1 . Spain is a country that lies in southwestern Europe. It’s surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the south and the east, while to the north and northeast of Spain lie France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay. The west and northwest of Spain are surrounded by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.
The official name of the state is the Kingdom of Spain. Madrid is the capital city, which is also one of the famous places in Spain. Spain, which covers 505,925 square kilometres, is one of the largest countries in Europe.
The weather in Spain differs from one area to another. Most of the rain that happens in Spain is in the mountainous areas. The plains hardly receive any rainfall.
Soccer is an important part of life in Spain. It’s said that Spanish children learn to walk and play soccer at exactly the same time. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are two Spanish soccer teams, which are respected by soccer fans not only in Spain, but all over the world. The popularity of the sport can be judged from the fact that three major soccer teams, which are Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, and Rayo Vallecano, were born in Madrid.
If you are a tourist, then you will want to know about the driving rules in Spain. If you’re not from the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, then for you to drive you’ll have to carry your international driver’s license. Bad news if you haven’t celebrated your 18th birthday. If you want to rent a car, then you must have completed 21 years of age. If you’re driving, make sure you take all the documents at all times during your stay in Spain.
1. Paragraph 1 is mainly about .A.the history of Spain | B.the location of Spain |
C.famous cities in Spain | D.neighbouring countries of Spain |
A.Three major soccer teams were born in Madrid. |
B.Spanish people enjoy watching soccer matches. |
C.Spanish people play soccer when they are walking. |
D.Spanish soccer teams have fans all over the world. |
A.Tom who is 17 years old. | B.Jenny who is 19 years old. |
C.Mike who is 20 years old. | D.Bruce who is 22 years old. |
A.explain how to enjoy life in Spain | B.prove Spain is a beautiful country |
C.make readers know more about Spain | D.attract more people to pay a visit to Spain |
1. Why do some travelers hesitate about travelling in Japan?
A.Japan is crowded. | B.The sightseeing is tiring. | C.Travel expenses are high. |
A.Two days. | B.Three days. | C.Seven days. |
A.Buying a bus pass. | B.Asking for a discount. | C.Experiencing major holidays. |
A.A man over 65. | B.A child over 12. | C.A 60-year-old woman. |
1. What’s the speaker probably?
A.A musician. | B.A cook. | C.A worker. |
A.It has its own national type of music. |
B.It has the oldest bookstore in the world. |
C.It is the oldest country in Europe. |
A.The beaches. | B.The major cities. | C.The northern forest area. |
A.After finishing university. |
B.After a few years of work. |
C.After his retirement. |
4 . Think of the Mississippi Delta. Maybe you imagine cotton fields and blues music. It has been all that. But for more than a century, the Delta has also been a popular destination for immigrants. Recently, I was assigned to learn more about one immigrant group in particular: the Chinese in Greenville, a small city along the Mississippi River. There I met Raymond Wong, whose family has long been part of the community.
The first wave of Chinese immigrants came to the Mississippi Delta soon after the Civil War, and the pace picked up by the early 1900s. The Chinese originally came to pick cotton, but they quickly started opening grocery stores, mostly in the African-American communities where they lived. The stores sold meat, fresh vegetables, canned goods, anything you might need. Nothing Chinese about them, except the owners.
“On my street alone, there were at least four grocery stores. I’m talking about a small street,” Wong recalls. “I was raised in a grocery store. All my family — six of us — lived in a couple of rooms at the back of our store. As soon as I could count money I had to work in the store.”
In 1968, Wong’s father opened a Chinese restaurant called How Joy in Greenville, one of the first in the town. At the time, nobody knew what Chinese food was. “But the restaurant existed for 40 years. I worked there, too,” Wong says.
Wong remembers a time of big excitement when he was young: The family finally could afford to buy a house in a white neighborhood. Then suddenly, that conversation stopped.
“When people found out that we were moving in, they started throwing bottles in the driveway,” Wong says. “We ended up building a house directly behind the grocery.”
And the future? It’s probably not in the Delta. Wong remembers the question his son asked when he was still in high school: “Dad, do you want me to take over the store when you retire?” Wong’s response was immediate: “No. I want you to do better than me.” That’s the story of the typical Delta Chinese.
