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1. 答题前，考生须在试题册指定位置上填写考生编号和考生姓名；在答题卡指定位置上填写报考单位、考生姓名和考生编号，并涂写考生编号信息点。
2. 考生须把试题册上的“试卷条形码”粘贴条取下，粘贴在答题卡的“试卷条形码粘贴位置”框中。不按规定粘贴条形码而影响评卷结果的，责任由考生自负。
3. 选择题的答案必须涂写在答题卡相应题号的选项上，非选择题的答案必须书写在答题卡指定位置的边框区域内。超出答题区域书写的答案无效；在草稿纸、试题册上答题无效。
4. 填（书）写部分必须使用黑色字迹签字笔书写，字迹工整、笔迹清楚；涂写部分必须使用2B铅笔填涂。
5. 考试结束，将答题卡和试题册按规定交回。
（以下信息考生必须认真填写）
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
In a world increasingly in a state of change, there is one certainty: no company will survive without investing in both sustainability and technology. This simple yet 1 equation is derived from a collision of pressure points—all of which will be under a global 2 at COP28 in Dubai in December.
The world's 3 to Net Zero by 2050, the biggest challenge in modern history, is a rallying 4 for companies to rethink how they 5 their sustainability agendas with technology innovation. Getting this right will 6 a massive relief valve for the rapid developing 7 on the worldwide system.
Companies are being asked to do their 8 to simultaneously protect the planet, safeguard society and stabilise the economy, including 9 security. This comes against a backdrop of a 10 global population, reaching 10 billion by 2050, and rapidly expanding resource-hungry middle classes. Geopolitical instability and an excess of climate crises 11 the tension worldwide.
We live in 12 times, often facing more questions as answers. Better 13 technologies will help all governments and companies put both stability and agility in the 14 of our journey to Net Zero, which 15 supporting Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics.
One of the low 16 , yet deeply impactful, fruits is mobile phone technology. There are more mobile phones in the world than people, 17 the World Economic Forum (WEF). This vastly 18 and affordable tool can promote sustainability amongst today's global population of 8 billion people with a few swipes on the screen. From scanning products to identify carbon and water footprints, to 19 green education online, to monitoring your transport CO 2 emissions—all have an 20 impact in real time.
1. [A] complex [B] ordinary [C] indisputable [D] flexible
2. [A] spotlight [B] scale [C] atmosphere [D] range
3. [A] resort [B] objection [C] transition [D] contribution
4. [A] cry [B] method [C] effort [D] convention
5. [A] trade [B] link [C] match [D] decorate
6. [A] act as [B] work with [C] go against [D] deal with
7. [A] demand [B] movement [C] strain [D] field
8. [A] show [B] exercise [C] chore [D] bit
9. [A] energy [B] food [C] transportation [D] environment
10. [A] shrinking [B] declining [C] soaring [D] stable
11. [A] modify [B] magnify [C] resolve [D] ease
12. [A] static [B] obsolete [C] primitive [D] dynamic
13. [A] employing [B] discarding [C] introducing [D] upgrading
14. [A] back row [B] front line [C] bottom line [D] defence line
15. [A] diminishes [B] produces [C] surpasses [D] includes
16. [A] hanging [B] flying [C] ranking [D] bearing
17. [A] criticizes [B] refutes [C] highlights [D] moans
18. [A] renewable [B] amiable [C] accountable [D] accessible
19. [A] devaluing [B] decreasing [C] bolstering [D] canceling
20. [A] on-the-ground [B] up-to-date [C] up-and-down [D] off-the-cuff
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Barely 18 months have elapsed since the former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps unveiled the blueprint for a “revolutionary” Great British Railways, but it already has the flavour of an optimistic misnomer. Even an adequate British railway would be welcomed by those passengers stranded by everything from Avanti's collapse to failing infrastructure and unprecedented strikes.
Rail's financial structures, credited by proponents of privatization with revitalizing the industry for 25 years, have been ripped up. The pandemic played a hugely damaging role, prompting the blanket scrapping of franchising as passenger revenue disappeared. But COVID-19 arguably only accelerated the death of a system that was already acknowledged to be falling apart.
The Williams-Shapps review, commissioned back in 2018, long discussing and long delayed, ended up with the proposed creation of Great British Railways—a guiding mind, bringing together Network Rail and train operators, issuing better contracts, with sensible fares and ticketing, putting passengers first and independent of government micromanagement. Few in the industry argued with the conclusions. But few now are sure exactly when—or if—they will be followed through.
Even before Shapps departed, the Department for Transport's officials found themselves in an unexpected battle. A year after the plan was released, fundamental aspects were not agreed with the Treasury. Civil servants have grown increasingly disillusioned with progress, despite the millions spent, the time invested, and the teams of consultants employed.
The announcement of headquarters of GBR is apparently one of the first in the in-tray of new transport secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan—even if rail's wider suffering may not end soon. But, as one rail source puts it: “Something's got to give. The industry's in a complete mess, there's no certainty. GBR was meant to be the future. Delaying it is just prolonging the paralysis.”
The mini-budget unveiled by the Chancellor is unlikely to help: announcing plans to stop strikes and hamper unions asking for a cost-of-living pay rise, while effectively raising the pay of bosses across the negotiating table—let alone its wider economic effects on the industry. The promise to “accelerate infrastructure schemes”, such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, listed vaguely at No. 96 in the appendix of the growth plan, received a sceptical welcome from an industry which has waited years for a basic pipeline of works to be updated. Those closer to the flagship schemes already approved, such as East-West Rail, are already hinting they are more likely to be abandoned.
Reform may instead come from a different political direction: Labour, leading strongly in the polls since Friday, reaffirmed at conference its commitment to Re-nationalization of rail as train operators' contracts expire. Unless GBR is up and running by 2024, it may find it has run out of track.
21. The passengers even welcome a tolerable railway because __________.
[A] Great British Railways would make a difference
[B] they have suffered from a dysfunctional railway system
[C] they like the blueprint for a revolutionary railway company
[D] the infrastructure of the railways is decayed
22. Which of the following mainly contributes to the collapse of the rail's financial structures?
[A] A decrease in the number of passengers.
[B] The outbreak of the new coronavirus.
[C] The cancellation of franchising system.
[D] The intrinsic problems in the railways.
23. According to the proposition, the Great British Railways would benefit __________.
[A] passengers with improved services
[B] the government with fine micromanagement
[C] consultants for more job openings
[D] train operators for more financial support
24. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that one problem of GBR plan is __________.
[A] the shutdown of several rail lines
[B] the disagreement within the government
[C] its wrongly-directed implementation
[D] the dramatic mess it has caused
25. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
[A] Passengers got stuck in British rails
[B] The uncertain future of Great British Railways
[C] Rapid growth of rail industry due to privatisation
[D] A perfect solution to the rail industry in trouble
Nestled between hotels and conference centers, a short walk from the Las Vegas strip, is a giant, wide-eyed emoji. Sometimes it is an enormous, hyper-realistic eyeball, a basketball or a circle of flames. The Sphere, a remarkable new concert venue, is 366 feet (110 meters) tall and 516 wide; an LED screen spanning almost 600,000 square feet covers the exterior. Inside, enveloping the 17,500 seats, is another vast, ultra-high-resolution screen. This pleasuredome offers an experience unlike any other. It also raises questions about the future of live entertainment.
To some extent, the Sphere represents a major development in an existing trend of the arts becoming more immersive. Exhibitions that turn the paintings of Monet or Van Gogh into interactive, room-encompassing installations have proliferated in recent years, as have immersive theatre productions. Virtual-reality technology has improved significantly.
Is this the future of the concert? In the short term, no. The sheer cost of the Sphere—$2.3bn—means that the model cannot be easily reproduced. Its ostentation is also a barrier: Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, recently vetoed a sister Sphere in the city, calling it “bulky, unduly dominant and incompatible”. Sphere Entertainment Company, the owner, hopes to build other similar constructions and is in “serious” talks for an arena in Abu Dhabi. But negotiations regarding Spheres in Saudi Arabia and South Korea have stalled.
The Sphere does mark a bullish bet on the future of live music, however. The biggest acts have long had to make do with sports stadiums with low-quality sound effects, but this is a spacious, purpose-built venue. There seems to be plenty of demand for lavish productions by the biggest hitmakers: witness the billions of dollars in revenue made by Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” and Taylor Swift's “Eras” tours.
According to Luminate, an analytics firm, in 2023 consumers spent 91% more on live music events than the year before and attended 32% more concerts. Goldman Sachs predicts the market for live music will grow by 5% this year to reach nearly $40bn annually by 2030.
