1 . With international travel again on the table, picking a destination for your school trip abroad is exciting and probably a little daunting. Here we have selected a few of our top destinations to inspire you and help you narrow down your options. Through exposure to different cultures, students will gain a more comprehensive understanding of the world and an appreciation for other peoples’ ways of life, not to mention that traveling with your students can be one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences you can have.

Discover the many wonders of Prague

Known for its diverse architecture and world-class museums, Prague is consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Unfolding among well-preserved castles, Baroque and Gothic cathedrals, medieval squares, and captivating bridges, a visit to Prague is guaranteed to be an eye opening and enriching school trip.

Be charmed by the many sides of Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s unique architectural charm is the perfect setting to engage students in history and culture. With a spectacular Gothic UNESCO-listed old town playing host to some of the most dynamic and varied art schools and community projects in the world, you can discover the ancient art of Scottish storytelling, visit unique local arts projects, dance the night way in a traditional Ceilidh (同乐会), and get involved with some fantastic charities.

Soak up the spirit of Liston

For students, Lisbon is the perfect setting for an exciting adventure that includes authentic Portuguese culture, fascinating architecture, and astonishing UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Portugoese people love sharing their unique homeland, so be prepared to be greeted by a friendly smile from a local.

Get sustainability inspiration in Copenhagen

Well-known for being a multicultural center, Copemhagen ls across the globe for the innovative approach to sustainable living — from growing organic produce in many urban greenhouses to promoting cycling culture. This fascinating school trip destination is filled with the newest technologies, sustainable solutions, and symbolic architecture.

1. Which trip best suits art students?

A．Discover the many wonders of Prague.

B．Be charmed by the many sides of Edinburgh.

C．Soak up the spirit of Lisbon.

D．Get sustainability inspiration in Copenhagen.

2. What do the four destinations have in common?

A．The locals are all very friendly.

B．Students have an opportunity to visit natural sites.

C．Students can have a multicultural experience.

D．These trips allow students to get close to different architecture.

3. Who is the text intended for?

A．Educators.	B．Students.
C．Parents.	D．Visitors.

2 . 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。

The West Lake, a symbolic attraction in Hangzhou, is regarded as one of the most fascinating sights in China.

The West Lake is divided into five sections by a mountain     1     three causeways (堤坝). Three islands stand in the lake. Two pagodas (塔) face each other across the lake. It is a perfect place for visitors     2     (experience) the lifestyle of local people.

Su Causeway is one of the best-known sites of the West Lake. It is a long causeway with willow trees and other plants     3     either side. When spring comes, the causeway is blanketed by peach blossoms and willow catkins (柳絮)，    4     (create) an especially beautiful scene.

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon is perhaps the most famous. Its image     5     (print) on the one yuan banknotes. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival,     6     the moon shines full and bright in the sky, a candle is lit inside each of the three pagodas on the water. The light from the pagoda windows and the moon     7     (cast) their reflection on the water, hence the name.

Leifeng Pagoda is the oldest     8     (color) bronze pagoda in China. On the top of it, tourists can enjoy the whole view of the West Lake, particularly when the sunset shines over the pagoda. It is also     9     ideal place for photographing.

To admire the lake’s beauty, visitors can walk around it. This way, you can experience     10     (much) of nature.

3 . Mushrooms on a log may each seem like quiet, separate organisms, but they are actually the above-ground fruit belonging to a fungus (真菌)，connected to the large organism by a root network called mycelium (菌丝). Although mushrooms may not seem very talkative either, a new study shows electrical signals travelling through their mycelium network could help the organism communicate.

According to the research, some mushrooms can use electrical impulse (脉冲) to share and process information in their body. When signal activity increases, it creates complicated patterns that may function like words in human speech.

Previous research has found that mushrooms can send electrical signals underground through long, thread-like structures, which expand to form a network of mycelium. It works like nerve cells that send signals to other parts of the human body. Some studies have shown that electrical activity will increase when the mycelium of wood-digesting mushrooms touches blocks, which may indicate that mushrooms can use these impulses to share information about food or injury.

In the new study, four species were analyzed. Researchers listened to the mushrooms’ chat using tiny electrodes (电极) connected to mycelium to measure the power in signal activity. Each result in the activity was organized into several groups and given a linguistic (语言的) and information complexity analysis. The power varied in duration and length, with some lasting up to 21 hours. The electrical points resembled a human vocabulary of up to 50 words. However, only 15 to 20 mushrooms’ words are used frequently.

Mushrooms’ words are also similar in length to human words. The mushroom’s word length averaged over the four species is 5.97, which is of the same range as an average word length in some human languages. For instance, it is 4.8 in English and 6 in Russian.

