1 . Crime fiction books have been popular with readers for many decades-so popular, in fact, that at a recent London Book Fair sales of the genre (类型) overtook general fiction for the first time ever, a development that had been widely anticipated. Commercial success, of course, does not impress everyone and there are those who believe crime fiction should not be held in such high regard. Well-known in this group is Sebastian Franklin, who has argued that most crime fiction books look more like crossword puzzles than literature. However, increasingly this is a minority opinion as crime fiction is becoming recognized as a rich and dynamic literary genre in around the world.
Crime writing really came to the public’s notice in the 1920s and 1930s with the books of the British author Agatha Christie. Christie was a productive writer, publishing more than 60 detective novels over a 50-year period, beginning in 1920.
Without a doubt, there are certain elements that tend to be repeated in Christie’s books. The stories generally focus on a well-off circle of people, whose peaceful lives are thrown into chaos by an unexplained crime. The location is often a restricted space of some sort: a train, an island, a boat, or a village. This is quite different, for example, to the world of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who often has the entire city of London as his hunting ground.
The books are also action-packed just like today’s most popular thrillers (惊悚小说). Christie mastered the art of the page-turner: events unfold so quickly and unpredictably that we keep reading to find out what happens next. The most significant consequence is that it is so simple to overlook vital clues.
It is worth reading a Christie book a second time just to notice how carefully she hides crucial information about the criminal’s identity.
A survey of contemporary crime writing shows that Agatha Christie’s legacy (遗产) is more important now than at any time previously, at the very point when crime writing has become the most popular of all book genres.
1. What does Sebastian Franklin think of crime fiction books?| A．They are overrated. | B．They are a rich literary genre. |
| C．Their readers are a minority group. | D．Their commercial success is impressive. |
| A．Contrast Christie’s different techniques. | B．Reveal a weakness of Christie’s writing style. |
| C．List some features of a typical Christie story. | D．Identify a famous writer important to Christie. |
| A．Lengthy but understandable. | B．Attractive and exciting. |
| C．Simple and loosely-organized. | D．Quickly-written but popular. |
| A．The Influence of Crime Writer Agatha Christie | B．The Surprising Rise of Crime Fiction Books |
| C．Agatha Christie Enjoys Growing Wealth and Fame | D．Crime Writers Sharpen Their Writing Skills |
2 . After a booming summer season, the tourism market has seen an upsurge (激增) in both the supply and demand sides, especially because the coinciding (重合) of Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day resulted in an “eight-day Golden Week” holiday.
Before the holiday, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism took multiple measures to enhance the quality of cultural and tourism products, such as improving products on the theme of family reunion. For the benefit of businesses and the public, it has extended financial support for “cultural and tourism consumption action plan” in a hundred cities and districts which provides consumer subsidies (补贴), ticket discounts.
The tourism industry saw an explosive upsurge during the eight-day holiday. The railways, before the holiday, said they expected to record about 190 million passenger trips. The airlines, on the other hand, expected more than 21 million passenger trips during the holiday.
And Ctrip reported more than a four times increase in domestic hotel searches compared with the same period in 2022 and 120 percent more than the 2019 holiday season. Also, long-distance travel and family trips remained popular choices while cultural performances and museums drew more young tourists.
The relaxation of traveling abroad has created favorable conditions for the recovery of the foreign tourism sector. In August, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the group tourism to 78 countries, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States, raising the total number of such countries to 138.
Yet the surge in the tourism market is both a blessing and a challenge for tourist spots. Overcrowding in scenic spots, difficulty in obtaining tickets for certain attractions and museums, potential risks, and unsatisfying tourism services are still common. To address these challenges, we propose the following.
1. What did the Ministry of Culture and Tourism do to promote tourism industry?| A．To provide budget-friendly options for people. |
| B．To launch more cultural and tourism products. |
| C．To create more business opportunities for the public. |
| D．To make a cultural and tourism consumption action plan. |
| A．People are willing to travel abroad. |
| B．More people book hotels through the Internet. |
| C．A day trip with friends is still preferred by people. |
| D．The cultural tour is gaining popularity among the youth. |
| A．Approving. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Critical. |
| A．The challenges tourism market will face. |
| B．The features that mark the eight-day holiday. |
| C．The confidence in the tourism industry’s future. |
| D．The suggestions of enhancing visitors’ experience. |
It was the afternoon before Christmas Eve as I looked tiredly at my youngest daughter Kitty’s wish list for her presents. Major dental surgery (牙科手术) two days earlier had left my face painfully swollen (肿胀的), and most surely influenced my holiday spirit.
To make matters worse, Kitty had provided me with the world’s least helpful list: “Something red. Something old. Something you can put things in. Something strange ...”
After completing the important shopping of lots of food necessary for a big family gathering the next day, I was just quite tired and impatient. But no matter how hard it was to please my youngest daughter, I couldn’t let her down. Then her older sister Helen came up with the solution. The local antique store was sure to have something that fitted Kitty’s wish list. Owned by an extremely nice couple, the place was packed with valuable things and also not-so-valuable ones.
