1 . Language is in a constant state of change. British English shows this clearly. Take the word “Cheerio!” for example. It has been a British way to say goodbye for more than a century, but it’s dying out as the English language evolves. These days, many young people simply say “laters”. Or take the word “marvelous”. At one time it was a common British word meaning “wonderful”, but over the last ten years it’s been overtaken by the American word “awesome”.
So how and why do words come into and fall out of fashion? The influence of US culture is only one explanation for why popular words in British English may change or even stop being used over time. “Awesome” is a good example, but also “fortnight”, a term not used in the US, is now falling out of fashion in British English, and in some cases has been replaced by “two weeks”.
New inventions also bring in new words. As old inventions are replaced by new ones, the words which described them also disappear and are replaced. So it’s out with the “Walkman” (a cassette player from the 80s) and in with MP4 players!
Then there’s the influence of social media. Text messages and emails have reduced words for convenience, with something like ICYMI (“in case you missed it”) becoming words in their own right. Where “friend” was once a noun, we now “friend someone on Facebook” and where we used to “love” something, now we’re “loving it”!
1. In what situation do the British use “Cheerio!”?A.When they give thanks. | B.When they ask for help. |
C.When they say goodbye. | D.When they meet new friends. |
A.Returns. | B.Develops. | C.Follows. | D.Falls. |
A.To show its importance. | B.To talk about its history. |
C.To describe how it came into being. | D.To explain how some words are replaced. |
A.It is changing the way that words are used. | B.It is making language difficult to learn. |
C.It is bringing in many long words. | D.It is making meanings clearer. |
2 . I played on the high school basketball team. I played the ball before the game started, and then sat on the bench (长凳) cheering for guys who were actually going to play in the game. When we won, I hugged (拥抱) my teammates.
I enjoyed that. But I didn’t know how my dad felt about my role. I imagined it was hard for him. Dad was a gifted athlete. And my older brothers were sports stars at college. I was not sure how he felt about going to games to watch his son SIT. Still, Dad was always there in his suit and tie. After the game, he’d come up to me, smile, shake my hand and say “Good game!”, even though I did nothing to make the game good. It changed until the last game of the season.
It was a great day for our team — we were up by about 20 with two minutes left. The coach suddenly looked towards me and said, “Walker! You’re in!” The next two minutes seemed not real to me. I remember running up and down the field a few times. When someone started counting down the last seconds, my teammate passed the ball to me. I heard guys on the bench shouting “Shoot (投篮)!” as I faced the basket and shot. We won. But then I didn’t know what to do. I was unprepared for a time when I had hit a last second shot. Naturally, I looked for Dad. He was there, smiling at me as he always did.
Whether good times or bad, Dad was always there to smile, to support and to love. Now I’m in my 50s with a teenage basketball player in my family. I keep trying to be there, no matter what, because I know what it can mean.
1. What was the author’s role?A.He was a green hand. | B.He gave players suggestions. |
C.He was a fan of the basketball team. | D.He replaced those who couldn’t play. |
A.Lost. | B.Tired. | C.Calm. | D.Encouraged. |
A.A Sports-Loving Family | B.A Successful Basketball Match |
C.Dad Always Being There | D.Dad Helping Me Succeed |
3 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.
She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9yearold daughter Bailey.
He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.
Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud,“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”
After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.
