1 . Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Toronto is typically in the spring (April and May) or during the fall (September to early November). At these times, you’ll likely find fewer crowds, cheaper accommodations, and the best weather for sightseeing as it is neither too hot nor too cold.

Getting Around

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) makes it easy to get around the city via many buses, subway, and streetcars. Figuring out how to get where you want to go is easily done using the TTC’s convenient Trip Planner.

Travel Tip

While you may choose to base yourself near many of the city’s main landmarks, it’s also worth taking some time to explore some great neighborhoods that each offer their own unique charms, including colorful Kensington Market, the Junction, Leslieville, and Little India.

Things to Do

Get a Dose of Art & Culture: The Royal Ontario Museum is Canada’s largest museum and showcases everything from art and archaeology to natural science in over 30 galleries. Or, stop by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), one of the largest art museums in North America with a collection of more than 90,000 works of art.

Take in the Views From the CN Tower: High-speed elevators send visitors to the top of the tower in just 58 seconds for full views over the city. You can even try EdgeWalk to experience a hands-free walk around the main pod of the tower, 116 stories above the ground.

Spend a Day in the Distillery District: Explore the historic Distillery District to walk casually among Victorian-era buildings on pedestrian-only cobblestone streets filled with shops, cafes, and restaurants.

1. If a tourist travels to Toronto in October, what is he likely to find?

A．Free attractions.	B．Discounted hotels.
C．Extreme weather.	D．Crowded scenic spots.

2. What’s the main function of the TTC’s Trip Planner?

A．Help people buy tickets.	B．Help tourists in urgent situations.
C．Guide people to their destinations.	D．Introduce scenic spots to tourists.

3. What do we know about the Royal Ontario Museum?

A．It is home to over 90,000 artworks.

B．It’s noted for its Victorian-era buildings.

C．It’s one of the largest museums in Canada.

D．Its displays range from art to natural science.

4. Where may those seeking for adventure and thrill choose to go ?

A．Little India.

B．EdgeWalk.

C．The Junction.

D．The Distillery District.

5. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Planning Your Trip in Toronto

B．Some Hidden Truth about Toronto

C．The Main Tourist Attractions in Toronto

D．The Reasons for the Popularity of Toronto

2 . The Chinese paddlefish (白鲟) living in the Yangtze River was declared extinct (灭绝的), according to a paper from Chinese experts at the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute. Wei Qiwei, an author of the paper, says that the fish has not been seen in the wild since 2003, nor do artificially bred (人工繁殖) individuals exist.

The Chinese paddlefish is one of the world’s largest freshwater fishes, which can grow up to 7 metres long. People call it “the Giant Panda of Rivers” because it is rare and native to China under first-level national protection, and its ancestors date back to more than 100 million years ago.

From the middle of last century, the population of the Chinese paddlefish declined rapidly due to overfishing, habitat degradation (毁坏) and pollution. The construction of Gezhou Dam in 198l on the Yangtze River also created a barrier to the migrating (迁徙) fish, contributing to the sharp decline of it.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China announced a 10-year fishing ban along key areas of the Yangtze River to protect biodiversity in the country’s longest waterway. It started to come into effect this year.

1. What does the author intend to do in the first paragraph?

A．To draw our attention to a ban.	B．To introduce some Chinese experts.
C．To share his experiences in China.	D．To inform us of the Chinese paddlefish.

2. The Chinese paddlefish called “the Giant Panda of Rivers” because          .

A．neither wild nor artificial Chinese paddlefish have been seen

B．it is one of the world’s largest freshwater fishes

C．it is rare and native only to China

D．its ancestors lived as long as the giant panda

3. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．Overfishing.	B．The Chinese paddlefish.
C．Water pollution	D．The construction of Gezhou Dam.

4. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A newspaper article.	B．A public advertisement.
C．A Chinese student’s paper.	D．An expert’s book.

3 . International Literacy (读写能力) Day, also called World Literacy Day, was set in 1966 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The purpose was to help improve the world’s ability to read and give people better opportunities in life.    1    

·Collect Books to Donate

Kids in some poor communities might have difficulty getting chances to read the books they need to improve their skills and become better readers.    2    . Keep an eye out for books that can be donated.

·Tutor (辅导) a Student How to Read and Write

    3    . They can use extra help from a tutor to get skills as well as confidence. Go to the local library or school to find out ways that literacy programs can use extra help with tutoring

·    4    .

