1 . 假如你是杭州外国语学校的学生会主席李华，请你用英语给杭州娃哈哈进出口有限公司总经理宗馥莉女士写一封信，表达对她刚刚痛失她的“民族企业家父亲——宗庆后老先生”的慰问。内容包括：
1.表达哀思；
2.对娃哈哈集团的希望和建议。
condolences—慰问；吊唁
Dear Ms. Zong,

I’m Li Hua from Hangzhou Foreign Language High School.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 . People tend to cut corners and allow trusted workmates to do their work when working as a team. Now researchers have found that the same thing happens when humans work with robots.

Dietlind Cymek at the Technical University of Berlin in Germany and her colleagues designed an experiment to test whether humans would put in less effort when they think that their personal contribution to a task won’t be noticed.

In the experiment, the researchers asked a group of 42 people to examine images of circuit boards (电路板) for errors using a computer that tracked their work. Half of them looked at boards that had already been checked by a robot, and half were told that they were the only ones responsible for quality control.

People working in partnership with the robot caught fewer errors, after they had already seen that the robot had successfully flagged lots of errors.

The researchers say such teamwork could lead to a drop in motivation if individual effort isn’t visible and warn that there could be safety risks if teams of people and robots work on safety-related tasks in the same way.

Kathleen Richardson at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, says it is fine to use robots as long as they are effective, but that they should be considered tools rather than workmates or team members. “It just strikes me that workers think when a tool can do something, they let it,” says Richardson.

This is probably down to poor management style, in which individual work isn’t recognised. “I bet you if there was an motivation behind it, and if the humans could get extra pay for spotting errors in the circuit boards, then they’d put a bit more effort into it,” she adds.

1. What is the experiment mainly about?

A．Workplace safety.	B．Management style.
C．Industrial innovation.	D．Working productivity.

2. What do we know about the people working with robots in the experiment?

A．They preferred to work individually.

B．They paid less attention to their work.

C．They were not appreciative of robots’ effort.

D．They worried about being replaced by robots.

3. What is Richardson’s attitude towards human-robot cooperation?

A．Favorable.

B．Unclear.

C．Uninterested.

D．Doubtful.

4. What does Richardson suggest the management do?

A．Correct errors.	B．Increase work time.
C．Reward hard work.	D．Encourage teamwork.

3 . According to a new study from Oxford Economics, a rise in artificial intelligence will result in an increase in “income inequality” as they estimate that 20 million manufacturing jobs will be lost in the next 11 years. In China alone, there could be 14 million robots taking work currently done by humans by 2030. While in the United States, more than 1.5 million workers would have lost their employment to technology by 2030.

The report predicts the use of robots worldwide has increased to 2.25 million over the past two decades. The researchers said, “As a result of robotisation, tens of millions of jobs will be lost, especially in poorer economies that rely on lower-skilled workers, which will therefore translate into an increase in income inequality.”

However, the researchers noted how “robotisation” has the potential to boost productivity and economic growth. They predicted a 5.3 percent rise in global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030.The report said, “This means adding an extra $4.9 trillion per year to the global economy by 2030(in today’s prices).”

The report remained positive about the use of automation and urged lawmakers not to sand in the way of robots in the workplace, despite the threat of job losses.

The researchers said, “These findings should not lead policy-makers to seek to prevent the adoption of robot technology. Instead, the challenge should be to distribute the robot profits more evenly by helping workers prepare for and adapt to the big changes it will bring about. Explore all policy options from training, initiatives (新方案) and new welfare programs such as universal basic income.”

1. What is the number of potential job loss in Oxford Economics report based on?

A．Accurate figures.	B．Official statistics.
C．Artificial intelligence.	D．Approximate calculation.

2. What can we infer about the trend of robotisation in manufacturing industry?

A．It may enlarge the gap between rich and poor.

B．It has helped increase the global income.

C．It may increase international competition in lawmaking.

D．It has been universally recognized.

3. What do the researchers suggest to policy-makers in the last paragraph?

A．Boosting national economic development.

B．Providing citizens with lifelong education.

C．Slowing down the spread of robot technology.

D．Protecting workers’ interests by making new plans.

4. What’s the researchers’ attitude towards “robotisation”?

A．Skeptical.

B．Favorable.

C．Conservative.

D．Tolerant.

4 . 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。

Eat or heat?

