Nowadays, people argue a lot about if or not to celebrate Western festivals, as Western festivals are becoming more and more popular in China, especial among young people. They said they celebrate Western festivals because they are exciting than Chinese festivals. In my opinion, Western festivals are basing on the cultural traditions of the Western country, and I see no reason why we should celebrate their festivals. We are Chinese, and we mustn’t forget our cultural roots. In fact, Chinese cultural traditions are really great, but we should take pride in it. On a word, I am prefer Chinese festivals.
2 . “Shuan Q” is a meme(网络流行语)which can be used as a popular way to say “I’m speechless” with a matching emoji(表情包)at ached behind. No-one can deny the power of the Internet. Some believe it makes language weaker but some see a brighter side, believing it makes online communication easier between strangers.
An elementary school teacher in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, says that the evolution of Internet slang is not all fun and carefree. From his daily observations, he believes the “geographic boundary” between Internet slang and formal language is disappearing. On many occasions, the composition she has received from pupil have been flooded with abbreviated slangs(网络梗).
During last year’s Two Sessions, several representatives put forward proposals such as “regulating online language” and “banning vulgar(粗俗)words”, specifically to address this issue, expressing the need to reduce online language misuse and strengthen the protection of Chinese.
However, many experts and scholars of linguistics and communication including Feng Zhiwei disagree. Feng, believes that Internet language is a natural product of the dynamic development of language, and it is not necessary to ban it.
1. What made the meme “Shuan Q” become popular?| A．The power of internet | B．The protection of Chinese |
| C．Geographic boundary | D．Strangers’s communication |
| A．They are formal. | B．They are funny and carefree. |
| C．They are flooded among pupils. | D．They were supported by all people. |
| A．They are natural. | B．They are misused. |
| C．They should be banned. | D．They are disappearing. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Objective | C．Indifferent | D．Favorable |
3 . Nowadays, children spend less time in the fresh air. Many of them are addicted to a screen either on a computer or a TV— they seem to be living in a virtual world. They have lost touch with nature.
But now 400 organizations in the UK, from playgroups to the National Health Service, are encouraging children to have some “wild time”. They want kids to swap at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time playing outside. Activities such as building dens, climbing trees, rummaging for conkers and playing hide and seek are just some of the things kid can do. Even if they live in a city, they can go on adventures in the garden or the park.
Children often need a helping hand from mum and dad. They need to be shown what to do and where to go. Andy Simpson from National Health Service says, “We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids’ development, independence and creativity, by giving wild time a go.”
So despite the complicated world that young people grow up in now, it seems that going back to basics and experiencing “nature’s playground” is what modern children need. David Bond from Project Wild Thing says, “We need to make more space for wild time in children’s daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted.”
This might sound a bit old fashioned to you or maybe, like me, it’s made you think about sticking on your boots, getting outdoors and reliving your childhood. There’s no age limit on enjoying yourself!
1. Children are encouraged to do the following activities except________.| A．building dens | B．climbing trees |
| C．playing hide and seek | D．watching TV |
| A．Adults value outdoor activities. | B．Modern children need wild time. |
| C．The present world is complicated. | D．This generation of kids has no freedom |
| A．People at any age can enjoy wild time |
| B．It is out of date to go outdoors |
| C．It is too late for adults to enjoy nature |
| D．People like recalling the past |
| A．More space for children | B．Benefits of wild time |
| C．Wild time for children | D．Adventures of children |
4 . The world has faced a food crisis of unprecedented(前所未有的) proportions in 2022—the largest in modern history, as conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis and rising costs have combined to pose great risks for hungry people across the world. As many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night. The number of those facing acute food insecurity has risen from 135 million to 345 million since 2019. A total of 49 million people in 49 countries are suffering hunger, according to figures from the United Nations’ World Food Programme.
“We are facing an unprecedented global food crisis and all signs suggest we have not yet seen the worst. For the last three years, hunger numbers have repeatedly hit new peaks,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley said. He warned that things can and will get worse unless there is a large-scale and coordinated(协调一致的) effort to address the causes of this crisis.
There are many reasons for prevailing high levels of food insecurity. These reasons include conflicts, climate changes and weather extremes, economic slowdowns and downturns. In addition, these drivers often do not act alone. For instance, conflicts are often accompanied by economic downturns, which affect livelihoods and the ability of people to earn resources, leading to increasing poverty levels and higher prevalence(流行) of food insecurity.
Unfortunately, the main reasons for high levels of food insecurity have not improved this year. People in the Horn of Africa are facing a fifth consecutive(连续的) failed rain season in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, which will constrain their production, and is likely to push many people deeper into food insecurity.
