1 . Computers are pretty good at answering questions. Just ask Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, who can tell you the weather or directions. Computers are good at spitting back facts, but haven’t shown the same critical or creative thinking that humans have. That could be changing, at least when it comes to reading, because of advances in AI (artificial intelligence).

Research teams at Microsoft and Chinese tech company Alibaba reached what they described as a milestone (里程碑) earlier this January. Their AI systems outperformed the estimated human score on a reading comprehension test.

The test was developed at Stanford University. It showed that, in at least some situations, computers can beat humans at quickly “reading” hundreds of Wikipedia articles. AI machines could come up with accurate answers to questions about warrior-king Genghis Khan, or the Apollo space program.

The computers, however, also made mistakes that many people wouldn’t have. Microsoft, for instance, failed an easy football question. The computer was asked which member of the Carolina Panthers football team intercepted (拦截) the most passes in the 2015 season. The correct answer was Kurt Coleman, not Josh Norman. Any person who carefully read the Wikipedia passage would have discovered the right answer. However, the computer made a mistake in the word “most” and didn’t understand that seven is bigger than four.

“We’re still a long way from computers being able to read and comprehend general text in the same way that humans can,” Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s head of technology, wrote. He praised the AI system for passing the test, calling it a major achievement by the company’s researchers.

“It strikes me for the kind of problem that they’re solving that it’s not possible to do better than people, because people are defining what’s correct,” Littman said. “The impressive thing here is that they met human performance, not that they’ve exceeded (超越) it.”

1. The research teams described their work as a milestone because ________.

A．their computers showed critical and creative thinking like humans

B．their AI systems beat humans in reading comprehension

C．their AI systems could tell you weather and direction

D．their computers are good at answering questions

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly tell us?

A．Genghis Khan and the Apollo space program.

B．Smart AI machines were answering questions.

C．AI machines did better than humans in reading.

D．Stanford University developed the reading test.

3. What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

A．AI still struggles with logical reasoning.

B．Computers often mistake seven for four.

C．Computers seldom make stupid mistakes.

D．The Wikipedia passage was controversial.

4. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．A milestone in reading comprehension.

B．Great advance in artificial intelligence.

C．Computers already think critically.

D．AI beats humans in reading test.

5 . Are you the type of person who always try to complete the task to the best of your ability? Perhaps your high expectations make sure that you always expect the very best from not only yourself, but also your students. If so, you should like the ideal candidate for this school.

Science Teacher — Permanent Vacancy (空缺)

● September start, permanent, direct school contract

● Exceptional training and development

● Positive and experienced teachers are welcomed

● Great career development opportunity

Person Specification (用人要求)

You must have obtained QIS by September and be an ambitious, dynamic and engaging science teacher who can bring your passion for science to life in creative and fun lessons to students aged 11～18.

A recent track record of good to outstanding lesson observations is designed as you will be expected to deliver good lessons, making sure of students’progress at an appropriate level in line with their expectations.

You should ideally be the type of science teacher who desires to become a leader in the next few years. This school is open to applicants newly qualified and experienced. For those with more experience, there is the possibility to take on some additional responsibility straight away.

School Information

Located in the Wolverhampton, it’s a lovely school of average size and recently had a glowing Ofsted (英国教育标准局) inspection which highlighted how all areas were “GOOD”. The school enables teachers to develop into outstanding practitioners (从业者) and gives teachers the tools needed to go on to a leadership role.

Please send your CV to Jamie at i-teachers to be considered for this role and other similar position in our school.

1. What quality should the applicant have?

A．Being kind-hearted and sensible.	B．Being capable and aggressive.
C．Being friendly and outgoing.	D．Being brave and humorous.

2. What should the applicant show the interviewer?

A．His/her expectation of the students.

B．The proof of his/her working experience.

C．The record of his/her good teaching ability.

D．His/her communicative skills with co-workers.

3. What’s the aim of Ofsted inspection?

A．To learn about a school’s environment.

B．To see a school’s working conditions.

C．To show a school’s achievements.

D．To test a school’s comprehensive performance.

6 . Art and science may seem like opposite things. One means the creative flow of ideas, and the other means cold, hard data-some people believe. In fact, the two have much in common. Now, a study finds art can help students remember better what they have learned in the science class.

Mariale Hardiman, an education specialist at Johns Hopkins University, noticed that students who used art in the classroom listened more carefully. They might ask more questions. They might volunteer more ideas. What’s more, students seemed to remember more of what they had been taught when their science lessons had involved(涉及) art. To prove that, Hardiman teamed up with some researchers and six local schools.

In the experiment, the researchers worked with teachers in 16 fifth-grade classrooms. They provided traditional science lessons and art-focused ones. In a traditional science class, for example, students might read aloud from a book. In the art-focused one, they might sing the information instead.

