1 . Technology bosses who fail to protect children online face up to two years in prison after 40 Tory MPs (保守党议员) backed plans for a new law.
With great support for an amendment (修正案) to the Online Safety Bill from a few figures of authority, which would enable senior managers to be put to prison if they willfully or neglectfully fail to carry out their duties to children, the MPs are forcing Downing Street to take the amendment seriously. Similar laws were passed in Ireland last month.
At present, the bill has criminal sanctions (制裁) for managers — but only if they fail to cooperate with Ofcom, the regulator — and fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s global income for failures to protect children online. MPs and campaigners believe these are not a serious enough deterrent to protect children online or to prevent a repeat of the Molly Russell tragedy. Under the bill,a company should ensure children do not encounter unhealthy content promoting self-harm, eating disorders and suicide. The companies must use technology to identify the age of people using the platform. The measure is due to be voted on at report stage on Jan.17th 2023, after which the process of making and passing laws will move on to the Lords.
However, Monica Horten, the policy manager at Open Rights Group, which defends human rights online, warned:“Does this turn Britain into an powerful state? One that would put people in prison, not for what they’ve written but for what other people are writing and other people’s misuse of the system. I think that for parliament (议会) to be just nodding this through with no debate would be morally wrong and deserving criticism.”
The government said,“Our aim is to hold to account social media platforms for harmful content, while also ensuring the UK remains a great place to invest and grow a tech business. We are confident we can achieve both of these things.
1. What can we know about the new law?| A．Up to 10 percent of a company’s global income will be fined for failures soon. |
| B．Senior managers could face a serious sanction once the law comes into effect. |
| C．The amendment to the Online Safety Bill has gained support from all people. |
| D．Similar laws were passed in Ireland last month and will be passed in Britain. |
| A．Money. | B．Blow. | C．Fine. | D．Failure. |
| A．Parliament will face severe criticism for nodding the new law. |
| B．This new law would turn Britain into a powerful state eventually. |
| C．Molly Russell was a sufferer exposed to unsafe online environment. |
| D．The government approves of the amendment unconditionally. |
| A．Opinions on a New Law Protecting Children Online |
| B．The UK Aiming to Punish Some Technology Bosses |
| C．An Amendment Support to the Online Safety Bill |
| D．Prison Threat for Online Harm to Children Since |
2 . In a remote mountainous region in Pakistan, a cable car carrying six children and two adults became stuck in mid-air. However, this terrifying incident resulted in a remarkable display of bravery and intelligence as ordinary bystanders stepped up to save lives.
The incident began like any other day when the small group started their typical daily journey to school and the local shops aboard the shaky three cables broke, causing it to be suspended in the air.
Immediately, multiple rescue efforts were set into motion. The rescue mission lasted for over 10 hours. Military helicopters and local experts attempted to rescue the stuck car. However, the complex terrain (地形) and the cable car’s unsafe position made progress slow. By nightfall, the helicopter team had only rescued one child from the car.
The local administration called upon two local brothers, Sahib and Nasir, for their expert skill in operating temporary cable cars in the region. With limited resources available, the Khan brothers thought up a clever idea to reach the stuck cable car. They constructed a small temporary car using a zip line, allowing them to move over the risky terrain and approach the hanging cable car.
Nasir remained on the ground, assisting with the pulley (滑轮) system. Sahib bravely boarded the temporary car and started a dangerous journey to ward the stuck children. Once he reached the hanging car, Sahib carefully tied a rope around the children in the car. Making several trips, he secured the children and carried them across one at a time. He successfully transported two children to safety in this fashion.
With Sahib’s courageous efforts paving the way, local rescuers took over, using the same method to bring the remaining three children and the two adults back to safety. This heroic rescue mission is a powerful reminder that when people work together with a common goal in mind, they can brainstorm, even in the face of challenges that seemingly can’t be tackled successfully.