Moreover, there is uncertainty about the weather. And climatic shock affecting any major producer or exporter will introduce additional uncertainty into production and consequently prices, which in turn impact the ability to purchase food, particularly of the most vulnerable people.
1. How does the author lead in the topic?| A．By making a comparison. | B．By sharing personal experience. |
| C．By giving opinions with evidence. | D．By listing facts and accurate figures. |
| A．This global food crisis won’t last longer. |
| B．It’s certain that the global food crisis will get worse. |
| C．We need to work together to deal with the global food crisis. |
| D．There will be another new peak of hunger numbers in three years. |
| A．Characters. | B．Operators. | C．Factors. | D．Activities. |
| A．The Issue of Food Safety | B．The Unprecedented Food Crisis |
| C．Conflicts Causing Food Shortage | D．Efforts Put into the Study of Food Insecurity |
5 . A good gift is one that is more valuable for the recipient than it is for the giver. But most gifts destroy value rather than create it. Think of the Christmas-tree-shaped cookie jar that cost your aunt 530 but is worth considerably less than zero to you, posing a moral conundrum (难题): Do you throw it right into the trash or wait a couple of months? The economist Joel Waldfogel calls this discrepancy the “deadweight loss” of gifts, and estimates that, on average, it is from 10 percent to a third of a gift’s price.
One explanation for the deadweight loss is a mismatch between desirability and feasibility. Consider n gadget that is useful (high disability) but difficult to set up and time-consuming to use (low feasibility). Scholars have found that givers usually focus on desirability, and receivers are more aware of feasibility. Your friend who bought you a fancy wearable fitness tracker probably thought it was a really cool and helpful gift; to you, it seems like a massive headache to figure out, requires an app download and a monthly fee, and offers data that will either make you feel terrible about yourself or turn into a life-ruining obsession. That’s why it is still sitting in your drawer in its original package.
Another happiness-killing mismatch can occur between the receiver’s initial reaction and their long-term satisfaction. As Anna Goldfarb noted in The Atlantic a few weeks ago, givers tend to look for “reaction-maximizing gifts” (such as the wife’s over-the-top response to the car) as opposed to “satisfaction-maximizing gifts.” Once the giver is not present to see the receiver’s reaction, the receiver might not actually be that excited about socks with her best friend’s face on them.
Someone looking for a big reaction might be tempted to buy a wildly expensive gift, which poses its own emotional problems. In the worst cases, they may even be trying to exert dominance over you, or manipulate you into doing them a favor later. Either way, receiving a gift that’s too nice might make you feel guilty. According to one 2019 survey from CompareCards, 46 percent of respondents felt guilty for being unable to give a gift worth as much as the one they received.
In truth, the biggest benefit to most gift giving is to the giver herself. Generosity is truly a way to buy happiness. As my colleague Michael Norton and his co-authors showed in the journal Science in 2008, although spending money on oneself is weakly related to happiness, spending money on others significantly rises the giver’s well-being. Neuroscientists have shown that charitable giving to others engages the reward system, inducing pleasure in one of the same ways that alcohol and certain drugs do. (Maybe this is the real reason Santa is so jolly.)
1. What does “deadweight loss” of gifts in para.1 refer to?| A．The value the gift creates rather than destroys. |
| B．The money the giver spends on a meaningful gift |
| C．The good-will and thoughtfulness of the gift giver. |
| D．The loss of the gift value in the eyes of the receiver. |
| A．Fashionable and practical. | B．Unfriendly and upsetting. |
| C．Desirable and satisfactory. | D．Expensive and unworthy. |
| A．That the giver is not present to see the receiver’s reaction. |
| B．That the receiver was expecting something wildly expensive. |
| C．Thot the giver is confused about what gift brings satisfaction. |
| D．That the receiver was expecting something he/she truly wants. |
| A．It is in giving that givers receive. |
| B．Gift-giving is in most cases a win-win situation. |
| C．The greatest gift you can give is your time and attention. |
| D．Presents are generally terrible, but they can still bring you joy. |
6 . With climate change continuing to worsen, our situation is beginning to feel increasingly serious.
Techno-optimism is one of the greatest misconceptions when it comes to solutions to ensure our future. It can be defined as a belief that future technologies will solve all of our current problems. This definition reinforces (强化) the idea that there’s no reason to panic or change our current energy-intensive lifestyle. All society needs to do is look to green technology to work its magic.
One of the best examples of this optimistic misconception is the electric car. Despite being highly regarded as an eco-friendly way to get around, electric cars are not the end for the future of transport. Batteries in electric cars use chemical elements which we could be seeing a shortage of by the midcentury.
