1 . Over the past few decades, technology has advanced at an unprecedented rate, revolutionizing industries and shaping new ways of life.     1    

According to the International Telecommunication Union, a key advocate of technological advancement, the rapid growth of technology has significantly improved the quality of life in numerous communities. It cites studies that show the integration of technology into daily lives has led to increased efficiency, more access to information, and even progress in healthcare in numerous regions.     2    

Those who embrace technological progress argue that it creates new opportunities for individuals and businesses alike. For instance, farmers in remote areas can now access real-time market information and weather updates through smartphones, enabling them to make more informed decisions about their crops. Additionally, small businesses can expand their reach globally through online platforms.     3     They argue that while technology may bring benefits to some, it often expands the difference between the technologically informed and the digitally excluded. Studies conducted by organizations like the United Nations Development Programme reveal that many individuals, particularly those in developing regions or with limited resources, lag behind in accessing and utilizing technological advancements.     4    

Furthermore, critics fear that the unchecked growth of technology may have negative impacts on society and the environment. For example, the rise of social media and the internet has led to an increase in cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and the spread of misinformation. Moreover, the overuse of technology may contribute to do-nothing lifestyles and other health issues.

One thing is certain about technological progress — it is an inevitable trend. The rapid pace of innovation and the widespread availability of technology make it impossible to turn back.     5    

A．But how can we take control of technology to our advantage?

B．The question arises: Is technological progress beneficial for all?

C．This digital divide can lead to increased social and economic gaps.

D．However, critics of technological advancement hold a different view.

E．These advancements have been particularly evident in rural and underserved areas.

F．It ensures that the benefits of technological progress are shared equally across society.

G．The challenge now is finding ways to command the power of technology to benefit all.

2 . Books are the most valuable cultural heritage. However, there are many ancient Chinese classics suffering from different degrees of damage due to various reasons.     1    

Bai Yuzhi,a post-90s restorer (修复师) at the Wuhan Library,graduated from Wuhan University in 2016 with a major in restoring ancient books. She is now the fourth generation of restorers at the Wuhan Library, Bai started practicing this technique during her after-class activities at college in 2014.     2     “I’m shy and not good at socializing, so this job suits me very well,” she said

    3     The restoration steps cannot be rushed. When restorers receive an ancient book, their first task is not to directly restore it but to observe it and record the book’s important details. After that, the restorers will open the book,remove every page, and repair it on the back side.     4     It may take one or two days to restore a single page. So it could take at least a month to complete the restoration of a whole book.

Bai has restored about 10,000 pages of ancient books in her over 10 years of work. The most difficult part of the restoration, according to her, is keeping everything under exact control over every stage.     5     If the paste (面糊) is too thin, the repaired pages may easily come off and become broken, which could affect the quality of the restoration. However, if the paste is too thick, the fixed pages will be tough, challenging to open.

With the advancement of science and digital technology, the methods for protecting ancient books have become more various.

A．The task of restoration is demanding.

B．Sometimes the book is badly damaged.

C．Bai works in reader service for ancient books.

D．This led to a new field—restoring ancient books.

E．She officially became a restorer in February 2019.

F．Recording the content of a book demands a restorer’s patience.

G．She gave an example of the challenges in preparing a suitable paste.

3 . Mental health is a critical aspect of overall well-being, yet it is often ignored in our fast- paced society.     1     A well-cared and healthy mind leads to improved emotions, better relationships, and a more positive outlook on life.

    2     When we are stressed or upset, it is our mind’s way of reacting to negative stimuli(刺激). Good mental health allows us to cope with these emotions in a positive manner. In addition, when our minds are not clouded by negative thoughts or emotions it is easier to think clearly.     3    

Studies have shown that a person with good mental health lives longer and has a higher quality of life. The effects of positive mental health on the body are plenty, including reducing the risk of diseases and improving overall physical well-being.

Our mental state has a significant impact on relationships. People with good mental health are more likely to be kind and understanding.     4     This may further guarantee them with a stable emotional condition.

Mental health is as essential as physical health in maintaining a fulfilling life. If we run into trouble, don’t keep it to yourself.     5     With the right support, we can all enjoy the benefits of a healthy mind.

