1 . Why was school created?
If you’re honest with yourself, though, you know what a great place school is.
Schools are not a new invention. You may have seen some old one-room schoolhouses that have been around for several hundred years or more.
In fact, education dates back to the very first humans ever to live on Earth. Why? To survive, every generation has found it necessary to pass on its knowledge, skills, values, and traditions to the next generation. How can they do this? Education! Each subsequent generation (后代) must be taught these things.
Rather than every family being responsible for education, people soon found out that it would be easier and more efficient to have a small group of adults teach a larger group of children.
A.In this way, the idea of school was born. |
B.The earliest schools, though, date back thousands of years. |
C.At that time, schools focused on reading, writing, and maths. |
D.Ancient schools weren’t like the schools we know today, though. |
E.We’re sure that’s a question that every student asks from time to time. |
F.The earliest human beings didn’t need schools to pass along information. |
G.You have fun, learn all kinds of interesting things, and get to spend time with your friends. |
2 . Nowadays, people are increasingly interacting with others in social media environments where algorithms control the flow of social information they see. People’s interactions with online algorithms may affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation.
On social media platforms, algorithms are mainly designed to amplify (放大) information that sustains engagement, meaning they keep people clicking on content and coming back to the platforms. There is evidence suggesting that a side effect of this design is that algorithms amplify information people are strongly biased (偏向的) to learn from. We call this information “PRIME”, for prestigious, in-group, moral and emotional information.
In our evolutionary past, biases to learn from PRIME information were very advantageous: Learning from prestigious individuals is efficient because these people are successful and their behavior can be copied. Paying attention to people who violate moral norms is important because punishing them helps the community maintain cooperation. But what happens when PRIME information becomes amplified by algorithms and some people exploit (利用) algorithm amplification to promote themselves? Prestige becomes a poor signal of success because people can fake prestige on social media. News become filled with negative and moral information so that there is conflict rather than cooperation.
The interaction of human psychology and algorithm amplification leads to disfunction because social learning supports cooperation and problem-solving, but social media algorithms are designed to increase engagement. We call it functional mismatch. One of the key outcomes of functional mismatch is that people start to form incorrect perceptions of their social world, which often occurs in the field of politics. Recent research suggests that when algorithms selectively amplify more extreme political views, people begin to think that their political in-group and out-group are more sharply divided than they really are. Such “false polarization” might be an important source of greater political conflict.
So what’s next? A key question is what can be done to make algorithms facilitate accurate human social learning rather than exploit social learning biases. Some research team is working on new algorithm designs that increase engagement while also punishing PRIME information. This may maintain user activity that social media platforms seek, but also make people’s social perceptions more accurate.
1. What are social media algorithms targeted at?A.Improving social environment. | B.Generating PRIME information. |
C.Avoiding side effects of social media. | D.Raising the media platform click rate. |
A.To make an assumption. | B.To illustrate a conclusion. |
C.To explain a political issue. | D.To present an extreme case. |
A.boost engagement and regulate amplification |
B.strengthen social learning and delete biases |
C.identify biases and punish PRIME information |
D.monitor media platforms and guarantee users’ privacy |
A.PRIME information meets with misperceptions |
B.Algorithms control the flow of social information |
C.Social media algorithms twist human social learning |
D.Online algorithm designs face unexpected challenges |
Word came that the annual school sports meet would take place next Friday through Saturday. At the exciting news, the whole class burst into cheers. Without any hesitation, we set about making
With the sports meet approaching, we could hardly concentrate on our daily routine. Every day, we spent much of our spare time
Time was ticking away. Before I knew it, it was my turn to step onto the track. But all of
Now two weeks have passed, but the memory still stay fresh in my mind. Disappointed as I am, I never regret taking part in the race. After all, being part of the sports meet is what I really care about.
4 . Traci Ruble, a psychotherapist (心理治疗师), felt worried that people today were experiencing loneliness and a shortage of personal connections. She understood that with busy lives and challenging jobs, people were unable to make these connections.
So on a spring day in 2015, Ruble and a small number of volunteers set up chairs on sidewalks in 12 locations around San Francisco, California and invited people passing by to sit for a few minutes and chat. This was the beginning of Sidewalk Talk, an organization whose mission is to create public spaces of connections where the people are.
Today, the organization has more than 4,000 volunteers in 40 cities. Around 25 percent of the volunteers are licensed therapists (持证治疗师). They come from different backgrounds and are a mixed group. Volunteers receive training from the organization.
Listening activities are held several times a month along with other organizations. In San Francisco, Sidewalk Talk partners with Lava Mae, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that brings mobile showers to homeless people.
Sidewalk Talk gives people a chance to speak and be listened to but it is not therapy, according to Ruble. “I’m not interacting as a therapist out there. I’m not there to solve someone’s problems,” she said. “I’m there to practice being human.”
Ruble stressed that therapy is one-sided and that therapists are taught to avoid self-disclosure(自我表露) but by “being human” she could carry out interactions by sharing her own life and showing empathy (同感) with the people she talks with.
According to a report, 31 percent of all Americans experience serious loneliness including 61 percent of young adults. To fix that, rebuilding community relationships is very important. While listening activities will not solve the loneliness problem, these chats could help someone have a brighter day. Knowing that there are empathetic people who are willing to fully listen and share your feelings could make all the difference to a lonely person.
