1 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

In a tiny school on the southern-most tip of New Zealand, children as young as five     1     (participate) in a rat catching competition recently. Each child was given their own trap, made out of     2     (recycle) billboards. They have been trapping at neighbours’ houses, in their sheds, and in their back yards over the past three months. They’re really into the competition. Their end goal is     3     (enable) bird species to recover.

2 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

On September 28, 2023, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia     1     (shock) the running world. Her record was far beyond     2     most people expected. Last September, she first entered the Berlin Marathon, and set a new women’s record for the course. This year, she ran almost four minutes     3     (fast) than she did last year. Assefa had a secret weapon — her shoes. The shoes     4     (make) so that they collect energy every time the runner lands and give a special spring as the runner’s foot leaves the ground again.

3 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The     1     (winner) of the 2023 Hugo Awards were announced on Saturday night, with Chinese author Hai Ya     2     (take) home the Best Novelette award for “The Space-Time Painter.” Hai Ya’s novelette is inspired by a painting masterpiece, Qianli Jiangshan Tu by Wang Ximeng from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Hai Ya has woven the story of Wang’s life into a thriller     3     combines the elements of traditional Chinese culture and history with sci-fi and detective genres.

4 . Before entering university, Wang Jiayi had never stepped onto a soccer field. Sports wasn’t really her _______ before college.

However, her perspective changed after witnessing the passion and heat of a male soccer match at university. Absorbed by the sport, Wang eagerly wanted to _______. But the _______ of a women’s soccer team at the university meant she could only join the male soccer team in a management capacity.

However, the following year, she took effort to _______ a women’s soccer team in her university. Recruiting team members proved to be _______. Wang visited the campus sports ground each morning to approach girls out exercising. She also sought out potential players from the women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Some girls joined out of _______, but their interest in soccer was limited. So she and the coach had to _______ them both before and during training sessions. To her delight, their attitudes gradually began to shift.

In June, Wang joined a local team, where she made an interesting _______: None of the team members were married. It seems that marriage and motherhood often prevent women from pursuing their personal development —not only affecting their choice of career but also _______ the realization of their own personal value.

But something did __________: before this new semester begins, incoming freshmen are already seeking her out to join the women’s soccer team.

1.

A．focus

B．talent

C．hope

D．virtue

2.

A．get away

B．get involved

C．get around

D．get down

3.

A．importance

B．existence

C．absence

D．performance

4.

A．establish

B．sponsor

C．train

D．conduct

5.

A．disappointing

B．confusing

C．interesting

D．challenging

6.

A．kindness

B．curiosity

C．pity

D．gratitude

7.

A．appreciate

B．criticize

C．motivate

D．persuade

8.

A．comment

B．judgement

C．reflection

D．observation

9.

A．disturbing

B．chasing

C．bringing

D．improving

10.

A．recover

B．happen

C．change

D．approach

5 . 阅读短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

    1     (sit) back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts claimed was “impossible”. The train     2     (race) along steadily since it left Xining. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been playing inside my head. The words “railways like massive dragons are winding among the mountains” seem     3     (particular) vivid as I travel across the “roof of the world”.

6 . 阅读短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

During Darwin’s time, people believed that all species     1     (appear) on Earth at the same time, and had not changed since.     2     Darwin began to think differently. He noticed that some species of animals were very similar to each other. Maybe animals evolved as they adapted to     3     (they) changing environments? It was just an idea. But it was enough     4     (inspire) Darwin to look for more evidence.

7 . A quick increase of dopamine (多巴胺) shifts mice into a dreamy stage of sleep. In the mice’s brains, the chemical messenger triggers rapid-eye-movement sleep, or REM, researchers report in the March 4 Science.

These new results are some of the first to show a trigger for the shifts. Understanding these transitions in more detail could ultimately point to ways to treat sleep disorders in people.

Certain nerve cells in the ventral tegmental area of the mouse brain can pump out dopamine, a molecule that has been linked to pleasure, movement and learning, which is then delivered dopamine to the amygdalae, two almond-shaped structures deep in the brain that are closely tied to emotions.

Using a molecular sensor that can tell exactly when and where dopamine is released, the researchers saw that dopamine levels rose in the amygdalae just before mice shifted from non-REM sleep to REM sleep.

