Weeks before Tomb-Sweeping Day on April 4 this year, hundreds of qingtuan were sold each day. The snack was still a must-have for many people. In the southern part of China, eating qingtuan at the beginning of spring is a kind of tradition. Chinese people started to eat it more than 2,000 years ago. It is made of sticky rice (糯米) and red bean paste (红豆沙), and is famous for its softness, freshness and sweetness. The secret behind its mouth-watering taste is one of its materials—mugwort leaves (艾蒿叶). The plant is mainly found in the Yangtze River Delta (长江三角洲) where it has perfect conditions to grow.
People in this area usually put qingtuan on the tombs (墓) of their dead family members to cherish (怀念) the past memory. Making qingtuan is also a chance for family members to get together at home. It really takes time and effort to make the snack.
Now, qingtuan has already spread its special taste to the northern part of China. Li Yuan, a 30-year-old engineer who grew up in Zhejiang Province, brought qingtuan back to Beijing where he works. “It tastes different in and out of my hometown,” he said. “There’s no place like home.”
Qingtuan has many different tastes inside it, such as apples and bean milk, to meet customers’ tastes. The difference of the taste shows that it’s getting more and more popular across the whole country.
Even though there is warm weather and green leaves in spring, the season wouldn’t be complete without a taste of qingtuan.
1. Tomb-Sweeping Day is in ________.| A．spring | B．summer | C．autumn | D．winter |
| A．sticky rice | B．green color | C．red bean paste | D．mugwort leaves |
| A．loves no place | B．sells qingtuan | C．works in Beijing | D．works as a cook |
| A．How to grow up in Beijing. | B．What to mark the start of spring. |
| C．When to plant rice in Zhejiang. | D．Why to meet customers’ tastes. |
Do you know mint(薄荷)? It may be added into summer drinks to let us feel cool. Mint plays an important role in our daily life. It keeps our breath fresh and gives food and drinks a kind of fresh smell. But why is this little plant so popular with people?
Mint is found almost everywhere in the world, except in South America and Antarctica. There are 600 varieties of the plant, but a lot of them are so similar that even scientists have trouble telling the differences among them. What we have known for thousands of years, however, is that eating mint is good for our body health.
For starters, if people’s stomachs are not very comfortable, mint can be used to relieve(缓解) that uncomfortable feeling in people’s stomachs. That’s because of the acid(酸) that it contains. What’s more, if you have a common cold, drinking mint tea can reduce your sore throat.
While mint is safe to eat and used to treat people, it has its disadvantages. First of all, eating too much mint can be harmful. If you’re taking it for any health condition, don’t use it too much. Also, mint oil should not be used on the faces of children. This could cause breathing problems.
1. The writer starts the passage by ________.| A．listing numbers | B．asking a question | C．giving an example | D．comparing things |
| A．special smell | B．long history | C．similar look | D．strange taste |
| A．Because it contains acid. | B．Because it has a long history. |
| C．Because it is easy to find. | D．Because it keeps our breath fresh. |
| A．To encourage people to use mint more. | B．To explain how to rightly plant mint. |
| C．To tell us where to find mint easily. | D．To introduce why to be popular and how to use mint. |
Have you ever imagined how people eat in space? It’s not easy. In a word, it is different from that on Earth. The food that astronauts carry with them doesn’t look like the food you eat.
Some food is carried in closed bags. It is cooked and frozen before the astronauts get it. All the water is removed (去掉) from the food. In the space capsule (太空舱), the astronaut puts the water back. He “shoots” hot or cold water into the food bag with a special gun (枪). He eats the food through a small hole in the bag.
Other foods come in bite-size (一口大小的). The astronaut puts a whole piece in his mouth each time. There can’t be crumbs (食物碎屑). Crumbs would float around the capsule and get in the way. Meat, cakes and cereal (麦片) often come in bite-size pieces.
Astronauts can’t drink water from open cups. The water would float in drops in the air. The water is put in the special gun. The astronaut shoots the water into his month.
Do you think it difficult to eat in space? Astronauts must learn to eat this way.
