1 . Making a difference in someone’s life is a rewarding experience. During my time in college, I landed my first real _________ at a cafe. Out of all the _________ I served, an elderly gentleman named Jeff left a lasting impression on me. Every Saturday afternoon, he would drop in and _________ a medium coffee. Whenever I had a moment, I would _________ a conversation with him and over time, we got to know each other well.

After a year of working every weekend, I decided to leave and _________ my two-week notice. The most _________ part of quitting was not informing my boss, but _________ the news to Jeff. I felt quite _________, as if I was abandoning him. When I finally brought it up, he replied in a _________ voice, “Oh, that’s too bad. I’m sure that the staff will miss you.” I began to think that our visits held no real __________ to him, and that he would be just as content enjoying his food alone. __________, on my last day, Jeff came in with a card that simply read, “Your __________ during our time together is heartwarming. Few things have brought me more __________ than our weekly visits. Thank you.”

The sincere __________ I received for my small gestures was truly astonishing. Giving up my weekends for a year was a small price to __________ the remarkable impact of kindness.

1.

A．job

B．dream

C．goal

D．chance

2.

A．managers

B．employees

C．passengers

D．customers

3.

A．judged

B．ordered

C．admired

D．promoted

4.

A．end up

B．strike up

C．turn up

D．make up

5.

A．presented

B．rejected

C．received

D．ignored

6.

A．satisfying

B．surprising

C．challenging

D．encouraging

7.

A．hiding

B．making

C．breaking

D．accepting

8.

A．amused

B．shocked

C．disappointed

D．guilty

9.

A．delighted

B．bitter

C．calm

D．sad

10.

A．importance

B．hope

C．future

D．mistake

11.

A．Meanwhile

B．However

C．Moreover

D．Therefore

12.

A．talent

B．kindness

C．courage

D．creativity

13.

A．confusion

B．trouble

C．pleasure

D．fortune

14.

A．appreciation

B．devotion

C．education

D．inspiration

15.

A．admit

B．bear

C．expect

D．witness

2 . ChatGPT is an amazing artificial intelligence tool that has recently been released, along with other mind-blowing generative AI tools like Midjourney and DALL-E. These tools have the potential to revolutionize the way we create digital content, making it faster and cheaper.

However, there is a downside to these AI tools that cannot be ignored. What happens when they start replacing copywriters, journalists, customer service agents, and digital marketers? For years, experts have been warning that AI could threaten white-collar jobs, which were once considered safe from automation. Some even predict that up to 47 percent of jobs in the US could be at risk.

While no one can say for sure whether generative AI will cause mass job loss among highly educated workers, it is clear that it has the potential to disrupt the employment landscape. Tasks that were once considered impossible to automate are now becoming automatable. Whether or not jobs are removed, the essence of these jobs is likely to change.

Companies will always choose machines over humans when they can, and AI has the ability to perform tasks currently done by copywriters, digital content producers, and other professionals. This means that these jobs may soon undergo significant changes. However, it is important to note that AI cannot replace certain aspects of these jobs. It cannot conduct interviews, find historical documents, or assess the quality of studies. It lacks authority, understanding, and the ability to correct itself or generate genuinely new ideas.

This implies that while AI may create a vast amount of simpler content, it could also make original journalism more valuable and investigative journalists more productive. AI may be able to generate listicles and summaries of public meetings, but it is humans who will write in-depth stories. Experts believe that AI will ultimately help people use their expertise more effectively, and allow them to focus on areas where human intelligence is crucial.

While there is a risk that AI technologies could lead to sudden changes in the labor market, it is important to recognize the benefits of having such technology.

1. What’s the potential impact of generative AI tools on the employment market?

A．They may offer jobs faster and cheaper.

B．They may make the nature of certain jobs different.

C．They may cause mass job loss for white collars.

D．They may revolutionize the way digital content is created.

2. How can AI finally benefit professionals in the labor market?

A．By making positions more valuable.

B．By making their jobs more irreplaceable.

C．By removing the need for human expertise.

D．By enabling them to specialize in some key fields.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．AI has few benefits for employment.

B．AI is bound to take the place of mankind in the future.

C．AI can’t be completely independent of human wisdom.

D．AI can’t create genuinely new ideas or simpler content.

4. What is the overall point of the passage towards AI technologies?

A．They should be further perfected.

B．They should be accepted despite their risks.

C．They should be avoided to protect white-collar jobs.

