1 . Laughter comes in many forms, from a polite and quiet laugh to a great hearty laugh. Scientists are now developing an AI system to recreate different laughs in proper social contexts (环境). The team behind the laughing robot Erica said that the system could improve natural conversations between people and an AI robot. “We think that one of the important functions of conversational AI is empathy (共情),” said Dr Koji Inoue, the lead author of the research. “So we decided that one way a robot can empathize with its users is to share their laughter.”
The team have set out to teach their AI system the art of conversational laughter. They gathered training data from more than 80 daily dialogues between male subjects and the robot that was initially operated by four actresses remotely. The dialogue data was grouped into social laughs (where polite or embarrassed laughter isn’t involved) and laughter of joy. Based on the audio files, the robot learned the basic characteristics of social laughs, which tend to be softer, and merry laughs, with the aim of mirroring these inappropriate situations.
“Our biggest obstructor in the work was identifying the actual cases of shared laughter because as you know, most laughter is actually not shared at all,” said Inoue. “We had to carefully decide exactly which laughs we could use for our analysis and we couldn’t just assume (认为) that any laugh can be responded to. It was really not easy work.” The team said laughter could help create robots with their own distinct character although it could take more than 20 years before it would be possible to have a casual chat with a robot like we would with a friend.
“One of the things we’d keep in mind is that a laughing robot will never be able to understand you or the meaning of laughter,” points out Prof. Sandra Wachter of the Oxford Internet Institute. “But with their development, they might get very good at tricking you into believing they understand what’s going on.”
1. Why did Inoue’s team develop the AI system?| A．To better understand human empathy. |
| B．To promote the social skills of robots. |
| C．To explore the differences between laughs. |
| D．To assist robots in identifying people’s moods. |
| A．Repeat the details of the 80 dialogues. |
| B．Distinguish people by hearing their laughs |
| C．Recreate a scene played by the four actresses. |
| D．Master the features of laughs provided by data. |
| A．potential | B．difficulty | C．choice | D．mistake |
| A．Are AI systems going beyond human ability? |
| B．Can conversational AI really understand us? |
| C．Laughing robots are round the corner |
| D．Robots become laughing masters |
2 . A young lady was sitting in her garden under a tree drinking tea.
The story of the young woman and her tea is a popular Chinese legend (传说) about
As the production of silk increased, it began to be put into industrial
Silk was
| A．Suddenly | B．Fortunately | C．Obviously | D．Gradually |
| A．disappeared | B．hid | C．landed | D．defended |
| A．air | B．tea | C．tree | D．garden |
| A．creature | B．chemical | C．plant | D．material |
| A．catch hold of | B．make use of | C．run out of | D．drop out of |
| A．familiar | B．fascinating | C．exciting | D．terrible |
| A．report | B．record | C．picture | D．idea |
| A．knocked | B．attacked | C．touched | D．fixed |
| A．industry | B．trade | C．silk | D．clothing |
| A．chosen | B．designed | C．admired | D．charged |
| A．enjoyed | B．began | C．considered | D．admitted |
| A．use | B．management | C．operation | D．standard |
| A．conveniently | B．legally | C．secretly | D．widely |
| A．debate | B．contact | C．competition | D．pressure |
| A．elective | B．fancy | C．major | D．smooth |
3 . My parents had purchased an Island Packet 445 ten months prior, and the day to board this boat had finally come. I was 11 years old and knew absolutely nothing about this cruising (海上航游) lifestyle my father had been speaking so highly of for the previous five years. The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to leave my home. My father was excited, my mother nervous, my brother disinterested, and I sullen. I was not at all eager about this change in my lifestyle.
The first three months on the boat had not been very easy. What my dad called an adjustment period I called a nightmare. But, after three months of traveling, we had a lucky break. In La Paz, there was another cruising boat with a 13-year-old boy aboard. Two weeks later, Glen and I could be seen endlessly boogie boarding (趴板冲浪) the crashing waves to the beach. After meeting Glen, cruising for me began to get better and better. At some point during these months, I decided to give this cruising idea a chance.
