1 . It was time for Macy to move. She booked a few house viewings and after looking at three places, she fell in love with one house. But that night a feeling of doubt and uncertainty entered her head.    1    Will the others be cheaper?

We’ve all found ourselves in such situations, whether we’re considering job offers or buying a new car. It’s a problem that involves mathematics and psychology. And it’s got a name: the optimal (最优的) stopping problem.    2    It’s asking how long we spend sampling options to give the optimal chances of a successful final decision .

Mathematicians have given us an answer: 37%. The basic idea is that, if we need to make a decision from 100 different options, we should sample and give up the first 37.    3    It’s a period during which we identify what works and what does not. From the rejected 37%, we choose the best and keep that information in our heads moving forward.

Mathematics offers us the best answer to the “optimal stopping problem”. But there’s just one big issue: Humans are not rational probability-calculating machines. In fact, the opposite is usually true.    4    In the psychological and economics field, there is an “explore/ exploit trade-off”. This asks whether we should go with a guaranteed “win” (exploit) or risk going somewhere else for an unknown outcome(explore). The degree to which someone will explore or exploit depends on various factors.    5    Of course, different people are more explorative or exploitative at different times. Teenagers and traders tend to explore more. Adults and managers exploit more.

A．What if the next house is better?

B．How much does it cost a month ?

C．The 37% rule is not some mindless, automatic thing.

D．And it ties in with how curious or risk-seeking we are.

E．It’s then necessary for us to improve our computing power.

F．So it falls on psychology to tell us about how we actually behave.

G．The mathematical question for Macy concerns maximizing probabilities.

2 . Tim Holland is 18 years old and a senior at Lucy C. Laney Comprehensive High School in Augusta, Georgia. Ever since he was young, Holland has been loving animals, particularly the cold-blooded kind. He decided to try herping (野采), something most young men like him aren’t into, in 2020 and said the first time was “low-key and hard” because he didn’t know exactly where the animals were.

After a while, Holland gained hands-on experience and developed a sharp eye. Influenced by him, some of his friends tried out herping too. One of these friends, Ro Smith, encouraged him to start a TikTok page about herping. It took some convincing, but Holland eventually decided to try it and started his TikTok page Nukherping. The general format of his videos is pretty simple: Holland shows animals he has found, says a bit about them and then repeats, with the desire to make them known to the viewers. He has slowly become very popular, with his biggest video gaining over 2 million views in early April.

Though his videos are laid-back, Holland takes herping safety very seriously and hopes his audience could take it seriously, too. Holland keeps a distance from the dangerous animals he finds and adds warnings to videos with such creatures, telling his viewers “do not try this at home”. He also carries equipment such as hand sanitizer, gloves and snake sticks to ensure safety and cleanliness.

Holland hopes to travel after graduating from high school so he can check off some of the animals on his “must-see” list. He also plans to study zoology at North Greenville University in South Carolina and play on the soccer team there.

Some people around Holland think Holland is crazy for what he does, but his mother, Latasha, takes a different view. “I think that’s gonna be very interesting. He can inspire and educate other young boys and girls with his experience, and it’s also something that’s going to be good for the community,” she said.

1. What does Holland want to do with Nukherping?

A．Attract people to herping.

B．Spread knowledge about animals.

C．Support his friend Ro Smith.

D．Call on people to protect animals.

2. Which belongs to Holland’s future plan?

A．Traveling around the world.

B．Going into teaching young children.

C．Becoming a zoology major.

D．Playing for the national soccer team.

3. Which words can best describe Holland ?

A．Ambitious and energetic.

B．Adventurous and inspiring.

C．Devoted and responsible.

D．Cautious and sharp-minded.

4. What is Holland’s mother’s attitude to his herping ?

A．Concerned.

B．Critical.

C．Indifferent.

D．Favorable.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the conversation mainly about?

A．Fighting fires.

B．Detecting fires.

C．Using fires.

2. How many fires did California have in 2020?

A．Around 50.

B．About 400.

C．Over 8600.

3. What size of fire can the new satellites discover?

A．Size of a car.

B．Size of a plane.

C．Size of a sports field.

4. What is more important to the woman?

A．Saving animals.

B．Saving the trees.