In addition to helping someone read locally, it’s also possible to get connected with a literacy organization through the World Literacy Foundation. This organization mainly focuses on helping children from low-income backgrounds.    5    

A．Connect with a Literacy Organization

B．Some children struggle to read and write

C．Collect books for them from used bookstores

D．And it also helps the children to become lifelong readers

E．Here are tips about how to celebrate International Literacy Day

4 . Seba Stephens is only 10 years old, but he’s a very talented musician. Before he turned three, his parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday. “Drums!” (鼓) he answered. His parents weren’t sure, but after seeing him play the drums at a local music store, they decided he was serious. They bought him a set of junior drums. It was a huge step. “He didn’t stop playing-ever”, says his dad, Everett.

But soon Seba grew unhappy, he couldn’t get his junior drums to make the sounds that the famous drummer Copeland made. Therefore, his parents bought him a set of professional drums and sent him to a drum teacher. Just a few months later, his teacher reported that Seba was learning extremely quickly and needed a higher level of training. He was still four.

His father encouraged him to explore music in other ways. In 2020, Seba got special permission to join a summer guitar online program at Berklee College of Music as an 8-year-old. To keep up, he had to practice 36 hours a week. After the busy summer, Everett thought Seba might want a break. However, Seba asked his parents to home-school him so that he could continue the program during the school year. Seba did school work in the morning. In the afternoon he worked on music. And at night, he still worked on music.

Recently, Seba earned a professional certificate (证书) in music through the Berklee Online program.

1. What did Seba want for his birthday?

A．Drums.	B．Music lessons.
C．A guitar.	D．A music book.

2. Who does the underlined word “his” refer to in Paragraph 2?

A．Seba’s.	B．Copeland’s.
C．Seba’s parent’s.	D．Seba’s teacher’s.

3. Seba needed a higher level of training because

A．he grew very worried	B．he failed to hear the sounds
C．he bought a new drum	D．he was learning extremely quickly

4. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Seba joined a summer camp.	B．Seba worked hard on music.
C．Seba did school work at home.	D．Seba graduated from a college.

5. How did Seba earn a professional certificate in music?

A．By going to a famous college.	B．By getting special permission.
C．Through the Berklee Online program.	D．Through the lessons given by his parents.

5 . Come and join us in the project. You’ll learn diving (潜水) to improve your existing skills and you’ll be volunteers for the international ocean clean-up operation at the same time. After you’ve made contributions to removing rubbish from the ocean, you’ll be rewarded (奖励) with the opportunity to enjoy the best beach of Barcelona.

The project includes the following activities :

Activity 1 You’ll practice diving in the shallows for beginners, and challenge deeper waters for the advanced divers.

Activity 2 You’ll be tasked with carryingthe net bags to collect plastic waste and old fishing nets in the ocean.

Activity 3 You will analyze (分析), weigh, and document the rubbish, then record the data in the diving station.

In the morning you will go to the marina (头) to join the diving team. You’ll dive for the majority of the morning, then look for plastic waste, old fishing nets and any other rubbish. In the afternoon, you’ll work on the rubbish you collect for about an hour. The rest of the day is free for you to relax on the beach of Barcelona.

1. What is the aim of the project besides diving?

A．To learn swimming skills.	B．To clean up the ocean.
C．To experience the life on the sea.	D．To take a visit to Barcelona.

2. What will you do in Activity 1?

A．Practice diving.	B．Go fishing.
C．Collect waste.	D．Weigh rubbish.

3. How many activities are there for the project?

A．2.	B．3.
C．4.	D．5.

4. When will you go to the marina to join the diving team?

A．In the morning.	B．In the afternoon.
C．In the evening.	D．At night.

5. What will you do on the rest of the day?

A．Challenge deeper waters.	B．Carry the net bags.
C．Analyze your findings.	D．Relax on the beach.

6 . Our mother has to leave home every day before we go to school. She has to walk twelve blocks to take the bus to work. We think it’s terrible that there is no bus that comes closer to our street.

I said to my mother, “This is a public transportation system. It is our system. It should come closer to our home. I do not want you to walk that far to get to the bus.” She agreed, but she said it would take more than one family to get the bus line to change. I told my mother I would ask my teacher about it. We could do a study and maybe start a petition (请愿书).

My teacher liked the idea. He said we could do the survey. So our class surveyed all our parents. We collected our survey data and made a table. We found that 90% of all the parents would use the bus more if it was easier to get to. We also found that only 20% of the parents could get to it easily, just by walking five blocks. For all the others, it took between 6 and 12 blocks.

