1 .
| In ancient China, bell and drum towers used to play the role of clocks in telling people the time. The bell sounded at dawn (黎明) and the drum at dusk (黄昏). Today, bell and drum towers remain in some time-honored (久享盛名的) cities like Beijing and Xi’an. The Bell and Drum Towers in Xi’an are symbols of the city’s rich past. |
| In Guangdong, many local people start a day with morning tea at a tea house. For them, it is the most important meal of the day. They go out to meet friends, eat and have fun. Guangdong morning tea is not just tea. It is a special breakfast with different kinds of snacks and tea. For the local people in Guangdong, drinking morning tea at a tea house is not only a lifestyle but also an important way of social communication. |
| The Fish Festival is a traditional festival of Miao People in Guizhou. It’s from June 2 to 16 of the Chinese lunar calendar. Fish-catching includes catching fish from the sky as well as taking them in the river. A group of people jump into the river and try to catch fish. At the same time, another group tries to catch fish that people throw into the air. If one catches one fish, he will get good luck. Besides fish-catching, other activities include bamboo pole dancing, winding Lusheng (a traditional Miao instrument) and singing Miao songs. The festival usually ends in a happy water fight. |
1. Xi’an is famous for ________.
| A．ancient clocks | B．the city’s rich past |
| C．the Bell and Drum Towers | D．the dawn and dusk |
| A．local and big | B．different and social |
| C．delicious and fun | D．important and special |
| A．2 days | B．14 days | C．15 days | D．16 days |
| A．only men can catch fish |
| B．one catches one fish will be unlucky |
| C．Miao people end up fighting with Miao songs |
| D．Miao people catch fishes from the air and in the river |
2 . Feel down? Hug a tree! Recently, many Chinese young people have turned to trees to help with their stress. Although it sounds strange, there’s a science behind the act of tree-hugging.
It can be explained by the “biophilia hypothesis (亲生命假说)”. It was pointed out by US scientist Edward Wilson in 1984. According to him, humans are born to love being around other living things. Human’s love for nature is “in our DNA”. This idea helps to explain why people prefer natural, green views to city views. It’s also one of the reasons why people love cute pets.
Some studies have looked into why tree-hugging can help with our health. A study reported that the activity could increase oxytocin (催产素). It’s a hormone (荷尔蒙) responsible for feelings. The higher the level of oxytocin is, the happier you may be. Hugging trees for only 21 seconds can lead to an increase in oxytocin.
Another hormone called cortisol (皮质醇) is a marker of stress. The brain produces more cortisol when the person is anxious, angry or very sad. Hugging trees, helps cut cortisol production, which makes us feel better.
Although the activity is helpful to us, it’s important to keep in mind that we shouldn’t hurt nature while doing it. Trees often hold valuable ecosystems (生态系统). The tree is home to many small living things that are too small to be seen. You should be kind when hugging trees, just like how you hug a friend!
1. What’s the new way for Chinese young people to deal with stress?2. Why do people love natural, green views and cute pets according to this passage?
3. What’s the relationship between oxytocin and happiness?
4. What do you usually do when you feel anxious, angry or sad? Why? Write 30 words or more.
3 .
OVERSEAS WRITERS JOIN IN ONLINE LITERATURE As Chinese online literature becomes popular all over the world, more and more young people overseas are joining in writing online literature. | |
Who are they? There were 400,000 online literature writers by October 2023. They are located in more than 100 countries and regions. The post-00 generation makes up 42.36 percent of these writers. | What do they write? By October 2023, 610,000 online novels had been written. They include 15 different types, such as fantasies, wu xia and romance. Male online literature writers abroad prefer:● Adventure novels ● System novels ● Weak-to-Strong novels Female online literature writers abroad prefer: ● Comedy novels ● Revenge (复仇) novels ● Mystery novels |
Top 5 countries where they are from Top 1 The US Top 2 The Philippines Top 3 India Top 4 Indonesia Top 5 Nigeria | |
1. How many online novels had been written by October 2023?
| A．40,000. | B．400,000. | C．61,000. | D．610,000. |
| A．Adventure novels. | B．Romantic novels. |
| C．System novels. | D．Weak-to-Strong novels. |
| A．The post-10 generation makes up 42.36% of these writers. |
| B．Indonesia is the third largest country in which young people overseas join in it. |
| C．The people in over 1,000 regions are joining in writing online literature. |
| D．Female online literature writers abroad prefer to write mystery novels. |
| A．Health. | B．Sports. | C．Literature. | D．Science. |
It’s easy to see the fun in buying a huge ice-cream or going shopping with friends, but saving money can be even more exciting. That’s because saving creates opportunities and opens the door to all kinds of adventures.
The key to successful saving is setting a goal. Get a pen and paper, and write down how much it costs, then work out how much you can afford to save each week and how long it will take you to reach your goal. Some weeks later you might decide to save a little more than planned so that you can reach your goals even faster.
