1 . One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his __________ (同事) to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. (根据汉语提示单词拼写)

2 . The sad truth is that most of us have been b_________ (抚养) up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives. (根据中英文提示单词拼写)

3 . Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always i_________(坚持要求) that it should be written out in full. (根据中英文提示单词拼写)

4 . Look, let’s be honest-there’s no such thing as a “green” vacation. You’ll leave a carbon footprint, no matter what.     1     Here are a few questions to ask:

Is it a B Corp?

B Corps are businesses that meet a strict set of standards by the nonprofit B Lab. They include requirements for governance, workers, customers, community and the environment.     2     You’ll see some fairly well-known brands, like Intrepid Travel. But you won’t find the names of any major airlines, car rental companies or hotel chains-at least, not yet.

Does the company have any other environmental certifications?

Third-party certifications from Green Key, LEED and WELL can be signs that a travel company means business about the environment. Transportation companies may also offer verified certifications from organizations like Terrapass or the Gold Standard Foundation.     3     However, it’s a good start.

    4    

If the company claims to be green, don’t just take its word for it. Listen to what it says. If you see nothing but models on its Instagram channel or ads for online discounts on its site, perhaps it’s a shade of fake green. “A company’s social media strategy is generally a reflection of its current ethos and goals,” explained Julia Carter, founder of Craft Travel.

How deep is its commitment to the environment?

    5     For example, the Travel Corporation publishes an annual impact report that maps its progress against 11 sustainability goals developed by the United Nations. Many cruise lines also publish detailed reports that allow you to check their commitment to the environment against several objective standards.

A．But your trip can be green-ish.

B．What’s the company saying to everyone?

C．How can we find a reliable company online?

D．Don’t trust anything the company says to the public.

E．These certifications aren’t a guarantee the company is green.

F．Look for reliable reports on sustainability from a travel company.

G．You can search the directory of these forward-looking companies online.

5 . Jiang Shumei learned her first Chinese character at the age of 60. Now, the 87-year-old grandmother from Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province is the proud author of six books.

“I wasn’t educated as a child. I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would publish a book one day,” says the resident of Suihua city. Her books detail the chaos of wartime and the hardship during the famine, and vividly retell anecdotes over the decades.

The elderly woman had her own way of learning. She composed lyrics for songs, and asked children to write them down, so that she could read each character as she sang the songs again and again. Whenever she came across characters she didn’t know on pamphlets (小册子), bus stops, or shop signs, she found someone to ask.

She first put pen to paper in 2012, at the age of 75. It was not easy. Sometimes, completing a single sentence could take a day. As a college teacher and a writer herself, Zhang Ailing, Jiang Shumei’s daughter, gave her mother a lot of encouragement and help. She told her that while writing, she should imagine herself telling stories to an audience, so that they would be easier to understand and be full of interesting details.

Zhang was also her first editor. Every time her mother finished writing something, she would discuss the manuscript (手稿) with her and check it over before typing it on the computer. Zhang began publishing her mother’s stories on social media platforms in 2013. When they drew the attention of her writer friends, the pair made the decision to publish them.

The first book, Time of Trouble, Time of Poverty, was published later that year, and proved to be a success. The book earned Jiang a lot of fans and sympathy. So far, the elderly woman has published six books, totaling more than 600,000 characters in length. In her spare time, she is also learning painting and calligraphy. “I would like to be a writer, a painter and a calligrapher,” she says, adding that her dream now is to have her own art exhibition when she is 90.

1. How did Jiang Shumei learn characters?

A．By reading books with her children.

B．By asking questions whenever she was free.

C．By going to a college to get herself educated.

D．By singing lyrics and memorizing characters around her.

2. Which of the following may contribute to Jiang Shumei’s success most?

A．Her hard-work and Zhang’s support.

B．The care and attention from the public.

C．The help from her friends and editors.

D．The popularity of social media platforms.

3. When did Jiang Shumei publish her first book?

A．At the age of 60.	B．In the year 2012.
C．At her 87-year-old.	D．In the year 2013.

4. Which of the following can best describe Jiang Shumei’s story?

A．Adversity makes a man wise.	B．Practice makes perfect.
C．It is never too old to learn.	D．Still water runs deep.

6 . The annual South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held on Sunday, March 17, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. This is the 119th-annual parade for the historically-Irish city, and always falls on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick’s Day. This year, it luckily falls on the day of the holiday itself.

