1 . In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are developing every day to extend life.

However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they say that people should have the right(权利) to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself, and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They say that people should be allowed to die with dignity(尊严) and to decide when they want to die.

Others don’ t agree and say that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite(明确的) answer.

1. People can live longer than in the past. It’ s because________.

A．medical technology develops	B．we have big hospitals
C．there are many good doctors	D．we eat better than before

2. According to some people whether a dying patient has the right to die is up to ________.

A．the doctors	B．the surroundings
C．his or his family	D．the patient himself or herself

3. In the writer’ s opinion, ________.

A．death is better than life	B．life is better than death
C．neither life nor death is good	D．none of the above

3 . Stepping into the period of aging life means a new chapter in the life. It brings great problems and challenges to both the elder people and their family members.     1     Many things can be done to attract public awareness to relieve their sufferings.

You can become an advocate for seniors by helping them individually where they live. Volunteering in a nursing home to help with daily life is one of the common ways to offer help. Speaking and spending time with the elderly will increase your awareness of their daily concerns and challenges.    2    

    3     The local community center might serve as a good location for area residents to gather and learn about the challenges of elder adults. Hosting community forums, creating online blogs and joining a supportive group are always workable forms.

Helping get seniors online is another way to win them more resources for self-help. One major daily challenge faced by seniors is that they fail to locate certain necessary services because they lack vital computer knowledge. Work with seniors to get wired and train them in basic computer skills.     4     If, for example, their main motivation is to communicate with family, you needn’t teach them to pay online.

It’s essential for you to learn some basic healthcare practices.     5     You can get certified in senior first aid, CPR or attend healthcare conferences to learn more about senior care. Try to learn about the physical, social, emotional, and mental health of the elderly to address the problems effectively.

A．You can also arouse awareness in your community.

B．You can organize a community speech on eldercare, too.

C．There are many ways you are able to help professionally for the elderly.

D．Healthcare is a major part of senior care, and it helps improve the lives of the seniors.

E．These facts may include common health problems, nutritional needs and social isolation.

F．Ask the seniors, “What are your goals when you go online?” so that you provide specific guidance.

G．Elder abuse, lack of access to healthcare, and transportation challenges are a few difficulties.

6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Inflation (通货膨胀) is showing no signs of slowing down,     1     (make) it harder for workers to make ends meet.

The Consumer Price Index     2     (increase) 8.3% from a year ago,     3     (high) than the estimated 8.1%, according to the US Bureau of Statistics.

Although it was down     4     (slight) from the March peak, inflation is still growing at the fastest annual pace in about four     5     (decade).

As of March, close     6     two-thirds, or 64%, of the US population was living paycheck to paycheck, just shy of the high of 65% in 2021, according to    7     LendingClub report.

“The number of people     8     (live) paycheck to paycheck today is reminiscent (让人想起) of the early days of the pandemic,     9     it has become the dominant lifestyle across income brackets,” said Anuj Nayar, LendingClub’s     10     (finance) health officer.

7 . Many companies are expanding their mental—health benefits(福利), but getting employees to take advantage of them can be challenging. Puget Sound Energy is—on a mission to change that.

Last year, 98% of its employees watched a 20—minute mental—health training video, and managers were offered a two—hour live mental—health training. The sessions included tips on how to recognize and respond to mental—health issues in themselves and others, information on what mental—health resources the company offers, and personal stories from PSE workers who had experienced mental illness.

PSE is one of many companies expanding mental—health benefits and talking about mental health in the workplace in new ways. Workers are suffering from it, and companies recognize poor mental health among employees which is linked to lost productivity and higher medical expenses. Most companies already offer some free mental—health counseling(咨询) through an employee assistance plan, or EAP, to provide a certain number of counseling sessions annually for free.

The problem is that EAPs are often not made full use of. While research indicates that 20% of the adult population experiences a mental illness each year, less than 8% of employees take advantage of their company’s EAP, says Darren Brooks.

In some cases, workers don’t know their employer has an EAP because it isn’t well—promoted. In other cases, workers fear there could be repercussions if their employer finds out their depression or another mental illness. Still others face long waits to book an appointment with EAP due to a national shortage of counselors.

With that in mind, some companies are improving access to mental—health services. It requires training managers to recognize signs of mental—health illness and to speak about specific challenges that people experience in their daily lives. Another part of the challenge is convincing people that it is OK to use them. To make employees more comfortable asking for help, some companies are encouraging managers and workers to share their own mental—health stories.

1. What was probably the aim of the sessions of PSE company?

A．To get its employees devoted to their work.

B．To ensure the mental health of its employees.

C．To promote the sales of the company’s energy.

D．To train its employees for medical knowledge.

2. What is the problem with EAP?

A．It is not fully used by employees.

B．Some employees can’t afford it for lack of money.

C．Employees taking it are fired because of their illness.

D．Few counselors are willing to promote it to employees.

3. What does the underlined word “repercussions” mean in the fifth paragraph?

A．Benefits.

B．Arrangements.

C．Impacts.

D．Tendencies.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Improving Mental Health Boosts Productivity

B．Many People Simply Don’t Want Mental Exam

C．There Is a Need to Destigmatize Mental Health

D．Mental—health Benefits Are Faced with Challenges

8 . We’re frequently told that our attention problem-being easily distracted-result from modern technology. If we truly want to focus, according to the popular belief, we need to turn off all our digital devices and quit social media.

Here’s my opinion about that idea. This era(时代)is no different than any other-there has always been a “crisis of attention”. Think about life long ago: people in ancient India or Europe didn’t have smartphones and social media, but they were faced with the same problem.

