【推荐1】
Many expressions that we use in American English come from novels. Today we will look at some of them from Lewis Carroll's famous novel "Alice in Wonderland" in detail.
The story is about a young girl falling down a rabbit hole. When she finally lands, she finds herself in a strange world and meets some strange characters.
The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit, who runs past her and says some strange words. Alice chases（追赶）him, and that is where her adventures begin.
In English, chasing a white rabbit means chasing an impossible clue and finding yourself in a misleading situation.
Then, as she runs after the rabbit, she falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.
To fall down the rabbit hole can mean to enter a confusing（令人困惑的）situation. However, usually we use this expression to mean we get interested in something to the point of distraction（分神）.It often happens by accident and is about something not that meaningful.
Later in the story, Alice meets the March Hare and the Hatter at a crazy tea party. Hares（野兔）have long been thought to behave excitedly in March, which is their mating（交配）season. Scientifically, this may not be true. But to be mad as a March Hare means that someone is completely mad, or crazy. The expression mad as a Hatter also means to be completely crazy. Of the two, mad as a Hatter is more common. But don't tell the March Hare. Who knows how he will react（反应）！
Near the end of the story, Alice meets the Queen of Hearts. A woman who is called a Queen of Hearts likes controlling others and always tries to control everything and everyone around her.
1. Which of the following situations best fits the expressions to fall down a rabbit hole?

A．When Tom was taking a walk in the forest, he suddenly fell over onto the ground.

B．When Mary turned on the TV, she chose to watch the talk show programme as usual.

C．When Jim was looking for a sport book online, he lost himself in many report on surperstars.

D．When Lily was thinking about how to solve a math problem, she came up with a good idea.

2. According to the passage, the expression to be mad as a March Hare _____.

A．describes how hares behave in March

B．shows hares' characteristics in a scientific way

C．is used more often than the expression mad as a Hatter.

D．has the same meaning as the expression mad as a Hatter

3. Which character in "Alice in Wonderland" wants others to obey his or her orders in every situation?

A．Alice	B．The March Hare
C．The Hatter	D．The Queen of Hearts.

4. The writer mainly wants to ______ in the passage.

A．introduce a famous novel and its language style

B．introduce a famous writer Lewis Carroll and his novels

C．explore some English expressions from a famous novel

D．explain why many expressions in English come from novels

【推荐2】Tea is a popular drink around the world. But tea doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have different ideas about drinking tea.

In China, for example, tea is always served (提供)when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at home or in a teahouse. They like their tea with nothing else(其他的) in.

Tea is also popular in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea. It is very old and very interesting. People do everything in a special way. There is even a special room for it in Japan.

Another tea-drinking country is England. In England, the late afternoon is teatime. Almost everyone has a cup of tea at that time. The English people usually make tea in a teapot (茶壶) and drink it with milk and sugar. They also eat cakes, cookies and sandwiches at teatime.

In America, people often drink tea for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use teabags to make their tea. That is faster and easier than making tea in teapots. In summer, many Americans drink cold tea or iced tea.

1. Match the countries with the information and choose the right answer.
①China ②Japan ③England ④America
a. People use tea bags to make tea.
b. People drink tea with nothing in.
c. People drink tea with milk and sugar.
d. People use a special way to serve tea.

A．①—b;②—d;③—c;④—a	B．①—b;②—d;③—a;④—c
C．①—b;②—c;③—d;④—a	D．①—d;②—b;③—c;④—a

2. What does the underlined word “It” refer to?

A．Tea.

B．Teatime.

C．Teahouse.

D．The way of serving tea.

3. In which country do people drink cold tea?

A．China.

B．Japan.

C．England.

D．America.

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

A．People have a special way of serving tea.

B．People drink tea for breakfast or after meals.

C．People like drinking tea with something in.

D．People in different countries have different ideas about drinking tea.

