1 . As a mother who had three kids in public schools, it always bothered me that the elementary school had a voluntary “reading club” in which students received prizes based on how much reading for pleasure they did each week. The message seems all wrong: We have to bribe (贿赂) you to read for fun.
A survey by the National Assessment for Educational Progress found that the numbers of 9- and 13-year-olds who say they read for enjoyment almost every day dropped from slightly more than half in 1984, to 42% during the 2019-20 school year. The trend among middle schoolers is worse. The percentage who frequently read for fun dropped by more than half, to 17%, while the percentage who seldom or never do more than tripled (增至三倍).
Meanwhile, a British study found that reading for pleasure had much wider benefits, resulting in better vocabulary, spelling and mathematical abilities. According to the nonprofit reading-advocacy group Kids Read Now, readers also learn better empathy (同理心), decision-making and social skills.
One contributor to this disappointing trend seems obvious: Social media and other digital activities are heavy draws and can consume hours of time. But some librarians and students point to other reasons as well: As students advance in school, required reading of textbooks and classroom-assigned literature increases. They may be reading more, but often enjoying it less.
Reading for pleasure isn’t the same as assigned reading because kids need to be able to relax with the reading material of their choice. As a child, my son used to finish his reading for school and then sigh (叹息) with pleasure, saying, “Now I can read.”
Parents play a key role in changing this situation, but many may not realize how important it is to expose their kids to books, magazines and the like. Giving older students more choices in what they read for class would help encourage pleasure reading too. The class could make group choices or students could pick from a menu of options instead of being assigned a single book. When there are just a few choices and we spoon-feed them to kids, we just deprive them of the experience of realizing there’s a bigger world of books out there for them to explore.
1. What made the author annoyed according to paragraph 1?| A．The messages sent by the reading club each week. |
| B．The lack of reading clubs in the elementary school. |
| C．The unrealistic reading goals set by the elementary school. |
| D．The way to encourage elementary school students to read for fun. |
| A．By listing some persuasive figures. | B．By providing some research results. |
| C．By referring to some experts’ views. | D．By sharing her own parenting experience. |
| A．It takes time to finish reading for school. |
| B．Parents should read together with their kids. |
| C．The reading for school is hardly fun for children. |
| D．Children have difficulty choosing reading materials. |
| A．Keep them from. | B．Prepare them for. |
| C．Lead them to. | D．Fill them with. |
1. What did Emma’s mother rent?
| A．A boarding house. | B．A car. | C．A bike. |
| A．The speaker’s father. | B．Emma’s mother. | C．Emma. |
| A．He once taught at SMU. |
| B．He once worked in Houston. |
| C．He once stayed in Galveston. |
| A．To talk with the O. Henry expert. |
| B．To sell the O. Henry’s book. |
| C．To give money to Emma. |
1. What time does the man usually go to bed?
| A．At about 11:00 p.m. | B．At midnight. | C．At about 1:00 a.m. |
| A．For looking after children. | B．For worrying about exams. | C．For being jobless. |
| A．Do some reading. | B．Watch less television. | C．Listen to relaxing music. |
| A．Being out of a job. | B．The sleeping problem. | C．Doing something relaxing. |
1. What does the woman complain about?
| A．The noise. | B．The weather. | C．The traffic. |
| A．The flat is too old. | B．The flat is too dirty. | C．The flat is overcrowded. |
| A．Move to a new house. | B．Change her job. | C．Buy a new car. |
The school’s hall got very noisy with excitement as students, teachers, and parents filled the seats, eagerly awaiting the start of the annual school talent show. Backstage, the performers paced nervously, their hearts pounding with anticipation and their minds filled with a mixture of excitement and fear.
Among them was Sarah, a shy but talented singer whose passion for music burned brightly within her. Ever since she was a lonely young girl, Sarah had found comfort in music. With nothing but her voice to accompany her, she would sing for hours on end, pouring her heart and soul into each note, each lyric, each breath.
Sarah’s talent did not go unnoticed. One day, while she was singing softly to herself during a lunch break at school, Mrs Caroline, the choir director, happened to overhear her. Immediately, she saw something special in Sarah—a talent that deserved to rise and shine.
Over the following weeks and months, Mrs Caroline took Sarah under her wing, offering guidance, support, and encouragement every step of the way. She encouraged Sarah to step out of her comfort zone, to embrace her gift, and to share it with the world.
Under Mrs Caroline’s instruction, Sarah began to push herself harder than ever before. She spent hours each day practicing her singing, honing her skills, and perfecting her craft. She sought out opportunities to perform in front of others, gradually building up her confidence and overcoming her fears.
