2 . A camera has captured footage of two wild giant pandas in a national park in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The clips, taken in the Xuebaoding section of the Giant Panda National Park, include two pandas wandering in the daytime and moving alone at night. It is particularly rare to see two wild giant pandas walking together, the administration of the park said on Friday.

In the video, a giant panda walked up to a tree and sniffed it carefully. Then a second panda, looking like a quiet “little girl”, approached, looking at the ground, perhaps in search of food. Later, the first panda turned around, rubbing its bottom back and forth as if scratching or dancing, a typical marking behavior in animals. After that, it lay on the ground, waving its hands and feet around, as if to amuse its companion.

According to a staff member at the administration, the camera was set up on Dec. 23, 2019 in a location that was often visited by the furry animals.

Wildlife protection experts said the video was likely taken in April, the breeding(繁殖) season for wild giant pandas. The two adult pandas were very harmonious together, with no fighting, leading to the conclusion that they were probably a male and a female engaged in courting and playing.

In 2017, China announced a plan to build the Giant Panda National Park to help the endangered animals strengthen their relations, bringing together pandas on six mountains in three provinces, Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan.

1. The underlined word “clips” in Paragraph 2 probably means “__________”.

A．cameras	B．national parks
C．giant pandas	D．videos

2. Why did the first panda wave its hands and feet?

A．To help itself lie on the ground.

B．To attract the female panda.

C．To ease the discomfort.

D．To search for food.

3. What can you infer from Paragraph 5-6?

A．Pandas often like to fight in April.

B．Only adult pandas can live in harmony.

C．Giant pandas were better protected after 2017.

D．China started to help all the endangered animals in 2017.

4. Where can you most probably read the passage?

A．In a fashion magazine.	B．In a travel brochure.
C．In a storybook.	D．In a newspaper.

3 . The 15-day Spring Festival is the biggest holiday of the year for many Chinese to leave from their jobs to travel home and see their loved ones. But along with gathering come a lot of traditions aimed at making sure the year ahead is lucky and happy.

Here are some key dos and don’ts that many Chinese follow before and after the Lunar New Year.

DOs
Set off fireworks

The more fireworks or firecrackers you set off, the better.

Not only do you light up the night sky with a symphony of color, but the loud banging sounds are thought to scare off evil spirits.

Eat dumplings

Eating dumplings is a popular tradition in northern China because dumplings not only taste good but also look like pieces of gold.

Clean your home

Sweep, mop, vacuum, steam-do anything and everything to make sure your home is clean before the midnight on Lunar New Year eve. The aim here is to free your home from any bad luck that’s accumulated over the past year.

DON’Ts
Wash or cut your hair

Leave your hair as it is on the first day of the New Year.

The Chinese character for hair is the same first character in the word for prosperity(发达).

This means washing or cutting it off is seen as washing your fortune away.

Clean post-New Year

Cleaning of any kind on the first day is strictly forbidden.

You clean your home to avoid any bad luck before the New Year - now you want to be sure not to wipe, sweep or wash away any of the good luck that arrives after midnight.

Buy books

It’s bad luck to buy them during the 15-day Spring Festival.

The Chinese word for "book" (shū) sounds exactly the same as the word for "lose’"-so buying a book is considered an invitation to bad luck.

Also, avoid giving books as gifts to anyone, because it’d be like wishing bad luck upon them.

1. Why is the Spring Festival the best time for many Chinese people according to the text?

A．They can enjoy a lor of delicious dishes.

B．They can get together with their family members.

C．It’s time for them to say good-bye to the past year.

D．The festival will bring them good luck and happiness.

2. You are expected to do the following on the first day of the New Year EXCEPT        .

A．setting off fireworks	B．enjoying tasty dumplings
C．cleaning your home	D．leaving your books untouched

3. In which section of a newspaper can we see the passage?

A．Advertisement.	B．Literature.
C．Culture.	D．Travel.

4 . Organic food is very popular. It is also expensive. Some organic food costs twice as much as non-organic food, but new parents and pet owners are willing to pay up to 200% more for organic food. However, there are people who think it is a waste of money.

There is one main difference between organic and non-organic food. Organic farms do not use agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides. In many countries organic foods have special labels. These guarantee that the products are natural.

Some people think organic means locally grown. Originally this was true. Over time organic farming became more difficult. The demand for organic food grew larger than the supply. Small companies had to sell out to large companies. There weren't enough organic ingredients, such as grain and cattle. This made it difficult for many organic companies to stay in business. Today, many large companies have an organic line of products.

Is organic food more nutritious? This is part of the debate. Many farmers and consumers believe it is. They think agricultural chemicals cause health problems such as cancer. Many health professionals disagree. Few studies prove that organic foods prevent health problems. Health specialists worry more about bacteria, such as E.coli and salmonella. These can get into contact with organic and non- organic food. Doctors recommend washing produce very carefully. Handling meat carefully is important too.

