1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Short-form videos, which gained popularity on the Chinese platform Douyin, have given rise to a new trend in entertainment: ultra-short (超短) dramas.     1     (tailor) to our fast-paced lifestyles, ultra-short dramas are far more likely to attract people to try them out than traditional television series. In the past, committing     2     a show meant investing upwards of 40 minutes, but with ultra-short dramas, only a few minutes is enough for     3     taste.

Despite the initial success of ultra-short dramas, Chinese authorities     4     (tighten) regulations and intensifying monitoring on them. Currently, most of these ultra-short dramas revolve around clichéd (陈词滥调的) romantic plots, often     5     (feature) a wealthy individual getting together with a poor person. This narrative trend bears the potential     6     (shape) young minds’ perceptions of reality and their approaches to real-life challenges.

What’s equally concerning is     7     ultra-short dramas are designed to catch the viewers’ attention with bite-sized runtimes. In a world dominated by smartphones,     8     attention spans are already declining, frequent     9     (expose) to ultra-short videos can only worsen the issue.

It’s natural for us to seek entertainment. But it’s also worth pausing to consider the consequences     10     diving into ultra-short dramas.

2 . I am always confused when reading statements like “Princeton University is the number one college in the United States.” Are those who attend Princeton inherently brighter than their peers?     1     Or is Princeton the best across all academic subjects overall?

I didn’t care about college rankings for years until I recently saw something different. This past October, Shanghai Ranking Consultancy unveiled the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023, which assesses universities worldwide across 55 subjects in five disciplines.     2     And this makes it easier for prospective students to choose the best college for their specific subject.

    3     When I delved deeper into the methodology behind these rankings, I discovered a complex web of criteria, including academic reputation, research output, and international collaboration.     4     However, they do not capture the entirety of the college experience. Factors like campus culture, extracurricular opportunities, and faculty-student interactions can profoundly shape your undergraduate years, yet they often remain unquantifiable in ranking systems.

    5     What may be the ideal environment for one student pursuing engineering might not suit another studying literature. It’s crucial to consider your personal preferences, career aspirations, and learning style when evaluating potential colleges. While prestigious universities may offer unparalleled resources and networking opportunities, a smaller, lesser-known college might provide a more nurturing and supportive environment for your individual growth and development. Ultimately, the best college for you is the one that aligns with your values, ambitions, and vision for the future.

A．The value of a university education goes beyond its ranking.

B．Is Princeton the most beautiful campus all around the world?

C．Is Princeton able to produce more geniuses upon graduation?

D．That being said, how much weight should be given to these rankings?

E．Actually, the concept of a “best” college is subjective and context-dependent.

F．These measures provide valuable insights into the academic strength of universities.

G．It is said to employ a more in-depth approach to evaluate the performance of universities.

3 . American families don’t save money like they used to. In 2018 the personal saving rate was somewhere around 7%, which is well below the rate of a few decades ago.

There are a lot of potential explanations for this. Wage growth has slowed while necessities such as housing and medical care have grown more expensive. The rise of easy credit has made overspending easier than ever. And the number of people who make a budget is decreasing.

Now, a team of U.S. and Canadian economists have proposed a new explanation for the declining savings rate, one rooted in individual psychology. At its heart lies a simple observation: Spending is a lot more visible than not spending. Humans are social creatures, and we have a tendency to evaluate our own standing in life relative to how our friends and neighbors are doing. We want to keep up with the Joneses, and stay ahead of the Smiths. Because of this, when we see other people spending money we have a tendency to believe that we can — or should — be spending too. Nowadays, changes in the media landscape have made other people’s spending more visible than ever. That, in turn, is making all of us spend even more — and save even less.

David Hirshleifer, one of the economists, said that “it’s easy to think that you’re saving enough because you are not throwing luxury parties or taking expensive journeys the way some people you know are.” But, he warned, “those journeys and parties may not really be typical of your acquaintances — they just stand out in memory.”

The economists imply that finding ways to make non-spending more visible might help individuals develop more realistic views of overall spending and saving behavior. “Make a special effort to notice when your friends are careful with money, such as holding on to their 15-year-old car,” Hirshleifer said.

1. Which of the following is a potential explanation for the low saving rate in America?

A．The reduction in the income.	B．The easy access to money.
C．The growing desire for housing.	D．The difficulty in sticking to a budget.

2. The “individual psychology” mentioned in paragraph 3 refers to a tendency to ______.

A．show off wealth	B．connect with others
C．compare oneself to others	D．adapt oneself to social change

3. What is the warning of David Hirshleifer?

A．It is improper to copy others’ spending habits.

B．It is unwise to spend more than one can afford.

C．One may spend too much on journeys and parties.

D．One may have misunderstanding of others’ spending habits.

