1 . Moving into your own apartment is exciting, but it can sometimes take a little while to really feel settled in.     1     And many of them are inexpensive and easy to do!

Work on unpacking one room at a time if you’re just moving in. As you start to unpack boxes, work on one room at a time.     2     Arrange each room neatly, making it feel lived-in before you move on to the next one. For instance, you might set up your bedroom first, then the living room, then the kitchen and finally the bathroom.

    3     Many apartments are short on space, so you may find that you have to be very cautious when you’re planning your furniture layout. Think about how you want to use each space, then arrange the furniture to maximize the functionality of that area. For instance, if you love to have people over, you might arrange the seating in your living room so all the chairs face each other. If you spend a lot of time watching your favourite shows, your layout might be a sofa and an easy chair in front of the TV.

Light scented (香薰的) candles to make your apartment smell more like home.     4     Lighting a candle in your apartment can change the feel almost instantly, especially if you choose a candle that smells like baked goods, warm vanilla, sandalwood, or leather. Or, if there was a certain candle you loved at your last place, you could light that, instead.

Hang art and photos that reflect your style throughout your place. Art is the perfect way to express your personal style, so search thrift stores, secondhand shops, and online stores for deals on art pieces that make you feel good. You can also display pictures of your family and friends.     5    

A．That way you won’t make a mess.

B．Place your furniture so it decides different spaces.

C．Don’t underestimate the power of a comforting scent.

D．Make you feel at home and use it to paint one of your rooms.

E．That will give you an instant feeling of comfort when you look at them.

F．Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to warm up your space.

G．That way, you don’t have to worry about spending a lot money to stock up all at once.

2 . Enjoy these four stories of wonderful friendships between people and creatures.

Albi the Glowing Cow Boy

By Georgia Bwng. Illustrated by Angela Cogo

On a quiet farm in frosty moonlight, a calf (小牛) called Albi is born. A boy called Rufus lives nearby. Soon. Albi and Rufus set off on an incredible journey-but why are the two so deeply connected and how can they each find what they are searching for?

The Boy Who Saved a Bear

By Nizrana Farook

Nuwan works at a library delivering books, but when he unexpectedly crosses the path of a dangerous group of thieves, he must go on the run. Hiding deep in a cave he realizes he’s not alone-he’s sharing his shelter with a scared bear. Nuwan comforted the bear, so this unlikely pair become friends and are soon working together to stop the bad guys and solve a mystery.

Pax

By Sara Pennypacker, Illustrated by Jon Kassen

Peter has a special bond with Pax-a half-tamed fox cub (幼崽). When a war breaks out suddenly, Peter has to move to live with his grandfather, leaving Pax behind. Can the friends find their way back to each other? This story is accompanied by lots of beautiful illustrations.

Wilder

By Penny Chrimes

When a half-wild girl appears from the marshes (沼泽), the people of a nearby village treat her with doubt. She has a mysterious connection to animals, especially the falcon who circles above her. When the river starts to dry up and a dark sickness begins to spread, the girl sets out to save the villagers.

1. Why do Nuwan and the bear become friends?

A．They live in the same place.	B．They have to solve a mystery.
C．The bear was comforted by Nuwan.	D．The bear saved Nuwan from the thieves.

2. What makes Pax separate from Peter?

A．The force of thieves.	B．An unexpected war.
C．The decision of Peter’s grandfather.	D．The villagers’ doubt.

3. What do the four stories above have in common?

A．They are created with the same theme.	B．Their plots are only full of adventures.
C．They are accompanied by beautiful pictures.	D．Their characters grew up with their animal friends.

3 . As reported in the journal Nature, one system can directly remove carbon dioxide from sources ranging from flue gas (烟道气) to the atmosphere by using electricity to induce a water-and-oxygen-based electrochemical reaction. This technological achievement could turn direct air capture (捕获) from edge industry into a promising front for climate change relief.

Most carbon-capture systems involve a two-step process: First, high-pH liquids are used to separate the carbon dioxide, which is acidic, from mixed-gas streams such as flue gas. Next, the carbon dioxide is regenerated from the solution through heating or by injecting a low-pH liquid.

“Once the carbon dioxide is trapped in these solvents (溶剂), you have to regenerate it,” says Haotian Wang, assistant professor at Rice University. “There are literally no chemicals produced or consumed with our process. We also don’t need to heat up or pressurize our device, we just need to put it into a power outlet and it will work.”

