The Carlow Autumn Walking Festival is a great opportunity for the beginner, experienced or advanced walker to enjoy the challenges of Carlow’s mountain hikes or the peace of its woodland walks.

Walk 1 — The Natural World

With environmentalist éanna Lamhna as the guide, this walk promises to be an informative tour. Walkers are sure to learn lots about the habitats and natural world of the Blackstairs.

Date and Time: Saturday 1st October, at 09:00

Start Point: Scratoes Bridge

Walk Duration: 6 hours

Walk 2 — Introduction to Hillwalking

Emmanuel Chappard, an experienced guide, has a passion for making the great outdoors accessible to all. This mountain walk provides an insight into the skills required for hillwalking to ensure you get the most from future walking trips.

Date and Time: Sunday, 2nd October, at 09:00

Start Point: Deerpark Car Park

Walk Duration: 5 hours

Walk 3 — Moonlight Under the Stars

Walking at night-time is a great way to step out of your comfort zone. Breathtaking views of the lowlands of Carlow can be enjoyed in the presence of welcoming guides from local walking clubs. A torch (手電筒) along with suitable clothing is essential for walking in the dark. Those who are dressed inappropriately will be refused permission to participate.

Date and Time: Saturday, 1st October, at 18:30

Start Point: The Town Hall

Walk Duration: 3 hours

Walk 4 — Photographic Walk in Kilbrannish Forest

This informative walk led by Richard Smyth introduces you to the basic principles of photography in the wild. Bring along your camera and enjoy the wonderful views along this well-surfaced forest path.

Date and Time: Sunday, 2nd October, at 11:45

Start Point: Kilbrannish Forest Recreation Area

Walk Duration: 1.5 hours

1. Which walk takes the shortest time?

A. The Natural World. B. Introduction to Hillwalking.

C. Moonlight Under the Stars. D. Photographic Walk in Kilbrannish Forest.

2. What are participants in Walk 3 required to do?

A. Wear proper clothes. B. Join a walking club.

C. Get special permits. D. Bring a survival guide.

3. What do the four walks have in common?

A. They involve difficult climbing. B. They are for experienced walkers.

C. They share the same start point. D. They are scheduled for the weekend.

B

Do you ever get to the train station and realize you forgot to bring something to read? Yes, we all have our phones, but many of us still like to go old school and read something printed.

Well, there’s a kiosk (小亭) for that. In the San Francisco Bay Area, at least.

“You enter the fare gates (檢票口) and you’ll see a kiosk that is lit up and it tells you can get a one-minute, a three-minute, or a five-minute story,” says Alicia Trost, the chief communications officer for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit — known as BART. “You choose which length you want and it gives you a receipt-like short story.”

It’s that simple. Riders have printed nearly 20,000 short stories and poems since the program was launched last March. Some are classic short stories, and some are new original works.

Trost also wants to introduce local writers to local riders. “We wanted to do something where we do a call to artists in the Bay Area to submit stories for a contest,” Trost says. “And as of right now, we’ve received about 120 submissions. The winning stories would go into our kiosk and then you would be a published artist.”

Ridership on transit (交通) systems across the country has been down the past half century, so could short stories save transit?

Trost thinks so.

“At the end of the day all transit agencies right now are doing everything they can to improve the rider experience. So I absolutely think we will get more riders just because of short stories,” she says.

And you’ll never be without something to read.

4. Why did BART start the kiosk program?

A. To promote the local culture. B. To discourage phone use.

C. To meet passengers’ needs. D. To reduce its running costs.

5. How are the stories categorized in the kiosk?

A. By popularity. B. By length.

C. By theme. D. By language.

6 What has Trost been doing recently?

A. Organizing a story contest. B. Doing a survey of customers.

C. Choosing a print publisher. D. Conducting interviews with artists.

7. What is Trost’s opinion about BART’s future?

A. It will close down. B. Its profits will decline.

C. It will expand nationwide. D. Its ridership will increase.

C

We all know fresh is best when it comes to food. However, most produce at the store went through weeks of travel and covered hundreds of miles before reaching the table. While farmer’s markets are a solid choice to reduce the journey, Babylon Micro-Farm (BMF) shortens it even more.

BMF is an indoor garden system. It can be set up for a family. Additionally, it could serve a larger audience such as a hospital, restaurant or school. The innovative design requires little effort to achieve a reliable weekly supply of fresh greens.

Specifically, it’s a farm that relies on new technology. By connecting through the Cloud, BMF is remotely monitored. Also, there is a convenient app that provides growing data in real time. Because the system is automated, it significantly reduces the amount of water needed to grow plants. Rather than watering rows of soil, the system provides just the right amount to each plant. After harvest, users simply replace the plants with a new pre-seeded pod (容器) to get the next growth cycle started.

Moreover, having a system in the same building where it’s eaten means zero emissions (排放) from transporting plants from soil to salad. In addition, there’s no need for pesticides and other chemicals that pollute traditional farms and the surrounding environment.

