1 . International Day of Education

24 January

Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed (宣布) 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. Today, 250 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are illiterate (文盲的). Their right to education is being violated (侵犯) and it is unacceptable. It’s time to transform education.

International Day of Clean Energy

26 January

The International Day of Clean Energy on 26 January was declared by the General Assembly as a call to raise awareness and mobilize action for a just and inclusive transition (过渡) to clean energy for the benefit of people and the planet. 26 January is also the founding date of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a global intergovernmental agency established in 2009 to support countries in their energy transitions.

World Health Day

7 April

It is celebrated annually and each year draws attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The date of 7 April marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.

The theme for World Health Day 2024 is “My health, my right”, which was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services, education and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions.

World Environment Day

5 June

World Environment Day, held annually on 5 June, brings together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth. People from more than 150 countries participate in this United Nations international day, which celebrates environmental action and the power of governments, businesses and individuals to create a more sustainable world. The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its start in 1973.

1. On what day is the event about world energy marked?

A．24 January.

B．26 January.

C．7 April.

D．5 June.

2. Which of the following event began in 1973?

A．International Day of Education.

B．International Day of Clean Energy.

C．World Health Day.

D．World Environment Day.

3. What do the four events have in common?

A．They have a common goal.	B．They have a long history.
C．They’re international events.	D．They benefit world environment.

2 . Accents in English

Accents are fascinating and usually come with kinds of information.     1    . So many people, especially actors, are interested in learning accents.

Thanks to the development of technology, various handy accesses are available for people to share and pick up accents. English actor and accent coach Sarah Valentine is an expert in teaching the tones which can change the English language.     2    .

Valentine has been working in TV since the 1990s. She appears to have found success coaching other actors to speak in a variety of dialects.     3    , TikTok is a medium to educate the masses. Valentine’s TikTok takes simple phrases, such as “I’m hungry” or “the milk smells funny”. Valentine then repeats these simple words in accents including German, Dutch, and New York. She also highlights the rich variety of dialects within the UK, including Yorkshire, Scouse, Cockney, Geordie, Welsh, and Northern Irish.

“    4    ,” James Lantolf, a professor at Penn State, said. “Isolated (偏僻的) areas, such as New Orleans, develop different dialects. Since there is no contact between regions, entire words and languages can grow and develop independently. Social standing and education also affect the language of an individual person.” It is thought that accents have psycho-social purposes, allowing individuals to identify oneself and others as part of a group.

Everyone has an accent. A dialect coach like Valentine can help one learn to speak differently, for an acting job or for fun.     5    . Learning a second language as an adult is difficult; for much the same reason, it’s tricky to change your accent. With that in mind, watching Valentine change accents at the drop of a hat is all the more impressive.

A．In fact, all accents are worthy of pride

B．One’s birthplace can affect his accent

C．However, not all accents are worth learning

D．While much work with actors is done in one-on-one coaching

E．They can signal one’s living places, education and personality

F．On TikTok, she gives examples of simple phrases repeated in over 20 accents

G．A region’s location has a direct influence on the development of a local language

3 . When you have many tasks to accomplish on a given day, there are a few different approaches you can take to kick-start your productivity. You can “eat the frog”, that is, you can get your hardest, most demanding responsibility out of the way before anything else.     1     Here’s why that might be a better fit for you.

When you eat the frog and take on a difficult task right away, you are supposed to focus on it absorbedly and get it all done. The problem with that is the smaller, boring responsibilities are stuck in your head.     2     Knocking those out first could clear the path you need to really get into deep work when it’s time to do something more challenging or time-consuming.

In general, the task you’re scared or procrastinating (拖延的) on the most is probably the one that’s going to take the most effort.     3     I’m great at focusing on big projects and terrible at doing the little tasks. I can sit down to write a long essay, but sometimes will put off a one-pager for weeks, only to realize it took me all of 15 minutes to complete. The key to selecting a small task to do first every day is identifying one you know will be easy, but will result in some kind of reward feeling in your brain. Whether it’s easy or not doesn’t matter as long as you’ll feel good when it’s over.     4    

    5     Use a system like the Eisenhower matrix or Kanban to figure out what you actually need to do, then select something from that category that you’ll be able to get done quickly and efficiently, get it out of the way, and bask in the accomplishment as you move forward with your day and its more difficult demands.

A．But that doesn’t always have to be true.

B．On the other hand, you could pick out something especially easy first.

C．This always makes it seem like other big tasks you need to handle are simple.

D．That feeling of accomplishment can be large and can end your day with an easy win.

