1 . Harbin has witnessed a significant boom that has made it popular on social media this winter. By December 20, 2023, the city airport’s annual passenger throughput (年度客流量) had gone beyond 20 million. According to a new report, during the three-day New Year holiday, Harbin received 3.05 million tourists and made income of 5.91 billion yuan, both of which reached record highs.
Harbin, also known as China’s “ice city”, is famous for its ice and snow culture. For over 60 years, the city has had a tradition of holding an annual ice lantern exhibition, presenting the creativity and skill of its artists. Recently, the Ice and Snow World, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest ice and snow park, is just one of many attractions in the city. It has amazing ice and snow sculptures, including replicas (复制品) of famous landmarks, animals, and cartoon characters. In addition, visitors can also enjoy different kinds of snow sports, such as ice skating, ice fishing, and sledding.
Harbin spared no effort to show its sincerity and welcome to tourists. At the Ice and Snow World, a lot of new experiences have been provided, such as hovercrafts and bicycles on ice, Ferris wheels, and hot air balloons. Tourists were welcomed with live performances at the airport, and dressing rooms were set up for them to change into warm clothing. Local people supported the city’s tourism by travelling during off-peak hours to reduce traffic and offering tourists free rides. For those unable to book hotels, the government opened the Provincial People’s Congress Service Center for low-cost stays.
“For individual travelers, a city’s infrastructure (基础设施) and public services make the city more competitive. When tourists feel the warmth of the city and the good will of its citizens, they can better enjoy the lives of a travel destination,” said Dai Bin, president of China Tourism Academy.
1. The numbers listed in the Paragraph 1 shows _______.| A．the boom in Harbin’s tourism industry |
| B．the popularity of Harbin’s new attractions |
| C．the big investment in Harbin’s Ice and Snow World |
| D．the local people’s great passion for the New Year holiday |
| A．It is famous for its ice lantern exhibition. |
| B．It is the first ice and snow park in the world. |
| C．It offers various snow-centered activities for visitors. |
| D．It holds snow sculpture competitions for skilled artists. |
| A．New sporting events in the Ice and Snow World. |
| B．The measures to ensure tourists’ safety in Harbin. |
| C．Kind residents’ support for relieving traffic pressure. |
| D．Harbin’s efforts to improve tourists’ travel experiences. |
| A．A diary of cultural tours. |
| B．A news report on tourism. |
| C．An advertisement for scenic spots. |
| D．A review of newly emerging cities. |
Marathon (马拉松) returned to Beijing |
| A teen won the first prize for chess Shawn is an 18-year-old chess player from Canada. Last month, he took home the prize for World Chess Champion (冠军) in the under-18 team. He is the second Canadian to win the prize. Shawn’s trip with chess began at the age of 6. He learned to play it in an after-school club, |
| Mariachi music (马里亚齐音乐) helps patients Mariachi bands are helping people with Alzheimer (阿尔茨海默病) remember things. Mariachi is a kind of traditional Mexican music. The Mexican Alzheimer’s Center plans to have music classes. The patients there can sing and dance to Mariachi. |
| The Guggenheim Museum turns 25 The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in Spain is celebrating its 25th birthday. It opened in 1997. The museum shows how people turned Bilbao into a city with rich culture. About 25 million people have visited the modern building since it opened. |
