1 . When the people first came round, they were all sitting around drinking tea nervously and occasionally glancing at the cupboards. I didn’t like the atmosphere. I was beginning to wonder why I had asked these people round to go through my stuff and take what they wanted. This is what happens when you open your home to your family and friends, telling them they can help themselves to everything within it.

Last month, I moved abroad to study for two years, taking just a single suitcase with me. I couldn’t afford to keep my flat, so when it came to my possessions, I decided to offer them up for a long-term loan. It’s not recycling, or even freecycling: I’m calling it “share cycling”. It was my beloved tent that formed the premise (前提) of it. I made the decision as I thought about the pointlessness of putting stuff into storage for two years. Instead, I imagined someone I loved putting my tent onto their back and setting off into the countryside in the summer sunshine. I was moving to the other side of the world, but this made it feel as though I would still be with my friends. To get rid of it all, I had an open house, inviting everyone I knew to take my property.

Now I am sitting in a flat on the other side of the world as rain is pouring down outside, forcing the street sellers to shelter under doorways and umbrellas. I feel very far from my home and my stuff. That list made of the things I want back? I’m not sure how much I’ll need them. I don’t miss any of my belongings. Instead, my mind now is filled with thoughts of my family and friends.

My “sharecycling” plan ties me to them. A friend took my tent to a music festival. And my favourite picture ended up on the wall of my best friend’s flat back home. It’s like I’ve pressed “pause” on my city life rather than “stop”, making the move easier.

1. What’s the author’s feeling in paragraph 1?

A．Embarrassed.

B．Uncomfortable.

C．Passionate.

D．Insecure.

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

A．The idea of “sharecycling”.	B．The experience of moving abroad.
C．The idea of putting stuff into storage.	D．The experience of living in the countryside.

3. What is the author doing now?

A．Seeking a more affordable flat.	B．Protecting street sellers from the rain.
C．Making a list of things she wants back.	D．Missing her family and friends far from home.

4. What’s the main idea of this text?

A．Moving on isn’t always a good option.

B．I got rid of nearly everything I owned.

C．Don’t stuff your house with useless things.

D．Giving away my belongings made my move easier.

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The Day I Survived

It had been raining buckets that week, and authorities had issued a flood warning, though not for where I was. Still, I had placed sandbags on the floor outside my garden door just in case.

As I was drifting off to sleep, I suddenly heard the sound of rushing water,     1    I were lying beside a waterfall instead of in my bedroom. When I     2    (swing) my legs off the bed, I was shocked by the sensation of cold water lapping against my knees and rising fast.

    3    (feel) my way in the darkness, I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight. As I stepped out of my bedroom, water was shooting through the gaps of the garden door. The water     4    have gone over the sandbags, I thought. All around me, my things began to float: chairs, bookshelves, and pieces of my drum set.

I heard the garden door starting to break down     5    the pressure of the flood, and the water was now up to my waist. I began to panic. In bare feet and with my shorts     6    (glue) to my body, I started to walk to my only escape: the door that leads upstairs.

I struggled to the door and tried to pull it open, but the force of the water wouldn’t let me do so. I looked around and grabbed a broom     7    was floating behind me. Using it to pry (撬) open the door, I managed to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough     8    (force) myself through. Finally, I made it outside. If I had woken up just a few minutes later, I would have drowned. The entire neighborhood was destroyed by the flood.

Later, we     9    (assure) that something like this happens only once every 100 years. I hope so. It pains me to see     10    was once a lovely, cozy street now turns into a waterscape.

3 . “A house without books is like a room without windows,” wrote Horace Mann, the 18th-century writer. I agree wholeheartedly with Mann.     1    

Recently, my husband and I did a painting project in a room we use as an office, which has a beautiful wall full of built-in bookshelves. As we started to pull my valuable books down off the shelves, I felt like I was pulling plants out of the garden.     2     But then I recognized what the project would offer — the opportunity to rethink our book collection.

The physical act of removing every book from its spot on the shelf showed a few unexpected insights (见解).     3     At the same time, there were a number of inviting surprises on the shelves — books I had forgotten were waiting for me to open them. So the painting job led to a parallel (并行的) project of organizing the bookshelves.

