1 . We live in the age of the short attention span. And yet: Finding a recipe in a post requires first scrolling past a “novel” detailing the chef’s personal experience with the dish. Even platforms once known for short-form media are stretching the limits: YouTube videos once were within 10 minutes; now they can and do reach 12 hours. Even TikTok is going long, reportedly testing a new limit of up to 15 minutes for some creators.
Surely some of this is born of genuine audience interest. Length, after all, is sometimes associated with quality. Sometimes, storytelling deserves a surprising length. Other times, it does not. Online media are frequently lengthened not because the subject demands it but because creators are attempting to game algorithms (算法) to make more money. Algorithms, on the most basic level, are supposed to recommend whatever else people post online. Yet in the process, they end up encouraging people to generate a lot of junk.
Some of these apps seem to realize what they’ve done. TikTok and YouTube give users the ability to speed things up. But the solution only underscores the problem. Because it gives rise to all those ads that run before videos or between paragraphs. Any extra real estate for these ads, be it space on a page or time on a podcast, is a chance for platforms to make more money.
Some algorithms may in fact prioritize length as an indicator of quality. But it’s hard to say for sure, because tech companies tend not to give many details about their inner workings. In some ways, whether an algorithm prefers longer videos matters less than whether creators think an algorithm does. If people start believing that longer videos do “better”, they’ll make more of them.
People are afraid that generative AI will pollute the Internet. But social-media and search algorithms have been doing that for years. It’s even cheaper and easier for generative AI to produce long content. All of this is just a taste of what’s to come.
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By telling stories. | B．By referring to studies. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By offering personal experience. |
| A．To enhance their storytelling abilities. | B．To take advantage of algorithms for profit. |
| C．To gather data concerning popular subjects. | D．To provide the audience with interesting ideas. |
| A．Highlights. | B．Upgrades. | C．Overlooks. | D．Forecasts. |
| A．Algorithms are sure to pick out longer videos. |
| B．The development of AI will facilitate longer content. |
| C．The best content is lengthened by video producers. |
| D．Search algorithms are easily polluted and destroyed. |
2 . The five passengers on board the Titan submersible (潜水器) traveling to the Titanic wreckage (残骸) are believed to be dead, the vessel’s operator and the US Coast Guard said.
They reached the conclusion after a days-long search for the wreckage from the submersible on the ocean floor, indicating a failure of the vessel’s body that would be impossible to survive.
“The wreckage, found not far from the remains of the Titanic, was consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber and there was a catastrophic implosion (内爆),”said US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger.
OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the submersible, gave a statement of its own confirming the deaths.
Five men were on board: the British billionaire Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, former French navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
The Titan submersible, a 21-foot-long vessel, set off Sunday to explore the remains of the Titanic located nearly 13,000 feet underwater, hundreds of miles off the coast of North America.
But after an hour and 45 minutes into the expedition, the Titan lost communications with its mothership at the surface.
Eight hours passed before OceanGate contacted the Coast Guard, which launched a wide-ranging rescue effort that lasted until Thursday.
Hoping the vessel was still intact, Coast Guard officials estimated the submersible had 96 hours of breathable oxygen when it first left for its destination. That deadline passed without resolution on Thursday morning, though the wreckage was located later that day.
Evidence shows that the implosion took place within hours of the submersible setting off, meaning the passengers would have been dead before anybody really started looking for them.
Hopes were raised on Wednesday after searchers said they detected a big sound in the general search area. But it was a false lead. The Coast Guard said on Thursday there didn’t seem to be any connection between the noise and the location on the sea floor.
1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?| A．The impact of the disaster. | B．The reasons of the disaster. |
| C．The structure of the submersible. | D．The victims on the submersible. |
| A．Its wreckage was located on Thursday morning. |
| B．It dived as deep as 13,000 feet underwater. |
| C．Only one passenger survived. |
| D．It lost touch an hour and 45 minutes after its journey began. |
| A．At risk. | B．On the road. |
| C．Beyond control. | D．In good condition. |
| A．They found a big noise in the search area. | B．They received some wireless signals. |
| C．They got governments’ support wholly. | D．They made advanced tools to detect the vessel. |
3 . The development of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), is changing the job market, resulting in both new opportunities and challenges. It is a chief concern for students thinking about their employment.
