1 . With so many Ireland’s cities, charming small towns and countryside wonders to choose from, it may be hard to decide exactly what should be on your route. Here are four best places to visit in Ireland.
Cork
Cork is the largest county in Ireland. Located at the southwestern end of the country, this city of more than 200, 000 residents is famous for being home to the Blarney Stone. According to local legend, the stone will give you the gift of eloquence(流利的口才), if you dare kiss it.
Killarney
For the Irish countryside experience, travel to Killarney. The town is surrounded by evergreen hills and valley on all sides, affording plenty of opportunities to become one with nature. Visitors are attracted by Killarney National Park, which features Ireland’s highest mountain range, MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.
Dublin
If you only have time to visit one place in Ireland, go to Dublin. Not only is Dublin the country’s center for politics, culture and music, but it also offers easy access to Blarney Castle, one of Ireland’s top points of interest. While here, do as the Irish do and taste some beer either at the popular Guinness Storehouse or at the Temple Bar.
Killarney
Kilkenny offers a hearty amount of historical attractions for travelers to explore. This is largely thanks to the town’s prior distinction of being the medieval capital of Ireland, which today lives on in the Medieval Mile, Kilkenny’s top attraction. Within the Medieval Mile you’ll find several interesting sights, such as Kilkenny Castle, St. Canice’s Cathedral and the Medieval Mile Museum.
1. Which best suits people who are interested in the Irish countryside?| A．Cork. | B．Kilkenny. | C．Dublin. | D．Killarney. |
| A．Taste local beer. | B．Enjoy historical scenic spots. |
| C．Do creative things. | D．Explore the highest mountain. |
| A．In a novel. | B．In a history book. | C．In a guidebook. | D．In an art magazine. |
2 . Many people in the UK have poor mathematical skills. Dr.Richard Pike, a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said that mathematics questions in entrance tests to British universities were much too simple.
About two thirds of British universities now offer special courses in mathematics to new students. The courses are necessary because new students do not know enough mathematics when they leave high school. A university teacher said that there was a serious risk that there would not be enough scientists and engineers coming out of British universities in the future.
New university students are bad at mathematics. So are a lot of other people in Britain. A survey found that 7 million people in England were bad at mathematics. It is necessary to help people improve their math skills, which are important in lots of ways.
One problem is that many students do not want to study math because they think it is a difficult subject. They want to have high grades in their A levels. High A level grades are necessary in order to go to university. This is one reason why students do not choose to study mathematics at A level. Sometimes schools also prefer students to study easier subjects instead of mathematics. A school will have a better reputation if more students pass A level exams.
Another problem is that some educated people think mathematics is not important. They think it is not a creative subject. This way of thinking is very dangerous. When people do not understand mathematics, they are not able to make proper judgments about important questions. Nowadays, a lot of people use the Internet to find the answers to scientific questions. But they don’t understand science. They cannot judge the value of the information which they find. People will become very ignorant if they don’t study mathematics and science.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．Mathematics problems in the UK. | B．Simple exams for British students. |
| C．Unscientific course structure in the UK. | D．Problems for British high school students. |
| A．students hope to learn more about mathematic skills |
| B．students’ parents want them to continue math study |
| C．students do not learn enough mathematics in high school |
| D．students are expected to become scientists or engineers |
| A．students think mathematics is not important |
| B．schools ask all students to pass A level exams |
| C．schools encourage students to study mathematics |
| D．students are afraid to study mathematics at A level |
| A．They can’t make any achievements in some creative work. |
| B．They can’t make correct decisions on some important issues. |
| C．They can properly use the Internet to look for information. |
| D．They can gain the respect of students who are bad at math. |
3 . Best Books for Teens
The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
Some may know this story from the 2009 feature film adaptation starring Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon, but The Lovely Bones was first published as a novel seven years earlier. Despite its dark content and hard-hitting (直言不讳的) introduction, it’s a deeply moving story about love, death and acceptance. When 14-year-old Susie Salmon is cruelly attacked and killed by her neighbour, she becomes a ghost and watches over her family, friends and even strangers trying to make peace with her untimely death.
Noughts & Crosses Malorie Blackman
It’s hard to believe that Malorie Blackman’s famous book is nearly twenty years old. Noughts &Crosses has had a theatre run and aired on the BBC last year. Set in a society in which Crosses (black people) rule over Noughts (white people), things take a Romeo and Juliet turn when Nought, Callum and Cross, Sephy fall in love.
Girls in Love Jacqueline Wilson
This story follows Ellie, and her best friends Magda and Nadine, three teenage girls trying to find their way through the world, from friendships and family to school and romantic relationships. An honest look at the ups and downs of being a teenager, Girls in Love openly discusses loss, love and everything in between. The beauty of this story lies in the strong sisterhood of these three unique characters. Their adventures continue in Girls under Pressure, Girls out Late and Girls in Tears.
