1 . When I was a child, there was nothing I loved more than painting. It was my. ________ of joy. I could spend hours being lost in my ________ , bringing to life the images in my mind.

However, after graduating from college, the ________ of work took hold. The hobby that filled my childhood with happiness ________ faded away (逐渐消失).

One sunny day I found myself ________ in a nearby park. I. ________ a group of children sitting together, their eyes. ________ wonder and their hands covered in paint. They were laughing describing their dreams on ________ , and at that moment, I was transported back to my own childhood.

________ those kids, I realized that I had lost something precious (宝贵的) along the way. It was time to reconnect with the ________ within, to rediscover the world of colours and imagination. Despite the ________ life, I decided to pick up my brushes and ________ to the world of art.

Painting has become a way to ________ the beautiful moments of my life, whether it is a golden sunset, a beautiful flower, or a lazy afternoon. I paint not to become a famous artist, but to ________ the joy of my childhood, to ________ the simple pleasures of life, and to hold onto the magical world of imagination.

1.

A．price

B．source

C．flash

D．result

2.

A．imagination

B．homework

C．fear

D．confusion

3.

A．excitement

B．power

C．pressure

D．expectation

4.

A．gradually

B．probably

C．wildly

D．hopefully

5.

A．chatting

B．sweating

C．cheating

D．walking

6.

A．taught

B．noticed

C．recognized

D．remembered

7.

A．waiting for

B．begging for

C．filled with

D．alarmed with

8.

A．paper

B．wood

C．books

D．novels

9.

A．Watching

B．Holding

C．Helping

D．Checking

10.

A．architect

B．soldier

C．adult

D．artist

11.

A．free

B．quiet

C．busy

D．boring

12.

A．agree

B．adapt

C．refer

D．return

13.

A．plan

B．record

C．face

D．recover

14.

A．reduce

B．balance

C．relive

D．destroy

15.

A．trap

B．appreciate

C．expect

D．hide

2 . A new song by the famous band The Beatles has been released despite half of the band members no longer being alive, thanks to the help of AI.

The Beatles was a legendary British rock band that remained second to Elvis Presley from the 1960s. It was made up of four musicians—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The new song, titled Now and Then, is unique because it combined the singing of McCartney and Starr with Lennon, who passed away in 1980, and the guitar skills of Harrison, who passed away in 2001.

The song was initially written and partly recorded by Lennon in the late 1970s and further developed by band mates years later but as technology then was limited, they didn’t release it due to the sound quality not being satisfying.

Peter Jackson, most famous for directing The Lord of the Rings, directed the music video for Norw and Then and it can be watched now online. It was thanks to new Al audio restoration (音频修复) technology that Peter Jackson allowed the four band members to “come together” one last time.

Since its release last week, the song has been well received in the UK. Beatles fans around the world favoured this historic musical event.

”Now and Then is an absolutely heart-warming piece of work, “posted Liam Gallagher, whose hits were affected by The Beatles’ musical style.

Of course, there are those who are not totally interested in the song. ”Now and Then is not terrible. But honestly, it’s kind of boring, “Geoff Edgers wrote in The Washington Post.

The Times in the UK said the song showed Al being used to its best advantage.

1. Why was the song “Now and Then” not released at first?

A．The song was not completed.	B．The sound quality was not good enough.
C．The band members did not like the song.	D．The song was let out before its official release.

2. How did Peter Jackson contribute to the song?

A．He wrote and recorded the song.

B．He invented new audio restoration technology.

C．He restored the band members’ sound using AI.

D．He played the guitar on the recording.

3. What is the attitude of The Times towards the release of Now and Then?

A．Supportive.

B．Curious.

C．Unfavourable.

D．Unclear.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．The Beatles Remains Second to Elvis Presley

B．Beatles Fans Welcome the New Song of The Beatles

C．Peter Jnckson Directed the Music Video for The Beatles

D．The Beatles Released a New Song with the Help of Al

3 . 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。

Nanjing is a city that has played an important role in Chinese history for thousands of years. Nanjing     1     (name) the capital city first in 229 AD during the Three Kingdoms period. It has been a capital city many times. It’s a place that is relatively unknown     2     foreigners yet very popular with local tourists.

When Dave and I got the chance     3     (travel) to it, we jumped at it. We hadn’t known anything about Nanjing before going, but hearing that it was a popular destination from Shanghai, we were excited to explore it. It turns out that Nanjing is one of our favourite     4     (place) to visit in China.

We first went to Nanjing Niushoushan Cultural Park. A trolley (电车) took us to the top of the mountain     5     we could view the immaculate(圣洁的) Buddhist Palace that was built into the side of the mountain.     6     (open) in 2015, it is an example that proves the traditional and the modern can co-exist.

But soon we     7     (realize) that a real treat was inside the palace when we took the escalator (自动扶梯) 6 stories underground to see the Thousand-Buddha Hall. With a height of 28 metres, the golden hall is     8     (impress).

We highly recommend     9     (take) a full day to explore the Niushoushan Cultural Park to visit all the sites on the mountains. And do remember visiting the Usnisa Palace is     10    must.

