1 . In today’s not-so-golden time of domestic air travel, checking a suitcase for free is a luxury afforded to few. And those who do check their bags often find themselves stressing out during the whole journey, wondering if their luggage (行李) is actually going to arrive at their destination with them. As a result, more travelers than ever are choosing to bring their belongings into a carry-on bag — many of them big and heavy, with wheels.

The result? A boarding free-for-all (混战), as nervous flyers wait around the gate hoping to be among the first to get on the plane — all to get a tiny piece of overhead space near their seat. Unfortunately, the older versions of those highly desired bins (柜) were not designed with your average carry-on roller suitcase in mind. They must be laid down flat, leaving a small space above them that is of little use, while taking up a good piece of bin space.

Enter French aircraft maker Airbus launches its new “Airspace L Bins” designed to be refitted in only three to five days. These specially shaped overhead compartments (隔层) promise to create 60% more cabin luggage space than traditional systems. How? Simply by allowing travelers to load their carry-on roller bags vertically (垂直地) instead of having to lay them flat. Made of ultra-lightweight composite (复合的) products, the refit reuses many parts of the original bin including the sidewall, ceiling and lighting to cut down on waste.

Flight attendants will likely approve of the new compartments too, knowing they can complete boarding procedures while hearing far fewer complaints from flyers about how they don’t have a place to store their bags.

Luggage has long been a contentious and complicated issue in the aviation world, and that doesn’t appear set to change with or without bigger bins. In the end, regardless of traveler preferences, most would agree that if better-designed bins can speed up the time we spend getting on and off the plane, we’re all for them.

1. Which of the following stops passengers from checking their luggage?

A．Cost and security.	B．Habit and preference.
C．Character and personality.	D．Environmental issues and protection.

2. Why are passengers eager to get on the plane first?

A．To get a convenient luggage holder.

B．To occupy the most comfortable seat.

C．To check their luggage free of charge.

D．To make sure their luggage is safe.

3. What can we learn about “Airspace L Bins” from the text?

A．They are made of a single material.	B．They are all refitted under the seats.
C．Their parts are entirely newly made.	D．They allow luggage to be set vertically.

4. What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?

A．Bigger bins are not key to flights.	B．The luggage problem has been totally settled.
C．New bins can save time for passengers.	D．Travelers will change their preferences.

3 . 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。

On October 15, 2023, the Chinese Embassy in the United States on Sunday hosted a ”Discover Beijing Opera“ cultural event at its Public Diplomacy Center in Washington D. C.,     1     (bring)the charm of the traditional Chinese stage art to nearly 100 people from all walks of life.

The event was co-organized by DC’s Beauty of Beijing Opera Lad(DCBBO)and a local     2     (organize)Things to Do DC. Minister Jing Quan of the embassy attended the event.

At the event, the guests     3     (show)the make-up process of a ”guifei”(noble consort)as well as props(道具)and costumes     4     (use)in the Beijing Opera. In addition, the history, performance features, and beauty of the traditional art were also on show.

Through performances such     5     “Battle at the Hu Village”, “Empty City Strategy”, “Monkey King” and “Drunken Beauty”, the audience experienced a great joy of the major types of roles of the Beijing Opera and the     6     (base)skills including singing, reciting, acting, and martial arts.

The audience went on stage     7     (experience)horse riding, male role walking, fighting, playing small gong(锣)—     8     musical instrument in Beijing Opera-and acting with water sleeves.

“This is unique. This is fantastic,” Gregory Bland, CEO of Things to Do DC, told Xinhua. “I’m looking around: everyone’s smiling; everyone’s happy. They’re running up to take     9     (picture); they’re running up to get involved; they’re all asking questions. ”

This cultural event was held successfully,     10     would help promote people-to-people exchanges, he said.

4 . 听下面一段独白, 回答以下小题。
1. What do most Indians like doing in their free time?

A．Doing sports.

B．Watching films.

C．Singing and dancing.

2. How much do most Bollywood films cost?

A．About $2 million.

B．About $5 million.

C．About $500 million.

3. What can we learn about Amitabh Bachchan?

A．He has starred in 114 films.

B．He is one of the greatest American actors.

C．He has a great passion for the film industry.

4. What does the speaker mainly talk about?

A．A brief introduction to Bollywood.

B．Common entertainment activities in India.

C．The comparison between Hollywood and Bollywood.

5 . During Brandi Tuck’s junior year at the University of Florida in 2004, her spring break plans fell through and it changed the course of her life.

All of her friends were going on alternative spring break trips, which gave them an opportunity to serve a diverse set of communities and she reluctantly signed up because nobody was going to the beach with her.

