1 . George Daniels lives in London. He is a watchmaker. His work continues the tradition of the English watchmakers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today this tradition is almost dead. Daniels is the only man in the world who designs his own watches makes all the pars himself and then puts them together.

A Daniels watch is the product of his hands alone. One of his watches which is now in an American museum took 3500 hours to complete. He usually makes one watch a year. Each one is inscribed (刻) with “Daniels London” and costs about $10,000. Of course these are not ordinary watches—they are very beautiful and will last three centuries.

George Daniels has always been attracted by clocks and watches. When he was five he used to take his father’s clock apart and put it back together again. At school he used to repair his teachers watches.

He is now internationally famous and many people would like him to make watches for them. But most of them will be disappointed. He chooses his customers very carefully indeed. It must be someone who understands the subject,” he says “not someone who will leave the watch in the drawer and only show it to dinner quests.”

1. Who is George Daniels?

A．One of the few who repaired watches in the old days.

B．The only man who collects old watches in the world.

C．One of the few remaining watch designers in the world.

D．The only man who designs and makes watches by himself.

2. How long can a Daniels watch keep working?

A．10,000 hours.	B．300 years.
C．200 years.	D．3,500 hours.

3. Which of the following shows Daniels’ early interest in watches?

A．He played with his father’s clock.

B．He taught people how to repair watches.

C．He made a watch for an American museum.

D．He made beautiful and long-lasting watches.

4. George Daniels makes watches for those who _________.

A．can afford his watches	B．may want to show them to others
C．appreciate his watches	D．enjoy his watch-making process

5. What do we know about Daniels watches?

A．Only a few people like them.

B．They are kept in a museum.

C．Only a few people can get them.

D．They have a history of over 200 years.

2 . China and the Netherlands (荷兰) are long-time friends. The Netherlands is more than 41,500 square kilometres in area. It is a bit larger than the size of Taiwan, China.

The Netherlands is rich in culture and art. It is home of many great artists, for example, Vincent van Gogh. Besides fine art, the Netherlands is also called the country of tulips (郁金香). It has the world’s largest tulip garden: Keukenhof garden.

Dutch people are very hard-working. There’s a saying: “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland.” More than a quarter of the country is below sea level. So Dutch people build many dams (水坝) to protect the country from flooding. They have created almost one sixth of the country from seas and rivers!

Did you know?

◆Rubber ducks are popular around the world. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created it in 2007. The yellow duck is 26 metres high.

◆Wooden clogs (木底鞋) are traditional shoes in the Netherlands. They make good gifts for tourists.

◆In the Netherlands, it is impolite to start eating at once. Dutch people will sometimes say “delicious” before eating.

◆Like the UK, the Netherlands also has kings and queens.

1. Taiwan, China is ________ than the Netherlands in area.

A．a bit smaller	B．much larger
C．much smaller	D．a little larger

2. What is not talked about in the passage?

A．Table manners.	B．Artists.
C．Weather.	D．Tulips.

3. About ________ of the Netherlands is created from the seas and rivers.

A．16%

B．25%

C．60%

D．75%

4. Which is NOT TRUE about the Netherlands?

A．In the Netherlands, it’s good manners to praise the food before eating.

B．Keukenhof garden is famous for tulips.

C．The Dutch may give foreign friends wooden clogs as small presents.

D．China and the Netherlands have been neighbouring countries for a long time.

3 . A lot of us spend most of our working day sitting at the computer without moving at all. So, how does the world keep fit? Let’s have a look at some of the latest exercises from around the world.

Towerrunning is a sport you can do in the tall buildings of almost any big city. All you need to do is start at the bottom of an office tower and run up all the stairs until you get to the top. Now, towerrunning has become popular with important races taking place in some of the world’s tallest towers, like the China World Trade Centre in Beijing.

