2 . The annual South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held on Sunday, March 17, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. This is the 119th-annual parade for the historically-Irish city, and always falls on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick’s Day. This year, it luckily falls on the day of the holiday itself.

The Route

According to the Allied War Veterans Council, the parade will start at 1 p.m. at Broadway station and move up West Broadway. It will continue on East Broadway, take a right on P Street, then a right onto East Fourth Street.

From East Fourth Street, it will turn left onto K Street, then right onto East Fifth Street, where it will continue until taking a left onto G Street. It will stay left of South Boston High School to Thomas Park, and follow the park until it takes a left at Telegraph Street and another left to Dorchester Street. The parade will stay on Dorchester Street until its end in Andrew Square.

How to participate

If you’re local to the area or traveling especially to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you can, of course, attend the parade in person. But for everyone else, there are a few options on how to watch it live.

Local stations NBC10 Boston and NECN will air the parade on television or stream on various platforms starting at 1 p.m. ET, including on Peacock, Roku and on its YouTube channel.

USA TODAY is also providing coverage for the parade in Boston, as well as celebration in other U.S. cities over the weekend, including New York City and Chicago. You can watch the parade at the top of this page or on USA TODAY’s YouTube channel.

1. Where will St. Patrick’s Day parade start?

A．Broadway station.	B．Dorchester Street.
C．K Street.	D．South Boston High School.

2. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To call for donations.	B．To recommend a traditional holiday.
C．To inform people of an activity.	D．To explain a period of history.

3. Where does the passage probably come from?

A．A magazine.	B．A history book.
C．The internet.	D．A travel brochure.

4 .

A．Certain gift from Hawaii.	B．A grand wedding party.
C．Two plane tickets to Hawaii.	D．A picture of the moon.

5 . 请根据上下文内容，将文中划线部分译成汉语或者英语，并将答案转写到答题卡上。

Holidays play an important part in our life. We work hard during the year, so we feel tired and stressed at times.     1     We need holidays to relax, even if they only last for a few days. This is especially true for women. They could get away from their husbands, children and family for even one week in the year.

    2     假期有很多好处。Firstly, they can improve the economy (经济).     3       If there were no holidays, people would have little time to spend the money they earn. Secondly, holidays allow people to relax after working hard throughout the year. During and after the holidays, people feel more relaxed and energetic; they then bring this energy to work when they continue working. Lastly, holidays help people learn how to enjoy life.     4     Most people improve their relationships with their other family members during holidays.

However, holidays also have bad aspects. For example, many people said that they couldn’t enjoy shopping or travelling because there were so many people shopping and travelling, too. Anyway, most people realize that they need holidays.     5     我无法想象如果没有假期人们的生活会是什么样子。

6 . Following its recent success in hosting the 19th Asian Games, Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, celebrated the opening of a related grand sporting event, the 4th Asian Para Games, with an emotohally engaging opening ceremony on Sunday night.

The ceremony, themed “Hearts Meet, Dreams Shine”, was held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. also known as the “Big Lotus”.

While the opening ceremony on Sept 23 of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou showcased to the world the host city’s rich cultural heritage, picturesque scenery and technological prowess (造诣), the opening ceremony of the Asian Para Games focused more on the softer side of Hangzhou and its people.

The ceremony featured the osmanthus (桂花), the city flower of Hangzhou, as the key element to convey the “sunny, harmonious, persevering and sharing” spirit of the Para Games.

Following an opening show featuring a first-person narration by a partially sighted young girl who welcomed guests from a long distance while the osmanthus is in full blossom, spectators cheered as Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang declared the opening of the sporting gala.

Twenty-two massive bunches of golden osmanthus, which represent the 22 sports featured in the event, served as the centerpiece of the ceremony.

With the help of technology, the bouquets took on different configurations —sometimes as water, sometimes as arched bridges —before eventually turning into a giant crown hung in the air, welcoming the athletes as they entered the stadium.

Majid Rashed, the president of the Asian Paralympic Committee, expressed appreciation for the Chinese host’s thorough organization. “The huge efforts of the Chinese government and the organizing committee in making these Games a success, is helping us to get closer to achieving our vision of creating an inclusive Asia through sport,” said Rashed, who thanked the organizing committee for its “tireless efforts, which will make these the best ever Asian Para Games, I’m sure”.

In the next six days, the Para Games will see 3,100 athletes from 44 countries and regions compete in 564 medal events in 22 sports.

1. What is special about the opening ceremony of Asian Para Games?

A．The host city’s inner spirit.

B．The host city’s pretty scenery.

C．The host city’s abundant cultural tradition.

D．The host city’s advanced skills of technology.

2. What does the underlined word “configuration” mean?

A．forms

B．styles

C．equipment

D．modes

3. What can we learn from Para.8?

A．The host city is ill-prepared.

B．Success of the event is just down to Hang Zhou.

C．The host city gains only minimal recognition for its efforts.

D．What the host city does contributes a lot to an inclusive Asia.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The grand opening ceremony was held at HangZhou involved with advanced technology.

B．sports taking center stage during holiday inspired by HangZhou Asian Games.

C．The 19th Asian Games and the 4th Asian Para Games were a huge success.

D．The 4th Asian Para Games are fully prepared and win wide recognition.

7 . 2023年12月22日，第78届联合国大会协商一致通过决议，将春节确定为联合国假日：假定你是李华，作为中国学生代表应邀参与世界中学生学习交流活动来介绍中国的春节。请你以今年龙年为例，向国际学生介绍中国的春节。要点如下：
1、介绍春节：2.邀请大家来中国欢度春节。
注意：1.写作词数应为80左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Ladies and gentlemen,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why did the touring party hold a football game on Friday?

A．To offer a chance to know each other.

B．To have a competition.

C．To have fun.

2. What did the man do on Sunday?

A．He played volleyball.

B．He had a running race.

C．He learned to play basketball.