The Route

According to the Allied War Veterans Council, the parade will start at 1 p.m. at Broadway station and move up West Broadway. It will continue on East Broadway, take a right on P Street, then a right onto East Fourth Street.

From East Fourth Street, it will turn left onto K Street, then right onto East Fifth Street, where it will continue until taking a left onto G Street. It will stay left of South Boston High School to Thomas Park, and follow the park until it takes a left at Telegraph Street and another left to Dorchester Street. The parade will stay on Dorchester Street until its end in Andrew Square.

How to participate

If you’re local to the area or traveling especially to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you can, of course, attend the parade in person. But for everyone else, there are a few options on how to watch it live.

Local stations NBC10 Boston and NECN will air the parade on television or stream on various platforms starting at 1 p.m. ET, including on Peacock, Roku and on its YouTube channel.

USA TODAY is also providing coverage for the parade in Boston, as well as celebration in other U.S. cities over the weekend, including New York City and Chicago. You can watch the parade at the top of this page or on USA TODAY’s YouTube channel.

1. Where will St. Patrick’s Day parade start?

A．Broadway station.	B．Dorchester Street.
C．K Street.	D．South Boston High School.

2. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To call for donations.	B．To recommend a traditional holiday.
C．To inform people of an activity.	D．To explain a period of history.

3. Where does the passage probably come from?

A．A magazine.	B．A history book.
C．The internet.	D．A travel brochure.

7 . Neerja wakes up at 7 o’clock. She finds that she has a birthday cap over her head. She’s both ________ and confused. “Is it my birthday today? But it is in August …” She ________ her phone. It shows August 27, her birthday.

Things are getting more and more ________ for her. In a few seconds, her family ________ the room with a huge cake box. She is almost ________ about it.

She comes forward to ________ the cake, and as she opens the box, everything becomes ________ at once. The box has a joker mask with “April Fool!” written on it. With loud laughter, they make her ________ that she’s been tricked (欺骗). Now Neerja owns the title of “FOOL OF THE YEAR”. And if she doesn’t want the ________, she has to pass it to someone else.

On her way to school, she continuously ________ about how to add a member to the “fool’s chain (链)” till she sees Hari. A(n)________ comes to her mind. She says, “Hello, Hari! The class teacher called you to her office. She wants you to be the new class monitor (班长).” After some time, she sees him coming back ________. She realizes that she has made a huge mistake.

She goes to him and says, “I’m really sorry. I just ________ to pass the title ‘FOOL OF THE YEAR’ to someone else”. “‘FOOL OF THE YEAR’... what’s that?” he asks curiously. Neerja can’t help ________ his innocent (天真的) question. Hari laughs too. Though they are both now members of the “chain of fools”, they are happy that this chain is the beginning of their ________ too.

1.

A．angry

B．surprised

C．calm

D．relaxed

2.

A．checks

B．sells

C．repairs

D．answers

3.

A．difficult

B．important

C．discouraging

D．unclear

4.

A．clean

B．find

C．enter

D．book

5.

A．worried

B．certain

C．honest

D．careful

6.

A．cut

B．buy

C．make

D．store

7.

A．boring

B．special

C．possible

D．understandable

8.

A．realize

B．remember

C．imagine

D．regret

9.

A．cake

B．gift

C．phone

D．title

10.

A．forgets

B．hears

C．lies

D．thinks

11.

A．dream

B．idea

C．question

D．message

12.

A．patiently

B．sadly

C．nervously

D．hopefully

13.

A．failed

B．refused

C．managed

D．wanted

14.

A．looking into

B．talking about

C．laughing at

D．dealing with

15.

A．training

B．studies

C．friendship

D．problems

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。

I never considered     1     (I) a picky eater, but when     2    (tradition) Chinese holidays rolled around, I wanted little to do with the customary foods.

Every fall, I celebrate the Moon Festival with mooncakes. Unlike many of my Chinese American     3    (friend), I never liked the red bean and salted-egg flavors in my family’s cuisine (饭菜). Instead, I     4    (draw) to mo chi ice cream!

My first taste of a snow skin mooncake, however, made a crack in this wall of pickiness,     5    (create) an opening for the other Chinese desserts (甜点). A bite of the mooncake reminded me     6     strawberry red bean mochi. One bite led to another, and soon I was attracted to the earthy flavors of the red bean and     7    (extreme) eager to taste the Chinese treats I once avoided.

