1 . When I imagine my future, I see myself as an adult who is confident in my abilities, doing a job I love and living my life _______. When I grow up, I will be enjoying more _________ brought by the advances in technology, with more time to pursue my _________ and enjoy the company of my family and friends. For these reasons, I look forward to the future as the happiest time of my life.

I will feel happy in the future because I will learn more about life and _________ into the best person I can be. I will become more knowledgeable about the world and myself. I will also handle more responsibilities and _________ problems in a more thoughtful manner.

_________ new technology, my future life is sure to improve in various ways. Homes will become _________ to the extent that they might be programmed to learn about our needs and _________ our health and activity. I can imagine hearing an AI voice _________ me to buy groceries or do more exercise! There will also be enormous advancements in __________ options. I will be riding in a self-driving car, and other new means of transport may be developed in the future. These __________ in technology are certain to make my future life more comfortable and convenient. The working day will be only four __________ long thanks to robots. Working less time means I can do __________ I enjoy most, such as spending time with family and friends, __________ in fun activities and learning new skills.

Thinking this way gives me the __________ to work hard now so that I can have a successful, fulfilling(令人满足的) and enjoyable future life.

1.

A．responsibly

B．importantly

C．differently

D．uncomfortably

2.

A．interests

B．experience

C．convenience

D．changes

3.

A．habits

B．hobbies

C．ideas

D．chances

4.

A．form

B．develop

C．expect

D．decide

5.

A．notice

B．find

C．change

D．solve

6.

A．Turn to

B．Devote to

C．Thanks to

D．Lead to

7.

A．smarter

B．worthier

C．worse

D．cuter

8.

A．warn

B．ignore

C．monitor

D．understand

9.

A．want

B．remind

C．ask

D．order

10.

A．learning

B．communication

C．work

D．transport

11.

A．benefits

B．advances

C．promises

D．challenges

12.

A．hours

B．days

C．minutes

D．weeks

13.

A．that

B．it

C．which

D．what

14.

A．enhancing

B．entertaining

C．engaging

D．encountering

15.

A．inspiration

B．motivation

C．appreciation

D．impression

2 . The recent launch of ChatGPT, a chatbot created by Open AI for public use, has underlined the growing reach of digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) in working life. Like most technological revolutions that affect the workplace, chatbots can potentially create winners and losers and will affect both blue-collar and white-collar workers.

ChatGPT is a natural language processing (NLP) tool that allows users to interact with the GPT-3 model using natural language. The model is trained on a great amount of data, which allows it to generate human-like responses to a wide variety of inputs.

This type of AI can greatly benefit the productivity of skilled workers. Chatbots offer the possibility to automate (使自动化) boring and time-consuming tasks, such as writing standardized reports, meeting minutes and emails. Workers could therefore be freed to focus on more important and creative tasks. A chatbot virtual personal assistant could guide skilled workers through different projects or production processes. It can also generate original content and ideas, and potentially help to research and develop new products and services.

But tools such as ChatGPT presents a real risk of skilled and semi-skilled workers losing their jobs. For example, chatbots can be developed to train employees in an organization, resulting in the unemployment of human trainers.

Previous waves of technological change have created both winners and losers. Workers who are quicker to adjust to technological change will win by increasingly taking on tasks complementary (互补的) to AI while giving up automated ones.

1. In this passage, what is the impact of AI like ChatGPT on?

A．Work.

B．Entertainment.

C．Sports.

D．Life.

2. In paragraph 3, how many benefits of Chatbots are mentioned?

A．2.

B．3.

C．4.

D．5.

3. According to the text, faced with technological revolutions, what had workers better do?

A．They continue ahead with their automated jobs and work harder.

B．They do other things while keeping up with the automated ones.

C．They give up automated jobs and just learn as much AI knowledge as possible.

D．They adapt to the change by doing other things to form a good combination with AI.

3 . I love making art and looking at artworks. I’ve found myself wondering how we gain pleasure from art. And now neuroaesthetics, a combination of neuroscience (神经科学) and aesthetics (美学), may provide an answer.

Neuroaesthetics is a relatively young field of research on what happens in the brain when we make aesthetic assessments. Researchers use brain imaging technique to see which brain areas light up when we view paintings that we consider beautiful. Similar research has been done to understand the “neuronal fireworks” that occur when we look at inspiring sculptures, attractive faces, impressive dance, etc.

