Choose the bike that suits you!

Do you want to tour Amsterdam by bike? Here are some bikes that you can choose to use.

Bike with a child seat Are you looking for a bike with a child seat? MacBike rents out bicycles with a child’s seat at the front or back. These are of high quality so you can be sure you can cycle safely through Amsterdam with your child. Prices: 1 hour: €11.50 3 hours: €13.50 1 day: €18.50 Extra day: €16.50 Available at: Oosterdok, Vondelpark & Waterlooplein

Cargo (货运) bike Do you want to take more than one child on your bike? Then hire a cargo bike for an adult and two children from MacBike. The cargo bike comes with seven gears (齿轮) so you can easily transport one or two children. Prices: 1 hour: €17.50 3 hours: €20.00 1 day: €35.00 Extra day: €35.00 Available at: Oosterdok, Vondelpark & Waterlooplein

Electric bike Would you like an extra push? Or are you going to make a longer bike ride? Then rent an electric bike from MacBike. The batteries of our electric bikes will last between 40 and 80 km depending on the speed chosen. The bike has two locks so you have the freedom to go wherever you want. Prices: 3 hours: €17.50 1 day: €28.00 Extra day: €28.00 Insurance per 3 hours: €10.00 Insurance per day: €12.00 Deposit: only credit card Available at: Oosterdok & Vondelpark

Parent-child tandem (双人自行车) Do you feel like cycling together as a team and discovering Amsterdam together? Then rent a tandem for an adult with a child from MacBike. With this tandem, the child sits in the front and can pedal (踩) along. The tandem is equipped with two locks so you have the freedom to go wherever you want. Prices: 1 hour: €17.50 3 hours: €20.00 1 day: €35.00 Extra day: €35.00 Available at: Vondelpark & Waterlooplein

1. Which of the following costs the least money for two days?

A．A bike with a child seat.	B．A cargo bike.
C．A parent-child tandem.	D．An electric bike.

2. What is the unique feature of the electric bike?

A．It is the safest to ride.	B．It is the most effortless.
C．It doesn’t need a deposit.	D．It is equipped with locks.

3. What do the four bikes have in common?

A．They ask for extra insurance.	B．They are designed for children.
C．They belong to the same owner.	D．They are rentable at Waterlooplein.

Sicco Rood didn’t know what to expect when he set out, in the last days of December, to explore the Salton Sea, which is California’s largest and most treacherous inland water body. Temperatures around the lake can approach freezing in the winter and rise well above 38℃ in the summer. Much of the lake is bordered by wetland and quicksands. While preparing for the trip, he wondered, “Am I going to be blown into the middle of the lake by the unpredictable storm or get stuck in the quicksands?”

Fortunately, none of those things happened, although conditions weren’t perfect enough for Rood to make it all the way around the lake. A storm sent him home after six days of exploring.

The modern version of the Salton Sea was accidentally created in 1905 when the Colorado River broke its banks and began flowing into the dry bed of historic Lake Cahuilla. Before that, the lake bed naturally filled up and dried out periodically.

It had attracted Rood since he travelled to the Santa Rosa Mountains several years ago to watch the sun rise and set over the lake. Since then he has made up his mind to experience it close up.

“I wanted to be on the lake,” he said. “I think there’s no better way to experience a lake or a sea than by way of boating.”

Rood spent months planning for this trip. He listed everything he’d need. He even bought snowshoes, which he hoped would help him safely walk across wetland to find dry spots for camping. He found a good weather window at the end of December and he net off on December 29.

The Salton Sea once supported a wide variety of fish. But as the water has been drying up and gotten steadily saltier, the lake has gotten an increasingly bad reputation.

“People have been saying the place is dead. But that’s not what I saw.” he said. “During my six days on the lake, I saw thousands of birds every day. It’s a beautiful place. It just needs protection.”

4. What does the underlined word “treacherous” in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Hot.

B．Windy.

C．Accessible.

D．Dangerous.

5. What can be learned about Lake Cahuilla?

A．It dried out regularly.	B．It was connected with a river.
C．It was created in 1905.	D．It broke its banks in the 1900s.

6. What does Sicco Rood say about the Salton Sea?

A．It is filled with fresh water.	B．It is home to various birds.
C．It has been dying from overfishing.	D．It has been heavily polluted.

7. What is the text mainly about?

A．The history of the Salton Sea.	B．A call for the protection of a historic lake.
C．A man’s trip to the Salton Sea.	D．The important discovery of a historic lake.

