1 . People like to celebrate when they move into a new home. Maybe it’ s the first flat someone has owned, a couple’ s first home since getting married or maybe a growing family has moved to a bigger house. For whatever reason, the home is new. It represents a change and an exciting new beginning, with walls to paint, rooms to decorate and neighbors to meet. And what better way to meet people than to throw a party?

Parties to celebrate moving into a new home are called “house-warming” or “flat-warming” parties. If you think about it, they are appropriate names because an empty house with no people or furniture in it is a cold shell of a place. A house full of people, on the other hand, often requires some open windows or air conditioning to keep from getting too hot.

So what are house-warming parties like? Usually, the hosts invite their new neighbors as well as their friends. They usually provide some food and drinks and guests usually bring house-warming gifts. The gift might be something for the house，like a plant, or something for the guests to share, like a bottle of wine. There may be a dress code or theme. For example, if it is a “Hat Party”, people will wear unusual or funny hats. This helps break the ice by making people laugh. This makes it easier to meet new people and creates a fun and cheerful atmosphere.

There’ s an old saying that home is where the heart is. When people throw a house-warming party,they’ re opening their hearts as well as their homes to the people around them. So if you’ re ever invited by new neighbors to a house-warming, go! Then invite them to your home another time. Your home might already be warm, but new friends are the surest way to warm your heart.

1. People hold a house-warming party to celebrate ______.

A．finding a new job	B．having a new baby
C．getting married	D．moving into a new home

2. Why is the name “house-warming” appropriate according to the writer?

A．It’s the opposite of a house-cooling party.

B．A house or flat with people in it seems to be lively.

C．When people drink wine at these parties they get very warm.

D．At these parties there is always a fire that people sit around to warm themselves.

3. What does the underlined phrase “break the ice” mean in a social situation?

A．It means to get conversation flowing(流畅).

B．It means to make a hole in the ice through which to fish.

C．It means conversation is very difficult because people don’ t know each other.

D．It means the atmosphere at a house-warming party is very cold and unfriendly.

4. Why does the writer suggest that you invite people to your home?

A．It can show your politeness to your neighbors.

B．Everyone should have a house-warming.

C．Making new friends will make you happy.

D．Inviting them will warm up your cold house.

2 . The history alone creates mystery and awe from fans. The official London residence for the Queen and her family has been in existence since 1837. Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ took the throne in 1953. In the summer, the State Rooms in the palace are open to the public for tours. However, much of the Queen’s home is off limits.

It is reported that the palace is 15 times larger than the US President’s residence. The most expensive home in Europe at an estimated 1.5 billion includes 775 rooms.

The Richest YouTube channel recently took viewers on a tour of the ultra-luxurious interior of one of the most famous residences in the world.

The Grand Staircase

The first thing visitors see when walking into the palace is a magnificent, red carpet lined staircase, added by Queen Victoria in 1898. Portraits of the royal family line the walls so visitors can view history as they make their way toward the State Rooms.

The Regency Room

Fans have surely seen this green and gold room with tassel trim sofas, a desk and traditional fireplace. The famous room is often where the Queen’s official photos are taken and the annual Christmas broadcast is filmed.

The 1844 Room

This room is often used to greet special guests and world leaders. With marble columns and gold mirrors, perhaps most notable is the 1820 neoclassical desk against one wall and the blue and gold chairs on either side.

Outside

Of course, a visit to Buckingham Palace wouldn’t be complete without watching the changing of the guard, a tradition beginning in 1911. One more top-secret feature of the palace—the series of tunnels underneath the property. One, reportedly even leads to the House of Parliament.

1. Which of the following statements is true about the Queen’s palace?

A．The Queen’s family hadn’t been living in the palace until 1953.

B．In the summer, the whole palace is open to visitors.

C．There are 1844 rooms in the palace.

D．The palace is thought to be the most expensive residence in Europe.

2. Where would Queen often greet the world leaders?

A．In the Grand Staircase.

B．In the Regency Room.

C．In the 1844 Room.

D．In Queen’s garden.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The Grand Staircase was built by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ.

B．The Regency Room is regarded as the most notable room in the palace.

