Zhao Chuang is a science artist working in Beijing,
2 . Defeating Daniil Medvedev in New York on Sunday, Djokovic, one of the greatest tennis player, bagging 24 Grand Slam (大满贯) singles titles, equalized the record held by Australian Margaret Court, the same number of singles titles in the all-time count.
With the victory, Djokovic became the oldest US Open men’s singles champion in the Open Era. In total, he has 10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, four US Opens and three Roland Garros titles, making him the only man to win all four majors at least three times. “When I realized that, I started to dream new dreams and set new goals. I never imagined that I would be here talking about 24 Slams,” he said afterwards.
Djokovic reached all finals in the Grand Slams in 2023, and the only loss was at Wimbledon, when Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, 20, brought home the champion after an intense battle lasting four hours and 43 minutes.
Djokovic, at 36, shows few signs of losing physical edge. He stays healthy, keeps exceptional skills and always desires to win more. Capturing his first Grand Slam in 2008, Djokovic bagged half of his 24 major titles after he turned 30.“One of the biggest lessons I have learned probably mentally throughout my career is that even if you find a formula (方案) that works, it’s not a guarantee, and actually most likely it’s not going to work the next year, so I keep reinventing myself and always trying to find better ways to win,” said Djokovic.
For Djokovic, who always gets tough when the going gets tough, 24 is just a number that he can go beyond. “I’ll continue to prioritize Grand Slams as my most important tournaments and where I want to play the best tennis. That will stay the same in the next season, or I don’t know how many more seasons I have in my legs,” he added, “So, let’s see.”
1. What does the underlined word “equalized” in the first paragraph probably mean?| A．Set. | B．Broke. | C．Levelled. | D．Approached. |
| A．He won 12 Grand Slams in his thirties. |
| B．He won all the finals in the Grand Slams in 2023. |
| C．He attached the same importance to all the matches. |
| D．He is the oldest men’s singles champion in the open era. |
| A．Losing physical edge. | B．Attending more Grand Slams. |
| C．Following a good formula. | D．Finding flexible and proper strategies. |
| A．Confident and emotional. | B．Ambitious and devoted. |
| C．Aggressive and stubborn. | D．Enthusiastic and generous. |
3 . Artist Susan Shepherd is best known for her flower paintings, and the large garden that surrounds her house is the source of many of her subjects. It is full of her favourite flowers, most especially vancties of tulips and poppies. Some of the plants are unruly and seed themselves all over the garden. There is a harmony of colour, shape and structure in the two long flower borders that line the paved path which crosses the garden from east to west. Much of this is due to the previous owners who were keen gardeners, and who left plants that appealed to Susan. She also inherited the gardener, Danny. “In fact, it was really his garden,” she says. “We got on very well. At first he would say, “Oh, it’s not worth it” to some of the things I wanted to put in, but when I said I wanted to paint them, he recognized what I had in mind.”
Susan prefers to focus on detailed studies of individual plants rather than on the garden as a whole, though she will occasionally paint a group of plants where they are. More usually, she picks them and then takes them up to her studio. “I don’t set the whole thing up at once,” she says. “I take one flower up at once,” she says. “I take one flower out and paint it, which might take a few days, and then I bring in another one and build up the painting that way. Sometimes it takes a couple of years to finish.”
Her busiest time of year is spring and early summer, when the tulips are out, followed by the poppies. “They all come out together, and you’re so busy,” she says. But the gradual decaying process is also part of the fascination for her. With tulips, for example, “you bring them in and put them in water, then leave them for perhaps a day and they each form themselves into different shapes. They open out and are fantastic. When you first put them in a vase, you think they are boring, but they change all the time with twists and turns.”
