1 . Voices offer lots of information. It turns out that they can even help diagnose an illness. The National Institutes of Health is funding a massive research project to collect voice data and develop an AI that could diagnose people based on their speech.

Everything from your vocal cord vibrations(声带振动)to breathing patterns when you speak offers potential information about your health, says Dr. Yael Bensoussan, a leader on the study. “We asked experts: If you close your eyes when a patient comes in, just by listening to their voice, can you have an idea of the diagnosis they have?” Bensoussan says. “And that’s where we got all our information.” Someone who speaks low and slowly might have Parkinson’s disease. Speaking unclearly is a sign of a stroke. Scientists could even diagnose depression or cancer.

The team will start by collecting the voices of people. “We were really lacking large what we call open source databases,” Bensoussan says. “Every institution has their own database. But to create these networks was really important to then allow researchers from other generations to use this data.” The ultimate goal is an app that could help bridge access to rural or underserved communities, by helping general practitioners refer patients to specialists. To get there, researchers have to start by collecting data, since the AI can only get as good as the database it’s learning from. By the end of the four years, they hope to collect about 30,000 voices, with data on other biomarkers — like clinical data and genetic information — to match.

There are a few roadblocks. HIPAA — the law that regulates medical privacy — isn’t really clear on whether researchers can share voices. “Let’s say you donate your voice to our project,” says Yael Bensoussan. “Who does the voice belong to? What are we allowed to do with it? What are researchers allowed to do with it? Can it be commercialized?”

1. What does Yael Bensoussan mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Voices may help with illness diagnosis.

B．Scientists can rely on an AI to detect illness.

C．Disease symptoms can be noted by machines.

D．It’s necessary for doctors to listen to patients talking.

2. How will the research be carried out?

A．By building a base.

B．By collecting data.

C．By connecting communities.

D．By matching clinical information.

3. Why is HIPAA mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To prove the researchers’ idea.

B．To explain the procedures of the study.

C．To imply the problems with the research.

D．To ensure the commercial value of the study.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．An Application for Voice Study

B．Data-collected Approach to Research

C．A Breakthrough in Medical Findings

D．Sound-aided AI Helps With Diagnosis

2 . If you’ve followed dieting advice and experienced significant weight loss, only to have it return; you’re not alone. It’s also not your fault. The human body is designed to maintain balance as much as possible. In a restricted calorie environment, the body adapts to using fewer calories each day to function. This leads to a slowing in metabolism, which makes it even. more difficult to lose weight and ultimately leads to gaining weight again. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, which means it burns more calories at rest than fat does. If your body starts breaking down muscle to fuel its basic functions, that can further slow your metabolism and make losing weight and keeping it off long term difficult.

Because the body wants to preserve weight, a slow approach to losing extra pounds is healthier than sharply cutting calories. It’s better to pace your weight loss by eating just enough calories to keep you at insufficiency while still meeting most of your body s energy needs. This will help keep your metabolism working efficiently.

Determining the number of calories you need to eat to meet that rate of weight loss will depend on several factors, including your age, starting weight, activity level and sex. Candace Pumper, a staff dietitian with the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, says, “The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position statement on adult weight management recommends 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day for men to support weight loss.”

She notes, however, those guidelines are “not meant to substitute for professional nutritional advice or treatment. It’s recommended individuals follow the advice of their dietitian’s guidance regarding appropriate calorie intake, as many factors affect calorie needs.” She also notes that if one is looking to lose weight quickly, he has to work with and be supervised by a health care provider.

1. Why do people gain weight after dieting for long?

A．The muscle burns fewer calories at rest than fat.	B．The body functions slowly because of dieting.
C．It is hard to strike a balance while in hunger.	D．It is impossible to have a long-term effect.

2. What does the underlined part “at insufficiency” probably mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Being improper.	B．Being unhealthy
C．Being inadequate.	D．Being unnecessary.

