1 . The Art Institute of Chicago

Visitor Information

Museum Hours

Members: The first hour of every day, 10 a.m. —11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

Monday—Wednesday Closed

Thursday: 11 a.m.—8 p. m.

Friday—Sunday: 11 a.m.—5 p. m.

●Audio Guide

Audio guides can be rented at the admission counter, audio counter and outside some special exhibitions. The guide is free to visitors with visual or hearing disabilities.

●Journey Maker

With the digital interactive JourneyMaker, you can build custom family guides based on your child’s interests-from superheroes to strange and wild creatures. Start your museum journey in the Family Room of the Ryan Leaning Center, and make your visit to the Art Institute an adventure for the whole family.

●Official Mobile App

Your personal, pocket-sized guide to the collection, this new iOS app features podcast-style audio tours, location-aware technology, access to the digital member card, and so much more. Download it today from the App Store.

●Photography

We encourage you to take pictures of the collection and special exhibitions for personal use. Signs indicate the few works that are not allowed to be photographed due to a lender requirement.

●Phones

You are welcome to use your phone to take pictures, text, and use the museum’s app-anything that does not disturb other visitors. If you need to make a phone call, please do so in a non-gallery space.

●Valet Parking

Art Institute visitors can drop off their cars at the Modern Wing entrance (159 East Monroe Street) and walk right into the museum. The valet service is available daily from 10:30 a. m. until one-half hour after closing.

●Admission

Adult: $ 32

Student: $ 26

Child (aged 13 and under): Free

Help us protect the collection-please do not touch the art.

1. How long at maximum can a visitor stay in the museum per day?

A．1 hour.

B．6 hours.

C．9 hours.

D．10 hours.

2. What can be learned from the Visitor Information?

A．Valet parking is not available after closing.	B．All artworks are encouraged to be pictured.
C．Audio guide is free to every museum visitor.	D．Family guides can be tailored to visitors’ needs.

3. How much would a couple with two children aged 6 and 14 pay for admission?

A．$ 64.

B．$ 90.

C．$ 116.

D．$ 128.

2 . Biologists Slagsvold and Wiebe have spent years studying tits, flycatchers, and other birds that lay their eggs into holes in trees, walls and even human-made boxes. “Holes are rare, so there’s great competition,” Wiebe said. Birds will sometimes get into fights. Even after a bird gets a hole, it has to watch out: There’s always a chance that a passerby tries to possess it. Owners don’t have many options to wait for and stop thieves. Some police their nest’s entrance hole, but preparing for parenthood is hungry work, and eventually the birds have to leave to get food. So Slagsvold and Wiebe started to look for alternative home-defense systems the birds might be using.

They noticed feathers, usually helping animals keep warm, but that doesn’t seem to be how these particular birds are using them. Blue tits, for instance, get feathers on top of the nest, rather than putting them in. Some other birds dump feathers into holes before gathering other materials. “They’re white, and often noticeable,” Wiebe said, “as if the birds want to send a message.”

To find out, they built nest boxes — some feathery, some not — in Europe and America, and recorded how tits, flycatchers and swallows reacted. The birds entered feather-free boxes quickly. But they froze at the sight of white feathers, sometimes hesitating outside for an hour. Black feathers scared them less, perhaps because they were harder to see. The feathers didn’t stop the birds as most eventually went inside. But even a brief delay can make a huge difference, Wiebe said. “Even 20 minutes can give the owner enough time to circle back, and fight off their competitors.”

The birds’ behavior shows their high-risk lifestyle. They have to think twice as the holes may be hiding danger. The feathers represent possible violence, showing a predator might be inside.

The experiment reflects the lies animals tell where nest sites are rare. They build a scene so horrible to discourage nest stealers. Birds are terrified of death. And they can exploit that reality to safeguard what’s theirs.

1. What inspired Slagsvold and Wiebe to seek birds’ other possible ways to protect homes?

A．Birds have to fight to get the limited holes.	B．Birds get tired from watching out in nests.
C．Birds face many nest stealers on their own.	D．Birds leave their nests unattended sometimes.

2. What is the function of white feathers outside the nests?

A．To show a friendly welcome.	B．To help stealers avoid danger.
C．To buy time for the nest owners.	D．To confirm this place is occupied.

3. How does the author feel about the birds’ reaction in the experiment?

A．Understandable.

B．Confusing.

C．Possible.

