1、2023年12月份真题(第一套)Part I WritingDirection: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short eaasy based on the picture below. You should focus on the difficulty in acquiring useful information in spite of advanced information technology. You are required to write at least 150 words but no mo
2、re than 200 words.We have lots of information technology. We just dont have much useful information.Part Reading ComprehensionSection AAs it is, sleep is so undervalued that getting by on fewer hours has become a badge of honor. Plus, we live in a culture that_(37)to the late-nighter, from 24-hour g
3、rocery stores to online shopping sites that never close. Its no surprise, then, that more than half of American adults dont get the 7 to 9 hours of shut-eye every night as_(38)by sleep experts.Whether or not we can catch up on sleep-on the weekend, say-is a hotly_(39)topic among sleep researches. Th
4、e latest evidence suggests that while it isnt_(40), it might help. When Liu, the UCLA sleep researcher and professor of medicine, brought_(41)sleep-restricted people into the lab for a weekend of sleep during which they logged about 10 hours per night, they showed_(42)in the ability of insulin(胰岛素)t
5、o process blood sugar. That suggests that catchup sleep may undo some but not all of the damage that sleep_(43)causes, which is encouraging given how many adults dont get the hours they need each night. Still, Liu isnt_(44)to endorse the habit of sleeping less and making up for it later.Sleeping pil
6、ls, while helpful for some, are not_(45)an effective remedy either. “A sleeping pill will_(46)one area of the brain, but theres never going to be a perfect sleeping pill, because you couldnt really replicates(复制)the different chemicals moving in and out of different parts of the brain to go through
7、the different stages of sleep, says Dr.Nancy Collop, director of the Emory University Sleep Center.A.alternativelyB.catersC.chronicallyD.debatedE.deprivationF.idealG.improvementsH.necessarilyI.negotiatedJ.pierceK.presumptionL.readyM.recommendedN.surpassesO.targetSection BClimate change may be real,
8、but its still not easy being green.AThe road to climate hell is paved with our good intentions. Politicians may tackle polluters while scientists do battle with carbon emissions. But the most pervasive problem is less obvious: our own behavior. We get distracted before we can turn down the heating.
9、We break our promise not to fly after hearing about a neighbours trip to India. Ultimately, we cant be bothered to change our attitude. Fortunately for the planet, social science and behavioural economics may be able to do that for us.BDespite mournful polar bears and charts showing carbon emissions
10、 soaring, most people find it hard to believe that global warming will affect them personally. Recent polls by the Pew Research Centre in Washington, DC, found that 75-80 per cent of participants regarded climate change as an important issue. But respondents ranked it last on a list of priorities.CT
11、his inconsistency largely stems from a feeling of powerlessness. When we cant actually remove the source of our fear, we tend to adapt psychologically by adopting a range of defence mechanisms, says Tom Crompton, change strategist for the environmental organization Word Wide Fund for Nature.DPart of
12、 the fault lies with our inner caveman. Evolution has programmed humans to pay most attention to issues that will have an immediate impact. We worry most about now because if we dont survive for the next minute, were not going to be around in ten years time, says Professor Elke Weber of the Centre f
13、or Research on Environmental Decision at Columbia University in New York. If the Thames for Research on Environmental Decision at Columbia University in New York. If the Thams were lapping around Big Ben, Londoners wound face up to the problem of emissions pretty quickly. But in practice, our brain
14、discounts the risks-and benefits-associated with issues that lie some way ahead.EMatthew Rushworth, of the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, sees this in his lab every day. One of the ways in which all agents seem to make decisions is that they assign a lower weighti
15、ng to outcomes that are going to be further away in the future, he says. This is a very sensible way for an animal to make decisions in the wild and would have been very helpful for humans for thousands of years.F Not any longer. By the time we wake up to the threat posed by climate changes, it coul
16、d well be too late. And it were not going to make rational decisions about the future, others may have to help us to do so.G Few political libraries are without a copy of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health. Wealth and Happiness, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. They argue that governments s
17、hould persuade us into making better decisions-such as saving more in our pension plans-by changing the default options. Professor Weber believes that environmental policy can make use of similar tactics. If, for example, building codes included green construction guidelines, most developers would t
18、oo lazy to challenge them.H Defaults are certainly part of the solution. But social scientists are most concerned about crafting messages that exploit our group mentality(心态). We need to understand what motivates people, what it is that allows them to make change. says Professor Neil Adger, of the T
19、yndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Norwich. It is actually about what their peers think of them, what their social norms are, what is seen as desirable in society. In other words, our inner caveman is continually looking over his shoulder to see what the rest of the tribe are up to.I The p
20、assive attitude we have to climate change as individuals can be altered by continuing us in-and measuring us against-our peer group. Social norms are primitive and elemental, says Dr.Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Birds flock together, fish school together, cattl
21、e herd together just perceiving norms is enough to cause people to adjust their behavior in the direction of the crowd.J These norms can take us beyond good intensions. Caldini conducted a study in San Diego in which coat hangers bearing messages about saving energy were hung on peoples doors. Some
22、of the messages mentioned the environment, some financial savings, others social responsibility. But it was the ones that mentioned the actions of neighbours that drove down power use.K Other studies show that simply providing the facility for people to compare their energy use with the local averag
23、e is enough to cause them to modify their behaviour. The Conservatives plan to adopt this strategy by making utility companies print the average local electricity and gas usage on peoples bills.L Social science can also teach politicians how to avoid our collective capacity for self-destructive beha
24、vior. Environmental campaigns that tell us how many people drive SUVs unwittingly(不经意地)imply that this behavior is widespread and thus permissible. Cialdini recommends some careful framing of the message. Instead of normalizing the undesirable buys yet another SUV, it reduces our ability to be energ
25、y-independent.M Tapping into how we already see ourselves is crucial. The most successful environmental strategy will marry the green message to our own sense of identify. Take your average trade union member, chances are they will be politically motivated and be used to collective action-much like
26、Erica Gregory. A retired member of the Public and Commercial Services Union, she is setting up one of 1,100 action groups with the support of Climate Solidarity, a two-year environmental campaign aimed at trade unionists.N Erica is proof that a great-grandmother can help to lead the revolution if yo
27、u get the psychology right-in this case, by matching her enthusiasm for the environment with a fondness for organizing groups. I think its a terrific idea, she says of the campaign. The union backing it makes members think there must be something in it. She is expecting up to 20 people at the first
28、meeting she has called, at her local pub in the Cornish village of Polperro.O Nick Perks, project director for Climate Solidarity, believes this sort of activity is where the future of environmental action lies. Using existing civil society structures or networks is a more effective way of creating
29、change and obviously trade unions are one of the biggest civil society networks in the UK, he says. The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign entered into a collaboration last year with another such network-the Womens Institute. Londoner Rachel Taylor joined the campaign with the aim of making new friends.
