1 . Few Americans remain in one position or one place for a lifetime. We move from town to city to suburb, from high school to college in a different state, from a job in one region to a better job elsewhere, from the home where we raise our children to the home where we plan to live in retirement. With each move we are forever making new friends, who become part of our new life at that time.
For many of us summer is a special time for forming new friendships. Today millions of Americans vacation abroad, and they go not only to see new sights but also with the hope of meeting new people. No one really expects a vacation trip to produce a close friend, but the beginning of a friendship is possible.
The word “friend” can be applied to a wide range of relationships — to someone one has known for a few weeks in a new place, to a fellow worker, to a childhood playmate, to a man or woman, to a trusted confidant.
1. Many Americans move from place to place for the following reasons except_______.| A．going to college | B．getting a better job |
| C．saving money | D．finding a place to live in retirement |
| A．enjoy the sunlight | B．feel strange | C．get a new job | D．travel to other countries |
| A．expect to find some close friends | B．hope to meet new people |
| C．want to begin lasting friendships with new people | D．Both A and B |
| A．Today millions of Americans vacation abroad. |
| B．For many of us summer is a special time for forming new friendships. |
| C．No one really expects a vacation trip to produce a close friendship. |
| D．But surely the beginning of friendship is possible. |
Chinese singer Liu Genghong posts fitness videos on Douyin,
Pu Zhengning, associate professor of Southeast University, says the epidemic (流行病) has limited access
As an alternative to people
“Cloud fitness” is no flash in the pan, offering a great alternative to expensive gym memberships. In the past, aerobics on TV proved
3 . The 2023 EF English Proficiency (水平) Index (EPI) that measures English language ability worldwide shows a worrying problem about English language proficiency. The index is based on test results from 2.2 million people in 113 countries.
Results were reported for the first time in 2015. Since then, the English proficiency of young people has decreased by 89 points. The EPI defines young people as being 18 to 20 years of age, and it notes that they are mostly stable with big decreases in a few large countries. India, Indonesia and Mexico showed the largest ability decreases among youth.
The report noted that the decrease appears to have taken place when the COVID-19 pandemic impacts normal education. There has been a decrease in Mexico for nearly 10 years. However, working adults, about 26 years old and older, have been improving their English since 2015. It is still widely acknowledged that the value of a shared language is most recognized in the workplace. English creates possibilities for individuals and productivity for organizations.
Results also show a difference between men and women, which is called a gender gap. Men’s English ability has improved by 14 points since 2015, while women’s has decreased by 19 points. The lack of women in international jobs is one reason for the gender gap. But the gender gap among those aged 18 to 25 might demonstrate a problem caused by educational systems themselves or a social problem schools are failing to address.
There are different opinions about why the decrease exists. Many people think artificial intelligence (or AI) tools could also be a key reason. Jeannie Tse is a country manager at EF Hong Kong and Macau. He thinks that while AI has changed the way young people work and learn, the importance of schools, teachers and face-to-face instruction remains. “I don’t believe that AI can completely replace language learning, but educators can use AI to enhance language learning methods,” said Jeannie Tse.
1. Why are working adults trying to improve their English?| A．To increase their income and knowledge. |
| B．To be involved in better working environment. |
| C．To obtain more chances and better working efficiency. |
| D．To create a harmonious working environment for themselves. |
| A．Most women don’t like international jobs. |
| B．Educational systems contribute to the gender gap in English proficiency. |
| C．Women’s English proficiency decreases with age. |
| D．There widely exists the phenomenon of discrimination against women. |
| A．Objective. | B．Positive. | C．Uncertain. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．Young People’s Attitudes towards English Vary |
| B．English Learning Has Become a Burden Worldwide |
| C．Results from a Report Show some Alarming Problems |
| D．Young People’s English Language Ability Is Decreasing |
South Koreans have enjoyed their first close-up look of new baby giant pandas at a name-revealing ceremony that is also
What to name the twin sisters was widely discussed among netizens after they were born on July 7 in theme park Everland. The names were
The baby pandas,
Everland said it would monitor the twins’ health
5 . Do you ever get restless if you haven’t checked your phone for a few minutes? If so, you’re not alone. Studies reveal that people these days check their phones once every four minutes on average! Some of this usage may be related to work. However, much of it is because many apps — particularly social media apps — use “clever techniques” to keep us coming back for more.
One of such techniques is to push notifications. You’re getting on with your work or something else when — ping! — a notification pops up on your screen, informing you that a friend has posted something new or commented on your post. It may seem like a small interruption, but it often is enough to break your concentration and make you go back to your phone again.
Another method is to make a game of the in-app experience by setting up a competitive goal element. Some apps, for example, uses streaks (连续纪录), which count the number of days you have used the app. If you keep a streak going, you might get a medal or some other rewards. Therefore, keeping one’s streak alive becomes a major reason to return to the app again and again.
Once you’ve opened an app, its goal is now to get you continue using it. Messaging apps use a simple but effective trick to keep you engaged even when you’re not writing anything. Have you ever noticed that in some apps, three dots (…) appear to let you know your friend is typing a reply? This trick is designed specifically to create your expectation or curiosity. You wonder what your friend is going to say. Well, you’ll have to keep waiting and see.
While using social media apps is certainly fun, becoming addicted definitely isn’t. Now that you know some tricks used by these apps’ designers, you’ll be better equipped to reduce their influence and keep a healthier relationship with your phone.
