That summer I turned 18. I was wild with excitement because I just took my driving license and my parents bought me a new perfect car. I was reminded repeatedly by my parents to drive cautiously. Along with this new privilege (特权) came new responsibilities. I would practice the same routine — call my parents and tell them where I was going, whom I was with, and when I would be home. It became a typical cycle.
I had been working all day in the hot sun. I was exhausted and ready for a nap. But I was hungry. So I called my friend Mike and made our way into town. After our meal, we never knew our day would soon change for the worse.
It takes only a moment to turn your life upside down. I was driving fast. Actually too fast.
Mike and I were driving down a dust y gravel (沙砾) road. I was driving a shiny black Saturn, which was the car I had admired for long. I was filled with excitement and pride to be driving it. I could see the rolling hills in the distance. Tall pine (松树) trees traveled on both sides of the road. The music playing loudly, we both were in high spirits. Somehow, without realizing it, I sped up.
Enjoying ourselves in my car, we came across a loose spot of gravel. My car was stuck in it and desperate to escape. My car started fishtailing (摆尾行驶). Terrified, I tried to stop the car and all of a sudden the car lost control. I froze, my body was stiff, great panic holding me entirely in its power. Looking into the right, I took a glimpse of Mike, whose body had leaned towards me. His face went pale but he was trying to balance himself. The car was rushing left to right, coasting (惯性滑行) along the g ravel as if it were ice. It was only seconds later that my car crashed head-on into a big pine tree.
I heard a roaring sound of my car hitting the tree.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Fortunately enough, Mike and I were not seriously injured.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . One of the best parts of travel is always the food. Or, more specifically, the junk food. It’s a delight people are unlikely to get to experience during the pandemic. But in one corner of the Internet, hungry people are keeping the joy of international snacks alive.
On r/SnackExchange, users trade the delights of their homeland by mail. First, you find someone on the board to swap (交换) with. You and your partner then post each other a box full of local finest processed foods, eventually uploading photos of your haul (收获) on the board for others to see.
First created in 2010, r/SnackExchange’s membership now totals 102,000. Most come to experience snacks they can’t find at home.
For the users who take part in snack exchanges, it’s a way to learn more about the world. For Meghan Quallick, a snack swapper from California, part of the motivation for swapping with an Australian was to get her hands on a specific item: Cadbury Black Forest bars. A colleague of hers had eaten the chocolate bars on a trip to Australia in years past and fallen in love with them, but was then unable to source them at home. Quallick’s snack partner included 10 bars of the chocolate in her package. “To get some and bring them to her was pretty exciting,” Quallick said. “My colleague had tears in her eyes.”
Snack exchanges do come with obvious financial disadvantages. Part of the process is to agree on a budget before you swap — on average that’s around the US$40-50 mark. But you should be prepared to spend twice as much on shipping as the actual snacks. Occasionally swappers get scammed (欺骗) by partners who don’t deliver on their end of the deal.
Often, the snack exchanges are about more than just the food. Heather Clarke, a snack swapper from Melbourne says, “They’re often cultural exchanges as well. You get people going, ‘Can you tell me what this is?’” Often, users enclose (随信附上) instructions on how to best consume the snacks. Going the extra mile is in the spirit of the community.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The history of snack exchanges. | B．How users exchange snacks on r/ SnackExchange. |
| C．Why people love to exchange snacks. | D．The influence the pandemic has on snack exchanges. |
| A．She got what she desired to eat from Quallick. | B．She failed to find a swapper online. |
| C．She found the snack she ate before online. | D．She quarreled with Quallick. |
| A．Swappers easily get scammed. |
| B．Swappers seldom find exactly what they want. |
| C．Swappers may spend more time than usual shopping. |
| D．Swappers have to spend more on shipping. |
| A．They should be improved. | B．They are lacking in community spirit. |
| C．They promote cultural exchanges. | D．They should have detailed guides from swappers. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. | C．Undecided. |
4 . Late last year, in the days before the Dosakian election, a video featuring a well-known journalist and a key candidate circulated on social networks. However, it was absolutely fake (虚假的). The International Press Institute has called this episode in Dosakia the first time that AI deepfakes — fake images, or videos generated by artificial intelligence — have influenced a national election greatly.
Security experts consider misinformation the biggest global risk recently — more dangerous than war, and extreme weather events. A constant stream of people is wrestling with this issue. Now even economists are joining in.
