1 . What may two dogs making radio programs look like? How about a basketball match with different sea animals as players?
With Sora, you may soon be able to find out. The latest AI model can generate videos up to a minute long from some key words in seconds. It was built by OpenAI, the company behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT.
The public cannot use Sora now. OpenAI is asking experts to test it for possible risks (风险). The model is also open to a small group of artists. The company hopes to make Sora better.
Before Sora, the leading text-to-video AI model was made by Runway. The videos it produced were short and often frightening. So most people were surprised by the high quality of Sora’s videos.
Sora model isn’t perfect now because it may not understand cause and effect. “For example, a person may take a bite out of a cookie, but then the cookie may not have a bite mark,” OpenAI says on its website. What’s more, Sora cannot tell left or right. In a video on the OpenAI website, a man is running on a treadmill (跑步机) in the opposite direction. At the same time, some people have other worries. They are afraid that some people may not use AI-generated content in a correct way. Unreal AI-generated information is the biggest risk the world faces. To solve this problem, OpenAI says that it’s also building tools to help users to find out videos made by Sora.
1. How does the writer introduce the topic?A.By telling a story. | B.By using a saying. | C.By asking questions. | D.By giving some facts. |
A.Appear. | B.Produce. | C.Support. | D.Dig. |
A.Every artist. | B.A chatbot. | C.Some experts. | D.Any student. |
A.Because Sora’s videos were made from ChatGPT. |
B.Because Sora’s videos were short and frightening. |
C.Because Sora’s videos were produced in high quality. |
D.Because Sora’s videos can tell cause and effect. |
A.There are some problems of Sora model. |
B.People are worried about Sora model. |
C.OpenAI helps solve Sora model’s problem. |
D.The public are waiting to use Sora model. |
2 . Can you imagine people will enjoy a mouth-watering, delicious ribeye steak (肉眼牛排) without harming a single animal? Aleph Farms, a food-tech company, just created the world’s first 3D-printed ribeye steak. The thick and juicy slab (厚片) smelt and tasted just like a steak. But unlike any steak found on a menu or store shelf today, this one didn’t come from a slaughtered animal.
Scientists printed it with a machine which is much like a standard 3D-printer. The difference is that this printer used cells (细胞) as a form of living ink. The technology includes the printing of real living cells that are grown in a lab. They are given nutrients (养分) and kept at a temperature that lets them keep growing.
Interest in this kind of new meat has grow n in recent years, partly because the technology shows it is possible. Supporters say that if meat can be printed, then no animal would need to lose its life to become people’s food. So, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 3D-printed steak.
However, we can’t get this new meat on the store shelf yet. Making meat this way is much harder and costs more than raising and killing an animal. One of the most expensive parts is the cell-growth medium (培养基). This mix of nutrients keeps the cells alive and dividing. If scientists can find lower-cost methods, we’ll be in with a chance of getting beef without killing.
1. What does the underlined word “slaughtered” in Paragraph 1 mean?A.Wild. | B.Magic. | C.Wounded. | D.Killed. |
A.It was grown from living cells in the lab. | B.It was given nutrients by killing an animal. |
C.It was produced by a standard 3D-printer. | D.It was kept at a low temperature to grow. |
A.doubtful | B.hopeful | C.curious | D.disappointed |
A.Because it’s not easy to grow cells needed to produce it. |
B.Because it takes long to keep the cells alive and dividing. |
C.Because it’s difficult and expensive to make this new meat. |
D.Because it’s hard and expensive to raise and kill an animal. |
A.The development of 3D-printed steak. | B.The introduction of 3D-printed steak. |
C.The delicious taste of 3D-printed steak. | D.The advantages of 3D-printed steak. |
3 .
China’s flying cars take wing on world stage
BY TOM GREEN|WORLDDAILY|Updated:2024-01-1708:31
With innovative (革新的) technological experience, Chinese high-tech products, from new robots, electric cars, to smart phones and so on, have shown a strong ability on the international stage and become the new favourites of CES participants.
At the CES 2024 in Las Vegas, which is the most powerful tech event in the world, China’s flying cars attracted media and people from all over the world.