This growth is not just driven by repressed demand from the pandemic. Youngsters, who prefer to spend their money on experiences than on items, consider concerts good value, even when they are pricey. “People still want to have that experience of liveness,” says Steve Waksman, a concert historian, regardless of whether, as at the Sphere, it is “mediated” through screens. To some, the Sphere may be more bewildering than beautiful, but one thing is clear: the future of concerts is as rosy as the trademark glasses of Bono, the lead vocalist of band U2, who opened the Sphere in September, 2023.
26. The Sphere is considered an important development in the arts because __________.
[A] it offers a unique immersive experience different from others
[B] it is an affordable concert venue for up-and-coming singers
[C] it shows interactive paintings by Monet and Van Gogh
[D] it leads to the improvement of virtual-reality technology
27. London mayor rejected a sister Sphere in the city because of __________.
[A] its increasingly unaffordable cost
[B] the declining demand for immersive concerts
[C] strong objections from the local residents
[D] its extravagant and disproportionate style
28. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that the Sphere __________.
[A] wants to make a decent profit from opening casinos
[B] presents a similar immersive effect with that in sports stadiums
[C] has a potential for substantial revenue from lavish productions
[D] fails to transport modern rock fans into another dimension
29. Why do youngsters consider going to concerts good value?
[A] Their emotions have been repressed too long owing to the pandemic.
[B] They deem experiences of liveness superior to items in terms of consumption.
[C] They give highest priority to the mediated experience through screens.
[D] They think they can also wear Bono's trademark glasses at concerts.
30. According to the author, what is certain about the future of concerts?
[A] The concerts will be entirely dominated by superstars.
[B] The bands with no pursuit of innovation will lose the market.
[C] Concerts will continue to be popular and lucrative.
[D] The concertgoers will feel that the venue outshines the music.
It is no surprise to learn that doctors in England are increasingly prescribing antidepressants to children, breaking National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The pressures on children's mental health services mean that accessing specialist treatment on the NHS is harder than ever before. Similarly, a decision by NICE to recommend the use of cognitive behavioural therapy apps, as a treatment for young people, points to the lack of any other way to meet rising demand.
The NHS's guidelines are clear: under-18s should only be prescribed antidepressants in conjunction with talking therapies, and with the approval of a psychiatrist. The sole exception is in cases of obsessive compulsive disorder. But long waiting lists and unmanageable caseloads mean that many children are struggling to access the kind of help they need—and the kind of attention from qualified professionals that is most likely to make them better. Staff in overstretched children and adolescent mental health services describe a situation in which almost all clinicians' time is spent identifying problems and managing risks—and very little of it directly helping children.
Thresholds for referring patients have been raised so high, with a view to conserving scarce resources, that in some cases children who are seriously distressed, or in danger, have been refused care because they do not meet criteria. The government is facing demands for a public inquiry, after an investigation found that three teenage girls were failed by a mental health hospital in north-east England. Maria Caulfield, the minister for mental health, acknowledges that this sequence of events was not a one-off, and the families are right to insist that lessons must be learned.
But no inquiry is needed to establish that children's mental health services are at—and in some cases beyond—breaking point. Where budgets have been increased, they have in many cases been used to employ education mental health practitioners (EMHPs), working in support teams, with just 60 days' worth of training. Such staff can make a contribution. But they are not qualified to deal with the kinds of complex conditions and home circumstances that growing numbers of young people are dealing with.
Some young people may be helped by the new apps, although the evidence so far is weak and the recommendation is pending a consultation. There may be occasions where a child's doctor sees no alternative to an antidepressant prescription. But the NICE guidelines are evidence-based and exist for a reason. If children are so unwell that a doctor believes they need pills, the NHS ought to be able to refer them for talking therapy. After the disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompt diagnosis and treatment of young people with mental health conditions should be a national priority. The next generation must be helped to grow up healthy.
31. Faced with the rising demand for mental health services, NICE __________.
[A] allows the doctors to break its guidelines
[B] issues more medical licenses to applicants
[C] advises young people to use some therapy apps
[D] recommends the use of antidepressants
32. Many children are hard to get the treatment they need because __________.
[A] the hospitals lack leading professionals
[B] their syndromes are unmanageable
[C] the clinicians neglect their duties
[D] there are too many people on the waiting list
33. The incident of three teenage girls is mentioned to illustrate __________.
[A] the pressure on government in mental health care
[B] the importance of demands for a public inquiry
[C] the inefficient mental health hospitals in north-east England
[D] the rigorous standards for patient transfer to save resources
34. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the EMHPs __________.
[A] are the main causes for increased budgets in services
[B] can address home circumstances such as domestic violence
[C] can provide interventions in serious mental illnesses
[D] are the medical staff serving in an auxiliary role
35. According to the author, the matter of great urgency for the nation is to __________.
[A] make sure the next generation grow up healthy
[B] provide treatment for the youth with a mental disorder
[C] finalize the recommendation for the apps quickly
[D] ask the NHS to refer child-patients to specialists
We all know how to lose weight. It is simple: eat less, move more. This sounds logical enough on the surface. The problem is, within this “calories in, calories out” message there is an implied meaning: if you can't follow these instructions, you must be lazy or lacking self-discipline. Of course, this doesn't reflect reality. There is plenty of evidence showing that losing weight isn't easy and that it is rarely sustained in the long term. How heavy we are isn't solely under personal control, as our genetics and environment have a huge impact.
And yet weight stigma, which describes the negative attitudes, discrimination and harmful stereotypes directed towards people with larger bodies, is mainly predicated on this personal control narrative. That narrative, say researchers, has an insidious effect on the well-being and health of people labelled as “obese”.
There is a view that this stigma motivates people to improve health. But for those who experience it, the opposite can be the case. They have increased risks of depression and suicidality and report poorer self-esteem. It is also linked to higher levels of the inflammatory C-reactive protein, which is associated with stress and can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Shaming people for their size can even lead to weight gain. Such stigma is linked to overeating, as it may activate a threat response: increased anxiety and stress because of feeling judged and devalued by others. People who feel less capable of controlling their intake may turn to comfort eating when they sense threat, says Erin Standen, who studies weight stigma at the University of Minnesota. That isn't all. She also explains that people with larger bodies often try to defend themselves against this threat in a way that once again risks their health-they might stop exercising in public due to negative comments.
Another consequence of weight stigma is healthcare avoidance. A weight-centric approach by doctors can create mistrust between patient and physician and even lead to delays in cancer screenings. A survey found those who felt bad about their own weight believed doctors didn't respect them or listen carefully enough to their health concerns. “Too often, patients feel blamed for their weight by healthcare providers,” says Rebecca Puhl at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut. To change this, rather than making it all about weight loss, doctors can emphasise other positive changes, such as mobility improvements, to help healthcare become more weight-inclusive, says Puhl. This will help people feel empowered, not stigmatised.
Such stigma is in all parts of society, and healthcare won't become weight-neutral until public attitudes also change. Ending the view that “obesity” is a personal failure of willpower is difficult. But we need to recognise that focusing so much time, energy and money on the “war against obesity” in the way we have has inadvertently created a new public health problem.
36. The difficulty of losing weight lies in __________.
[A] eating more and moving less
[B] lack of self-discipline or being lazy
[C] additional roles of genetics and environment
[D] inefficiency of weight-loss drugs
37. The influence of the personal control narrative on obese people can be __________.
[A] adverse
[B] direct
[C] minimal
[D] temporary
38. Which of the following is true of the inflammatory C-reactive protein?
[A] It stimulates people to promote their health.
[B] It boosts one's self-confidence.
[C] It threatens to undermine one's health.
[D] It leads to depression and suicidality.
39. According to Erin Standen, in the face of negative judgements, people with larger bodies tend to __________.
[A] eat excessively
[B] exercise regularly
[C] stay away from healthcare
[D] form an alliance
40. Which of the following best represents the author's view?
[A] Anti-obesity efforts are connected with body-size attitudes.
[B] Medical workers should take a lead in ending weight bias.
[C] We clearly seem to be losing the war against obesity.
[D] Obesity is the result of a personal lack of self-control.
Directions:
In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
When he was two years old, Ben stopped seeing out of his left eye, and soon his vision was gone forever. But by the time he was seven years old, he had devised a technique for decoding the world around him: he clicked with his mouth and listened for the returning echoes. (41)_____________________________
Echolocation may sound like an incredible feat for a human, but thousands of blind people have perfected this skill, just like Ben did. Then how could blindness give rise to the stunning ability to understand the surroundings with one's ears? The answer lies in a gift bestowed on the brain by evolution: tremendous adaptability.
(42)_____________________________ Neurons, the cells responsible for rapidly processing information in the brain, are interconnected by the thousands—but like friendships in a community, the connections between them constantly change: strengthening, weakening, and finding new partners. The field of neuroscience calls this phenomenon “brain plasticity,” referring to the ability of the brain, like plastic, to assume new shapes and hold them. More recent discoveries in neuroscience suggest that the brain's brand of flexibility is far more sophisticated than holding onto a shape, though. To capture this, we refer to the brain's plasticity as “livewiring” to spotlight how this vast system of 86 billion neurons and 0.2 quadrillion connections rewires itself every moment of your life.
