1 .

When you meet a strange Chinese character (汉字) what will you do? Surely, the most reliable way is to look it up in Xinhua Dictionary.

Since its birth in 1953, Xinhua Dictionary has been a must-have book in schools across China. More than 567 million copies had been sold by 2016. So it was even recognized by the Guinness World Records as the “most popular dictionary” that year.

Small as the dictionary is, it means a lot to China. The dictionary was given the name Xinhua by the chief editor Wei Jiangong, and it carried the hope of a country reborn. In 1949, around 80% of China’s population wasn’t able to get education (教育). It was Xinhua Dictionary that had reduced the number to 52% by 1964. To make it easier for illiterate people to understand, the earliest copies had many pictures.

Thanks to Xinhua Dictionary, many Chinese got new chances in their life. Mo Yan, the 69-year-old Nobel Laureate, once mentioned the dictionary in his speech. He said that he was lucky to have a copy of the dictionary after dropping out from school. He learned most of Chinese characters from it, and that helped him write novels and enter a college later.

This important dictionary has also recorded the development of the language and society. It is revised (修订) every five to ten years. Recent copies have included many new explanations. The character “晒” (to dry something in the sun), for example, now has a second meaning: to share. In a way, the dictionary hasn’t just explained characters; it has reflected (反映) the way Chinese people think.

1. When did Xinhua Dictionary first come out?

A．In 1949.

B．In 1953.

C．In 1964.

D．In 2016.

2. What does the underlined phrase “illiterate people” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．People who are bad at maths.	B．People who can’t draw or sing.
C．People who are too old to see.	D．People who can’t read or write.

3. Why does the writer use the example of Mo Yan in Paragraph 4?

A．To share a speech about the dictionary.	B．To offer advice on using the dictionary.
C．To show the influence of the dictionary.	D．To explain the development of the dictionary.

4. Which part of a magazine is the passage probably taken from?

A．Nature.

B．People.

C．Culture.

D．Business.

2 .

In a noisy restaurant, you can still hear your friend’s voice clearly. You talk happily without paying attention to others’ conversations. That’s because selective (选择性的) attention is helping you.

Selective attention is an amazing ability in our brain. It allows people to choose and focus on (专注于) something in the environment. At the same time, it can filter out (过滤) unnecessary information, so people can focus on one conversation in a crowded place. But how does selective attention work? Researchers from Columbia University did an experiment to study it. The result shows that the brain is selective about the sounds it hears. When a person listens to someone talking, their brain waves (波) change to pick out the features of the speaker’s voice and filter out other voices.

To further understand how selective attention works, the researchers studied two parts of the brain’s listening centre: Heschl’s gyrus (HG) and the superior temporal gyrus (STG). Information from the ears reaches HG first, passes through it and arrives at STG later. In the study, they found the following facts: in HG area, every voice is treated the same way. That is to say, HG doesn’t prefer one voice or another. But in STG area, it’s possible to choose one speaker’s voice and make it louder. The whole process (过程) only takes 150 milliseconds and it happens immediately to a listener. As a result, people can focus on one voice when there are many other conversations around.

“Today’s study is quite important. We want to better understand how the brain helps us to hear so well, as well as create technologies that help people,” said Dr. Mesgarani, the leader of the researchers. With the help of the finding, speech recognition technologies have been improved. The researchers have already developed a new kind of hearing aid that can help collect information more correctly. It could make one speaker’s voice louder over another. They also plan to study more about HG and STG activity in situations that have more speakers.

1. What can selective attention help people do according to the passage?

A．Choose where to talk.	B．Hear more in a conversation
C．Forget unnecessary information.	D．Focus on one voice in a noisy place.

2. Which picture shows the process in the listening centre?

A．

B．

C．

D．

3. What will the researchers most probably study in the future?

A．How to improve listening	B．How the listening centre works.
C．How to make a better hearing aid.	D．How HG and STG protect each other.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．A Great Ability in Brain	B．A New Study on Technologies
C．A Key to Reducing Noise	D．A Way to Make Conversation

3 .

