1 . When it comes to architectural accomplishments, humans like to think they stand at the top. That is to underestimate the astonishing achievement s of social insects; for example, white ants raise skyscraping nests. The true master builders of the insect world, however, are the hundreds of species of stingless bees.

In a new study, Ms. Di Pietro and her colleagues observed over 400 colonies of the stingless bee species in a large bee house in Brazil in 2022 and 2023. Around 95% of the colonies exhibited honeycombs (a structure made by bees) built up in horizontal layers (水平分层), like tiered wedding cakes, while the rest adopted a spiral (螺旋的) structure.

Since the stingless bee shows a strong preference for a horizontal-layer honeycomb structure, it’s surprising that spiral honeycombs occur. The team confirmed that there was no difference in the average cell-building rate between the two styles, and therefore no efficiency advantage.

In order to rule out a genetic explanation for the different styles, the researchers transplanted workers from colonies that built in one tradition to colonies that built in the other, having first emptied the host structures of their native adults. The imported workers soon switched to the local style, which was then continued by the colony’s young insects as they eventually matured into workers.

Dr. Tom Wenseleers guessed that the bees may switch styles as a way of coping with the build-up of small construction errors made by their fore-runners. Such a process, in which multiple organisms indirectly affect each other’s behavior through the traces they leave in their environment, is known as stigmergy (共识主动性). The researchers later introduced a sign of spirals to the otherwise perfect horizontal-layer honeycombs, and found that it did indeed cause the bees to switch to building spirals.

These results suggest that stingless bees can pass on different building traditions across generations and individuals needn’t be instructed by their peers. “The findings are the clearest demonstration of cultural differences naturally appearing in insects. Insect culture would once have been thought impossible,” says behavioral biologist Andrew Whiten, who wasn’t involved in the research. “Less than a century ago, culture was thought to be uniquely human.”

1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?

A．By posing a contrast.	B．By reporting an event.
C．By supposing a situation.	D．By justifying an assumption.

2. What can be inferred about the stingless bees’ honeycomb-building behavior?

A．It is a result driven by genetic factors.

B．It involves cost and efficiency considerations.

C．It is switched constantly between several styles.

D．It shows flexibility in the changing environments.

3. What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The impact of fore-runners’ behavior on other stingless bees.

B．The underlying logic behind stingless bees’ building styles.

C．The advantages of maintaining stigmergy among stingless bees.

D．The significance of correcting small errors during construction.

4. What is Andrew Whiten’s attitude towards the findings of the study?

A．Doubtful.	B．Conservative.
C．Favorable.	D．Critical.

2 . The demands of today's busy schedules have driven us indoors, where we now spend almost 90 percent of our time commuting（通勤）, at work, and inside our homes. This modern way of living disconnects us from the outdoors and from the natural light and fresh air we all require to be healthy.     1    

Marvin Skycove: A Cozy Nook Like No Other

Marvin Skycove is a glass structure that projects into the open air, enhancing connections with the outdoors. Skycove creates a smart extension of usable space, opens a room to panoramic（全景的）views, and allows in restorative light from four directions.     2     And while Skycove is a fantastic way to use light and views, imagine yourself sitting in this space on a starry night or during a summer rain shower.

Marvin Signature Modern: Windows and Doors that Play Nice

Combining large windows and doors to create large glass walls is a great way to complement a modern design and truly blur（模糊）the boundaries between indoors and out.     3     The Marvin Signature Modern line was created to solve these very problems. Marvin Modern windows and doors are engineered to work as part of a high-performing, unified system.

Bi-Fold Windows: Not Just for Restaurants Anymore

    4     Like their bigger cousins, bi-fold windows can virtually pull a room outdoors. These types of windows have been used commercially for many years in restaurants and bars, but they're now finding their way into our homes.

Marvin Has Well-Being in Mind

At Marvin, well-being is our guidepost.     5     We try hard to find new ways to thoughtfully bring light and fresh air into every inch of a building. We purposefully marry our 100 years of industry expertise with a forward-thinking approach to deliver people-first products inspired to help people feel happier and live better in their homes.