Employers are paying more attention to human-centered skills such as problem-solving, and creativity. The ability to master these skills is becoming significant in the job market today. However, most education systems still attach more importance to knowledge transfer, memorization and tests, and fail to foster human-centered skills. Therefore, it is of importance for young people to actively seek out opportunities to build them.
By developing a connection to the world around them, and a deeper understanding of the systemic issues that exist within it, students can strengthen skills such as cooperation and problem-solving. For example, Esther, an 18-year-old student, worked with her friends to develop a digital skills programme for young people, after discovering that only three in every 20 students in her community in Lagos were confident in using technology. Through the activity, Esther learned about her community’s needs, found a sense of purpose and practised skills. Her intention was not to improve employability, but the skills she developed are exactly those that will set her up in a changing workplace.
These are uncertain times, to be sure. Young people may worry about their job opportunities. But with the human-centered skills developed, the possibilities for careers are at the fingertips and the future is far more attractive.
1. What is a chief concern for students who think about their employment?| A．Automation in almost all industries. |
| B．The development of advanced technology. |
| C．The impact of technology on the job market. |
| D．Employers’ increasing focus on human-centered skills. |
| A．Develop. | B．Affect. | C．Protest. | D．Conduct. |
| A．To improve her employability. |
| B．To select her future field of work. |
| C．To learn about advanced technology with friends. |
| D．To promote technology use among young people. |
| A．How to plan your future career? |
| B．Future job market will be challenging |
| C．How to build your human-centered skills? |
| D．Human-centered skills will be important for future jobs |
4 . In Lulea, a city in northern Sweden, the sun only shines around three hours a day in the winter months. People tend to stay warm at home and that can be very lonely. To help ease winter loneliness, the local authority is asking everyone to just say hello to each other. The new campaign is called Sag hej.
While the world is experiencing an increase in loneliness following the Covid-19 pandemic, in places that do not get a lot of sunlight during the winter months, the issues are exasperating.
“Loneliness and isolation are major problems at any time of the year and almost everywhere in the world right now,” Micael Dahlen, professor of wellbeing and happiness at the Stockholm School of Economics, said. “It comes with the times that we live in, with the lifestyles that we have, where we don’t necessarily encounter each other to the same extent that we used to. This increases in winter when we are outside less and socializing less,” he added.
While most people believe that loneliness is most common amongst seniors who tend to live alone, the opposite is true. It is actually rising in young people. A recent study published in the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth found that loneliness in young people has been increasing and this negatively impacts mental and physical wellbeing. Research about Lulea found that 45 percent of 16-to-29-year-olds were experiencing problems due to being lonely.
Asa Koski, who works for the city, came up with the idea of the Sag hej! campaign. She wants the city, which is undergoing rapid growth due to green industry jobs, to be a friendlier, more welcoming, and less lonely place for newcomers. “We don ’t just want that Lulea is going to grow as a city; we want Lulea to be a pleasant and safe and friendly city as well where there’s culture, leisure activities, and sport,” said Koski.
Many people agree that saying hello should be encouraged and believe that the more international the city becomes, the more people will become friendlier too.
1. Which word can replace the underlined word “exasperating” in Paragraph 2?| A．annoying | B．interesting | C．inspiring | D．surprising |
| A．Loneliness and isolation dominate people’s feeling. |
| B．Saying hello helps people deal with winter loneliness. |
| C．A lack of sunshine in winter contributes to loneliness. |
| D．People ’s lifestyles in winter increase their feeling lonely. |
| A．Seniors suffer more from loneliness. |
| B．There are more young people feeling lonely than seniors. |
| C．The phenomenon of loneliness is common in different age stages. |
| D．45 percent of 16-to-29-year-olds have problems because of loneliness. |
| A．Her job is connected with the city. |
| B．She has confidence in Lulea ’s culture. |
| C．She wishes the city to develop rapidly. |
| D．She expects the city to be a better place for newcomers. |
5 . Road traffic accidents are caused by a number of factors which can be grouped into three categories: human factors, vehicle factors and road environment factors. Table 1 explains each factor and gives examples.
