【推荐1】On the morning of Nov. 24, China made history by starting the world’s first lunar return mission of the past 44 years. On that day, a Long March 5 rocket was sent into space from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province. It’s carrying the Chang’e 5 lunar probe. The mission will last about 23 days, according to the China National Space Administration. The Chang’e 5 mission is special for several reasons.

A return mission
It’s China’s first sample return mission. This means that the Chang’e 5 probe will take back samples of the moon’s soil and rocks. The samples will return to Earth sometime in December.
The last lunar sample return mission was the former Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.
Larger samples
The Chang’e 5 mission plans to bring back larger samples than missions in the past. The former Soviet Union brought back 330 grams of lunar soil samples, while Chang’e 5 is aiming for 2 kilograms of lunar samples. Chang’e 5 doesn’t need a return cabin, so it only needs a small amount of fuel. This lets it carry heavier samples.
A new landing site
Chang’e 5’s lunar landing site is known as the Ocean of Storms. It’s on the near side of the moon seen from Earth. No probes have visited this site before. It’s geologically younger than the sampling sites from the US and former Soviet Union missions. The new samples will help us learn more about the moon’s history.

1. What do we know about the Chang’e 5 mission?

A．The mission will last over three weeks.

B．Chang’e 5 is a carrier rocket.

C．The mission started 44 years ago.

2. What will Chang’e 5 do on the moon?

A．Find out if there is water on the moon.

B．Carry soil samples from Earth to the moon.

C．Take back soil and rock samples from the moon.

3. What makes the Chang’e 5 mission different from those in the past?

A．It has a better return cabin.

B．It can take heavier samples back.

C．It can get more kinds of samples.

4. What do we know about the Ocean of Storms?

A．It is the youngest place on the moon.

B．Many countries have landed their probes there.

C．It is the part of the moon we can see from Earth.

【推荐2】Stop reading for a minute and think about what you see when you look up at the sky on a clear night. You probably see many stars. Long long ago, farmers watched some stars to know when to plant their crops. Travelers did so to find their way in the dark.

Today stars are still important to some people. Scientists find that most stars are very big. Actually, some stars are so far away that it would take millions of years to get to them even by spaceship. Another thing we know today about stars is that some are made up of (由…组成) hot gases (气体). The gases are so hot that they send out light. If you watch a star carefully, you may notice that it twinkles (闪烁) sometimes. As you may understand, light from a star must shine through the air before you can see the star. Air is always moving, it makes light from the star move back and forth. When the light moves, it makes the star twinkle. Stars also have different colors. The colors of a star depend on how hot it is. To our surprise, the cool stars are red and the hottest stars are white.

1. Farmers watched stars to ________.

A．find their way in the dark	B．know when to plant crops
C．travel by spaceship	D．know more about stars

2. Red stars are ________.

A．hot

B．cold

C．warm

D．cool

3. What is the meaning of the underlined word “forth”?

A．向左

B．向右

C．向前

D．向后

4. Why does a star sometimes twinkle?

A．Its light travels through the moving air.	B．Its light is too bright.
C．It is made up of hot gases.	D．It is too dark.

5. What can you infer from the passage?

A．Today stars are not important to people at all.

B．It takes us a short time to get to the stars by spaceship.

C．You can see the star before it shines through the air.

D．Not all stars are made up of hot gases.

【推荐1】ChatGPT, a smart AI chatbot (聊天机器人) is back in the headlines (新闻头条)! ______①______ Open AI, the company behind the popular chatbot, has now introduced a powerful new language model: GPT-4.

On March 14, GPT-4 showed the world how smarter it is than the previous (先前的) GPT-3.5. One of its best new features is that it can understand pictures. For example, if you show a picture of a phone using the wrong charger (充电器), GPT-4 can tell why the picture looks strange or funny.

But GPT-4’s developments don’t stop there. The new language model can code (用代码编写) classic games like Tetris (俄罗斯方块) in several minutes, and produce the code and layout (布局) for a website based on a hand-made drawing. It can also change the tone (语气) and style based on what you ask it to do. GPT-4 is much better than the older GPT at passing tests, which may worry teachers. ______②______ According to CNN, GPT-4 did really well in a law school test, with a score in the top 10 percent of test taker (考生). But GPT-3.5 only got a score in the bottom 10 percent.