Nobody can say no to a flower world in the real life. That’s why more and more people come to the Huazhao Festival to enjoy the beautiful and busy party in spring.

The Huazhao Festival is the birthday of all flowers and it happens on the 2nd, 12th or 15th day of February of the Chinese lunar calendar (农历). People started to celebrate the birthday of flowers before the Qin Dynasty and it became a festival during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, it was one of the three important celebrations all over China.

The Huazhao Festival is rich in customs (习俗). Young people wear Hanfu, a kind of traditional Chinese clothes and have outings. The festival is in early spring, so it’s such a great time to have an outing to enjoy the spring time. Girls put colorful paper-cuts on the flower stems (花茎). They hope they can be as young and beautiful as flowers. Also, people in different places of China plant flowers. They think that flowers planted on that day can grow well. At the festival, the flower fair (集市) is the most popular. There are lots of fun activities in the fair, such as making flower cakes and playing music.

The Huazhao Festival is an exciting party to see the beautiful spring and it also helps people learn more about Chinese traditions. It’s really a wonderful celebration that you can’t miss.

1. What can we learn about the Huazhao Festival from the passage?

A．It started in the Qin Dynasty.	B．It’s on the same day every year.
C．It’s a celebration for flowers.	D．It becomes important in the world.

2. What do people do at the Huazhao Festival?

A．They cut flower stems.	B．They make traditional clothes Hanfu.
C．They put paper-cuts on flower cakes.	D．They join in activities of the flower fair.

3. Why does the writer write the passage?

A．To tell the long history of the festival.	B．To show a special Chinese festival in spring.
C．To show different flowers at the festival.	D．To tell the meaning of celebrating the festival.

4 . If you visit Wuppertal, Germany, make sure you take the Schwebebahn. It’s a railway that runs for 13 kilometres and carries over 80, 000 passengers (乘客) every day.

The Schwebebahn travels in a very different way. Its 24-metre-long train doesn’t run on the track (轨道), but under it. The track is 12 metres above the river, so as the train goes over the city. Passengers can enjoy the exciting sights freely.

The Schwebebahn didn’t come easy. In the 1880s, the traffic in Wuppertal was so busy that the government had to develop a new way of travelling. At that time, a man named Eugen Langen was trying a railway under the track to carry products for his company. It was successful so later Eugen put this idea into the Schwebebahn. In that way, the space above the River Wupper got fully used. It turned out to be a very good choice. The Schwebebahn gives special travel experiences to passengers. Its stations are as beautiful as art museums, so passengers won’t be bored while waiting in the stations. A classical train also offers all kinds of services, such as food and drinks. What’s more, people can book this train to have parties or even get married in the air! They will never forget this one-hour journey in the air.

Now the Schwebebahn is more than a railway for Wuppertal. It is a symbol of the city.

1. How does the Schwebebahn travel according to the passage?

A．

B．

C．

D．

2. What does “this idea” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Making products for a company.	B．Using the space above the river.
C．Building a railway under the track.	D．Carrying things for the government.

3. What special experience can passengers have?

A．They can enjoy a party on the train.

B．They can visit the art museums on the train.

C．They can take a two-hour journey in the air.

D．They can cook food when waiting in the station.

4. Why does the writer write this passage?

A．To show the important stations of Wuppertal.

B．To introduce the facts about the Schwebebahn.

C．To share a riding experience in the Schwebebahn.

D．To tell why Wuppertal needed a new way of travelling.

5 .

Big moments of the past 25 years

Hong Kong came back to China 25 years ago. There were many important moments.

1997

Hong Kong was returned to China. The “one country, two systems” policy started.

2003

Individual visits began. Before that, people from the mainland could only visit Hong Kong in groups.

2005

Hong Kong Disneyland opened in September. It is China’s first Disney theme park.

The city held the equestrian sports as part of Beijing Summer Olympics.

