1 . Digging out potato tubers (茎块) is one of the greatest rewards gardens have to offer. Children in particular are surprised at seeing these tubers that almost magically become chips, mash (泥) or baked potatoes.

Happily, potatoes are very easy to grow. Seed tubers are placed in good garden soil, ideally with some compost (堆肥) for every square meter, in a sunny spot, about 10cm deep at 30cm intervals in rows 60-70cm apart.

Seed tubers are offered as earliest and second earliest and maincrop. The second earliest and maincrops can be stored for winter use but earliest are usually consumed in summer.

Seasoned potato growers buy early seed potatoes in February and place them in a cool, reasonably light place and let them sprout (发芽). It takes six weeks for small sprouts to form.

Early potatoes are typically planted from middle March in the South, but are likely to emerge before the first season finishes in May. The shoots are frost-sensitive requiring protection on cod nights with either earth or newspapers.

Second early and maincrop potatoes are planted in middle April—the frost risk will be low, but not absent, by the time they emerge. As the stems (茎) grow, soil should be drawn around them until the leaves meet in the row in early summer. At this stage, the potato field is a series of ridges (脊，垄). The tubers form in the ridge, protected from light that turns them green. Covering with black plastic or a thick layer of compost is also accessible instead of ridging, but plastic is not sustainable and slugs (鼻涕虫) can multiply in compost.

Once the flowers are fully open, it is time to dig plants when the tubers are the size of a hen’s egg. They grow rapidly but gradually lose their juicy new potato flavour, so harvest freely.

1. What’s the writing purpose of paragraph 1?

A．To describe a magic process.

B．To recall a childhood memory.

C．To raise a potato-related topic.

D．To introduce a gardening award.

2. What can we learn about seed tubers?

A．The closer the intervals are, the faster they will grow.

B．The warmer the weather is, the better they will grow.

C．The earlier they are planted, the healthier they will grow.

D．The deeper they are planted, the stronger they will grow.

3. What helps potatoes grow in the long term?

A．Frost.

B．Plastic.

C．Ridges.

D．Slugs.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．How to cook potatoes.	B．How to grow potatoes.
C．How to harvest potatoes.	D．How to preserve potatoes.

2 . The long-awaited return journey of female giant panda Ya Ya, who has lived in the Memphis Zoo in the US state of Tennessee for 20 years, finally started on Wednesday local time, according to media reports. The news resulted in heated cheers of Chinese netizens as they had been closely watching and looking forward to Ya Ya’s return for months over concerns about the giant panda’s health.

Ya Ya had left the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, the US, starting her journey back to China on Wednesday morning, the Xinhua News Agency reported. When asked about the latest progress on Ya Ya’s return journey, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at the Wednesday press conference that Ya Ya would soon return to China as arranged. “Related parties in China and the US are actively promoting related preparations and arrangements,” Mao said.

According to information released by Chinese flight tracking platform Feichangzhun, FedEx special flight FX9759 would take off at 12:05 p. m. on Wednesday US time from the Memphis airport for the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The flight duration is estimated to be nearly 16 hours. Many netizens volunteered to go to the Shanghai Pudong Airport to welcome Ya Ya and Le Le. “I am sure there will be a crowd of people there for them! We all want to see them land in the motherland safely!” said a Weibo user.

Ya Ya was born in the Beijing Zoo in August 2000. In April 2003, as part of a cooperation program on the protection and research of giant pandas between China and the US, Ya Ya and Le Le, a male panda from the Shanghai Zoo, were flown to Memphis.

Since the beginning of 2021, there have been continuous reports about the poor health conditions of Ya Ya and Le Le, with heart-wrenching photos surfacing online. After passing away of Le Le in February, pictures of the weak Ya Ya caused a stronger impact on the Chinese social media, leading many netizens to call for the early return of Ya Ya.

1. What can we infer from the text?

A．Ya Ya is twenty years old now.

B．Related parties care little about Ya Ya.

C．Many netizens are very concerned about Ya Ya’s health.

D．Ya Ya will reach Shanghai at about 4:00 a. m. on Thursday Beijing time.

2. What does the underlined word “released” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Changed.

B．Announced.

C．Developed.

D．Achieved.

3. What made Ya Ya so weak in the USA?

A．Le Le’s death.	B．Missing her motherland.
C．Too many people’s concern.	D．No clear reason mentioned.

