The United Nations has 6 official languages. Each of them has their own days with the aim to show the rich history and culture of each language. UNESCO first created Chinese Language Day in 2010 to celebrate Chinese as one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
The first Chinese Language Day was in 2010 on November 12th. But since 2011, it has been on the 20th of April. The date was chosen from Guyu (“Rain of Millet*”) to remember Cangjie. Cangjie is very important in ancient China who was believed to invent Chinese characters 5000 years ago. Legend* says that Cangjie had 4 eyes and he was good at observing*. He often watched the sun and the moon with his upper 2 eyes while watched mountains and rivers with the lower 2 eyes. His long-time observation inspired him to create the earliest written characters according to the shapes of things. When his work was over, it rained millet upon the earth.
This year’s Chinese Language Day was held in New York, under the theme of “Chinese Wisdom for a Green World” to provide Chinese wisdom and solutions for green and long-lasting development. World-famous writer Mr. Liu Cixin gave an online lecture to share his opinions on sustainable development and the protection of mother earth.
Chinese Language Day is an important carrier for Chinese learners, lovers, and users from all over the world to get close to Chinese. Nowadays, more than one sixth of world’s population speak Chinese as their first language— that’s more than any other population in the world! Learning Chinese is more like a key to knowing China and feeling the beauty of Chinese culture.
1. The Chinese Language Day was first created ________.| A．in 2011 | B．13 years ago |
| C．to celebrate Guyu | D．to remember Cangjie |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．The theme of this year is about how to be green in China. |
| B．Liu Cixin showed up in New York for the celebration this year. |
| C．The Chinese Language Day is important for people over the world. |
| D．More than 16 percent of world’s population are Chinese native speakers. |
| A．To tell a legend about Cangjie | B．To show the history Chinese. |
| C．To attract foreigners to come to China. | D．To introduce some facts of a special day. |
1. ________ are necessary to make Earl Grey.
① A teaspoon ②Hot water ③Tea leaves ④ Milk ⑤A teapot
| A．①②④ | B．②③⑤ | C．②③④ | D．③④⑤ |
| A．must drink it in the afternoon | B．should drink it with the a leaves |
| C．have to add sugar and lemon in it | D．can enjoy sweets at the same time |
| A．newspaper | B．magazine | C．poster | D．website |
3 . A heat wave roasted* hundreds of thousands of people across the Pacific Northwest, taking away hundreds of lives. Climate change has made heat waves like this one more frequent and stronger than those from any other point in recorded history.
The following is what happens if you’re one of the next people whom heat wave kills, according to W. Lawrence Kenney, an expert from Penn State University. First, your brain sends messages to encourage sweat* production. Then your heart starts beating faster to pump* blood to the skin, and at the same time, blood flow is also directed away from your organs like liver, kidneys, and gut. That’s your body trying to make your skin hotter than the air outside and move heat away from you.
If heat stroke* happens, your body might get too hot and send much blood to the skin, as a result, it fails* those important organs in your body. You might require an emergency transplant to survive the organ failure. If your body fails to cool you down, its internal* temperature might start to climb from a normal level of about 98 degrees Fahrenheit to somewhere closer to 104 degrees. At that temperature, the brain becomes affected and you may feel it start as a headache. Before long, you might not know where you are or what time it is. If you are not treated in time, what follows is a series of organ failure that leads to all but certain death. And that’s just part of what we know about how heat wave kills you.
“It’s important for people to understand that there’s still a lot we don’t know about heat stroke and who’s most likely to be harmed,” Kenney said, “That’s because we can’t study it in humans in the laboratory. A lot of what we know comes from studies on animal models, like mice and rats, or from examinations of people who have died of heat stroke.”
roast v. 烤；sweat n. 汗液；pump v. （心脏）泵送血液；heat stroke 中暑；fail v. 使……衰竭；internal adj. 体内的
1. Which of the following will happen if a heat wave attacks a person?| A．The skin will produce less sweat. |
| B．The heart beats will slow down. |
| C．There will be more blood in the skin. |
| D．The organs will be more active. |
| A．Prevent organs from failing. | B．Try to cool down the body. |
| C．Try to treat the headache. | D．Stop sweat from producing. |
| A．There hasn’t been enough study so far. |
| B．We should keep studying human deaths. |
| C．We have already studied on humans. |
| D．The studies on animal models are useless. |
| A．How heat strokes are developed |
| B．How we can keep organs work well |
| C．How we can slow down global warming |
| D．How heat waves destroy the human body |
4 . The jackfruit is a delicious fruit found throughout certain parts of Asia. But there is more to the fruit than just its taste. When considering the fruit’s English name, it is easy to become overwhelmed with questions like: “Who is Jack? And why does he have his own fruit?”
