1 . UNESCO World Heritage Sites were created to celebrate and safeguard the most unique places around the world. Below are my 4 favorite UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Cinque Terre, Italy
With cars banned here, you’ll really get to feel the unique history and character of the Cinque Terre’s five centuries-old coastal villages. The breathtaking views of harbors far below the wild coastline along with the rich colors will definitely make it a memorable holiday.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat is the world’s largest religious (宗教的) monument and it contains impressive remains from the Khmer Empire (9th to 15th century). The site has dozens of iconic temples like Ta Prohm (a magnificent temple ruin hidden in the jungle). Hosting more than two million visitors annually, this artistic masterpiece is a must-see site.
Petra, Jordan
Petra’s rock-cut architecture has contributed to its nickname, the Rose City, based on the color of the stone it was carved from. The delicate constructions of temples and tombs along with the remains of churches and temples are only a couple of reasons why this world-famous site is a must-visit destination.
Yellowstone National Park, USA
Yellowstone’s vast wilderness includes mountain ranges, lakes and waterfalls. One of the main reasons for tourists to visit Yellowstone is to observe the amazing wildlife like grizzly bear, bison, bighorn sheep wander the plains and valleys.
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1. Where can tourists enjoy beautiful harbor views?| A．In Cinque Terre. | B．In Angkor Wat. |
| C．In Petra. | D．In Yellowstone National Park. |
| A．Colorful stones. | B．Religious relics. |
| C．Coastal villages. | D．Amazing wildlife. |
| A．A news report. | B．A wildlife brochure. |
| C．A travel blog. | D．An economic magazine. |
2 . The only thing separating my two worlds is the Rio Grande river— it might not be much, but it’s enough for me to feel a big difference in customs and values. People who are not from El Paso, Texas, United States or a border city might not understand what it's like to grow up between two places at once.
I grew up in a Mexican household. My dad was born in El Paso but lived nearly his entire life in Ciudad Juárez until I was born, and my mom was born and raised in Mexico. She didn’t move to the US until she had me, when she was 28. My first language was Spanish, but my parents did not want me in bilingual classes. So, instead, it was all English for me at school.
English was all I spoke among friends at school, while Spanish was the designated language with family, and I hardly ever mixed them. I also spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents, who lived in Juárez and you could say helped raise and shape who I am today. It's thanks to them that I perfected my Spanish, learned to read and write in that language — despite never taking classes—and fell in love with my Mexican culture by traveling to Mexico City and around the country.
Along with being bilingual came a sense of having a double identity. I enjoyed watching Spanish TV series with my grandma as much as American series such as The Amanda Show. And the same went for music. I loved listening to Spanish singers, as much as American pop singers.
It wasn’t until high school that I began to meet other people whose backgrounds I could relate to. I was introduced to friends with whom I identified because they were Mexican American and who had also been raised in El Paso but often visited family in Juárez. It was also during these years that I started going out to party in Juárez.
Growing up on the border is pretty special. Thanks to my bicultural upbringing, I learned to enjoy and appreciate both sides of me without ever questioning who I am, because the truth is that I need both of those relationships and cultural identities to feel complete.
1. What do we know about the author’s upbringing background?| A．He was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. |
| B．He attended school in the US from a young age. |
| C．His parents were both born and raised in Mexico. |
| D．He showed his bilingual ability to his classmates at school. |
| A．His grandparents. | B．His parents. | C．His teachers. | D．His friends. |
| A．To contrast the two styles of TV series. |
| B．To illustrate the author's wide interests. |
| C．To prove the author fits into both cultures well. |
| D．To show grandma and the author have the same hobbies. |
| A．Proud. | B．Confused. | C．Worried. | D．Awkward |
3 . Different countries have different eating habits. There is a saying “Eat good things for breakfast, eat a big meal for lunch, but eat less at dinner” in China. Many Americans agree that one should start the day with a good breakfast, but their ideas about lunch and dinner are different.
Most Americans only give themselves a short time for lunch because they have not so much long time to have a rest at noon. So they eat a small lunch. After work they will have more time to eat a big dinner. Also a quiet dinner at home with all the family talking about their day is a way to take a good rest after a long, hard day of work.
Eating at restaurants is also different. In China, people like to talk and laugh while eating. Very often you can hear people talking and laughing loudly, and they just having a good time. In America it is not like this. They want a quiet place where they can eat a good meal far away from the noises of the outside world. If some people are talking too loudly, the manager of the restaurant may come out and ask them to be quiet.
