2 . Have you heard of depression (抑郁)? It’s a mental illness. People who have it may feel sad all the time or do something to hurt themselves. Now, doctors can put a “happy switch” in their heads to help them.

Doctors at Shanghai Ruijing hospital helped a patient Wu Xiaotian. Wu, 31, has had depression since he was 15 years old. The doctor did an operation on Wu. They put two long lines of electrodes (电极) inside his brain. The 16 electrodes are used to let out electricity on different parts of the brain, which can change the patient’s feelings. Wu can control the “happy switch” through an app on his phone. When feeling down, Wu turns on the switch and the electrodes start working. He is soon cheered up. “It feels like there is power rising from the inside of my body,” Wu said.

The hospital has tested the switch on 26 patients since 2020. Up to now, it has helped cut down a patient’s sad feelings by 60%, said the hospital.

But is the switch safe enough? Although patients like Wu feel great using it, the operation is actually a dangerous one. And doctors are still working to improve it. Also, doctors have to make sure that patients don’t rely on it. Healthy people shouldn’t use it, or it may be like a kind of drug for them.

1. What really makes the “happy switch” work?

A．The small “box”.

B．Electrodes.

C．Electricity.

D．An App.

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Why people have bad feelings.	B．How the “happy switch” works.
C．How doctors do operations on brains.	D．Who will have the switch on their brains.

3. What do we know about the switch?

A．The switch still needs improving.	B．The switch is a kind of drug.
C．All patients who used it became healthy.	D．It can make all sadness go away.

4. What might the writer agree with?

A．The new operation is safe for humans.

B．Some people may use the switch to sell drugs.

C．Different kinds of people should try the switch.

D．People should also care about the bad points of the switch.

3 . 任务型阅读

After lunch we went out in the playground and ran around. All the boys had a competition to see who could spin around (快速旋转) in circles the longest. Michael Robinson won. Then we all sat down on the grass. That's when Ryan came up with a wonderful idea: we should buy the school. He said we could turn it into a video-game arcade (游乐场) and teach kids how to play video games.

I got all excited, because I like it so much. I started emptying out my pockets. The other boys emptied their pockets too. Then we added up all our money. We had one dollar and thirty-two cents.

“I don’t think it’s enough to buy a school,” said Ryan. We all got very worried.

“Well, how much do we need to buy a school?” I asked.

“I don't know,” said Ryan. “We’d better ask the headmaster, Mr. Klutz.”

We all rushed hopefully inside and asked Mr. Klutz how much it would cost to buy the school. Mr. Klutz asked why. I told him we wanted to turn it into a video-game arcade. “I can’t sell you the school, but if you kids read a million pages in books, you can turn the school into a video-game arcade for one night,” Mr. Klutz said. “Would it be okay if some of the other classes helped us out?” I asked. “Certainly,” Mr. Klutz said. “The more, the better.” We all jumped and shouted and couldn’t wait to start.

1. 根据文本内容从方框中选择恰当的词并用其正确形式填入文本图示中，每词限用一次，有两词为多余选项。

wonderful        excited        worry        hope        suggest        empty        cheer        play allow        page        curious        cost
After lunch, we ________ on the playground and Ryan came up with a (n) ________ idea to buy our school.		I got very ________.
We started to _______ our pockets.		We felt ________ that we didn’t have enough money.
Ryan ________ asking Mr. Klutz.		We rushed inside with ________.
Mr. Klutz ________ us to turn the school into a video-game arcade for one night if we read a million ________ in books.		We all ________.

根据文本内容回答下列问题。
2. What did all the other boys think of Ryan’s idea and why?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why did Mr. Klutz ask the kids to read a million pages in books?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What do you think the boys will do next?
____________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . How to keep your house clean

Pick up items before cleaning

Before you start deep cleaning, do some basic tidying up. Remember the saying, “    1    .” When everything is where it should be, it saves a lot of time.

You don't need fancy products and cleaning equipment

You just need an all-purpose cleaner, a disinfectant (消毒剂) and a window cleaner.     2    . The disinfectant will attack germs (细菌) in places like inside the toilet or the kitchen. And the window cleaner can make sure there are no marks left on the windows.

Basic rules for cleaning

    3    . For example, in your bedroom, clean the lights before removing the sheets on the bed. If not, all the dust may fall onto the mattress (床垫) directly. Besides, make sure to dry clean before you wet clean. If you start straight with your wet cleaner, you'll end up getting all that sticky dirt on your rags (抹布) and having to change rags more often.     4    .

