1 . Will the AI chatbots eat search engines’ lunch? For more than 20 years, search engines have been the Internet’s front door. Google has dominated the field in most of the world. But nothing lasts forever, particularly in technology.
Just ask IBM, which once ruled business computing, or Nokia, once the leader in mobile phones. Both fell behind because they didn’t follow big technological transitions. Now another tech innovation might announce a similar shift—and a similar opportunity. ChatGPT has put itself on centre stage, by letting people chat with an AI directly. ChatGPT can write essays in various styles, explain complex concepts, summarize texts and answer questions. And it can collect, process and combine knowledge from the web: for example, listing holiday spots that match certain criteria, or suggesting menus or schedules. If asked, it can explain its reasoning and provide details. Many things that people use search engines for today, in short, can be done better with chatbots.
Will ChatGPT help students cheat better? Yes, but as with many other technology developments, it’s not a simple black and white situation. Decades ago, students could copy encyclopedia entries, and more recently, they’ve been able to search the Internet and explore into Wikipedia entries. ChatGPT offers new abilities for everything from helping with research to doing their homework for them. Many ChatGPT answers already sound like student essays. Ask the new artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to write an essay about the cause of the American Civil War and you can watch it produce a persuasive term paper in a matter of seconds.
It can even (narrowly) pass a number of exams. It scored 60% on the United States Medical Licensing Examination, 70% on an exam for lawyers, 78% on New York state’s high school chemistry exam’s multiple choice section, and ranked the 40th on the Law School Admission Test.
A high school teacher concluded ChatGPT already writes better than most students today. He’s torn between admiring ChatGPT’s potential usefulness and fearing its harm to human learning: “Is this moment more like the invention of the calculator, saving me from the boredom of long division, or more like the invention of the player piano, robbing us of what can be communicated only through human emotion?”
1. What is the reason why some tech companies fail to develop?| A．The sharp rising market cost. | B．Their shift to other business fields. |
| C．The negative impact of local economy. | D．Their failure to keep pace with tech changes. |
| A．Play the piano. | B．Write various articles. |
| C．Schedule a holiday trip. | D．Explain complex concepts. |
| A．To explain a rule. | B．To make a prediction. | C．To illustrate a fact. | D．To clarify a concept. |
| A．Objective. | B．Positive. | C．Negative. | D．Ambiguous. |
2 . Winter goes and summer comes. The tides
And how will I master these emotions so that each day will be
With this new knowledge I will make
| A．advance | B．disappear | C．exist | D．fall |
| A．native | B．colleague | C．supporter | D．part |
| A．jokes | B．secrets | C．experiences | D．awards |
| A．break in | B．wake up | C．take off | D．give out |
| A．constantly | B．temporarily | C．casually | D．elegantly |
| A．appear | B．blow | C．fade | D．spread |
| A．anxious | B．natural | C．additional | D．productive |
| A．sow | B．grow | C．separate | D．shelter |
| A．fold | B．follow | C．carry | D．load |
| A．react | B．review | C．recite | D．repeat |
| A．obtains | B．regards | C．allows | D．observes |
| A．chosen | B．seized | C．received | D．witnessed |
| A．self-awareness | B．self-control | C．self-esteem | D．self-pity |
| A．behind the scene | B．on the bottom line | C．at the end of the rope | D．out of sight |
| A．insignificant | B．improper | C．impolite | D．unconscious |
| A．concrete | B．inadequate | C．abstract | D．unmatched |
| A．use | B．fun | C．sure | D．sense |
| A．view | B．meeting | C．experiment | D．idiom |
| A．limited | B．reserved | C．prepared | D．afraid |
| A．salesman | B．player | C．architect | D．designer |
3 . The match was nearly over and I was almost on my last legs, when I saw a chance. I picked the ball up from Sally and headed for the German penalty area (罚球区).
“Jess!” I could hear Jules shouting as she ran alongside me. “Pass!”
I looked up and hit the ball forward into space. Jules ran on to it, picked it up and hit the ball into the net. It was just as good as Beckham’s last-minute goal against Greece!
Two minutes later, the referee (裁判) blew the whistle for full-time. A draw.
“Penalties,”Jules said, with a wide smile on her face.
Although it wasn’t usual to finish a friendly with penalties, both sides had decided that it would be a nice idea. Joe came on to the pitch (球场) to give us a quick pep talk. Maybe he wouldn’t choose me.
“OK, Jules, you go first,” Joe said. “Then Mel, Tina, Hannah and-Jess.”I tried not to look relieved that I was last. With any luck I wouldn’t have to take my turn, if the match was decided before that.