Table 1: Factors involved in road traffic accidentsFactor | Description | Example |
| Human | Things people do or don’t do | Speeding, not obeying traffic rules, using phone while driving |
| Vehicle | Things that are wrong with the vehicle | ? |
| Road environment | Things outside the vehicle that affect driving | Condition of road, time of day, weather conditions, road repairs |
One factor alone or several factors together can cause an accident. However, human actions are by far the greatest causes of car accidents. Diagram 1 shows that human factors are involved in 95% of all car accidents. Although other factors are also involved in 28% of these accidents, in 67% of cases, human factors alone are the cause of the accident.
Although behavior such as not paying attention to road, swerving to avoid an animal and eating while driving causes accidents, most road deaths are caused by speeding, driving after drinking alcohol, driving when tried and not wearing seat belts. As shown in Diagram 2, speeding is involved in more deaths than any other behavior in both city (50%) and country accidents (32%). Drivers and / or passengers not wearing seat belts is the second most common cause of road deaths.
1. Which of the following is best suited in the blank in table 1?| A．Vehicles of this type to be recalled at once. |
| B．Weak brakes, no seat belts in cars, old tyres. |
| C．250,000 people killed in car accidents in 2023. |
| D．Regular car maintenance, professional service. |
| A．Speeding kills more drivers in cities than in countries. |
| B．Two or more factors are combined to cause an accident. |
| C．Country drivers are more likely to get tired when driving. |
| D．Drunk driving cause more deaths than not wearing seat belts. |
| A．The dangers of driving a car. | B．The effects of alcohol on driving. |
| C．Human factors in road traffic accidents. | D．How to prevent deaths on our roads. |
6 . Social media and the Internet are powerful tools that are an important part of our everyday lives. We use them to learn, communicate, work, and more.
Schedule your Internet time
A hobby gives you something to spend time on that’s not the Internet. Take a yoga class, start learning to play an instrument, start gardening, sign up for the gym, or do anything else that interests you. At the beginning, commit to spend just 1 hour a week on the hobby, then gradually ram p up the hours or take up more hobbies. Make sure you turn off your phone or hide your devices while you do your chosen hobby.
Spend more time with friends offline.
Make it a point to schedule in-person social activities. Go to dinner with friends once a week, get together with a group of people for a weekend hike, or reach out to people you haven’t seen in a while and schedule a catch-up date. If you feel like you don’t have anyone to spend time with, reach out to acquaintances and ask them to join you for lunch or a coffee—you can always make new friends!
| A．Cut out Internet use for a set period each week. |
| B．Do a screen-free hobby for at least an hour a week. |
| C．Using technology right before bed can negatively affect sleep quality. |
| D．But, sometimes, using them too much can negatively affect our lives. |
| E．Create a clear division between Internet time and time for other things. |
| F．You can also join a club to spend more time on off line social activities. |
| G．So you don’t get interrupted or distracted by social media and the Internet. |
7 . Imagine if you could look into the future and see yourself 50 years from now. You could see the wrinkles on your face, how your hair would gray, and how the very shape of your face would change after decades of life. You would be able to see how you might look to your future grandchildren.
It sounds like something out of a fairytale. But a viral “Aged” filter (滤镜) on TikTok is allowing users to look into the face of their future selves.
The new filter uses AI to estimate what your face will look like as you age, and dermatologists (皮肤学家) on TikTok are calling it “very accurate”. But the response, especially among young people using the filter, shows a deep fear within Gen Z of getting, and more importantly, looking old.
What does the filter do?
