Nowadays, more and more Chinese are aware of food waste issues. Even young people have a
Young people also gave their opinions on how to help reduce food waste. Some of them suggested restaurants’
China launched
2 . In our information-driven society, shaping our worldview through the media is similar to forming an opinion about someone solely based on a picture of their foot. While the media might not deliberately deceive us, it often fails to provide a comprehensive view of reality.
Consequently, the question arises: Where, then, shall we get our information from if not from the media? Who can we trust? How about experts- people who devote their working lives to understanding their chosen slice of the world? However, even experts can fall prey to the allure of oversimplification, leading to the “single perspective instinct” that hampers (阻碍) our ability to grasp the intricacies (错综复杂) of the world.
Simple ideas can be appealing because they offer a sense of understanding and certainty. And it is easy to take off down a slippery slope, from one attention-grabbing simple idea to a feeling that this idea beautifully explains, or is the beautiful solution for, lots of other things. The world becomes simple that way.
Yet, when we embrace a singular cause or solution for all problems, we risk oversimplifying complex issues. For instance, championing the concept of equality may lead us to view all problems through the lens of inequality and see resource distribution as the sole panacea. However, such rigidity prevents us from seeing the multidimensional nature of challenges and hinders true comprehension of reality. This “single perspective instinct” ultimately clouds our judgment and restricts our capacity to tackle complex issues effectively. Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you would like to understand reality.
Instead, constantly test your favorite ideas for weaknesses. Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields. And rather than talking only to people who agree with you, or collecting examples that fit your ideas, consult people who contradict you, disagree with you, and put forward different ideas as a great resource for understanding the world. If this means you don’t have time to form so may opinions, so what?
Wouldn’t you rather have few opinions that are right than many that are wrong?
1. What does the underlined word “allure” in Para.2 probably mean?| A．Temptation. | B．Tradition. | C．Convenience. | D．Consequence. |
| A．They meet people’s demand for high efficiency. |
| B．They generate a sense of complete understanding. |
| C．They are raised and supported by multiple experts. |
| D．They reflect the opinions of like-minded individuals. |
| A．Simplifying matters releases energy for human brains. |
| B．Constant tests on our ideas help make up for our weakness. |
| C．A well-founded opinion counts more than many shallow ones. |
| D．People who disagree with us often have comprehensive views. |
| A．Embracing Disagreement: Refusing Overcomplexity |
| B．Simplifying Information: Enhancing Comprehension |
| C．Understanding Differences: Establishing Relationships |
| D．Navigating Complexity: Challenging Oversimplification |
Ever since February, the public concern over the giant panda Ya Ya in the US has grown into a “campaign” among Chinese people all around the world to check how our cute and
Enthusiastic Chinese netizens (网民) around the world
In a video, a panda was showed
Among all the overseas zoos “surprisingly
“They are real kungfu pandas.” Chinese commented
The life of these energetic
4 . Two years ago, enormous fires swept through some 46 million acres of forest in Russia, the country’s worst fire season on record. Now, researchers have a clearer sense of just how significant the 2021 boreal(北方的)forest fires were in terms of emissions. The fires produced more planet-heating carbon dioxide than any other extreme fire event that has occurred since the turn of the 21st century, according to a study.
Boreal forests grow where it is very cold. The trees that live in this type of forest grow slowly and seal (封存) carbon in their trunks and roots for hundreds of years, comprising a collection of trapped emissions that researchers call a carbon sink. But rising temperatures and related drought in these historically cool regions have led to an increase in extreme wildfire activity and threaten to release the carbon stored in the trees that grow there, transforming a carbon sink into a carbon source.
In all, fires in boreal forests released the carbon sink and produced nearly half a billion metric tons of carbon in 2021.That’s more carbon than the entire continent of Australia produced the same year, though some of the emissions produced by the fires will be sucked back up as forests regrow.
The researchers obtained the data for their study by tracking concentrations of emissions in the atmosphere using satellites, and then they put that information into a computer model to determine where, geographically, those emissions came from. They found that boreal forests, which typically produce about 10 percent of the globe’s annual wildfire emissions, accounted for 23 percent of the world’s wildfire emissions in 2021—more than twice as much as normal.
Canadell, who led the study, is most concerned about the study’s main takeaway; Boreal forests have served an important and underappreciated role in sequestering carbon emissions, but climate change threatens to release that carbon. “We need to be very careful with these systems in terms of their future development,” he said.
