1 . Binge-watching (刷剧) is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in a row. With developments in the speed and connectivity of the Internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows stream (流播) directly to their television at their convenience.
This behavior is nothing new. In fact, binge-watching has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available concurrently. Once the episode finishes, many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like” suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode.
However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back (一集接一集地), almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and 25% have neglected their household chores (家务活). Next we’ll be missing work!
Bingeing has other connections — binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said, “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist (抗拒) watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?
The countless number of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning, then it becomes a problem. So, what’s the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”
1. How did the writer develop the first paragraph?| A．By giving a definition. | B．By telling a story. |
| C．By listing some examples. | D．By analyzing the cause and effect. |
| A．For convenience. | B．At the same time. |
| C．In detail. | D．Free of charge. |
| A．people can’t control their feelings | B．people can’t resist the temptation of Bingeing |
| C．people have no patience to do work | D．people are addicted to waiting for a new episode |
| A．To keep online media from stopping functioning. |
| B．To enjoy entertainment as much as possible. |
| C．To learn life lessons from the episodes. |
| D．To watch episodes in a moderate way. |
2 . The words “caring” and “empathetic” (共情的) aren’t ones normally associated with technology. Yearsley, an Australian enterpriser who is expert in artificial intelligence (AI), is trying to change that.
Yearsley is the founder of Akin, a robotics startup that currently uses a tablet-based system to help users manage the tasks related to home life, whether that’s planning meals or reminding you to pay your cell phone bill. Current home devices made by Google or Amazon or Apple use predictive AI to track patterns, strengthen behaviors and manipulate (操控) buying decisions, some of which, she assumes, are questionable or just unhealthy.
In contrast, the AI that she is developing will be designed to run the human home, encouraging healthful decisions such as taking a nightly walk, refilling the fridge and supporting social interactions like lunches or birthday celebrations with friends. “It’s the hardest AI I have ever built for it’s a complex system,” Yearsley says.
Yearsley began developing the Akin technology in 2017, when she realized the need to better manage the home is hugely ignored. Besides, she realized that women unequally bear the burden of household work. A United Nations’ report estimates that women do2.6 times the amount of unpaid care and domestic work that men do, or close to 30 hours per week in the U. S. alone.
While Yearsley pictures an army of robots someday helping with routine homemade tasks, the first display for Akin will take time and money. Akin has received some early seed money from a handful of investors, and was recently selected as a finalist for tech giant LG Nova’s Mission for the Future program, an annual challenge that seeks to identify businesses having potential to improve life and lead society into the future.
1. What might the Akin’s AI system suggest?| A．Consuming more drinks to enjoy yourself. | B．Staying up late working to make more money. |
| C．Spending more time staying with your family. | D．Purchasing products that may attract you. |
| A．The high cost of current home devices. | B．Akin’s becoming a finalist for a program. |
| C．Financial support from investors. | D．Heavy burden of housewives. |
| A．Questionable and unhealthy. | B．Unstable and insecure. |
| C．Thoughtful and innovative. | D．Mature and ideal. |
| A．To introduce a futuristic AI system. | B．To compare two companies’ AI systems. |
| C．To call on people to care about housewives. | D．To seek support for an AI expert. |
3 . Imagine being able to pop to your local park and pick some tomatoes, potatoes or even bananas to take home for dinner. Sounds too good to be true, right? For residents (居民) of Andernach, German, it’s not just a dream — it’s their reality.
In 2010, Andernach began its edible (可食用的) city project that hadn’t been carried out before, planting 101 varieties of tomatoes in public green spaces around the city center. Its 30,000 residents are free to help themselves to whatever grows, as are any other visitors. The town’s motto of sorts is “Picking is encouraged — help yourself!” Every year a new type of plant is highlighted. In 2011, 100 types of beans were planted, while 2012 saw the introduction of 20 onion varieties. And it has become the phenomenon of the city.
It’s a community effort, as local citizens are encouraged to help plant and maintain the gardens. This offers an opportunity to socialize as well as to learn about planting, cultivating and harvesting food.