1. What happened when a cable car was on its daily routine journey?| A．It stopped halfway due to a power failure. |
| B．A group of visitors were trapped in it. |
| C．Broken cables left it hanging in the sky. |
| D．It crashed into the deep valley below. |
| A．Injured individuals. | B．Difficult land features. |
| C．Poor communication. | D．Severe weather conditions. |
| A．The dangerous situation in the stuck car. |
| B．The risk of saving the trapped children. |
| C．The working principle of the rescue car. |
| D．The rescue efforts by the two brothers. |
| A．Bravery never goes out of fashion. |
| B．A wise man makes his own decisions. |
| C．Many hands make light work. |
| D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
3 . As a mother who had three kids in public schools, it always bothered me that the elementary school had a voluntary “reading club” in which students received prizes based on how much reading for pleasure they did each week. The message seems all wrong: We have to bribe (贿赂) you to read for fun.
A survey by the National Assessment for Educational Progress found that the numbers of 9- and 13-year-olds who say they read for enjoyment almost every day dropped from slightly more than half in 1984, to 42% during the 2019-20 school year. The trend among middle schoolers is worse. The percentage who frequently read for fun dropped by more than half, to 17%, while the percentage who seldom or never do more than tripled (增至三倍).
Meanwhile, a British study found that reading for pleasure had much wider benefits, resulting in better vocabulary, spelling and mathematical abilities. According to the nonprofit reading-advocacy group Kids Read Now, readers also learn better empathy (同理心), decision-making and social skills.
One contributor to this disappointing trend seems obvious: Social media and other digital activities are heavy draws and can consume hours of time. But some librarians and students point to other reasons as well: As students advance in school, required reading of textbooks and classroom-assigned literature increases. They may be reading more, but often enjoying it less.
Reading for pleasure isn’t the same as assigned reading because kids need to be able to relax with the reading material of their choice. As a child, my son used to finish his reading for school and then sigh (叹息) with pleasure, saying, “Now I can read.”
Parents play a key role in changing this situation, but many may not realize how important it is to expose their kids to books, magazines and the like. Giving older students more choices in what they read for class would help encourage pleasure reading too. The class could make group choices or students could pick from a menu of options instead of being assigned a single book. When there are just a few choices and we spoon-feed them to kids, we just deprive them of the experience of realizing there’s a bigger world of books out there for them to explore.
1. What made the author annoyed according to paragraph 1?| A．The messages sent by the reading club each week. |
| B．The lack of reading clubs in the elementary school. |
| C．The unrealistic reading goals set by the elementary school. |
| D．The way to encourage elementary school students to read for fun. |
| A．By listing some persuasive figures. | B．By providing some research results. |
| C．By referring to some experts’ views. | D．By sharing her own parenting experience. |
| A．It takes time to finish reading for school. |
| B．Parents should read together with their kids. |
| C．The reading for school is hardly fun for children. |
| D．Children have difficulty choosing reading materials. |
| A．Keep them from. | B．Prepare them for. |
| C．Lead them to. | D．Fill them with. |
4 . In Denmark, bicycling is one of the primary forms of transportation. In sunshine, rain and snow, you will see cyclists on their way to work, to the grocery store, or to social events. The bike is a Dane’s best friend. Danish cycling culture is as old as the bicycle itself. Bikes were first introduced to the country in the 1880s, and during the 1920s and 1930s, the bicycle became a widespread symbol of equality and freedom. People of all social classes began biking side by side —in the cities on their way to work and in the countryside on their days off.
The increased prosperity of the late 1950s saw some. Danes replacing bikes with motorcycles and automobiles. Just like their colleagues around the world, Danish urban planners believed the future belonged to cars, trucks, and ever-wider highways. In the early 1970s, however, the Mideast oil crisis terminated that development. “Car Free Sundays” were introduced in Copenhagen, and protests demanding Copenhagen to become car-tree took place. Over time, concerns about air pollution, climate change, and the need for people to get enough exercise have helped bicycles make a big comeback. Denmark’s heavy taxes on petrol and automobiles are a factor, too.
