1 . Under the background of the slow growth of its total population to 1.44 billion, China has seen a sharp rise in older adults over the past decade, solidifying the country’s rapidly aging pattern, the latest national census (人口普查) data shows. The population on the Chinese mainland increased by an average of 0.53 percent annually during the past 10 years to 1.41 billion, compared with an annual growth rate of 0.57 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the 7th national census published by the National Bureau of Statistics.
“The growth of the total population has slowed down but remains at a steady pace,” Ning Jizhe, head of the bureau, said at a news conference. “Based on trends in recent years, China’s population will grow at an increasingly slow rate in the future while remaining above 1.4 billion.” The increasing elderly population has become a defining feature of the past decade.
Ning said an aging society will set the tone for China's population structure for a long time, presenting challenges and opportunities. “A graying population will pile pressure on supply of labor force and social services, as well as adding to families’ elderly care burden. But more elderly people could also motivate consumption of products and services targeting this age group, and advance the development of some technologies,” he said.
Ning added that those between the ages of 60 and 69, who are equipped with knowledge, experience and skills and are generally in good health, make up nearly 56 percent of all older adults. “Their potential to continue making contributions to society and playing a constructive role is big,” he responded to a question on the outlook for raising the retirement age and carrying out other potential measures aimed at addressing the aging trend. Some population economists also said the latest number and proportion (比例) of elderly are largely within predictions, and the aging trend will continue for a long time.
1. What does the 7th national census data show?| A．The aging population of China has risen rapidly. |
| B．The annual growth rate has increased by 0.04%. |
| C．The annual growth rate was 0.57% during the past 10 years. |
| D．The total population of Chinese mainland increased to 1.44 billion. |
| A．It is beyond predictions. | B．It brings few advantages. |
| C．It has sharply slowed down. | D．It will increase pressure on family. |
| A．Objective. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear. | D．Negative. |
| A．The aging trend brings problems |
| B．An aging society presents opportunities |
| C．China’s population gets old as growth slows |
| D．Measures are to be taken to tackle the aging trend |
2 . China's teen diving sensation (轰动性人物） Quan Hongchan's family and neighbours have been disturbed by tourists hoping to get social media “likes”， local media say. Ever since the 14-year-old won the Olympic gold after delivering three perfect-10 dives, fans have rushed to her Maihe village home to take videos and photos. Some persistent fans are even climbing trees for a better view.
Quan has received massive support online after she said she took up diving to pay her sick mother's bills. Her story touched many people when she told reporters that she dedicated her Olympic win to her mother, who has been admitted to hospital many times after getting into a traffic accident years ago. “I want to make enough money to support her," Quan had said in Tokyo.
On China's Twitter-like platform Weibo, the hashtag(标签）“how to view Quan Hongchan's home becoming an internet photo hotspot” was viewed more than 25 million times.There was criticism over the actions of these influencers, who reportedly staked out the rural village in Guangdong province to livestream videos even after midnight. Others knocked on the door to take selfies with her family members, while some tried to steal jackfruit from her home as gifts, local media said. “If people are going to her house just to get followers, that's unacceptable. Her mother is sick. She shouldn't be disturbed,” one Weibo comment read.
The village has now been closed to visitors as the large crowds didn't follow Covid control measures, reports say. Due to her years of training, the farmer's daughter said she had never been to a zoo or amusement park. Her comments made a safari and amusement park in Guangzhou decide to announce free annual membership cards to all Chinese diving team members. Other businesses and donors have come forth offering cash and gifts, including her favourite spicy street snack latiao-made from flour that is cooked and seasoned. Her father has reportedly declined cash gifts, and thanked donors for their “kind hearts”。
1. Why is Quan Hongchan committed to winning the Olympic gold?| A．Her love for the diving team and country. |
| B．Her pursuit for the fame and wealth. |
| C．Her desire to pay for her mother's medical bills. |
| D．Her gratitude for the support of fans. |
| A．Monitor. |
| B．Strike. |
| C．Squeeze. |
| D．Cater. |
| A．Businesses and donors have their own calculation. |
| B．The intention of influencers and tourists varies. |
| C．The closure of Quan's village is due to the online viewers' concern. |
| D．The privacy of Quan's family and villagers hasn't been fully respected. |
| A．Quan Hongchan's inspiring story catches on throughout the country |
| B．Social media is a double-edged sword for Quan |
| C．The teen diving star won the Olympic gold |
| D．The teen diving star's village was jam-packed by fans |
3 . School uniforms（校服） are traditional in Britain. Pupils at about 90 percent of British secondary schools wear uniforms. When every pupil in the school wears the uniform, nobody has to worry about fashion and they feel that they belong to a group. Some people believe that a school uniform can help students pay attention to schoolwork. But some schools in Britain and other countries are starting to drop the traditional uniforms.
