The Spring Festival always begins on doors and walls. Spring couplets (春联) stand for people’s wishes for a happier life in the coming year.
The couplets are written on red paper. They are the most important symbol of the Spring Festival. Although people are busy with all kinds of things before the Spring Festival, sticking couplets is always in the first place on the to-do list. And my mother would ask me to take some gifts to people who wrote couplets for us. When they were writing, I would watch how they used the brush to create these wonderful works.
Later when I was a little older, my parents encouraged me to learn how to write couplets. I asked some elder people to teach me some skills. When learning from them, I became greatly interested in traditional culture. Every time when our family visited relatives during the Spring Festival, I always collected the poems of the couplets and used them to express my good wishes like “health, wealth and long-life” to my relatives.
Nowadays as the science and technology is developing rapidly, couplets are mainly produced by machines. We can easily buy all kinds of beautiful couplets on the streets. Though forms of making couplets have changed, the best wishes that couplets express remain. The red paper and black words are not only used to write the couplets, but also carry our love for traditional culture. They will never be forgotten.
1. What do spring couplets stand for in the Spring Festival?2. How did the writer express good wishes to his or her relatives?
3. Why can we easily buy all kinds of beautiful couplets on the street?
4. Do you think we should stick couplets or not? Why? (Write 30 words or more)
2 . Electric vehicles (电动汽车) or EVs recently have become more and more popular. Technological improvements, especially batteries, make EVs rather than gas cars become more people’s first choice.
Mueller, an expert in studying cars, explains why they are the future of cars. He writes, “I think EVs are the future. They have better torque (扭转力), acceleration (加速) and better control.”
Best of all, you never have to visit a gas station. Every morning your car is charged (充电) and ready to go. And if you are worried about miles they can cover, that’s not necessary. Almost all trips can be done in an EV with a proper battery. And fast chargers (充电器) along the way make it possible to do longer road trips if necessary.
Besides, it’s clean technology: a traditional gas car causes more than twice as carbon (碳) pollution as an EV. Even in places that get almost all of their electricity from burning coal (煤), an EV still pollutes less than a typical traditional gas car. Supposing a 10-year service life, a traditional car will let out 66,000 pounds more carbon pollution than an electric vehicle.
Human science technology is always moving forward. However, some challenges still remain about EVs. According to the present situation of EVs, scientists and researchers still have a long way to go.
1. EVs have become more popular than gas cars thanks to ________.| A．technological improvements | B．social development |
| C．lower prices | D．beautiful appearance |
| A．better torque | B．acceleration | C．better control | D．fast chargers |
| A．EVs are always cleaner than gas cars. |
| B．Electricity is from burning coal in China. |
| C．A gas car causes less pollution than an EV. |
| D．A traditional car lets out 6,600 pounds of carbon a year. |
| A．The Future of EVs in China | B．EVs and Environmental Protection |
| C．EVs Makes Our Life Better | D．EVs: The Future of Cars |
3 . ①With the development of technology, education is changing. The classroom of the future will surely not be the same as the classroom of today. So what will the future classroom be like? Let’s try to find it out.
②To start with, facing the blackboard will be a thing of the past. Students will take classes by looking at their touch-screen (触摸屏的) desks. And doing homework, taking down notes, and taking tests will be just a click away (点击鼠标即可). The walls of the classroom will also be filled with real-time screens for students and teachers to show any information they want.
③In the coming years, another technology called metaverse (元宇宙) will make learning more exciting. Metaverse is a 3D virtual (虚拟的) world where people can meet, play, and work with others through digital avatars (数字化身). In the metaverse, people can do things like going to the mall, attending a concert or buying virtual clothing. The only difference is that they’ll do all these in a virtual environment. Teachers and students can get into a virtual classroom, while in real life, they may be sitting on the sofa at home. The experience will be like being in an actual classroom. Students can also “visit” historical sites, see the real geography of the planet, take tours through international universities or research labs, and much more.
④Besides, the classroom of the future holds several learning styles for students. They will be free to learn things in the way they want. This includes learning through video lectures. Everyone moves at their own pace (节奏), with teachers guiding them along the way. This practice will help students learn faster and have better results.
