1 . “Motasharefon bema’ refatek!” is often heard in Arabs’ daily talks. This greeting in the language Arabic means “Nice to meet you!” You may find Arabic difficult to understand, but the following facts can offer you some basics.
Arabic is s language of over twenty countries across the Middle East and North Africa, It’s also one of the six official languages of the UN. Now about 400 million people worldwide speak Arabic.
Arabic has different varieties. One of them is Modern Standard Arabic. It is taught at schools in all Arabic-speaking countries and used formally over media. Colloquial Arabic is another variety which people in the Arab world usually use in their everyday life.
Arabic is written from right to left in a beautiful and flowing script. Written Arabic is formed from eighteen different curves with dots (
) above or below. The curve (
) with one dot below is pronounced /b/, two on top is /t/, and three on top is /th/, while the curve (
) with two dots below is pronounced /y/.
A main feature of Arable is the throe letter root system. Almost every Arabic word is based on a root of three letters. If you take a root and add other letters to it, you can create many words related to the meaning of that root. For example, “k-t-b” is a common root in Arabic. Some words from that root are kitaab (“book”) and maktaba (“library”).
There are more facts about Arabic for you to explore. You’ll find that learning about it helps open up door to a different culture and provides a new way of thinking about the world.
1. How many varieties of Arabic are mentioned in the passage?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Cooking. | B．Singing. | C．Writing. | D．Swimming. |
| A．To introduce the language Arabic. |
| B．To tell stories from Arab countries. |
| C．To encourage people to visit Arab countries. |
| D．To advise people to protect the language Arabic. |
2 . 
A marathon is a long running race of 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometres). The first Olympic Marathon was held in Athens. Now, many cities host their own marathons every year. Some of the best-known marathons around the world are the New York City Marathon, the Boston Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon. Among them, the Boston Marathon which started in 1897, is the oldest yearly marathon in the world. As time goes by, the sport has become more than just a race.
Themes of marathons add fun and meaning to the hard miles. Runners run for helping sick kids, celebrating important events, or just enjoying nature. There is a famous marathon in Gisborne, New Zealand, which is known for being the first city in the world to welcome the sunlight every day. Runners can greet the sunrise as they race along the golden sandy beaches.
Marathon routes bring people more understanding of the old sport. Some routes provide great sporting challenges for runners. The routes offer various surfaces, from bridges to sand to hills. Runners of all skill levels can sweat freely and push their limits in the race. Some routes are well planned for runners to explore the many sides of a city. For example, the route of the Great Wall Marathon takes the runners along the great wonder of the world. The race can be an amazing chance to get to know Beijing, its people and local food.
A marathon is quite a journey for runners to enjoy the run, challenge themselves and experience the culture. There is so much more behind the race for us to explore.
1. According to the passages the oldest yearly marathon is ________.| A．the Tokyo Marathon | B．the Olympic Marathon |
| C．the Boston Marathon | D．the New York City Marathon |
| A．First Light. | B．Lively Kids. | C．Green Miles. | D．Fun Beach. |
| A．is difficult to plan | B．shows the city culture |
| C．offers different surfaces | D．brings challenge to runners |
| A．Marathon: Not Just a Race | B．Marathon: Routes and Rules |
| C．Marathon: History and Thames | D．Marathon: A Race for Everyone |
3 . Scientists are looking for ways that we can effectively use the light and heat from the sun. One idea that has caught their imagination is solar roads. They are expected to produce clean and renewable energy.
With solar panels on the surfaces, solar roads cost more than traditional roads. However, besides the functions of traditional roods, they have the panels to receive sunlight and change it into the energy to supply power to homes, factories and street lighting. There are four layers in a solar panel:
•Base layer: It is made of insulation material and forms a good grip with the road below this layer.
•Middle layer: This is the most important layer. It holds all kinds of power lines connecting all the solar parts in the panel, like LED lights and the heating system.
•Top layer: This layer is super-strong glass. It allows the panel to hold the weight of the heaviest vehicles.
•Capping: This is the topmost layer used to offer extra protection to the solar parts in the panel. The layer must be rough enough to provide the traction for the safety of vehicles.
With the smart design, solar roads can successfully charge the vehicles on them. And the roads have inbuilt LED lights to replace the traditional rood signs and lines, which are usually painted and harmful to humans. What’s more, the heating systems in the solar roads can take care of the snow and ice on the roads for drivers.
Test solar roads have been built in several countries (France, China, USA, etc.) since 2014. The first word solar road project, Metrics of Watt Way in France, was set up by a French company called Construction Colas. It was an example of low effectiveness. In the first year, it had been expected to produce around 767 kWh of energy a day, but it only produced 409 kWh. Even so, the production could increase with design improvements. Of course, more time is needed before this technology is put into use.