We made a map to show how the bus route (路线) could be changed to reach people in our community more easily. Then my teacher called the alderman (市议员) to see if we could meet to talk about our study.

The alderman was impressed. She said we had done a really good job of thinking out the problem and a solution. She promised she would talk with the head of the transportation system about it.

Now my mother can leave later, and she only has to walk four blocks to get to the bus. When she leaves in the morning, she always says, “Son, I’m so glad you got the bus route changed.”

1. According to the first two paragraphs, the author wanted to ______.

A．get the public transportation system improved

B．walk with his mother to the bus stop

C．invite more families to take the bus

D．ask his teacher about a study plan

2. What did the author and his classmates find in the survey?

A．90% of the parents took the bus to work because it was easier to get to.

B．20% of the parents lived within five blocks to the bus stop.

C．Most parents used to wait for the bus to pick them up.

D．Only a few parents sent their kids to school by bus.

3. What does the underlined word “impressed” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Worried.	B．Annoyed.
C．Moved.	D．Relaxed.

4. What can we learn from the author’s experience?

A．We should take notice of our family life.

B．We should communicate with others.

C．The harder we study, the greater progress we’ll make.

D．As long as we make efforts, we’ll make a difference.

7 . September 5 is the “Charity Day” in China. It started because of China’s charity law, which came into effect seven years ago. This year, China has witnessed how technology plays a bigger role in the country’s charity career.

There are over 85 million disabled people in China. With the development of technology in the country, more charity organizations and people have realized the importance of using it to help people in need.

Huang Shuai is the director of Chuangshan Community. He is running special projects to create mobile apps and provide help for people with physical challenges. “For a lot of disabled people, daily actions that are necessary in today’s world, like using a mouse, typing on keyboards or using smartphones, can be very hard to finish,” he said. In Chuangshan Community, many of the volunteers are middle school students. They try their best to solve the problem for people in local charity houses.

Tech professionals have realized that technology is a game changer in the world of charity. Tencent started a charity activity called “99 Giving Day” and set up programs for donations to deal with all kinds of challenges that cause problems for the local and international community. They’ve offered all kinds of tech kits (装备) and cloud services to many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) , local communities and colleges. Engineers can go and work as technology officers at NGOs and provide hands-on technology support.

Technologies, especially those that can be used by NGOs, and disabled people, will not only make our lives more convenient, but will also bring power and courage to people and connect our communities together.

1. What does the underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refer to?

A．Organization.

B．Charity.

C．Development.

D．Technology.

2. What do the students mainly do in Chuangshan Community?

A．They help do cleaning.	B．They show their talent.
C．They talk with the disabled.	D．They provide technology support.

3. Why have tech professionals realized technology is a game changer in the world of charity?

A．Technology has brought trouble to the disabled.

B．Technology has entered people’s everyday life.

C．Disabled people tend to resist new technology.

D．Many people can’t afford new technology.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Kindness Goes Further	B．Charity, a Game Changer
C．Charity And Technology	D．Technology Brings Us Convenience

8 . Here are four books for you and your children. Pick anyone you like!

Football with Dad   by Frank Berrios

After watching the big game on TV every Sunday, a boy and his dad head outside to throw around a football like their favorite players. With its focus on playing safe and having fun. Football With Dad is the perfect way to introduce your little reader to the game of football.

There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer

Mayer Fear of the dark often brings people another fear, like having a monster (怪物) under your bed. This story uses clever thinking to show children how to do with their fear during the night. And it does have helped lots of children overcome their fear of the dark.

Room on the Broom   by Julia Donaldson

The story has a great message of friendship. A witch (女巫) is happily flying around on her broom when the wind blows away her hat, then her bow, and then her wand. Luckily, a helpful animal finds her missing belongings each time. .

7 Days till Ice Cream   by Bernardo Feliciano

Jerron, A. J. , and Cha are so excited about ice cream day! But sometimes, the ice cream car drives down a different street. Can they work together to control their car right to their house? This fun, easy-to-read story also shows us problem-solving and hands-on activities that your children will love!

1. What is the book Football With Dad about?

A．How to enjoy an exciting football game.	B．How to play football.
C．How to be a father.	D．How to get kids to be athletic.

2. Which book is about courage?

A．Football with Dad.	B．There’s an Alligator Under My Bed.
C．Room on the Broom.	D．7 Days till Ice Cream.

