1 . For the arts “to mean more, to more people,” as Arts Council England (ACE) argues that they should, would be excellent. Music, drama, dance, visual arts, poetry and literature are among the most precious human achievements. To live in a country in which these are more widely shared and enjoyed would be proof that we are making progress. The point is not to entertain or educate people, or bring communities together. Nor is it all about boosting jobs and investment. Imagination has intrinsic (内在的) value, and research carried out by ACE in the course of preparing its 10-year strategy showed that people from all walks of life value and get pleasure from cultural activities.

Positioning itself as a development agency, ACE will now hope to win government backing for a change of direction that orients it away from the biggest and most prestigious national institutions and towards the towns, villages and grassroots organizations that should be similarly deserving of attention. There, it envisions a role for itself “building the identity and prosperity of places,” bringing professional artists together with voluntary groups, particular in areas that have previously not been well represented on the cultural map.

ACE’s chair, Sir Nicholas Serota, quotes the first world war centenary (百年纪念) project devised by the artist, Jeremy Deller, and theatre director, Rufus Norris, as the model of what he wants his organization to be about. By dressing up volunteers as soldiers, and orchestrating their encounters with members of the public in settings across England, the artists succeeded in “dissolving the barriers between artists and audiences.”

The emphasis on participation- on culture as something that more people should actually do- is newer. This is the difference between being in a play or a band and buying tickets to watch them, and for ACE to play a more active role in promoting the former would be beneficial. This begins in childhood, and ACE clearly hopes that the government will think again about policies that have seen music, drama and other arts subjects systematically downgraded in favour of science, technology and maths.

To what extent the vision is realized will depend in part on whether ACE’s ambitions catch the government’s interest sufficiently to influence the upcoming spending review, and provide a counterweight to the scorn (轻视) that is regularly poured on the humanities. Around £400m has been cut from local government arts budgets since 2010, and ACE cannot plug this gap. The closure of youth clubs and live music venues, and growing financial pressures linked to the property market, are among other reasons for this worrisome narrowing of opportunities. So far Boris Johnson has offered few signs that he has in mind a starring role for the arts in post-Brexit Britain, although 2022’s Festival of Brexit is one such event. ACE’s plan should boost the profile of all those, in government and outside, who are arguing for more.

1. The purpose of making arts available to more people is to __________.

A．enlighten people from all walks of life

B．consolidate various communities

C．create job opportunities for artists

D．maximize the natural value of art

2. According to the passage, ACE is most likely to promote the arts of ___________.

A．national institutions

B．commercial centers

C．local governments

D．towns and villages

3. Which of the following statements would Sir Nicholas Serota most probably agree with?

A．Audiences with little education can also gain pleasure from cultural activities.

B．Artists and audiences can create and enjoy the arts together without barriers.

C．The soldiers and volunteers should vividly show scenes about the First World War.

D．Science, technology and maths are more important than humanities and arts nowadays.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．For the arts to get revitalized more extensive efforts are needed.

B．The current British government has done enough to promote arts.

C．ACE should narrow the financial gap left by the local government.

D．Many performing venues have closed due to the rising property market.

2 . States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states.

The Supreme Court’s opinion Thursday overruled a pair of decades-old decisions that states said cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. The decisions made it more difficult for states to collect sales tax on certain online purchases.

The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn’t have to collect sales tax for the state. Customers were generally responsible for paying the sales tax to the state themselves if they weren’t charged it, but most didn’t realize they owed it and few paid.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed. “Each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the States,” he wrote in an opinion joined by four other justices. Kennedy wrote that the rule “limited States’ ability to seek long-term prosperity and has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field.”

The ruling is a victory for big chains with a presence in many states, since they usually collect sales tax on online purchases already. Now, rivals will be charging sales tax where they hadn’t before. Big chains have been collecting sales tax nationwide because they typically have physical stores in whatever state a purchase is being shipped to. Amazon.com, with its network of warehouses, also collects sales tax in every state that charges it, though third-party sellers who use the site don’t have to.

