1 . 假如你是李华，你校即将举办英语风采大赛(English Talent Show)，请写一则通知，内容包括：
1. 活动背景和意义
2. 表演内容、时间、地点(2024年4月9日下午3:50—5:20；演出中心)
3. 动员大家参加，欢迎对表演提出意见。
注意: 1. 词数 100 字左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Notice

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 . Plumbers (管子工) are usually thought of as the go-to persons when you have a leaky sink, but as a matter of fact, plumbing is much more than just a blue -collar job. The Elite Trades Championship Series(ETCS)seeks to change the way people think about plumbing.

Ideal Industries, a company that runs the championship, added plumbing as a category in 2023 to show the exceptional skills of plumbers across the US.

“We are incredibly excited to introduce the Plumbing National Championship(PNC)to the 8th annual Elite Trades Championship Series,” Scott Mendel, SVP of the ETCS said. “With successful championship events in electricity, automobile, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, this new event will display the remarkable talents of plumbing professionals and push the plumbing trade to new heights.”

The ETCS is organized to show the knowledge and expertise among America’s professionals in various trades who are competing for a prize from a variety of sponsors, while presenting the level of knowledge and skills that the trade industries require.

The Plumbing National Championship kicked off on July 10, 2023 as a way for plumbers to compete against one another in a series of digital and live hands-on challenges. The participants had to prove their expert knowledge in a variety of skills related to plumbing in real-world challenges.

The competition lasted for about four months and the finalists competed against each other in Tampa, Florida on October 27, 2023.

Craig Childress, a skilled tradesman from Boston University won the plumbing championship. With a big share of the prize money, he was delighted. “Professionally, this is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said. “It’s been an unbelievable journey. I’m incredibly grateful.”

1. What can we learn about plumbers from paragraph 1?

A．They are rarely thought of.	B．They seek to change people’s opinions.
C．They receive little recognition.	D．They are considered as competitors.

2. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The mission of the ETCS.	B．The achievements of the ETCS.
C．The process of the ETCS.	D．The requirements of the ETCS.

3. What can be inferred from Craig Childress’ words?

A．He has learned many skills from professionals.	B．The plumbing contest means a lot to him.
C．The competition result is within his expectation.	D．He is optimistic about his plumbing career.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Introducing a Skilled Plumber to the Public	B．Craig Childress’ Dream Finally Coming True
C．Plumbers Looking for a New Future	D．Turning Plumbing into a Competition

3 . 41-year-old Tracey Matayian is one of those Maasai women who fought hard to become the first-ever Maasai female referee. In an interview, Matayian said during her formative years, she couldn’t hide her passion for football and would join local boys every time she saw them play, which resulted in her being called names by other girls and occasionally getting scolded by her parents for keeping too much male company.

Matayian later joined a teachers’ training college. After graduating from college, she worked with Compassion International and would often encourage children of both genders to play football.

“It was then that I got an opportunity to referee a game between Rongai Football Club and Compassion International. There was no other referee at the time and since I was readily available, I went ahead to referee the match,” she recalled. Matayian added that after the game, she was eager to do more than just play and train the young children as she was also cultivating a lively interest in refereeing.

She would later help form football teams for both boys and girls from the local clubs. “The game occupies them as they get to spend time in the field, especially during the period they were home due to COVID-19. Football is a game of rules, and thus it ends up drilling discipline and character into young boys and girls,” said Matayian. She added that many of the youths were previously living an aimless life on account of laziness, but through football she has managed to occupy them.

Nevertheless, her efforts to follow her passion have not gone without challenges. Her dress code was criticized all the time. “This became a big issue for some people. They always complained that I was not respecting our culture by wearing shorts. But I have no option, since that’s the official dress code for the game. I often explained this to my beloved people, but it took a long time for it to be accepted by my community,” notes Matayian.

1. How did things go when Matayian first played football?

A．She was popular with local boys.	B．She was abused by other girls.
C．She was turned down by the referee.	D．She was driven out of her college.

2. How did Matayian feel after refereeing her first game?

A．Motivated.

B．Tense.

C．Exhausted.

D．Relieved.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．How football is transforming the local children.

B．How COVID-19 is impacting the community.

C．How children overcome their laziness naturally.

D．How crucial discipline and character are.

4. What situation might Matayian have been in?

A．She was trying to change some football rules.	B．She was getting soft with local people.
C．She was working hard to gain acceptance.	D．She was promoting local culture.

4 . Officials have unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals that will be awarded at this summer’s Olympic games in Paris, and each one contains a unique souvenir: a fragment (碎片) of waste iron from the Eiffel Tower.

“It’s the opportunity for the athletes to bring back a piece of Paris with them,” Thierry Reboul, creative director of Paris 2024, told reporters last week. “The absolute symbol of Paris and France is the Eiffel Tower.”

The Eiffel Tower opened in 1889 and during the later repair work, some of the original iron was cut off and preserved over time. Now, some of those preserved metal fragments have found new homes.

