1 . I didn’t quite know what I was looking for when I flew to Mongolia for a term abroad. I just needed something different, far from the late-night libraries of my college town. Most different, I hoped, would be my rural homestay: two weeks in central Mongolia with a family of nomadic(游牧的) herders.

I was studying Mongolian at the time, but still, there was so much I couldn’t say or understand. As we walked in the snow behind the goats, my host mom would ask me if I was cold, then giggle (咯咯地笑) and copy a big shiver to make sure I understood. In the evenings, she showed me how to make dumplings with her fingers. My host siblings would talk with me, speaking too fast for me to understand, as we explored the rocks around our tent; I’d listen and nod.

This verbal(言语的) barrier was strangely freeing. In the crowded dining hall at home, meeting new people made me anxious. I’d stay quiet, measuring out my words, struggling for something to say that wouldn’t expose me as unfunny or boring. In Mongolia, I couldn’t perfect my words. I could only smile, and try out one of the phrases I’d mastered: “May I help?” “Where is the dog?” “Are you tired?” My host family laughed at my pronunciation, at the way I threw up my hands and eyebrows in a frequent gesture of confusion. But in their laughter, I felt safe, unembarrassed.

With my Mongolian family on the grassland, I found a feeling of ease I’d never felt before. We were so different, they and I, and not just in language. Their skin was hardened and darkened by sun; I’d been hidden under hats and sunscreen since birth. My host siblings(兄弟姐妹) grew up drawing water from frozen streams and jogging behind herds of sheep; I spent summers at tennis camp.

For me, these gaps made all the difference. Without shared social measures, I wasted no time wondering how I was measuring up. Only real things—kindness, helpfulness—mattered.

1. Why did the author go to Mongolia for a term abroad?

A．She dreamed of living a nomadic life.	B．She was tired of studying late at night.
C．She had to study Mongolians’ normal life.	D．She was collecting information for libraries.

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

A．Hug.

B．Smile.

C．Attack.

D．Shake.

3. How did the author behave at the dining hall in her home country?

A．She felt at ease in the crowd.	B．She usually weighed her words.
C．She asked a lot of funny questions.	D．She often made others laugh with jokes.

4. What did the author learn from her life in Mongolia?

A．You are judged wherever you go.	B．Nature makes humans feel insignificant.
C．Appearance reflects one’s standard of life.	D．Being kind is the common social standard.

2 . It is difficult to name a female architect more iconic than Zaha Hadid, whose name can be translated from Arabic as glorious. She passed away five years ago at the age of 65, but the impact she has left on the world of architecture is profound.

Hadid was born into an upper-class Iraqi family in 1950. At the very beginning, she wanted to become a mathematician and studied science at the American University of Beirut, But at some point she realized that she preferred shapes to numbers. And she turned her concentration to architecture and went to London where she met the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

“There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?” Hadid once said. Despite her abundance of amazing ideas, before the beginning of the 90s, not a single building based on her blueprints had been built. Her highly expressive style, while initially criticized and believed to be crazy, is now regarded as pioneering work. Her striking contemporary architecture, inspired by natural landforms, has graced the skylines of major metropolitan cities.

“Women are always being told, ‘you’re not going to make it; It’s too difficult. You can’t do that Don’t enter this competition; You’ll never win it’,” Hadid said. “They need confidence in themselves and people around them for support.”

Never one to be boxed in by conventions, Hadid proved society wrong. She received her first prize, the “Gold Medal Architectural Design” for her British Architecture in 1982. From then on, the awards kept rolling in. But the true triumph for Hadid came in 2004. Her project for the London Olympics Aquatic Center won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She became the first woman and first Muslim to earn the award, making a name for herself and paving the way for female architects.

Hadid’s genius lives on in the array of many other spectacular buildings she has left behind in the world. Among them are the Guangzhou Opera House, the Beijing Daxing International Airport, as well as the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held.

Hadid may be gone, but her global influence on a new generation of female architects is here to stay.

1. What made Hadid quit science to learn architecture?

A．Her talent in architecture.

B．Her interest in architecture.

C．Her difficulty in learning science.

D．Her encounter with Rem Koolhaas.

