1 . A slower walk as you age has always been a warning sign of increasing weakness that could lead to falls and other disabilities, experts say. Recent research in small groups of elderly subjects has also found that a slower walk from year to year may be an early sign of cognitive(认知)decline. That may be due to shrinking in the right hippocampus(海马体), which is the part of the brain connected with memory, according to studies.

Now, a new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, finds people who walk about 5% slower or more each year while also exhibiting signs of slower mental processing were most likely to develop dementia(痴呆).

The study followed a group of Americans over 65 and Australians over 70, nearly 17, 000 seniors in total, for seven years. Every other year, people in the study were asked to take cognitive tests that measured overall cognitive decline, memory, processing speed and verbal fluency. Subjects were also asked to walk three metres twice to determine the person’s typical walking speed.

At the end of the study, researchers found the highest risk of dementia was for “dual decliners“, or people who not only walked more slowly but also showed some signs of cognitive decline, said Dr. Joe Verghese, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, who was not involved in the study.

There are things we can do as we age to reverse(逆转) the brain shrinkage that comes along with typical aging. Aerobic(有氧的) exercise training increased the volume of the right front hippocampus by 2%, thus reversing age-related loss in the organ by one to two years in a 2011 clinical trial. Aerobic exercise means “with air”, and is a type of workout where heart rate and breathing increase, but not so much that you cannot continue to function. Types of aerobic exercise can include quick walking, swimming, biking and dancing. Non aerobic exercise includes weightlifting, high jump, long jump, throwing, etc.

1. What’s the finding of the new study?

A．A slower walk could indicate dementia.

B．The right hippocampus is connected with memory.

C．A slower walk as you age has been a sign of weakness.

D．A slower walk may be an early sign of cognitive decline.

2. What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

A．The result of the new study.

B．The subject of the new study.

C．The importance of the new study.

D．The research process of the new study.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Everyone should take aerobic exercise.

B．Aerobic exercise is the best way to keep healthy.

C．Aerobic exercise is most suitable for old people.

D．Taking aerobic exercise is useful to reverse age-related loss.

4. What is included in Aerobic exercise?

A．Slow walking.

B．Biking.

C．Weightlifting.

D．Throwing.

2 . What do you do with your clothes that you don’t want to wear anymore? Through cutting, stitching(缝)and redesigning. Baxter Salzwedel has found a fashionable way to be sustainnble(可持续的).

In March, recycling clothes earned the 17-year-old from Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School in Wisconsin, US, a finalist spot in the Young Entrepreneurs competition. The competition was hosted by Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, a non-profit organization. He won a scholarship of $10, 000 for his sustainable clothing brand The Mad Patcher.

In the beginning. Salzwedel just worked with clothes for fun. He learned his sewing skills at a young age from his grandmother. He then started to tear up his old jeans to try and create cool new designs. The fun hobby quickly turned into a business for Salzwedel when his friends and classmates started asking him to make customized clothing for them.

“So many people wanted them that I wasn’t going to make 150 pairs of pants for free, so that was when 1 had to start making a business out of it, ” Salzwedel told the Sheboygan Press.

In 2021, Salzwedel started his clothing brand. He uses colourful and patterned fabrics(布 料) from other clothes to create his patchwork(拼接) designs, like jeans, shirts and jackets. He only uses donated or recycled materials to ensure maximum sustainability.

Salzwedel has earned thousands of dollars through selling his clothes, and he donated 25 percent of his profits to non-profit organizations.

Talking about the competition, Salzwedel said, “It was exciting to do that and meet all sorts of young people with similar ideas. ” The teenager planned to use the prize to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. The college is one of the most famous fashion schools in the world. Meanwhile, he will continue doing his business even after he graduates. For Salzwedel, The Mad Patcher is a lifelong project worth working on.

1. What inspired Salzwedel to do business?

A．His interest in fashion design.

B．The popularity of his pants.

C．His grandmother’s encouragement.

D．The growing problem of fashion waste.

2. What does the text tell us about The Mad Patcher?

A．It aims to promote second-hand clothes.

B．It uses donated materials to reduce costs.

