1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Liu Ruying,     1     grandfather is a huge fan of Peking Opera, has been interested in Peking Opera for much of her young life. Her grandfather is a great influence     2     her. At the age of 8, she     3    (begin) to practice the classic art. It wasn’t easy for a little girl     4    (experience) the difficult training, as performances combine martial arts, dancing and acrobatics(杂技).

“Sometimes I was tired,“ she said. ”I had to balance my studies and other     5    (course) I was interested in, such as dance. But the great charm(魅力) of Peking Opera made me always practice it.”

When Liu got the news that her region would have a cultural exchange with other countries, she had the idea of     6    (introduce) Peking Opera to the world in English. With     7     help of her mother, she took part in the activity after several months of practice.

“I     8    (extreme) love traditional Chinese culture,” she said. “Peking Opera has a long history of about 200 years and     9    (consider) a treasure of our nation. We should let     10    (we) make great efforts to carry forward our culture and protect the cultural diversity of the world.”

2 . “友善”是中华民族的传统美德，你校以“友善”为主题举办英语征文比赛,内容包括：
1. 日常生活中的友善行为；
2. 友善行为的意义或价值；
3. 提出倡议。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：传统美德traditional virtues
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world that staged public celebrations for International Pillow Fight Day. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own sacrificial cushions, strangers struck heavily each other in playful feather from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?

As a cultural sign, the pillow is deceptively soft. Since at least the 16th Century, the humble pillow has been given unexpected meanings. The Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu tells a famous story about a wise man who meets a depressed young scholar at an inn and offers him a magic pillow filled with the most vivid dreams of a seemingly more fulfilling life. When the young man awakens to discover that his happy 50-year dream has in fact come and gone in the short space of an afternoon’s nap, our impression of the pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror.

Subsequent writers have likewise seized upon the pillow. When the 19th-Century English novelist Charlotte Bronte poetically observed “a ruffled (不平的) mind makes a restless pillow”, she didn’t just change the expected order of the adjectives and nouns, but instead she made unclear the boundaries between mind and matter — the thing resting and the thing rested upon.

It’s a trick perhaps Bronte learned from the Renaissance philosopher Montaigne, who once insisted that “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness confront each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.

With the words of Tang. Bronte, and Montaigne, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Like a ritual of release, the annual international pillow fight amounts to a kind of cleansing, a brushing off of daily worries: an emptying of the world’s collective mind. Rather than a launch-pad for weightless rest, the pillow is a symbol of heavy thought: an anchor that drags the world’s soul down — one that must be lightened.

1. The example of Tang Xianzu is used to illustrate that ________.

A．pillows give people satisfactory dreams

B．dreams are always wonderful while the real world is cruel

C．people’s impression of pillows changes from wonder to terror

D．pillows symbolically convey the meaning in contrast to their soft appearance

2. From the passage, we can learn that Charlotte Bronte ________.

A．wrote poems about pillows

B．regarded pillows as reflections of our minds

C．shared the same viewpoint as Tang Xianzu on pillows

D．was likely to have been influenced by the thoughts of the Renaissance

3. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head” most probably means ________.

A．pillows give us comfort

B．pillows make people more intelligent

C．people with too many thoughts have less inner peace

D．people can easily fall asleep when they know nothing

4. According to the author, why is Pillow Fight Day so popular around the world?

A．Because it is a ritual release.

B．Because it makes life delightful.

C．Because it comforts restless minds.

D．Because it contains a profound meaning of life.

4 . Tea originated in China over two thousand years ago. Today, the country owns over 2,000 varieties of tea, differing in taste, sweet and purpose. Some teas, such as Huang Shan, refresh the sense of taste with their special flavor, while others, such as spicy chai, are added with spices (香料) .

China first started exporting tea during the Ming dynasty (1368—1644), and the drink has since come to lead humanity’s drinking habits far beyond Asia. It is the most widely consumed drink on Earth today, aside from water and coffee.

In Chinese mythology, tea was first discovered by Chinese Emperor Shennong (“Divine Farmer”) in 737BC， when a soft wind carried some leaves into a pot of boiling water. However, the oldest dependable evidence comes from ancient plant remains found in 2016 in Xi’an and western Tibet, showing that tea was grown at least 2,100 years ago during the Western Handy nasty when it was most likely used as medicine.