There were several trips to choose from, each focused on a cause like AIDs, women’s rights or the environment. But none of them spoke to Tuck. She’ d done community service for years, but more out of just a desire to enrich her resume (简历). “I picked the homelessness and poverty trip. I thought it was the least bad of the choices,” she recalled.

That spring, she and a dozen other students headed to Atlanta, Georgia, to spend a week volunteering at homeless shelters. The experience was eye-opening. At one shelter, one young boy’s request stopped her in her tracks. He said, “Oh, I love you. Can you please not go? Stay with me.” Tuck knew they didn’t have a lot of attention because the moms were so stressed. So she stayed. In that moment, Tuck decided to continue working at the shelter.

In 2008, Tuck started a nonprofit organization, now known as Path Home, which provides shelter, support, and a host of services to families experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon. The organization has since helped more than 10,000 parents and children. She also bought an old church to create an environment that would help families recover mentally as well as physically, giving them the sense of emotional, physical, and psychological safety.

Tuck says her wish is a society where every family receives the support and compassion they need to boom, which is all that she needs to continue doing the work.

1. What happened during Tuck’s spring break in 2004?

A．She traveled to the beach by herself.

B．She joined in a community service activity.

C．She was admitted to the University of Florida.

D．She organized a number of holiday study tours.

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

A．Excitedly.

B．Proudly.

C．Unwillingly.

D．Fortunately.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly talking about?

A．Tuck’s sympathy for the poor.	B．The effort that Tuck made.
C．Tuck’s reason for volunteering.	D．The honor that Tuck received.

4. Which of the following inspires Tuck’s ongoing work with the homeless?

A．The little boy’s invitation.	B．Her wish to help all the homeless out.
C．The challenges from her volunteering.	D．Path Home’s development.

6 . 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。

Samuel, aged 49, was resting on the glass wall which encircled the tiger at the time. After a long wait, the opportunity to face the tiger arrived. Samuel was uncertain if the large cat could recognize him after his five-year absence because of his wife’s new job in another city.

Samuel has had a lifelong craziness with animals. Born and raised in a forest-surrounded area, he often brought home animals he had not seen before. Thus, when Samuel announced to everybody that he had been planning to become an animal keeper, nobody was shocked.

Nothing pleased Samuel more than being employed by someone close to his birthplace, who was a zookeeper. He finally did something that made him happy each day. Furthermore, this job paid well enough for Samuel! This made the situation even better!

Luna, the zoo’s sole (唯一的) female white tiger, liked Samuel. Samuel liked it too. Nobody could comprehend their extraordinary relationship. Luna seldom approached humans. When Luna was younger, it was mistreated at the hotel’s tourist attractions. When the zoo rescued Luna, it made no attempt to interact with anyone. Samuel was able to break through Luna’s fearful shell with a lot of support and patience.

Luna was going to have a baby as part of a plan to save white tigers. Luna had a rough pregnancy (怀孕), but its delivery was terrible. As Luna struggled, Samuel looked after it for hours. Unfortunately, Luna died during her delivery. Samuel was not able to stop crying over its death, but he needed Luna’s children out as quickly as possible!

Luna was taken to a veterinary hospital (兽医院). Samuel wandered outside, waiting for word. The veterinarian soon presented Samuel with a baby tiger. But who would look after it? As its mother passed away, Samuel took on the responsibility. He had been caring for the baby’s mum all along, and now the baby, which Samuel named Blanca.

注意: 1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

However, things did not go well as expected.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Five years later, Samuel persuaded his wife to return home.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . Reunions offer a chance to reflect on how much has changed. One happened in Hollywood when Here premiered (首映), bringing together the actors, director and writer behind Forrest Gump 40 years later for a new film. The stars were “de-aged” using new AI tools, making them more youthful in some scenes and enabling the filmmakers to see the transformation in real time while shooting.

With the use of generative AI in film making come things worth watching. The first is how AI will be used to tell new types of stories, as storytelling becomes more personalised and interactive. No one is quite sure how the nature of storytelling will change, but it is sure to. David Thomson, a film historian, compares generative AI to the advent of sound. When movies were no longer silent, it changed the way plot points were made and how deeply viewers could connect with characters. Cristóbal Valenzuela, who runs a company providing AI-enhanced software, says AI is like a “new kind of camera”, offering a fresh “opportunity to reimagine what stories are like”. Both are right.

Another big development to watch is how AI will be used as a time-saving tool. Generative AI will automate and simplify complex tasks like film-editing and special effects. For a glimpse of the future, watch Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2023. It featured a scene that used a “rotoscoping” tool to edit out the green-screen background and make a talking rock more believable. It shortened into hours what might have otherwise taken days of video-editing.

