1 . One single night every January, volunteers all over America search parks, woodlands and pavements to count those without shelter. After seeing their own figures for homelessness increase by 20%between 2022 and early 2023. Jersey officials were shocked into action. Officials spent more on rental assistance for those at risk of becoming homeless. More services for people living rough have led to a rise in sheltered homelessness. The state also gathers real time data. In November New Jersey’s Office of Homelessness Prevention released its own figures , showing unsheltered homelessness falling across the state by 23% year on year.
Newark, New Jersey’s largest city and home to the state’s largest homeless population, recorded a 58% reduction in unsheltered homelessness since the start of the year due to the government’s financial support to reduce street homelessness, improve the shelter system and expand housing and prevention services.
Luis Ulerio, the director of Newark’s Office of Homeless Services, says “there’s just been a lot of hard work behind that number.” Mr. Baraka, the mayor (市长)，converted a local primary school into a 166-bed facility. He built temporary housing out of shipping containers. A second cluster (群) of containers with supportive services, called Hope Village II, will open soon. The containers have been altered to look like little cottages. A third cluster is in the works Mr.Baraka wants to create a pipeline from shelters to transitional housing and then to getting long-term homeless people into permanent housing.
More services for people living rough have led to a rise in sheltered homelessness. The city also provides money for overdue rent to prevent homelessness. Beth Shinn of Vanderbilt University points out that it’s cheaper to give $ 200 to help make due rent for the poor than to pay thousands later. The city also relies on data , updated daily by those working with Newark’s homeless people. Real-time data is crucial , he says , in order to carry out interventions in state policy all on the frontline.
1. What can we learn about homelessness in New Jersey from paragraph 1?| A．It has greatly affected people’s lives. | B．Official efforts are lacking to address it. |
| C．Great progress has been made to ease it. | D．It is the most serious all over America. |
| A．He designed and built the Hope Village series for them. |
| B．He turned a school and shipping containers into o homes. |
| C．He joined a permanent pipeline to the homeless houses. |
| D．He led the volunteers to count people without shelter. |
| A．Extended. | B．Donated. | C．Distributed. | D．Changed. |
| A．Rent should be provided for the poor when it’s due. |
| B．No rent should be charged to stop overdue rent. |
| C．Real-time data should be in place to spot overdue rent. |
| D．A limit should be set to avoid large sum of overdue rent. |
2 . Three young men were on a crowded train when they encountered a heavily armed terrorist. With little regard for their personal safety, they rushed the terrorist and controlled him. Only some people seem capable of this split-second form of heroism. Why some men rise to the occasion — and others don’t — has been a bit tricky to explain. Psychologists have explored this question through biological and personality psychology.
Of course, heroism and courage can appear in many forms, and men and women risk their reputations, health, and social standing to do what they think is right. When it comes to physically risky bravery, people assume that men will take the lead. There are sound biological reasons for this fixed image. One of the most common fears in men is that they’ll be outed as a coward (懦夫), and a man who fails to display physical courage will suffer damage to his reputation in a way that a woman will not. Throughout human history, attaining a position of high status or dominance among one’s peers (同龄人) has been the ticket that needs to get punched for men to attract mates and father children.
People tend to have an idea of what heroes are like. When rating the personalities of movie heroes, participants expected them to be more careful and hard-working, open to experience, agreeable, and emotionally stable than the average person. But some studies indicate that people who exhibit heroic behavior score high on personality usually associated with madmen: risk-taking, sensation seeking, coolness under stress, and a tendency to take over in social situations.
The study of the relationship between personality and heroism is at an early stage. Psychologists are still at a loss to predict in advance who will heroically step up when needed. Often, the hero is an otherwise ordinary person who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances. Meanwhile, some individuals trained to behave heroically might hesitate during a crisis. Future disasters will cry out for further acts of true heroism. Hopefully, the right mix of circumstances and personalities enable courage to carry the day.
