1 . Best Books for Children 2024
Who’s Cute? by Camilla Reid
Meet the cute woodland creatures in the forest and find out which is the cutest. Will it be the tiny, baby rabbit, the little mouse or the young, wide-eyed owl? An adorably illustrated board book for babies and toddlers with a surprise mirror ending, Who’s Cute? will be read and enjoyed time and again.
Keep Smiling by Floella Benjamin
Vina is known for her smile; her mum says that sharing it is the best gift she can give. But the day she starts her new school, Vina finds that her smile has mysteriously disappeared. As she searches for it all over the school, she learns that sometimes happiness is found in the most unexpected places. With its message of positivity, this book offers a great starting point to help young children to talk about their feelings.
The Little Mermaid by Campbell Books
Dive in the sea with this best-loved fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. This board book’s push, pull and turn mechanisms give little hands many surprises to discover as they follow the underwater adventures. Nneka Myers’ bright, bold illustrations of the little mermaid, the prince, the sea witch (巫师) and many more favorite characters will attract babies and toddlers as you read the story together.
I’m Not Scary! by Rod Campbell
A fun touch-and-feel mini-beasts story from Rod Campbell, creator of the preschool lift-the-flap classic, Dear Zoo. Join in the fun by touching a scritchy-scratchy grasshopper, a shiny beetle and even a slimy snail in I’m Not Scary!, an interactive touch-and-feel book, packed full of favorite bugs and mini-beasts. But will you be brave enough to touch all the creatures?
1. What does Keep Smiling teach readers about?| A．How to adapt to a new life. | B．Being brave to express oneself. |
| C．Being creative when making friends. | D．Where to find happiness. |
| A．They have illustrations. | B．They teach ocean diving. |
| C．They are fairy tales. | D．They involve sea creatures. |
| A．Rod Campbell’s. | B．Camilla Reid’s. |
| C．Campbell Books’. | D．Floella Benjamin’s. |
1. What can students do at the online club?
| A．Write book comments. | B．Discuss books. | C．Talk to the writers. |
| A．Many teenagers like reading. |
| B．The club is popular with students. |
| C．Students do school projects easily. |
| A．About 800． | B．About 1,000． | C．About 1,200. |
| A．By paying some money. | B．By donating a book. | C．By filling in a form online. |
| A．Teacher and student. | B．Librarian and reader | C．Bank clerk and customer. |
1. How does Rose feel about Peter’s poetry?
| A．Classic. | B．Unique. | C．Romantic. |
| A．On Monday. | B．On Thursday. | C．On Tuesday. |
| A．Love. | B．Friendship. | C．Nature. |
| A．John Keats’. | B．Emily Dickinson’s. | C．William Wordsworth’s. |
5 . An 80-foot floating library, built in 1963 and called Bokbaten in Norway, visited around 250 small communes along the west coast of Norway twice every year before 2020. Many of the villages along the west coast of Norway are most easily accessible by boat rather than car, so in 1959, a group of librarians got government funding to s art a waterborne library service with special on stress on children’s literature.
Large enough to hold around 6, 000 books, the boat also hosted readings, children’s pays, and other cultural events onboard. It traveled along the coast on 64-day tours during the fall and winter months, welcoming up to 150 children at a time and unloading books for each community to keep until the boat made it swayback the next time around. In summer, the library was repurposed as a tourist boat.
But in 2020, it looked like it might be the end for the library. After nearly 60 years in action, the popular boat had its funding cut by the government, which ended the floating library program. “The book boat is a floating house of culture, which means a lot to thousands of children in the communities that don’t have a good library offering,” Norwegian librarian and author Stig Holmas wrote on Facebook at the time. “It has large numbers of visits,” he went on, adding: “What a shame!”
Luckily, 28 local municipalities (市政当局) banded together in support of the beloved library, helping organize 88 cultural events to make people realize the importance of the boat between August and November 2021. Then, in February 2022, the Fritt Ord Foundation, a private Norwegian nonprofit, provided the library with nearly $300, 000 to keep the program running. Later that year, journalist Maria PileS vas and, whose grandfather built the library, was employed as manager for Bokbaten.
The boat is now a traveling bookstore, and it continues to carry on the tradition of inviting authors, actors and musicians to come aboard and perform live readings for children.
