1 . Scotland is packed with beautiful places to visit and you could honestly spend months and months exploring everything this wonderful country has to offer! Next I’m going to take you through some of the best places to visit in Scotland, based on where we have personally visited so far!
Glen CoeIf you asked me where my favourite place to visit in all of Scotland is... I would say, Glen Coe. The whole area of Glen Coe constantly had my face in shock due to the beauty that I was witnessing. It’s just a stream of dramatic mountains, lakes, rugged beauty and more.
Fort WilliamFort William is probably one of the most well-known places to visit in Scotland. It’s a popular tourist destination thanks to being home to the UK’s tallest mountain: Ben Nevis. Fort William is also the starting point for one of the world’s most famous train rides: The Jacobite. Harry Potter fans will recognize it as the Hogwarts Express, and this train ride will take you through the beautiful countryside, crossing some iconic Harry Potter filming locations such as the Dumbledore’s Grave and the Glenfinnan Viaduct!
Isle Of SkyeThis island feels totally different from other parts of Scotland and is truly rugged and ready! There are many hot spots to explore including the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Glen. I even stayed on a private island with its very own lighthouse, which was one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited and one of the most romantic places stay in Scotland.
Cairngorms National ParkThis is the largest national park in the UK so it’s another popular place to visit in Scotland and it’s no surprise why. It’s absolutely beautiful and there’s so much happening at the Cairngorms National Park! From skiing or meeting local reindeers, you’ll not go bored and you’ll be surrounded by beauty the entire time.
1. Which place probably attracts Harry Potter fans most?| A．Glen Coe. | B．Isle Of Skye. |
| C．Cairngorms National Park. | D．Fort William. |
| A．The Jacobite. | B．Local reindeers. |
| C．The UK's tallest mountain. | D．A cool lighthouse. |
| A．A geography textbook. | B．A science journal. |
| C．A travel blog. | D．An autobiography. |
2 . Perseverance isn’t easy. But before you blame your lack of willpower, consider this: Building mental strength is similar to building physical strength. In just a few minutes each day, you can train your brain to think differently, manage your emotions and behave productively.
You can physically change your brain by making gratitude (感谢) a habit. Think about three things you are grateful for in your life.
It’s impossible to stay strong when you’re thinking about something that happened last week or horrible things going to happen tomorrow. The only time you can make changes is right now.
It can be tempting to wait until you feel ready to make a change. But waiting until you feel good about yourself before you take action could backfire (适得其反).
Every day is a chance to develop some mental strength. Simple and short exercises performed over time will help you build mental strength.
| A．It could be as simple as the clean water that you drink. |
| B．With regular exercise, you’ll build your mental strength. |
| C．You can stay away from the bad habits by regular training. |
| D．Pay attention to the bad habits that keep you out of mental strength. |
| E．It’s therefore of great significance to be able to concentrate on the present. |
| F．However, you should change your thoughts and behaviors at the same time. |
| G．Instead, when you change your behaviors, your thoughts and your emotions will follow. |
3 . Midway through The Matrix, Cypher feasts on an enormous steak, well aware that his reality is not real, part of a digital program telling his brain that the steak is a construction and that it is “juicy and delicious”. Two decades after the movie made its first appearance, something unexpected arises: The future of reality will not only be virtual but also synthetic (合成的). Cypher’s future meal will be a physical one, synthesized from animal cells.
And the synthesis goes beyond dinner. Starting with components from the natural world, scientists are learning to engineer microorganisms and build biocomputing systems. However, biology has a tendency to evolve in unexpected ways.
Synthesized meat is one case in point. The driving forces behind the meat movement are practical. It has been estimated that cultured (培育的) meat would require 7 to 45 percent less energy and produce 78 to 96 percent less greenhouse gas than conventional animals farmed for consumption. But once we’re able to synthesize meat, theoretically, we’ll have the capability to culture meat from any animal, even those we’d never consider eating today, like dolphins or chimpanzees, which will pose a new regulatory challenge for us.
Using synthetic biology, we can even edit and rewrite life, the technology of which is already in use. In 2021, scientists in some countries announced they had grown monkey embryos injected with human stem cells. Here comes the situation worth considering: such a monkey-human hybrid will demonstrate qualities that are somewhere between humans, on which experimentation isn’t allowed, and animals, which are often raised specifically for research. How will we decide when an animal becomes too human?
Depending on where you stand, the synthetic realities land somewhere between “really exciting” and “critically concerning”. As individuals, we undertake a shared responsibility to make good choices about this coming synthetic technology.
