1 . In which city did the woman and John stay the longest?

A．Paris.

B．Rome.

C．Vienna.

2 . On September 8th, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in history, died aged 96. Buckingham Palace announced her death on Thursday, Her son, Prince Charles, has now become Britain’s new king.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” it added.

“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles said in a statement, “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Buckingham Palace said the monarch was under medical supervision due to doctors’ concerns over her health. The royal family members soon rushed to Scotland to be at her side following the announcement.

In the evening, royal staff hung obituaries(讣告)on railings in front of Buckingham Palace. Crowds braved the rain to pay their respects and many laid flowers outside Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth II has significantly reduced her public engagements since the death of her husband Prince Philip in April last year, and canceled or postponed many official engagements after being hospitalized in October last year. She was diagnosed with the coronavirus in February.

Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth II was announced Queen after the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952. She was formally crowned(加冕)the monarch of the United Kingdom on June 2, 1953.

1. How long was Elizabeth queen of Britain?

A．70 years.

B．96 years.

C．69 years.

D．68 years.

2. What does Liz Truss think of Queen Elizabeth?

A．She is the greatest queen in the history of Britain.

B．She is a beloved mother.

C．She plays an important role in the modern history of Britain.

D．She is a popular queen respected by her people.

3. Why did Queen Elizabeth appear in public less frequently?

A．Because her husband died and her health was in bad condition.

B．Because she got tired of fame and wealth.

C．Because she wished a quieter life when she was old.

D．Because she would like Prince Charles to appear in public more.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Farewell to Queen Elizabeth II

B．Queen Elizabeth II: a Beloved Mother

C．The Wonderful Life of Queen Elizabeth II

D．A Highly Honored Queen

3 . Fast walkers may live longer than dawdlers (缓慢的人)— regardless of their weight, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Leicester University analyzed data on 474, 919 people with an average age of 52 in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2016. They found women who walked briskly had a life expectancy of 86.7 to 87.8 years old, and men who kept up the pace had a life expectancy of 85.2 to 86.8. Slow walkers hadn’t much encouraging prospects (前景): women had a life expectancy of 72.4, and men of 64.8 years old, if they were more leisurely in their movements. According to the paper, published last week, that ratio held true even if the fast walkers were severely overweight. It does not necessarily mean fast walkers will live longer. Experts say it suggests walking speed could be a simple way for doctors to judge their patients’ general health alongside other tests.

It is hardly the first study holding up walking speed as a powerful evidence that appears to improve and determine our health.

In 2011, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study by Stephanie Studenski, who found the same: walking speed was a reliable predictor of life expectancy.

In 2013, US researchers found walking pace was linked to lower heart disease risk and longer life expectancy. In 2018, a study from the University of Sydney found picking up your walking pace to even an “average speed” could cut your risk of premature death by a fifth.

And Tom Yates, the physical activity professor at Leicester who's behind the latest study, has been publishing findings on this connection for years.

In 2017, he analyzed the same UK Biobank data and found walking speed appeared to affect the risk of dying from heart disease — concluding that the slowest walkers were twice as likely to suffer a heart-related death compared to quick walkers.

1. What does the underlined word “briskly” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Casually.

B．Quickly.

C．Actively.

D．Energetically.

2. What does the paper published last week show?

A．Most fast walkers are overweight.

B．Fast walkers have a simple way of living.

C．Walking speed can help doctors know about their patients’ general health.

D．Doctors will surely have better ways to cure their patients of their illness.

3. What did US researchers find?

A．Walking slowly is bad for people's health.

B．Walking speed can predict a person’s life expectancy.

C．People won't die early by increasing their walking pace.

D．Lower heart disease risk is determined partly by walking pace.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Fast Walkers May Have a Long Life Expectancy

B．Life Expectancy Is Determined by Exercise

C．Researchers Try to Improve Life Expectancy

D．The Public Doubt Researches on Walking Speed

4 . Kids are three times more likely to choose to be Internet celebrities (名人) than astronauts, a survey found recently. Many are already on their way - more and more children are now making and sharing videos on social media.