1. What do we know about Bokbaten?| A．It also held a variety of activities. |
| B．It was not that popular in the summer. |
| C．It was suggested by the 250 communities. |
| D．It allowed people to keep the book for 64 days. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Shocked. | C．Puzzled. | D．Angry. |
| A．They provided enough funds for the library. |
| B．They helped to promote the value of the library. |
| C．They invited Maria Pile Svasand to manage Bokbaten. |
| D．They set up the Fritt Ord Foundation to raise funds for Bokbaten. |
| A．Why the floating library in Norway is so popular |
| B．The establishment of a floating library in Norway |
| C．How a floating library in Norway was saved |
| D．The influence of a floating library in Norway |
1. What do the speakers agree on heroes?
| A．They are like Superman in films. |
| B．They achieve great success in their work. |
| C．They are common people making important contributions. |
| A．His grandfather. | B．Great writers. | C．Superman. |
| A．Unusual. | B．Realistic. | C．Dull. |
| A．It’s hard to find great books. |
| B．It’s great to do some reading. |
| C．It’s good to help some people. |
7 . When I learned that our community library was hosting a Book Nerd Challenge, I got excited. My granddaughter and I needed a little
The goal was to read fifty books in a year. I’m an English teacher. This didn’t seem like much of a
The experience created a
Now I find books can provide a better
| A．inspiration | B．expectation | C．promise | D．recognition |
| A．move on | B．turn down | C．sign up | D．show off |
| A．strike | B．challenge | C．deal | D．chance |
| A．clue | B．choice | C．comment | D．request |
| A．easy | B．awesome | C．mysterious | D．dull |
| A．bond | B．drive | C．duty | D．procedure |
| A．original | B．romantic | C．historical | D．same |
| A．experiments | B．conversations | C．experiences | D．thoughts |
| A．clarified | B．confirmed | C．judged | D．discussed |
| A．reread | B．recommend | C．remove | D．reclaim |
| A．Eventually | B．Naturally | C．Initially | D．Surprisingly |
| A．begged | B．forced | C．brought | D．taught |
| A．delaying | B．studying | C．examining | D．exploring |
| A．responsibility | B．habit | C．pride | D．choice |
| A．demanding | B．appealing | C．satisfying | D．discouraging |
| A．defeated | B．transformed | C．put | D．replaced |
| A．exchange | B．connection | C．alternative | D．combination |
| A．acknowledge | B．realize | C．remember | D．suggest |
| A．reflection | B．patience | C．impact | D．control |
| A．celebrate | B．admire | C．respect | D．copy |
8 . Nearly two decades ago when the Google Books Project digitized and freely distributed more than 25 million works, book publishers argued that free digital distribution weakens the market for physical books. However, new research from Imke Reimers and Abhishek Nagaraj reveals that the opposite—increased demand for physical books, through online discovery—could be true.
The two researchers focused on a particular part of Google Books’ digitized works: those from Harvard University’s Widener Library, which helped seed the project in its early days. The condition that enabled their experiment: Harvard’s digitization effort only included out-of-copyright works, published before 1923, which were made available to consumers in their entirety. The works from 1923 and later were still copyrighted and not digitized.
The researchers analyzed a total of 37,743 books scanned (扫描) between 2005 and 2009. They looked at sales for the two years before this digitization period and the two years after, and found clear differences in the increased sales between digitized and non-digitized books. Approximately 40% of digitized titles saw a sales increase from 2003-2004 to 2010-2011, compared to less than 20% of titles that were not digitized. The increase in sales was also found to be stronger for less popular books.
“If a book is readily available online, people may decide that it’s a useful book and want to buy it,” Reimers said. “The ‘discovery effect’, which even increased the sales of a digitized author’s non-digitized works, is a strong driver of increased sales. It’s not a huge jump in sales, but it’s still good news for publishers.”
“And book lovers,” Reimers said, “are known for their preference for physical books, as opposed to digital versions, which could also play a role.” She added, “Whenever I talk to people about my research on books, at some point they all say, ‘I just love the feel of a book in my hand.’”
1. Why did the researchers choose the publications before 1923 for their research?| A．They were all masterpieces. | B．They were mostly searchable. |
| C．They were not protected by copyright. | D．They were only partly downloaded for free. |
| A．By interviewing book users. | B．By comparing the sales data. |
| C．By classifying the book titles. | D．By referring to historical records. |
| A．To point out the limitations of the study. | B．To stress people’s different reading tastes. |
| C．To tell another contributor to the sales rise. | D．To show a growing trend in reading books. |
| A．Consumers Are Enthusiastic About E-books |
| B．Book Publishers Object to Digitizing Books |
| C．Physical Bookstores Are Declining in Importance |
| D．Digitizing Books Promotes Demand for Physical Copies |
Jackie was searching for her library book in her room. Outside her house stood her friend Sasha waiting for her to go to the library. But the book was missing.
