1 . 阅读下面短文, 根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

Chinese Fancy Knots, also called Chinese knots, refer to the traditional decorative knots in Chinese culture. They began as a form of folk art in the Tang and Song Dynasties in China. And they became popular in the Ming Dynasty. Now they are taken as one of the most representative symbols of Chinese culture and regarded as popular gifts for foreign friends.

As for the name itself, it is definitely meaningful. The Chinese character for “knot”, jie, means “connection” “combination”. It is associated with a wide range of cultural concepts — marriage, brotherhood, friendship, unity, reunion, etc. Meanwhile, the pronunciation of the Chinese character jie is very close to that of ji, “good luck”. As a result, Chinese knots perfectly serve as a way to express people’s strong wishes for good things like joy, love and good luck.

Besides, the knots, widely existing in the everyday life of the Chinese, come in various sizes. Small ones are attached to jewellery, clothes, gift-wrapping and furniture in order to attract people’s attention, while large ones are applied like fine paintings or photographs to decorate a living room or study.

In addition to their varied sizes and styles, Chinese knots are famous for their bright colors. Each knot is made of a single string of cotton, silk, gold or silver, and named according to its shape and meaning. But the colors of the strings are rich and have various traditional cultural meanings. Among the most commonly used base colors, red symbolizes good luck and happiness, green means health and harmony, and yellow, which was once known as the emperor’s color, may represent wealth and honour.

In brief, the famous Chinese fancy knots fully reflect the depth of Chinese culture.

1. When did Chinese knots start as a form of folk art?
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2. According to the passage, what do Chinese knots express?
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3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Chinese knots come in different sizes, styles, and each knot is made of several strings.
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4. Besides Chinese knots, what would you like to choose as a gift representing Chinese culture for a foreign friend? Why? (In about 40 words)
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3 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

In most countries,     1     (turn) 18 marks the start of adulthood. But what does reaching this milestone, the age of majority, really mean? Will you be     2     (complete) in charge of your own life and able to express yourself in new and exciting ways? What new responsibilities will it bring? Some young people have begun to feel more aware of other people and to develop a     3     (strong) sense of social responsibilities than before.

4 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The young man in question, Charles Darwin, was a geologist and naturalist, fascinated by rocks, plants and animals. He     1     (leave) England on the ship, the Beagle, in 1831. The journey gave him the chance     2     (study) various living things in their natural environments. After Darwin had spent some time in South America, his room on the ship was crowded with samples of the plants and animals he     3     (collect). As he studied these, he asked     4     (he) the question: how did different species come to exist?

5 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Florentijn Hofman is a Dutch artist,     1     large sculptures are on display all over the world. One way for him to find inspiration is thinking about his children’s toys. These     2     (object) have given him ideas for his animal sculptures, such as the famous Rubber Duck. A more recent work of his is the huge Floating Fish,     3     was set among the beautiful landscape of Wuzhen West Scenic Zone.

8 . Technology is having an impact on every sport, from individual sports such as swimming to team sports as diverse as soccer and sailing. Those with access to the best technologies are playing faster and smarter.

The main technological change in recent years has been through data collection and analysis. Data is collected by underwater cameras, tidal sensors (传感器), sensors worn by athletes, video analysis, and in many other ways. The data is then fed through computer software and analyzed by team managers, sports scientists, coaches, and players.

It is not only about improving performance, but also reducing injury and illness. Below are just a few examples.

In cycling, bike sensors measure speed, power, and pedal turns, which are then sent to the cyclist’s glasses. Cyclists can see important information without having to look away from the track. If they need to hit a specific time in their training, they can see how they are doing and speed up if required.

A British company, which usually services the aerospace and defence industries, has worked to enable British wheelchair athletes to achieve a 20 percent increase in the ability to gain speed. Not only are they faster, but the positional changes also reduce injury to players’ shoulders and elbows. For other disabled athletes, 3D-printed prosthetic limbs (四肢) are more lightweight, delivering improved power output.

More records are falling in swimming than those in any other sports, and technology is playing a huge role in this. At the University of Sheffield in England, naval research methods are being used in a pool to produce 3D computer simulations of swimmers. Small changes in swimmers’ positioning of their limbs, hands, or how far their head comes out of the water can cause a large impact on speed. These are then analyzed to develop better swimming styles for swimmers.

In boxing, software is available to some teams which provides detailed analysis of their competitors’ fight styles, and thus their threats and opportunities when facing a particular boxer. This helps them work on their strategies.

Some people argue that some of these technological advances go too far. They believe that they are a form of cheating because they give athletes an increased advantage that is better than their natural ability. It is yet up to the governing bodies of different sports to decide how far each technology can go.

1. What can we learn about technology in sports?

A．The data is collected by sports scientists.

B．Technologies have no impact on team sports.

C．The data is analyzed by people relevant to sports.

D．Software provides analysis of boxers’ own fight styles.

2. What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about?

A．Cyclists can see important information through technology.

B．3D-printed prosthetic limbs are widely used among disabled athletes.

C．The British company services the aerospace industries with technology.

D．Disabled athletes can perform better and be less injured by using technology.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the impact of technological advances on sports?

A．Objective.

B．Favorable.

C．Opposed.

D．Indifferent.