Surely, it was the last place where I wanted to go. Three years before, I had rushed out of the place in tears after selling them my grandmother’s silver forks and spoons and most importantly my valued ballet-dancer doll. That year had been difficult, and though I told myself that they were only things, it hurt to trade my remaining valued things, especially my ballet-dancer doll, for common things such as electricity and food. The shame of crying in public over it only made matters worse. Since that year, I had never visited that store.
After this long period of time and with a greatly swollen face, I thought it was unlikely that the owners of the store would recognize me. And, sure enough, the place offered gifts for every possible taste.
So in the afternoon before Christmas Eve, wearing a hat, I left home together with Helen to the antique store to pick up the gifts that Kitty wanted. Before long, we arrived at the store. While walking and choosing the gift there, I wondered, “What if the owners recognize me?”
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。
So I pulled down the edge of my hat to hide my face.
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And the owner held out my old ballet-dancer doll, adding, “It’s our Christmas present to you.”
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4 . The heroes helping the stars shine
The 19th Asian Games, which comes to a close on Sunday, has witnessed the great contribution of people from all walks of life.
Liu Shuyi
The security staff member has been responsible for the protection of rifle (步枪) and pistol ammunition (手枪弹药) for events such as shooting and modern pentathlon (现代五项运动).
“Due to the varied gun control policies in different countries, we worried that athletes might not understand the local rules. However, those concerns were all relieved when everyone showed understanding and cooperation.” Liu said.
Lu Baolin
“I wake up every day at 2:00 am, set off at 4:30 am, drive more than 30 kilometers to take athletes to the competition venue, and then return to the Asian Games Village. Each round trip takes almost two hours, and on each competition day, I make the journey three times,” Lu said.
His son is also involved in the Games, providing security services. Due to their work commitments, they hardly see each other these days. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the family spent over an hour chatting via video call, celebrating the festival together online.
Shi Futian
As a sports reporter at English-language newspaper China Daily, he said “I feel very lucky to participate in such a huge event as a journalist. I also hope that through our media coverage, more people will get to know the athletes and understand their stories.”
Li Guanlin
A volunteer at the Basketball Arena in Shaoxing Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, and his job is to ensure that the court is free from debris (碎片), sweat stains and watermarks, and to ensure the smooth progress of the matches by helping prevent athletes from slipping and avoiding any unnecessary injuries.
“When I am on duty at the court, my family will look for me during the live broadcast.
They told me that seeing me busily working makes them realize how much I’ve grown up.”
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9981. What can we learn about Lu Baolin?
| A．He is in charge of the security service. |
| B．He has to make a journey among different cities. |
| C．He sacrificed time spent with family due to his duty. |
| D．He doesn’t need to be an early riser during the Games. |
| A．Liu Shuyi. | B．Lu Baolin. | C．Shi Futian. | D．Li Guanlin. |
| A．A sports magazine. | B．An online forum. |
| C．A government report. | D．A history textbook. |
1. When did an icy dessert start to be enjoyed according to paintings?
| A．In the 12th century. | B．In the 1500s. | C．In 1845. |
| A．He published the recipe. |
| B．He cut off a cook’s head. |
| C．He made a law for it. |
| A．An England woman. | B．A New Jersey woman. | C．A Franch woman. |
| A．The creation of ice cream. |
| B．The popularity of ice cream. |
| C．The history of ice cream. |
6 . Many animals move from one place to another at certain times of the year. This annual movement is called migration. For an adult African elephant, migrating is no easy task.
While they face scarce water supplies and 120-degree temperatures on their track, people are their number-one problem. Warfare destroys food on which migrating elephants depend and creates dangerous areas where elephants cannot travel safely. Worse still, many African people have traded nomadic (游牧的) lifestyles for farming. Unfortunately for elephants, farmers set up fences to protect crops and domestic animals, many of which block regular migration paths.
Roads also disturb elephant migration. Those outside national park boundaries are prior poaching (偷猎) spots. Elephants know unguarded roads are dangerous. During one study of 28 elephants in Central Africa, only one female crossed an unprotected road. When she finally crossed, she moved 14 times faster than she did when crossing a protected road inside a park.
To help, medical procedures are taken to keep male elephants from breeding, which reduces the number of births and the environmental pressure on regions where elephants cannot migrate. Even though African elephants are the largest land animal, the role that its migration plays in the entire ecosystem is not fully understood. GPS tracking collars can help these elephant “travel agents” map which routes elephants use most. Dr. Michael Chase, the founder of Elephants Without Borders, tracks elephants in 22 countries with technology. “If we are able to identify how elephants move, we can link up habitats from one country to the other,” he says. In many poor areas of Africa, since no other paying work is available, poachers illegally kill elephants and sell irony (象牙) to feed their families. When poachers become park staff, they will have money to feed their families and meanwhile elephants will be protected.