An Australian school has decided to drop its traditional school uniform, hoping new sportswear will encourage students to take part in more activities. School headmaster Elisabeth Lenders said the uniform change had been in the works for several years. "We decided that in 2018-2019, " she said. "The importance is clear: to make young people live happy, healthy lives."
Ms Lenders said World Health Organization research reported 90 percent of young Australians and New Zealanders were not getting the minimum（最小的）daily levels of activity they needed in order to lead a healthy life. As well as the new uniform, she said the school would change timetables to make sure there would be chances for students to take part in physical activity every day.
Ms Lenders said in the past, a uniform was about all looking the same but in the 21st century it was important for students to be able to choose clothes that they liked.
And this Australian school had made an online survey about the uniform change and had received great support from parents and students. Tara, mother of Ava in Year 7, said it was a great move from the school. "These are the challenges of our time, and we want young people to think about them, " she said. "It is bigger than just throwing out the old uniform. It's about what the role of education is about. And for me it's helping young people to live a happy, healthy and productive life. "
1. What does the underline word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．physical activity. | B．uniform change. |
| C．happy life. | D．students' health. |
| A．helps students to live a healthy life |
| B．gives students a sense of belonging |
| C．teaches students to dress fashionably |
| D．helps students to pay attention to study |
| A．Students there may wear different kinds of clothes. |
| B．It's not clear whether the change is good for students or not. |
| C．Parents have different opinions towards the change of uniform. |
| D．The change receives strong support from students and parents. |
4 . Last Tuesday, a robotic ship called the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) took off from Plymouth, England. Its mission (使命) was to recreate the 1620 crossing of the Atlantic by the Mayflower, which brought the first European settlers to the USA. But unlike the original Mayflower, there are no people on the MAS. Everything about the ship is designed to run automatically. The ship is guided by an artificial intelligence (AI) system called "AI Captain".
The MAS is a project run by a group called ProMare along with the computer company, IBM. The ship's electric motor is powered by solar energy. The goal of the project is to test different kinds of technologies for collecting information about the sea. If these can be handled by machines, it could be a big advance in ocean research.
Because the MAS didn't have to carry humans, its designers were free to think about how to make the best ship for the job. In addition to cameras and radar to help the ship guide itself, the ship is carrying many different kinds of tools and sensors. It has special listening devices which can detect whales and dolphins. It even has a special "tongue" which can report back on the chemicals in the water.
Last Friday morning, scientists tracking the ship noticed that it was going about half as fast as it should have been going. The AI Captain was working well, but there seemed to be something slowing the motor down. Since the ship had only covered 10% of the way across the Atlantic, the team decided to bring it back to Plymouth so they could fix the problem and send it out again. They sent the MAS instructions to turn back.
When the MAS finally does put out to sea again, it is expected to take about three weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The fastest speed for the MAS is about 10 mph (16 kph). That may seem slow, but it's about 5 times faster than the original Mayflower, which took 66 days to make the journey.
1. What is the main mission of the MAS project?| A．Take more Europeans across the Atlantic. |
| B．Explore the ocean with high technologies. |
| C．Develop new artificial intelligence system. |
| D．Test the new robotic ship of IBM on the sea. |
| A．There was something wrong with the AI Captain. |
| B．The scientists failed to guide the ship completely. |
| C．The ship couldn't reach its destination as planned. |
| D．The robotic ship's electric motor didn't work well. |
| A．The robotic ship will set sail again soon. |
| B．The journey will be difficult and dangerous. |
| C．The entire journey will be about 2, 100 miles. |
| D．The MAS will travel farther than the original one. |
| A．A Robotic Ship Guided by the AI Captain System. |
| B．Self-Driving Mayflower Ship Forced to Turn Back. |
| C．The Fastest Robotic Ship Sailing Across the Atlantic. |
| D．Another Mayflower Recreating the Cross-Atlantic Trip. |
5 . China has successfully landed its rover on Mars, becoming the second country in history to have a rover on the red planet.