Until now, many sellers that have a physical presence in only a single state or a few states have been able to avoid charging sales taxes when they ship to addresses outside those states. Sellers that use eBay and Etsy, which provide platforms for smaller sellers, also haven’t been collecting sales tax nationwide. Under the ruling Thursday, states can pass laws requiring out-of-state sellers to collect the state’s sales tax from customers and send it to the state.

Retail trade groups praised the ruling, saying it levels the playing field for local and online businesses. The losers, said retail analyst Neil Saunders, are online-only retailers, especially smaller ones. Those retailers may face headaches complying with various state sales tax laws. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council advocacy group said in a statement, “Small businesses and internet entrepreneurs are not well served at all by this decision.”

1. The Supreme Court decision Thursday will ______.

A．better businesses’ relations with states

B．put most online businesses in a dilemma

C．make more online shoppers pay sales tax

D．force some states to cut sales tax

2. It can be learned from paragraphs 2 and 3 that the overruled decisions ______.

A．have led to the dominance of e-commerce

B．have cost consumers a lot over the years

C．were widely criticized by online purchasers

D．were considered unfavorable by states

3. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, the physical presence rule has ______.

A．hindered economic development	B．brought prosperity to the country
C．harmed fair market competition	D．boosted growth in states revenue

4. In dealing with the Supreme Court decision Thursday, the author ______.

A．gives a factual account of it and discusses its consequences

B．describes the long and complicated process of its making

C．presents its main points with conflicting views on them

D．cites some cases related to it and analyzes their implications

3 . AI can transform education for the better

As students return to classrooms for the new year, it is striking to reflect on how little education has changed in recent decades. The sector remains a digital laggard (落后者). American schools and universities spend 2% and 5% of their budgets, _________, on technology, compared with 8% for the average American company.

When the pandemic forced schools and universities to shut down, the moment for a digital _________ seemed close when the market value of online tutoring providers like Chegg and Byju’s both increased. However, once covid was brought under control, classes continued much as before.

If the pandemic couldn’t overcome the education sector’s _________ to digital interruption, can artificial intelligence? ChatGPT-like generative AI, which can converse cleverly on varieties of subjects, certainly _________. So much so that educationalists began to _________ that students would use it to cheat on essays and homework. Increasingly, however, it is generating excitement as a means to provide _________ tutoring to various students and speed up boring tasks such as marking.

Learners, for their part, are _________ the technology. Two-fifths of undergraduates reported using an AI chatbot to help them with their studies. Indeed, the technology’s popularity has raised awkward questions for companies like Chegg, which was losing customers _________ ChatGPT. Yet there are good reasons to believe that education specialists like Chegg who employ AI will eventually _________ generalists such as OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

For one, AI chatbots often talk nonsense, an unhelpful trait in an educational context. “Students want content from __________ providers,” argues Kate Edwards, chief pedagogist at Pearson, a textbook publisher. The company has not allowed ChatGPT and other AIs to __________ its material, but has instead used the content to train its own models, which it is embedding into its set of learning apps.

__________, as Chegg’s Mr Rosensweig argues, teaching is not merely about giving students an answer, but about presenting it in a way that helps them learn. Understanding pedagogy (教学法) thus gives education specialists an __________. Pearson has designed its AI tools to __________ students by breaking complex topics down, testing their understanding and providing quick feedback, says Ms Edwards. Byju’s is incorporating “forgetting curves” for students into the design of its AI tutoring tools, refreshing their memories at personalized __________.

Bringing AI to education will not be easy, but once answers on how to make use of this technology become clearer, such a development will certainly deserve top marks.

1.

A．respectively

B．appropriately

C．totally

D．ultimately

2.

A．divide

B．reverse

C．boom

D．withdrawal

3.

A．tendency

B．resistance

C．attention

D．anxiety

4.

A．serve the purpose

B．break the ice

C．take the initiative

D．do some good

5.

A．maintain

B．panic

C．doubt

D．wonder

6.

A．personalized

B．individualistic

C．characteristic

D．attentive

7.

A．attempting

B．declining

C．opposing

D．embracing

8.

A．for

B．under

C．to

D．in

9.

