1 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Who persuaded Armani to start his own design shop?

A．His brother Sergio.

B．A friend in Milan.

C．A teacher in Verona.

2. What did Armani do in 1979?

A．He created some perfumes.

B．He worked in a military hospital.

C．He started selling clothes in America.

3. What did Armani design?

A．English sports clothing.

B．University team uniforms.

C．Italian uniforms for the World Cup.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What helps Karl most to become successful?

A．Hard work.

B．Good training.

C．A set schedule.

2. What does Karl usually do before the game day?

A．He has good meals.

B．He has a good rest.

C．He does more training.

3. When does Karl get to the stadium on the game day?

A．At about 8: 30 a. m.

B．At about 9: 00 a. m.

C．At about 9: 50 a. m.

4. Why do Karl’s team watch videos of past games?

A．To avoid the mistakes they’ve made.

B．To relax themselves completely.

C．To know the opposing team.

3 . Even if you haven’t tried Pamela’s workouts, her name likely rings a bell -the German-born model is one of the world’s most popular fitness influencers. Lately, she’s been trying out something new: Baduanjin, a traditional Chinese fitness exercise, originally created over 800 years ago during the Song Dynasty. The name generally refers to how the eight individual movements characterize and give a silken quality to the movement of the body and its energy.

Baduanjin used to be popular mainly among older Chinese folks, but young people are now also getting into it. No equipment is necessary and it requires very little space or, perhaps most importantly in our fast-paced lives, time. In fact, it’s perfect for office workers, as they often suffer from lower back pain caused by hours sitting in front of the computer.

The video of Pamela doing Baduanjin has become a hit on Chinese social media, receiving millions of views. In addition to 9.68 million followers on YouTube, Pamela has established a presence on Chinese social media, including Bilibili, with more than 11.6 million followers. Showing her perfect figure year-round, Pamela has become an inspiration for many people worldwide, offering pathways to fat-burning, increased energy, and improved sleep quality.

Apparently, no one can resist the charm of Baduanjin. “I have been doing Baduanjin for about one month, which makes me sleep well and get stronger. I owe big thanks to Baduanjin since it gives me a much healthier lifestyle,” a young netizen commented below the video.

But not all people are suitable for practicing Baduanjin. Liu Xiaodan, an associate professor at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, cautioned that people should always put safety first when doing Baduanjin, and patients who are extremely weak and fall easily should not take up this exercise.

1. What can we learn about Baduanjin from the text?

A．It is 8 movements practised with a silk band.

B．It is created by Pamela for young people.

C．It helps office workers slow down their pace.

D．It helps people sleep better and get into shape.

2. How did the author show the benefits of practising Baduanjin?

A．By using specific data.	B．By explaining its definition.
C．By quoting online comment.	D．By making comparisons.

3. Which of the following can best describe Pamela’s practising Baduanjin?

A．Risky but rewarding.	B．Thrilling but regretful.
C．Unexpected and strange.	D．Eye-catching and inspiring.

4. What should be considered if one wants to take up Baduanjin?

A．Physical condition.	B．Social trend.
C．Pace of life.	D．Work pattern.

4 . Patriotic Zhang Weili won her historic fighting championship in Shenzhen on August 31, 2019. The 30-year-old fighter from Hebei Province produced a huge upset to knock out Brazilian Jessica Andrade and became China’s first UFC world champion.

Zhang entered the straw weight bout as a big loser to Andrade, who is tied with the most UFC wins(11) by a woman. However, after a series of devastating knee kicks and punches(重拳), Andrade was floored in the 42nd second of the first round and the challenger was declared winner by TKO. “Last year in Beijing I vowed(发誓)to become the first Chinese champion, and I did it!” said Zhang. “As a Chinese, I feel so proud. Today, I want to dedicate this victory to my motherland,” she added.

UFC boss Dana White declared Zhang “the most vicious woman on the planet right now” and revealed he is already planning the new champion’s next fight in the United States. Zhang appealed to White to smooth out some reasonable concerns she has about a US fight. “Please make sure all my corners can come because last time they couldn’t come for visa issues,” she said. “But all my coaches are here with me, supporting me and I won the belt.”

