1 . The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program is an internationally recognized qualification for entry into higher education. Usually, 16- to 19-year-olds take it during the last two years of high school. High-achieving high school students who want an international perspective in a variety of subjects should consider this program.

The IB Program includes three required courses. The first, Theory of Knowledge, discusses where knowledge comes from and how to analyze information. The second required course, Extended Essay, involves researching a subject of the student’s choice and writing a 4,000-word essay on it. The third requirement, called Creativity, Activity, Service, requires 50 hours of work outside of class in each of the three areas. Creativity includes theater, music and art. Activity refers to sports, and service means volunteering.

The program includes classes in six other subject areas as well: language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics and the arts. Students are expected to take one class from each subject area. However, they can choose an additional course from one of the other areas as a substitution for the arts requirement.

The IB Program introduces students to a wide range of courses. This can give students a leg up in university applications because it shows they can learn about many different subjects. On the other hand, the variety of subjects means that students can only take one or two classes in any one area. Therefore, students who want to specialize in fields such as medicine or engineering may as well take more classes in a single subject area. IB may not be a good fit for these students.

The IB Program is time-consuming and intellectually challenging. Not all students will desire or feel equipped to put in the work. For those who pursue it, however, the IB Program offers a wide-ranging education focused on developing skills students will need in life.

1. Who is recommended to participate in the IB Program?

A．Students pursuing engineering.	B．Students wanting to serve others.
C．Students hunting for an occupation.	D．Students interested in various fields.

2. What can we know about the course arrangement of IB Program?

A．It demands students should be good at a particular sport.

B．It allows students to select another course to replace arts.

C．It advises students should graduate from high school first.

D．It requires students to choose one course in each subject area.

3. What does the phrase “a leg up” probably mean in paragraph 4?

A．An advantage.

B．A certificate.

C．A fast speed.

D．A suggestion.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Applications for IB Program.	B．Required courses in IB Program.
C．An introduction of IB Program.	D．Suitable participants for IB Program.

2 . The National Portrait Gallery is a well-known gallery in the very heart of London. It was founded in 1856 and it holds one of the largest collections of portraits in the world. Throughout the year it is home to exhibitions covering all forms of portrait art, celebrating the lives and achievements of those who have influenced British history, culture and identity. Whether you would like to see the permanent exhibitions or one of the temporary ones, there is something for art lovers at the National Portrait Gallery.

Permanent collections

The permanent collections have been split by room into the following categories:

● Tudor and Elizabethan

● Stuart and Civil War

● Georgian

● Regency

● Victorian and Elizabethan

● Twentieth century

● Contemporary displays

Opening times

Month	Day	Time
January - December	Monday - Thursday	10:00 - 18:00
	Friday	10:00 - 21:00
	Saturday - Sunday	10:00 - 18:00

Ticket prices

In general, entrance to the National Portrait Gallery is free. However, if you wish to see a particular exhibition that is not part of the permanent collection you will need to buy a ticket. For details of the prices for the different collections it is best to check the official National Portrait Gallery website: https://www.npg.org.uk.

Audio Guides

You can obtain audio guides at the entrance. They are small handheld units with small screens showing an interactive map. You can listen to up to five themed tours: Highlights, Royalty, Scientists, Celebrities and Writers. The audio guides are available in six languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese.

Places to eat in the gallery

There are two options of places to eat in the National Portrait Gallery. There is a café where you can grab something quick and affordable. Alternatively there is a restaurant on the top floor of the gallery overlooking the city.

Address and contact details
National Portrait Gallery
Saint Martin’s Place
London
WC2H 0HE
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7306 0055
1. How long can you stay at most in the gallery if you visit on Friday?

A．Nearly 3 hours.

B．Nearly 11 hours.

C．Nearly 8 hours.

D．Nearly 5 hours.

2. What can you do in the gallery according to the text?

A．You can visit permanent exhibitions on Regency.	B．You can see all the temporary exhibitions for free.
C．You can give a speech about art in the entrance hall.	D．You can rent an audio guide in the language of Chinese.

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce the exhibitions of the gallery.	B．To describe what the gallery looks like.
C．To explain why the gallery is popular.	D．To provide a visitor’s guide to the gallery.

3 . 假定你是李华。因疫情防控要求，上个月居家学习。你的外国网友Chris听说后，询问你的近况，并希望你介绍你是如何在疫情期间保持身心健康的。请你用英文回复一封电子邮件，介绍你上个月居家期间保持身心健康的具体做法（至少两点）。
注意：词数100左右。             参考词汇：疫情pandemic             隔离lockdown (n.)
Dear Chris,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

4 . It was a deserted building, which I thought I had a lot in common with. I was divorced; some of my children were depressed. I felt like I was failing as a mother. Worse ________, I became jobless.