To avoid accidentally spending your savings, it’s a good idea to keep them separate from the rest or your money. For example, you could do this by using a money box or a savings account (账户).
When you save your money in a savings account, you have the opportunity to earn interest. This is money that a bank pays you for leaving the money there—and the longer you leave money in a savings account, the more interest you will earn. Some parents set up a savings account because they want to put some money away for their kids’ future.
If you’re new to saving, start off by thinking of some fun goals, like taking a holiday or going to a concert. Every penny you save brings you one step closer to reaching your goal—and what could be more exciting than that?
1. What is the key to successful saving?2. How could you avoid accidentally spending your savings?
3. Why do some parents set up a savings account for kids?
4. How do you deal with your pocket money? Write 30 words or more.
5 . Humans are getting away from the nature little by little because of the developing technology. But now AI Technology is offering us a chance to listen to the sounds in nature in powerful ways, making us get closer to the worlds of animals and plants.
In nature, there are sounds difficult for us to pick up and understand. Elephants, for example, communicate with each other using a sound far below our human hearing range. Corals (珊瑚) in the ocean also communicate with each other through sound waves to draw baby coral to areas where it can successfully grow.
To pick up sounds that humans are unable to hear, scientists place listening devices (装置) in these environments. They work like a hearing aid (助听器): making humans observe and record nature’s sounds. Then AI can explain their meanings.
With AI technology, humans can not only understand the animals, but also communicate back with them. For example, a team of researchers can understand the bees’ behavior with AI. They can order the bees to stop moving and communicate where to fly to collect honey. Besides, the researchers can also create a form of healing for animals and plants. That’s to say, in the near future, scientists can get coral to grow in certain areas by playing “healthy reef” sounds, which could help some harm we have caused to become healthy again.
The dream of allowing humans to communicate with different animals and plants in nature is on the way.
1. What can we know about the sounds from Paragraph 2?| A．Corals make use of sound waves to get food. | B．There are sounds difficult to pick up in nature. |
| C．We can’t hear any kind of sounds from nature. | D．We can hear elephants’ communicating sounds. |
| A．It can copy nature’s sounds. | B．It can create nature’s sounds. |
| C．It can record nature’s sounds. | D．It can explain nature’s sounds. |
| A．Killing. | B．Feeding. | C．Communicating. | D．Repairing. |
| A．Fashion. | B．Science. | C．Sports. | D．Travel. |
6 . Poems from Tang and Song Dynasties, operas from Yuan Dynasty, and novels from Ming and Qing Dynasties are very famous in China’s history. Today, I’d like to recommend Song of Autumn, one of the poems by Liu Yuxi (772~842), a famous poet and writer in the mid-Tang Dynasty.
Just as shown in the first line of the poem, most ancient poets liked to describe autumn as a sad time, but in this poem the season appears differently. In Liu’s eyes, autumn, full of life and hope, is even better than spring morning. He describes the bright scene of a crane riding the clouds and flying into the blue sky.
With his poems paying special attention to expressing personal feelings, as well as the daily life of common people, Liu wrote poems with beautiful music-like words. You may feel it in this poem. Though being translated thoughtfully by experienced Xu Yuanchong, the poem still reads not so beautifully as that in Chinese. I personally think that English is sometimes not so powerful as Chinese.
Here is another example, in Liu’s essay An Eulogium on a Humble Cell (《陋室铭》), with less than 100 words, he shows a lively picture of his humble cell. However, it also shows how he was pleased with the poor and simple life. People may find it strange that one can feel happy living in such a humble cell. Learning from his famous sentence, “be fragrant because of my virtues” (斯是陋室，惟吾德馨), I think to be a respectable man is more important than to live in big houses, to wear beautiful clothes, to enjoy delicious food, and even to gain knowledge.
1. Which word can best describe autumn in the poem Song of Autumn?| A．Busy. | B．Hopeful. | C．Cold. | D．Special. |
| A．Expressing personal feelings. | B．Describing lives of young people. |
| C．Picturing blue sky and cranes. | D．Writing songs according to music. |
| A．Strange. | B．Unhappy. | C．Satisfied. | D．Lonely. |
| A．To be a respectable man. | B．To live in a big house. |
| C．Tow ear beautiful clothes. | D．To gain more knowledge. |
7 . ①Have you ever wondered what animals are talking about? With the development of AI, we may be able to understand their language!
②In Professor Karen Bakker’s new book, The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants, she talks about how AI is helping us to make an animal version of Google Translate.
③All around the animal kingdom, there are sounds that we can hardly pick up and decipher (翻译). Elephants, for example, talk with each other using infrasound (次声波)—far below our human hearing range (范围). Coral in the ocean also send sound waves to attract (吸引) baby coral to safer areas to grow. This is surprising as coral doesn't have any ears! Scientists have placed listening equipment (设备) into these environments to pick up the sounds humans cannot hear.