A．But doing so can result in poor performance and may create odd feelings.

B．Bi-fold windows are often found between doorways and outdoor living space.

C．Our windows and doors are designed to help people feel balanced and healthy.

D．This glowing（发光的）setting creates a calming space to enjoy a coffee or a book.

E．When Bi-fold doors open, the panels are folded, leaving the whole space wide open.

F．It was designed to allow people to effortlessly create a personalized atmosphere inside.

G．Here are some products that are designed to connect our indoor space to the outside world.

3 . Set 40 kilometers northeast of the city of Ambatondrazaka, Madagascar, the Zahamena National Park has overall land coverage of 643 square kilometers, but only about 420 square kilometers is open to the public. It receives an average rainfall level of around 6 feet every year and experiences frequent rain showers even during the dry season between April and October. And elevations (海拔) inside the park range from 250 to 1,560 meters, which has resulted in a diversity (多样性) of climates.

One really interesting thing about the Zahamena National Park is its unique highland landform (高地地貌). The development of several ecosystems that all together exist within its area greatly depends on it. And this is also the reason why the types of wildlife living in one area of its wide range are different in another, which makes it quite exciting to explore.

This protected region’s main area is divided into two parts: the eastern and western areas, with a separate piece of ground in the middle where many small villages are located. Zahamena means “red trees”, which suggests a tree species scientifically called Diatum unifoliatum. It lives only in Zahamena and is characterized by its typically deep reddish-orange color.

Established as a strict natural highland habitat for nature conservation (保护) in 1927, the Zahamena National Park was officially awarded the honorary title of national park in 1997 and was finally opened to the public. Due to its amazing landform and unique local biodiversity, this national park was later listed as a key part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in 2007.

Unluckily, there are no hotels or restaurants around the national park. So Zahamena is not an easy rainforest—this national park needs people with a high level of fitness and people with low requirements concerning accommodations. Everyone who is not discouraged by this will be able to expect an amazing rainforest experience in a location which has a small number of tourists.

1. What do we know about the Zahamena National Park?

A．It is hard to reach due to conservation rules.

B．It has changeable weather all year round.

C．It has a great difference in elevations.

D．It is famous for its traditional villages.

2. What has caused several ecosystems in the park?

A．The complete food chain of wildlife there.

B．The wet weather condition there.

C．The conservation efforts there.

D．The special landform there.

3. What is the Zahamena National Park most probably named after?

A．A cultural belief.	B．A local tree species.
C．The unique geography.	D．The local village group.

4. What does the underlined word “this” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The tough condition of Zahamena.	B．People’s high level of fitness.
C．Its geographical location.	D．The diversity of climates.

4 . Who can imagine life today without an Automated Teller Machine (ATM)? They are available in considerable numbers throughout the world.

The first ATM was the brainchild of an enterprising Turkish-American inventor Luther George Simjian. When the idea of an automated banking machine struck him, he registered 20 patents before any bank agreed to give it a trial run. It is easy to assume that the inventor of such a popular machine was laughing all the way to the bank.     1     Within six months of its operation in New York in 1939, the device was removed due to lack of customer acceptance.

It was not until 1967, nearly 30 years later, that Barclays Bank, in a careful launch, rolled out a self-service machine in London, England, which proved successful.     2     The first cash machine relied on customers’ use of prepaid tokens (代币) to get envelopes with a fixed amount of cash inside.

    3     The banks’ principle was seemingly customer service. But it would be foolish to minimize the many advantages that cash machines provided to the banks themselves. By the late 1970s, the highest fixed cost for the average large bank was its branches. The greatest variable cost and loss to profits were its staff. Bank accounts swiftly recognized that self-service operations could reduce bank branch staff cost by70 percent.

Experts quickly determined that public acceptance of ATMs counted on convenience, simplicity, speed, security and trust.     4     For maximum efficiency, ATMs had to be located near public transport or in a shopping mall, not at a branch. The busier and more crowded the location, obviously, the better. Now, roughly 75 percent of all cash provided by banks to their customers comes from cash machines.     5    .

