This year, people around the world are lining up to buy electric vehicles even as prices increase. Electric vehicle, EV, demand has stayed strong even as the average cost of lithiumion (锂离子) battery cells increased to an estimated $160 per kilowatt-hour in the first quarter from $105 last year. Costs rose due to supply issues, restrictions on Russian metals and investor speculation (投机).
For a smaller vehicle like the Hongguang Mini, the best-selling EV in China, the higher battery costs added almost $1,500, equal to 30 percent of the listed price. But gasoline and diesel fuel costs have also increased since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and experts noted that environmental concerns are also pushing more buyers to choose EVs.
Manufacturers from Tesla to SAIC-GM-Wuling, which makes the Hongguang Mini, have passed higher costs on to consumers with price increases for EVs. More may be coming. Andy Palmer, chairman of Slovak EV battery maker InoBat, said, “rising costs will have to be passed onto carmakers.” But EV shoppers have so far not slowed down. Worldwide EV sales in the first quarter jumped nearly 120 percent, said the website EV-volumes.com.
Venkat Srinivasan is director of the Center for Collaborative Energy Storage Science at the U.S. government’s Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. He said, “more and more people would buy EVs despite the cost of the battery and the vehicle.”
This increase in battery costs could be an unusual short-term change in a situation in which improving technology and growing production have pushed costs down for almost 30 years. Industry data showed that the $105 per kilowatt hour average cost in 2021 was down nearly 99 percent from over $7,500 in 1991.
Experts say battery costs could stay high for the next year or so, but then another large drop is likely as big investments by automakers and suppliers change the balance from shortage to surplus. “It’s like a bubble (泡沫) and for that bubble to settle down, it’s going to be at least the end of 2023,” said Prabhakar Patil, a former LG Chem executive.
The industry has long been awaiting the battery cell cost of $100 per kilowatt-hour, as a signal EVs were reaching a similar cost to fossil-fuel vehicles. But with gasoline prices high and consumer preferences changing, such cost considerations may no longer matter as much, experts say.
1．Why does the author mention Hongguang Mini?| A．To present a fact. | B．To give an example. | C．To introduce a topic. | D．To make an assumption. |
| A．More EV shops. | B．Production growth. | C．Sufficient supplies. | D．Technology improvement. |
| A．Promising. | B．Unclear. | C．Doubtful. | D．Confusing. |
| A．At present demands for EVs beat supply. | B．People concern price more when buying cars. |
| C．EVs sell much better than fossil-fuel vehicles. | D．People prefer EV mainly because of conflict. |
I'd done it before, and so I had no reason to believe that this time would be any different. I was sure that when I returned home from my mission trip, as always, I'd bring back nothing more than some mud on my boots, a hole or two in my jeans and, of course, a lot of great memories.
The summer before my high school graduation, I went to West Virginia with others as volunteers to repair the homes of those in need. Arriving at our destination, my group was assigned the task of rebuilding sections of a home that had been damaged by fire. No sooner had we parked on the home's dirt driveway than we saw an excited little girl, no more than six years old, standing in the doorway of the family's temporary home. Shoeless and wearing dirty clothes and the biggest smile I'd ever seen, she yelled, "Ma, Ma, they really came! " I didn't know it then, but her name was Dakota, and four more days would pass before she’d say another word near me.
Behind Dakota was a woman in a wheelchair—her grandmother, we'd soon learn. I also discovered that my job that week would be to help change a fire—damaged dining room into a bedroom for this little girl. Grabbing our tools, we went to work. Over the following days, I noticed Dakota peeking at us every now and then as we worked. A few times. I tried talking with her, but she remained shy and distant, always flying around us like a tiny butterfly but keeping to herself.
By our fifth and final day, however, this was about to change.
Before I went to work on her home on that last morning, I spoke for a moment or two with the grandmother. I was especially pleased when she told me how much Dakota loved her new room so much, in fact, that she'd begged to sleep in it the previous night, even though it wasn't quite ready. As we talked, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before—Dakota was hiding behind her grandmother. Cautiously, she stepped into view, and I could see that just like her clothes, her face was still dirty. But no amount of soil could hide those bright blue eyes and big smile. She was simply adorable. I wanted so much to hug her, but respecting her shyness, I kept my distance.
