2 . It’s been 50 years since the beginning of bar codes. Scanning an item at checkout is something we take for granted in this age of convenience.
On March 31, 1971, a historic meeting took place in New York City. The meeting agreed to create a system to uniquely identify every single product, calling it the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) the core of bar codes, according to El Mudo, a Spanish newspaper.
In the past five decades, bar codes have provided many conveniences for commerce. “The next generation of bar codes, such as QR codes can hold vastly more information. Their use, for example, can tell consumers if a product contains allergens (过敏原) or if it is organic.
| A．Time has proved it a great decision. |
| B．It gives consumers a greater level of trust. |
| C．What information does a bar code contain? |
| D．When do we scan a bar code on the product? |
| E．We can thank the game-changing technology for that. |
| F．The numbers can indicate where that product is identified, |
| G．It allows the first digitization in the control of the goods for sale. |
3 . The 19th Asian Games begin in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, on 23 September 2023, with Asia’s top athletes back in action representing their nations. Olympics.com picks 10 stars to keep an eye on. Malaysia’s diving queen Pandelela is one of them.
Pandelela has had a difficult year with injury and health issues. She will be looking to Hangzhou to turn her 2023 season — during which she has only competed twice — around. Pandelela made her season debut (首秀)in May at the 2023 Diving World Cup stop in Montreal, finishing ninth in both the individual 10m platform and mixed team events.
However, at a training camp in China in June ahead of July’s World Championships in Japan, she picked up both illness and injury again, which hampered her in Fukuoka. There, she unfortunately finished 24th in the individual platform event — missing out on the semi-finals for the first time in her career.
“Despite the setback, I will keep showing up and never give up. Because the lesson in the pool here may just be the perfect potion (解药) for what’s going to happen in the future,” she wrote on Facebook following that disappointment. Her first chance to right that wrong will come in China.
The Asian Games 2022 were postponed by a year due to pandemic, but now Asian best athletes are ready to represent their nations, five years after they last did so at the 2018. We are looking forward to witnessing more athletes like Pandelela to do their best in this Games.
1. What does the underlined word “hampered” refer to?| A．inspired | B．encouraged | C．stopped | D．destroyed |
| A．Pandelela has already overcome these difficulties. |
| B．Hangzhou Asian Games will be a good chance for her. |
| C．Pandelela’s skills are impressive but dangerous. |
| D．Pandelela cannot represent her nation in diving. |
| A．Determined. | B．Kind-hearted. | C．Negative. | D．Curious. |
| A．Popular Athletes Around the World | B．The Hangzhou Asian Games |
| C．Diving World Cup in Montreal | D．Malaysia’s Diving Queen Pandelela |
4 . Electives (选修课程) are always popular with students in a senior high school. They’re a relaxing break from required courses like math and physics. They are both interesting and useful. Let me introduce my experiences of some elective courses I chose.
Last term, I chose “micro culture (微生物培植)” as my elective course. In the class, the teacher allowed us to do some interesting experiments (实验) and we got useful knowledge. For example, we learned how to make the yogurt. I failed many times before I succeeded. However, this course increased my patience and improved my hands - on skills.
Flower arranging (插花) is an interesting elective course that I took this term. When we are preparing for flower arranging, we should follow these steps — deciding on an idea, choosing different flowers and plants, and picking a proper vase (花瓶). The teacher tells us to consider the colors and make sure that they match the idea.
China is a country with a long history. People began to plant and drink tea thousands of years ago. So this term I also chose the tea ceremony (茶道) course. I learned about how people first discovered tea trees and how they made it possible to drink tea. The course helps me experience Chinese tea culture. Having tea is a chance to enjoy some quiet time. And it also makes me forget all worries.
1. ________ is NOT an elective course in a senior high school.| A．Physics | B．Flower arranging | C．Micro culture | D．The tea ceremony |
| A．to take a relaxing break | B．to give an example of the experiment |
| C．to show the importance of knowledge | D．to introduce her love of the yogurt |
①Choose different flowers and plants. ②Decide on an idea.
