1 . So many well-fed cats have achieved fame in today’s world of social media that it is difficult to imagine a time when the funny behavior of cats went largely unrecorded. Fortunately, creative types have long seemed to enjoy their company and some past literary greats were only too happy to put pen to paper in celebration of their favourite cats.

Dr Samuel Johnson, is best remembered today for compiling (编纂) the first modern English Dictionary. The entry for cats is hardly flattering: “A domestic animal that catches mice, commonly considered by naturalists the lowest order of the lionlike species.” Yet, Johnson is known to have been devoted to his own pets, particularly Hodge, whom he once famously described as “a very fine cat indeed”.

During the Bronte sisters’ childhood, the three famous 19th-century novelists enjoyed the company of a black cat, named Tom. Charlotte included a description of a pet in Jane Eyre, while Emily wrote an essay in French in praise of cats entitled Le Chat. The title character of Anne’s first novel, Agnes Grey, decides her future husband is the man for her when he rescues a cat.

Edgar Allan Poe’s story, The Black Cat, is so vivid in its description of animal cruelty that it is difficult to imagine its author as an animal lover. Yet, in real life Allan and his cat Catterina were so obviously devoted to each other that, in 1849, they passed away at the exact same moment even though they were many miles apart.

Cats appear in some of the US humorist and novelist’s best-known works such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Twain’s favourite cat was Bambino, whom he taught to switch off the lamp at night and took great delight in having it show off this party trick when visitors came to the house.

In the early 1940s, Hemingway moved to Cuba. Boise became the author’s constant companion. Hemingway later featured a cat of the same name in his novel, Islands in the Stream, which shared many characteristics of his real-life cat including a fondness for hunting fruit rats.

1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The majority of people recorded their pet cats.

B．Some past creative people liked cats and wrote about them.

C．Most of the funny behavior of cats was not recorded.

D．Modern people like to show off their cats on social media.

2. What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 2?

A．The cat in the entry is vividly described.

B．The description makes the cat attractive.

C．The definition of the cat is objective.

D．The entry for the cat is eye-catching.

3. How was the cat described in the story The Black Cat ?

A．Devoted.

B．Adorable.

C．Merciless.

D．Reliable.

4. What did the past literary greats mentioned have in common?

A．They enjoyed the company of their pet cats.

B．They took great delight in showing off their cats.

C．They named the cats in their works after their pet cats.

D．They achieved fame because of the cats they wrote about.

2 . 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 farewell party for 22-year-old Ya Ya at Memphis Zoo took place last Saturday. Ya Ya, a giant panda, was surrounded by bamboo and given a special ice cake made of grapes, sugar cane (甘蔗), and cookies,     1     (take) on a harmonious scene, according to pictures and videos shared online.

In 2006, Ya Ya began to lightly shed fur,     2     skin issue leading to fur loss, which worsened in 2014. Ya Ya’s health     3     (weigh) on a majority of Chinese people. And online, people started pressing for Ya Ya’s return to China.

Since the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens received reports of Ya Ya’s poor health condition, Chinese experts have swung     4     action to assist in the care of Ya Ya to ensure her health and well-being. “Contrary to     5     most netizens might assume, Ya Ya is in a relatively stable (稳定的) health condition other than the fur loss, having a good appetite and stable weight. China will get Ya Ya home     6     (safe) at the fastest speed,” spokesperson of China’s ministry of foreign affairs, Wang Wenbin, said on Tuesday.

On April 27t, Ya Ya returned to Shanghai, safe and sound. One of the local     7     (resident) said, “The number of people waving at Ya Ya’s aircraft before it lands in Shanghai     8     (be) beyond our imagination. Having anticipated Ya Ya’s return for a longtime, we, at this moment, are so     9     (excite)! It is crucial that Ya Ya be exposed to a familiar circumstance     10     is of great benefit to her health recovery.” To our shock, Chinese people’s affection for Ya Ya hasn’t reduced despite the elapse (流逝) of 20 years.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. How old is Jays a now?

A．8.

B．12.

