1 . Recent research reveals that the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) by companies in the US has a disproportionate impact on women. According to a recent analysis, approximately 79% of the jobs lost to AI were held by women. This difference can be due to several factors.

Women are more likely to work in industries that are highly be influenced by automation, such as retail, hospitality, and administrative support. These sectors often involve repetitive tasks that can be easily automated by AI technologies. Consequently, women employed in these industries face a higher risk of job displacement.

Gender biases in AI algorithms (运算法则) can worsen the situation for women. AI systems are trained on historical data, which may reflect existing gender biases in hiring and promotion practices. This can result in biased decision-making during recruitment and performance evaluations, putting women at a disadvantage in the workplace.

The lack of diversity in the development of AI technologies contributes to the gender difference. The underrepresentation (代表名额不足) of women in the field of AI means that their perspectives and experiences are not adequately considered during the design and development process. As a result, AI systems may not fully understand or cater to the needs of women, continuously leading to gender inequalities.

To address these challenges, it is crucial to prioritize diversity and inclusion in the development and deployment of AI technologies. This involves increasing the representation of women in AI-related fields and ensuring diverse perspectives are considered during the design and testing phases. Additionally, companies should actively work towards eliminating gender biases in AI algorithms and regularly assess their impact on different demographic groups.

In conclusion, although men currently dominate the labor market, women bear a disproportionate burden due to the adoption of generative AI. The combination of industry composition, gender biases in algorithms, and lack of diversity in AI development contribute to this disparity. To relieve these effects, it is essential to prioritize diversity and inclusion in AI development and address gender biases in algorithms. Only through these efforts can we ensure that the benefits of AI are distributed equitably among all individuals, regardless of gender.

1. Why are women in the US workforce more influenced by the adoption of generative AI than men?

A．Women are less adaptable to technological changes.

B．Women have a lower level of education compared to men.

C．Women are generally less skilled in technology and AI-related fields.

D．Women are more likely to work in industries that are highly automatable.

2. Which of the following strategies can reduce the potential negative impact on women?

A．Increasing gender proportion in AI development teams.

B．Providing targeted training and programs for women and giving them more chances in AI-related fields.

C．Encouraging women to pursue careers in non-automatable industries.

D．Offering financial supports to companies that prioritize gender diversity in AI programmes.

3. Why is it important to prioritize diversity and inclusion in AI development?

A．It ensures equal opportunities for women in the workforce.

B．It promotes innovation and creativity in AI solutions.

C．It reduces the risk of biased algorithms that perpetuate gender inequalities.

D．It improves the overall performance and effectiveness of AI systems.

4. What is the main idea of the article?

A．The impact of AI on job losses in the US.

B．The role of women in AI-related fields.

C．Gender biases in AI algorithms and their effects on women.

D．Solutions to address challenges faced by women due to generative AI.

2 . To promote employees’ creativity, managers should consider offering a set of rewards for them to choose from, according to a new study by management experts at Rice University.

The study, co-authored by Jing Zhou, Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Management and Psychology at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is the first to systematically examine the effects of reward choice in a field experiment, which was conducted in the context of an organization-wide suggestion program.

“Organizations spend a lot of resources and make a great deal of effort in designing incentive (激励的) plans that reward the employees who exhibit creativity at work,” Zhou said. “Our results showed that the effort may be a bit misplaced. Instead of discovering one reward type that is particularly effective at promoting creativity, what is more effective is to provide the employees with the opportunity to choose from several reward types, if they submit one or more ideas that are among the top 20% most creative ones.”

Workers in the study were given a range of options: a financial reward for the individual employee or their team, a self-discretionary (自己自由决定的) reward such as getting priority to select days off, or a donation the company made to a charity selected by the employee. Those choices had positive, significant effects on the number of creative ideas employees thought up and the creativity level of those ideas.

The studies also found that rewards aimed at helping others, such as making a donation to a charity, might be especially powerful. But for less-creative employees, alternative rewards that benefit those in need might actually lower creativity and should be avoided.

