【英语时文阅读】韦氏词典2025年度词汇 Slop

1Merriam-Webster's2025WordoftheYear:"Slop"OnDecember15,2025,TheAssociatedPressreportedthatMerriam-Webster,aprestigious（享有盛誉的）Americandictionarywitha170-yearhistory,named"slop"its2025WordoftheYear.Widelyregardedasadefinitive（权威的）authorityontheEnglishlanguage,itdocumentshundredsofthousandsofwordswithaccuratedefinitionsandexamples,servingasanindispensable（不可或缺的）toolforlearnersandresearchers.Since2003,itsannualwordhasmirroredsocialtrends,offeringawindowintoculturalshifts."Slop"isnotnew.Originatinginthe1700s,itoncemeant"softmud"or"worthlessthings."Now,ithasacquiredanewmeaning:low-qualitydigitalcontentmass-generatedbyAI,includingabsurd（荒诞的）videos,bizarre（怪异的）ads,andpoorlywrittenAI-generatedbooks,asnotedbyMerriam-Webster'spresident.Whilethesetoolscangeneraterealisticclipsquickly,theyalsofloodsocialmediawithpoorcontent,raisingconcernsovermisinformation（虚假信息）andcopyrightissues.Yetthewordcarrieshope-morepeoplearelearningtodistinguishqualitycontentfrom"slop"andseekingauthenticity.Othernotablewordsinclude"touchgrass,"meaning"engaginginreal-worldactivitiesinsteadofbeingonline,"whichreflectstheaspirationtobalancedigitalandofflinelife.Theseannualwordsnotonlyenrichvocabularybutalsoequipuswithcriticalthinkingtonavigateatech-drivenworld.阅读理解1.Theauthormentionstheoldmeaningsof"slop"（e.g.,"softmud,""worthlessthings''）primarilyto.A.showthatthewordhasalongandrichhistoryB.emphasizethelowqualityandlackofvalueofAI-generatedcontentC.explainwhyMerriam-WebsterchosethisspecificwordD.comparethephysicalworldwiththedigitalworld2.Theword"aspiration"inthelastparagraphisclosestinmeaningto.A.astrongdesireB.arealisticplan2C.adifficultchallengeD.apersonalopinion3.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardsthephenomenonof"slop"beingnamedtheWordoftheYear?A.Fullysupportive,asitcelebratesaneweraofAIcreativity.B.Completelycritical,viewingitasasignofculturaldecline.C.Ambivalent,recognizingbothitsnegativeimpactandapositivetrenditsignifies.D.Neutralandobjective,merelyreportingthefactswithoutanypersonalview.4.Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesthestructureofthepassage?A.Aproblemisintroduced,followedbyitscausesandpotentialsolutions.B.Ageneralconceptisdefined,andthenspecificexamplesareprovided.C.Anewtrendispresented,anditshistoricaloriginsarethenexplored.D.Acentralideaisstated,andthendifferentaspectsofitareanalyzed.5.Accordingtothepassage,theselectionof"slop"astheWordoftheYearcanbeseenasaresponsetowhichofthefollowing?A.Thepublic'sincreasinginterestinthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage.B.Thegrowinginfluenceofsocialmediaonmodernculture.C.Thewidespreadproductionandconsumptionoflow-qualityAIcontent.D.Thedebateovercopyrightissuesinthedigitalage.短文还原（七选五）Everyyear,famousdictionariesaroundtheworldpicka"WordoftheYear"toshowthemostimportantsocialtrends.In2025,Merriam-Webster,awell-knownAmericandictionary,chosetheword"slop"asitsWordoftheTheword"slop"isnotnew.Itfirstappearedinthe15thcenturyandoriginallymeant"softmud"or"worthlessfoodforanimals."2Today,ithasanewmeaningthatfitsourdigitalage:low-qualitycontentmadeinlargeamountsbyAI.3Forexample,someAI-generatedimagesshowfamouspeopleinstrangesituations,oranimalsdoinghuman-likeactions.Thesecontentsareofteneye-catchingbutfullofsmallmistakes.Theyareeasyandcheapto3makewithAItools.4ManycreatorsuseAItomakelotsofcontentquickly,hopingtogetmoreviewsandmakemoneyfromsocialmedia.Thisfloodstheinternetwithlow-qualitymaterial,pushingasidebetter,moreusefulcontent.However,thechoiceof"slop"alsobringshope.5Peoplearelearningtotellthedifferencebetweenreal,high-qualitycontentandAI-generated"slop."Theyarealsopayingmoreattentiontoauthenticityinthedigitalworld.Inshort,"slop"ismorethanjustaword-itreflectsourrelationshipwithAIandtheneedtothinkcarefullyaboutthecontentweconsumeeveryday.A.ItisasignoftheproblemscausedbyAItechnology.B.Thisnewmeaninghasquicklybecomewidelyused.C.Therearemanycommonexamplesofsuchcontent.D.BecauseAIhasmadecontentcreationmucheasier.E.Ithelpspeopleunderstandthechangesinmodernsociety.F.PeopleareworriedaboutthefutureofAIdevelopment.G.MoreandmorepeoplerefusetouseAItoolsforcreation.