Meanwhile, education experts worry that going after Internet fame won’t be good for children in the long run. Their biggest concern is that kids don’t know how being on the Internet today might affect them in the future. The parts of the brain that people use to make decisions don’t fully mature until around age 25, so children cannot imagine how their future might be affected by what they share now.

What’s worse, some parents, who are crazy about becoming famous on their own, can’t watch out for the best interests of their own children. A young mother, Michelle Hobson, was accused of starving and kicking her children when they didn’t do what she wished for in the videos. She was charged with child abuse and ordered to distance herself from kids.

Keeping famous on the Internet takes much time and patience, too. It can distract students away from homework, sports and other activities. For example, one of the superstars, 14-year-old Emma Garza, dropped out of school to become a Vlogger (video blogger). She said that making videos was so tough that she couldn’t make time for study and even suffered back pain and weakening eyesight.

Although we don’t yet know the effects on a child’s development by constantly performing to entertain others, we can easily imagine that the effort to attract viewers will be less helpful to a kid, compared with spending that time reading a book. For a kid today, becoming an Internet superstar might not only be more popular than being an astronaut. It might also be more dangerous.

1. What problem is discussed in Paragraph 1?

A．Internet affects kids’ growth.	B．Young kids seek Internet fame.
C．Social media mislead children.	D．Children watch too many videos.

2. What is the major concern of education experts about children?

A．Security.

B．Family.

C．Study.

D．Future.

3. Why is Emma Garza mentioned in the passage?

A．To highlight her success.	B．To introduce a new career.
C．To show the impact on students.	D．To encourage kids to be Vloggers.

4. What does the author think of children’s being an Internet celebrity?

A．Exciting.

B．Doubtful.

C．Beneficial.

D．Negative.

5 . My 12-year-old niece was staying with us for a couple of days. She was remembering some acts of kindness that we did together when she was less than five years old. We talked about how so much had changed, and with the pandemic, how difficult it would be to do so many of those things, especially when it comes to strangers.

The next day, I needed something from the downtown area and happened to take her with me. As we walked

around on the street, we heard a beautiful male voice singing a very soulful song. We turned around to see a middle-aged man sitting on a street comer with his guitar. A couple were sitting on a bench nearby and listening to his music.

After getting a few things done, we happened to sit at an outdoor dining restaurant across from him on the other side of the street. My niece was learning how to sing herself, and she kept smiling and saying how wonderful his singing was. Seeing how moved she was by his music, at the end of our meal, I gave her a ten-dollar bill and asked her to walk across the street and put it in his bowl.

She was a little surprised. “Really?” she asked with bright eyes. I nodded. So she headed over and as she approached, the man was just finishing a song and started talking to her, and they ended up having a sweet conversation. She told him how touched she was by his music, and he ended up telling her that she made his day. As she was excitedly repeating the conversation back to me, she mentioned, “He didn’t even know how much it was. He was just thankful that someone was enjoying his music.”

1. What did the author and her niece do in the first paragraph?

A．They thought back to the past.

B．They decided to do good deeds outside.

C．They made a plan for going downtown.

D．They talked about meeting more strangers.

2. What caught the author and her niece’s attention on the street?

A．A guitar.	B．A restaurant.
C．A couple.	D．A voice.

3. What did the author want her niece to do?

A．Talk with the man.	B．Praise the man.
C．Learn music from the man.	D．Give money to the man.

4. What do we know from the meeting of the man and the author’s niece?

A．They shared singing skills.

B．They felt thankful to each other.

C．The man was proud of his singing.

D．The girl introduced the author to the man.

6 . Silicon Valley Volunteers

Do you want to give back to your community while making new friends? Silicon Valley Volunteers is an organization that includes both wishes. The organization is designed to help people find opportunities to volunteer in their local community while meeting others with similar interests. Silicon Valley Volunteers focuses on providing opportunities that fit into the busy schedules (日程安排) of professionals. Many opportunities listed on the site are in the evenings or weekends.

Please browse (浏览) the website to learn more about the organization. In addition to volunteer opportunities, there are other opportunities for becoming a leader as well. For any questions about the group, email suuolunteers@gmail.com.

Discussion about the group

Courtney H: Hey everyone. I’m new to this group and would love to start meeting up with you guys. I’m a little unclear on how this group works. When you guys go ahead and have an event, can someone message me the infomation? Thanks so much.