Today, cycling is an inseparable part of Danish culture. Newcomers who do not know how to cycle are encouraged to learn as soon as they arrive. Danish children usually learn to bike before they begin school at the age of six — and often much earlier. In school, children learn about traffic rules, road safety, and the importance of wearing a helmet as well as good cycling habits. Another alternative for families with children is the cargo bike-a sort of oversized tricycle with a large wooden box on the front. It’s estimated that a quarter of all Copenhagen families with two or more children own one of these cargo bikes for transporting kids, groceries, and other necessities. Danish cargo bikes have also won design awards and become a Danish export success.
Commuting by bike is the fastest, easiest and most environmentally friendly way to get around the cities of Denmark. And the numbers speak for themselves: Residents who cycle in Copenhagen request 1.1 million fewer sick days. Cyclists reduce CO2 emissions by 20,000 tonnes a year on average.
1. What can we learn about bicycles in Denmark from paragraph 1?| A．Bicycling was the only form of transportation. |
| B．Danish cycling culture dates back to the 18th century. |
| C．Bicycles had symbolic significance in the early 20th century. |
| D．Bicycles revolutionized transportation |
| A．Facilitated. | B．Permitted. |
| C．Ended. | D．Postponed. |
| A．To demonstrate the commitment to cycling. | B．To compare cycling with driving. |
| C．To highlight the popularity of cycling. | D．To show the benefits of cycling. |
| A．Denmark: A Nation of Cyclists |
| B．Denmark: A Model of Sustainable Living |
| C．The Evolution of Transportation in Denmark |
| D．The Impact of Cargo Bikes on Danish Mobility |
5 . South Korean government has tried everything to persuade women to have babies. Among their initiatives: sponsored housing for new couples, discounted after-childbirth care for new mothers, even a “baby payment” for each new born. Corporate South Korea is also getting in action, trying to delay a population crisis that could see the country’s workforce halve within 50 years.
“We will continue to do what we can as a company to solve the low-birth issue,” Lee Joong-keun, the chairman of Booyoung Group, a Seoul-based construction company, said this month after awarding a total $5.25 million to his employees for babies born since 2021. Other companies are offering payments, too. This development has come about as South Korea’s fertility rate (生育率) — the average number of children a woman has over her lifetime — has decreased to 0.78 in 2022. That means the population is aging rapidly. “The main reasons behind the falling birthrate are the financial burdens of child care and challenges of balancing work and family,” Lee said.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol praised companies that came up with “tax benefits and other various support measures to boost child birth,” according to his spokes-woman. Despite aggressive efforts, South Korea’s fertility rate is on course to sink further to 0.65 by 2025. This is largely because of the stress put on women, who face fierce workplace discrimination if they want to pursue a career while having children, experts say. South Kore a ranked 105th out of 146 countries in gender equality last year, according to the Global Gender Gap Report.
Whether financial bonus can have a positive impact on fertility remains an unanswered question. “Cash payouts are not affordable nor sustainable options for many companies,” said Yoon In-jin, a sociology professor at Korea University. “More importantly, South Korea’s male-dominated corporate culture has to fundamentally change in favor of working women,” he said. “Korean women will start having more babies if they don’t have to sacrifice their career for it.” Nearly 50% South Korean companies punished workers using parental leave, especially on promotions, according to Labor Ministry statistics.
1. What population problem is South Korea very likely to face in the future?| A．Its fertility rate will continuously decline. | B．Its population will halve within 50 years. |
| C．There will only be the aged very soon. | D．New-born babies will make up 65% by 2025. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. | C．Far-sighted. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Provide equal career security to women as men are enjoying. |
| B．Improve South Korea’s global rank in gender equality. |
| C．Remove women’s financial burdens and home-work balancing challenges. |
| D．Offer couples with new born babies more tax benefits and other supports. |
| A．The reasons why South Korean women are not having babies. |
| B．The policies South Kare a government applies to persuade women to have babies. |
| C．The measures corporate South Korea takes to promote birthrate. |
| D．The severe discrimination South Korean women are facing. |
6 . In the late nineteenth century, art critics regarded seventeenth-century Dutch paintings as direct reflections of reality. The paintings were discussed as an index of the democracy of a society that chose to represent its class, action, and occupations exactly as they were, wide-ranging realism was seen as the great accomplishment of Dutch art. However, the achievement of more recent study of Dutch art has been the recovery of the fact that such paintings are to be taken as symbolizing mortality, the renaissance of earthly life, and the power of God, and as message that range from the mildly moralizing to the firmly didactic. How explicit and consistent the symbolizing process was intended to be is a much thornier matter, but anyone who has more familiarity than a passing acquaintance with Dutch literature or with the kinds of images used in illustrated books (above all emblem books) will know how much less pervasive was the habit of investing ordinary objects than of investing scenes with meaning that go be-y ond their surface and outward appearance. In the mid-1960s, Eddy de Jongh published an extraordinary array of material — especially from the emblem books and vernacular literature — that confirmed the unreliability of taking Dutch pictures at surface value alone.