Something of the building attracted me inside. It was the words: Life is ________; eat dessert first. The fifty job application forms I sent out brought ________. I couldn’t ________ to eat out, but when a friend or relative would ________ me, I always ordered dessert first.

One time, my sister Chris and her husband Mike took us out for my birthday. In the restaurant, I saw a three-inch ________ chocolate rose. “I’ll have that,” I told the waitress. “That’s not ________; it’s just decoration,” she said. Mike ________ himself. ________ he came back, a waiter arrived with that rose. “Mike! Thank you so much!” I said.

________, luck led me to a great career. And I could afford to buy myself dinners -----still ordering dessert first.

I made a new friend, Audrey. We started having ________ together every Monday, with dessert first. We never ________ out of things to talk about. We had the ________ attitude. Audrey was full of wisdom, and I shared my faith with her.

Later, Audrey’s ________ weakened and her health gradually ________. It became more difficult for her to get ________. However, we ________ to our Monday lunches, with dessert first, until a few weeks before she died.

I decided not to let the dessert-first tradition die. So I had dinners regularly with my granddaughter. For me, eating dessert first is about ________ change and living in the moment. And in those moments, ________ its uncertainty, we will find how ________ life is.

1.

A．less

B．even

C．still

D．much

2.

A．uncertain

B．fantastic

C．miserable

D．unfortunate

3.

A．something

B．nothing

C．everything

D．anything

4.

A．manage

B．attempt

C．cover

D．afford

5.

A．assist

B．amuse

C．treat

D．comfort

6.

A．luxurious

B．beautiful

C．expensive

D．ridiculous

7.

A．for sale

B．on display

C．at a discount

D．for rent

8.

A．left

B．went

C．walked

D．excused

9.

A．Ever since

B．Long before

C．Shortly after

D．No sooner

10.

A．Finally

B．Though

C．Therefore

D．Hopefully

11.

A．breakfast

B．lunch

C．dinner

D．date

12.

A．take

B．put

C．ran

D．go

13.

A．equal

B．deep

C．great

D．same

14.

A．sight

B．willpower

C．appetite

D．desire

15.

A．worsened

B．shortened

C．disappeared

D．faded

16.

A．away

B．around

C．over

D．through

17.

A．stuck

B．continued

C．hoped

D．longed

18.

A．avoiding

B．adoring

C．judging

D．accepting

19.

A．thanks to

B．in addition to

C．regardless of

D．on account of

20.

A．bitter

B．sweet

C．fascinating

D．vague

5 . 语法填空

A dozen Chinese dishes have gained fame during the Games, after athletes shared food being served in the athletes village on TikTok and in media interviews. Some     1    (capture) live taking a bite of the delicacies (美味佳肴) during competitions.

Snowboarder Jenise Spiter has become the “red bean bun girl” in China after the scene was livestreamed     2    (global) that she had a big bite of a crushed (压碎的), flattened bun with a huge smile on her face during the breaks of her competition.

Jutta Leerdam,     3     athlete from the Netherlands, posted her favorite spicy hotchpotch on social media. “This is the famous Chinese snack spicy hotchpotch, which is     4    (healthy) than burger and fries.”

The menu,     5    (develop) over nearly four years, is designed to meet the athletes’ different dietary needs and requirements while also     6    (take) religious diversity     7     consideration, said Song Xueying, operations    8    (direct) of the Yanqing Winter Olympic Village.

The catering services at Beijing Games have won wide appreciation from Olympic family members including International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. “If I     9    (stay) in the village for three days, I would have gained another 10 pounds,” he said     10     visiting the Olympic Village at Yanqing on Feb.11.

6 . Nearly a week after Stephen Hawking passed away, people even in remote parts of the globe showed up in memory of this great British scientist. Mr. Hawking, best known for his study of black holes, is respected for not allowing a physical disability to limit his mental brilliance. Yet in a sign of the state of humanity, he is also being held up as a hero for humble and intense curiosity, not just for the truth about the physical universe but for universal truths.

In 2017, a Texas-based data company called Global Language Monitor found “truth” to be the “word of the year” among English-speakers. A debate over the nature of truth “is currently quite fashionable,” the company’s analysis found. Besides, two runner-up words were “narrative” and “post-truth.” And in a January report about “truth decay (衰败)”, the RAND Corporation, a research organization, found the loss of trust in key institutions has left “people searching for new sources of credible and objective information.”

