1 . Dragons, a famous imaginary beast born from fantasy, are often present in stories in the west and east. In both cultures, dragons are generally recognized as massive creatures capable of flight. They have great power and are often associated with magical abilities. However, due to their different cultural roots and images, there exist significant differences in the way dragons are regarded in the west and east, particularly in China.
Chinese dragons most resemble snakes, and have four claws and no wings. They often have features of other animals, including carp, tigers, and eagles. In the contrast, Western dragons look like huge lizards with big claws and large bat-like wings, and are often shown with spines or rough scales.
In traditional Chinese culture, a dragon is a symbol of luck, power and high status. They can cause weather changes and bring rainfall to the fields to ensure rich harvests. They are considered divine (神圣的) creatures, which hold an important position as the head of the four spirits. Therefore, to symbolize their power, ancient Chinese emperors decorated their clothes with dragon patterns. These clothes are known as dragon robes. Many Chinese view the dragon as a national symbol, proudly referring to themselves as “descendants of the dragon”. In the west, however, a dragon symbolizes an evil creature that spreads violence and terror throughout the land. They are believed to be transformed by the devil, with the ability to breathe fire or spit poison. Many western tales show dragons being defeated and killed to protect people from danger.
Today, dragons continue to evolve, exceeding traditional boundaries and finding new significance in global culture. They are no longer associated with evil or good, but rather as complex characters with their own unique personalities and motivations. For example, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon begins as a dangerous dragon but evolves into a misunderstood being with love and compassion. This challenges the idea of dragons as naturally evil, presenting them as complex beings with emotions and motivations.
1. What do western dragons and eastern dragons have in common?| A．They have rough skin. | B．They are huge and powerful. |
| C．They are in the shape of snakes. | D．They have big claws and wings. |
| A．Western dragons are a symbol of authority. |
| B．Dragons in China can protect people from danger. |
| C．Chinese dragons can control rainfall and breathe fire. |
| D．Dragons are believed to cause chaos in western culture. |
| A．They are regarded as adventurous creatures. |
| B．They are closely associated with evil or good. |
| C．They have more diverse emotions and personalities. |
| D．They tend to represent human spirits facing challenges. |
| A．The Dragon Elements in Global Culture |
| B．The Origin of Dragons in Chinese History |
| C．The Magical Animals in Different Countries |
| D．The Images of Dragons in Western Traditions |
2 . Not everyone knows that Mogao Caves in China has a “little sister” — Yulin Caves, which is smaller but better preserved than Mogao Caves. This “little sister” has the most brilliant murals (壁画) which are large in scale (规模) and diverse in forms and skills, with much art value. Here is some information to refer to when planning your tour here.
Daily Itinerary (行程)
DAY 1: Visit Mingshashan in the middle afternoon when it is not very hot and sunburn is low.
DAY 2: Visit Yulin Caves. You can visit up to 6 caves. After that, drive about 30 minutes to Suoyangcheng.
DAY 3: Visit the newly opened Mogao Caves Digital Exhibition Center. You will watch two short but well-produced educational documentary movies about Mogao Caves. After the movies, take the interzonal bus to Mogao Caves.
Highlights of This Tour
●In-depth tour of Mogao Caves and Yulin Caves
●Visiting Suoyangcheng — an ancient ruined city 2,000 years ago
●Private tour package covering airport pick-up, accommodation, sightseeing and private tour guide
Basic Information about Price
●$380 per person
●This price is based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotels and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
●This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, group size, hotel, class, etc. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
1. When can tourists see the documentary movies?| A．On Day 1. | B．On Day 2. | C．On Day 3. | D．Any day. |
| A．An old living city. | B．In-depth travel in private. |
| C．Free accommodations. | D．Two brilliant tour guides. |
| A．In a history textbook. | B．On a travel agency website. |
| C．In an academic journal. | D．On an exhibition of murals. |
3 . Moving around Bogota can be a bit of a Jekyll-or-Hyde experience. On the one hand, the city is infamous (声名狼藉的)for having the world’s worst traffic. Yet, on the other, its cycling infrastructure is considered a good model of sustainable urban mobility, according to the Copenhagenize Index, which ranks bike-friendly cities. The Colombian capital generated a now-international movement in the 1970s called Ciclovia, which sees 1.5 million people cycle across 128km of car-free streets each Sunday morning.
So, when the pandemic reached its shores in mid-March, Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez, an avid cyclist herself, introduced one of the world’s first plans to encourage bike travel, using traffic cones to create 76 km of temporary lanes.
“Everyone started using a bicycle, and they already knew how to get around on one because we have this bike culture thanks to the Ciclovia,” says Carlos Pardo, a local cycling advocate and senior advisor at the New Urban Mobility Alliance. Pardo got involved at the beginning of the pandemic by partnering with a local bikeshare company to provide 400 free e-bikes to health workers. Now, he’s busy persuading the public that the government’s new bike lanes should become permanent fixture (固定设施).