1. What can we learn about Sidewalk Talk?A.It is largely made up of licensed therapists. |
B.It encourages people to share and reconnect. |
C.It was set up with the help of other organizations. |
D.It aims to improve people’s language expression ability. |
A.It leads to a healthier life. |
B.It helps people solve problems. |
C.It makes chats go more smoothly. |
D.It allows people to receive support. |
A.The power of good community relationships. |
B.The seriousness of the loneliness problem. |
C.The results of being an empathetic person. |
D.The need for Sidewalk Talk’s activities. |
A.Taking listening to the streets |
B.Dealing with loneliness by volunteering |
C.Building powerful connections between people |
D.Enjoying having deep conversations with strangers |
5 . Hey! You have a hairless spot on the back of your head! " Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.
I tried to shrug it off. “It’ll grow back.” I worked to sound
At first, the loss was minimal.
As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more.
We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection to try, which would be
I had to wear a wig to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would
I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel
A.mid | B.calm | C.upset | D.relieved |
A.Checking | B.Polishing | C.Clearing | D.Covering |
A.sense | B.chance | C.sign | D.way |
A.wonder | B.panic | C.expand | D.relieve |
A.Reaching | B.Shifting | C.Feeling | D.Running |
A.delay | B.avoid | C.cease | D.keep |
A.attached | B.connected | C.guided | D.applied |
A.After all | B.Worse still | C.In brief | D.By contrast |
A.motion | B.procedure | C.routine | D.mission |
A.break out | B.draw to a close | C.fade away | D.come to light |
A.reveal | B.restrict | C.distribute | D.highlight |
A.Instead | B.Furthermore | C.Anyway | D.Thus |
A.blow | B.credit | C.exception | D.miracle |
A.proud | B.ashamed | C.fond | D.guilty |
A.evaluation | B.introduction | C.acceptance | D.dependence |
1. 保护环境的重要性;
2. 如何低碳生活;
3. 发出倡议。
注意:
1. 词数80左右;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear fellow students,
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7 . Environmental Books For Kids
City Green, by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (1994)It is a great book on how anyone can take action and make a difference. In it, Marcy, a young girl, wants to plant a garden in the vacant lot(空地) of her city block. The book describes every step of building a community garden for everyone to share. It comes with a handy guide on how you can start your own community garden!
Kate, Who Tamed the Wind, by Liz Garton Scanlon (2018)This book is a wonderful story of problem-solving and perseverance (坚持不懈), as it tells the story of a young girl who decides to stop the wild wind from blowing by planting trees. It is a great read explaining the important role of trees in our lives and the planet as well as the importance of nature-based solutions.
We Are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom (2020)If you want to learn more about native people and the importance of protecting water, this is the book for you. It is a story of a young girl who stands up for environmental justice (正义) and becomes an activist who fights to protect the world from pollution.
Pangolina, by Jane Goodall (2021)A pangolin is to be unlawfully sold at the market. Luckily for her, a little girl, who knows that pangolins are friendly animals with feelings just like humans, asks her mother to buy Pangolina and set her free. If you love animals and you want to learn more about the problems of wildlife traffic as well as the importance of protecting endangered animals, this wonderful book is a good choice.
1. Which book would you recommend to someone interested in gardening?A.City Green. | B.Pangolina. |
C.We Are Water Protectors. | D.Kate, Who Tamed the Wind. |
A.In 1994 | B.In 2018. | C.In 2020. | D.In 2021. |
A.DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan. | B.Liz Garton Scanlon. |
C.Carole Lindstrom. | D.Jane Goodall. |
8 . Advances in AI and machine learning have sparked interest from governments that would like to use these tools for patrolling (巡查) purposefully before hand to prevent crime. However, early efforts at crime prediction have been controversial, because they do not allow for systematic biases (偏见) in police enforcement and its complex relationship with crime and society.
University of Chicago (UC) data and social scientists have developed a new algorithm (算法) that forecasts crime by learning patterns in time and geographic locations from public data on violent and property crimes. It has demonstrated success at predicting future crimes one week in advance with approximately 90% accuracy.
The new tool was tested and validated using historical data from the City of Chicago around two broad categories of reported events: violent crimes and property crimes.
The new model isolates crime by looking at the time and spatial coordinates (坐标) of separate events and detecting patterns to predict future events. It divides the city into spatial sections roughly 1,000 feet across and predicts crime within these areas instead of relying on traditional neighborhood or political boundaries, which are also subject to bias. The model performed just as well with data from seven other US cities.
Ishanu Chattopadhyay, senior author of the study, is careful to note that the tool’s accuracy does not mean that it should be used to direct law enforcement, with police departments using it to flock to neighborhoods ahead of time to stop crime. Instead, it should be added to a toolbox of urban policies and policing strategies to address crime.
“We created a digital twin of urban environments. If you feed it data from what happened in the past, it will tell you what’s going to happen in future. It’s not magical; there are limitations, but we tested it and it works well,” Chattopadhyay said. “Now you can use this as a model tool to see what happens if crime goes up in one area, or there is increased enforcement in another area. If you apply all these different data, you can see how the system evolves in response.”
1. What information would data and social scientists in UC collect?A.Periods of traffic jams. | B.Items of lost and found. |
C.Thefts and robberies on the street. | D.Casualty (伤亡) in traffic accidents. |
A.Confirmed. | B.Modified. | C.Classified. | D.Abandoned. |
A.The advantages and disadvantages of this new tool. |
B.The principles and good performances of this new tool. |
C.Positive feedback from some other experts in this field. |
D.The hard process of Chattopadhyay’s developing this tool. |
A.He does not think it’s accurate enough to put into use. |
B.The limitations are to be removed for a better performance. |
C.The police department can wholly rely on it to prevent criminals. |
D.It can be of help when the authority make policies concerning crimes. |
A.Work in the office. | B.Fly to New York. | C.Have dinner with Kevin. |
A.In a library. | B.In a classroom. | C.In a bookstore. |