2. What can we learn about Hadid’s works?

A．Her architecture was inspired by mathematics

B．Her British Architecture won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

C．Her architecture style was too bold to be accepted at the very beginning.

D．Her works can only be found in European countries and the Middle East.

3. What does paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The talk between Hadid and her colleague.

B．The reason why women fail to be architects.

C．The prejudice from society against women.

D．The difficulty Hadid faced being an architect.

4. What is the most profound impact Hadid has left on the world?

A．She formed a unique style.

B．She broke away from the convention.

C．She received various architecture awards

D．She encouraged other women architects.

3 . Award-winning Chinese shoe designer, Huang Qinqin, shares her transformative journey, combining cultural heritage and international design to shape the art of practical wear.

Believing that the value of her products doesn’t lie in business operation, Huang always focuses on how to convey the stories behind her shoes to customers instead.“It is like storytelling, a natural ability I possess,” she said with a smile.

However, Huang’s journey into design was unforeseen and it took her several years to discover her true passion. Huang switched her major from physics to international communications studies at university.While she found great enjoyment in these courses, she still didn’t know what she could do in the future.

“One day, I grabbed a sheet of paper and began drawing some shoe designs I saw online.It was at that moment that the light suddenly dawned.” recalled Huang.

To her astonishment, Huang discovered while international luxury shoe brands like Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin are household names, Chinese brands are rarely seen.This finding fueled Huang’s determination to pursue her career as a shoe designer, hoping to fill the blank in the international market.

After returning to China from the UK, Huang established her own shoe brand.“I think Chinese students studying abroad today all share a strong sense of mission—to showcase what China truly has to offer to the world,” Huang said.

Looking back, Huang said that she took a long time to finally find her lifelong passion.“There is a saying that one must achieve fame at a young age, but I believe it is never too late to unlock one’s potential, since everyone operates on their unique ‘time zone’,” she said.

Before her current career path, Huang never stopped trying new things, including garden design and dance.These diverse experiences have all become precious treasures in her life, nurturing her self-directed learning abilities, which have turned out to be essential skills for her startup business today.

1. What does Huang value most about her products?

A．Design concept.	B．Market share.
C．Quality standard.	D．Business operation.

2. What further motivated Huang Qinqin to be a shoe designer?

A．Passion for fashion and design.

B．Lack of Chinese brands in the field.

C．Desire to challenge conventional norms.

D．Love for international luxury shoe brands.

3. What can best describe Huang?

A．Creative and flexible.

B．Ambitious and easy-going.

C．Talented and accessible.

D．Responsible and humorous.

4. What might Huang agree with?

A．Well begun is half done.

B．Think twice before you leap.

C．Every step counts in your life.

D．It matters much when you succeed.

4 . 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容从所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项, 补全材料最后两段,使之构成一篇完整的短文。选项中有两项为多余选项。

We met Bailey 5 years ago. He was a standard poodle (髦毛小狗) born on Valentine’s day in 2020, and came to us in a small blue box. His previous owner posted the news online and we adopted him. Our only request was that he behave calmly and be able to put up with the pushing and hugging of our eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son.

We were a sweet family: me, my husband, our children Angela and Tony. But for years. I’d felt that we wouldn’t be truly whole if we didn’t have a dog. Also, my husband worked for a commercial company and traveled around 200 days a year. and I knew that having a large animal sleeping by the door made me feel safer.

The last piece of our purzle fell into place when we opened the box. With his dark hair and smart eyes, Bailey was beautiful. He was so small that he could fit in the palm of my hand, his big paws (爪子) resting at his sides. He was a little scared, too. As I pulled him close, I felt his heart racing, and 1 wondered if we had done the right thing by taking him away from his mother. But it was too late. Angela and Tony were already arguing about who would carry him and who had the right to bathe him.

Over the following months, we spent countless hours watching Bailey play with his toys or roll around on the living room floor. Like most poodles, he was smart. He quickly mastered house-training and never chewed (咀) on our furniture or shoes. He considered himself one of us.