Slowly, she began walking toward me. It wasn't until she was just inches away that I noticed the folded piece of paper in her tiny hand. Silently, she reached up and handed it to me. Once unfolded, I looked at the drawing she'd made with her broken crayons on the back of an old coloring book cover. It was of two girls—one much taller than the other—and they were holding hands. She told me it was supposed to be me and her and on the bottom of the paper were three little words that instantly broke my heart. Now almost in tears, I couldn't control myself anymore—I bent down and hugged her. She hugged me, too. And for the longest time, neither one of us could let go.
By early afternoon, we finished Dakota's bedroom, and so I gladly used the rare free time to get to know my newest friend. Sitting under a tree away from the others, we shared a few apples while she told me about her life. As I listened to her stories about the struggles she and her family went through daily, I began to realize how boring various aspects of my own life were.
I left for home early the next morning. I was returning with muddy boots and holes in my jeans. But because of Dakota, I brought back something else, too—a greater appreciation for all of the blessing of my life. I’ll never forget that barefoot little butterfly with the big smile and dirty face. I pray that she’ll never forget me either.
1．From the appearance description of the little girl, we know _______.| A．she formed a bad living habit |
| B．she hoped for a better education |
| C．she was an innocent and lovely child |
| D．she was strong and calm in the inner world |
| A．Enjoy your help. |
| B．Please don’t leave. |
| C．Help me, please. |
| D．Hug me close. |
| A．She worried about the little girl’s future. |
| B．She decided to keep helping the little girl. |
| C．She felt a greater affection for the little girl. |
| D．She got surprised at the little girl’s worthless gift. |
| A．One must learn to share life experiences. |
| B．One often wants to lead a meaningful life. |
| C．One occasionally benefits from the poverty. |
| D．One should be more grateful for the gift of life. |
Kareem sighed as he counted his money again. He was still short of fifty dollars to buy the latest Speedster X bike. In order to save his pocket money to replace his old bike, he had been packing sandwiches to school the last three months.
“How can I get that fifty dollars?” he thought to himself. His mind was wondering when Mother’s voice disturbed his thoughts. “Kareem, I just ran into Aunty Kim, our neighbour who just moved in next door. Her son, Shawn, will cycle to school next week. Could you show him the shortcut to school later? It’s Saturday anyway!” Hearing this, Kareem had no option but to obey it, He knew Mother had probably already volunteered his service to Aunty Kim. “Oh, here’s a mail from your Grandma. Open it!” added Mother.
Kareem’s grandmother lived abroad and she would send him photos and cards. He opened the envelope and pulled out a greeting card. Incredibly, a fifty dollar note slipped out as well! Kareem was wild with joy. Waving the note in the air, he shouted happily, “Enough money for my bike!”
At 2 p. m. Kareem met Shawn as arranged by their mothers. The sooner he finished this task, the sooner he could go to the bike shop. While the boys were cycling, a squirrel (松鼠) appeared behind a parked car and dashed across the road so suddenly that the boys knocked into each other and fell down heavily. Kareem said regretfully, “I forgot to warn you about the squirrel population here.” As Kareem was lifting up his broken bike, Shawn cried anxiously, “Oh, my poor bike! It’s completely broken.”
Watching Shawn carrying the disabled bike home in silence, Kareem hurried to the bike shop for his dream bike. The sign “Half Price for Old Models” in the shop attracted his eyes.
“A Speedster X bike or two old models?” Kareem hesitated.
“Hi!” Kareem appeared at Shawn’s door cheerfully and asked, “Want to ride together?”
Food blogs, celebrities, and nutritionists all advocate the benefits of eating organic (有机的) fruits and vegetables. But a new study published in Science Advances paints a more complex picture. While organic produce is likely slightly healthier to eat and, in some ways, more sustainable to grow, there are also downsides.
Organic fruits and vegetables typically cost more than conventional ones. To get a certificate as organic, farmers must meet specific criteria, including growing produce without the use of genetic engineering and chemical inputs. Without these methods, the growing process typically requires more labor, time, and money, a cost that is passed down to consumers.
It’s true that in many ways, organic is more sustainable than conventional farming. But when it comes to environmental concerns such as greenhouse gas output and water loss, the comparison gets complex. Organic farms produce less greenhouse gas output per acre. However, because they are barred from using genetic engineering, pesticides (杀虫剂), and other methods that increase efficiency (效率), organic farms also produce an estimated 19% to 25% less yield than conventional farms. While there isn’t a whole lot research on the topic, the few studies that do exist suggest green gas output and water loss might actually be higher on organic farms, on a per unit basis, says study author Verena Seurfert.
