The world has reached a somewhat
According to the Census Bureau, trends of longer lifespans and lower birth rates result
2 . The ski season in Europe will get underway early this year after some locations experienced bumper snowfall, following a period of unseasonably warm weather in October.
The Alps mountain range has been blanketed with heavy snowfall in the first weeks of November, with some slopes already reported to have over a meter of fresh powder and more in the forecast. The exceptional conditions, leading several resorts in France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland to open their lifts and slopes earlier than usual, have increased bookings for the upcoming ski season, as Euronews reported.
The substantial snowfall has brought much-needed relief to Europe’s ski resorts, and counters the impacts of a warming climate that has previously forced some lower-altitude ski centers to close due to insufficient snow. United Kingdom-based tour operator Jet2 has reported an “explosion” in demand for ski packages following what it described as last year’s disappointing November and December.
Ski resorts that open their slopes earlier than originally scheduled include Tignes in France, Kitzbuhel in Austria and Madonna di Campiglio in Italy. Switzerland has already welcomed skiers to nine areas, including popular destinations such as Davos, Zermatt and Verbier, with the latter opening three weeks ahead of schedule.
The impact of the El Nino climate pattern on Europe’s temperatures and weather provides hope for ski resorts of a winter with increased snowfall, as it is often associated with colder winters and a greater chance of snow, as the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
More skiers are choosing to travel to resorts by train this year, with a survey by the Ski Club. of Great Britain revealing a significant increase from 2 percent in 2022 to 12 percent of respondents planning to use the railways this winter, possibly influenced by Eurostar’s expanded ski service.
1. What does the underlined word “bumper” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Early. | B．Unexpected. | C．Abundant. | D．Disastrous. |
| A．welcoming | B．seasonable | C．tough | D．unusual. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By listing pros and cons. | D．By following the time order. |
| A．The impact of the El Nino climate pattern on Europe’s weather this November. |
| B．An explosion in demand for ski packages in European ski resorts due to heavy snowfall. |
| C．European ski resorts’ sufferings and new life over the years due to warm weather. |
| D．An introduction to preparations of several popular ski destinations for skiers in Europe. |
3 . In an “always on” world, we worry about the burdens that are shouldered by the teens and their peers(同龄人).
Teens tell us about significant stresses that come with trying to be a “good friend” in the age of social media. Friendship requires both public and behind-the-scenes support. Even before a social media post is made public, close friends can be pulled into photo selection, editing, and final checking. Once posts appear, friends are expected to step up and fast. Liking posts is the minimum requirement. A seventeen-year-old told how liking a friend’s post immediately set off a direct message asking her why she hadn’t commented yet. Then she had to comment on it. To many teens, the time between a message being read and commented matters a lot. Replying too quickly can be seen as over-eager, especially when the friendship is new or not close. But when it’s a close friend, too long a lag(间隔) can be hurtful. One teen told us, “If I don’t stay connected on the line, the friendship will fall apart.”
Teens also bear the burden of bearing constant witness to peers’ mental health struggles on public display. Certainly, the “wonderful” quality of social media posts—everyone is apparently living their best life—can be hard for some teens. But there’s a kind of emotional impact that comes as teens see peers’ cutest pictures dotted with cries for help.
The qualities that make or break friendships are actually the same as they’ve always been: mutual(相互的) sharing of joys and sorrows, a give and take of support, and an ability to weather and resolve conflicts. But technologies have transformed how friendships play out. Social media increases the burdens that come along with being a good friend. Too often, these dynamics hit teens hard in ways that are lost on adults. We need that to change.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?| A．The requirement that is to be satisfied. |
| B．The friendship that is too difficult to keep. |
| C．The stresses that teens have to be “friendly” online. |
| D．The burdens that adults put on the teens and peers. |
| A．Responding to a message too swiftly. |
| B．Replying to a message with a suitable lag. |
| C．Liking a friend’s post properly. |
| D．Giving comments after liking the post. |
| A．Peers’ comments on you. | B．Peers’ attitude to you. |
| C．Peers’ admiration for you. | D．Peers’ cries for help. |
| A．A give and take of timely support. |
| B．Social media causing teens’ burden. |
| C．Mutual sharing of joys and sorrows. |
| D．An ability to bear and solve conflicts. |
4 . QR codes are almost 30 years old, but they’re only recently enjoying a renaissance (复兴). For years, they were inconvenient and confusing, seen as a less-useful form of bar code. Now, QR code myths accompanied the rapid rise of QR codes, and these are still making a hit online.
