2 . Three scientists jointly won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for proving that tiny particles (粒子) could keep a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon once doubted but now being explored for potential real-world applications such as encoding information. Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F. Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger were quoted by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for experiments proving the “totally crazy” field of quantum entanglements (量子纠缠) to be all too real. They demonstrated that unseen particles, such as photons (光子) , can be linked, or “entangled”, with each other even when they are separated by large distances.

In quantum entanglement, establishing common information between two photons not near each other “allows us to do things like secret communication, in ways which weren’t possible to do before”, said David Haviland, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. Quantum information “has broad and potential effects in areas such as secure information transmission, quantum computing and sensing technology”. The kind of secure communication used by China’s Micius satellite, as well as by some banks, is a “success story of quantum entanglement”, said Harun Siljak of Trinity College Dublin.

The Nobel Committee said Clauser developed quantum theories first put forward in the 1960s into a practical experiment. Aspect was able to correct an error in those theories, while Zeilinger demonstrated a phenomenon called quantum teleportation that effectively allows information to be sent over distances. “Using entanglement you can send all the information which is carried by an object over to some other place where the object is.” Zeilinger said. He added that this only works for tiny particles. “It is not like in the Star Trek films transporting something, certainly not the person, over some distance,” he said.

1. Which of the following statements about quantum entanglements is NOT true?

A．Scientists were doubtful whether it exists in the real world.

B．The Nobel Prize winner has put it into practical experiment.

C．Two particles can actually be connected regardless of distances.

D．The more distant 2 photons get, the less entangled they’ll become.

2. Which has the closest meaning to the underlined word “transmission”?

A．Affecting.	B．Transforming.
C．Communicating.	D．Spreading.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The achievements these 3 scientists have got individually.

B．The explanation for information transmission over large distances.

C．The clarification that science fiction is no equal to scientific theory.

D．The reason why these 3 scientists share this year’s Nobel Prize in physics.

4. What can we conclude from the passage?

A．Classical physics can be applied to tiny particles.

B．Quantum physics is the focus of modern physical research.

C．Particles, photons, and quanta are all the basic composition of matter.

D．Quantum entanglements can contribute to more cutting-edge technologies.

3 . 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.

2. How does ChatGPT contributes to Sora’s capabilities?

A．By specifying user input.	B．By providing verbal feedback.
C．By examining sample videos.	D．By improving video quality.

3. Why does the author provide the example in paragraph 5?

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.

4. What can we know about Sora up to now?

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.

4 . In a recent heartwarming story, Mr. Sun has touched the hearts of many by using AI face-swapping technology to create a video message from his late father.

The touching video captures Sun’s emotions as he replicates his father’s appearance and voice to convey a message of well-being to his grandmother. The entire process of face-swapping and video creation took a lot of effort and lasted nearly half a month, during which Sun couldn’t help but shed tears as he missed his deceased father.

In 2022, Sun’s father was diagnosed with a rare condition known as appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma (阑尾黏液腺癌). Despite Sun’s efforts to seek medical treatment for his father, the disease progressed rapidly, and his father passed away in 2023.

Concerned about his grandmother’s fragile health, the family decided to keep Sun’s father’s passing a secret. They fabricated (编造) a story, telling the elderly woman that her son was still receiving treatment in a Beijing hospital. The prolonged separation depressed the grandmother a lot, who continuously expressed her longing to speak with her son.

In a creative attempt to comfort his grandmother, Sun, inspired by science fiction films, decided to use AI face-swapping technology to create a video message from his father. Prior to recording the video, he even shaved off his bear d to look more like his late father. By using AI software, he successfully transformed his appearance into that of his father, delivering a heartfelt message to his grandmother: “Mom, it’s Jihai. I’m doing well in Beijing.” Despite the relatively low pixel (像素) quality, the grandmother believed the well-intentioned fabrication.

Sun admitted that his emotions almost broke down within the half-month, as every mention of his father’s name or a glance of his photograph brought great sorrow. He also expressed uncertainty about how long he can keep up the fabrication and whether he will make use of face-swapping again. Nevertheless, he is determined to follow in his father’s footstep to be a strong support for his family.

1. What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Copies.

B．Paints.

C．Recalls.

D．Preserves.

2. How did Sun comfort his grandmother?

A．By seeking medical treatment for his father.

B．By making up to look like his father.