④After the sounds are recorded, AI can study their meaning, according to the news website Vox. For example, Israeli researchers used AI to translate bats' 15,000 calls. They found that more than 60 percent were arguments about four things: food, sleep positions (姿势), invasion (侵犯) of personal space, and unwanted advances (求爱).
⑤This technology can not only understand the animals but communicate back to them. For example, bees use dances to communicate. A research team in Germany, therefore, put the bee language AI system into a robot bee. They asked the robot to create a dance routine (路线) to tell the bees where the nectar (花蜜) was, Vox reported.
1. Karen Bakker’s new book is mainly about ________.| A．the unique ways that animals communicate |
| B．it would be a good thing to use the AI |
| C．how AI helps translate animals’ sounds |
| D．why animals need help from human beings |
| A．is a kind of plant | B．is a kind of animal | C．has two ears | D．looks like humans |
| A．more than 60% of bats like arguing | B．the human can hear all the sounds in the world |
| C．AI can record 15,000 bats’ sounds | D．how AI can study the meaning of animal’ sounds |
| A．by placing listening equipment in their bodies |
| B．by training other bees to follow it to get there |
| C．by creating a special sound to attract the bees |
| D．by telling the bees about the routine by dancing |
In China, lots of students often use much of their time to study their lessons and don’t help with housework at home. Some students don’t think they need to do housework. Some parents don’t let their children do it. As a result, students are all in need of basic skills.
Luckily, things are changing. In 2021, many schools began to teach students life skills. Guangming Middle School in Shenyang built some farming clubs. There students learnt to plant vegetables. “At first I thought I could only grow some vegetables here, but in fact, I learnt a lot about vegetables,” said Cheng Bing, a girl at the school.
In Hope Middle School, students have a special life skill class: They learn to make dumplings in different kinds of shapes. “I couldn’t make dumplings before, but now I am good at doing it. I really love my life skill class. It’s my favourite class,” said Jia Yan, a boy at the school.
As we know, learning life skills is as important as learning Chinese and maths, because it helps us prepare for our future life. Boys and girls, do you help your parents do housework at home? If not, maybe you should get started now.
1. Which “need” is used as verb (动词) in Paragraph 1? Write down the sentence.2. What club did Guangming Middle School build?
3. Why is learning life skills also important?
4. Is it necessary for students to do housework? Why? (write 30words or more)
9 . Safety is very important to everyone. As a teenager, do you know how to protect yourself in different situations?
If there is a warning sign near the water, don’t go into it. Only swim in the area where there is a lifeguard. Never swim alone. When you see someone drowning, never jump into the water to try to save him if you can’t swim. Remember to ask adults for help in time. When you go boating, you must wear a life vest(救生衣).
Some strangers may give you snacks or other things to show kindness. They may also invite you to his or her home, offer you a ride, or ask you for detailed information about you or your family. Say no to them and leave as fast as you can. If you find yourself in danger, shout “Help!” loudly or find out a safe way to get help.
Bullying(欺凌) is a dangerous and serious offense (冒犯行为) these days. If it happens to you, you should report it to the headmaster and your teachers. They will work with the parents to solve the problems.
Stay away from places that are very crowded. Once you go, watch out your feet and avoid falling down. When people around begin to push, try to keep your cool and never push harder. If you fall down in the moving crowd, cover your head with both hands.
1. What does the underlined word “drowning” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．boating in water | B．dying in water | C．playing in water | D．swimming in water |
| A．refuse | B．accept | C．believe | D．eat |
| A．Try to fight with them. | B．Ask classmates for help in time. |
| C．Tell the headmaster and your teachers. | D．Leave the man as soon as possible. |
| A．Swimming in the safe area. | B．Staying away from the crowded places. |
| C．How to get help from others. | D．How to protect yourself in different situations. |
10 . Cars need petrol (汽油). Horses need hay (草料). You need breakfast.
| Do you go without breakfast on some or most days? Studies show that people who don’t have breakfast are more likely to snack on junk food before noon *be overweight * get mad *do worse than they could at school work *die younger than those who eat a good breakfast every day. Those who don’t eat breakfast think slower. They take in information more slowly in their working memory. But given breakfast every day for a few weeks, those same young people get higher scores in subjects like math, English and science. |
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| Great Breakfast: Keep it simple. *Cereal (谷类食物) *Low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or dried fruit on top: *Fruit juice. *Bread. *Shakes made in a blender (搅拌机) with fruit (like bananas or strawberries) And if you have to eat on the run, at least get a banana ... |
1. If you don’t have breakfast, you may ________.
| A．think slower | B．live longer | C．lose weight | D．work harder |
| A．vegetable salad | B．biscuits | C．fruit juice | D．chips |
| A．drink some milk | B．have some candy | C．drink more water | D．take a banana |
| A．History and culture. | B．Food and health. | C．Science and technology. | D．Life and study. |
