1 . The reopening of an Asian American-owned bookstore in Manhattan's Chinatown following a January fire has received a warm welcome back from its supporters.
Yu &. Me Books, which is regarded as the first female-owned Asian American bookshop in New York City, has raised more than $369,000 for repairs since a tragic fire on January 4. It reopened on Wednesday. "We are so excited to welcome you all back to our Yu &. Me Books home," the store announced on Instagram. "We can't wait to shed tears, laugh loudly and open our hearts with all of you who have made us feel at home."
The fire in an apartment above the bookstore on Mulberry Street killed one of the building's residents. Smoke and water damage also devastated Yu & Me Books, destroying almost all its inventory and equipment, according to a GoFundMe campaign that store owner Lucy Yu set up to make up for the costs.
During the restoration and renovation (翻新) of the original bookstore, the business operated from a location within The Market Line, an underground marketplace on the Lower East Side, and several pop-up shops (临时店铺) in the city.
"It was a bookstore I always wanted to visit, and I'm so happy that they were able to reopen," Charlotte Leinbach, a teacher for New York City's Education Department said. Leinbach hadn't been to the bookstore before the fire, but she had heard quite a bit about its fate. She bought two books, the second and third in the series Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
"It's hard to find a lot of books written in Japanese, and then translated into English," she said. "The design of the bookstore is really nice, and the layout is great. I am glad that they also sell used books. I love buying new books because it's fresh and it's nice, but it's always nice to see people in the community giving their books back and reselling and just passing them on." She said she will continue to support the women-run small businesses that focus on people and authors of color.
"I actually came on the day of the opening, but there were too many people, and it was too crowded, so I just haven't had a chance to look at it," Liam Li, another Asian American, said. "This place is unique. It's in Chinatown. As Asians live in New York City, I feel this offers the most space for the community. I understand like a minority in this society, it is not easy to have a store like this," she added.
1. Which word can replace the underlined one "inventory" in Paragraph 2？| A．Curtains. | B．Switches. | C．Goods. | D．Chairs. |
| A．By applying to the government for money. |
| B．By getting money from an insurance company. |
| C．By raising money from her friends and relatives. |
| D．By collecting money from a fund on the Internet. |
| A．She often gave a hand to the store owner before the fire. |
| B．She sang high praise for the arrangement of the store. |
| C．She prefers to buy used books rather than new ones. |
| D．She translates books as her part-time job. |
| A．Chinatown bookstore's reopening welcomed |
| B．Smoke and water damage destroy Chinatown bookstore |
| C．Yu &. Me Books-first female-owned Asian American bookshop in NYC |
| D．Chinatown bookstore in New York City means a lot to Asian Americans |
2 . In a remote mountainous region in Pakistan, a cable car carrying six children and two adults became stuck in mid-air. However, this terrifying incident resulted in a remarkable display of bravery and intelligence as ordinary bystanders stepped up to save lives.
The incident began like any other day when the small group started their typical daily journey to school and the local shops aboard the shaky three cables broke, causing it to be suspended in the air.
Immediately, multiple rescue efforts were set into motion. The rescue mission lasted for over 10 hours. Military helicopters and local experts attempted to rescue the stuck car. However, the complex terrain (地形) and the cable car’s unsafe position made progress slow. By nightfall, the helicopter team had only rescued one child from the car.
The local administration called upon two local brothers, Sahib and Nasir, for their expert skill in operating temporary cable cars in the region. With limited resources available, the Khan brothers thought up a clever idea to reach the stuck cable car. They constructed a small temporary car using a zip line, allowing them to move over the risky terrain and approach the hanging cable car.
Nasir remained on the ground, assisting with the pulley (滑轮) system. Sahib bravely boarded the temporary car and started a dangerous journey to ward the stuck children. Once he reached the hanging car, Sahib carefully tied a rope around the children in the car. Making several trips, he secured the children and carried them across one at a time. He successfully transported two children to safety in this fashion.
With Sahib’s courageous efforts paving the way, local rescuers took over, using the same method to bring the remaining three children and the two adults back to safety. This heroic rescue mission is a powerful reminder that when people work together with a common goal in mind, they can brainstorm, even in the face of challenges that seemingly can’t be tackled successfully.
