1 . 6 Days Small Group Tour from Beijing to Xi’an
Tour Type: Small Group (max 18), guaranteed departures
Guide & Driver: An English-speaking guide, an experienced driver with an air-conditioned coach
Accommodation: 5 nights at good 5-star hotels
Day 1: Arrival in Beijing
Welcome your arrival anytime at the airport and transfer to the hotel.
Day 2: Beijing
· Visit the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City including the Treasure Gallery;
· Enjoy à la carte (按菜单点菜) welcome lunch with authentic Peking Duck;
· Further explore royal culture at the Yonghe Temple and the Temple of Heaven;
· Watch Peking Opera and see artistic face painting.
Day 3: Beijing
· Visit the Great Wall by a round-trip cable car;
· Visit the Bird’s Nest;
· Take a rickshaw ride through hutong alleys and visit a local family in a traditional courtyard house.
Day 4: Beijing to Xi’an by flight
· Visit the Panda Hall and the Summer Palace;
· Taste local flavors for lunch;
· Fly to Xi’an and transfer to a hotel.
Day 5: Xi’an
· Visit Terracotta Army and the discoverer’s home;
· Have a unique experience to make your own mini clay warrior (陶俑);
· Continue to visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda;
· Enjoy a dumpling dinner and the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show.
Day 6: Departure from Xi’an
· Connect with local people at the City Wall Park and learn to practice tai chi from amaster, then visit the City Wall;
· Taste local flavors for lunch;
· Take a taxi to the airport by yourself.
A pleasant onward journey!
· $1,059 per person
Includes:
· Domestic airfare
· Hotel accommodation with breakfasts
· The à la carte lunches as route specifies
· Professional English-speaking guides
· Drivers & air-conditioned vehicles
· Entrance fees to tourist sites
· Tips or gratuities for hotel doormen
Excludes:
· International airfares
· Entry visa fees
· Personal expenses
· Tips or gratuities for guides and drivers
1. How can tourists get to the Great Wall?| A．By cable car. | B．By train. | C．On foot. | D．By water. |
| A．Enjoy Peking Duck. | B．See lovely pandas. |
| C．Try artistic face painting. | D．Make a clay warrior. |
| A．Tips for hotel doormen. | B．Flying from Beijing to Xi’an. |
| C．Souvenirs for friends. | D．Air-conditioned vehicles fees. |
2 . Searching the OED
How to use the quick search
The quick search bar can be found on the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) homepage and at the top of every entry page, and finds main dictionary entries, such as alphabet, break, xylophone. It also finds phrases and compounds listed within main entries, such as to look up or alphabet book, and different forms of spellings such as dictionaries.
Wildcard searches
A wildcard is a symbol which stands for any character. The question mark? represents the occurrence of any one single character, and the asterisk* represents the occurrence of any number of characters (or no character at all). Wildeards are useful if you do not know how to spell a word, or if you want to find several terms beginning with the same root.
How to use the advanced search
An advanced search is a full search of the entire dictionary text which is for readers who have logged in or subscribed to the dictionary. Advanced search can be especially useful for very specific searches. You can use the search area functionality to search by each section of an entry. You can also use filters to narrow your search to match certain criteria.
Browsing by categories
Categories allow you to explore the dictionary through groupings of words in, for instance. a subject or from a particular origin. If you want to find all the Caribbean borrowings in English, or find the first word related to friend to enter the dictionary, this is the function for you.
Further explore your search by using the options that appear on the right-hand side of the results page.
1. What will you use if you want to look up some terms beginning with the same root?| A．The quick search. | B．The advanced search. |
| C．Wildcard searches. | D．Browsing by categories. |
| A．Matching certain criteria. | B．Registering for the dictionary. |
| C．Searching with specific words. | D．Searching with purpose. |
| A．To promote a search engine. | B．To recommend a shopping website. |
| C．To tell learners how to surf the Internet. | D．To explain how to use an online dictionary. |
3 . We adopted Franny, our crazy and lovable Boston puppy, from a local rescue at the start summer in 2022. However, two weeks later she was nowhere to be found.
We often leave our yard doors open to allow Franny and our another dog, Olive, to visit enclosed backyard and lie on the deck (甲板). My heart sank severely when I failed to find any. No sooner had I sensed that than my wife and I charged to our car to comb for this missing dog swiftly. I was scanning the yards a few blocks over when my phone rang all of a sudden: A woman and her daughter had our dog. Franny had been jogging down the alley (小巷) behind their lawn when they grabbed her and called the number on her tag (标牌).
