Lots of foreigners don’t understand why so many Chinese people are sorrowful about Yuan Longping’s passing away.
This reminds me
Western scholars’ prediction of China back then was indeed analyzing China’s problems, but they failed
If they had had any knowledge of Yuan who worked devotedly for our country, they wouldn’t have made such pessimistic evaluations. Why did the Chinese people make
1.由学生会组织。
2.一部分人愿意乘公交车;另一部分人喜欢步行;最后大家被说服骑自行车。
3.美丽的风景让人难以忘怀。
4.感受:这次旅游增进了友谊,提高了关心自然环境的意识。
注意:1.可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
2.开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear Tom,
How happy I am to receive your letter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Hua
3 . A British friend told me he couldn't understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds (葵花子) as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth; I believe that's from cracking the seeds,” he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn't like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so hard just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go doortodoor on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. In the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with a fancy tablecloth, readymade dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds.
Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins their breath. They think it’s a delicacy, and it’s connected with their culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. What lesson can we learn from the passage?A.One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
B.Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
C.It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
D.Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
A.She had ever typed a report about seeds. |
B.She ate various snacks while watching TV. |
C.She has a habit of cracking sunflower seeds. |
D.She damaged her teeth by eating sunflower seeds. |
A.The traditions of celebrating it disappear. |
B.Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
C.The families would get together for it. |
D.Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
A.acceptable | B.critical |
C.neutral | D.doubtful |
4 . Every day around the world, thousands of people with little or no scholarly training in art history walk into museums. They may or may not read notice boards that share relevant information of the artworks or artists. Imagine, before being permitted to direct their eyeballs to the art on the walls, museum visitors were required to read a 15- or - 20-page introduction to each piece or each artist. How many people would go to museums if that were the case?
Yet this seems to be the expectation when it comes to reading classic literature. Classic novels typically come with 15- or -20-page introductions, which often include spoilers, assuming that readers do not come to classic books to discover, be absorbed in, and be surprised by the story world. Also, apparently, we mustn’t read classics alone, without experts guiding our experiences.
However, classic literature is in a unique position to show us that we’re not alone in our pains and joys. By taking us out of our time, classic books free us to see beyond the set of beliefs we stick to and to connect human experiences that remain alive across time and place. Our personal engagement is the first step of a longer journey of discovery that deepens our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our world. We may, for example, feel for Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter though we despair of the world she lived in.
While we’re letting go of things, let’s stop worrying about understanding everything we can’t.It will be fun if we embrace curiosity, the pleasure of working out a mystery, and our common relationships as humans.
1. Most museum goers ________.A.enjoy reading notice boards | B.understand the artworks well |
C.lack professional art knowledge | D.share common interest in artworks |
A.Story writers. | B.Readers expectations. |
C.Guiding experts. | D.Plots given away in advance. |
A.Showing curiosity about the writers. | B.Letting go of things. |
C.Trying to understanding everything. | D.Working out mysteries. |
A.We should find more fun from classics. |
B.Reading classics is a personal exploration. |
C.Experts need to give readers better guidance. |
D.Classic literature benefits readers a great deal. |
5 . When Deborah hiked cycling to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York last November, she
She was certain that the bird needed
Her best choice was the rehab center,
On the subway, no one seemed particularly disturbed by the
Deborah called the rehab center on the way, and Tristan Higginbotham, an animal-care manager,