With six years’ experience in UFC, Andrade has a reputation for crucially seeing off opponents. But Zhang, who is known for her fierce “buzz saw” attacking style, never allowed Andrade to get going. “I think the keys to my win were my calm mindset and the strategy defined by my coaches. All the strategies were practical and predicted every move to help me seize every opportunity,” Zhang said.

She was the first Chinese fighter to even get a title shot from the UFC, which is now pushing hard into a Chinese market where interest in MMA is growing rapidly. Afterwards, Zhang hoped to inspire more young Chinese women to take up MMA and to be a source of inspiration for women, both in MMA and everyday life.

1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?

A．Andrade is a great opponent.	B．Andrade has 9 UFC wins so far.
C．Zhang owed her victory to her efforts.	D．Zhang was afraid of Andrade’s attacks.

2. What does the underlined word “corners” mean?

A．Opponents.

B．Coaches.

C．Relatives.

D．Friends.

3. Zhang’s win can be owed to ___________ .

A．strict teaching of her coaches

B．support from her coaches and friends

C．her strong body shape and enthusiasm

D．her mindset and strategies developed by her coaches

4. Which of the following may Zhang agree with according to the last paragraph?

A．Women can make a big difference as well.

B．Women should not ignore their appearance.

C．Women should compete with men to show their abilities.

D．Women can change their fate by winning UFC.

5 . Located among the forests where eagles fly overhead, Jabal Sawda has long been one of Saudi Arabia’s best places for mountaineers. At 2,999m, Jabal Sawda had been considered the kingdom’s highest peak until twin mountaineers, Matthew and Eric Gilbertson, climbed it in 2018, finding it to be about three meters shy of Jabal Ferwa.

For more than a decade, the twins have traveled to one country after another around the world, rewriting the mountain record books about places across the Middle East and West Africa. So far they have reached the peaks of more than 100 countries and newly identified the highest points in Togo, Guinea-Bissau and Ivory Coast.

Matthew, a research scientist at Lockheed Martin in Palo Alto, California, and Eric, an instructor in mechanical engineering at Seattle University, said their work was motivated by a love for mountaineering. “If we’re going to go through all the effort to visit a country and visit the highest mountain, we want to be sure that we have indeed visited the highest mountain,” Matthew said. “We consider it assistance to future mountaineers to have an accurate survey done so that they can focus their efforts on getting to whichever peak they want to get to.”

The twins’ love of mountaineering began when they were children with family trips to the Great Smoky Mountains in the southeastern United States. When they were students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), they started climbing as many mountains as possible. In 2012, after achieving their goal of reaching the highest point of each US state, they turned their attention to the rest of the world.

1. What can we learn about Jabal Sawda?

A．It’s Saudi Arabia’s best scenic spot.	B．It’s lower than Jabal Ferwa.
C．It’s Saudi Arabia’s highest peak.	D．It’s better-known than Jabal Ferwa.

2. Why have the twins traveled to different countries in the past decade?

A．To write books about mountains.	B．To rename the peaks of mountains.
C．To identify the highest mountains.	D．To challenge other mountaineers.

3. What do Matthew’s words concerning their work imply in paragraph 3?

A．It satisfies their curiosity.	B．It strengthens their motivation.
C．It attracts more mountaineers.	D．It guarantees informed choices.

4. Which of the following best describes the twins?

A．Ambitious but impractical.	B．Determined and adventurous.
C．Intelligent and unselfish.	D．Peace-loving and eco-friendly.

6 . Women are equally responsible for the growth of a free, modern society. Here’s a look at some outstanding women who made great contributions to world history.

Maria Sibylla Merian

Today, children can explain how a caterpillar (毛毛虫) turns into a butterfly (蝴蝶). But there was a time when no one knew this --not even scientists. Thanks to Maria Sibylla Merian, we know the truth about these beautiful winged insects. Merian was fascinated by insects, and she began collecting, studying, and drawing them when she was as young as 13. It was through her study of caterpillars that she discovered the truth about their life cycles.

Beryl Markham

Beryl Markham was quite incredible in not just aviation (航空) but several other industries, including horse racing. In 1936, at age 33, Markham became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone from the east to the west, nonstop. The pilot played a role in the classic best-selling novel and film, Out of Africa, and had many biographies penned about her talents and life.

