Passage 1
Photographer Mandy Barker has found an extraordinary way to make us reconsider the waste in our seas. She catalogues fibres from fast fashion in the style of a Victorian book about British algae.
When Mandy Barker stumbled upon a fragment of colour in the sand while walking near Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, in 2012, she was bewitched. "I thought it was actually a strip of clothing, but when I went to pick it out, I saw that it was green - grey-brown - but with these amazing colours on it," she recalls.
Growing up on the Yorkshire coast, Barker had become used to the sight of plastic bottles, fishing nets, and driftwood shells changing around the shores. "Over the years I saw TVs, fridges and computers washing up on the beach," she says. "Fishermen told me they could see trawlers out at sea visibly dumping waste into the water, and sometimes other fishermen would take their rubbish out and dump it."
Barker's award-winning photography has focused on the sometimes ambiguous beauty of this marine debris. One day, she was "shocked at the way the fabric unravelled on so well that [she] mistook seaweed for a shelf in [her] house and put it there."
She discovered a book called "Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions" by Anna Atkins. The launch date, 16 March, was chosen to mark Atkins's birthday. Atkins's pioneering work was created on cyanotype, a monochrome blueprint created on a near-transparent surface. Published in 1843, only 17 copies of the book - in various forms of completion - are thought to remain. Barker discovered the book at the Royal Society. "I realised that that was exactly what I was looking for," she says. She had written about seaweed and had all these seaweed-like pieces of cloth and thought: "That's what I need."
Women were underrepresented in publishing in the mid-1800s and Atkins chose to sign her work with the initials "AA", which were assumed to mean "anonymous amateur". And the fish were amazing books but no one gave her any credit, says Barker.
She tracked down the same paper Atkins had used. She traced over Atkins's alphabet, although she had to handwrite, as the same feathery handwriting was difficult to recreate.
Where did Mandy Barker find the fragment of colour in 2012
A. On the Yorkshire coast.
B. Near Spurn Point, East Yorkshire.
C. In her house.
D. At the Royal Society.
What is the main idea of the passage
A. To introduce Mandy Barker's childhood experiences on the coast.
B. To describe the beauty of British algae.
C. To explain how Mandy Barker was inspired to create her unique photography style by a Victorian book.
D. To discuss the problem of marine debris.
According to the passage, what can be inferred about Anna Atkins
A. She was well-known and received much credit in her time.
B. She used a special paper for her work.
C. She was not interested in seaweed.
D. She signed her work with her full name.
What does the word "bewitched" in the second paragraph probably mean
A. Frightened.
B. Bored.
C. Fascinated.
D. Disappointed.
答案：
B
C
B
C
解析：
细节理解题。根据文中 “When Mandy Barker stumbled upon a fragment of colour in the sand while walking near Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, in 2012...” 可知是在东约克郡的斯普恩角附近，B 选项正确，A 选项范围太大，C 选项是她把东西误放的地方，D 选项是她发现那本书的地方。
主旨大意题。文章主要讲述了摄影师 Mandy Barker 在海边的经历以及她如何受到一本关于英国藻类的维多利亚时期书籍的启发，从而形成自己独特的摄影风格来让人们重新审视海洋垃圾，C 选项正确，A 选项只是背景，B 选项不是重点，D 选项不全面。
推理判断题。从 “She tracked down the same paper Atkins had used.” 可推断出 Anna Atkins 使用了一种特殊的纸，B 选项正确，A 选项文中说她没得到太多认可，C 选项与原文 “She had written about seaweed” 矛盾，D 选项她用的是首字母缩写。
猜测词义题。根据后文 “I thought it was actually a strip of clothing, but when I went to pick it out, I saw that it was green - grey-brown - but with these amazing colours on it,” 可知她对这个发现很着迷，“bewitched” 意思是着迷的，C 选项正确，A 选项 “害怕的”、B 选项 “无聊的”、D 选项 “失望的” 均不符合语境。
Passage 2
From Fern Brady to Hannah Gadsby, a host of comedians have discovered that they are autistic. What is it about standup that lends itself so well to neurodivergent people
In 2020, Pierre Novellie was previewing an early version of his standup show Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things Such as holidays and trips to the cinema (due to the "all the noise and lights") when he was interrupted by an audience member's polite heckle. He said: "You sound like me," recalls Novellie. "He said: 'I have Asperger's - I think you have Asperger's.'" Novellie, who had never seriously looked into the prospect that he had autism (the term Asperger's is no longer used by medical professionals because of its namesake's Nazi affiliations, but some people with autism still refer to it), began taking multiple online tests. He answered the questions "completely truthfully" and "in the most normal, sociable way" he could, yet he still scored above the threshold for autism. In 2022, he finally received a formal diagnosis - and the title of Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things wasn't rhetorical. "It turned out there was an answer: these were inherently difficult things for him to enjoy (in the case of rustling packets, heightened sensitivity is common in people with autism). "So that became the ending of the show," he says.