The staff got the swan back up on her webbed feet (蹼足). The swan even made a
It’s a(n)
A.spotted | B.founded | C.witnessed | D.observed |
A.attacked | B.stoned | C.hugged | D.approached |
A.emotional | B.psychological | C.medical | D.mental |
A.hurriedly | B.cautiously | C.curiously | D.instantly |
A.knocked | B.arrived | C.occurred | D.struck |
A.while | B.but | C.as | D.for |
A.transfer | B.transform | C.transmit | D.transport |
A.tour | B.trip | C.lift | D.elevator |
A.ordinary | B.feathered | C.poisoned | D.fierce |
A.phone | B.way | C.screen | D.seat |
A.picked | B.looked | C.put | D.called |
A.passenger | B.driver | C.swan | D.rescuer |
A.smelling | B.digesting | C.swallowing | D.absorbing |
A.pair | B.couple | C.boyfriend | D.girlfriend |
A.Sadly | B.Apparently | C.Accidentally | D.Fortunately |
A.until | B.since | C.before | D.after |
A.disappointing | B.disturbing | C.inspiring | D.bothering |
A.how long | B.how far | C.how often | D.how much |
A.bike | B.car | C.bus | D.tube |
A.assumption | B.conclusion | C.summary | D.combination |
6 . Artificial intelligence is one of the most concentrated industries in the world, which influences education, criminal justice, hiring and welfare, But so far the industry has escapedregulation (管理), despite affecting the lives of billions of people, even when its products are potentially harmful.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sped this up. Many Al companies are now promoting emotion recognition tools (ERTs) for monitoring remote workers. These systems map the “micro-expressions”in people’s faces from their video cameras. Then they predict internal emotional states drawn from a list of supposedly universal categories: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise and fear. However, there is scientific doubt whether emotional states are accurately detected at all. “It is not possible to confidently infer happiness from a smile, or sadness from a frown,” a 2019 review stated.
Resistance to this highly controversial (有争议的) technology is growing; the influential.
Brookings Institute suggested ERTs be banned completely from use by law. The European Union becomes the first to attempt a proposal to regulate AI, but the draft AI act has its problems. It would ban most “real-time” biometric ID (生物识别) systems — but fails to define what exactly real-time means.
Clearly, we need far stronger protections and controls that address such harmful effects on society. However, too many policymakers fall into the trap of “enchanted determinism”: the belief that AI systems are magical and superhuman — beyond what we can understand or regulate, yet decisive and reliable enough to make predictions about life-changing decisions. This effect drives a kind of techno-optimism that can directly endanger people’s lives. For example, a review in the British Medical Journal looked at 232 machine-learning algorithms (算法) for predicting outcomes for COVID-19 patients. It found that none of them were fit for clinical use. “I fear that they may have harmed patients,” said one of the authors.
Many countries have strict regulations and thorough testing when developing medicines and vaccines. The same should be true for AI systems, especially those having a direct impact on people’s lives.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?A.The COVTD-19 pandemic has sped up the regulation of AI. |
B.The internal emotional states are only limited to six basic categories. |
C.There is no reliable link between facial expressions and true feelings. |
D.People’s micro-expressions accurately reveal their internal emotions. |
A.To show EU’s resistance to AI technology. |
B.To show the difficulty in regulating AI. |
C.To prove AI technology should be banned. |
D.To prove the act is completely ineffective. |
A.It shakes people’s confidence in technology. |
B.It enables people to correctly predict future. |
C.It misleads policymakers in making decisions. |
D.It helps predict outcomes for COVID-19 patients. |
A.AI: Products in Demand |
B.AI: Strict Rules in Place |
C.AI: Tight Control in Need |
D.AI: Technology in Danger |
7 . Nostalgia (怀旧) has become increasingly common in our current climate of unexpected, fast-paced change. More and more people are turning back with longing for what feels like simpler, sweeter times. They collect cassette tapes, manual typewriters even decades-old video games.
Is it a mistake to get too obsessed with the past? Some psychologists warn that too much devotion to the so-called good old days is an escape from reality; it can indicate loneliness or that a person is having a difficult time coping in the present. Psychologist Stephanie Coontz argues that nostalgia distracts us from addressing the problems of modern life and contributes to anxiety, depression, insomnia etc.
