Helen’s parents got a s
April Fool’s Day,
On this day, people engage in jokes with friends, family and even co-workers, It is a chance for everyone to show off their sense of humor and bring smiles to others’
One popular prank on April Fool’s Day is the “fake news” joke. People come up
The joy and laughter shared on April Fool’s Day help strengthen relationships. It is a time for people to come together and enjoy the light side of life. Laughter
In a word, April Fool’s Day is a reminder of the
3 . At graduation ceremonies, it’s common to see parents proudly cheering and clapping for their kids. But have you ever seen it
The video shows Shivaee’s dad, Aashish, walking up to the stage to
The dad,
“This ceremony would have been
Shivaee was barely 3 years old when the video was taken in 2022. That makes the
| A．show | B．happen | C．change | D．return |
| A．secretly | B．patiently | C．shyly | D．loudly |
| A．pick up | B．show off | C．apply for | D．hand out |
| A．observes | B．decorates | C．occupies | D．approaches |
| A．laughter | B．encouragement | C．suspicion | D．opposition |
| A．confused | B．embarrassed | C．relieved | D．touched |
| A．share | B．imagine | C．choose | D．recollect |
| A．news | B．name | C．plan | D．prize |
| A．professors | B．audiences | C．graduates | D．kids |
| A．heartwarming | B．special | C．incomplete | D．unbearable |
| A．words | B．story | C．ideas | D．optimism |
| A．Thanks to | B．Regardless of | C．Rather than | D．As for |
| A．challenge | B．achievement | C．opportunity | D．contribution |
| A．father | B．dream | C．girl | D．scene |
| A．popular | B．awake | C．alive | D．hopeful |
4 . A city can become famous and experience a significant increase in visitors due to the influence of a well-liked film or a TV drama. For audiences, stepping into the scenes and experiencing the daily lives of the characters has become a new travel trend. Over the past year, several films and TV dramas have put their shooting locations into the public spotlight.
Qingdao in Shandong province
The Wandering Earth 2, a sci-fi that explores digital life and space journey, showcases impressive sci-fi scenes.90 percent of the film was shot in different places of Qingdao city, including the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge-the world’s longest cross-sea bridge, and the TAG Art Museum. For sci-fi fans, visiting Qingdao to explore the movie’s filming locations has become a popular trend.
Jiangmen in Guangdong province
The hit show The Knockout made Jiangmen an important tourism destination. As the hometown for many overseas Chinese, the city features historical cultural street scenes and South Asian-style architecture. The city has recorded more than 3.34 million trips in the past two months, which has generated over 3.4 billion yuan of tourism income, reflecting a notable rise of 124.3 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
Ningbo Museum in Zhejiang province
The primary setting for the sci-fi TV drama Three-Body Problem, Ningbo Museum, has caught significant attention. The museum integrates regional cultural features, traditional architectural elements, and modern techniques. Following the TV show’s release, daily visitor numbers rocketed to 5,000, marking a remarkable 220 percent year-on-year increase.
Taiyuan Ancient County in Shanxi province
Full River Red, directed by Zhang Yimou, set the Taiyuan Ancient County on fire with excitement. The movie highlights the county’s complex and narrow streets. The county now draws over 40,000 tourists every day, a significant rise compared to the daily 20,000 previously. Notably, one-third of these tourists were from outside Shanxi province, according to local statistics.
1. Which place best suits visitors who appreciate buildings of foreign style?| A．Qingdao city. | B．Jiangmen city. |
| C．Ningbo Museum. | D．Taiyuan Ancient County. |
| A．Its characteristic streets. | B．Its disastrous fire. |
| C．Its increasing population. | D．Its economic growth. |
| A．Their income depends heavily on tourism. | B．Their architecture integrates different cultures. |
| C．They are famous for their historical landmarks. | D．They become a hit through films or TV dramas. |
5 . Building artificial intelligences that sleep and dream can lead to more dependable models, according to researchers who aim to mimic (模仿) the behavior of the human brain.
Concetto Spampinato and his research members at the University of Catania, Italy, were looking for ways to avoid a phenomenon known as “disastrous forgetting”, where an AI model trained to do a new task loses the ability to carry out jobs it previously excelled at. For instance, a model trained to identify animals could learn to spot different fish species, but then might lose its ability to recognize birds. They developed a method of training AI called Wake-Sleep Consolidated Learning (WSCL), which mimics the way that our brains reorganize short-term memories of daily learning when we are asleep.
Besides the usual training for the “awake” phase, models using WSCL are programmed to have periods of “sleep”, where they analyze awake data from earlier lessons. This is similar to human spotting connections and patterns while sleeping.
