1 . If you’re looking for someone to make a realistic, three-dimensional (3D) portrait of your pet cat using felted wool, you’ll have a tough time finding someone better than Wakuneco, a Japanese artist who started creating needle felt art back in 2015. Using different colored wool, this artist creates life-like cat portraits. Just have a look at what she can do with a needle and wool thread.
What does the author mean by saying the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?
| A．No one can do better than Wakuneco. |
| B．Wakuneco is too busy to be visited or invited. |
| C．It’s hard for you to get along well with Wakuneco. |
| D．You’ll find many other skillful persons like Wakuneco. |
2 . In recent years, humans have gradually offered membership in the sentience club not only to their own young, but to some other animals. In the last decade, many countries have begun to ban experimentation on all great apes. And some ocean creatures were recently recognized as sentient. But with insects, the question remains open.
What does the underlined phrase “sentience club” refer to in paragraph 3?
| A．Animals selected for scientific research. |
| B．Social clubs founded to protect animals. |
| C．Creatures recognised as having consciousness. |
| D．Organizations committed to emotion management. |
3 . Fortunately, the government is starting to pay attention. But it’s obvious that a majority of the president’s advisers still don’t take global warming seriously. Instead of a plan of action, they continue to ask for more research — a classic case of “paralysis by analysis”.
What does the underlined phrase “paralysis by analysis” in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Endless studies kill action. | B．Careful investigation reveals truth. |
| C．Adequate planning ensures success. | D．Extensive research helps decision-making. |
A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE
Perce Blackborow joined an expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton to Antarctica on the ship Endurance in 1914.Shackleton was one of the most famous explorers of his day and it was considered a great honour to be part of his expeditions. Below are some of Blackborow’s diary entries.
31 Oct 1914
...Well, it so happened that one morning I bought a newspaper and read the advertisement about the Antarctic expedition.
An expedition to the South Pole with the great Sir Ernest Shackleton — this is the adventure that I have been dreaming of. And I was ready for it. At the age of 19, I am fit and full of vigour. However, when I applied to join the expedition, Shackleton turned me down because he thought I was too young and wasn’t qualified. But I was so enthusiastic about the idea of going along with them that I secretly went aboard his ship, the Endurance, and hid in a small cupboar. Unfortunately, three days after we set off I was discovered. Shackleton did not want to turn back so he offered me a job, but only after he promised me, “If anyone has to be eaten, then you will be the first!” He assigned me to be a steward, and I now serve meals for twentyeight men, three times a day.
How everyone will envy me when I come back and tell them about the amazing places I have been to!
21 Nov, 1915
The journey has not been easy. Endurance became stuck in the ice as we approached Antarctica. The ice froze around us and we were well and truly stuck! We saw the ship get crushed by the ice. And when the ship sank, our hearts sank with it.
Before we abandoned the ship, Shackleton calmly called us together and told us to rescue our most essential supplies — the small boats, our food, the cook stove, candles, clothes, and blankets.This was no time to panic. We were not allowed to take most of our personal belongings, and Shackleton himself threw away all his gold. But to our surprise, he allowed Hussey to keep his banjo. Hussey often plays it to keep our spirits up.
We are now camped on the ice and we have been managing to survive, but spring is coming, and the ice will soon begin to melt.
20 May 1916
We have been struggling for days, but things on Elephant Island are going from bad to worse. We are now crowded together under one of our boats on the rocky shore of this miserable place. Soon after we arrived, Shackleton left us to find help on South Georgia Island, 1,320 kilometres away — the voyage was too dangerous and difficult for all of us to make it in our small boats. If Shackleton fails, will we have any hope of rescue? No. No navy in the world ever stops at Elephant Island, and no one else knows that we are here.
I feel low. It’s cold and windy. The island has no plants. Sometimes we are able to catch a seal or a penguin to eat. Otherwise, there is no food. I try to think of happier things: decent food, warm and dry clothes, a cosy bedroom, sunny days, and my mother’s face ...However, these happy memories are soon interrupted by a sudden cold rush of air.
I shouted, “Shut the door!”
“Hold on now, Perce. Don’t you go turning into another Tom,” came the reply. “We’ve caught another penguin, so it’s penguin soup tonight!”
Bless Frank Wild, the kindest man there is after our leader, Ernest Shackleton. How could I become as selfish and badtempered as Thomas OrdeLees!
Without Frank and Ernest, we’d all be dead by now. Their genuine concern for others, their perseverance, and their resolve fill me with hope.
Perhaps there is a chance we will return home, after all.
