1 . The impact of technology on language is a topic that often causes concern, with many assuming that it is simply ruining it. However, language experts resist such opinion, noting that there is little evidence to support the view that speech is getting worse. Gretchen McCulloch, in her book Because Internet, focuses on what can be learned about language from the Internet rather than talking about its negative effects.
McCulloch compares studying language online to growing bacteria (细菌) in a Petri dish (有盖培养皿), where trends emerge and disappear quickly. The influence of strong ties like friends or family versus weak ties on language change is analyzed, with computer simulations (模拟) revealing that having both strong and weak ties helps spread updates in a community.
The role of social media platforms in language change is also discussed. Twitter, with its mix of strong and weak ties, is shown to drive more language change than Facebook, which is controlled by stronger ties. Emoji is highlighted as a universal digital expression of gestures, not a language. Additionally, there is evidence that the use of Internet “innovations” such as “omg” dates back to pre-computer eras.
McCulloch’s book focuses on the birth of a new medium for language rather than a new type of language. The rise of mass writing on the Internet, characterized by frequent, error-filled, and short-lived communication, challenges traditional ideas about writing’s importance. McCulloch suggests future historians should see this as a return to more casual (随意的) language, paying more attention to the value of tools that improve social interaction online. The book argues against the idea that these changes might lead to the end of “real” writing, advocating for an appreciation of anything that enhances human connection and the enjoyment of each other’s company.
1. Which of the following topics is NOT included in the book Because Internet?A.How technologies ruin languages. |
B.The new birth of a new medium for language. |
C.The changes Twitter brings to people’s language. |
D.What people can get about language on the Internet. |
A.The development of digital languages. |
B.The influence of the social media platforms on language change. |
C.The different functions of social media platforms. |
D.The connection between humans and the Internet. |
A.Interpersonal bonds play a role in online communication. |
B.Formal language is unlikely to improve social interaction. |
C.The birth of new media has removed writing’s importance. |
D.Mass writing may make traditional writing come to an end. |
A.In a poetry collection. | B.On a medical website. |
C.In a travel guidebook. | D.In a newspaper. |
要求:1.描述漫画内容;2.分析漫画所揭示的问题;3.提出你的看法。
注意:1.考生可适当发挥,使文章内容充实、连贯;
2.词数100左右;
参考词汇: pave vt. 铺设;为…铺平道路;
Pave the way
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . In much of the western United States, drought and access to fresh water is a critical issue. However, recently California came up with a novel solution. The state approved regulations that allow agencies to purify wastewater for drinking. This recycled wastewater may be consumed in homes, schools, and businesses.
As the population in California has exploded in recent decades, the state has struggled to meet demands for fresh water. Recycled wastewater will allow the state to increase access to the precious resource.
Recycled wastewater is not new to the state. It has previously been used in ice hockey rinks (冰球场), for crops, and to generate artificial snow. But now, water agencies will have the option to put recycled wastewater back into pipes for drinking. California is only the second state to allow purified wastewater to be consumed. The first was Colorado in 2022.
While the idea of drinking recycled wastewater may be off-putting, regulators spent more than a decade developing rules and regulations to ensure safety. Independent panels of scientists also reviewed the state’s rules around recycled wastewater consumption. All water will be treated for pathogens (病原体) and viruses before being available for consumption.
So far, the state’s plan has been met with approval from large water agencies. Many of them have plans to construct wastewater recycling plans over the next few years. In Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has set a goal aiming to produce 150 million gallons of direct and indirect recycled water per day. This water will be in the pipes of the 19 million people throughout the six counties that the agency serves.
Officials are aware that a certain amount of public convincing may still be necessary. However, they remain optimistic about the future of the project, reminding consumers that the water is safe, and that recycled water is already in use in California.
1. Why does California pass new regulations about recycled wastewater?A.To ease the pressure of drought. | B.To increase the supply of fresh water. |
C.To recycle the wastewater for industry. | D.To reduce the pollution of the wastewater. |