“Some drivers say, ‘you took away our lane’, but we’re saying, we took one car lane and made a two-lane bidirectional bike lane,” he explains. “So, you’re duplicating the effectiveness of the space, and moving more people per hour, per direction.”
Biking has enjoyed a renaissance (复兴) around the world as urban citizens avoid public transport for the relative safety of a two-wheeled commute. Now, many advocates like Pardo are working with local governments in the hope of turning these pandemic-response measures into lasting changes—ones that are more plausible now than ever after lockdowns provided an unprecedented (空前的)opportunities to fast-track infrastructure trials. The results of these urban planning experiments could not only radically shape the way we commute across global cities, but also make them more adaptable to future shocks.
1. What can best illustrate the underlined sentence?| A．Much knowledge that is of help in learning about a new place. |
| B．A mixed feeling that is too confusing to express themselves. |
| C．An understanding that everything has both advantages and disadvantages. |
| D．An idea that human beings are born somewhere between good and evil. |
| A．The outbreak of the pandemic in mid-March. |
| B．The worldwide bike culture dating back to the 1970s. |
| C．The government’s support for the temporary bike lanes. |
| D．The local bike company’s contribution to health workers. |
| A．The increasing number of cyclists. | B．Duplicated effectiveness of road use. |
| C．A well-rounded city expansion plan. | D．The growth of car ownership. |
| A．Urban life. | B．Politics. | C．Sports | D．Advice column. |
4 . In recent years, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have brought both excitement and concerns to various fields. One area where AI is making a profound impact is the medical field, particularly in the domain of diagnostics.
Al-powered diagnostic systems leverage deep learning algorithms to analyze medical images, such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. These algorithms can detect subtle patterns and anomalies that might be missed by human radiologists, potentially leading to earlier and more accurate diagnoses.
However, the integration of AI in medical diagnostics raises complex ethical questions. For instance, who should be held responsible if an AI system misdiagnoses a patient’s condition? Should AI algorithms be treated as medical professionals, with legal and liability implications? These questions become even more intricate when considering that AI systems learn from vast datasets of medical information, which might contain biases or inaccuracies.
Furthermore, the adoption of AI diagnostics could impact the role of healthcare professionals. Some argue that AI could enhance doctors’ capabilities by providing them with additional insights, while others fear that it might replace human expertise, leading to job losses and a potential decrease in the quality of patient care. Despite these challenges, proponents of AI diagnostics emphasize its potential to improve healthcare accessibility, especially in underserved regions where there is a shortage of skilled medical professionals. Al-powered diagnostics could provide preliminary assessments and recommendations, helping to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers.
1. What is the primary advantage of AI-powered diagnostic systems in the medical field?| A．They provide additional insights to doctors. |
| B．They replace the need for human radiologists. |
| C．They analyze medical images using deep learning algorithms. |
| D．They focus on detecting visible patterns in medical images. |
| A．The potential for AI algorithms to replace human doctors. |
| B．The reliability of AI algorithms in analyzing medical images. |
| C．The legal responsibility for misdiagnoses made by AI systems. |
| D．The biased data used for training AI algorithms. |
| A．AI could enhance doctors’ expertise and skills. |
| B．AI could lead to job losses in the medical field. |
| C．AI could decrease the quality of patient care. |
| D．AI could replace human doctors completely. |
| A．AI diagnostics could decrease the quality of patient care. |
| B．AI diagnostics could primarily serve regions with sufficient medical professionals. |
| C．AI diagnostics could bridge the gap in healthcare accessibility. |
| D．AI diagnostics could replace the need for skilled radiologists. |
5 . Peng Jingxuan, a 26-year-old Chinese girl, is now studying in a music university in Paris. While learning abroad, she is also working at spreading traditional Chinese culture to the world. She can often be found on French streets, wearing a silk Han Dynasty-style dress and playing the guzheng to passers-by.
Born in 1995, Peng began to learn the guzheng when she was seven years old. After arriving in France in late 2017, she saw many people do street performances, but few of them knew about Chinese music. So she decided to play the guzheng on the streets.
Peng made her first performance in front of a theater in October, 2018. “I was very nervous at that time, but a lot of people said they enjoyed my performance,” Peng said. Then she started to perform during weekends and holidays. After being asked plenty of times by local people about the guzheng, Peng now carries a book that explains the instrument to foreigners. Later, she posted her first video of playing the guzheng online and it spread quickly. From then on, Peng has posted many videos of her street performances. The videos have got many likes and made her a very popular guzheng artist. She has millions of fans on the Internet now.