1. What’s the main idea of the text?| A．Perce Blackborow admired Shackleton very much. |
| B．Shackleton took Perce Blackborow to the ship. |
| C．Perce Blackborow’s diary entries about the great expedition. |
| D．Perce Blackborow missed his mother very much. |
| A．How Shackleton and his crew members abandoned the ship Endurance. B．The crew members’ life on Elephant Island. C．How the author joined the Endurance expedition. |
②Diary 2
③Diary 3
3. Why did Shackleton turn me down?
| A．Because he thought I was too young and wasn’t well. |
| B．Because he thought I was too weak and wasn’t qualified. |
| C．Because he thought I was too young and wasn’t qualified. |
| D．Because he thought I was healthy enough but wasn’t qualified. |
| A．It was blown down by wind. |
| B．It was stuck in the ice. |
| C．It was knocked over by huge waves. |
| D．It hit the huge mountain of ice. |
| A．The courage and bravery of his own. |
| B．His being young and fit. |
| C．Ernest Shackleton’s experience of sailing. |
| D．Resolve of Frank Wild and Ernest Shackleton. |
| A．Because it was very valuable. |
| B．Because it took little space. |
| C．Because it would never sink. |
| D．Because it could cheer them up. |
| A．Selfish and badtempered. |
| B．Caring and strongwilled. |
| C．Creative and responsible. |
| D．Adventurous and adaptable. |
| A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE | Diary 1:The dream of going to Antarctica came true. | I happen to see an Though turned down, I Discovering I |
| Diary 2: The ship became stuck in the ice | The ship got crushed by the ice and began to After rescuing necessary supplies, we Shackleton allowed Hussey to keep his banjo he played to keep our | |
| Diary 2: Struggle for survival | Things on Elephant Island were going from bad to Shackleton Frank and Ernest’s |
9. Analyse and translate the sentences.
(1)Shackleton was one of the most famous explorers of his day and it was considered a great honour to be part of his expeditions.
(2)However，when I applied to join the expedition，Shackleton turned me down because he thought I was too young and wasn’t qualified.
(3)How everyone will envy me when I come back and tell them about the amazing places I have been to!
(4)Soon after we arrived，Shackleton left us to find help on South Georgia Island，1，320 kilometres away—the voyage was too dangerous and difficult for all of us to make it in our small boats.
China is willing to continue cooperation
Crowds gathered to say goodbye and catch one final look at Yang Guang and Tian Tian on Wednesday, who for 12 years have enraptured
Since Beijing and London started cooperation in 2011, the two sides have made positive outcomes
This has played an important role in enhancing
| A．making up | B．teaming up | C．packing up | D．giving up |
| A．rescued | B．recognised | C．applied | D．attracted |
| A．natives | B．survivors | C．masters | D．experts |
| A．results | B．reasons | C．means | D．comments |
| A．reducing | B．improving | C．organizing | D．quitting |
6 . The Yurok people have lived along the Klamath River, which flows from the Cascades in Oregon southwest through Northern California, for thousands of years, protecting the region and river from which they — and others — draw sustenance (生计).
But as development and pollution continue to reduce the number of fish in the river and the quantity and quality of its waters, the Yurok Tribe is legalizing (合法化) the tribe’s longstanding care by granting the Rights of Personhood to the Klamath, the first river in North America to have such rights declared.
......
What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The process of legalization. | B．The tradition of Yurok tribe. |
| C．The reason behind the legalization. | D．The importance of the Klamath River. |
7 . To reduce coffee cup waste, Cup Club is already replacing millions of takeaway cups in the UK, while Recup in Germany, has performed a deposit system that simply adds a small extra fee to any coffee cup which is returned to the buyer after the cup is deposited in any registered collection point.
......
What does the word “which” in the last paragraph refer to?| A．A collection point. | B．A deposit system. |
| C．A small extra fee. | D．Any coffee cup. |
8 . The creators of the wall hope it will bring an urgently needed solution to the threats facing the African continent, creating 10 million jobs in rural areas, as well as preventing 250 million tons of carbon. The initiative is Africa-driven, which for those on the continent, is vital, and may hold the key to success. “The Great Green Wall…is about ownership, and that has been the failure of development aid because people were never identified with it,” said Elvis Paul Tangam, African Union Commissioner for the Sahara and Sahel Great Green Wall Initiative.“But this time they identify. This is the very thing of us!”
What does “us” underlined in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．African Unions. | B．All advocates. | C．Land owners. | D．All Africans. |
9 . After rescuing the lonely animal, Sam and Vera found it extremely emotional to have to release her back out into the wild to fend for herself — even though they knew it was the right thing to do. But after having such a strong bond with an animal, it was really difficult to see her go. They had put so much time, effort and energy into raising her but to see her walking in a herd of blesboks made it all worthwhile.
......
Which word can best explain the underlined word “fend” in the last paragraph?| A．Look. | B．Care. |
| C．Search. | D．Hunt. |
10 . Using first-of-their-kind observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. a University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team looked more than 13 billion years into the past to discover a unique, minuscule galaxy cluster (星系团) that generated new stars at an extremely high rate for its size. The galaxy is one of the smallest ever discovered at this distance —around 500 million years after the Big Bang — and could help astronomers learn more about galaxies that were present shortly after the universe came into existence.
......
What does the underlined word “minuscule” in paragraph l mean?| A．Extremely small. | B．Remarkably dark. |
| C．Especially remote. | D．Quite complicated. |
