1 . Superhuman artificial intelligence is already among us. Well, sort of. When it comes to playing games like chess and Go, or solving difficult scientific challenges like predicting protein structures, computers are well ahead of us. But we have one superpower they aren’t close to mastering: mind reading.
Humans have a mysterious ability to reason the goals, desires and beliefs of others, a vital skill that means we can predict other people’s actions and the consequences of our own. Reading minds comes so easily to us, though, that we often don’t think to spell out what we want. If AIs are to become truly useful in everyday life, we have to give them this gift that evolution has given us to read other people’s minds.
Psychologists refer to the ability to infer other’s mental state as theory of mind. In humans, this ability starts to develop at a very young age. How to reproduce the competence in machines is far from clear, though. One of the main challenges is context. For instance, if someone asks whether you are going for a run and you reply “it’s raining”, they can quickly conclude that the answer is no. But this requires huge amounts of background knowledge about running, weather and human preferences. Moreover, whether humans or AI, the theory of mind is supposed to appear naturally from one’s own learning process.
Yet we might still want AI to have a more human-like form of theory of mind. While letting AI form the theory of mind in their learning process is likely to lead to developing more powerful AI, plainly building in shared ways to represent knowledge may be crucial for humans to trust and communicate with AI.
It is important to remember, though, that the pursuit of machines with theory of mind is about more than just building more useful robots. It is also a stepping stone on the path towards a deeper goal for AI and robotics research: building truly self-aware machines. Whether we will ever get there remains to be seen, but we are on the path to learning to think about ourselves.
1. Why does the author mention “games” and “protein structures” in the first paragraph?| A．To stress how important the science is. | B．To promote the use of AI in daily life. |
| C．To present AI’s theory of mind. | D．To contrast with AI’s lack of mind reading. |
| A．When kids see their mom after hurting themselves and they cry louder. |
| B．When a mom tells her kid to eat the food that is good for health and he eats it. |
| C．When a teacher asks for a boy’s homework and he answers “my dog ate it”. |
| D．When you are asked to eat spicy food for dinner and you reply “a sore throat”. |
| A．We should reject human-like forms of abilities for AI. |
| B．Humans’ theory of mind is far from perfect. |
| C．Mind reading requires huge amounts of context. |
| D．The theory of mind is independent of one’s learning process. |
| A．AI with Its Own Theory of Mind Is Expected |
| B．AI with Theory of Mind Will Reshape Our Future |
| C．AI’s Theory of Mind Is a Blessing or Suffering to Humans |
| D．Theory of Mind Bridges the Gap Between Humans and AI |
2 . The British coastline has a wild beauty in the colder months but still offers incredible wildlife, views and fresh air. Our guide looks at the best beaches to visit in the UK in the winter months.
Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex
If you’re visiting Brighton or Eastbourne, a winter walk along Cuckmere Haven beach and through Seven Sisters Country Park is a must. Here, brisk sea breezes refresh your mind and amazing beach and ocean provide the perfect setting for an open-air yoga session.
Robin Hood’s Bay, Yorkshire
Robin Hood’s Bay is a hidden bit of history, with its raw cliffs, red-roofed cottages and unusual architecture. The beach itself is one of the UK’s best spots for fossil-hunting. Perfect to visit in the winter, you can enjoy a walk along the cliffs or beach to take in the historical village.
Embleton Bay, Northumberland
A beautiful long stretch of beach overlooked by the impressive ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, Embleton Bay is a perfect winter beach. On a clear cold morning the ruins can be seen perfectly from the beach and beach itself backs onto dunes (沙丘), famous for flowers, grasses and birds.
Charmouth, Dorset
There are few family pleasures as simple or as satisfying as finding fossils on the beach. It’s an outdoor experience perfect for children of all ages. There’s no better place to indulge a passion for fossils than the Jurassic coastline of Dorset and Devon. Now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s made up of 95 miles and 185 million years of prehistoric life.
1. Which beach best suits people who pursue a mind and body practice?| A．Cuckmere Haven. | B．Robin Hood’s Bay. |
| C．Embleton Bay. | D．Charmouth. |
| A．They have beautiful cliffs. | B．They have historical villages. |
| C．They are good fossil-hunting spots. | D．They are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. |
| A．A biography. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．An academic article. | D．An exhibition guide. |
3 . Joseph Dituri hasn’t seen the sun for two fortnights. And he won’t see it again for months. Since March 1st, the professor has been underwater, with the goal of spending 100 days there-for science. If successful, he will break the current world record for time spent living underwater, which was set by two Tennessee biologists in 2014 when they stayed beneath the surface for 73 days.
