1 . Reading is often seen as an individual activity, but it definitely doesn’t have to be. If you join a book club, reading with others can be a positive social interaction.     1     And here are some of the ways that becoming part of a book club can better your life.

    2     If so, a book club can help you discover and explore new types, authors, and perspectives (观点). According to a recent survey, 57 percent of book clubbers said they wouldn’t otherwise have read some of the books selected by their book clubs.

In such a fast-paced world, sometimes it’s challenging to find the time and motivation to read. By joining a book club, you make a commitment to read the book of the month or the week and discuss your insights with others.     3    

Reading is one of the most important things you can do for your brain, but reading with other people can make it even better.     4     Being part of a book club can improve your learning skills, such as your memory, comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills. By discussing the book with others, you are exercising your brain and stimulating new neural (神经的) connections. Book clubs allow you to connect with other readers and learn from their perspectives.

Another plus is that at a book club you get together with your club members regularly, with whom you can share not only your thoughts about books but also other aspects of life.    5     Therefore, by reading with others, you are enriching your heart as well as your mind. So what are you waiting for? Join a book club now and enjoy the many benefits of reading with others!

A．This can help you meet your reading goals.

B．Joining a book club can offer you many benefits.

C．Book clubs can boost your happiness and well-being.

D．Do you often have difficulty finishing reading a book?

E．This brings a sense of community, belonging, and friendship.

F．Have you found yourself always reading similar types of books?

G．Meeting with others and exchanging ideas about things is the key.

2 . Four Inventions That Changed the World

The course of human evolution has been filled with inventions. The following inventions changed the world in one way or another.

Match

Many of us wonder what life was like before matches. We can thank a British pharmacist and his dirty mixing stick. In 1820s, John Walker noticed a dried lump on the end of a stick while he was stirring a mix of chemicals. When he tried to scrape (刮掉) it off, flames appeared. The initial matches were made of cardboard but soon the matches came in a box equipped with a piece of sandpaper for striking.

Penicillin

Penicillin was discovered in 1928 when a young bacteriologist, Alexander Fleming, was tidying up his lab. After having been on vacation, he returned to work to find that a dish of Staphylococcus bacteria had been left uncovered, and he noticed that mould (霉菌) on the culture had killed many of the bacteria. His further research found that it could kill other bacteria.

Microwave Oven

Of all the sci-fi kitchen appliances, the microwave oven really relieves the load on housewives. It was discovered in the 1940s. When Percy Spencer, an engineer, was working on a magnetron (磁控管), he noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had started to melt due to the microwaves. Spencer found that indeed, when food was placed in the box with the microwave energy, it cooked quickly.

Plastic

The first plastic was invented in 1907 by Leo Hendrik Baekeland. His initial quest was to invent a ready replacement for shellac (虫胶), an expensive product got from lac beetles. Baekeland combined formaldehyde (甲醛) with a waste product of coal, and heated the mixture. Rather than a shellac-like material, he created a substance that didn’t melt under heat and stress.

1. Who invented matches?

A．John Walker.	B．Alexander Fleming.
C．Percy Spencer.	D．Leo Hendrik Baekeland.

2. What had Leo Hendrik Baekeland originally intended to invent?

A．A shellac-like material.	B．A product from lac beetles.
C．A replacement for shellac.	D．A waste product of coal.

3. What do the four inventions have in common?

A．They were the results of joint efforts.	B．They were the accidental discoveries.
C．They were the fruits of years of research.	D．They were unaccepted when coming out.

3 . 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 would always provide important opportunities for global development, and the nation would remain committed to     1    (drive)economic globalization in a more open, balanced and win-win direction,” an official said on the sixth China International Import Expo(CIIE)on Sunday. In his speech on the CIIE, which opened in Shanghai, he mentioned that various nations should     2    (joint)seek development in the sluggish(迟缓的)global economic recovery.

“The CIIE, first     3    (hold)in 2018, serves as a platform for international procurement(采购), investment promotion and people-to-people exchanges,     4     has contributed to encouraging a new development pattern and global economic growth,” the official noted. He also expressed the     5    (expect)that the annual expo could function as a gateway to the new development pattern and presented new opportunities to the world with China’s fresh development. Additionally, he said the expo should fully play     6    (it)role as a platform for facilitating high-level opening-up and make the Chinese market     7     major one shared by the world, so that the whole world could benefit     8     win-win cooperation.

The official also     9    ( stress)Beijing’s efforts to advance opening-up with greater market opportunities,     10    (far)creating immense economic growth for the world.

4 . 假设你是晨光中学的李津。为了帮助我们更好地提升自己，你校英语社团的微信公众号开展了以“How to Improve Yourself”为题的征文活动。现请你投稿，结合课文所学内容，文章应包括：
(1)“How to Improve Yourself”活动的目的；
(2)你的建议和措施，至少三条。（如戒掉网瘾，理智消费等）；
(3)你的感受。

How to Improve Yourself

At present, our school is launching How to Improve Yourself campaign. ...

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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。

Nowruz, also known as the Iranian New Year or the Persian New Year, is a holiday     1     (wide) celebrated in Asian countries like Iran. The holiday is believed to have been celebrated since 555 BC. But it was not until 2010 that the United Nations General Assembly officially     2     (recognize) it as a holiday.

