1 . Pet owners love their dogs more than their cats. Although previous studies have already suggested this finding, scientists from the University of Copenhagen wanted to research more deeply into whether cultural factors affected the results. Their findings are published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
In the survey across Denmark, Austria and the United Kingdom, 844 dog owners, 872 cat owners and 401 people who owned both dogs and cats were asked questions about their pets. Overall, the participants had higher attachment scores for dogs than for cats. Owners were more likely to insure (给……投保) their dogs and paid more to dogs’ treatment. However, the results differed dramatically across countries. For example, the United Kingdom’s results were in favor of dogs, although only slightly. Australia had a very clear preference for dogs. Emotional attachment to dogs was highest in Denmark. The Danes were also less likely to buy insurance for their cats, compared with their dogs.
“While people care more about their dogs than their cats in these countries, the degree of difference varied between countries,” Professor Peter Sandoe of the University of Copenhagen, the study’s first author, said in a press release. “It doesn’t therefore seem to be a universal phenomenon (现象) that people care much less about their cats than their dogs.”
The difference between countries may be due to cultural differences and attitudes toward pets, the study suggested. This may be the result of the country’s history with rural animals and how often they interacted with people. These factors may have influenced societal attitudes toward pets in modern times.
“Our study only looks at three countries in Europe,” professor Clare Palmer of Texas A&M University, a co-author of the paper, said in the press release. “It raises interesting questions regarding what comparative studies of other countries might find,” she went on. “Perhaps there are countries where the level of care for and attachment to cats is, in fact, higher than dogs?”
1. What’s the writer’s main purpose of writing paragraph 1?| A．To state a widely acknowledged fact. |
| B．To analyze the cause of a phenomenon. |
| C．To introduce the topic of a new study. |
| D．To compare two different studies. |
| A．By asking questions. |
| B．By doing an experiment. |
| C．By collecting data online. |
| D．By keeping track of pet owners’ daily life. |
| A．Not all the people in the world prefer dogs to cats. |
| B．People in the three surveyed countries prefer dogs to cats. |
| C．The levels of care for cats are the same as dogs in the world. |
| D．People in the world care less about their cats than their dogs. |
| A．Pet owners love their dogs more than their cats. |
| B．Culture may influence people’s preference to dogs. |
| C．Pet owners should care about their cats as much as their dogs. |
| D．People hold different attitudes toward pets in three European countries. |
2 . Templer was a tour guide in Zimbabwe, leading a canoe (皮划艇) safari down the Zambezi River. During the expedition, Templer’s canoe
Things were going the way they were supposed to go. Everyone was having a pretty good time. Eventually, they
Templer tried to steer (率领) the group safely around them. However, the third canoe was off the planned
Despite the unpleasant experience, Templer
| A．made | B．found | C．led | D．wound |
| A．encountered | B．interrupted | C．saved | D．killed |
| A．unfortunate | B．unexpected | C．uncertain | D．unnecessary |
| A．speed | B．angle | C．vision | D．distance |
| A．line | B．control | C．course | D．duty |
| A．watch | B．comfort | C．stop | D．rescue |
| A．leaning over | B．turning away | C．looking up | D．calming down |
| A．hearts | B．fingers | C．heads | D．thoughts |
| A．appeared | B．flowed | C．froze | D．erupted |
| A．free | B．empty | C．hurt | D．skinny |
| A．risk | B．avoid | C．permit | D．finish |
| A．surface | B．bottom | C．bank | D．sky |
| A．hoped | B．continued | C．refused | D．hesitated |
| A．habitat | B．safety | C．conservation | D．suffering |
| A．readily | B．finally | C．casually | D．simply |
African students who participated in a Chinese agricultural development program have returned to their home countries, aiming to use
In the Science and Technology Backyard program, which
Phiri and other African students, together with their teachers often engaged in conversations with farmers in the fields. Jiao Xiaoqiang,
4 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.
What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.
“Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication,” says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. “Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,” he explains. “The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.”
In a 2021 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; he other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. “It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,” says Dunn. “But interactions with peripheral(外围的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.”
Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. “Small talk is the basis of good manners,” he says.