1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?A.She guided him how to write a good story. |
B.She encouraged him when he was in trouble. |
C.Her books helped him through times of confusion. |
D.Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter. |
A.He has found it interesting to read the series. | B.He was too old to understand the series better. |
C.He has chosen a better way of reading the series. | D.He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future. |
A.Useless. | B.Normal. | C.Valuable. | D.Boring. |
A.J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health. |
B.J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father. |
C.J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth. |
D.Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series. |
4 . An Urban Farmer’s Garden of Eden
Ivy Lawrence-Walls didn’t set out to choose farming. But it chose her. She grew up on a five-acre farm in Houston and credits many
She didn’t know then that many of those childhood lessons would be
The garden grows carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, peppers, and delivers for free to local residents. It also hosts various plant pop-up events at local schools to
“Starting the farm in the early stages of the pandemic was a leap of
Lawrence-Walls said her biggest challenge
A.distinct | B.essential | C.internal | D.enormous |
A.patience | B.obligation | C.devotion | D.passion |
A.committed | B.exposed | C.employed | D.adapted |
A.linked | B.persuaded | C.integrated | D.expanded |
A.engaged in | B.comprised of | C.gifted in | D.combined with |
A.tailor | B.motivate | C.pursue | D.encounter |
A.intention | B.hesitation | C.resistance | D.security |
A.operation | B.routine | C.exercise | D.supply |
A.Therefore | B.Afterwards | C.Nevertheless | D.Otherwise |
A.occupied | B.involved | C.permitted | D.stuck |
A.tackle | B.detect | C.clarify | D.distinguish |
A.ceasing | B.expanding | C.fleeing | D.switching |
A.distracting | B.evaluating | C.breaking | D.citing |
A.assumption | B.conclusion | C.forecast | D.assessment |
A.amusing | B.secure | C.rewarding | D.intense |
5 . Do you think you are too old to do something? Just go online and
He
John loved swimming. He still tried to keep
John was born in Farnborough on 25 July, 1914. And his
“My parents
However, John didn’t start swimming
A.change | B.watch | C.use | D.make |
A.broke | B.held | C.quit | D.put |
A.carefully | B.proudly | C.correctly | D.freely |
A.interesting | B.brief | C.private | D.amazing |
A.safe | B.close | C.fit | D.warm |
A.simply | B.highly | C.openly | D.lightly |
A.position | B.belief | C.start | D.success |
A.humorously | B.angrily | C.finally | D.shortly |
A.guessed | B.discovered | C.hoped | D.repeated |
A.happy | B.curious | C.sad | D.mad |
A.began | B.increased | C.disappeared | D.remained |
A.taught | B.forced | C.advised | D.reminded |
A.competitively | B.dramatically | C.comfortably | D.necessarily |
A.work out | B.take up | C.depend on | D.go through |
A.found | B.answered | C.supported | D.introduced |
6 . In July 2021, kids from around the world watched the first appearance of skateboarding at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The four medal events for men and women in park and street boarding showed the gifts of 80 athletes from all over the world.
Bryce Wettstein is one of the top competitors from the United States in park skateboarding, which requires athletes to show skills that combine (使结合) art and athleticism in a bowl that looks like an empty swimming pool. At 17, Bryce shows her skills in a way that celebrates the skateboarding community.
Skateboarding began in the late 1940s and early 1950s in small Southern California beach towns. Born into this community, Bryce has won a place at the center of the sport. “Skateboarding just seems like it can be everything and anything all washed together in some washing machine of color,” she said.
Bryce shares her California hometown with international skateboard pioneer Tony Hawk. He was chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an ambassador (大使) in its “Stronger Together” competitive sport, which celebrates this year’s athletes. In an IOC video, Hawk summarized the unlikely rise of skateboarding. “We used to see ourselves as a family of misfits (不合群),” he said. “But now the world calls us Olympians.”
Skateboarders celebrate each other’s natural abilities and achievements, while working to help the sport develop. This is shown in the friendship between Bryce and top Australian competitor Poppy Starr Olsen. Both athletes have dreamed of acting for their own countries at the Olympic Games since they skateboarded together as kids.
“I think skateboarding is going to be really different from all the other sports,” Poppy said. “We’re all kind of like a family.” Bryce agreed. “That’s what makes skateboarding such a great sport,” she said.
1. Which of the following best describes Bryce Wettstein?A.A skateboarder who likes everything colourful. |
B.An excellent skateboarder easy to get on with. |
C.An excellent skateboarder from the birthplace of skateboarding. |
D.A skateboarder having a special understanding of skateboarding. |
A.He does much to celebrate the athletes. | B.He made skateboarding rise in the world. |
C.He is a skateboard pioneer all over the world. | D.He made an important speech in an IOC video. |
A.It gets family members together. | B.It is the dream of many children. |
C.It is a means to celebrate success. | D.It can bring people close together. |
A.Top athletes at the Olympics. | B.A new Olympic sports event. |
C.Some skateboarders’ success. | D.Opinions on an Olympic sports event. |
7 . Francis Kere is the first African to win the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of architecture. However, his
His early reputation came in helping
The result of their hard work was a welcoming structure with a “floating” roof that
In this process, local people learned
Adopted by architects in dozens of countries, his
A.angle | B.welfare | C.journey | D.border |
A.perceived | B.crowded | C.estimated | D.reacted |
A.trick | B.infection | C.qualification | D.experience |
A.integrate | B.chart | C.oppose | D.design |
A.banned | B.encouraged | C.ordered | D.warned |
A.firm | B.soil | C.draft | D.gesture |
A.Moreover | B.Otherwise | C.Therefore | D.However |
A.blocks | B.delays | C.refuses | D.allows |
A.wind | B.fire | C.light | D.air |
A.subscribe to | B.deal with | C.participate in | D.depend on |
A.academic | B.urgent | C.severe | D.practical |
A.challenged | B.declared | C.attracted | D.agreed |
A.denied | B.suspected | C.imagined | D.demonstrated |
A.ignore | B.generate | C.miss | D.lose |
A.innovation | B.fantasy | C.patience | D.expense |
8 . There was an old couple who had been married for 40 years. They loved each other deeply and went on dates together. Every time they went out for supper, the husband would order pie for dessert, which became their
But then the husband began to
He moved out of the house and into a nursing home. She was
One of the doctors
Everything had come back. His wife’s
A.power | B.belief | C.culture | D.tradition |
A.decided | B.refused | C.waited | D.hoped |
A.catch | B.judge | C.steal | D.try |
A.develop | B.spread | C.study | D.discover |
A.wonder | B.forget | C.doubt | D.admit |
A.secretly | B.entirely | C.naturally | D.finally |
A.upset | B.concerned | C.nervous | D.surprised |
A.excuses | B.rewards | C.examples | D.ideas |
A.frightened | B.amazed | C.puzzled | D.moved |
A.allowed | B.advised | C.asked | D.forced |
A.accepted | B.praised | C.questioned | D.noted |
A.gallery | B.park | C.cinema | D.restaurant |
A.clearly | B.suddenly | C.actually | D.simply |
A.action | B.response | C.attention | D.attitude |
A.managed | B.shared | C.enjoyed | D.followed |
9 . I went to South Africa for the first time as a lone travelling female with a love for wildlife when I just graduated from high school.