A．detect

B．transform

C．overtake

D．enhance

10.

A．comprehensive

B．advanced

C．distinguished

D．trusted

11.

A．give away

B．take in

C．bring about

D．hold up

12.

A．By contrast

B．Despite this

C．What’s more

D．As a result

13.

A．applause

B．edge

C．hesitation

D．improvement

14.

A．convince

B．engage

C．capture

D．challenge

15.

A．intervals

B．cost

C．mercy

D．best

4 .

A．The number of the train.	B．When the next train will depart.
C．Where to find some equipment.	D．Where to board the train.

5 . Questions 11 through 13 are based on the following passage. 1.

A．It varies from person to person.

B．It is decided by the most healthy lifestyle.

C．It needs some tests and comparison to the standard.

D．It is based more on individual needs than personal goals.

2.

A．Strength.

B．Endurance.

C．Flexibility.

D．Health.

3.

A．The variety of fitness in the future.

B．The importance of three basic factors concerning fitness.

C．The new concept of fitness and its essential factors.

D．Training effects of some sports on people.

6 . Questions 17 through 20 are based on the following conversation.1.

A．Sharing pictures online with his followers.

B．Picking out the pictures to be shared online.

C．Having pictures taken by his followers online.

D．Helping others to take some pictures online.

2.

A．His friends and relatives.	B．His friends and followers.
C．His social media friends and followers.	D．All people online.

3.

A．Opposed.

B．Favorable.

C．Indifferent.

D．Doubtful.

4.

A．There are a lot of virus and various crimes online.

B．It’s full of too many false and unqualified products.

C．It’s changeable and hard to be controlled by people.

D．There are all kinds of cheats online actually.

7 . A Neurologist’s Tips to Protect Your Memory

As we age, our memory declines. This is a fixed ___________ for many of us; however, according to neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak, a neurologist and clinical professor, decline is not ___________.

Ultimately, “we are what we can remember,” he said. Here are some of Dr. Restak’s tips for developing and ___________ a healthy memory.

Pay more attention.

Some memory lapses are actually attention problems, not memory problems. ___________, if you’ve forgotten the name of someone you met at a cocktail party, it could be because you were talking with several people at the time.

One way to pay attention when you learn new information is to ___________ the word. Having a picture associated with the word, Restak said, can improve ___________.

Find regular everyday memory challenges.

There are many memory exercises that you can ___________ into everyday life. Dr. Restak suggested composing a grocery list and memorizing it. When you get to the store, don’t ___________ pull out your list (or your phone) — instead, pick up everything according to your memory.

Once in a while, get in the car without turning on your GPS, and try to ___________ through the streets from memory. A small 2020 study suggested that people who used GPS more frequently over time showed a steeper cognitive ____________ in spatial memory three years later.

Play games.

Dr. Restak’s “favorite working memory game” is 20 Questions — in which a group thinks of a person, place or object, and the other person, the questioner, asks 20 questions with a yes-or-no answer. Because to succeed, he said, the questioner must hold all of the ____________ answers in memory in order to guess the correct answer.

The point is to ____________ your working memory, “maintaining information and moving it around in your mind,” Restak wrote.

Read more novels.

One early indicator of memory issues, according to Dr. Restak, is ____________ fiction. “People, when they begin to have memory difficulties, tend to switch to reading nonfiction,” he said. Fiction requires active engagement with the text, starting at the beginning and working through to the end.

____________ technology.

Storing everything on your phone means that “you don’t know it,” Dr. Restak said, which can ____________ our own mental abilities. The second way our relationship with technology is harmful to memory is because it often takes our focus away from the task at hand.

1.

A．accomplishment

B．assumption

C．regulation

D．observation

2.

A．inevitable

B．dispensable

C．reverse

D．doubtful

3.

A．striking

B．enduring

C．arousing

D．maintaining

4.

A．Nevertheless

B．Moreover

C．For instance

D．Instead

5.

A．demonstrate

B．trace

C．discover

D．visualize

6.

A．recall

B．sight

C．target

D．instinct

7.

A．enclose

B．integrate

C．evolve

D．impose

8.

