1 . In a heartwarming incident that highlights the power of human connection, a woman’s act of kindness saved the life of a struggling homeless man.
During a
Casey went over to engage him in
After
Upon opening the
Casey posted on social media later that day that “this lovely man’s name was Chris, and Chris was one of the most
| A．holiday | B．break | C．gap | D．pause |
| A．recognized | B．dominated | C．spotted | D．consulted |
| A．Basically | B．Repeatedly | C．Eventually | D．Amazingly |
| A．afford | B．deliver | C．abuse | D．guarantee |
| A．experiment | B．reputation | C．argument | D．conversation |
| A．Touched | B．Persuaded | C．Frustrated | D．Criticized |
| A．tea | B．coffee | C．gift | D．seat |
| A．dynamic | B．reliable | C．precise | D．mean |
| A．restored | B．spoke | C．enhanced | D．complained |
| A．realizing | B．convincing | C．disturbing | D．acquiring |
| A．leave | B．wait | C．skip | D．bless |
| A．reward | B．message | C．apology | D．excuse |
| A．book | B．door | C．note | D．essay |
| A．pursuits | B．welfare | C．reasons | D．hope |
| A．sincere | B．negative | C．enthusiastic | D．hardworking |
2 . Alongside her impressive musical career, Leona Lewis is also the owner of a vegan (素食主义的) coffee shop, Coffee And Plants. She has great enthusiasm for the coffee shop and reveals the drink flavors that they’ve been working on lately. “We’ve just rolled out our new pumpkin drink at the coffee shop. It’s called Pumpkin Pie, and it’s really good! We use all real pumpkin puree, not flavored syrup.”
Coffee And Plants is a real passion project for Lewis, being fully plant-based. She has a long history of animal activism (行动主义), starting with going vegetarian (素食者) at the age of 12 after going on shopping trips with her mum and seeing protesters with animal testing signs. “I was so upset, I said, ‘Mum, I have to help the animals’,” she says. “That became my mission as a kid, and it’s fed into every aspect of my life.”
Her animal activism grew alongside her fame: in 2011 she supported a campaign to ban the use of wild animals in circuses, and in 2013 she released a cruelty-free makeup line with The Body Shop. When it came to opening a coffee shop, making it plant-based was a no-brainer.
“I wanted it to be plant-based because I’m plant-based,” she says. “I would often go into coffee shops and see milk cartons piled up high and think, how many cows are being milked for this? The dairy industry and mass farming—it’s so cruel and harms the environment too.”
Environmental awareness is also at the heart of Coffee And Plants, with all cups being recyclable. But ultimately, Lewis is hoping for a more widespread mindset shift. “What we really try and get people to do is actually bring in their own bottles to refill, or we encourage them to sit in and have a coffee in a cup instead,” she explains. “We need a mindset shift where we start to think, OK, we shouldn’t really be using stuff that just goes in the bin.”
1. What does the phrase “rolled out” underlined in the first paragraph mean?| A．improved | B．discovered | C．denied | D．launched |
| A．She hated to eat animal meat. | B．She wanted to protect animals. |
| C．She was inspired by her mom. | D．She was given a great mission. |
| A．To show Lewis influence on business. |
| B．To compare Lewis’ different activities. |
| C．To prove that the makeup line is plant-based. |
| D．To give an example of Lewis’ animal activism. |
| A．People have to start using reusable things. |
| B．The mind shift is quite easy to accomplish. |
| C．People shouldn’t use cups in the coffee shop. |
| D．Only vegetarians can go into the coffee shop. |
3 . Artificial intelligence(AI)models have long surpassed (超过) just creating text responses and images. Now, with only one sentence, OpenAI’s latest text-to-video model, Sora, can turn your words into video with good visual quality while faithfully following your content instructions.
Sora is said to perform better than many other existing models with similar functions. The Al model can create video at suitable aspect ratios (屏幕高宽比) for different devices, such as both widescreen videos and vertical videos that we usually see on social media. It also lets users quickly test out content in lower quality before making the high-quality version, which helps speed up output.
