1 . The next time you’re at an airport or hotel, you might notice a traveling group that consists of young kids, parents, and grandparents vacationing together.     1    But more and more families tend to bring multiple generations with them.

    2    In larger groups, for example, child-care responsibilities can be shared across family members, allowing parents to take a break. But the real value of these trips might be how they give relatives an opportunity to freshen their perception of the people they’ve known for perhaps their entire life. Travel can take us out of our familiar contexts and offer people a chance to see one another differently.

The shift toward multi-generational travel has a few explanations. For one, grandparents today stay healthy later in life, allowing them more energy for travel.     3    Plus, the average U.S. household has become more multi-generational. Americans are not just traveling with grandparents in order to spend time with them, they are traveling with them because they are more likely to live with them in the first place.     4    Americans are taking fewer vacation days than they did in the 1970s. They might want to make the most of that time by including as many people as possible.

Whatever the reason for its popularity, a multi-generational trip can be a rare time when younger and older generations can glimpse the complex people they have each become. Away from the family home, older generations get to see their adult children as responsible parents. Kids get to see their grandparents encounter a new environment.     5    

A．Another explanation is time pressure.

B．The benefits of multi-generational trips are numerous.

C．Decades ago, only wealthy families vacationed together.

D．A scene like this would have been rare a few decades ago.

E．Multi generational family travel tops the list of travel trends.

F．Everyone gets to break out of their family roles and figure out how to be together.

G．Also, big-group accommodation has become more affordable through online platforms.

2 . For the past three weeks, students across India’s capital have been attending a new course: happiness. The Delhi government introduced “happiness classes”.     1    . In a country that uses normal testing to determine student success, offers a limited number of seats in top universities and sets high expectations, educators have been seeing mental health effects.     2    . He said, “It will address the growing concern, which is that levels of happiness and well-being are decreasing.”

“We have given best-of-the-best talents to the world,” Sisodai said, according to The Washington Post. “    3    . We have been successful so far. But have we been able to deliver best-of-the-best human beings to society, to the nation?”

The Washington Post says children came out of their first happiness class with some excitement. “We should work happily,” 11-year-old Aayush Jha, a seventh grader at a public school in Delhi, told the paper. “When you work sadly, your work will not be good.”

Sisodai hopes to deliver these tools to help students live more happily inside and outside of the classroom, whether or not they’re achieving their academic standards. “I don’t know if happiness can be learned, but yes, it can be practised,” he says. “    4    .”

One in four Indian children aged 13 to 15 struggles with low spirits, the World Health Organization reported last year. As journalist Susan Brink reported, “The government has made changes after noticing that some young people under great stress to do well in school tended to commit suicide (自杀) if they felt they did poorly.” “In South India, they observed higher suicide rates after exam periods among schoolchildren who failed,” Alexandra Fleischmannn, a project coordinator for the WHO’s Preventing Suicide report, told Brink. “    5    , and that reduced suicides.”

A．Many Indian students are facing a very tough life

B．We have given best-of-the-best professionals to industry

C．Then they introduced the possibility of taking the exams again

D．It is used to decide whether an Indian student is excellent or not

E．Delhi’s Education Minister Manish Sisodai is in charge of making the changes

F．Once you start practising living with happiness, then it can become part of your life

G．It tried to change the country’s academic focus from student achievement to emotional well-being

3 . Humanitarian(人道主义的)groups and lawmakers have criticized Italian authorities for preventing migrants who were not considered to be“vulnerable(脆弱的)”from disembarking(登陆)from rescue ships in Sicily on Sunday.

Charities and politicians blamed the selection process as illegal and regarded the actions of the Italian government as inhumane, reported the Associated Press news service, or AP.   Italy’s new government is reportedly targeting foreign-flagged rescue ships in a new procedure that is part of a regulation brought about by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Italy allowed a rescue ship carrying 179 refugees and migrants to enter a port in Sicily on Sunday and then later begin disembarking children and sick or“vulnerable”people, but 35 men on board were blocked from getting off the ship, reported the Reuters news agency. Later, agencies reported that 144 people had been allowed to disembark the Humanity 1 rescue ship,which sailed under a German flag. In the afternoon,357 people were allowed off the Geo Barents ship operated by Doctors Without Borders, which sails under a Norwegian flag, but 215 people remained blocked on board.