C．It produces sustainable fashion products.

D．It copies designs from well-established brands.

3. What does Salzwedel plan to do with the scholarship?

A．Grow his clothing brand.

B．Earn a degree in fashion.

C．Donate it to a fashion school.

D．Cooperate with like-minded people.

4. Which of the following can best describe Salzwedel?

A．Strong but selfish.

B．Brave and determined.

C．Talented but negative.

D．Creative and generous.

3 . I walked along the sidewalk that borders the west side of Central Park this morning, wondering at its shape: Hexagonal(六边形的) paving stones underneath my feet were bordered by brickwork, with a tidy stone wall running alongside. Just past the wall lay the park itself, where delicate branches of leafless trees reached to the blue sky, and sparrows emerged from trees.

The contrast between the straight-lined, orderly, man-made sidewalk and the complex diversity of nature just beyond its border made me think about the differences between natural creation and man’s creation.

The world holds many examples of circles: the moon, grapes, drops of water and the center of flowers. Triangles(三角形) are readily evident, too. There are kitty cat noses and ears, mountain peaks and river deltas.

But what about the most common shape in the man-made world, the rectangle(矩形)? I searched my brain for natural equals. Though I thought and thought, I came up with only two: teeth and salt crystals. That surprised me. Do we prefer rectangles simply because it’s easier to plan and build with blocks and straight lines? Or does it have something to do with the idea that humans tend to assume life is supposed to be linear? I don’t know.

There are bent lines everywhere. As I look at the beauty of, a tree in winter, with its branches reaching skyward in a seemingly untidy but obviously planned pattern, I can apprehend something of what that means.

Our world isn’t always tidy and predictable in the way that I want it to be. There are twists and turns in my life that I can’t foresee or predict. That doesn’t mean branching off in unexpected directions is bad or wrong. It means that when I find myself in each new place, I need to continue growing and reaching upward.

1. How did the author feel about the sidewalk’s shape?

A．disappointed.

B．surprised.

C．worried.

D．pleased.

2. What is the author’ s attitude to the various shapes mentioned in the text?

A．negative.

B．cautious.

C．unconcerned.

D．objective.

3. Which can explain the underlined word “apprehend” in paragraph 5?

A．create.

B．imagine.

C．understand.

D．arrange.

4. What may the author agree with?

A．People should live in a complex world.

B．Triangles are the most common in nature.

C．Natural creation and man’s creation should be balanced.

D．We should move forward in the face of uncertainties.

4 . Climate change disproportionately affects the world’s most vulnerable people, particularly poor rural communities that depend on the land for their livelihoods and coastal populations throughout the tropics. We have already seen a chain of tough suffering that results from extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, and more.

For remedies, advocates and politicians have tended to look toward cuts in fossil-fuel use or technologies to capture carbon before it enters the atmosphere—both of which are crucial. But this focus has overshadowed the most powerful and cost-efficient carbon capture technology in the world. Recent research confirms that forests are absolutely essential in reducing climate change, thanks to their ability to absorb and isolate carbon. In fact, natural climate solutions such as conservation and restoration of forests, along with improvements in land management, can help us achieve 37 percent of our climate target of limiting warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, even though they currently receive only 2.5 percent of public climate financing.

Forests’ power to store carbon dioxide is staggering: one tree can store an average of about 48 pounds in one year. Intact(完整的)forests could take in the CO₂ emissions of some entire countries.

For this reason, policymakers and business leaders must create and enforce policies to prevent deforestation, foster, reforestation of degraded land, and promote the sustainable management of standing forests in the fight against climate change. Protecting the world’s forests ensures they can keep performing essential functions such as producing oxygen, filtering water and supporting biodiversity. Not only does the world’s entire population depend on forests to provide clean air, clean water, oxygen and medicines, but 1.6 billion people also rely on them directly for their livelihoods.

