1 . Teenagers are advised to get eight to ten hours of sleep each night. However, most of them fail to get enough sleep because of heavy schoolwork. And plenty of young people are experiencing a sleep problem, which increases their risk of mental ill-health (精神健康状况不佳) . Have you ever thought the mobile phone can help teenagers manage their mental health by supporting a good night’s sleep?
Sleep Ninja is a free app created by the Black Dog Institute, a mental health research organization. It is the only app that is specially designed to improve teenagers’ sleep. So far, the results have been encouraging. The app helps teenagers get more sleep and reduce anxiety.
According to a study, 90% of the app users showed some improvements in insomnia (失眠) and 60% reported improvements in sleep quality. At the same time, the rate of depression (抑郁症) dropped from 77% at the start of the study to 44% after using the app.
Sleep Ninja is not only helpful but also easy to use. Those who use the app only need to set a time when they need to get up in the morning. Then the app will work backwards (向后) , deciding when they should be in bed.
It will also give them a warning to start a pre-bed habit. Seeing the warning, they’d better take a hot shower, brush teeth and get ready for sleep.
Besides, the app offers other useful ways to teenagers to help them get into a sleep habit. For example, it shows them how to set their things up in the bedroom, how to reduce terrible thoughts at night and what to do during the day to improve their sleep.
1. The underlined word “anxiety” means “the state of feeling ________”.| A．angry | B．nervous | C．excited | D．satisfied |
| A．What is Sleep Ninja? | B．What does the study show? |
| C．Why is Sleep Ninja helpful? | D．How does Sleep Ninja work? |
| A．Listen to loud music at night. | B．Take a cold shower before bed. |
| C．Clean the bedroom before bed. | D．Try to avoid terrible thoughts at night. |
| A．The study on different sleep apps. | B．The importance of having a good sleep. |
| C．An app that helps with teenagers’ sleep. | D．The ways to improve teenagers’ sleep. |
2 . OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, had some big changes in its leadership (领导层) in November. It’s not just drama (戏剧性场面) of one company—it made people worried about the development of the field as a whole.
On Nov 17, OpenAI said on its website that Sam Altman, one of its founders and CEO, would leave. However, many workers didn’t agree with this. More than 700 out of about 770 OpenAI workers signed a letter to ask the company to bring Altman back. In just five days, Altman was back as company CEO again.
OpenAI was started in 2015 by Altman and others as a non-profit (非营利性的) research organization. They didn’t want to be driven by a need to make money. Instead, they wanted to make AI tools that could help everyone. In 2019, OpenAI changed a bit. They made a part of the company start to make money for investors (投资人). But the non-profit part keeps control of the business, even going so far to fire (开除) its top boss.
The different opinions of the board (董事会) members toward AI development might be one reason for the drama. According to The New York Times, the people who fired Altman are more worried about AI and called for more rules to keep it in check. Altman, however, saw the further development of AI as more important.
The OpenAI drama “shows how fragile (脆弱的) the AI ecosystem (生态系统) is right now”, Johann Laux, an expert in the UK, told AP. The ecosystem is about all kinds of things related to AI, such as technologies and regulations (监管). They need to keep up with the fast development of AI.
Also, according to AP, many experts think it should be governments, not big tech companies, to decide on rules for AI. Enza Iannopollo from research company Forrester said to AP that Altman’s return stopped the board from trying to introduce more rules about AI’s ethical (伦理的) problems. The lesson is that companies alone can’t make AI safe for everyone, Iannopollo said.
1. OpenAI was set up in the first place to _______.| A．develop helpful AI tools | B．make big money |
| C．build an AI ecosystem | D．control the AI field |
| A．he called for more rules on AI | B．he paid less attention to the rules on AI |
| C．he was against the development of AI | D．he sided with most investors |
| A．The profit-driven part. | B．The investors. | C．The non-profit part. | D．The government. |
| A．incomplete | B．strong | C．fast-growing | D．standing still |
| A．OpenAI will stop running without Sam Altman. |
| B．Competition is common inside big companies. |
| C．AI safety depends on the joint efforts of many sides. |
| D．Altman’s return will lead OpenAI to an uncertain future. |
3 . Many experts think that AI tools can help people work more efficiently. Many teachers, including me, have tried using them.
I use a tool called ChatGPT at work. It’s an AI tool that can quickly answer any question. But there are some downsides to this new technology. Sometimes, it can give wrong or one-sided answers because of wrong information it gets. It can also cause big problems with our privacy. Despite those risks, I still use AI-powered tools to plan lessons, give feedback on student homework, and reply to parents’ emails. And I’m looking for other ways to use the technology to make my job easier.
