1 . Voluntourism — a new trend (趋势) of volunteer tourism

Have you ever thought about going abroad to volunteer? Nowadays there’s a trend that more and more people are interested in volunteer tourism.

Making a difference in a country less lucky than your own is seen by most as a really good thing to do. More and more volunteers are seeking meaning and a sense of purpose in life. “They use their skills to help on projects abroad, such as building hospitals, teaching English in schools, looking after children in orphanages (孤儿院), etc.”

However, some people are against this so-called “voluntourism”. Volunteers take away jobs from locals who would have otherwise done that work. Yes, sometimes volunteers have specific knowledge which can benefit communities, such as IT skills or speaking English as a native language. But sometimes they are put to work on construction sites (建筑工地), for example, depriving (使失去) locals of a job on project.

Besides, many young travelers are untrained for the role. This could become a health and safety problem on construction sites or when caring for children. I volunteered myself last year in a library and school in Ghana. I helped to reshelve books, talked to the librarian about the running of the library and played games with the children. However, I’m not an experienced teacher or librarian, and I felt like the locals were far too trusting of my opinions and decisions, just because I come from a more developed country.

Furthermore, volunteer tourism is seen by some as just that-an industry, a way for companies to make money. About $2 billion was spent by volunteers in 2015.Surely it would be better if this money were directly given to places where it is needed the most. Instead, most of the money is going to tourism companies, while local communities only see a very small amount of it. I met some Danish girls who had paid €7,000 each to a company to volunteer at an orphanage, but very little was spent on the orphanage itself.

I think volunteering abroad helps us develop as a person, and is a shining addition to a CV. Volunteer projects are usually very valuable for communities, but often good for those who take part in voluntary work just as much, if not more, as those they are helping.

1. What do we learn about volunteers working abroad?

A．They have no safety problems.

B．They may cause the locals out of job.

C．They become less willing to be volunteers.

D．They would like to work in richer countries.

2. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Volunteer tourism has become an industry.

B．Volunteers spend lots of money helping with the charity work.

C．Some volunteer travelers are very experienced and suitable for the role.

D．Volunteer tourism provides locals with more and more job opportunities.

3. What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Voluntourism offers volunteers good jobs.

B．Volunteering gives a lot to poor countries.

C．Voluntourism brings volunteers advantages.

D．The quality of volunteering needs improving.

4. Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?
I：Introduction            P：Point             Sp：Sub-point (次要点)        c：Conclusion

A．

B．

C．

D．

2 . When you get in a car, you expect it will have functioning brakes. When you pick up medicine at the drugstore, you expect it won’t be polluted. But it wasn’t always like this. The safety of these products was terrible when they first came to market. It took much research and regulation to figure out how users can enjoy the benefits of these products without getting harmed.     1    

Social media risks are everywhere. The dangers that algorithms designed to maximize attention represent to teens have become impossible to ignore. Other product design elements, often called “dark patterns,” designed to keep people using for longer, also appear to tip young users into social media overuse.     2     They say it’s their users’ fault for engaging with harmful content in the first place, even if those users are children or the content is financial trickery. They also claim to be defending free speech.

    3     Under the Digital Services Act, which came into effect in Europe this year, platforms are required to take action to stop the spread of illegal content and can be fined up to 6 percent of their global incomes if they don’t do so. If this law is enforced, maintaining the safety of their algorithms and networks will be the most financially sound decision for platforms to make.

Despite these efforts, two things are clear. First, online safety problems are leading to real, offline suffering. Second, social media companies can’t, or won’t, solve these safety problems on their own.     4       Even safety issues like cyberbullying that we thought were solved can pop right back up. As our society moves online to an ever-greater degree, the idea that anyone, even teens, can just “stay off social media” becomes less and less realistic.     5    

A．And those problems aren’t going away.

B．The current issues aren’t really about offline suffering.

C．Platforms already have systems to remove violent or harmful content.

D．Similarly, social media needs product safety standards to keep users safe.

E．It’s time we should require social media to take safety seriously, for everyone’s sake.

F．Internet platforms, however, have shifted blame on the consumers whenever criticized.

G．Some authorities are taking steps to hold social media platforms accountable for the content.

3 . Sunday evening, October 30, 1938, was peaceful in New York City. Some people were returning home from a trip to the countryside, and others were sitting down to dinner. In those days, televisions were not very common. Most people listened to the radio for news and entertainment.

At eight o’clock that evening, there was a concert of dance music, but Suddenly, the programme was cut off by a news report: a large spaceship had landed in a field and an army of Martians (火星人) was moving towards New York City and then the radio went silent.

People felt worried. Some drove out of the city as quickly as possible, but soon the roads were crowded with cars. Some people put wet towels on their faces because they thought there was a gas attack. In New Jersey, some farmers went out with guns. Although it was dark, they found a large cylinder (圆柱体) standing in a field, and, thinking it was the Martian spaceship, the shot at it many times.

Many people were so frightened that they did not hear the next announcement on the radio: “Ladies and gentlemen, you are listening to a radio play called The War of the Worlds.”

A message was sent to police stations that there was no real Martian attack, and the police Offices soon returned calm to New York City.

Many people were very angry that they had been fooled by the play, and complained to the radio station. But what about the spaceship that the farmers found in the field? The next morning, they found that they had damaged a large water tank (罐)!