Unfortunately, a huge amount of forest continues to be converted into agricultural land to produce a handful of resource-intensive commodities - despite zero-deforestation commitments from companies and governments. So now is the time to increase forest protection and restoration. This action will also address a number of other pressing global issues. For example, in less developed, rural areas - especially in the tropics - community-based forest-management programs can forge pathways out of poverty. In the Peten region of Guatemala, for instance, community-managed forests boasted a near-zero deforestation rate from 2000 through 2013, as compared with 12 percent in nearby protected areas and buffer(缓冲)zones. These communities have built low-impact, sustainable forest-based businesses that have stimulated the economy of the region enough to fund the creation of local schools and health services. Their success is especially noticeable in a location where, outside these community-managed zones, deforestation rates have increased 20-fold.

1. Which of the following statements about natural climate solutions is true according to the passage?

A．They are the only effective strategies available to address the climate change.

B．They pale in comparison with the reduction in fossil-fuel use or technologies.

C．They can and should play a more important role in cutting carbon emissions.

D．They manage to limit warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

2. The word “staggering” (Paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to “_________”.

A．documented	B．incredible
C．unsteady	D．negligible

3. Which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree with?

A．The policies to prevent deforestation have borne fruit.

B．Developed countries are hit the hardest by climate change.

C．Economic growth contributes a lot to reducing deforestation.

D．Some governments fail to keep their promises to preserve forests.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Keeping forests undamaged can go a long way toward saving the planet.

B．A high-tech climate fix is required to dramatically lessen global warming.

C．Governments should work together with businesses to stop deforestation.

D．Sustainable management of forests is crucial in powering regional development.

5 . 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。

Lushan has an abundance of plants. It belongs to subtropical area     1     the climate is moderate with ample rainfall. The average temperature in July is only 22.6℃.     2     (build) in 1934, the Lushan Botanical Garden is an important base for preserving plants. Lushan is also       3     good summer resort.

The mountain is also an educational base and religious center of ancient China and is home to one of the     4     (old) academies (书院) of our country—the Bailudong Academy. It was in Bailudong Academy     5     an educational system was proposed by the outstanding educator Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty. This     6     (gradual) formed the guideline for education in ancient China. With     7     (it) great charm, Lushan has also attracted more than 1,500 outstanding writers such as Li Bai, Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Kang Youwei, Guo Moruo, to name but a few, and       8    (preserve) more than 4,000 of their poems and essays.

Different religions have been observed in Lushan over the past l,600 years,     9     (include) Buddhism,Taoism, Islam and Christianity. The all-embracing spirit of Lushan means that it has various       10     (style) of architecture, all of which make Lushan a large-scale World Village.

6 . In order for a business to survive in today’s world, it is important that we regularly review what we are doing and how we are doing it. By considering new ideas and new ways of doing things, we can improve on our products or services, increase sales, reduce costs and make our processes more effective and efficient.     1    

Using the latest technology to improve your products or services. When we think of innovation, we often think of new technologies. While they might be impressive, we should not use new technologies just because they are available.     2     Companies that produce cars, household appliances, etc. often have a large R&D (研发) department to work on making their products better .

    3     By listening to customer feedback, we can get their opinions on how we are doing and find out about what it is that they want. We also need to be aware of changes in customer demands and keep up with the times

Offering a new product or service to reach new customers.     4     Innovation sometimes means developing a new product that targets a different group of customers. Although video games were often played by boys, in 2006, video games giant Nintendo introduced a new game, successfully targeting girls and older customers.

    5     By looking at the changes to the customer’s lifestyle and needs,we sometimes realize that there might be better ways to serve them. Customers who do not have a lot of time might prefer to have their food or their shopping delivered to their homes, or they like to do their banking online.

A．Changing the way you provide a service.

B．In short, innovation is key to increasing profits.

C．Not all innovation will bring success to our businesses.

D．Responding to customer demands by changing what is on offer.

E．Innovating constantly in order to keep your business on the right track.

F．There is a risk that your competitors might take away some of your customers.

G．It is important to consider how the technology can improve our products or services.

7 . European rabbits might not be much to look at.They have a nondescript grayish-brown coat,small ears, and relatively short legs. But these ordinary animals are a keystone species that play an essential role in holding many ecosystems together in the United Kingdom, according to new research.

