1 . One recent report found that adults in the US check their phones, on average, 344 times a day — once every four minutes — and spend almost three hours a day on their devices in total. But have you wondered what this constant use is doing to our brains?

As you might expect, the simple distraction of checking a phone can have negative consequences. And it isn’t just the use of a phone that has consequences — its me re presence can affect the way we think. In one study, researchers asked participants to either put their phones next to them or in another room. Participants then completed a series of tasks to test their abilities to process and remember information, their problem-solving, and their focus. They were found to perform far better when their phones were in another room instead of nearby — whether visible, powered on or not. The mere proximity of a phone, it seems, uses up the brain’s energy. Our brains may be hard at work in controlling the desire to check our phones. The only “fix,” the researchers found, was putting the device in a different room.

However, there is one way we can try to lessen its ill effects. And it has to do with our beliefs. People who think our brains have limited resources are more likely to give in to temptations (诱惑). But for those who believe resisting temptations strengthens our ability to keep resisting, exercising self-control on one task doesn’t worsen their performance in subsequent ones. They believe our brains have unlimited resources.

What am I taking from this? To cut down on mindless reaching for my phone, I’ll keep practicing leaving it in another room. But I’ll also remind myself that my brain has more resources than I think — and that each time I resist the temptation to check my phone, I’m laying down new neural (神经的) pathways that will make it easier and easier to resist that temptation, and perhaps others as well, in future.

1. What did the study aim to find out by placing the phones differently?

A．How people’s performance was affected.

B．How people gained access to digital resources.

C．Whether people used different skills in the test.

D．Whether people developed dependence on phones.

2. What does the underlined word “proximity” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Thought.

B．Dependence.

C．Nearness.

D．Mention.

3. What does the author think of resisting the temptation to check the phone?

A．It will strengthen our belief.	B．It will improve concentration.
C．It will weaken brain activity.	D．It will use up the brain’s resources.

4. What will the author agree to do to reduce mindless phone use?

A．Practice self-control.	B．Increase brain power.
C．Only use the phone for work.	D．Set a timer to limit phone use.

2 . Raised in a family of artists, the 24-year-old Russían woman Aleksandra developed a deep love for painting from an early age. Six years ago, she ________ to Hainan, an island province in South China, and set up her studio there. Her ________ about Chinese culture began when she was just 10 years old. “I didn’t have Mandarin teachers,” she fondly recalled. She ________ the language through the Internet, books and TV. She simply admired Chinese culture.

In 2018, ________ by her passion, Aleksandra journeyed to Hainan to study, where she was attracted by the island’s natural beauty and unhurried pace of life. “It’s a(n) ________ beautiful place, and the people are kind, attractive and really simple,” she reflected. “Life unfolds at a(n) ________ pace, allowing them to harmonize with nature.” Living in Hainan ________ her to immerse(沉浸) herself in nature and humanity, two beloved ________ in her artwork. The local people and ________ have become essential to her life as she and her husband, whom she met on the island, have ventured through its landscapes together.

Throughout her stay in Hainan, Aleksandra has ________ the development of the local culture. She expresses _____ in the appearance of new cultural landmarks, such as the Wormhole Library and the coastal structure Sky Mountain. Aleksandra ________ the rich artistic landscapes in Hainan, emphasizing that the island’s welcoming atmosphere offers a wealth of ________ for artists. With the ________ of enhancing understanding between the people of China and Russia through her art, she is planning an exhibition that ________ the richness of Chinese and Russian culture.

1.

A．moved

B．rode

C．wrote

D．rushed

2.

A．exhibition

B．knowledge

C．enthusiasm

D．understanding

3.

A．picked up

B．referred to

C．focused on

D．turned to

4.

A．taken

B．changed

C．promised

D．driven

5.

A．equally

B．incredibly

C．recently

D．normally

6.

A．different

B．average

C．leisure

D．current

7.

A．trains

B．demonstrates

C．permits

D．enables

8.

A．structures

B．themes

C．figures

D．characters

9.

A．economy

B．culture

C．history

D．tourism

10.

A．tested

B．impacted

C．encouraged

D．observed

11.

