1 . We may think we're a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices(装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment — and our wallets — as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.
To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life — from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s. Devices were grouped by generation — Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997. And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.
As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn't throw out our old ones. "The living-room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids' room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house," said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We're not just keeping these old devices — we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt's team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions(排放)more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.
So what's the solution(解决方案)? The team's data only went up to 2007, but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.
1. What does the author think of new devices?A.They are environment-friendly. | B.They are no better than the old. |
C.They cost more to use at home. | D.They go out of style quickly. |
A.To reduce the cost of minerals. |
B.To test the life cycle of a product. |
C.To update consumers on new technology. |
D.To find out electricity consumption of the devices. |
A.The box-set TV. | B.The tablet. |
C.The LCD TV. | D.The desktop computer. |
A.Stop using them. | B.Take them apart. |
C.Upgrade them. | D.Recycle them. |
2 . In our information-driven society, shaping our worldview through the media is similar to forming an opinion about someone solely based on a picture of their foot. While the media might not deliberately deceive us, it often fails to provide a comprehensive view of reality.
Consequently, the question arises: Where, then, shall we get our information from if not from the media? Who can we trust? How about experts- people who devote their working lives to understanding their chosen slice of the world? However, even experts can fall prey to the allure of oversimplification, leading to the “single perspective instinct” that hampers (阻碍) our ability to grasp the intricacies (错综复杂) of the world.
Simple ideas can be appealing because they offer a sense of understanding and certainty. And it is easy to take off down a slippery slope, from one attention-grabbing simple idea to a feeling that this idea beautifully explains, or is the beautiful solution for, lots of other things. The world becomes simple that way.
Yet, when we embrace a singular cause or solution for all problems, we risk oversimplifying complex issues. For instance, championing the concept of equality may lead us to view all problems through the lens of inequality and see resource distribution as the sole panacea. However, such rigidity prevents us from seeing the multidimensional nature of challenges and hinders true comprehension of reality. This “single perspective instinct” ultimately clouds our judgment and restricts our capacity to tackle complex issues effectively. Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you would like to understand reality.
Instead, constantly test your favorite ideas for weaknesses. Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields. And rather than talking only to people who agree with you, or collecting examples that fit your ideas, consult people who contradict you, disagree with you, and put forward different ideas as a great resource for understanding the world. If this means you don’t have time to form so may opinions, so what?
Wouldn’t you rather have few opinions that are right than many that are wrong?
1. What does the underlined word “allure” in Para.2 probably mean?A.Temptation. | B.Tradition. | C.Convenience. | D.Consequence. |
A.They meet people’s demand for high efficiency. |
B.They generate a sense of complete understanding. |
C.They are raised and supported by multiple experts. |
D.They reflect the opinions of like-minded individuals. |
A.Simplifying matters releases energy for human brains. |
B.Constant tests on our ideas help make up for our weakness. |
C.A well-founded opinion counts more than many shallow ones. |
D.People who disagree with us often have comprehensive views. |
A.Embracing Disagreement: Refusing Overcomplexity |
B.Simplifying Information: Enhancing Comprehension |
C.Understanding Differences: Establishing Relationships |
D.Navigating Complexity: Challenging Oversimplification |
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(A),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
You must have heard about Dolly and have been amazed by the first cloned animal. But here came a problem; should we clone humans? When being asked about this question, a large number of people which are interested in the topic hold the view that it’s beneficial to clone humans. Therefore, some other people, me including, are against this idea. Cloning humans can bring negative effects and wrong informations. In the first place, they may not be treated equal as normal people, which I believe will make him suffer a lot. In second place, human cloning may lead in some social disorder, and it is quite dangerous.
4 . The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrasts between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old.