Aside from this, its ability to present videos in a realistic and smooth manner is amazing. Sora can create detailed scenes with several characters, scientific types of motion, and accurate subject and background details while generating multiple shots with a single video. Beyond the user’s requests, it also understands how these elements exist in the real world. For example, reflections in the water changes as a woman walks by.
Sora’s performance wouldn’t be possible without its helpful assistant, ChatGPT, which transforms simple sentences into detailed descriptions. improving the accuracy of output according to the user’s prompts (提示语).
However, the current model isn’t perfect. It may have trouble accurately showing how things move in a complicated scene and might not get how one action leads to another. For example, if someone eats part of a cookie in a Sora-made video, the cookie might not look like it’s been bitten into. The model might mix up directions like left and right, and find it hard to describe events in the right order.
As of February, Sora is still in the testing stage of development. OpenAI is now inviting cybersecurity professionals to make random attacks on Sora’s system, aiming to test the model’s possible weaknesses and risks. Sora has also been open to some visual artists, designers and filmmakers. Their feedback (反馈) will assist OpenAI in enhancing the model to better serve creative professionals.
1. What is the main focus of paragraphs 2-3?| A．Sora’s strengths. | B．Sora’s variety. |
| C．Sora’s development. | D．Sora’s techniques. |
| A．By specifying user input. | B．By providing verbal feedback. |
| C．By examining sample videos. | D．By improving video quality. |
| A．To stress Sora’s potential safety risks. |
| B．To illustrate Sora’s existing limitations. |
| C．To show Sora’s perfect performance. |
| D．To explain the concept of a space time patch. |
| A．It has been made available to various industries. |
| B．Its commercial release has been called off. |
| C．It has exposed alarming security issues. |
| D．It is undergoing testing and improvement. |
4 . When Zhou Longshan started filming birds 10 years ago at Baiyangdian Lake, a major wetland in northern China, he just wanted to record his favorite species—egrets. Then, things snowballed. In the following years, the teacher became a bird-watcher, a volunteer ranger at the lake, a photographer documenting over 110 bird species and an educator popularizing bird-related information among students.” Sharing bird-protection knowledge with children can make them feel the beauty of their hometown and the importance of birds, and help them cultivate the habit of protecting birds from an early age,” he says.
Over time, Zhou’s interest in birds continued to grow. In 2021, he was appointed as a bird observer by the natural resources bureau (自然资源局) of Anxin county, responsible for conducting regular patrols (巡逻) and popularizing bird-related knowledge. To monitor birds, Zhou would ride a bike to Baiyangdian almost every day before dawn, whatever the weather. He would record the birds appearing at the lake, along with their locations, where they fed and when they migrated, thus providing reference data for staff members of the natural resources bureau of Anxin county.
Although Zhou takes delight in the role, there are still many challenges. Sometimes, he has to navigate earth embankments on his bike. One summer day in 2021, he fell into a ditch with water more than a meter deep, resulting in water damage to his cellphone.
However, these difficult episodes have not undermined Zhou’s love of birds. Over the years, he has taken more than 100,000 pictures of the birds at Baiyangdian. During his spare time, he reads books on China’s birds, talks with other enthusiasts and university professors, and updates his WeChat official account to introduce Baiyangdian to a wider audience.
These days, Zhou’s schedule is growing busier. In addition to his regular patrols near the lake, he is sometimes invited to local schools to give lectures, keeping students informed about birds and how to protect them. Zhou will retire next month. “I will continue patrolling the lake and photographing the birds to contribute to the protection of birds in my hometown,” he says.
1. Why did Zhou start taking photos of birds at first?| A．To share bird-protection knowledge with children. |
| B．To cultivate the habit of protecting birds. |
| C．To keep track of his favorite species. |
| D．To become a volunteer ranger at the lake. |
| A．He rode a bike to Baiyangdian every day before dawn. |
| B．He went to Baiyangdian in all weathers. |
| C．He recorded all the birds along with their locations. |
| D．He provided reference data for natural resources bureau. |
| A．He didn’t meet any challenges while doing the job. |
| B．He reads books about birds all over the world in his free time. |
| C．He is invited to local schools to give lectures every day. |
| D．He uses social media to introduce Baiyangdian to more people. |
| A．Enthusiastic and controlling. | B．Knowledgeable and persistent. |
| C．Farsighted and reserved. | D．Considerate and stubborn. |
5 . Carillon Canal National Historic Site
The Carillon Canal, built on the Ottawa River for military purposes, was opened in 1833. Located 100 kilometres from Montreal and 130 kilometres from Ottawa, it is today a pleasure boating waterway.
