1 . A music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!
Field Day
January 1, 2023, Sydney
Field Day means New Year’s Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city’s original multi-stage party, it’s a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun-filled first day of the year. There’s an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer’s day.
The Envision Festival
February 27—March 6, 2023, Uvita
The Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival
March 2—4, 2023, Phoenix
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix’s musical celebration of community culture. Since its foundation in 2004, it has been the only 100% non-profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.
The Old Settler’s Music Festival
April 20—23, 2023, Dale
The Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler’s Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.
1. In which city can people enjoy a fun New Year’s Day?| A．Phoenix. | B．Uvita. | C．Sydney. | D．Dale. |
| A．It encourages people to receive education. | B．It is not aimed at making money. |
| C．It provides an opportunity for friend gathering. | D．It focuses on cultural exchanges. |
| A．Field Day and the Envision Festival. |
| B．The Envision Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| C．The Old Settler’s Music Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| D．The Envision Festival and the Old Settler’s Music Festival. |
2 . The Mona Lisa is the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting of a woman with a mysterious smile. This week, the painting gave up a secret.
Scientists using X-rays to examine the chemical structure of a small part of the painting discovered a technique Leonardo used in the work. An oil paint used for it was a special, new chemical mixture, which suggests that the Italian artist was in an experimental mood when he worked on the painting in the 16th century.
“He loved to experiment, and each of his paintings is completely different technically,”said Victor Gonzalez, a chemist who has studied the chemical element (成分) of several works by Leonardo and other artists. The researchers found a rare lead compound (铅化合物) — plumbonacrite, in Leonardo’s first layer of paint. The discovery proved that da Vinci most likely used lead oxide to thicken and help dry his paint. The paint in the study is about the thickness of a human hair, lying in the top right area of the painting.
The scientists looked into its atomic structure using X-rays, moving particles at the speed of light, permitting researchers to look deeper into the paint structure. “ Plumbonacrite is really a fingerprint of his recipe, as it’s the first time we can chemically confirm it,” Gonzalez said.
Dutch artist Rembrandt may have used a similar mixture when he was painting in the 17th century. Gonzalez and other researchers have found plumbonacrite in his work, too. Leonardo is thought to have put lead oxide powder, which has an orange color, in the oil to make it thicker and dry faster. “What you will get is an oil that has a very nice golden color,” Gonzalez said. “It flows more like honey.”
But the Mona Lisa — said by the Louvre to be a portrait (肖像) of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk businessman — and additional works by Leonardo still have other secrets to tell. “What we are saying is just a little brick in the knowledge,” Gonzalez said.
1. What’s the new discovery about the Mona Lisa?| A．A new explanation of the secret smile. |
| B．A new chemical element used in the painting. |
| C．The secret of the woman in the painting. |
| D．The structure of the paint da Vinci used. |
| A．Open secret. | B．Widespread use. | C．Hidden element. | D．Long-term dream. |
| A．It helps to make many things into paints. |
| B．It helps to make paints easy to deal with. |
| C．It helps to keep the paintings last long. |
| D．It helps to make paintings rich in color. |
| A．It has more secrets to tell the world. |
| B．It’s the portrait of a silk businessman. |
| C．It’s well kept in bricks in the Louvre. |
| D．It has a mixture of different art styles. |
3 . Most people agree that eating healthy food is important. But sometimes making good food choices can be difficult. Now there are apps that can help people learn about the food they eat to improve their health and their dining out experience.
Open Table app
Open Table app helps people choose restaurants when they want to go out to eat. It is a free service that shows users restaurant available based on where and when they want to dine. It gives users points when they make reservations, which can add up to discounts (折扣) on restaurant visits.
Max McCalman’s Cheese &Wine Pairing app
Wine and cheese can be a great combination. But which wines go best with which cheeses? Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app can help. It provides information about hundreds of different cheeses and suggests wines to pair with each. Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app is free.
