2 . The maker of ChatGPT recently announced its next move into generative artificial intelligence. San Francisco-based OpenAI’s new text-to-video generator, called Sora, is a tool that instantly makes short videos based on written commands, called prompts.

Sora is not the first of its kind. Google, Meta and Runway ML are among the other companies to have developed similar technology. But the high quality of videos displayed by OpenAI — some released after CEO Sam Altman asked social media users to send in ideas for written prompts-surprised observers.

A photographer from New Hampshire posted one suggestion, or prompt, on X. The prompt gave details about a kind of food to be cooked, gnocchi (意大利团子), as well as the setting — an old Italian country kitchen. The prompt said: “An instructional cooking session for homemade gnocchi, hosted by a grandmother — a social media influencer, set in a rustic (土气的) Tuscan country kitchen.” Altman answered a short time later with a realistic video that showed what the prompt described.

The tool is not yet publicly available. OpenAI has given limited information about how it was built. The company also has not stated what imagery and video sources were used to train Sora. At the same time, the video results led to fears about the possible ethical and societal effects.

The New York Times and some writers have taken legal actions against OpenAI for its use of copyrighted works of writing to train ChatGPT. And OpenAI pays a fee to The Associated Press, the source of this report, to license its text news archive (档案) . OpenAI said in a blog post that it is communicating with artists, policymakers and others before releasing the new tool to the public.

The company added that it is working with “red teamers” — people who try to find problems and give helpful suggestions — to develop Sora. “We are working with red teamers-express in areas like misinformation, hateful content, and bias — who will be adversarially testing the model,” the company said. “We’re also building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora.”

1. What makes Sora impressive?

A．Its extraordinary video quality.	B．Its ethical and societal influence.
C．Its artificial intelligence history.	D．Its written commands and prompts.

2. What can we infer from the text?

A．Some disagreements over Sora have arisen.

B．Sora is the first text-to-video generator in history.

C．OpenAI CEO Altman wrote a prompt as an example.

D．All the details about how Sora was built have been shared.

3. What is the main idea of Paragraph 6?

A．The company’s current challenge.

B．The company’s advanced technology.

C．The company’s problems in management.

D．The company’s efforts for Sora’s improvement.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards Sora?

A．Neutral.

B．Optimistic.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Cautious.

3 . The world awaits. Where will you go next? The following are among the most exciting destinations to visit. Grab your bags and go!

Puebla, Mexico

Founded in 1931, the Mexico’s fourth-largest city is a stronghold of Baroque architecture. In Puebla’s citycenter, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are a large number of gorgeous 17th- and 18th-century Baroque buildings. Many are decorated with colored titles, the use of which illustrates the combination of Puebla’s local and European colonial styles. In 2017, an earthquake shook the area, leading to restorations of facilities throughout the city afterward. Despite that, Puebla remains rooted in tradition.

Telč, Czech Republic

The storybook town was probably founded in the mid-14th century. Stone walls and a system of man-madeponds help protect Telč historic town center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The triangular market square is bordered by a rainbow of light-colored houses, which were originally built of wood and rebuilt in stone after a fire in the late 14th century.

Göbekli Tepe, Turkey

Estimated to date back to the 10th-9th millennia B.C.E, the monumental limestone pillars at Göbekli Tepe had been hiding in plain sight for several thousand years. The detailed exploration of these giant stones only began in the 1990s. What have been revealed — primarily massive stones decorated with bas-reliefs (浅浮雕) of animal — comprise the world’s oldest known temple complex. The extraordinary discoveries made here have rewritten the story of how the first civilizations began.

Guatemala

Archaeologists have found long-hidden ruins of an extensive pre-Columbian civilization here, confirming that Guatemala is the place to dive into Mayan culture, then and now. Ancient roots run particularly deep in the northernmost Peten region. In modern, multicultural Guatemala, people with Mayan origin make up about half the population, making the country the only one in Central America with a native cultural majority.

1. Where can tourists enjoy architecture exhibiting a combination of native and foreign styles?

A．Guatemala.	B．Göbekli Tepe, Turkey.
C．Puebla, Mexico.	D．Telč, Czech Republic.

2. What has made Guatemala special?

A．The long-hidden ruins.

B．The deeply rooted Mayan culture.

C．The modern and multicultural society.

D．The only Central American country with Mayan population.

3. According to the text, what do the above destinations have in common?

A．They have historic sites.	B．They are in Central America.
C．They were once destroyed by fire.	D．They were discovered in recent decades.

4 . Students at the Calhoun School in New York City have much more than a roof over their heads. They have a rooftop garden, with lush grass, colorful flowers and fragrant herbs. “Green roofs” are sprouting up all over, from schools to city skyscrapers. And roofs aren’t the only things going green. Architects are finding all sorts of new ways to build buildings that are easier on the environment. These schools, homes, and offices are called “green buildings”.

