1 . It was the most destructive wildfire in California history. It started in Paradise (天堂镇) and caused $16.5 billion in
Grammer, working in Los Angeles, grew up there. When his friend Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney — the only part of his house to survive — he felt
“I’ve got to
Grammer spent three hours painting an image of a woman on the
Grammer posted the image on Instagram. Those who were affected by the fire,
Greatly inspired, Grammer returned eight times. Outside one house, he found a photo of a girl, Eleanor. He painted a picture of her on the wall of her home left
Ironically (讽刺的是) that first painting, on the chimney in Paradise,
A.damage | B.collection | C.debt | D.reserve |
A.basically | B.generally | C.beautifully | D.seriously |
A.disappointed | B.interested | C.helpless | D.fearless |
A.beautify | B.paint | C.build | D.repair |
A.succeed | B.improve | C.practice | D.express |
A.chimney | B.wall | C.window | D.door |
A.art | B.life | C.nature | D.beauty |
A.on average | B.in general | C.on earth | D.in particular |
A.argued | B.insisted | C.posted | D.suggested |
A.standing | B.existing | C.fallen | D.destroyed |
A.pretend | B.afford | C.continue | D.decide |
A.new | B.special | C.practical | D.real |
A.copy | B.handle | C.donate | D.admire |
A.flashed | B.suffered | C.survived | D.waited |
A.spirit | B.size | C.fame | D.power |
In 2018, 17-year-old Hemesh spent a life-changing summer with his grandmother Anne, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Witnessing the impact of the disease firsthand, Hemesh was awakened to the seriousness of the situation.
One night, Hemesh walked into the kitchen only to discover that his grandmother had left the gas stove (炉) on after making tea. Shocked by the dangerous consequences Alzheimer’s disease could bring about, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if he hadn’t been there.
Hemesh’s worries increased as he observed his grandmother’s behavior. She would wake up in the early hours of the morning, believing she was on a train, and wander outside aimlessly. This wandering tendency could potentially lead her to get lost or put herself in risky situations.
Determined to make a difference, Hemesh engaged himself in extensive research about Alzheimer’s disease and its symptomatic (症状的) progression. Through his studies, he discovered that wandering was a common problem among dementia patients, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease.
Inspired by his newfound knowledge and fueled by his desire to help, Hemesh told his family, “I can’t just stand by and watch this happen. I need to do something to keep Grandma safe. I think I have an idea that might help not just her, but others in similar situations.”
With firm determination, he developed an inventive answer to the wandering dilemma, a device he called the Guardian Companion. It was a wearable device, similar to a smartwatch, specifically designed for Alzheimer’s patients. It integrated advanced GPS technology and a panic button to assist those who tended to wander, ensuring their safety and well-being. After the device got its official approval, Hemesh happily went to try it on for his grandmother.
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。
As Anne put on the Guardian Companion, Hemesh explained how it worked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the next few weeks, the device made a difference to Anne and her family.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . If you think of the jobs robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. It’s easy to imagine robot cleaners and factory workers, but some jobs need human connection and creativity. But are we underestimating (低估) what robots can do?
British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks so. And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027.
One thing is certain, though.
Teachers all over the world are leaving because it is a difficult job and they feel overworked. Perhaps the question is not “Will robots replace teachers?” but “How can robots help teachers?” Office workers can use software to do things.
A.Teachers can be replaced by robots. |
B.A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all. |
C.Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work. |
D.He predicts robots will do the main job of transferring information. |
E.Could there be a place for robots in education after all? |
F.Robots can save time that teachers spend in teaching in classroom. |
G.In some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing (诊断) illness. |
4 . In today’s digital era, social media users are increasingly coming across fake news online. This leads to the pressing issue: What causes people to fall for misinformation on the Internet?
According to researchers at the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, users can easily fall into an echo chamber (回声室)—a sort of virtual space where users consume only one-sided news, eventually distrusting any opposing views. “We all tend to agree with the group opinion. Hence, people naturally get together with others who hold the same opinion,” said Dongwon Lee, one of the researchers. “But if you’re not cautious, there is a high risk of falling into an echo chamber.”
