The Most Googled Topics of 2023 in the U.S.

01 The news we followed, the people who fascinated us, the culture and trends that

02 (grab) our attention — Google's "Year in Search" data for 2023 sheds light on the top trending

03 topics. From celebrities and athletes to TV shows and box-office hits, people turned to the search

04 engine for answers to pressing questions like "How often do you think about the Roman Empire?"

05 and recipes for McDonald's hit beverage of the year, the Grimace Shake.

06 In 2023, the world was shocked by the war in Israel and Gaza, which was Google's most-

07 searched news story of the year. Following the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the militant group

08 Hamas, Israel (vow) to destroy the group. Israel launched airstrikes and a ground operation

09 into the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas. The second most searched

10 story was the frantic search in June for the OceanGate Titan submersible, which vanished on a

11 dive to the Titanic shipwreck site with five people aboard. Tragically, everyone on the tourist

12 vessel was killed when it imploded under the pressures of the deep sea.

13 NFL player Damar Hamlin (become) the No. 1 most-Googled person after collapsing on

14 the field in cardiac arrest during a Jan. 3 game. Hamlin has since made a full recovery and

15 returned to play this season. Actor Jeremy Renner was the No. 2 following a New Year's Day

16 snowplow accident that left him hospitalized with over 30 broken bones. He has since made a

17 remarkable recovery. No. 3 is the NFL's Travis Kelce, who helped his team bring home a Super

18 Bowl victory in February. Kelce has also been publicly dating pop superstar Taylor Swift since

19 July. Many searched for information on several beloved celebrities we lost in 2023, with "Friends"

20actor Matthew Perry's death being the most Googled.

21 "Barbenheimer" dominated the U.S. box office, with "Barbie" and biopic "Oppenheimer"

22 smashing records in their July joint-opening weekend. The two films were Google's No. 1 and No.

23 2 most-searched movies. "Sound of Freedom", the 2022 Oscar-winner "Everything Everywhere

24 All At Once", and the third installment of the popular Marvel franchise "Guardians of the Galaxy",

25 (occupy) the third through fifth spots on the films list. "The Last of Us", starring Pedro

26 Pascal and Bella Ramsey and based on the popular video game of the same name, was the most-

27 Googled television show in the U.S. in 2023. Pascal was also the fifth most-Googled actor. When

28 it comes to music, the controversial country hit "Try That in a Small Town" was the most-Googled

29 song, and the musician behind it, Jason Aldean, the most-Googled singer. The track amassed

30 widespread attention in July following the release of its music video, which depicted protesters

31 confronting police officers.

32 In one of the more surprising results, McDonald's Grimace Shake was the No. 1

33 most-Googled recipe. The purple milkshake inspired a viral TikTok trend this summer, with users

34 posting videos of themselves trying Grimace's berry-flavored beverage and then pretending to

35 die. And finally, the top Google search that began with the phrase "How often..." was in response

36 to another viral Internet trend that encouraged users to ask men, "How often do you think about

37 the Roman Empire?" The question took the No. 1 spot on Google's most-searched trend list.

(Available in: www.cbsnews.com/news/most-googled-searches-of-2023/ – text especially adapted for this test).

Text 22A4-I

Tourism cannot be treated in isolation since it embodies all tourism practices in the system they operate in. Thus, tourism is a complex sociocultural, economic, and political phenomenon that touches all levels of society. The investigation of tourism’s role in society, the tourism system’s effects on nature, tourism spaces, objects, practices, relationships, and tourist typologies demand systematic sociological investigations. It is important to consider the whole macro system through its members’ social, political, cultural, and economic interactions. In such a social context, both human and nonhuman actors continuously shape and reshape the tourism system, and the tourism system reshapes these actors’ values, attitudes, and behaviors.

Researchers examining the sociology of tourism departed from several theoretical perspectives, blended theory and method, and focused on sociological concepts to understand and explain the different aspects of tourism. This group of scholars has been working within the several cores of sociology (like education, family, economy, development, religion, gender, language, migration, social inequalities, labor, and art) and at the margins of emerging interdisciplinary formations, including those crossing many disciplines such as geography, anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, marketing, communication, women’s studies, history, and cultural studies. The sociology of tourism studies engendered transdisciplinary conversations both in academia and in practice, and the results of these studies have created pragmatic changes in tourism practices, habits, and governance.

Internet: <https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com> (adapted).

Text 19A4-II

Photo exhibitions are great opportunities for excited and ambitious photographers to showcase their work beyond just the safety of their friends and family. They’re also a stellar opportunity to develop a thicker skin, as your work will be subject to critique, but that’s all part of the territory that comes with getting more exposure as a photographer, which is what all artists should strive for. Beyond that, they’re a great way to advertise yourself as a photographer, both your talents and your availability. Think of it almost as the artist’s equivalent to having a booth at a trade show when you’re selling a product.

