1 . A number of people hold an optimistic attitude toward artificial intelligence's ability to reshape education nowadays. However, many feel such claims are overblown.
Kentaro Toyama, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, is one of those doubtful about the idea of using AI in the classroom.
Toyama mentioned a situation he encountered while working in an after-school program in digital literacy（数字技术素养）. He said, “In trying to teach students to use technology, the greatest difficulty is the technology itself." As soon as he looked away from the students, they would “very quickly find the most fun games they could find on the computer and start playing them”. That reveals the problem with putting too much faith in Al for teaching. “There is great potential for it to be a distraction." he said.
Toyama once surveyed a large group of people about their preference for the following educational situations: a school with no teachers but powerful AI, one with bad teachers but strong computers, one with good teachers but no computers, or one with great teachers and many computers. The result showed that nobody would send their children to a school with powerful AI but no teachers, or one with bad teachers but strong computers. Toyama concluded, "Good teachers are what matters; everything else is secondary compared to that."
Toyama is also concerned that AI and technology may widen the gap between disadvantaged schools and wealthier schools. He said, "In the case of schools, well-resourced schools will find the best ways to use technology. But if you' re in a school district that is underfunded and parents are not involved, it doesn't make a difference how good the technology is, and it will not turn that situation around."
When asked when schools should adopt AI, Toyama suggested that they should wait until the basics are in place, teachers want it, and the technology is proved to have positive educational values.
1. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?| A．AI. | B．Faith. | C．Teaching. | D．Computer. |
| A．To emphasize the key factor in education. |
| B．To recommend his favorite school for parents. |
| C．To compare the differences between AI and teachers. |
| D．To prove that preference for schools varies among people. |
| A．Al has the potential to reshape teaching and learning. |
| B．A good school should put students and technology first. |
| C．AI will be able to educate students as well as real teachers. |
| D．Al and technology may unbalance educational resources. |
| A．Al Reshapes Education | B．Using Al in the Classroom? |
| C．Will AI Dominate School? | D．AI and Technology |
2 . When whales die and sink to the ocean floor, their bodies -known as whale falls -provide rich nutrients for other creatures of the deep.
Chinese scientists found a whale fall in the South China Sea during a recent scientific research voyage. It was the first time that Chinese researchers had run across this rare type of ecosystem. It was an important finding, showing China's progress in deep-sea exploration technology, Xie said, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University.
During the 22-day deep-sea exploration from March 10 to April 2. 60 scientists conducted 22 dives and successfully completed a number of scientific tasks. The research aimed to gather information about the key processes of typical seamount ecosystems in the Western Pacific: Ocean. The whale fall was found in a seamount 1,600 meters deep in the central South China Sea. Though the whale fall was only about 3 meters long, it was of great importance in understanding the sea ecosystems, Xie said.
There were dozens of white armored shrimp, red shrimp and several eels found near the whale fall. The eels were eating the tail muscles of the whale fall. This shows that the whale died not long ago and that the whale fall was still in the first stage of decomposition and thus had rare value for long-term observation, Xie said.
Like cold springs, whale falls are homes for creatures of the deep. In the northern Pacific Ocean, they have supported the survival of at least 12,490 kinds of organisms—classed in 43 species—and promote prosperity far beneath the surface, according to data from the university.
1. What do we know about the whale fall in the South China Sea?| A．It is found on March 10. | B．It is a rare sea ecosystem. |
| C．It is a kind of cold springs. | D．It is found 3 meters deep in the sea. |
| A．By giving data. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By giving definitions. | D．By making a contrast |
| A．Change | B．Disappearance. | C．Richness. | D．Tourism. |
| A．A deep-sea exploration led by China. |
| B．A whale fall found in the South China Sea. |
| C．China's progress in deep-sea exploration technology. |
| D．The protection of deep-sea biodiversity resources in China. |
3 . A new study on the link between chili and dementia(老年痴呆) may bring bad news for spicy food addicts. Researchers have found that eating lots of chili may cause an increased risk of dementia.
The study, led by Zumin Shi, analyzed 4,582 Chinese adults aged 55 and above between 1991 and 2006 and found evidence of faster cognitive decline in those who consistently ate more than 50 grams of chili a day. “Chili consumption was found to be beneficial to body weight and blood pressure in our previous studies. However, in this study, we found negative effects on cognition among older adults,” Shi said in a press release published Tuesday.