According to the vice-president of a Hi-tech company, their flying car is for both road, driving and flying and has completed its first flight.“Drivers can easily switch between flying and driving modes,” he said. “When you’re driving on the road, it operates as an intelligent car. It’s about the size of a regular car. In flight mode, it can take off and fly over traffic jams and rivers.”
During the research and development process of flying cars, Chinese super-car companies have faced various challenges and difficulties. These challenges could be either good or bad, but they are normal. Challenge is a natural part of operating in any country. “Facing the challenges,” the manager of a super-car company said, “Our first method is to stick to our goal: Developing products to solve problems for human beings and consumers and building a new mode of transportation for the future—giving cars wings. Second, in key technologies, we insist on complete self-development. In this way, we not only can better control our costs and quality, but also improve our competitive strength.”
The influence of flying cars on human life could be great, affecting everything from daily routines to global transportation networks. However, achieving smarter travel will require further efforts.
1. Which of the following shows China’s progress in the field of high-tech?A.Chinese Hi-tech products have received much attention from CES. |
B.Hi-tech companies have made a lot of money from selling their products. |
C.Chinese tech companies have invented a lot of intelligent robots. |
D.Buyers around the world are satisfied with the price of Chinese products. |
A.It can run at a high speed on land. |
B.It can help drivers save much time. |
C.It can switch into an intelligent car. |
D.It is more convenient than a plane. |
A.They reduce the price of the products so that they can sell more. |
B.They ask other super-car companies from abroad for some help. |
C.They try to avoid the difficulties when developing their products. |
D.They stay focused on their goals and insist on self-development. |
A.To discuss the challenges that super-car companies faced. |
B.To explain the importance of the flying car in people’s life. |
C.To show China’s high technology has achieved great success. |
D.To let readers know more about the flying cars in Las Vegas. |
4 . Entomologists, scientists who study insects, are working with other scientists to learn why bee colonies (群体) are dying in the United States. They call the problem “colony collapse disorder”.
Amateur beekeepers in Fort Wayne, Indiana are working to learn about honeybees and how to keep them alive.
Bees are needed to produce one third of our food. That is why Megan Ryan is worried about their survival. Earlier this year, she created an apiary, a place where groups, or hives (蜂房), of honeybees are kept. “Our hives are full of what’s called Italian honeybees.”
Italian bees are popular because they are not as aggressive as other kinds of bees. And they reproduce faster than other kinds of honeybees. In just four months, the apiary has grown from 10,000 to 70,000 bees in each hive.
Alex Cornwell is also a beekeeper. He says over the past ten years, both American and European hives have lost more than one fourth of their population.
“It’s unknown what colony collapse disorder is caused by specifically, but it could be a combination of anywhere from pesticides (农药) to mites (小虫) to pathogens (病原体).”
Every time they visit the apiary, Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell record information about the bees. “We would share it with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources), other beekeepers—any conservation effort, any organization that would like our records and we freely share those.”
They also teach people about beekeeping. They want people to begin their own hives. “You don’t have to be a scientist that has a degree in order to teach people and help people learn about bees and that’s the amazing part about beekeeping—anybody can do it.”
About 100 people have said they want to learn more about creating their own hives. Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell say they will start a program to teach migrant workers about beekeeping so they can take that knowledge with them wherever they work.
1. What is “colony collapse disorder”?A.Scientists working with entomologists. | B.Bees dying in the United States. |
C.The way to keep bees alive. | D.The dying of bee colonies. |
A.are important insects | B.are all living in hives |
C.produce much food for humans | D.create apiaries in groups |
A.produce young | B.produce honey |
C.make a copy | D.build a hive |
A.Because of the use of pesticides. | B.Because of some kinds of mites. |
C.Because of some kinds of pathogens. | D.It is still unknown. |
A.They teach people about beekeeping. |
B.They want people to have a degree in beekeeping. |
C.They ask migrant workers to take bees wherever they work. |
D.They create bee hives for migrant workers. |
5 . Astronauts’ (宇航员) daily life in the space station may be new and interesting for people on Earth. Let’s take a look at the astronauts’ life in space.
The astronauts started work at 8: 00 a. m. Beijing time on Friday. They finished a check of the spaceship and collected trace elements (微量元素) in the air in four hours. Then, they had two hours for lunch and rest.
