2 . If you’ve scrolled through your Facebook feed recently, you may have noticed something surprising: lots and lots of short videos.

What makes this “Reels” feature strange is that it is hugely addictive, which I know quite well from my own personal experience. Last Friday, I took a break and hit on one short clip of someone making dinner and, well, the next time I looked up it was 20 minutes later and the blank document on my computer monitor was confirming to me that my work was still not done.

However, as silly as it seems, Reels — is actually super important, and is at the centre of a major battle between the world’s largest tech firms. The format was first pioneered by TikTok—the Chinese-owned video app that has taken the world by storm since it was launched in 2016. Today, TikTok has around 23 million UK users every month — including basically every person you know under the age of 25. And that fact has made Facebook and its parent company, Meta, very nervous indeed. As TikTok has continued to boom, Facebook has actually fallen in popularity among “Gen Z”. The reason Tik Tok has proven such a powerful challenger to Facebook’s social media dominance is almost entirely down to these sorts of short-form videos.

The format is almost perfectly optimized to be as addictive as possible: Tik Tok’s app shows you a short-form video, and if you don’t like it, you can simply swipe it away and another one will start playing instantly. And because it is portrait, not landscape, videos look “right” when viewed on your phone. What’s also smart is that TikTok’s algorithm (算法) picks videos for you based on what you actually watch, and not what you say you want.

Facebook isn’t the only app trying to do what TikTok does so well. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta, has integrated Reels even more aggressively into its app. And even Google is nervous, launching its own TikTok-style video section of YouTube (which it owns) a couple of years ago. As things stand, though TikTok currently maintains a healthy lead in the category, both YouTube and Facebook have deep pockets-so expect to see even more Reels and Shorts popping up in your feed as this intense battle continues to rage. You won’t be able to take your eyes off them.

1. What does the author intend to express by referring to his own experience?

A．Short videos play a significant role in his life.

B．People often lose themselves in short videos unconsciously.

C．Short videos have multiple functions that attract potential users.

D．The author prefers short clips of people making dinner to others

2. Why are short videos on Tiktok gaining much popularity among users?

A．Because they present breathtaking visual effects.

B．Because they include high-quality content.

C．Because users can change from one video to the next effortlessly.

D．Because users can use an algorithm to choose videos they really want.

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Tiktok is regarded as a competitive opponent to Facebook.

B．Tiktok has attracted 23 million UK users since it was launched in 2016.

C．Tiktok has lost its attraction among “Gen Z”.

D．Tiktok’s market share has been falling due to fierce competition.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Many western companies have integrated Tiktok into their own apps.

B．Tiktok’s leading position in short videos is unchangeable

C．Big tech companies are competing for more short video users

D．Highly addictive short video apps should be removed.

3 . Willful ignorance exists in large amount in daily life. People regularly look the other way rather than examining the consequences of their actions. Despite plenty of scientific evidence for climate change, for instance, many people still avoid engaging with facts about global warming.

We wanted to understand how common willful ignorance is and why people engage in it. After collecting data from multiple research projects that involved more than 6, 000 individuals, we discovered that willful ignorance is common and harmful, with 40 percent of people choosing “not to know” the consequences of their actions to free themselves of guilt while maximizing their own gains. But we also found that about 40 percent of people are unselfish: rather than avoiding information about the consequences of their actions, they seek it out to increase the benefits to others.

In the experiments, the decisions were made in one of two settings. In the transparent (透明的) setting, decision-makers had information about how their choice would affect themselves and their partners. In an ambiguous setting, decision-makers knew how their choice would matter for themselves but not for their teammates — although they could request that insight.

The overall balance tipped toward selfishness when participants had the option to avoid information. Only 39 percent of people in the ambiguous setting made the choice that ultimately benefited their partners — a significant drop from 55 percent in the transparent condition.

If we can avoid putting a strong moral emphasis on decisions, it may make people feel less threatened and, as a result, be less willfully ignorant. Other research groups have found promising ways to do this. For instance, we could encourage people to think more positively about good deeds rather than guilt-trip them for what they have failed to do. Highlighting recent global achievements, such as healing the ozone (臭氧) layer, can inspire people to keep up the good work rather than feeling like the battle is lost and that the situation is hopeless.

In short, we can encourage one another and ourselves toward more selfless and generous actions.

1. What causes people to ignore the effect of their behaviors deliberately?

A．They want the biggest personal benefits without feeling ashamed.

B．They hold the belief that willful ignorance is socially acceptable.

C．They are unsure about the results of their actions.

D．They always take others’ benefits into consideration.

2. What can be concluded from experiments mentioned in the passage?

A．People in the ambiguous setting were more aware of the impact of their decisions

B．More than half of the participants are selfish in the transparent condition.

C．All people in both settings chose to put their partners’ interests in the first place

D．Some people still increased the benefits of others although they could avoid information

3. Which of the following is the author likely to agree with?

A．Highlighting the difficulties of ozone layer healing inspires people to keep up the good work.

B．Paying less attention to the morality of decisions is helpful to decrease willful ignorance

C．Having a sense of guilt enables people to take global issues seriously

D．Stressing the threats of willful ignorance contributes to more selfless and generous actions

4. In which column of a newspaper can we read the passage?

A．Literature

B．Technology

C．Archaeology.

D．Psychology.

4 . Smart glasses that send out a sound when an object comes into their field of view could help people who are blind to locate certain items. Blind people can be trained to move via echolocation (回声定位). This involves them sending out a noise that bounces off objects around them, with the returning echoes giving information about their surrounding area.

Inspired by this ability, Howe Zhu at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia and his colleagues wanted to create glasses that similarly give people information about what objects are close to them.