C．It’s a pity that visitors are forbidden to watch the changing of the guard.

D．Visitors might be inaccessible to the tunnels beneath the palace.

3 . A special place to stay can make a holiday — but also break the bank. We have picked new affordable places across Europe for €150 a room a night or less.

Scourie Hotel
Doubles from €129
Opened October 2015

This hotel has been adored by fishing fans for generations. When the Campbell family bought it six years ago, they updated it with gentle, stylish furnishings. There’s a string of spectacular beaches to discover, including the Scourie Bay with golden sand.

Ho36 Hotel
Doubles from €109
Opened December 2017

This hotel offers the rarest of things — ski accommodation that is both affordable and stylish. Guests can ski or snowboard from the front door. There are two lively bars with live music and regular DJ nights, a restaurant serving hearty Alpine meals and film nights.

Conscious Hotel
Doubles from €120
Opened April 2016

This fourth hotel by Dutch sustainable brand Conscious is the first powered entirely by wind. The restaurant is fully organic and the bedrooms are simple with contemporary elements. The hotel overlooks the Westerpark, one of Amsterdam’s biggest green spaces.

Dock Hotel
Doubles from €150
Opened May 2014

This large hotel on the Baltic coast is made from shipping containers. The industrial theme continues inside,with concrete walls, exposed pipes, and more containers. The hotel is 12 minutes’ walk from the beach.

1. Which hotel best suits people who enjoy an active social life?

A．Scourie Hotel.

B．Ho36 Hotel.

C．Conscious Hotel.

D．Dock Hotel.

2. What is special about Conscious Hotel?

A．It is old-fashioned.

B．It has the longest history.

C．It is environment-friendly.

D．It offers the biggest green space.

3. What can the guests of Scourie Hotel and Dock Hotel do?

A．Update the furniture.

B．Walk on the beach.

C．Appreciate architecture.

D．Visit industrial fairs.

4 . Connecting authors with audiences and helping readers discover new books, independent bookstores contribute greatly to the literacy and culture of the United States.

The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Located in the charming downtown area of Mobile, Alabama, it is a heaven for writers in another way as well. It has a Writer’s Room where local authors can schedule time to write in a cool environment with easy access to reference books. It hyper-categorizes its fiction so that it’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. Beyond books, a friendly cat usually greets customers at the door.

Bart’s Books in Ojai, California

It occupies bookshelves which expand onto the grounds surrounding the shop. The outdoor shelves were designed to appear like Parisian booksellers along the Seine. The naturalistic setting represents the love of nature that draws many people to the Ojai Valley, and it is proud of being the world’s biggest outdoor bookstore. It has a wide variety of books in its collection of over 130,000 new and used books.

Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia

It is a beloved bookstore in historic Decatur Square in Decatur, Georgia. Specializing in finding the perfect books for children, people want every young reader who walks into the shop to see themselves reflected in the books on the shelves. Kids have even more opportunities to have fun, thanks to book-themed summer camps, a summer reading program.

Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama

It is a striking, memorable bookshop in Fairhope, a peaceful community in Alabama. It has been an independent, family-owned bookshop for three generations and has been considered a local landmark for decades. They host events for both nationally known authors and local up-and-comers. Kids will delight in stuffed animals and toys in addition to children’s books.

1. What makes The Haunted Book Shop different from other shops?

A．Its reading program.	B．Its writing workshop.
C．Its abundant collection.	D．Its outdoor bookshelves.

2. Who is more likely to visit Bart’s Books?

A．A booklover fond of cats.	B．An author expert in history.
C．A teenager tired of city and noises.	D．An amateur enthusiastic about writing.

3. What do Little Shop of Stories and Page & Palette have in common?

A．They appeal to children.	B．They become landmarks.
C．They have a long history.	D．They hold summer camps.

5 . 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。

For travelers who used to think that Chinese farmers live in poor conditions, the rural tours can be quite an eye opener.    1     (travel) to Jiangsu's rural villages, many of which look like beautiful postcard scenes, might be totally different from     2     you have imagined. A rural tour to the province might allow travelers to have a glance at their daily lives as well as the    3     (develop) of China's rural areas in recent years.

