1 . Smart transportation is leading to the birth of new apps for smart cities in China. In recent years, technology companies have worked hard to speed up the use of robotaxis and Baidu is one of the pioneers.
In June 2019, Baidu started to test its driverless robotaxis in certain areas in Changsha. In 2020, its Apollo Go robotaxis, also known as “Luobo Kuaipao” in Chinese, officially began its service in certain areas in Changsha, Cangzhou and Beijing, with a safety officer sitting in the driver seat who would monitor (监视) the drive and deal with accidents. In March 2022, Beijing allowed Baidu to test fully driverless robotaxis on certain roads, which meant a further step forward. In June 2023, Baidu carried out its driverless taxi service in Shenzhen across an area of 188 km2 from 7 am to 10 pm daily.
Booking a ride on Apollo Go is as simple as a few taps on your phone screen. Passengers just need to tell the app Apollo Go or Baidu Map where they are and where to go. Then, a car will appear. With sensors (传感器) and cameras all over the car, a computer takes full control of the drive. A screen on the back seat shows customers the information of the ride and how the robotaxi “looks” at the space around to see other cars, humans, and anything else that might get in its way.
“The robotaxi goes at about the same speed, providing a good riding experience,” a user posted online. By September 2023, the number of orders has reached four million. The user satisfaction rating for the Apollo Go app has reached 4. 9 out of 5 and 97.12% of the reviews are five-star ratings. So far, Apollo Go robotaxi service has covered 11 cities and by 2025, it plans to test its robotaxis in other 65 cities.
However, safety is the key in the development of driverless robotaxis. Didi and AutoX both had cases (事例) when the safety officer inside had to take over control of the drive. In the future, Apollo Go and the other companies should take more time to improve the system in order to provide comfortable and safe rides.
1. What is Baidu working on according to the passage?| A．Driverless taxis. | B．Robot taxi drivers. |
| C．Taxi Safety apps. | D．Maps for robotaxis. |
| A．The risk of Apollo Go. | B．The future of Apollo Go. |
| C．The advantages of Apollo Go. | D．The development of Apollo Go. |
| A．By telling a story. | B．By doing experiments. |
| C．By listing numbers. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．People in Shenzhen could take a ride even at midnight in June 2023. |
| B．Internet safety officers monitored the taxis instead of sitting in them in 2020. |
| C．Passengers sitting on the back seats can know about their rides from a screen. |
| D．It provides safer service than Didi and AutoX, and will be the most popular app. |
2 . Predicting (预测) something in the future seems as if it would need supernatural powers—which doesn’t sound very scientific! But there’s no magic here. Instead, scientists who study the weather use special tools to help make their predictions.
Weather science is called meteorology. That may sound as if it’s about studying meteors (流星), but it’s not. The name comes from an ancient Greek word and means “the study of things that are up high.” And, to study those high-up things, scientists put tools up there to help. Now let’s see how these tools are used to help predict the weather.
First of all, a small tool called the weather station is connected to a weather balloon. And then scientists send both the weather station and the weather balloon high into the sky. There, the weather station takes important information about the things like air pressure and temperature. What’s happening way up there can influence what happens in our part of the sky.
After that, the weather stations on the ground throughout the world give correct, real-time information, which help scientists see how the weather is changing from moment to moment. At the same time, the satellites (卫星), both far above our atmosphere and within it, are other tools that also collect facts or important information for weather scientists. After receiving information from weather stations and satellites, radar (雷达) shows rainfall and where it’s moving, as well as wind speed and direction.
Finally, all the information is sent into supercomputers, which can tell what might most probably happen next (according to what has happened under those conditions before).
Scientists combine all of this with their own knowledge and experience to let you know what kind of weather might be on the way. Since a change in any factor (因素) can change the final result, weather predictions are more precise for upcoming hours and days, rather than weeks. That’s why scientists need to change their predictions often-and can’t tell you today whether it will rain when you’re at camp in July!
1. The writer thinks predicting the weather ______.| A．needs supernatural powers | B．is all about studying meteors |
| C．requires some special tools | D．was popular in ancient Greece |
①The information like temperature is recorded.
②Supercomputers tell what is going to happen.
③Radar tells information about rainfall and wind.
④The weather station is connected to a weather balloon.
| A．①④③② | B．①③④② | C．④②③① | D．④①③② |
| A．cheaper | B．safer | C．more exact | D．more convenient |
| A．How do satellites help predict the weather? | B．How do scientists know about the weather? |
| C．How does nature tell secrets about the weather? | D．How does the weather station influence the weather? |
3 . 