4. What do the economists suggest people do?

A．Make good use of money.	B．Save as much money as possible.
C．Pay attention to non-spending behavior.	D．Change overall spending and saving behavior.

5 . Going on a vacation might seem like a rather     1     (conventional) way to try to improve your sleep habits, but sleep tourism has been growing in popularity for a number of years, with an increasing amount of sleep-focused     2     (stay) popping up in hotels and resorts (度假胜地) across the world.

In fact, interest     3     (increase) since the pandemic, with a number of hotels focusing their attention on those     4     (suffer) from sleep-deprivation (剥夺). Over the past 12 months, Park Hyatt New York has opened the Bryte Restorative Sleep Suite (套房),     5     800-square-foot suite filled with sleep-enhancing facilities, while Rosewood Hotels Resorts recently launched a collection of retreats (休养处),     6     are designed to “promote rest”.

The global pandemic appears     7     (play) a huge part in this. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that 40% of the over 2,500 adults who took part reported a reduction     8     their sleep quality since the start of the pandemic.

But can short term sleep-focused travel experiences actually have a long term impact on a person’s overall sleep? According to Dr. Robbins, a sleep researcher and co-author of the book Sleep for Success, travel experiences centered around “healthy sleep strategies” that aim to supply guests with the tools they need to improve their sleep     9     (be) hugely beneficial.

“The concept of travel actually allowing you to return home     10     (refresh) is a really exciting proposition,” she adds.

7 . If you’ve got more than one kid, you’re showing favoritism, whether you know it or not.

“Parents may favor one child over another, for a lot of reasons. The child may have an easy temperament (性情) or might behave particularly well or may look like you,” says Susan Newman, a psychologist. “But regardless of the reason, every child must be made to feel loved and special, in order to fully develop.” Newman warns that favoring one child over their siblings (兄弟姐妹) publicly can have a significantly negative effect.

“The unfavored child can feel defeated, and unmotivated, as a result of working hard to get parental support, with no success,” says Yelena Gidenko, a licensed counselor. “He orshe may also suffer from depression and become angry, bitter, or jealous,” she adds Children feeling this way may act out, in an effort to get their parent’s attention, making matters worse. They may also behave inappropriately, becoming the black sheep, which they believe their parents already see. “Unfavored children may have a hard time accepting who they are, since they do not feel accepted by their parents,” adds Gidenko.

Favoritism is not exactly a boon for the favored child, either. Kids who feel that they are their parent’s favorite sometimes translate that into a go pass for their behavior in future relationships. “Favored children may feel a sense of entitlement, and that rules do not apply to them,” says Gidenko. This can negatively affect the way they act in school, at work, and in their friendships.

It may seem absurd, but the opposite can also occur. Favored children may experience anxiety and insecurity, resulting from their favorite child status. “Children are observant. They know when they are getting praise for things they have not earned, such as being your favorite. For this reason, they know, and fear, that these things might be taken away fromthem at any time, for any reason,” says Gidenko

Newman urges parents to remember that it’s not possible to treat children equally because they are all different. What parents can, and should do is talk to their kids about how, and why, they treat them the way they do. “According to research, parents don’t talkabout this. They don’t say why one child gets more time than another. If they do, they are preserving their bond with each child,” says Newman

1. What can we learn about unfavored children?

A．They want to please their parents

B．They care little about their siblings.

C．They tend to lack a sense of identity

D．They hope to be the black sheep of the family.

2. What does the underlined word “boon” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Blessing.

B．Challenge.

C．Honor.

D．Burden.

3. What does Newman suggest parents do in the last paragraph?

A．Treat their children equally

B．Explain themselves to their children

C．Strengthen their bond with their children

D．Remove the differences between their children

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The solutions to parental favoritism

B．The consequences of parental favoritism

C．An analysis of why parents play favorites

D．A contrast between favored and unfavored children

8 . Young adults in Singapore can often live with their parents into their 30s. They are encouraged by the government, which is fond of praising family values. Housing policy makes it difficult for young people to live independently. Almost 80% of Singaporeans live in subsidized (补助的) public housing. They cannot have a flat of their own until they marry or turn 35.

Yet a small but growing number of Singaporeans are resisting the nanny state (保姆式国家): Between 1990 and 2020, the number of those under 35 who lived alone or with non-family members grew from 33,400 to 51,300. Since they do not qualify for public housing, they must rent in the private sector. One factor is that Singaporeans are getting married later. In 1980, the average ages at which men and women married were 27 and 24; today, they are 30 and 29. A growing number choose not to marry at all. For others, it was COVID-19 that pushed them out of the nest. Serene Chee, a 25-year-old lawyer, did not greatly mind living with her parents until travel restrictions and work-from-home policies kept her stuck at home all the time. In June, Ms Chee and a friend moved into an apartment together.

