【推荐3】Why do people listen to music? The answer may seem simple: Music is pleasant to make and to hear. But music touches our lives in many other ways, too.

Music changes our moods

My brother doesn’t choose music based on what he wants to hear. Instead, he decides what he wants to feel and picks music with that mood in mind. Upbeat, bright-sounding music generally makes people feel happy. But some people enjoy listening to sad music, too. It can be like talking with a friend who understands your suffering. But for some people, sad music can make them feel even sadder.

Music helps us get things done

Do you ever listen to music while you work? I do, and I find that it sometimes helps me concentrate. According to one expert, music can help you pay attention to boring or repeated tasks. But when you are doing tasks that require more thought, music can disturb (打扰) you, making them harder.

My mom, a preschool teacher, uses music to manage her class. When she wants to call a child, instead of yelling the child’s name, she sings it. This creates a more positive environment, while still getting the child’s attention.

Music brings people together

Music can also bring people closer to each other. This is especially true of music played live. Live music often features a group of people playing different instruments, which makes it a shared experience. Listeners can share in the emotions the song expresses. They also create memories together.

And speaking of memories, lots of people connect music with specific places, people or events. Whenever they hear a certain song, they are transported back to some points in the past. Thus music can connect people not only to present people but also to people from their past.

Music is far more than just entertainment; it is a powerful force that affects us in many ways.

1. Why do some people enjoy sad music?

A．It can get their attention.	B．It makes them feel happy.
C．It can be like talking with a friend.	D．It makes them feel sadder.

2. Listening to music disturbs you when        .

A．you are doing boring tasks.	B．you feel worried about tasks
C．tasks need more thought.	D．you are busy doing things

3. What’s the author’s attitude to music?

A．Positive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Uncertain.

D．Negative.

【推荐1】After waking up, you may feel frustrated that you cannot recall the dreams you had last night. Artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help.

Previously, there have been AI models that can turn text into images. They can do this by learning from a large amount of data from both tests and images. This time, researchers from Osaka University in Japan have trained an AI system called Stable Diffusion to re-create images based on people’s brain scans, reported Science magazine.

The researchers used an online data set provided by the University of Minnesota, US, which consisted of brain scans from four participants as they each viewed a set of 10,000 photos. The scans were recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI,功能性磁共振成像).

The AI then learned about the brain activities by analyzing changes in blood flow shown by the FMRI data - when a part of the brain is activated, more blood will flow to it. It then matched the brain activities with the photos. Through this method, AI learned how human brains would react when seeing different photos.

Finally, the researchers tested the AI on additional brain scans from the same participants when they viewed photos of a toy bear, airplane, clock and train. If the person looked at an airplane, for example, the AI would use the brain scan data to create an image of a very blurry (模糊的) airplane. Then, it would turn on the previous “text-to-image” model and improve the quality of the image by feeding itself the keyword “airplane”. The final images were “convincing” with about 80 percent of accuracy, according to the researchers.

The new study created a novel approach that incorporates texts and images to “decipher (解码) the brain”, Ariel Goldstein from Princeton University, US, told Science magazine. In the future, scientists hope that the technology can be used to record imagined thoughts and dreams or allow people to understand how differently other animals perceive reality.

1. What do we know about Stable Diffusion?

A．It can help train people’s minds.	B．It can fully present people’s dreams.
C．It was created to draw people’s brains.	D．It can produce pictures from people’s thoughts.

2. How did the AI system learn about human brain activities?

A．By analyzing descriptions of human thoughts.

B．By studying patterns of blood flow in the brain.

C．By recording brain scans from four participants.

D．By examining 10,000 photos about human brains.

3. How did the AI system improve the quality of the final images?

A．By integrating additional brain scans.	B．By adjusting various visual elements.
C．By employing a “text-to-image” model.	D．By inputting text from human observers.

4. What is the potential use of this technology according to scientists?

A．To improve text-to-image models.	B．To create more accurate brain scans.
C．To learn how animals view the world.	D．To help people interpret their dreams.

5. What makes the best title for the passage?

A．The Research on AI System	B．The Power of Science Magazine
C．The Forms of Dreams	D．The Study for Brain Activities

【推荐2】Counterfeit(假冒的) goods, or false versions of products, may cost the government of Kenya as much as $1 billion each year. The fake goods also hurt business owners who find it hard to keep customers. But information technology is being used to try to stop the problem. Jemima Mwafigu is a 34-year-old businesswoman who sells products like perfume. But in the first year of running her business, she found it hard to keep customers because of counterfeit goods.

