1. Which of the following is the best place for you to enjoy music in Ireland?
| A．The cities. | B．The countryside. | C．The towns. |
| A．Many famous writers lived here. |
| B．Many famous writers were born here. |
| C．Many famous writers wrote about Dublin. |
| A．Less than 115 years. | B．About 140 years. | C．More than 150 years. |
3 . Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean, is located off the eastern coast of Africa. Here is something to let you know better about it before your trip.
Plants and Animals
There are many kinds of native wild plant species in Mauritius even though little original forest is left. The wild animals include the sambar (a long-tailed, dark brown deer) as well as a variety of birds and insects. The island was once home to the dodo, a flightless bird that was extinct in the late 17th century.
Education and Languages
The education structure consists of three years of pre-primary school. Six years of free primary education begins at age five, which is followed by up to seven years of secondary education. English is the official language of Mauritius, but French and Creole are also spoken. Some other languages are also spoken by different communities.
Sports and Entertainment
Football here claims the greatest number of participants and fans. Mauritians from all communities make winter horse racing one of the most popular and highly attended sporting activities of the year. And Black River Gorges National Park, Trou aux Cerfs, an inactive volcano, which is now heavily forested, and the island’s numerous beaches are surely great places to visit.
Transportation and Telecommunications
Almost all roadways are paved throughout the island. Most of the country’s shipping activity is conducted through port facilities at Port Louis. An international airport is located at Plaisance. In 2021, network coverage with the 5G standard was already 4.5% of all inhabitants. The proportion of the population with at least 4G mobile Internet access was 99%.
To get more information about Mauritius, click here.
1. What can we learn about the plants and animals in Mauritius from the text?| A．They are single. | B．They are various. |
| C．They are mostly flightless. | D．They are mostly domestic. |
| A．It is free for all ages. | B．It lacks English and French instruction. |
| C．It includes 16 years of primary education. | D．It covers 13 years of primary and secondary education. |
| A．Port shipping is popular. | B．5G technology has not yet started. |
| C．4G network coverage is no more than half. | D．Horse racing claims the greatest number of fans. |
4 . 
China is a unified nation consisting of many different ethnic groups. Fifty-six different ethnic groups make up the great Chinese national family. Because the Han people accounts for more than ninety percent of China’s population, the remaining fifty-five groups are generally referred to as “ethnic minorities”. Next to the majority Han, the Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, and Uygur peoples comprise the largest ethnic groups. Although China’s ethnic minorities do not account for a large portion of the population, they are distributed over a vast area, living in every corner of China.
Particularly since the achievement of China’s opening and reform policy, the central government has increased investment in minority areas and accelerated their opening to the outside world. This has resulted in a rise of economic development in these areas. Each of China’s ethnic minority groups possesses a distinctive culture. The Chinese government respects minority customs, and works to preserve, study, and collect the cultural artifacts of China’s ethnic minority groups. The government vigorously supports the development of minority culture and the training of minority cultural workers, and fosters the development of traditional minority medicine.
The relation among China’s ethnic groups can be described as “overall integration, local concentration, and mutual interaction.” Concentrations of ethnic minorities reside within predominantly Han areas, and the Han people also reside in minority areas, indicating that there have been extensive exchanges among China’s ethnic groups since ancient times. With the development of the market economy, interaction among ethnic groups has become even more active in the areas of government, economics, culture, daily life, and marriage. Linked by interdependence, mutual assistance, and joint development, their common goals and interests creating a deep sense of solidarity, China’s ethnic groups resemble a great national family, together building Chinese civilization. (290 words)
1. How many peoples are there in the People’s Republic of China?2. Can you list some minorities of China?
3. Can you talk about typical character of some minorities of China?
5 . A lot of people think Scotland is a part of England, but, as any Scotsman will tell you, it certainly is not. In fact, until the eighteenth century, Scotland was an independent country, with a parliament of its own. The English had tried many times over many centuries to bring Scotland under their rule. They succeeded at last in 1707, and some Scots have never forgiven them.
Scotland is now governed from London, but in some ways it is still a separate nation. It has its own capital city (Edinburgh), its own law, and its own stamps, it even has a language of its own, spoken now by only a few people in the islands.
In some ways Southern Scotland is like England, with his good farmland and low green hills. Central and Northern (the Highlands) have high mountains and deep valleys, fast rivers and cold lakes. These days, of course, there are good roads and railways all through Scotland. Aberdeen, the northeast city where the oil from the North Sea comes to land, is especially easy to reach. But it can still be quite different to travel in the winter when the hills are covered with snow. It always takes a long time to visit the beautiful but far-off islands on the west coast. One reason why Scotland has stayed so different from England is the wildness of the land. It has always been difficult to get around there.
1. From the history of the Great Britain we can know Scotland_____________.| A．had been an independent country by the 19th century |
| B．had been a dependent country by the 18th century |
| C．was a separate country before the 18th century |
| D．was a dependent country before 18th century |
| A．the Scots used to fight against the rules from England many times |
| B．the Scots defeated the English at all the battles |
| C．the Scots never defeated the English at all the battles |
| D．it was quite easy for the English to occupy Scotland |
| A．which is spoken by all the Scots | B．which not many people speak now |
| C．which is almost the same as English language | D．which the English prevent from being spoken |
| A．there are no good roads in Scotland because of high mountains |
| B．there are no railways in Scotland because of deep valleys |
| C．England has not any rivers and lakes in the center and the north |
| D．England has good farmland and low green hills |
1. What probably is the speaker?
| A．A host. | B．A tour guide. | C．An official. |
| A．Pears. | B．Oranges. | C．Potatoes. |
| A．Idaho. | B．Alabama. | C．Oregon. |
7 . Scotland is a country in Great Britain, to the north of England. Scotland has nearly 800 islands, but people only live on some of them. About five million people live in Scotland, which is 8.5% of the UK population. Most people live in the south of the country, in and around the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Dundee.
