1. What will happen to the speakers?
| A．They will lose their jobs. |
| B．They will get a pay decrease. |
| C．They will work longer hours. |
| A．Creating books. |
| B．Making videos. |
| C．Searching for learning material online. |
| A．A camera. | B．A computer. | C．A phone. |
6 . “Dear Afu, who is Beyonce?”
“Beyonce is an American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, and dancer, who set a record with 32 Grammy wins...”
“Good. Tell me how I can have two girlfriends.”
“Are you crazy? If you do that, your secret won’t go undiscovered!”
This was a conversation I had in a WeChat group called “Talking with your robot”, an account based on Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer technology. To me, the respondent was no different than a real person. ChatGPT as the new-generation talking AI has impressed global users, me included, ever since it surfaced online on Nov 30.
The new feature can answer questions, do translations, summarize essays and even draft codes for a computer program. It is as good as a human living inside a computer.
ChatGPT is making life very convenient. A time might come when one hands it content and it produces a well-made Powerpoint presentation. That could, however, mean job losses. After all, if a computer program can write code, then it would make a programmer redundant.
That may be a worry, but it is still premature. ChatGPT has more advanced learning features, but it still follows the same technological path. Its biggest advantage lies in the ability to carefully examine an ocean of data and rebuild words into a language, but it’s still not that creative.
Artificial intelligence can quickly draw a picture, but that picture will be based on pictures it is fed. It can also write science fiction, but based on content about the future that it has read.
In comparison, a human brain imagines the future and then puts in efforts to realize it. AI can imagine a future with faster spaceships, but it can’t imagine a world of space elevators as humans can. So, there is no need to worry too much. By being creative there will be plenty of opportunities for humans to score over AI.
1. What’s the purpose of the dialogue in the beginning?| A．To introduce the features of ChatGPT. |
| B．To explain how artificial intelligence works. |
| C．To explore the creative capabilities of humans. |
| D．To discuss the advantages of having two girlfriends. |
| A．Convenient. | B．Advanced. |
| C．Creative. | D．Unnecessary. |
| A．It can create original content. |
| B．It can summarize essays effectively. |
| C．It can imagine a world with space elevators. |
| D．It can reorganize the language based on the large amounts of data. |
| A．Worried. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Objective. |
7 . Recently, I had the unexpected pleasure of witnessing a basketball game played by local villagers in Guizhou province. Despite being amateurs, the teams played with professional-level format and refereeing (裁判), creating an intense atmosphere. The rescheduled final game of the Guizhou country basketball league, known as the “Village Basketball Association (VBA),” took place in Taipan Village.
The game attracted a large audience, even on a weekday. The live stream of the game on social media platforms received 5.66 million views, generating buzz with hashtags like “what does ‘sold-out’ look like.” So, why are grassroots competitions like this more attractive to people like me than professional games? I believe it’s because sports arise from the grassroots level, allowing everyone to connect socially and find common ground.
The VBA reminded me of a basketball game I experienced during my visit to Yangshuo in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Bored of the scenic landscapes, I took a break and joined the locals and other visitors on the sidelines. Sitting on the bare ground, I felt so authentic and free that it released all my thoughts and emotions.
Similarly, in the VBA game, the winning team received modest prizes like live ducks and cooked meat, showcasing the genuine and down-to-earth nature of the competition. I even wondered if the players were cooks or farmers who could prepare the food right off the court.
The sudden popularity of the VBA can originate from the pervasive influence of social media and people’s desire to explore something different from their immediate surroundings. However, what truly resonates (共鸣) and has the potential for further growth is the pursuit (追求) of spiritual fulfillment. Grassroots sports offer an accessible and fulfilling experience, making them an ideal destination for individuals seeking a deeper connection.
1. What made the basketball game in Guizhou attractive?| A．The professional-level players. | B．The large number of viewers. |
| C．The involvement of local villagers. | D．The VBA offers better prizes. |
| A．A connection with other audience. | B．A sense of authenticity and freedom. |
| C．A sense of loneliness from the locals. | D．A sense of boredom from the landscape. |
| A．The impact of social media. |
| B．The attempt to achieve a spiritual satisfaction. |
| C．The eagerness for the newness in their surroundings. |
| D．The perfect opportunity to realize one’s sportsmanship. |
| A．VBA—an Online Hit | B．My Special Encounter with a VBA Game |
| C．The Game for Prosperity and Happiness | D．VBA—a Path to Grassroots’ Success |
The first folding fans were made around 1000 A. D. in China, and were brought to Europe by Portuguese traders in the early 1500s.