Different types of mooncakes are served during the Mid-Autumn Festival,     8     falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, between mid-September     9     October. Because they can take up so much time to make, many people simply buy mooncakes. But for some, it’s much more meaningful     10    (hold) a homemade “full moon” in your hand.

9 . As a little girl, I’d sit in the kitchen and watch my mother cook, but I didn’t really get into cooking. When I graduated from college and moved lo Washington DC, I left all of my friends behind. There were no new roommates. I was on my own and felt lonely. Home-cooked meals were my best attempt at changing my condition.

So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes (食谱) for my favorite dishes. It turned out that my mom didn’t have any recipes. She couldn’t give me a single measurement (计量) for any dish. She grew up in the kitchen with her mom too, and my grandma shared her knowledge through oral (口头的) tradition. Then it was my turn. My mom taught me how to “measure with my heart” when cooking. I learned to cook by tasting and feeling my food. And my food was pretty good. Soon enough, everyone was asking me for the recipes. That was why Bun Bo Bae, my cooking blog, came into being in 2019.

Bun Bo Bae was a space for me to put what I learned into writing. I didn’t want all of the secret knowledge behind dishes like my mom’s noodles and my dad’s tomato soup to disappear if the oral tradition ended one day. I wanted to write down every piece of advice I was given in detail.

These days, I experiment more. I’m not as strict with myself about recreating the dishes exactly as I remember about eating them. I use seasonal food materials when I can’t find some items. My food blog and flower count grew, and so did my confidence in the kitchen.

Bun Bo Bae also increased my confidence at work and gave me a space to write about what I love. It has connected me to countless new Internet friends.

Most importantly, writing for Bun Bo Bae has taught me that celebrating my culture doesn’t have to be about perfectly recreating my parents’ tradition. It’s about mixing what I’ve been taught with my own experiences, and cooking up something entirely new.

1. Why did the author begin her home-cooked meals?

A．To lead a healthy lifestyle.	B．To get rid of her loneliness.
C．To try out her mother’s recipes.	D．To improve her cooking skills.

2. What do we know about the author’s early effort at cooking?

A．She had trouble creating new recipes.

B．She followed strict measurements in cooking.

C．She made tastier dishes than her mom and grandma.

D．She mastered cooking skills under her mom’s oral guidance.

3. Why did the author create her cooking blog?

A．To bring her family members together.

B．To discuss local fine foods with followers.

C．To keep a record of her family’s cooking tradition.

D．To encourage people to develop healthy eating habits.

4. What has the author realized from her cooking experience?

A．It’s important to learn a basic living skill,

B．It’s necessary to share her food knowledge online.

C．It’s better to understand different cooking cultures.

D．It’s wise to connect traditional cooking methods with new ideas.

10 . Moving to a new country—or even spending a year abroad—is an exciting experience.     1     Making friends in a new country is one of them. Here are some suggestions.

Network through personal connections. Most people don’t jump at the chance to show a stranger around town, but that changes as soon as you make a personal connection—even a tiny one.     2     Until you do, you’ll never know if your former classmate’s brother’s best friend lives around the corner.

Join a hobby club or a sports team. Committing to (全身心投入) a weekly hobby meetup is a great way to force yourself to socialize. There are always hiking clubs looking for teammates. You don’t have to master the local language to find partners.     3     What you need to do is make an effort to start conversations or sign up for exercise classes.

    4     Feeling lonely isn’t just about not having weekend plans; it can make us feel like we don’t matter to the people around us, Join an organization that helps homeless people or helps out animal shelters. You’ll feel good about yourself and find an immediate sense of connection.

Talk to strangers, When you’re the stranger in town, it’s easy to feel awkward and out of place, The more you push past that, the more you’ll find that almost everyone enjoys meeting new people. Talking about where you come from and what the weather is like is the first step to get to know someone.     5    

A．Volunteer for a good cause.

B．However, it has its challenges, too.

C．So practice your small talk and use it often.

D．These are great places to meet outgoing strangers.

E．Ask friends back home if they know anyone in your area.

F．Every trip out of the house is a chance to meet the right person.

G．Exercising in a gym is another way to meet people with similar interests.