Piloxing started in the USA. The sport is a mix between boxing, pilates (普拉提) and dance. Piloxing uses the power and speed of boxing, while building your muscles and strength with pilates. All of this happens to non-stop loud music, and you learn some great dance moves too.

Paddle boarding on the ocean might look easy, but it is a tough sport. You need to be strong to keep your balance. The sport was adapted from surfing and it had its roots in Polynesia where people used paddling for both work and play-from transport to catching waves.

Trapeze may remind you of the circus act-people fly, dance and move from side to side through the air. Jules Leotard developed the art of trapeze in the mid-nineteenth century in France. To perform trapeze, people must develop upper-body strength to turn and fly.

Are you ready? Even a short amount of exercise every day can help us to feel happier and more relaxed.

1. Which exercise must be done in tall buildings?

A．Towerrunning.

B．Piloxing.

C．Paddle boarding.

D．Trapeze.

2. Where does paddle boarding come from?

A．China.

B．The USA.

C．Polynesia.

D．France.

3. To do trapeze well, people must have            .

A．strong upper-body strength	B．power and speed of boxing
C．better running ability	D．good swimming skills

4. What does this passage call on people to do?

A．Lose weight.

B．Get moving.

C．Keep working.

D．Travel around.

4 . The sky is blue, and the sunshines on the street in Paris, where Mr. Gallais has been selling old classic books to tourists for more than 30 years.

Locals and tourists around the world would come to Mr. Gallai’s shop and 230 other open-air booksellers’ to buy book. However, because of the lockdown regulations to control the COVID-19 pandemic, the booksellers had to face the problem of losing the business and living difficulties these years.

“Sales have decreased by an average of 80 percent this year,” Mr. Gala is said, “which is throwing many booksellers into dangerous situations.” Still, some booksellers want to work. They are eager to keep the tradition that dates back to the l6th century. Many of the booksellers are retired workers living on pensions (养老金). They gather literature books and magazines. A growing number of people in their 30s and 40s have joined their ranks. They want to feel free from working outside an office in rain or shine.

Even before the pandemic, the booksellers were fighting with the cultural changes that people don’t read paper books as much as they used to. If they do read paper books, most readers will often choose Amazon.com to buy ones.

1. How long has Mr. Gallais been selling old classic books along the bank?

A．More than 16 years.	B．More than 19 years.
C．More than 23 years.	D．More than 30 years.

2. What’s the main cause of the booksellers’ living difficulties these years?

A．The booksellers’ competition.	B．The lockdown regulations.
C．The trend of a new profession.	D．The popularity of E-books.

3. Why did many people in their 30s and 40s become sellers?

A．They are not willing to accept advances.

B．They are eager to live a challenging life.

C．They want to feel free from working outside.

D．They can earn a large amount of money.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Mr. Gallais isn’t a bookseller.

B．Middle-aged people don’t join the ranks.

C．Retired booksellers don’t gather literature books and magazines.

D．Booksellers make efforts to keep the bookselling tradition.

6 . What would life be like without commas (逗号)? It would be quite confusing. Take this simple sentence as an example: Let’s eat Dad! Without a comma, Dad becomes the food. Add comma, and Dad becomes a partner at dinner: Let’s eat, Dad! The comma enables people to have a better understanding of the sentence.

Here’s another example: Tom said Sarah stole the cake. Here, Sarah is the thief. But add a pair of commas, and Tom becomes the thief: Tom, said Sarah, stole the cake.

The examples above clearly show that people cannot do without commas in writing. Yet, the comma came from oral speeches. Long ago, most people could not read. They listened to the news or stories told by the people who gave speeches. The comma began as something to mark the resting place in a sentence. When reading, the speakers knew where to stop and take a breath.

In writing, commas are like shining red lights on the road. They require that you wait a moment before continuing. And don’t add a comma when you feel like it. There are rules that people shall not break. Learn them, and you won’t be eating anyone or making wrong changes.

