1 . Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has long worked to make her city less dependent on cars. She wanted to see more people using bicycles to get around. Over a number of years, the city government set limits on cars and increased the amount of bike paths from 200 kilometers to over 1,000 kilometers.
This year, Parisians are not complaining about too much automobile traffic. Instead, they say there are too many bikes. “Now, it’s really like a bike traffic jam(阻塞),” Thibault Quere, a spokesperson for France’s Federation of Bicycle Users, said. ”It’s kind of a good difficulty to have, especially when we think about what Paris used to be.”
Some famous roads along the River Seine are completely closed to cars. Now you see people riding bikes, running and walking with their families along the river. In another part of Paris, a bike path on Sebastopol Boulevard is one of the busiest in Europe, after opening in 2019. In one week in early September, it reached a record high of 124,000 riders.
The city will host the Summer Olympics in 2024 and plans to add more bike paths by then. Paris wants to reduce its pollution by half during the games, even as visitors from around the world will be in the city for the event. Organizers say all of the competition sites will be reachable by bike through a 60-kilometer network of bike paths.
The change to Paris, however, has not been easy. With more people using bikes, more people are making mistakes. Some of them are new to cycling and disobey traffic rules. But the environment may be improving. Cycling is good exercise and helps reduce pollution, which is still a problem for the large city. The French government blames atmospheric pollution for 48,000 early deaths in the country each year.
Hidalgo was re-elected in 2020 and plans to keep making what she calls a “Paris that breathes”. Her newest five-year bike plan includes over $250 million for more bike paths and bike parking. The new budget is an increase of over $100 million from her first five-year plan.
1. What can be learned from the second paragraph?A.Hidalgo’s effort has paid off. | B.Parisians prefer to travel by car. |
C.Parisians find it difficult to ride bikes. | D.Quere disagrees with Hidalgo. |
A.To compare the famous roads in France. |
B.To praise people enjoying riding bicycles. |
C.To stress the importance of France in Europe. |
D.To show how busy a cycle path is in Paris. |
A.Tour local bike shops. | B.Ride to competition sites. |
C.Promote the sights in France. | D.Support the athletes around the world. |
A.Friendly. | B.Helpful. | C.Determined. | D.Honest. |
Shadow play (皮影戏), a folk drama active in China for over 2,000 years, is also known as “shadow puppet” or “lamp shadow play”, in which people perform stories
The production procedures of shadow puppets usually go through the following
Born in the times
Shadow play is among the first Chinese drama arts to spread abroad. Quite a few foreign friends spoke highly of it— “I love the modeling of shadow puppets because they have a special styling.”, “I fail to understand
As for shadow play in our traditional culture, we can’t let the drama
3 . 阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段,使之构成一篇完整的短文。
I grew up in southeastern Michigan. I was a fan of Detroit Tigers, a famous baseball team, as a young boy.
My childhood dream was to be like my hero, Al Kaline, and someday play for the Tigers. My Dad would take me to Tiger Stadium several times a year and my hero Al Kaline would never let me down. We never attended a game that he didn’t get at least one hit.
I was crazy about baseball. If there was a game in my high school, I was never absent. I kept practising so that I could achieve my dream of playing for the Tigers, and I was doing well at each level of play. Later, I got a chance to sign up for a strong American Legion baseball program. There I met our coach, Bob Ohm, who knew a lot of baseball and taught each of us the basics as well as more advanced baseball skills. With Bob Ohm’s help and my hard work, I had set new records in many baseball championships.
My dream to be like my hero seemed to draw near. One summer, I went up to play the final season in Marinette. There were scouts who came to find the best players. This was it! My big chance!
Well, as the game progressed I hit the ball very well getting five hits in the game. Unfortunately, I also made four mistakes. The final mistake actually drew laughter from the crowd.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After the game, I knew my dream of playing professional baseball was lost.
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Today, I teach baseball in a high school.