During my six-month stay there, I spent the last 4 weeks at GVI Karongwe. The GVI members were so helpful and were so kind and lovely too when I was there. It was one of the easiest and best-organised programs I spent my time on.
Every day we collected information on a variety of animals for research. I have to say it changed my life in so many ways and actually guided me on my path to the job I am doing now.
The first week was pretty busy with training to prepare us for our job in the bush (灌木) and teach us about mammals (哺乳动物), birds and other animals, tracks and signs as well as how to use the equipment (设备), take care of the cars and clean and cook for a house of more than 20 people. The training made a world of difference to anyone who was nervous about being new to the South African wilderness and wanted to do the job well. I also made friends with people from all over the world and they were of all ages and backgrounds, united by the common goal to contribute to wildlife protection in South Africa, which was so amazing!
GVI programs provide a fantastic way to learn and contribute to the community and wildlife in a hands-on way. It has put me on the path of wildlife research for the rest of my life!
1. Why did the author go to South Africa at first?A.To do a voluntary job there. | B.To visit the wild animals there. |
C.To join in the GVI program there. | D.To carry out research there. |
A.It was necessary and important. | B.It was relaxing and creative. |
C.It was difficult. | D.It was too long. |
A.It offers free training and accommodation. | B.It helped the author choose her career. |
C.Its members all have rich knowledge of wildlife. | D.Its purpose is to encourage visits to South Africa. |
A.To give a positive review of the GVI program. | B.To tell us the importance of animal protection. |
C.To tell us what she learned in South Africa. | D.To share her experiences in South Africa. |
10 . Chinatown, lying in Downtown L. A.near the city’s cultural center, is one of L. A.’s most popular tourist destinations. What are you waiting for? Go to explore this amazing place right now!
A MECCA FOR FOODIn Chinatown, a mix of new and old restaurants meets everyone’s needs. Early birds should stop by Philippe The Original, a local restaurant that’s beloved for French Dip sandwiches, but also serves a good classic American breakfast. Night owls will want to head to Full House Seafood on Hill Street, which is open late into the night.
CHINESE AMERICAN MUSEUMFood is far from the only reason to visit Chinatown. People interested in history will want to start their trip at the Chinese American Museum (CAM), lying just outside of Chinatown at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. The museum is housed in the Garnier Building, the oldest surviving Chinese building in a major area of California.
CENTRAL PLAZAA big statue of Bruce Lee has become a must-photograph site in Chinatown’s Central Plaza. The late martial arts star once had a studio in Chinatown at 628 W. College St.
Nearby is Dragon Chasing Pearl, which was originally painted on the wall in 1941 by Tyrus Wong. The artist, who passed away in December 2016 at age 106, was famous for his work in films, particularly as the lead artist on Disney’s Bambi.
FESTIVALSChinatown hosts many party-style events throughout the year, like the music and food truck Chinatown Summer Nights, the yearly Moon Festival and the biggest one, Chinese New Year! It’s really a good place to experience L. A.’s cultural diversity.
1. Of the following places, which one may be popular for its breakfast?A.Garnier Building. | B.Philippe The Original. |
C.Full House Seafood. | D.Chinese American Museum. |
A.A chef. | B.A journalist. | C.A poet. | D.A historian. |
A.Visit Bruce Lee in person. | B.Taste different food for free. |
C.Celebrate the Spring Festival. | D.Protect the oldest Chinese building. |