1. Which was the starting point of the Beijing Marathon?
| A．Chang’an Street. | B．Tian’anmen Square. | C．The National Stadium. |
| A．For about 6 years. | B．For about 12 years. | C．For about 18 years. |
| A．Helpful. | B．Rich. | C．Young. |
| A．how Bilbao became a city of art |
| B．how people in Bilbao enjoy sports |
| C．how Bilbao became a city with rich culture |
| A．In the newspaper. | B．In the storybook. | C．In the textbook. |
 A Dinosaur (恐龙) Prints Discovered A diner eating in a restaurant’s outdoor yard, in Sichuan Province, has discovered dinosaur footprints on the ground. After using a 3D scanner (扫描仪), scientists made sure that the footprints are 100 million years old. They belonged to two dinosaurs with long necks and tails. |
B ________ Marley and Bob say they became interested in archaeology (考古学) from studying history at school, going to museums and watching Human Histories! They also go to the Young Archaeologists’ Club and they do digs at archaeological sites (地点) and carefully research their finds. “You never know what you might discover, and it is a fascinating way to uncover old remains on a real dig. It makes me really happy,” says Bob. |
 C Students Find Ancient Murals A group of student archaeologists have unearthed a 1,000 year-old mural (wall painting). The 30-meter mural shows mysterious scenes, which could reflect what the life was like in ancient Peru. Professor Luis says, “It is the most exciting and important find of recent years.” |
 D Uncovering the Earliest Highways Scientists are uncovering more secrets about the ancient Maya civilization (文明) with the discovery of 417 cities dating back to 2,000 years ago. The cities were found to be connected by 110 miles of “highways”, which is believed to be the “world’s first-ever system of highways”. The “highways” were wide roadways made in stones. |
| A．TRAVEL. | B．HISTORY. | C．ART. |
| A．The dinosaur footprints were discovered through a 3D scanner. |
| B．Marley and Bob studied archaeology in school. |
| C．Maya people built the world’s earliest highways with stones. |
| A．Come to Our Club | B．Dig and Discover the World | C．Find Out Your Hobby |
| A．The mysterious scene. | B．The life in ancient Peru. | C．The mural. |
| A．They all say hello to the past. |
| B．They all report new archaeological finds. |
| C．They all tell ancestors’ stories. |
Joel Sartore is a writer, teacher, and photographer. His words and beautiful images show his love of photography and of the natural world.
Question 1: How did you become a National Geographic photographer?
My first job was for a newspaper. After a few years there, I met a National Geographic photographer. He liked my photos and said I should send some to the magazine. So I did. That led to a one-day job. And that led to a nine-day job, and so on.
Question 2: __________________________________________
To get into National Geographic, you have to give them something they don’t have. It’s not enough just to be a great photographer. You also have to be a scientist, for example, or be able to dive under sea ice, or spend maybe several days in a tree.
Question 3: Is it hard to get a job as a photographer today?
It’s now harder to work for magazines. Technology makes it easy to take good pictures, which means there are more photos and photographers. Also, the Web is filled with photos from all around the world that are free, or cost very little. These photos are often good enough to be put in books and magazines. What the magazines need to do these days is to pay for these photos.
Question 4: I want to be a photographer. Do you have any advice for me?
Advice? Well, work hard. Be passionate (热情的) about every project you work on. Take lots of pictures in different situations. Look at others’ photos thoughtfully and learn from them. And be curious about everything. There’s something to photograph everywhere.
1. What kind of passage is it?| A．An interview. | B．A story. | C．A quiz. | D．An advertisement. |
| A．teach in a school | B．work as a scientist |
| C．work for a newspaper | D．work in a forest |
| A．Why do you want to work for National Geographic? |
| B．What do National Geographic photographers like to do? |
| C．What kind of photos do you give to National Geographic? |
| D．What kind of photographer is National Geographic looking for? |
| A．1 | B．2 | C．3 | D．4 |
| A．Hanson, a photographer who has worked for many magazines. |
| B．Bowie, a photographer who learned to take photos at an early age. |
| C．Marina, a photographer who is good at science and diving. |
| D．Jason, a photographer who keeps developing skills and ideas. |
5 . Over the last six months, the coronavirus pandemic (冠状病毒疫情) has affected different countries and regions in different ways. Here, we’ll take a look at a few of the most important events that have happened.
Italy shuts down
On 10 March, the Italian government decided to put the whole country on lockdown after the number of cases (病例) in the country started increasing quickly. People were suggested not leaving their home. The first case was detected (检测到) as early as 31 January. In the following weeks, the number of cases reached over 10,000 by the time of the lockdown. The lockdown affected 16 million people across the country. Italy was one of the first of many countries that carried out lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus.
WHO declares pandemic
On 11 March, World Health Organization (WHO) officially characterized (描述) COVID-19 as a pandemic. This was because of a growing number of cases around the world. By this time, there were more than 200,000 cases in Europe, including 1,000 deaths, as well as 1,000 cases in the US.
Summer Olympics delayed
On 24 March, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach announced the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which was planned to be held in Tokyo, would be delayed until the following year in the interest of protecting public safety.
US hits over 1 million cases
On 28 April, the US officially recorded over one million COVID-19 cases nationwide. This came just four days after it was announced that the virus had resulted in over 50,000 deaths across the country. The virus spread rapidly across the country, as the first case had been recorded three months earlier.