Former member: How about an online discussion for ways we can still volunteer. I just checked in here and thought there would be online activities!

Maria O: We need volunteers on Friday, November 8th for The Silicon Valley Philanthropy Day! Volunteers would act as greeters, check-in registrars, and ushers (接待员). The event is from 11 am to 1:30 pm on Nov. 8th @ Villa Ragusa in Campbell. Please email me mariao@wucomunityseruices.org if you are interested. First come, first serve!

1. What is one of the purposes of the organization?

A．To help find job opportunities.	B．To help make new friends.
C．To help develop a new hobby.	D．To help experience the joy of sharing.

2. Where can you learn more about the organization?

A．In the magazine.	B．In the newspaper.
C．On the Internet.	D．On TV.

3. What kind of volunteers are needed from Maria O?

A．Baby-sitters.

B．Translators.

C．Teachers.

D．Greeters.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

China is the first country to clone a monkey using non-reproductive cells. The first two clone monkeys named “Zhong Zhong” and “Hua Hua”     1    (create) by nuclear transferring(核移植) of body cells by December 2017. This was similar to the technology     2    (use) to create the famous clone sheep Dolly in 1996.     3     cloning a monkey using body cells has been a world-class challenge because it is a primate(灵长类） that shares its genetic makeup with humans. Cloning monkeys using body cells can save time, cut down experiment costs and produce more correct results,     4    (lead) to more effective medicine.

Sun Qiang, in charge of the project, said most of the drug trials are done on lab mice. However, drugs that work on mice might not work or even have severe side effects on humans because the two species     5    (be) so different. Monkeys and Humans are both primates, so they are much closely related and     6    (test) on monkeys is supposed to be as effective as testing on humans,he said. This is     7    (especial) useful in testing drugs for many diseases such as Parkinson' s disease.

For drug and other lab tests, scientists have to purchase monkeys from all over the world,     8    is bad for the environment, costs much and produces wrong results because each monkey might have different genes. Cloning monkeys using body cells makes     9    possible for scientists to mass -reproduce a large number of monkeys of similar genes in a short period. Thus, it is useful to do more     10    (accuracy),effective,and affordable animal tests for new drugs.

8 . For Beth Terry, when she read an article about how seabirds are being killed by discarded plastics, she realized that it was time to give up plastics.

First, she focused on her kitchen and got rid of the shopping bags and other plastic products. Then she turned to her bathroom. Toothpaste without plastic packaging was extremely hard to find, so she started making her own with baking soda.

Sometimes her personal war on plastics created awkward moments. During a vacation to Disneyland in California to run a half-marathon, Ms Terry and her husband left their reusable cloth bags in the hotel, soon discovering that the local supermarket only had plastic bags. How should they carry her fruits like apples, oranges, pears and melons?

“We just rolled them up in our T-shirts and carried them that way,” said Ms Terry, 54, recalling how she crab-walked back to the hotel to stay true to her principles. “ If I let myself off the hook this time, it would be easier for me to take plastics next time,” she said.

Treating plastics like a drug habit that needs to be kicked is a lifestyle promise being shared by more and more consumers, horrified by tens of millions of tons of plastics created worldwide each year, much of it in the form of single-use items like straws that end up in landfills(垃圾填埋场）or,worse, the oceans.

If you gathered up all your plastic waste each week, as Mr. Terry once did, you would have a small hill on the floor. How should we begin? “The one thing I want to make people know is to go step by step. Don’t try to do everything at once,” said Ms. Terry, who is the author of Plastic-Free:How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.

1. What made Beth Terry give up plastics in her life?

A．Seeing some horrible scenes.

B．Reading about some terrible news.

C．Finding piles of plastic waste in her room.

D．Knowing about the annual creation of plastics.

2. Which word can best describe Beth Terry's experience of refusing plastics?

A．Difficult.

B．Absurd.

C．Relaxing.

D．Terrible.

3. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Allow myself to ask a favor.

B．Remind myself to keep on trying.

C．Remind myself to make a change.

D．Allow myself to get out of trouble.

4. What is Ms. Terry’s final suggestion?

A．To remember your original aims.

