1 . Must-See Destinations in 2024

Are you ready to explore the world in 2024? Whether you dream of sailing down famous European rivers or exploring unique places, our list of must-see destinations is here to inspire your travels.

Spain

Throw yourself into the rich culture and history of Spain. From the sunny beaches of Tenerife to the Moorish architecture (建筑物) of Andalucía, there’s so much to explore in this lively country. Discover the UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) city of La Laguna and become amazed at the beauty of Cordoba, Seville, and La Alhambra, or relax on a beach holiday to Majorca or Tenerife.

Montenegro

Despite its size, Montenegro has beautiful beaches, rich history, and a breathtaking channel. Experience the beauty of the Montenegrin coast — Dalmatia’s jewel (宝石) is the UNESCO World Heritage listed oasis of Dubrovnik, famously praised by Lord Bryon as The Pearl of the Adriatic.

Croatia

Discover the beauty that is Dubrovnik. Explore the 16th-century city’s defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Sail along Croatia’s Adriatic Coast, where attractive villages and beautiful towns like Pula, Rovinj, and Poreč are just waiting to be explored...

South Africa

Explore the wonders of South Africa, from the Garden Route’s nature reserves to the thrill of a Safari drive in the Kariega Game Reserve. Discover the different plants and animals while searching for the “Big Five” on an unforgettable South Africa holiday.

With over 25 years of experience creating holidays for the curious, Travel Department ensures that your journey is in good hands. Plus as a trusted Reader’s Digest Travel partner, you can get special deals when you travel with them across lots of different 2024 holidays. If you want to know more information, please click here.

1. What do Spain and Montenegro have in common?

A．They are both praised by tourists.

B．They both have world heritage cities.

C．They are known for their architectures.

D．They both own beaches and rich history.

2. Which destination will attract people who are interested in creatures?

A．Spain.	B．South Africa.
C．Montenegro.	D．Croatia.

3. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A website.	B．A guidebook.
C．A novel.	D．A magazine.

2 . 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。

In a small town, there lived a young elementary school student named Timmy, whose lateness had become his worst trait (特点) in his school.

Every school morning, he struggled to get out of bed, often finding himself rushing through breakfast and forgetting important things like his homework or lunchbox. Meanwhile, his classmates would glance at the empty seat beside them, exchanging knowing looks as the clock ticked pa st the start of the class. When Timmy finally arrived, he would often find himself the center of attention, and his cheeks red with embarrassment as he apologised. Deep down, Timmy felt a growing sense of discomfort and shame about his habitual lateness. His teachers and classmates were concerned about the effect of his constant lateness on his studies.

One day, Timmy’s class teacher, Mrs. Johnson, decided to solve the issue. She approached Timmy with a gentle smile, “Timmy, can we talk about something important?”

Timmy looked up and replied, a bit nervous, “Sure, Mrs. Johnson.”

She crouched (蹲下) down to his level, speaking softly but seriously and sincerely, “I’ve noticed you’ve been late for class quite often. Do you know being on time is very important?”

Timmy lowered his head and said, “Yes, but...”

Mrs. Johnson continued, “Being on time helps you not miss out on your lessons. It’s also about respect for your classmates and me. When you’re late, it can disrupt (打乱) the whole class. We all miss you when you’re not here on time.”

Timmy nodded and said, a look of understanding on his face, “I didn’t realize it was affecting everyone. I’ll try to be better, Mrs. Johnson. But I have difficulty waking up and getting out of bed. Every morning when my alarm clock sounded, I hit the snooze (小睡) button, just 10 more minutes. Then 10 minutes later, another 10 minutes. That’s why I am always late for school.”

“Don’t worry. We’re all here to help you,” Mrs. Johnson said, offering a comforting smile.

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。
After the talk, Mrs. Johnson, along with Timmy’s classmates, came up with a plan to help him.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Soon Timmy’s change was obvious.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . I was halfway across Indiana headed home to Kentucky when my car broke down. My phone was ______, too. I managed to get to a gas station, but it was Sunday in the early fall, and there was no ______ on duty. I was working my way through university then and had little money for ______ the car.

I sat alongside my car for several hours trying to ______ the heat when an older gentleman ______ to fuel his car.   He asked about my car, and I ______ my predicament (困境). To my ______, the gentleman told me that he had a daughter my age, and then he opened his trunk and ______ a tool set.

Right then and there, this total ______ examined my engine, explaining as he worked that my spark plugs (火花塞) hadn’t been charged for so long that they were ______ to function.   After about an hour, he ______ that my car was safe to finish the trip.