The major difficulty, however, with the findings of critics such as de Jongh is that it is not easy to assess the multiplicity of levels in which Dutch viewers interpreted these pictures. De Jongh’s followers typically regard the pictures as purely symbolic. Not every object within Dutch paintings need be interpreted in terms of the gloss given to its equivalent representation in the emblem books. Not every foot warmer is to be interpreted in terms of the foot warmer in Rowmer Visscher’s Sinnepoppen of 1614, not every bridle is an emblem of restraint (though many were indeed just that).
To maintain as Brown does, that the two children in Netscher’s painting A Lady Teaching a Child to Read stand for industry and idleness is to fail to understand that the painting has a variety of possible meanings, even though the picture undoubtedly carriers unmistakable symbolic meanings, too. Modern Art historians may well find the discovery of parallels be-tween a painting and a specific emblem exciting, they may, like seventeenth-century viewers, search for the double that lie behind many paintings. But seventeenth-century response can hardly be reduced to the level of formula. To suggest otherwise is to imply a laboriousness of mental process that may well characterize modern interpretations of seventeenth-century Dutch Art, but that was, for the most part, not characteristic in the seventeenth century.
1. The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following?| A．Reconciling two different points of view about how art reflects. |
| B．Criticizing a traditional method of interpretation. |
| C．Describing and evaluating a recent critical approach. |
| D．Describing a long-standing controversy and how it was resolved. |
| A．Suggest that restraint was only one of the many symbolic meanings attached to bridles |
| B．Provide an example of an everyday, physical object that was not endowed with symbolic meaning |
| C．Provide an example of an object that modern critics have endowed with symbolic meaning different from the meaning assigned it by seventeenth-century Dutch artists |
| D．Provide an example of an object with symbolic meaning that was not always used as a symbol |
| A．It provides specific applications of the critical approach introduced in the preceding paragraph. |
| B．It present a caveat about the critical approach discussed in the preceding paragraph. |
| C．It presents the research on which a theory presented in the preceding paragraph is based. |
| D．It refutes a theory presented in the preceding paragraph and advocates a return to a more traditional approach. |
| A．They confirm that seventeenth century Dutch painting depict some objects and scenes rarely found in daily life. |
| B．They are more useful than vernacular literature in providing information about the sym-bolic content of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. |
| C．They have been misinterpreted by art critics, such as de Jongh, who claim seventeenth-century Dutch paintings contain symbolic meaning. |
| D．They contain material that challenges the assumptions of the nineteenth-century critics about seventeenth-century Dutch painting. |
7 . The original Chick-fil-A location holds a special place in the company’s history. symbolizing innovation and the birth of a brand that would eventually expand to serve customers across 47 states and Washington, D.C.
Chick-fil-A, a company that has grown from a small outlet in Arlanta’s Greenbriar Mall to a fast-food giant, yet now faces the closure (关闭) of its original store. The reason behind the closure of Chick-fil-A’s original location is symbolic of the changes sweeping through retail (零售) and consumer habits. Reports indicate that the decline in foot traffic at Greenbriar Mall, attributed to the loss of customers, has made it challenging to sustain the restaurant.
This trend is reflective of a broader shift in consumer behavior, with traditional shopping malls facing declining footfalls as online shopping gains popularity.
The closure of Chick-il-A’s first location is not just about the end of a physical space. It represents the development of a brand and the bittersweet reality of growth and change.
