2 . The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) is currently hosting “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited”. The exhibition spotlights Henson’s unique   contributions to children’s education, including his creation of the Muppets (布偶).

Born in 1936 in Mississippi, Henson grew up in Maryland. His creative talents were evident when he was a student at high school. He loved cartooning and creating sets for school theater productions. While a freshman at university, Henson made puppets for a local TV station. The station’s producers were so impressed that they asked him to produce his own puppet show. Called Sam and Friends, the program started in 1955. Viewers loved Henson’s playful characters, including an early version of Kermit the Frog.

While at university, Henson majored in home economics. At the time, it was the only major that offered classes in sewing and textiles (纺织品). Henson not only honed his creative skills at university, but he was also good at marketing and business. “He was an entrepreneur who happened to get into puppetry,” said Deborah Wood, MCHC’s learning manager.

In 1959, Henson married Jane Nebel, whom he had met at university. The couple established Muppets Inc. which later became the Jim Henson Company. It was there that Focus Bert, Ernie, Miss Piggy, and other Muppets were created for Sesame Street, a popular children’s television program. Generations of children around the world have grown up watching and laming from the Muppets.

Henson, who died in 1990, created not just the Muppets, but also films, TV commercials, variety shows, and more. The exhibition shows every aspect of his career. This includes some lesser-known works, including The Cube, a short experimental film that was nominated(提名) for an Academy Award.

Visitors also get a chance to appreciate Henson’s creative process and inventiveness through hands-on displays. They can even make their own Muppets. “For me, I think the really powerful message of this exhibition is the fact that it covers Henson’s whole life and his whole career,” said Chloe Green, public programs manager at the MCHC.

1. What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．An interesting exhibition about Henson.	B．Viewers’ attitude to Henson’s works.
C．Henson’s exceptional talents in creation.	D．Characters in Henson’s famous works.

2. What does the underlined word “honed” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Improved.

B．Changed.

C．Found.

D．Shared.

3. What can be learned about the exhibition?

A．A less well-known experimental film made by Henson is on exhibition.

B．The aim of the exhibition is to commemorate an educator.

C．The exhibits are composed of every aspect of Henson’s life.

D．Opinions vary on this exhibition.

4. What words can best describe Henson?

A．Creative and courageous.	B．Talented and productive.
C．Humorous and passionate.	D．Courageous and intelligent.

3 . When scientists go to a forest to study monkeys and their habits and behaviors, how do they know who’s who?

In the past, scientists had to make marks on each of the animals to distinguish them. But in the future, they may have a much easier way to tell them apart thanks to facial recognition technology.

A research team from China’s Northwest University is using facial recognition technology to identify thousands of snub-nosed monkeys that live on Qinling Mountain in Shaanxi province.

Similar to human facial recognition, the technology that is used to identify monkeys uses their facial features to create a database that includes every monkey, Xinhua reported. “When the system is fully developed, we can connect it with cameras set up in the mountains. The system will automatically recognize the monkeys, name them and analyze their behavior,” said Zhang He, a member of the research team. “For each snub-nosed monkey, we have 700 to 800 image samples, and the recognition success rate is 94 percent,” Zhang added.

“We used mobile phones and portable cameras with the monkeys in tests at distances ranging from about 3 to 10 meters,” said He Gang, a member of the research team and an associate professor in the College of Life Sciences at Northwest University. “There is no need to interfere with the monkeys. Such a method of sampling is clearly non-invasive.”

Compared to humans, facial recognition technology for monkeys is more complicated because of their hairier faces. The color of their hair causes them to blend into their environment. These factors make it harder for computers to identify them.

“Monkeys do not cooperate with researchers in the same way humans do. It is difficult to take high-quality pictures and videos of them, which are needed to improve the system,” said Li Baoguo, leader of the research team.

Currently, there are about 4,000 snub-nosed monkeys living on Qinling Mountain. The team’s goal is to successfully identify every monkey that lives there.

1. What problem do scientists face while studying monkeys according to the text?

A．How to mark them.	B．How to distinguish them.
C．How to understand their behavior.	D．How to observe them clearly

2. What does the article tell us about facial recognition technology for monkeys?

A．It is now widely adopted in China.

B．It works better than human facial recognition.

