1 . When a soccer ball lands in the garden, flattening newly grown peas, or a weeder pulls out a row of young plants by mistake, many gardeners would scream.     1     When something sets you back, isn’t that a negative thing?

    2     It is used to educate students about agricultural practices. Then those little setbacks are opportunities for learning.

“The garden is a wonderful place where children learn to come up with solutions to challenges they might not otherwise experience,” says Lisa Giroday, program manager for The Classroom Gardener, who helps schools transform schoolyards into dynamic outdoor learning environments. Nature is nature.     3     Lots of things come up in real time, and students have an opportunity to learn how to solve problems.

    4     After several decades of research into the effects of school gardens, social scientists and educators are starting to see the wide-ranging benefits that come from having green and growing spaces available to children at school. Some of these discoveries might surprise you. In the garden, children are usually freer to engage in what educators call risk assessment – activities that permit broader exploration, experimenting, and questioning.     5     It is key to responding properly in social situations.

A．Of course, it is.

B．Not if you’re in a school garden.

C．After all, growing food is hard work.

D．Students learn to solve problems out of class.

E．In the process they develop the ability to self-adjust.

F．Things are never going to happen the way you imagine.

G．But training problem solving is just part of doing school gardening.

2 . Human brains are social organs — they’re neurobiologically (神经生物) wired for connection. But just as our students’ brains can be unfavorably affected by negative mentality and misfortunes, so can their parents’ brains, affecting relationships with teachers.

What feels hurtful from a parent could be a worn-out brain, one that is trying to survive and so is defending itself and paying close attention to experiences or relationships that may feel terrifying or unsafe.

There are times when we may feel harmed by a parent, and we too can fire off sharp words if we re feeling misunderstood and angry. We may also unintentionally increase a conflict while moving farther away from cooperation and solutions. A poorly regulated educator cannot help a poorly regulated parent.

I myself have been blamed for my son’s upsetting behaviors when he was struggling emotionally. Eleven years ago, when Andrew became a newcomer in high school, the anxiety and anger masking the fear he felt almost destroyed our family. We felt helpless and often hopeless.

In the middle of this scary time, I received an email from Andrew’s Spanish teacher.

Dear Dr. Desautels,

I wanted you to know that Andrew finished his project today and had a smile on his face. I just wanted to share that with you.

Please let me know how I may serve you in the days to come.

Mr: Pickett

This email changed everything for me as a mom and as an educator. It helped our family experience a bit of hope and inspiration. Andrew worked hard for Mr. Pickett that term and ended with an A. He failed most of his other classes, but because of the connection this teacher created with Andrew, he felt heard, seen, and appreciated.

One thing I’ve learned is that I must regulate my own brain state before I interact with parents. Mr. Pickett’s effort to foster a positive relationship with my family and my son has shown me a way to support both students and their parents.

1. Why does a parent say hurtful things?

A．They dislike teachers.	B．They are easily upset.
C．They are much too stressed.	D．They are willing to let their anger out.

2. What happened to Andrew as a newcomer in high school?

A．He was physically ill.	B．He had emotional suffering.
C．He tried to escape his family.	D．He quarreled with his teacher.

3. Why did Andrew begin to study Spanish hard?

A．He wanted to change everything.

B．He was persuaded by his parents.

C．He realized the importance of the subject.

D．He got care and appreciation from the teacher.

4. Who is the intended reader?

A．Students.

B．Teachers.

C．Parents.

D．Doctors.

3 . “Boreout (闷爆) is different from burnout (精疲力竭) in the sense that bored-out employees rarely break down with exhaustion. Bored-out people may be present physically but not in spirit, and people can keep doing this for a good while,” says Harju, who has studied boreout for years.

Workers who realize they’re experiencing boreout may also be unwilling to flag it up as an issue to line managers or human resources. “While the behaviors that feed into burnout — overwork, drive — are appreciated and rewarded by employers, boreout reflects a lack of interest, a lack of motivation,” says Harju. “These are things that are avoided in organizations.”

There are some quick fixes, like taking on work tasks that are more interesting to you. But a 2016 study Harju and her colleagues worked on showed that people who had boreout were less likely to engage in constructive activities like trying to find new, interesting challenges at work.

What happens more often, she says, is that people will just show up at their desks and spend time shopping online, chatting with colleagues or planning other activities. She says that these people aren’t lazy, but are using these behaviours as “coping mechanisms”.

Fahri Ozsungur, an associate professor of economics at Mersin University, Turkey, who was behind the 2021 study on the health effects of boreout, points out that combating the phenomenon isn’t just down to the individual. “Giving meaning to the job is not just up to the employees,” he says. “Instead, it’s up to management to create an office culture that makes people feel valuable.”

If you think boreout is seriously affecting your health either physically or mentally, it may be valuable to ask yourself how you might be able to reselect your career path toward something healthier for you. Seek the advice from advisers, career consultants, friends and family.

“If only people take its suggestion, boreout can make a change into something else: a different career entirely, or a different role in the organization,” Harju says.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To introduce the topic of the text.	B．To describe people with burnout.
C．To explain what burnout is.	D．To tell us who Harju is.