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4 . 听下面一段对话,回答以下小题。
1. What does the woman think of electronic music?A.It is clever. | B.It is loud. | C.It is modern. |
A.16. | B.17. | C.18. |
5 . Peter worked at a grocery store. Recently, he
Although the job was boring, there were times Peter especially
The children began to cry and Angela tried to
The next day Angela returned to the store and explained to Peter, “Thanks for your kindness. It really
“Well, I am
Angela was grateful for Peter’s help. Peter’s actions and
A.watched over | B.put aside | C.took up | D.gave up |
A.shopping | B.schooling | C.travelling | D.housing |
A.enjoyed | B.expected | C.deserved | D.imagined |
A.quiet | B.noisy | C.dirty | D.crowded |
A.interest | B.impression | C.attention | D.feelings |
A.decide | B.afford | C.promise | D.expect |
A.calm | B.save | C.encourage | D.protect |
A.continuing | B.preferring | C.offering | D.preparing |
A.toys | B.food | C.clothes | D.drinks |
A.improves | B.wastes | C.changes | D.means |
A.tough | B.positive | C.unique | D.natural |
A.hardly | B.basically | C.slightly | D.completely |
A.efforts | B.words | C.requests | D.suggestions |
A.troubles | B.rights | C.styles | D.choices |
A.impress | B.rescue | C.remind | D.comfort |
6 . Jennifer DeStefano answered a call from an unknown number only to hear a man threatening her 15-year-old daughter’s life and demanding money, as well as the sound of her daughter crying for help. But while she kept him on the phone, her friends managed to reach her daughter, discovering that she was, in fact, free and well on a skiing trip in Arizona. The voice used on the phone was cloned.
A brief sample (样本) of a voice can be used to train an AI model, which can then speak any given text sounding like that person. Now the dangers are starting to be talked aloud.
ElevenLabs, an AI start-up, offers users the chance to create their own clones in minutes and the results are disturbingly accurate. When generating a playback, the system allows users to choose between variability and stability (稳定性). Select “variability”, and the voice will have a lifelike intonation (语调), including pauses like “er...”. Choose “stability”, and it will come across more like a calm and unemotional newsreader. Taylor Jones, a linguist and consultant, took a careful look at the quality of ElevenLabs’s clone of his voice in a video. A low-tech test, a “conversation” with his own mother, fooled the woman who raised him.
For several years, customers have been able to identify themselves over the phone to their bank and other companies using their voice. This was a security upgrade, not a danger. Not even a gifted voice actor could fool the detection system. But now the banks are forced to change in order to prevent crime.
Creative industries could face trouble. Voice actors’ skills, trained over a lifetime, can be copied in seconds. But some actors may, in fact, find cloning congenial. One actor, who has lost much of his voice to throat cancer, was delighted to have his voice restored for his new movie. Others may be spared the trouble of heading for the studio for retakes. Another industry that will have to deal with the rise of clones is journalism. Secret recordings have long been the contributor to the big news. Now who will trust a story based on an audio clip (音频片段)?
1. How does the author lead in the topic?A.By telling a story. | B.By explaining a concept. |
C.By making a guess. | D.By making a comparison. |
A.To analyze the use of voice cloning. | B.To draw readers’ attention to AI. |
C.To prove ElevenLabs’s achievements. | D.To show the danger of voice cloning. |
A.Annoying. | B.Shocking. | C.Suitable. | D.Inventive. |
A.AI Technology: Good or Bad? | B.AI-based Voice: A Potential Risk |
C.Cloned Voice: Who to Blame? | D.Voice Cloning: A New Phenomenon |
7 . Bill Gates was born in 1955. He grew up in Seattle, Washington. When he was young, he was good at science and maths. And he wanted to be a scientist.
Bill started to play with computers when he was 13. At that time, computers were very large machines. Once he was interested in a very old computer. He and some of his friends spent lots of time doing unusual things with it. In the end, they worked out a software program with the old machine. Bill sold it for 4,200 dollars when he was only 17.
In 1973, Bill went to Harvard University. He developed the Basic Language for the first microcomputer. In his third year, he left Harvard. Bill began his company in 1975 with his friend Paul Allen. They thought that the computer would be a very important tool in every office and in every home, so they began developing software for personal computers. They developed the software to make it easier for people to use computers.
In 1999, Bill wrote a book. In the book, he told people how computer technology could solve business problems in new ways. It was one of the best-sellers on The New York Times’ list. Bill Gates has many hobbies. He enjoyed reading very much. He also enjoys playing golf and bridge.
