1 .

A．A yellow light

B．A road accident

C．A robbery.

D．A TV programme.

2 .

A．Tom was killed in the accident.	B．Someone saved Tom’s life.
C．It did little damage to Tom’s car.	D．Tom survived the accident.

3 . Growing up in the 80s as a child with lots of siblings, I played in the street until dark or until we were called for dinner. We had an amazing community of neighbours. However, one elderly neighbour hated us. Every time the football went into her garden, she would confiscate it – and then pop the ball. When she collected over 20 deflated footballs, she would take them down to the police station and complain. To her, at least, free and active children were a pest and a disgrace.

Actually, at that time, nothing but one stopped us playing: the shattering of a window and the scream of a parent coming outside to tell us off. On reflection, I was probably part of the last generation of children to play outside regularly. Now in London, the estate I live in is covered with historic signs saying: “No ball games”.

The signs function as a play ban for children. Even during the summer, there are only a couple of rebels who dare to play football on the street. They get my nod and a kick of the ball back when it comes in my direction.

The problem is, many people don’t know that these signs are not enforceable by law: they are simply a request from local housing associations.

Of course, if people are kicking the ball against someone’s house or out on the streets making noise late at night, it would be considered criminal damage and antisocial behaviour – and quite right. But most of the time the signs are just preventing children from playing.

The London Sport charity has recommended that these signs are removed. I agree - let’s burn them all. But I do think it is simplistic to imagine banning the signs will combat a national obesity epidemic.

The Active Lives Survey shows that just 47% of children in England are getting the recommended 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity a day. Removing “No ball games” signs doesn’t mean that the other 53% of children will feel motivated to venture outside and play.

The Active Lives Survey also suggests that boys are more likely to be active than girls. Perhaps boys are still given more activity opportunities. The Lionesses(英格兰女足)win at the Euros football tournament highlighted the lack of opportunities for girls in football and inequitable sports curriculums in schools.

Children and young people of black, Asian and other minority ethnicities are least likely to be active. Perhaps because racism in sport is alive and kicking?

In addition, access to sport and physical activity is a social justice issue that depends on location and financial circumstances. For a child from an economically disadvantaged background, who lives in a high-rise flat with little green space around, the costs and practicalities of participating in sport are prohibitive. For example, a weekend tennis court costs anywhere between £10 and £27, without travel or equipment.

So, while we can burn all the “No ball games” signs in the country, the real barrier to combating low activity levels in children is social inequality. What really needs to happen to get our children moving?

1. What does the underlined word “confiscate” in Paragraph 1 mean in the context?

A．Collect something as a hobby	B．Take something away as a punishment
C．Destroy something due to being annoyed	D．Remove and make something disappear

2. Why does the author believe that removing “No ball games” signs may not effectively combat low activity levels in children?

A．Because children prefer indoor activities.

B．Because boys are more active than girls.

C．Because access to physical activity is influenced by social inequality.

D．Because of the lack of interest in sports among children.

3. What conclusion does the author draw regarding the relationship between “No ball games” signs and low activity levels in children?

A．Removing the signs will directly address the issue of low activity levels.

B．Social inequality is the primary barrier to increasing children’s activity levels.

C．Boys are more likely to play sports than girls due to cultural biases.

D．Racism in sports is a significant factor in preventing children from being active.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The author reminisces about their childhood and the changes in outdoor play.

B．The ineffectiveness of “No ball games” signs in encouraging physical activity among children.

C．The impact of social inequality on children’s access to physical activity.

D．The author’s support for removing “No ball games” signs but recognition of deeper issues.

4 . Childhood Media Shaping Futures

Much of the media we consume during our formative years shapes us into the people we are today. Reflect on a particular piece of media from our childhood—perhaps it’s the TV show we eagerly awaited every weekend during visits to our grandmother’s house.     1     It shapes our dreams and fears and even drives us to future careers.

    2     Older children may have had a lot more restrictions, like TV shows, movies, and social media access. And because of these, they were able to be a child for longer compared to their siblings (兄弟姐妹). Children who have older siblings tend to show more mature tendencies and can appear to “grow up quicker” than other children their age.

