1 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where does the conversation probably take place?

A．On the street.

B．At the man’s home.

C．In a camera shop.

2. How many camera shops are still open in town?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

3. Why does the man think some camera shops went out of business?

A．Cameras are old-fashioned.

B．People buy things on the Internet.

C．There are fewer photographers.

4. What will the man do this Saturday?

A．Go to a camera shop.

B．Take care of his friend’s kids.

C．Take pictures for a wedding.

2 . In the thick jungle of New Guinea is nature’s most amazing theater, a Carola’s parotia (天堂鸟) is showing off his red and yellow feathers in a display called a “butterfly dance.”

This brilliantly colored birds of paradise have developed over millions of years from ancient birds whose feathers were dark and boring in comparison. It seems to be a contradiction (矛盾) that such extreme feathers and colors could have been favored by the process of evolution. After all, these same brightly colored feathers that attract mates also make the birds much more noticeable to predators (捕食者). The answer lies in the safe environment in which the birds live, and a process of evolution known as sexual selection. Except for other pressures, birds of paradise begin to specialize in attracting mates. Over millions of years they have slowly undergone changes in their colors, feathers and other talents. Characteristics that made one bird more attractive than another were passed on and impove over time.

In the past, demand for the bird’s feathers resulted in a huge amount of hunting. At the peak of the trade in the early 1900s, 80,000 skins a year were exported from New Guinea to Europe ladies’ hats. Nowadays, few birds die for fashion or for traditional costumes: Ceremonial feathers are passed down from generation to generation. Although local people are still permitted to hunt the birds for traditional uses, they usually target older male birds, leaving younger males to continue breeding.

David Mitchell, a conservationist, is relying on the help of local villagers to record where the birds display and what they eat. He hopes to not only gather data, but also encourage protection of the birds’ habitat. The strategy seems to be working. For millions of years, these impressive birds have danced to find their mates. They will keep dancing for as long as the forest offers them stage.

1. Why do the birds of paradise evlove the bright cholors?

A．To frighten away predators.	B．To execise and clean bodies.
C．To show the possession of an area.	D．To attract a mate’s attention.

2. What caused so many birds of paradise die in the early 1900s?

A．Industrial development destroyed their habitat.	B．A high demand for feathers to use in hats.
C．They were eaten by the predators.	D．They got sick after inteactions with human.

3. Why do local people continue to hunt birds of paradise?

A．To eat them.	B．To protect smaller birds.
C．To make traditional costumes.	D．To keep their numbers down.

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

A．Feathers of Love	B．Trouble in Paradise
C．An Amazing performance	D．The Protection of Birds of Paradise

3 . Short Naps Have Major Benefits for Your Mind

For a time, research was both for and against napping. Many studies showed mood and cognition benefits from midday rest,     1     That left some experts hesitant to offer advice on naps. More recent research, though, has clarified that different types of naps have different effects. A number of scientists now think the sweet spot is about 20 to 30 minutes.

Short naps do indeed have cognitive benefits, especially significant improvements in certain kinds of memory and information-processing speed.     2     No one talks about mood enough, but, tired people tend to be angry people.

    3     Even a short, 10-minute nap will refresh a person. If someone does a little longer, the cognitive benefits last a little bit longer as well, and that’s why half an hour, give or take a bit, has emerged as a good nap span.

Cognitive benefits do show up after naps that extend past 30 minutes, and those benefits last longer.     4     Even though the unevenness can pass relatively quickly and not everyone gets it, many people find it unpleasant.

Longer naps are also associated with some health problems. Those who napped for more than 30 minutes at a time were 23 percent more likely to be obese than those who didn’t nap at all. They were also more likely to have a combination of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other health issues.     5    

A．and that makes it easier to wake up.

B．It doesn’t take much sleep to see these improvements.

C．A nap also simply makes many people feel better.

D．But it is probably a disease that causes the extra napping.

E．yet others found links to poor health, especially in older adults.

F．In addition, long naps reduce the body’s ability to lose fat on a diet.

G．But longer naps let a person increase uneven feeling on waking.