“Chili is one of the most commonly used spices in the world and particularly popular in Asia compared to European countries,” Ming Li from the University of Southern Australia said in the press release. “In certain regions of China, such as Sichuan and Hunan, almost one in three adults consumes spicy food every day.”
The researchers said people of normal body weight may be more sensitive to chili intake and hence their memory and weight suffer a bigger impact. Worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form that may contribute to 60 percent to 70 percent of the cases, according to the World Health Organization. At present, no treatment can cure dementia or change its progressive course.
1. According to the text, what aspect is chili consumption harmful to?| A．Body shape. | B．Body weight | C．Blood pressure. | D．Cognitive abilities. |
| A．The planting of chili. | B．The popularity of chili. |
| C．The bad effects of chili | D．The custom of eating chili. |
| A．Overweight seniors. | B．Overweight teenagers. |
| C．Seniors of normal body weight | D．Teenagers of normal body weight |
| A．It is incurable. | B．It affects people’s weight. |
| C．It determines blood types. | D．It can be cured by eating chili. |
4 . Maeve Higgins once set herself a task. The Irish-born comedian wanted to see what life would be like if she stopped laughing at things that weren’t funny. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as she thought. “It was so hard,” she says. “ Laughter is a lubricant (润滑油) and is expected, and it’s really hard not to do it.”
Higgins suggests there’s something particularly special about being part of the shared experience that is live comedy — that curious magic that occurs when people come together specifically to laugh.
Comedy is more than just a pleasant way to pass an evening, humour more than something to amuse. They’re interwoven into our everyday existence. Whether you’re sharing an amusing story at a party or telling a dark joke at a funeral, humour is everywhere. But what is it for? And can humour, as comedy, change how we feel, what we think or even what we do?
As an essential part of human interaction, humour has been on the minds of thinkers for centuries. One of the most enduring theories of humour was put forward by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. It asserts that humour appears to make fun of the weak and exert superiority. While this is clearly the function of some comedy, it’s far from a complete explanation for the overall purpose of humour.
For some comedians, it’s not just about getting laughs — it’s about changing what we think and maybe even what we do. If there’s one comic who is really typical of this, it’s Josie Long. A social justice activist and a comedian, Long has a reputation for delightful, optimistic humour and storytelling.
As her career has evolved, she has consciously put social and political topics at the heart of her act. She believes that comedians have a role to play in challenging some of the most pressing issues of the day.
British comic Stephen K Amos sells out venues seating thousands, year in, year out. Amos firmly believes that when comics consciously deal with pressing or controversial （有争议的）social issues like racism, they can reach people on a much more meaningful level than that achieved by briefly lifting someone’s mood. And while it may be difficult to quantify, he says, the social and psychological impact of comedy deserves much greater recognition.
The research backs this up. Although the role of comedy is to be entertaining first and foremost, Sharon Lockyer, a sociologist who studies humour, has identified a number of possible other functions. These include challenging stereotypes (刻板印象).
Amos’s work frequently settles the issues of race by challenging stereotypes.”I don’t do things for shock value,” he says. “ I do stuff that matters to me. In the old days it was just about doing jokes. We’ve moved on — people are talking about things that matter. ”
1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?| A．The benefits of laughing. |
| B．What a comedian’s daily work is about. |
| C．Why Maeve Higgins chose to be a comedian. |
| D．Maeve Higgins’ understanding of the appeal of comedy. |
| A．Protect the weak from the evil. |
| B．Encourage people to be stronger. |
| C．Be determined to improve oneself. |
| D．Show you are better than other people. |
| A．By gradually influencing people’s attitudes. |
| B．By urging politicians to try and solve the issues. |
| C．By quickly yet thoroughly changing people’s thinking. |
| D．By calling on the whole society to pay attention to the issues. |
| A．getting people to laugh |
| B．promoting social progress |
| C．influencing people’s ideas |
| D．making people more productive |
5 . True, people remember what you wear. After a social event, we all remember the woman in red, or the man with the top hat. On the red carpet, Hollywood hopefuls take advantage of this reality by wearing outfits designed to be discussed and displayed on the front pages of newspapers. But in terms of making a good impression, being memorable is not just about novelty or fashion, but attraction, both physical and emotional, often in opposite order of importance.