A.Surprising. | B.Necessary. | C.Funny. | D.Awful. |
A.The goal of wastewater recycling is hard to achieve. |
B.The state’s plan will be conducted by water agencies. |
C.Southern California will reduce its water production. |
D.People in California tend to prefer recycled water. |
A.Many people still disapprove of the project. |
B.The public are optimistic about the project. |
C.It will never be suitable to use recycled water. |
D.The project is the only solution to water shortage. |
1. What are the speakers talking about?
A.The jewelry. | B.A robbery. | C.A fact. |
A.The computer. | B.The jewelry. | C.The fridge. |
A.He has found some traces. |
B.He is on the way back from Canada. |
C.He has no idea what has happened. |
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
Swimmers enjoy cold swims
Many people enjoy swimming in icy cold water. An open-air swimming pool,
Until the lockdown for England was announced on 4 January, outdoor pools were allowed to remain open. “Demand has taken us by surprise,” said Murray Heining, a volunteer at the Woburn Lido. Over Christmas and New Year, the lido had to offer extra openings to keep up with the demand from
Cold-water swimming has grown in popularity in the UK over the past few years. A survey found that 7.5 million people in England had swum in outdoor pools, as well as lakes, rivers and the sea, in 2018. In some areas, such as the river Wharfe in Yorkshire, this new trend has made environmental groups think more about
Some people make it a regular practice;
The Outdoor Swimming Society classifies temperatures below 6℃ as “Baltic” and from 6-11℃ as “freezing”. They advise people
It wasn’t just the water that was cold—many people experienced a white Christmas; snow fell in several counties including Yorkshire and Suffolk. Paul Davies, the UK Met Office’s chief meteorologist (气象学家), a scientist
7 . 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. |
8 . Rising food prices have taken a big bite out of what Canadians are able to serve up for dinner but food economists say our ability to cope has been deteriorated by our common decline in cooking skills. “We are less able to cook than we were 30 or 40 years ago, and so it’s much more difficult for us to adapt our diet,” said Mike von Massow, an associate professor at the University of Guelph.
A 2010 federal government report called Improving Cooking and Food Preparation Skills, the most recent of its kind, said that all across the population, processed and pre-prepared foods have been permitted. “Related to this permission is the potential lack of transference of basic, traditional cooking and food preparation skills from parents to children and adolescents,” the report reads.
Moreover, the quality of pre-prepared foods in the market remains uneven, with problems related to the lack of detailed labelling on such products, as well as difficulties in logistics and distribution.
Annie Belov, a 21-year-old student, has taught herself a lot about cooking since food prices started shooting up. “When the inflation (通货膨胀) wasn’t as bad, I was constantly eating out,” said Belov. That might mean food on campus or picking up a prepared item at Safeway when the price was still around $5, she said.
Belov now often makes dishes such as Caesar salad, as well as hearty pasta salads that combine carbs with vegetables and a bit of chicken. Belov said she’s a lot more efficient in the kitchen thanks to building her skills through trial and error. “Now, definitely more than before, I can kind of look in the pantry or in the freezer and be like, ‘OK, yeah, I can make a meal quickly and easily.’”
It’s important to note, however, that cooking skills alone cannot solve the affordability problem, said Elaine Power. And in 2023, Food Banks Canada says food insecurity is rising with inflation and the high cost of living. So while cooking skills can better position people to feed themselves and their families as best they can in forced circumstances, “that doesn’t, and can’t, make up for income that is inadequate in the first place.”
1. Which is the closest in meaning to the underlined word in paragraph 1?A.worsened. | B.interrupted. | C.puzzled. | D.upset. |
A.Failing to attract diners. |
B.The loss of cooking skills. |
C.Difficulties in keeping its flavors. |
D.Shortage of fresh ingredients. |
A.She suffers a tough financial patch. |
B.She ends up showing a love of cooking. |
C.She used to dine out at a restaurant. |
D.She receives cooking education in schools. |
A.Lower cost of living. | B.More cooking at home. |
C.Food security status. | D.Increased income. |
9 . Smart phones provide a palm (手掌)-size window to the world, enabling us to do almost anything at the touch of a button. Smart homes look after themselves, and virtual meeting s mean that for many, time spent commuting is a thing of the past.
So we should have more free time. Time which is now spent sleeping, relaxing or simply doing nothing-right? We recently interviewed 300 people across Europe to understand how they used digital devices in day-to-day life. This research showed that people want to avoid empty periods of time in their lives, so they fill those periods performing tasks, some of which wouldn’t be possible without technology.
Whether it was waiting for a bus, waking in the morning, or lying in bed at night, our research reported that time which would previously be “empty” was now filled with brain training apps, creating lists of things they should do or try based on their social media feed, and other life admin.
On the face of it some of these tasks may seem like examples of tech saving us time. In theory, online banking should mean I have more time because I no longer need to go to the bank in my lunch break. However, our research suggests that this is not the case.
If the idea that you have more time than ever before is making you choke on your coffee, you are not alone. There is growing evidence that while digital technology may help us to save some time, we end up using that time to do more and more things. For many people, it is no longer enough to simply eat dinner, watch TV or maybe do an exercise class. Instead, in an attempt to avoid wasting time, these activities are performed while also browsing the web in search of the ingredients for a more perfect life and trying to develop a sense of achievement.
It seems that people still see going for a walk or actually being with friends as more valuable than being online. Maybe if we put down the phone a little more, we would have the time to actually cook those recipes we watch online.
1. What conclusion can be drawn in the first paragraph?A.Technology makes our lives easier. |
B.We can’t live well without modern technology. |
C.Virtual meeting is a thing of the past. |
D.A smart home offers you luxury and convenience. |
A.It is an essential means of relaxation. |
B.It does good to perform daily tasks. |
C.It is secretly stolen by technology. |
D.It forces people to do more work. |
A.It’s not too late to get free time back. |
B.Lunch break can be saved by online banking. |
C.Doing little or nothing is sometimes OK. |
D.Technology leads to a denser form of life. |
A.Students in on-line learning. |
B.Employees working in the bank. |
C.People relying on digital devices. |
D.Researchers in the technological lab. |
1.描述该现象;
2.表达你的观点及理由。
注意:1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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