When the moment finally came, with a deep breath, Sarah stepped out onto the stage, the spotlight blazing down upon her like a thousand suns. For a moment, Sarah was frozen in place. But then, with a determined smile, she raised the microphone to her lips and began to sing.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置答题。
Paragraph 1:
Then a sudden technical failure caused her background music to cut out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
When she stepped off the stage, Sarah recognized a familiar figure among the crowd.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 简介成语故事和寓意；
2. 推荐理由。
注意：1. 写作词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
生词：成语 idiom; 座右铭 motto; 愚公移山Yu Gong Yi Shan
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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The San Diego Zoo is one of the world’s top five
9 . Earlier this month, Bob Dylan released The Philosophy of Modern Song, a collection of 66 songs, detailing their status in music and, sometimes, explaining what a given track might mean or do. The book reminded me of the Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, in which Smith intelligently summarizes each song's narrative arc as if it were a newspaper headline. Dylan is less direct and more tends to allegorical (讽喻的) long speeches.
Dylan has always had a slightly tense relationship with the writers and journalists who grammatically analyze his songs for meaning, and, while reading The Philosophy of Modern Song, there were moments when I grew slightly red-faced, worried that the book might be an purposeful joke, making fun of all the drooling (垂涎) critics who have gone thrilled trying to illustrate the greatness and beauty of his work. Yet the pattern and rhythm of his descriptions will be quite familiar to anyone who listened to “Theme Time Radio Hour”, the Sirius XM show that Dylan hosted from 2006 to 2009.
Ultimately, both projects repeat, in a serious way, just how difficult it is to study, investigate, and evaluate something as indescribable and brain-scrambling (烧脑) as popular music.
The Philosophy of Modern Song picked a limited number of songs, for Dylan to define the masterpieces that defined him, and he did so determinedly. Much like Smith’s Anthology, Dylan’s book is deeply personal, despite its sweeping title. It’s obvious that Dylan did not adjust his preferences to suit a cultural narrative or to play down his age. Yet that the book contains only four songs performed by women is both depressing and astonishing. This might lead readers to question Dylan’s character and, more worrying, to wonder about the limits of his musical knowledge.
1. What do the two books, The Philosophy of Modern Song and Anthology of American Folk Music, have in common?| A．The writing style. | B．The writers’ career. |
| C．The books’ subject. | D．The creation background. |
| A．Because he was on bad terms with Bob Dylan. |
| B．Because he failed to listen to Dylan’s radio program. |
| C．Because he was laughed at for his comments on Dylan’s book. |
| D．Because he may be among those critics taking advantage of Dylan’s works. |
| A．It presents a whole history of American folk music. |
| B．It offers a review on Bob Dylan’s personal music albums. |
| C．It suggests a possible lack of attention to women’s music. |
| D．It follows the example of Anthology of American Folk Music. |
| A．To question Dylan’s expertise in folk music. |
| B．To introduce the newly-published book by Bob Dylan. |
| C．To blame Dylan for his underestimating female musicians. |
| D．To compare the two books of Philosophy and Anthology. |
10 . The Miyun Reservoir (水库) near Beijing plays an important role in providing water to the capital. But not many people know this major project was actually designed by a group of university students as their graduation project. In 1959, under Jiang Nanxiang, the then headmaster of Tsinghua University, who encouraged his students to combine theory with practice, students from the Department of Hydraulic Engineering set about the project.
This is one of the stories told in the new season of Century Masters, which focuses on 11 noted educators, among them Peking University head Cai Yuanpei, promoter of mass education Tao Xingzhi and physical education advocate Jiang Nanxiang, which aired on China Education Television in March, 2024.
Produced by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Century Masters is dedicated to people renowned for their mastery in different areas. Earlier seasons focused on famous artists, architects and writers. According to Chen Hong, the general director for the series, the new season seeks to preserve and protect the educational practices, ideas and progress of the subjects, and nurture young people in the process. “We want to crystallize the wisdom and sweat of countless educators, a precious heritage for future generations, and open a window to showcase the country’s progress. Many of them also made great achievements in other areas. This series, however, focuses on their contributions to education”, says Chen.
Unlike artists who produce physical creations, the contributions of educators are often theoretical, and so are difficult to show visually. To deal with this, the series brought the educators to life by illustrating their ideas through snapshots (快照) of their work and life. The two episodes (一集) about Ma Yuehan, a pioneer in advocating for physical education at Tsinghua University, explore his habit of regular exercise maintained since childhood, his participation in national and international competitions at university, and the way in which he benefited from being in good health.
1. What do we know about the Miyun Reservoir from the passage?| A．It was finished in the year 1959. |
| B．Its historical importance has not been fully recognized. |
| C．It was designed by the headmaster of Tsinghua University. |
| D．It is a product of Tsinghua University’s advanced teaching philosophy. |
| A．To introduce Chinese experts of all fields. |
| B．To dig into the all-around achievements of great educators. |
| C．To record the educational practices and ideas of noted educators. |
| D．To call upon young people to contribute to Chinese education. |
| A．To highlight his educational contribution. |
| B．To serve as an example of the practice above. |
| C．To prove the importance of physical education. |
| D．To showcase his achievement in physical competitions. |
| A．Heroes of Education in Century Masters |
| B．Protectors of Heritage in Century Masters |
| C．Physical and Academic Education in Tsinghua University |
| D．Theoretical and Practical Education in Tsinghua University |