First-timers to an exhibition will likely find themselves a bit unsure of what to do and somewhat nervous. Here’s a series of surefire tips to make any exhibition a success. Before you do anything else, it’s imperative that you make up your mind about what you’ll be showcasing at your exhibition. You only have two choices, when you think about it: brand-new work that you’ll shoot especially for the exhibition or archival stuff that you’ll just pull out for the exhibition. Also, being creative when finding the exhibition location is as important as the showcase itself.

Internet: <https://contrastly.com> (adapted).

Text 18A3-I

The roar of a waterfall suggests the power of water. Rampaging floodwaters can uproot strong trees and twist railroad tracks. When the power of water is harnessed, however, it can do useful work for humans.

Since ancient times, people have put the energy in the flow of water to work. They first made water work for them with the waterwheel, a wheel with paddles around its rim. Flowing water rotated the waterwheel, which in turn ran machinery that was linked to it. Today, new kinds of waterwheels – turbines – spin generators that produce electricity. Electricity from waterturned generators is known as hydroelectricity.

By building a dam across a river, the natural upstream water level is elevated and a difference in head is created that can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. A large upstream reservoir may balance seasonal water flow; rain or melted snow can be stored in the reservoir during the wet season to provide electricity during dry seasons.

Waterpower is distributed unevenly among the continents and nations of the world. Europe and North America have developed much of their waterpower. Asia, South America, and Africa have abundant waterpower potential, but while countries such as China and Brazil have become leading hydroelectric producers, much of the waterpower resource on those continents remains undeveloped.

Elizabeth Lachner. Hydroelectricity. Rosen Publishing Group, 2018 (adapted).

Text 18A3-I

The roar of a waterfall suggests the power of water. Rampaging floodwaters can uproot strong trees and twist railroad tracks. When the power of water is harnessed, however, it can do useful work for humans.

Since ancient times, people have put the energy in the flow of water to work. They first made water work for them with the waterwheel, a wheel with paddles around its rim. Flowing water rotated the waterwheel, which in turn ran machinery that was linked to it. Today, new kinds of waterwheels – turbines – spin generators that produce electricity. Electricity from waterturned generators is known as hydroelectricity.

By building a dam across a river, the natural upstream water level is elevated and a difference in head is created that can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. A large upstream reservoir may balance seasonal water flow; rain or melted snow can be stored in the reservoir during the wet season to provide electricity during dry seasons.

Waterpower is distributed unevenly among the continents and nations of the world. Europe and North America have developed much of their waterpower. Asia, South America, and Africa have abundant waterpower potential, but while countries such as China and Brazil have become leading hydroelectric producers, much of the waterpower resource on those continents remains undeveloped.

Elizabeth Lachner. Hydroelectricity. Rosen Publishing Group, 2018 (adapted).

Text 18A3-I

The roar of a waterfall suggests the power of water. Rampaging floodwaters can uproot strong trees and twist railroad tracks. When the power of water is harnessed, however, it can do useful work for humans.

Since ancient times, people have put the energy in the flow of water to work. They first made water work for them with the waterwheel, a wheel with paddles around its rim. Flowing water rotated the waterwheel, which in turn ran machinery that was linked to it. Today, new kinds of waterwheels – turbines – spin generators that produce electricity. Electricity from waterturned generators is known as hydroelectricity.

By building a dam across a river, the natural upstream water level is elevated and a difference in head is created that can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. A large upstream reservoir may balance seasonal water flow; rain or melted snow can be stored in the reservoir during the wet season to provide electricity during dry seasons.

Waterpower is distributed unevenly among the continents and nations of the world. Europe and North America have developed much of their waterpower. Asia, South America, and Africa have abundant waterpower potential, but while countries such as China and Brazil have become leading hydroelectric producers, much of the waterpower resource on those continents remains undeveloped.

Elizabeth Lachner. Hydroelectricity. Rosen Publishing Group, 2018 (adapted).

Text 18A3-I

The roar of a waterfall suggests the power of water. Rampaging floodwaters can uproot strong trees and twist railroad tracks. When the power of water is harnessed, however, it can do useful work for humans.

Since ancient times, people have put the energy in the flow of water to work. They first made water work for them with the waterwheel, a wheel with paddles around its rim. Flowing water rotated the waterwheel, which in turn ran machinery that was linked to it. Today, new kinds of waterwheels – turbines – spin generators that produce electricity. Electricity from waterturned generators is known as hydroelectricity.

By building a dam across a river, the natural upstream water level is elevated and a difference in head is created that can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. A large upstream reservoir may balance seasonal water flow; rain or melted snow can be stored in the reservoir during the wet season to provide electricity during dry seasons.

