1 . 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。

It was a hot day. The sun scorched (炙烤) down and everywhere you looked, you could see the heat waves blowing above the sand. John rolled over, realizing that half of his body was well and truly burnt. He had not meant to sleep in the sun but the heat and late nights studying for his examinations made him miserable. Stretching, he got to his feet, picked up his surfboard and looked around. The beach, which had earlier been crowded in the sun, was now comparatively empty. Seagulls flew down to clean up the food of people’s picnic lunches.

The ice-cream van had gone, and so were the lifeguards who were doing first aid on the beach. John looked up to where the sun was and estimated it was about five o’clock. Time to head home. It was “Mum’s Kitchen Rule” that had him moving homewards. If he did not get home in time for dinner, he would go hungry. Wandering along the water’s edge, he happened to glance out to sea. What made him look up at that particular moment, he never knew, but it was the right time for the swimmer he spotted. His hand was up, signaling distress (险情) and he was calling out something.

Quickly John glanced around the beach — no one else was close enough to help the man, and crucially, no one had noticed. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he shouted “Help” to get the attention of other people on the beach. Someone waved back to him and John pointed to the swimmer. “Get help,” he shouted. Then without hesitation, he jumped into the sea with his surfboard. John was a strong swimmer and had a good skill for distance swimming. His coach had tried hard to persuade him to go into competitions but he was not interested.

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

Now he was swimming for more than enjoyment or medals.

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Fortunately, the sea was not rough and there was no wave.

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2 . 2 Days Xi’an-Luoyang Tour by Bullet Train

Tour Overview

Xi’an and Luoyang are two of the four most famous ancient capital cities in China. Taking a bullet train from Xi’an, one will arrive in Luoyang in about 2.5 hours.

Day 1: Xi’an-Luoyang by Bullet Train

AM: At around 7:00, a local driver will pick you up from the hotel. Then you’ll transfer to North Xi’an Railway Station for the bullet train to Luoyang. Upon your arrival in Luoyang, you’ll meet a local guide holding a name board.

The guide will lead you to visit the Longmen Grottoes, which is a treasure house of ancient stone-carving artworks. There are over 100 thousand stone statues along the two banks of the Yi River.

PM: After lunch. you will pay a visit to the Museum of Luoyang Eastern Zhou Royal Horse and Chariot Pits. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty is the last slavery dynasty in Chinese history. The last stop is Luoyang Museum which is a historical museum of China and houses over 1,700 cultural and historical relics in 5 showrooms.

Accommodation: Hotel booked by your own

Day 2: Luoyang-Xi’an by Bullet Train

AM: After breakfast on your own, please meet your driver and guide in the hotel at 9:00 and then drive for about 1 hour 20 minutes to Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism and Shaolin Martial Arts. Here you will see the Kungfu show performed by Shaolin monks.

PM: Finish the sightseeing, you will take the bullet train back to Xi’ an. Your 2 days Xi’ an-Luoyang tour ends here.

Tour Price Per Person

Travelers	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person
Tour Price	$512	$317	$255	$223	$220
Travelers	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person	9 Person	10+ Person
Tour Price	$205	$192	$185	$178	Contact us

1. Which city does the tour begin from?

A．Xi’an.

B．Luoyang.

C．Beijing.

D．Shanghai.

2. Which is the first stop on Day 1?

A．Shaolin Temple.

B．Luoyang Museum.

C．Longmen Grottoes.

D．Yi River.

3. How much should a couple pay for the tour?

A．$317.

B．$510.

C．$512.

D．$634.

3 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The humor effect is a cognitive bias (认知偏差) that causes people to remember information better when they regard it as humorous.

For example, when students     1     (teach) a new concept in a humorous way, such as through a funny story, they’re generally more likely to remember that concept, compared to if they learn it in a non-humorous manner. Information that has the same effect     2     concepts includes words, sentences, pictures, and     3     (mix) information, such as cartoons and videos.

Humor has various other benefits besides improving memory.

Humor reduces negative emotions, such as     4     (angry) or anxiety, which people might experience when processing certain information.

Humor     5     (lead) to increased interest. Adding humor to the information that you’re presenting can make it more interesting and appealing to others. For example,     6     (advertisement) that use humor receive more attention from people.

Humor, when     7     (proper) used in the right circumstances, can improve other people’s impression of you. For example,     8     (include) humor in a speech can positively impact the way in     9     listeners understand the speaker. Similarly, using humor can improve people’s impression of your warmth     10     competence, especially when you combine it with negative information that you need to tell.

