1 . The Yellow River is known as the “Mother River” in China because it has been very important for the growth of Chinese civilization (文明). It is one of the longest rivers in Asia and runs through several northern provinces of China.
Along the banks of the Yellow River, a great civilization developed over 4000 years ago. This civilization is called the “Yellow River Civilization”. The people who lived there were mainly farmers, and they grew many kinds of crops (庄稼). They also kept animals like sheep and pigs.
To protect themselves from floods and enemies (洪水和敌人), the people built villages on higher ground near the river. They made strong walls around their villages using mud bricks (土培砖). Inside these walls, they built houses using wood, bamboo and mud.
| A．Mother River | B．Dragon River | C．Long River | D．Red River |
| A．to be closer to the sky gods | B．to protect themselves from floods and enemies |
| C．to find more space for farming | D．to get more sun for crops |
| A．discovering fire | B．building the Great Wall |
| C．inventing paper | D．starting China’s first ruling family |
| A．The Qin Dynasty was known for its excellent fishing skills. |
| B．The Shang Dynasty built the Great Wall to protect their kingdom. |
| C．The Xia Dynasty developed a way of writing using paper and ink. |
| D．The Zhou Dynasty taught about “Zhou Li”, which are rules for being kind and friendly. |
| A．The Shang | B．The Xia | C．The Zhou | D．The Qin |
2 . In Kunming, there is a special thing every year. Since 1985, many seagulls (海鸥) have been visiting Kunming. These birds go a long way from the cold Siberia to find a warm place to stay in winter.
It is hard for these seagulls to come to Kunming. They migrate from far-away cold Siberia to our hometown. They fly over mountain and rivers. They fly about 80 kilometers to the south each day,facing bad weather and many dangers along the way. It is about 6,000 kilometers to get to Kunming from Siberia.
Seagulls like to be with their friends. They live in large groups for safety (安全). When one seagull sees danger, it will make loud noises to tell others in the group. This helps them stay away from danger.
A few years ago, scientists studied these seagulls. They put small GPS on some birds to learn more about where they go. They found out that the seagulls visited other places like Lake Erhai in Dali or even Myanmar (缅甸) before deciding that Kunming is the best place. The seagulls usually arrive in Kunming in October and stay here until March.
So, why do seagulls like Kunming so much? Winter in Kunming is not too cold, with a nice temperature of about 10℃, which is friendly to seagulls. They also find a lot of food in Dianchi Lake. And the people of Kunming often give food to the seagulls in their free time. This makes Kunming not only a good living place for seagulls but also a place where they get love from Kunming people.
1. What does the underlined word “migrate” in Paragraph 2 mean in Chinese?| A．迁徙 | B．栖息 | C．涉水 | D．洄游 |
| A．About one month. | B．About two and a half months. |
| C．About four months. | D．About half a year. |
| A．By flying away quickly. | B．By making loud noises. |
| C．By joining others. | D．By jumping into the water. |
① Seagulls flying from Australia. ②Seagulls living in groups.
③Seagulls visiting Myanmar. ④The people of Kunming giving food to the seagulls.
| A．①②③ | B．①②④ | C．①③④ | D．②③④ |
| A．The people of Kunming are unfriendly. |
| B．There are a lot of mountains and rivers in Kunming. |
| C．People and nature can live in harmony (和谐). |
| D．Seagulls can live with friends in groups in Kunming. |
3 . By the end of 2022, the number of miles of China railways had reached 155, 000 km. Of this 42, 000 km is high-speed railway. In 2022, China railways carried 1, 610 million passengers and 3,900 million tons of goods, which was the first in the world.
We have seen a lot of achievements of China railways so far. The first high-speed railway, Beijing-Tianjin railway, can run at 350 km/h, crossing soft soil areas safely. The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway set a speed record of 486 km/h. The 2, 298 km Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway is the longest railway in the world, crossing many rivers. The 1,777 km Lanzhou-Urumqi high-speed railway crosses desert and strong wind areas in China.
On December 31st , 2021, the China-Laos Railway (中老铁路) opened to traffic. From January to February 2023, the railway carried 417,000 passengers and 647,700 tons of goods.
