As the Chinese saying goes, “The whole year’s work depends on a good start in spring (一年之计在于春).” When the spring comes, the weather warms up and everything in the world wakes up from winter. Start of Spring (立春) is the first of the Chinese 24 solar terms (节气). It is the beginning of spring. This year, it is on February 4th. The sunshine brings everything back to life and it is the best time to enjoy the beautiful things outside. Many families take their children to pick tea and fly kites during spring outings (春游) in South China. Some young people go camping on weekends. Other people go fishing in the river and enjoy flowers with friends. Farmers start the year’s work. There is more sunshine and rain. That’s good for plants to grow. For animals, it’s time to get up and find food! On this day, Chinese people usually eat carrots and spring cakes to welcome its arrival.
1. Everything wakes up from winter when the spring comes.2. Start of Spring is on February 3rd this year.
3. Farmers don’t start the year’s work because there is more sunshine and rain in spring.
4. Chinese people usually eat carrots and spring cakes on Start of Spring.
5. We can enjoy the beautiful things outside in spring.
2 . Parents always want the best for their kids. But everyone has their own way of parenting(养育). Here are some popular parenting styles. Which one do you like best?
Tiger parents（虎爸虎妈） They are strict with their children. They want them to get the best grades in their class. They love their kids in their hearts. | Dolphin parents（海豚式父母） They just want their kids to be happy and healthy. They make sure their kids get enough sleep and exercise. |
Helicopter parents（直升机式父母） They worry too much about their children and "fly" over them like helicopters. Many people think these parents should give their children more freedom(自由). | Lawnmower parents（割草机式父母） Like a lawnmower that cuts grass, they get rid of(去除) all difficulties for their children. Their kids never learn to work out problems on their own. |
| A．good | B．kind | C．strict | D．right |
| A．best grades | B．little sleep | C．enough love | D．enough exercise |
| A．get less freedom | B．face more difficulties |
| C．worry about your parents | D．"fly" over your parents like helicopters |
| A．cut grass before their kids |
| B．get rid of all difficulties for their kids |
| C．make sure their kids are happy and healthy |
| D．ask their kids to work out problems on their own |
| A．Kids and parents | B．How parents get on with kids |
| C．Everyone has their own parents | D．Different ways of parenting |
3 . In China, there are 24 solar terms（节气）in a year. And there are six of them in winter. They are beginning of winter, light snow, heavy snow, winter solstice（冬至）, lesser cold(小寒）and greater cold.
Beginning of winter usually falls on November 7th or 8th. After beginning of winter, most parts of the country can start to expect cold weather. On this day, after a year of hard work, people are happy to have a rest and spend time with family. The northern China celebrates beginning of winter as the “Small Spring Festival”. People usually have dumplings and mutton soup on that day.
Light snow usually falls on November 22nd or 23rd and heavy snow usually falls on December 7th or 8th. When winter solstice comes, it brings the shortest days of the year and the longest nights. Many places around the country can expect the coldest weather yet. People often start counting “nine cold periods” starting from winter solstice. Every cold period has nine days. People believe that after 81 cold days, spring will come.
Greater cold comes after lesser cold. The field is covered with snow. And all Chinese are ready to welcome the Spring Festival after it. Of course, a new round of solar terms will start.
1. From the passage, we know that there are six solar terms in winter.2. People in northern China usually have dumplings and mutton soup on beginning of winter.
3. Heavy snow comes before light snow.
4. All Chinese are ready to celebrate the Spring Festival after greater cold.
5. The passage tells us how people celebrate the Spring Festival.
4 . Here are three kinds of forms of Chinese art.