One year later, we continued touring through the South Pacific. I was learning new skills and learning how to work independently. I often took a five-hour watch during the dark hours of long passages. This was quite a bit of responsibility to hand over to a 13-year-old, especially considering I was in charge of adjusting sails as the conditions changed, and keeping an eye and ear out for any problems. Almost everybody in the cruising community treated me as an adult while still understanding I was a child, thereby giving me the flexibility to make childish mistakes.
As of this writing, my family has now been aboard for three years. We have plans to return to Canada in 12 months and, similar to how I opposed moving onto the boat, I am now completely opposed to moving off it. I have so much fun and learn so many things on this boat that I can’t imagine ever returning “home”, a place I hardly even remember.
1. What does the underlined word “sullen” in the first paragraph probably mean?| A．Upset. | B．Calm. | C．Confused. | D．Astonished. |
| A．Overcoming the fear of nightmares. |
| B．Having fun with someone of his age. |
| C．Learning how to work independently. |
| D．Making a breakthrough in boarding skills. |
| A．Stubborn but reliable. | B．Childish but adaptable. |
| C．Inconsiderate but flexible. | D．Dependent but responsible. |
| A．Benefits of the Cruising Lifestyle |
| B．First Day aboard Island Packet 445 |
| C．What Motivates a Teenager to Change His Lifestyle |
| D．How a Young Sailor Learns to Love the Cruising Life |
4 . ChatGPT maker OpenAI from the United States stepped up the global artificial intelligence race in mid-February when it released its text-to-video generation tool Sora. That made me wonder — how long before China develops its own Sora? And, will AI become China’s critical new productive force?
According to OpenAI’s explainer, Sora is capable of generating complex scenes with a very high degree of accuracy, including multiple characters, specific types of movements, themes and backgrounds. It understands not only what the user requests, but also how these things exist in the physical world.
On Feb 16, Zhou Hongyi, founder of cybersecurity firm 360 Security Technology, said Sora may bring a huge disruption to the advertising industry, movie trailers and the short-video industry; what’s more, the realization of generative AI may be shortened from 10 years to one or two years.
“Although the development level of large-scale models in China seems to be close to GPT-3.5, there is still an 18-month gap compared to GPT-4.0. OpenAI should still have an ace or two up its sleeve, whether it is GPT-5.0 or machine self-learning to generate content,” Zhou said, adding that it is worth paying attention.
According to a report by the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission, China had developed at least 254 AI large language models by October last year. Currently, most domestic large models still have a huge gap with GPT-4.0.
But the country could make use of such frontier AI technologies in more industry-specific fields. Or, to put it simply, China needs to apply such technologies to real use, to develop them into productive forces and narrow the gap between itself and the US.
Though China still has a gap with the US in such a large model, Chinese AI startup ModelBest Inc launched last month its latest lightweight large model, an emerging less expensive AI technology that aims at more targeted commercialized fields.
1. What is Sora according to the passage?| A．It is a kind of new productive force for China. |
| B．It is an AI tool to produce videos out of texts. |
| C．It is an Internet user in the physical world. |
| D．It is a latest large-scale security model. |
| A．Sora will bring both challenges and chances. |
| B．Sora can understand users’ feelings at ease. |
| C．Sora has totally changed the movie industry. |
| D．Sora will soon be replaced by other AI tools. |
| A．China’s domestic large models should be used in education. |
| B．China should take advantage of present AI technologies. |
| C．China should develop less expensive AI technology. |
| D．China should speed up its development in OpenAI. |
5 . Even in the most speculative reaches of science fiction, there is no escaping humanity’s dependence on liquid water. The residents of the desert world Arrakis, accessible to anyone with a copy of Frank Herbert’s novel “Dune”, use windtraps to steal precious liquid from the air.
Collecting water from the air is nothing new. The Inca, who are widely thought to have invented the technique,placed buckets under trees to collect the condensation from heavy fog drifting in off the sea. People dwelling in the arid mountains of Oman have long built cisterns under trees for the same reason.
