1 . One night two millennia ago, a Han Dynasty general sent a square-shaped collection of bamboo and cloth into the air above enemy territory in central China. He was trying to measure how much earth his men would need to tunnel through to tear their enemies’ defense line.

It is one of the most famous early stories of kite-flying. Similar devices were later used by other Chinese armies; they launched them after dark in whipping winds in hopes that the noise would scare off enemies, and used them to deliver threats via missives (信函) tied to the kites’ tails.

Today, of course, these delicate aircraft — built from light wood or plastic frames shaped to create lift, covered in a thin material such as paper or silk, and piloted via long strings — are considered as toys. In the 1990s and early 2000s, kite-flying experienced a boom in the American West and parts of Europe, due in part to the popularization of kites surfing. Groups of kiters began to take interest in its lore (知识).

Thus a wave of younger artists have been inspired to pioneer new forms. In Austria, Anna Rubin, often employs ancient methods for her art, including hand-splitting the bamboo for the frames and using hand-pressed natural fibres to cover them. She wants to carry on traditions she fears may be lost by a culture fixated on the future, but she’s equally inspired by the joy of work. “Everyone should, once in their life, make a kite and fly it,” she says.

And in New York, visual artists Jacob Hashimoto, assembles massive installations from dozens of palm-size kites to hang from the ceiling of his studio or gallery. He inherited (继承) his interest in kite-making from his father. “The kite-making is a pan-cultural practice that makes it a beautiful, democratic thing,” he says. “In many ways, it’s a global property — we all own the relationship between us and the sky.”

Their work is a reminder that kites offer us a means to defy gravity. In the hands a willing flier, they give us a way up and out.

1. What was the kite used for in ancient China?

A．A tool of warfare.	B．A kind of recreation.
C．A sign of good luck.	D．A way of communication.

2. What are today’s kites like?

A．They are lightly structured.	B．They are widely used in Europe.
C．They are less popular in China.	D．They are considered as a science.

3. What made Anna keep the tradition of kite-making?

A．The popularity of kites in Austria.

B．Her enthusiasm in Chinese culture.

C．Her father’s encouragement and support.

D．Its pleasure and her sense of responsibility.

4. Why does the author mention Anna and Jacob?

A．To remind us that kites will lose their cultural value in the future.

B．To tell us some young artists are taking kite-making to new heights.

C．To list some examples of the difficulties promoting kites in the world.

D．To show that only a few people consider kites worthy of preservation.

2 . Cycling has become more than a habit for “Granny Mave,” as Mavis Paterson is known. It has become essential for her very being, her very reason for living after all three of her adult children passed away within four years of each other — Sandy in 2012, Katie in 2013 and Bob in 2016.

It was in memory of her children that the 85-year-old grandmother set out on her latest endurance challenge in May, cycling 1,000 miles around Scotland, beginning from the Mull of Galloway, before heading north, tracing the outline of the country until she reached the Mull of Galloway again.

“If I didn’t have my bicycle, and this is terrible to say, I don’t think I would want to live,” she told CNN Sport.

Paterson cycled every day for a month around Scotland, navigating its undulating (起伏的) landscape, exposed roads and unpredictable weather. Every day, she woke up early and set out riding — covering up to 50 miles a day — and raising money for British-based charity Macmillan Cancer Support.

Cycling has provided some comfort, some way for her to cope with unimaginable loss. All along the route, Paterson recalled other cyclists coming out to keep her company, offering “terrific support,” some of them riding with her for several days at a time. Such support was a constant throughout Paterson’s odyssey (跋涉) across Scotland, ending in a crowd at the finish line who had gathered to cheer her on.

“I know people have got on their bikes and thought, ‘If that old lady can do it, I can do it.’ And also people who have been a bit depressed and thought, ‘Oh gosh, I shouldn’t be like this. Look at poor Mave, she’s lost all her children.’ So a lot of people have taken up cycling because of my cycle rides and just inspired people apparently,” she said.