What is also noticeable is more dramatic conflicts between creators and those running AI platforms. This year is likely to bring floods of lawsuits (诉讼) from authors, musicians and actors about how their works have been used to train AI systems without permission or payment. Perhaps they can agree on some sort of licensing arrangement, in which AI companies start paying copyright-holders.

It will probably be a few years before a full-length film is produced entirely by AI, but it is just a matter of time.

1. What can we learn about the film Here?

A．It relates a story about youth.	B．The theme of the film is reunion.
C．AI tools are employed in the film.	D．It is adapted from Forrest Gump.

2. What does David think of AI’s application in film making?

A．Transformative.

B．Destructive.

C．Representative.

D．Irreplaceable.

3. Why does the author mention the film Everything Everywhere All at Once?

A．To show the high efficiency of AI tools.	B．To demonstrate the influence of the film.
C．To analyse a novel way of video-editing.	D．To praise the hard work behind the scenes.

4. What is the article mainly about?

A．Conflicts between man and machine.	B．AI’s huge effects on film production.
C．Drawbacks of dependence on AI tools.	D．Hot debate on the use of technology.

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How often is the Noetic Learning Math Contest held?

A．Twice a year.

B．Once a year.

C．Once every two years.

2. What are students required to do during the contest?

A．Solve 15 problems in 45 minutes.

B．Solve 20 problems in half an hour.

C．Solve 30 problems in 45 minutes.

3. What will the top 10% of teams receive?

A．A “Team Winner” medal.

B．A “Team Achievement Plaque” medal.

C．A “National Honor Roll” medal.

9 . 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。

In recent years, shared vegetable plots     1    (find) in the city’s suburban (郊区的) districts in Shanghai as more white-collar workers turn to farming     2    (escape) the pressures of city life.

Yang Hui is one of them. He has rented a 20-square-meter vegetable plot for 1600 yuan per year. The family tends radishes (白萝卜), lettuces and other vegetables they have planted. When they aren’t around during the week,     3    (professional) take over the work.     4     (found) by Chen Yougui     5     October 2022, the shared farm spans about 13.33 hectares (公顷) and comes with shared vegetable plots, barbecue pits and leisure areas. According to Chen, the monitoring system covers     6     entire farmland, allowing members to view their vegetables and fields remotely through their phones.

This farm has about 200 members, some of     7     even raise chickens and ducks running in the fields. Interestingly, each animal comes with its own QR code (二维码). The farm also uses technology to ensure that the chickens and ducks don’t go missing     8     run in someone else’s plot.

Those who wish to     9    (active) participate in the cultivation (种植) of their crops, mainly from the older generations, can opt (选择) for the package to plant by     10    (they). Meanwhile young customers, like Yang, usually choose a package that comes with additional services from the farm to care for their plants whenever needed.

10 . Traveling with family members can not only enhance the parent-child relationship, but also broaden the horizons and share happiness and memories. Take a trip with your family to one of the destinations below!

Yellowstone National Park

Kids will love watching Old Faithful, one of nearly 500 geysers (间歇喷泉) in Yellowstone, erupt, and there’s nothing like a hike for family bonding. Keep an eye out for wild animals, or visit the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center to guarantee some animal interactions. Hotels are expensive, so consider taking advantage of the park’s well-equipped campsites.

Orlando

Appealing, thrilling and fun, Walt Disney World Resort (度假村) is engineered specifically for families. Orlando also has a handful of other theme parks, including Universal Orlando Resort, where you’ll find The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Discovery Cove, an all-inclusive day resort, where you can swim and dive around the park’s coral reef.

Destin

Big Kahuna’s Water & Adventure Park(open seasonally)features waterslides and a lazy river, while the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park is home to animals kids love, including dolphins and penguins. And if you’re looking for an adventure on the water, consider booking a boat tour at Henderson Beach State Park or Crystal Beach Park. Just don’t forget to pack your beach hat.

Anaheim

Anaheim, California has been home to Disneyland Resort since 1955. After catching up with Mickey and friends, visit Anaheim’s Adventure City Amusement Park or Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park—another top amusement park in the U.S. And if you’ re in town during baseball season, you can catch a game at Angel Stadium.

1. What can visitors do in Yellowstone National Park?

A．Check into a discounted hotel.	B．Take photos with film characters.
C．Watch an ancient volcano erupt.	D．Stay at well-equipped campsites.

2. Where can kids play with dolphins?

A．Crystal Beach Park.	B．Henderson Beach State Park.
C．Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park.	D．Big Kahuna’s Water & Adventure Park.

3. What do Orlando and Anaheim have in common?

A．They include lazy rivers.	B．They provide some animal interactions.
C．They have Disney-themed resorts.	D．They host professional baseball games.