While the research shows mushrooms can produce patterns of electrical signals, there’s no way to tell what they are talking about, if they are at all. Though comparing the mushroom’s electrical signals to human speech is interesting and notable, some researchers are doubtful. “Though interesting, the interpretation as language seems somewhat overenthusiastic and requires more research,” says Dan Bebber from the University of Exeter.

1. How do mushrooms communicate according to the research?

A．Through their mycelium.

B．Through their nerve cells.

C．Through electrical signals.

D．Through the root network.

2. What do the studies suggest about mushroom communication?

A．It is similar to human speech in several aspects.

B．It is far too complicated to understand anything.

C．It is not impulses that they use to communicate.

D．It is easy to tell the exact information they share.

3. What does Dan Bebber think of “the interpretation as language”?

A．It is simply unquestionable.

B．It is definitely contradictory.

C．It is absolutely groundless.

D．It is not convincing enough.

4. Which magazine is the text probably taken from?

A．Health Guide.	B．Science World.
C．Travel Journal.	D．Business Week.

4 . Deep in the British Library lie the priceless treasures for pop music lovers. Housed across the main building in St Pancras and the Library’s Boston Spa site are more than 350,000 CDs and 250,000LPs (密文唱片) ,as well as around a quarter of a million 78 RPM discs and countless cassette tapes.

Andy Linehan, the Library’s Curator (馆长) of Popular Music Collections, feels he and his team are not only preserving pop, but they’re also honoring history.“One of the British’s Library’s functions is to be the cultural memory of the nation. We do that with books, journals and newspapers and it’s absolutely right that we should also do it with music,“ he said.

The treasures in the British Library rely on donations from record labels, artists and members of the public. As Andy noted,“If you publish a book, newspaper or magazine in the UK, you’re legally obliged to send a copy to the British Library, but that law does not apply to sound recordings.”

Among the treasures are an early voice recording of Florence Nightingale and a cassette tape that was sold at gigs (现场演唱会) in the early1980s by a sixth-form band called On A Friday. There are also old blues, rare LPs from the 1950s and promotional copies of Beatles singles that only had a couple of hundred pressings.

When it comes to preservation, the team is tirelessly transferring music from media that’s vulnerable and digitising (数字化) it for generations to come.“If anyone can save anything from an old tape which is not in very good condition, it’s our engineers. Because they have equipment and know how to play back everything,“ Andy explained.

Private companies and specialists record labels are also trying their best to ensure music is safeguarded for generations to come. Iron Mountain Entertainment Service offers digital transfer and preservation services for music as well as other media. Cherry Red Records Chairman, Iain McNay, said,“It’s about looking after all that material and letting it see the light of day. We’re music fans who are also protectors.”

1. What can we learn about the treasures from paragraph 1?

A．The number is incredibly large.

B．They are all donations from people.

C．They represent different times.

D．They are not open to the public yet.

2. What does Andy think of music preservation?

A．It is technically demanding.

B．It is significant in the long term.

C．It is commercially beneficial.

D．It can boost music composition.

3. Why is“copies of Beatles singles” mentioned in paragraph4?

A．To emphasize the popularity of the band.

B．To reflect the varieties of the collections.

C．To indicate the great value of the treasures.

D．To convey the urgency of music protection.

4. Where does the true value of the preservation lie?

A．It can arouse people’s interest in pop music.

B．It can encourage more people to contribute.

C．It will develop the music industry in Britain.

D．It will be the cultural memory of generations.

5 . Like most foreigners from English-speaking countries, Holt’s first job in China was teaching English in training centers and middle schools. Since November, 2021, he has been a teacher at New Channel, a Beijing-based language training institute. “I teach them theater,” he said.

Holt was very shy as a kid. In the first grade, he was invited to “star” in Romeo and Juliet. He declined. But his teacher insisted on giving him the biggest part. “He gave me the power to empower (给予力量) myself,” Holt explained. He intended to pass on that same feeling. So he studied theater and education at the Evergreen State College in the US, and then went to Asia, first the Republic of Korea, then China.

“Teaching theater and public speaking in China is wonderful, “he said. Training aside, he and his colleagues also adapt Chinese stories, like The Monkey King, into English screenplays for students. “Children literally want to be as dramatic as possible instead of just reciting words,” he said.

But teaching is not all it’s cracked up to be. “The biggest challenge is to get the introverted (内向的) kids-or adults-to speak up,” Holt added. Making the shyest kid the director is one of his methods to build them up. And the change with them is noticeable: students who’d barely utter a word before end up being the loudest person in the room. “I love to see that turnaround,” Holt said.

His future plan is to get as many children as possible to feel more empowered, and “make theater a little bridge” between China and other countries.

Art makes for a universal conversation start. Despite disagreements among different countries, people from different countries can get along well through art. “I think it’s a really powerful thing that we can all share.” he said.

1. How did Holt react when invited to “star” in Romeo and Juliet?

A．He didn’t show interest in the least.