To prevent this phenomenon, the researchers have crafted a novel tool, a game named ChamberBreaker, to help players resist echo chambers and reduce the rate of fake news spread. The fundamental approach employed by ChamberBreaker centers around a decision-making procedure that mirrors the creation of echo chambers. In ChamberBreaker, a player is tasked with trying to have community members fall into an echo chamber. To begin, the player is randomly assigned a situation that focuses on a health, political or environmental issue, and is presented with six pieces of news on that topic. Then, the player selects news that could cause the other members to fall into an echo chamber while at the same time maintaining their trust. If successful, the community members will fall into an echo chamber and the player will witness the resulting negative effects on the community.
After developing ChamberBreaker, researchers tested it with over 800 subjects to see if it raised awareness of echo chambers and changed news consumption behaviors. The researchers found that those who played ChamberBreaker were significantly more likely to state their intention to observe online information from more diverse perspectives and showed an increased awareness of the echo chamber phenomenon.
Ultimately, the researchers hope that their methodology can excite a greater interest in the scientific and scholarly study related to information consumption. The application of tools like ChamberBreaker, which focuses on fostering analytical reasoning, may lead us towards a more informed online community.
1. What can be learned about an online echo chamber?A.It encourages well-judged views. |
B.It gathers like-minded individuals. |
C.It functions as a virtual reality platform. |
D.It serves as a tool for identifying fake information. |
A.Assignment of situations. | B.Trust-building exercises. |
C.News selection strategy. | D.Community impact assessment. |
A.The results of scientific testing. |
B.The theoretical framework of the game. |
C.The description of the game procedures. |
D.The common challenges faced during gameplay. |
A.Reducing news inquiry. | B.Encouraging passive reading. |
C.Strengthening prejudiced views. | D.Enhancing critical thinking. |
5 . It is difficult to name a female architect more iconic than Zaha Hadid, whose name can be translated from Arabic as glorious. She passed away five years ago at the age of 65, but the impact she has left on the world of architecture is profound.
Hadid was born into an upper-class Iraqi family in 1950. At the very beginning, she wanted to become a mathematician and studied science at the American University of Beirut, But at some point she realized that she preferred shapes to numbers. And she turned her concentration to architecture and went to London where she met the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.
“There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?” Hadid once said. Despite her abundance of amazing ideas, before the beginning of the 90s, not a single building based on her blueprints had been built. Her highly expressive style, while initially criticized and believed to be crazy, is now regarded as pioneering work. Her striking contemporary architecture, inspired by natural landforms, has graced the skylines of major metropolitan cities.
“Women are always being told, ‘you’re not going to make it; It’s too difficult. You can’t do that Don’t enter this competition; You’ll never win it’,” Hadid said. “They need confidence in themselves and people around them for support.”
Never one to be boxed in by conventions, Hadid proved society wrong. She received her first prize, the “Gold Medal Architectural Design” for her British Architecture in 1982. From then on, the awards kept rolling in. But the true triumph for Hadid came in 2004. Her project for the London Olympics Aquatic Center won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She became the first woman and first Muslim to earn the award, making a name for herself and paving the way for female architects.
Hadid’s genius lives on in the array of many other spectacular buildings she has left behind in the world. Among them are the Guangzhou Opera House, the Beijing Daxing International Airport, as well as the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held.
Hadid may be gone, but her global influence on a new generation of female architects is here to stay.
1. What made Hadid quit science to learn architecture?A.Her talent in architecture. |
B.Her interest in architecture. |
C.Her difficulty in learning science. |
D.Her encounter with Rem Koolhaas. |
A.Her architecture was inspired by mathematics |
B.Her British Architecture won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. |
