1 . TikTok, the widely popular social media platform, has taken the world by storm with its short-form videos and addictive content. But did you know that there is also a Chinese version of TikTok?
The Chinese version of TikTok is called Douyin, and it has quickly become one of the most widely used apps in China. Launched in 2016 by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance, Douyin has attracted an enormous user base and reshaped the social media landscape in China.
So, how did Douyin gain such vast popularity in China?
One of the factors contributing to Douyin’s success is the large population of smartphone users in China. With over 1.4 billion people, China has a massive user base for social media platforms. Additionally, the rise in internet penetration and the availability of affordable smartphones have made it easier for people to access and use Douyin.
Douyin takes advantage of China’s culture of sharing and enjoying bite-sized content. In China. there has always been a strong demand for short-form entertainment, including popular formats like variety shows, quick comedy skits, and music videos. Douyin provides a platform for users to easily create and share short videos, allowing them to express their creativity and talent.
Douyin leverages the power of social network effects. Users can follow each other, like and comment on videos, and engage with a large community of like-minded individuals. This sense of belonging and community encourages them to spend more time on the platform.
Moreover. Douyin continuously improves its features and algorithms to enhance user experience and keep users engaged. The app uses advanced AI technology to analyze user preferences and provide personalized recommendations, ensuring that users see content that is relevant and interesting to them.
Overall, the rise of the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the large smartphone user base, the popularity of short-form entertainment in China, social network effects, and continuous improvements in features and algorithms.
1. How is Douyin different from TikTok?| A．Its algorithms. | B．Its target groups. | C．Its user experience. | D．Its main functions. |
| A．The popularity of long-form videos. |
| B．The low technology requirements to Douyin. |
| C．The large population of smartphone users. |
| D．The availability of different brands of mobile phones. |
| A．brings about | B．believes in | C．makes up for | D．makes full use of |
| A．Opinion — Description — Discussion | B．Topic — Argument — Emphasis |
| C．Introduction — Explanations — Summary | D．Main idea — Supporting examples — Conclusion |
2 . Have you ever been annoyed at younger siblings (兄弟姐妹) for stealing your toys?
Siblings help you have a healthier lifestyle. A survey of more than 15,000 people found that 43 percent of people credited their family members for having the biggest positive impact on their physical condition.
They can help you live longer, In a study from the American Sociological Association, older adults, who described themselves as being “extremely close” to the family members, had a six percent chance of dying over the next five years, compared to a 14 percent risk for the people who didn’t.
Having good friends can bring many of the same benefits. We don’t all have brothers and sisters, or you might not have much contact with them. Don’t panic.
| A．Brothers and sisters protect you from depression. |
| B．Have you ever cooperated with your brothers or sisters? |
| C．Or did you fight like cat and dog when you were younger? |
| D．Siblings can make you twice as likely to do good deeds. |
| E．Develop stable and close relationships with people around you. |
| F．Siblings are easily available fitness and healthy-eating partners. |
| G．They made you better at dealing with the tricky situations in daily life. |
3 . ChatGPT has been banned by schools in New York and Los Angeles, out of concern that students may use it to cheat on assignments. Despite these concerns, educators needn’t fear Al technology will transform education. Instead, it will help students take ownership of their studies and learn real-life skills. Today’s students need instruction that equips them with the skills of reasoning, analysis and argumentation rather than memorizing basic information. And Al may be a useful tool that promotes these skills.
Our experience with Al is perhaps best understood when compared with previous disturbances in education. When printed books, for example, began to occur in the mid-1400s, university professors were filled with panic. At that time, lectures depended on a specific model: Professors read from their hand-written texts, while students hurriedly copied whatever they heard. If students could simply buy the books, teachers likely thought that they wouldn’t need to come to class. Yet in practice, printing had the opposite effect: The number of universities exploded along with the total number of books. The new technology disturbed the mechanical aspect of education, but in doing so it allowed educators to refocus on higher-level skills.
