1 . If you have no difficulty in understanding what native English speakers say in daily life, there is a whole new world of brilliant podcast (播客) series to explore. If you aren’t sure where to start, have a look at these:

	The Joc Rogan Experience        ★★★★★ The Joc Rogan Experience is a great learning device because of its interesting English conversations between Rogan and his guests. At the time of writing there have been over 1,660 episodes with subjects ranging from comedy and science to politics and sports. Rogan is also a famous stand-up comedian, so the show is full of cultural references and idioms.
	This American Life        ★★★★★ This American Life is a great choice for English learners who want an insight into the culture of the USA. It is a mixture of journalism and storytelling, focusing on real-life tales from citizens of all regions of the country. The stories are new and varied. One episode was taped for 24 hours in an all-night restaurant; another interviewed workers on strike.
	The Writer's Voice            ★★★★☆ The New Yorker is a famous American magazine, and every week it prints a new short story. In this podcast, the week's story is read aloud by its writer. The published work covers a wide range of life experiences across the United States and beyond. It's a great way to enjoy some of the best new fiction in the country.
	Overheard at National Geographic      ★★★★★ National Geographic is a much-loved American magazine (and TV channel) famous for incredible stories and photography related to science and the environment. Overheard is about the discussions Nat Geo employees have had while taking breaks. Expect crazy stories from explorers, photographers, and scientists from around the world.

1. In order to fully enjoy these podcasts, you should________.

A．have interaction with hosts

B．have good English competence

C．be interested in being a podcaster

D．be familiar with American social life

2. Which podcast gives you more stories behind the scene?

A．The Writer's Voice.

B．This American Life.

C．The Joe Rogan Experience.

D．Overheard at National Geographic.

3. What do these podcasts have in common?

A．They enjoy great popularity.

B．Their stories are set in America.

C．They are attached to magazines.

D．Their works are updated weekly.

2 . With rounds of pioneering space flights that could set the stage for future space tourism, it is worth looking at what might be involved for the human exploration of Mars, though it's likely decades away. Technological challenges aside, as we continue to expand our exploration of Mars, there is a question: What might be the lessons of past voyages of discovery that we should think about?

Human exploration has led to many extraordinary new discoveries, but it has also led to the exploitation of resources. Not long after early European settlers arrived at America, they declared their independence and created the constitution by which modern American society functions. However, this did not prevent the settlers from referring to native people as savages and taking away their rights to liberty, happiness, and even survival. Native Americans were quickly killed by wars and new diseases as the new settlers expanded their land. The natural environment, with which they had established a harmonious relationship, was similarly destroyed by the settlement.

Mars certainly has an impossible environment for human life, but on Mars, humans will be the invasive species. Will our landing on mars break the ecosystem on Mars? It is possible that Mars has ideal minerals for future development. But apart from technology challenges, will the mining have a disastrous environment impact on this red neighbour as it has already had on Earth?

The achievements of space exploration are certainly to be applauded. The contributions of the related researches on chemistry, medicine and many others are potentially limitless. However, as we look to exploring worlds beyond our own, we need to begin now to look at history to consider how best to engage with different life forms, cultures and environments. We may be capable of writing a law, but we first need to clear our potential invasive impact on another planet that may be completely defenseless.

1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Modern American society.	B．The creation of constitution.
C．The settlement of Europeans.	D．The exploitation of resources.

2. What's the author’s concern about the exploration of Mars?

A．Humans cannot survive on Mars.

B．Humans may bring new diseases to Mars.

C．The exploration may destroy Mars' ecosystem.

D．Technology challenges will make mining on Mars hard.

3. What's the author’s suggestion for future space exploring?

A．Making relevant laws properly.	B．Conducting more scientific researches.
C．Predicting its impacts on other planets.	D．Learning from past exploration experiences.

4. Which column is this text most probably taken from?

A．Opinion.

B．History.

C．Technology.

D．Environment.

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

The AI-powered ChatGPT has drawn great interest from investors hungry for the next big thing in Tech. Created by Open AI, a private company backed by Microsoft, ChatGPT     1     (estimate) to have reached 100 million monthly active users just two months after launch, making it the    2    (fast) growing consumer application in history. But its popularity has also made it    3    target for regulation, attracting the attention of US lawmakers with questions about its impact on education and national security. Congressman Ted Lieu, said that    4     he was excited about the Chatbot, he was also shocked by AI, specially AI that is left unchecked.

