Do you know there is an earthquake every thirty seconds in the world? Many earthquakes happen in China, too. Do you know how to keep safe in an earthquake?
When the earthquake happens, protect yourself first.
If you are at home, hide under a desk. Stay away from windows because anything may fall on you.
If you are outdoors, try to move away from buildings and streetlights. They may fall on you. If you are in a shop and far from the door, don’t run outside.
If you are in a moving car, drive to the side of the road, stop as quickly as possible, and stay in the car.
When an earthquake has ended, be careful because aftershocks (余震) may still happen. They are just as dangerous as the earthquakes, so stay under the desk until you think it is really safe to get out. Make sure you wear shoes after an earthquake. There may be broken glass on the ground.
| A．Do not try to drive across bridges |
| B．Help the people near you |
| C．Everyone will run outside so that people may hurt each other |
| D．Remember, these suggestions are very important |
| E．Here is some advice for you |
| F．You can call the police |
| G．Life is the most important |
2 . Zheng He was a famous Chinese explorer. In 1405, he set off from China on the first of seven great voyages. This was nearly a century before Christopher Columbus first set sail on his journey of discovery to America. His travels were so important that they are still studied today.
Zheng He was born in Yunnan in 1371. He rose to become a trusted official of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The emperor ordered Zheng He to visit and explore the lands outside China. His task was to develop relations and set up trade routes with foreign countries. In a few years, he built a great fleet of ships, the biggest in the world at that time. The ships were known as treasure ships.
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He went on seven trips and visited South-East Asia, the Middle East and even the east coast of Africa. It seemed that nowhere was too far for him to visit. These voyages allowed China to trade valuable goods like gold, silver and silk. At the end of each voyage, Zheng He returned with many things that were seen in China for the first time, such as a giraffe from Africa.
Besides developing trade, the voyages also encouraged the exchange of cultures and technologies. They helped the development of those countries and regions.
Zheng He died in 1433 during his last voyage. However, his voyages were such a huge achievement that people still remember him as a pioneer in opening up cultural contacts between different peoples around the world.
1. Why did the emperor order Zheng He to set off on the first voyage?| A．To travel around the world with the big fleet of ships. |
| B．To find out whether he was a trusted official or not. |
| C．To look for more valuable treasure in foreign countries. |
| D．To make friends and start business with foreign countries. |
| A．Education | B．Trade | C．Cultural exchange | D．Technology exchange |
| A．Christopher Columbus started the world’s first voyage. |
| B．The treasure ships were made of gold, silver and silk. |
| C．Zheng He went on seven trips from 1405 to 1433. |
| D．Zheng He reached all the lands in the world on his voyages. |
| A．The Great Scientist Zheng He | B．The Voyages of Zheng He |
| C．The Trades Around the World | D．The Well-Known Ships |
3 .
| Dear Jason, Hello! I’m very fat. I want to lose weight. I run five kilometers every day, but it hasn’t worked at all. I feel upset. Now I don’t know how to lose weight. Could you help me? Tina |
| Dear Tina, In fact, exercise is just one way to lose weight. Even if you exercise every day, you might not lose weight. That’s because eating healthily is much more important. After you exercise, if you take in lots of food, especially food with a lot of protein, you’ll still put on weight. So pay more attention to your eating. This will help you lose weight more easily. But please ask yourself. Do I really need to lose weight? The truth is that everyone has a different body type. Big is beautiful, too. You’ll find happiness when you learn to accept yourself for who you are. Jason |
1. The reading materials above are two ________.
| A．ads | B．letters | C．notices | D．menus |
| A．she isn’t very fat | B．her friends often laugh at her |
| C．running doesn’t help her lose weight | D．she has no time to exercise |
| A．Tina should learn to accept herself. | B．Losing weight can make Tina healthy. |
| C．Tina may ask more friends for help. | D．What other people think is important. |
When Xiong Chuanfa, 34, blows a lifelike tiger out of sugar in just minutes, kids look at him in surprise thinking he is a magician.
Xiong has been blowing sugar figurines (糖人) for over twenty years. Blowing sugar figurines is a Chinese traditional folk (民间) art with a history of over 600 years.
Every morning, Xiong prepares the sugar and drives to different markets in Nanchang to start his magic show. He heats the sugar, pulls off a little to make a ball and blows it into different shapes—a rabbit, a monkey, and even Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. People, especially little kids, are interested in his skills.
Many college students have been drawn to the art, waiting in line for hands-on experience (实践经验). Among them, Simon, a foreign student, couldn’t help having a try.
This art has been passed down for four generations (代) in Xiong’s family.
| A．To draw young people closer to the art |
| B．The Chinese traditional art is very interesting |
| C．Simon was deeply moved after learning about the art |
| D．Though it looked easy, he found it difficult to make it |
| E．To draw more kids to learn about this skill |
| F．It has been listed as a state-level intangible cultural heritage (国家非物质文化遗产) |
| G．His 6-year -old son often blows sugar balloons, just like what he used to do as a child |
5 . Doorbells are the bells for people to ring at a door. When someone hears it, he or she can open the door. Do you know that you can ring a doorbell for fish, too?