Jackie then ran into her sister’s bedroom. “Have you seen my library book? Last week my book was bitten by your cat. The week before that, you dropped my book in the park,” Jackie asked angrily. Her sister shook her head. Despite her efforts, Jackie found no traces of the book there.
“What’s taking you so long, Jackie?” Mom’s voice rang through the house. “I need to find my library book. It has a red cover. It’s due (到期) today. If I have lost the library book, I am not allowed to check out any books for a whole month,” Jackie sighed, walking down the stairs. She nearly ran into her mom, who was carrying a heavy laundry (待洗衣物) basket.
“Good luck with that book. The library closes in twenty minutes.” Mom stopped to grab Jackie’s clothes from the railing and wrinkled her nose. “I’m putting these in the laundry,” said Mom, disappearing down the basement stairs.
Jackie ran around the house, looking under the sofa, in the fridge, and behind the piano. However, the book was nowhere to be found. Where was that library book? The thought of not being able to get into the world of stories and knowledge for a whole month made her feel very sad. Jackie sank onto the living room sofa, her mind racing with thoughts of the result she would soon face.
Just then Mom came into the living room and suddenly said, “Have you searched all the places? You need to think carefully and see if you’ve missed anything?” “I’ve searched everywhere I can think of, but I still haven’t found it,” Jackie almost cried. “I looked for you in your painting room in the backyard last night where you were practising your painting. I seemed to see a red thing. Maybe it was in the painting room,” Mom added.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右;
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Without wasting another moment, Jackie rushed outside to the painting room.
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Rushing to the library, Jackie and Sasha found the door still open.
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10 . English history is vast, from its rule under the Romans to the rise, heights and fall of the British Empire. When choosing a book to recommend on my country’s history, I wanted something that could summanze this sweeping history but didn’t get stuck in the details of things that hold me back from completely engaging with this truly rich history. Then, I found Dominic Hnynes’ A Brief History of England.
The book is a tour through the whole of English history, from its earliest people to the movement of settlers from Europe. It looks at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Elizabeth I’s ruling and the lasting impact of Shakespeare. Then it touches on the English Civil Wars and the shift of rule from kings and queens to the parliament(议会) running the country and the establishment of the political parties. It also covers the Napoleonic Wars and the world wars and even considers England’s post-Brexit (脱欧后的) present and future.
This really is quite the sweeping book. However, it’s very short. This means it’s easy to navigate and get a hold of a huge amount of history, but it also means it’s very light on the details. At times, this can be upset, as there are parts where it feels like just another paragraph or page would really elevate this book. But for an introduction to English history or perhaps a reminder or refresher, it’s great and particularly useful as it is likely to fill in some gaps in your knowledge.
Furthermore, because of the pace of the book, there’s not a boring moment. It’s a real page-turner, covering the succession(交替) of kings and queens, wars, and changes in the social order of the country at home and the country’s influence across the world.
One reviewer on Amazon described the book as “a small masterpiece”, and said. “This is a great book for anyone who wants to get a c-ash course in English history or for those who want a quick reference to that subject.”
So, jump in, dear readers, and get a hold of what made England what it was, what it went on to be, and where it may stand in our global future.
1. What is the main focus of Dominic Haynes’ A Brief History of England?| A．Detailed exploration of England’s political parties. |
| B．In-depth analysis of England’s post-Brexit policies. |
| C．An introduction to the British Empire’s rise and fall. |
| D．A brief overview of England’s historical shifts and events. |
| A．Its pace is slow and upset. |
| B．It dives too deeply into political issues. |
| C．There’s a shortage of information on wars. |
| D．It lacks detailed information due to its shortness. |
| A．A book that is exciting to read. | B．A book that is complicated. |
| C．A book that is easy to understand. | D．A book that has lots of pages to turn. |
| A．To call on people to know the UK’s history. |
| B．To recommend a book of the UK’s history. |
| C．To suggest ways to know the UK’s history. |
| D．To comment on the politics of the UK’s history. |