C．Saving humans.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Bacteriophages (phages) and other mobile genetic elements (MGEs) exert an immense selective pressure on     1    (bacterium), which in response have developed a broad arsenal of defence mechanisms.     2     these, CRISPR–Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats–CRISPR-associated proteins) is a group of widespread RNA-guided adaptive immune systems that are classified into two broad classes, six types and numerous subtypes according to their genetic composition and interference mechanism1. The CRISPR–Cas immune response starts with the    3    (acquire) of short DNA fragments (protospacers) from invading MGEs. The protospacers are inserted as spacers between repeats in the CRISPR array to create a memory of the infection. Next, the CRISPR array is expressed    4     a long transcript that is processed into small, mature CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs), each    5    (carry) a spacer sequence flanked by part of the repeat. Finally, the interference complexes, composed     6     a crRNA and one (class 2) or more (class 1) Cas proteins, degrade the complementary nucleic-acid targets that are often found next to a short protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The specificity and programmability of the CRISPR–Cas machinery     7    (lead) to the development of various biotechnological applications in genome editing, molecular diagnostics and more.

In the evolutionary arms race with CRISPR–Cas, phages and other MGEs have evolved diverse strategies to block or circumvent immunity. One widespread evasion mechanism uses protein-    8    (base) CRISPR–Cas inhibitors called anti-CRISPRs (Acrs). So far, more than 100 Acr protein families have been identified    9     inhibit different stages of the CRISPR–Cas immune response, mainly by interacting directly with Cas proteins. For example, Acrs prevent crRNA loading, effector-complex formation, and target DNA binding and cleavage. Notably, the discovery of these natural ‘off switches’ has presented new opportunities    10    (control) the activity of CRISPR–Cas technologies.

5 . 阅读下面材料， 在空白处填入适当的内容(不多千 3 个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Returning to the United States in 1965, Waters found that sometimes it seemed       1     (likely) for her to get just fresh bread and jam as America was a land of frozen food.   She began to miss the happy days       2     she spent enjoying delicious food and cafe in France.

One day, an idea     3     (occur) to her that she could open a little restaurant and thus Chez Panisse came       4     being in 1971.     Most   ingredients   Waters   could     find     were   from     5     (industry) farms. All these ingredients tasted totally different from     6       in France, which sparked     7     search for suppliers who would grow good ingredients. “I was looking for taste, but I couldn’t find taste until I met the     8     (nineteen) local organic farmer.”Water recalls. After she went through some upsand downs,     9       (ultimate), her devotion to making the best food paid off. Throughout its         10     (exist), Chez Panisse has earned the highest praise of many critics and sometimes is ranked the best restaurant in America.

6 . The Hong Kong Ocean Park is a famous marine museum. Located between Aberdeen and Repulse Bay, the park sponsored by the Hong Kong Derby dates back to 1969. In 1987, the park was changed from a joint organization into an independent legal organization for Hong Kong governors to appoint board members.

The park is divided into two parts: the lowland section and the headland section, and a cable car system links the two parts. The lowland section is the on-water amusement park, which is the first on-water amusement center in Asia; the headland section includes the aquarium (水族馆), the hall of sea waves, the marine theater and the paradise of various birds, and is the main part of the park.

The aquarium is one of the largest in the world, with a water body of 22 meters wide, 38 meters long and 7 meters deep. It has four layers, and visitors can view the ocean creatures on the passages surrounding it.

The hall of sea waves is a huge water pool, and is 152 meters wide, 122 meters long and 2.7 meters deep. There are various kinds of man-made seacoasts suitable for living of different sea creatures.

The marine theater is located in the middle on top of a mountain and can hold 4,000 people. In the center, there is a huge pool with sharks and sea lions and dolphins performing in it.

The paradise of various birds has a unique design and is a huge net made of stainless steel wires supported by five columns. It covers an area of 2,500 square meters in four sections, namely the birds living on the ground, the birds living in forests, the birds living in jungles and the birds living in water.

1. What can we learn from the text?

A．The lowland section is the main part of the park.

B．The audience can enjoy some marine animals’ dishes there.

C．The park owns the first on-water amusement center in the world.

D．The park has a history of more than fifty years.

2. What do we know about the aquarium?

A．It has the largest water body in the world.

B．It belongs to the headland section.

C．Visitors can see the rarest ocean creatures there.

D．Visitors can enjoy dancing performances there.

3. Where could this kind of text be probably read?

A．A biology journal.	B．A tourism website.
C．A history book.	D．A science magazine.

