1 . The following four famous paintings—from Jan van Eyck’s portrait to Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece—have stood the test of time.
The Arnolfini Portrait
The Arnolfini Portrait of Jan van Eyck, an oil painting on wood produced in 1434, in which a man and a woman hold hands with a window behind him and a bed behind her, is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. This painting is as visually interesting as it is famed. It is also an informative document on fifteenth-century society, through Jan van Eyck’s heavy use of symbolism—while husbands went out to engage in business, wives concerned themselves with domestic duties.
The Starry Night
During his 12—month stay at the mental hospital near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France between 1889 and 1890, Vincent Willem van Gogh painted The Starry Night, an oil on canvas(帆布), a moderately abstract landscape painting of an expressive night sky over a small hillside village. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting from a private collector in 1941, it was not well known, but it has since become one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.
The Harvesters
The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood completed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It depicted the harvest time which most commonly occurred within the months of August and September. Nicolaes Jonghelinck, a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp, commissioned this painting. The painting has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1919.
Guernica
Guernica, a large black-and-white oil painting, was painted by the Cubist Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso in 1937. The title “Guernica” refers to the city that was bombed by Nazi planes during the Spanish Civil War. The painting depicted the horrors of war and as a result, has come to be an anti-war symbol and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Today, the painting is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.
1. Which of the following paintings was produced earliest?| A．Guernica. | B．The Harvesters. |
| C．The Starry Night. | D．The Arnolfini Portrait. |
| A．Pieter Bruegel the Elder. | B．Vincent Willem van Gogh. |
| C．Jan van Eyck. | D．Pablo Picasso. |
| A．It was an oil painting on wood. |
| B．It depicted the painter’s life in mental hospital. |
| C．It wasn’t widely recognized before 1941. |
| D．It was given away to the museum by a private collector. |
2 . If you’ve ever been bitten by a mosquito, you know how frustrating their bites can be.
Why does a mosquito bite itch?
When a mosquito bites you, it pierces (刺入) the skin using a special mouthpart to suck up blood and injects saliva (唾液) into your skin. Mosquitoes’ saliva has lots of proteins in it, some of which our body recognizes as foreign, and our immune cells spring into action to try to fight them.
What helps resist the urge to scratch?
“Don’t scratch” is the advice that most experts and health professionals give. As hard and sometimes unrealistic as it can sound, scratching inflames (发炎) the skin, and the inflammation makes the skin itch more. “
Instead, there are dozens of creams and sprays that promise itch relief as well as home remedy (疗法). Choose what’s right for you can often come down to trial and error. In general, all of the various anti-itch creams are very similar. There is no scientific evidence these remedies work, and they can come with their own side effects.
Some people can have serious allergic reactions to mosquitoes, although in practice it is rare, Vosshall said. If you experience severe symptoms such as breathing trouble, you should seek medical attention immediately.
| A．What to do with a mosquito bite? |
| B．When to seek medical attention? |
| C．It’s not the bite that causes the itch |
| D．The bites will definitely cause severe allergies |
| E．The little red bumps swell up almost immediately |
| F．Scratching can cause secondary infections and prolong the discomfort |
| G．In fact, the best remedy to fight the itch is to prevent a bite in the first place |
During the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, young athletes wore sports clothing
A China Chic artist Yu Yang said, “China Chic represents a kind of pride and
4 . It was surprised for me to learn the accommodation arrangements at the log home we were sharing with my in-laws for the week——
As we settled in, we had a heated discussion about the number of deer we had
In the evening, my wife and I retreated to the upstairs loft, and my in-laws
Sometime later, I was awakened by a loud, low-pitched growl(低声吼叫). I saw a large
| A．specifically | B．basically | C．generally | D．honestly |
| A．followed | B．adopted | C．spotted | D．fed |
| A．headed for | B．looked for | C．watched out | D．sought out |
| A．excited | B．alarmed | C．disappointed | D．embarrassed |
| A．zombie | B．ghost | C．deer | D．bear |
| A．cleaned | B．purchased | C．shared | D．occupied |
| A．active | B．alive | C．absorbed | D．asleep |
| A．but | B．so | C．and | D．while |
| A．shadow | B．person | C．figure | D．animal |
| A．dashed | B．floated | C．jogged | D．inched |
| A．present | B．hug | C．attack | D．kiss |
| A．jumped back | B．got up | C．backed off | D．backed away |
| A．joyful | B．awkward | C．painful | D．memorable |
| A．arrangement | B．requirement | C．need | D．switch |
| A．better | B．taller | C．scarier | D．heavier |
5 . Eight Days from just £299 Departs May-October Includes:
Return flights from 8 UK airports to Naples
Return airport to hotel transport
Seven nights’ accommodation at the 3 ☆ Hotel Nice The services of guides Government taxes
Join us for a wonderful holiday in one of Europe’s most wonderful corners. A favorite with holidaymakers — indeed the ancient Romans called the area “happy land” — this simply attractive coastline of colorful towns, splendid views and the warm Mediterranean Sea is a perfect choice for a truly memorable holiday!
