Hello! Boys and girls. I’m Madison Kim. I’m a teenage writer from ________ United States of America. If you have any problems about school, parents or friends, don’t be shy. You can ask me, and I ________ you right here!

Dear Madison,

I have two good friends at school. Three years ago, we ________ the same sports club together. However, when they play together these days, they always quarrel. That makes me not feel ________ than before. But both of them are my friends. Can you tell me what ________?

Alice

Dear Alice,

I really know how you feel now. Here is some ________ for you. It may help you. First, I think you should talk with your friends ________ it. Let them know it makes you feel bad. Hopefully, they will try to solve their own problems. Also, you can tell them ________ true friends should care for and understand each other. At last, try to find the reason why they don’t like each other now, and ask ________ to talk it out. Trust me, communication works. I hope your problem will ________ in the end.

Your friends are lucky to have such a caring friend as you!

Madison

1.

A．a

B．an

C．the

2.

A．answer

B．answered

C．will answer

3.

A．joined

B．have joined

C．are joining

4.

A．happy

B．happier

C．happiest

5.

A．do

B．to do

C．doing

6.

A．advice

B．advices

C．advices’

7.

A．to

B．in

C．about

8.

A．that

B．what

C．if

9.

A．they

B．them

C．their

10.

A．solve

B．be solving

C．be solved

Many Chinese words include directions or positions such as “east”, “west”, “left” and “right”. For example, we say “maidongxi (买东西)” instead of “mainanbei (买南北)”. What is the Chinese history and culture hidden behind these words?

Why do we say “maidongxi”? Some say that in the Tang Dynasty, there were two popular markets in Chang’an. When shopping, people usually went to the East Market and the West Market. As time went by, people started to describe shopping as “maidongxi”.

Another reason is about China’s trading history. Around the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty began trading with the world. Most of its goods came from the east (Japan) and the west (Arabia). Markets sold “things from the east and the west”, which was later called “east and west”.

We say “yijianxiangzuo (意见相左)” when we have different opinions. In ancient Chinese, “left” was about being different, such as in “yijianxiangzuo”. If people don’t accept common beliefs, we still say they are following “pangmenzuodao (旁门左道)”. “Left” and “right” also have something to do with people’s social status (地位). For example, the character “右”, coming from “right”, means a person in a higher position would protect someone in a lower position.

24. How many reasons for the use of “maidongxi” are mentioned in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

25. People in the Ming Dynasty said “maidongxi” mainly because ________.

A．they bought things in the East and the West Market

B．they learned to say it from the East and the West countries

C．most things in the East and the West Market were better

D．most things came from the East and the West countries

26. According to the passage, if a person has a “zuoxingzi (左性子)”, he is probably ________.

A．friendly

B．normal

C．strange

D．lazy

27. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Changes of Using “maidongxi” and “zuo”

B．Different Uses of Chinese “maidongxi” and “zuo”

C．Different Meanings of “maidongxi” and “zuo”

D．History and Culture Behind “maidongxi” and “zuo”

With a habit of drinking coffee on weekends while doing schoolwork, Wu Zibo, a 17-year-old student from Beijing No. 4 High School, wanted to order a cup of Moutai-flavored latte (茅台味拿铁). “I wonder how my father’s favorite Chinese liquor (白酒) would taste with my favorite coffee.” Wu said.

Moutai, known as the national liquor brand of China, made a coffee called “Jiangxiang Latte” with Luckin (瑞幸) Coffee. It is put into a bag with a Moutai picture and has less than 0.5 percent of 53 degrees Moutai in a cup. The two companies sold 5.42 million cups and earned 100 million yuan just on the first day after it came out, China Daily reported.

Independent food industry researcher Zhu Danpeng said the partnership was good for both brands. “Moutai and Luckin are the leading companies in the liquor and coffee field,” Zhu said. “On the one hand, Moutai becomes younger through making things together with Luckin. On the other hand, for Luckin, it has collected more older customers and become more popular.”

Many brands choose to have a partnership and make products together. However, wrong partnerships may have bad influence on the brands. For example, the coffee brand Manner and the brand Louis Vuitton (LV) asked customers to buy two books at the price of 580 yuan so that they can get a free cloth LV bag. People doubted whether the books and the bag were worth the price.

“The key to having a partnership is about how good the products are. The brands should not just care about getting the public excited.” Zhu Danpeng said.

28. The writer begins the passage by ________.

A．giving an example

B．asking questions

C．showing an idea

D．comparing two brands

29. The underlined word “It” in paragraph 2 refers to “________”.

A．Moutai liquor

B．Jiangxiang Latte

C．the LV bag

D．Manner coffee

30. Which idea may Zhu Danpeng most agree with?

A．Moutai shouldn’t have a partnership with Luckin.

