【推荐1】In the eyes of five-year-old Youyou, his mother is like Ultraman, a cartoon superhero, who is fighting bad guys every day.

His mother, Lu Jingjing, a doctor at Wuhan Children's Hospital, once worked at the mobile cabin hospital(方舱医院), taking care of COVID-19 infected patients.

Since Lu left home for the cabin hospital, Youyou had kept asking his mother through video chat: Mom, how many viruses did you beat today?

The mother of Youyou and a one-year-old daughter, Lu was sent to do support work at a community quarantine(隔离)center on Feb. 2, 2020 and then to the cabin hospital two days later.

While she was packing to leave for the cabin hospital from home, Youyou cried and tried to stop Lu from leaving, knowing he would not see his mother for a long time.

Lu patiently explained to him what the virus is, and told him that she would fight the virus with Ultraman. "He then calmed down and let me go because in his mind, Ultraman is the strongest in the battlefield and could definitely help me win," Lu said."

"He may not know clearly about why I'm away from home, but he knows that I'm fighting against the super virus with the weapons of doctors," she said.

Lu had planned to visit her parents in their hometown in East China's Shandong Province during the Spring Festival but after the outbreak of COVID-19, she chose to stay.

Lu didn't let her parents know she was working at the cabin hospital. When they asked for a video chat, Lu would say she was busy working at the Children's Hospital and instead let her husband and children chat with them.

"We should win the battle with the virus as soon as possible, so that medical staff and patients can go back home," she said then.

1. What does Youyou think of his mom?

A．She is a skilled fighter.	B．She is a bad guy.
C．She is a heroine.	D．She is an infected patient.

2. When was Lu sent to the cabin hospital?

A．On Feb. 1, 2020.	B．On Feb. 2, 2020.
C．On Feb.3, 2020.	D．On Feb. 4, 2020.

3. Why did Youyou try to stop Lu from leaving for the cabin hospital?

A．Youyou was too young to take care of himself.

B．Youyou was afraid of not seeing Lu for long.

C．Youyou wanted to leave together with Lu.

D．Youyou feared the virus would kill Lu.

4. Which word can best describe Lu?

A．Selfless.

B．Honest.

C．Clever.

D．Independent.

【推荐2】Artificial intelligence (AI) technology may soon be a useful tool for doctors. For example, it may help them better understand and treat diseases like breast cancer (乳腺癌) in ways that were not possible.

Rishi Rawat teaches AI at a University in Los Angeles. He is part of a team of scientists who are researching how AI and machine learning can more easily recognize cancerous growths in the breast. He says, “You put information about cancer cells (细胞) into a computer and it will learn the cancerous growth patterns. The pattern recognition is very important to making decisions.”

At present, researchers have to take a thin piece of tissue (组织), put it on a small piece of glass and add color to better see the cell-growth patterns. That process could take days or even longer. Scientists say artificial intelligence can do it better than just count cells. Through machine learning, it can quickly recognize patterns, or structures, and learn how the cells are organized.

The hope is that machines will soon be able to make a quick recognition of cancerous cell-growth patterns that is free of human mistakes. Rawat adds that the process could be done “for almost no cost for the patients”. But having a large amount of information about cells is important for a machine to effectively do its job. Once the cancerous growth pattern is recognized, doctors still have to treat the patient. The form of treatment depends on the kind of cancer.

David Agus is another researcher of the team. He believes, “Computers will help doctors make better decisions and look for those patterns that the human brain can’t recognize by itself. But they will not treat patients.”

1. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．The process of adding color to cells.

B．The process of taking a piece of tissue.

C．The process of recognizing the cell-growth.

D．The process of treating cancers by machine learning.

2. Why may AI technology be a useful tool?

A．It treats breast cancer all by itself.

B．It provides free cancer treatment for the patients.

C．It recognizes the cancerous growth patterns faster.

D．It helps doctors make fewer mistakes in cancer treatment.

3. What can we know from David Agus’ words?

A．AI will not replace doctors.	B．AI will develop fast in the future.
C．AI can be useless in treating cancers.	D．AI can provide the doctors with treatments.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．AI makes better doctors.	B．AI helps pattern recognition.
C．AI functions well in cancer growth.	D．Future cancer treatments will be successful.

【推荐3】We all know the saying, “Nobody is perfect.” It has been planted in our brains since we were children, and of course, it is the truth. So if nobody is perfect, why do we have such a hard time admitting when we are in trouble or need help?

Like many other young people trying to get through their first year of college, I felt anxiety, and it had its grips on me pretty tight. It began getting in the way of my life, and I had to sit down and tell myself that my behavior was not healthy and there was a solution. Finally, I decided to turn to therapy(精神疗法).