1. Without commas, life would be________.

A．frightening

B．puzzling

C．relaxing

D．interesting

2. The author uses two examples in the passage to________.

A．tell jokes to readers	B．show the importance of using commas
C．tell stories to readers	D．show the difficulty of using commas

3. Commas were first used to________.

A．indicate a long sentence	B．rewrite an unclear sentence
C．continue a sentence	D．mark a break in a sentence

4. According to the last paragraph, we use commas by following________.

A．our feelings	B．our speeches
C．certain rules	D．some facts

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Commas Make Sentences Clear.

B．Commas Make English Interesting.

C．Commas Make Writing Easy.

D．Commas Make Speeches Surprising.

7 . Once there was a small boy named Bob. He came from a ____ family, struggling with life every day. One day, he was crossing the forest carrying some _____. He saw an old man who was very ______. Bob wanted to give the old man some food, but he did not have any. So he ____ walking. A few minutes later, he saw a deer who was very thirsty. He was eager to ____ him, but he did not have water. So he went on his way ahead.

Then he saw a man who wanted to make a ____ to keep warm, but he did not have wood. Bob ____ some wood to him. In return, he gave Bob some food and water. Then Bob went back to help the old man and the deer, who were very ____ .

One day Bob fell down from the ____ . He couldn’t move because he was ____, but no one was there to help him. ____ , the old man whom he had helped before saw him. He quickly came and pulled him up the hill. Bob had many ____ on his legs. The deer whom Bob had helped saw them and ____ to the forest and brought some herbs(草药). Soon Bob _____. All of them were very ____ that they could help each other.

1.

A．cheerful

B．traditional

C．poor

D．single

2.

A．wood

B．food

C．water

D．medicine

3.

A．thirsty

B．hungry

C．sad

D．angry

4.

A．preferred

B．stopped

C．began

D．kept

5.

A．help

B．leave

C．cure

D．hug

6.

A．cage

B．box

C．fire

D．flat

7.

A．threw

B．sold

C．lent

D．offered

8.

A．helpful

B．kind

C．brave

D．thankful

9.

A．hill

B．roof

C．bed

D．rope

10.

A．annoyed

B．injured

C．tired

D．frightened

11.

A．Obviously

B．Gradually

C．Strangely

D．Fortunately

12.

A．insects

B．leaves

C．wounds

D．hairs

13.

A．climbed

B．dropped

C．flew

D．hurried

14.

A．recovered

B．cried

C．slept

D．regretted

15.

A．doubtful

B．happy

C．anxious

D．curious

8 . One evening in December 2021, I stood on the stage and received a special award given to our team for our performance in the Model United Nations (MUN) (模拟联合国) Conference. The conference allows students to role-play as UN delegates (代表) to understand how the UN works and how the international relations develop.

Behind the honor of the award was sweat on our own. When I was told that we had to add some details to our report presentation (展示), I was quite surprised and nervous, because it would make our presentation much more difficult. Fortunately, we finished our presentation thanks to everyone’s efforts.

However, when the time of the conference came, something unknown happened. The placement of the tables and chairs upset us a lot. What was worse, the newest PPT with the background music was deleted on the computer. What was shown was only the original (原来的) PPT. We could only give our speeches based on our previous knowledge, with no PPT prompts to guide us.

In the end, we did very well. From the first introduction to the final speech, every part was excellent. During the public review period, many judges walked over to give us praises.

As one of our players said, the MUNers are confident and always moving forward. It was this honor that strengthened my determination to carry our MUN club forward to a bright future.

1. What was behind the honor of the award according to Para.2?

A．Some nervous players.	B．The sweat on their own.
C．Some live performances.	D．The help from the teacher.

2. What was deleted on the computer before the conference?

A．The newest PPT.

B．The added details.

C．The first introduction.

D．The final speech.

3. Why did many judges walk over to us during the public review period?

A．To give us praises.

B．To perform with us.

C．To tell us the result.

D．To show us the way.