1 . Smartwatches and fitness trackers (健身追踪器) have gained popularity recently. These tools can record your daily steps, heart rates, etc.     1    . If yes, it might be a sign that you’re addicted to your fitness tracker.

    2    . If you keep setting unrealistic daily goals that involve working out for too long, and if you begin to ignore friends and responsibilities to make time for your workout, then you’re most probably addicted to your fitness tracker.

It’s a struggle to overcome the addiction to fitness trackers.     3    . For example, the number in your smart watch showing how far you’ve come can give you a sense of achievement.

Of course, failing to meet your daily goal can be discouraging. You might focus on your shortcoming rather than your progress. Another problem is that you might find yourself paying too much attention to the step number rather than how your body feels.     4    .

Therefore, if you’re spending too much time looking at your smartwatch, limit your daily step count to a comfortable level.     5    . For example, concentrating on your hobbies or socializing with friends can be a great way to keep your mind on other things.

A．How can you tell whether you’re addicted to your fitness tracker?

B．Actually this addiction to step count can be risky, mentally and physically.

C．Don’t overuse your smartwatch.

D．However, do you find yourself checking your steps and heart rates too often?

E．After all, reaching a daily step count can be so appealing.

F．Besides, you can find other things to do that don’t involve checking your fitness tracker.

G．It doesn’t covey what you’re really feeling.

2 . Four Practical Ways to Improve Yourself

Are you someone who likes to grow? Do you constantly seek to improve yourself and become better? Here are some ways to self-improve.

Read a book every day.     1     The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to.What are some books you can start reading to enrich yourself? Some books are very useful, such as Think and Grow Rich, Who Moved My Cheese, 7 Habits.

Pick up a new hobby. Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up?     2     Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby.

    3     Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to how we want to tap into them.With all the friends surrounding you, you can find many things you can learn from them.

Show kindness to people around you.    4     In fact, most of us don’t show enough kindness to people around us. Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love. Now start showing more kindness to the people around you, and see how they react.    5     Chances are you will feel even better than yourself.

A．Learn from your friends.

B．Speak to your friends if you need to.

C．You can never be too kind to someone.

D．Often go to the library with a list of books.

E．Books are concentrated sources of wisdom.

F．Besides, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others.

G．You can learn a new sport, such as rock climbing, football, or ice skating.

3 . Our school is going to add different kinds of labor courses. The courses which will start from next Wednesday can help you get some practical skills.

Enjoying a Good Meal

Do you want to be a good cook? If you are interested in cooking, here is a chance. You needn’t bring any materials to the classroom. The only condition is that you should be free from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm every Thursday.

Planting Your Hope

This course is special because teachers show you skills out of classrooms. Students will plant flowers, vegetables and some trees with teachers’ help. If weather allows, you can take the course every day between 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm from September 20 to October 31.

Experiencing Farm Life

Have you ever dreamed of feeding animals or picking fresh fruit on the farm?This course can make your dream come true. You will take the course from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm every Friday this term.

Click here to visit our school’s website to know more about the labor courses.

1. What do you have to do if you want to learn to be a cook?

A．Bring some cooking materials.	B．Have classes out of classrooms.
C．Have some experience in cooking.	D．Be free from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Thursday.

2. How often does the course “Experiencing Farm Life” take place?

A．Once a week.

B．Twice a week.

C．Once a month.

D．Once a term.

3. Who may the text be written for?

A．Parents.

B．Students.

C．Farmers.

D．Teachers.

4 . Although I love watching Olympic diving, I’ve never understood why athletes hurry off to the showers and then proceed to relax in a hot tub (热水浴池) after each dive. They’re already wet. They’re only in the pool for a handful of seconds, so it’s not like they need to get cleaned up. And doesn’t taking a shower serve the same purpose as sitting in a hot tub?

Actually, that’s what Olympic divers usually do between dives as they know very well about the importance of warm-ups and cool-downs. So, what’s the actual reason?

