1 . When I mentioned to some friends that we all have accents, most of them proudly replied, “Well, I speak perfect English/Chinese/etc.” But this kind of misses the point.
More often than not, what we mean when we say someone “has an accent” is that their accent is different from the local one, or that pronunciations are different from our own. But this definition of accents is limiting and could give rise to prejudice. Funnily enough, in terms of the language study, every person speaks with an accent. It is the regular differences in how we produce sounds that define our accents. Even if you don’t hear it yourself, you speak with some sort of accent. In this sense, it’s pointless to point out that someone“has an accent“. We all do!
Every person speaks a dialect , too. In the field of language study, a dialect is a version of a language that is characterized by its variations of structure, phrases and words. For instance,“ You got eat or not? ”(meaning “Have you eaten?” ) is an acceptable and understood question in Singapore Oral English. The fact that this expression would cause a standard American English speaker to take pause doesn’t mean that Singapore Oral English is “wrong” or “ungrammatical”. The sentence is well-formed and clearly communicative, according to native Singapore English speakers’ solid system of grammar. Why should it be wrong just because it’s different?
We need to move beyond a narrow conception of accents and dialects — for the benefit of everyone.
Language differences like these provide insights into people’s cultural experiences and backgrounds. In a global age, the way one speaks is a distinct part of one’s identity. Most people would be happy to talk about the cultures behind their speech. We’d learn more about the world we live in and make friends along the way.
1. What does the author think of his/ her friends’ response in paragraph 1?| A．It reflects their self confidence. |
| B．It reflects their language levels. |
| C．It misses the point of communication. |
| D．It misses the real meaning of accents. |
| A．To justify the use of dialects. |
| B．To show the diversity of dialects. |
| C．To correct a grammatical mistake. |
| D．To highlight a traditional approach. |
| A．Learn to speak with your local dialect. |
| B．Seek for an official definition of accents. |
| C．Appreciate the value of accents and dialects. |
| D．Distinguish our local languages from others’. |
| A．Favourable | B．Intolerant |
| C．Doubtful | D．Unclear |
2 . After years of observing human nature, I have decided that two qualities make the difference between men of great achievement and men of average performance curiosity and discontent. I have never known an outstanding man who lacked either. And I have never known an average man who had both. The two belong together.
Together, these deep human urges (驱策力) count for much more that ambition. Galileo was not merely ambitious when he dropped objects of varying weights from the Leaning Tower at Pisa and timed their fall to the ground. Like Galileo, all the great names in history were curious and asked in discontent, “Why? Why? Why?”
Fortunately, curiosity and discontent don’t have to be learned. We are born with them and need only recapture them.
“The great man,” said Mencius (孟子), “is he who does not lose his child’s heart.” Yet most of us do lose it. We stop asking questions. We stop challenging custom. We just follow the crowd. And the crowd desires restful average. It encourages us to occupy our own little corner, to avoid foolish leaps into the dark, to be satisfied.
Most of us meet new people, and new ideas, with hesitation. But once having met and liked them, we think how terrible it would have been, had we missed the chance. We will probably have to force ourselves to waken our curiosity and discontent and keep them awake.
How should you start? Modestly, so as not to become discouraged. I think of one friend who couldn’t arrange flowers to satisfy herself. She was curious about how the experts did it. How she is one of the experts, writing books on flower arrangement.
One way to begin is to answer your own excuses. You haven’t any special ability? Most people don’t; there are only a few geniuses. You haven’t any time? That’s good, because it’s always the people with no time who get things done. Harriet Stowe, mother of six, wrote parts ofUncle Tom’s Cabinwhile cooking. You’re too old? Remember that Thomas Costain was 57 when he published his first novel, and that Grandma Moses showed her first pictures when she was 78.
However you start, remember there is no better time to start than right now, for you’ll never be more alive than you are at this moment.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ________.| A．propose a definition |
| B．make a comparison |
| C．reach a conclusion |
| D．present an argument |
| A．Trial and error leads to the finding of truth. |
| B．Scientists tend to be curious and ambitious. |
| C．Creativity results from challenging authority. |
| D．Greatness comes from a lasting desire to explore. |
| A．Observe the unknown around you. |
| B．Develop a questioning mind. |
| C．Lead a life of adventure. |
| D．Follow the fashion. |
| A．Gaining success helps you become an expert. |
| B．The genius tends to get things done creatively. |
| C．Lack of talent and time is no reason for taking no action. |
| D．You should remain modest when approaching perfection. |
| A．Curious Minds Never Feel Contented |
| B．Reflections on Human Nature |
| C．The Keys to Achievement |
| D．Never Too Late to Learn |
3 . Eliana Yi dreamed of pursuing piano performance in college, never mind that her fingers could barely reach the length of an octave (八度音阶). Unable to fully play many works by Romantic-era composers, including Beethoven and Brahms, she tried anyway — and in her determination to spend hours practicing one of Chopin’s compositions which is known for being “stretchy”, wound up injuring herself.
