1 . Do you like wearing colourful clothes? Today, we can get colourful clothes easily. But how about people in ancient times?
Tie-dye (扎染) is a very old way of dyeing clothes, which has a history of more than 1,000 years. During the Tang and Song periods, people gave tie-dyed clothes to the emperors as gifts. People make dyes by hand, and dyes usually come from plants.
In 2006, the tie-dye skill was added to China’s national intangible cultural heritage (国家非物质文化遗产) list. Anning city in Yunnan is known for tie-dye.
Yang Cheng, 52, is the inheritor (传承人) of tie-dye in Anning, Yunnan. He has learned the old skill of tie-dye. He learned the skill from his mother in the 1980s. And he has passed it down to his daughter.
To tie-dye, you first need to use ropes to tie your cloth together. Then you put the cloth into the dye. As the cloth is folded (折叠) and dyed, some parts become dark colours, while other parts have light colours. When you unfold the cloth, you’ll see beautiful shapes and colours.
Some might worry that machinery dyeing will take the place of tie-dye. But Yang doesn’t think so. “At the end of the day, machines can’t take the place of our creative hands,” Yang said.
1. The writer starts to introduce tie-dye by ______.| A．showing a fact | B．asking a question | C．giving an example |
| A．Soil | B．plants | C．animals |
| A．his grandmother | B．his father | C．his mother |
①Put the cloth into the dye.
②Use ropes to tie the cloth together.
③Get beautiful shapes after unfolding the cloth.
④Some parts become dark, while other parts are light.
| A．②①④③ | B．③④②① | C．④②①③ |
| A．Anning in Hunan is known for its dye. |
| B．Tie-dyed clothes were valuable in the Song Dynasty. |
| C．Machinery dyeing will replace tie-dye in the future. |
2 . While most Singaporeans can speak both English and Chinese, very few are good at both languages. In fact, most parents speak English as their first language, so their Chinese is getting weak and they face difficulties when it comes to teaching their children Chinese.
If you’ re a parent struggling to keep up with Chinese teaching in school, you are not alone. We spoke to some Singaporean parents about the challenges they face when teaching their children Chinese, as well as how they got their young ones to understand the importance of the language.
Emily, 37, says that it has been a bit of a challenge teaching Chinese to her two children as her husband and she don’t speak much Chinese at home. She says that this is the main reason why her two children, who are seven and four, are not confident of the language. Despite (尽管) this, Emily encourages her children to speak Chinese in school whenever possible so that they can practice. “People in Singapore speak many languages, and to be able to communicate with all of them, my children need to master different languages.”
She also tries to make Chinese learning fun for her children by telling them stories of certain Chinese words. Because her family is mostly English speaking, she is worried that her children may not be able to keep up with Chinese teaching in school.
Given that the Chinese language looks to be very important in the future, Emily also says that she may consider sending her children to a Chinese school on Sundays or online learning platform (平台) .
1. What are most Singaporeans like these days?| A．They can speak two languages. |
| B．They find Chinese learning fun. |
| C．They are good at both Chinese and English. |
| A．They are too shy to talk to others. |
| B．They speak English most of the time. |
| C．They speak Chinese as much as possible. |
| A．Like. | B．Hear. | C．Learn. |
| A．Tell stories in Chinese often. |
| B．Write Chinese words every day. |
| C．Have Chinese lessons on weekends. |
| A．Singaporean parents work hard at their Chinese |
| B．Singaporean children are having a hard school life |
| C．Singaporean parents find teaching kids Chinese challenging |
Many animals have tails（尾巴）. They use their tails to do many different things. Some animals use their tails as flyswatters（苍蝇拍）. Have you ever seen a cow shake its tail back and forth? It’s driving away the flies. Horses also use their tails in the same way.
Some animals hang by their tails. Monkeys often do this. Then they can use all four of their paws for other things, such as eating. Monkeys use their tails as a “hanger”, which can help them hang in the trees and climb trees. Animals that live in the water use their tails to help them swim. A fish uses its tail from side to side. A kangaroo（袋鼠）has a large, useful tail. It’s like a chair. The kangaroo stands on its tail to rest. It helps the kangaroo stand well. The tail is also good for landing. This is important because an adult kangaroo can jump as far as 15 feet at a time. A fox has a big tail. This is a good tail to have on cold nights. The fox can put its tail over its nose and paws while it sleeps. The tail can keep the fox warm.
Some animals don’t keep their tails with them at all times. If their enemies（敌人）catch them, their tails will break off（折断）. Don’t worry. They will soon grow a new tail. How amazing（令人惊异的）it is!