The research of technology and the practice of engineering support the successes above. Learning from foreign experience, China railways had built a complete high-speed railway system and surmount different geological (地质的) problems. Besides, risk protection and control system are built to make sure the safety of trains.
The comfortable, safe and fast railways are changing the travel and living habits of people. Passengers can easily book tickets online by phones, which allows them to save time and cost. Next time when you travel, try them!
1. Which high-speed railway is the longest railway in the world?| A．Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway. | B．Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway. |
| C．Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. | D．Lanzhou-Urumqi high-speed railway. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By comparing facts. |
| C．By using a saying. | D．By giving opinions. |
| A．Science. | B．Nature. | C．Culture. | D．Business. |
| A．发现 | B．带来 | C．缓解 | D．克服 |
| A．Advice on Taking High-speed Railway | B．The Longest High-speed Railway |
| C．Success of China’s High-speed Railway | D．Difficulties in Building High-speed Railway |
4 . The first “Luoyang Virtual Reality (虚拟现实) Project” has ever become a hit since it opened to public, attracting many drama fans and digital technology lovers. The project makes it possible to bring us back to the ancient Luoyang by using VR technology.
The project was set in a theater which covers about 300 square meters in Shanghai. It created a highly realistic environment using VR technology, Inside-out Tracking technology and other technologies to set up different props, such as horses, ships, and tools.
Users can have a “time travel” experience with an exciting 60-minute VR-powered journey, traveling back to 1,300 years ago to “visit” the ancient city of Luoyang. Inside the theater, they can not only play roles in the drama, but also choose costumes and take photos according to their interests.
The application (应用) of VR technology allows tourists to walk in the theater and experience the ancient life of Luoyang, and feel the charm (魅力) of traditional Chinese culture.
This project successfully creates a new way to spread Chinese culture through using VR technology. What’s more, it brings modern technology into our daily lives and creates an all-immersive (拟真的) experience.
1. Where was the project set in?| A．A theater of Luoyang. | B．A 3000 square-meter theater. |
| C．A thearter of Shanghai. | D．A traditional theater. |
| A．道具 | B．空间 | C．剧情 | D．成就 |
①They can take photos.
②They can play roles in the drama.
③They can choose costumes that they like.
④They can make films about the ancient life of Luoyang.
| A．①③④ | B．①②③ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Traveling Changes the World | B．Tourists Experience the Real-world Travel |
| C．VR Brings Ancient Luoyang Back to Us | D．Modern Technology Makes A New City |
5 . ①Plants have roots, leaves, and flowers. They have seeds (种子), too. New plants grow from seeds. Some seeds fall on the ground. New plants grow next to the old plants. When plants grow this way, they are too crowded to get enough sunshine and water. So some of them die. But some plants spread their seeds even far from where they live. These seeds grow in new places. There are many ways of the seeds’ travel.
②The wind helps seeds to travel. Some plant seeds have little wings. When the wind blows, the seeds fly away. Soon they fall to the ground and new plants may grow there. Some plants dry up. The wind pulls them from the ground, but they are so big that they can’t fly. They roll along the ground, dropping off their seeds.
③Other plants grow near the water. Their seeds drop into the water and go away with it. They may travel many miles before they stop.
④Some seeds have special parts called “stickers”. The stickers help the seeds travel far. How? These seeds wait for an animal to walk by. Then they stick into its fur to get a free ride. Sometimes it’s a long trip. Birds carry some plant seeds to new places, too.
⑤Seeds can’t walk. They can’t run. But they can travel with the help of wind, water and animals.
1. What will happen if new plants are crowded?| A．Some of them will travel. | B．Some of them will die. |
| C．Some of them can grow taller. | D．Some of them can live better. |
| A．Wings. | B．Seeds. | C．Plants. | D．Birds. |
| A．Leaves, roots and flowers. | B．Birds, stickers and wings. |
| C．Wind, water and other plants. | D．Animals, water and wind. |
| A．The growth of the plants. | B．The kinds of the seeds. |
| C．The parts of the plants. | D．The travel of the seeds. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
6 . African elephants are very large animals. They are the largest animals living on land. An adult African elephant can be twice as tall as the man and weigh six tons or more.