In countries with a free press, journalists have gathered to fact-check comments by politicians. Harvard University now offers a free one-hour online course to help people “better distinguish good information from bad” in hopes that they will not “share the bad.” Tech giants such as Facebook are being forced to fix truth filters (过滤器) on their online platforms. A report this month for the European Commission says that the online sites “are becoming increasingly important as both enablers and gatekeepers of information.” They should reveal how their algorithms (计算程序) select news items, the report stated.

Many nations have come to see honest information as strategic wealth. “Truth matters”, says Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State. “Relying on Twitter feeds and news reports will prove totally insufficient when policymakers have to make some of the most difficult decisions they face.”

Giants of scientific discovery such as Hawking have long been role models for seeking truth beyond their profession. “In recent years I realized that Hawking has become a symbol for mankind,” says physicist Bobby Acharya. “People looked to him for reason and truth.” The tribute rolling in for the man is actually a widespread desire for light over darkness, for truth over all the “black holes” of misinformation campaigns.

1. What does the “word of the year” in 2017 suggest?

A．A large number of people want solid facts.	B．Stephen Hawking is a great British scientist.
C．People are uninterested about the nature of truth.	D．Global Language Monitor is a popular company.

2. What are tech giants being required to do?

A．Provide users with valuable information.	B．Check the comments made by politicians.
C．Avoid false information on their platforms.	D．Cooperate with the European Commission.

3. The underlined word “tribute” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

A．challenge

B．admiration

C．opportunity

D．unfairness

4. What would be the best title for this text?

A．Gatekeepers of information	B．Giants of scientific discovery
C．The impact the “word of the year” has	D．The light Stephen Hawking leaves behind

7 . I’ve had private health insurance my entire life. My parents were advocates of it and insisted I maintain my insurance after I left home. To be honest, I’d never really thought about it until I married and started a family of my own.

Pregnant with our first child, health insurance afforded me the doctor of my choice and a private room in the hospital of my choice. Many of my friends chose the public system and, although discharged from hospital (出院) much earlier, were provided daily home visits from a midwife (助产士) in the days following birth.

I’m happy to say all our babies were delivered safe and healthy. And while I have no regrets about “going private”, it wasn’t cheap despite my health insurance. My friends, on the other hand, paid nothing.

It wasn’t until my children turned one year old that I began to question whether health insurance was worth the monthly expense.

On the few occasions when the kids needed emergency care, we were referred to a new public hospital nearby and received first-class treatment. At that point we began to wonder if the money we were spending on private health cover could be better used elsewhere. Before I cancelled our insurance, though, I was diagnosed with cancer and that changed everything.

Thanks to my health insurance, the time between diagnosis and my first surgery was less than a week. I could recover in my own hospital room and know the team of specialists who were caring for me would be the same throughout my journey. Ten years later, they still are.

Other cancer survivors I’ve befriended along the way went public with their treatment and have no regrets either, which leads me to this conclusion: there’s no right or wrong when it comes to health insurance. I’ve kept it all these years because I like having peace of mind that my family will receive the treatment they need, when they need it. There are pros and cons for both, and only you can decide what best suits your situation.

1. What did the author think of private health insurance before her marriage?

A．It wasn’t cheap.	B．It was far from enough.
C．It didn’t affect her much.	D．It indeed gave her peace of mind.

2. What happened to the author’s friends choosing the public system?

A．They had harder deliveries.	B．They spent less time in hospital.
C．They had weekly home visits from a midwife	D．They were not well cared for after childbirth.

3. What did the author plan to do before she got cancer?

A．Get money to cover medical expenses.	B．Maintain her private health insurance.
C．Use her insurance money somewhere else.	D．Do something to change the public system.

4. What’s the author’s attitude to insurance now?

A．Choose your best fit.	B．Buy private insurance if you can.
C．Keep both public and private insurance.	D．Spend money carefully when it comes to insurance.

8 . After winning the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, China has been striving to hold a high-tech Winter Games. Now, as the games are approaching, the viewers can learn how innovative technologies are being used, especially in the construction of venues.

For example, how the National Aquatics Center, also known as the “Water Cube”, was turned into the “Ice Cube”. The main change is to turn the four-lane swimming pool into a curling rink (冰场). According to Xinhua, the “transformation” will be completed by using a quick-disassembly (快速拆除的) system. Simply put, the water will be drained (抽干) from the pool and then a convertible (可移动的) frame will be built and put inside. The frame is made up of 2,600 H-shape steel columns and has a height of three meters and a length of two meters, China News Service reported.

