1 . That dinosaurs ate the mammals (哺乳动物) that ran beneath their feet is not in doubt. Now an extraordinary fossil newly described in Scientific Reports, unearthed by a team led by Gang Han at Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology in China, shows that sometimes the tables were turned.

The fossil -dated to about 125 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period-was formed when a flow of boiling volcanic mud swallowed two animals seemingly locked in a life-and-death fight. The one on top is a mammal. This animal is a herbivorous species closely related to the Triceratops (三角恐龙). Animal interactions such as this are exceptionally cam e in the fossil record.

One possibility is that the mammal was eating something already dead, other than hunting live prey. These days it is uncommon for small mammals to attack much larger animals. But it is not unheard of. And Dr. Han and his colleagues point out that those mammals which eat dead bodies typically leave tooth marks all over the bones of the animals. The dinosaur’s remains show no such marks. There is also a chance the fossil could be a fake. More and more convincing fake s have emerged, as this one did -though Dr. Han and his colleagues argue that the complexly connected nature of the skeletons (骨骼) makes that unlikely, too.

Assuming it is genuine, the discovery serves as a reminder that not all dinosaurs were enormous during the Cretaceous and not all mammals were tiny. From nose to tail, the dinosaur is just 1.2 meters long. The mammal is a bit under half a meter in length. Despite being half the size, the mammal has one paw firmly wrapped around one of its prey’s limbs, and another pulling on its jaw. It is biting down on the dinosaur’s chest, and has ripped off two of its ribs. Before they were interrupted, it seems that the mammal was winning.

1. Which idiom is closest in meaning to underlined part “the tables were turned” in paragraph 1?

A．The fittest survives.	B．The hunters become hunted.
C．Fortune always favors the brave.	D．The truth will always come to light.

2. Why does the author mention the “tooth mark” in paragraph 3?

A．To prove the fossil was fake.	B．To show the forming of the fossil.
C．To illustrate the process of hunting.	D．To suggest the dinosaur was hunted alive.

3. What makes Dr. Han think the fossil is genuine?

A．The size of the fossil.	B．The absence of fake fossils.
C．The complexity of the skeletons.	D．The consistency of the opinions.

4. What is the function of the last paragraph?

A．It offers a cause.	B．It highlights a solution.
C．It justifies the conclusion.	D．It provides a new discovery.

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 recent opening of a new exhibition building at the Sanxingdui Museum, in Guanghan, in Sichuan province, made the place     1     instant tourist hot spot. The bronze heads, golden masks, holy trees and various statues reveal the    2     (mystery) faces of a culture dating back more than 3,000 years.

For those who cannot make it to Guanghan,     3     the extensive site of Sanxingdui is located, an immersive exhibition     4    (equip) with digital technology, titled Hello Sanxingdui,     5     (offer) an alternative means to be awed by the magnificence of this Bronze Age culture. It is running at the Longfu Art Museum in Beijing until Feb 29.

It provides a time-travel experience for both an educational and artistic appeal. The journey begins     6     a brief timeline of texts, photos and videos, showing how Sanxingdui was first discovered in the 1920s, when objects were found by farmers digging an irrigation ditch (灌溉沟渠); and it highlights the important moments in the past century’s continued archaeological efforts, to reveal the myths surrounding Sanxingdui and the secrets yet     7     (uncover).

On show     8     life-size reproductions of dozens of astonishing artifacts, supervised by Sanxingdui Museum, such as 2.6-meter bronze statues, 3.8-meter-wide bronze masks and “the holy tree” standing nearly 4 meters.

Images of these objects found at Sanxingdui and their     9     (pattern) have been digitalized, animated and projected on screens, leading the audience into the ancient kingdom of Shu, a     10     (civilize) that thrived for centuries in the southwest during the Zhou Dynasty, and disappeared suddenly, leaving many myths and legends.

3 . 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

Wing Chun is a southern Chinese kung fu style descends from Shaolin Kung Fu. It has the distinction of having been founded by two women, Ng Mui and Yim Wing-chun.

The Wing Chun style is known for placing     1     (emphasize) on technique rather than strength. This style also calls for practitioners to stay relaxed while     2    (fight), allowing them to achieve a kind of softness or flexibility. This relaxed flexibility gives Wing Chun fighter     3     special kind of strength that allows them to bend, not break, just like bamboo.   

Legend has it that Wing Chun founder Ng Mui was living at Shaolin Temple     4     it was attacked and destroyed by Qing dynasty forcers. Surviving the attack, she escaped     5     the border area between Yunnan and Sichuan. There she met a young woman     6     (name)Yim Wing-chun, who     7     (final) became one of her top students. She taught Yim an improved version of Shaolin Kung Fu, known as Wing Chun now. This new martial art     8     (spread) and grown into different branches over the past two hundred years.

Ip Man, featured in the eponymous (同名的) hit films,     9    (be) a notable practitioner of Wing Chun style martial arts. He also taught the Wing Chun style to his student, Bruce Lee, who would go on to act in the beloved Hong Kong kung fu movies     10     helped make Chinese martial arts famous around the world.