Being     3     holiday marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature, Nowruz usually falls around March 20th on the Gregorian calendar. As with most     4     (holiday), it comes with its own set of traditions. They include the “Haft Sin” table,     5     is made up of seven symbolic items starting with the Farsi letter “S”, all representing a     6     (vary) of hopes for the new year, including health, wealth and prosperity. People also welcome the new year     7     sparkling (闪亮的) homes and new clothes. They visit friends and neighbors and share meals and host parties. Communities come together     8     (celebrate) the beginning of spring and do so in hopes they will be surrounded by healthy and clean surroundings in the new year.

Nowruz plays a significant role in     9     (strengthen) the ties among peoples. Its traditions reflect the ancient and     10     (culture) customs of the civilizations of the East and West, and they’ve influenced those civilizations through the interchange of human values for thousands of years.

6 . Gesturing is powerful and important to our conversations. The challenge is to use it to good effect. Here are some tips that can help you take advantage of gesturing.

Encourage gesturing in your children, students and anyone else you are trying to teach.     1     Gesturing while learning will also make them more likely to solve the same problem in a new way. That is important because being able to generalize what we learn is essential to acquiring new knowledge.

    2     While learning to talk, children typically convey sentence-like meanings in a combination of gesture and speech before using words alone -- for example, pointing at a box and saying “open”. If a child fails to produce these gesture-word combinations, it may be a sign that their spoken language development will be delayed, allowing you to intervene and help.

Pay attention to other people’s gestures. These offer a window into the speakers’ thoughts. These thoughts are often at the cutting-edge of their knowledge or address issues that are uppermost in their minds.     3    

Be careful that your gestures say what you want them to. Those you talk to will pay attention to your gestures, so choose them wisely.     4     And if you are questioning someone, be aware that a gesture may unintentionally influence them to tell you what you want to hear rather than give their own fair answer.

Gesture more when you speak. It will help you learn and understand more. If you gesture while talking, you will remember more of what you have said.     5     This can give you a way of seeing what others are thinking but not saying.

A．Observe the gesturing of kids.

B．Remember, gestures can reveal what you might want to hide.

C．This will help them understand the material you are conveying.

D．Whether we realize it or not, gestures are a part of our communication.

E．What’s more, when you gesture, the people around you tend to do so too.

F．Noticing and responding to such gestures will help you understand their thoughts.

G．Knowing how to use gestures effectively can make you a better communicator.

7 . What has Peter been doing to annoy Wendy?

A．Studying late at night.

B．Using up all the milk.

C．Leaving the milk out.

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Why was Misty worried about Matthew meeting Father Christmas?

A．He was too excited.

B．He has health problems.

C．He is afraid of strangers.

2. What caused Matthew’s blindness?

A．That he had an accident.

B．That he was born too early.

C．That he had a terrible fever.

3. Which one of the doctor’s judgments turned to be wrong?

A．That Matthew had learning difficulties.

B．That Matthew was unable to walk.

C．That Matthew couldn’t talk.

4. How did Matthew feel when he met Father Christmas?

A．Relieved.

B．Confused.

C．Excited.

9 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does Lisa want the new job?

A．It pays more money.

B．It offers her career advancement.

C．It will be easy as she’s done it before.

2. How did Lisa find out about the job?

A．From an advertisement.

B．From a co-worker.

C．From someone who works there.

3. How many children does Lisa have?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

10 . The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their work on mRNA vaccines (疫苗), a crucial tool in holding back the spread of COVID-19.

Karikó,68, is from Hungary. In the 1970s, she began studying a new area of research: messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is a special molecule (分子) which carries instructions that tell cells what proteins to make. Proteins are one of the building blocks of life. They’re involved in almost every process in living things, from fighting diseases to building muscles to helping our bodies work. Karikó was excited about the idea that mRNA could be used to help the body fight many different diseases.

In 1985, Karikó moved to America to continue her research. In 1989, she joined the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Philadelphia as a scientist. But as time went on, the initial excitement surrounding mRNA research started to disappear, and other scientists thought it was too financially risky to fund. Karikó had trouble getting money for her research. She even got a pay cut from the school. What’s worse, at this time, she suffered from cancer. But she stuck at it.

Karikó got to know another UPenn scientist, Drew Weissman in the late 1990s while photocopying research papers. He was hoping to find a way to create a vaccine for a disease known as HIV. The two began talking and soon decided to work together.

One of the biggest problems in using mRNA as a medicine was that the human body saw mRNA as an enemy and fought it off. Together, they came up with an approach to treating mRNA．In 2005, they published their key discovery: mRNA could be changed and delivered effectively into the body to activate (激活) the body’s protective immune system. Thanks to their work, companies were able to develop mRNA vaccines far more quickly than ever before, which have saved millions of lives around the world.

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about regarding mRNA?

A．Its reflections on health.	B．Its main components.
C．Its threats to proteins.	D．Its research values.

2. What can we learn about Weissman according to the text?

A．He met Karikó by accident.	B．He applied mRNA to HIV.
C．He invited Karikó to UPenn.	D．He helped discover mRNA.

3. What is Karikó and Weissman’s scientific breakthrough?

A．Their idea on how to recognize COVID-19 fast.

B．Their method of testing the mRNA vaccines’ effect.

C．Their way to make the human body accept mRNA.

D．Their experiment of activating the immune system.

4. What can we learn from Karikó’s story?

A．We should pursue excellence in our careers.

B．Creativity results from challenging authority.

C．Scientists’ work follows technological trends.

D．Success comes from a lasting desire to explore.