One spring, I was hired as groundskeeper at a Country Inn, a famous bed-and-breakfast located in Washington state. The grand house is in a beautiful place. Many famous people have visited and even had their own rooms there. The owners, Philip and Cecelia, have done a perfect job for the house. However, the gardens were very overgrown. Worse yet, there was another problem: a very persistent doe (母鹿).
Every day when I came to work, there was new evidence of the deer’s big appetite. I tried many preventives: spray, human hair, soap, you name it-but none of those things had effect. Often when I was weeding, I’d look over and there she’d be, munching some tasty pieces. Worst of all, she feasted on the roses, in which Cecelia took great pride. I became so frustrated that I named her “Dinner”— and wanted to serve her on plates.
One morning, I was on my hands and knees pulling out vines and bushes when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. There was Dinner, not five feet away, munching a large leaf and staring at me. I felt a connection with this animal. We did have something in common-we were both mothers. I got the crazy idea of communicating with her and it seemed she wanted the same thing.
What’s up? I asked in my head.
I’m here because I feel safe, was the gentle reply I felt I heard. I have my fawns (幼鹿) bedded down nearby, and there is plenty to eat. When the twins are older after summer, I will move them deeper into the forest.
I understand that, I assured her. People come here too, from far away. I guess they’ll be interested to see you. I promise that nobody will harm you or your children. I don’t mind sharing the vegetation but Cecelia loves roses, too. She is very upset when they are all eaten.
A loud crash broke the magic. Our eyes met again briefly before she leaped off across the driveway, disappearing into the forest. Has I really communicated with the deer?
Paragraph1.
I went into the kitchen where Cecelia was preparing the evening meal.
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Paragraph2.
Every day, I enjoyed watching Dinner with the twins and my presence never bothered them.
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2 . Eight scientists were awarded the 2023 Future Science Prize, also called “China’s Nobel Prize”, the first Chinese non-governmental science award jointly initiated by groups of scientists and entrepreneurs (企业家). Since the establishment in 2016, a total of 35 scientists have been awarded the Future Science Prize so far.
Chai Jijie and Zhou Jianmin received the Future Science Prize in life sciences for the discovery of resistosomes (抗原小体) and explanations of their molecular structures and functions in plant immune responses against pathogens (病原体). Understanding of resistosome functions will lead to better methods for controlling plant disease and therefore have enormous importance for global food security.
Chai said that he felt extremely honored, excited and happy via a video call at the press conference. He emphasized that this recognition was not only for himself but also for the team’s years of hard work. “My cooperation with Professor Zhou has lasted for nearly 20 years. Our partnership has been productive and enjoyable, and I believe our cooperation will carry on,” he said.
During the video call, Zhou remarked that the Future Science Prize is grounded in the national context. It is heartening to see that the prize places greater emphasis on supporting agriculture.
Zhao Zhongxian and Chen Xianhui received the Future Science Prize in physical sciences for their influential breakthroughs in the discovery of high-temperature superconducting materials and systematic advancements in elevating the transition temperature. Notably, both Zhao and Chen conducted systematic studies to show the underlying physical mechanisms of high Tc materials, positioning themselves at the forefront of superconductor research for several years.
He Kaiming, Sun Jian, Ren Shaoqing, Zhang Xiangyu received the Future Science Prize in mathematics and computer science, for their extraordinary contributions to artificial intelligence by introducing deep residual learning (深度残差学习).
The 2023 Future Science Prize Week and the Award Ceremony were held in Hong Kong from October 14 to 17.
1. For what were the eight scientists awarded?| A．Their never-ending pursuit of knowledge. |
| B．Their long-term partnership in researches. |
| C．Their remarkable contributions to science. |
| D．Their intense efforts to overcome barriers. |
| A．Vision. | B．Passion. | C．Ambition. | D．Cooperation. |
| A．Their discovery is ground-breaking. |
| B．Zhao and Chen have a long way to go. |
| C．Research is certain to be rewarded. |
| D．The real value cannot be overestimated. |
| A．To appeal to many more people to innovate. |
| B．To reveal the recipe for their great success. |
| C．To encourage us to be committed to science. |
| D．To introduce the 2023 Future Science Prize. |
3 . Does a happy person live longer? Many studies have convinced us that happiness brings good health, which has resulted in an increasing demand for speakers and products encouraging positive thinking. However, being happy does not promise that one is going to be healthy. There are other factors that influence one’s health and long life such as a person’s genes or even a person’s socio-economic condition.
Some research even suggests that positive thinking can be dangerous. Positive thinking, when taken to the extreme, can cause a person to be separated from reality. For example, a person who thinks that staying happy and positive can help him recover from an illness like cancer but later fails to recover from it, may blame himself for not being happy. In this case, positive thinking may potentially make the victim disregard other factors. Sometimes the pursuit of happiness is even associated with serious mental health problems such as depression.
All types of happiness are not good for us either. For example, pride, a pleasant feeling, can sometimes rob us of the ability to empathize with others or understand another’s viewpoint. This anti-social behavior can cause people around us to turn away from us, and this could, in turn, make us feel lonely and do harm to our mental and even physical health.
