1 . Windy days are common during spring. Did you know that strong winds can even influence trains?
On May 1, 2021, strong winds in Baoding, Hebei Province, caused a foreign thing to get caught in power lines above the railway lines, stopping some trains. Some passengers were even stuck on their trains while traveling.
High-speed trains receive power from wires (电线) hung above the railway lines, according to Worldwide Rails, a rail news website. As an important power source for high-speed trains, why are these lines so easy to break in the face of wind.
The line itself is strong, but too many light things can still influence them. Kite wires are one of the biggest problems for railway workers. If one end of a kite wire touches a power line and the other end touches the ground, it will cause a short circuit (电路) on the line, causing a loss of power.
Other materials, such as tin foil (锡纸), can also cause problems. If they are blown onto train power lines, they can stop trains from getting power.
In many cases, train workers have to remove foreign things from power lines themselves. The bigger the foreign thing is, the harder it is to clean up. Bird nests are one of the most difficult.
Because of their height and strength, power lines have become a popular place for birds to make homes. Birds carefully make their homes with branches and other materials. “They keep us busy. One day we deal with one bird's nest and the next day they’ll build another,” a Xiamen train worker told Xiamen TV. How to solve? To make man-made nests and put them along the lines to fool birds into thinking the place is taken.
根据上文内容判断正(T)误(F)
1. The train was late on May 1, 2021 because of a foreign thing caught in power lines.
2. The power of high-speed trains comes from underground wires.
3. Paragraphs 4 and 5 are two examples to show light things can stop trains from getting power.
4. Train workers solve problems caused by bird nests by making bird nests somewhere else.
5. The purpose of the passage is to warn railway workers of the risks they face.
2 . For many people, playing the piano is just a hobby and a way to enjoy themselves. Huang Xiaoman, from Dongguan, Guangdong Province, has played the piano for more than 10 years.
When she finished her last piano exam, she thought she was “free”. Because the difficult ten years of being forced to practice by her mother had finished.
She was happy to stay away from the piano. However, the life of high school was full of pressure and she wanted to relax herself by playing the piano. And playing the piano certainly made her relaxed.
From then on, she only took the piano as her own interest. She often tried to play the original soundtracks (原声带) of popular TV dramas. “Although I didn’t grow up to be an excellent pianist, I will never give up my hobby. It has become a part in my life.” Huang said.
阅读以上材料，根据其内容判断下列各小题的正误。正确的填 A，错误的填B。
1. Many people think playing the piano is not only a hobby but also a way to enjoy themselves.
2. Huang was willing to practice playing the piano when she was young.
3. Huang wanted to play the piano to keep away from her great study pressure.
4. Huang is an excellent pianist now.
5. Hobbies sometimes have a great influence on our lives.
Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping made history on November 7 when she became the country's first woman to do a spacewalk, according to the national space agency.
At the moment, Wang and Zhai Zhigang, two of the three members at China's new Tiangong space station, successfully completed the 6.5-hour spacewalk in the early hours of the morning of November 8, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The third astronaut of the Shenzhou-13 members, Ye Guangfu, stayed on the space station to support the spacewalk.
It's the first time the astronauts have left the space station since their arrival on October 16. Shortly after stepping out of the spaceship, Wang waved to audiences on Earth and said she felt great. During the spacewalk, the team fixed a suspension（悬挂）device and connectors to the station's robotic arm. They also tested the safety of supporting equipment（设备）, including the spacesuit produced by China.
Wang is China's second woman in space, after Liu Yang made history by joining the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft in 2012. Before Wang, only 15 women around the world had done spacewalks since 1984, when Soviet astronaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first to do so. So far, most women spacewalkers have been American NASA astronauts.
The Shenzhou-13 members will do one or two more spacewalks during their six-month stay at the space station. This is not the first time astronauts have worked at Tiangong space station. In September, three other Chinese astronauts successfully completed a three-month stay at the station. By December 2022, China plans to have the station ready to be used—a great target that seems to be possible.