One night we were sleeping in the bedroom when I heard some strange noise.     1    

At that time, Bailey ran towards me.     2    

A．I thought it was Bailey running and hitting something, so I kept lying in the bed and made an attempt to fall asleep again. However, the noise became louder and louder, which had already annoyed me. Quickly l got up from my bed. I opened the door and found Bailey running around the living room, trying to let all the things fall down. These abnormal behaviors really made me confused and a little afraid.

B．He firmly grabbed my trousers and pulled me to the kitchen. As I approached the kitchen could obviously smell a strong burning smell and immediately knew what had happened. When¹ aw the fierce fire in the kitchen, I dashed into my children’s room like an arrow(前), waking them up at my maximum voice. Rushing out of the house together with my family. I called 911 and asked our neighbors for help at the same time. Fortunately both my family and my house were saved Thanks to our smart Bailey, we did escape from death.

C．Angela and Tony completed the delicious breakfast and they could not wait to bring it to me who slept in the room. Their father praised their hard-earned work with his thumb up, informing them that I was sleeping on the second floor. To my surprise, their hand-made food was so delicious that l would never forget it. Obviously. what they had done for me would be rooted in memory.

D．I nodded with a smile and encouraged the children to get started. Quickly. Angela volunteered to get the big box of com and prepared to make popcorn. At the same time, Tony. my smart boy. went to buy some paper bags. I ran to Bailey’s home to invite him. Not surprisingly. Bailey was amazed at this great project and couldn’t wait to come. To our delight, the popcorn they made looked great and tasted delicious. Finally. they packed the sweet popcorn in the paper bags together. Laughter and happiness filled this house.

5 . Here are four festival s around the world that can offer you special and unique experiences.

Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia       

As one of the largest events in South America which has been held since the 18th century, it was recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Every year, dozens of groups wear colorful costumes or masks and perform folk dances that draw crowds up to 400,000 annually, celebrating pre-Columbian traditions.

Underwater Music Festival, the USA       

It starts from 1985 and its founder took music festival s to a whole new level with the aim to protect the corals (珊瑚). The event houses radio playlists and ocean-themed songs streaming live from underwater speakers along with musician-divers and local people playing instruments with strange shapes.

Day of the Little Candles, Colombia

This festival can date back to 1854 and Colombia’s windows, balconies, and sidewalks would come alive on the night of every December 7. And houses and streets are decorated with candles in varying colors and paper lanterns by families. Many people also consider it the unofficial start of the Christmas season when cities and towns debut (初次登场) their Christmas lights and decorations.

World Toe Wrestling Championship, England

This competition is not a new competition, with its history going back to 1976. The sport involves two opponents who lock feet in an attempt to pin each other’s foot down in the least time possible, similar to arm wrestling. There are three rounds played on a best of 2 out of 3 bases. Rounds kick-start with the right foot, then left and followed by right again.

1. What do we know about Carnival of Oruro?

A．It features colorful costumes and folk dances.

B．It is a time for families to reunite.

C．It is no use for the local economy.

D．It only has one single presentation.

2. What does Day of the Little Candles feature?

A．Body strength.	B．Colorful candles.
C．Underwater creatures.	D．Christmas goods.

3. Which festival has the shortest history?

A．Carnival of Oruro.	B．Day of the Little Candles.
C．Underwater Music Festival.	D．World Toe Wrestling Championship.

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。

On June 29, 2021, Zhang Guimei     1     (award) the highest honour of the Communist Party of China — the July 1 Medal for her     2     (value) contribution to rural education.

After her husband passed away because of cancer, she moved to Huaping county in Lijiang. Seeing the poverty in the mountains and the tragedies     3     had happened to young girls, she was     4     (determine) to find an effective method to help them out. She figured out the major problem was education. Thus, she wanted to set up     5     free girls-only high school. At first, she was questioned by the people there but she never gave up and began to raise money. She even begged for funds to establish the school.     6     (fortunate), her story was known to the authorities in Huaping and Lijiang who later funded the construction of the school.

    7     (set) up China’s first free senior high school for girls, Zhang has helped many local girls from impoverished (rural families achieve their dreams. She never hesitates     8     (aid) her students even though she suffers     9     more than 20 diseases due to years of heavy work and stress.

