1 . Blue Grotto, Italy

Despite its name, it is actually not a grotto(洞穴)but a sea cave, about 60m long. What makes it one of the most beautiful caves in the world is the blue color, as its name suggests. When you enter inside, you can see it is filled with weird blue light. This color is formed by the unique combination of the rocks, the entrance, the clear water and the whole shape. In fact, you can’t identify where the source of the blue light is.

Son Doong Cave, Vietnam

This is known as the largest cave in the world, not because of its length—in fact, it is just about 5km long. But its size comes from its enormous passages and caves, reaching 200m in height. In addition, there is an underground river, making the cave even more impressive.

Marble Caves, Chile

Located far from any road, the caves are accessible only by boat. This is the most beautiful cave structure in the world, in which crystal clear water is literally lightened by dazzling(使目眩)blue ice walls. A magical, fabulous, unreal and almost unearthly sight! The caves are best seen from September to February and earlier in the morning when the sunlight streams inside.

Reed Flute Cave, China

Its name comes from the reeds beside its entrance that have been used for making flutes(长笛). It is not too long and not too deep-only about 500m in length. What makes this cave more special is the history. It has been known since ancient times. And when you enter inside, you can see a lot of inscriptions(碑文)dating back to medieval times, starting from the times of the Tang Dynasty (around 792 AD).

1. What is Blue Grotto most famous for?

A．Its long history.

B．Its strange shape.

C．Its clear water.

D．Its amazing color.

2. When are the visitors advised to visit Marble Caves?

A．At noon in March.	B．At night in October.
C．At sunrise in December.	D．In the morning in August.

3. Which is the largest cave of the four?

A．The Blue Grotto.	B．Son Doong Cave.
C．Marble Caves.	D．Reed Flute Cave.

2 . Daniel Brush, an astonishing worker in gold, jewels and steel died on November 2022, aged 75. Students from a jewellery school once came to Brush’s studio, a loft in mid-Manhattan, awed to be meeting a figure who, to them, was a worker of miracles.

For 45 years in that loft, he had pursued his calling. His wife Olivia was the only company. He produced hundreds of objects of all sorts, most of them exquisite and many astonishingly small. Rather than use electricity, he laboured alone in a forest of antique machines and when tools frustrated him he made his own, displaying them in cupboards as art in themselves.

Above all else, he worked in gold. His obsession took fire when at 13 he saw an Etruscan gold bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The ancient technique of applying gold beads as fine as sand-grains to a curved gold surface without solder (焊接), was stunning, but so was the lightness of spirit.

He resolved then that he would make such a bowl, and gold became the study of his life. Simply to watch it melt, turn to red-hot and white-hot, then glow purple, was magical. To hold pure gold grain and let it move slowly through his fingers restored his calm of spirit. His chief motivation, he said, was to understand the material and, through that, himself. He wondered why his heart had beaten so fast in the museum that day. Gold in particular had a message for him. His contact with this glorious metal might focus all his attention and help him to hear it.

He developed delicate craftsmanship, with each object virtually a museum piece. For Daniel Brush, he loved the idea that one might take a piece made by Brush out of a pocket, let its beauty pass from mind to mind, and smile. That too was what its maker was after.

1. What can we learn about Daniel Brush?

A．Students visited him regularly.

B．He began to live in his loft in 1975.

C．He tended to use ancient crafts to produce objects.

D．Most objects he produced were of a surprisingly small size.

2. What is the main reason for his lifelong study of gold?

A．He wanted to learn more about both gold and himself.

B．He wondered why his heart had beat fast in the museum.

C．His calm was restored when gold grain moved through fingers.

D．Gold had a particular message for him and he was eager to hear it.

3. Which of the following can best describe Daniel Brush?

A．Stubborn.

B．Wealthy.

C．Dedicated.

D．Lonely.

4. What does the author try to emphasize in the last paragraph?

A．Brush’s valuable works.	B．The admirers Brush expected.
C．Brush’s desire for fame.	D．The artistic ideal Brush pursued.

4 . People who suffer from motion sickness have a long list of activities they are afraid of, and often avoid altogether. This includes long-distance airplane travel, road-trips, and even certain movies and video games. However, if the French company Boarding Ring has its way, motion sickness sufferers will soon have nothing to worry about, provided they are willing to wear the strange-looking Boarding Glasses!

Also called seasickness or carsickness, motion sickness is believed to be the result of the brain receiving mixed signals from the sensory systems, which include the eyes, inner ear, muscles, and joints. For example, when you are looking at your phone on a moving bus, your inner ear notices the motion but your eyes, focused on the screen, thinks you are not moving.

Boarding Glasses try to reduce motion sickness symptoms by “recreating the horizon” so that all the user’s senses send the same message. Though that sounds complex, the science behind the eyewear is surprisingly simple. The frames, made of two round lenses on the front and two on the side, are hollow and partially filled with a blue liquid. Any movement in the vehicle causes the liquid to run around the eyes. This allows the eyes to sense the motion and send the correct signal to the brain. Antoine Jeannin, CEO of Boarding Ring, says, “Your eyes always get the reality of the movement and get a signal that is consistent with the balance system perception.”