The rover, Zhurong, named after a god of fire in Chinese mythology, landed Saturday morning at the pre-selected area in Utopia Planitia on Mars. The six-wheel solar-powered Zhurong rover weighs about 240 kilograms (529 pounds) and carries six scientific instruments. It will be later released from the lander for a three-month mission in search of life on Mars' surface.
Tianwen-1, whose name means “Quest for Heavenly Truth,” will relay its signal to the rover during its mission and then conduct a global survey of the planet for one Martian year. It hopes to gather important information about the Martian soil, geological structure, environment and atmosphere, and to search for signs of water. The probe has spent three months in orbit scanning the landing area before releasing the rover to the surface, and sent back its first photo of the planet from more than a million kilometers (621,371 miles) away.
Tianwen-1 was launched by a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang space launch center in Hainan on July 23 last year, and spent seven months on the way to Mars before entering its orbit in February. “The probe is going to orbit, land and release a rover all on the very first try, and cooperate with an orbiter in observation,” the scientific team behind Tianwen-1 said before the rover's landing. “No planetary missions have ever been implemented in this way”.
Tianwen-1 is one of three international Mars missions launched last summer due to an alignment between Earth and Mars on the same side of the sun, making for a more efficient journey to the red planet. Unlike the US and China missions, the UAE probe is not intended to land on Mars---just study the planet from orbit.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about Zhurong?| A．It is a god of fire in modern times. | B．It is in position for exploration on Mars. |
| C．It is only 240 kg in total weight. | D．It is powered by strong winds. |
| A．Tianwen-1 has been orbiting Mars. | B．Tianwen -l is working with an orbiter. |
| C．Tianwen-1 has made a history in missions. | D．Tianwen-1 has released the rover Zhurong. |
| A．It is likely to find the signs of water on Mars. |
| B．It will spend seven months on the survey of Mars. |
| C．It has sent back the information about the Martian soil. |
| D．It is a bridge between the control centre and the rover Zhurong. |
| A．They will finish the same tasks on Mars. |
| B．The UAE probe will simply circle around Mars. |
| C．They made the journey to Mars in a relatively shorter time. |
| D．The mission of Tianwen-l doesn't include that of the UAE probe. |
6 . For 300 years, the Slims River had been flowing through Canada’s Yukon region. But last year, in only four days, the water in the big river reduced sharply, which made the river almost disappear. What happened?
After a year of careful studies, a group of scientists recently said that the sudden change of the river was caused by climate change. The Slims River used to be a big river, reaching up to 150 metres at its widest points. It carried melt water from the huge Kaskawulsh glacier(冰川) into the Kluane River, then into the Yukon River toward the Bering Sea.
But in spring 2016, there was a sharp melting of the Kaskawulsh glacier because of climate change. It made the melt water run in a different direction, and into a second river, the Alsek River, then into the Gulf of Alaska. It is thousands of kilometers away.
In geography, this is called “river piracy”. Although it was not unusual in ancient times, this is the first time it has happened under scientists’ noses in modern times. The Slims River is almost dry now, which also takes away the clean air in the region because strong wind blows up all the dust in the river bed. Fish have already swum to other rivers. And sheep from Kluane National Park are now coming down to eat the fresh plants.
Lonnie Thompson, a scientist from Ohio State University, the US, said that we could hardly feel the effects of climate change in our daily life, but the case of the Slims River shows what will happen when gradual temperature increases.