Things to do
The Carillon Canal is fed by the water of the Ottawa River. The Canal opens a huge gate to enable boats to sail an impressive 20-metre drop in just 40 minutes!
Have a family picnic in beautiful scenery, then visit the old barracks (营房) which are now a museum. Curious to see a huge power station up close? Visits are free of charge.
Opening hours
The national historic site is open every day of the year from sun rise to 11 p. m.
Fees
Site access is free. Otherwise, there are fees for locking and overnight mooring(停泊).
When is the Canal the busiest?
From mid-June to the end of August, and especially during the following vacation periods and holidays:
·Fete Nationale du Quebec (June 24th).
·Canada Day (July 1st).
·Summer vacations.
·Labour Day(the first Monday of September).
·Thanksgiving.
What are the best times for sailing?
To avoid waiting lines, experience the Carillon Canal during the quieter periods, i. e. before June 24th, and later in early autumn, from Labour Day to mid-October. In this way, you’ll discover these wonderful places at your own pace, without pushing through the crowd that might have had the same idea as you, and you’ll gain the peace of mind to sail in complete relaxation!
1. What do we know about the Carillon Canal?| A．It was originally for educational purposes. |
| B．It is now visited by boaters for pleasure. |
| C．It enjoys a high reputation for its 20-metre drop. |
| D．It was formed naturally on the Ottawa River. |
| A．Mooring overnight. | B．Staying overnight in old barracks. |
| C．Exploring a power station. | D．Passing through locks. |
| A．July 1st to July 24th. | B．October 24th to October 31st. |
| C．June 1st to June 24th. | D．August 24th to June 30th. |
6 . It was July 15, 2021, and my friends had helped me celebrate my 31st birthday in the basement apartment of my sister’s home, where I lived.
Earlier in the day I had prepared for the unlikely event of a flood. We are about a third of a mile from the banks of the Ahr River. It had been raining that week, and authorities had issued a flood warning, though not for where I was. Still, I’d placed sandbags on the floor outside my garden door and piled clothing on tables. Before my friends left, they laughed at me for doing that, but I thought, “Why take a chance?”
As I went to sleep, I was awakened by the sound of rushing water. When I swung my legs off the bed, I was shocked by the sensation of cold-water lapping against my knees and rising fast. The Ahr River had violently burst its banks. And I had to get out fast!
The water was now up to my waist. I started to wade to my only escape: the door that leads upstairs to the rest of the house. Finally, I made it to the door. I managed to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough to squeeze through and make it into the hallway. I leaped onto the stairs and ran to the third floor.
The river had drowned the neighborhood. What was once a lovely, cozy street was now a waterscape. More than 180 people died, and parts of villages were entirely washed away. Many of the houses around us were destroyed. Not everyone got out.
I came close to drowning that day. But rather than dwell on that, I prefer to recall what my mother told me afterward, “Christian, don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you survived.”
1. What does the underlined word “that” refer to?| A．Celebrating a birthday. | B．Managing the garden. |
| C．Warning friends of a flood. | D．Preparing for the flood. |
| A．To let the water out. | B．To keep things being swept away. |
| C．To reduce the flow of water. | D．To escape to the upstairs. |
| A．Its cause. | B．Its damage. | C．Its scale. | D．Its process. |
| A．To show his hope for the future. | B．To indicate the loss of everything. |
| C．To highlight the power of flooding. | D．To stress the role of good luck. |
7 . Just by typing a few keywords and waiting a few seconds, a picture comparable to that painted by a human artist appears on screen.
AI art generators have seemingly swept the Chinese Internet. In some paintings created by AI, an elderly man can be shown as a young animated image, and pets can be turned into adorable cartoon girls or boys.
