1 . The lion dance is a traditional dance performed during Chinese New Year. The dancers wear colorful costumes and dance, jump as drums beat. The lion dance is popular in China because Chinese people think it can bring good luck for the coming year. It’s a symbol of Chinese culture (文化). There is also a lion dance club in San Francisco, America.

“I think of it as a sport.” says Anthony Huang, a 16-year-old boy. He is in the lion dance club. He plays as the lion’s head. It’s heavy, about 20 pounds (磅). “The lion dance is meaningful (有意义的) for me,” he says. In the past, only men played the lion dance. But it is different today. Lion Dance Me is a lion dance club. It’s in San Francisco. There are boys and girls on the team. They dance together.

Amanda is one of them. She says anyone can play the lion dance. “We call it a family,” she says. “Because we always have each other’s backs.”

Lion dance is an excellent combination (结合) of sports and art. It will get popular in more places in the world.

1. Chinese play the lion dance to _________.

A．learn more about China.	B．help save lions
C．wish a lucky new year	D．make more friends

2. There is also a dance club in _________.

A．San Francisco, the USA	B．Australia
C．Thailand	D．the UK

3. What does Anthony think of lion dance?

A．Difficult.	B．Interesting.
C．Dangerous.	D．Meaningful.

4. Lion dance is a combination of _________.

A．dance and art	B．art and sports
C．music and dance	D．sports and music

5. Which part of the newspaper can we read the passage?

A．Sports

B．Art

C．Science

D．Culture

2 . Rice is a very common food in life. Lots of people in Asia, Africa, and South America eat it every day. Some people eat almost nothing but rice. Farmers grow rice in many countries. But no one really knows where it first came from. Some scientists think that it started to grow in two places. They think that one kind of rice grew in Asia many years ago. According to some old books, people began to grow rice in China almost 5,000 years ago. Another kind probably grew in West Africa. However, other scientists think that rice came from India, and Indian travelers took it to other parts of the world.

Rice can grow in dry soil (土壤), but most rice grows in wet soil. People in many countries do all of the work of growing rice by hand. This is the same way farmers worked hundreds of years ago. In some countries, people now use machines on their rice farms.

People use every part of the rice plant. They make animal feed (动物饲料) and rice oil (油) from it. They make other useful things such as baskets, shoes and roofs for their houses from it. Also, they burn (燃烧) dry rice plants in fires for cooking.

1. People eat rice every day in those places EXCEPT________.

A．Asia

B．Africa

C．North America

D．South America

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Farmers grow rice in many countries.

B．Everyone knows where rice first came from.

C．Some scientists think rice came from West Africa.

D．People in China began to grow rice many years ago.

3. What can we know according to paragraph 1 and paragraph 2?

A．Rice is so special that it can only grow in wet soil.

B．African travelers took rice to other parts of the world.

C．In all countries, people use machines on their rice farms.

D．Scientists have different ideas about where rice started to grow.

4. What’s the last paragraph mainly about?

A．People burn dry rice plants in fires for cooking.

B．Every part of the rice plant is useful in people’s lives.

C．People can make baskets and shoes from the rice plant.

D．People can make animal feed and rice oil from the rice plant.

5. What is probably the best title for the passage?

A．Rice—A Common Food	B．Where Rice Came From
C．How People Grow Rice	D．Things Made of Rice Plants

3 . 根据短文内容，判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”），并将答案涂到答题卡的相应位置上。

As you are reading this story, there are a lot of things flying through space. These things are called space junk (太空垃圾).

Space junk comes from many different kinds of things like old spaceships. The things travel very fast in space.

According to NASA, there are about 500,000 pieces of junk in outer space. Some of these pieces of junk are travelling as fast as about 28,163 kilometers per hour. This can be even faster than a spaceship. Even a small piece of junk can destroy (毁坏) a spacecraft or satellite (卫星).

Now, NASA has found a way to solve this problem. It made a special satellite called NanoRacks-Remove Debris. The satellite looks like a cube (立方体). It works by collecting small pieces of space junk. There is a 3-D camera on the satellite. It can get information about space junk. For example, it can find where the space junk is, how big it is and how fast it is moving. When it gets close to the space junk, it uses a net to catch it. Later, the satellite burns the space junk in Earth’s atmosphere (大气层).

1. Things flying through space are called space junk.
2. Space junk is only from old spaceships.
3. A 3-D camera on the satellite can get information about space junk.
4. The satellite uses a big bag to catch space junk.
5. The passage mainly talks about different kinds of space junk.

4 . 根据短文内容，判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”），并将答案涂到答题卡的相应位置上。

Doing exercise is very important for a happy and healthy life. So people all over the world have many kinds of exercise so far. Baduanjin, a kind of traditional Chinese sport, is just one of them. The traditional Chinese exercise was invented over 800 years ago.

At first, it was used as one kind of exercise for Shaolin Wushu. It is divided (分成) into eight parts, and each part of it has one action. Compared with other sports, Baduanjin is slow and played with light music. Although it is simple and easy to learn, it works well. People only need to wear comfortable clothes, socks and shoes before doing it. It used to be popular with the elders. However, no one has expected that more and more young Chinese love it. They think it’s good for them, especially for office workers. After they spend hours sitting in front of the computer, doing Baduanjin is a good choice to help them relax and sleep well. They also believe that it will make thin people strong and fat people lose weight so they keep practising it at least once a day. Some young Chinese are even making an effort to spread the Chinese sport around the world to help foreigners know how wonderful our Chinese culture is!