On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb,
Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet(铅锤) and sounding-line(测深索), and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that
I felt approaching footsteps. I stretched out my hand as I would to my mother. Someone
The morning after my teacher came she led me into her room and gave me a doll. The little blind children at the Perkins Institution had sent it and Laura Bridgman had dressed it; but I did not know this until
A.hesitant | B.reluctant | C.expectant | D.defendant |
A.consequently | B.unconsciously | C.deliberately | D.simultaneously |
A.come forth | B.brought about | C.left behind | D.hidden away |
A.panic | B.result | C.position | D.marvel |
A.succeeded | B.exposed | C.inherited | D.demonstrated |
A.fog | B.ship | C.shore | D.plummet |
A.compassion | B.compromise | C.compass | D.companion |
A.paradise | B.habitat | C.residence | D.harbor |
A.took | B.shook | C.clung | D.rescued |
A.share | B.devote | C.reveal | D.celebrate |
A.beforehand | B.backward | C.afterward | D.forward |
A.illustrate | B.exhibit | C.guess | D.imitate |
A.fluttered | B.flourished | C.flashed | D.flushed |
A.unrealistic | B.uncomprehending | C.unsurmountable | D.unproductive |
A.title | B.name | C.credit | D.role |
They’d been planning this forever. From her birth, most likely. Mya's mother, Helena loved hosting parties. And Aunt Beatrice loved birthdays. Together, they'd make her Sweet Sixteen a hundred times bigger, bolder, and brighter than it needed to be. They selected a theme every year and stuck to it. Her fourteenth had been the “Snow White” and her ninth had been the “Frozen”. They never told her what the theme was the day before. She'd just wake up her birthday morning, a brand new birthday outfit (一套服装) laid neatly on her dresser (an outfit related to the theme, of course) and she would open her door to see the adventure that lay ahead of her that day.
Mya had a few guesses as to what this year’s theme would be. A play on the words “Sweet Sixteen” was likely — a candy themed party, perhaps? But she’d had a baking party a few years ago — and Helena was anything but repetitive. Mya didn't have any interest in cars, so she doubted a sports-car party was on the menu. She’d tried to look through her mother’s purchase history online, but her mother had been careful enough to delete everything recent. So the only clue left was the birthday outfit she would receive the next morning.
May 1st, Mya woke. The bright sunlight begged her eyes to open and she loved the day that her birthday took place. It was always nice out on May 1st and it never rained. This morning was no different than her previous birthdays. She sat up in her bed and looked to her dresser before slipping out of bed and inspecting the outfit. She unfolded it and held it against her body, seeing how it was like. It reached down, just above the ankle. Mya dressed, eyed herself in the mirror and found it was not so much a pretty outfit as she had received before. It was totally one for blue-collar workers!
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。
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
With everything done, her face shone with a sweet smile.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 . Pollution
Pollution happens when the environment is dirtied, by waste, chemicals, and other harmful substances(物质).Pollution is a problem all over the world. But it is especially bad in large cities with a lot of industries and cars.
Wildfires, volcanoes, and industrial chemicals cause some air pollution. But most air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels (矿物燃料)These include coal, oil and natural gas. The burning of fossil fuels may release harmful gases. Air pollution may cause such diseases cancer and asthma. It also leads to polluted rain that can harm living things
Causes of water pollution are easy to see. People dump(倾倒) garbage and dirty water into river, lakes and oceans. Factories or cities sometimes release poisonous chemicals, and other wastes into water. These chemicals may make the groundwater unfit to drink.
Littering, or throwing garbage on the ground, is a form of land pollution. Litter can destroy the habitats of plants and animals. The buildup of dangerous chemicals in the ground is another form of land pollution. The chemicals may come from farms or factories.
Many governments, environmental groups, and ordinary people are working to control pollution. Governments have passed laws to keep people from releasing dangerous chemicals into the environment
A.Farmers use chemical to help crops grow. |
B.This type of pollution may be seen in big cities. |
C.They also can harm fish and other forms of life. |
D.These chemicals can spread to plants and animals. |
E.In addition, air pollution may be a cause of global warming. |
F.There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land. |
G.Some companies and people are trying to use fewer fossil fuels. |
7 . If you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you arrived by internet.
Maybe you caught the headline as it raced by on Twitter. Or you might be taking a break from watching a boring movie on Netflix.
It doesn’t matter. Because according to a new study, it all adds up to the same thing: one distraction(分心的事情)after another.
And the thing is, they’re welcome distractions. Because, as the research — published this week in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — notes, people will do just about anything to avoid being left to their own thoughts.