“I would just go to pieces,” the Southern Methodist University junior recalled. “There were just too many octaves. I wondered whether I was just going to play Bach and Mozart for the rest of my life.”
The efforts of SMU keyboard studies chair Carol Leone are changing all that. Twenty years ago, the school became the first major university in the U.S. to incorporate smaller keyboards into its music program, leveling the playing field for Yi and other piano majors.
Yi reflected on the first time she tried one of the smaller keyboards: “I remember being really excited because my hands could actually reach and play all the right notes,” she said. Ever since, “I haven’t had a single injury, and I can practice as long as I want.”
For decades, few questioned the size of the conventional piano. If someone’s hand span was less than 8.5 inches — the distance considered ideal to comfortably play an octave — well, that’s just how it was.
Those who attempt “stretchy” passages either get used to omitting notes or risk tendon (腱) injury with repeated play. Leone is familiar with such challenges. Born into a family of jazz musicians, she instead favored classical music and pursued piano despite her small hand span and earned a doctorate in musical arts.
A few years after joining SMU’s music faculty in 1996, the decorated pianist read an article in Piano and Keyboard magazine about the smaller keyboards. As Leone would later write, the discovery would completely renew her life and career.
In 2000, she received a grant to retrofit a department Steinway to accommodate a smaller keyboard, and the benefits were immediate. In addition to relieving injury caused by overextended fingers, she said, it gave those with smaller spans the ability to play classic compositions taken for granted by larger-handed counterparts.
Smaller keyboards instill many with new confidence. It’s not their own limitations that have held them back, they realize; it’s the limitations of the instruments themselves. For those devoted to a life of making music, it’s as if a cloud has suddenly lifted.
1. What is the similarity between Eliana Yi and Carol Leone?| A．Their interest in jazz extended to classical music. |
| B．Short hand span used to restrict their music career. |
| C．They both joined SMU’s music faculty years ago. |
| D．Romantic-era composers’ music was easy for them. |
| A．To reduce the number of octaves. |
| B．To incorporate Bach into its music program. |
| C．To provide fair opportunities for piano majors. |
| D．To encourage pianists to spend more hours practicing. |
| A．Confident. | B．Frustrated. | C．Challenging. | D．Determined. |
| A．Who Qualifies as an Ideal Pianist? |
| B．Traditional or Innovative Piano? |
| C．Hard-working Pianists Pays off |
| D．The Story behind Retrofitted Pianos |
4 . If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping, I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insect bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me.
The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer.
I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.
| A．This time there was no tent. |
| B．Things are going to be improved. |
| C．The trip they took me on was a rough one. |
| D．I was to learn a lot about camping since then, however. |
| E．I must say that I have certainly come to enjoy camping. |
| F．After the trip, my family became quite interested in camping. |
| G．There was no shade as the trees were no more than 3 feet tall. |
5 . In 1953, when visiting his daughter’s maths class, the Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner found every pupil learning the same topic in the same way at the same speed. Later, he built his first “teaching machine”, which let children tackle questions at their own pace. Since then, education technology (edtech) has repeated the cycle of hype and flop (炒作和失败), even as computers have reshaped almost every other part of life.
Softwares to “personalize” learning can help hundreds of millions of children stuck in miserable classes—but only if edtech supporters can resist the temptation to revive harmful ideas about how children learn. Alternatives have so far failed to teach so many children as efficiently as the conventional model of schooling, where classrooms, hierarchical year-groups, standardized curriculums and fixed timetables are still the typical pattern for most of the world’s nearly 1.5 billion schoolchildren. Under this pattern, too many do not reach their potential. That condition remained almost unchanged over the past 15 years, though billions have been spent on IT in schools during that period.
What really matters then? The answer is how edtech is used. One way it can help is through tailor-made instruction. Reformers think edtech can put individual attention within reach of all pupils. The other way edtech can aid learning is by making schools more productive. In California schools, instead of textbooks, pupils have “playlists”, which they use to access online lessons and take tests. The software assesses children’s progress, lightening teachers’ marking load and allowing them to focus on other tasks. A study suggested that children in early adopters of this model score better in tests than their peers at other schools.