______ came at the hands of a stranger. ______ his clothes, working on a hot September afternoon, this man ______ a college student from disaster, just because she could have been his ______ .

1.

A．busy

B．loud

C．dead

D．secure

2.

A．mechanic

B．policeman

C．manager

D．guide

3.

A．washing

B．parking

C．purchasing

D．maintaining

4.

A．feel

B．beat

C．absorb

D．produce

5.

A．promised

B．refused

C．stopped

D．volunteered

6.

A．solved

B．noticed

C．escaped

D．explained

7.

A．surprise

B．regret

C．amusement

D．disappointment

8.

A．called up

B．pulled out

C．put down

D．threw away

9.

A．liar

B．beginner

C．stranger

D．loser

10.

A．free

B．ready

C．uncertain

D．unable

11.

A．pronounced

B．agreed

C．discovered

D．doubted

12.

A．Tiredness

B．Kindness

C．Loneliness

D．Carefulness

13.

A．Folding

B．Drying

C．Soiling

D．Mending

14.

A．saved

B．called

C．judged

D．banned

15.

A．friend

B．daughter

C．coworker

D．customer

4 . 选择恰当的短语填入下列句子中。(注意短语在语境中的正确形式）

with butterflies in one’s stomach                 have a frog in one’s throat go all out               keep in mind               before jumping in with both feet

1. ________, I breathed deeply.
2. But then I figured I’d better just ________ and see what happens.
3. Why don’t you also take my advice and think carefully ________?
4. But we need to ________that what we see on social media is often not the whole truth about a person.
5. He told us that Maggie couldn’t teach that day COZ she ________.

5 . 假定你是李华，上周五你校组织高一年级学生去“宁夏薰衣草庄园”（Ningxia Lavender Garden）进行了为期半天的劳动实践活动(labor practice activity)。请你以An unforgettable school outing为题写一篇Journal entry，记录这难忘的一天，主要内容包括：
1．活动时间，地点；
2．活动内容（给树施肥，挖萝卜； 一起吃午餐等）；
3．你的感受和想法。
注意：
1．写作词数应为100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
词汇提示：给...肥apply animal waste to... ；挖萝卜：dig carrots

An Unforgettable School Outing

Friday, November 3^rd, Sunny

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6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Once upon a time, there were four seeds (种子) who were good friends. They travelled by wind and came to a forest. They hid     1     (they) in the ground, and hoped that they would be able to grow into big trees.

But when the first seed began to grow, they realized it would not be such     2     easy task. There lived a group of     3     (monkey), and the smaller ones loved throwing bananas at the plant     4     started to grow. They threw so many bananas at the first sprout (幼芽) that she was almost cut into two. When she told the other seeds     5     had happened, they thought that it would be better to wait until the monkeys went away.

They all agreed that, except the first seed. She     6     (think) she would at least try it. When she tried, she was harmed by bananas. The other seeds asked her     7     (stop) trying. However, she had made up her mind to become a tree. She tried again and again. The scars     8     (leave) by the bananas helped her grow stronger than the other seeds. Little by little, she had grown so strong that the monkeys couldn’t hurt her     9     (bad).

In the end, she grew into the     10     (big) tree in the forest. The other seeds still hid themselves in the ground, only hoping the monkeys would go away soon.

7 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Team China bagged a total of 383 medals, including 201 gold, 111 silver and 71 bronze,     1    (rank) first in the medal tally (奖牌榜) during the 19th Asian Games,     2     concluded competitions on Sunday.

The first gold of the Games was awarded       3     China’s Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping, who paddled to victory in the women’s lightweight double sculls (双桨赛艇) rowing event with a time of 7 minutes, 6.78 seconds. China’s last gold       4    (take) by 10 artistic swimmers who delivered a great     5     (perform) to win the team free routine final on October 8. In total, China bagged two gold medals in artistic swimming. Japan and Kazakhstan took the silver and bronze medals,     6     (respective), in the two events of the sport.

The 19th Asian Games, which featured 40 sports, 61 disciplines, and 481 events,     7     (run) from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, along with five co-host     8     (city), namely Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Jinhua, in east China’s Zhejiang Province.

Chinese swimmers Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang were jointly awarded the Most    9     (value) Player of the Hangzhou Asian Games, marking the first time that two athletes received     10    award.

8 . As my dad got a new job in southern Florida, we moved here from our old home, school, friends and everything. There were so many_______for me. In a new school full of strangers, could I make friends? Would I _________? My mind was filled with_______.