C．It will use monkeys’ behavior to create a database.

D．It can help scientists study monkeys without disturbing them.

3. According to the leader of the team, what is the difficulty in improving the system?

A．Less cooperative monkeys.

B．Hard for computers to identify the monkeys.

C．photos and videos of high quality.

D．Too many monkeys to identify.

4. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To introduce a new way to identify monkeys.

B．To show the importance of studying monkeys.

C．To compare different ways to identify monkeys.

D．To explain difficulties in developing a new system.

7 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In early December, Zhang Guimei was named a national outstanding member of the Communist Party of China for her     1    (contribute) to education in China.

About 20 years ago, while on the way to visit a student’s house, Zhang Guimei, a teacher in Huaping, noticed a girl     2     (sit) on the hillside. The girl, 13, told Zhang she was about to get married. It was decided by her parents. “But I want to go to school,” the girl said. Zhang went to her house and tried to persuade her parents to let the girl return to school and promised to pay for the school fees     3     (her). However, they didn’t agree.

From then on, Zhang dreamed     4     building a free high school for girls. After years of trying to raise money,     5     (eventual) , Huaping High School for Girls, a free public high school, was founded at the foot of the Shizi Mountain in Huaping,     6     Zhang is the headmaster.

Her efforts paid off. Since 2008, more than 1,800 students     7     (enter) college, which is considered a “miracle (奇迹)” in that far area.

Zhang plays     8     active part in local education. It is reported     9     she was given the honor at the country’s “role model for teachers” in February, 2021. Her     10     (move) stories encourage thousands of people.

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。

Zhangye National Geopark, which    1     (lie) in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, is blessed with a splendid Danxia landform area    2     (cover) about 1,289 square kilometers. The Danxia landforms are    3     masterpiece of nature. The colorful mountain ridges are just like an overturned palette from heaven. Bands of fiery red, creamy orange, rich green and bright yellow streak across the mountain, forming    4    is known as the most beautiful rainbow mountain.   

The beautiful landscapes    5     (create) by sandstone and minerals piling on top of one another over the years due to tectonic plate movements. Wind, rain, and time then carved the rock formations and rolling hills into    6     (vary) extraordinary shapes, including towers, pillars and valleys.   

    7    (declare) a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010 and a national park in 2011, the landform has become a top tourist    8     (attract). The park features a series of boardwalks that allow visitors to walk around the colorful sandstone landscapes. There are viewing platforms    9     (special) designed, enabling tourists to get close to the hills and feast their eyes on the magnificent sights without damaging the fragile ecosystem. Shuttle bus service is available, making    10     easy for tourists to get around the park.

10 . When I read a post about taking someone to the movies, I was reminded of something that happened a couple of years ago.

I used to drink Cokes and they had a promotion where there was a code inside the bottle cap. You went to a website and entered the code and maybe you won something. I won some free Cokes. But then I won the grand prize! I was surprised and pleased.

The grand prize was free movies for a year. They pointed out that one movie a week was that free movies for a year meant. All of the tickets had a deadline later than a year from the day I received them. So I must use them in the following year. I used quite a few by taking friends to movies we all wanted to see.

But the best thing I did with them was that I donated 22 tickets (all I had left by that time) to the local Women’s Transition House, a place where women and their children could go when avoiding a bad situation in general and get help to make a new start.

My workplace team had decided to help people in need, so we collected donations for that particular New Year’s Day. I knew the Women’s Transition House provided childcare for the women so they could go for job interviews.

I put those tickets in a box and wrote a note, asking the Women’s Transition House staff to give movie tickets to women there over the holidays to have something fun to do, with or without their children. It made me really happy to do this.

1. How did the author get the tickets?

A．By visiting a website by chance.	B．By exchanging some Cokes for them.
C．By attending a knowledge competition.	D．By winning the prize for drinking Cokes.

2. How many tickets did the author and his friends use?

A．About 22.

B．About 30.

C．About 52.

D．About 365.

3. Which of the following best describes the author?

A．Lucky and caring.	B．Creative and careful.
C．humorous and generous.	D．Thankful and happy.

4. What does the Women’s Transition House offer to women?

A．Jobs.

B．Childcare.

C．Free movie tickets.

D．Interview skills.