Happy Cow app
Vegetarians do not eat animal meat. Vegans do not eat any animal products. The Happy Cow app is made for both groups. Users can search for vegetarian-vegan restaurants and stores around the world.
Local Eats app
Restaurant chains, like McDonalds, can be found almost anywhere a person might travel. But sometimes travelers want to eat like locals. The Local Eats app is designed for that. It can help you find local restaurants in major cities in the US and in other countries. It costs about a dollar.
Where Chefs Eat app
“Where Chefs Eat” is a 975-page book. Most people would not want to carry that around. But there is a much lighter app version of the same name for just $15. Six hundred chefs provide information on 3,000 restaurants around the world on the Where Chefs Eat app.
1. What can users get when making a reservation with Open Table app?| A．Points | B．Books. | C．Wine. | D．Cheeses. |
| A．local foods. | B．wine and cheese |
| C．vegetables | D．animal meat |
| A．OpenTable. | B．Where Chefs Eat |
| C．Local Eats | D．Max Me Calman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing. |
4 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.
Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.
The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.
As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.
The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．Wildlife research in the United States. |
| B．Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area. |
| C．The conflict between farmers and gray wolves. |
| D．The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park. |
| A．Damage to local ecology. |
| B．Preservation of vegetation. |
| C．A decline in the park’s income. |
| D．An increase in the variety of animals. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Positive. | D．Disapproving. |
5 . Five years ago, Chinese skater Wu Dajing introduced himself to the skating world by winning a silver medal at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. At Pyeong Chang Olympics, Wu not only returned, but also made history.
On Feb 22th, 2018, Wu won the gold medal in the men’s short-track 500-metre race. He set a new world record with a time of 39.584 seconds. He also became the first Chinese man to take home an Olympic short-track gold medal. BBC said Wu’s win was “flawless”, because he was much faster than all of the other skaters.
“I didn’t give them a chance and I kept my speed from the start,” he told the media after the match.
But China’s short-track teams didn’t do well in general at the Games. Chinese skaters in the women’s 500 metres, 3000-metre relay and men’s 1500 metres all failed to take home the gold. Wu was China’s biggest hope, which put a lot of pressure on him. But he proved himself with his great performance.
Wu is now known as a highly talented skater. But things were not always that way. When Wu joined the national team in 2010, he was seen as almost “nothing” compared to gifted skaters like Zhou Yang and Fan Kexin, as his coaches said at the time. Their comments made him quite upset. But as the saying goes. “Winners never quit (放弃) and quitters never win”. Wu didn’t want to give up and worked as hard as he could. He practiced skating all year round. He even didn’t return to his hometown for the holidays for 10 years. “I believe in myself.” he told the media after his match at the Olympics.
1. People began to know Wu Dajing by the time he .| A．won the second place at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games |
| B．won a gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games |
| C．won a gold medal at Pycong Chang Olympic Winter Games |
| D．entered the Pycong Chang Olympic Winter Games |
| A．common | B．valuable | C．perfect | D．difficult |
| A．Wu won a gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games four years ago. |
| B．Wu broke the world record with a time of 39.584 seconds and made history. |
| C．Wu’s coaches placed great hope on him when he joined the national team. |
| D．Chinese skaters in women’s 500 metres, 3000-metre relay took home the gold. |
| A．The national team and coaches thought Wu as a talented skater all the way. |
| B．Wu kept on practicing skating all year round even in the holidays for 10 years. |
| C．Zhou Yang and Fan Kexin were more hard-working on skating than Wu Dajing. |
| D．It is the hardwork, confidence and strong will that have made Wu a winner. |
6 . As a child, I was fascinated by the world of theater and began taking classes at the age of 7. Throughout my teenage years, I actively
Despite this, in my everyday life, I was often plagued (困扰) by