On August 21, a cargo ship traveling from Singapore to Brazil became the first to try out a new kind of sail. The sail is expected to save fuel and cut pollution. If it works well, similar sails could become common on cargo ships over the next few years.

The new sail is called the “WindWings”. Cargill, a huge American food company, bad the ides to create the sail. Because it depends on ships to transport its food, Cargill was interested in finding ways to reduce pollution from its shipping operations.

Cargill asked the British company BAR Technologies to design a sail for cargo ships. BAR was started by Ben Ainslie, a champion sailor. BAR designed a massive wing. It stands 37.5 meters tall and is made of a strong material similar to that used for wind turbines (涡轮). The center section of the sail is 10 meters across. On either side of that is a moving wing that’s 5 meters wide. Not only can the WindWings be raised and lowered, but each section can be turned in many different ways to catch the wind in the best and safest way.

A company called Yara Marine built the WindWings. which were then put on the Pyxis Ocean — a cargo ship owned by Mitsubishi. In tests, the Pyxis Ocean was able to reach speeds of up to 10 kph using just the WindWings, and no fuel at all. Normally, the Pyxis Ocean will use fuel, but it aims to use far less by letting the wind help out. Cargill says computer studies show that each WindWing can save 1.65 tons of fuel every day. The Pyxis Ocean has two WindWings. Cargill says these should cut the ship’s pollution by about 30%.

The exciting thing about WindWings is that, if they work well, they can be made to fit many cargo ships that are currently running on fossil fuels. John Cooper, who runs BAR, says that by 2025, he expects half of new cargo ships to come with some sort of wind power.

8. Why did Cargill want to create WindWings?

A．To change its operating way.	B．To cut shipping pollution.
C．To have more food transported.	D．To defeat other companies.

9. The advantage of a wing moving in different ways is that ________.

A．the ship can get enough power	B．fuel can be stored up
C．the ship can reach the highest speed	D．it will stop the wind

10. What is John Cooper’s attitude to WindWings?

A．Opposed.

B．Skeptical.

C．Uncaring.

D．Optimistic.

11. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Wind Powers Cargo Ships in Brazil

B．A New Kind of Sail Shocks the Public

C．High-Tech Sails for Modern Cargo Ships

D．New Methods of Carrying Food Are Popular

Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are power-hungry — in more ways than one. A new commentary published Tuesday in the journal Joule argues that AI bots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard may one day soon use as much energy as a small country. The increase in AI demand, as well as the resources necessary to power them, will further make climate change issues worse due to the greenhouse gas emissions (排放).

“Looking at the growing demand for AI service, I find it’s very likely that energy consumption related to AI will significantly increase in the coming years,” Alex De Vries, founder of digital trends watchdog Digiconomist and sustainability at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said.

From the very beginning of its development, AI consumes a large amount of energy. Some research has estimated that simply training ChatGPT required 1,287 MWh of energy. That’s more than what 120 U.S. families use in an entire year. AI lab Hugging Face reported that training its own AI chatbot required roughly 433 MWh, which is the equivalent to 40 U.S. homes.

De Vries notes the energy consumption is likely to worsen as more and more companies begin to incorporate (使并入) AI models into their products. For example, Google recently announced a host of AI tools to its products such as Gmail. De Vries estimates Google alone will require 29.2 TWh of power annually—the equivalent of the annual power consumption of Ireland. By 2027, he says, AI power consumption will increase by as much as 134 TWh, meaning these systems will be consuming as much energy as countries like Argentina, the Netherlands and Sweden each year.

Interestingly, even though companies are attempting to make their AI systems more energy-efficient, demand will simply increase as a result. “The result of making these tools more efficient and accessible can be that we just allow more applications of it and more people to use it,” De Vries said.

“The potential growth highlights we need to be very mindful about what we use AI for,” he said. “It’s energy-intensive (密集的), so we don’t want to put it in all kinds of things where we don’t actually need it.”

12. How is paragraph 3 mainly developed?

A．By listing figures.	B．By analyzing causes.
C．By reasoning.	D．By comparing.

13. What does the author mainly stress in paragraph 4?

A．The development of the AI models.	B．The difficulty of using AI products.
C．AI’s large consumption of energy.	D．Many countries’ demands of energy.

14. What does the author suggest people do in the last paragraph?

A．Focus on the energy-efficiency of AI service.

B．Avoid working in energy-intensive industries.

C．Explore alternative sources of power.