9 . Have you heard of Yangshi Lei? For some 200 years, the Lei family provided their design and architectural talent to the Qing Dynasty as imperial builders. Spanning seven generations, their skills along with excellent craftsmanship ensured that they rose to great fame and influence in China. In their later work, they incorporated details of the southern architectural style and garden design ideas in their designs.

One of the places showing this is the Summer Palace. Situated in Haidian District, northwest of Beijing, it shows the beauty and the grandeur of royal gardens. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List and described it as “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design.” With over 3,000 man-made structures, which include bridges, pavilions, and corridors, even the lake area alone is a showcase of many of the Lei family’s excellent designs.

Kunming Lake is designed to represent the traditional Chinese gardening practice of “one pond, three hills.” There are three small islands within Kunming Lake: Nanhu Island, Zaojiantang Island, and Zhijingge Island.

Many features of Kunming Lake are inspired by the scenery from the region south of the Yangtze River. In particular, the West Dike is a recreation of the famous Sudi Dike on West Lake in Hangzhou. The causeway, which can be walked across, cuts diagonally through the southern part of the lake. Like the Sudi Dike, the West Dike is connected by six bridges, each with its own distinctive style. The largest bridge on Kunming Lake, however, is the 17-Arch Bridge. It combines features of the Precious Belt Bridge in Suzhou and the Lugou Bridge in Beijing. The entire bridge is 150 meters long and eight meters wide.

If you can’t go further than Beijing, then don’t miss the National Library of China. This is where most of the Lei family’s architectural design drafts are kept. These include projective drawings, front and side elevations, revolving drawings, and even some architectural models which look remarkably like digital models made today. This shows the advanced drawing technology and skill of the Lei architects. Their architectural ability was way ahead of their time.

Like the Summer Palace, many others of the Lei family’s structures have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Also, in 2007, their architectural drawings and models were included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. The Lei family’s significant influence on Chinese imperial architecture ensures that their work is still remembered and appreciated.

1. What can we learn from this passage?

A．There are three small ponds within Kunming Lake.

B．The Summer Palace was put on the World Heritage List in 1998.

C．West Lake is described as a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design.

D．The 17-Arch Bridge on Kunming Lake is a copy of the Precious Belt Bridge in Suzhou.

2. What does the underlined word “incorporated” in Paragraph I mean?

A．Contained.

B．Ignored.

C．Compared.

D．Described.

3. The author suggests visiting the National Library of China to ________.

A．see the drawings of famous painters

B．know about the new digital products

C．learn the history of the Qing Dynasty

D．see the design drafts of the Lei Family

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To compare the architectural style between the north and the south.

B．To present the wonderful design and beautiful scenery of Kunming Lake.

C．To stress the Lei family’s great influence on Chinese imperial architecture.

D．To call on people to protect the scenery and architecture of the Summer Palace.

10 . Wang Yaping’s dream of becoming an astronaut was inspired by Yang Liwei’s 2003 space flight, which was China’s first manned space mission.

Born in a small village in Yantai, Shandong Province in 1980, Wang had been an enthusiastic long-distance runner since primary school, and competed in local sports meetings.

In 1997, Wang, a high school student, was encouraged to register for the pilot recruitment program by her classmates because she was good at sports and didn’t wear glasses. The 17-year-old had been considering applying to a teaching college, as her parents suggested.

Given her strong build and ability to stay calm under pressure, Wang passed all tests as well as physical examinations and became a female pilot in China. After four years of systemic education and tough training, Wang eventually learned to fly four different types of aircraft before graduation.

During her service as a military pilot, she accumulated 1,567 hours of flight time and was involved in major tasks such as the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake relief effort and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

In May 2010, Wang became a member of China’s first batch of female astronauts. The joy of being selected did not last long as the hard training quickly sank in.

In the first year, Wang could not get the top level in the high-G training, during which she had to endure eight times the force of gravity in a spinning centrifuge. The training imitates the environment when the spacecraft takes off, enters orbit and returns. Wang improved her performance by doing extra core-strength exercises every day to strengthen her back and abdominal muscles. She got the top level at the end of 2011. Wang realized her space dream in 2013 as part of the Shenzhou-10 mission.

Over the past two years, Wang has logged in over 6,000 hours of strict training. The most tiring exercise was the seven-hour underwater training session during which she had to wear a special suit that weighed over 100 kilograms to simulate extravehicular activities in a weightless environment.

Wang has become the first female taikonaut to work in China’s Tiangong space station as well as the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.

1. Why did Wang want to become an astronaut?

A．Because she was able to stay calm under pressure.

B．Because she was good at sports and didn’t wear glasses.

C．Because she was influenced by China’s first manned space flight.

D．Because she was advised to register for the pilot program by her parents.

2. From this passage, we can know that ________.

A．Wang won a long-distance runner championship

B．Wang was the first Chinese female to take a spacewalk

C．Wang went to a teaching college encouraged by her classmates

D．Wang thought the seven-hour underwater training session was easy

3. What did Wang do after she joined China’s first batch of female astronauts?

A．She learned to fly four different types of aircraft.

B．She participated in the Shenzhou-10 mission of China.

C．She received four years of systemic education in university.

D．She got involved in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake relief effort.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Wang?

A．Calm and friendly.	B．Warm-hearted and creative.
C．Modest and honest.	D．Hardworking and determined.