs to everyone. Even a bicycle repairer like me can still dream about such a poetic life.”
1. What inspired Wang to write poems?| A．ATV show. | B．Poetry books. |
| C．His family. | D．A radio story. |
| A．Memory. | B．Trick. | C．Reward. | D．Trouble. |
| A．Creative and helpful. | B．Energetic and generous. |
| C．Optimistic and determined. | D．Ambitious and concerned. |
| A．It’s never too late to learn. | B．A good book is a good friend. |
| C．A good beginning is half done. | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
When the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green was founded in 1872, it was East London’s first public museum. Today, we are transforming this beloved building into a new national museum of design and creativity dedicated entirely to children.
Relaunching later this year as Young V&A, the museum will be a place to imagine, play, create, debate and design. Young V&A will help children to develop abilities such as creative thinking, problem-saving ad collaboration through imaginative, hands-on gallery displays and creative programing for schools, families and community groups.
How you can helpIn a climate of growing inequality and reduced funding for the arts, it is vital that wed support young people’s creative development. We rely on your generous donations and are so grateful for your support. Whether you can give £25 or £25,000, all donations will help to complete this project.
£25 could buy books for the new Reading Room.
£75 could buy sensory materials to help bring the collection to life for young visitors.
£150 could conserve and display an inspirational object in the permanent galleries.
£5000 could help furnish the new creative studios in the Learning Centre.
Ways to give•To pay by credit card, use the QR code, visit www.vam.ac.uk/appeal, or call 02079422905 to speak to a member of the Development team.
•Return a completed donation form or post a cheque directly to the museum or hand it in at the V&A Membership Desk or the Members’ Room.
•To find out about donating by bank transfer, making a regular monthly donation, or to make a larger gift, please email the Development team at appeals@vam.ac.uk.
1. Who are the most likely to visit Young V&A?| A．Art lovers. | B．Children. | C．Teachers. | D．Seniors. |
| A．Buy some materials. | B．Conserve the galleries. |
| C．Exhibit an excellent object. | D．Collect an inspirational object. |
| A．Scan the QR code. | B．Fill a donation form. |
| C．Email the Development team. | D．Send a cheque to the museum. |
6 . In October 2023, 3-year-old Journey Castillo completed a quest to visit all 63 of America’s national parks. Her parents, Eric and Valerie Castillo, said she is likely the youngest person to reach that milestone.
The family, from San Antonio, Texas, ended their travels with a trip to Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. “Mission complete,” they wrote on Instagram. “After three years of adventure, countless logistics work and not giving up, we could not be more proud to share the conclusion of our quest.” Journey hasn’t been officially verified as the youngest traveler to visit all 63 parks. But more important than the title, her parents say, is the experience.
“Our thing was: ‘Let’s… inspire in Journey a passion for nature, inspire in her that she can handle the strenuous parts of the traveling: the environments, the weather changes, different cultures.” Valerie Castillo told The Guardian’s Ramon Antonio Vargas.
Before she could walk, Journey Castillo’s parents set out to visit every national park in the U.S. They hiked up Pikes Peak and explored Rocky Mountain National Park, all with an infant in tow. As far as they could tell, Journey seemed to enjoy herself.
“We could see her little eyes open and take it all in,” Valerie Castillo told the San Antonio Express-News last year. “She was so aware, even being a few days old. She’s adapted so well.”
They then ventured to Grand Canyon National Park — and decided to keep going. They set a goal of visiting 21 parks by Journey’s first birthday, then 42 parks by her second birthday. Eventually, they decided to go for all 63 parks. The family has been documenting every step of the way on Instagram and their website, Journey Go Explore.
Reaching the last few parks on their list — all in Alaska — required lots of logistical management, including renting flights, ferry rides, and even special permission from the National Park Service to visit a seasonally closed park. Though their visit was challenging at times, the Castillos say it helped their daughter develop confidence. Journey walks fearlessly through airports and happily greets park rangers. “When she’s out at these parks, she comes to life, and her personality brightens up,” Eric Castillo said.
1. Why did Journey Castillo’s parents take her to visit all America’s national parks?| A．To inspire others to be more active. |
| B．To document their travels on Instagram. |
| C．To inspire a passion for nature in Journey. |
| D．To break a record as the youngest traveler. |
| A．identical | B．appealing | C．mild | D．challenging |
| A．She was uninterested in the surroundings. |
| B．She adapted well and seemed to enjoy herself. |
| C．She preferred staying indoors with her parents. |
| D．She only enjoyed specific environments and attractions. |
| A．Shy and introverted. | B．Reliable and anxious. |
| C．Fearful and splendid. | D．Enthusiastic and confident. |
7 . Forgiveness is often defined as a deliberate decision to let go of feelings of anger toward someone who you believe has wronged you.
Understand your emotions. Becoming aware of the emotions you are experiencing is an important part of learning to forgive yourself.
Treat yourself with kindness and compassion (同情). The key to self-forgiveness lies in treating yourself with the same kindness that you would show to another person.
Express regret for your mistakes. As a result of taking responsibility, you may experience a range of negative feelings, including guilt and shame.
| A．Accept responsibility for your actions |
| B．Make an effort to do better in the future |
| C．You should try to avoid being self-critical |
| D．It’s completely normal to have such feelings |
| E．A little self-forgiveness also goes a long way |
| F．Research has found that identifying your emotion helps reduce its strength |
| G．However, while you may be quite generous to forgive others, you may be much harder on yourself |
8 . Lonely Planet’s best in travel destinations for 2024 revealed
To mark its 50th anniversary, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2024 has expanded from the top 10 best cities, countries, and regions to include two new categories of best value and best sustainable destinations, recognising a total of 50 locations across the globe offering amazing experiences to enjoy in 2024.
