1 . Top 3 Best Museums in the World

Whether you are a fine art or historylover, the following three museums are sure to take your breath away.

Le Louvre, Paris, France

A visit to the Louvre and its collections lets visitors discover Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848 as well as a large number of ancient civilizations. The grand palace that houses the museum. which dates back to the late twelfth century, is a true lesson in architecture: from 1200 to 2011, the most innovative architects have in turn built and developed the Louvre.

●Official website: Louvre

●Highlight: Leonardo da Vinci`s “Mona Lisa.”

The British Museum, London, UK

The British Museum in London was founded in 1753 and opened its doors six years later. It was the first national museum to cover all fields of human knowledge, open to visitors from across the world. No other museum is responsible for collections of the same depth and breadth, beauty and significance.

●Official website: British Museum

●Highlight: the Rosetta Stone.

The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

The second-largest art museum in the world, the State Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764(200 years later than The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy), when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of works from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. Today, the collection of art works contains paintings, sculptures and so on.

●Official website: State Hermitage Museum

●Highlight: Golden masterpieces from Eurasia.

1. When was the British Museum, London, UK opened to the public?

A．1564.

B．1753.

C．1759.

D．1848.

2. What do the Top 3 best museums have in common?

A．They have exhibits from the Middle Ages.	B．They feature exhibits from ancient times.
C．They have exhibits concerned with kings.	D．They have both fine art and history exhibits.

3. Which is the largest art museum but one in the world?

A．Le Louvre, Paris, France.	B．The State Hermitage Museum, Russia.
C．The British Museum, London, UK.	D．The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy.

2 . Holidays abroad are officially back, with millions set to book a trip away this summer, To guarantee a stress-free break, use these practical tips.

Take out travel insurance as soon as you book

By not having insurance, travellers risk having to pay substantial medical or repatriation (遣送回国) costs if they fall ill or hurt themselves abroad     1     . Make sure you take out comprehensive travel insurance as soon as you book. So if something goes wrong and you can't travel, you could claim for the cost of your holiday.

    2    

With tourist areas expected to be crowded this year, many visitors will face disappointment if they don’t book attractions or restaurants in advance. Avoid long queues at busy places by making a reservation.

Invest in a translation device or app

    3    , being able to speak and clearly understand the local language will make your whole holiday experience stress free and much more enjoyable. When you want to order food, call for taxis, or communicate with the locals, a language translation device or app such as Pocketalk will help ensure your trip runs smoothly.

Be aware of potential cheats and financial tricks abroad

Unfortunately, as a traveller, you can attract the attention of criminals who see you as an easy target, so it’s important to stay alert to the possible risk of theft, cheats and other financial tricks.     4    . Do not let your credit card leave your sight when paying for things.

Prepare for delays

With large numbers of travellers expected this year,be prepared for airports, ports and stations to be extremely busy with a high chance of delays. Have a less stressful journey by allowing yourself plenty of time to check in and get through security.     5    

A．When you travel abroad

B．If you have prepared for the trip

C．Book activities and attractions in advance

D．And they may also risk a delay in treatment

E．Avoid carrying large amounts of cash when exploring

F．Make sure you have books, magazines, or games to keep you entertained

G．Forget awkward hand gestures and pointing and concentrate on making memories

3 . In 2015, Aldo Amenta had just started classes at Florida International University when something incredible happened. One day, while he was out ________, he dove into a shallow pool and got his neck injured ________.

Doctors told Aldo he’d never ________ again, and his life changed completely in an instant. But Aldo was not ________. He insisted on studying. Meanwhile, with the help of his ________. Guy Roman, he worked for his recovery and struggled to ________ the tough times. In 2018, Guy successfully trained him to walk across the graduation stage to ________ his college diploma by using an exoskeleton (外骨骼). The crowd ________ as he went up the steps to the stage. People were greatly inspired by Aldo’s courage and ________.

Aldo never stopped trying to take the next ________ for a bigger goal. He ________ it again! In 2021, wearing his exoskeleton, he walked on his own two feet with Guy’s help to accept his master’s degree in biomedical engineering. He called it one of the unforgettable ________ in his life, and he hopes to use his new degree to expand and develop technologies to help people with special needs like him gain ________. Aldo also wants to ________ others not to stop working toward their goals, no matter how ________ they may seem.

1.

A．climbing

B．running

C．swimming

D．riding

2.

A．surprisingly

B．frequently

C．intentionally

D．seriously

3.

