For decades linguists have argued over how children learn language. Some think that babies are born as “blank boards” who pick up language simply from experience — hearing, seeing and playing with the world. Others argue that experience is not enough and that babies’ brains must be hardwired to make acquiring language easy.
AI models such as GPT-4 have done little to settle the debate. The way these models learn language — by collecting lots of text data from millions of web pages—is greatly different to the experiences of babies.
A team of scientists at New York University examined the question by training an AI model on the experiences of a single baby. Between the ages of six and 25 months, a young child called Sam had a head-wearing camera for an hour a week-around one of his waking hours. The camera recorded everything he saw and heard while he played with toys, enjoyed days at the park and interacted with his pet cats. The recordings and audio were fed into an Al, which was set up to know that images and words that appeared at the same time were related, but was otherwise left to make sense of the mess of colors and speech that Sam experienced.
Despite the limited training data, the AI was able to pick out objects and learn the matching words. The researchers tested the model by asking it to identify objects that Sam had seen before, such as a chair from his home or one of his toy balls. Given a list of four options the model picked the correct word 62 of the time, far above the chance level of 25%. To the researchers’ surprise, the model could also identify chairs and balls that Sam had never seen. The AI learned at least 40 different words, but it was far from matching Sam’s vocabulary and language abilities by the end of the experiment.
The researchers recently argue in the journal Science that, to match words to objects, learning from experience may well be enough. Doubters, however, doubt that the AI would be able to learn abstract nouns or verbs, and question how similar the learning processes really are. The mystery of language acquisition lives on.
1. What does the underlined word “hardwired” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Organic. | B．Average. | C．Born. | D．Reliable. |
| A．AI models can understand babies’ speech. |
| B．AI models can enrich their vocabulary by themselves. |
| C．AI models can remember more objects but can’t pick them out. |
| D．AI models can learn more words but can’t match babies’ abilities. |
| A．Leaning from experience is far from enough. |
| B．Language abilities of babies are born in nature. |
| C．How the AI is developed proves easy for scientists. |
| D．How the AI picks up the language remains unknown. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear. | D．Subjective. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】When people ask about my experience of learning Cantonese, I recount a journey driven by unending curiosity and a strong desire to connect with a dynamic culture.
Growing up in a Russian family, my fascination with languages grew thanks to my father, a language expert. It’s during a cultural appreciation class in junior high that I was first introduced to the world of Hong Kong films, famous for their characteristic action-packed dramas and storytelling styles. However, what really amazed me was the uniqueness of the language, Cantonese, which sparked a urgent need within me to explore it and the rich culture behind. This marked the beginning of a thrilling linguistic journey.
Learning Cantonese posed challenges, such as unfamiliar characters, complex tones, and different grammar structures, yet I persevered. Immersed in textbooks and available online courses, I practiced the tones everyday until my pronunciation flowed naturally. Cantonese dramas and music also played a role in familiarizing me with its rhythm.
To truly grasp the essence of Cantonese, I knew that studying alone wasn’t enough — I needed firsthand experience. So, I took a gap year to pack my bags for Hong Kong, a city featuring the lively heartbeat of Cantonese culture. Buried in its busy streets and daily conversations, from casual chats to food ordering, I found myself enveloped in a linguistic wonderland. Within a few months, my Cantonese proficiency flourished, fueling a surge of confidence.
My explorations extended beyond the streets. I enrolled in formal language classes that offered professional guidance. Through hard work, I successfully completed all the courses in Cantonese Linguistics. From then on, I’ve been passionately committed to spreading the Cantonese culture, ensuring its richness reaches a wider audience.
Today, I continue my Cantonese voyage with unflagging enthusiasm. It has transformed into more than just a linguistic pursuit; it grants me a passport to sincere connections, profound insights, and heartfelt admiration for its one-of-a-kind culture.
