1 . For 6-year-old Junie, meeting a firefighter was a truly interactive experience. In a TikTok video posted by his mom, the little boy, who’s
The clip opens with a shot of a firefighter going down on his
The fireman taking the time to help Junie understand how his
“This is so sweet! This firefighter needs to be
“This is so beautiful!! Wife of a firefighter here, I know it made the firefighter’s day as
This video is an important
| A．injured | B．patient | C．excited | D．blind |
| A．back | B．knees | C．feet | D．stomach |
| A．touches | B．explores | C．guides | D．stretches |
| A．fastened | B．belonged | C．adapted | D．combined |
| A．position | B．component | C．function | D．structure |
| A．fire-alarm | B．viewer | C．fireman | D．TikToker |
| A．focus on | B．do with | C．take up | D．look like |
| A．uniform | B．items | C．eyesight | D．facilities |
| A．gratitude | B．kindness | C．privilege | D．fortune |
| A．jumping | B．moving | C．blocking | D．choking |
| A．broadcast | B．promoted | C．enjoyed | D．recognized |
| A．strange | B．fashionable | C．distinct | D．awkward |
| A．long | B．much | C．well | D．soon |
| A．reminder | B．lesson | C．show | D．example |
| A．beneficial | B．available | C．superior | D．junior |
Job description: Responsible for writing news stories and comments in English and editing stories
The ideal candidates should:
1. Have master degrees in journalism, mass communications, international politics, economics, foreign languages and other related majors, and overseas study experience preferred;
2. Have a strong news sensitivity, excellent English skills in listening, oral communication, reading
comprehension, writing and translation, and be able to independently conduct interviews and write news stories in English;
3. Have good communication, news planning, teamwork skills, be able to adapt to business trips and work night shifts under high working pressure.
English video editors/reporters
Job description: Video program planning, video shooting and editing, and video platform operation
The ideal candidates should:
1. Have good skills in the use of various shooting equipment, editing software such as Premiere, Final Cut, After Effects, can independently conduct interviews, shoot and edit news videos;
2. Be familiar with domestic and foreign video platforms, browsing a large number of short video programs from home and abroad;
3. Have strong communication skills, be able to adapt to greater work pressure, have strong teamwork ability;
4. Candidates are able to work under high working pressure.
Art designers
Job description: Page design, chart design and poster design
The ideal candidates should:
1. Have bachelor degrees in art, visual communication, and other related fields.
2. Be able to independently complete design tasks under high working pressure, have good understanding and communication skills.
3. Have proficiency in using InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and other design software;
4. Candidates are able to adapt to high working pressure.
Please send your CV or resume to zhaopinbianji@globaltimes.com.cn, with the subject of the email indicating source of recruitment information + your name + position sought.
1. If you want to apply for English video editors, you are expected to be good at _______.| A．Photoshop | B．Illustrator | C．Premiere | D．InDesign |
| A．They should speak fluent English. | B．They should browse foreign websites. |
| C．They could work night shifts. | D．They could work under high working pressure. |
| A．Global Times | B．China Daily | C．The Times | D．Washington Post |
3 . Pigs may be more intelligent than people thought, as shown in a study where pigs used a joystick (操纵杆) and played a video game. Researchers used 2-year-old Panepinto micro pigs called Ebony and Ivory, as well as Hamlet and Omelet, 3-month-old Yorkshire pigs. Researchers first taught these pigs how to play with a joystick, teaching them the word, “joystick”. Next, on the words “watch the screen”, they learned how to watch targets (目标) on the screen. Of course, praise was given to the active pigs winning a game.
During the experiment, all pigs performed well. As they became more successful, the level of difficulty increased, just like in human video games! At first, the pigs had to hit a three-walled target which was then reduced to two walls and then one wall.
