1 . A music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!
Field Day
January 1, 2023, Sydney
Field Day means New Year’s Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city’s original multi-stage party, it’s a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun-filled first day of the year. There’s an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer’s day.
The Envision Festival
February 27—March 6, 2023, Uvita
The Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival
March 2—4, 2023, Phoenix
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix’s musical celebration of community culture. Since its foundation in 2004, it has been the only 100% non-profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.
The Old Settler’s Music Festival
April 20—23, 2023, Dale
The Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler’s Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.
1. In which city can people enjoy a fun New Year’s Day?| A．Phoenix. | B．Uvita. | C．Sydney. | D．Dale. |
| A．It encourages people to receive education. | B．It is not aimed at making money. |
| C．It provides an opportunity for friend gathering. | D．It focuses on cultural exchanges. |
| A．Field Day and the Envision Festival. |
| B．The Envision Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| C．The Old Settler’s Music Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| D．The Envision Festival and the Old Settler’s Music Festival. |
2 . This is the time of year when many gardeners are harvesting tomatoes. Gardening expert Jessica Damiano recently reported about the many pictures of strangely shaped tomatoes sent to her from fans of her gardening advice.
Not every tomato on an affected plant will be deformed (改变形状), however. What are the possibilities? Under the right conditions (temperatures that are too hot or even too cold), this could affect one or two tomatoes per plant, depending on where they are in the development process and what the (weather) conditions are, said Timothy McDermott, a professor at Ohio State University. The possibility of one of your tomatoes developing a locule oddity (怪异) is about one in a thousand, McDermott said.
And, when harvesting your crop, remember:
| A．select the good-looking ones. |
| B．Any tomato can grow an extra locule. |
| C．the funny-looking tomatoes taste just as good! |
| D．What causes the unusual appearance of tomatoes? |
| E．Unless otherwise diseased, they are perfectly good for eating. |
| F．She said people sometimes question if the tomatoes are okay to eat. |
| G．Provide shade for your plants when temperatures are predicted to remain above 32℃. |
3 . Earth is far more alive than we previously thought, according to “deep life” studies that reveal a rich underground ecosystem beneath our feet that is almost twice the size of all the world’s oceans. Despite extreme heat, no light and intense pressure, scientists estimate it has between 15 billion and 23 billion tonnes of microorganisms. “It’s like finding a whole new reservoir (储藏) of life on Earth,” said Karen Lloyd an associate professor at the University of Tennessee.
Results suggest 70 percent of Earth’s bacteria and archaea exist in the subsurface. One organism found 2.5 kilometers below the surface has been buried for millions of years and may not rely at all on energy from the sun. Also, the methanogen (产甲烷菌) has found a way to create methane in this environment, which the methanogen may not use to reproduce or divide, but use to replace or repair broken parts. Lengths of their lives were completely different. Some microorganisms have been alive for thousands of years, barely moving except with shifts in earthquakes or eruptions. They’re just active inside, with less energy than people thought possible to support life.
The team consists of 1,200 scientists from 52 countries in disciplines ranging from geology and microbiology to chemistry and physics. A year before the conclusion of their study, they will present the findings before the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting opens this week, which they say are made possible by technical advances on drills and microscopes.
The scientists have been wondering about the point beyond which life cannot exist, but the deeper they dig, the more life they find. There is a temperature maximum—currently 122℃—but they believe this record will be broken if they keep exploring and developing more advanced instruments.
Questions remain, including how the microbes interact with chemical processes, and what this might reveal about how life and Earth coevolved.
1. What do the scientists find about the underground organisms?| A．They can’t reproduce and divide. | B．They’re the oldest living things. |
| C．Some of them consume no energy. | D．Some of them almost always keep still. |
| A．It last for around one year. | B．It involves efforts from many fields. |
| C．It promotes technical development. | D．It is conducted in 52 countries. |
| A．To break their previous record. |
| B．To find the depth limit of life. |
| C．To discover more ancient microorganisms. |
| D．To measure the highest subsurface temperature. |
| A．Earth Depths Are Full of Life. |
| B．Organisms Live Better Underground. |
| C．Earth Is Fat Beyond Human Exploration. |
| D．Subsurface Life Differs from That on Land. |
4 . As you walk around the UK in March, you might notice that some people are wearing a daffodil (水仙花) on their coats. The British wear these yellow flowers to show they support one of this country’s best-known charities: Marie Curie.