I took the opportunity and started by grouping the books. Then I thought about the layout of the books on the shelves.     4     I arranged (布置) a vase here, a figurine (小雕像), there, and a piece of my son’s school art there, each in its place as a symbol of aspects of my life I love as much as I treasure my books.

    5     But it can also be an enjoyable experience if you spend the next rainy afternoon inside in search of something new. You can try pulling your books off the shelf, pay a visit to each one and think in a fresh way about how and where they might live their best lives.

A．A strong wave of anxiety suddenly hit me.

B．I regularly share books with my neighbors.

C．Cleaning a bookshelf might sound like a chore.

D．Choosing a good book to read seems like a difficult task.

E．Surprisingly, I realized my bookshelves had space for more than just books.

F．I take pride in the realization that I have books in every room of my house.

G．For one thing, there were many books that no longer inspired or comforted me.

4 . Among my oldest friends, I’m known as the mysterious one, the guy who rarely shows up, is always there not here. I had high school buddies, and I loved them all dearly though we boys didn’t say such things back then. Then life happened. Most of us left our hometown. Meet-ups become rare occasions.

One of those old friends, whom I had not seen since our high school graduation, reached out recently to say he’d be near where I am, and hoped we could meet up. He’d done the same thing about 10 years ago, and I’d begged off for some stupid reason related to my shyness, or rather, my introverted nature. I’m older and a bit wiser now, and I’ve been packing around some guilt over that missed opportunity for 10 years, so I agreed readily.

We met for dinner, perhaps two hours, and rarely had I felt at ease with other humans as I did with him. We talked and talked. About who we were then. Who we are now. And what made us the jerks (混蛋) we were then. We acknowledged that if not for each other, and the circles of good people we ran with back then, the good friends who kept us reasonably on track and in check, life could have easily gone south for either of us. Each of us recalled things the other had no memory of. Fragments of memories, scattered yet precious. We know we were tight then, and we value that friendship and shared experience still today.

People are fundamentally social beings and enjoy connecting with others. Maintaining social connections is good for our mental and physical health. However, despite the importance and enjoyment of social connection, people significantly underestimate how much others will appreciate being reached out to.

There’s something about the friends you make in youth that’s near impossible to recreate with friends you make later in life. I’m telling you this to remind you that your old friends would love to hear from you, maybe a simple text, a little hello, maybe even a phone call or a meetup.

1. The author refused the meet-up about 10 years ago probably because ______.

A．he was not a sociable man.	B．he was not clever enough.
C．he lived far away from his friends.	D．he felt guilty about his friends.

2. Which of the following best describes the author’s feeling during the dinner?

A．Anxious and nervous.	B．Excited and energetic.
C．Comfortable and relaxed.	D．Sad and regretful.

3. What does the author imply by saying “life could have easily gone south for either of us”?

A．They could have easily been off the track in life.

B．They might have settled down in the southern region.

C．Their friendship could have easily turned sour.

D．They could have faced financial difficulties.

4. What is the main purpose of the article?

A．To describe the author’s re union with an old friend.

B．To reflect on the value of friendships formed in youth.

C．To encourage readers to reach out to their old friends.

D．To discuss the importance of social connections.

5 . I was sitting in my high school classroom, nervously tapping my pencil against the desk as I awaited the start of the English exam.

As the clock struck, signaling the beginning of the exam, my heart began to race. I opened the exam booklet and scanned the questions, and I felt a wave of panic over me. The questions seemed foreign, and the topics unfamiliar. In a state of panic, I hurriedly wrote down my answers, hoping that somehow, by some stroke of luck, they would be correct. But as the minutes went by, I realized I couldn’t seem to make sense of the questions before me. As the final bell rang, I handed in my paper with a heavy heart.

In the days that followed, I couldn’t shake the feeling of failure that hung over me like a dark cloud. I replayed the exam over and over in my mind, analyzing every question, every answer, searching for clues as to where I had gone wrong.

But in the depression, a realization began to dawn on me — I had failed, yes, but I had also learned valuable lessons along the way. Armed with this newfound wisdom, I ensured that I would do better next time. I threw myself into my studies with renewed determination, devouring books and practicing past exams with an eagerness I had never known before.

