1 . My phone was an extension of myself. I couldn’t go anywhere
When I was watching TV shows or movies and there was a boring part, I
I have welcomed silence into my life with open arms and am enjoying the increased
As much as having a smartphone was
| A．through | B．without | C．despite | D．upon |
| A．updates | B．instructions | C．assessments | D．decisions |
| A．symbol | B．responsibility | C．reality | D．addiction |
| A．conscious | B．shameful | C．foolish | D．random |
| A．sell | B．pull | C．throw | D．mind |
| A．avoided | B．denied | C．missed | D．allowed |
| A．assist | B．improve | C．associate | D．occupy |
| A．requests | B．thoughts | C．directions | D．comments |
| A．instead of | B．regardless of | C．but for | D．apart from |
| A．creativity | B．productivity | C．knowledge | D．independence |
| A．routine | B．necessity | C．loneliness | D．temptation |
| A．genuine | B．grateful | C．direct | D．desperate |
| A．naturally | B．certainly | C．seemingly | D．gradually |
| A．wonder | B．imagination | C．interest | D．authenticity |
| A．depressive | B．comfortable | C．stressful | D．boring |
2 . In the days before the Internet, critical thinking was the most important skill of informed citizens. But in the digital age, according to Anastasia Kozyreva, a psychologist at the Max Planck Institute of Human Development, and her colleagues, an even more important skill is critical ignoring.
As the researchers point out, we live in an attention economy where content producers on the Internet compete for our attention. They attract us with a lot of emotional and eye-catching stories while providing little useful information, so they can expose us to profit-generating advertisements. Therefore,we are no longer customers but products, and each link we click is a sale of our time and attention. Toprotect ourselves from this, Kozyreva advocates for learning the skill of critical ignoring, in which readers intentionally control their information environment to reduce exposure to false and low-quality information.
According to Kozyreva, critical ignoring comprises three strategies. The first is to design ourenvironments, which involves the removal of low-quality yet hard-to-resist information from around. Successful dieters need to keep unhealthy food out of their homes. Likewise, we need to set up a digital environment where attention-grabbing items are kept out of sight. As with dieting, if one tries to bank onwillpower not to click eye-catching “news”, he’ll surely fail. So, it’s better to just keep them out of sightto begin with.
The next is to evaluate the reliability of information, whose purpose is to protect you from false and misleading information. It can be realized by checking the source in the mainstream news agencies which have their reputations for being trustworthy.
The last goes by the phrase “do not feed the trolls.” Trolls are actors who internationally spread false and hurtful information online to cause harm. It may be appealing to respond to them to set the facts straight, but trolls just care about annoying others rather than facts. So, it’s best not to reward their bad behaviour with our attention.
By sharpening our critical ignoring skills in these ways, we can make the most of the Internet while avoiding falling victim to those who try to control our attention, time, and minds.
1. What can we learn about the attention economy from paragraph 2?| A．It offers little information. | B．It features depressing stories. |
| C．It saves time for Internet users. | D．It seeks profits from each click. |
| A．To discuss the quality of information |
| B．To prove the benefits of healthy food. |
| C．To show the importance of environments. |
| D．To explain the effectiveness of willpower. |
| A．Reveal their intention. | B．Turn a deaf ear to them. |
| C．Correct their behaviour. | D．Send hard facts to them. |
| A．Reasons for critical thinking in the attention economy. |
| B．Practising the skill of critical ignoring in the digital age. |
| C．Maximizing the benefits of critical ignoring on the Internet. |
| D．Strategies of abandoning critical thinking for Internet users |
3 . Three men were
The men had been
Located in the western Pacific Ocean, the Federated States of Micronesia is
“I’m
| A．kept | B．rescued | C．injured | D．prohibited |
| A．letter | B．word | C．article | D．sign |
| A．missing | B．dangerous | C．intelligent | D．lucky |
| A．recorded | B．followed | C．spotted | D．exposed |
| A．access | B．permission | C．information | D．assistance |
| A．composed | B．made | C．admitted | D．thought |
| A．strangely | B．traditionally | C．surprisingly | D．originally |
| A．applying | B．preferring | C．intending | D．turning |
| A．held on to | B．ran out of | C．gave way to | D．made up for |
| A．failing | B．submitting | C．pretending | D．stopping |
| A．Sadly | B．Obviously | C．Fortunately | D．Consequently |
| A．set out | B．took off | C．gave up | D．broke down |
| A．picked at | B．picked up | C．picked out | D．picked off |
| A．fond | B．aware | C．proud | D．careful |
| A．attach | B．respond | C．contribute | D．object |
4 . In a video from Visit Iceland, a crew is seen working on making a horse-sized keyboard out of massive blocks of wood. The keyboard is then put outside against the gorgeous scenery for the typing horses to reply to emails. Unsurprisingly, the replies are nonsense, with examples listed as “bpnisi. // hihaihf＝. sf”. “OutHorse Your Email” is Iceland’s latest stunt (噱头) to promote tourism. Visitors can choose a trained horse to type responses to their work emails when they are on holiday.
Due to the pandemic, many workers have transitioned to remote working, finding that the lines between their work and personal lives have become blurred. A survey conducted by Visit Iceland revealed that 59% of people globally now feel as if their boss, colleagues, and customers expect them to reply when on holiday and 41% of people check their work emails between one and four times a day when on holiday. That’s why Iceland is assigning emails to its horses, asking them to make replies.