1. What did the Delta Chinese originally do shortly after the Civil War?A.Working in cotton fields. | B.Running restaurants. |
C.Importing Chinese food. | D.Opening grocery stores. |
A.Raymond Wong had a fun and carefree childhood. |
B.The store owners’ children were very talented in math. |
C.There was intense competition among the grocery stores. |
D.The Wongs was the most successful family in Greenville. |
A.the house owner raised the price | B.their business failed unexpectedly |
C.they did not have enough money | D.the white people did not accept them |
A.Excited. | B.Insecure. | C.Unconcerned. | D.Optimistic. |
5 . In 2050, one in four people will be over 60 in the Asia-Pacific region. Are countries there prepared to fully address the needs of older persons so that they age with dignity?
In the past, senior citizens might have been supported by their families and communities. Yet times are changing.
More than ever, there is an urgent need for policy reform in addressing population aging. This must be driven by a shift in mindset to turn the challenges into a demographic opportunity.
It is noteworthy that, in the Asia-Pacific, with more than half of the older population being women, it is crucial to adopt a life-cycle approach to population aging, grounded in gender equality and human rights. Investing in each stage of life determines the path of a woman’s life course. When a girl has access to quality education, it helps her make informed decisions about life-changing matters.
While there is no single comprehensive policy that can address population aging, we need to take action now.
A.Couples are having fewer babies. |
B.Pensions are increasing, pressuring governments further. |
C.We must rethink population aging, celebrating it as the victory of development. |
D.Migration and urbanization have shifted traditional support systems for the elderly. |
E.The decisions she makes paves the way towards a healthier and wealthier silver age. |
F.We must invest in better policies that focus on the needs of people at every age of their life. |
G.Life-long gender discrimination leaves women even more disadvantaged in an aging society. |
6 . Falling birth rates are a major concern for some of Asia’s biggest economies. Government s in the region are spending hundreds of billions of dollars trying to reverse the trend. Will it work?
Japan began introducing policies to encourage couples to have more children in the 1990s. South Korea started doing the same in the 2000s, while Singapore’s first fertility (生育) policy dates back to 1987. China, which has seen its population fall for the first time in 60 years, recently joined the growing club.
While it is difficult to quantify exactly how much these policies have cost, South Korean President YoonSuk-yeol recently said his country had spent more than $200bn (£160bn) over the past 16 years on trying to boost the population. Yet last year South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate, with the average number of babies expected per woman falling to 0.78. In neighbouring Japan, which had record low births of fewer than 800,000 last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to double the budget for child-related policies from 10tn yen ($74.7bn; £59.2bn).
Having a bigger population who can work and produce more goods and services leads to higher economic growth. And while a larger population can mean higher costs for governments, it can also result in bigger tax revenues (税收). Also, many Asian countries are ageing rapidly. Japan leads the pack with nearly 30% of its population now over the age of 65 and some other nations in the region are not far behind. Compare that with India, which has just overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation. More than a quarter of its people are between the age of 10 and 20, which gives its economy huge potential for growth. And when the share of the working age population gets smaller, the cost and burden of looking after the non-working population grow. “Negative population growth has an impact on the economy, and together with an ageing population, they won’t be able to afford to support the elderly,” said Xiujian Peng of Victoria University.
1. Which Asian country first took measures to increase population in this passage?A.Japan. | B.South Korea. | C.Singapore. | D.China. |