After years of hard work, the school has made great     10     (achievement). In the past fifteen years, as many as 2,000 poor girls from the school have entered universities or colleges. As a result, their life has been changed.

7 . The Healing Power of Humor

As a heart doctor, I have to deliver a lot of bad news. Humor is a wonderful tool. Not only can it help lift patients’ spirits up, but it actually helps them recover faster. There is tons of scientific evidence that patients who are depressed after heart operations have a higher death rate, and optimistic patients have significantly fewer wound infections.     1    

It relaxes patients.

Medical operations usually make patients feel nervous. Some may sweat, have chest pain and feel unusually strong or irregular heartbeats.     2     When people use humor, the nervous system just tones down a bit, and that allows the heart to relax.

    3    

People are scared of their bodies. Humor can crack through the ice and take the fear away. For example, I have to tell patients about the risk of cognitive impairment (认知损伤) after operations. They’re terrified, fearing the worst.     4     I tell them in a humorous way that it’s usually just like forgetting second grade. People understand what that means, and it doesn’t seem quite as frightening.

It eases worries.

After open-heart operation, a patient might say, “Doctor, my chest really hurts.” And I’ll smile and say, “Oh, does it feel like someone opened you up, cut the bone and operated in there?” That tells them the pain is normal and they are going to be fine. So they take their minds off their troubles and worry less.

It helps doctors.

    5     When we give the news, we are supposed to help patients in a human way. A good sense of humor is just like a weapon, and it can beat the difficult situation. As a matter of fact, humor benefits doctors as well. Plus, it is a better way to enjoy life.

A．It calms fear.

B．It reduces risk.

C．So, recovering cognition is important.

D．However, humor can be a healing power.

E．Breaking bad news is never a pleasant task.

F．Others may even feel like they are choking.

G．Humor truly is the best medicine in many ways.

8 . Attention! We need to put a stop to parents doing harm to youth sports. It has gotten out of hand.

A recent study showed 26 million American children took part in non-school sports. By the age of 13, about 18.2 million quit.

No wonder kids are quitting. Many parents show no sportsmanship. They often shout happily at an injury if the injured player is on the other team. My brother Mario Widdowson got hit in the face during a soccer game. The parents from the other team were shouting gladly at his pain. All of the players were down on one knee waiting for Mario to get up, out of respect and it was the right thing to do. The kids did much better than these parents.

There are different types of parents. In the book “Parenting with Love and Logic” the authors describe two different types of parents. The first is helicopter parents, who don’t allow their kid to succeed or fail on their own. The other type is lawnmower parents, who clear anything in their child’s path to make life as easy as possible.

I have observed helicopter parents. When my brother was playing club soccer, one of his teammate’s parents shouted at their son. “Shoot the ball”. It was from about half field. He did it and the coach stopped him from playing and asked him to leave the field.

The parents are trying to coach their kids. The players on the field follow blindly and many mistakes happen. It’s not good for kids’ confidence. What is the purpose of youth sports anyway?

Problems happen in youth sports all over the United States. Parents need to behave themselves. Then the number of students who quit at the age of 13 will drop greatly.

1. What does the author want to show by using numbers in Paragraph 2?

A．American kids are sports lovers.

B．Parents can’t behave themselves.

C．Most kids give up sports half-way.

D．Non-school sports are popular among teens.

2. What did some parents do when Mario got injured?

A．They lent a helping hand.	B．They cheered at his injury.
C．They waited for him to get up.	D．They kept shouting at their kids.

3. Why was the boy asked to leave the field?

A．He made a mistake.

B．He missed his goal.

C．He turned to the coach again.

D．He didn’t want to go on with the sport.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Parents Should Respect Sports.	B．Non-school Sports Is Popular.
C．Encouragement Is Important for Kids.	D．Kids Need to Love Sports.

9 . At 8 years old, Danay Ferguson is the youngest business owner in Fresno, California, where the literacy (识字) rate is shockingly low when compared to the rest of the United States.