C.Her architecture style was too bold to be accepted at the very beginning. |
D.Her works can only be found in European countries and the Middle East. |
A.The talk between Hadid and her colleague. |
B.The reason why women fail to be architects. |
C.The prejudice from society against women. |
D.The difficulty Hadid faced being an architect. |
A.She formed a unique style. |
B.She broke away from the convention. |
C.She received various architecture awards |
D.She encouraged other women architects. |
注意:(1)词数80左右;(2)开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Smith,
How is it going? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
1. Who is the man’s favorite player?
A.Messi. | B.Neymar. | C.Cristiano Ronaldo. |
A.The influence. | B.The time change. | C.The best players. |
A.Italy. | B.Brazil. | C.Germany. |
1. How long did the two men spend at sea?
A.One week. | B.About 20 days. | C.About one month. |
A.Positive. | B.Ambiguous. | C.Negative. |
A.Fish. | B.Seabirds. | C.Oranges. |
A.A fisherman |
B.The local government. |
C.A search and rescue team. |
For years, putting up Christmas lights had been a family tradition for the Patrick’s household. It was an occasion when they would busily prepare for the celebration of Christmas.
Their Christmas light display was always a highlight of the neighborhood and brought much delight to the whole community. Typically, Anthony would invite the neighbors over as they decorated the Christmas tree in the front yard. Emily, who lived next door and had known Sara’s family for long, often came to admire their wonderland of Christmas lights.
In early December, Anthony would string colorful lights all around their roof until it looked dazzling. On the front lawn, he would blow up a large white Frosty the Snowman and a Rudolph with a glowing red nose. Sara always joined in, along with their warm-hearted neighbors, hanging gifts on the tree and playing “White Christmas” over and over to keep everyone in the spirit.
Yet the bad news came in the midst of the festive mood, before they could finish the Christmas decoration. Anthony fell desperately ill. The symptoms suggested acute heart failure and he was soon admitted to hospital. Sara spent days and nights in the ward, attending to Anthony and praying for his recovery, though the hope was slim. On Christmas Eve, Anthony passed away.
It came as a huge blow to Sara. In the following days, she had to manage the funeral while struggling to figure out a way to cover housing and household expenses, and tackling a seemingly endless list of difficult to-dos. Perhaps hardest of all, she had to persuade herself into accepting the loss of her father. It was too much to take.
When she pulled up to the house after a long day on the go, the only thing that could comfort her were the twinkling Christmas lights, which brought her a spark of hope-it felt as if the brightness of the lights could cancel out some of the darkness of the past days’ misfortune.
Wanting to help, Emily shared their story on a community website.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Touched by their kindness, Sara decided to fulfill the lighting decorations, though Christmas was gone.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . These days, more and more people go to the gym to work out. But with so many gyms out there, how do you know which one is the right one for you? We find some information about the best gyms in New York City so you can have a better idea of what each gym offers.
New York Sports Club
Initiation Fees: Neighborhood membership, $49.99; Passport membership, $49.99.
Membership Costs: Neighborhood membership, $44.99 a month; Passport membership, $ 99.99 a month.
Additional Fees: Neighborhood membership, $49.99 a year; Passport membership, S 49.99 a year.
Locations: Locations in all five boroughs.
Classes: Studio classes, athletic conditioning, boxing, kickboxing and yoga.
Planet Fitness
Initiation Fees (入会费): Regular membership, $5; Black Card membership, no initiation fee. Membership Costs: Regular membership is $10 a month and includes free fitness training and free wifi. Black Card membership is $ 22.99 a month and includes access to all Planet Fitness locations, free fitness training, free wifi, half-priced cooler drinks and worldwide travel deals.
Additional Fees: $39 membership fee a year.
Locations: Locations in all five boroughs (区).
Classes: None.
Chelsea Piers
Initiation Fees: Call to request.
Membership Costs: For a specific gym, varies by location.
Locations: Chelsea and Brooklyn.
Classes: Strength and conditioning, cycling and yoga.
24 Hour Fitness
Initiation Fees: $0 on select memberships.
Membership Costs: $79.99 for Ultra Sport.
Locations: Midtown and Madison Square Park.
Classes: Studio classes, free weights, group cycling and personal training.
1. What can you do in 24 Hour Fitness?A.Boxing. | B.Yoga. | C.Free weights. | D.Athletic conditioning. |
A.$39. | B.$5. | C.$10. | D.$22.99. |
A.It has no initiation fee. |
B.Its membership costs depend on its location. |
C.Its gyms can be found in all five boroughs. |
D.Its black card members can enjoy half-priced drinks. |