As it turns out, showers and hot tubs are used pretty interchangeably by the swimming pool. However, there is a need for both. First, let’s start with why divers need to take a shower between dives. It has to do with body temperature and keeping their muscles relaxed. As you can imagine, practicing dives in the pool, then having to keep your body warm in a shower, and then jumping off a 10-meter platform and into cold water couldn’t be comfortable for anyone. Going back and forth between these warm and cool temperatures can cause a diver’s muscles to tense or cramp up (痉挛), which can lead to injuries to the muscles. Showers allow an Olympic diver to recover and prevent that.

In that way, showers and hot tubs serve the same purpose. A hot tub is generally used if you have a bit more time between dives and have already stretched. The shower walls on the pool deck can typically provide enough space for more divers at the same time, and they’re especially helpful for athletes who need to stretch or who only have a few minutes between dives. Just like Olympic swimmers depend on thick clothes to keep their muscles warm, Olympic divers rely on these methods to stay loose. If you ask me, it’s not a bad way to pass the time!

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

A．Prefer.

B．Continue.

C．Tend.

D．Stop.

2. Why do the athletes need showers after diving?

A．To fully clean their body.	B．To rest and wait for the results.
C．To avoid possible muscle injuries.	D．To stop themselves from catching a cold.

3. What does the last paragraph suggest?

A．Hot tubs are as important as showers for divers.

B．Olympic swimmers need to stay warm using hot tubs.

C．Hot tubs are often used by divers having little time between divers.

D．The shower walls are designed for divers who have already stretched.

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

A．To provide some diving advice for us.

B．To compare cold showers with the hot bath.

C．To explain the difference between warm-ups and cool-downs.

D．To tell us why divers take a shower and sit in a hot tub after diving.

5 . Looking to make the biggest impact during a crisis? This guide will help you get the necessary resources to the right people quickly and easily, as well as help you prepare for a potential emergency.     1    .

Create a fundraiser.

Put simply, more people equals more money, and creating your own fundraiser is a great way to encourage people who want to help. If you’re dealing with a local natural disaster, start by raising money through your community     2    , on the organization’s site or through an app; thus, you won’t have to deal with transferring donations through your personal account.

Collect supplies.

    3    . Start by checking an organization’s website; they often have lists of what is needed and where to send it. Or call community offices in the affected area to see what specific needs they have.

Donate your skills or time.

You can contact your local emergency services, to see if they are seeking a helping hand. If you don’t have a particular skill, offer your time to help with clean up afterward. However, always call or check online first.     4    . In reality, you will be adding one more person to the already strained situation.

    5    .

One of the most helpful things you can do in a natural disaster is to prepare yourself ahead of time. Not only will these preventive measures protect you, but they will also limit damage in case disaster strikes. The first step is to find out which disasters are most likely to affect you. The second step is stocking up on essential emergency items.

A．Learn to cooperate with others

B．Prepare for a natural disaster in advance

C．Here is how to help those affected by natural disasters

D．Designate a charity to receive the funds so people can donate directly

E．If you’re trying to figure out how to help with natural disasters, you’re in the right place

F．It’s best to take a little extra time to figure out what is really in short of

G．Do not go as an individual volunteer to a disaster zone expecting to find ways to help

6 . What makes people so special? Tool use, self-consciousness, language, and culture are high on the list, but in fact all of these characteristics can be found elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Humans and apes are close relatives, so it is perhaps not surprising that chimpanzees use tools or that gorillas (大猩猩) have a sense of fair play, even rejecting carrots (which they normally accept) when they see their neighbors getting grapes. But the qualities that we often think of as uniquely human exist not just on land, but in the ocean as well.

Among the invertebrates, octopuses (八爪鱼) are known for their intelligence, even exhibiting evidence of playfulness, tool use, and personality. But these skilled predators live alone and consequently lack culture. Dolphins, on the other hand, are large-brained, long-living, social- group-based predators, and it is here that we find the greatest similarity to human-like culture and awareness.

Culture depends on the ability of animals to pass on things they have learned to others. Many animals have culture in this sense, but what sets dolphins apart is what they pass on. Some bottlenose dolphins hold sponges in their mouths that they use as tools to sweep for fish hiding on the ocean floor. This ability is handed down through generations (especially in females), with some families — grandmother, mother, and daughter — all feeding in this highly specialized way.