The filter, which has over 9 million videos on TikTok, provides a picture of users’ faces with realistic aging, including wrinkles, crow’s feet and often gray hair. The filter looks different for each person and uses AI to enhance existing facial features, like under-eye bags or wrinkles, to estimate how their face will age.
TikTok is not the first app to release an aging filter. Snapchat released a similar filter back in 2019, and users similarly used FaceApp to age themselves.
Even Kylie Jenner immediately joined in the trend saying simply “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
Others disagree about how much the filter ages them, comparing their aged face to other users. Some have used the filter on old photos of their parents or celebrities and compared the filter’s results to how they look today.
Others, however, have taken a more loving approach to their future selves. Many users express shock at how similar they look to relatives and others express excitement for the years ahead.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To supply a scientific fact. | B．To arouse the reader’s interest. |
| C．To provide a good example. | D．To share the theory of the filter. |
| A．Their ages don’t really change. |
| B．There’s no real difference between them. |
| C．“Looking old” sounds more polite. |
| D．“Getting old” sounds a little more boring. |
| A．To introduce another opinion. | B．To try to please her true fans. |
| C．To emphasize the wide use. | D．To prove the truth of the technique. |
| A．Angrily. | B．Similarly. | C．Excitedly. | D．Differently. |
8 . Teenagers are perhaps those who are most susceptible (易受影响的) to peer pressure. In simple terms, peer pressure is what drives you to do something, whether it is negative or positive, in order to feel liked and respected by your peers.
We’re constantly warned against peer pressure, given its negative connotation (含义). It’s often the main cause that makes you give in when someone tries to convince you to skip school with them, or to try and get away with cheating, stealing, etc.
On the other hand, however, peer pressure has the capacity to have a positive influence over young lives. We go to volunteering events when our friends do. We study more when we hear that our friends got high marks on the last exam. We go to the gym because we see our friends getting more fit and want to become more physically attractive or healthy ourselves.
So how do we cultivate a culture of positive peer pressure? The examples listed above are bonded together by a pair of common themes: friendly competitiveness and egalitarianism (平等主义).
As children we were motivated by our teachers to obtain as many stars for our good behavior as we could possibly get. This worked because as humans, we love to have a feeling of accomplishment, especially when competing against those with relatively equal abilities and capacities. We’re negatively reinforced to work harder when we’re falling behind because we want to keep up and not get left behind. As long as the competition doesn’t grow to be too aggressively fierce, and as long as the playing field between competitors is relatively equal, this kind of competition can promote and improve the frequency of good behavior. Even if we’re not the winner, we still want to be on the same level as most so as not to feel left out.
In my opinion, one of the most impressive things in my high school was the positive peer pressure we experienced against drunk driving. People planned out who the designated driver would be before a party and saw him or her as someone to be respected. Likewise, if someone planned on drinking without having someone that was sober (清醒的) who could drive them home, the host would sometimes let that person drive to the party and sleep over with their car parked in the driveway.
Above all else, what most adolescents want, and frankly crave, is acceptance. Since the definition of what is “cool” and what is not is malleable (有延展性的) and within our control, we can create a culture of positive peer pressure that promotes values that are in our own best interests, and that starts with how each of us acts individually
1. Why is it easy for teenagers to be subject to peer pressure?| A．Because they are more sensitive than adults. |
| B．Because they are very respectful in this period. |
| C．Because they are unable to tell right from wrong. |
| D．Because they are eager to gain peer recognition. |
| A．To support the author’s opinion. |
| B．To give a summary of the passage. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the argument. |
| D．To make the author’s argument objective. |
| A．Encouraging teens to compete aggressively with their peers. |
| B．Motivating teens to study harder when their friends excel academically. |
| C．Reinforcing negative behavior in order to make teens keep up with peers. |
| D．Creating a feeling of accomplishment when engaging in risky activities. |
| A．Students pressuring others to skip school and engage in risky behaviors. |
| B．Planning for a designated driver before parties to prevent drunk driving. |
| C．Allowing students to drive home after drinking without a sober driver. |
| D．Encouraging competition between friends to see who can drink the most. |
| A．The Comparison between Positive and Negative Peer Pressure |
| B．The Ways to Resist Negative Peer Pressure |
| C．The Power of Positive Peer Pressure |
| D．The lmpact of Competitive Pcer Pressure |
9 . Waste not, Want not
Today, I live in Manhattan with my husband, Alex. I’m an IT specialist and Alex is a lawyer. Life’s good, but sometimes I look at the way we live it and think of Ellie, my grandmother. Her favorite saying was “Waste not, want not.”