1. Why did Paterson start her cycling around Scotland?

A．To keep exercise and improve her health.

B．To take up the hobby of her three children.

C．To recover from the death of her children.

D．To be the oldest lady to ride around Scotland.

2. What can we say about the cycling around Scotland?

A．It is highly profitable and well-received.

B．It requires great effort and determination.

C．It needs professional training and equipment.

D．It aims to raise money for the disabled people.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The support Paterson asked others for.

B．Some achievements Paterson achieved.

C．The challenges Paterson set for herself.

D．The friendship Paterson got along the way.

4. Which of the following can best describe Paterson?

A．A cyclist.

B．A sponsor.

C．A hopeless mother.

D．An inspiration.

3 . Over the past decade, more and more travelers have been embracing the idea of slow travel. One of the most popular methods of slow travel, if you have the time, is by rail. Here are our picks for some of the best train rides in the world.

The Glacier Express

The Glacier Express takes more than eight hours to cross the 180-mile journey between Zermatt and St. Moritz in Switzerland at an average of 18 mph. The classic red train journey brings you to Europe’s mountains at their very best — with views of snow-covered forests and peaks included!

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Running through Tamil Nadu State, the train is the slowest in India due to an extremely steep gradient on the route. It takes nearly five hours to cover a distance of 46 km. Clearly nobody uses the NMR to get from A to B, but for the sheer joy of riding in a train that passes through 16 tunnels, 250 bridges and 208 steep curves on the richly biodiverse Western Ghats mountain range.

No. 6063/6064

With a length of 257 kilometers, the highly popular “small-and-slow train” route winds through the Qinling Mountains, linking 13 stations at the highest cost of 39.5 yuan. Villagers take the train to sell their vegetables in nearby counties to add to their families’ income. Helping poverty alleviation and carrying students to schools, the rail line, running for over 60 years, is a guarantee of and witness to the wish for a better life of the people along its route.

Royal Scotsman

With the full length of 1930 kilometers, the Royal Scotsman marries Edwardian elegance with the comforts of a five-star country house. The train includes elegant lounges, comfortable suites, and an open observation deck. The 9-coach train carries a just 36 passengers maximum with a passenger to staff ratio of 1:3. One of the coaches is the amazing Bamford Spa offering something of a palace on wheels.

1. Why do people choose the Nilgiri Mountain Railway?

A．To view the snow-covered forests.

B．To travel from one place to another.

C．To experience the amusement of riding.

D．To study the geography of the Western Ghats.

2. Which train can we take to experience villagers’ slow life?

A．The Glacier Express.	B．No. 6063/6064.
C．The Nilgiri Mountain Railway.	D．Royal Scotsman.

3. What is Royal Scotsman special about?

A．Its luxury.

B．Its route.

C．Its history.

D．Its convenience.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

African students who participated in a Chinese agricultural development program have returned to their home countries, aiming to use     1     they’ve learned to help local farmers increase grain yields.

In the Science and Technology Backyard program, which     2     (launch) in 2009 at China Agricultural University in Beijing, students conducted research in experimental fields in rural areas while using their     3     (acquire) knowledge to help Chinese farmers. Phiri, one student from Malawi in Africa, expected hopefully, “We are well on our way to establishing successful STBs,     4     purpose is to empower the farmers of Malawi with the knowledge and tools they need     5     (shape) their agricultural futures.” Due to poor soil quality and a lack of modern agricultural technologies, the yield for Malawi’s main crop, maize, is     6     (relative) low. Many farmers are not growing enough food to sustain     7     (they).

Phiri and other African students, together with their teachers often engaged in conversations with farmers in the fields. Jiao Xiaoqiang,     8     associate professor in charge of the program, said such     9     (engage) is very necessary. “The core of the project lies     10     bringing technicians and farmers together. Only by truly participating in this process and understanding how to spread technology to farmers can they make a real impact when they return to Africa.”