Similarly, ChatGPT will replace the mechanical production of text, but it won’t decrease the need for higher-level skills. Possessing the skills to ask the right questions or state the right opinions will become crucial as the production of a logical essay becomes a simple task for a machine. Al will serve as a tool for information gathering and mechanical organization, but it won’t remove the fundamental need for critical thinking.Schools must remember that education’s value isn’t a head full of facts but a person with the skill to use these facts with the available tools to enhance their impact on the world. Al is one of these tools and, when used strategically, can improve students’ learning and performance in ways not yet seen. Therefore, it is essential for schools to provide an education that trains students in how to use the available tools for information. Unless they adapt quickly to the changing trends of education, they will be left behind by rapid innovation and change.
1. What is the educators’ major concern about Al technology?| A．The possible changes in education. |
| B．Students’ grades of the assignments. |
| C．Students’ fear of technological reform. |
| D．The lack of instructions and equipment. |
| A．To justify the concern of the professors. |
| B．To show the similar value of Al technology. |
| C．To clarify previous disturbances in education. |
| D．To highlight the influence of printing technology. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Concerned. | C．Critical. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Replace the mechanical production of text. |
| B．Design their courses based on Al technology. |
| C．Catch up with the quick evolution of education. |
| D．Provide a course focusing on information gathering. |
4 . Twelve grams of moon arrived at Ferl’s laboratory in an undecorated delivery box. Ferl, a gardening expert at the University of Florida, had waited more than a decade for that moment. The small box of dirt held some of the last remaining unopened samples of moon dust, called regolith, collected by astronauts on the lunar missions. Despite months of practice, he lifted the sample with trembling hands. “It’s freaky, scary stuff,” he says, “mean, what happens if you drop that?” Ferland his team were about to become the first researchers to grow plants in actual lunar soil.
The experiment was part of a lunar research which aims to send humans back to the moon later this decade in a more sustainable way. Longer duration stays require astronauts to have a source of food. “All of human exploration has been driven by the ability to keep crews fed,” says Gil, a researcher not involved in the study. And Ferl’s experiment offers a significant first step in this journey.
To test the moon soil, Ferl’s team divided the samples into 12 pots of 900 milligrams a piece and planted seeds in them. The seeds developed successfully, but the plants had trouble growing healthy roots. The moon soil lacks important microbes, which play a significant role in regulating plant growth hormones (激素), reducing environmental stress, and absorbing essential nutrients. Without natural microbes, the plants struggled to absorb nutrients and manage stress. Additionally, the lack of water can cause the soil to become difficult to work with.
The seedlings failed to grow strongly in regolith alone, but Ferl hopes to continue studying how life might take hold in otherwise low-yield soil, with an eye toward both boosting humanity’s prospects off the planet and improving agriculture in low-yield soils here at home. “Most of us are not going to go to space,” he says, “But if we can engineer a way to produce these kinds of crops in such an unforgiving environment — like the lunar surface — we can apply that to meet our food challenges in areas that just can’t grow food anymore.”
1. How did Ferl feel when receiving the box?| A．moved and surprised. | B．scared but curious. |
| C．worried but relieved. | D．cautious and nervous. |
| A．To feed the crew of his research team. |
| B．To ensure food supply for space exploration. |
| C．To provide sustainable energy for lunar missions. |
| D．To send the astronauts back to the moon in a shorter time. |
| A．Adding microbes and watering it properly. |
| B．Dividing regolith equally and managing stress. |
| C．Growing healthy roots and making regolith dry. |
| D．Choosing suitable seeds and regulating hormones. |
| A．The original goal of the study. | B．The limitation of space farming |
| C．The application of the experiment result. | D．The factors causing the experiment failure. |
5 . In July 2021, kids from around the world watched the first appearance of skateboarding at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The four medal events for men and women in park and street boarding showed the gifts of 80 athletes from all over the world.
Bryce Wettstein is one of the top competitors from the United States in park skateboarding, which requires athletes to show skills that combine (使结合) art and athleticism in a bowl that looks like an empty swimming pool. At 17, Bryce shows her skills in a way that celebrates the skateboarding community.