WSCL also has a period of “dreaming”, which involves novel data made from combining previous concepts. This helps to integrate previous paths of digital “neurons (神经元)”, freeing up space for future concepts. It also prepares unused neurons with patterns that will help them pick up new lessons more easily.
The researchers tested three AI models using a traditional training method, followed by WSCL training. Then they compared performances for image identification. The sleep-trained models were 2 to 12 percent more likely to correctly identify the contents of an image. They also measured an increase in how much old knowledge a model uses to learn a new task.
Despite the results, Andrew Rogoyski at the University of Surrey, UK, says using the human brain as a blueprint isn’t necessarily the best way to boost AI performance. Instead, he suggests mimicking dolphins, which can “sleep” with one part of the brain while another part remains active. After all, an AI that requires hours of sleep isn’t ideal for commercial applications.
1. WSCL was developed to help improve AI’s ______.| A．reliability | B．creativity | C．security | D．popularity |
| A．Generate new data. | B．Process previous data. |
| C．Receive data for later analysis. | D．Save data for the “awake” phase. |
| A．The application of WSCL. | B．The benefits of AI research. |
| C．The findings of the research. | D．The underlying logic of WSCL. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Prejudiced. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Unconcerned. |
6 . Initial conversations can have a huge impact on how relationships develop over time. People are often stuck in the impressions they think they might have made the minute they finish speaking with someone for the first time: “Did they like me or were they just being polite?” “Were they deep in thought or deeply bored?”
To find out whether these worries are necessary, we have conducted nearly 10 years of research. In our studies, participants in the UK talked with someone they had never met before. Afterward, they were asked how much they liked their conversation partner and how much they believed that their conversation partner liked them. This allowed us to compare how much people believed they were liked to how much they were actually liked.
Time and time again, we found that people left their conversations with negative feelings about the impression they made. That is, people systematically underestimate how much their conversation partners like them and enjoy their company — a false belief we call the “liking gap”.
This bias (偏见) may seem like something that would occur only in initial interactions, but its effects extend far beyond a first impression. Surprisingly, the liking gap can constantly affect a variety of relationships, including interactions with coworkers, long after the initial conversations have taken place. Having a larger liking gap is associated with being less willing to ask workmates for help, less willing to provide workmates with open and honest feedback, and less willing to work on another project together.
There are numerous strategies to minimize your biased feelings. One place to start is shifting your focus of attention. Try to direct your attention to your conversation partner, be genuinely curious about them, ask them more questions, and really listen to their answers. The more you’re zeroed in on the other person, and the less you’re focused on yourself, the better your conversation will be and the less your mind will turn to all the things you think you didn’t do well.
1. Why did the author carry out 10 years of research?| A．To dismiss national concerns. | B．To check out a potential bias. |
| C．To enhance human communication. | D．To develop harmonious relationships. |
| A．Fewer chances of new projects. | B．Underestimation of their ability. |
| C．Bad relationships with people around. | D．Low willingness to interact with others. |
| A．Restate opinions. | B．Deliver warnings. | C．Give suggestions. | D．Make a summary. |
| A．Liking Gap May Influence Work Performances |
| B．First Impressions Rely On Initial Conversations |
| C．People Probably Like You More Than You Think |
| D．How People Like You Matters Less Than You Assume |
7 . Like many others, Animal Lovers League (ALL) all started with a love for animals. ALL is a charity and home to over 500 dogs and cats. It encourages the public to adopt (领养) instead of buying animals and tries to help the animals at ALL find loving families.
Tasks that the founders, Cathy and Mohan, as well as volunteers carry out to care for the animals include feeding them, taking sick animals to hospital and bringing them for checkups.
The adoption process at ALL:
STEP 1 Contact us
Learn more details about our animals for adoption, or view them on our website www.animalloversleague.com .
For dog adoptions, please WhatsApp Catheryn at 9753 3320.
For cat adoptions, please WhatsApp Mohan at 9670 8052.
STEP 2 Meet our furry kids
Get a chance to play with our furry kids, one-on-one, to find your perfect match!
All adoption visits are by appointment (预约) only. No walk-ins are allowed.
STEP 3 Homestay
We will interview you and do a home visit to ensure you are able to take care of our kids.
After that, you will go through the adoption initiation (开始) process with a 2-week homestay to see if our furry baby is able to get used to the environment of your home and if you can follow the lifestyle of having a furry kid to care for.
STEP 4 Successful adoption
You will be asked to fill in an adoption form upon the completion of this process.
We will keep in contact with you to check up on your progress.
No adoption fees are required as we do not put a price on the lives of our furry kids.