D．Worrying.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Some birds refuse to build their nests	B．It’s important for birds to have feathers
C．High risks of life lead birds to turn to lies	D．Birds create a false scene to protect their nests

3 . I joined the coast guard because I wanted to help people. Hovercraft (气垫船) are rare and special. They’ve been discontinued in most commercial operation, because they are so expensive to make, but when it comes to search and rescue, they’re priceless.

From far away, a hovercraft looks like a normal boat. But if you look under its skirt, the craft is not touching the water — it floats on a cushion of air. That cushion allows us to travel over everything from water to muddy land — and even break through ice. We do all of that as a 70-tonne machine, going a maximum of nearly 120 kilometers per hour. These features allow us to rescue a large number of people quickly get onto land, and get someone into an ambulance far easier than with any other device I can think of.

The advantages of hovercraft can also make them difficult to handle. We’ve got a massive vehicle moving fast, sometimes in a thick fog bank up a narrow river. During assignments on other coast guard ships, I had 20 minutes to make alterations to avoid a crash. In a hovercraft, I have 10 seconds. You have to have enough situational awareness to make the right decision every time.

People call us for all sorts of problems: missing divers, on-board fires, or even when they’ve run out of fuel or had a mechanical breakdown. A container ship could burst into flames. We have a strong network here at the base to help everyone through difficult situations like that. Thankfully, we have captains who train us in a safe environment, but you don’t ever get fully comfortable. Anything can throw the hovercraft off — maybe your lift settings are off a little, or the wind blows with a bit of extra weight. After several years operating a hovercraft, I’m still learning. Every one of the captains here agrees: you can drive this thing for 20 years and still be surprised.

1. What makes hovercraft unsuitable for commercial use?

A．Their safety risks.

B．Their poor durability.

C．Their low efficiency.

D．Their production costs.

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．How a hovercraft works.	B．What comprises a hovercraft.
C．What distinguishes a hovercraft.	D．How a hovercraft helps victims.

3. What challenge do hovercraft pose to the pilot?

A．They have to make faster responses.

B．They often face mechanical breakdowns.

C．They need more people for decision making.

D．They must consider the environmental concerns.

4. What does the author think of operating a hovercraft?

A．Dull.

B．Demanding.

C．Enjoyable.

D．Effortless.

4 . General Art Contests

THE SUNNY ART PRIZE

Prize       A total cash fund of £6,000 plus an individual exhibition in London.

Entry Fee       £25 for one artwork, up to £45 for four artworks.

Requirements       Open to artists worldwide aged 18 and over.

Closing Date       June 30, 2024

One of the most diverse art competitions in the UK, the Sunny Art Prize offers unique exposure for both emerging and established artists.

BEAUTIFUL BIZARRE ART PRIZE

Prize       Over $50,000 in cash and prizes to be won. Plus, global exposure through Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. Winners will also participate in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s group exhibition at Haven Gallery in New York later this year.

Entry Fee       $40 per entry

Requirements       Open to artists worldwide working in the representational visual arts.

Closing Date       July 17, 2024

The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, now in its 5th year, is an annual international art prize that celebrates diversity and excellence in the representational visual arts.

MADE IN CALIFORNIA COMPETITION

Prize       $750 first prize, $500 second prize.

Entry Fee       $20 per entry

Requirements       Open to artists based in California.

Closing Date       February 16, 2024

Hosted by the Brea Gallery, the Made in California Competition provides a promotional opportunity for all artists based in the state of California.

ARTISTS MAGAZINE ANNUAL ART COMPETITION

Prize       Over $29,000 in cash prizes and publication in Artists Magazine.

Entry Fee       $40 ($35 if submitted before April 3)

Requirements       Open to artists over 18 worldwide working in a traditional medium.

Closing Date       May 30, 2024

Artists Magazine’s Annual Art Competition celebrates traditional 2D artistic mediums such as painting, digital art, and much more. All winners’ works will be featured in the January/February 2025 issue of Artists Magazine.

1. Which art contest offers the opportunity for a group exhibition?

A．THE SUNNY ART PRIZE.

B．BEAUTIFUL BIZARRE ART PRIZE.

C．MADE IN CALIFORNIA COMPETITION.

D．ARTISTS MAGAZINE ANNUAL ART COMPETITION.

2. How much should a contestant pay for a January submission to Brea Gallery?

A．$20.

B．$25.

C．$35.

D．$40.

3. What do these general art contests have in common?

A．They are held every year.	B．They are open to emerging artists only.
C．They provide winners with added bonus.	D．They celebrate excellence in traditional arts.

