1. What does Jim like?
| A．Antiques. | B．Chinese culture. | C．Valuable paintings. |
| A．They used Jim’s key. |
| B．They broke the window. |
| C．They knocked at the door. |
| A．Jim’s watch. | B．Jim’s phone. | C．Jim’s iPad. |
| A．Jim. | B．David. | C．Jack. |
2 . Norwood was driving last February. The laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams — another car T-boned (T形撞击) them, sending their car
Shaken, but otherwise OK, she crawled out through the window. With two of her friends, who’d also managed to
But halfway, she realized that Simmons wasn’t with them.
Had the accident happened earlier, she might not have known what to do. But Norwood, who wants to pursue a
| A．taking | B．sailing | C．putting | D．looking |
| A．crashed | B．broke | C．turned | D．changed |
| A．enjoy | B．energize | C．employ | D．free |
| A．fortune | B．car | C．life | D．fellow |
| A．Desperately | B．Innocently | C．Carefully | D．Luckily |
| A．silent | B．frozen | C．unconscious | D．clumsy |
| A．land | B．hospital | C．comfort | D．safety |
| A．controlled | B．checked | C．adjusted | D．observed |
| A．option | B．significance | C．way | D．sign |
| A．potential | B．career | C．trend | D．belief |
| A．trained | B．devoted | C．entered | D．competed |
| A．staring | B．feeding | C．breathing | D．whispering |
| A．wonder | B．problem | C．doubt | D．response |
| A．rescued | B．rushed | C．examined | D．guaranteed |
| A．astonished | B．embarrassed | C．confused | D．injured |
3 . Will your job be done by a robot in the future? Bank of England economist s predict that almost half of all UK jobs are under threat of automation. But could even the admired profession of teaching soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
At first glance, teaching might seem impossible to be replaced by robots. Teachers use a range of soft skills that machines find hard to copy exactly. They judge pupils’ needs and tailor feedback accordingly. They adapt materials to make them more engaging and effective. And they provide kind care: looking out for students who drop behind or disturb the class.
Despite that, some believe the future of education will be technological. Futurist Thomas Frey, from Business Insider magazine, predicts that “by 2030 the largest company on the internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven’t heard of yet.”
He thinks that ‘bots’— online robot teachers will make education so efficient that students will be able to compress (压缩) an entire undergraduate degree into six months of learning. A bot learns what your “idiosyncrasies” “interests” and “reference points” are, “and it figures out how to teach you in a faster and faster way over time,” according to Frey.
Whether or not such incredible speeds will be reached over the last decade, there has been a huge increase in online learning platforms. Companies such as Udemy and Khan Academy produce courses that allow millions to learn at home for free at their own pace. But there are limitations. Without the face-to-face inspiration of a classroom environment, the majority of students fail to complete online courses. How to keep motivation to learn is one more skill that online teachers will need to master.
Indeed, Frey admits there is some way to go: “Nobody has quite cracked the code for the future of education.” What do teachers themselves think about this? Professor Donald Clark from Derby University in the UK thinks that we should accept change, even though people will lose their jobs.
1. What’s the second paragraph mainly about?| A．Teaching by robots can be replaced. | B．The advantages of face-to-face teaching. |
| C．Human teachers will be replaced by robots. | D．The potential of the electronic educators. |
| A．Personalities. | B．Senses. | C．Nationalities. | D．Families. |
| A．To tell how online learning is progressing. | B．To show the significance of online learning. |
| C．To explain people how online learning works. | D．To suggest the shortcomings of online learning. |
| A．How robots will change in the future. | B．How artificial intelligence will destroy jobs. |
| C．How educators will meet the future challenge. | D．How electronic educators will lose their jobs. |
4 . In Sweden, many teachers have been putting emphasis (强调) on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.
The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to experts questioning whether Sweden’s comprehensive (全面的) digitalised approach to education had led to a fall in basic skills.
Sweden’s minister for schools, Lotta Edholm, is one of the biggest critics (批评者) of the comprehensive acceptance of technology. “Sweden’s students need more textbooks,” he said, “Physical books are important for student learning.”