Such economy seems strange, even ridiculous, in our modern throwaway society, where everything is sold in boxes.
| A．Packaging is not only used to protect goods |
| B．My grandparents threw almost nothing away |
| C．In one week alone, we threw away five old magazines |
| D．We didn’t often go shopping and then cook meals at home |
| E．As young Manhattan professionals, we buy a lot of “convenience food” |
| F．But we pay a high financial and ecological price for our lovely packaging |
| G．If you placed all the cans used in the United States, in one year end to end |
10 . Vegetarians would rather not be forced to eat meat. Yet the reverse compulsion is hidden in the proposals for a new plant-based “planetary diet.” Nowhere is this more visible than in India.
Earlier this year, the EAT-Lancet Commission released its global report on nutrition and called for a global shift to a more plant-based diet and for “substantially reducing consumption of animal source foods.” In countries like India, that call could become a tool to aggravate an already tense political situation and stress already undernourished populations.
The EAT report assumes that “traditional diets” in countries like India include little red meat, which might be consumed only on special occasions or as minor ingredients in mixed dishes.
In India, however, there is a vast difference between what people would wish to consume and what they have to consume because of innumerable barriers around class, religion, culture, cost, geography, etc. Policymakers in India have traditionally pushed for a cereal-heavy “vegetarian diet” on a meat-eating population as a way of providing the cheapest sources of food.
Currently, under an aggressive Hindu nationalist government, Muslims, Christians, disadvantaged classes and indigenous communities are being compelled to give up their traditional foods.
None of these concerns seem to have been appreciated by the EAT-Lancet Commission’s representative, Brent Loken, who said “India has got such a great example” in sourcing protein from plants.
But how much of a model for the world is India’s vegetarianism? In the Global Hunger Index, the country ranks 102nd out of 117. Data from the National Family Health Survey indicate that only 10 percent of infants of 6 to 23 months are adequately fed, which is why calls for a plant-based diet modeled on India risk offering another whip with which to beat already vulnerable communities in developing countries.
A diet directed at the affluent West fails to recognize that in low-income countries undernourished children are known to benefit from the consumption of milk and other animal source foods, improving cognitive functions, while reducing the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies as well as death.
EAT-Lancet claimed its intention was to “spark conversations” among all Indian stakeholders. Yet vocal critics of the food processing industry and food fortification strategies have been left out of the debate. But the most conspicuous (明显的) omission may well be the absence of India’s farmers.
1. What is more visible in India than anywhere else according to the passage?| A．People’s positive views on the proposals for a “planetary diet”. |
| B．People’s reluctance to be compelled to eat plant-based food. |
| C．People’s preferences for the kind of food they consume. |
| D．People’s unwillingness to give up their eating habits. |
| A．Radically change their dietary habits. | B．Keep them further away from politics. |
| C．Make them even more undernourished. | D．Substantially reduce their food choices. |
| A．People’s diet will not change due to the EAT-Lancet report. |
| B．Many people simply do not have access to foods they prefer. |
| C．There is a growing popularity of a cereal-heavy vegetarian diet. |
| D．Policymakers help remove the barriers to people’s choice of food. |
| A．It may benefit populations whose traditional diet is meat-based. |
| B．It may be another blow to the economy in developing countries. |
| C．It may worsen the nourishment problem in low-income countries. |
| D．It may help narrow the gap between the rich and poor countries. |