Madam C. J. Walker

Madam C J. Walker developed a condition that caused her to lose her hair, and with it, an interest in hair care. She began working for black hair care entrepreneur (企业家) Annie Turnbo Malone. Eventually, Walker began making and marketing her own hair care products designed for African-American women. Her company developed into the successful Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She is widely recognized as America’s first black female self-made millionaire.

Hedy Lamarr

You might know Hedy Lamarr from the silver screen; she starred in many films. But her film career is far from her only achievement; she was also a brilliant inventor. In 1942, she received a patent for an invention that could change radio signal frequencies. It paved the way for much of the wireless technology we use today.

1. Who had a lot of enthusiasm for the study of insects?

A．Hedy Lamarr	B．Beryl Markham
C．Madam C.J. Walker	D．Maria Sibylla Merian

2. What made Madam C.J. Walker begin to focus on the hair care?

A．Her losing her hair.	B．A type of hair care product.
C．Annie Turnbo Malone’s success.	D．Her wish to help African Americans.

3. What is special about Hedy Lamar?

A．She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone.

B．She was both a film star and an inventor.

C．She was a successful businesswoman.

D．She was a best-selling writer.

7 . A few days ago, the Brooklyn Nets basketball player Ben Simmons donated a basketball court to Machang township in Southwest China’s Guizhou Province during a ceremony. Simmons has visited China several times since he was young. He has been deeply touched by the Chinese people’s warmth and friendly feelings toward him and their enthusiasm for the basketball.

Impressed by the news that basketball competitions had been held in Guizhou at a village with their own “Village Basketball Association(VBA)”, Simmons decided to donate a basketball court to the village during the Chinese New Year Basketball Competition in January. After conducting a survey, he set up the basketball court in Machang township in Gui’an New Area in the hope that it would create more opportunities for young fans to play basketball.

In the mountainous village of Machang, there are no huge electronic screens or advertisements at basketball games, but they can still be thrilling thanks to local players’ love for the sport. These players later became a hit in China and even went global. A recent final competition attracted 30,000 viewers on site and more than 1 billion viewers online.

Comparatively, the NBA boasts the best players in the world, top-class basketball gyms and professionally made commercials, so its exciting games draw fans around the world. NBA and the “VBA”are thousands of miles apart, but their games are equally striking, fueling thousands of fans’ enthusiasm. Both focus on a common interest of basketball fans in the U. S. and China and their shared pursuit of sports and a better life.

Although Machang township lacks modern sports facilities, the local people’s love for basketball remains strong. So Simmons’ donation will surely help improve the village’s situation to a certain extent, but more importantly, it will bring people separated by the Pacfe Ocean closer through this sport.

1. Why did Simmons donate a basketball court to Machang township?

A．To attract global attention to the village.

B．To participate in more local competitions.

C．To show his passion for local people’s lifestyle.

D．To encourage more young people to play basketball.

2. What makes the local basketball games exciting?

A．Players’ professional skill.	B．The large number of viewers.
C．Players’ passion for basketball.	D．Powerful promotion of the games.

3. How is paragraph 4 developed?

A．By giving examples.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By providing comments.	D．By drawing conclusions.

4. What is the suitable title for the text?

A．China’s “VBA” Becomes a Hit

B．NBA Player Does Charity in Chinese Village

C．Village Players Compete in International Competitions

D．Shared Love of Basketball Links NBA and China’s“VBA”

8 . Jules Verne, the “Father of Science Fiction”, lived in the era of steamships and telegraphs, but was able to imagine technologies that wouldn’t be invented for over a century. Reading Verne’s novels made me wonder how he was able to predict so much and write so technically when he wasn’t a trained scientist, physicist or engineer. How did he do it?

Like a lot of people, Verne’s parents had their own ideas about his future. They had their hearts set on Verne becoming a lawyer. He knew he wanted to be a writer, but played along and went to school to become a lawyer like his father.

Verne was mostly pretending to study law in Paris while holing up in the National Library of France and digging into articles on discoveries in geology and science. Eventually, he came clean with his family that he wanted to write in a new genre (风格) that combined travel and science.

While he studied scientific journals and let all of the age’s cutting-edge discoveries feed the fires of his imagination, Verne surrounded himself with people who could be useful for his writing.

