1 . Primary and secondary school learners, university students, and guests were invited on Wednesday and were treated to a colorful celebration at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, to mark the beginning of the year of the dragon which officially starts on Saturday. The place featured beautiful decorations with red and gold colors and lucky symbols.
Visitors got an opportunity to participate in cultural experiences including painting, papercutting and pot throwing as well as experiencing Chinese cuisines like spicy hotpot, steamed stuffed buns (包子) , Chinese hamburgers, dumplings and barbecue among others. They were also treated to heartwarming performances including face-changing, lion dance, dragon dance, drumming, Chinese opera, Chinese songs and a talent show featuring Chinese traditional clothes as well as a mixture of Chinese and Kenyan fashion.
Leah Muthoni, a student at the University of Nairobi lauded the Chinese cuisines served at the event, especially noodles and dumplings. She also appreciated the decorations, drawings, pictures and performances. Similar feelings were also shared by George Mwita, another student from the University of Nairobi who greatly enjoyed the pot throwing game.
In his welcoming speech, Professor Stephen Kiama, the vice headmaster of the University of Nairobi who doubles up as the Kenya director of the Confucius Institute, hoped this year will be a good year of development because the Chinese dragon horns represent power and strength, while the drums represent courage and energy.
Kiama said the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi has achieved a lot since its establishment in 2005, including winning the Confucius Institute of the Year Award seven times and pioneering the establishment of the Bachelor of Arts in the Chinese language in Kenya. “Last year, with the joint efforts of the various parties and stakeholders we established the first bachelor of education in Chinese in Kenya and we admitted the first group of students,” he said. Kiama hopes that this year the Confucius Institute will gain more force with the blessing of power, courage and vitality from the year of the Chinese dragon. He said the Confucius Institute offers a good platform for cultural exchange between China and Kenya through events like the Chinese Lunar Year celebrations. Kiama hoped that the relationship between China and Kenya would further be strengthened by the blessings of the year of the dragon.
In Chinese methodology (方法论) , the dragon has the power to control seasons, time and harvests, and it’s seen as a symbol of wealth. The Chinese consider dragons to be powerful. sympathetic, wise, kind and warm.
1. What is spoken of as one of the cultural experiences the visitors participated in?A.Tasting Chinese cuisines. | B.Writing with brushes. |
C.Reciting Chinese poems. | D.Guessing lantern riddles. |
A.Mixed. | B.Praised. | C.Delivered. | D.Sold. |
A.It has the biggest number of students in Africa. |
B.George Mwita is one of the Chinese teachers there. |
C.It has won the Confucius Institute of the Year Award seven times. |
D.They set up the first bachelor of education in Chinese in Kenya in 2005. |
A.Kiama considers dragons to be powerful and sympathetic |
B.Confucius Institute offers good platform for cultural exchange |
C.Kiama wishes year of dragon good for development of Confucius Institute |
D.Confucius Institute at University of Nairobi marks year of dragon celebrations |
Due to my unhealthy eating habits, I became fatter and fatter after college. My good friend Anoush was a running enthusiast. So he advised me to lose weight by running. I didn’t agree at first until he promised to accompany me to run although he was busy with his work.
Seven years later, I got more serious about running. And I dreamed to participate in Boston Marathon. Anoush encouraged me to realize my dream. He also said he enjoyed running too and wanted to attend the same marathon with me. Every day we spared our time to practise hard and did about 2 marathons a year, during which time Anoush gave me much professional guidance and encouragement. And then one day, both of us qualified for the 2017 Boston Marathon. We were excited but unfortunately, several weeks before the marathon, we had a serious quarrel. Even I swore never to talk with him in the future.
The day came. Anoush and I stood at the starting line. He said, “Good luck! You will certainly finish the marathon.” Hearing his words, I looked at him, saying, “It’s none of your business.”
Then we started running. I had strong mental confidence by using positive self-talk when running distances, which has helped me finish 18 marathons. Soon, I passed Anoush.
But I struggled in the heat starting at mile 16. I felt most of my oxygen went to the muscle in my legs and less in my brain, which made me feel a bit lightheaded and fuzzy (迷迷糊糊的). I continually encouraged myself. “Just get to the finish, run bold, and you will win,” all phrases that I say to myself didn’t work any more.
Gradually I felt out of breath and had to slow down my pace. As I ran down the famous last stretch of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street, I fell down on the ground with my legs moving like jello (果冻).