Most people agree that naturally grown food tastes better. Is tastier food worth the extra money? This is a matter of opinion. Whether it is healthier or not may require more research. However, organic consumers argue it is better to be safe than sorry.

1. What is probably the major concern of organic food consumers?

A．Price.	B．Safety.
C．Freshness.	D．Variety.

2. What is the doctors’ suggestion?

A．Grow your own food.	B．Reduce the use of pesticides.
C．Make sure the food is clean.	D．Buy large companies’ products.

3. Which of the following do most people agree on organic food?

A．It tastes better.	B．It is easier to grow.
C．It contains more fat.	D．It is more nutritious.

4. Where does this text probably come from?

A．A recipe book.	B．A chemistry paper.
C．A medical report.	D．A health magazine.

5 . Does it make sense for countries to invest billions of dollars in space programs when millions of people in their country are living below the poverty line? Many people ask this question and I almost tire of answering it.

Let's talk about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) first. This is a terrible disease in which the victims progressively lose the ability to control their body. It affects almost only boys and shows itself when the boys are around age 5. They're wheelchair-bound by age 12, and will be dead before their 30th birthday. There is no cure. However, there are treatments. They're based on crystalline (晶体) protein structures, whose formation is adversely (不利地) affected by the presence of Earth's constant unidirectional (单一方向的) gravitational field. However, according to a study conducted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the International Space Station (ISS), crystalline protein structures form regularly in microgravity conditions, which allows for targeted drugs designed to "double these boys' life spans (寿命)".

And you want to talk about feeding the hungry? We have space lettuce (生菜).And it's structurally and nutritionally equivalent to Earth lettuce. Space is pretty much everything there is, which means you can make a lot of lettuce in space. In fact, one of the potential growth markets in lunar colonization (月球殖民) is food trade. Food can be mass produced and sent to Earth to feed the hungry. By the way, as far as I am concerned, as for feeding the hungry, food distribution is the issue rather than food supply.

Space exploration is one of the best things that humanity has ever done.

1. What do people want to know by asking the question in Paragraph 1?

A．Whether there is a cure for DMD.

B．How many people live below the poverty line.

C．How much money is spent on space programs.

D．Whether space programs benefit people on Earth.

2. What can be learned about DMD?

A．It seems to spare girls.

B．Its cure lies in the ISS.

C．It gets serious in microgravity conditions.

D．Its patients need wheelchairs their entire life.

3. What is the author's attitude to growing food in space?

A．Doubtful.	B．Positive.
C．Disapproving.	D．Uncaring.

4. The text is most probably taken from a ________.

A．website to buy and sell the newest space products

B．website to ask questions and get quality answers

C．legal document

D．science fiction

6 . There are thirty-four bridges on the Thames River in London, the following are among the most famous ones.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognizable bridges in the World. It is the bridge in London you may see in movies and on advertising writing for London. Tower Bridge is the only Thames Bridge that can be raised. It used to be raised about 50 times a day, but nowadays it is only raised 4 to 5 times a week.

London Bridge

The construction of the first stone London Bridge started in 1176 and finished years later. Houses and shops were once built on the bridge, which made the road so narrow that it was often jammed with people, horses and carts. A ‘keep left’ rule was made in 1733 to keep the traffic moving. This became the rule of the road in Britain. In 1757 the old bridge was pulled down and a new one was built in 1831. Interestingly, that one was pulled down again in 1967 but rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, USA, as a tourist attraction. The present London Bridge was opened in 1973.

Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge is a bridge for walkers. It was built to connect the Tate Modern Art Gallery to the City and St Paul’s Cathedral (圣保罗大教堂) in 2000. Thousands of people rushed to see the new bridge. Almost immediately after opening, the bridge had to be shut because of the dangerous waving caused by too many visitors. It has now been reopened. The bridge is about 320 meters, costs 16 million pounds to build and only takes walkers.

Westminster Bridge

Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster and Lambeth. The present bridge, opened in 1862, is the second on the site and took the place of an earlier bridge opened in 1750. The British romantic poet, William Wordsworth, wrote a famous poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” in the autumn of 1802.

Want to know more about the bridges on the Thames River? Click here www.bridgesinbritain.com.

1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．The 1831 London Bridge is now in the USA.

B．Tower Bridge is much less frequently lifted today than before.

C．Cars and buses are not allowed to cross Millennium Bridge.

D．Westminster Bridge is for walkers only.

2. The Passage is most probably taken from a ________.

A．school report	B．website article
C．teenage magazine	D．science fiction

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．William Wordsworth wrote many poems of the bridges on the Thames River.

B．Millennium Bridge wasn’t built strong enough so that it had to be pulled down and rebuilt.

C．That all the traffic is kept left in Britain was from a rule of an old London Bridge.

D．Tower Bridge is the symbol of London because it is the first bridge on the Thames River.