Take two other teachers, for example. Mike Kerr is a high school English teacher in Tennessee. He uses ChatGPT to help his students understand books better by reducing the Lexile levels, a test of a student’s reading ability and the difficulty of a text. High school students often have to read complex (复杂的) classic novels, which can be hard for new English learners. So, Kerr uses ChatGPT to give summaries of the books, which saves him time and allows him to focus more on helping the students through the text.
April Edwards, a 6th grade social studies teacher in Texas, shares how she uses AI in her teaching on a social media platform. “I use AI to create lesson plans, presentations, write emails, and create checklists. It’s a great starting point for a task or to get ideas,” she says. She hasn’t introduced AI to her students yet, because she wants to understand it fully before using it in the classroom. “My goal is to show them how to use AI responsibly and properly. If I use it irresponsibly and improperly, they might too,” she says.
1. What does Mike Kerr use AI to do?| A．Reduce teaching pressure. | B．Help with students’ homework. |
| C．Create lesson plans and write emails. | D．Help students understand classic novels better. |
| A．优点 | B．效率 | C．缺点 | D．影响力 |
| A．She totally agrees. | B．She is careful with it. |
| C．She strongly disagrees. | D．She is worried about it. |
4 . On November 14, 2023, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (国际民用航空组织) officially recognized China’s Bei Dou Satellite Navigation (卫星导航) System (BDS) as the world level. This makes it one of four global satellite navigation systems, along with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo.
China started to develop the BDS in 1994. The system came into use in 2000. After 12 years of work, it began serving the Asia-Pacific region. In 2020, with the global use of BDS-3, China has improved the system to provide users with more correct positioning services, making it a valuable tool for more industries, including transportation, agriculture, and surveying.
Now, with 59 satellites in its network, the BDS has served more than 1.5 billion users across the world. Most mobile apps providing maps, navigation and shopping services in China already support the BDS. China’s satellite navigation industry is growing fast. Its value reached more than 500 billion yuan in 2022. That number is expected to double by 2025. In the first half year of 2023, there were about 13.4 million new BDS devices (设备). Nearly 60% were used in transport systems. The rest were used in communication and agriculture. The former made up about 28% and the latter 12%.
As BDS gets more popular, it is expected to play an increasingly important role in global navigation and positioning services.
1. What does the underlined word “recognized” in Paragraph 1 probably mean in Chinese?| A．研发 | B．认可 | C．试用 | D．提升 |
| A．1994. | B．2000. | C．2012. | D．2020. |
| A．It is very expensive to put BDS into use. |
| B．All of the mobile apps in China support the BDS. |
| C．Bei Dou Satellite Navigation System is developing rapidly. |
| D．China’s satellite navigation industry is facing great challenges. |
| A．agriculture | B．public safety | C．communication | D．transport systems |
| A．BDS has been widely used in many fields. |
| B．BDS has served more users than Russia’s GLONASS. |
| C．BDS began to provide positioning services for people in 1994. |
| D．BDS is the most importantsatellite navigation system in the world. |
5 . 
When ChatGPT came out, Olivia Lipkin, a copywriter in San Francisco, found herself with less and less work to do. Last April, she was fired with no explanation. She realized the reason when hearing managers talking about how using ChatGPT was at a lower cost than having a human writer. Eric Fein had worked in a writing company for ten years. He became jobless last March because of ChatGPT. He said to his boss that ChatGPT couldn’t write with his level of creativity. His boss said he understood, but he would have to pay more to Fein than using ChatGPT.
AI systems like ChatGPT could replace (替代)hundreds of millions of jobs in the future. And for those who write social media posts and ads, the effect is already here. However, experts say that even the best AI systems can’t match the writing skills of a human. It doesn’t have a personal voice or style. Besides, it often gives the wrong answers.
Indeed, companies that have replaced human workers with ChatGPT have run into trouble. CNET, a technology news site, once used Al systems to write articles. The results, however, were full of mistakes. And the U.S. National Eating Disorders Company once replaced its helpline workers with robots. But it had to stop using the technology after the robots gave people harmful advice.
After being replaced by ChatGPT, Fein and Lipkin didn’t give up. Fein has decided to be an air-conditioning technician(技师), a job that AI can’t do. And Lipkin now works as a dog walker. She says, “People are looking for the cheapest solution, and that’s not a person-it’s a robot.”