5 . For over a decade, Zubin Kanga, a pianist, composer and technologist, has changed the limits of the forms of musical performances. He has both organized and performed shows that have pushed barriers, with motion sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), live-generated 3D visuals and virtual reality among the technological advancements used to unlock new possibilities of music and performances.

Kanga’s approach to employing cutting-edge technology was first informed by the relative limitations of his chosen instrument. “The piano is a very accurate technology,” he says. “From the early 20th century till now it hasn’t really changed at all. It’s an amazing instrument, but it does have certain limitations in terms of the types of sound you can create.”

One of the early works is Steel on Bone, composed by Kanga himself. He performs the piece using MiMU multi-sensor gloves. “I can put up one finger, and that’ll produce a particular sound,” Kanga explains. “And then I can control that sound just by moving my wrist through the air — I can do that with lots of different gestures.”

“For Steel on Bone, I’m actually playing inside the piano with these steel knitting (编织) needles, and getting all these interesting effects on the strings. Then I’m using samples of them. Sometimes I’m using live delays and operating them. The sound can change depending on how my hands are moving. It allows me to make a very theatrical piece, and people can see this immediate connection between how I’m moving — these very big, almost conductor-like gestures through the air — and the way the sound is changing,” said Kanga.

This is just the start, and Kanga goes on to be enthused with the use of motion sensors to make music, the possibilities that AI offers composers as a tool, and how virtual reality could transform performances and more.

1. What do technological advancements do for music and performances?

A．Remove music barriers.

B．Bring new performance forms.

C．Popularize musical performances.

D．Make performances professional.

2. Why does Kanga talk about the piano in paragraph 2?

A．To indicate its stability.

B．To prove its rare accuracy.

C．To show it has a long history.

D．To clarify why he uses technology.

3. How does Kanga perform Steel on Bone?

A．By moving his hands in the air.	B．By pressing the piano keys.
C．By beating the steel knitting needles.	D．By making very small gestures.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Technology: When It Replaces Music

B．Virtual Reality: Future of Performances

C．Zubin Kanga: When Music Meets Technology

D．AI Music: From Composing to Performing

6 . The latest photo taken at China’s well-known Tsinghua University became a hit, where a student was seen using his laptop while riding on a bike. The moral of the story is that wasting time on things like commuting between university facilities becomes unacceptable, since the pressure to graduate top of the class is so intense.

Into the real world, working extra hours is a common practice of China’s most brilliant figures in technology. In finite overtime, premature balding (秃顶) and hospital admissions are all but part of standard professional life for the nation’s brightest. Similarly, blue-collar workers don’t have it easier. Food delivery riders are reportedly trapped by an algorithm (算法) that automatically works out the best delivery time for app users, and never minds if the workers are at the risk of road accidents.

People are wondering whether all this hard work really makes life better. Actually, it may well be making things harder for everyone, but there doesn’t seem to be a way out. A popular sense of being stuck in an ever so exhausting rat race where everyone loses has given rise to a new buzzword: neijuan (involution). The Chinese word, neijuan, is made up of the characters for “inside” and “rolling”, and is understood as something that spirals in on itself, a process that traps participants who know they won’t benefit from it.

“From a sociological point of view, involution is unavoidable because of society’s structural shifts,” said Yan Fei, a professor of sociology at Tsinghua University, “One big question for the middle class is how to remain in the middle class. Meanwhile, the lower class still hopes to change their fate. But the middle and upper classes aren’t so much looking upward, and they are marked by a deep fear of falling downward. Their greater fear is perhaps losing what they already have,” he explained.

1. Why is the photo of a student in Tsinghua University mentioned in Paragraph 1?

A．To clarify the writing purpose.

B．To present an argument.

C．To introduce the topic of the passage.

D．To describe a character.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．I’s common to work overtime in the real world.

B．Neijuan reflects the fierce competition in China.

C．Food delivery riders benefit a lot from the apps.

D．People live a better life due to their great efforts.

3. What can be inferred from what Yan Fei said in the last paragraph?

A．The lower class suffers a deep fear of falling downward.

B．The middle class tries to be a member of the upper class.

