1 . Here is the story of American aviation (航空) pioneer Amelia Earhart.

Once upon a time, on July 24th 1897, a little girl was born in Ashes Kansas. As a child, Amelia was adventurous, climbing trees, collecting bugs, hunting rats with their rifle and exploring the neighborhood. Many historians have described Earhart as a “tomboy” growing up because of this.

Throughout her teen years, she moved around the middle west with her family. There after seeing the wounded soldiers returning from World War I, she decided to work as a nurse’s aid and got to know many of the wounded pilots and grew to admire them.

On December 20th, 1920, an important moment happened in Earhart’s life. She attended an air show with her dad in Long Beach. And she took a ten-minute plane ride that forever changed her life. She recalled, “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly.” Amelia’s new mission (使命) was to learn how to fly and she worked hard to achieve this new dream. She worked several odd jobs to save up for the very expensive flying lessons. Amelia had flown her plane to 14,000 feet, the world altitude record for female pilots. On may 15^th, 1923, Earhart became only the 16th woman to be issued (颁发) with such a pilot’s licence.

In the mid-1920s, Earhart was not able to make a living as only a pilot, so she became a teacher and later a social worker. One afternoon in April 1928, a phone call came for Earhart at work. “How would you like to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic?” Captain Hulton Archive asked her on the other line. “Yes,” Amelia immediately replied. She became the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, but only as a passenger, as Wilmer Stultz and Lewis Gordon acted as pilots. When the three returned to the United States, they were greeted with a parade in New York and a reception held by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.

In August 1928, Amelia became the first woman to fly alone across the North American continent and back. In 1929, she entered Will Rogers Power Puff Derby and placed third. Earhart also became involved with the Ninety-Nines, an organization of female pilots, and then became their first president in 1930.

1. How would we understand the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?

A．She found the pilots were admirable.

B．She decided to be a nurse to help the wounded pilots.

C．She would continue to take airplane rides with her Dad.

D．She wanted to be a pilot when flying an airplane for the fist time.

2. What can we learn about Amelia Earhart from the passage?

A．She grew up in a rich family and graduated with honors.

B．She flew solo across the North American continent and back in 1928.

C．She refused to fly the Atlantic Ocean with others at first in 1928.

D．She became the first female president of the USA in 1930.

3. How does the author develop this text?

A．By listing figures.	B．In place order.
C．By comparing examples.	D．In time order.

4. What can we learn from Amelia Earhart’s life choices?

A．Never too old to learn.	B．Well begun is half done.
C．Two hands are better than one.	D．Where there is a will, there is a way.

2 . 阅读下面材料，根据所给情节和所给段落开头续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。

The day that I met my best friend for the first time, I was anxiously reviewing for an important exam in the local library. Because I kept being disturbed by others, I was unable to make any progress, The last straw was when I heard someone singing behind me. I turned around and gave the person a dirty look. It was a tall girl about the same age as me and she had a slight smile on her face. Standing near the “English Literature” section, she seemed to be looking for a book. “How could she be so selfish (自私的)?” I thought angrily.

I picked up my books, looked into her eyes and said angrily, “Please be considerate in public. I’ve been unable to study because of your terrible singing”

I still hate thinking of that moment. Let me tell you the rest of the story though.

Two hours later, I realized I’d forgotten my most important textbook in the library. What was worse, the library had already closed. I was close to tears. Just then, the phone rang. A soft voice introduced the speaker as Li Hua and asked if I was Jane. After confirming that I was, she told me that she had noticed my book in the library. As my phone number was in it, she called and told me she didn’t live far away and could bring it to me.

Paragraph 1: I sighed (叹息) with relief and agreed to meet her at the store down the road.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2: Can you believe we became best friends?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . 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。

Have you ever noticed when ordering takeaway food     1     there is an additional cost on top of the delivery fee? That is the packaging fee (包装费).

This fee is uneasy     2     (notice) because it is usually small and people acknowledge its value because takeaway food     3     (need) proper packaging.

