1 . Olympic Games organizers in France presented the 2024 Olympic torch (火炬) that will light the Summer Games in the country a year from now. In the Olympic torch tradition, many people carry the torch in turn from Greece to the current location of the Games. After it has traveled thousands of kilometers. the torch will light the Olympic cauldron (火炬台) at the Opening Ceremony of the next Olympic Games.
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created the torch. which is 70 centimeters long and made of lightweight steel. Lehanneur said its shape is inspired by the famous Seine River, which flows through Paris. He said the torch is equal from top to bottom and all around the middle, which stands for equality between athletes. The twisting shape of the torch represents peace.
The torch was made with lightweight steel. Its lower half copies the movement of the Seine, along which the opening ceremony will take place for over 500,000 viewers.
Lehanneur said he wants the torch to represent the kind of event that Paris 2024 hopes to be. “I wanted to move away from the torch appearing as an object of conquest (征服),” Lehanneur said. He also told reporters that designing the torch was much more techn1cal than he thought it would be. “The magic is not the torch itself. but the flame” Lehanneur said.
The torch will be lit up in Olympia, Grecce on April 16, 2024, followed by a nine day torch relay before sailing across the Mediterranean Sea from Athens to Marseille on May 8. It will then pass through several important places , which include Strasbourg , the Pantheon in Paris, the Mont Saint-Michel and multiple French territories.
Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 chief, said the torch is “very ,very beautiful”. He also said it is “...very pure, It’s perfectly balanced in the hand.”
1. Why is the torch equal from top to bottom?| A．It is easy for torch-bearers to carry. | B．It is the symbol of the Seine River. |
| C．It represents peace among nations. | D．It shows equality between players. |
| A．He wishes Paris 2024 to be the best ever. | B．The torch is more important than the flame. |
| C．Designing the torch is harder than he thinks. | D．He thinks highly of the torch’s appearance. |
| A．Twenty two days. | B．Fifteen days. | C．Nine days. | D．Eight days. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A sports magazine. | C．A science report. | D．A research paper. |
2 . In traditional stick puppet shows in Shanxi, puppeteers hold up and manipulate (操控) the puppets using three rods (杆). The puppets are dressed in traditional costumes and frolic (嬉戏) on stage. They are able to change their facial expressions and perform complicated movements.
Such art can’t be created without the painstaking effort of puppet makers like Wang Maowei, 40, who is from Xiaoyi, Shanxi.
“When I chose puppet-making as a teenager, I gradually fell in love with it and decided to dedicate myself to the craft,” Wang said. In 2008, Xiaoyi’s stick puppet plays were added to the national intangible cultural heritage list.
It takes 40 to 50 days to make a stick puppet. The average height of a puppet is 75 centimeters to 1 meter, and they have different costumes to fit various plays and plots. “To make puppets, you need to have sensitivity and a basic foundation in the fine arts,” Wang said.
Traditional Xiaoyi puppet plays use the style of local operas, which are appealing to the elderly. Years ago, Wang realized that plays must cater to the market. He decided to start with the appearance of the puppets.
Stick puppets are traditionally carved from wood and are both time-consuming to make and heavy to hold. Wang found that a special kind of kraft paper is a perfect substitute (替代品). It means craftspeople can put things inside the puppets’ heads to allow them to be operated — the nose, eyes and mouth of a puppet can all move via the use of rods.
Journey to the West, a classic Chinese novel, has been frequently adapted in puppet shows. In the tale, the Monkey King can use his eyes to distinguish monsters from ordinary human beings. To recreate this power in his show, Wang makes the Monkey King puppet shoot laser beams (激光) from his eyes and spit (喷) fire from his mouth.
“It requires time and energy to create a delicate piece of work... These puppets are like my own children and I always take good care of them,” Wang said.
1. According to Wang Maowei, what specific skills are required for making stick puppets?| A．Creativity and imagination. |
| B．Patience and physical strength. |
| C．Sensitivity and a basic knowledge of fine arts. |
| D．Engineering and technological skills. |
| A．To reduce production time and effort. |
| B．To make puppets look more beautiful. |
| C．To reduce the costs of making puppets. |
| D．To make them lighter and easier to operate. |
| A．By making it sing and dance. |
| B．By making it spit fire from its mouth. |
| C．By making it fly across the stage. |
| D．By making it shoot laser beams from its ears. |
| A．tell | B．appreciate | C．enjoy | D．prevent |
3 . Feeling hungry? Well, get your chopsticks ready! Ho Chi Minh City Food Tours are the tastiest way to travel around the city.
Big eat & Small seat
This afternoon food tour by motorbike is focused on family-run local restaurants. These places are often small and tight with little stools. This is a tour we recommend for travelers that want to be thrown into the city’s delicious street food. It lasts from 1 pm to 5 pm at $65 per person.