(43)_____________________________ But more recent discoveries have failed to cohere with the old theory. One part of the brain may initially be assigned a specific task; for instance, the back of our brain is called the “visual cortex” because it usually handles sight. (44)_____________________________ But in the sightless, these same neurons can rewire themselves to process other types of information.
Mother Nature endowed our brains with flexibility to adapt to circumstances. Just as sharp teeth and fast legs are useful for survival, so is the brain's ability to reconfigure. The brain's livewiring allows for learning, memory, and the ability to develop new skills.
(45)_____________________________ In one study, sighted participants intensively learned how to read Braille. Half the participants were blindfolded throughout the experience. At the end of the five days, the participants who wore blindfolds could distinguish subtle differences between Braille characters much better than the participants who didn't wear blindfolds. Even more remarkably, the blindfolded participants showed activation in visual brain regions in response to touch and sound. After the blindfold was removed, the visual cortex returned to normal within a day, no longer responding to touch and sound.
But such changes don't have to take five days; that just happened to be when the measurement took place. When blindfolded participants are continuously measured, touch-related activity shows up in the visual cortex in about an hour.
[A] Neuroscience used to think that different parts of the brain were predetermined to perform specific functions.
[B] As a result, Ben had more neurons available to deal with auditory information, and this increased processing power allowed Ben to interpret soundwaves in shocking detail.
[C] Recent decades have yielded several revelations about livewiring, but perhaps the biggest surprise is its rapidity. Brain circuits reorganize not only in the newly blind, but also in the sighted who have temporary blindness.
[D] Whenever we learn something new, pick up a new skill, or modify our habits, the physical structure of our brain changes.
[E] We suggest that the brain preserves the territory of the visual cortex by keeping it active at night. In our “defensive activation theory,” dream sleep exists to keep neurons in the visual cortex active, thereby combating a takeover by the neighboring senses.
[F] This method enabled Ben to determine the locations of open doorways, people, parked cars, garbage cans, and so on. He was echolocating: bouncing his sound waves off objects in the environment and catching the reflections to build a mental model of his surroundings.
[G] But that territory can be reassigned to a different task. There is nothing special about neurons in the visual cortex: they are simply neurons that happen to be involved in processing shapes or colors in people who have functioning eyes.
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
“How can a nation founded on the homelands of dispossessed Indigenous peoples be the world's most exemplary democracy?” This is the provocative question with which Ned Blackhawk opens his important new book, “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History.” (46) A historian at Yale and a tribe member of North American Indian group, Blackhawk rejects the myth that Native Americans fell quick and easy victims to European invaders. Instead, he asserts that “American Indians were central to every century of U.S. historical development.”
Despite this promising premise, “The Rediscovery of America” gets off to a slow start by keeping on discussing a straw man: “historians” who have neglected the American Indian past because they have been strongly influenced by the notions of “the superiority of Europeans” that “have bred exclusion and misunderstanding.” Who are these bad historians? Blackhawk's introduction identifies only two, one of them dead.
(47) In fact, this book benefits from Blackhawk's wide and insightful reading of the many scholars who, during the last 50 years, have restored Native peoples to their prominent place within a fuller, richer American history.
(48) In the early chapters Blackhawk's book lacks cohesion and flow, looping back and forth in time with much repetition as he considers the first three centuries after Columbus. Here he tells a now familiar story: Claiming religious and cultural superiority, European invaders slaughtered many Native peoples and dispossessed them of their land.
Despite heavy losses and dispossession along the coasts, Native peoples still controlled most of the continental interior until the 19th century. They persisted by adapting creatively to new challenges. Some formed new confederations to practice a shrewd diplomacy, playing rival European powers against one another. During the 18th century, Native nations on the Great Plains took horses from the Spanish and obtained firearms from the French to remake their way of life around bison hunting. (49) Within a few generations, their populations surged, reversing two centuries of decline as they drove back Spanish colonists in New Mexico and Texas. Myth casts Indians as primitive peoples incapable of coping with allegedly superior invaders. In fact, Natives innovated within a framework of tradition and sovereignty meant to preserve their distinctive identities.
In the later chapters, “The Rediscovery of America” offers an eloquent and moving story of Native recovery during the 20th century. (50) As Blackhawk's narrative reaches our current day, he shows how Native Americans continue to express the duality fundamental to their way of life: an ability to manage change while preserving identity, traditions and sovereignty.
51. Directions:
The student union of your university is looking for a new social media editor. Write an email to the organization to apply for the post advertised on the website.
You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.
Do not sign your own name in the email. Use “Li Ming” instead. (10 points)
52. Directions:
Write an essay based on the picture and the chart below. In your essay, you should
1) describe the picture and the chart briefly,
2) interpret the implied meaning, and
3) give your comments.
Write your answer in 160-200 words on the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)
1. C 2. A 3. C 4. A 5. B 6. A 7. C 8. D 9. A 10. C 11. B 12. D 13. A 14. B 15. D 16. A 17. C 18. D 19. C 20. A
Part A （40 points）
21. B 22. D 23. A 24. B 25. B 26. A 27. D 28. C 29. B 30. C 31. C 32. D 33. D 34. D 35. B 36. C 37. A 38. C 39. A 40. A
Part B （10 points）
41. F 42. D 43. A 44. G 45. C
Part C （10 points）
46. 布莱克霍克是耶鲁大学的历史学家，也是北美印第安族群的一名部落成员，他反对“美洲印第安人轻易地快速沦为欧洲侵略者的牺牲品”的错误观点。
47. 事实上，这本书得益于布莱克霍克广泛而深入地阅读了许多学者的著作，在过去的50年间，这些学者已经恢复了原住民在更完整、更丰富的美国历史中的重要地位。
48. 在前几章中，布莱克霍克的写作缺乏连贯性和流畅性，在他回顾哥伦布之后的前三个世纪时，在时间上循环往复，很多内容相互重复。
49. 由于他们赶走了新墨西哥州和得克萨斯州的西班牙殖民者，在几代人的时间里，他们人口激增，逆转了两个世纪以来的下降趋势。
50. 随着布莱克霍克进入对现今的叙述，他展示了美国原住民如何继续展现其生活方式中至关重要的二元性：在守住身份、传统和主权的同时把控外界变化的能力。
（见解析册）
1. 答题前，考生须在试题册指定位置上填写考生编号和考生姓名；在答题卡指定位置上填写报考单位、考生姓名和考生编号，并涂写考生编号信息点。
2. 考生须把试题册上的“试卷条形码”粘贴条取下，粘贴在答题卡的“试卷条形码粘贴位置”框中。不按规定粘贴条形码而影响评卷结果的，责任由考生自负。
3. 选择题的答案必须涂写在答题卡相应题号的选项上，非选择题的答案必须书写在答题卡指定位置的边框区域内。超出答题区域书写的答案无效；在草稿纸、试题册上答题无效。
4. 填（书）写部分必须使用黑色字迹签字笔书写，字迹工整、笔迹清楚；涂写部分必须使用2B铅笔填涂。
5. 考试结束，将答题卡和试题册按规定交回。
（以下信息考生必须认真填写）
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
No business would welcome being compared to Big Tobacco or gambling. 1 that is what is happening to makers of video games. For years parents have casually 2 that their offspring are “addicted” to their PlayStations and smartphones. Today, 3 , ever more doctors are using the term 4 .
On January 1st “gaming disorder”—in which games are played compulsively, despite causing harm—gains 5 from the World Health Organization (WHO), as the newest edition of its diagnostic manual 6 . A few months ago China, the world's biggest gaming market, 7 new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and none the 8 of the week. Western politicians 9 publicly about some games’ 10 to gambling. Clinics are sprouting 11 the world, promising to cure patients of their habit in the same way they might cure them of an addiction to alcohol or cocaine.
Are games really addictive? Psychologists are 12 . The case for the defense is that this is just another moral 13 . Some people in the past issued similarly serious 14 about television, rock ’n' roll, jazz, comic books, novels and even crossword puzzles. As the newest form of mass media, gaming is merely enduring its own time in the stocks 15 it eventually ceases to be controversial. 16 , defenders argue, the criteria used to 17 gaming addiction are too loose. Obsessive gaming, they suggest, is as likely to be a 18 (of depression, say) as a disorder 19 its own right. The prosecution responds that, unlike rock bands or novelists, games developers have both the motive and the means to 20 their products to make them irresistible.
