1 . The Chinese ping feng (folding screen) is an ancient invention and traditional Chinese furniture (家具) . Its earliest common use dates from (追溯) the Han Dynasty. The term ping feng means protection from wind. showing its purpose at the very beginning.
As time passes, it has been made into different sizes with colorful paintings. On screens usually appears a dragon. It’s a symbol of light, growth and life-giving water. It also stands for nobility (尊贵) and power. The peacock, a beautiful bird, can be seen on screens, too. It’s a symbol of everlasting (永恒的) life. Beautiful flowers, which mean wealth and good luck, are also chosen as a popular design of the ping feng. All the designs carry people’s beautiful wishes.
Behind the ping feng lies an interesting story. In the past the unmarried daughter of a rich family was not supposed to see or be seen by men except her father, brothers or very close male cousins. When an admirer (追求者) paid a visit, however, she might take a secret look at him from a screen behind which she would be completely hidden. Her father would discuss poems with the young man and ask him to create one. If the daughter and her father were satisfied with the young man’s poem and his look, she might agree to take him as a husband.
Today the ping feng is back in fashion for its beauty and its practical (实际的) use as furniture. Acting as a moving wall or divider, it can be the perfect match for modern sofas and walls, which adds style to them. The ping feng is more than beautiful furniture.
1. What was the ping feng used for at the very beginning?| A．Protecting people from wind. | B．Dividing a room. | C．Making a room beautiful. | D．Hiding a person. |
| A．The dragon. | B．The peacock. | C．The water. | D．The flowers. |
| A．By telling a story. | B．By giving examples. | C．By comparing differences. | D．By explaining the result. |
| A．The ping feng has been popular all the time. |
| B．The paintings on the screens have the same size. |
| C．An unmarried daughter was too shy to see an admirer. |
| D．You can move the ping feng to match your other furniture. |
2 . Nanako Hama was holding a light envelop. When she tore it open with care, locks of hair emerged. Many strangers send Hama locks of their hair, hoping to recycle it.
People generate a huge amount of hair waste. Nearly all of that waste ends up in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. But hair possesses useful qualities that it’s a shame to simply throw it away. That’s why people all around the world, like Hama, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, including making mats (垫子) out of it for removing oil leaks in the ocean.
Hama is part of the nonprofit Matter of Trust (MoT) members working at more than 60 centers dotted across 17 countries, using machines to make hair donated from local salons and individuals into square mat, which are then used to clean up the floating oil. “Hair is particularly well-suited for this,”says MoT co-founder Lisa Gautier.“That’s because its rough sort of outer layer lets oil stick to it.” MoT’s mats have been used in major oil leaks, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 2007 Cosco Busan incidents.
In a 2018 study, Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia found that mats made of recycled human hair could absorb 0.84 grams of oil onto its surface for every gram of hair—significantly more than polypropylene (聚丙烯), a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up floating oil. Besides, hair is also useful as fertilizer (化肥). Hair contains a relatively high nitrogen (氮), a chemical element crucial for plant growth, and each lock of hair is made of roughly 16 percent of this essential nutrient. Last year, more than 560 gallons of liquid fertilizer made from human hair was sold to farmers in northern Tanzania and the feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging.
“It’s just a great way to use hair in a productive way. Hair is an answer literally hanging in front of our eyes—for oil and soil,” Hama says.
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By presenting a scene. |
| B．By detailing the background. |
| C．By describing the usage of hair. |
| D．By praising an environmentalist. |
| A．Improve soil. | B．Prevent oil leaks. |
| C．Take in harmful gas. | D．Clear the sea of oil. |
| A．Its color and strength. | B．Its length and amount. |
| C．Its weight and flexibility. | D．Its structure and component. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Promising. | C．Doubtful. | D．Worrying. |
3 . During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, there were 10 flower beds (花坛). One of the high-lights (亮点) of these flower beds was to make good use of garden waste.
One of them was in Tian’anmen Square. Its topic was “Wonderful Winter Olympics”. The five Olympic rings and the snowflake shape were at the bottom of the flower bed. To our surprise, all of these were made from garden waste. This could not only save resources but also bring people more beauty. It was generally praised by the public.
Green Olympics is one of the four main ideas of Beijing Winter Olympics. It took more than six years to prepare for the Games. In this process, the designers put the idea of green Olympics into every part. They integrated (融合) green Olympics with the city and its surroundings (环境). Green Olympics can not only make good use of waste and protect the environment, but also be good for the future development of the city. There’s no doubt that the Winter Olympics theme flower beds, which showed the “simple, safe and wonderful” requirements for the competition, added points to the unique charm (独特魅力) of the “City of the Two Olympics”.
As waste is considered as a resource that is put in a wrong place, the designers made the waste in the right place for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Besides, thrift (节俭) and hard work are the tradition of the Chinese nation. We also should save energy and make good use of waste in our daily life.