Novellie is not alone. Many comedians have found that standup comedy seems to be a natural fit for those on the autism spectrum. Some experts believe that the structure and rules of standup, along with the ability to focus intensely on a topic, can appeal to those with autistic traits.
What happened to Pierre Novellie in 2020
A. He received a formal autism diagnosis.
B. He previewed his standup show and was heckled by an audience member.
C. He started taking online tests for the first time.
D. He changed the title of his standup show.
What is the main idea of the passage
A. To introduce Pierre Novellie's standup show.
B. To explain why standup comedy appeals to neurodivergent people.
C. To describe the difficulties faced by autistic comedians.
D. To compare different comedians.
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about Asperger's
A. It is still widely used by medical professionals.
B. It was named after someone with Nazi affiliations.
C. It has nothing to do with autism.
D. It is a new term in the medical field.
What does the word "heckle" in the second paragraph probably mean
A. Praise.
B. Interrupt with a rude comment.
C. Encourage.
D. Ignore.
答案：
B
B
B
B
解析：
细节理解题。根据文中 “In 2020, Pierre Novellie was previewing an early version of his standup show Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things ...when he was interrupted by an audience member's polite heckle.” 可知 2020 年 Pierre Novellie 在预演他的单口喜剧秀时被观众礼貌地起哄，B 选项正确，A 选项是 2022 年，C 选项文中未提及是第一次，D 选项是之后的事。
主旨大意题。文章开篇提出很多喜剧演员发现自己是自闭症患者，接着以 Pierre Novellie 为例，最后提到一些专家认为单口喜剧的结构和规则以及能专注于一个话题的能力可能吸引有自闭症特征的人，整体是在解释为什么单口喜剧吸引神经多样性人群，B 选项正确，A 选项只是例子，C 选项不是重点，D 选项文章未重点比较不同喜剧演员。
细节理解题。由 “the term Asperger's is no longer used by medical professionals because of its namesake's Nazi affiliations” 可知 Asperger's 是以有纳粹背景的人的名字命名的，B 选项正确，A 选项与原文不符，C 选项它与自闭症有关，D 选项它不是新术语且已不再被广泛使用。
猜测词义题。根据后文 “He said: 'I have Asperger's - I think you have Asperger's.'" 可知是观众打断了他并说了这样的话，“heckle” 意思是用粗鲁的评论打断，B 选项正确，A 选项 “赞扬”、C 选项 “鼓励”、D 选项 “忽视” 均不符合语境。
Passage 3
The new country house tale is a far cry from Jeeves and Wooster - it hums with violence and confusion, writes comedian and author Jonny Sweet.
There's no point in the past 400 years has anyone campaigned more passionately for more stories set in country houses. It wasn't as though I had spotted a gap in the market. At times when I was tutoring the Code of Woosters and frequently gorged on Jeeves in my dizzy grid of PG Wodehouse adaptations like The Good Life, To the Manor Born, The Darling Buds of May and Downton Abbey - and, to be honest, even The Traitors. Surely I wasn't the only one who felt this way A large part of me despises the genre. Why would I - why would anyone - want to read about people who have more money than they know what to do with
In fact, the first idea for my novel came over a decade ago, reading The Code of the Woosters and wondering why I didn't feel like that to me. I was broke and tutoring extremely wealthy and frequently awful children in Mayfair and Chelsea. One weekend, I was tutoring a boy who had started to use me as much for odd jobs around his immense townhouse as well as tutoring. I was confined to a wall trying to hang a TV; I had a trimph with a flat-pack desk; I chased down a Bellington whippet that had escaped into the garden. The children also spoke of me as an interchangeable member of staff, referring to me by the wrong name or as "slave" (for, clangier).
Two further, largely insignificant moments during this period have stuck with me. I was doing some residential week tutoring a boy in the holidays at his exquisite stately pile. One evening, I was overcome with a feeling. Every time I cast a line, my fly got caught - snagged on a branch and a generations-deep sense of inferiority. It was humiliating.