Normally it takes a lot of energy to run appliances. Too often, that energy comes from burning fossil fuels. So green buildings are designed to do all these things with much less energy. An energy-smart building starts with thick walls. A layer of insulation (隔热材料) traps air to stop heat from passing through. That keeps heat inside in the winter, and keeps heat outside in the summer. This saves energy for heating and cooling.

Heat pumps are another power-saving way to stay comfortable. A ground heat pump moves heat through pipes that run through the ground next to the building. A few feet under the ground, the temperature stays around 10℃ all year round. Water flowing around the pipes helps heat the building in winter and cool it in summer.

Another way to build green is to use recycled materials. That saves the cost and pollution of manufacturing something new. In the Chicago Center for Green Technology, the ceiling tiles (瓷砖) are made of pressed newspaper. The bathroom floors are tiled with recycled glass, and the stall walls are recycled plastic. Builders have found many creative ways to re-use old materials.

As more people become concerned about climate change, more buildings are going green. Green buildings produce less of the gases that warm the planet. City planners like green buildings because they save money. And they are healthier for the people who work and live inside. But you don’t need to build a whole new building. Simple changes like shading windows and planting trees can make any home greener—and a better Earth home for us all.

1. How are green buildings designed to keep warm in the winter?

A．By-burning fossil fuels.	B．By using thick walls with insulators.
C．By running heating devices.	D．By equipping buildings with appliances.

2. According to the passage, the advantages of green buildings include the following EXCEPT________.

A．saving water	B．using recycled materials
C．using less energy	D．reducing greenhouse gas emissions

3. In which section of a magazine can we read the text?

A．Education.

B．Culture.

C．Economy.

D．Technology.

4. Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

A．Recycling: to make a better earth for us all

B．Heat Pumps: a new approach to saving energy

C．Green Roofs: more than a roof over our heads

D．Building Green: to hug the earth more kindly

5 . Art Gallery of NSW(New South Wales) Exhibition

Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day?

25 November 2023-28 April 2024

Day and night, love and rage, calm and chaos. Enter a world of emotional extremes in this exhibition of the art of Louise Bourgeois, one of the most influential artists of the past century. Born in Paris in 1911 and living and working in New York until her death in 2010, Bourgeois is well-known for her fearless exploration of human relationships across a seven-decade career.

Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? reveals the extraordinary reach and intensity of Bourgeois’ art, from unforgettable sculptures of the 1940s to her tough yet tender weaving works of the 1990s and 2000s. It also reveals the psychological tensions that powered her search, through a dramatic presentation in two contrasting exhibition spaces. Moving from the well-lit rooms of “Day” to the darkened area of “Night”, viewers will encounter more than 120 works, including many never seen before in Australia.

Tickets can be booked online via the exhibition or event page on our website, or in person at the welcome desk at the Art Gallery. Tickets cannot be exchanged, but if something unexpected happens that prevents you from attending, you can change the date of your reservation in your confirmation email.

1. What do we know about Louise Bourgeois?

A．Her art is conservative.	B．She was an emotional artist.
C．She was raised in Paris.	D．Her art explores human relationships.

2. What does the exhibition feature?

A．Various themes.	B．Contrasting layout.
C．Intensive colors.	D．Extraordinary paintings.

3. What can you do if you can’t attend the exhibition?

A．Reschedule the date.	B．Cancel the booking.
C．Claim the money back.	D．Exchange the event.

6 . Atmospheric (大气层的) rivers are long and narrow bands of water vapor (水蒸气) in Earth’s atmosphere, which are called “large rivers in the sky”. These rivers form over warm ocean waters. They are huge. They can be 930 miles long and one-third that wide.

Like real rivers, they carry huge amounts of water. These large streams of small water drops are blown by wind over land. When that happens, the water vapor cools down and condenses (凝结). Atmospheric rivers can be good. They bring water to dry areas. However, they can cause huge, fast-moving storms. Some cause snowfalls that bury towns. They are also the main cause of floods on the U.S. West Coast.

Atmospheric rivers are hard to predict. But scientists are working to change that. Marty Ralph, a scientist who works at the University of California, directs the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E). They created the first computer model to predict atmospheric rivers on the U.S. West Coast. This model uses a program that runs on a computer to create a model of a real-world event. CW3E also studies atmospheric rivers using planes. Pilots drop instruments into atmospheric rivers to collect information like temperature and wind speed, which helps with forecasting.

Will climate change affect atmospheric rivers? Climate change happens naturally over a long period of time. But today, it is largely caused by human activities and is causing the Earth to warm, which affects atmospheric rivers.

Atmospheric rivers are pushed by the wind. Those winds are driven by the temperature differences between the poles and the equator (赤道). But the poles are also warming faster than areas near the equator. That makes the temperature difference between the areas smaller. This can make winds weaker.

Climate change might not cause more atmospheric rivers. But there may be very, very wet seasons and very, very dry seasons. Such a seesaw in rainfall could make it harder to manage what water there is.

1. What can we learn about atmospheric rivers?

A．They can be 930 miles long and 465 miles wide.

