【推荐1】New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka came of age alongside the internet. As a teen, he published his own blog and joined forum (论坛) for pop music. He discovered one of his favorite Jazz songs --- John Coltrane’s full version of “My Favorite Things” – driving around at night, listening to the local radio station.

Chayka misses the time ---and the ways, then, that personal discoveries like these were made. In his new book, Filterworld: How Algorithms (算法) Shaped Culture, Chayka says he never would have fallen in love with Coltrane’s songs if he’d heard it on Spodify. He says he doubts Spodify’s algorithm would even suggest it, because the song is so long. And that, even if it did, he wouldn’t have learned anything about Coltrane as an artist, because the Spodify interface doesn’t provide the same context that a radio DJ does, sharing details between songs. The person behind the song choice, he argues, made his emerging interest in Coltrane possible in a way modern recommendation system cannot.

This is one of many “back in my day” stories Chayka uses to illustrate his argument that algorithms have “shaped culture”. Thanks to recommendation generators like Tiktok’s top picks and Spodify’s autoplay suggestions, “the least troublesome and perhaps least meaningful pieces of culture are promoted,” Chayka argued. He admits that quality is subjective when judging these things, and instead argues that recommendation systems undermine personal taste. Taste, he writes, was once a combination of personal choices and popular influence --- but now algorithms rely more on choices of the masses. Developing taste requires effort and active engagement, but what we see now are algorithms turning taste into consumerism.

A central point of the book, in fact, is that people today are not only well aware of the power of algorithms, they can’t escape them. He interviews a young woman who wonders if “what I like is what I actually like,” worried that her taste is so shaped by algorithms that she can’t trust herself. The book may be most useful in these sections, where Chayka and his interviewees attempt to make sense of how internet algorithms have shaped their own lives and work.

1. What causes Chayka to be interested in John Coltrane’s music?

A．The details provided by algorithm.	B．Listening to the local radio station.
C．Recommendation of Spodify.	D．The charm of John Coltrane.

2. What is the book Filterworld mainly about?

A．How early internet shapes our culture.

B．How technology impacts our personal taste.

C．How social media changes our view of reality.

D．How digital platform redefine mass consumption.

3. What does “undermine” in paragraph probably mean?

A．underestimate.	B．enhance.
C．transform.	D．disturb.

4. What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?

A．Show the highlights of the book.	B．Comment on the structure of the book.
C．Encourage the use of internet.	D．Praise Chayka’s writing styles.

【推荐2】A middle-aged woman playing by herself in the snow is an undeniably odd sight, but maybe it shouldn’t be. New research suggests that modern adults are suffering from overmuch depression, so play may be as essential to our health as sleep. We’ve been in our nature to play, which is causing all kinds of problems—for ourselves, our children, and our planet.

It’s believed that adult play can lead to useful discoveries, which is supported by a study on Bali’s long-tailed monkeys. For her doctoral paper at the University of Lethbridge, animal researcher Camilla Cenni left two types of puzzle boxes for the monkeys to solve. To get the food inside, they had to drop a rock into the container or use it to hit the box. She found the monkeys that previously had been observed dropping rocks for fun were more likely to solve the rock-dropping puzzle, while those that had discovered the joy of tapping rocks together think of the answer to the tapping puzzle.

This finding also suggests that somewhere, deep in our evolutionary history, a playful proto-human(原始人) came up with the concept of stone tools. Even today, the urge to play underlies most of humanity’s greatest inventions, artworks, and scientific breakthroughs, Brown says. “When I interviewed Nobel winners, I was struck by how most of them didn’t separate work and play. Their labs were their playgrounds”.

“The opposite of play isn’t work; it’s depression,” says play researcher Stuart Brown, “Play is all about looking at a tough world with creativity and optimism. It gives us the ability to cooperate and get along with people who differ from us,” He goes so far as to declare that “adult play is necessary for our survival as a species.”

The next time I’m caught playing, I know exactly what I’ll say: “I am not wasting time, or acting immature. I’m doing nothing for the benefit of all humanity. You’re welcome.”

1. What is the phenomenon the author describes at the beginning of the text?

A．Playing with snow is strange.	B．Wild nature is difficult to find.
C．Many people are stressed out.	D．People enjoy living close to nature.

2. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?

A．The necessity of the study.	B．The importance of adult play.
C．Main activities of monkeys.	D．Various functions of a rock.

3. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning a playful proto-human?

A．To explain the concept of play.	B．To compare two research findings.
C．To highlight scientific breakthroughs.	D．To offer some background information.

4. Which of the following best describes the author in the last paragraph?

A．Humorous.

B．Optimistic.

C．Caring.

D．Active.

【推荐3】“PLEASE DON’T KILL HIM” said Mrs. Reid with tears in her eyes. “I’m really sorry,” I said, hardly able to look at her. A nurse held her hand and tried to comfort her.