C．14.

2. Why did Jays a give the speech?

A．To encourage people to do research.

B．To urge the coal plant to shut down.

C．To raise money for her health problems.

4 . 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。

Giant panda Ya Ya arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Thursday from Memphis. Tennessee. She returned     1     China from the United States after a 20-year loan for a     2     (combine) research and protection project.

In December, the Memphis Zoo announced that it would return Ya Ya,     3     arrival in the US made the headlines in 2003. The zoo hosted a goodbye party for the 23-year-old female panda on April 8, with hundreds of people     4     (attend) the event.

In January, Chinese netizens showed their concern for Ya Ya, for she     5     (appear) somewhat malnourished (营养不良) in pictures and videos posted. In response, the Chines Association of Zoological Gardens said in     6     announcement that the zoo had taken good care of her. There was no indication that she was ignored,     7     (base) on videos of her and the results of     8     (month) health reports and annual physical examinations.

In 2006, Ya Ya’s fur began to fall out, and the condition worsened in 2014. Various     9     (form) of treatment were tried by experts at home and abroad,     10     they were unable to settle the problem, the association said.

5 . Humans’ voice sounds more pleasant than that of primates (灵长类动物) because we don’t have vocal membranes (声带膜), a new study suggests.

Humans have vocal cords (声带), muscles in the top of the throat, which vibrate (振动) to produce sound. That unique part helps people control their voices well enough to produce sounds that form spoken language. However, unlike all the other studied primates, humans don’t have vocal membranes.

To find out how vocal membranes affected spoken sounds, a team from Kyoto University took throats from monkeys that had died of natural causes and put the parts into devices, pushing air through the throats to see how the vocal cords and membranes would react. In the experiment, the researchers found that their vocal membranes and vocal cords vibrated together.

Researchers said these vocal membranes make it harder for other primates to control the voices they make. Without these membranes, humans’ vocal source is more balanced, allowing better voice control and production of long and balanced voices. A key thing that distinguishes human speech from animal sounds is our control over the sounds we make.

In humans, that sort of unpleasant voices can happen when we put extreme amounts of pressure on our voice, like baby crying and adult screaming. But those are rare cases. Researchers also said that our mouths and tongues could help control the voices. They are the basis of human languages.

1. Why does the human voice sound less unpleasant?

A．Humans have no vocal membranes.

B．Vocal cords of humans are very narrow.

C．Muscles in the human throat can hardly be controlled.

D．Humans’ brains are structured differently from other primates.

2. How did the researchers conduct the study?

A．By exploring the history of human evolution.

B．By referring to previous researches on primates.

C．By observing monkeys’ vocal cords and membranes.

D．By comparing the voice patterns of different animals.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．A doubt about the research process.

B．The importance of the research findings.

C．Further explanation of the research results.

D．The potential application of the research methods.

4. Which can be the suitable title for the text?

A．Why humans cry or scream?

B．How primates make sounds?

C．How primates develop languages?

D．Why humans’ voice sounds pleasant?

6 . 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。

The Jiqing night street is located in the central part of an old city area in Hankou. Local people simply say that if you come to Jiqing, you will know     1     Wuhan is, and that anyone who doesn’t go there is the same as one who has never been to the city.

In the evening, hundreds of sidewalk snack boothes come out on the street and provide popular flavored food     2     cheap prices. Fresh steamed lobsters and crabs, spicy shrimp balls, tasty beef soups and Chinese dumplings, all these will feed you well.

Native people like to order several of the best-known dishes and a few     3     (bottle) of beer and spend their evening with friends here. For travelers, another     4     (excite) thing is the lively folk music     5     (perform) by folk musicians at their table. The musicians often carry their instruments and a piece of board on which the tune names     6     ( write). You can choose one of     7     ( they) ( all are popular classical Chinese music) at 10 or 15 RMB and then enjoy the delicious food when     8     (listen) to a graceful (优美的) tune.

It is a lively place     9     locals spend their leisure time, and has become     10     important part of everyday life for local people.