1. How is the topic introduced in the first paragraph?| A．By presenting a question. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making a comparison. | D．By drawing a conclusion. |
| A．Be bought. | B．Be talented. | C．Be abandoned. | D．Be acquired. |
| A．There are numerous factors affecting heroism. |
| B．Heroes and ordinary people are always difficult to tell apart. |
| C．Unknown circumstances play a crucial role in heroic acts. |
| D．Individual personality is not a reliable indicator of heroism. |
| A．How Are Heroes Trained? | B．Why Are Heroes Important? |
| C．What Makes a Person Heroic? | D．Who Are the True Heroes? |
3 . A new study shows that female academics are significantly underrepresented in winning academic prizes and having awards named after them. Analysis of nearly 9,000 awardees and 346 scientific prizes and medals published in Nature Human Behaviour has found that men win eight prizes for every one won by a woman if the award is named after a man. These awards represent almost two-thirds of all scientific prizes. Female academics are, however, more likely to win awards that have been named after other notable female scientists, with 47% of those awards going to women and 53% to men.
Dr Katja Gehmlich, Associate Professor in the Institute of Cardiovascular Science at the University of Birmingham and joint lead author of the study, said, “The gender gap between awardees in scientific prizes is sadly a product of a long, systematic issue of poor representation of women in sciences. Despite decades of efforts to rebalance this issue, our study shows that women are still poorly recognized for their scientific contributions, and men are far more likely to win prizes and awards, in particular, if those awards are named after other men.
“It seems particularly shocking to me that awards named after women still see more than half of prizes going to men. We further propose a list of actions to address and overcome these issues but are aware this will be a long process. The Nominate Her movement is one way that the scientific community can begin to address this,” said Dr Gehmlich.
Prof Stefan Krause from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham and joint lead author of the study said, “Our data is indicative of much wider issues of gender inequality within sciences. Our current publication is an initial attempt to understand the causes of such striking gender inequality and to promote discussion on the subject within our scientific communities.”
“Research culture has a lot to do to improve the gender prize gap, as well as efforts to address the inequality that sees almost two-thirds of prizes currently named after men. More pathways may also be needed, such as renaming or getting rid of gender names associated with some awards,” added Prof Krause.
1. How are awards named after female scientists distributed between genders?| A．Males are in the majority. |
| B．Females take up a bit more than half. |
| C．They are almost entirely awarded to females. |
| D．They are evenly distributed between males and females. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Establishing gender rates for awards. |
| B．Increasing the number of female judges. |
| C．Encouraging more women to enter scientific fields. |
| D．Renaming or removing gender names from awards. |
| A．Achievements of women in science |
| B．The role of men in the scientific world |
| C．Gender inequality in scientific awards |
| D．Future of gender equality in academia |
4 . Iceberg Water, which is harvested from icebergs off the coast of Newfoundland Canada, is achieving new heights of popularity in North America.
Arthur, Von Wiesenberger who carries the title “Water Master”, is one of the few water critics in North America. As a boy, he spent time in the larger cities of Italy, France and Switzerland, where bottled water is consumed daily. Even then, he kept a water journal, noting the brands he liked best. “My dog could tell the difference between bottled and tap water.” He says.
But is plain tap water all that bad? Not at all. In fact. New York’s tap water for more than a century was called the champagne of tap water and until recently considered among the best in the world in terms of both taste and purity. Similarly, a magazine in England found that tap water from the Thames River tasted better than several leading brands of bottled water that were 400 times more expensive.
Nevertheless, soft-drink companies view bottled water as the next battle-ground for market share — despite the fact that over 25 percent of bottled water comes from tap water: Pepsi Co’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani are both purified tap water rather than spring water.
As diners thirst for leading brands, bottlers and restaurateurs are desperate for the profits. A restaurant’s typical mark-up (加价) on wine is 100 to 150 percent, whereas on bottled water it’s often 300 to 500 percent. But since water is much cheaper than wine, and many of the fancier brands aren’t available in stores, most diners don’t notice or care.
As a result, some restaurants are turning up the pressure to sell bottled water. According to an article in The Street Journal, some of the more shameless methods include placing attractive bottles on the table for a visual sell, listing brands on the menu without prices, and pouring bottled water without even asking the diners if they want it.
Regardless of how it’s sold, the popularity of bottled water taps into our desire for better health. our wish to appear cultivated, and even a longing for lost purity.