Skateboarding began in the late 1940s and early 1950s in small Southern California beach towns. Born into this community, Bryce has won a place at the center of the sport. “Skateboarding just seems like it can be everything and anything all washed together in some washing machine of color,” she said.
Bryce shares her California hometown with international skateboard pioneer Tony Hawk. He was chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an ambassador (大使) in its “Stronger Together” competitive sport, which celebrates this year’s athletes. In an IOC video, Hawk summarized the unlikely rise of skateboarding. “We used to see ourselves as a family of misfits (不合群),” he said. “But now the world calls us Olympians.”
Skateboarders celebrate each other’s natural abilities and achievements, while working to help the sport develop. This is shown in the friendship between Bryce and top Australian competitor Poppy Starr Olsen. Both athletes have dreamed of acting for their own countries at the Olympic Games since they skateboarded together as kids.
“I think skateboarding is going to be really different from all the other sports,” Poppy said. “We’re all kind of like a family.” Bryce agreed. “That’s what makes skateboarding such a great sport,” she said.
1. Which of the following best describes Bryce Wettstein?| A．A skateboarder who likes everything colourful. |
| B．An excellent skateboarder easy to get on with. |
| C．An excellent skateboarder from the birthplace of skateboarding. |
| D．A skateboarder having a special understanding of skateboarding. |
| A．He does much to celebrate the athletes. | B．He made skateboarding rise in the world. |
| C．He is a skateboard pioneer all over the world. | D．He made an important speech in an IOC video. |
| A．It gets family members together. | B．It is the dream of many children. |
| C．It is a means to celebrate success. | D．It can bring people close together. |
| A．Top athletes at the Olympics. | B．A new Olympic sports event. |
| C．Some skateboarders’ success. | D．Opinions on an Olympic sports event. |
6 . This question has fascinated behavioural scientists for decades: why do we give money to charity?
The explanations for charitable giving fall into three broad categories, from the purely altruisic (利他的)— I donate because I value the social good done by the charity. The “impurely” altruistic— I donate because I extract value from knowing I contribute to the social good for the charity. And the not-at-all altruistic— I donate because I want to show off to potential mates how rich I am.
But are these motives strong enough to enable people to donate as much as they would want to? Most people support charities in one way or another, but often we struggle to make donations as often as we think we should. Although many people would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, they forget about it when the time comes.
Many people are also aware that they should donate to the causes that have the highest impact, but facts and figures are less attractive than narratives. In a series of experiments, it was found that people are much more responsive to charitable pleas that feature a single, identifiable beneficiary(受益者), than they are to statistical information about the scale of the problem being faced. When it comes to charitable giving, we are often ruled by our hearts and not our heads.
The good news is that charitable giving is contagious—seeing others give makes an individual more likely to give and gentle encouragement from an important person in your life can also make a big difference to your donation decisions— more than quadrupling them in our recent study. Habit also plays a part— in three recent experiments those who volunteered before were more likely to do donate their time than those who had not volunteered before.
In summary, behavioural science identifies a range of factors that influence our donations, and can help us to keep giving in the longer term. This is great news not just for charities, but also for donors.
1. What can we learn about people who do charitable giving?| A．Most people support charity as often as they think they should. |
| B．Some people don’t want to leave a gift to charity until the time comes. |
| C．Those who donate because they can gain an advantage are purely altruistic. |
| D．Some people send money to charity simply to tell others they are wealthy. |
| A．Not revealing the names of the donors. |
| B．Showing figures about the seriousness of the problem. |
| C．Telling stories that feature a single, recognizable beneficiary. |
| D．Reminding people to write down what to donate in the will in advance. |
| A．People will learn from others and follow the suit. |
| B．Many people are familiar with charitable giving. |
| C．Charitable giving helps the beneficiary in all aspects. |
| D．Charitable giving can bring a lot of benefits to donors. |
| A．To persuade more people to donate. |
| B．To explain the science behind why people donate. |
| C．To criticize some false charitable giving behaviours. |
| D．To explore approaches to making people donate more. |
7 . The pandemic has affected nearly all aspects of modern life, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. There is one thing, however, that has remained almost unchanged: the emojis we send.
