1 . Evan Selinger, professor in RIT’s Department of Philosophy, has taken an interest in the ethics (伦理标准) of Al and the policy gaps that need to be filled in. Through a humanities viewpoint, Selinger asks the questions, “How can AI cause harm, and what can governments and companies creating Al programs do to address and manage it?” Answering them, he explained, requires an interdisciplinary approach.

“AI ethics go beyond technical fixes. Philosophers and other humanities experts are uniquely skilled to address the nuanced (微妙的) principles, value conflicts, and power dynamics. These skills aren’t just crucial for addressing current issues. We desperately need them to promote anticipatory (先行的) governance, ” said Selinger.

One example that illustrates how philosophy and humanities experts can help guide these new, rapidly growing technologies is Selinger’s work collaborating with a special AI project. “One of the skills I bring to the table is identifying core ethical issues in emerging technologies that haven’t been built or used by the public. We can take preventative steps to limit risk, including changing how the technology is designed, ”said Selinger.

Taking these preventative steps and regularly reassessing what risks need addressing is part of the ongoing journey in pursuit of creating responsible AI. Selinger explains that there isn’t a step-by-step approach for good governance. “AI ethics have core values and principles, but there’s endless disagreement about interpreting and applying them and creating meaningful accountability mechanisms, ” said Selinger. “Some people are rightly worried that AI can become integrated into ‘ethics washing’-weak checklists, flowery mission statements, and empty rhetoric that covers over abuses of power. Fortunately, I’ve had great conversations about this issue, including with some experts, on why it is important to consider a range of positions. ”

Some of Selinger’s recent research has focused on the back-end issues with developing AI, such as the human impact that comes with testing AI chatbots before they’re released to the public. Other issues focus on policy, such as what to do about the dangers posed by facial recognition and other automated surveillance(监视) approaches.

Selinger is making sure his students are informed about the ongoing industry conversations on AI ethics and responsible AI. “Students are going to be future tech leaders. Now is the time to help them think about what goals their companies should have and the costs of minimizing ethical concerns. Beyond social costs, downplaying ethics can negatively impact corporate culture and hiring, ” said Selinger. “To attract top talent, you need to consider whether your company matches their interests and hopes for the future. ”

1. Selinger advocates an interdisciplinary approach because ________.

A．humanities experts possess skills essential for AI ethics

B．it demonstrates the power of anticipatory governance

C．AI ethics heavily depends on technological solutions

D．it can avoid social conflicts and pressing issues

2. To promote responsible AI, Selinger believes we should ________.

A．adopt a systematic approach	B．apply innovative technologies
C．anticipate ethical risks beforehand	D．establish accountability mechanisms

3. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．More companies will use AI to attract top talent.

B．Understanding AI ethics will help students in the future.

C．Selinger favors companies that match his students’ values.

D．Selinger is likely to focus on back-end issues such as policy.

2 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

In a fast-paced world, where stress and mental tiredness seem commonplace, we’re constantly looking for new ways to unwind. People may carry out a variety of activities to help them relax. But what about the birdsongs or other nature sounds? Could they also help people to let go of the tensions of modern life?

According to a study by King’s College London in 2022, seeing or hearing birds could help to boost the mental wellbeing of people. Taking a trip to places rich in birdlife like parks, forests and canals and encountering birds singing to each other in the trees could even help to treat some mental health conditions. And it’s not just birds that could have a curative effect on our moods. Another study conducted by the National Trust compared the effects of woodland sounds with voiced meditation (冥想) apps. The study found listening to birdsong as well as other woodland sounds like leaves crunching underfoot or the gentle flow of a stream boosted feelings of relaxation 30% more than the apps do. Other sounds which may help to cool people down are waves lapping on the shore, gentle wind, and light rainfall.

However, not all of us live in rural surroundings, and depending on where we live, a trip to the countryside to see birds may not be an option. But could the nature sounds that originate there still help you? According to research by California Polytechnic State University, even a recording of the sounds of birds had a profound effect on people’s mood, while other studies saw people listening to soundscapes of the coast and forests with similar outcomes to their wellbeing.

So, wherever you live, you can access the wonderful sounds of birds and nature during a stroll through a wood or via some headphones. And maybe listening to the chirps, trills, warbles and whistles of some birds could help you to relax after a long, hard day.

1. What did the study by King’s College London in 2022 find?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. How did the National Trust conduct the study?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
According to the passage, birds singing, voiced meditation apps and the recording of the sounds of nature have the same effect on people’s mood.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Besides what is mentioned in the passage, what do you usually do to help you relax in your daily life? (In about 40 words)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

3 . Most of us are actually terrible at giving gifts. About $70 billion worth of presents are returned every year in the U. S.     1     Here are three ways to improve your gift-giving game around the holidays.