Authorities continued to refuse safe harbor for hundreds of migrants onboard two other ships in nearby waters, said the AP. Humanity 1’s captain refused to leave the port of Catania “until all survivors rescued from great suffering at sea have been disembarked”, said SOS Humanity, the German-run charity that operates the ship. The charity strongly criticized Piantedosi’s decision to only allow vulnerable people to disembark and on Monday said it would launch legal action against the Italian government,claiming Italy’s actions violate European law and the Geneva Refugee Convention.

The BBC noted that Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe, and, according to the United Nations, 85,000 migrants have arrived there on small,overcrowded boats since the start of the year. Italy’s new prime minister,Giorgia Meloni,has promised to take action to stop those making the hazardous journeys across the Mediterranean.

Nongovernmental organizations say coastal nations are responsible by the law of the sea to rescue people who are suffering and that they are responsible to provide a safe port as soon as possible.

Till Rummenhohl，head of operations at SOS Humanity，said people were being “held hostage (人质)”onboard the Humanity 1 vessel.”“We had health authorities onboard who decided who’s weak enough, who is basically in urgent medical case and who’s not,”Rummenhohl told DW News.“The people are not really sure what’s happening to them. They have an uncertain future. They are afraid of being pushed back from Italy, into international waters or even to Libya. That’s their greatest fear,” he said.

1. Why were 35 of the 179 refugees not allowed to leave the ship to enter Italy in the beginning?

A．They were not weak people.	B．They had no certifications.
C．The ship was in good condition.	D．The ship sailed under a German flag.

2. Which can replace the underlined word “hazardous”in paragraph 5?

A．Comfortable.	B．Thrilling.
C．Long.	D．Dangerous.

3. What is Rummenhohl’s point of view according to the last paragraph?

A．Italy’s actions agreed with European law and the Geneva Refugee Convention.

B．Illegal migrants should be pushed back into international waters.

C．Coastal countries should save people who are suffering at sea.

D．Illegal migrants were supposed to be held hostage onboard.

4. Which can serve as the best title for the news report?

A．Italy provides safe shelters for refugees

B．Italy prevents migrants from leaving ships

C．Humanity 1’s captain refuses to leave the port of Catania

D．Many migrants arrive in Italy on small, overcrowded boats

4 . Along Route 1, in Thomas-tomatines a store filled with handicrafts—birdhouses and dollhouses, salad bowls and sailing ships — all made in Maine state prisons. Ted and Barbara Waylayer have been shopping here for decades. “We found the quality to be excellent,” said Ted.

Prisoners have been making things in Maine since the 1800s. Charlie Jones came here when he was 20, sentenced to 75 years in a state where there is no parole(假释). In the workshops, he discovered he had a talent for carving. One of Jones’ earlier projects was a golden eagle, which he learned to carve from a book.

“It’s amazing to see the amount of talent that the residents have here,”said Randall Liberty, commissioner(局长)of Maine’s Department of Corrections.“We have more than 100 residents working here daily. They do about US $1.6 million worth of work. “One of Maine’s programs allows residents to earn a college degree. The money for it was donated by Doris Buffet, who lived in Dockland, Maine. “She gave us an initial US $2 million donation,” said Liberty.   “And that’s the best money I’ve ever seen invested in anyone.”

Charlie Jones is one of the graduates. “The college program is incredible,” Jones laughed. “When we used to walk to dinner, we could hear people talking about their former crimes. But now when going to dinner, you’ll hear somebody talking about their philosophy class or their history class.”

Liberty said, “The individuals that graduate have about a 5% recidivism(再犯) rate, as opposed to a 60-65% nationally. That means 95% of the people who go through this program don’t go back.”

When Doris Buffet died in 2020, Charlie Jones made a table, with legs made of books, to honor her. It’s also carved with the names of courses open to prison residents, and the professors who teach them. On the table was a book telling Daris Buffet’s story, and a thank you note.

1. What does paragraph 2 tell us about Charlie Jones?

A．He has a gift for carving.	B．He has earned a master degree.
C．He is only expert in carving eagles.	D．He has been in prison for about 20 years.

2. Why did Charlie Jones say those words in paragraph 4?

A．To show how the prisoners tried to reform.

