2 . 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 Tigris River and the Euphrates River are two of the most significant rivers in the Middle East     1     define Mesopotamia, the ancient land between the rivers. They shaped the civilizations that flourished along their banks and have been essential     2    (source)of water for agriculture, transportation and trade.

The Tigris River originates in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey and flows southeast through Iraq before joining the Euphrates River     3    (form)the Shatt al-Arab which then empties into the Persian Gulf. The river has a     4    (long)of about 1,900 kilometres.

In ancient times, the Tigris River served as     5     lifeline for different groups of people,     6    (include)Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Persians. Cities like Baghdad and Mosul     7    (situate)along its banks. The river provided water for irrigation, enabling the cultivation of crops such as wheat, barley and dates. It also facilitated trade routes, connecting ancient Mesopotamian cities and     8    (great)improving the exchange of goods and ideas. Similar     9     the Tigris River, the Euphrates River played a crucial role in the development of ancient civilizations.

Both rivers     10    (face)challenges in recent times. Dams, diversions(分水渠)and water projects have been constructed along their courses, impacting the flow and availability of water downstream.

3 . When it comes to popular symbols of marriage, one can not look past the wedding ring. The wedding ring serves as a perfect symbol of everlasting love — a ring is a circle and thus has no beginning or end, representing the never-ending union of marriage. Wedding rings have long and rich histories.

Evidence suggests that wedding rings were used in ancient Egypt around 6,000 years ago. However, unlike the metals and gemstones used today, they were crafted from materials such as reeds, leather or bone. In the centuries that followed, the wedding ring tradition was picked up in the West, where it spread first in ancient Rome and Greece, subsequently throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and eventually to Eastern culture. Throughout history, the circular shape of the ring has endured, and so has the tradition of wearing it on the fourth finger of the left hand. The latter practice stemmed from an ancient belief that a vein ran directly from this finger to the heart. Although this belief has since been proved false, the custom has persisted.

Regarding customs surrounding wedding rings, there was a time when only the bride wore a wedding ring. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the practice of grooms wearing rings gained popularity. This change was influenced by soldiers going off to war, who wore rings as reminders of their loved ones waiting for them at home. Today, the exchange of wedding rings remains an integral part of the wedding ceremony, symbolizing the commitment and love shared between two individuals embarking on a life together.

Wedding rings hold a symbolic significance that binds the two members of a married couple. In an ever-changing world, the wedding ring stands as an ancient tradition that is likely to continue for generations to come, reflecting the timeless and eternal love celebrated through marriage.

1. What is the main reason wedding rings are considered symbols of marriage?

A．They are made of precious materials.	B．They have profound histories.
C．They are worn on left hands.	D．They have circular shapes.

2. According to the passage, what is an example of a common myth instead of a fact?

A．Women were wearing wedding rings long before men were.

B．One finger on the left hand contains a vein leading to the heart.

C．Both ancient Romans and Egyptians wore the ring on the same finger.

D．The wedding ring tradition began in Egypt thousands of years ago.

3. Which of the following aspects of a wedding ring is NOT discussed in the passage?

A．How the tradition of it spread around the world.

B．What couples do with their wedding rings.

C．How to choose suitable wedding rings.

D．Materials used to make early rings.

4. How does the author feel about the tradition of wedding rings?

A．It will most likely last forever.	B．It has already fallen out of date.
C．It should be taken more seriously.	D．It holds no significance in modern society.

4 . It is no accident that so many fairy tale characters find themselves having to cross dangerous areas of woodland. In a most practical sense, as the ancients dreamed up those stories and even when the oral traditions were finally written down in the middle ages and later, the lands of northern and western Europe were thick with woodland. The dangers were obvious: from robbers lying in wait for unsuspecting travelers to opportunistic wolves hungry for the kill.

In many cultures, the forest is for god or ancestor worship. In An Illustrated Encyclopaedia Of Traditional Symbols, JC Cooper writes, “Entering the Dark Forest or the Enchanted Forest is a threshold (门槛) symbol: the soul entering the dangers of the unknown; the world of death; the secrets of nature, or the spiritual world which man must go through to find the meaning.”

The forest is a place of magic then, magic that can be dangerous, but also a place of opportunity and transformation. In the tale of Beauty and the Beast, the merchant is directed by invisible forces within the forest to the Beast’s castle, only then to be directed by invisible hands to his fate.

