1 . Here are a few ways to motivate (激发) children to do chores.
Decide what kinds of chores children do. For younger children, give them easy work, like putting away their toys.
Tell children about the importance of doing chores.
Give children some money to do more chores.
| A．Set good examples in the family. |
| B．Make a list of chores for children. |
| C．Make children do chores unhappily. |
| D．Ask children to do all kinds of chores. |
| E．Giving money for more chores can also work. |
| F．As the children get older, make them do more difficult chores. |
| G．Discuss the importance of doing chores and how they help the whole family. |
2 . Dumplings are traditional Chinese food. On the lunar New Year’s Day, most families make a lot of delicious dumplings. To make them, we can follow these easy steps.
The first step is to mix the flour with water. When the dough (面团) is ready, we can begin to make dumpling wrappers. We roll the dough into small, thin and round pieces so that they can be easy to cook. Then it’s time to prepare the filling. Usually, we use meat such as beef or pork, and some vegetables for filling. Remember to cut these things into small pieces, put some salt and oil into it and mix them.
When all these are done, we can start making dumplings. First put a spoonful of filling in the center of the wrappers. Then stick the two opposite sides together. The best shape of dumplings is like a ship. When they are boiling in the pan, they look like ships sailing in the sea. The smell can make your mouth water.
1. Most families make a lot of dumplings on .| A．Dragon Boat Day | B．Christmas Day |
| C．the lunar New Year’s Day | D．Mid-Autumn Day |
| A．to make wrappers | B．to mix the flour |
| C．to prepare the filling | D．to cook them in the pan |
| A．some meat | B．some vegetables |
| C．some salt and oil | D．all of the above |
| A．round | B．like a cake |
| C．like a ship | D．like a dough |
| A．What dumplings look like | B．How to make filling |
| C．How to make dumplings | D．The lunar New Year’s Day |
3 . Humor: An Essential Life Skill
Mark Twain said, “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.” He’s certainly not wrong. Humor may very well be the great thing.
Having a good sense of humor is possibly one of the best things you can do for your physical fitness.
Albert Einstein owed his brilliant mind to having a child-like sense of humor.
The benefits of humor are so considerable that universities like Stanford are offering business courses on humor in the workplace.
| A．Students will be strictly evaluated. |
| B．These courses have specific objectives. |
| C．And your mental health benefits as well. |
| D．It touches upon nearly every aspect of life. |
| E．Apart from that, humor also improves your overall quality of life. |
| F．Research has shown that laughter can relieve the tension in your muscles. |
| G．Indeed, studies have found an association between humor and intelligence. |
4 . People set goals for their lives. Perhaps you want to lose weight, learn a new skill or read 30 books a year. But then you get busy and your daily life takes up all of your time. Before you know it, weeks, then months have gone by and you are no closer to your goal.
1. Make a specific plan
Adding details to your plan helps you act better. Be sure to add when and where. If your goal is to work out five days each week, a plan like “I’ll work out on weekdays” would be too vague. But a detailed plan like “I’ll exercise at the gym on weekdays during my lunch break” would fit the bill.
2. Consider punishment
This may sound difficult, but ensuring you’ll face some punishment if you don’t achieve your goal can work wonders. One easy way to do this is to tell a few people about your goal. You’ll feel ashamed if they check back later and find out you haven’t followed through. Feeling ashamed is a kind of spiritual punishment. You can also make a bet with a friend that you’ll stick to your goal.
3. Make it fun
Most of us concentrate on the final result when it comes to achieving our goals.
4. Get a little help from your friends
Spending time around high achievers can boost your own performance. If your aim is to run a marathon or write a book, you’d be wise to start hanging around friends who’ve made it to the finish line and can show you how it’s done. You’ll learn a lot just by spending time together with these friends.
| A．There is evidence that cash punishment motivates success. |
| B．It can also help you avoid interruptions. |
| C．Coaching friends with shared goals can improve your success rate, too. |
| D．Who could you turn to for help? |
| E．If you want to stick to it, try the following strategies. |
| F．But focusing too much on it can make us ignore an even more important thing. |
| G．Friends are well aware of your strengths and weaknesses. |
5 . You’ve likely been unable to avoid talk of the metaverse (虚拟空间/元宇宙) in the past few months. The term, first coined by sci-fi author Neal Stephenson in a 1992 novel, has become a vision of the future of technology in our lives. And if that is to be believed, it’s where we’ll be living the rest of our digital lives.
