1 . ①There are many kinds of amazing animals in the world. Have you ever watched one of them—Canada geese (雁)? They can teach us a lesson about teamwork.
②In autumn, Canada geese have to fly to the warm south to get away from Canada’s cold winter. When they leave the ground and rise into the air, they fly in no order. Then they quickly form a V shape, with one bird leading the group.
③This V shape allows Canada geese to save energy. The head bird moves its wings up and down. The resulting (产生的) force of the air helps lift the next bird. Each bird will do so until they get to the southern part. The bird at the head of the group has the hardest job. When it gets tired, another bird moves to the front and takes its place. By sharing this job, the group can travel great distances. Canada geese flying in a V shape can fly seventy percent farther without having a rest than the birds flying alone.
④During the long flying journey, Canada geese communicate with one another. They honk (鸣叫) to encourage the birds up front to keep up the speed. They also cheer one another up while working toward the same destination.
⑤What have we learned from the lovely Canada geese’s experience and skills? Work together! Whether in our personal lives or our jobs, we need the spirit of teamwork!
1. What kind of shape do Canada geese form during the journey?| A．V. | B．S. | C．Z. | D．A. |
| A．By honking. | B．By moving their wings up and down. |
| C．By flying in the higher sky. | D．By keeping up the speed. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Be happy to help others. | B．Never give up. |
| C．Keep calm when you are in danger. | D．Work together. |
2 .
Name |
Clay Art |
Kite |
Sky Lantern |
Paper Cutting | |
Appearing Time | 4,000 years ago | 2,000 years ago | 226 AD | 1,500 years ago | |
Inventor | Unknown | Lu Ban | Zhuge Kongming | Unknown | |
Material | Clay, paper or cotton | Paper, bamboo | Paper, bamboo | Paper | |
Main Use | Ancient Times | Being with the dead | Sending information | Asking for help | Remembering ancestors |
Today | Decorating (装饰) | Playing | Praying (祈祷) | Praying | |
Complexity (制作难易度) | Hardest | Harder | Hard | Harder | |
| A．2,000 years later | B．2,000 years earlier | C．4,000 years later | D．4,000 years earlier |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．eight |
| A．clay arts | B．sky lanterns | C．kites | D．paper cutting |
| A．The inventor of paper cutting is Lu Ban. |
| B．Kites and sky lanterns have different materials. |
| C．People used clay arts to decorate in ancient times. |
| D．Chinese traditional arts have different uses in different times. |
3 . What subject do you worry about the most at school? Many students worry about math. Some students can’t sleep well the day before a math exam. Others may feel very nervous during the exam itself. But there might be a way to make the subject less stressful.
“For people who are anxious about math, posture (姿势) makes a big difference,” Erik Peper from San Francisco State University told the Daily Mail. That’s right—sitting up straight can help you do better on math exams.
Scientists tested 125 college students. They asked them to do a simple math quiz (测试) while siting in a slumped-over (趴倒的) position, or sitting up straight. After the test, 56 percent of students said the exam was easier to do if they were sitting up straight.
Slumping over is a defensive (防御的) posture. It can trigger (激发) negative memories in the body and brain. This can stop you from thinking clearly, Peper said.
Students who were not nervous about taking the math exam did not necessarily benefit from better posture. But they did find that doing math while slumped over was more difficult, Science Daily reported.
Good posture isn’t just helpful for taking math exams. Athletes, musicians and public speakers can all benefit from better posture. When you feel stressed out, you can also try to sit up straight or stand tall. It can help you feel more positive and focus better.
1. When some students face math, they feel ________.| A．sleepy | B．relaxed | C．stressed | D．active |
| A．Standing tall. | B．Slumping over. | C．Sitting up straight. | D．Staying up late. |
| A．The advantages of positive postures. | B．How to relax in an exam. |
| C．A good way to have math tests. | D．Who usually slumps over. |
| A．Sports. | B．Advertisement. | C．Science. | D．Travel. |
4 . Ladybugs (瓢虫) are loved by people so much. In many cultures they’re considered good luck. There are about 5,000 different types of ladybugs in the world. They come in many different colors and patterns, but the most familiar in the UK is the seven-spot ladybug which has a shiny, red-and-black body. Most people like ladybugs because they are pretty graceful and harmless to humans. Farmers also love them very much. They eat aphids (蛀虫) and other plant-eating pests.
Most ladybugs have oval, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. Depending on the types, they can have spots, stripes (条纹) or no markings at all. Seven-spot ladybugs are red or sometimes orange with three spots on each side and one in the middle. Their head is black with white patches (斑点) on either side. The ladybug’s bright colors can warn animals they’d better not eat them. When they are in danger, the ladybugs produce an oily, yellow fluid from joints in their legs—and their coloring acts as a reminder to any predators who have eaten their kind before that they taste disgusting (令人厌恶的)!
These bugs have another trick to avoid danger too—remain still and pretend to be dead. Simple, eh? Birds are ladybugs’ main predators, but they also fall victims (牺牲品) to frogs, spiders and dragonflies.
