1 . At the end of 2019,I learned that Here After AI, whose goal is to let the living communicate with the dead, was looking for applicants of its new AI project. Interested in what it was promising, I applied to experiment the software on my very-much-alive parents.
At first, I thought it would be just a fun project to see what was technologically possible. Then their health condition added some urgency to the experiment. I was frightened that my parents might die since my father had been diagnosed with cancer and my mother was recently developing symptoms of early Alzheimer’s disease, and that with the distance between us, I might never have the chance to say goodbye.
The first step was an interview. My parents were asked questions by a techician for hours-about everything from their earliest memories to what they believe will happen after they die. Whether through illness-generated concerns or a willingness to humor their daughter, my parents put up zero resistance. The company then took their responses and started to create the voice assistants. A few months later, my virtual parents arrived via email attachment.
When I communicated with them through the app on my phone, my hands were shaking. I hadn’t seen my actual, real parents for six months. They told me personal stories I’d never heard. They gave me life advice and told me things about their childhoods, as well as my own. It was mesmerizing.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about my experiment. I’m glad to have my virtual parents. They’ve enabled me to learn new things about my parents, and it’s comforting to think that those softwares will be there even when my parents aren’t. On the other hand, I can’t help but find it sad that it took a stranger interviewing my parents for me to properly appreciate the complex people they are. But I feel lucky to have had the chance to grasp that-and to still have the precious opportunity to spend more time with them and learn more about them, face to face, no technology involved.
1. Why did the author initially join the AI project?| A．To test out the new technology. |
| B．To preserve her parents’ voice. |
| C．To learn more about her parents’ life. |
| D．To remove the worry about her parents’ health. |
| A．They liked talking a lot. |
| B．They died from the illnesses. |
| C．They opposed joining the project at first. |
| D．They provided data for the project. |
| A．Alarming. | B．Fascinating. | C．Inspiring. | D．Disgusting. |
| A．AI means never saying goodbye to our parents. |
| B．The advances in AI technology have pros and cons. |
| C．The real connection with our parents matters most. |
| D．AI allows us to learn more about our virtual parents. |
2 . Four Wonderful Books
Worried Whippet: A Book of Bravery
by Jess Bolton
This beautifully illustrated story is about an anxious dog who navigates (驾驭) moments of bravery and acts of courage as she goes about her everyday life.
Written for adults and children who are struggling with anxiety, Jess’s hope is that the book can encourage you to take small steps of bravery as well, just as the worried Whippet does.
All Through the Night
by Dani Robertson
Author and dark sky officer Dani Roberston is on a mission to protect the world from the effects of light pollution. In doing so, she helps us to understand why the dark nights are so important for ourselves, animals, and plants, and turns the switch on why it’s something that should be embraced (欣然接受).
The Book of Nordic Self-Care
by Elisabeth Carlsson
If your typical self-care routine isn’t cutting it, now is the time to embrace self-care the Nordic way. From wellness practices to Nordic foods, nutritionist and lifestyle coach Elisabeth Carlsson reveals the secrets from the world’s happiest countries that will help you bring peace and balance to your life.
The Britannias : An Island Quest
by Alice Albinia
Put on your walking boots and head off on this tour through the history of Britain’s islands.
In tracing the nation’s geographical periphery (周边), author and journalist Alice Albinia also, fittingly, sets out to recentre the narrative on stories sometimes pushed to the edges: those of women, for instance, or of people regarded with suspicion. Part history, part travelogue (游记), this is an interesting exploration of how a land shapes its people.
1. What is the book Worried Whippet: A Book of Bravery about?| A．The story of an anxious but brave dog. |
| B．The effects of light pollution. |
| C．The history of Britain’s islands. |
| D．Nordic self-care practices. |
| A．Jess Bolton. | B．Dani Robertson. |
| C．Elisabeth Carlsson. | D．Alice Albinia. |
| A．Worried Whippet: A Book of Bravery. |
| B．All Through the Night. |
| C．The Book of Nordic Self-Care. |
| D．The Britannias: An Island Quest. |
3 . Given the chance, 15-year-old Lenny King likes nothing more than to climb over seven foot-high garden fences and run across the busy road to the Co-op, which he associates with free biscuits. His sister Daisy, 17, frequently falls over, and she was told she’d never walk.