One law firm focused on AI    5    (responsible) pointed to the national security concerns. It wrote of evil leaders， non-state actor and malicious (恶意) state actors    6    (use)these systems to generate information that could be wrong or could be harmful. At this point much of the recent concern about ChatGPT has come    7    (main) from educators focused on cheating and plagiarism (剽窃). Others have voiced concern that their computer program could also be used to spread false information.

In a statement OpenAI said “ChatGPT’s free use by everyone is consistent    8     the principles of democratization information. We don’t want     9     to be used for misleading purpose in schools or anywhere else, so we are trying to find ways to help anyone identify texts    10    (generate) by that system. ”

4 . This year, several young athletes have shone brightly at the Beijing Winter Olympics, giving us a glimpse of their generation’s nature.

Obviously, the young generation is filled with “brave warriors” who want to challenge impossibilities and push boundaries. Freestyle skier Gu Ailing is a good example. After she finished strong in the first two jumps in the women’s free-ski Big Air event, it was certain that she could get a medal. But instead of taking heed of it, the 18-year-old skier pushed herself to the limit. On the last jump, Gu decided to attempt a difficult trick: a left double cork 1620—four and a half rotations in the air—before landing. “I have never done the ‘left 16’ before. I hadn’t prepared much for it apart from two days on the air bag,” Gu told China Daily, “but I felt it was a chance.”

But for these young athletes, the sport is never just about scores, but also about having as much fun as possible.

Born in the US, Gu faced criticism and doubts for representing China in the Beijing Winter Olympics. When questioned by The Guardian, the girl said bluntly she wasn’t trying to make everyone happy. “I’m an 18-year-old girl out here living my best life. I’m having a great time.” Gu said. “It doesn’t really matter if other people are happy or not, because I feel I’ m doing my best and I’m enjoying the entire process.”

Gu’s good friend, Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming also shares a similar attitude. He takes sports as a way to have fun. After he was judged to have lost the gold to Canadian athlete Max Parrot in the men’s slopestyle final, the 17-year-old didn’t feel upset. Instead, he was happy to have the chance to compete with his idol.

“When I was on the podium hugging Max Parrot, it felt unreal,” Su told China Daily. “All I did today was enjoy the runs and concentrate on my tricks. As long as I am on my snowboard I am happy.”

1. The phrase “taking heed of it” underlined in paragraph 2 can be replaced by ______.

A．playing it safe	B．taking a risk
C．avoiding mistakes	D．taking part in it

2. What can we know about Gu Ailing according to the text?

A．She didn’t perform well.	B．She is a post-00.
C．She was an American.	D．She isn’t easy-going

3. Who got the gold medal in the men’s slopestyle final?

A．Not mentioned.

B．Gu Ailing.

C．Su Yiming.

D．Max Parrot.

4. What does the reporter want to convey in this text?

A．The young generation shares a similar attitude.

B．Young athletes show the nature of the young generation.

C．Young Chinese dare to push the limits but also enjoy their career.

D．Young athletes have shone brightly at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

5 . 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。

Qian Xuesen is a great scientist, a man of distinction. He     1     (bear) in Hangzhou, was admitted to the aeronautics department of the MIT in 1934. After graduating with his PhD, he was employed as     2     assistant researcher at Caltech. Qian’s missile designs laid the foundation for the successful building of missiles in the US in the 1940s and 1950s,     3     (make) him a world-renowned rocketeer.

When he learnt of the     4     (thrill) news of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Qian resolutely gave up his privileged conditions in the US and decided to return to his longed-for homeland to contribute as much as he could     5     his own nation.

Upon returning to China, Qian Xuesen was actively involved in research work. Under his     6     (participate) and guidance, China successfully launched its first rocket in 1960,     7     in 1964, it was a great success to run the flight test of China’s first self-designed medium-range rocket. In 1965, Qian’s proposal     8     (develop) an artificial satellite was included in the country’s key projects, after     9     the first artificial satellite was finally launched into space in 1970.

In 1999, Qian Xuesen     10     (award) the “Two Bombs and One Satellite” Meritorious Medal by the government of PRC, and was hailed as the “Father of China’s Missiles” for his significant contributions to China’s space industry.

6 .

