1 . Voluntourism — a new trend (趋势) of volunteer tourism

Have you ever thought about going abroad to volunteer? Nowadays there’s a trend that more and more people are interested in volunteer tourism.

Making a difference in a country less lucky than your own is seen by most as a really good thing to do. More and more volunteers are seeking meaning and a sense of purpose in life. “They use their skills to help on projects abroad, such as building hospitals, teaching English in schools, looking after children in orphanages (孤儿院), etc.”

However, some people are against this so-called “voluntourism”. Volunteers take away jobs from locals who would have otherwise done that work. Yes, sometimes volunteers have specific knowledge which can benefit communities, such as IT skills or speaking English as a native language. But sometimes they are put to work on construction sites (建筑工地), for example, depriving (使失去) locals of a job on project.

Besides, many young travelers are untrained for the role. This could become a health and safety problem on construction sites or when caring for children. I volunteered myself last year in a library and school in Ghana. I helped to reshelve books, talked to the librarian about the running of the library and played games with the children. However, I’m not an experienced teacher or librarian, and I felt like the locals were far too trusting of my opinions and decisions, just because I come from a more developed country.

Furthermore, volunteer tourism is seen by some as just that-an industry, a way for companies to make money. About $2 billion was spent by volunteers in 2015.Surely it would be better if this money were directly given to places where it is needed the most. Instead, most of the money is going to tourism companies, while local communities only see a very small amount of it. I met some Danish girls who had paid €7,000 each to a company to volunteer at an orphanage, but very little was spent on the orphanage itself.

I think volunteering abroad helps us develop as a person, and is a shining addition to a CV. Volunteer projects are usually very valuable for communities, but often good for those who take part in voluntary work just as much, if not more, as those they are helping.

1. What do we learn about volunteers working abroad?

A．They have no safety problems.

B．They may cause the locals out of job.

C．They become less willing to be volunteers.

D．They would like to work in richer countries.

2. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Volunteer tourism has become an industry.

B．Volunteers spend lots of money helping with the charity work.

C．Some volunteer travelers are very experienced and suitable for the role.

D．Volunteer tourism provides locals with more and more job opportunities.

3. What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Voluntourism offers volunteers good jobs.

B．Volunteering gives a lot to poor countries.

C．Voluntourism brings volunteers advantages.

D．The quality of volunteering needs improving.

4. Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?
I：Introduction            P：Point             Sp：Sub-point (次要点)        c：Conclusion

A．

B．

C．

D．

2 . Sunday evening, October 30, 1938, was peaceful in New York City. Some people were returning home from a trip to the countryside, and others were sitting down to dinner. In those days, televisions were not very common. Most people listened to the radio for news and entertainment.

At eight o’clock that evening, there was a concert of dance music, but Suddenly, the programme was cut off by a news report: a large spaceship had landed in a field and an army of Martians (火星人) was moving towards New York City and then the radio went silent.

People felt worried. Some drove out of the city as quickly as possible, but soon the roads were crowded with cars. Some people put wet towels on their faces because they thought there was a gas attack. In New Jersey, some farmers went out with guns. Although it was dark, they found a large cylinder (圆柱体) standing in a field, and, thinking it was the Martian spaceship, the shot at it many times.

Many people were so frightened that they did not hear the next announcement on the radio: “Ladies and gentlemen, you are listening to a radio play called The War of the Worlds.”

A message was sent to police stations that there was no real Martian attack, and the police Offices soon returned calm to New York City.

Many people were very angry that they had been fooled by the play, and complained to the radio station. But what about the spaceship that the farmers found in the field? The next morning, they found that they had damaged a large water tank (罐)!

1. According to the news report, ___________.

A．a Martian spaceship had landed	B．a spaceship was found at the airport
C．there would be a concert that evening	D．there was a gas attack in New York City

2. The road was crowded with cars because ___________.

A．many people wanted to see the Martians

B．the Martian army was standing in the way

C．people were trying to get home from work

D．many people were trying to leave New York City

3. Who went out in the fields with guns to fight the Martians?

A．Policemen.

B．Firemen.

C．Dancers.

D．Farmers.

4. What can we learn about the radio station from the article?

A．it was fooled by a news reporter.

B．It played a joke on the listeners.

C．It called the police to catch the Martians.

D．It often announced the news about spaceships.