The eldest, 19-year-old Rosie, might launch into an outburst of swearing (咒骂) at any moment. The King family are special in a number of ways. Not only are all three children on the autism (自闭症) spectrum, but their parents — rather than see their situation as at best unlucky and at worst a curse (诅咒) — regard it as a blessing. “In some ways my children are forever young, so while in most families the children grow up and pull away from their parents, mine continue to be a source of childlike surprises,” says Mum Sharon, 47.
Sharon and Richard King met in a Wakefield nightclub. Sharon had a normal pregnancy (怀孕) and gave birth to Rosie, who was a highly developed youngster. While her parents thought her “a bit different”, they saw no reason to be concerned about having a second child. Two years later Daisy was born and, within 12 months, she was diagnosed (诊断) with the rare genetic condition Kabuki Syndrome which is a rare, multi-system disorder characterized by abnormalities including distinctive facial features, growth delays, varying degrees of intellectual disability.
The Kings were told that Daisy may never walk or talk, though she proved the doctors wrong in the first instance by getting to her feet, aged five. Sharon and Richard, a 52-year-old civil engineer, were also advised to think carefully about having any more children. At that point Sharon was already six months pregnant with Lenny. When their son was 18 months old, the Kings noticed that he wasn’t meeting his developmental milestones and doctors raised the possibility that he might be autistic. Lenny was finally diagnosed with classic autism before his third birthday, which then raised questions about nine-year-old Rosie. Tests revealed she had high functioning Asperger’s (阿斯伯格综合征).
Now Lenny and Daisy are collected by an autism resource centre at 8 a. m. each day and returned at 4 p. m. People who are not defeated by suffering are brave warriors in life, and they definitely will have a bright future.
1. Which can best describe Sharon?| A．Optimistic. | B．Pitiful. | C．Inspiring. | D．Grateful. |
| A．They were healthy. | B．They prefer a large family. |
| C．Rosie seemed almost normal. | D．There was no history of the illness in them. |
| A．She was infected by Lenny. | B．She also carried some disease. |
| C．She was ignored by her parents. | D．She was diagnosed with autism at birth. |
| A．To explain the unfairness of life. | B．To encourage readers to offer help. |
| C．To persuade people to focus on autism. | D．To tell people to be positive about misfortune. |
4 . As soon as we get past the age of 25, many of us immediately feel the urge to stop the signs of ageing — especially the visible ones. Men and women are now using topical “anti- ageing” creams, spa treatments and medical procedures to counter many of them. But while these methods can somewhat affect the way you look, ageing is an internal process. A group of scientists based out of the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that instead of being a smooth, continuous process, ageing surges (猛增) forward at three distinct stages of life: first, at the age of 34, then at age 60, and finally at 78.
The study, published in Nature Medicine, reveals that scientists can not only predict your age by studying the proteome (protein levels in the blood) but also determine which organs are ageing faster than the others, and which age-related diseases your body is more susceptible to. The study measured plasma proteins (血浆蛋白) collected from 4, 263 adults between the ages of 18 — 95 years and studied the changes in the proteome that occurred with age.
Their ultimate goal was to understand how to identify the changes associated with cardiovascular (心血管的) issues and age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s so that therapeutic treatments can be thought up to counter their onset while there’s still time.
Wyss-Coray and his workmates did not study protein samples from individuals but instead divided the participants into age groups. This helped them identify that ageing underwent sudden surges during three stages of life: young adulthood, late middle age and old age. The scientists were also able to isolate people who did not age according to their actual age. What’s more, the study also confirmed that men and women, who were equally represented in the study, age differently.
While these are still early discoveries and actual clinical applications, the scientists revealed, are at least 5 to 10 years away, the results seem to have a lot of potential. There could one day be a simple blood test that could study the protein levels and determine whether you are ageing appropriately or not.
Does this also mean that there could, one day, be a way of actually stopping the process of ageing altogether? You never know.
1. What did the scientists find?| A．Ageing can’t be avoided. | B．Preventing ageing can cure illnesses. |
| C．Ageing process quickens at three phases. | D．Humans can use some methods to look younger. |
| A．Mature. | B．Defenseless. | C．Responsive. | D．Addictive. |
| A．To pursue a forever young life. |
| B．To know more about life and death. |
| C．To offer possible treatments for age-related diseases. |
| D．To identify the differences between men and women. |
| A．Favourable. | B．Critical. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Doubtful. |
5 . Hummingbirds are natural acrobats (杂技演员), twisting their wings in ways that let them fly backward and upside down, unlike any other bird. Now, high-speed video shows how the birds can slip through gaps narrower than their wingspan (翼宽).