1. What might happen according to Paragraph ②?| A．Students won’t need to take tests. | B．There will be no desks in the classroom. |
| C．Students won’t need to do their homework. | D．There will be no blackboard in the classroom. |
| A．An AI tool. | B．A virtual world. |
| C．A new kind of class. | D．A robot teacher. |
| A．describe how the metaverse will change our life |
| B．show how students will learn at their own pace |
| C．tell how the classroom will change in the future |
| D．explain how virtual classrooms will become popular |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
4 . Xuwen, a small town in the south of Guangdong, is called the “hometown of pineapples (菠萝)” in China. One in three pineapples sold in the country comes from this place. There, farmers produced nearly 700,000 tons of pineapples in 2021. But what makes Xuwen so successful?
In 2019, the Guangdong government introduced a marketing system (市场体系) for pineapples grown in Xuwen and set up a special working group to make it happen. They called it “12221”, including the following five parts: “one” database of agricultural products (农产品数据库); “two” teams, namely buyers and producers; “two” marketing areas, sales areas and production areas; “two” activities, helping buyers into the production area and agricultural products into the market; and “one” goal—rural vitalization (乡村振兴).
The project sent the fruit to bigger markets by finding buyers and improving the business sense of growers as well as using big data to guide production and sales methods. “It changed people’s opinions and helped farmers have a better understanding of marketing,” said Liu Yicun, who used to work at the Xuwen government.
A lot of people from around the country visit Xuwen because of pineapples, helping the development of the local tourism industry. The local food plays an important part when young tourists choose where to go. It’s common for young travelers, especially those born in the 1990’s and 2000’s to go on journeys. At the same time, they can taste something new.
1. What is Xuwen in Guangdong famous for?| A．Its changeable weather. | B．Its colorful history. |
| C．Its hard-working farmers. | D．Its local products. |
| A．The marketing system. | B．The Guangdong government. |
| C．The special working group. | D．The hometown of pineapples. |
| A．They can grow different kinds of fruits. | B．They can buy local products more cheaply. |
| C．They can find more sale areas and buyers. | D．They can work at the government more freely. |
| A．All pineapples sold in the country come from Xuwen. |
| B．More tourists will visit Xuwen because of pineapples. |
| C．Project 12221 has been introduced to the whole country. |
| D．Tourism industry will take the place of pineapple industry. |
No.3 Middle School asked the students to take part in a survey. The question was “What is your dream job?” There were 900 students taking part in the survey. Here are the results.
The teachers may feel bad to know that only 5% of the students hope to teach in the future. But they will still try their best to help the students make their dreams come true. And here is the teachers’ advice:
First. you should understand yourself. What do you like to do?
Then, think about what is more important to you, money or happiness? There’s no right or wrong answer. So be honest with yourself.
Finally, before you try to get your dream job, you should study hard and make yourself better and better.
1. How many students want to be scientists?2. Why may the teachers feel bad?
3. What should the students do before getting their dream jobs according to the passage?
4. What is your dream job? How are you going to do that? Write 30 words or more.
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. |
7 . How do you greet your friends? People from different cultures may have different answers: shaking hands, nodding, kissing...But have you ever wondered how animals “say hello” to others?
We know how similar chimpanzees (黑猩猩) are to humans. It’s no surprise that their greetings are also close to ours. Chimpanzees usually greet each other with a hand touch, a hug or sometimes a kiss. Some of them can also communicate through simple sign language (手语).
Some animals seldom make loud sounds, for example, giraffes. Male giraffes often use their necks to greet each other. Their necks can reach up to two meters. When two giraffes meet, they may “shake” their necks and rub (摩擦) them against each other. This is to feel how strong and tall the other is.
Dolphins greet one another with whistles (哨叫声). They can hear other dolphins from many kilometers away. Every dolphin has a different whistle. It tells information about the dolphin, such as its age and health. When two groups of dolphins meet, they each choose a member of the other group to “talk” to. The two groups can then join up and travel together.
1. According to the text, chimpanzees may greet each other ________.| A．by saying “hello” | B．by touching hands |
| C．through a real language | D．through a simple sound |
| A．Giraffes often communicate mainly through loud sounds. |
| B．Giraffes greet each other by rubbing their noses together. |
| C．When a male giraffe runs into another one, they use necks to hit each other. |
| D．Giraffes learn about the strength and height of each other through greeting. |
| A．use their tails to greet each other | B．compete to decide the new leader |
| C．each select a member of the other group to “talk” to | D．avoid talking to any members of the other group |
(① = Paragraph 1, ② = Paragraph 2, ...)
