2 . No one can fail to stand in awed admiration of the great discoveries of history — Newton’s laws of motion; Kepler’s principles of planetary movement, Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Equally awe-inspiring are artistic creations in painting, theatre, music and literature, which have also been brought about by discovery through personal efforts. What do these extraordinary achievements of well-known scientists and artists have to do with problem solving?

A great scientific discovery or a great work of art is surely the result of problem-solving activity. The solution to a problem, we are told, often comes to thinkers in a “flash of insight (顿悟)”, although they may have been turning the problem over in their minds for some time. As a particular form of problem solving, these creative acts are based on the broad knowledge gained in the past, whether this be of the “public” sort known to science, or of the “private” sort known to the artist.

Many creative thinkers state that they have completely devoted themselves to the subject matter of the problem, often over fairly long periods of time. Indeed, it would be strange if they had not done this. Nothing in such statements supports the idea that there is anything very different about the problem solving that leads to discoveries of the great contributions to the society. The act of discovery, even in the relatively predictable sense that it occurs in everyday learning, involves a “sudden insight” which changes the problem situation into a solution situation. As we have seen, everyday discovery also requires that the learner have the knowledge of the rules gained in the past, which is involved in the solution.

1. Newton, Kepler and Einstein are mentioned in the first paragraph to ______.

A．bring about the subject of the discussion

B．explain that scientists are more creative

C．show the difference between science and arts

D．prove that arts require more personal efforts

2. While knowledge from the past plays an important role in their achievements, thinkers sometimes also depend on their ______.

A．artistic tastes	B．sudden insight
C．admiration of discoveries	D．scientific experiments

3. What does the underlined word “this” refer to?

A．Great contributions to the society

B．Long-time study of the subject matter.

C．Various statements about problem solving.

D．Complete devotion to artistic creation.

4. We may conclude from the passage that ______.

A．it is more likely to make scientific and artistic discoveries in everyday learning

B．a sudden insight and knowledge from the past are required in making discoveries

C．scientific discoveries or artistic creations are usually unpredictable in nature

D．knowledge of the rules in the past is often developed in the changes of situation

3 . Falling birth rates are a major concern for some of Asia’s biggest economies. Government s in the region are spending hundreds of billions of dollars trying to reverse the trend. Will it work?

Japan began introducing policies to encourage couples to have more children in the 1990s. South Korea started doing the same in the 2000s, while Singapore’s first fertility (生育) policy dates back to 1987. China, which has seen its population fall for the first time in 60 years, recently joined the growing club.

While it is difficult to quantify exactly how much these policies have cost, South Korean President YoonSuk-yeol recently said his country had spent more than $200bn (£160bn) over the past 16 years on trying to boost the population. Yet last year South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate, with the average number of babies expected per woman falling to 0.78. In neighbouring Japan, which had record low births of fewer than 800,000 last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to double the budget for child-related policies from 10tn yen ($74.7bn; £59.2bn).

Having a bigger population who can work and produce more goods and services leads to higher economic growth. And while a larger population can mean higher costs for governments, it can also result in bigger tax revenues (税收). Also, many Asian countries are ageing rapidly. Japan leads the pack with nearly 30% of its population now over the age of 65 and some other nations in the region are not far behind. Compare that with India, which has just overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation. More than a quarter of its people are between the age of 10 and 20, which gives its economy huge potential for growth. And when the share of the working age population gets smaller, the cost and burden of looking after the non-working population grow. “Negative population growth has an impact on the economy, and together with an ageing population, they won’t be able to afford to support the elderly,” said Xiujian Peng of Victoria University.

1. Which Asian country first took measures to increase population in this passage?

A．Japan.

B．South Korea.

C．Singapore.

D．China.

2. What can we learn about the population of Asian countries from the passage?

A．Japan hit the lowest record of new-born babies last year.

B．India has the largest and youngest population in the world.

C．China’s population has been decreasing in the recent 60 years.

D．South Korea had the lowest population record last year in the world.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．The economy of India will overtake that of Japan.

B．Negative population growth leads to an ageing population.

C．The larger the population is, the better the economy will be.

D．A bigger share of working age population helps support the elderly.

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Low birth rate is a negative factor for economy.

B．China is joining the countries of low birth rate.

C．Many Asian countries came to negative population growth.

D．Many Asian countries are trying all out to battle low birth rate.

4 . The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.

The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any fishbowls that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer four-sided ones.

The company said it was animal abuse (虐待) to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration. Filtration is the process of removing small waste from the water with a device.

AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently used the term “impulse”—meaning a sudden strong desire to do something—to describe why many adults buy goldfish. “People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse, but if they knew what torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly,” Lambeaux added.

Goldfish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums (养鱼缸) or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months. Lambeaux said goldfish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium requires some special equipment and knowledge.

Germany and several other European countries have long banned (禁止) fishbowls, but France has no laws on the problem.

Lambeaux explained the company’s decision further by saying, “We cannot educate all our customers by explaining that keeping fish in a bowl is terrible. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give customers that choice.”