B．They are easy to predict as scientists are working on it.

C．They are bands of water vapor forming over warm ocean waters.

D．They are the main cause of floods in the U.S.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．Why it is hard to predict atmospheric rivers.

B．Whether scientists can predict atmospheric rivers.

C．How technology helps the prediction of atmospheric rivers.

D．How scientists are working on the forecasts of atmospheric rivers.

3. What does the underlined word “seesaw” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Growth.

B．Drop.

C．Prediction.

D．Change.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A textbook.

B．A science magazine.

C．An academic article.

D．A news report.

8 . Education in 2080 is distinctive from education in the 2020s. Until about 2035, the main function of education systems was to supply the economy with the next generation of workers. In 2080, the purpose of education is the well-being of society and all its members. To make this a bit more tangible for you, I would like to give an example of what a child’s education looks like in 2080. Her name is Shemsy. Shemsy is 13, and she is confident and loves learning.

Shemsy does not go to school in the morning because schools as you know them no longer exist. The institution was abolished as it was widely thought of as more like a prison or a factory than a creative learning environment. Schools have been replaced with “Learning Hubs” that are not restricted to certain ages. They are where intergenerational learning happens, in line with the belief that learning is a lifelong pursuit.

Every year, Shemsy designs her learning journey for the year with a highly attentive “teacher-citizen”. Shemsy is actively engaged in designing her education and has to propose projects she would like to be involved in to contribute to and serve her community. She also spends lots of time playing as the role of play in learning has finally been recognized as essential and core to our humanity. Shemsy works a lot collaboratively. Access to education is universal, and higher education institutions no longer differentiate themselves by how many people they reject yearly. Variability between students is expected and leveraged (利用) as young people teach one another and use their differences as a source of strength. Shemsy naturally explores what she is curious about at a pace she sets. She still has some classes to take that are mandatory for children globally: Being Human and the History of Humanity.

We invite you to think about your vision for education in the year 2080, what does it look like, who does it serve,and how does it transform our societies?

1. What does paragraph 1 mainly tell us?

A．There are different types of education.

B．The present education needs improvements.

C．Education and economy are closely associated.

D．The goal of future education is fundamentally different.

2. What do we know about the Learning Hub that Shemsy goes to?

A．It accepts students of all ages.	B．It promotes competition.
C．It discourages individualized learning.	D．It is all about play-based learning.

3. What does the underlined word “mandatory” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Tough.

B．Satisfactory.

C．Optional.

D．Required.

4. What is the suitable title for the text?

A．An Example to All	B．A Vision for Education
C．A Challenge for Education	D．A Journey into the Future

9 . Students who are better able to understand and manage their emotions effectively, a skill known as emotional intelligence (EI), do better at school than their less-skilled classmates, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

“It’s not enough to be smart and hardworking. Students must also be able to understand and manage their emotions to succeed at school,” said Carolyn MacCann, lead author of the study. MacCann and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 160 studies, representing more than 42,000 students from 27 countries, published between 1998 and 2019. The students ranged in age from primary school to college. The researchers found that students with higher EI tended to get higher grades and better achievement test scores than those with lower EI scores. This finding held true even when controlling for intelligence and personality factors. What was most surprising to the researchers was the association held despite different ages.

As for why EI can affect academic performance, MacCann believes a number of factors may come into play. “Students with higher EI may be better able to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom and disappointment, which can negatively affect academic performance,” she said. “Also, these students may be better able to manage the social world around them, forming better relationships with teachers, classmates and family, all of which are important to academic success.” Finally, the skills required for EI, such as understanding human motivation and emotion, may overlap with (与……重叠) the skills required to master certain subjects, such as history and language, giving students an advantage in those subject areas, according to MacCann.

However, MacCann cautions against widespread testing of students to identify and target those with low EI as it may stigmatize (给……打上烙印) those students. Instead, she recommends interventions that involve the whole school, including additional teacher training and a focus on teacher well-being and emotional skills. “Programs that integrate emotional skill development into the existing curriculum would be beneficial, as research suggests that training works better when run by teachers rather than external specialists,” she said. “Increasing skills for everyone — not just those with low EI—would benefit everyone.”

1. What surprised the researchers most during MacCann’s study?

A．Intelligence mattered more than EI for academic success.

B．EI had an effect on learning for students of all ages.

C．College students benefited more from EI than pupils.

D．Personality affected academic performance greatly.

2. What can be a reason for the conclusion of MacCann’s study?

A．High-EI students hardly experience negative emotions.

B．High-EI students seldom develop social relationships.

C．High-EI students tend to easily focus on their study.

D．High-EI students have helpful skills for certain subjects.

3. What does MacCann suggest in the last paragraph?

A．Equipping teachers with emotional skills.

B．Designing tests to identify students with low EI.

C．Developing special programs for students with low EI.

D．Employing emotional specialists to give training to students.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Should EI be taught in school?

B．How can students develop high EI?

C．Students with high EI do better in school

D．Good students do better in managing emotions