Public acceptance of deposits (存款) by machine was significantly slower than customers’ usage of ATMs for withdrawals. In general, it seems that customers sometimes still prefer and trust an over-the-counter transaction (交易) for deposits.

A．Location, in particular, was a key factor.

B．His cash machine, however, didn’t prove durable.

C．The device was relatively primitive, at least by today’s standards.

D．However, cash machines posed some interesting, unanswered questions.

E．An interesting factor was the issue of bio-statistics for customer identification.

F．Devices originally dismissed by the public are now recognized as essential institutions.

G．Soon afterwards, many other banks became admittedly champions of the cash machine.

5 . Teachers worried about students turning in essays written by a popular artificial intelligence chatbot now have a new tool of their own.

Edward Tian, a computer science major at Princeton University, has built an App called GPTZero to detect whether a text is written by Chat GPT, which is a popular chatbot that has caused fears over its possibility for immoral uses in American academic circles. His motivation to create the computer program was to fight what he sees as an increase in AI plagiarism (剽窃). Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, there have been reports of students using the language model to pass off AI-written assignments as their own. Many teachers have reached out to him after he released GPTZero, telling him about the positive results they’ve seen from testing it.

To determine whether an essay is written by a computer program, GPTZero uses two indicators: “confusion” and “burstiness (突发性)”. The first indicator measures the complexity of text; if GPTZero is confused by the text, then it has a high complexity and it’s more likely to be human-written. However, if the text is more familiar to GPTZero — because it’s been trained on such data — then it will have low complexity and therefore is more likely to be AI-generated. Besides, the second indicator compares the variations of sentences. Humans tend to write with greater burstiness, for example, with some longer or complex sentences alongside shorter ones. AI sentences tend to be more uniform.

In a demonstration video, Tian compared the App’s analysis of a story in The New Yorker and a Linked In post written by ChatGPT. It successfully distinguished writing between human and AI. However, GPTZero isn’t foolproof, as some users have reported when putting it to the test. He said he’s still working to improve the model’s accuracy.

Tian is not opposed to the use of AI tools like ChatGPT. GPTZero is “not meant to be a tool to stop these technologies from being used,” he said. “But with any new technologies, we need to be able to adopt it responsibly and we need to have protections.”

1. What have some students done since ChatGPT was released?

A．They have built language models from ChatGPT.

B．They have copied AI-written text from ChatGPT

C．They have accessed their assignments through ChatGPT.

D．They have passed their writing exams through ChatGPT.

2. What can be inferred about the two indicators of GPTZero?

A．The more uniform the text is, the more likely it is to be AI-generated.

B．The less complex the text is, the more likely it is to be human-written.

C．GPTZero sometimes confuses human-written texts with AI-generated texts.

D．GPTZero is more familiar with human-written texts than with AI-generated texts.

3. What does the underlined word “foolproof” mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．User-friendly.	B．Time-efficient.
C．Perfectly legal.	D．Completely reliable.

4. What maybe Tian’s attitude to the use of AI tools?

A．Favorable.

B．Disapproving.

C．Objective.

D．Ambiguous.

6 . “Man is by nature a social animal,” the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote more than 2,000years ago. From the time you enter this world, you start communicating. Your first cry is your first attempt at verbal (口头的) communication. And as you start growing, you find newer ways of communication. You learn to form words and sentences to communicate.     1    

Verbal communication means effectively presenting your thoughts verbally.     2     Be it a weekly meeting or a presentation to stakeholders (股东), the importance of verbal communication is unparalleled. People always remember a person who speaks clearly, effectively, and confidently. For instance, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’s speech at the iPhone launching ceremony is a classic example of brilliant verbal communication that people remember even today.

    3     Interpersonal communication often happens between two individuals. Reactions and responses from the other person will help you understand if you’re getting your thoughts across clearly. Public communication is also known as “public speaking”. Speeches, election campaigns and presentations are a few examples of this type.

Verbal communication is a broad topic. There are various elements that help us organize our thoughts around it. They include the tone, speed, and volume of your speech.     4     Each of these elements matters in any kind of verbal communication.