Afternoon work began at 2 o’clock. On arriving at the center at about 4 p. m. , Nie Haishang and Tang Hongbo replaced the device to clean up CO2. This can give astronauts a better living place and support life in the space station.
Later in the afternoon, astronauts did some exercises. It is one of the most useful ways to keep healthy in space. While Liu Boming exercised on the space bike and Tang was on the treadmill, Nie reported to the crew on the ground about the day’s work and plans for the next day.
After dinner, they started watching “Xinwen Lianbo”, the most-watched daily TV news program in China. The team on the ground send news programs to the astronauts on time every day. It is one of the most important ways to help them know about things happening on the ground. Then, such as watching movies, playing music, talking to their families and so on. They went to sleep at about 10 o’clock.
This is a day in China’s space station Tiangong.
1. In what order did the astronauts do the following things?a. Had lunch and took a rest.
b. Did some exercises.
c. Checked the spaceship.
d. Had fun time watching movies.
e. Replaced the device.
A.c-a-b-e-d | B.b-c-a-e-d | C.b-e-c-a-d | D.c-a-e-b-d |
A.friends | B.families | C.workmates | D.relatives |
A.Reporting plans for the next day. |
B.Walking around the space station. |
C.Collecting trace elements. |
D.Watching daily TV news programs. |
A.A day in space. | B.The space station Tiangong. |
C.A trip to space. | D.Astronauts’ work in space. |
What do you do when you need to look something up? Go to the library? Open an encyclopedia? Click on to the internet? These days, most people go straight to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. But how reliable (可靠) is it?
There’s no denying the popularity and usefulness of Wikipedia. It attracts 78 million visitors every month, and the site is available (可用的) in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive (综合的) resources available, and it’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an internet connection can log on and edit the contents or add a new page. And you don’t need any formal training.
Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators (管理员) who check for false information. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “vandals” (故意破坏公物的人).
Some of the damage is easy to notice. One prankster (恶作剧者) drew devil horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gate’s photo, while another edited Greek philosopher Plato’s biography to say he was a “Hawaiian weather man”.
But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Some of this misinformation has even appeared in newspapers, with The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Independent all having fallen victim (牺牲者) to the pranks. For example, in an introduction for British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom, one newspaper claimed that he co-wrote Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime hit “There’ll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover”. He did no such thing. And in another article, it was reported that TV theme tune composer Ronnie Hazlehurst had written the song “Reach”. Once again, not true.
So, if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double-check it first.
1. If you want to look something up on Wikipedia, you will find ________.A.it is only available in English | B.it has little useful information |
C.you can only get the information online | D.you need to go to a library to use it |
A.It is available online in many different languages. |
B.It may contain more false information than an ordinary encyclopedia. |
C.It has a team of administrators to check for false information. |
D.It’s content can be updated every day. |
A.let you know that false information is inevitable on the site |
B.urge Wikipedia to set stricter controls over its contents |
C.criticize the right that the public has to edit the contents on the site |
D.demonstrate the downsides of public editing allowed by Wikipedia |
A.pranksters aren’t likely to edit the information about famous people |
B.some mainstream newspapers also refer to the false information from Wikipedia |
C.the public is not allowed by Wikipedia to edit the information about famous people |
D.the Wikipedia administrators don’t work hard enough to check for false information on the site |
A.We should not use Wikipedia. |
B.The information from Wikipedia is not reliable. |
C.We should not trust the information from Wikipedia. |
D.We should make sure the information from Wikipedia is correct before deciding to use it. |
7 . Members of China’s 40th Antarctic scientific team set off on November 1, 2023. The team is expected to arrive around December. They plan to finish the task in four months and return in April, 2024. This is the first time the country’s Antarctic research task will be carried out by three ships. While two icebreakers with more than 46
The team’s key task is building a new research station within 60 days in Antarctica. The new station will be built near the Ross Sea in the east Antarctic. It will be China’s fifth Antarctic research station, following the Great Wall set up in 1985, Zhongshan in 1989, Kunlun in 2009 and Taishan in 2014. It will be built for environmental monitoring (监控) and protection.
The building of the new research station is very important. Depending on the station, the team will carry out scientific research work on ocean environment, ocean ecosystem (生态系统) and other areas. They will also do a survey about the effect of climate change on the Antarctic ecosystem.