The team randomly assigned(随机分配) each of the 350 students to either a traditional science classroom or an art-focused one. Students then learned science using that way for the whole unit-about three weeks. When they changed to a new topic, they also changed to the other type of class. This way, each student had both an art-focused class and a traditional one. Every unit was taught in both ways, to different groups of students. This enabled the researchers to see how students did in both types of classes.

The team found that students who started off in a traditional class performed better after they moved into an art-focused class. But those who started off in an art-focused class did well even when they went back to a traditional science class. These students appeared to use some of the art techniques(技巧) after going back to a traditional class. Classroom teachers reported that many students continued to sing the songs that they learned after finishing the unit. “The more we hear something, the more we retain it,” Hardiman says. “It suggests that the arts may help students apply creative ways of learning on their own.”

1. Why did Mariale Hardiman do the study?

A．To prove the importance of art at school.

B．To see if art might improve science learning

C．To find a way to help her students learn better.

D．To know how to encourage students to ask questions.

2. What were the students required to do in the experiment?

A．Take two types of classes.	B．Learn three units in total.
C．Learn two topics for three weeks.	D．Choose what they’d like to learn.

3. What does the underlined word “retain” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Finish.

B．Express.

C．Improve.

D．Memorize.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Art helps students develop creativity.

B．Art-focused classes interest students a lot.

C．Art can make science easier to remember.

D．Art has something in common with science.

7 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.

Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.

I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.

We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.

Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.

Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.

1. How did the writer first respond to Paul’s travel plan?

A．Scared.	B．Puzzled.
C．Disappointed.	D．Surprised.

2. What can we learn about Paul Salopek from paragraph 2?

A．He was a western journalist.	B．He had a knowledge of China.
C．He came to China several times.	D．He was Joseph Rock’s acquaintance.

3. What does paragraph 4 tell us about the writer and Paul?

A．They honored the ancestors.	B．They set off in high spirits.
C．They satisfied the locals’ curiosity.	D．They built bonds with people.

4. What is the main purpose of the writer’s writing the text?

A．To share and reflect on a journey.	B．To suggest a new way of travel.
C．To advocate protection of biodiversity.	D．To introduce and promote Chinese culture.

8 . The stage lights dimmed, and I took a quick look from behind the heavy black curtains into the audience. Blinded by the lights, I quickly _________. It seems that a great number of eyes were looking at me. I took a deep _________ as the music of my dance began to play. I entered the stage and began my performance, the graduation test of the classical Indian dance.

After a decade of learning this art form, I had _________ been considered ready to take on the most difficult act. The test is the most important event in a dancer’s life as it pays _________ to all the factors in one’s life that develop the dance form: one’s culture and family.

The performance is undertaken only by the most _________ and determined students. It is a difficult process that requires much _________. For more than six months, I spent two to three hours every day practicing these dances. Many times, I _________ myself to my physical and mental breaking point, but still I would not stop. I could not give up. There was always so much more to do and so much more to learn.

I _________ a lot about myself in those tiring hours. I learned that I was far too _________ to give up, and I was too proud to prove myself __________ after I had set an unrealistic goal. Even with physical pain and mental __________, I forced myself to meet my __________. Even when I was at the end of my __________, there was always something driving me on, forcing me not to give up.

Fortunately, I made it. What I had done __________ the success. It was in those hours that I learned what a dancer truly is. Those time was evidence that I could __________ something I set out to do.

1.

A．reached out

B．set off

C．pulled back

D．broke away

2.

A．sleep

B．breath

C．thought

D．sorrow

3.

A．eventually

B．easily

C．absolutely

D．desperately

4.

A．debt

B．respect

C．interest

D．visit

5.

A．beautiful

B．focused

C．intelligent

D．considerate

6.

A．talent

B．strength

C．comprehension

D．commitment

7.

A．pushed

B．addicted

C．treated

D．applied

8.

A．discovered

B．abandoned

C．controlled

D．undertook

9.

A．brilliant

B．brave

C．stubborn

D．discouraged

10.

A．careless

B．nervous

C．frightened

D．wrong

11.

A．function

B．stress

C．level

D．action

12.

A．budget

B．deadline

C．expense

D．expectation

13.

A．limit

B．purpose

C．preparation

D．destination

14.

A．increased

B．deserved

C．expanded

D．exposed

15.

A．change

B．supply

C．accomplish

D．explain

9 . A new study of older adults finds excessive daytime napping (小睡) may signal an increasing risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital report a relationship between daytime napping and cognitive (认知的) aging: excessive daytime napping predicts an increased future risk of Alzheimer’s, and a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s speeds up the increase in daytime napping during aging.