Every spring, millions of fish migrate (洄游) along the river in the city to find better places to lay eggs. But in the river, there are many locks (水闸). They stop fish from swimming through. Weerd Lock in Utrecht, is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. When fish get there, they have to wait a long time before the lock opens for boats to pass through. The lock keeper (看守者) there is glad to open the lock for fish, but he cannot tell when fish want to get through. So in 2021, Mark van Heukelum, a scientist, came up with a good idea to help solve this problem by using the fish doorbell.
Under the water near the lock, there’s a camera. People around the world can visit a website to see fish through the camera. When you see a group of fish waiting, you can ring the doorbell on the screen. And when the lock keeper notices it, he will open the lock for the fish.
In its first spring season in 2021, people around the world rang the fish doorbell more than. 100,000 times. If you want to join them to help fish, visit the website and ring the fish doorbell next spring!
1. How does the fish doorbell work?①lock keepers opening the lock ②lock keepers noticing the ringing
③Internet users ringing the doorbell ④Internet users seeing a group of fish on the screen
| A．①②③④ | B．①②④③ | C．④①③② | D．④③②① |
| A．The camera is above the water near the lock. |
| B．Fish groups swim through Weerd Lock every spring. |
| C．The lock keeper doesn’t know when fish wait to get through. |
| D．In 2021, Mark van Heukelum invented the fish doorbell. |
| A．Life. | B．Technology. | C．Health. | D．Sports. |
6 . From September 23rd to October 8th, 2023, we had the 19th Asian Games (亚运会) in Hangzhou. Hangzhou is one of the most beautiful cities in China. The mascots (吉祥物) of the Hangzhou Asian Games are three robots—Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen. The slogan (口号) of the Asian Games is “Heart to Heart, @ Future” (心心相融, @未来). There are 42 events in the Asian Games, including electronic sports competition (电竞比赛) and breakdance (霹雳舞). By October 8th, the Hangzhou Asian Games was over. In this Asian Games, the Chinese teams won a lot of medals (奖牌). They are 201 gold (金) medals, 111 silver (银) medals and 71 bronze (铜) medals. The Chinese teams got good grades in this Asian Games. Here are some of the sports. These sports won the most of the gold medals.
| Sports | The Number of the Gold Medal |
| Swimming | 28 |
| Race | 19 |
| Diving (跳水) | 10 |
| Gymnastics (体操) | 8 |
| Ping-pong | 6 |
1. Where did the 2023 Asian Games take place (举办)?
| A．Hangzhou. | B．Beijing. | C．Xi’an. | D．Suzhou. |
| A．201. | B．111. | C．71. | D．383. |
| A．This is the 18th Asian Games. |
| B．The Asian Games last 15 days. |
| C．The Chinese swimming team won the most gold medals. |
| D．The ping-pong team won more gold medals than Chinese race team. |
7 . Your English teacher has introduced a play to your class. Read the play.
Characters:
Sarah, student, 13 years old
Jason, student, 14 years old
Betty, student, 15 years old
Cindy, student, 14 years old
Time: One Sunday afternoon in spring
Place: Sunshine Park
(The four teenagers have just finished the picnic. They are tidying up. )
Sarah: Wow! That was a great picnic. I’m so full that I can hardly move.
Jason: That’s no excuse for not tidying up, Sarah. Come over here and help me pack up the leftover food. Betty, can you put out the fire, please? And clean up the place.
Betty: (Speaking unhappily to herself) How can I always get the dirty and difficult jobs? It’s not fair.
(Betty throws a bit of water on the fire. Then she picks up the ashes (灰) with an old newspaper and wants to throw them into the long grass. )
Sarah: (Sounding surprised) What are you doing, Betty? ★
Jason: Whoops…the paper has caught fire.
Sarah: And the grass…Jason, Cindy, help! Help!
(Jason and Cindy come over quickly. They help put out the fire completely. )
Betty: Oh, no. What have I done?
Cindy: You know that we should do everything carefully, don’t you?
Betty: (With her head in her hands) Yes. What have I done? What have I done?
1. The sentences in brackets “(The four teenagers have just finished the picnic. They are tidying up. )” tell ________.| A．how the writer acts in the play | B．when and where the story happens |
| C．what the characters are saying to each other | D．what the characters are doing and how they are acting |
| A．You seem surprised! | B．How interesting it is! |
| C．Don’t worry about it! | D．That’s very dangerous! |
| A．She feels proud. | B．She feels sorry. | C．She feels relaxed. | D．She feels lucky. |
8 . Actress Jia Ling has become a hit on social media these days during the Chinese Lunar New Year. People were amazed by how she lost 50 kilograms while making her movie Yolo (Re La Gun Tang). This made everyone talk about living a health y lifestyle. Many people on Weibo were discussing Jia’s weight loss journey, like “Jia’s story of losing weight” and “Jia Ling completely surprised me.” They were wondering if it’s time to start to develop healthier habits, especially during the Spring Festival.