Huang Ge, an illustrator from Shanghai, said that it usually takes him several hours or days to complete one illustration. But with AI art generators, the efficiency is greatly improved. “Also, the generators have many modification (修改) modes, and the picture can be modified directly in the painting software,” he added. Ding Jiao, a comic artist, considers the popularity of AI art generator s reasonable as many people who are not good at drawing can create great works through them.
So is Al painting gradually replacing human painting? In the hot topic “Using a picture to prove that human artists will never be replaced by Al” online, many netizens uploaded their paintings to prove that humans are better than AI. “Though Al technology has developed rapidly, AI cannot fully replace humans. The warmth and inspiration in human creations are irreplaceable,” said Ding Daoshi, an independent analyst.
Another controversial issue is that there is no consensus (共识) of who owns the copyright of AI art. Some users have openly sold their AI paintings and earned money, but it is still a gray area about whether these artworks belong to users, the digital tool developers or even AI.
Ding Daoshi noted that the various sides should get together to debate the issue and come up with some accepted rules as soon as possible because AI is already penetrating deeply into the lives of human beings.
1. Why does the author mention “an elderly man” and “pets” in Paragraph 2?| A．To show the popularity of AI art generators. |
| B．To illustrate the disadvantage of AI art generators. |
| C．To prove the significance of AI art generators. |
| D．To present the powerful function of AI art generators. |
| A．The efficiency of AI art generators. | B．The benefits of AI art generators. |
| C．The popularity of AI art generators. | D．The functions of AI art generators. |
| A．Whether human artworks will be replaced by AI artworks. |
| B．Who AI artworks will really belong to. |
| C．Whether human artists are better than AI art generators. |
| D．How AI painting can play a supportive role. |
| A．A done deal. | B．A give-and-take attitude. |
| C．An ill-defined situation. | D．A hard-to-get game. |
8 . As kids’ behaviour reaches crisis points after the pandemic, many schools are facing pressure from critics to rethink their approaches to discipline.
Approaches such as “restorative justice” were adopted widely in recent decades as educators updated the policies that cut off students’ access to learning, such as suspensions and expulsions (停学和开除). But more students have been acting out, and some school systems have faced questions from teachers, parents and lawmakers about whether a gentle approach can effectively solve problems that disrupt (扰乱) classrooms.
According to federal data, instances of misbehavior have been increasing since students returned to classrooms from the pandemic. A National Center for Education Statistics survey found 56% of respondents said the pandemic led to increased classroom disruptions from students’ misbehavior and 48%said it led to more acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff.
Rachel Perera studies education at the Brookings Institution. “There’s a lot of pressure on schools right now,” she said. “Schools also say they don’t have the resources to address more behavioral problems, and I worry that that will cause schools to fall back on old practices that are not effective in terms of supporting students in the way they need.”
Using restorative justice does not mean a school cannot remove a disruptive student from the classroom, said Thalia González, a professor at the UC College of the Law. But unlike other forms of discipline, restorative practices aim to deal with the root cause of students’ behavior and reintegrated them into classroom.
“That’s the problem with punitive discipline such as suspensions and expulsions,” González said. “You get removed and then you just come back. There’s nothing done to reintegrate into the community and rebuild the climate, the sense of safety, all the things that we know are so important to young people learning.”
1. What do we learn about “restorative justice” according to Paragraph 2?| A．It cuts off students’ access to learning. |
| B．It’s favored by both teachers and parents. |
| C．It’s less serious than suspensions and expulsions. |
| D．It’s more effective than suspensions and expulsions. |
| A．An increase in students’ misbehavior. | B．Ways to deal with students’ misbehavior. |
| C．An improvement on students’ performance. | D．Resources to address behavioral problems. |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Confused. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Why are schools relying on restorative justice? |
| B．Is restorative justice an effective problem-solving approach? |
| C．How do schools make use of restorative justice? |
| D．What sets restorative justice apart from other discipline methods? |
9 . Have you ever wondered what happens to your mobile phones and laptops after you throw them out to make way for a newer model? According to its latest Global E-Waste Monitor, India is the third top producer of e-waste in the world. E-waste in Indian landfill goes on to pollute soil and groundwater, affecting food supply systems and water sources.