Seven-spot ladybugs are native to Europe but were introduced to North America in the mid-1900s to control aphid populations. These ladybugs are happy in many different habitats (栖息地), including grasslands, forests, cities, suburbs and along rivers. During spring and summer, when they are most active, these ladybugs can be seen fluttering around or walking on the leaves of plants. But when the weather turns colder in autumn, they look for a warm, secluded place to hibernate, such as under rocks or even inside houses. They like to group together, too.
1. In many cultures what do ladybugs stand for?2. Why do farmers love ladybugs?
3. What will ladybugs do when they are in danger?
4. Do you love to keep ladybugs as pets? Why or why not? (Write 30 words or more.)
5 . Your handshake is a part of your first impression (印象). Do you want your handshake to say good things about you? Here are some ways to help you learn how to shake hands correctly.
Know who to start. The person in a higher position or who is older should be the first one to reach out a hand. For example, if you are interviewed for a job, the interviewer should be the one to take the lead.
Don’t offer an unannounced handshake. If you offer someone your hand when they aren’t paying attention, they may not shake hands with you. It doesn’t mean the person doesn’t want to shake your hand. So start with a greeting to let others know that you’re here.
The handshake often lasts about 2 to 5 seconds. Most people don’t spend more time shaking hands. If the other person holds your hand for more than five seconds, politely withdraw (撤回) your hand.
Don’t show a sweaty (出汗的) hand. If you hand someone a sweaty hand, you may make them uncomfortable. Before shaking their hand, dry your own hand. If you’re holding a drink, hold it in your left hand so that it won’t make your right hand wet or sweaty because we often use our right hand to shake hands with others.
Shake hands in an up-and-down direction. Don’t go back and forward or side to side. Don’t swing the other person’s hand more than three times. It may make the other person uncomfortable.
1. What should you do before shaking hands with others?| A．Hit them on the back. | B．Greet them politely to get their attention. |
| C．Ask them to wash their hands first. | D．Tell them how to shake hands. |
| A．A sweaty hand | B．The other person’s hand |
| C．A drink | D．An announced handshake |
| A．How to shake hands correctly | B．Know who to shakes hands with |
| C．What to do before shaking hands | D．When to shake hands with others |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
6 . During the European colonization (殖民) of North America, many native languages were given up. As a result, many children were stopped from using their own languages. Today, there are about 180,000 Inuit people in the world and fewer than 40,000 can speak Inuktitut, one of the dialects (方言) spoken by the Inuit.
There are about 65,000 Inuit living in Canada. Miali is a 40-year-old student at University of Calgary who is majoring in (主修) International Indigenous (本地的) Studies. She has spent much of her life fighting for Indigenous rights. As one of the few people who still speak Inuktitut, she shows great interest in spreading the language to keep it from dying out completely.
Asking why this is important is just like asking why water is important, said Miali. “We need it, and there’s an innate (天生的) need inside us searching for a part of ourselves we can identify with (认同). I want to give people their language, and allow them to understand something they’ve been searching for.”
Miali has been teaching others in Inuktitut for 10 years now. She dreamed of taking her task even further, so in 2021, she started an online course to teach the language to anyone who wants to learn it, no matter where they live. She offers the course through her business, Allurvik, which also sells a variety of Inuit-made products and services. She even makes videos in both English and Inuktitut.
Miali believes that speaking their native languages helps them connect to their ancestors and land. This connection is grown in their culture helping them understand who they are and how they fit into their communities. She’s pleased to be able to use technology to bring her language to anyone in the world.
“Many people want to learn Inuktitut but don’t have the supports in place,” she said. “All I want to do is to make Inuktitut a little more available, especially to the Inuit people who want to learn and anyone else who’s interested in it. I hope my work also encourages others to make Indigenous languages more widely available.”
1. Why does Miali try her best to spread Inuktitut?| A．Because there are many Inuit in the world. |
| B．Because she wants to stop it from disappearing |
| C．Because she wants Inuktitut to be popular in the world. |
| D．Because she wants more Inuit people to speak their own language. |
| A．The time when Miali teaches Inuktitut |
| B．The places where Miali teaches Inuktitut. |
| C．The reasons why Miali works as a teacher. |
| D．The ways Miali provides teaching services. |
| A．Inuktitut is getting more and more popular. |
| B．Miali is trying to help people learn Inuktitut. |
| C．Miali wants more people to help teach Inuktitut. |
| D．Inuktitut is so difficult that few people learn it. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
How does your teacher make you sit—in rows or in groups? How would you like to sit? Does sitting in rows make you feel good or does it make you feel lonely? Do you feel that sitting in a group and discussing things makes you learn more in an easier way?
In the last 30 years or so, experts on teaching methods have thought about these questions. They felt that sitting in rows was not very useful to children, and that they learnt easier and better when they sat around a table in a group. That way, they could also learn to get along with others and exchange ideas easily.