While they might have been restricted from social media accounts until a certain age, once given access, they tend to be more prepared. The media exposure of our generation has undoubtedly led to an increased maturation at younger ages.     3    

Simply looking back at previous generations and the rate of consumption and processing of information that we experience every day, the effects of such are only beginning. As soon-to-be or current adults, we are already facing issues such as depression, anxiety, and delays in certain learning and social skills, just to name a few. Are we “more mature?” or are we overexposed and at risk for exceptional mental, physical, and emotional consequences?

In conclusion, childhood media consumption significantly influences our lives.     4     Striking a balance between media exposure and mental well-being is essential for our growth in today’s media-rich world.

A．Such media doesn’t just entertain.

B．You can easily pick out the differences among your siblings.

C．As we journey through adulthood, it’s crucial to reflect on its impact.

D．Media exposure during childhood impacts each child in distinct ways.

E．Additionally, media have proven to have long-term effects on individuals.

F．However, our mental and physical states may not be adequately equipped to handle it.

5 .

A．The woman knew Ross was a dog lover.

B．The man has let Ross drive his car before.

C．The man shouldn’t have lent his car to Ross.

D．Ross lost several dogs last time he drove a car.

6 . Deepfake technology is now a threat to everyone

Last October, MIT Prof. Sinan Aral warned his Twitter followers that he had discovered a video of himself that he hadn’t recorded supporting an investment fund’s stock-trading algorithm (算法). In reality, it wasn’t Prof. Aral in the video, but an artificial-intelligence creation in his likeness, or what is known as a highly persuasive “deepfake.”

It is striking that scammers (诈骗犯) targeted Prof. Aral, considering he is a leading expert on the study of misinformation online.     1     Thanks to a number of free deepfake apps that are just a click away, anyone can become a victim of such a scam.

The term deepfake has come to mean the use of AI to create fake media in which someone appears to be doing or saying what in reality they haven’t done or said.     2     But positive use cases are likely to be overshadowed in coming years by the technology’s potential role in financial scam, identity theft, etc.

Another big challenge is that in an online world where people can upload content of unknown names, it can be difficult to find the individuals behind deepfakes.     3    

One such solution is to detect deepfakes through machine-learning methods. While these detectors can be successful in the short term, people looking to avoid such systems will likely just respond with better technology, creating a continuing and expensive cat-and-mouse game.     4     While lawmaking eventually may offer protection against deepfakes, I believe the market could be quicker — provided we, as consumers and citizens, care.

A．The technology isn’t always misused.

B．It also suggests that deepfake technology is now at a turning point.

C．The technology is moving so fast that lawmakers will likely always fall behind.

D．That is why I believe we are going to have to rely on technology to protect us from a problem it helped create.

E．A better approach with a longer time horizon is media provenance systems to confirm the origins of images and videos.

F．To be effective in practice, such systems would have to be widely adopted by all content creators, which will take time.

7 . Plugs across America

The United States has around 150,000 fuel stations to re till fossil-fuel-burning vehicles. Despite the rapid growth of all-electric vehicle in America — 400,000 of them were sold in 2021, up from barely la, 000 in 2012 — the country has only 6,000 fast electric charging stations, the kind that can rapidly charge a battery-powered car.

A glance at America’s charging map reveals a lot of charging deserts. This makes sense, as EVs (electric vehicle) still represent less than 3% of new car sales. Large cities have a growing number of fast charges, but not nearly enough to accommodate so many EVs. Away from cities, these charters are along interstate highways closely enough to allow electric cars safe passage. Otherwise, they are nearly nonexistent in rural America. And EV stations have a problem that gas stations don’t: “Even the fastest Tesla supercharger is still going to take 15 minutes to put a couple hundred miles on the vehicle,” says Jeremy Michalek, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

Michalek says American charging facilities fall far behind what’ needed for the whole country to transition to electric driving. On the bright side, there is time to catch up, because not all Americans will embrace at once. Most early adopters were those with access to a charge at home in their garage or parking space. Those owners can wake up with a full battery and only need to rely on public charters when they leave town on an extended trip. But as the country gets to higher levels of EV adoption, the current facilities won’t be enough. That is why Michalek says the US needs to prioritize increasing the number of charges at rest stops along well-traveled highways, especially as more people use electric cars for summer-time road trips.