Generation after generation of tea makers experimented with different brewing (冲泡) techniques, leaves, and ceremonies, resulting in today’s tea culture full of life. There’s no doubt that China’s tea culture has become one of the most popular, diverse, and unique traditions in the world.

China is already the world’s largest tea exporter. The inclusion of the country’s traditional tea-making process on the UNESCO list will obviously generate practical benefits for tea makers in the country and across the world as more resources are given to protect and preserve such millennia-old tea culture and technical practices. As additional attention is brought to this traditional technique, the Chinese tea sector will further tap its potential and improve its growth.

As one of China’s oldest cultural practices, traditional tea processing techniques show the spirit of modesty (谦逊), peace, and comity (礼让). No matter your preference for green or dark tea, with milk or without, Chinese tea isn’t just brews. Instead, it is a bridge connecting different cultures and peoples.

1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Chinese tea has a fresh taste.	B．Chinese tea is added with spices.
C．Chinese tea has a long history.	D．Chinese tea has a rich variety.

2. When did China begin to export tea?

A．In about 737 BC.

B．Two thousand years ago.

C．During the Ming dynasty.

D．During the Western Handy nasty.

3. How does the author find about Chinese tea?

A．Hopeful.

B．Objective.

C．Careless.

D．Disapproving.

4. What is the best tittle for the text?

A．Chinese Tea Benefits the Globe a Lot

B．Chinese Protect and Develop Its Tea Culture

C．Chinese Tea Is Included in the UNESCO List

D．China Plays a Vital Part in Cultural Diversity

5 . It is no secret that China has an amazingly rich history and culture. My first exposure (接触) to Chinese culture came totally by chance. One day, I entered my grandfather’s personal library and took a book named Tao Te Ching from one of the shelves. As an 8-year-old, the book’s content completely confused me, but it provided me with an early connection to a beautiful and great philosophical (哲学的) tradition that still influences me today.

Around this time, I also came across several cartoons heavily inspired by traditional Chinese culture and martial arts such as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. Both cartoons describe beautiful landscapes and buildings similar to those found in classical Chinese paintings. This further developed my love of the rich and beautiful culture.

At school I began studying Chinese. My interest in the language developed early on, combining my love of travelling with my love of meeting new people. Later on, my interest in the language developed into exploring widespread Chinese culture. I wanted to challenge myself in a totally new linguistic (语言的) landscape and listen to the lives and stories of others in their own language. I have been lucky enough to have lived in China for around three years. I loved every second I spent there and there is never a shortage of things to see and do, people to meet, and foods to enjoy.

It is safe to say that my journey to studying Chinese has only just begun and these first steps are only a drop in the ocean of lifelong learning, but as the Chinese philosopher Laozi says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

1. How does the author like the book Tao Te Ching?

A．It encourages him to go to the library.

B．It improves his behavior and habits.

C．It has a long lasting influence on him.

D．It makes him know Chinese society better.

2. What makes the author more interested in Chinese culture?

A．Watching some cartoons.	B．Admiring Chinese paintings.
C．Living abroad for long.	D．Cooking Chinese food.

3. What can we learn from paragraph 3?

A．Chinese culture differs greatly from others’.

B．Travelling takes up much of the author’s time.

C．It’s easy for the author to get on well with others.

D．The author learns languages in real surroundings.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．My Grandpa’s Influence on Me	B．My Exploration of Chinese Culture
C．My Travel Experience in China	D．My Exposure to TaoTe Ching

6 . On April 18—the International Day for Monuments and Sites, China Daily’s digital employee Yuanxi and Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes’ official virtual cartoon figure Jiayao together introduced an interactive digital platform that hosts a virtual copy of the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave(藏经洞) to the world.

The platform was developed jointly by the Dunhuang Academy and the Chinese tech firm Tencent. It uses gaming technologies to show the historical scenes of the Library Cave in the digital world.

The Library Cave in Mogao Grottoes was discovered in 1900, with more than 60,000 cultural relics dating from the 4th century to the 11th century unearthed. It was one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.

On the platform, visitors can role-play and “time travel” to ancient dynasties and talk with eight historical figures. The public can enter the platform through the Digital Dunhuang website and its WeChat mini program.

