2 . “Just imagine it, chatting to a chimp in chimpanzee.” Whether portrayed by Rex Harrison, Eddie Murphy or Robert Downey, Jr.,Doctor Dolittle learned to talk to animals.But in reality, science has remained some distance from solving the long-standing question of how we humans learned to talk during our evolution.

Recently,a study by a team of researchers in Great Britain has demonstrated how the rapid succession of opening and closing mouth rhythms by chimpanzees—known as lip-smacking (砸吧嘴)—mimics the natural pace of human mouths talking.This phenomenon has been observed before in other ape species who performed lip-smacking movements at around 5 Hz, which falls within a range of mouth opens and closes characteristic of all spoken languages, namely between2 and 7 Hz.But it wasn’t until now that this lip-smacking timing connection had been made in our closest evolutionary relatives.The last years had seen accumulating evidence that these rhythms from deeper within our primate ancestry, recycled, so to speak,as a cornerstone for speech evolution.

“But the sense of evolutionary continuity towards speech still had a big gap to cross—the African apes.There was no evidence for speech like rhythm neither in gorillas, bonobos,nor chimpanzees”, says Adriano Lameira of the University of Warwick, who led the study. The study followed two domestic populations of chimpanzees, as well as two wild populations in Uganda. Researchers observed lip-smacking at an average of 4.15 Hz. They made all their observations whenever a chimpanzee was grooming(理毛；梳毛) another. Picture a hairdresser engaging in idle chatter with a customer at the beauty salon.

The confirmation of speech like rhythm of the mouth in chimpanzees does not reveal how language came about in our own ancestry, but it offers the final confirmation to scientists that we are looking at the right place, that we are on the right track to unlock this mystery and that great apes in enclosed areas and the wild still have to reveal all their secrets about human nature and human origins.

Lameira also notes that variation in lip-smacking times both between and within the chimp groups do not appear to be hard-wired. Rather, the lip-smacking variability likely reflects how individual differences and environmental factors, and even social conventions, affect how chimpanzees communicate with each other. Even Doctor Dolitle might well be amazed.

1. What does the new study reveal?

A．We humans can talk to chimpanzees.

B．Chimpanzees like imitating humans talking.

C．A new clue of speech evolution has been found.

D．All apes perform the same lip-smacking rhythms as we humans do.

2. What is the significance of this study?

A．Paving way for the following researches.

B．Proving the assumption of the scientists.

C．Confirming how language came into being.

D．Revealing the secrets about human evolution.

3. What does the underlined word “hard-wired” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Tough.

B．Cultivated.

C．Variable.

D．Inborn

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．Cornerstone for Human Origin.

B．Research Value of Ape Species.

C．Human Speech Evolution Getting Lip-Smacking Evidence.

D．Chimpanzees Performing Speech like Lip-Smacking Movements.

3 . A March 2023 report from Goldman Sachs estimated that AI could do a quarter of all the work currently done by humans.     1     It would not just happen to individuals, but it could be pretty systemic.

    2     There are still things AI isn’t capable of. There are generally three categories that are probably going to be relatively secure in the foreseeable future.     3     That means you’re not doing formulaic work, but generating new ideas. For example, in science, medicine and law, where your job is coming up with a new legal strategy or business strategy, there’s going to continue to be a place for human beings.

The second category is jobs that require complicated interpersonal relationships like nurses, business consultants and investigative journalists. These are jobs where you need a very deep understanding of people.     4    

The third safe zone are jobs that really require lots of mobility and problem-solving ability in unpredictable environments. Electricians, plumbers, and the like all fall under this umbrella, where you’re dealing with a new situation all the time. They are probably the hardest of anything to automate.

It’s important to note that an advanced education is not a defence against AI takeover. In many cases, more educated workers are going to be more threatened than then even the least educated workers.     5     It’s really hard to automate that job.

In short, seeking roles in dynamic, shifting environments that include unpredictable tasks is good way to avoid job loss to AI.

A．And that could be terrible.

B．Thankfully, it’s not all bad news.

C．The robots really are coming for some jobs.

D．The first would be jobs that are genuinely creative.

E．Think of the person that works cleaning hotel rooms.

F．That doesn’t necessarily mean all jobs that are considered ”creative” are safe.

G．It’ll be a long time before AI has the ability to really build relationships and interact.