Techno-optimism puts too much emphasis on technology and not enough on what we can do right this minute. Unfortunately, people seem to like the picture that techno-optimism paints.
| A．So where should we look for answers instead? |
| B．The modern world’s simple solution is technology. |
| C．Moreover, they are more energy intensive to produce. |
| D．Is it a trap that many people have fallen into in recent years? |
| E．Unfortunately, this is an incredibly dangerous opinion to hold. |
| F．Despite any technology, we as a whole are not living sustainably. |
| G．Nevertheless, the truth is, we need a widespread change in our lifestyles. |
7 . For years video games have been criticized for making people more antisocial, overweight or depressed. Bui now researchers are finding that video games can actually change us for the better and improve both our body and mind.
Games can help to develop physical skills. Pre-school children who played interactive games have been shown to have improved motor skills, for example they can kick, catch and throw a ball better than children who don’t play video games. A study found that those who played video games were 27 percent faster and made 37 percent fewer errors than those who didn’t.
Games also benefit a variety of brain functions, including decision-making. People who play action-based games make decisions 25 percent faster than others, according to one study. It was also found that the best gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second, four times faster than most people. In another study by researchers from the University of Rochester in New York, experienced gamers were shown to be able to pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that most people can normally keep in mind.
There is also evidence that gaming can help with psychological problems. At the University of Auckland in New Zealand, researchers asked 94 young people diagnosed with depression to play a 3D fantasy game called SPARX and in many cases, the game reduced symptoms of depression more than conventional treatment.
The effects are not always so positive, however. Indiana University researchers carried out brain scans on young men and found evidence that violent games can adjust brain function after as little as a week of play, affecting regions in the brain associated with emotional control and causing more aggressive behavior in the player. But Danhne Bavelier, one of the most experienced researchers in the field, says that the violent action games that often worry p parents most may actually have the strongest beneficial effect on the brain. In the future, we may see many treatments for physical and neurological (神经的) problems, which include the playing of video games.
1. In what way playing video games benefits very young children?| A．Muscle control. | B．Social interaction. |
| C．Decision-making. | D．The ability to focus. |
| A．Interactive games. | B．Action-based games. |
| C．3D fantasy games. | D．Violent games. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Objective. | C．Worried. | D．Critical. |
| A．The effects of different types of video games. |
| B．The negative effects of playing video games. |
| C．The beneficial effects of playing video games. |
| D．The effects of games on people’s behavior. |
8 . An open-air swimming pool in Bedfordshire, England, proved very popular this winter. The Woburn Lido is usually open from May to September, but this year it stayed open to swimmers throughout the autumn and winter months too.
Until the lockdown(封锁) for England was announced on 4 January, outdoor pools were allowed to remain open. “Demand has taken us by surprise.” said Murray Heining, a volunteer at the Woburn Lido. Over Christmas and New Year, in order to keep up with the demand from swimmers, the lido(露天游泳) had to offer extra slots for people to dive in.
Cold-water swimming has grown in popularity in the UK over the past few years. A survey found that 7.5 million people in England had swum in outdoor pools, as well as lakes, rivers and the sea, in 2018. In some areas, such as the river Wharfe in Yorkshire, this new trend has prompted environmental groups to ensure that the water is cleared of pollution and clean enough for bathers.
Some people make it a regular practice; others just enjoy a thrilling dip on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day. Every year around the UK, people are photographed jumping into icy water, often in fancy dress, and the recent festive period was no exception, despite freezing temperatures.
The Outdoor Swimming Society classifies temperatures below 6℃ as “Baltic” and from 6-11℃ as “freezing”. They advise people to get in the water gradually, so as not to shock the body. Likewise, they recommend warming up gradually, and not rushing the process by leaping into a hot bath when you get out. Instead, they suggest layering up and drinking something warm.
It wasn’t just the water that was cold—many people experienced a white Christmas; snow fell in several counties including Yorkshire and Suffolk. Paul Davies, the UK Met Office’s chief meteorologist (a scientist who studies the weather), said the forecast indicates “the likelihood of the cold conditions experienced recently continuing through January”.
1. Which of the following can replace the word “slots” in Paragraph 2?| A．Volunteers. | B．Solutions. | C．Opportunities. | D．Positions. |
| A．It is beneficial to environmental protection. |
| B．It has won people’s affections in recent years. |
| C．People only go cold-water swimming in festive period. |
| D．People go cold-water swimming to show off their fancy dresses. |
| A．Shock the body gradually. | B．Have some warm drinks when they get out. |
| C．Take a hot bath immediately. | D．Avoid swimming in freezing temperatures. |
| A．Swimmers Enjoy Chilly Dips | B．Freezing Weather Hits Britain |
| C．The Woburn Lido Wins Popularity | D．The UK Recovers from the Lockdown |
9 . Sometime in the early 1960s, a significant thing happened in Sydney, Australia. The city discovered its harbor. Then, one after another, Sydney discovered lots of things that were just sort of there — broad parks, superb beaches, and a culturally diverse population. But it is the harbor that makes the city.