4. Where can this text come from?

A．A news report.	B．A travel journal.
C．A science fiction.	D．A popular magazine.

3 . 假定你是李华，你校将举办一场以环境保护为主题的英语演讲比赛。请围绕此主题写一篇演讲稿参赛。内容包括：
1．环境污染的现状；
2．环境污染的影响；
3．应对环境污染的措施。
注意：
1．词数100左右，开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇与句型：
1. ……是我的荣幸       It is a great honor for me to...
2. 发表演讲       deliver a speech
3. 随着社会的发展       with the development of society
4. 环境污染       environmental pollution
5. ……变得越来越严重       ...become more and more serious
6. (树)被砍倒       be cut down
7. 排放有害气体       send out harmful gases
8. 影响人们的健康       affect people’s health
9. 城市的进一步发展       the further development of the city
10. 考虑到目前形势       consider the current situation
11. 尽可能多种树       plant trees as many as possible
12. 当地政府       the local government
13. 提升人们环境保护的意识       raise people’s awareness of environmental protection
14. 只有以这样的方式       only in this way
15. 有一个更好的环境       have a better environment
Ladies and gentlemen,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That’s all for my presentation. Thanks for your listening!

4 . No matter where you live in the world, natural disasters are always a threat. Of course, we humans take steps, both at an individual and social level, to prepare ourselves for the possibility of natural disasters. But preparing for these events requires understanding the types of natural disasters, what causes them, and the dangers they cause.

A technical term for a period of very cold weather, a cold wave is a type of natural disaster where the temperature drops rapidly over the course of 24 hours. While cold weather in itself isn’t necessarily enough to cause a natural disaster, a rapid dropping of the temperature could lead to lots of problems for communities in a region.

Interestingly, there isn’t an precise temperature threshold (起点) that must reach to be. Rather, cold waves are classified (分类) by how fast the temperature falls. Since what’s considered to be “cold” varies widely from region to region, local weather services will use local weather averages to determine if a weather event is actually a cold wave.

There are many reasons why a cold wave might occur. One of the most common causes of a cold wave is the arrival of a very strong high pressure system from the polar regions. Alternatively, movement in the jet streams can also drive very cold weather southward in just a matter of hours.

The primary danger of a cold wave is, indeed, the cold weather itself. This can lead to a higher risk of hypothermia (低温症) and other cold-related injuries. Additionally, cold weather can cause ice and frost to build up quickly, damaging basic facilities. Cold waves are also particularly dangerous for aircraft and other machinery. Extreme cold can use up vehicle batteries or cause petrol to come together. So, whenever in extreme cold weather, people need to be careful.

1. Why do people need to understand natural disasters?

A．To remove nervousness.	B．To encourage research.
C．To get ready for its possibility.	D．To build professional departments.

2. How can we define a cold wave?

A．By an exact temperature.	B．By classified temperature.
C．By local climate standards.	D．By fallen temperature in summer.

3. Which of the following contributes most to the cold wave?

A．Sudden big wind.	B．Heavy snow.
C．Rapidly rising temperature.	D．A powerful pressure system from polar areas.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A natural program.	B．A climate disaster.
C．A scientific method.	D．A scientific experiment.

5 . Dad’s car pulled into the driveway. I ran to the door. Dad smiled as if he had a secret. “It feels cold to us, but it’s warm and attractive to see a frog. Are you coming?” he asked I agreed gladly and then put on my raincoat.

“Hey, look at this one,” Dad shined his light on a green frog the size of his thumb. The frog jumped, its four legs sticking straight out I found my first frog on a driveway. A bright-green one with shiny skin. I wondered what it would feel like. I could see the frog breathing.

I could imagine a car running over it. I said, “Dad, can you move this one?” “You do it,” Dad said. I looked at the frog. I didn’t want to touch it. But I didn’t want it to get squashed (压扁的). I reached down. It jumped through my fingers. I tried again. Cupping one hand around the frog, I picked it up with the other hand. Its skin felt cold and soft. The frog moved. I walked to the grass and held out my hand. The frog climbed up my wrist. I laughed. Then I gently placed the frog onto the grass.

We walked a couple of blocks. We found lots of frogs — brown ones, green ones and spotted ones. I got better at finding them. If they were in the road, we moved them when traffic was clear. I actually started to like picking them up.