1. What is important for successful small talk according to Carducci?| A．Showing good manners. |
| B．Relating to other people. |
| C．Focusing on a topic. |
| D．Making business deals. |
| A．It improves family relationships. |
| B．It raises people’s confidence. |
| C．It matters as much as a formal talk. |
| D．It makes people feel good. |
| A．Conversation Counts |
| B．Ways of Making Small Talk |
| C．Benefits of Small Talk |
| D．Uncomfortable Silence |
| A．Addiction to smartphones. |
| B．Inappropriate behaviours in public places. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．Impatience with slow service. |
5 . From chicken feet socks to green fish head masks, from sad frog toys to dinosaur costumes, “ugly” products have become popular among young people.
On the social media platform Douban, there is a group called Protection of Ugly Things with more than 200, 000 members. They post “ugly things” they see and buy in daily life. Many of the comments below the posts are “cute” and “the more I look at it, the more I love it”.
Some museums have also followed the trend and produced many “ugly” but impressive cultural and creative products. For example, on June 14, the Gansu Provincial Museum brought out a stuffed toy. It’s based on its famous bronze sculpture, known as Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow.
The toy recreates the details of the sculpture in a cute and cartoon style. The horse puts on a crooked smile, standing on a chubby green bird. This makes the toy “more fashionable and more fun”, so it can connect with ordinary people, the museum said.
In fact, some of the “ugly” products can also be useful. Yin Peixin, 11, from Hubei, has a cabbage dog toy. Unlike others, she doesn’t find it ugly. “It’s a creative design to mix cabbage with a dog. The toy makes me feel better when I’m upset. It also serves as a mini pillow to help me have a good sleep, ” said Yin.
According to Zhang Lei, a professor at Zhejiang University of Technology, the rise in the popularity of ugly things means that young people want to show that they’re different. Suffering from tiredness of “perfect” items, they hope to get pleasure and a new taste of life from something a little more “ugly”.
1. What do the members of Protection of Ugly Things mainly do on Douban?| A．They help find new members. | B．They buy daily-life things. |
| C．They put“ugly things” online. | D．They create many “ugly” products. |
| A．It is based on a golden sculpture. | B．It looks funny but not fashionable. |
| C．It is a mixture of horse, bird and dog. | D．It is recreated in a cute and cartoon style. |
| A．It changes her sense of beauty. | B．It encourages her to be creative. |
| C．It comforts her when she is upset. | D．She cannot sleep without the dog. |
| A．“Ugly things” give people a different kind of joy. |
| B．Only a small number of people enjoy “ugly things”. |
| C．People who like “ugly things” just want to draw attention. |
| D．“Perfect” items might raise people’s hatred, while “ugly things” not. |
6 . “Mayday! We got Mayday!” Frank Pisano screamed over the micro-phone to the air control tower at John Wayne Airport last June. One of the two engines on his 1975 Cessna had failed, and he was now on a collision course with one of the busiest highways in America—Interstate 405, just south of Los Angeles—and there was no stopping it.
Driving south on the 405, near the airport’s runway, was John Meffert. A fire department captain, Meffert, 47, was heading home from his shift. Then a low-flying plane caught his eye. After he took a second glance, a thought crossed his mind: “This plane’s going to hit me,” Meffert told Fox 8.
He was right. The plane knocked into the center highway, popped up a few feet, and then hit the front of Meffert’s SUV. It finally stopped after hitting the divider on the southbound side. Meffert pulled over. He was unhurt, so he turned his attention to the plane. He ran toward the smoke billowing from it—and then he saw Frank’s wife, Janan Pisano, pop her head up on the passenger side.
By the time Meffert reached the aircraft, part of the fuselage (机身) was on fire and Janan, who was covered in blood, was on the wing trying to pull her husband from the wreck. Meffert, afraid the plane would explode, guided her to safety behind it. At this point, traffic had come to a stop, and two nurses jumped out of their cars to help lead Janan farther away as Meffert ran back for the pilot.
“I’m going to get you out,” Meffert said as he positioned himself under the pilot’s arms and carefully lifted him from the seat. He dragged the pilot off the wing and carried him to the side of the freeway to safety, where they watched flames swallow the plane.