Stop trying to make your gifts so delightful.     2     We want something from giving: those looks of delight. Those exclamations. This is why items like hyper-specific kitchen gadgets and fancy vintage clocks all seem like fantastic gifts. But it turns out, recipients often want things that are far more practical — things they can actually use.

    3     Just give people what they ask for. A study looked at Amazon wish lists to determine if people were more appreciative of gifts from the list versus gifts that were total surprises. It turned out that people who got gifts that weren’t on their list considered them as less thoughtful and less personal.     4    

How can we create a gift-giving plan that is as emotional as we desire? Humans love to feel connected. And one way we do that is by sharing interests with others. So if you want to learn how to give better gifts, put yourself in the recipient’s shoes and try to think of something you both share. Maybe it’s the love for a sport, drinking wine, or some other hobby.     5     And because you picked something you share, they will feel more connected to you and appreciate your gift more.

A．So how do we get less terrible?

B．Surprise is overrated — we’re happier to get what we ask for.

C．So what's the most practical gift you can give that people might actually be grateful for?

D．The long-term pleasure of the receiver may not be observed and therefore is discounted.

E．Once you’ve found a shared interest, go and find a useful gift related to this interest.

F．What recipients care about is how much value they’re going to get from the gift over a longer time period.

G．Research has shown that givers are consumed by the moment of unwrapping a gift even more than the gift itself.

4 . As this year draws to a close, I still remember the fear I felt on a bright Saturday morning in late September, at a five-kilometer race in Clarkston, Georgia, as I waited for my 11-year-old son at the finish line.

I knew he could run a 5k in about 30 minutes. When I didn't see him at the 35-minute mark, I began to wonder what had gone wrong. Had he gotten lost? Was he hit by a car? About an hour earlier, when we drove into town, my son noticed an insect on my car. It was bright green, no longer than a fingernail. And it was friendly. This little green thing hopped onto my son's finger, where it stayed for a long, long time. It stayed so long that we eventually gave it a name: Little Friend.

A few minutes before the race, Little Friend jumped off my son’s hand and landed on the sidewalk. But pedestrian traffic was heavy and unpredictable. Little Friend was in danger. So my son knelt and reached out his hand. Little Friend came back.

The race was about to start, and the tiny green insect was in for a wild ride. My son would run fast, and the race would be long, and his arms would swing, and Little Friend would eventually be shaken off.

“You will lose Little Friend,” I told him.

My son nodded, treating the moment with appropriate seriousness.

The race began, and I lost sight of him.

The excitement at the finish line gave way to anxiety when my son did not show up.

I kept asking people if they'd seen him. No one had. And beyond the 40-minute mark, I was in a panic.

But there he was, thank goodness, just ahead of the 45-minute mark.

And there was Little Friend, riding on the upper crook of his right thumb like a very small captain on a very tall ship.

My predictions had been wrong. My son had not run fast, and he had not lost Little Friend. And these two facts seemed somehow related. He blamed a cold he was getting over. I suspected it was more than that, but I didn’t question him too much about it.

We walked back to the car, smiling, and found some bushes in the parking lot that seemed like a good place for my son to drop off Little Friend.

“Be free,” my son said, and gently put it in the bushes.

My son knew the truth. Sometimes life gives you something beautiful, a fragile, short-lived treasure in your hand. There is no need to rush ahead. Treat it gently. Enjoy each moment. Hold on while you can.

One day my son will leave too, running off on his own adventure.

1. How did the writer probably feel when he finally saw his son appear in sight?

A．Relieved.

B．Depressed.

C．Satisfied.

D．Disappointed.

2. The son failed to run as fast as his father had expected probably because ________.

A．he was lost	B．he was recovering from a cold
C．he was afraid to lose the tiny insect	D．he was slowed down by the heavy traffic

3. As for the way his son treated Little Friend, the writer is ________.

A．indifferent

B．anxious

C．appreciative

D．doubtful

4. What will the writer most probably do after the race?

A．Treasure every moment he has with his son.

B．Encourage his son to take more adventures.

C．Tell his son to take races seriously.

D．Get more insects for his son.

5 . 语法填空

Your hometown could affect your navigational (导航的) skills. New research indicates that individuals     1     (raise) in cities with structured street patterns may encounter difficulties in navigation compared to those from rural areas with more organic layouts. This conclusion was drawn from a study     2     (involve) players of a mobile game about sea,     3     tests 3-D navigation skills. However, there’s hope for city residents: an urban version of the game showed slight improvements for them.