1. What is Arthur’s purpose in mentioning his dog in paragraph 2?| A．To indicate his own preference for bottled water. |
| B．To show the importance of bottled water to dogs. |
| C．To clarify the difference between bottled water and tap water. |
| D．To exhibit the large consumption of bottled water in big cities. |
| A．tap water from the Thames River |
| B．famous wines not sold in ordinary stores |
| C．PepsiCo’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani |
| D．pricey bottled water with very impressive names |
| A．Most diners find bottled water affordable. |
| B．Competition from the wine industry is fierce. |
| C．Bottled water can bring in huge profits. |
| D．Bottled water satisfies diners’ desire to be fashionable. |
| A．Tap water: why tastes better? | B．Bottled water: why so popular? |
| C．A new favorite of. restaurants; bottled water | D．A rising star: tap water |
5 . In the rich countries of the West, the electric vehicle revolution is well occurring. Climate-conscious consumers drive Teslas or Polestars for reasons of morality (道德) and fashion. Poorer countries are also experiencing a wave of electrified trend. In Bangladesh, electric three-wheeler taxis, known as tuk-tuks, are rapidly replacing gas-powered ones on the streets. Such electric vehicles are climate friendly, cost effective, and help reduce air pollution.
Yet a glance under the hood (引擎盖) of these vehicles shows a poisonous secret: each tuk-tuk runs on five massive lead-acid batteries (铅酸电池), containing almost 300 pounds of lead (铅) in total. Every year and a half or so, when those batteries need to be replaced and recycled, about 60 pounds of lead leaks into the environment. Battery recycling, often at small-scale unregulated factories, is a highly profitable (高利润的) but deadly business.
Lead is dangerous, and any exposure to it is harmful to human health. Lead that has entered the environment hurts people on an unexpected scale. The numerous ways lead enters air, water, soil, and homes across the developing world and the enormous damage it does to human health, wealth, and welfare cause one of the biggest environmental problems in the world yet receives little attention.
The World Bank estimates that lead kills 5.5 million people per year, making it a bigger global killer than AIDS, malaria, diabetes, and road traffic deaths combined. On top of the shocking deaths, the social burden of lead poisoning is heavy, as is its contribution to global inequality — our research on the cognitive (认知的) effects of lead poisoning suggests that it may explain about one-fifth of the educational achievement gap between rich and poor countries.
But unlike many challenges faced by developing countries, lead poisoning is a problem that can be resolved through financial investment (财政投入). Better monitoring, research, and rules can help protect children all over the world from the unpleasant effects of lead poisoning and reduce the massive global costs it brings.
1. How does the author describe the lead problem in paragraph 2?| A．By listing some numbers. | B．By analyzing hidden causes. |
| C．By making an interesting comparison. | D．By explaining its working principle. |
| A．Lead enters poor countries in one way. |
| B．Lead leaking has been avoided in all the countries. |
| C．Lead will definitely not harm anymore. |
| D．Lead poisoning may make poor societies poorer. |
| A．Fixing these used batteries. | B．Reducing the cost of recycling lead. |
| C．Ignoring the illegal use of lead. | D．Putting certain effort and money. |
| A．The Impacts of Lead Poisoning on Man. |
| B．The Global Lead Poisoning Problem. |
| C．The Ways to Solve Lead Problem. |
| D．The Benefits of Using Electric Vehicles. |
6 . Imagine living in an apartment in Manhattan. When Covid-19 hits, you have nowhere to escape. Instead, you go up to the rooftop, where, to your surprise, other renters have come, too. After some awkwardness, everyone starts meeting nightly, drinks in hand, to share stories about themselves. This is the background setting of Fourteen Days, a “collaborative novel” edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston. In addition to these two, 34 authors of varied backgrounds contributed to the book. It is one of a growing number of new works, which are written together in some way.
AI services, such as ChatGPT, have started to become co-authors, too. Such models are also conversational machines, which can suggest phrases, give feedback and answer questions. “Cyborg authorship” is what MrRettberg of University of Bergen calls this. He published a book with Cyborg authorship, in which ChatGPT is tasked with generating reviews of famous works in the style of well-known authors — think Jane Austen writing about William Burroughs’s Naked Lunch.
