1 . Jennifer Destefano answered a call from a number she did not recognize. “Mom, I messed up,” her daughter’s voice told her, crying. “These bad men have me.” A man went on to demand money, or he would drug her daughter and leave her in Mexico. But while she kept him on the phone, friends managed to reach her daughter, only to discover that she was, in fact, free and well on a skiing trip in Arizona. The voice used on the phone was a fake.
Voice cloning’s influences will be huge. For several years, customers have been able to identify themselves over the phone to their bank and other companies using their voice. Not even a gifted mimic (巧于模仿的人) could fool the detection system. But the arrival of cloning will force adaptation in order to prevent cheating.
Creative industries could face the impact too. Voice actors’ skills, trained over a lifetime, can be copied in seconds. But some actors may, in fact, find cloning congenial. Val Kilmer, who has lost much of his voice to throat cancer, was delighted to have his voice restored for “Top Gun: Maverick”.
Another industry that will have to come to cope with the rise of clones is journalism. Now who will trust a story based on an audio clip (片段)? Slightly easier to manage might be the false positives: recordings claiming to be someone but which are fakes. The opposite problem — the false negatives — will appear when public figures deny real recordings. Proving that a clip is genuine is bard, perhaps even impossible. Journalists will need to show how they obtained and stored audio files.
The term “fake news” had existed long before voice cloning. Now, ever more people caught in a crime are likely to defend themselves. “It wasn’t me.” And many people will have even more reason to believe them.
1. What does Jennifer Destefano’s experience suggest?| A．The high frequency of fake news. | B．The rising crime rate in Mexico. |
| C．The danger of voice-cloning technology. | D．The value of bravery in an emergency. |
| A．illegal | B．embarrassing | C．striking | D．agreeable |
| A．Late Beetles’ songs have been restored by voice cloning. |
| B．A pop star claims a real recording untrue. |
| C．Journalists prove their reports with audio clips. |
| D．The police identify a criminal through voice. |
| A．Voice cloning is increasingly used in journalism |
| B．Voice cloning is challenging our traditional ideas |
| C．Voice cloning is impacting different aspects of our life |
| D．Voice cloning is re-establishing life styles for the better |
| A．She stayed at home. | B．She went to a party. | C．She saw a movie. |
Recently, a group of children from Nanning, Guangxi, wearing orange down jackets and blue pants, took
Each day, their attractive presence is trending on
To express gratitude for the hospitality (好客) received in Heilongjiang, a lot of tangerines from Lipu of Guangxi
4 . Making travel a surprise
Most people plan their vacations well in advance, including where they are going.
Earlier this year, mystery box purchases surged (激增) among young American people. Usually, travelers buy a mystery box at a low price—usually 100 or 200 dollars—and then receive several destination options to choose from.
A citizen named Carrie is eager to go on a mystery box trip, stating that travelling alone usually costs too much and that too many people don’t know where to go. ”However, the mystery box directly offers me a few destinations, which is wonderful and cheap,“ Carrie said.
Gary, 16, has turned his eagerness to go on a mystery box trip into a reality.
| A．It is the state capital of Texas |
| B．Tourism is a major source of income for the area |
| C．After the destination is decided, their trip begins |
| D．But some like the thrill of not knowing where they will end up |
| E．Months ago, he traveled with a group of friends to Austin in Texas |
| F．Travel mystery boxes bring excitement to many less popular destinations |
| G．But even so, a large number of people feel disappointed with travel mystery boxes |
5 . In a world that often feels fast-paced and restrained to routines, the desire for van (房车) life and mobile living has captured the hearts of many seeking an alternative lifestyle.
Liberation from Materialism
The confined space of a van encourages a minimalist lifestyle, where experiences are valued over possessions.
Exploration and Flexibility
The ability to follow adventure wherever it takes you is one of the most amazing aspects of living in a van. You can choose to wake up at dawn over the ocean one day and find yourself in a forested mountainside the next. Living in a van frequently involves being close to the outdoors surrounded by the beauty of nature.
Minimal Ecological Footprint
Through the open road, the beauty of nature, and the friendship of fellow adventurers, van life presents a unique avenue for enriching the human experience.
| A．It’s thrilling to travel the world. |
| B．Many van lifers tend to go green. |
| C．Living in a van can often be more cost-effective. |
| D．They’ll find a sense of freedom of constant exploration. |
| E．The natural world becomes an essential part of your daily life |
| F．Better yet, it offers a way to reconnect with the essence of living. |
| G．The concept of van life offers benefits beyond just a change of scenery. |
6 . If you have a chance to go to Finland(芬兰), you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with the money of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to do, and then walk off without paying. The driver would not show the least sign of being nervous and worried.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter. With such a relaxing check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to get the meals free.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the pay. From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.
With so much carelessness in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”(小便宜). But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have done their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest record of the exact hours they put in.
As you can see, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”. In a society of such high moral(道德) practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?
1. We can learn from the second paragraph that _______ in Finland.| A．all the taxis are very inexpensive and comfortable |
| B．passengers only pay two US dollars for a taxi ride |
| C．it’s normal for passengers to pay for the drivers late |
| D．taxi drivers don’t know the ways in city very well |
| A．hotel guests often get meals free with their friends outside |
| B．the bosses pay the workers according to their performance |
| C．people are usually not so smart or careful in daily life |
| D．the workers are always honest with their working hours |
| A．honest | B．gentle | C．attractive | D．intelligent |
| A．You can’t judge a book by its cover. | B．Morality is the golden chain of society. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
7 . Now many people smoke.
