1 . It’s commonly acknowledged that our lives are ruled by algorithms (算法), but have we really collectively understood how they have transformed our culture and personality?

In Filterworld: How algorithms flattened culture, Kyle Chayka argues convincingly that the rise of algorithm-driven feeds, used everywhere online from Instagram to Spotify, has led to a more uniform culture. Our tastes and desires increasingly don’t belong to us, but to algorithms that are designed to keep people engaged at all costs. If the collection of our tastes truly shapes our entire personality, then this loss is more psychologically damaging than it first appears. Aimlessly scrolling (滚屏) through Netflix or TikTok may seem harmless, but over days, months or years, we lose touch with what we like and enjoy.

Taste-making algorithms are inescapable. Chayka shows this by working through all corners of life: what we wear(TikTok), where we eat(Google Maps), music we listen to(Spotify), even who we date or marry(Tinder). This universe of algorithm-driven decisions has society-wide implications: “It extends to influence our physical spaces, our cities, and the routes we move through…flattening them in turn.” No one gets out of the Filterworld untouched.

If you’re lucky enough not to need any sort of algorithm-based system for your work, then you have the option to step back from algorithms for a while. But if your friend suggests a film recommended on X/Twitter or you feel the need to buy those shoes suddenly everyone has started wearing after social media advertisements, what are you to do? It all feels fruitless.

This Filterworld may be inescapable, but there is hope. You can start by engaging more with the media you do choose to consume. This could mean reading up about a film you watched or paying artists you like directly. Even the thoughtful act of recommending an album (专辑) to a friend is more rewarding than a random TikTok feed. As Chayka says, resistance to algorithms “requires an act of willpower, a choice to move through the world in a different way.”

1. What is Kyle Chayka’s opinion on algorithms?

A．They improve our tastes.	B．They make our culture more alike.
C．They help to identify our personality.	D．They contribute to psychological problems.

2. What does the underlined part in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The society with advanced technology.	B．The world without social media platforms.
C．The network of algorithm-driven decisions.	D．The community free from algorithmic influence.

3. Which of the following is a way to resist the impact of algorithms?

A．Limiting the use of social media platforms.	B．Making choices based on friends’ suggestions.
C．Getting more involved with the selected media.	D．Disconnecting from social media advertisements.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Algorithms: Cultural Takeover	B．The Secret of Algorithms
C．Social Media: Cultural Messenger	D．The Rise of Digital Platforms

2 . In recent years, much of my life as a consumer has shifted to what I like to call background. As I’ve subscribed to more apps and streaming platforms, significant sums of my money tend to slip away each month without my ever thinking about it.

Think of it as an automated trade. Spending without the trouble of spending. Acquaint ion without action. Or thought.

But while this flood of subscriptions was sold to me on the condition that it would make my life more trouble-free, there was a certain shock I felt upon discovering how much I was spending without realizing each month ($179.45).

You see, the thing about background spending is that it tends to happen, well, in the background without your full attention. And there lies the point.

“Hand over your credit card details and let us take care of the rest,” these companies promote. But by again sing their name, we’ve become lazy, positive consumers. And this laziness breeds (导致) more laziness because most of us can’t be bothered with conducting regular reviews of our subscription spending. We’re too lazy to even notice or cancel it!

I know it’s not just me who is suddenly living life as a smart-braised subscriber. The average consumer spends $273 per month on subscriptions, according to a 2021 study of 2,500 by digital services firm West Morose. Not a single person surveyed knew what his actually monthly spending was.

It’s understandable why this model is so attractive to businesses. As companies questioned traditional advertising models, subscription offered the promise of “selling once and earning forever.” And while subscription services have been around for decades (think Wine of the Month Club), more customers have been willing to sign up thanks to the widespread availability of smartphones and the increasing ease of home delivery.

While these subscription promise ease and happiness, not all of us are satisfied. Last year, the Kameny Institute found 40 percent of consumer believe they have too many subscriptions. Almost half of us also think we pay too much for streaming video-on-demand subscriptions.

1. What can we know about background spending in paragraph 2?

A．Its purpose.

B．Its feature.

C．Its procedure.

D．Its requirement.

2. What makes it possible for background spending to happen?

A．Its attractive price.	B．Some people’s poor habit.
C．Its secure service.	D．Some people’s addiction to it.

3. Why is the subscription model appealing to businesses?

A．It offers good home delivery services.

B．It is like traditional advertising models.

C．It is popular among smartphone producers.

D．It brings repeated profits through a single sale.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards background spending?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Critical.

D．Unclear.

3 . 本学期一开始，你校就开展了“禁止手机进校园”活动，一些同学表示理解，一些同学表示反对，假设你是李华，就这一情况向你校报社投稿，内容包括：
1. 支持的理由；
2. 反对的原因；
3. 你的观点。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Can students bring cell phones into campus?

With the increasing popularity of smartphones, more and more students bring them to school. However, the debate over whether students should be allowed to bring phones to school continues.

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4 . 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，并将答案填写在答题卡上。

For the past few years, seven internet buzzwords (流行语)     1     (go) popular, such as “People First, Life First”; “    2     (hero) in Harm’s Way”; “Lying flat”, “Nei Juan”, etc. Once an ambassador (大使) told a     3     (person) story to explain why the government introduced a policy to address nei juan, or “involution”, a buzzword    4     (mean) irrational (非理性的) or involuntary competition, which makes people feel burned out.

“I still remember over 10 years ago, my weekends were spent rushing my kid from one training school to    5    , and the courses he took ranged from math to physics,” he said.

But now, after a whole day of classes, a tutor came to his home in the evening. When the tutoring session finished, he had to help his son    6     his composition homework.

Such     7     phenomenon is very common in our competitive society. Many parents are     8     (extreme) afraid that their children will get off to a slow start, so they would rather do whatever they can to ensure that their children can have a good education,     9     unavoidably results in some unexpected results, including a variety of online     10     offline after-class classes.