①Japanese-style gardens first got attention in the US in 1893. About 120 years later, they started to be a great part of American garden design. Today, there are over 200 Japanese-style public gardens in North America.
②Japanese-style gardens are different in many ways. First, they bring together indoor and outdoor spaces. The house-garden relationship is set up to be connected. Gardens are around the house, so it’s as if the living space reaches out much further. Wherever a person looks out from their home, a garden should look almost like a painting. In fact, the idea of bringing the beauty of nature into daily lives is the most important idea in Japan so gardeners in Japan pay special attention to the beauty of rocks and stones.
③What’s more, Japanese-style gardens look as if they do not require much work. However, garden designers who are experts in this kind of garden say that Japanese gardens sometimes need even more work than other kinds of gardens.
④In these years, there have been some changes in Japanese-style gardens in the US. “When Japanese-style gardens were first introduced to the US, people paid little attention to whether outdoor scenery was connected to indoor spaces.” said John, who received training in Japan in 2000. But today, more Americans prefer the idea of “connecting the indoors to the outdoors.”
⑤Another change is that in the past, the trees chosen were often native to Japan. But today, the purpose is to use some trees that grow well in local environments. So now it’s very possible to create a wonderful Japanese garden using all native trees.
1. Japanese-style gardens became a great part of American garden design in about ______.| A．1893 | B．1913 | C．2000 | D．2013 |
| A．Plant the gardens with local trees. | B．Connect natural beauty to everyday lives. |
| C．Find as many rocks and stones as possible. | D．Make the gardens as beautiful as paintings. |
| A．Japanese-style gardens are attractive but require less hard work. |
| B．Nowadays more local trees are chosen for the gardens in the US. |
| C．The US has connected the indoors to outdoors since ancient times. |
| D．Americans think Japanese-style gardens are better for local environments. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
4 . Dragon Head-raising Day is celebrated on the second day of the second Chinese lunar month to show respect to Dragon King and wish good weather for a big harvest. It is considered the start of spring and farming.
After the cold winter, spring comes and animals are awake, but because of the winter, the weather is dry and farming needs water. The story goes that after this day, the Dragon King who controls clouds and rains would wake from his winter sleep and bring rainfall for the crops.
On that day, there are lots of traditional celebration activities. First, in the early morning when it’s still dark, families go to a river or a well with lanterns to get water and then carry it back home. Then they light candles, burn incense sticks (香柱) and offer a sacrifice (祭品). This ritual is named Yintianlong (lead the field dragon). People believe the actions can bring wealth and health to their homes.
The most well-known tradition on the day is having a haircut. It’s a sign of good luck and energy in the whole year. However, it is very bad luck to get a haircut during the first lunar month.
Eating “dragon” food is another important part of celebrations. Chinese are best at connecting certain food with luck so food eaten on this day also gets special names. Noodles which are long and thin are called “dragon beard (long xu).” Dumplings are called “dragon ears (long er).” Spring rolls are “dragon scales (long lin)”, and people call popcorn “dragon seeds (long zi)”.
Those celebration activities may be different in the south and the north, and some activities are remained to nowadays, while some are just kept in the past. But the wish for a good year ahead is the same despite the change of time or space.
1. What do Chinese people think of the Dragon King?| A．It creates spring winds. | B．It controls the animals for farming. |
| C．It brings rains for lands. | D．It wakes after the first rain in spring. |
| A．A set of actions. | B．A kind of sacrifices. |
| C．The name of a dragon. | D．The word of greetings. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．To introduce the traditions of Dragon Head-raising Day. |
| B．To compare different traditions of the south and the north. |
| C．To explain the importance of “dragon” in Chinese culture. |
| D．To share experiences of celebrating Dragon Head-raising Day. |
5 .