4 . It may be difficult to start high school.     1     But never fear! Here are some suggestions for you to adapt to the change.

Do conduct research on the school through the school’s website. Check out the school’s grading policies, activities, and deadlines (for programs, curricula, etc.) before you move. If you’ve got that covered, you may choose to begin looking at school scholarships (奖学金) or competitions.     2    

Do visit the school before your first day of school. Most schools offer some kind of open house for newcomers to learn about the school’s academic (学术的) and curricular offerings.

    3    . Attending it can also help you find out a lot about the school’s academic atmosphere (氛围) and environment.

Do start looking into clubs and extra-curricular activities right away.     4     Once you’ve gone through the school’s clubs and found a few that interest you, attend all the clubs you found yourself drawn to. The purpose of attending these first club meetings is simply to gain a sense of the extra-curricular environment at your school, and see what activities you may find yourself enjoying.

    5    . Many students make the mistake of setting out to achieve the highest grades at their new school. It is true that your grades are very important, but make sure that you spend a good deal of your time interacting with other students and ensuring that you’ll have some healthy relationships and networks with others. A social network will offer you the support and fun you need during high school.

A．Don’t forget to turn to teachers and other students.

B．Don’t build up your academics at the cost of your social life.

C．Many students are afraid of the changes that high school can bring.

D．Remember that you’re strengthening yourself for future life changes.

E．Find out a club list as early as possible to dig out the clubs that interest you.

F．This will make you prepared for applying to or signing up for those programs.

G．You can learn some basic information about the school through the open house.

5 . Scientists have reported that the sea ice in Antarctica (南极) is at a record low level. Antarctica is a great, icy land, surrounded (围绕) by the huge Southern Ocean. The ice in Antarctica doesn’t just cover the land. There’s also a large area of sea ice on the ocean’s surface.

Every year, the sea ice at the South Pole goes through a cycle. In the summer, the huge sea ice melts (融化) to its smallest point. Over the colder winter months, the sea ice grows and grows until it covers a wide area. Usually, the sea ice covers the greatest area around September 23, as winter ends at the South Pole.

Scientists have been measuring the area of the sea ice in Antarctica since 1979. For most of this time, Antarctica has seemed to be almost unaffected by the changing weather conditions experienced in other parts of the globe. That began to change around 2016. Now, for several years, the area of Antartica’s sea ice has been shrinking.

This year, the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) reported that Antartica’s sea ice covered its greatest area on September 10 — almost two weeks earlier than normal. And the sea ice was at a new record low-not just by a little bit, but by a lot.

The last time Antartica’s low sea ice set a record at the end of winter was in 1986. And this year, there’s about 398, 000 square miles less sea ice than in 1986.

Scientists are still trying to understand what is driving the change in Antarctica. One likely direct cause for the change is the rising temperatures of the world’s oceans. Ted Scambos, a research scientist at the University of Colorado, says Antarctica’s ice levels have always changed some, but the sharp loss this year is “pointing towards warmer ocean conditions around the continent.”

The new low record has concerned the scientists. Scientists are working hard to better understand Antarctica. They don’t know yet if this is just a short-term problem, or part of a long-term shift (转变) towards less sea ice in Antarctica.

1. What does the underlined word “shrinking” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Getting smaller.

B．Being flat.

C．Observed.

D．Measured.

2. Why does the author mention the record in 1986?

A．To give an example.	B．To make a comparison.
C．To make a summary.	D．To offer an argument.

3. What is the possible direct reason for the change in Antarctica’s sea ice?

A．The changing weather conditions.	B．Human activities in Antarctica.
C．Increased volcanic activities in the area.	D．The increasing temperatures of the global oceans.

4. How do scientists feel about the low record?

A．Worried.

B．Annoyed.

C．Excited.

D．Satisfied.

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。

Located in the northeast, Yanji is one of the earliest     1     (area) in China to promote football. With     2     population of only 680,000, the small city has a large number of football players and fans. The average number of the audience at last year’s home games was over 16,000 per game. The figure is     3     (near) the same as the number of the audience in the Chinese Super League, and a sizable share of the audience is made up     4     visitors.

Visitors come to Yanji not only to watch the game,     5     to have a cup of coffee and see dinosaur fossils (化石)     6     (discover) in 2016. So far, Yanji’s “dinosaur tour”     7     (join) the “football tour” and “coffee tour” as a new feature. Li Jun, the owner of Chayina Cafe, has witnessed the tourism boom in Yanji, and the     8     (hot) type of coffee in his cafe can sell up to 1,200 cups every day.

Football, coffee, and dinosaurs are the focus of an     9     (increase) number of visitors to Yanji and a new window for the outside world     10     (get) to know Yanji.

7 . Emile and the Field is the story of a little boy who spends every season playing in a field by his house, whispering to the trees or playing in the leaves.

Kevin Young, the author of the book, originally wrote Emile and the Field years ago as a bedtime poem for his son. Young’s son is a teenager now — and too old for bedtime stories — but this poem about Emile lives on, now as a children’s book illustrated by Chioma Ebinama, a fine artist living in Greece.