Instead of using leaves as condensation traps, however, which drip over an impractically large area, modern traps instead consist of sheets of very fine polymer mesh. As fog flows through the sheets, tiny droplets of water stick to the polymer fibres. These droplets grow until gravity pulls them into a compact trough and, thence, a reservoir. While collectors vary in size, a 40-metres-square collector in a reasonably foggy area yields around 200 litres a day, enough to supply 60 people with drinking water.
A team led by Dr Stachewicz found that the sheet could be made even more productive by changing the way in which its polymer threads were manufactured. Dr Stachewicz theorized that careful manufacture via a process known as electrospinning could lend the sheet a slight electrical charge that would prove attractive to water droplets in fog. In experiments conducted in 2021 she and a team of colleagues found that such sheets yielded 50%more water.
This past August, Dr Stachewicz reported further improvements by adding TiO₂ to the mesh. Previous work had shown that TiO₂ could be intensely attractive to water upon exposure to ultraviolet light-a hindrance under extremely foggy conditions, as water would stick to the mesh rather than trickle into the cistern. When fog was light, however, Dr Stachewicz and Mr Parisi found that a TiO₂-enhanced mesh became 30% more effective. Her fog collectors are now being used at sites on three continents.
This technology suggests a brighter future is possible. Areas so dry as to have gone without rainfall since modern records began may one day yield enough water to sustain settlement. And not just on a fictional planet.
1. Why did the writer mention a copy of Frank Herber’s novel?| A．Because the characters also get water from the air. |
| B．Because people in the novel also live without water. |
| C．Because it sets an opposite example of getting water. |
| D．Because the engineers got the inspiration of inventing traps from the novel. |
| A．Water from leaves drips over a large area. |
| B．Gravity pulls the droplets into a container. |
| C．Fog streams through sheets of polymer mesh and adhere to it. |
| D．Fog flows through sheets of polymer mesh and the polymer fibres. |
| A．It purifies water droplets. |
| B．It appeals to water droplets. |
| C．It fights against water droplets. |
| D．It blocks the fog from flowing. |
| A．How to capture water from the air. |
| B．A solution to relieving water stress. |
| C．Getting water from the air with different methods. |
| D．Using windtraps to steal precious liquid from the air. |
6 . Some people worry that there’s too much technology in our lives. And they may have a point, given how countless people now carry the Internet around in their pocket and use it as a primary form of communication. It’s practically difficult to avoid technology in our world. There are computer microchips in our watches, our cars, light switches, even our pets! Where will it end?
Well, if certain people have their way, it’ll go even further. We’ll have microchips implanted into our brains that can interact with the computers by thought alone. It may sound like something from the science fiction, but in many ways, things look quite promising. Thanks to the ability to send and receive information remotely via computers, microchips and other related devices have long been put into brains.
For example, electrodes have been implanted in the brains of epilepsy (癫痫症) patients to better record and even predict the abnormal neurological activity. Similarly, deep-brain stimulation, through implanted devices that cause activity in key brain regions, is an established treatment for things like Parkinson’s disease, and is even being looked into for illnesses like depression.
However, it’s another thing to place such devices in healthy individuals There are practical concerns, not least of which is what these chins will be made of. The inside of the brain is a mass of highly reactive chemicals and electrical activity. Implants would need to be dull enough to not upset the delicate processes by their presence, but also sensitive enough to read and process the activity around them. Current technology has made impressive progress with this, but if it were to be rolled out to millions of people, we’d need to be 100 percent certain that it’s safe.
How many people will actually want to have technology literally put into their brain? A surprising 60 percent of Americans say they’d be okay with it, but that’s when it’s purely theoretical. In reality, the possibility of having strangers stick chips in your brain is likely to prove unattractive, especially for a population where millions get mad at fictional microchips in vaccines (疫苗) and even more are frightened of dentists.
Ultimately, the technology of computer-brain interface (接口) implants is still far away from us.