1. What is the function of paragraph 2?| A．To explain the source of carbon. |
| B．To illustrate two scientific concepts. |
| C．To indicate the seriousness of the fire. |
| D．To show the importance of boreal forests. |
| A．By employing technology. |
| B．By searching on the website. |
| C．By analyzing previous data. |
| D．By turning to the firefighters. |
| A．Assessing. | B．Increasing. | C．Monitoring. | D．Preventing. |
| A．The reasons for the forest fires in the north. |
| B．The impact of the 2021 boreal forest fires. |
| C．The link between fires and carbon dioxide. |
| D．The increasingly growing carbon emissions. |
1. Where does the conversation probably take place?
| A．In a hospital. | B．In the police station. | C．On the accident spot. |
| A．Sarah ran a red light. | B．A car burst into flames. | C．Some bystanders got injured. |
| A．It is not clear yet. | B．Sarah was using a phone. | C．The truck driver fell asleep. |
6 . Research among 2,000 adults showed that about four out of five find small talk with colleagues in the office annoying, especially if it involves football or children. Talking about the weather, or asking someone how their weekend was, was also listed among annoying subjects, according to the study by Hyper Recruitment Solutions.
Most of those surveyed said they had experienced rudeness at work, including being reprimanded（训斥）in front of colleagues or personal remarks about their clothes or possessions.
Half of those asked admitted to avoiding making coffee for themselves at work so they didn’t have to make one for colleagues. A report said, “While employees are direct on some issues, they’d rather avoid the situation completely than feel it is a duty to make coffee for others.”
The report also suggested most employees found that physical contact in the workplace was acceptable, including a kiss on the cheek, high fives or hugs. Ricky Martin, founder of Hyper Recruitment Solutions, said, “We often hear and read in the media how physical contact at work isn’t acceptable, yet the results suggest otherwise. Of course, physical contact isn’t always appropriate or well received, so I would advise it should be essential to be aware of factors such as personality, religion and culture.”
What might be regarded as friendly in one culture may be considered as deeply offensive in another. However, as the results suggest, should the relationship be there and requited（回报）, it shouldn’t be frowned upon（反对）for colleagues to hug, give high fives or give one another a pat on the back.
1. Among 2,000 adults, how many are unwilling to make small talk？| A．About 1,600. | B．About 2,000. |
| C．About half of them. | D．About one third of them. |
| A．They find it is meaningless. |
| B．They are not warmhearted enough. |
| C．They have some unpleasant experiences. |
| D．They want to defend themselves from any risk. |
| A．It shows people are always straightforward. |
| B．It indicates peoples rude behavior in the office. |
| C．It suggests peoples relationship always gets no return. |
| D．It shows physical contact isn’t always favorable. |
| A．Continue to avoid it. |
| B．Hug the colleagues. |
| C．Accept it regardless of the results. |
| D．Learn to accept it lightheartedly. |
7 . A short cooking video posted by a netizen on TikTok has recently become a popular hit on the site. Bearing the tag “Chinese food”, the video not only showed off the chief’s superb skills in making Chinese dishes, but it also got netizens abroad wanting to get a taste of China’s unique food culture.
Although the video was nothing master-level, just a rather standard homemade fried potato dish, it received more than 200, 000 likes after only three days of posting. In addition to praising the chef, commenters wondered why such a simple Chinese dish could look like a fancy cuisine that had been made through tons of effort. “Even the most basic Chinese dish needs to have three elements: color, smell and taste. For example, color not only requires a chef to have sharp eyes, but also valuable experience,” said Wang, an experienced Chinese chef in Guangzhou.
Chinese cooking is not the only type of content covered by the tag. Other popular videos under the tag include “odd food” challenges, traditional Chinese dishes and Chinese snack tasting, the latter of which has become particularly popular among young omnivore vloggers (video bloggers) living in a world of continually expanding cultural globalization.
“I have been a fan of Chinese food ever since my Chinese friend cooked me di san xian at university. I was surprised by the dish’s taste and its look, which was very different from my home food, but felt it was very familiar to me because I noticed we share similar cooking skills,” said Bianca, an Italian Asian food fan.
“I started my channel by recording my roommate tasting my cooking. These videos got likes and comments gradually. Seeing some people commenting in German or English and saying ‘I want to try it’, I felt these videos can narrow the gap between the two cultures,” said Mr. Bear, a vlogger on Bilibili who promotes Chinese cooking.
1. What does the underlined word “omnivore” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．people eating meat. | B．people eating diverse food. |
| C．people eating strange food. | D．people eating vegetables. |
| A．common and dear. | B．expensive and delicious. |
| C．similar and disconnected. | D．special and familiar. |
| A．He is an expert determined to become a Chinese chef. |
| B．The majority of his fans tasted the food he cooked. |
| C．His videos make a difference to cultural communication. |
| D．His roommate encouraged him to cook Chinese food. |
| A．Chinese cooking has become popular among young vloggers. |
| B．advanced technology plays a great part in modern society. |
| C．online videos can make young people internationally famous. |
| D．master-level Chinese dishes are attracting more foreign fans. |
8 . As the climate crisis worsens, some cities may turn to parks. Parks have long been places for people surrounded by the gray of asphalt and concrete to get a small deal of green. As cities increasingly feel the influences of rising seas and temperatures, city planners are re starting to think of the roles of parks.