Although Sweden’s students score above the European average for reading ability, an international assessment of fourth-grade reading levels, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), showed a drop among Sweden’s children between 2016 and 2021. In 2021, Swedish fourth graders averaged 544 points, a drop from the 555 average in 2016.
This may suggest a growing number of immigrant (移民) students who don’t speak Swedish as their first language, but overuse of screens during school lessons may cause youngsters to fall behind in subjects, education experts say.
The rapid adoption (采用) of digital learning tools also has drawn concern from UNESCO. In a report published in August, UNESCO issued a call for proper use of technology in education. The report calls countries to speed up Internet connections at schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be used in a way that never takes the place of in-person, teacher-led instruction.
In the Swedish capital, Stockholm, Liveon Palmer, a third grader at Djurgardsskolan elementary school, agreed with the idea of spending more school hours offline. “I like writing more in school, like on paper, because it just feels better,” he said.
1. According to many teachers in Sweden, how should technology be used?| A．It should be used less in education. |
| B．Digital devices should be better used. |
| C．Teaching equipment should be updated or replaced. |
| D．More importance of it should be attached to education. |
| A．It’s higher than in the past. |
| B．It’s above the world average. |
| C．It tends to fall in recent years. |
| D．It scores the highest in Europe. |
| A．Avoid online safety risks. |
| B．Improve school networking. |
| C．Focus on face-to-face communication. |
| D．Carry on teacher-centered instruction. |
| A．They demand to spend more time offline independently. |
| B．They would use physical books rather than digital tools. |
| C．They would like to study offline when they are at home. |
| D．They prefer to stay offline to maintain healthy relationships. |
Many parents don’t know how much exercise their children need to do every day to stay
The Youth Sport Trust leader, Ali Oliver said, “We have seen a drop in young people’s physical activity in recent
Meanwhile, figures from Sport England show only 17.5% of children are doing sports continuously. There is also a
This week thousands of people will get together
Digitalization,
However, experts noted that too much social media use is known to have a negative influence
The results of the study
Participants who replaced 30 minutes of social media with exercise every day for two weeks
“This shows us how vital it is
7 . Leah Brown aged 36 fell several hundred feet from Oregon’s highest mountain right before the eyes of a group of volunteer rescue workers who rushed to her aid and helped save her life.
The woman was coming down a popular path (小路) on Mt. Hood, about 70 miles east of Portland, on Saturday morning, according to the local police. Mt. Hood is the highest in Oregon, standing at around11.240 feet.
The fall was seen by members of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR), a volunteer organization focused on helping people in mountainous areas. The group called 911 and rushed to the woman, providing medical care. They helped keep the woman warm for seven hours as the police worked to get her off the mountain safely. Finally, the woman was evacuated (转移) to a parking lot at 9:30 pm and taken to a hospital.
The climber, Leah Brown, said she didn’t know what caused her fall. “I can only guess it was either an ice tool or a crampon (冰爪) that didn’t land and stick like it should have, so I became detached from the mountain,” Brown said. “The thing I’d like to most stress is my appreciation for the members of PMR who evacuated me and took good care of me the whole time,” Brown added. “They saved my life. ”
In a statement after the rescue, PMR warned of the dangerous winter conditions at the mountain. “The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the conditions tend to be much steeper. Climbing the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult,” the group said.
1. What happened to Brown on Saturday morning?| A．She lost her way in a forest. | B．She hurt her eye unexpectedly. |
| C．She failed to call her family. | D．She fell down on a downhill path. |
| A．Different. | B．Hidden. | C．Separated. | D．Tired. |
| A．Thankful. | B．Regretful. | C．Surprised. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Climbing requires teamwork. | B．Climbing in winter is too risky. |
| C．We must remain positive in hard times. | D．We can admire the view on sunny days. |
8 . Walking in the city is very different from walking in the park. A small psychology study suggests urban(城市的) environments can slow your step and possibly increase your mental load. A walk through nature, on the other hand, appears to ease your mind and quicken your pace. The findings show that natural settings may potentially reduce cognitive (认知的)tiredness and improve reaction times straight away. The study, which includes two experiments with two different approaches, was conducted among 65 university students in the lab.