Economist Iyan Smith, and others conduct a real-world experiment to see whether simple, low-cost nudges, or interventions, can be effective. Instead of focusing on the supply side of misinformation like social media platforms, they pay attention to the demand side: increasing our capacity to identify the fake information.
The economists split participants randomly into four different groups. One group was shown a video demonstrating a convincing journey of two people from two different social groups who, before interacting, express negative stereotypes (刻板印象) about the other’s group, overcoming their differences and ultimately regretting unthinkingly using stereotypes to dehumanize one another. Another group completed a personality test that shows them their cognitive traits (认知特点) causing prejudice, hoping to increase their self-awareness, and decrease their demand for misinformation. A third group did both while a control group did neither.
The economists find the simple intervention of showing the video makes the participants over 30 percent less likely to “consider fake news reliable”. But the personality test has little effect. As for participants doing both, they were about 31 percent less likely to view true headlines as reliable. In other words, they became so skeptical that even the truth became suspect.
Smith and his colleagues are far from the first scholars to fight misinformation by helping people to think more critically. University of Weymouth psychologist Lisa Kindle also advocates similar ways to help reject misinformation in the wild.
1. What does the author intend to do in the first two paragraphs?| A．Highlight the risk of AI deepfakes. | B．Discuss the global threat landscape. |
| C．Describe Dosakia’s election outcome. | D．Introduce the concept of misinformation. |
| A．The cognitive trait. | B．The short video. |
| C．The personality test. | D．The negative stereotype. |
| A．Videos reduce misinformation. | B．Deepfakes may discredit truth. |
| C．Misinformation causes dehumanization. | D．Personality tests sharpen thinking skills. |
| A．Battling Fake News | B．Deepfakes in Elections |
| C．The Spread of Misinformation | D．Expanding Thinking Capacity |
5 . I’d gone snowboarding with excitement in France with my little brother. That day, fresh snow had been falling, and we were in a good
I began to
I tried to stand but fell down and almost
It took about two hours
The recovery road was tough, but I was lucky.
1.| A．state | B．shape | C．passion | D．mood |
| A．fields | B．forests | C．suburbs | D．plants |
| A．figuring | B．advising | C．wondering | D．screaming |
| A．take up | B．make up | C．pick up | D．end up |
| A．hitting | B．encountering | C．surrounding | D．attracting |
| A．head | B．arm | C．neck | D．back |
| A．slight | B．mild | C．severe | D．typical |
| A．permanently | B．precisely | C．possibly | D．exactly |
| A．starving | B．bleeding | C．choking | D．freezing |
| A．gave | B．blacked | C．cried | D．blew |
| A．push | B．slide | C．lift | D．bend |
| A．after | B．since | C．as | D．before |
| A．immediately | B．shortly | C．suddenly | D．instantly |
| A．relieved | B．shocked | C．frightened | D．refreshed |
| A．off | B．forward | C．through | D．away |
6 . A new study has found the amount of antibiotics (抗生素) given to farm animals is expected to increase by two-thirds over the next 15 years. Researchers are linking the growing dependence on the drugs to the increasing need for meat, milk and eggs. However, the drugs could quicken the development of antibiotic-resistant infections (感染). Such infections are already a major public health concern in the United States.
The World Health Organization notes that when people stop living in poverty (贫困), the first thing they want to do is eat better, rather than earn more money. For most people, that means their diet should contain more meat. With the rapid development of Asia, people there are eating nearly four times as much meat, milk and other milk products as they did 50 years ago.
To meet the need, farmers have put many animals into smaller spaces. As the animals are crowded together, the easiest way to deal with some of the problems of crowding is to give them antibiotics. It’s clear that antibiotics help animals stay healthy in a crowded environment and grow faster. But bacteria can develop resistance to the drugs gradually.
Nowadays, doctors find antibiotics that once worked against the infections no longer work. The bacteria have learned ways to fight against the drugs. The heavy use of antibiotics in animals is responsible for the growth of antibiotic resistance worldwide. In the United States, at least two million people get drug-resistant infections each year and at least 23,000 die from an infection.
Europe has banned the use of antibiotics to increase animal growth. And the United States is hoping to persuade farmers to stop using antibiotics for that purpose.