“There has been a quiet and intelligent move to use parks to help cities adapt to the realities of climate change,” said Diane Regas, CEO of an organization that works to create neighborhoods and national parks. “it’s more than shade trees that are helping fight climate change. Parks can help reduce coastal flooding, capture carbon and promote a sense of come-munity among those that will be affected by extreme weather.” Cities plan to build more parks that can reduce climate change effects like flooding and poor air quality.
All of the park-gray asphalt in cities collect heat — a lot of it. A study mapped the hottest areas of most cities and found that extreme heat was nearly always combined with the urban areas paved with lots of asphalt. Large parks cooled certain parts of the city by as much as 17 °F. That kind of cooling can be a lifesaver given more than 600 annual deaths caused by heat-related illnesses. There is no denying that climate change is real. And our parks are assuming the great responsibility and big challenge in the ways we can do the best. Using sat-elite data, the city is able to see what neighborhoods most need —the cooling effect of green spaces. Large parks like the planned D all as Water Gardens will be located in borne of the most heat-stressed parts of the city.
“Not a single solution by itself will solve the climate crisis. We see parks as an important part of it, but there isn’t a silver bullet.” Re gas said. “Parks are an example of what we need to do in the environmental community to embrace solutions that can address climate change and make people’s life better.”
1. What is paragraph l mainly about?| A．The causes of climate change. | B．The influences of rising seas. |
| C．The rose that city planners play. | D．The reason why cities plan to build parks. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Approving. | C．Subjective. | D．Questioning. |
| A．Guessing. | B．Skipping. | C．Relying on. | D．Taking on. |
| A．Climate change can be avoided. |
| B．There is no solution to the climate problem. |
| C．Parks are one choice to deal with the climate crisis. |
| D．Fewer parks will be built to reduce climate change effects. |
All-out search and rescue efforts were underway on Monday
Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital
President Xi ordered swift action to be taken
10 . Maths anxiety may be causing a national crisis, Cambridge University researchers have said, as they find that one in ten children suffer from anxiety at the subject.
Researchers surveyed 1, 700 British pupils aged 8 to 13 about their feelings towards the subject. They found 10% of children suffered from maths anxiety. Other feelings caused by maths included fear and anger, while physical symptoms included a racing heart or struggling to catch breath.
“The project studied students’ attitudes towards maths because of what could be called a maths crisis in the UK, ” researchers said. “Many children and adults experience feelings of anxiety, fear or discomfort when they face maths. This may be leading to a low level of maths in the country. ” The number of adults with functional maths skills equal to a GCSE (英国普通中等教育证书) grade C has dropped from 26% in 2003 to only 22% in 2011, according to the survey. At the same time, only 57% of the children achieved the same level in functional maths skills.
Dr. Denes Szucs, a professor at Cambridge’s Centre for Neuroscience (神经科学) in Education said that there is a misunderstanding that only low performing children suffer from math anxiety. “This is a common misunderstanding that we have seen in decision makers, ” he said. “They assume people are anxious about maths because they are poor achievers.” In fact, more than 77% of children with high levels of maths anxiety are normal to high achievers. Dr. Szucs went on, “Probably their maths anxiety will go unnoticed because their performance is good. But they are very worried and in the long term their performance is limited. This is a real danger here: these are children who are completely able to do maths at a normal level, but may keep away from it because they feel anxious.” The research also found that girls have higher levels of maths anxiety than boys.
John’s Hillman, director of education at the Nuffield Foundation said, “Mathematical achievement is valuable, as a foundation for many other subjects and as an important predictor of future academic learning, job hunting and even health. Maths anxiety can seriously influence students’ performance in both primary and secondary schools.”
1. What can we learn from the survey conducted by the Cambridge University researchers?| A．Girls suffer lower levels of maths anxiety than boys. |
| B．Only low performing children suffer from maths anxiety. |
| C．Children with maths anxiety will suffer both physically and mentally. |
| D．Most children with high levels of maths anxiety usually perform badly at the subject. |
| A．Many children are suffering from maths anxiety. |
| B．They want to help improve students’ academic performance. |
| C．Maths anxiety may cause great damage to children’s development. |
| D．Both children and adults experience maths anxiety, causing a national maths crisis. |
| A．Providing data. | B．Giving examples. |
| C．Giving definition. | D．Analyzing and reasoning. |
| A．How can students learn maths well? |
| B．How can maths anxiety be reduced? |
| C．How does anxiety influence students’ mental health? |
| D．How can children realize the importance of learning maths? |
