I was confident at the audition (试演) for the school play and felt pleased to get a role. It just felt good to be in the play, even if I had only four or five lines. I worked hard at perfecting those lines. I repeated them over and over again. I put in the emphases and intonations (语调) that my drama teacher had suggested and, because I was on stage much longer than for just four or five lines, I had many actions to rehearse (排练) and perform. “Do them in front of a mirror,” my drama teacher had advised me. “Watch how you look; practice and rehearse as often as you can.” I did just that. I worked and worked at it. It was fun and exciting rehearsing.
Then finally the big night came. Suddenly, things felt different. The theater was full of people. As I dressed, I could hear the chatting and noises of the audience. I looked around at the other more experienced actors and saw that their previous confidence seemed to have disappeared. Had they got their makeup right? Was the costume done up correctly? What if they forgot their lines? The more people talked about their anxiety, the more nervous everyone became. The worries spread from person to another—like a baton (接力棒) being passed in a relay race—until the whole of the backstage area seemed to be full of tension and worry.
I was on stage early, at first performing my non-spoken role in the background with several other guys around the same age. When, suddenly, I heard my cue (出场提示), the lights were bright in my eyes, I couldn’t see the audience but knew there were hundreds of people out there all watching me. The words that had flowed so easily when I stood in front of a mirror didn’t want to come, and when they did I found myself hurrying into them. I tried to slow down my thoughts and my words.
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。
But I suddenly realized I had missed a sentence.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I bowed to the audience excitedly and went back to my drama teacher.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . When we are faced with a crisis, or if we have an important decision to make, many of us fall into the trap of over-thinking. We may keep thinking about something constantly and too long.
Doing something to distract yourself is a good idea. You can find working with your hands is especially good.
Constant wishing, hoping and praying do not give you any relief. They just keep you stuck in one place. But taking the smallest step off the crisis really matters. It will set things in motion, making you like a snowball.
The traps are things that cause your natural ability to react without you realizing that there is a connection between the two. Thus, avoiding relevant traps is also a good idea.
| A．This mindset tends to ruin our day. |
| B．Put simply, out of sight, out of mind. |
| C．Just as a saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. |
| D．You are really getting your brain working for you. |
| E．Other activities are the ones that arouse your curiosity. |
| F．It engages your movement skills and thinking process. |
| G．Thus, you will gradually move yourself out of the feeling. |
1. When was the last time the woman saw her brother?
| A．Ten years ago. | B．Five years ago. | C．Two years ago. |
| A．In Texas. | B．In Florida. | C．In California. |
| A．He sells houses. | B．He sells sandwiches. | C．He works on some oil fields. |
| A．He won’t become rich from his job. |
| B．He won’t be happy if he keeps his job. |
| C．He won’t be able to save any money. |
4 . It wasn’t until after I graduated from college, and realized that there’s no such thing as all-encompassing (包罗万象) knowledge, that I was able to read for pleasure. A sense of curiosity directed me and I started to see dictionaries as field guides to the life of language. Looking up words felt less like a failing than an admission that there are lots of things I don’t know and an opportunity to discover just how many.
I prize my 1954 copy of Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition. I often consult it, during evening games of Scrabble or midday magazine reading. When I come across unfamiliar words while reading novels, I look them up. When I start encountering these words elsewhere, the linguistic (语言的) universe seems to shrink to the size of a small town.
Dictionaries heighten my senses: They direct my attention into a conversation with language. They make me wonder what other things I’m blind to because I haven’t taught myself to notice them yet. Recently spotted examples include orrery, “a mechanical model, usually clockwork, devised to represent the motions of the moon and Earth (and sometimes also other planets) around the sun.” The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) also tells me that the word comes from the fourth Earl of Orrery, for whom a copy of the first machine was made, around 1700. Useful? Obviously not. Satisfying? Deeply.
Wikipedia and Google answer questions with more questions, opening up pages you never asked for. But a dictionary builds on common knowledge, using simple words to explain complex ones. Using one feels as if I’m prying open an oyster (蚝) rather than falling down a rabbit hole. Why leave solvable mysteries up to guesswork?
