Passage OneLast week, a friend from Colorado, who I first met in Thailand, came into town for his sister’s graduation. He called me and we met up in a bar. It was one of the best nights of the summer.We retold stories from our time in Thailand, drank a couple beers, and just reflected in the presence of one another. And the best part: he was doing well, succeeding in life while pursuing his dreams.On my way home from seeing him on his last night in town, I got a little depressed. I just forgot how much fun I had with him and why he made my Thailand experience so awesome. And that of course got me missing all my friends: the ones still in Santa Clara, the ones following their music careers, the ones living in Portland that I have just been too dumb to contact. I have just been so caught up in writing, studying for the GRE, lounging about my house, that I haven’t made the effort that I certainly should have.Sometimes, we get so absorbed in our own lives that we forget what makes our lives worth living. Humans are social creatures. It is in our DNA. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that because we relied upon social groups in primitive times to survive, we have a negative biological reaction to loneliness today.So go out there and contact a friend you haven’t talked to for a while. If nothing else, just check in to see how they’re doing. Because even if you haven’t spoken for a while, I’m certain that they are thinking of you.What does the author suggest in the passage?

Passage TwoSeagulls(海鸥)don’t just steal food from tourists; they also make quite a mess on the boats of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Seagull droppings stain the boats, causing the museum staff to spend many hours cleaning up the mess left by the seagulls.After many failed attempts at keeping the annoying seagulls away, the staff had a brilliant idea. Inspired by the method used at various airports to drive away wildlife, they sought out the Australian Dog Working Centre and adopted Bailey. The three-year-old dog was appointed the new position of Assistant Director of Seagulls and put to work.The highlight of Bailey’s morning is chasing the seagulls away from the boats. For the first few weeks, Bailey was a little too enthusiastic about his new role and managed to jump into the water during the pursuit of seagulls. But it wasn’t long before he was fitted with a new work uniform—a bright yellow life vest that keeps him floating on water. Bailey even has a special staff ID with his photo and the title of his important position. He has had to get familiar with the museum’s waterfront, which he patrols(巡查)frequently. This is especially important at night when there is no human activity around to scare the seagulls off.The museum staff members are all very fond of Bailey, making sure to give him lots of playtime, walks and affection. He is very well taken care of, with visits to the local animal doctor for grooming(梳毛)scheduled every two weeks.When he isclocked on, Bailey prefers not to be disturbed so he can focus on his job. However, when he is not working, the museum encourages all visitors to come to say hello to their special employee. So the next time you visit the museum, make sure to say hello to this hardworking dog!What troubles the Australian National Maritime Museum?

Passage TwoSeagulls(海鸥)don’t just steal food from tourists; they also make quite a mess on the boats of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Seagull droppings stain the boats, causing the museum staff to spend many hours cleaning up the mess left by the seagulls.After many failed attempts at keeping the annoying seagulls away, the staff had a brilliant idea. Inspired by the method used at various airports to drive away wildlife, they sought out the Australian Dog Working Centre and adopted Bailey. The three-year-old dog was appointed the new position of Assistant Director of Seagulls and put to work.The highlight of Bailey’s morning is chasing the seagulls away from the boats. For the first few weeks, Bailey was a little too enthusiastic about his new role and managed to jump into the water during the pursuit of seagulls. But it wasn’t long before he was fitted with a new work uniform—a bright yellow life vest that keeps him floating on water. Bailey even has a special staff ID with his photo and the title of his important position. He has had to get familiar with the museum’s waterfront, which he patrols(巡查)frequently. This is especially important at night when there is no human activity around to scare the seagulls off.The museum staff members are all very fond of Bailey, making sure to give him lots of playtime, walks and affection. He is very well taken care of, with visits to the local animal doctor for grooming(梳毛)scheduled every two weeks.When he isclocked on, Bailey prefers not to be disturbed so he can focus on his job. However, when he is not working, the museum encourages all visitors to come to say hello to their special employee. So the next time you visit the museum, make sure to say hello to this hardworking dog!What is Bailey's job at the museum?

