It is 2024 now. Jiang Ping is a 17-year-old student. She studies at Lianshui Secondary Vocational School in Huai’an, Jiangsu province. She taught herself advanced (高等的) math for about two years, and then made it to the finals of the 2024 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition. The math competition started six years ago, and it is open to all math lovers.

Jiang’s keen understanding of numbers began in junior high school. At that time, she was easily able to solve difficult math problems. “I like subjects such as advanced math,” she said. “I enjoy the step-by-step process (过程) of solving math problems, and that brings me great joy.”

Jiang spends most of her free time working on math problems. She always keeps an English dictionary with her, so that language doesn’t become a barrier when she’s learning from Lawrence C. Evans’ book Partial Differential Equations. All of Jiang’s books are full of notes, as she hopes to go to college someday and continue her interest in math.

Wang Runqiu is a teacher at Jiang’s school. He found Jiang’s talent in math and recommended books to her on the subject. He helped her a lot and encouraged her to try the Alibaba competition. “I want to help young people as much as possible, and let them know they can have a different future,” Wang said.

1.When did the math competition start?

A In 2008.

B In 2016.

C In 2018.

D In 2024.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句的“The math competition started six years ago”可知，阿里巴巴全球数学竞赛于（2024-6=）2018年开始。故选C。

2.What does Jiang Ping think of solving math problems?

A It’s wonderful.

B It’s terrible.

C It’s boring.

D It’s stressful.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句的“I enjoy the step-by-step process of solving math problems, and that brings me great joy.”可知，姜萍喜欢数学推导的循序渐进的过程，解答出结果给她带来了巨大的快乐。故选A。

3.What does the underlined word “barrier” mean?

A Interest.

B Talent.

C Problem.

D Guess.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据划线部分后面的“she’s learning from Lawrence C. Evans’ book Partial Differential Equations”可知，姜萍会研究Lawrence C. Evans编写的《偏微分方程》，这是一本全英文的书，因此姜萍总是带着一本英语字典以便学习《偏微分方程》，这样当学习这本书的时候语言不会成为障碍/问题。故选C。

4.Who found Jiang Ping’s talent in math?

A Her teacher.

B Her mother.

C Her father.

D Her sister.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据最后一段前两句的“Wang Runqiu is a teacher at Jiang’s school. He found Jiang’s talent in math”可知，姜萍的数学老师王闰秋发现了她的数学天赋。故选A。

5.In which part of the newspaper can we read the passage?

A History.

B Health.

C Sports.

D People.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，本文主要讲了17岁中专女生姜萍闯进全球数学比赛12强，属于“人物”版块。故选D。