1. [A] Yet [B] Even [C] Still [D] Only
2. [A] supported [B] complained [C] detested [D] suggested
3. [A] moreover [B] though [C] therefore [D] however
4. [A] literally [B] regularly [C] indirectly [D] artistically
5. [A] reputation [B] recognition [C] popularity [D] success
6. [A] comes into play [B] comes into view [C] comes into force [D] comes into focus
7. [A] announced [B] objected [C] advised [D] prohibited
8. [A] whole [B] rest [C] left [D] remaining
9. [A] think [B] worry [C] boast [D] inquire
10. [A] feasibility [B] significance [C] importance [D] similarity
11. [A] to [B] from [C] around [D] into
12. [A] divided [B] dissociated [C] separated [D] consistent
13. [A] awareness [B] virtue [C] code [D] panic
14. [A] welcome [B] anxieties [C] signals [D] warnings
15. [A] when [B] lest [C] before [D] unless
16. [A] Instead [B] Furthermore [C] Thus [D] Nevertheless
17. [A] diagnose [B] define [C] judge [D] estimate
18. [A] form [B] shape [C] symptom [D] exposition
19. [A] of [B] about [C] on [D] in
20. [A] introduce [B] engineer [C] advertise [D] invent
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Nothing's worked. More diplomatically put: nothing has yet worked at anything like the pace required. Is it any wonder that desperation is growing?
The closest anything came to working was Extinction Rebellion in April 2019. The radical flank of the environmental movement punched a hole through complacency and denial and raised climate consciousness permanently. But it didn't succeed in its ultimate aim of provoking meaningful climate action from the UK government.
Governments over the world are simply not taking the findings of climate science seriously. In parallel, the same governments resist the blunt and terrible truth that the world can no longer stay below the 1.5℃ “safe” heating limit. This year's United Nations climate summit, starting in a week in Egypt, is extremely unlikely to admit this failure. Yet deep down, everyone who pays any attention to the climate debate knows.
Wouldn't it be refreshing therefore if academics, environmental and business leaders—even committed politicians, not to mention activists—were to admit that nothing yet has really worked? The public is waiting for those brave enough to speak these truths and to invite a broad and popular response. But it won't happen anything like quickly enough if the public continues not to be trusted with the full reality of our situation.
This is the tragedy of the moment. Because it is frustrating the full emergence of so much energy and endeavour that will become a new moderate flank—one that is all about you: all about where you work or the communities where you live, acting collectively in the day to day to turn around the legacy of failure outlined above.
By way of example: lawyers can express their professional agency by choosing what clients and what business they take. The same goes for insurers who can disclose what they know about the rising threat we face. For academics and teachers, it's about transforming what your teaching and research is about. And for those with access to land, it's about building resilience and inviting the community at large, including those who you may not agree with politically, to join in.
It's about fully facing and sharing the reality of the situation and acting on it. This is the opposite of a recipe for doomism. In lieu of anything even remotely resembling adequate plans from our “leaders”, we need to embody an exit strategy from fossil fuels or else we'll eventually go to an end.
So it's clear the next big step forward in climate action must bring the public with us. We need together to step beyond the lures of polarisation, roll up our sleeves and get down to business by identifying the underlying reasons for past failures.
21. What's the reason for the growing desperation?
[A] Diplomats from the West have different opinions.
[B] The pace of climate action has been speeded up.
[C] There will be a wonder in climate change.
[D] Climate change activities made little advance.
22. The Extinction Rebellion was intended to __________.
[A] motivate the public to engage in climate movement
[B] trigger off outrage from the public in the UK
[C] push the UK government to take climate action
[D] guarantee the climate science is important to the summit
23. According to Paragraph 4, the politicians' attitude towards climate crisis would __________.
[A] keep the heating limit unchanged
[B] be welcomed by the public
[C] prove all the actions are a failure
[D] make it become more severe
24. What do the examples listed in Paragraph 6 illustrate?
[A] Stick together and turn the tide.
[B] Unite as one and raise climate awareness.
[C] Accept the reality and let it be.
[D] Change teaching and research projects.
25. What does the author say about the next step in climate action?
[A] Public should join in and identify reasons for the failures.
[B] Public should quit fossil fuels and explore new energy.
[C] Governments should suppress the moderate flank.
[D] Governments need to wake up to the reality.
The transformation unleashed by increased funding for science during the 20th century is nothing short of remarkable. In the early 1900s research was a cottage industry mostly funded by private firms and charities. Thomas Edison electrified the world from his industrial lab at Menlo Park. Advances in science during the second world war led governments and companies to scale things up. By the mid-1960s America's federal government was spending 0.6% of GDP on research funding and the share of overall investment in research and development rose to nearly 3%.
That dynamism is fizzling out. A growing body of work shows that even as the world spends more on research, the benefit-cost ratio has fallen. One explanation for this is that the way science is funded is out of date. Researchers must now contend with amounts of bureaucracy. The rate at which grant applications are accepted has fallen, meaning more of them must be made. Two-fifths of a top scientist's time is spent on things other than research, such as looking for money. The current system is also monolithic. Western scientific systems are dominated by handouts of project grants and peer review. Most money flows to universities, and the academic career ladder is such that researchers face incentives to pursue incremental advances, in order to boost citations and gain tenure, rather than breakthrough work. It is time for another shake-up.
A growing number of scientists, policymakers and philanthropists hopes to revamp science funding. In 2022 America's CHIPS Act reformed the National Science Foundation (NSF) to focus it more on technology. America's famed Advanced Research Projects Agency (today called DARPA) has inspired copycats in Britain and Germany. Tech billionaires' plans to fund pet projects come thick and fast. On November 1st Eric Schmidt, a former boss of Google, announced he was funding a Moonshot to build an “artificial-intelligence scientist” to speed up biology.
What's the best ways to fund science? The first step is to try new things. More money could fund promising people rather than specific projects, encouraging researchers to take risks. Funders could move faster and bypass peer review entirely, for example by using lotteries. More important still is to find ways to measure what is working and what is not, and then adapt accordingly. Governments might consider appointing “meta-scientists” or “chief economists” to do the number-crunching across their various scientific agencies.
None of this will be easy. More cash for DARPA-like bodies means less for other approaches. Scientific funders say they want to experiment, but they also face pressure to support research that can be easily explained to keep politicians happy. In some cases more money may be the only solution. Still, the economic returns to research are so large that fixing the system is well worth the effort.
26. The increase in research funding during the second world war resulted from __________.
[A] the electric power
[B] the bank loans
[C] the Internet
[D] the scientific progress
27. What is one of the problems with the current research funding?
[A] Funders often prioritize societally oriented research programs.
[B] Researchers spend much time on non-research activities.
[C] The rate at which grant applications are accepted surged.
[D] Researchers are content with the amount of bureaucracy.
28. The word “revamp” (Line 2, Para. 3) is closest in meaning to __________.
[A] innovate
[B] invalid
[C] recover
[D] retrieve
29. According to Paragraph 4, the author holds that __________.
[A] peer-review can be ignored in considering science funding
[B] pursuing commercial technology can lead to great discoveries
[C] the way of funding science is also a scientific problem
[D] more scientists should be appointed to various government positions
30. The politicians mentioned in the last paragraph show that __________.
[A] DARPA-like organizations are dominated by politicians
[B] politics should be eliminated from scientists' working life
[C] experimentation is accompanied by compromises
[D] American scientific research is in a crisis due to inadequate funding
Cosmetic procedures used to be the preserve of middle-aged women and often involved surgery. Today they are increasingly sought by girls who want the faces of their favorite social-media influencer, and by a growing number of men wishing for fewer wrinkles, fuller lips and sharper jawlines. Globally, more than 14m nonsurgical procedures were conducted last year, up from fewer than 13m two years earlier.
Research and Markets, a firm of analysts, reckons that the global sales of non-invasive aesthetic treatments, currently around $60bn, could more than triple by 2030. A large part of that growth will come from injectables. These include Botox and other substances that freeze facial muscles, as well as dermal fillers which plump softer tissue. Demand has been fueled by the proliferation of selfies and high-resolution video-calls. Snapchat and Instagram filters give users a glimpse of what they could look like with a filler-generated “liquid facelift”. The contrast with what they see on unadorned Zoom can be stark.
In America 2.4m injectable procedures were carried out last year, roughly one for every 100 American adults. About 700,000 such treatments were performed on Germans, not renowned for an obsession with looks. Brazilians, who are famously beauty-obsessed but much poorer, subjected themselves to around 500,000. Demand for “prejuvenation” work is especially strong in Asia, where younger patients want to pre-empt a craggy face before any lines actually appear. Since injectables have to be topped up every few months, they guarantee producers of the substances and clinics that administer them a source of recurring revenue. The younger the customer starts, the better for business.