Therapy. It has such a negative stigma (污名), but why? Does going to therapy mean that you are failing as a person or that you cannot fix your problems on your own? No. Going to therapy means that you are strong enough to recognize that something inside your head is not working correctly, and you are brave enough to try to fix it.

After a couple of weeks, many parts of my life became so much clearer. I began to understand that I, myself, am my worst enemy, which was pretty frightening. But, although frightened, I knew that it was only I who could guide me towards feeling better, and that was extremely empowering.

I have been guided towards a healthier mindset, one that is positive and powerful. I have been able to understand that no matter what happens in my life. I will always be okay.

A lot of people do not understand that it is normal to have negative feelings and sometimes to feel like we have lost control over certain parts of our lives. Seeing a therapist can greatly change your way of thinking about something if you keep your mind open and I am so thankful that I decided to go and do something for myself.

If you are in need of help, you can go to therapy and then everything will be okay.

1. In the author’s opinion, going to therapy ________.

A．means you are failing as a person	B．you’re brave enough to solve your problems
C．can make others think wrongly about you	D．can be quite unnecessary and helpful

2. After a couple of weeks, how did the author react?

A．She became more positive and confident.	B．She became too frightened of her own life.
C．She became worried about her anxiety.	D．She realized college was her worst enemy.

3. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To tell us how to think positively.	B．To show it is OK to be imperfect.
C．To share her college life with us.	D．To help us know better about therapy.

【推荐1】I had always been one of those quiet boys who preferred dreams to the real world. I was, in addition, absurdly shy, and therefore often mistaken for a fool, which upset me deeply. For nothing terrified me more than the prospect of correcting a false impression. Though I was often blamed by mistakes made by my classmates, I never dare to say a word in self-defense. I would simply go home to hide in a corner and cry. My greatest pleasure was to sit alone, reading, and let my thoughts drift away in the stories.

My daydreams were in sharp contrast to real life; they were full of adventures and heroic deeds. They left marks on me. There was, for instance, a book about the history of the Roman Empire, in which an ambassador, while negotiating a treaty, was told that he was to accept the terms offered, on pain of death: his response was to plunge his arm into a fire and continue with his deliberations, in absolute calm. Inspired by his courage, I proceeded to test my own powers of resilience by plunging my own hand into the fire, only to burn my fingers badly. I can still see that ambassador, smiling calmly through his pain. Father hated my reading all the time, and sometimes he threw away my books. Some nights he refused to let me turn on the light in my bedroom. But I could always find a way, and after he caught me reading by the light of a string-wick lamp, he gave up and left me to it.

There was a time when I tried my hand at writing; indeed, I even made a few little poems, but I quickly abandoned my efforts. No matter what I had bottled up inside me, I was extremely anxious about letting it out, and so my adventures in writing ended. I did, however, carry on painting. There was, I thought, no risk of revealing anything personal. I just took something from the outside world and brought it to life on paper. Sometimes I did hide some personal expression in it, but I made sure that it was visible enough to be seen and trivial enough to be ignored. The first time I showed my painting to my father, he was caught in silence for a while and then he breathed deeply, and said: “My son finally made something.” Then here I am, as a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts, wondering how everything happened, from my daydreams to painting.

1. The sentence “They left marks on me.” (in paragraph 2) means ________.

A．daydreams not achieved were equal to suspending castles.

B．daydreams erased my long-lasting memories of reading.

C．daydreams slightly influenced the writer’s behavior in reality.

D．daydreams reshaped the writer’s pursuit of career.

2. What’s the deep root reason why the writer quit writing?

A．Lack of gift in figuring out the intriguing part of reading.

B．A psychological tendency to lock his inner world away.

C．Suspicion and reluctant compromise from his sophisticated father.

D．Nerve-racking experiences of writing original poems.

3. What is the likely theme of the whole passage?

A．Attaining success requires innovation and groundbreaking spirit.

B．Despite others’ mockeries,fragrant flowers are always on the way.

C．Reflection and showing it out serve as potential bridges for fantasies.

D．Years may wrinkle the skin,but to stick to stereotype wrinkles the soul.