In a 2020 study, Andre Ndobo found people tended to remember the extremes: both attractive and unattractive faces. He acknowledged that one suggested explanation was that both are characterized by distinctive features that promote facial recognition when compared with faces of average attractiveness. But while distinctiveness is memorable, beauty is skin deep. Accordingly, the way you are remembered by others is often not about what you wear and how you look but about the way you make people feel.
Professional interaction can create positive personal memories. Adrie A. Koehler, in a piece entitled “In the Eye of the Beholder” (2017), found that when asked to recall their best learning experience, many students discussed a memorable teacher. What made the teachers memorable? According to the students, memorable qualities included not only teaching styles, but also interpersonal skills and positive qualities such as a sense of humor.
We can relate to the results of this study when recalling people who are memorable in our own lives. They are not always people who we believed to be the smartest or most believed, but often those who made us feel the most comfortable, and who were most interested in us. Sincere interest is uniquely attractive. Not only will you remember what someone said, but they will also remember you, fondly.
Regardless of what we wear or how we look, we are always naturally more appealing and approachable when we focus on others and when we are genuine rather than simply sociable. Remember that, and others will remember you.
1. The Hollywood hopefuls are mentioned to show ________.| A．the competition on the red carpet | B．people’s attempt to be remembered |
| C．people’s wrong belief about impression | D．the importance of clothing in one’s success |
| A．It creates positive memories. | B．There’s something special with it. |
| C．It makes people feel uncomfortable. | D．People often try hard to avoid seeing it. |
| A．Smart people are especially attractive. |
| B．Teaching styles impress students most. |
| C．The best learning experience is hard to gain. |
| D．Sincere attention is useful in communication. |
| A．You Are What You Wear | B．Mind the Impression You Make |
| C．How Can We Improve Our Self-image? | D．What do People Remember about You? |
6 . While flatmates can bring about stress and difficulty, they can also be great company and develop into wonderful, lifelong friends. Before making the decision to live with a flatmate or to live alone, consider carefully all the accompanying advantages and disadvantages.
Most people join forces with a flatmate primarily due to financial problem. A shared living space also means you're responsible for only half of the rent or shared bills. Additionally, when you're splitting costs, you can afford a better apartment than you could alone. However, money can become a point of argument for flatmates as well. If your flatmate gets laid off or quits his job, you may have to pick up his bill until he's back on his feet. Your flatmate may also insist he owe less because he doesn't use the shower too often.
In addition to bills and the rent, flatmates also typically share responsibility for unpleasant tasks, such as cleaning or doing the dishes. Without a flatmate, cleaning and tidying responsibilities are yours alone. However, flatmates also frequently end up sharing plenty of other things many people would rather not: use of the TV, the bathroom, food and even clothing, for example. You may have to wake up earlier than you'd like to get a hot shower before work or give up watching your favorite show because your flatmate beat you to it.
When you live alone, you get to determine the terms of your social life, and you go home to an empty house or apartment at the end of the day. That can be preferable if you're a serious student or professional, someone who needs to work and rest in the quiet of an apartment. With a flatmate, there are unexpected guests and your social options can expand sharply. Keep in mind, however, that having a flatmate means that he may feel social when you do not, and you may have to deal with wanted house guests.
1. What's the main reason for most people to share a flat?| A．Ensuring safety. | B．Saving money. |
| C．Sharing housework. | D．Reducing loneliness. |
| A．He likes a peaceful life. |
| B．He has excellent social manners. |
| C．He keeps everything in the room tidy. |
| D．He often turns away unexpected guests. |
| A．By describing the process. | B．By stating an argument. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By analyzing the outcome. |
| A．Buying a Flat or Sharing One? |
| B．The Reasons for Sharing a Flat. |
| C．How to Share a Flat with a Flatmate? |
| D．The Advantages and Disadvantages of Flatsharing. |
7 . Researchers at CU Boulder have developed a wearable device that changes the human body into a biological battery. The device is stretchy(弹性的) enough that you can wear it like a ring, sport band or any other thing that touches your skin. It also taps into a person's natural heat-employing thermoelectric generators to change the body's internal temperature into electricity. "In the future, we want to be able to power your wearable electronics without having to include a battery," said Jianliang Xiao, an associate professor at CU Boulder.