“When visitors travel to Iceland, we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer, from breathtaking surroundings to endless landscapes," said the head of Visit Iceland. "Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that. With our world-first service, we hope to appeal to people to disconnect and take a well-deserved, uninterrupted break.”
Since “OutHorse Your Email” service was launched, it has got a lot of attention from the Internet. “Is it a ridiculous tourism stunt? Sure. But it indeed encourages me to enjoy my trip wholeheartedly,” said Thom Dunn, an online user from Canada. Hunter Boyce from the USA also made a comment, “The service sounds interesting, but I don’t want to drive my boss mad or be fired.”
1. What can we know about the typing horses?| A．They are trained to reply to emails. |
| B．They type meaningful emails. |
| C．They reply to emails in famous scenic spots. |
| D．They work with a common keyboard. |
| A．Unclear. |
| B．Unimportant. |
| C．Controllable. |
| D．Adjustable. |
| A．To reduce people’s pressure. |
| B．To fight against the pandemic. |
| C．To encourage undisturbed trips. |
| D．To improve visitors’ work efficiency. |
| A．Ambiguous. |
| B．Negative. |
| C．Favourable. |
| D．Indifferent. |
5 . The whole world knows them: actors, singers, models, athletes and TV personalities. If I use social media, I get too familiar.
I have nothing against the entertainment industry and celebrities. The problem is that by idolizing the entertainment industry so much, we sometimes completely forget about the things that are truly important and that are changing our world. You probably know who Leonardo DiCaprio is—a very talented American actor and film producer. But then you probably don’t know who Cori Bargmann is. Bargmann is a scientist who is uncovering the causes of Alzheimer’s and autism, which have been unknown for years.
What I think is wrong is that DiCaprio’s net worth is $260 million dollars, while Bargmann’s is less than $l million dollars. DiCaprio is definitely talented and has worked hard to give us good films, but Bargmann is working for something that can save thousands of humans who are suffering. And just because our society prefers to idolize the entertainment industry instead of science, she gets paid much less than she deserves.
But if it would benefit the world to invest all of our time and attention toward scientists, why don’t we make scientists our new “celebrities”?
First of all, we like being entertained. We love pretty faces and easy-to-digest information. It’s easier to care about simple stuff rather than scientific, complicated things. Another reason is that most scientists don’t like being in the spotlight. They’ re mostly reserved and like to have privacy. They’ re busy people, which explains why they haven’t attracted the media the same way that performers have. Also, people have free will and the right to be interested in whatever they want to be.
However, studies have shown that young people are more interested in a scientific career as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic has also made known some scientists who have suddenly started appearing on TV and guiding us on how to get protected from this deadly virus. Maybe that is the start of the development of a different point of view which will be in favor of science for future generations.
1. Why does the author mention Leonardo DiCaprio and Cori Bargmann?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To give an example. |
| C．To offer a definition. | D．To propose a solution. |
| A．Scientists get paid much less than actors. |
| B．People are busy choosing what they like. |
| C．Scientists don’t feel like being paid attention to. |
| D．People prefer entertainment to complex science. |
| A．Studies make scientists known and accepted by the masses. |
| B．Young people want to change their jobs because of the pandemic. |
| C．People are attracted to science and scientists during a special time. |
| D．Most scientists gradually become willing to show up in public light. |
| A．Objective. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Prejudiced. | D．Indifferent. |
A high school senior student Liu Yu from Chengdu was beaten to the point of a bone fracture for trying to stop queue-jumping.
On Oct. 19, Liu went to a fast food restaurant on the
"It doesn't matter to me
On the night of Oct. 23, the man
This piece of news
Some netizens say that it is easy to recover
1. What does the man say about the woman's car?
| A．It needs a new engine. |
| B．The wheels need to be replaced. |
| C．Something is wrong with the brakes. |
| A．He wants to see a show. |
| B．He has to work on other cars first. |
| C．He doesn’t have the parts he needs. |
| A．Take the bus. |
| B．Drive her car carefully. |
| C．Bring her car back in the morning. |
| A．The bus was speeding. | B．The driver lost control of the truck. | C．The bus driver made a sudden turn. |
9 . What would your life be like without phones?
In one of my classes today we discussed the question of how our lives would be without a mobile phone. I actually felt quite sad to hear how some kids cannot
It is true that everything
Another point was that phones are very handy for
All in all, this question is very interesting to
| A．affect | B．survive | C．succeed | D．perform |
| A．Personally | B．Specially | C．Entirely | D．Gradually |
| A．suffered | B．commanded | C．forced | D．advised |
| A．came up | B．came across | C．came down | D．came to |
| A．more than | B．less than | C．other than | D．rather than |
| A．appears | B．falls | C．works | D．grows |
| A．seconds | B．hours | C．days | D．months |
| A．customers | B．teachers | C．students | D．people |
| A．direction | B．close | C．necessary | D．kind |
| A．distant | B．wish | C．fact | D．suggestions |
| A．in person | B．in advance | C．with surprise | D．with joy |
| A．extreme | B．active | C．fair | D．important |
| A．style | B．communication | C．expression | D．argument |
| A．progress | B．compete | C．arise | D．settle |
| A．looking after | B．looking back | C．looking up | D．looking out |
| A．selflessly | B．quickly | C．hardly | D．slowly |
| A．grateful | B．peaceful | C．painful | D．helpful |
| A．textbook | B．dictionary | C．Internet | D．newspaper |
| A．forecast | B．consider | C．judge | D．select |
| A．benefits | B．skills | C．doubts | D．evidence |