A taste of Vietnam
This tour is absolutely comfortable for everyone with indoor seating and atmosphere. The menu is diverse, featuring some hands-on cooking experience and a bowl of whole crab soup that you can only find in Ho Chi Minh City. It lasts from 6 pm to 10 pm at $73 per person.
Chef’s tour
The concept for Chef’s tour is simple: We will drive you from location to location to try some of our favorite street eats in the city while adjusting the menu as much as possible to meet your tastes and personality. It lasts from 5 pm to 10 pm at $123 per person.
Street food stroll
This tour will leave you happy, full, and filled with a new appreciation for our history and culture. We will eat delicious street food while exploring the French architecture and the unique culture in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City’s District Three. A bit different from other tours, we will not use any taxi or motorbike to get from place to place. The walk tour lasts from 5 pm to 9 pm at $38 per person.
Note: During all the above tours, prices take in all food and drinks and we will also take digital photos during the trip that we send to you the next day by email.
1. How much should a tourist pay for the tour with hands-on cooking experience?| A．$38. | B．$65. | C．$73. | D．$123. |
| A．The tourists have to walk all the way. |
| B．The tourists can have free digital photos. |
| C．The tourists will eat in big restaurants. |
| D．The tourists can try the whole crab soup. |
| A．Big eat & Small seat. | B．A taste of Vietnam. |
| C．Street food stroll. | D．Chef’s tour. |
4 . For some people, nothing beats a long walk on a sandy beach. But there’s no denying that it’s not as easy or as fast to get around on the beach as it is on a road or a sidewalk. But why is it so hard to walk on sand?
The problem with sand is that it’s soft; you “sink in” at each step. This forces you to use 2.1 to 2. 7 times more energy with every step you take. Another idea is that people walk more difficultly on soft than they do on hard surfaces, a study found. The researchers compared how people walked on foam (沫) and hard surfaces by analyzing the forces under their feet and how much oxygen each person consumed. They found that walking on soft surfaces, such as sand, mud and snow, caused people to take longer steps — actions that use more energy than walking on a hard surface.
But as experienced beach walkers know, there’s a way to make it easier to walk on sand: Just add water, When sand is wet, it becomes more compact (紧密), and walking on it is more similar to walking on hard surface. In other words, it’s much easier to cross a beach by walking along the shoreline, where the waves roll in and out. This is a balance though; too much water could make the sand soft once again. If water isn’t an option, there is another way to make walking on sand easier — increasing your surface area. This could be accomplished by wearing shoes.
Although it’s more difficult, there are some good reasons to exercise on sand. The impact forces are lower on sand than on hard surface. Research suggests that walking across sand is much easier on your joints (关节) and muscles, especially compared with an unforgiving surface such as concrete (混凝土). This means sand is a better surface for helping athletes recover more quickly from workouts.
1. Why is the question raised in the first paragraph?| A．To show problems. | B．To call up readers’ memories. |
| C．To invite readers to answer it. | D．To draw readers’ attention to the topic. |
| A．By putting on shoes. | B．By taking longer steps. |
| C．By walking in the water. | D．By using special breath methods. |
| A．Sand. | B．Concrete. |
| C．Foam. | D．Snow. |
| A．Tips for Beach Vacation | B．All Kinds of Sports on the Sand |
| C．Why Is It So Hard to Walk on Sand? | D．Where Are We With the Sand Research? |
5 . CAPITOL CLASSROOM
October 2021 through February 2022 on selected Wednesday and Thursday mornings
Overview
Capitol Classroom is a two-hour program including a tour of the US Capitol, interactive lessons, and hands-on activities.
Choose one
Program 1 Art Appreciators: The Art and Architecture of the US Capitol
Students explore the history and culture of America by examining art and architectural elements found in the US Capitol, the Rotunda and National Statuary Hall. This program meets state standards and national standards for the visual arts.
Grades: 3 through6
Number: 20-65 students per program
Length: One-hour classroom program and one-hour tour of the US Capitol
Start Time: 9:30 a. m.
Program 2 Capitol Art: History, Culture, or Expression?
Students study the art and architectural features of the US Capitol and participate in a student-centered creative activity. This program meets state standards and national standards for the visual arts.
Grades: 7 through 12
Number: 20-65 students per program
Length: One-hour classroom program and one-hour tour of the US Capitol
Start Time: 9:30a. m.
Program 3 Environment Matters: How Does a Bill Become Law?
To understand the complex way that a bill becomes a law, students participate in activities that illustrate the process. The Chesapeake Bay and the Clean Water Acts of 1948 and 1972 serve as legislative examples. Groups receive passes to visit the Galleries of the US Senate or the US House of Representatives. This program meets the National Council for the Social Studies’ curriculum standards.