An Andernach resident spoke to DW,“I often drop by to pick some herbs that I’m missing at home. Everything is easily accessible. There aren’t any fences. You just take what you need. The only thing is that you have to be quick once the fruits are ripe or they’ll all be gone!”
Andernach may have been the first in German, but it isn’t the only edible city. It’s part of the Edible Cities Network, a project funded by European Union to connect green urban foot initiatives (方案) around the world. Other cities include Carthage in Tunisia, Havana in Cuba and Sempeter-Vrtojba in Slovenia. In February 2022, the first Edible Cities Network Conference took place. Dr Ina Saumel, principal investigator of the Edible Cities Network, called it “a unique opportunity to invite researchers of edible city solutions and practitioners all together.”
Ultimately, the Edible Cities Network aims to give people “greener, more edible and, above all, more livable cities.” It is a response to the pressures of global climate change, and a significant cause full of hope.
1. What can residents do in public green spaces according to the edible city project?| A．Sell the produce they grow there. | B．Learn something about dealing with people and planting. |
| C．Cook whatever plant as they like. | D．Pay to pick some vegetables and fruits there. |
| A．Creative and popular. | B．Conventional and costly. |
| C．Common and fundamental. | D．Rare and unacceptable. |
| A．Andernach is the only city to carry it out. | B．European Union originally established it. |
| C．It helps combine theories with practices. | D．It invites people to share meals together. |
| A．To help residents relieve their pressure. | B．To involve residents in urban planting. |
| C．To increase the produce supply in cities. | D．To create environmentally friendly cities. |
4 . Gong Linna, well-known Chinese musician and founder of Chinese New Art Music, put her music teaching methods to practice for the first time at the Tracing Roots practice concert and music festival of the Affiliated High School of Peking University on May 23.
The first song of the concert, Search High and Low, is an allusion (暗指) to the classical poem Li Sao(离骚), “The road ahead will be long. I shall search high and low.” “It’s arranged to be sung by all performers, indicating that we should all search high and low for our roots,” Gong says.
To explore the education and the popularization of Chinese music, in 2017, Gong established a research and development team, which includes ethnomusicologist, Du Yaxiong, and music historian, Zhao Zhongming, to introduce her music teaching methods and summarize the vocal skills of Chinese music.
Gong believed that the popularization of Chinese music should rely on primary and secondary schools rather than music academies. The children’s passion for music and their outstanding performance amazed Gong, “When singing, they are completely absorbed in the music. Music brings light and richness to one’s spiritual world. So, learning to sing is never about passing examinations, but about enjoying the music.”
Lu Yueming, instructor of the school’s art center, said, “The children worked really hard and kept in mind Gong’s instructions. Seeing their performance, I know that they truly fell in love with traditional Chinese music.”
Lu Yueming, instructor of the school’s art center, said, “The children worked really hard and kept in mind Gong’s instructions. Seeing their performance, I know that they truly fell in love with traditional Chinese music.”
“Seeing the children perform my pieces, I realized I should write more songs for them,” Lao Luo, Gong’s husband said proudly. “It’s a great encouragement for me to see how much they like the songs, and they really need content related to Chinese culture.” With an international vision, Gong will continue to write songs based on Chinese folk music or ancient poems.
Gong said children should learn about the beauty of Chinese music. Only when you know about your own sounds, can you have cultural confidence.
1. Why is the song Search High and Low arranged at the concert?| A．Because Gong is a famous Chinese musician. |
| B．Because people are expected to search their roots. |
| C．Because Gong’s music teaching method is practical. |
| D．Because Gong wants to introduce her music teaching method. |
| A．Music academies. | B．The support of the government. |
| C．Primary and secondary schools. | D．Famous musicians across the country. |
| A．She will train more children to study abroad. |
| B．She will perform more concerts to promote Chinese music. |
| C．She will help children learn about the beauty of various types of music. |
| D．She will write more songs based on Chinese folk music or ancient poems. |
| A．Creating Music Makes You Confident |
| B．Gong Linna — Chinese Folk Music Instructor |
| C．Music Education Helps Gain Cultural Confidence |
| D．Chinese Music: Development, Instruments |
5 . “While extroverts (性格外向者) often make great first impressions with their outgoing manner and lively personalities in interviews, that value and reputation at work diminish (削减) over time.” says Corinne Bender, an associate professor of management.
