1 . London Theatre Shows
Alice In Wonderland
Each ticket to the show includes free entry to Kew Gardens., Alice in Wonderland is playing at the Kew Gardens from 22 July to 28 August 2023.
Running time: 1 hour 10 minutes with no interval (幕间休息)
Performance days
Matinees (日场): Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Important information: Children under 2 years old go free.
Back To The Future: The Musical
It is based on the iconic Back ta the Future films. Back to the Future: The Musical tickets at the Adelphi Theatre, London are available to book for performances up to 11 February 2024.
Age restrictions: Suitable for general audience aged 6+. Children under 3 will not be admitted.
Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including interval)
Performance days
Evenings; Monday, Wednesday. Thursday. Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Matinees: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday.
Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour
This show sees Blippi in the ultimate curiosity adventure. Dance, sing, and learn with Blippi as he discovers what makes different cities unique and special. Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour runs at Rose Theatre, Kingston from 29 August to 9 September 2023.
Age restrictions: Recommended for ages 2+.
Running time: 1 hour (no interval)
Performance days
Matinees: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Dinosaur World Live
Join our brave explorers across unchartered territories to discover a pre-historic world of remarkably life-like dinosaurs. Dinosaur World Live runs from 11 August to 3 September 2023 at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London.
Age restrictions: 3+
Running time: 50 mins + a 15-minute post show
Performance days
Matinees: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
1. What do we know about Back to the Future: The Musical?| A．It has no performances on Tuesdays, |
| B．Booking starts on 11 February 2024. |
| C．Children under 3 years old can go free. |
| D．It lasts 2 hours 40 minutes without intervals. |
| A．Kew Gardens. |
| B．Adelphi Theatre. |
| C．Rose Theatre, Kingston. |
| D．Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. |
| A．Alice In Wonderland |
| B．Dinosaur World Live |
| C．Back To The Future: The Musical |
| D．Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour |
2 . Science fiction has long entertained the idea of artificial intelligence becoming conscious (有意识的). Many researchers say that AI systems aren’t yet at the point of consciousness, but the pace of AI evolution (发展) has got them considering: how would we know if they were?
To answer this, a group of 19 neuroscientists (神经系统科学家), philosophers and computer scientists have come up with a checklist of standards that, if met, would indicate whether a system has a high chance of being conscious. The authors made the effort because “it seemed like there was a real lack of detailed, thoughtful discussion of AI consciousness,” says co-author Robert Long, a philosopher at the Center for AI Safety.
The team says that a failure to identify whether an AI system has become conscious has important moral implications. If something has been labelled “conscious”, according to co-author Megan Peters, a neuroscientist at the University of California, “that changes a lot about how we as human beings feel that entity (独立存在的个体) should be treated”. Long adds that, as far as he can tell, not enough effort has been made by the companies building advanced AI systems to evaluate the models for consciousness and make plans for what to do if that happens.
One of the challenges in studying consciousness in AI is defining what it means to be conscious. Peters says that for the report, the researchers focused on “phenomenal consciousness”.
Many neuroscience-based theories describe the biological basis of consciousness. But there is no agreement on which is the right one. To create their framework, the authors therefore used a range of these theories. The idea is that if an AI system functions in a way that matches aspects of many of these theories, then there is a greater likelihood that it is conscious.
They argue that this is a better approach to assessing consciousness than simply putting a system through a behavioural test — say, asking ChatGPT whether it is conscious, or challenging it and seeing how it responds. That’s because AI systems have become remarkably good at mimicking (模仿) humans.
1. What does Robert Long say about present research on AI consciousness?| A．It is far from enough. |
| B．It is progressing rapidly. |
| C．It has shown promising insights into it. |
| D．It has learnt a lot from previous research. |
| A．Their final applications. |
| B．How humans treat them. |
| C．Their moral responsibilities. |
| D．How humans make future; plans. |
| A．Providing a definition of it. |
| B．Uncovering the reason behind it. |
| C．Measuring AI’s ability to mimic humans. |
| D．Comparing AI consciousness and human consciousness. |
| A．By observing its responses to digital signals and online questions. |
| B．By checking its understanding of some neuroscience-based theories. |
| C．By comparing its functional patterns with neuroscience-based theories. |
| D．By conducting experiments and tests to measure its level of self-awareness. |
3 . Like many people, Stimpson, who is nearly 80, has noticed an alarming loss of wildlife in his lifetime. The clouds of swifts (雨燕) of his childhood have disappeared.