4 . 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。

A young woman without eyebrows is seated in front of a beautiful landscape. Does this sound familiar     1     you? This is one of the most famous works     2     (paint) by Leonardo da Vinci. Different theories     3     (produce) about her identity in the past hundreds years. Many art and history buffs thought that it was a portrait of da Vinci himself, but as a woman. Some thought it was not any particular person,     4     the ideal of a woman. They say this is     5     she was painted with no eyebrows. However,     6     thought that it was a portrait of an actual woman of the time, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. In 2005, historian Armin Schlechter of Heidelberg discovered the answer. While     7     (look) through an old manuscript, he found a small note. In this, the woman in the Mona Lisa was     8       (positive) identified as Lisa del Giocondo. The artist had been paid     9     (draw) her portrait after the birth of her second child. “Mona,” in fact, means “madam” in Italian. As for her mysterious look?     10     (historian) say women of that time liked to remove their eyebrows. Apparently, they thought eyebrows were not attractive.

5 . 假如你是学生李华，请你代表学校给外教Smith先生写一封信，邀请他参加在11月12日到16日举办的校科技艺术节(Tech Art Festival)的开幕式。
Dear Mr. Smith,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

6 . Art is a universal language. Music is a universal language. Love is a universal language. Now, it’s the turn of sand to be mentioned in such terms. In her work, sand artist Kseniya Simonova mixes art, music and love to create her own medium which can be understood and appreciated by everyone.

According to Simonova, she fell in love with sand art “absolutely accidentally.” Her husband, a theatre director, advised her to give it a try. “I never thought I could perform; I was always a classical artist,” reveals Simonova. “I just started it as a hobby and I never thought it would turn out to be what it is now.” In 2009, Simonova won the “Ukraine’s Got Talent” TV contest. Since then her fame has skyrocketed, and she has become a real sensation (引起轰动的人).

The art Simonova creates is magical; however, the medium she uses is quite common. “It is ordinary river sand. There was a time when I did use the volcanic one, but actually it makes no difference,” says Simonova. “In sand art it is an idea and its visualisation that matters. What I do is create a theatre in my mind. The sand is a very convenient medium that is very flexible and responds to speed well. It can show what is going on in my head.”

The images created by the artist live only for a few seconds. However, Simonova is not in any way alarmed by the momentary aspect of sand art. “I know that my creations exist only for a while, but I believe that to be absolutely normal because art mirrors life. We live every moment of our life, but it’s not possible to repeat those. The same is the case with what I do,” Simonova concludes.

Sand art helps the artist to see the world in a new way, painting ever-changing life in every grain of sand.

1. How does Simonova feel about her achievements in sand art initially?

A．Confident.

B．Amused.

C．Confused.

D．Surprised.

2. What is important in sand art performance according to Simonova?

A．The medium.

B．The story.

C．The theatre.

D．The audience’s response.

3. What does Simonova say about the momentary nature of sand art?

A．It reflects our life.	B．It is a kind of regret.
C．It encourages repetition.	D．It alarms many sand artists.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Love: a universal language

B．Sand art: a new form of performance

C．Kseniya Simonova: painting the world with sand

D．Sand artists: impressing the world with awesome work

7 . The Grand Canal, a large waterway that first connected north and south China over 1400 years ago, is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world.

The original Canal system began around the year 605. China’s emperor realized that he needed a better way to feed his army. Specifically, he needed a way to move food quickly from China’s southern rice-growing region to the country’s north. Thus, he spent 6 years on construction of the first section of the Grand Canal, connecting existing canals, lakes and rivers. However, by 1127, parts had begun to worsen. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and create a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing.

The Grand Canal was also an important cultural channel. Soldiers, merchants and artists transported ideas, regional foods and cultural practices from one part of China to another. It is said that Peking duck and the Pecking opera were both brought north via the canal. Even today, the country’s watery highway plays an important economic role in China. In addition, local governments, eager to increase tourism and real estate (房地产) development, are beautifying areas along the Canal.

This development comes at a price, though. In Yangzhou, the city government has torn down almost all of the older Canal-side buildings. Farther south in the cities of Zhenjiang, Wuxi and Hangzhou, the situation is similar. “Traditionally, we talk about eighteen main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had something unique and special about it.” explains Zhou Xihua, the director of the Grand Canal museum. “But now many of these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face.”

