“Once there was a ship travelling on the tough sea and on the ship there was a pair of couple. All of a sudden, the ship met with an accident and the couple had no choice but to run to the life boat without delay. After reaching there, they realized that there was space only for one person. At that very moment, the husband pushed his wife behind him and jumped onto the lifeboat himself, leaving his wife standing on the sinking ship, shouting something desperately to her husband eyes filled with tears.”
The teacher stopped her story-telling and asked her students, “Guys, guess what it was that she shouted.”
Most students answered. “I hate you!”
After listening to all this reply, the teacher glanced through the whole class again and noticed that there was a boy sitting silently throughout. Then she asked him the same question.
The boy answered, “I believe she would have shouted-Take care of our child.”
Listening to his remarks, the teacher was surprised and asked the boy doubtfully. “Have you heard of this story before?”
Shaking his head, the boy said softly and sadly, “No, I haven’t. But that’s what my mother said to my father before she died of a deadly disease.”
Moved and feeling sad, the teacher replied. “Your answer is absolutely right!”
Then she continued, “Let’s take up the story. The ship sank eventually and the husband went home and brought up their daughter alone. Many years later after the death of the man, their daughter was tidying up all his belongings when she found his diary. In his diary she found that when her parents were on the ship, her mother had already been diagnosed (诊断) with advanced illness and at the critical moment, the father rushed to the only chance of survival.”
In his diary, the man mentioned he wished to sink to the ocean with his wife but for their daughter he had to live.
The story was finished and the class was silent.
One summer when I was ten years old,my brother and I received a wonderful gift — tennis rackets (球拍) and balls. We had never had the opportunity to play tennis, so this was exciting. However, there was one problem — the small town we lived in did not have a tennis court (网球场).
One Saturday morning my brother said, “Hey, I’ve got an idea.Let’s take our tennis rackets and balls to the school and hit the balls against the school building.”
“Great idea! Let’s go,” I agreed, not realizing what a lesson we would learn.
When we got to the school ground, no one was around, so we began hitting our balls against the side of the building. “I’ll hit it the first time,” my brother suggested,“then you hit it the next time. We’ll hit it back and forth to each other.” So we began taking turns hitting the ball, getting more confident with each hit. Actually, we became pretty good at returning the ball and we were hitting the ball higher and faster each time. Suddenly, the unexpected thing happened — the ball got out of control and went crashing through one of the upstairs windows, leaving lots of broken glass on the ground. We looked around and no one was in sight except there was a guard sitting there over a distance.
Quietly, I asked, “Now what should I do?”
“Well,” my brother answered, “no one saw us, except that old man down there. And he probably can’t see this far.”
“He probably doesn’t know who we are anyway... Let’s go home,” I added.
As we picked up the rest of our balls and went home, we discussed whether to tell Mom and Dad what had happened. Would we be punished for our mistakes? Would every penny we had saved go to pay for the window? Or just keep it a secret? We thought about all these things all the way.
But that decision was made the moment we walked into the house.
On Monday, my brother and I went to school.
Group discussions are a way of expressing your thoughts and opinions with other people. It is an opportunity to learn more about other people and develop your own personality. You become better at group discussions because it will help you throughout your whole life.
The best way to make your discussion go well is by being confident. When someone else is speaking, make sure that you consider their opinion and not simply wait for your turn to speak.
One of the most important aspects of group discussions is to be a good listener. Active listening is one of the most important skills in life, which is why you need to practice using it.
Group discussions are a way of expressing yourself. It is not just about talking; it is more about putting your thoughts in front of other people.
| A．Been an active listener |
| B．Choose your words wisely |
| C．When there is a conflict in opinion |
| D．When you are confident while speaking |
| E．Speaking your heart out can be hard at times |
| F．If you are also struggling with such kinds of discussions |
| G．It is very important that you first collect information about the topic |
I yawned (打哈欠)as I got off the last step of the bus. I had woken early that morning, and had not been able to sleep on the long ride from Riverside High, thinking about that day’s race, the Eye Opener. I had never raced in a state-wide race before. Over thirty high school teams ran, along with quite a few colleges. The rest of my team and I unloaded the bus, and we relaxed and waited for our race patiently.
“Start warming up,” our coach told us, roughly forty-five minutes after we arrived. After finishing our stretches, we headed over to the starting line, eager for the race to begin.
The starter walked to the middle of the field. “There will be two commands,” his voice boomed, ‘‘Runners set, then the gun. If you hear another shot, return to the starting line to start again. ” My heart raced as I got my legs ready to race.
“Runners set!” the starter shouted Bam! The gun fired, and he rushed out of our way. Adrenaline (肾上腺素)rushed through my body as I raced through the mass of runners. As I rounded the first turn, my schoolmates greeted me with heartening shouts. Then, in what felt like only one minute, I arrived at the one mile mark.