GPT-4 will see greater use as a tool to power (提供动力) other apps and services. For example, the language learning app Duolingo plans to use GPT-4 in their coming Duolingo Max function (功能). Users can learn language by talking with AI. Another app, Be My Eyes, will have a digital assistant (数字助手) to help blind people better understand the world around them. ______③______

However, there are still problems with the new language model. GPT-4 still tries to get completely correct answers, especially with newer information after September 2021. ______④______ GPT-4 also sometimes “hallucinates (产生幻觉)”, meaning that it will insist that wrong information is true.

1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．One of GPT-3.5’s best new features is that it can understand pictures.

B．It’s very easy for GPT-4 to get newer information after September 2021.

C．Both Duolingo and Be My Eyes use GPT-4 to help blind people.

D．GPT-4 develops its language model and is good at tests, especially law tests.

2. It’s better to put “The government of Iceland (冰岛) also plans to use GPT-4 to protect the Icelandic language.” in ________.

A．①

B．②

C．③

D．④

3. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．A more powerful AI chatbot	B．A new language model
C．GPT-4’s problems	D．The tool of other apps

【推荐2】Do you know 5G? It is the fifth generation (代) of mobile network technology. This new network will change our lives.

Each mobile network generation is faster and more powerful than the one before it. 1G let us talk to each other. 2G let us send messages. 3G gave us data (数据) and the Internet. And 4G made all of these things faster. What’s special about 5G?

5G has a very short delay between sending and receiving information. Now, 4G takes about 100 to 200 milliseconds (毫秒) to send and receive data. But 5G will get it down to 1 millisecond or less—this is almost real-time.

This big change will not only make our mobile Internet faster, but also deeply change our lives. Read on to find out how.

5G+entertainment

5G networks are about 100 times faster than 4G. This means you can download a movie in seconds using 5G.

5G+transport

5G will also bring us safer self-driving cars. These cars can send signals (信号) to each other. They also talk to traffic lights and road sensors (传感器). 5G will allow cars to react (反应) even faster than human drivers.

5G+smart homes

For example, if its sensor feels the air becoming dry, a smart sprinkler (洒水器) could water your plants by itself.

1. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing the second paragraph?

A．To explain 5G is the best of all.

B．To share his knowledge about 5G.

C．To encourage people to use the new network technology.

D．To show the development of mobile network technology.

2. What does the underlined word “delay” in paragraph 4 mean in Chinese?

A．卡顿

B．延时

C．暂停

D．掉线

3. Which of the following ways is NOT mentioned that 5G will change people’s lives?

A．Health care.

B．Entertainment.

C．Transport.

D．Smart homes.

4. What will people do possibly with 5G according to the passage?

A．Make self-driving cars safer.	B．Download a movie in minutes.
C．Put everything onto the Internet.	D．Make food more easily and faster.

5. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．5G will change our lives in many ways.

B．Mobile networks are changing for better.

C．5G will make the Internet of things possible.

D．5G networks for mobile phone users are coming.

【推荐3】What time is it? The answer you give can be different, because you are in different Earth’s time zones (时区).     1    

Scientists are now thinking of creating a lunar (月球的) time zone.     2     At the moment, astronauts are using time zones of their own countries. But there could be safety problems caused by the differences in time-telling.

Setting up a lunar time zone is not easy.     3     Since gravity is weaker in the Moon, clocks run a bit faster there. After 24 hours, a lunar clock would be 56 microseconds ahead of a clock on the Earth. Another point to consider is that a full day on the Earth is about 24 hours between two sunsets.     4     This means that lunar nights can be around two weeks long. With all this to think about, scientists need to decide whether it would be better to follow a time zone on the Earth, or for the Moon to have its own special zone.

    5     For example, who should be responsible for keeping the time zone going? And how can it be made practical for astronauts to use?

There are more countries planning Moon trips in the future. The idea of creating a time zone on the Moon would make these easier.

A．Scientists must consider other problems too.

B．It is difficult for astronauts to live on the Moon.

C．Gravity influences how quickly or slowly time passes.

D．But how could you tell the time if you aren’t anywhere on the Earth?

