【推荐1】阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

Internet history was made on September 19,1982, when professor Scott Fahlman at Carnegie Mellon University, US, posted “:—)” on the school’s online bulletin board (电子布告栏) .

Guinness World   Records called this smiley face the “first digital emoticon (数字表情符号)”.

In the 40 years since, emoticons, and later emojis, have become central to our conversations online. GIFs and memes(表情包) also appeared. Now there are 3,600 emojis available for us to show our feelings, according to CNN.

“They offer things that words aren’t saying. They said that when you say ‘okay,’ what kind of okay is that?” Jennifer Daniel, head of the Emoji Subcommittee for the Unicode Consortium, an organization in charge of choosing official emojis, told CNN. She said emojis are like our “body language” online. A 2017 study even found that the use of emojis helps us get the same satisfaction from talking online that we get from communicating in person.

Just as language develops, so do emojis. The Unicode Consortium brings out new emojis every year. And it cares about race, gender(性别) and other aspects in emoji sets. In 2015, it released different skin tones(肤色). In 2016, different jobs were added, such as teacher and firefighter—along with female versions(版本) of these jobs. In 2019, emojis of disabled people were added, including emojis of blind people and people in wheelchairs.

Some argue that we may depend on emojis too much. As people understand an emoji in different ways, misunderstandings often happen. The University of Valencia once studied the “thumbs—up” emoji. It found that when we use it alone, it serves many meanings: acceptance, liking, or closing the discussion.

So what is the future of emojis? Will the emoji develop to become an international language? Or will emojis go the way of the emoticon and fade(消失) after the next big thing comes along? It is hard to predict—even technology and language experts are divided on the topic. What do you think?

1. What has become central to our conversations online in the 40 years since?
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2. What can we know from the study in 2017?
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3. Why do misunderstandings often happen when people use emojis?
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4. Do you like using emojis when having conversations online? Why or why not?
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【推荐2】阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，完成下列各题。

If you ask people from different countries “Could you tell me the way to the post office?”, you will get different answers.

In Japan, people use landmarks (路标) instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In Kansas, America, there are no towns or buildings within miles. So instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions. They will often say, “Follow me.” Then he or she will take you through the streets of the city to the post office.

Sometimes if a person, like a New Yorker, doesn’t know the answer to your question, he or she might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.”

But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers like “I don’t know”. People there think “I don’t know” is not polite. They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. A visitor can often get lost in Yucatan!

But one thing will help you everywhere. You might not understand a person’s words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the correct direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

1. Will Americans use landmarks to tell people the way?
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2. How many examples are given in the article?
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3. What is the passage mainly about?
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4. Do you like the way people in Yucatan answer visitors’ question? Why or why not?
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【推荐1】阅读短文，根据短文内容，填写表格中所缺的单词，每空一词。

The Spring Festival (春节) is usually in January or February. There is a name for each Chinese year. We can call them the year of the dog, the year of the pig, the year of the horse and so on. 2023 is the year of the rabbit, and the next is the year of the dragon (龙). Before (在……之前) the lunar New Year, people like shopping and cleaning houses. On the evening before the lunar New Year, people have a big dinner with their family. After dinner, all the family wait (等待) to welcome the lunar New Year. On the first day of the lunar New Year, people put on their new clothes and visit their relatives (亲戚). Many people buy red things because red is the symbol of good luck (好运的象征).

The Spring Festival

Time	In January or     1    .
Name	2024 is the year of the     2    .
Activities	Shop and     3     houses before the lunar New Year.
	Have a big dinner on the evening before the lunar New Year.
	Put on their     4     clothes and visit their relatives on the first day.
Lucky (幸运的)     5	Red. It is the symbol of good luck.

【推荐2】“May we all be blessed with longevity. Though miles apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.”(但愿人长久，千里共婵娟) Wrote by Su Shi, a poet during the Song Dynasty, in his well-known poem. He wrote this poem for his brother Su Zhe.

The moon is at its brightest on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar(阴历). On this day, people celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival. It has been enjoying great popularity all over the country.

In ancient China, that day was a harvest(收获) festival because crops(庄稼) were harvested during that period. It was a time for relaxation and celebration.

Just like Thanksgiving in western countries, families also try to get together for the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Usually, no matter how far away or how busy they are, people will try to return home for the celebration.

The Mid-Autumn has its own special food just as other traditional Chinese holidays. People eat moon cakes with their family. The round shape of the cake makes it look like the full moon. The full moon and moon cakes stand for family reunion(团聚).

With the beautiful moon up in the sky, people sit together, enjoy the full moon, eat moon cakes and fruit, share the stories, and express the best wishes for the family members who live far away.

根据短文内容，回答下列各题
1. Who did Su Shi write the poem for?
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2. When is Mid-Autumn Festival?
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3. Do Thanksgiving and the Mid-Autumn Festival have anything in common?
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4. What do the full moon and moon cakes stand for?
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5. How do people spend the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival?(至少写出三项活动)
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【推荐3】    1     The Qingming Festival is a time for Chinese to pay respect to relatives and ancestors who have passed away. However, it is not only the Chinese who remember the dead. People in other countries also have holidays to honor their ancestors, such as in Japan and Mexico.

    2     In China, we name the festival Tomb-Sweeping Day while in Japan it’s called Obon, and in Mexico its name is the Day of the Dead.

    3     It is held on different days in different countries. Every year in early April, people in China visit the tombs (墓地) of their relatives and ancestors. It is held from August 13th to 16th in Japan. In Mexico, it usually falls on November 2nd.

    4     On this day, Chinese families tidy up the tombs and clean the ground around them. Then, they burn paper money and put flowers and fruit in front of the tombs. During Obon, Japanese people return to their hometown and visit their ancestors’ tombs. During the Day of the Dead, Mexican families almost do the same things as Chinese. The different point is that Mexicans doesn’t burn paper money, but they eat , sing and tell favorite stories about those who have passed away.

    5     In China, they hope the dead can enjoy these items and bring the family good luck. For Japanese, it is a time for family to get together. Mexicans think celebrating the Day of the Dead is a true celebration of life.

根据短文内容，选出每段的主旨大意。其中有一项是多余选项。
A. Names of the festival.
B. Countries that celebrate the festival.
C. Foods of the festival.
D. Dates of the festival.
E. Activities of the festival.
F. Meanings of the festival
根据短文内容，补全下面的语段，每空不超两词。

In China, on Tomb-Sweeping Day, people visit the tombs of their ancestors,     6     the tombs , burn paper money and put the flowers and fruit before the tombs. They hope the ancestors can enjoy the items and bring them     7    .

In Japan, Obon is from     8     13th to 16th. They visit their ancestors’ tombs. They think it’s a time for family to     9    .

In Mexico, people celebrate the Day of the Dead is a true celebration of     10    .