Another major technology applied can be seen at the National Speed Skating Oval (NSSO) , known as the “Ice Ribbon”. Traditionally, freon, which harms the ozone layer, was used in the ice-making process. But NSSO adopts an environmentally friendly technology, which uses carbon dioxide to make ice.

For another new venue, the National Sliding Center, the design team was confronted with a tricky problem. The center features a 1.9m sliding track. The center is located on the southern slope of Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing. The sunlight in the southern slope is stronger than that in the northern slope. What’s more the Yanqing competition zone has complex terrain (地形) and strong wind,” Li Bo, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told CGTN. “Wind resistance is the key to the construction of buildings,” Li added.

So they studied the wind filed date in the zone, analyzed the sun’s height in different seasons, and used computer models to simulate (模拟) and determine the awning (遮阳篷) coverage on the track. Finally, the team developed a system combining the terrain and awning to reduce the impact of solar radiation.

1. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “striving” in paragraph 1______?

A．fighting bravely

B．criticizing severely

C．working hard

D．thinking highly

2. What can learn about the frame used to transform the “Water Cube” into the “Ice Cube”.

A．It is as long as three meters.	B．It is in the shape of letter A.
C．It can be taken apart easily.	D．It can turn water into ice automatically.

3. What is the benefit of the technology used to build the National Sliding Center?

A．It can cut carbon emissions significantly.

B．It can absorb harmful chemicals freon releases.

C．It helps athletes quickly familiarize themselves with the complex terrain.

D．It can reduce the impact of strong wind and solar radiation.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A comparison of some Beijing Winter Olympic venues.

B．Technologies used to build the Beijing Winter Olympic venues.

C．China’s mission of holding the Beijing Winter Olympics.

D．The difficulties of venue transformation for the Beijing Winter Olympics.

9 .

Red Sorghum	Mo Yan (Author), George Backman (Narrator), Howard Goldblatt (translator) The acclaimed novel of love and resistance during late 1930s China by Mo Yan, winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature. Spanning three generations, this novel of family and myth is told through a series of flashbacks that describe events of shocking horror set against a landscape of gemlike beauty, as the Chinese battle both Japanese invaders and each other in the turbulent (动荡的) 1930s.
--------------------------------------------------------------Product details--------------------------------------------------------------

Listening Length                                 15 hours and 25 minutes
Audible.com Release Date                    December 09, 2013
Publisher                                               Audible Studios
Program Type                                        Audiobook
Version                                               Unabridged
Language                                               English
Top reviews from the United States
jklm                    It was interesting and vivid, but not…

This is a ‘history’ of a family recalling various exploits of family members. I liked the realism but the jumping about backwards and forwards from decade to decade makes me confused.

There is a distinct lack of ideals or kindness, but it did lead me to reflect on the charm that gang leaders can have. So it was interesting and vivid, but not a page turner or a pleasant read.

K.N.R.                    A New Classic

War cannot destroy all. This family stretches three generations and the bonds are as strong as the sorghum, though perhaps suffering from storms. His style of writing is very pretty, sometimes too much and sometimes just perfect. The novel switches lawlessly back and forth. The use of third-person always enables the writing to adjust to different scenes with ease. The only bad part is the end. Mo Yan tries too hard to force a feeling of filial (孝顺的) devotion and ancestral respect on the reader. Otherwise it is an exciting, intense book with violence, horror, and shooting. An extraordinary achievement.

1. What do we know about Red Sorghum?

A．It is a non-fiction for those who lived in late 1930s China.

B．George Backman is one of the authors.

C．The novel gives us the story in order of time.

D．It tells the history of three generations struggling during the war-torn time.

2. Which aspect does K.N.R. feel pity for?

A．He/She can’t understand where the novel was heading.

B．The book can only be listened.

C．The author tried hard to show blind respect to parents and ancestors.

D．The war that Chinese people were faces with was too harsh.

3. You are most likely to read this on ______.

A．travel website

B．short video website

C．shopping website

D．news website

10 . 越来越多的学生都拥有自己的智能手机。有些学校十分担心手机可能会给学生带来的危害，主张彻底禁止学生带手机入校。有的教师则希望更加灵活地处理。请你以“Be Smart on Smartphones”为题，用英语写一篇小短文。内容包括：
1. 你的观点；
2. 说明理由。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 短文题目已为你写好。

Be Smart on Smartphones

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