Such innovation is welcome. But making the best of edtech means getting several things right. First, “personalized learning” must follow the evidence on how children learn. It must not be an excuse to revive pseudoscientific ideas such as “learning styles”: the theory that each child has a particular way of taking in information. This theory gave rise to government-sponsored schemes like Brain Gym, which claimed that some pupils should stretch or bend while doing sums. A less consequential falsehood is that technology means children do not need to learn facts or learn from a teacher—instead they can just use Google. Some educationalists go further, arguing that facts get in the way of skills such as creativity. Actually, the opposite is true. According to studies, most effective ways of boosting learning nearly all relied on the craft of a teacher.
Second, edtech must narrow, rather than widen, inequalities in education. Here there are grounds for optimism. Some of the pioneering schools are private ones in Silicon Valley. But many more are run by charter-school groups teaching mostly poor pupils, where laggards (成绩落后者) make the most progress relative to their peers in normal classes. A similar pattern can be observed outside America.
Third, the potential for edtech will be realized only if teachers embrace it. They are right to ask for evidence that products work. But skepticism should not turn into irrational opposition. Given what edtech promises today, closed-mindedness has no place in the classroom.
1. According to the passage, education technology can ________.| A．decrease teachers’ working load |
| B．facilitate personalized learning |
| C．help standardize curriculums |
| D．be loved by schoolchildren |
| A．The students who are better at memorization tend to be less creative. |
| B．Schools with bans on phones have better results than high-tech ones. |
| C．Shakespeare was trained in grammar but he penned many great plays. |
| D．Lu Xun’s creativity was unlocked after he gave up studying medicine. |
| A．at the service of teaching |
| B．limited in use among pupils |
| C．aimed at narrowing the wealth gap |
| D．in line with students’ learning styles |
| A．To stress the importance of edtech. |
| B．To introduce the application of edtech. |
| C．To discuss how to get the best out of edtech. |
| D．To appeal for more open-mindedness to edtech. |
6 . Have you tried to run or walk for exercise and then given up? If you answered yes, you should try a new kind of exercise: aquatic (水中的) exercise. Aquatic exercise is like exercise on land, but you do it in a swimming pool. More and more people are trying aquatic exercise now.
Aquatic exercise feels easier than exercising on land. Why? You weigh about 90% less in the pool. It is better for your knees than running or walking. Water is about 1,000 times thicker and heavier than air. To move through the water, your body has to work four times as hard. As a result, you can burn more calories (卡路里).
In fact, most people say they feel more relaxed in the water. They stop thinking about the things that make them worried. They feel in control of their bodies. The cool, quiet environment makes them feel good.
But what if you are afraid of the water? No problem! There is nothing to worry about. Aquatic exercise is safe and easy to learn. It doesn’t require any special skills. You don’t even need to know how to swim. Aquatic exercise is for everyone.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Difference between air and water. |
| B．Weight change of one’s body. |
| C．The advantages of aquatic exercise. |
| D．The ways to do aquatic exercise. |
| A．Relaxing. | B．Worrying. |
| C．Challenging. | D．Boring. |
| A．done in groups | B．fit for everyone |
| C．difficult to learn | D．done with special skills |
| A．Culture. | B．Health. |
| C．Nature. | D．Travel. |
7 . This month, the Internet was flooded with wonderful digital art portraits, thanks to the work of the latest artificial intelligence-assisted application to go viral: Lensa. Users uploaded their photographs to the App and then—for a small fee—it used AI to transform their profile pictures into, say, a magical warrior princess version of themselves, in no time at all.
This year has seen a breakthrough for AI-driven image generators, which are now better than ever in quality, speed and affordability. If that sounds great to you, you might not be one of the millions of humans whose livelihoods depend on being able to exchange those skills for money.
Some artists predicted that a computer would recreate the aura of a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci in the near future. As long as there are enough data for the AI to train itself, it can copy numerous masterpieces just in several minutes. It seems unavoidable that a large number of artists would lose their jobs.
“I see it less as a threat and more of an opportunity,” the UK-based illustrator Michelle Thompson said, adding, “Like everything else, there will always be artists who can use the tools better.”
These tools are only as good as the data sets they are trained on. Human imagination, on the other hand, has no limit. For Dryhurst, an artist from Germany, AI models “could attempt to make a pale version of something we did years ago”, but that “doesn’t account for what we might do next”.
The kind of artificial intelligence we might imagine replacing artists—an entirely autonomous creative robot—does not yet exist, but it is coming. And as AI becomes more universal, artists, illustrators and designers will ultimately be set apart not by if, but by how, they use the technology.