4 . At 67, Joyce Faulkner thought she was looking for a holiday. Her husband, Jim, had recently died and exploring possible house swaps on the Home Exchange website felt less painful. In the end, it was not a vacation Faulkner found but a job. She left her home in Edinburgh to become mother’s help to seven-year-old twins in Varese, Italy.

“It’s halfway crazy,” she says. A house swap she was interested in didn’t work out, but the owner, Rachele, asked: “‘Do you know anyone who might help me with the children?’ I wrote back and said: ‘Tell me what that involves!’ She wrote me a little list, and I said: ‘I could do that!’ We seemed to believe in each other.”

Two months later, when Faulkner reached Varese, “the dad, Andrea, was walking towards me with the children hiding behind his legs, kind of shy, thinking: ‘Who is this woman in a long black coat?’ I don’t think it was quite Mary Poppins, but the atmosphere was immediately warm and friendly.”

Eighteen months on, Faulkner’s job no longer feels like a job. “I just feel like part of the family.” They joke: “You think you’re going back to Scotland? No, you’re staying here!” She gives English lessons, helps with the housework, meets the children from school, plays chess or table tennis with them, and takes them to the park. “It never feels like work,” she says. “It has been absolutely the perfect match.” Faulkner’s son, Steven, who lives in London, has visited her and they have cycled around the northern Italian lakes. She feels no more distant than when she lived in Edinburgh.

“You have to take the opportunity when it presents itself,” Jim once said.

“I’ll be 70 in January, but in my head, I’m 30. I still feel the same person, I have the same enthusiasm for life, the same interest in people and things. In that sense, I wish I had another 70,” Faulkner jokes.

1. Why did Joyce Faulkner search the Home Exchange website?

A．To hunt for a job.	B．To buy a house in Italy.
C．To explore holiday resorts.	D．To find a holiday home for exchange.

2. What probably caused Faulkner to be hired by Rachele?

A．Good luck.	B．Mutal trust.
C．Common interests.	D．First impression.

3. What can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．Faulkner feels less close to her son

B．Faulkner feels quite at home while babysitting in Italy.

C．Faulkner returned to her old business despite her advanced years.

D．Faulkner was thought of as a typical baby-sitter at the first meeting.

4. Which of the following can best describe Joyce Faulkner?

A．Caring and outgoing.	B．Strict and responsible.
C．Devoted and passionate.	D．Humorous and independent.

5 . You may have heard of white and black sand beaches, but what about shores with pink sands? Now let’s take a look.

Horseshoe Bay Beach, Bermuda

One of the most famous and photographed beaches in Bermuda is Horseshoe Bay Beach. Located in South Shore Park, this pink beach features a coastal trail that connects it to other area beaches, plus limestone rocks and cliffs that add to its beauty. Beachgoers can play a game of volleyball or attend one of several annual festivals hosted on-site.

Budelli Island, Italy

Known locally as “Spiaggia Rosa,” this beach gets its pink color from a mixture of coral (珊瑚) and shells. The pink shore sits on Budelli Island, an isle north of Sardinia in the Maddalena Archipelago. The beach offers a variety of services, such as stands, lifeguards and beach and water sports equipment rentals like surfboards.

Crane Beach, Barbados

At The Crane Resort, visitors can directly access the pink sand beach by riding in the glass-front beach elevator. To keep beachgoers safe, there are two lifeguards on duty most days. Resort visitors also have access to free beach umbrellas, towels and chairs, plus several pools, a hot spring and a fitness center.

Great Santa Cruz Island, Philippines

The pink sand beach on Great Santa Cruz Island gets its color from red organ pipe coral. Many divers gather here to take advantage of the beach’s clear water and excellent visibility, though much of the area’s sea life has been destroyed due to illegal coral mining. You’ll also find a small village on the island.

1. What can you do on Horseshoe Bay Beach?

A．Ride on a horse.	B．Surf on the sea.
C．Climb up a rock.	D．Play beach volleyball.

2. Which beach offers some free services to specific visitors?

A．Horseshoe Bay Beach.	B．Budelli Island.
C．Crane Beach.	D．Great Santa Cruz Island.

3. What do the four beaches have in common?

A．They provide water sports.	B．They have beautiful pink sands.
C．They’re equipped with lifeguards.	D．They are located on big islands.

6 . Boston Marathon runners in recent years may have seen a smiling furry face around the two-mile mark. It’s Spencer, the therapy (治疗) dog, who became known as an unofficial mascot (吉祥物) for the marathon, He’s shown up on the sidelines every year since 2015—rain or shine.

