1 . Text message acronyms (缩略词) caused plenty of confusion for the older generations when mobile phones became commonplace — now emojis are making the embarrassment become more serious.

Slack, a workplace messaging service, surveyed 9,400 office workers worldwide including 1,000 in the UK. It found the biggest emoji socially embarrassing action or mistake at work was pictures of lips. Most older workers did not realize the double meaning of the peach emoji, which for younger users means hips. Olivia Grace, a director at Slack, said, “The findings of our research are very clear — be careful when communicating with emojis across generations. Emojis offer a great way to communicate emotion, whether it’s a joke, support or something else, but it’s good to be aware that different meanings may exist to avoid any awkward interpretations.”

The simple smiling face was also a source of misunderstanding — 60 percent of over-40s used it to show happiness or pleasure but a significant number of younger workers used it to convey “deep anger”. An image of someone painting their nails was the most confusing — it meant nothing to the older generation, while the under-25s said they used it to say “there is gossip”, and the 25 to 40-year-olds used it to communicate making themselves more beautiful. However, all ages agreed on the meaning of some emojis, such as a face with tears of laughter and a crying emoji.

Speaking about its reasons for conducting the survey, Slack said, “Are there certain emojis that should restrict your boss from using them? Have your international colleagues ever misunderstood an emoji? And do you usually wait to build a relationship before sending emojis at work?” It added that with thousands of emojis at users’ treatment, “there’s a lot of potential” to communicate by mistake.

Emojis are not technically a form of language, as they lack grammar. The original user of a particular emoji has no copyright on how it is to be understood. The significance of emojis belongs to those who use them, and they have a truly valuable role in written communication.

1. What did Slack find about emojis?

A．Acronyms cause more confusion than them.	B．People understand some of them differently.
C．It’s popular for office workers to use them.	D．They can avoid many awkward situations.

2. How is the third paragraph developed?

A．By analyzing causes.	B．By raising questions.
C．By following time order.	D．By making comparisons.

3. Why did Slack conduct the survey?

A．To help people use emojis properly.	B．To find original emojis.
C．To prove the convenience of emojis.	D．To explain some special emojis.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards using emojis?

A．Unclear.

B．Dismissive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Approving.

2 . These days, there’s barely a world leader who doesn’t talk up science. For example, the India’s Prime Minister was the main performer at the annual Indian Science Congress, held in Nagpur, where he encouraged the nation’s researchers to do the science needed to make India self-reliant.

The message to researchers is crystal clear: leaders see science as essential to national prosperity, well-being and, of course, competitiveness. So, is research fit for the challenge of advancing, refining or critiquing these goals? Not exactly. And it won’t be until there is fundamental reform to the gateway to a research career: PhD training.

As Nature and other publications have frequently reported, PhD training worldwide has been in trouble for some time. Students’ stipends (生活津贴) are not enough in most countries, creating a cost-of-living crisis. Early-career researchers constantly report concerns about a constant lack of support and poor-quality supervision, with senior researchers rarely trained in mentorship (指导).

Furthermore, PhD candidates are inadequately prepared for the cross-disciplinary working and large teams that characterize cutting-edge science today. This is especially true for careers outside academic research, where the overwhelming majority of PhD candidates will be heading.

It is not all bad. Universities in a small number of high-income countries have reformed, or are reforming, PhD assessment. But in most places, and especially in low- and middle-income countries, a candidate’s work is still evaluated using a single-authored paper. In many countries, candidates must publish in a journal before they get a PhD, something that critics say could fuel profitable publishing.

The system’s strains have become more obvious because the number of people doing PhD training has been rising sharply. According to the 2022 book Towards a Global Core Value System in Doctoral Education, the number of PhDs awarded in India increased from 17,850 in 2004 to 25,095 in 2016; US figures climbed from 48,500 to 69,525 over the same period. If researchers are to meet society’s expectations, their training and mentoring must escape the nineteenth century.

1. Why is the India’s Prime Minister mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．To indicate India’s serious scientific landscape.

B．To imply more researchers are in great demand in India.

C．To show leaders’ emphasis on scientific research.

D．To demonstrate more and more people take an interest in science.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．The reforms in science.	B．The significance of mentorship.
C．The creation of academic culture.	D．The issues early-career researchers face.

3. Which of the following best describes the author’s opinion on PhD training?

A．Disappointed.

B．Satisfied.

C．Indifferent.