6 . 语法填空

The 5-Second Rule suggests food is OK to eat if you pick it up     1    five seconds or less. Believe it or not, scientists have tested the rule. We’re sorry to report it’s not necessarily true. Bacteria can attach     2     (it) to your food instantly, regardless of how quickly it     3     (pick) up. Food left there for five seconds or less will probably collect less bacteria than food sitting there for a longer time, but fast may not be fast enough. Floors, even clean-looking ones, harbor bacteria. Ultimately, if in doubt, abandon the food     4     (avoid) potential illness.

7 . When Susan was a high school senior, her English teacher Mr. DiMeo gave the class a challenging task: Recite a poem in front of the whole class.

“I had a mild stutter (结巴). I’d be ________ to get a word out that might begin with ‘D’ or ‘TH’, or I might say ‘the’ three times,” Susan said. The thought of getting up in front of her classmates and stuttering through the poem was too much to ________.

Susan went home and ________ how scared she was to her mom, who agreed to write a note asking for her to be ________ from doing the task in front of the whole class.

When the day of the recitation came, Susan recited the poem one-on-one to Mr. DiMeo. ________ she was done, Mr. DiMeo said something she’d never heard before: that he liked listening to her voice. For the first time, she considered the possibility that public speaking didn’t have to be a source of ________.

Susan went on to graduate from high school and go to college. She never got to properly thank Mr. DiMeo. But sometime after college, she ________ a job as a corporate trainer. The new position made her realize how big a (n)________ he had had on her confidence.

“I stand up in front of people and speak, and I do it all the time. If I do stutter once in a while, no big deal,” she said. Susan recently found a way to ________ her former teacher, and plans on sending him a letter expressing her appreciation.

In her mind, Mr. DiMeo is an unsung hero, because he’s a big reason why she has a successful career and life. “I don’t know where I would’ve gone if I felt like I had to keep my voice ________ because I was afraid of embarrassing myself. I’d like to thank him for that kindness.”

1.

A．continuing

B．struggling

C．pretending

D．hoping

2.

A．share

B．express

C．find

D．bear

3.

A．taught

B．proved

C．revealed

D．promised

4.

A．excused

B．prohibited

C．corrected

D．discouraged

5.

A．While

B．Although

C．Unless

D．Once

6.

A．jealousy

B．worry

C．boredom

D．loneliness

7.

A．wanted

B．offered

C．landed

D．created

8.

A．impact

B．idea

C．choice

D．stress

9.

A．judge

B．contact

C．study

D．interview

10.

A．sweet

B．loud

C．quiet

D．deep

8 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

In the mornings, as I walked from the train station to the office, I planned my day by making a to-do list in my head: the scientific articles I would read, the data sets I would analyze, and-most urgent of all-the insights into human nature that it was my job to discover.

Each evening, I went back to the station, again going through my mental checklist but this time sizing up my performance against the expectations I’d set for myself that morning. Time and again, when comparing my to-do list with my got-done list, I felt disappointed because I had fallen short.

But one day, something very strange happened. During my trip home, without any conscious intent, my thoughts began to shift. Instead of feeling bad about my weaknesses, I said aloud very softly: I’m a nice person. I’m a nice person. I’m a nice person.

By the time I boarded my train, I was done with my little chant-until the next day when I walked home. And again, after counting my failures, I found myself saying quietly: I’m a nice person.

It turns out that there’s a technical term for this practice: values affirmation. And what it boils down to is recognizing, and strengthening, the personal values you hold most dear.

When you affirm a core personal value, you shore up your sense of self-worth. You broaden your outlook: Instead of focusing on your shortfalls, you switch to a wide-angle view that includes your resources and opportunities. And the people who do this are happier, healthier, and more hopeful.

Over time, I made progress in my research and learned a lot about what makes most successful people special, including this: Nobody has passion and determination unless what they do lines up with their values.

Try values affirmation for yourself and teach the practice to your students. Take a moment and think of a value you hold dear, whether it’s kindness, creativity, or gratitude. Whatever it is, name it. And then say to yourself: Come what may, I know who I am. Your values are your foundation and your compass, too. Trust them, and they will lead you home.