Grades: 6 through 12
Number: 20-65 students per program
Length: One-hour classroom program and one-hour tour of the US Capitol
Start Time: 9:30 a. m.
1. Daisy wants to register for Capitol Classroom. Which date is probably available?| A．Wednesday, September 2021. | B．Friday, October 2021. |
| C．Thursday, January 2022. | D．Thursday, March 2022. |
| A．Program 1. | B．Program 2. |
| C．Program 1 and Program 2. | D．Program 1 and Program 3. |
| A．Program 1 includes one-hour classroom program and two-hour tour of the US Capitol. |
| B．Program 2 is open to the students from Grade 3 through 6. |
| C．Program 3 enables students to access Galleries of the US House of Representatives. |
| D．Program 3 enables students to participate in a student-centered creative activity. |
6 . Camping tips: Which overnight wilderness experience is right for you?
If you’re an experienced backpacker, read no further. This article is for camping rookies, those who have never slept beneath the stars or haven’t pitched a tent since their youth but are seriously thinking about overnighting in the wilderness.
Car camping
At its most basic, car camping involves packing a tent, sleeping bag, fold-up chair, cooler and camp stove into your vehicle and staying at a drive-up campground. Nearly every national park, and many state and county parks and private facilities, offer drive-up campgrounds with restrooms, potable water, fire rings or pits, and maybe even hot showers. So there are lots of choices.
The downside of car camping is the fact that these campgrounds are often packed with other campers. Not a lot of privacy, they can be noisy, and possibly hinder your quest of communing with nature.
Backpacking
No vehicle required; just your feet and a good pair of hiking boots or shoes to get you to the next overnight spot. A multi-day hiking trip is without doubt the most immersive way to experience the great outdoors.
Different from maybe car camping, it requires the least expense and equipment. All you really need are a backpack, sleeping bag, water bottle, small first-aid kit, enough food to last the entire travel. It can be done just about anywhere on the planet.
Boat Camping
While this does involve owning or renting a watercraft or using a ferry or water taxi service to reach the overnight site, camping via canoe, kayak, raft or boat offers a similar get-away-from-it-all adventure as backpacking.
Experienced paddlers and boaters usually prefer to camp on their own along a secluded shoreline. But many adventure or wilderness outfitters offer guided trips that can last anywhere from a couple of days to two or three weeks. With a boat, you can sometimes camp places that not even backpackers can reach.
1. Who are the intended readers?| A．Red-blooded males | B．White-collar staff |
| C．Blue-blooded tourists | D．Green-hand campers |
| A．Backpacking allows you to communicate with nature deeply. |
| B．Car camping is the most economic way to experience nature. |
| C．The drive-up campgrounds provide people with private environment. |
| D．Boat camping offers the same adventures as backpacking. |
| A．Feature | B．Style | C．Travel | D．Entertainment |
7 . Seba Stephens is only 10 years old, but he’s a very talented musician. He plays drums, bass, guitar and piano. Recently, he earned a professional certificate (证书) in music through the Berklee Online program at the famous Berklee College of Music.
Seba and his family live in Memphis, Tennessee — a place famous for music. He grew up with music all around, but he especially loved the drumming of Stewart Copeland from the band The Police.
Before he turned three, his parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday. “Drums!” he answered. His parents weren’t sure, but after seeing him play the drums at a local music store, they decided he was serious. They bought him a junior drum kit. It was a huge step. “He didn’t stop playing — ever,” said his dad, Everett.
In just a few months, his drum teacher reported that Seba was learning extremely quickly and needed a higher level of training. He was still four.
Seba’s parents encouraged him to explore music in other ways. Seba learned bass, guitar and piano. He faced challenges. “I couldn’t see over my drum set,” he said. He also had trouble finding a good bass that was small enough,
In 2020, Everett got special permission for Seba to join a summer music program at Berklee as an 8-year-old boy. Seba studied bass in an online program. To keep up, he had to practise up to 36 hours a week.
After the intense summer, Everett thought Seba might want a break. He was wrong. Instead, Seba asked his parents to home-school him so he could keep going to Berklee during the school year. His parents had to make some big changes to make the plan work, but they agreed.
Last May, Seba became the youngest person ever to receive a professional certificate from Berklee. The certificate is equal to about four college-level classes.
1. What is Stewart Copeland?| A．A teacher. | B．A drummer. | C．A pianist. | D．A soldier. |
| A．Three years old. | B．Four years old. |
| C．Eight years old. | D．Ten years old. |
| A．No time to practise. | B．Many things to learn. |
| C．Difficulties in finding proper instruments. | D．The requests made by the teacher. |
| A．The Musical Journey of a Famous Musician |
| B．An Online Program at Berklee College of Music |
| C．A Teenage Drummer Inspires Kids’ Music Education |
| D．A 10-year-old Drummer Earns Certificate From Berklee |
8 . Conflict (冲突) between teenagers and parents happens for a lot of reasons. Sometimes conflict happens between teenagers and parents just because conflict happens between human beings anyway. Humans have different needs, different feelings, different opinions about what they want, and the relationship with people can be really difficult. However, teenagers can cause further conflict because of the hormonal (生理的) changes that are happening and the stage of life that they're in.