But why do we find some art beautiful and other art ugly? According to research, it all comes down to the “aesthetic triad (三元组合)”.

The first part of the triad is sensory-motor. This involves perceiving things like colours, shapes and movements. Movement in art has an interesting role. If you see a painting of a movement, like of a man pulling his arm away after being bitten by a dog, you feel like going through a similar experience. The part of your brain that controls your own movements lights up in response.

Second is emotion-valuation. This is how a piece of art makes you feel, and whether or not you appreciate or enjoy that feeling. The part of the brain related to pleasure is activated in response to something we find beautiful. This system can be affected in fascinating ways, as found by research using transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) (经颅磁刺激). If TMS is applied to a specific part of your brain behind your forehead that is particularly important for decision-making, you suddenly like different kinds of art. Such stimulation produces significant changes in aesthetic appreciation of faces, bodies and artworks.

The third part is meaning-knowledge. This is to do with how we can connect with a piece of art and what meaning we can create in it. Art is deeply personal, because when two people see the same artwork, our perception can create vastly different experiences of meaning. If we find meaning, then we often find pleasure. We also get enjoyment from the knowledge of how something was made. For the images that an artist creates, viewers will probably get far more enjoyment once they know the process used to create them.

Informed by neuroaesthetics, the next time I create my art I will value the process even more, enjoying the activation of the aesthetic triad in my brain as I admire the vivid images that I have created.

1. What does “neuronal fireworks” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A beautiful painting or sculpture.	B．The lighting-up of specific brain areas.
C．An advanced brain imaging technology.	D．The aesthetic assessment of modern art.

2. What effect does movement in art produce on the viewers?

A．Certain part of their brain is activated.	B．Their experience of pain is reduced.
C．Their aesthetic sense is sharpened.	D．Their body reactions are delayed.

3. The application of TMS to the brain described in Paragraph 5 leads to__________.

A．raised memory capacity	B．enhanced painting skills
C．changed artistic taste	D．improved decision-making ability

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To propose an abstract theory of art making.

B．To reveal the beauty of science in an artistic way.

C．To share some personal understanding of artworks.

D．To introduce a new research field for art appreciation.

4 . While teenagers who are at risk of depression with risky behaviors — drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and cutting classes often alert parents and teachers that serious problems are brewing, a new study finds that there’s another group of adolescents who are in nearly as much danger of experiencing the same mental symptoms.

These teens use tons of media, get insufficient sleep and have a sedentary (不爱活动的) lifestyle. Of course, that may sound like a description of every teenager on the planet. But the study warns that it is teenagers who engage in all three of these practices in the extreme that are truly in a dangerous position. Because their behaviors are not usually seen as a red flag, these young people have been called the “invisible risk” group by the study’s authors.

The study’s authors surveyed 15,395 students and analyzed nine risk behaviors, including excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking and high media use. Their aim was to determine the relationship between these risk behaviors and mental health issues in teenagers. The group that scored high on all nine of the risk behaviors was most likely to show symptoms of depression; in all, nearly 15% of this group reported being depressed, compared with just 4% of the low-risk group. But the invisible group wasn’t far behind the high-risk set, with more than 13% of them exhibiting depression.

The findings caught Carli off guard. “We didn’t expect that,” he says. “The high-risk group and low-risk group are obvious, but this third group was not only unexpected. It was so distinct and so large—nearly one third of our sample—that it became a key finding of the study.”

Carli says that one of the most significant things about his study is that it provides new early warning signs for parents, teachers and mental health-care providers. And early identification, support and treatment for mental health issues, he says, are the best ways to keep them from turning into full-blown disorders.

1. What does the underlined word “adolescents” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Authors.

B．Scientists.

C．Teenagers.

D．Babies.

2. Which teenager probably belongs to the “invisible risk” group?

A．A teenager who suffers from lack of sleep.	B．A teenager who skips school.
C．A teenager who drinks frequently.	D．A teenager who exercises regularly.

3. What can we know about the new study?

A．It was intended to dig into the reasons for depression.

B．Its findings were under expectation of the research team.

C．It revealed an alarming rate of the invisible group suffering depression.

D．It was conducted by analyzing and comparing the previous data.

4. In which part of the newspaper can you read this passage?

A．Literature.