A．Turn to friends or families.

B．They strongly connect with others.

C．Physical health has been a problem.

D．So ways to keep positive must be found.

E．And a clear mind can help make smart choices.

F．The mind actually needs as much care as the body.

G．Mental health is vital for keeping emotional balance.

4 . During my visit to Xi’an, 1 met with a strange instrument. It has a loud and high-pitched (声调高的) sound, and is often used in traditional Chinese music ensembles (乐团), especially those that perform outdoors,     1    . He told me that it is a Chinese instrument called the suona. To find more information, I visited some Chinese online lesson websites.

Actually, the suona is a loud Chinese instrument, It’s loud and high-pitched sound is perfect for outdoor performances.     2     It is now widely used at traditional festival events, weddings and funerals (葬礼) in the countryside of North China.

    3     It was developed from Central Asian instruments such as the “surnay” or “zurna”, from which its Chinese name comes. A musician playing an instrument very similar to a suona is shown in a drawing at a historic place on the Silk Road in what is now the western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, dating back to the third to fifth century CE.

The suona only has eight holes, and breath and fingers (手指) are all a performer depends on lo control the pitch and tone (音质).     4     The instrument looks simple, but it can vividly imitate (生动地模仿) the voice or singing of a human being or even the sounds of Chinese opera.     5     The eight-hale instrument has been called the “eight-eyed monkey” because like a monkey it is difficult to control.

A．Actually, it is difficult to master the suona.

B．The suona is beyond a musical instrument

C．The sound of the suona is also endangered.

D．It was used for festivals and military (军事的) purposes.

E．The suona was firstly introduced to China from Central Asia.

F．People use a metal mouthpiece to make an even louder sound.

G．I didn’t know the name of the instrument, so l asked my Chinese friend.

5 . 2023 Hot List: The Best New Restaurants in the World

Place des Fetes — New York City

This famous wine bar provides a spot with a rare sweet and warm atmosphere. For date night, go to the bar with views of the open kitchen, or fill up the large table in the back with a group and taste the entire item menu. Either way, do not miss the famous mushroom soup.

Le Doyenne — Saint — Vrain, France

Australian chefs James Henry and Shaun Kelly transformed the former stables (马厩) of a 19th-century private estate into a working farm, restaurant, and guesthouse driven by the principles of regenerative agriculture. More than one hundred varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs make their way into Henry’s cooking after being carefully nurtured by Kelly.

Mi Compa Chava — Mexico City

Almost everyone eating here is devoted to fixing last night’s damage from drunkenness and getting a head start on creating today’s. On the sidewalk, crowds of locals and tourists alike line up for fisherman Salvador Orozco’s creative takes on Sinaloa and Baja seafood. Anything from the raw half of the menu is a sure bet, though cooked dishes like fish can help fill out a meal.

Vilas — Bangkok

Can a dish inspired by a Spanish recipe using Japanese ingredients (原料) still be considered Thai? For Chef Prin Polsuk, one of Bangkok’s most famous Thai chefs, it most certainly can. At his latest restaurant, a small dining room at the base of Bangkok’s hulalongkorn’s 1897 journey around Europe and the foreign ingredients and landmark King Power Mahanakhon Tower, he draws inspiration from King Chulalongkorn’s 1897 journey around Europe and the foreign ingredients and cooking techniques he added to the royal cookbooks.

1. What can you do in Place des Fetes — New York City ?

A．Drink the red wine.	B．Taste the mushroom soup.
C．Watch the musicals.	D．Enjoy the beautiful views.

2. Which restaurant best suits people who suffer from alcohol?

A．Place des Fetes.	B．Le Doyenne.
C．Mi Compa Chava.	D．Vilas.

3. What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce the features of some restaurants.

B．To compare the origins of some restaurants.

C．To state the similarities of some restaurants.

D．To recommend some foods of some restaurants.

6 . Join Our Sports Camp

Ever created a whole sports plan for yourself only to give up a few days later? If you’re trying to keep it, join us! The camp is 100% volunteer-run and totally non-profit.

What we’ll help you do：

·Create a plan which fits you. Start small, and then gradually increase difficulty.