【推荐3】When I was a foreign teacher in China, every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China. One day the topic turned to saying “I love you”. I was shocked to learn that not one of my students had said this to their mothers, nor had their mothers said it to them. “Does your mom love you?” “Of course,” they answered.

“How do you know?” was my logical question. They responded that their moms cooked and always told them what they were doing wrong to show their caring. I was stunned. So mom’s cooking and criticizing read out as “I love you”. “Then how do you say ‘I love you’ to her?” They agreed that getting good grades, followed by good jobs would be how they showed their love.

I come from a culture where most people are expressive enough, so I repeated these queries in classes over time. Gradually, I began to get different response. Some of them had exchanged those sentiments with their moms.

One of my favorite stories of change came from a girl. When she came home from university, her mother met her at the door and hugged（拥抱）her. This had never happened before, but her mom said, “Now that you have gone, I have more time to myself. I noticed that in some places, mothers and children hug each other and I decided it was a good idea and that I would begin hugging you.”

In my family, we all say “I love you” a lot. While it is true that we often say the words without having great depth of feelings at that moment, it is almost like a blessing we give each other. Those three little words carry a world of meaning, even when said as a greeting, but most especially if they are the last words we say to or hear from those we love.

1. What’s the author’s job?

A．A worker.

B．A doctor.

C．A story teller.

D．A teacher

2. The foreign teacher ________.

A．comes from America	B．is a young woman
C．is expressive enough	D．knows much about China

3. Chinese people prefer to show love by ________.

A．saying “I love you”	B．cooking
C．getting good grades	D．doing something helpful

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

A．Say “I love you” more to your family.	B．Say “I love you” a lot to Chinese people.
C．Say “I love you” as a greeting to others.	D．Say “I love you” without great depth of feelings.

【推荐1】Yangzhou paper cutting, with a history of 2,000 years, can be dated back to the Sui Dynasty, making Yangzhou one of the places where paper cutting first became popular.

In the Sui Dynasty, the people of Yangzhou would cut colourful paper or silk and satin（缎子）to celebrate festivals. It is said that Emperor Yang came to Yangzhou three times. In winter, the flowers and trees in the garden became dry and weak. The emperor ordered the girl servants to cut fine silk and satin into flowers and leaves and use them to decorate the trees and lakes, copying nicely the looks of spring and summer. Since then, “colorful cutting” has become a popular art in Yangzhou.

In the Tang Dynasty, the paper cutting industry was highly developed and a large amount of high-quality paper was made as presents to the Court（宫廷）.

In the Qing Dynasty, because of the economic development, the people of Yangzhou became interested in wearing fine clothing, especially embroidered（刺绣的）clothing. The embroidered designs were based on paper-cuts, the most well-known of them was from Bao Jun, a paper cutting master. He won a high reputation （名声）as Magic Scissors for his wonderful cutting skills.

After the People’s Republic of China was started, the Chinese government accepted the importance of paper cutting like many other arts and skills. In 2007, China Paper-cuts Museum opened to the public in the back garden of the Wang’s Residence（住所）,Yangzhou, greatly helping the development of Yangzhou paper cutting.

1. When did “colourful cutting” become a popular art in Yangzhou?

A．In the Sui Dynasty.

B．In the Tang Dynasty.

C．In the Ming Dynasty.

2. The underlined word “decorate”in Paragraph 2 means ________ in Chinese.

A．种植

B．装饰

C．浇水

3. When did China Paper-cuts Museum open to the public?

A．In 2007.

B．In 2008.

C．In 2009.

4. Where can we probably find the passage?

A．In a poem.

B．In a novel.

C．In a magazine.

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

A．How to make paper cutting.

B．The way to cut paper.

C．The history and development of Yangzhou paper cutting.

【推荐2】In China, there are many different kinds of food.     1     Dumplings are delicious Chinese food. Now let’s talk about them.

In China, most people like dumplings very much.     2     Some have meat and vegetables in them. Others have sugar（糖）, eggs and so on.     3     I often make dumplings at home by myself.