5 . Every Saturday night, all through that lazy spring, I used to take a rose to Miss Caroline Wellford. Every Saturday night, rain or shine, at exactly eight o’clock.

Miss Caroline was abandoned by her future husband Jeffrey Pinniman, who married Christine Marlowe, a younger and prettier girl. It almost became a scandal (丑闻) in our town. Miss Caroline could hear unkind things about her everywhere she went. For six months she had shut herself up in her house and seemed determined to turn herself into an odd old maid. She looked like a ghost that night when I delivered the first rose. “Hello, Jimmy,” she said listlessly (无精打采地). When I handed her the box, she looked shocked — “For me?”

Again the next Saturday, at exactly the same time, I found myself delivering another rose to Miss Caroline. The third time she opened the door so quickly that I knew she must have been waiting. There was a little color in her cheeks and her hair no longer looked so straggly (散乱地).

The morning after my fourth trip to her house, Miss Caroline played the organ again in church. She held her head high with the rose pinned to her blouse. Week after week I delivered the rose, and gradually Miss Caroline returned her normal life.

When I made my final trip to Miss Caroline’s house, I said, as I handed her the box, “This is the last time I’ll bring this, Miss Caroline.” She hesitated and invited me to come in and handed me a model of a sailing ship, exquisitely (精巧地) carved. She said. “I’d like you to have it. You’ve brought me great happiness, Jimmy — you and your roses.”

Fleeing back to the shop, I looked in the file where Mr. Olsen kept his untidy records, and I found what I was looking for. “Pinniman,” it said.

The years went by, and one day I came again to Olsen’s flower shop. My old boss and I talked a while. Out of curiosity, I asked, “D’you suppose that Mrs. Pinniman ever knew her husband was sending flowers to his old flame?” “Jeffrey Pinniman never even knew about it.” Mr. Olsen smiled, “It is a lady who said she wasn’t going to sit around watching Miss Caroline make a martyr (长期受折磨者) of herself at her expense.”

1. Who is the person that sent the rose?

A．Miss Caroline.

B．Mrs. Pinniman.

C．Mr. Olsen.

D．Jeffery Pinniman.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Deserted by her husband, Caroline lived in a mess.

B．People in the town all show great sympathy for Miss Caroline.

C．Jimmy had thought Jeffery Pinniman sent roses to Miss Caroline.

D．Christine put an end to the marriage of Miss Caroline and Jeffery Pinniman.

3. Which of the following can best describe Christine Marlowe?

A．Kind and considerate.	B．Awful and selfish.
C．Active and helpful.	D．Thoughtful and patient.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A poor woman.	B．A special Saturday night.
C．A rose from a stranger.	D．A rose for Miss Caroline.

6 . Benefits Of Cold Weather

There’s no doubt about it—cold weather can be pretty unpleasant.     1     So if you’re feeling down about the cold temperatures outside, read on for a few reasons to be happy about them!

It boosts your brain. Cold temperatures can excite your brain, allowing improved focus and greater clarity of thought. The cold climate increases oxygen flow to the brain.     2    

It increases brown fat content. Cold weather has the unique ability to increase the number of brown fat cells.     3     . Not only do they help us stay comfortably warm in cold temperatures, but they may also even promote weight loss over time.

    4     In cold weather, an even body temperature can be beneficial for a good night’s rest. As our bodies try to keep warm when it’s cold out, blood vessels get narrower and help control your sleep temperature for a more relaxed and restful sleep. People sleeping in colder environments generally wake up feeling more refreshed than those sleeping in warmer temperatures.

It improves skin health.     5     Low temperatures force us to dress warmly against the cold, leading to protection against environmental aspects that would otherwise remove water from our skin.

All in all, there are many benefits to spending time outside in cold weather! Next time you want to stay inside and avoid the cold, keep these benefits in mind and consider getting outside for a few minutes!

A．It helps you sleep.

B．It raises health awareness.

C．Thus, the central nervous system can perform at increased levels.

D．Cold weather exposure is a helpful contribution to our well-being.

E．They are important for controlling body temperature by producing heat.

F．Cold weather can be good for keeping our skin looking and feeling healthy.

G．While it makes us want to stay indoors, cold weather has some major benefits.

7 . “Few articles change owners more frequently than clothes. They travel downwards from grade to grade in the social scale with remarkable regularity,” wrote the journalist Adolphe Smith in 1877 as he traced a coat’s journey in the last century: cleaned, repaired and resold repeatedly; cut down into a smaller item; eventually recycled into new fabric. But with the improvement in people’s living standards, that model is mind-boggling in the era of fast fashion. The average British customer buys four items a month. And it is reported that 350,000 tonnes of used but still wearable clothes go to landfills in the UK each year.