1. What motivated the author to start his linguistic journey?| A．His father’s intentional arrangement. |
| B．His teacher’s positive encouragement. |
| C．His strong interest in Chinese movies. |
| D．His great passion for cultural exploration. |
| A．To participate in a language workshop. |
| B．To take a bite of the diverse local food. |
| C．To fully comprehend the spirit of Cantonese. |
| D．To stay well informed about studying abroad. |
| A．Demanding but strategic. |
| B．Effortless and enjoyable. |
| C．Challenging but creative. |
| D．Adventurous and eventful. |
| A．Education is the passport to the future. |
| B．Language is the road map of a culture. |
| C．Opportunity favors the prepared mind. |
| D．Success belongs to those with curiosity. |
【推荐2】Whether you're learning English as a second language or are a native speaker who's never had the habit of writing, improving your English composition skills is very important. Knowing your shortcomings and practicing will allow you to write essay that is at first simply grammatically correct, and eventually sparkling with style.
Ask a friend with good English skills to criticize and correct your writing.
Use your word processing software spelling and grammar-check tools to fix simple errors. Whenever you misspell a word, replace it with the correct suggestion and then look at it carefully, noting the differences from how you thought it was spelled.
Think in English while writing if you're a native speaker of a different language. Having to translate in your head slows you down, and can easily lead to errors. Study English grammar if you are having difficulties. Look up the rules whenever you're having difficulties or read a grammar book all the way through. It may be boring, but it's extremely helpful.
Practice writing!
| A．The more you write, the better writer you'll become. |
| B．Broaden your vocabulary by reading as much as possible. |
| C．Most modern Web browsers also include spell-checking tools. |
| D．Knowing what you're doing wrong is necessary before you can improve. |
| E．The more aware you are of your writing, the better your handwriting will be. |
| F．To achieve this you'll need to read more, ask friends for help, and continually write. |
| G．Put the symbols on flashcards and memorize them, then write them again and again. |
【推荐3】As I look up at the hundreds of fireworks in the sky, I hear the bells ringing in small temple welcoming the coming of the Chinese New Year. Though I may not believe in or understand many of the New Year traditions here, the similarities between the coming of this New Year and the beginning of my new life in China are not lost on a big boy like me.
My fist few days in China were a cultural shock to say the least. Having arrived late in the semester, I immediately had to begin my beginners’ Chinese classes, along with the newest class of overseas students. Being surrounded by a language that int your own is unbelievably annoying. Due to the picture-based fashion of Chinese writing, it’s not like you can have a guess, or work it out through whatever knowledge you have from other Latin-originated languages. If you don’t know what it says, then that’s it. However, with time passing, I have found myself progressing, though painfully slowly. The first time I called a taxi by myself, the driver actually understood where I wanted to go, which is hugely rewarding (有益的). Sill it is never long before my lack of language skill is exposed (暴露的) and I come crashing back to earth, usually immediately upon leaving the taxi.
Gaining a language is a huge valuable skill. However, it is not the only thing I will gain in China. After this year of learning Chinese, I aim to gain my master’s degree here at University of Jinan. Opportunities do come around rather often: from being offered jobs teaching English, to being asked to appear on game-shows for Shandong TV. So, for now, I am just looking forward to expanding my cultural horizons (眼界) and enjoying my time here. I takes some time to get used to everything, but that’s part of the adventure and, most of all, employment. So, much like the Chinese New Year that I am lucky enough to be part of, I am just looking forward to a fresh start and a new journey in China.
1. Why couldn’t the author guess the meaning of the Chinese language?| A．Because of his late arrival. |
| B．Because of his lack of the Latin language. |
| C．Because of his experience of cultural shock. |
| D．Because of the unique way of Chinese writing. |
| A．He is poor at using public transport. |
| B．He finds it easy to call a taxi in China. |
| C．He is good at chatting with the taxi driver. |
| D．He feels pleased to have made progress in Chinese. |
| A．To settle down in China. |
| B．To broaden his cultural horizons. |
| C．To become a famous host on TV. |
| D．To be an excellent teaching assistant. |
| A．Exploring Chinese: valuable skills mastered |
| B．Learning Chinese: adventurous but enjoyable |
| C．Studying in China: challenging but rewarding |
| D．Coming to China: more opportunities promised |
【推荐1】Anything made of plastic or metal can be 3D printed nowadays — bicycles, toys, tools... even replacement body parts! But the latest trend in 3D printing may be food. Scientists and chefs are putting their heads together to create printed food.
Several 3D printers designed for food are now on the market. Anything that can be made into a soft wet mixture can be squeezed (挤压) from a tube in a 3D printer. Instead of ink, these printers can use fruits, vegetables, proteins, sweets, and more. This makes for lots of combinations that can be healthy, yummy, and even artistic.