A variety of challenges may arise in verbal communication. Although difficulties with verbal communication can’t be entirely avoided, it is possible to increase your chances of communicating successfully. Consider the message you wish to communicate before speaking and communicate with respect for the recipient’s point of view.     5     Pronounce your words clearly and be conscious of nonverbal aspects such as eye contact, posture and facial expressions.

A．Pay attention to what you say and how you say it.

B．Its relevant skills are essential in the world of business.

C．Verbal communication can be classified into two main types.

D．This is the beginning of the real sense of verbal communication.

E．Language barriers are a major cause of confusion in verbal communication.

F．Everyone has a unique style of communicating and understanding messages.

G．Additionally, grammar and vocabulary are critical aspects of verbal communication.

7 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.

If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.

Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.

Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.

1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?

A．To explain a concept.	B．To introduce a topic.
C．To provide a solution.	D．To make a prediction.

2. What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The severity of natural disasters.	B．The worst air quality in New York City.
C．The extreme damage by flash flooding.	D．The cause of the forests fires in Canada.

3. What did Erich Fischer suggest to deal with the current situation?

A．He advocated a twofold strategy.

B．He suggested forbidding carbon emissions.

C．He required people to use more electric cars.

D．He emphasized the awareness of climate changes.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Hottest Month in History	B．Natural Disasters in the World
C．Extreme Weather Could Get Worse	D．Green Technology Would be Needed

8 . In an increasingly globalized business world, companies demand Human Resources (HR) leaders who can overcome cultural barriers to achieve key goals. This year, students in the Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations (MHRIR) Program will get hands-on experience leading multicultural teams as they work together with peers (同辈) from all corners of the globe.

“Our students get firsthand experience on global teams, which helps them understand the challenges and the opportunities they will face in the business world,” said MHRIR Program Director Stacy Hove.

Elishka Correa joined the program to explore how HR leaders can help businesses grow quickly in the global marketplace. “Companies appreciate diversity — not only in terms of products and markets, but the people they hire — so that they can expand their business and reach customers in different parts of the world,” she said. “When I go into an organization, I’m not only going to work with Indians or Americans, it’s going to be a mix of people. That trend is beginning to grow, so I think it’s very important to appreciate people from different backgrounds.”

As they progress through the program, the students are discovering unexpected challenges as they work on projects in diverse teams. Each contributor brings a different approach to solving problems, communicating, and challenging one another’s opinions.

Devin Roll, a student from North Dakota, appreciating the unique views his classmates share, said, “The benefits of having cross-cultural experiences go far beyond the classroom. Diverse teams and companies outperform their competitors, and HR leaders act as a vital partner in acquiring and maintaining diversity in the workforce.”

Many of the international students in the program said they would return to their home countries after graduation and bring along connections to their classmates, who would build careers (职业) in countries around the world. They hope to stay in touch, and share their expert knowledge.

1. What is the aim of the program?

A．To help students to set clear goals.

B．To provide jobs for foreign students.

C．To teach students to run their own business.

D．To train students to build multicultural teams.

2. Which statement about cultural diversity does Elishka Correa probably agree with?

A．It prevents social advance.	B．It makes it easy to hire people.
C．It can help business growth.	D．It can put an end to the conflict.

3. What does Devin Roll think of the effect of the program?

A．It is predictable.

B．It is short-lived.

C．It is unidentifiable.

D．It is far-reaching.

4. What do many students expect to do after graduation according to the text?

A．Work for the university.	B．Keep closely connected.
C．Stay in their home countries.	D．Reform teaching methods.

9 . When children are growing up, what they see in their families is what they tend to consider normal. That means family traditions and other activities are generally seen as just normal. If a family eats dinner together or spends time talking with each other, that’s what the child absorbs and internalizes.

Our family traditions are declining as we move toward a more isolated (孤立的) society. How many families no longer share meals around the dinner table, instead choosing to watch TV or text friends on their phones? This tends to isolate and disconnect family members from each other. It also stops families from communicating and catching up on each other’s lives.