In addition, while organic produce is likely more nutritious than conventional fruit and vegetables, there’s not a lot of evidence to support the claim that these often slight differences influence consumer health. The same is true for pesticide remainder. In developed countries, where pesticide use is tightly regulated, there’s no scientific consensus on how these often slight differences influence human health.
Still, Seurfert stresses that if you can afford to eat organic, you should do so. Organic farms provide safer work environments for workers, plus they support great biodiversity. The real takeaway from her study is not that organic is bad but that the practice needs more studies to increase yield without lowering sustainability.
But if you can’t afford to buy organic produce, don’t stress too much, particularly from a nutritional perspective.
1．What does the underlined word “downsides” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?| A．Dangers. | B．Drawbacks. | C．Benefits. | D．Differences. |
| A．The yield. | B．The price. | C．The water loss. | D．The labor. |
| A．Farmers, work environment should be improved. |
| B．Organic produce should be made more efficiently. |
| C．It isn’t wise for consumers to buy organic products. |
| D．Pesticide remainder does no harm to people’s health. |
| A．It’s environmentally friendly. | B．It’s more nutritious. |
| C．It helps keep the variety of plants. | D．It’s safer for consumers. |
A long time ago, people lived happily under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very happy as they led a very happy life with wealth and no misfortunes.
Once, the king decided to go visiting historical places and pilgrim (朝圣者) centres at distant places. He decided to travel on foot to interact with his people.
People of distant places were very happy to have a conversation with their king. They were proud that their king had a kind heart.
After several weeks of travel, the king returned to the palace. He was quite happy that he had visited many pilgrim centres and seen his people leading a happy life.
However, he had one regret. He had great pain in his feet as it was his first trip on foot covering a long distance. He complained to his ministers that the roads weren’t comfortable and that they were very stony. He could not stand the pain. He said that he was very worried about the people who had to walk along those roads as it would be painful for them, too!
Considering all this, he ordered his servants to cover the roads in the whole country with leather (皮革) so that the people of his kingdom could walk comfortably.
The king’s ministers were surprised to hear his order as it would mean that thousands of cows would have to be killed in order to get a large quantity of leather. And it would also cost a huge amount of money.
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Finally, a wise man from the ministry came to the king and said that he had another idea.
Many of us dislike the world for many things.
For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.
1．Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?| A．Both are about where to draw the line. |
| B．Both can continue for generations. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. |
| D．Neither can be put to an end. |
| A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| A．give orders to the other |
| B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other |
| D．get the other to behave properly |
| A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. |
| B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. |
| D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
If you’ve ever started an exercise with good faith and enthusiasm, only to be met with disappointment as the scale goes past the weight you started with, you may have had a question: Why does exercise make me gain weight?
While exercise plays a role in weight control, the other side of the coin is food intake.
The other potential explanation comes down to the amount of blood. When you do aerobic exercise, there may be an increase in blood volume, which is essentially an increase in aerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity is a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen your body can consume while exercising. Muscles need oxygen supplied by blood.
What all of this means is that people who have started to work out properly shouldn’t be discouraged from continuing, even if they gain a little weight.
| A．You should do exercise. |
| B．The answer is many-sided. |
| C．A person notices his weight increasing. |
| D．When they eat pizza, they’re eating slowly. |
| E．This in turn leads to extra water staying in the body. |
| F．There are a few other biological reasons for the weight gain. |
| G．So the more oxygen a person can consume, the better their strength. |
An orchestra is attempting to bring people living with dementia (痴呆) back into the present. The work being done by Manchester Camerata has never been more important, given that there are about 900,000 people with the condition in the UK, a number that is predicted to nearly double by 2040.
People with dementia often find listening to music can reignite old memories from long ago. Much more overlooked, though, is the impact that making music can have on the present. While some with dementia can often feel trapped in the past, some researchers believe the act of creating music—as well as listening to it—can help to reconnect then to the here and now.
A new BBC documentary—Dementia, Music and Us—follows the work of Manchester Camerata and its principal flautist (长笛手) Amina Hussain. who, also a professional music therapist, leads classes across the north-west of England that have been described as life-changing. Classes for the community consist of improvisation (即兴创作), singing, and writing their own music.
Keith, 62, was diagnosed with dementia when he was 53. Like many, he really struggled to come to terms with his new reality. He found the sessions to be genuinely life-changing. “I think the thing that saved us was the first ever music group we went to because from that group it opened other groups up for us.” he said. “The workshops make you smile, enjoy life and it just brings the best out of you.”
