1 . A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total, The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? If you answered 10 cents, you’re not alone—most people give the same answer (the correct answer is 5 cents). It’s an example of how we often rely on intuitive (直觉的) responses—answers we feel are true. People give answers that “pop into their mind,” says scientist Steven Sloman. We don’t spend much time thinking and checking whether the answer is right or wrong.
The bat and ball question helps explain why we often believe in fake news. “It is part of human nature to believe”, says Sloman. “But the trick with fake news is to know to verify”—in other words, to stop and question what you know.
In one experiment, Sloman invented a discovery called helium rain. They told a group of volunteers about it, but admitted they could not fully explain what it was. They then asked the volunteers to rate (划分等级) their own understanding of helium rain. Most volunteers rated themselves l out of 7, meaning they did not understand it.
The researchers then told another group of volunteers about the discovery. This time, they said that scientists could fully explain how it works. When asked to rate their understanding, the volunteers gave an average answer of 2. The scientists’ confidence gave the volunteers an increased sense of their own understanding, Sloman says.
Another explanation for the spread of fake news is “motivated reasoning,” writes Adam Waytz, a professor at the Kellogg School. We are naturally more likely to believe things that confirm our existing opinions. If you already have a negative (负面的) opinion about someone, you’re more likely to trust damaging stories about them. Over time, Waytz argues, “motivated reasoning can lead to a false social consensus (共识).”
So, in a world where misleading information is common, is there a way to protect ourselves? “I don’t think it’s possible to train individuals to verify everything that they face,” Sloman admits. “It is just too human to believe what you’re told.”
However, training people to care about fact-checking is important, he argues, especially in online communities. Think of the headlines and stories that are shared on your social media feed every day. Probably these fit in with your own worldview—but perhaps not all of them are true.
“Develop a standard in your community that says, ‘We should check things and not just take them at face value,’ Sloman says. “Verify before you believe.”
1. What does the underlined word “verify” mean in this passage?| A．take a close look at something |
| B．think about something for a long time |
| C．make sure something is true |
| D．express an opinion about something |
| A．You post a message online that gives your opinion about a news story. |
| B．You understand why your classmate is late every day because he has many excuses. |
| C．You don’t believe the negative news about a player because he plays for your favourite team. |
| D．You’re not sure if a story on social media is true, so you search online for more information. |
According to Sloman, studies show that knowledge spreads like a disease. “If everyone around you is saying they understand why a well-known person is lying, then you’re going to start thinking that you understand, too.” Sloman says.
| A．Paragraph 4 | B．Paragraph 5 | C．Paragraph 6 | D．Paragraph 7 |
| A．Supportive. | B．Against. | C．Worried. | D．Unknown. |
2 . McCormick Place in Chicago is the largest convention center in North America. It’s covered in glass, which is enjoyable for humans but deadly for birds. On Oct 5, nearly 1000 birds were found dead after having collided (碰撞) with the building’s glass walls. Most of them died on the spot because of broken bones in their heads.
One key reason is the glass. The birds get fooled by it. During the day, the birds fly toward it as it reflects (反射) a perfect image of the sky and nearby trees. As night falls, the bright light from glass buildings attracts (吸引) the birds, who are usually guided by the light of the moon and stars. The recent collision occurred between the night of Oct 4 and early next morning, when the lights in the building were on for an event.
Every year, nearly one billion birds collide with glass in the US, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In China, bird collisions are also common. In the autumn of 2022 and the spring of 2023, the National Anti-bird Collisions Action Alliance reported a total of 190 cases of bird collision, which included several types of birds listed as second-class protected wildlife.
These sad stories could have been avoided if action had been taken. Many countries and regions have put forward building design ideas to help keep birds safe. These include using less glass in building walls and adding bird-friendly materials and stickers (贴纸) onto the buildings’ walls. Turning off lights at night also helps avoid bird collisions.
Apart from regulations (规定) for bird-friendly building design, we can also do our part to save birds by putting stickers on the glass windows in our homes and closing the curtains (窗帘) at night.