For their study, researchers designed a sample test for more than 2,557 participants in 11 countries. They divided their test subjects into two groups. In the first group, people were asked to spend 10 to 15 minutes “entertaining themselves with their thoughts as best they could.”
Just sit back and think about things. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, not really. The second group — the one where people were told to surf the Net, play a video game, or even read a book — reported having much more fun. They scored more highly on entertainment and lower on boredom. And the preference for distraction seemed to be a global phenomenon, which may come as a surprise to Italians who are famously brilliant at doing nothing.
“The preference for doing external(外部的)activities such as reading, watching TV, or surfing the internet rather than ‘just thinking’ appears to be strong throughout the world,” the researchers note in the study.
But there does seem to be an important thing that hasn’t been included in the study. Shouldn’t the quality of thoughts matter? If you’ve got something positive to think about — say, how you’re going to spend your vacation or the great screenplay you’ve already half-written in your head — why are you reading this?
On the other hand, if you are always bothered by negative thoughts — a sad or painful experience, perhaps — by all means, keep scrolling(翻网页).
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to take up much of your time here; it’s a short study that gets to the point in a hurry. Don’t worry though. There’s a whole world of distractions out there. Say, have you seen that ship teetering at the brink of Niagara Falls? And how about those charming cows? Bet you didn’t know they could smell you from six miles away.
And that’s something to think about.
1. Why would the Italians be surprised at the phenomenon?A.They prefer reading books to surfing the Net. |
B.They’re convinced that thinking is significant. |
C.They are used to being left to their own thoughts. |
D.They seldom entertain themselves by surfing the Net. |
A.By reference research. | B.By comparative study. |
C.By theoretical analysis. | D.By experimental study. |
A.The quality of thoughts. | B.The cause of the phenomenon. |
C.The solution to the problem. | D.The kinds of distractions. |
A.Worried. | B.Disappointed. |
C.Serious. | D.Humorous. |
1. AI课堂的优点;
2. AI课堂的缺点;
3. 你的观点。
注意:1. 词数应为100左右;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Will traditional classes be replaced by AI classes?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When two-year old Frankie-Rae Hockney took her first shaky steps across the livingroom, her mother cried. Although watching a child walk for the first time is an exciting moment for any parent, for Mary-Ella Tuppenney-Hockney it was a milestone she neverthought her daughter would meet.
Frankie-Rae was born with a rare chromosomal anomaly (染色体异常) called 17p 13.1 microdeletion syndrome, of which there are only 21 known cases. Doctors explained that they only had five different case studies who had the condition and so there were lots of uncertainties about her future. As a result, when she was born, Mary-Ella, 36, and dad Ben Hockney, 37,were warned that she might never walk or talk. They both broke down in tears, not knowing what life would hold for their daughter.
Mary-Ella is a dance teacher and she runs her own dance school in Oxfordshire and so dancing is a huge part of their lives. So she thought it was heart-breaking to think that Frankie-Rae wouldnever be able to be part of that. However, Frankie-Rae quickly beganseeing experts in occupational health. Despite all her problems, she grew into such a happy, smiley little girl who loved listening to music and waving (挥舞) along to it.
“Because she couldn’t walk as she got bigger, we needed a special pushchair and the one available on the NHS wasn’t suitable for her needs,” Mary-Ella explains. Fortunately, the Carter Trust stepped in to give Frankie-Rae one that worked. It meant her parents could take her shopping with them on weekends and out to the park. It made such a huge difference to her and the family. But Mary -Ella felt guilty for taking the money from the charity.
That’s when Frankie -Rae’s elder sister Georgie-Ellyn, eight, came up with the idea of fundraising (募捐) for the charity that helped them. As a result, the family got together, organizing some activities such as selling second-hand clothes and books. They also held aparty inviting those who cared for the charity.
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。
However, it was Frankie-Rae’s shaky steps that inspired people most.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Frankie Rae is such a smiley happy little girl that she brings hope to all that meet her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.给予安慰;
2.给出建议。
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 David,
I’m sorry to know that your best friend and you broke up over a small thing, for which you feel regret.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All the best.
Yours,
Li Hua