2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What’s the woman’s main purpose of visiting Quebec?

A．To attend a wedding in Montreal.

B．To visit a college in Quebec City.

C．To go sightseeing in Quebec Province.

2. What is one of the woman’s worries about going to Montreal?

A．She doesn’t speak English.

B．Her French isn’t very good.

C．The city is expensive.

3. What does the man advise the woman to do before the trip?

A．Get in touch with her friends.

B．Learn more about the place.

C．Practice her French.

4. What does the man say about Quebec City?

A．It was built in the 17th century.

B．It has many old buildings.

C．It’s the largest French-speaking city.

5 . A sheep in Scotland, known as the “loneliest sheep”, was stuck at the bottom of a cliff for over two years. A group of farmers made it their _________ to rescue the sheep. The sheep was first _________ in 2021 by a kayaker (皮划艇运动员) and had been unable to move from that _________ since then. Local agencies were _________ but said the sheep was not in danger and could not be rescued. One of the farmers, Wilson, named the sheep Fiona and provided _________ about her on his social media account.

Wilson explained that it was too _________ to attempt a rescue earlier due to the dangerous location of the sheep. He expressed concerns about the safety of the rescuers and the difficulty of _________ the sheep by boat or with a dog. However, after careful _________, Wilson and four other men successfully rescued Fiona using heavy _________ and a winch (绞车). They __________ brought her to the slope of the cliff.

The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was present to __________ the welfare of the sheep. They confirmed that Fiona was in good __________ but needed her wool to be sheared (剪).The ownership of the sheep was transferred to the __________ group of farmers.

Wilson __________ the risks involved in the rescue and expressed gratitude for the successful __________.

1.

A．obligation

B．ambition

C．purpose

D．mission

2.

A．discovered

B．witnessed

C．employed

D．followed

3.

A．base

B．form

C．spot

D．extent

4.

A．enthusiastic

B．sympathetic

C．optimistic

D．urgent

5.

A．accounts

B．identities

C．benefits

D．updates

6.

A．illegal

B．expensive

C．risky

D．complex

7.

A．reaching

B．finding

C．defending

D．caring

8.

A．identifying

B．planning

C．disguising

D．defining

9.

A．substance

B．material

C．equipment

D．machine

10.

A．frequently

B．physically

C．openly

D．safely

11.

A．provide

B．ensure

C．guide

D．promote

12.

A．condition

B．potential

C．mood

D．fashion

13.

A．charity

B．protection

C．rescue

D．cheering

14.

A．called up

B．brought in

C．broke down

D．reflected on

15.

A．outcome

B．scene

C．barrier

D．incident

6 . Dallas-based Knit Wits is made up of a group of grandmothers with a strong love for knitting (编织) who tum their love for crafting into a purposeful attempt. Meeting regularly, they pour their collective love into every stitch (针法) they make. The group has been working for over ten years, meeting every Friday, to support organizations that help others, locally and around the world. Over the years, they’ve crafted thousands of items insupport of the important things.

Recently the Knit Wits member Mary Ann Stover was inspired to have the group knit hats for infant (婴儿) patients with heart disease at Children’s Health Hospital. The hats, each a unique work of art, designed with holiday themes, reflect the skill of the Knit Wits. More importantly, the special of Knit Wits is its understanding of the emotional effect these small objects can have on the infants experiencing medical treatments.

Bealle, a certified child life specialist at Children’s Health Hospital, explained how the hats are making a difference to the tiny patients and their families. “Caregivers are able to wear the hats on their body to move their smells before placing the hats back on the infants, encouraging connecting and making the infants less stressful,” he said.

Throughout the infants’ admission, many holidays are celebrated. At times, some infants are seriously ill and unable to dress up for holiday photos the families have planned. Thanks to the donations from Knit Wits, the hospital team is able to prove the family with a suitable themed infant hat the family can use for their photos and holiday celebrations.