E．You may not be able to focus if you’re preoccupied with a bunch of other little things.

F．And picking something you don’t exactly want to do is an easy way to make sure that happens.

G．Beyond that, you should make a habit of sorting your responsibilities by timeliness and importance.

4 . An overall transformation is needed for the planet to adapt people’s pursuit of well-being. A new study by an international team of researchers explores a Theory of Planetary Social Pedagogy as a driver of a transformative process based on a learning society.

The Theory of Planetary Social Pedagogy is a way of learning applicable to all societal sectors. According to it, people, societies and the world are an interlinked, systemic body. Such a worldview can make life meaningful, increase people’s experiences of belonging and inclusion, expand the scope of care, and help people identify their opportunities to influence.

In a time marked by crises, learning to be one with the world is increasingly essential. In many ways, our everyday lives are linked with all other life on Earth. According to Professor Arto O. Salonen of the University of Eastern Finland, the study’s lead author, the most important reason behind the upgrading (升级) planetary crises is people’s being separated from their surrounding reality.

He says, “As we try for a comprehensive sustainability transition (转变), we need increasingly powerful and more systemic interpretations of reality. ” The current strategy for a sustainable future emphasizes economic and technological progress，but that is not enough. Learning is needed, too. A learning society relies on changes in its citizens’ values, beliefs and worldviews.

“How we become aware of our everyday connection to other people and nature at the level of our emotions, body and mind stands at the core of the sustainability transition,” says Erkka Laininen, a co-author of the study. Having an experience of belonging to and being part of the world strengthens people’s sense of meaningfulness and their agency needed in building a sustainable future.

The transformative power of a learning society can be a key factor in the green transformation going into all society, in which citizens’ consumer behaviour and ways of living, moving and producing food and energy are organized in new ways. Conceptions of work and the economy can be reformed, too.

A sustainable future is not about life becoming more miserable—it’s about life becoming richer and more meaningful as hope for the future grows stronger.

1. Why is Theory of Planetary Social Pedagogy mentioned?

A．To stress learning to be one with the world.

B．To suggest reforming citizens’ ways of living.

C．To describe how the theory is being improved.

D．To tell if a sustainable future is significant.

2. What is the main reason for increasing global crises according to Professor Salonen?

A．The planet is reaching its limits.

B．Humans break away from the reality.

C．Old ideas of well-being are being questioned.

D．Progress in economy and technology is unbalanced.

3. What can we conclude from the text?

A．A sustainable future is based on a learning society.

B．Humans, societies and the world were connected more.

C．Ending the present strategy for future is needed.

D．Global crises have resulted in wrong worldviews.

4. How does the author support the theme of the text?

A．By introducing a theory.	B．By making a comparison.
C．By using researchers’ arguments.	D．By providing study processes.

5 . “How the brain perceives time depends on its expectations. The brain can predict the probability that something is going to occur, given that it hasn’t happened yet,” said Dr. Michael Shadlen, a scientist at Columbia University.

Every thought has various “horizons”, Shadlen told Live Science. In a book, for example, horizons lie at the end of every syllable (音节), the end of every word, the end of the next sentence and so on. Time moves according to how we anticipate these horizons, he said.

When you’re really absorbed in something, the brain anticipates the “big picture”, which makes time seem to fly, Shadlen said. But when you’re bored, you anticipate the closer horizons such as the end of a sentence instead of the end of the story; these horizons aren’t knitted together as a whole, and time slows down.

There isn’t a single spot in the brain that’s responsible for how we perceive time in this way. Rather, any area that gives rise to thought and consciousness is likely involved in this task, Shadlen said. “There are almost certainly a lot of timing mechanisms (机制) in the brain,” added Joe Paton, a scientist at the Champalimaud Foundation in Portugal. One mechanism involves the speed at which brain cells activate one another and form a network when you’re performing an activity. The faster those paths of neurons (神经元) form, the faster we perceive time, Paton and his team have found in some animals, such as rats and squirrels.

Another mechanism involves chemicals in the brain. Again, in rats, Paton and his colleagues found that a set of neurons that releases the neurotransmitter dopamine—an important chemical involved in feeling rewarded—impacts how the brain perceives time. When you’re having fun, these cells are more active. They release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. When you’re not having fun, these cells don’t release as much dopamine, and time seems to slow down.

1. What can be learned about “horizons” in a book from paragraph 2?

A．They exist throughout.	B．They change our anticipation.
C．They are totally invisible.	D．They are very unpredictable.