1. A tail can help a kangaroo ________.| A．rest and stand well | B．keep warm on cold nights | C．jump as high as they can |
| A．the tails seem to be amazing |
| B．their enemies catch them |
| C．they can keep their tails well |
| A．a cow | B．a cow, a horse | C．a cow, a horse and flies |
| A．15 feet | B．14 feet | C．10 feet |
| A．How Animals Use Their Tails |
| B．Tails Help Animals to Catch Things |
| C．Animals are Amazing |
4 . The Sydney Opera House is a very famous building in the world. It has become Sydney’s best-known landmark and international symbol. The Opera House with a “sailing roof” was designed by a famous Danish architect(丹麦建筑师), Utzon. The base for the building was started in 1959, years before the designs were finished. Utzon spent four years designing the Opera House. In 1962, the designs were finalized(定稿) and the construction（施工）began. In 1967, they started the decoration inside. It took 14 years in total to build the Opera House. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened it on October 20th, 1973.
The Sydney Opera House cost around $ 100 million and was paid for by the public. 6,225 square meters of glass was used to build it. The Opera House includes 1,000 rooms. It is 185 meters long and 120 meters wide. The building’s roof sections weigh about 15 tons. Each year, this fantastic building attracts 200,000 tourists to come for a visit or enjoy events in it.
The Opera House reaches out into the harbour(港湾). It is amazing and unforgettable, offering people a strong sense of beauty.
根据材料内容简要回答下列问题。
1. Who was The Sydney Opera House designed by?（根据短文内容回答）
2. How long did it take in total to build the Opera House?（根据短文内容回答）
3. How much did The Sydney Opera House cost?（根据短文内容回答）
4. 从短文中找出与下面句子划线部分意思相近的单词
The Sydney Opera House is a very famous building in the world.
5. In the passage, the underlined word “ It ” refer to（指）
5 . There are over 800 boarding(寄宿) schools in the UK with students from home and foreign countries. Boarding schools started hundreds of years ago in the country. But the earliest boarding schools were set up for white, rich boys only. Now both boys and girls can go to boarding schools from the age of 7 to 18.
What to do
In the UK, boarding schools have three terms in a school year, with about 13 weeks in each term. Students study and live together. They can’t go outside if they are not allowed to. In some schools, each student has his or her subject plan. Besides the usual classrooms and laboratories, the boarding schools have lots of other facilities for their students, including music rooms, boats, swimming pools, cinemas and theatres. Most boarding schools have a “light out” time. So when it’s time to go to bed, all the lights in the bedrooms are turned off. There are house masters to take care of students all the time, especially after school hours.
What to wear
Nearly all the students in boarding schools wear a school uniform. Boys usually wear a shirt and a tie, and girls wear a white blouse, sometimes also a tie and a skirt. As students get older, the rules become less strict.
In the UK, boarding schools provide students with delicious food. They can choose to have a full English breakfast or bread. And there is always self-service for salad(沙拉), other side dishes and a dessert. Students can also make themselves something to eat at any time in a kitchen, or drink tea or have a snack between meals.
1. Boarding schools in the UK .| A．provide education for boy students |
| B．have some strict rules |
| C．only receive junior and senior students |
| A．have different ages |
| B．can choose the clothes they want to wear all the time |
| C．can’t eat snacks |
| A．Only white children were allowed to attend the earliest boarding schools. |
| B．Students can have different activities in a boarding school. |
| C．As students get older, the rules about wearing school uniforms become stricter. |
| A．Where to eat | B．When to eat | C．What to eat |
| A．教师 | B．设施 | C．活动 |
6 . In our western countries, there are four seasons or 365 days in a year. Usually we sleep 8 hours every day. So we have 122 days for sleeping. Then our study or work time is only 243 days left. But there are 52 weekends in a year. Each weekend is two days. We lose another 104 days a year for work. It takes up about one hour to have breakfast and supper. This comes to 15 days over a year. But we can’t work all that time, so we need a holiday. Let’s say we have three weeks’ holiday. We don’t work all day. Four free hours each evening takes up 61 days. We have to remember that we get 2 days’ holiday at Easter, 3 at Christmas and 1 at the New Year. There are also 4 Bank holidays（法定假日）. Take those 10 days away and we have 32 days for work. But then we have one and a half hours’ lunch every day, and half an hour’s coffee break. That comes to 30 days a year. This means that we have only a few days left for study or work every year. What about you in China?