“Extroverts disappoint us over time when they’re part of a team,” Bender says. “On a team you’re expected to work hard and contribute a lot. But they’re often poor listeners, and they don’t cooperate.”
“On the other hand, introverts (性格内向者) work hard on a team because they care what others think of them. They don’t want to be seen as not pulling their weight or contributing 100%,” Bender says.
So while companies may be attracted to hiring extroverts because they impress managers greatly in job interviews, bosses also may want to consider whether the extrovert they are considering will be a valuable team player, Bender says.
Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins, two writers, agree and say managers should recognize the strengths of introverted employees, such as their ability to put themselves in others’ shoes.
“These team members are often easygoing, which can make them exceptional mentors (良师益友) to more junior staff or particularly good sounding boards when you interact with them in one-on-one situations,” Su says.
“Managers must try to help introverts find their voice,” Wilkins says. “Help them see that speaking up is not about self-promotion or being in conflict but rather about offering the team key insights, making better decisions or increasing the efficiency for all.”
What about those extroverts who never seem to be at a loss for words? Should managers cut them off? Managers definitely should weigh in on how an extrovert is affecting others. Wilkins suggests saying something in private to make adjustments.
1. What do we know about outgoing people according to Bender?| A．They are often good listeners. |
| B．They tend to perform well in interviews. |
| C．They often make great contributions. |
| D．They are often good at cooperating. |
| A．Doing their full share of work. |
| B．Making good choices. |
| C．Trusting others. |
| D．Trying to share their thoughts. |
| A．Critical. | B．Approving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Promote more introverts. |
| B．Learn to work more efficiently. |
| C．Avoid conflict among employees. |
| D．Encourage introverts to speak up. |
6 . Winning a remarkable science award is really a big deal, especially if you are 12 years old. But Shanya Gill, a middle schooler from San Jose, California, won the top award in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge for designing a fire detection system that is superior to existing ones, as stated in the press release.
“The top winners have exhibited boundless curiosity,” Maya Ajmera president and CEO of Society for Science, said in the press release. “Their remarkable research not only reflects their talent but also paves the way for an exciting new future.”
Shanya’s inspiration came after a fire destroyed a restaurant in her neighborhood during the summer of 2022, reported The Washington Post. “I had never really experienced something like that before,” she told The Washington Post about the early morning fire at Holder’s Country Inn, which started in the kitchen. “They had smoke detectors, and yet it still burned down,” she added.
After she studied fire statistics, Shaya spent over a year developing a fire detection system that she believes could have prevented the fire. Unlike traditional smoke detectors that sense active fires from the smoke in the air, Shanya’s thermal (热的) imaging device is designed to stop fires from occurring.
With a thermal camera and a tiny computer, the device detects when a heat source has been left unattended for ten minutes and sends a text message warning. Shanya wants to bring the costs down to make it even more common than hardwired smoke detectors.
“Shanya saw a problem, went after it and tried to solve it, and that’s what we need to encourage with all young people,” said Ajmera. She also highlighted the significance of supporting individuals, especially girls and kids of color, in STEM fields.
1. What can we learn about Shanya from the first two paragraphs?| A．She gained a lot of money in the award. |
| B．She showed a curious nature as a schooler. |
| C．She set a big stage for young people her age. |
| D．She was junior to other winners in performance. |
| A．Her desire to win the science award. |
| B．Her experience of a destructive fire |
| C．Her interest in computer programming. |
| D．Her goal to improve STEM education for girls. |
| A．It can send out a warning against a potential fire. |
| B．It consists of two parts that are easier to conduct. |
| C．It can detect active fires from the smoke in the air. |
| D．It functions when a fire breaks out within 10 minutes. |
| A．Reliable. | B．Cooperative. | C．Innovative. | D．Generous. |
7 . Laughter comes in many forms, from a polite and quiet laugh to a great hearty laugh. Scientists are now developing an AI system to recreate different laughs in proper social contexts. The team behind the laughing robot Erica said that the system could improve natural conversations between people and an AI robot. “We think that one of the important functions of conversational AI is empathy(共情),” said Dr Koji Inoue, the lead author of the research. “So we decided that one way a robot can empathize with its users is to share their laughter.”
