1 . On January 1st, 2018, “gaming disorder” — in which games are played uncontrollably, despite causing harm — gained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO). Last year, China, the world’s biggest gaming market, announced new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day. Clinics are appearing around the world, promising to cure patients of their habit.
Are games really addictive? Psychologists have different opinions. The case for the defence is that this is just another moral panic. Similar warnings have been given about television, rock and roll, jazz, comic books, and even novels. As the newest form of mass media, gaming is merely enduring (忍受) its own time before it finally stops being debatable.
However, some argue that unlike rock bands or novelists, games developers have both the motive and the means to engineer their products to make them addictive. For one thing, the business-model has changed. In the old days games were bought once and for all. But these days, games are free and money is earned from purchases of in-game goods, which ties playtime directly to developers’ income. For another, games makers combine psychological theory and data, which helps them maximize the playtime. Smartphones and modern video game machines use their permanent Internet connections to send gameplay data back to developers. That allows products to be constantly adjusted to increase spending on games.
The gaming industry should realize that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an official WHO recognition, diagnoses (诊断) become more common. Clinics are already reporting booming business, as lockdowns have given games more time to spend with their hobby. And being put together in the public mind, fairly or not, with gambling (赌博) will not do the industry any favours.
1. What is the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To inform the readers of the harmful effects of games. |
| B．To arouse the readers’ interest about the topic. |
| C．To show growing public concern about the problem of games. |
| D．To discuss whether it is necessary to panic about games. |
| A．To show that they are as highly addictive as games. |
| B．To prove that the panic over games will fade away. |
| C．To argue that these media forms are not harmful at all. |
| D．To compare the differences among these media forms. |
| A．They adjust products based on received data. |
| B．They don’t charge players for in-game goods. |
| C．They keep players’ video game machines updated. |
| D．They reward top players with more playtime. |
| A．Make a prediction. | B．Offer a suggestion. |
| C．Put forward a solution. | D．Give a warning. |
2 . Work starts early on White Gate Farm in East Lyme, Connecticut. By 7 a. m., farm manager Dan Wood was at the East Lyme Post Office dropping off a box of fresh produce that later in the day would be delivered by mail to Chelsea Gubbins, who lives across town.
White Gate Farm is a member of Farmers Post, a pilot programme that enables smallholder farms across eastern Connecticut to ship fresh produce and other farm products to local households through the United States Postal Service (USPS). Farmers Post takes advantage of a USPS programme called Connect Local that allows small businesses to offer same-day and next-day delivery at a fixed low cost.
Food remains in the fields because either market prices are too low or the cost of the workforce is too high, or because the size and shape of the produce make it unattractive to stores. Each year, around 10 million tons of crops never get harvested, causing about 16% of total US food loss and waste.
“Food that is wasted has a much larger influence than just the loss of the food itself,” says Julia Kurnik, senior director of Innovation Start-ups at WWF. “Everything that went into growing it goes out the window as well—the water, the land, and the energy. And as the food breaks down, it produces greenhouse gases. The bad effects amplify greatly.”
Besides reducing food waste, selling farm products directly to local customers cuts down on the cross-country shipping of food grown in California or elsewhere. This reduces the so-called food miles that researchers believe cause about 6% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Fruits and vegetables, which are often transported out of season and require refrigeration, produce lots of greenhouse gases between farms and people’s plates.
Wood understands that Farmers Post can help to end that waste. “Farming is kind of like cooking for a big group.” he says. “This is helping us get right on the money, using almost 100% of what we grow and harvest.”
1. Why was Farmers Post started?| A．To provide professional modern farming methods. |
| B．To create more delivery jobs for local people |
| C．To pick up and carry customers to different farms. |
| D．To make the delivery of produce easier and cheaper. |
| A．The limited need for farm products. | B．The shortage of workers and harvesting tool. |
| C．Their low value and poor quality. | D．Bad weather and road conditions. |
| A．Increase. | B．Slow. | C．Switch. | D．Weaken. |
| A．The Food Safety Movement Has Met Some Challenges |
| B．A Farm-to-Table Programme Helps Reduce Food Waste |
| C．Farmers Post Explores Ways to Make High-Quality Products |
| D．Small Farms Play a Leading Role in Serving Communities |
3 . How much of your monthly grocery list ends up in the garbage? A new study reveals the average American spends nearly $1,500 per year on food they’ll never eat.
A recent survey of 2,000 Americans reveals the average shopper wastes $1,493.93 on food per year. That’s almost a fifth of their grocery bill after every shopping trip. One tenth of respondents claim they “never” purchase food they don’t end up eating, while three in 10 say this is something they “always” do.