【推荐2】Hetty Robinson learnt all about money when very young. As a child, she read the financial (金融的) pages of the newspaper to her rich father. Her father died when Hetty was 30, and she inherited $1 million. When she herself died in 1916, she left almost $100 million to her two children.
Hetty made her money on the New York stock (股票) exchange. She was a financial genius. She made money so easily that people called her the Witch of Wall Street. But although she was one of the richest women in the world, she counted every cent and spent as little as possible. She didn’t own a house, because she didn’t want to pay taxes. So she and her children lived in cheap hotels. She spent almost nothing on clothes, and always wore the same long black dress. She washed it herself, but to save soap she only washed the bottom of the dress, where it touched the ground. Other people had their own offices, but Hetty used a desk in the bank where she kept her money, because it didn’t cost anything. She sat in the bank and ate her sandwiches while she bought and sold stocks and shares. If the bank complained, she just moved all her money to another bank.
Hetty’s family paid the price for her meanness. When she was 33 she married a millionaire, Edward Green, and they had two children. But Green lost all his money, so she left him. When her son, Ned, injured his knee, Hetty didn’t want to pay for a doctor, so she took him to a free hospital for poor people. Unfortunately the doctor knew Hetty was rich and he asked for money. Hetty refused and took the boy away. His leg got worse and two years later doctors removed it.
But eventually Ned got his revenge (报应). At the age of 81, Hetty had an argument with a shop assistant about the price of a bottle of milk. She became so angry that she had a heart attack and died. So Hetty’s meanness finally killed her. Ned inherited half his mother’s fortune, and he spent it all on parties, holidays and expensive jewellery.
1. What fact can be learned about Hetty Robinson from the passage?

A．She was nice to her son.

B．She died from extreme anger.

C．She worked for a bank.

D．She came from a poor family.

2. Why was Hetty Robinson called the Witch of Wall Street?

A．She turned out to be the richest woman in New York.

B．She liked wearing the same long black dress every day.

C．She was fond of reading financial pages of the newspaper.

D．She made a large amount of money easily through stocks and shares.

3. Which of the following best describes Hetty Robinson?

A．Gifted but not generous.	B．Wealthy and selfless.
C．Easy-going but selfish.	D．Curious and lucky.

4. Which is the best title of this passage?

A．A Mean Genius

B．A Financial Success

C．A Lifelong Bad Luck

D．A Good Way to Earn Money

【推荐3】When Stephen Mills spotted a dusty old safe(保险箱)in a museum in Canada, he thought he’d try to crack the code, “just like in the movies”. But when he began turning the dial, he wasn’t expecting a Hollywood ending.

For years, anyone who visited the Vermillion Heritage Museum in Alberta would have passed by a large,black metal box. Staff knew it had come from the long-gone Brunswick hotel and was donated to the museum in the 1990s. But its code and contents remained a mystery for decades – until Mills unexpectedly cracked the code.

Mills, who lived in Fort McMurray, Alberta, was visiting the museum with his family last month over a holiday weekend. As they wandered around the exhibits with the museum guide, Tom Kibblewhite, they spotted the safe.

Kibblewhite told the family what he told all other guests: the 900kg black box with a silver dial had remained closed for generations. For years, the safe has confused volunteers at the museum. The manufacturer was unable to provide advice on how to open its thick door.

A locksmith(锁匠) once suggested that years of in activity might have slowed down the gears, making it inoperable. But Mills, who is a “mechanically-minded person”, asked whether he could give it a try.

“Kibblewhite kept saying no one had opened it and that it was a mystery what was inside,” Mills said. “I thought this would be a great thing to do for a laugh for the kids. Maybe they can find some interesting historical things in it — like a time capsule.”

After pressing his ear against the cool metal, he began spinning the dial. With numbers ranging from zero to 60, he turned clockwise (顺时针方向地) three times to 20, counter-clockwise two times to 40, and then clockwise one time to 60. He was astonished to hear a click. “I jumped up and told everyone I’m buying a lottery ticket(彩票),” he said.

1. What do you know about Mills from parangraph 1?

A．He didn’t think he would open the safe.

B．Hc didn’t want to turn the dial at all.

C．He wished to win a lottery ticket in the end.

D．His museum trip was like a Hollywood film.

2. What do we know about the safe?

A．Nobody was interested in its cocle.

B．It was not valuable and expensive.

C．lt was donated by a rich businessman.

D．People regarded it as a mystery for decades.

3. Why did Mills call the safe “a time capsule”?

A．To tell people how last time flies.

B．To explain the content of the safe.

C．To remind visitors of the time limit.

D．To indicate the special value of the safe.

4. What does Mills probably mean by saying “I’m buying a lottery ticket”?

A．He wanted to become richer.

B．He opened the safe by luck.

C．He was good at cracking the code.

D．Buying lottery tickets leads to success.