International cooperation is of great significance to the task. The team will work with other countries on the scientific research. They will work together on the frontier fields of Antarctic science with Norway and Australia. They will also cooperate in logistics (后勤) support with other countries, such as the USA, the UK and so on.
1. How long will the scientific team stay in Antarctica?A.For one month. | B.For two months. |
C.For three months. | D.For four months. |
A.protect the whales in the Ross Sea |
B.monitor and protect the environment |
C.carry out the frontier field s of science |
D.take the place of the Great Wall Station |
A.How the station benefits the ocean ecosystem. |
B.How the climate changes in the east Antarctic. |
C.How human activities influence the ocean environment. |
D.How climate change influences the Antarctic ecosystem. |
A.Importance. | B.Challenge. | C.Quality. | D.Danger. |
A.China Cooperates with Other Countries |
B.China Offers Support to Other Countries |
C.China Starts Its 40th Antarctic Research |
D.China Speeds up Its Ocean Scientific Research |
8 . A glasses company in Barcelona, Spain is helping create a brighter future for people with eye problems. It’s called Biel Glasses.
Biel is also an 8-year-old boy’s name. When Biel was two years old, his parents found that he had trouble walking down the stairs. The doctor said there was something wrong with Biel’s optic nerve (视神经) and that it caused his low vision (视力). Terribly, medical treatment or normal glasses couldn’t help improve his vision. So Biel’s parents, an engineer and a doctor, decided to start a company and do something for their son with their own skills.
They started Biel Glasses in 2017 and developed a kind of smart glasses. The glasses are able to show the things in front of the users on the screen and warn them if there are obstacles (障碍物). At the same time, the glasses use the latest technology to show 3D images (图像) of pictures, texts and videos. The 3D images are covered over real-world images. Unlike people who are totally blind, people with low vision can see, so this technology allows them to be more independent.
About one in 5,000 people has the same problem as Biel. Biel Glasses has changed the life of people who wear the special glasses. Alexander Levdanski is one of them. “With low vision, I couldn’t communicate with other people well in the past,” Alexander says. “Now once I put on the glasses, I can go to a party, I can talk to people, and I'm not afraid of doing anything.”
Biel Glasses has some plans to develop this technology better. It will join hands with Google Maps to add voice activation (语音激活). For Biel and other people with low vision, they can look much brighter in the future.
1. Biel’s parents started Biel Glasses to _________ at first.A.share their skills with others | B.make people walk fast |
C.create a more wonderful future | D.help their son see better |
A.was just set up by Biel in 2017 | B.is provided with the latest technology |
C.can only show the obstacles on the screen | D.helps the totally blind keep away from any danger |
A.Special glasses make people smart | B.Great parents of Biel’s |
C.Biel Glasses helps people with low vision | D.Brighter future for blind people |
A.Science | B.Culture | C.Medicine | D.Business |
9 . Did you know that humans aren't the only species (物种) that use language? Bees communicate by dancing. Whales talk to each other by singing. And some apes talk to humans by using American Sign Language.
A female gorilla (大猩猩), Koko, was born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. Koko learned sign language from her trainer, Dr. Penny Patterson. Patterson began teaching sign language to Koko in 1972, when Koko was one year old. Koko must have been a good student, because two years later she moved onto the Stanford University campus with Dr. Patterson. Koko continued to learn on the campus until 1976. That’s when she began living full-time with Patterson’s group, the Gorilla Foundation. Patterson and Koko’s relationship has been very close ever since.
Dr. Patterson says that Koko has mastered sign language and known over 1,000 words, and that Koko makes up new words. For example, Koko didn’t know the sign for ring, so she signed the words finger and bracelet (手镯). Dr. Patterson thinks that this shows meaningful and constructive use of language.
Not everyone agrees with Dr. Patterson. Some argue that apes (类人猿) like Koko do not understand the meaning of what they are doing. Some people who don’t believe that say that these apes are just performing complex tricks (戏法). For example, if Koko points to an apple and signs red or apple, Dr. Patterson will give her an apple. They argue that Koko does not really know what the sign apple means. She only knows that if she makes the right movement, one which Dr. Patterson has shown her, then she gets an apple. The argument is not solved, but one thing is for certain: Koko is an extraordinary ape.