·Find the time to exercise. Even if it’s only a 10-minute walk, any exercise is enough to get you started.

·Try various activities to find one that you love. After doing them more, you start looking forward to your exercise.

·Find ways to make exercising more fun. Try changing the places where you work out by playing tennis on the playground or doing yoga(瑜伽) in the gym—anything to get yourself excited to workout.

Requirements

·Ages：13-17

·Take your own equipment ·Parents must be with you for your first coming Schedule

·Weekdays 9：00 a.m.—10：00 a.m.;2：00 p.m.—5：00 p.m.

·Weekends 8：30 a.m.—10：30 a.m.;2：00 p.m.—7：00 p.m.

How to join

Click here to get information and hand in the form to our camp before 9：00 p.m. everyday!

1. What can be learnt about the sports camp?

A．It is not free of charge.

B．It welcomes parents to join.

C．It provides teenagers equipment.

D．It inspires teenagers to keep exercising.

2. When can you do exercises during the camp?

A．1：30 a.m. on Friday.	B．6：00 p.m. on Saturday.
C．8：30 a.m. on Thursday.	D．10：30 a.m. on Monday.

3. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A website.

B．A newspaper.

C．A travel journal.

D．A sports handbook.

7 . Traditional tea processing techniques and social practices in China were added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List (非物质文化遗产名录) on November 29. China now ranks first in the world with 43 items on the list.

    1     They include the knowledge, skills and practices about tea planting, picking of tea leaves, and the processing, drinking and sharing of tea. According to UNESCO, in China traditional tea processing techniques are closely associated with geographical location and natural environment.     2     Based on natural conditions and local customs, tea producers have developed several popular kinds of tea: green, yellow, dark, white, oolong and black teas.

In China, there are 44 registered items of national intangible cultural heritage related to tea. More than 40 vocational (职业的) colleges and 80 universities in China offer majors in tea science or tea culture.     3    

Tea is everywhere in Chinese people’s daily life. You can find it at home, work, tea houses, restaurants, temples and even at social events like weddings or ceremonies.     4     Sharing tea with guests and bonding over tea-related activities is a common practice among various ethnic groups. It helps to create a sense of identity and community for individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

Tea has delighted and fascinated the world for many thousands of years. It is a shared cultural treasure of mankind.     5     They have also influenced the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road and trade roads. Being included in the list of UNESCO will also help better protect and hand down the techniques and related tea culture.

A．It’s a big part of Chinese culture.

B．The techniques are related to many ways.

C．Tea was eventually spread to the west and beyond.

D．Most tea grows between 18°—37° N and 94°—122°.

E．E. Tea- related customs reflect Chinese people’s values.

F．Experts explored the long history of this universal drink.

G．Every year over 3,000 graduates enter tea production and art.

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

The Real Champion

I like running and for me, success was winning every race I participated in. My classmates called me Incredible Dash. One day, there was a sporting event planned in my school. Well-prepared for the running competition, I took part in almost every race there was. A large number of people gathered to watch. Crowds were eager to see the running race because it was the most exciting event. When the race for 400m started, all the boys ran fast. Unsurprisingly, I finished first in the race and received a big round of applause. While it was tiring, I felt proud and was on top of my world.

In the race for 200m, I ran full speed and finished the race first once again. The crowd gave thundering claps to me. I jumped all over the ground and was not bothered to give handshakes to my fellow racers.

Then came the race for 100m. Discouraged by the previous races, most boys quit the race except one, a boy named Matt who was invited as an honorary runner. Matt was born with low vision but he was a determined participant of many sports. The judge came to Matt and explained the situation, asking whether he would like to quit too. I, wild with joy, thought I would win the champion without effort. However, to everyone’s surprise, Matt decided to complete the event. I sniffed (嗤之以鼻), “It is a waste of time. I bet he even doesn’t figure out where the finish line is.”

The race of two started. On hearing the starting gun, both Matt and I ran to the finish line, Soon I sped up and left Matt behind. Just 30 meters before arriving at the finish line, I was expecting to receive the applause for the third time when I suffered a leg spasm (抽筋).