“He’s been my entire world for 14 years, I don’t know what I’ll do without him,” she said with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t talking about a person. She was talking about Toby, her King Charles spaniel. Mrs. Reid had come into hospital after she’d fallen. She had Parkinson’s disease, meaning her ability to move was worsening. It was the second time she’d fallen in just a few weeks, and this time she’d broken her hip. While the hip had now been fixed, it was clear that she was too frail (脆弱的) to go home, and the social workers had arranged for her to go into a care home. A neighbor had been looking after Toby, but with Mrs. Reid no longer going home and as she had no family who could take him, it looked likely that he’d have to be killed. She was begging me to allow her home, but it was simply too dangerous.

This situation is far from unique. Research has found that each year thousands of dogs are put down because their owners go into care homes. Over 100,000 have to be rehomed. Thankfully I spoke to a kindly social worker who eventually found a care home for Mrs. Reid that would allow her to take Toby with her. But these places are few. I think we need to seriously re-examine what’s happening here. It seems completely wrong. There is no doubt that we are a nation of animal lovers. Many of us consider our pets to be part of the family and there’s a fair few of us, I guess, that actually prefer our pets to a good number of people. Humans have a great ability to draw comfort and support from animals. For older people like Mrs. Reid, they are often the important source of companionship (陪伴) and about a quarter of old people have a pet. Yet when they come into hospital or a care home, they are denied this relationship.

While the US, France, Norway and Switzerland all have laws forcing housing providers to accept pets belonging to elderly people, studies have shown that around 70 per cent of care homes in the UK forbid elderly people from bringing pets. This figure has risen in recent years and is likely to be due to increasing concerns around “health and safety”. However, research has concluded that they are “necessary to elderly people’s quality of life” and that having to move to care homes without their pets was psychologically similar to losing their family. It seems outrageous (可耻的) that care homes—whose purpose is to ensure the elderly people’s welfare (福利)—are able to deny them something which has proven clinical benefits for their health.

1. Who is Toby according to the passage?

A．Mrs. Reid’s friend.

B．Mrs. Reid’s son.

C．Mrs. Reid’s dog.

D．Mrs. Reid’s cat.

2. What happened to Toby finally according to the author?

A．Toby was killed by the government.

B．Toby was taken back home by Mrs. Reid’s neighbor.

C．Toby was sent away to somewhere far from Mrs. Reid.

D．Toby was still staying with Mrs. Reid thanks to the author.

3. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 3?

A．The relationship can last forever.	B．They are provided with the relationship.
C．The relationship is taken away from them.	D．They are ensured of the relationship.

4. Why does the author write this passage?

A．To tell a story about Mrs. Reid.

B．To stress the importance of keeping pets.

C．To draw readers’ attention to a social problem.

D．To show the relationship between animals and humans.

5. What’s the author’s attitude to the UK’s forbidding people from bringing pets to care homes?

A．Negative.

B．Doubtful.

C．Supportive.

D．Unclear.

【推荐1】With nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas coming from all types of transportation, can we keep ourselves off gas-powered vehicles to avoid the worst effects? As more governments push for urgent action on climate change, quite a few companies are betting their future – that millions of consumers are finally ready for electricity-powered vehicles. Modern battery-powered cars are selling fast and zero- emission ( 排放) planes are coming. These changes, both leading to a more sustainable future, are reinventing how we get from here to there.

Cars and trucks are undergoing their greatest improvement since the automobile’s (汽车) existence more than a century ago. Almost overnight, the era of the electric car has arrived. Electricity has the advantage that it works without smell and with less noise. Global annual sales of electric vehicles are expected to soar from just over 3 million today to 14 million by 2025. Just a month after Ford unveiled an electric version of the popular F-150, customers had reserved more than 100,000 of them. The price is about $10,000 above the gas-powered one, but Ford says the electric model will cost much less to maintain. Everything creating a green revolution on the ground is of limited help in the sky for the time being.

High-storage batteries are useless at present when it comes to the technological challenge of launching a few hundred people into the sky and carrying them thousands of miles. No battery yet invented can power, say, a Boeing 747 from New York to London. Promising improvements, however, do add up. Developments with zero-emission, battery-powered electric engines are already happening in commercial flight, involving trips of limited duration and distance. Airlines specializing in short journeys with small planes will lead the way to electric flight.

Our planet’s health depends on zeroing out carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, and yet, by the timetable needed to address the climate challenge, the shift away from gas-powered vehicles remains far too slow. Nevertheless, the train has left the station. Someday, electric-powered transportation will be as common as air.

1. Why are many companies switching to electricity-powered vehicles?

A．To reinvent the way we travel.

B．To cut the costs of car production.

C．To improve the quality of products.

D．To pursue sustainable development.

2. What do we know about the electric car?

A．It came into use a century ago.

B．It enjoys increasing popularity.

C．It sells better than the traditional one.

D．It costs less than the gas-powered one.

3. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 3?

A．To show the disadvantages of battery power.

B．To emphasize the significance of short flights.

C．To stress the future prospects of electric planes.

D．To state the developments of commercial flight.

4. What does the author mean by saying “the train has left the station”?

A．Train transportation has improved.

B．Green transportation is on its way.

C．The electric train is running regularly.

D．The gas-powered train has become the past.