1. What caused the birds’ death at McCormick Place?| A．The glass in the building. |
| B．The weakness of their head bones. |
| C．The strong sunlight and moonlight. |
| D．The perfect images of birds on the glass. |
| A．bird collisions with glass are common and serious |
| B．China will take action to deal with bird collisions |
| C．bird collisions with glass happen more often in the US |
| D．Some bird species are endangered because of collisions |
| A．To cut down light pollution. |
| B．To keep birds far away from buildings. |
| C．To train birds to avoid glass buildings. |
| D．To change building design ideas. |
| A．Turn on lights at night. |
| B．Add stickers on the glass windows. |
| C．Keep curtains closed in the daytime. |
| D．Use soft materials to cover the glass buildings. |
| A．To change building design ideas. | B．To protect bird species. |
| C．To cut down light pollution. | D．To protect glass buildings. |
3 . Do you want to learn about Chinese culture? In fact, millions of people pay much attention to China because of its great influence of comprehensive power (综合国力) over the world.
Learning about culture is not that easy, unless you are a serious learner. Certainly not everyone would like to be a Chinese culture scholar (学者), but if you want to learn more, the best way is to go to China yourself.
However, no matter what ways you take to learn about this culture, you need to be careful so that you will discover a lot of beautiful but hard-to-find things.
根据材料内容，从下面五个选项中选出能填入文中空缺处的最佳选项，使文章意思通顺、内容完整。| A．There are about 5,000 years of Chinese history. |
| B．It is also the quickest way to learn about Chinese culture. |
| C．Or perhaps you may choose to read Chinese stories in English. |
| D．You don’t need others to tell you how great Chinese culture is. |
| E．However, many people are interested in China because of its culture. |
4 . In the school, there are three kinds of bullies (恃强凌弱者): those who call you bad names, those who hit you for fun and those who ask you for money.
If there’s a bully calling you bad names, you’d better tell your friends. If you always stay with your friends, they won’t come near to you. If a bully wants to hit you, run away from him/her!
Some young students want to make a team to fight bullies. But that is not a good idea. And it’s very dangerous. You may get hurt. So it’s best to run away from them. If you are strong enough, you can stop a bully by yourself. But remember to use your head, not only your hands. If you’re not strong enough, you should tell your friends, teachers or your parents.
Bullies usually hurt young students on their way to school or home. You’d better stay with your friends, so they will not have a chance to hurt you.
1. Bullies will not ________.| A．call you bad names | B．hit you for fun |
| C．ask you for money | D．help you to study |
| A．call the police at once | B．run away from him/her |
| C．fight with him/her | D．make friends with him/her |
| A．Making a team to fight bullies is not a good idea. |
| B．Bullies usually hurt young students in the classroom. |
| C．Use your head, not only your hands. |
| D．There are three kinds of bullies in the school. |
| A．Walk alone | B．Stay with your friends |
| C．Run quickly | D．Walk slowly |
| A．What are school bullies? |
| B．Why should we stop school bullies? |
| C．How to protect ourselves from school bullies? |
| D．How to make a team to fight bullies? |
According to a study, if students spend more time on reading, it will lead to a big difference to the number of words. It is clearly shown in the chart.
While reading, you will learn about one new word for every 1,000 words you read. And learning new words plays a key role especially in determining (决定) whether you understand the text you read.
Unluckily, the study also shows that the kids who read for half an hour or more daily take up less than 20% of students, and about 50% of students read less than 15 minutes.
Then how can we help those students read more? The following ways may help them develop good reading habits.
Make a list of books you want to read. It will be easier to keep your reading habit if you have plenty of interesting books to read. You can also join a reading club. Being a part of a reading group encourages you to read more. Besides, you can share what you are reading with your friends. It could be really fun. Once you start, stick to it and you are sure to get a good result.
1. What can we know from the chart?| A．The more words you learn, the more easily you can read. |
| B．The younger you’re, the more easily you can remember words. |
| C．The more time you spend in reading, the more words you’ll learn. |
| A．y=x/1000 | B．y=7x | C．y=10%x |
| A．More than 20%. | B．Less than 20%. | C．About 50%. |
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 |
| A．To tell us the ways of spending time. |
| B．To advise us to remember more new words. |
| C．To encourage us to spend more time reading every day. |
6 . German physicist Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of all time, the personification of genius and the subject of a whole industry of scholarship. In The Einsteinian Revolution, two experts on Einstein’s life and his theory of relativity — Israeli physicist Hanoch Gutfreund and German historian of science Jürgen Renn — offer an original and penetrating (犀利的) analysis of Einstein’s revolutionary contributions to physics and our view of the physical world.
