1 . For adults who have struggled with understanding new math homework or surprised at how quickly kids can learn a second language, there is new evidence that shows kids can really learn things much faster than adults.
A study published in Current Biology finds that children and adults have different concentrations of a key brain messenger called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. This messenger slows down the brain by blocking specific signals in the body’s central nervous system. It also produces a calming effect and is thought to play a major role in controlling the overactivity of nerve cells associated with anxiety, stress and fear. All these contribute to the learning of new things.
In the study, the researchers from Brown University used neuro-imaging techniques to examine visual perceptive (视觉感知的) learning in elementary school-aged children and adults. Participants were shown a number of different images and were later asked questions about them following the test.
Visual learning caused an increase of GABA in children’s visual cortex, the area of the brain that processes visual information. However, GABA levels didn’t change in the adults who took the same visual tests. In addition, children participants kept that GABA increase for hours after training ended, while the concentrations of GABA remained the same in the adults studied.
“In subsequent behavioral experiments, we found that children indeed learn more items within a given period of time than adults.” said Sebastian M. Frank, the co-author of the study. “Our results therefore point to GABA as a key player in making learning more efficient in children.”
These results, the authors argue, should encourage teachers and parents to keep giving children opportunities to learn anything from riding a bike to playing an instrument throughout their childhood.
The findings may also change neuro-scientists’ conception of brain maturity in children. “Although children’s brains are not yet fully mature and many of their behavioral and cognitive functions are not as efficient as in adults, children are not, in general, surpassed in their learning abilities by adults,” said study co-author Takeo Watanabe.
1. What’s the function of GABA?A.Send specific messages to the brain. | B.Deal with complex math problems. |
C.Make the nervous system more active. | D.Increase efficiency in learning new things. |
A.Their GABA concentrations kept increasing after training. |
B.Their learning abilities still needed to be improved. |
C.They could remember more images than adults. |
D.They were surpassed by adults in learning abilities. |
A.By comparing participants’ reaction. | B.By analyzing statistics. |
C.By collecting relative evidence. | D.By conducting online survey |
A.Neuro-scientists don’t fully understand brain maturity in children. |
B.Children are not mature in their behavior and cognition. |
C.It takes a long time for children’s brains to be fully mature. |
D.Children’s brain maturity does not affect their learning abilities. |
2 . Artificial intelligence(AI) models have long surpassed just creating text responses and images. Now, with only one sentence, Open AI’s latest text-to-video model, Sora, can turn your words into video with good visual quality while faithfully following your content instructions.
Sora is said to be superior to many other existing models with similar functions. The AI model can create videos at suitable aspect ratios (屏幕高宽比) for different devices. It also lets users quickly test out content in lower quality before making the high-quality version, which helps speed up output according to the user’s requests.
Aside from this, its ability to present videos in a realistic and smooth manner is astonishing. Sora can create detailed scenes with several characters, specific types of motion, and accurate subject and background details. Beyond the user’s requests, it also understands how these elements exist in the real world. For example, reflections in the water change as a woman walks by.
Sora’s amazing performance wouldn’t be possible without its helpful assistant, ChatGPT, which transforms simple sentences into detailed descriptions, improving the accuracy of output.
However, the current model isn’t perfect. It may have trouble accurately showing how things move in a complicated scene and might not get how one action leads to another. For example, if someone eats part of a cookie in a Sora-made video, the cookie might not look like it’s been bitten into. The model might mix up directions and find it hard to describe events in the right order. One possible reason is that Sora learns each basic unit of a video, known as a spacetime patch (时空补丁), independently.
Sora is still in the testing stage of development. OpenAI is now inviting network security professionals to make random attacks on Sora’s system, aiming to test the model’s possible weaknesses and risks. Sora has also been open to some visual artists, designers and filmmakers. Their feedback will assist OpenAI in enhancing the model to better serve creative professionals.