Payment code, business card code, health code, campus code, ride-sharing code... QR codes have entered every corner of Chinese life. During the COVID-19, about 140 billion QR codes were used on WeChat alone. That’s just from one QR code payment system in one country. What about others in different parts of the globe? In the US, 59% of Statista survey respondents felt that QR codes would become a permanent element of using their mobile phones in the future.
Some people are hesitant to scan a QR code, thinking that it could steal their private information or that it would leave bad software on their devices. But just like how the5G rumors have come and gone, it’s high time that we broke these myths, so those who are misguided will fully understand the benefits of QR codes.
Can hackers “hijack” a QR code so it would lead to a pirated (盗版的) site instead? While dynamic QR codes are editable, only their creators can change their landing page on the QR code generator’s dashboard. Hackers would need the creator’s log-in password to access the dashboard and change the QR code’s destination, and they cannot easily steal that information. Also, each QR code has a unique pattern that makes it impossible for anyone to steal it and change its destination link.
This led to the idea that the QR codes are“80% consumed” and that by 2025, people can no longer create new ones since all the possible patterns would have been used by then.
Will the QR codes that drive a large part of China’s economy be used up? The answer is: yes. But there is always some way to solve this issue.
1. Why are some people unwilling to scan a QR code?| A．They don’t want to show off their wealth. |
| B．They are unwilling to be teased by their friends. |
| C．They are concerned to reveal their personal data. |
| D．They would like to keep their talents a secret. |
| A．By listing detailed disadvantages. | B．By giving reasonable analyses. |
| C．By showing previous documents. | D．By displaying exact methods. |
| A．Positive. | B．Subjective. | C．Concerned. | D．Unclear. |
| A．QR Codes Are Really Fantastic. | B．QR Codes Are Hard to Survive. |
| C．QR Codes Fade Away Again. | D．QR Codes Come to Life Again. |
Short clips of the “kemusan” — or “subject three” dance — has become a latest Internet sensation on social media platforms at home and abroad. By December 10, the dance,
The dance went viral quickly and has been adapted into
6 . Do you remember all those years when scientists argued that smoking would kill us but the doubters insisted that we didn’t know for sure? That the evidence was inconclusive, the science uncertain? That the anti-smoking lobby(游说) was out to destroy our way of life and the government should stay out of the way? Lots of Americans bought that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to early graves.
There are upsetting parallels today, as scientists in one wave after another try to awaken us to the growing threat of global warming. The latest was a panel from the National Academy of Sciences, enlisted by the White House, to tell us that the Earth’s atmosphere is definitely warming and that the problem is largely man-made. The clear message is that we should get moving to protect ourselves. The president of the National Academy, Bruce Alberts, added this key point in the preface to the panel’s report: “Science never has all the answers. But science does provide us with the best available guide to the future, and it is critical that our nation and the world base important policies on the best judgments that science can provide concerning the future consequences of present actions.”
Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters insisting that the science about global warming is incomplete, that it’s OK to keep pouring fumes into the air until we know for sure. This is a dangerous game: by the time 100 percent of the evidence is in, it may be too late. With the risks obvious and growing, a prudent person would take out an insurance policy now.
Fortunately, the White House is starting to pay attention. But it’s obvious that a majority of the president’s advisers still don’t take global warming seriously. Instead of a plan of action, they continue to press for more research — a classic case of “paralysis by analysis”.
To serve as responsible stewards of the planet, we must press forward on deeper atmospheric and oceanic research. But research alone is inadequate. If the Administration won’t take the legislative initiative, Congress should help to begin fashioning conservation measures. A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial supports for private industry, is a promising start. Many see that the country is getting ready to build lots of new power plants to meet our energy needs. If we are ever going to protect the atmosphere, it is crucial that those new plants be environmentally sound.