For the first time ever, by setting Einstein’s work in the long course of the evolution of scientific knowledge, Gutfreund and Renn discover the popular misconception of Einstein as an unconventional scientific genius who single-handedly created modern physics — and by pure thought alone.
As a large part of the book explains, Einstein typically argued that science progresses through steady evolution, not through revolutionary breaks with the past. He saw his theory of relativity not as something from scratch, but a natural extension of the classical physics developed by pioneers such as Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei and English physicist Isaac Newton in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as nineteenth-century physicists.
The authors highlight how classical physics cannot be separated cleanly from modern Einsteinian physics. The book also includes substantial sections on Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo whose methods inspired Einstein. When Einstein considered himself as standing on their shoulders, he meant that, without their contributions, he would not have formulated (阐述) the theory of relativity.
The Einsteinian Revolution is an important and thought-provoking contribution to the scholarly literature on Einstein and his surprising scientific creativity between 1905 and 1925. Gutfreund and Renn might not have given the final answer as to why Einstein, of all people, revolutionized physics in the way that he did. But they argue in fascinating detail that, to understand his genius, one must take into account not just the earlier history of physics but also the history of knowledge more broadly. Although not always an easy read, the book will interest physicists and historians alike.
1. What’s the attitude of Gutfreund and Renn to the popular viewpoint on Einstein?| A．Opposing. | B．Favorable. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．From nothing. | B．Up to a certain standard. |
| C．By learning from others. | D．With previous knowledge. |
| A．Their ideas were rejected by Einstein. |
| B．Their devotion to physics impressed Einstein. |
| C．Their research contributed to Einstein’s success. |
| D．Their hard work deserved the worldwide respect. |
| A．A guidebook to a course. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．An essay on Albert Einstein. | D．A review of physics development. |
7 . People are trying to build “green buildings” that are friendly to the environment. They might not seem any different from common buildings. But let’s take a closer look.
Stay cool and warm. It takes a lot of energy to light rooms. It also takes energy to heat and cool buildings. So green buildings are designed to do all these things with much less energy. An energy-smart building starts with thick walls. Special insulation (隔热材料) inside keeps heat inside in winter and keeps heat outside in summer. This saves energy for heating and cooling. Some green buildings don’t need any radiators (散热器) or air conditioning at all!
Save the trees. What a building is made from can also help the planet. To save forests, some green buildings have bamboo floors instead of wood. Bamboo looks like wood, but it’s actually a grass. It grows back 20 times faster than a tree. Another way to build green is to use recycled materials. That saves the cost and reduces pollution of producing something new. Make better home. City planners like green buildings because they save money and they are healthier for the people who work and live inside. But you don’t need to build a whole new building. Simple changes like shading windows and planting trees can make any home greener—and a better Earth home for us all.
As more people become concerned (担忧的) about climate change, more buildings are going green. Experts are finding new ways to build green buildings. We also need to change our mind. Let’s take action now!
1. How does an energy-smart building save energy for heating and cooling?| A．It uses air conditioners. | B．It uses smart radiators. |
| C．It has special thick walls. | D．It has fewer room lights. |
| A．it is a recycled material | B．it grows back much faster |
| C．it can keep the room warm | D．it can save a lot of money |
| A．build a whole new green building |
| B．pay attention to climate change |
| C．make small changes to our home |
| D．use only gas to cook our meals |
8 . Do you like writing by hand or with a keyboard?
A new brain (脑) study at Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that choosing handwriting instead of using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.
“When you write your shopping list or class notes by hand, you simply remember what you wrote better later,” said Audrey van der Meer, who did the study.
12 young grown-ups and 12 children took part in the study. Special machines were used to follow and record brain wave (电波) activities. Each person wore a special cap with over 250 electrodes (极) on the head, and was asked to write by hand and use a keyboard. The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes picked up the activities that took place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes for each person.
The results showed that the brain in both young grown-ups and children was much more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses become active by holding a pen and putting it down on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These build connection (关联) between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.
Van der Meer believes that the results let us know the importance of children being asked to draw and write at an early age, “Learning to write by hand is a slower course, but it's important for children to experience the tiring step of learning to write by hand,” she said.