Language
In Scotland, most people speak English and Scots and a minority speak Scottish Gaelic, an old Celtic language which is very different from English. Scots is spoken by young and old people and sometimes people mix Scots and English. Some words in Scots are the same as in English and some are different.
Sport
The most popular sport in Scotland is football and famous teams include Celtic and Rangers, from Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city. Another popular game, golf, was invented in Scotland in the Middle Ages. You can go skiing in winter at Scotland’s five mountain ski fields and any time of the year at snow sports centers around the country.
Food
When people think of Scottish food, they often think of haggis, a type of sausage made from parts of a sheep. However, Scotland is also known for its variety of seafood and beef.
Symbols
Blue is a colour which is often connected with Scotland. The Scottish flag is blue with a white X-shaped cross called the Saint Andrew’s cross. St Andrew is the Patron Saint(守护神) of Scotland. Everywhere you go in Scotland, you will see tartan(苏格兰格子呢), kilts and bagpipes. Also, look out for the national animal, the unicorn, and the thistle, the national flower of Scotland.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．The Scottish live separately on 800 islands. |
| B．Most of the Scottish live in big cities. |
| C．8.5% of the UK population live in Scotland. |
| D．Scotland lies to the north of Great Britain. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．Scotland is the birthplace of golf. |
| B．Celtic and Rangers are famous golf clubs. |
| C．The special Scottish food is its seafood. |
| D．The Scottish flag is white with a blue cross. |
8 . The red star over China is shining brightly on its sixty-fifth birthday. And why is that? There are many reasons. First of all, there is peace and prosperity (繁荣) in China. The country isn’t at war and most Chinese are living
The Chinese economy is a world wonder— grow so quickly, so many buildings and so many new businesses. China is now the
The rest of the world has started to take a closer
And it is not only because of economy,
So happy birthday, China! We are
| A．worse | B．higher | C．faster | D．better |
| A．some time | B．any time | C．some times | D．every time |
| A．first | B．second | C．third | D．fourth |
| A．on | B．by | C．to | D．of |
| A．growth | B．strength | C．power | D．energy |
| A．look | B．see | C．watch | D．notice |
| A．excited | B．interested | C．surprised | D．upset |
| A．also | B．either | C．but | D．neither |
| A．makes | B．gives | C．takes | D．gets |
| A．pride of | B．take pride in | C．proud of | D．the pride of |
9 . Many centuries ago, all people had to gather seeds and plants to eat. They did not know how to farm or raise animals for food. We call them the Stone Age people because they used stone tools and weapons.
You may feel surprised in the world today there are still people who live like the Stone Age people. They live in the places that are hard to reach. Because they have met few people from the outside world, they don’t know about modern inventions. They have not learned ways of doing things from others.
For 25,000 years, groups of people have lived alone in the middle of Australia. One of these groups is the Arunta tribe (部落). They do not know how to farm and how to raise sheep or cattle.
The Aruntas spend most of their time searching for food and water. The men hunt animals with stone-tipped spears. The women and children look for roots, seeds and nuts. They use sticks to dig up the roots. Several Arunta families live together. They have no house. At night, they sleep around small fires.
Now other people are moving into the center of Australia. Soon the Aruntas will no longer be a Stone Age people.
1. The Stone Age people are called so because they ____.| A．gathered seeds and plants to eat | B．didn’t know how to farm |
| C．used stone tools and weapons | D．didn’t raise animals for food |
| A．in the middle of Africa | B．in the center of Australia |
| C．together with other people | D．in poorly built houses |
| A．Because they have not yet learned new ways from other people. |
| B．Because they do not want to change their way of living. |
| C．Because other people are moving in and living with the Aruntas. |
| D．Because each family live alone without knowing others. |
| A．the Australians live much like the Stone Age people |
| B．the Arunta tribe has a history of 25 centuries |
| C．the Stone Age people have at last disappeared in the world |
| D．the Aruntas will change their way of living sooner or later |
10 . China and the Netherlands (荷兰) are long-time friends. The Netherlands is more than 41,500 square kilometres in area. It is a bit larger than the size of Taiwan, China.
The Netherlands is rich in culture and art. It is home of many great artists, for example, Vincent van Gogh. Besides fine art, the Netherlands is also called the country of tulips (郁金香). It has the world’s largest tulip garden: Keukenhof garden.
Dutch people are very hard-working. There’s a saying: “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland.” More than a quarter of the country is below sea level. So Dutch people build many dams (水坝) to protect the country from flooding. They have created almost one sixth of the country from seas and rivers!
Did you know?
◆Rubber ducks are popular around the world. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created it in 2007. The yellow duck is 26 metres high.
◆Wooden clogs (木底鞋) are traditional shoes in the Netherlands. They make good gifts for tourists.
◆In the Netherlands, it is impolite to start eating at once. Dutch people will sometimes say “delicious” before eating.
◆Like the UK, the Netherlands also has kings and queens.
1. Taiwan, China is ________ than the Netherlands in area.| A．a bit smaller | B．much larger |
| C．much smaller | D．a little larger |
| A．Table manners. | B．Artists. |
| C．Weather. | D．Tulips. |
| A．16% | B．25% | C．60% | D．75% |
| A．In the Netherlands, it’s good manners to praise the food before eating. |
| B．Keukenhof garden is famous for tulips. |
| C．The Dutch may give foreign friends wooden clogs as small presents. |
| D．China and the Netherlands have been neighbouring countries for a long time. |