1. What do we know about Cypher’s steak in the movie?| A．It is enjoyed in a virtual world. | B．It is anything but appetizing. |
| C．It is synthesized from animal cells. | D．It is a construction made by himself. |
| A．It is more nutritious. | B．It is more energy-consuming. |
| C．It is more controllable in regulation. | D．It is more environment-friendly. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Favorable. | C．Negative. | D．Positive. |
| A．To popularize synthetic technology. |
| B．To indicate challenges of synthetic technology. |
| C．To stress the importance of synthetic technology. |
| D．To introduce the development of synthetic technology. |
4 . Throughout history, great cities have risen and fallen. Some of them are seemingly lost in time—until artifacts(古物) are discovered that bring them back to life.
Teotihuacán
Located outside of Mexico City, Teotihuacán is thought to have been settled around 400 BC. By 400 AD, it was the most influential, powerful city in its region. Teotihuacán’s real treasure is its massive step pyramids. Much of the city’s history is still a mystery, but some believe that its decline came from changing climate conditions like long-term droughts.
Petra
This ancient city in southern Jordan flourished from the 4th century BC to 106 AD. It was an important place for spice and silk trade routes. It also had a complicatedly-designed water management system. Petra was occupied by Rome in 106 AD, and the trade routes soon shifted(转换). Hundreds of years later, earthquakes damaged the water system and Petra was abandoned.
Pompeii
Endless tales have been told about the tragedy of Pompeii, which occurred on August 24, in the year 79 AD, when the volcano Vesuvius erupted. The entire town was swiftly covered in ash and soil. Everything was frozen in time. The site was unearthed in the 18th century, and the evidence found provided a great detail of insight into daily living in this ancient Italian city.
Ctesiphon
Located about 20 miles outside of Baghdad, Ctesiphon was one of the greatest cities in Western Asia in the 6th century. It was conquered(征服) by Rome, and then by the Byzantine Empire. In 637 AD, it was captured by the Muslims. Many believe that the ancient city was the inspiration for the city of Isbanir mentioned in the Thousand and One Nights folk tales.
1. What do we know about Teotihuacán?| A．It was the most beautiful city of its time. |
| B．Its history needs further exploration. |
| C．It took about 400 years to reach its height. |
| D．Its pyramids were ruined by climate change. |
| A．Teotihuacán and Petra. | B．Teotihuacán and Ctesiphon. |
| C．Petra and Pompeii. | D．Petra and Ctesiphon. |
| A．Teotihuacán was located outside of Baghdad. |
| B．Petra declined because the trade routes shifted. |
| C．We can learn about ancient Italian daily life in Pompeii. |
| D．Ctesiphon has another name of Isbanir in history. |
5 . “It’s incredible. I never thought my dream would come true so soon,” Chinese ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan recalled the scene when he got the news that he was promoted to the principal dancer with New York City Ballet(NYCB), the company’s first Chinese and fourth Asian principal dancer in 74 years.
Born in Huizhou, Guangdong in 1992, Chan has become attached to dance since childhood. However, his parents preferred him to be a doctor or a lawyer in the future. The uncompromising boy then wrote a seven-page letter to his parents describing his resolution to study dance.
Thanks to the sincere letter, Chan finally gained the support of his family, and at the age of 12, he was admitted to Guangzhou Arts School, marking the start of his dream-seeking journey. Chan’s first turning point in life came at the age of 18, when he was a finalist in the 2010 Prix de Lausanne, which earned him a full scholarship to study with Houston Ballet II. Two years later, Chan joined Houston Ballet and became a principal in 2017. There, he gained a reputation as a confident and sensitive performer. In 2020, he appeared as a contestant on the Chinese television show Dance Smash, which gained him a large following.
Chan returned to New York last year, and was finally promoted to the principal dancer with the NYCB in May this year. He attributes his success to his passion, hard work, concentration, perseverance and the pursuit of excellence.
In China, Chan’s success has become a source of pride. News of his promotion to principal dancer was widely circulated, and he has been featured repeatedly in the Chinese media.
After performances, audience members sometimes tell Chan that they have never seen Asian dancers in leading roles. He has been moved to hear young dancers of color say his example has given them hope for their own careers. “I used to think I danced just for myself,” he said. “Now I’m dancing for my family, for the audience, for the whole dance community.”
1. What can we learn about Chan?| A．He is the first Asian principal dancer. |
| B．He is fond of dancing when he was young. |
| C．His parents have supported him from the beginning. |
| D．He gained the popularity in the 2010 Prix de Lausanne. |
| A．Determined. | B．Careful. | C．Thoughtful. | D．Fearless. |
| A．Generous and considerate. | B．Perseverant and talented. |
| C．Warm-hearted and ambitious. | D．Passionate and devoted. |
| A．Because he got a lot of praises from the audience. |
| B．Because he had been promoted to principal dancer. |
| C．Because he realized his dance inspired other dancers. |
| D．Because he received persistent support from his family. |
6 . Patriotic Zhang Weili won her historic fighting championship in Shenzhen on August 31, 2019. The 30-year-old fighter from Hebei Province produced a huge upset to knock out Brazilian Jessica Andrade and became China’s first UFC world champion.