A． | B． | C． | D． |
8 . If you want to speak English well, you’d better speak a little English every day. As we know, the best way to learn any new language is just to speak it. It doesn’t matter if you only know five English words or if you’re really fluent (流利的). Here are some suggestions for you if you want to improve your spoken English.
Don’t wait until you feel “more comfortable” speaking in English. You won’t reach that level soon, so push yourself outside your comfort zone (舒适区) and start speaking English today. Don’t be shy. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your language skills improve.
Find an English speaker who is willing to spend some time speaking English with you. You may be available to offer them a language exchange. For example, they spend 30 minutes speaking English with you and you spend 30 minutes speaking your native language with them.
You will get more chances to speak English if you live in an English-speaking country. You can practice by starting simple chat with the people you meet. You don’t need to care about what the conversations are about. Just open your mouth and speak English. Even saying hello to a shopkeeper or asking a stranger for directions is the chance you need.
1. What's the best way to learn a new language according to the text?| A．To do more exercises. |
| B．To memorize more words. |
| C．To try to speak it. |
| D．To remember the grammar. |
| A．Give an example. |
| B．List some reasons. |
| C．Tell a story. |
| D．Show numbers. |
| A．avoid making mistakes in English |
| B．spend 30 minutes speaking English every day |
| C．have more chances to practice English |
| D．choose the conversations you like |
| A．Health. | B．Education. | C．Film. | D．History. |
The Lantern Festival is an important festival in China. It began 2000 years ago during the Han dynasty (朝). It means the end of the Spring Festival celebrations.
People celebrate the festival in many ways. The lantern show is the most important part of the festival. On the night of the festival, many lanterns are hung in the streets and parks. These lanterns light up the night during the festival. People often go out to watch the lantern show with their family and friends.
Lantern riddle (迷) games are also popular during the Lantern Festival. Riddles are written on colorful lanterns. If someone gets the right answer, he or she will get a gift.
Tangyuan is the traditional food of the Lantern Festival. It can have many different fillings and tastes. Shaped like a round ball, tangyuan is delicious. On the one hand, people eat tangyuan for good luck. On the other hand, the shape of tangyuan means family reunion (团圆).
Shows are everywhere all day. In the daytime, people can enjoy the performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a Yangge dance and beating drums. At night, except for the beautiful lanterns, fireworks (烟花) make a beautiful scene (景色). People enjoy themselves during the Lantern Festival.
1. When did the Lantern Festival begin in the history?2. Who will people watch the lantern show with?
3. What will you get if you answer the lantern riddle correctly?
4. Except for the Lantern Festival, which traditional Chinese festival do you like best? What can you do then? Write 30 words or more.
10 . ①According to a research, more than 130 billion pounds of uneaten food go to waste in Laura’s country each year. That is about 30% of the yearly food supply (供应). It is a sad fact, especially when you consider how many families and homeless people are in hunger.
②When Laura saw her school dining hall throw away food that was not eaten at all every day, she came up with an idea. She started a project to help her school dining hall to give away uneaten food to homeless shelters (庇护所) in her community. In the past three years, the same project has spread to other schools and some fast food restaurants throughout the city. The project is called Feed & Find, and has already fed thousands of people in her city. How does it work? Through an app, Feed & Find matches local homeless shelters with school dining halls and restaurants that have uneaten food to provide. When dining halls or restaurants have uneaten food left, they can use the app to share the information about the food. A truck driver working for the project is then sent to pick it up and take it to a shelter.
③Pretty cool, right? It’s not surprising that people in other cities have got in touch with Laura, hoping that she could help develop similar projects for their communities.
④Some people, however, have concerns about the safety of the uneaten food. They think such food may not be clean enough. Still, this project is a clever way to help solve the problem of food waste and it helps those in need.
1. The numbers in Paragraph① tell us ________.| A．food waste is serious |
| B．some people are poor |
| C．the population is large |
| D．the research is interesting |
| A．find a truck driver |
| B．visit their communities |
| C．give away food to them |
| D．help develop projects like hers |
| A．ways | B．worries | C．secrets | D．decisions |
| A．To explain a food safety project. |
| B．To show a driving service app. |
| C．To introduce a food sharing project. |
| D．To introduce a dining guide app. |