Thankfully, the country has a new group of artists who are changing these thrown mechanical items-from mobile phones to old televisions- into large murals (壁画) and artworks to creatively show their concern for the waste problem.
Over the past quarter of a century, Mumbai’s Haribaabu Naatesan has transformed hundreds of tonnes of e-waste into art, integrating elements from nature and industry. “I get my waste material from friends, relatives and neighbours who know my interest in e-art and send me bags of thrown electronic appliances,” says Naatesan. Over his career, he has created huge murals for several companies. He has also showed his work at the India Art Fair, as well as several other national displays.
Another artist Vishwanath Davangere has also long worked with e-waste. He likes to take apart old laptops and reassemble (重新组装) them into birds, animals and plants. After retirement, he started pursuing this hobby more seriously and started selling his creations across the world. His most outstanding works include a robotic Egyptian statue with glowing red eyes and a Milky Way made from keyboard keys. He hopes to enable others to reconsider their own consumption habits and make more environmentally conscious choices.
“By giving e-waste a second chance, I aim to raise awareness about the environmental impact of electronic waste.” says Davangare, who today has a collection of more than 600 eco-art objects.
1. Why do the artists create artworks from E-waste?| A．To promote their artistic career. | B．To update electronic appliances. |
| C．To make profits for several companies. | D．To express their environmental concern. |
| A．His creations are displayed globally. | B．He gains support from people around. |
| C．He has been creating e-art for 10 years. | D．His works integrate technology and history. |
| A．Reliable. | B．Confident. | C．Devoted. | D．Generous. |
| A．E-waste Recycling Sweeping the World | B．Environmental Problems Worrying Indians |
| C．An Art Movement Turning Trash into Cash | D．Indian Creatives Transforming E-waste into Art |
10 . Released on Aug 30, a three-episode web series titled Escape From the British Museum has gone viral online for its touching and innovative narrative (叙事). The series follows the journey home of a Chinese jade teapot that has come to life as a girl. She runs away from the British Museum and comes across a Chinese journalist who helps the artifact return to China. The series, created by two Chinese vloggers, aims to raise broader awareness of Chinese artifacts that were stolen or looted (掠夺) from China and are displayed or stored in the British Museum.
The video series echoes the Chinese people’s call for the British Museum to return these Chinese artifacts. However, some UK media outlets said that the video series promotes nationalism (民族主义). In fact, every country whose artifacts are displayed or stored in the British Museum wants them back. These countries, such as Greece, Nigeria and Sudan, have already issued their demands for the return of artifacts. It’s fair enough to say these demands are shared. They can correct centuries-old wrongs by having the UK return artifacts to their rightful homes.
An opinion in the UK newspaper The Telegraph said that if the British Museum gives back its collection of artifacts, then nationalism will win over humanity’s common heritage. It also said that the artifacts were “lawfully acquired (合法取得)” by the UK. By “lawfully acquired”, does the writer mean the artifacts were acquired with the “help” of machine guns and warships? Or does he mean that the cultural artifacts of African, Asian and American countries should be kept in the hands of looters, rather than in their land of origin?
1. What is the video series Escape from the British Museum mainly about?| A．Cultural artifacts looted by the UK. |
| B．Hidden dangers in the British Museum. |
| C．The arguments about the British museum. |
| D．The journey of a Chinese artifact coming home. |
| A．Protests against UK’s nationalism. |
| B．The beauty of Chinese cultural artifacts. |
| C．The desire of stolen artifacts to be returned. |
| D．Efforts made by Chinese activists to get artifacts back. |
| A．To show the UK did something wrong in the past. |
| B．To stress China’s demands are shared by many countries. |
| C．To emphasize former colonized countries have grown stronger. |
| D．To highlight diverse artifacts are housed in the British Museum. |
| A．It’s totally unacceptable. | B．It’s a little bit reasonable. |
| C．It lacks enough evidence. | D．It shows the writer’s ignorance. |