I was ready to go home. Then I saw something moving near a stone wall. Something bigger than a frog. Dad and I shined our lights and crouched. “Is it a lizard (蜥蜴)?” I asked. “No, it’s a salamander,” Dad said. “Hey, I just realized something,” I said. “The animals out tonight — frogs and salamanders — are Amphibians (两栖动物). We’d learned about amphibians in school.” “Great observation,” Dad said.

1. How did the author feel when his dad asked him to see frogs?

A．Frightened.

B．Disappointed.

C．Terrible.

D．Excited.

2. Why did the author move the frog on the driveway?

A．He did it for fun.	B．He would like to picture it.
C．He wanted to observe it carefully.	D．He wanted to protect it from danger.

3. Which of the following word can bent describe the author’s experience?

A．Worthwhile.

B．Boring.

C．Tiring.

D．Fruitless.

4. What does the story tell us?

A．Love every creature around us.	B．Unite outdoor activities and health.
C．Children should get closer to nature.	D．Good parent-child relationship is important.

6 . The World’s Most Amazing Caves

Humans have been drawn to caves for thousands of years. Here are four of the world’s biggest caves.

Son Doong Cave, Vietnam

Son Doong Cave in the remote(偏远的)forests of Vietnam holds the title of the largest cave in the world. Son Doong is a spreading network of tunnels and caves, the largest of which could contain an entire New York City block with 40-story buildings. Parts of the cave’s top have fallen down，creating vast skylights that allow life to grow to a height of hundreds of feet beneath the forest floor.

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, the United States

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the longest cave system in the world, with 426 miles explored—and scientists guess another 600 miles have yet to be discovered based on measurements of air movement within the caves. Mammoth Cave has drawn visitors since the 1800s, and 10 miles of underground passages are accessible to tourists today.

Sac Actun. Mexico

The longest underwater cave system in the world, Sac Actun winds(蜿蜒)more than 215 miles under Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Adventurers can take a drop in the Sac Actun system through more than 248 cenotes(天然井)—the natural swimming pools that form when sinkholes connect the surface to the underwater caves.

Veryovkina Cave, Abkhazia, Georgia

Veryovkina Cave is the deepest cave in the world, spreading 1.4 miles beneath the surface. It takes professionals a week to make a round journey to Veryovkina Cave, They have to brave waterfalls, tight presses and sharp drops. But the payoff is excellent—Veryovkina

Cave’s end is a beautiful blue lake about 50 feet long and 25 feet wide surrounded by black black rocks.

1. What is special about Son Doong Cave?

A．It lies far away from the forests.	B．It has some tall plants growing.
C．It is the longest cave in Vietnam.	D．It is the highest cave in the world.

2. What do Mammoth Cave and Sac Actun have in common?

A．They end up with beautiful lakes.	B．They attract few adventurers.
C．They stay unexplored at present.	D．They have long cave systems.

3. How long may professionals spend passing through Veryovkina Cave?

A．Half a week.	B．Two weeks.
C．One week.	D．Over two weeks.

7 . 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。

Food wasting is still on the increase worldwide currently. In the United States alone, grocery stores throw away     1     (billion) of pounds of food every year. Sometimes it’s because the food is nearing its sell-by date, even though that doesn’t mean it can’t be eaten. Other times, it’s     2     (simple) because the food is strange-looking, even though the food is in good condition. Whatever the reason is, there is more and more food waste in landfills, contributing greatly     3     the production of greenhouse gases.

In early 2016 in France, a law was passed to prevent food from     4     (throw) away by large grocery stores, as long as the food is still safe to eat. French stores can choose to donate it to charities such as food banks. The law makes     5     much easier for stores to donate their food since grocery stores     6     (large) than 4,300 square feet must sign contracts with food banks. Grocery stores     7     don’t follow the law must pay a heavy fine up to almost 4,000 dollars. This is a major step in helping reduce food waste and dealing with     8     (hungry) as well.

The law doesn’t stop there. In addition, it requires that French schools teach children about food waste and what they can do to help fix the problems     9     (bring) about by food waste.

France was the first country in the world to pass a law like this, and since 2016, it     10     (become) a world leader in reducing food waste.