1. What was an argument made by supporters of smoking?| A．Anti-smoking people were usually talking nonsense. |
| B．People had the freedom to choose their own way of life. |
| C．The number of early deaths of smokers in the past decades was insignificant. |
| D．There was no scientific evidence of the correlation between smoking and death. |
| A．A protector. | B．A judge. | C．A critic. | D．A guide. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Confident. | C．Responsible. | D．Experienced. |
| A．Both of them have turned from bad to worse. |
| B．The outcome of the latter worsens the former. |
| C．A lesson from the latter is applicable to the former. |
| D．They both suffered from the government’s neglect. |
7 . After lunch I was napping near the window when there came a big bang. I
The driver got off. After
That, I thought, would be the
This man was actually a hero and I was embarrassed by my
| A．gradually | B．especially | C．immediately | D．generally |
| A．center | B．shape | C．direction | D．beginning |
| A．assessing | B．mentioning | C．limiting | D．mending |
| A．stopped | B．failed | C．finished | D．worked |
| A．equipment | B．sight | C．wisdom | D．strength |
| A．broke | B．lighted | C．burnt | D．rose |
| A．in place of | B．on top of | C．in front of | D．in need of |
| A．Perfectly | B．Gracefully | C．Awkwardly | D．Intentionally |
| A．broken | B．fallen | C．repaired | D．locked |
| A．end | B．cause | C．plan | D．form |
| A．flew off | B．passed by | C．turned up | D．moved on |
| A．guessed | B．counted | C．stood | D．watched |
| A．improved | B．destroyed | C．painted | D．rebuilt |
| A．unbalanced | B．uncertain | C．unfair | D．unhurried |
| A．observe | B．explain | C．challenge | D．wonder |
1. Who did Fred have a fight with last night?
| A．A storekeeper. | B．A policeman. | C．His brother. |
| A．At home. | B．In the hospital. | C．In the police station. |
| A．At about7. | B．At about 8. | C．At about 9. |
10 . No one can fail to stand in awed admiration of the great discoveries of history — Newton’s laws of motion; Kepler’s principles of planetary movement, Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Equally awe-inspiring are artistic creations in painting, theatre, music and literature, which have also been brought about by discovery through personal efforts. What do these extraordinary achievements of well-known scientists and artists have to do with problem solving?
A great scientific discovery or a great work of art is surely the result of problem-solving activity. The solution to a problem, we are told, often comes to thinkers in a “flash of insight (顿悟)”, although they may have been turning the problem over in their minds for some time. As a particular form of problem solving, these creative acts are based on the broad knowledge gained in the past, whether this be of the “public” sort known to science, or of the “private” sort known to the artist.
Many creative thinkers state that they have completely devoted themselves to the subject matter of the problem, often over fairly long periods of time. Indeed, it would be strange if they had not done this. Nothing in such statements supports the idea that there is anything very different about the problem solving that leads to discoveries of the great contributions to the society. The act of discovery, even in the relatively predictable sense that it occurs in everyday learning, involves a “sudden insight” which changes the problem situation into a solution situation. As we have seen, everyday discovery also requires that the learner have the knowledge of the rules gained in the past, which is involved in the solution.
1. Newton, Kepler and Einstein are mentioned in the first paragraph to ______.| A．bring about the subject of the discussion |
| B．explain that scientists are more creative |
| C．show the difference between science and arts |
| D．prove that arts require more personal efforts |
| A．artistic tastes | B．sudden insight |
| C．admiration of discoveries | D．scientific experiments |
| A．Great contributions to the society |
| B．Long-time study of the subject matter. |
| C．Various statements about problem solving. |
| D．Complete devotion to artistic creation. |
| A．it is more likely to make scientific and artistic discoveries in everyday learning |
| B．a sudden insight and knowledge from the past are required in making discoveries |
| C．scientific discoveries or artistic creations are usually unpredictable in nature |
| D．knowledge of the rules in the past is often developed in the changes of situation |