1. What does the underlined word “reveal” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Encourage. | B．Predict. | C．Prevent. | D．Show. |
| A．Ongoing pings will inform you of new posts. |
| B．Competitive games will greatly discourage you. |
| C．Everyday use of the app might earn you a medal. |
| D．Appearance of three dots might disturb your typing. |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
| A．The Tricks That Keep You Glued to Your Phone. |
| B．Can People Break Their Addition to Games? |
| C．Could Technology Further Improve Phones? |
| D．The Social Media Apps That Waste Your Time. |
6 . Do you speak a dialect (方言) in daily life? While many Chinese people speak Mandarin, some local dialects are in danger of disappearing. To save them, the Chinese government started the Chinese Language Resources Protection Project a few years ago.
This project looks at how people talk in 1,712 places. Their languages include 103 dialects that are almost gone. It has helped China to build the largest language resource library in the world. There’s an online library where people can learn dialects from over 5.6 million audio clips (音频) and over 5 million videos.
Why is it important to protect the dialect culture? According to British linguist Harold Palmer, dialects are a key to store local cultures. Language faithfully shows the history, the beliefs and the biases (偏见) of an area, he said.
Scholar Zhang Hongming talked about his concerns of the disappearing of dialeets, “For about over 10 years, in the Wu dialect areas such as Shanghai and Suzhou, children aged 6 to 15 can understand but hardly speak the dialect. Meanwhile, young people above 15 years old sometimes speak it, but not very well. If this keeps happening, the dialect might disappear,” he said.
So how did China make this big library? “A big national effort has been put into the project to make it happen,” said Cao Zhiyun, chief expert on the project. Over five years, more than 350 universities and research groups joined in, along with over 4,500 experts and more than 6,000 dialect speakers.
The project is now entering into its second part. This includes creating digital tools like apps and mobile dictionaries to help people lean dialects.
1. How does the author start the text?| A．By quoting sayings. | B．By sharing a story. |
| C．By stating his own experiences. | D．By asking a question. |
| A．The development of Mandarin. | B．Why to protect dialects. |
| C．How to develop speaking skills. | D．The disappearing of dialects. |
| A．Worried. | B．Positive. | C．Indifferent. | D．Unelear. |
| A．It has entered into the third part. |
| B．Over 5.6 millions videos are collected in the project. |
| C．It looks at how people talk in 1,712 places. |
| D．Harold Palme is the chief expert on the project. |
7 . Every week, Liu Fang, a 38-year-old media worker in Beijing, goes to a store specializing in selling near-expired(快过期的) food and returns with a bag of snacks or drinks.
“The price tags on these goods have caught my eye. They are often
Liu is among the
Unlike the traditional
Indeed, food waste is a great
As people’s lives improved greatly, many began to make or
“I’ve been very frugal all my life. Living
| A．attached | B．narrowed | C．sold | D．targeted |
| A．customers | B．producers | C．departments | D．fashions |
| A．amazing | B．falling | C．increasing | D．recovering |
| A．cheaper | B．higher | C．flexible | D．normal |
| A．industry | B．potential | C．market | D．digital |
| A．dropped to | B．took on | C．brought out | D．accounted for |
| A．trick | B．memory | C．routine | D．thinking |
| A．reuse | B．reduce | C．recycle | D．remove |
| A．challenge | B．root | C．shadow | D．theme |
| A．order | B．recommend | C．contribute | D．avoid |
| A．argue | B．suggest | C．equal | D．ensure |
| A．approaching | B．permitting | C．making | D．suffering |
| A．within | B．through | C．below | D．across |
| A．game | B．drink | C．grain | D．pudding |
| A．behave | B．cost | C．rate | D．spend |
8 . The Stanford marshmallow (棉花糖) test was originally conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s. Children aged four to six at a nursery school were placed in a room. A single sugary treat, selected by the child, was placed on a table. Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat. Then they were left alone in the room. Follow-up studies with the children later in life showed a connection between an ability to wait long enough to obtain a second treat and various forms of success.
As adults we face a version of the marshmallow test every day. We’re not tempted by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers.
We are tempted by sugary treats because our ancestors lived in a calorie-poor world, and our brains developed a response mechanism to these treats that reflected their value — a feeling of reward and satisfaction. But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, dramatically reducing the cost and effort involved in obtaining calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat.
A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a mechanism that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now ceaselessly bombarded (轰炸) with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our caloric consumption, we also need to be more thoughtful about our information consumption, resisting the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively.
1. What did the children need to do to get a second treat in Mischel’s test?| A．Take an examination alone. | B．Share their treats with others. |
| C．Delay eating for fifteen minutes. | D．Show respect for the researchers. |
| A．the calorie-poor world and our good appetites | B．the shortage of sugar and our nutritional needs |
| C．the tempting foods and our efforts to keep fit | D．the rich food supply and our unchanged brains |
| A．Be selective information consumers. | B．Absorb new information readily. |
| C．Use diverse information sources. | D．Protect the information environment. |
| A．Eat Less, Read More | B．The Later, the Better |
| C．The Marshmallow Test for Grownups | D．The Bitter Truth about Early Humans |
9 . Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons — for example, economic reasons — why they should be preserved. So, let us suppose that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?
In my view, new architectural styles can exist (存在) perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own hometown of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.
It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative (保守的) and do not like change.
Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice.
1. What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?| A．Some of them are not attractive. |
| B．Most of them are too expensive to preserve. |
| C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings. |
| D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area. |
| A．We should reproduce the same old buildings. |
| B．Buildings that affect their surroundings are attractive. |
| C．People should protest against new buildings. |
| D．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in. |
| A．destroy old buildings | B．choose new architectural style |
| C．put things in a different place | D．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings |
| A．To explain why people dislike change. |
| B．To warn that we could end up living in caves. |
| C．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas. |
| D．To make a comparison between modern buildings and historic buildings. |
| A．He lost his way. | B．He was knocked over. | C．He got a flat tire. |