As for Little Red Riding Hood, straying from (偏离) the path and into the woods is similarly dangerous and filled with treachery (背叛). Symbolically, those who lose their way in the uncharted forest are losing their way in life, losing touch with their conscious selves and voyaging into the state of the subconscious.

And yet, in legends such as Robin Hood, or the great Hindu love story of Rama and Sita, the forest becomes a hiding place. The forest provides refuge (庇护) for great heroes who after a period of hard time come back to fight for justice. Their time in the forest could perhaps be interpreted as a period of personal development.

Today, still, woodland remains as a refuge from institutional order, from control and limitation of personal freedom. Forests are places full of mystery, where imagination and the subconscious can run free, where we can return to our original selves.

1. What does the author think of the woodland dangers in fairy tales?

A．They are created without reasonable basis.	B．They are a reflection of real-life dangers.
C．They differ greatly from those in real life.	D．They are apparent and can be easily avoided.

2. What does JC Cooper stress with her words in paragraph 2?

A．The hidden dangers in the forest.	B．The symbols in different cultures.
C．The symbolic meaning of the forest.	D．The educational functions of the forest.

3. The woodland plays the role of a shelter for the hero in ______.

A．Rama and Sita

B．Beauty and the Beast

C．Little Red Riding Hood

D．An Illustrated Encyclopaedia Of Traditional Symbols

4. How is the text developed?

A．By following time order.	B．By giving examples.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By explaining a principle.

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。

“Cold the iron chains spanning over the Dadu River,” Chairman Mao Zedong wrote in a poem, describing the do-or-die battle which took place on the Luding Bridge. The Bridge,     1     (measure) 103.67 meters in length and 3 meters in width, is located in Sichuan Province, which was     2     (original) built in 1705 during the Qing Dynasty. Near the Luding Bridge considered a historical landmark    3     (stand) a museum, in front of which there is a bronze statue of the soldiers whose spirit makes the bridge a household name.

Over 80 years ago, the bridge was crucial to the survival of the CPC-led Red Army during the Long March because if the soldiers had failed to dash through the Luding Bridge then, the Red Army might have been wiped out. Upon their     4     (arrive), the Red Army found only thirteen heavy iron chains    5     (leave) across the river. With no time to waste, one by one the Red soldiers ventured forward to risk their lives and of those who offered    6     (they), thirty were chosen. Though several soldiers fell into     7    fast-flowing river,the others crawled along the wood boards they had laid until they finally took control of the east bank .

Probably never before had people seen fighters like these-men for whom soldiering was not just a rice bowl,     8    a mission. They astonishingly accomplished    9     seemed like a task impossible and their    10    (courage) spirit will always stick in our mind.

6 . 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。

Porcelain (瓷器) is a material made from well-chosen porcelain clay through a series of technological     1     (process) like mixing, molding, drying and firing. Although porcelain developed from pottery, it is superior in both practical     2     artistic terms. Perhaps that is     3     it gradually replaced pottery in history.

The     4     (early) porcelain, commonly called “primitive porcelain”, appeared during the Shang Dynasty. But the first porcelain in real sense was not produced until the-Eastern Han Dynasty. Later with the processing techniques     5     (mature) all the way, famous kilns (窑), including what are known as the “Five, Great Kilns”, emerge     6     quantity during the Song Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen, the Capital of Porcelain, produced blue and white porcelain which later became the     7     (represent) of porcelain. Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty is classical, graceful, delicate and splendid, thus becoming superb goods popular at home and abroad.

Porcelain is the creative fruit of     8     working people of ancient China. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, porcelain     9     (export) worldwide: It promotes economic and cultural exchange between China and the outside world, and     10     (dramatic) influences the traditional culture and lifestyle of people from other countries.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. When was the English muffin invented?

A．In the 18th century.

B．In the 19th century.

C．In the 20th century.

2. What did Thomas do?

A．He sold English muffins to hotels.

B．He imported English muffins to Britain.

C．He introduced English muffins from England to America.

3. What is the case of English muffins now?

A．They are removed from restaurant menus.

B．They are the same things as American muffins.

C．They are more popular in Britain than in America.