完形填空As2025comestoanend,Merriam-WebsterhasannounceditsWordoftheYear:"slop".Thischoicehighlightsagrowing1inourdigitalworld-thefloodoflow-qualitycontent.Theworditselfisnotnew.Itfirstappearedinthe15thcentury,2to"softmud"or"leftoverfoodforanimals".However,itsmeaninghas3dramaticallyinrecentyears.Today,itspecificallyreferstocontentmass-producedbyAIthatlacksrealvalueorcreativity.The4ofthisnewmeaningiscloselylinkedtotheriseofAItools.Thesetoolsallowalmostanyonetocreateimagesorarticlesinminutes.Whilethiscanbeaforceforgood,ithasalsoledtoan5of"slop".Manycreators,focusedonquantityoverquality,useAItoquicklyproducecontent,hopingtoattractmoreviewersandmakemoney.Examplesof"slop"areeverywhereonline.YoumightseeAI-generatedimagesoffamouspeopleinunrealistic6orvideoswithfakevoicesspreadingfalseinformation.Ithasbecomesocommonthatitisoftendifficultto7whatisrealandwhatisfake.Thisnotonlymisleadsthepublicbutalso8theworkofgenuinecreatorswhospendtimeandeffortontheircraft.However,theselectionof"slop"isnotjusta9.Italsoservesasacalltoaction.Itencouragespeopletobemorecriticalconsumersofdigitalcontentandto10high-quality,authenticwork.Moreandmoreusersarebeginningtoquestionthecontenttheysee,askingthemselves,"Isthisreal,orisitjust'slop'?"Inshort,"slop"isapowerfulwordthatreflectsourcomplexrelationshipwithtechnology.Itisa11thatwhileAIoffersgreatopportunities,italsopresentsnewchallenges.Thewordremindsusalloftheneedtodevelopourcriticalthinkingskillsandto12authenticityinanincreasinglydigitalworld.Bybeingmore13,wecanhelpensurethattheinternetremainsaplaceforvaluableinformationandreal14.4Ultimately,thechoiceof"slop"isa15forawareness,urgingustothinkmorecarefullyaboutthecontentwecreateandconsume.1.A.opportunityB.problemC.successD.mystery2.A.stickingB.adaptingC.referringD.belonging3.A.shiftedB.returnedC.appearedD.remained4.A.endB.changeC.originD.loss5.A.decreaseB.standardC.qualityD.explosion6.A.placesB.situationsC.jobsD.times7.A.askB.decideC.tellD.explain8.A.valuesB.rewardsC.highlightsD.harms9.A.criticismB.celebrationC.secretD.promise10.A.ignoreB.appreciateC.doubtD.forget11.A.dreamB.warningC.factD.lie12.A.giveupB.lookdownonC.holdontoD.catchupwith13.A.carefulB.carelessC.curiousD.confident14.A.storiesB.connectionsC.problemsD.products15.A.toolB.barrierC.callD.result语篇填空Theselectionof"slop"asthe2025WordoftheYearbyMerriam-Websterdoesmorethanjust1.（record）anewword;itholdsupamirrortoourdigitalage.Historicallymeaning"softmud,"theword2.（undergo）asignificanttransformationandnowpointsdirectlytothefloodoflow-qualityAI-generatedcontent.Thisshiftreflectsabroadersocietaltrend.WithAItoolsbecoming3.（increase）accessible,thebarriertocontentcreationhasalmostdisappeared.4.,thishasledtoanexplosionof"slop"-contentthatisoftenmisleading,factuallyincorrect,orsimplymeaningless.Theconsequencesareserious.Suchcontentnotonlyspreadsconfusionbutalso5.（damage）publictrustinonlineinformation.Forgenuinecreators,6.investtimeandeffort,itcreatesanunfairenvironment.Facedwiththischallenge,thechoiceof"slop"servesasacriticalwake-upcall.Itremindsus7.theurgentneedtostrengthenourdigitalliteracy.Educatorsandparentsnowhaveapowerfulkeyword8.（teach）youngpeopleaboutinformationevaluation.Ultimately,slop"isacalltoaction.Itencouragesus9.（be）morecriticalthinkersandresponsibleconsumersinthevastdigitallandscape,10.（urge）acollectivemovetowardsqualityandauthenticity.5（sticking坚持、adapting适应、belonging属于均不搭配）。63.A解析：后文讲新义，说明词义“发生了巨大变化”，故选A（returned返回、appeared出现、remained4.C解析：这里是说该词新含义的起源和人工智能工具的兴起密切相关。新含义是随着人工智能出现而产生的，所以用“origin”（起源）合适。5.D解析：AI工具普及导致低质量内容“激增”，"explosion"此处表示“爆发、激增”，故选D（decrease减少、standard标准、quality质量均不符合）。6.B解析：举例AI生成的名人图像处于“不真实的场景”中，故选B（places地点、jobs工作、times7.C解析："tell...from..."为固定搭配，意为“区分……和……”，此处表示难以区分真假，故选C（ask询问、decide决定、explain解释均不搭配）。8.D解析：低质量内容误导公众，同时“损害”真正创作者的利益，故选D（values重视、rewards奖励、highlights强调均不符合）。9.A解析：后文转折“也是行动号召”，此处表示“不仅是批评”，故选A（celebration庆祝、s