1. How many days do we sleep in a year?_ _______ days.| A．36 | B．122 | C．8 |
| A．rest | B．coffee break | C．breakfast and supper |
| A．乘车 | B．从事 | C．占用 |
| A．Each weekend is one day. |
| B．We have 61 days for free time. |
| C．We get 3 days’ holiday at Easter. |
| A．time is important and we’d better not waste it |
| B．a few days for work is enough |
| C．we need more holidays |
7 . Listening test is one of the important parts of the English exam. Here are some tips (建议)for you. Before you start to listen, you need to relax. Don't be nervous (紧张). And try to read the questions. These questions usually help you understand the dialogue or the passage. Then listen carefully to the first sentence. It usually tells you the main idea of the passage. Then you're listening, try to do some thinking and take some notes (笔记), such as: What happened? When, where, and how? What does the speaker want to tell us? In this way, you may understand the passage better. Please remember not to think about one or two words for a long time. When you hear some words you don't know, don't spend too much time on them. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening.
1. This passage mainly talks about ________.| A．listening | B．speaking | C．reading |
| A．excited | B．relaxed | C．nervous |
| A．the answers to the questions |
| B．where to write the answers |
| C．the main idea of the passage |
| A．remember every word | B．take some notes | C．understand all the words |
| A．questions | B．first sentence | C．A and B |
8 . People who are afraid of heights should try not to drive over a new bridge in Guizhou. The new bridge, called the Beipanjiang Bridge, is the highest one in the world. It is located in Guizhou Province and stands 565 metres above a deep river. It connects the mountainous provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. Just how high is the new bridge? Think of a 200-floor building. The Beipanjiang Bridge has just overtaken the Sidu River Bridge in Hubei Province to become the world's highest.
The building of the Beipanjiang Bridge started in 2012 and it was opened to traffic on 29th December 2016. It cost about 100 million yuan.
The Beipanjiang Bridge is a part of a highway (高速公路) connecting Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province and Ruili City in Yunnan Province. The bridge is 1,341.4 metres long and it cuts the travel time from Liupanshui in Guizhou to Xuanwei in Yunnan from about five hours to just over an hour.
China is no stranger to record-breaking bridges. The second and third highest bridges in the world are also located there. The Beipanjiang Bridge is five metres higher than the previous (先前的) record holder.
1. The Beipanjiang Bridge was opened to traffic ________.| A．at the end of 2012 |
| B．at the beginning of 2016 |
| C．at the end of 2016 |
| A．565 metres. | B．1,341.4 metres. | C．2016 metres. |
| A．more than an hour | B．about 3 hours | C．more than 2 hours |
| A．模仿 | B．超过 | C．连接 |
| A．The Beipanjiang Bridge is part of a highway. |
| B．The Beipanjiang Bridge is over 1,500 metres long. |
| C．It cost about 1,000 million yuan to build the Beipanjiang Bridge. |
9 .
Read Across America! 5th — 9th March |
| Monday, 5th March All the students and teachers are invited to dress up as a character Dr. Seuss created in his books (The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs and Ham, etc.). |
| Tuesday, 6th March In honor of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss, everyone has to dress in RED and BLUE! |
| Wednesday, 7th March In honor of Dr. Seuss’s book, Wacky Wednesday, all the students and teachers need to wear crazy hair and crazy clothes, like mismatched (错配的) shoes and socks, backwards clothing, etc. |
| Thursday, 8th March Paint your shirt! Everyone should wear a shirt that has a picture of a city, town, country, or place of interest they have visited. |
| Friday, 9th March Pajama (睡衣) Day! In honor of Dr. Seuss’s book, Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, everyone has to wear their pajamas to school! |
1. How long will “Read Across America!” be?
| A．4 days. | B．5 days. | C．6 days. |
| A．3. | B．5. | C．6. |
| A．Dress in red and blue. |
| B．Visit a place of interest. |
| C．Read one of Dr. Seuss's books. |
| A．On Monday. | B．On Tuesday. | C．On Wednesday. |
| A．A grammar book. | B．A magazine. | C．A dictionary. |
10 . Mr. Green and Mrs. Green come to China from England. They have two children. Their son is Jim. He is fifteen years old. Kate is Jim’s sister. She is thirteen. Mr. Green works in No.5 Middle School. Jim and Kate study in their father’s school, but they are in different grades. Jim is in Grade(年级) Eight, and Kate is in Grade Seven. Jim and I are in the same class. Kate goes to school with us every day. They are my good friends. They like China very much.
1. The Green family lives in ________ now.| A．America | B．England | C．China |
| A．two | B．three | C．four |
| A．相同的 | B．不同的 | C．很好的 |
| A．friends | B．classmates | C．Mr. Green’s children |
| A．teacher | B．doctor | C．worker |