Marie Curie tries to ensure everyone who has cancer is cared for in the best possible way. It also helps fun d research into possible cures. Founded in 1948, it has been continuing with its goal ever since.
The charity was named after Marie Curie, a famous scientist. She experimented with newly-discovered elements to create the theory of radioactivity (放射性). Unfortunately, over-exposure to the radioactive elements made her develop a disease and die in 1934. Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in two different fields. Because of her pioneering work, the charity decided on the name of Marie Curie.
The daffodil is one of the first plants to flower during spring in the UK, which marks the return of flowering plants to the ecosystem after winter. Because of this, the charity uses the daffodil as a symbol, hoping cancer patients could recover from sickness.
Everyone you see wearing a daffodil has contributed to the charity, but each daffodil is worth only what you want to pay for it. The charity does ask that you stick to a minimum amount of £1.
The charity encourages people to start wearing their daffodils at the start of March, when the “Great Daffodil Appeal” kicks off. But that doesn’t mean you can only wear them in March. People are sometimes seen walking around with daffodils on their clothes all year round.
1. Why do some British people wear a daffodil?| A．To advocate a charity. | B．To celebrate patients’ recovery. |
| C．To remember a scientist. | D．To offer hope to cancer patients. |
| A．Marie Curie’s support for the charity. | B．Marie Curie’s achievement in cancer treatment. |
| C．Marie Curie’s study on radioactivity. | D．Marie Curie’s concern over cancer patients. |
| A．Bringing life to other people. | B．Returning of flowering plants. |
| C．Contributing money to the charity. | D．Encouraging patients to cheer up. |
| A．A change in a British custom. | B．The effect of a campaign. |
| C．A special activity held in March. | D．The time to wear daffodils. |
5 . Travelling with friends can be an amazing experience where you could make lifelong memories or it could ruin your friendship.
Communicate and respect each other. Everyone has personal preferences when travelling— from getting the bed closest to the bathroom or sitting in the airplane’s window seat. But sometimes things don’t go as you like. In this case, share your requirements directly with your travel companions.
Don’t disappear. When travelling with a group — or even just one other person — you may want some alone time. That’s completely fine, but make sure your friends know where you are and have a way of contacting you.
Get off your phone. Of course, your friends will understand if you need to take a call from a family member, or in the event of a work emergency, but other than that, try to stay off your phone.
| A．Give each other some space. |
| B．Include at least one activity for everyone. |
| C．So it’s important to make sure you and your friend(s) are on the same page. |
| D．At the same time, listen to their concerns and be respectful of them. |
| E．Don’t respond to less important work contact or send messages frequently. |
| F．It’s especially true of travelling in foreign countries or unfamiliar places. |
| G．And remember that consideration and respect go a long way. |
6 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.
Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.
I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.
We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.
Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.
Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.
1. How did the writer first respond to Paul’s travel plan?| A．Scared. | B．Puzzled. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Surprised. |
| A．He was a western journalist. | B．He had a knowledge of China. |
| C．He came to China several times. | D．He was Joseph Rock’s acquaintance. |
| A．They honored the ancestors. | B．They set off in high spirits. |
| C．They satisfied the locals’ curiosity. | D．They built bonds with people. |
| A．To share and reflect on a journey. | B．To suggest a new way of travel. |
| C．To advocate protection of biodiversity. | D．To introduce and promote Chinese culture. |
7 . It was a sunny afternoon in June of 2022 when 20-year-old Anthony Perry stepped off the train at Chicago’s 69th Street station. On the platform, two men were fighting bitterly. Then the unthinkable happened: the pair fell over the edge and onto the tracks. One man ended up on his back. Suddenly, he started convulsing (抽搐) unnaturally. He had fallen on the third rail, the conduit (导线管) for the 600 volts of electricity that powers Chicago’s L trains. The aggressor leaped backward, bounded back up onto the platform and disappeared.
