1 . The older you are, the less likely you are to swear (except in the car—studies say most people swear when driving). As we get older, swearing becomes part of the rich lexicon of language that we use to express ourselves, and while we might associate swear words with negative communication. Only eight percent of people actually swear to cause offence. “There are many other reasons that we swear, including positive uses like expressing excitement, emphasis.” says Dr Karyn Stapleton, a senior lecturer in Communication at Ulster University. “And there’s cathartic (宣泄的) swearing, which provides a means of releasing strong emotions, or feelings like anger, pain or frustration.”   

Cathartic swearing fascinates scientists as it shows some really interesting facts about bad language. Studies at the UK’s Keele University revealed that when under stress, a person can think of considerably more swear words than someone asked to do the same task when relaxed, and it’s now suspected that rather than being controlled by the normal part of the brain that handles language (the left cortex), swear words are actually processed by the limbic (边缘的) system that normally controls emotional thoughts. Be warned though—the more you swear in general speech, the less effective the cathartic effects of swear words are when you really need them!

What makes a word offensive is also very interesting. “The two main categories of swear words are bodily functions and religion—and that’s not just in English, it’s observed across many languages,” says Dr Robbie Love, lecturer in English Language at Aston University in Birmingham. “It’s like the brain has encoded these words with a special meaning so that it knows they are different in some way. I think there’s almost an innate human need to have some linguistic items that can be used to process intense moments.”

Generally though, we’re swearing less than we used to. Dr Love’s research found the use of 16 common swear words has declined by 27 percent over the last 20 years. According to a survey by the British Board of Film Classification, only 12 percent of those aged 55-64 swear regularly compared to 46 percent of 20-somethings. “It’s possible that as we get older we might have fewer uses for swearing. We don’t need it to bond with coworkers. Also, older adults have often had to spend some time restraining their language around children—no matter how our own feelings about swearing change, we still don’t want to expose children to it,” says Dr Love.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．People swear more easily as they get older.	B．People swear merely to release negative emotion.
C．Swearing often offends others.	D．Swearing is a way of expressing ourselves.

2. Which of the following facts about swearing is not correct?

A．person can think less swear words in relaxation than in pressure.

B．Swear words come from the brain system that controls emotional thought.

C．Bodily functions and religion are two types of swear words just in English.

D．People swearing more in daily life may not release their emotions well on necessary occasions.

3. How does Dr. Love feel about swearing?

A．Helpful

B．Offensive

C．Special

D．Indifferent

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Young people swear in order to connect with their coworkers.

B．Older people may swear less to create better language setting for children.

C．There are fewer swear words people use.

D．People swear less than they used to.

2 . Wang Xiaojun is twelve years old. He lives in the country in Hunan. Today is his birthday. His parents prepare a nice dinner for him, but the boy says, “I won’t have the dinner, today is over, and my parents are going to Shenzhen tomorrow. I don’t want to let them go.”

Wang Xiaojun has the birthday with his parents for the first time in the past three years. Three years ago, his parents went to Shenzhen to work. They stayed and worked there for three years. Tomorrow they have to go back to Shenzhen. Wang is not the only stay-at-home child. In the country of China, there are many children staying at home without their parents. Stay-at -home children have a lot of problems. Most of them stay with their grandparents. Some of them don’t study well because their parents can’t help them with their study. The Chinese government (政府) now is trying to solve their problems.

1. When was Wang Xiaojun born?

A．In 2010.

B．In 2011.

C．In 2012.

D．In 2013.

2. Wang Xiaojun won’t have the birthday dinner because ___________.

A．there isn’t a birthday cake	B．the food isn’t delicious
C．his parents are going to Shenzhen tomorrow	D．he doesn’t like the dinner

3. The “stay-at-home child” means ___________.

A．爱家儿童

B．顽皮儿童

C．留守儿童

D．离家儿童

4. The stay-at-home children can’t get help for study from their parents, so some of them ___________.

A．don’t study well	B．don’t like to stay with parents
C．don’t love their parents	D．don’t have dinner with their parents

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．There are a lot of children like Wang Xiaojun in China.