Passage TwoSeagulls(海鸥)don’t just steal food from tourists; they also make quite a mess on the boats of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Seagull droppings stain the boats, causing the museum staff to spend many hours cleaning up the mess left by the seagulls.After many failed attempts at keeping the annoying seagulls away, the staff had a brilliant idea. Inspired by the method used at various airports to drive away wildlife, they sought out the Australian Dog Working Centre and adopted Bailey. The three-year-old dog was appointed the new position of Assistant Director of Seagulls and put to work.The highlight of Bailey’s morning is chasing the seagulls away from the boats. For the first few weeks, Bailey was a little too enthusiastic about his new role and managed to jump into the water during the pursuit of seagulls. But it wasn’t long before he was fitted with a new work uniform—a bright yellow life vest that keeps him floating on water. Bailey even has a special staff ID with his photo and the title of his important position. He has had to get familiar with the museum’s waterfront, which he patrols(巡查)frequently. This is especially important at night when there is no human activity around to scare the seagulls off.The museum staff members are all very fond of Bailey, making sure to give him lots of playtime, walks and affection. He is very well taken care of, with visits to the local animal doctor for grooming(梳毛)scheduled every two weeks.When he isclocked on, Bailey prefers not to be disturbed so he can focus on his job. However, when he is not working, the museum encourages all visitors to come to say hello to their special employee. So the next time you visit the museum, make sure to say hello to this hardworking dog!Which of the following is true about Bailey?

Passage TwoSeagulls(海鸥)don’t just steal food from tourists; they also make quite a mess on the boats of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Seagull droppings stain the boats, causing the museum staff to spend many hours cleaning up the mess left by the seagulls.After many failed attempts at keeping the annoying seagulls away, the staff had a brilliant idea. Inspired by the method used at various airports to drive away wildlife, they sought out the Australian Dog Working Centre and adopted Bailey. The three-year-old dog was appointed the new position of Assistant Director of Seagulls and put to work.The highlight of Bailey’s morning is chasing the seagulls away from the boats. For the first few weeks, Bailey was a little too enthusiastic about his new role and managed to jump into the water during the pursuit of seagulls. But it wasn’t long before he was fitted with a new work uniform—a bright yellow life vest that keeps him floating on water. Bailey even has a special staff ID with his photo and the title of his important position. He has had to get familiar with the museum’s waterfront, which he patrols(巡查)frequently. This is especially important at night when there is no human activity around to scare the seagulls off.The museum staff members are all very fond of Bailey, making sure to give him lots of playtime, walks and affection. He is very well taken care of, with visits to the local animal doctor for grooming(梳毛)scheduled every two weeks.When he isclocked on, Bailey prefers not to be disturbed so he can focus on his job. However, when he is not working, the museum encourages all visitors to come to say hello to their special employee. So the next time you visit the museum, make sure to say hello to this hardworking dog!Which of the following is closest in meaning to "clocked on" in the last paragraph?

Passage ThreeThe recent wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has already burned through 600 square miles of land, and 20% of houses in the city of Fort McMurray; all its 88,000 residents have left their homes. But how do you put out fires this big and intense?Wind, fuel and the slope (坡度) of the land are three vital factors. You can’t do very much about the first one. The firefighters will be paying attention to weather conditions. In an ideal world, the wind would force the flames back on to ground that has already been burned.Fuel—mainly the trees—can be managed in several ways, such as bulldozing (铲除) it out of the way or starting controlled fires to burn it off so it can’t feed the main fire.The slope of the land can also help. Fires burn much more aggressively going uphill than they do downhill. You don’t try to fight a fire going uphill. The firefighters will be looking very carefully how they arrange their personnel and equipment on a downhill side of a slope. In a fire that is relatively small and moving downhill, you can launch a direct attack, physically beating the flames out with special tools. You would come in behind the fire, so you’re not face to face with flames coming towards you.In addition, fire can spread a large distance away from the fire-front by burning embers (余火) carried on the wind, which then start other fires elsewhere. You can actively work on preventing parts of the fire going in certain directions. But this requires resources, such as water-bombers—planes thatdumpvast quantities of water. They aren’t just flying over the top of the fire and releasing water. They usually wet the fuel ahead of the fire or along its sides to stop the spread of the fire.Which factor is mainly talked about in Paragraph 2?

Passage ThreeThe recent wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has already burned through 600 square miles of land, and 20% of houses in the city of Fort McMurray; all its 88,000 residents have left their homes. But how do you put out fires this big and intense?Wind, fuel and the slope (坡度) of the land are three vital factors. You can’t do very much about the first one. The firefighters will be paying attention to weather conditions. In an ideal world, the wind would force the flames back on to ground that has already been burned.Fuel—mainly the trees—can be managed in several ways, such as bulldozing (铲除) it out of the way or starting controlled fires to burn it off so it can’t feed the main fire.The slope of the land can also help. Fires burn much more aggressively going uphill than they do downhill. You don’t try to fight a fire going uphill. The firefighters will be looking very carefully how they arrange their personnel and equipment on a downhill side of a slope. In a fire that is relatively small and moving downhill, you can launch a direct attack, physically beating the flames out with special tools. You would come in behind the fire, so you’re not face to face with flames coming towards you.In addition, fire can spread a large distance away from the fire-front by burning embers (余火) carried on the wind, which then start other fires elsewhere. You can actively work on preventing parts of the fire going in certain directions. But this requires resources, such as water-bombers—planes thatdumpvast quantities of water. They aren’t just flying over the top of the fire and releasing water. They usually wet the fuel ahead of the fire or along its sides to stop the spread of the fire.Why should trees be bulldozed in firefighting?