A loss of nesting (筑巢的) sites is driving the decline of swifts in the UK, whose numbers are believed to have dropped by about 57% in 22 years. These birds — which are now on the UK’s red list — are site-specific, meaning each spring they come back to the same spot after flying thousands of miles from Africa, The problem is that lots of old barns (谷仓) and houses have been upgraded and repaired and nesting sites have disappeared.
Thirteen years ago no one was making swift boxes, so Simpson started, “I’m not a carpenter (木匠), I’m a salesman, but I thought I’d certainly give it a go,” he says. When he started he could make three a day, now on a really good day he can make 30. “The government and big wildlife organisations don’t end up doing much to stop wildlife loss. We seem to have too many pen-pushers and not enough workers,” he says. “We could do an awful lot more than we’re doing.”
He believes local action groups are much more effective and has been working with a number of them. “The number of swift groups that have started up in the last five to eight years is quite staggering. And they seem to go from strength to strength,” he says,
“Swifts are the one thing where an individual can make a significant difference,” says Dick Newell, from Action for Swifts, who has 66 pairs of nesting swifts in his village of Landbeach in Cambridgeshire, 20 of them nesting on his house.
Newell says developers should put swift brick in every new building, and he has been working with housebuilding company Taylor Wimpey to make this happen. Exeter city council has started incorporating tfiem into new buildings, as well as the Duchy of Cornwall, and local councils are getting on board. Others are working on bee bricks and hedgehog (刺猬) holes in new developments.
1. What led to the swifts’ decline in the UK?| A．A loss of food. |
| B．A lack of nesting sites. |
| C．Their being removed from the red list. |
| D．Their deaths during their long journey. |
| A．Curious. | B．Satisfied. | C．Tolerant. | D．Negative. |
| A．Misleading. | B．Shocking. | C．Confusing. | D．Disturbing. |
| A．Build fewer buildings in rural areas. |
| B．Increase buildings made of bricks. |
| C．Include a swift brick in new buildings. |
| D．Give special attention to bees and hedgehogs. |
4 . People generally like to pick out the best-looking fruits and vegetables when shopping for produce (农产品), but Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws is attracting customers with badly-shaped and faulty produce at the price of 30% lower than normal-looking one.
A trial run of the ugly food line, named “Naturally Imperfect”, began with only apples and potatoes to choose from. Consumer demand has been so huge that Loblaws is going to introduce more ugly vegetables and fruits like onions and mushrooms.
All the produce that will be sold through Naturally Imperfect would otherwise have been used in juices, sauces, or soups, or have not been harvested at all. The director Dan Branson explained that this program benefited both food producers who would otherwise have to let abnormal produce go to waste, and consumers who could buy fresh produce at low prices. And he was right, given how popular the line has become.
“It really went well beyond our expectation,” Branson said. “I think it really spoke to the fact that Canadians are out there really looking for some options.”
Of course, Canadians know that beauty is more than skin deep, and they also recognize that they can get the same flavor and nutritional benefits in spite of appearances. The positive response to the initial offering of apples and potatoes showed the opportunity to expand the line and offer more options at a greater price to Canadian families.
“If you grow produce in your backyard, there will be a lot of produce that won’t look as pretty as what you will see in a grocery store”, said Branson. “And nature doesn’t grow everything perfectly. I’d like to think if somebody were to take a No Name Naturally Imperfect apple, put it right beside a No.1 apple, close his eyes and eat them, there would be no difference.”
1. Loblaws is different from other supermarkets in that ______.| A．more fruits are offered at lower prices | B．normal-looking produce is forbidden there |
| C．only apples and potatoes are sold every day | D．imperfect produce is sold at lower prices there |
| A．prevents people from wasting their food | B．happens to be a win-win mode |
| C．teaches food producers how to grow | D．enables consumers to eat more fresh produce |
| A．Canadians are used to eating perfect produce. |
| B．Smart consumers know the importance of ugly produce. |
| C．Loblaws intends to improve customers’ quality of life. |
| D．Customers’ support promotes the development of the ugly food line. |
| A．Imperfect fruits are as tasty and nutritious as perfect ones. |
| B．The world is usually full of imperfect things. |
| C．We should eat imperfect apples with our eyes closed. |
| D．The fruits grown by ourselves are more nutritious than those in the store. |
5 . When handball was introduced to Sri Lankan schools in 2010, I wanted to bring it to my school in a remote village. This became a(n)
40 students aged between 13 and 19
Heshan Pradeep, an alumnus (校友) and member of the Air Force handball team, volunteered to
The
| A．appealing | B．challenging | C．confusing | D．amusing |
| A．regardless of | B．in relation to | C．other than | D．in terms of |
| A．leaving | B．assuming | C．offering | D．creating |
| A．determined | B．resistant | C．forbidden | D．grateful |
| A．woke up | B．grew up | C．sped up | D．signed up |
| A．allow | B．encourage | C．convince | D．force |
| A．Ultimately | B．Occasionally | C．Similarly | D．Unfortunately |
| A．protect | B．contact | C．coach | D．assess |
| A．prospects | B．appliances | C．qualifications | D．facilities |
| A．ended | B．continued | C．changed | D．functioned |
| A．passionate about | B．particular about | C．embarrassed about | D．objective about |
| A．debate | B．compete | C．associate | D．cooperate |
| A．watched | B．hosted | C．reached | D．predicted |
| A．stop | B．free | C．separate | D．excuse |
| A．motivation | B．tendency | C．innovation | D．victory |
6 . Les Brown was a city sanitation worker (环卫工人). But he had a
One day Les went to the local radio station, and told the station manager he wanted to be a disc jockey.