European rabbits live in grass and heathland habitats. They are somewhat picky eaters .When they graze(吃草),they scratch and dig holes,disturbing the ground and brush while they look for desirable food. These movements and how they disturb the ground help the ecosystem.

“Their grazing and digging activities create areas of bare soil which rare plants and invertebrates(无脊椎动物)require,”rabbit expert Diana Bell of the University of East Anglia’s School of Biology tells Treehugger.

Combined with all their digging and scraping,rabbits also contribute nutrients to the soil when they leave their waste on the soil. Researchers have found that this activity benefits.lowland grassland, heath, and dune habitats, which helps maintain beneficial conditions for many mosses,lichens,plants,insects,and bird species. Without the help of rabbits,many of these species would have to leave the area or might even die out,researchers say.

But European rabbits are facing a crisis.Due to threats such as disease, habitat loss,predators,and hunting,the animals are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature(IUCN) in their native region.

One disease called myxomatosis is an insect-spread virus from South America that was intentionally introduced by a farmer in France in the mid- 1950s to control the rabbit population.About 90% of European rabbits died during early outbreaks and the disease continues to affect rabbit populations on this area.

1. Why do European rabbits scratch and dig holes?

A．To find food.	B．To loosen the soil.
C．To hide their waste.	D．To protect themselves.

2. What can we infer from the fourth paragraph?

A．Birds are superior to plants and insects.

B．The species in an ecosystem are separated.

C．Some species depend on rabbits to survive.

D．Rabbits will die out without lowland grassland.

3. What contributed to the sharp reduction of rabbits in the 1950s?

A．Hunting.

B．Disease.

C．Predators.

D．Habitat loss.

4. What will the author probably talk about next?

A．How to restore rabbits.	B．How to control rabbits.
C．How to tame rabbits.	D．How to hunt rabbits.

8 . As a travel journalist who lives in three countries each year — Australia, Ireland, and Thailand — the coronavirus has left me in a spin (手忙脚乱) as I’ve tried to balance my commitments in these three nations with my need to travel for work.

My situation is far from unique. Nowadays, a huge number of people have close family who are scattered across the world, requiring modern forms of transport to connect with their loved ones face-to-face. Suddenly, that option has been removed for many of us. The coronavirus threat has closed down countless air, rail, bus, and boat routes. We can’t go to see our distant family and friends, even if we want to.

In a world which has never been so interconnected, the COVID-19 outbreak has left millions of people feeling an unfamiliar sense of being separated. Our lives changed dramatically.

Loneliness never suited me, even as a child. I longed for human contact. It’s one reason travel became such a powerful influence on me in my early 20s. However, as I ventured to non-English speaking countries on my own,sometimes for up to five weeks, I was forced to become comfortable in my own company, to stop leaning on others. Then as I entered my 30s, and started a travel journalism career that saw me living in three different countries, the meaning of travel shifted for me once more. As much as I still adored the excitement and education it offered, never did I value travel more than, when it reunited me with my family.

Once this crisis eventually recedes, I’ll try never to forget this current moment. I’ll think back to the time when travel was banned, my family were out of reach, and I was isolated and lonely and afraid. Then I’ll smile, and plan my next trip.

1. What does the author think of his situation?

A．Unique.

B．Common.

C．Awful.

D．Worrying.

2. Which statement is right about the author according to the fourth paragraph?

A．His idea of traveling is changing.

B．He chose travel as his career.

C．He is accustomed to loneliness.

D．His interest in travel decreases.

3. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “recedes” in Paragraph 5?

A．Goes on.

B．Follows up.

C．Fades away.

D．Breaks out.

4. What does the author mainly intend to emphasize in this text?

A．A combination of work and travel.

B．Measures to deal with COVID-19.

C．The importance of being connected.

D．The impact of COVID-19 on travel.

9 . Some polyglots, who can speak quite a few languages, may seem especially talented. Zhao Yuanren, a Chinese American _________, could speak seven languages and more than 30 dialects. England’s Queen Elizabeth I could speak about 10 languages. A famous Italian named Guiseppe Mezzofanti was reported to have been able to _________ in 30 to 40 languages. Polyglots are indeed _________, but American teenager Tim Doner is living proof that anyone can try to be one.