1. Why did the Slims River almost disappear?| A．Because the air pollution brought more rain to Yukon region. |
| B．Because the climate suddenly became hotter than before. |
| C．Because the human activities destroyed the banks of the river. |
| D．Because the Kaskawulsh glacier did not exist any longer. |
| A．The Slims River has now become part of Kluane National Park. |
| B．The air in the region of the Sli ms Ri ver is still clean. |
| C．Climate change has no effect on our daily life. |
| D．Global warming can bring sudden changes to the environment. |
① the Kaskawulsh glacier ② the Gulf of Alaska
③ the Yukon River ④ the Alsek River
⑤ the Bering Sea ⑥ the Kluane River
| A．①→④→② | B．①→③→⑤ |
| C．③→⑥→⑤ | D．⑥→③→② |
| A．A river suddenly disappears without any reason. |
| B．Two rivers join together to make a bigger one. |
| C．The flow of a river is suddenly taken away into another. |
| D．The water in a river reduces sharply. |
7 . TikTok has pushed a new safety update in November to its app that allows parents to take more control of their teenager's accounts, as social media companies come under increasing pressure to make their platforms safer for children.
The company said Tuesday that its “Family Pairing” feature now enables parents to turn off comments on their children's videos entirely or to limit them to friends only. Parents whose accounts are linked to their kids will also be able to set their accounts to private, turn off the search function for content, users or sounds, and limit who can see which videos their children have liked.
Launched (发布) in March, the Family Pairing tool lets parents see how long their children are spending on TikTok each day and limit the content they can see.
TikTok allows children to register and create an account if they're over the age of 13. All they need to do is provide their date of birth. However, because TikTok doesn't require registers to prove their identities, some children under 13 have registered by lying about their age，according to U. K. regulator Ofcom (英国通讯管理局).
Alexandra Evans, head of child safety public policy for TikTok in Europe, told CNBC that Family Pairing has “put itself in parents’ shoes” since it was launched.
“If we're thinking about it as a toolbox, we wanted to offer more tools,” she said on a video call ahead of the announcement.
1. What pushed TikTok to launch the new update?| A．The pressure from social media. | B．The concern about kids' online safety. |
| C．The force from government. | D．The increasing need of users. |
| A．The safety tips from TikTok. | B．New apps explored by TikTok. |
| C．New functions of Family Pairing. | D．The limits on Family Pairing. |
| A．The difficulty in opening an account. | B．The low age limit for users. |
| C．TikTok's failure to check identities. | D．The demand for users' birth dates. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Objective. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Supportive. |
8 . Online eating shows, or Mukbang(直播吃饭), originated in South Korea and have gained popularity globally.
Many hosts of such shows have become popular for their ability to eat large amounts of food. But these shows have also received criticism for their waste of food. While some hosts actually do consume the amount of food shown, others may be faking it.
On Aug 12, CCTV exposed several Chinese hosts who were pretending to eat large amounts of food while on camera, but actually later threw it away.
To discourage this practice, many video and livestreaming platforms, including Douyin, Kuaishow and Bilibili, have removed videos that show food waste, and have promoted messages to “stop food waste and eat reasonably.”
In June 2020, the United Nations warned that the world is on the verge of the worst food crisis in 50 years.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about a third of the world’s food-1.3 billion tons- is wasted every year. In China alone, 50 million tons of food ends up in landfills every year, according to Beijing News.
Recently, campaigns against food waste have been further promoted. In August, President Xi Jinping stressed the need for safeguarding food security and stopping food waste.
According to China Daily, restaurants and catering associations in more than 18 provinces and all 4 municipal cities have issued guidelines to control food waste.
In Shanxi province, local restaurants have been asked to serve half portions to avoid waste. The Wuhan Catering Association proposed that restaurants adopt the “N-1 mode”. For example, a group of 10 diners should only order enough for nine people first. More food is only brought to the table if required.
In addition, a nationwide “Clear Your Plate” campaign has been launched online. Users of Sina Weibo are encouraged to share photos or videos of empty plates after finishing their meals.
Meanwhile, new laws are also being considered, according to China daily. “We will make new laws that give clear instructions on avoiding food waste,” said Zhang Guilong from the legislative Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress. The instructions will be detailed in every year of food production, purchasing storage, transportation, processing and consumption, according to Zhang.