The manager asked, “Do you have any
Les replied, “No, sir, I don’t.”
“Well, I’m afraid we don’t have a job for you.” Les thanked him politely and left.
The station manager
From then on, Les
One day, a jockey named Rock suddenly didn’t feel well. Les was the only other person at the station. Because of his
| A．role | B．reputation | C．chance | D．dream |
| A．refused | B．created | C．discovered | D．shared |
| A．practiced | B．translated | C．taught | D．simplified |
| A．curious | B．previous | C．imaginary | D．fashionable |
| A．interest | B．memory | C．doubt | D．background |
| A．measured | B．forgot | C．underestimated | D．mistook |
| A．education | B．purpose | C．praise | D．income |
| A．step | B．excuse | C．risk | D．test |
| A．found | B．dropped | C．said | D．achieved |
| A．adjusted | B．returned | C．spread | D．relaxed |
| A．stayed up | B．set off | C．showed off | D．gave in |
| A．poorly | B．secretly | C．safely | D．normally |
| A．preparation | B．explanation | C．contribution | D．appreciation |
| A．ignored | B．comforted | C．recalled | D．surprised |
| A．adaptation | B．introduction | C．beginning | D．requirement |
7 . Playing a musical instrument throughout your life protects your hearing in old age, a Canadian study suggests. The study, published in Psychology and Aging, carried out hearing tests on 74 adult musicians and 89 non-musicians. It found a 70-year-old musician’s hearing was as good as that of a 50-year-old who did not play.
Hearing normally declines as people age. By 60, 10-30% of people have moderate hearing loss. By 80, that goes up to as many as 60%. Problems are particularly seen in the central auditory (听觉的) processing system, which is associated with understanding speech, especially when there is background noise.
Previous studies have shown musicians have better hearing than non-players. But this research, by a team at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, looked at adults of all ages - from 18 to 91 - to see how people were affected as they aged. They carried out hearing tests on 74 amateur and professional musicians (who had played since the age of 16, were still practising and had been given formal music lessons) and 89 non-musicians (who had never played an instrument). Musicians were significantly better at picking out speech against noise.
The researchers suggest that lifelong musicianship reduces age-related changes in the brain, probably due to musicians using their auditory systems at a high level on a regular basis.
The head of biomedical research at Action on Hearing Loss, Dr. Ralph Holme, said: “While this study suggests that musicians might be more able to cope with the consequences of hearing loss, it is far better to reduce damage in the first place by using appropriate ear protection. We have always campaigned for everyone who plays a musical instrument or listens to loud music to wear hearing protection, like earplugs, which reduce the risk of damaging your hearing permanently.”
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．A person aged 80 will lose 30% hearing. |
| B．A person aged above 60 must have bad hearing. |
| C．People have fewer problems with background noise. |
| D．People’s hearing usually becomes worse when they get older. |
| A．It tested the hearing of 162 people. |
| B．The finding of the study wasn’t published publicly. |
| C．Playing a musical instrument may do good to hearing. |
| D．Musicians were as good at picking out speech against noise as non-musicians. |
| A．They like to take more exercise. | B．They use their hearing more and regularly. |
| C．They don’t expose themselves to background noise. | D．They pay more attention to protecting their hearing. |
| A．Get help from musicians. | B．Listen to loud music less. |
| C．Protect hearing properly. | D．Play a musical instrument more. |
8 . More than 170,000 people in California are unhoused. Even as the state has poured resources into fighting against the problem, the number of people without homes has ticked upward in recent years. On the surface, the state has one key advantage for people without a reliable roof over their heads: relatively consistent and livable weather. So one of my first thoughts when I heard news of a horricane attacking Los Angeles was just “What will happen to the city’s homeless population?”