Hummingbirds fly sideways to make it through holes too small for their stiff (僵硬), outstretched wings, scientists report November 9 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. The birds move their wings at a part of the full range of motion, keeping them from hitting the hole’s sides while preserving the backward flying ability. After navigating (穿行) the barriers a few times, hummingbirds flatten their wings against the body and travel through the holes.
“This is a new insight into the amazing capacity of hummingbirds,” says Bret Tobalske, a biomechanist at the University of Montana in Missoula who was not involved in the study. Most birds just pull their wings close to the body to fly through thick vegetation. Sideways flight highlights how unique these hummingbirds are, Tobalske says.
Biologist Marc Badger and colleagues trained four wild Anna’s hummingbirds to fly between two feeders, then introduced barriers monitored by high-speed cameras. Each barrier had holes ranging from 6 to 12 centimetres across, which are equal to about half or a full hummingbird wingspan.
The sideways flight astonished study coauthor Robert Dudley, a physiologist at the University of California, Berkeley. “To slow it up and then go sideways and not drop in altitude was a novel behaviour.”
Perhaps hummingbirds fly sideways to navigate barriers that might hide enemies, says Badger, who did the work while at UC Berkeley. Once the birds know it’s safe, they use the technique to avoid breaking feathers, he suggests.
1. What makes it difficult for hummingbirds to fly through tiny gaps?| A．They have poor vision. |
| B．Their wings don’t easily bend. |
| C．They are unable to fly backward. |
| D．Their enemies often hide in narrow gaps. |
| A．He didn’t engage in the study. |
| B．He works at the University of California. |
| C．He thinks little of hummingbirds’ flying ability. |
| D．He trained four hummingbirds to fly between two feeders. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Upset. | C．Concerned. | D．Amazed. |
| A．Hummingbirds Are Natural Performers |
| B．Hummingbirds Have High Survival Abilities |
| C．Hummingbirds Show off Their Sideways Flight |
| D．Hummingbirds Are Recorded by High-Speed Cameras |
6 . Making employees feel happy and healthy at work is good for many businesses. But it isn’t always an easy thing. A research suggests that just 33% of the U. S. employees consider themselves fully engaged (投身于) at work, while 16% are actively disengaged, and 51% are just showing up.
But there is an exception. When it comes to employee engagement, it seems that employees in small companies are doing better. According to the same research, the largest U. S. companies have the lowest levels of engagement, while companies with fewer than 25 employees have the highest. And in one recent report, 75 percent of small business workers surveyed said they were “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their role as a small company employee.
Unlike big companies, small companies are often short of resources but the employees can get more surprises there. Small companies offer excellent career opportunities to their employees. The bosses often know their staff very well and understand their personal needs. Employees of small companies are more likely to receive free meals, paid leave, and they can even bring their pets to work.
But of course, there’re many other draws in small businesses. One of the top draws is flexible scheduling (弹性工时). Another is being able to really see the fruits of one’s labor. Besides, noncash award is also a big draw. This could be something small that reflects employees’ interests and lifestyles.
While a parental leave might lead to some financial problems, small companies may do something to improve it. “It may be impossible for a five person team to be reduced to four for six months,” writes Camilla Velasquez, head of HR management platform Just works. “But it could be possible to allow new parents to take on reduced hours in a work from home environment.” This kind of method has been realized in some small companies.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2? ______| A．Employees can develop better in small companies. |
| B．Employees can earn more money in small companies. |
| C．Employees in big companies are hard to be satisfied. |
| D．Employees in small companies are more engaged at work. |
| A．The benefits of working for small companies. |
| B．The differences between small and big companies. |
| C．What challenges staff in small companies may face. |
| D．Why small companies are short of resources. |
| A．Choices. | B．Attractions. | C．Difficulties. | D．Competitions. |
| A．Small companies may have more employees with much happiness. |
| B．Big companies should learn from some small companies. |
| C．Employees should have their own hobbies and lifestyles. |
| D．Employers should pay more attention to the staff’s needs. |
7 . Of all the Christmas traditions in my family, the most firmly defended is what’s known as the healthy walk: a non-negotiable walk that takes place in the thin sliver of daylight separating the end of a massive breakfast and the beginning of an even bigger Christmas dinner.