Calligraphy (书法) | The ancient Chinese thought of writing as an important form of art. Calligraphy is a popular form of writing. To produce Chinese characters one needs a brush, paper, inkstick (墨) and inkstone. These are called the “Four Treasures of the Study”. It’s necessary to learn these tools in order to learn calligraphy. |
Poetry | It was an important part of art. Li Bai, Du Fu and Su Shi are considered among the best ancient poets, and there are five major kinds of ancient poetic styles called Shi, Ci, Ge, Qu and Fu. During the Tang Dynasty, poetry became so important that writing poetry was part of the examinations to work for the government. |
Opera | Chinese opera is considered as one of the three oldest dramatic art forms in the world. It’s a combination of music, art and literature. During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong set up an opera school. |
| A．A pen, a book, inkstick and inkstone |
| B．A pen, paper, inkstick and inkstone |
| C．A brush, paper, inkstick and ink box |
| D．A brush, paper, inkstick and inkstone |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．the Tang Dynasty | B．the Song Dynasty |
| C． the Yuan Dynasty | D．the Qing Dynasty |
| A．Poetry. | B．Opera. | C．Calligraphy. | D．Painting. |
| A．Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty set up an opera school |
| B．calligraphy is one of the three oldest art forms in the world |
| C．Shi and Qu are the two most important poetic styles in ancient China |
| D．if you want to learn calligraphy, you must learn the “Four Treasures of the Study” |
5 . Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. You look young. In 2035, many people can live to be about 150 years old. So at the age of 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents look the same age as you!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” can change the color and style as you like. You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but you hear the voice, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge remembers the information about the milk. It knows that the milk is not fresh. In 2035, every household appliance(家用电器) is like your secretary(秘书).
It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend with your watch. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “All these things will come true, even better.” says a scientist.
I couldn’t agree more with the scientist. I am looking forward to the new life.
1. How do “you” look in the mirror in 2035?| A．Young. | B．Fat. | C．Healthy. | D．Tired. |
| A．The watch. | B．The secretary. | C．The milk. | D．The fridge. |
| A．They run in the sky. | B．They don’t need gas. |
| C．They don’t need drivers. | D．They can talk with humans. |
| A．People won’t get old. | B．People don’t need to wear clothes. |
| C．People don’t need to have breakfast. | D．People can call their friends with a watch. |
| A．It will be as good as now. | B．It will be much better than now. |
| C．It will be as bad as now. | D．It will be much worse than now. |
6 . Every morning, millions of people in China do Tai-chi. It is popular with women and men. Tai-chi is a good kind of exercise for old people. It is good for the body and the mind. It is healthy and relaxing. Tai-chi is from China. It is hundreds of years old. Tai-chi is a “soft” martial art (武术). That means it is slow and calm.
There are also “hard” martial arts. Shaolin Kung-fu, for example, which has a history of over 1,500 years, is a “hard” martial arts. It is fast and dangerous. You have to be very fit and strong to do “hard” martial arts.
In Beijing, Master Li is teaching Shaolin Kung-fu to thirty young students, three of them come from abroad. “Shaolin Kung-fu is difficult,” said Master Li. “You must practise every move many times.”
Sports like football and basketball are also popular in China. But martial arts like Tai-chi and Kung-fu are part of Chinese culture and history.
根据短文内容判断正（T）误（F）。
1. Both men and women like Tai-chi.
2. Tai-chi has a longer history than Shaolin Kung-fu.
3. Master Li is teaching Tai-chi in Beijing.
4. Tai-chi is from China, while Shaolin Kung-fu comes from abroad.
5. Two kinds of martial arts are talked about in this passage.
7 . Kids are having more sugar and junk food in the US now.
They get sugar from sodas, sweet juice and some other drinks. There was a new study. It was on 8,400 children. They were between the ages of 2 and 19. It found that twenty percent of the children didn’t drink any water. That’s on any given day. It also showed that those kids got more calories (卡路里) from sweet drinks. That’s compared to children who did drink water every day. Children who do not drink water can have almost twice as many calories. “Kids should drink water every day. And the first drink for kids should be water because it is healthy,” said one teacher.
The study showed two thirds of the children have junk food for lunch for it is fast and delicious. Junk food, like hamburgers, hot dogs and French fries, makes children in the US overweight (超重) and brings many health problems. This is because it has lots of salt and sugar. Children who eat junk food four to five times a week are easy to have heart diseases. “Kids should keep a balanced diet with both vegetables and all kinds of meat because giving what our body needs is important,” said another teacher.
根据短文判断句子对错，正确写”A”；错误写 “B”。
1. American children are having more sugar and more unhealthy food.
2. Most children didn’t drink any water according to the study.
3. Children who drank water every day can get more calories.
4. Junk food makes children get fat.
5. If you have junk food four or five times a week, you must have a heart disease.
In ancient China, willow branches (柳枝) were often used as a gift to friends and family members who would leave. Do you know why willow branches are a symbol of saying goodbye?