However, it seems they were not quite right. At least Nigel Hastings, professor of Nottingham Trent University, does not think so. He has been researching classroom behavior for the last 20 years in England. His conclusion (结论) is that children work much better when they sit in rows than sitting around in groups.
His study found that students wasted a lot of time talking when they were placed in groups. When children were made to sit singly or in pairs and not in groups as they were used to, they were more attentive (专注的) to their work.
Right now, most primary school students in England are seated in groups of four and six according to Sunday Times. So the report of Nigel’s study could make a big difference to how they will sit and learn.
1. Why did some experts think sitting in groups was better?2. What’s the conclusion of Nigel’s study?
3. What happened when students sat in groups in Nigel’s study?
4. How are the most pupils in England seated nowadays?
5. Would you like to sit in groups or in rows? Why?
8 . Would you like to live in a city where buildings turn the lights off for you, and self-driving cars find the nearest parking space themselves? Although it might sound a little far from you, living in a “smart” city like this could happen sooner than you think.
Great changes have taken place in towns that we have lived in for centuries, while completely new cities are being built. One such place is the city of Songdo. Every home there will have a “telepresence” system (远程遥控系统) — allowing users to control the heating and locks, take part in video meetings, and receive education, health care and government services. Around the city, escalators (自动扶梯) will only move when someone is on them, and offices and schools will all be connected to the system.
The great mind behind Songdo is from the company Cisco. In fact, technology companies around the world such as IBM, Siemens and Microsoft are already in the business. About 75% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, so cities will need to be more modern to deal with the coming problems. “Making cities smarter is one way out, and I think this will in turn make cities greener,” said Dan Hill, head of a research company.
1. According to the text, living in a “smart” city ________.| A．will be far from you | B．is completely impossible |
| C．will probably become true soon | D．is coming with many problems |
| A．a city of the future | B．a plan to build a building |
| C．a video meeting in Songdo | D．a report on public health |
| A．set up more schools | B．develop his own company |
| C．control the world’s population | D．solve the cities’ coming problems |
| A．Art | B．Travel | C．Technology | D．History |
9 . Have you heard of the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon)? This year, it was held in Chengdu from October 18 to 22. WorldCon is the biggest sci-fi event (盛会) in the world. It has been held since 1939. This was the first time the event had been held in China.
During the event, the winners of this year’s Hugo Awards were announced (宣布). The awards are very famous in the science fiction world. They are voted on by members of WorldCon. Chinese sci-fi writers and artists enjoyed a big night on October 21.
The Space-Time Painter (《时空画家》) won the award for the best novelette (短中篇小说). It was written by part-time writer Hai Ya (海涯). “I’m very lucky,” he said. “It’s like my dream shining into reality.” He hopes that his works can make more people think about technology, time and art.
Besides that, Zhao Enzhe won the best Professional Artist (最佳职业艺术家) award. The artist has worked in the game industry for more than 20 years. He has been making covers for China’s Science Fiction World magazine for a long time. The magazine is the best-selling one of its kind in the world.
In addition, China’s Zero Gravity Newspaper (《零重力报》) won the best Fanzine (最佳粉丝杂志) award. Four works by Chinese writers were shortlisted (最终入围) for the Best Short Story award.
Over the past years, a lot of Chinese science fiction works have been translated into many different languages. They have attracted (吸引) more and more readers around the world. The influence of Chinese science fiction keeps growing!
1. What do you know about WorldCon?| A．It usually lasts for 5 days. |
| B．It is the biggest event in the world. |
| C．It has a long history of over 90 years. |
| D．It was held in China for the first time this year. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Seven. |
| A．different languages | B．more readers |
| C．Chinese Sci-fi works | D．the Hugo Awards |
| A．Chinese Sci-fi Shines at Hugo Awards |
| B．The World Science Fiction Convention held in China |
| C．Winners of this year’s Hugo Awards |
| D．The influence of Chinese Sci-fi keeps growing |
When you’re a teenager, it seems that every time you say “I want to …”, someone answers “No, you can’t”. Also, no part of your life is safe from the prying (窥视的) eyes of your parents.
A 15-year-old girl, Debbie says, “My dad always wants to know where I am, and what time I’m going to be home.”
Most parents do that. Do they have to know everything? They should give us more freedom. Young people further complain that their parents do not respect them. When something goes wrong, more parents just don't believe in their children. Without asking why, they think their kids are wrong. And not many parents allow their kids to choose for themselves. Yes, it is true that your parents sometimes treat you like a little child. But remember that not too long ago you were really a child. Your parents still remember those childish mistakes that you used to make. They want to protect you though you do not want them to do so.
So, if you want to get more freedom, please try to understand your parents and do not lie to them. Try a more friendly way. If you want them to allow you to stay out late, don't just say, “All the other kids can stay out late.” Tell them as much as you can about what you want to do and where you'll be and why it's important for you to stay out late. Then they might just say “yes”.
1. Who always wants to know where Debbie is?2. What do young people want to get from their parents?
3. What do young people further complain according to the passage?
4. If your parents don’t allow you to play with your friends outside on weekend, what should you do? Write 30 words or more.
