1 . In 2021, new research suggested that nearly half of American teenagers said they used the Internet almost without stopping. The study also found that teens who said they were online almost all the time rose from 24 percent in 2015 to 46 percent. The results were based on a public opinion study carried out from April 14 to May 4. The study included 1,316 teens aged 13 to 17 years old.
The research found that about 95 percent of American teens had smartphones. The study also asked teens about their social media (媒体) behavior. It found that the number of teens using Facebook had dropped to 32 percent, down from 71 percent in 2015. The research showed that teens had moved away from Facebook to spend time on the video-sharing services YouTube and TikTok. About 95 percent of teens said they used Google-owned YouTube, while 67 percent said they used TikTok.
About 62 percent of the teens said they used Instagram, a popular photo-sharing app, which is owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta. About 59 percent said they used Snapchat, which is a free messaging and social networking app for smartphones. Less than one fourth of teens said they used Twitter. A quarter of teens who used Snapchat or TikTok said they used these apps almost without stopping, and a fifth of teen YouTube users said the same, the study said. The research found that teen boys were more likely than teen girls to use YouTube. Teen girls were more interested in using TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.
The services of some apps including Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok had introduced new functions (功能) that were designed to make them safer and more suitable for young users.
1. How long did the public opinion study last?| A．30 days. | B．24 days. | C．21 days. | D．16 days. |
| A．YouTube. | B．TikTok. | C．Instagram. | D．Snapchat. |
| A．Some apps’ services. | B．Young users. |
| C．Research results. | D．The functions. |
| A．Ways to use social media. | B．Advantages of new apps. |
| C．New service functions of apps. | D．Changes in teens’ use of social media. |
2 . Luya, a virtual singer who was admitted to a Chinese music college in 2022, made a hit recently.The pink-haired anime (动漫) girl, developed by iFLYTEK, China’s leading AI and speech tech company, shows skills that are unmatched by her classmates in the real world. She can easily mix diversified musical genres, analyze complicated chords (和弦) and explore broader possibilities of making music great fun. More than a virtual idol, she is an example of the new industrial fashion in the country.
China’s internet magnates (巨头) are acting quick to explore AI digital humans’ potential. Baidu launched a digital person called Xi Ling, who can provide a 24-hour tireless live streaming service. Ayayi, another AI-enabled influeneer, joined Alibaba as a digital manager. A large quantity of Chinese TV stations have jumped on the bandwagon (潮流) as well. Many digital hosts have appeared on the sereen. They are expected to revolutionize the media landscape in the future.
Lu Yanxia, an analyst from IDC, said that AI digital humans have shown noticeable commercial value in some areas, and a growing number of them will work together with human beings in the future. But such digital beings should be properly introduced into their areas, Lu added.
Now, China is trying to deepen the integration of AI, virtual reality and 8K tech and expand their applications in social networking, shopping, entertainment and exhibitions. According to the data from iiMedia Research, the market value in China driven by virtual humans is expected to reach $92.45billion in 2025.
1. Which of the following words best describes Luya?| A．Experienced. | B．Irreplaceable. | C．Intelligent. | D．Respected. |
| A．Xi Ling is employed as a digital manager. |
| B．Virtual figures are applied online and in TV programs. |
| C．Digital hosts have revolutionized the media landscape. |
| D．Baidu designed virtual influencers as managers. |
| A．They have captured little attention of the market. |
| B．They are showing commercial value in all areas. |
| C．They should be properly introduced into their areas. |
| D．They will replace human beings in more areas. |
| A．AI-enabled virtual humans are becoming fashion in China |
| B．AI technology has a long way to go in China |
| C．China is to deepen the integration of AI technology |
| D．TV stations have brought in many digital hosts |
3 . Technology has changed almost every way of our life and now it seems to be the time to update education systems around the world. Children and young adults make up one-third of the Internet users, so it’s no surprise that they are more hyper-connected (超连接的) than their parents.
In a survey of 1,400 educators, most of them believe that classrooms of the future will be centered on personalized learning. This student-centered way will allow children to choose their own pace (节奏) and learning goals based on personal interests, all of which can be guided by artificial intelligence (AI), chatting robots (chatbots) and video-based learning.
AI in education specially focuses on telling what a student does or doesn’t know, and then develops personalized courses for each student. Chatbots are also quickly becoming a key tool in the next generation education. Designed to simplify the exchange of ideas and information between students and computers, chatbots provide a lot of benefits. Although video-based learning may not necessarily be considered as creative as AI or chatbots, 98% of the educators view it as an important part of personalized learning experiences. Some schools report bringing video teaching into their courses in some way, but even higher demand for video-based learning may come from students in the near future.