B．Culture.

C．Geography.

D．Health.

5 . Humans work hard to avoid viruses. Sick people are isolated, diseased animals are killed and fields of infected crops are fired up. Reviving (复活) an ancient virus would surely be a disaster.

But a new study led by Fiddamanfrom Oxford, challenges this conventional wisdom. It shows how the revival of an ancient virus can unlock the secrets of its evolution.

The virus in the study is Marek’s disease virus(MDV), killing more than 90% of chickens. Yet when it was discovered in 1907, MDV rarely caused death.

Dr Fiddaman wondered whether its new-found virulence (毒性) was a result of large structural changes. To find out, he and his colleagues got their hands on nearly 1,000 chicken bones from ancient times across Europe and Asia, some of them up to 2000 years old. Sections of DNA from these remains were mapped onto the ones of today’s virus.

As the authors pieced together the sets of genes of ancient MDV, however, they noticed that the genes were arranged identically to those in modern species. It suggests that the increased virulence resulted not from large structural changes, but from point mutations (突变). In particular, changes had occurred in the arrangement of a gene called MEQ, which has an essential role in tumour (肿瘤) formation.

This discovery suggests that the ancient MDV may not have been able to cause tumours. To test this assumption, Dr Fiddaman followed up with a daring experiment. He made the ancient form of the MEQ gene and shoot it into living chicken cells. It did not turn on any of the genes associated with tumour formation. In comparison, a modern MEQ gene quickly showed its tendency to cause tumours.

By combining ancient and modern genetic biology, the methods pioneered in the paper reveal how, and more importantly why, any virus mutates. That could help scientists tackle other viruses that pull on the purse-strings of farmers—by designing new vaccines (疫苗), for instance—or even to work out how to prevent another global pandemic.

1. What does the underlined phrase “were mapped onto” mean in paragraph 4?

A．were restricted to	B．were opposed to
C．were compared with	D．were filled with

2. What caused the virulence change of MDV?

A．Point mutations in MEQ.	B．The occurrence of a new gene.
C．The reproduction of the ancient MDV.	D．Large structural changes in modern species.

3. How did Dr Fiddaman test the assumption?

A．By investigating a typical case.	B．By conducting a field survey.
C．By studying the related theories .	D．By doing a comparative experiment.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Viruses weaken gradually when they mutate.

B．The finding throws light on handling other viruses.

C．A global pandemic requires a world effort to end it.

D．Farmers will face more complex challenges than before.

6 . Rolland and Adeline are proud parents to nine beautiful children. Their youngest two, daughter Lanto, and son, Rindra, were both born with cleft lip (唇裂) conditions. In Madagascar, many families have never seen a cleft lip before, so it’s a condition often greeted with fear and misfortune in some rural communities.

However, the news of Lanto and Rindra’s cleft lip wasn’t much of a shock for Rolland and Adeline because Rolland’s cousin—a man in his fifties — had lived his entire adult life with an untreated cleft lip. Although seeing a relative with a cleft lip meant the family weren’t fearful of the condition, they knew the negative impact an untreated cleft lip can have on a person’s health and life. As all loving parents would, Rolland and Adeline wanted a better future for their children.

Rolland heard an advertisement on the radio about an Operation Smile surgical programme in Antsirabe, Madagascar. Finding out that Rindra and Lanto could have the cleft lip surgery they needed, for free, was a dream for the family. Unlike here in the UK, health services aren’t free in many parts of the world, and the costs of treatment — or even travelling to reach medical facilities — are out of reach for most families.

When Rolland and his children arrived at the patient village, they were surprised to see so many other families in the same position. After a thorough medical evaluation by medical volunteers, Lanto was found to be fit enough for surgery, and later got the new smile her parents had dreamed of for her. But, for younger brother Rindra, the journey to a new smile would take a little longer.

Operation Smile has provided hundreds of thousands of safe surgeries for children with cleft lip conditions worldwide. For more information about our work or to find out how you can help, visit www.operationsmile.org.

1. What do most people think of cleft lip in Madagascar?

A．It is incurable.

B．It is normal.

C．It is unavoidable.

D．It is unlucky.

2. What kept the couple from being scared of their children’s situation?

A．Their relative’s experience.	B．Their children’s smile.
C．Their love for their children.	D．The advertisement they saw.

