1 . Soccer, basketball, baseball, and the like are popular all around the world, However, do you look for something a bit different? There may be some new sports that you want to try out!

One of the new sports is regball. It is a Russian sport adding basketball, wrestling (摔跤) and rugby. As in basketball, the players have a ball that they try to shoot through a hoop (篮筐) . But nobody will be calling “that’s a travel” while watching this sport, because there is no need to dribble (运球) . Players also wrestle with each other during the game.

Another kind of sport you don’t see every day is soapbox racing. Handmade vehicles are pushed down a hill, and competitors have to drive their vehicles through a course with different kinds of things in their way. Not all competitors are engineers, so the vehicles are easy to break apart. Competitors are judged for their soapbox’s creativity. Therefore, speed is not everything, and creativity plays the most important role. Competitors often design their vehicles based on themes from pop culture or history. Of course, the competitors dress up to play the role, too.

Cheese rolling race is not seen very often, but it is exciting. This is a game that is extremely funny for audience, but painful for competitors. During the game, competitors race down a very steep (陡峭的) hill, chasing after a round of Double Gloucester cheese that can weigh up to nine pounds and can travel some 70 miles per hour. Whoever gets to the bottom first wins the cheese.

1. What can we know about regball?

A．It mixes three kinds of sports.

B．Its competitors race down a hill.

C．Wrestling is not allowed during the game.

D．Its rules are exactly the same as basketball.

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

A．A lesson.

B．A track.

C．An action.

D．A period of time.

3. What is valued most about competitors in soapbox racing?

A．Their speed.	B．Their clothes.
C．Their creativity.	D．Their driving experiences.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A new study about sports.

B．A presentation of sports skills.

C．An introduction to three new sports.

D．The difference between traditional and new sports.

2 . It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.

I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.

My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.

1. Which word can best describe the author’s daughter?

A．Wealthy.

B．Thoughtful.

C．Easy-going.

D．Humorous.

2. Why was the author in shame when seeing his old coat in the closet?

A．It cost too much.	B．It was looking dirty.
C．There was not enough room for his new coat.	D．It was not sent to someone in need.

3. What is the author’s decision after his second coat becomes old?

A．Telling his daughter.	B．Buying a new one soon.
C．Donating it to charity.	D．Sending something else to charity.

4. What does the author want to show in the last paragraph?

A．Giving fills our wants.	B．Love is the key to joy.
C．The more you give, the more you lose.	D．A coat is large enough to cover our wants.

3 . Viator, a trip advisor company, offers a variety of tourism programs near London. The following are some of its programs.

Thames River Sightseeing Cruise (乘船游览) with Afternoon Tea (Aug. 18)

While in London, you can add the moment of enjoying British tradition to an afternoon tea cruise. You can have a unique dining experience with family and friends on the Thames River. As you cruise from Tower Pier to Westminster, you can enjoy tea, freshly prepared cakes and sandwiches, and view London’s great landmarks, including the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the London Eye.

Lowest Price: $ 57. 7

Duration: 1. 5 hours

Kid-Friendly Private Tour (Aug. 20)

This tour is a private tour of the Tower of London with pre-booked admission tickets. It is specially designed for families with children, including interesting stories from over the centuries. You can enjoy a visit to the Crown Jewels, red-uniformed Beefeaters, and a stop at the Beasts of the Royal Menagerie.

Lowest Price: $ 309. 35

Duration: 6 hours

Walking Tour (Aug. 22)

This action-packed walking tour covers London’s two most historic areas: the City of London and Westminster. See more than 30 sights, including the Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and so on.

Lowest Price: $19. 35

Duration: 5 hours

Night Open-Top Bus Tour with Christmas Lights (Nov. 18)

You will see a different side of London on an open-top bus tour that discovers the best of the city’s Christmas lights. Sitting on the top deck gives you overall views of England’s capital, including top attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Lowest Price: $ 30. 97

Duration: 2 hours

1. What can visitors enjoy during the Kid-Friendly Private Tour?

A．Freshly prepared cakes.	B．Christmas lights.
C．A Cruise experience.	D．Interesting stories.