Living on your own is not easy. First, you must inform your parents. It took Lydia Yang, an illustrator who was then 28, three months to gather the courage Then you must learn to pay bills and do basic chores. When Lenne Chai, a photographer, moved out seven years ago at the age of 23y she did not know how to cook.

Life on your own can be lonely. Ms Yang found it “a bit depressing”, particularly during the lockdown. But living apart may improve relationships. Both Ms Yang and Ms Chai said that they got on better with their parents after moving out. When living together, they paid each other little attention. Now their weekly visits are “quality time”, said Ms Chai. When Ms Chee’s parents came to her flat for dinner recently, they were impressed by how tidy it was.

1. What’s the attitude of the government to family values?

A．Negative.

B．Supportive.

C．Objective.

D．Subjective.

2. What makes it hard for young people to live by themselves?

A．Housing policy.	B．The spread of COVID-19.
C．Parents’ disagreement.	D．The limited private apartments.

3. What can we know from Paragraph 2?

A．A growing number of people have enough money to hire nannies.

B．People need to rent houses because they have qualification for public housing.

C．More and more people don’t want to get married because of economic pressure.

D．COVID-19 is one of the reasons why many people don’t want to live with their parents.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The definition of “quality time”.	B．The positive effect of living alone.
C．The loneliness of living independently.	D．The parents’ attitude to children’s independence.

9 . Marks &Spencer(M&S) is planning to remove “best before” labels from 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables in its stores to cut food waste. The change will rely on customers using their judgment to determine whether goods are still fine to eat.

The measure, to be rolled out this week, will affect 85% of the supermarket’s fresh pro-duce offering. “Best before” labels differ from “use by” dates, with the former often merely a measure of aesthetics(美学), while the latter tending to indicate a safety risk if ignored. “Best before” labels were meant to help consumers, but instead were blamed for creating mountains of waste from perfectly eatable food.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, had already announced the end of best before dates on its own-brand fruit and vegetables as far back as 2018, while the German supermarket Lidl also says it does not include best before information to reduce food waste. Now M&S is doing the same, with the aim to halve(减半) food waste from its products by 2030 com-pared with 2018. Achieving those targets would put it in line with the UK’s commitment to meet the United Nations’ goal of halving food waste by 2030 compared with 2007.

Reducing food waste is a vital part of tackling carbon emissions associated with farming and food distribution(分配). WRAP, a food waste charity, estimates that as much 45%of global greenhouse gas emissions can only be tackled by changing the way we make and consume products and food. It said that removing dates on fresh fruit and vegetables can save the equal of 7 million shopping baskets of food a year.

Catherine David, a director at WRAP, said, “We’re thrilled to see this move from M&S, which will reduce food waste and help tackle the climate crisis. We urge more supermarkets to get ahead on food waste by cutting date labels from fresh produce, allowing people to use their own judgment.”

1. What does Marks &Spencer intend to do?

A．Maintain the safety of their products.

B．Ask customers to pick out eatable produce.

C．Sell its own-brand fruit and vegetables.

D．Remove “use by” labels from its fresh produce.

2. What does the underlined phrase “rolled out” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Denied.

B．Canceled.

C．Introduced.

D．Examined.

3. What does Catherine David call on more supermarkets to do?

A．Meet government regulations.

B．Improve food safety standards.

C．Increase sales of fresh produce.

D．Get rid of dates labels on fresh produce.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．M&S’s new move to reduce food waste.

B．Tesco follows M&S’s lead on food labels.

C．M&S calls for a fight against climate crisis.

D．Effective methods to protect the environment.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Limiting the screen time of teenagers is not as effective as intended. A report     1     (release) Tuesday showed that the “teenager mode” on 20 Chinese major video platforms, including Douyin, Bilibili, and iQiyi,     2    (lack) relevant content for minors as required, with some showing empty pages with no videos. Instead of adding more educational and knowledge-based videos in the feed, many were filled with food     3    (recommend).

Introduced in 2019 by China’s top Internet watchdog, a 40-minute daily time use on young users was carried out     4     no nighttime browsing was allowed. These features aimed to restrict the screen time of minors, limiting their access     5     harmful contents.

With the     6     (grow) popularity of short video apps, there have been concerns about the overuse of     7     (they) and their impact on young users. A2022 report by the China Internet Network Information Center said that nearly 40% of teenage Internet users encountered “    8    (healthy) and negative information”.

Over the years, academic experts and analysts     9     (criticize)video platforms for ignoring the flaws (缺陷) in their operating systems, though industry insiders claim that a shortage of content tailored toward teenage users has posed     10     additional challenge. While urging for regulatory efforts, some experts warned that too many restrictions could cause opposite effects.