Remarkably, Meffert’s car was the only one hit by the plane. Had Meffert been a second or two faster, Frank told the Orange County Register, the left propeller (螺旋桨) would have torn the top off his SUV and killed him.
“I play all the what-ifs—going slower, going faster. It could have been in a very different situation,” Meffert told Fox 8. “We just had a lot of angels.”
1. What was the reason for the accident?| A．The plane hit a SUV. | B．Frank was not a good pilot. |
| C．One of the engines didn’t work. | D．The plane landed at a wrong place. |
| A．It hit part of Meffert’s car. | B．It set Meffert’s car on fire. |
| C．It caused Meffert covered in blood. | D．It threw Meffert into the air. |
| A．Because he knew how to perform first aid. |
| B．Because the plane couldn’t fly any more. |
| C．Because he didn’t want to cause a traffic jam. |
| D．Because the plane might explode. |
| A．Nervous. | B．Lucky. | C．Sad | D．Excited |
7 . The latest photo taken at China’s well-known Tsinghua University became a hit, where a student was seen using his laptop while riding on a bike. The moral of the story is that wasting time on things like commuting between university facilities becomes unacceptable, since the pressure to graduate top of the class is so intense.
Into the real world, working extra hours is a common practice of China’s most brilliant figures in technology. In finite overtime, premature balding (秃顶) and hospital admissions are all but part of standard professional life for the nation’s brightest. Similarly, blue-collar workers don’t have it easier. Food delivery riders are reportedly trapped by an algorithm (算法) that automatically works out the best delivery time for app users, and never minds if the workers are at the risk of road accidents.
People are wondering whether all this hard work really makes life better. Actually, it may well be making things harder for everyone, but there doesn’t seem to be a way out. A popular sense of being stuck in an ever so exhausting rat race where everyone loses has given rise to a new buzzword: neijuan (involution). The Chinese word, neijuan, is made up of the characters for “inside” and “rolling”, and is understood as something that spirals in on itself, a process that traps participants who know they won’t benefit from it.
“From a sociological point of view, involution is unavoidable because of society’s structural shifts,” said Yan Fei, a professor of sociology at Tsinghua University, “One big question for the middle class is how to remain in the middle class. Meanwhile, the lower class still hopes to change their fate. But the middle and upper classes aren’t so much looking upward, and they are marked by a deep fear of falling downward. Their greater fear is perhaps losing what they already have,” he explained.
1. Why is the photo of a student in Tsinghua University mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To clarify the writing purpose. |
| B．To present an argument. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| D．To describe a character. |
| A．I’s common to work overtime in the real world. |
| B．Neijuan reflects the fierce competition in China. |
| C．Food delivery riders benefit a lot from the apps. |
| D．People live a better life due to their great efforts. |
| A．The lower class suffers a deep fear of falling downward. |
| B．The middle class tries to be a member of the upper class. |
| C．The greatest fear of every class is to lose what they already have. |
| D．Involution is inescapable in the development of society for each class. |
| A．Society. | B．Economy. | C．Entertainment. | D．Tourism. |
8 . You can’t emphasize more of the importance of physical education in the schools. Starting next year, most provincial-level regions in China will increase the weighting of physical education in the high school entrance exam, or zhongkao, the Ministry of Education said on Monday.
Director of the ministry’s department of physical, health and arts education Liu Jianjun said PE tests are currently mandatory(强制性的) in the zhongkao in all provincial-level regions, with scores ranging from 30 to 100 points. Based on recent reports the ministry received from local education authorities, most regions plan to significantly increase PE scores in the zhongkao next year, which marks an important development in reforming the evaluation of school physical education, he said.
In late October, Yunnan province increased the zhongkao scores for PE from 50 to 100 points, starting from the fall semester this year, the provincial education department said. It was the first provincial-level region to give PE and the three major subjects—Chinese language, mathematics and English—equal importance in the zhongkao.
The tests are conducted in every semester of middle school and are not intended to differentiate students, the education department said. The department does not encourage students to take after-school cram(塞进的) courses for PE. If they take PE courses seriously, exercise regularly and actively participate in sports competitions, they will achieve high scores in PE, it said.