1. Why does the author mention Lensa in Paragraph 1?| A．To recommend the new App. | B．To inform latest news. |
| C．To lead in the AI topic. | D．To introduce its new function. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Favorable. | C．Unclear. | D．Critical. |
| A．Accuracy. | B．Diversity. | C．Creativity. | D．Efficiency. |
| A．Is AI coming into our daily life? | B．Can AI copy masterpieces of great artists? |
| C．Shall we welcome new AI technology? | D．Will AI replace artists in the future? |
8 . Life in the summertime is often full of pests. Like most Long Island homeowners, I want to ensure my suburban life with pest-free living. So it was with wide-eyed wonder that I greeted the smiling exterminator who rang my bell.
“We'll be serving your neighbors, Mike and Sarah (I'm not familiar with either one by name).” he waved in the other direction. “Since we'll have a team here tomorrow, we're offering a discount.” He came out with numbers beginning from $299 then in seconds to $89.
“You've probably been seeing the ant hills around.” he moved toward my front walkway and lawn. “And have you seen the bees that dig nests in the ground?” he continued with his head shaking up and down pushing me to do the same.
“What we do is spray three feet out from your foundation and three feet up.” As he was talking and without breaking eye contact, he opened his iPad cover and began operating at the screen to show me frightening images. “It also kills other pests, like spiders. It is the best pesticide,” he said, pausing for effect.
He then went into soft talk to close the deal, correctly foreseeing that I would be concerned about safety and the environmental impact on my vegetable garden, plants and our little patch of planet here on Long Island. “The products are environmentally responsible, safe with children and pets,” he said.
I'm unkind when it comes to unwanted visitors entering on my out-of-doors moments. Any insect found in my house or on my deck is bound to be poisoned or pancaked.
Unfortunately for the exterminator, just as I was considering making an appointment. Billy, my fearless husband, pulled into our driveway, which made me ask for a business card out of politeness instead.
1. How did the author feel at the sight of the exterminator?| A．Frightened. | B．Disappointed. | C．Surprised. | D．Puzzled. |
| A．A free pesticide. | B．A discount. | C．An iPad for free. | D．A group rate. |
| A．It might cause frightening images. | B．It might be too expensive for her to afford. |
| C．It might harm her family and surroundings. | D．It might have no effect on unwanted visitors. |
| A．The author is sure to phone the salesman later. |
| B．Billy made up his mind to purchase the pesticide. |
| C．Billy drove home to prevent the author from being cheated by the exterminator. |
| D．The author had planned to buy the pesticide before Billy appeared. |
9 . Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,” Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,” says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”
1. Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?| A．To remember the birth of jazz. |
| B．To protect cultural diversity. |
| C．To encourage people to study music. |
| D．To recognize the value of jazz. |
| A．Jazz becoming more accessible. |
| B．The production of jazz growing faster. |
| C．Jazz being less popular with the young. |
| D．The jazz audience becoming larger. |
| A．It will disappear gradually. |
| B．It remains black and white. |
| C．It should keep up with the times. |
| D．It changes every 50 years. |
| A．Exploring the Future of Jazz. |
| B．The Rise and Fall of Jazz. |
| C．The Story of a Jazz Musician. |
| D．Celebrating the Jazz Day. |
10 . Spending time outdoors has long been linked (联系) to better health. Gardening goes beyond just beautifying outdoor spaces—it can have a deep effect on our physical and mental (身心上的) health.
Gardening involves physical activity that works all the main muscle (肌肉) groups, which is helpful for overall health. “Activities such as digging, planting, weeding and harvesting require movement and can help to improve strength,” said Clayton, CEO of an online lawn care company. “Performing these activities regularly can help burn calories, and keep a healthy weight.”
Beyond burning calories and building muscle, lots of studies have shown that gardening can improve the immune system (免疫系统). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week, and gardening is listed as a suitable activity. Doing garden work for that time each week can reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. Additionally, spending time outdoors makes us get close to natural sunlight, which is important for vitamin D synth.
Gardening provides a chance for social connection, too. It can be a shared activity among family members, friends or neighbors, building relationships and a sense of belonging.
Gardening also offers cognitive (认知的) benefits. It excites the senses, improves focus and encourages problem-solving and creativity. It provides a chance to learn about plants, ecosystems and the environment, developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature.
1. What is Clayton’s attitude towards gardening?| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear | D．Uncaring. |
| A．It improves focus. | B．It is a waste of time. |
| C．It can keep a body in shape. | D．It helps to reduce the risk of diseases. |
| A．It contributes to creativity. | B．It encourages problem-solving. |
| C．It builds relationships between people. | D．It improves people’s awareness of safety. |
| A．How to Start a Garden | B．Choose a Garden or Not |
| C．What Plants Grow Best in a Garden | D．Start Gardening and Get the Health Benefits |