The Colour Purple Alice Walker
Set in the Southern United States of the 1930s, the story follows Celie, a 14-year-old black girl living in poverty (贫困), separated from her sister and suffering abuse at the hands of her father. But when the jazz singer Shug Avery comes to stay, Celie discovers friendship, love, faith and more importantly, strength.
1. When did The Lovely Bones come out as a novel?| A．In 1930. | B．In 1995. | C．In 2002. | D．In 2009. |
| A．Her sister accompanies her. | B．A jazz singer brightens her life. |
| C．Her father always encourages her. | D．She has hair-raising adventures as a ghost. |
| A．The Lovely Bones. | B．Noughts & Crosses. | C．Girls in Love. | D．The Colour Purple. |
4 . The Masai(马赛人) are continually trying to keep their own ways in an increasingly modern world. They live along the border of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, moving their homes from time to time to follow their cattle, the source of their livelihood. They rely on their cattle in many parts of their life. They like drinking the cows’ milk.
They don’t kill their cattle for food. But if a cow is killed, the parts of its body are used to make containers, shoes, clothin, ropes, bed coverings and so on. Not all of the men have cows. The more cattle a man owns, the richer he is considered to be. A man who owns 50 or fewer cattle is considered poor. Rich men have a thousand or more. The cattle, though owned by the man, are considered to belong to the man’s entire family. The family names the cattle and can recognize each animal’s special voice.
The Masai men have become known as warriors(勇士), protecting their cattle against other wild animals. They wear their red long hair. Most women often take care of their children, cook food, clean clothes and make clothing at home. They also make necklaces dresses and headdresses. A few women can also become authorities once they are powerful enough. They speak a language called Maa.
The houses of Masai made from sticks and grass, which are held together with a mixture of mud, are not very firm or safe. These plain houses with some basic supplies are built in a circle and make up a Masai village. They are not meant to last long since the migration(迁徙) of the cow population means that the Masai move as well. In the meantime, in order to prevent animals from entering, they also form a wall of branches. The whole setup is to protect the cattle, which sleep at night in the middle of the village. They seem to live a natural and self-sufficient life but lack modern civilisation.
1. What do we know about the Masai?| A．They don’t move in their lives. |
| B．They each have their own cows. |
| C．They don’t kill their cattle at all. |
| D．They are heavily dependent on cattle. |
| A．Designers. | B．Authorities. |
| C．Housewives. | D．Warriors. |
| A．Modern. | B．Lasting | C．Simple. | D．Safe. |
| A．Africans: Living a Moving life |
| B．Africans: Brave People in the World |
| C．The Masai: Rich People in East Africa |
| D．The Masai: Maintaining a Traditional Lifestyle |
5 . In Phoenix, Arizona, about one in five children is identified with dyslexia(阅读障碍).That means about four students in a classroom of twenty have the problem.
Christine Alm, who has the virtue of being ready to help others, is the co-founder of Dyslexia Road and the mother of four children with dyslexia. According to Alm, each diagnosis(诊断)is unique. That can make it difficult to understand a child’s learning needs. Alm has recently co-founded Dyslexia Road with three other moms whose children also have dyslexia.The nonprofit organization provides learning resources for children who have the learning disability.
Dyslexia means a person has trouble processing written words due to the difficulty of identifying speech sounds. Alm explains that people with dyslexia need more assistance in training their brain to read. But she adds that many people with dyslexia are extremely creative and smart. Whoopi Goldberg, Dav Pilkey and Steven Spielberg are among the famous Americans who have dyslexia.
For Alm, the biggest challenge dealing with dyslexia with her own children is the stigma surrounding the topic. She believes that it’s helpful to have open and honest discussions. “Dyslexia is nothing good or bad, ”she says.“ So children don’t need to feel shameful and embarrassed.”
Alm and the other co-founders of Dyslexia Road host community events to share resources about dyslexia. On March 2, the organization celebrated its launch with a community gathering. Many people turned up, suggesting to Alm the “power of community”. Dyslexia Road will also host three additional events to connect families with learning experts. Guests will discuss the available educational options, how to get a diagnostic evaluation and more. Additionally, the Dyslexia Road website offers resources like books.
“We’re excited to get out there and start pushing forward so that people can come together and figure out how to direct this journey,” Alm says.