Performing was an excellent way for me to
Looking back, my time as a
| A．participated in | B．carried out | C．dealt with | D．applied for |
| A．Studying | B．Dancing | C．Acting | D．Teaching |
| A．predict | B．confirm | C．influence | D．experience |
| A．results | B．benefits | C．features | D．rules |
| A．generous | B．familiar | C．confident | D．strange |
| A．curiosity | B．excitement | C．misunderstanding | D．nervousness |
| A．places | B．cities | C．groups | D．cultures |
| A．sports | B．roles | C．matches | D．songs |
| A．missed | B．challenged | C．changed | D．acquired |
| A．overcome | B．ignore | C．remove | D．hide |
| A．adventurous | B．casual | C．skillful | D．funny |
| A．Moreover | B．Therefore | C．Otherwise | D．However |
| A．task | B．plan | C．story | D．future |
| A．persuasion | B．support | C．permission | D．comfort |
| A．reminded | B．inform | C．assured | D．warned |
| A．emotional | B．creative | C．popular | D．professional |
| A．freedom | B．growth | C．adaptation | D．satisfaction |
| A．suitable | B．acceptable | C．valuable | D．flexible |
| A．eager | B．sorry | C．grateful | D．ready |
| A．heard | B．supposed | C．expected | D．learned |
7 . Sometimes I scratch my head when I read about the government’s efforts to improve schools: new standards and tests to be applied, strict teacher evaluations, and threats of school closures and job losses. They frighten the school employees, not to mention the students. Instead of making people unable to solve problems or try new ideas-which is what fear does to us-research on school reform strongly suggests that policy-makers should encourage school leaders to take a more humane approach. In their study on the reform efforts of twelve Chicago public schools, Bryk and Schneider found that enabling positive social relationships between the adults was the key to successful school improvement and that trust was at the heart of those relationships.
Trust in schools comes down to one thing: psychological safety or safety to speak one’s mind, to discuss with openness and honesty what is and isn’t working, to make collective decisions.
Yet this kind of safety doesn’t come easily to schools. According to Bryk and Schneider, the adults in school rely on each other to do their jobs correctly and with integrity (正直). The challenge is that our expectations are very diverse based on our unique backgrounds.
At one school where I taught, each teacher had different expectations about how much effort teachers should put into their work-a big difference between the teachers who left at the last bell and those who worked into the evening. And when expectations are unspoken, it becomes impossible for others to live up to them.
We also make assumptions about the intentions behind a person’s behavior. As we all know, assumptions are often wrong. For example, parents and teachers may think the principal takes particular decision based on his career advancement rather than that is best for the students, who don’t feel psychologically safe to question our assumptions, trust files out the window and our relationships suffer.
1. According to Paragraph 1, why does the author scratch his head?| A．Because he doesn’t know what to do once schools are closed. |
| B．Because he is not sure about the practicability of those new tests. |
| C．Because he is concerned that many teachers will lose their jobs. |
| D．Because he is not in favor of the government’ s reform efforts. |
| A．New standards and tests in schools. |
| B．Positive social relationships. |
| C．Strict teacher and student evaluations. |
| D．Assistance of the government. |
| A．Freedom to express one’ s views. |
| B．Extra effort teachers put into their work. |
| C．Independence of the teachers in schools. |
| D．Unconscious and unspoken expectations. |
| A．They should be trusted. |
| B．They are often bold. |
| C．They are often incorrect. |
| D．They should be encouraged. |
8 . Technology has revolutionized (使革命化) the way we work in many ways. One of the most significant changes has been the shift towards remote and flexible work. With the rise of internet and cloud-based software, workers are no longer tied to a physical office and can work from anywhere with an internet connection. This has allowed for greater flexibility and work-life balance, as well as reduced commuting (通勤) time and costs.
Another major change is the increasing use of automation and artificial intelligence in the workplace. This has the potential to increase efficiency and productivity, as well as reduce the need for certain types of work. However, it also raises concerns about job displacement and the need for workers to adapt to new technologies.