2. Why do people prefer not to talk about their boreout?

A．They lack relevant knowledge.	B．They are warned not to talk about it.
C．They may not want it to be known to employers.	D．They fear to be laughed at by their colleagues.

3. What does the underlined word “combating” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Encouraging.

B．Blaming.

C．Trusting.

D．Fighting.

4. Which of the following may Harju agree with?

A．Forcing employers to increase salaries.	B．Sticking to the job until you adapt to it.
C．Trying spending more time with your family.	D．Considering changing a new job interesting you.

4 . Throughout history, many species of animals have been threatened with extinction. When Europeans first arrived in North America, more than 60 million buffalo (水牛) lived on the continent. Yet hunting the buffalo was so popular during the 19th century that by 1900 the animal’s population had fallen to about 400 before the government stepped in to protect the species. In some countries today, the elephant faces a similar challenge, as illegal hunters kill the animals for the ivory in their tusks.

Yet not all animals with commercial value face this threat (威胁).The cow, for example, is a valuable source of food, but no one worries that the cow will soon be extinct. Why does the commercial value of ivory threaten the elephant. while the commercial value of beef protects the cow?

The reason is that elephants are a common resource, while cows are private goods. Elephants wander freely without any owners. The hunter has a strong motivation to kill as many elephants as he can find. Because illegal hunters are numerous, each has only a slight motivation to preserve the elephant population. By contrast, cattle live on farms that are privately owned. Each farmer makes great effort to maintain the cattle population on his farm because he harvests the benefit of these efforts.

Governments have tried to solve the elephant’s problem in two ways. Some countries, such as Kenya and Uganda, have made it illegal to kill elephants and sell their ivory. Yet these laws have been hard to put into effect, and elephant populations have continued to dwindle. By contrast, other countries, such as Malawi and Namibia, have made elephants private goods and allowed people to kill elephants, but only those on their own property.

With private ownership and the profit motive now on its side, the African elephant might someday be as safe from extinction as the cow. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle pointed out the problem with common resources: “What is common to many is taken least care of, for all men have greater regard for what is their own than for what they possess in common with others.”

1. Why does the author mention buffalo in paragraph 1?

A．To introduce a similar threat to elephants.

B．To provide an example of species extinction.

C．To offer an explanation for government policies.

D．To present the statistics of the buffalo in America.

2. Why do elephants face threats while cows are safe?

A．They are under different law protection

B．They attract different groups of hunters

C．They contain different commercial value

D．They represent different ownership types

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Bans on killing elephants for ivory

B．Effective laws for elephant protection.

C．Methods of making elephants private goods

D．Government policies on the elephant’s problem

4. What can we learn from Aristotle’s words?

A．People hold little regard for others’ property

B．People want to profit from common resources

C．People care more about their own possession

D．People tend to take what they own for granted

6 . Museums are centers filled with information designed to enlighten and educate the curious mind. Especially for children, museums introduce them to unknown worlds, inspire their imagination and provide them with valuable learning experiences. It's generally believed that museums only help fuel academic education.     1    

Museums offer children bigger connections and references to history than a traditional class. They play a huge role in impacting their historical knowledge and the innovation taking place before their eyes.     2     Just reading out to them, encouraging them to ask questions and holding their attention.

    3     Individuals acquire values, knowledge, and skills that are not applicable to the only field but will aid them for a lifetime. A single visit to a museum near you will provide children with in-depth knowledge about different subjects that they can acquire slowly, for museums let you stay as long as you want.

Museums are well enough equipped to awaken curiosity in young minds, which in turn will lead to these children asking questions.     4     Some of them might need a great deal of thought to answer and some of them might not have any answers at all. No matter what they asked, all of these questions must be equally encouraged and children must be given the confidence to find the answers to them on their own.

Museums have the ability to leave its visitors in awe of the huge amount of information it holds. They provide inspiration to young children via its resources that leave them fascinated about the night sky and the solar system, the skeletons that keep them thinking about life before them, the artworks that arouse the creative mind, etc.     5    

A．Parents themselves don't have to be history lovers.

B．Some of these questions may have immediate answers.

C．All in all, museums encourage children to dream and wonder.

D．But in fact, they provide knowledge regarding all walks of life.

E．Museums are a collection of resources that promote informal education.

F．Museums are packed with exhibits that aid developing critical thinking skills.

G．To connect with the innovations, it is important that they understand where it all began.

7 . 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.

8 . When I was an incoming(即将入学的）student in University of Oxford，I participated FYSOP. Ever since then, whenever it comes up in conversation, I am met with the following question: “What is FYSOP?”     1    

FYSOP stands for First Year Student Outreach Project, which focuses around a week service to the city of Oxford and its various neighborhoods.     2     They volunteer for the Oxford community at local sites helping out schools, parks or non-profit organizations.

Students are divided into groups and led by student leaders. These leaders ensure that each place is prepared and that the students get there safely.    3    In this way the incoming students are able to reflect on what it means to give back and to be a part of the community. These conversations are important for incoming students because of the change they experience starting out in college.