According to the company, Boarding Glasses, invented by Jeannin’s father, have been tested by French Navy personnel. The CEO says that over 95 percent of the users reported feeling better after wearing them. People who don’t like the glasses’ appearance will be excited to know that they are only required to be worn for a short period of time. According to Jeannin, “You put the glasses on at the first sign of sickness, leave them on for 10 or 12 minutes, and then take them off. Usually, this cures you of the sickness for the rest of the journey.” The best part is that since Boarding Glasses have no lenses, a single pair can be shared among a group of friends, or even an entire family!

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Motion sickness causes much inconvenience to its sufferers.

B．Motion sickness sufferers should avoid working out together.

C．Certain movies and video games provide the feeling of flying.

D．The French company Boarding Ring can cure motion sickness.

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The theory behind motion sickness.	B．The mixed signals the brain receives.
C．Organs belonging to the sensory systems.	D．The result of screen watching on a moving bus.

3. Why are the lenses filled with a blue liquid?

A．To make the Boarding Glasses a little attractive.

B．To ensure the brain receives the correct signal.

C．To strengthen the function of the balance system.

D．To make the movement in the vehicle less boring.

4. What is good news for those who care much for the glasses’ appearance?

A．The price is very low.	B．The glasses are widely effective.
C．The lenses are suitable for all people.	D．The necessary time for use is not long.

5 . Some unique bookstores continue booming (繁荣) across the globe. For travelers, they pack in plenty of beauty, strange character, and local history within their walls.

Shakespeare & Co., Paris, French

Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and their literary contemporaries famously hung out at this bookstore overlooking the Seine. Shakespeare & Co. attracts countless tourists and foreigners. Writers can even stay here for a few days or weeks, in exchange for a couple of hours’ worth of work around the shop. The celebrated bookstore hosts book readings, writers' meetings, and Sunday tea.

Power House Arena, Brooklyn, America

Power House Arena opened in DUMBO in 2006 and bills itself as a “laboratory for creative thought”. The industrial, modern space is dedicated not only to books, but also to hosting a variety of events—readings, book launch parties, temporary art exhibits and conversations with contemporary literary voices in its amphitheater-style (圆形剧场风格) seating space with soaring 24-foot ceilings. Children’s literature fill the shelves.

Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice, Italy

This bookstore features classic volumes of American and Italian books packed in traditional Venetian boats. But the show-stopping attraction is the back of the bookstore, which opens up to a beautiful canal. The bookstore is also famous for its wide-ranging art and postcard collections.

Barter Books, Alnwick, England

Housed in an old railway station, Barter Books has a pleasant living room atmosphere, thanks to carpets, crackling fireplaces in the winter, toys for kids, a model railway acting as a link between the book columns of the central room, and comfortable seats among a vast selection of second-hand books on a variety of subjects.

1. What can tourists expect to do in Shakespeare & Co.?

A．To meet with writers.

B．To overlook the whole Paris.

C．To earn some money in that bookstore.

D．To appreciate its unique architectural style.

2. Who will be most likely to visit Libreria Acqua Alta?

A．Teachers.	B．Art collectors.
C．College students.	D．Advertisers.

3. Which bookstore used to have another function?

A．Barter Books.	B．Power House Arena.
C．Shakespeare & Co.	D．Libreria Acqua Alta.

6 . The SAT, a college admissions exam long associated with paper and pencil, will soon go all digital.

Starting in 2024 in the US, the new digital SAT will shrink (缩减) from three hours to two, include shorter reading passages and allow students to use a calculator on the math section. Testing will sill take place at a test center or at a school, but students will be able in choose between using, their own devices—including a tablet or a laptop—or the school’s devices.

“The digital SAT will be more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez of the: College Board, the organization behind the test. “With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”

The College Board previously cancelled plans to offer an at-home digital test because of concern about students’ being able to access three hours of uninterrupted Internet and power. Student broadband (宽带) access has been a constant struggle throughout the pandemic, especially in rural and low-income areas. The new SAT will be designed to autosave, so students won’t lose work or time while they reconnect.

All this comes as the relevance of the SAT and ACT, another college: entrance exam, is being called into question in the college admissions process. More than 1,800 US colleges are not requiring a test score for students applying to enroll in fall 2022. At least 1,400 of those schools have extended their test policies through at least the fall of 2023.

Still, the SAT and ACT are deeply rooted in the American high school experience. More than a dozen states require one of the exams to graduate. And despite many colleges making the test optional, some students see value in it.

“The test definitely doesn’t offer the full profile (描述) of who a student is,” explains Kirsten Amematsro, a junior at Potomac High School in Dumfries, Va. “But having good SAT will be ‘a cherry on top’ of your application. It just kind of speaks to what you can accomplish in your testing ability.”