Another characteristic that dolphins share with humans is their ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. When facing a mirror, most animals behave as though they are interacting with another individual. Even in humans, the ability to recognize that the image in a mirror is oneself does not occur before the age of 18 months. Dolphins not only recognize themselves, but if a black mark is put on the body of a dolphin, it will spend extra time at the mirror to look at the mark.

1. The example of gorillas rejecting carrots shows they ________.

A．are not easy to fool	B．prefer fruit to vegetables
C．have a special taste for food	D．have an awareness of equality

2. What do octopuses lack compared with dolphins?

A．Cooperation.	B．Intelligence.
C．Tool using ability.	D．Fun-loving spirits.

3. What makes dolphin culture special?

A．They tend to hunt in groups.

B．Their hunting skills are passed down.

C．Their learning environment is favourable.

D．Their families are typically female-controlled.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Dolphins enjoy looking at their own reflection in the mirror.

B．Dolphins are as intelligent as a typical 18-month-old human baby.

C．Dolphins are generally regarded as the most advanced non-human species.

D．Dolphins’ ability to recognize their own reflection is a higher-order mental skill.

7 . China is one of the world’s ancient civilizations and has the earliest outstanding bronze casting technology. Here we’ve created a list of 4 museums where you can gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese bronze.

Sanxingdui Museum

Address: Sanxingdui Ruin Site, 133 Xian Road, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan province

Hours: Comprehensive Gallery (the first exhibition hall): 8:30-18:00; Bronze Gallery (the second exhibition hall): 8:30-18:30. Last tickets sold at 17:00. Closed on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve

Ticket booking: 0838-5651526

General admission: Gallery ticket 80 yuan

Note: Children shorter than 1.2m (including 1.2m) can visit the gallery free of charge. The ticket must be used on the day it is sold and authorizes one visit to each gallery.

National Museum of China

Address: East side of Tian’anmen Square, Dongcheng district, Beijing

Hours: 8:30-17:00 (no entry after 16:30)

General admission: Free (passport required for entry), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)

E-mail: webmaster@chnmuseum.cn

Shanghai Museum

Address: 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai

Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)

E-mail: webmaster@shanghai-museum.org

General admission: free (a max of 8, 000 admitted daily)

Hunan Museum

Address: 50 Dongfeng Road, Changsha, Hunan province

Hours:   9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) and the eve of Chinese New Year

Tel: (+86-731) 8415833, 84475933

E-mail: web@hnmuseum.com

General admission: Free (passport required for entry)

1. Which museum should you choose for your family to visit next Monday?

A．Sanxingdui Museum	B．Hunan Museum
C．Shanghai Museum	D．National Museum of China

2. What do these museums in this passage have in common?

A．They are all free of charge.	B．They all set a deadline for entry.
C．They all lie in the south of China.	D．They can all be available through E-mail.

3. In which part of a newspaper can you most probably read this passage?

A．Science

B．Today’s News

C．Entertainment

D．History and Culture

8 . It is common to see most live streamers (主播) sitting in front of a desk in a well-decorated room. But Zeng Qinghuan, a 30-year-old from Xinhua County in Loudi, Hunan, has turned her whole village into alive streaming set. Her goal is to use e-commerce to help her people live a better life.

Known as “Xiangmei Xinbao” on Douyin, Zeng now has more than 3 million followers. One of her videos about traditional ways of planting and harvesting rice has attracted more than 300,000 followers.

At the beginning, she didn’t make any money. Zeng’s parents didn’t give her any support until she could stand on her own feet and help people sell their products. She has now sold local agricultural products worth tens of millions of yuan, like fermented tofu, preserved pork and dried sweet potatoes.

“I’m a daughter of the great mountains. I can also be a contributor to rural development in this new times,” she said.