Being shy and quiet, I read a lot. Loving books and reading helped me get excellent results. Teachers _______me for that. But other kids disliked me getting top_______and answering questions in class. I felt like a ( n ) _______.

Then one day, a tall strong boy in English class walked right over to me. He_______himself. He said he was on the school basketball team. I _______that - he was the star player!

“ Hey,” he said.“ Do you think you could _______ me? You do really well in English class.” I could, and________I would. From that moment on, life at school________. Basketball players walked me to classes and ________ me in hallways. As the team tutor (导师), I fit in. Nobody ________me anymore. I was thankful to be________enough to help the team.

I taught the guys about grammar. They taught me how to dribble (运球) a basketball. More importantly, they gave me the________to be myself - and to be a short girl who really knew how to dribble a basketball!

1.

A．chances

B．activities

C．challenges

D．experiences

2.

A．move in

B．fit in

C．relate to

D．calm down

3.

A．dreams

B．ideas

C．lies

D．worries

4.

A．chose

B．thanked

C．praised

D．impressed

5.

A．talents

B．grades

C．awards

D．honors

6.

A．star

B．child

C．author

D．failure

7.

A．applied

B．enjoyed

C．introduced

D．reminded

8.

A．expected

B．knew

C．imagined

D．doubted

9.

A．confuse

B．recognize

C．select

D．help

10.

A．interestingly

B．hopefully

C．certainly

D．usually

11.

A．changed

B．began

C．continued

D．stopped

12.

A．frightened

B．circled

C．respected

D．ignored

13.

A．troubled

B．invited

C．amazed

D．reminded

14.

A．creative

B．active

C．strong

D．knowledgeable

15.

A．confidence

B．intelligence

C．option

D．curiosity

9 . During the winter break, I found my dad’s old CD player in a drawer that I had never seen before. It reminded me of the three CDs I recently bought from Mostly Books, a second-hand media store on South Street. I knew I could put the player to good use with them.

However, I was a naughty kid who broke closet doors and shelves, so my dad was often unwilling to let me borrow his things. I couldn’t decide whether to ask my dad about using the player. “Can you help me with your old CD player? I want to play some CDs,” I finally asked him after walking into his home office that day. Despite my worries, my dad said yes.

Growing up, I felt that my dad disagreed with nearly everything I did. I was frightened to take his advice because listening to him felt like going against my own ideas.

       That day I looked at his office wall and saw a painting and he told me he bought it in the 1990s for a couple thousand dollars. Imagining him buying the artwork challenged my idea of him being too frugal (节俭的) and boring (没有情调的) to spend so much money on art.

This new side of my dad encouraged me to finally take the time to look for our similarities. I discovered how similar we really are while fixing the CD player with my dad, which helped me see him as someone I could relate to, instead of someone to avoid. Watching my dad prepare his old CD player for use was my first step toward understanding him. I observed several of his characters that I recognized in myself, like persistence, patience and calmness. Seeing these characters in my dad showed me how similar we are, which lowered the defenses (防御) I built against him, allowing our relationship to heal (愈合).

1. Why couldn’t the author decide whether to ask his dad about using the player at first?

A．He had no CDs to play then.

B．He feared his dad would say no.

C．He figured the CD player was broken.

D．He was afraid he’d break the CD player.

2. What was the problem between the author and his father?

A．They often had different views.

B．They hardly talked to each other.

C．They had no similar personalities.

D．They were shy to speak for themselves.

3. What did the author most probably realize after knowing about the painting?

A．He should challenge his father.

B．His father was very good at art.

C．His father was a really boring man.

D．He might not really know about his father.

4. What happened between the author and his father in the end?

A．They often argued with each other.

B．They greatly misunderstood each other.

C．They got on with each other much better.

D．They built great defenses against each other.

10 . 假定你是李华，十一期间你参加了一家冒险远足营地 (Adventure Hiking) 组织的一次冒险远足旅行，请你写一篇日记描述这次活动并谈谈自己的感受。主要内容应包括：
1. 活动的时间和人员；
2. 活动过程：
(1)远足要穿过一个大沙漠以考验参加者的体力和耐力；
(2)参加者将体验刺激的漂流活动 (white-water rafting)；
(3)参加者将爬一座最大海拔高度为5000米的高山，并遇到一些野生动物；
(4)远足组织者将提供良好的住宿 (accommodation)并要求参加者携带轻而有用的行李。
注意：词数100左右。
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