1 . 阅读短文，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。

Although Start of Autumn, the 13th traditional Chinese solar term, often indicates the     1     (begin) of autumn, heat waves will not come to an end. The period of high temperatures,    2     (call) “Autumn Tiger”, usually lasts for about 30 days. Because of decreasing precipitation(降水), it is even hotter during this period than Major Heat. As the saying goes, “If it rains     3    the day of Start of Autumn, a good harvest is expected.”

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1. Which season does the woman like best?

A．Winter.

B．Summer.

C．Autumn.

2. Why does the man dislike driving in the rain?

A．The roads are crowded.

B．The lights are too bright.

C．The tires need to be replaced.

3. When did the woman probably use her truck to help the man?

A．During the winter.

B．During the summer.

C．During the autumn.

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式(不多于3个词)。

As the weather warms up and spring ingredients(食材)become available, chefs in Beijing are experimenting with fresh and flavorful dishes     1     (particular) with tender and flavorful spring bamboo shoots(竹笋).

Beijing restaurant Xin Ming Yuen greets spring     2     warming soups. The eight seasonal soups     3     (select) by chef Li Xiang in response to the vibrant(充满生机的)and relaxing nature that spring brings. The double-boiled turtle soup with Chinese herbs and pigeon is     4     standout. In this soup, cordyceps flowers(虫草花),     5     are neither cold nor dry to the body, are simmered with pigeon and turtle to produce a golden soup with a lingering flavor.

Xunchu Jitang,a restaurant from Jiangsu and Zhejiang province, will update both     6     (it) menu and environment this spring. Fried shepherd’s purse with spring bamboo shoots, a     7     (combine) of freshness, is the must try. Fried broad bean with garlic is another signature as the broad bean is one of the most popular beans     8     (produce) in spring time.

Modern Yunnan cuisine restaurant Ban Shan Yao from Under Clouds is bringing the spring of Yunnan to the capital. The spring menu, themed “wildness”,     9     (feature) bulb fennel(茴香)salad, preserved pork with bamboo shoots and fried red beans with mint. The new dish is worthy of     10     (try) as it blended with a black truffle sauce from Yunnan.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the talk mainly about?

A．Ways of saving energy.

B．The history of Daylight Saving Time.

C．The role of Daylight Saving Time in wartime.

2. When are clocks set back an hour in the United States?

A．In the spring.

B．In the summer.

C．In the autumn.

3. What was people’s opinion about Benjamin’s plan for Daylight Saving Time at first?

A．Clever.

B．Confusing.

C．Ridiculous.

4. When were the beginning and ending dates of Daylight Saving Time fixed in the U.S.?

A．In the 1960’s.

B．In the 1790’s.

C．During World War II

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。

The beginning of March brings some funny weather to China as temperatures rise and rainfall is accompanied by thunder. Welcome to a season     1    (know) as Jingzhe, or the “Awakening of the Insects”.

Falling     2    (usual) on March 5, it is one of the solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, which used to instruct ancient Chinese people’s daily lives and     3    (farm).

The Chinese classics recorded a time when spring thunder revived insects     4     had been hibernating(冬眠)for the winter. They rise up from the earth, and plenty of other creatures also put in their first     5    (appear) of the year. Soon, peach blossoms     6    (be) in full bloom while orioles will sing from tree branches.”

Chinese farmers attach great importance     7     Jingzhe, since it kicks off spring plowing, one of the     8    (busy) times in the farmlands. With insects buzzing, it is time to protect the crops from these pests. Poultry and livestock also need protecting from diseases.

Spring     9    (consider) the most precious time of the year for agriculture. At     10     beginning of the year, farmers till the soil, giving crops the best possible environment and more nutrition. In the north, irrigation needs to be timely while in the south, it is almost time to plant rice and corn.

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。

There is a day considered special by people     1     observe solar (太阳的) movement of the sun in many countries of the world. On its eve, in England, people go to Stonehenge     2     (welcome) the rise of the sun. In Latvia, people travel from the cities to the country- side to gather, eat and sing. Chinese people attach equal     3     (important) to this day,   known as the Summer Solstice (夏至), or xiazhi in Chinese.

It is the     4     (long) day of a year in terms of daylight. After the Summer Solstice, the subsolar point begins its moving south, and daytime     5     (gradual) shortens. Though people believe it is at the height of summer, xiazhi is not the hottest time of a year. After xiazhi, the temperature will continue to increase.