No more ironing, limited oven use and showering at work—Europeans are trying to keep energy use down but the bills still keep climbing. Costs of energy for British consumers will rise by 80% from October,    1     will take the average annual household bills to ￡3, 549. This makes the energy crisis severer than    2     of the 1970s and 1980s.

Keetley    3     (lose) his job as a council adviser in April and lives on ￡600 a month from a social security scheme. Half of that goes on rent, he said, with the remainder barely covering the     4       (essential). He now eats one meal a day and although he has reduced energy consumption to a minimum, he spends more than 15% of his income on energy bills. “    5     cost of living has increased and yet you are expected to live on the money    6     (provide) for when there wasn’t a crisis... I either can have my heating on or eat,” Keetley said.

A household is defined as living in fuel poverty if it is low income and needs to spend 10% or even    7       (much) of its income on energy, according to UK charity National Energy Action and other British charities. Experts agree that despite this     8       (be) a hard season, Europe will       9       (undoubted) make it through the winter, but the concern is    10     will happen next year.

5 . 最近，你们班就“是否应该帮助陌生人”展开了讨论，同学们就这一话题意见不一，你的看法如何？根据所提供的信息，以“Should We Help Strangers?”为题，写一篇短文。

	原因
赞成	帮助他人是美德； 帮助他人就是帮助自己；
反对	怕陷入麻烦； 怕被误解；
你的观点？（至少两点）

注意：
1.表达清楚，语法正确，上下文连贯；
2.必须包括表格中所有的相关信息，并适当发挥；
3.词数：100左右（正文的开头已给出，不计入总词数）；
4.不得使用真实姓名、校名和地名等。
参考词汇：美德virtue

Should We Help Strangers?

Recently our class had a discussion about whether we should help strangers. Different students have different opinions.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . My granddad often helped me make a tool to catch fish when I was young and we would spend hours along a river. It was lovely for both of us then. Many more of today’s grandparents have a growing sense of adventure. And a trend is catching on: skip-gen travel — grandparents taking fun-filled vacations with grand kids without their parents along.

A survey found that 83% of grandparents put travel with their grand kids as the number one thing when they retire. Skip-gen travel gets popular for good reason. Kids have their lives enriched and learn outside classrooms. This is also a time of talking and sharing ideas.

“How grandparents talk to children is different from how parents talk to them. Actually, I feel on a more equal footing with my grandchildren than I do with my own children,” Annie Collins, a travel architect and also part of the trend, says. “Kids away from their parents are more open to ideas and willing to express themselves. It’s not just kids gaining from traveling. Who gets the most out of this? You might think it’s them but it’s us.” According to a study by the Cleveland Clinic, grandparents who help watch and spend time with grand kids may actually live longer than their peers（同龄人）.

It’s also important to recognize that grandparents often have more time to travel. Unlike their children, who may still be in the pursuit of a personal career that offers limited time off, grandparents are often retired and likely have a different viewpoint on life, prioritizing experiences and family. So knowing the kids are in great hands, moms and dads will have a bit of time to themselves — some much-needed leisure time alone to rest and recharge their batteries.

However, skip-gen travel is not for every grandparent. After all, grandparents are worn out with years and not so energetic. They surely treasure the chance to form close ties with their grandchildren, but it’s wiser to say no when only the youth could enjoy themselves, for the travel should be a win for everyone involved.

1. Why does the author mention fishing experiences with his granddad?

A．To lead in the trend of skip-gen travel.	B．To share the pleasure in going fishing.
C．To stress the importance of family ties.	D．To show the growing interest in adventure.

2. Which of the following may Annie Collins agree?

A．Many parents are too strict with children.

B．Grandparents benefit more from skip-gen travel.

C．Spending time with grandparents is better for kids.

D．Children become mature when away from parents.

3. What do we know about the parents whose kids are on skip-gen travel?

A．They enjoy the moment to relax.	B．They feel less anxious and stressed.
C．They miss their kids very much.	D．They look forward to their own trip.

4. What does the author suggest grandparents do?

A．Get kids involved in travel planning.	B．Strengthen the bond with grandchildren.
C．Reduce skip-gen travel appropriately.	D．Make decisions in both sides’ interests.

7 . More than half a trillion dollars. That's the estimated value of all the stuff that U. S. shoppers bought last year only to return it—more than the economy of Israel or Austria. We tried new brands with unfamiliar sizes after seeing them on TikTok. We overbought for the holidays, and we shopped overly online, where returns are between two and five times more likely than that from stores.