Dituri, who has been nicknamed “Dr. Deep Sea”, is living in Jules’ Undersea Lodge (小屋) in Key Largo, Florida-the same underwater venue where the previous record was set. The 100-square-foot hotel, which sits 30 feet below the surface, is his temporary home, where he is carrying out research and giving virtual lectures for his students at the University of South Florida.
“The human body has never been underwater that long, so I will be monitored closely,” Dituri said. “This study will examine every way this journey impacts my body, but my hypothesis (假设) is that there will be improvements to my health due to the increased pressure.” This hypothesis comes from a study that indicated potentially positive effects of pressure exposure on cell growth and vitality (活力), and Dituri hopes that his underwater experience could reveal ways to combat age-related diseases and lengthen lifespan.
As part of his research, Dituri is investigating the effects of living in a high-pressure environment for an extended period. To keep water from entering the lodge, air must constantly be pumped into the space to create a pressure about 1.6 times higher than that of the Earth’s surface. Therefore, it can’t be achieved in his own right.
Before the journey, Dituri had undergone psychosocial, psychological and medical tests. He continues to undergo testing during and after his 100 days at the lodge. “The mental health part of this is important, because I’m in an isolated and limited environment,” he said.
Beyond research, the project is also a chance to cultivate children’s enthusiasm for exploring the science field. Dituri invites about 40 children to stay with him for 24 hours at a time and teach them to dive. To him, this outreach is what makes the whole project worth it-more than the chance for a world record.
1. What do we know about Dituri’s experiment from the text?| A．It is scheduled to end on July 9th. |
| B．It has been on for nearly a month. |
| C．Its aim is just to break the world record. |
| D．It is conducted where two Tennessce biologists settled. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Cautious. | C．Hopeful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．He pumps the air into the lodge. | B．He instructs invited children to dive. |
| C．He analyzes his own psychosocial tests. | D．He experiments in a spacious lodge. |
| A．To arouse their eagerness for science. | B．To case his loneliness and isolation. |
| C．To set a world record at full stretch. | D．To prove the value of his experience. |
4 . Scientists are worried about the future of the axolotl (蝾螈), an unusual Mexican salamander(蜥蜴), and they’re asking for help. A new program lets people “adopt” an axolotl to raise money to support efforts to save the endangered animal.
If an axolotl loses a leg, or even part of its heart, brain, or lungs, it can regrow them. Scientists have long been interested in this. Some people think the information could help solve some human medical problems.
The Mexican axolotl is only found naturally in Lake Xochimilc o near Mexico City. This is not a big and open lake, but a collection of canals and smaller bodies of water. Sadly, axolotls are in trouble. The number of axolotls in Xochimilco has dropped 99.5% in less than 20 years. Scientists used to find thousands of axolotls in a fairly small area. Now, they’re only finding dozens.
There are a number of reasons for the drop in axolotls. One is that the water in the canals has become more and more polluted. Another is that there are invasive fish in the lake which are eating the axolotl’s food and even their babies.
Scientists at Mexico’s National Autonomous University(UNAM) have been working for years to try to protect the axolotls. Last year, the UNAM scientists started a program they called AdoptAxolotl. They asked people to donate money to help pay for efforts to save the axolotl. The program was a big hit, and raised more than $26,000. The money was used to help clean up some of Xochimilco’s canals and for a program to raise axolotls in a safe environment.
This year, the scientists are trying AdoptAxolotl again. The program offers several ways for people to support axolotls. For $30, you can virtually “adopt” one of the animals for a month. Smaller donations can help pay for food for an axolotl. Larger donations are aimed at improving areas where axolotls live, and include a visit to the protected area where UNAM is raising axolotls.
1. What have the scientists had an interest in?| A．How axolotls cure themselves. | B．Who can address medical problems. |
| C．How soon axolotls will go extinct. | D．Why some people focus on axolotls. |
| A．To promote axolotl research. | B．To blame the Mexican residents. |
| C．To show the severe conditions. | D．To expand the habitat for axolotls. |
| A．collected enough money | B．turned out very popular |
| C．helped to build new canals | D．moved students at UNAM |
| A．New Projects Are Needed to Protect Axolotls |
| B．Amazing Axolotls Live in Hash Environment |
| C．Everyone Can Help to Stop Adopting Animals |
| D．Scientists Work to Save Mexico’s Axolotls |
5 . It took an ill screech owl (鸣角鸮) to teach a scientist the value of up-close-and-personal study.