1. According to the news report, ___________.

A．a Martian spaceship had landed	B．a spaceship was found at the airport
C．there would be a concert that evening	D．there was a gas attack in New York City

2. The road was crowded with cars because ___________.

A．many people wanted to see the Martians

B．the Martian army was standing in the way

C．people were trying to get home from work

D．many people were trying to leave New York City

3. Who went out in the fields with guns to fight the Martians?

A．Policemen.

B．Firemen.

C．Dancers.

D．Farmers.

4. What can we learn about the radio station from the article?

A．it was fooled by a news reporter.

B．It played a joke on the listeners.

C．It called the police to catch the Martians.

D．It often announced the news about spaceships.

4 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

For brands to succeed, they must grasp and adapt to evolving consumer taste. Over the past decade, China     1    (witness) a shift in consumer behavior marked by the rise of guochao, a trend emphasizing nationalistic branding. Chinese consumers displayed a strong     2    (prefer) for locally-made products. Therefore, it’s crucial for brands to genuinely comprehend and honor local customs, traditions, and values. While integrating Chinese elements into marketing strategies can be effective, it should be handled thoughtfully     3    (avoid) cultural insensitivity.

5 . Have we reached the peak of the culture war? Looking at my social media feeds, it seems that polarised thinking and misinformation have never been more common. How am I supposed to feel when users I once admired now draw on questionable evidence to support their beliefs?

Perhaps it is time for us all to adopt a little “existential humility”. I came across this idea in a paper by Jeffrey Greenat Virginia from Common Wealth University and his colleagues. They build on a decade of research examining the benefits of “intellectual humility” more generally — our ability to recognise the errors in our judgement and remain aware of the limits of our knowledge.

You can get a flavour of this research by rating your agreement with the following statements, ranging from 1 (not at all like me) to 5 (very like me): I question my own opinions because they could be wrong; I recognise the value in opinions that are different from my own; in the face of conflicting evidence, I am open to changing my opinions.

People who score highly on this assessment are less likely to form knee-jerk reactions on a topic, and they find it easier to consider the strengths or weaknesses of a logical argument. They are less likely to be influenced by misinformation, since they tend to read the article in full, investigate the sources of a news story and compare its reporting to other statements, before coming to a strong conclusion about its truth.

Developing “intellectual humility” would be an excellent idea in all fields, but certain situations may make it particularly difficult to achieve. Greenat points out that some beliefs are so central to our identity that any challenge can activate an existential crisis, as if our whole world view and meaning in life are under threat. As a result, we become more insistent in our opinions and seek any way to protect them. This may reduce some of our feelings of uncertainty, but it comes at the cost of more analytical thinking.

For these reasons, Greenat defines “existential humility” as the capacity to entertain the thought of another world view without becoming so defensive and closed-minded. So how could we achieve it? This will be the subject of future research, but the emotion of awe (a feeling of great respect and admiration) may offer one possibility. One study found that watching awe-inspiring videos about space and the universe led to humbler thinking, including a greater capacity to admit weaknesses.

Perhaps we could all benefit from interrupting our despair with awe-inspiring content. At the very least, we can try to question our preconceptions before offering our views on social media and be a little less ready to criticize when others disagree.

1. Regarding the culture war on social media, the author is _______.

A．embarrassed

B．concerned

C．panicked

D．stressed

2. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Existential humility reduces the threat to identity.

B．People with intellectual humility tend to jump to conclusions.

C．Awe could promote existential humility by encouraging modest thinking.

D．The higher you score on the assessment, the more you stick to your values.

3. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Overcome an Existential Crisis	B．Show a Little Humility
C．The Path to Screening Information	D．The Approach to Achieving Humility

6 . “Find your passion!” When discussing future career options or selecting a major in college, your parents often say this. The very expression is meant to inspire. But is it good advice?

“Finding” a passion implies that it already exists and is simply waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, this idea is not what science tells us.     1    

To study this, researchers use a framework of   “fixed” and “growth” mindsets.They argue that encouraging people to “find” their passion may cause them to eventually believe that interests and passions are inborn and relatively unchangeable.     2     In contrast, people who view interests and passions as developed have a growth mindset of interest.

Researchers have revealed that a fixed mindset of interest can decrease creativity. If people believe they are limited to only a few inborn interests and, in consequence, do not explore other areas, they may miss seeing important connections across domains.     3    

Evidently, people can do a lot to embrace a growth mindset of interest. First, realize that your interests and passions aren’t pre-existing. Take an active role in developing your passions. Second, practise positive self-talk. When you lack interest in a new task, pay attention to your inner dialogue.     4    For example, change “I’m not interested in this” to “I’m not interested in this yet, but I know that interest can develop with time and engagement.”

    5    But a growth mindset of interest will help you remain open and curious. The science tells us we should work toward loving what we do. We might become more creative and resilient as a result.

A．So can a growth mindset of interest be taught?

B．Instead passions, like interests, are developed.

C．People who think this have a fixed mindset of interest.

D．Of course, not every activity will become a burning passion.

E．As such,seeing interests as fixed limits their creative potential.

F．Don’t expect that pursuing new interests will always be easy or exciting.

G．Replace self-critical thoughts with positive ones that encourage growth and learning.

7 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词。在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The use of avatars has caused a few concerns. Some users worry that they are spending so much time in virtual worlds     1     they are becoming afraid of meeting people in the real world. The use of several avatars can also be a risk, as people can use avatars to cheat others online.    2    , other users view avatars in a more positive light. They look forward to a time when their avatar will act like a real person and travel around bigger,    3    (exciting) virtual worlds.