Waterpower is distributed unevenly among the continents and nations of the world. Europe and North America have developed much of their waterpower. Asia, South America, and Africa have abundant waterpower potential, but while countries such as China and Brazil have become leading hydroelectric producers, much of the waterpower resource on those continents remains undeveloped.

Elizabeth Lachner. Hydroelectricity. Rosen Publishing Group, 2018 (adapted).

Text 20A4-I

Fresh water is a precious resource, and water from rivers, streams, and lakes has often been regarded as an economic commodity in the United States as in much of the world. Water is essential not only for human consumption and for a variety of domestic purposes, but for fire protection, military defense, transporting people and goods, irrigating farmlands, manufacturing, and generating power. The great rivers and their tributaries in the United States are the primary source of the water bounty and are major symbols of American regionalism, ultimately binding together disparate areas into a powerful whole.

American rivers were symbols of a burgeoning nation in the 18th and the 19th centuries. They inspired romantic renderings at the hands of artists, and in some cases, they were depicted as detailed landscape features with physical and even human qualities. But at times they were regarded as untapped or underutilized resources, raw material waiting to be harnessed, managed, and exploited for human benefit. In the neoclassical tradition of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the ‘proper’ channel for a river was not necessarily the one it has carved for itself: by means of canals and locks it can be guided by men along a straight and level line, thereby improving upon natural design. “Rivers, therefore, were most attractive when they yielded to humanity’s needs, whether as mechanisms of transportation or as sites for nascent towns.” For aesthetic and for practical reasons, wild rivers served little purpose, as historian Theodore Steinberg noted:

“As the 19th century progressed, a consensus emerged on the need to exploit and manipulate water for economic gain. A stunning cultural transformation was taking place, a shift in people’s very perception of nature. By the latter part of the 19th century, it was commonly assumed, even expected, that water should be tapped, controlled, and dominated in the name of progress — a view clearly reflected in the law”.

Steamboats, canals, and dams became the technologies of choice to accomplish those goals.

David Billington, Donald Jackson, and Martin Melosi. The History of Large Federal Dams: Planning, Design and Construction.

Text 3A4

During the last century water infrastructure projects involving large dams played a major role in the socio-economic transformation of many countries. At the same time, in a significant number of cases the benefits were not shared equitably, and the negative impacts on the environmental and sociocultural structures were excessive. In some cases their economic performance was questionable. Diverging views have arisen on the merits and demerits of dams, the roles they play, and their alternatives in providing water and energy services. However, recognition that such roles are complementary rather than mutually exclusive has been growing as the dam debate has moved forward.

It is envisaged that, as part of the global effort to improve water and energy supplies, more dams will be constructed, especially in developing countries, alongside other diverse alternatives. There will, consequently, be a need to enhance the benefits of dams and avoid many of their drawbacks by applying better decision-making processes within the overall framework of sustainability. There are complex issues around the planning and management of dams in the context of sustainable development which will need to be adequately considered and addressed to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Dealing with the environmental and social challenges within the context of meeting water and energy needs is at the heart of the sustainability of projects involving dams. Dams are one of the options, structural or non-structural, available to meet specific water or energy needs. In many cases water and energy services are best provided through a mix of options. Each case is different. A decision to build a dam should emerge after a comprehensive assessment of the full range of available options, giving appropriate consideration to all aspects of sustainability.

United Nations Environmental Programme. Dams and Development: Relevant Practices for Improved Decision-making. Nairobi: The Secretariat of the Dams and Development Project, 2007. p. 10-1 (adapted).

Text 3A4

During the last century water infrastructure projects involving large dams played a major role in the socio-economic transformation of many countries. At the same time, in a significant number of cases the benefits were not shared equitably, and the negative impacts on the environmental and sociocultural structures were excessive. In some cases their economic performance was questionable. Diverging views have arisen on the merits and demerits of dams, the roles they play, and their alternatives in providing water and energy services. However, recognition that such roles are complementary rather than mutually exclusive has been growing as the dam debate has moved forward.

It is envisaged that, as part of the global effort to improve water and energy supplies, more dams will be constructed, especially in developing countries, alongside other diverse alternatives. There will, consequently, be a need to enhance the benefits of dams and avoid many of their drawbacks by applying better decision-making processes within the overall framework of sustainability. There are complex issues around the planning and management of dams in the context of sustainable development which will need to be adequately considered and addressed to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Dealing with the environmental and social challenges within the context of meeting water and energy needs is at the heart of the sustainability of projects involving dams. Dams are one of the options, structural or non-structural, available to meet specific water or energy needs. In many cases water and energy services are best provided through a mix of options. Each case is different. A decision to build a dam should emerge after a comprehensive assessment of the full range of available options, giving appropriate consideration to all aspects of sustainability.

United Nations Environmental Programme. Dams and Development: Relevant Practices for Improved Decision-making. Nairobi: The Secretariat of the Dams and Development Project, 2007. p. 10-1 (adapted).