In his Harvad talk, Carl Safina, an ecologist and author of Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe, recalled that the chick was found dying in his backyard. Safina took it in and planned to nurse it back to health and then perform release. But the owlet's flight feathers didn't grow properly. Safina delayed the release. Over those extended months, Safina got to know Alfie in ways that moved and changed him.
“An owl found me and then I was watching ‘an owl’,” he said. “It was no longer an owl after a while, it was ‘she’ because she had a history with me. This little owl, who was with me much longer than I thought she would be, became an individual to me by that history and all those interactions.”
The bond with Alfie strengthened to the point that, when she was finally released, she created a territory with Safina's home at its center. Safina was able to spend hours each day observing her in the woods as she learned to take care of herself in the wild, met two mates, and raised chicks of her own.
When he heard Alfie calling, Safina said, he'd call back and she'd land nearby. Their closeness allowed him to learn more things about screech owls. Field guides, for example, describe two known calls but he identified six, some of which you have to be quite close to hear. The relationship also opened a window for Safina onto personality differences between Alfie and her mates.
When pointed out that his approach to Alfie—including the act of naming her—ran counter to widespread scientific practice, Safina said he wasn't concerned about violating (违反) convention, particularly if something interesting like individual personality differences among owls could be learned.
The experience caused Safina to think more deeply about humankind's relationship with nature and the kind of personal connection he was able to feel with a wild individual. “What I learned from Alfie is that all sentient (有情感的) beings seek a feeling of well-being and freedom of movement,” Safina said. “That's a guide to what's right and what's wrong to me.”
1. What do we know about Alfie?| A．She developed a close bond with Safina. |
| B．She was a fictional character in Safina's book. |
| C．She intentionally landed in Safina's backyard. |
| D．She was dying because of the broken flight feathers. |
| A．Alfie chose to stay with Safina at his home. |
| B．They maintained a continous communication. |
| C．Alfie met mates and raised chicks by herself. |
| D．Safina kept his distance from her to prevent attachment. |
| A．Recording six different calls of the screech owl. |
| B．Identifying different types of owls by their calls. |
| C．Learning how to release owls back into the wild. |
| D．Understanding personality differences among owls. |
| A．He became more focused on exploring nature. |
| B．He initiated his commitment to wildlife conservation. |
| C．He developed a deep appreciation for the welfare of living creatures. |
| D．He decided to guide readers to distinguish between right and wrong. |
6 . What’s your first memory? Whatever it is, you’re bound to treasure it. But can we actually trust them? Nothing about memory is simple. Memory is malleable. What we remember is not necessarily what happened. A memory is not a recording. It’s more like a dramatic reconstruction and one that we can keep changing without realizing it.
For any experience to be remembered, it has to be encoded (编码). This encoding is not any kind of direct translation, though. It’s a rich and complex process that creates associations and meanings. We might be remembering something very similar, but slightly changed and colored by our own sets of associations.
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus produced groundbreaking research on eyewitness testimony (证据). Her work showed that memories can easily be influenced, even after they’ve been created. For example, if two eyewitnesses talk with each other, their memories of events often change, absorbing what they’ve heard from the other one — but they won’t realize this has happened. Similarly, witnesses who are shown an image of an innocent person, can sometimes stick it onto their memory of the actual event — a process known as unconscious transference (无意识的转移). It is estimated that around 70% of wrongful convictions (定罪), later overturned by DNA evidence, are due to mistaken eyewitness testimony.
In some cases, memories can even be deliberately created and implanted. The Lost in the Mall experiment took a test group of subjects and talked to them in depth about key childhood memories while also adding an invented one — the experience of having been lost in a shopping center. It was found that between a quarter and a third of subjects not only accepted this new memory as genuine but enriched it with specific details.
Most of us have certain key memories of being a very young child. But research suggests that they’re highly unlikely to be actual memories due to the way memory is stored in the baby brain. Your precious first memory may well not be a real memory, and we’re all perhaps living in our imaginations more than we realize.