Surprisingly, “jackfruit” isn’t a person’s name at all. The fruit’s name originally comes from the southern Indian word “chakka pazham”, with India thought to be the fruit’s place of origin. Portuguese explorers who journeyed to this region went on to call it “jaca”, which leads us to the current English name of jackfruit, according to NPR. Unfortunately, no one called Jack has been proven to be involved* in this process.
There is another food, however, that was directly named after a person-the sandwich. In the 18th century, playing card games late into the night became fashionable in British high society. John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, started the habit of ordering pieces of cold beef between two pieces of bread in order to get a late-night snack without having to leave the gaming table or use a knife and fork.
This unique snack kept bands clean so card players could continue on without dirtying their cards. The midnight snack quickly became popular with everyday people, and before long everyone was making their own sandwiches. That is how the sandwich was invented and got its name.
Away from the world of food, there are more examples of names inspired by people. Long johns, the warm trousers that keep us warm in winter, are said to have been named after the US boxer John I. Sullivan who took to wearing a similar type of clothes in the match.
There are many other interesting etymologies in the English language like these. So the next time you find an interesting name, why not explore its history too?
1. What does the underlined word “overwhelmed” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Puzzled. | B．Excited. | C．Worried. | D．Amazed. |
| A．A place in India. |
| B．An Indian word. |
| C．A Portuguese explorer named Jack. |
| D．The man who discovered the fruit. |
| A．It was first popular in the UK’s middle class. |
| B．It was once eaten as a snack in the daytime. |
| C．It was named after a popular card game. |
| D．It was created for the convenience of playing cards. |
| A．To introduce things named after people. |
| B．To raise readers’ interest in etymology. |
| C．To explain the effects of people’s names on food. |
| D．To stress the importance of learning history. |
When you think of mushrooms, the image that comes to your mind is probably the delicious food in cream soup and pizza. You are not alone. Most of us think that mushrooms are just a kind of nutritious food. In fact, mycelium, the bottom part of mushrooms, is not used in our dishes but used to make handbags or build houses.
Mycelium, a newly developed material, has become more and more important in industry since a company called Ecovative Design produced mycelium bags in 2007. People are trying to make more mycelium-based products because mycelium grows fast and doesn’t take up farming land. Besides, it has very low environment footprint. It can even break down waste. It’s also useful for creating new materials. For example, mycelium can reuse waste to create packaging materials by weaving its network through the waste.
Mycelium has already been put into use in many parts of daily life. In the project “The Growing Pavillion”, scientists from the Netherlands used mycelium as one of the materials to build a house. This material can keep the house cool. Another project is “Myceli-yum”. It produces mycelium-based meat which looks nearly 100% like real meat! Producing the meat uses much less energy than producing common meat. Its high nutrition and low cholesterol make it a popular choice for people who want to lose weight. Max Justice, an expert in space, uses mycelium as one of the most important materials for a new satellite. He hopes when the satellite finishes its work, it can break down itself instead of becoming space junk.
However, mycelium has its limits. Buildings made from mycelium are easy to get wet inside, as the material itself isn’t resistant to water. Compared with common houses, mycelium-based houses are not strong enough against natural disasters like earthquakes.
Scientists are working hard to improve the quality of mycelium and experimenting with new uses of it. So keep an eye out, because over the next few years, you’re likely to find more mycelium-based products all around you.
1. According to the passage, mycelium ________| A．is a new material | B．makes pizza delicious |
| C．grows above the ground | D．is taken from cream soup |
| A．grows at a low cost | B．is created in a rapid way |
| C．produces waste slowly | D．is friendly to the environment |
| A．keep products away from water | B．produce food that is good for health |
| C．make satellites that use less energy | D．build houses against natural disasters |
| A．Mycelium: A Hidden Treasure | B．Mycelium: A Project on Building |
| C．Mycelium: A Common Vegetable | D．Mycelium: A Space Junk Cleaner |
On February 22, Guo Hongyi, an 8-year-old boy, solved a 4-level Tower of Hanoi with one hand in 4. 305 seconds and set a new world record.
Tower of Hanoi is a maths game which has been popular for centuries. To solve a Tower of Hanoi puzzle, it needs your brain, eyes and hands to work together.
Tower of Hanoi is made up of three poles and a stack of discs. The discs should be placed from the largest on the bottom to the smallest on the top. The way to play the game is to move the whole stack from Pole A to Pole C. There are three simple rules as follows:
◆Only one disc can be moved at a time.
◆You can only move the top disc of a stack.
◆Each disc can be placed on any pole, but it can’t be placed on top of a smaller disc.