4 . Women were less likely than men to support the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, or the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. They commit far fewer murders. They are less likely to favor strikes. For some scholars, these are grounds for thinking that a world run by women would be more peaceful.

But European history suggests otherwise, according to political scientists Oeindrila Dube and S. P. Harish. They studied how often European rulers went to war between 1480 and 1913, and found that states ruled by queens were 27% more likely to get involved in wars than those ruled by kings.

This was not all the queens’ fault: men, seeing them as soft targets, tended to attack them. Frederick the Great of Prussia once declared: ”No woman should ever be allowed to govern anything.“ Shortly after becoming king, he attacked the newly crowned Archduchess of Austria, Maria Theresa, and seized Silesia province. Despite years of war, she never recovered it.

But perceived weakness is not the whole story. Queens, the researchers found, were more likely to gain new territory. Catherine the Great expanded her empire by some 200,000 square miles. And married queens were more aggressive than single queens or kings, whether single or married.

The authors suggest several reasons for this. First, married queens may have been able to form more military alliances(联盟),making them confident enough to pick fights. Their husbands had often served in the army before they married, and were well placed to strengthen military ties between their homelands and their wives’ states.

Second, unlike most kings, queens often gave their husbands a lot of power,putting them in charge of foreign policy or the economy. During the 1740s, Maria Theresa’s husband, Francis I, reformed the Austrian economy and raised money for the armed forces while his wife ruled much of central Europe. Prince Albert was Queen Victoria’s most trusted adviser, shaping her foreign policy until his death in1861. This division of labor, the authors suggest, freed up time for queens to pursue more aggressive policies.

The modern era, too, has witnessed female leaders in wars: Golda Meir and the Yom Kippur war, or Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands. The number of countries led by women has more than doubled since 2000, but there is plenty of room for improvement: the current level of 15 represents less than 10 % of the total. A world in which more women took power might be more equal. Whether it would be more peaceful is a different question.

1. The underlined “perceived weakness” in paragraph 4 means that________.

A．women were less likely to support wars

B．women could not recover lost territory

C．women commit far fewer crimes

D．women were soft targets

2. Why were married queens more likely to gain new territory?

A．Because their military alliances picked fights for them.

B．Because they were ambitious and aggressive by nature.

C．Because their husbands were supportive in state governing.

D．Because they centralized all power into their own hands.

3. What is the purpose of mentioning the two female leaders in the last paragraph?

A．To imply there is room for improvement in gender equality.

B．To indicate more females become leaders in modern times.

C．To illustrate female leaders cannot prevent wars in modern times.

D．To suggest female leaders have their share of wars in modern times.

4. According to the passage, we can safely conclude that________.

A．married women are not fit to govern their states on their own

B．female leaders should be responsible for all wars throughout history

C．the world wouldn’t be more peaceful even if more women took power

D．the division of labor allows queens to survive economic crisis

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。

2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar and it is the first time that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)    1     (include) the term “Chinese dragon” in its dictionary. The Chinese dragon has two definitions in the OED, with the first one about its physical image and the second one on its figurative and allusive (典故的) nature.

Emperors in ancient dynasties were dressed in a Dragon Robe, a traditional silk-woven costume with dragon designs,     2     (symbolize) imperial power and authority. Jade Seals (玉玺), often     3     (carve) with dragons, also symbolize the authority of the emperor.

Contrary     4     the Western dragon, the image of the Chinese dragon, despite undergoing constant changes, has represented various’ positive     5     (quality) including prosperity, authority, strength and good fortune.

In ancient Chinese belief, dragons     6     (associate) with the control of the weather, particularly rain. The dragon’s ability to bring rain was seen as crucial for agriculture, which made it     7     positive symbol for the fertility of the land.

With the rising China Chic trend and the country’s booming cultural creative industry, the Chinese dragon in folktale is now     8     (common) seen in creative products such as tear-off calendars, dolls, dragon-themed jewelry as well as the “dragon blind boxes”     9     appeal to young consumers.

Whether it is through the hands of a national-level intangible (非物质) cultural heritage inheritor     10     the hands of a Generation Z “blind box” designer, the Chinese dragon carries forward the Chinese cultural spirit.

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。

The Chinese couplet (对联) refers to two poetic lines obeying certain rules, often written on red paper for     1     (appreciate).

As a form of Chinese literature, the couplet     2     (vary) in content and style. Some express people’s love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of nature,     3     some convey best wishes for the coming year.

Chinese couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, and     4     (become) ubiquitous (无处不在) in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a custom for people     5     (hang) peach wood charms to drive away evil spirits during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, couplets are used     6     a similar way.

It was said that the     7     (early) couplet was written by Meng Xu, king of Houshu State and it was     8     (extreme) popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, to write couplets     9     (regard) as a mark of the cultured life of scholars.

The couplet has two equal-length lines. However,     10       number of characters in each line can be from four to seven or more. The first and the second lines have opposite tone patterns. The last character of the first line is of an oblique tone (仄声), and its opposite in the second line, of a level tone (平声).