E．While on the Moon, it is nearly 709 hours, about 29.5 Earth days.

F．They believe it would be better for astronauts to communicate by using Moon Time.

【推荐1】In most situations, light helps us see. But now humans are using too much of it. In fact, it’s a kind of pollution.

According to scientific research, about 2,500 stars can be seen by the human’s eyes. But because of light pollution, you can only see 200 to 300 stars from today’s countryside, and no more than ten stars from a city. In most big cities, people can’t see the sky filled with stars like they did in their childhood.

Light pollution influences more than just our view of sky. Research shows that lots of nighttime light can harm wildlife, too. When birds fly to another place over cities, they sometimes get lost by bright light and fly in circles until they drop from tiredness. Sea turtles (海龟) need dark beaches for laying eggs, but they can’t find good places because of those bright lights. Too much light at night may even harm human’s health, but scientists are not sure of that. They are still learning more.

In order to stop things from going worse, the governments and organizations (组织) are working hard to reduce light pollution. Many cities and towns have taken actions to reduce the use of lights at night. Lights are used only when and where they are truly needed. They also shine lights down at the ground instead of up into the sky and use lower brightness levels.

Hopefully, in the near future, humans can enjoy the clear and beautiful sky again and all the wildlife will live a peaceful life, too.

1. With light pollution, how many stars can people see in the city?

A．About 10.

B．About 300.

C．About 2500.

D．About 100.

2. How does light pollution harm sea turtles?

A．They feel tired easily.	B．They may get lost by bright light.
C．It is too bright for them to find places to lay eggs.	D．It is too dark for them to find places to lay eggs.

3. Which is Not the way to reduce light pollution according to the passage?

A．People should only use light when they truly need it.	B．People should use lower brightness levels.
C．People should shine light down at the ground.	D．People should stop using all light they need.

4. How does the write show the harm to wildlife caused by light pollution?

A．By giving numbers.	B．By giving examples.
C．By drawing charts (图表).	D．By answering questions.

5. How does the writer feel about dealing with light pollution?

A．Worried.

B．Angry.

C．Hopeful.

D．Excited.

【推荐3】Have you ever entered a tropical rainforest(热带雨林)? Rainforests make up only a small part of the Earth’s surface(表面), about six percent, but there are more kinds of trees than any other area in the whole world.

Tropical rainforests are in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Australia, and on the Pacific islands(太平洋岛屿). The largest tropical rainforest is the Amazon (亚马逊)Rainforest in South America, which covers almost five million square kilometres. The second largest rainforest is in Western Africa.

Rainforests provide us with many things. In fact, the Amazon Rainforest is the “lungs(肺) of the Earth” because it produces(生产) 20% of the world’s oxygen(氧气). Also, a quarter of the world’s fresh water is found in the Amazon Rainforest. What’s more, one half of the world’s kinds of animals, plants and insects live in the Earth’s rainforests. 80% of the food first grew in the rainforest. 25% of the medicines are made of plants that grow only in rainforests. Some of these medicines are even used to fight and cure cancer(癌症).

There are four different levels of trees in a rainforest. The forest floor is the lowest layer(层) full of animal life and receives the least amount(数量) of light. The under storey is the dark, cool environment under the leaves but over the ground. The canopy layer is the upper parts of most of the trees. The emergent layer contains a small number of very tall trees.

These different parts of a rainforest exist(存在) together to provide an ecosystem(生态系统) for many animals, plants and people.

1. The Amazon Rainforest provides us with ________ percent of the world’s oxygen.

A．twenty

B．twenty-five

C．fifty

D．eighty

2. Where can we probably find a tropical rainforest according to the passage?

A．In France.

B．In China.

C．In Canada.

D．In Britain.

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Rainforests make up about six percent of the Earth’s surface.

B．The largest tropical rainforest is the Amazon Rainforest in Western Africa.

C．50% of the world’s kinds of animals, plants and insects live in the rainforests.

D．Rainforests can provide people food and medicine.

4. Which is the right picture to show four different levels of trees in a rainforest?

A．

B．

C．

D．

5. This passage is mainly about ________.

A．kinds of forest	B．where rainforests are
C．facts about rainforests	D．how much oxygen rainforests make