The concept may sound like something out of The Matrix film series, in which a race of robots have enslaved humans to harvest their precious organic energy. Xiao and his colleagues aren't that ambitious: Their devices can generate about 1 volt (伏特) of energy for every square centimeter of skin space-less volt per area than what most existing batteries provide but still enough to power electronics like watches or fitness trackers.
Scientists have previously experimented with similar wearable devices, but Xiao's is stretchy, can heal itself when damaged and is fully recyclable-making it a cleaner alternative to traditional electronics. "Whenever you use a battery, you're depleting(消耗) that battery and will, eventually, need to replace it," Xiao said. "The nice thing about our device is that you can wear it, and it provides you with constant power."
Just pretend that you're out for a jog. As you exercise, your body heats up, and that heat will radiate out to the cool air around you. Xiao's device captures that flow of energy rather than let it go to waste. "The thermoelectric generators are in close contact with the human body, and they can use the heat that would normally be sent into the environment," Xiao said.
1. What does Xiao expect of his device at present?| A．It will be used for medical purposes. |
| B．It will be made smaller and wearable. |
| C．It will change natural power into electricity. |
| D．It will supply constant power to wearable devices. |
| A．To give an explanation. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To introduce a topic. | D．To analyze the cause. |
| A．The strengths of Xiao's device. |
| B．The convenience of using a battery. |
| C．The replacement of wearable devices. |
| D．The development of traditional electronics. |
| A．It operates with plenty of power. |
| B．It is designed for practical use. |
| C．It benefits people's health in a way. |
| D．It's based on traditional electronics. |
8 . Bangkok's future hangs in the balance. Rising sea levels, unchecked development and rapid urban population growth have left millions helpless to natural disasters — scientists warn the city Bangkok may not survive the century.
But it does have a secret weapon in its battle to resist the impact of a hotter planet — LANDPROCESS, a Bangkok-based landscape architecture and urban design company founded in 2011 by the landscape architect Kotchakom Vbrkaakhom. She wants to shift the orientation from growth to the actions on environment and land and promotes mindful development instead of mindless construction.
She made her name by creating the internationally acknowledged Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, an 11-acre space in central Bangkok, which tilts（倾斜）downward at a 3-degree angle, allowing rainwater to flow through the grass and wetlands. Water that’ s not absorbed by the plants runs down to a pond at the base of the park, where it can be stored for use during dry spells. In case of severe flooding, the park can hold up to a million gallons of water.
In 2018, she created Asia’s largest rooftop farm, which imitates the region’s famed rice terraces（梯田）, preserving both water and soil. Uniquely, winding around the 22,400m2rooftop is a jogging path and a lawn.
Green space design of ecological cities emerged one after another, which not only expanded the design ideas of landscape industry, but also provided new strategies for people to deal with climate problems.
Later this year she will carry out plans to transform a vast, unused bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River into a park with bicycle lanes, bringing more green space. Kotchakom has even greater ambitions for her hometown — she wants to reuse the more than 1,000 canals that snake through Bangkok that are currently used for waste water. "Canals have so much life, so much potential to be public green space and a skeleton（框架）of the whole city," she explains.
LANDPROCESS has always listened to the needs of the society, and established a harmonious relationship between nature and human beings through design, so as to create a public landscape that can really give back to the society.
1. Why is Bankok’s future mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To make a prediction of the city. |
| B．To provide some scientific knowledge. |
| C．To stress the urgency of solving problems. |
| D．To draw readers’ attention to climate change. |
| A．Its space. | B．Its green coverage. |
| C．Its landscape. | D．Its tilt design. |
| A．She collects rainwater for industrial use. |
| B．Her rooftop farm has made the best of urban spaces. |
| C．She will reconstruct the canals to recycle waste water. |
| D．She always designs sports facilities in her green parks. |
| A．A Productive Architecture Company |
| B．An Architect with Green Growth Mindset |
| C．Bangkok's Future Hangs in the Balance |
| D．Mindful and Mindless Construction in Bangkok |
9 . Chances are that you’ve seen a movie or played a video game that contains a cyborg（半人半机器的生物）. These half-man-half-machine beings have been a vision of many creative writers. But it seems that some people can’t wait for the future to arrive.