All pigs did well with the three-walled targets; however, the Panepinto pigs performed better on the more difficult levels. One disadvantage for the Yorkshire pigs was that they simply grew so large that they could no longer fit in their test. After a few months, Omelet and Hamlet were taken away from the experiment.
Dr. Candace Croney, a leading animal behavior scientist in Cambridge, said, “The findings of the study are important because what we do to pigs matters to them. It would be nice for people to realize how special pigs are, and how much more intelligent they may be than we recognized. The researchers said that the pigs’ actions were deliberate (故意的). This led them to believe that pigs were able to, successfully do new tasks.
“It may encourage other researchers to use touch screens and computer technology to study pigs intelligence in the future,” Croney said. The team hopes this type of research will make people pay more attention to this farm animal and show people how they can change the lives of animals.
1. What did the researchers do to the pigs at the beginning?| A．They studied their habits. | B．They gave them enough food. |
| C．They trained them to play a game. | D．They gave them special names. |
| A．They could keep focused for a long time. |
| B．They tried hard to win the games for praise. |
| C．They did all the tasks without any difficulty. |
| D．They got harder tasks as their performance improved. |
| A．Their intelligence. | B．Their body size. |
| C．Their power. | D．Their weight. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Uncertain | D．Surprised. |
4 . The American company Walmart is offering something new to its employees: help with earning a college degree. Walmart said the program is open to both full-time and part-time workers who have been with the company for at least 90 days.
Walmart is the largest private employer in the United States. In the past, the company has helped its workers finish high school or pass the General Educational Development, or GED exam, which is designed to show one’s knowledge of high school-level skills.
Walmart hopes the new chance to earn a college degree will help it find and keep higher quality entry-level (最底层的) employees in a competitive market. Walmart is partnering with a company called Guild Education to offer employees the chance to get a bachelor’s degree (学士学位) in business or supply-chain management. The program will cost a dollar a day at one of the three schools: the University of Florida, Brandman University and Bellevue University. All three universities have had success in working with adult learners and offer programs through the Internet.
Walmart plans to develop its program further to other degrees in the future. It will also offer college-preparation classes for workers who need extra help. The company is paying for the cost of classes, books and other school-related costs so students will not need to borrow money.
This new partnership is an example of how large retail (零售) businesses are under stress and have to improve the skills of their entry-level workers. It comes at a time when the jobs of entry-level workers are getting more difficult to do partly because of the growing popularity of online sales. Two other reasons are competition from online retailer Amazon and more picky buyers.
The company also trains managers at its Walmart Training Academy, and has a program for entry-level workers.
1. What requirements you must meet to take part in Walmart’s program?| A．Passing the GED exam. | B．Being able to use computers. |
| C．Paying a dollar a day for the program. | D．Working for it for at least three months. |
| A．How the program runs. |
| B．What employees will learn. |
| C．Why Walmart carries out the program. |
| D．Where the entry-level employees are from. |
| A．Risky. | B．Difficult. | C．Necessary. | D．Puzzling. |
| A．Walmart works with three universities. |
| B．Walmart pays for employees’ college degree. |
| C．You need a college degree to work for Walmart. |
| D．You can receive college education while working. |
“Will you do me a favor, Achenyo?” Mama called as she looked up from her weaving. Beside her was a pile of wild-grass stalks (秆). Mama took a stalk, laid it along the length of the half-finished bag, and began to weave (编织). In the corner were pots of dyes (染料) she’d use to paint the finished bags. “Will you get me some water for the dyes?” “Of course, Mama!” Achenyo picked up a pot as she ran outside. She didn’t like weaving, although it was a tradition for a mother to pass on the trade to her daughter. Outside, Achenyo called to her neighbor Ajuma. Both girls, with pots balanced on their heads, made their way to the river.
Achenyo and Ajuma soon arrived at the water’s edge, and they found a huge surprise. The river was gone! In its place was a blanket of dark green leaves and lavender-colored (淡紫色的) flowers. “Oh no!” Achenyo cried. “Mama won’t have water to mix the dyes for her bags.” When the adults arrived at the riverbank, they shook their heads, saying “They’ve struck again!”