One reason is that willow trees are strong. They can live in any soil, wet or dry, north or south. Because of this special feature, when saying goodbye to loved ones, giving a willow branch is a way to tell them you hope they will easily get used to their new living environment.
Another reason is that, in Chinese, the pronunciation for the willow tree “柳” is similar to the character “留”. So giving a willow branch in ancient China was like asking the others to stay, even though you know that they must leave.
It is said that this custom became popular during the Han Dynasty. At that time, Baqiao, a bridge in Chang’ an, today’s Xi’an, was a common place to say goodbye. People often stopped there and handed willow branches to people who were going to depart.
willow branches, as a symbol of saying goodbye, were often mentioned in poems, especially at the time of the Tang and Song dynasties.
1. Willow branches were often used as a gift to friends and family members who would come back after being away for a long time in ancient China.2. Willow trees can live in any soil because they get used to new living environment easily.
3. People often stopped at Baqiao, a village in Chang’ an, and handed willow branches to people who were going to leave.
4. Willow branches were often mentioned in poems, especially at the time of the Han dynasties.
5. The passage mainly tells us the symbol of willow branches in ancient China.
①Type in “A cat wants to go to space” and ask the robot to write a bedtime story. Just one second later, you’ll get the story of Max, who was on his way past many difficulties to sing among the stars.
②This robot writer is real. It’s called ChatGPT. It was developed by US company OpenAI. It can translate languages, talk with people and write songs, poems and even jokes. It’s one of the most powerful AI of its kind, with the complete writing range (范围) of a real person! According to a US report of more than 1,000 students, over 89% of them have used ChatGPT to help with homework. Some students even got high marks thanks to papers written by ChatGPT.
③Some schools in the US, Australia and France have banned (禁止) the use of ChatGPT. In the US, for example, New York City public schools banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the district’s networks and devices (设备), CNN reported.
④The move comes out of worries that the tool could make it easier for students to cheat (作弊) on homework. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread incorrect information. “It does not build critical-thinking (批判性思维) and problem-solving still, which are necessary for academic (学术的) and lifelong success,” said Jenna Lyle, a secretary of the New York City Department of Education.
⑤However, not all educators say “no” to ChatGPT. Some Canadian universities are drafting (起草) policies on its use, for both students and teachers. They have no plans to completely ban the tool so far.
1. The writer uses “the cat story” as an example to ________.| A．introduce a bedtime book |
| B．tell what ChatGPT can do for animals |
| C．show how ChatGPT learns about space |
| D．show what creative work ChatGPT can do |
| A．the history of ChatGPT |
| B．the disadvantages of ChatGPT |
| C．what ChatGPT can help people do |
| D．what people think of ChatGPT |
| A．it takes the place of teachers |
| B．it seldom provides correct information |
| C．it takes up most of the district’s networks |
| D．students may use it to cheat on homework |
| A．It might offer the wrong information. |
| B．It is so far the smartest AI chatbot tool. |
| C．It is not good for developing students’ minds. |
| D．It is necessary for academic and lifelong success. |
| A．The future of education |
| B．What can robots bring us? |
| C．Will teachers be replaced by robots? |
| D．A good study tool or a way to cheat? |
10 . It’s important for us to be healthy. Everybody wants to be healthy. But how can we keep healthy? Here is some useful advice.
First, you should eat fruit and vegetables three or four times a week. There are some kinds of vitamins our bodies need. We should not eat too much meat. Then eat some tofu every day because it’s good for people, both the young and the old. Milk is also necessary(必要的), especially for women. So you should have milk twice a day. It can help you to be strong. Next, doing more exercise is better. You can do morning exercises or evening exercises. After supper you should take a walk.
1. How often should we eat fruit and vegetables?| A．Once or twice a day. | B．Two or three times a day. |
| C．Three or four times a week. | D．Three or four times a month. |
| A．young people | B．old people | C．students | D．young and old people |
| A．fruit | B．milk | C．tofu | D．vegetables |
| A．do morning exercises | B．do evening exercises | C．take a walk after supper | D．eat too much meat |
| A．how to keep healthy | B．what health is |
| C．why health is important | D．Three or four times a month. |