Each business, in its journey towards success, often outgrows its origins. This transition, while a sign of progress, can also be a moment of reflection on the roots and values that laid the foundation for future achievements.
Interestingly, Chick-fil-A is not alone in this journey. Other big brands like Starbucks, Dunkin (formerly Dunkin Donuts), McDonald’s, and KFC have also followed similar paths. While some of their original locations have become museums or maintained as historic sites, others have adapted or closed in response to changing times and consumer needs.
The original Starbucks in Seattle, Dunkin’s first store in Massachusetts, and one of the earliest McDonald’s in California are examples of how these brands have preserved their heritage (遗产). In contrast, Chick-fil-A’s decision highlights the reality that not all beginnings can be physically preserved.
This narrative around Chick-fil-A’s original store closure serves as a good lesson for companies and business leaders. It’s a reminder of the importance of remembering and honoring one’s origins while supporting growth and change.
1. What does the closure of Chick-fil-A’s first location mean?| A．The end of the food industry. | B．The change of the food industry. |
| C．The beginning of a new brand. | D．The innovation of store management. |
| A．To prove a common occurrence. | B．To reduce people’s anxiety. |
| C．To arouse the readers’ sympathy. | D．To raise a new problem. |
| A．Heart-broken. | B．Overjoyed. | C．Indifferent. | D．Bittersweet. |
| A．Try to keep it physically forever. | B．Redecorate it for further use. |
| C．Never forget its historical significance. | D．Never care about its future. |
8 . In the summer of 2019, Tomas Quinones was undertaking a “bikepacking” trip, covering some remote desert in Southern Oregon. His trip had been marked with usual minor setbacks. He’d lost shoes. His water supply was sometimes uncertain. But there had also been moments of unexpected kindness: A couple parking beside offered to share their lunch; or the guy in the truck asked if he needed help. On the last day of Quinones’ trip, he was riding down a dusty track when he came upon a man lying unconscious on the ground, who was clearly dehydrated (脱水的). Quinones tried to give some water and waited until the ambulance arrived.
Quinones, who’d received help over the course of his trip, paid it forward. The odds are, if you’ve spent any time in the wild, you’ll have experienced these gestures of kindness from strangers or given them yourself too as Quinones did.
So what is it about being outside in nature that makes people want to help others?
The first explanation is that in the wild, there may not be any other help. According to the “bystander effect” (旁观者效应), the more people who are in the presence of someone needing help, the less likely any of those are to actually provide it. But another idea is that there is something about nature itself that seems to promote “prosocial (亲社会)” attitudes. As a recent study suggests, exposure to nature can stimulate feelings of transcendence — a sense of connection to other people, to the world around us and to the universe.
When we get into the wild, we become weaker. And being in an easily-hurt position makes us look at the world differently. So, in the wild, where we are removed of normal possessions, surroundings and identities, we seem more willing to go the extra mile for someone. It’s in nature, ironically, that we can learn new things about humanity.
1. What can we know about Quinones’ trip?| A．Pretty constant water supply was available. |
| B．Food was frequently provided from other strangers. |
| C．He’d usually encountered dramatic troubles. |
| D．He’d travelled to some remote desert on bicycle. |
| A．To give further details of Quinones’ trip. |
| B．To show the difficulty of Quinones’ trip. |
| C．To provide an example for the topic. |
| D．To stress the importance of strangers’ help. |
| A．It explains people’s getting help easily in nature. |
| B．It demonstrates people’s prosocial attitudes. |
| C．It reveals people’s indifference in crowds. |
| D．It stimulates people’s connecting to people and the world. |
| A．We can only learn about people’s personality in the wild. |
| B．It is a pity that people don’t often help others in daily life. |
| C．It is ironic to help strangers in need when in nature. |
| D．We can obtain new knowledge when in nature. |
9 . In the fevered world of diet and nutrition, the past year has been dominated by heated arguments about the evils (or not) of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). So are they as bad for health as many claim?
The processing of food is as ancient as humankind. But the modern-time UPFs are different—they are the products of industrial processing methods that allow cost-effective mass production. More than half of the calories an average person in the UK consumes today come from UPFs. That’s not surprising as these foods can be convenient and inexpensive.