Next, the researchers forced the mice into the REM phase by controlling those dopamine-producing nerve cells using lasers and genetic techniques. Compelled with light, the nerve cells released dopamine in the amygdalae while mice were in non-REM sleep. The mice then shifted into REM sleep sooner than they typically did, after an average of about two minutes compared with about eight minutes for mice that weren’t prompted to release dopamine. Stimulating these cells every half hour increased the mice’s total amount of REM sleep.

Additional experiments suggest that these dopamine-making nerve cells may also be involved in aspects of narcolepsy (嗜睡症). A sudden loss of muscle tone, called cataplexy, shares features with REM sleep and can accompany narcolepsy. Stimulating these dopamine-making nerve cells while mice were awake caused the mice to stop moving and fall directly into REM sleep.

The results help clarify a trigger for REM in mice; whether a similar thing happens in people isn’t known. Earlier studies have found that nerve cells in people’s amygdalae are active during REM sleep.

Many questions remain. Drugs that change dopamine levels in people don’t seem to have big effects on REM sleep and cataplexy. But these drugs affect the whole brain, and it’s possible that they are just not selective enough.

1. What can we learn from this passage?

A．People with sleep disorders could benefit from the research.

B．Dopamine is generated in two almond-shaped structures.

C．Dopamine levels rose after mice shifted to REM sleep.

D．An increase of dopamine can trigger REM in people.

2. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A．the entire brain

B．REM sleep and cataplexy

C．drugs affecting dopamine levels

D．people suffering from sleep disorders

3. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce two stages of sleep of all animals.

B．To explain dopamine as a trigger for REM in mice.

C．To present a new way to cure sleep disorders in people.

D．To propose a pioneer research interest in brain structure.

8 . Paul Durietz is a 76-year-old social studies teacher from Illinois. On September 1, he set a Guinness World Record for the world’s longest teaching career. He has been teaching for 53 years-since he was 23 years old.

Mr. Durietz became interested in history after hearing stories from his father. He made up his mind about becoming a social studies teacher when he was just 11 years old, mainly because of his love of history.

Mr. Durietz got his first teaching job at Woodland Middle School in Gurnee, Illinois in 1970. Ever since then, he’s been teaching social studies at the same school. For him, teaching is never boring because every day is different. He loves sharing his knowledge of history with students.

Things have changed a lot since he began all those years ago. When he started, he wrote on a blackboard with chalk, and the students used paper textbooks. These days, he and the students use computers and digital whiteboards.

Though technology has changed a lot, in Mr. Durietz’s eyes, the students are still pretty much the same-except that now they have cell phones.

And with or without technology, Mr. Durietz has used creative activities to help his students learn. For example, he has organized virtual field trips, geography contests, and special days about the US Civil War. To help his students learn about politics, he has even organized mock (模拟的) elections at school, which his students enjoyed most.

For much of his 53 years as a teacher, Mr. Durietz has been in charge of the social studies program at Woodland. In that time, he has helped to guide over 20 other social studies teachers at the school. To his extreme pride, he has even had students come back and tell him that they became history teachers because of him.

Mr. Durietz wasn’t really trying to set a record. He was just doing what he loved. He has no plans to retire any time soon. He hopes to break his own record. He also hopes to set another record as the teacher who’s worked the longest at the same school.

“Keep working on what you love to do in life,” he always says.

1. Mr. Durietz received an award from Guinness for ______.

A．being the oldest teacher in Illinois

B．being the best social studies teacher

C．having the longest years of teaching

D．working 53 years at the same school

2. What has made Mr. Durietz most proud of his work?

A．Sharing his knowledge of history.

B．Students enjoying the mock elections.

C．Guiding over 20 other teachers at Woodland.

D．Students following his example to be teachers.

3. According to the passage, which word can best describe Mr. Durietz?

A．Passionate.

B．Generous.

C．Ambitious.

D．Confident.

4. What can we conclude from this passage?

A．One is never too old to learn.

B．Be famous as young as possible.

C．You have got to like what you do.

D．When work is a pleasure, life is joy.