C．By showing his father’s previous photographs and voice to her.

D．By telling a white lie and giving his father an online rebirth.

3. Which is NOT true about Sun’s use of AI face-swapping technology?

A．It was a laborious process.	B．Sun will employ face-swapping again.
C．Sun got inspiration from science-fiction films.	D．The images this technology made were unclear.

4. Which words can best describe Sun according to the passage?

A．Creative and honest.	B．Optimistic and generous.
C．Considerate and responsible.	D．Talented and courageous.

5 . “On the very first day of 2024, I saw the snow of Kilimanjaro, not from the novel written by Ernest Hemingway, but from the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro!” Xu Zhuoyuan, a 17-year-old mountaineer who’d stood on top of Mount Qomolangma last May, climbed onto the tallest peak in Africa, making herself the youngest Chinese girl that conquered it.

Xu’s passion for mountaineering was motivated by her father, who himself reached many peaks, including Mount Qomolangma. And her mountaineering journey began on a family trip to Xizang and Sichuan four years ago. For many years, Xu devoted herself to rigorous training. She went to the mountains in Yunnan and Sichuan every month, climbing peaks over 5,000 meters and doing daily physical exercises like running, swimming and rope skipping. All that hard work got her ready for the challenges she would face on Kilimanjaro.

Above 4000 meters on Mount Kilimanjaro, the climate is similar to a desert, with big temperature differences. The whole climb took 7 days, during which Xu faced unpredictable weather such as rain and strong winds. Staying warm and avoiding heat loss was the main challenge. Xu had to be very sensitive to any temperature changes and adjust her clothing accordingly. This climb was also a learning experience for Xu. She was climbing with Xia Boyu (aged 74), the first Chinese climber to summit Mount Qomolangma with an artificial leg, who’d inspired Xu a lot.

Mountaineering, Xu discovered, is not just about being strong physically; it is also a journey of self-discovery. “In climbing and life, it’s important to know when to let go of things that are weighing us down and how to re start when we feel ready,” she reflected.

1. What inspired Xu Zhuoyuan’s interest in climbing mountains?

A．A novel written by Ernest Hemingway.

B．A former trip to Mount Qomolangma.

C．Her father’s success in mountaineering.

D．Her family trip to Xizang and Sichuan.

2. What does the underlined word “rigorous” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Flexible.

B．Strict.

C．Casual.

D．Dangerous.

3. Which is NOT true about Xu’s Kilimanjaro climbing?

A．She was accompanied by a disabled climber.

B．There was a desert 4000 meters on Mount Kilimanjaro.

C．Weather condition was unstable above Mount Kilimanjaro.

D．Clothes adjustment was needed due to temperature changes.

4. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro—A Chinese Girl’s Bravery.

B．Conquering New Heights —A Story of Passion.

C．Mountaineering—A Journey of Self-discovery.

D．Mount Kilimanjaro —A Destination of Inspiration.

6 . Four places to explore in northern Canada

Welcome to Canada, the land of openness. Discover True North itineraries and undeniably Canadian experiences with a coast-to-coast collection of travel packages. All you need to bring is an open mind. And maybe a light jacket. If you want to get more detailed information, please click www.travelcanada.com

Nights Under Lights
From USD $4,995 per person
6 days/5 nights

Our Nights Under Lights multi-day tours will give you some of the best chances in the world to see and photograph the beautiful northern lights. Spend days adventuring with dog sledding tours, snow-walking, visiting local historic sites and museums and spend the evenings at our award-winning location for cultural presentations, aurora viewing and photography.

Subarctic Wonders: Exploring Churchill’s Northern Lights
From USD $3,795 per person
5 days /4 nights   

Immerse yourself in the enchanting beauty of the aurora and embark on an authentic northern lights adventure. Each evening, we journey to tranquil hideaways, far from the city lights, where the sky unfolds its awe-inspiring display. Experience the wonder of the Northern Lights in Churchill, expertly guided by our team, as you dig into the vibrant northern culture and witness nature’s breathtaking light show.

Belugas, Bears & Summer Wildlife of Churchill
From USD $7,895 per person   
7 days /6 nights

Few of nature’s marvels match the intense aliveness of an Arctic summer. More than 3.000 of these adorable white whales gather at the mouth of the Churchill River, and our motorized rafts and kayaks put us at eye level with these often-curious aquatic lives. On the surrounding land, we frequently spot polar bears wandering or napping on the banks, their creamy coats contrasting with the rocky shoreline and dark forest.