1. What happened when a cable car was on its daily routine journey?| A．It stopped halfway due to a power failure. |
| B．A group of visitors were trapped in it. |
| C．Broken cables left it hanging in the sky. |
| D．It crashed into the deep valley below. |
| A．Injured individuals. | B．Difficult land features. |
| C．Poor communication. | D．Severe weather conditions. |
| A．The dangerous situation in the stuck car. |
| B．The risk of saving the trapped children. |
| C．The working principle of the rescue car. |
| D．The rescue efforts by the two brothers. |
| A．Bravery never goes out of fashion. |
| B．A wise man makes his own decisions. |
| C．Many hands make light work. |
| D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
3 . After more than 2 months trapped in a collapsed copper (铜) and gold mine in the desert, all of 33 Chilean miners (矿工) were rescued Wednesday. With ingenuity and cutting-edge technology, the men have survived for 69 days, some 700 meters underground fending off hunger, anxiety and illness in a record-setting feat of survival. How did they survive the ordeal? Have a close look.
Before the miners were reached, they survived for 17 days on food already stored in the emergency shelter. They rationed themselves to 2 spoonfuls of tuna, half a cookie and a half-full glass of milk every 48 hours. Then a 6-inch diameter bore hole allowed food and water supplies to be sent down to the mine. Doctors then put the men on a solid diet of meat and rice, with a strict 2,200-calorie limit to keep them slim enough to fit in the evacuation shaft, which is just 66cm in diameter.
Yonny Barrios Rojas, 50, used knowledge gained on a nursing course he attended to administer medicine to the group and perform daily health checks.
“I was with God and I was with the devil. They fought and God won,” Mario Sepulveda, the second to be rescued, told CNN. He said he grabbed God’s hand and never doubted that he would be rescued.
1. What can we learn about the miners from the passage?| A．The miners were trapped in the mine in the desert on Wednesday. |
| B．The miners survived for 69 days on the food stored in the emergency shelter. |
| C．The miners were rescued after more than two months trapped. |
| D．Doctor Yonny Barrios Rojas administered medicine to the group and made daily health checks. |
| A．Because the food was limited. |
| B．Because the food had been eaten up already. |
| C．Because the miners couldn’t eat too much due to their bad condition. |
| D．Because the miners must be slim enough to get into the evacuation shaft. |
| A．Intelligence and advanced technology. | B．Luck and Persistence. |
| C．Courage and wisdom. | D．Experiences and bravery. |
| A．Miners trapped in a mine | B．Miners survival miracle |
| C．A collapsed copper and gold mine | D．A rescue mission |
4 . Scientists have created the first full-sized digital model of the Titanic. The model will allow scientists to study the Titanic in ways that have never been possible before.
The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912. It was the largest ship of its time, and was thought to be unable to go down below the surface of water. But four days after it left Southampton, England, the Titanic hit an iceberg (冰山) and sank early the next day, killing some 1,500 people. The sinking is one of the most famous disasters in history.
The Titanic broke into two pieces, and sank to the sea floor, about 3.8 kilometers below the surface of the ocean. The location of the wreck (沉船) wasn’t discovered until 1985. Since then, many research teams have visited the site with undersea robots, whose trips have resulted in lots of pictures and videos of the wreck. But even these only allow scientists to study one area of the wreck at a time.
Now, two companies — an undersea technology company called Magellan and the movie company Atlantic Productions — have created a 3-D model of the Titanic by sending two undersea robots down to the Titanic. The robots recorded both of the main pieces of the Titanic (the front and the back), as well as other hits of the wreck on the sea floor. Over six weeks, they took high-quality videos and over 715,000pictures, based on which scientists created the 3-D model of the Titanic. Using it, users will be able to see the ship from all angles.
The companies say the 3-D model will help scientists, enabling them to study the Titanic in great detail and study how the Titanic broke down, which could help them learn more about thousands of other shipwrecks also lying on the sea floor. And of course, scientists hope the model will help them better understand what happened when the Titanic sank.