Some modern dermal fillers are formulated with ingredients such as hyaluronic acid that are typically found in mild skincare products. That is more attractive to potential customers than Botox, which is derived from a toxin that occurs naturally in spoilt sausages. Other new treatments are stopping using foreign substances entirely. Certain cosmetic clinics offer to inject stem cells from a patient's own fat into their face, or platelets from their blood to rejuvenate the skin.
However, the injectables craze, especially among youngsters, worries regulators. Botox is a prescription drug in most places but many dermal fillers are not. “Treatments are often trivialised on social media and people don't understand the full consequences of what can go wrong,” says Tijion Esho, a cosmetic surgeon in Britain. Misplaced injections can lead to abscesses or, in some cases, necrosis. An outcry from doctors and victims of the procedures forced the British government to require a licence for people administering nonsurgical treatments. England has already banned them for under-18s.
31. What is driving young girls to undergo cosmetic procedures?
[A] The ambition to enter the preserve of middle-aged women.
[B] The desire to look like the Internet celebrities they adore.
[C] The need to be attractive to men they work with.
[D] The slump in nonsurgical cosmetic procedure prices.
32. It can be learned from Paragraph 2 that __________.
[A] surgical cosmetic procedures are fully replaced by non-invasive procedures
[B] the injectable fillers make the patients have no worry about medical risks
[C] video-calls and the selfie culture are behind the injectable cosmetic craze
[D] the medical companies devoted a great deal of effort in product promotion
33. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that the younger patients __________.
[A] are more dissatisfied with their appearance than expected
[B] will be preferred when carrying out injectable procedures
[C] have a deep understanding of the cosmetic products
[D] have more disposable income to spend on cosmetic procedures
34. It is implied in Paragraph 4 that some modern dermal fillers __________.
[A] will constitute a big challenge for Botox in the future
[B] have gained global dominance with their new ingredients
[C] are considered a safe treatment without any side effects
[D] achieve a better anti-aging outcome than Botox does
35. Which of the following will be the best title for the text?
[A] The popularity of injectables among young people
[B] The impact of social media on people's mental health
[C] The booming of Botox and other injectable cosmetics
[D] Government measures for regulating the beauty industry
The world's climate depends on a global aquatic “conveyor belt” system that snakes around the oceans, taking heat from some places and redistributing it elsewhere. It is this system that keeps Europe relatively warm despite its northern latitudes, underpins major fisheries and drives key weather patterns across continents. Global warming may be endangering this crucial circulation.
Scientists are accumulating evidence that climate change is disrupting a major section of the conveyor belt, running from the tropics up to the North Atlantic and back south, slowing this piece of the system to its weakest pace in more than 1,000 years, according to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience . A group of scientists from Britain, Germany and Ireland studying the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation—that is, the circulation pattern that warms the North Atlantic—have sought to compare how it is behaving now with its recent past. Some clues present a consistent picture: The circulation has been weakened in a way that is unprecedented in the past 1,000 years, said Niamh Cahill, a statistician from Ireland's Maynooth University.
The scientists believe the ultimate cause is global warming. The circulation occurs because warm tropical water cools and becomes saltier as it travels north, which makes it denser. This dense water eventually sinks to the bottom of the ocean, then travels south, where it is once again heated in another part of the cycle. Higher rainfall, lower amounts of sea ice and ice melting on the Greenland ice sheet are adding far more fresh water than usual to the system, making the water up north less salty and, thus, less dense and less prone to sink, undermining the circulation. This may account for a giant stretch of unusually cold water that has stubbornly persisted near Greenland and for unusually high water temperatures on the U.S. East Coast. The study's authors warn that climate change may further destabilize the Atlantic circulation over coming decades. The consequences are hard to predict with precision, in part because warming air might offset some of the cooling associated with slower circulation.
Climate change is not some isolated change in the air temperature. It encompasses sea-level rise, heavy storms, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, acidifying oceans and disruptions in the sensitive planetary rhythms on which human society developed. Scientists know some things for sure—the planet will warm because of greenhouse gas emissions, with a variety of negative results. But they have not catalogued all the consequences—the longer we humans fail to adjust our behavior, the worse the consequences are likely to be.
36. According to Paragraph 1, the “conveyor belt” system __________.
[A] plays a critical role in stabilizing the global climate
[B] destroys the habitat of snakes in the oceans
[C] provides a rich diversity of fish for the fisheries
[D] poses a major threat to the world's weather
37. The study from the Nature Geoscience proves that __________.
[A] it is better for the circulation to run quicker
[B] experts have found ways to stop human destruction
[C] the circulation starts from North Atlantic to south
[D] climate change is the main cause of slowing the circulation
38. The reason accounting for the forming of the circulation is that __________.
[A] it is driven by the wind on the ocean's surface
[B] the water is heated in the global conveyer belt
[C] there exists variance in water temperature and salt density
[D] the water from tropical areas becomes saltier
39. Climate change destroys the circulation directly arising from __________.
[A] higher rainfall
[B] less dense water
[C] lower amounts of sea ice
[D] ice melting on the Greenland
40. The author holds in the last paragraph that climate change more probably results from __________.
[A] sea level rise
[B] human activities
[C] temperature change
[D] greenhouse gas emission
Directions:
Read the following text and answer the questions by choosing the most suitable subheading from the list A-G for each of the numbered paragraphs (41-45). There are two extra subheadings which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
[A] Take actions to overcome failure
[B] Not one, but all
[C] Remember soil is not dead matter
[D] Soil generates food
[E] Solving soil problem helps cope with other problems
[F] Pay attention to other environmental issues
[G] Insufficient nutrient value
Can soil ever turn extinct? Yes, it can. If you remove organic content (in the form of plant litter and animal waste) from soil, it turns into sand. This is called desertification. Conversely, if you add organic content to sand, it becomes soil. Soil extinction may be a relatively new term, but the process it describes has been unfolding over the past 100 to 150 years because of unsustainable agricultural practices. An acre of soil in the world is turning into desert every second. This is a statistic with grave consequences for all life on this planet.
(41)_____________________________
The problem is that we treat soil as a mere resource, an inert substance into which we can pump chemicals. This is an unfortunate consequence of the fragmentation of human consciousness. We forget that soil is the largest living system we know. A teaspoon of fertile soil can contain, in some cases, more than 9 billion organisms. Nearly 60% of our body is microorganisms; less than half is from our parental genetics.
(42)_____________________________
Ninety-five percent of our food comes from soil. But studies show a tragic decline in the nutrient value of vegetables worldwide. Americans are potassium-deficient, 88% are deficient in vitamin E, 67% in vitamin K, 52% in magnesium, 43% in vitamin A, and 39% in vitamin C, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Acute soil degradation contributes to lower crop yields—and even if you eat enough, your food may be short of nourishment. Research shows that some of the foods we grow are less nutrient-dense than they once were. How much longer before we awaken to the urgency of the problem?
(43)_____________________________
People often ask, “But what about other environmental issues?” They are certainly important, but soil conditions are plummeting so rapidly that the problem could spiral out of control. Addressing soil could alleviate many other ecological issues, helping to reverse climate change and water scarcity. If the ozone-layer problem has been addressed with some success, it is because it was pursued with a single-point agenda. The same needs to happen with soil.
(44)_____________________________
I have embarked on a crazy motorcycle journey across 27 countries, covering 30,000 km in 100 days, to meet with government leaders, influencers, and the general public; raise awareness; and recommend policy changes that ensure a minimum of 3% to 6% organic content in soil. Individual efforts are commendable, but collective action is clearly the need of the hour.
(45)_____________________________
We have not lost the fight yet. But we're standing on the brink. If we act now, we can initiate the necessary policy changes and make a vital turnaround in soil health in the next decade. This is a real challenge. Let's be the generation that acted responsibly, that rescued the planet from its wanton and tragic project of self-destruction.
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
All writing has to be ‘what you know’; it can reasonably be argued that you can't write what you don't know. (46) Whatever we invent is based on something known to us—our own experience, to which we apply our imagination. And in those cases where we have to increase the stock of what we know—through research—our writing reflects our newly acquired knowledge.
We are already applying imagination to memory when we recall an event from the past. (47) If you were to set yourself the ten-minute task of writing down a memory from your childhood and were then asked whether, in order to fill in any gaps in your memory, you had made anything up, you would be very likely to say that you had. In fact, you had been obliged to, because otherwise the narrative would have had distracting gaps or uncertainties in it. However, you would probably maintain that the account was essentially true.