1. What accounts for the increasing amount of antibiotics given to farm animals?| A．The desire for new drugs. | B．The less effective antibiotics. |
| C．The outdated farm technology. | D．The need for more various foods. |
| A．Make a lot of money. | B．Focus more on health. |
| C．Have more meat in their diet. | D．Live in a better environment. |
| A．Antibiotics do harm to animals. |
| B．Antibiotics make animals more nutritious. |
| C．Antibiotics are used heavily in Europe. |
| D．Antibiotic-resistant infections spread to people. |
| A．A new way of raising farm animals. |
| B．The advantages of using antibiotics. |
| C．The reason for banning the use of antibiotics. |
| D．The negative effects of the heavy use of antibiotics in farm animals. |
7 . For more than 60 years bringing the cost of food down had been one of the greatest challenge of the 21 century. That cost, however, is not in immediate cash, for most food is now far cheaper in relative terms than in 1960.
The cost is in the unintended damage of the very methods of food production that have made the food cheaper: in the pollution of water, the weakness of soil, the destruction of wildlife, the harm to animal welfare and the threat to human health caused by modern industrial agriculture.
First mechanisation, then mass use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and now genetic engineering — modern industrial farming has seemed unstoppable, as the yields of produce have soared. But it comes with extensive loss of wildlife and habitat, soil degradation and fertilizer run-off.
Put it together and it’s like a battleground, but consumers rarely make the connection at the dinner table. The problems are called “externalities” by economists because they’re not part of the main transaction, like growing and selling wheat. These costs aren’t directly paid by the producers or consumers.
But the costs to society can amount to shocking sums. According to a research by Professor Jules Pretty at the University of Essex, repairing the damage caused by intensive farming in one particular year costs £2, 343m in the UK alone, almost as much as the total UK and EU spend on British farming in that year.
Can the true cost of food be brought down? In some countries, moving away from industrial agriculture to address hunger is difficult. However, in developed countries, it’s more possible. Governments should support sustainable farming that benefits the environment, economy, health, and animal welfare. Instead of immediately switching to organic farming, Professor Pretty suggests adopting a “Greener Food Standard” which would push the market towards more sustainable environmental practices than the current norm, while not requiring the full commitment to organic production. This standard would guide farmers on better practices in farming, promoting a shift towards a more sustainable agricultural system for both producers and consumers.
1. What is the cost associated with food production?| A．Immediate cash loss. | B．Increased agriculture yields. |
| C．Promotion of organic farming. | D．Impairment to human welfare. |
| A．The costs are included in the price. | B．The costs lie in food growing and selling. |
| C．The costs aren’t directly visible to people. | D．People aren’t affected by modern farming. |
| A．Giving up clean-up efforts. | B．Overlooking global hunger. |
| C．Making flexible farming policies. | D．Adopting full organic approaches. |
| A．Critical. | B．Supportive. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Mindless. |
8 . WHEN KIM JI-UN lived in Seoul, she worried about finding a good job. Now, she is worried that drought may ruin her crop. The 23-year-old started a farm last year. Her first harvest was an unexpected success.
Ms Kim is part of a phenomenon called kwichon, or returning to rural life. The term crops up during periods of economic hardship. This time, in the wake of the pandemic, many new farmers have never lived in the countryside before. The government promotes the idea as a solution to the problem of South Koreans migrating to Seoul, aiming to regenerate struggling rural regions. By planting young farmers in rural areas, the government hopes to enjoy big rewards in future.
The plan is working. In 2021 nearly 380, 000 people moved to the countryside, up 15% from 2015 and almost half (a record high) younger than 40. Comfort with digital technology gives young farmers a leg up, says Cho Kyung-ik, the director of the Beginning Farmer’s Centre, an institution educating those who wish to kwichon at its downtown offices. They sell fresh produce on Naver, South Korea’s largest search engine.
The centre teaches techniques like how to use a tractor or select the best crops. It arranges a trial period during which ambitious farmers work under the guidance of an old hand, learning what it means to do back-breaking labour from dawn to dusk.
The most important lesson is how to get on with the locals. The villagers are also offered tips on how to act towards the newcomers. That part is not yet a total success. Ms Kim says her neighbours have a bad temper. “The old people come in here and give me unwanted advice, or say that I will never be able to grow anything, ” she says. Her black beans beg to differ. She and the South Korean government will be hoping that her crops put the argument to rest for good.
1. Why does the writer tell Ms Kim’s story?| A．To start an argument. | B．To introduce a trend. |
| C．To present a challenge. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．A new identity. | B．A helping hand. |
| C．A touching moment. | D．A different idea. |
| A．Learning farming skills. | B．Facing criticism online. |
| C．Handling invisible overwork. | D．Adapting to local community. |
| A．It generates huge profits. | B．It reconnects local people. |
| C．It helps to revive rural areas. | D．It deserves more financial support. |
9 . Every order of takeout comes with a side of single-use plastics and each plastic fork. knife, spoon and straw-whether or not you wanted it or used it-ends up in the trash.