Moreover, unpleasant feelings can be beneficial to a person’s well-being. Researchers believe that unpleasant feelings can help us make sense of our challenges and experiences in a way that supports psychological well-being. For example, if I have behaved badly towards my good friend, the feelings of guilt and sadness might motivate me to apologize and ask for forgiveness. The rebuilding of a broken relationship can be a lift to one’s mental well-being.
In trying to experience happiness, we should remember that seeking for happiness as an end in itself can be self-defeating, and does not necessarily lead to better health. After all, one will surely experience setbacks and conflicts in life. Instead, learning to cope with negative emotions with a realistic positive attitude is key to a person’s good health.
1. What’s the writer’s opinion in this passage?| A．Negative thinking can be dangerous. |
| B．Staying happy can bring good health. |
| C．Unpleasant feelings cannot be beneficial. |
| D．Happiness cannot ensure one’s good health. |
| A．When we use it with a realistic attitude to solve problems. |
| B．When we focus on it as an only determinant of happy life. |
| C．When we think it one of the necessary factor for good health. |
| D．When we realize it may rob us of the ability to understand others. |
| A．They rebuild a broken relationship. |
| B．They lead to self-reflection and personal growth. |
| C．They help keep the problems and challenges away. |
| D．They prevent long-term negative effects on mental health. |
| A．An ultimate goal. | B．An individual plan. |
| C．A final decision. | D．A great start. |
4 . Generative A.I., the software engine behind ChatGPT, is seen as an exciting new wave of technology. But companies in every industry are mainly trying out the technology and thinking through the economics. Widespread use of it at many companies could be years away.
Generative A.I., according to forecasts, could sharply boost productivity and add trillions of dollars to the global economy. Yet the lesson of history, from steam power to the Internet, is that there is a long lag between the arrival of major new technology and its broad adoption — which is what transforms industries and helps fuel the economy.
The investment craze is going on right now. In the first half of 2023, funding for generative A.I. start-ups reached $15.3 billion, nearly three times the total for last year. Company technology managers are sampling generative A.I. software from a host of suppliers and watching to see how the industry develops.
In November, when ChatGPT was made available to the public, it was a “Netscape moment” for generative A.I., said Rob Thomas, IBM’s chief commercial officer, referring to Netscape’s introduction of the browser in 1994. “That brought the Internet alive,” Mr. Thomas said. But it was just a beginning, opening a door to new business opportunities that it took years to create.
In a recent report, a timeline for the widespread adoption of generative A.I. application was presented. It assumed steady improvement in currently known technology, but not future break-throughs. Its forecast for main-stream adoption was neither short nor precise, a range of 8 to 27 years. The broad range is explained by plugging in different assumptions about economic cycles, government regulation, company cultures and management decisions. “We’re not modeling the laws of physics here; we’re modeling economics and societies, and people and companies,” said Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute. “What happens is largely the result of human choices.”
1. How are the companies reacting after the introduction of generative A.I.?| A．Adopting the new technology widely. | B．Making a high profit from the technology. |
| C．Staying cautious about the new technology. | D．Postponing generative A.I.’s wide adoption. |
| A．The arrival of major new technology. | B．The broad adoption of new technology. |
| C．The lag between the major technologies. | D．The invention of steam power in history. |
| A．To show the Internet came alive in the 1990s. |
| B．To mention A.I. has brought important benefits. |
| C．To explain the present situation is just a beginning. |
| D．To prove the new business opportunities are enormous. |
| A．It needs steady improvement instead of break-throughs. |
| B．It should model the laws of physics and economics. |
| C．It will be widely adopted in over 3 decades. |
| D．It is influenced mostly by human factors. |
As long as she could remember, Mary had been fascinated by her grandmother’s notebooks. They were overflowing with stories and recipes from every corner of the globe, gathered during her wanderings in her youth. Those notebooks were like a time machine, taking her back to the days when her grandmother was young and full of life. She felt as if she could almost taste the flavors of the dishes her grandmother had cooked back then.
The notebooks were more than just pages of paper and ink. They were a reflection of her grandmother’s life, a record of her experiences and learning. Each recipe was a memory, each story a lesson learned. And now, those notebooks were about to pass into Mary’s keeping. Her grandmother had promised to pass them down to her when she was old enough to appreciate them.
Mary couldn’t wait to dive into those notebooks and discover more about her grandmother’s world. She was sure that they would be a rich source of knowledge and inspiration, and she was determined to honor her grandmother’s legacy (遗产) by preserving and cherishing those priceless notebooks.
One day, while searching through her grandmother’s attic (阁楼) , Mary came across a pile of unfamiliar notebooks. As she turned the pages of one of them, she realized they were filled with intricate (错综复杂的) details of her grandmother’s life. However, some pages were missing. Mary was puzzled. She wondered what could have happened to those missing pages and what secrets they might have held. She was determined to discover the truth behind the notebooks and fill in the missing pieces of her grandmother’s life.