His brother was a naval officer, and Verne would often ask him to double-check what he had written about ships and maritime travel. He also asked his cousin, a math professor, to look at his equations (等式) and a mining engineer friend to help him with physics, according to author Walter James Miller, who wrote annotations (评注) to Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

“He predicted a lot of things that have happened, but that’s because he was reading a lot and talking with people who knew what was going on in the world around him, so why should we be surprised?” according to Rosalind Williams, a historian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It wasn’t magic. He was just paying attention to things,” she said.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To lead in the topic.	B．To explain a phenomenon.
C．To present an argument.	D．To introduce a concept.

2. What did Verne’s parents expect him to be?

A．A scientist.

B．A writer.

C．An engineer.

D．A lawyer.

3. What does the underlined phrase “came clean with” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Agreed excitedly with.	B．Admitted honestly to.
C．Talked hopefully with.	D．Complained impatiently to.

4. What made Verne succeed in science fiction according to Rosalind Williams?

A．His genius.	B．His law study.
C．His devotion to writing.	D．His parents’ support.

9 . 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    (locate) inside a downtown hutong in Beijing, the Star Theater has become a landmark stage for new dramas, where, since June, Wang Guang     2    (play) the leading role in more than 30 performances of the drama, The Desperate Love.

In the small theater,     3     can only hold an audience of 200 people, the distance between actors on stage and the first row of seats is about three meters. “When I am on the stage, I can     4    (easy) interact with the audience through eye contact,” Wang Guang says, talking about his special moments on stage. “On one occasion, I made eye contact with an elderly woman, with tears in her eyes. Maybe she     5    (touch) by the play, perhaps because it brought back     6    (memory) of her youth.”

Wang Guang’s outstanding performance in The Desperate Love has won him opportunities to participate     7     more plays staged by the theater. He says he is taking music and dance courses to improve his overall skill set. Wang Guang says that performing at the small theater has provided him with a sound start to his career. “I hope someday to become     8     director of stage dramas,” he adds.

The theater provides about 1,000 performances a year and it has produced over 50 original plays,     9    (attract) audiences of all ages. It creates an immersive (沉浸式的)     10     interactive atmosphere that involves the audience in the charm of dramatic stories.

10 . M-U-R-R-A-Y-A is the word that pushed Zaila Avant garde, 15, to victory in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The annual event took place in July, 2021, in Florida.

After correctly spelling Murraya, which is a type of flowering tree, Zaila became the first Black American contestant ever to win the national title. She is the second Black winner, after Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica, who won the bee in 1998.

Since 1925, the Scripps spelling bee has promoted literacy. Competing in the event helps students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies and develop self-confidence.

Zaila, who is from Harvey, Louisiana, put in a lot of work to become the top speller. She studied for two years. ”I worked with a tutor and studied some days up to seven hours,“ she said.

In addition to being an award-winning speller, Zaila enjoys juggling, playing basketball and inspiring other students. ”Whether I’m studying for spelling bees or playing basketball,“ she said, ”the main motivation for me is to inspire others.“

In the months following her spelling bee win, Zaila made several television appearances. She was also named the 2021 SportsKid of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

The rising star is not finished. She has big goals for the future. “I’d like to play basketball at Harvard, play in the WNBA, become a head coach in the WNBA, and work for NASA,” she said.

Zaila’s parents introduced her to basketball when she was a young child. After receiving a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records on her eighth birthday, she set her sights on becoming a record holder. “When I looked in the book,” she said, “I decided that I wanted to be in it.” Now, at the age of 15, Zaila holds three world records.

1. What is the main purpose of the Scripps spelling bee?

A．Getting good grades in school.	B．Raising reading efficiency.
C．Improving spelling ability.	D．Grasping new learning ways.

2. When did Zaila start to prepare for the spelling competition?

A．At the age of 8.	B．At the age of 13.
C．At the age of 14.	D．At the age of 15.

3. What is known about Zaila’s big goals?

A．They are about spelling.	B．They are easy to achieve.
C．Being a star is her favourite.	D．Being a head coach is one of them.

4. What inspired Zaila to bold many world records?

A．A birthday gift.	B．Her parents’ hope.
C．Her teacher’s guide.	D．Her wild imagination.