B．The Chinese government is trying to solve these problems.

C．Wang Xiaojun’s parents go to Shenzhen to make money.

D．Stay-at-home children don’t have any problems.

3 . 请先阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后用方框中所给词的适当形式填空，并将其填到答题卡的相应位置，每个词限用一次。

popular   know       like          difficulty        course       their        how        ability        early        get          new

Social media posts (上传) about a cooking    1     for school kids, as part of a life skill program carried out in 2022, are increased. They become     2     on the Internet and cause a lot of discussion.

According to a(n)     3     document on compulsory education (义务教育), first and second graders should learn     4     to peel fruits and make tea and get basic knowledge of nutrition (营养). Besides, they also need to develop the     5     to take part in basic cooking at home. Students in grades five and six are expected     6     basic cooking skills such as boiling. They are also required to be able to prepare a good meal for     7       own families.

Many people     8     the life skill program. “This should have been done     9    . Children nowadays are short   of physical activities and none of my students     10     the difference between wheat and rice,” said a user on the Internet. “Life is about learning. Children’s wisdom and character are shaped (塑造) as they face       11       again and again,” another user said.

4 . Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has long worked to make her city less dependent on cars. She wanted to see more people using bicycles to get around. Over a number of years, the city government set limits on cars and increased the amount of bike paths from 200 kilometers to over 1,000 kilometers.

This year, Parisians are not complaining about too much automobile traffic. Instead, they say there are too many bikes. “Now, it’s really like a bike traffic jam(阻塞),” Thibault Quere, a spokesperson for France’s Federation of Bicycle Users, said. ”It’s kind of a good difficulty to have, especially when we think about what Paris used to be.”

Some famous roads along the River Seine are completely closed to cars. Now you see people riding bikes, running and walking with their families along the river. In another part of Paris, a bike path on Sebastopol Boulevard is one of the busiest in Europe, after opening in 2019. In one week in early September, it reached a record high of 124,000 riders.

The city will host the Summer Olympics in 2024 and plans to add more bike paths by then. Paris wants to reduce its pollution by half during the games, even as visitors from around the world will be in the city for the event. Organizers say all of the competition sites will be reachable by bike through a 60-kilometer network of bike paths.

The change to Paris, however, has not been easy. With more people using bikes, more people are making mistakes. Some of them are new to cycling and disobey traffic rules. But the environment may be improving. Cycling is good exercise and helps reduce pollution, which is still a problem for the large city. The French government blames atmospheric pollution for 48,000 early deaths in the country each year.

Hidalgo was re-elected in 2020 and plans to keep making what she calls a “Paris that breathes”. Her newest five-year bike plan includes over $250 million for more bike paths and bike parking. The new budget is an increase of over $100 million from her first five-year plan.

1. What can be learned from the second paragraph?

A．Hidalgo’s effort has paid off.	B．Parisians prefer to travel by car.
C．Parisians find it difficult to ride bikes.	D．Quere disagrees with Hidalgo.

2. Why does the author mention the data in paragraph 3?

A．To compare the famous roads in France.

B．To praise people enjoying riding bicycles.

C．To stress the importance of France in Europe.

D．To show how busy a cycle path is in Paris.

3. What do the organizers probably wish visitors to do during the Summer Olympics in 2024?

A．Tour local bike shops.	B．Ride to competition sites.
C．Promote the sights in France.	D．Support the athletes around the world.

4. Which word can best describe Anne Hidalgo?

A．Friendly.

B．Helpful.

C．Determined.

D．Honest.

7 . Is it shi(是) or si(斯) in the sentence “Thus when Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man(故天将降大任于是/斯人也)…”? Not long ago, people had a heated discussion online about this. Most people “clearly remember” that it’s si, while their childhood textbooks say it’s shi.