Writing with collaborators, be they human or artificial, will only become more common. But individual authors will still dominate creatively. That is because collectively written books rarely make for great literature. Many contributions to Fourteen Days are cleverly woven together. But the book does not work quite well. Then there is authorial ego (自我价值感). Getting all 36 authors of Fourteen Days to agree on the text was a challenge, with some writers taking issue with how their story ended up being framed and referred to by other contributors later. And AI is not yet fully accepted in literary circles. Recently KudanRie, the winner of Japan’s top prize for literature, admitted she used ChatGPT to write around 5% of her science-fiction novel Tokyo Sympathy Tower. Such honesty is rare because most would never admit using AI. A new sort of “ghost writing” may be having a moment, but many writers will never want to name ChatGPT as their co-author.
1. Who created Fourteen Days?| A．New Yorkers suffering from Covid-19. | B．Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston. |
| C．Renters of a Manhattan apartment building. | D．Separate writers from different walks of life. |
| A．Generating phrases. | B．Giving feedback. |
| C．Writing book reviews. | D．Improving language fluency. |
| A．Collaborative writing is becoming less common. | B．Individual authorship makes creative literature. |
| C．Most authors reject to cooperate with AI. | D．Individual writing improves efficiency. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Negative. | C．Cautious. | D．Optimistic. |
1. Where did 13% of the food waste happen?
| A．In the stores. | B．In the restaurants. | C．At homes. |
| A．Food waste is almost the same in all countries. |
| B．Richer countries may waste less food at homes. |
| C．Richer countries are more likely to waste food. |
| A．Poorer countries care less about that. |
| B．Food isn’t good to eat after that. |
| C．That might lead to food waste. |
| A．Clean energy. | B．Garbage sorting. | C．Waste recycling. |
8 . Many economists predict 2024 will be the time shoppers tighten their belts. That doesn’t mean people will stop spending, say retail (零售) analysts. But it will change what they choose to buy. With a slowing job market, global consumers are likely to move away from more high-priced purchases and focus instead on smaller, less expensive treats.
The economic uncertainty means that consumers are becoming more discriminating about their purchases, says Ethan Chermofsky, senior vice president of marketing at intelligence platform Placer. ai. “There are the things we decide are necessary, and then there’s another category of things that aren’t necessary but that we consider affordable luxuries, he says. This desire for these “affordable luxuries” is common in difficult economic times. Some economists refer to the phenomenon as the “lipstick index”: a small economic increase led by budget-minded consumers seeking out relatively affordable splurges (挥霍), like small cosmetics (化妆品).
Analysts at Deloitte say consumers will spend on little luxuries like specialty coffees and snacks as well. Additionally, stressed-out shoppers are prioritizing small splurge purchases for wellness and personal care.
As retailers see shoppers turning to little luxuries, they’re offering more and more of them. Target, for example, has staked a flag in what they refer to as “affordable joy”, which includes a selection of self-care and cosmetic products, along with wellness-centric beauty products. Beyond diversifying their offerings, stores are also bringing in luxury-feeling products at lower price points to appeal to more consumers.
Ethan says not every shopper will shift their spending to little luxuries-but even those who are still longing for the “must-haves” of social media will also look to get a deal. They want the feeling of purchasing lower-priced affordable treats. To get these goods, shoppers are likely to tap into the re-sale market for designer items at a more reasonable price. They want things that make them feel good about themselves-they just want to do it without breaking the bank.
1. What can affordable luxuries be?| A．Inexpensive daily necessities. | B．High-end products. |
| C．Reasonably-priced designer items. | D．High-priced purchases. |
| A．The strategies retailers use. | B．The joy businesses offer. |
| C．The competition stores face. | D．The products consumers buy. |
| A．Social-media deals. | B．World-famous brands. |
| C．Second-hand bargains. | D．Budget-friendly pleasures. |
| A．Lipstick Index: Where Does It Lead Us? | B．Must-have Treats: A Future Spending Trend |
| C．Affordable Joy: Will We Fall Into The Trap? | D．Little Luxuries: A Driving Force Behind Consumption |
9 . Improved mental health is on the agenda for many people in 2024 and being organized is the preferred method of realizing it.
Disorganization is often considered to have a negative impact on the way we see ourselves and the lives we lead. The studied downsides of living in a disorganized environment include memory problems, poor eating habits, and decreased self-control. “There’s an obvious link between increased stress and anxiety disorders and living in a messy space,” says Daniel Levitin, a behavioral neuroscientist (行为神经科学家) at McGill University.