The Germans went first and scored. So did Jules. The Germans scored again. So did Mel. After a third German goal, Tina was looking nervous, but she was lucky because her shot went in off the post.
My stomach was turning over and over as Hannah stepped up to take our fourth penalty. If Hannah scored, it would be all down to the last German penalty-taker-and me.
Hannah rolled the ball smoothly into the left-hand corner of the net. I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down. If the next German player scored, I’d have to take my turn. I closed my eyes, willing her to fail.
A loud roar around the stadium told me that she’d scored. The referee signaled me to come over and with heavy steps I walked over to place the ball on the spot. I was really tired and my legs felt like they were made of lead. Behind me I could hear the girls yelling encouragement.
I made a superhuman effort and ran towards the ball, but even as I hit it, I knew it wasn’t right. I groaned as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced away into the crowd.
1. Why was Jess’s kick compared to the one of Beckham’s?| A．They were both penalty kicks. |
| B．They both ensured victory of the match. |
| C．They were both the only goal scored in the match. |
| D．They were both scored in the last minute of the match. |
| A．She had confidence in herself. |
| B．They already had the game in their hands. |
| C．She might not be the one to decide the game. |
| D．The Germans were not good at penalty kicks. |
| A．Exhausted and unconfident. |
| B．Relieved and delighted. |
| C．Relieved but disappointed. |
| D．Exhausted but excited. |
4 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.
Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.
“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment (InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).
Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.
Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.
What do solar developers often ignore?
| A．The decline in the demand for solar energy. |
| B．The negative impact of installing solar panels. |
| C．The rising labor cost of building solar farms. |
| D．The most recent advances in solar technology. |
5 . If you’ve ever emerged from the shower or returned from walking your dog with a clever idea or a solution to a problem you’d been struggling with, it may not be an unusual thing.
Rather than constantly wearing yourself out at a problem or desperately seeking a flash of inspiration, research from the last 15 years suggests that people may be more likely to have creative breakthroughs or insights when they’re doing a habitual task that doesn’t require much thought — an activity in which you’re basically on autopilot. This lets your mind wander or engage in spontaneous cognition or “stream of consciousness” thinking, which experts believe helps recollect unusual memories and generate new ideas.
“People always get surprised when they realize they get interesting, novel ideas at unexpected times because our cultural narrative tells us we should do it through hard work,” says Kalina Christoff, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “It’s a pretty universal human experience.”
Now we’re beginning to understand why these clever thoughts occur during more passive activities and what’s happening in the brain, says Christoff. The key, according to the latest research, is a pattern of brain activity — within what’s called the default mode network — that occurs while an individual is resting or performing habitual tasks that don’t require much attention.
Researchers have shown that the default mode network (DMN) — which connects more than a dozen regions of the brain — becomes more active during mind-wandering or passive tasks than when you’re doing something that demands focus. Simply put, the DMN is “the state the brain returns to when you’re not actively engaged,” explains Roger Beaty, a cognitive neuroscientist and director of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity Lab at Penn State University. By contrast, when you’re trapped in a demanding task, the brain’s executive control systems keep your thinking focused, analytical, and logical.
A cautionary note: While the default mode network plays a key role in the creative process, “it’s not the only important network,” Beaty says. “Other networks come into play as far as modifying, rejecting, or implementing ideas.” So it’s unwise to place blind faith in ideas that are generated in the shower or during any other period of mind wandering.
1. When do people expect to get an innovative idea according to the research?| A．When doing routine work. |
| B．When working attentively. |
| C．When tackling tough problems. |
| D．When desperately seeking inspirations. |
| A．Getting by good luck. |
| B．Getting by great efforts. |
| C．Getting by unexpected accident. |
| D．Getting by universal experience. |
| A．A student who is playing football. |
| B．A student who is focusing on papers. |
| C．A student who is closely monitoring his research. |
| D．A student who is fully engaged in math questions. |
| A．We can get novel ideas by the default mode network. |
| B．We should take the idea popped in the shower seriously. |
| C．Believe in ideas that are generated by the default mode network. |
| D．Think twice before putting ideas playfully crossing your mind into practice. |
6 . Many people believe that working to the maximum is the secret to success, but research has found that moderation(适度) also gets results on the job.
In a study led by Ellen Langer of Harvard University, researchers asked people to translate sentences into a new made-up language. Subjects who practiced the language moderately beforehand made fewer errors than those who practiced extensively or not at all. High levels of knowledge can make people too attached to traditional ways of viewing problems across fields the arts, sciences, and politics. High conscientiousness is related to lower job performance, especially in simple jobs where it doesn’t pay to be a perfectionist.