A．gratitude

B．doubt

C．delight

D．anxiety

12.

A．highlights

B．covers

C．designs

D．shifts

13.

A．chances

B．money

C．advice

D．services

14.

A．memory

B．intention

C．help

D．launch

15.

A．discovers

B．brings

C．shows

D．gives

3 . She devoted her whole life to the cause of world peace, that’s why she was a true internationalist.

A．She devoted herself to appealing for world peace

B．She spent her whole life fighting for world peace

C．She took her whole life to search for the root of world peace

D．Sue devoted her entire life to studying the process of world peace

4 . Through ______ thinking, one is capable of analyzing insightfully, concentrating on the right target, and thereby making a wise decision. (用适当的词填空)

5 . 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。

Sophie had to move to a new school in the town from her own village with her family because her father got a new job in a company. At the beginning, she used to sit alone in the class and then one day a girl, Nia, from her class talked to her, hoping that they could be friends. Nia was a modern girl born and brought up in the town. She was kind and a loving girl.

Nia never really had many friends because she used to choose her friends very wisely. When Nia came to Sophie with the hand of friendship, Sophie did not think even for a second and accepted her friendship as she needed friends. As the days passed by, Nia and Sophie had already developed a good friendship. They then promised that they would focus on the better things they would do for each other if they made mistakes.

Soon Sophie made many friends like Stephen, George, Josh and Ernie. She spent a lot of time with most of them as close friends and almost forgot about Nia. One day Sophie along with all her friends decided to do something adventurous: to light up firecrackers (鞭炮) behind the office building.

As word spread very fast among teenagers, Nia heard about it and told her to be aware of her real friends but Sophie paid no attention to it. Nia then knew that Sophie would not be so careful so she decided to look out for Sophie without her knowledge.

When they were pushing Sophie out to light up the crackers with a candle, Stephen saw a teacher coming out of the office room. He waved to the others to run away but left Sophie alone there.

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。

The teacher noticed Sophie and shouted, “Stop!”

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In the headmaster’s room, Nia pulled out her phone.

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6 . People in Australia have been really cautious about using natural or alternative treatments compared to other places, according to Dr. Paul Laver, a professor at the University of Sydney. He thinks this is because doctors in Australia have always been very powerful, and they are unwilling to let others take their place. In many other countries, regular treatments and these alternative treatments have worked closely together for a long time. For example, in Germany, medicines made from plants account for 10%of the country’s medicine sales. In the United States, more people visited these alternative therapists (治疗专家) than regular doctors in 1990.

During the past 20 years, more people in Australia have started to like these alternative treatments. In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people say they had contacted alternative therapists like chiropractors or herbalists. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population. Rather than criticizing this trend, increasing numbers of doctors in Australia, especially the younger ones, are starting to work with alternative therapists or take courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism. Part of the motivation was financial, Dr Laver said. The bottom line is that most doctors don’t want to lose patients. If they see potential patients going elsewhere, they might want to be able to offer a similar service.

In 1993, Dr. Laver did a survey in Sydney and found that people who went to alternative health therapists were usually those who hadn’t been helped much by regular medicine. These people liked the holistic approach of their alternative therapists, and the friendly, concerned and detailed attention they had received, which they didn’t always get from regular doctors.

The survey suggested that people visited alternative therapists for various problems like muscle pains, stomach issues, and emotional stress etc. It suggested that calling it “complementary medicine” might be better because people use it alongside regular medicine, d especially when regular medicine doesn’t seem to help.

1. Traditionally, how have Australian doctors differed from doctors in other countries?

A．They’ve resisted alternative therapists.

B．They’ve provided alternative medicines.

C．They’ve worked with alternative therapists.

D．They’ve had less power than alternative therapists.

2. Due to the increasing popularity of alternative treatments in Australia, ________.

A．doctors’ salaries are decreasing	B．younger doctors are in more demand
C．doctors are receiving more complaints	D．doctors are choosing to learn new skills

3. Why would people turn to alternative therapies rather than regular doctors?

A．Regular doctors were not available in their area.

B．People received more care from alternative therapists.

C．Alternative therapists had better medical equipment.

D．People paid much higher expenses for regular doctors.

