1 . These days, if you hear about the birth of an Olivia or a Liam, you might feel sympathy—the poor child has been cursed (诅咒) with the most popular name of their time and might be at risk of sharing it with a kindergarten classmate. “The name Mary for instance, was the most popular girls name from 1880 to 1961.” said Laura Wattenberg, the founder of the naming-trends site Namerology.
In the past 60 or so years, American parents’ approach to naming their kids has undergone a deep shift. Today, many parents seek out less popular names to help their kids stand out. But in the past, parents typically picked common names, consciously or not, so that their kids would fit in.
In 1880, the percentage of babies who got a top-10 most popular name was in the neighborhood of 32 percent, according to Wattenberg’s calculations. In 1950, it was about 28 percent. And in 2020, it had fallen to an all-time low of 7 percent. “We are deep in an era of naming individuality, where parents assume that having a name sound distinctive and unique is a virtue,” Wattenberg said.
There came a turn toward novelty and distinctiveness in the 1960s. It was driven by many broader shifts in daily life. As family sizes shrunk and kids stopped doing labor, Americans “started to focus on the uniqueness of each child,” as the sociologist Philip Cohen has written, and “individuality emerged as a project—starting with naming of creating an identity.”
Another crucial change is that in the 1960s, parents started gaining access to data on baby naming trends, according to Evans, a professor in Bellevue University. Books informed parents which names were popular—and, by extension, which overexposed names they might want to avoid. As this information became more widely available, Evans argues, parents felt more social pressure not to pick the same name as everyone else for fear of not following the latest fashions.
1. Which of the following was the most welcome as a girl’s name from 1880 to 1961?| A．Olivia. | B．Liam. |
| C．Laura. | D．Mary. |
| A．To help their kids stand out. |
| B．To help their kids develop a virtue. |
| C．To help their kids integrate with others. |
| D．To keep names in circulation for a long time. |
| A．The uniqueness of each child. | B．The reasons for baby-naming shift. |
| C．Enormous shifts in American society. | D．The importance of creating an identity. |
| A．A column in a newspaper. | B．A review of a bestseller. |
| C．A story in a magazine. | D．A chapter of a science book. |
2 . Being in green spaces and connecting with nature is good for your physical and mental health. In Japanese natural healing, forest bathing has been used to decrease stress, anxiety, and even to treat mild depression. Now, scientists have discovered that blue spaces — natural waterways — are also connected to better mental health. A population-based study found that approach to water increased positive feelings of wellbeing.
Being near water gives people a sense of awe, because it gives people a consciousness of something greater than themselves. The sounds and movement of water gets people to focus their attention — like meditation — and this invites calm, You do not have to go to the coast to experience this well-being. Any waterway will do, including lakes, rivers, canals, or ponds. Even a flowing fountain will work.
The study also found that urban waterways were superior to feelings of well-being than just being near the ocean. Canals and rivers contain not only water but also an abundance of trees and plants, which means their capacity to improvement al well-being is likely to be due to the multiple benefits associated with both green and blue spaces.
Canals and rivers also provide homes to a range of wildlife, and we know that there is a notable association between encountering wildlife and mental well-being. Taken collectively, these findings provide an evidence base for what we thought about water and well-being.
These results are very exciting for urban citizens who have access to rivers and canals. The study also found that there were continuous improvements to mental well-being for up to 24 hours after visiting urban waterways. This is all good news. The availability of spaces to be in nature — both green and blue — will help calm their anxiety, stress, and help boost mental health.
1. Why does the author mention green spaces in paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic about blue spaces. |
| B．To tell the great benefits of forest bathing. |
| C．To tell us what works best in reducing stress. |
| D．To explain green spaces are unpopular now. |
| A．Your moods in the woods work quite differently. |
| B．Being near the ocean has the best function to you. |
| C．Green spaces have no capacity to improve well-being. |
| D．Combinations of green and blue spaces are more effective. |
| A．Slight. | B．Rare. | C．Significant. | D．Indistinct. |
| A．Intolerant. | B．Favorable. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
3 . Matthew began working on the brakes of his truck immediately he got home late on a Monday. For safety, he couldn’t
