1 . There are reasonable dependencies that are healthy for an individual’s development. However, other dependencies bring unhappiness.
Depending on other people’s opinions means letting your behavior, likes and desires be determined by the approval of those that surround you.
Few are able to tell apart their own tastes and style from the current fashion trends. Now, we’re not only talking about clothing or accessories here but about general preferences and even philosophies. That desire to hop on a train and be part of the majority sometimes leads to dependency. Some become truly concerned about not being “in style”.
When the individual begins associating their personal value with the amount of money they have, it becomes a problem. Relying on money sometimes means believing that happiness equals consumption.
| A．It is associated with a deep dependency. |
| B．Having money is vital to everyone’s life. |
| C．These don’t contribute to your well-being. |
| D．Therefore, their own sense of identity is lost. |
| E．Some people take this too seriously to the point of addiction. |
| F．Supposing that your value depends on your wealth is the key to unhappiness. |
| G．You don’t really focus on believing yourself but getting acceptance from others. |
2 . 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 |
| 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 |
| A．hindered economic development | B．brought prosperity to the country |
| C．harmed fair market competition | D．boosted growth in states revenue |
| 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 . Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated (位于) in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have got at least 40 credits (学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1. What can students do on the upper floor of the library?| A．Chat at the table. | B．Have group discussion. |
| C．Relax themselves. | D．Read attentively. |
| A．The application form. | B．The marked library map. |
| C．An active school account. | D．The topic of the discussion. |
| A．By booking in advance. | B．By attending enough courses. |
| C．By paying the rental fee. | D．By earning the required credits. |
4 . A boy who has been climbing the equivalent (等量) of Mount Qomolangma in aid of a children’s hospice (救济院) is about to reach his fundraising goal of £29,031. Six-year-old Oscar, from Lancaster, has climbed 10 of the UK’s highest mountains to help Chorley’s Derian House. He said he needed two more to match Mount Qomolangma’s 29,031 feet height.
Oscar started his challenge on October 9, 2022, and Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales was the first mountain to be chosen. He said that the hardest climb so far had been Cairn Gorm in the Scottish Highlands because the snow was so deep.
Oscar took on the challenge in the hope of raising enough money to send 29 children with life-limiting illnesses on holiday. “I wanted to be the youngest person to climb Mount Qomolangma and I have climbed 10 out of 12 mountains. When I get older, I want to climb the real Mount Qomolangma,” Oscar said.
“It was amazing what a child’s dream can achieve. We’re speechless and couldn’t be prouder. We were grateful to everyone that supported us along Oscar’s journey,” Oscar’s father Matt wrote on the social media.
Oscar and his family hoped to make their final climb on Ben Nevis in Scotland on May 29, 2023. The climb would mark not only the completion of Oscar’s challenge, but also the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent (攀登) of Mount Qomolangma by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
“For every foot he climbed, our children would get a pound to achieve their dreams. The total £29,031 raised by Oscar would help support the work of the hospice, which provides end-of-life care to more than 400 children across the northwest of England,” said Karen Edwards, a senior official of Derian House.
“The six-year-old was an unbelievable little boy who had truly gone to great heights. How many six-year-olds could say that they have climbed the height of Mount Qomolangma?” Karen added.
1. What has happened to Oscar according to the text?| A．He has achieved his aim of fundraising. |
| B．He has climbed 10 mountains in the UK. |
| C．He has climbed every mountain in the UK. |
| D．He has completed the height of Mount Qomolangma. |
| A．Ingleborough. | B．Ben Nevis. | C．Mount Qomolangma. | D．Cairn Gorm. |
| A．He grew up in a low-income family. |
| B．He raised one pound for every foot he climbed. |
| C．He hesitated to climb the real Mount Qomolangma. |
| D．He challenged Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Confused. | C．Disappointed. | D．Relieved. |
5 . Certain brands and products can be easily recognized at a glance by people worldwide.