4 . Research spanning several decades demonstrates that you are more likely to think the information that is repeated to be true than the information you hear only once. You usually assume that if people put in effort to repeat a statement, this reflects the truth of the statement. This tendency-also called the truth effect-is a bias (偏见) that can lead you to draw incorrect conclusions.

To what degree are people aware of the truth effect? This question was addressed in a paper in the journal Cognition early this year.

In the critical study in this paper, participants did two sessions. In one session, they read about a hypothetical (虚构的) study in which they were exposed to some statements and then were asked whether both statements they had heard before as well as these new statements were true. They were asked to predict the proportion (比例) of each statement that would be judged as true. They did this both as a prediction of other people’s performance as well as a prediction of how they would do in this study.

At another session a few days later, participants actually performed this study, reading a set of 20 statements in the hypothetical study again and then judging the truth of altogether 40 statements, half of which were from the hypothetical study and the other half of which were new.

This study did replicate the well known truth effect. People were more likely to judge statements they had seen before as true than statements that were new. Two interesting findings emerged from the prediction. First, participants tended to underestimate the size of the truth effect for everyone. T hat is, while they did expect some difference in judgments between the statements seen before and those that were new, they thought this difference would be smaller than it actually was. Second, participants more significantly underpredicted the truth effect for themselves compared to that for other people.   

This study is particularly important in light of the amount of misinformation present in social media. Many people have the power to influence public opinion about important matters. Flooding social media feeds with misinformation will lead people to believe this information is true just because it is stated. Recognizing that we are all susceptible to this influence of repeated information should lead us to mistrust our intuition (直觉) about what is true and to look up important information prior to using it to make important judgments and decisions.

1. In the first paragraph, the author intends to ______.

A．clarify a misconception	B．present a phenomenon
C．challenge a statement	D．confirm a theory

2. What can we learn from the study?

A．Impacts of the truth effect require further studies.

B．Making predictions before judgments is significant.

C．People have hardly any awareness of the truth effect.

D．People tend to believe they can make wiser judgments.

3. What does the word “susceptible” underlined in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A．Critical.

B．Subject.

C．Opposed.

D．Adapted.

5 . Evan Selinger, professor in RIT’s Department of Philosophy, has taken an interest in the ethics (伦理标准) of Al and the policy gaps that need to be filled in. Through a humanities viewpoint, Selinger asks the questions, “How can AI cause harm, and what can governments and companies creating Al programs do to address and manage it?” Answering them, he explained, requires an interdisciplinary approach.

“AI ethics go beyond technical fixes. Philosophers and other humanities experts are uniquely skilled to address the nuanced (微妙的) principles, value conflicts, and power dynamics. These skills aren’t just crucial for addressing current issues. We desperately need them to promote anticipatory (先行的) governance, ” said Selinger.

One example that illustrates how philosophy and humanities experts can help guide these new, rapidly growing technologies is Selinger’s work collaborating with a special AI project. “One of the skills I bring to the table is identifying core ethical issues in emerging technologies that haven’t been built or used by the public. We can take preventative steps to limit risk, including changing how the technology is designed, ”said Selinger.

Taking these preventative steps and regularly reassessing what risks need addressing is part of the ongoing journey in pursuit of creating responsible AI. Selinger explains that there isn’t a step-by-step approach for good governance. “AI ethics have core values and principles, but there’s endless disagreement about interpreting and applying them and creating meaningful accountability mechanisms, ” said Selinger. “Some people are rightly worried that AI can become integrated into ‘ethics washing’-weak checklists, flowery mission statements, and empty rhetoric that covers over abuses of power. Fortunately, I’ve had great conversations about this issue, including with some experts, on why it is important to consider a range of positions. ”

Some of Selinger’s recent research has focused on the back-end issues with developing AI, such as the human impact that comes with testing AI chatbots before they’re released to the public. Other issues focus on policy, such as what to do about the dangers posed by facial recognition and other automated surveillance(监视) approaches.