1. The Shenzhou-13 members arrived at the Tiangong space station on October 16.2. During the 6.5-hour spacewalk, all the Shenzhou-13 members stepped out of the space station.
3. Wang is the 16th woman around the world who has done a spacewalk.
4. The main idea of this passage is about China's space travel.
Every Saturday, Wang Fokun travels 40 minutes to “watch” a movie with his friends. He became blind in his early 50s. However, he can still enjoy movies in a “talking movie” club-Xin Deng Theater. The club is in Kunming, Yunnan. A group of volunteers there describe movies to blind people.
“I listened to a movie for the first time in the summer of 2019, and it was amazing. The volunteers did a great job.” said Wang.
Describing movies to blind people can be challenging (有挑战性的). The volunteers must watch a movie three or four times to know everything in the movie. This way, they can describe the movie very clearly.
Zhou Quan started the club in 2017. “Movies are for everybody,” said Zhou. “Xin Deng Theater hopes to share movies with blind people and help to light up their lives.” Thanks to the special club, many blind people go out of their homes and their lives are more interesting.
Now many blind people come to Xin Deng Theater to “watch” movies every week. “They can enjoy the movies here. I’m so glad that I bring enjoyment to them.” said Zhou.
“It’s meaningful for us to spend our free time volunteering.” said one volunteer.
1. Wang Fokun goes to Xin Deng Theater three or four times a week.2. The volunteers in the club describe movies to blind people.
3. Xin Deng Theater was set up in 2019.
4. Both blind people and the volunteers enjoy spending time in the club.
5. The passage mainly talks about a movie.
5 . Nowadays we use apps (应用软件) to order food, learn English and shop online. But have you ever imagined that we could deal with garbage by using an app?
Dou Zheng, 15, a student in Beijing designed such an app. People can sell recyclable waste like bottles to garbage collectors. Just like ordering food, people can simply make an order on the app and enjoy door-to-door service. The idea for her app came from a real-life experience. On her way home, she always saw roads that were blocked because of garbage collectors. “There are lots of water bottles on the roads. It’s a complete mess.” she said. After doing research on surrounding communities, she found that the answer to the problem was to change the way people and garbage collectors trade.
Last summer holiday, she ordered a lot of food many times. That gave her the idea to design the app. To prove that it would work, she did surveys on Wechat and in the streets. The results showed that eight out of ten people thought the idea was good. However, she didn’t know how to program apps. She read many books and watched videos to learn about programming on her own. “It’s hard. I have to know what a number of codes (代码) mean and then write my own.” she said. Later, with the help of an app called AppMakr, she finished it! “This app made designing my app easier.” she said.
Her app may go online next year.
根据文章内容，判断句子正(T)、误(F)。
1. Dou got the idea for her app from surveys on Wechat.
2. She ordered a lot of food because she wanted to give collectors food.
3. 80% of people thought her idea for the app was useful.
4. The app called AppMakr made it easier to design her app.
5. This passage mainly tells us that we should learn how to care about environment.
6 . Li Shijin, 30, didn’t expect to make a living(谋生)through his voice.
Li began to work as a company salesman in Liaoning Province in 2012. He tried to find a part-time job as a wedding host(婚礼主持人)to improve his confidence.
Around the Spring Festival in 2014, he started listening to audiobooks(音频书). After being a listener for two years, he decided to record himself reading books. Then, he posted his first audio book Youth Will Not Return on Qingting in 2016. It was broadcast(广播)and listened to about 20 million times.
A year later, after he had read three audiobooks, he was signed up(签约)as a voice performer by Qingting. But he was under great pressure when he was signed up by Qingting. “To improve my ability, I didn’t sleep for more than five hours a day during that year. I had better results the following year.”Also, in order to develop his performance, Li attended a training course at Communication University of China. So far, he has completed nearly 30 works on Qingting.