A．learn

B．speak

C．walk

D．watch

4.

A．defeated

B．considered

C．accepted

D．damaged

5.

A．doctor

B．trainer

C．teacher

D．brother

6.

A．go through

B．get over

C．go away

D．get through

7.

A．present

B．receive

C．submit

D．accept

8.

A．celebrated

B．cheered

C．expected

D．shouted

9.

A．determination

B．curiosity

C．confidence

D．consideration

10.

A．note

B．step

C．control

D．interest

11.

A．produced

B．made

C．created

D．changed

12.

A．discoveries

B．challenges

C．achievements

D．moments

13.

A．mobility

B．reality

C．ability

D．possibility

14.

A．afford

B．encourage

C．remind

D．promise

15.

A．unreasonable

B．unwilling

C．unobtainable

D．unnecessary

4 . San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum’s Imagination area encourages creativity, language development, emotional skills, and artistic expression. Get into the rhythm with percussion instruments or become a storyteller in the Puppet Theater.

Money Sense

Explore San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum’s new Money Sense exhibit supported by PNC Foundation! Step into the world of financing and banking to introduce your little one to mathematics and finances!

Puppet Theater

The Puppet Theater is the ideal place for children to develop speaking and listening skills. Communicating with puppets gives children the confidence to express their ideas and feelings through the roles they take on. Parents let their kids take the lead and showcase their creation.

Thank you to Imagination area supporters: The Stanford Family, Price Philanthropies Foundation, The Linden Root Dickenson Foundation, KPBS, and the Jordan Ressler Charitable Fund.

Visit Us

320 North Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025

Museum Hours

Monday: CLOSED

Tuesday—Saturday: 9:30 am—4:30 pm

Sunday: 12:30 pm—4:30 pm

Admission

Members (and children under the age of one): Free

Children & Adults: $11.50 per person

Group Rate (10 or more people): $10.00 per person. Must book ahead.

1. What is the purpose of the Money Sense exhibit?

A．To teach history.	B．To introduce finances.
C．To improve kids’ physical health.	D．To help kids learn about animals.

2. What benefit can children get from the Puppet Theater?

A．Learning about nature.	B．Enhancing sports skills.
C．Understanding technology.	D．Developing speaking skills.

3. What is the admission fee for a group of 12 adults?

A．$100.

B．$115.

C．$120.

D．$138.

5 . Luisa Yu, a 79-year-old woman from Miami, dreamed about traveling as a young girl. Now she completed visiting every UN nation in the world, all 193, in November 2023.

“When I went to the movies, I saw this beautiful background about the scenery, the nature, the rivers, the mountains, and that fascinated me,” Yu said. “That’s why I always thought someday I will go to these places and travel.

At 23, as an exchange student studying medical technologies in the US, Yu decided that she wanted to visit all of the countries in the world, but visa restrictions didn’t allow her to travel outside of the country. She decided to explore the US via Greyhound buses. She saved her vacation time from working at Miami, Florida hospitals and was able to take long trips across the US. There are only two states that Yu has yet to visit—Kentucky and Oklahoma.

It took Yu 15 years to get her green card that would allow her to travel internationally and there were times that she worked three jobs to save money to travel. The Miami resident eventually took a part-time job as a travel agent, which gave her many more opportunities to travel to new places around the globe.

In the past 50 years, Yu has been visiting countries across the world, even some that are very tough to get into. She has tried several kinds of meat when she visited North Korea, explored the beaches of Somalia, and even skydived in Dubai when she was 73.

Yu’s advice to people who are fond of traveling is to just do it. She said, “Don’t wait for anybody. If I keep on waiting, it will never happen, because the opportunity sometimes comes only once.”

1. What inspired Luisa Yu to travel?

A．Reading books.	B．Watching movies.
C．Friends’ suggestions.	D．Work experience.

2. Why did Yu fail to travel abroad in her 20s?

A．Because of visa limits.	B．Because of tight finances.
C．Because of short holidays.	D．Because of safety problems.

3. In which place did Yu skydive?

A．Dubai.

B．Miami.

C．Somalia.

D．North Korea.

4. What does Yu advise people to do?

A．Apply for the travel visa in advance.

B．Try various jobs to get colorful experiences.

C．Look for friends with shared interest in travel.

D．Catch every chance to do what they want to do.

6 . Successful people have a few common characteristics that make them great. Now look at the following common traits exhibited by successful people that I have observed across various fields including sports, business and arts.