注意: 1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

I fell hard to the ground.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arm by arm, we walked towards the finish line.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . Why would anyone want to write a poem? One reason to write a poem is to dig from yourself some thought, feeling, comprehension or question that you didn’t know was in you, or in the world. Other forms of writing, such as scientific papers, political analysis and journalism, attempt to record something known. Poetry is a release of something previously unknown.

Poetry opens our eyes and offers increase of reach. We live so often on a lonely island, separated from ourselves and others due to social or personal reasons. To step into a poem is to agree to risk. Writing takes down all protections to see what steps forward. Poetry is a trick of language, in which the writer is both magician and audience. You reach your hand into the hat and surprise yourself with a rabbit or memory, with unusual verbs or rhymes. Poems lead to revolutions of being. Whatever the old order was, a poem will change it.

What we want from art is whatever is missing from the lives we are living and making. Something is always missing, and so art-making is endless.

There is also the matter of connection. You can’t write an image, a metaphor (暗喻), a story, a phrase without approaching the shared world, without recognizing that your supposed solitude (独处) is at every point touching some others. You can’t read a good poem without recognizing your own face in the poet’s experience. It allows us to feel more strongly and accurately what is already present. Then it expands that and expands us.

Does art change anything by its existence or non-existence? I’d argue that art, if it is genuinely art, is a force for the good. That the rearrangement of words can reopen the potential of both inner and outer worlds — I cannot say why I feel this to be true, except that I feel it so when I read good poems.

1. How does the writer introduce the topic?

A．By listing numbers.	B．By giving examples.
C．By quoting a saying.	D．By making a comparison.

2. What is the similarity between poetry and magic?

A．They bring surprises.	B．They follow traditions.
C．They change the world.	D．They are arts of language.

3. What can a good poem do according to the text?

A．Criticize social reality.	B．Apply new expressions.
C．Bridge poets and readers.	D．Remind readers of the past.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards art?

A．Objective.

B．Favorable.

C．Unclear.

D．Doubtful.

10 . Maybe you grew up eating food made by your grandmothers, mouth-watering dishes that bring back sweet, unforgettable memories. Perhaps it was Italian noodles or even Chinese dumplings. Now, at Enoteca Maria, a unique restaurant in New York City, you can eat the dishes same to your grandmother’s cooking.

When Joe Scaravella opened his restaurant, he named it after his mother. Then, in order to remember his grandmother, Joe invited local grandmothers to cook Italian dishes in his kitchen. “I wanted to try to recreate that: the grandma cooking in the kitchen”, he said.

Enoteca Maria is an Italian restaurant where half of the menu changes daily. The fixed half is Italian; the changeable half includes cuisines from all over the world. And what makes the restaurant unique is not professional chefs calling the shots in the kitchen, but grandmothers! Each night, a grandmother from a different country designs a fresh menu, honoring her native cuisine and the food she loves best. Currently, the restaurant is only open three days a week: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Although it’s usually packed, the grandmothers arrange everything orderly.

When the restaurant first opened, several local Italian grandmothers from different Italian regions would cook their own special dishes on a regular schedule, sometimes launching friendly competitions of whose dish was better. When people from different cultures visited the restaurant to get a taste of original Italy, Scaravella decided to extend the competition to include women from across the globe, to make sense to celebrate every culture, and thus, in 2015, the “Grandmothers of the World” initiative was born.

Now, business is running at full speed with around 30 grandmothers from different nationalities cooking in the kitchen.

1. What inspired Scaravella to invite grandmothers to cook in the restaurant?

A．The interest in cooking.	B．The love for his mother.
C．The desire to recreate Italian dishes.	D．The wish to honor his grandmother.

2. What made the restaurant special according to Paragraph 3?

A．Updated menus.	B．Local cuisines.
C．Grandmother chefs.	D．Foreign dishes.

3. Why did Scaravella start the competition across the world?

A．To create better dishes.	B．To attract more visitors.
C．To extend the business.	D．To present different cultures.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Grandmothers’ cooking wins hearts	B．Italian cuisine occupies the market
C．Grandmothers run the restaurant	D．Homemade dishes go popular