7 . Dave Player is the founder and CEO of Team BRIT, a car racing team. He wants to_________his team in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance sports car race in 2024. He explains,   “If you're an endurance racer, you'll be_________to compete in the race. Attending this famous event is the_________of every racing driver.”

If the team gains_________to the world's most demanding endurance race , they’ll_________the history books as the first all disabled team to do so. Some drivers with_________have taken part in it, but_________as wild cards. “We don't want to   _________them, ”Dave insists. “We want to compete on a_________playing field like others, as a statement that even as disabled racing drivers we__________on the world stage.”

Dave set up the charity KartForce in 2010 as a way for__________retired soldiers to use motorsport for recovery. He went on to start Team BRIT in 2015. Team member Bobby Trundle,   who has__________himself to car racing for years, says,   “Car racing has__________my life. Mentally, it's like relaxation and also I develop deep__________for the excitement. When I'm behind the wheel, my autism (自闭症) doesn't__________me. In fact, I consider it to be a super power of mine.”

1.

A．assist

B．involve

C．encourage

D．land

2.

A．fortunate

B．ready

C．anxious

D．willing

3.

A．destination

B．result

C．reward

D．dream

4.

A．admission

B．exposure

C．promotion

D．reference

5.

A．revise

B．create

C．enter

D．keep

6.

A．expectations

B．disabilities

C．ambition

D．concern

7.

A．obviously

B．probably

C．rarely

D．merely

8.

A．follow

B．evaluate

C．miss

D．ignore

9.

A．special

B．level

C．formal

D．professional

10.

A．survive

B．win

C．progress

D．belong

11.

A．enthusiastic

B．energetic

C．injured

D．determined

12.

A．applied

B．abandoned

C．addressed

D．adapted

13.

A．shaped

B．guaranteed

C．transformed

D．saved

14.

A．respect

B．love

C．motivation

D．pity

15.

A．get at

B．go after

C．make for

D．turn against

8 . The 2024 Science Fiction Short Story Contest

The 2023 Science Fiction Short Story Contest just came to an end. Welcome to our 2024 Science Fiction Short Story Contest sponsored by Science Fiction Association in our city. The contest is to encourage amateur and semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency. We will look for engaging openings, good character development, well-structured plotting, powerful imagery, humorous language, unique word or phrasing choices, and convincing endings. Come to show the world your fantasy imagination and storytelling talents!

Requirement

A qualifying story must have strong science fiction or fantasy elements and must be shorter than 7,500 words. Your entries must be original works of fiction. If you have received prizes for your fiction writing from any source or your story has been published in any paying publication, you are no longer qualified.

Past winners of our contest are no longer qualified.

No reprints, fan fiction or poetry, please.

Judge and Prize

Judges will provide feedbacks for all qualifying contest entries. First-round judges will consist of Science Fiction Association members and volunteers. The professional writers’ decision is final.

The champions, runners-up and honorable mentions will receive prizes including cash prize, a certificate of achievement, Science Fiction Association Press books, and a free membership to Science Fiction Association, All winners can select their books and either take them immediately or ask for them to be shipped later.

Deadline

The contest will be limited to the first 60 qualifying entries. While the submission deadline is September 30th, 2024, we may close off the entry for the year sooner if the response is larger than expected. The winners will be published on December 31th.

Notice

Please place your contact information for possible awards.

There is no entry fee. Please submit only one entry per author.

1. What is the activity about?

A．Story telling.	B．Story writing.
C．Writer training.	D．Writer recommending.

2. What is a requirement for the science fiction of the contest?

A．It can come as the form of a poem.	B．It should be over 7,500 words long.
C．It must be the author’s original one.	D．It is supposed to be published before.

3. Who will finally determine the winners?

A．Professional writers.	B．Amateur writers.
C．Science Fiction Association members.	D．Science Fiction Association volunteers.

9 . “In the past, there’d be ringing of the church bells during a national emergency. They should be ringing now.” says Hamish McKenzie－a bell-ringer, boat-builder, extreme recycler and climate change activist. “Climate change is the greatest danger we face. In 100 years’ time, maybe less, it will be unlikely for people to live there because of rising water levels and the likelihood of hurricanes.” he tells Amanda Jones, the reporter from New York Times, gesturing over to the bank just feet from his boat.