4. What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Challenges Faced by Regular Doctors

B．The Rise of Alternative Therapies in Australia

C．Financial Motivation Behind Doctors’ Choices

D．The Development of Medical Practices Worldwide

7 . 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。

When I was in high school, like many other teenage boys, I played in a band. Most of our families came from South Africa, so, we mixed our favorite hard rock and heavy metal songs with elements of South African rhythms and melodies. Although our band didn’t achieve widespread success, we had a special night that I would never forget, when we realized the unique impact of music on lonely hearts.

At our school’s talent show, we weren’t the best, but we were good enough to come in third place, which made us more confident. Then, we decided to test the waters beyond our classmates. When we were booked for a charitable event at a large hospital, we were delighted. This opportunity was a thrilling breakthrough. Yet, beneath our excitement, we felt a sense of anxiety to perform for strangers-could our tunes really touch an audience unfamiliar with our sound?

For two weeks, we threw ourselves into intense practice sessions, meeting daily after school to practice hard and learn enough songs to fill a one-hour show.

On the concert day, we arrived early to check the stage. We felt nervous as we stood there and looked out at the hundred or so empty chairs lined up below us. After setting up and doing a quick sound check, we went backstage to have a soda and rest, doing anything to calm our nerves. While we were back there the hospital’s entertainment director came over to chat with us.

“Okay, boys, there are a couple of important details you should know,” she began. “Many in the audience today are suffering from severe physical and/or mental disabilities. Don’t be surprised by that. These patients have very few chances to see live entertainment of any kind, so they enjoy any kind of musical act that we can provide. Just go ahead and play your regular show, and you’ll do fine.” After saying that, she left, joining into the theatre to help the volunteers and staff who were assisting the patients to their seats.

注意：       
1.续写的词数应为 150 左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Before long, it was time to begin our show.

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“Don’t go! You don’t understand—they love your performance!” said the director.

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8 . 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。

“Mom, please,” Ann a begged eagerly. “Please, let me do it by myself!” She had never made cookies by herself before, but at the age of nine, she felt capable of handling many things. Her friends had been baking cupcakes for a year. Yet, it seemed her parents had little faith in her.

“Anna is going to make cookies? Alone?” her brother, Carl, asked with a laugh. “That is going to be disaster!” Carl used big words to act smarter than Anna. Having a big brother could be annoying. Admittedly, Anna always appeared clumsy. But that was before she turned nine. She thought her parents should realize she would do better now.

At her words, a flash of uncertainty crossed her parents’ faces. Would they agree? Holding her breath, she had waited for what seemed like ages. Surprisingly, Mom nodded, saying, “Okay, but please be careful, and remember to take a look at the cookbook first.”

Fueled by determination, Anna raced to the kitchen. With each step, there was a sense of purpose and confidence growing within her. She had already done it with Mom a million times before. Putting the cookbook aside, she got down to baking cookies from memory, breaking eggs, dropping a cold stick of butter, adding salt and then…um…yes, mixing it well! Using a mixer was easy. She turned on the mixer at the medium speed—and whoa. Whoa. Whoa! Butter splattered (飞溅) everywhere, making the kitchen in a mess. Collecting herself, she turned back to the mixing bowl and started again. This time with softer butter.

Anna placed rounded spoonfuls of mixture onto the cookie pan and put it into the oven (烤炉). Within a few minutes, a fantastic smell filled the kitchen- the smell of cookie success! She was going to silence all those doubts. No more eye-rolling from her big brother. No more “You’re too young, Anna” from her parents. She believed she was grown up and mature enough to be relied on.

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。

The moment Anna pulled the pan out of the oven, Carl stepped into the kitchen.

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Now she decided to have another try, carefully following the cookbook.

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9 . How Can We Trust AI If We Don’t Know How It Works

Alien minds, in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, surround us in daily life, powering facial recognition, determining creditworthiness, and even creating poetry and code.     1    

Many AI systems, particularly those based on deep learning neural networks, have trillions of parameters (参数), making their decision-making processes opaque (不透明的) — a phenomenon known as the AI explainability problem.     2    

Unlike humans who can justify their decisions based on ethical principles, AI lacks the ability to explain its decision-making, failing the predictive requirement for trust. Consider situations like the “Trolley Problem,” where a self-driving car must make a difficult decision without the capacity to provide a human-like explanation.