2. How long does the Walking Tour last?

A．1. 5 hours.

B．2 hours.

C．5 hours.

D．6 hours.

3. Which of the four programs starts the latest?

A．Walking Tour.

B．Kid-Friendly Private Tour.

C．Night Open-Top Bus Tour with Christmas Lights.

D．Thames River Sightseeing Cruise with Afternoon Tea.

4 . Pandamen, Mur cat, old ladies who argue with each other…These are memes (表情包) we often use. But two young women have turned these fun memes into dance moves. They’ve gained about 800,000 fans and millions of views with their exaggerated (夸张的) and funny performances. Asuan, 26, and Lidawang, 29, were graduate students at Beijing Dance Academy when they first made funny dance videos together in 2020. As Asuan majored in Character Dance in Ballet and European Court Dance (芭蕾性格舞种欧洲宫廷舞) and Lidawang majored in Chinese Classical Dance, they wanted to create something different from the formal stage performances that they had learned in school.

“We gradually found our own styles---funny moves, simple stories and catchy (朗朗上口的) music. Whether the inspiration comes from memes, animation (动画), comics, games or daily life, we take the clips (片段) of young people’s pop culture and recreate them,” said Lidawang.

However, being funny doesn’t mean that they can be messy with their dance moves. Memes grow in popularity because of their expressiveness, and reproducing that expressiveness through dance can be very challenging. It usually takes them one to six months to create a two-minute dance video. To improve their moves, they will record their rehearsals (排练) and then look at their moves over and over. Asuan even made a teaching video for one of their most popular dances---the Yellow Alien---based on a meme which came from the Spanish song Dame Tu Cosita. She figured out the secrets of imitating (模仿) the alien---the relaxed shoulder, the deep squat (深蹲) move and the surprised-but-naive eyes. As many fans send them “homework” videos, their meme dances are becoming new memes themselves too. “The nature of dance is to express and communicate. What we communicate and pass on to others is happiness and entertainment.” said Lidawang.

“We’re happy to call ourselves comedians (喜剧演员) in the world of dance.” added Asuan.

1. Why did Asuan and Lidawang start creating dance videos?

A．To promote pop culture.	B．To complete their graduate project.
C．To produce something innovative.	D．To introduce formal stage performances.

2. What is highly challenging for Asuan and Lidawang?

A．Finding the right music.	B．Integrating memes into dance videos.
C．Showing meme-like expressiveness.	D．Ensuring their dance moves are not messy.

3. What is the main idea of Paragraph3?

A．It is difficult to create a dance video.

B．Asuan and Lidawang take their creation seriously.

C．Asuan and Lidawang enjoy watching their own practices.

D．Their dance videos are usually about two minutes long.

4. Which of the following best describes Asuan and Lidawang’s videos?

A．Dramatic and informative.	B．Emotional and touching.
C．Educational and serious.	D．Entertaining and original.

5 . Taste in music varies considerably, but whatever people enjoy listening to, they often report an emotional response that has a touch of the physical to it. Maybe you feel beautiful music gives you the feeling of being cold, or makes your hair stand on end.

By studying a rare person, named BW, who does not like or respond to music at all, psychologist Psyche Loui of Northeastern University has discovered that connectivity patterns in the brain link finding music rewarding with finding social interaction enjoyable.

“BW said he had never understood why people enjoy music,” Loui says. BW is not someone who doesn’t like art, Loui says. “He goes to museums. He’s an enthusiastic photographer. He likes good food. He likes long walks on the beach. He just doesn’t like music.” He told Loui that when he saw a person at the grocery store with headphones in their ears dancing to music, he could never understand why anyone would do that. “This really seems to be a somewhat socially weakening experience,” Loui says.

“Given that music is important for social bonding across different cultures and that music is a way for the hearing system to connect to the reward system, one strong prediction is that music reward sensitivity can partially explain individual differences in sensitivity to social reward.”

