1 . “Woman reading book, under a night sky, dreamy atmosphere,” I type into Deep Dream Generator’s Text 2 Dream feature. In less than a minute, an image is returned to me showing what I’ve described.
Welcome to the world of AI image generation, where you can create what on the surface looks like top-rank artwork using just a few text prompts (提示). But closer examination shows oddities. The face of the woman in my image has very odd features, and appears to be holding multiple books. And, while there’s an initial thrill at seeing an image appear, there’s no creative satisfaction.
AI image generation could influence everything from film to graphic novels and more. Children’s illustrators were quick to raise concerns about the technology. They say AI-generated art is the exact opposite of what art is believed to be. Fundamentally, art is all about translating something that you feel internally into something that exists externally. Whatever form it takes, true art is about the creative process much more than it’s about the final piece. And simply pressing a button to generate an image is not a creative process.
Beyond creativity, there are deeper issues. To create images from prompts, AI generators rely on databases of already existing art and text. This could lead to the creation of images that are intentionally meant to imitate the style of other artists, without their agreement. There is an argument that AI generators work no differently to humans when it comes to being influenced by others’ work. However, a human artist is also adding emotion and nuance (细微差别) into the mix. AI doesn’t do the same — it can only copy.
The increasing use of AI will also lead to a devaluing (贬低) of the work of artists. There’s already a negative prejudice towards the creative industry. People will begin to think that their “work” is as excellent as that created by someone who has spent a career making art. It’s nonsense, of course. You can use your mobile phone to take a nice picture of your daughter, but you are no match for professionals.
1. What does the writer think of his image creation?| A．Exciting. | B．Appealing |
| C．Unsatisfying. | D．Shocking. |
| A．The creating process. | B．The final work. |
| C．Personal feelings. | D．External forms. |
| A．The styles of human artworks and AI ones. |
| B．Human artists’ influence on AI generators. |
| C．Different means used in human and AI art creation. |
| D．The drawbacks of drawing from existing art and text. |
| A．Art is the mirror of life. | B．Rome is not built in a day. |
| C．No man can do two things at once. | D．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
2 . When given the choice, about 85% of people say they would not want to know about some negative event far in the future. Yet recently millions around the globe have downloaded FaceApp, which allows users to see how they might age in real life.
Many had fun with joking that they love the FaceApp old filter. Beneath the humor is a serious subject: How do we learn to relate to our future selves? It’s important that we try to because it could help strengthen the long-term decisions that we make. However, we often fail to make sacrifices for the grayer versions of ourselves.
More than half of the respondents in a recent survey of 2,800 Americans said they rarely or never thought about what their lives might be like 30 years from now. This isn’t surprising, since most of us are firmly rooted in the present and thinking about the distant future can seem like a distant priority (优先). My ongoing research might also offer an explanation: We tend to think about our future selves as if they are someone different from who we are today. In an effort to narrow these empathy (共情) gaps, my research workmates and I have tried to humanize people’s future selves in the same way others have tried to humanize charity receivers. Given that a photograph of one hungry child can spark emotional reactions, and cause viewers to donate, we have presented participants with vivid images of their distant selves.
That seems helpful. In a recently completed project in Mexico, we found that exposure to future self-images led more people to contribute to their pensions. Despite this research, I’m skeptical that the app users will suddenly increase their pension contributions and care about their health. The silly app isn’t paired with an immediate opportunity to change any of these things.
The lesson from FaceApp shouldn’t be that we need to marry hi-tech visuals with savings for retirement. The lesson, then, lakes the form of a question: What more can be done to urge us to think about, care for who we will one day become?
1. What can we learn about FaceApp?| A．It provides future self-images. | B．It is the most downloaded app. |
| C．It helps people make decisions. | D．It makes people age in real life. |
| A．They have known future life from FaceApp. |
| B．They fail to make sacrifices for their future. |
| C．They attach greater importance to the present. |
| D．They consider future selves the same as today’s. |
| A．Completing a project in Mexico. | B．Offering aging images of participants. |
| C．Raising contributions among viewers. | D．Giving a photograph of a hungry child. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Unfavorable. |
3 . I spoke to my parents last night and for a moment I forgot I wasn’t really speaking to them, but to their digital replicas (复制品). They live inside an app as voice assistants constructed by the company HereAfter AI.
In fact, my parents are still alive and well; their virtual versions were made to help me understand the technology. Grief tech, which lets you “talk” with the people you’ve loved and lost, has been appearing in science fiction. But now it’s becoming a reality. Although the thought of it makes some frightened, it’s not hard to see the appeal that people might turn to digital replicas for comfort.
However, there is one major limitation. These replicas may sound like someone you love, but they know nothing about you. Anyone can talk to them, and get the same reply in the same tone. “The biggest issue with the technology is the idea that you can generate a single universal person,” says Justin Harrison, founder of a technological service.