8 . Dogs can understand when humans mean well, even if they don’t get what they want from us. Now, the close social bond between humans and dogs is well established, but researchers have a limited understanding of whether and how dogs comprehend human intent. To see if pet dogs can distinguish between intentional and accidental actions by strangers, Christoph Völter at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria and his colleagues ran tests with humans offering dogs food while the animals’ body movements were tracked using eight cameras.

Each dog and human were separated by a transparent plastic panel with holes that a slice of sausage could be passed through. In 96 trials of 48 pet dogs, human participants either teased the dog by holding up and pulling back a treat, or they pretended to clumsily drop the piece of sausage on their own side of the panel before the dog could eat it. In all trials, the dogs had to wait 30 seconds before finally getting their reward, during which the team tracked their reaction.

The research found that when humans pretended to drop a treat compared with when they intentionally pulled it away, the dogs responded more patiently. They made more eye contact with the experimenter, wagged their tails more and stayed closer to the transparent barrier, suggesting they were still expecting a treat. Dogs that were teased sat, laid down and backed away the barrier more frequently. The results were similar across different dogs, ages and sex.

In the clumsy trial, the dogs also wagged their tails more on their right side, a behaviour known to be associated with dogs that are happy and relaxed. “They have more positive emotions towards the clumsy experimenter, which might indicate that they indeed understand that the experimenter is willing, but just too clumsy, to give them food,” says Völter.

1. What was Völter’s research intended for?

A．Clarifying how humans bond with dogs.

B．Training dogs to adapt to new surroundings.

C．Understanding dogs’ sensitivity towards food.

D．Detecting if dogs understand human intention.

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Research findings.	B．Research method.
C．Research background.	D．Research data.

3. How did the dogs react when sausages were pulled away on purpose?

A．They moved away more often.	B．They barked more loudly.
C．They bit sausages more fiercely.	D．They waited more patiently.

4. What is the text?

A．A diary entry.	B．A course plan.
C．A science report.	D．A tour brochure.

9 . Dogs see the world through different lenses (视角).     1    . Do you want to know what your dog is thinking at all times? If so, keep reading to figure out what they have on their minds!

    2    . Pups (小狗) have a habit of chewing on things during the teething time. It does not mean the same thing when they are not puppies anymore. There is a chance that they just need to get more physical activity. One way to treat the problem would be to take your dog out for a walk.

How they bark. Dogs bark for a lot of reasons. Loud and frequent barks will mean there is an urgent issue (情况). Maybe they could feel danger lurking and want you to know about it. Short and soft ones, however, mean that they feel playful.     3    .

Bringing you toys. Your dog might not want to play even if their toy is in their mouth. A theory says that this is their way to please their human.     4    . They trust you so much that they want you to have their prized object. For this reason, you might hurt their feelings if you simply throw the toy away!

Pacing back and forth. Is your dog pacing? Well, it probably means that they are excited, nervous, or bored.     5    . When they go around in circles, it likely means that they want to play. It is similar to the way dogs greet each other upon first meeting.

A．Furniture moving

B．Furniture chewing

C．It might be that they want to show you their trust

D．However, they also use their bodies to communicate

E．They do not always mean the same as we humans do

F．They are doing it for the same reasons that we humans do

G．Loud barks could mean they feel in pain, so make sure to pay attention to them

10 . 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。

Luo Yingjiu, 82, has run a small zoo in Enshi, Hubei province on his own for 33 years despite     1     (vary) difficulties. At the one-man Fenghuang Mountain Zoo, Luo serves     2     director, cleaner, breeder, vet and conductor. Most of the residents of the zoo are old and weak, many of     3     were saved by Luo.

    4     (live) in the zoo himself, Luo gets up at about 5 am, checks the condition of the animals, cleans their enclosures and goes to the market to buy feed for them. At night, he observes the animals and refills their food and water, and even gets up around 2 am     5     ( care) for the older ones.

Over the past 33 years, Luo     6     ( devote) himself to the zoo and persisted. He lives economically, eats     7     (simple) and never dines out at restaurants. Sometimes, he picks up empty bottles to sell to support the zoo.     8     his retirement salary is about 5,000 yuan per month, which is enough to live a good life in such a small place, he has fallen into debt to cover the zoo’s expenses.

Last January, Luo Wei, the old man’s granddaughter,     9     (begin) to post short videos of him looking after these animals online, hoping to raise awareness of the zoo and give people a     10     (good) understanding of her grandfather’s work.