Now,     4     , some shops have been found to be adding unrelated costs     5     it,     6     (give) consumers unpleasant surprises. Some     7     (shop) apply individual packaging fees for each ingredient of milk tea, each kebab in a barbecue, and even for choosing the flavor of     8     hot-pot meal. With all these charges stacking up, sometimes the     9     (seem) insignificant (微不足道的) outsourcing fees can account for half of the cost of a takeout order.

The Shanghai Consumer Protection Commission in Tune     10     (call) for rules on standardized and transparent packaging fees for takeaways in June, 2023.

4 . Even our good friends may sometimes hurt our feelings. What should we do, hold on to the _________ or forgive (原谅) and move on?

It was an afternoon in March. Several weeks ago, I finally _________ my favorite novel Pride and Prejudice. It _________ a special edition (版本), which my mother had _________ online. I showed the book to my best friend Yu Xin _________ on our way home. When she asked _________ she could borrow it when I finished reading, I _________ it to her right away, _________ I knew she also loved the novel.

However, the next day she lost the book. She was reading it on the bus and must have dropped it as she was _________ . I was so angry. How could she be so __________ ! I had been expecting the book for weeks. What was __________ , she couldn’t understand why I was unhappy, saying it wasn’t a big deal.

I didn’t speak to her for the following two days. On the __________ afternoon, she apologized to me. She said she was sorry for losing the __________ and understood how I felt.

__________ the tears in her eyes, I knew she felt really bad about hurting my feelings. A friend was much more __________ than a book. I held her hand and told her it was OK.

1.

A．before

B．future

C．after

D．past

2.

A．was addicted to

B．got hands on

C．applied for

D．suffered from

3.

A．was

B．were

C．weren’t

D．wasn’t

4.

A．sold

B．sought

C．ordered

D．searched

5.

A．sadly

B．excitedly

C．unfortunately

D．actually

6.

A．that

B．where

C．if

D．how

7.

A．borrowed

B．lent

C．bought

D．lost

8.

A．until

B．while

C．because

D．so

9.

A．moving in

B．trying out

C．getting on

D．getting off

10.

A．careless

B．careful

C．frank

D．attractive

11.

A．more

B．worse

C．new

D．wrong

12.

A．first

B．second

C．third

D．fourth

13.

A．way

B．friend

C．book

D．money

14.

A．Seeing

B．Preferring

C．Looking

D．Reminding

15.

A．unfortunate

B．previous

C．unstable

D．important

5 . A few months ago, a friend gifted me a robot sweeper that’s programmed to move around a room and clean as it goes.

When the box arrived, I was afraid the device would detect me and suck up (汲取) data along with the dog hair and dust. But the instructions were easy, and I finally decided not to care.

I powered up the sweeper, watched it leave its docking station to work, and quickly fell in love with my newly shiny floors. I kept shooting its working videos. “I think you’re giving more attention to it than to us,” joked my son.

One day, I returned home and discovered that our front door had blown open and the robot rolled into the yard, trying to clean the flower beds. Even when its brushes were blocked with leaves, bugs and mud, its little wheels bravely kept turning.

The robot acted properly as it was programmed to clean “dirty” things. In a kitchen, dirt can be garden debris (碎片) such as leaves and mud. In a garden, this kind of dirt does not need to be removed. The context is important. The problem for robots is that reading this context is difficult.

This accident inspired me to think more about AI (artificial intelligence). As far as I am concerned, AI is simply well trained and reproduces what it has learned. And it is undeniable that robots are increasingly being given powerful intelligence. Some experts even predict that we will soon see not only AI-enabled robots designed to solve problems according to their instructions, but also those with the ability to judge how they should respond when they are in a different setting.

Maybe this will happen in the near future.

1. What was the author’s concern about the robot sweeper at first?

A．Its after-sales service.	B．Its working efficiency.
C．The privacy of her family.	D．The readability of its instructions.