2012

Hong Kong high school graduates could study at some universities on the mainland. They just need to offer their local grades.

2018

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opened in October. People can drive from Hong Kong to Zhuhai in just 45 minutes.

2022

The government decided to improve Hong Kong International Airport. It will welcome 0.2 billion visitors every year in the future.

1. When did an individual from the mainland start to visit Hong Kong?

A．In 1997.

B．In 2003

C．In 2005.

D．In 2008.

2. What happened in Hong Kong in 2018?

A．China’s first Disneyland park opened there.

B．Hong Kong held sports for Beijing Olympics.

C．Hong Kong people could go to Zhuhai more easily.

D．People started to use Hong Kong International Airport.

3. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．It tells great developments of Hong Kong.	B．It describes beautiful parks in Hong Kong.
C．It shows important buildings in Hong Kong.	D．It talks about famous people of Hong Kong.

7 .

Located in the middle of the Egyptian desert is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Giza. Apart from being an unbelievable achievement, it also serves as the final resting place for the great Pharaoh Khufu. It has been standing for centuries and attracted travelers from all over the world. A survey shows one third people from America, one quarter people from Europe and two sevenths people from Asia hope to take a vacation to the great wonder. Yet, one question which has puzzled all of us is how this amazing wonder was built.

Many people don’t believe that humans were technologically advanced enough in ancient Africa to build such a large and highly advanced building. This brought about many crazy theories that the pyramids were built by a race of giants or even aliens from outer space. Another popular theory suggested that the pyramids were built by an army of poor slaves.

Modern technology and some recent findings have helped make it clear. An explorer accidentally found a tomb containing some written information about the builders. The records show that the workers were paid and well-fed, and came from poor families in Egypt. Further analysis made it clear that people considered it an honor to work on the pyramids, and the builders were treated with great respect. In fact, anyone who died while working on the pyramids was given the honor of being buried in the tomb near where the pharaohs lay.

To avoid exhaustion, the builders worked for about three months and then were allowed to stay at home to have a rest. A recent researcher shows that fifteen thousand people could have completed the building in about ten years. An analysis of the bones of the builders shows their work was extremely hard, as most of them were hurt badly. But thanks to their unbelievable effort, the human has an amazing wonder that should stand the test of time.

1. According to the survey, people from ________ most like to visit the Great Pyramid of Giza.

A．Asia

B．Africa

C．America

D．Europe

2. Why did ancient Egyptians build the great wonder?

A．To show how wise the people of that time.	B．To attract people to visit the ancient country.
C．To be the tomb for the Great Pharaoh Khufu.	D．To remember the people who built the wonder.

3. What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．Some new findings about the modern technology.

B．New information about the builders of the Pyramids.

C．How ancient people built the unbelievable wonder.

D．The builders of the Pyramids had a better life than we thought.

4. Which of the following is TRUE about the Great Pyramid of Giza?

A．It lies in the center of Egyptian desert.

B．About 1,500 people built it for 10 years.

C．We still don’t know who built the great wonder.

D．It was one of the Seven Wonders of ancient Egypt.

8 .

The history of chocolate begins with Theobroma cacao. People make chocolate from the seeds on the tree. Chocolate means “food of the gods”. For many years, people enjoy the chocolate very much.

It is said that Mayan people of Central America first learned to plant cacao trees around 2,000 years ago. The Maya took the cacao trees from the rainforest and grew them around their homes. They cooked the cacao seeds, then made them into a soft paste. They put water and spices in the paste to make not sweet chocolate drink. But not all people could drink it because it was so expensive. Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America. The trees are difficult to grow.

Cacao and chocolate are an important part of Maya culture. Some people think the word for chocolate come from the Aztec word “xocolatl”, which means “not sweet water” in the Nahuatl language. Others think the word “chocolate” is from Mayan and Nahuatl words.

Chocolate making is a big business. Each year, the market of the cacao crop around the world can provide more than five billion dollars. People in the United States like chocolate very much. Everyone in America eats more than five kilograms of chocolate every year.