This newly discovered connectivity between the hearing and reward systems may be why we feel emotions in response to music, Loui says. “I think that there’s a role of music for social bonding.” She also thinks there are influences from this work for other conditions with low social reward. “If people who don’t love music have differences in specific systems in the brain, then that shows these specific systems are related to the love of music. Then we can examine what else engages these same systems and what other abilities or human capacities are linked to music.”

1. Why are “being cold” and “hair stand on end” mentioned in Paragraph 1?

A．To develop the plot.	B．To draw a conclusion.
C．To make comparisons.	D．To support the argument.

2. What is BW’s attitude towards music?

A．He thinks music is important in social bonding.

B．He enjoys music while wandering on the beach.

C．He figures music is less important than art and food.

D．He takes little interest in and is unresponsive to music.

3. What will Loui probably examine in the follow-up study?

A．What role music plays in social bonding.

B．How people respond to music emotionally.

C．Whether specific music influences brain system.

D．What other human abilities are linked with music.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．People’s emotional and physical reactions to beautiful music.

B．Connections between enjoyment of music and social interaction.

C．Relationships among social bonding, diverse cultures and music.

D．Links among music sensibility, hearing system and reward system.

6 . In a world ruled by hard exercise and complex fitness programs, the simple act of walking is often ignored(忽略).     1     It offers physical and mental benefits that lead to total happiness.

Heart Health and Weight Management

Walking is light heart exercise that helps improve heart health by increasing blood circulation(循环).     2     Besides, regular quick walking supports in weight management by burning calories and improving digestion(消化), making it an excellent choice for those looking to throw away pounds or keep a healthy weight.

Pressure Drop and Clear Mind

Taking a relaxing walk or quick walk has been shown to give off endorphins, the body’s natural ”feel-good” materials. This leads to lower pressure levels, improved feelings, and improved mental health. Walking outdoors in nature or in a peaceful environment can provide a refreshing escape from the daily tasks.     3    

Joint(关节)Health and Free Movement

Unlike active sports, walking is soft on the joints, making it a perfect choice for people of all ages and fitness levels.     4     At the same time, it also raises the ability to move freely and easily. Walking regularly can be particularly beneficial to those recovering from pain or looking to prevent problems with joints.

Social Communication and Connection

    5     Walking clubs, group climbs, or even simple walking with a friend or family member can provide an opportunity to connect, share experiences, and create lasting memories while at the same time bringing the physical benefits.

A．It helps oil joints and make them stronger.

B．It’s a cheap way to lead a healthier lifestyle.

C．So taking a walk can make your mind relaxed and fresh.

D．A quick walk after meals has been shown to benefit the stomach.

E．It cuts down the risk of heart disease and brings down blood pressure.

F．Walking is useful exercise that can easily be turned into a social activity.

G．However, walking remains one of the easiest and most useful forms of exercise.

7 . 选词填空

be fluent in, in advance, be suitable for, be concerned about, concentrate on

1. The advantage of booking tickets ________________ is that you can get better seats.
2. Soon she found that if she ________________the ideas, not the single words, she could understand.
3. The course seems difficult and   ________________(not) freshman students.
4. You don't have to ________________getting low grades at the end of the term if you try your best now.
5. As she has been in England for many years, she ________________ English.

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。

Lemon duck is a special dish in Wuming, Nanning, Guangxi. And it     1    (belong) to Guangxi cuisine and is one of the top ten classic dishes in Guangxi.

Wuming lemon duck, also known as Gaofeng lemon duck, originated in Wuming District, Nanning. Lemon duck first     2    (appear) in the early 1980s. There was a small shop beside the boundary marker on Yongwu road in Nanning,     3     provided dishes for drivers all year round. After continuous development, this famous dish came into being.

The     4    (finish) lemon duck looks golden and attractive with oil juice, and the lemon and duck meat smell     5    (especial) delicious. Duck meat with lemon and sour pepper is suitable for a sour    6     spicy taste, fragrant (香的) but not greasy (油腻的). It is an appetizer. And the duck is crispy, with a special aroma of lemon.

