My mum died on a cold and rainy December morning. The dark clouds and constant light rain over her Cape Cod neighbourhood fit our sadness as my brothers and sisters and I arranged with the local funeral (葬礼) home for Mum’s last departure from her beloved house on the edge of the river.
All five of us were there, having been alerted (警觉) earlier that week. As soon as we had gotten “The Call”, we had immediately flown or driven from our homes in California, Florida, Georgia and New York to the house by the river.
As I joined my brothers and sisters at the house on the Cape, I felt oddly peaceful. Though I was afraid to lose my mother, I wasn’t anxious about the process. I knew that Mum had prepared well for her death. All we had to do was be present for her and each other during this final stage. She had done everything else.
Mum was a born teacher and a natural organizer. When she had received the diagnosis (诊断) of incurable cancer that September, she had planned her death as practically as she had planned her busy life as a wife, mother and professional.
Mum did think fondly of her neighbours and friends. Even though she had declined to share her remaining time with them, she wanted to acknowledge their friendly care and express her lasting affection for them. So Mum had asked my older sister to purchase, on her behalf, a case of wine. The small bottles were to be decorated with ribbons (缎带) and delivered by us in person, after Mum’s death, to those neighbours who had been her favourite local companions.
Accordingly, in the early afternoon, as the cold morning rain gave way to a watery blue sky, all five of us set out to walk through the neighbourhood together, braving the cold air. Taking turns carrying the heavy boxes, we visited every house. Together, we carried the news of her death, that final gift of beribboned bottles, and her instruction to her friends: “Please use this Champagne to toast to our friendship.”
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。
We hugged, and cried, and laughed, with neighbour after neighbour.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the five of us returned to the house, we saw, against the backdrop of the grey sky, a breathtakingly beautiful rainbow.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Accents in English
Accents are fascinating and usually come with kinds of information.
Thanks to the development of technology, various handy accesses are available for people to share and pick up accents. English actor and accent coach Sarah Valentine is an expert in teaching the tones which can change the English language.
Valentine has been working in TV since the 1990s. She appears to have found success coaching other actors to speak in a variety of dialects.
“
Everyone has an accent. A dialect coach like Valentine can help one learn to speak differently, for an acting job or for fun.
| A．In fact, all accents are worthy of pride |
| B．One’s birthplace can affect his accent |
| C．However, not all accents are worth learning |
| D．While much work with actors is done in one-on-one coaching |
| E．They can signal one’s living places, education and personality |
| F．On TikTok, she gives examples of simple phrases repeated in over 20 accents |
| G．A region’s location has a direct influence on the development of a local language |
3 . A man took a little too long to complete his PhD. While a majority of PhD programmes are
Dr. Nick Axten received a scholarship for a PhD in mathematical sociology in 1970 at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Axten
“What I was trying to do in the early 70s was extremely
Dr. Axten’s research is a new theory for understanding human
“I have loved being a
“Nick was a(n)
| A．applied | B．designed | C．hosted | D．created |
| A．Otherwise | B．Therefore | C．Besides | D．However |
| A．took up | B．made up | C．put up | D．broke up |
| A．returned | B．dropped | C．finished | D．died |
| A．wanted | B．mentioned | C．discovered | D．obtained |
| A．wrong | B．tough | C．funny | D．strange |
| A．great | B．minor | C．clear | D．urgent |
| A．available | B．satisfactory | C．unimaginable | D．embarrassing |
| A．mind | B．personality | C．speech | D．behaviour |
| A．change | B．appreciate | C．control | D．follow |
| A．teacher | B．student | C．doctor | D．leader |
| A．held | B．pushed | C．chose | D．accepted |
| A．small | B．foolish | C．clever | D．rude |
| A．incredibly | B．traditionally | C．hardly | D．gradually |
| A．fortnight | B．century | C．billion | D．decade |
In the ancient Shuowen Dictionary, trust is defined as a combination of sincerity and reliability,
During the Three Kingdoms era, a time
1. 朗诵比赛情况介绍；
2. 请求老师帮助；
3. 附带你的朗读录音。
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 Mr. Wesley,
How is everything going with you?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
6 . When you teach a child how to solve puzzles, you can either let them figure it out through trial and error, or you can guide them with some basic rules and tips. Similarly, incorporating (合并) rules and tips into AI training — such as the laws of physics — could make them more efficient and more reflective of the real world. However, helping the AI assess the value of different rules can be a tricky task.