Where does it all go? Take the blanket I bought on holiday sale for example. I opened the package, only to discover it was just too small for my new sofa. So I returned it. Sorry, blanket! What will happen to it?

“Your blanket is very likely to be in a landfill,” says Hitendra Chaturvedi, a supply chain management professor at Arizona State University. “That is what consumers don't realize—the life of a return is a very, very sad path.” Value is the big threshold (门槛): Is the product worth the cost of shipping back and paying someone to inspect, clean, repair or test? Experts estimate that retailers (零售商) throw away about 25％ of their returns. Every year, U. S. returns create almost 6 billion pounds of landfill waste.

Many others get resold in discount and outlet stores. Some go to sellers on websites. Some get donated to charity or recycled. “These options have increased over the past decade, allowing more and more returns to find a new home”, says Marcus Shen, chief operating officer of B-Stock, a platform where retailers can resell their returns, often to smaller stores.

As companies compete on flexible return policies, technology is also slowly playing a part: helping shoppers buy the right-size sweater or picture a new blanket inside their room. Most importantly, She says, shoppers themselves are getting more and more comfortable with buying stuff that's not exactly brand-new.

“The idea of that is no longer scary for us, right?” he says. On his holiday-returns agenda is an electric, self-heating coffee mug that he has never opened, and he feels confident it will find a happy new buyer.

1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The challenge facing the American economy.	B．The urgency to cut down on online shopping.
C．The returning problem caused by overbuying online.	D．The cost of finding new homes for returned goods.

2. Why do some returns end up in landfills?

A．It's required by the return policies.	B．It saves retailers 6 billion pounds a year.
C．It's impossible to put returns to other uses.	D．It's more economically efficient for retailers.

3. How does technology contribute to less returning?

A．By helping shoppers make better decisions.	B．By restoring the newness in returned goods.
C．By improving the return policy-making process.	D．By drawing pictures of the goods for the shoppers.

4. Which of the following examples indicates a desirable end-result for returns?

A．TikTok items.

B．The coffee mug.

C．The blanket.

D．A right-size sweater.

8 . Nowadays, cellphones play a big part in our life. Besides being a means of communication, cellphones also provide ______ ---they allow listening to music, playing games, etc. So you probably often ______this Go into any restaurant and you’ll notice cellphones on the table are just as ______a sight as forks. Honestly, I always find the sight ________Imagine how you feel when your partner is interested in his cellphone ______ your talks.

A recent study was designed to ____ the influence of cellphones on the ______ of phone users themselves. Two groups of volunteers were asked to have a meal with friends. The first group were told to ______ their cellphones during the meal ______ the second were not. The results showed a decrease in pleasure among the second group, who______ used their cellphones because they were close at hand. Besides, those who _____ with someone face to face meanwhile using cellphones reported a greater sense of unhappiness, compared to those without a cellphone in hand.

Researcher Dunn says, “Using a phone at the table is contagious(传染的）.” His words are_______

Yesterday when I was at a restaurant, I noticed a woman never once looked at her cellphone when waiting for food; so I fought the______ to look at mine; I wanted to______ her amazing standard.

Actually, what ______is what’s right in front of us. That’s where the real connections take place.

1.

A．advice

B．protection

C．education

D．enjoyment

2.

A．choose

B．consider

C．experience

D．expect

3.

A．common

B．funny

C．special

D．strange

4.

A．amazing

B．understandable

C．uncomfortable

D．curious

5.

A．because of

B．rather than

C．along with

D．other than

6.

A．reduce

B．collect

C．use

D．determine

7.

A．decisions

B．interests

C．feelings

D．characters

8.

A．put away

B．stick to

C．pick up

D．turn on

9.

A．so

B．because

C．while

D．if

10.

A．hardly

B．quickly

C．indirectly

D．frequently

11.

A．communicated

B．argued

C．worked

D．finished

12.

A．true

B．confusing

C．friendly

D．misleading

13.

A．agreement

B．fear

C．wish

D．ability

14.

A．question

B．design

C．change

D．follow

15.

A．matters

B．encourages

C．challenges

D．improves

9 . Working from home has been a long-held dream for many employees craving more flexible work arrangements and comfort. With the fantasy coming true because of the outbreak of COVID-19, however, quite a few people find it less romantic than expected. Amid the ongoing epidemic, a large number of Chinese companies have ordered employees to work from home, looking to control the spread of the virus as staff members return from the Spring Festival travel rush.

