阅读理解

In recent times, the sales of self-help books have soared in popularity. Here are our picks of the best, and most highly rated self-help books to help tackle that new year anxiety.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Nowadays people spend so much time planning, journaling, and writing in our diaries, rather than taking action towards actually achieving our goals. This book is a step-by-step guide to fixing up your routine. It digs into the psychology behind habits — how to form good ones and break the bad ones. If you're a victim of procrastination (拖延症), this may be the push you need.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This book is all about improving the relationships you have with others in your life, making you a better listener, and overall a better friend. With simple tips such as including the person's name in conversation and making sure you're genuinely interested in what they're saying, you can ensure they will remember you. The core idea is that you can change other people's behaviour by changing your own, therefore building stronger relationships.

Untamed-Stop Pleasing, Start Living by Glennon Doyle

Part autobiographical and part self-help, it's the perfect book to kickstart your year and start living for yourself. Although this book could be enjoyed by anyone, the prime audience is women, as Doyle talks a lot about doubts during motherhood, and the overwhelming need women feel to put everyone before themselves. Doyle shows us our lives in a new light that without even realising it, we may be working hard to please everyone around us, forgetting the most important person — ourselves.

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

"Escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich". This best seller proposes the idea that you don't need to wait for retirement and delay your life plan. Instead, you can trade a long career for short work bursts and frequent "mini-retirements". Ferris says that people don't want to be millionaires. They want to experience what they think only millionaires can buy.

1. （1） What can we learn from Atomic Habits?

   A . How to keep a diary. B . How to learn psychology. C . How to satisfy your needs. D . How to arrange your routine.
3. （2） Which book may attract housewives most?

   A . Atomic Habits. B . Untamed-Stop Pleasing, Start Living. C . The 4-Hour Work Week. D . How to Win Friends and Influence People.
5. （3） Which of the following may Timothy Ferriss agree with?

   A . No pains, no gains. B . Idle young, needy old. C . Fortune favors the bold. D . Live in the moment.

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I live in an area where most parents would rather cut back on personal hobbies for themselves than stop paying for their children's activities.

Music lessons, horseback riding, summer camps, sports teams — the list goes on and on. Often, so do the costs. And even if the money is not there, some parents find a way. I know people who have borrowed from family and run up their credit cards to pay for all the stuff they believe their children just cannot miss.

"The experiences we thought kids had to have before high school have moved down to junior high and now elementary, " said William Doherty, a professor of family studies and director of the marriage and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota. Soon, we'll be talking about leadership opportunities for babies.

"Somehow, not offering our children every possible opportunity feels like bad parenting, " said Wendy Mogel, a clinical psychologist.

But in an effort to give their children everything, some parents end up not just using up financial resources, but also their own emotional energy. "A lot of parents are exhausted by their own overparenting, " said Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University. "They make so many sacrifices and are so stressed out by driving around so much that they explode at kids for changing the radio station. "

"It's easy to take a look at the more successful kids and assume that all the activities are why they are more successful, " Professor Caplan said. But research doesn't bear that out. On a recent National Public Radio program, Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, said he and another economist could find no evidence that that sort of parental choices could be correlated at all with academic success.

1. （1） What can we infer from William Doherty's argument?

   A . Kids need to experience so many activities at a young age. B . Kids should seize leadership opportunities when they were babies. C . Kids are taking part in extracurricular activities at a much younger age. D . Kids should take part in extracurricular activities before elementary school.
3. （2） Why do parents offer their children so many lessons according to Wendy Mogel?

   A . They want to show off their love to their children. B . They think that is the kind of life their children want to live. C . They want to be good parents and be responsible for their children. D . They believe the lessons can help their children achieve academic success.
5. （3） What does the underlined phrase "bear that out" in the last paragraph mean?

   A . Prove. B . Deny. C . Examine. D . Understand.
7. （4） What is the bad effect of offering children too many extracurricular activities?

   A . The children may make no sacrifice. B . The parents may get extremely tired. C . The parents may ask too much of their children. D . The children may not be successful in the future.

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Scientists may one day be able to destroy viruses in the same way that opera singers break wine glasses. New research mathematically determined the frequencies at which simple viruses could be shaken to death.

The capsid (壳) of a virus is something like the shell of a turtle, said physicist Otto Sankey of Arizona State University. "If the shell can be damaged by mechanical vibrations (震动), the virus can be destroyed. "

Recent experimental evidence has shown that laser (激光) pulses with the right frequency can kill certain viruses. However, locating these resonant (共振的) frequencies is a bit of trial and error. "Experiments must try various conditions, " Sankey said.