One moviegoer (常看电影的人) named Li Qiaoya, who goes to the gym to lose weight, said. “Her success is really inspiring and is worth seeing in the movie.” Li also felt guilty for eating too much during the Spring Festival.
Jia used to be known for her funny laughter and emotional performances. She shared her new look after losing weight on social media, and her fans were shocked at her mandibular line (下颌线) and how radiant (容光焕发的) she looked. Jia said that the movie is not about boxing or losing weight, but a heartwarming story of learning to love yourself.”
However, not everyone agrees with Jia’s weight losing plan. To finish filming the movie, Jia had to gain 20 kilograms before starting to lose weight. “Not everyone can deal with the challenge of losing so much weight,” said Jiang Chong, a fitness expert from Chongqing. “It’s not just a physical challenge, but also a mental (心理上的， 精神上的) one.”
In interview s before the movie was released (发布), Jia emphasized (强调) the importance of getting realistic (切实可行的) goals when talking about her weight losing journey. She also said that. having achievable goals is important. It’s not a bad thing to have a movie reminding many people to lose weight in a health y way. It’s good to have a schedule (日程) and stick to it, instead of doing extreme (极端的) things to lose weight.”
1. How did people feel when seeing Jia Ling’s weight loss?| A．People were disappointed. | B．People were surprised. |
| C．People were indifferent (冷漠的). | D．People were angry. |
| A．难过的 | B．焦虑的 | C．内疚的 | D．漠不关心的 |
| A．Boxing and losing weight. | B．Developing healthier habits. |
| C．Learning to love yourself. | D．Achieving realistic goals. |
| A．Because it was part of her movie role. | B．Because it was a mental challenge. |
| C．Because it was a physical challenge. | D．Because it was necessary for her health. |
9 . We know many musical instruments well, such as pianos, violins and drums. What about the erhu? The erhu is a traditional Chinese instrument. It is the most popular of the huqin family, and it has a long history.
The modern erhu developed from the Xiqin, which was played by many ethnic minorities (少数民族) during the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, musicians began to use the erhu to perform different kinds of music, and it became quite a popular instrument. With the rise of some forms of folk art, the art of the erhu developed quickly during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It became an important accompanying (伴奏) instrument in different folk music. At present, it is used in both traditional and modern music, such as in pop, rock and jazz. It has even become a solo (独奏) instrument. One of the most famous musical pieces played on the erhu is Erquan Yingyue.
As the erhu was mainly played by common people and the playing skills were passed down orally (口头地), there are few written records about the erhu that can be found. To study the history and the development of the erhu, historians (历史学者) usually turn to ancient paintings. The earliest pictures of this instrument were found in Yulin Caves and Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves in Gansu Province, where five erhu pictures were discovered on mural (壁画).
1. When did the erhu become a popular instrument?| A．In the Tang Dynasty. | B．In the Song Dynasty. |
| C．In the Qing Dynasty. | D．In recent years. |
| A．play the most famous erhu pieces |
| B．listen to different kinds of folk music |
| C．get help from ancient paintings |
| D．read some books about ethnic minorities |
| A．The huqin belongs to the erhu family. |
| B．Folk art stops the development of the erhu. |
| C．People can find plenty of written records about the erhu. |
| D．The erhu is used in both traditional and modern music now. |
| A．culture | B．business | C．health | D．nature |
10 . Last year I wasn’t sure what to buy for my mom at Christmas. Nothing I saw in the stores seemed good enough. Christmas gifts should be more meaningful, I thought. I wanted my present to come from the heart.
The idea came to me one day while I was looking through Facebook. I saw a photo where people used old pictures from their childhood and recreated them as adults. I loved the idea. Then I picked one family photos from 16 years ago. It was the day we brought my little sister Vivian home from the hospital. All of my brothers and sisters and I sat in front of the apartment. I held Vivian in my arms. My sister Zoe, had her arms around me and our 4-year-old brother, Tom. That would be perfect for my mom with all of us in the photo.
I messaged them in our sibling group chat (兄弟姐妹聊天群). Everyone thought it’s an amazing idea. Then I went back home, and we all soon got in position. Tom and I bent (使弯曲) our heads like in the old photo. Zoe put her arms around us both. Vivian, wrapped in the same quilt, even tried to make a funny babyface. Click! We compared the photos and laughed like kids again.
We gave the photo to Mom on Christmas day. She loved it so much and put it on the shelf next to the old one. This year, if you aren’t sure what to get for your friends or family, try doing a recreated photo. It’s fun, and comes from the heart.
1. The writer found ________ when searching online.| A．people liked taking photos |
| B．people recreated old photos |
| C．people liked using Facebook |
| D．people wrote much about childhood |
| A．What everyone felt about the photo. |
| B．How they missed their old days. |
| C．What the old photo looked like. |
| D．How they remade the photo. |
| A．A loving inexpensive Christmas gift |
| B．A family photo on Facebook |
| C．How to choose Christmas gifts |
| D．How to show love to your mom |