In the digital age, the model of “culture+technology” has been introduced to promote the development of Chinese culture. The digitalization rate of China’s precious cultural relics is now over 70 percent, according to the 2022 China Digital Collection Industry Research Report released by iResearch.

Institutions such as the Palace Museum have also started online digital services of their own. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology allows the public to view the interior of the buildings through the Palace Museum’s WeChat mini program.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has also encouraged the development and transformation of cultural intellectual property(知识产权) by digital means. China Central Television has created a series of digital collections with different Dunhuang themes, such as the Dunhuang divine deer(神鹿) Youyou. It was created based on the image of the nine-colored deer from Dunhuang murals(壁画). The public can see the divine deer on CCTV’s own digital platform.

Digital collections cater to the consumption habits of young people, who grow up in the information age. They not only protect the intellectual property of the collections but also bring the public closer to China’s “excellent traditional culture”, noted Dunhuang Art Institute.

Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy, told Xinhua that more efforts will be made to explore new forms for showing cultural relics and offer the public greater cultural experiences to develop Dunhuang culture.

1. What can visitors do on the interactive digital platform for the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave?

A．Play role-playing games set in ancient times.

B．Play video games featuring historical figures.

C．Talk to the designer of the digital Library Cave.

D．Design digital caves showing historical scenes.

2. What is the purpose of developing digital platforms for cultural institutions?

A．To show the latest gaming technologies.

B．To help cultural institutions make a profit.

C．To promote the development of Chinese culture.

D．To encourage people to explore new forms of cultural relics.

3. Why does the article mention the Dunhuang divine deer Youyou?

A．To stress the importance of digital collections.

B．To describe its popularity among young people.

C．To present how digital collections are developed.

D．To introduce a successful example of digital collections.

4. What does the underlined phrase “cater to” in the second-to-last paragraph most probably mean?

A．Ignore.	B．Satisfy.
C．Challenge.	D．Change.

7 . The kites in Weifang never disappoint. Every year the Weifang International Kite Festival amazes visitors and netizens (网民) with innovative kites, as “paper birds” of unimaginable designs keep appearing in the sky.

The origin of kites in China can be traced back to the Warring States Period when the great Chinese philosopher Mozi in the State of Lu (part of today’s Shandong Province) made the first “wooden kite”. Kites didn’t actually become popular until the Ming Dynasty. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, artists specialized in kite making began to appear in Weifang. In 1984, the first Weifang International Kite Festival was held.

Kites were used in China for military purposes at the very beginning. They were made to signal and measure distance, providing intelligence to aid moving large armies across difficult terrain (地形). For example, they can be used to calculate and record wind readings, similar to ship flags at sea. Over time, kites became associated with leisure activities, and were often flown during festivals and holidays.

Today, kite-flying is a popular leisure activity in China, and the Weifang International Kite Festival is one of the largest kite festivals in the world. In 2023, 622 kite artists from 59 countries and regions participated in the event. Compared with previous festivals, the 2023 event was highlighted by many innovations by both veteran (经验丰富的) and young kite makers. Zhang Xiaodong, 74, as a national intangible culture inheritor of Weifang kites, he has attended all 40 festivals. In the early days, he only brought traditional kites to take part in the competitions, but this time, he applied sound and light to make the fairy tale of Chang'e flying to the moon come “alive”.

The Weifang kite festival is not only a platform to share kite-making skills, but also a way to enhance friendship between people from different countries. The innovative kites presented in 2023 brought many pleasant surprises to kite lovers all over the world, and brought the people of China and other countries closer. As one netizen put it, “No matter how far away kite lovers go, there is always a ‘thread’ in their heart that can pull them together.”

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The history of kites in China.	B．The popularity of kites in Weifang.
C．The introduction to great kite artists.	D．The development of kite-making skills.

2. What was the original function of kites in China?

A．To serve as gifts at festivals.	B．To judge the height of mountains.
C．To measure wind speed for sailors at sea.	D．To provide important information for armies.

3. How was the Weifang kite festival in 2023 different from the previous ones?

A．It involved more creative kite artworks.

B．It became the largest kite festival in the world.

C．It contained plenty of Chinese traditional elements.

D．It attracted many young kite artists’ wide attention.

4. What can we infer about the Weifang kite festival from the netizen’s words?

A．It inspires artists to create a lot of surprises.

B．It is a good platform for kite makers to share skills.

C．It promotes the spread of traditional Chinese culture.