“The metaverse is a further combination of our physical and digital lives,” says Cathy Hackl of Futures Intelligence Group. Put plainly, the metaverse is a 3D virtual space that can be accessed through virtual reality goggles (眼镜), adding elements of the digital on top of our day-to-day lives. You could attend concerts and conferences in the metaverse, staged in a 3D digital representation of a nightclub or conference center. Elsewhere, you’ll shop for shoes in a virtual Nike store or order food in a virtual McDonald’s and have it delivered to your real-world home.
“It’s the future of the Internet. But it’s also about further connectivity,” says Hackl. So far, most of the attention around the metaverse has been focused on the company formerly known as Facebook, which rebranded last year as Meta in an indication of how strongly it believes in the future of the metaverse. Founder Mark Zuckerberg wants a billion of us to live, work, and play in the metaverse by 2030.
But Hackl warns people not to view the social media giant as the center of the metaverse. “It’s not just one company,” she says. “No single company can build it, either.” It’s also not enabled by a single technology, even though right now the way to “enter” the metaverse is to wear a pair of virtual reality goggles. While the early running may be made by Meta, the momentum (势头) will be picked up by others. And just because we have an idea of what the metaverse will look like now, it doesn’t mean that’s what it’ll end up as, Hackl warns. “The way I explain it is we’re in a high-speed train, destination metaverse,” she says. “We don’t know the stops, but we kind of know where we’re heading.”
1. What is the metaverse according to the passage?| A．It is just a word from a sci-fi novel. |
| B．It is a 3D virtual space that can connect future life. |
| C．It is where we’ll be living the rest of our digital lives. |
| D．It is a virtual world that interacts with the real world through VR goggles. |
| A．To introduce how the metaverse works. |
| B．To recommend a new way of enjoying life in the future. |
| C．To tell readers what his life will be like in the metaverse. |
| D．To provide examples of how physical and digital lives combine. |
| A．It is the centre of the metaverse. |
| B．It is a social media giant like Facebook. |
| C．It seems to take a leading part in the field of the metaverse. |
| D．It believes all of us could live, work and play in the metaverse by 2030. |
| A．We won’t stop until we realize the metaverse. |
| B．It matters who will be in charge of the building of the metaverse. |
| C．Hackl is not familiar with the train she took but knows where to get off. |
| D．Though not knowing the process, Hackl is sure about the bright future of the metaverse. |
6 . Harry looked at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he’d know whether it was just a stray cat or — something else. “Lumos,” Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand (魔杖). He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door shone, and between them Harry saw, quite distinctly, the giant outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.
Harry stepped backward. His legs hit his trunk and he tripped. His wand flew out of his hand as he cast out an arm to break his fall, and he landed, hard, in the gutter (阴沟) — There was a deafening BANG, and Harry threw up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light — With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement, just in time. A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screamed to a stop exactly where Harry had just been lying. They belonged, as Harry saw when he raised his head, to a triple-decker (三层), violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus.
For a second, Harry wondered if he had been knocked silly by his fall. Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak loudly to the night.
“Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the isolated witch or wizard (巫师). Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve —”
The conductor stopped suddenly. He had just caught sight of Harry, who was still sitting on the ground. Harry grabbed his wand again and struggled to his feet.
1. What did Harry see with the light of his ward?| A．A stray cat or something else. |
| B．The big outline of something with wide, gleaming eyes. |
| C．Something unknown on the pebble-dashed walls shining. |
| D．The outer edge of something behind the garage door sparkle. |
| A．In the gutter. | B．On the pavement. |
| C．At the black alleyway. | D．Behind the garage door. |
| A．The bus appeared out of nowhere. |
| B．The bus looked strange in the lonely night. |
| C．The bus was with a triple-decker and in violently purple. |
| D．The bus appeared exactly where Harry had just been lying. |
| A．Unfold his hand and buy bus ticket. |
| B．Grab his ward and struggle to his feet. |
| C．Stretch out his ward and get on the bus. |
| D．Being an isolated wizard and find the emergency transport. |
7 . A new study published by Dan Johnson of Washington and Lee University shows experimentally that reading fiction increases empathy (共情).