1. What does the underlined word “malleable” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Trustworthy. | B．False. | C．Easily changed. | D．Deeply impressive. |
| A．Powerful DNA evidence. | B．Pictures stuck in their memory. |
| C．Reduced accuracy of convictions. | D．Exchanged information between them. |
| A．It was designed to investigate mistaken eyewitness testimony. |
| B．Its subjects could recall specific details of a shopping center. |
| C．Its subjects made believe that they had been lost in a shopping center. |
| D．It demonstrated that invented experiences could be fixed in one’s memory. |
| A．The Unreliable Nature of Memory. | B．Revised Eyewitness Testimony. |
| C．Reflection on Sweet Childhood. | D．An Exploration of Truth and Fiction. |
7 . Wall Street bankers, investors and economists have for months argued over whether a US recession (衰退) is coming. But for some Americans, the unforgiving economic pain typical during recession has already set in.
Al Brown and his wife faced a tough call in May when reviewing their weekly budget: what’s a higher priority, more food or dish soap? Based in Concord, North Carolina, Brown was the main breadwinner for his wife and their two children. Then in April, he was let go from his job as a global director of business development at software company Cascade. He’s since quit his gym membership and sold various items around his home, including a computer and yard furniture. His 13-year-old son quit the basketball team.
Brown, 37, now spends his days searching the internet for jobs or reaching out to potential connections. After filing over 600 applications, only a handful have produced interviews. That’s a far cry from the labor-market strength described in government figures.
Investors and economists have been expecting a recession since last year as the Fed raised interest rates to control inflation (通货膨胀). That caused companies to focus on profitability over growth, which meant cutting spending and reducing their workforces.
“I think it’s unlikely that I will get another good paying job with great benefits like the one I had,” McCollum, who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, said. More Americans are likely to encounter similar cases, some experts predict.
“As we go through this year, and into next year, there is still going to be this focus on trying to reduce costs, and it is going to result in more unemployment,” said Thomas Simons, a senior economist at Jefferies. “The impact of layoffs, currently concentrated among white-collar workers, will last throughout the economy through a ‘big pullback in overall spending’,” Simons said. “Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic output, so if more Americans are forced to cut back because they were laid off, that might throw the US economy into a recession.”
1. What are some Americans currently going through?| A．They can’t afford necessities of life. | B．They’ve lost interest in high-end gyms. |
| C．They are badly treated by their bosses. | D．They have difficulty making ends meet. |
| A．One should try various ways to find a job. |
| B．American labor market is not that friendly to job-seekers. |
| C．Few companies are interested in middle-aged job-hunters. |
| D．The government provides accurate figures of the job market. |
| A．By employing more workers. | B．By changing interest rates. |
| C．By giving priority to profits. | D．By cutting employees’ allowances. |
| A．Laid-off workers tend to go into debt. |
| B．Lower consumption may worsen the current situation. |
| C．Americans will spend more to increase economic output. |
| D．Companies are to blame for the unemployment of white-collar workers. |
8 . Medical Examination Instructions
These medical instructions are being issued as your immigration (移民) application has reached the stage where medical examination results are required.
When, who and how to complete your Immigration Medical Examination
You are required to have the medical examination within 30 days of the date of this letter; your medical examination must be performed by a doctor from the IRCC list of Panel Physicians; book an appointment with a Panel Physician in your area as soon as possible.
Once your medical examination has been completed, the Panel Physician will submit medical results to IRCC for assessment. To obtain a copy of your Immigration Medical Examination, please ask the Panel Physician at the time of your appointment.
Paying for your Immigration Medical Examination
Any costs related to the medical examination are your responsibility and are payable to the Panel Physician at the time of examination. This payment is for the Panel Physician's services and cannot be returned even if your immigration application is refused or the validity period (有效期) of your immigration medical examination ends.
Note: If you are qualified for coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program, the costs related to your immigration medical examination may be covered by the IFHP. Please confirm with the Panel Physician in your area that they are registered with the IFHP.
What must I bring to my appointment?
★ The attached Medical Report form
★Identification, including your passport if one is available (Proof of identity must include at least one government-issued document with photograph and signature, such as a passport.)
★Eye glasses or contact lenses (隐形眼镜), if worn
★Four recent photographs
★For individuals qualified for Migration Medical Examination coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program, please bring one of the following documents:
●Refugee Protection Claimant Document
●The Interim Federal Health Certificate
●Acknowledgement of Claim and Notice to Return for Interview
If available, you may be offered vaccinations (接种疫苗) by the Panel Physician.