Solar roads may not be widely used in the near future, but they are indeed great for an environment-friendly and energy-saving world.
1. Solar roads ________.| A．offer power to homes | B．get energy from factories |
| C．keep the sunlight away | D．cost less than traditional roods |
| A．The base layer is the most important layer. |
| B．There are many power lines in the middle layer. |
| C．The top layer lies on the top of the solar panel. |
| D．The capping should be smooth enough for drivers. |
| A．was set up in China in 2014 | B．showed high effectiveness as expected |
| C．was started by a US company | D．could get better with design improvements |
| A．Solar Roads: A Widely Used Invention |
| B．Solar Roads: A Safety Guard for Drivers |
| C．Solar Roads: A New Idea for Clean Energy |
| D．Solar Roads: A Way to Produce LED Lights |
4 . Good photographers are like reporters. They record people’s lives with cameras. They are also like artists or writers. Their photos can make people think or feel something.
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|
| •Fashion photographers mainly take pictures of new products like clothes. •Portrait photographers take photos of different people. •Landscape photographers usually take pictures outdoors in nature. •Event photographers take photos of big parties and ceremonies. | •Robert Doisneau was French. He was well-known for his black and white street photos of Paris. •Anne Geddes was born in Australia. Taking baby pictures has made her world-famous. •Richard Avedon was from the USA. He mainly took photos of fashion and famous people. His photos helped develop a new style for photography. |
| A．artists | B．writers | C．reporters | D．photographers |
| A．big parties | B．outdoor sights | C．new clothes | D．different people |
| A．is from France | B．is famous for baby pictures |
| C．takes street photos | D．helps develop a new style |
5 . Imagine you choose to join WorldBook Day Book Club. Now you are reading a book on art for children.
About art
Art is a vast subject, including all kinds of pictures and sculptures. This book introduces 32 works by some of the world’s most famous artists. This is only a small selection, but it reveals（揭示）huge differences in what artists do.
Why make art?
Artists make art for many reasons. Sometimes, they just want to create something beautiful. But hundreds of years ago-when many people couldn’t read-paintings were often designed to illustrate stories.
Very grand paintings were usually made to order, for wealthy clients who wanted to impress people. More recently, artists have begun to paint to express their own feelings or explore ideas.
About this book
The pictures reproduced in this book were painted over the last 500 years. They are arranged（排列）in order of date, so you can see how ideas about art have changed over time. If you would like to see more art, there is lots on the Internet-just follow the links recommended throughout the book. If you can, visit an art gallery too, so you can experience seeing the “real thing” .
1. Why are the works introduced in the book?| A．To tell readers huge differences in what artists do. |
| B．To offer readers all kinds of pictures and sculptures. |
| C．To share every famous artist’s life story with readers. |
| D．To introduce a number of works from an artist to readers. |
| A．size | B．space | C．time | D．importance |
| A．gives an introduction to the book | B．shows the size of each part in the book |
| C．shows the number of the artists in the book | D．gives the reasons to order paintings in the book |
Today we can do everything with apps: pay bills, order food and shop for anything. Mobile technology means we can hold the world in our hands. However, when it comes to technology and health care, opportunities and challenges come together.
Let’s start with the ways to get health care. Telemedicine can allow a patient to use technology to see the doctor online and get a diagnosis (诊断) and instructions without leaving home.
In addition, there are many patient websites. These allow for different kinds of interactions about our health needs without involving the medical team. Setting a date with doctors and reading lab results are readily achieved by technology.
A whole new age of medical care seems likely (可能的) to come in the future. But every coin has two sides. What might be on the other side of techno-health care?
Firstly, we should think about the health care experience as a whole. A usual visit to a doctor begins with a receptionist (接待员) , who can see and tell how a patient is doing, This may influence the treatment effect. It’s unlikely that a patient website will have such intuition.
Next, sharing the details of one's life requires trust, which takes time to build. This is certainly true in health care, where some of life's best and worst moments involve doctors. The human touch should not be undervalued and is unlikely to be there over the smartphone.
Lastly, test results can be difficult to understand. When someone without a medical degree sees a flagged result with no explanation on the website, there's room for all kinds of stories to form in their minds—and also great worry.
So how does medicine adapt (适应) to the new technology age? Very talented companies are working on it .There is medical equipment(设备) that can be used at home to send necessary signs and heart sounds through telemedicine . It seems likely that some companies will find a way to explain test results.