1. What do we know about the hats from paragraph 2?

A．They centre on spiritual comfort.

B．They have holiday food subjects.

C．They are knitted by the caregivers

D．They are worn on child parents’ birthdays.

2. Why do the caregivers wear the hats first?

A．To hold an artistic activity.

B．To see off the recovered patients.

C．To relax the infants for treatments

D．To welcome the arrival of various holidays.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Why some holiday celebrations are held.

B．What the hats can be used as on holidays.

C．Why some special photos are important.

D．What the hats can be matched with.

4. Which of the following can best describe the members of Knit Wits?

A．Unsuccessful

B．Impractical.

C．Warm-hearted

D．Dishonest.

7 . Imagine a flying dragon using water to put out a fire. Thanks to a team of researchers, this new kind of “beast” may soon join firefighter teams around the world.

The blueprint of this new and different firefighter robot, called the Dragon Firefighter, has been published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI. And as it has been published as Open Science, roboticists around the world may freely use the plans to build their own Dragon Firefighters, for the benefit of all. “We here present the first type of a four-meter-long, remotely controllable flying fire hose (消防水管) robot, engineered to safely and efficiently put out fires in buildings by directly approaching the fire sources,” says Yuichi Ambe, an assistant professor at Osaka University.

The Dragon Firefighter’s fire hose is driven upward by eight controllable jets of water from its center and head. The fire hose can change shape and move towards flames, operated by a control unit in a wheeled cart (手推车) behind. The cart is connected through a supply tube to a fire truck with a water reservoir of 14,000 liters. The fire hose’s tip contains an imaging camera, which helps to find the location of the fire.

The Dragon Firefighter successfully put out the ceremonial flame at the opening ceremony of the World Robot Summit 2020 (WRS2020), consisting of fireballs lit by another robot, at a distance of four meters. Besides detailing its design, the present study also discusses lessons learned during this first demonstration of the Dragon Firefighter’s abilities, as well as explaining further improvements made since.

Other improvements detailed in the study include better waterproofing, a nozzle (喷嘴) unit capable of handling a wider range of net forces and an improved mechanism for channeling water flow. But further developments are in the pipeline.

“We estimate that it’ll take about 10 more years to use our robot in real-world firefighting scenes,” says Ambe. “It’s worth the effort. Despite some advancements, we’re not satisfied. The primary challenge will be to extend its reach to beyond 10 meters. Developing effective firefighting strategies tailored to this robot’s unique capabilities will also be a critical aspect of further development. But we’ll surely make it.”

1. Which feature is expected of the Dragon Firefighter?

A．To be blue-colored.	B．To be free of charge.
C．To be novel and efficient.	D．To be traditional and safe.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly introduce about the Dragon Firefighter?

A．Its shape and size.	B．Its working locations.
C．Its operating principle.	D．Its strengths and weaknesses.

3. What did the Dragon Firefighter do at WRS2020?

A．It lit fireballs.	B．It showed its capabilities.
C．It fought with another robot.	D．It put out a four-meter-high fire.

4. What is Ambe’s attitude to the development of the Dragon Firefighter?

A．Critical.

B．Doubtful.

C．Proud.

D．Ambitious.

8 . Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean, is located off the eastern coast of Africa. Here is something to let you know better about it before your trip.

Plants and Animals

There are many kinds of native wild plant species in Mauritius even though little original forest is left. The wild animals include the sambar (a long-tailed, dark brown deer) as well as a variety of birds and insects. The island was once home to the dodo, a flightless bird that was extinct in the late 17th century.

Education and Languages

The education structure consists of three years of pre-primary school. Six years of free primary education begins at age five, which is followed by up to seven years of secondary education. English is the official language of Mauritius, but French and Creole are also spoken. Some other languages are also spoken by different communities.