    5    

Try to set a timetable for daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. Daily cleaning might include picking things up, cleaning kitchen and doing those dishes. Weekly cleaning might include cleaning the bathroom, washing sheets and towels. Monthly cleaning might include cleaning both the inside and outside of all your glass windows.

A．Do cleaning regularly

B．That will take you more efforts

C．Remember to go from top to bottom

D．The disinfectant can be harmful to your skin

E．A place for everything and everything in its place

F．Create a list of important housework that needs to be done daily

G．That all-purpose cleaner will work on most places in your home

5 . Have you ever seen people swimming dressed like a mermaid (美人鱼)? You may consider it as a show, a game or just for fun. But mermaid diving is a physical activity in which people compete with each other. Now, it is getting more popular. From September 19 to 20, mermaid divers from around the world got together in Sanya to compete in the 2023 China Mermaid Open Championship Atlantis Station and International Mermaid Contest.

Among them, Xiang Lei is a 29-year-old diver and performer in Sanya. Like everyone else, he found it hard to swim in a beautiful way when he first tried on the mermaid tail. “Mermaid diving needs good-looking moves,” he said. It was quite difficult for him to make the moves with his legs tied together. “Although it is not comfortable, you have to keep your face relaxed at the same time,” he said.

Mermaid diving is usually done without glasses and air canisters (气瓶). Divers need strong endurance (耐力), which is the most important. In this way, they can stay in water long enough. However, people can train themselves through running and swimming. Anyone in good health can learn to be a mermaid.

Xiang believes that mermaid diving shows unlimited beauty. “Many people think it’s a girls’ activity. But what truly moved me the first time I watched a mermaid diving contest was that there were mermen!” he said. “The beauty of mermaid diving means a lot. It can also be happy and fit for men.”

1. What is mermaid diving?

A．A show.

B．A meeting.

C．A sport.

D．A performance.

2. What was the difficulty when Xiang Lei first tried mermaid diving?

A．He couldn’t swim at all.	B．His face was not good-looking.
C．Mermaid diving hurt his eyes and nose.	D．It was hard to swim well with his legs as a tail.

3. What is the most important for mermaid diving?

A．Having strong endurance.	B．Being young.
C．Owning glasses and air canisters.	D．Living near the sea.

4. What does the underlined word “mermen” in the passage refer to?

A．Beautiful mermaid divers.	B．Girls who like diving.
C．The first mermaid divers in the world.	D．Men who are mermaid divers.

6 . I published my newest novel, Haven Lake, in May, and I have another book ready for publication in October. I have experienced more success as a writer than I ever imagined. So why is writing every new book harder than the one before? And how do I keep going despite my fears?

When I published my first book, I had become used to failure. I wrote many unpublished novels for over 20 years before selling the first. Now I'm here. My books have all sold out their advance (预订). The reviews have been largely positive. At the same time, I am still troubled by doubt.

I'm not alone in that. At a lecture I attended recently by Wally Lamb, he talked about how difficult it was to write the next novel after his novel, She's Come Undone, was brought into spotlight. Elizabeth Gilbert received over nine million views for her TED talk, where she admitted that she was afraid to write after the success of her book, Eat, Pray, Love. I don't have as many readers to disappoint as Lamb and Gilbert have, of course, but I worry about disappointing them all the same.

So I am afraid every day I write. I fear writing a book that isn’t interesting to readers. The only thing that keeps me going is this: I write because writing is the thing I love to do. My passion to tell stories makes me create characters. That‘s when I know the writing is true and good, whether readers find the book and love it or not.

1. What feeling does the author mainly express in Paragraph 1?

A．Thankfulness.

B．Interest.

C．Stress.

D．Impatience.

2. What can we learn about the author’s books?

A．They have been as successful as imagined.	B．They were difficult to sell out their advance.
C．Most of them have received negative reviews.	D．Many of them were not able to be published.

3. What is the author’s main worry about writing?

A．Creating popular characters.	B．Disappointing the readers.
C．Finding proper publishers.	D．Failing to get success.

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

A．Writing forward.	B．Writing for publication.
C．What makes a good writer.	D．What to think when writing.

7 . In our daily lives, we often have to interact with people who have different personalities, opinions, and backgrounds. This is especially true at school, where we spend most of our time with our classmates.     1     Here are three tips that can help improve these relationships.

Practice active listening.     2     When classmates feel heard, they are more likely to go on with open, honest conversations and seek positive approaches to problems.

Show empathy (共情).    3     By placing yourself in your classmates’ shoes, you can better understand their opinions, which results in more effective communication and a more supportive learning environment.

