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。

    1     (get) to know a little bit about British history will help you understand what these different names—the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain England—mean. In the 16th century, the nearby country of Wales     2     (join) to the Kingdom of England. Later, Scotland and then Ireland was added. Although the four countries have some differences, they use the same flag,     3     (know) as the Union Jack, as well as share the same currency and military    4     (defend).

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How many aspects of the United Kingdom does the man refer to?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

2. Which of the following is NOT a historical monument?

A．Windsor Castle.

B．The Tower of London.

C．The National Gallery.

3. Which of the following film series was NOT produced by a British studio?

A．Harry Potter.

B．Star Wars.

C．James Bond.

4. Which of the following sports originated in the United Kingdom?

A．Rugby.

B．Basketball.

C．Badminton

3 . 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.

2. How many languages are there in Scotland?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

3. Which of the following is True according to the passage?

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.

4 . When photographer Birte Kaufmann was on a trip with friends in the Irish countryside, she met Irish Travellers. How could she dig deeper into their culture, Kaufmann wondered. She made plans to photograph them.

A nomadic (流浪的) group, the Travellers have lived on the margins (边缘) of mainstream Irish society for centuries. Efforts have been made to bring the community into mainstream culture by settling ( 安置) them into government housing and enforcing school attendance. But even living among “settled people”, they face ongoing unfair treatment.

To get access to the community, Kaufmann first asked for help from human rights groups, but failed. Then she decided to do it the hard way. On her next trip to Ireland, she simply went to the community. 

A young woman came up, speaking poor English. Kaufmann decided to lay her cards on the table. “I told her that I knew who they are and was interested in how they live,” Kaufmann says.

“The woman was totally surprised, but finally her family invited me for a cup of tea. I asked them if I could stay with them,” Kaufmann says. “They laughed, as if to say, ‘Yeah, right.’”

One of the family members — a young mother who took a particular shine to Kaufmann — began teaching her Gammon, their unwritten language. “She tried to teach me words to say if the men are being rude,” she says. “She tried to make me feel more comfortable.”

The men gradually accepted Kaufmann and allowed her to photograph them. She was able to photograph them as an observer of their everyday lives — lives, she says, that are filled with a lot of free time. As Ireland becomes less agrarian (农业的), the Travellers’ work as horse traders, farm laborers, etc. has become more scarce (稀少的).

“On the one hand life was so sad and boring because everything their lives depended on wasn’t there anymore. On the other hand there was this freedom — they live their lives in their own way,” Kaufmann says.

1. What can we learn about Irish Travellers from paragraph 2?

A．They enjoy living a settled life.

B．They are popular with settled people.

C．They are successful in preserving their identity.

D．They find it hard to fit into mainstream Irish society.

2. How did Kaufmann manage to join the community?

A．By telling them her purpose honestly.	B．By teaching them to play card games.
C．By turning to her Irish friends for help.	D．By following human rights groups’ advice.

3. What was the young mother’s attitude to Kaufmann?

A．Uncaring.

B．Unfriendly.

C．Protective.

D．Doubtful.

4. What is a serious problem for Irish Travellers?

A．Rudeness among their members.	B．Having less space to travel around.
C．Losing traditional work.	D．A falling population.

5 . 语法填空

You get to choose: Do you want to use your life to make the world a better place     1     people, animals and the environment? Do you want to make Roots & Shoots rooted in everyone’s heart? Do you want to be a part of a community for a     2    (share) future? You cannot be absent. It is by    3    (act) together, in this exciting way, that we can involve thousands — millions — of people, and this is     4     is going to change the world.

6 . Alifa Chin is a 13-year-old Bangladeshi girl whose last name sometimes leads to her being mistaken for a Chinese.

“I like my name very much. I think my name is the _________ of friendship between Bangladesh and China,” she said. In 2010, Chin’s mother, Jannatul Ferdous, was unable to _________ naturally due to a serious heart problem. Local doctors failed to _________ the necessary surgery (外科手术).