I think the origins of the name lie with my late grandmother (who was also fond of healthy 5 a. m. swims in the English Channel well into her 70s), but it was my parents’ generation who first embraced it at Christmas, working out that a walk was essential. Now, as my parents themselves approach their 70s, my brothers and I have taken up the baton (接力棒) enthusiastically.
But hiking in the depths of winter isn’t without its risks. There are times when the healthy walk has felt almost a little too healthy — there’s a fine line between the kind of weather my grandmother would have described as pleasant and that which will lead to full-blown hypothermia(体温过低). Getting soaked, suffering frozen fingers and slithering (滑) down a muddy bank on your backside are all risks at Christmas in my family. So far, no-one has ever seriously injured themselves, but whatever Michael Bublé might say, the reality of festive-season walking in the UK is always more “sodden (湿透的) mud patch” than “winter wonderland”.
Of course, the risk of being caught out by the elements increases further on longer hikes at this time of year. I’m always amazed that more people don’t do themselves serious damage during ultra-distance winter events. I’m in a we of those (including my sister) who’ve managed to complete things such as the two-day Original Mountain Marathon which takes place in October. In the end, however, the same principle applies to these big events as to our more gentle Christmas Day walk: if you get the right gear (装备), you can handle pretty much anything.
1. What’s the most strictly guarded Christmas custom in the author’s family?| A．A great breakfast. | B．The healthy walk. |
| C．A big Christmas dinner. | D．5 a. m. swims in the English Channel. |
| A．Kind and caring. | B．Successful and rich. |
| C．Determined and energetic. | D．Ambitious and generous. |
| A．They should wear proper gear to deal with many things. |
| B．They can handle everything independently. |
| C．They should focus on more gentle activities. |
| D．They are risking their lives unnecessarily. |
| A．Sports. | B．Education. | C．Entertainment. | D．Science. |
8 . After losing her house to a fire, Jo Ann Ussery had a strange idea: to live in an airplane. She bought an old Boeing 727, had it shipped to a piece of land she already owned, and spent six months renovating (翻新), doing most of the work by herself.
By the end, Ussery had a fully functional home, with over 140 square metres of living space, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. All for less than $30,000．
Ussery had no professional connection to aviation (航空), and was following the offbeat suggestion of her brother-in-law, an air traffic controller. She lived in the plane from 1995to 1999, when it was seriously damaged after falling off the truck that was moving it to a different location.
Although Ussery wasn’t the first person to ever live in an airplane, her perfect execution (执行)of the project had an inspirational effect. In the late 1990s, Bruce Campbell, an electrical engineer, was struck by her story, “I was driving home and listening to the radio, and they had Jo Ann’s story, and my focus turned entirely to it. The next morning I was placing phone calls,” he said.
Campbell has now been living in his own plane — also a Boeing 727 — for over 20 years. “I still stand on Jo Ann’s shoulder and I’m grateful for the proof of concept.” His project cost $220,000 in total, of which roughly half was for the purchase of the plane.
If you think living in an airplane is extravagant (肆意挥霍的) enough, how about living in two? That’s the plan for Joe Axline, who owns an MD-80 and DC-9 in Brookshire, Texas. Axline has lived in the MD-80 for over a decade and is planning to renovate the DC-9 and equip it with recreational areas such as a movie theatre.“I’ve spent less than a quarter of a million dollars in the whole project,” said Axline, who has very few running expenses because he owns the land and has built his own water well.
1. What does the underlined word “offbeat” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．Practical. | B．Great. | C．Stupid. | D．Unconventional. |
| A．Joe Axline. | B．Jo Ann Ussery. |
| C．Jo Ann Ussery’s brother-in-law. | D．An unknown air traffic controller. |
| A．Less than $30,000． | B．About $110,000. |
| C．About $220,000． | D．Less than 250,000． |
| A．To persuade readers to live in airplanes. |
| B．To entertain readers with interesting stories. |
| C．To introduce some people who live in airplanes. |
| D．To introduce a new and fashionable way of life. |
9 . Three of the Best Small Breweries (啤酒厂) in the USA
If you’re tired of drinking the same old beer and would actually like to have a taste of true beer that’s been handcrafted with care and genuine passion by newbies (新手) in the market — then this blog is going to give you exactly that.