African elephants have very large ears. Some people think their ears are like the shape of Africa. The large ears help keep them cool.
African elephants have long trunks (象鼻). They use their trunks to drink water and then spray (喷洒) themselves. This is another way to keep cool. They also spray dust (尘土) on their bodies to protect them from the hot sun. They use trunks for many other things. The trunk is a nose for smelling. Elephants make a sound through their trunks. They can use trunks for picking up things, such as food.
African elephants usually feed on bananas, tree leaves and other plants. They often spend about sixteen hours having food a day. An adult African elephant can have 150 kg to 200 kg of food a day.
African elephants are in danger because people kill too many African elephants for their ivory. Only in the last year people killed more than 20, 000 of them! They are becoming fewer and fewer now. We should protect them now!
根据短文内容，判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”）。1. African elephants are the biggest animals on land.
2. The baby African elephants can be twice taller than the man.
3. African elephants only has one way to keep them cool.
4. It usually takes the African elephants more than half of the day to eat food every day.
5. The passage mainly tells us the food of the African elephants.
7 . In China, tangren (糖人) are a kind of popular food and drawing. People of all ages like to eat them, because they look beautiful and taste delicious.
Zhou Yi can make tangren very well. One of his excellent works is about a flying apsara (feitian in Chinese), with an animal flying under her. The animal is half fish and half bird, from the book—Mountains and Seas (《山海经》). He spends four months finishing it. “I don’t think tangren are just for eating. They can also show the long history of China in a new way,” Zhou says.
Early in 2017, his team (团队) got three gold awards (金奖) in Cake International, a cake show in the UK. And one of his art works was the “best in show”. “I did a good job in China, but I also wanted to learn some things from others around the world.” Zhou and his team went back to Cake International in 2019, they got four gold awards then.
“I am really interested in making tangren and I’ll keep working on it. Also, I want to make more people know about Chinese history and culture,” he says.
根据短文内容，判断正误（正确T，错误F）。1. Only children like to eat tangren.
2. It takes Zhou Yi four months to finish the flying apsara.
3. One of Zhou Yi’s art works was the best in the cake show in 2017.
4. Zhou Yi and his team got three gold awards in 2019.
5. Tangren can help people know about Chinese history.
8 . What year were you born in? Are you a dragon? That is to say, were you born in the Year of the Dragon?
As we know, the Year of the Dragon has arrived with us for a while, and everyone is excited about talking about dragons. Many of them have noticed that more and more people are using the word “loong” instead of “dragon” in their daily life. Actually, the loongs in Chinese culture, believe it or not, are far different from the dragons in Western culture.
First, let’s talk about their origins (起源). Loongs are connected to stars and rain. They are believed to have to do with the power of emperors in the past. Dragons, however, are related to floods and dangerous waters underground.
Second, let’s dig into their stories. Loongs are like messengers between the sky and the earth. They help out the rulers, who become kings because of them. Dragons, though, are troublemakers. They fight with the rulers and can even beat them! But as time passes, dragons lose their shine and heroes start killing them.
Third, let’s look at what they mean. Since loongs represent (代表) power, they are seen as a symbol of the emperor and an important part of ceremonies and traditions. Dragons, though, are bad news. They are a symbol of evil (恶), and beating the dragons is seen as a victory over evil.
Lastly, let’s check out how they look. Loongs are like a mix of animals, with heads like camels and necks like snakes. They don’t need wings to fly because they are already skilled at it. Dragons are more like snakes, living underground and causing problems. They don’t have wings either, but people add those to make them look more impressive.