Half of respondents prefer to head to the grocery store alone, and when they do, half are more likely to stick to their list and 36% are less likely to buy food they don’t want or need.
Keeping the list in mind is important, as 38 percent are more likely to let food be wasted if it wasn’t originally on their shopping list. Seven in 10 add that when they go to the store on an empty stomach, they’re more likely to buy foods they won’t eat. So they don’t do that that way. Some respondents appear to be in a wasteful cycle when it comes to food waste. Nearly half usually buy and end up wasting the same food every month because they think they’ll get around to eating it.
“We can all do better to limit food waste by sticking to grocery lists and, when we get home, prioritizing eating our foods that are perishable, like fruits, vegetables, and dairy products” says Avocado Co-Founder and CMO Mark Abrials in a statement.
Three-quarters feel guilty about throwing away uneaten food because it’s a waste of money — and 48 percent feel the same, due to the harm food waste causes to the environment. “When it comes to food waste, nobody is perfect,” Abrials adds. “But in order to consider our environmental impact, not to mention wasted money, we think it’s essential to be thoughtful about everything we purchase — whether that’s food, mattresses or other goods.”
1. What percentage of food do people buy but never eat?| A．About 10%. | B．About 20%. | C．About 30%. | D．About 50%. |
| A．Doing shopping alone. | B．Avoiding shopping while hungry. |
| C．Sticking to the shopping list. | D．Trying to buy fewer dairy products. |
| A．Go bad easily. | B．Are rich in nutrition. |
| C．Are easy to produce. | D．Keep fresh for a long time. |
| A．Less doing shopping means less food is wasted. |
| B．Treasuring food is treasuring the environment. |
| C．It’s worth spending more money on food safety. |
| D．Environment protection is as important as food. |
4 . Umar Fox searched his whole life to look for the firefighter who saved him and his sister from a house fire in 1978. The search
Umar was 3 when the
Umar had always hoped to
Umar said that he and his sister “wouldn’t be
As for Joseph, he considered he was
| A．finally | B．normally | C．really | D．easily |
| A．change | B．action | C．accident | D．adventure |
| A．scene | B．floor | C．surface | D．ground |
| A．speed | B．power | C．distance | D．safety |
| A．injury | B．rescue | C．loss | D．task |
| A．interview | B．meet | C．assist | D．join |
| A．related to | B．dealt with | C．resulted in | D．applied for |
| A．relaxing | B．satisfying | C．similar | D．enough |
| A．visited | B．found | C．accompanied | D．urged |
| A．attend | B．organize | C．sponsor | D．chair |
| A．listened | B．cared | C．joked | D．worried |
| A．special | B．retired | C．alive | D．delightful |
| A．explain | B．compare | C．believe | D．agree |
| A．brave | B．proud | C．suitable | D．willing |
| A．roughly | B．curiously | C．hopefully | D．simply |
When I woke up, I felt pains all over. A pool of sticky blood surrounded my head. I lay trapped in the bottom of n smooth-walled pit (坑) with an empty water bottle.
I thought of what had happened. I was climbing down the mountain as I was admiring the beautiful scenery. Accidentally. I stepped on a loose rock. Then I slipped, fell with the rock and got stuck somewhere below the top. It was getting dark in the pit. Only my mother knew where I’d gone. I promised to have lunch with her. Thinking of this. I took my phone out and dialed her number with shaking fingers. No service. The silence, which earlier I’d valued, was now horrible.
With a sharp pain in my head, I was terrified. I knew I’d fallen far, but I wasn’t sure where I was. I called 911 because I knew by the pain that my back was severely injured, if not broken. My ear was torn badly. There was still no service. I dug through my bag to assess my supplies and found a whistle and some wipes.
I put the whistle around my neck and blew, though I knew no one would hear me. It was 1:15 pm and I was miles from the town where I lived. I used the wipes to clean off as much blood as I could. I rested. Then I screamed, blew my whistle, and let myself think the unthinkable. What if they can’t find me? What if this is it?
I decided to get moving. I climbed through a small opening, but when I peered over the next edge, my heart sank: there was a 30-foot drop. There was no way down. I was trapped.
I knew with that extreme Arizona heat in the day and bitter desert cold at night, I wouldn’t last long. But I thought my mother was sure to call the police for help if she couldn’t get in touch with me. With a little hope, I prayed the police would send a helicopter (直升机) to my resecu.
注意: 1. 续写词数应为150左右;2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Around five hours later, a growing buzz (嗡嗡声) in the air broke the silence.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Though the pilot saw me, it was difficult for the team to get to me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________| A．She fell off her bike. |
| B．She fell down from the stairs. |
| C．She fell over during her basketball practice. |
7 . The Ministry of Education and three other ministries have jointly issued a notice about launching a national campaign on short-sightedness prevention and control to protect children’s eyesight.
