REMARKABLE BOOKS TO ENJOY AGAIN AND AGAIN

   
The Second Coming
By Roué Hupsel
www. authorhouse. com
Hardback | Paperback | E-book $27. 99 | $16. 95 | $3. 99

The son of an American scholar must begin an almost impossible battle against unknown, threatening powers that attack humanity in the core. In author Roué Hupsel’s The Second Coming, you will experience a fascinating tale that will take you into great adventures. This is a journey full of strange and terrifying events.

   
The Bobbsey Twins at School
By Laura Lee Hope
www. authorhouse. com
Paperback | Audio-book $ 17. 81 | $ 3. 99

The Bobbsey Twins at School tells stories about two pairs of twins, from which readers learn about a life with a twin and a life full of childhood innocence. Full of warmth and humor, the stories are wonderful and easy for children to read.

   
A Stroke Of Genius
By Sandy Simon
www. xlibris. com
Paperback | E-book $ 19. 99 | $ 9. 99

Starting with a disaster and leading readers through paths of paralysis and pain up to a good measure of healing, Sandy Simon’s A Stroke Of Genius is an insightful book that provides new insight into the nature of human condition.

   
Through the Trials Just Believe
By Nitza Hollinger
www. xlibris. com
Hardback | Paperback | E-book $ 24. 99 | $ 15. 99 | $ 3. 99

Through the Trials Just Beliere is a truly inspiring and immersive read that shows readers that when faced with trials, one must he well-grounded in what drives him or her to continue the fight to live and overcome what may seem as an unsurpassable trial. In this touching read, the author Nitza Hollinger inspires and encourages the readers to face life’s challenges with confidence and the determination to succeed.

1. If you’re interested in adventures, you would like to choose ______.

A．The Second Coming

B．The Bobbsey Twins at School

C．A Stroke Of Genius

D．Through the Trials Just Believe

2. What do you know about the book “Through the Trials Just Believe”?

A．It is a children’s book.

B．It can be bought on www. authorhouse. com.

C．The price of its E-book edition is $9.99.

D．It inspires readers to be confident when facing difficulties.

3. What are the most common editions of the 4 books in the passage?

A．Hardback & Paperback.	B．Paperback & E-book.
C．Paperback & Audio-book.	D．Hardback & E-book.

Cantonese opera(粤剧) is one of the major Chinese opera categories. It is a traditional Chinese art form that originated in southern China’s Cantonese culture, and involves music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting. Today it is not only very popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macao, but also performed all around the world.

Cantonese opera was originally called Nanxi(Southern opera) in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and this beautiful art form has pleased audiences for hundreds of years. By absorbing the folk melodies and tunes of Guangdong, and mixing many different opera styles that were popular at the time, Cantonese opera developed during the 16th century. With the unique combination of these different influences, Nanxi was developed into Cantonese opera.

Cantonese opera is a wonderful mix of storytelling, music and fighting. The performances are often based on well-known traditional stories or events from Chinese history. The colourful sets serve as the background for these performances and actors appear on stage with similarly colourful face paint. Fights are a common and important part of many shows with actors performing difficult and exciting martial arts movements.

In the beginning, Cantonese opera costumes reflected the clothing style of the Ming Dynasty. Later, as Peking opera became increasingly popular, it was strongly influenced by Peking opera costumes. Costumes were made of cloth and later some accessories(配饰)were added. Different roles require different costumes. For example, an actor playing the Xiaosheng, a very gentle role, wears a costume with long sleeves; while the Xiaowu, an acting role, demands a costume with short sleeves so as to act easily.

Many well-known operas are still performed today, such as The Purple Hairpin and Rejunenation of the Red Plum Flower, which originated in the Yuan Dynasty. Other Cantonese operas are adapted from western movies or novels. Generally, Cantonese opera performers have to master four skills: singing, acting movement, delivery of speeches, and martial gymnastic skills.

Because of its long tradition and its importance in the development of Chinese arts and culture, Cantonese opera was included on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list in 2009.