How long we stay on the clock and how we spend that time are under careful examination in many workplaces. The young banker who eats lunch at his desk is probably seen as a go-getter, while his colleagues who chat over a relaxed conference-room meal get dirty looks from the corner office. “People from cultures that value relationships more than ours does are shocked by the thought of eating alone in front of a computer”, says Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Social interaction has been shown to lift mood(情绪) and get people thinking in new directions and in ways that could help improve any post-lunch effort.
Markman also promotes off-task time. “Part of being a good thinker is experiencing things that are seemingly unrelated to what you are working on at the moment but give you fresh ideas about your work,” he says. “Also, there is a lot of research showing that a positive mood leads to higher levels of productivity and creativity. So, when people do things to increase their life satisfaction, they also make themselves more effective at work.”
1. What does Ellen Langer’s study show?| A．It is worthwhile to be a perfectionist | B．Translation makes people knowledgeable. |
| C．Simpler jobs require greater caution. | D．Moderate effort produces the best result. |
| A．is good at handling pressure | B．works hard to become successful |
| C．a has a natural talent for his job. | D．gets on well with his co-workers |
| A．A good thinker is able to inspire other people. |
| B．Experience unrelated to your job is useless. |
| C．A cheerful mood helps make a creative mind. |
| D．Focusing on what you do raises productivity. |
| A．Middle-of-the-road work habits. | B．Balance between work and family. |
| C．Long-standing cultural traditions. | D．Harmony in the work environment. |
7 . Monopoly (大富翁) is a very popular board game around the world today, but little is known about its American inventor, Elizabeth Magie, and the philosophy behind her invention.
Born in 1866, Magie was a rebel against the norms and politics of her times. Inspired by Henry George who believed that all men should have an equal right to use the land as they have to breathe air, she challenged the capitalist system of property ownership —in the form of a board game. In 1904, she patented her Landlord’s Game, which consisted of a circuit of streets and landmarks for sale.
Magie’s game contained two sets of rules: The Prosperity rules and the Monopolist rules. The Prosperity rules stated that every player should gain each time someone acquired a new property. The game was won (by all!) when the player starting with the least money doubled his or her fortune. Under Monopolist rules, on the other hand, each player advanced by acquiring properties and collecting rent from all who landed there later. Whoever managed to bankrupt the other players won the game. The purpose of the dual sets of rules, said Magie, was for players to understand how these different approaches to property can lead to different social outcomes: “all win” or “win all.”
The game soon became a hit on college campuses and among Quaker communities, and some people modified the game board. An unemployed player named Charles Darrow sold this modified version to the manufacturer Parker Brothers as his own. However, when the game’s true origin came to light, Parker Brothers bought the patent from Magie for only $500. They then re-launched the game as Monopoly, including only the rules leading to the triumph of one over all. Darrow was publicized as the inventor who had become a millionaire from selling the game. Thus a rags-to-riches myth was created, ironically exemplifying Monopoly’s implicit (含蓄的) values: Chase wealth and crush your opponents if you want to come out on top.
1. What is this passage mainly about?| A．The creation and modification of a board game. |
| B．A fight between patent owners of a popular game. |
| C．A socio-economic victory behind a landlord game. |
| D．The person who became a millionaire from a fun game. |
| A．To emphasize the value of the capitalist system. |
| B．To introduce different approaches to obtaining new land. |
| C．To advocate that all should be rewarded when one acquires wealth. |
| D．To challenge George’s idea that men should have an equal right to the land. |
| A．A modified version of Monopoly. |
| B．Darrow’s success after selling the game. |
| C．Parker Brothers’ purchase of Magie’s patent. |
| D．The popularity of the game on college campuses. |
| A．Excited. | B．Relieved. | C．Doubtful. | D．Displeased. |
8 . Mariana Bechtel isn’t exactly someone who avoids stress. Throughout her, she has pursued high-pressure management jobs: “I’m hard core,” says the 44-yearold wife and mother of two. “I wanted to be on top at work, and I wanted to be a great mom” –one who could attend baseball games, drive and help with homework even after an hour-long commute （通勤）on workdays, more often than not, with a5 a.m. marathon-training run.
However, after months of losing sleep, dropping weight and feeling pushed to lose her mind, Mariana Bechtel decided she had to address her stress-and turn it to her advantage. The new job she recently switched to still has its share of pressure, but with more support from her boss and more flexibility in her schedule, she says she feels great.
Contrary to popular belief, stress doesn’t have to be a soul-sucking, health-damaging force. But few people know how to transform their stress into the positive kind that helps them reach their goals.