B．He turned it down owing to shyness.

C．He joined in without any hesitation.

D．He wondered if he could play the role.

2. Which of the following does Holt want to convey about theatre?

A．It can give shy children power to speak up.

B．It can remove all barriers between cultures.

C．It can help children overcome any challenge.

D．It can change conventional teaching methods.

3. What does the underlined phrase in the last paragraph mean?

A．Makes up.	B．Contributes to.
C．Takes over.	D．Breaks down.

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．Art appeals to kids in China

B．Theater is to be a trend in teaching

C．Art builds a cultural bridge

D．Theater will make all kids love art

6 . 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。

I first became conscious of my body image last year in fifth grade. One day I was walking by my mirror getting ready for bed and I noticed that my stomach looked big. I started to really hate that and think I was fat even though my family always told me how skinny I was. It wasn’t only my stomach—I started to think my nose was ugly and that my laugh was disgusting. I was even afraid to laugh or smile in public.

Then, in the sixth grade, a popular guy in my class named Luke made it worse. He told his table group that my body looked swollen in skinny jeans. I heard about it from someone else, but then Luke even told me to my face! I couldn’t stop thinking about what Luke had said. Even worse, I started to believe it was true, and I hid my skinny jeans all the way at the bottom of my drawer.

I know I cared too much about what other people said and thought about me. I guess I just wanted to be liked. In fact, I really wish I could have just brushed off comments like that, but I couldn’t change my personality and what I care about that easily.

Luke’s mean comment affected me in a big way. I lost confidence in more than just my body—I started to think that I didn’t matter and that I didn’t have a place in the world. To make it worse, some people also started telling me that I was not meant to be an author, which is what I really want to be. That especially hurt and I started to feel really sad all the time.

I hadn’t really told anyone how I’d been feeling until a couple of months ago when I got a call from my cousin. I’m really close to her, and hearing her voice and laugh made me feel so good inside. I thought about how I used to be that way too, and how I was so sick of feeling sad.

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作答。

Then I started telling her and it all came out.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I went back to my bedroom, I looked at myself in the mirror for a long time.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

As a costume drama A Dream of Splendor     1    (draw) many audiences this summer, the way the heroine Zhao Pan’er makes tea in the drama also attracted much attention. Heytea, a Chinese boutique teahouse chain, recently launched new flavored tea drinks     2    (base) on the recipe from the TV show.

It is well known that China is not only the home of most of the world’s tea,     3    has a series of customs concerning tea making and tea choice according to the seasons. In summer, green tea is highly recommended, for     4    (it) character is “cold” in traditional Chinese medical theories, suitable     5    (calm) the restlessness caused by hot summer.

Since the Southern Song Dynasty, loose leaf green tea     6    (drink) in China. It is said that Emperor Qianlong from the Qing Dynasty was a tea lover and often enjoyed Longjing, the most well-known Chinese green tea produced in Zhejiang province, during his     7    (day) life in summer.     8    Longjing, Chinese green tea has many family members with beautiful and poetic names, such as Yunwu,     9    literally means cloud and mist. When you feel hot and restless, have Chinese green tea and enjoy     10    mouthful of “cool summer”.

8 . People are taught how to speak, but good sentence structure and a wide range of vocabulary words won’t always lead to being understood or understanding others.    1    

The good news is that it’s never too late to learn how to communicate more effectively. The first step is to realize you’ re having communication issues.    2    The following is a list of the top three signs that you need to learn healthier communication skills.

You have the same fights over and over.

Your fights are about the same topic again and again. If this is happening, it means you don’t yet have the skills to resolve conflicts.    3    The fight may end, but it’s only a matter of time before you argue about the same thing again. When you learn how to resolve conflicts, issues don’t pile up or become baggage that weighs down your relationship.

    4    

You don’t want to fight so you try not to bring up subjects that lead only to pain and disconnection. The problem is that avoiding them leads to pain and disconnection anyway. Unless you learn how to have hard conversations productively, you will get more and more disconnected until your relationship is in danger of ending.

You regularly feel misunderstood or unheard.

No matter how hard you try, you don’t feel understood. Perhaps your partner has expressed the same feeling.Over time the disconnected feeling does damage to your relationship. It’s important to learn how to communicate in a better way, so that both you and the other person feel heard and understood.    5    To be heard, your partner will need to learn how to listen. For you, to be able to hear your partner, you will need to do the same.

A．You avoid discussing certain topics.

B．You argue with your partners about some issues.

C．If you can’t resolve issues, they will continue to show up.

D．This requires more than just speaking to your partner or vice versa.

E．Then, you can learn how to communicate in a more productive way.

F．If you leave conflicts unsettled, you will feel disconnected and lonely.

G．Effective communication requires much more than being able to speak.