3. What should be done just before deciding on the surgery according to the text?

A．Paying for the surgery.	B．Staying in hospital.
C．Having a health check.	D．Seeking for a doctor.

4. What is the main purpose of the information in the last paragraph?

A．For donations.

B．For copyright.

C．For commitment.

D．For clarification.

7 . Welcome to University of Waikato. Our mission is to create a welcoming environment in which residents feel comfortable, safe and a sense of belonging.

Student Village and Waikato Apartments

Waikato Accommodation Services offers two types of residential accommodation:Student Village and Waikato Apartments.

Student Village consists of fifteen independent units. Each contains five bedrooms,toilet facilities, and a shared kitchen with a fridge and cupboard. There is also a games room and a TV room.

Waikato Apartments are situated in a three-level apartment building. Each level has four apartments containing six bedrooms, toilet facilities, and a kitchen. Each level has a shared area with a TV, a study desk and easy chairs.

Housekeeping and Maintenance

Housekeeping staff service all shared areas. Residents are responsible for keeping their rooms, kitchens and shower rooms clean and tidy.

Maintenance staff ensure necessary repairs to facilities are made. If your room or other shared area needs maintenance, please inform the Accommodation Office. Maintenance staff may be required to enter your room to tend to a maintenance request-this will be prearranged.

Termination (终止) of Residence and Checking Out

You are required to pay accommodation fees for the full period of the residency contraot.At the end of your contract you must arrange a time with the office staff to check out. A room inspection will take place and you will be responsible for payment for any damage or missing items. If you fail to check out in this manner, the staff will hold an inspection in your absence and assess whether any payment is required.

1. What facilities are available in both Student Village and Waikato Apartments?

A．Kitchen and TV.	B．Study desk and fridge.
C．Cupboard and study room.	D．Games room and toilet facilities.

2. The responsibility of the maintenance staff includes        .

A．cleaning shower rooms

B．fixing a broken window

C．monitoring these of kitchen facilities

D．making plans for Accommodation Office

3. Which of the following is the passage probably taken from?

A．A study-tour brochure.	B．A university newspaper.
C．A campus notice.	D．A student guidebook.

8 . At the school Art Festival, I was asked to design the costumes for three school plays. Everyone was ________ to see the actors wear my costumes on stage. This experience has made me realize that I am really good at ________ and have a talent for fashion design, which has inspired me to ________ fashion design as my job. That way, I can ________ work with my interests and strengths. To find out how to ________ the field of fashion design, I did some ________ about what kind of education and skills I might need.1 ________ that many premier fashion designers studied at fashion design institutes in London, Paris or Milan. I also keep a(n)________ on job ads for the fashion industry to see what abilities or ________ designers should have.

After much thought, I decided to ________ these skills and get the right qualifications by studying art at university. While I am there, I would like to work part-time for a fashion design company in order to ________ from other designers. Actually, I don’t have to wait until I go to university to swing into ________ as there will be a workshop in my city next month which I am hoping to _________.

After graduation, I will ________ a job as a fashion designer. One day, I hope to start my own ________ company.

1.

A．determined

B．amazed

C．awkward

D．downhearted

2.

A．drawing

B．acting

C．sculpture

D．architecture

3.

A．challenge

B．admire

C．pursue

D．preserve

4.

A．provide

B．compare

C．restore

D．combine

5.

A．get into

B．get through

C．get over

D．get across

6.

A．training

B．research

C．quiz

D．schedule

7.

A．pretended

B．persuaded

C．perceived

D．reminded

8.

A．head

B．eye

C．back

D．foot

9.

A．flexibility

B．appearance

C．drawbacks

D．qualities

10.

A．apply

B．demonstrate

C．sharpen

D．acquire

11.

A．learn

B．withdraw

C．benefit

D．resign

12.

A．motion

B．action

C．position

D．operation

13.

A．attend

B．negotiate

C．acclaim

D．organize

14.

A．conduct

B．submit

C．land

D．recollect

15.

A．accounting

B．consulting

C．cleaning

D．clothing

9 . Polar bear mothers invest a huge amount into their cubs (幼兽), isolating themselves in dens (兽穴) dug with great effort into piles of snow to provide care through the unforgiving conditions of Arctic winter. It’s little wonder that the bears are hesitant to leave when disturbed, even when oil drilling equipment is in operation nearby.