On the road to success, Li put a lot of effort. When talking about the secret to his success, he said, “Many people have good abilities and many work very hard, but they may fail. Early birds get worms. I believe they will get chances and succeed sooner or later if they hold on to their dreams and keep on trying.”
Judge the following sentences true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.
1. Li worked as a wedding host to make a living.
2. Li felt happy after being signed up by Qingting.
3. To improve his ability, Li slept less than five hours a day during that year.
4. Li was signed up as a voice performer by Qingting in 2016.
5. The passage tells us if we want to succeed, we should work hard and never give up.
I am an Inuit boy named Kayla. Inuit are the people who live in cold Arctic (北极的) lands. In my language, Inuit means “the people”. Some people used to call my people Eskimos. We wish to be called Inuit.
I live with my mother, father and two brothers. We live at the most northern part of the world. It is made up of the Arctic Ocean and the land all around it. For months the sea is covered with thick ice. The land is covered with snow and ice most of the year, too.
Winter is long and very cold. It lasts from October to March. It is dark twenty-four hours a day. The sun does not come up to warm the water and land. When the north winds blow, it is even colder. There are days when the temperature is 50°F below zero. My family is prepared. We wear watertight (防水鞋). We put on many layers (层) of clothes. Outside we always wear a thick warm jacket that has fur inside. I’m not afraid of the cold winters. I guess I’m just used to them.
My family and I look forward to each summer. So much happens in a short time. The temperature usually stays around 50°F. During the summer the sun shines all day and night. This is why the Arctic is called the “land of the midnight sun”.
1. Kayla is a boy who lives in cold Arctic lands, the most northern part of the world.2. There are four people in Kayla’s family.
3. In Kayla’s hometown, winter lasts from October to March without sunshine.
4. Kayla is afraid of the cold winters when the temperature is 50°F below zero.
5. The passage mainly tells us something about Kayla’s family life.
8 . Below are answers to some common questions about the famous circus Cirque du Soleil.
1. What is Cirque du Soleil?
Cirque du Soleil is a modern circus. In some ways, it’s like a traditional circus. Performers dress up colourfully, and there are clowns, jugglers, and acrobats. But unlike a regular circus, Cirque du Soleil does not use animals. Also, each Cirque du Soleil performance tells a story. For example, the show “Quidam” is about a lonely young girl who creates a wonderland to be happy .
Each show also has its own “soundtrack”. The music is a mix of opera, jazz, rock’n’ roll, and traditional music from around the world. Musicians and singers perform all of the music live at a show.
2. Who started Cirque du Soleil?
The 61-year-old man Guy Laliberté started Cirque du Soleil. He’s always been interested in travelling. In 1977, he went to Europe at the age of 18. Then, he made up his mind to be an artist. He performed in the street, and held a street art festival. After that, more and more actors, musicians, and circus performers joined him. Together, they started a company in Montreal, Canada, in 1984.
Guy Laliberté became the world’s seventh space tourist on September 3, 2009. During the time in space, he held a charity show online to call people’s attention to the water resource.
3. Does Cirque du Soleil tour?
Yes. Certain shows visit different cities around the world. Other shows stay in one city. They do not travel.
4. ________________
Anyone! Performers come from different countries and backgrounds. Some are clowns, singers, and actors. Others are jugglers, acrobats, divers, magicians, and fire-eaters! There is no limit of age to join. Sometimes people from ages 5 to 68 are in a show.
To learn more about Cirque du Soleil, visit http://www. asrCirque. com.
1. Why is Cirque du Soleil different from traditional circuses?| A．Each performance tells a story | B．Performers dress up colourfully. |
| C．There are more humans than animals. | D．There is music during the performance. |
| A．Who can join Cirque du Soleil? | B．Who is interested in Cirque du Soleil? |
| C．Who can watch Cirque du Soleil? | D．Who is the oldest in Cirque du Soleil? |
| A．Cirque du Soleil plays CD music during the performances |
| B．Guy Laliberté became an astronaut and flew into space in 2009 |
| C．Cirque du Soleil puts on all the performances in different cities |
| D．Guy Laliberté had a clear idea about his future job at the age of 18 |
| A．praise a person | B．introduce a circus | C．explain a theory | D．sell a product |
9 . What am I reading?