According to data from the Unicode Consortium (统一码联盟), nine of the 10 most-used emojis from 2019 also ranked among the top 10 this year. The tears of joy emoji ranked No.1, despite members of Gen Z deeming it uncool.
“It speaks to how many people use emojis. If emojis were a purely Gen Z thing, then you wouldn’t see it so highly ranked,” said Alexander Robertson, an emoji researcher at Google. “Because of the large number of people using emojis, even if one group thinks something is lame, they have to be a really big group to affect these statistics.”
And it makes sense that Gen Z would think that certain emojis aren’t fashionable. It’s part of the “teenager experience of creating a sense of subculture where there’s a right way and a wrong way of behaving.” Plus, there is a range of laughter that can be expressed: There’s light chuckling. There’s acknowledgement laughter, which is just a marker of empathy. Using emojis, such as the skull face (“I’m dead”) or crying face ( uncontrollable tears of laughter), can help to illustrate that range.
“It basically indicates that we have what we need to communicate a broad range of expression, or even very specific concepts,” Mr Robertson said. “You don’t necessarily need a Covid emoji.”
“We did see a rise in the use of the virus emoji. But it wasn’t made remotely into the most-commonly used ones because we still had plenty to laugh about and plenty to cry about, whether it was because of the pandemic or not,” said Lauren Gawne, a senior lecturer in linguistic at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.
“Even in the midst of this massive global pandemic that preoccupied so much of our time,” She added. “We still spent a lot of time wishing each other happy birthday or checking or laughing about some new and unexpected elements of this slow-burning weirdness.”
1. Why does the tears of joy emoji ranked No.1 despite the dislike from the Z generation?| A．The emoji is a purely Z generation thing. |
| B．The Z generation are too young to influence the rank. |
| C．Though they dislike it, the Z generation vote for it ultimately. |
| D．The Z generation take up a very small portion in emoji users. |
| A．the virus emoji | B．a Covid emoji |
| C．the use of the virus emoji | D．the rise in the use of the virus emoji |
| A．The massive global pandemic has come to an end. |
| B．The pandemic has little influence on people’s daily life. |
| C．We have a broad range of expression for communication. |
| D．Some new and useful emojis are created to replace the virus emoji. |
| A．The Pandemic and the Emoji. |
| B．Gen Z, the Emoji Generation. |
| C．The Emoji of the Year. |
| D．The Rise of Virus Emoji |
8 . A project called “I Am A Scientist” is giving middle and high school students the opportunity to interact with modern-day researchers. Below are stories from some of the scientists who are involved in the program.
Noor Al-Alusi, Epidemiologist (流行病学家)“I have a black belt in Taekwondo (跆拳道). I am driven by a deep desire to help others. I believe that all people have a fundamental right to health care.”
Her work: During the Zika epidemic, Al-Alusi met with the communities that had been hardest hit by the virus, using data and mathematical models to keep them safe and healthy.
Background: Al-Alusi was born in California but her parents emigrated from Iraq. This experience provided her with an understanding of the health needs of the immigrant community.
Ryoji Amamoto, Neurobiologist (神经生物学家)“I’m a huge sports fan. I’ve traveled to more than 40 countries. I’m a licensed scuba diver but a terrible swimmer. I hated science in high school.”
His work: Amamoto studies the tiny but amazing brains of animals that have a superpower — the ability to regenerate. He learns what factors help these special brains regrow, so that we can try to treat diseases like Parkinson’s.
Background: Amamoto lived in Japan until the age of eight, when his family moved to Chicago. He had to overcome major language barriers which saw him shift between speaking English at school and Japanese at home.
Yamicia Connor, Physician Scientist“I once competed in a robot competition. I love Beyonce. I love cooking. I’m a doctor who studies ways to improve women’s health.”