BMF employees live out sustainability in their everyday lives. About half of them walk or bike to work. Inside the office they encourage recycling and waste reduction by limiting garbage cans and avoiding single-use plastic. “We are passionate about reducing waste, carbon and chemicals in our environment,” said a BMF employee.

8. What can be learned about BMF from paragraph 1?

A. It guarantees the variety of food. B. It requires day-to-day care.

C. It cuts the farm-to-table distance. D. It relies on farmer’s markets.

9. What information does the convenient app offer?

A. Real-time weather changes. B. Current condition of the plants.

C. Chemical pollutants in the soil. D. Availability of pre-seeded pods.

10. What can be concluded about BMF employees?

A. They have a great passion for sports.

B. They are devoted to community service.

C. They are fond of sharing daily experiences.

D. They have a strong environmental awareness.

11. What does the text mainly talk about?

A. BMF’s major strengths. B. BMF’s general management.

C. BMF’s global influence. D. BMF’s technical standards.

D

Given the astonishing potential of AI to transform our lives, we all need to take action to deal with our AI-powered future, and this is where AI by Design: A Plan for Living with Artificial Intelligence comes in. This absorbing new book by Catriona Campbell is a practical roadmap addressing the challenges posed by the forthcoming AI revolution (變革).

In the wrong hands, such a book could prove as complicated to process as the computer code (代碼) that powers AI but, thankfully, Campbell has more than two decades’ professional experience translating the heady into the understandable. She writes from the practical angle of a business person rather than as an academic, making for a guide which is highly accessible and informative and which, by the close, will make you feel almost as smart as AI.

As we soon come to learn from AI by Design, AI is already super-smart and will become more capable, moving from the current generation of “narrow-AI” to Artificial General Intelligence. From there, Campbell says, will come Artificial Dominant Intelligence. This is why Campbell has set out to raise awareness of AI and its future now — several decades before these developments are expected to take place. She says it is essential that we keep control of artificial intelligence, or risk being sidelined and perhaps even worse.

Campbell’s point is to wake up those responsible for AI-the technology companies and world leaders-so they are on the same page as all the experts currently developing it. She explains we are at a “tipping point” in history and must act now to prevent an extinction-level event for humanity. We need to consider how we want our future with AI to pan out. Such structured thinking, followed by global regulation, will enable us to achieve greatness rather than our downfall.

AI will affect us all, and if you only read one book on the subject, this is it.

12. What does the phrase “In the wrong hands” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. If read by someone poorly educated. B. If reviewed by someone ill-intentioned.

C. If written by someone less competent. D. If translated by someone unacademic.

13. What is a feature of AI by Design according to the text?

A. It is packed with complex codes. B. It adopts a down-to-earth writing style.

C. It provides step-by-step instructions. D. It is intended for AI professionals.

14. What does Campbell urge people to do regarding AI development?

A. Observe existing regulations on it.

B. Reconsider expert opinions about it.

C. Make joint efforts to keep it under control.

D. Learn from prior experience to slow it down.

15. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To recommend a book on AI. B. To give a brief account of AI history.

C. To clarify the definition of AI. D. To honor an outstanding AI expert.

第二節(jié)（共5小題; 每小題2.5分, 滿分12.5分）

閱讀下面短文, 從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。

Overtourism Is For Real: How Can You Help?

Travel promotes understanding, expands our minds, makes us better people, and boosts local economies and communities, but the rapid growth of travel has led to overtourism in certain regions and destinations. ___16___ Certainly not. The loss of what travel offers would be unacceptable in today’s world. Here are some tips on making wise decisions to minimize pressure on the places we visit and improve our experience.

●Choose mindfully. Overvisited destinations are that way for a reason: they’re special. With so many online posts featuring the same places, it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out. Go somewhere only when the landscape, culture or food deeply draws you. ___17___

●Get creative. The best way to ease pressure on over-touristed destinations is to go somewhere else. Though overtourism is described as a problem affecting the entire world, it’s actually concentrated to a small number of extremely popular spots. That means you have tons of less-visited options to choose from. ___18___ Why not try a regional alternative or check out a popular destination’s lesser-known sights?

●___19___ Minimize impact and maximize experience by skipping major holidays or rush hour. You’ll compete with fewer tourists, save money, experience a different side of a popular place, and boost the economy when tourism is traditionally slower.

Visiting a place that others call home is a privilege (榮幸). Do your part to preserve what makes a destination special in the first place. ___20___ You may be amazed how much closer you’ll feel to the people there.

A. Visit during off-peak times.

B. So, should we stop traveling?

C. Travel for you and no one else.

D. Can overtourism be avoided then?

E. You can still find relatively undiscovered places.

F. You’ll find yourself virtually alone, or close to it.

G. Consider giving back to the communities you’re visiting.

2024年新課標(biāo)全國(guó)Ⅱ卷英語(yǔ)真題卷；第二部分：閱讀真題