Researcher Dr Dowlen is seeking to better understand the “in the moment” benefits of music-making for people with dementia. She believes the improvisational music workshop experience allows people to “create something that is held now in the moment.” She added, “Improvisational music-making is particularly important for people with dementia, especially when it comes to building their confidence and their self-esteem.”
1．Why is the work being done by Manchester Camerata important?| A．Music is an important part of daily life. | B．Music is an effective cure for dementia. |
| C．More people are pursuing a musical career. | D．A growing number of people live with denentia. |
| A．Keep alive. | B．Bring back. | C．Push away. | D．Take up. |
| A．He has become more socially active. | B．He has adapted to life with dementia. |
| C．He has demonstrated his music talent. | D．He has recovered his long-lost memory. |
| A．They bring mixed results, | B．They enjoy great popularity. |
| C．They promote people’s welfare. | D．They need to focus on the moment. |
The impressive collection of literature in the Library Cave at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu province,
While the Dunhuang wall paintings have recorded the glories of the past
The value of the
The Library Cave
| A．collects | B．represents | C．finds | D．changes |
| A．aspects | B．difficulties | C．moods | D．hobbies |
| A．Sat | B．Located | C．Lost | D．Moved |
| A．formations | B．productions | C．companies | D．exchanges |
| A．visually | B．vocally | C．slowly | D．brightly |
| A．rooted | B．imagined | C．housed | D．printed |
| A．cultural | B．national | C．historical | D．literal |
| A．books | B．statues | C．features | D．literature |
| A．what | B．that | C．as | D．whose |
| A．rise | B．progress | C．start | D．innovation |
| A．was checked | B．was ruined | C．was built | D．was removed |
| A．felt | B．seemed | C．banned | D．remained |
| A．unless | B．whether | C．before | D．after |
| A．overseas | B．political | C．additional | D．fundamental |
| A．precious | B．affordable | C．secret | D．fashionable |
Rates of anti-dining syndrome in newborns surged in recent years, but a newer approach to caring for newborn babies exposed to drugs during pregnancy gets them out of the hospital sooner and with less medication. Newborns in drug withdrawal may experience upset stomach, miserable crying and extreme discomfort. Researchers looked at the impacts of the ESC (Eat, Sleep, Console care) approach on 1,300 infants at 26 US hospitals, and compared them with the current standard for caring for infants exposed to drugs.
ESC encourages involvement from parents, and prioritizes care that doesn’t involve medication, breastfeeding, for example. The usual approach involves a nurse measuring a baby’s withdrawal symptoms before providing treatment.
Compared to usual care, use of the ESC approach substantially decreased time until those infants were medically ready for discharge, without increasing specified harmful outcomes.
The infants assessed with the ESC method were discharged after eight days on average, compared with almost 15 days for the infants who were cared for by the standard approach. Additionally, infants in the ESC care group were 63% less likely to receive drug medication — 19.5% received medication compared with 52% in the group receiving usual care.
The current approach to usual care is a very comprehensive and nurse-led way of assessing the infant, whereas the ESC approach involves the mom in the way that you assess the infant, and allows the mom to try her best to comfort the infants and see if the infant is able to be consoled or is able to eat or is able to sleep.
“So, in that way, it’s a little bit more functional, like looking at the abilities of the infants versus how severely the infant is affected. Assessment results determine whether a baby should receive medication to control withdrawal symptoms,’’ said Baker, the director of the NIH HEAL Initiative, which provides funds to researchers studying ways to relieve the country’s drug health crisis.
1．Which of the followings can’t be listed as the difference between the current and ESC approach?| A．The method in removing the drug withdrawal syndrome. |
| B．The time when the newborns are discharged form treatment. |
| C．The contribution the mom made in assessing how the syndrome progressed. |
| D．The tough time the infants experienced in discharging the sufferings. |
| A．Impacts of ESC approach on the infants. | B．Infants with drug withdrawal syndrome. |
| C．Hospitals caring for those infants. | D．Researchers who conducted the study. |
| A．Figuring out how the infants can recover themselves. |
| B．Looking at what is affecting the infants severely. |
| C．The pace in which hospitals are implementing the care approach. |
| D．The rules nurses and moms are playing in dealing with the emergency. |
| A．Parents should be convinced of the effective approach. |
| B．All infants with the infectious syndrome will recover with its help. |
| C．Maybe fewer of the severe infants should receive medication-based treatment. |
| D．The current standard should be more comprehensive in practical treatment. |
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