Give me some Space by Philip Blunting Una dreams of a life in Space. Life on Earth is just so so-so. But how will she get there? And will she complete her mission to discover life in Space? On May 19th 2021, Give Me Some Space! was read to over 1.98 million children across Australia and New Zealand by NASA astronaut Shannon Walker – from the International Space Station (ISS)! Purchase This Book  Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by: Markus Motum On August 6, 2012, the rover Curiosity touched down on the rocky surface of Mars — and now she’s ready to guide you through her journey firsthand. From idea to creation and beyond, this fact-filled, fashionable book introduces readers to Curiosity and her mission: to discover more about the red planet and search for evidence of life. How did Curiosity get her name? What tools does she use to carry out her tasks? Purchase This Book  Max Goes to Mars by Jeffrey Bennett Now fully updated with results from the Curiosity rover and much more, the new second edition of Max Goes to Mars picks up where Max Goes to the Moon left off, taking Max and his friends on the first human mission to Mars. There, you’ll learn how Max helps make one of the most important discoveries of all time. After returning home, Max and Tori reflect on the beauty and fragility of our own planet Earth. Purchase This Book  Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader by Emily Calandrelli with Tamson Weston Ada Lace likes nothing more than to play with mechanics like her robot, George. Her latest project is to fix up a ham radio, something that she could use to contact people on this planet…and beyond. During a sleepover, Ada’s best friend Nina hears something strange coming from the radio in the middle of the night. A distant voice says, “Release the swarm (蜂群)!” convincing Nina that aliens are about to invade the Earth. Purchase This Book

1. Which book was ever read to kids from the ISS?

A．Give me some Space

B．Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover

C．Max Goes to Mars

D．Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader

2. Whose book introduces Curiosity and her mission?

A．Philip Blunting.	B．Markus Motum.
C．Jeffrey Bennett.	D．Emily Calandrelli.

3. Who thinks that our planet will soon be attacked by aliens?

A．Una.

B．Max.

C．Ada Lace.

D．Nina.

7 . 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。

For many years, people have been worried that one day, robots could take their jobs. Now, it    1     (seem) that it may start happening.

ChatGPT is     2     AI chatbot, which is the fastest-growing app based on a    3     (power) language processing model. It had 100 million active users just two months after     4     (it) start. Experts started to worry that the latest chatbots could harm the careers (事业) of anyone who works with information, does research or writes reports. Chatbots are very creative, and can do things that we thought only humans could do. So an increasing number    5     users see this as a business chance. They will start using a chatbot as a staff member that may    6     (compare) to a newly employed graduate in terms of its ability to think. Chatbots work very fast, without     7     (request) a break or pay, and for business people, that’s     8     (extreme) important. Some UK law companies have already realized it     9     started using chatbots to write legal (法律的) letters or provide ideas for legal matters.

However, one of the biggest     10     (problem) with ChatGPT is that it doesn’t know the actual truth about the world — it simply learns information from various resources (资源) but cannot decide on its own what is true or false.

8 . There is a day in the life with AI, who follows your move: the way you travel, the food you eat, how you spend your money, the news you read and your social interactions...

7a.m   You wake up and glance at your iPhone, which unlocks itself using facial recognition

Apple’s Face ID changes your face to a set of numbers that act as your own unique identifier. This biometric portrait is not set in stone-it uses AI to track changes in your appearance, updating its model if you grow a beard, change your makeup style or get older and it also detects whether your eyes are open and your attention is directed at your phone.

8:30a.m   You drive to work in your electric car

Cars such as the Tesla can do most of the ordinary aspects of driving. The vehicle’s AI system collects data from eight cameras, identifies obstacles, lanes, intersections and traffic lights and decides what action to take, whether moving skillfully into an awkward parking spot or overtaking a slow lorry. But self-driving cars know only how to deal with situations they have seen before and an ongoing challenge is how to equip them for rare and unexpected events.

4:30p.m   Your phone rings with a message from your Amazon Ring doorbell-a package has been delivered to your doorstep

Last year, about one in five households in the UK reported having an AI-based home security system. Amazon Ring uses a motion-activated camera, heat sensor and radar and uses computer vision software to make users different when a person, or a package, is outside their property. Humans have a heavy heat signature and with the radar, the object moving in 3D spaces can be detected.

9:30p.m   You scroll (滚动) through a newspaper article that contains a special ad

As you read news articles, scroll through social media, make Google searches and buy things online, you leave a trail of clues about who you are, what you might want to spend your money on-that is incredibly valuable for digital advertisers. AI sift (筛) this data for insights into your age, gender, lifestyle, income and your hobbies. This allows companies such as Google to serve up specific, targeted adverts that pop up as you scroll through a news article.

1. Which of the following is the disadvantage of electric cars?

A．Tendency to cut in.	B．Speeding on the lane.
C．Uncontrolled parking areas.	D．Lack of information about emergencies.

2. What can we learn about AI from the text?

A．Apple’s Face ID may change your facial features.

B．Self-driving vehicles can replace human drivers.

C．About 20% of English homes adopt Amazon Ring.