Self-discipline

I put this at the top of the list simply because without self-discipline nothing is possible. Self-discipline is a quality that can be developed by having a clear idea on what we want and then ensuring the desire to succeed is greater than the consequences of not doing it. If we want to exercise 5 times a week, then we can imagine the enormous benefits of exercise and visualise that while trying to keep the end goal in mind.     1     It is resolving to do what we have set out to accomplish in both our personal and official lives.

Resilience

Angela Lee Duckworth says that grit is the single quality that guarantees success, based on her groundbreaking studies. There are going to be setbacks, like we may not get the promotion we wanted, but having patience and perseverance never goes out of fashion. Talent will not take the place of persistence and resilience.     2    

Passion

    3     We can look no further than Tiger Woods to understand the value of passion. Tiger Woods who had already reached the apex (顶点) of sporting achievement actually changed his style of swing because he wanted to get the extra edge. This was after winning the Masters tournament by a record of 12 strokes in 1997. Passion can ignite reservoirs of resilience that may lay latent (隐藏的). Tiger Woods didn't play golf for the money though that helped, he played it for the love. Passion can happen when we do something we love,but as a beginning, we should start loving what we do and giving our very best every single day.

Curiosity

One of the best kept secrets of the highly successful is the ability to keep learning something new every day in their field or related fields. The hallmark of learning is curiosity. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, is an excellent example of someone who kept learning till the end of his life.     4     When we learn something everyday, it keeps our mind sharp and it also gives a sense of accomplishment as we are using our time wisely. There is no end to this journey of continuous learning.

A．You can be down but never out.

B．I have noticed that a lot of successful people take care of themselves better.

C．If we want to achieve all the things we want, then self-discipline is the best place to start and we have 100% control on this.

D．He was always learing something new.

E．When you have high self-esteem, you generally feel more positive about life and do better at work.

F．Passion is the fuel behind the success engine.

7 . Nguyen Thi Thu is one of the few remaining artists practicing and constantly enhancing the traditional Vietnamese art of sculpting realistic-looking flowers out of papaya (番木瓜树) fruits.

Thu became ________ in carving various flowers from papaya fruits at the age of 15, when she ________ a class on the art of sculpting fruit. She was fascinated by the ________ art form, but then she had to ________ to Russia and stayed there for 15 years. Thu couldn’t ________ her favorite art form because she was too busy working and had no ________ to green papayas. She ________ it with all sorts of other fruits and vegetables, but nothing was quite like the papaya she ________. When she returned to Hanoi in 2009, she ________ got back into papaya sculpting, and she has been practicing the art ever since.

Over the years, Thu has ________ herself to carve various types of flowers, but her favourite by far is also one of the most ________, the chrysanthemum (菊花). Creating a single flower takes between 45 minutes and over an hour,________ the complexity of the design. “I often fall asleep thinking of how to ________ a certain flower, and then I get out of bed to practice,” Thu said.

Apart from ________ her art form during various public events and creating delicate papaya flowers, Thu also holds classes in Hanoi, as a way of ________ the traditional art form.

1.

A．confident

B．interested

C．expert

D．talented

2.

A．missed

B．held

C．quit

D．took

3.

A．traditional

B．modern

C．fashionable

D．contemporary

4.

A．return

B．turn

C．move

D．adjust

5.

A．appreciate

B．practice

C．change

D．adopt

6.

A．access

B．reaction

C．solution

D．resistance

7.

A．described

B．imagined

C．painted

D．tried

8.

A．grew

B．offered

C．knew

D．bought

9.

A．occasionally

B．immediately

C．randomly

D．definitely

10.

A．expected

B．reminded

C．forced

D．taught

11.

A．abstract

B．expensive

C．complicated

D．fundamental

12.

A．depending on

B．accounting for

C．focusing on

D．calling for

13.

A．plant

B．sculpt

C．feed

D．invent

14.

A．exhibiting

B．judging

C．updating

D．transforming

15.

A．replacing

B．celebrating

C．recovering

D．preserving

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I was an average student in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional F’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.

I didn’t write when I was supposed to write. I talked to others while the teacher was giving instructions. That I could recite what she had said to the class while I was talking was not helpful because I had a negative effect on my classmates’ learning. So I regularly brought home disappointing report cards.

My parents and my teachers didn’t know what to do with me. Punishments didn’t seem to work. Rewards didn’t seem to either. And, frankly, I don’t think I knew what I could do to “apply myself”. And I certainly didn’t know how to not enjoy talking with my classmates! What I knew was that I talked too much. Until grade 5.