Longshang village, which has 140 people from 51 households, is    4    (locate) at the foot of Youzi Mountain in Nanjing's Gaochun district. It used to have ruined houses,     5     (mud) roads and annoying flies everywhere. In 2017, experts     6     (invite) to design the village's landscape and help restore its ancient buildings. Now it has become    7    “internet celebrity” and attracted many visitors    8     (draw) by its tea houses, cafes and book stores.

Also in Nanjing, Bulao village in Pukou district, known as Never Aging village, has attracted many who are interested in finding the secret of staying young.     9     clean water and refreshing air, the village impresses many by its stone streets, ancient-style farm houses and various sports venues     10     people can go hiking, play baseball and go fishing.

6 . Shannan Hearne's oldest dream was to own a ranch(牧场). In February 2020, her dream finally came true when she opened the gates of Sun and Moon Ranch. Then, just a month later, the county slid into COVID-19 lockdown.     1    

With large areas of grasslands and plenty of sunshine and fresh air, there was no safer way for frightened neighbors to get out of the house.     2     Sure, you can sign up for riding lessons or board your horse. But you can also drop by to play with the chickens, goats, and dogs, or join the younger ranchers playing on the big pile of freshly dug dirt. Hearne now saw the ranch as something more than a business－it would be a place the community could call home.

    3       Many of them came not just for free cookouts, but for the chance to find peace of mind. “I had a vision for the space able to help cure those in need," says Hearne. One of those people, now 15, was born without fingers on one hand. His grandmother brought him to Sun and Moon for riding lessons Learning to control a horse with one hand helped him better manage his disability, and he grew closer to his grandmother over their shared love of horses. “    4    And I believe this is especially true for children or anyone who struggles with any sort of psychological issues," Hearne says.

Another boy became selectively silent because of his autism (自闭症).    5     Taking the reins (缰绳), literally, helped him do so in his daily life too. “I could see how the empowerment of riding was helping him feel once again in control of the world around him," says Hearne.

A．The ranch, Hearne realized, should be for everybody.

B．As the pandemic deepened, locals began to gather there.

C．Soon Hearne's dream began to grow into something bigger.

D．Locals desired to put up a tent there when they felt won out.

E．Lesson by lesson, Hearne watched him slowly come out of his own world.

F．He went from not answering questions to literally talking our ears off.

G．There is something empowering about controlling a thousand-pound animal.

7 . In the story of the three little pigs, the one who built his house of straw did not do well; the big bad wolf blew it down. But builder Michael Furbish, who made his own home from bales (捆) of straw, and an elementary school from the same material, says that in reality straw houses are not only strong, but also good for the environment. Straw — the stalks (杆, 茎) of plants like wheat, oats, and barley — is considered a waste material and is commonly used on farms as animal bedding. But more and more people are discovering that straw baled into rectangular blocks is an excellent and inexpensive building material.

There are two ways to make a straw-bale structure. You can build load-bearing walls with them, which means the walls support the roof. Or you can build a post-and-beam wooden frame that supports the roof and fill in the walls with the bales. Either way, the walls are there to stay. And they provide great insulation (绝缘), helping keep straw houses in cold climates warm in winter and those built in hot places like the desert cool in summer. Straw is considered a “green” building material because it is a renewable resource: a whole new crop can be grown and harvested every year, easily “renewing” the supply. Also, planting and harvesting straw uses relatively little energy. “Most other building materials require a lot of energy to be produced,” explains Furbish. “With straw-bale construction, you are getting a building product without using much energy at all.”

Furbish used about 900 straw bales in his family’s two-story, three-bedroom house. His company also provided straw-bale walls for the Friends Community School of College Park in Maryland. That project used about 4,000 bales. When asked if there are any problems with living in a straw house, like mice nibbling (咬, 啃) on the walls, Furbish points out that the straw is completely covered with plaster and stucco (灰泥). Besides, he has a couple of cats on mouse watch, just in case. “It would be hard to find a wall system that will wear better than straw,” he says. The big bad wolf is just out of luck.