1. What is CCTV’s attitude toward online eating shows?| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. | C．Objective. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Most video media are contributing to stopping food waste. |
| B．We should eat up all the food on the table. |
| C．It’s hard to carry out "Clear Your Plate campaign. |
| D．All the videos that show food waste have been removed. |
| A．We can adopt the “N+1 mode”. |
| B．We can eat more food than we need. |
| C．We can choose not to watch online eating shows. |
| D．We can ask the restaurants to serve us half portions. |
| A．Online eating shows should be banned. |
| B．New laws should be made to avoid food waste. |
| C．Measures are being taken to stop food waste. |
| D．We should share photos or videos of empty plates. |
9 . One Australian state government has become the first in the world to carry out a statewide camera program to automatically detect (探测) drivers using their cell phones while driving.
The program came into effect in the state of New South Wales on December 1 following a six-month trial earlier this year, which the government claims caught over 100,000 drivers. Similar technology has been tested in England and Saudi Arabia, but the NSW program marks the first time it has been widely carried out.
There won’t be any signs signalling the cameras’ presence, either. “We have to unfortunately use the element of surprise to get people to think ‘well, I could get caught at any time,’” said NSW Roads Minister Andrew Constance. “I want behaviour to change and I want it changed immediately.”
The cell phone detection camera can’t actually discover people using their phones in time. Instead, it takes photographs of every single vehicle that passes by it, using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse them later. If the software detects a likely offender (违法者), the image is then checked by an employee before a punishment notice is sent out.
Drivers will only receive warnings for the first three months the cell phone detection cameras are in operation. After that, drivers who are caught will be fined 344 dollars, as well as losing five points from their driver’s license.
According to the NSW government, if the AI doesn’t detect any phone use in a photo it will be deleted without any human seeing it, usually within an hour.
1. Why does the NSW government carry out the camera program?| A．To detect the number of drivers using cell phones. |
| B．To help drivers avoid being caught in surprise. |
| C．To change drivers’ behavior of using cell phones while driving. |
| D．To test similar technology like some European countries. |
| A．Cameras. | B．Drivers. | C．Photos. | D．Passers-by. |
| A．Some regular written warnings. | B．No punishment in the limited time. |
| C．A heavy fine without point loss. | D．A make-up test of the driver’s license. |
| A．A road Al camera system in Australia. |
| B．A test of world-first AI camera system. |
| C．The behaviors of Australian drivers. |
| D．The development of AI camera system. |
10 . Gretchen Altman is smiling, leaning back casually, a cup of coffee in hand — Hills Bros. Coffee, to be precise. It looks like a casual shot, but if you hit like, leave a comment, and tag a friend, you can get three different cups of coffee, for free.
Altman is part of a growing trend of "micro-influencers". She has a small following — around 6,000 on Instagram(社交平台). Her going rate is $300 to $800 to promote something. She does some posts in exchange for free goods, as long as it’s stuff she believes in.
As a micro-influencer she has a much closer relationship with her followers than a big social media star. "I’m just living a normal life and people relate to that," she says. "They just feel like I’m a friend of theirs."
But it worries consumer rights groups. Several recent studies have found that young audiences are largely unable to understand when something is sponsored content.
In some cases, it’s clear. When a big star takes to a social media to advertise Coca-Cola, for example, the assumption is that he or she’s probably getting paid to do so. And the posts are clearly labeled as ads, with the caption "advertisement" or "sponsored content".
But what happens when an everyday person with just a couple thousand followers takes to social media to extol(颂扬) the virtues of a product? The motivations are not so clear cut. The problem with these social media posts is that you don’t know whether it’s an ad or not.
Altman is diligent about using those hashtags(标签). She loves what she does and sees it as a business, but she doesn’t necessarily want to be a social media celebrity.
"With social media being so integrated into our everyday lives, we have this unique opportunity that I don’t think anyone has ever had before where we can each be our own brand," Altman says.
1. What does a micro-influencer do according to the passage?| A．Give enough likes. | B．Post to promote sales. |
| C．Recommend some comments. | D．Design advertisements. |
| A．Sponsored ads content. |
| B．Ads with caption on posts. |
| C．The unclear motivations of the posts. |
| D．The increasingly growing number of audiences. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Delighted. | C．Ambitious. | D．Depressed. |
| A．Instagram Advertising: Do You Know It, When You See It |
| B．To be a Micro-influencer or to be a Big Star |
| C．We Can Each Be Our Own Top Brand |
| D．Hills Bros. Coffee, Your Coffee |