City agencies quickly took action. As it became clear that the Los Angeles region could experience an extreme downpour and subsequent flooding, outreach teams fanned out across the river bank and dam areas across the city that have become home to a significant unhoused population, offering support to move them into shelters and motels (汽车旅馆).
Despite that, it’s obvious that the effects of climate change will hit the most vulnerable (脆弱的) hardest. We see this globally as extreme weather events hit countries that have contributed the least to the problem.
The most notable connection between climate change and the US housing crisis is the threat extreme weather poses to unhoused people. More unhoused people are affected as climate change drives increasingly unpredictable weather. People without homes know how to respond to expected seasonal events. But events like a near-hurricane in Los Angeles or a wildfire in ‘Maui can catch populations with limited access to information off guard.
Another link worth considering is the way in which climate change creates more homelessness and further stresses on housing systems. Hurricane Katrina, for example, displaced 800, 000 people. Four years later, 12,000 people remained without shelter.
Housing has been — and will continue to be — a key issue in Maui too as it recovers from the wildfire that killed more than 100 people. Maui has already had a housing crisis, the result of a high cost of living driven in large part by the tourism industry. And, now, many more are left looking for places to stay. Ashley Kelly, the chief operating officer at Hawaii’s Family Life Center, said: “Finding housing for any new clients is just not possible right now.”
1. What contributes to the increase of the unhoused population in California?| A．Its mild weather. |
| B．Its inclusive local culture. |
| C．Its limited basic facilities. |
| D．Its relaxed state policies. |
| A．They built dams to prevent flooding. |
| B．They moved homeless people to safe places. |
| C．They sought low-cost housing from city agencies. |
| D．They surrounded the river bank to keep people away. |
| A．Mysterious. | B．Exceptional. | C．Changeable. | D．Difficult. |
| A．Ways of Americans relocating disaster-affected populations. |
| B．The significance of timely weather updates for the homeless. |
| C．The link between climate change and the housing crisis in the US. |
| D．Approaches of homeless Americans to dealing with natural disasters. |
9 . Bill Sumiel was having a tough Friday. It was October 2020, and the 71-year-old, who was dealing with kidney (肾) failure, found himself at a medical center 30 miles from home.
Sumiel was no stranger to the
Timothy Letts, 31, was driving north to visit a friend when his phone rang with the
When Sumiel got into the car, the pair got to
Sumiel was touched by Letts’s
| A．origins | B．struggles | C．warnings | D．symbols |
| A．adapted to | B．arose from | C．led to | D．took over |
| A．list | B．category | C．class | D．group |
| A．department | B．company | C．arrangement | D．appointment |
| A．application | B．question | C．request | D．intention |
| A．Still | B．Therefore | C．Otherwise | D．Meanwhile |
| A．debating | B．remarking | C．arguing | D．chatting |
| A．instructed | B．revealed | C．wondered | D．announced |
| A．supposed | B．assumed | C．given | D．convinced |
| A．agreed | B．claimed | C．doubted | D．suggested |
| A．sponsor | B．match | C．surgeon | D．model |
| A．demand | B．advice | C．offer | D．mission |
| A．magical | B．joyful | C．anxious | D．emotional |
| A．equal | B．kind | C．true | D．sensitive |
| A．contacted | B．informed | C．persuaded | D．urged |
10 . Several months ago, a tornado fiercely hit our city without any signs before. We hadn’t
Never did I imagine that we would put our regular
I couldn’t
Because of the tornado, I realized that my job as a teacher meant a lot. Behind every well-behaved students are a long line of teachers who have made it their life’s
| A．paid | B．searched | C．accounted | D．prepared |
| A．agency | B．education | C．emergency | D．selection |
| A．suddenly | B．finally | C．secretly | D．immediately |
| A．games | B．trainings | C．languages | D．saving |
| A．mixed up | B．stood out | C．lined up | D．spoken out |
| A．fear | B．anger | C．shame | D．shock |
| A．encounter | B．comfort | C．satisfy | D．praise |
| A．problem | B．result | C．success | D．reason |
| A．hate | B．expect | C．see | D．approach |
| A．simple | B．ideal | C．scary | D．strange |
| A．follow | B．provide | C．repeat | D．change |
| A．fortunate | B．honest | C．confident | D．brave |
| A．trust | B．pride | C．interest | D．growth |
| A．reward | B．power | C．wisdom | D．goal |
| A．chances | B．challenges | C．adventures | D．discussions |