Passage ThreeThe recent wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has already burned through 600 square miles of land, and 20% of houses in the city of Fort McMurray; all its 88,000 residents have left their homes. But how do you put out fires this big and intense?Wind, fuel and the slope (坡度) of the land are three vital factors. You can’t do very much about the first one. The firefighters will be paying attention to weather conditions. In an ideal world, the wind would force the flames back on to ground that has already been burned.Fuel—mainly the trees—can be managed in several ways, such as bulldozing (铲除) it out of the way or starting controlled fires to burn it off so it can’t feed the main fire.The slope of the land can also help. Fires burn much more aggressively going uphill than they do downhill. You don’t try to fight a fire going uphill. The firefighters will be looking very carefully how they arrange their personnel and equipment on a downhill side of a slope. In a fire that is relatively small and moving downhill, you can launch a direct attack, physically beating the flames out with special tools. You would come in behind the fire, so you’re not face to face with flames coming towards you.In addition, fire can spread a large distance away from the fire-front by burning embers (余火) carried on the wind, which then start other fires elsewhere. You can actively work on preventing parts of the fire going in certain directions. But this requires resources, such as water-bombers—planes thatdumpvast quantities of water. They aren’t just flying over the top of the fire and releasing water. They usually wet the fuel ahead of the fire or along its sides to stop the spread of the fire.When can firefighters directly attack a fire?

Passage ThreeThe recent wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has already burned through 600 square miles of land, and 20% of houses in the city of Fort McMurray; all its 88,000 residents have left their homes. But how do you put out fires this big and intense?Wind, fuel and the slope (坡度) of the land are three vital factors. You can’t do very much about the first one. The firefighters will be paying attention to weather conditions. In an ideal world, the wind would force the flames back on to ground that has already been burned.Fuel—mainly the trees—can be managed in several ways, such as bulldozing (铲除) it out of the way or starting controlled fires to burn it off so it can’t feed the main fire.The slope of the land can also help. Fires burn much more aggressively going uphill than they do downhill. You don’t try to fight a fire going uphill. The firefighters will be looking very carefully how they arrange their personnel and equipment on a downhill side of a slope. In a fire that is relatively small and moving downhill, you can launch a direct attack, physically beating the flames out with special tools. You would come in behind the fire, so you’re not face to face with flames coming towards you.In addition, fire can spread a large distance away from the fire-front by burning embers (余火) carried on the wind, which then start other fires elsewhere. You can actively work on preventing parts of the fire going in certain directions. But this requires resources, such as water-bombers—planes thatdumpvast quantities of water. They aren’t just flying over the top of the fire and releasing water. They usually wet the fuel ahead of the fire or along its sides to stop the spread of the fire.Which of the following is closest in meaning to "dump" in the last paragraph?

Passage FourPittsburgh Arlington, an elementary school in the state of Pennsylvania, is battling chronic absence from school with a community-centered approach that combines care, connection, and practical support.Over half of the school’s 353 students frequently miss classes. Many of these students face barriers like a lack of transportation, which the school district does not provide for those living less than a mile and a half away.To tackle this issue, the school worked with the Brashear Association, a local nonprofit, to launch the Nanas (保姆) program. This initiative provides a personal touch, where nanas make cheerful morning wakeup calls to families, often ending the conversation with a heartfelt “I love you.” In addition, the program offers free bus rides to and from school, ensuring that children who might otherwise miss school can attend regularly.The program currently serves 36 children daily, but demand is high, with about 20 students still on the waitlist. Principal Crystal Caldwell wishes there were more resources to expand the service. Meanwhile, the school is also working on other solutions, like paying staff to walk students home and working together with a nearby church to offer before-after-school care.These efforts are part of a broader initiative aiming at making school a friendly and desirable place for students.Thisincludes working with local arts organizations to create interesting programs and offering regular motivational talks to encourage attendance (出勤). These combined efforts reflect a deep understanding that the causes are complex and varied, requiring the entire community’s involvement to address them effectively.Tiffini Gorman, director of partnerships at the nonprofit A+ Schools, emphasizes the importance of collective responsibility in ensuring that every child has the support they need to succeed. The school’s approach highlights the significance of community involvement in creating a positive and supportive environment for students.What problem is Pittsburgh Arlington trying to solve?