It shows how unreliable(不可靠的) our memory can be. According to US psychologist Faith Brynie, memories can be influenced by imagination, belief and time. Many studies have proven that “feeling certain” about a memory sometimes has nothing to do with the facts.

Attitudes and beliefs change our memory.

Scientists at Cornell University, US, told college students a story about a man who walked out without paying a restaurant bill. The first group was told that the man “liked to steal”. The second group was told that he left because he got an emergency(紧急的) phone call.

One week later the first group remembered a higher bill-10 to 25 percent more than the bill actually was. The second group remembered a lower bill. The study showed that how we expect or believe things to happen can distort(扭曲) our memories.

Remembering things that never happened

In another experiment(实验), people watched a film and were asked: “How fast was the white car going when it passed the barn(谷仓) while traveling along the country road?”Actually there was no barn in the film. But about 20 percent of the students said they had seen the barn. Northwestern University scientist Kenneth Paller said that parts of the brain for really seeing an object and imagining an object overlap(重叠). So imagination after getting a hint(暗示) could leave a memory trace(痕迹) in the brain.

Si or shi

In the case of si or shi, some people said that si sounds more like ancient Chinese. That’s why most people relate it to the ancient classic. On the Internet, the version(版本) of si is also more widespread than shi, giving people a wrong hint.

1. In the first experiment, the first group remembered a higher bill because ________.

A．the students forgot the bill completely.

B．the students thought the man was rich enough.

C．the scientists made the students believe the man was bad.

D．the scientists told the students that the man should pay more.

2. What does the underlined word “hint” in the second experiment refer to?

A．The sights in the film.	B．Kenneth Paller’s words.
C．The word “barn” in the question.	D．A real barn in students’ memories.

3. What can we learn from the case of si or shi?

A．Feelings can decide people’s memories.	B．The version of shi is more widespread.
C．People’s memories are always unreliable.	D．There was no sound of shi in ancient Chinese.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Are you really sure?	B．Have you forgotten yet?
C．What should be remembered?	D．How is the memory improved?

8 . 选词填空

place   ride   however   with   after   deal   bravely   better   feel   remind   different

Located in one of Beijing’s most active art communities, the Loneliness (孤独) Museum is always very crowded.     1    , everyone who visits the museum says that they are lonely. Divided into 13 parts including an office at night, the last subway and a hospital, the museum displays (展出) over 1000 lonely stories from     2     people. There are many notes with words of encouragement and ways     3     with solitude (孤独) on the walls and the stairs. They may feel     4     after seeing them. One of the museum’s owners Fang Fang says that people who come to work in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou may     5     lonely every now and then. So she wants to provide a     6     for them to relax. It     7     them that even though life is hard, there are lots of people like them. They are not alone.

    8     the development of technology, it is easier for people to get in touch with old friends and make new friends. However, young people are likely to feel lonely.

People may get used to loneliness as they get older     9     they experience important life events and life changes.

Luckily, our society is more tolerant (宽容的) towards this kind of young group, often encouraging them to face this crazy changing world     10    . In a room of the museum, with three bicycles, strangers can     11     together to light up the lights on the wall, which forms a sentence- “Loneliness comes together with love”.

9 . Regarding the increasing rate of childhood obesity in the U.S., the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that doctors put obese kids as young as two on intensive, family-based lifestyle and behavior plans. It also suggested giving weight-loss drugs and surgery to children. Yet the recommended lifestyle programs are expensive and hard to maintain.

Rather than that, we need to invest in more and safer places for children to play. Studies show clearly that moving more helps both physical and mental health. In 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found, unsurprisingly, that kids’ sports participation increases with their parents’ incomes.

Children between 6 and 17 should get at least an hour of physical activity every day. Yet only 21% to 28% of U.S. kids meet this target, surveys found. Why is it so hard to get kids moving? In addition to fewer opportunities at school, researchers list increased screen time, changing norms around letting kids play outdoors, and a lack of safe places for them to play outside. Lower-income neighborhoods tend to have the fewest public play spaces. And although rural areas have more undeveloped outdoor space, they often lack playgrounds, tracks and exercise facilities.