1. The events in the passage are all connected with ________.| A．Italy’s lockdown | B．the Olympic Games |
| C．US cases | D．the coronavirus pandemic |
| A．封锁 | B．控制 | C．关押 | D．锁定 |
| A．caused the lockdown |
| B．had a growing number of cases in the world |
| C．could result in death |
| D．spread quickly in Europe |
| A．people may not go during the pandemic |
| B．the cases in Asia increased quickly |
| C．it hasn’t been well-prepared |
| D．it’s necessary to protect public safety |
| A．four days | B．twenty-eight days | C．about three months | D．four months |
15 dead in building fire in East China
Xinhua Updated: 2024-02-24 07:51
NANJING—15 people were killed and 44 seriously hurt after the building fire broke out on Friday morming, February 23, 2024, in Nanjing, the capital city of East China’s Jiangsu province.
At around 4:39 am that day, the local fire department received an alarm about the fire in a residential building in the Yuhuatai district, which has 6 buildings and the fire broke out in unit 2 of Building 6 with 256 households and 762 residents (居民). Immediately, the local government has ordered all-out efforts to save the injured (伤员) after the fire. 25 fire trucks and 130 firefighters have bcen sent to offer help. They have helped 516 people get out of the building. Unfortunately, 15 of them were dead and 44 were seriously hurt. At around 6 am the firefighters put out the fire which lasted more than 1 hour. All the injured are receiving treatment at hospital.
It’s reported that an electric bicycle parked on the first floor of building 6 caused the fire. In order to prevent similar fire accidents, the government should strengthen the standard management of electric bicycle parking and charging facilities (充电), and strengthen the fire safety education for residents.
The fire again reminds us that fire safety is no small matter, we must always pay attention to our lives and property safety.
1. When did the building fire break out?2. Which district did the building fire break out?
3. How long did the fire last?
4. What was the reason of the fire?
5. What does the fire remind us?
6. B. 书面表达，根据要求完成短文写作。
近期各地火灾频发，对人民生命财产安全造成的伤害是巨大的，所谓“隐患险于明火，防患胜于救灾”。假如你是李华，作为学校英文广播站主持人，为提高同学们的防火安全意识，发出“认识火灾危害，认真学习防火知识”的倡议。
内容包括：1. 火灾的危害；
2. 日常生活中如何防范火灾（至少3点）；
3. 呼吁同学们从自身做起，注意用火安全。
作文要求：
1. 不能照抄原文：不得在作文中出现学校的真实名称和考生的真实姓名。
2. 语句连贯，词数80个左右。作文的开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear students,
I’m Li Hua. Today I will talk about the danger of fires and how to prevent them from happening.
7 . An Earthquake Hit in Gansu
By Mike Chinadaily.com.cn Updated: 2023-12-20, Wed. 16:24
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake happened in Linxia, Gansu Province on Monday midnight. As of press time, the earthquake has caused 105 deaths and 186 injuries in Gansu.
Houses and places related to water, electricity, and roads in and around the area have been pulled down. It has also been found that people in the earthquake area in Gansu are short of food and water.
“I live on the 16th floor and felt the tremors (颤动) so strongly. The moment of the earthquake, I was feeling like being up and down. I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath,” A man whose name is Qin told media. It was freezing cold out there at -12℃, and Qin noticed his neighbors also running quickly away from buildings around. Some wore thick jackets, some were in blankets, and some even wore nothing.
The earthquake also influenced the neighboring province, Qinghai. As of 6 am on Tuesday, the earthquake has caused 11 deaths and 140 injuries in Haidong city in Qinghai Province.
According to Gansu earthquake administration (地震局), the earthquake happened late at night, with the maximum magnitude reaching 6.2. A total of 140 aftershocks (余震) have been recorded, with the largest measuring 4.1 in magnitude.
Areas including Sichuan, Shaanxi and Ningxia, also experienced tremors.
1. What is the type of the passage? Is it an ad, a diary or a piece of news?It’s
2. When did the earthquake happen in Linxia, Gansu Province?
It happened on
3. How many people lost their lives in the earthquake in total?
4. What did Qin see after he got out of his building?
His neighbors
5. What do you think people in the earthquake area in Gansu need the most now?
They need
8 .
Recently, 16 Chinese online novels have been added to the collection of the British Library. Covering themes of science fiction, history, reality and fantasy, these works are considered the classics of Chinese online Literature from the past 20 years. The library usually selects works based on their popularity or by considering an item’s value. Readers can check the information about the 16 books on the library’s website, and borrow printed copies. _______________
Organized by the International Confucian Association, a new book series Ancient Classics Light up the World (Dian Liang Shi Jie Cong Shu) was launched in Beijing on Monday. President Xi Jinping mentioned 15 important inspirations we could gain from traditional Chinese culture, that could help solve problems modern people face. Famous scholars have been invited to compile (编写) these books. They chose words from ancient classics related to wisdom, and then they analyzed (分析) and explained them, so that readers can better understand the modern values of them.