While in modern China, xiazhi is simply known as one of the solar     6     (term), in ancient times it was a major festival. In the Song Dynasty, the festival     7     (offer) officials a holiday of three days. A grand sacrificial (祭奠) ceremony was also held on the Summer Solstice during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

According to Guo Wenbin, a scholar of traditional culture, many customs from the ancient Summer Solstice festival     8     (be) now celebrated as part of events. “We often believe boat race was created     9     memory of Qu Yuan. But it is said that before the death of Qu, Chinese people had already had boat race as an event of Summer Solstice festival,” says Guo. Since the Summer Solstice is often a time when people harvest wheat,     10     is a tradition to eat noodles in many places.

7 . 现在正是春暖花开的时节，对你来说春天意味着什么呢？请你以“What spring means to me”为题写一篇英语短文，参加你校英文报举办的春季征文大赛，内容包括：
1. 春天对你的影响；
2. 你对春天的感悟。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 题目已为你写好。
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8 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1 个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

March 20 marks the Spring Equinox, or Chunfen in Chinese, the     1     (four) term in the Chinese lunar calendar. On this day, day and night are     2     (equal) divided, and the length of daytime will grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere afterwards.

Peach blossoms enter their great time and give tourists a lot of pleasure with pinkish flowers. Since ancient times, peach blossoms     3     (use) to describe women. The romantic flowers also signal love from others.

The Spring Equinox is marked as the     4     (begin) of the busy farming season. People make preparations for raising spring silkworms.

Starting from the Spring Equinox and before the Qingming Festival, Chinese farmers are the     5     (busy) with tea harvesting, as the tea leaves     6     (collect) during this period are considered to be     7     high quality.

People have a cup of the very first tea shoots in spring as     8     way to get close to nature.

The ancient Chinese people     9     (divide) the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three “hou’s,” or five-day parts. As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder breaks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou,     10     vividly reveal the climate feature during the Spring Equinox.

9 . 阅读下面句子，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Grain Rain, just as the name shows, is a key time for grains to grow. There is     1     old saying, “Rain brings up hundreds of grains,” which indicates the     2     (important) of this season.

In the northern part of China, the first heavy rain usually occurs during this time of year, which     3     (be) the best time for planting rice, corn, and the growth of cotton. It is also a good time for Chinese people     4     (eat) toona (香椿), a delicious seasonal plant,     5     new leaves are as soft as silk. Not only does it taste good, but it is also very good for health. It is very nutritious     6     can improve the immune system.     7     (fresh) made with Chinese tofu, toona is a traditional cold dish for people in the northern part of China.

Drinking tea is an old custom in the southern part of China. The mild temperatures and plentiful rainfall in the season make the spring tea leaves rich in a     8     (various) of vitamins and amino acids (氨基酸),     9     (give) the taste of spring tea a fresh and pleasant smell.

Along the northern coast of China, fishermen    10    (celebrate) the Grain Rain Festival for more than 2,000 years. On this day, fishermen in coastal areas pray for safety and a good harvest.

10 . Six Solar Terms in Summer

Lixia

Lixia is the first solar term in summer, signifying the beginning of the hot summer.    1    People usually consider Lixia as an important solar term. When it comes, the temperature rises obviously, and summer heat arrives, there is a remarkable increase in thunderstorms, and crops enter their peak season for growth.

Xiaoman and Mangzhong

During Xiaoman, summer harvest crops such as wheat already bear fruits, and their seeds are full though they are not ripe yet. Thus, the solar term is named Xiaoman. The solar term Xiaoman is in late May. Summer begins to reach all parts of the country. Rainfall begins to increase further. Mangzhong means, "wheat with awn（芒）should be harvested soon, and rice seeds with awn can be sown".    2    

Xiazhi

On the day of Xiazhi, the daytime in the Northern Hemisphere（半球）reaches its maxi-mum length.    3    At Xiazhi, though there is direct sunlight, it is not the hottest time in a year.

Xiaoshu and Dashu

    4    Xiaoshu is minor heat, which means it's not very hot. The weather is getting increasingly hot, but not the hottest moment yet. The crops in the entire country begin to grow rapidly, and this situation requires more intensive field management. Dashu is extreme heat. Compared to Xiaoshu, it's much hotter.    5    And it also marks the period with the fastest growth for crops which enjoy heat.

A．The character shu means heat.

B．It predicts the busy farming activities of farmers.

C．The temperatures rise and summer drought begins.

D．The more northern a place is, the longer its daytime is.

E．People need to prepare for heat prevention and cooling.

F．It means the end of spring, and the beginning of summer.

G．It marks the hottest period with the highest temperatures in a year.