1. What does the author say about the Titanic?| A．It was supposedly unsinkable. | B．Its sinking is the best-known disaster. |
| C．Its voyage should last for 4 days. | D．It tops the list of England's ships in size. |
| A．More studies are encouraged on the Titanic. | B．Enthusiasm for the Titanic never fades away. |
| C．The exploration of the Titanic is far from easy. | D．New discoveries have been made about the Titanic. |
| A．The previous findings about the shipwreck. | B．The devotion of the scientists. |
| C．The cooperation between the two companies. | D．The complete picture of the wreck. |
| A．help rebuild other shipwrecks underwater | B．give scientists new insights into the Titanic |
| C．allow the public to fully admire the Titanic | D．reproduce the grandness of the large ship |
5 . I was in seat 10F next to the emergency exit. A few minutes after take-off there was a loud explosion. Everybody gasped (倒抽气) and there were a few screams. Then, surprisingly, it went very quiet — everyone was assessing the situation.
It soon became obvious we weren’t going back to LaGuardia Airport and that we were heading for the water. I started thinking this was it. Then I heard the announcement, ‘This is the captain, brace for impact,’ and everything suddenly got clear. I had to stop thinking about death, and instead, about what I should do once the pilot landed in the water. ‘You sat in this seat,’ I thought, ‘you’ve got to get this door open.’
At about 300 feet (91.5 meters), I started reading the instructions. There were six steps, and I had just read them two or three times when we hit the water. It felt like the worst car crash you could imagine. Fortunately, I’d just read the instructions and managed to get the door open. The wing was sinking lower and lower. I walked out onto it and walked as far along as I could to make room for other people. It was freezing, and nobody had a jacket. Some people were underwater to their waists.
It felt like half an hour before we saw the first ferry, though it could have been only five or ten minutes. I was fourth onto the ferry, and I started helping people onto the boat. To our relief, everyone had survived the crash.
I got through the whole incident by taking it one step at a time: get the door open, throw the door out, figure out if you’re sinking. I just kept on doing that until I reached solid ground. Only then did I go into the men’s room and cry for a few minutes.
1. After hearing a loud explosion, what did passengers, including the writer, do?| A．They put on life jackets as instructed. |
| B．They tried to figure what had happened. |
| C．They couldn’t help shouting for help on end. |
| D．They asked the pilot to fly to LaGuardia Airport. |
| A．He sat by the emergency exit. | B．He had an experienced neighbor. |
| C．He was once taught how to open it. | D．He read and understood the instructions. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Aggressive. | C．Organized. | D．Expressive. |
| A．No one got killed in it. | B．It happened at the end of the trip. |
| C．The pilot managed to land the plane safely. | D．A ferry came to the rescue the moment it happened. |
6 . On a foggy day, I was listening to the radio on my drive when suddenly something caught my eye out the driver’s side window. I turned to look but it wasn’t clear because of the thick fog. Then I didn’t know how long I was knocked out.
It didn’t take me long to realize I couldn’t move either arm and my face was bleeding heavily. Over the next few days in the hospital, I began to get a clearer picture of what had happened. A local high school student, rushing to class, had crossed the center line and hit me head-on. I heard through friends of mine who knew his family that he was very, very upset by what had happened. I felt bad that he had such a burden to bear at such a young age.
Fourteen months after the accident. I was grocery shopping when a woman I didn’t know approached me and asked if I was Suzanne. She introduced herself, and I realized it was the young man’s mother. I appreciated learning how he was doing. He avoided severe injury but needed advice to help with the emotional trauma (创伤) of causing the accident. I could certainly understand the difficulty of getting back behind the wheel of a car. Secretly, I wished I could talk to him myself.
Seven months later, it was time for my daughter’s Christmas band concert at the high school. The first adult I recognized upon entering the auditorium was the mother who approached me in the grocery store. I wondered why she was there. One young man in a white hoodie and ball cap ran up. Suddenly, I realized that it was him, the driver, as he resembled that mother.
I edged my way through the crowd. “Hi, I’m Suzanne,” I greeted. “I just wanted to say that I’m okay, and I was never mad at you. I know this was hard on you.” He apparently knew who I was. “You do?” came a slightly muffled (模糊不清的) answer. “I’m really okay,” I added, patting him on the shoulder and feeling like I was the only person who could let him forgive himself. I was the only person who could give him that gift if he could see me and hear from me that all was well.