Trust relies not only on explainability and predictability but also on ethical or moral motivations. Humans expect others to act not just as they assume they will, but also as they should.     3     It fails to adapt its behavior in line with ethical principles or human expectations, leading to the AI consistency and trust problem.

    4     However, the increasing adoption of AI suggests a future where nested AI systems may dominate, limiting human intervention opportunities in rapid decision-making scenarios. This emphasizes the pressing need to address and resolve issues related to explainability and ensuring that AI systems align with human values and goals.

The integration of AI into vital systems, such as electric grids and military operations, heightens the importance of trust.     5    

In conclusion, AI lacks the predictability and ethical elements that would make it inherently trustworthy. Addressing the challenges of explainability and alignment is essential to ensure that AI systems earn and maintain human trust in critical applications. Further research in this area is needed to pave the way for trustworthy AI systems in the future.

A．As a result, understanding why AI systems make specific decisions is challenging, raising concerns about their trustworthiness.

B．However, AI operates with a fixed way of thinking molded by training data.

C．Addressing and resolving the issue before it reaches a critical point becomes crucial.

D．These are contexts where undesirable behavior could lead to severe consequences.

E．To enhance trust, proposals have been made to involve humans in AI decision-making, either in the loop or on the loop.

F．Due to the lack of unpredictability, people find it impossible to interpret the specific factors influencing Al-driven decisions.

G．However, the trustworthiness of these AI systems faces significant challenges due to their limited explainability and unpredictability.

10 . It all began innocently—I rushed to the local market for a few items, deciding not to use a cart (推车). As I approached the checkout area with my hands full, it was clear that the _________ service management had momentarily checked out. Three cashiers faced long lines, and chaos _________ with shoppers and carts full of groceries.

Like most, I surveyed the checkout lines, _________ choosing what seemed the fastest. However, my choice turned out to be the slowest, and _________ spread through the line. A middle-aged man murmured, setting off a chain reaction of complaints about the slow pace. The negativity _________, with one person declaring they would never shop there again.

_________ by the negativity, I turned my attention to the stressed cashier. The crowd’s displeasure didn’t _________ her work; instead, her stress increased, leading to mistakes and the need for a supervisor (主管). As my turn approached, I _________ the cashier’s discomfort, trembling and sweating despite the cold store.

In a(an) _________ tone, I said, “Some days are quite the adventure, aren’t they?” The cashier, relieved to see a_ __________ face, met my eyes and smiled. I encouraged her, saying impatience affects everyone, and I was in no rush.

Then came a(an) __________ lesson, a gift I never imagined. By sharing it, I hope to ________ others. The cashier thanked me for my patience, revealing she was a new employee still in training. We shared a laugh, and in that moment, strangers became friends.

Leaving the store, I felt __________ for the experience, unlike the dissatisfied shoppers. This incident taught that in the journey of love and understanding, mistakes happen, and patience is a __________ learning process. We are all, and always will be, in training when it comes to __________.

1.

A．community

B．delivery

C．customer

D．emergency

2.

A．erupted

B．extended

C．prevented

D．disturbed

3.

A．pessimistically

B．confidently

C．joyfully

D．curiously

4.

A．news

B．information

C．awareness

D．dissatisfaction

5.

A．spread

B．changed

C．exploded

D．ended

6.

A．Controlled

B．Managed

C．Surrounded

D．Directed

7.

A．accomplish

B．quicken

C．conclude

D．perform

8.

A．suffered

B．experienced

C．expressed

D．sensed

9.

A．effortless

B．depressed

C．formal

D．easygoing

10.

A．friendly

B．confused

C．happy

D．expressionless

11.

A．moral

B．experimental

C．unexpected

D．painful

12.

A．escape

B．enrich

C．excite

D．embrace

13.

A．wisdom

B．knowledge

C．judgment

D．appreciation

14.

A．gentle

B．continuous

C．forbidden

D．serious

15.

A．love

B．talent

C．gift

D．experience