1. What can we infer about the new digital SAT?

A．It will be less demanding.	B．It will take place at home.
C．I will last longer.	D．It will cover more subjects.

2. What may be a reason for the College Board giving up the former plans?

A．They were harmful to the students.	B．The test wasn’t relevant.
C．The students didn’t like them.	D．The students might suffer an unstable network.

3. What did Kirsten Amematsro think of the SAT and ACT?

A．They will be cancelled.	B．They are not necessary.
C．They still matter indeed.	D．They shouldn’t be optional.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．The SAT loses its charm in the US.	B．The new SAT will become popular.
C．US students will take the SAT online.	D．An SAT score is unnecessary in one’s application.

7 . Two tickets. Only two tickets to the big quarter-finals basketball game. Three pairs of eyes all focused on the tickets in Dad’s, outstretched hand. Marcus, the oldest, spoke out the question running through everyone’s mind: “Only two tickets? But, Dad, which of us gets to go with you?”

“Yeah, Daddy, who gets to go?” repeated Caleb, the youngest.

“Dad, can’t you get any more tickets?” I asked. I might be the in-between sister, but I was just as eager as my basketball-crazy brothers were for a night out with Dad. “I’m afraid not,” Dad answered. “I guess I’ll have to figure out a fair way of choosing among the three of you by tomorrow morning. I’ll have to decide who deserves it most. Let me sleep on it.”

The next morning, Dad and Mom went to the library. And he said we should all get started on our Saturday chores as soon as we finished breakfast.

“Chores!” Marcus said, “How can we concentrate on chores when the big game is eleven hours away?” Then he and Caleb went downstairs to play basketball.

I looked at the breakfast table in front of me. Well, it seemed that Saturday morning chores started right there. I did dishes first. Then I lifted the lid (盖子) on the garbage container and placed the full plastic bag inside.

As began to replace the lid on the garbage container, a white envelope on the inside of the heavy black plastic lid caught my attention it must have stuck to the lid by accident. But then I noticed that he envelope was actually taped to the inside of the lid, and someone had written the word “Congratulations!” on the front of the envelope.

I opened the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “To the one who deserves to go,” the paper read, and inside of it was a ticket to the basketball game!

1. What did the three children care about most?

A．Who would be chosen.	B．Which team would win.
C．When the game would be held.	D．Who would compete in the game.

2. What can we learn about the three children?

A．Marcus was younger than Caleb.	B．Only the author took Dad’s words seriously.
C．The author liked basketball best.	D．Caleb played basketball better than Marcus.

3. What did Dad do to the children to make his final decision?

A．He gave them a special test.	B．He asked them some questions.
C．He made them play basketball.	D．He watched them doing chores.

4. How would the author feel after reading the paper?

A．Curious and doubtful.	B．Disappointed and regretful.
C．Confused and worried.	D．Surprised and excited.

8 . My mother enters her ninth decade. Thankfully, she is blessed with good health.

I still remember ten years ago when she turned 80, she surprised my brother and me with what she described as “independent birthday”.

One day she informed us she'd booked a seven-night trip to Turkey. Alone. Because she had never been. Of course, that was absurd. There was no way my brother and I could allow that. A weak, little old lady wandering the streets of Istanbul on her own, not speaking a word of Turkish, with no knowledge of the laws and customs of the land—it was out of the question!

She paid no attention to us. Off she went. When she returned, she told us it had been a wonderful success. As it turned out, she had barely spent any time alone, after hiring a taxi driver to show her around Istanbul for some days. He took her to all the sites—the markets, churches and restaurants. He introduced her to a blanket seller, “a lovely fellow,” and she bought some blankets. The seller took her address details and promised to ship them to Canada. They would be arriving in three or four weeks. My mother beamed (眉开眼笑) as she told this story. The blanket seller and my mother apparently built a friendship and she told him to drop by if he were ever in Canada.

To our great shock, her blankets did arrive some weeks later, along with a lovely note from the seller Mustafa. To our even greater surprise, the following year Mustafa himself arrived in Canada. He called our mother to inform her be was in Ottawa.

“I invited him over and he came by for a cup of tea. They drink a lot of tea in Turkey,” my mother told my horrified brother and me.

Her trip of independence seems to be thoughtfully based on a realization that life is to be lived. It reminded me of the line from The Shawshank Redemption: “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

1. Why did the author's mother go to Turkey alone?

A．To make the author and the brother surprised.

B．To celebrate her 80th birthday independently.

C．To prepare herself to enter het ninth decade.

D．To inform the author that she needed independence.

2. Which of the following best describes the mother's trip to Turkey on the whole?

A．Colorful.	B．Boring.
C．Dangerous.	D．Challenging.

3. What do we know about the blanket seller?

A．He is poor but generous.	B．He is reliable and cautious.
C．He is rich but selfish.	D．He is friendly and trustworthy.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．It's never too old to learn.	B．East or West, home is best.
C．Life deserves to be well lived.	D．Time and tide wait for no man.