The truth of an event may not, in any case, be easy to establish. You will probably recognise this experience: you are among old friends or family members when one of them starts to recall an event at which others were present. (48) Members of the group will disagree on the detail—perhaps even on bigger issues—because the fact is that each individual has their own version of what happened. This is partly because they were experiencing it from their own unique perspective and partly because memory doesn't unfold as a continuous spool of events and experiences. (49) We don't preserve a frame-by-frame record of the past; what we retain is more like snaps in an album, and we have not all taken the same snaps; we have remembered what seemed to affect us as individuals most deeply at the time. We can't recall every incident which happened between the snaps, so we imaginatively reconstruct what must have happened between them. It is natural for humans to make connections in this way, to create narratives that suggest causes and effects. (50) This is why dreams are at once so fascinating and so frustrating—they seem to be no respecters of cause and effect or of flawless narrative: we can step out of a restaurant and be on a ship, or get out of a corridor and be in a forest. It's not a frame-by-frame narrative; connections seem to be missing. And our desire for connections—our desire to make sense—drives our automatic habit of filling in the gaps. When we remember, we are to a large extent reconstructing the past.
51. Directions:
Suppose the Student Union held a meeting about the upcoming art festival last week. You were assigned to write the minutes of the meeting. In your minutes, you should record the basic information, main content of the meeting and other relevant information.
You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.
Do not use your own name. Use “Li Ming” instead. (10 points)
52. Directions:
Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the picture below. In your essay, you should
1) describe the picture briefly,
2) interpret the implied meaning, and
3) give your comments.
Write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)
1. A 2. B 3. D 4. A 5. B 6. C 7. A 8. B 9. B 10. D 11. C 12. A 13. D 14. D 15. C 16. B 17. A 18. C 19. D 20. B
Part A （40 points）
21. D 22. C 23. D 24. A 25. A 26. D 27. B 28. A 29. A 30. C 31. B 32. C 33. B 34. A 35. C 36. A 37. D 38. C 39. B 40. B
Part B （10 points）
41. C 42. G 43. E 44. B 45. A
Part C （10 points）
46. 无论我们创作什么，都是基于我们所了解的事物，即我们自身的经验，并将想象力应用其中。
47. 如果你给自己设定十分钟的任务，写下一段童年回忆，然后有人问你，你是否进行了编造以弥补缺失的记忆，你的答案很可能是肯定的。
48. 一群人中会有人在细节上产生分歧（这种分歧甚至也许会围绕更大的议题），因为实际上，每个人对发生的事情都有自己的说法。
49. 我们不会一帧一帧地留存对往事的记忆；我们所保留下来的更像是相册中的快照，而且我们拍摄的快照并非完全相同；我们记得的是当时似乎对我们个人影响最深的事情。
50. 这就是为什么梦境既令人着迷，又令人沮丧——它们似乎不管因果关系，也没有毫无破绽的叙事：我们可以走出餐厅，来到船上，或者离开走廊，来到一片森林。
（见解析册）
1. 答题前，考生须在试题册指定位置上填写考生编号和考生姓名；在答题卡指定位置上填写报考单位、考生姓名和考生编号，并涂写考生编号信息点。
2. 考生须把试题册上的“试卷条形码”粘贴条取下，粘贴在答题卡的“试卷条形码粘贴位置”框中。不按规定粘贴条形码而影响评卷结果的，责任由考生自负。
3. 选择题的答案必须涂写在答题卡相应题号的选项上，非选择题的答案必须书写在答题卡指定位置的边框区域内。超出答题区域书写的答案无效；在草稿纸、试题册上答题无效。
4. 填（书）写部分必须使用黑色字迹签字笔书写，字迹工整、笔迹清楚；涂写部分必须使用2B铅笔填涂。
5. 考试结束，将答题卡和试题册按规定交回。
（以下信息考生必须认真填写）
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
The latest in a series of high-profile retractions of research papers has people asking: What's wrong with peer review? Scientific and medical journals use the peer-review process to decide which studies are 1 of publication. But a string of 2 or fabricated research has made it into print. The problems were 3 only when outside researchers scrutinized the work and 4 a job that many believe is the responsibility of the journals: They 5 the data.
The 6 of retractions has been rising for years. On Tuesday, a paper 7 the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor was retracted by the journal Nature 8 physicists flagged problems with the study and Nature 9 its own investigation. The journal's decision to retract the paper 10 the criticism it had received almost 11 upon publication. But it didn't ease critics of the peer-review process.
Typically, reviewers are working scientists selected by journal editors to 12 submissions and recommend whether they should appear 13 . Their reviews are almost always provided for free as a service to the scientific 14 . And to facilitate fair assessments, their 15 are usually concealed. But journal editors acknowledge that errors or fraud can escape notice because reviewers don't audit underlying data sets.
16 only a small fraction of the millions of studies published every year are retracted, when questionable research does make it into the pages of a prestigious journal, the consequences can be severe and 17 .
One suggestion for fixing peer review that 18 frequently is to pay reviewers. But journals are 19 to add additional costs. Another suggestion is to bring some of the data-checking in-house, while continuing to 20 outside reviewers to assess the scientific design and arguments in new work.
1. [A] proud [B] worthy [C] capable [D] confident
2. [A] questionable [B] valuable [C] creditable [D] creative
3. [A] insulated [B] subjected [C] exposed [D] complicated
4. [A] accepted [B] quitted [C] outsourced [D] performed
5. [A] generated [B] gathered [C] exchanged [D] checked
6. [A] discovery [B] quality [C] number [D] objection
7. [A] claiming [B] citing [C] denying [D] acknowledging
8. [A] before [B] after [C] unless [D] although
9. [A] deserved [B] conducted [C] identified [D] obstructed
10. [A] expressed [B] validated [C] escaped [D] rejected
11. [A] immediately [B] hurriedly [C] approximately [D] deliberately
12. [A] reject [B] receive [C] evaluate [D] welcome
13. [A] in debt [B] in order [C] in line [D] in print
14. [A] experience [B] experiment [C] club [D] community
15. [A] locations [B] identities [C] hobbies [D] ages
16. [A] While [B] If [C] Once [D] Until
17. [A] lasting [B] temporary [C] inspiring [D] beneficial
18. [A] comes across [B] comes after [C] comes up [D] comes apart
19. [A] willing [B] pleased [C] reluctant [D] likely
20. [A] compete with [B] run into [C] take after [D] rely on
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
The way our cities and towns look and work reflects political priorities. In mid-19th century Paris, when Baron Haussmann was seeking public money for building his avenues, he told the government that wide, open avenues would make it harder to build barriers. In an age of urban uprisings at the heart of the French capital, that quickly opened up the public purse.
Following the killing of Sarah Everard, a different kind of revolution should be uppermost in our politicians' minds. As a large number of female testimony over recent days has underlined, our public spaces do not sufficiently prioritize the wellbeing and safety of women. In a 2019 talk entitled The Feminist City, Dr Ellie Cosgrave, associate professor at University College London, said: “It is the multiple and constant threats that young women experience that tell us that the city is not a place where they belong.” The death of Ms. Everard must be a watershed moment in generating the public will to change that reality.
Fundamental to this task is an acceptance by men that they must do more to mitigate a climate of insecurity. In an interview on Tuesday, Dr Cosgrave called for a national movement to train “active bystanders” in how to intervene where harassment is taking place. As she has argued, women must also play an equal part in designing the infrastructure that shapes everyday life. A chronic gender imbalance among urban planners has meant that certain problems are not seen, still less understood. From a lack of access to safe female toilets to overcrowded transport systems, which make women more vulnerable to hidden assault, unnecessary anxiety has been built into the lives of half the population.
In this context, the government's belated commitment to fund better street lighting is welcome. Switching off street lights across Britain was an irresponsible way to save public money, as should have been acknowledged years ago. There were certainly sufficient warnings to that effect from women. But far more needs to be done to recalibrate urban priorities to spotlight female concerns. The underfunding and degradation of civic spaces, such as parks, sends an insidious message of community neglect, turning areas into threatening no-go zones. Underpasses and other hidden spaces, such as isolated parking areas, create situations of vulnerability. Possibilities of natural surveillance—external visibility—should be factored into all urban architecture, street planning and landscaping. Decisions should take women's security and wellbeing into account. For this to happen, Britain needs to promote and train more female urban planners and civil engineers.
All being well, the public spaces of Britain will soon come alive again, as lockdown and social restrictions are phased out. Women must be given a far greater say in their future configuration.
21. Haussmann's construction plan won approval because the road system would __________.
[A] solve the traffic problems in Paris
[B] reduce the occurrences of riot
[C] consume a lot of public funds
[D] be a glorious transformation of the city
22. The Feminist City is mentioned to show that __________.
[A] many females believe that they do not belong to cities
[B] the wellbeing of women is the priority of the government
[C] women's safety should be considered in the design of a city
[D] the death of Ms. Everard ignited a storm of protest
23. Unnecessary anxiety has permeated half the population due to __________.
[A] no intervention of male bystanders
[B] advanced transport systems
[C] violent attacks women would suffer from
[D] ill-conceived planning of city infrastructure
24. What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
[A] The degraded public spaces in London are irreparable.
[B] Saving public money is irresponsible for Britain politicians.
[C] Urban architects should take parks into consideration.