Most business owners who are just starting to understand how vital advertising is to their growth. Putting in the time and money to market your company can help it grow over time.
| A．Is advertising necessary? |
| B．After all, shouldn’t their global success speak for itself? |
| C．This same principle holds true for older successful brands. |
| D．Therefore, television advertising gives companies access to more people. |
| E．Another major question companies must find the answer to is how to advertise. |
| F．The money invested in these advertisements could be used for more worthwhile businesses. |
| G．Almost everyone is familiar with the red labeling of Coca-Cola or the symbolic flower logo of Huawei. |
6 . Walking has been considered as one kind of rewarding exercise. For many people, daily walking offers massive and long-term physical and mental benefits.
But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. Just by going outside, you are stepping out of your habitual surroundings and your comfort zone, which is necessary if you want to open your mind to new possibilities. You can walk through a tree-filled neighborhood.
Walking outside develops our ability to collect new ideas and take in new sights, sounds, smells, and flavors. Shinrin-yoku, a common form of relaxation in Japan, suggests that being in the forest and walking among the trees there can lower your stress levels.
So instead of setting a fitness goal, why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking outdoors?
Walk not just for exercise. Walk for wonder.
| A．Unfortunately, you often fail to do it. |
| B．Expose yourself more to your surroundings. |
| C．The movement during walking is obviously key. |
| D．Without enough energy, you cannot wonder or create. |
| E．But to receive the benefits, you do not have to live in a forest. |
| F．This habit, however, not only benefits well-being but also contributes to innovation. |
| G．Wandering around a park and observing people relaxing or birds singing is also a choice. |
7 . 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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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” |
| 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. |
| A．In the textbook. | B．In a local newspaper. |
| C．In a published essay. | D．In a science journal. |
9 . Automation has pioneered innovation, your phone is probably in your pocket or your hands at all times, and it’s easier now, more than ever, to communicate with anyone in the world. Technology is everywhere these days. What are your thoughts on technology, social media, or your phone? Do you feel excited every time you get a message, or do you feel trapped by these digital chains?
However you feel, we want you to represent technology in artwork — paintings, college (剪贴), digital art, photography, etc. You may even see your art work in future issues of our magazine, so keep your eyes wide open!
Deadline: June 21, 2024.
Rules:
·You must be a teen (aged 13 — 19) with our website account to enter.
·No inappropriate content.
·Submissions must focus on the topic: Technology.
Guidelines and Details:
·Your entry must be art work created by yourself for the first time.
·There is no limitation on the number of art work you can submit.
How to Submit:
·Submit entries through our website. All entries submitted to us are automatically considered for the contest. See our submission guidelines for more information.
·Submit your work to the appropriate art category. Include “technology” in your submission’s labels. You can do this by using the “additional labels” field in your submission form.
Prizes:
·The winner and the nominees (被提名者) will have their entries published in our magazine.
·The overall winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and also three months’ free access to our magazine.
1. What subject should the entry be related to?| A．Collage. | B．Photography. | C．Technology. | D．Communication. |
| A．A contestant is 16 years old. | B．An entry is submitted by post on June 25. |
| C．An entry is created by only one person. | D．A contestant submits as many as 20 entries. |
| A．A $25 gift card. | B．Free magazine subscriptions. |
| C．A label named after them. | D．Having their entries published. |
10 . Staying motivated is key to achieving personal and professional success. However, it’s common to experience waves in motivation levels. To overcome these challenges and maintain a high level of motivation, we’ve compiled practical tips that can help you stay on track and achieve your goals.
＊Set clear and specific goals. Having clear and specific goals is essential for keeping motivated. Define what you want to achieve and break it down into smaller tasks. This way, you’ll have a clear road map.
＊Stay inspired with role models. The people you spend time with greatly affect your mindset. Get yourself close to individuals who are supportive, positive, and motivated themselves.
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＊Break tasks into manageable parts.
＊Celebrate milestones and progress. Acknowledging your achievements, no matter how small, is key to staying motivated. Celebrate milestones and progress along the way.
Staying motivated requires intentional effort and self-reflection. With the right strategies, you can overcome obstacles and maintain your drive towards success.
| A．Find your why |
| B．Pay attention to people around you |
| C．Their energy and encouragement can inspire you |
| D．Overloaded tasks can quickly beat your motivation |
| E．It could be treating yourself to something you enjoy |
| F．Imagine the positive emotions and sense of accomplishment |
| G．It can fuel your motivation as you achieve each milestone |
