1. What happened to the woman?
| A．She left her handbag on the bus. |
| B．She missed the No. 22 bus yesterday. |
| C．She didn’t find City Bus Company. |
| A．They didn’t find anything like that. |
| B．Someone found it and gave it to them. |
| C．It was certain that someone took it away. |
2 . Who says that being roommates with someone from a completely different generation has to be strange? Lately, more and more Americans are becoming intergenerational (代际的)roommates, and they’re changing the way people think they should be living.
Explained as those that are separated by at least one generation living together, there has been a major increase in intergenerational roommate arrangements (安排)within the United States since 1971. In fact, statistics show that this number has actually quadrupled (增长四倍)since then. In a Pew Research Center article, it shared that by March 2021, there were at least 59. 7 million Americans that had many generations living under one roof.
There are a ton of reasons that come into play for these types of arrangements. For some, it’s because of the increase in the average life-expectancy age(平均预期寿命), a decreased birth rate, a rise in college tuition, the ever rising rentals in almost every coastal city, and more. But if anything, many say that one main reason behind the rise is that older people have space to rent out and that having younger people around just makes them happier.
According to a 25-year-old robotics student living in Massachusetts, Nadia Abdullah, who moved in with her 64-year-old roommate Judith in 2019, “It was perfect——Judith has become like my family.”
Their arrangement was $700 a month from Nadia, plus the promise of her doing some help around the house. This also allowed Nadia to live just 6 miles from Boston and 30 minutes from her robotics job located in Beverly Mass. Nadia was matched with Judith through website, a renting center specifically created to find intergenerational roommates.
Another young renting center reviewer, Kaplan, also gave some opinions on the service and why it’s so special, saying, “Through this, I lived with Sarah while attending Harvard. She provided the type of knowledge you just can’t Google——showing me how to garden, how to cook fish, and add French Romanticism to life.”
1. What is the increasing housing trend mentioned in the text.| A．More people are living together as roommates. |
| B．Strangers of a generation are living together like a family. |
| C．Different generations are living under the same roof. |
| D．Family members of different generations are living together. |
| A．The types of the arrangements. | B．The reasons for the arrangements. |
| C．The solutions to the arrangements. | D．The problems with the arrangements. |
| A．How to google special knowledge. | B．How to build a garden. |
| C．How to fish. | D．How to live a romantic life |
| A．The website is popular with university students. |
| B．The intergenerational roommates should help each other. |
| C．The intergenerational roommate arrangements work well. |
| D．The elderly benefit more than the young from the arrangements. |
1. Who is the speaker?
| A．A worker. | B．A news reporter. | C．A tourist. |
| A．A Russian rocket was sent up． |
| B．A tour bus slid off a highway． |
| C．Three aid workers were killed． |
| A．Over 40. | B．About 30. | C．At least 4. |
| A．A fireman. | B．A building. | C．A fire. |
5 . Moving to a new neighborhood, town, state, or even country can be a pretty scary experience. All you know is that things will be different and chances are you won’t know the kids at your new school.
Leaving old friends and familiar places behind can be difficult. However, as you begin the moving process, keep in mind that saying goodbye to your old house, school, and friends does not mean that you have to forget them or that your farewell is permanent! If you’re moving to a new state or even a different country and won’t see your friends for a long time, don’t despair. Make sure to ask everyone for their address so you can write to them. Also, thanks to the Internet, it is very easy to stay in touch through email or instant messaging technology. With your parent’s permission, you can even create a blog or web page to chronicle all of your new experiences. Your old friends will love seeing what you are busy with.
Many schools have an orientation program where a student already established at the school show a new student around for their first week. This can help you to find your way around the school and to make new friends faster.
While moving is tough on kids of any age, high school counselor Karen Turner says moves can be particularly difficult for teens. “I think moving during adolescents is an extremely stressful experience, especially if you are into your junior high or senior year. Students tend to have established a very strong peer network during that period in their lives. Often this has more influence on them even than their familiar in some cases, and when they are torn from that there’s often resentment(怨气).” However, Turner adds that while moving isn’t easy, there are things that your parents and the school can do to help you cope with the change.
1. Who are the intended readers of the passage?| A．Education experts | B．School teachers |
| C．Parents | D．Students |
| A．Staying in contact with old friends. | B．Expressing yourself when it is possible. |
| C．Forming good habits at school. | D．Keeping positive about your new school. |
| A．helps local students in many ways | B．is organized by new students |
| C．offers help to new students | D．focuses on all the students at school |
| A．What a new school is like. |
| B．Why parents move with their children. |
| C．How parents and the school can help the children. |
| D．How children can express their anxiety. |
6 . The kitchen is not just where we prepare meals. In many places, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where we connect with our family and friends. We have open talks about our pleasures and problems we met during the day while we make dinner or have a bite to eat. So, it can be a very busy room in the house.