The elephant is the ambassador for conservation. Protecting elephant migration routes will allow these gentle giants to thrive.
1. Why is it tough for the elephants on the move?| A．The weather is changeable. | B．Water supplies are sufficient. |
| C．Wars disturb regular migration. | D．Migration is affected by nomadic lifestyles. |
| A．Elephants. | B．Unguarded roads. | C．Poachers. | D．Migrations. |
| A．The elephants are in serious trouble. |
| B．The migrations of wild animals are mysterious. |
| C．Measures can be taken to safeguard the future of the elephants. |
| D．There may come a time when the number of elephants rises again. |
| A．The habitats of elephants will be completely destroyed. |
| B．It is impossible to track the migrations of elephants. |
| C．Migration routes are identified to keep elephants from moving. |
| D．It has far-reaching impact to unlock the secret of elephants’ migrations. |
1. What kind of job is the man interviewing for?
| A．A job at a TV station. |
| B．A job at a radio station. |
| C．A job at a music school. |
| A．Answer phones. | B．Stay up late. | C．Clean the studio. |
| A．Lazy. | B．Confident. | C．Hard-working. |
8 . Snuggling (偎依) up with your little one from an early age and diving into a book together is always a great way to spend time.
Firstly, it’s a great introduction to reading, writing and vocabulary. Seeing an adult reading out the words and linking them to the shapes on the page begins to build literary building blocks that the children will use for the rest of their life.
Reading time is a brilliant bonding tool with parents or carers, which builds up confidence and a sense of security for little ones.
| A．Turning to the Internet is a good idea. |
| B．These stories can encourage future leaders and thinkers. |
| C．Reading to your children from day one has a lot of benefits. |
| D．Secondly, there are many brilliant effects of hearing stories. |
| E．It can also make them get difficult feelings, like loss or sadness. |
| F．Reading aloud introduces children to new words they might not hear daily. |
| G．A regular bedtime story create s routine which small children especially love. |
9 . Mundi, a 41-year-old female elephant, was orphaned (使……成为孤儿) at a young age, captured, and sold to the Mayaguez Zoo in Puerto Rico. The animals housed at the zoo were in such bad shape that they were being moved to various shelters under an order from the US Department of Justice.
Mundi was the zoo’s major attraction. Her departure caused so much argument that armed guards came to see her off the island. She was so popular that people lined the streets to say goodbye.
Mundi’s new home is certainly beautiful. After living in the zoo for 35 years with no other elephants, Mundi met Bo and Tarra, with whom she’s now sharing 850 acres. She was first housed in a separate place, but she and the other elephants could see each other, and they started getting along quickly. Soon, Mundi was no longer separated from the others. Tarra immediately acted as a big sister and mentor to Mundi, while Bo became her playmate. Now, they spend a lot of time together and the public can watch their interaction and learn about their behaviors on the shelter’s official website.
Carol Buckley, the founder of Elephant Aid International, first imagined setting up the Georgia shelter after meeting Tarra in 1974, when the elephant was less than a year old. At the time, Tarra belonged to the owner of a tire store, who used her to advertise the place.
Buckley ultimately became an advocate for elephants worldwide and designed the retirement home in Attapulgus to address their needs. Attapulgus was selected as the location for the shelter because its climate allows the elephants to be outdoors most of the time, almost year-round.
1. What can be inferred about the animals in Mayaguez Zoo?| A．They lived a normal life. | B．They were not welcome. |
| C．They were not well treated. | D．They were living happily. |
| A．To prevent possible accidents. | B．To protect the animals around. |
| C．To say goodbye to Mundi. | D．To show their respect for Mundi. |
| A．Taking care of Mundi. | B．Buying tires for her owner. |
| C．Working as a store keeper. | D．Advertising a tire store. |
| A．Its small space. | B．Its weather pattern. |
| C．Its special design. | D．Its convenient transportation. |
10 . Don’t get me wrong-I love my parents very much. I know they love me too and would do anything to help me but sometimes they can be really embarrassing. Dad wanting to pick me up from school, Mum getting overexcited when she watches me playing football for the school team.
Choose the behaviour you find most embarrassing
When you’ve decided which issues you want to talk about, keep a diary of all the times your mum or dad do the things that embarrass you most. When, where and how you felt - make a note of all these things. They’ll help you put your case across.
Have a family meeting
It’s time for a little face-to-face chat.The chances are that even if your parents are aware of doing these things, they prob-ably don’t realize how embarrassing they are. Keep calm.
Try and be more understanding
Hopefully your parents will listen and be willing to change their ways, especially if you say you’re happy to change too. Of course, sometimes they might not. Re-member that they once had their own embarrassing parents, and the chances are many of us will be embarrassing parents ourselves one day.
| A．Discuss the issues |
| B．Collect the evidence |
| C．And I know it’s not just me |
| D．Let them know how you feel and why |
| E．Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on them |
| F．Write down the things that you feel happy |
| G．Write a list of all the things you find embarrassing |