1. What is the food the astronauts get like?2. Why do some foods come in bite-size?
3. What will happen if crumbs float around the capsule?
4. If you are in space, how will you eat or drink? (Write 30 words or more)
4 . Health problems which are related to climate change are getting worse, say two research reports.
The reports followed 44 health problems that are related to climate change around the world. They include heat deaths, infectious diseases (传染病) and hunger. “All of them are getting worse,” said Marina Remanello. She is research director of the Lancet Countdown project. “With globalwarming getting worse, doing nothing on climate and health will cost more than acting now,” one of the reports says.
The reports are called “code red for a healthy future”. One report is centred (集中) on the US and the other is centred on the whole world. The reports found some dangerous facts. At-risk populationslike older people and the very young are more easily influenced by high temperatures. For people over 65, the researchers found they stayed living in warm places where it is easier for some diseases to spread. For example, coast areas are warm enough for dangerous bacteria (细菌) to grow. In some poor nations the season for disease-spreading mosquitoes (蚊子) has got longer since the 1950s.
The research also found that 72 percent of countries saw an increase in wildfires. And in 2020, up to 10 percent of the world’s land surface was influenced by extreme(极端的) drought. In the US, the heat, fire and drought caused the biggest problems. The Pacific Northwest and Canada saw extreme heatwaves. An earlier study found that the heatwaves would not have happened if there were no human-caused climate change.
1. The underlined word “related” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.| A．connected | B．spread | C．accepted | D．considered |
| A．A 15-year-old boy is more easily influenced by high temperatures. |
| B．Climate change doesn't influence people who are under 65. |
| C．It’s easier for some diseases to spread in warm places. |
| D．In the US, the season for mosquitoes becomes longer. |
| A．The results of climate change. |
| B．The reasons why climate changes. |
| C．Health problems caused by climate change. |
| D．Deaths caused by human-caused climate change. |
( ①=Paragraph 1, ②=Paragraph 2, …)
A． | B． | C． | D． |
5 . Imagine a perfect day: the weather is good and everything seems fine. When, suddenly, your mobile phone loses its signal, the television has no programmes, and you can’t get online with your computer.
What has happened? These are just the types of problems a solar storm (太阳风暴) might cause. You may not think of storms as putting our society in danger. But today, a solar storm is as serious as other bad events, such as earthquakes.
A solar storm is caused by solar flares (太阳耀斑): large explosions (爆炸) near the Sun that can give off lots of energy. The strong energy can stop the satellite systems (卫星系统) that control our computers, telecom networks and so on. These storms can even cause the power to go out for weeks or months.
Scientists have recorded some of the strongest sun flares in years. One happened around Valentine’s Day, 2011. It caused radio and satellite signals to go down in some northern cities in China.
“Solar flare activity is going to be much worse than what we’ve seen in the past. We’re not talking about a few cities losing power, it could be half of the country, may be more,” SolarStormWarning.com, a US website about space weather, warned.
Scientists say that little can be done to predict such a storm. Governments around the world are trying to work together before the next storm, although they are not sure when that may happen.
1. From the first two paragraphs we can know solar storms are ________ our society.| A．good for | B．far from | C．seldom in | D．harmful to |
a. Solar flares give off lots of energy. b. People cannot get online with their computers.
c. Solar storms happen. d. Satellite systems are stopped.
| A．a-b-c-d | B．a-c-d-b | C．c-a-b-d | D．c-b-a-d |
| A．a solar storm stopped | B．an earthquake happened |
| C．a strong sun flare happened | D．the satellite systems didn’t work |
| A．To introduce what solar storms are to people. |
| B．To ask people to prevent the solar storm from happening. |
| C．To tell people how to solve the problems caused by solar storms. |
| D．To call for scientists to predict when the next solar storm will happen. |
The earliest form of writing appeared about 5,500 years ago. In the past, handwriting was an important subject in school. Now, many students sometimes do homework on a computer and hand in their tasks online. Many people thinking typing (打字) is quick and easy to read, while writing by hand may take longer than typing. But others say writing with a pen and paper is more valuable. Writing by hand has big advantages.