8. Which of the following is NOT the factor in Cantonese opera’s development?

A．Tunes of Guangdong.	B．Different opera styles.
C．A variety of dialects.	D．Folk melodies.

9. What do we know about Cantonese opera costumes?

A．They were originally a reflection of clothing style of Yuan Dynasty.

B．They look more beautiful when they are made with more accessories.

C．They were designed based on Peking opera costumes.

D．Performers choose different costumes according to the roles they play.

10. What makes Cantonese opera an intangible cultural heritage?

A．Its exciting movements and difficult performances.

B．Its popularity and development.

C．Its colorful sets and face paint.

D．Its history and influence.

11. What’s the purpose of the author in writing the passage?

A．To prove that Cantonese opera is the most popular opera.

B．To inform the readers of the development of Cantonese opera.

C．To share the author’s experience of seeing a well-known Cantonese opera.

D．To make a comparison between Cantonese opera and Peking opera.

From writing Shakespeare-style poetry to making music, ChatGPT has amazed the world since its launch in late 2022. It even passed several law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota, US, according to CNN.

ChatGPT is a language model developed by US-based company OpenAI, which is designed to respond to human language in a way that sounds like a person. The model is based on the GPT-3.5 architecture and has been trained on a large corpus (语料库) of text data, including books, articles, and websites, using unsupervised (无人监督的) learning techniques.

As a language model, ChatGPT can understand and respond to a wide range of questions and requests, making it an outstanding tool for many different applications. ChatGPT has been trained on a large dataset of text, which allows it to understand a wide range of topics. This means that it can assist with various tasks, involving answering questions, providing information on different subjects, summarizing texts, and even generating writing prompts.

One of the best things about ChatGPT is that it’s always learning and improving. It uses advanced natural language processing algorithms (计算程序) to generate is responses, which means that it is constantly improving and getting better and better as it receives more data over time. This makes it an incredibly powerful tool that can help you learn, grow, and succeed in school and beyond. It’s a valuable resource that can help you achieve your academic goals, whether you need help with research, writing, or just want to chat. It’s like having a smart friend who can help you with your homework or give you interesting ideas to write about.

But despite its advanced capabilities, ChatGPT is not wihout limitations. As with any AI technology, ChatGPT has certain weaknesses and challenges that can impact its performance and accuracy.

12. Which of the following statements about ChatGPT is correct?

A．It could pass several law exams in various courses.

B．It was designed by the GPT-3.5 architecture.

C．It gave the world a hit the moment it was launched.

D．It was designed to respond to human language in exactly the same manner as humans.

13. Who is the passage probably written for?

A．Students.

B．Professors.

C．Doctors.

D．Engineers.

14. What will be probably discussed next in the passage?

A．More information about AI technology.	B．The future applications of AI technology.
C．Advanced capabilities of ChatGPT.	D．Limitations of ChatGPT.

15. What can be a suitable title of the passage?

A．ChatGPT has been a new trend	B．ChatGPT will be the future of AI technology
C．ChatGPT has impressed the world	D．ChatGPT has both advantages and disadvantages

A few years ago, I was serving customers hamburgers and fries at McDonald’s after graduating from high school in Rogers, but I wanted to do something else.

After the COVID-19 pandemic started, when I saw job _______ for COVID-19 screeners, I decided to leave McDonald’s and start _______ as a COVID-19 screener at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson. _______ something more for my life, I went to the University of Arkansas _______ and put “health care” into the search bar. That led me to a phlebotomy (静脉切开术) technician course _______ by the University of Arkansas Global Campus. From there, I saw that I might _______ for federal funding to take the phlebotomy course for free through the Reimagine Arkansas Workforce Project.

By the time I found the Reimagine website, I was working two health-related jobs, which made me a little _______ at first about taking an online course at the same time. But _______, instead of giving up, I applied and got the funding.

Trying to _______ work and the class was difficult but I was so glad that I ________   it and it’s changed my life. I also finished the externship (校外实习期) ________ with the course. The Highlands Oncology office in Springdale offered me the job of phlebotomist in August before I ________ the externship.