Andrew Reynolds, a cheerful fellow in his early 30s, pilots Sydney ferryboats for a living. I spent the whole morning shuttling back and forth across the harbor. After our third run Andrew shut down the engine, and we went our separate ways — he for a lunch break, I to explore the city.
“I’ll miss these old boats,” he said as we parted.
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“Oh, they’re replacing them with catamarans. Catamarans are faster, but they’re not so elegant, and they’re not fun to pilot. But that’s progress, I guess.”
Everywhere in Sydney these days, change and progress are the watchwords (口号), and traditions are increasingly rare. Shirley Fitzgerald, the city’s official historian, told me that in its rush to modernity in the 1970s, Sydney swept aside much of its past, including many of its finest buildings. “Sydney is confused about itself,” she said. “We can’t seem to make up our minds whether we want a modern city or a traditional one. It’s a conflict that we aren’t getting any better at resolving (解决).”
On the other hand, being young and old at the same time has its attractions. I considered this when I met a thoughtful young businessman named Anthony. “Many people say that we lack culture in this country,” he told me. “What people forget is that the Italians, when they came to Australia, brought 2000 years of their culture, the Greeks some 3000 years, and the Chinese more still. We’ve got a foundation built on ancient cultures but with a drive and dynamism of a young country. It’s a pretty hard combination to beat.”
He is right, but I can’t help wishing they would keep those old ferries.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．Sydney’s striking architecture. | B．The cultural diversity of Sydney. |
| C．The key to Sydney’s development. | D．Sydney’s tourist attractions in the 1960s. |
| A．He goes to work by boat. | B．He looks forward to a new life. |
| C．He pilots catamarans well. | D．He is attached to the old ferries. |
| A．It is losing its traditions. | B．It should speed up its progress. |
| C．It should expand its population. | D．It is becoming more international. |
| A．A city can be young and old at the same time. |
| B．A city built on ancient cultures is more dynamic. |
| C．Modernity is usually achieved at the cost of elegance. |
| D．Compromise should be made between the local and the foreign. |
10 . There is something to be said for being a generalist, even if you are a specialist. Knowing a little about a lot of things that interest you can add to the richness of a whole, well-lived life.
Society pushes us to specialize, to become experts. This requires commitment to a particular occupation, branch of study or research. The drawback to being specialists is we often come to know more and more about less and less. There is a great deal of pressure to master one’s field. You may pursue training, degrees, or increasing levels of responsibility at work. Then you discover the pressure of having to keep up.
Some people seem willing to work around the clock in their narrow specialty. But such commitment can also weaken a sense of freedom. These specialists could work at the office until ten each night, then look back and realize they would have loved to have gone home and enjoyed the sweetness of their family and friends, or traveled to exciting places, meeting interesting people. Mastering one thing to the exclusion of others can hold back your true spirit.
Generalists on the other hand, know a lot about a wide range of subjects and view the whole with all its connections. They are people of ability, talent, and enthusiasm who can bring their broad perspective into specific fields of expertise. The doctor who is also a poet and philosopher is a superior doctor, one who can give so much more to his patients than just good medical skills.
Things are connected. Let your expertise in one field fuel your passions in all related areas. Some of your interests may not appear to be connected but, once you explore their depths, you discover that they are. My editor Toni, who is also a writer, has edited several history books. She has decided to study Chinese history. Fascinated by the structural beauty of the Forbidden City as a painter, she is equally interested to learn more about Chinese philosophy. “I don’t know where it will lead, but I’m excited I’m on this pursuit.”
These expansions into new worlds help us by giving us new perspectives. We begin to see the interconnectedness of one thing to another in all aspects of our life, of ourselves and the universe. Develop broad, general knowledge and experience. The universe is all yours to explore and enjoy.
1. To become a specialist, one may have to ______ .| A．narrow his range of knowledge | B．avoid responsibilities at work |
| C．know more about the society | D．broaden his perspective on life |
| A．treasure their freedom | B．travel around the world |
| C．spend most time working | D．enjoy meeting funny people |
| A．is fully aware of his talent and ability | B．is a pure specialist in medicine |
| C．should love poetry and philosophy | D．brings knowledge of other fields to work |
| A．Passion alone does not ensure a person’s success. |
| B．In-depth exploration makes discoveries possible. |
| C．Everyone has a chance to succeed in their pursuit. |
| D．Seemingly unrelated interests are in a way connected. |