Creating a virtual avatar you can have more conversation with contributes to your feeling connected to someone you loved and lost, says Erin Thompson, a clinical psychologist. But a grieving person needs to know that these bots can only capture a small part of someone rather than replace healthy, functional human relationships.
And there are other risks. Any service that allows you to create a digital replica of someone without that person’s participation raises complex moral issues. While some might argue that permission is less important with someone who is dead, can’t you also argue that the person who generated the other side of the conversation should have a say too? And what if that person is not, in fact, dead?
If digital replicas become mainstream, there will inevitably need to be new regulations around what we leave behind online. And we’ll be better off if we cope with the possibility of these replicas’ misuse before, not after, they reach mass adoption.
Anyway, I feel lucky to still have the precious opportunity to spend more time with my parents, face to face, no technology involved.
1. Which of the following is not a drawback of digital replicas?| A．They can’t vary their response accordingly. |
| B．They can’t mirror every aspect of a person. |
| C．They may pose threat to the interests of people alive. |
| D．It’s hard to gain permission from someone who is not alive. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Reasonable. | C．Critical. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Technology is advancing faster than imagined. |
| B．Safety risks can be surely avoided by regulations. |
| C．Replicas will not be misused before widely adopted. |
| D．Cherish the beloved ones when they are still around. |
| A．Reflections on grief tech. | B．Ways to overcome our grief. |
| C．Technology to change our life. | D．Controversy over digital replicas. |
4 . When I mentioned to some friends that we all have accents, most of them proudly replied, “Well, I speak perfect English/Chinese/etc.” But this kind of misses the point.
More often than not, what we mean when we say someone “has an accent” is that their accent is different from the local one, or that pronunciations are different from our own. But this definition of accents is limiting and could give rise to prejudice. Funnily enough, in terms of the language study, every person speaks with an accent. It is the regular differences in how we produce sounds that define our accents. Even if you don’t hear it yourself, you speak with some sort of accent. In this sense, it’s pointless to point out that someone“has an accent“. We all do!
Every person speaks a dialect , too. In the field of language study, a dialect is a version of a language that is characterized by its variations of structure, phrases and words. For instance,“ You got eat or not? ”(meaning “Have you eaten?” ) is an acceptable and understood question in Singapore Oral English. The fact that this expression would cause a standard American English speaker to take pause doesn’t mean that Singapore Oral English is “wrong” or “ungrammatical”. The sentence is well-formed and clearly communicative, according to native Singapore English speakers’ solid system of grammar. Why should it be wrong just because it’s different?
We need to move beyond a narrow conception of accents and dialects — for the benefit of everyone.
Language differences like these provide insights into people’s cultural experiences and backgrounds. In a global age, the way one speaks is a distinct part of one’s identity. Most people would be happy to talk about the cultures behind their speech. We’d learn more about the world we live in and make friends along the way.
1. What does the author think of his/ her friends’ response in paragraph 1?| A．It reflects their self confidence. |
| B．It reflects their language levels. |
| C．It misses the point of communication. |
| D．It misses the real meaning of accents. |
| A．To justify the use of dialects. |
| B．To show the diversity of dialects. |
| C．To correct a grammatical mistake. |
| D．To highlight a traditional approach. |
| A．Learn to speak with your local dialect. |
| B．Seek for an official definition of accents. |
| C．Appreciate the value of accents and dialects. |
| D．Distinguish our local languages from others’. |
| A．Favourable | B．Intolerant |
| C．Doubtful | D．Unclear |
5 . Life can bring us down from time to time. At some point, you may find yourself in what you will consider as your darkest hour. As you try to find your way out of that bad situation, you should try to remind yourself that there is still a reason to be grateful.
If you look at your situation now and compare it with someone else who is in much deeper trouble than you, I am sure that you’ll find something to be thankful for. We all have our share of problems. But complaining about them so much only makes us blind about the fact that there are the miracles that happen around us every day.
When all your needs are provided, then you should be content and happy. If you have a roof over your head, some decent(得体的) clothes to wear, enough food on the table, a comfortable place to sleep, clean water to drink and you are free to make your own choices, then you should be happy and grateful. Many people all around the world, especially those who are at war or those in very poor countries would give anything to be in your conditions.
Even if you lose all your money or possessions and your heart is broken for some reason, as long as you are still alive, then every material thing you have lost can be regained. If you have a few good friends who will be there to support or help you, then be glad because true friends are hard to find. As long as you have someone to love and someone to love you back, then you are a very fortunate person. Remember to be patient and trust that things will get better.