Zhang entered the straw weight bout as a big loser to Andrade, who is tied with the most UFC wins(11) by a woman. However, after a series of devastating knee kicks and punches(重拳), Andrade was floored in the 42nd second of the first round and the challenger was declared winner by TKO. “Last year in Beijing I vowed(发誓)to become the first Chinese champion, and I did it!” said Zhang. “As a Chinese, I feel so proud. Today, I want to dedicate this victory to my motherland,” she added.
UFC boss Dana White declared Zhang “the most vicious woman on the planet right now” and revealed he is already planning the new champion’s next fight in the United States. Zhang appealed to White to smooth out some reasonable concerns she has about a US fight. “Please make sure all my corners can come because last time they couldn’t come for visa issues,” she said. “But all my coaches are here with me, supporting me and I won the belt.”
With six years’ experience in UFC, Andrade has a reputation for crucially seeing off opponents. But Zhang, who is known for her fierce “buzz saw” attacking style, never allowed Andrade to get going. “I think the keys to my win were my calm mindset and the strategy defined by my coaches. All the strategies were practical and predicted every move to help me seize every opportunity,” Zhang said.
She was the first Chinese fighter to even get a title shot from the UFC, which is now pushing hard into a Chinese market where interest in MMA is growing rapidly. Afterwards, Zhang hoped to inspire more young Chinese women to take up MMA and to be a source of inspiration for women, both in MMA and everyday life.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?| A．Andrade is a great opponent. | B．Andrade has 9 UFC wins so far. |
| C．Zhang owed her victory to her efforts. | D．Zhang was afraid of Andrade’s attacks. |
| A．Opponents. | B．Coaches. | C．Relatives. | D．Friends. |
| A．strict teaching of her coaches |
| B．support from her coaches and friends |
| C．her strong body shape and enthusiasm |
| D．her mindset and strategies developed by her coaches |
| A．Women can make a big difference as well. |
| B．Women should not ignore their appearance. |
| C．Women should compete with men to show their abilities. |
| D．Women can change their fate by winning UFC. |
7 . Conservation scientist Kim Williams-Guillen was trying her best to come up with a way to save endangered sea turtles (海龟) from egg thieves when she had an “aha” moment: If she placed a fake (假的) egg containing a GPS tracker in the reptiles’ nests, she might be able to track the thieves.
Williams-Guillen found a flexible plastic material to mimic (仿造) the shell of real eggs. She and colleagues then used a 3D printer to produce the fakes of the same size, weight, and texture and put the smallest GPS tracking devices inside each. The researchers then went to four Costa Rican beaches, where green sea turtle come ashore to make their nests. As mothers laid their eggs under cover of night, the researchers slipped a fake egg into each nest. Once the fakes are covered in sand and mix with the real eggs, it’s very difficult to tell the difference between the two.
Of the 101 fake eggs, 25 were taken by thieves. The farthest moving egg traveled 137 kilometers inland. The fake egg sent its final signal the next day from a residential property, suggesting that the research team had tracked the eggs through “all of the players in the entire chain.”
By understanding that chain, Williams-Guillen says researchers can identify trading hot spots. She emphasizes that the tracker is not a way to catch local thieves, many of them living in poverty, but a tool to better understand their routes, which could help them and eventually law enforcement (执法部门) identify larger players in the chain.
In the meantime, Williams-Guillen and her colleagues are working to get their fake eggs to other sea turtle conservation organizations. Ultimately, though, scientists and nonprofits are going to engage communities with local outreach and education programs to save sea turtles. She says, “The real meat and potatoes of conservation isn’t going to come from deploying (布署) eggs.”
1. What can be learnt from paragraph 2?| A．Fake eggs are made and employed. | B．Sea turtles have become endangered. |
| C．Sea turtles lay eggs during the daytime. | D．The idea of fake eggs came into being. |
| A．To confirm whether the fake eggs really work. |
| B．To provide data for doing research on turtle eggs. |
| C．To arrest the locals stealing the turtle eggs from the beach. |
| D．To identify the trading routes and get the big players punished. |
| A．Deploying eggs needs advocating further. |
| B．Turtle conservation mainly relies on joint efforts. |
| C．She feels disappointed with the local communities. |
| D．Deploying eggs makes no difference in preserving turtles. |
| A．Saving endangered sea turtles is urgent |
| B．Endangered turtles can be traced with GPS |
| C．GPS eggs helps to save endangered sea turtles |
| D．A conservation scientist is devoted to protecting sea turtles |
8 . I love winter birds and I love photographing them in snow. I admit that I’m a fair-weather bird watcher. Worse, I’m a lazy, fair-weather bird watcher. I don’t like weather extremes, so when it’s very hot or really cold, it is hard to get me to leave the comfortable home. In summer, I only photograph hummingbirds (蜂鸟) in my yard, and in winter, I try to only go out on relatively mild (温和的) days. Most of my bird pictures are done within an hour’s drive of my hometown of Elmira. So it’s all about finding a balance that works.