Tower of Hanoi was invented by a mathematician Frenchman called Edouard Lucas in 1883. His idea came from an ancient story: In an eastern temple with three huge poles, the god asked the priests* to move a stack of 64 golden discs from Pole One to Pole Three. Edouard found the maths problem in the story interesting and tried to work out the minimum* number of moves to solve the puzzle. Finally, he came up with the formula*: 2n-1, where “n” is the number of discs. According to the formula, even if the priests made one move every second, it would take 500 billion years to finish. It was an impossible task for them.
Nowadays, Tower of Hanoi is used in many fields, such as the psychological research and computer science. It has made great contributions to human’s life.
So next time you’re looking for a fun and challenging puzzle game, give Tower of Hanoi a try!
1. Tower of Hanoi is popular mainly because it ________.| A．is solved with one hand | B．helps people set world records |
| C．develops thinking ability | D．is a newly-invented maths game |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．fewest moves | B．sizes of discs | C．fewest discs | D．speed of moves |
| A．To show how popular Tower of Hanoi is. |
| B．To introduce the history of Tower of Hanoi. |
| C．To attract more people to play Tower of Hanoi. |
| D．To explain why Tower of Hanoi is widely used. |
7 . It may sound strange, but many people play noise to help themselves sleep better. Actually, this kind of noise is called coloured noise, such as white noise, pink noise, and brown noise.
Coloured noise contains a wide range of frequencies. However, it shows stronger intensity at certain frequencies. For example, violet noise has stronger intensity at higher frequencies. Brown noise produces deeper sounds such as heavy rainfall, because it shows stronger intensity at lower frequencies. White noise has equal intensity across all frequencies. Typical examples of white noise are the noise made by fans, and natural sounds like gently running water. Pink noise is similar to white noise but has stronger intensity at lower frequencies.
There have been several experiments on the effect that noise has on people. In a 2021 study, 10 people in New York City affected by loud environmental noise showed improved sleep quality and sleep duration when white noise was played. Another sleep study showed that 16 adults actually improved their memory of vocabulary after listening to pink noise in their sleep, though the effect of pink noise on sleep quality wasn’t measured. Some people suggest that brown noise is the best noise for their sleep. However, no studies have proven it.
So why do some people claim to sleep better with certain coloured noise? There are some theories that can explain it. One is about sound masking, and it shows that white noise masks other sounds of noise, resulting in better sleep. Another theory is that this sleep-aid effect could be an example of classical conditioning. For example, people who sleep better with brown noise may have conditioned themselves over time to fall asleep when they hear it.
Every coloured noise has its benefits. It is your personal choice to decide which coloured noise is the best for you to get a good sleep!
1. According to the passage, coloured noise .| A．shows similar intensity | B．is mainly created by people |
| C．has different frequencies | D．is harmful to people’s health |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．White noise is helpful for people to improve memory. |
| B．The effect of pink noise on sleep quality has been proved. |
| C．People may sleep better with brown noise if they get used to it. |
| D．People can’t decide which coloured noise to play for their sleep. |
| A．Coloured Noise: A Good Helper for Your Sleep |
| B．Coloured Noise: A Creative Idea to Study Sounds |
| C．Coloured Noise: A New Way to Improve Memory |
| D．Coloured Noise: A Smart Choice for Your Health |
Before the development of phones, the natives of the island of La Gomera were able to use a whistled language to communicate with each other from mountain peak to mountain peak. It is known as the Silbo Gomero.
Invented by the island’s natives–Guanches, the Silbo Gomero was the only form that they used to communicate with others far away until the first half of the 20th century. During the 16th century, it was taught to Spanish settlers. Then it spread to other neighbouring islands and was used by much more people.
The whistled language has a vocabulary of over 4,000 words. The difficulty of this language lies in the fact that it replaces the five vowels of Spanish language with two clearly different whistles and twenty-two consonants of it with other four different whistles. People can tell the differences of the whistles according to how high or low the sound is and whether they are interrupted or continued.
However, with the rise of modern communications, the special language was dying out, and by the latter half of the 20th century very few people still knew how to whistle in this manner. Luckily, the local government has managed to reverse this situation, mainly through laws that make it a required subject in schools across the island of La Gomera. Gradually, it is developed and practised by a large number of people. In 2009, the Silbo Gomero was claimed to be an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Nowadays, the Silbo Gomero is also used during festivals and ceremonies. To prevent it from disappearing, the native people continue to make great effort. Although there’s not a special visitor center to appreciate the amazement of the whistled language, that is not to say it won’t be one in the future.