Yet the gradual revival of the second-hand trade has gathered pace in the past few years. At fashion website Asos, sales of vintage clothes (古董衫) have risen by 92%. Clothing was once worn out of necessity, and now it is simply a way of life. Busy families sell used items on eBay, teenagers trade on Depop and some fashion people offer designer labels on Vestiaire Collective. Strikingly, it has become big enough business that mainstream retailers (零售商) want a slice of the action.

For some buyers and sellers, the switch to the second-hand is born of financial difficulties. Only a few have become worried about the impact of their shopping habit on the planet. But the shift is only a partial solution. Some people worry that some mainstream brands may “greenwash” — using second-hand goods to improve their image, rather than engaging more seriously with sustainability.

However, the biggest concern may be that people keep buying because they know they can resell goods, still chasing the pleasure of the next purchase but with an eased conscience (愧疚). Boohoo, a powerful fast fashion company, has seen sales and profits rise, despite concerns about environmental problems in its supply chain that led to an investigation last year.

A new Netflix series, Worn Stories, documents the emotional meanings that clothes can have: Each old item is full of memories. Actually, a handbag from a grandmother and a scarf passed on by a father are both valuable for us. A love of style is not a bad or an unimportant thing. But a committed relationship is better than a quick flash. Can we learn to appreciate our own old clothes as well as others’?

1. What does the word “mind-boggling” underlined in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Unbelievable.

B．Popular.

C．Reasonable.

D．Influential.

2. With the business mentioned in paragraph 2, the author wants to show _______.

A．old clothes are more popular than new pieces

B．the online second-hand markets are booming

C．the fashion world begins to favor vintage clothes

D．many clothing brands are innovative in their new products

3. How does the second-hand trade impact people according to paragraph 4?

A．It makes people feel free to pursue fast fashion.

B．It makes people more cautious about their budgets.

C．It encourages people to choose eco-friendly clothes.

D．It pushes people to be more engaged with sustainability.

4. Which of the following views does Worn Stories advocate?

A．Old items have lost favor with the public.

B．Old items are worthy of being long cherished.

C．Older generations attach great importance to old items.

D．Older generations care about the quality of their clothes.

8 . With mental health awareness more important than ever, here are the best mental wellness apps that take minority groups into consideration.

Reju

Reju is another meditation and self-care app, launched to respond to the rapid growth in mental health challenges in African American communities. Reju offers a wealth of motivational content to reduce stress, improve mental health, and lead users towards better living. Best of all is the welcoming Reju community for free, where you can connect with peers and get support with issues they’re also facing.

Spoke

Spoke is a meditation (冥想) app designed to deliver mental health support for music lovers. Created by a group of musical artists working with scientific advisers in London, it cleverly combines mental health tools like mindfulness, CBT, and positive psychology with binaural and hip-hop beats, nature sounds, ambient music, and guided lyricism.

Liberate.cx

Liberate.cx is a daily meditation app specifically for the BIPOC community (黑人社区), with mindfulness resources that address topics such as race, microaggressions, anxiety, and self-worth. It draws on expert teachers from diverse cultures to offer wisdom everyone can benefit from.

Headspace

Renowned mental health app, which is only for women. Headspace has launched the Headspace Women’s Collection to provide welcome meditation resources for women. These cover a wide range of issues, including sex and relationships, self-worth, and solidarity. A series of body-supportive sessions are aimed at helping women healing after a miscarriage or struggling with fertility.

1. If a music fan has mental health, which app is appropriate for him?

A．Reju.

B．Spoke.

C．Liberate.cx.

D．Headspace.

2. What is special about Headspace?

A．It is merely for female users.	B．It’s a free mental health app.
C．It provides meditation resources.	D．It appeals to a wider customer base.

3. What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To advertise these apps to attract more users.

B．To arouse more and more attention of the society.

C．To offer wisdom to everyone from diverse cultures.

D．To recommend mental wellness apps for minority groups.

9 . ChatGPT is an amazing artificial intelligence tool that has recently been released, along with other mind-blowing generative AI tools like Midjourney and DALL-E. These tools have the potential to revolutionize the way we create digital content, making it faster and cheaper.

However, there is a downside to these AI tools that cannot be ignored. What happens when they start replacing copywriters, journalists, customer service agents, and digital marketers? For years, experts have been warning that AI could threaten white-collar jobs, which were once considered safe from automation. Some even predict that up to 47 percent of jobs in the US could be at risk.