1. Chinese and Americans have the same idea on ________.| A．breakfast | B．lunch | C．dinner | D．tea |
| A．Because that is Americans’ tradition. | B．Because Americans’ lunch is small. |
| C．Because they have not enough time. | D．Because Americans don’t have lunch. |
| A．The manager of the restaurant will look at them angrily. |
| B．They will have a good time. |
| C．The manager of the restaurant may ask them to be quiet. |
| D．They will quarrel with each other. |
| A．Chinese like eating breakfast | B．Americans don’t like eating lunch |
| C．American restaurants are often quiet | D．Chinese restaurant are often quiet |
4 . Winning the silver medal at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Nations League in the United States, on Sunday, the Chinese women’s volleyball team enjoyed their best result in the tournament (联赛), with the key to the breakthrough being their unity and never-say-die spirit.
“I just feel that our team is more united than ever,” said Yuan Xinyue, Team China captain. “We support and help each other on the court. This is the most important reason behind our success. All of us should shoulder the responsibility of winning.”
She continued to say, “ We have firm determination, and we will keep moving forward. We cherish the road that we have walked. We will summarize events, and we will keep tackling the problems. We will also try hard and hold onto our dreams and the belief that the Chinese women’s volleyball team can be the best.”
Team China was one step away from gold, but the Turkish women’s team showed greater momentum (势头) in the final beating China 3-1. As the Chinese team only finished sixth at last year’s VNL, the second-place finish was a surprise to Chinese fans.
Sunday’s final attracted huge media attention and generated a series of trending topics on social media. While many joined in heated discussion about the final, many more expressed congratulations on the fast rise of the young women’s team.
“Although the Chinese women’s team wasn’t able to stand on the highest podium (领奖台) at the Volleyball Nations League, they still produced the best possible result by fighting together. Hand in hand, Team China players march forward together,” reported by China Sports Daily. “Team China was not among the favorites to reach the final of the VNL, but the team still managed to pocket a silver medal, which is huge progress compared to last year’s result. They proved all the doubters wrong, and they showed the world what a united team they are.”
1. How can we best describe Team China’s performance in the tournament?| A．Overconfident. | B．United. | C．Disappointing. | D．Careless. |
| A．Checking out. | B．Bringing about. | C．Giving up. | D．Dealing with. |
| A．People were concerned about Team China because it lost the game. |
| B．Team China played very hard in the tournament and won the first prize. |
| C．Team China has made significant advances though not pocketing the gold medal. |
| D．Team China didn’t try their best. |
| A．Team China shines in silver medal success |
| B．Team China not among favorites to reach final |
| C．Chinese women’s volleyball team plays against Turkish team |
| D．Team China wins the game |
5 . Fathers can give their children an educational advantage at primary school by reading, drawing and playing with them, according to a newly published report. Research led by the University of Leeds has found that children do better at primary school if their fathers regularly spend time with them on interactive engagement activities like reading, playing, telling stories, drawing and singing.
Analysing primary school test scores for five- and seven-year-olds, the researchers used a representative sample of nearly 5,000 mother-father households in England from the Millenium Cohort Study.
According to the research, dads who regularly drew, played and read with their three-year-olds helped their children do better at school by age five. Dads being involved at age five also helped improve scores in seven-year-olds’ Key Stage Assessments.
Dr Helen Norman, who led the research, said, “Mothers still tend to assume the primary care r role and therefore tend to do the most childcare, but if fathers enthusiastically engage in childcare too, it significantly increases the likelihood of children getting better grades in primary school. This is why encouraging and supporting fathers to share childcare with the mother, from an early stage in the child’s life, is critical.”
Dads’ involvement impacted positively on their children’s school achievement regardless of the child’s gender (性别), race, age in the school year and household income, according to the report.
There were different effects when mums and dads took part in the same activities—the data showed that mums had more of an impact on young children’s emotional and social behaviors than educational achievement.
The researchers recommend that dads carve out as much time as they can to engage in interactive activities with their children each week. For busy, working dads, even just ten minutes a day could potentially have educational benefits. They also recommend that schools and early years education providers routinely take both parents’ contact details (where possible) and develop strategies to engage fathers.
