1 . This year’s hiking events have kicked off and we are introducing some walking festivals in the following.

Crickhowell Walking Festival (9-17 March)

One of the earliest of the year’s festivals, the walking festival offers 81 different walks this year, ranging from 2 to 17 miles. All are graded in terms of effort and difficulty, from an easy walk along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, to a—new for 2024—hike through the western Fans.

Isle of Wight Walking Festival (11-19 May and 5-13 October)

The Isle of Wight Walking Festival laces (系) up its boots in spring and autumn, on the 500 miles of footpaths on the island. There are walks focusing on every aspect of the island’s history. Walks are graded according to pace and difficulty.

Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival (14-24 June)

A great choice for those looking for other activities to enjoy besides walking, this 10-day celebration includes everything from boating to bird-watching. The walks range from gentle seaside wanders to endurance(耐力) hikes through the Cairngorms, with five different grades of difficulty.

Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival (27 September-6 October)

Choose from self-guided or expert-led walks along a 75-mile stretch of the Saltmarsh coast, picking up the region’s maritime (海洋的) history, or learning about the rich variety of bird species. The festival features guided walks taking in vineyards (葡萄园), nature reserves and vast skies along the shoreline.

1. Which walking festival is held in two seasons this year?

A．Crickhowell Walking Festival.	B．Isle of Wight Walking Festival.
C．Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival.	D．Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival.

2. What can festival goers do during Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival?

A．Make samples of rare species.	B．Volunteer in nature reserves.
C．Observe birds and go boating.	D．Attend a class on marine science.

3. What is special about Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival?

A．It has the longest path.	B．It provides graded walks.
C．It offers guide choices.	D．It serves as history tour.

2 . With the growing popularity of the TV series Blossoms Shanghai (繁花), key scenes describe city areas in the show have become the hottest tourist attractions in Shanghai of late. Here are some citywalk routes based on the TV series that are worthy of exploration:

Major citywalk route:

Huanghe Road → West Nanjing Road → East Nanjing Road → East Zhongshan Road → Number One

The narrator in the TV series Blossoms Shanghai points out: “In 1993, the 755-meter-long Huanghe Road had over 100 restaurants, attracting countless wealthy diners each night.”

Starting from Huanghe Road and crossing Nanjing Road to the Bund, you'll pass by many scenic spots often filmed in the series:

• Tai Sheng Yuan restaurant

This restaurant specializes in Shanghai cuisine. It opened in 1993 and is also recognized as the prototype of Zhi Zhen Yuan restaurant in the TV series.

Address: No 50 Huanghe Road, Huangpu district

• Wing On Department Store

The prototype of Hu Lian Department Store in the TV series was Hua Lian Department Store between 1988 and 2006. It later changed its name to Wing On Department Store and was one of the four major original department stores in Shanghai.

Address: No 635 East Nanjing Road, Huangpu district

• Fairmont Peace Hotel

Peace Hotel on East Nanjing Road, a major scene in the TV series where leading character A Bao, played by actor Hu Ge, lives. The hotel first opened its doors on Aug 1, 1929, and was originally named Cathay Hotel by its owner, Sir Victor Sassoon, a businessman and hotelier from the Sassoon banking family, a famous and prosperous British-Iraqi Jewish family in Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s. The Sassoon family once owned lots of property including HSBC.

Address: No 20 East Nanjing Road, Huangpu district

1. What makes these citywalk routes so popular in Shanghai ?

A．The friendly tourism policy	B．The fantastic scenery
C．The hit TV play	D．The beautiful season

2. Which place may best suit people who prefer special cuisine ?

A．No 50 Huanghe Road, Huangpu district

B．No 635 East Nanjing Road, Huangpu district

C．No 20 East Nanjing Road, Huangpu district

D．No 211 Cheting Road, Songjiang district

3. What is the common feature of the three scenic spots?

A．Their history is not long.

B．They feature fine cuisine.

C．They offer diverse goods.

D．They are in the same district.

3 . The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, established in 1991, is a distinguished national writing competition for writers born or living in Wales. We are delighted to manage this well-known award on behalf of The Rhys Davies Trust and in association with Parthian Books.

Awards

·1st Prize — £1,000 and publication in a short story anthology (选集) to be published by Parthian Books in 2024.

·11 Runners-up/Finalist Prizes — £100 each and publication in a short story anthology to be published by Parthian Books in 2024.

Entry Rules

The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style and on any subject up to a maximum of 5,000 words. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online. Participants must have been born in Wales, lived in Wales for 2 years or more or currently be living in Wales.

·Entries open on 9th November, 2023 and close on 15th February, 2024 at midnight (British Standard Time). Entries received after this time will not be considered.

·The 2024 finalists will be announced in 15th June 2024; The winner of the 2024 Competition will be announced in September 2024.

·Entries must be submitted via the online form https://forms.gle/Myys7jKdt7GTC8B8A. At the last step, you must pay the entry fee before you click the “submit” button in your application. The entry fee is £ 8 per story.

·You may submit a maximum of three stories to this competition. Your name should not appear anywhere in your story.

Conditions of the Award

·The winner and 11 runners-up/finalists will make free of charge such personal appearances as may be agreed between the writer and the Event Organizer.

·Winning stories may not be published elsewhere until September 2025.

1. What do we know about the competition from the text?

A．It has a history of about half a century.

B．Its participants must be locals of Wales.

C．Its awards include a published short story collection.

D．It’s run by The Rhys Davies Trust and Parthian Books.

2. What is a requirement for the participants?

A．Posting entries by express delivery.	B．Submitting at least three story writings.
C．Making payment for the entry fee online.	D．Attaching personal information to the entry.