For me, dictionaries are a door into that kind of uncalculated knowledge-seeking. They remind me that following your curiosity instead of brushing it aside is one of the best ways I know to feel connected to more than what’s right in front of you.
1. What can we know about the author?| A．He merely read for fun before graduation. |
| B．He longed to learn about all knowledge. |
| C．He considered dictionaries chances of enrichment. |
| D．He admitted being a failure when learning languages. |
| A．To introduce a word. | B．To indicate a finding. |
| C．To clarify a concept. | D．To support a statement. |
| A．Encountering new problems. | B．Entering a different world. |
| C．Acquiring essential common sense. | D．Simplifying tough questions. |
| A．Jaw-dropping. | B．Eye-opening. | C．Mind-numbing. | D．Labour-saving. |
5 . Hop on the Silent Walking Trend
Silent walking involves walking outdoors without distractions like music or conversations, focusing on the mind-body-nature connection.
Select a natural setting and fully engage your senses. For reaping the mental health benefits, it is recommended to find a quiet and peaceful natural location.
To stimulate the mind, consider exploring different routes than usual. Without your favourite podcast or playlist, you might slip into boredom on your walk.
Start off with five-minute silent walks and eventually build up to thirty minutes. If you’re usually a headphone wearer, it will feel super weird to walk without your go-to tunes, but give yourself a second to adjust. Chances are, once you’re a few minutes into your silent walk, you’ll feel the magic kick in.
Regular reflection and ongoing documentation are essential. After completing a silent walk, take time to reflect upon any emerging thoughts, feelings, or insights.
| A．But being bored won’t hurt you. |
| B．Taking different paths can lead to exciting discoveries. |
| C．Adjusting the routine gradually can help ease into the experience. |
| D．You’ll also start noticing the little things around you more clearly. |
| E．They can deepen understanding and serve as a record of personal growth |
| F．Unlike exercise-oriented walking, it isn’t about reaching certain speed or steps |
| G．In such an environment, you can immerse yourself in the natural soundscape (音景) . |
6 . Building artificial intelligences that sleep and dream can lead to more dependable models, according to researchers who aim to mimic (模仿) the behavior of the human brain.
Concetto Spampinato and his research members at the University of Catania, Italy, were looking for ways to avoid a phenomenon known as “disastrous forgetting”, where an AI model trained to do a new task loses the ability to carry out jobs it previously excelled at. For instance, a model trained to identify animals could learn to spot different fish species, but then might lose its ability to recognize birds. They developed a method of training AI called Wake-Sleep Consolidated Learning (WSCL), which mimics the way that our brains reorganize short-term memories of daily learning when we are asleep.
Besides the usual training for the “awake” phase, models using WSCL are programmed to have periods of “sleep”, where they analyze awake data from earlier lessons. This is similar to human spotting connections and patterns while sleeping.
WSCL also has a period of “dreaming”, which involves novel data made from combining previous concepts. This helps to integrate previous paths of digital “neurons (神经元)”, freeing up space for future concepts. It also prepares unused neurons with patterns that will help them pick up new lessons more easily.
The researchers tested three AI models using a traditional training method, followed by WSCL training. Then they compared performances for image identification. The sleep-trained models were 2 to 12 percent more likely to correctly identify the contents of an image. They also measured an increase in how much old knowledge a model uses to learn a new task.
Despite the results, Andrew Rogoyski at the University of Surrey, UK, says using the human brain as a blueprint isn’t necessarily the best way to boost AI performance. Instead, he suggests mimicking dolphins, which can “sleep” with one part of the brain while another part remains active. After all, an AI that requires hours of sleep isn’t ideal for commercial applications.
1. WSCL was developed to help improve AI’s ______.| A．reliability | B．creativity | C．security | D．popularity |
| A．Generate new data. | B．Process previous data. |
| C．Receive data for later analysis. | D．Save data for the “awake” phase. |
| A．The application of WSCL. | B．The benefits of AI research. |
| C．The findings of the research. | D．The underlying logic of WSCL. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Prejudiced. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Unconcerned. |
A Cheating Incident
Raj looked into the teacher’s stony face as she raised an eyebrow. With his forehead bathed in sweat, he attempted to hide the book beneath his desk, but in vain. The watchful teacher had already caught sight of his behavior. She swiftly snatched the book away and ordered him to stand till the time was up, a period that seemed to stretch endlessly.