When the time came to retake the exam, I was ready. I approached each question with confidence and clarity, drawing upon the lessons I had learned from my previous missteps.

When the results were announced, I held my breath as I scanned the list of names. And there it was — my name, shining brightly among the list of successful candidates. At that moment, all the hard work, all the late nights and early mornings, were worth it.

And as I look back on that sunny afternoon in the high school classroom, I am grateful for the lessons it taught me, and the person it helped me become.

1. Why did the author panic when he first took the exam?

A．He sat with a pounding heart.

B．He found the questions too difficult.

C．He was not familiar with the foreign language.

D．He was in a hurry when answering the questions.

2. What did the author do after he failed in the exam?

A．He attended valuable lessons in school.

B．He retook the exam over and over again.

C．He promised to arm himself with eagerness.

D．He determined to engage himself in learning.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “devouring” (paragraph 4)?

A．being targeted at	B．being obliged for
C．being absorbed in	D．being credited to

4. According to the passage, this experience helped the author become _____.

A．cheerful and considerate	B．objective and demanding
C．tough and persevering	D．proud and tolerant

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．Teaching students Chinese.	B．Learning teaching techniques.
C．Studying with local university students.	D．Giving lessons about VR technology.

2.

A．She taught the students how to make Chinese handicrafts.

B．The students learnt a lot about Chinese history and culture.

C．The students visited several historic sites in China in person.

D．She gave a map of China to every student attending the presentation.

3.

A．Exciting.

B．Relaxing.

C．Agreeable.

D．Eye-opening.

4.

A．Mike’s plan to study abroad.	B．Mike’s dream of traveling overseas.
C．Lauren’s exchange experience.	D．Lauren’s future travel plan in the U.S.

7 . 根据汉语提示完成短文。

Exposed to the completely unfamiliar surroundings, I     1     (被一种无法抗拒的孤独感淹没).     2     (我是如此沮丧，以至于我感觉好像自己被扔进了黑暗的世界). I had a worried frown on my face every day. Luckily, the warm­hearted classmates     3     (真诚地激励我抓住每个机会参加集体活动), from which I gained a lot. Gradually     4     (不仅不拘束了，而且也增强了自信心).     5     (有我的同学支持我、安慰我，我变得越来越乐观). A smile of happiness appeared on my face.

8 . 根据提示，运用本单元的词汇、短语及句式或使用词汇的正确形式完成下面的语篇。

I’m studying in a university for my bachelor’s degree and     1     (这是我第一次离开父母).

I     2     (发现自己既困惑又沮丧) in the first few weeks. I also     3     (想家), recalling all sorts of things back home. Later, I     4     (逐渐适应了新的环境) as an international student. Besides, I made friends and became increasingly confident day by day. Moreover,     5     (忙于学习和参与社会活动), I started to feel at home in the new environment. With everything changing for the better, I     6     (变得更有动力，更有抱负).

9 . 听下面一段短文，回答以下小题。
1. Where was Open Tchaikovsky Competition held in 1986?

A．In Moscow.

B．In Chelyabinsk.

C．In Berlin.

2. What does Maxim say about the competition he attended at 10?

A．It inspired many young musicians.

B．It was the music event of his dreams.

C．It was a life-changing experience.

3. Which kind of music are the young players required to play?

A．Rock music.

B．Pop music.

C．Classical music.

4. What does Maxim value most in young players’ performance?

A．Expressiveness.

B．Smoothness.

C．Completeness.

10 . 语法填空

Joe teaches in a bush school whose classrooms are made of bamboo with grass     1     (roof). There is no electricity, water or books, so she has to adjust     2     it and needs to be imaginative. However, she never takes the students     3     granted and thinks the voluntary activity deserves     4     (take) part in. One day another teacher and Joe walked over a mountain to visit one boy’s village. He and his family lived in a round bamboo hut with no windows. Over the delicious supper, Joe enjoyed listening to them talking though she could not participate     5     their conversation. They left the village the next morning,feeling so privileged to     6     (spend) a day with the boy’s family.