1. What might cause the author’s accident?| A．Her temporary blindness. | B．Her physical burden. |
| C．The boy’s distraction. | D．The boy’s violating the traffic rule. |
| A．wanted to ease the boy’s mind | B．wanted the boy to make up for the loss |
| C．wanted the boy to make an apology | D．wanted the boy to bear a heavy burden |
| A．He was terribly injured physically. | B．He didn’t feel guilty at all. |
| C．He needed psychological advice. | D．He rejected the author’s kindness. |
| A．Generous and relieved. | B．Forgiving and straightforward. |
| C．Sympathetic and caring. | D．Light-hearted and supportive. |
7 . In a breathtaking incident in Berlin, a young man narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation where he became trapped beneath a bus.
The 16-year-old found himself unable to move beneath a tyre (轮胎) of the bus when he fell down during an attempt to catch the departing vehicle at a local stop on a Monday afternoon. The quick response of the bus driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle, coupled with the assistance of roughly 40 people, including both passengers and bystanders, led to a remarkable achievement. Together, they managed to lift the right side of the bus sufficiently to free the young man.
Frank Kurze, one of the courageous volunteers who participated in the rescue, recalled the messy scene, stating, “I saw the men trying to lift the bus, and it was clear to me that I also had to help lift the bus and try to pull the young man from underneath.”
Nearby medical professionals from a healthcare center in the Spandau neighborhood of Berlin instantly arrived at the scene to provide vital first aid. Michelle Rueckborn, one of the nurses on duty, shared their response, saying, “We were at work when we heard screams, and our coworker looked out of the window and saw what had happened, and said ‘Grab the doctor’s kit and run.’”
Sandra Grunwald, another nurse present at the scene, added, “He was responsive but understandably confused, unsure of what was unfolding around him.” Despite the frightening circumstances, the young man unbelievably survived with only minor injuries, thanks to the collective effort of around 40 individuals who came together to perform a heroic rescue.
The Berlin police department praised the collective efforts of those involved in the rescue as “heroes” and expressed their gratitude on social media, stating, “Thank you, Spandau. Thank you, Berlin.”
1. What was the accident at the bus stop?| A．A teenager got caught under a bus. | B．The tyre of a bus suddenly blew out. |
| C．A young passenger fell from his seat. | D．The driver found the bus uncontrollable. |
| A．He recorded the whole event. | B．He stepped forward bravely. |
| C．He turned to medical staff. | D．He called more volunteers in. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Creative. | C．Patient. | D．Decisive. |
| A．One good turn deserves another. | B．Kindness brings mental rewards. |
| C．Many hands make light work. | D．Opportunity is for the prepared. |
8 . A China plane struck a bird after taking off in Chengdu, Sichuan, and had to immediately return to the airport last October, and it wasn’t the first accident between an aircraft and a bird last year.
In fact, more than 20,000 wildlife strikes with aircraft were reported worldwide in 2023 — the vast majority of those animals being birds. The strikes can also include run-ins with bats or creatures on the ground, such as deer or turtles. Expanding wildlife populations, increases in number of aircraft movements, and a trend toward faster and quieter aircraft all have contributed to the increase in wildlife strikes.
Bird strikes are a hazard not just to commercial airplanes, but to all sorts of aircraft. However, historical data shows that damage is reported in a small percentage of incidents. Last year, 95% of the global strikes involved some kind of damage — and only 5% of those caused “substantial” damage.
Some of the most disturbing types of strikes can happen when one or more birds go into a plane’s engine, which might cause a lot of damage to the aircraft. The pilot would need to return to the airport or find a safe place to land.
In last October’s China plane incident, the Beijing-bound flight was able to land normally in Chengdu after taking into account what the airline described as security concerns. Senior captain Chen Jianguo said pilots are trained on how to respond if they have a bird strike in flight. The pilot in this case did exactly what he was trained to do.
“There are lots of things that are being used by airports to try to manage the habitat and birds around the airport,” said Chen Jianguo. Airports need to manage bird habitats to reduce or get rid of trees and plants that shelter birds, or address wetlands that can attract birds. Collecting data on what kinds of birds are involved in strikes is equally important so the risks can better be managed. Many airports also use audible signals to scare birds away, such as the sounds of fireworks.