③Match the colors with the idea. ④Pick a proper vase.
| A．①—③—②—④ | B．②—③—④—① | C．①—④—②—③ | D．②—①—④—③ |
| A．planting tea | B．making tea | C．drinking tea | D．showing tea |
5 . Chinatown, lying in Downtown L.A. near the city’s cultural center, is one of L.A.’s most popular tourist destinations.
I had been heading to Chinatown for about 6 years to hang out until 2012, when I became a member of the neighborhood. After moving in, I started to explore every corner of this amazing place.
A MECCA FOR FOOD
In Chinatown, a mix of new and old restaurants meets everyone’s needs. You can find dim sum at Ocean Seafood and tasty banh mi at Golden Lake Eatery. The cuisine in Chinatown goes beyond Asian food. People are still lining up for fried chicken at Howlin’ Ray’s.
Early birds should stop by Philippe The Original, a local restaurant that’s beloved for French Dip sandwiches, but also serves a good classic American breakfast. Night owls will want to head to Full House Seafood on Hill Street, which is open late into the night.
CHINESE AMERICAN MUSEUM
Food is far from the only reason to visit Chinatown. People interested in history will want to start their trip at the Chinese American Museum (CAM), lying just outside of Chinatown at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. The museum is housed in the Garnier Building, the oldest surviving Chinese building in a major area of California.
CENTRAL PLAZA
A big statue of Bruce Lee has become a must-photograph site in Chinatown’s Central Plaza. The late martial arts star once had a studio in Chinatown at 628 W.College St.
Nearby is Dragon Chasing Pearl, which was originally painted on the wall in 1941 by Tyrus Wong. The artist, who passed away in December 2016 at age 106, was famous for his work in films, particularly as the lead artist on Disney’s Bambi.
1. Which of the following serves both French and American food early in the morning?| A．Ocean Seafood. | B．Golden Lake Eatery. |
| C．Full House Seafood. | D．Philippe The Original. |
| A．It has big attraction for history-lovers. |
| B．It stands near the famous Garnier Building. |
| C．It is situated in the center of Chinatown. |
| D．It is the oldest museum in California. |
| A．Watch Disney films like Bambi. |
| B．Take pictures with martial arts stars. |
| C．Admire Tyrus Wong’s artwork. |
| D．Visit Bruce Lee’s house at 628 W. College St. |
The beans cry in the pot
We grow from the same root (根)
Why should we boil each other with such impatience?
The poem is thought to be written by Cao Zhi, one of Cao Cao’s sons, Cao, who lived between 192 and 232 during the Three Kingdoms period.
It is said that after Cao Cao’s death, his oldest son Cao Pi became the emperor. Cao Pi was jealous (嫉妒的) of his younger brother Cao Zhi’s talent, so he wanted to find an excuse to kill him. One day, Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhi to make a poem about their relationship within seven steps, and was determined (决定) to have the younger brother killed if he failed. Cao Zhi then made the poem in front of him, which showed Cao Pi’s cruel idea to kill his own brother. Cao Pi, feeling ashamed, let Cao Zhi go in the end.
In China, the poem is taught to primary school students and is often used by people to describe unnecessary competitions or fighting between people, businesses, or organizations who are in the same area or want the same things.
The poem was posted on Tweeter by the CEO of Tesla and Space X Elon Musk, and it was given a title Humankind on purpose by Musk. The post drew tons of attention on both Western and Chinese social media, and internet users have been guessing what it was used for. People thought it could be an answer to the director of UN food organization, who mentioned that world hunger could be stopped if Elon Musk could give away 2% of his wealth.
1. The poem is said to be written by ________.| A．Cao Cao | B．Cao Zhi | C．Cao Pi | D．Elon Musk |
| A．Cao Zhi was one of his brothers |
| B．Cao Pi was jealous of Cao Zhi’s talent |
| C．Cao Zhi refused to follow Cao Pi’s orders |
| D．Cao Pi wanted to become the only son of Cao Cao |
| A．his brother was cruel to him | B．he was not afraid of his brother |
| C．the beans were close to its stalks | D．the beanstalk should die for its beans |
| A．Elon Musk posted the poem on Tweeter for fun. |
| B．Only Western internet users noticed the poem. |
| C．The purpose of the poem became a hot topic. |
| D．Elon Musk is mean and doesn’t care about others. |