Her work: Connor is a doctor at a hospital in Boston where she studies cancer cells in a lab using microscopes and computers, but she also works directly with patients who are undergoing tests for new cancer treatments.
Background: Growing up in Florida, Connor was a serious kid who stressed about the little things. She was into her schoolwork and loved to put on plays with her friends in which she would organize the whole thing and assign everyone a role.
1. What can the students know about the scientists through the program?| A．Their education experience. | B．Their gender and religion. |
| C．Their personal interests. | D．Their career planning. |
| A．Studying amazing brains which can regrow. |
| B．Using data and mathematical models to fight against viruses. |
| C．Understanding the health needs of the immigrant community. |
| D．Working with patients who are undergoing tests for new cancer treatments. |
| A．A magazine. | B．Award words. |
| C．A science paper. | D．A health website. |
9 . Being a people-pleaser(讨好型人格)is second nature to many people. We tend to calm those around us, often regardless of our own needs. Actually, it is unhealthy to do so.
Be sure of your own value.
You were created differently from every other human. Overcoming people-pleasing starts with clearly knowing the value of your thoughts and actions, and that your presence matters. By pleasing people at the cost of your own desires, you’re forgetting that you are here for a reason.
When something goes wrong, it’s quite natural for me to say sorry. It is pretty true of you if you’re a people-pleaser too. However, before words of apology trip from your lips, stop and look at the situation. Apologize sincerely and timely on condition that it’s really your fault. Otherwise just let it go.
Keep saying no.
Speak up.
People-pleasers like to agree with the masses. We are quiet, listening, waiting to agree on whatever decision is reached. Many times, I simply stayed quiet and agreed, even when I really didn’t like the plans at all. And bitterness surged when I was asked to deal with what I didn’t want.
Without any doubt, it’s difficult to go against the nature that you tend to please everyone around you.
| A．Say sorry actively. |
| B．Apologize properly. |
| C．It seems common to agree to everything. |
| D．Chances are that you’ll fail into old patterns midway. |
| E．What counts much is to change some of your daily habits. |
| F．Saying no is always the first choice for many people to make. |
| G．Learn to use your voice bravely if you’d like to overcome people-pleasing. |
10 . The Internet’s carbon footprint is as bad as air travel. While it is difficult to measure precisely, estimates place it at over two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions(排放)—the same as the air travel.
Information may appear to spread around the world unseen to our eyes, but it actually passes through enormous data centers placed strategically about the globe, which store, organize and deliver everyone’s data. These centers are extremely energy intensive. In the EU, they consume close to three percent of its total energy usage and also require lots of water to prevent their computers from overheating. In the US, about a fifth of data centers draw water from already stressed water sources.
A typical spam email(垃圾邮件)emits around 0.03g of CO2 emissions, though longer messages read on a laptop can go all the way up to 26g. Now multiply that by 333 billion(roughly the number of emails that get sent every day in 2022). That puts all those work emails into perspective. One study found if every British adult sent one less “thank you” email a day, it would save 16, 433 tons of carbon a year. It even predicted that the ICT industry could account for up to a fifth of the world’s energy consumption by 2025.
However, there are measures that we can take to reduce our digital carbon footprint. For instance, you can unsubscribe from marketing and other spam emails and only subscribe to newsletters that you still regularly read. Have regular data checks where you delete old contact lists and other documents that no longer have any use. Keep a clean inbox and delete emails you no longer need.
1. Why does the author make a comparison in the beginning?| A．To present the digital carbon footprint. |
| B．To emphasize the importance of air travel. |
| C．To advise people not to travel by airplane. |
| D．To inform the disadvantages of the Internet. |
| A．It enjoys a wide popularity. |
| B．It has various kinds of functions. |
| C．It causes large energy consumption. |
| D．It has quite a complex mode of operation. |
| A．To draw the readers’ attention. |
| B．To illustrate a certain information. |
| C．To highlight the change of CO2 emission. |
| D．To stress the importance of reducing CO2 emission. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Unfavorable. | D．Concerned. |