“We found that bears wouldn’t abandon their dens even with vehicles driving right overhead,” says Wesley Larson, who worked his way from office assistant to a graduate student position with Utah’s Brigham Young University, monitoring polar bears on Alaska’s North Slope.

Scientists have recorded an increase in human-wildlife conflict in the area, as offshore pack ice has decreased, forcing the bear population to create their dens closer to petrol industry activity. With increased industry interest in oil and gas leasing (租赁) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, strong evidence to help support and carry out protective measures for the species has never been more important.

Wildlife managers in Alaska depend on a rule that industrial activity and research cannot take place within 1.6 km of a den with newborn babies in it. Working with15years of monitoring records, and 30 years of notes concerning interactions between the industry and the bears, Larson and colleagues were able to confirm that the regulation was sufficient, but that more needed to be done to actively locate dens. He explains that with entrances quickly covered by snow and dens closed-up until spring, they are effectively undetectable to the naked eye.

“While technology such as forward-looking infrared cameras can be used to try to pick up a heat signature inside the den, it only works when conditions are perfect, and they rarely are in Arctic winter,” says Larson. He is now consulting on a project using radar technology to identify dens and ensure protection for the animals symbolic of the Arctic.

1. Why does the author mention polar bear mothers in paragraph 1?

A．To attract sympathy for the polar bears.

B．To condemn human activities that damage nature.

C．To show the severe environment polar bears live in.

D．To explain polar bears’ unwillingness to leave their dens.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 3?

A．Pursuit of economic interest threatens polar bears’ existence.

B．Protective measures were not considered important in the past.

C．Human activities have led to the reduction of offshore pack ice.

D．The development of petrol industry has forced the bears to leave.

3. What is Larson’s attitude towards the regulation of human activities in Alaska?

A．Critical.

B．Approving.

C．Concerned.

D．Vague.

4. What does the author want to convey in the passage?

A．Attention should be paid to protecting polar bears.

B．Technology should be applied to identify polar bears.

C．More efforts are necessary to monitor polar bear dens.

D．It’s very difficult to successfully locate polar bear dens.

10 . Watford and her family have lived in Curtis Bay, Baltimore for generations. Her community has faced environmental crisis. Heavy industries continued to move into her community. As a result, her neighbors have had to live with serious respiratory (呼吸的) problems.

When she knew a plan to build the nation’s largest trash-burning incinerator (焚化炉) less than a mile away from her high school, she realized she had to take action. The incinerator was being sold wrongly as clean, renewable energy equipment but actually it would be a source of brain-damaging chemicals and would release 200 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, both worse than coal burning. Watford felt she had a responsibility to warn her community to work together to shut this plant down.

She co-founded Free Your Voice (FYV),a 10-person student organization devoted to community rights and environmental protection. Together, they decided to start a campaign to take down Energy Answers, the incinerator’s developer. They went door-to-door talking to neighbors and organizing protests.

When it was discovered that Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) was going to be a customer of Energy Answers, the organization fought with the board and presented their case, urging BCPS to withdraw from the project. BCPS was convinced to cancel their contract, which in turn inspired 22 other customers to do the same. Without any financial gain, Energy Answers had no market to move forward with its plan.

Watford continues to work with Curtis Bay residents towards a hospitable living environment. They have a vision for the future which includes building a zero-waste movement, a solar farm, and green jobs. She wants the entire human family to join the fight for a pollution-free environment because survival as a species depends on our joint efforts to take action.

1. What caused respiratory problems in Watford’s community?

A．Poor medical care.	B．Terrible environmental conditions.
C．Constant bacterial infection.	D．Unbalanced distribution of resources.

2. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?

A．Watford wanted nothing more than the carrying out of the plan.

B．The incinerator was located in a remote area far from residential areas.

C．The incinerator was misjudged as a source of pollution.

D．Watford was unwilling to escape the responsibility to resist the plan.

3. What was the result of their campaign?

A．BCPS lost financial support.	B．Energy Answers discontinued its plan.
C．The investors found new market.	D．Many customers revised their contracts.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．A teenage hero against urban pollution

B．A teenage hero fighting for an advanced city

C．A battle for Baltimore’s sky by a teenage hero

D．A battle for all human living conditions by a teenage hero