Each new Olympic me dal features a piece of Eiffel Tower iron — though the signature “Eiffel Tower brown” paint has been removed. These pieces have been shaped into hexagons (六边形), which is the “shape of France”. Besides, there are words “Paris 2024”, the Olympic rings and the Games logo, which looks like a flame or the face of a woman with a bob haircut.

How did they think of such an idea? Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organizing committee told the press, “We talked about the design many times and realized that there’s one symbol known across the world, which is the Eiffel Tower. We said to ourselves, ‘Hey, what if we approached the Eiffel Tower Operating Company to see if it’s possible to get a bit of the Eiffel Tower to integrate into the medal?’”

When the Eiffel Tower Operating Company agreed to volunteer pieces of original iron, “the dream became reality,” adds Roncin.

The medals, designed by the luxury Paris jewelry house Chaumet, make people think of the Eiffel Tower in several other ways. The pieces of iron are secured by what looks like special nails that hold the structure together, and the medals’ ribbons are decorated with patterns of the tower’s latticework structure.

The iron fragments are set in recycled silver, gold and bronze disks. Over 5,000 medals are being made.

1. What does Thierry mean by saying “bring back a piece of Paris”?

A．The athletes will buy souvenirs about Paris.

B．The athletes will take many photos of Paris.

C．Part of the athletes’ medal is from the symbol of Paris.

D．The Eiffel Tower will be left in the athletes’ memory.

2. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 4?

A．The symbolic meaning of the hexagons.

B．The shape and material of the Olympic medal.

C．The processing technique of the Eiffel Tower iron pieces.

D．The design of the Eiffel Tower iron fragment on the medal.

3. How did the designers get the idea of adding the waste iron?

A．From a strange dream.	B．By asking for the public.
C．Through their discussion.	D．By studying the Eiffel Tower.

4. What can we infer about the new Olympic medals?

A．They are innovative.	B．They are light.
C．They have six sides.	D．They are golden-colored.

5 . 假如你叫李华，你的美国朋友Steven对中国传统文化（Traditional Chinese Culture）感兴趣，并且正在学习中文，你校将举办中国诗词比赛(Chinese Poetry Contest)，请给他发一封电子邮件告知此事，主要内容包括：
1.活动简介
时间：下周日晚上七点。
地点：学校礼堂。
意义：提高中文水平，更好地了解并传播中国文化，丰富校园生活等等。
2.建议并且鼓励他参加。
3.预祝他取得好成绩。
相关词汇：学校礼堂school hall，提高improve，传播spread，丰富enrich。
注意：1.词数80左右； 2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When is this announcement being made?

A．During an award ceremony.

B．Before the last day of school.

C．After a baseball game.

2. How many home runs did David have?

A．5.

B．6.

C．11.

3. What can we know about David?

A．He won’t continue to play baseball.

B．He has 442 batting averages.

C．He got A’s in all his classes.

4. What will David do next?

A．Go up to get his award.

B．Deliver a speech.

C．Give the winner an award.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What does Ann say about her performance in the World Championships?

A．She did better than she had expected.

B．She regretted not preparing well enough.

C．She was disappointed to win a silver medal.

2. How often does Ann practice?

A．Once a week.

B．Every day.

C．Six days a week.

3. What is Ann’s attitude towards the other competitors?

A．She avoids close contact with them.

B．She likes to communicate with them.

C．She has made good friends with them.

4. What does Ann enjoy doing in her free time now?

A．Flying kites.

B．Reading.

C．Skiing.

8 . The Martin County High School boys’ basketball team was in the final quarter of a nail-biter of a game at a regional tournament in Pikeville, Ky., when live music ______ started playing for them.

They knew it wasn’t their school’s ______ 23-member band —which was unable to ______ the game because of a bus driver shortage. The music was coming from the nearly 100-member band of a rival (对手的) school, Pike County Central High School. The score was ______ in the tough game when the music filled the air.

Jason Johnson, Pike Central Band director, said some audience members and cheerleaders started encouraging his band to ______ the playing field and perform for Martin County Cardinals. “I was ______, well, what should I do?” Johnson recalled. The score was 64-64.

The band members, though, seemed ______ to replace Martin County’s band. “It was the students who really stepped up and ______, “said Johnson, who ultimately ______ his concerns and decided, “Let’s just do it.”

As they started their first song, the Cardinals’ ______ skyrocketed (飞涨，猛涨). “We just wanted to ______ them in a time when they needed encouragement most.” said one band member.

______ the Cardinals secured a ______ in overtime. Players said the ______ from the band helped them come out on top. Now, the team is ______ for the state tournament, marking the school’s first time competing at that level in 40 years.

1.

A．suddenly

B．again

C．still

D．secretly

2.

A．top

B．strange

C．small

D．original

3.

A．attend

B．play

C．organize

D．win

4.

A．made

B．tied

C．recorded

D．improved

5.

A．lead

B．enter

C．level

D．clean

6.

A．conducting

B．asking

C．thinking

D．performing

7.

A．grateful

B．eager

C．hesitant

D．curious

8.

A．cried out

B．walked away

C．got along

D．banded together

9.

A．ignored

B．voiced

C．refused

D．felt

10.