Matthew couldn’t breathe, move or yell. This was definitely a
The
Not only the father but also everyone was
| A．give up | B．carry on | C．set about | D．put off |
| A．consequence | B．idea | C．angle | D．start |
| A．switched | B．fell | C．covered | D．spread |
| A．shameful | B．scary | C．familiar | D．discouraging |
| A．Thankfully | B．Eventually | C．Obviously | D．Unfortunately |
| A．enthusiastic | B．patient | C．strong | D．willing |
| A．kicked | B．struck | C．thought | D．tried |
| A．accident | B．explosion | C．fight | D．exposure |
| A．madness | B．collapse | C．injury | D．breakdown |
| A．felt | B．escaped | C．separated | D．emerged |
| A．lifted | B．pushed | C．protected | D．detected |
| A．instructor | B．superior | C．guide | D．hero |
| A．responsible | B．qualified | C．grateful | D．eager |
| A．ended | B．changed | C．reacted | D．behaved |
| A．service | B．response | C．recover | D．change |
1. When did the world’s population reach 7 billion?
| A．In 2000. | B．In 2011. | C．In 2022. |
| A．India. | B．Japan. | C．Germany. |
| A．A link between population and climate. |
| B．A distribution of world population. |
| C．An introduction of world population. |
5 . Kayden and his little sister Kaycee were having a great time playing outside as their family gathered nearby for a get-together. While Kayden was safely riding his bike on the sidewalk, Kaycee ended up
No one else had realized where Kaycee was. Instead of panicking or waiting to get
“By the time everybody else saw Kaycee in the road, Kayden was right there...He ran right into the road to
Although Kayden had to be
Since the accident took place, Kayden has been getting all the heroic attention he
As for the
| A．sailing | B．wandering | C．escaping | D．cycling |
| A．approaching | B．passing | C．carrying | D．preventing |
| A．help | B．praise | C．comfort | D．information |
| A．slowly | B．elegantly | C．quickly | D．gradually |
| A．entertain | B．accompany | C．save | D．observe |
| A．delay | B．gathering | C．hesitation | D．process |
| A．caught | B．admitted | C．limited | D．forced |
| A．comment | B．living | C．recovery | D．display |
| A．admires | B．needs | C．hides | D．deserves |
| A．shy | B．curious | C．eager | D．able |
| A．react | B．return | C．apologize | D．compete |
| A．local firefighter | B．bike rider | C．police officer | D．car driver |
| A．recipe | B．fault | C．routine | D．honor |
| A．neighbors | B．adults | C．enemies | D．kids |
| A．sure | B．afraid | C．thankful | D．doubtful |
6 . Refill shops have been around for a decade. The first stores were small but appealed to many people who wanted to ditch plastic packaging and be more environmentally friendly. These zero-waste grocery stores allowed people to bring in their own refillable containers to buy food stored in large bins.
While these small shops are common in Europe and the US, they have recently gone from being trendy to being very mainstream. That’s because the UK supermarket giant ASDA rolled out its own chain of sustainable refill shops, according to The Grocer.
These refill stores offer the usual bins and have many household brands without the excessive(过度的)packaging including Kellogg, Yorkshire Tea, and Nestlé. Even Unilever and P&G shampoos and soaps are represented.
“We hope the varieties offered across our range of 100 branded and own-label loose(裸包装的)products can bring together several simple ways for customers to reduce, reuse or recycle at home,” ASDA director of commercial sustainability Susan Thomas told The Grocer.
Cutting back on single-use plastics is a big win for the planet while many people make an effort to recycle. But according to Greenpeace, while the government of the UK claims that 50 percent of household plastics is being recycled, over half of that is being sent to other countries. There is no way to know how much is actually being recycled. The best way to ensure that plastic doesn’t end up incinerated(焚烧), in landfills, or in the oceans, is not to use it in the first place. That’s where refill shops can help.
Many of these shops stock products from brands that are also being enthusiastic about selling sustainably sourced and local products, which helps reduce your carbon footprint. Only buying the amount of food that you actually need will also help cut down on food waste and the environmental cost of food production.
1. What does the underlined word “ditch” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Abandon. | B．Improve. | C．Consider. | D．Recycle. |
| A．By selling cheaper refillable containers. |
| B．By prohibiting plastic packaging widely. |
| C．By funding these first small refill shops. |
| D．By building its own chain ofrefill shops. |
| A．Warning grocers of plastic problems. |
| B．Showing the necessity of refill shops. |
| C．Telling the harm of single-use plastics. |
| D．Giving the examples of going zero-waste. |
| A．Purchase more products from brands. |
| B．Send plastic products to other countries. |
| C．Ensure wasted food ends up in landfills. |
| D．Avoid buying more food than we need. |
7 . There was a unique restaurant in London that beat out thousands of stylish restaurants to earn the top ranking on the popular TripAdvisor, despite not existing.
