3 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that along with the rapid development of society, we all focus on our phone and desktop, and therefore it results in our compromised conversational intelligence. However, it’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for small conversation. “Small talk is the grease (润滑剂) for social communication,” says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. “Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,” he explains. “The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.”

In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. “It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,” says Dunn. “But interactions with peripheral (边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.”

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. “Small talk is the basis of good manners,” he says.

1. What does the underlined word “compromised” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Weakened.

B．Enhanced.

C．Secret.

D．Natural.

2. What is important for successful small talk according to Carducci?

A．Showing good manners.	B．Relating to other people.
C．Focusing on a topic.	D．Making business deals.

3. What can we learn about small talk from the coffee shop study?

A．It made the coffee taste better.	B．It reduced waiting time in line.
C．It improved people’s mood and experience.	D．It helped them bond with the server deeply.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Elevator manners.	B．The importance of small talk.
C．Smartphones and social media.	D．Developing deep relationships.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Putian wood carving, one of the four well-known categories of the art of Chinese wood carving, originated in the Tang and Song Dynasties.     1    （serve）as a national intangible cultural heritage   (非物质文化遗产) item in China, it is a traditional folk carving technique of southeast China’s Fujian Province.

Zheng Chunhui, Lin Jianjun and Chen Yushu     2     (be) three exceptional representatives of wood carving masters. Zheng is     3     provincial-level inheritor (继承人) of the wood carving art,     4     not only excels (擅长) in traditional wood carving technique, but     5     (precise) expresses his love for his family and nation through his works. To promote the art, Zheng opened a unique wood carving gallery, which is the     6     (one) in Putian run by an individual and free to the public. The delicate wood carving works by Lin shone at a BRICS summit (峰会) several years ago. and meanwhile, the Chinese-style antique furniture pieces that are made by Chen     7     (show) at many international exhibitions over the past few years.

Putian city is home     8     over 2,600 wood carving companies, and the wood carving works     9     (create) there were sold to more than 20     10     (country) and regions around the world last year.

5 . 你校英语话剧社正在招募新成员，请你为话剧社写一则英文招募启示。内容包括：
1．招募对象的条件;
2．报名方式和截止时间。
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。

Join Our English Drama Club

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6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I’ve always thought of my mother Lee-Ann as a superhero. Not that she can fly or shoot lasers (激光) out of her eyes, but because she never runs out of room in her heart for anyone or anything.

I could write about all of the wonderful things she has done, but I want to focus on the one project she does every year that has shaped my whole family and everyone around us: She collects the money she finds in the washer and dryer, and she puts it in a little jar that we refer to as “The Charity Jar”. Every year, she takes this money and puts it toward something — a cause, an act of kindness, anything that can help someone. Sometimes, she buys coffee for the next people in line at a coffee shop. Other times, she buys something for an organization that needs it.

If you ask her about this tradition, she will tell you that she is carrying on something that her mother used to do around the holidays. If you ask anyone else who knows her, however, they will tell you that she has a huge heart. She manages to get our whole family involved in this movement every year.

Last year, for example, my younger brother Bob and I volunteered in a shelter for the homeless. Once, when we helped with delivering daily supplies there, he noticed the wish list on the wall: comforters, a DVD player, a coffee maker and supplies. We told Mum, and she quickly organized a family meeting to discuss how to help the shelter. We all agreed that the coffee maker would be the best thing for our family to work on together. We found a coffee maker online and decided to buy one.

Bob opened “The Charity Jar” and we counted the money Mum collected. Unfortunately, it was 50 dollars short. “Any way to make it up?” Mum asked me and Bob.

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。

“I’ve learned that Mr. Smith needs someone to tidy his big garden,” I told Bob.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next weekend, we went to the shelter with the new coffee maker excitedly.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . My mom has been and will always be my biggest inspiration. She is a single parent of eight, and I have no idea how she survived. Throughout the years, my mom has _________ many hardships which could easily _________ someone with little determination.

Even when doctors _________ if my little sister Mary would live to see the age of 2, my mom never lost hope. After _________ visits to countless doctors, my mom decided to bring her home and make the best of my sister’s life _________ giving in to the bad results from different hospitals.