“There is demand for fishbowls,” he said, “but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility of seeing goldfish die slowly.”

1. What makes the French company stop selling certain fishbowls?

A．Their size.	B．Their price.
C．Their weight.	D．Their popularity.

2. What does the underlined word “torture” probably in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Progress.	B．Pleasure.
C．Difficulty.	D．Suffering.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The age goldfish can reach.	B．Costs of keeping goldfish.
C．Proper living conditions for goldfish.	D．The advice on how to choose fishbowls.

4. What does the company prefer to do based on Lambeaux’s words?

A．Raise the price of the fishbowls.	B．Remove the chances of harming goldfish.
C．Keep goldfish outside in the wild.	D．Educate parents to care for goldfish.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

It all began with a video showing a professor at a Chinese university several months ago. Standing before a classroom which     1     (fill) with eager students, she humorously said, “Princesses, please take your seats.” This video swiftly went viral on social media,     2     (cause) a fresh wave known as “princess literature”.

Actually, the word “princess” carries much     3     (important), especially for Gen Zers,     4     were brought up on “princess” stories and films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Frozen.     5     (traditional), a princess was seen by the public as     6     irresponsible and proud figure. And they were even considered as the “the Lost Generation”.     7    , many of today’s “princesses” are independent, struggling for self-worth and exploring positive values.

“The popular phrase, ‘Princesses, please xx’, was appreciated by the youth, not only for its humor but for the     8     (emotion) value it offered to us”, said a college student when interviewed.

While many of recent Chinese Internet phrases     9     tangping, or “lying flat”, and foxi, or “Buddha-like”, reflects the discouraging attitude of young people, this phrase serves as a positive way     10     (adapt) to various pressures in their lives.

6 . Today, there are more humans on Earth than ever and nature is in freefall. In just 50 years, wildlife populations have dropped on average by 69 percent. In the same period, our population has doubled, and demand for non-living and living material from Earth has grown six times. The biggest contributors to biodiversity (生物多样性) loss are habitat destruction and over-development of species, both driven by completely unsustainable consumption (不可持续的消耗) and caused by increasing human numbers. It is important that we address this over-consumption, and that means thinking seriously the influence our species’ population growth is having on the breakdown of the natural world.

December’s biodiversity summit (峰会) in Canada didn’t meet the challenges we face. Only two of the 23 topics are intended to address consumption and speak of “greatly reducing overconsumption”. But the message is unclearly defined and unquantified (未被量化的), short of necessary facts for any real application. Given all the goals of the former biodiversity protection plan were missed, it is truly impossible to imagine that governments will gather the bravery to catch the chance.

In November last year, our population reached 8 billion and there are predictions that it will reach 10.4 billion in the 2080s. The goal of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is for us to live “in harmony (和谐) with nature” by 2050. Let me make it clear: there is no doubt that the 1.7 billion more people predicted will make this greatly harder to achieve. However much we try to reduce our consumption and our influence, every plan and rule that moves us forward will have a gradually lower influence.

And let me say it again: it isn’t about any particular humans among those billions, this is about us as a species of resource-consuming organism.

We must now ensure governments deal with their tasks with great efforts instead of any short-sighted, short-term solutions. Tolerating (忍受) the cruel idea that economic growth is the answer to our problems, and totally ignoring unsustainable population growth, must end. Or we all die.

1. What’s the function for the first paragraph?

A．To conduct a survey.	B．To explore the reason.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To discuss a problem.

2. What can we learn from the summit in Canada?

A．It is far from contenting the author.	B．It has pointed the way to our future.
C．It clears up many people’s confusion.	D．It helps deal with the consumption issues.

3. How does the author present his idea in paragraph 3?

A．By giving examples.	B．By showing data.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By defining a concept.

4. The author advises us to ________.

A．Tolerate existing issues and wait.

B．Put population growth in second place.

C．Expect economic growth to solve the problem.

D．Let governments adopt effective solutions wisely.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

On Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle-focused social media platform in China, a search for “new Chinese style” could produce over 4 million results,     1     (most) user posts. That number becomes important when you find out it is double     2     number of results for a similar search for European and US styles that     3     (be) popular in China once upon a time. For the younger generation, at a time when traditional culture is becoming popular, the “new Chinese style” is similar to a national symbol — worth     4     (discover), worn proudly, and encouraged.

Whether it is fashion, home furniture, architecture, coffee     5     weddings, every possible field is now being enriched by “Chinese style” — a reflection of growing     6     (confident) in local culture. The origin of the “new Chinese style” is the younger generation’s fascination and love for     7     (tradition) culture. Because of young people’s unique understanding and brave imagination of Chinese culture, “China-Chic” (中国时尚) is now a trend that has gone global. The new wave of Oriental aesthetics (东方美学)     8     (sweep) the world nowadays.

    9     addition, the ability of the increasingly mature younger generation in China     10     (use) online media has helped more people hear their views and understand the stories of the new era represented by the new Chinese style.