Another drawback of current carbon-capture technologies is their reliance on large-scale, centralized infrastructure. By contrast, the system developed in the Wang lab is an extensible, modular, point-of-use concept that can adapt to a variety of scenarios. “The technology can be scaled up to industrial settings-power plants, chemical plants-but the great thing about it is that it allows for small-scale use as well: I can even use it in my office.” Wang says.

Also the reactor can continuously remove carbon dioxide from a simulated (模拟的) flue gas with efficiency above 98% using a relatively low electricity input. Wang notes that the process has “no carbon footprint or a very limited footprint” if powered by electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind. “This is great news considering that renewablel electricity is becoming more and more cost-effective,” Wang says.

1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?

A．Add up some opposite reasons.	B．Offer basic evidences to the topic.
C．Summarize the following paragraphs.	D．Provide some background information.

2. What do we know about Wang’s system according to the text?

A．It involves a two-step process.	B．It creates some chemicals.
C．It is simple and easy to operate.	D．It needs to be used in big plants.

3. How does the author support the topic?

A．By making comparisons.	B．By listing many numbers.
C．By providing research results.	D．By analyzing causes and effects.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards Wang’s technology?

A．Unclear.

B．Favourable.

C．Objective.

D．Disapproving.

4 . Around 3,500 Americans ingest (摄入) batteries every year. It’s apparently such a repeating issue that even a specific hotline was built in the event of such an emergency.

And while it’s unlikely your wristwatch’s power source will ever be safe to eat, that doesn’t mean all batteries will remain uneatable-in fact, some are being designed with digestion specifically in mind.

A team of researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology recently revealed what isl being called as the world’s first fully rechargeable, eatable battery. As detailed in a paper published with Advanced Materials, the new device has made good use of some eatable materials.

“Eatable electronic devices will have major implications for gastrointestinal tract (胃肠道) monitoring, treatment, as well as rapid food quality monitoring,” reads the paper’s abstract, adding that although recent research proved the feasibility of eatable sensors and circuits, “fully eatable electronic devices and eatable power sources are still required, of which there have been very few examples.”

According to the team’s findings, their proof-of-concept battery was capable of producing 0.65 volts, which is safely low enough for the human body to handle. The ingestible could provide 48 μA of current for 12 minutes, or alternatively, a few microamps (微安) for over an hour. Such a power supply could provide enough energy for small electronics alike to eatable pill-shaped modules and other gastrointestinal procedure alternatives.

In a statement, researcher coordinator Mario Caironi explained that such a product could help power monitors for both human health conditions and food storage. Additionally, given their safety, products with stronger power could be used within children’s toys, where ingestion risk is higher.

In the team’s statement, co-author Ivan Ilic also explained that despite the battery’s relatively low power, its digestibility provides a promising example of a battery that doesn’t use any harmful materials.

1. What is the necessity of developing eatable batteries?

A．They help with the food shortage.	B．They can avoid the harm caused by eating batteries.
C．They are useful in some special fields.	D．They have no impact on the environment.

2. Which is the closest in meaning to “feasibility” in Paragraph 4?

A．Availability.

B．Flexibility.

C．Responsibility.

D．Possibility.

3. What can we infer from the statements in the last paragraph?

A．The application of the battery has a long way to go.

B．The eatable batteries will be widely used in our life.

C．The development of the eatable battery is promising.

D．The eatable batteries will soon be put into production.

4. In which section of a magazine can we read the text?

A．News Corner.

B．Story Garden.

C．Language World.

D．Technology Square.

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。

Jiang Zhirong, 22, is from Yingcheng, Hubei Province. Last year, she passed the examination for upgrading from a junior college student to a university student, and     1     (admit) as an undergraduate at Hubei Minzu University.

As she was the only one in her class     2     succeeded in passing the exam, Jiang’s teacher and classmates advised her not to suspend her schooling, but she was     3     (determine) because she “wanted to give back to society”.

As a member of the Plan of the 2022 College Students Volunteer Service to Western Regions, Jiang has now worked in Hubei’s Laifeng County, at the junction (交界处) of three     4     (province), Hubei, Hunan and Chongqing.

In the     5     (two) year of her junior high school studies, Jiang’s father passed away. Her mother was unable to take care of herself because she suffered from     6     illness and her grandmother later succumbed (被压垮) to Alzheimer’s.