A.Japan hit the lowest record of new-born babies last year. |
B.India has the largest and youngest population in the world. |
C.China’s population has been decreasing in the recent 60 years. |
D.South Korea had the lowest population record last year in the world. |
A.The economy of India will overtake that of Japan. |
B.Negative population growth leads to an ageing population. |
C.The larger the population is, the better the economy will be. |
D.A bigger share of working age population helps support the elderly. |
A.Low birth rate is a negative factor for economy. |
B.China is joining the countries of low birth rate. |
C.Many Asian countries came to negative population growth. |
D.Many Asian countries are trying all out to battle low birth rate. |
1. Who is the speaker talking to?
A.Tourists. | B.Students. | C.Writers. |
A.Parking lots. | B.Car lots. | C.Car parks. |
A.It is dry. | B.It is boring. | C.It is obvious. |
A.The numbers of artists. |
B.Styles of buildings. |
C.Standards of living. |
地理位置 | 太平洋上的岛国,由两个大岛组成。 |
产业 | 重要农业国;主要出口羊毛、羊肉、牛肉、林产品、水果和蔬菜;葡萄酒质量很高,行销全世界。 |
体育与假日 | 航海、游泳、骑马、攀岩;到山里或海滨露营。 |
自然与动物 | 自然美,吸引游客;国鸟“几维”, 不会飞。 |
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9 . Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean, is located off the eastern coast of Africa. Here is something to let you know better about it before your trip.
Plants and Animals
There are many kinds of native wild plant species in Mauritius even though little original forest is left. The wild animals include the sambar (a long-tailed, dark brown deer) as well as a variety of birds and insects. The island was once home to the dodo, a flightless bird that was extinct in the late 17th century.
Education and Languages
The education structure consists of three years of pre-primary school. Six years of free primary education begins at age five, which is followed by up to seven years of secondary education. English is the official language of Mauritius, but French and Creole are also spoken. Some other languages are also spoken by different communities.
Sports and Entertainment
Football here claims the greatest number of participants and fans. Mauritians from all communities make winter horse racing one of the most popular and highly attended sporting activities of the year. And Black River Gorges National Park, Trou aux Cerfs, an inactive volcano, which is now heavily forested, and the island’s numerous beaches are surely great places to visit.
Transportation and Telecommunications
Almost all roadways are paved throughout the island. Most of the country’s shipping activity is conducted through port facilities at Port Louis. An international airport is located at Plaisance. In 2021, network coverage with the 5G standard was already 4.5% of all inhabitants. The proportion of the population with at least 4G mobile Internet access was 99%.
To get more information about Mauritius, click here.
1. What can we learn about the plants and animals in Mauritius from the text?A.They are single. | B.They are various. |
C.They are mostly flightless. | D.They are mostly domestic. |
A.It is free for all ages. | B.It lacks English and French instruction. |
C.It includes 16 years of primary education. | D.It covers 13 years of primary and secondary education. |
A.Port shipping is popular. | B.5G technology has not yet started. |
C.4G network coverage is no more than half. | D.Horse racing claims the greatest number of fans. |
10 . The United States is a country of immigrants. It is a place where people from all over the world come to build a better life. Some immigrants bring their families. Some bring a few of their favorite things. Others come alone with nothing but determination. One thing that every immigrant brings with them is their culture.
American immigration began in 1607 with the colony of Jamestown. In 1620, another group of people left England to build a settlement in America. They wanted to go to a place where they could practice their religion freely. Then many more people left their homes in Europe to build a better life in America. Many also came to America from Africa. By 1770, more than two million people had moved to America. Later on, more people came to the United States than ever before. In cities all over America, you can see different cultures that formed this country. Many things that you may think of as being “American” are actually from a foreign culture. Some of the best examples of this are the foods people eat. Pizza and spaghetti are foods that all Americans know and love. But both of them are from Italy. Baseball is an all-American sport. But the hot dogs that people eat during the game are a type of food that was brought to America by German immigrants.
Over time, pizza and hot dogs have become a part of what is considered to be American food. In the same way, different groups of people have come together to define what an American is. An American can be a person of any background. An American can be of any faith. An American can be of any skin color. They can speak English clearly. They can speak English with an accent. Each new immigrant adds something new to American culture. It will keep changing as more people come to this country.
1. Why do many foreigners move to America?A.To achieve individual dreams. | B.To avoid political punishment. |
C.To reunite with the beloved ones. | D.To improve the life quality. |
A.they have a long history in America | B.America is made up of different cultures |
C.America is a country full of tasty foods | D.they are very popular with Americans |
A.diverse | B.strange | C.simple | D.advanced |
A.Immigrants and Their American Dreams | B.America: a Land of Opportunity |
C.America: a Melting Pot of Cultures | D.Life in the US: Culture Shock |