[D] Males' dominance has an adverse impact on urban planning.
25. Which of the following best summarizes the text?
[A] The public spaces of Britain will be vibrant with life soon.
[B] Males consist of the vast majority of urban designers.
[C] The lockdown causes damage to the city's function.
[D] The city designing should prioritize women's safety.
Agriculture companies and lobbyists are among those who arrived in the United Arab Emirates for Cop28 determined to resist pressure on them to transform their businesses. Documents show that JBS, the world's biggest meat company, and allies including the Global Dairy Platform, planned to make arguments in favor of livestock farming with “full force”. While the sincerity of fossil-fuel businesses' commitment to a green transition has long been doubted, they are not the only energy-intensive businesses to approach Cop28 as an opportunity to promote their activities.
While the ostensible purpose is to safeguard the planet for the future, the fear is that the Cop process has been captured by the short-term interests of carbon-emitting industries that will do anything to protect their wealth.
In petrol-states such as the UAE, the economic interests of rulers and fossil-fuel businesses are the same. But other rich nations with more mixed economies are also culpable. On Friday Rishi Sunak gave a speech that sought to justify his disgraceful watering-down of green measures on the grounds that they would cost people “thousands of pounds”. Meanwhile, in the US, fossil fuel extraction is surging, despite the support for renewables in the Inflation Reduction Act.
One key question for negotiators in Dubai is how the remaining carbon budget is allocated. Another is how the people and ecosystems most harmed by global heating will be helped. On the latter, there has been some progress with the establishment of a loss and damage fund. But the battle over the continued production of fossil fuels, and the future of carbon-intensive industries such as animal agriculture and aviation, is raging.
Sultna Al Jaber, the chief executive of the UAE's national oil company, regarded the need for finance to unlock green industrialization in the global south as the existential battle of our generation. But carbon-intensive industries and petrol-states face existential questions of their own. What is their role in the fossil-free future? One answer is that it will not be fossil-free at all. The African forests recently bought as offsets by the UAE-based company Blue Carbon are a license to keep polluting. Such deals cannot be dismissed out of hand, especially while loss and damage funds are inadequate. African countries need funding for conservation. However, the effectiveness of carbon markets has not been proven. That emissions must be reduced, not redistributed or cancelled out through accounting, is an inexorable fact.
It is the struggle to be allowed to continue emitting in which most, if not all, of those who rely on carbon-intensive activity to generate wealth are engaged. Big oil was never just a handful of corporations—BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron—as important as those businesses are. The confrontation goes both deeper and wider, taking in industries ranging from shipping and agriculture to construction and cars.
26. Which of the following can be learned from Paragraphs 1 and 2?
[A] Agriculture companies are reluctant to undergo business transformation.
[B] JBS and its allies would advocate restricting livestock farming.
[C] Fossil-fuel companies devote their efforts to a green transition.
[D] Cop28 truly lives up to the expectations from the world.
27. According to Paragraph 3, Rishi Sunak's speech is mentioned to show that __________.
[A] his consideration is pragmatic to meet the UK's climate targets
[B] his decision intends to cause no disruption to people's lives
[C] the shift in the UK's green measures is largely due to the high cost
[D] some rich nations lack determination to curb carbon emissions
28. The toughest issue on the Conference's agenda is __________.
[A] how to aid victims of climate warming
[B] how to establish a loss and damage fund
[C] how to enlarge the global carbon budget
[D] how to lower global carbon emissions
29. Blue Carbon bought African forests to __________.
[A] support green industrialization in the global south
[B] explore a feasible solution for emission reduction
[C] offset the climate pollution they generate
[D] invest in efforts to conserve forests there
30. Which of the following is the best title for the text?
[A] The Innovative Livestock Farming Technologies in Agriculture
[B] The Surging Fossil Fuel Extraction Activities in the United States
[C] The Global Efforts Put in Carbon-Free Energy Generation Technologies
[D] Resistance to Low-Carbon Transitions from Carbon-Intensive Industries
To the delight of campaigners and some parents, COVID-19 has put a wrench in school exams. With support from the previous administration, all 50 states cancelled accountability testing last March, freeing 51m public-school pupils from the annual arrangement. The SATs optional essay-writing section and separate subject tests were discontinued this year. The Programme for International Student Assessment and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have been postponed too. With opposition for years against standardized testing in public schools, could this be the end?
On February 22nd the current administration said exams had to take place, but that the results would not be used to grade schools. Ordinarily the federal government obliges states to hold schools accountable for their pupils' test scores. Schools with poor results may see their budgets reduced, as part of that exchange of exam results for dollars. Some states have used results to close schools and fire teachers. Teachers in tough places often think it unfair. And COVID-19 has strengthened the point that much of what goes into a test score is, frankly, well beyond the control of teachers.
Abandoning testing could be disastrous, warns the Fordham Institute in a recent report. Cancelling tests again would make it hard to know how schools fared during the pandemic. “I would be in favour of more effort to get as many kids as possible tested, so that we know what is going on,” explains Cory Koedel, who co-wrote the report. “I think some kids are actually probably doing OK, but some are terrible. And I don't think we know exactly who's who.” Others disagree. Derek Briggs of the University of Colorado questions the benefit of testing students during these trying times. “All students are going to need some serious help over the next year to make up for what's been a pretty tough time,” he says.
That thought delights those parents and teachers who have been waging war against standardized exams for years. The Opt Out movement gained national attention in 2015 because some families in New York State refused the exams. Thirteen states received warning letters from the Obama administration for failing to test about 95% of pupils that same year. The activists in the Opt Out movement want to see others held responsible for student learning, not just teachers. “The notion that we can ascertain...the extent to which pupils are doing poorly as a function of what's happening in schools, as opposed to everything else that's going on in their lives right now is absurd,” says Daniel Koretz of Harvard's School of Education.
One compromise would be for a representative sample of children to sit the tests. One group could be selected to take maths and American history, while another group took English and science. Each group would take two exams, the burden of testing would be reduced, but schools and the government would gain reliable information on four subjects, at least.
31. Campaigners and some parents are delighted that __________.
[A] the pandemic has disrupted the tests in schools
[B] public-school pupils are freed from homework
[C] the essay-writing section in SATs is optional
[D] standardized testing in public schools comes to an end
32. Reducing schools' budgets is likely be seen as a result of __________.
[A] the COVID-19
[B] the fired teachers
[C] the tough conditions
[D] the poor test scores
33. Cory Koedel is quoted to show that __________.
[A] testing is the best way to assess students
[B] schools are struggling for survival
[C] the pandemic affected students' academic performance
[D] testing should not be abandoned
34. Daniel Koretz maintains that __________.
[A] students are doing in school as poorly as they are doing everything else
[B] it is unfair to say students' poor scores are only because of schooling
[C] pupils perform poorly in school while perform well in their lives
[D] pupils, to some extent, oppose everything going on schools
35. What the author's attitude toward abandoning testing?
[A] Ambiguous.
[B] Delighted.
[C] Disapproving.
[D] Indifferent.
AI is advancing at a rapid pace, bringing with it potentially transformative benefits for society. If developed responsibly, AI can be a powerful tool to help us deliver a better, more equitable future.
However, AI also presents challenges. From bias in machine learning used for sentencing algorithms, to misinformation, irresponsible development and deployment of AI systems poses the risk of great harm. How can we navigate these incredibly complex issues to ensure AI technology serves our society and not the other way around?
First, it requires all those involved in building AI to adopt and adhere to principles that prioritise safety while also pushing the frontiers of innovation. But it also requires that we build new institutions with the expertise and authority to responsibly steward the development of this technology.
The technology sector often likes straightforward solutions, and institution-building may seem like one of the hardest and most vague paths to go down. But if our industry is to avoid superficial ethics-washing, we need concrete solutions that engage with the reality of the problems we face and bring historically excluded communities into the conversation.
To ensure the market seeds responsible innovation, we need the labs building innovative AI systems to establish proper checks and balances to inform their decision-making. When the language models first burst on to the scene, it was Google DeepMind's institutional review committee that decided to delay the release of our new paper until we could pair it with a taxonomy of risks that should be used to assess models, despite industry-wide pressure to be “on top” of the latest developments.
We are also starting to see convergence across the industry around important practices such as impact assessments and involving diverse communities in development, evaluation and testing. Of course, there is still a long way to go.
Decades ago they started offering “bug bounties”—a financial reward—to researchers who could identify a vulnerability or “bug” in a product. Once reported, the companies had an agreed time period during which they would address the bug and then publicly disclose it, crediting the “bounty hunters”. Over time, this has developed into an industry norm called “responsible disclosure”. AI labs are now borrowing from this playbook to tackle the issue of bias in datasets and model outputs.