Choose between the peaceful traditional village of Sant’ Agata, set on a hillside six miles from Sorrento, or the more lively and well-known international resort town of Sorrento, with wonderful views over the Bay of Naples.
Breathtaking scenery and famous sights everywhere. From the legendary Isle of Capri to the haunting ruins of Pompeii, and from the unforgettable “Amalfi Drive” to the delightful resorts of Positano, Sorrento and Ravello, the area is a feast for the eyes! Should you choose to join us, we know that you will not be disappointed!
With a choice of hotels and optional excursions including Capri, Pompeii and the “Amalfi Drive”, this is a truly unmissable holiday.
Price based on two tourists sharing a twin/double room at the Hotel Nice. Like to know more? Then telephone New-market Air Holidays Ltd on: 0845-226-7766 (All calls charged at local rates).
1. What are not included in the price of £299?| A．Transport between the airport and the hotel. |
| B．Double rooms for every two tourists. |
| C．All telephone calls made by tourists. |
| D．The services of guides to tourists. |
| A．To invite people to take a breath in the Bay of Naples. |
| B．To advise people to telephone New-market Air Holidays Ltd. |
| C．To persuade people to enjoy a boat tour in the Mediterranean Sea. |
| D．To attract people to go to Sant’ Agata or Sorrento for sight-seeing. |
| A．For the price offered is reasonable and the sights are beautiful. |
| B．For good services are offered to those who stay in double rooms. |
| C．For the sights are attractive and the tour starts in May or October. |
| D．For the price is low for those intending to stay at the 3☆Hotel Nice. |
Do you know the UK government has
In the past ten years, more than 4,500,000
7 . Quite often, no matter how good you are, your success is dependent on how other people such as your boss, peers, clients and customers perceive your communication and responses. So when you come to people who make the key difference between helping you or holding you back, how can you influence and persuade them to give what you want?
Psychological researches repeatedly show that people generally make up their minds on whether to help or hinder you based on whether they like you or not. It is human nature. What can you do about it? You need to make a good impression on others to ensure they like you and give you what you want. Research again shows that people give opportunities to the people they like best. In fact, most people actually make up their minds about other people in the first five minutes or less of meeting someone. These are called first impressions or “moments of truth” .
Once they make up their minds, they tend to be very reluctant to change their opinions. You hardly have room for error when making that first impression on a new acquaintance. Therefore, whether you are applying for a job, going for an interview, attending a meeting with your boss or peers, or serving a customer, you need to prepare yourself mentally and rehearse how you will manage the first few minutes of your interaction. This includes doing your homework to gather information and researching all possible issues so you will know how to address them should the other party raise them unexpectedly.
It is amazing how poorly some people can come across at the beginning. The worst thing is that they do not even seem to realize it. Having good qualifications and an excellent work performance does not excuse candidates from trying to make a good first impression.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Persuading people to like you. | B．People making the key difference. |
| C．Winning strategies for a job interview. | D．Making a good first impression. |
| A．They make quick decisions. |
| B．They change their opinions frequently. |
| C．They prefer people who are experienced. |
| D．They pay much attention to good qualifications. |
| A．Show your friendliness and confidence. |
| B．Ask the interviewers for homework to do. |
| C．Know as much as possible about the situation. |
| D．Do something unexpected to impress interviewers. |
| A．Examples of how good first impressions help people succeed. |
| B．Some practical advice to help make a good first impression. |
| C．Questions that might be asked by the interviewers. |
| D．How to win over people who don't like you at first. |
8 . It was last weekend when my kids and I flew to Texas for my daughter’s trampoline (蹦床) competition, plus a couple of side trips. We would tour the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. We would visit Waco’s Magnolia Market. We would play outdoor mini golf in January.
We would have nothing to complain about! We would be leaving behind school and work for a hotel pool and having wall-to-wall fun!
And yet — we found things to complain about. The pool was bigger in that other hotel! Why do you get to shower first? They call this coffee?
Luckily, I remembered to take my imaginary coat of armor (盔甲) with me. I’ve learned to put it on as soon as we arrive somewhere as no complaint can get through it. They simply bounce off it and land harmlessly at my feet. I shrug (耸肩). I smile.
For three days, we had great fun. Silly complaints were ignored, and we had greater fun. Until it was time to return the car, get on a plane, and fly home.
Except our flight was canceled. And so was the flight after that. And once that airline resumed (恢复) flying, there would be no room on any of its flights for another 21 hours.
We spent the next couple of hours securing seats for the next evening, tracking down our already-checked bags, and finding a hotel room. We hit the hotel pool before bed. We swam well into the night, my kids making up songs and singing and jumping and laughing.
And that was when it hit me that family travel is a lot more than I thought before. It’s discovering that things don’t have to go right to go well. It’s remembering that joy and memories are where you make them, not where you find them. My kids made them at the tail end of a very long day, in a tiny pool near a Texas airport. So I did too.