Selinger is making sure his students are informed about the ongoing industry conversations on AI ethics and responsible AI. “Students are going to be future tech leaders. Now is the time to help them think about what goals their companies should have and the costs of minimizing ethical concerns. Beyond social costs, downplaying ethics can negatively impact corporate culture and hiring, ” said Selinger. “To attract top talent, you need to consider whether your company matches their interests and hopes for the future. ”

1. Selinger advocates an interdisciplinary approach because ________.

A．humanities experts possess skills essential for AI ethics

B．it demonstrates the power of anticipatory governance

C．AI ethics heavily depends on technological solutions

D．it can avoid social conflicts and pressing issues

2. To promote responsible AI, Selinger believes we should ________.

A．adopt a systematic approach	B．apply innovative technologies
C．anticipate ethical risks beforehand	D．establish accountability mechanisms

3. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．More companies will use AI to attract top talent.

B．Understanding AI ethics will help students in the future.

C．Selinger favors companies that match his students’ values.

D．Selinger is likely to focus on back-end issues such as policy.

7 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

In order to fit in and make friends in a new school, Amanda observed how her classmates behaved and interacted with each other. Gradually, she perfectly adopted the mannerisms of   the classmates around her, laughing at their jokes, nodding in agreement with their opinions, hiding herself into someone she thought others wanted her to be. We’ve all done these. This is social masking, the process of holding back or hiding our natural way of interacting with others so we can feel accepted.

In a world that often tells us to just be ourselves, you might wonder why many of us rely on social masking. “Social masking happens because we as a species want to be included,” says psychologist Dipti Tait. “It’s a tribal (群体的) thing of being together rather than being on our own. We all have certain masks to protect ourselves from exposure and difference.” While masking can help us deal with social situations, it can also come with negative consequences. Hiding our behaviours and interests constantly can lead to a strong feeling of separation, disconnection, and internal conflict. As a result, we may experience a heightened and increased possibility of developing depression as westruggle to understand social situations and signs that others take for granted.

Fortunately, a mask is not our own skin. We may feel extremely tired after social engagements and want to spend time alone in order to feel like ourselves. “The goal is to feel safe enough to remove the mask,” says Tait. “It’s crucial for individuals to receive acceptance and support for who they are, rather than feeling like they need to hide their true selves in order to fit in.”

1. What is social masking?
_____________________________________________________________
2. Why do many of us rely on social masking?
_____________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
When people struggle to understand social situations that others consider normal, they will feel less depressed.
_____________________________________________________________
4. In addition to masking, what else can you do to fit in when you are in a new environment? (In about 40 words)
_____________________________________________________________

9 . “Find your passion!” When discussing future career options or selecting a major in college, your parents often say this. The very expression is meant to inspire. But is it good advice?

“Finding” a passion implies that it already exists and is simply waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, this idea is not what science tells us.     1    

To study this, researchers use a framework of   “fixed” and “growth” mindsets.They argue that encouraging people to “find” their passion may cause them to eventually believe that interests and passions are inborn and relatively unchangeable.     2     In contrast, people who view interests and passions as developed have a growth mindset of interest.

Researchers have revealed that a fixed mindset of interest can decrease creativity. If people believe they are limited to only a few inborn interests and, in consequence, do not explore other areas, they may miss seeing important connections across domains.     3    

Evidently, people can do a lot to embrace a growth mindset of interest. First, realize that your interests and passions aren’t pre-existing. Take an active role in developing your passions. Second, practise positive self-talk. When you lack interest in a new task, pay attention to your inner dialogue.     4    For example, change “I’m not interested in this” to “I’m not interested in this yet, but I know that interest can develop with time and engagement.”

    5    But a growth mindset of interest will help you remain open and curious. The science tells us we should work toward loving what we do. We might become more creative and resilient as a result.

A．So can a growth mindset of interest be taught?

B．Instead passions, like interests, are developed.

C．People who think this have a fixed mindset of interest.

D．Of course, not every activity will become a burning passion.

E．As such,seeing interests as fixed limits their creative potential.

F．Don’t expect that pursuing new interests will always be easy or exciting.

G．Replace self-critical thoughts with positive ones that encourage growth and learning.

10 . 在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Jobs and occupations come and go at an     1     (amaze) pace these days. If you think you can’t be replaced by software, or your job can’t be outsourced to some robots on the moon, you are wrong. What if your job disappears after working for 10 years in the field? You may have to go back to the classroom and     2     (retrain) in order to qualify to work in another field. In fact, in all likelihood, you will have to do this multiple times. But you can be prepared for developments and changes before you are thrown out of a career. It is     3     (entire) your choice to learn, or to be forced to learn.