1 . You start by running around the school track three times to warm up. This is followed by exercises or long jump for the girls and football or basketball for the boys. That is an average 45 -minute PE class— but do you really enjoy it?
For students at the Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, sports classes have experienced a welcome change. Senior 2 students now learn the traditional Chinese martial art of sword-fighting (中国剑术), making PE the most popular lesson on the timetable. “The classes used to be boring as we just did the same things again and again,” said Xiao Tong. “But now PE classes are such fun. Sword-fighting is so cool.” His classmate Wei Jie agrees. “As well as being fun, we learn about traditional Chinese culture,” she said. The usual morning exercises performed to music on the school playground have been replaced by kicking and punching practice (搏击操) to a pop music by Zheng Xiuwen. “We didn't pay much attention when we heard the old music,” Xiao explained, “But when Zheng's music is played, we get excited.” Mao Min, the PE teacher who introduced the changes, is pleased that the students now enjoy sports lessons more. “The classes encourage healthy lifestyles and I am always looking for creative ways to keep the students active,” he said. Schools offer activities according to what sports facilities (设备) they have. For example, students at the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University can choose to learn swimming, taekwondo (跆拳道) or volleyball. “I take my volleyball very seriously so I keep fit by playing it,” said Senior 2 student Zhang Zheng. “Students only try hard in sports that interest them.”
1. Why was Xiao Tong not interested in PE classes in the past?| A．Because he didn't do well in sports. |
| B．Because he disliked the same activities. |
| C．Because he thought the classes too long- |
| D．Because he was tired of the PE teacher. |
| A．Sword-fighting. | B．Volleyball. | C．Skating. | D．Punching practice. |
| A．Sword-fighting appears in PE classes. |
| B．Students try hard in all sports at school. |
| C．Schools offer necessary sports facilities. |
| D．PE classes are welcoming new changes. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Negative. | C．Uncaring. | D．Doubtful. |
2 . Special Museums You May Like
The Instant Ramen MuseumMomofuku first created ins tant noodles in 1958. In 1971, after a visit to America, he went a step further and created Cup Noodles. When he opened his museum in 1999, he filled it with over 800 cups of noodles, as well as fun noodle activities and a kitchen. Here you can also see a cool model of the work shed (工棚) where Chicken Ramen, Momo’s first ins tant noodle dish was invented.
Canun Underwater MuseumLocated beneath the water’s surface in the Canun National Marine Park, this museum became an instant hit with tourists and divers when it opened in 2010. To get a good look at the 500 sculptures in the museum, you have to first get into your swimming suits and bring a diving kit with you!
International Spy MuseumIf you love the world of secrets, spies, missions and mystery, then get yourself over to this Washington museum fast. Opened in 2022, this museum has displays ranging from amazing tools to hidden cameras. Here you can also hear of real-life spies. And the museum’s Operation Secret Sleepover even allows groups of kids to stay the night and receive top-secret spy training.
The Sulabh International Museum of ToiletsThis museum was opened in 1992. Here visitors are treated to a historical tour of toilets, of all things! Taking in versions of the toilet from ancient, medieval and modern times, you get to see how things have progressed from holes in the ground to tech-toilets of the future!
1. What might you see in the Instant Ramen Museum?| A．Cooking tools. | B．Sculptures. | C．Hidden cameras. | D．Toilets. |
| A．The Instant Ramen Museum. | B．Canun Underwater Museum. |
| C．International Spy Museum. | D．The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets. |
| A．They are famous. | B．They are helpful. |
| C．They are popular. | D．They are unusual. |
3 . “I feel unlikable, lonely and hopeless,” said Lisa, a bright teenager from a loving home. “It seems that nobody wants to become my friend. What’s wrong with me?”
Like Lisa, many of us experience loneliness. The truth is that all people, no matter what their age or character experience loneliness at least sometimes. It’s healthy and natural to want to be around people who care. We all need others in our lives.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, explains that if we want friends, we must be friendly and reach out to others. But it has risk. Because we are often afraid of rejection (拒绝), many of us are unwilling to reach out to others. We take a safer way and wait for others to make friends with us. But if we want friends, we’ve got to get beyond this.
If making friends is your goal as well, you need to consider the following two.
Be willing to take the initiative (主动权). If you see someone whom you would like to know, don’t wait for her to make the first move. Get close to her and begin a conversation. Let her know in a non-aggressive (无攻击性的) way that you are interested in being friends with her.