The team have set out to teach their AI system the art of conversational laughter. They gathered training data from more than 80 daily dialogues between male subjects and the robot that was initially operated by four actresses remotely. The dialogue data was grouped into social laughs (where polite or embarrassed laughter isn’t involved) and laughter of joy. Based on the audio files, the algorithm(算法) learned the basic characteristics of social laughs, which tend to be softer, and merry laughs, with the aim of mirroring these inappropriate situations.
“Our biggest obstructor in the work was identifying the actual cases of shared laughter because as you know, most laughter is actually not shared at all,” said Inoue. “We had to carefully decide exactly which laughs we could use for our analysis and we couldn’t just assume that any laugh can be responded to. It was really not easy work.” The team said laughter could help create robots with their own distinct character although it could take more than 20 years before it would be possible to have a casual chat with a robot like we would with a friend.
“One of the things we’d keep in mind is that a laughing robot or algorithm will never be able to understand you or the meaning of laughter,” points out Prof. Sandra Wachter of the Oxford Internet Institute. “But with their development, they might get very good at tricking you into believing they understand what’s going on.”
1. Why did Inoue’s team develop the AI system?| A．To better understand human empathy. |
| B．To promote the social skills of robots. |
| C．To explore the differences between laughs. |
| D．To assist robots in identifying people's moods. |
| A．Repeat the details of the 80 dialogues |
| B．Distinguish people by hearing their laughs |
| C．Recreate a scene played by the four actresses |
| D．Master the features of laughs provided by data. |
| A．Potential. | B．Barrier. | C．Alternative. | D．Division. |
| A．Are AI systems going beyond human ability? |
| B．Can conversational AI really understand us? |
| C．Laughing robots are round the conner. |
| D．Robots become laughing masters. |
8 . Developed by US company OpenAI, ChatGPT has got viral, winning 100 million internet users since it came out in November 2022. People can ask the robot to write stories and emails, create instructions for cooking a certain food, translate languages, and answer all kinds of questions. In its own words, it is “a language model trained in a large amount of internet text to help users get human-like text.”
There are many benefits of drinking plenty of fluids, but the key benefits when it comes to your fitness are: keeping your body at peak performance, delivering nutrients to your body and regulating your
Compared with Siri or other chatbots, ChatGPT uses a much bigger information center for training. It also uses stronger software and hardware to learn things by itself. For example, if it provides a wrong answer to your question, you can tell it the right one and it will correct itself. “It’s a totally different chatbot,” computer scientist Liu Xiaoguang from Nankai University said. “The knowledge level ChatGPT shows is the same as a university student. That’s why it shocked the world.”
But one big problem with ChatGPT is that it makes mistakes or even gives false information. When Rezza, a 28-year-old from Indonesia, used the robot to write an passage, it “gave out many examples which other writers actually hadn’t mentioned at all”, he told a local newspaper. Since the robot is trained using words from the internet, it can also pick up biases (偏见) about certain groups. These are all things that need to be dealt with.
1. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 1?| A．Done harm to the internet. | B．Brought strong wind and heavy rain. |
| C．Become popular overnight. | D．Caused serious changes of the weather. |
| A．It can find mistakes by itself. |
| B．It works differently from other chatbots. |
| C．Its information center is easier to control than Siri’s. |
| D．Its knowledge level is as high as a university student. |
| A．ChatGPT needs improvement. | B．Anybody may give false information. |
| C．Anybody can make mistakes. | D．ChatGPT can’t get on well with humans. |
| A．ChatGPT is Coming! | B．ChatGPT is Catching the World’s Eyes! |
| C．Can ChatGPT Take the Place of Humans? | D．Can ChatGPT Avoid Biases Properly? |
9 . Progress means the act of going forward. Making any kind of progress can make us healthy and happy in life. By setting and actively working towards our goals, we can make progress in our life.