The researchers first took a pair of AR glasses with two front-facing cameras and built-in speakers. They then designed a smartphone app that used deep learning to process the visual information captured by the glasses to identify four objects: a bowl, cup, book and bottle. The team programmed a sound to play from the speakers when one of the objects came into the glasses’ field of view as a wearer scanned their head around a room. Each of the objects was assigned a connected sound. For example, when a book came into view, the wearer heard a page turning.

To test the glasses, the team enlisted seven people with varying degrees of light sense and seven people with no sight issues who were blindfolded. They sat at a table with the four objects arranged on top. When asked to pick up one of the objects, the participants who were either blind or had low vision were able to do so correctly 81%of the time, compared with a 73% success rate for the blindfolded participants.

The researchers now hope to develop this technology to recognize more objects and to allow people to use it while they are walking around.

1. Why does Howe Zhu develop smart glasses?

A．To identify the nearby items.	B．To confirm the returning echoes.
C．To enhance the traffic safety level.	D．To test the function of ordinary glasses.

2. What does paragraph 3 focus on?

A．The outcome of the experiment.	B．The process of the experiment.
C．The importance of the experiment.	D．The purpose of the experiment.

3. What can be learned about Howe Zhu’s smart glasses?

A．Participants prefer wearing them.	B．Researchers doubt their functions.
C．They benefit those with low vision.	D．They catalogue different information.

4. What column of a website is the text taken?

A．Education.

B．Culture.

C．Amusement.

D．Technology.

7 . For the past 8 years, K-9 partner Roni has been by the side of Officer Joel Nitchman of the Deer Park, Texas police department. They’ve been through a lot together and the police thinks of the dog as a member of his own family. Recently, the team had just returned to the station when a tornado suddenly formed nearby.

The wind picked up fast. Remembering Roni was still inside his cage in the patrol car (巡逻车), Joel didn’t think twice about rushing outside into the storm to get his partner. “The thought of ruins, or the car turning over...I couldn’t do that to him,” said Joel. “I couldn’t have him out there during that.” He felt debris (碎片) hitting his face as he headed into the wind and he knew the situation was worsening with every passing second.

Conditions worsened even further when Joel made it around to the other side of the car. The wind and rain were so strong that he couldn’t get the door open. When he finally opened it, Roni refused to move. “I could barely open his door,” Joel said. “When I did, he’s a smart dog, he saw what was going on outside and he refused to come out at first.” With a lot of efforts, Roni finally followed his partner out of the car, and Joel was able to lead him into the station.

“Never have I been through anything like this before,” Joel said of the frightening event. Now that the danger has passed, he feels even closer to his K-9 partner and he’d do it all over again, if he had. “I love that dog,” he explained. “He’s a part of our family. We can’t leave a loved one like that. There’s no way I was going to leave him like that.”

1. Which of the following can be used to describe Roni?

A．Strong and brave.	B．Funny and kind.
C．Tall and lovable.	D．Loyal and clever.

2. Why did Joel rush out despite the coming disaster?

A．Roni was still on duty outside.

B．He attempted to get the car inside.

C．He went to rescue Roni in the car.

D．Roni had escaped from the patrol car.

3. What difficulty did Joel meet during the event?

A．Lack of official help.

B．Roni’s fear of the danger.

C．The poor quality of the door.

D．The unsafe situation of the station.

4. How does the experience influence Roni and Joel?

A．They are more connected to each other.

B．They are now living closer to each other.

C．They have more loved ones in their lives.

D．They are more independent of each other.

8 . After noticing that her students had problems focusing during the math class, a North Carolina teacher decided to channel (引导) their energy in a different way-cycling.

It doesn’t sound like a common thing to do during the math class, but Bethany Lambeth, a teacher from Wake County, said that ever since she installed (安装) cycling machines under her students’ desks, the quality of their work had improved greatly. Students are more focused and more importantly, they are no longer restless all the time.

“In the past, they were drumming on their desks or they were touching other people, but they don’t do that anymore. Their feet are getting out of the movement,” she said.

“The kids are not making fun of each other and they are able to get their activities through and get their work done,” the young educator added. “I think the world is changing a lot and the kids need to be able to do something different.”

Lambeth installed the cycling machines at the end of last year, paying around $150 for each.

Judging by the results observed by the Wake County teacher, this might be a way the educational officials are particularly excited about the role that cycling machines have played and think these can play in special education classes.

The kids obviously love the new “toys”. Sofia Fedele, one of Lambeth’s students, said cycling helps her focus on her work during the class “Pedaling (踩踏板) is much better and it keeps me exercising and focused,” she said. Quinn Spear, another student in Lambeth’s class, also acknowledged the health benefits of cycling during the class. He said that he had pedaled 5.5 miles and burned 133calories,all before 10 am.

1. Why did the teacher Bethany Lambeth install the cycling machines?

A．To make an experiment.	B．To attract more students to her class.
C．To introduce a new toy to her students.	D．To make her students more focused in class.

2. What do we know about school officials?

A．They plan to install more cycling machines in classes.

B．They think the cycling machines can be used in special education classes.

C．They regard cycling machines as new toys for students.

D．They need to look into the results of using cycling machines.

3. What is Wake Country teacher’s attitude towards Lambeth’s project?

A．Positive.

B．Indifferent.

C．Negative.

D．Doubtful.

4. What’s the main purpose of the author in writing the text?

A．To call on schools to install more cycling machines.

B．To introduce a new way to make students focus on the class.

C．To tell teachers how to help students improve their studies.

D．To show the advantages of cycling in class.