“Disorganization brings a loss of productivity that is difficult to quantify (量化),” says Levitin. He points to the amount of time people lose looking for lost items, missing appointments, or falling behind at work or school because of disordered living. “The average person likely loses 5 percent of their time due to disorganization,” he says. “Take your annual salary, multiply that by 5 percent, and you can measure what disorganization may be costing you.”
Joseph Ferrari, one of the most recognized scholars on disorganization research, says that nearly every mental health downside that comes from disorganization can be improved by getting organized. “You’ll feel more energetic, enhance your productivity in the office, and greatly improve the quality of your life,” he says.
Tidy homes have been found to be a predictor of physical health. “Those whose houses are cleaner are more active and physically healthy,” says Libby Sander, an assistant professor of organizational behavior. Part of this is due to organized people being better at managing their time, but it’s also because research demonstrates that less clutter can help improve one’s diet. “Studies show an association between clutter and overweight,” says Libby.
Getting organized has also been shown to decrease one’s stress levels, increase personal efficiency, and even improve sleep. Another studied advantage of getting organized may be improving the quality of one’s relationships. Libby explains that relationships can be negatively impacted when too much clutter affects communication or distracts one’s brain from noticing important message from their partner. Research shows this can cause others to feel ignored, misunderstood, or unimportant.
1. What does Levitin say concerning living a disorganized life?| A．It has been well realized by people. |
| B．It’s many people’s New Year resolution. |
| C．It has an obvious impact on mental state. |
| D．It’s closely related to the living environment. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By repeating other experts’ words. | D．By referring to previous studies. |
| A．decoration. | B．mess. | C．furniture. | D．light. |
| A．The Neuroscience Behind Healthy Minds |
| B．The Cost of Chaos — How Disorganization Affects Your Life |
| C．Mental Health in 2024 — Self-control as a Priority |
| D．Organize for Success — Boosting Health and Productivity |
10 . Going to a gallery can be really enriching for children, but how to get them through the door? According to a psychologist Michael Atar, there’s an art.
With digital distractions everywhere, the thought of taking your kids to an art gallery — and they actually enjoy it — seems a huge challenge. It’s commonly thought that art galleries are anything but child-friendly places — they are usually described in popular media as stuffy and serious, demanding intense and extended periods of concentration for meditation in the backstory and meaning locked within each golden frame.
That common view depressingly makes galleries the least-visited heritage attractions for British families. Research has found that trips each year to theaters and castles far outnumber those to galleries, with a survey revealing that 35 percent of families have never been there at all. This is a crying shame as being exposed to art holds profound significance for the development of young minds, both intellectually and emotionally.
Beyond simply offering aesthetics (美学), art galleries serve as invaluable educational and instructional resources, fostering creativity, critical thinking and empathy. Here, children have the opportunity to engage in diverse perspectives, cultures and moods, with each painting, sculpture or photograph telling a story, inviting young viewers to interpret and connect with the artwork, and offering them different ways of seeing the world. But how can we get them engaged?
First, dispose of the idea of galleries being old-fashioned, outdated institutions to the dustbin. Similarly, see engagement with art being far wider than a collection of dry facts about the artist and history. Rather than trying to make kids “fit in” with fixed labels of a gallery, instead make the art gallery fit in with kids, defining their encounters on their terms. Besides, what really matters is that children build a connection with art. To encourage this, you can make it into a game, either with or without a reward, with simple quizzes such as, “Who can guess the artist?” or, “Who can identify the period it was made?” Also, don’t spend too long in the gallery for children naturally have shorter attention spans than adults, limiting your visit to 45 minutes in a gallery is perfect for stopping boredom creeping in.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards the common view on art galleries?| A．Critical. | B．Supportive. | C．Tolerant. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．They lift children’s moods. | B．They foster educational excellence. |
| C．They give opportunities to create artworks. | D．They offer diverse ways to perceive the world. |
| A．To define artistic terms. | B．To emphasize tradition. |
| C．To link kids with art by games. | D．To make kids fit in with galleries. |
| A．Make Art Fun | B．Take Kids to Art Galleries |
| C．Art Galleries Won’t Die Easily | D．Kids Say No to Art Galleries |