A．steadily

B．actively

C．gradually

D．automatically

9.

A．adjust

B．rush

C．gesture

D．navigate

10.

A．performance

B．decline

C．awareness

D．increase

11.

A．modest

B．original

C．previous

D．personal

12.

A．engage

B．drain

C．insert

D．fulfill

13.

A．devoting to

B．concentrating on

C．giving in to

D．giving up on

14.

A．Beware of

B．Stick to

C．Long for

D．Differ from

15.

A．counter

B．stock

C．erode

D．strengthen

8 . The last few months had brought to my attention an important incompatibility between us — one that I’d never noticed before. Despite being a pair of lifelong travelers, Felipe and I seldom travel in a similar way. The reality about Felipe is that he’s both the best traveler I’ve ever met and by far the worst. He hates strange bathrooms and dirty restaurants and uncomfortable trains and foreign beds. Given a choice, he will always select a lifestyle of routine, familiarity, and reassuringly boring everyday practices. All of which might make you assume that the man is not fit to be a traveler at all. But you would be wrong to assume that, for here is Felipe’s traveling gift, his superpower, the secret weapon that makes him peerless. He can create a familiar habitat of boring everyday practices for himself anyplace, if you just let him stay in one spot. He can assimilate absolutely anywhere on the planet in about three days, and then he’s capable of staying put in that place for the next decade or so without complaint. This is why Felipe has been able to live all over the world. Not merely travel, but live. Over the year he has folded himself into societies from South America to Europe, from the Middle East to the South Pacific. He arrives somewhere totally new, decides he likes the place, moves right in, learns the language, and instantly becomes a local.

While Felipe can find a corner anywhere in the world and settle down for good, I can’t. I am infinitely curious and almost infinitely patient with minor disasters, which makes me a far better day-to-day traveler than he will ever be. So I can go anywhere on the planet—that’s not a problem. The problem is I just can’t live anywhere on the planet. I’d realized this only a few weeks earlier, back in northern Laos, when Felipe had woken up one lovely morning in Luang Prabang and said, “Darling, let’s stay here.”

“Sure,” I’d said. “We can stay here for a few more days if you want.”

“No, I mean let’s move here. Let’s forget about me immigrating to America. It’s too much trouble. This is a wonderful town. I like the feeling of it. It reminds me of Brazil thirty years ago. It wouldn’t take much money or effort for us to run a little hotel or shop here, rent an apartment, settle in ….” He was serious. He would just do that. But I can’t.

1. The word “incompatibility” (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to “_____”.

A．harmony

B．negotiation

C．difference

D．tension

2. According to the writer, what is Felipe’s traveling gift?

A．He can speak dozens of languages.

B．He can make himself at home anywhere.

C．He can decide at first sight if he likes the place.

D．He can find interesting activities in boring places.

3. According to the writer, why is she a better traveler than Felipe?

A．She is much more restless than he is.

B．She can travel for a longer time than he can.

C．She is more curious about local life than he is.

D．She can live better in poor places than he can.

4. By “I can’t” (in the last paragraph), the writer means that she can’t _____.

A．remember the trip to Brazil	B．move to Luang Prabang
C．immigrate to America as planned	D．run a little hotel or shop well

9 . Outdoor Recreation

Get outdoors with us this summer and experience the excitement and peace within our unique programs. Research suggests that being physically active within green spaces helps reduce stress, anxiety and anger, and improves moods and overall health and wellbeing. Our Department combines experiential activities for your enjoyment.

All fitness levels are welcome; we can accommodate most accessible needs. Please contact Laurie Wright at wright@utsc.utoronto.ca with any questions. Trips are offered to registered U of T students first and then if there is space to staff, non-registered students and guests of the participants. Register at recreg.utoronto.ca or in person at the TPASC Registration Desk.