On the southeast edge of the Tengger Desert (腾格里沙漠) in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region (回民自治区) sits a new desert library, awakening the lonely land with an oasis of knowledge for book lovers, tourists, and architects. Being able to shelve 40,000 books, newspapers, and magazines, the library is part of an ambitious desert culture and tourism project. This is the first modern library ever built in the desert in China, and it started serving the public last month, winning widespread praises for its modern design and various functions. |
1. In which SECTION of the newspaper can we read the news?
| A．CULTURE. | B．BUSINESS. | C．SPORTS. | D．ECONOMY |
| A．they enjoy great popularity | B．readers can borrow printed copies |
| C．they are of value | D．they are classic online literature |
| A．15 Inspirations Famous to the World | B．Ancient Works Inspire Modern Life |
| C．A New Book Series Light Up the World | D．How to Solve Problems We Met |
| A．has 40,000 book shelves | B．is the first desert library |
| C．was open to public last month | D．is on the southwest edge of the Tengger Desert |
| A．these Chinese online novels were written in the past 20 years |
| B．scholars chose words related to wisdom from modern Chinese classics |
| C．Ancient Classics Light up the World includes 15 inspirations in all |
| D．people speak highly of the new desert library |
Chinese Weather forecasters have warned that after influencing the North of the country, including Beijing, the freezing conditions will spread further south in the coming days. Many provinces have been hit by snowstorms. |
Police are looking for a man and a woman in their early twenties who broke into a bank in the early hours this morning. The man is said to be very well-built with very long dark hair. The woman is kind of small with short hair. Anyone who has any information please give further details to the police. |
The year of 2023 marks the 20th anniversary (纪念日) of China’s first manned space mission, with Yang Liwei becoming the first Chinese astronaut to go to space. Since then, another 17 astronauts have reached for the stars. But each astronaut has to receive the mind and body training for at least three and a half years before having the chance to go to space. |
After waking up, you may feel upset that you can’t recall the dreams you had last night. But recently researchers from Japan have trained an AI system to re-create images (图像) according to people’s brain scans (扫描). In the future, they hope that AI can be used to record imagined thoughts and dreams. |
1. What’s the weather like in the first news?
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．tell us when to go to the bank | B．teach us to keep away from danger |
| C．show us what the two people look like | D．ask us to offer the police further details |
| A．16. | B．17. | C．18. | D．19. |
| A．Repair | B．remember | C．compare | D．cancel |
| A．health | B．history | C．business | D．technology |
The New Times   The China-Laos Railway The China-Laos Railway is helping tourists from all over the world.The 1,035-kilometer line connects Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province, with Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. It started in May 2010. After long hard work, on December 25, 2016, it held a full line construction ceremony (全线开工仪式). And it started to run in December 2021. In April 2023, it started a cross-border ( 跨越国境的) passenger service. The railway has cut the journey time between Kunming and Vientiane to ten and a half hours. By December 2, 2023, the railway had recorded 24.2 million passenger trips. |
  Stuart Hart 11 days ago England It is fast and pleasant. As a tourist, I have taken the service twice and I think the service is as good as the trains I have experienced in China. Although ticket prices are not low, the tickets always sell out very quickly. Like  Reply  Vongthong 5 days ago Laos I live in Luang Prabang and I work in Vientiane. In the past, the bus took a whole day. The mountain road made the trip even worse. But now the trip only takes about two hours by train. Like Reply Jaruwan 9 days ago Thailand I believe fruit from Thailand can be sent faster and cheaper to China. And the new tourism routes ( 线路) might be developed thanks to the line. More Chinese people will take the railway to Laos, and then visit Thailand. Like Reply |
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. When was the China-Laos Railway open to traffic?
| A．In May 2010. | B．In December 2016. |
| C．In December 2021. | D．In April 2023. |
| A．To show the train is fast. | B．To show the train is large. |
| C．To show the railway is popular. | D．To show China has a large population. |
| A．He has never been to China. | B．He is a tourist from the USA. |
| C．He thinks tickets are not worth buying. | D．He has taken the China-Laos train twice. |
| A．By bus. | B．By train. | C．By ship. | D．By plane. |
| A．News. | B．Sports. | C．Nature. | D．Business. |