1. The idea of putting microchips into people’s brains __________.| A．is something written only in a science fiction |
| B．shows that we can hardly live without technology |
| C．suggests an effective way to communicate with computers |
| D．is possible since technology has advanced |
| A．The possible treatment for particular diseases. | B．The process of human-computer interaction. |
| C．The existing application of microchip implants. | D．The future of microchips and devices alike. |
| A．The right materials used for the chips. |
| B．The exact position in the brain for the chips. |
| C．The chips’ precise sensitivity to function in the brain. |
| D．The extensive use of the chips on all humans. |
| A．Computer-brain Interface: The Light of the Future | B．Innovation is Necessary to Make Progress |
| C．Where are We in the Medical Technology? | D．Mind-controlled Tech: Is It Possible? |
7 . I’ve spent much of my life dealing with written and spoken words. Now I’m a technologist making use of natural language processing for human good. Given that I work in artificial intelligence (AI), I’m realizing something dangerous happening. Machines are ruining the way we communicate.
AI voices are normalized and yet cold, no matter which accent (口音) you set your Siri or Amazon Alexa into. It’s difficult to normalize language to be inoffensive because sometimes we do make people feel uncomfortable or even make them annoyed. Yet this is exactly what we’re asking artificial intelligence to do for us on a billion - person scale. Once these rules are carried out by machines, they’re unavoidable and create much bigger issues.
We notice that there is an active desire to only include standardized language in AI - powered tools in an attempt to avoid including potentially harmful or offensive language. And these AI-powered tools are exactly what we use to complete our thoughts almost at any given time. They are everywhere — in our emails, word processors, and web pages. The machines are pushing us into a common tongue, and we accept it as a matter of convenience. But what’s the cost? We’re trading uniqueness and accuracy for convenience. We’re also handing the power of acceptable speech to machines not people.
In the real world, people don’t communicate like a Wikipedia (维基百科) article. We use tone (语气), humor and facial expressions. We can tell where people were born based on their accents and wording. Humans are truly unique, and our communication is constantly changing. So we should demand AI systems that promote individuality and uniqueness. We should demand to know how AI is developed and the data used to build it. Because we all deserve this.
1. What is the function of paragraph 1?| A．To illustrate the function of communication. |
| B．To introduce the impact of AI on language. |
| C．To share the author’s working experience. |
| D．To stress the importance of AI on language processing. |
| A．Hateful | B．Valuable | C．Harmless | D．Beneficial |
| A．AI voice should be legalized. | B．AI voice should be modernized. |
| C．AI voice should be standardized. | D．AI voice should be personalized. |
| A．Praising. | B．Humorous. | C．Concerned. | D．Objective. |
8 . One Saturday in December, Annacarin Elf, the head of operations at Gothenburg City Library, just happened to walk by her workplace. Noticing that the door was open, she entered the library, and was astonished to see the heartwarming scene that people were using it like on a regular day.
It was scheduled to be closed for the New Year holiday. The people in the library behaved as usual. Many were sitting reading newspapers, some families were in the children's section and others were searching for books on the computer.
It seemed that Elf's colleagues had simply forgotten to lock the door, and because this popular library is usually open on Saturdays. visitors just assumed they could walk in. Elf called to check with her staff team, before announcing to the people present that the library was about to close. Then she expressed her regret for what had been done wrong and caused them a problem. It later turns out that 446 locals visited the city library borrowing a total of 246 books during the day. What's remarkable is that people checked out their books through the library's electronic self-service system, and that to date, all the books have been retuned!
Many Swedes have reacted positively to this uplifting demonstration of local respect for the library, a center that can be seen as a sign of the community, and what the locals did has strengthened their sense of belonging in their community.
Elf says, “Nothing was destroyed. It's amazing that Gothenburgers entered an empty library and treated and so lovingly.” The city leader has even suggested that this unusual Saturday serve as an accidental experiment to analyse the possibility of operating a totally automated library without staff.