2. According to Shadlen, we feel the slow passing of time when ________.

A．our brain anticipates the distant horizons	B．we are engaged in something interesting
C．our brain sees the “big picture” of an event	D．we are anxious to see the ending of a sentence

3. What does Paton think plays a role in our way of perceiving time according to Paragraph 4?

A．An unknown chemical in human brain.

B．A specific timing mechanism in the brain.

C．The speed of brain cells forming a network.

D．The function of brain cells activating each other.

4. How does the author make a point in the last paragraph?

A．By describing a process.	B．By providing examples.
C．By introducing a concept.	D．By listing statistical data.

6 . Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise hits Disney’s streaming service alongside its arrival at cinemas. As such, you’ll have to pay $30 on top of your subscription fee to see it — a high price for a solo viewing, but a great deal for a family session. That’s good news, because this really is a winner of a family movie, thanks to the production values you’d come to expect from a Disney blockbuster (大片) and the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

Inside Out

Just when we thought Pixar was on the decline, it released Inside Out, one of its most thoughtful and powerful movies. Featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling, Inside Out made over $850 million at the box office upon its 2015 release. It wasn’t just a commercial success, as it scored 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Free Solo

Free Solo is one of the best documentaries ever made. Telling the story of Alex Honnold, the first man to “free solo” El Capitan, it’s a character study of a man who makes the impossible look almost ordinary; an Oscar-winning story that culminates (到达极点) — quite literally — in a close-up view of one of humanity’s wildest achievements.

Aladdin

You can agree or you can disagree, but I believe that Aladdin has the best song lineup of any animated movie that Disney has ever produced. A Whole New World, Prince Ali, Friend Like Me, Arabian Nights — banger after banger (一部接一部). That’s reflected in the critical response: Aladdin is one of the best-rated Disney movies ever, with a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

1. What do we know about the movie Jungle Cruise?

A．It takes a total of $30 to see it.

B．It doesn’t require a subscription.

C．It is mainly intended for children.

D．It stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

2. What makes Aladdin stand out among the movies above?

A．Its music.	B．Its voice actors.
C．Its approval rating.	D．Its dialogues.

3. Which movie tells an inspiring real-life story?

A．Jungle Cruise.

B．Inside Out.

C．Free Solo.

D．Aladdin.

7 . “Mountain Men” is a reality series that focuses on several odd survivalists who live within the numerous mountain ranges of North America. Many of these survivalists, like its regular Eustace Conway, highlight their commitment to living “off-the-grid” and the show often emphasizes their isolation (隔离) from the traditional society.

While the series has come under scrutiny (监督) for potentially staging aspects of this isolated lifestyle, for “Mountain Men” star Morgan Beasley, it’s truly the only way to live. According to his website, Morgan Beasley has devoted his entire life and career to the outdoors and frequently voices his disapproval of busy city life. Beasley’s refusal of the traditional society led him to a remote home in Alaska about 165 miles from the nearest town, where he still lives to this day alongside his partner Megan Stem. Beasley’s adventurous lifestyle deep within the Alaskan Bush was featured in 78 episodes of “Mountain Men” from 2015 to 2019, though his sudden departure prior to Season 9 is certain to have plenty of fans wondering what actually happened to the odd outdoorsman.

Unfortunately, there is still a considerable amount of mystery surrounding Morgan Beasley’s departure from “Mountain Men”, as both he and Megan Stem suddenly vanished from the series after the Season 8 episode “Seize the Day” — without any clarification as to why. Although there have been no reports about why Beasley decided to leave the series, it’s entirely possible that filming “Mountain Men” was taking too much time out of his already busy schedule.

Although there remains no clear answer as to why Beasley ended up leaving “Mountain Men”, it’s abundantly clear that his passion for the outdoors has remained unchanged long after his departure from the series — and he continues to live as a mountain man to this day.

1. What’s “Mountain Men”?

A．A TV show.

B．A survival story.

C．An adventure film.

D．A fiction book.

2. What do we know about Morgan Beasley?

A．He prefers to lead an isolated lifestyle.	B．He is totally cut off from social media.
C．He lives alone in a remote area of America.	D．He feels satisfied to live in the traditional society.

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

A．Arose.

B．Returned.

C．Suffered.

D．Disappeared.

4. What may be the reason why Beasley left “Mountain Men”？

A．He wasn’t content with his reward.	B．He could hardly spare any time for it.
C．He was tired of facing the camera.	D．He lost his passion for living outdoors.

8 . One of the world’s largest technology events, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), is taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES presents the latest technology offerings from companies across the world. Here is a look at some of the top products presented at the show this year.