The participants were asked to read a short story and report their mood. Then, in a staged accident, the experimenter knocked over several pens and recorded whether the participants helped pick them up. They found that the more people were transported into the story, the more likely they were to help pick up the dropped pens. Those who engaged more deeply with the fictional characters also showed more empathy for the real-life person.
Empathy, like patience appears to be a character that can be improved with practice. Study has shown the more students read books, especially storybooks, the better they are at understanding the emotions of others. However, researchers at the University of Michigan reported last year that empathy among college students had declined during the past 30 years, with an especially steep drop in the last decade. The reason is plain to see.
It’s important to understand where empathy comes from in the first place. Looking at the evolution of the human mind, it has been suggested that the ability to process hypothetical scenarios (假设情景) of what another person might be thinking provided an advantage to our early ancestors. Empathy may have arisen from one of the most fundamental human characteristics—the ability to cheat.
Storytelling is essentially just a kind of art. Is Harry Potter real? No, but by projecting ourselves into his story, we’re engaging a very real part of our brain. That sense of escape or social participation often is what makes books so enjoyable. Unfortunately, books are falling out of style. The cause of this is partially due to e book sales, which have arisen greatly over the past few years and taken a share out of the physical book market without necessarily indicating a decline in reading.
Even though some of us would like to, we can’t blame the digital retailers for our decreased empathy. In fact, some people probably read more with their more convenient e-readers than ever before with hard copies. It’s the culture of reading in general that needs to change.
1. What did the experiment show?| A．The participants stressed teamwork. | B．The participants were forced to pick up pens. |
| C．A story might have an instructive effect. | D．A person lost in a story paid less attention to real life. |
| A．Limited patience | B．The lack of reading | C．Diverse emotions. | D．The social practice |
| A．The art of lying. | B．The culture of reading |
| C．The escape from the society. | D．The ability to process real information |
| A．Reading stories can increase empathy. | B．Paper books have edges over digital ones. |
| C．Writers play a trick on readers by cheating. | D．College students tend to lack understanding. |
8 . Craftsman Qian Gaochao and his son recently spent more than six months making three “chicken-blood” stone carvings showing the taekwondo and wrestling competitions of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. As a national inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of the chicken-blood stone carving technique, Qian Gaochao says that he is working on the other carvings related to the Asian Games in the chicken-blood stone museum in Changhua town, Zhejiang Province.
Chicken-blood stone is one of China’s most prized decorative materials and has been used for centuries to create carved works with characteristic red markings. With its bright blood-red color, bright crystal-like jade texture, quality and shape, chicken-blood stones are celebrated the world over. The artistic value of Changhua chicken-blood stone lies in its adaptability, which can be made into decorations of various sizes and forms. It is not only a mineral specimen (标本) that records geological changes, but also a cultural relic that reflects the productivity of different eras, living conditions and folk customs.
The stone has become a cultural symbol of deepening bilateral friendship in diplomatic (外交的) activities. For example, in 1972, the Chinese premier gave Changhua chicken-blood stones to Japan as State gifts. In 1986, a seal of Changhua stone was presented to the US. In 2016, the Changhua stone sculpture “Haliaeetus Albicilla Duda Portrait Seal” was presented to Poland. In September 2016, 36 sets of portrait seals were given as gifts to guests who attended the 11th G20 Summit held in Hangzhou.
“As a craftsman, I’m not only doing carving work but also recording the development and changes of our society and remembering the era through the medium of my carvings,” Qian Gaochao says. He has created fascinating works, many of which are related to important events in Chinese history and famous people who have made significant contributions to the country.
“We are also recruiting qualified people to continue to inherit and innovate these traditional skills,” Qian Gaochao says. “Additionally, we often hold research activities and provide training courses, enabling more young students to understand and learn Chinese traditional culture,” he adds.