1. After your medical examination, _________.| A．the previous health reports ought to be consulted |
| B．you will submit the results to IRCC for assessment |
| C．the Panel Physician will present the results to IRCC |
| D．you will surely obtain a copy of examination results by the physician |
| A．The IFHP will cover them. | B．They cannot be returned. |
| C．The Panel Physician will pay in cash. | D．They will be returned if you apply. |
| A．Proof of identity. | B．The Federal Health Certificate. |
| C．The application form. | D．Medical examination instructions. |
9 . It should come as no surprise that England has some of the world’s most interesting attractions for literature lovers.
BathIn England’s West County, not far from the border with Wales, the beautiful Georgian town of Bath is a must- visit for fans. Some of the country’s most celebrated authors have lived here, including Mary Shelley. However, the town’s best-known former resident is Jane Austen, who spent five miserable yeas in the town. The Jane Austen Centre and its Regency Tea Room are among Bath’s most-visited attractions, and there is a 10-day festival held every September that honors the writer and her works.
LondonLondon has long been a favorite setting for English storytellers, and the capital city has appeared in countless stories and novels over the years. Sherlock Holmes had a flat on Baker Street in his crime-solving days. Charles Dickens is perhaps the best-known author of the lot, and there are dozens of Dickensian London tours available to literature lovers. Fleet Street makes an appearance in The Pickwick Papers and A Tale of Two Cities. Oliver Twist fans might remember that the Artful Dodger tricks young Oliver to reach Fagin’s den, located in Saffron Hill in Camden.
Stratford-upon-AvonThe birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, has built an entire tourism industry around the Bard. Many of Shakespeare’s plays are set in faraway destinations such as Greece, Italy, Denmark and a make-believe island in the middle of the ocean. There are still plenty of attractions that fans won’t want to miss.
1. What takes place every September in Bath?| A．A movie show. | B．A book exhibition. |
| C．A festival to honor Jane Austen. | D．A tour to celebrate Mary Shelley’s birthday. |
| A．Wales. | B．London. |
| C．Bath. | D．Stratford-upon-Avon. |
| A．Novel publishers. | B．Film producers. | C．History researchers. | D．Literature fans. |
10 . In Belgium, a company called HydroVolta is improving ways to take salt water and turn it into fresh water under the Horizon-funded SonixED project.
The vast majority of the earth’s water is salt water. Only 3% is fresh water and less than one third of that is accessible, the rest being locked away in glaciers and groundwater. “We will need to treat salt water so people can drink it and industry can use it,” said George Brik, chief executive officer of Hydro Volta. “But with current technologies, desalination (脱盐) requires high operational costs. On top of that, existing technologies use high amounts of energy and chemicals.”
The basic technique now to turn salt water into fresh water is electrodialysis (电渗析), where a kind of membrane (隔膜) is used to separate salt from water. But the method has a weak point: the membrane gets dirty easily and requires chemicals and high pressure to clean. That in turn involves large amounts of energy. Under SonixED, HydroVolta has developed ultrasound technology that keeps the membrane clean in a much more efficient way.
Energy use in this field depends on pressure, which is measured in a metric unit known as bar. Existing technologies to desalinate seawater take around 50 to 80 bar, while the new desalination technology uses just one to three bar. What’s even better is that a greater amount of fresh water can now be generated. “Existing technologies waste around 60% to 65% of the seawater that’s taken in,” said Brik. “Our new technology improves the situation. If we take in 100 litres of seawater, we can produce 65 litres of drinkable water.”
HydroVolta thinks this technology will be beneficial to larger companies that generate drinkable water as well as to industrial businesses that need water to fuel their operations. Meanwhile, Brik says the new desalination technology may need a push from governments to encourage a bigger demand. “They can be the first customers,” he added.
1. What do George Brik’s words in Paragraph 2 imply?| A．Treating salt water is of great importance. |
| B．The world is facing a serious water shortage. |
| C．Better desalination technologies are needed. |
| D．Current desalination technologies are no longer useful. |
| A．It consumes too much energy. |
| B．The membrane is rare to find. |
| C．The water it produces is a little salty. |
| D．It requires complex ultrasound technology. |
| A．It takes more energy than existing technologies. |
| B．It produces clean water more efficiently. |
| C．It gives up the use of membrane to function. |
| D．It needs more seawater to produce fresh water. |
| A．HydroVolta can solve the water crisis worldwide. |
| B．The new desalination technology needs official support. |
| C．HydroVolta has great difficulty in finding its first customers. |
| D．The new desalination technology is unsuited to small companies. |