But what it will not achieve is the warmth of human interaction and touch. Patients often need someone to listen to —and care about—their journey story, which will never be realized through a human-less technology. Technology should be a tool, but depending on it totally will most certainly have unexpected effects. Let's not allow our humanity to be one of them.
1. According to the passage, how does technology help health care?| A．It encourages doctors to voice their needs on the websites |
| B．It offers the patient a convenient way to get a diagnosis |
| C．It improves relations between doctors and patients. |
| D．It provides an opportunity to build a medical team |
| A．an ability to understand | B．an interesting experience |
| C．a chance to win | D．a fair decision |
| A．Patient websites require trust from doctors. |
| B．Talented companies can give medical advice. |
| C．Flagged results may cause worry for patients. |
| D．Medical equipment collects patients’ stories. |
| A．technology can deal with unexpected effects. |
| B．telemedicine can take the place of usual health care. |
| C．it is difficult for patients to adapt to the new technology age. |
| D．techno-health care should take humanity into consideration. |
7 .
Did you know that humans aren’t the only species (物种) that use language? Bees communicate by dancing. Whales talk to each other by singing. And some apes talk to humans by using American Sign Language.
A female gorilla, Koko, was born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. Koko learned sign language from her trainer, Dr. Penny Patterson. Patterson began teaching sign language to Koko in 1972, when Koko was one year old. Koko must have been a good student, because two years later she moved onto the Stanford University campus with Dr. Patterson. Koko continued to learn on the campus until 1976. That’s when she began living full-time with Patterson’s group, the Gorilla Foundation. Patterson and Koko’s relationship has blossomed ever since.
Dr. Patterson says that Koko has mastered sign language and known over 1,000 words, and that Koko makes up new words. For example, Koko didn’t know the sign for ring, so she signed the words finger and bracelet. Dr. Patterson thinks that this shows meaningful and constructive use of language.
Not everyone agrees with Dr. Patterson. Some argue that apes like Koko do not understand the meaning of what they are doing. Some people who don’t believe that say that these apes are just performing complex tricks (戏法). For example, if Koko points to an apple and signs red or apple, Dr. Patterson will give her an apple. They argue that Koko does not really know what the sign apple means. She only knows that that if she makes the right motion, one which Dr. Patterson has shown her, then she gets an apple. The debate is unresolved, but one thing is for certain: Koko is an extraordinary ape.
It seems like Patterson and Koko have a good relationship, but not everyone agrees with it. Some people believe that Patterson is humanizing the ape. They think that apes should be left in the most natural state possible. Even Dr. Patterson struggles with these feelings. When she was asked if her findings could be duplicated by another group of scientists, she said, “We don’t think that it would be ethical (道德的) to do again.” She went on to argue that animals should not be kept in such unnatural circumstances.
As for the future, Dr. Patterson and the Gorilla Foundation would love to get Koko to an ape preserve (保护区) in Maui, but they are having trouble getting the land. So unless you have a few million dollars to spare, Koko’s going to be spending her time in Woodland, California with Dr. Patterson. Koko probably doesn’t mind that. If she moved to Hawaii, she’d have to give up her Facebook page and Twitter feed, and she’s got like 50 thousand “likes”. Some may deny (否认) that she knows sign language, but nobody says that she doesn’t know social networking.
1. What is the writer’s main purpose in writing the second paragraph?| A．To describe the environment in which Koko lives. |
| B．To tell readers how Dr. Patterson developed Koko’s living skills. |
| C．To advise Patterson to free Koko after she learnt on the campus. |
| D．To make an introduction about Koko and Dr. Patterson’s background. |
| A．Koko has mastered sign language without a doubt. |
| B．Everybody likes how Dr. Patterson has raised Koko. |
| C．Some people think that Koko only signs to get food. |
| D．The Gorilla Foundation has got a land for Koko to stay naturally. |
| A．To disagree with someone. | B．To fool them. |
| C．To copy something. | D．To be disproven through debate. |
| A．Bees, whales, and apes like Koko all use language to communicate. |
| B．Koko uses sign language but some think it’s just a trick. |
| C．It is natural for gorillas to learn sign language like humans. |
| D．If you want a lot of “likes” on Facebook, get a talking gorilla. |
8 . When do children start to talk? If you ask a group of parents when this happened, most will say “around twelve months of age”. They will probably even remember what the children said. Many parents keep a diary of their child’s “first words”.
We can never predict what a first word is going to be. Often it’s the name for “mummy” or “daddy”, but it could just as easily be the word for an animal or a favorite toy. Everything depends on what has most caught the child’s attention. But one thing is certain: after the first word, others come quickly. By 18 months, most children have learned about 50 words. By two, the total has risen to around 200.