City Built Brewing Co.
This place has got something for everybody — whether you’re a “classic” person who just wants to have a glass of your favourite beer on a hot summer day or an adventurer who wants to be hit with flavours that you have never tried before-the City Built Brewing Company will meet all your needs since it provides a variety of drinks for a mixed crowd.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Even though it’s not one of the biggest players in the market, its extremely innovative marketing strategies will convince you otherwise. The Firestone Walker Brewing Co. has quickly managed to gain a lot of visibility in 2022 simply by having a great social media presence, along with a killer webpage that invites beer lovers in. Its true specialty lies in creating seasonal beers made annually and available only for a limited period of time. Apart from this, it also has a variety of other kinds of beer that are brewed all year round.
Dovetail Brewery
Here’s a place that you should go to for both-the great beer and the fun experience. Started by two friends (Bill and Hagen) who met in beer school, the brewery is best known for how well they convert classic European beers to suit the American tastebuds (味蕾).
Not just that, but you’ll also get to experience a place of great architecture when you visit this brewery, along with the amazing food that’s to die for.
1. What is unique about Firestone Walker Brewing Co. ?| A．It brought in foreign flavours. | B．Its architecture style is appealing. |
| C．Some of its beer is offered for limited time. | D．It makes special flavour only for adventurers. |
| A．Their beer is of poor quality. | B．Their products are handmade. |
| C．They provide hands-on experience. | D．They don’t have webpages to advertise. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A newspaper. | C．A textbook. | D．A website. |
10 . Leonardo da Vinci experimented with chemicals while painting some of his representative works — including The Mona Lisa — forming a poisonous layer hidden beneath the celebrated art. Researchers studying a tiny microsample from a corner of the painting found a substance known as plumbonacrite (水白铅矿), a poisonous compound (化合物) formed when oil and lead(Ⅱ) oxide (氧化铅)are mixed together.
The Mona Lisa, and many other paintings from the Renaissance era in the early 1500s, were painted on wooden panels. These required a thick base layer to enable artists to create their works on top. The most common method was using a substance called gesso, which comes from plaster of Paris, but the presence of plumbonacrite suggests Da Vinci layered his painting with lead white paint, mixed with oil infused (泡) with lead(Ⅱ) oxide.
Writing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the authors said, “The most remarkable signature in the sample is the presence of plumbonacrite, a rare compound that is stable only in an alkaline(碱性的) environment. Leonardo probably attempted to prepare a thick paint suitable for covering the wooden panel of The Mona Lisa by treating the oil with a high load of lead(Ⅱ) oxide. ”It is thought the lead(Ⅱ) oxide may have been used to help the paint applied on top of it to dry.
The team reviewed Da Vinci’s writing to find reference to his use of the chemicals, but found only “unclear references” to plumbonacrite. It seems once again the famous scholar was ahead of his time, with the technique only found in other paintings by Rembrandt in the 1600s. Use of plumbonacrite at the time seems to have been limited to skin and hair treatment.
In addition to The Mona Lisa analysis, the team used high-resolution analytic techniques on 17 samples from across the surface of The Last Supper and found it also contained the same poisonous base layer.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．A poisonous compound was found in The Mona Lisa. |
| B．Da Vinci created his painting through trial and error. |
| C．Researchers damaged the famous painting while studying it. |
| D．Da Vinci buried some poison under the painting to protect it. |
| A．He used lead to decorate the painting. |
| B．He applied oil to cover the wooden panel. |
| C．He treated skin and hair with plumbonacrite. |
| D．He mixed oil and lead together to create a thick paint. |
| A．To support the finding above. |
| B．To show how talented Da Vinci is. |
| C．To explain the process of artwork creation. |
| D．To stress the importance of analytical techniques. |
| A．Mona Lisa, a Mysterious Woman |
| B．Poisonous Chemicals Help Create Artworks |
| C．Da Vinci, a Distinguished Painter as Well as a Chemist |
| D．The Mona Lisa Reveals a Poisonous Secret Hidden in the Painting |