D．They should be controlled to prevent mass job loss.

3 . A new international organization, ReShark, including partners from 15 countries and 44 aquariums, is challenging the shark statistics. According to National Geographic, ReShark’s goal is to release 500 endangered zebra sharks in Indonesian waters to increase a wild population that is on the edge of extinction. This is the first-ever attempt to reintroduce captive sharks into the wild.

Marine reintroductions present significant challenges due to the complexity and shortage of ocean life, as well as the difficulty in managing threats, according to National Geographic. Team ReShark understands that the reintroduction may go up in smoke. Unlike land animals that have been successfully reintroduced in the past, such as giant pandas in China, young sharks are more likely to suffer from diseases and be killed by other animals, and they struggle to find food on their own.

Sharks have a remarkable history as one of the oldest vertebrate species, surviving five mass extinctions over a period of 420 million years. They play an important role in marine ecosystems by influencing the ocean’s food chains. However, they are now facing the second-highest rate of disappearance. Research shows that more than 37 percent of the shark species are at risk of extinction due to overfishing, both legal and illegal. Sharks are hunted for their meat. Nearly 100 million sharks are killed by human hands each year, according to the organization Sentient Media.

Despite the alarming decline in shark populations globally, top shark scientists are hopeful that ReShark’s efforts will succeed. Given these challenges, Simon Fraser University ecologist Dulvy initially had some doubts about ReShark’s plans. However, after asking some questions, he was surprised by what the initiative could produce. “This initiative is different,” Dulvy explained. Similarly, Rima Jabado, Dulvy’s successor, recognized ReShark as a unique project that could provide a lifeline for endangered shark species. “It may provide an opportunity for species not to go extinct,” she said.

1. What’s the ReShark’s intention of releasing sharks?

A．To conduct shark data collection.

B．To study the living habits of sharks.

C．To save the endangered shark species.

D．To test new ways of keeping sharks.

2. What does the underlined part “go up in smoke” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Disappear.

B．Fail.

C．Work.

D．Influence.

3. How does the Paragraph 3 develop?

A．By giving examples.	B．By giving descriptions.
C．By making comparison.	D．By making classifications.

4. What does Rima Jabado think of ReShark’s project?

A．Special and promising.	B．Hopeful and effortless.
C．Risky and costly.	D．Doubtful and immature.

4 . Professor Kuniyoshi L. Sakai from the University of Tokyo is an enthusiastic musician, as are many of his colleagues. Inspired by a mode of musical training known as the Suzuki method, which is based on ideas of natural language acquisition (获得), Sakai and his team decided to explore common neurological (神经系统的) aspects of learning music and language.

“In the field of neuroscience, it is well established that there are areas of the brain that deal specifically with language, and even specialized regions that correspond to different aspects of language processing, such as grammar,” said Sakai. “We wondered if training using the Suzuki method might lead to activity in such areas, not when using language, but when engaging with music.”

For their study, the team classified 98 Japanese secondary school students into three groups: Groups S and E were both musically trained from a young age, with Group S using the Suzuki method while Group E not, and Group L was either musically trained at a later age or not trained at all. All the students had their brains scanned and were requested to identify errors in some pieces of music played to them, which had errors in one of four musical conditions: pitch (音高)，tempo (节奏), stress, and articulation (发音)。

During the exercises, Groups S and E showed more overall brain activity than Group L, especially under the pitch and articulation conditions. Furthermore, Groups S and E showed activity in very specific regions depending on the kind of error being tested for.

Interestingly, Group S showed some unique patterns of activation (激活) in areas of the right brain, associated with emotion and melody, under the tempo condition, supporting the ideas behind the Suzuki method.

“The striking observation was that regardless of musical experiences, the highly specific grammar center in the left brain was activated under the articulation condition. This might explain why everyone can enjoy music even if they aren’t musical themselves,” said Sakai. “Other researchers, perhaps those studying neurological characteristics of artistic experts, may be able to build on what we’ve found here. As for ourselves, we wish to dig deeper into the connection between music and language by designing novel experiments to find out more subtle details,” he added.

1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The research background.	B．The significance of the research.
C．Sakai’s comments on the Suzuki method.	D．Sakai’s previous scientific achievements.

2. What do the researchers want to confirm through their research?

A．Whether the Suzuki method can bring out the best in students.

B．Whether advanced language training can enhance musical skills

C．Whether music training promotes activity in certain brain areas.

D．Whether brain regions specialize in handling different aspects of language.