Please check our website for all updated trip dates, prices, registration details and more!
Refunds are only available up to 5 business days prior to the trip.
Upcoming Adventures
TBD: Treetop Trekking and Mountain Biking

Participants will travel by bus up to the Horseshoe Valley Resort. You may choose between a 3-hour Treetop Trekking adventure or 2 hours of x-country mountain biking through the region’s forest trails. Treetop Trekking involves zip-lining (moving quickly with the rider suspended from a cable) and climbing through obstacle courses in a peaceful forest setting. Both adventures will be instructor-led and all equipment will be provided. No experience necessary. Beginner to advanced courses will be available.

Tuesday, June 13^th : Outdoor Rock Climbing or Hiking Trails

A bus will transport students to Milton to either hike the area or rock climb. The rock climbing will take place at Rattlesnake Point and there is an opportunity for students to challenge themselves by climbing up to 80ft on some of the best rocks in Southern Ontario. All instructors are fully certified and all equipment will be provided. A custom course will be set up to meet the needs of climbers. The hike will take place through some of the Bruce Peninsula trails and Halton Parks. Participants will have over 20kms of trails to choose from. You may hike with a group or follow the map trails with some friends.

Friday, June 30^th (indefinite date): Warsaw Caves

The Warsaw Caves Conservation Area and Campground takes its name from a series of seven caves found in the park. Join us as we explore the multiple courses through the caves have a picnic lunch. Come enjoy this natural underground jungle gym.

1. John, a U of T teaching staff member, would like to take part in some of these programs, what problem may he encounter?

A．He can’t get his fees for a Tuesday trip back if he cancels it the previous Monday.

B．These outdoor adventures will exhaust him and leave him in low spirits.

C．There may be no space for him because registered students enjoy priority.

D．The program that explores the Warsaw Caves underground is sure to change its date.

2. All of the following are activities mentioned in the passage ЕХСЕРТ___________.

A．bird watching

B．zip-lining

C．hiking

D．cave exploring

3. Which of the following statements is true according to this passage?

A．Money can be refunded within five business days after the trip starts.

B．Adventurers should have some basic trekking and biking skills.

C．Students must bring some climbing equipment required by the programs.

D．The name Warsaw Caves originated from the seven caves found in the park.

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

OpenAI publishes Elon Musk’s emails. ‘We’re sad that it’s come to this’

OpenAI fired back at Elon Musk, who sued the ChatGPT company last week for chasing profit and     1     (diverge) from its original, nonprofit mission. Tuesday night, OpenAI published several of Musk’s emails from the early days of the company that appear to show Musk acknowledging OpenAI needed to make a ton of money to fund the incredible computing resources needed to power     2     AI ambitions.

In the emails, parts of     3     have been redacted (修订), Musk argues that the company stood virtually no chance of building a successful generative AI platform by raising cash alone, and the company needed to find alternate sources of revenue to survive.

In a November 22, 2015, email to CEO Sam Altman, Musk, an OpenAI co-founder, said the company needed to raise much more than $100 million to “avoid sounding hopeless.” Musk suggested a $1 billion funding commitment and promised that he would cover     4     did not get raised.

OpenAI in a blog post Tuesday night said Musk never followed through on his promise,     5     (commit) $45 million in funding for OpenAI,     6     other donors raised $90 million. Lawyers for Musk declined to comment on OpenAI’s claims.

Musk, in a February 1, 2018, email, told company executives that the only path forward for OpenAI was for Tesla, his electric car company, to buy it. The company refused, and Musk left OpenAI later that year.

In December 2018, Musk emailed Altman and other executives that OpenAI would not be relevant “    7     a dramatic change in execution and resources.”

“This needs billions per year immediately or forget it,” Musk emailed. “I really hope I’m wrong.”

OpenAI executives agreed. In 2019, they formed OpenAI LP, a for-profit entity that exists within the larger company’s structure. That for-profit company took OpenAI from effectively worthless to a valuation of $90 billion in just a few years — and Altman     8     (credit) as the mastermind of that plan and the key to the company’s success.

Microsoft has since committed $13 billion in a close partnership with OpenAI.

Musk’s complaint,     9     (file) last week in California state court, said that company and its partnership with Microsoft violated OpenAI’s founding charter, representing a breach of contract. Musk is asking for a jury trial and for the company     10     (pay) back the profit they received from the business.