1 . 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。

For many years, the Future City Competition has brought together young people to create visionary(幻想的) designs,     1     (require) skill and imagination. This year’s theme, “The Age-Friendly City,” invited students to design small cities,     2     would enable older people to live     3     (independent).

The competition, which     4     (encourage) students to hone (磨炼) their engineering skills while working to create a better world, is open to kids in    5     (grade) six through eight. After more than 44, 000 students participated in regional competitions, finalists    6     (choose) for the top competition.

The grand prize went to “Halona,” a city of the future    7     (create) by students from Edlin School in Reston, Virginia. The team researched and developed their model city     8     the help of teacher Vasantha Ayala and volunteer mentor ( 导师) Nandhini Kuntipuram. For their grand prize,     9     Edlin students won $7, 500 for their school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program.

Tom Chmielenski, a computer software engineer, served as a judge. “It’s very nice as an engineer to see young people have these futuristic ideas,” he said. “We can’t wait     10     (see) what the future holds.”

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Who does the man focus on in the competition?

A．The judges.

B．The audience.

C．Other skaters.

2. What was the man’s first love before skating?

A．Horse riding.

B．Swimming.

C．Playing tennis.

3. What is the man going to do next week?

A．Be a judge in a TV show.

B．Compete in another match.

C．Teach some skaters.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话, 回答以下小题。
1. Where does the run start?

A．From the café.

B．From the sports center.

C．From the city library.

2. How long is the run?

A．Five kilometers.

B．Three kilometers.

C．Two kilometers.

3. How does the woman advise the man to enter the race?

A．By phone.

B．In person.

C．By the Internet.

4. What will Sarah probably help do?

A．Take pictures.

B．Report the race.

C．Guide the runners.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话,回答以下小题。
1. How does Mary look now?

A．Upset.

B．Excited.

C．Calm.

2. Why didn’t the woman take part in the competition?

A．She couldn’t afford the time.

B．She wasn’t feeling well.

C．She didn’t feel like going.

5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

“You’ll have to be quicker off the line to beat Kendall on Friday,” Coach Dugan said. Kendall this, Kendall that. For weeks, I’d been hearing about how fast this kid was — Kerry Kendall from Wilson Middle School. I was tired of it.

Eric came close to me. “I heard that Kerry Kendall trains at a camp with Olympic coaches. Not only that — I heard he cheats. I heard he’ll do whatever it takes to win,” he said. That doesn’t mean he cheats, does it? I wondered.

“Let’s go, boys,” Coach said. When I heard his whistle (哨声), I ran rather hard toward the finish line. I crossed two full steps ahead of everyone else. That should satisfy him. Coach Dugan looked at his stop-watch and nodded. “Better, Alex. But let’s do it again.” And again and again. I couldn’t get any faster. Besides, Kendall trains with Olympic coaches! And he cheats. Why bother?

Practice was never easy, but lately Coach Dugan had been pushing us extra hard. He told us to work harder, because the extra effort marked the difference between a winner and a runner-up.

A gentle wind greeted me as I got out of Dad’s car and headed toward the track. My legs felt strong and ready. Ready? Coach had me more than ready.

Kids from every middle school crowded the infield. I was searching for Kendall. But I couldn’t see anyone extra tall, so I sat on the grass to stretch. “Are you Alex?” a voice asked. I looked up over my shoulder. A tall kid. Kerry Kendall. I nodded. Kendall then sat down next to me, starting to stretch, too. Was he trying to psych me out ( 震 慑 我) by warming up so close? I wouldn’t let that happen. I kept quiet and continued stretching. “Heard you’re fast,” he said. His leg muscles bulged (隆起) like he worked out plenty. “Save it for the race,” I said.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

After a minute, he asked, “Is it true you have a private trainer?”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Kendall turned back, I saw the truth in his eyes.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . The Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest is a unique competition open to writers for children. We believe that in our increasingly digital age it is more important than ever for children’s first books to introduce them to the pleasures and power of storytelling and the written word along with outstanding visual art. Being exposed to the best picture books can create in young people a lifelong love of reading. By rewarding and showing excellence in the art of picture book writing, we aim to inspire writers to focus on the picture book text as an art form in itself, and to raise the quality of these seemingly simple books for the benefit of children everywhere.

The winners will have the opportunity to sign publishing contracts (合同) with the sponsors to publish the manuscripts (原稿) in different languages. Each winner will be required to agree that sponsors have a one-year priority option to publish their manuscript to receive the cash prize.

Conditions
1. Manuscript must be text written for children age 3-8; illustrations are not accepted;
2. Manuscript may be fiction, nonfiction or poetry;
3. Manuscript must be no longer than 1,000 words;
4. Manuscript may be submitted (提交) in any of the following languages: English, Spanish, German, French, or Chinese;
5. Manuscript must be your original work;
6. Manuscript will not be submitted to any other competition or any other publisher before the announcement of the result of this contest.

For more information, please contact us: astrawritingcontest@readinglife.com.

1. Why is the competition held?

A．To call on people to read paper books.