B．Jiangxiang Latte sold well because it’s cheap.

C．The key to successful partnerships is good products.

D．More brands should work together to make products.

31. You may read the passage in a (an) ________.

A．notice

B．newspaper

C．guide book

D．advertisement

(In the cave)

Tom and Becky walked on, hoping the paths would go back around and lead them to the staircase (楼梯) again. But as they walked, the children never found themselves back at the staircase. Becky saw a look of confusion (慌乱) showing on Tom’s face, and she felt afraid.

“Tom, we’re lost, aren’t we?” She said.

“I’m so sorry, Becky. I don’t know where we are! And I haven’t been making smoke marks on the wall! I’m so stupid!”

Becky fell to the ground, and started to cry wildly.

Tom tried to ease her thoughts, but there was little he could do to help. “Alright, Becky. Let’s not cry too much now, and waste our energy. We should just keep walking. As long as we walk, there’s hope.”

And so they walked with no idea where they were going. They had lost all sense of time. They did not know if it was night or day. Becky grew weaker and weaker as they went. Tom, after a while, had to put out the candle in order to save it, for he only had one more in his pocket. And so much of the time they walked in total darkness, feeling their way along the walls.

Tom lit the candle again, and made his way down one of the passages. While he was feeling around, his hand suddenly touched another hand. Tom jumped back, held out his candle far in front of him to see who was there. A face then appeared from down below. It was the face of Injun Joe!

Both of them screamed, and then Injun Joe turned and disappeared quickly into the darkness. Tom turned and made his way back to where Becky was sitting. He decided not to tell Becky what he had seen, and just said that he had shouted for luck. But in his mind, he could not stop wondering if Injun Joe would soon return to kill him.

Adapted from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

32. What is the correct order of the events in the story?
a. Tom and Becky walked for long without light.
b. Becky cried and Tom tried to ease her.
c. Tom lit the candle again and met Injun Joe.
d. Tom and Becky were lost in the cave.

A．a-c-d-b

B．b-a-c-d

C．d-b-c-a

D．d-b-a-c

33. The underlined word “screamed” in last paragraph probably means ________.

A．smiled

B．danced

C．shouted

D．walked

34. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Tom didn’t want Becky to be more worried.	B．Becky cried wildly because they were lost.
C．Injun Joe was Tom and Becky’s friend.	D．Tom has made smoke marks on the wall.

35. How did Tom most probably feel at the end of the story?

A．Excited.

B．Calm.

C．Afraid.

D．Surprised.

The data of digital trade The diagram (图表) of data

① On Nov.23, 2023, the second Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE, 数字贸易博览会) opened in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, with the topic “Digital Trade for Global (全球的) Business”.

② Digital trade is businesses through digital technology. It covers trades on the Internet, including the payment and sale of goods, services and other forms of money exchange. People can buy and sell goods through online stores, Internet platforms, mobile apps or other digital trade ways.

③ These years, the global trade environment is changing all the time with uncertainty. Therefore, digital trade has become a new growth point for international trade. The Expo is very important for China to make sure its opening-up and share its development chances with other countries. China wants to improve the partnerships with the world by making the trade growth. The data (数据) of China’s digital trade reached $359.69 billion in 2021, up 22.3 percent year-on-year. In 2022, it reached $372.71 billion, 3.4 percent higher than that of last year, which was the highest record. However, global trade in digital services reached $3.8 trillion in 2021, up 14.3 percent year-on-year and $ 4.1 trillion in 2022.

④ ________ It can be seen at any time and place without real stores or face-to-face communication. People can easily buy goods through Internet. What’s more, digital trade can be finished in minutes or seconds without waiting. Internet payment systems make it possible to exchange money at a moment. Digital trade records can also be correctly found. At the same time, the data can also provide useful information for business and market research.

⑤ However, digital trade also faces some challenges and risks, including data privacy. Therefore, it is important to protect personal information when having digital trade.

⑥ In summary, digital trade provides a convenient, fast and open way of trading and improves the development of business around the world. So everyone should try to get used to the changes of the new business ways in the period of big data.

36. Which paragraph does the diagram (图表) mainly support?

A．①

B．②

C．③

D．④

37. Which sentence can be put in the ________?

A．Different people have different opinions about digital trade.

B．The importance of digital trade was fully shown in the Expo.

C．China has paid much attention to digital trade with other countries.

D．Digital trade has been developed around the world for some reasons.

38. What’s the purpose of writing the passage?

A．To let us know about and get used to digital trade.

B．To show us how China developed the digital trade.

C．To tell us why digital trade is important for China.

D．To advise us to go to the Global Digital Trade Expo.

39. Which of the following shows the structure of this passage?

A．	B．
C．	D．