1. What is a cause of the increase in wildlife strikes?| A．The poorly designed aircraft. |
| B．The growing number of birds. |
| C．The destruction of wildlife habitats. |
| D．The absence of environmental awareness. |
| A．Danger. | B．Delay. | C．Accident. | D．Reminder. |
| A．They are a rare occurrence. |
| B．They usually damage engines. |
| C．Most of them cause slight damage. |
| D．Most of them involve one single bird. |
| A．Ways to study bird behavior. |
| B．Measures to drive birds away. |
| C．Efforts to restore bird habitat. |
| D．Attempts to take care of birds. |
9 . Leah Brown aged 36 fell several hundred feet from Oregon’s highest mountain right before the eyes of a group of volunteer rescue workers who rushed to her aid and helped save her life.
The woman was coming down a popular path (小路) on Mt. Hood, about 70 miles east of Portland, on Saturday morning, according to the local police. Mt. Hood is the highest in Oregon, standing at around11.240 feet.
The fall was seen by members of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR), a volunteer organization focused on helping people in mountainous areas. The group called 911 and rushed to the woman, providing medical care. They helped keep the woman warm for seven hours as the police worked to get her off the mountain safely. Finally, the woman was evacuated (转移) to a parking lot at 9:30 pm and taken to a hospital.
The climber, Leah Brown, said she didn’t know what caused her fall. “I can only guess it was either an ice tool or a crampon (冰爪) that didn’t land and stick like it should have, so I became detached from the mountain,” Brown said. “The thing I’d like to most stress is my appreciation for the members of PMR who evacuated me and took good care of me the whole time,” Brown added. “They saved my life. ”
In a statement after the rescue, PMR warned of the dangerous winter conditions at the mountain. “The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the conditions tend to be much steeper. Climbing the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult,” the group said.
1. What happened to Brown on Saturday morning?| A．She lost her way in a forest. | B．She hurt her eye unexpectedly. |
| C．She failed to call her family. | D．She fell down on a downhill path. |
| A．Different. | B．Hidden. | C．Separated. | D．Tired. |
| A．Thankful. | B．Regretful. | C．Surprised. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Climbing requires teamwork. | B．Climbing in winter is too risky. |
| C．We must remain positive in hard times. | D．We can admire the view on sunny days. |
10 . Schools across the US East Coast canceled outdoor activities, commercial airline traffic was slowed and millions of Americans were urged to stay indoors on Wednesday as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, blanketing cities in thick and yellow smoke.
“It’s critical that Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution, especially those with health conditions, listen to local authorities to protect themselves and their families,” US President Joe Biden said.
New York’s world-famous skyline, usually visible for miles, disappeared because of the smoke, which some residents said made them feel unwell.
“It makes breathing difficult,” Mohammed Abass said as he walked down Broadway in Manhattan. “I’ve been scheduled for a road test for driving, for my driving license today, and it was canceled.”
“It looks like Mars out there,” said Fox Forecast Center meteorologist Brian Mastro just before 2 p.m.
New York Goveror Kathy Hochul called the situation an “emergency crisis,” noting that the air pollution index for parts of her state were eight times above normal.
In Bethesda, Maryland, a high school moved its graduation ceremony indoors, while a Brooklyn, New York, elementary school deferred its “Spring Fling” dance party. A school in Montelair, New Jersey, called off a fifth-grade trip to an amusement park.
The smoke was wafting (飘荡) over the US northern border from Canada, where hundreds of forest fires have burnt 9. 4 million acres and forced 120,000 people from their homes in an unusually early and intense start to Canada’s wildfire season.
Tyrone Sylvester, 66, playing chess outside in Manhattan’s Union Square us he has on most days for 30 years, but wearing a mask, said he had never seen the city’s air quality so bad. “When the sun looks like that,” he said, pointing at the smoky sky, “we know something’s wrong. This is what global warming looks like.”
Poor air quality is likely to continue into the weekend, with a developing storm system expected to shift the smoke westward across the Great Lakes and deeper south through the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic region, AccuWeather said.
1. What do we know about Mohammed Abass?| A．He took a test for driving. | B．He had no driving license. |
| C．He had some health conditions. | D．He stayed indoors as expected. |
| A．Put off. | B．Took over. | C．Came up with. | D．Did away with. |
| A．Canada’s poor management. | B．The areas affected by wildfires. |
| C．The cause of America’s smoke. | D．The consequences of air pollution. |
| A．New York City smoke situation is not uncomfortable. |
| B．A strong wind will probably relieve the poor air quality. |
| C．Citizens have found new ways to fight climate changes. |
| D．The city’s air pollution doesn’t relate to global warming. |