Canada’s Premier Polar Bear Adventure
From USD $7,495 per person
8 days/7 nights

When you’re standing on the outdoor platform of our Polar Rover, the chill Arctic air feels refreshing. But not as much as the sight of the huge polar bear strolling towards us. Sometimes they are shadows on the horizon, slowly moving on the vast expanse of icy land, in search of seals for meals. Join us for one of nature’s most wondrous wildlife encounters—no one does it better than Natural Habitat!

1. In which tour will you spend the most money each day?

A．Nights Under Lights.

B．Subarctic Wonders: Exploring Churchill’s Northern Lights.

C．Belugas, Bears & Summer Wildlife of Churchill.

D．Canada’s Premier Polar Bear Adventure.

2. If you go to Churchill, what activity can you join in according to the text?

A．Sled with dogs.	B．Enjoy the Northern Lights.
C．Hike on the ice.	D．Visit museums.

3. Where can you probably find this text?

A．A geographic magazine.	B．A newspaper.
C．A travel brochure.	D．A website.

8 . Turn on a light outside at night, and it won’t be long before lots of insects start gathering around it. This behavior has led to a popular comparison for attraction, “like a moth to a flame.” However, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, it turns out that insects aren’t “attracted” to artificial lights, but rather confused by it.

The new finding is based on a theory about insect orientation (定位). Due to their small and lightweight bodies, insects experience less air resistance, allowing them to achieve higher accelerations (加速度), which in turn makes it challenging for them to sense up and down during flight. So, they typically rely on stable light sources like the moon and stars to orient themselves at night, keeping the sky at their backs to stay upright. However, the introduction of artificial lights confuses their natural sense of direction. The insects you see circling street lights, in other words, are probably lost.

To reach these conclusions, scientists used high-resolution cameras to film insects flying around artificial lights in Costa Rica. They also attached tiny sensors to insects and filmed motion-capture videos of them in flight. In this way, researchers can slow down the insects pace and study their movements in greater detail. The videos showed insects turning their backs toward sources of artificial light — even at the price of flipping over or crashing.

This can be dangerous for insects, as circling around artificial lights can put them at risk from enemies, exhaustion, and starvation, causing many to die before morning. Night artificial light is a major cause of insect population loss, which could severely impact crop pollination and food supplies for larger animals, including humans. “Insects have been flying around for 370 million years, and it’s just in the last 150 years that it’s really gone wrong for them,” says entomologist Samuel Fabian of Imperial College London. “If we don’t want to influence large amounts of insect populations, we should not have lights shining up into the sky.”

1. What have scientists found out about insects?

A．Artificial lights can disturb their sense of direction.

B．Their populations are in decline.

C．They often fly quickly during the night.

D．Their eyesight is well adapted to light changes.

2. How did the scientists conduct the experiment?

A．By detecting the living environment of insects.

B．By monitoring the insects’ brain activity during flight.

C．By making videos to study insects’ movements.

D．By building models to analyze insects’ motion patterns.

3. Why does the author mention Fabian’s words in the last paragraph?

A．To stress the importance of insects to food supplies.

B．To appeal to people to reduce light pollution.

C．To show the reasons for insects flying around lights.

D．To explain the effects of insects’ death on human life.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．How Artificial Lights Impact the Ecosystem

B．What Leads to the Loss of Insect Populations

C．How Insects Orient Themselves in the Flight

D．Why Insects are Attracted to Lights at Night

9 . Beejhy Barhany, growing up in an Ethiopian-Jewish community in Israel, has been cooking for her family as long as she can remember. Now a chef and owner of Tsion Café in Harlem, New York, Barhany continues to pull from cooking traditions, including one that has become the source of much controversy in recent decades: washing raw meat before cooking.

For Barhany, submerging raw chicken in salt and lemon water is both functional and ceremonial, as soaking or rinsing raw meat in salt water and acid-such as lemon juice or vinegar-is a common form of “washing” required by Jewish Kosher rules. And a 2015 survey of over 1, 500 American consumers found that nearly 70 percent rinse or wash their poultry before cooking it, though the U. S. Department of Agriculture( USDA) started telling consumers not to wash raw poultry in the 1990s. Experts including those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly warned that rather than reducing the risk of foodborne illness (食源性疾病), washing meat increases the likelihood of spreading unwanted pathogens (病原体), like salmonella and campylobacter, around the kitchen.