Mary’s frequent hospital visits definitely upset her, but my mom never showed _________ of weakness. Her _________ helped Mary through every tough time. No matter how confused Mary was, my mom always made her feel as if there was nothing to worry about, which _________ Mary to live the life of a normal child.

_________, things began to become worse. Around her 6th birthday, Mary lost sight at the age of 5. The doctor said that it could __________ cure. The whole family were heartbroken and helpless. Once again, my mom found a way to __________ us all, making us know that she had a strong support system. She __________ her job and stayed with Mary day and night, which helped contribute to her recovery __________.

My mom gets us to realize that no matter how __________ our life may appear, we are equipped with a very strong __________ system. We are a family that will always be there for one another.

1.

A．scared

B．overcome

C．warned

D．cheered

2.

A．delight

B．embarrass

C．discourage

D．facilitate

3.

A．questioned

B．instructed

C．wondered

D．recommended

4.

A．occasional

B．limited

C．numerous

D．rare

5.

A．in spite of

B．rather than

C．apart from

D．due to

6.

A．signals

B．predictions

C．symbols

D．signs

7.

A．creation

B．judgement

C．gesture

D．strength

8.

A．enabled

B．persuaded

C．prevented

D．suggested

9.

A．Nevertheless

B．Therefore

C．Besides

D．Hence

10.

A．frequently

B．hardly

C．possibly

D．actually

11.

A．blame

B．favor

C．inspire

D．respect

12.

A．put up

B．took up

C．broke up

D．gave up

13.

A．gradually

B．properly

C．terribly

D．instantly

14.

A．cruel

B．tough

C．official

D．smooth

15.

A．performance

B．acceptance

C．entertainment

D．support

10 . Many got sleepless nights after Sora amazed the world with its remarkable ability of creating videos directly from text instructions. Discussions about what the artificial intelligence model can do and make a difference continue.

Some said it could give a huge blow to traditional industries such as film and television making, looking forward to the day when a movie can be created right after a novel is put into the model. But others remain skeptical about how powerful the model can be in changing the landscape of AI application.

Developed by a group of young talent from Microsoft-backed company OpenAI, the text-to-video model can generate videos up to a minute long while maintaining visual quality.

Shen Yang, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, said, “Sora represents a revolutionary leap in the field of AI-generated content (AIGC).”

As one of the leading scholars in AI research in China, Shen leads a team that studies the philosophy of AI. Until he learned about Sora, Shen was quite satisfied with his team’s AI-generated videos. A two-minute video on the Spring Festival produced by Shen’s team have recently won many likes on social media platforms. “Compared with the new model Sora, what we used are tools of the previous generation. There’s a huge gap in between,” said Shen.

As a frequent user of AI, Shen said the technology not only helps improve his productivity, but also benefits his daily life. His wife was suffering from cancer, and he used AI to assist in finding treatment, which has remarkably prolonged her life. He even wrote an award-winning science fiction novel using A.

However, new technologies do not mean good news to everyone. Many also concern about AI models’ safety issues since related regulations are lagging behind.

Sora is going to bring changes in many fields, including short video, film and television, news, games, advertising, education, and even industrial manufacturing, according to Shen. There is still much room to improve AI models. For instance, current AI models are not capable of drawing characters accurately and quickly. Shop signs lack meaning in Sora’s demo video showing a woman walking down a street in Tokyo. But these problems are believed to be solved as models update.

1. Which of the following might replace the underlined word in Paragraph 2?

A．Push.	B．Strike.
C．Warning.	D．Bonus.

2. What can we know from the passage?

A．All people cannot benefit from the new AI technologies.

B．AI model’s safety isn’t concerning despite lagging legal restrictions.

C．The AI-generated videos by Shen Yang’s team were better than those created by Sora.

D．The text-to-video model was developed by a group of young talent from Tsinghua University.

3. What kind of attitude does Shen have towards Sora?

A．Reserved.	B．Objective.
C．Unconcerned.	D．Approving.

4. Which of the following is the best title?

A．Sora: An AI video.	B．Video Making: AI Models.
C．Sora: A Powerful AI Tool.	D．Video Making: Future of AI.