9 . Before the age of the smartphone, not everyone had cameras and it took skills and a good eye to capture and create a great photograph. Today, with the huge range of camera apps on our smartphones, we’re all amateur photographers, and pretty good ones at that, since the quality of smartphone images now nearly equals that of digital cameras.

The new ease of photography has given us a tremendous appetite for capturing the magical and the ordinary.We are obsessed with documenting everyday moments, whether it’s a shot of our breakfast, our cat—or the cat’s breakfast.

Cameras are everywhere-- a situation that is transforming the way we experience dramatic events. With cameras observing most urban centers, have we gotten to the point where cameras don’t need photographers and photographers don’t even need cameras? When there are political events or natural disasters, it is ordinary citizens with cell phones--not photojournalists—who often provide the first news images. Quality still matters,but it’s less important than what’s relevant and instantly shared.

Before digital images, most people trusted photographs to accurately reflect reality. Yet photography has always more stories than we assume. Each picture is a result of a series of decisions—where to stand, what lens to use, what to leave in and out of the frame. Images can also be colored, brightened, faded, and scratched to make photographs more artistic, or to give them an antique look. Such images may be more useful in communicating how the people behind the camera felt than in documenting what was actually in front of the camera.

It’s not clear whether this flowering of image making will lead to a public that better appreciates and understands images or simply numb us to the deep effects a well-made image can have. But the change is unavoidable. Perhaps we are witnessing the development of a universal visual language, one that could change the way we relate to each other and the world. Of course, as with any language, there will be those who produce poetry and those who make shopping lists.

1. What makes us all amateur photographers?

A．That it takes no skills to take photographs.

B．That cell phones provide great convenience.

C．That we are more attracted to creating images.

D．That professional standards appear to be falling.

2. How are digital cameras changing our life?

A．Photographers don’t need a camera at all.

B．We may get the latest images more easily.

C．Natural disasters can be detected in advance.

D．People pay more attention to the quality of photos.

3. What is Paragraph4 mainly about?

A．The creative functions of camera apps.

B．The attractive features of digital images.

C．The subjective factors behind photographs.

D．The negative reviews about artistic images.

4. What can we learn about“visual language” in the last paragraph?

A．It can be both used in writing poetry and shopping.

B．It will contribute to our ability to appreciate images.

C．It has a great influence on the development of the universe.

D．It offers us a new tool of communication to express ourselves.

10 . Scientists have successfully implanted and integrated human brain cells into newborn rats, creating a new way to study complex psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (精神分裂症), and perhaps eventually test treatments.

Scientists can assemble small sections of human brain tissue made from stem cells in a special container. But in such a container, “neurons(神经元) don’t grow to the size, to which a human neuron in an actual human brain would grow,” said Sergiu Pasca, the study’s lead author from Stanford University. To overcome such restrictions, researchers implanted the groupings of human brain cells, called organoids, into the brains of young rats.

Human neurons have also been implanted into adult rats before, but an animal’s brain stops developing at a certain age, limiting how well implanted cells can integrate. “By transplanting them at these early stages, we found that these organoids can grow relatively large and receive nutrients, and they can cover about a third of a rat’s brain,” said Pasca.

To test how well the human neurons integrated with the rat brains and bodies, air was blown out across the animals’ whiskers, which prompted electrical activity in the human neurons. That showed that external stimulation of the rat’s body was processed by the human brain tissue.

The scientists then conducted another test in the opposite order. They implanted human brain cells which could respond to blue light, and then trained the rats to expect a “reward” of water from a pipe when blue light shone on the neurons via a cable in the animals’ brain. After two weeks, they found pulsing the blue light sent the rats scrambling to the pipe.

The team has now used the technique to show that organoids developed from patients with Timothy syndrome grow more slowly and display less electrical activity than those from healthy people.

Tara Spires-Jones, a professor at the University of Edinburgh’s UK Dementia Research Institute, said the work “has the potential to advance what we know about psychiatric disorders.”

1. Why did scientists research on rats instead of the special container?

A．Because psychiatric disorders are too complex.

B．Because rats also suffer similar psychiatric illnesses.

C．Because it limits the growth of human brain neurons.

D．Because human brain neurons grow too quickly in it.

2. What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

A．Rats’age has a significant influence on the research.

B．Human brain cells can’t be implanted into adult rats.

C．Rats’ brain won’t develop if they receive human neurons.

D．Human neurons can grow larger in adult rats’ brain than young rats’.

3. Why did the researchers carry out one more test?

A．To train rats to respond to external stimulations.

B．To show similarities between rats and human tissues.

C．To confirm human brain cells could grow well in rats’ brains.

D．To check whether signals could be sent back to rats’ body.

4. What is the significance of the research?

A．It can advance more experiments on rats.

B．It can further our study of psychiatric illnesses.

C．It can provide some useful experimental methods.

D．It can promote our knowledge of human brain cells.