Ask questions. Start your first conversation by asking this possible friend what she likes to do or asking about her family. Be sure to ask questions that cannot be replied with “yes” or “no”. For example, don’t ask “Do you have a dog?” Instead, say “So, tell me about your pets.” Avoiding asking “yes” or “no” questions makes your possible friend not end your communication with a one-word answer.
1. Why does the author begin the text with Lisa’s worry?| A．To set a sad tone. | B．To share Lisa’s pain. |
| C．To introduce the topic. | D．To teach readers a lesson. |
| A．Being refused by others. | B．Putting ourselves in danger. |
| C．Being treated in a rude way. | D．Losing interest in communicating. |
| A．Shy people are hard to talk to. | B．Popular people are often easy-going. |
| C．Just waiting for chances will waste our time. | D．A proper way is important in making friends. |
| A．It is considered unfriendly. | B．It will leave a bad first impression. |
| C．It shows the poor quality of the speaker. | D．It isn’t good for keeping a conversation going. |
4 . When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation (住所). I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at ‘bed and breakfast houses’,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to the house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to the house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word” DIVERSION” means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, the thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that ‘Thank you’ in French means “No, thank you.”
1. My Spanish friends wanted advice about ______.| A．driving their car on English roads | B．going to England by car |
| C．finding places to stay in England | D．learning English |
| A．Because it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels |
| B．Because It would be convenient for them to have dinner |
| C．Because they would be able to practice their English. |
| D．Because there would be no problem in finding accommodation there |
| A．Free rooms. | B．No free rooms. |
| C．Not away on holiday. | D．Holidays. |
| A．wanted them to take the coffee pot away |
| B．didn’t really want any more coffee |
| C．wanted to express my politeness |
| D．really wanted some more coffee |
5 . Are you sleeping restlessly, forgetting little things, and feeling depressed and lonely? Don’t worry. We’ve all been there. You’re probably just stressed out.
Stress isn’t always a bad thing. It can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you’re playing a competitive sport, or have to speak in public.
But when it’s continuous, the kind of situation most of us face daily, it actually begins to change your brain. Chronic (长期的) stress, like being overworked or having arguments at home frequently, can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes.
As levels of cortisol (皮质醇) rise, electric signals in your hippocampus (海马体), the part of the brain associated with learning, memories, and stress control, decline. When the hippocampus weakens, so does your ability to control your stress.
That’s not all, though. Cortisol can literally cause your brain to get smaller in size. Too much of it results in the shrinking of the part of your brain that regulates behaviors like concentration, decision-making, judgement, and social interaction.
It also leads to fewer new brain cells being made in the hippocampus. This means chronic stress might make it harder for you to learn and remember things, and also set the stage for more serious mental problems, like depression and eventually Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s not all bad news, though. There are many ways to change what cortisol does to your stressed brain. The most powerful weapons are exercise and getting into deep thoughts, which involves breathing deeply and being aware and focused on your surroundings. Both of these activities decrease your stress and increase the size of the hippocampus, and therefore your memory improves.
So don’t feel defeated by the pressures of daily life. Get control of your stress before it takes control of you.
1. Stress can be a good thing when you .| A．make decisions | B．deliver a speech |
| C．think deeply | D．forget little things |
| A．Having chronic stress. | B．Playing competitive sports. |
| C．Working overtime last Friday. | D．Having a fight with your brother. |
| A．Relevant behavior. | B．Too much cortisol. |
| C．Social interaction. | D．The smaller brain in size. |
| A．Sleeping a lot. | B．Changing the cortisol. |
| C．Doing sports regularly. | D．Having social interaction. |
6 . What should you do if there’s an earthquake at school? How can you protect yourself when you are caught in a stampede (踩踏)? March 25 this year provides you with a good chance to learn about safety.
This day is called the National Day of Education on the Safety of Elementary and Middle School Students (NDESEMSS) (全国中小学生安全教育日). The theme of the day this year is to give students more knowledge about safety and make sure their lives safe.
A survey done by the China Youth and Children Research Center showed that school accidents kill more elementary and middle school students than anything else. The main accidents come from stampedes, earthquakes, fires and sports injuries.
What can we do to keep ourselves safe? Staying calm is the first and most important rule when facing accidents. But different accidents have different self-protection advice.