    7     (help) Jiang’s family, the local government helped rebuild their house. A kind-hearted man called Nie Chunhua gave support towards Jiang’s mother living in a welfare home.     8     a heart full of gratitude, Jiang studied very hard in technical secondary school and college, until she passed the undergraduate upgrading exam and suspended her schooling.

Speaking of her     9     (decide), Jiang said, “When I was asked whether I would regret     10     (suspend) school to volunteer in the western regions, I was certain I would never.”

6 . Christmastime is generally thought of as joyful. But 40 years ago, it was a ______ time for my wife, Geri, and me. Both of us were about to lose our ______. I was an educator and Geri was a psychologist. To make matters ______, we had loans (贷款) on two houses-at a time when interest rates hovered (徘徊) at 16%. We wanted to ______ one of our houses, but the sale ______ at the last minute.

A place to call ______ looked extremely hopeless for us. Yet we ______ to celebrate Christmas in our new house before we faced the terrible ______ of becoming homeless. So we did something crazy: We ______ a Christmas tree.

It was an artificial tree—the ______ we could find at the local store. I ______ we spent just $11 or $12 on it. It looked ______ with nothing on it, which is only what you would expect from such an inexpensive ______. But it didn’t look half bad when it was fully ______.

Perhaps it gave us good ______. Our job situation turned around, making it ______ for us to keep our new house after all. We ______ put up the tree every year. Friends have advised us to ______ it. But our daughters, who know its ______, insist that we keep it.

Today, the tree is a reminder of our ______ beginnings in our present home-the same one where it first stood up 40 years ago.

1.

A．confusing

B．difficult

C．embarrassing

D．annoying

2.

A．chances

B．hopes

C．jobs

D．lives

3.

A．easier

B．further

C．less

D．worse

4.

A．rent

B．sell

C．build

D．donate

5.

A．fell through

B．went through

C．fell behind

D．went down

6.

A．home

B．heaven

C．office

D．palace

7.

A．refused

B．hesitated

C．decided

D．supposed

8.

A．process

B．progress

C．result

D．practice

9.

A．bought

B．planted

C．found

D．borrowed

10.

A．biggest

B．heaviest

C．prettiest

D．cheapest

11.

A．realize

B．remember

C．wonder

D．imagine

12.

A．pitiful

B．grateful

C．joyful

D．powerful

13.

A．gift

B．theme

C．topic

D．object

14.

A．equipped

B．polished

C．decorated

D．deserted

15.

A．choice

B．luck

C．support

D．reward

16.

A．hard

B．necessary

C．urgent

D．possible

17.

A．still

B．again

C．also

D．even

18.

A．hide

B．remove

C．repair

D．improve

19.

A．record

B．quality

C．history

D．function

20.

A．potential

B．guilt

C．illegal

D．hard

7 . In the adviser’s room

Amy：Good morning, Ms. Li.
Ms. Li：Morning, Amy. How are you doing?
Amy：Very well, thank you. Ms. Li, I want to be a teacher in the future, so what courses do you think I should choose?
Ms. Li：Oh, interesting! Well, first of all, I think a language course like Chinese would be helpful to you. And there are some other courses...
1. What does Amy want to be in the future?

A．An engineer

B．A designer.

C．A teacher.

D．doctor

2. What course will Amy probably choose?

A．English

B．IT.

C．Art.

D．Chinese

8 . 假定你的家乡在北京，你校广播站正在开展主题为“我美丽的家乡”征文活动，请你写一篇短文投稿，内容如下：
1. 家乡的位置（North）、人口（21.8 million）及面积（16.41 million平方公里）；
2. 家乡的美食和景点；
3. 家乡的历史和人文；
4. 欢迎来我家乡体验当地文化和习俗。
词数：100左右。
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9 . 假定你是李华，你和交换生Tom约好昨晚去看电影，但是由于特殊情况没能到场，请发邮件向Tom道歉，内容如下：
1. 解释原因；
2. 另约时间；
3. 请求原谅;
参考词汇：cinema 电影院   字数：100左右
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10 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How long did the two men spend at sea?

A．One week.

B．About 20 days.

C．About one month.

2. What was the two men’s attitude toward their adventure?

A．Positive.

B．Ambiguous.

C．Negative.

3. What did the two men eat to survive?

A．Fish.

B．Seabirds.

C．Oranges.

4. Who saved the two men?

A．A fisherman

B．The local government.

C．A search and rescue team.