The special flavor of lemon duck is not just credited to lemon. In fact, sour pepper, sour Chinese onions, sour ginger, mashed garlic and so on should be added when frying. Before coming out of the pot, add salted lemon and purple perilla (紫苏)    7    (leaf), and the salted lemon can only be put in after being seeded. Otherwise, it will become bitter after    8    (cook) for a long time, and the fragrance will be lost.

The Gaofeng lemon duck was listed in the     9    (seven) batch of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage in Nanning and it was rated     10     one of the top ten classic dishes in Guangxi as “Chinese cuisine”.

9 . Spending time outdoors has long been linked (联系) to better health. Gardening goes beyond just beautifying outdoor spaces—it can have a deep effect on our physical and mental (身心上的) health.

Gardening involves physical activity that works all the main muscle (肌肉) groups, which is helpful for overall health. “Activities such as digging, planting, weeding and harvesting require movement and can help to improve strength,” said Clayton, CEO of an online lawn care company. “Performing these activities regularly can help burn calories, and keep a healthy weight.”

Beyond burning calories and building muscle, lots of studies have shown that gardening can improve the immune system (免疫系统). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week, and gardening is listed as a suitable activity. Doing garden work for that time each week can reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. Additionally, spending time outdoors makes us get close to natural sunlight, which is important for vitamin D synth.

Gardening provides a chance for social connection, too. It can be a shared activity among family members, friends or neighbors, building relationships and a sense of belonging.

Gardening also offers cognitive (认知的) benefits. It excites the senses, improves focus and encourages problem-solving and creativity. It provides a chance to learn about plants, ecosystems and the environment, developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature.

1. What is Clayton’s attitude towards gardening?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Unclear

D．Uncaring.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly tell us about gardening?

A．It improves focus.	B．It is a waste of time.
C．It can keep a body in shape.	D．It helps to reduce the risk of diseases.

3. How does gardening affect social connection according to the text?

A．It contributes to creativity.	B．It encourages problem-solving.
C．It builds relationships between people.	D．It improves people’s awareness of safety.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How to Start a Garden	B．Choose a Garden or Not
C．What Plants Grow Best in a Garden	D．Start Gardening and Get the Health Benefits

10 . Libraries are places to preserve cultural heritage, develop information resources and carry out social education. Let’s look at some of the most beautiful libraries in the world.

Vennesla Library and Culture House, Norway

The library is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Opened in 2011, this library is an important site for concerts, theatrical performances and film screenings. The design of the library is unique. The building is supported by 27 laminated (层压的) wood arches that hold the roof up.

Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Italy

The library is one of the largest and most important libraries in Italy. It preserves one of the most important collections of Greek, Latin and Asian manuscripts (手稿) in the entire world. Some of them are the most precious pieces. The library specializes in Venetian history and classic philology. Its collection of antique maps is also very significant.

Stacja Kultura, Poland

Thanks to a recent restoration, a station that was once in ruins underwent an architectural change. The library might seem unremarkable from the outside, but the innovative project and its division into a train station, public library and cultural center have certainly made this building worth a visit.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, United States

The library is the main source of literary archives (档案), ancient manuscripts and rare books at Yale University, and it’s visited by students and researchers from around the world. Completed in 1963, the library is home to the Bollingen Prize for Poetry which is awarded biennially, and the Windham-Campbell Prizes which are awarded annually for fiction, literary essays, poetry, and theater.

1. Which library will attract people interested in the stage?

A．Vennesla Library and Culture House.	B．Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.
C．Stacja Kultura.	D．Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

2. Which aspect makes Stacja Kultura different from the other three libraries?

A．Its architecture.

B．Its collection.

C．Its location.

D．Its original owner.

3. What do the second library and the fourth library have in common?

A．They have a long history.	B．They are favored by movie lovers.
C．They hold some precious treasures.	D．They are the most important libraries.