It seems like Patterson and Koko have a good relationship, but not everyone agrees with it. Some people believe that Patterson is humanizing the ape. They think that apes should be left in the most natural state possible. Even Dr. Patterson struggles with these feelings. When she was asked if her findings could be duplicated by another group of scientists, she said, “We don’t think that it would be ethical (道德的) to do again.” She went on to argue that animals should not be kept in such unnatural environments.
As for the future, Dr. Patterson and the Gorilla Foundation would love to get Koko to an ape preserve (保护区) in Maui, but they are having trouble getting the land. So unless you have a few million dollars to give, Koko’s going to be spending her time in Woodland, California with Dr. Patterson. Koko probably doesn’t mind that. If she moved to Hawaii, she’d have to give up her Facebook page and Twitter feed, and she’s got like 50 thousand “likes”. Some may deny (否认) that she knows sign language, but nobody says that she doesn’t know social networking.
1. What is the writer’s main purpose in writing the second paragraph?A.To describe the environment in which Koko lives. |
B.To tell readers how Dr. Patterson developed Koko’s living skills. |
C.To advise Patterson to free Koko after she learnt on the campus. |
D.To make an introduction about Koko and Dr. Patterson’s background. |
A.Koko has mastered sign language without a doubt. |
B.Everybody likes how Dr. Patterson has raised Koko. |
C.Some people think that Koko only signs to get food. |
D.The Gorilla Foundation has got a land for Koko to stay naturally. |
A. | B. | C. | D. |
A.To disagree with someone. |
B.To fool them. |
C.To copy something. |
D.To be disproved through debate. |
A.Bees, whales, and apes like Koko all use language to communicate. |
B.Koko uses sign language but some think it’s just a trick. |
C.It is natural for gorillas to learn sign language like humans. |
D.If you want a lot of “likes” on Facebook, get a talking gorilla. |
10 . Type in “A cat wants to go to space” and ask the robot to write a bedtime story. Just one second later, you’ll get the story of Max, who clawed his way past many difficulties to sing among the stars.
This robot writer is real. It’s called ChatGPT. From writing Shakespeare-style poetry to making music, ChatGPT has amazed the world since its launch out in late 2022 by the US company OpenAI. It can translate languages, talk with people and write songs, poems and even jokes. It’s one of the most powerful AI of its kind, with the complete writing abilities of a real person!
People around the world have tried ChatGPT and posted their results on social media. Some used it to write history reports, some asked it to take notes of presentations, and some even asked advice on how to communicate with people at a party, reported The Atlantic.
The power of ChatGPT lies in its speed and understanding of complicated(复杂的) matters. We may spend hours researching, understanding and writing an article on the theory of evolution(进化论). _________ Another good thing about it is that if you ask dark, harmful question, such as how to make weapons(武器), it will not give you an answer.
ChatGPT comes along at a time when AI is becoming increasingly able to do creative tasks. There is no doubt that ChatGPT is a powerful tool. However, some schools in the US, Australia and France have stopped students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the local networks and computers, CNN reported. The move comes out of worries that the tool could make it easier for students to cheat on home work. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread improper information.
“It does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills,” said Jenna Lyle from the New York City Department of Education. “The materials they create are difficult to tell from those made by humans. This causes many problems, such as the issue of copyright(版权). Since the system is largely trained using words from the Internet, it can also pick up on the Internet’s biases(偏见). These are all the things that depend on humans to solve.”
1. The cat story was written to ________.A.introduce a series of bedtime books |
B.introduce a cat that wants to go to space |
C.show what creative work ChatGPT can do |
D.show how robots create scientific research |
A.the disadvantages of ChatGPT | B.the most popular report of ChatGPT |
C.what people think about ChatGPT | D.what people can do with ChatGPT |
A.But ChatGPT is a powerful tool to spread information. |
B.But ChatGPT can produce a well-written one in seconds. |
C.But ChatGPT can write almost anything humans can write. |
D.But ChatGPT is faster and safer compared with human writing. |
A.ChatGPT is very good at solving problems. |
B.ChatGPT will not cause any problems for us. |
C.ChatGPT may cause some trouble to humans. |
D.ChatGPT never gives wrong ideas to humans. |