Allowing employees to work from home-even if they are not symptomatic-and enabling virtual meetings could help limit the spread of the virus and assuage employees’ fears about exposure.

But there’s another side to the coin. As millions of people started to work at home, people found video communication difficult. Many telecommuting platforms, including DingTalk, an all-in-one mobile workplace from Alibaba, went through temporary outages due to surging demand.

Fu Yangang, a product manager at a house trading company in Beijing, found he couldn’t receive any messages from colleagues during an online meeting at home on Tuesday, and neither could they. Similar problems arose when they switched to Zoom, a California-based video communication app which provides remote conferencing services.

Residences filled with distractions such as spouses, parents, kids or pets set up another obstacle for many employees working from home. Xia Baigi, who works for an Internet company in Beijing, was required to stay at home in Jilin Province until Feb.10, but has found what was an oft-wished for working style a hindrance to productivity. Her parents, who don’t have much to do, suddenly became concerned about her job and asked many questions. “I love my mom and dad, but their current behavior just adds stress and strain,” she said. “Sometimes I have to lock myself in my own room to avoid their enthusiasm.”

For people who are able to stay as productive as they would in an office environment, they came across a different problem： “surprisingly” longer working time at home. Working for an investment company in Shanghai, Zhang Fei felt he could never escape from his job working at home in Shandong Province, which makes time management a whole lot messier. “There is no longer a’ work’ and’ no work’ time. My work comes calling at all hours, which can keep me at a frenetic pace,” he said. With the return date drawing closer, he said, he never felt so excited about being back at the office.

1. Why many people can work from home in China?

A．Because many employees think it is a fantasy idea.

B．Because the employers think more highly of working from home than traditional working.

C．Because the COVID-19 occurred.

D．Because large number of Chinese companies want to avoid the Spring Festival travel rush.

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph 2?

A．Increase.

B．Ease.

C．Give up.

D．Find.

3. Which of the following statement is right?

A．After Fu Yangang and his partners switched to Zoom, their problem was solved.

B．Xia Baiqi’s parents could give her more constructive advice.

C．Xia Baiqi locked herself in her own room to avoid distractions.

D．By saying “There is no longer a ‘work’ and ‘no work’ time.”, Zhang Fei meant he can work less time when at home.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Working from home has unexpected challenges

B．Working from home can save you a lot of trouble

C．How to avoid distractions when working from home

D．More flexible, less work time

10 . It is inevitable (不可避免的) that students will make mistakes. Some teachers think punishing students is the most effective way for them to learn their lessons. Others choose a more moderate (温和的) way, like a face-to-face talk. I support the second.

In my opinion, punishment, especially physical punishment, will harm the students mentally. The students are likely to feel very ashamed. Their confidence may get lost as a result. They may end up locking themselves up and refusing to communicate with even their best friends. In such a situation, it will be very difficult to encourage them to open up again.

Furthermore, punishment is likely to cause additional misunderstandings between the teacher and the student. For example, my cousin once disturbed his teacher in class by talking to another student. The teacher only punished him instead of both of them. He believed the teacher to be partial towards students with better grades. Little by little, he started to dislike this teacher.

To help students learn lessons from their mistakes, there are many better methods for teachers to use than punishment. Here are some suggestions:

① Both the student and the teacher should calm down and then discuss the problem together.

② The teacher should give the student a chance to express his or her thoughts on the problem. In this way, the student may also be more willing to follow the teacher’s advice.

③ The teacher and the student can reach an agreement. For example, if the student promises not to make the same mistake again, the teacher can promise him or her a reward (奖励).

1. According to the writer, if a student gets physical punishment, he or she may ________.

A．understand the teacher	B．lose the confidence
C．follow the teacher’s advice	D．learn some lessons

2. What does the word partial probably mean in this passage?

A．部分的	B．热情的
C．偏袒的	D．聚会的

3. The writer supports his/her idea by writing________.

A．Para.1 and Para. 2	B．Para. 2 and Para. 3
C．Para. 2, Para. 3 and Para. 4	D．Para. 3 and Para. 4

4. The writer writes the passage in order to________.

A．To call on students not to make mistakes

B．To ask both teachers and students to calm down.

C．To advise teachers to use a better way instead of punishment

D．To advise teachers to use physical punishment

5. From the passage we know the writer is ________.

A．a nurse	B．not a good student
C．a strict teacher	D．a worrying parent