1 . Binge-watching (刷剧) is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in a row. With developments in the speed and connectivity of the Internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows stream (流播) directly to their television at their convenience.
This behavior is nothing new. In fact, binge-watching has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available concurrently. Once the episode finishes, many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like” suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode.
However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back (一集接一集地), almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and 25% have neglected their household chores (家务活). Next we’ll be missing work!
Bingeing has other connections — binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said, “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist (抗拒) watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?
The countless number of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning, then it becomes a problem. So, what’s the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”
1. How did the writer develop the first paragraph?| A．By giving a definition. | B．By telling a story. |
| C．By listing some examples. | D．By analyzing the cause and effect. |
| A．For convenience. | B．At the same time. |
| C．In detail. | D．Free of charge. |
| A．people can’t control their feelings | B．people can’t resist the temptation of Bingeing |
| C．people have no patience to do work | D．people are addicted to waiting for a new episode |
| A．To keep online media from stopping functioning. |
| B．To enjoy entertainment as much as possible. |
| C．To learn life lessons from the episodes. |
| D．To watch episodes in a moderate way. |
2 . Food festivals are a common occurrence in the UK and take place in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. Whatever your taste, there’s a food festival to match — no matter how specialized.
1. Meatopia
This three-day, London-based festival takes place at the end of August and is a meat lover’s paradise. In addition to a range of legally sourced meat products, from juicy burgers to tender steaks, attendees can listen to live music, watch butchery demonstrations, and attend informal meat-based workshops.
2. The National Honey Show
If you have a sweet tooth, then it could be that the National Honey Show, which started in 1921 and is the largest event of its kind, is the place for you to be. This three-day event attracts many local entries who showcase their sweet golden honey, some of which is sold globally.
3. The Orange Sauce Festival
Have you heard about a festival that is devoted only to orange sauce? Held in Cumbria, this sweet, fragrant festival has been running for 3 years. What attracts people most is a competition to find the best homemade orange sauce. There are thousands of participants from over 30 different countries across the globe, bringing their local snacks to share here.
4. The Ginger and Spice Festival
If you’d prefer something with a little more kick to it, then you could attend The Ginger (姜) and Spice Festival held in Market Drayton. Unlike other food festivals, it celebrates its town’s historic connection to Robert Clive, who returned from India with ginger. Because of this, they specialize in baking gingerbread, but also sell a range of traditional spices from mild to hot.
1. What do Meatopia and the National Honey Show have in common?| A．Both of them last for three days. | B．Both of them hold workshops. |
| C．Both of them originated from London. | D．Both of them have a long history. |
| A．The Meatopia. | B．The Ginger and Spice Festival. |
| C．The National Honey Show. | D．The Orange Sauce Festival. |
| A．It has something to do with a historic figure. |
| B．The ginger used in the festival is from India. |
| C．It sells spicy food. |
| D．The food is cooked by Robert Clive. |
3 . Here are four books for teens to read before they turn 18, including a mix of classics, young adult fiction and non-fiction. Parents may even want to re-read.
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
This may be one of the most powerful books of the decade, which deals with themes of race and community in a moving way that will speak to any teen. This book is an award winner and one for both parents and their children.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
This book is a series of short writings surrounding the experiences of Esperanza Cordero, a Latina girl living in Chicago. It will take readers along a coming-of-age story that explores happiness, heartbreak and everything in between.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This novel centers around a boy with autism (自闭症) and a mystery that the readers get to experience from the viewpoint of Christopher John Francis Boone. He doesn’t understand human emotion, and living this mystery through this angle is a thoughtful way for teens to understand the ways in which people can differ yet also be the same.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’ Engle
Though this book recently became popular again due to the release of the movie version, the movie is not a substitute for this beautiful story about family and the process of embracing who you truly are through the angle of space and time exploration.
1. What do we know about The House on Mango Street?| A．It consists of short writings. | B．It reflects the happiness of a girl. |
| C．It mainly deals with race conflicts. | D．It is a description of Latina children. |
| A．A reader. | B．A hero. | C．A writer. | D．A publisher. |
| A．The Hate You Give. | B．A Wrinkle in Time. |
| C．The House on Mango Street. | D．The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. |
4 . The Glover kids in Newburgh, New York, want to make a little extra money themselves before the school opens. So, earlier this week, they set up a lemonade stand on the side of the road.