A crisis of attention can happen anytime you don’t allow yourself a break-when you don’t allow your mind to daydream, which may inspire your creativity. We are always engaged in something. With these digital tools at our fingertips, we have constant access to all these forms of communication, content, and interaction, and we don’t let our thoughts wander(漫游)freely. When was the last time you stood in line at a store and just…looked around? Thought about whatever came to your mind? Or did you pull out your phone, check your texts, read your email during that time?

We all do it. We catch ourselves all the time going from one type of mental engagement to the next. Like surfing online (clicking from link to link), we go from one task to the next and the next. We are “all task and no downtime”. Even something you might think of as relaxing is more engagement. Checking your phone messages may seem “fun”, but it’s just another task for your attention. Your attention is focused on task after task after task, without a moment for the mind to wander freely.

It’s not always realistic to unplug. We can’t just turn off our phones and pause our email. We can’t create a distraction-free world. The problem is not the existence(存在)of modern technology; rather, it’s how we’re using it.

1. Why does the author mention people in ancient India?

A．To argue against the popular belief.

B．To discuss the benefits of technology.

C．To suggest a solution to the attention problem.

D．To show the seriousness of the attention problem.

2. Which is an example of “downtime” according to the author?

A．Chatting with friends.	B．Reading a newspaper.
C．Sitting back doing nothing.	D．Checking phone messages.

3. What does the underlined word “unplug” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Work long hours.	B．Improve technology.
C．Stop using digital devices.	D．Balance work and leisure.

4. Which section of a website is the text most likely from?

A．Culture.	B．Fashion.
C．History.	D．Opinion.

9 . A nation-wide honeybee crisis is under way in the United States. Lately bees have begun to rapidly disappear in24 states across the country. For reasons unknown, bees are flying off in search of nectar and pollen and simply never returning to their colonies.

Bees are extremely social insects; they never desert their young or bee queens. Researchers argue that bees are most probably dying during their search for nectar. A range of theories is also investigated, including a virus and poor bee nutrition. Researchers are looking into a group of pesticides that were banned in European countries to find out whether the chemical preparations(still used in the U. S.) are somehow causing damage to bees' born ability to find their way back home. According to yet another theory, the losses may have resulted from a massive attack by mites, which have repeatedly damaged bee colonies in the past.

The bees disappear as pressure has been building on the U. S. bee industry. The costs to maintain hives are continuously rising. The bee business becomes less profitable as a result. According to estimates by the Agriculture Department, the number of hives has dropped by a quarter over the last twenty years, and the number of beekeepers decreased by half. Beekeepers also have to deal with the problem of suburban spread as they search for areas where bees can hunt for nectar to stay healthy and feel good during the pollination season.

A terrible epidemic breaks out in The Plague, a novel by Albert Camus, shortly after hundreds of dead rats are discovered all over the town. The recent bee mystery, already nicknamed a "colony collapse disorder" by U. S researchers, seems to somewhat resemble the situation described in the novel. We can only hope that the "bee plague" will not take shape of a problem of global proportions.

1. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．terrible epidemic breaks out in America.

B．The reason for honeybees' disappearance.

C．Measures should be taken to solve the problem.

D．The tragedy of mysterious disappearance of America's honeybees.

2. According to the passage, which of the following is right?

A．Bees are not fond of living together.

B．The scientists have found out the reason for bees disappearance.

C．Probably, the losses may result from their colonies being damaged.

D．It is likely that the bees die while looking for nectar.

3. What's the number of beekeepers if 480 people raised bees 20 years ago?

A．240.

B．200.

C．120.

D．60.

4. Why do researchers worry about the loss of honeybees?

A．Because they think the bee plague will kill them.

B．Because they believe man will be defeated in the end.

C．Because they think the US bee industry is going to come to an end.

D．Because they fear the coming of the disaster described in the novel.

10 . In February, Japan appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the country’s first Minister of Loneliness to address the issue of isolation for the growing number of the population who live alone.

Loneliness has been a long-standing issue in Japan. Half a million people in the country live a solitary(独身的) life. They are known as hikikomori – “those who withdraw from all social contact and often don’t leave their houses for years at a time”, according to the BBC.

“In Japanese strict social norms(行为规范), high expectations from parents and a culture of shame make Japanese society a fertile ground for feelings of inadequacy.” Takahiro Kato, who studies and treats hikikomori, told the BBC.

But the pandemic has only worsened the effects of this lifestyle. According to figures released by the National Police Agency, in 2020 Japan saw a rise in suicides for the first time in 11 years. A total of 20,919 people took their own lives, 750 more than the previous year. The majority of them were single women and students.

Before the pandemic(疫情), most people who live alone had a fairly normal routine: a full day of work, dining with friends afterward, then going home. But the pandemic forced them to stay indoors, reducing the few chances they had to socialize.

Sakamoto hopes to deal with the issue of increased feelings of isolation. At a news conference on Feb 12, he said that he hopes to “carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people”.

After all, just as UK poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

1. What does the underlined word “inadequacy” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Respecting the elderly.	B．Lacking self-confidence.
C．Hiding to avoid trouble.	D．Following social norms.

2. Why did Japan see a rise in suicides in 2020?

A．The pandemic put people out of work.

B．The pandemic made solitary people feel lonelier.

C．People suffered from anxiety due to the pandemic.

D．Being outside their routine caused inconvenience.

3. What can be inferred from what John Donne wrote in the last paragraph?

A．Man is a social animal.

B．Everyone is like everyone else.

C．People should be ashamed of being alone.

D．People can find ways to deal with loneliness.

4. What does the article mainly talk about?

A．The reason why there are hikikomori in Japan.

B．The responsibility of the Minister of Loneliness.

C．How the pandemic has affected people's lives in Japan.

D．Why Japan appointed a Minister of Loneliness.