1. According to the passage, the Silbo Gomero was invented to .| A．attract Spanish settlers | B．spread ideas to other islands |
| C．encourage the use of phones | D．communicate over long distance |
| A．change | B．study | C．face | D．describe |
| A．It has almost the same vocabulary as Spanish. |
| B．It was taught to Spanish settlers 200 years ago. |
| C．There has been a special center for visitors to appreciate it. |
| D．People can tell the differences by the features of its sounds. |
| A．To encourage people to visit La Gomera. |
| B．To spread the Silbo Gomero all over world. |
| C．To introduce some facts of the Silbo Gomero. |
| D．To tell the stories of the natives of La Gomera. |
Perhaps in the last few weeks you’ve heard much about Open AI and its new product ChatGPT, a chatbot or a chat robot that can answer your questions wisely. It is a type of language model that uses deep learning to generate human-like, conversational texts. In other words, it can respond to its users in natural language.
ChatGPT is not only friendly to its users, but also safe to the society. It is not the first go at AI chatbot. Microsoft launched Tay in 2016, but Twitter users thought it rude, which led to its downfall in the first 24 hours. BlenderBot3 from Meta fell down for providing harmful information. ChatGPT is trying to avoid these problems. It has been trained to communicate with users in natural language, which makes you feel you are talking with a real friendly man. Besides, ChatGPT’s own special system makes sure it does not provide any unsafe outputs. That means it will say no if you ask it a question which includes potential risks. Times describes ChatGPT as “a stunningly lifelike conversational language system” and “the world’s first truly useful chatbot”.
Supposed to be an improvement, ChatGPT can help with various tasks. It corrects grammar, makes texts into simple ones, and even fixes bugs in Python code. ChatGPT also can offer emotional support and advice to users dealing with stress. The only thing you need to do is to type up your questions. ▲ . ChatGPT is still in its early stages of development. As you might expect, there are some problems that come with this type of chatbot. For example, it can be a useful tool for students to cheat on their homework or tests. Sometimes, detailed answers may also mislead people into believing that the answers are true though they are not.
Even though there are still some limitations and worries, many in the technology world see ChatGPT as a look into the future. And now ChatGPT itself is more than a machine and Open AI seeks to understand what it can and can’t do. Whatever comes of this new age technology, welcome to the world of ChatGPT.
1. ChatGPT is .| A．a language that makes people wise | B．a model that can ask questions |
| C．a product that can chat with humans | D．a robot that looks like humans |
| A．ChatGPT works well in safety and communication |
| B．ChatGPT is reported as the first chatbot in the world |
| C．Microsoft and Meta succeeded in developing chatbots |
| D．Chatbots have been widely used by us for several years |
| A．What’s more, ChatGPT can do more in different fields |
| B．However, the weakness of ChatGPT cannot be ignored |
| C．In addition, ChatGPT helps students do their homework |
| D．Besides, detailed answers offered by ChatGPT are useful |
| A．Worried. | B．Uncertain. | C．Satisfied. | D．Hopeful. |
Storytelling plays a big part in the childhood of most people on the Caribbean Islands. It is a tradition from Africa many years ago and is a way to keep their shared culture alive.
Despite the modern distractions(干扰) of television and video games, many Caribbean families still gather outside their homes, with the full moon in the sky and the wind blowing gently, to hear stories that they have already heard many times before.
The storyteller has an important position in Caribbean society. Good storytellers take years to perfect their performances. First, they must collect some good stories, which are often simple and should work well for people of all ages. They must then practise these on family members to test out their material before moving on to larger crowds. They may choose to become travelling storytellers and move from town to town looking for new audiences to share their stories with. And the very best storytellers make it onto the international stage and travel the world. More recently, many storytellers have started using film to reach even more people.
With many Caribbean islands and people moving from Africa, there are many types of stories to be told. One common feature is the performance tradition known as ‘crick crack’ . The basic idea is that the audience join in the storytelling. For example, in St Lucia, where stories are usually told in French, the storyteller announces(宣布) that he or she wants to tell a story by shouting out ‘Crick!’ and the audience show they want to listen by responding(回应) ‘Crack!’. Throughout the performance, the storyteller invites audiences to answer questions and riddles and to make comments. In this way, the storyteller and the audience become an equally important part of the whole experience.
1. Most people in Caribbean tell stories to _______.| A．reduce the screen time | B．gather their family around |
| C．pass on their traditions | D．remember their childhood |
① collect stories ② tell stories in other towns
③ practice stories home ④ look for foreign audiences
| A．①②③④ | B．①③②④ | C．①④②③ | D．②①③④ |
| A．asking questions | B．telling a riddle |
| C．replying with ‘Crick!’ | D．shouting out ‘Crack!’ |
| A．Storytelling in Caribbean | B．History of Storytelling |
| C．Storytellers in Caribbean | D．Features of Storytellers |