Ebinama wanted to reflect Emile’s love for nature, so she used a sort of romantic palette (调色板) of pinks, blues and sunny yellows. She hand-painted the illustrations in watercolor.

For inspiration, Ebinama says she drew from a variety of influences. One scene, where Emile and his father hold hands and walk through the snow-covered field, reminds us of Snowy Day, Keats’ 1962 children’s book about Peter, an African American boy who explores his neighborhood after the season’s first snowfall.

And — as in Snowy Day — Ebinama drew the little boy in Emile and the Field as a black child. Even though the author and the illustrator never discussed it clearly, Young says the fact of Emile’s blackness was very important to him. The winter scenes were actually the most challenging. Obviously it’s winter so it’s mostly white.

Emile and the Field is a family story for both the author and the illustrator. Ebinama, for example, drew her dog, Luna, into the story as the little dog that follows Emile around. Even though there is no dog in Young’s original poem, Luna came in very handy.

There was a kind of family quality to the book for Young. He named the main character of his poem after his great-grandfather, Emile, a farmer who lived to be 103 years old. He says the story reminds him of running around his family’s fields as a kid in Louisiana.

“There’s nothing better than being read to or reading to someone,” Young says. “It really connects you to this long story-telling tradition.”

1. Why did Young write Emile and the Field at first?

A．To satisfy his love for nature.	B．To read it as a bedtime poem.
C．To encourage his teenage son.	D．To tell the story of a Greek boy.

2. Why was Snowy Day mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．To give us a good understanding of Keats.

B．To introduce the life of an African American boy.

C．To provide us with an example of children’s books.

D．To tell us where Ebinama got her inspiration to paint Emile.

3. What can be learned about the dog Luna?

A．It’s Emile’s pet in real life.	B．It’s a character created by Young.
C．It gives Ebinama a sense of family.	D．It has the colors of black and white.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To report an important event.	B．To help readers appreciate a book.
C．To tell about a personal experience.	D．To advertise for a publishing house.

8 . Vel Scott is known for creating a bustling (热闹的) nightlife for Black Clevelanders in the 1960s. But now this grandmother has changed her life’s work into helping others change their eating habits and creating a(n) _______ lifestyle.

In 1963, Vel and her husband Don Scott _______ a nightclub. They brought in all kinds of performances from around the country to _______ people and served food and drinks. While the _______ husband-and-wife team continued to thrive (兴旺) _______, some alarming news was revealed about Don’s health. He was diagnosed during the 80s with heart problems and they knew they had to make some _______.

Vel took it upon herself to _______ new dishes. The things she learned helped her husband reverse (逆转) some of his health _______ in just a few short months. In 1998, she started Vel’s Purple Oasis — a community-based urban _______. It’s the place where people of all ages learned how to grow and eat healthier ________.

Dionne Thomas-Carmichael, a friend of Vel who suffered from cancer, said, “Vel has really helped to ________ me to eat really more fruits and vegetables.”

Vel brings the farm to the ________. And she brings residents to her community kitchen and gives them cooking lessons.

“The Black community has the highest rates of cancer and the highest rates of diabetes (糖尿病). It’s up to us to change our ________ and our eating habits,” Vel said.

Like Carmichael, many people have ________ Vel with helping them to take back their health, ________ at the kitchen table.

1.

A．active

B．healthy

C．unique

D．green

2.

A．visited

B．dreamed of

C．passed by

D．opened

3.

A．entertain

B．educate

C．promote

D．contact

4.

A．advantageous

B．flexible

C．energetic

D．anxious

5.

A．culturally

B．technologically

C．academically

D．professionally

6.

A．efforts

B．comments

C．changes

D．demands

7.

A．trade in

B．care for

C．experiment with

D．cut off

8.

A．needs

B．challenges

C．benefit

D．guidance

9.

A．museum

B．road

C．club

D．farm

10.

A．options

B．donations

C．collections

D．adaptations

11.

A．force

B．permit

C．require

D．inspire

12.

A．stage

B．table

C．hospital

D．garden

13.

A．attitude

B．schedule

C．goal

D．circumstance

14.

A．credited

B．charged

C．occupied

D．satisfied

15.

A．working

B．staring

C．starting

D．communicating

9 . 听下面一段独白,回答以下小题。
1. How do students enter the library?

A．With a library account.

B．With a student card.

C．With a password.

2. How many books can current students borrow at most?

A．12.

B．11.

C．9.

3. What kind of books have to be returned within one week?

A．Books borrowed by local residents.

B．Books liked by a lot of people.

C．Books published recently.

4. What will the speaker do next?

A．Tell the students where to get bottled water.

B．Take the students on a campus tour.

C．Show the students around the library.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话,回答以下小题。
1. How far away is Hill Farm?

A．Nearly a mile.

B．Just one mile.

C．More than a mile.

2. Which is the route to Hill Farm?

A．Left track→bridge→road.

B．Road→left track→bridge.

C．Bridge→road→left track.

3. What would the man like the woman to do towards the end of the conversation?

A．Give him a ride.

B．Repeat what she said.

C．Walk him to Hill Farm.