“Washing meat before cooking is not really helping,” says Betty Feng, associate professor of food science at Purdue University. “The only thing it does is splashing (飞溅) and could cross-contaminate a lot of your kitchen items-your sink, probably your clothes, whatever you have by the sink.” Moreover, Feng cautions against using saltwater, vinegar, or lemon juice, which simply isn’t strong enough to effectively kill foodborne pathogens. “If the acidity is high enough to kill bacteria, then it’s not really likely you can use your bare hand to wash,” she says.

And a 2022 study showed that submerging meat in a bowl of water reduced the splashing but not the spread of germs. “I would treat the entire sink just like the outside of the chicken——it’s a biological hazard,” says Benjamin Chapman, one of the study authors and associate professor in North Carolina State University’s agricultural and human sciences department. “The way that we make meat safe is through cooking, not through the removal of pathogens.”

1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?

A．To broaden the readers’ horizons.	B．To make a comparison.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To state the author’s opinion.

2. What is mentioned about the Jewish Kosher rules from this text?

A．Nearly 70 percent of American consumers follow the rules.

B．The rules pay attention to functional and ceremonial aspects.

C．Uncooked meat is submerged in water with salt and vinegar.

D．It warns people of the risk of foodborne illness.

3. What is TRUE about “washing meat before cooking” according to Betty?

A．It has sparked a lot of controversy in recent years.

B．It has decreased the risk of foodborne illness.

C．It can not be directly done/with your bare hands.

D．It may do a favor/ to the transfer of pathogens.

4. Why is the underlined phrase “biological hazard” mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To emphasize that chickens pose a level/of threat to humans’ life.

B．To show that sinks can be a way to increase splashing.

C．To prove that cooking is a good way to kill pathogens.

D．To stress that the practice people follow is not advisable.

10 . Formula One Lenovo Chinese Grand Prix 2024

From April 19 to 21, the much-anticipated 2024 Formula One Lenovo Chinese Grand Prix will come alive with the roar of engines at the Shanghai International Circuit. Details about tickets for the event are as follows.

Ticket Price:

[Grandstand]              [Session]                                        [Price (RMB)]

A Platinum                    3 Day Ticket                                        3880

• A High                    3 Day/Fri./Sat./Sun. Ticket              2880/490/890/2490

• A Low                    3 Day/Fri./Sat./Sun. Ticket              2280/390/690/1990

• H/K                           3 Day/Fri./Sat./Sun. Ticket              1480/290/590/1290

• C/F/J/L                    3 Day Ticket                                        480

Ticketing Instructions:

• This event adopts electronic tickets with one ticket per person. Children require a full-priced ticket, and children under the age of three are not allowed entry.

• For each session of this event, a maximum of 4 tickets per mobile phone number and 1 ticket per ID card number can be purchased. When purchasing tickets, buyers must provide the audience’s real name, a valid personal ID, and a valid mobile phone number. After a successful purchase, ticket purchasers should retain e-ticket seat information appropriately.

• Ticket refunds can be requested without fees from the date of purchase until 24: 00 on February 29, 2024. From 00:00 on March 1, 2024, to 24: 00 on April 15, 2024, refunds will invite a 10% handling fee. No refunds will be accepted from 00: 00 on April 16, 2024. Returned within 7 working days.

• This event implements real-name verification with ID card and facial recognition for entry.

• The schedule and arrangement of the competition may be subject to changes, and please stay tuned to Formula One Lenovo Chinese Grand Prix official WeChat and Weibo for the latest information.

1. What should be offered to buy a ticket?

A．The audience’s nickname.	B．The audience’s e-ticket seat information.
C．The audience’s WeChat number.	D．The audience’s available phone number.

2. How much will be returned if a couple return their Sat. Ticket of K on March 15?

A．59 yuan.

B．531 yuan.

C．1, 062 yuan.

D．1, 180 yuan.

3. What can we know about Formula One Lenovo Chinese Grand Prix 2024?

A．It will last 7 days.	B．It will be exciting and noisy.
C．It doesn’t limit the audience’s age.	D．It will never be postponed or cancelled.