1. How did the author feel when she compared her to-do list with her got-done list?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What is values affirmation?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
People who recognize their shortfalls are happier, healthier, and more
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Apart from speaking out positive words, what else could you do to feel better about yourself? (In about 40 words)
___________________________________________________________________________

9 . As a doctor, I can give you a lot of useful advice about how to get healthy and stay that way, but you don’t need me to tell you that exercise is good for you. Staying active can benefit the heart, the waistline, even the mind.     1     More than 60% of American adults don’t exercise regularly, and many say they don’t exercise at all. More than 72 million are overweight, and almost all of them would like to lose the extra pounds. So, if exercise is such a good idea, why don’t more people do it?

    2     Even as I write this, I am watching my two-year-old run around in circles. Kids seem to be born in constant motion, but along the way that behavior changes.

The slowdown occurs for most at the beginning of college. Academic pressure and lack of organized sports are certainly part of the problem. A bigger part may be looking at life changes as an occasion to blow up old rules and not create new ones in their place.     3     The demands of a new job usually mean less time at the gym. How about a new marriage? How many times have we seen just-married couples looking a lot heavier in first-anniversary photos than they did in the wedding pictures?

    4     People who set general goals, like “I will exercise in my free time,” did a far worse job of sticking to that plan than did people who made a firm commitment, like “I will walk to my friend’s house and back every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

The good news is, there are solutions to all these. We can begin with exercises as simple as remembering to sit straighter or drink enough water. Specific workout plans can turn a general desire to exercise into a firm commitment.     5    

We may never again have the energy of a two-year-old, but getting back even a little of our early-life energy can make our later lives a whole lot healthier.

A．Being in college is certainly part of the problem.

B．This is especially so when it comes to staying fit.

C．Not having a clearly defined exercise plan can hurt.

D．We often wish to go back to our two-year-old selves.

E．For instance, you can schedule a weekly gym visit with friends.

F．Still, there’s a real disconnect between what we know and what we do.

G．The most puzzling part of our inactive nature is that we don’t start out that way.

10 . I wrestled her to the ground for the keys, literally. Indeed, when she opened the door to leave the house at 11 pm for the movies despite my words, I actually wrestled my 16-year-old daughter to the ground.

I did not know how to deal with a rebellious (叛逆的) teenager. We are a family of strong wills, from the top down. All my kids had pushed and argued. Everyone “kind of” followed the rules. As they got older, especially when they hit high school, I saw the power shifting, but it hadn’t been so obvious. I had not seen much in-your-face rebellion.

Until this happened.

I called Amy Speidel, a wise and practical parenting expert. She stayed on the phone with me and listened to my wild complaint about my disrespectful kid. She listened for almost two hours and then gave me some suggestions.

Amy told me that my daughter’s behavior was “developmentally appropriate”-she was supposed to test the boundaries. Amy also said that it was great that my daughter would be able to stand up for herself in a relationship that wasn’t working.

Those comments really made me feel awful. I hadn’t considered anything positive about her behavior — but outside of our mother-daughter relationship, I would never want to devalue my daughter’s strong will.

After talking with Amy, I realized that I was the one who needed help understanding discipline vs control. Honestly, I did hate that the responsibility was on me. I wanted permission to scream and punish. But I listened to Amy and here’s what I learned.

1. My daughter’s behavior was normal. That eased my fears that I had raised a terrible human and failed as a mother.

2. My daughter’s strong personality was a strength. That revelation was a huge gift. I value her qualities but don’t want them used against me. I will soften my response and listen to her.

3. I went crazy. In fact, I crossed a line. And that happens. But I learned to apologize and reset so that we could move forward.

My job, therefore, is to learn new responses that offer my daughter options and realistic consequences, not empty threats. And hopefully, this will change my relationship with my daughter.

1. What is the actual reason the author had a fight with her daughter?

A．The daughter wouldn’t give her the keys.

B．The daughter didn’t come back until 11 pm.

C．The daughter insisted on going out late at night.

D．The daughter wanted to go to the movies with friends.

2. The comments made the author feel “awful” because_______.

A．she had helped her daughter to test boundaries

B．she didn’t treasure the mother-daughter relationship

C．she thought Amy was criticizing her daughter’s upbringing

D．she hadn’t noticed the desirable aspects of her daughter’s behavior

3. After the phone call, the author learned that ______.

A．her daughter’s strong character should be softened

B．she should constructively deal with conflict

C．her daughter should control her behavior

D．she should admit her failure as a mother

4. According to Amy, what should the author say if the same situation happens again?

A．“Do you really think you can just walk out the door like that?”

B．“It’s not safe to be out so late. What about tomorrow afternoon?”

C．“It doesn’t matter whether you go out or not. I will support you.”

D．“You have been disrespectful and can’t go out tonight. Is that clear?”