To make more progress in life, start looking at problems in a different way. Whatever happens, if we think positively, it can be useful and helpful. We need to know that problems are part of our life. After we solve problems one after another, we can make more progress and become stronger.
Having confidence is helpful for us to make progress. Confidence comes from different places, such as proper education, training or having good relationships. We should also stay with people who believe in our success and actively support us. These people can help push us towards progress.
Slow progress is still worth celebrating. Just as the old saying goes, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” Progress usually comes a lot more slowly than we expect. Even if progress is slow, try not to be worried. One important thing is that we keep making progress towards our goals, and another is that we clearly remember what our goals are all the time. The actual speed isn’t so important.
The road to progress is not always smooth. Most progress often comes with setbacks along the way. Sometimes, maybe it feels like we’re taking one step forward and three steps back, but it won’t always be like that. Keep going towards our goals and we can much more easily make the progress we want.
Progress doesn’t always happen in a straight line. As long as we keep working, we will achieve higher levels.
1. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ______.| A．the reasons for making more progress | B．the advantages of thinking positively |
| C．how to look at problems | D．how to solve problems |
| A．The people who get a proper education. | B．The people who give us plenty of advice. |
| C．The people who give us trust and support. | D．The people who are confident in themselves. |
| A．It often goes smoothly. | B．It still means progress. |
| C．It sometimes stops progress. | D．It always gives us a clear mind. |
| A．Prizes. | B．Advantages. | C．Excuses. | D．Difficulties. |
10 . My 83-year-old mother came to live with me a year ago last November. She was very ill and I had to put my life on hold to care for her.
Each morning, I got her up and dressed her and made her breakfast and sat with her. I rushed for a bowl when she felt sick, and lit fires to keep her warm. I cooked and talked her into eating some. It’s a hard job caring for a sick or dying parent, whoever you are. But it was especially hard for me, I feel, because I am a doctor myself. I couldn’t help looking at her in two different ways. The medical professional saw a body and checked it with the cold heart that medicine requires. But the daughter saw the woman who had given birth to me, sent me off to college and had been an important role for a long time in my life for over half a century.
Also, my mother didn’t appreciate how hard it was for me to care for her. I remember an exchange between her and the nurse who came to see her once a week.
“You could get some more help with care.” “Oh, I don’t think I need that,” Mom said.
Mom didn’t understand that the help would have taken some of the hard work off me. None of the treatments her doctors gave her worked, and finally her life became about free of pain. She refused painkillers (止痛药) for a long time, but finally the pain beat her. And when she accepted painkillers she accepted the fact that she would die.
Illness and needs took us across personal boundaries (边界) I’d never considered before. And yet, while living and being and dying with Mom I saw something valuable coming. We became closer. We shared so many stories from our past that it was as if our memories had become one.
In the past our relationship had been difficult. We had often argued. But when the end came, both of us simply accepted that we looked at the world in different ways. We were daughter and mother and we loved each other. That was all that mattered.
1. Why was taking care of her mom especially hard for the writer?| A．She was too busy living her own life. |
| B．She and her mom had a difficult relationship. |
| C．She was too old to look after her mom carefully. |
| D．She regarded her mom both as a patient and a loved one. |
| A．she felt very upset. | B．she was surprised. |
| C．she showed her thanks to the nurse. | D．she thought she needed a more helpful nurse. |
| A．the writer’s mom was a kind and gentle woman. |
| B．it was easier for the writer to take care of her mom as a doctor. |
| C．the writer was getting on better with her mom while taking care of her. |
| D．the writer’s mom had difficulty understanding what the nurse said. |
| A．Love was more important than differences. | B．Being alive was the most important thing. |
| C．We should learn to understand other people. | D．It was better for family members to live their own. |