D．AI can work out your personal online preference.

3. What information does the text convey?

A．We will live a better life with AI.	B．AI enters many aspects of our life.
C．The smartphone is a necessity for us.	D．Personal information is no longer secure.

9 . In their letters to Santa Claus, most kids ask for toys, dolls or maybe a new Xbox. All Jonah Simons wanted was a coronavirus cure to save the world. That was last year. This holiday season, the 10-year-old Florida boy is back with a different request for Santa.

“Dear Santa, it’s Jonah. Do you remember me? I was the one who asked for a covid cure,” he wrote in a letter addressed to the North Pole and shared with CNN. “Thank you so much for the vaccine! You helped save lives. This year, can I please have a Santa costume to spread your joy around the world?”

With a relentless virus and threats of the Omicron variant still plaguing a weary nation, Jonah has big plans for the Santa suit. “I want to wear it and go around the neighborhood and spread Santa’s joy, asking people what they want for Christmas,” the fifth-grader said.

Jonah turned 10 in July, and instead of gifts he asked his family and friends to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. His birthday effort raised $1,000 in donations from family and friends all over—even his favorite employees at the local Publix store, his mother says.

He also marked his birthday by donating his hair to Locks of Love, the charity that makes wigs for kids with cancer or other medical conditions. During a year of lockdown, he teamed up with some friends and grew out his hair to nine inches.

Jonah’s good deeds are not limited to birthdays. He works to help his community all year, including donating and sorting food for the homeless with the organization Feeding South Florida, and packing holiday gifts for children.

1. What does Jonah want as a Christmas gift this year?

A．A covid cure.	B．Toys and dolls.
C．Anew Xbox.	D．A Santa suit.

2. Which one of the following doesn’t belong to the good behaviour of Jonah?

A．Donating his hair to a charity.

B．Sending his birthday gifts to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

C．Wrapping holiday gifts for kids.

D．Contributing food to the homeless.

3. Which of the following best describes Jonah?

A．Kind and courageous.	B．Generous and brave.
C．Caring and helpful.	D．Friendly and innocent.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Jonah didn’t realize his wish last year.

B．The coronavirus is still not under complete control.

C．Jonah raised $1,000 from his family and friends all over.

D．Jonah wants to wear a Santa suit and go around the neighborhood and spread Santa’s joy.

10 . The idea of holidays to the moon was once a concept of science fiction. However, several companies are racing to make it a ________. To prepare for these holidays, Horizon Studios has ________ the world’s first luggage for space travel.

The suitcase was co-designed by Alyssa Carson, who wanted to be one of the ________ on board NASA’s first manned mission on Mars in 2033.

The suitcase, called Horizon ONE, is built from a special material, making it very strong and ________. It is estimated that the case weighs no more than 900 grams!

The base of the bag is electromagnetic (电磁的), ________ it to guide to the floor or walls even in zero ________ environments. Meanwhile, the suitcase is ________ with a lot of electronics, including Graphene supercapacitors (石墨烯超级电容器) and a charging field for wireless charging, an in-built smart screen, and fingerprint________. However, the suitcase has an eye-watering price that is likely to________many customers. It is currently priced at $40,000.

Stefan Holwe, founder of Horizon Studios, said, “As a ________ travel brand, it is our job to enable ________ minds to go further, so this project lies very close to our hearts. We are happy to work with Alyssa, who ________ represents space travel for the next generation.”

Space is seen as the final frontier, and Horizon ONE brings us one step closer. It shows how far smart travel technology has come, and how far it can ________.

Sadly, the suitcase is still a ________ and Horizon Studio expects the first space range to ________ in 2030.

1.

A．dream

B．reality

C．hope

D．success

2.

A．produced

B．released

C．demonstrated

D．revealed

3.

A．designers

B．scientists

C．pilots

D．astronauts

4.

A．small

B．light

C．large

D．heavy

5.

A．allowing

B．causing

C．forcing

D．forbidding

6.

A．tolerance

B．activity

C．gravity

D．interaction

7.

A．equipped

B．burdened

C．confronted

D．surrounded

8.

A．installment

B．recognition

C．facility

D．instrument

9.

A．give off

B．turn off

C．put off

D．put away

10.

A．traditional

B．new

C．fashionable

D．smart

11.

A．curious

B．dangerous

C．conscious

D．anxious

12.

A．hopelessly

B．aimlessly

C．carelessly

D．fearlessly

13.

A．run

B．go

C．travel

D．stand

14.

A．brand

B．project

C．concept

D．designer

15.

A．depart

B．launch

C．arrive

D．disappear