While no one can say for sure whether generative AI will cause mass job loss among highly educated workers, it is clear that it has the potential to disrupt the employment landscape. Tasks that were once considered impossible to automate are now becoming automatable. Whether or not jobs are removed, the essence of these jobs is likely to change.

Companies will always choose machines over humans when they can, and AI has the ability to perform tasks currently done by copywriters, digital content producers, and other professionals. This means that these jobs may soon undergo significant changes. However, it is important to note that AI cannot replace certain aspects of these jobs. It cannot conduct interviews, find historical documents, or assess the quality of studies. It lacks authority, understanding, and the ability to correct itself or generate genuinely new ideas.

This implies that while AI may create a vast amount of simpler content, it could also make original journalism more valuable and investigative journalists more productive. AI may be able to generate listicles and summaries of public meetings, but it is humans who will write in-depth stories. Experts believe that AI will ultimately help people use their expertise more effectively, and allow them to focus on areas where human intelligence is crucial.

While there is a risk that AI technologies could lead to sudden changes in the labor market, it is important to recognize the benefits of having such technology.

1. What’s the potential impact of generative AI tools on the employment market?

A．They may offer jobs faster and cheaper.

B．They may make the nature of certain jobs different.

C．They may cause mass job loss for white collars.

D．They may revolutionize the way digital content is created.

2. How can AI finally benefit professionals in the labor market?

A．By making positions more valuable.

B．By making their jobs more irreplaceable.

C．By removing the need for human expertise.

D．By enabling them to specialize in some key fields.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．AI has few benefits for employment.

B．AI is bound to take the place of mankind in the future.

C．AI can’t be completely independent of human wisdom.

D．AI can’t create genuinely new ideas or simpler content.

4. What is the overall point of the passage towards AI technologies?

A．They should be further perfected.

B．They should be accepted despite their risks.

C．They should be avoided to protect white-collar jobs.

D．They should be controlled to prevent mass job loss.

10 . Stories have long been employed to instill (灌输) moral and cultural values in young children, but there is little research exploring the effectiveness of such stories.

“As parents, we want to know how effective the stories actually are in promoting honesty.” say lead author Kang Lee of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto and co-author Victoria Talwar of McGill University. “Is it ‘in one ear, out the other,’ or do children listen and take the messages to heart?”

To find out, Lee and Talwar conducted an experiment with 268 children aged 3 to 7. Each child played a game that required guessing the identity of a toy based on the sound it made. In the middle of the game, the experimenter left the room for a minute, instructing the child not to glance at a toy left on the table. For most children, this temptation (诱惑) was too hard to resist. When the experimenter returned, she read the child a story, either The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Pinocchio, or George Washington and the Cherry Tree. Afterward, the experimenter asked the child to tell the truth about whether he or she glanced at the toy.

Contrary to the experimenters’ expectations, Pinocchio and The Boy Who Cried Wolf , which associate lying with negative consequences, were no more effective at promoting honest behavior than a fable unrelated to honesty, in this case The Tortoise and the Hare. Only the made-up tale about young George Washington seemed to inspire the kids to admit glancing: Children who heard the tale in which the future first president was complimented because of admitting his mistake and rewarded a candy were three times more likely to tell the truth than their fellows who heard other stories.

“Our study shows that to promote moral behavior such as honesty, emphasizing the positive outcomes of honesty rather than the negative consequences of dishonesty is the key,” note they. “This may apply to other moral behaviors as well.”

They also warn that more research is necessary to determine whether moral stories influence kids’ behavior in the long term. Still, they have been quick to take advantage of the findings. Talwar reports a shift in her own parenting practices: “It really seems to work. I use this now with my child.”

1. What is the aim of the experiment mentioned in the text?

A．To find out which story is instructive at school.

B．To make sure if the children can resist the temptation.

C．To see the effectiveness of stories in promoting honesty.

D．To ensure the precision in guessing the identity of the toy.

2. What does the underlined word“complimented”mean in Paragraph 4?

A．Criticized.

B．Praised.

C．Ignored.

D．Respected.

3. What does Talwar mean in the last paragraph?

A．She will apply the finding to her child.

B．Her child shows a strong interest in the story.

C．Her parents have changed their way of education.

D．She perceives the positive influence on her child.

4. Which word can describe the author’s attitude in the text?

A．Unclear.

B．Contradictory.

C．Sympathetic.

D．Objective.