For those of us who grew up in a household where families shared meals together and spent time talking with each other, chances are that we are passing along those traditions to our own families. The problem is, children today often want to spend their time in front of screens rather than people. Cell phones, computers and other attention-grabbing devices often mean parents get resistance to traditional family togetherness time. This pressure can lead to parents giving in and letting children do what they want rather than fight with them over sitting at the dinner table. This creates a new normal that no longer values the idea of families and the society at large, connecting with each other.

Family and community traditions are important, not just for the current shared experiences, but for the future as well. Since children internalize their experiences, that means generations to come may not know what it’s like to sit together around the dinner table and truly connect as a family.

That is why it is so important that parents and caregivers create boundaries of behavior that help to keep family traditions alive. If you remember the shared experiences you had with your parents and grandparents, you know the important bonding that took place during those times. It is this shared experience that brings people closer together and is well worth preserving.

1. What is the phenomenon the author describes at the beginning of the text?

A．The increase in shared family meals means a shift towards isolation.

B．Increased use of technology replaces traditional family interactions.

C．More and more children prefer to spend quality time with the family.

D．Family members are more likely to share their updates with each other.

2. What is the central concern expressed in paragraph 3?

A．The inability of parents to understand technology.

B．The challenge of preserving traditional family values.

C．The influence of technology on children’s education.

D．The necessity of controlling children’s digital devices.

3. What can be inferred about future generations if current trends continue?

A．They will be more addicted to advanced technology.

B．They will maintain stronger and closer family bonds.

C．They may create new and irreplaceable family traditions.

D．They may not understand the value of family gatherings.

4. How does the author view the role of parents in preserving family traditions?

A．Insignificant	B．Irresponsible
C．Crucial	D．Overemphasized

10 . The rise of body neutrality You define (定义) beauty yourself. You are more than a number in measurement. Love yourself the way you are. Body positive messages like theses seem to be everywhere from social media to TV advertisements.

Body positivity’s aim to boost acceptance and appreciation of a variety of body types and sizes may explain why it has such a broad appeal. While some find the body positivity movement to be helpful, others have begun calling the movement toxic and suggesting it may be time to move on from this way of thinking.

More recently, people have voiced concerns. Some feel that the focus on loving your looks actually strengthens society’s stress on appearance over other values. Much body positivity content in advertisements may bring a stereotype (刻板印象) to viewers because it does little to challenge the hidden assumption that people are valued mainly for their appearance. Therefore, the movement still encourages people to be graceful and engage in beauty practices from head to toe. And if you fail to be body positive, it’s you that are at fault.

Many are now moving away from the body positivity movement and the pressures that come from it entirely, and instead are getting behind the body neutrality (中立) movement. Instead of focusing on physical appearance, body neutrality is a profound idea that we can exist without having to think too much about our bodies.

We are all more than just our bodies. We are complicated beings with a range of emotions and feelings about our bodies. And because body neutrality de-emphasizes (不强调) the focus on appearance, it motivates us to better acknowledge all the things our bodies are able to do. Being grateful for being able to take up your hobbies and appreciating your body for what it’s capable of doing are both examples of body neutrality.

Body neutrality can be beneficial to us. It is associated with the positive body image and mental well-being. The good news is that there are many ways you can develop body neutrality, including writing-based treatment, yoga and spending time in nature.

1. What does the underlined word “toxic” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Inspiring.

B．Dangerous.

C．Influential.

D．Useless.

2. Why is body positivity criticised?

A．It upsets overweight people.

B．It overstates the role of advertising.

C．It attracts too much attention to appearance.

D．It challenges the traditional standards of beauty.

3. Which statement would supporters of body neutrality probably agree with?

A．Keep fit and you will be confident.

B．Accept the imperfection of your body.

C．Appreciate your abilities instead of your body.

D．Treasure your appearance rather than other values.

4. What is the structure of the text?

A．①②/③④/⑤/⑥	B．①/②③/④⑤⑥
C．①/②/③/④⑤/⑥	D．①②/③/④⑤/⑥