C．The greatest fear of every class is to lose what they already have.

D．Involution is inescapable in the development of society for each class.

4. From which column of the newspaper can the passage be taken?

A．Society.

B．Economy.

C．Entertainment.

D．Tourism.

7 . Emily Bhatnagar has always loved reading. “Growing up, I was really shy, so I always turned to books,” she said. “They became my best friends when I didn’t have one.”

In 2019, when Emily was in her second year of high school, her dad suffered from cancer. The news was difficult for the family. Books became an even bigger comfort, and she started thinking about families in similar situations. When her father recovered, she came up with a plan to help others. “The idea came from the fact that there were kids who were facing the same problem,” she said.

Then, Emily started the book drive in her hometown, Gaithersburg, Maryland. The goal was to collect books and give them to kids being treated for cancer in local hospitals. Her father was not surprised by this plan. “She always wants to do things for the neighborhood,” he said. Since the start of the book drive, which she calls For Love & Buttercup, Emily has collected more than 10,000 books.

Emily had no idea how much attention her work would get. She started by posting on social media, asking people in her area to donate. “I was expecting maybe two or three neighbors to do it,” she said. “But it ended up blowing up,” especially when newspapers began reporting it.

The Children’s Inn is one of the places where Emily has donated books. “Donations like Emily’s share a piece of the world with kids and families that they may not experience,” said its director, Aisha Campbell. Emily continues to run the book drive with her parents’ help. She hopes to one day make it reach more kids. The memory of the first time she visited children who’d received her books sticks with her. “It was the best day of my life,” she said. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”

1. What made Emily come up with the book drive?

A．Her father’s illness.	B．Her care for others.
C．Her habit of reading.	D．Her own shyness.

2. What did Emily’s For Love & Buttercup want to do?

A．Help her father defeat cancer.	B．Give her father a surprise.
C．Comfort other kids in need.	D．Collect books for hospitals.

3. How did Emily feel about the book drive at first?

A．Uncertain.

B．Surprised.

C．Proud.

D．Disappointed.

4. What is Emily’s future plan?

A．Getting more help from her parents.	B．Starting another book drive very soon.
C．Making her program benefit more kids.	D．Writing books about her experiences.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The early 1400s was a glorious era in Chinese history. In 1405, a fleet of over 200 ships navigated the blue seas, with almost 28,000 people on board. The largest ships, which     1    (be) over 140 meters long, demonstrated the advanced technology and special skills in constructing ships. On behalf of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He, a great explorer, made a total of seven     2     (voyage) between 1405 and 1433. The fleet, loaded with china, silk, tea and other treasures, paid friendly visits     3     more than 30 countries and regions. The navigators took compass readings, kept logs     4     charted the coast.

These journeys had     5     far-reaching impact on China and its neighbors. Legends have been passed on about Zheng He in the countries and regions     6     he set foot. Zheng He’s efforts helped develop     7     (harmony) relations with these countries and regions, introducing foreign people to Chinese culture, and     8     (allow) the Chinese to better understand overseas lands.

For many years, some historians dismissed the records of these explorations as legends. The final proof came when an enormous shipyard     9     (discover) in Nanjing, where the fleet had been built. With his accomplishments widely     10     (acknowledge), Zheng He is remembered as one of China’s most influential explorers.

9 . Putri Prihardinni, a freshman at the Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, is amazed at how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has continued to develop since she began studying it a year ago.

When she was 10, she _________ from constant headaches. So, her mother took her to see a TCM doctor near their home in Indonesia. After several weeks of _________ the bitter herbal medicine, her symptoms disappeared.

“His medical skills were like magic,” Prihardinni recalls. The _________ of being cured by TCM encouraged her to _________ TCM study.

Also from Indonesia, 21-year-old Banon Sayekti is one of Prihardinni’s _________. As she has never been _________ to TCM therapy before, Sayekti found it _________ to understand this branch of medicine at the beginning of her first semester.

