1 . The world's first restaurant operated by robots has attracted plenty of diners after it officially started service in Zhujiang New Town in this Guangdong provincial capital on Monday. The restaurant, which only serves Guangdong Shunde cuisine, allows robots to cook, deliver food, place orders for diners and handle most of the work in the restaurant.
“The robot chefs can actually compete with famous chefs from Shunde, which is known for its delicious dishes at home and abroad,” said a diner surnamed Chen. Chen and his friends praised the delicious food cooked by the robots after they tasted fried vegetables, steamed fish and braised pigeon in the restaurant on Monday. A local Shunde cuisine chef surnamed Ma Huiliang said he gave the fried vegetables cooked by the robot 90 out of 100 points. But Ma said he never worries that robots would replace chefs in the future. “On the contrary, it is a liberating opportunity for chefs when robots can cook,” he said. “Chefs can focus their work on innovation and research for new food to better inherit and develop Chinese cuisine when robots can cook.” Ma added.
Qiu Mi, assistant president of Country Garden Group, which runs the restaurant, said the restaurant now has 46 different kinds of robots that can do almost all the work of the restaurant, including welcoming clients, frying dishes, mixing wines, making dessert, cooking rice, operating a cloud rail system and delivering food.
And all the diners can see how their food is being cooked by robots in the kitchen, which is separated by transparent glass walls from the dining hall, Qiu said. The restaurant combines new and high technology with traditional Chinese cuisine, Qiu added.
1. What's the main idea of Paragraph 2?| A．Robots probably take chefs’ place in the future. |
| B．Dishes cooked by robots and chefs are equally tasty |
| C．The high efficiency and quality of the dishes by robots. |
| D．People's various views about robots’ influence on chefs. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Doubtful. | C．Supportive. | D．Worried. |
| A．Mixed wines made by robots. |
| B．Cuisines from different regions. |
| C．Appreciating the cooking process. |
| D．Robots’ food delivery and welcome. |
| A．Robots are on the way to take the place of chefs. |
| B．Chinese diners have a close encouter with robots. |
| C．A newly-combined cusine draws diners’ attention. |
| D．World's first robot-operated resturant opens in China. |
2 . Zong Qinghou, the founder and chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, China passed away on Sunday at the age of 79. As one of the most respected representatives of China’s first generation of entrepreneurs (企业家) since the country embarked on reform and opening-up in 1978, Zong’s down-to-earth style and innovative spirit greatly impressed the public.
Born in 1945 in Suqian, Jiangsu province, Zong took over a small grocery store at a school in Hangzhou in 1987. In 1989, he founded Hangzhou Wahaha Nutritional Food Factory. In 1996, Zong launched Wahaha AD calcium milk, which became a great hit with Chinese consumers. The company’s products now cover more than 200 categories, including purified water, milk and yogurt drinks, carbonated drinks, fruit and vegetable juice, tea and coffee drinks, with its sales revenue reaching 51.2 billion yuan in 2022. It has nearly 30,000 employees and 8l production bases nationwide. Zong was ranked as the country’s richest person in 2010, 2012 and 2013 by business magazine Forbes.
However, Zong led a simple life, and it was common to see him dressed in a white shirt and black cloth shoes. He once said, “I am an ordinary person, but luckily I was born in such an era (时代).” He said that Wahaha would not exist without reform and opening-up. He said that Chinese entrepreneurs should fulfill their social responsibilities, and create wealth for the people, adding that they should create more employment opportunities and participate in public welfare activities, contributing to the country’s economic and social development.
Moreover, Zong attached great importance to technological innovation to ensure the quality and diversity (多样性) of Wahaha’s products in a highly competitive market, and provide strong impetus to the company’s sustainable growth. It is widely acknowledged that Zong’s management philosophy has set an example for the development of China’s private economy.
1. What does the underlined word “categories” mean?| A．Sorts. | B．Sources. | C．Lines. | D．Fields. |
| A．Wahaha AD calcium milk gained great popularity worldwide. |
| B．Zong firmly believes he is an extraordinary and fortunate man. |
| C．Zong extremely values the quality and diverity of Wahaha’s products |
| D．Wahah’s success only resulted from Zong’s devotion and intelligence. |
| A．simple and responsible. | B．devoted and creative. |
| C．competitive and ordinary. | D．modest and independent |
| A．A guideline. | B．A menu. | C．A brochure. | D．A website. |
3 . Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world, with its delicious food and big luxury (奢侈的) shopping malls. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the city without stretching your wallet. With good planning, you can enjoy many things in Hong Kong for free.