As a child, Tim studied French and Latin at school, but he found it difficult to be interested in just words and grammar rules. When he was 13, Tim _________ listening to Hebrew rap music. One day, he _________ the words in a dictionary and realised he could put them together to make _________! He started looking for people who spoke Hebrew so he could _________, and then, he decided to sign up for a summer Arabic class. One evening, just for fun, he posted a video of himself speaking Arabic and another of him speaking Hebrew. Hebrew and Arabic speakers wrote nice _________ on his videos and gave him advice. Tim loved it. He could _________ communicate with people! After that, Tim started looking for new languages to learn, and posting more videos of himself speaking new languages, including Chinese. Tim also began to use many other methods to make learning __________.

Tim wishes everyone would learn more than one language and not just as a school subject. “Knowing a language is a lot more than knowing a couple of words out of a __________,” Tim says. Languages are for communicating with people, learning about their __________, and understanding how different people think. “Open up your mind to the fact that language __________ a cultural world view,” says Tim. “You can translate words easily, __________ you can’t quite translate meaning. ” Or, as Nelson Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he __________, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

1.

A．learner

B．native

C．linguist

D．master

2.

A．hear

B．sing

C．communicate

D．appreciate

3.

A．amazing

B．satisfying

C．equal

D．specific

4.

A．enjoyed

B．started

C．stopped

D．finished

5.

A．referred to

B．looked up

C．looked for

D．made up

6.

A．songs

B．texts

C．expressions

D．sentences

7.

A．exchange

B．register

C．practise

D．design

8.

A．words

B．phrases

C．demands

D．comments

9.

A．actually

B．naturally

C．eventually

D．finally

10.

A．easy

B．difficult

C．boring

D．fun

11.

A．dictionary

B．message

C．language

D．card

12.

A．vocabulary

B．grammar

C．culture

D．spirit

13.

A．finds

B．represents

C．translates

D．presents

14.

A．but

B．and

C．so

D．therefore

15.

A．regards

B．understands

C．describes

D．likes

10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

“Class, please line up! Let’s welcome Marti,” said Ms. Baroni, our tae kwon do (跆拳道) teacher.

I was excited that my best friend Marti would be taking lessons, too.

Everyone said, “Hi.” Marti went red in the face.

“You don’t need to be shy here,” I said to Marti in a quiet voice. “Everyone’s really nice.”

After warm-up exercises, Ms. Baroni divided everyone into groups. Even though I was a level above Marti, Ms. Baroni told us to practice together. “Jenna, why don’t you show Marti some basic kicks?”

I said sure and showed her a front kick. Marti copied it. Her kick was as high as my shoulder. “Great job, Marti! Let me show you something,” said Ms. Baroni. She then spent the next five minutes working with Marti. I leaned (倚靠) against the wall and watched Marti copy everything Ms. Baroni did. The more Marti did, the more praise she received from Ms. Baroni.

I practiced my form half-heartedly. “What if Marti became better than me? What if Marti became Ms. Baroni’s favorite student?” I couldn’t help thinking.

“Watch your form!”

“Who is Ms. Baroni speaking to?” I wondered. I turned and saw Ms. Baroni looking directly at me. Nothing could have been worse.

At the end of class, I took my bag and hurried outside to find my mom. I had planned to wait and say good-bye to Marti, but now I wanted to be alone. For the next several weeks, Marti continued to impress our teacher with her skills. Honestly, I felt a little jealous (忌妒的) of her. And as Marti turned into a star student, I became less and less excited about tae kwon do.

One day, as we walked down the hallway at school, Marti said, “Ms. Baroni thinks I’m ready to take the test for the next level.”

I was surprised. “It’s harder than you think. Two judges other than Ms. Baroni will give you points,” I said.

Marti looked disappointed (失望的). “You don’t think I’m good enough to take the test yet?”

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

I felt my face get hot, and I explained, “I didn’t say that.”

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“I haven’t been a very good friend,” I thought sadly.

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