1. What do we know about Animal Lovers League?| A．It focuses on taking care of animals. |
| B．It offers professional medical treatment to animals. |
| C．It is home to many animals including dogs and cats. |
| D．It was set up to stop the buying and selling of animals. |
| A．To give people some detailed information about the animals at ALL. |
| B．To ask people to provide a home for the animals at ALL. |
| C．To teach people how to get along with animals at ALL. |
| D．To invite people to get close to the animals at ALL. |
| A．Give some money to ALL. | B．Complete an adoption form. |
| C．Attend an adoption interview. | D．Do some volunteer work for ALL. |
A. All at once, the sky was covered with dark clouds and in less than a minute we were in a terrible storm. A huge wave covered our boat and my younger brother fell into the sea.
B. About three years ago, something terrible happened to me. It took less than a single day to change my hair from black to white.
C. The wind and waves, carried us in the direction of the whirlpool. We went round and round, nearer and nearer to the horrible edge of the whirlpool. Suddenly, we went over the edge.
D. Soon after that, the whirlpool became less wild. The waves soon carried me away and finally a boat picked me up.
E. The boat was on the inside of the huge whirlpool and we were going round in circles at great speed. After I made three important observations. I tied myself to a barrel to help me float.
9 . I first met Kyle as a freshman in high school. That day I saw him walking home from school and
When Graduation Day came at last after four years, Kyle was chosen to give a
“Graduation is a time to
I just looked at my friend with
“
Never underestimate (低估) the power of your
| A．leaving | B．carrying | C．reading | D．bringing |
| A．glasses | B．books | C．phone | D．watch |
| A．anger | B．silence | C．sadness | D．disappointment |
| A．lecture | B．performance | C．gift | D．speech |
| A．throat | B．bag | C．way | D．memory |
| A．praise | B．miss | C．admire | D．thank |
| A．service | B．gift | C．moment | D．achievement |
| A．confidence | B．disbelief | C．satisfaction | D．disagreement |
| A．kill | B．express | C．enjoy | D．hide |
| A．filled | B．opened | C．cleared | D．fixed |
| A．Fortunately | B．Strangely | C．Immediately | D．Clearly |
| A．excited | B．confused | C．relieved | D．shocked |
| A．importance | B．purpose | C．possibility | D．difficulty |
| A．words | B．intelligence | C．encouragement | D．actions |
| A．experience | B．understand | C．change | D．discover |
10 . With a few hours until curtain call, a quiet but noticeable energy fills the backstage dressing room of the famous Sunbeam Theatre, known as “Hong Kong’s Grand Palace for Cantonese Opera” Tonight, it’s the annual Rose family performance.
Some of the performers are eating takeout boxes of food, sure to sustain them through the bows-long show ahead. Others are getting a head start on their make-up. A few are being helped into their colorful costumes by eager assistants.
But there is something unexpectedly unusual about this particular performance that becomes obvious as soon as the curtains rise some of the people on stage aren’t Chinese.
Mike Brady, who comes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stands on stage in full costume. But he has never seen a Cantonese Opera, let alone been in one. As a background character, he has no spoken lines.
This unlikely actor owes his first performance to Lyle Rose, a fellow American who stands next to him in a similar costume. When it comes to performing, Lyle, a native New Yorker who now lives in Hong Kong, is not as green of a performer as Mike; in fact, he is the mastermind behind tonight’s show.
The entire Rose family is on stage. Mike himself is actually a new addition to the group: his daughter recently married Lyle’s younger son.
Cantonese Opera is a family affair for Lyle. Every year, Lyle, his wife, Cynthia Hu-Rose, a Hong Konger, and two sons put on a performance to raise money for local charities. But their true purpose for doing it is simply to introduce people to it. Though Cantonese Opera remains an important part of Hong Kong culture, it has to compete with many other forms of entertainment for the attention of younger generations, who associate n with their grandparents. “We love Cantonese Opera,” Lyle said. “We want people of all ages to come and watch.”
1. What scene is described in Paragraph 2?| A．Actors are practicing a play backstage. |
| B．Actors are getting ready for an upcoming show. |
| C．The audience are lending a hand to a performer. |
| D．The audience are eagerly waiting for a big show. |
| A．Some of its performers are American. |
| B．Most of its performers have no spoken lines. |
| C．Some of its performers wear newly styled costumes |
| D．Most of its performers have never performed before |
| A．He lacks performing experience. |
| B．He has seldom seen Cantonese Opera. |
| C．He directs and plays a part in tonight’s show. |
| D．He always plays a background character in opera shows. |
| A．To make a living abroad. |
| B．To collect money for local charities. |
| C．To change elders’ opinions about operas. |
| D．To attract younger audiences to Cantonese Opera. |