The new classroom learning style is completely different from the traditional learning style and is considered to be a great change in how students get information. However, research has shown that children will keep getting information from books besides screens. Obviously, low-tech schools are more likely to believe that human interaction is important when it comes to keeping children interested and excited to learn.
Although we may not be in the age of online teachers, the benefits of technology as a teaching aid are true. However, what’s more important is that these aids are helping keep students rather than technology at the heart of education.
1. What will future classrooms focus on according to the survey?| A．Self-paced learning. | B．Learning without goals. |
| C．The teacher-centered way. | D．The traditional learning way. |
| A．Create wealth. | B．Train educators. |
| C．Improve communication. | D．Develop courses. |
| A．Low-tech schools are on the rise. |
| B．Children will completely depend on screens. |
| C．The way to get information should be changed. |
| D．Students will still get information from books. |
| A．Why education is s important. |
| B．How robots will replace teachers. |
| C．How technology shapes the future education. |
| D．Why computers will play a role in the future education. |
4 . “There are more people actively learning a language through DuoLingo than in the entire US public school system.” says Luis von Ahn, founder of the free language learning app. Since its launch (投放市场) in 2012, more than 30 million people have downloaded (下载) the app, which gamified education and attracted many language learners.
The growth of technology for educational use has changed the way in which people learn and receive education. This is particularly true for languages, an area in which the explosion of mobile apps and interactive software has provided choices to a range of people who were previously unable to receive foreign language education.
Von Ahn says that when he founded DuoLingo he decided to find a way for people to learn a language for free. Free use of languages was something he had a personal interest in addressing: he grew up in Guatemala, where he was surrounded by people all trying to learn English, half of whom were failing to do so and a lot of whom could not afford it.
One of the big changes caused by tech is the change in language learners. Languages have long been connected with the rich people, but now people from less rich backgrounds are finding affordable ways to learn.
Von Ahn says an unexpected result of DuoLingo being an app is that it’s attracting an unlikely type of user. DuoLingo was designed (设计) to be like a game, and what the company has found is that many users aren’t even necessarily diehard language fans, they’re just looking for an educational way to kill some time.
“They’re still procrastinating from something else, but at least it’s somewhat useful.” says Von Ahn, “The truth of the matter is that learning a language takes months or years. We have to find a way to keep them interested and that’s where the gamification came in.”
1. What can we say about DuoLingo after its launch?| A．It is used by entire US schools. | B．It costs 30 dollars to download. |
| C．It changes the use of languages. | D．It makes education more enjoyable. |
| A．To show his poverty in childhood. |
| B．To explain why he founded the app. |
| C．To prove he was interested in the app. |
| D．To find out how he designed the app. |
| A．They can master a language faster. | B．They become language fans totally. |
| C．They can learn in a low-cost way. | D．They can now use it to kill some time. |
| A．Reasons for Learning a Language |
| B．How to Learn a Language Online |
| C．The Development of a Language App |
| D．Mastering a Language with DuoLingo |
5 . People will tell you the only way to really learn a language is to completely immerse(浸入)yourself in a country where that language is spoken. Not all language learners, of course, will have the opportunity to spend some time in an immersion environment. But if you can't actually fly across the world to learn a new language, you can always create an immersion environment where you can talk to native speakers.
That's where Babbel comes in. Babbel is one of the most popular language learning apps on the market for studying new languages at your own pace. The app emphasises real-life conversational skills, so you won't be stopped by grammatical structures and verb patterns.
And right now, you can get 15%off a lifetime subscription (订阅)to Babbel Language Learning（$150; stacksocial. com）.A lifetime subscription is huge when it comes to getting the most out of the app, since you'll be able to return to lessons time and time again and brush up on whichever section or topic you might need.
So how does it all work? First, you'll choose one of the 14 languages. While Babbel offers familiar languages like Spanish and Italian, it also offers less commonly studied ones like Polish, Indonesian and more. Once you pick your language, you'll choose a wide range of real-life topics. Each course takes about 10 to 15 minutes, so you can pick one up on the way to work, during your lunch break, or really at any point you have some time to kill.
Beyond this, Babbel includes a ton of additional features tailored to making sure you learn the language in a real, practical and accurate way. The app uses speech recognition technology to make sure your pronunciation is accurate compared with how native speakers would say certain words.