30、 A year on, the meetings have made lasting changes to what she throws away in her kitchen. Its always more of an incentive if youre doing it with other people, she says. It motivates you more if you know that youve got to provide feedback to a group.PThe power of such simple psychology in fighting c
31、limate change is attracting attention across the political establishment. In the US, the House of Representatives Science Committee has approved a bill allocating $10 million a year to studying energy-related behavior. In the UK, new studies are in development and social scientists are regularly spo
32、tted in British government offices. With the help of psychologists, there is fresh hope that we might go green after all.47. When people find they are powerless to change a situation, they tend to live with it.48. To be effective, environmental messages should be carefully framed.49. It is the gover
33、nments responsibility to persuade people into making environment-friendly decisions.50. Politicians are beginning to realise the importance of enlisting psychologists help in fighting climate change.51. To find effective solutions to climate change, it is necessary to understand what motivates peopl
34、e to make change.52. In their evolution, humans have learned to pay attention to the most urgent issues instead of long-term concerns.53. One study shows that our neighbours actions are influential in changing our behavior.54. Despire clear signs of global warming, it is not easy for most people to
35、believe climate change will effect their own lives.55. We should take our future into consideration in making decisions concerning climate change before it is too late.56. Existing social networks can be more effective in creating in peoples behaviour.Section CPassage OneMore than a decade ago, cogn
36、itive scientists John Bransfgord and Daniel Schwartz, both then at Vanderbilt University, found that knowledge to a new situation but a quality was not the ability to retain facts or apply prior knowledge to a new situation but a quality they called preparation for future learning. The researches as
37、ked fifth graders and college students to create a recovery plan to protect bald eagles from extinction. Shockingly, the two groups came up with plans of similar quality (through the college students had better spelling skills). From the standpoint of a traditional educator, this outcome indicated t
38、hat schooling had failed to help students think about ecosystems and extinction, major scientific ideas.The researches decided to go deeper, however. They asked both groups to generate questions about important issues needed to create recovery plans. On this task, they found large differences. Colle
39、ge students focused on critical issues of interdependence between eagles(How big are they? and What do they eat?). The college students had cultivated the ability to ask questions, the cornerstone of critical thinking. They had learned how to learn.Museums and other institutions of informal learning
40、 may be better suited to teach this skill than elementary and secondly schools. At the Exploratorium in San Francisco, we recently studied how learning to ask good questions can affect the quality of peoples scientific inquiry We found that when we taught participants to ask What if? and How can? qu
41、estions that nobody present would know the answer to and that would spark exploration, they engaged in better inquiry at the next exhibit-asking more questions, performing more experiments and making better interpretations of their results. Specially, their questions became more comprehensive at the
42、 new exhibit. Rather than merely asking about something they wanted to try, they tended to include both cause and effect in their question. Asking juicy questions appears to be a transferable skill for deepening collaborative inquiry into the science content found in exhibits.This type of learning i
43、s not confined to museums of institutional settings. Informal learning environment tolerate failure better than schools. Perhaps many teachers have too little time to allow students to form and pursue their own questions and too much ground to cover in the curriculum. But people must acquire this sk
44、ill somewhere. Our society depend on them being able to make critical decisions about their own medical treatment, says, or what we must do about global energy needs and demands. For that, we have a robust informal system that gives no grades, takes all comers, and is available even on holidays and
45、weekends.57. What is traditional educators interpretation of the search outcome mentioned in the first paragraph?A.Students are not able to apply prior knowledge to new problemsB.College students are no better than fifth graders in memorizing issues.C.Education has not paid enough attention to major
46、 environmental issues.D.Educated has failed to lead students to think about major scientific ideas.58. In what way are college students different from children?A.They have learned to think criticallyB.They are concerned about social issuesC.They are curious about specific features.D.They have learne
47、d to work independently59. What is benefit of asking questions with no ready answers?A.It arouse students interest in things around them.B.It cultivates students ability to make scientific inquiries.C.It trains students ability to design scientific experiments.D.It helps students realize not every q
48、uestion has an answer。60. What is said to be the advantage of informal learning?A.It allows for failuresB.It is entertainingC.It charges no tuitionD.It meets practical need.61. What does author seem to encourage educators to do at the end of the passage?A.Train students to think about global issues.B.Design more interactive classroom activities.C.Make full use of informal learning resources.D.Include collaborative inquiry in the curriculum.Passage TwoThere