1. Baduanjin is one of traditional Chinese sports.
2. Baduanjin isn’t easy to learn because it’s played with loud music.
3. Baduanjin used to be popular among young people.
4. Office workers practise Baduanjin once a week.
5. Some young Chinese are trying to spread Baduanjin around the world.

5 . Have you ever experienced hui nan tian, or lasting humid weather? Hui nan tian is a special weather phenomenon (现象) in southern China. It normally appears in spring when temperatures begin to warm up. Before it arrives, there have usually been a few cold days, with a temperature below 12℃. When the cold air goes away, warmer air quickly comes and the temperature rises, creating a lot of water vapor (水蒸气).

During hui nan tian, the humid weather makes it easy for bacteria to grow. Food goes bad easily and clothes stay wet. It can also make people feel tired and sick. Having a cold is common during this time.

To cut down on the trouble caused by the humid weather, experts suggest that people in the south should close their windows in the morning and evening, especially those facing south and southeast. At the same time, they should use an air conditioner (空调) to dry the room instead of mopping (拖) floors. It’s also useful to put newspapers on the floor, on tables, and at the door to take in water and wet air.

1. Which of the following sentences can describe hui nan tian?

A．It helps people a lot.	B．It’s a special weather phenomenon.
C．It appears in the west of China.	D．It’s pretty common in winter.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The cold air.	B．The bad food.
C．The humid weather.	D．The water vapor.

3. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing the third paragraph?

A．To introduce how people go to work on rainy days.

B．To let people know the temperature during hui nan tian.

C．To explain the reason why so many people dislike hui nan tian.

D．To give advice on how to reduce the trouble caused by hui nan tian.

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．People shouldn’t often mop the floor during hui nan tian.

B．The temperature is above 12℃ during this special weather.

C．The weather has nothing to do with people’s body and health.

D．We can keep the food for a long time because of the humid weather.

5. Where can we probably read this passage?

A．In a science magazine.	B．In a story book.
C．In science fiction.	D．In a travel guide.

6 . 根据短文内容，判断正误(正确“T”，错误“F”)，并将所选答案涂到答题卡的相应位置上。

Our ears are very important for us to feel the world around us. They make us enjoy different sounds, such as music and the singing of birds.

But how do they work? Our ears have three parts (部分): the outer ear, the middle ea r and the inner ear. We can see the outer ear. It collects (收集) sound around us. Next the sound goes into the middle ear and then into the inner ear.

Our ears never stop working. When we are asleep, our ears are still working. They help us stay alert (警觉的) for all kinds of sounds.

But ears do more than just hear. In the inner ear, there are organs (器官) to help our bodies work well.

Also, the middle ea r has a special part that helps us taste food when we eat. If you have problems with your ears, you may have a hard time tasting yummy things. So we should take good care of our ears.

1. There are two parts of our ears, the outer ear and the inner ear.
2. When we are asleep, our ears are having a rest.
3. Our ears can only help us hear the outside sounds.
4. If you have problems with your ears, you may not taste delicious food.
5. This text tells about how important our ears are.

8 . Ghaffar Pourazar, a British man, has learned the necessary skills to perform Beijing Opera and he has become popular with his lively performance of the Monkey King, a traditional character from the Chinese classic story Journey to the West.

In 1993, he happened to watch Beijing Opera performed in London by professionals from Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing. Ghaffar fell in love with the beautiful voices, colorful costumes, excellent shows and so on. So after a year, he arrived in China alone and became a student of Beijing Opera.

At the age of 32, he had to learn with teenage students every day, starting from the most basic training of the legs and waist (腰). At that time, he was mostly troubled by the dialogue in Beijing Opera. To him, it was the biggest problem. But he tried his best to practice it. 4 years later, he began to learn to perform the Monkey King. He usually arrived at the workroom on hour earlier than the other performers and he also bought books and CDs to understand the character better. Finally, He once won a top international prize for performing the Monkey King.

To help more people enjoy Beijing Opera, Ghaffar often teaches the traditional art form in schools in the United States, Britain and other countries. Ghaffar led a group of actors to perform 66 times in a month and a half in the United States. He also led a 48-member team to perform in Malaysia. In the past 10 years, he has performed in more than 400 shows.

1. Why did Ghaffar start learning Beijing Opera?

A．Because he thought it was a necessary skill.

B．Because Journey to the West is his favorite.

C．Because he loved Beijing Opera after watching one.

D．Because he wanted to be an actor and made lots of money.

2. How old was Ghaffar when he started to learn to perform the Monkey King?

A．30.

B．32.

C．34.

D．36.

3. Which of the following word can best describe Ghaffar according to Paragraph 3?

A．Careless.

B．Creative.

C．Hard-working.

D．Warm-hearted.

4. What is the correct order of the following events according to the text?
a. He got basic training with teenage students.
b. He watched a Beijing Opera performance in London.
c. He bought books and CDs about the Monkey King.
d. He won an international prize for performing the Monkey King.

A．b-c-a-d

B．b-d-a-c

C．b-a-c-d

D．b-a-d-c

5. What can we know about Ghaffar according to the last paragraph?

A．He performed Beijing Opera by himself.

B．He likes to teach his children to speak Chinese.

C．He led a 66-member team to perform in Malaysia.

D．He did a lot to spread Beijing Opera to other countries.