Kids everywhere need more places to play: trails, skate parks and climbing walls, gardens and ball fields, bike paths and basketball courts. Public funding to build and keep up these areas is crucial, but other options such as shared-use agreements can make unused spaces available to the public. Only 10 percent of U.S. schools let people into their playgrounds when school is out, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) found, and opening up these spaces would give 5.2 million more children access. “Play streets”— residential streets or parking lots that are temporarily closed for activities — are another affordable way to give kids more chances to run around.

These opportunities aren’t about changing children’s waistlines — they’re how we keep childhood healthy and fun.

1. What does AAP suggest about dealing with obese children?

A．Training them on the basis of the family.

B．Providing more safe playgrounds for them.

C．Setting aside regular school time for sports.

D．Finding ways to increase their parents’ incomes.

2. Whys it hard for American children to exercise?

A．Their studies take up most of their normal lives.

B．They spend more time on mobiles or computers.

C．They have drugs as an alternative to stay healthy.

D．They’re not admitted to undeveloped outdoor space.

3. What did the TPL find about playgrounds in public schools?

A．They are a necessary part of sports facilities.

B．They are all lent to the public on agreements.

C．They can’t run smoothly for lack of public fund.

D．They’re mostly inaccessible when school is off.

4. How does the author view the suggestions?

A．They’re set to reduce childhood obesity.

B．They call for government’s joined efforts.

C．They’ll make children’s life full of fun.

D．They work best with kids in “play streets”.

10 . Two climate activists made for a beautiful Monet painting exhibited at the National Museum in Sweden on a recent Wednesday morning, gluing (粘) a hand to the artwork’s protective glass and putting it in red paint. Similar scenes have unfolded at more than a dozen museums over the last year, leaving cultural workers at a loss for how to prevent climate activists from targeting delicate artworks. Meanwhile, the costs for security, conservation and insurance are growing, according to cultural institutions that have experienced attacks.

Cultural institutions are attempting to be active when their budgets allow. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, more security has been added to certain exhibitions. Returning a painting to its former glory after attacks can require hours of careful conservation work, and expensive glass cannot prevent liquids from getting through the protective barrier.

The number of workers required to clean a painting like the Monet is big, with about 10 people working for a couple of days. But there are limited options for a state-run museum to prevent an attack. “An extreme consequence would be to close the museum,” said Hedstrom from the National Museum, though that was unrealistic, since the collection belongs to the Swedish public.

Last month, Joanna and Tim were charged for damaging an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, after they put paint on the case surrounding the fragile sculpture of “Little Dancer” in April. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. It was seen as a turning point, while climate activists have called the sentence unjust. “We didn’t mean to rampage anything in the museums but call for people to think about what they value on Earth,” Joanna said. Kaywin, the National Gallery’s director, said she appreciated the work done by the authorities to bring these serious charges. “What on earth does Degas’s ‘Little Dancer’ have to do with climate change? Of course, the answer is nothing,” she said.

1. What accounts for the activists’ actions at the museum?

A．Destroying the valueless paintings.

B．Exposing paintings to the public.

C．Expressing their climate concern.

D．Testing the security of the museums.

2. What can be inferred from Hedstrom’s words?

A．Further actions will include losing the museums.

B．It’s not practical to close the museums for safety.

C．The museums aren’t to blame for the climate crisis.

D．The government should cover the cost of the repair.

3. What does the underlined word “rampage” mean in Para. 4?

A．Ear.

B．Avoid.

C．Promote.

D．Destroy

4. What does Kaywin think about the activists’ deed?

A．The artwork has nothing to do with climate crisis.

B．The activists shouldn’t be punished for their action.

C．The activists should protect the valuable artworks.

D．Activists and museums can join hands in protection.