_________, the Chinese navy’s Peace Ark hospital ship was about to arrive to provide medical _________ for locals in Chittagong. “Now we feel _________ for the efforts of Chinese doctors and nurses that help me give birth to a healthy baby,” Ferdous said.

This year, Chin wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping to _________ her gratitude. To the family’s _________, Xi wrote back. In the letter, Xi _________ her to study hard, pursue her dream and carry forward the __________ friendship between China and Bangladesh.

“To __________ President Xi’s expectations, I will study medical science to help those in need,” she said.

The girl’s father said, “We didn’t __________ that our daughter would receive the letter from the Chinese president. This is the most __________ thing in our life.”

“We have seen how people in other countries have gained a better understanding of China through the medical __________. To local residents, China is a major country that is responsible, peace-loving and always __________,” she said.

1.

A．presence

B．symbol

C．signal

D．proof

2.

A．pick up

B．hand over

C．give birth

D．work out

3.

A．show

B．perform

C．follow

D．load

4.

A．Luckily

B．Originally

C．Obviously

D．Gradually

5.

A．transportation

B．shelter

C．budget

D．treatment

6.

A．thankful

B．generous

C．proud

D．sympathetic

7.

A．contribute

B．supply

C．express

D．release

8.

A．relief

B．embarrassment

C．credit

D．surprise

9.

A．called

B．offered

C．fought

D．encouraged

10.

A．temporary

B．traditional

C．unique

D．contemporary

11.

A．live up to

B．figure out

C．make up for

D．account for

12.

A．agree

B．exhibit

C．expect

D．charge

13.

A．unnecessary

B．unavoidable

C．uneventful

D．unbelievable

14.

A．benefit

B．assistance

C．concern

D．agreement

15.

A．helpful

B．grateful

C．wealthy

D．creative

7 . The Masai(马赛人) are continually trying to keep their own ways in an increasingly modern world. They live along the border of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, moving their homes from time to time to follow their cattle, the source of their livelihood. They rely on their cattle in many parts of their life. They like drinking the cows’ milk.

They don’t kill their cattle for food. But if a cow is killed, the parts of its body are used to make containers, shoes, clothin,   ropes, bed coverings and so on. Not all of the men have cows. The more cattle a man owns, the richer he is considered to be. A man who owns 50 or fewer cattle is considered poor. Rich men have a thousand or more. The cattle, though owned by the man, are considered to belong to the man’s entire family. The family names the cattle and can recognize each animal’s special voice.

The Masai men have become known as warriors(勇士), protecting their cattle against other wild animals. They wear their red long hair. Most women often take care of their children, cook food, clean clothes and make clothing at home. They also make necklaces dresses and headdresses. A few women can also become authorities once they are powerful enough. They speak a language called Maa.

The houses of Masai made from sticks and grass, which are held together with a mixture of mud, are not very firm or safe. These plain houses with some basic supplies are built in a circle and make up a Masai village. They are not meant to last long since the migration(迁徙) of the cow population means that the Masai move as well. In the meantime, in order to prevent animals from entering, they also form a wall of branches. The whole setup is to protect the cattle, which sleep at night in the middle of the village. They seem to live a natural and self-sufficient life but lack modern civilisation.

1. What do we know about the Masai?

A．They don’t move in their lives.

B．They each have their own cows.

C．They don’t kill their cattle at all.

D．They are heavily dependent on cattle.

2. What do most of the Masai women work as?

A．Designers.	B．Authorities.
C．Housewives.	D．Warriors.

3. Which word best describes Masai houses?

A．Modern.

B．Lasting

C．Simple.

D．Safe.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Africans: Living a Moving life

B．Africans: Brave People in the World

C．The Masai: Rich People in East Africa

D．The Masai: Maintaining a Traditional Lifestyle

8 . The United States you may not know

The United States is the only superpower in the world, and it is far more advanced than any other country. However, we can’t simply owe its _________ and prosperity to its lucky escape from the destruction of the two world wars. What other nations should _________ is the American spirit and its social system.