Finally, technology has greatly expanded the types of jobs available. With the rise of the gig (临时工) economy and freelance (自由职业者) work, workers can now find opportunities in areas such as graphic design (平面设计), copywriting (文案撰写), and social media management. This has created opportunities for individuals to work in areas that were previously inaccessible or did not exist.
1. What is the shift in the way we work brought about by technology?| A．Flexible and remote work. | B．Tying people to a physical office. |
| C．Increased commuting and travel. | D．Higher costs and lower productivity. |
| A．It has reduced work-life balance. | B．It has increased commuting time and costs. |
| C．It has allowed for greater flexibility and work-life balance. | D．It has caused job displacement. |
| A．Increased job displacement. | B．Reduced efficiency and productivity. |
| C．Increased efficiency and productivity. | D．Increased commuting and travel. |
| A．Technology has decreased the number of available jobs. |
| B．Technology has created opportunities for individuals to work in areas that were previously inaccessible or did not exist. |
| C．Technology has only impacted traditional office jobs. |
| D．Technology has increased commuting time and costs. |
9 . The sharing economy is a trend that has been growing in recent years. This economy is based on sharing resources, such as cars, homes, and even clothing, rather than owning them outright. Some popular examples of the sharing economy include Uber, Airbnb, and Lyft.
The sharing economy has several potential benefits. For one, it can help reduce waste and increase sustainability(可持续性), as resources are being used more efficiently. Additionally, it can help provide more affordable options for consumers, as well as create new sources of income for people who may not have had access to traditional job opportunities.
However, there are also potential drawbacks to the sharing economy. Many of the workers in the sharing economy are considered independent contractors, which means they are not entitled to the same benefits and protections as traditional employees. Additionally, there have been concerns about safety and insurance coverage for both the workers and consumers using these services.
1. What is the sharing economy?| A．An economy based on owning resources outright. |
| B．An economy based on sharing resources. |
| C．An economy based on consuming more resources. |
| D．An economy based on throwing away resources. |
| A．It can create more waste and reduce sustainability. |
| B．It can create more expensive options for consumers. |
| C．It can provide affordable options for consumers and create new sources of income. |
| D．It can reduce job opportunities. |
| A．Private car ownership, traditional hotels, and taxis. |
| B．Public transportation, traditional hotels, and taxis. |
| C．Uber, Airbnb, and Lyft. |
| D．Uber, private car ownership, and public transportation. |
| A．It can create more traditional job opportunities. |
| B．It can eliminate traditional job opportunities. |
| C．It can provide new sources of income. |
| D．It can reduce job opportunities. |
10 . How do you spend your spare time? There will be different answers to it. Most people in Poland(波兰) have their own ways of spending free time. Sometimes they just want to have a rest, but they try to do something more pleasant most of the time. They have many different hobbies, which help them to get away from their everyday problems and spend their free time happily.
Many Polish(波兰的) people like travelling. They look for new places that they have never been to and add new and exciting experiences to their journey. Some of them like to climb mountains, others like to go to the sea or a lake to swim, because these can make them get exercise and are good for their health.
Many Polish people also like to watch sports in their free time. They are usually crazy about football, and football is regarded as the Polish national sport. Many football fans may support a certain team, so they go to watch every match of the team they support, and they buy many things that have any relation with the team. Watching a sport and doing it are both good ways to relax.
In addition, doctors say that doing sports is very good for the health. Many people in town, especially young men, often go to the gym to attend the exercise classes to keep fit.
Besides these ways, Polish people have many other ways to spend their free time. And they really enjoy their free time.
1. Polish people have many different hobbies in order to ________.| A．solve their daily problems | B．finish all their work |
| C．make some friends | D．relax themselves in their spare time |
| A．Because they hate travelling. | B．Because they can get exercise from it. |
| C．Because they can find a new place. | D．Because it is comfortable and funny. |
| A．Playing football. | B．Climbing mountains. |
| C．Skating. | D．Swimming. |