1. When did Bill begin to play with computers?A.In 1968. | B.In 1966. |
C.In 1965. | D.In 1972. |
A.17 years old. | B.18 years old. |
C.19 years old. | D.20 years old. |
A.how to do unusual things |
B.how to play computer games |
C.how to work out a software program |
D.how to solve business problems with the help of computers in new ways |
A.Bill Gates developed the Basic Language for the first microcomputer. |
B.Bill Gates enjoys playing computer games. |
C.Bill Gates wrote many science books. |
D.Bill Gates books are on the top of best-sellers. |
Sam took a part-time job in a factory during his summer holiday. Unluckily, on his third day of work, he accidentally damaged a costly machine. Sam felt scared when he realized it was difficult for his family to pay for the damage. After hesitating (犹豫) for a moment, he decided to run away from the factory and go back home. With a heavy heart, he rode his bike and finally managed to leave the factory.
“If only I hadn’t broken the machine. I really enjoy working in the factory. All the people there are kind to me,” he thought sadly as he was riding back. However, luck was not on Sam’s side that day. His bike suddenly had a flat tire (爆胎). Feeling depressed, Sam stood by the side of the road. He started to regret choosing to run away. And he was worried that if his parents knew he had broken the machine and chosen to escape, they would be angry with him.
Suddenly, someone called out to him, “Sam, why are you standing here?” It was Uncle Tim, who happened to be passing by on his way home. Sam was shocked to see him. “Uncle Tim, I want to go home but my bike has a flat tire,” Sam answered nervously.
Uncle Tim suggested that he and Sam go to the town and have the bike repaired. Sam was thankful to Uncle Tim for his help. When they walked towards the town, pushing the bike, Uncle Tim found Sam was nervous and anxious. He asked Sam to relax and told him it was an easy task to repair the bike.
Later, Sam took a deep breath and began to tell the truth to Uncle Tim. “It isn’t because of the broken bike. I... I made a mistake in the factory. I broke a machine. Worrying that I would be punished and have to compensate (赔偿) for the damage, I ran away from the factory,” Sam said sadly.
Paragraph 1:
After hearing Sam’s explanation, Uncle Tim stopped, looking at Sam with kindness in his eyes.
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Paragraph 2:
Later that day, Sam rode his bike and headed back to the factory.
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注意:1.词数80左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
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10 . Social media networks have been shown to have greatly changed students’ social behaviour. But the relationship between social media and students’ English language writing has been largely ignored (忽视). So our team of four researchers studied one English as a Second Language (ESL) class at Fiaseman SenirHigh School in Tarkwa, southwestern Ghana. Our research focused on a Form 2 class, made up of 47 students aged 17 and 18 on average. It was one of the largest classes in the school, which offered English as a general subject.
The study found that the students spent really long periods of time on various social media platforms (平台) . But most of the sites they visited were not about learning. That was worrying. One student said, “I visit social media every day. I can’t count. I’m always there. It is very difficult to control my presence there. I truly don’t know what to do.”
We also found that their social media use had resulted in their use of shortened forms of English words-such as “4” in place of “for”, “u” in place of “you” and “d” in place of “the” --in their writing, including in their English examinations. These are the unacceptable written forms of English.
We concluded that the way in which English is being used in examinations by students is being undermined by their use of the English language on social media. This is a growing trend (趋势) that will see students struggle to get ahead in the subject, as more formal English language writing is needed for examinations and further studies.
We recommend that those involved in education should consider connecting teaching practices that take advantage of social media to attract students. This would allow students to learn during their time on social media platforms. Also, teachers should help students choose proper social media sites. They should tell students about the importance and dangers of social media and how to use them, especially for educational purposes.
1. What does the student want to convey through his words?A.He used social media for educational purposes. |
B.He was worried about his privacy on social media. |
C.He lacked the knowledge of properly using social media. |
D.He was interested in new information on social media. |
A.Creativity in English expressions. |
B.More chances to master new words. |
C.Increased competition among them. |
D.Disappointing English writing performance. |
A.improved slowly. | B.proven scientifically. |
C.influenced negatively. | D.corrected effectively. |
A.Guiding students in using social media as a learning tool. |
B.Encouraging students to join in outdoor activities regularly. |
C.Limiting the time of students’ using their phones strictly. |
D.Providing different online courses for students. |