“I wanted to share my enthusiasm for reading with other kids, so I asked my daddy if I could open up my business,” Danay says, adding that her father, Dwayne Ferguson, asked her to prove she was serious about taking on such a major project. “He said I had to invite all of his friends on Facebook to the fan page he made for me,” she says. “It took me two days to invite my dad’s 4,000 friends to ‘like’ my page, one by one.”

With the help of her family and team of over 40 volunteers (mostly consisting of kids), Danay strengthened her literacy support in 2014 with her very own no-profit (非营利的) organization named Reading Heart. Danay has worked hard to raise awareness of her organization’s task by giving talks at schools, meeting with city officials and hosting board meetings.

“Her main line is ‘How about you get a book and read it and then share the book with somebody else, and do it again?’ instead of, ‘I give you a book and keep it,’ says Dwayne. “She’s starting a movement on ‘I will give everybody books, but you have to read and share them.’ And she’s trying to do this worldwide.”

And Danay also hopes to break the Guinness World Record for most books collected in a 24-hour period. Danay has a goal of beating the existing record (set at 274,325) with 500,000 donated books, which she is now making possible with a speaking tour that covers 130 schools encouraging kids to read. So far, Reading Heart has collected 90,000 books and given out over 20,000 books, having gifted used and new books to kids in schools, hospitals and in poor areas. “It is the most amazing thing to be a part of,” Dwayne tells us. “My wife and I have to remember that we are her parents because we have great respect for her.”

1. What is Reading Heart intended for?

A．Collect books.	B．Encourage reading.
C．Break world records.	D．Make friends.

2. Why does the author list some data of Reading Heart?

A．To show its achievements and aims.	B．To explain why it is successful.
C．To voice Danays’s views on books.	D．To discuss its future.

3. Which of the following statements is correct?

A．Danay’s fan page on Facebook has few followers.	B．Reading Heart offers books to readers for a fee.
C．Danay has broken the Guinness World Record.	D．Danay’s parents gave her great support.

4. Which of the following can best describe Danay?

A．Outgoing and selfish.	B．Warm-hearted and traditional.
C．Smart and self-centered.	D．Strong-minded and tireless.

10 . Here is a story about social media bringing people together. 56-year-old Lucy Shepherd was _______ as an infant (婴儿) in the early 1960s. When she turned 18, Lucy _______ to look for her birth parents. She managed to find her mother ten years later. However, finding her father proved to be more _______.

About her father, Lucy knew few _______ and was only told by a social worker that he was an electrician named Jonah Larson. She tried to find him out but with little information she _______ — until decades later when she saw the _______ appear on the “Suggested Friends” list of the social media site Facebook. After looking through his online profile (简介), she realized she might be indeed _______ her father.

The pair then _______ for several weeks before meeting for the first time last week — and they both said it was like they “have _______ each other their whole lives”.

“It’s ________. I live in Kentucky and she lives 350 miles (about 563 km) away in Cornwall. And we had been ________ for nearly 56 years. The chances of actually ________ were so slim.” said Jonah. The ________ took place in Dorset, roughly halfway between Cornwall and Kentucky. When they first spotted (看见) each other, the father opened his ________ and gave Lucy a big hug. “I love you!” said Jonah, looking straight into her eyes, and they hugged ________.

“Now there is someone else like me, loving me for me. I’m incredibly blessed to find him.” said Lucy excitedly.

1.

A．employed

B．treated

C．raised

D．adopted

2.

A．pretended

B．continued

C．sought

D．refused

3.

A．important

B．difficult

C．interesting

D．funny

4.

A．details

B．words

C．secrets

D．happiness

5.

A．failed

B．forgot

C．stopped

D．agreed

6.

A．number

B．name

C．photo

D．address

7.

A．caring about

B．depending on

C．looking at

D．turning to

8.

A．practised

B．researched

C．debated

D．chatted

9.

A．known

B．served

C．disturbed

D．contacted

10.

A．significant

B．unbelievable

C．informal

D．impressive

11.

A．divorced

B．overseas

C．apart

D．deserted

12.

A．joining

B．winning

C．earning

D．meeting

13.

A．reunion

B．wedding

C．graduation

D．concert

14.

A．fingers

B．arms

C．letters

D．lips

15.

A．finally

B．once

C．instead

D．again