A．pressure

B．imagination

C．energy

D．control

11.

A．suggest

B．teach

C．replace

D．uplift

12.

A．For the worse

B．In the end

C．By the way

D．On the contrary

13.

A．favor

B．victory

C．balance

D．bonus

14.

A．honor

B．technique

C．duty

D．spirit

15.

A．heading

B．cheering

C．traveling

D．looking

9 . I had been swimming for years but was ready to quit. My _________ reason was that I kept receiving “Honorable Mentions”, just because I showed up.

One day before a big swim meet, I decided to _________ the news to my grandma that I was _________ the swim team. When I told her, she said, “Baby, remember: Quitters never win and winners never quit.” I was _______   to say anything but “Yes, ma’am.”

The next day we arrived at the swim meet late, _________ my group. My coach _________ I swim with the older group. I knew she was _________ me in the race so our journey to the meet would not be wasted, and she had no expectations that I would _________ anything but eighth place as there weren’t nine _________.

As I was __________ the board, my grandmas words rang in my head. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

SPLASH! I swam harder than ever. After a little while, I was __________ to find that I had a half-body length ________ over others. However, they soon __________ the gap. Halfway through the race, the girl to my left almost ________ me. Right then, the powerful words __________ again in my ears. I __________ my arms and legs and used every last bit of __________ to swim the last 50 meters.

I made it! Narrow victory as it was, I did win my first real __________ that day. Everything felt like a dream as I stood on the winner’s __________. Back at home, I __________ replaced all the “Honorable Mentions” on my shelf.

1.

A．laid-back

B．number-one

C．first-hand

D．ground-breaking

2.

A．break

B．deliver

C．acquaint

D．remind

3.

A．choosing

B．depositing

C．joining

D．quitting

4.

A．satisfied

B．choked

C．excited

D．exhausted

5.

A．missing

B．finding

C．departing

D．building

6.

A．assumed

B．defended

C．insisted

D．expected

7.

A．telling

B．endeavoring

C．inviting

D．including

8.

A．come out

B．come about

C．come in

D．come to

9.

A．arenas

B．lanes

C．courts

D．tracks

10.

A．assessing

B．approaching

C．inspecting

D．mounting

11.

A．surprised

B．energized

C．terrified

D．refreshed

12.

A．pioneer

B．lead

C．edge

D．session

13.

A．jumped

B．bridged

C．widened

D．narrowed

14.

A．joined up with

B．put up with

C．drew level with

D．filled up with

15.

A．blessed

B．echoed

C．called

D．clarified

16.

A．willed

B．tried

C．shook

D．swung

17.

A．confidence

B．motivation

C．strength

D．pursuit

18.

A．goal

B．medal

C．reward

D．diploma

19.

A．podium

B．orbit

C．zone

D．format

20.

A．devotedly

B．awkwardly

C．hesitantly

D．joyfully

10 . Donna Urquhart is an experienced runner. She ran 1,402 kilometers over the course of 28 days in Antarctica (南极洲), _______ the record for the longest-ever run in a polar region.

Urquhart spent 10 months training for the _______, turning to some unusual training methods. A company allowed her to run in a _______ storage unit where she ran in temperatures below zero. Besides, she ran along the beaches with uneven (凹凸不平的) surfaces that are like the _______ grounds in Antarctica. All those proved useful _______.

The difficulties that Urquhart faced in Antarctica were _______: taking in about 5,000 calories each day, _______ in a tent. Combined with the sound of _______ winds and the continent’s 24 hours of sunlight in the summer months, these were _______ favorable to a good night’s sleep. Urquhart would usually wear four layers of coats and keep ________ her own body temperature while running.

Urquhart launched the Run Antarctica aiming to encourage more women to ________ sport. Though still unsure about what her next running challenge will have, she has set a ________ of raising $1.5 million for charity.

“Confidence is a real issue for females,” says Urquhart. “And a sporting environment provides them with a great opportunity to ________ themselves.” This served as a huge ________ for her to take on a challenge that no other woman had attempted before. “It was actually showing that we can push our ________, and explore what seems impossible,” says Urquhart.

1.

A．closing

B．keeping

C．missing

D．setting

2.

A．puzzle

B．outcome

C．challenge

D．examination

3.

A．painted

B．refrigerated

C．heated

D．crowded

4.

A．varied

B．soft

C．smooth

D．high

5.

A．purposes

B．messages

C．preparations

D．suggestions

6.

A．new

B．tough

C．interesting

D．exciting

7.

A．accommodating

B．recovering

C．harvesting

D．complaining

8.

A．gentle

B．slight

C．warm

D．wild

9.

A．likely

B．significantly

C．hardly

D．really

10.

A．noticing

B．taking

C．decreasing

D．forgetting

11.

A．refer to

B．apply for

C．carry on

D．take up

12.

A．price

B．record

C．target

D．rule

13.

A．support

B．trust

C．prevent

D．wait

14.

A．inspiration

B．impression

C．symbol

D．adventure

15.

A．processes

B．positions

C．schedules

D．limits