1. What can we learn about the research?| A．Mums had more impact on young children’s educational achievement. |
| B．Dads’ positive impact on kids learning had nothing to do with the gender. |
| C．Dads’ involvement at age 3 helped promote academic performance at age 7. |
| D．The researchers investigated nearly 5,000 single parent families in England. |
| A．A father who is totally busy with his work. |
| B．A father who is really good at playing basketball. |
| C．A father who has absolutely low household income. |
| D．A father who actively shares childcare with the mother. |
| A．Dads should spare ten minutes a day to apparently benefit kids. |
| B．Dads should maximize time to interact with their kids each week. |
| C．Schools should generate strategies to involve parents in management. |
| D．Schools should regularly contact parents to develop mother-engagement. |
| A．It’s crucial that fathers can have a lasting impact on children. |
| B．Young children can get brilliant childhood with father-engagement. |
| C．Fathers and mothers should share childcare in family early education. |
| D．Young children do better at school if their dads read and play with them. |
6 . For people suffering from depression, there’s an all-natural treatment they should use — getting more exercise. It could help fight depression, even if people have a genetic risk, new research shows.
For the study, researchers collected information from nearly 8,000 people and found those with related genes were more likely to have depression over the next two years after examining them. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had a family history of depression. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk of depression.
Both high-intensity (高强度) exercise and low-intensity activities were associated with a reduced risk of depression. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode (一段经历) of depression by 17%, according to the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, being physically active has the potential to remove the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically risky,” said lead author Karmel Choi. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each day may help people to reduce their risk and protect against future depression episodes.”
Depression is a common mental illness globally, with more than 264 million people affected. “Depression is so ubiquitous, and that underlines the need for effective approaches that can impact as many people as possible,” Choi said. And mental health and primary care providers can use the findings to advise patients that there’s something meaningful they can do to lower their risk of depression.
1. How did the researchers reach their conclusion?| A．By analyzing a mass of data. |
| B．By conducting genetic research. |
| C．By comparing various levels of activity. |
| D．By tracking the subjects for many years. |
| A．Physical activity betters medical treatment. |
| B．Exercise is able to decrease and prevent it. |
| C．Different levels of exercise intensity matter the same. |
| D．Exercising 35 minutes daily is the most effective treatment. |
| A．Harmful. | B．Complex. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Common. |
| A．To discuss a disease. |
| B．To introduce a method. |
| C．To analyze a genetic risk. |
| D．To explain a phenomenon. |
7 . Imagine the situation.You are driving along a desert or on a mountain.You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device which uses satellites to find the user’s position. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put it in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car,plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.
The GPS is becoming cheaper and more and more accurate. There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.
1. According to the passage,with the help of GPS, people .| A．can’t be lost in a new city |
| B．can’t find their way in different countries |
| C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place |
| D．can spend the least time getting to another place |
| A．the GPS is made up of three parts |
| B．a GPS can’t be put into a watch |
| C．a GPS can help you start your car |
| D．the GPS is becoming more and more expensive |
| A．receivers | B．GPS devices | C．satellites | D．ground stations |
| A．the history of the GPS | B．the introduction of the GPS |
| C．the shape of the GPS | D．the three parts of the GPS |
8 . A career in comics (漫画) is a dream for many talented, creative artists. It’s an opportunity to express one’s imagination through powerful stories. Traditionally, it was difficult, and sometimes expensive, to make it in the comic world. However, webtoons, comic platforms for viewing on the web and mobile devices, are changing the situation for independent artists. Artists can gain a following on webtoons platforms without having to depend on large publishing agents (代理商). It’s a fantastic opportunity for comic book lovers to find exciting new stories.
WEBTOON is the largest and most well-known webtoons platform, and it offers creators the chance to gain deals with famous agents and publishers. Some creators who got their start on WEBTOON have seen their stories adapted (改编) for TV series or movies. American Netflix has published two live-action adaptations of webtoons. WEBTOON has also worked with brand-name comics. For example, DC Comics, one of America’s oldest and largest comic book producers, produced a comic book series Batman: Wayne Family Adventures with WEBTOON. The popular DC series got more than 76 million views on WEBTOON.
In addition to all that, webtoons have helped independent artists and writers make it in the comic world. Azumi was a webtoons follower, who even won a webtoons competition, but he had no means to continue comic book writing full-time. In 2021, a WEBTOON producer found his great work and employed him to write. This opportunity allowed Azumi to give up his job and focus on his art. Azumi explains, “Many groups and stories that have not been shown in traditional publishing can have a voice and space on WEBTOON.”