One type of folding fans
The brisé fan was popular in the 17th and early 18th centuries, but was never as widespread as the folding fan with a painted and pleated leaf. However, in the late 18th and early 19th century
9 . Any image taken from space confirms that we live on an ocean planet. How strange that we call our planet “Earth,” derived from a Germanic word meaning “the ground,” when more than 70 percent of its surface is covered by ocean.
We need more people to see the sea. Right now, less than 3 percent of the ocean is considered highly protected. Experts urge that at least 30 percent be protected to safeguard marine(海洋的) ecosystems, which in turn will help protect our health and well-being. The ocean supplies more than half our oxygen, absorbs carbon dioxide, regulates our climate, and supports much of the world’s economy. We need it a lot more than it needs us.
Take Florida, for example, one of the United States’ recreational hot spots. It’s bordered by the Florida Reef Tract, North America’s only living coral barrier reef and the third largest in the world. Home to more than 500 species of fish, the reef is also essential to the Sunshine State’s economy, generating an estimated $1.1 billion annually in tourism. The reef buffers(保护) the coastline, too, since health y coral reefs absorb 97 percent of a wave’s energy. Three-quarters of Florida’s 22 million people live along the coast, and the Florida Reef Tract provides more than $650 million in combined economic activity and flood protection.
A November 2022 study from the University of Miami has found that 70 percent of Florida’s coral reefs are experiencing a net loss of reef habitat. Directly facing these concerns is what I mean by seeing the sea—the good, the bad, the important. Knowledge is power, and we can use it to inform our choices, from traveling more mindfully, to examining how we run our businesses, to voting. “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something,” Sylvia Earle, oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer at Large, is fond of saying.
The ocean is a remarkable teacher, and it’s never too late to start learning.
1. What does the sea do for our human?| A．The sea changes our climate. |
| B．The sea controls carbon dioxide for us. |
| C．The sea produces all the oxygen we need. |
| D．The sea provides economical benefits for us. |
| A．Travelling more, learning more. |
| B．Running our business creatively. |
| C．Raising awareness of conservation. |
| D．Doing some voting before actions. |
| A．A scientific fiction. | B．A news report. |
| C．A travel journal. | D．A natural magazine. |
| A．To Hug the Ocean Tightly. |
| B．To Learn the Ocean Devotedly. |
| C．To Clean the Ocean Carefully. |
| D．To Love the Ocean Permanently. |
10 . In Victorian Time, there was a strange tapeworm(绦虫) diet, in which dieters swallowed an unhatched tapeworm and let it grow inside them by consuming undigested meals. Obviously, this is an exceptionally dangerous and unhealthy way to manage your weight. However, while modern popular diets aren’t usually this extreme, they do promise similar results; specifically, losing weight fast. So, are there any fast diets that do work? And are any of them actually healthy for you?
Sam and Felix, who are identical twins are planning to go on a diet. Sam is hoping to lose weight slowly, while Felix wants to go fast.
Sam’s plan is to gradually decrease his calorie intake and increase his regular exercise. With less energy coming in and more being expended, he’s creating an energy deficit inside his body. To compensate, after 4 to 6 hours, his body starts burning fat cells as a major energy source for his organs and tissues.
Felix aims to create a similar energy deficiency dramatically cutting his calorie intake. Unlike Sam, who’s still eating smaller meals, Felix is eating almost nothing. And his body responds by going into a starvation response. Desperate for energy, his body starts breaking down other materials, including his muscles. Meanwhile, Sam’s regular exercise is maintaining his muscle mass. This means he’ll use more energy both during exercise and at rest, making it easier for him to lose weight. Felix, on the other hand, is losing muscle mass and burning fewer calories than ever for his body’s basic functions, making weight loss even more difficult.
Whether you’re cutting calories or food groups, extreme diets are a shock to your system. Many people are often pressured to diet for reasons other than health or happiness. Rather than trying to lose weight fast, we should all be taking our time to figure out what the healthiest lifestyle is for ourselves.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To attract readers’ attention. |
| B．To introduce an odd fashion. |
| C．To lead in the topic of the passage. |
| D．To present the background of the topic. |
| A．Supply. | B．Shortage. | C．Circle. | D．Source. |
| A．He is overweight. |
| B．He doesn’t take any exercise. |
| C．His body goes into a starvation response. |
| D．His body doesn’t consume more calories. |
| A．Eating less, resting more. |
| B．Having a vegetarian diet. |
| C．Focusing on health not weight. |
| D．Taking exercise as much as possible. |