There is more than ample evidence that consumption of too much UPSs is linked to poorer health outcomes. They often contain high levels of fat, salt and sugar and when we eat them, we leave less room for more nutritious foods. It’s also believed that the additives in these foods could be responsible for negative health effects.
But the way we currently talk about UPFs strikes me as unhelpful. The term covers such a broad range of different foods, from those that have been almost completely reconstructed from their base constituents (成分) like packaged snacks, to otherwise minimally processed foods with a few industrial additives, such as a natural yogurt, with a small amount of UPF jam.
I can absolutely understand how eating too much of the former can lead to poorer health outcomes. The latter, however, includes mass-produced supermarket bread, where a large proportion of consumed UPF calories come from. Sure, you can go to a quality bakery and purchase an organic product that will cost much more than a supermarket loaf. But ultimately, bread is made from flour, salt, water and yeast. Taste aside, supermarket bread is no worse for you than fancy bread.
I fear that the UPF concept is too imprecise to be an arbiter (权威) of how healthy or unhealthy a particular food might be, and even worse, that it is currently being used as another cudgel (棍棒) to food—shame others.
1. What’s special about today’s UPFs?| A．They are as old as humankind. |
| B．They are unaffordable for the public. |
| C．They are produced in large quantities. |
| D．They contain many harmful additives. |
| A．To clarify a concept. | B．To present a fact. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To explain a rule. |
| A．It contains plenty of calories. | B．It’s only minimally processed. |
| C．It tastes as good as fancy bread. | D．It’s heavily reconstructed for quality. |
| A．It’s a shame to consume UPFs. |
| B．UPFs may lead to poorer health outcomes. |
| C．The UPF concept tends to cloud people’s judgment. |
| D．Supermarket products are no worse than the organic ones. |
10 . Josefa Marin went to New York from Mexico in 1987, supporting her daughter back home with the $140 a week she earned at a sweater factory. With that small income, she had to collect recyclables, trading in cans for five cents each.
When the clothing factory closed down in the late 2000s, she became a full-time recycler, picking up cans and bottles to make ends meet.
Marin’s story is not unique. Millions around the world make a living from picking through waste and reselling it — a vital role that keeps waste manageable. In New York City, the administrative department collects only about 28 percent of the cans that could be recycled. Rubbish collectors, however, keep millions of additional recyclables out of landfills every year.
Yet collectors are ruled out by government policies. The United States Supreme Court in 1988 stated that household garbage is public property once it’s on the street. That enables police to search rubbish for evidence, but that protection hasn’t always been extended to recyclers. And in places like New York City, which is testing city-owned locked containers to hide garbage from rats, containers are made clearly inaccessible for collectors.
“There’s value in the waste, and we feel that value should belong to the people, not the city or the corporations”, says Ryan Castalia, director of a nonprofit recycling and community center in Brooklyn.
Recognized or not, waste pickers have long been treated with disrespect. Marin recalls an occasion when someone living next to a building where she was collecting cans threw water at her. “Because I recycle doesn’t mean I am less of a person than anyone else,” she says. It’s a pity to see that the government doesn’t stand by the garbage collector’s side, either.
Fortunately, some governments are starting to realize that protecting the environment and humanity go hand in hand. Brazil classified waste picking as an official occupation in 2001. In 2009, Colombia’s government granted the right to collect valuable garbage. The U.S. is slowly catching on too. After all, to the government, the garbage is garbage, but to the collectors, it’s something they make a living on.
1. What is the author’s purpose of telling about Marin?| A．To highlight waste collectors’ role. |
| B．To reflect the unemployed’s hardship. |
| C．To praise her devotion to her daughter. |
| D．To show the seriousness of unemployment. |
| A．By citing reference. | B．By contrasting. |
| C．By giving definitions. | D．By cause-effect analysis. |
| A．No job is noble or humble. | B．Business is business. |
| C．The early birds catches worms. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
| A．Who owns our garbage? | B．How can we end poverty? |
| C．Who takes blame for waste? | D．How should we recycle rubbish? |