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly tell us?| A．The terrifying experiences of travelling. | B．The importance of language learning environment. |
| C．Different ways to learn a new language. | D．Opportunities to communicate with native speakers. |
| A．It's a tool for learning languages. | B．It is designed in various types. |
| C．It focuses more on grammar structures. | D．It's the most popular app in the market. |
| A．Choose the place to learn a course. | B．Pick the language they want to learn. |
| C．Calculate the reading time. | D．Choose a proper topic. |
| A．To represent its additional features. | B．To meet the needs of native speakers. |
| C．To compare differences between words. | D．To make the pronunciation correct. |
1. How did the woman get her smartphone?
| A．She bought it downtown. | B．She purchased it online. | C．She received it as a gift. |
| A．To help users organize life. | B．To help users study. | C．To help users read news. |
| A．Show how to find the apps. | B．Talk about smartphones. | C．Recommend more apps. |
7 . Smartphone vs the Classroom
We know it’s good to learn another language. It opens doors, makes you more employable, helps you make new friends, and it’s fun too. But to improve our language skills, many of us have to spend hours of school lessons or evening classes, with our heads buried in textbooks. It’s no wonder then that technology appears to be providing a better and more accessible way of learning.
There is certainly a huge demand for language learning, and having a smartphone means you can have a personal teacher with you wherever you go. Many app developers are eager to cash in on the demand, and there are plenty of learning apps available. One of many popular apps, Duolingo, offers 91 courses in 30 languages and has more than 300 million users. Some educational apps offer languages not popular enough to be taught at physical classes, others even offer“invented” language courses in Esperanto, Elvish and Star Trek’s Klingon — lessons you might not find in a traditional classroom.
Whatever you want to learn, apps allow you to go at your own pace and fit learning around other commitments. But they’re not perfect — you might not understand the grammar and will lack the peer support you get in a classroom environment.
Does technology mean the end of traditional classrooms and teachers? Guy Baron, head of modern languages at Aberystwyth University, thinks not. He told the BBC that apps should be used alongside classroom methods, not to the exclusion of traditional teaching. And he adds: “The apps are very conversational... they’re not designed for degrees, but they could be additional resources.”
Certainly technology is going to help in and outside the classroom. But attending a real lesson, facing a real teacher, probably forces you to be more concentrated. Motivation can be a problem when using an app. But if you have a genuine and practical reason to learn another language, you will no doubt stick with it.
1. Learning a new language has many advantages EXCEPT ________.| A．to learn more knowledge |
| B．to make friends from all over the world |
| C．to get offers from international company more easily |
| D．to make you a funnier person |
| A．help users learn more languages |
| B．earn more money |
| C．provide language classes with high technology |
| D．offer as many language courses as possible |
| A．Students should rely on apps for degree examinations |
| B．Language learners are advised to use apps during class |
| C．Educational apps are useful to practice spoken English |
| D．Apps should be excluded (排除) from language teaching |
| A．An education magazine. | B．A research report. |
| C．A language class advertisement. | D．A science journal. |
8 . Get Digital Scotland, Simon Community Scotland’s digital inclusion programme, is proud to announce the start of Get Connected 100! This is a Scotland-wide project giving 100 people experiencing homelessness access to the digital world.
Our Get Connected 100 project will connect and support 100 people to get online. Each participant (参与者) will receive a free digital device (设备) and unlimited connectivity for 12 months. In addition to free digital technology, frontline workers at Simon Community and in our partner organisations are trained as digital champions to provide person-centred support based around a digital skills learning framework (框架). The project will give people easy access at all times, right in their pocket, and support to build skills and confidence to get online.
Research from the University of the West of Scotland shows us that people who experience homelessness are among the most digitally excluded (排斥的) groups in our society. This is a great disadvantage in life which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to COVID-19 we depend even more heavily on digital technology for many daily activities: socialising with friends, managing finances (资金), getting the latest news, accessing health services and having fun. Digital technology has never been so important to our lives.
The project is being funded by the Scottish Government. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “I am glad to fund this project to support 100 people experiencing homelessness in getting connected to the digital world. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that access to digital equipment, data and skills is a basic necessity. The funding, as part of our £100 million winter support package, will certainly help people deal with the additional financial pressures of winter and COVID-19.”
Last year, Simon Community Scotland funded a “Get Connected Pilot” in Edinburgh to develop and test this approach. We wanted to make sure people facing loneliness during lockdown could get support and be connected with loved ones and professional services. The results for the people who were part of the pilot were life changing. 100% of participants said that getting a connected device and support through this pilot positively affected their lives. Our pilot showed that digital access opens up a whole world of opportunities!
1. What will the Get Connected 100 project provide?| A．Costless digital devices. |
| B．Improved broadband access. |
| C．Lifelong unlimited connectivity. |
| D．Training in communication skills. |
| A．How digital technology has changed our life. |
| B．Where digital technology will lead us. |
| C．Who the project will benefit most. |
| D．Why the project is needed. |
| A．Curious. | B．Carefree. | C．Confused. | D．Confident. |
| A．It is sure to be successful. |
| B．It needs some improvements. |
| C．It will spread all over the world. |
| D．It has made a powerful difference. |
注意：1. 词数100字左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节；
3. 标题已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：优点 advantage 缺点disadvantage
The advantages and disadvantages of Tik Tok
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