Perry couldn’t just stand there and watch. He sat at the edge of the platform and eased himself down. He took a few quick bounds and approached the victim. The guy looked dead, his body still moving violently as the electricity pulsed (搏动). Gathering up his courage, Perry reached down and grasped the victim’s wrist. Instantly, he felt a blast of electric shock shoot through his body. Perry shrank and jumped back. He reached down a second time, and was shocked again. But the third time he seized the man’s wrist and forearm and, braving the shock, pulled with all his strength. The guy’s body slid briefly along the third rail, coming to rest on the gravel on the outer edge of the tracks.
The man was breathing, but irregularly. Something wasn’t right. “Give him chest compressions (按压)!” yelled a woman. Perry was no expert, but for a few moments he worked on the man’s heart until the victim began convulsing. Then he heard a sudden noise behind him — medical workers and firefighters had arrived. Perry let the professionals take over. His heart still racing from the electric shocks, he climbed back up onto the platform, grabbed his things and headed home.
The evening news reported the incident. After a friend outed him to the media, Perry became the toast of Chicago. Perry was then recruited by the Chicago Fire Department and is now training to be an emergency medical technician.
1. What made the rescue of the victim particularly difficult?| A．The man had lost his consciousness. |
| B．The victim lay injured on top of a track. |
| C．The rescuer was at risk of an electric shock. |
| D．The electricity powering trains was hard to cut off. |
| A．He had received professional first aid training. |
| B．The local newspaper interviewed him on the spot. |
| C．His chest compressions played a key role in saving life. |
| D．His heart beat fast because of nervousness and tiredness. |
| A．Perry landed a job in the Fire Department. |
| B．The city of Chicago awarded Perry a prize. |
| C．People in Chicago toasted Perry for his brave deeds. |
| D．Perry got popular and greatly admired in Chicago. |
| A．To credit a hero with saving a victim’s life. |
| B．To highlight Perry’s courage in stopping a fight. |
| C．To stress the importance of calmness in rescue work. |
| D．To display people’s cooperation in assisting the victim. |
8 . Whether you’re after a quiet beach holiday or an adventure-packed trip, with over 700 islands and 30 territories, the Caribbean offers many choices. Here we will provide practical tips to help you plan your dream Caribbean vacation.
Choosing the Best Time to Visit
Generally speaking, the Caribbean has a tropical climate with hot and humid weather year-round. Hurricanes are common during the summer months, so it’s advised to avoid travel during this season if possible. The best time to visit typically starts in November and runs through April. Be sure to check local weather forecasts before your trip.
Experiencing the Local Culture
The Caribbean is home to a variety of cultures. The local culture is a key part of the Caribbean experience, so make sure to soak up as much as you can. Visit museums and historical sites to get a deeper understanding of the local heritage, or explore local festivals for a display of music, dance, and art. Moreover, the people of the Caribbean are well known for their friendliness, so don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation.
Planning Your Activities
Whether you’re into diving, hiking, shopping, or simply lying on the beach, you will be able to pick between endless activities. Besides, you can try your hand at deep-sea fishing, horseback riding, or even bungee jumping. If you’re looking for something more laid back, take a guided tour of the island’s botanical gardens or explorer its national parks. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to review safety guidelines and pack all the necessary equipment before your adventure.
In conclusion, the Caribbean offers a diverse travel experience that caters to different preferences and budgets. With careful planning and a bit of research, you can plan a vacation that is truly unforgettable. So don’t wait — start planning your dream Caribbean trip today!