The most obvious features of the American spirit are _________ and pragmatism (务实思想). Nearly 70% of the important inventions have been made in the US since the first industrial revolution. Since the US occupies such an important position in science and technology, naturally it has become the first superpower in the world.

Americans are always _________ with what they have achieved, and they have an appetite for adventure over the love of _________. European countries have been pursuing a reformist policy of “high tax and high welfare” since the 1960s, while only the US _________ the policy of “high risk and high return”. _________ , the US has become the leader of the third industrial revolution (in technology of information, materials and biology).

High salary is not the only _________ that the talents from other countries find in the United States. Some characteristics of American society should not be _________. Family backgrounds and great wisdom in building connections and playing up to the boss, to which great importance is attached in other countries, are not so important to __________ development in the US. Most people are on the same starting line, and whether one can succeed or not depends on his own ability and hard work.

However, the American character is full of paradoxes (矛盾). The American people are both extremely romantic and pragmatic. The American is a(n) __________ people, but in every field there are workaholics. The Americans are open-minded but they are very conservative on certain matters. Since China’s reform and opening-up to the outside world, many media in Western countries have greatly __________ their attitudes towards China. However, the American media are singing the same old tune against China as they were in the Cold War period. The Americans __________ freedom, but their government is very fond of interfering in other countries’ internal affairs. What’s most puzzling is that the Americans __________ authority, but they highly respect the laws and regulations of the society. Therefore, in such a nation that values personal liberty, the society can still be kept in good order and operate with high __________ . Is it odd? No one can provide a satisfactory answer.

1.

A．powerfulness

B．ability

C．energy

D．resource

2.

A．reflect on

B．deal with

C．agree to

D．carry out

3.

A．preservation

B．perseverance

C．curiosity

D．creativity

4.

A．dissatisfied

B．concerned

C．engaged

D．pleased

5.

A．nature

B．competition

C．ease

D．innovation

6.

A．goes against

B．sticks to

C．exposes to

D．gives up

7.

A．After all

B．As a result

C．In other words

D．Above all

8.

A．potential

B．passion

C．attraction

D．recommendation

9.

A．considered

B．mentioned

C．ignored

D．defined

10.

A．staff

B．assemble

C．private

D．individual

11.

A．pleasure-seeking

B．outgoing

C．self-disciplined

D．well-educated

12.

A．maintained

B．changed

C．adopted

D．compared

13.

A．oppose

B．rebel

C．care

D．value

14.

A．show

B．admire

C．challenge

D．establish

15.

A．efficiency

B．spirits

C．honour

D．status

9 . 阅读下面小短文，根据上下文语境，选择合适的单词填入空白处，每个单词只使用一次，方框里有一个是多余的单词。

A. create   B. defence   C. conquered   D. currency   E. legal   F. identify

Studying the history of UK will make your visit much more enjoyable. In the 16th century, the nearby Wales was joined to the Kingdom of England. Later, the country Scotland was joined to     1     the Kingdom of Great Britain. Finally, the southern part of Ireland broke away from the UK, which resulted in the full name. They use the same flag, as well as share the same     2     and military     3    . However, they also have some differences. The Normans     4     England after the well-known Battle of Hastings and made changes to the     5     system. So many French words slowly entered into the English language.

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。

US President Joe Biden formally started his reelection Campaign    1    April 25. The    2    (announce) fell on the four-year anniversary of Biden    3     (launch) his 2020 US presidential campaign.

According to a new NBC News national poll, 70% of Americans think that Biden should not run for    4    second term. Half of those    5    say Biden, aged 80 years old,    6    (probable) fails to take the helm for US in the right direction.

It January 2021, Biden started his presidency amidst the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the Capitol Hill riot. He carried out economic stimulus (刺激) policies    7    (reduce) the pandemic’s impact,     8    due to some factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and constantly rising energy prices, US inflation (通胀)     9    (skyrocket) for more than a year, showing no signs of stopping. Nevertheless, Biden could still be in the top job    10    the election scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024.