D．It strengthens the bond between kite lovers all over the world.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A major fire broke out at Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on Monday, one of France’s most visited landmarks. Flames burst     1     the roof of the cathedral, live TV pictures showed. Firefighters cleared the area around the cathedral,     2     marks the very centre of the city.

    3     (build) in the     4     (twelve) century, Notre Dame is the     5     famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages. “It’s been 800 years that the Cathedral watches over Paris”, Pascal,     6     French historian said. “Happy and unfortunate events for centuries     7     (mark) by the bells of Notre Dame.” The cathedral is home to incalculable works of art and is one of the world’s most famous tourist     8     (attract), immortalized by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Its     9     (price) treasures include a Catholic relic, the crown of thorns, which is only     10     (occasional) displayed.

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Along the River During the Qingming Festival is a painting     1     the Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan(1085-1145 ). The painting is 25.5 centimetres in     2     ( high ) and 5.25 metres long. The countryside and the crowded city are the two main parts in the picture, with the river     3    ( run ) through the entire length. The right part is the rural area of the city. There are crop fields and rural folk. A country path broadens into a road and     4     ( join ) with the city road. The left half is the urban area,     5    eventually leads to the city center. Many economic activities can be seen in this area. Zhang Zeduan’s painting is celebrated as     6    most famous work of art from the Song Dynasty. However, there are copies of the famous painting. An early copy, generally     7    ( consider ) to be the most similar to the original, was made by Zhao Mengfu during the Yuan Dynasty. Another known remake(新版)    8    ( paint ) during the Ming Dynasty. This copy has a length of 6.7 metres,     9    ( long ) than the original. Another version by five Qing Dynasty court painters was presented to the Qianlong Emperor on January 15, 1737. This version was.    10     (late) moved, along with many other handicrafts, to the National Palace Museum in Taipei in 1949.

10 . Africa is a large and varied continent containing some of the oldest civilizations on earth. It is home to a wide diversity of religions and cultures, and this colorful diversity is reflected in its diverse and colorful weddings traditions.

An African wedding is, more than anything, the bringing together of two people as a single family, or the combining of two families or even the mixture of two tribes into one family unit. The concept of family is one of the unifying ideas of the African continent. There are more than 1,000 cultural units in Africa and each culture, each tribe has its own wedding and marriage traditions, many of which can trace their origins back hundreds or even thousands of years. There are also many different religions represented in Africa. Many northern Africans, especially, have been influenced by Muslim traditions, while further south there are more Christian, Hindu, and even Jewish traditions with more ancient traditions. 

In many places in Africa young girls are trained to be good wives from an early age. They may even learn secret codes and secret languages that allow them to talk with other married women without their husbands understanding what is being said. 

Depending on which part of Africa you are in, wedding ceremonies can be extremely elaborate, some lasting many days. Often huge ceremonies are held during which many couples are united at the same time. 

In Sudan and in other areas along the Nile a man must pay his wife’s family in sheep or cattle for the loss of their daughter’s labor in support of the family. A wife may cost a man as many as 30 to 40 head of cattle. In Somalia a man is allowed to have as many as four wives if he can support them all, and it is not uncommon for a girl to be engaged before she is even born. 

Bright festive colors, song, dance, and music are vital elements of many African wedding ceremonies. Common to all wedding ceremonies is the concept of changing between childhood and adulthood. In many African cultures children are encouraged to marry as young as 13 to 15 years of age, as soon as they have reached physical adulthood.

1. When two young get married in Africa it means ________.

A．they will explore a wide diversity of religions

B．they will live together for the rest of their life

C．they will contribute to the union of African tribes

D．they will have a chance to enjoy their romance

2. What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A．All the tribes in Africa have the same belief.

B．Africa witnesses varieties of marriage traditions.

C．Most of Africans are believers in Islam.

D．People in South Africa are all Christians.

3. Young girls learn secret languages ________.

A．to have a good communication with their husbands

B．to give their children a good education in the future

C．to gain the ability to talk with other married women

D．to master the skills about having communication

4. What does the underlined word “elaborate” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Similar.

B．Familiar.

C．Difficult.

D．Different.

5. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．wedding ceremonies are full of happiness

B．there are more men than women in Somalia

C．the cattle are well worth a lot of money

D．Africans prefer dancing to anything else