1 . Cuba’s first all-female umpire(裁判)team is winning praises by umpiring at top-tier baseball games in a sport that is a national obsession on the island and long dominated by men.
Former baseball and softball player Janet Moreno has been the only one for 18 seasons as Cuba’s first top-league female umpire, but was joined by three others a few months ago. “Things are starting to change,” said Moreno, 49, wearing her black garb ahead of a recent game at Havana’s Latinoamericano Stadium. “This is the first time in the Americas that a team of women works the top league of a country.” On the field, Moreno wears dark sunglasses, firm and unflappable as Industriales and Pinar del Rio fight against each other. “The players have shown her great respect,” said Industriales catcher Oscar Valdes. “What matters is not your gender but who you are on the field and your passion for excellence.” The Cuban four, including Miroslava Cumba, Yalili Acosta and Milagros Quinones, are the only such group in global baseball, according to Cesar Valdes, head of rules and officiating for Cuba’s national baseball league. “We wanted to be ahead,” he said. Even in Major League Baseball, the world’s most watched baseball tournament, there has never been a female umpire.
Preparing for another game this week, the four women swapped jokes and said such camaraderie has helped their success. “I stay focused on my work on the field. I blank out what’s going on in the stands,” said Cumba, 43, who spent eight years previously umpiring youth baseball. Baseball is not the only sport becoming more inclusive: Cuba late last year staged its first official female boxing matches since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Moreno, who dreams of someday umpiring the Olympics or World Baseball Classic, jokes that her newfound fame does not mean she must give up her femininity. “When we go out (to umpire)we wear perfume, so that it feels like there is a flower on the field and the flower should not be mistreated,” she said.
1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To explain the situation of baseball in Cuba. |
| B．To inform us of some famous women players in Cuba. |
| C．To introduce the topic of this passage. |
| D．To tell us some well-known baseball matches. |
| A．A kind of clothes. | B．A kind of sports. |
| C．A kind of league. | D．A kind of rules. |
| A．Janet Moreno. | B．Miroslava Cumba. |
| C．Yalili Acosta. | D．Cesar Valdes. |
| A．Moreno has umpired the Olympics. |
| B．Cumba spent eight years in umpiring youth baseball before. |
| C．Oscar Valdes is a player of a baseball team. |
| D．Cesar Valdes is in charge of rules and officiating for Cuba’s national baseball league |
2 . “It’s raining cats and dogs!” Although this phrase isn’t very common in England any more, it clearly shows we don’t always say what we mean. One thing that is often frustrating for language learners is that they understand every word in a sentence and yet the meaning remains unclear - like this sentence that actually means “It’s raining heavily!” However, it’s not just idioms that cause difficulties for people learning English.
The British are often considered to be polite but this can be very confusing for non-native speakers. We often don’t say what we are thinking—in fact we often say the opposite! Here’s an example that will hopefully explain what I mean: “You should come around for tea!”
British people are less open than people from other cultures, so we aren’t as quick to invite people into our homes. This phrase is one of those that we say but often don’t really mean, so when no further details are given, you can probably assume (认为) it was made in the name of politeness! But how does this compare to other countries?
When I lived in India, lots of people would invite me into their homes but I always assumed that they were just being polite. Of course, I was wrong. The invitations were almost always genuine, and people expected me to visit them. In fact, I think I spent more time at other people’s houses than my own!
In England, we often think it’s polite to offer or suggest something even if we don’t actually want to do it, while in other cultures people are more direct. Perhaps if English people just say what they were thinking, things would be a lot easier—especially for non-native speakers!
1. What does the writer mean by mentioning the example “It’s raining cats and dogs!”?| A．It’s time for people to protect these pet animals. |
| B．The weather condition in England is rather awful. |
| C．What British people say is different from what they think. |
| D．It is easy for non-native learner to understand idioms. |
| A．Direct and honest. | B．Too traditional to accept. |
| C．Serious and formal. | D．Difficult to understand. |
| A．Personal. | B．Sincere. |
| C．Informal. | D．Special. |
| A．To encourage people to show politeness. |
| B．To teach people how to avoid misunderstandings. |
| C．To discuss how to learn English idioms effectively. |
| D．To advise people to understand politeness culturally. |
3 . We always put into children’s minds that learning to read is extremely important to their future success. But we don’t put that same urgency(迫切性) on adults, even though a large percentage of American adults have a low reading or writing ability.
Learning those skills requires many levels of support. Take, for example, the three hours every day in a Louisville community center.
Ardo Ahmed and Yurilia Manzanares are among the people sitting in classrooms and listening to teachers. These three hours are about learning English. Yurilia came to the United States from Mexico, and Ardo from Somalia. “Everyone is coming here to learn English, to have the same kind of support as their children,” their teacher Meagan Lamb said.
Literacy(读写能力) among adults, specifically among moms, is a concern that reaches far beyond Louisville, far beyond immigrant communities. A Barbara Bush Foundation study found fewer than half of American adults can read beyond a 6th-grade level. A study supported by the National Institutes of Health stated “a mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children’s future academic(学业的) success.”