The tale began with a belief that Oobah Butler had developed after a part-time job writing fake(虚假的)TripAdvisor reviews for restaurants: The site was a “false reality”, despite millions of genuine reviews. He decided to see how far he could take a fake restaurant on the site so “The Shed at Dulwich” was born. Butler created a web page with a menu based on emotions and attractive photographs of dishes. He also listed its location as the street he lived on with no address, calling it an “appointment- only restaurant”, to avoid being attacked by fact—checkers.
The Shed was unexpectedly approved by TripAdvisor to be listed in May, starting out as the 18,149th-ranked restaurant in the city: dead last. Butler began having family and friends flood the site with fake reviews. “Spent a weekend in London and heard that this place is a must-visit,” one wrote. “After a few mildly frustrating phone calls I was in.” Soon the customers started calling. “We’re fully booked,” Butler told the would-be diners. However, the restaurant’s reputation started to grow in TripAdvisor’s rankings. Some companies used an estimated location of The Shed on Google to send free samples to Butler, expecting to work with him. In November, Butler received a note from TripAdvisor saying The Shed had become the No.1 ranked restaurant in London!
Butler thought it was time to expose the trick. The story has been praised as an incredible feat(事迹). However, in an era that is increasingly being influenced by all of the disinformation that can be found online, it has also served as another reminder of the ease with which dishonest actors are able to handle online platforms to sometimes unthinkable results.
1. What does Oobah Butler think of TripAdvisor?| A．It is a reliable information source. |
| B．It creates a false sense of reality. |
| C．It has too many genuine reviews. |
| D．It is a useful tool for his part-time job. |
| A．By offering discounts and special deals. |
| B．By sending free samples to customers. |
| C．By getting a specific location on google. |
| D．By flooding the site with fake reviews. |
| A．Butler earned people’s trust. |
| B．False information can be disastrous. |
| C．Online information is threatening our safety. |
| D．Online platforms are totally unreliable now. |
| A．No investigation, no right to speak. |
| B．Well began is half done. |
| C．Honesty is the best policy. |
| D．God helps those who help themselves. |
8 . Schools in the US and elsewhere are announcing bans on the recently released AI — powered ChatGPT out of fear that students could use the technology to complete their assignments. However, bans may be practically impossible given how difficult it is to detect when text is composed by ChatGPT. Is it instead time to rethink how students are taught and evaluated?
Educators are starting to question what it means to assess student learning if an AI can write an essay or paper similar to, or even better than, a student would — and the teacher can’t tell the difference. Many teachers believe the time-honored learning tradition will be destroyed from the ground up by Chat GPT. The Los Angeles Unified School District in California first blocked the use of ChatGPT on networks and devices in December 2022.
However, removing technology from the classroom can mean undesirable consequences, such as creating more obstacles for students with disabilities, says Trust. Additionally, restricting the use of ChatGPT on school networks and devices can’t stop students from using ChatGPT at home and in libraries.
It is also unclear if anti-cheating software can reliably detect AI-assisted writing. OpenAI is working to develop a digital watermark that can help teachers and academics spot students who are using ChatGPT to write essays. Open AI’s attempts to watermark AI text, however, hit limits.
Instead of worrying about how ChatGPT could enable cheating, educators should ask what motivates students to cheat in the first place and work on developing relationships of trust, says Jesse Stommel at the University of Denver in Colorado.
“Talk to students really frankly about what ChatGPT’s capable of, what it’s not,” says Stommel. “Have students use it to write an essay about Jane Austen and gender dynamics, and then have them read that essay and peer review it and think about what ChatGPT gets right and wrong.”
1. What does the author suggest schools do?| A．Adjust teaching and assessment. |
| B．Meet different demands from students. |
| C．Prohibit the use of ChatGPT in classrooms. |
| D．Break with the traditional teaching method. |
| A．Dark future of ChatGPT. | B．Educators’ worrying concern. |
| C．Crisis of traditional learning. | D．Difficulty in telling AI’s writing. |
| A．Amused. | B．Hopeful. | C．Shocked. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．AI helps students tell right and wrong. |
| B．Students should write about famous writers. |
| C．Educators should guide students to use AI properly. |
| D．The trust between teachers and students is hard to form. |
9 . One third of adults over 65 in America have never used the Internet, and half don’t even have Internet access at home. In San Francisco, “the center of tech”, 40% of older adults do not have basic digital literacy skills.