Now, in most stories, that’s when the police
Whitney posted the picture on social media with explanatory words. The
Dozens of customers have
| A．Progress | B．Business | C．Budget | D．Service |
| A．demanded | B．proposed | C．warned | D．informed |
| A．angry | B．generous | C．anxious | D．responsible |
| A．take over | B．leave out | C．shut down | D．tear apart |
| A．course | B．licence | C．fund | D．record |
| A．surprised | B．tired | C．upset | D．confused |
| A．context | B．case | C．reason | D．issue |
| A．other than | B．instead of | C．as for | D．due to |
| A．investigated | B．prevented | C．praised | D．punished |
| A．contributions | B．differences | C．objections | D．adjustments |
| A．posing | B．exchanging | C．preparing | D．searching |
| A．refreshing | B．effective | C．amusing | D．creative |
| A．apology | B．development | C．support | D．debate |
| A．stood out | B．stood by | C．stopped out | D．stopped by |
| A．change | B．donation | C．supply | D．application |
5 . New research led by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has revealed that the spiny pollen (带刺花粉) of plants in the sunflower family can reduce infection of a common bee parasite (寄生生物) by up to 94 percent. The sunflowers'spiny pollen can destroy a parasite called C. bombi (熊蜂短膜虫), which has been significantly reducing bumblebee populations.
To investigate how sunflowers help bumblebees resist C. bombi, the researchers separated the spiny outer shell of the pollen from the chemical metabolites (代谢物) in the pollen’s core. They then mixed the spiny pollen shells of sunflowers, with the chemistry removed, into the pollen fed to one group of bees.
Another group was fed wildflower pollen with sunflower metabolites and no sunflower shells. The researchers discovered that the bees that ate the spiny sunflower pollen shells had the same response as bees feeding on whole sunflower pollen. These bees had a markedly reduced risk of C. bombi infection compared to those fed sunflower metabolites.
Bumblebees, which are vital pollinators of crops and wildflowers, are experiencing a rapid decline in their populations worldwide. Habitat loss due to urbanization and agricultural intensification is the greatest threat to bumblebees. Climate change is also taking a toll on bumblebees. As temperatures rise, bumblebees are forced to move further north to cooler climates, which can affect their ability to find food and nesting sites. Pesticide use is another significant threat to bumblebees. These chemicals are harmful to them and can damage their navigation and immune systems, leading to reduced reproductive success. Bumblebees play a vital role in maintaining healthy and diverse ecosystems. Understanding how sunflowers protect bees from disease could help us identify other flowers that have similar protective properties. Through this, researchers can work towards developing new strategies to help conserve bumblebees.
1. How does the spiny pollen of sunflowers benefit bees?| A．It protects them from predators. | B．It improves their sense of smell. |
| C．It can be used for their nest building. | D．It helps them resist parasite infections. |
| A．By collecting data. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By referring to previous studies. | D．By surveying experienced farmers. |
| A．Habitat loss. | B．Climate change. | C．The use of pesticides. | D．Environmental pollution. |
| A．It offers a way to increase sunflower yield. |
| B．It draws public attention to the role of ecosystems. |
| C．It provides a new idea for protecting bumblebees. |
| D．It allows people to distinguish between different plants species. |
6 . Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie’s feet, when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England.”
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”
“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you,” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will come to see him and laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would!” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father’s rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come. “Be wild now,” he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you, I promise I will.” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie clambered down off the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. Tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.
1. Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she________.| A．had lied about her good health condition | B．had decided to send Bertie to a new school |
| C．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie | D．knew Bertie would hate to go to England |
| A．some audience | B．other animals | C．Bertie’s friends | D．circus’s owners |
| A．kill the lion out of helplessness | B．protect himself from being chased |
| C．threaten the lion back to the wild | D．show his anger towards his father |
| A．circuses are the last places for animals to live |
| B．animals belonging to the wild should be set free |
| C．parents are sometimes cruel to their children |
| D．people and animals can be faithful to each other |
7 . As more and more people speak the global languages of English,Chinese, Spanish,and Arabic,other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss,scholars from a number of organizations — UNESCO and National Geographic among them — have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center,Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials — including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes — which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded — the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project — Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world,available not just to scholars but to the youngers.
Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to________.| A．promote global language | B．rescue disappearing languages |
| C．search for language communities | D．set up language research organizations |
| A．Having full records of the languages. | B．Writing books on language teaching. |
| C．Telling stories about language users. | D．Living with the native speakers. |
| A．The cultural studies in India. | B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Bhutan. | D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
| A．Write, sell and donate. | B．Record, repair and reward. |
| C．Design, experiment and report. | D．Collect, protect and reconnect. |
Founded in 1956, New Scientist is the world’s most popular weekly science and technology magazine. The magazine’s teams in London and around the world cover international news from a scientific standpoint and ask the biggest-picture questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human.