1. What was the author’s main reason for travelling to Texas?| A．To visit a football stadium. |
| B．To take part in a golf event. |
| C．To accompany her daughter to a game. |
| D．To shop on a famous international market. |
| A．She paid no attention to them. |
| B．She turned to strangers for help. |
| C．She put on her armor to avoid them. |
| D．She asked her children to solve them. |
| A．Travel more with children. | B．Happiness is something you make. |
| C．Book a flight in advance. | D．Respect children’s rights. |
| A．The Best Family Vacation Ever |
| B．The Best Things About Travelling |
| C．Find the Source of Happy Memories |
| D．Travelling with Children Around the World |
9 . The Forbidden City is well known for being full of Chinese cultural and historical relics. But Masters in the Forbidden City (《我在故宫修文物》) does not just focus on the stories of the past. Instead, the documentary movie, which came out in Chinese cinemas on 16 December, focuses on ordinary people — the restorers of relics and antiquities (古董).
The stories are told at a slow and relaxed pace, reflecting the restorers’ work. Restoration of cultural relics and antiques can be time-consuming, and sometimes boring. Yet these restorers’ patience and peace of mind are especially precious in a society where everything is changing so fast.
“If you choose this job, you have to stand hours of work sitting on a chair. You need to be quiet and get used to being quiet,” says Wang Jin, an ancient clock repair expert.
A touching part of the documentary is the spirit of craftsmanship in the restorers. “Years of humdrum work requires not only skill, but also faith and spirit,” China Daily commented. “Looking for preciseness and perfection, devoting yourself to work, patience, endurance, loneliness... all these qualities come from the craftsman spirit. ”
But unlike the popular idea of serious experts who sit around being serious, the documentary shows off the enthusiasm of the restorers. They play their guitars and make jokes about each other after a long day of restoration work.
One scene that has been very popular with Internet users features a young female restorer riding a bicycle through the empty Forbidden City on a Monday. While she is doing this, a narrator says, “The last person to do this was Pu Yi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty.”
Masters in the Forbidden City has proved many people’s wrong ideas about antique restorers, allowing them to realise that they are not old, dull professors, but people in their 40s, 30s and even 20s who can be quite pleasing to the eye.
1. Why is the documentary movie made?| A．To show people how antiques are restored. |
| B．To display relics seldom seen by ordinary people. |
| C．To draw attention to Chinese antique restorers’ lives. |
| D．To praise the craftsmanship of Chinese antique restorers. |
| A．He often gets tired with his work. |
| B．There is no need to do restoration work fast. |
| C．Antique restorers need to be patient and peaceful. |
| D．It takes years of hard work to adapt to antique restoration. |
| A．Boring. | B．Different. | C．Relaxing. | D．Unusual. |
| A．To remind the audience of the last Qing emperor. |
| B．To show the strange hobbies of young antique restorers. |
| C．To encourage the young to consider a career in antique restoration in the future. |
| D．To show that the documentary breaks from the old, dull image of antique restorers. |
10 . At 74 James Patterson has sold more than 425 million copies of his 200 novels globally, making him one of the highest paid authors in the world. “I do not work for a living. I play for a living. I love doing it,” Patterson tells CNBC. But Patterson’s road to success didn’t happen overnight. He started writing as a side hustle and he faced a lot of rejection before getting his first book published.
Patterson grew up in the woods in Newburgh, New York with an insurance salesman father and a schoolteacher mother. Despite having dreams of being a writer, the idea “always seemed presumptuous”, Patterson says. But after reading books by James Joyce, “it really turned me on to reading, and then I started writing,” he says.
After college, Patterson got his first job as a junior copy writer at the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. While climbing the corporate ladder, Patterson wrote his first book, The Thomas Berryman Number in the mid-70s. The book “got turned down by 31 publishers”, Patterson says. But after it was finally published in 1976, “then it won an Edgar Award for best first novel.” The Edgar Award, which is named after Edgar Alan Poe, honors the best writers in mystery fiction and non-fiction.
Despite publishing his first book at age 26, Patterson didn’t have a bestseller until he was 40. “It wasn’t like all of a sudden,” he says. In fact, Patterson kept his day job for decades and got promoted to CEO of J. Walter Thompson in 1988. During that time, Patterson says he would read well over 100 books a year to help spark his creativity. “I have a huge imagination and I’m constantly asking, what about this? What about that?” he says.
Despite his success, Patterson says he doesn’t like to give advice, especially about writing. But he credits his own success to his work ethic and passion. “I also don’t take myself too seriously,” he says. “Yeah, I sell a lot of books, so what?”
1. What do we know about James Patterson?| A．He produced a bestseller when he was 26. |
| B．He read a lot of books to get source of inspiration. |
| C．He worked as a full-time writer when he was young. |
| D．He got inspiration for his first book when climbing a ladder. |
| A．Unrealistic. | B．Contradictory. | C．Imaginative. | D．Inspiring. |
| A．He has sold a lot of books. | B．He doesn’t take his job seriously. |
| C．He values positive attitudes to work. | D．He is unwilling to give advice to readers. |
| A．The Secret to Career Success | B．A Tough Road to a Bestseller Writer |
| C．An Edgar Award Winner | D．A Not-to-be-missed Fiction |