9 . The Summer Science Program is an independent nonprofit, the only summer program operated, governed, and largely funded by its former participants and teachers, which is proof of its impact on young people for more than six decades. Many participants call it “the educational experience of a lifetime.”

What can SSP offer?

SSP offers teens an exciting and inspiring immersion into hands-on experimental science. Working in teams of three, 36 participants and 7 teachers form a supportive “living and learning community” over 39 days. Each team completes a real research project, taking and analyzing original data. Afterward, they join a worldwide network of 2,500+ alumni of all ages.

In 2024 we will operate six programs:

•three in Astrophysics: research in near-earth asteroid orbit determination at New Mexico State Univ., Univ. of Colorado Boulder, and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

•two in Biochemistry: research in fungal crop pathogens at Purdue Univ. and Indiana Univ.

•one in Genomics: research in evolution of antibiotic resistance, at Indiana Univ.

Is SSP for you?

SSP is open to current high school juniors (and a few truly exceptional sophomores) who have completed the pre-requisites by summer, and will be at least 15 years old, but not yet 19, during the program.

Key Dates for 2024 Programs

Thursday, December 14, 2023 Applications open. We can remind you.	Friday, February 2, 2024 Deadline for international applicants-all non-U. S. citizens and U. S. citizens attending school outside the U. S.	Friday, March 1, 2024 Deadline for U. S. citizens and green card holders attending school in the U. S.
Mid-March, 2024 International admission decisions released	Mid-April, 2024 U. S. admission decisions released	2024 Programs will run mid June-end of July

1. In the 39-day program, participants will ______.

A．create hands-on science projects for teens	B．support a living and learning community
C．collect and study data to carry out a project	D．become part of a global alumni association

2. Which is a requirement for the applicants?

A．Attending a U. S. school.	B．Funding the program.
C．Holding a green card.	D．Finishing pre-requisites.

3. An overseas student had better submit the application before ______.

A．February

B．March

C．April

D．December

10 . Few would question that arts, in its massive forms and media, are like a mirror that reflects the social, cultural, economic or even political situation of a society of a particular era. However, beyond being simply an illustration of the human condition, arts can be vital in pushing the country forward culturally and economically.

Without doubt, arts are important for the progress of society. They enable individuals to develop on the whole and deepen the social ties in communities by gathering people to create, experience and enjoy art together, which can be seen from traditional ethnic dances to interactive theatre performanccs. Beyond material wants and needs, human beings find fulfilment in experiencing and expressing things of remarkable value through arts. Meanwhile, strong citizens’ participation in arts also strengthens the social fabric of a nation.

Moreover, arts enable a nation to progress in human rights and values. As powerful media that are able to stir hearts and cause reflection, arts can speak up the human voice of criticism sharply and clearly in times of crisis, and call upon society to seek the common good. It is evident that arts, which express human values and emotions, can constitute a profound way of promoting human dignity and additionally, form the barrier of the ethical and moral life of society.

More often than not, a booming arts scene may not narrow the rich-poor divide. It’s not hard to see that in a highly competitive world, it is essential for governments to prioritize the development of a strong workforce and the building of sustainable industries. However, arts may well complement (补充) economic policies as arts encourage individuals to exercise creativity. As Albert Einstein stated, imagination is more important than knowledge. While knowledge and professional skills may stimulate a country’s development, the ability to innovate and think out of the box may be valuable to a society facing ever new and unpredictable challenges.

While the importance of arts may differ from country to country, depending on its economic circumstances and the socio-political issues, the importance of arts to the progress of a nation should not be overlooked.

1. What’s the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The forms of arts.

B．The functions of arts.

C．The definition of arts.

D．The development of arts.

2. How do arts influence human rights and values?

A．By reflecting humans’ views.

B．By pointing out the common good.

C．By giving people a sense of fulfilment.

D．By forming the moral standard of society.

3. Why is Albert Einstein mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．To praise Albert Einstein’s achievements.

B．To call on humans to remember our history.

C．To stress the importance of arts in creativity.

D．To show the necessity of knowledge and skills.

4. What will the author probably agree with?

A．Arts serve as the major influence in values.

B．Arts play a part in the progress of a country.

C．Arts should aim at strengthening social bonds.

D．Arts can bridge the gap between rich and poor.