With her heart pounding in her chest, Mary wildly searched the attic for those missing pages, but still couldn’t find them. Then, suddenly, she recalled her grandmother mentioning something about hiding things in plain sight. A light bulb went off in her head-the missing pages must be somewhere in the house! She knew she had to find them before they were lost forever.
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。
With renewed determination, Mary began her search.
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Mary carefully removed the envelope, trembling with excitement.
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1. Where did the speaker read his first comic?
| A．At a hotel. | B．On a bus. | C．In a bookshop. |
| A．Cartoon comics. | B．Superhero comics. | C．Time travel comics. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Eager. | C．Indifferent. |
| A．A soldier. | B．A comic actor. | C．A shop owner. |
7 . Find Awe in Every Life
We’re living through trying times. Almost every day, it seems, we’re presented with new evidence of how annoying or awful others can be—the people who let the door slam in your face, or the ones who put their speakerphones on in public.
Awe is that feeling we get when something is so vast it stops us in our tracks. Often, it challenges or expands our thinking.
Most of us associate awe with something rare and beautiful: nature, music or a spiritual experience.
Unfortunately, we can’t make some else behave in a way that’s awesome. But we can get prepared to notice it when they do—and take steps to boost emotion’s positive effects.
Thank the person who awed you. This makes the other person feel good and can give your relationship a boost.
| A．And it will help you too. |
| B．Name awe when you see it. |
| C．Come up with examples of awe. |
| D．So it’s easy to forget that people can be awesome too. |
| E．This kind of awe is usually a response to life’s big, sweeping changes. |
| F．But we can be awed by our nearest—the people sitting next to us on the couch. |
| G．Awe experiences decrease stress and anxiety and increase positive emotions in life. |
1. What does the man suggest the woman do?
| A．Apply for a higher position. | B．Meet customers in person. | C．Steady her nerves. |
| A．His phone is dead. | B．His phone bill is unpaid. | C．He dialed a wrong number. |
9 . Not long after my daughter was born in early 2013, I had a serious thought about the life that lay ahead for her. With health and luck, she will live long enough to see the dawn of the 22nd century.
As a journalist, I often encounter the date 2100. It’s a milestone year frequently mentioned in climate change news reports, stories about future technologies and science fiction. But it’s so far ahead that the route we will take to get there is difficult to see. I rarely consider that, like my daughter, millions of people alive today will be there as 2100 arrives, inheriting the century my generation will leave behind.
For many of us, how often can we truly say we are thinking about the well-being of these future generations? How often do we think about the impact of our decisions on the decades and centuries ahead?
Part of the problem is that the “‘now’commands so much more attention,” the sociologist Elise Boulding once said. “If one is mentally out of breath all the time from dealing with the present, there is no energy left for imagining the future.” No wonder problems like climate change or inequality feel so hard to handle right now.
That’s why researchers are coming to the same conclusion that short-termism (短期主义) may be the greatest threat our species is facing this century. Despite our natural ability to look and plan ahead, we have a weakness in our thinking called “present bias.” For example, people are more likely to accept an offer of£10 today, rather than a guarantee of £12 in a week. They also tend to spend on pleasures, not save for rainy days.
I understand the dangers of short-termism. I can both justify the argument and feel the need to care more about future generations. But I admit I still struggle with how to translate that into clear action as an individual. To realize that we are just one in a chain of generations, we owe an obligation (义务) to our future generations to leave a better world than the one we inherited ourselves.
1. What is Paragraph2 mainly about?| A．People’s expectation of the year 2100. |
| B．The author’s thoughts on the year 2100. |
| C．The author’s plan for his daughter’s future. |
| D．People’s attitude to the importance of the year 2100. |
| A．Owing to our ignorance of the future. |
| B．Because of people’s inability to plan for the future. |
| C．Because of our difficulty in handling future problems. |
| D．Due to the lack of our mental energy to consider the future. |
| A．Preference. | B．Disorder. | C．Balance. | D．Freedom. |
| A．To criticize those who favor short-term rewards. |
| B．To express his dissatisfaction with the young generations. |
| C．To inspire people to think more about the future generations. |
| D．To show his determination to speak for his daughter’s future. |
10 . My grandparents were always busy with food. My grandmother could pull out the feathers of a chicken in less than half an hour. They picked vegetables from their garden. Animal fat was saved.
It took hours and made my fingers hurt. After an adult life spent buying rather than growing food, as a so-called new farmer, I finally began to understand my grandparents.
My grandparents’ generation spent a third of their income on food.
But until I began talking to the farmers around me, I had not understood the human costs faced by those asked to produce milk sold for less than bottled water.
Research has found that regenerative farming not only benefits the land, but profits can be 78% higher than conventional farms.
| A．We spend less than a tenth. |
| B．And any leftover meat was cut up for pies. |
| C．Regenerative farming is welcomed by thousands of farmers now. |
| D．I began to understand the work that we took for granted. |
| E．I realized that keeping a big family was really a big burden for them. |
| F．New technology helped these farmers raise a diversity of crops and farm animals. |
| G．Then I came across a farming reform that sought to change this traditional system. |