1. Why did Elf feel surprised after entering the library?| A．The library staff were in it. | B．People kept reading on holidays. |
| C．People came in without permission. | D．It was used though supposed to be closed. |
| A．She left the library open. | B．She asked the staff back. |
| C．She apologized to the visitors. | D．She read books in the library. |
| A．It displays community spirit. | B．It gives the library much uplift. |
| C．It is a positive reaction to society. | D．It strengthens trust between people. |
| A．People tend to show care for others. | B．Life is always full of the unexpected. |
| C．Libraries can be automated sometimes. | D．A library can bring out the best in people. |
9 . 2024 Western Colorado Elementary Science Fair
EUREKA! and D51 are partnering to host our annual elementary (小学的) science fair! Here’s your chance to apply your love of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) by conducting your own scientific investigation.
Participation is open to all 3-5th graders living in Wester Colorado, and students can either enter as an individual or as a team of no more than 3 members. Judging will be based on grade, and a team composed of students from multiple grades will be judged in the grade category of the oldest participant’s grade.
Project Submission
All participants must complete all of the following by March 7, 2024:
●Complete the registration form (one per team)
●Create a display poster (either physical or electronic) summarizing their project and email the file or a clear photo of it to the science fair committee
● Create a video presentation (less than 5 minutes) explaining their project to the judges, and submit it to the science fair committee
Public Viewing
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Location: EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum
Participants can display their posters and present their projects to the public (optional) .
Safety Regulations
It is important to wear proper protective gear (装备) when necessary in addition to disposing of (处理) waste properly when conducting a scientific investigation. We strongly recommend that guardians look up and study Safety Data Sheets for any chemicals that their students use and have responsibility for not allowing students to experiment with dangerous chemicals. EUREKA! holds the right to not display projects if they believe the components break our safety regulations.
1. What is an entry requirement for the science fair?| A．A team must consist of three members. |
| B．A team must be led by-the oldest participant. |
| C．All participants must be from Western Colorado. |
| D．Teams must be formed by students in the same grade. |
| A．Submit a display poster. | B．Video the investigation process. |
| C．Present their project to the public. | D．Fill in the registration form individually. |
| A．Disposing of waste improperly. |
| B．Performing experiments without a guardian. |
| C．Involving harmful chemicals in your project. |
| D．Conducting your investigation without protective gear. |
10 . Consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has increased over the past 20 years. UPFs (超加工食品) contain few or no whole foods, are industrially produced, are ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, and include additives (添加剂). The ultra-processing of food reduces its nutritional value. It has been known that higher UPF consumption is associated with overweight and heart disease. Now, research has been extended to examine its impact on mental health.
In a new study, over 72,000 participants who were at least 55 years old and didn’t have dementia (痴呆) at the start of the study were followed for an average of 10 years, during which they filled out questionnaires regarding their diet. By the end of the study, 518 people were diagnosed (诊断) with dementia. After adjusting for other factors that could affect risk of dementia such as age, gender, and heart disease, researchers found every 10 percent increase in daily intake of UPFs was associated with a 25 percent higher risk of dementia. They also found replacing 10percent of UPFs with unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with a 19 percent lower risk of dementia.
In another study, researchers found individuals who consumed the most UPFs had significant increases in the symptoms (症状) of mild depression, “mentally unhealthy days”, and “anxious days”. Eric Hecht, Founder and Executive Director of the Institute of Etiological Research, said, “More than 70 percent of packaged foods in the US are classified as UPFs and represent about 60percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Considering the degree of exposure to and effects of UPF consumption, this study has great significance in clinical practice and public health. It might help improve future development of dietary guidelines.”
Facing such alarming data, maybe it’s time for Americans to reconsider their food choices. Researchers recommend taxes on UPFs and carrying out policies to reduce the consumption. They also support programs and policies to increase the availability and affordability of whole foods, especially among disadvantaged populations.
1. What do we know about UPFs?| A．They have no nutritional value. | B．They are ready-made and instant foods. |
| C．They are cheap and mass-produced. | D．They serve as additions to our daily diets. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Collecting higher taxes on UPFs. | B．Decreasing UPFs’ consumption in diet. |
| C．Focusing on the nutrient content of foods. | D．Increasing public awareness of whole foods. |
| A．Public Health Response to UPFs | B．Physical Disorders Linked to UPFs |
| C．Rising Consumption of UPFs in the US | D．Negative Effects of UPFs on Mental Health |