1. Why does the writer start the passage by asking questions?| A．To make a report. | B．To do a survey. |
| C．To introduce a normal year. | D．To catch readers’ interests. |
| A．Stars and the moon. | B．The power of emperors. |
| C．Troublemakers and evil. | D．Dangerous waters underground. |
| A．Rulers. | B．Snakes. | C．Heroes. | D．Loongs. |
| A．Loongs have wings. | B．Dragons are good news. |
| C．Loongs are used in ceremonies. | D．Dragons’ heads are like camels. |
| A．The origins of dragons and loongs. | B．The meanings of dragons and loongs. |
| C．The stories between dragons and loongs. | D．The differences between dragons and loongs. |
9 . Yunnan is such a wonderful place that thousands of tourists come here to take a holiday every year. If you have a travel plan, here are three places of interest that you can choose.
 | Green Shad Valley (荫翠峡) is a long valley in Yiliang and it is covered with plants on both sides of the river. It has another name of “Love Valley” because it was a place for young people to sing songs to find lovers. It’s said that the Dragon King’s third daughter and a young man sang to each other from the cliff (悬崖) tops of the valley. You can take a boat through the valley and enjoy yourselves along the way. |
 | Erhai Lake in Dali is the second largest fresh water lake in Yunnan Province. This beautiful lake covers an area of 256.5 square kilometers and it’s about 10-20 meters deep. Because Yunnan is far from oceans, the people here call it Erhai Sea. In recent years, Erhai Lake has become more and more popular. You may see it on Tik Tok (抖音) all the time. |
 | Honghe Hani Rice Terraces (红河哈尼梯田) have different kinds of beauty in different seasons. From November to March, the terraces are filled with water. When the sunlight shines on the water, the terraces will be very beautiful. From April to early September, there is green paddy rice (水稻) all over the field. In late September and early October, the rice fields turn yellow. |
1. Why is Green Shad Valley also called “Love Valley”?
| A．Because people could sing songs to find lovers there. |
| B．Because the valley is so lovely. |
| C．Because the Dragon King loved singing from the cliff tops of the valley. |
| D．Because people love taking boats through the valleys. |
| A．the second largest lake in China | B．256.5 square kilometers in size |
| C．more than 20 meters wide | D．close to the ocean |
| A．April | B．March | C．October | D．November |
| A．You can see plants on both sides of the river in Green Shad Valley. |
| B．You can hardly see Erhai Lake on Tik Tok. |
| C．The terraces are beautiful under the sunlight from November to March. |
| D．There are many tourists traveling in Yunnan every year. |
| A．a science fiction | B．a storybook | C．a dictionary | D．a guidebook |
10 . A new study has found that light pollution is making the night sky brighter and the stars dimmer (暗淡).
The study examined data (数据) from more than 50,000 star watchers across the world. It found that man-made lighting is making the night sky about 10 percent brighter each year.
Data for the study was collected from 2011 to 2022. The research findings recently were written in a book. The result was a much faster rate of change than scientists had guessed in the past.
“We are losing, year by year, the chance to see the stars,” said Fabio Falchi. He is a physicist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. He was not a researcher in the study.
“If you can still see the dimmest stars, you are in a very dark place.” Falchi said. “But if you see only the brightest ones, you are in a very light-polluted place.”
As cities expand (扩大) and put up more lights, a “sky glow” is created in the sky. “Sky glow” is a word scientists use to describe light that becomes more intense (强烈的).
The research team gave an example to make the result clear. If a child is born where 250 stars can be seen on a clear night, by the time that child turns 18, only 100 stars will be seen.
1. What kind of pollution is the passage talking about? ________| A．Waste pollution. |
| B．Land pollution. |
| C．Noise pollution. |
| D．Light pollution. |
| A．For about eight years. |
| B．For about ten years. |
| C．For about twelve years. |
| D．For about fourteen years. |
| A．He is a researcher in the study. |
| B．He is a physicist at a university. |
| C．He is an environmental protector. |
| D．He is a star watcher. |
| A．The study examined data from over 50,000 star watchers across the world. |
| B．The research findings recently were written in a book. |
| C．Fabio Falchi thinks we are losing chances to see the stars year by year. |
| D．If you can see only the brightest stars, you are in a very dark place. |
| A．light pollution is bad for the environment |
| B．man-made lighting is making the night sky more beautiful |
| C．“sky glow” is a word that scientists use to describe dim light |
| D．children can only see 100 stars when they grow up |