“WEBTOON creators are some of the most talented and creative people the history of comics. In a time when comics have never been more popular, we’re proud of the growing Creator Economy and the ecosystem we’ve built to celebrate and support WEBTOON creators,” said CEO, Ken Kim.
1. What can we learn about webtoons from the first paragraph?| A．They push artists to attract mobile viewers. |
| B．They enable artists to show their works easily. |
| C．They will take the place of traditional publishing. |
| D．They encourage users to recommend creative artists. |
| A．WEBTOON is competing with big agents. |
| B．Creators are full of curiosity about adapted works. |
| C．WEBTOON achieves development through partnerships. |
| D．Creators hope to publish their works on different platforms. |
| A．His familiarity with webtoons. |
| B．WEBTOON’s recognition of his talent. |
| C．His excellent performance in a competition. |
| D．WEBTOON’s close contact with its followers. |
| A．Surprised | B．Worried | C．Unclear | D．Satisfied |
9 . China is one of the world’s ancient civilizations and has the earliest outstanding bronze casting technology. Here we’ve created a list of 4 museums where you can gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese bronze.
Sanxingdui Museum
Address: Sanxingdui Ruin Site, 133 Xian Road, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan province
Hours: Comprehensive Gallery (the first exhibition hall): 8:30-18:00; Bronze Gallery (the second exhibition hall): 8:30-18:30. Last tickets sold at 17:00. Closed on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve
Ticket booking: 0838-5651526
General admission: Gallery ticket 80 yuan
Note: Children shorter than 1.2m (including 1.2m) can visit the gallery free of charge. The ticket must be used on the day it is sold and authorizes one visit to each gallery.
National Museum of China
Address: East side of Tian’anmen Square, Dongcheng district, Beijing
Hours: 8:30-17:00 (no entry after 16:30)
General admission: Free (passport required for entry), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
E-mail: webmaster@chnmuseum.cn
Shanghai Museum
Address: 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
E-mail: webmaster@shanghai-museum.org
General admission: free (a max of 8, 000 admitted daily)
Hunan Museum
Address: 50 Dongfeng Road, Changsha, Hunan province
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) and the eve of Chinese New Year
Tel: (+86-731) 8415833, 84475933
E-mail: web@hnmuseum.com
General admission: Free (passport required for entry)
1. Which museum should you choose for your family to visit next Monday?| A．Sanxingdui Museum | B．Hunan Museum |
| C．Shanghai Museum | D．National Museum of China |
| A．They are all free of charge. | B．They all set a deadline for entry. |
| C．They all lie in the south of China. | D．They can all be available through E-mail. |
| A．Science | B．Today’s News | C．Entertainment | D．History and Culture |
10 . What a day! I started my new school this morning and had the best time. I made lots of new friends and really liked my teachers. I was nervous the night before, but I had no reason to be. Everyone was so friendly and polite. They made me feel at ease. It was like I’d been at the school for a hundred years!
The day started very early at 7:00 am. I had my breakfast downstairs with my mom. She could tell that I was very nervous. Mom kept asking me what was wrong. She told me I had nothing to worry about and that everyone was going to love me. If they didn’t love me, mom said to have a good talk with them. I couldn’t stop laughing.
My mom dropped me off at the school gate about five minutes before the bell rang. A little blonde girl got dropped off at the same time and started waving (招手) at me. She ran over and told me her name was Abigail. She was very nice and we became close straight away. We spent all morning together and began to talk to another girl called Stacey. The three of us sat together in class all day and we even made our way home together! It went so quickly. Our teacher told us that tomorrow we would really start learning and developing new skills.
I cannot wait until tomorrow and feel as though I am really going to enjoy my time at my new school. I only hope that my new friends feel the same way, too.
1. How did the author feel the night before her new school?| A．Tired. | B．Excited. | C．Happy. | D．Worried. |
| A．Clear. | B．Funny. | C．Reasonable. | D．Excellent. |
| A．She met many nice people. | B．She had a hurried breakfast. |
| C．She learned some new skills. | D．She arrived at school very early. |
| A．She disliked Stacey. | B．She was shy and quiet. |
| C．She got on well with the author. | D．She was an old friend of the author. |