What was the author doing when he got the first idea for his novel
A. Watching TV adaptations.
B. Tutoring wealthy children.
C. Reading The Code of the Woosters.
D. Visiting country houses.
What is the main idea of the passage
A. To introduce the author's experience of tutoring wealthy children and how it inspired his novel idea.
B. To describe the popularity of country house tales.
C. To compare different country house novels and TV shows.
D. To explain why the author despises the genre of country house tales.
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about the author
A. He liked The Traitors.
B. He was wealthy himself.
C. He had a good experience tutoring the boy in the stately pile.
D. He felt inferior when tutoring the boy in the stately pile.
What does the word "gorged" in the second paragraph probably mean
A. Disliked.
B. Enjoyed a lot.
C. Ignored.
D. Criticized.
答案：
C
A
D
B
解析：
细节理解题。根据文中 “In fact, the first idea for my novel came over a decade ago, reading The Code of the Woosters and wondering why I didn't feel like that to me.” 可知作者在阅读《万能管家》时产生了写小说的第一个想法，C 选项正确，A、B、D 选项均不是产生想法时正在做的事。
主旨大意题。文章主要讲述了作者辅导富有的孩子的经历，以及这些经历如何启发了他写小说的想法，A 选项正确，B 选项只是背景，C 选项文章未重点比较，D 选项不是主要内容。
细节理解题。由 “One evening, I was overcome with a feeling. Every time I cast a line, my fly got caught - snagged on a branch and a generations-deep sense of inferiority. It was humiliating.” 可知作者在辅导那个住在豪华庄园的男孩时感到自卑，D 选项正确，A 选项文中说他不喜欢《叛徒》，B 选项与原文 “I was broke” 矛盾，C 选项他的经历并不好。
猜测词义题。根据后文 “my dizzy grid of PG Wodehouse adaptations like The Good Life, To the Manor Born, The Darling Buds of May and Downton Abbey” 可知作者看了很多这类改编作品，说明他很喜欢，“gorged” 意思是尽情享受，B 选项正确，A 选项 “不喜欢”、C 选项 “忽视”、D 选项 “批评” 均不符合语境。Passage 1
Photographer Mandy Barker has found an extraordinary way to make us reconsider the waste in our seas. She catalogues fibres from fast fashion in the style of a Victorian book about British algae.
When Mandy Barker stumbled upon a fragment of colour in the sand while walking near Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, in 2012, she was bewitched. "I thought it was actually a strip of clothing, but when I went to pick it out, I saw that it was green - grey-brown - but with these amazing colours on it," she recalls.
Growing up on the Yorkshire coast, Barker had become used to the sight of plastic bottles, fishing nets, and driftwood shells changing around the shores. "Over the years I saw TVs, fridges and computers washing up on the beach," she says. "Fishermen told me they could see trawlers out at sea visibly dumping waste into the water, and sometimes other fishermen would take their rubbish out and dump it."
Barker's award-winning photography has focused on the sometimes ambiguous beauty of this marine debris. One day, she was "shocked at the way the fabric unravelled on so well that [she] mistook seaweed for a shelf in [her] house and put it there."
She discovered a book called "Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions" by Anna Atkins. The launch date, 16 March, was chosen to mark Atkins's birthday. Atkins's pioneering work was created on cyanotype, a monochrome blueprint created on a near-transparent surface. Published in 1843, only 17 copies of the book - in various forms of completion - are thought to remain. Barker discovered the book at the Royal Society. "I realised that that was exactly what I was looking for," she says. She had written about seaweed and had all these seaweed-like pieces of cloth and thought: "That's what I need."
Women were underrepresented in publishing in the mid-1800s and Atkins chose to sign her work with the initials "AA", which were assumed to mean "anonymous amateur". And the fish were amazing books but no one gave her any credit, says Barker.
She tracked down the same paper Atkins had used. She traced over Atkins's alphabet, although she had to handwrite, as the same feathery handwriting was difficult to recreate.