“There’s a stigma(耻辱) there,” said Felicia Cumings Smith, the new head of the National Center for Families Learning. “There’s quite a bit of funding that goes into literacy for K-12, but if students are not successful during those schooling years, that all comes to an end.”
These three hours, every day, make a difference. But they’re only possible because the community center where they take place provides childcare while the parents learn English.
The children are learning English, which creates even more stimulus for the parents to learn as well.
“The kids are speaking English in school every day,” Meagan said. “And then they go back home, and little by little Spanish doesn’t feel like their native language.” It’s why, in the last of these three hours, Yurilia and Ardo attend “Parent Time”. It’s where they practice not just the language but how to apply it.
1. What is the example used to mainly explain in Paragraph 3?| A．Adults actively promote their literacy. |
| B．Immigrants’ English literacy is worrying. |
| C．Many programs are aimed at adults’ literacy. |
| D．Teachers improve adults’ literacy in different ways. |
| A．Female illiteracy has affected their work. |
| B．Adult illiteracy is a widespread problem. |
| C．Adult illiteracy exists mainly among immigrants. |
| D．Female illiteracy is more serious than male illiteracy. |
| A．The service provided. |
| B．The flexible class time. |
| C．The support from their family. |
| D．The increasing need for lifelong learning. |
| A．Value. | B．Knowledge. |
| C．Evidence. | D．Encouragement. |
4 . As Torri’ell Norwood drove through St. Petersburg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls quickly gave way to screams. As they approached a crossroads, another car crashed into their car, sending it to hit a tree.
Smoke and fire surged from the car and a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blast! Get out!” Norwood crawled out through the window. Along with two of her friends, she ran for her life.
But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, A’zarria Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons sank in the back seat. She opened the back door and pulled her out. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. “I checked her pulse.” Norwood said to Inside Edition. Nothing. “I put my head against her chest.” No sign of life. “That’s when I started CPR.”
Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But Norwood, who wants to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate just the day before. Looking down at her dying friend, Norwood started pumping Simmons’s chest with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend’s mouth in hope of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. No response. And then, after the 30th compression, Simmons began coughing and gasping for air. The CPR had worked.
Soon, medics arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital, where she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t shocked,” Simmons told CNN. “She is always helping anyhow she can.”
1. What do we know about the car accident?| A．Norwood was disturbed by her friends while driving. |
| B．The car crashed into the tree due to the driver’s carelessness. |
| C．The accident happened not far from a crossroads. |
| D．Norwood helped two of her friends escape at first. |
| A．spring up. | B．blow up. |
| C．roll over. | D．pull over. |
| A．She realized she forgot something important. |
| B．She heard a noise coming from the car. |
| C．She wanted to apply CPR to her friend. |
| D．She failed to find her best friend. |
| A．A Lesson in a Crash. | B．The Breath of Life. |
| C．Trust Between Friends. | D．The Power of Determination |
1. How often do the students learn repair skills in the shop?
| A．Once a week. | B．Three times a week. | C．Once a month. |
| A．The way of using tools. | B．How to fix a flat tire. | C．All the parts of a bike. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Boring. | C．Interesting. |
| A．A student. | B．A director. | C．A teacher. |
6 . Earlier this month, TikTok announced that it will be introducing screen time limits for the accounts of users aged under 18. Children under 13 will require a parent or guardian to type in a password to continue scrolling (滚屏) through their feed, and those aged 13-17 will be asked to set their own passwords when the viewing time goes beyond the limit.
Studies suggest that 30 minutes may be the sweet spot for social media use, where users are able to stay connected with friends and family and view entertainment. However, many other studies show that overly-heavy social media use can lead to a lot of problems, such as physical issues and depression.
By suggesting 100 minutes as a hard line where a password is required to be created by the user, TikTok is gradually making the standards clear as to what may be regarded as problematic social media habit in young people. Although these passwords for older teenagers can obviously be bypassed, they are a step in the right direction in encouraging children to use social media responsibly.
Also, parents who own their own TikTok accounts will be able to link with their children’s accounts, gaining additional, such as muting notifications (消息免打扰) and customizing time limits for different days in the week.
Algorithms (算法) that could tell parents if the child has been viewing dangerous material could soon be put into use. However, the difficulty in this is the amount of content available on the internet.
Ultimately, apps such as TikTok and Instagram will need to continue introducing more measures to improve online safety for children.
Lawmakers around the world are paying close attention to the effect social media has on the young, meaning that the development of new tools to improve its use will no doubt take place soon if big tech wishes to avoid additional legal issues.
1. Why did TikTok introduce screen time limits for teenagers?| A．To protect their privacy. |
| B．To develop their self-control. |
| C．To improve family relationship. |
| D．To prevent overuse of social media. |
| A．Favourable. | B．Objective. | C．Concerned. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Type in a password to stop the use. |
| B．Send a link to the children’s account. |
| C．Set time limits through their own account. |
| D．Use algorithms to remove dangerous content. |
| A．Its effects on the young. | B．Legal pressure on its improvement. |
| C．Its application to lawmaking. | D．Solutions to its technological issues. |
7 . A growing number of people are using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) program, to create books for sale. Although sales have so far been slow, human writers are worried that ChatGPT-created books might hurt the writing and publishing industry.