The hand movements used to form the shapes (形状) of letters are helpful in several ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand needs control (控制) of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning condition as often as possible,” Van der Meer added, For example, you might use a keyboard to write an article, but you should take notes by hand during a class.
1. Which is the correct order of the study?①Record and study the results.
②Put a special cap on each person.
③Find 12 young grown-ups and 12 children.
④Ask the people to write by hand and use a keyboard.
| A．②④①③ | B．③②④① | C．③④②① | D．②①④③ |
| A．You can remember what you write better if you use a keyboard. |
| B．Fewer people choose handwriting and more people use a keyboard. |
| C．The brain is more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. |
| D．It is easier to put your brain in a learning condition when you use a keyboard. |
| A．The letters you are learning to write, |
| B．The skills you use to write an article. |
| C．The sense experiences when you write by hand. |
| D．The different parts of the brain relative (相关的) to writing. |
| A．Ways to take notes by hand. |
| B．How to control your fine motor skills. |
| C．Examples of using a keyboard. |
| D．Why hand movements in writing are helpful. |
9 . Making Electronics Think
There is one thing in the world that’s smaller than your fingernail. But without it, almost all of our electronic products might not work. It’s the microchip (芯片)! It is one of the most important inventions in human history. How much do you know about microchips? Here are some basics for you to learn it.
What are microchips?
Microchips aren’t potato chips! They are very tiny electronic devices (设备) that people use to store and manage information. There are mainly two types of microchips: logic chips and memory chips. Logic chips are like the “brain” of electronic devices-they deal with information to finish a task. Memory chips store information.
How are microchips used?
Microchips are in everything electrical from computers to cellphones, TVs, cameras, cars, airplanes, appliances and medical equipment. Microchips are also used in GPS tracking devices and identification cards and are used to keep track of activities and information.
Microchips take and process digital information and make it usable straightaway. For example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or processor, is the main chip in a computer. It’s responsible for carrying out all the computer’s tasks.
How small can microchips be?
One microchip is smaller than a button on your shirt but it has billions of transistors (晶体管). So it’s easy to understand just how small the features on a chip need to be. Chip features are measured in nanometers (纳米). A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. The smaller the features in the patterns created, the more transistors can fit on a chip, and the more the chip can do.
1. What makes electronics think according to the passage?| A．Microchips. | B．Computers. | C．GPS. | D．Brains. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．Microchips are in everything. |
| B．Logic chips are used to store information. |
| C．A button on your shirt has billions of transistors. |
| D．CPU is responsible for carrying out all the computer’s tasks. |
| A．The size of the microchips. | B．The kinds of the microchips. |
| C．The price of the microchips. | D．The usage of the microchips. |
| A．Science. | B．Fashion. | C．Health. | D．Culture |
10 . For thousands of years, tea is loved by many people around the world. It has finally received top-level global recognition as a shared cultural treasure of our humans. On November 29, 2022, traditional tea processing techniques and their related social customs in China were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产名录). Following “Wangchuan Ceremony (送王船)” in 2020, this project is the 43rd one to be successfully added to the list and there are 44 sub-projects in total belonging to this main project.
Chinese tea culture began as early as over 5,000 years ago. It’s said the ruler Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink by accident. But during the Three-Kingdom Period, people paid more attention to its medical value. In the Tang Dynasty, tea-tasting became an important part for poets’ life. Bai Juyi wrote 64 poems about tea in his lifetime.
According to UNESCO, in China traditional tea processing techniques are closely connected to location and natural environment. The area of tea planting in China is about between 18°-37° N and 94°-122° E. Tea-related customs are not only found across the country, but also influenced the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road. In western countries, tea firstly became popular in Britain in the 17th century, and then the whole of Europe. When it came to the late 18th and 19th centuries, 10% of a British person’s income at the time was spent on tea, making it one of the most important expensive goods.
1. Which city is the most impossible to grow tea in the map of China?
| A．A | B．B | C．C | D．D |
A． Shakespeare | B． Defoe |
C． Dickens | D． Orwell |
| A．One project of China can be added into the list every year. |
| B．Tea was used as a kind of medicine when Shen Nong discovered it. |
| C．In total, there are 44 projects from China on the list now. |
| D．Tea travelled to the west by the Silk Road in ancient times. |
| A．Big Ceremony. | B．Western Culture. |
| C．Accidental Invention. | D．Travelling in China. |