Where did Mandy Barker find the fragment of colour in 2012
A. On the Yorkshire coast.
B. Near Spurn Point, East Yorkshire.
C. In her house.
D. At the Royal Society.
What is the main idea of the passage
A. To introduce Mandy Barker's childhood experiences on the coast.
B. To describe the beauty of British algae.
C. To explain how Mandy Barker was inspired to create her unique photography style by a Victorian book.
D. To discuss the problem of marine debris.
According to the passage, what can be inferred about Anna Atkins
A. She was well-known and received much credit in her time.
B. She used a special paper for her work.
C. She was not interested in seaweed.
D. She signed her work with her full name.
What does the word "bewitched" in the second paragraph probably mean
A. Frightened.
B. Bored.
C. Fascinated.
D. Disappointed.
Passage 2
From Fern Brady to Hannah Gadsby, a host of comedians have discovered that they are autistic. What is it about standup that lends itself so well to neurodivergent people
In 2020, Pierre Novellie was previewing an early version of his standup show Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things Such as holidays and trips to the cinema (due to the "all the noise and lights") when he was interrupted by an audience member's polite heckle. He said: "You sound like me," recalls Novellie. "He said: 'I have Asperger's - I think you have Asperger's.'" Novellie, who had never seriously looked into the prospect that he had autism (the term Asperger's is no longer used by medical professionals because of its namesake's Nazi affiliations, but some people with autism still refer to it), began taking multiple online tests. He answered the questions "completely truthfully" and "in the most normal, sociable way" he could, yet he still scored above the threshold for autism. In 2022, he finally received a formal diagnosis - and the title of Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things wasn't rhetorical. "It turned out there was an answer: these were inherently difficult things for him to enjoy (in the case of rustling packets, heightened sensitivity is common in people with autism). "So that became the ending of the show," he says.
Novellie is not alone. Many comedians have found that standup comedy seems to be a natural fit for those on the autism spectrum. Some experts believe that the structure and rules of standup, along with the ability to focus intensely on a topic, can appeal to those with autistic traits.
What happened to Pierre Novellie in 2020
A. He received a formal autism diagnosis.
B. He previewed his standup show and was heckled by an audience member.
C. He started taking online tests for the first time.
D. He changed the title of his standup show.
What is the main idea of the passage
A. To introduce Pierre Novellie's standup show.
B. To explain why standup comedy appeals to neurodivergent people.
C. To describe the difficulties faced by autistic comedians.
D. To compare different comedians.
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about Asperger's
A. It is still widely used by medical professionals.
B. It was named after someone with Nazi affiliations.
C. It has nothing to do with autism.
D. It is a new term in the medical field.
What does the word "heckle" in the second paragraph probably mean
A. Praise.
B. Interrupt with a rude comment.
C. Encourage.
D. Ignore.
Passage 3
The new country house tale is a far cry from Jeeves and Wooster - it hums with violence and confusion, writes comedian and author Jonny Sweet.
There's no point in the past 400 years has anyone campaigned more passionately for more stories set in country houses. It wasn't as though I had spotted a gap in the market. At times when I was tutoring the Code of Woosters and frequently gorged on Jeeves in my dizzy grid of PG Wodehouse adaptations like The Good Life, To the Manor Born, The Darling Buds of May and Downton Abbey - and, to be honest, even The Traitors. Surely I wasn't the only one who felt this way A large part of me despises the genre. Why would I - why would anyone - want to read about people who have more money than they know what to do with
In fact, the first idea for my novel came over a decade ago, reading The Code of the Woosters and wondering why I didn't feel like that to me. I was broke and tutoring extremely wealthy and frequently awful children in Mayfair and Chelsea. One weekend, I was tutoring a boy who had started to use me as much for odd jobs around his immense townhouse as well as tutoring. I was confined to a wall trying to hang a TV; I had a trimph with a flat-pack desk; I chased down a Bellington whippet that had escaped into the garden. The children also spoke of me as an interchangeable member of staff, referring to me by the wrong name or as "slave" (for, clangier).
Two further, largely insignificant moments during this period have stuck with me. I was doing some residential week tutoring a boy in the holidays at his exquisite stately pile. One evening, I was overcome with a feeling. Every time I cast a line, my fly got caught - snagged on a branch and a generations-deep sense of inferiority. It was humiliating.
What was the author doing when he got the first idea for his novel
A. Watching TV adaptations.
B. Tutoring wealthy children.
C. Reading The Code of the Woosters.
D. Visiting country houses.
What is the main idea of the passage
A. To introduce the author's experience of tutoring wealthy children and how it inspired his novel idea.
B. To describe the popularity of country house tales.
C. To compare different country house novels and TV shows.
D. To explain why the author despises the genre of country house tales.
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about the author
A. He liked The Traitors.
B. He was wealthy himself.
C. He had a good experience tutoring the boy in the stately pile.
D. He felt inferior when tutoring the boy in the stately pile.
What does the word "gorged" in the second paragraph probably mean
A. Disliked.
B. Enjoyed a lot.
C. Ignored.
D. Criticized.