Transparent televisions   

LG and Samsung brought televisions that have a transparent (透明的) screen design to CES. The TVs use OLED technology. They’re designed to be hidden in a room when not in use. The companies presenting the TVs haven’t provided pricing information, but experts say the transparent models are likely to cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Robot pet sitter

Robotics developer Ogmen presented a new machine designed to assist pets. The ORo robot is equipped with a food container to feed animals. It can also play with pets, record health details and take photos and videos of animals’ daily activities.

Body power to charge a phone

Sports equipment developer LifeSpan introduced an exercise bicycle/desk combination that uses human power to charge phones or other devices. The Ampera bike is designed to be used with a “standing” desk table. LifeSpan says at a speed of 60 rpms, the bike can produce up to 65 watts of electricity per hour.

Home-made ice cream in 2 minutes

The ColdSnap company introduced a machine that can make single servings of ice cream in about two minutes. The machine uses small containers, called pods, just like Keurig coffeemakers. The pods for the ColdSnap machine can be kept at room temperature, saving energy costs. The machines can be taken anywhere and are simple to operate.

1. What can be known from the text?

A．The ORo robot is a perfect pet.

B．The ColdSnap specializes in soft drinks.

C．The price of transparent TVs is still a secret.

D．The Ampera bike can finish charging a phone hourly.

2. What do ColdSnap machines and Keurig coffeemakers have in common?

A．They are quite easy to carry.	B．They are environmentally-friendly.
C．They are equipped with little containers.	D．They are developed by the same company.

3. What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To show the wide popularity of CES.

B．To advertise a global show called CES.

C．To predict some next-generation technology products.

D．To introduce some top technology products from CES 2024.

9 . All families experience conflict from time to time. Disagreeing with others — even those you love — is generally a part of all types of close relationships.     1     For those who wish to discover how to solve family conflict, some of the tips below may help.

● Learn how to emotionally control.

Emotions can be powerful.     2     However, working toward building your abilities in this way can make a big difference in how you handle all types of conflicts and challenges in life and relationships. Something as simple as deep breathing can help calm the mind.

●     3    

Sometimes, arguments between people escalate (加剧) when one or all parties interpret that they’re not being heard. Making a conscious effort to invite each family involved in a conflict to tell their side can help de-escalate emotions and move participants in the direction of a resolution.

● Explore different formats of conflict resolution.

    4     Being open to different methods and formats of conflict resolution can make the family feel more comfortable expressing their points of view and agreeing on solutions. For example, some people may spend time alone organizing their thoughts. Allowing them to put their thoughts down on paper instead of presenting them orally may be beneficial.

● Avoid interrupting.

According to research, even a two-second interruption is enough to make us lose the thread of what we’re saying. An interruption can make us lose our focus and even the potential to feel satisfied at having fully expressed ourselves. Avoid interrupting family when they’re explaining their side of a conflict.     5    

A．Let others speak.

B．Communicate directly.

C．Not every human is born to handle conflict in the same way.

D．The way in which families handle conflict is the most important.

E．And remaining perfectly in control of them in every situation isn’t always easy.

F．It can help ensure they can express themselves fully and feel heard and understood.

G．And you may be able to influence how others in your family handle conflict over time.

10 . Some Ways to Improve Social Interaction

Greet someone

Nobody wants to feel unwelcome or unappreciated. If they do, they will feel like outcasts (被排斥者).     1    . This can be accomplished with a simple greeting or a firm handshake while looking at the person directly in the eye.

    2    

People have a natural curiosity as to what you are all about. The best way to communicate this is to engage in a simple conversation. Some people are naturally shy and tend to withdraw from such communication. If one person is not willing to start a conversation, another should take the initiative simply by asking the other, “How are you?” or “What do you think?”

Volunteer

    3    . Volunteering your time or skills may add an additional burden, but it tells others you believe in them and are willing to help out. Such an expression also makes it easy for you to seek support when you are in need of help.

Ask for advice

Too often people are too proud to ask for directions in our journey through life. But asking for advice from a co-worker accomplishes two things: first, you might get the answer you seek, and second, it says you trust the person and respect his/her opinion.     4    .

Be polite

Your manners and how to improve interaction with others say a lot about your character.     5    . I am not suggesting everyone turn into a “Miss Manners”, but attention to basic courtesy (礼貌) can improve your image with others.

A．Be curious

B．Engage in conversation

C．The objective is to make people feel at home

D．Basic manners mean you are socially well adjusted

E．It means you are sensitive and interested in the person

F．Many people prefer to sit back and watch as others perform the work

G．By confiding in an individual, the advisor becomes concerned with your best interests