This situation is becoming appalling as over 10,000 Americans turn 65 every single day. By 2050,22% of Americans will be 65 or older. Meanwhile, technology is developing very fast. This means that a large number of people will be unable to proficiently use emergent technology.
Many people believe that seniors aren’t required to participate in our tech future because they’ll be retired and relaxed soon. But this is the farthest thing from the truth. Baby boomers are currently experiencing a different boom: With more people getting older than ever before, their life expediencies are also increasing dramatically. With medical advancements, the number of American people projected to live into their 90’s has doubled since 1965.
However, they don’t have strong financial or educational support. This is not a problem; it’s a crisis. More than half of employees over 50 have been laid off in what’s being called ”forced retirement“. And few organizations are actively helping older employees make the transition from full-time jobs to part-time ones. For those fortunate enough to be employed, 3 out of 5 older workers experience prejudice.
The easiest solution is to teach digital literacy. If baby boomers want to survive the forthcoming retirement crisis, they should get enough digital knowledge and skills to operate today’s tools and tomorrow’s platforms. With every crisis comes an opportunity. Tutoring, customer service, editing, research, book-keeping, and other virtual assistance-based work open the doors. But again, digital knowledge is first required to live in our high-tech society and gig economy. So try to get more online and navigate the growing number of sites and apps.
1. What does the underlined word “appalling” probably mean in paragraph2?| A．Confusing. | B．Terrible. | C．Controllable. | D．Inspiring. |
| A．A crisis after retirement. | B．Being knocked out in the future. |
| C．Failing to receive good healthcare. | D．Tending to double their life expediencies. |
| A．The features of high-tech jobs. | B．The way out for baby boomers. |
| C．Potential industries in the future. | D．The importance of developing technology. |
| A．Have a good sense of crisis. | B．Avoid retiring at an early age. |
| C．Look for many part-time jobs. | D．Improve digital literacy actively. |
10 . Some events have been added to the 2024 Olympics, with surfing, break dancing and sport climbing among the recent additions. With them come a group of terms that are foreign to the French language. For some French-language purists, it’s too much to bear to rely on English to praise surfers on their “nose riding”—standing on the front of the board. They’ve decided they need a French solution.
The French government has created a team of language experts devoted to promoting the national language. They will meet periodically over the next couple of years to identify and define new sports terms. The French battle against the influence of other languages isn’t new. In 1994, the Toubon law was passed, forcing the use of French in all government publications, contracts and advertisements. Yet it contained several loopholes(漏洞), which allow brands and companies to extensively use English. As a result, anglicisms(从英语中借用的词) are becoming more obvious.
Julie Neveux, linguistics(语言学) professor at Sorbonne University in Paris, said anglicisms are “sometimes estimated at just under 5% of the present vocabulary, but they are disturbing because they show that we follow an economic and cultural model other than our own.” They are particularly present in sports competitions and events, during which athletes from around the world are used to communicating in English. “Sport was one of the first areas to be globalized,” said sports historian Michael Attali. “This phenomenon has strengthened English as the official language.”
Despite their best efforts, no committee has successfully prevented English from infiltrating(渗透) everyday language. By the time French officials agreed on a translation and its definition, the English version has already spread throughout the nation. “Similar committees have been put in place in the past, but nothing has changed so far,” said Attali.
“There are far fewer anglicisms in French than there are French words in English,” said Neveux, adding these exchanges should not be seen as a threat. “All living languages exist by borrowing from each other. Languages only exist thanks to their impurity.”
1. What will a team of language experts do?| A．Make French much purer. |
| B．Bring English and French together. |
| C．Decide upon some new sports terms. |
| D．Promote the spread of French in the world. |
| A．English words. | B．French words. |
| C．Newly created words. | D．Anglicisms |
| A．Successful. | B．Fruitless. |
| C．Unmentioned. | D．Unimportant. |
| A．All languages should be preserved. |
| B．English is more popular than French. |
| C．Neveux is positive about the impurity of language. |
| D．The exchanges between two languages can be avoided. |