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just then, I felt that someone picked me up.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When Anoush and I crossed the finish line, the audience at present applauded.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was a great pity when one day I heard that the Sunshine Bookstore was closing after fifty years of business. I was also heartbroken. The bookstore was a place where anyone in the neighborhood could drop by (顺便拜访) and be connected through their love of books.
When I hurried to the store, I saw the books were being packed into boxes. Sighing deeply, the store’s elderly owner, Thomas, told me how it was becoming difficult to run an independent bookstore. Most young people preferred to read e-books on tablets. Customers were being attracted by chain stores and online discounts. I tried to think of some words of sympathy, but I had to admit that the Sunshine Bookstore couldn’t stay in business much longer.
Childhood memories came flooding back. A bunch of us kids would frequently drop into the store after school, looking at the new books, or just chatting with old Thomas. He knew every book in the store and would always pick the perfect one for us. We spent hours reading, seated on the store’s old, but comfortable furniture. Thomas encouraged us to share our ideas and comments on the books by writing them on a large board in one corner of the store.
When I left the bookstore, it was becoming cold and dark outside. I turned to wave goodbye to Thomas, but both he and his bookstore were already hidden in a thick mist. It made me realize that the bookstore and all that old Thomas had given to the community could soon disappear for good.
A few months later, I was back in the neighborhood from my vacation and was surprised to see that the Sunshine Bookstore was still there and open for business. Its old brick outside hadn’t changed, but inside it was like a different world. Clearly, the Sunshine Bookstore was in good and creative hands.
I was told that the community had decided to work together on a campaign to save the Sunshine Bookstore. The campaign had been led by Martin, a salesman who had grown up in the neighborhood and who was helping Thomas run the bookstore.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右;2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I entered the bookstore and saw how it had changed.
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“Where is Thomas,” I said to myself.
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I have been working as an enthusiastic journalist since I graduated from college. We live in a new age of storytelling, with
This became clear to me as I was sitting with my 2-year-old grandson on a sofa over the Spring Festival holiday. He was in good hands with her parents. Before I accompanied him, a children’s book
Then one afternoon, with my grandson sitting on my lap, I held the book in front of him so he could see the pictures. As I was reading, he reached out and delightedly poked (戳) the page with his finger.
What was up with that? He just liked the pictures, I thought. Then I had the page turned and continued. He poked the page even harder, which made me nearly drop the book.
Then I draw a conclusion from what was happening. He was actually a stranger to books. His father,
Sorry, kid. I am
I am
5 . A team of researchers from several institutions in the UK and one in Estonia has created a type of buoy (浮标) that has proven to be effective at frightening seabirds, thus preventing them from getting caught in gill nets (刺网) — a type of fishing net that is made of a material that makes it nearly invisible underwater.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of seabirds die when they get caught in gill nets. Some estimates suggest that up to a half-million birds are caught in them each year. Over the years, researchers have created devices to prevent the birds from trying to catch fish near or in gill nets, but those didn’t work well.
To find a way that would work for all seabirds, the researchers first studied seabirds in a general sense, expecting to find things that they would avoid. They noted that seabirds avoided eye contact with other creatures. Then the researchers came up with a simple idea—they put a small pole to a regular buoy and then attached a pair of googly eyes (金鱼眼) to the top of it. They made the eyes big enough so that even birds with poor eyesight, such as geese, would see them. Adding to the effectiveness of the device, waves made the eyes move back and forth. And the wind made the buoy spin (转动) very slowly, making sure that birds from every direction would get a good look at the eyes.
To test their idea, the researchers selected several sites near the gill nets and counted how many birds approached and how many attempted to catch fish near the nets. They then set up their googly-eyed buoys and once again counted birds. Over the course of 62 days, they found the number of birds that tried to catch fish near the gill nets dropped by about 25% for a distance of up to 50 meters. They also found that the birds were less likely to fish near where the buoys had been for up to three weeks after they had been removed.
1. Where were the googly eyes placed?A.Under a buoy. | B.Inside a buoy. |
C.At the bottom of a pole. | D.On the highest part of a pole. |
A.The fish. | B.The birds. | C.The buoys. | D.The plants. |
A.Worthless. | B.Practical. | C.Costly. | D.Complex. |
A.To get something to eat. | B.To have a rest on the nets. |
C.To nest on them and lay eggs. | D.To take a close look at the googly eyes. |
Several years ago, I started riding a bike. At first, I thought it was only a short ride. But as I built up my strength, my friends inspired me to try some longer trips. The first one to come along was a 150-mile journey, an event held every year that raises money to fight cancer.