1. Go gallery hopping and marvel at beautiful artworks.Hong Kong is home to plenty of independent art galleries that exhibit works from various artists around the world. While galleries are spread across the city, we argue that the best place to go gallery hopping is around Central and Sheung Wan.
2. Get up-close with nature at one of the scenic hiking routes.Hong Kong is filled with thick greenery, mountains, and amazing natural landscapes. So, go hiking at any of the scenic routes the city has. For hiking beginners, the Peak trail is among the easiest and in the end, you’ll be treated to epic views of Victoria Harbour.
3. Step back in time at the traditional villagesHong Kong’s traditional villages have been serving as a time machine to showcase Hong Kong’s past. Among the best-reserved villages is Tsang Tai Uk. The original brick, timber, and granite materials are still well-maintained within the walls.
1. Who may find the Peak trail most appealing?| A．Science fans. | B．Outdoor lovers. |
| C．Water sports followers. | D．Gallery goers. |
| A．Central and Sheung Wan | B．The Peak trail |
| C．Tsang Tai UK | D．Dragon’s Back |
| A．Travelers lacking experience. |
| B．Travelers on a tight budget. |
| C．Travelers into remote areas. |
| D．Travelers seeking local cuisine. |
The celebrations of Chinese New Year, also
The Chinese New Year’s Eve meal is the most important dinner of the year.
There are also some families that hire (雇用) a professional chef to come cook at home. Chefs are often busy running from one home
Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration and each day, many families take turns to hold celebrations among homes of
5 . A study published Tuesday in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review found that words expressing angry feelings sound alike in several unrelated languages. They’re less likely than other words to include the sounds L, R, W or Y. And more friendly versions of such words often have these sounds added. The finding suggests that certain rules may link the world’s languages, no matter how different they are.
Ryan McKay, co-author of the paper, happened to discover that some of the English curses (诅咒语) seem to have something in common; They’re often short and include the sounds B, P, T or K. Then Dr. McKay teamed up with his colleague Shiri Lev-Ari to learn whether these rules went beyond English.
During the experiment, they asked fluent speakers of Arabic, Korean, German and Spanish to list the worst words they could think of. Once they’d made a list of each language’s most commonly used curses, the researchers compared these with neutral (中性的) words from the same language. To their surprise, the rules still apply.
Next, the scientists asked the same people to listen to pairs of invented words, such as “yog” and “tsog” and guess which word in each pair was a curse. The subjects were more likely to guess that words without L, R. W and Y, such as “tsog”, were curses. Finally, the researchers looked through the dictionary for English curses and their cleaned-up versions. Once again, the cleaned-up versions included more of the sounds L, R, W and Y.
“Most 20th-century language scientists held that any word could have any meaning,” said Dr. McKay. “With curses, though, the sounds themselves seem to carry meaning. This can shape and change our understanding of how languages are formed.”
“It is the first time for researchers to study curses across languages and the finding is very interesting,” said Benjamin Bergen, a language scientist at the University of California, who was not involved in the study. “But it is just another case of what’s called sound symbolism in the language study: A word sounds like what it means.”
1. Which word is most probably not a leaned-up curse according to the text?| A．Rucy. |
| B．Buk |
| C．Yayad. |
| D．Walawah. |
| A．Applying their study to more unrelated languages. |
| B．Studying the neutral words and curses side by side. |
| C．Asking people to listen to pairs of non-existing words. |
| D．Comparing English curses with their friendly versions. |
| A．The study method is really unscientific. |
| B．It will change our understanding in a way. |
| C．It is not a totally new discovery at all. |
| D．The selected languages are too limited. |
| A．To introduce a newly published study. |
| B．To prove the unique rules in English. |
| C．To tell another way of memorizing words. |
| D．To show how to use more friendly curses. |
1. When did Jane get her Sunset published?
| A．In 1987. | B．In 1996. | C．In 1992. |
| A．Arts. | B．Law. | C．Literature. |
| A．Playing in summer vacation. |
| B．Reading local newspapers. |
| C．Working as a reporter. |
| A．It’s a collection of stories. |
| B．It’s a published novel. |
| C．It’s an unfinished play. |
7 . 假定你是李华，你的笔友 Mike 请你为他和家人的中国之旅推荐一道特色美食，内容包括：
1.美食简介;
2.推荐理由。
注意：
1.写作词数应为 80 左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Mike,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
8 . As we walk the “path of life”, we may sometimes wish to be alone with our own thoughts, for quiet periods of reflection can lead to personal improvement. However, social life is also important to us. More often than not, close friendships will help smooth out the sometimes rocky road that we are all meant to travel.