More and more people show great interest in the guzheng after watching Peng’s performances. “People come to me and praise me for the beauty of the instrument and the music. Every time they ask me which country the guzheng comes from, I am very happy to tell them it’s from China.” Peng feels she has more responsibility to spread traditional culture. “What is national is universal. I hope to play a bigger role in making Chinese music known by the world.” said Peng.
1. Why did Peng decide to play the guzheng on the streets in Paris?| A．Because she needed to make money for her education. |
| B．Because she wanted to become famous. |
| C．Because she found few people there knew about Chinese music. |
| D．Because she wanted to make videos to post online. |
①put her first video online
②got many fans
③went to Paris
④made her first performance
| A．③④①② | B．①②③④ | C．③①④② | D．①④②③ |
| A．Advising people to visit Pang. | B．Telling the story of a popular guzheng artist. |
| C．Asking people to learn the guzheng. | D．Encouraging readers to do street performances. |
6 . Iceland is a northern European country with amazing natural beauty and oceans around. There are a number of volcanoes (火山). It has a short summer which lasts from June to August. The long winter starts from September and ends next May.
Summer in Iceland is a golden season for tourists. Every year, people from all over the world come here to see the beautiful sights and enjoy the exciting whale-seeing.
In winter, when people in Iceland finish their daily work, they will have different special activities to spend the long dark night. Skating, riding snow motorbikes and having parties can really make an exciting night. After all the fun, a hot bath must be the first choice to relax. There are also story-telling activities for children, which can teach them to be strong and kind. The most popular stories are about Christmas in Iceland.
Because of a long cold winter, Iceland has a short growing season. The food problem was always a headache for Iceland in the past. It had to buy most of its food from other countries, Later, when farmers learned to use lights and underground heat to grow crops (庄稼) all year round in the greenhouse, things changed a lot.
Living in such a nice environment, most people in Iceland live a happy life. According to a survey about happiness made each year in Europe, Iceland is always among the top 3.
1. What does the underlined word “It” refer to (指代) in Paragraph 1?| A．The ocean. | B．Natural beauty. | C．Iceland. | D．The volcano. |
| A．In spring. | B．In summer. | C．In autumn. | D．In winter. |
| A．What is the first choice to relax after the fun. |
| B．How people in Iceland finish their daily work. |
| C．What stories are the most popular in Iceland. |
| D．How people in Iceland spend the long dark night. |
| A．Because there are oceans around. | B．Because there is a long hot summer. |
| C．Because there is a long cold winter. | D．Because there are a number of volcanoes. |
| A．Iceland, a Poor Country | B．Food Problems in Iceland |
| C．Colorful Activities in Iceland | D．Iceland, an Amazing Country |
7 . 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 |
8 . A new study suggests that mindfulness education — lessons on techniques to calm the mind and body — can reduce the negative effects of stress and increase students’ ability to stay engaged, helping them stay on track academically and avoid behavior problems.
After finding that students who self-reported mindful habits performed better on tests and had higher grades, researchers from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University wanted to know if school-based mindfulness training could help more students reap similar benefits.
They designed a study focusing on sixth-graders in a Boston school. The study showed that sixth-graders who participated in an eight-week mindfulness were less stressed out than their classmates who hadn’t. Practicing mindfulness had helped improve the ability to focus in the moment, expanding students’ capacity to learn and regulate their emotions.
Four times a week, instructors from Calmer Choice, a Massachusetts nonprofit specializing in mindfulness education, taught the group techniques and led them through practices, like focusing on a rock for a minute, then discussing when their mind wandered and refocused on the rock. Another group of sixth-graders took computer coding during that time instead. The students were randomly assigned between the groups.
At the end of the eight weeks, the mindfulness group reported being less stressed than they had been before the mindfulness education, and better able to practice self-control. And their amygdalae, the part of the brain that controls emotion, responded less to pictures of fearful faces than they did prior to the mindfulness work, suggesting their brains were less sensitive to negative stimuli, or, in other words, that they were less likely to get stressed out and lose focus. The group who attended coding classes didn’t see the same benefits.
The findings suggest that the mindfulness instruction helped boost students’ attention skills, as well as develop coping mechanisms for stress. The researchers believe it could be especially useful for schools to support students suffering from severe mental damage and other adversities that trigger stress in the body, hurting students’ ability to succeed.