“Chinese people believe that good health requires a _________ of yin and yang, and TCM doctors not only _________ a patient’s symptoms, but also to his or her __________ physical condition.” Sayekti says.

Many overseas students, __________, face difficulties in fully understanding the meaning and function of TCM medical terms __________ cultural and language barriers. To help them, the university offers various training courses for freshmen.

“People in my country are becoming increasingly interested in TCM. Numerous social media vloggers(视频博主) in my country are __________ their experiences with Chinese medicine,” Sayekti says. She plans to open a TCM clinic after graduation. “I want to tell my friends Chinese medicine is a __________ choice.”

As for Prihardinni, she wishes to obtain a postgraduate degree. “TCM study is a lifelong __________. I know it is not easy to persist, but I would like to give it a try.”

1.

A．recovered

B．suffered

C．escaped

D．prevented

2.

A．receiving

B．sharing

C．consuming

D．checking

3.

A．hope

B．purpose

C．discovery

D．memory

4.

A．continue

B．pursue

C．expect

D．appreciate

5.

A．classmates

B．professors

C．doctors

D．patients

6.

A．admitted

B．devoted

C．committed

D．exposed

7.

A．challenging

B．unwilling

C．surprising

D．exciting

8.

A．mixture

B．balance

C．collection

D．range

9.

A．get used to

B．get down to

C．pay attention to

D．look forward to

10.

A．total

B．overall

C．regular

D．usual

11.

A．therefore

B．besides

C．otherwise

D．however

12.

A．due to

B．instead of

C．apart from

D．as for

13.

A．assessing

B．remarking

C．documenting

D．advertising

14.

A．painstaking

B．fundamental

C．trustworthy

D．game-changing

15.

A．honour

B．concept

C．experience

D．endeavour

10 . Qin Yueyu has managed to fulfill a dream that initially seemed unusual. Her reproduction (仿制品) based on the murals (壁画) at the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang gains online popularity and sees her fame grow, as technique and attention to detail wins many admirers.

Qin’s creation that was brought to public attention was meant to be displayed for her graduation. It runs 2.1 meters high and is her re-creation of part of the mural in Cave 159 of the Mogao Grottoes, a piece from Tang Dynasty. Qin restored every vivid detail of the mural and made sure its size was the same as the original. Her work made its way to the list of trending topics on social media platform Sina Weibo at the end of May. She has also attracted more than 10,000 followers to her personal account on Xiaohongshu, another social media platform.

Qin developed an interest in painting at 6. Then, the cartoon Nine-Colored Deer produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio introduced her to the charm of Dunhuang. The strong elements of Dunhuang scenery in the cartoon left a deep impression on her. “I became curious about Dunhuang and more interested in art,” she recalls.

In the beginning, Qin struggled with every step of mural reproduction. “The only way is to practice over and again,and learn from your mistakes,” she says. Through trial and error, Qin continued perfecting her skills and has reproduced dozens of well-known murals in Mogao Grottoes.

Qin feels very lucky that she can now make a living by doing something she likes. She is glad that her efforts have helped popularize the murals. “I hope I can tap into more stories about Dunhuang and present them in my future works.”

1. What can we learn about Qin’s creation from paragraph 2?

A．It was created based on a piece from Song Dynasty.

B．It is smaller than the original mural in Mogao Grottoes.

C．It was originally designed to be on show for her graduation.

D．It has attracted 1,000 followers to her account on Xiaohongshu.

2. Which of the following is NOT a reason for Qin’s success?

A．Making a living by painting.	B．Sticking to her dream.
C．Paying attention to detail.	D．Learning through trial and error.

3. What can be inferred according to the passage?

A．Qin has made a big fortune through her work.

B．Qin will pay a visit to Dunhuang in the future.

C．Qin enjoys making money by popularizing murals.

D．Qin will continue to create mural reproduction of Dunhuang.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Artist Becomes Curious about Dunhuang	B．Murals of Cave 159 Wins Admirers
C．Artist Paints a Career from Grottoes	D．Mogao Grottoes Gains Online Popularity