The first is the peace that comes from sharing with friends our joy, sadness, success and failure. Here, friendship has a double advantage.
The last is the help that a friend may offer in many different ways. There are so many things in life that can only be achieved with the help of friends. Friends may have many different ideas and skills.
By the way, it should be pointed out that enjoying the company of a crowd is not the same as being with friends.
| A．Friends should be carefully chosen. |
| B．Then comes the recognition from our friends. |
| C．Happiness shared takes on a greater meaning. |
| D．Therefore, we can be much happier and wiser. |
| E．They can help us achieve what we want in our life. |
| F．The next is the better judgement and understanding. |
| G．Generally speaking, close friendships have three “fruits”. |
9 . I started collecting shopping lists around 1997. One day, I was shopping for my daughter’s birthday party in St Louis, Missouri, where we lived. After leaving the store, I
People collect all sorts of things you would never
The shopping list
In 2012, I was
| A．referred to | B．focused on | C．took to | D．came across |
| A．keep | B．replace | C．rate | D．identify |
| A．design | B．expect | C．afford | D．ignore |
| A．separate | B．huge | C．convenient | D．pricey |
| A．wind up | B．catch up | C．stick out | D．run out |
| A．roll | B．bar | C．list | D．piece |
| A．buy | B．borrow | C．grow | D．harvest |
| A．survey | B．project | C．custom | D．system |
| A．hide | B．save | C．receive | D．unfold |
| A．valueless | B．unnecessary | C．informal | D．endless |
| A．taught | B．defeated | C．approached | D．judged |
| A．settling for | B．relating to | C．wondering at | D．figuring out |
| A．slowly | B．freely | C．sharply | D．easily |
| A．creative | B．private | C．regular | D．expensive |
| A．note | B．app | C．article | D．book |
10 . Escape to a New Life— Everyone’s Dream?
A TV series in Wales has become a heated issue by becoming the number one choice for teenagers to watch.
The main character is a young farmer and the series is about country life, making the popularity of the series all the more surprising. The series is calm and relaxing and really the opposite to city life. Escape to a New Life describes the Welsh countryside as a beautiful and peaceful place and its people as very caring and happy.
The series director believes that this is what young people want today. She says the success of the series is because teenagers want a happier and healthier life away from the pressures of deadlines and exams. She figures this series offers a form of escape from their fast and stressful lives.
Despite this, many parents and teachers are worried about the effect this is having on young people. Parents report that their children are just watching this series and neglecting everything else, using Escape to a New Life as an excuse for not completing homework, or refusing to revise for exams, citing a need for a happier and less stressful life.
One father, Paul McGregor, said his daughter Charlotte had changed a lot. He said, “She used to be in the school athletics team and loved the javelin, but now she only wants to watch the TV series and has been dropped from the team. She no longer completes her homework saying it doesn’t matter as she just wants to ‘escape to a new life’”.
Paediatrician, Dr. Elisa Carhart who specialises in child mental health, says that TV can influence young people’s decisions in life, but believes that if a young person reacts as strongly as Charlotte, it’s likely there are other reasons for the change in her behaviour.
1. What is the TV series Escape to a New Life mainly about?| A．How people escape from city life. | B．How a Welsh farmer lives his life. |
| C．How teenagers balance work with life. | D．How the young live a relaxing life. |
| A．Paying no attention to. | B．Making the most of. |
| C．Feeling at home with. | D．Complaining about. |
| A．Unfavorable. | B．Supportive. | C．Unclear. | D．Forgiving. |
| A．One should not jump in with both feet. |
| B．One man’s meat is another man’s poison. |
| C．We’d better be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. |
| D．We should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. |