To further this search, Sankey and his student Eric Dykeman have developed a way to calculate the vibrations of every atom in a virus shell. From this, they can determine the lowest resonant frequencies. An experiment has recently shown that pulses of laser light can cause destructive vibrations in virus shells. Sankey said, "Like pushing a child on a swing from rest, one sudden push gets the virus shaking. "

However, it is difficult to calculate what sort of push will kill a virus, since there can be millions of atoms in its shell structure. A direct calculation of each atom's movements would take several hundred thousand Gigabytes of computer memory, Sankey explained.

The team plans to use their technique to study other, more complicated viruses. However, it is still a long way from using this to destroy the viruses in infected people. "This is such a new field, and there are so few experiments that the science has not yet had enough time to prove itself, " Sankey said. "We remain skeptical but remain hopeful at the same time. "

1. （1） What is the new way to kill viruses?

   A . Breaking viruses' capsids by vibration. B . Replacing viruses' capsids with shells. C . Locating the position of certain viruses. D . Damaging the conditions that viruses like.
3. （2） Why does Sankey mention "pushing a child on a swing" in Paragraph 4?

   A . To prove how simple the new theory is. B . To explain how to start the virus shaking. C . To suggest the idea comes from our real life. D . To show the destructive power of vibrations.
5. （3） What is the fifth paragraph mainly about?

   A . The shell structure of viruses. B . The lack of computer memory. C . The challenging part of the research. D . The importance of atoms' movement.
7. （4） What is Sankey's attitude towards the theory?

   A . Disapproving. B . Worried. C . Uncaring. D . Positive.

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A recent study published in the journal Nature has revealed that our Medieval ancestors left us with a biological legacy: Genes that may have helped them survive the Black Death make us more vulnerable to certain diseases today.

Barreiro and his colleagues examined ancient DNA samples from the bones of more than 200 people from London and Denmark who died over about 100 years that stretched before, during, and after the Black Death swept through that region.

They identified four genes that, depending on the variant, either protected against or increased vulnerability(易损性)to the bacteria that causes bubonic plague(腺鼠疫). They found that what helped people in Medieval times led to problems generations later — raising the frequency of mutations(突变) harmful in modern times. Some of the same genetic variants identified as protective against the plague are associated with certain autoimmune disorders, such as Crohn's disease. In these sorts of diseases, the immune system that defends the body against disease and infection attacks the body's own healthy tissues.

Past research has also sought to examine how the Black Death affected the human genome. But Barreiro said he believes theirs is the first demonstration that the Black Death was important to the evolution of the human immune system. One unique aspect of the study, he said, was to focus on a narrow time window around the event. It's extremely sophisticated and addresses important issues, such as how the same version of a gene can protect people from a horrific infection and also put modern people at risk for other illnesses.

All of this begs the question: Will the COVID-19 pandemic have a big impact on human evolution? Barreiro said he doesn't think so because the death rate is so much lower and the majority of people who have died had already had children. In the future, however, he said more deadly pandemics may well continue to shape us at the most basic level. "It's not going to stop. It's going to keep going for sure. "

1. （1） How did Barreiro's team come up with the finding?

   A . By analyzing DNA samples from targeted bones. B . By testing the vulnerability of four specific genes. C . By identifying the frequency of harmful mutations. D . By focusing on the consequences of autoimmune disorders.
3. （2） What does Barreiro believe make their research distinct from previous research?

   A . It is the first to show a variant of gene can lead to infection. B . It illustrates how gene variants can make us free of immune disorders. C . It focuses on an extensive time window around the Black Death event. D . It is the first to confirm the plague is responsible for certain immune disorders.
5. （3） Which of the following statements will Barreiro probably agree with?

   A . There will be more pandemics causing death to people. B . COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact human evolution. C . New pandemics may still influence how human immune system develops. D . Modern people are protected from deadly pandemics due to the same gene.
7. （4） What is a suitable title for the text?

   A . Genetic variants: They make us victims of the Black Death B . Genetic twist: Medieval plague may have shaped our immunity C . Time window: The factor plays an important role in a recent study D . Deadly pandemics: They will keep changing our immune system for sure

阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Technology is here to stay. . However, they are often unsure on how to help children use technology responsibly and keep a balance between online and offline time. Here are some tips.

Have a device contract

Having a device usage contract allows parents and children to work through what responsible technology usage looks like in your family and ensure that everyone is aware. . Kids are more likely to make sense of the reasons you have for restriction.

  

Although this tip seems like common sense, it is often difficult due to the demand of work and the expectation of being constantly connected. By ensuring you build offline time into your own day and communicate that with your children, they will see the value and benefits. Whether you are reading a book or just taking a walk, letting your children be aware of your offline actions will encourage them to do the same!