A stampede is possible anywhere. The larger a human crowd gets, the more likely stampedes become. When students around you begin to push, stand still and try to hold onto something, or stay in a corner until the crowd leaves. If you fall down in a moving crowd, cover your head with both hands. Lean to one side, curl up your body and bend your legs.
Earthquakes are common natural disasters. When you feel the ground shake and drop down, take cover under a desk and hold on. You should stay indoors until the shaking stops. If you are outdoors, don’t stay near buildings, trees or power lines.
When there’s a fire, follow the teachers’ instructions, leave the classroom quickly and use a piece of cloth to cover your mouth and nose so that you don’t breathe in smoke.
1. What should you do first when accidents happen according to this passage?| A．Run away. | B．Stand there. | C．Keep calm. | D．Cry loudly. |
| A．Car accidents kill the most elementary and middle school students of all accidents. |
| B．When there’s a fire, you should use cloth to cover your mouth and nose. |
| C．If you fall down in a moving crowd, you can do nothing but wait there. |
| D．When an earthquake happens, you should stay near buildings or trees. |
| A．The happening of accidents. | B．The coming of an earthquake. |
| C．Being far away from accidents. | D．How to protect yourself in accidents. |
| A．The reason for the earthquake. | B．The causes of different fire accidents. |
| C．How to stay away from sports injuries. | D．Some disadvantages of smoking everyday. |
7 . In the past decade, the use of social media has grown in a way that no one could have guessed. It has turned some teenagers into celebrities and turned the famous into the infamous, overnight.
A key feature of social media, however, is its volatility. Trends come and go, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared.
Short video apps such as TikTok and its Chinese equivalent (等同物) Douyin, took the world by storm. The Telegraph reported that TikTok was ranked 8th on Apple’s App Store in April. And Douyin had more than 300 million domestic monthly active users in June, CNBC said.
Why are these short videos — which are rarely longer than a few minutes — so popular? Jiang Yige, Singapore-based analyst at FengHe Fund Management, has a theory. “Short videos are just right to fill in the little gaps in our busy schedules,” he told CNBC.
These videos — apart from being very convenient — are important to teenagers because they allow them to express themselves, according to Teen Vogue.
Liza Koshy, a user of the US app Musical, who has over 2 million followers, said, “The sense of community that users of short video apps get is another appealing feature.”
Live streaming (直播) is a feature of our social media life that now seems as natural as sunrise. It’s a pretty neat idea: You can watch anyone, anywhere, live. However, China has taken live streaming to a whole new level. In China, more than 100 million viewers monthly watch a live streaming video. Forbes thought that a number of factors had led to the popularity of the live streaming. Among them is viewers’ ability to interact with unknown names.
However, the quick development of social media may be having side effects too. Fake news is one serious problem it causes. Materials shared on these platforms are often not checked for accuracy. The most basic content can be false and can mislead users one way or another. We use social media all the time, which doesn’t mean that we understand the influence it is having on us. We should be mindful of both the time we spend on it and its impact on our minds.
1. What does the underlined word “volatility” in Paragraph 2 possibly mean?| A．Being changeable. | B．Being steady. |
| C．Being promising. | D．Being violent. |
| A．They are very convenient. | B．They help people kill time. |
| C．They provide a sense of community. | D．They allow people to express themselves. |
| A．The information from social media is totally reliable. |
| B．When it comes to social media, people only know short videos. |
| C．People can’t communicate with each other without social media. |
| D．There is still much room for social media to make improvement. |
| A．Objective. | B．Subjective. |
| C．Favourable. | D．Disapproving. |
8 . Online classes in space got lots of attention among Chinese students. The “classroom” in space station is about 400 kilometers away from the earth. The space classes make the young be proud of our country. As a special “teacher”, Wang Yaping is regarded as “the most beautiful astronaut”.
Wang Yaping, 43 years old now, was born in a small village in Shandong. She studied hard all those years. She was good at all subjects, especially sports. Luckily, in 1997, she was accepted by the Air Force, Changchun Flight Academy.
Wang’s space dream started in 2003, when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space. She told herself, “China now has a male astronaut. When will there be a female one?” At that time, Wang was a pilot in the Chinese army. After having safe flights for 1,600 hours during nine years in the training center, Wang was a strong candidate (候选人) to become an astronaut in 2010. In 2013, Wang realized her space dream. She was sent to space by Shenzhou-10. She joined the team of Shenzhou-13 in 2021 and flew into the space for the second time.