Smartphone Use in Teenagers’ Life | |
| There are about 6.8 billion smartphone users worldwide nowadays. And about 88% of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 use smartphones in their daily life. According to the latest report, they spend about 2 hours on smartphones every day. |
How do Teenagers Allocate (分配) Time on the Smartphone?
| |
What do Teenagers Think of the Smartphone? ◆Jenny: My mom and I love shopping on it. It saves time and money. ◆Lueas: When I feel nervous, I like to listen to music on it. It’s a good way to relax. ◆Mary: It makes our life convenient, but we should never spend too much time on it. ◆John: It is really useful and helpful and it helps me a lot when I have trouble in study. | |
1. According to the passage, teenagers spend about one third of their time ______ on smartphones.
| A．taking photos | B．playing games |
| C．sending text messages | D．watching and sharing videos |
| A．is a great learning tool for him | B．provides a good way to relax |
| C．makes it much easier to shop online | D．should not be used too much |
| A．School life. | B．World trade. |
| C．Health and environment. | D．Society and modern life. |
It has been more than 50 years since anyone set foot on the moon. And those old suits were hard to move in and didn’t fit every astronaut. As part of NASA’s Artemis III, astronauts will wear new for the first time in 40 years.
The new spacesuit is easier to wear and is a better fit for women too. It also allows to see more things in a better way with built-in lights and even a camera for catching things more easily. Now it is just a black spacesuit. When it reaches the moon, it will be white. This helps astronauts being noticed on the moon. The new spacesuits “will not only allow the first woman to walk on the moon, but also allow astronauts to do more researches on the moon.”
On the moon, daytime lasts for around 14 earth days and temperatures can reach 120°C! But the nights last just as long and temperatures can drop to -130°C! The spacesuits can help astronauts in these environment. _____▲_____. For example on the moon, radiation levels can be 200 times more than those on earth! Astronauts will get hurt without the spacesuits. And in space, there is mo air. Spacesuits also have to offer enough oxygen to astronauts.
The Artemis I successfully returned to Earth last year. Artemis II is set for 2024. It will take further from Earth than anyone has gone before. Artemis III is set for 2025 and will see astronauts moon walking for the first time in half a century. NASA also plans to build a new space station on the moon. The station will move around the moon and help NASA finish more plans in deeper space—like sending people to Mars! The plans are ready, and the spacesuits are ready as well.
1. The new ultra modern spacesuit is ________.| A．better for seeing | B．better for walking |
| C．invented for women | D．invented for Artemis II |
| A．But sometimes the spacesuits will also cause some problems. |
| B．Then astronauts must pay attention to these when wearing spacesuits. |
| C．And the spacesuits can also protect the astronauts from other dangers. |
| D．So sometimes astronauts don need wear the spacesuits on the moon. |
| A．Many kinds of spacesuits have been invented since 1980s. |
| B．New spacesuits will change from white to black on the moon. |
| C．New spacesuits will help astronauts stay safe in different temperatures. |
| D．New spacesuits will be helpful for the NASA’s new space station on the moon. |
| A．the differences of spacesuits | B．the reasons of inventing new spacesuits |
| C．the advantages of new spacesuits | D．the things prepared for NASA’s moon plan |
It is known that China is the first country to grow, produce and drink tea. In 2022, it was on the UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. Let’s know more about it.
Although there are hundreds of kinds of Chinese tea, we can find several basic kinds. For example, green tea has the longest history with the largest production, such as longjing and maofeng. But too much green tea is bad for sleeping. Black tea is named for its special tea leaves. It tastes sweet and is good for health. Oolong tea which is mainly produced in Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan, is most famous for dahongpao. This orange-red tea comes with an unusual smell.
Tea is important in Chinese people’s daily life. They drink tea everywhere. It’s also the tradition in China to make tea for friends, which means respecting as well as sharing something enjoyable. Recently, taking a break for “stone-boiled” tea with friends is a fashion, which shows tea is more popular for Chinese young people.
Tea has a great influence for the world, too. More and more foreigners love Chinese tea. “What Chinese tea has brought to me means a lot to me.” As a Chinese tea lover, Sang, an American man, has taught about tea since 2012. “As I teach my friends, most of them get the art of tea and love it. I want to share Chinese tea with more people, and at the same time share the friendly Chinese friends and the colorful Chinese culture.”
So you see, a cup of tea connects different places, connects you and me, connects the West and China, and shows the character and life of Chinese people.
