Do you know the most successful movie series ever? It’s Avatar. What about the record for bursting the most balloons in one minute while bouncing on a pogo stick (单高跷)? Or taking the longest trip in a boat made from a pumpkin?

These and many more amazing achievements are in the new edition of the Guinness World Records for 2024. This edition was themed Blue Planet and focused on records related to water, from icy mountain peaks to the ocean’s deepest depths. So there are extra entries (条目) about things like the biggest octopus, the largest hot spring and the deepest shark, among 2638 records. This year’s book has funny records as well as serious science records. You’ll also find stories about pirate ships, shipwrecks (沉船), famous people like Elton John, and tennis player Shingo Kunieda. In addition, there are records just for kids and a new program for people with physical and mental challenges to set records in their communities. In a word, the book is full of facts, pictures, and puzzles.

The Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, said the best records are the ones you tell your friends about at school or in the park. He said about 75 to 80 per cent of the records are new and updated because there are so many records to choose from. The Guinness World Record researchers find more records than they can put in one book. They get about 100 requests every day, but they say no to about 95 per cent of them. Records have to be measurable and prove that they happened. They can’t hurt people or animals. 

“The 2024 edition is the end product of a year in which nearly 30,000 applications were reviewed by our records managers,” said Glenday. Without ever leaving your house, Guinness World Records 2024 will take you on a tour of everything incredible, fun and remarkable. Just order one at https://gwrstore.com！

1.Why does the writer put forward the questions in Paragraph 1?

A To express his/her doubts.

B To show the latest research.

C To draw readers’ interest.

D To present some arguments.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。作者开篇提出问题,是为了引起读者注意，吸引读者的阅读兴趣。故选C。

2.Which of the following chapters is least likely to be included in Guinness World Records 2024?

A Humans.

B Blue Planet.

C Outer Space.

D Science and Technology.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。结合第二段中的内容，“This edition was themed Blue Planet”“This year’s book has funny records as well as serious science records.”以及“ famous people like Elton John, and tennis player Shingo Kunieda”等可知依次排除B、D以及A项；只有C项“外太空”的相关条目未在文中提及，也不太可能出现在吉尼斯世界纪录中。故选C。

3.What’s a feature of the records included in this book?

A They are the best ever.

B They happened at school.

C They are recent events.

D They can be measured.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第三段第一句可知，该书主编Craig Glenday只说了“最好的记录是你在学校或公园里告诉你朋友的那些（即能够被你分享的都很好）”，并不是说选入该书的纪录是最好的那些，也不是只能发生在学校的纪录；根据“about 75 to 80 per cent of the records are new and updated”可知只有大约75%至80%的纪录是新的和更新过的，并不是所有；根据第三段倒数第二句“Records have to be measurable and prove that they happened.”可知，被选入该书的记录必须是可测量的。故选D。

4.What’s the writing purpose of the passage?

A To sell Guinness World Records 2024.

B To comment on Guinness World Records 2024.

C To make Guinness World Records 2024 interesting.

D To prove Guinness World Records 2024 useful.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据最后一段中最后两句话可知，本文意在推销这本书。故选A。