A paragraph in the notice says that primary and secondary school students should engage in appropriate outdoor activities during class breaks. Additionally, 30 minutes of physical activity during the daily midmorning break will be organized to give students more time to engage in outdoor activities and long-distance viewing, enabling their eyes to rest fully from visual fatigue.
Midmorning breaks can address more than just vision problems. Physical activity during breaks helps children to not only exercise but also reduce stress, making subsequent classroom learning more focused and effective. At the same time, midmorning physical activities provide children a platform to engage in social activities, strengthening their social adaptation abilities.
Sometime toward the end of 2023 there was a huge demand after some schools did away with even 10-minute breaks for primary and secondary school students. The Ministry of Education responded by saying that it would further regulate activities in schools. Before the latest notice was introduced, several related policies had been guaranteeing midmorning physical activity for primary and secondary school students, which have now been implemented in many cities, showing good results.
To effectively utilize (利用) the 30-minute midmorning break, teachers play an essential role because they can enrich the activities to the maximum extent by combining the interests and hobbies of children of different age groups and adding various sports activities that will benefit children the most. At the same time, it should be clear that the midmorning break is not only the responsibility of physical education teachers. It requires joint efforts from physical education teachers, class teachers and other staff members to ensure the breaks are used effectively.
To make the most of the 30-minute midmorning break, it is also crucial to stimulate the enthusiasm of children. Innovating the form and content of the midmorning break and mobilizing children’s enthusiasm and initiative to participate in midmorning activities are urgent priorities.
1. What do the underlined word “fatigue” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Failure. | B．Disability. | C．Loss. | D．Tiredness. |
| A．Midmorning activities should appeal to children. |
| B．Children should be forced to engage in midmorning activities. |
| C．Midmorning activities should be restricted to traditional sports. |
| D．Physical education teachers should take full charge of the the midmorning break. |
| A．Children Should Participate in More Activities |
| B．Midmorning Break Should Be Extended to 30 Minutes |
| C．Kids Should Have a Better Break for Eyesight Protection |
| D．Physical Activities Should Be Organized for Children’s Health |
1. What is the man probably doing?
| A．Reading a newspaper. | B．Playing a video game. | C．Driving in the country. |
| A．To attract more tourists. |
| B．To be famous on the Internet. |
| C．To call drivers’ attention to safety. |
| A．A local farmer. | B．A transport company. | C．A government department. |
9 . Fremont, Calif. , is the happiest city in the United States, according to a new WalletHub survey. There is no one way to define happiness or what causes it, but WalletHub researchers determined that people in the Bay Area city are content, in part, because of income.
According to the survey, about 80 percent of Fremont residents (居民) have an annual household income of over $75, 000—the most out of the 182 largest cities in the country. A landmark 2010 study found that increased income is linked to happiness up to a point—$ 75, 000 a year.
“A person living in poverty is, on average, less happy than a person who: makes enough money to pay the bills, have adequate health care, save a little, and take the occasional vacation,” said Matthew Joseph, an associate professor at Duquesne University. “And those in the top 1 percent are, on average, likely a good bit happier than the first person in poverty but only slightly happier (if at all) compared to the second person.”
However, another 2021 study contradicts (相矛盾) that study's findings, showing that people continue to report being happier even if their income climbs past this number.
Fremont residents also report high rates of life satisfaction and low rates of depression, the survey found. Most people in the city also, on average, have lived for a long time.
Another factor contributing to Fremont's happiness level is the city's. low separation and divorce rate—8. 9 percent, which is the lowest in the country.
Fremont residents also seem to be taking care of themselves psychologically (心理上) , according to the survey, since it has the lowest share of adults reporting 14 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month.
1. What do the numbers in Paragraph 2 show?| A．Fremont residents are the happiest in the world. |
| B．There is no link between income and happiness. |
| C．80% of Fremont residents earn less than $75, 000 annually. |
| D．Fremont has the highest income among large cities in the country. |
| A．More money equals more happiness. |
| B．The top 1% are much happier than the poor. |
| C．Rich people are a lot healthier than the poor. |
| D．Economic security leads to more happiness than poverty. |
| A．High income. | B．Long life. |
| C．Low divorce rate. | D．Low separation rate. |
| A．To describe. | B．To entertain. | C．To inform. | D．To advertise. |
1. What is probably the man?
| A．A policeman. | B．A tour guide. | C．A taxi driver. |
| A．Someone was sick. | B．She felt very sleepy. | C．The roads were empty. |
| A．It fell off a bridge. | B．It ran into trees. | C．It hit a man. |
| A．Near a farm. | B．On the grass. | C．In her car. |