D．Enthusiastic.

4. What does the author mainly intend to express in the last paragraph?

A．PhD education is developing gradually.

B．The reforms in PhD training admit of no delay.

C．The number of PhDs awarded has increased in India and the US.

D．The demand for researchers’ meeting society’s expectations is pressing.

3 . 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。

Have you ever noticed when ordering takeaway food     1     there is an additional cost on top of the delivery fee? That is the packaging fee (包装费).

This fee is uneasy     2     (notice) because it is usually small and people acknowledge its value because takeaway food     3     (need) proper packaging.

Now,     4     , some shops have been found to be adding unrelated costs     5     it,     6     (give) consumers unpleasant surprises. Some     7     (shop) apply individual packaging fees for each ingredient of milk tea, each kebab in a barbecue, and even for choosing the flavor of     8     hot-pot meal. With all these charges stacking up, sometimes the     9     (seem) insignificant (微不足道的) outsourcing fees can account for half of the cost of a takeout order.

The Shanghai Consumer Protection Commission in Tune     10     (call) for rules on standardized and transparent packaging fees for takeaways in June, 2023.

4 . People don’t usually become homeless suddenly. It’s a chutes-and-ladders (阶梯状) process. A large new statewide study takes a closer look at the period just before homelessness, by asking a representative sample of almost 3,200 homeless people from all over the state about the dilemma they fell into, and what would have helped.

Some of the findings were unsurprising: in the state with the nation’s largest homeless population, people are unhoused because they don’t have enough money, or have experienced trauma (创伤). A quarter of all survey participants had experienced family violence, and their lives and health get much worse once homelessness strikes. But some of the report’s data run counter to popular perception: for example, most homeless people are not from out of state, contrary to the common belief that homeless people move to California for the weather and policies.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Margot Kushel, says there’s a “doom loop” of homelessness, where people have jobs that don’t cover living expenses, so they lose their homes, and the resulting instability makes it harder to keep their jobs.

Kushel points to really exciting models of homelessness prevention, where in low-income communities, they’ll have subway and bus posters saying, “Are you at risk of becoming homeless? Call us.” These programs might offer anything from cash to finding landlords or roommates. “What was really striking to us was how little money people thought it would have taken,” says Kushel. Most participants suggested that less than $500 a month, or a onetime payment of $10,000, would have kept them housed. Kushel cautions that the vast majority of mental health issues among the study participants are anxiety and depression. It’s likely that the lack of resources results in those conditions, rather than the illness causing the homelessness. “The driving issue is clearly the deep poverty,” Kushel says.

1. What does the study focus on?

A．The homeless’ nationalities.	B．The current situation of the homeless.
C．Homeless people’s previous experiences.	D．The solution to wiping out homelessness.

2. Which of the followings surprised the researchers?

A．Deep poverty gives rise to homelessness.

B．Most participants have experienced domestic violence.

C．The majority of homeless people are native Californian.

D．Homeless people move to California for the weather and policies.

3. What does the underlined phrase “doom loop” probably mean in paragraph 3?

A．A terrible circle.	B．A different situation.
C．An improved condition.	D．An unpredictable future.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Anxiety and depression caused homelessness.	B．People expected a very low charge of housing.
C．Homeless prevention exists in all communities.	D．The program offers accommodation free of charge.

5 . 下面短文中共有10处语言错误，请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处, 多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Do you often talk with your parents? A recently survey shows that nearly half of the high school students doesn’t like to talk with their parents. 43. 3% of them have trouble communicate with their parents. What was worse, 82. 8% of them don’t want to share their secrets their parents. Actually, it is important for us to communicate with our parents though they are the dearest people in our life, whom care for us all the time. By letting them know that what we think, we can get practical advice from them, which can help us to deal with many problem in life.

In this way, we can feel more confident about us and live happily.

6 . The case for and against social media

Is social media harmful to teenagers?     1     Social media sites have been blamed for most of the world’s social problems from feeling disconnected and lonely to having difficulty forming meaningful relationships. Yet, many of us feel a need to use social media because it offers something we cannot find elsewhere, despite knowing the downsides.     2    

An argument for social media claims it can strengthen social bonds by facilitating relationships with people in different geographical areas. For example, social media has helped old school friends to get back in touch after many years without contact.     3     These are real benefits of using social media.