I located and blocked off the gap in the fence that Franny had squeezed through in case she went out secretly and got lost again. However, she was on the run again one month later.
This time she made it much farther — all the way to a high school, where a man found it eating lunch in the sun with some students. Franny was returned to us, her big brown eyes looking ashamed as the man handed her over to me.
These days, our backyard is secured like a maximum-security prison. We love this crazy dog more than ever, and Franny finally seems content to stay put now.
Mostly, I’m thankful for the kind folks who took the time to grab our adorable runaway and return her to us. All of them refused any recompense, regardless of how much I pushed. These minded our family that the world is filled with those who will go out of their way to lend others a hand.
1. Where did the woman first find the dog?| A．In the alley. | B．In the gap of the fence. |
| C．On her lawn. | D．On the deck of her backyard. |
| A．He tied a tag to her. | B．He kept track of her. |
| C．He bridged the fence’s crack. | D．He rebuilt a firm new fence. |
| A．Criticism. | B．Request. | C．Proposal. | D．Payment. |
| A．To show off his puppy. |
| B．To extend his gratitude. |
| C．To call on us to care for the homeless animals. |
| D．To demonstrate the solutions to adopting dogs. |
4 . Honeybees command a lot of attention in insect conservation circles, as they are important for pollinating our food supply. But the findings from researchers emphasize the importance of prioritizing other pollinators or insects like wild bees, moths and butterflies in conservation efforts, too.
For the study, ecologists Joshua Kohn and Dillon Travis from the University of California, painstakingly tracked the pollination of flowers from two plant species in San Diego — white sage and Phacelia distans. Often Travis sat for hours waiting for a single pollinator, honeybees or other insects, to land on a flower. Each time he put a mesh (网状的) bag on the flower to prevent any new visitor, then back to collect seeds from different visitors. Back in the greenhouse, the team grew the seeds, analyzing characteristics that reflected their quality, such as how many seeds grew and survived and how many leaves or flower seedlings (幼苗) grew from them.
They found flowers pollinated by honeybees make fewer and lower-quality seeds than flowers visited by other pollinators. The white sage and Phacelia distans plants produced roughly half the amount of seeds from flowers pollinated by honeybees compared with other pollinators. And Phacelia distans seeds from honeybee-pollinated plants grew into seedlings with fewer flowers.
The researchers also found that honeybees visited about twice as many flowers on one plant before moving to the next than the average of other pollinators, causing honeybees to transfer more pollen in flowers of the same plant, thus resulting in fewer and lower-quality and more inbred (近亲繁殖的) seeds. Other pollinators more often flew between different plants, probably transferring more diverse pollen.
Travis says, “Honeybees’ pollination habit can impact ecosystems and agriculture in the long term. One potential consequence could be that native plant populations decline as next generations become more inbred, reducing biodiversity.”
“It is time to actually shift our dependence for pollination from largely honeybees to other native species as well,” says Jaya Sravanthi Mokkapati, an entomologist at Penn State University.
1. What does paragraph 2 focus on about the research?| A．Its procedures. | B．Its members. |
| C．Its impact. | D．Its significance. |
| A．Honeybees cause big damage to plants’ seeds. |
| B．Honeybees are less selective while pollinating. |
| C．Honeybees’ pollination efficiency is unexpectedly low. |
| D．Honeybees prefer to pollinate flowers of the same plant. |
| A．Misleading. | B．Worrying. | C．Creative. | D．Helpful. |
| A．Native plant populations are declining at a high speed. |
| B．Honeybees’ pollination impacts plant seeds temporarily. |
| C．More attention should be paid to protecting other pollinators. |
| D．Honeybees’ pollination depends more on other native species. |
5 . After skating, skiing or shoveling snow, nothing warms you up better than a cup of hot cocoa. Though today it will be topped with marshmallows (棉花软糖) or stuff like that, you may not know that chocolate was first consumed in liquid form by the Olmec people of northwestern Central America around 1500 B.C.
However, the Olmec people didn’t serve their cocoa hot. And since sugar had not yet arrived from Europe back then, the drink was often flavoured with peppers and spices. After the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, liquid chocolate made its way across the pond, where wealthy Europeans added sugar and drank it warm. According to Chocolate: History, Culture and Heritage, hot chocolate became “the drink of the aristocracy (贵族)”, as sugar was still a luxury.
Soon enough, though, hot chocolate caught on with the masses. Chocolate houses started springing up around 17th-century Europe. In these lively places, hot chocolate was poured from pots into elegant cups. But by the end of the 18th century, chocolate houses had mostly died off, because the input of chocolate was much dearer than that of coffee or tea.