Last year, the rainy season had brought an invasion (入侵) of water hyacinths. The plants had covered the river and left no room to dip a pot to get water. And now they were back. The adults walked into the water. They began pulling up water hyacinths and throwing them onto the riverbank. When they’d cleared enough plants, the girls filled their pots with water. A pile of water hyacinths lay on the riverbank. What a shame to waste such pretty flowers, Achenyo thought. She picked some for Mama, and then the girls headed home. Each day, they found the river covered by water hyacinths as if no one had cleared the waterfront (水边地) the day before. To fill their pots, they again had to pull up and throw water hyacinths onto the riverbank. The pile on the sand grew taller.
One day, as Achenyo moved an armful of dried water hyacinths out of her way, she had an idea. Carrying the plants under her arm, she ran home.
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。
3. 参考词汇：weave vt. & vi. (wove, woven) 编织
“Mama, will you teach me to weave?” asked Achenyo eagerly.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One afternoon, Achenyo held up her finished work made from water hyacinths.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Mental Health Crisis Among Teens Demands a New Approach
Since the CDC released its survey results last month showing alarmingly high rates of sadness and depressive thoughts among teens, fingers have been pointed from two sides at the causes of this crisis.
According to the CDC’s findings, more than one in five of the 17,000 high school students surveyed reported mental breakdown. Their rates of sadness and hopelessness are the highest in a decade, reflecting an increasing trend exacerbated by society’s isolation(隔离)and stress.
Parents as well as teachers and others who have direct contact with children must accept this preventive approach. It is crucial that they not be afraid to ask direct questions about depressive thoughts.
| A．And they should resist the false idea that raising a question creates a risk that was not there before. |
| B．This means that we must put aside our disagreements and approach this issue as a matter of life and death. |
| C．Some have argued that the climate issue has created an existential threat and accompanying anxiety. |
| D．Hospitalization may also be appropriate when the person in question shows an immediate danger to themselves. |
| E．At the macro(宏观的)level, our country can do so much more to help people struggling with mental health problems and their families. |
| F．It’s time to stop blaming and turn our attention to this generation of struggling teenagers. |
| G．It’s time for those who have the power to amplify(放大)their voices and drive change to focus on helping teenagers and families access the help they need. |
7 . Machine learning sees reasoning as a categorization task with a fixed set of predetermined labels. It views the world as a fixed space of possibilities, calculating and weighing them all. This approach, of course, has achieved notable successes when applied to stable and well-defined situations such as chess or computer games. When such conditions are absent, however, machines struggle.
In 2008, Google launched Flu Trends, a web service that aimed to predict flu-related doctor visits using big data. The project, however, failed to predict the 2009 HINI flu outbreak. After several unsuccessful adjustments to its algorithm (算法), Google finally stopped the project in2015.
In such unstable situations, the human brain behaves differently. Sometimes, it simply forgets. Instead of getting trapped in irrelevant data, it relies only on the most recent information and makes creative decisions. This is a feature called intelligent forgetting. Adopting this approach, an algorithm that relies on a single data point would have reduced Google Flu Trends' prediction error by half.
Intelligent forgetting is just one dimension of psychological AI, an approach to machine intelligence that also includes other features of human intelligence such as causal reasoning, intuitive (直觉) psychology, and physics. Soon, this approach to Al will finally be recognized as fundamental for solving poorly-defined problems. Exploring these amazing features of the human brain will finally allow us to make machine learning smart.
One feature of psychological Al is that it is explainable. Until recently, researchers assumed that the more transparent an AI system was, the less accurate its predictions were. This mirrored the widespread but incorrect belief that complex problems always need complex solutions. Now, this idea will be laid to rest. As the case of flu predictions illustrates, powerful and simple psychological algorithms can often give more accurate predictions than complex algorithms. Psychological AI opens up a new vision for explainable AI: Instead of trying to explain complex systems, we can check first if psychological Al offers a simple and equally accurate solution.