7 . Every winter, Siberian cranes (白鹤) migrate from northeast Siberia in Russia to Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, China. About 95 percent of the birds spend the season there. However, climate change has endangered the birds’ habitats.

“In some years, the Poyang Lake experiences floods, while in others, it experiences droughts. Both of these create food shortages in the cranes’ habitat,” Qian Fawen, a researcher from the National Bird Banding Center of China, told China Daily.

To help deal with the problem, the local government has built 70 hectares of lotus roots (莲藕) in Nanchang to provide food during the winter for the cranes. The birds’ population has risen from about 3,000 to more than 5,000 over the past 20 years, according to Qian.

Over the years, China has worked hard to protect migratory birds and wetlands. Known as the “Earth’s kidneys (肾脏)”, wetlands play a key role in cleaning water, preventing floods, and helping with biodiversity. The Wetlands Protection Law was introduced on June 1, 2022. It stops building work on important national wetlands and bans activities such as overgrazing (过度放牧) and giving out wastewater.

Thanks to these efforts, China has reported more birds wintering in the nation’s wetlands. In February, black-faced spoonbills (黑脸琵鹭), an endangered species, were seen wintering at Dongting Lake after disappearing for five years. Last December, Shanghai Chongming Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve recorded more than 2,900 tundra swans up from some 1,000 seen during the winter of 2021.

1. The bird population is rising in Nanchang because ________.

A．the city offers more food for birds	B．extreme weather hasn’t hit the city
C．the city becomes increasingly warm	D．climate change doesn’t affect the place

2. What is the main role wetlands play?

A．Saving endangered animal species.	B．Looking after water and biodiversity.
C．Providing shade for migratory birds.	D．Avoiding overgrazing and water pollution.

3. Paragraph 4 is mainly written to show ________.

A．when the Wetlands Protection Law was introduced

B．why the bird population in Nanchang rises quickly

C．how China deals with water pollution and overpopulation

D．what China has done to protect migratory birds and wetlands

4. What do the examples in paragraph 5 show?

A．Migratory birds add biodiversity to China.

B．New bird species leave China for winter.

C．China has completed its wetlands protection.

D．China’s environmental protection is successful.

10 . When people are overworked or tired, they may take a break by visiting green spaces like forests to relax. But can there be forests inside cities?

Urban forests are not acres and acres of lush greenery. They range from the trees in the park on the corner of your street to the trees lining the sidewalk, or simply bushes in your own backyard!

The idea of care and management for tree populations in urban areas began in North America in the late 1960s and was first called environmental forestry. The greening improved greying cities and soon skyrocketed in popularity. It has now become a whole new discipline of forestry called urban forestry.

Urban forests have the potential to help cities cool down and can be the heart of a city’s social life. Even a tiny patch of ground with a few trees can enrich children’s playgrounds and have a positive impact on the psychological development of children. They also encourage community interaction: people tend to hang out together a lot more when green spaces are available.

How can we incorporate forests into cities? There are external factors in towns that make it challenging to design urban forests into cities. For example, how does a city plant and maintain the trees? Tree canopies can block people’s view, which could lead to accidents. Urban trees can also cause damage to buildings, due to their roots, and through the falling of whole trees or branches.

However, if we plan waste removal operations in advance, we can handle this issue efficiently; the waste parts can be used for other purposes, such as timber and fuelwood.

So do we need more unban forests? Absolutely! Urban forests represent a city-dweller’s easiest access to nature. Given that, cities need to find more creative ideas to provide this beautiful resource for their residents!

1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 3?

A．Add some background information.	B．Summarize the previous paragraphs.
C．Give an example to support a theory.	D．Provide readers with some advice.

2. What impact do urban forests have on children?

A．Developing writing skills.	B．Improving mental health.
C．Learning responsibility.	D．Mastering gardening tips.

3. What does the underlined word “They” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Modem cities.

B．Urban forests.

C．Creative ideas.

D．Environmental issues.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards urban forests?

A．Doubtful.

B．Favorable.

C．Unclear.

D．Negative.