    4     The argument used by many people is that interactions on social media are no substitute for face-to-face communication. When you are out with friends how many times do they check their phones? for example.     5     Research highlights it is far more satisfying to physically laugh out loud in real life rather than to replace the act with a typed representation of laughter such as “haha” or “LOL”.       

Ideally, we should have enough self-control to be able to limit our use of social media, enjoying the benefits it can bring.

A．The disadvantages of social media.

B．In my opinion, the disadvantages of social media outweigh the benefits.

C．It is all too easy to become absorbed in this online life rather than communicate in real life.

D．People secure jobs now through social media or research information for their studies.

E．This is the question we are going to examine.

F．We will look at the arguments for and against using social media before answering the question.

G．We aim to control our use of social media.

7 . The next time you’re at an airport or hotel, you might notice a traveling group that consists of young kids, parents, and grandparents vacationing together.     1    But more and more families tend to bring multiple generations with them.

    2    In larger groups, for example, child-care responsibilities can be shared across family members, allowing parents to take a break. But the real value of these trips might be how they give relatives an opportunity to freshen their perception of the people they’ve known for perhaps their entire life. Travel can take us out of our familiar contexts and offer people a chance to see one another differently.

The shift toward multi-generational travel has a few explanations. For one, grandparents today stay healthy later in life, allowing them more energy for travel.     3    Plus, the average U.S. household has become more multi-generational. Americans are not just traveling with grandparents in order to spend time with them, they are traveling with them because they are more likely to live with them in the first place.     4    Americans are taking fewer vacation days than they did in the 1970s. They might want to make the most of that time by including as many people as possible.

Whatever the reason for its popularity, a multi-generational trip can be a rare time when younger and older generations can glimpse the complex people they have each become. Away from the family home, older generations get to see their adult children as responsible parents. Kids get to see their grandparents encounter a new environment.     5    

A．Another explanation is time pressure.

B．The benefits of multi-generational trips are numerous.

C．Decades ago, only wealthy families vacationed together.

D．A scene like this would have been rare a few decades ago.

E．Multi generational family travel tops the list of travel trends.

F．Everyone gets to break out of their family roles and figure out how to be together.

G．Also, big-group accommodation has become more affordable through online platforms.

8 . Traditionally, the number of meaningful social relationships one can maintain is around 150. This concept finds its roots in the natural development of the human brain. However, in the digital age, where our social connections extend far beyond the geographical boundaries (界限), we easily create more connections with the help of the rising online platforms. Then, a question arises: Does the digital age rewrite the rules of social connection?

A study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking explored the effect of social media usage on the size of social circles and the closeness of relationships. The researchers found that more time spent on social media made for a larger number of online “friends,” but not a larger number of offline friends. Further, the findings were not linked to feelings of closeness towards online or offline friends.

Another study from the European Journal of Information Systems studied the link between social media usage and “social overload” — the feeling that too much of the energy for socializing is being used up by online relationships. The authors found that social media usage directly contributed to the experience of social overload, related to digital tiredness and dissatisfaction with social media.

With social media platforms rising, one’s ability to connect with people challenges the traditional concept. The brain, used to manage a limited number of relationships, now fights against the difficulties of dealing with a large number of digital connections, leading to a less attention and feeling investment (投入) in a relationship. And the online shallow connections can not develop meaningful, lasting relationships that stand the test of digital distance.

Therefore, in the digital age’s social whirlwind, instead of drowning (淹没) in a sea of weak interaction (互动), choose to engage in meaningful conversations and focus on the handful of relationships that truly fit your heart. Hug the beauty of face-to-face connections, allowing the richness of human interaction to flower beyond the digital world. By doing so, we create digital and physical spaces that truly improve our well-being.

1. Why did the author mention the traditional concept in the first paragraph?

A．To tell a story.	B．To develop the topic.
C．To show his sincerity.	D．To give an example.

2. What can we learn from the first study?

A．Online relationships were closer.

B．Spending more time online improved one’s health.

C．Social media usage had no effect on one’s social circles.

D．The large online social circles didn’t mean the large number of offline friends.

3. What was the disadvantage of engaging in too many relationships?

A．It resulted in one’s less attention to a relationship.

B．It caused the brain to break down and damaged the health.

C．It led to expression errors when one socialized with friends.

D．It developed shallow connections that stand the test of distance.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Offline Relationships: The Source of Well-being.

B．Social Overload: Do You Have Too Many Friends?

C．Social Media: The Bridge of People’s Connections?

D．Online Friends: The Cause of Digital Dissatisfaction.