Last, advancements in AI present a challenge to multinational governance. Guidance at the local level is one part of the equation, but so too is international policy alignment, given the opportunities and risks of AI won't be limited to any one country. Proliferation and misuse of AI has woken everyone up to the fact that global coordination will play a crucial role in preventing harm and ensuring common accountability.
36. According to the first two paragraphs, AI systems __________.
[A] have helped us build a promising society
[B] have been under close supervision
[C] offer objective advice on verdict
[D] have been developed with potential problems
37. The development of AI systems requires __________.
[A] industry principles and professional oversight bodies
[B] more surprising and wild imagination of the future
[C] straightforward and superficial solutions
[D] professional involvement and ethics-washing
38. The institutional review committee in Paragraph 5 is mentioned to present __________.
[A] a contrasting case
[B] a convincing example
[C] a related topic
[D] a background story
39. The “bug bounties” is set up to __________.
[A] provide financial aid
[B] evaluate AI systems
[C] deal with product bugs
[D] establish an industry norm
40. Which of the following questions does the text answer?
[A] How to establish new norms in the AI industry?
[B] How to deploy AI to make a judicial decision?
[C] What makes AI companies want direct solutions?
[D] How to ensure AI technology serves our development?
Directions:
The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent article by choosing from the list A-G and filling them into the numbered boxes. Paragraphs A and C have been correctly placed. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
[A] We now know that there were two main pulses of extinction. The first, which began 252.1m years ago, mostly affected life on land. The second, more devastating phase, started about 200,000 years later. Though we cannot yet be sure, the first phase might have been triggered by acid rain, ozone depletion and metal pollution caused by volcanic chemicals. As rainforests and other ecosystems were wiped out, more toxic compounds were released from exposed soils and rocks, creating an escalating cycle of collapse.
[B] Budleigh Salterton, on the south coast of Devon, sits above the most frightening cliffs on Earth. They are not particularly high. The horror takes another form. For they capture the moment at which life on Earth almost came to an end.
[C] A paper released might explain why recovery took so long. Because so many of the world's rich ecosystems had been replaced by desert, plants struggled to re-establish themselves. Their total weight on Earth fell by about two thirds. Throughout these 5m years, no coal deposits formed, as there wasn't sufficient plant production to make peat bogs. In other words, the natural processes that remove CO 2 from the atmosphere and turn it into wood and soil or bury it as fossil carbon stalled. For 5m years, the world was trapped in this hothouse state.
[D] The sediments preserved in these cliffs were laid down in the early Triassic period, just after the greatest mass extinction in the history of multicellular life that brought the Permian period to an end 252m years ago. Around 90% of species died, and fish and four-footed animals were more or less exterminated between 30 degrees north of the equator and 40 degrees south. Most remarkably, while biological abundance (if not diversity) tends to recover from mass extinctions within a few hundred thousand years, our planet remained in this near-lifeless state for the following 5m years.
[E] Could it happen again? Two parallel and contradictory processes are in play. At climate summits, governments produce feeble voluntary commitments to limit the production of greenhouse gases. At the same time, almost every state with significant fossil reserves—including the UK—intends to extract as much as they can. A report by Carbon Tracker shows that if all the world's reserves of fossil fields were extracted, their combustion would exceed the carbon budget governments have agreed sevenfold. While less carbon is contained in these reserves than the amount produced during the Permian-Triassic extinction, the compressed timescale could render this release just as deadly to life on Earth.
[F] Everything now hangs on which process prevails: the sometimes well-meaning, but always feeble, attempts to limit the burning of fossil carbon, or the ruthless determination—often on the part of the same governments—to extract as much of it as possible, granting the profits of legacy industries precedence over life on Earth. At the climate summit in Egypt, a nation in which protests are banned and the interests of the people must at all times cede to the interests of power, we will see how close to the cliff edge the world's governments intend to take us.
[G] The second phase appears to have been driven by global heating. By 251.9m years ago, so much solidified rock had accumulated on the surface of the Siberian Traps that the lava could no longer escape. Instead, it was forced to spread underground, along horizontal fissures, into rocks that were rich in coal and other hydrocarbons. The heat from the underground lava cooked the hydrocarbons, releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. Temperatures are believed to have climbed by between 8℃ and 10℃, though much of the second phase of extinction might have been caused by an initial rise of between 3℃ and 5℃.
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
The fifth-century Athenian philosopher Socrates (470–399 BC) is widely acknowledged as the founder of the tradition of philosophy as a way of life (PWL). (46) Unlike the pre-Socratic philosophers, on most occasions, he focused exclusively on ethics rather than natural philosophy. Socrates's ethical philosophy marked a significant cultural and intellectual shift away from pre-Platonic natural philosophy, which was widely conceived as “irrelevant to the good life”. For Socrates, philosophy's most important topic was the conduct of human life. (47) Socrates, in Cicero's words, “was the first who called philosophy down from heaven, and placed it in cities, and introduced it even in homes, and drove it to inquire about life and customs and things good and evil.”
That is to say, Socrates made the central philosophical question: “how can we live a good human life?” Plato, whose written dialogues immortalized Socrates, depicted him engaged in discussions focused exclusively on this question. (48) As Plato's Socrates asserts, “There can be no finer subject for discussion than the question of what a man should be like and what occupation he should engage in and how far he should pursue it”. Socrates claimed that only the philosophical way of life can deliver happiness. (49) In addressing the question of the good life, Socrates suggested that people must choose between two incompatible alternatives: namely the philosophical or the political way of life, the practice of citizenship or the care of the soul. Plato's Socrates spells out these alternatives in his dialogue with the fictional character Callicles.
The central issue at stake in Socrates's philosophy is the choice between the life of the philosopher and that of other non-philosophical citizens, including rhetoricians, sophists and even natural philosophers. Socrates maintains that to lead the philosophical way of life necessarily requires criticizing the norms and practices of Athenian citizenship. (50) Of course, we know from the trial and execution of Socrates (399 BCE) that his criticism of the moral failings and limits of Athenian citizenship and political practices incurred the contempt and displeasure of many fellow citizens who praised the virtues of civic participation. Socrates's fellow Athenians valued ‘external' goods like fame, honour, reputation, and wealth above all else, and they identified active, combative citizenship as the principal means of acquiring these goods. From this perspective, Socrates's philosophical way of life seemed to corrupt rather than educate citizens.
51. Directions:
Write an email to the English Department of a university in the United States, applying for the MA program in English and American literature. You should include the details you think necessary.
You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.
Do not use your own name in the email. Use “Li Ming” instead. (10 points)
52. Directions:
Read the following excerpt from an article and write an essay. In your essay, you should explain whether or to what extent you agree with the author. Support your argument with reasons and relevant examples.
Write your answer in 160-200 words on the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)
In modern society, the majority of individuals lead busy lives in bustling cities, leaving them with limited time for communication. As they reside in separate apartments within different blocks, people often find themselves isolated from one another, making it inconvenient to freely meet and interact. Consequently, instead of engaging in face-to-face conversations, modern individuals tend to opt for quick methods like sending emails or making phone calls to convey their good wishes. As a result, some argue that people are becoming somewhat mechanized in their interactions. However, it is crucial for individuals to recognize that while modern forms of communication are efficient, they cannot wholly replace traditional methods. Therefore, it is important to promote the use of traditional means of communication.
1. B 2. A 3. C 4. D 5. D 6. C 7. A 8. B 9. B 10. B 11. A 12. C 13. D 14. D 15. B 16. A 17. A 18. C 19. C 20. D
Part A （40 points）
21. B 22. C 23. D 24. D 25. D 26. A 27. D 28. D 29. C 30. D 31. A 32. D 33. D 34. B 35. C 36. D 37. A 38. B 39. C 40. D
Part B （10 points）
41. B 42. D 43. G 44. E 45. F
Part C （10 points）
46. 不同于生活在他之前的哲学家，在大多数情况下，苏格拉底专注于伦理学，而非自然哲学。
47. 用西塞罗的话说，苏格拉底“是第一个把哲学从天堂召唤下来的人，并把它放在城市里，甚至引入家家户户，促使哲学去探讨生活、习俗以及善恶”。
48. 正如柏拉图笔下的苏格拉底所言：“应该成为什么样的人，应当从事何种职业，这份职业应做到什么地步，再没有比这种问题更适合作为讨论主题了。”Section I Use of English（10 points）
49. 苏格拉底认为，在处理美好生活的问题时，人们必须在两种互不相容的选择中做出决定，即哲学化的生活方式或政治化的生活方式，公民的实践或对灵魂的关怀。
50. 当然，我们从对苏格拉底的审判和处决（公元前399年）了解到，他对雅典公民制度和政治实践中的道德沦丧和局限性进行了批判，这招致了许多公民同胞的蔑视和不满，这些人曾对公民参与公共事务的好处予以赞扬。
（见解析册）