1. What is special about the flower beds?| A．The size. | B．The material. | C．The space. | D．The number. |
| A．Bing Dwen Dwen and The snowflake shape |
| B．Bing Dwen Dwen and The Olympic flag |
| C．The Olympic flag and The five Olympic rings |
| D．The snowflake shape and The five Olympic rings |
| A．boring | B．surprising | C．proud | D．serious |
(①=Paragraph 1②=Paragraph 2, …)
A． | B． | C． | D． |
4 . Weeks before Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节) on April 4 this year, hundreds of qingtuan were sold each day. The snack was still a must-have for many people.
In the southern part of China, eating qingtuan at the beginning of spring is a kind of tradition. Chinese people started to eat it more than 2,000 years ago. It is made of sticky rice (糯米) and red bean paste (红豆沙), and is famous for its softness, freshness and sweetness. The secret behind its mouth-watering taste is one of its materials—mugwort leaves (艾蒿叶). The plant is mainly found in the Yangtze River Delta (长江三角洲) where it has perfect conditions to grow.
People in this area usually put qingtuan on the tombs (墓) of their dead family members to cherish the past memory. Making qingtuan is also a chance for family members to get together at home. It really takes time and effort to make the snack.
Now, qingtuan has already spread its special taste to the northern part of China. Li Yuan, a 30-year-old engineer who grew up in Zhejiang Province, brought qingtuan back to Beijing where he works. “It tastes different in and out of my hometown,” he said. “There’s no place like home.”
Qingtuan has many different tastes inside it, such as apples and bean milk, to meet customers’ tastes. The difference of the taste shows that it’s getting more and more popular across the whole country.
Even though there is warm weather and green leaves in spring, the season wouldn’t be complete without a taste of qingtuan.
1. Tomb Sweeping Day is in ________.| A．spring | B．summer | C．autumn | D．winter |
| A．sticky rice | B．green color | C．red bean paste | D．mugwort leaves |
| A．forget | B．miss | C．sweep | D．guess |
| A．Growing up in Beijing | B．Planting Rice in Zhejiang |
| C．Meeting Customers’ Tastes | D．Marking the Start of Spring |
5 . German physicist Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of all time, the personification of genius and the subject of a whole industry of scholarship. In The Einsteinian Revolution, two experts on Einstein’s life and his theory of relativity — Israeli physicist Hanoch Gutfreund and German historian of science Jürgen Renn — offer an original and penetrating (犀利的) analysis of Einstein’s revolutionary contributions to physics and our view of the physical world.
For the first time ever, by setting Einstein’s work in the long course of the evolution of scientific knowledge, Gutfreund and Renn discover the popular misconception of Einstein as an unconventional scientific genius who single-handedly created modern physics — and by pure thought alone.
As a large part of the book explains, Einstein typically argued that science progresses through steady evolution, not through revolutionary breaks with the past. He saw his theory of relativity not as something from scratch, but a natural extension of the classical physics developed by pioneers such as Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei and English physicist Isaac Newton in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as nineteenth-century physicists.
The authors highlight how classical physics cannot be separated cleanly from modern Einsteinian physics. The book also includes substantial sections on Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo whose methods inspired Einstein. When Einstein considered himself as standing on their shoulders, he meant that, without their contributions, he would not have formulated (阐述) the theory of relativity.
The Einsteinian Revolution is an important and thought-provoking contribution to the scholarly literature on Einstein and his surprising scientific creativity between 1905 and 1925. Gutfreund and Renn might not have given the final answer as to why Einstein, of all people, revolutionized physics in the way that he did. But they argue in fascinating detail that, to understand his genius, one must take into account not just the earlier history of physics but also the history of knowledge more broadly. Although not always an easy read, the book will interest physicists and historians alike.
1. What’s the attitude of Gutfreund and Renn to the popular viewpoint on Einstein?| A．Opposing. | B．Favorable. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．From nothing. | B．Up to a certain standard. |
| C．By learning from others. | D．With previous knowledge. |
| A．Their ideas were rejected by Einstein. |
| B．Their devotion to physics impressed Einstein. |
| C．Their research contributed to Einstein’s success. |
| D．Their hard work deserved the worldwide respect. |
| A．A guidebook to a course. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．An essay on Albert Einstein. | D．A review of physics development. |
6 . Many students suffer from stress (压力) in their daily lives. They are under stress because their lives are not balanced. They worry about their study, getting on with classmates and what others think. You may want to know if stress is a serious problem. The answer is “Yes”. You should realise that stress is a risk to your health. If you want to live a long and healthy life, you need to try to prevent (防止) stress from a young age.
Here are some ways to deal with stress and bring balance to your life:·Be positive
One way to stop being stressed is through positive thinking. You should always look on the bright side of life, and imagine you will have a happy and successful future.
·Learn to relaxMake yourself take a break from your studies and worries about exams. You can do this by taking a walk, reading a book, going to a concert or seeing a film, or just sitting in a private place and being silent for a moment.
____△____
Learn to paint, take up skating, or start playing a musical instrument. When you are busy with a hobby, you leave all your worries behind.
·Take care of your bodyStress does harm to your body. Taking exercise, eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep are all the things that can help you.