Ms. Mwafigu says her business has improved since she began using a smart phone application called Barcode(条码) Scanner. The app is used to authenticate (验证) products. It checks to make sure the products are not counterfeit.

“With this application I’m able to scan the bar codes of each perfume and instantly I get the production date, the expiration date and I’m able to know the safety,” she says. “That way, I have confidence in selling to my customers.”

In 2010, Kenya created the Anti-Counterfeit Agency, or ACA, to fight against illegal trade. The ACA has successfully asked government officials for stronger punishments for counterfeiters.

Agnes Karingu is the agency’s acting director for research and awareness. She says the ACA is trying to stay one step ahead of those making fake goods.

“We are also looking into IT solutions where we can be able to use SMS programs, bar codes and information sharing,” she says. “The end users of the products will actually be able to get the authentication information, and this information comes back to ACA and intellectual property rights holders.”

The agency is testing another program called Allvirtuous. The application is another way to find out if a product is real or not by scanning its barcode. The barcode information is sent to a database. Then a result is sent back to the app.

The International Chamber of Commerce is a global business organization. It says the value of counterfeit goods produced around the world is expected to be more than $1.7 trillion (万亿) this year.

1. What’s the main purpose of this passage?

A．To persuade us to resist counterfeit goods.

B．To advise us to use phone apps while going shopping.

C．To inform us that phone apps can help stop counterfeiters’ trade.

D．To tell us that Information Technology is developing fast.

2. Why did Kenya create ACA?

A．To ask the government to punish counterfeiters.	B．To deal with illegal trade.
C．To raise people’s awareness of counterfeit goods.	D．To look into IT solutions.

3. The underlined phrase “expiration date” in Paragraph 3 means the time when ________.

A．the product is made	B．the product is packed
C．the product is first out of the factory	D．the product is unable to be used

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The business of counterfeit goods is falling off.

B．The value of counterfeit goods is likely to be more than $1.7 trillion this year.

C．Counterfeit goods make a great contribution to the world economy.

D．Measures should be taken immediately to prevent counterfeit goods.

【推荐3】Is it possible to persuade mankind to live without war? War is an ancient practice which has existed for at least six thousand years. It was always bad and usually foolish, but in the past, the human race managed to live with it. Modern cleverness has changed this. Either man will end the existence of war, or war will end the existence of man. For the present, it is nuclear weapons (核武器) that cause the most serious danger, but bacteriological or chemical weapons may, before long, offer an even greater threat. If we succeeded in ending the existence of nuclear weapons, our work will not be done. It will never be done until we have succeeded in ending war. To do this, we need to persuade mankind to look up on international problems in a new way not as contests of force, in which the victory goes to the side which is most skillful in killing people, but by settling in accordance with(与、、、一致) agreed rules of law. It is not easy to change very old mental habits, but this is what must be attempted.
There are those who say that the acceptance of this or that ideology (意识形态) would prevent war. I believe this to be a big mistake. All ideologies are based upon dogmatic statements (强词夺理) ，which are, at best, doubtful, and at worst, totally false. Their supporters believe in them so deeply that they are willing to go to war in support of them.
The movement of world opinion during the past few years has been very largely such as we can welcome. It has become a common place that nuclear war must be avoided. Of course very difficult problems remain in the world, but the spirit in which they are coming nearer to is a better one than it was some years ago. It has begun to be thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that negotiations（谈判） should reach agreements even if both sides do not find these agreements wholly satisfactory. It has begun to be understood that the important struggle nowadays is not between different countries but between man and the atom bomb(原子弹).
1. This passage implies(暗示) that war is now_______.

A．worse than in the past

B．as bad as in the past

C．not as dangerous as in the past

D．as necessary as in the past

2. From Paragraph 2 we learn that the writer of the passage_______.

A．is a supporter of some modern ideologies

B．does not think that the acceptance of any ideologies could prevent war

C．believes that the acceptance of some ideologies could prevent war

D．does not doubt the truth of any ideologies

3. According to the writer,_______.

A．war is the only way to solve international arguments

B．war will be less dangerous because of the improvement of weapons

C．it is impossible for people to live without war

D．war must be ended if man wants to survive