【推荐1】New York City public schools will ban students and teachers from using ChatGPT, a powerful new AI chatbot (聊天机器人) tool, on the district’s networks and devices, an official confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

The move comes amid educators’ growing concerns that the tool, which generates frighteningly convincing responses and even essays in response to user prompts (提示), could make it easier for students to cheat on assignments. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread incorrect information.

“Due to concerns about negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content, access to ChatGPT is restricted on New York City Public Schools’ networks and devices,” Jenna Lyle, the deputy press secretary for the New York public schools, said in a statement.

“While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success.”

OpenAI opened up access to ChatGPT in late November. It is able to provide lengthy, thoughtful and thorough responses to questions and prompts, ranging from factual questions like “Who was the president of the United States in 1955” to more open-ended questions such as “What’s the meaning of life?”

ChatGPT went viral just days after its launch. But many educators fear students will use the tool to cheat on assignments. One user, for example, fed ChatGPT an AP English exam question; it responded with a 5-paragraph essay about Wuthering Heights. Another user asked the chatbot to write an essay about the life of William Shakespeare four times; he received a unique version with the same prompt each time.

Darren Hicks, assistant professor of philosophy at Furman University, told CNN it will be harder to prove when a student misuses ChatGPT than with other forms of cheating.

1. What did Jenna Lyle think of ChatGPT?

A．It provides incorrect answers.	B．It serves no practical purpose.
C．It offers inaccurate information.	D．It fails to improve students’ skills.

2. What do educators fear about ChatGPT?

A．It will affect students’ studies.	B．It will lead to students cheating.
C．It will result in students’ long screen time.	D．It will offer unhealthy contents to students.

3. What do we learn about ChatGPT?

A．It can’t write Chinese essays.	B．It can’t answer open-ended questions.
C．It makes no mistakes when answering questions.	D．It can offer different essays for the same prompt.

4. What would be the most suitable title for the text?

A．ChatGPT Makes Cheating More Difficult to Find

B．ChatGPT Surprises the Public with Its Intelligence

C．ChatGPT Has Negative Effects on Students' Learning

D．ChatGPT will be banned in New York City Public Schools

【推荐2】Jorg Muller, an ecologist at the University of Würzburg, with his colleagues, proposes a way to measure the biodiversity—listen to the jungle by AI, in a paper published in Nature Communications.

The rainforests are very important and always alive with the sounds of animals, which is useful to ecologists. When it comes to measuring the biodiversity of a piece of land, listening out for animal caller is more effective than uncovering the bushes looking for tracks and paw prints. The latter analysis method is time-consuming, and it requires an expert pair of ears. Muller’s idea was to apply the principle of smartphone apps which can identify the sounds of birds, bats and mammals to conservation work.

The researchers took recordings from across 43 sites in the rainforests. Some sites were relatively primitive, old-growth forests. Others were areas that had just been cleared for pasture(牧场) recently. And some other original forests had been cleared but then abandoned, allowing themselves to regrow. The various calls were identified by an expert,and then used to construct a list of the species present. As expected, the longer the land had been free from agricultural activity, the greater biodiversity it hosted. Then it was the computer’s turn. “We found that the AI tools could identify the sounds as well as the experts,” says Dr. Muller.

Of course, not everything in a rainforest makes a noise. Dr. Muller and his colleagues used light traps to catch night-flying insects, and DNA analysis to identify them. They found that the diversity of noisy animals was a reliable representative for the diversity of the quieter ones, too.

Besides measuring the biodiversity, the results are also expected to be applied to outside ecology departments. Under pressure from their customers, firms like L’Oreal, a make-up company, and Shell, an oil firm, have been spending money on forest restoration projects around the world. Dr. Muller hopes that an automated approach to checking on the results could help monitor such efforts, and give a standard way to measure whether they are working as well as their sponsors say.

1. Why does Muller propose to measure biodiversity with AI?

A．To make a new conservation principle.

B．To seek away fit for hot environments.

C．To work more efficiently than manpower

D．To study the rainforests more specifically.

2. How was the identification work of AI tools on the 43 sites?

A．It agreed with the work from experts..

B．It identified different types of raintarests.

C．It recorded more sounds in the abandoned forests.

D．It was used to restore the biodiversity for pasture.

3. What does the author indicate in paragraph 4?

A．DNA analysis is skeptical in the research.

B．Quiet animals are as diverse as noisy ones.

C．A rainforest is always full of various noises.

D．AI technology is used to catch the insects.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The research focuses on biodiversity only.

B．L’Oreal and Shell develop monitoring apps.

C．The research will assist in forest restoration.

D．AI’s help will attract some sponsors’investment.