We’re offering a learning and development opportunity open to anyone. Successful applicants will begin a 6-month internship in October. The internship will be based in our High Street Kensington office, London.
Internship positions: two news interns and one video intern
● News interns will receive one to cone mentoring (指导) from an experienced journalist and on-the-job training in news and features writing, with your work published both online and in print.
● Our video intern will be based in our video team, You’ll learn how to produce scientific videos from idea to publication. You’ll have the opportunity to come with us on shoots and be trained in camerawork. You’ll also receive training in news writing and subediting (编辑校订).
Entry requirements:
● You will have completed a science, technology, engineering, mathematics or computing degree by the start of the internship.
● You have a demonstrable interest in writing, video editing or journalism.
Other important information:
● Please submit 200 words explaining how you meet these requirements, which internship position you are applying for, and why you are the right person for this internship.
● Please write an article on a recent scientific discovery, between 500 and 800 words (for news intern applications) or create a 2～3-minute video on a scientific topic that interests you (for video intern applications).
Please send your application to Tashan Chong-Kan-t, chongkan@dmgmedia.co.uk before July 12!
1. How will the interns benefit from the positions?| A．They will choose workplaces at will. | B．They will become famous online. |
| C．They will get professional training. | D．They will lead an independent team. |
| A．A relevant educational background. | B．Rich experience in video editing. |
| C．The ability to produce news videos. | D．A wide range of interests and hobbies. |
| A．A printed work in journalism. | B．A brief personal statement. |
| C．A recent scientific discovery. | D．A short video about daily life. |
9 . For years going home for the holidays has been bittersweet. I appreciate the opportunity to spend quality time with my mom but it is painful for me to see her house littered with stuff.Clothes bought but never worn, and new items in their original packaging carelessly purchased and never used. It’s evident that seeing the stuff on a daily basis reminds my mom of a time when shopping was her way of spending money.
I didn’t fully understand the extent to which my mom was suffering until this week, when I saw piles of clothes on her bed. “How do you manage to sleep every night with all that stuff, Mom?” I asked. To my horror, she replied, “I do it because I know I have to get rid of all this stuff eventually; I am punishing myself by sleeping with them until I do that. ”
Shocked and upset, I gently explained to her that punishing herself was only to make things worse,and that everybody deserves a place to sleep in peace, no matter what mistakes they’ve made. I suggested she move all the stuff upstairs, leaving her room comfortable to sleep in.
With patience and her slow but steady guidance, I helped her go through some of the piles and move them upstairs. For the rest of the week I stayed there, she was in a better mood and was excited about going through the rest of the house to finally get rid of her stuff—past mistakes and painful times. The items brought back painful memories as we inspected and moved them, but I kept reminding her that removing them would allow her to move on and heal. We finally sold so many things and took bag after bag to charity.
The stuff is just a sign of the destructive patterns of self-hatred on past mistakes. Only through the act of self-forgiveness can we bring about a chain reaction of reorganizing—both of the house and heart.
1. What made the author feel bitter?| A．She couldn’t understand her mom’s sorrows. |
| B．Her mom was stuck in the painful memories. |
| C．Her mom was always left alone at home. |
| D．Her mom wasted money on useless things. |
| A．getting rid of the stuff | B．buying the stuff |
| C．opening the stuff | D．moving the stuff |
| A．the author never bought her mom anything |
| B．the author’s mom has no money to purchase now |
| C．the author’s mom regrets buying so many things |
| D．the author knows her mom’s suffering only this week |
| A．How to do shopping wisely |
| B．Clearance helps reorganize the house |
| C．Keep an eye on the elderly’s behavior |
| D．Self-forgiveness makes a difference |
10 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.
On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.
Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.
We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.
1. What’s the function of food mentioned in the text?| A．To help motivate homesickness. |
| B．To show cultural identity. |
| C．To reflect a country’s history. |
| D．To show a community’s superiority. |
| A．The specific traditional food. |
| B．The national culture. |
| C．A traditional expression of food. |
| D．The old-fashioned taste. |
| A．To attach cultural importance to their dishes. |
| B．To announce the beginning of their life on foreign soil. |
| C．To make the dishes popular among customers. |
| D．To present their own food culture in a new way. |
| A．Negative. |
| B．Balanced. |
| C．Unfair. |
| D．Unchangeable. |