Most 3D printers don’t actually cook the food, at least not yet. Engineers at Columbia University’s Creative Machines Lab invented an oven (烤箱) that cooks 3D-printed pizza with laser beams (激光束). A special computer program controls the lasers, heating each part of the pizza to perfection. Unlike regular ovens, lasers can carefully cook each thin piece of 3D-printed food.
In the future, food can be made with a 3D printer to meet our needs. For example, a hospital could design meals to meet patients’ dietary needs. Vitamins, minerals, and even medicines can be mixed right in. A 3D printer can make food appealing. Foods that someone may not like might be more attractive after 3D printing. Maybe that food you dislike wouldn’t seem so bad if it looked like a castle!
The idea of 3D printed food may seem very modern. In fact, NASA (美国国家航空航天局) has been researching the topic for more than ten years. On a long travel, it’s important to have food that is easy to make, tastes good, and has the nutrients astronauts need to stay healthy. Printing food on demand may soon be into the space!
1. What will be the latest trend in 3D printing?| A．3D printed bicycles. |
| B．3D-printed toys. |
| C．3D-printed food. |
| D．3D-printed body parts. |
| A．It is invented by students at Columbia University. |
| B．It is made from strong laser beams. |
| C．It can make 3D-printed food carefully. |
| D．It can cook each part of 3D printed food perfectly. |
| A．Attractive. |
| B．Fresh. |
| C．Healthy. |
| D．Terrible. |
| A．Anything Can Be 3D Printed |
| B．3D Printing: the Future of Food |
| C．NASA’s New Research |
| D．How to Cook 3D Printed Pizza |
【推荐2】How COVID-19 Affects Your Body
What COVID-19 Can Do
Doctors continue to learn about the short-term and long-term effects of COVID-19 on your body. For some people, It starts with basic flu symptoms. But it could eventually affect your lungs, liver, kidneys, and even your brain.
How It Spreads
Usually the virus makes contact with you when a nearby infected person sends droplets(微滴) into the air by coughing, sneezing, or talking. It spreads easily between people within about 6 feet of each other. An infected person can spread these droplets, even if they don’t feel sick. The virus may infect you after you touch an object, like a doorknob(门把手), that has the virus on it. But that's not as common.
Main Symptoms —Upper Respiratory Infection（上呼吸道感染）
Once the virus enters the body, it usually settles in the cells that line your nose, sinus cavity(鼻窦腔), and throat. For most people, this is where it stays. Symptoms often follow, but you may not feel anything for up to 2 weeks, as the virus starts to invade(侵略) healthy cells and reproduce. You can transmit (传播) it to others even if you don't show any symptoms.
Other Common Symptoms
The first symptoms that typically appear include a fever, headache, sore throat, and dry cough. But what you'll feel can vary widely in this early stage. You may also have:
●Shortness of breath
●Chills, fever, body aches
●Loss of sense of smell or taste
●Unusual tiredness
●Stuffy(不通的) or runny nose
●Nausea or diarrhea
No Symptoms?
Some studies show that up to 40% of people with COVID-19 are “asymptomatic(无症状的).” That means they don’t feel sick or have symptoms. But the virus can still affect your body. X-rays and CT scans of some people without symptoms show lung damage including “ground-glass opacities,”a typical lung lesion(损害) in people with COVID-19.
1. What is the purpose of the text?| A．To tell the characteristic between COVID-19 and influenza. |
| B．To introduce the risk of COVID-19. |
| C．To clarify the significance of containing the epidemic. |
| D．To strengthen the awareness of the epidemic. |
| A．it ordinarily starts in the form of common flu symptoms |
| B．it has the possibility of damaging our your brain. |
| C．it has the capacity to infect secondarily. |
| D．it merely can spread by coughing, sneezing, or talking. |
| A．A boy who breathe smoothly. | B．A teacher who have a frog in her throat. |
| C．An elderly with heart disease. | D．A baby who constantly cries. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．A website page. | B．A pop magazine. |
| C．An college guide. | D．A senior high newspaper. |
【推荐3】As people get older, the types and numbers of friends they have tend to change. As young adults, humans have large groups of friends. With age, they often prefer to spend their time with just a few close, positive individuals. Researchers long believed that this aging attraction toward meaningful relationships was unique to humans, but a new study finds that chimps (大猩猩) also have similar tendencies.