3. Who writes about friendship?

A．Frank Berrios.	B．Mercer Mayer.
C．Julia Donaldson.	D．Bernardo Feliciano.

4. Which of the following can be used to describe Jerron, A. J. , and Cha?

A．Boring.

B．Responsible.

C．Sensitive.

D．Intelligent.

9 . If you are someone who suffers from exam anxiety, you are not alone. Some levels of stress are normal, and they do serve a purpose. Stress can improve your school performance, encourage you to think more quickly and get you to study more efficiently. However, high levels of stress and anxiety have harmful effects on both your mental health and performance. Fortunately, there are things you can do to try and relieve exam anxiety.

Simply being aware of what is causing your anxiety can help you reduce exam anxiety. Take some time to think about what could be causing your anxiety. Once you know the causes, you will be clear about how to treat it.

Revision is about revisiting things you have learned before, not teaching yourself a new topic. If you feel you are really behind, you could turn to a private teacher. For example, you are struggling with English, and you have no idea how to begin your revision, then an English teacher is advisable.

Maybe you have been fine the whole time, and you haven’t felt any anxiety. Then you walk into the exam hall, and it rushes over you. Firstly, make sure that you do everything to keep you physically comfortable. Have you been to the toilet? Are you too hot or too cold?

Then take some deep breaths. Remember that most people will be nervous; it’s natural. So just focus on your exam.

1. What is NOT included in the advantages some levels of stress bring?

A．Stop serving your real purpose.	B．Improve your school performance.
C．Inspire you to think more quickly.	D．Help you to study more efficiently.

2. If you feel anxious some day, you can treat it by ______.

A．helping yourself for some time	B．taking some time to stay calm
C．finding out the causes	D．thinking about the type of problem

3. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?

A．What you have learnt before.	B．What revision really means.
C．How to teach yourself a new thing.	D．How to turn to a class teacher.

4. We know from the last paragraph that exam anxiety is ______.

A．comfortable

B．necessary

C．surprising

D．natural

10 . The only science fiction that ever really caught my attention when I was growing up, besides Star Trek and Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, was the novel Contact by Carl Sagan. When I was 15, I saw the 1997 film version of this. Later, as a 17­-year-­old adapting to my first semester (学期) at university, I read the book. Contact eventually became the gateway for me to try more popular science books.

One thing that interested me was the bitter fights the researchers got into with one another about their different ways of measuring the expansion rate of space­time. On second thoughts, maybe this was a lesson I was supposed to draw from Contact, but, at the time, I didn’t regard such politics as a scientist problem. Instead, what caught my attention was the portrayal of Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway, a scientist who searched for alien intelligence. In the film version, Ellie is seen listening to space using a pair of headphones connected to the Very Large Array (VLA)—a real facility in New Mexico.

Astronomers don’t really do this for the purposes of actual research because there is rarely any point. This is the kind of detail that is unimportant for the film of Contact, but how it portrays radio astronomy is one of the inaccuracies I occasionally hear scientists complain about. I was lucky enough to observe the behaviour of some water molecules (分子) in the Orion nebula (猎户座星云) using the VLA for my third­year lab course. We didn’t listen to the data. Instead, we processed it so that we could look at it.

That was probably the only time I ever excelled in the lab, and I was so excited to be a real­life Ellie Arroway. Later, I was forced to think more about the human aspects of my working experience. I witnessed unnecessarily heated arguments between scientists, complete with shouting and chalkboard punching (用拳猛击). But, thankfully, Contact had not only introduced me to the idea of radio astronomy as a possible career path, it had also given me a road map for remaining calm in the confused conflict of astronomical wonder and human politics.

1. What can be learned about the author in his teenage years?

A．He watched Contact’s film version in his freshman year.

B．His interest in science was inspired by Contact.

C．He read a wide range of science fiction books.

D．His favourite science fiction author was Robert Heinlein.

2. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Detecting the sound of space.	B．Searching for alien intelligence.
C．Communicating with non­experts.	D．Visiting the VLA in New Mexico.

3. Why does the author mention his third­year lab course?

A．To demonstrate his strong interest in lab projects.

B．To explain why scientists sometimes make complaints.

C．To show his observations had achieved positive results.

D．To prove the film of Contact presented radio astronomy incorrectly.

4. What lesson did Contact teach the author?

A．How to grasp career opportunities.

B．How to get an excellent score on a lab course.

C．How to deal with conflicts between scientists.

D．How to explain the science of radio astronomy.