“6’10”, a man declared as I ran by. I tried to ignore him, but my legs began to bum as I realized I had run a mile and still had two to go. I slowed down my pace, for I knew the second mile was the worst of all three. Minutes later, I felt horrible. My legs ached, feeling like lead blocks. My vision was clouded as sweat dropped down into my eyes, and my arms felt as if they would fall off if I swung them one more time. Just as I almost reached my limit, a boy passed me. He also seemed to have lost strength but soon he was a little ahead of me.
I gathered up my strength to speed up but suddenly fell to the ground.
In the last mile, seeing the athletes passing us one by one, I asked the boy to run without me.
China’s “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day" falls on the second Saturday of June every year. Many celebrations are held, and all cultural relic protection sites are
China faces a heavy task in protecting and rescuing its cultural
| A．forbidden | B．suggested | C．forced | D．designed |
| A．need | B．doubt | C．wonder | D．reason |
| A．awareness | B．knowledge | C．affairs | D．opinion |
| A．inform | B．advise | C．persuade | D．inspire |
| A．natural | B．modern | C．traditional | D．artificial |
| A．discoveries | B．treasures | C．relics | D．wonders |
| A．harm | B．record | C．meaning | D．importance |
| A．properly | B．simply | C．carefully | D．entirely |
| A．received | B．ignored | C．insisted | D．presented |
| A．honors | B．questions | C．seminars | D．rights |
| A．consists | B．becomes | C．lies | D．forms |
| A．recognized | B．requested | C．retold | D．followed |
| A．professional | B．limited | C．learned | D．required |
| A．consider | B．understand | C．realize | D．conclude |
| A．comes | B．stands | C．belongs | D．calls |
Modern humans have only existed for a relatively short time, and maybe we’d like to stick around a lot longer. But how can we do that?
Figure out climate change.
Figure out nuclear weapons.
A single nuclear weapon doesn’t pose a threat to all of humanity, but the thousands of them in the world right now certainly do.
Figure out asteroids(小行星).
If you want to know the terrible consequences for ignoring space borne threats, just ask the dinosaurs how well it worked out for them. Asteroids have the ability to cause massive extinction events, wiping out vast numbers of entire species.
| A．The consequences can’t be avoided. |
| B．Countries are joining hands to solve it. |
| C．Now the chances of one nuclear explosion increase. |
| D．The earth’s climate has changed for millions of years. |
| E．While these kinds of events are rare, the risks are severe. |
| F．And we can see the effects of climate change everywhere. |
| G．We need to disarm as much as possible to reduce the risk of disaster. |
For many buyers, electric vehicles (EVs) are simply too expensive, their range is too limited, and charging them isn’t as quick and convenient as refueling at the gas stations. All these limitations have to do with the lithium-ion batteries (锂电池) that power the vehicles. They’re costly, heavy, and quick to run out of juice. To make matters worse, the batteries rely on liquid electrolytes (电解质) that can burn during crashes.
Making electric cars more competitive with gas-powered ones will require a breakthrough battery that overcomes those shortcomings. That, at least, is the argument of Jagdeep Singh, chief executive of QuantumScape, a Silicon Valley startup that claims to have developed just such a technology. The company says it did so by solving a chemistry puzzle: how to use lithium to boost the amount of energy that can be packed into a battery without posing a routine risk of fire or otherwise weakening performance. The company says it achieved this by developing a solid version of the flammable (易燃的) liquid electrolyte.
In an online presentation in December, QuantumScape displayed a series of charts showing that a single-layer lab version of the battery can be charged to more than 80% of its capacity in 15 minutes, last for hundreds of thousands of miles, and work fine at freezing temperatures. The company expects the batteries to be able to boost electric vehicles’ range by more than 80%: a car that can go 250 miles on a single charge today could drive 450 miles instead.
Indeed, the battery field is littered with examples of startups that promised breakthrough technologies but ultimately failed. And the challenges ahead of QuantumScape are enormous, particularly when it comes to turning its samples into commercial products that can be produced cheaply.
If the company succeeded, it could transform the EV marketplace. Cutting costs, boosting the range, and making charging convenient enough could broaden demand beyond people who can afford charging ports at home, and ease the anxieties of those who fear being left on longer trips.
1．What does the author mainly want to tell us in the first paragraph?| A．The high cost of electric vehicles. | B．The complaints of vehicle consumers. |
| C．The disadvantages of present batteries. | D．The inconvenience of charging cars. |
| A．They consume more energy than gas-powered ones. |
| B．They should reduce performance to avoid the risk of fire. |
| C．They have gained an advantage over gas-powered ones now. |
| D．They need technology improvement in batteries’ performance. |
| A．By showing lab data online. |
| B．By testing the battery capacity on site. |
| C．By challenging the previous range record. |
| D．By displaying the working principles of electric cars. |
| A．Dismissive. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
Tomatoes are common in daily life. Cathie Martin, a British scientist, has been working on developing purple tomatoes for years. Though the color is unusual, now this special kind of tomatoes, which has gained approval from the US government, has very high levels of antioxidants(抗氧化剂).