    4     If they have no time to make them, they can buy them in a supermarket. Then they take them home and eat them with vinegar（醋）.

The Spring Festival is a very important festival in China.     5     They usually put a coin（硬币）in a dumpling. If you eat the dumpling with the coin in it, you will be lucky in the year.

If you like dumplings, welcome to China! I’ll take you to eat delicious dumplings.

A．Usually people make dumplings at home.

B．When it comes, people make dumplings.

C．I like dumplings with vegetables best.

D．Some of them are very popular.

E．My father doesn’t like dumplings.

F．There are many different kinds of dumplings.

G．They put some money in them.

【推荐3】The year of the Dragon will begin on February 10, 2024. The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese Zodiac (生肖). Dragons are not real animals. Chinese dragons can fly in the sky or swim in the sea. In stories, dragons rule over water, rainfall, wind and flood.

The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of yellow dragons. The dragon is very important in Chinese culture. We Chinese people are proud to call ourselves “the descendants (传人) of the dragon”. A number of Chinese sayings refer to dragons. For example, “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon”, which means hoping he or she will be successful.

Unlike in China, dragons are seen differently in Western countries. Western dragons often look like dinosaurs. They breathe fire and catch people. It is a common fairy tale about a man who becomes a hero after killing a dragon and saving a princess. In the English movie How to Train Your Dragon (《 驯龙记》), a little boy becomes much braver by killing some bad dragons. In one of the Harry Potter stories, Harry Potter has to fight against a scary dragon and get back the golden egg from its nest.

Because of this, some Chinese experts have suggested changing the English word “Dragon” into its pinyin “Long”. They believe the name “Dragon” makes Western people think badly about China. But some don’t agree. They think Chinese people can look after their own culture. Many Western people already know the differences between Chinese dragons and Western ones.

1. Which power of dragons is NOT mentioned in Chinese stories?

A．They can fly in the sky.	B．They can swim in the sea.
C．They can rule water and wind.	D．They can catch and eat people.

2. What does the sentence “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon” in Paragraph 2 mean in Chinese?

A．龙马精神

B．龙飞凤舞

C．望子成龙

D．龙腾虎跃

3. Who can be called as “a hero” in Western fairy tales?

A．A man who can train a dog.	B．A man who can get an egg.
C．A man who can breathe fire.	D．A man who can kill a dragon.

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There are many Chinese sayings about dragons.

B．The Dragon is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac.

C．Harry Potter becomes much braver by killing some bad dragons.

D．Emperors in China liked wearing clothes with red dragon pictures.

5. Why do Chinese experts suggest changing “Dragon” into Chinese pinyin “Long”?

A．Because Chinese are proud of their own pinyin.

B．Because dragon makes Western people think highly of China.

C．Because Western people know nothing about Chinese culture.

D．Because “Dragon” in Western countries doesn’t carry the same cultural meanings as in China.

【推荐1】In Tianjin, China, a group of people are waiting at the bus stop. Soon, a bus comes. It isn’t the same bus that we usually see on the street. It looks like a panda with black ears and black eyes.

After getting on the bus, people only need to buy their tickets by scanning (扫描) their hands! About one minute later, the bus starts its self-driving mode (模式). It stops for traffic lights automatically before it gets to the next stop. That is to say, it can drive and stop by itself. But there is still a driver on the bus. He will do something if the bus is in danger.

There are also some robots on the bus. People can talk to them and ask them for help. If there is a bad person on the bus, the robots will call the police. “It’s convenient,” says a woman taking the bus. “And kids love the bus because there are many pictures of cats on it.”

DeepBlue makes this kind of bus. It is working in ten cities all over China. More cities in China will have this kind of bus this year. I think soon you can take the bus in your city.

1. What does the bus look like?

A．A cat.

B．A robot.

C．A panda.

D．A zebra.