1. What was the purpose of the study?| A．To examine the techniques for practicing mindfulness. |
| B．To study the effects of group mindfulness training on students. |
| C．To see how students help themselves to perform better on tests. |
| D．To understand why mindfulness training calms the mind and body. |
| A．By listing benefits of mindfulness education. |
| B．By scanning the brain to see how it controls emotions. |
| C．By teaching different students different mindfulness skills. |
| D．By comparing two groups of students attending different classes. |
| A．They felt easier to stay focused. | B．They were better at computer coding. |
| C．Their mind was wandering more actively. | D．Their brains were more aware of negativity. |
| A．Stressful parents. | B．Mindful instructors. |
| C．Emotional students. | D．School educators. |
9 . William Lindesay, renowned Great Wall expert and conservationist, and his wife Wu Qi have traveled across the globe by the back paths, providing their sons Jimmy and Tommy a unique environment for personal growth.
Sunhats, backpacks, sneakers and trekking poles — these are the day-to-day must-haves of the family. This East-meets-West couple started traveling while their younger son was still in nappies in 2003. Most of their trips, most of which are far from the hot spots recommended by travel guidebooks, seem more rigorous than leisurely — heritage study in the Mongolian deserts, a 53-kilometer hiking tour of New Zealand, a one-day climb of three English summits and a six-day train ride from Beijing to Moscow.
“Real travel may be hard, uncertain, uncomfortable, but there’s a feel-good factor when you pass a test of some kind,” Lindesay wrote in the family’s newly published travel memoir Pages of Discovery.
Lindesay attaches great importance to learning out of the classroom, saying that children might score well on school tests, but that experience of the world outside, in distant lands, with different languages, scripts, political structures, and religious beliefs, is the real testing ground.
Children in this international family did not have the same pressure to perform on school tests, but they had “homework” on the road. Wu asked her sons to write travel diaries, collect tickets, draw maps and summarize travel tips. She says such habits, though they might not directly improve test scores, will pay dividends in later life.
These experiences certainly shaped their sons’ characters and influenced their chosen study at university. One read world history, the other international relations. The two brothers also share an interest in historical monuments, and the Great Wall in particular. They are now planning to follow in their father’s footsteps with a new 4,500-km hike on the Great Wall.
“My parents view the world as a big classroom, and my brother and I are the biggest beneficiaries,” Jimmy says.
1. Which of the following best describes their trips across the world?| A．Hard and risky. | B．Unique yet stressful. |
| C．Challenging and educational. | D．Leisurely yet rewarding. |
| A．They think little of school education. |
| B．They believe travel provides real education. |
| C．They ask their sons to follow their career path. |
| D．They require their sons to perform well on school tests. |
| A．Bring advantages. | B．Pay a price. |
| C．Improve scores. | D．Make mistakes. |
| A．Good company on the road is the shortest cut. |
| B．Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. |
| C．A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. |
| D．It is better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books. |
10 . Giving Tuesday is the perfect time for you to help out some pets in need. And we have a few ideas.
By design, Giving Tuesday arrives the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and is a perfect time to give to those less fortunate. That includes dogs, thousands of whom will be spending the holidays in shelters rather than loving homes. For a few dollars, you can make their stay a little easier.
Here are several ways you can contribute to animal welfare on Giving Tuesday.
Your Local Animal Shelter
This is the best way to see an immediate impact while keeping dollars in your area. Shelters almost certainly could use your help. If you can’t adopt a pet or donate some time, a money gift is the next best option.
Find your local rescue’s website or social media profile and see if they have a page where you can donate. You can also check and see if the organization has a wish list you can view. Then you can buy something you’re sure they need.
Organizations Affected By Natural Disasters
2022 was yet another year full of natural disasters, whether it’s flooding, hurricanes, or fires. Through it all, shelters and rescues keep caring for their dogs and cats, keeping them safe and healthy.
Then comes the aftermath (余波). Shelters still have to care for many lost or homeless pets—numbers that often increase after disasters—as their communities clean up and rebuild. There’s no pause as their jobs get harder. If you know of an animal welfare organization affected by a disaster this year—natural or otherwise—they could use some help.
Plenty More Giving Opportunities
There is no shortage of places to donate on Giving Tuesday, so if you’re still unsure on where to direct your generosity—or, hopefully, willing to give to a few organizations—here are even more ideas.
Canine Cellmates, a program that aims to train dogs to be adoptable
America’s VetDogs, which partners service dogs with veterans (老兵)
Best Friends Society, an organization dedicated to avoiding the euthanisation (使安乐死) of shelter dogs
Biscuits and Bones, which organizes dog food donations
There are hundreds of other worthy organizations not listed here, so research your own area and give somewhere close to your heart.
1. Which of the following is the best way to help your local animal shelter?| A．Donating money | B．Volunteering |
| C．Providing animals | D．Saving dollars |
| A．It is hard to clean up | B．They are easily damaged |
| C．Pets tend to become unhealthy | D．They have more animals to deal with |
| A．Best Friends Society |
| B．America’s VetDogs |
| C．Canine Cellmates |
| D．Biscuits and Bones |