1. According to the passage, we know that Theobroma cacao is a kind of ________.

A．food

B．drink

C．plant

D．vegetable

2. The underlined word “it” means ________ in the passage.

A．water

B．spices

C．cacao seeds

D．chocolate drink

3. What’s the best title for this passage?

A．The history of chocolate.	B．The people of Mayan.
C．The way of growing cacao.	D．The business of chocolate.

9 .

Without the Internet or phones, communicating long distance is limited. Yet throughout history, cultures have developed ways to produce messages that travel miles. Morse Code is a system of communication. It uses patterns of signals to send and receive messages, often with a machine called a telegraph.

A telegraph is a machine that creates different signals from different messages. These signals are then changed into electrical current. They are sent across a wire. They can travel long distances, such as across the country or ocean. Another telegraph receives these signals. The machine changes the signals back into the original message.

In Morse Code, there are three types of signals. They are dots, dashes, and pauses. Dots (•) are the short noises or flashes of light. Dashes (━) are longer noises or flashes of light. Spaces (____) are the pauses. Patterns of these signals represent letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. In Morse Code, letter A is one dot and one dash, letter E is one dot, letter I is two dots. As for consonants, letter C is one dash, one dot, one dash and one dot, letter D is one dash and two dots, Letter T is one dash.

Morse Code was invented in the United States by Samuel Morse during the 1830s. People soon realized that the code could not transmit all messages in other languages. To fix this problem, a newer version called the International Morse Code was developed. International Morse Code is simpler and more exact. For example, the original Morse Code could only represent a few of the letters. The International Morse Code, on the other hand, is for all letters.

1. According to Paragraph 2, how does the telegraph work?
①The signals are sent across a wire.
②The signals are changed back to letters.
③Another telegraph receives these signals.
④The telegraph changes signals to electricity.

A．①④②③

B．①④③②

C．④①②③

D．④①③②

2. Look at the signals: •━   ━•━•   ━, which of the following do they mean?

A．Cat.

B．Act.

C．Eat.

D．Ted.

3. What happened after Morse Code couldn’t work in other languages?

A．It became very popular.	B．People stopped using it.
C．The telephone was invented.	D．A newer version was created.

4. What is the writing purpose of this passage?

A．To explain a secret message.	B．To introduce a type of phone.
C．To show a way to communicate.	D．To tell stories of an old machine.

10 .

	The year 2023 is filled with unusual holidays. Share them with your parents, teachers and friends.
	Fry An Egg On The Sidewalk Day (July 4) Have you heard the expression “It’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk”? It has been around for a long time, perhaps since a newspaper on June 11, 1899, according to the Library of Congress. No one knows who asked people to try this on July 4 (it is often very hot on that day). But Oatman, Arizona, takes it seriously. Each July Fourth, the Solar Egg Frying Competition in Oatman, Arizona, offers a prize for the best sun-cooked egg.
	Wonderful Weirdos Day (September 9) Austin, Texas, takes pride in being weird — doing things differently. A group of local people suggested an unofficial holiday encouraging everyone to do the same. To celebrate, be a little weird. Wear strange clothes or try an unusual hairstyle. And do it, as Austinites do, with pride.
	National Cocoa Day (December 13) People in South America started making chocolate from cocoa thousands of years ago. The drink they made was not very sweet, though. Spanish explorers later added sugar to it and brought it back to Europe. On December 13, have a cup of cocoa, and don’t forget the marshmallows.

1. Where is the Solar Egg Frying Competition held?

A．Texas.

B．Austin.

C．Arizona.

D．South America.

2. When is the day about a drink from South America?

A．June 4.

B．June 11.

C．September 9.

D．December 13.

3. What can we learn from the three titles?

A．Dates of some surprising holidays.	B．Important holidays in the US.
C．Places for celebrating different holidays.	D．Reasons to celebrate a few holidays.