1. What do Qian Gaochao and his son’s recent works describe?| A．Famous athletes. |
| B．Beautiful natural scenery. |
| C．International sporting events. |
| D．Ancient folk customs in Changhua. |
| A．adjustability. | B．probability. |
| C．capability | D．responsibility |
| A．Presenting the popularity of chicken-blood stone. |
| B．Showing the role of chicken-blood stone in diplomacy. |
| C．Explaining the approaches to promote Changhua’s economy. |
| D．Proving the importance of Chinese culture in connecting the world. |
| A．He provides free carving courses for qualified students. |
| B．The innovation of traditional culture faces great challenges. |
| C．Learning carving skills is not attractive to modern young people. |
| D．He devotes himself to recording China’s development through carving. |
9 . Recess for Kids
Ask a group of kids about their favorite part of the school day and many will talk about something that happened at recess. Maybe they finally made it across the monkey bars (单杠). Maybe somebody kicked the ball over the fence. Maybe a fruit tree in a neighboring yard started to drop apples on the playground.
It’s true not just according to kids, but also to adults who study recess for kids. Whether they’re inventing a new game or sitting under a tree, kids need a break — or several of them — during the school day.
Why Kids Need Recess.
There's no debate that recess, or mainly referred to as physical activity, is good for kids.
You can’t have your brains go hours at a time and retain and store information in working memory.
How Much Recess Should Kids Get.
“Ideally, children should get four 15-minute recesses every day”, says Debbie Rhea, a professor from Texas Christian University, who advocates for outdoor play in schools.
In addition to simply providing enough time for recess, schools should teach skills that will make recess more successful. For instance, letting kids run fast will help them develop coordination.
| A．How to Make Recess Better. |
| B．Who should help kids recess. |
| C．You need time away to process it. |
| D．This recommendation has been widely accepted. |
| E．Any one of these things is a marker of a good recess. |
| F．Maybe running up the slide is not as unsafe as it looks. |
| G．We wouldn’t have kids sitting there for math or reading for long hours. |
10 . Hurricane season is here. Fiona ruined Puerto Rico, and less than two weeks later, Ian struck the west coast of Florida and its remnants(残余部分) moved up and hit the Eastern Seaboard.
Extreme weather events like Ian and Fiona have become more intense because of climate change. That reality has implications for those of us in health care. We have a duty to protect and advance the health of our patients.
We typically think of health as something doctors monitor, offering treatment such as prescription medications as needed. But in reality, only about 20% of a person's health is attributable to the medical care they receive. Social determinants such as people's neighborhood and socioeconomic status are actually responsible for 40% of a person's health outcomes. It's a sad truth that a ZIP code can be more predictive of a person's health than his or her genetic code.
Consider how extreme weather events such as this summer's heat waves affected communities unequally. Poor urban neighborhoods, with sparse tree cover but plenty of concrete and asphalt, absorb and retain the heat of the sun's rays, while leafy, shaded countrysides just a few miles away stay much cooler. A University of California–San Diego study that measured land surface temperatures in over 1,000 counties across the United States found that neighborhoods with the lowest average education and income levels generally recorded higher temperatures.
Extreme weather events such as flood can threaten people's physical and mental health long after it recedes. Almost 1 in 3 people in the flooded area were estimated to have suffered from certain post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, physicians in regions at increased risk of natural disasters may need to be ready to deliver more mental health care. For example, doctors in drought-stricken areas may need to make water safety a part of their conversations with patients, because groundwater sources can become unsafe to drink without sufficient rainfall.
Climate change has posed an immediate and dire health threat. Now is the time for health care providers to take collective action to adapt to this unfortunate reality.
1. What can we infer from paragraph 3?| A．ZIP code largely tells a person’s health outcomes. |
| B．A person’s genetic code is determined by ZIP code. |
| C．A person’s genetic code is less important than ZIP code. |
| D．ZIP code is most responsible for people’s health outcomes. |
| A．To show that people with the lowest education have the lowest income. |
| B．To show that poor people tend to be more exposed to extreme weather. |
| C．To show that shaded countrysides stay much cooler than urban areas. |
| D．To show that poor people live in a less-environment-friendly community. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Objective. | B．Urgent | C．Optimistic. | D．Worried. |