9 . The project, called Nemo’s Garden, is the brainchild of Sergio Gamberini, a chemical engineer who runs a scuba (水肺) diving business. In 2013, he was chatting with local farmers when he came up with the idea. Several days later, he dived to the bottom of Noli’s bay and placed a vase with seeds inside a plastic balloon. After 48 hours, the seeds were coming up and Gamberini decided to scale up the experiment.

Nemo’s Garden’s key innovation, a sub-water biosphere, is a unique type of underwater greenhouse. It can use the ocean’s positive environmental factors, temperature stability, evaporative water generation, CO₂ absorption, the abundance of oxygen, and inherent protection from pests, to create an environment ideal for crop cultivation. The plants are fed by a hydroponic (水耕法) system. Water is generated from salt-water evaporating and then condensing (冷凝), so no additional fresh water source is required. Additional power for lighting, pumps and sensors is provided by wind generators and solar panels situated on the surface. This makes the entire set-up completely eco-friendly and self-sustaining.

Inside the biosphere, it is even more impressive. Each dome has a shelf running the entire circumference on which plants, equipment and tools can be placed. There is oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity sensors, radio communication, lights, a fresh-water hose and to top it all off, Wi-Fi. You can control everything in the dome via an app on your phone from the surface. You can turn the lights on, check the conditions and even watch a live video stream of the plants growing.

Gianni Fontanesi, Nemo’s Garden project manager, has logged nearly a thousand dives to perform underwater farming. He says that being inside the greenhouse is like being in an aquarium turned inside out: “You are the fish looking out into the outside world.”

1. What does the Nemo’s Garden refer to according to the passage?

A．A scuba diving business.	B．A vase with basil seeds.
C．A farm project underwater.	D．A garden in the bottom of Noli’s bay.

2. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?

A．How Nemo’s Garden works.	B．Why Nemo’s Garden was built.
C．What Nemo’s Garden includes.	D．Where Nemo’s Garden was set up.

3. What can help us manage Nemo’s Garden?

A．A hydroponic system.	B．Diving under the sea.
C．An app on our phones.	D．Wind generators and solar panels.

4. Which words can best evaluate Nemo’s Garden?

A．Special and eye-catching.	B．Impressive and traditional.
C．Convenient and economical.	D．Innovative and eco-friendly.

10 . Imunek Williams drives a school bus for the Milwaukee Academy of Science. While driving her usual route recently, she smelt a strong smoke smell. Among the _______ were 37 young students and Imunek’s own unborn child.

While they had only a few blocks to go before _______ their destination, Imunek decided to pull over to ensure the _______of all the people on board. When she _______ her radio to call for help, she noticed thick smoke filling the bus.

With no _______ to wait for help, she sprang into action. She _______ asked all the students to get off the bus and double checked for any _______ children. She departed the bus last, and minutes later, the _______ went up in flames (火焰). Imunek’s quick _______ and calm action saved many young lives.

When Imunek first ________ the strange smell that morning, she noticed it differed from the usual smell of exhaust (废气) coming off nearby vehicles in traffic. As she ________ driving, the odd smell intensified. By listening to her intuition (直觉), she made the ________ decision to stop the bus.

Firefighters arrived on the ________ as the smoke and flames poured out of the yellow school bus. Onlookers expressed amazement and gratitude that everyone ________ without injury. The Milwaukee Academy of Science and the students’ parents offered their praise and great appreciation to Imunek for her ________ action.

1.

A．victims

B．audiences

C．employees

D．passengers

2.

A．selecting

B．reaching

C．touring

D．recommending

3.

A．fame

B．comfort

C．safety

D．calmness

4.

A．switched off

B．picked up

C．turned down

D．handed over

5.

A．time

B．need

C．plan

D．wish

6.

A．instantly

B．nervously

C．casually

D．frequently

7.

A．alarmed

B．remaining

C．killed

D．starving

8.

A．station

B．academy

C．vehicle

D．road

9.

A．explanation

B．discussion

C．refusal

D．thinking

10.

A．described

B．detected

C．stored

D．removed

11.

A．continued

B．risked

C．fancied

D．delayed

12.

A．tough

B．bad

C．wise

D．easy

13.

A．coast

B．platform

C．stage

D．scene

14.

A．escaped

B．complained

C．volunteered

D．insisted

15.

A．challenging

B．aggressive

C．heroic

D．slow