The researchers also found that the choice of rewards developed creativity by raising the employees’ belief in their ability to be creative. Alternative rewards also had a powerful impact on promoting the creativity of employees who earlier had scored high on an assessment of creative personality characteristics.

1. Why was the study conducted?

A．To promote employees’ creativity.

B．To discover and reward creative employees.

C．To set an example to other organizations.

D．To examine the effects of different reward choices.

2. Which statement would Professor Zhou agree with?

A．It’s ambitious to examine the effects of reward choice.

B．It’s necessary to confirm which reward is the most effective.

C．It’s advisable to let employees choose their own favorite reward types.

D．It’s inappropriate to choose from the top 20% most creative employees.

3. What reward would be least beneficial to less-creative employees?

A．Financial reward.	B．Assessment priority.
C．Occupation promotion.	D．Charity donation.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Choice of rewards promotes creativity

B．Financial rewards can motivate employees

C．Use resources effectively to promote creativity

D．Effects of rewards on employees can’t be ignored

3 . As is the fate of anyone running a hotel in Kerala these days, Bijoy George is a man with too much to do. Before pandemic-caused lockdowns began in 2020, he managed 40 employees at the Eighth Bastion Hotel in the charming historic quarter of Kochi, a bustling coastal city. Now that business is back to pre-covid levels he needs the same number of staff again. But he has only 20 workers. His plight is shared with every other hotel, café and bar. It is a result of the state’s hospitality (招待) employees moving all together in large numbers to Qatar, not to watch football but to take up employment tied to the World Cup.

As the start of the competition approaches on November 20th, workers are quitting at a rate Mr. George says he has never seen in his 22 years in the business. Qatar, a country with a population of under 3m, will have welcomed more than 1.5m visitors before the matches conclude on December 18th. That means finding staff to run all the new hotels that have been built along with other venues that have been pressed into service to profit from the sports fans.

Kerala has long been a significant source of hospitality workers for Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. Its state government provides good schools with English-language instruction but few jobs. More than 2m people, 17% of its working population, already work overseas, largely in the Gulf.

The appeal of Qatar is straightforward. Starting salaries approach $1,000 a month, more than six times the level for similar jobs in Kerala. To replace those who have left, Kerala’s employers have been casting their nets wider. Recruiters have been extending their searches to many other Indian cities. But that means the most common word on name-tags pinned to the breast pockets of workers is “trainee”.

Among the many skills that need to be taught, says Mr. George, is smiling at customers — the failure to do so a result of shyness among those new to the workforce. The danger is that after a week or so when confidence grows, even these employees may slip away to the Gulf.

Most contracts run for three months, concluding at the end of December, not long after the World Cup final. Returning workers will be welcomed back with open arms. Filling the gaps is even more important as Indian tourism and weddings have restarted. The reunions, though, may be short-lived. The game these workers will have learned from the World Cup is how to be paid better. That means leaving India.

1. The underlined sentence in paragraph one implies that __________.

A．other hotels, cafes and bars will share Bijoy’s 20 employees

B．other hotels, cafes and bars will have to lay off some workers

C．other hotels, cafes and bars also send the workers to Qatar

D．other hotels, cafes and bars also find it hard to employ enough workers

2. Which of the following DOESN’T contribute to hospitality workers in Kerala taking up jobs in Qatar?

A．Millions of tourists have to be served during the World Cup.

B．Hospitality workers are in high demand with new hotels and venues open for business in Qatar.

C．Qatar provides good education and English training for potential workers in Kerala.

D．The salaries of similar jobs in Kerala are much lower than those in Qatar.

3. Which of the following difficulties do Kerala’s employers face due to lack of workers?

A．Kerala’s employers have to take on new employees in Asian cities.

B．Many of the new employees will pin their name tags to their breast pockets.

C．The new employees will not greet the customers as a result of shyness.

D．The new employees may soon follow the trend of going to the Gulf.

4. What makes the reunions between Indian workers and employers probably a short-lived one?

A．Jobs outside India can provide Indian workers with a more decent life.

B．It will soon be the off season for Indian tourism and weddings.

C．Another grand occasion will soon begin in the Gulf.