1. How many basic kinds of tea are mentioned in Paragraph 2?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．To show Sang’s experience with tea. |
| B．To describe the colorful Chinese culture. |
| C．To show foreigners’ love for Chinese tea |
| D．To talk about Sang’s friendly Chinese friends |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Tea: A Healthy Drink | B．Tea: A Chinese Culture |
| C．Tea: A Chinese Favorite | D．Tea: An Important Part of Life |
1. Which of the following matches Group 1?
| A．I always have meals at home. | B．I hardly have time for breakfast. |
| C．I like cooking meals for myself. | D．I often eat snacks while watching TV. |
| A．Sit in the sofa while eating snacks. |
| B．Eat snacks quickly after doing sports. |
| C．Don’t eat anything while watching TV. |
| D．Place healthy snacks at hand while watching TV. |
| A．How to eat in right ways. | B．How to have a healthy life. |
| C．How to have three meals. | D．How to keep yourself strong. |
9 . Not all fat is created the same, according to several new studies. We all know there’s good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. It turns out there’s good and bad fat, too. Good fat is medically known as “brown fat”.
Brown fat, mainly found in the neck and shoulders of newborns, has the ability to burn lots of calories, which can keep them warm. It makes up about 5 percent of a baby’s total weight. We lose most of our brown fat as we grow up. By the age of six, we have less than 5 percent of the brown fat we were born with; the fat we get over time is almost all white fat.
Researchers now believe that some people keep brown fat until adulthood. Brown fat—the “good” kind can burn excess energy better to make heat. But white fat—considered the “bad” kind—is a way for your body to keep excess energy and take more calories than you use. It is bad for the body. And it doesn’t use much energy, is hard to burn off, and causes other health problems.
Some studies suggest that taking a cold shower or an ice bath could let brown fat help your body burn more calories. Researchers have also found ways that may help people get brown fat without the need for cold. You build fat from the foods you eat. As brown fat is rich in iron, choosing food rich in iron can keep you healthy. Nutrition is very important for your health, especially if you want to increase brown fat.
One main reason of the growth in illnesses is the increasing level of white fat. Though changing white fat into brown fat is helpful to increase brown fat, some scientists think they will learn how to keep brown fat as large and active throughout adulthood as they are like babies. We should try our best to keep brown fat forever instead of having to recreate it.
1. Who has the most brown fat among the four persons?| A．A teenage girl. | B．A college student. | C．A new-born baby. | D．An elderly teacher. |
| A．It can cause health problems. | B．It burns calories in a better way. |
| C．It is found in the neck and shoulders. | D．It keeps excess energy in the human body. |
| A．Ways of increasing the number of brown fat. |
| B．The advantages of the brown fat. |
| C．The importance of nutrition in brown fat production. |
| D．The temperature in increasing the brown fat. |
| A．How to recreate more brown fat. | B．How to turn white fat into brown fat. |
| C．How to make the danger of white fat less. | D．How to keep brown fat. |
Do you always feel lonely? When do you feel lonely? Is loneliness a good feeling? Nowadays more and more people are having this kind of feeling in their daily life. When someone feels lonely, he or she will have an experience of being alone because of low levels of social contact* and relationships*.
There are two kinds of loneliness: emotional* loneliness and social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is about the relationship between parents and their children. When children leave their parents for a while, they usually show the pain, such as crying and trying to search for their parents. Therefore, emotional loneliness is caused by leaving a person that someone is close to, such as a parent. On the other hand, social loneliness is the loneliness that one experiences when he or she leaves a wide social network*. One doesn’t feel that he or she is a member of a group, or one doesn’t have friends to talk to when he or she is sad.
Besides, loneliness is different from being alone. Being alone is about not having contact with people. But loneliness is a subjective experience: if people think they are lonely, then they are lonely. People can be lonely when they are alone, or in a group. What makes people lonely is the fact that they want more social interaction*. People can be in a group and feel lonely because they don’t get to talk to enough people. On the other hand, one can be alone and not feel lonely, though there is no one around him or her. That person is not lonely because maybe he or she doesn’t want to have social interaction* at that time.
So, what about you? Will you feel lonely if you stay alone? Or you just enjoy the time being with yourself.
1. Why did the writer start the passage with questions?| A．To let readers answer these questions. |
| B．To ask for more ideas about loneliness. |
| C．To make readers interested in the passage. |
| D．To check students’ understanding of loneliness. |
| A．They have no friends to talk to. | B．They have a small social network. |
| C．They have a feeling of being lonely. | D．They don’t get on well with their parents. |
| A．A hot subject. | B．A person’s own feeling. |
| C．A pain in the body. | D．A person’s special plan. |
| A．One can be not lonely with nobody around. |
| B．Being alone is an important reason of loneliness. |
| C．Different people have the same level of social interactions. |
| D．Staying with group members can make people feel less lonely. |