Antioxidants, also known as AOS, are found naturally in plants like blueberries and red cabbage. Scientists believe AOS may help prevent heart disease and help fight against diseases like diabetes. But tomatoes naturally only have a small amount of AOS in them. Martin wanted to see if she could create tomatoes with lots of AOS by changing the DNA of a tomato plant.
A plant developed from specially created DNA is known as a GMO. After adding two genes(基因) from a plant called snapdragon, Martin soon found her plants were producing small purple tomatoes with lots of AOS. Martin and other scientists further tested the tomatoes on mice that were likely to get cancer. The mice that were fed the purple tomatoes lived about 30% longer than those fed normal tomatoes. Though that’s good news, experiments on mice don’t always predict what effects on humans will be like. We need to see more experiments about it.
GMOs were first allowed in America in the late 1990s. But GMO products weren’t popular with customers. Many people were scared by the idea that the foods weren’t natural or safe. There’re still questions about the effects of GMO crops on the environment. However, scientists deny these claims.
Even so, many people still have concerns about them. Because of these concerns, most GMO products created over the last 20 years have focused on helping farmers rather than attracting customers.
Anyway, on September 7, 2022, the US approved the purple tomatoes, which is the first time it has approved a GMO plant designed to target human health.
1．What makes purple tomatoes really special?| A．Their medical value. | B．Their delicious flavor. |
| C．Their proper size. | D．Their pleasant color. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Concerned. | D．Opposed. |
| A．The environment affects GMO foods. |
| B．The customers do not like GMO foods. |
| C．GMO products are used to help farmers. |
| D．Scientists think GMO products are safe. |
| A．Different DNA can benefit plant growth. |
| B．Tomatoes with changed DNA are approved. |
| C．Scientists are changing DNA of crops. |
| D．Human health depends on changed DNA. |
The Cajun Navy is a group of volunteer small boat owners who help people during bad storms and floods. The group
Using their
Many of the volunteers are fishermen and
A reporter
The Cajun Navy is a great example of character in action. They do also
| A．improved | B．started | C．delayed | D．survived |
| A．missed | B．met | C．rescued | D．struck |
| A．lives | B．officers | C．food | D．money |
| A．rainfalls | B．windstorms | C．sandstorms | D．raindrops |
| A．cars | B．trucks | C．bikes | D．boats |
| A．in danger | B．in place | C．out of work | D．out of order |
| A．force | B．transport | C．invite | D．persuade |
| A．courageous | B．modest | C．secure | D．straightforward |
| A．honest | B．trapped | C．skilled | D．greedy |
| A．flying | B．looking | C．sailing | D．driving |
| A．peaceful | B．mixed | C．limited | D．powerful |
| A．conveyed | B．discovered | C．valued | D．ignored |
| A．celebrated | B．beat | C．taught | D．asked |
| A．witnesses | B．passers-by | C．heroes | D．victims |
| A．athletic | B．military | C．ecological | D．economic |
| A．weak | B．icy | C．thoughtless | D．selfless |
| A．companies | B．currents | C．funds | D．flights |
| A．acknowledge | B．adopt | C．investigate | D．stimulate |
| A．abandon | B．consult | C．assist | D．guide |
| A．cruelly | B．delicately | C．merely | D．hardly |
Keeping in Touch
There is one thing better than making a new friend and that is keeping an old one.
—Elmer G．Leterman
Two years ago my family moved.The day that we left，my best friend and I cried together in my empty bedroom for hours.No words could describe how sad and homesick I was during the five－hour car ride to my new house.Life was so unbearable that it seemed to be the end of the world.When we finally reached our new house, I rushed to the phone to tell my best friend my address and phone number.We talked for a little while, but I had to hang up because the long－distance call was expensive.
On the first day of school，I called her to tell her how it went. Then, on Halloween I sent her a letter with a picture of my new friends and me enclosed. Days later, she wrote me a letter. It wasn’t even a letter—just a bunch of pieces of paper saying, “Best friends forever.”
When I finally got her e－mail address, I e－mailed her the longest letter I had ever written.I never received an e－mail back, and by the third e－mail letter with no response, my messages grew shorter and shorter.With each passing day, I got angrier and angrier. At last, I never received a reply from her.
Mom said that I could call my other friends，and that I didn’t need to always call her.Give up on my best friend? Give up on the person I had known all my life? The person I had gone from diapers to Barbies to nail polish with, and who had been in the same class with me from the first through the fifth grade? My first answer was automatically “No way!” But after five more e－mail messages, three phone calls and two more letters，I started to consider what my mom had said.Every night about a week, I stayed up in bed thinking, “Should I give up? Should I keep trying?”
The way I looked at it，as my best friend，she would share anything with me.
With two years of disappointment and depression，I eventually got a phone call from her.
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