My job as a phlebotomist includes performing venipunctures (静脉穿刺) on patients, and a venipuncture can be very scary, especially with our cancer patients who have ________ such a hard time already. Therefore, we’ve got to be very ________.

I would really like to encourage you to apply for what you might start as a(n) ________. It’s super important that we do what we love at work because we’re going to be doing it for the rest of our lives.

21.

A．interviews

B．applications

C．advertisements

D．appointments

22.

A．learning

B．working

C．teaching

D．travelling

23.

A．Seeking

B．Appreciating

C．Analyzing

D．Switching

24.

A．newspaper

B．website

C．office

D．library

25.

A．stressed

B．reflected

C．offered

D．admitted

26.

A．hope

B．exchange

C．stand

D．qualify

27.

A．worried

B．excited

C．embarrassed

D．relaxed

28.

A．immediately

B．unexpectedly

C．eventually

D．definitely

29.

A．combine

B．balance

C．compare

D．benefit

30.

A．got

B．mentioned

C．recognized

D．made

31.

A．compared

B．impressed

C．provided

D．associated

32.

A．competed

B．comprised

C．completed

D．committed

33.

A．gone away

B．gone through

C．broken through

D．broken away

34.

A．confident

B．nervous

C．desperate

D．careful

35.

A．career

B．religion

C．interest

D．enthusiasm

Last week, the Memphis Zoo held a farewell party for Ya Ya     36    (wish) her a safe trip home at the end of this month and to celebrate the 20-year partnership between the zoo and the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, according to the zoo on Twitter.

Another pair of giant pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, living in the US National Zoo in Washington, has also raised concerns, with videos     37    (post) by netizens showing the two pandas are     38     poor condition with suspected health problems.

The giant panda is known as the national treasure of China.     39     is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, ears and on its rotund body. Being one of cutest animals in the world, they are loved by people of all ages. Fat and     40    (fun), the black and white animals enjoy eating bamboo shoots and leaves. Adult pandas, most of     41     live in southwestern China, are about 1.2 to 1.8 meters tall and weigh about 80 to 120 kilograms. They always serve as ambassadors of friendship between China and other     42    (country).

Many people     43    (special) visit China to see the pandas, which is good for the economy of these areas. In addition, they have increased the status of China in the world as people     44    (impress) with the work that the Chinese are doing to save their wildlife.

The Chinese government has always been doing its best to protect pandas from     45    (harm) or killed. We hope that one day we will have enough pandas to set them free and let them live in the wild.

47. 阅读下面短文，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。

I put one last box into the back seat and closed the car door. It felt as if I were closing the door on my whole life. At first, I was excited when Mom told me she’d gotten a fantastic new job at an animal hospital. Then, because she always saves the bad news for last, she told me the really terrible part. The hospital wasn’t in our city; it was miles away in the middle of nowhere. And I’m definitely not a country girl.

I stood beside the car, taking a last look at our building. To most people, it probably just looked like any other old apartment house, but I loved every brick. Just then, I saw my best friends, Hana and Leo, come to see me off. While Hana played a cool riff(重复乐段)on her trumpet(小号), Leo sang, “We will miss you, Celia.” I hugged them tightly and jumped into the car fast so no one could see me tear up. As Mom drove away, I waved goodbye to my friends, my neighborhood, and my life.

We rode a while in silence, and I held my violin case for comfort. Leo, Hana, and I had been writing songs for our band, but that was all over now. “Don’t think of this as an ending,” Mom said, with her knack(技能)for reading my mind. “It’s an exciting beginning. It’s normal to be a bit anxious about unfamiliar things, but you don’t need to be afraid of them.” I kept silent and looked out the window as crowded, exciting city streets turned first into tasteless suburban shopping strips(商业街)and then into endless, boring trees and fields of corn. We finally arrived at our new home, a two-floored wooden farmhouse. Mom said I could go explore. Mom never let me go out alone in the city, so maybe a bit more freedom would be one consolation(慰藉)of living here.

注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Feeling that country life might turn out okay, I wondered off, taking my violin with me.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I couldn’t resist, so I took out my violin and began to play along.

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