B
What was your last birthday like? Did you get any birthday cards or gifts? Who were they from? How did you feel?
Our family has been friends with Betty for many years. Over the years, we shared phone calls, birthday cards and much more. Every year, Betty sent our youngest son Brandon a birthday card with five dollars in it. She did this until he graduated from high school.
One year, not long after Betty's birthday, I called to see how she was. I wondered if she did something special for her birthday. I was surprised when Betty didn't answer the phone. Instead, her daughter Carol did. Carol told me that her mum was ill and her health went downhill fast. She was in end-of-life care.
As soon as I got off the phone, I sent a text to Brandon to tell him about Betty's illness. Brandon stopped what he was doing and sent flowers to Betty.
I felt proud of Brandon when Carol called the next day. She told me that Betty loved the flowers very much. Just a few days later, Betty died.
It's never "too soon" to be kind to others. You never know when it might be "too late" instead. Just as Brandon once said...
()56. Why did the writer ask the questions in Paragraph 1?
A. To collect answers.
B. To do a survey.
C. To give a report.
D. To lead in the story.
()57. Which word can best describe Betty?
A. Caring.
B. Hopeful.
C. Quiet.
D. Strict.
()58. What did Brandon do after getting the news about Betty?
A. Visited Betty at once.
B. Sent Betty some flowers.
C. Texted a message to Betty.
D. Talked to Betty on the phone.
()59. What would Brandon say in the end?
A. "It's hard to live forever."
B. "It's never too old to learn."
C. "Don't forget your friend's birthday."
D. "Don't wait to show love to people around you."
()60. What might be the best title for the passage?
A. Why Wait to Be Nice?
B. When to Send Presents?
C. How to Show One's Feelings?
D. What to Give on One's Birthday?

56. D 【解析】开篇方式题。第一段以提出问题开头,并非为了收集答案、做调查或写报告,而是通过日常话题引出后文 Betty 与 Brandon 的故事,为了“引出故事”。故选 D。
57. A 【解析】推理判断题。根据“Every year, Betty sent our youngest son...until he graduated from high school”可知,Betty 多年来坚持给 Brandon 送生日卡片并放入 5 美元,直到他高中毕业,这一行为体现了她对他人的关心。故选 A。
58. B 【解析】细节理解题。根据“As soon as I got off the phone...and sent flowers to Betty.”可知,在得知 Betty 生病的事后,Brandon 立刻停止了手头的工作,给 Betty 送去了鲜花。故选 B。
59. D 【解析】推理判断题。根据“It's never ‘too soon’ to be kind to others. You never know when it might be ‘too late’ instead.”可知,对他人表达善意永远不会“太早”,你永远不知道什么时候就会变成“太晚”。D 项符合语境。故选 D。
60. A 【解析】标题归纳题。结合全文可知,本文通过 Betty 坚持多年给 Brandon 送生日贺卡,以及 Brandon 在 Betty 病危时及时送花的感人故事,传达核心主旨:及时表达善意与关爱,不要等到为时已晚。选项 A 适合作为文章的标题。故选 A。

C
In a fun conversation, someone asked ChatGPT to count the number of "R"s in "strawberry". ChatGPT answered that there were two, the eighth and ninth letters. The questioner broke apart the word and thought there were three "R"s. But ChatGPT argued that there were two "R"s in "strawberry" because the R in "straw" is part of the word.
★ It has something to do with its special way of understanding text. When humans read, we process text linearly(线性地) and read each letter in order. For us, strawberry is easily understood as a line of characters. As a result, it's simple to count the letters. AI, on the other hand, depends on a process called tokenization(词语切分). This process breaks down text into smaller units, or tokens(符号). These can be whole words, parts of words, or even single characters. That depends on the model's training. For example, "strawberry" might be tokenized as "straw" and "berry".
When you ask AI to count letters, such as "R"s in "strawberry", it won't check the characters themselves. Instead, it sees larger parts, like "straw" and "berry". It's just trying to count the number of letters in a word without splitting it up first.
In our AI-driven world today, we ask for quick answers and ideas. The strawberry test is a good example of how important it is to check, and sometimes double-check, information from AI. Even the "smartest" AI models can make simple mistakes.
()61. Why does the writer mention "strawberry" in Paragraph 1?
A. To tell humans are smarter than AI.
B. To describe how AI understands words.
C. To show AI may give wrong answers.
D. To explain why AI is poor in counting letters.
()62. Which of the following can be put in " ★ "?
A. How can AI make such a mistake?
B. What should we do when AI is wrong?
C. Are there other words that can trouble AI?
D. Why did the questioner break apart the word?
()63. What does the underlined phrase "splitting it up" mean?
A. Putting it together.
B. Checking it out.
C. Breaking it apart.
D. Counting it down.
()64. How does the writer feel about AI?
A. Correct but useless.
B. Slow but smart.
C. Wonderful but simple.
D. Useful but mistaken.
()65. What would be the best theme(主题) picture of the passage?

61. C 【解析】推理判断题。根据“But ChatGPT argued that there were two ‘R’s in ‘strawberry’ because the R in ‘straw’ is part of the word.”以及“Even the ‘smartest’ AI models can make simple mistakes”可知,提到“strawberry”是为了说明 AI 可能给出错误答案。故选 C。
62. A 【解析】句子还原题。根据“It has something to do with its special way of understanding text”可知,第二段主要解释了 AI 犯错的原因,即其特殊的文本理解方式,所以此处应是提出“AI 怎么会犯这样的错误”这一问题,引出下文的解释。故选 A。
63. C 【解析】词义猜测题。根据“it sees larger parts, like ‘straw’ and ‘berry’”可知,AI 不会先把单词拆分再数字母,“splitting it up”意为“拆分”,与“Breaking it apart”意思相近。故选 C。
64. D 【解析】推理判断题。根据“In our AI-driven world today, we ask for quick answers and ideas”可知,AI 有用;再结合“Even the ‘smartest’ AI models can make simple mistakes”可知,AI 也会犯错。因此作者认为 AI 有用但也会出错。故选 D。
65. B 【解析】图片理解题。文章围绕 AI 在计数“strawberry”中“R”的数量时出错展开,讨论了 AI 犯错的原因并提醒人们要核对 AI 信息,最佳主题图片应与 AI 处理单词及可能出错相关。故选 B。