4 . Artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed to operate at human levels have greatly expanded in popularity over the past year. These include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s AI-powered search engine Bing. Such tools, also known as chatbots or generative AI, are computer-powered systems. They are designed to interact smoothly with humans and perform high-level writing and creative work.

In recent months, these tools have demonstrated an ability to produce high-quality work. This has led some technology experts to warn that generative AI systems could end up replacing workers in many industries.

This year, researchers at Harvard Business School and other organizations carried out an experiment. It aimed to test how well AI tools could help workers perform their usual duties or tasks. It involved more than 700 business advisors, called consultants, from Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group.

Harvard Business School recently published the results from the experiment in a working paper. The main findings suggest that AI tools like ChatGPT can greatly improve worker performance. For example, researchers found that, on average, workers who used OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT 4 tool completed 12 percent more tasks than non-ChatGPT users. Tasks carried out with help from the AI technology were completed 25 percent faster. And the team found the quality of work performed by consultants using ChatGPT 4 increased by about 40 percent.

However, the paper also noted areas where the performance of consultants using ChatGPT 4 dropped. The researchers said this was especially true with tasks the AI tool was not good at completing. “Of tasks the AI was good at, the experiment showed it significantly improved human performance,” the paper said. “But for tasks ChatGPT 4 was not right for, humans relied too much on the AI and were more likely to make mistakes.”

The team suggests one of the biggest barriers to companies effectively using AI is not knowing which tasks can be completed best with the technology. Finding this out will require businesses to carry out thoughtful research and training efforts in order to find the right mix of AI and human-level work.

1. What is a purpose of designing AI tools according to the text?

A．To perform low-level writing.	B．To replace technology experts.
C．To finish high-quality work.	D．To improve interpersonal communication.

2. Why does the author mention ChatGPT 4 in paragraph 4?

A．To explain the disadvantages of AI tools.

B．To show how well AI tools could help workers.

C．To forecast changes in the future working environment.

D．To compare the work performance between humans and AI tools.

3. What can be learned from the last paragraph?

A．Companies need to balance the work of AI and humans.

B．It is useless to train so many workers to learn to use AI.

C．It is easy to find the right mix of AI and human-level work.

D．Research on using AI effectively has been made by businesses.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．ChatGPT Can See, Hear and Speak Now

B．Ways to Improve Your Performance at Work

C．The Fast Development of Artificial Intelligence

D．AI Tools Help but also Harm Worker Performance

5 . Did you know that honeybees aren’t the only insects capable of producing the sweet, sticky, and brown-to-golden-colored natural product we know as honey? There is perhaps the most unusual insect able to change nectar(花粉) into honey called the honeypot ant. Belonging to a kind of ant species, honeypot ants are specialized workers that act as living storage for their fellow ants when food is scarce. Most species of honeypot ants are found in dry regions in Australia, the USA, Mexico and on the African continent, where finding food sources can be tough, so the production and storage of honey is believed to be an adaptation to survive in these rough environments.

Worker ants constantly feed honeypot ants nectar collected from various plants. The only job of honeypot ants is to wolf down nectar. At one point, the honey ants’ abdomens(腹部) become so big that they are unable to move and ready to spill(溢 出) ant honey, so they just hang from the roof of their nest until their fellow ants are in need of food.

Honeypot ants are such a valuable resource that other ant groups will sometimes attack and steal them. In Australia, the locals also prize the honey-filled insects and will dig around for them. In the1990 documentary Trials of Life, David Attenborough himself was filmed putting a honeypot ant into his mouth.

So how does honeypot ant honey compare to honeybee honey? According to one study, researchers find that there are two obvious differences between them. Although the two varieties look very similar at first glance, the honeypot ant honey is sweet, but not quite as sweet as the treat we humans are used to, and has a sour taste that cannot be detected in the honeybee honey.

1. What does the underlined word “scarce”in the first paragraph mean?

A．Free.	B．Lacking.
C．Cheap.	D．Sufficient.

2. Where are honeypot ants most likely to be found?

A．In the desert.	B．In the zoo.
C．On the river.	D．By the sea.

3. When do the honeypot ants hang from the roof of their nest?

A．When they are able to move freely.

B．When they want to breathe fresh air.

C．When they are ready to spill ant honey.

D．When they want to refuse to feed fellow ants.

4. What will be discussed in the following paragraph?

A．A method of judging the quality of honeybee honey.

B．The importance of protecting the precious honeypot ants.

C．The efforts for the locals to stop honeypot ants being attacked.

D．The other difference between honeypot ant honey and honeybee honey.