Teenagers and parents have different understanding about rules and at times they find it difficult to look into the future. So parents and teenagers will often experience conflict about many things, do chores, homework, whether teenagers speak respectfully or not and about what they're allowed to do.
Before we think about rule boundaries (界线) for teenagers, we need to make sure that we have a really good relationship base. There's no point saying “From now on, you have to listen to me”: if you don't have a positive relationship with your teenager. We need to go back and make sure there is some degree of shared respect, and some degree of positive communication and enjoyment being together. you do that first, it means that rule boundaries are a lot easier to set up.
Often we're dealing with conflict on the fly. This is not the right time to be dealing with it. We really want parents and teenagers to sit down and think about the kinds of things that may happen in the house before the problems come. The more detailed your rule boundaries are for teenagers, the more likely it is that they are going to follow them. So this means we don't have rule boundaries like “Have the bathroom cleaned”. It needs to be “The floors mopped, nothing on the countertop and the mirrors cleaned by ten o'clock every Saturday”: Rule boundaries need to be written down, and set out ahead of time so the teenager knows exactly what's expected.
1. What's important to set up a rule boundary easily for teenagers?| A．Being strict from the start. | B．Developing a good relationship with them first. |
| C．Saying"No" to their requirements. | D．Avoiding close talks with them. |
| A．Doing some housework. | B．Having a good reading habit. |
| C．Cleaning the bathroom. | D．Finishing your homework by five. |
| A．In a hurry. | B．On the plane. | C．By oneself. | D．Another day. |
| A．Growing Pains | B．Teenage Problems |
| C．Parent-Child Conflict and Solutions | D．Knowing the Conflict |
9 . Some people believe that humans could live on the planet Mars by the year 2100. Our own planet, the Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted. It is hoped that people could start all over again and build a better world on Mars. Here is what life there could be like.
At present, our spacecraft are too slow to carry large numbers of passengers to Mars — it would take months. With the development of technology, by the year 2100, the journey might only take about 20 minutes in spacecraft that travel at the speed of light! However, the spacecraft would travel really fast, so the journey to Mars might be quite uncomfortable. Many people would feel ill.
Humans can’t live without water, air or food. So far, nobody knows whether there would be enough water or air on Mars for people. Moreover, scientists are not sure whether plants could grow on Mars. Food would most probably be in the form of pills (药片) and would not be so tasty.
Compared with life on the earth, life on Mars would be better in some ways. People would have more space. They might live in houses with huge comfortable rooms. Also, robots would do a lot of their work so that they could have more time to relax. There would probably be no schools on Mars. Every student would study at online schools with “e-teachers”.
Life on Mars would be interesting and challenging. However, it may take hundred or years to make it true. So the most important thing we need to do now is to protect our beautiful blue planet — the Earth!
1. The underlined word “spacecraft” means ________.| A．spaceships | B．hot-air balloons | C．space stations | D．planes |
| A．Fast and enjoyable. | B．Fast but uncomfortable. |
| C．Slow and boring. | D．Slow but comfortable. |
| A．There would be enough water and air on Mars for people. |
| B．Food on Mars would be more delicious than that on the earth. |
| C．People would be busy with work on Mars. |
| D．The writer thinks living on Mars would be full of challenges. |
| A．Schools on Mars | B．Food on Mars |
| C．Life on Mars | D．Environment on the Earth |
10 . The Rise of “China-chic”
Over past years, guochao, or “China-chic” has been gaining popularity among Chinese consumers. Guochao conveys the cultural heritage and values of China.
The idea of guochao was first borrowed from some international brands, and began to win over Chinese consumers in 2015.
In its third stage, guochao became more common in everyday life. Over the past decade, guochao has expanded from consumer goods to experiential products. As consumers are showing greater interest in cultural identity and creativity, productions like the TV program National Treasure, and the dance show Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace integrate cultural and historical elements with the latest audio-visual technologies.
Nowadays, guochao is moving to the next stage. No matter how the trend evolves, Chinese people’s positive attitude toward the country’s development and their recognition of and growing confidence in national culture won’t change.
| A．The trend grew in the following years |
| B．They give the viewers a totally new experience |
| C．The next stage saw the rise of China’s native fashion trends |
| D．It also expresses national pride and confidence in a new era |
| E．The second period of guochao mainly features hi-tech sectors |
| F．Its success will rely first and foremost on gaining cultural confidence |
| G．The concept of “Made in China” was recognized as the representation of Chinese culture |