New research found that 139 million metric tons of single-use plastic waste was generated in 2021-six million metric tons more single-use plastics compared to 2019. A hunger for takeout meals during the pandemic contributed to the surge.
An estimated 60% of Americans order takeout or delivery at least once a week and online ordering is growing 300% faster than in-house dining; that means millions of single-use plastic utensils (餐具) are going out with every order.
New laws aim to address the problem. Some of the recent bills are thanks to The National Reuse Network, part of the environmental nonprofit Upstream, which launched a national Skip the Stuff campaign to work out policies that require restaurants to include single-use plastic utensils, straws, and napkins only when customers request them.
The bills also require meal delivery and online apps like Uber Eats, GrubHub and Door Dash to add single-use extras to their menus; customers can choose the items and quantities to have them included in the order. Customers that don’t order the single-use plastics won’t receive them. The goal of the bills is to reduce the 40 billion plastic utensils sent to the landfill (垃圾填埋场) every year.
“Most of the time, people are taking food home or to their offices where there are reusable utensils so these utensils wind up in a drawer or get thrown out,” says Alexis Goldsmith, national organizing director for a nationwide project Beyond Plastics. “Some people do need utensils, but for the most part, they’re not needed.”
To date, Skip the Stuff bills have been passed in several cities, including Denver, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, California and Washington state passed statewide bills that make single-use plastic “accessories” available with takeout orders only upon request.
Organizations like Upstream, Beyond plastics and NRDC have created toolkits to help additional communities launch their own Skip the Stuff campaigns.
1. What does the underlined word “surge” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Great desire. | B．Sharp decline. | C．Rapid increase. | D．Obvious panic. |
| A．Choosing green products. | B．Adding single-use napkins. |
| C．Recycling and reusing utensils. | D．Providing utensils only on request. |
| A．To reduce plastic waste. | B．To stop bad eating habits. |
| C．To encourage people to eat out. | D．To better the dining environment. |
| A．Unimportant. | B．Damaging. | C．Much-needed. | D．Well-known. |
10 . Nowadays, the world is slowly becoming a high-tech society and we are now surrounded by technology. Facebook and Twitter are innovative tools; text messaging is still a somewhat existing phenomenon and even e-mail is only a flashing spot on the screen when compared with our long history of snail mail. Now we adopt these tools to the point of essentialness, and only rarely consider how we are more fundamentally affected by them.
Social media, texting and e-mail all make it much easier to communicate, gather and pass information. But they also present some dangers. By removing any real human engagement, they enable us to develop our abnormal self-love without the risk of disapproval or criticism theatrical metaphor (隐喻), these new forms of communication provide a stage on which we create our own characters, hidden behind a fourth wall of tweets, status updates and texts. This unreal state of unconcern can become addictive as we separate ourselves a safe distance from the cruelty of our fleshly lives, where we are imperfect, powerless and insignificant. In essence, we have been provided not only the means to be more free, but also to become new, to create and protect a more perfect self to the world. As we become more reliant on these tools, they become more a part of our daily routine and so we become more restricted in this fantasy.
So it is that we live in a cold era, where names and faces represent two different levels of closeness, where working relationships occur only through the magic of email and where love can start or end by text message. An environment such as this reduces interpersonal relationships to mere digital exchanges.
Would a celebrity have been so daring to do something dishonorable if he had had to do it in person? Doubtful. It seems he might have been lost in a fantasy world that ultimately convinced himself into believing the digital self could obey different rules and regulations, as if he could continually push the limits of what’s acceptable without facing the consequences of “real life.”
1. The author compares e-mail with snail mail to show ________.| A．the influence of high-tech on our life | B．the history of different types of mails |
| C．the value of traditional communications | D．the rapid development of social media |
| A．Destroying our life totally. | B．Posing more dangers than good. |
| C．Helping us to hide our faults. | D．Replacing traditional letters. |
| A．Sheltering us from virtual life. | B．Removing face-to-face interaction. |
| C．Leading to false mental perception. | D．Making us rely more on hi-tech media. |
| A．Technologies have changed our relationships. |
| B．The digital world is a recipe for pushing limits. |
| C．Love can be better conveyed by text message. |
| D．The digital self need not take responsibility. |