    4     Students obtain valuable volunteer experiences and meet new people. Also, FYSOP participants get to move in a week earlier than most other students. This means that you get to skip out on the hurried move in schedule and might even get a slightly cheaper flight than if you were moving in with the other 140,000 college students.

    5     Through my personal experience, I met some of my best friends, got a better understanding of the layout(布局) of Oxford，and really enjoyed volunteering at various non-profits. If you are not, maybe consider staffing FYSOP in the future.

A．Here’s a brief introduction.

B．Here’s why it has been established.

C．The participants are all incoming students.

D．There are so many bonuses being a part of FYSOP!

E．If you’re an incoming student, FYSOP is worth looking into.

F．Both the community and the students benefit a lot from the project.

G．Leaders also open up conversations throughout the service experience.

9 . “Mirror,mirror on the wall.Who's the prettiest of them all?”Everyone is. Including you.No matter what TikTok's beauty trends want you to believe.

The popular video-sharing platform needs no introduction. Anyone in the world can create anything and post it on the widespread platform. But what happens when more and more fault-finding contents - especially in regard to people's looks-are created?

“You're attractive if you have 8 to 10 teeth showing when you smile.”

“Apparently， this filter （滤镜） shows how good your eyebrows look.”

“Use this effect to adjust the size of your features.”

We are born with a tendency to follow the crowd to gain approval. As a result, we look at the huge number of views on these posts and think following these trends is the right thing to do. So we hurriedly download the filters or rush to the mirror to pretend to smile broadly and curiously count our teeth.

Media has been keeping western beauty standards for generations and has failed to consider that different cultures and countries have their own beauty standards. You might not believe it, but I find dark circles (the proof you worked hard until late at night) and scars (the proof that you've survived battles) beautiful. And I'm sure there are plenty of others who do, too.

TikTok beauty standards sort people into groups according to the sizes of their noses, foreheads, or lips. They judge a person by their looks. Actually, people are whole individuals with far more interesting qualities than their forehead size.

It's the way your eyes light up when talking about your favorite book or the way you take care of your sad friend that makes you beautiful. As we age and grow wrinkles, it's the things we did that we'll be remembered for, not what we looked like 20years ago. Trust me, no one's actually counting and committing to memory how many teeth are in your smile.

1. Why is the famous line from a story used at the beginning of the passage?

A．To remind readers of the magic mirror.

B．To make the beginning understandable.

C．To introduce the author's beauty attitude.

D．To display popular belief towards TikTok.

2. Why do we follow the beauty trends according to the passage?

A．To get acceptance.	B．To satisfy curiosity.
C．To put on more posts.	D．To create a better self.

3. What is beautiful according to the author?

A．Scars from a bar fighting.	B．Dark circles from playing games.
C．Eyebrows shown through the filter.	D．A lame leg from saving a child in a fire.

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．Worrying Future for TikTok Followers.	B．Unique Beauty Standards on TikTok.
C．Harmful TikTok Beauty Trends.	D．Dangerous TikTok Platform.

10 . When it comes to becoming eco-conscious, many people choose to start with something simple: recycling. But it’s not as simple as everyone seems to believe.

Indeed, the desire for some people to recycle can lead to ill-informed decisions about what can and cannot be recycled, and non-recyclable objects are accidentally put into the recycling bin. The practice is what is known as wishcycling.

Wishcycling boils down to the idea that just about anything can be recycled, and that if you put it into a recycling bin, those who are responsible for it will find a way to recycle it. This is obviously not true, because, despite everything that you’ve been told by the media, not everything is recyclable.

Small non-recyclable objects that are attached to recyclables are generally acceptable. For example, glue and tape attached to paper will be removed in the recycling process without any trouble. But improperly recycling broken eyeglasses, plastic shopping bags, food waste and greasy(油渍)pizza boxes could cause problems to the recycling process.

The objects in the recycling bin are typically sorted by machines at recycling centers, not people. These complex machines are designed to separate plastics, paper, and other recyclables. If something is thrown into the bin that shouldn’t be there, it could end up damaging the machine, which means the recycling center could lose time and money every time people decide to wishcycle. Sometimes, a non-recyclable object is able to sneak(溜)past these sorting machines. If this happens, the non-recyclable object ends up in a load of recyclables that will be sold for the recycling center to make a profit. However, having just one non-recyclable thing mixed in can pollute the entire load of recyclables, which has to be thrown away.

So what you as a consumer need to do is make your own recycling practice most functional. The best way is to educate yourself. There are certain general rules when it comes to recycling that everyone should know.

1. What do we know about wishcycling?

A．It is misled by the media.	B．it leads to a better ecology.
C．It is related to ill intentions.	D．It comes from people's hope.

2. Which of the following can be put into the recycling bin according to the passage?

A．Paper with glue on it.	B．Oily pizza boxes.
C．Plastic shopping bags.	D．Left-over food.

3. What is paragraph 5 about?

A．The problems from wishcycling.	B．The need to update the machines.
C．The reasons for making less profit.	D．The objects unsuitable for recycling.

4. What might be talked about in the paragraph that follows?

A．Reducing waste.	B．Making rules.
C．Recycling properly.	D．Consuming wisely.