In 2005 a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made a UNESCO world heritage site. The status would protect both the waterway and architecture around it. “Every generation wants the next generation to understand it, to look at its monuments.” said Zhu Bingren, an artist who cowrote this proposal. UNESCO status was officially granted in 2014. The hope now is that the grand Canal, one of the world’s great engineering accomplishments, will continue to link north and south China for centuries to come.

1. Why was the Grand Canal originally built?

A．To allow his army to move more quickly.

B．To transport food from the south to the north.

C．To enable people to visit remote parts of China.

D．To promote the cultural and traditional diversity.

2. What is not true about the Grand Canal?

A．It is the longest man-made river in the world.

B．It orginally complete construction in the year 611.

C．Its original north-south route is to and from Beijing.

D．It allowed Peking duck and the Peking opera to spread.

3. What is the underline sentence meaning in paragaph 4?

A．Developing the canal involves spending a lot of money.

B．Even after spending money, people dislike the development.

C．Developing it is more expensive than one can imagine.

D．There are some negative consequences to this development.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The history of the Grand Canal.	B．The introduction of the Grand Canal.
C．The construction of the Grand Canal.	D．The proection of the Grand Canal.

8 . Four Best National Parks for 2023-2024

Swiss National Park

Swiss National Park in eastern Switzerland covers nearly 42, 000 acres of land, giving visitors access to roughly 60 miles of trails that weave in and out of valleys backed by the breathtaking Swiss Alps. While hiking, keep an eye out for wildlife ranging from well-known animals like foxes and eagles to Alpine ibexes that are wild goats with large horns living in the mountains. This park closes from mid-November until the end of May with some higher trails remaining under snow through June, so time your trip for the warmer months.

Yosemite National Park

Located nearly 170 miles east of San Francisco, Yosemite offers visitors plenty of impressive natural wonders to see. Scenic landscapes, such as the famous Tunnel View and Valley View outlooks, and famous landmarks like Half Dome and El Capitan are just a few of Yosemite’s greatest attractions. Don’t forget to swing by one of the sequoia groves (红杉林) to be amazed at the towering trees.

Glacier (冰川) National Park

Glacier National Park is Montana’s crown jewel. The expansive one million-acre park, which was named after those remains of glaciers estimated to be 7, 000 years old, offers impressive mountainous scenery. Here, you’ll find more than 700 lakes, National Historic Landmarks including Lake McDonald Lodge, Granite Park Chalet and the Two Medicine Store, and the famous Highline Trail, which follows the Continental Divide.

Banff National Park

Situated in southwestern Alberta, Canada’s oldest national park is also one of its most beautiful national parks. Visitors can explore Banff National Park on foot along more than 1, 000 miles of hiking trails—the Lake Agnes Trail features a seasonal European-style tea house, or drive the scenic Icefields Parkway for breathtaking views of glaciers and waterfalls.

1. When are hikers advised to go to Swiss National Park?

A．In May.

B．In June.

C．In August.

D．In December.

2. What can visitors do in Yosemite National Park?

A．Admire 7, 000-year-old landmarks.	B．Interact with rare wild animals.
C．Walk along the Lake Agnes Trail.	D．Have a good view of huge trees.

3. What do Glacier National Park and Banff National Park have in common?

A．The chance to see glaciers.	B．The climb onto high mountains.
C．The visit to a number of valleys.	D．The drive through the whole park.

9 . Why is the man smiling?

A．He has won a lot of money.

B．His application has been accepted.

C．He has been invited to eat at a restaurant.

10 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Who is the speaker talking to?

A．Tourists.

B．Students.

C．Writers.

2. What are the places where people park cars in the UK?

A．Parking lots.

B．Car lots.

C．Car parks.

3. What is the speaker’s opinion of British humor?

A．It is dry.

B．It is boring.

C．It is obvious.

4. What are compared between the two cultures in the end?

A．The numbers of artists.

B．Styles of buildings.

C．Standards of living.