With my name
The ride began on a Sunday morning in the Georgia countryside: There were a number of strong riders. For the first few hours, I felt wonderful. This was just the experience I had imagined, and my spirits were high. There were not many vehicles on the way. But by the end of the day, I had felt
As I was riding to the top of the hill, the very
Then I took my attitude
7 . We went deep into the earth through dark, narrow caves. When I got used to the light, I stood amazed.
A vast lake or even an ocean, spread far beyond where the eye could see. The shore was lined with shining sand, being softly lapped by waves. It was covered with small shells once inhabited by the first living beings. Around this sea stood a huge rock wall being worn away by the endless action of the waves.
I could see far over this great sea because it was being lit up by a strange light. Not sunlight, of course, as we were deep below the surface. Under the “sky”, if it could be called so, being made of rock, were also vast clouds. The light gave no heat, so the place felt rather gloomy (幽暗的). We were shut up inside a vast cave which must have been several miles high.
My imagination was powerless before such wonders. I felt like I was on some distant planet, and was both amazed and rather scared. However, I was energetic by the breezy salty air supplying more oxygen to my lungs. After many days in much narrower spaces, it was a great relief.
We began to walk following the shore. Soon in front of us appeared a tall, dense forest, composed of trees formed like umbrellas. “Mushrooms!” said my uncle. And he was right! There were mushrooms in their thousands, and each at least thirty feet high.
“Now look under your feet!” cried my uncle and I noticed many bones being crushed under our feet as we walked. Might some monsters still roam (漫步) through these gloomy forests? I anxiously surveyed the landscape, but we were the only living creatures here. Thankfully!
Eventually we returned to the cave we had entered from, and I fell asleep with strange thoughts.
— Journey to the centre of the earth
1. What does the underlined word “lapped” in Paragraph 2 mean?A.Caught in. | B.Sought for. | C.Sheltered from. | D.Beaten against. |
A.Huge, strange and amazing. | B.Sunny, windy and wonderful. |
C.Salty, narrow and comforting. | D.Cloudy, gloomy and embarrassing. |
A.A high and thick forest composed of tree-shaped umbrellas. |
B.Lots of bones belonging to monsters that might have disappeared. |
C.Thousands of mushrooms measuring no more than thirty feet high. |
D.A couple of roaming creatures living in the gloomy and distant planet. |
A.The author kept awake in the cave they had entered from. |
B.The author thought it strange that he fell asleep in such a cave. |
C.The author enjoyed the experience though he felt scared sometimes. |
D.The author encountered with a monster before he returned to the cave. |
8 . Starting a new book can feel like a bit of a commitment (承诺), but it doesn’t have to be! Here are four books you can read in a single day.
The House on Mango Street
Released in 1984 and written by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street is only 103 pages long. It’s a rapid read for those looking to dip their toes into the water, but it still deals with complex themes and important subject matters, including language, race, ageing, and troubles.
The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library from the English author Matt Haig was released in 2020. It has 288 pages, which makes it a little more challenging but still absolutely doable (可做的) in a single day. The novel is all about storytelling, with Nora Seed exploring the “what ifs” of her life.
The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo
Released in 2012 and written by the fantastic Malaysian-English author Zen Cho, the page count is an extremely manageable 76 pages, which makes this another effective first read in one day. The novel is set in London in the 1920s and follows the life of another writer, Jade Yeo. There is even enough time for readers to appreciate a film adaptation of the book after reading it.
Stardust
The 1999 novel by English author Neil Gaiman is a perfect presentation of the writer’s fantasy styles at their best. Stardust, which became a major motion picture, sits at 256 pages, It’s epic (史诗般的) in its scale, but the reader can fit the novel into a single day, giving them a true sense of absolute escapism to the fantasyland of Stormhold.
1. Which book can make you feel like escaping from reality and being in a kind of dreamland?A.The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo. | B.The Midnight: Library. |
C.The House on Mango Street. | D.Stardust. |
A.It’s supposed to be made into a film soon. |
B.The book tells the life of its author, Zen Cho. |
C.Its background is in London about a century ago. |
D.It is a bit more challenging to finish reading it in two days. |
A.It is a perfect presentation of the writer’s own experiences. |
B.It involves complex themes and important subject matters. |
C.It was written by a well-known Malaysian-English author. |
D.It is all about storytelling, with Nora Seed exploring the“what ifs”of her life; |
1. 你对这句话的理解;
2. 这句话对你的影响。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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