1. What’s the author’s advice for those people faced with difficulties?| A．They should believe in miracles to happen. |
| B．They should take a grateful attitude to life. |
| C．They should have confidence in themselves. |
| D．They should remind themselves to keep calm. |
| A．being teased by others | B．taking everything for granted |
| C．having doubts about self-value | D．ignoring the good things in life |
| A．People should try to make a difference. |
| B．People should be satisfied with what they have. |
| C．People should work hard to gain what they want. |
| D．People should practise kindness to those in need. |
| A．It’s not so easy to make a living. |
| B．It’s important to have faith in life. |
| C．Show appreciation of what we have. |
| D．Never compare ourselves with others. |
6 . Many leading AI researchers think that in a matter of decades, artificial intelligence will be able to do not merely some of our jobs, but all of our jobs, forever transforming life on the earth.
The reason why many people reject this as science fiction is that we’ve traditionally thought of intelligence as something mysterious that can only exist in biological organisms,especially humans. But such an idea is unscientific.
From my point of view as a physicist and AI researcher, intelligence is simply a certain kind of information-processing performed by elementary particles (基本粒子) moving around,and there is no law of physics that says one can’t build machines more intelligent than us in all ways. This suggests that we’ve only seen the tip of the intelligence iceberg and that there is an amazing potential to unlock the full intelligence that is potential in nature and use it to help humanity.
If we get it right, the upside is huge. Since everything we love about civilization is the product of intelligence, amplifying our own intelligence with AI has the potential to solve tomorrow’s toughest problems. For example, why risk our loved ones dying in traffic accidents that self-driving cars could prevent or dying of cancers that AI might help us find cures for? Why not increase productivity through automation and use AI to accelerate our research and development of affordable sustainable (可持续的) energy?
I’m optimistic that we can develop rapidly with advanced AI as long as we win the race between the growing power of our technology and the knowledge with which we manage it. But this requires giving up our outdated concept of learning from mistakes. That helped us win the race with less powerful technology. We messed up with fire and then invented fire extinguishers (灭火器), and we messed up with cars and then invented seat belts. However, it’s an awful idea for more powerful technologies, such as nuclear weapons or super intelligent AI-where even a single mistake is unacceptable and we need to get things right the first time.
1. How do many people feel about leading AI researchers’ predictions?| A．Worried. | B．Curious. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．We know little about it. | B．It belongs to human beings. |
| C．It is too difficult to understand. | D．We have a good command of it. |
| A．Cost. | B．Potential. |
| C．Quantity. | D．Advantage. |
| A．Learning from failure. | B．Increasing our intelligence. |
| C．Avoiding making mistakes. | D．Making accurate predictions. |
7 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.
On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.
Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.
We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.
1. What’s the function of food mentioned in the text?| A．To help motivate homesickness. |
| B．To show cultural identity. |
| C．To reflect a country’s history. |
| D．To show a community’s superiority. |
| A．The specific traditional food. |
| B．The national culture. |
| C．A traditional expression of food. |
| D．The old-fashioned taste. |
| A．To attach cultural importance to their dishes. |
| B．To announce the beginning of their life on foreign soil. |
| C．To make the dishes popular among customers. |
| D．To present their own food culture in a new way. |
| A．Negative. |
| B．Balanced. |
| C．Unfair. |
| D．Unchangeable. |
8 . Female birds sing, too, but scientists tend to tune in to male birdsong and ignore female songs. It highlights a long-standing bias (偏见) and helps us think about why that bias persists (持续).
Since the beginning of modern birdsong research, the field has focused on male songbirds. Any serious birder could tell you that females do sing, sometimes as frequently as males. However, early birdsong researchers tended to be men. Men are significantly less likely than women to lead research projects studying female songs. Thus, we are missing key behaviors as a result of historical biases caused by a lack of diverse participation in science.
So how do we make science welcoming and accessible for all? We need to communicate better with nonscientists. Engaging the public in science is essential for basic science findings that influence how we perceive the world around us.
For example, understanding that female birds do sing matters not only to scientists but also to the billions of people who hear the sounds of wild birds every day. In many species, males and females look similar from a distance, but can be distinguished by ear. Paying close attention to which sounds each sex makes and thinking about why they might be producing them opens up a richer window into the environment around us. It turns out female birds use songs for all the same reasons male birds do: to signal individual identity, defend valuable territories and attract potential mates.
Public awareness of female birdsong has the potential to change the science itself. Apps like eBird collect millions of public observations and audio recordings of birds every year. Increasing public engagement and involvement with research promises to benefit the scientific community and society more broadly. In many cases, scientists and experts already have strongly held biases about the way the world works, and these biases allow mistaken conclusions to persist. Public observers often make better observers of the world around them because they lack preconceived ideas.