D．The workers only sign short-term contracts with the employers in India.

5 . 听下面一段对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the main purpose of the man’s visit?

A．To have further study.

B．To attend a conference.

C．To buy new products.

2. When will the man leave the U.S?

A．On April 19th.

B．On April 21st.

C．On April 27th.

3. Where did the man finish his college?

A．In Chicago.

B．In Beijing.

C．In Pennsylvania.

4. What is probably the man?

A．A financial manager.

B．A customs officer.

C．A computer engineer.

8 . Unexpected Things About Archaeology (考古学)

Archaeology is an amazing career. We get to explore and debate how life has been and can be lived, and we get to share this knowledge with people in a way which benefits society. If you don’t know an archaeologist or haven’t worked with one before, you might not know what they actually do or you might think we do things that we don’t.     1    

Not all archaeology is underground.

A lot of people think of archaeology as being buried in the ground, but any physical material can tell us about the past.     2     In fact, there’s a whole specialism of archaeology that involves recording historic buildings and creating drawings and reports about them.

    3    

You might think archaeologists are only interested in the most precious items, like coins, valuable jewellery or well-preserved objects. But often the most common items, like pottery, clay tobacco pipes, glass bottles or bricks, can tell them the most information. They help build a picture of people’s lives. Sometimes, not finding an object we thought would be there tells us something about the people.

Archaeologists don’t use brushes very often.

Many people think archaeologists spend all day brushing dirt off the items they find. They do sometimes use brushes to clean surfaces for clear photographs. But they mainly use tools like trowels, shovels or mattocks. A normal day involves a lot of heavy digging.    4     But sometimes archaeologists work with very fragile items. For this they would normally use tools like a thin “leave” trowel, but usually a brush.

Archaeologists can use technology to learn what is underground instead of digging.

    5     Geophysical Survey uses electric and magnets to find tiny differences in the earth and creates a map of potential archaeology under the earth. Drones can also be used to take aerial photographs, where things like crop-marks can be clues to past human activity.

Archaeology is a science, an art and a form of physical work. It’s varied and can appeal to people with different interests and skills. It may take you on a journey you don’t expect!

A．Archaeology is for everybody.

B．Archaeologists aren’t only interested in gold.

C．Archaeologists don’t have to dig to learn about what is underground.

D．So we pulled together a list of things you might not know about archaeology.

E．This means above-ground remains, like buildings, are important forms of evidence.

F．They also must work quickly as they’re usually part of a wider construction project.

G．Archaeologists get more information about the history of an area with every site they dig.

10 . Great Reasons to Earn a Psychology (心理学) Degree

Can you guess which college major is one of the most popular among undergraduate students all over the world? The answer: Psychology! A psychology degree not only offers students the opportunity for personal growth, but also opens up a huge range and variety of career opportunities.     1    .

    2    .

Have you ever wondered why people behave in certain ways? Or maybe you've always wanted to learn more about your own mind, emotions, and actions? Earning a degree in psychology is an excellent way to gain a greater understanding of people.

Find a job that’s in demand.

The demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals and social services agencies is expected to fuel a positive job outlook for trained professionals.    3    , obtaining a graduate degree and getting postdoctoral work experience may give you an extra competitive edge.

Make a difference in people’s lives.

If you've ever dreamed of making a real difference in other people's lives, earning a psychology degree can be an effective way to achieve that goal. Psychologists and community services workers devote their time and energy to helping people overcome difficulties, increase their well-being, and realize their full potential.    4    , it can also be very fulfilling.

Study a topic you love.

The best possible reason to earn a degree in psychology is simply a love for the subject matter.    5    , enjoy discussing psychology topics, and spend your free time browsing psychology websites, then chances are good that earning a psychology degree is the right choice.

A．Learn more about yourself and others

B．Employers highly prize the skill is of psychology

C．Let’s imagine that you have strong interest in psychology

D．If you want to work in a job directly related to psychology

E．If you look forward to going to your psychology courses

F．While this type of work can be emotionally demanding and stressful at times

G．Read on for some things that earning a psychology degree will allow you to do