That autumn, we had a sudden change in teachers as our elderly teacher took a medical leave. In his place, a young substitute (代课老师) arrived — Mrs Royal. She looked like she was freshly out of university and seemed too young to be cast in the role of being responsible for a class of tween, but there she was, charged with a lively group, and me.

I don’t remember many details of that year except the afternoon when I got my first report card from her. She handed out the report cards right after the afternoon break and invited us to look them over. Then she let us know that we could all talk quietly amongst ourselves while she called each student up one at a time, in alphabetical order (按字母顺序), to discuss our report cards with her.

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 looked over my report card, expecting the usual result.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Then it was my turn to talk with her.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . Our recommended list of environmental books covers a broad range of topics. These must-read environmental books are sure to spark the interest of the greenest books.

Silent Spring

Written by Rachel Carson, Silent Spring highlights the effects of pesticides (杀虫剂) on the environment, especially DDT, which was a very popular insecticide until it was finally banned in 1972. The book eventually led to a change in the United States’ pesticide policy and contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.

This book collects 11 speeches made by climate activist Greta Thunberg, highlighting the issue of climate change and its impact on future generations. Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started the School Strike for Climate, also known as Fridays for Future. She inspired protests worldwide.

The Uninhabitable Earth

This book by David Wallace Wells examines the disasters that have already occurred and looks ahead to the year 2100 and what climate change will do if we continue on our current path. Its opening line is incredibly telling: “It is worse, much worse, than you think.”

The End of Nature

Published in 1989, the book describes the relationship between nature and humans. It expresses the idea that nature was previously independent of humans but has now been affected by them in every way. According to author Bill McKibben, the idea of wilderness is lost, and nature is no longer complete.

1. Which book brought the environment to the government’s attention?

A．Silent Spring.	B．The End of Nature.
C．The Uninhabitable Earth.	D．No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.

2. What feeling does the author display in The Uninhabitable Earth?

A．Curiosity.

B．Concern.

C．Annoyance.

D．Disappointment.

3. Which of the following is Bill McKibben’s idea?

A．Nature will not exist any longer.	B．Wild animals are disappearing fast.
C．Human activities are destroying nature.	D．Climate change affects future generations.

10 . In 2018, when Hemesh Chadalavada was 12 years old, his grandmother forgot to turn off the gas after she made herself a cup of tea. This experience caused Hemesh to invent the “Alpha Monitor”, a device designed for dementia (痴呆) patients.

He started creating this device with whatever was at home, with the help of the internet. “The first model I built was a huge box. I learnt how to make a wearable device on the internet by learning which components to use and where I could source them in Hyderabad. I started with a hardware device, after which I learnt coding online and moved to machine learning and data science, to help me perfect my device,” he adds.

The Alpha Monitor has two parts, one, a wearable watch-like device, and the second, an alarm which connects to it. “You attach the device to the patient. In case the patient throws it away or doesn’t like wearing it, you can just put it in a bag and fix it in their pocket or sock or wherever you like. Once you plug in the alarm, you will be warned for every tiny change in movement. As soon as the patient gets up or wanders away, it will warn the family members with a huge alarm sound,” says Hemesh.

The wearable device monitors body temperature, pulse, and detects movement, falls and more. It works using a gyroscope sensor to detect even the slightest movement and health sensors for pulse and temperature. It works without Wi-Fi or bluetooth and has a range of 1-2k m, according to Hemesh. It can also be connected to an app for children staying far away to monitor their parents’ movements.

“The happiest I’ve ever been is seeing how the device actually works for patients with Alzheimer’s. It gives me incredible happiness to see the small impact I’ve managed to create in the lives of these families,” smiles the youngster.

1. What can we learn about Hemesh from the first two paragraphs?

A．He received little formal education.	B．He had a strong self-learning ability.
C．He invented the device to stop gas leaks.	D．He got support from a computer engineer.

2. How does the Alpha Monitor warn people of patients’ movements?

A．By speaking into their phones.	B．By producing a loud noise.
C．By making an emergency call.	D．By announcing the time automatically.

3. What is a feature of the Alpha Monitor?

A．It can analyze patients’ health data.	B．It can prevent patients from falling down.
C．It can track patients’ movements remotely.	D．It can make a difference to patients’ recovery.

4. Which of the following can best describe Hemesh?

A．Caring and creative.	B．Generous and talented.
C．Determined and honest.	D．Independent and brave.