“As we act to higher levels of EV adoption, if we don’t have enough chargers for peak demand, the wait times are going to be unlike what we see with gas stations,” he says.

Charging dead bones will be larger as more Americans consider an EV. Renters who do not have the option to install a home charges will be hesitant to go fully electric until they can feel confident a public plug will be there when they need it. And as more households drive only electric vehicles, it will be crucial that people can get to all the places they want to go.

In the best case, Michalek envisions public-private cooperation to build a national charging network. The US government has promised to install plugs throughout rural areas, while companies constructing charging stations across America will have a strong motivation to fill in the country’s biggest cities. After all, companies like Electrify America, EV go, and Charge Point charge customers of energy they use.

1. It can be learned from the 2nd paragraph that ______.

A．there is a shortage of charging stations in the rural areas of America

B．it takes about 15 minutes for an average charge to charge a battery-powered car

C．more electric vehicles are sold than fossil-fuel burning cars in large cities in America

D．there are enough charges in America considering the limited sales of new electric vehicles

2. Which of the following statements would Michalek most probably agree with ?

A．Companies setting up charging stations are hesitant to go electric.

B．Those who already have a home charge don’t have to find a public plug.

C．Top priority needs to be given to adding more charging stations across the country.

D．There is enough time to establish a charging network, because not many EVs are uscd.

3. What can be inferred about the renters ?

A．Some renters don’t have the intention to go electric.

B．Some renters might not be authorized to install a home charge.

C．As more renters are unwilling to use public plugs, the charging dead bones are growing.

D．Some renters might not have enough confidence in the public plugs for the safety reasons.

4. Who does Michalek expect to work together to establish the charging network nationwide?

A．The government and some companies.

B．The local government and every household.

C．The charging facility providers and every family.

D．The federal government and the local rural government.

9 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Graduates Turn to Teaching

China has witnessed a 66-fold increase in the number of applicants for teaching qualification tests over the past decade, and experts say the popularity has mainly been driven by more graduates chasing stable jobs. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Education, the number of applicants for teaching exams each year has grown from 172,000 to 11.44 million in the past decade.

Experts said the sharp increase corresponds with the increase in teachers’ salaries and status within society, and it is expected to bring about an overall improvement in quality teaching. However, another big reason for the enthusiasm for teaching posts is that the challenging and complicated employment situation is driving graduates toward stable jobs such as working as teachers and government officials.

Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said the popularity of teaching posts is closely associated with people’s changing perception of the economic situation, job stability and security, which are major concerns for graduates.

In view of the coronavirus epidemic in recent years, many college graduates just want a stable job, so teaching suddenly becomes a very popular profession, and many students from well-known universities have joined the competition. Of course, everyone has their own ideas. Take Wang Lin for example. Wang Lin, who graduated from a famous university, said she had wanted to be a history teacher since middle school, inspired by her own history teacher. She added she had a good impression of her teachers from an early age and was grateful to those who had taught her. In fact, there are many such cases.

While passing the teaching qualification test is the first step to becoming a teacher in China, landing a post at schools in big cities can be very competitive.

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10 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Technology has made paying all sorts of bills incredibly easy. The real-time budget apps, which capture our spending and pay our bills automatically, should theoretically give us more control over our money. But why, in real life, do they do the opposite?

It helps to think about how we used to pay. My parents describe a process that would involve three separate points of contact whenever they paid for something with a credit card: first, at the cash register, then when a bill came in the mail and finally when they wrote a check to cover it. While each of the checkpoints is technically still there, automation has given us a chance to skip the second and the third. For bills paid automatically through a banking app, even the first checkpoint can be gone. We know that it is happening in the background, but it’s so far out of view that it might as well not be there. How do we get that connection back, without giving up the convenience that technology has brought us?

The good news is that though technology has taken away something, it can also give. Much of the battle is simply recognizing what we’ve lost. If we want to be smart about our money and have thorough control over it, we need to bridge that gap between what we spend on and how much we pay. We can start using personal-finance apps to do more than make our lives easier. These apps can send us notifications when each automatic payment is being made and categorize purchases, sending us instant spending reports. Admittedly, those tools require the user to sign up for these services and make conscious efforts to take full advantage of them. In this way, they are arguably better practice than balancing a checkbook on a Saturday morning.

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