At the Body Hacking Conference in 2017, held in Texas, US, hundreds of science fiction fans from all over the world gathered to show off their body hacks. Rob Spence, 45, had his right eye removed after an accident. Soon after, he decided he wanted to replace it with something more interesting. The minute I learned that I was losing my eye, I began researching how I could turn it into a camera, he told Wired.
This is an extreme example, and body hacking doesn’t always take things so far. For example, around the world, many people are choosing to get NFC chips implanted in their hands. This is the same technology as used in smartphones, and it allows users to pay for things or even unlock their cars just by using their fingertips. The chip is the same size as a grain of rice and can be fixed and removed easily without much pain.
Hannes Sjoblad, founder of a Swedish body hacking group, believes that these implants are just the natural next step for smart technology that is already in wide use, such as smartwatches.
We are updating our bodies with technology on a large scale already with wearables. But all of the wearables we wear today will be implantable in 5 to 10 years, he told Business Insider.
Sjoblad believes that such implants will become a regular part of our lives. Indeed, his group was asked to put chips in the hands of employees at a company in Sweden, allowing them to do things like opening doors, paying for lunch, and using the copy machine in the office.
Who wants to carry a clumsy smartphone or smartwatch when people can have it in the finger-nail? he said.
1. A cyborg is mentioned in Paragraph 1 to _____.| A．share a new invention | B．introduce the topic |
| C．promote a game | D．stress technology |
| A．Rob Spence had his right eye replaced by a camera |
| B．Rob Spence thought it lucky to lose his right eye |
| C．Body Hacking Conference is just an attraction for the disabled |
| D．Body Hacking Conference is intended for science fiction writers |
| A．Body hacking is taking things 1oo far. |
| B．There will be no wearables in 5 to 10 years. |
| C．Compared with smartphones, implants are more convenient. |
| D．Implants are totally necessary for everyone in their daily life. |
| A．Life made easier through technology | B．Implants accepted worldwide |
| C．New choices are on the way | D．Body hacking brings a bright future |
10 . It would be easy to believe that Mother’s Day was created by a greeting card company. After all, the day is celebrated with special sales and brunches, lots of presents and massive advertising campaigns. But the day was actually conceived more than a century ago by Anna Jarvis of West Virginia as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.
Jarvis’s mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs,” teaching women how to care for their children. During the Civil War, she organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” where mothers of Union and Confederate soldiers met to try to promote harmony. The younger Jarvis Was inspired by all the things her mother had accomplished with her social work.
When Jarvis was young, she overheard her mother praying, “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will find a memorial mother’s day honoring her for the matchless service she offers to humanity in every field of life.” When her mom died in 1905, Jarvis looked through all the sympathy cards she received. She underlined all the kind words that praised her mother, reading them over and over. The outpouring of kindness for her mother inspired her to create a day to honor all mothers.
The white carnation was her mother’s favorite flower, so it became the symbol for the day. She said it symbolized the truth, purity and charity of a mother’s love. Her idea of celebrating Mother’s Day was wearing a carnation while visiting your mother or maybe going to church together. Children were also encouraged to write letters to their mothers, sharing the depths of their appreciation.
The first official Mother’s Day events were held on May 10. 1908, at the church where her mother taught Sunday School in Grafton, West Virginia, and at the Wanamaker’s department store auditorium（礼堂）in Philadelphia. Jarvis didn’t attend the event in Grafton, but she sent 500 white carnations.
1. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “conceived” in paragraph 1?| A．Thought up | B．Figured out. |
| C．Found out. | D．Believed in. |
| A．She created Mother’s Day. | B．She was active in social work. |
| C．She joined in the American Civil War. | D．She taught Jarvis how to care for children. |
| A．Pray for their mother’s happiness. | B．Send some flowers to their mothers. |
| C．Write a letter to thank their mothers. | D．Accompany their mothers to the celebration. |
| A．A Memorable Mother | B．Carnation and Mother’s Day |
| C．The Greatness of a Mother | D．The Founding of Mother’s Day |