Until recently, Brett Schickler never imagined he could be a published author. But after learning about the ChatGPT AI program, Schickler decided that he had a good chance.
“The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible,” said Schickler, a salesman in Rochester, New York. “I thought ‘I can do this.’”
Using the AI software, Schickler created a 30-page illustrated children’s e-book in a few hours. He offered it for sale in January through Amazon’s self-publishing department. The e-book, which is named The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing, has made Schickler less than $100.
While that may not sound like much, it is enough to make him want to create other books using the software. “I could see people making a whole career out of this,” said Schickler.
There were over 200 e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store as of mid-February that say ChatGPT is a writer or co-writer. And the number is rising daily. But because of the nature of ChatGPT and the fact that many writers didn’t concede that they had used it, it is nearly impossible to get a full count of how many e-books may have been written by AI.
Some professional writers are becoming worried about the effects that ChatGPT could have on the book publishing industry. Mary Rasenberger is the executive director of the Authors Guild, a writer’s group. She said, “This is something we really need to be worried about — these books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work.”
1. What can we learn from Schickler’s story?| A．He has always dreamed of becoming a writer. |
| B．ChatGPT is making writing easier than before. |
| C．ChatGPT has produced more books than humans. |
| D．He plans to make a whole career out of writing. |
| A．Promise. | B．Remember. | C．Admit. | D．Appreciate. |
| A．They may lose their job. |
| B．ChatGPT will reduce their creativity. |
| C．People will lose interest in reading books. |
| D．People will not take writing seriously. |
| A．ChatGPT Has Become Friends of Authors |
| B．More People Have Taken Up Writing as a Career |
| C．AI Technology Is Controlling the Publishing Industry |
| D．More People Use ChatGPT to Create and Publish Books |
词数：100左右。
参考词汇：课后服务 after- class service 优点 advantage 缺点 disadvantage
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . “What will you do if a person you don’t know wants to give you a ride?” I asked my children. “What if he says Mom is hurt, and you have to come to the hospital with him?” I knew they pretended to listen to me, because I interrupted their TV time.
Here I also want to ask some parents, “Have you ever told your children how to protect themselves?” If you haven’t, I would like to give you four words to help you teach your children how to protect themselves.
No! If a stranger walks to the children, they should keep their distance from the stranger. If the stranger keeps walking to them in a terrible manner, they should run quickly and shout “No!” as loudly as possible.
Go! If the shout does not change the situation, they should run as quickly as possible to a safe place. It is helpful for children to know some safe places such as schools, restaurants and gas stations.
Yell! It means that the children should shout loudly. They can yell out, “Stranger!”
Call! Once they get to a safe place, they should call their parents, teachers or other persons they trust.
1. The underlined word “pretend” means in Chinese.| A．故意 | B．假装 | C．喜欢 | D．讨厌 |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．a teacher | B．a policeman | C．a mother | D．a doctor |
| A．In a travel guide. | B．In an ad. |
| C．In a storybook. | D．In a newspaper. |
10 . We always hear that texting, which refers to the communicative practice of sending brief messages on cell phones or other personal digital devices, is a disaster. The idea is that texting leads to the fall of writing ability among young people because it is full of informal language. As a matter of fact, it isn’t true. In order to see that texting is actually a whole new way of writing that young people are developing, we have to look at what language really is.
Basically, if we think about language, it has existed(存在)for centuries, and it appears as speech. W. talked. That’s what we’re probably genetically determined. That’s how we use language most. Writing is something that came along much later. But writing has its advantage, When you write, you can make the content smooth, colorful and elegant with language, which is much less likely if you’re just talking. It is because writing is a conscious(有意识的)process and you can look backwards.
Informal speech is something quite different. Linguists have actually shown that when we’re speaking informally in an unmonitored way, we tend to speak in words 7 to 10 as a group. You’ll notice this if you ever have an occasion for recording yourself or a group of people talking. That’s what speech is like. Speech is much looser and less reflective(反思的)-very different from writing.
Texting is a new way of writing, because texters use writing skills before texting. People will process information in more creative uses of language during texting. When they use informal language in their texts, many understand there are different communicative situations. They try shortening language for correct spelling of a word or a phrase. Texting also allows texters much time to form their thoughts and provides many opportunities for them to revise their ideas Moreover, texting positively exercises texters’ rhetorical(修醇的)skills. Since texts are written in various styles, people must know how to match the style of a text with its message.
Now we have an overall understanding of texting.
1. How does writing differ from speech?| A．It came before talking. | B．It is an unconscious process. |
| C．Its style is less strict. | D．It can be improved again and again. |
| A．Stricter. | B．Richer. | C．Freer. | D．Harder. |
| A．What is speech exactly. |
| B．How texters learn to write. |
| C．How texters send message successfully. |
| D．The relationship between writing and texting. |
| A．It is another form of writing. | B．It is less reflective. |
| C．It is the same as speaking. | D．It is a disaster. |