B．To raise children’s interest in reading.

C．To collect money for children’s education.

D．To encourage high-quality picture book writing.

2. How can the winners get the cash prize?

A．By signing publishing contracts.

B．By not joining in other competitions in one year.

C．By not submitting their manuscripts to other publishers.

D．By giving sponsors the right to publish their manuscripts first.

3. What is a requirement of the manuscripts?

A．They must be within 1,000 words.

B．They must be in the form of stories.

C．They must be accompanied by pictures.

D．They must be translated into several languages.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. When is the deadline for the poetry contest?

A．January 30.

B．February 18.

C．February 28.

2. How old is Jennifer?

A．10 years old.

B．13 years old.

C．15 years old.

3. What prize will the winner get this year?

A．A golden cup.

B．Their poem published on the website.

C．A signed book of poetry by a famous poet.

8 . Last Sunday, our school held an ice hockey (冰球) game. I was so proud when my team ________ the game. It made me feel like I could do ________. Only three years ago, I was________ of walking or skating on the ice. To deal with this problem, I decided to ________a skating club. I really envied (嫉妒) the other club members, who were so ________and confident on the ice. But my teacher was good at teaching and before I knew it, I was able to ________. He then advised me to try ice hockey. I ________ it and was soon practising ________ my local team almost every evening. We are now training for national games________  hope to be winners one day, but my final________is to be an ice hockey teacher and help people learn to play this game.

1.

A．missed

B．won

C．stopped

D．lost

2.

A．anything

B．nothing

C．somebody

D．everybody

3.

A．glad

B．shy

C．afraid

D．tired

4.

A．start

B．leave

C．join

D．close

5.

A．bad

B．nervous

C．weak

D．great

6.

A．ski

B．skate

C．swim

D．surf

7.

A．needed

B．felt

C．saw

D．loved

8.

A．with

B．to

C．for

D．against

9.

A．but

B．or

C．so

D．and

10.

A．help

B．word

C．goal

D．trouble

9 . Four Classic Games for Kids

Below are great games children can enjoy.

Egg and Spoon Race

Line players up, each with a boiled egg balanced on a spoon. Each person with a spoon and an egg must carry the egg on the spoon to the finishing line. If their egg drops, they must stop and put it back on their spoon before continuing. (Or, if you’re really tough, send them back to the start each time their egg drops!) The winner will be awarded a prize, such as candy, stickers and toys.

Pass the Parcel (包裹)

Prepare a small prize that kids will love and then cover it with many layers (层) of paper. To play, have the children sit in a circle and pass the parcel around the circle while you play some fun music. When you stop the music, the child holding the parcel removes the outer layer of paper. Start the music again and continue until one child removes the final layer of paper.

Wheelbarrow (独轮手推车) Race

The game is played in pairs.The first person is the wheelbarrow.He starts with his hands on the ground and his legs are held by the second person (the driver) in the pair. The wheelbarrow “walks” on his hands across the ground while the driver follows behind, holding his legs and directing the wheelbarrow. The first pair across the finishing line are the winners.

Limbo

Two adults hold either end of a stick at stomach height. The children take turns going under the stick without touching it. If all the children have gone under the stick, the stick will be lowered. Then another round begins. Anyone who falls, touches the ground with hands or touches the stick is out.

1. Who would most probably be the winner of Egg and Spoon Race?

A．The kid being good at running.

B．The kid being skilled at boiling eggs.

C．The kid doing well in balancing the egg.

D．The kid being willing to work with others.

2. Why is Pass the Parcel special compared with other three games?

A．Because it must be played with music on.

B．Because it will give the winner a prize.

C．Because it needs preparation in advance.

D．Because it asks kids to sing songs during the game.

3. What will kids probably need to do while playing Limbo?

A．Try to jump over the stick.

B．Lower their body.

C．Run fast with a stick in hand.

D．Touch the ground with hands.

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。

The 19th Asian Games, also known as the Hangzhou Asian Games,     1     (hold) from September 23 to October 8, 2023 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. As     2     major sporting event, the Hangzhou Asian Games has its own official mascots, a group of robots     3     (name) “Memories of Jiangnan”. The mascots consist of three robotic figures, Lianlian, Congcong and Chenchen,     4     fully integrate the history and culture, natural ecology and innovation of Hangzhou. Lianlian is a     5     (reflect) of West Lake; Congcong symbolizes the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu(良渚古城遗址), while Chenchen stands for the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

The design of the mascots was a long process. After fierce competition, “Memories of Jiangnan” finally stood out of more than 4000 candidates. The designer of the mascots, Zhang Wen, said: “Apart from the various cultural     6     (feature) conveyed by the mascots,     7     I also want to emphasize is the technological advance of Hangzhou, a digital and intelligent city.”

    8     (represent) the spirit of the Asian Games as well, as the cultural heritage of Hangzhou, the mascots have received great concern since they were disclosed on April 3rd , 2020. In general, the public response     9     the mascots has been positive. With their unique design and inspiring message, the mascots have become popular in China and even     10     (global).