Hamish McKenzie lives with his wife on his floating houseboat in Shorehame-on-Sea. Now 63, he’s turned recycling into an art and has created lots of houseboats out of old vehicles and things from junkyards and farms. He and his wife live on Verda－a mixture of and old coach and a 1928 Portsmouth-Gosport ship, which Hamish rescued from the muddy seabed. He lists another houseboat, named Dodge, on Airbnb to fund his lifestyle. His idea of walking lightly on the planet extends into every area of life. Apart from his laptop and piano, almost everything seems to have been recycled－from the microwave letterbox to tractor tire windows. “I buy my clothes from charity shops and regard meat as a treat. We’re living off vast amounts of seasonal local vegetables from small shops.”

“Sadly, there are no groceries left in Shoreham. They have been ruined by cars and out-of-town supermarkets. I hate the scenery of 30,000 cars at the end of my road. An average car weighs around 1.2 tons, but how much does a passenger weigh? Petrol engines are only 30% efficient.”

Hamish gets around by bicycle and often says, “Many people feel powerless about what is happening all over the world and even stop watching the news. But we have to think about what we can do for the community. Everyone can take action and do their bit.”

1. Why is Hamish called a bell-ringer?

A．He recalls the ringing of church bells during an emergency.

B．He draws attention to the danger of climate emergency.

C．He extends recycling into every area of his life.

D．He knows people feel powerless about what’s happening.

2. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．Hamish has become an artist in designing boats.

B．Hamish recycles all the things on his houseboat.

C．Hamish intends his simple lifestyle to do less harm to the earth.

D．Hamish has some meat as a treat regularly.

3. What does Hamish think of cars?

A．They drive groceries out of town.

B．They have become a local scenery.

C．They shouldn’t be designed that heavy.

D．They are a such waste of energy.

4. What is attitude of Hamish towards future of the world?

A．Concerned and responsible.	B．Fearful and powerless.
C．Sensitive and optimistic.	D．Satisfied and hopeful.

10 . When you ask people to judge others by their speech, a trend emerges: Listeners dislike disfluency. Slow talkers producing loads of ums and pauses(停顿)are generally perceived as less charming. But science tells us there may be even more to disfluency.

Disfluencies do not occur in arbitrary positions in sentences. Ums typically occur right before more difficult or low-frequency words. Imagine you’re having dinner with a friend at a restaurant,and there’re three items on the table: a knife, a glass, and a wine decanter(醒酒器). Your friend turns to you and says, “Could you hand me the...um...” What would you assume they want? Since it’s unlikely that they will hesitate before such common words as knife, and glass, chances are you’ll pick up the decanter and ask, “You mean this?”

This is exactly what we demonstrated through controlled eye-tracking studies in our lab. Apparently, listeners hear the um and predict that an uncommon word is most likely to follow.Such predictions, though, reflect more than just simple association between disfluencies and difficult words; listeners are actively considering from the speaker’s point of view. For example, when hearing a non-native speaker say the same sentence but with a thick foreign accent, listeners don’t show a preference for looking at low-frequency objects. This is probably because listeners assume non-native speakers may have as much trouble coming up with the English word for a common object, like a knife, as for unusual ones and can’t guess their intention.

In another experiment, listeners were presented with an atypical speaker who produced disfluencies before simple words and never before difficult words. Initially, participants displayed the natural predictive strategy: looking at uncommon objects. However, as more time went by, and they gained experience with this atypical distribution of disfluencies, listeners started to demonstrate the contrary predictive behavior: They tended to look at simple objects when hearing the speaker say um.

These findings represent further evidence that the human brain is a prediction machine: We continuously try to predict what will happen next, even though not all disfluencies are created equal.

1. What does the underlined word “arbitrary”mean in paragraph 2?

A．Random.

B．Strategic.

C．Obvious.

D．Consistent

2. What does the author say about the non-native speakers?

A．They can be understood easily.	B．They actively put themselves in others’ shoes
C．Their vocabularies are limited.	D．Their disfluencies are a little less predictive.

3. What does the experiment in paragraph 4 show?

A．Simple things are difficult in some cases.	B．Listeners can adjust predictions accordingly.
C．Distribution of disfluencies is changeable.	D．Disfluencies in communication can be avoided.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Pauses Coexist with Prediction.	B．Brains Are Powerful Prediction Machines.
C．Active Listeners Simplify Talks.	D．Disfluency Says More Than You Think.