1. What is the main focus of paragraph 2 and 3?A.Sora’s development. | B.Sora’s diversity. |
C.Sora’s capabilities. | D.Sora’s popularity. |
A.To highlight Sora’s potential safety risks. | B.To illustrate Sora’s existing limitations. |
C.To showcase Sora’s perfect performance. | D.To explain the concept of a spacetime patch. |
A.It has been made available to various industries. | B.Its commercial release has been called off. |
C.It has exposed alarming security issues. | D.It is undergoing testing and improvement. |
A.Sora: Lead the way in creating videos | B.Sora: Surpass existing ChatGPT |
C.Sora:Generate a rich variety of videos | D.Sora:A perfect text-to-video AI model |
3 . As a child, I loved exploring the attic (阁楼) — a
I read about his
Years passed, and I grew up, but the
Today, when I hold the worn journal, I realize it’s not just a forgotten treasure, but a
In this
A.dusty | B.dark | C.bright | D.clear |
A.visible | B.open | C.locked | D.hidden |
A.shaky | B.steady | C.warm | D.cold |
A.failures | B.successes | C.adventures | D.achievements |
A.satisfaction | B.imagination | C.description | D.assumption |
A.traveling | B.sleeping | C.dreaming | D.waiting |
A.bookshelf | B.attic | C.journal | D.box |
A.true | B.fake | C.temporary | D.present |
A.get in | B.get over | C.get through | D.get back |
A.relative | B.family | C.national | D.personal |
A.wealth | B.health | C.freedom | D.wisdom |
A.destroy | B.forget | C.preserve | D.ignore |
A.frustration | B.inspiration | C.boredom | D.confusion |
A.lonely | B.lively | C.industrial | D.digital |
A.Unless | B.As | C.If | D.Though |
4 . In a heartwarming incident that highlights the power of human connection, a woman’s act of kindness saved the life of a struggling homeless man.
During a
Casey went over to engage him in
After
Upon opening the
Casey posted on social media later that day that “this lovely man’s name was Chris, and Chris was one of the most
A.holiday | B.break | C.gap | D.pause |
A.recognized | B.dominated | C.spotted | D.consulted |
A.Basically | B.Repeatedly | C.Eventually | D.Amazingly |
A.afford | B.deliver | C.abuse | D.guarantee |
A.experiment | B.reputation | C.argument | D.conversation |
A.Touched | B.Persuaded | C.Frustrated | D.Criticized |
A.tea | B.coffee | C.gift | D.seat |
A.dynamic | B.reliable | C.precise | D.mean |
A.restored | B.spoke | C.enhanced | D.complained |
A.realizing | B.convincing | C.disturbing | D.acquiring |
A.leave | B.wait | C.skip | D.bless |
A.reward | B.message | C.apology | D.excuse |
A.book | B.door | C.note | D.essay |
A.pursuits | B.welfare | C.reasons | D.hope |
A.sincere | B.negative | C.enthusiastic | D.hardworking |
5 . Alongside her impressive musical career, Leona Lewis is also the owner of a vegan (素食主义的) coffee shop, Coffee And Plants. She has great enthusiasm for the coffee shop and reveals the drink flavors that they’ve been working on lately. “We’ve just rolled out our new pumpkin drink at the coffee shop. It’s called Pumpkin Pie, and it’s really good! We use all real pumpkin puree, not flavored syrup.”
Coffee And Plants is a real passion project for Lewis, being fully plant-based. She has a long history of animal activism (行动主义), starting with going vegetarian (素食者) at the age of 12 after going on shopping trips with her mum and seeing protesters with animal testing signs. “I was so upset, I said, ‘Mum, I have to help the animals’,” she says. “That became my mission as a kid, and it’s fed into every aspect of my life.”
Her animal activism grew alongside her fame: in 2011 she supported a campaign to ban the use of wild animals in circuses, and in 2013 she released a cruelty-free makeup line with The Body Shop. When it came to opening a coffee shop, making it plant-based was a no-brainer.
“I wanted it to be plant-based because I’m plant-based,” she says. “I would often go into coffee shops and see milk cartons piled up high and think, how many cows are being milked for this? The dairy industry and mass farming—it’s so cruel and harms the environment too.”
Environmental awareness is also at the heart of Coffee And Plants, with all cups being recyclable. But ultimately, Lewis is hoping for a more widespread mindset shift. “What we really try and get people to do is actually bring in their own bottles to refill, or we encourage them to sit in and have a coffee in a cup instead,” she explains. “We need a mindset shift where we start to think, OK, we shouldn’t really be using stuff that just goes in the bin.”
1. What does the phrase “rolled out” underlined in the first paragraph mean?A.improved | B.discovered | C.denied | D.launched |
A.She hated to eat animal meat. | B.She wanted to protect animals. |
C.She was inspired by her mom. | D.She was given a great mission. |
A.To show Lewis influence on business. |
B.To compare Lewis’ different activities. |
C.To prove that the makeup line is plant-based. |
D.To give an example of Lewis’ animal activism. |
A.People have to start using reusable things. |
B.The mind shift is quite easy to accomplish. |
C.People shouldn’t use cups in the coffee shop. |
D.Only vegetarians can go into the coffee shop. |
6 . An old car, a few dollars in the pocket, and a sense of adventure. That’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the
It was too amazing an experience to
Lonely Planet has gone on to
Tony and Maureen are continuing to travel and devote much of their spare time to
A.savings | B.travel | C.reward | D.anniversary |
A.divorced | B.delayed | C.married | D.separated |
A.difficult | B.possible | C.astonished | D.meaningful |
A.made sure | B.made up | C.made it | D.made sense |
A.keep to | B.link to | C.turn to | D.contribute to |
A.Forced | B.Disturbed | C.Anticipated | D.Encouraged |
A.sold | B.acquired | C.proceeded | D.purchased |
A.comes from | B.results in | C.looks into | D.applies to |
A.wonderful | B.mysterious | C.actual | D.primitive |
A.fight | B.compete | C.become | D.manage |
A.printing | B.drawing | C.reading | D.writing |
A.couples | B.travelers | C.foreigners | D.friends |
A.successful | B.urgent | C.contrary | D.charitable |
A.country | B.world | C.office | D.company |
A.achieve | B.do | C.start | D.claim |
7 . If you find yourself embracing the thrilling chaos of completing tasks at the last minute, congratulations — You are not alone! According to a survey, 20% of U.S. adults procrastinate (拖延) at home, at work, in relationships, and more. Another survey found that 88% of people procrastinate at least one hour a day.