Marshmallows first came into the picture in 1917, when the company Angelus Marshmallows published a recipe for hot cocoa topped with their product. Instant cocoa is another American invention, created in the late 1950s when dairy company owner Charles Sanna faced an oversupply of powdered coffee creamer. His solution was mixing the creamer sugar and cocoa powder together, thus creating a formula (配方) favored by many.
Taking a tour of international cups of cocoa, you can try cioccolata calda, a thick, pudding-like version in Italy. In Colombia and Ecuador, chocolate is served with a teaspoon of soft farmer cheese, and Filipino hot chocolate, sikwate, is served with mango chunks.
However, you choose to jazz up your own cup, the simple pleasure of drinking a warm, chocolaty drink is one that hasn’t gotten old for thousands of years.
1. Which of the following is unlikely to happen in the 1500s?| A．Angie used sugar to add flavour to hot chocolate. |
| B．Eva enjoyed drinking hot cocoa during breakfast. |
| C．Barton consumed hot cocoa at a chocolate house. |
| D．Leo couldn’t afford to put much sugar in the cocoa. |
| A．Public health awareness. | B．High cost of material. |
| C．Policy reform of the time. | D．Changing drinks’ trend. |
| A．A man can do no more he can. |
| B．One good turn deserves another. |
| C．Constant dripping wears away a stone. |
| D．Innovation unlocks the door of success. |
| A．A Journey To A Cup Of Comfort |
| B．An Accidental Invention Of A Drink |
| C．Hot Cocoa: A Combination Of Global Cultures |
| D．Hot Cocoa: From The Aristocracy To The Public |
6 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise in earthquake prediction, challenging the long-held belief that it is impossible. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, have developed an AI algorithm (算法) that correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance during a trial in China and provided accurate calculations for the predicted earthquakes.
The research team believes their method succeeded because they stuck with a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical (统计的) features based on the team’s knowledge of earthquake physics, and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the AI provided its prediction of earthquake by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings (隆隆声) in the Earth.
This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. “You don’t see earthquakes coming,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). “It’s a matter of milliseconds ( 毫秒), and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70% accuracy, that’s a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and has the potential to remarkably improve earthquake preparation worldwide.”
While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other places, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. So, their next step is to test artificial intelligence in different places in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNet has 300 earthquake stations there and over six years’ worth of continuous records, making it ideal for these purposes.
Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. “That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, taken together, are what moves science forward,” concludes Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.
1. How does the AI predict earthquakes?| A．By analyzing background sounds in the Earth. |
| B．By identifying data from remote sensing satellite. |
| C．By modeling data based on earthquake recordings. |
| D．By monitoring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. |
| A．The ways to reduce losses in earthquakes. |
| B．The accuracy of AI in earthquake prediction. |
| C．The limitation of AI algorithms in earthquake prediction. |
| D．The significance of developing AI-driven earthquake prediction. |
| A．Conducting tests in different locations. |
| B．Building more earthquake stations in Texas. |
| C．Improving the quality of earthquake tracking networks. |
| D．Applying AI approach to other fields besides earthquake. |
| A．Precise but outdated. | B．Effective but costly. |
| C．Advanced and promising. | D．Potential and economical. |
7 . It was 1:20 a.m. I had just gone to bed, a bit
I was awakened by the
Shaking in darkness, I
I took
In the end, I think the experience made me
| A．relieved | B．drunk | C．excited | D．content |
| A．stones | B．sandbags | C．wood | D．boxes |
| A．in doubt | B．in advance | C．in turn | D．in case |
| A．thundering | B．snowing | C．pouring | D．blowing |
| A．roar | B．taste | C．rhythm | D．smell |
| A．appearing | B．spreading | C．freezing | D．rising |
| A．grabbed | B．charged | C．dropped | D．studied |
| A．realize | B．guess | C．see | D．check |
| A．extremely | B．violently | C．narrowly | D．certainly |
| A．get out | B．check out | C．calm down | D．move out |
| A．brave | B．immediate | C．determined | D．calculated |
| A．fear | B．shock | C．stress | D．responsibility |
| A．active | B．proud | C．grateful | D．amazed |
| A．ask | B．assess | C．hear | D．follow |
| A．loved | B．gained | C．survived | D．graduated |
8 . Scientists have observed a planet being swallowed by its host star for the first time. They believe this could be a preview of what could one day happen to Earth — but don’t worry, that won’t be for about another five billion years.