A recent research confirms that gaining control over job demands, doing work with meaning and purpose and enjoying support and encouragement from co-workers are all linked to beneficial stress. Simply changing attitudes and expectations about stress-through coaching, training or peer-support groups-can also develop the constructive kind of stress.
“Stress is paradoxical,” says Alia Crum, a research scholar. “On one hand, it can be the thing that hurts us most. On the other, it’s fundamental to psychological and physical growth. The attitude that we view and approach stress will shift the outcome.”
1. What is Mariana Bechtel’s new job like?| A．It is health-damaging. |
| B．It is physically demanding. |
| C．It has little stress. |
| D．It has flexible worktime. |
| A．Stress can be turned beneficial. |
| B．Too much stress is harmful to health. |
| C．It’s hard to balance work and family. |
| D．Every job has its own advantage. |
| A．By refusing the boss’s demands |
| B．By taking up a meaningful job. |
| C．By supporting co-workers. |
| D．By sticking to our attitude to stress. |
| A．Stress has far-reaching effects. | B．Stress has several disadvantages. |
| C．Stress has two opposite features. | D．Stress is not necessary at all. |
9 . Job interviews are rarely fun, especially when you are young, about which I have deep feelings. I will never forget the opening question in my first interview for the Financial Times: “So, apart from the week before your interview, do you ever actually read the FT?”
Young jobseekers today face a different but no less difficult challenge. They find themselves smiling anxiously into their laptop cameras, answering questions as a timer ticks down with no human to interact with at all, which is equally boring.
Large employers are using these “asynchronous(异步的) video interviews”(AVIs) to narrow down job applicants to a smaller pool they can meet in person. Platforms such as HireVue and Modern Hire record applicants answering predetermined questions, usually with a time limit for each answer. In some cases, the recordings will be watched by the employer’s hiring managers. In others, the platform’s algorithms(算法) will assess the candidates based on what they said or even their facial expressions.
These interviews can be done cheaply and massively: one grocery chain in the US was gathering as many as 15,000 per day during the pandemic, according to HireVue. The platforms say the process is fairer than human recruiters(招聘人员), leading to better and more diverse candidates making the cut.
But employers need to pay more attention to how the process affects potential employees. Researchers at the University of Sussex Business School, in association with the Institute for Employment Studies, have warned that young jobseekers feel confused and exhausted by automated recruitment systems.
Employers suffer the loss too. AVIs select for people who can talk into air, not people who can interact well with others, though the latter is more important in most jobs. What’s more, an interview is a company’s first real interaction with potential employees, some of whom it will want to hire. It should be a chance for both sides to learn about each other.
1. Why does the author mention his first job interview experience?| A．To make young jobseekers confident. | B．To show the boredom of job interviews. |
| C．To indicate the difficulty in job seeking. | D．To prove that he was superior to others. |
| A．The use of AVIs. | B．The advantages of AVIs. |
| C．Introduction to brand platforms. | D．Roles of AVIs and hiring managers. |
| A．Going backdoor. | B．Spending less. | C．Being chosen. | D．Being interviewed. |
| A．Disgusted. | B．Tolerant. | C．Supportive. | D．Cautious. |
10 . The engineer’s motto is: “Keep it simple and serious.” But Dr. Arnold, though the fifth woman engineer in history to win the Nobel Prize, is somewhat
Here’s a picture of a beaming President Obama,
Another
See what the engineer has
| A．different | B．popular | C．ordinary | D．difficult |
| A．back to normal | B．off course | C．to the point | D．beyond perfection |
| A．instructing | B．calling | C．thanking | D．congratulating |
| A．shame | B．honor | C．relief | D．fear |
| A．delivered | B．guided | C．separated | D．sheltered |
| A．agency | B．exit | C．bus | D．house |
| A．guns | B．fingers | C．sticks | D．arrows |
| A．awarded | B．rescued | C．mistaken | D．teased |
| A．familiar | B．great | C．frightening | D．fun |
| A．pretended | B．agreed | C．announced | D．proved |
| A．still | B．only | C．thus | D．even |
| A．touched | B．cleaned | C．eyed | D．removed |
| A．inquiry | B．request | C．greeting | D．comfort |
| A．or | B．before | C．once | D．if |
| A．gradually | B．suddenly | C．surely | D．barely |
| A．serious | B．talkative | C．careless | D．dishonest |
| A．doubted | B．regretted | C．insisted | D．argued |
| A．wide | B．sweet | C．shut | D．open |
| A．looked into | B．showed off | C．gone through | D．played with |
| A．talents | B．appearances | C．stories | D．professions |