1. The author wrote the passage in order to ________.

A．prove that the tale of the three pigs and the wolf is wrong

B．teach readers how to build straw houses

C．introduce an environmentally-friendly building material

D．advertise Furbish’s special houses

2. What do we learn about straw houses from the passage?

A．It costs little to make such special houses.

B．The outsides of the houses are green.

C．They are mostly built in the desert.

D．Plaster and stucco help make the houses strong.

3. The writer mentions the wolf at the beginning and the end of this passage to suggest ________.

A．straw houses are in fact nice and strong

B．the big bad wolf can’t blow straw houses down

C．the big bad wolf is very unlucky

D．people in straw houses needn’t worry about wolves

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Straw is a waste of material as animal bedding.

B．Furbish built his own home with only bales of straw.

C．Building straw houses requires no energy at all.

D．The roof of a straw house can be supported by a wooden frame.

5. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．living in a straw house, one has to keep several cats

B．the walls of a straw house help keep heat inside in cold climates

C．it is best to build a straw house at harvest time

D．we need 900 straw bales to build one straw house

8 . You spend a lot of time at home, so your furniture and other home decoration play a big role in how you feel.       1     Do you want to redecorate to maximize your good mood? Here are a few tips that show how furniture affects your mood.

How the furniture in your room is laid out is one of the most important factors affecting your mood. When shopping for a new home, many people focus on picking out paint colors.     2       Actually, the layout(布局)of your furniture should be one of the first things you should plan.

If you plan to entertain a lot of guests in your living room, you will want to plan for seating that encourages conversation. A line of chairs or couches against one wall won’t offer the chance for your guests to talk with each other.     3    

When choosing furniture for your room, keep in mind the size of the room as well as the ceiling height.     4     Adding oversized furniture for the room can make it hard to move throughout the room and create feelings of fear. On the other hand, furniture that is too small in a large room with high ceilings can create a feeling of coldness and unwelcome.

    5     Anytime you can bring great outdoor things in, your mood is sure to improve. Studies have shown that children who receive adequate sunlight during their studies have better grade. Similarly, natural scenes can improve your own ability to focus. Whenever possible, use natural light throughout your home to improve your state of mind. If you live in an urban setting, try adding potted plants to your room.

A．They seldom consider a room’s layout.

B．You should bring nature to your home.

C．Furniture needs to fit the size of the room.

D．A room’s layout of furniture can affect your mood.

E．Decorate your room with special scenes for your children.

F．Color and seating are important factors in home decoration.

G．Instead, choosing a small group of chairs or a 1arge sofa will be better.

9 . 假定你是李华，你的家乡去年突然发生大洪水，给当地居民生活、生产造成巨大损失。一年多来灾区重建成效显著。请你写一篇短文给China Daily介绍情况。
要点如下：
1. 灾后一年的变化(基础设施建设、人民的精神面貌等)；
2. 发生变化的原因；
3. 你的感想。
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10 . 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。

The history of Chinese garden architecture dates     1     the Shang and Zhou dynasties. During that period, Chinese kings and the nobility began developing forests and woods for hunting, which could    2    (see) as early gardens. The Han Dynasty advanced the concept of these "natural gardens" by adding living quarters and animals.

Traditional Chinese garden architecture was well developed in the Tang Dynasty. During this era, the    3    (construct) of beautiful gardens developed into what would include man-made hills, pools, and fountains.    4    time went on, this man-made beauty was able to successfully mix well with the beauty of the natural environment.

The Ming Dynasty    5     (follow) by the Qing Dynasty saw the heyday (最兴盛的时期) of Chinese garden architecture. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, emperors gathered skillful craftsmen (工匠) from all over the country    6     (create) even more complicated gardens. Gardens in this period were no longer    7     (mere) places for fun, but also served as areas     8    more formal ceremonies could take place.

Also, gardens in different regions of China have different styles. In northern China, they're large and often designed in scenic mountain areas. The Summer Palace is a typical example. The gardens in the south are    9    (small) than those in the north but no less delicate. Famous gardens    10     (belong) to this type are popular in Jiangsu Province, such as Li Garden and the Lion Forest Garden.