Without the help of human psychology, it will become clearer that the application of this type of machine learning to unstable situations eventually runs up against impassable limitations. We will finally recognize that more computing power makes machines faster. Not smarter.
1. Why is Flu Trends mentioned?| A．To clarify a concept. | B．To tell the serious outbreak. |
| C．To support the author's idea. | D．To provide readers with the truth. |
| A．It can think outside the box. | B．It can avoid unclear problems. |
| C．It is capable of learning over time. | D．It is good at following instructions. |
| A．Similar. | B．Unique. | C．Complete. | D．Clear. |
| A．AI speeds up the computing greatly. |
| B．Psychological Al can make smarter AI. |
| C．AI system works well in stable situations. |
| D．AI will outperform the human brain someday. |
8 . Engineers from the University at Buffalo, Fudan University in China, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come together with funding from the National Science Foundation to produce an efficient and cost-effective device that purifies drinking water using the world’s most abundant power source-the sun.
More than 2, 300 years ago, the philosopher Aristotle described the water cycle. He has explained that water is heated by the sun, evaporates (蒸发) up into the air, condenses (凝结) into drops, and then falls back to the ground, pure and free of pollutants.
Professor Qiaoqiang Gan and the other engineers created a method of purifying water that builds upon Aristotle’s ancient observations. Gan’s team invented a solar water purifier that is a modern version of an evaporative solar still. This device looks like the roof of a tent, with strips of carbon-coated paper covering the top so that the paper strip hangs down on the sides. The ends of the paper strip dip into a water container at the bottom. Gradually, the water in the container is absorbed by the paper. When the black carbon coating on the paper is heated by the sun, the wet paper begins to dry. During evaporation, salt, dirt, bacteria, and other pollutants are trapped in the paper. As the temperature cools, water droplets begin to condense on the surface of the paper. The purified water is collected in a clean container and is ready to drink.
There are a few key advantages of the solar water purifier. First, the device is quick and efficient. The solar still can generate up to 5 gallons of clean water daily, which is enough to provide sufficient drinking water for a family. Furthermore, this solar water purifier is cheaper than other water-purification devices because it is made with inexpensive and widely available materials.
There are also disadvantages in terms of the adaptation to diverse environments on Earth and the building up of salt in the process. Currently, the engineers are working to make their purifier available worldwide. Soon, drinkable water will be purified and accessible where it is needed.
1. Why does the author mention Aristotle and the water cycle in the text?| A．To catch readers’ attention and interest. |
| B．To add more authority to the new invention. |
| C．To show the history of the solar water purifier. |
| D．To help illustrate the basic working principles of the invention |
| A．To cover the top. | B．To collect clean water. |
| C．To hang down on the sides. | D．To absorb water and heat from the sun. |
| A．What the researchers have done. |
| B．How the solar water purifier works. |
| C．What the solar water purifier can do. |
| D．How similar Aristotle’s observation is to the purifier. |
| A．Dark. | B．Uncertain. | C．Promising. | D．Unpredictable. |
9 . Thanks to in-depth reporting by the Wall Street Journal, we now know that Facebook has long been aware its product Instagram has harmful effects on the mental health of many adolescent users. Young girls, in particular, struggle with their body image thanks to a constant stream of photos and videos showing beautiful bodies that users don’t think they can attain.
While the information the Journal covered is essential and instructive, it does not tell the whole story. Deep down, this is not an Instagram problem; it’s a people problem. Understanding that distinction can make the difference between a failed attempt to contain a teen’s interest in an addictive app and successfully addressing the underlying problem leading to mental distress induced (诱发) by Instagram.