Female birds sing! We welcome a future where research and communication combine to improve our understanding of the world around us and deepen our connections to each other and the natural world.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?| A．Who is to blame for the long-standing bias. |
| B．Why female birdsong is long ignored by scientists. |
| C．What contributes to diverse participation in science. |
| D．How men have conducted modern birdsong research. |
| A．It will enable us to become real scientists. |
| B．It will help us distinguish bird species by ear. |
| C．It will expand our understanding of the world. |
| D．It will make advanced science accessible for all. |
| A．Biased. | B．Creative. |
| C．Mistaken. | D．Varied. |
| A．Why we Didn't Know That Female Birds Sing? |
| B．Advancing Science: How Bias Leads Us Forward |
| C．New Research Has Found Female Birds Sing Too! |
| D．A Case Study of Gender Bias in Science Reporting |
9 . Why do some parents tend to hold back their disabled children from experiencing life? Even when they are grown, the parents will not allow certain things to happen. It's true that they do have a certain amount of responsibility in protecting their severely disabled adult child, but at what point do they become overly protective?
Parents want to create a safe haven, a place where they know that nothing bad will happen to their beloved child. This seems to be a respectable and notable act in caring for a person with a disability, but it can have a side effect. When protecting their child from suspected hardships, not wanting anything bad to happen to them, they very well may be preventing good things from happening to them.
In life we all make mistakes, it is how we are able to grow and strengthen our character. Parents may feel that in certain instances their child will get hurt or mistreated in some way, so they build walls in their own minds convincing themselves of the need to shelter. However, the disabled, yes even the "severely disabled" deserve to make personal mistakes as well. Even more, they have the right to succeed.
Parents should do everything and anything within their power to see their disabled children lead a somewhat "normal" life. Parents should help their children, not hold them down. This could make them think they are unworthy and that their parents do not believe in them.
Whatever it may be, let them at least try. If they want to attend college, so be it. Parents should find out all they can, and be involved in every detail. Get to know the aides, experience it with them. If they want to dare and someday marry, so be it. Don't shut them out and form bad or critical opinions about them just because you are afraid. Unite as a family and make it work.
1. According to the passage, if the parents overprotect their disabled children, the children will ________.| A．never grow up in the future |
| B．find no shelter when they grow up |
| C．become less confident when facing troubles |
| D．less likely meet with good things happening to them |
| A．Supporting. | B．Depressed. | C．Critical. | D．Uninterested. |
| A．be a bridge, not a brick wall |
| B．act as their children's best friends |
| C．encourage their children to get married |
| D．live in harmony with their disabled children |
| A．Living Within The Parents' Power |
| B．Letting Your Disabled Child Succeed |
| C．Getting Out Of A Brick Wall In Their Life |
| D．Helping Your Disabled Child Out Of Trouble |
10 . After years of observing human nature, I have decided that two qualities make the difference between men of great achievement and men of average performance curiosity and discontent. I have never known an outstanding man who lacked either. And I have never known an average man who had both. The two belong together.
Together, these deep human urges（驱策力）count for much more than ambition. Galileo was not merely ambitious when he dropped objects of varying weights from the Leaning Tower at Pisa and timed their fall to the ground. Like Galileo, all the great names in history were curious and asked in discontent, "Why? Why? Why?"
Fortunately, curiosity and discontent don't have to be learned. We are born with them and need only recapture them.
"The great man," said Mencius（孟子）, "is he who does not lose his child's heart. " Yet most of us do lose it. We stop asking questions. We stop challenging custom. We just follow the crowd. And the crowd desires restful average. It encourages us to occupy our own little corner, to avoid foolish leaps into the dark, to be satisfied.
Most of us meet new people, and new ideas, with hesitation. But once having met and liked them, we think how terrible it would have been, had we missed the chance. We will probably have to force ourselves to waken our curiosity and discontent and keep them awake.
How should you start? Modestly, so as not to become discouraged. I think of one friend who couldn't arrange flowers to satisfy herself. She was curious about how the experts did it. How she is one of the experts, writing books on flower arrangement.
One way to begin is to answer your own excuses. You haven't any special ability? Most people don't; there are only a few geniuses. You haven't any time? That's good, because it's always the people with no time who get things done. Harriet Stowe, mother of six, wrote parts of Uncle Tom's Cabin while cooking. You're too old? Remember that Thomas Costain was 57 when he published his first novel, and that Grandma Moses showed her first pictures when she was 78.
However you start, remember there is no better time to start than right now, for you'll never be more alive than you are at this moment.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ________.| A．propose a definition | B．make a comparison |
| C．reach a conclusion | D．present an argument |
| A．Trial and error leads to the finding of truth. |
| B．Scientists tend to be curious and ambitious. |
| C．Creativity results from challenging authority. |
| D．Greatness comes from a lasting desire to explore. |
| A．Observe the unknown around you. |
| B．Develop a questioning mind. |
| C．Lead a life of adventure. |
| D．Follow the fashion. |
| A．Curious Minds Never Feel Contented |
| B．Reflections on Human Nature |
| C．The Keys to Achievement |
| D．Never Too Late to Learn |