3. What is the author’s purpose in writing the article?

A．To introduce a famous competition.	B．To encourage readers to love literature.
C．To stress the importance of short stories.	D．To compare different winners worldwide.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What was the man’s opinion on his job in China?

A．Rewarding.

B．Boring.

C．Easy.

2. What did the woman initially plan to study?

A．Mechanical engineering.

B．Business administration.

C．Hotel management.

3. What did the woman realize through her gap year experience?

A．It was challenging to work abroad.

B．The planned major wasn’t suitable for her.

C．She desired to set up her own business.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What does the woman like to try?

A．African dishes.

B．Asian dishes.

C．South American dishes.

2. What will the man do at the festival?

A．Join a dish-making class.

B．Buy some local produce.

C．Cook some noodles.

3. How long will the festival last?

A．Two hours.

B．Five hours.

C．Seven hours.

6 . As someone who often mans the 24-hour hotline, I’m accustomed to early morning calls reporting various marine mammal strandings (搁浅). Even still, I doubt whether I could have fully prepared for this call. August 9 at 8:01 am was the first time my jaw physically dropped when manning the hotline. The harbormaster reported 30 stranded dolphins in one of the trickiest areas of Wellfleet. I immediately sent all workers we had and sent out the call for any additional help we could gather.

Our team gathered at our Rescue Operations Center, grabbing all the specialized equipment we possibly could. Our trained volunteer responders arrived on the scene shortly after the initial report to give me updated information — 45 dolphins in total, 43 of which were alive. With a stranding this large, it wasn’t feasible to pull all 43 animals from the mud, get them to our mobile veterinary clinic, and transport them for release at a more favorable open-ocean location all before the tide came in. The day was getting hotter, and the animals were already suffering from both heat and sun exposure.

Upon getting on the scene, there was no time to react to the sheer chaos that lay ahead. After a quick scan of the situation — 45 animals widely distributed, only a few staff members and several volunteers — there wasn’t a second more to wait. We began the hard process of getting as many animals as we could into special slings (吊带), onto the cart, and off the marsh as quickly as possible. This was not without its own challenges. The mud trapped and enveloped our feet, adding weight with each step, most animals were highly fractious (易怒的) when approached, and the heat became unbearable in dry suits. But none of that was going to stop us from doing all we could for these animals.

1. How did the author react to the call on the morning of August 9?

A．He thought it was a joke.	B．He was shocked to the bone.
C．He didn’t take it seriously.	D．He was at a loss what to do.

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

A．Efficient.

B．Practical.

C．Urgent.

D．Remarkable.

3. What made a challenge to the author’s team?

A．The tide was coming in very quickly.

B．It was hard to find an open-ocean location.

C．The volunteers failed to contact each other.

D．There was deep mud around to walk through.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．A rescue effort.	B．A volunteer program.
C．A festive activity.	D．A charity organization.

7 . Why does the man always get to the office early?

A．He takes some shortcuts.

B．He leaves home super early.

C．He lives close to the company.

8 . One day, hundreds of people were stuck in traffic on the highway in below-freezing temperatures due to a snowstorm. With the conditions making it _________ for rescue workers to help, many were trapped overnight with no access to _________.

But one stuck driver found a _________ spot in the despair. As she was sitting in her car fearing the _________, Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, _________ a bread truck just ahead of them in the jam. Willing to try just about anything, they called the customer service number listed on the back of the truck and left a _________ begging for the driver to open the back and _________ bread to the hungry passengers around them. It was a last-ditch effort, and the couple wasn’t very _________ about getting a response. But to their _________ they soon received a phone call from the company’s owner, Chuck Paterakis, with the news that he was __________ the truck’s driver to open up and pass out loaves of bread from his cargo. Overjoyed by the news, Holihan and Noe __________ the truck’s driver to bring much-needed things to the cars around them.

The simple loaves of bread were surely a ray of __________ in an impossibly disturbing situation. Holihan herself calls it “one of the __________ moments” she’s ever witnessed. This company could have made a(n) __________ from the bread but instead chose to help the people around them. That is just so incredible that someone chose __________ over profit, especially in a situation where people were so desperate.

1.

A．stressful

B．effortless

C．practical

D．difficult

2.

A．water

B．necessities

C．bread

D．blankets

3.

A．new

B．familiar

C．bright

D．strange

4.

A．least

B．best

C．most

D．worst

5.

A．spotted

B．realized

C．stared

D．knew

6.

A．number

B．message

C．note

D．clue

7.

A．lend

B．sell

C． distribute

D．send

8.

A．upset

B．optimistic

C．excited

D．anxious

9.

A．relief

B．regret

C．surprise

D．credit

10.

A．consulting

B．guiding

C．begging

D．instructing

11.

A．kept up with

B．teamed up with

C．met up with

D．put up with

12.

A．hope

B．truth

C．inspiration

D．faith

13.

A．happiest

B．bravest

C．kindest

D．friendliest

14.

A．profit

B．difference

C．living

D．contribution

15.

A．welfare

B．fame

C．award

D．humanity

9 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the man doing?

A．Making an appointment.

B．Giving some advice.

C．Seeking after-sales service.

2. When will the high-speed Internet be installed?

A．At 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

B．At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

C．At 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

3. What information does the woman ask the man to give?

A．His home address.

B．His email address.

C．His phone number.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What does the man tell the woman?

A．He can’t eat at home tonight.

B．He can’t go home today.

C．He might be late for dinner.

2. Why is the man busy these days?

A．He just joined a new company.

B．He just established his business.

C．His boss gives him lots of extra work.