Researchers report that they have developed a framework for assessing the relative value of rules and data in “informed machine learning models” that incorporate both. They showed that by doing so, they could help the AI incorporate basic laws of the real world and better navigate scientific problems like solving complex mathematical problems and optimizing experimental conditions in chemistry experiments.
“Embedding human knowledge into AI models has the potential to improve their efficiency and ability to make inferences, but the question is how to balance the influence of data and knowledge,” says first author. Hao Xu of Peking University. “Our framework can be employed to evaluate different knowledge and rules to enhance the predictive capability of deep learning models.”
Generative AI models like ChatGPT and Sora are purely data-driven — the models are given training data, and they teach themselves via trial and error. However, with only data to work from, these systems have no way to learn physical laws, such as gravity or fluid dynamics, and they also struggle to perform in situations that differ from their training data. An alternative approach is informed machine learning, in which researchers provide the model with some underlying rules to help guide its training process.
“We are trying to teach AI models the laws of physics so that they can be more reflective of the real world, which would make them more useful in science and engineering. We want to make it a closed loop (闭环) by making the model into a real AI scientist,” says senior author Yuntian Chen of the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo.
1. How did the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By assessing basic rules. | B．By comparison of similarity. |
| C．By explaining laws of physics. | D．By analysis of human learning. |
| A．Planting. | B．Stressing. | C．Employing. | D．Revealing. |
| A．They’re dependent too much on data. |
| B．They’re inflexible to carry out new tasks. |
| C．They struggle to learn new things. |
| D．It’s tough for them to deal with familiar situations. |
| A．Informed machine learning may be an alternative to generative AI. |
| B．Helping the AI assess the value of different rules can be a tricky task. |
| C．Generative AI models can be more reflective of the real world in the future. |
| D．Balancing training data and human knowledge makes AI more like a scientist. |
7 . We can learn to be happy, but only get lasting benefits if we keep practising, a first-of-its-kind study has revealed.
The team behind the University of Bristol’s “Science of Happiness” course had already discovered that teaching students the latest scientific studies on happiness created a marked improvement in their well-being. But their latest study found that these well-being boosts are short-lived unless the evidence-informed habits learnt on the course — such as gratitude, exercise, meditation (冥想) or journaling—are kept up over the long-term.
Senior author Prof Bruce Hood said, “It’s like going to the gym — we can’t expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary.”
Launched in 2018, the University of Bristol’s Science of Happiness course was the first of its kind in the UK. It involves no exams or coursework, and teaches students what the latest peer-reviewed studies in psychology and neuroscience (神经科学) say really makes us happy.
Students who took the course reported a 10 to 15% improvement in well-being. But only those who continued implementing the course learnings maintained that improved well-being when they were surveyed again two years on.
Published in the journal Higher Education, is the first to track well-being of students on a happiness course long after they have left the course.
Prof Hood said, “This study shows that just doing a course — be that at the gym, a meditation retreat or on an evidence-based happiness course like ours — is just the start: you must commit to using what you learn on a regular basis.
“Much of what we teach revolves around (以……为中心) positive psychology interventions that shift your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.