Sometimes you need order in the kitchen for things to run smoothly. And sometimes you need one person to be in charge. Imagine you are cooking dinner for your friends. As you are making the soup, your friend Sara tastes it and says, “This needs more salt.” So, she adds more salt. Harlan comes to taste your soup and throws some fresh black pepper into the pot and some dried herbs. Cecilia tastes the soup and pours in some vinegar. What will the soup be like?
You are happy to spend time with your friends. But, quite frankly, all their opinions about your soup are becoming annoying. Worst of all, you taste the soup and it’s awful! And that is where we get the expression “too many cooks spoil the soup”.
This expression describes an age-old problem: If too many people help to complete a task, it may not go very well. But, you may think, “If many people are trying to get something done, the task will get done faster.” After all, American English also has the expression “many hands make light work”.
To answer that point, I will draw your attention to the word “cook”. Now, the cook is the leader in the kitchen. They may have assistants to help them. But the cook has the final say. So, what if a kitchen has many cooks? Who is the leader? Everyone! And that’s where the trouble comes.
1. What does the author think of the kitchen according to the first paragraph?| A．It is crowded in many houses. | B．It is where we feed our body and soul. |
| C．It helps to brighten up people’s day. | D．It serves as the most useful place in a home. |
| A．To describe a common phenomenon (现象). |
| B．To vividly introduce a saying. |
| C．To explain a way to be a good cook. |
| D．To stress the importance of teamwork. |
| A．A group of students get a task done together. |
| B．Some volunteers discuss how to help others. |
| C．Five designers want their own idea to be accepted. |
| D．Many retired workers learn how to be a cook. |
| A．What Happens with Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen? |
| B．Should a Cook Be Open to Suggestions? |
| C．What Could a Cook Do to Everyone’s Satisfaction? |
| D．Why Will Too Many Cooks Work in the Kitchen? |
7 . Chinese consumers have said they will avoid eating Japanese seafood over safety concerns once Japan starts releasing (排放) nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
On July 7, the General Administration of Customs released an import (进口) ban on aquatic products from the 10 Japanese cities. It’s indicated that Japan’s plan to release polluted wastewater into the sea was a matter of global concern. The plan caused more Chinese consumers who eat seafood began to worry about their safety, according to the administration.
According to a survey in 2022 by Chinese market consultancy company iiMedia Research, 39.58 percent of participants eat Japanese seafood once every two or three weeks.
“I will not eat seafood imported from Japan anymore,” said a data engineer surnamed Wang in Shanghai. The 42-year-old has been a fan of Japanese food since 2000 and used to eat Japanese food once a month. “If I have other options, I will choose seafood that does not come from the Pacific Ocean,” he added.
Wang Qian, a financial employee in Beijing, said she has been to about 20 Japanese restaurants so far. “Normally, I would not pay attention to where the seafood came from. But now I will try not to choose seafood from Japan,”she said. “Wastewater poses a threat to human health and marine ecology.”
Wang Qian said that Japan should use other methods to solve the problem, rather than releasing nuclear wastewater into the ocean.
An employee of the Japanese restaurant Jiubanwu, in Beijing, who did not want to be named, told China Daily that the restaurant’s fish and shrimp are imported from Russia, France and other countries. “We have not been buying seafood from Japan since April,” she said.
In addition to food safety, some people are worried about using cosmetic (美容的) products made in Japan.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．Releasing nuclear wastewater has aroused worldwide concern. |
| B．All the seafood which is imported from Japan will be banned. |
| C．Chinese consumers will be stricter when choosing seafood to eat. |
| D．Japan’s plan to release the wastewater is criticized by Japanese. |
| A．China’s specific methods to dealing with nuclear wastewater. |
| B．The influence of wastewater on Japanese cosmetic products. |
| C．A formal call to Japan for producing safer cosmetic products. |
| D．The world’s reply to Japanese nuclear wastewater releasing. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear. | D．Critical. |
8 . “Farm to table” is the name of a movement that encourages people to eat locally grown food. The farmtotable idea has become more popular in recent years. But there is also a movement that brings “table to farm”. Its purpose is to connect people to the land and to honor local farmers by creating a sort of restaurant without walls.
Its founder, Jim Denevan, got the idea for this kind of “culinary adventure (美食探险)”, as he called it, ten years ago. He recently prepared tables for more than a hundred people at Briars Farm in Virginia. He and his eightmember team arrived the night before. Chefs (厨师) from a local restaurant prepared the dinner.
Jim Denevan’s brother is a farmer and he himself is a chef. He thought that the idea of a meal served right on the farm made sense, though not everyone agreed.
“But I wanted to make the idea work, so I decided to cross the country,” said Denevan. “I went all the way across the United States and set the table on farms, ranches (大牧场) and beaches, and all the places where food came from.”
“This kind of event connects us with a lot of enthusiastic people, people that we can form relationships with,” said Matt Szechenyi, who operates Briars Farm.