1. In the first paragraph, the author describes Susan’s garden as ________.| A．being only partly finished |
| B．having a path lined with flowers |
| C．having caused problems for the previous owners |
| D．needing a lot of work to keep it looking attractive |
| A．He felt she was interfering in his work. |
| B．He immediately understood her feelings. |
| C．He was recommended by the previous owners. |
| D．He was slow to see the point of some of her ideas. |
| A．She creates her paintings in several stages. |
| B．She spends all day painting an individual flower. |
| C．She likes to do research on a plant before she paints it. |
| D．She will wait until a flower is ready to be picked before painting it. |
| A．look best some time after they have been cut. |
| B．should be kept in the house for as long as possible. |
| C．are not easy to paint because they change so quickly. |
| D．are more colourful and better shaped than other flowers. |
1. In your opinion, is Yang Liwei a hero? Why, or why not?
2. What do you think a true hero should be like?
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5 . Time magazine named its choice of the 100 “Most Influential (有影响力的) People in the World” on Wednesday. On the
Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks starting point guard, is a person that many
“Jeremy Lin’s story is a great lesson for kids everywhere. In life, there are many prejudices (偏见) that
“It’s great to see good values and the right attitude
We spoke to Lin’s
| A．road | B．way | C．world | D．list |
| A．children | B．stars | C．athletes | D．players |
| A．criticised | B．praised | C．attacked | D．disliked |
| A．influential | B．skilful | C．talented | D．selfless |
| A．lesson | B．skill | C．move | D．knowledge |
| A．graduate | B．professor | C．student | D．coach |
| A．fortunately | B．surprisingly | C．amazingly | D．unfairly |
| A．common | B．untrue | C．necessary | D．useful |
| A．coach | B．work | C．succeed | D．fail |
| A．useful | B．possible | C．easy | D．difficult |
| A．poor | B．lazy | C．excellent | D．normal |
| A．rewarded | B．forgotten | C．replaced | D．covered |
| A．country | B．fame | C．money | D．team |
| A．family | B．teammates | C．friends | D．parents |
| A．modest | B．optimistic | C．excited | D．happy |
6 . Xu Hai’ou has spent most of her life promoting environmental protection work in Beihai, a coastal city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, by cleaning beaches, protecting mi-grant birds and recycling kitchen waste.
Though her family originally comes from the eastern province of Shandong, the 60-year-old was raised in Guangxi and moved to Beihai for work at age 23, directly after graduating from college. Before she retired, she worked as a reporter for the Guangxi Daily Media Group, a news outlet in the region. In her free time, she became involved in voluntary work.
“In initially, in the 1990s, I helped impoverished children in Guangxi’s rural areas obtain financial aid from donors in Hong Kong, and set up my own NGO in 2004. At the time, it was Beihai’s only nonprofit social organization involved in volunteer work,” she said, “It’s very enjoyable to do this charity work and I have made many friends through it.”
She said her NGO focuses on environmental protection work and organizes a range of voluntary activities, including cleaning up beaches, and protecting mangrove forests and migratory birds.
In 2008, the organization joined a marine life protection event supported by the central government, the UN Environment Programme and the Global Environmental Facility.
Xu and her colleagues at the association arranged a number of voluntary events such as raising awareness of marine biodiversity among local residents and students, and beach-cleaning activities to help promote understanding of the need to protect marine animals and plants.
“Undertaking voluntary activities or charitable work has become my mission, and I want to contribute my own efforts to the nation’s environmental protection work, even if they only produce a small improvement. However, protecting the environment is very hard work. which can’t be done by a single person. I sometimes feel like my ability falls short of my wishes.”
According to Xu, her NGO is currently promoting the classification of waste in Beihai and recycling kitchen waste into compost. “We have mature technologies, but still face difficulties in promoting the program because many residents lack awareness of environmental protection. We hope the government can figure out better ways of managing the garbage after we classify it to make full use of this ‘waste’.”