Research shows that when we write down ideas with a pen or pencil, we make the brain active to help us learn, remember and think. Writing by hand lets people show their creativity. No two people have the same handwriting. Writing by hand can also help people concentrate (集中注意力). When using a computer, people can go online or play computer games easily.
Handwriting may be pretty, however, people can get their ideas and thoughts down more quickly when they type. Typing can also make it easier for people to change. Once something is written by hand, you can’t delete (删除) it. If you want to make a change, you have to write it all over again. What’s more, some people’s handwriting may be hard to read. Typing makes everything clear, and no one will have to worry about their words being clear enough.
1. When did people begin to write?2. How is the brain when we write by hand?
3. How many advantages of typing are mentioned in Paragraph 3?
4. If you need to write a report, will you type or write it by hand? Why? (Write 30 words or more)
7 . Why Do We Yawn?
Do you yawn? There are about 20 reasons that scientists think are possible for yawning after research. They do not know exactly why yawning happens, but they do know many facts about yawning.
We know that everyone yawns in the same way. First you open your mouth slowly. Your mouth stays open for about five seconds. You take in a lot of air and then push it out. Then you quickly close your mouth. We also know that yawning is contagious. When you see someone yawn, you yawn, too.
Many people say they yawn because they are bored or tired. That might be true. People do often yawn before they sleep and after they wake up. However, we know that people also yawn when they are excited or nervous. Olympic runners, for example, scientists found that a yawn can help a warm brain cool down.
Some scientists believe that yawning makes you notice things more quickly. When you yawn, you breathe deeply. You also stretch (强化) the muscles (肌肉), mouth, and neck. Your eardrums stretch, too. Maybe this helps you to be quicker to notice things.
In some countries, people think yawning is not nice. People put their hands over their mouths to cover a yawn. In other countries, people think yawning is healthy. They think that opening the mouth very big can let good things in. When they breathe out, they think that bad things go out of the body with the air.
Scientists do not spend much time studying yawning. That is probably because yawning does not hurt. It is just something we do.
1. What does the underlined word “contagious” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Able to spread quickly. |
| B．Able to breathe easily. |
| C．Able to change easily. |
| D．Able to sleep quickly. |
| A．They are too tired or too bored. |
| B．A yawn can let good things in. |
| C．A yawn can help a warm brain cool down. |
| D．A yawn can stretch the muscles in their faces. |
| A．Reasons for yawning. |
| B．Advantages of yawning. |
| C．Disadvantages of yawning. |
| D．Different ideas about yawning. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
8 . In the 1950s, scientists caught a shearwater (剪水鹱) on an island off the coast of Wales. They took it to the city of Boston, and set it free. Twelve days later it was back in Wales. Many birds share this gift for finding their way.
Most migrating (迁徙的) birds fly between cold and warm places, partly to avoid the winter. Their trips are tiring and dangerous-fewer than half of first-time migrating birds make it back the next year. Small birds often fly at night, so they must stay over land and travel by day.
Some migrating birds seem to be born with a map that tells them where to go. Cuckoos,for example, can find the way without being shown. Other birds learn the way by following a group of birds and remembering landmarks, such as mountains and rivers. Landmarks based on smell and sound-such as the smell of a pine forest or the sound of crashing waves-may also help.
Experiments with homing pigeons tell us that some birds have a built-in magnetic compass (磁罗盘). This helps pigeons to find the way home from hundreds of miles away. But when tiny magnets (磁铁) are tied to their heads, they get lost.
Birds that migrate by day use the sun as a compass. They also have a built-in clock, to make up for the sun’s movement across the sky as the day goes. Snow geese migrate by the sun; when days grow longer, they become unable to stay quiet and want to set off on the long journey.