1. What do the co-founders of Dyslexia Road have in common?| A．Their kids are unique and perfect. |
| B．Their kids have the same problem. |
| C．They suffer from learning disability. |
| D．They ignore children’s learning needs. |
| A．Helping them do more brain exercises. |
| B．Making them realise they lack creativity. |
| C．Creating special reading materials for them. |
| D．Encouraging them to turn to their own families. |
| A．Shame. | B．Selection. |
| C．Principle | D．Origin. |
| A．To find out kids with dyslexia. |
| B．To provide the professional services |
| C．To sell books about mental disability. |
| D．To introduce great people with dyslexia. |
6 . Asteroids (小行星) are believed to have formed early in our solar system’s history — about 4.5 billion years ago — when a cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula (太阳星云) collapsed and formed our sun and the planets. By visiting these near Earth objects to study the material that came from the solar nebula, we can look for answers to some of humankind’s most arresting questions, such as: How did the solar system form and where did the Earth’s water and other organic materials such as carbon come from? In addition to unlocking clues about our solar system, asteroids may provide clues about our Earth. By understanding more about asteroids, we may learn more about past Earth impacts and possibly find ways to reduce the threat of future impacts.
If we don’t want to go the way of the dinosaurs someday, we need to protect ourselves against the threat of being hit by a big asteroid. According to NASA, typically about once every 10,000 years, a rock y or iron asteroid the size of a football field could crash into our planet and possibly cause tidal waves big enough to flood coastal areas.
But what we really have to fear is asteroids about 328 feet across or bigger. Such an impact would cause a firestorm and fill the atmosphere with sun-blocking dust, which would wipe out forests and farm fields and starve the human and animal life that it didn’t immediately kill.
That’s why it’s vital to develop a way to neutralize such a threat to Earth. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, launched in late November 2021, was the first mission to demonstrate a technology called asteroid redirection by manmade impactor. A robotic spacecraft will be crashed into an asteroid named Didymos, in an effort to show that it’s possible to slightly change the path of an asteroid. That would enable NASA to redirect potential threats to miss Earth.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．How solar system came into being. |
| B．How long asteroids have existed. |
| C．Why asteroids are to be explored. |
| D．When asteroids will impact Earth. |
| A．To make the text more interesting. |
| B．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| C．To grab readers’ attention to asteroids. |
| D．To show the disaster from an asteroid impact. |
| A．strengthen | B．avoid | C．beautify | D．realize |
| A．Dinosaurs may live on some of them. |
| B．They were formed earlier than Earth. |
| C．Exploring them helps us know Earth. |
| D．NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test failed. |
7 . Whether your kid can count on a sizable inheritance (遗产) or your family is living pay period to pay period, a college degree is a must. Along with the invisible life skills you get from those formative years on campus, college comes with a bankable payout: A Georgetown University study found that, on average, college graduates make a million dollars more over a lifetime than people who stop at high school.
Recently, a Bronx nonprofit asked me to speak to a group of high schoolers whose families were struggling financially. The participants were (rightly) worried about taking on too much college debt. Here’s what I told them: Even when you subtract (扣除) tuition, lost earnings during the college years, and other factors, an average college grad will still take in $300,000 more than those without a college degree.
And while rising tuition fees are a serious worry, free college programs of one kind or another have sprung up in more than 20 states. My own home state, New York, boasts one of the most comprehensive efforts. The Excelsior Scholarship program guarantees that students at public institutions attend tuition-free if their family earns under $110,000 a year.
Even in Silicon Valley, where there are many successful people who don’t own a college degree, I asked a group of parents there if it’s true that kids are giving up a college degree because they’re sure they’ll be rich people. The answer was a resounding, unapologetic no.
The truth is that in this STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-centric age, any form of home-schooling or social education can’t replace the formal school education. Especially in an age when many low-end careers are being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), a college degree can give your kid an edge.
1. In writing paragraph 1, the author aims to ________.| A．propose a definition | B．make a comparison |
| C．give an example | D．present an argument |
| A．Free college programs are available all over the USA. |
| B．In the STEM-centric age, a college degree is essential. |
| C．In New York, all public school students are tuition-free. |
| D．Children from rich families don’t need a college degree. |
| A．They are developing very rapidly. |
| B．They are all being engaged by AI. |
| C．They are all depending on a degree. |
| D．They are disappearing because of AI. |
| A．Why do you need a college degree? |
| B．Where can you enjoy free education? |
| C．What is a must in the STEM-centric age? |
| D．How much do people with a degree earn in US? |
8 . Lynda Doughty, a marine biologist, developed a passion for marine wildlife during her childhood. Growing up along the coast of Maine, she witnessed the impact of human activity on marine mammals and she made it her life’s work to protect them. “I feel this intense responsibility to help these animals,” Lynda said. “And, really, this is what I was put on this Earth to do.”
Harbor seals are among the most common mammals found along the East Coast, and they face various threats to their well-being, including fishing net s and illegal feeding, chemical pollutants, as well as boat and propeller (螺旋桨) injuries.