1. What can we learn about Xu Hai’ou from the first two paragraphs?| A．She grew up in Shandong Province. |
| B．She graduated in Beihai at the age of 23. |
| C．She works as a journalist for a newspaper at present. |
| D．She is a retired reporter volunteering to protect the environment. |
| A．Rewarding. | B．Exhausting. | C．Amazing. | D．Embarrassing. |
| A．To clean beaches and recycle kitchen waste. |
| B．To get support from the central government. |
| C．To raise people’s awareness of marine biodiversity. |
| D．To help people understand the necessity of protecting marine life. |
| A．She wants to win a good reputation. |
| B．She wants to do what others don’t want to do. |
| C．She wants to do her part to protect the environment. |
| D．She wants to make the most of kitchen waste on her own. |
7 . She programmed an IBM 7030 Stretch computer, providing faster calculations for an accurate Earthmodel. This detailed mathematical model of the shape of the Earth was a building block for what would become the GPS orbit.
What does the underlined phrase “a building block” in paragraph 5 mean?| A．A basic part. | B．A detailed map. |
| C．A building material. | D．A major obstacle. |
8 . Here is the story of American aviation (航空) pioneer Amelia Earhart.
Once upon a time, on July 24th 1897, a little girl was born in Ashes Kansas. As a child, Amelia was adventurous, climbing trees, collecting bugs, hunting rats with their rifle and exploring the neighborhood. Many historians have described Earhart as a “tomboy” growing up because of this.
Throughout her teen years, she moved around the middle west with her family. There after seeing the wounded soldiers returning from World War I, she decided to work as a nurse’s aid and got to know many of the wounded pilots and grew to admire them.
On December 20th, 1920, an important moment happened in Earhart’s life. She attended an air show with her dad in Long Beach. And she took a ten-minute plane ride that forever changed her life. She recalled, “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly.” Amelia’s new mission (使命) was to learn how to fly and she worked hard to achieve this new dream. She worked several odd jobs to save up for the very expensive flying lessons. Amelia had flown her plane to 14,000 feet, the world altitude record for female pilots. On may 15th, 1923, Earhart became only the 16th woman to be issued (颁发) with such a pilot’s licence.
In the mid-1920s, Earhart was not able to make a living as only a pilot, so she became a teacher and later a social worker. One afternoon in April 1928, a phone call came for Earhart at work. “How would you like to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic?” Captain Hulton Archive asked her on the other line. “Yes,” Amelia immediately replied. She became the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, but only as a passenger, as Wilmer Stultz and Lewis Gordon acted as pilots. When the three returned to the United States, they were greeted with a parade in New York and a reception held by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.
In August 1928, Amelia became the first woman to fly alone across the North American continent and back. In 1929, she entered Will Rogers Power Puff Derby and placed third. Earhart also became involved with the Ninety-Nines, an organization of female pilots, and then became their first president in 1930.
1. How would we understand the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?| A．She found the pilots were admirable. |
| B．She decided to be a nurse to help the wounded pilots. |
| C．She would continue to take airplane rides with her Dad. |
| D．She wanted to be a pilot when flying an airplane for the fist time. |
| A．She grew up in a rich family and graduated with honors. |
| B．She flew solo across the North American continent and back in 1928. |
| C．She refused to fly the Atlantic Ocean with others at first in 1928. |
| D．She became the first female president of the USA in 1930. |
| A．By listing figures. | B．In place order. |
| C．By comparing examples. | D．In time order. |
| A．Never too old to learn. | B．Well begun is half done. |
| C．Two hands are better than one. | D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
9 . “Hello, boys; make lots of toys,” said A.C.Gilbert in magazine ads for the erector set (立体拼装玩具). The building set, using tiny, metal girders (大梁), was popular for many years.
As a small boy, Gilbert couldn’t sit still for long. When he was 12, he started a sports club for his friends and got their school to have a field day. After watching pole vault (撑杆 跳), Gilbert took a cedar rail from a farmer’s fence, shaped it, and began to practice.
Gilbert won a gold medal in pole vault at the Olympic Games in 1908. By that time, he had a diploma in physical education and had nearly finished medical studies. However, he later started his first business: making and selling magic kits, with which Gilbert had amused friends and earned college money.
One day, Gilbert saw workers using steel girders to build towers for power lines. That gave him the idea for the erector set.