Spain tops the sustainable travel list, having taken enormous strides to boost off-season travel, expand renewable energy, spread visitors across the year, and bring tourism to previously overlooked destinations.
Wales too has been recognised as one of those leading the way in sustainability, thanks to its rebuilt railways expanding the possibilities of exploring the nation’s wild, wonderful west.
And bouncing back strongly from the 2020 bushfires is Kangaroo Island, which remains one of South Australia’s great ecotourism destinations.
Slow Travel, a favourite topic with Lonely Planet readers, is celebrated by highlighting the Portuguese Way hiking trail and the continued rise of night trains in Europe.
Meanwhile the popular sun-kissed country of Croatia is now easier to explore with the opening of the Peljesac Bridge shining a spotlight on the previously overlooked Peljesac Peninsula and a new highway means it’s now possible to travel directly between Split and Dubrovnik.
Algeria, the USA’s Midwest, Greek island of Ikaria and Normandy are just a few of those great value and often overlooked destinations, ideal for the cost-conscious traveller.
For those seeking to enjoy the great outdoors, the new Western Balkans’ Cycle Route is set to open in 2024 and Far North Scotland is bidding for UNESCO status for its unsung boggy area and a coastline of heartbreaking beauty.
1. Lonely Planet’s has expanded Best in Travel 2024 mainly to ________.| A．Response to negative comments on previous lists. |
| B．Fill diversity in Travel Preferences. |
| C．Mark its 50th anniversary. |
| D．Respond to a decline in travel interest. |
| A．Opening of the Peljesac Bridge. | B．Expansion of renewable energy. |
| C．Repair and rebuilding of railways. | D．Building a new highway in Ikaria. |
| A．North Scotland. | B．Croatia. | C．Greek. | D．Western Balkans. |
9 . The two Greek words — “philo”, which means love and “Sophia”, which means wisdom, are the beginnings of the word we use today: Philosophy, the love of wisdom.
Most people have a philosophy on life. Everybody has an idea of what is right and what is wrong, and why things are the way they are, and who they are and who to trust. A lot of people believe somebody else’s philosophy. That person may be a religious or political leader, or anybody you look up to. Some people have their own philosophy on life which might be a mixture of theories. Others are philosophers: people who want to know the truth about life for themselves and spend their time studying, thinking and asking questions.
Today philosophers are still encouraging people to think. Schools in some countries teach philosophy to children. Reading books written by old philosophers can be difficult because the language is from the past. So stories are used to help schoolchildren make their own decisions about what is right and wrong and think about the best way to solve problems.
Why do we need philosophy? There are plenty of people who think that killing animals is cruel, but eating animals is fine. If you are one of these people, you should ask yourself why. Why is killing animals cruel? Why is it okay to eat animals? You might find that the answer to each question is very different and you could have an argument by yourself using your own ideas! Go on and argue — you will understand more about what you believe. You will begin to understand the subject more deeply. And this helps you to feel comfortable with it. And you might change something or you might not. When we ask ourselves questions, we start to understand ourselves and our lives, and it’s up to us to make changes or not. If the ideas in your head agree, this means you have integrity. What you say and what you do are the same. Everyone respects someone who has integrity!
By thinking and questioning, we can understand more and maybe prevent problems caused by misunderstanding. But philosophy can also cause problems and conflict when people don’t agree. When one group of people choose one philosophy to believe and another group of people choose a different philosophy, when they need to think or make a decision together, they start trying to change each other instead of working together on bigger ideas about life.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The main conflicts among philosophers. |
| B．The application of philosophical beliefs. |
| C．The definition and function of philosophy. |
| D．The pros and cons of philosophical discussions. |
| A．Honesty. | B．Connection. | C．Belief. | D．Unity. |
| A．To prove our own ideas. |
| B．To bring about disagreements. |
| C．To reduce cruel deeds in the world. |
| D．To inspire thinking and seek answers. |
| A．Misunderstanding helps prevent problems. |
| B．Different choices make different philosophy. |
| C．Philosophy can be both positive and negative. |
| D．Conflicts and disagreement result from philosophy. |
10 . New Year’s resolutions have a bad reputation, at least in part, because people tend to grade themselves pass or fail when, in reality, they’ve made key improvements in various areas of their lives by mostly sticking to a resolution, experts say.
Make a detailed plan for achieving your goal.
Choose a goal you’ll enjoy. You’re more likely to succeed if you pick something you like to door if you can find a way to make it more fun. Research shows that people have more success achieving goals if they use a method known as “temptation bundling.”
Forgive failures. Don’t define success as pass or fail.
| A．Set your New Year’s resolutions at the right time. |
| B．Give your New Year’s resolution a cheerful start. |
| C．A survey showed that about 4 in 10 made New Year’s resolutions. |
| D．Other holidays, birthdays and even Mondays can be fresh starts. |
| E．This includes thinking through ways to get over potential difficulties. |
| F．Celebrate small successes even if you don’t achieve 100-percent success. |
| G．If your goal is to get more exercise, do it with your favorite music on. |