Sounds alarming? As it turns out, if you’re feeling stressed, you may be more likely to procrastinate. Essentially, our brains are structured to approach tasks we find enjoyable and avoid those we are afraid of. Our limbic brain (边缘大脑), the emotional part of our brain, is screaming, “Let’s do anything but that stressful thing!” while our prefrontal cortex (前额叶皮层) is the CEO of our brain, setting the goals, making a plan, and ensuring we stay on track. CEO vs. Drama Queen Brain — who will win? Actually, there do exist chances when our limbic brain overrides that prefrontal cortex message.
Then there’s the burst of energy we often get when we’re up against a deadline, which leads to a reward pathway within our brains and sets the foundation for procrastination as a habit. When you race to the end and get to the goal finally, your previous stress is gone and you almost get in that pattern of “See, I work better under pressure!”
So, how to beat procrastination? Well, you need to retrain your brain to cope with the stress. One trick is to take periodic breaks (reward) to refocus your attention on the task. Ever heard of the Promodoro Technique? It’s about working for 25 minutes and resting for 5. During those breaks, forget about brain-burning activities — try relaxing techniques such as meditation or yoga instead. Another trick is to “eat the frog” first thing in the morning, or tackle the most difficult and stressful task of the day, as was once said by Mark Twain.
1. Why are the two surveys mentioned in the first paragraph?A.To warn the readers. | B.To introduce a concept. |
C.To present a phenomenon. | D.To make a comparison. |
A.We are born to prefer what we like and avoid what we fear. |
B.The limbic brain is under the control of the prefrontal cortex. |
C.We are more likely to burst when getting close to the deadline. |
D.Failing to complete a task can lead to habitual procrastination. |
A.Force the brain to focus. | B.Take a break regularly. |
C.Solve a tricky math problem. | D.Eat something refreshing first. |
A.Humorous. | B.Ironic. | C.Serious. | D.Unclear. |
8 . Artificial intelligence(AI)models have long surpassed (超过) just creating text responses and images. Now, with only one sentence, OpenAI’s latest text-to-video model, Sora, can turn your words into video with good visual quality while faithfully following your content instructions.
Sora is said to perform better than many other existing models with similar functions. The Al model can create video at suitable aspect ratios (屏幕高宽比) for different devices, such as both widescreen videos and vertical videos that we usually see on social media. It also lets users quickly test out content in lower quality before making the high-quality version, which helps speed up output.
Aside from this, its ability to present videos in a realistic and smooth manner is amazing. Sora can create detailed scenes with several characters, scientific types of motion, and accurate subject and background details while generating multiple shots with a single video. Beyond the user’s requests, it also understands how these elements exist in the real world. For example, reflections in the water changes as a woman walks by.
Sora’s performance wouldn’t be possible without its helpful assistant, ChatGPT, which transforms simple sentences into detailed descriptions. improving the accuracy of output according to the user’s prompts (提示语).
However, the current model isn’t perfect. It may have trouble accurately showing how things move in a complicated scene and might not get how one action leads to another. For example, if someone eats part of a cookie in a Sora-made video, the cookie might not look like it’s been bitten into. The model might mix up directions like left and right, and find it hard to describe events in the right order.
As of February, Sora is still in the testing stage of development. OpenAI is now inviting cybersecurity professionals to make random attacks on Sora’s system, aiming to test the model’s possible weaknesses and risks. Sora has also been open to some visual artists, designers and filmmakers. Their feedback (反馈) will assist OpenAI in enhancing the model to better serve creative professionals.