One particularly rainy marathon catapulted Spencer’s fame, In 2018, his owner, Richard Powers, decided to put a bright yellow rain coat on the dog, making him stand out even more than he usually does. Photos of Spencer, who holds a “Boston Strong” flag in his mouth, went viral, and he became an inspiration to runners and onlookers alike, During the marathon, some runners stop in their tracks to take selfies with the dog-the line sometimes growing to 20 runners long.

But in 2020, Spencer was diagnosed with a tumor (肿瘤). His owner was worried, but Spencer is a fighter. He got the care he needed and survived. In 2021, he was back on the course and it was really kind of a miracle and that really hit home to a lot of people.

Unfortunately, Spencer caught another tumor—this one cancerous—and Spencer began chemotherapy. Powers didn’t think his beloved dog would make it out to the marathon of 2022. “Miraculously, he’s still here with us and an even bigger miracle, he was strong enough to go to the marathon,” he said.

After recovering, Spencer was back to work—not just at the marathon—but as a therapy dog, alongside his companion, Penny, who is also a golden therapy dog. Powers takes his two therapy dogs around to schools, hospitals and senior living centers.

“He’s a gift to us and we’re very lucky to have him. He’s too good so we want to share him with as many people as we possibly can. He does make a difference,” Powers said.

1. Why is Spencer referred to as a mascot for Boston Marathon?

A．He has a smiling furry face.	B．He appears at the event annually.
C．He is not recognized officially.	D．He works as a therapy dog for runners.

2. What does Spencer bring to runners?

A．Motivation.

B．Satisfaction.

C．Fantasy.

D．Barrier.

3. What did Spencer go through in 2020?

A．A failure in the marathon.

B．Caring for his owner.

C．Fighting against a disease.

D．Going viral.

4. What was Powers’ initial attitude towards Spence’s appearing at the marathon of 2022?

A．Confident,

B．Supportive.

C．Objective.

D．Negative.

7 . The construction site of the future is already here as homes, office buildings and industrial sites go up around the country. Robots that can lay bricks and put up drywall are engaging in at a time when the construction industry is in major change.

Meanwhile, start-ups are pouring even more resources into the field, including building robots that survey and monitor, as well as heavy machinery that can operate on its own. They are hoping to automate a complicated field involving moving parts and vastly different sites and buildings.

“Construction robots are a great example of how robotic technology is going to touch people’s lives,” said Matthew Johnson-Roberson, the director of the robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University. “Many construction jobs that exist today are now going to be alongside robots.”

Fueling the wave on innovation is a construction crisis. Building costs are rising, and hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled. Those who are in the industry are getting older and working under sometimes deadly conditions.

Tessa Lau, the chief executive of Dusty Robotics with a background in artificial intelligence, built her construction robotics firm after remodeling her own home. During that process, she realized how many steps were involved and that there was room for error nearly everywhere, causing potentials for delay. To solve this problem, her company created a Roomba-like device that prints an outline on the actual floor of the building project, which to some extent upgrades precision.

Nik Theodore, the director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois in Chicago, said the robots could hold promise if they can automate the often injury-suffering and deadly tasks construction workers have “in a very dangerous industry with large numbers of deaths.” But the concern, he said, is “the temptation (诱惑)” for automation to speed up job tasks and increase worker exhaustion, leading to a situation where burnout and injuries occur more, not less.

1. Why are start-ups investing more in the futural construction?

A．To free workforce.	B．To conduct surveys.
C．To update machinery.	D．To realize automation.

2. What motivated Lau to create a new device in her company?

A．Problems in rebuilding her home.	B．The major in artificial intelligence.
C．The desire to create a special device.	D．The interest in the construction industry.

3. What’s Nik Theodore’s attitude to the robots used in the construction sites?

A．Indifferent.

B．Subjective.

C．Objective.

D．Supportive.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The development of robots.	B．The rise of the construction industry.
C．The use of robots in building houses.	D．The establishment of a robotics firm.

8 . In 2019, Wang Jibing, a food delivery rider living and working in Kunshan, East China’s Jiangsu province, had an unpleasant experience due to the wrong address left by a customer. On his way home that day, Wang wrote a poem, Man in a Hurry, expressing his feelings. Since then, Wang has been writing poems inspired by his daily life.