1. What did the latest study find?| A．Humans need to be grateful. |
| B．Regular exercise alone brings long-term happiness. |
| C．It calls for consistent commitment to keep happiness lasting. |
| D．The latest scientific studies on happiness help create improved well-being. |
| A．To compare happiness with exercise. |
| B．To stress the importance of physical activities. |
| C．To explain why the finding is reasonable. |
| D．To prove the effectiveness of their study. |
| A．It’s necessary to track the well-being of students. |
| B．Happiness can be learnt, but you have to work at it. |
| C．Learning happiness is as important as doing exercise. |
| D．As long as you take a happiness course, you will be happy. |
| A．Making students focus on positive things. |
| B．Evaluating positive psychology interventions. |
| C．Drawing students’ attention to themselves. |
| D．Letting students commit to using what they learn. |
8 . An old friend asked Nicola Swann, a British potter who lives in Heckington, near Sleaford, to do something extraordinary. This friend’s husband had problems using regular mugs (马克杯) because of a condition that affected his arms and hands. So she sought out Swann for help.
This is where Swann discovered a widespread issue—disabled individuals feeling uncomfortable using cups that looked like “sippy cups (吸管杯) for kids”. Due to sympathy and a desire to help, Swann came up with an answer. She made the first version of her disability-friendly mugs for her friend’s husband.
It was a double-handled mug that provided stability and had a design that didn’t sacrifice style. That was the start of what is now called “Digni-TEA” mugs from her Made with Mud business. Without fail, Swann was determined to make mugs that looked like everyday drinkware. She recognized that accessibility should not come at the cost of style. So she made a few different styles for everyone to use. Others had two oversized handles for easy use, a hold pinch for stability, and an uneven design for people who couldn’t tilt (倾斜) their heads back.
Swann’s decision to call her products “Digni-TEA” or “Dignity” mugs is more than just a choice of name. Her goal is to give people back their dignity so they can drink from a regular mug without worrying about medical help.
Swann’s decision to share her creations on social media made them more widely known. Swann wisely collaborated (合作) with a company in the East Midlands to meet the soaring demand for mass production. This step ensured a steady supply and allowed her to focus on what mattered most—the creative process.
The “Dignity Mugs” story is not just about a product; it’s a testament to the great influence one person can have in fostering (促进) a more compassionate and accessible society.
1. What motivated Swann to make disability-friendly mugs?| A．Demand from her husband. |
| B．Her friend’s call for help. |
| C．The needs of people with disability. |
| D．Her research into the market. |
| A．Stable but costly. | B．Ugly and outdated. |
| C．Weighty and strong. | D．Handy and stylish. |
| A．Producing mugs massively. |
| B．Focusing on the creative process. |
| C．Delivering mugs to the disabled people. |
| D．Making mugs known to more people. |
| A．“Dignity” is more of sympathy than a choice of name. |
| B．It’s necessary to take users’ dignity into consideration in life. |
| C．Small acts of kindness and innovation can make a difference. |
| D．The world needs more people to show respect for the disabled. |
9 . International Day of Education
24 January
Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed (宣布) 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. Today, 250 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are illiterate (文盲的). Their right to education is being violated (侵犯) and it is unacceptable. It’s time to transform education.
International Day of Clean Energy
26 January
The International Day of Clean Energy on 26 January was declared by the General Assembly as a call to raise awareness and mobilize action for a just and inclusive transition (过渡) to clean energy for the benefit of people and the planet. 26 January is also the founding date of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a global intergovernmental agency established in 2009 to support countries in their energy transitions.
World Health Day
7 April
It is celebrated annually and each year draws attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The date of 7 April marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.
The theme for World Health Day 2024 is “My health, my right”, which was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services, education and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions.
World Environment Day
5 June
World Environment Day, held annually on 5 June, brings together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth. People from more than 150 countries participate in this United Nations international day, which celebrates environmental action and the power of governments, businesses and individuals to create a more sustainable world. The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its start in 1973.
1. On what day is the event about world energy marked?| A．24 January. | B．26 January. | C．7 April. | D．5 June. |
| A．International Day of Education. |
| B．International Day of Clean Energy. |
| C．World Health Day. |
| D．World Environment Day. |
| A．They have a common goal. | B．They have a long history. |
| C．They’re international events. | D．They benefit world environment. |
| A．$ 20. | B．$ 30. | C．$40. |