Rosati and her colleagues used 78,000 hours of observations made over 20 years from the Kibale Chimpanzee Project in Uganda. The data looked at the social interactions of 21 male chimps between 15 and 58 years old. The researchers only studied male chimps because they show stronger social bonds and have more social interactions than female chimps.
Researchers found that wild chimpanzees share a similar pattern of social aging with humans. Rosati says, “They prefer strong, mutual social bonds and interact with others in more positive ways as they get older.” The older chimpanzees preferred spending more time with chimps that they had become friends with over the years. They would sit close to these long-time companions and groom (梳毛) each other. By contrast, younger chimps had more one-sided relationships where they would groom a friend, but the action wasn’t returned.
Older male chimps were also more likely to spend more time alone. The researchers said that they showed a shift from negative interactions to more positive ones, preferring to spend their later years in nonconfrontational (非对抗性的), positive relationships. Researchers call the preference a “positivity bias”.
Researchers theorize that chimps, like humans, are able to change their social focus as they age. “We propose that this aging pattern may be the result of shared changes in our abilities to regulate our emotions with age,” Rosati says. “This shared pattern between chimpanzees and humans could represent an adaptive response where older adults focus on important social relationships that provide benefits and avoid interactions that have negative consequences as they lose competitive fighting ability.”
1. What does the new study find about chimps?| A．Male chimps show more interactions than females. |
| B．Old chimps don’t care about friends as much as young ones. |
| C．Chimps concentrate more on meaningful relations with age. |
| D．Chimps share aging problems similar to human beings. |
| A．By studying the data provided by other researchers. |
| B．By making scientific investigations and observations. |
| C．By setting up models on the computer in the lab. |
| D．By monitoring both the humans’ and chimps’ behavior. |
| A．Inability to regulate emotions. |
| B．Eagerness to build closer relationships. |
| C．Loss of competitiveness in strength. |
| D．Failure to adapt to the changeable nature. |
| A．A short story collection. | B．A popular science magazine. |
| C．A graduate research paper. | D．A biology textbook. |
【推荐1】To create is human. For the past 300,000 years, we’ve been unique in our ability to make art, cuisine, and societies to imagine and create something new where there was nothing before. Now we have company. While you’re reading this sentence, generative artificial intelligence programs are responding to emails, preparing tax returns, and providing health advice.
Artificial intelligence has already had a wide impact on our lives. AIs have been used to price medicine and houses, assemble (组装) cars, determine what ads we see on social media. But generative AI, which can create wholly novel content, is much newer.
Supporters believe this is just the beginning, that generative AI will change the way we work and engage with the world, unlock creativity and scientific discoveries, and allow human beings to achieve previously unimaginable goals.
This shift marks the most important technological breakthrough since social media. Generative AI tools have been adopted greedily in recent months by the public, thanks to programs like ChatGPT, which responds to virtually any question, and Dall-E, which allows you to produce any image you dream up. In January, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly users.
This craze caught off guard many tech companies and has stimulated an intense race in Silicon Valley. In weeks, Microsoft and Google have shifted their entire corporate strategies to seize control of what they believe profitable. Microsoft is investing $10 billion in Open AI, creator of ChatGPT and Dall-E, and announced plans to integrate generative AI into its Office software and search engine. Google declared a “code red” corporate emergency in response to the success of ChatGPT and rushed its own search-oriented chatbot to market.
But this gold rush could also prove disastrous. In a winner-takes-all battle for power, these companies risk repeating past mistakes, such as prioritizing growth over safety. While there are many potentially good aspects of these new technologies, even tools designed for good can have unforeseen I and ruinous consequences. This is the story of how the gold rush began—and what history tells us about what could happen next.
1. Which of the following is the particular function of generative AI?| A．Price goods. | B．Build vehicles. |
| C．Decide ads on social media. | D．Offer health suggestions. |
| A．The functions of generative AI. | B．The programs of generative AI. |
| C．People’s interest in generative AI. | D．Companies’ investment in generative AI. |
| A．Shift its focus to Office software. |
| B．Invest in another generative AI start-up. |
| C．Integrate its search engine into Office software. |
| D．Combine generative AI with its existing products. |
| A．To emphasise the importance of history. |
| B．To advocate the use of new technologies. |
| C．To put off the development of generative AI. |
| D．To warn of the potential danger of generative AI. |
【推荐2】Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have become extremely powerful, surprising even their creators. Most people have probably read a book or seen a movie about an AI or robot that has become so smart that it can take over the world. The AI in stories like these is known as AGI or Artificial General Intelligence. True AGI would be intelligent in many different areas and would be able to learn on its own. Currently, there is no real AGI. Most experts believe it will be many years before an AGI could possibly be created.