Sports and Entertainment

Football here claims the greatest number of participants and fans. Mauritians from all communities make winter horse racing one of the most popular and highly attended sporting activities of the year. And Black River Gorges National Park, Trou aux Cerfs, an inactive volcano, which is now heavily forested, and the island’s numerous beaches are surely great places to visit.

Transportation and Telecommunications

Almost all roadways are paved throughout the island. Most of the country’s shipping activity is conducted through port facilities at Port Louis. An international airport is located at Plaisance. In 2021, network coverage with the 5G standard was already 4.5% of all inhabitants. The proportion of the population with at least 4G mobile Internet access was 99%.

To get more information about Mauritius, click here.

1. What can we learn about the plants and animals in Mauritius from the text?

A．They are single.	B．They are various.
C．They are mostly flightless.	D．They are mostly domestic.

2. What do we know about the education in Mauritius?

A．It is free for all ages.	B．It lacks English and French instruction.
C．It includes 16 years of primary education.	D．It covers 13 years of primary and secondary education.

3. Which statement agrees with Mauritius?

A．Port shipping is popular.	B．5G technology has not yet started.
C．4G network coverage is no more than half.	D．Horse racing claims the greatest number of fans.

9 . 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 audience     1     (attract) by 100-year-old Florence Chia-ying Yeh, a famous Chinese poetry scholar, showing at Nankai University on October 15, 2023 during an international symposium (研讨会) on teaching Chinese poetry. She delivered a lecture on Chinese poetry and shared her reasons for making     2     decision to live in Tianjin’s Nankai District.

When Yeh concluded her speech, the audience stood up, applauding her for her tireless efforts     3     (promote) Chinese poetry around the world. “I have devoted myself to teaching and sincerely hope to transmit (传递) the beauty of both the logic and emotion     4     (find) in ancient poetry to the younger generation,” Yeh said. She explained that after teaching in varieties of places outside the Chinese mainland, she     5     (eventual) chose to settle in Nankai University in the 1980s.

During the last three years, Yeh has taught Chinese poetry on social media platforms,     6     (win) widespread appreciation for her dedication. On September 5, 2023, a rebroadcast of one of Yeh’s lectures on Nankai University’s account on a social media platform, was watched by     7     (million) of people.

For 80 years, Yeh has been engaged     8     educating the younger generation about ancient Chinese poetry. She has developed a unique set of teaching methods and concepts     9     are still contributing to China’s     10     (culture) development in the current wave of the wider spreading of Chinese culture.

10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Earlier in the year, as a group of young and ambitious men, we set out plans for a butterfly garden on an area of greenspace right in the heart of the village. We intended to provide a place for students from nearby schools to learn about nature.

I, the group leader, first drew up a plan showing my ideas and thoughts, where we would depend on donation for us to buy wildflower seeds. As it turned out, my partners, the other group members, had other plans.

While we were waiting to see if our funding would come through, Butterfly Conservation Scotland offered us enough wildflower mix seeds to cover the whole of the area which we’d marked on our plan. But the problem was that the seeds would have to be sown (播种) within the next two weeks, which also meant that the weeds in the area should be removed before we could sow seeds. Then I went to ask the nearby farmers whether they could use their machines to remove the weeds, but no one had time to lend a hand.

It was suggested that we buy a machine. But without much money, where could we find a machine to remove the weeds? When we didn’t know what to do, a teacher called Lily from a nearby school approached us and asked if we needed some help. I told her the truth about the situation. “My father is a farmer and has his own machine. Don’t worry, I can get him to help,” she said. We thanked her several times for it.

On Sunday, as expected, Lily’s father brought a weeding machine and removed the weeds in person. Meanwhile, all the group members including me were busy in the field. Considering the tight schedule, I sent out a call on the Internet for volunteers to help. One of my partners joked, “No one will have the time to help us for free, so let’s pick up the weeds ourselves.” I believed there were many helpful people around us, so I just smiled back.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Just then, Lily came, followed by her students.

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The next year, I gathered Lily and her students in the garden.

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