3. Which of the following may determine calorie loss?
①age       ②weight             ③identity       ④gender

A．②③④

B．①②③

C．①②④

D．①③④

4. What is suggested in the last paragraph?

A．Individual efforts matter a lot.	B．Professional advice is important.
C．Calorie needs vary from person to person.	D．Care providers can be relied on for weight gain.

3 . A daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable. She didn’t know how she was going to ________ it. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon________. She was always worried and ________ of fighting and struggling all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the ________. He filled three pots with water and ________ each on a high fire. Once the water began to boil, he put potatoes, eggs and ground coffee beans into the pots ________. After twenty minutes he________ the burners. He put the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and dished the coffee out into a cup.

“Look closer”, he explained the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same ________ the boiling water. However, each one ________ differently.

The potato became ________ and soft in boiling water. ________ being fragile(易碎的),the egg became hard inside. However, the ground coffee beans were ________. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and ________ something new, whose rich sweet smell makes people ________

The father asked “When trouble knocks on your door, are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?” These words made the daughter lost in thought and seemed to cast________ on her attitude to life.

1.

A．manage

B．switch

C．grasp

D．defend

2.

A．poured

B．followed

C．integrated

D．joined

3.

A．afraid

B．fond

C．aware

D．tired

4.

A．restaurant

B．market

C．kitchen

D．restroom

5.

A．struck

B．placed

C．pushed

D．lifted

6.

A．impatiently

B．separately

C．totally

D．accidentally

7.

A．turned off

B．broke down

C．took away

D．straightened up

8.

A．aim

B．setting

C．choice

D．trouble

9.

A．expanded

B．reacted

C．responded

D．struggled

10.

A．big

B．rotten

C．weak

D．fresh

11.

A．Apart from

B．As for

C．Instead of

D．Due to

12.

A．secure

B．strange

C．similar

D．unique

13.

A．linked

B．tackled

C．created

D．added

14.

A．surprised

B．excited

C．amused

D．addicted

15.

A．light

B．doubt

C．shadow

D．attention

4 . Frederick Banting hated school. Having grown up on a farm near Alliston, Ontario, Fred was a good worker but felt uncomfortable and unaccepted in a town school. After graduation, he began studies to become a minister. When that did not go well, he changed his goal to medicine. World War I arrived, and the great need for field medics (救护人员) resulted in the early graduation of Fred. After the war, the young Canadian doctor returned home to set up his practice. Just then he began to focus on articles on diabetes (糖尿病), a disease that had claimed the life of a neighbour’s child.

To solve the problem of this disease, Fred approached Dr. J. J. R. Macleod at the University of Toronto and eventually convinced Dr. Macleod to support him. In 1920, Fred happily entered a poorly equipped laboratory and was given a young assistant named Charles Best. Fred and Charles worked day and night, but early results in producing the hormone (激素) preparation they called insulin (胰岛素) were discouraging. Many of the animals they treated died. Finally one animal survived for several weeks. The team appeared to be finally getting somewhere, and it was time to move on to human subjects. Before treating human patients, however, Fred and Charles tested the safety of their insulin each other. Their tests were a triumph.

The first patient to be treated was a fourteen-year-old boy named Leonard. The year was 1921. The poor boy weighed only seventy-five pounds, and he was barely alive. But the new insulin treatment administered by Fred and Charles was a great success. Leonard gained weight, and his health dramatically improved.

In 1923, the Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded jointly to Canadian doctors Frederick Banting and J. J. R. Macleod. Fred could have made himself a millionaire with his discovery. Instead, he sold his patent for the production of insulin to the University of Toronto-for one dollar-so that the drug could be marketed cheaply and thousands of lives could be saved and improved. Thanks to Fred, diabetics are able to live normal lives where before it was impossible.

1. What does paragraph I focus on?

A．Why Fred graduated early.

B．How Fred took up the research.

C．Why Fred changed his life goal.

D．What Fred experienced in the war.

2. What does the underlined word “triumph” mean in paragraph2?

A．Victory.

B．Reference.

C．Challenge.

D．Demonstration.

3. Why did Fred sell his patent?

A．To make money.