To Raj’s regret and disappointment, he had forgotten to study for the important quiz. It was CAI, the crucial stage of his academic year, and Raj was having his Science paper. He closed his eyes as he tried to recall. Then, it dawned on him. A week earlier, his Science teacher had clearly informed the class, “Next week, we’ll be having a quiz focusing on Interactions and Matter. Make sure you study these topics thoroughly.” Raj blamed himself for letting such vital information slip his mind among the chaos of daily school life.
With the clock ticking, he was briefly glancing through the pages of his textbook, desperately trying to absorb any last-minute knowledge before the quiz began. However, just as he was doing so, the teacher severely instructed everyone to pack away everything except their pencil cases. Raj let out a low sigh, despair settling heavily in his chest.
As the teacher handed out the papers, he felt nervous and his hands grew icy and slick with sweat, showing his anxiety. Drops of sweat stood out on his forehead as he tried to focus. Thoughts of being a failure ran through his mind. He moved his body from side to side in his seat as he thought of the notes he had secretly hidden in his pencil case.
Finally, the teacher announced, “Class, the time is 10: 00 a. m. We will stop at 11: 00a. m. sharp. You may begin, now.” The noise of flurrying papers was heard as students attentively turned to the first page. Raj rapidly filled out the multiple-choice section without much consideration, his heart pounding faster with each tick of the clock.
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。
When he came to the open-ended questions, he sighed desperately from the bottom of his heart.
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Once the time was up, the teacher took him to the headmaster’s office.
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1. What is the aim of ORBIS?
| A．To set up hospitals. | B．To make money. | C．To help fight blindness. |
| A．Because they have no money to get the necessary medical treatment. |
| B．Because rich countries own the latest medical knowledge. |
| C．Because no doctors are trained with sight-saving techniques. |
| A．Developing countries. |
| B．European countries. |
| C．Developed countries. |
| A．Money matters are dealt with. |
| B．Blind people are operated on. |
| C．Sight-saving techniques are taught. |
1. Where are the speakers?
| A．In the conference room. | B．In the woman’s office. | C．In the man’s office. |
| A．At 1:00. | B．At 2:00. | C．At 3:00. |
| A．It is so expensive. |
| B．Her office isn’t big enough. |
| C．She has had a big desk. |
| A．She is dealing with letters. |
| B．She is having a meeting. |
| C．She is cleaning the conference room. |
An egg sandwich in hand, I quickly grabbed my bag and climbed into the honking car. I took out my physics notes and started skimming through them once more.
Today was a very important exam-of physics. For me, it is a really hard subject and I had worked really tough and intended to do my best in it.
I entered the queue outside the assigned classroom where the invigilator (监考老师) was checking our pencil cases. All the seniors and juniors were mixed and we were sitting in an English letter order. Upon looking at my name, I was surprised to see someone else sitting on my seat. She was a senior.
“Um. . . excuse me, I think you got the wrong seat… ” my squeaky (细的) voice faltered (支吾).
She stared in front in a bored way. I had the feeling that she was deliberately ignoring me. I had enough trouble socializing with people, so I decided to leave the matter to the invigilator. The invigilator came soon enough.
“Katie, dear, you need to move one seat back for Aliya here, ” the invigilator explained.
The girl, Katie, shifted and I settled down. The girl in front of me turned around and rolled her eyes at me. Now, I was puzzled. What was wrong? I had annoyed two people at the same time?
These thoughts drifted away as I started focusing on the paper. Minutes passed when out of the blue,there was a tap on my shoulder.
The girl behind me, Katie, whispered, “Quick! Change places with me.”
I froze. It took me a moment to process her words. Without even waiting for a response, she grabbed my arms, pulled me up and made me sit on her seat, exchanging our papers too. Then she and the girl in front of her started to exchange some notes. I didn’t know what to do. I fought hard to collect enough courage and raised my hand, but the invigilator was busy with another candidate.
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 the door opened with a bang and in came a teacher.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“As for you, Aliya, ” he turned to me, “complete your paper here. ”
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