2. What does the underlined word “automatically” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．主动地

B．自动地

C．人工地

D．被迫地

3. What can the robots do on the bus?
①Call the police. ②Talk to people. ③Play with kids. ④Drives a bus.

A．①②

B．②④

C．①③

D．②③

4. What can we know about this new kind of bus from the passage?

A．The bus is the same as usual bus.

B．People now can take the bus all over China.

C．People pay for tickets before getting on the bus.

D．Kids love the bus because of the pictures of cats on it.

5. The passage mainly talks about ________.

A．buses in the past	B．a new kind of bus
C．the history of DeepBlue	D．the smart robots on the bus

【推荐2】

Are you an “I person” or an “E person”? These two personality labels (性格标) are widely discussed online. “I person” refers to shy and enjoys their own time and inner world and “E person” refers to outgoing, talkative and likes to make friends.

Even if someone is typically quiet, many online discussions suggest that an “I person” can still act outgoing at times. For example, when a shy person is with a group of shy friends, they might become more outgoing like an “E person”. According to psychologists, this idea of shortly personalities is called “masking”. That is hiding your true personality in specific situations.

Using the MBTI result to judge and describe someone’s personality seems fun. However, I did something bad at one time. My sister was excitedly making a daily travel plan when I remembered from an article that showed “P people” who don’t like to make or stick to plans, so I said to her. “You don’t seem like a ‘P person’.” “Why?” she asked back. “should I need to follow what my personality test tells me to do?” It was then I realized I’d taken the result too seriously. At that time, I feel so sorry to her.

The MBTI personality test may show something you don’t know about yourself and can even be a fun ice-breaker question when meeting new friends. But that’s all it is—for fun. Knowing someone’s MBTI result doesn’t mean you really know this person. And never judge who you are by certain tests.

1. What is “I person”?

A．The person enjoys their inner world.	B．The person is outgoing.
C．The person likes to talk with people.

2. What does the underlined word “masking” in the second paragraph probably mean?

A．理智

B．伪装

C．自我

3. How many personality labels are mentioned in the passage?

A．1

B．2

C．3

4. What can we know from the passage?

A．When a person is shy, he must be an “E person”.

B．If you don’t take the MBTI personality test, you never know who you are.

C．Never judge a person by a test.

【推荐3】In the future, people may travel to Mars(火星) by water-powered spaceship! Today’s spaceships are fine for getting things into space, but they are not so good at travelling long distances. These spaceships burn chemical fuels(燃料) and they are very expensive. Scientists say that a water-powered spaceship could make the trip to Mars much cheaper. The idea is just in the planning stages now, but scientists think such a spaceship could be developed soon.

The key to the water-powered spaceship is the engine(发动机) Regular engines push spaceships burning fuel. The water engine will use steam. Of course, the spaceship will have to carry a lot of water for the long trip to Mars. Today’s spaceships could not carry that much water. But scientists think that a spaceship blown up like a balloon will be able to do it.

One US company has already developed a spaceship like this. These spaceships are made of a strong material. Two of them have already been sent up into space, using rockets and then later filled with air “Balloon” spaceships could be very large and carry enough water for a long trip. With the “Balloon” spaceships, enough water could be carried to power the engines and grow food during the trip. And the people on the spaceship might even get to take a hot bath!

Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be its cost. The “Balloon” spaceship uses water to push it through space and costs about one thirtieth of a normal spaceship. Such savings naturally encourage continued research into balloon spaceships and water engines. If these scientists are correct, we may soon be on our way to Mars in a spaceship powered by water.

1. Which of the following statements is true?

A．Chinese scientists has developed the water-powered spaceships.

B．Scientists are thinking about developing water-powered spaceships.

C．It takes people a lot less money to send today’s spaceships into space.

D．Fuels-burned spaceships are much cheaper than water-powered ones.