2. How did the author feel about the robot sweeper after using it?

A．Enthusiastic.

B．Regretful.

C．Uncertain.

D．Cautious.

3. What was the root cause of the accident happening to the robot sweeper?

A．Its program went wrong.	B．It lacked critical thinking.
C．Its wheels were badly designed.	D．It failed to work on rough surfaces.

4. What does the sixth paragraph mainly talk about concerning AI?

A．The accident.	B．Some experts’ thinking.
C．Its appeal to the author.	D．The author’s opinion.

6 . Public Speaking Courses

Complete Public Speaking Masterclass for Every Occasion (Udemy)

If you’re struggling to put yourself out in front of audiences, then joining this Udemy course will be a good decision. In this course, you will be instructed to feel calm and comfortable on stage in front of any number of people while speaking and conveying your message. The comprehensive guide by TJ Walker will help you impress your audience and influence them.

Dynamic Public Speaking Certification (证明) by University of Washington (Coursera)

Available on Coursera, this online course is perfect for people who want to be excellent dynamic speakers. You will be taught by Dr. Matt McGarrity - a principal lecturer at UW Department of Communication. Designed for beginners, it will help you gain many skills, for instance, public speaking, speech, presentation, and communication.

How to Become a World-class Speaker (Mindvalley)

This Mindvalley course is aimed at training people who have no experience of public speaking and just start to set foot in this area. It has already assisted a lot of people in becoming skillful at speaking and spreading their voice. Lisa Nicholas, your communication coach, is regarded as one of the best speechmakers in the world. Within less than two days, you will get insights into how she masters this art.

Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation (University of Colorado Boulder)

With the help of this course, you can get better at business communication, including presenting your ideas to your coworkers, handling client (客户) calls, and so on. You’ll also learn how to write effective business emails, along with reports and draft presentations. This course is very popular among people who want to quickly fit in with the workplace.

1. How can the Udemy course benefit learners?

A．Allowing them to study at their own pace.

B．Teaching them how to make good life decisions.

C．Helping them overcome the fear of public speaking.

D．Enabling them to hold comprehensive lectures with TJ Walker.

2. What do the Coursera course and the Mindvalley one have in common?

A．They both last for one month.

B．They are targeted at beginners.

C．They are offered by the same university.

D．They train people to be smart speech listeners.

3. Which course will a graduate who is to enter the workplace most probably choose?

A．Dynamic Public Speaking Certification.

B．How to Become a World-class Speaker.

C．Complete Public Speaking Masterclass for Every Occasion.

D．Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation.

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What season is it now?

A．Fall.

B．Spring.

C．Summer.

2. What was the weather like this afternoon?

A．Windy.

B．Rainy.

C．Foggy.

3. What will the weather be like this evening?

A．Cold.

B．Pleasant.

C．Cloudy.

4. What will the daytime temperature be in the next three days?

A．About 40 degrees.

B．About 50 degrees.

C．About 60 degrees.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why is the man going to Montreal next summer?

A．To do some business.

B．To attend a wedding.

C．To take a course.

2. What do we know about Quebec City?

A．It is the biggest city in Quebec Province.

B．It is far from the St. Lawrence River.

C．It is the capital of Quebec Province.

3. What does the woman mention about Quebec City at last?

A．The ancient buildings.

B．The cold winter.

C．The beautiful river.

9 . What made the man’s eyes red?

A．Lack of sleep.

B．Too much e-reading.

C．A sad thing.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1. What is the woman?

A．She is a trainer.

B．She is a leader.

C．She is a hostess.

2. How can people win others’ trust?

A．By keeping a promise.

B．By looking for truth.

C．By making fewer mistakes.

3. Which is the main reason why relationships break down?

A．Expecting too much.

B．Taking small steps.

C．Communicating poorly.

4. What does Paul Smith suggest people do at last?

A．Build deep friendships.

B．Take relationships seriously.

C．Put a high value on feelings.