3. What did Groups S and E have in common?

A．Their performances under the tempo condition were alike.

B．Their active brain regions changed with the errors in music.

C．They received the same musical training before the research.

D．They were better at handling stress and articulation than Group L.

4. What can we learn about the researchers from the last paragraph?

A．They were uncertain about their findings.

B．They were unsatisfied with their experiments.

C．They’ll begin to study the neurological features of artistic experts.

D．They’ll further explore the link between music and language.

5 . Scientists have identified two minerals never before seen on Earth in a meteorite (陨石) weighing 15.2 metric tons. The minerals came from a 70-gram slice of the meteorite, which was discovered in Somalia in 2020, according to a news release from the University of Alberta.

Chris Herd, the curator (馆长) of the university’s meteorite collection, received samples of the space rock so he could classify it. As he was examining them, something unusual caught his eye—some parts of the samples weren’t identifiable by a microscope. He then turned to Andrew Locock, head of the university’s Electron Microprobe Laboratory, since Locock has experience of describing new minerals.

“The very first day he did some analyses, and he found two new minerals in there,” Herd said in a statement. “That’s extraordinary. Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral.”

One mineral’s name: elaliite, comes from the space object itself, which is called the “EI Ali” meteorite since it was found near the, town of EI Ali in central Somalia. Herd named the second one elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, an outstanding professor in that university’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and the principal investigator of NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission. “Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form,” Herd said. “It makes sense to name a mineral after her.”

Locock’s work went perfectly smooth for a reason. Similar minerals had been synthetically (合成地) created before, and therefore, he was able to match the composition of the newly discovered minerals with their human-made counterparts, according to the University of Alberta release. “It’s just accidental that a researcher will find a mineral in a meteorite that hasn’t been known before, and then that the same compound (化合物) has been created previously by materials scientists,” said Alan Rubin,a meteorite researcher.

Meanwhile, the researchers are still analyzing the minerals to find out what the conditions were in the meteorite when the space rock formed.

1. What did Chris Herd do after he found something unusual?

A．He sought external support.	B．He weighed the meteorite again.
C．He carefully preserved the samples.	D．He examined the rock with a microscope.

2. What impressed Chris Herd a lot?

A．The weight and volume of the meteorite.

B．The significant value of minerals in the meteorite.

C．Locock’s quick identification of two new minerals.

D．Locock’s professional analyses of the rock samples.

3. Why was one mineral named elkinstantonite?

A．To indicate the place where the meteorite was found.

B．To show the major component of the meteorite.

C．To remind people of who discovered the rock.

D．To honor Lindy’s contributions to science.

4. What made Locock’s smooth work possible?

A．The existence of similar artificial minerals.

B．The regular composition of the new minerals,

C．His rare ability to create new materials in labs.

D．His extensive cooperation with materials scientists.

6 . Become A Volunteer Tutor With LTB!

Learn To Be is a non-profit organization that brings free, one-on-one, online tutoring to under-served youth around the United States. We work with under-served students between the ages of 5 -18 on subjects that range from basic math and reading comprehension to chemistry. We want to live in a world where all kids have access to a great education - - not just those whose families can afford one.We work with 279 partners across the United States. Don’t hesitate to join us and help change the lives of under-served kids.

How it works

First, click here to fill out the application and we’ll notify you once you have been accepted.

Second, visit student profile pages and find the best student for you. Communicate with them and their family by email and work out the best day/time for tutoring. Third, meet your student in the Learn To Be virtual classroom and help them learn whatever they want!

Why join Learn To Be

When you help under-served kids do better in school, you can change their lives. If you’re here because you need school credits, we’ll give you support! We can also help you develop leadership skills. Join our private online community and become friends with NASA scientists, engineers, writers, historians and industry leaders in our community of thousands of volunteer tutors. You might find a mentor (导师) of your own!

A few notes

●You must be in the United States.

●You must be at least 14 years old and in high school or older.

●You must commit to tutoring once or twice per week.

●The application should include recording a short one -minute selfie (自拍) video.

1. What can we know about Learn To Be?

A．It assigns students to teachers automatically.

B．It has a worldwide reputation for being reliable.

C．It requires teachers to begin to work at a fixed time.

D．It provides completely free services for poor students.

2. What benefit can applicants gain from this job?

A．Chances to get promoted to a leadership role.	B．Opportunities to get enough school credits.
C．Lectures by people from all walks of life.	D．Free training in teaching skills.

3. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．An entertainment magazine.	B．An educational report.
C．A government document.	D．An institution website.

7 . “But everyone has one,” begs my son as I tell him that he won’t get a smartphone. Despite my determination, it’s hard not to feel sorry for him. As the end of Year 6 draws closer, the weeks are filled with stories of new classmates whose parents have, as one friend texted recently, “cracked”. Apps are springing up so that friends going to different secondary schools can easily keep in touch. But it pains me to see the anxiety and effect that smartphones cause. So I stick to my decision.

There is research conducted by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) showing that school bullying (欺凌) is more likely to happen on a device rather than face to face. School bullies aren’t new, but their ability to reach the sanctuary (庇护) of the home is a recent development. Headteacher Jon Boyes of Herne Bay High School told parents that they’d have to sort out arguments between pupils that had occurred online.

According to the research, children who were given a phone later went on to experience better mental well-being in relation to their self-confidence and their ability to relate to others. However, those who received a phone at a younger age were more likely to experience sad thoughts, feelings of aggression towards others and the sense that they were separated from reality.

Parents should be willing to consider the idea that it’s possible to refuse to follow the herd (人群) at least until their children are old enough to judge what they find on the Internet. There is power in questioning the idea that a smartphone is the only way to keep a child safe and ensure they have access to important friendships.

My son is only 10. He’s nowhere near ready to deal with the confusing and harmful garbage that he will no doubt find on the Internet. He hasn’t developed the emotional maturity to skillfully avoid the litter along his route. As his parent, why would I believe he could deal with what many adults struggle to get a handle on? Instead, I believe that he can survive with his old-fashioned phone. It turned out that he agreed.

1. What factor strengthens the author’s decision?

A．The text messages from a friend.

B．The poor relationship with her son.

C．The realization of smartphones’ disadvantages.

D．The exchange of class stories with other parents.

2. According to Ofcorn, what is the most likely cause of the recent school bullying?

A．Students’ face-to-face disagreements.

B．Serious academic competition among students.

C．Teachers’ wrong way of handling arguments.

D．Students’ unpleasant communication on the Internet.

3. What can we know about a 6-year-old smartphone user?

A．He may show better social skills.	B．He may have greater self-confidence.
C．He may have much mental suffering.	D．He may become quite ambitious.

4. What can we say about the author’s son?

A．He is very mature for his age.

B．He may continue using his old device

C．He is well prepared for life challenges.

D．He may strongly oppose his parents’ decision.

8 . Four Popular Online Classes

New Masters Academy

New Masters Academy offers drawing and painting classes that cover various topics. Classes are tailored to artists of every skill level.

The Library Plan costs about $49 for a month-to-month membership card ($36 per month when billed yearly). Alternatively ambitious artists can join the Library+ Plan for about $79 for a month-to-month membership card ($59 per month when billed yearly).

Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning platform that features courses on everything from web development to painting. The site really stands out for painting classes; students can explore different mediums.

Premium membership (高级会员) costs $13.75 per month ($165 when billed yearly). Premium members can download classes to their devices for viewing anytime.

The Ceramic (陶瓷) School

The Ceramic School is centered around ceramics. Individual courses and workshops are about $39 each. They cover introductory topics for beginners and also have advanced lessons.

Membership is also available for $29 per month or $290 for an annual membership card. The membership option includes access to two live workshops each month. The Ceramic School’s blog covers more business-related topics. You can also sign up for The Ceramics MBA to sell your ceramics or purchase some online.

International Center of Photography

The International Center of Photography (ICP)aims to promote photography.

Online students can choose courses ranging from photography fundamentals to street photography and portraiture (肖像画技法). The cost of online courses varies according to the topic and skill level but generally ranges from $35, up to about $1,000. Beyond ICP’s courses, students can join the center’s full-time certificate programs.

1. How much should an artist pay for the Library+ Plan membership if billed annually?

A．$432.

B．$588.

C．$708.

D．$948.

2. Which gives a member an opportunity to experience the joy of selling his own works?

A．Skillshare.	B．The Ceramic School.
C．New Masters Academy.	D．International Center of Photography.

3. What do the four online classes have in common?

A．They are all related to art.

B．They all feature painting classes.

C．They have the same length of class time.

D．They all provide month-to-month and annual membership.

9 . I recently had a conversation with a friend who was feeling very upset about work. Why? He thought his manager didn’t like him. He rarely heard much from his manager, and when his manager said something, it was about correcting some aspects of his work or giving him some constructive advice.