China’s traditional idea of schooling puts more emphasis on academic education than physical education, and schools often treat PE as less important by not offering enough PE courses. It is also common for teachers in major subjects, such as Chinese language, mathematics and English, to use class time set aside for PE for their own subjects.
1. According to the article, why will the weighting of physical education in the zhongkao be increased?| A．Because it is welcome among students and teachers. |
| B．Because most Chinese have changed their traditional ideas. |
| C．Because physical education is more important than other subjects. |
| D．Because reforming the evaluation of school physical education is very important. |
| A．They needn’t take PE courses seriously. |
| B．They have to do sports regularly and actively. |
| C．They only need to take part in the sports which they are interested in. |
| D．They should be encouraged to take after-school cram courses for PE. |
| A．all the courses should be treated equally |
| B．schools needn’t have enough PE courses |
| C．PE classes should be set aside for other major classes |
| D．academic education is more important than physical education |
| A．map | B．guidebook | C．newspaper | D．novel |
9 . Who can be the most dangerous one on the street, the car driver, the cyclist or the pedestrian? Now let’s take a look at some people’s opinions.
William Lang
In my opinion, I believe many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worst offenders.
People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to give way to them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.
The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.
Hemingway
I am afraid nowadays the cyclists seem to think they own the roads.
I was walking across Renmin Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing, he shouted at me.
The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.
The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!
The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jacket and tights at night and in the morning. They should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.
Gary
Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.
I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.
Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules, so why not cyclists?
It’s about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be traced and there might be an opportunity to claim.
1. The purpose of the question in paragraph one is to .| A．introduce a topic | B．set an example |
| C．show an attitude | D．draw a conclusion |
| A．some pedestrians are a threat to road safety | B．drivers should be polite to cyclists |
| C．walking while using phones harms one’s eyes | D．road accidents can actually be avoided |
| A．be fined for laughing at policemen | B．be provided with enough roads |
| C．be made to pay less tax for cycling | D．be asked to ride on their own lanes |
10 . Last week, social media posts about a cooking course for school kids, as part of a life skill program to be delivered nationwide this September, went viral (迅速传播) on the Internet. It quickly became the top trending topic on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, sparking heated discussions among netizens.
Based on a new national curriculum standard for compulsory education launched by China’s Ministry of Education (MOE), it outlines different cooking and nutrition courses for students in different grades.
It is recommended that first and second graders learn how to peel fruits and brew tea and acquire a basic knowledge of nutrition as well as the ability to take part in basic cooking at home. Students in grades five and six are expected to acquire basic cooking skills such as frying and stewing, and be able to prepare a nutritious meal for their own families.
Apart from essential skills such as cooking and housekeeping, the program is also designed to enrich their knowledge in production work as well as services.
Many netizens hailed the life skill program and expressed their happiness toward the changing pattern of education.
“This should have been done earlier. Children nowadays lack adequate physical activities and can barely distinguish wheat from rice crops,” commented a user on Douyin. So far the comment has gained 24,000 likes and received nearly 500 replies.
Some netizens, however, expressed their concern that as a non-core curriculum, the program cannot be fully carried out in schools, while others are worried that the program will merely put an extra burden on parents.
“Through the learning and experience, students will develop respect for labor, the ability to make innovations and apply knowledge and skills in real life, and a sense of social responsibilities. Schools should take the lead in teaching life skills, while families should play a supporting role.” said Gu Jianjun, a MOE official.
1. What can we learn about the life skill program from the passage?| A．Cooking and nutrition courses vary for students in different grades. |
| B．The program is designed only to enrich students’ cooking knowledge. |
| C．Students in grades one and two are required to prepare a nutritious meal. |
| D．Fifth and sixth graders are expected to learn how to peel fruits and brew tea. |
| A．Opposed. | B．Praised. | C．Promoted. | D．Concerned. |
| A．It should have been done earlier. |
| B．It will put an extra burden on students. |
| C．It will not be put into effect completely. |
| D．Children nowadays lack adequate physical activities. |
| A．Teaching life skills became popular among schools. |
| B．A new national curriculum standard went viral online. |
| C．A cooking course for school kids caused discussions online. |
| D．Learning cooking developed a sense of social responsibilities. |