B．To earn reputation.

C．To benefit patients.

D．To promote insulin.

4. Which of the following is probably the best title for the text?

A．A Successful Test

B．A Famous Doctor

C．An Unlikely Hero

D．A Great Discovery

8 . I got my first job at 12 as a waitress. It certainly was tiring but interesting. And when Ⅰ went on to college, it paid for tuition and housing and eventually, a camera.

From the moment I picked up a camera, I was attracted. All I wanted to do was take pictures for the university newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. The paper at that time was one of the largest in the state and was produced by young journalists who went on to work at every major magazine in the country. For the final two years, I just wanted to be a photographer. The week I finished college. I was hired by the Worthington Daily Globe.

Jim Vance was the top-notch publisher of the Globe. He had very high expectations of all the staff. With little or no instruction from him, 35 writers and photographers were expected to fill the paper with stories that were important to our readers. It was perfect training for my future career at National Geography.

I was the youngest photographer working for National Geography when I arrived in 1978, and I spent at least a decade just trying not to make mistakes. While I was grateful for the opportunity, it was very difficult for me. With each new task came the fear that this was going to be the one where they figured out that I couldn’t do the job. On many tasks, the most challenging part turned out to be the transportation. Over the years, I traveled by horse, cars train, truck and all sorts of old vehicles. I traveled by mule in Mexico, by ship along the Indian Ocean, by fishing boat in the Sea of Galilee. Wherever I traveled in the world, I wanted my pictures to make a real difference in people’s lives.

I am deeply grateful for the amazing lessons photography has taught me. I’ve learnt that women really do hold up half the sky; that language isn’t always necessary, but touch usually is; that all people are not alike, but they do mostly have the same hopes, and fears.

1. When did the author wish to become a photographer?

A．After she graduated from college.

B．When she was working as a waitress.

C．As soon as she picked up the camera.

D．While she was working for the university newspaper.

2. How did the author feel when she began working for National Geography?

A．Inspired

B．Worried.

C．Touched.

D．Disappointed.

3. What has the author learned from photography?

A．Transportation is the most challenging in travelling.

B．Women and men are not equal in some countries.

C．People hold different hopes and ideas towards life.

D．People can still understand each other despite language barriers (障碍).

4. How is the passage developed?

A．By making comparisons.	B．By giving examples.
C．By time.	D．By space.

9 . Films to watch this December!

Don’t Look Up

People are often slow to react to a disaster, whether it’s a climate emergency or a global pandemic—and that is why Adam McKay has made his new satire (讽刺) —Don’t Look Up. Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio play two astronomers who have figured that a “planet killer” comet is going to crash into the Earth, killing everyone. But the US president is just one of the people who refuse to face the facts.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Now that Marvel’s superheroes have saved the universe, their next job is obvious: they have to save the multiverse (多元宇宙). You’re going to see characters that you love go through things that you would never wish them to go through.

West Side Story

The original 1961 film of West Side Story is known as one of the finest Hollywood musicals ever made. It was the biggest box-office hit of the year, and went on to win 10 Oscars. Why should anyone watch a new take on the same material? One answer is that Stephen Sondheim speaks highly of it—“For those who know the show, there are going to be some real surprises in it.”

Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley is a dark crime thriller based on a 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham. Bradley Cooper stars as The Great Stanton. He performs a mind-reading act in modern nightclubs with his loyal girlfriend, but an attractive psychologist is onto his game.

1. Which movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio?

A．Don’t Look Up.	B．Spider-Man: No Way Home.
C．West Side Story.	D．Nightmare Alley.

2. Which movie best suits people interested in musicals?

A．Don’t Look Up.	B．Spider-Man: No Way Home.
C．West Side Story.	D．Nightmare Alley.

3. What can we learn about the four movies?

A．The president in Don’t Look Up doesn’t believe the disaster will happen.

B．In the second movie, the Spider-man’s next job is to save the universe.

C．The new version of West Side Story has won 10 Oscars so far.

D．The last movie is a romantic love story adapted from a novel.