The tour of the farm ends at the dinner table. The meats in the meal come from Matt Szechenyi’s farm. The vegetables come from nearby farms. Guests and local farmers sit together.
Annoica Ingram came with a friend. “The food is wonderful. I appreciate their hard work. I see everything they have to do to take care of the animals and make sure they are wellcaredfor. Without them, I think, we’ll have big problems,” she said.
1. What is the main purpose of the movement “table to farm”？| A．To provide people with healthy food. |
| B．To help farmers earn more money. |
| C．To honor farmers for their hard work. |
| D．To encourage people to work less and practice more. |
| A．make new friends | B．walk around the farms |
| C．communicate with farmers | D．build restaurants for farmers |
| A．worried | B．grateful | C．doubtful | D．supportive |
| A．A travel guide. | B．A news report. | C．A diary. | D．Popular science. |
9 . At the start of every working week, millions of people around the world get ready for something they do endlessly, joylessly and badly: a meeting.
The reason is simple, says Madeleine de Hauke, a meeting coach and teacher in an Antwerp Management School. “We spend our lives and huge amounts of money on meetings, but there’s very little work that helps people run them effectively.”
Madeleine is correct. Running a meeting well takes skill. People need to know ahead why they are meeting, what they are supposed to achieve, who really needs to be there and how they should contribute. That sounds obvious but it is not, as anyone who has been to a pointless meeting knows. Yet meeting leaders are expected to learn all this on the job. I cannot remember ever being taught how to organize a meeting, and I have rarely had a job requiring me to do it.
I also like Madeleine’s descriptions of what she calls the Meeting Monsters: people who destroy meetings with all sorts of annoying behaviors. There is the unkind off-topic speaker. The non-stop noise in the background. The confusing rambler whose speech is endless. The rude multi-tasker. The one who says nothing but emails later to say what was decided will never work.
The trouble is, we are all meeting monsters sometimes, says Madeleine. A good meeting leader knows how to stop this behavior, or make sure it never starts by making it clear what will and won’t be allowed.
A bad meeting is like a virus (病毒). By failing to produce good decisions it often requires another meeting to be held, then another and another. Luckily there is no need for a vaccine (疫苗), just a bit more care and preparation, and an understanding that there is no shame in being taught how to lead a meeting well.
1. What cause bad meetings according to the author?| A．Boring meeting activities. | B．Untrained meeting leaders. |
| C．Careless meeting coaches. | D．Unreasonable meeting schedules. |
| A．Never stopping his chatter. | B．Scaring meeting attendees. |
| C．Always raising questions. | D．Refusing to finish his tasks. |
| A．It makes the attendees sick. | B．It fails to produce decisions. |
| C．It results in more meetings. | D．It requires care and preparation. |
| A．Spend More for Meeting Attendees | B．Get Ready for Bad Meetings |
| C．Start the Week with a Meeting | D．Kill the Meeting Monsters |
10 . Feeling overcome by your to-do list can make you unhappy, but a new study suggests that more free time might not be the magic elixir (灵丹妙药) most of us dream it could be.
The researchers analyzed data from 35,000 subjects about how Americans spend their free time. They found that people with more free time generally had higher levels of subjective happiness—but only up to a point. Compared to those with less time, people with up to two hours of free time a day generally felt better. However, people who had five or more hours of free time a day generally felt worse. So the free-time “sweet spot” might be two to three hours per day.
Part of finding this “sweet spot” is connected with how people spend their free time. In an online experiment, the subjects were asked to imagine having four to seven free hours per day and spending that time doing “productive” (富有成效的) or “unproductive” activities. Most of them believed their happiness would suffer if they had a lot of free time during the day—but only if they used it unproductively. Though that experiment was based on the previous assumptions (假设), which is one limitation, it agrees with other experiments showing that being in a state of flow can benefit people’s mental health.
Of course, for you, any activities that increase your happiness are “productive”. If watching soap opera in your free time makes you feel better, you should do that due to self-care. And some traditionally productive activities can be easy and fun. For example, walking and cooking can help burn stress and put people in a state of flow.
“In cases where people find themselves with large amounts of free time, such as retirement or unemployment,” Sharif said, “our results suggest they can benefit from spending their newfound time with purpose.”
1. How did the researchers carry out the study of the free-time “sweet spot”?| A．By studying the collected data. | B．By doing the experiment again and again. |
| C．By observing the respondents. | D．By doing an interview with the subjects. |
| A．The activity. | B．Free time. |
| C．The finding. | D．The experiment. |
| A．To present a fact. | B．To make a prediction. |
| C．To explain an opinion. | D．To introduce a topic. |
| A．Much free time with purposeful activities can affect people’s happiness. |
| B．The “sweet spot” has little connection with the amount of free time. |
| C．Much unfinished work is likely to make people feel worse. |
| D．People will always feel much happier with more free time. |