The US astronomers said that when the sun finally does swallow Earth, it will cause only a “tiny change” compared to the cosmic (宇宙的) explosion they just witnessed. Most planets are believed to meet their end when their host star runs out of energy, turning into a red giant that massively expands, destroying anything unlucky enough to be in its path.
Astronomers had previously seen the before-and-after effects of this process, but had never caught a planet in the act of being consumed. Lead researcher Kishalay De said the accidental discovery unfolded like a “detective story”.
“It all started about three years ago when I was looking at data from the Zwicky Transient Facility survey, which took images of the sky every night,” Dr. De said.
He came across a star that had suddenly increased in brightness by more than 100 times over a 10-day period. The star is in the Milky Way galaxy (银河系), around 12,000 light years from Earth near the Aquila constellation (天鹰座). Dr. De had been searching for binary star (双星) systems, in which the larger star takes bites out of its companion, creating incredibly bright explosions called outbursts. But data showed that this outburst was surrounded by cold gas, suggesting it was not a binary star system.
And NASA’s infra-red space telescope NEOWISE showed that dust had started to shoot out of the area months before the outburst. More puzzling still was that the outburst produced around 1,000 times less energy than previously observed mergers (合并) between stars.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．US astronomers are concerned about the future of Earth. |
| B．The harm the cosmic explosion may bring. |
| C．A prediction made by US astronomers about Earth. |
| D．Harmony between the Earth and the Sun is of great importance. |
| A．He loves detective stories. | B．His efforts paid off at last. |
| C．The survey made him suffer. | D．He took pride in his discovery. |
| A．It is near the Aquila constellation. | B．It has the strongest brightness. |
| C．It can swallow other host stars. | D．It causes explosions constantly. |
| A．Science. | B．Literature. | C．Documentary. | D．Education. |
9 . Edinburgh is famous for its many museums where you can learn its rich history.
Museum on the MoundLocated in the heart of Edinburgh’s city center, this appealing museum takes a fresh look at money — and much, much more. You will see coins and banknotes from over the ages, including the first Scottish banknote printed in 1727. There are also interesting interactive displays and you can even try your hand at opening a safe!
The Writers’ MuseumIt is housed in the beautiful Lady Stair’s House, a category A listed building. The collection celebrates the legacy (遗产) of Scotland’s literary contributions, with special emphasis given to Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns. The museum is home to numerous paintings, books and manuscripts (手稿), and you can also see Burns’ writing desk and Scott’s chess set.
Our Dynamic EarthIt celebrates the beauty of the earth via technology. Interactive exhibits allow visitors to experience earthquakes, the ocean floor, ice ages and mountains by the use of computer software. Particularly interesting is the “tour” around the eleven Earthscapes. It is educational fun for the whole family and can serve as a good introduction to concepts surrounding the formation of the planet and the creatures we share the earth with.
National Museum of ScotlandThe diverse collections here include the history of Scotland with exhibitions of international interest. The natural world, science and technology, discoveries, art, and world cultures are all explored. There are interactive elements and activities to suit children of all ages, including science experiments and musical instruments.
1. Which might be the most attractive to finance majors?| A．Our Dynamic Earth. | B．Museum on the Mound. |
| C．The Writers’ Museum. | D．National Museum of Scotland. |
| A．They have an artistic atmosphere. | B．They have interactive exhibits. |
| C．They provide hands-on activities. | D．They showcase world cultures. |
| A．Play with your family. | B．Tour the world virtually. |
| C．Design computer software. | D．Learn about ancient creatures. |
10 . This morning, I went to the shop to buy some things for breakfast. On the way back home, I decided to
I decided to
I posted about this incident on my social media, which gained a lot of
This
| A．make | B．draw | C．earn | D．spend |
| A．watched | B．approached | C．closed | D．answered |
| A．dropped | B．found | C．stolen | D．needed |
| A．confident | B．interested | C．aware | D．uninterested |
| A．sometimes | B．hardly | C．never | D．indeed |
| A．gratitude | B．curiosity | C．satisfaction | D．excitement |
| A．tip | B．reward | C．desire | D．bonus |
| A．renew | B．remove | C．revise | D．review |
| A．urged | B．prevented | C．followed | D．stopped |
| A．hung out | B．got around | C．walked away | D．come down |
| A．challenges | B．attention | C．criticisms | D．attraction |
| A．pride | B．surprise | C．thrill | D．confusion |
| A．average | B．stylish | C．modern | D．amazing |
| A．behavior | B．society | C．experience | D．generation |
| A．unique | B．wonderful | C．daily | D．strange |