Wang’s poems, simple yet real, are seen as a tool to process his emotions, especially the personal experiences he has during his work. In 2022, one of his friends posted Man in a Hurry online. It quickly went viral and was viewed for over 20 million times. The same year, Wang published a collection of more than 180 poems. The book’s cover is blue, the same color as the uniform that Wang wears. His poems and stories deeply touched many people with similar struggles and negative emotions in their lives, the book’s first 5,000 copies sold out soon. So far, Wang has written about 4,000 poems.

“My wife didn’t understand why I enjoy writing poems. Now, she is very supportive,” says Wang. “My children didn’t know about my habit of writing poems at all. Now they get it, and they are also learning to write poems.” Wang has no plan to quit his job and become a full-time writer. Although he has a great passion for poems, the priority for him is to look after his family.

Poetry is like a distraction from stress and an opportunity for Wang to record his life. Whether it’s coping with pain, dealing with stressful situations, or coming to terms with life’s struggles, poetry makes him confident and happy.

1. What is special about the poem Man in a Hurry?

A．It was created based on an enjoyable experience.

B．It conveyed Wang’s emotions on an unusual day.

C．It was the most popular poem posted online in 2022.

D．It was published with Wang’s second book of poems.

2. What does the underlined phrase “went viral” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Got ignored.	B．Got deleted.
C．Became a hit.	D．Became controversial.

3. From the third paragraph we can infer that ________.

A．Wang’s family is what he values most.

B．Wang’s wife objects to him writing poems.

C．Wang is going to stop delivering food someday.

D．Wang’s children dream of becoming writers.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Getting Inspired by Life.	B．Working as a Deliveryman.
C．Becoming a Full-time Poet.	D．Delivering a Feast of Poetry.

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

During my early years in school, particularly in the first and second grade, I was incredibly shy. I was afraid of making mistakes, so I would often find myself simply smiling and listening to others’ conversations without saying a word. However, I performed well academically and had a deep passion for writing. Writing allowed me to be myself and not worry about what others thought. In my stories, I was never shy.

My teacher, Mrs. Emily, always encouraged me to write more. She constantly reminded our class to pursue our dreams and put our wholehearted efforts into them. I believe she was one of the first individuals to recognize my inner strength. One day, she announced that our class would be performing a play she had written. “Tomorrow, I will begin casting (挑选演员) everyone,” she declared. “I need someone who isn’t afraid to be on stage in front of a large audience to play the lead role of George. Does anyone want to give it a shot?” A few eager hands shot up, but mine, of course, was not one of them. Mrs. Emily smiled and said we would discuss it further the following day. As the bell rang, my classmates filed out of the classroom.

As I was about to leave, Mrs. Emily asked me to stay behind. She looked into my eyes as if she could see through me. “I truly wanted you to take on this role, but if you truly don’t want to, I won’t force you. It’s your choice,” she said. It shocked me because I had always been a shy person, never daring to speak loudly in public.

Struck by Mrs. Emily’s words, I realized it was time for a change. I made up my mind to shed my shyness and prove to myself that I could overcome my fear in public. After a few moments of hesitation, I confidently nodded and said, “Mrs. Emily, I want to, no, I am determined to play the role, I will try my best.”

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。
Thanks to Mrs. Emily’s guidance and support, I was luckily selected for the lead role.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After the performance, I approached Mrs. Emily with tears of excitement in my eyes.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Cantonese Opera, known as Local Troupe or Guangdong Opera in the beginning, is one of the regional branches of Chinese operas, mainly     1     (originate) in Guangzhou area. It is popular in Guangzhou, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macao.

During Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty, because people in Guangzhou were fond     2     operas, opera troupes (剧团) from other areas came to Cantonese-speaking areas     3     (perform) opera.    4     (gradual), the locals began to sing the operatic songs that were the embryo (萌芽) of Cantonese Opera. In the early Qing Dynasty, some local troupes started singing operas in “Cantonese style”,    5     helped to lay the foundation for the formation of Cantonese Opera. From the middle Qing Dynasty to Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, Cantonese Opera     6     (form) by local troupes frequently absorbing experience of other troupes. During the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods in the late Qing Dynasty, Cantonese opera’s operatic music, acting and script had developed     7     (it) own distinguished features. From the early 20th century to the 1930s, Cantonese Opera experienced a series of transformations, which was promoted to be even     8     (popular). After the     9     (establish) of the People’s Republic of China, Cantonese Opera entered anew period of development.

In 2009, Cantonese Opera has been recognized by UNESCO and added to Chinese local operas of its Representative List of Human Vocal and Intangible Culture Heritage through joint application by Guangdong Province, Hong Kong     10     Macao.