Zeng hopes her experience can encourage more young people to return to their rural hometowns and start their own businesses. In 2021, after she became a deputy (代表) of the Loudi Municipal People’s Congress, she put forward a proposal to ensure that “each village has one product and one live streaming host of its own”, She plans to help cultivate 100 social media influencers from her county within three years, and two villages have taken part in the project. “I believe that the rural areas will become a big stage, and being a farmer will be seen as a respectable job too,” said Zeng.

1. What does Zeng mainly introduce on Douyin?

A．Fashion trends in her village.	B．The education in her hometown.
C．Traditional customs of her village.	D．Agricultural products of her hometown.

2. What is Zeng going to do according to the last paragraph?

A．Invite more young people to her hometown.

B．Expand her business to make more money.

C．Train more social media influencers in her county.

D．Produce more agricultural products to help the farmers.

3. Which of the following best describes Zeng?

A．Responsible and lovely.	B．Gifted and rich.
C．Caring and fashionable.	D．Down-to-earth and ambitious.

4. In which column of a newspaper will you probably find the article?

A．Lifestyle.

B．Travel.

C．Science Study.

D．World Today.

9 . How to Make Friends at a New School

Starting with a new school can be difficult. Everything seems to be different, and you don’t even know where to go for your own classes.     1     However, if you use these skills, you can quickly turn some of those strangers into friends.

Be yourself

    2     If some people don’t accept you, they’re not the kind of friends you need. People often stay together because they have similar interests. For example, someone who does a lot of sports may make friends with those who also run or swim a lot.

    3    

Remember to be nice to the people you meet at your new school. If you think that you will say something that may make them feel sad, do not say anything and just nod your head if they talk to you. Also, remember to be as helpful as possible!

Believe in yourself

A smile goes a long way. When you walk in the halls, don’t keep your eyes on the floor. Raise your head and make eye contact with other people.     4     Introduce yourself. Tell them your name and where you’re from.

Remember people’s names

You like it when people use your name, and so do other people.     5     Besides, ask them in a kind way if they have a nickname. You’d be surprised how often this may come in handy.

A．Be friendly to others.

B．Making new friends can be hard, too.

C．Join after-school activities like

D．Never change what you are to try and fit in.

E．If you see someone you know, smile or say “Hi”.

F．People may become angry if you just begin by saying ”Hey“ each time.

G．Don ‘t sit at the back of the classroom where other people don’t notice you!

10 . Elements of Latin have made their way into many western countries. Data varies, but as much as 70% of words in English have a Latin or Greek root. By learning more about these roots and how they combine (结合) to create words, you will have an advantage in understanding new words, even if you’ve never seen them before.

The great thing is that you’re not learning the whole language with its grammar. You just need to memorize some parts of the vocabulary that you often see in English. So how do word roots work?

Every word has a root. This part contains the key to a word’s meaning. Take the word “happy”, for example. This word only contains the root, which means full of joy. Some words, however, have extra parts. We call these affixes (词缀), including prefixes, the part attached before the root, and suffixes, the part attached behind the root. Based on the additional meaning of the prefixes and suffixes, the meaning of the final word will be shaped to mean something new.

Take the word “autobiography” for example. The root is “bio”, meaning life. You may have noticed that many words with “bio” have something to do with life or living beings—biology, biography, and so on. When the suffixes “graph”, meaning to write, is added to it, it means a story about someone’s or something’s life. “Auto” means by oneself. Altogether, an “autobiography” is a story about a person’s life, written by the person himself or herself.

In a word, a better grasp of word roots can make you understand the English language better, and will help you with your vocabulary recognition and memory skills.

1. What’s needed to understand new words with roots?

A．A good understanding of Latin or Greek.	B．A full understanding of grammar.
C．The ability to recognize different parts of words.	D．The ability to speak various Western languages.

2. What do we know about the roots?

A．It can’t form a word by itself.	B．It is a necessary part of a word.
C．It is more important than affixes.	D．It has a relatively simple meaning.

3. What is the meaning of “biochemistry”?

A．The science that is related to living things.

B．A person who does research about chemistry.

C．A person who does research about living things.

D．The study of chemical reactions occurring in living things.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Secret of understanding new words.	B．Latin’s way into Western language.
C．Amazing power of affixes.	D．Tips on language exams.