However, it is difficult to be an astronaut. She has to experience a lot of pain that most people can’t stand and keep training all the time. Wang Yaping told Xinhua, “The space environment won’t change because you are a woman.” She pushed herself hard, getting the same training as men, including the pull-ups and barbells (杠铃). That finally made her dream come true.
“You are on the way to success as long as you stick to your dreams.” Wang Yaping said. She set a good example to the young. Millions of students are encouraged and inspired by the most beautiful astronaut.
1. When was Wang Yaping born?| A．In 1977. | B．In 1980. | C．In 1990. | D．In 2013. |
| A．Wang did well in all subjects except sports. |
| B．Wang took part in Shenzhou-10 tasks in 2003. |
| C．Wang flew into the space for the second time in 2021. |
| D．Wang’s training was different from men astronauts. |
| A．Beautiful look. | B．Good luck. |
| C．Nice family. | D．Strong spirit. |
| A．The Most Beautiful Astronaut. |
| B．The Special Space Classes. |
| C．The Introduction to Science. |
| D．The Life in Space Station. |
9 . I made bread yesterday because I was missing my mom. As I poured over the oil, I
I was about sixteen and I asked her for a
So I went through the process under her
As the right standard was reached, I
Mom looked at me
I shrugged and said smilingly, “Because you always do it. Why do you do it?”
My small batch(一团生面) produced six loaves. There was satisfaction knowing they came from my own hands—and
| A．worried about | B．thought of | C．gave up | D．looked into |
| A．recipe | B．change | C．preparation | D．preference |
| A．journey | B．challenge | C．process | D．campaign |
| A．anxious | B．watchful | C．shiny | D．doubtful |
| A．cooled | B．disappeared | C．filled | D．frozen |
| A．water | B．salt | C．flour | D．oil |
| A．start | B．correct | C．end | D．watch |
| A．taste | B．measure | C．weigh | D．feel |
| A．gathered | B．covered | C．examined | D．divided |
| A．coldly | B．angrily | C．curiously | D．shyly |
| A．Turning | B．Talking | C．Attending | D．Appealing |
| A．in the middle of | B．at the cost of | C．in the course of | D．for the benefit of |
| A．mind | B．work | C．reaction | D．growth |
| A．trouble | B．doubt | C．pleasure | D．interest |
| A．work | B．deal | C．provide | D．share |
10 . What do you do when one of the few bookstores in your neighborhood shuts down?
If you were Latanya DeVaughn, you would make a new and improved one! The mom and writer, who lives in the Bronx of New York City, had always dreamed of opening her own bookstore. Therefore, after watching the bookstore in her community closed, she saw her chance and got creative. While Latanya said every neighborhood deserved a bookstore, opening physical stores on every block simply wasn’t an option. So she decided to bring the books to her neighbors by turning a bus into a bookmobile. “With the bus, every neighborhood in the Bronx can have a bookstore even if it’s just for one day,” Latanya said.
With the help of her community, she raised the money for her dream and, at the end of 2021, it came to be. Bronx Bound Books rolled out in style as a bus with orange cube bookshelves and wood floors. “People love the way it smells, ” Latanya added, “One women says that the wood smell makes her feel like she is reading at home.”
Although the bookstore on wheels carries around 3,000 new and used books, it has more room than you might expect! Latanya also makes sure that she stocks books with various characters, so all readers can see themselves in the pages.
Setting up a bookshop in a new place each day, Latanya is doing her part to make reading accessible to everyone in the Bronx, and she’s just getting started. “I can’t open up a bookstore on every comer, but I can probably pop up on a lot of different corners,” she said.
Thanks to Latanya and Bronx Bound Books, the Bronx is becoming a peaceful place for book lovers day by day. We’re sure the little bookstore will continue to develop.
1. What is special about Latanya’s bookstore?| A．It can move freely around the neighborhood. |
| B．It has scents attracting female readers. |
| C．It is decorated with various model buses. |
| D．It sells books of different languages. |
| A．Reading books in a fixed place is boring. |
| B．There is a lack of bookstores in the Bronx. |
| C．It’s convenient to open a bookstore on every corner. |
| D．People access books easily due to the bookmobile. |
| A．Responsible and honest. | B．Generous and outgoing. |
| C．Tough and knowledgeable. | D．Considerate and creative. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Optimistic. | D．Critical. |