Critics were quick to shame Facebook for sitting on the data and not releasing it to researchers or academics who asked for it. Others criticize the social media giant for not using the research to create a safer experience for its teen users. The anger, while understandable, is misplaced.
While I’m reluctant to defend Facebook, I’m not sure it’s reasonable to blame the company for withholding data that would hurt its business. Have you ever binge-watched (狂看) a Netflix series? I assure you it wasn’t a healthy endeavor. You were in active, likely did nothing productive, mindlessly snacked and didn’t go outside for fresh air. It is an objectively harmful use of time to stare at a TV or laptop for a full weekend. Should we respond by shaming Netflix for not alerting us to how damaging an addictive product can be?
While it’s reasonable to say Instagram makes esteem issues worse, it strains credulity (夸张到难以置信) to believe it causes them in the first place. You create your own experiences on social media. For the most part, you choose which accounts to follow and engage. If you’re already vulnerable to insecurities and self-sabotage (自损) — as many teens are — you will find accounts to obsess over. And this isn’t a new phenomenon.
Before social media, there were similar issues fueling self-esteem issues. Whether the target be magazines, movies or television shows depicting difficult-to-attain bodies, there has been a relatively steady chorus (异口同声) of experts nothing the damage new media could cause young viewers.
Self-esteem issues have an underlying cause — one that’s independent of social media use. Instagram merely enhances those feelings because it provides infinitely more access to triggers than older forms of media. It’s more worthwhile to address those underlying factors rather than to attack Facebook.
1. The author thinks the criticisms against Instagram __________.| A．are successful attempts to change teens’ interest in addictive apps |
| B．address the Instagram - induced mental pain |
| C．are only based on the data released by Facebook |
| D．are not directed at the fundamental problem |
| A．compare the criticisms against it and Facebook |
| B．defend why Facebook is to blame |
| C．suggest the critics’ remarks are not to point |
| D．show Netflix does more harm to teens |
| A．it is human nature to get addicted to social media |
| B．users decide on their experiences on social media |
| C．people have a tendency to feel insecure online |
| D．people are keen on fabricating their self - profile |
| A．the unprecedented criticism facing Facebook |
| B．the alarming online habits of teenagers worldwide |
| C．the root cause of Instagram - induced mental strains |
| D．the harmful impact of Instagram on teenagers |
10 . With thrill-seeking spots from north to south, there are various of theme parks in California for every taste and style. Different parks offer unique experiences and I’m here to help you decide which is best for you! Here are the top 3 California theme parks that shouldn’t be missed.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Cinema lovers delight as they visit Universal Studios Hollywood. Experience the movie magic and behind-the-scenes Hollywood studio tours at this Southern California theme park. This is one of the best theme parks in California that doesn’t break the bank. There are always discounts available online and with a good search, you may end up paying next to nothing for a trip to Universal Studios with the whole family.
Knott’s Berry Farm
Knott’s Berry Farm is one of the most popular theme parks in California and it is also known as “America’s first theme park, “ for it is over 100 years old. Its wild west theme is seen throughout the park with cowboy characters striding (阔步)along in the western-themed live entertainment. After you go on roller coasters, check out Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. Some guests visit the theme park for that restaurant alone. Work up your appetite from walking around the park all day for a delicious chicken dinner.
Legoland California
Legoland California is a children＇s paradise (乐园). Kids are excited when they see their favorite toys come to life at a whole amusement park. There are also kid-themed shows for children to watch throughout the park so your children never grow bored. Don’t forget to try all the delicious food around Legoland like fried apples.
1. Who will make Universal Studios Hollywood their first choice?| A．Lego lovers. | B．Movie lovers. |
| C．Thrill seekers. | D．Bargain traders. |
| A．Fish. | B．Beef. | C．Mutton. | D．Chicken. |
| A．They can eat the delicious food free of charge. |
| B．They can play a part in the kid-themed shows. |
| C．They can experience their favorite toys vividly. |
| D．They can make fried apples when feeling bored. |