Technology has given us a chance to more information than ever before in history. But this chance comes with great responsibility. It’s not enough to just read the news-we have to know how to critically evaluate (批判性地评估) it. And that’s why I think public schools should offer media literacy courses.
Media literacy refers to the ability to read, understand and evaluate any kind of media. Being able to tell whether a news story is true or false is an important part of media literacy. Unfortunately, it is a skill that many people don’t seem to have.
This lack of media literacy can be easily seen on social media. In 2016, a fake (假的) story about a woman winning the lottery (彩票) was shared more than 1.77 million times on Facebook. This is just one example of how far and wide false information can spread when people don’t have media literacy.
▲ If media literacy is taught in schools, kids will get the skills they need to look through a digital world full of disinformation and misleading stories. Many of these skills are simple-for example, being able to take a look at a news website and immediately tell if it has a certain kind of bias (偏见) .
It is important that kids learn these skills from an early age, as the media future will only get more crowded as time goes by. Learning to separate fact from fiction (假想) will help kids stay properly informed (了解情况的) as they grow up and learn more about the world.
1. What is media literacy according to the passage?| A．The habit to look through new websites. |
| B．A reading skill that many people don’t have. |
| C．A method to read and understand any kind of media. |
| D．The ability to tell whether a news story is true or false. |
| A．how terrible the online world is | B．how wide false information can spread |
| C．how the online information influences us | D．how many people need the media literacy |
| A．However, there are ways to fix this. | B．However, it’s hard to learn the skill. |
| C．So people always have a bias towards news. | D．So it’s necessary to spread real information. |
| A．show us the disadvantages of the technology |
| B．suggest kids learn about the world from an early age |
| C．encourage us to learn more about online information |
| D．call on schools to teach kids to critically evaluate online information |
School tests can be stressful. But they might also encourage you to help change the world. Three girls, Kristen, Jenna and Marisa from New York, learned about a growing problem from a reading test they took. The problem is e-waste, short for electronic waste. The girls learned some dangerous chemicals (化学品) in e-waste can harm the environment and people.
Later in the year, they had to come up with an idea for a science project. They remembered the interesting topic from their test. So the girls started a recycling drive to help other students and the community learn about properly recycling e-waste. They called themselves the E-Waste Girls.
“In our town, people recycle paper, plastic and glass, but not electronics. What can we do?” asked Marisa.
“How about asking our friends if they know how to recycle e-waste?” suggested Jenna.
The girls asked their friends, and nobody had heard anything about it. Many of their teachers didn’t know either. So they taught everyone, including their teachers, to learn about properly recycling e-waste. Then they put recycling boxes in the school hall and asked the students to collect old cell phones, radios and other items. When the boxes were full, they sent them to a special recycling center. The recyclers took out the dangerous chemicals and disposed (处理) of them properly, so that they don’t go into the air or the ground or the water.
One big way people can help reduce e-waste is by buying smartly. So the girls strongly suggested considering electronics made with” fewer dangerous chemicals and choosing electronics that will last several years.
The girls’ project also helped them become finalists in the We Can Change the World Challenge, a national student, competition. The E-Waste Girls see a bright future in which projects like theirs will not be needed any more.
1. How did the E-Waste Girls first learn about e-waste?| A．A friend told them about it. | B．Recyclers taught them about it. |
| C．They read about it in a reading test. | D．A teacher talked about it in a science class. |
| A．To set up a recycling center in the town. | B．To take part in a national student competition. |
| C．To encourage people to buy electronics smartly. | D．To teach people how to properly recycle e-waste. |
| A．recycling e-waste is really difficult | B．students can help to change the world |
| C．students should do more science projects | D．competitions bring students a bright future |