Not surprisingly, given my friend’s understandably anxious view of these workplace dynamics (动态), he was afraid of his annual performance evaluation. He was worried that his boss might even tell him that he wasn’t needed anymore. Accordingly, he considered looking around for another job — not because he really wanted to, as he liked the kind of work he was doing, but because he suffered from the kind of management.

The evaluation day came, and to his great surprise, rather than being harshly critical, his manager told him that he was doing a fine job and gave him a promotion.

The sad truth is, this kind of phenomenon is by no means unusual in the workplace. One recent survey showed that nearly half of the employees have considered leaving a job “due to lack of recognition”. Another similar study found 46 percent of the employees left a job “because they felt unappreciated”.

The good news is that, in this case, the damage was repaired before it was too late — before my friend was out the door and his company began the expensive and time-consuming process of hiring a new employee. But as the research noted above shows, workplace problems related to recognition and appreciation are as common as the office air we breathe.

This conforms with my personal experience; during my decades of corporate management, I saw similar appreciation issues all the time. When a job isn’t done well, nobody deserves anything, of course. But when a job is done well, if you’re an employee, it’s entirely natural to expect at least a bit of appreciation. So if you’re a manager, it’s a good idea to show some. It’s that simple.

1. What phenomenon does the author want to describe through his friend’s case?

A．Unclear rewards and punishments.	B．Employee-management misunderstanding.
C．Unfair promotion in the workplace.	D．Fierce competition among new employees.

2. What happened to the author’s friend in the end?

A．His company hired a new employee.

B．He continued to work for the company.

C．His company simplified the evaluation process.

D．He repaired the relationship with his colleagues.

3. What does the underlined phrase “conforms with” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Results from.	B．Separates from.
C．Agrees with.	D．Contrasts with.

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

A．Defend employees’ rights.	B．A friend’s unforgettable experience.
C．Acknowledge employees’ work.	D．Misunderstanding between employees.

10 . Glass Health is a San Francisco-based company co-founded by Dereck Paul and Graham Ramsey. It began by offering an electronic system for keeping medical notes and is now among several companies hoping to use artificial intelligence chatbots (聊天机器人) to make a difference in medicine. These firms believe that their programs could significantly reduce the paperwork pressure physicians face daily, and improve the patient-doctor relationship. “We need these folks not in burnt-out states, trying to complete documentation,” Paul says.

Some independent researchers have expressed their fears of the rush to include the latest AI technology in medicine. “I think it’s very exciting, but anything that involves decision-making about a patient’s health should be treated with extreme care,” says Pearse Keane, a professor of artificial medical intelligence at University College London in the United Kingdom.

Paul says he is well aware of the problems and that doctors who use his company’s AI system need to check it. “You have to supervise (监督) it in the way you supervise medical students, which means that you can’t be lazy about it,” he says.

His company is now working to reduce the risk of errors. He believes the underlying technology can be turned into a powerful engine for medicine. Paul and his coworkers have created. a program called “Glass AI” based on ChatGPT. A doctor tells the Glass AI chatbot about a patient, and it can suggest a list of possible diagnoses (诊断) and a treatment plan. Rather than working from the raw ChatGPT information base, the Glass AI system uses a virtual medical textbook written by human doctors as its main source of facts-something Paul says makes the system safer and more reliable.

Last December, his company had around 500 users. But after they introduced their chatbot, the numbers jumped. “We finished January with 2, 000 monthly active users, and in February we had 4800,” Paul says. Thousands more signed up in March, as overworked doctors lined up to give AI a try.

1. What could Glass Health’s present program do?

A．Boost patients’ mental health.

B．Update hospitals’ medical records.

C．Help reduce errors in doctors’ treatment.

D．Relieve doctors pressure of handling paperwork.

2. What is Professor Pearse Keane’s attitude to the latest AI technology in medicine?

A．Objective.

B．Supportive.

C．Worried.

D．Opposed.

3. How does Paul’s company ensure Glass AI’s reliability?

A．By operating the system based on doctors’ advice.

B．By employing medical students to use the system.

C．By training chatbots to select correct raw ChatGPT information.

D．By drawing on human wisdom as the basis for medical practices.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Glass Health has vast market potential.

B．Doctors will be free from paperwork soon.

C．Glass Health has an unstable number of users.

D．Doctors need a balance between life and work.