1. Why did Lipkin and Fein lose their jobs?| A．There was less and less work for them to do. |
| B．ChatGPT was much more creative than them. |
| C．The cost savings were in the first place for the companies. |
| D．The companies thought their works were of low quality. |
| A．AI systems will replace all kinds of jobs. | B．AI systems can write as well as human writers. |
| C．AI systems have a personal voice and style. | D．AI systems still have a long way to go. |
| A．It requires no corrections in writing. | B．It may give wrong suggestions to users. |
| C．It can only be used to write articles. | D．It has been widely used in every field. |
| A．Humorous and honest. | B．Strong-minded and hard-working. |
| C．Patient and easy-going. | D．Kind-hearted and smart. |
| A．Will ChatGPT Replace Humans? | B．Should Humans Trust ChatGPT? |
| C．Will ChatGPT Become Creative? | D．Can ChatGPT Think by Itself? |
6 . Drones (无人机) are like planes, but come in many shapes and sizes. They have no pilots and are controlled from outside the drones. During these years, they have been used to attack (进攻) enemies or move goods (货品) in dangerous areas.
Now small drones are a part of people’s lives. For example, people use drones to take photos or make videos. Besides, a drone delivery (投递) service has proved (证明) successful.
Online store JD can use drones to deliver small packages (包裹). It has built several drone stations so that it can load (装载) and deliver its packages.
Drones have made our shopping experience different. We can order a new coat in early morning and it will be delivered before we finish breakfast.
Bizzby Sky, a UK company, has created a delivery service for small goods. Open a smartphone app, enter your address, set a time and pay enough money for the delivery service. Then in minutes, a drone will do tasks for you.
However, any drone company needs government permission (允许) to fly its drones in many countries. We believe we will see more and more drones with goods fly in the sky very soon.
根据短文内容填空，每空一词。1. Drones are like planes, but come in many
2. Drones can be
3. Several drone stations have been
4. If you open a smartphone app, enter your
5. Today’s shopping experience is
Dear Carol,
How’s it going? Now I’d like to tell you about a day in my smart city.
After breakfast, I usually go to school by bike. But on
After school, I usually spend some time
Then, the day turns into the night and I walk home. There
All in all, I live in such a smart city and I really enjoy
Yours,
Zhou Lin
Recently, a primary school in Changsha, has put Virtual Reality (VR) technology (虚拟现实技术) to good use in an English class. When the students put on the VR glasses, it seemed that they were taken into a new world where they could see for themselves. They could enjoy the views along the way, allowing more knowledge to be kept in mind.
VR language learning is now starting to be widely used in many schools. Think of it like this. Now you are learning English in China, you don’t have enough chances to use English if you are not in English classes, but if you learn English in English-speaking countries like America or the UK, it’ll be much easier for you to make progress.
Nowadays, a lot of apps have also been designed to serve VR language learning. The app “House of Languages” is one of them. It is already available (可获得的) on the Samsung (三星) VR. It can sense your movement and the acts of your eyeballs, arms and hands.
When you are learning English in it, a lovely racoon (浣熊) called “Mr. Woo”, will guide you to communicate in English. You can use English by finishing tasks Mr. Woo gives you. For example, you will be asked to find certain things at your home according to the English words that Mr. Woo gives you. After you’ve found these things, you should “take” them, “come back” to Mr. Woo and “give” them to him. Then he will say “thanks” to you. Sometimes, Mr. Woo may have some activities like family party so that you will have more tasks to finish in that situation. You will learn English so quickly that you will even forget you are leaning.
Virtual Reality is showing increasing promise in language education and the day, isn’t far away when it will become one of the main media in education. What about you? Would you learn a new language in Virtual Reality?
1. Recently, VR technology has been put to good use2. In China, if you aren’t in English classes, you don’t
3. What can Samsung VR sense?
4. Who will guide you to communicate in English in the app?
5. Do you like to learn a new language in Virtual Reality? Why or why not?
9 . A high-tech zebra crossing with flashing lights and audio warning (语音提示) was put into
At a busy
The
Jiang Fei, a traffic officer in Bishan, said that the lighting system was very useful in the evenings and on rainy and foggy
Rong Sheng from the school
Now the
10 . 中国人一直为古代的四大发明感到骄傲。如今，新的四大发明——高铁、电子支付、共享单车、网上购物再次影响着人们的生活，请你写一篇英语短文，向外国友人介绍其中一项你认为最重要的新四大发明并说明理由，帮助外国友人更好地了解中国。
注意：(1)文中不得出现真实的人名、校名、地名等；(2)词数：80—100（开头已给出，不计入总词数）。
Now China has once again shown its ability to change the world with its “four great new inventions”.
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