    4     Offering help and support to classmates when needed can make others feel valued. Whether it’s studying together, working together on projects, or providing emotional support, sharing a common goal can strengthen your relationships.

In short, developing positive relationships with your classmates is a continuous process that requires active listening, empathy, and cooperation     5    

A．Lend a hand to classmates.

B．Be open-minded to classmates.

C．How to build relationships with classmates matters for us.

D．Being aware of others’ feelings can help in building strong relationships.

E．It is important to appreciate the different talents of your classmates.

F．Giving your full attention to other’s talk is important in developing a sense of respect.

G．By adopting the qualities, you will enrich your learning experience in a nice environment.

8 . Thinking on the Other Side of Zero Part 2

Alan Joseph Oliver

Hardback | Paperback | E-book

$40.99 | $20.99 | $4.99

From the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali he learned and how it works in theory and practice, Alan Joseph Oliver relates the Yoga theory to his limited understanding of quantum mechanics. He believes he has settled David Bohm’s concept of Wholeness and the Implicate Order, which physics may or may not accept.

The Adventures of a Train Trekker

Adriana Carboni

Hardback | Paperback | E-book

$35.99 | $16.99 | $4.99

This book tells of the excitement and adventure of long-distance train travel as Adriana shares her experiences travelling through the ancient continent of Australia.

Footloose!

Kosti Simons

Paperback | E-book

$28.99 | $4.99

This memoir (回忆录) is about a barefoot pilgrim’s (朝圣者的) 111-day adventure including both the body and the mind as he takes you on a deeply felt and inspiring walk with God.

www.kostisimons.com
Bonnie The Bandicoot

Peter Alway

Hardback |Paperback | E-book

$ 23.99 | $15.99 | $7.99

Bonnie The Bandicoot decides to move into Steve’s home while hers dries out. The only problem is that Steve owns a dog. Will they learn to co-exist living in Steve’s home?

1. Who writes a book related to physics?

A．Alan Joseph Oliver.	B．Adriana Carboni.
C．Kosti Simons.	D．Peter Alway.

2. Which book is about the relationship between humans and animals?

A．Footloose!

B．Bonnie The Bandicoot

C．The Adventures of a Train Trekker

D．Thinking on the Other Side of Zero Part 2

3. How much will you pay for a paperback book on travel and an. e-book on religion （宗教）?

A．$28.98.

B．$24.98.

C．$21.98.

D．$20.98

10 . On Wednesday morning-less than six hours before Hurricane(飓风) Ian made landfall-Kevin Ott and one of his sons went to Fort Myers Beach to check out conditions. Water started rushing in, two to three inches in a minute, forcing a retreat(撤退) to Ott’s home in San Carlos Park, about five miles east of Fort Myers Beach. On the way, he called his children’s maternal grandmother(外祖母) , Mary Ann Dineen, and asked if she wanted him to come and help her.

No, Dineen told him. She had “everything she needed to ride this thing out.” Things were fine at her place. She was having breakfast as usual. They hung up. A little while later, Ott decided to drive five miles south to his boat shop. After they got there, Dineen started calling. “Things are getting bad. I think you need to come down here,” she told him.

Ott got into his car with three of his kids and started driving to Dineen’s house. Before leaving, he fixed a boat to the back of his car. He took the boat toward Dineen’s place and got as close as he could. They’d have to go the final 1.5 miles by boat.

They met a man in a broken-down boat on the way. He had been trying to rescue(营救) his neighbors when his boat gave out, he told Ott. Together, they found his neighbors, one of whom was an old man “just about on his last breath.” They kept going and met many people in need of help. Ott was about to tell a couple that he couldn’t take them, but as he looked closer, he saw the mother was holding a baby wearing a life jacket. “I’m like, ‘We cannot leave these people,’” said Ott.

Ott finally got to Dineen’s and rescued her. They went back and reached Ott’s car. One of his sons dropped everyone off at a hotel.

1. What did Ott do before Ian arrived?

A．He talked with his friends in his boat shop.

B．He played with his children in San Carlos Park.

C．He helped his children’s grandmother move house.

D．He went to Fort Myers Beach to keep watch on the situation.

2. Why did Dineen call Ott?

A．To ask him for help.	B．To invite him for breakfast.
C．To express her thanks to him.	D．To give him some safety advice.

3. How did Ott help the man in the broken-down boat?

A．He repaired his boat.	B．He rescued his neighbors.
C．He sent his wife and baby home.	D．He provided him with medical treatment.

4. Which of the following best describes Ott?

A．Quiet and shy.	B．Proud and confident.
C．Brave and warm-hearted.	D．Humorous and forward-looking.