8 . 阅读下边短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

On Thursday, the National Cultural Heritage Administration in Beijing     1     (reveal) that archaeologists had discovered two sunken ships in the depths of the South China Sea. It offered tangible evidence of commercial and     2     (culture) exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The latest underwater archaeological     3     (explore) carried out by the National Center for Archaeology have     4     (significant) uncovered important artifacts. In addition to the shipwrecks, a variety of artifacts, including pottery, porcelain and ironware, have been unearthed, most of     5     were made in kilns (窑炉) in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, known as China’s “porcelain capital.” The precise locations of the shipwrecks and the associated cultural relics     6     (determine) through the use of oceanographic technology and underwater investigations involving manned submersibles, which conducted 41 dives throughout the year, as confirmed by Song Jianzhong,     7     researcher at the National Center for Archaeology.

The Ming Dynasty’s No.1 shipwreck,     8     (measure) 37 meters long and 11 meters wide, has yielded 543 artifacts, suggesting it sailed from Fujian or Guangdong to Southeast Asia trade centers like Malacca. The No. 2 shipwreck dates     9     the rule of Emperor Hongzhi and measures about 21 meters long and 8 meters wide. A total of 36 artifacts have been found on it, porcelain and pottery     10     (include).

9 . Lindsey Stallworth, a high school student from Alabama, is on her way to a promising career in paleontology (古生物学) due to an unexpected discovery on family property. For years, she had been collecting fossils on their land in Monroe County, unaware of significant scientific value. However, her teacher at the Alabama School of Math and Science, Dr. Andrew Gentry, a paleontologist himself, took an interest when she showed him her collection.

“Upon examining the fossil shark teeth Lindsey presented, I quickly identified one and became eager to learn about its origin,” said Andrew.

Lindsey guided her mentor through the rural area where she had unearthed various relics, including shark teeth. Before long, they encountered an especially significant find on the grounds: a large bone from a 34-million-year-old whale skeleton! This led the pair to launch the huge project of uncovering the rest of the bones. After two months of hard work, they’ve managed to find the animal’s skull.

“Assuming the entire skeleton is present, it may require several years for us to have the entire animal back in the lab,” Andrew explained.

Lindsey secured a research scholarship to persist in her fossil-digging expeditions alongside her instructor. Her enthusiasm for the project was at an all-time high, though she had never imagined a childhood pastime would lead her down this road. “We would go out and pick up shark teeth and fossil shells, but we never knew anyone that could tell us anything about them,” she recalled. “We just thought they were cool.”

“The Research Fellows Program allows Lindsey to gain real-world experience in scientific research and even present that research at professional conferences,” Andrew said. “ It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a high school student to stand out when applying to college and maybe even discover a new career path.”

1. Why was Andrew fascinated by Lindsey’s finds?

A．He had a personal interest in geography.

B．He recognized the significance of one fossil.

C．He wanted to start a paleontology club at school.

D．He was hoping to make money from the discoveries.

2. What inspired Andrew and Lindsey to start a fossil uncovering project?

A．Some shark teeth.	B．Some fossil shells.
C．An animal’s skull.	D．A primitive whale’s bone.

3. Which of the following best describes Andrew and Lindsey’s project?

A．Risky but romantic.	B．Dangerous but interesting.
C．Demanding but motivating.	D．Boring but groundbreaking.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The unexpected joy of discovering fossils.

B．The additional benefits of applying to college.

C．Lindsey’s potential to become a high school teacher.

D．Lindsey’s unique opportunities for future development.

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。

Chinese archaeologists recently released the findings of a series of new excavations     1     (relate) to the Hongshan Culture, a new stone culture renowned for its jade carvings, raising the number of Hongshan Culture sites from a little over 90 to more than 500.

Active 6,500 to 5,000 years ago, the Hongshan Culture extended throughout a 200,000-square-kilometer area of     2     is today the West Liaohe River Basin. The excavations in 2022     3     (unearth) remains of grains, sacrificial buildings and a large settlement, revealing an agricultural society that ate grains. The discovery demonstrates the Hongshan people made sacrifices to wish for     4     better harvest.

Before the new discovery, the fishing and hunting     5     (know) to be main activities in Hongshan ancestors’ life.     6     these findings were valuable, there was little     7     (evident) that gave archeologists an idea of what people’s daily life was like back then. This has changed, however,     8     the discovery of a large settlement site in the Niuheliang region     9     (contain) 27 homes. Present research shows that the Hongshan people’s houses were semi-underground and made use of long entryways.

“The Hongshan Culture     10     (original) began about 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and promoted the development of Chinese civilization,” noted Sun Yonggang, a history researcher at Chifeng University.