In 1917, the Council of National Defense thought no toys should be sold for Christmas because the country was fighting in World War I. Gilbert, with other men from the Toy Manufacturers, went to Washington, D. C. with about 40 different toys. and they were given 15 minutes to speak.
This meeting was at the end of a long, hard day. Gilbert exclaimed how toys helped children learn while his helpers brought out the toys. Soon, tired government men were on the floor, playing with building sets, models of navy ships, and other toys. The time limit was forgotten; so was the Christmas toy ban.
Gilbert spent the rest of his life improving erector sets. When he died in 1961, he had 150 patents for his many inventions. But his chief joy was in helping children learn and have fun at the same time. He once said, “I have never worked on anything to make money unless it was fun too.” As a matter of fact, the fun always came first.
1. What do we know about Gilbert according to paragraphs 2-3?| A．He was unwilling to sit down as a small kid. |
| B．He convinced his school to establish a sports club. |
| C．He absorbed himself in coming up with new ideas. |
| D．He demonstrated his interest and gift in various fields. |
| A．Asking workers for assistance. | B．Observing a construction work. |
| C．Designing towers for power lines. | D．Selling magic kits in previous years |
| A．they were impressed by Gilbert's words |
| B．they forgot the time limit arranged earlier |
| C．they were exhausted after playing on the floor |
| D．they experienced the pleasure of playing toys |
| A．Talented and committed. | B．Friendly and considerate. |
| C．Brilliant and cold-hearted. | D．Generous and strong-willed. |
10 . Chinese social media was a buzz with praise for war correspondent Chen Huihui who reported from the front lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As one of the first journalists to arrive at the scene, Chen has been reporting live from the battlefield since October 9th.
Chen’s reports have provided a realistic and complex view of the conflict, earning her widespread respect and admiration from netizens on Weibo. Many compared her deed to a “heroic act” for fearlessly facing the situation.
One netizen expressed admiration for war reporters covering the Israel-Palestine conflict, stating: “I admire the war reporters covering the Israel-Palestine conflict; truly admirable, they are reporting and directing the gunfire and bombardment every day. Salute!”
As the Israeli army entered Gaza and began ground battle, Chen Huihui shared her firsthand accounts of the situation. On November 11th, an emotional video emerged of a father crying out in sorrow after his three children were killed by Israel ’ s bombardment. This heart-broken image led netizens to express their sympathy for the people affected by the conflict.
The Weibo netizens remained great support and respect for journalists like Chen Huihui who are putting their lives on the line to report from the front lines. As a Spanish parliamentarian named Mayster condemned Israel for committing war crimes, Chinese social media users praised journalists who bring attention to the realities and cruelty of war.
As another netizen put it: “War correspondents are often not individuals but representatives of national images. Only when reporters are closer to the guns can they feel more deeply the cruelty of war, know true casualties, and understand the distinction between justice and injustice.”
Chen Huihui’s courageous reporting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has earned her widespread praise on Chinese social media. Her bravery and devotion to providing realistic coverage of the complex situation have inspired admiration among netizens who value journalists like her who are committed to throwing light on important global issues.
1. What is one of the reasons for Chen Huihui’s great praise on Chinese social media?| A．Her courage and bravery in the face of danger. |
| B．She was the first journalist to arrive at the scene. |
| C．She reported live from the battlefield since last October. |
| D．Her sympathy towards the people affected by the conflict |
| A．They blamed Israel for the tragedy. |
| B．They expressed their pities for the victims. |
| C．They praised the father’s bravery in the face of danger. |
| D．They remained calm and did not comment on the video. |
| A．Because Chen Huihui reported on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. |
| B．Because netizens praised journalists who bring attention to the realities and cruelty of war. |
| C．Because the Israeli army entered Gaza and began cold-blooding killing to the common people. |
| D．Because Chen Huihui shared an emotional video of a father grieving for his children. |
| A．By reporting from a safe distance. |
| B．By witnessing the heroism of soldiers. |
| C．By getting close to the battlefield. |
| D．By understanding the distinction between justice and injustice. |