2. The water-powered spaceships have to carry lots of water is __________.

A．to burn much water to make fuel	B．just to use plenty of water in space
C．to provide enough steam for the engine	D．to push spaceships to travel long distances

3. Astronauts use he rest of the water in the “Balloon” spaceships to do the followings except __________.

A．blowing up a balloon	B．growing something to eat
C．taking a hot bath	D．starting the engine

4. The underlined “if” in the last paragraph is about __________.

A．the planet Mars	B．water as “fuel”
C．the “Balloon” spaceship	D．a normal spaceship

5. What's the main purpose of this passage?

A．To introduce the fuel used by different spaceships.

B．To describe the advantages of the water-powered spaceship.

C．To let people know America has invented water-powered spaceship.

D．To tell us that humans may travel to Mars by water-powered spaceship.

【推荐1】For the British, the home is a private(私密的) place where he or she goes to hide away from the troubles of life. It is not very common that one would be invited to a British person’s home. It is rude to knock on a person’s door if you are not invited. If you are invited, don’t ask to see more than the downstairs that your British host invites you into. Never ask how much the house or any of the things in it costs.

To the American, most of them want their home to be a place where they can entertain(款待) and share their lives with their friends. They may be happy to give you a full tour of their houses. They may also be pleased when you show your interest in their houses.

Both British and American people will engage in quite a bit of talk and a drink or two before meals. After the first mouthful, you should say how delicious the food is and ask something about it. Remember, never eat with your mouth open and make very little noise while eating. It would be nice of you to help your host in any way. Maybe offer to pour(倒) some drinks or clear up after the meal.

1. British people ________ invite friends to their home.

A．often

B．always

C．not very often

D．never

2. If your British friend invites you to his home, you can ________.

A．see anything you like

B．ask how much his house is

C．ask the cost of any of the items in it

D．only see the downstairs that you are invited into

3. When you show your interest and pleasure in American people’s house, they may be ________.

A．angry

B．happy

C．sad

D．worried

4. What does the underlined phrase “engage in” mean in Chinese?

A．陷入

B．参与

C．回避

D．限制

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

A．Some manners on visiting the British and American home.

B．Different table manners between the British and Americans.

C．Different ideas about the home between the British and Americans.

D．Different ideas about getting along with the British and American neighbors.

【推荐3】Dear Bob,

You asked me about the Awakening of Insects（惊蛰）. Now let me tell you something about it.

As the third one of the 24 Chinese solar terms（二十四节气）in the lunar year, the Awakening of Insects means the fact that spring thunder awakens the animals sleeping in winter, and that the earth begins to come back to life.

Just as the old Chinese saying “Once the Awakening of Insects comes, spring ploughing（耕犁）never rests” says, it is the major time for spring farming activities. During this time, most parts of China get warmer and warmer, with the temperatures above 10℃. The days get longer and there is a marked increase（增加）in sunshine. It is good for farming.

People like going fishing during this time. Fishing can make people relaxed, especially for people living in the city. Driving to the countryside, fishing in a lake, bathing in the sunlight and enjoying the singing of birds make for a perfect weekend in spring.

Eating pears around the Awakening of Insects is a widely-practiced custom in China. As the weather gets warmer and the air becomes dry, people feel their mouths are dry, which can cause colds or coughs. A pear is sweet, juicy and cold. And it is good for people’s health.

The 24 Chinese solar terms is interesting, right? I’ll tell you more about it next time.

1. From the passage, we can know that _______.

A．Bob is interested in the Awakening of Insects	B．Bob is from China
C．Bob is going to visit China soon	D．Bob knows much about the 24 Chinese solar terms

2. The underlined word “major” probably means _______ in the passage.

A．simple

B．possible

C．main

D．available

3. People like to _______ during Awakening of Insects.

A．awaken the animals

B．fly kites

C．eat dumplings

D．eat pears

4. The passage mentions _______ customs people do during the Awakening of Insects.

A．two

B．three

C．four

D．five

5. This letter is mainly about _______.

A．the 24 Chinese solar terms	B．the Awakening of Insects
C．an old Chinese saying	D．a widely-practiced custom