B．To stay true to your principles.

C．To make gradual progress.

D．To keep your word.

9 . It’s time for our annual 100+word-story Contest again. How do we pick out the winners? Read our final choices last year below. After reading these, head over to Facebook and submit your own story to Reader’s Digest.

WINNER: $1000   Lynne Momple   South Africa

Mavis took one end and I the other and together we carefully moved the old bed through the bedroom door and the open balcony doors.We lifted it over the balustrade (扶手) into the hands of family members waiting below. Carrying it under the low Albizia branches, then past the loses, they gently put it down in the middle of the freshly mown lawn.

Chantelle carried out the cotton sheets, the embroidered pillows, and finally the multi-coloured blanket her great-grandmother had knitted for me.

Tonight, on her 90th birthday, my mother wants to sleep out under the stars.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID:

“We thought this story had a strong visual impact thanks to the rich selection of words. It is a deserving winner.”

RUNNER-UP: $250   Ritu Hemnani   Hong Kong

Cope and Meera played together every day. “Race you to the garden !” Meera won. “I’m one step ahead!”

Cope chased Meera around the trees. Then she wept “We’re moving away.” Cope’s heart broke. “I will write to you.”

For years they remembered. Then life pulled them apart. Yet neither one forgot.

“It’s time for you to marry.” Cope’s father said one day, “I have chosen a girl.”

“I hope she’s sweet.” Cope prayed.

Later, he lifted her veil (面纱). “Meera, it’s you!” “I guess I’m still one step ahead!”

Meera smiled.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID:

“This entry tells a complete story. It conveys a rich tenderness and intimacy that has a lasting impact on the reader.”

1. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To display some funny stories.	B．To encourage readers to contribute.
C．To advertise two awarded stories.	D．To promote a story-telling contest.

2. In the opinion of the judges, the first story has a strong visual impact because of______.

A．variety in word	B．creativity in style
C．humour in language	D．flexibility in expression

3. What is the second story about?

A．It is a funny joke.	B．It is a fairy tale.
C．It is a classic comedy.	D．It is a romantic story.

10 . One day, Phosphorus (启明星) felt sad. She felt she was very small and ordinary while other stars in the sky were _______ and brighter. She sat in the night sky, crying.

“Why are you so _______?” the Moon came and asked her one night. “I am too small,” she cried, “Why was I born like this? Almost no one _______ me.” The Moon said to her, “Not really. Sometimes being bigger doesn’t mean being better.” But this didn’t _______, and Phosphorus was still not happy all the time.

Seeing this, the North Star came to her and asked for the _______. It was the same question and the same _______ and Phosphorus was still in the same situation.

Then the Sun knew this and decided to _______ her. She stared at her, saying, “Hey, it is _______ that I am the biggest and brightest star in the sky. But you are also important to the sky because you are very beautiful. I am so big and bright that I _______ people’s eyes. On the other hand, you can be gazed (凝视) upon to admire your ________. You tell the ________ of a new day to the world. No one can ________ you.”

This time, Phosphorus thought and thought. Suddenly, she didn’t feel herself ________ and began to understand her value. She twinkled ________ in the night sky.

Dear friends, just like Phosphorus, most of us are little stars, but we should find a(n) ________ for ourselves.

1.

A．smaller

B．cleverer

C．bigger

D．easier

2.

A．excited

B．nervous

C．frightened

D．sad

3.

A．imagined

B．noticed

C．challenged

D．decorated

4.

A．advance

B．exchange

C．work

D．quit

5.

A．help

B．opinion

C．explanation

D．reason

6.

A．star

B．dream

C．day

D．reply

7.

A．help

B．support

C．watch

D．order

8.

A．true

B．awkward

C．useless

D．bad

9.

A．warm

B．hurt

C．keep

D．clean

10.

A．light

B．size

C．height

D．beauty

11.

A．movement

B．goal

C．birth

D．topic

12.

A．do harm to

B．take care of

C．take the place of

D．look forward to

13.

A．important

B．clever

C．beautiful

D．small

14.

A．happily

B．quickly

C．nationally

D．curiously

15.

A．impression

B．position

C．talent

D．challenge