Peer (同龄人) pressure plays an important part. Many children start smoking because their friends have tried it or smoke themselves. Those children may have started as they grow up in an environment where their parents, grandparents and older relatives smoke.
Some children may begin to smoke if they have low self－esteem (自尊). Smoking may help them to make friends.
Some children say that they smoke to appear older and more like grown－ups, especially if they are surrounded by young adults who smoke.
Whatever the reason that a teenager has for starting to smoke, it is important to remember that smoking is harmful.
| A．They think it cool to smoke. |
| B．There are several reasons as to why they do that. |
| C．So they smoke in order to look and act like them. |
| D．If they smoke, they will be accepted by their peers. |
| E．Most smokers took up the habit in their early or mid－teens. |
| F．Some movies and TV shows encourage teenagers to smoke. |
| G．Some teenagers do that because their favourite star smokes. |
You’re walking in the street and a thought occurs: “I should check my phone.” Then your eyes focus
Most of us do this kind of distracted walking in our daily life, which
In fact, walking is not as easy as we think. We must concentrate on many
Why do we take the risk? Scientists say it might be a form of addictive (上瘾的)
9 . When Gayle Macdonald reached the summit (顶峰) in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountain range earlier this year, she didn’t just stop and take in the moment. Instead, she did what a great many people would do—she looked for the best spot to take a selfie (自拍) for her social media accounts. Gayle even admitted that she moved dangerously close to the edge while doing so. It was after that moment that she decided to quit social media.
“I was like ‘this has got to stop,’ ” recalls Gayle. “Taking a photo used to be the first thing I thought about when I got out of the car. Thinking all the time about creating content and worrying about what to say, were taking up too much head space and getting me down.”
Social media can be addictive for many reasons, the main one being that it is a form of escapism, especially for the younger generation. It’s simply a way of connecting without connection, and it’s a 24/7 comfort blanket of company for many. For many of us, most of our time is spent on social media. One global study found that the average person spends 2 hours and 29 minutes per day on such apps and websites. While some people might think that this is a bad habit that they should cut down on, for others it’s an actual addiction that they need help to overcome.
Hilda Burke, a psychotherapist (心理治疗师), says there’s now more widespread awareness about how much time people are spending on social media. “This is now easily to figure up, as most phones show you the breakdown of how you’re spending your time online,” she says. “Seeing how it all adds up can serve as a powerful wake-up call.” She advises that people quitting social media should let all their friends know, so they don’t continue to try to contact you via the sites.
Burke welcomes the fact that more people are quitting social media. It’s likely that we’re eventually starting to realize the damage it can cause to our relationships, mental health and our experience of real-world moments.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By providing research results. | B．By describing a process. |
| C．By making a comparison. | D．By giving an example. |
| A．Energy-consuming. | B．Fashionable. | C．Inspiring. | D．Eye-catching. |
| A．In paragraph 2. | B．In paragraph 3. | C．In paragraph 4. | D．In paragraph 5. |
| A．Teenagers Are Addicted To Social Media |
| B．People Quit Using Social Media To Post Selfies |
| C．There Is Really More To Life Than Posting Selfies |
| D．Social Media Affects Physical And Mental Health |
10 . Kindness and kids just seem to go hand in hand. But 62% of more than 2, 600 participants in the NBC News State of Kindness Poll believe that today’s kids are less kind than those in the past. Women (66%) feel about this kindness fall more strongly than men (58%). Most of the participants who feel that way (77%) thank parents caused the seeming lack of kindness among today’s children, with a few thinking that society, schools, or friends caused it.
At the same time, Americans say they don’t put kindness first when it comes to teaching kids values. Among all participants, honesty is taught more than kindness as well as other things like courage, leadership and storing work ethic (道德). But the younger generation—those aged 18～24—think highly of kindness rules. They choose kindness by 10% over honesty as the most important quality to teach kids.
The question of whether kindness is learned or taught—or somewhere in between—causes different opinions. According to the study, Americans have different opinions on whether kindness in something one is born with or needs to be learned and nurtured over time. Slightly more than half (52%) of the participants believe that all of us are born with the ability to show kindness, while 48% believe kindness must be developed.
Parenthood (父母身份) makes a difference to your thoughts on the causes of kindness. Those without kids (56%) are more likely to think that people are born to be kind, while 50% of the participants with kids think kindness is developed.
Also, 51% of dads and 54% of men with no kids believe kindness is something time is born with. Slightly more than half of the moms say kindness must be learned, while 48% believe it is what one is born with.
1. What do participants aged 18～24 consider the most important for kids?| A．Honesty. | B．Leadership. | C．Kindness. | D．Courage. |
| A．kept | B．developed | C．replaced | D．protected |
| A．48% | B．51% | C．52% | D．54% |
| A．Causes of today’s kids being less kind. |
| B．The important qualities of today’s kids. |
| C．Different people’s opinion’s on kindness. |
| D．Findings of research on today’s kids’ kindness. |