The winter of 2021 was a great period for snowy owls (雪鸮) here in Woolwich Township. One day in early January, I was on my way home from work when I noticed a beautiful snowy owl sitting in a tree right at the crossing. I pulled over to admire him, and then kept heading home unwillingly.
Two hundred meters or so down the road, there were two more snowy owls in a field by a fence, and in the next field over, another on top of a fence post. I couldn’t find words to express my feelings at that moment. Thus I rushed home, took my camera and went right back out to get some pictures. It was one of the most magical local birding moments I’ve ever experienced.
When I’m looking for excellent opportunities to photograph snowy owls and other birds without spending dozens of hours searching for them, I head to the Canadian Raptor Conservancy (CRC) or the Mountsberg Raptor Centre. I’ve attended so many photo sessions at each of these fantastic places that I’ve lost count of.
1. What factor (因素) has the most effect on whether the author goes out to photograph birds or not?| A．road conditions. | B．personal emotions. |
| C．weather conditions. | D．time arrangement. |
| A．awkward. | B．excited. |
| C．anxious. | D．confused. |
| A．Photographing winter birds is gaining great popularity. |
| B．The author prefers to have the pictures done over an hour’s drive from his hometown. |
| C．The author only heads to CRC to photograph snowy owls. |
| D．There were four snowy owls on his way home, one day in early January. |
| A．The author only photographs snowy owls. |
| B．The author can take excellent photos easily. |
| C．The author makes a living by photographing birds. |
| D．The author values each chance to photograph birds. |
9 . Most students hate tests. The fear of failing them is really unpleasant.
1. Survey your textbook before you read.
Take a couple of minutes to find the word-list, index, questions and other important information. Then, when you sit down to study, you’ll know where to find the answers you are looking for.
2.
As you read, summarize each section of the chapter on a post-it note. After you have read the entire chapter, go back and review the notes. It is an easy and efficient way to review information. And you can easily find the information you need.
3. Make your own practice test.
After you finish reading, pretend you are a professor writing a test for the chapter. Review the material you just read and make up your own practice test. Include all vocabulary words, study questions, and highlighted words you can find, as well as any other important information.
4. Create visual flashcards.
Flashcards will help you remember important terms, people, places and dates. On the front of the card, write down the term or the question. This will help ensure that you grasp the study material.
| A．Use sticky notes. |
| B．Prepare a note book. |
| C．Take the test to see if you remember the information. |
| D．If all the questions are included, there is no need to worry. |
| E．But there are a few tricks you can learn how to avoid the worry. |
| F．On the back write down the definition or the answer. |
| G．Make sure you read any study questions before you read the chapter. |
10 . Age has never been a problem for 16-year-old Thessalonika Arzu-Embry. After all, she’s already got her master’s degree.
The North Chicago-area teen started homeschooling at the age of 4. She began having an influence on others soon after. When she was 6 years old, she was an inspirational speaker at an organization called Tabitha House Community Service, which is for people who were forced to leave their homes because of earthquake, flood and other natural disasters.
At the age of 11, she graduated from high school and then earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2013. She completed those classes online as she was traveling for church events and leadership meetings.
She doesn’t stop there, though. The teen plans to focus on aviation psychology (航空心理学) for her further study, a decision inspired by her father who is a pilot. She grew up around airplanes and took fights all the time. Her goal is to use it to help pilots deal with problems that could have deadly results once the plane takes off — a topic that has been in the news lately. For her, it’s a mix of two of her interests.
In her free time, Thessalonika enjoys playing tennis, swimming and being active in her youth group at church. She also has three self-published books, which are on her site. Jump the Education Barrier is written to help students finish college, and in the future aims to help business owners with trends. Her third book The Genius Race is designed to help people to be talents in various areas of life.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about Thessalonika?| A．When she was 6 years old, she started homeschooling. |
| B．She gained her master’s degree at the age of 11. |
| C．She majored in science and technology. |
| D．In 2013 she got her bachelor’s degree through completing courses online. |
| A．Major in aviation psychology. |
| B．Deliver inspiring speeches for church events and leadership meetings. |
| C．Be active in her youth group at church. |
| D．Write another book to help people to be talents. |
| A．It aims to help people to be geniuses. |
| B．It is intended to give students a hand to complete college. |
| C．It is designed to arouse people’s awareness of psychology. |
| D．The author hope to share her own experience with others. |
| A．The Story of Thessalonika | B．To be a talent |
| C．Three Published Books | D．Homeschooling |