D．Be cautious about using the AI system.

15. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To appeal for revolution.	B．To show a crisis.
C．To promote AI companies.	D．To introduce AI.

Four Tips to Promote Your Self-Confidence

The following tips might help promote your self-confidence, so you can feel more comfortable with whom you are.

    16     Developing positive thoughts can serve as a good foundation, but the people around you can have a significant influence on your self-confidence as well. Consider surrounding yourself with people who build you up and encourage you to follow what you want in life.

Set goals for yourself. You don’t have to set large goals: you might begin with small goals that you can easily achieve. For example, you might set a goal to take a walk every day after work. It may be helpful to keep a list of the accomplishments that have made you feel proud.     17    

Think about what makes you feel attractive. It can be easy to fall into the trap of looking for imperfections in ourselves, both inside and outside.     18     You might begin with qualities that make you a good friend, parent or coworker. You can also find ways to bring out your natural beauty by making small changes.     19     For example, you might try a new hairstyle, buy an article of clothing that you like, etc.

Do something brave once a week. It can be frightening to put ourselves out there, but sometimes the risk can be worth the reward. Taking risks doesn’t necessarily mean going bungee jumping or mountain climbing.     20     Perhaps you might talk to that person you’re interested in. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to, just taking the leap shows self-confidence and may make you feel proud of yourself.

A．Make influences on others.

B．Surround yourself with positivity.

C．Achieving large goals is one way to feel confident.

D．You can simply do something to step out of your comfort zone.

E．Instead, you might make a list of things that make you attractive.

F．You can use this list as motivation to get you to achieve your bigger goals.

G．Sometimes, even the simplest change can make us feel good about ourselves.

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。

Were you born in the Year of the Tiger, the Rabbit, or maybe the Loong? Read on to find out more about the Lunar New Year.

The lunar calendar     36     (base) on the cycles of the moon. so the date of the Lunar New Year is different each year. In China and in many other places,     37     Vietnam, Singapore and Korea, the Lunar New Year is usually celebrated in January or February.

Each year is named after one of 12 animals. There is a traditional story about     38     the animals were chosen. The Jade Emperor,     39     important god in traditional Chinese religions, wanted to find a way to measure time. He decided     40     (have) a race for all the animals in the country. Only 12 animals actually managed to get to the race and the Jade Emperor rewarded them by     41     (name) the 12 years of the lunar calendar after them. The first to finish     42     (be) the rat, so the first year was the Year of the Rat. The other eleven, in order, were the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the loong, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig. In many countries, the animals are the same as these. However, in some places they are of a bit     43     (different).

Different places celebrate in     44     (slight) different ways, but the Lunar New Year is indeed a family celebration everywhere. The younger generation greet their parents and grandparents with good wishes for the year ahead. Older members of the family give younger ones     45     (gift) of money, traditionally in small packets.

47. 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Falling ill can be a valuable teaching tool for doctors and it can have an influence on how they look after patients.

Occasionally, doctors become patients, too. While as a doctor I wouldn’t wish ill health on anyone, it can be an inspiring lesson for medical professionals to suddenly be on the other side.

This happened to me a few months ago when I had a stomachache, which had decided to make its unwelcome presence just as I was going out for dinner with a friend.

The pain came from absolutely nowhere but within minutes I was unable to stand or walk. I had no doubt that fellow sufferers would sympathise. I was quite astonished by how painful it was.

Of course, being a doctor, I initially refused to believe that anything was wrong.

I was checked by my coworkers I was worked with. They only said that it was nothing serious. This reminded me of the time when I made conclusions without examining the patients carefully. How I wish I could have been more considerate to my patients.

I wasn’t going to be defeated by the stomachache, so instead I chose to writhe (扭动) around screaming for several hours until I had to admit that probably this was something more serious than a stomachache. Even doctors can underestimate the mental burden that pain brings for patients.

For the stomachache, I stayed in hospital for several days. Later, it turned out to be a kidney stone, which had to be taken out. Given the pain, I had assumed the stone was actually a small one. I was therefore fairly discouraged when it finally came out and it looked much smaller. How could something so small be so painful?

During my time in hospital, various doctors came to speak to me. They were all very nice and polite but one stuck out in my mind. Whenever he came to my bed to speak to me, he knelt down so he was at my eye level. He was actually the most senior of them all.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

However, something about his manner and speech tone was incredibly calming. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Getting down on a patient’s level is a simple adjustment doctors can make to their care.

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