Scientists have been working to improve AI models, mainly by training the models on larger and larger collections of information. Those efforts are paying off. The AI tool that has gotten the most attention recently is ChatGPT, created by the company Open AI. ChatGPT appears to be extremely intelligent, which answers quickly in perfect sentences, makes up stories and games, writes essays and much more. Another powerful model called GPT-4 is also developed by the same company. GPT-4 can create and explain jokes, and pass tests.
The rapid progress of recent A I models worries some people. Last week, many computer experts released a letter calling for a six-month pause in any work on AI tools stronger than GPT-4.
The letter claimed AI companies were in a race to create “powerful digital minds” that no one could “understand, predictor control”. The group behind the letter wants government s to develop laws to make sure A I tools are safe. Not all AI experts agree with the letter. Some say the letter makes today’s AI tools sound more intelligent than they really are. Others say it’s more important to worry about real problems in current AI tools rather than imaginary ones in the future.
ChatGPT has caused so much excitement that many companies are likely to keep developing powerful AI tools. But the letter has sent a strong warming that many people—including leaders—will be thinking about carefully.
1. Why are the book and movie mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To show the surprising power of AI. |
| B．To clarify AI will take over the world. |
| C．To state the threat of A I to its creators. |
| D．To indicate an AI or robot is smart enough. |
| A．It offers practical instructions on essay-writing skills. |
| B．It trains AI models on how to present information. |
| C．It has difficulty in understanding jokes. |
| D．It produces perfect language response. |
| A．In different. | B．Favorable. | C．Concerned. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Why AI tools are beneficial to us. |
| B．Why AI tools are accessible to the public. |
| C．Whether AI tools are having a bright future. |
| D．Whether AI tools are becoming too powerful. |
【推荐3】Constructed from delicate, flexible and lifelike materials, soft robots have the potential to improve on their heavy and awkward, metal-bodied robots. Now a new generation of soft robots is growing and self-repairing its way to meeting researchers’ high expectations.
Shepherd and his team designed a soft robot that not only heals damage but doesn’t need to be told when to do so. Using fiber-optic (光纤) sensors, the robot can detect when its material has been punctured. Then it uses a hyperelastic (超弹性的) material to quickly heal the wound. The robot is also programmed to move in a new direction after damage. Later work could expand these repairs to bigger missing parts and holes.
Another team created a soft robot that “grows” like a plant or fungus. But to grow, soft robots typically have to drag material behind them and use it to 3-D-print new structures. This can hinder (妨碍) a robot’s work like dragging around a garden hose (软管) would for a person, says study co-author Chris Ellison, a University of Minnesota engineer and materials scientist.
Building soft robots that can work, heal and grow independently could change many areas of human life. Swift robots could fit into factory settings more easily if they had humanlike hands that could use the same tools we do, notes ETH Zurich roboticist Robert Katzschmann, who was not involved in the above studies.
Soft robots could also find a place in hospitals. Working alongside nurses and doctors, a robot could help softly and safely hold organs in place during surgery. “Helping hands could make medicine a bit less costly,” Katzschmann says.
“I think soft robots are an avenue to endurance and flexibility not seen before in artificial machines,” Shepherd says. “With heightened sensing and motion skills, strong compositions, and newfound independence, these soft machines’ future looks solid.”
1. What does the underlined word “punctured” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Made a hole. | B．Made a mistake. |
| C．Caused by a sharp object. | D．Designed and produced. |
| A．They can walk freely like people. |
| B．They are self-repairing and more flexible. |
| C．They can operate on patients independently. |
| D．They use humanlike hands to repair machines. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Skeptical. | C．Indifferent. | D．Neutral. |
| A．Old Robots Have Many Disadvantages | B．Soft Robots Are Changing Human Life |
| C．New-style Robots Are Around the Corner | D．Soft Robots Take Steps toward Independence |