Earlier in her career, she worked for a marine mammal emergency response organization that eventually closed due to lack of funding. To fill the gap left by the group, Lynda started her own non-profit organization — Marine Mammals of Maine in 2011. It has since provided response and medical care for more than 3,000 marine mammals.
Lynda’s team operates a 24-hour hotline that responds to calls regarding marine mammals in danger. Their permit allows them to respond to mammals stranded (搁浅) within 2,500 miles of the coastline, and her team only offers help if the mammal is in critical condition. Critically ill mammals are transported to Lynda’s center and nursed back to health. Seals typically require three or more months of professional care treatment before they are released back into the ocean.
In addition to mammal rescues, Marine Mammals of Maine conducts important research to learn about marine mammal habitats and human impacts. Marine mammals can give us clues about the ocean’s health, which ultimately affects human well-being as well. The organization also helps promote marine conservation among youth and the local community. In addition, they instruct the public on what to do, and what not to do, when encountering wild species like harbor seals.
1. What do Lynda’s words mean?| A．She was born along the coast of Maine. |
| B．She ignored the impact of human activity. |
| C．She did her work with a sense of mission. |
| D．She protected marine wildlife at a young age. |
| A．To earn more money. |
| B．To replace the group. |
| C．To make the group a non-profit organization. |
| D．To restart marine mammal emergency response. |
| A．It only treats critically ill seals. |
| B．It rescues marine mammals in danger. |
| C．It protects all endangered marine mammals. |
| D．It stops people from fishing marine mammals. |
| A．To state younger generations need to be instructed. |
| B．To stress the severe situations that marine life faces. |
| C．To mention other social contributions of Lynda’s team. |
| D．To show humans have a great impact on marine mammals. |
9 . At an early age, Penny suffered from brain cancer. But Penny
Penny created a series of small gatherings called Adventure Camps for the kids in the
When it was time for another surgery — she had 15 in all — Penny would go about it with failure. No complaining, no crying, she just got through it and got back to living. Her mother
Her teachers remembered her as a(n)
Sometimes a very special person comes into this life to
Penny passed away at the age of 16. “She made a choice to live her life with joy and optimism,” said her father. That optimism continued to burn bright. Her family launched Penny’s Flight, a foundation committed to
| A．refused | B．decided | C．attempted | D．longed |
| A．viruses | B．news | C．light | D．darkness |
| A．suburb | B．village | C．jungle | D．neighborhood |
| A．pictures | B．videos | C．films | D．jokes |
| A．imagined | B．recalled | C．guessed | D．supposed |
| A．stage | B．atmosphere | C．campus | D．fantasy |
| A．hardworking | B．greedy | C．selfish | D．abnormal |
| A．assumptions | B．qualities | C．experiments | D．instructions |
| A．ignore | B．remove | C．treat | D．command |
| A．warn | B．recommend | C．interview | D．remind |
| A．cancel | B．delay | C．produce | D．doubt |
| A．collect | B．forget | C．suffer | D．bring |
| A．equal | B．contrary | C．blind | D．close |
| A．inspiring | B．challenging | C．forcing | D．ordering |
| A．printed | B．owed | C．raised | D．predicted |
10 . Just a few days after his 18th birthday, Beijing 2022 gold medal winner Su Yiming received a surprise gift—a letter from Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.
In the letter Xi expressed his congratulations to Su and other sportsmen in ice and snow sports for their great achievements at the Beijing Winter Olympics, hoping what they had achieved would encourage young Chinese to aim (立目标) high.
When Su first stepped onto a snowboard at the age of four, a future as a world-classs portsman seemed to be “a dream too big” for him. Little did he know that he would not only compete for his country but also take home gold. With the great excitement of winning an Olympic gold medal still fresh in his mind, Su wrote a letter to the president, telling him how lucky he felt to have made his dream come true.
Su still remembers what Xi wrote in the reply, “The new era is the time for young people to realize their dreams.”
“I have always kept those words in my mind,” Su said.
“ When I made up my mind to be a professional snowboarder, I know there is a big gap between my performance and that of the top sportsmen in the world. But I have been working hard to realize my dream. Now my story shows the fact that hard work will pay off.” Su said.
Su believes the sky is the limit. “Find the thing you love, believe in yourself and do yourvery best. Finally, your dream will come true.”
Now Su has his strong wish to win all the competitions in his sporting field.
1. What was the surprise gift Su Yiming got after his birthday?| A．A gold medal. | B．A letter. |
| C．A birthday cake. | D．A snowboard. |
| A．express his excitement of realizing his dream |
| B．invite young Chinese to try snow sports. |
| C．encourage young Chinese to make big plans |
| D．congratulate Chinese sportsmen on their achievements |
| A．agreement | B．fight |
| C．relationship | D．difference |
| A．Ice and snow sports | B．Aim high and win big |
| C．The secret to success | D．Fight for a bright future |