B．To reveal what led those like Charlie Jones to prison.

C．To list some courses included in the college program.

D．To highlight the positive effect of the college program.

3. What can we learn from paragraph 5?

A．Prisoners in Maine create little value.

B．Few prisoners in Maine are hardworking.

C．The handicrafts made in Maine state prisons are of high quality.

D．Prisoners graduating from college have a lower recidivism rate.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A．How Doris Buffet died in 2020.

B．What the table made by Charlie Jones is like.

C．Charlie Jones’ sorrow over the death of Doris Buffet.

D．Why there was a book telling Doris Buffet’s story on the table.

5 . Imagine climbing a mountain and getting half way up and saying to yourself, “You know what, I’m going to climb back down and finish this later.”

    1     We have projects that sit waiting to be completed. Some people start college but never graduate. We have books that we never finish reading.     2     Many people are great at beginning things but can’t seem to finish strong.

Not finishing what we started has been a repeated problem for us. We have to face it.     3     Whenever we delay, or put to the side, the things that will help us accomplish our goals, we stop developing our potential.

Not finishing not only causes us to stop making progress but also we find it harder whenever we do decide to start again. Consider this: every time I begin a new exercise program my muscles are sore (疼) for a few days. After a few weeks of routine, the muscles get accustomed to the program and grow stronger. Thus, no more sore muscles. Well, when I take some time off I fear starting again.     4    

Strong finishers are able to focus on getting the best result from anything that they start. So how do we know that we are a strong finisher? Along with the huge feeling of accomplishment, other people will begin to notice the change.     5     They will have no choice but to recognize our strong finishing ability. We will be rewarded with more trust from them.

A．The list goes on and on.

B．We should have the confidence.

C．Why don’t we have the interest any more?

D．Sounds silly, but that is what we do all of the time.

E．I know that my muscles are going to be sore again.

F．They will see we are able to climb and conquer the mountain.

G．Not being a strong finisher can limit our ability to conquer our goals.

6 . There are few places on Earth that humans haven’t messed up. Now even Antarctica, the only continent with no permanent human inhabitants, is being altered by us. A study found that the increasing human presence in Antarctica is causing more snow melt-bad news for a frozen world already battling the effects of human-caused global warming.

Black carbon, the dark, dusty pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels has settled in locations where tourists and researchers spend a lot of time, scientists found. Even the smallest amount of the dark pollutant can have a significant impact on melting because of its very low reflectiveness: things that are light in color, like snow, reflect the sun's energy and stay cool; things that are dark, like black carbon, absorb the sun's energy and warm up.

“The snow albedo (反射率) effect is one of the largest uncertainties in regional and global climate modeling right now,” Alia Khan, a snow and ice scientist at Western Washington University, told CNN. “That’s one of the motivations for the study, to quantify the impact of black carbon on regional snowmelt, which is important for quantifying the role of black carbon in the global loss of snow and ice.”

“Antarctica is sitting there pretty much silently all year. But, if it weren’t there, in the state that it is meant to be, the balance that we have in the climate system will no longer be,” Marilyn Raphael, a geography professor said. “Antarctica’s sea ice is also important to maintain a balance in atmospheric circulation,” he added. As waters get warmer, some Antarctic creatures are finding their homes more and more unlivable.

“Everything we do has consequences,” Raphael said. “We need to educate ourselves about those consequences, especially in systems that we know relatively little about. We have to be careful that we don’t upset the climate balance.”

1. Why can the smallest amount of black carbon have huge impact on melting?

A．It is highly reflective.	B．Its dark colour absorbs heat.
C．It produces vast energy.	D．It causes much pollution.

2. According to Alia, which of the following is one reason for conducting the study?

A．To measure the impact of black carbon on melting.

B．To quantify the cost of battling against climate change.

C．To remove the uncertainties of global warming effects.

D．To urge people to pay more attention to melting problem.

3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．The change caused by Antarctic melting.	B．The methods to stop Antarctic ice melting.
C．The significance of Antarctic being in its state.	D．The sufferings Antarctic creatures are experiencing.

4. What does Raphael advise people to do?

A．Reduce tourist numbers.	B．Face the consequences.
C．Acquire professional education.	D．Stop disturbing the climate.