Encourage non­tech activities

One great way to keep kids off their screens is to ensure that they have other activities to fill their time. . These activities are also great ways to help children to develop their social skills and confidence.

Tech­free family time

Once a week, pencil in a "tech­free family time" in your schedule. It can be a meal or trip. To help increase the success of outings, try designing special activities, i. e. , going to the beach to build a sand castle that looks the same as a photo you have found online. .

A. Model good technology use

B. Communicate with children

C. A little extra planning goes a long way

D. The contract is helpful to the settlement of conflicts

E. Parents are seeing more technology in their homes and jobs

F. Also, drafting the contract together promotes understanding

G. This can come in a variety of forms: soccer, fencing and more

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

There are two problems in the world: garbage and poverty. Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a 1 for them. It's called the Chip Bag Project. She is asking a 2 of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your 3 chip bags into the trash, donate them, so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the 4.

Chip eaters drop off their empty bags at two locations in Detroit, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers 5 them. After they wash the chip bags, they cut them open, lay them 6, and iron them together. They use padding and liners from old coats to line the insides.

It takes about four hours to 7 a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, 8 whether they're single­serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is "waterproof, lightweight, and easy to 9. " Oleita said.

Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800，000 chip bags and created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be 10 to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that's only half the goal for Oleita—whose family 11 to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life—and her fellow 12. "We are devoted to making an impact not only socially, but 13,"  she says.

And, of course, there's the symbolism of saving bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It's a powerful 14 that environmental injustice and 15 often go hand in hand. As Oleita said, "I think it's time to show connection between all of these issues."

阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

These days, doctors are using a new approach to healing, which is called tapping. This approach combines  (wise) from Chinese medicine with talk therapy (治疗).

By simply tapping points along the body while  (confirm) your emotional state, you can release cellular energy. By feeling those emotions, you process and clear them through  power of love and forgiveness. Tapping provides a healthy way to process difficult emotions, even from experiences that  (happen) in the distant past. The practice draws from acupuncture (针灸), a healing method from  (tradition) Chinese medicine that dates from thousands of years ago.

Acupuncture opens energy highways in the body by sticking thin needles into the skin. Tapping takes a similar approach, but uses touch instead of needles  (promote) the flow of energy throughout the body. It may sound strange or impossible  first glance. But scientists believe that the method works because it excites the central nervous system,  causes the body to release helpful chemicals.

Everyone may have experienced some sorts of emotional discomfort in their lives. Although painful, it's important to develop healthy ways to process their  (experience). Healing practices like tapping help release these emotions  (active), so you can process and heal from difficult emotions.

假如你是高三学生李华，请你写一篇演讲稿，代表全体同学在毕业典礼上发言，内容要点如下：
1. 即将毕业的心情；
2. 高中三年的收获；
3. 表示感谢。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Good morning, everyone!

……

Thanks for your listening.

阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Many years ago, I stepped into a bookstore in Cincinnati in search of some books that I wanted. While I was there, a poor little boy, about twelve, came in to ask whether they had a world atlas (地图册)for sale.

"Yes. It costs one dollar," replied the salesman. "I have only sixty-two cents," the boy said. "Would you let me have it and wait a little while for the rest of the money?" His request being refused, the boy left. I followed him. "And what now?" I asked.

"I shall try another place, sir."

"Do you mind if I go too and see how you succeed?"

"If you like," he said in surprise.

Four times I saw the look on the boy's face turn to disappointment. But he continued. When we entered the fifth store, he told the bookseller what had happened. When asked why he wanted the atlas so much, the boy said, "My father was a sailor, but he is dead. I want to know about the places he used to go to and I'm going to be a sailor, too. "

Deeply touched, the bookseller sold the boy an atlas and presented him with a new pencil for his perseverance(毅力). I also gave him two dollars for other books he wanted. Tears in his eyes, he told us his name is William Hartley. He hoped to repay us some day.

Many years later, I left for Liverpool by water. At the end of the journey, there came a terrible storm and the ship was in trouble. A great leak was filling the ship with water. The crew was made up of strong and able men. But after fighting for one whole night with the water still flowing in, the sailors gave up desperately.

But the captain didn't give up. He ordered every man to his position and went below to look for the leak. As he passed me, I asked whether there was any hope of saving the ship. He looked at me, firmly saying "Yes, sir. As long as one inch of this ship remains above water, there is hope. "

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Three times during that day we encountered rather dangerous situations. …… Before I expressed my thanks to him, the captain said first, "Sir, do you not recognize me?"