7 . 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 classical gardens of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, date back to the 6th century     1     the city was founded     2     the capital of the Wu Kingdom. Today, more than 50 of these gardens are still in     3     (exist), nine of which are regarded as the finest embodiments (化身) of Chinese “Mountain and Water” gardens.

Built in the 11th century on the site of an     4     (early) destroyed garden, Canglang Pavilion has the longest history among all the existing classical gardens in Suzhou. Naturally     5     (lay) out and well designed, it is called one of the four best gardens in Suzhou. The garden looks simple but natural. Without complex     6     (decorate), it combines buildings with scenery so well     7     the whole garden appears to be naturally endowed (赋予). Since many of the     8     (origin) features of the garden have been preserved, the garden has a high historical and artistic value.

The classical gardens of Suzhou     9     (be) the most vivid specimens(样本)of culture from the East Yangtze Delta region in the 11th to 19th centuries. The underlying philosophy, literature, art, and craftsmanship     10     (show) in the architecture, gardening as well as the handcrafts perfectly reflect the monumental achievements of the social, cultural, scientific, and technological developments of this period.

8 . Walled Cities Of The World

There are numerous historical walled cities across the world, whose walls date back several centuries. These walls were fortification (碉堡), a necessity throughout medieval eras for defense. They have been preserved as historical monuments and popular tourist attractions in the modern time.

York, England

The city of York is a medieval city situated in the north of England. Historically, the city was ruled by the Romans, Angles, and the Vikings before being incorporated as part of the Kingdom of England in 954. Located in the city are walls built in 71 AD which have been restored and extended with time.

Xi’an, China

The city of Xian is one of the oldest cities in China. It prospered economically as the eastern last station of the Silk Road. The existing walls were originally built in 770 BC and reconstructed in the 14th century under the Ming Dynasty. The walls are well preserved and are a major tourist attraction in the city.

Quebec City, Canada

Quebec City was a colonial (殖民地的) town which was fortified by the settling Europeans. The walls began to be built in 1608 under both British and French regimes (政权). A fort was constructed by the British as an additional defensive measure and remains undamaged to date. The city’s fortifications were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Mexico City, Mexico

Historically, the City of Mexico gained importance as the Aztec Capital. The Spanish then drove out the Aztecs and rebuilt it as the Spanish Capital. The walls protecting the city were built in 1521. Mexico City is also home to numerous colonial-era buildings which together with the walls are major tourist attractions in the city.

1. Which city has walls of the longest history?

A．York, England.	B．Xi’an, China.
C．Quebec City, Canada.	D．Mexico City, Mexico.

2. What do Quebec city and Mexico city have in common?

A．They were once colonies of other countries.

B．They were once the capital of the Aztec empire.

C．Their walls were once built under British regime.

D．Their walls were once damaged after construction.

3. In which section of a magazine may this text appear?

A．Culture.

B．Entertainment.

C．Science.

D．Society

9 . 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。

To write his own medical text, Li Shizhen referenced over 800 medical texts, countless books on history and geography, and works of literature. He even studied the complete works of many ancient poets, from     1     he selected a surprising number of verses about medicine. However, the greatest issue he encountered was the widespread     2    (inconsistent) in the use of drug names. Realising the importance of field research outweighed     3    of extensive reading, in 1565 Li travelled far and wide into the mountains and wilderness. He covered what are today’s provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu, and many other places.

After over a decade of field research, Li     4    (successful) completed the first draft of his masterpiece, Bencao Gangmu, or the Compendium of Materia Medica in 1578. He revised     5     work at least three times right up until his death in 1593.

Since its first publication in 1596, the book     6    (receive) world-wide recognition. British naturalist Charles Darwin acknowledged the book     7     an “ancient Chinese encyclopedia.” In 2011, the book    8    (list) on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. In 2017, an international conference was held in Beijing     9    (celebrate) Li’s 500th birthday.

Today, there are a     10    (grow) number of international exchanges centering on Li Shizhen and his book, and many people around the world can still find the wisdom of human development in this ancient classic.

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。

Oracle bones (甲骨) were believed to be first unearthed in Anyang, once called Yin, the capital of the Shang Dynasty. Villagers then had little idea of what they had found and sold the bones to drugstores as     1    (tradition) Chinese medicines. The medicines gained the notice of historians. The discovery     2    (follow) by a series of archaeological excavations (挖掘).

Over the past 120 years, major systematic excavations have been carried     3    . A relic site museum has been built at the Yinxu site,     4    (recognize) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovering the oracle bones and inscriptions helped explore the cultures of Xia and Shang dynasties,     5     trace the origins of the Chinese civilization.

The content of the inscriptions emphasizes the respect for ancestors and other core Chinese values     6     have been passed on until today. It     7    (appeal) to not only scholars but also those outside the circles of archaeology. Chen Nan, a professor at Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts and Design, has energized the life of these ancient symbols by     8    (feature) them in the biaoqingbao (emoticons) he developed.

“They represent the     9    (clue) to our cultural lineage (传承), ” Chen says. “I feel     10     our responsibility to communicate about the charm of the primitive inscription with the younger generations and foreigners.”