·LaughSometimes laughter is the best medicine for stress. Seeing a funny film or telling jokes with friends will often cheer you up when you are not happy.
1. Many students are under stress in their daily lives because they ________.| A．have a boring life | B．are afraid of studying |
| C．have too many worries | D．can’t get on well with their parents |
| A．eating a healthy diet | B．playing a musical instrument |
| C．telling jokes with friends | D．going to a concert or seeing films |
| A．See a doctor | B．Take up a hobby | C．Stay with friends | D．Be patient |
| A．How to keep healthy. | B．How terrible stress is! |
| C．How to live a balanced life. | D．How can we improve ourselves? |
7 . 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． |
8 . Singapore started to put labels (标签) on every drink recently. The labels are from A to D. A is the most healthy, and D is the least healthy. The more sugar and saturated fat (饱和脂肪) a drink has, the less healthy the drink is. D-grade drinks aren’t allowed to be advertised (打广告) by companies to attract customers.
| A．Grade A | B．Grade B | C．Grade C | D．Grade D |
| A．<1%. | B．1—5%. | C．5—10%. | D．>10%. |
| A．To stop people buying drinks. | B．To guide people to choose healthy drinks. |
| C．To tell people how much sugar is in the drinks. | D．To show there are many kinds of drinks. |
| A．Music and Movie. | B．Sports and Travel. | C．History and Culture. | D．Life and Health. |
9 . You may think that having less water is because of having less rain, but it is now a problem in southern China, an area in which it rains often.
The government said that Shenzhen was facing its most serious water shortage ever. Other cities in the southern part of China, like Chengdu and Guangzhou, are also becoming “thirsty” though they have more rain and are close to more rivers and lakes, The Paper reported. So why are they still short on water?
In these big cities, populations are growing fast. As a result, people and factories need more water.
Climate change is making the water problem worse. Most cities in Guangdong province depend on the Dongjiang River as their main source of water. In 2021, the river was reported to be drying up.
Water pollution also makes it harder to get clean drinking water. Factories and farms don’t use water well. Some cities have enough rain but don’t have big lakes or reservoirs (水库) to store water, so the water goes out into the sea.
But there is a hidden water resource (资源) right under our feet. That’s “groundwater”. We can’t see it. However, it plays an important role in our lives. About 98 percent of Earth’s fresh water is groundwater. It is 60 times as plentiful as the fresh water in lakes and rivers. But in many places, people overuse and pollute groundwater. We should pay more attention to this hidden water resource.
1. Why are Chengdu and Guangzhou becoming “thirsty”?| A．They are in south China. | B．They are short on water. |
| C．They are close to rivers. | D．They are having less rain. |
| A．Climate change. | B．Population growth. | C．Water pollution. | D．Hidden resources. |
| A．For showing the result of more factories. | B．For explaining how to solve the pollution. |
| C．For facing the water shortage problem. | D．For introducing how to use groundwater. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
10 . ①How good are you at remembering names, dates, and telephone numbers? It is not easy for all. Remembering things is one of the most interesting functions (功能) of the human brain. That’s why scientists spend so much time studying how it works.
②Studies show that when we learn something new, it stays in our memory for 20-30 seconds. This is our short-term memory. Remembering a phone number long enough to find a piece of paper is an example. The opposite of short-term memory is long-term memory, which is where things are stored in the brain for a long time. The brain can turn short-term memory into long-term memory. For example, when studying for an exam, instead of just reading the information once or twice, you might go over your notes again and again until you can remember the important information.
③Dave Farrow is known for his excellent memory. He has been listed twice in Guinness (吉尼斯) World Records for Greatest Memory. As a student, Dave had great difficulties in learning. He found some ways to improve his memory in order to do well in school. Here are some you can try.
④One way is to look at the first letter of each word you want to remember. Then, make your own word or sentence using all of those letters. For example, if you want to remember all the colours in a rainbow, try remembering the name Roy G. Biv. Each letter in this name matches the first letter of a colour: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Another way is to remember information in groups. For example, when you remember a telephone number, remember three numbers as a group, the next four numbers as a group and the final four numbers as a group. This way, your brain only has to remember three things instead of 11.
⑤If you are interested in improving your memory, apart from using some ways to remember things, there are lots of simple things you can do, like eating healthily, sleeping well and exercising daily. Challenging your brain also helps you keep it healthy and active. So, why not start playing mind games, learning a musical instrument or studying a new language?
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．Short-term memory is less important than long-term memory. |
| B．The information needed for an exam stays in short-term memory. |
| C．People store new information in long-term memory by going over it. |
| D．Our short-term memory can hold information for more than half a minute. |
| A．describe how people remember things | B．show the importance of a great memory |
| C．tell people to use some ways to improve memory | D．give a reason why people need to improve memory |
| A．Some advice to improve memory. | B．Some activities to challenge the brain. |
| C．Some advantages of playing mind games. | D．Some reasons for keeping the brain active. |
| A．①/②/③④/⑤ | B．①②/③/④/⑤ | C．①/②/③/④/⑤ | D．①②③/④/⑤ |