1. How does the writer start the text?| A．By telling a story. |
| B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By asking questions. |
| D．By giving an opinion. |
| A．Large birds migrate by riding on the rising warm air. |
| B．Cuckoos are born with the ability to find their way. |
| C．Magnets can lead homing pigeons to right places. |
| D．The snow geese set off on the migration when days grow longer. |
①warm air ②the sun ③smells ④a map
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．③④ | D．①④ |
| A．Science. | B．Sports. | C．Nature. | D．Health. |
9 . Most of the fruits we eat today might not look or taste like their wild ancestors at all. They become popular after going through development over a long period of time in different parts of the world.
Tomatoes were first grown in the western part of South America. As early as the 16th century, people discovered wild tomatoes. Those were the ancestors of tomatoes we see today. Although the Spanish and Italians began eating tomatoes over two centuries ago, the British and Americans continued to avoid them because they thought tomatoes with bright red color were poisonous (有毒的). In the 19th century, Americans began using them commonly in cooking. Tomatoes were only used as ornamental (装饰性的) plants in gardens in China until the early 1900s. Since then, it has quickly become a popular food in China.
Peaches are also a kind of very old plant. People have worked for centuries to create modern peaches. The ancestors of today’s peaches used to be small, sour and had pit (核) that took up 35 percent of the fruit itself. Peaches became what we eat today as a result of great efforts.
The watermelon is one of the most common fruits today. The pink, juicy and delicious part is also the result of centuries of development. In the 7th century, Indians began to plant watermelons, which made their way to China in the 10th century. However, they were smaller and less sweet than modern melons. Fruits with fewer seeds (种子) and a more juicy part were developed in the 17th century as a result of European farmers’ experiments. That is how we ended up with the delicious watermelon today.
1. What is the first paragraph written for?| A．Introducing the topic. | B．Showing the result. |
| C．giving an example. | D．Answering a question. |
| A．larger, sourer and have a bigger pit | B．smaller, sourer and have a bigger pit |
| C．larger, sweeter and have a smaller pit | D．smaller, sweeter and have a smaller pit |
| A．Chinese people could eat tomatoes in 1854. |
| B．Chinese people might have had watermelons in 1030. |
| C．Americans might have planted tomatoes in 1678. |
| D．The British could buy watermelons in 660. |
| A．To advise people to develop fruit plants. |
| B．To share how to change wild fruits to modern ones. |
| C．To introduce wild fruits in different parts of the world. |
| D．To let people learn more about the development of fruits. |
10 . Do you like to start your day with a cup of coffee? It cheers people up and helps in burning fat. However, the hobby also brings problems. One study shows that about 50 billion single-use coffee cups are thrown away in the US every year, while another believes the number is closer to 130 million. Whatever the actual number is, it is clear that our use of coffee cups is bad for the environment.
Fortunately, some companies are trying their best to solve the problem. GaeaStar is one of them. It is trying to create single-use clay coffee cups to take the place of plastic ones.
The cups are suitable for both cold and hot drinks. They are made of clay, water and salt, so they will produce no waste. You even don’t need to throw the cups into a rubbish bin. You can simply throw them onto the ground and smash (粉碎) them. After all, they come from earth and return to earth in the same form. Recycling is no longer required.
In fact, the idea of using clay as a solution (解决方法) to the problem isn’t new. But GaeaStar connects it with new technology. Using 3D printers, it can make the cup in 10 seconds. Its CEO says that printing a clay cup uses 60% less energy than creating a plastic or paper cup. This is an example of how new technology brings old ideas back to life.
If you are interested in GaeaStar’s special cups, visit the Verve Coffee Shop in California!
1. The numbers in Paragraph 1 are mentioned to show ______.| A．the advantages (益处) of drinking coffee | B．the changes of coffee cups in the US |
| C．the problem caused by people’s love for coffee | D．the increase in the number of coffee drinkers |
| A．Luckily. | B．Hardly. | C．Especially. | D．Surprisingly. |
| A．Solutions to the problem of plastic pollution. |
| B．Examples of using technology to solve problems. |
| C．How GaeaStar uses 3D printers to make paper cups. |
| D．How GaeaStar connects an old idea with new technology. |
| A．www.travelers.com | B．www.techtimes.com |
| C．www.chinaculture.org | D．www.grammarbook.com |