But new studies suggest that a modest dose of nostalgia is not only harmless, but actually beneficial. They suggest it helps strengthen our sense of identity and makes us feel more optimistic and inspired. It is also a tool for self-discovery and memories are a psychological immune response that is triggered when you want to take a break from negativity. Interestingly, those happy memories can be particularly beneficial both to kids in their teens and to society’s elders. Recalling our childhood reminds us of “the times when we were accented and loved unconditionally,” says Krystine Batcho, a psychologist. “That is such a powerfully comforting phenomenon, knowing that there was a time in life when we didn’t have to earn our love.” Nostalgia can transform even the most ordinary past into legends which warms the heart and the body. Let’s not forget that nostalgia has been a source of inspiration to innumerable American writers. Mark Twain recalled his boyhood, writing, “after all these years, I can picture that old time to myself now, just as it was then: The white town drowsing in the sunshine of a summer’s morning.”
So go ahead, daydream a little about your best childhood friend, your first car, a long-gone family pet. As Dr. Sedikidessays, “Nostalgia is absolutely central to human experience.” But at the same time, keep these words of wisdom from the great inventor Charles Kettering in mind as well: “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.”
1. What did some psychologists in paragraph 2 probably agree?A.Nostalgia can cause some mental problems. |
B.Nostalgia makes us devoted to the present life. |
C.Nostalgia shows you are trying to get rid of loneliness. |
D.Nostalgia helps us cope with the difficult time we are going through. |
A.It can enable us to know ourselves better |
B.It can bring us some comfort when we recall |
C.We are likely to gain attention if we recall the happy childhood |
D.We can sometimes break away from negativity with happy memories |
A.The reasons why we should avoid nostalgia. |
B.The great changes nostalgia will bring to you. |
C.The bad memories that always stick around you. |
D.The bad influence of too much devotion to nostalgia. |
A.People tend to be lost in nostalgia. |
B.People actually benefit from nostalgia. |
C.Childhood memories influence present life. |
D.There are some periods when people look back. |
8 . What's on your travel list? I've consulted several travel experts to find out some places worth visiting.
Where : New Orleans, Louisiana
Chosen by: Natalie DiScala is a writer and editor at johnnyjet. com, covering travel trends? products and family travel.
Why: New Orleans is known for its music and food—not to mention the festivals. It has about 130 festivals each year so there's really no bad time to visit. Bourbon Street is the obvious choice for food, drink and jazz and it's definitely a must-visit location, especially for first-timers to the city.
Where : Vail , Colorado
Chosen by: Becca Ingle is an active family travel blogger. She is the founder of BeccaIngle, com, where you can read all her travel guides.
Why: Vail is the perfect destination for families and travelers looking to find almost everything in one central spot. Stay at the amazing Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail to be steps away from Vail Village, a popular town with special heated stone streets for strolling(漫步),restaurants and bars, coffee shops, ice-skating, a movie theater and a bowling alley.
Where: Hudson Valley, New York
Chosen by: Devorah Lev-Tov is a food and travel writer who regularly writes for The New York Times , Afar, Conde Nast Traveler , etc.
Why:New Yorkers go to escape the city when they need a healthy close to nature and relaxation there. The 750-mile biking and hiking route links communities across New York State and links up to the Hudson Greenway Trails. The region was recently equipped with the famous Charlie Palmer Restaurant.
1. Who is the writer of johnnyjet. com?A.Natalie DiScala. | B.Becca Ingle. | C.Devorah Lev-Tov. | D.Charlie Palmer. |
A.Bourbon Street. | B.Four Seasons Resort. |
C.Vail Village. | D.Residences Vail. |
A.Visit big towns. | B.Enjoy riding bikes. |
C.Watch the latest films. | D.Attend music festivals. |
1. How many days is the man going to stay in the city?
A.More than a week. | B.A week. | C.Less than a week. |
A.The taxis. | B.The subway and buses. | C.The airport express train. |
A.At a hotel. | B.At the airport. | C.At home. |
Charles Darwin was an English
Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, in Shropshire, England. In 1831, Darwin boarded a ship
Darwin first presented his theory of evolution by natural selection (选择) in 1858 to explain how animals adapted to their environment to survive. The idea of evolution