1. What is the main focus of paragraphs 2-3?A.Sora’s strengths. | B.Sora’s variety. |
C.Sora’s development. | D.Sora’s techniques. |
A.By specifying user input. | B.By providing verbal feedback. |
C.By examining sample videos. | D.By improving video quality. |
A.To stress Sora’s potential safety risks. |
B.To illustrate Sora’s existing limitations. |
C.To show Sora’s perfect performance. |
D.To explain the concept of a space time patch. |
A.It has been made available to various industries. |
B.Its commercial release has been called off. |
C.It has exposed alarming security issues. |
D.It is undergoing testing and improvement. |
9 . Flowers have a longstanding tradition as a means of emotional expression. When we wish to convey our affection, joy or condolences (哀悼), and words won’t work, we rely on the beauty of the flowers.
One of the most famous examples of floriography (花艺) is King Charles’ choice of funeral wreath for his mother, the late Queen. He expressed his sense of loss through his choice of blooms: Myrtle (香桃木) for love and prosperity, paired with English oak to represent strength.
How floriography influences our decisions has led florists to make some interesting observations. First, they documented that 29 percent of people chose flowers based on the color of the bouquet, with red being the most popular choice. Red is the color of passion and is widely regarded as an expression of love. However, pink has sumless meanings, depending on where you live: in Thailand, it symbolizes trust, while in Japan, it is considered a sign of good health. However, this only begins to scratch the surface of floriography.
But like all things in the world, there are good and bad, and some flowers are used to represent negative feelings toward the recipient. You might think yellow carnations are pretty, but they’ve been a symbol of defiance (蔑视) throughout history. Another flower best avoided is buttercup, whose yellow petals symbolize childishness.
By welcoming the tradition of floriography back into wider culture, we can explore the depth of our emotions in unique ways. Take a look at our beloved emojis — we can talk without typing a single word. Sending a heart here and a fire icon emojis there speaks through their aesthetics, a secret language all their own. Flowers are no different. They were merely the emojis of the19th Century, still filtering through after all this time.
1. What is the author’s purpose in referring to the example of King Charles?A.To prove flowers to be expressive. | B.To introduce the topic of the passage. |
C.To arouse the readers’ interest in flowers. | D.To present some knowledge of flowers. |
A.Sending flowers was historically disapproved of. |
B.Buttercup was suitable flowers for giving to children. |
C.Giving flowers often leads to some misunderstandings. |
D.A second thought should be given to flowers to be sent. |
A.By listing some representative emojis. | B.By recognizing the popularity of emojis. |
C.By borrowing the similar features of emojis. | D.By mentioning the similar history of emojis. |
A.The Traditional Art of Giving Flowers | B.The Emotional Expression in Flowers |
C.Social Functions of Some Flowers | D.Interesting Observation of Flowers |
10 . Learned helplessness occurs when a person who has experienced repeated challenges comes to believe they have no control over their situation. They then give up trying to make changes and accept their fate.
Everyone can struggle at times, especially when coping with adversity and setbacks. Learned helplessness is characterized by more lasting symptoms such as: avoiding decisions, bad attitude, giving up quickly, inability to tolerate frustration, lack of effort, low motivation, passive behavior, poor self-esteem, refusing to try and so on. Learned helplessness is not a mental health problem, but it can sometimes be a sign of a mental disorder such as depression or anxiety.
The concept of learned helplessness was discovered accidentally by psychologists Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier. They had initially observed helpless behavior in dogs that were classically conditioned to expect an electrical shock after hearing a tone. Later, the dogs were placed in a shuttle box that contained two chambers (室) separated by a low barrier. The floor was electrified on one side, and not on the other. The dogs previously subjected to the classical conditioning made no attempts to escape, even though avoiding the shock simply involved jumping over a small barrier.
Learned helplessness is frequently the result of experiencing stress or pain. People may feel that they have little to no control over the situation. Because of the lack of control, people may feel helpless and unmotivated to take action. Common causes that can lead to learned helplessness include: abuse, childhood neglect, domestic violence, natural disasters, etc.
Over-parenting can also contribute to the development of learned helplessness in children. When children are not allowed to try things independently, they may develop a poor sense of personal agency. Instead of trying, they believe that they are unable to do things and do not put forth any effort.
So what can people do to overcome learned helplessness? Learned helplessness can often be successfully decreased, particularly if intervention occurs during the early stages. Long-term learned helplessness can also be reduced, although it may require longer-term effort. Strategies that can help include: psychotherapy, self-care strategies, and getting social support.
1. Who is most likely to suffer from learned helplessness?A.A person willing to accept help. | B.A person lacking discipline and energy. |
C.A person encountering failures repeatedly. | D.A person desiring to succeed on their own. |
A.Types. | B.Cures. | C.Causes. | D.Symptoms. |
A.Receiving. | B.Rejecting. | C.Enjoying. | D.Fearing. |
A.Predicting the extension of the concept of learned helplessness. |
B.Explaining the ways of beating learned helplessness separately. |
C.Describing the discovery of the concept of learned helplessness. |
D.Summarizing the causes and consequences of learned helplessness. |