The first of the two experiments in the new study focused on people’s way of walking and cognitive load. During this trial, participants were fitted with sensors and a dozen motion control cameras were set up to watch them repeatedly walk down a 15-metre room at their natural speed. The wall opposite them showed an image of either a nature scene or a city scene. After each walk, participants were asked to rate their feelings of discomfort in the visual environment. On the whole, when walking in city settings, people reported more discomfort and they walked at a slower pace, indicating a higher cognitive load.
The second experiment dug into some of the higher-level cognitive processes that might be at play. In the trial, participants were asked to distinguish between basic visual shapes on the computer while also in the presence of a natural or urban image(the same ones from the first experiment). Measuring reaction times in both natural and urban settings, the team found results to support their idea. In urban environments, participants were slower in distinguishing between simple shapes. The authors think this is because urban environments are more distracting(令人分心的) for our brains and take longer to process, but more research is needed to prove that idea.
1. How were the experiments conducted mainly?| A．By comparing. | B．By giving data. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By explaining facts. |
| A．It can make us feel relaxed and react quickly. | B．It can activate our thinking and speed up our step. |
| C．It can make us less tired and improve our memory. | D．It can make us become more focused and creative. |
| A．They had a lower cognitive load. | B．They had to slow down their pace. |
| C．They couldn’t concentrate properly. | D．They felt uncomfortable after walking. |
| A．Urban environment makes us more concentrated. | B．People’s feelings are decided by their pace of walking. |
| C．The result of the experiments is widely appreciated. | D．People tend to get tired more easily walking in the city. |
9 . Are you a moviegoer? If so, then there’s no better place to watch something than on the big screen at the cinema. You enter the dark hall and take your seat, ready to be entertained.
Over the last few years, cinemas have seen a resurgence (复兴). Customers have been attracted by comfortable seats, and lots of choice of things to watch. Multiplexes (多放映厅影院) can screen up to twenty films at the same time, catering for all different tastes.
One answer to that question is convenience. Rather than going out, it’s so much easier to stay in and watch a movie on a high-definition TV screen via a streaming service.
| A．This isn’t great news for cinemas. |
| B．There’s plenty of choice, and it’s relatively cheap. |
| C．This has put the future of cinemas under the spotlight. |
| D．The idea of waiting to make your movies more profitable doesn’t make sense. |
| E．But recently, so new cinemas have had to close because of reduced ticket sales. |
| F．In addition, 3D and even 4D movies can give the audience an extra immersive experience. |
| G．But while you engage yourself in some movie magic, many others are now getting their film fix at home. |
10 . One of the most curious features of the modern world is the manner in which design has been widely transformed into something meaningless. But I want to argue design should be the crucial block on which the human environment is shaped and constructed for the betterment and delight of all.
Not surprisingly, in the absence of widespread agreement about its significance and value, much confusion surrounds design practice. In some subject areas, authors can assume common ground with readers. Other subject areas can be so difficult that no such mutual understanding exists.
Design sits uncomfortably between these two extremes. As a word it is common enough, but it is full of disharmony, has innumerable manifestations (表现), and lacks boundaries that give clarity and definition. As a practice, design generates vast quantities of material, much of it ephemeral, only a small proportion of which has sustained quality.
So how can design be understood in a meaningful sense? Design is one of the basic characteristics of what it is to be human, and an essential determinant of the quality of human life. If things are a necessary part of our existence, why are they often done so badly? There is no simple answer. Cost factors are sometimes advanced, but the remove between doing something well or badly can be exceedingly small, and cost factors can in fact be reduced by appropriate design inputs.
This book is based on a belief that design matters profoundly to us all in innumerable ways and represents an area of huge, underutilized potential in life. It sets out to explore some reasons why this is so and to suggest some possibilities of change. The intention is to extend the range of what is understood by the term, and examine the depth of design practice as it affects everyday life in a diversity of cultures.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?| A．The causes of confusion. | B．The significance of design. |
| C．The differences in subjects. | D．The common ground in people. |
| A．Meaningful. | B．Enormous. |
| C．Short-lived. | D．Hard-wearing. |
| A．Reducing design inputs. |
| B．Persisting in meaningful design practices. |
| C．Denying previous conception of design. |
| D．Clarifying the confusion surrounding design. |