1. Which month is the best time to visit the Caribbean?| A．July. | B．December. | C．August. | D．June. |
| A．Visitors can experience different cultures and activities. |
| B．Visitors can have the opportunity to play local music. |
| C．Visitors have to be concerned about the safety of accommodation. |
| D．Deep-sea fishing is not allowed for the reason of ocean protection. |
| A．A fashion magazine. | B．A shopping guide. |
| C．A geography textbook. | D．A travel brochure. |
9 . Europe is famous for big cities and worldclass art museums. It’s easy not to notice the small, beautiful villages in Europe. However, if you’re after relaxation, peaceful country walks, beautiful buildings, and chances for different cultures on your next trip, consider cutting down some of your city time and head out to a village instead. Here are three of the most beautiful villages in Europe, along with our top picks for places to stay in each.
Bibury in Gloucestershire, England
Often praised as the most beautiful village of the Cotsworlds, Bibury is also one of the most popular places for visitors to stay in the area, and attracts a lot of tourists from around the world. It’s set among the green hills that the area is known for and is composed of lightbeige (浅米色) stone houses, including the famous Arlington Row, a line of houses dating back to 1380.
Cong in County Mayo, Ireland
Set on a small seafacing island on the western coast of Ireland, Cong is a quiet village that’s famous for its grey stone ruins (灰石废墟) and many outdoor activities. One of the biggest reasons for its fame is that the 1952 film The Quiet Man was made there, but the biggest draw for most visitors is the chance to visit (or stay in) Ashford Castle, which is now run as a great expensive hotel.
Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy
Spread over a hilltop nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, the Tuscan village of Montepulciano offers beautiful buildings from the Middle Ages, as well as many chances to visit wineries (酿酒厂) and taste the locally produced Vino Nobel di Montepulciano. With fortifications (防御工事) dating back to the 14th century, the village has churches and public squares, which are truly fascinating.
1. What is the biggest draw for most visitors in Cong?| A．Grey stone ruins there. | B．Outdoor activities there. |
| C．The film The Quiet Man. | D．Visiting Ashford Castle. |
| A．read the Bible in the churches. | B．visit beautiful buildings from the Middle Ages. |
| C．taste the locally produced wine. | D．experience the fortifications from the 14th century. |
| A．A science report. | B．A guide book. |
| C．A news report. | D．An advertisement. |
10 . Chinese traditional painting and dance are two vital parts of the art world. But what about when they meet each other?
This year, a dance drama titled Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting (《只此青绿》) was staged on CCTV’ Spring Festival Gala and went viral.
According to CCTV, this poetic dance programme was inspired by the about 900-year-old Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains(《千里江山图》). Created by Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng at the age of 18, the painting is amazing in its marvellous size, rich coloration and the expressive details, reported CCTV. It shows a Chinese blue-green landscape: mountains and groupings of infinite rise and fall between cloudless sky and rippling water.
When the dancers moved elegantly, audiences seemed to be looking at the moving mountains and rivers. “It brings me a pure experience of beauty. It is not only dance but also an ‘exhibition’. Vast mountains and rivers are coming to life!” An Internet user Mo Weisha wrote in a review, “About a thousand years later, green mountains and rivers still wow people as they did long ago.
Some people even decided to watch the dance again when it was staged in the theaters later. In fact, in recent years, more and more modern shows highlight Chinese traditional culture and have received warm welcome. As for why, it is due to people’s great love for traditional culture.
“The younger generations have grown up with a more open mindset. They embrace Chinese culture and are proud of it. ”Yao Wei, director of Henan TV Station’s Innovation Center, told China Daily.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 1 in the text?| A．To present a common phenomenon. | B．To compare painting with dance. |
| C．To describe the art world. | D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．It was painted in several bright colors. |
| B．It shows natural beauty vividly. |
| C．It was created over thousand years ago. |
| D．It is of small size but includes great details. |
| A．People are more open to traditional culture. |
| B．People are happy to see new forms of art. |
| C．Chinese culture has been spreading around the world. |
| D．People have gained more access to traditional culture. |
| A．Passion for Chinese Traditional Painting |
| B．Art Coming Alive Through Poetic Dance |
| C．Connection Between Painting and Dance |
| D．Highlights in Traditional Chinese Culture |