Early words are actually one-word sentences. One of the first features（特征）of language a child learns well is to control the rise and fall of the voice to make the difference between stating and questioning. In English, daddy with a high rising tone（声调）means “is that daddy?” Daddy with a high falling tone means “There’s daddy”. Of course, only very basic meanings can be communicated using tones alone. So it soon becomes necessary to learn some grammar.
In English, grammar means learning to put words in different orders. Children have to see that mummy push is different from push mummy. They start practising such changes at around 18 months. By two, they have learned the basic patterns of word order, and we hear them saying such things as man kick ball and where daddy go.
What are the parents doing all his time? They’re acting as teachers and they always have an active role to play in their child’s language learning.
1. How old are most children when they have learned about 50 words?| A．About 6 months old. | B．About one year old. |
| C．About 18 months old. | D．About two years old. |
| A．Mummy. | B．Push mummy. | C．Man kick ball. | D．Where daddy go. |
| A．Word order. | B．Word tones. | C．The first words. | D．Correcting words. |
| A．Teachers. | B．Parents. | C．Friends. | D．Grandparents. |
9 . Taihu Tunnel, 10.79 kilometres long and 43.6 metres wide, has been the longest underwater tunnel in China. It stands out as one of the “2022 China’s Top 100 Buildings in the New Era”.
When building Taihu Tunnel, the project team faced many challenges, such as high safety risks and time limit. To deal with them, they made workable plans. They divided the tunnel construction into 19 parts. The construction of each part mainly took four steps.
Step 1 Remove. The team built a cofferdam to remove water from the area, so the workers could go inside and do their work in dry conditions.
Step 2 Clear. The team dug deep into the lake bed, and cleared the soil and stones out in order to make space for the next step.
Step 3 Build. The team built the floor, walls and roof of the tunnel in this step. They used high-quality building materials to waterproof the tunnel.
Step 4 Backfill. The team put the soil and stones back. Then this part of the tunnel was buried deep down the lake bed.
The construction of the 19 parts was streamlined. The project team used a new method. The work group of each step moved to the next part and repeated their work after they finished the work in the previous part. Different work groups co-operated well with each other. From part to part, the construction started from the opposite ends, and got connected somewhere in the middle. The construction took about four years to complete, shorter than people had expected.
The drivers’ safety is fully considered in Taihu Tunnel. There are 200,000 LED lights on the ceiling of the tunnel. They show vivid pictures of blue sky, starry night and so on. The pictures can help drivers fight tiredness and travel through the tunnel safely. Besides, there are two systems in the tunnel. The police can check the traffic situation through a monitoring system. If traffic accidents happen, the police can give instructions and warn drivers in the tunnel over an audio system to prevent further accidents.
The construction of Taihu Tunnel shows great value in engineering and the tunnel brings much convenience to people living nearby.
1. Which picture shows how a “cofferdam” works?A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．was divided into four parts | B．look more time than people had expected |
| C．started from the middle of the lake | D．was completed by using a streamlined method |
| A．Pictures in the tunnel can help keep drivers safe. |
| B．Drivers can control the LED lights in the tunnel. |
| C．The police can warn drivers through a monitoring system. |
| D．An audio system can help drivers check the traffic situation. |
| A．To advise people to protect Taihu Tunnel. |
| B．To introduce the construction of Taihu Tunnel. |
| C．To share the advantages brought by Taihu Tunnel. |
| D．To tell the difficulties of constructing Taihu Tunnel. |
10 . Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will “obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey” is hardly right as a kind of the wanting and happy understanding usually shown by the children. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gestures（手势）and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt（尝试）to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words, leads to great difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises divide themselves as particularly（特别 ；尤其）expressive as pleasure, pain, friendliness, and so on. But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s meaning to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation leads on to easy imitation（模仿）of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises（发生；出现）as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
It is a problem we need to get our teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation; and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world. Thus the use, at seven months, of “mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at another time for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself. I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.
1. How do most children behave before learning the language at an early age?| A．They ask questions by repeating the words. |
| B．They take in language through different amounts of listening. |
| C．They understand and respond to adults’ oral instructions. |
| D．They are eager and delighted to cooperate with the adults. |
| A．may have difficulty in their listening |
| B．probably do not hear enough language spoken around them |
| C．often take a long time in learning to listen properly |
| D．usually pay close attention to what they hear |
| A．words have different meanings for different people |
| B．the changeover（变更）takes place gradually |
| C．the meaning of words changes with age |
| D．children’s use of words is often meaningless |
| A．Parents need not teach their children new sounds. |
| B．Children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak. |
| C．Children still enjoy imitating after they can speak. |
| D．Children who are good at imitating no longer need parents’ help. |