“Daytime sleep behaviors of older adults are often ignored, and a consensus (共识) for daytime napping in clinical practice and health care is still lacking,” said Peng Li of the Medical Biodynamics Program in Brigham’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. “Our team calls for a closer attention to 24-hour sleep patterns — not only nighttime sleep but also daytime sleep — for tracking the health of older adults.”

Researchers at the Brigham recognized that all previous studies on Alzheimer’s disease assessed napping within a participant only once, most of which were subjective and questionnaire-based. In the new study, more than 1000 individuals, with an average age of 81, were provided Actical, a watch-like device, to wear on their wrist for up to 14 days. After napping episodes were identified, the nap duration and frequency were calculated.

The results suggest that excessive daytime napping may signal an increasing risk of Alzheimer’s, and that faster yearly increase in daytime napping may be a sign of worsening or unflavored clinical progression of the disease.

Researchers acknowledge that although the method of the new study has been widely used in sleep field studies, they recognize that polysomnography (多导睡眠记录仪) is the gold standard for sleep scoring. Moreover, the participants studied were older, and therefore, the findings may not be easily translated to younger people. In addition, future studies should test whether a direct intervention in daytime napping can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s or cognitive decline.

“We hope to draw more attention to daytime sleep patterns and the importance of patients noting if their sleep schedule changes over time,” said co-senior author Kun Hu of the Medical Biodynamics Program. “Sleep changes are critical in shaping the internal changes in the brain.”

1. What is the new study about?

A．Ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

B．Causes of sleep disorders in older adults.

C．The symptoms of age-related cognitive decline.

D．The link between Alzheimer’s and daytime sleep.

2. What does Peng Li’s team advocate?

A．Encouraging elders to get enough rest at night.

B．Investigating the health of elders with poor sleep.

C．Monitoring elders’ sleep patterns throughout the day.

D．Providing good health care for elders with Alzheimer’s.

3. What does the underlined word “episodes” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Periods.

B．Incidents.

C．Experiences.

D．Series.

4. What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．Advice on adjusting sleep patterns.

B．Limitations of the present research.

C．The potential value of the study findings.

D．Supporting evidence for the research results.

10 . The world’s biggest electric vehicle — a 45-ton mining dump truck named the eDumper — may have to give up its throne. A newcomer powered with both electricity and a reserve of hydrogen fuel, is going to steal that title as the largest electric mining truck.

London-based Anglo American is developing the beast of a machine — it weighs 290 tons — as part of its sustainable mining vision. The conceptual work is done, but UK-based Williams Advanced Engineering will bring the truck to life. The idea is to replace the vehicle’s diesel engine (柴油机) with a high-power modular lithium-ion battery (锂电池). “We are delighted to be involved in this innovative and exciting project which shows the potential of battery technology that can adapt to increased demands, from automotive and motorsport to ‘heavy duty’ industrial applications,” Craig Wilson, managing director of Williams Advanced Engineering, said.

While the eDumper — a mining truck used to move stones from the sides of mountains in Switzerland — relies entirely on pure electricity and pure physics for power, the Anglo American truck will use both a lithium-ion battery and hydrogen fuel cell (电池) module. Altogether, the new truck will have over 1,000 Kilowatt hours of energy storage.

Hydrogen fuel is a clear fuel that produces only water as a by-product when consumed in a fuel cell. It’s typically produced from natural gas, nuclear power, or renewable wind and solar power. Adding hydrogen fuel cells to the vehicle’s battery will allow the truck to run for longer periods of time without recharging.

There’s also a third type of power that comes into play with the Anglo American truck: kinetic (动力的) energy created through the process of regenerative braking (再生制动系统). When an electric vehicle — be it the Anglo American truck, or the eDumper — rolls down a hill, that movement creates electrical energy for the battery as you brake. The electric motors power the car through the battery’s stored energy, but can also become mini generators that return some energy back to the battery.

After Anglo American finishes test trials with the truck, the firm will conduct studies to understand how the truck’s power units can be used to provide energy storage in other applications.

1. What can be known about “the eDumper”?

A．It weighs more than 290 tons.

B．It is powered by hydrogen fuel.

C．It will no longer be the largest electric truck.

D．It will discourage buyers for being expensive.

2. What is Craig Wilson’s attitude towards the future of the lithium-ion battery?

A．Negative.

B．Neutral.

C．Indifferent.

D．Positive.

3. What is the benefit of adopting hydrogen fuel cells?

A．It can save a lot of money.

B．Vehicles become more eco-friendly.

C．It has no environmental impact at all.

D．Vehicles no longer need to be recharged.

4. According to Paragraph 5, which of the following can be a feature of regenerative braking?

A．Autonomous braking.	B．Energy transformation.
C．Simple operation.	D．Zero-carbon emission.