1 . It’s common knowledge that the woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting seems to look back at viewers, following them with her eyes no matter where they are in the room. But this common knowledge turns out wrong.
A new study finds that the woman in the painting is actually looking out at an angle of 15.4° off to the viewer’s right — well outside the range that people normally believe when they think someone is looking right at them. In other words, said the study author, Horstmann, “She’s not looking at you.”
This is ironic (讽刺), because the entire phenomenon of a person’s gaze (凝视) in a photograph or painting seeming to follow the viewer is called the “Mona Lisa effect”, which is absolutely real. If a person is illustrated or photographed looking straight ahead, even people viewing the portrait from an angle will feel they are being looked at. As long as the angle of the person’s gaze is no more than about 5 degrees off to either side, the Mona Lisa effect occurs.
Horstmann and his co-author were studying this effect for its application in the creation of artificial-intelligence avatars (虚拟头像) when Horstmann took a long look at the “Mona Lisa” and realized she wasn’t looking at him.
To make sure it wasn’t just him, the researchers gathered 24 people to view images of the “Mona Lisa” on a computer screen. They set a ruler between the viewer and the screen and asked the participants to note which number on the ruler intersected (相交) Mona Lisa’s gaze. To calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze as she looked at the viewer, they moved the ruler farther from or closer to the screen during the study. Consistently, the researchers found, participants judged that the woman in the “Mona Lisa” portrait was not looking straight at them, but slightly off to their right.
So why do people repeat the belief that her eyes seem to follow the viewer? Horstmann isn’t sure. It’s possible, he said, that people have the desire to be looked at, so they think the woman is looking straight at them. Or maybe the people who first coined the term “Mona Lisa effect” just thought it was a cool name.
1. It is generally believed that the woman in the painting “Mona Lisa” ________.| A．attracts the viewers to look back |
| B．seems mysterious because of her eyes |
| C．fixes her eyes on the back of the viewers |
| D．looks at observers wherever they stand |
| A．The Mona Lisa effect does not really exist. |
| B．The mystery of the woman’s smile in the painting. |
| C．The angle of the gaze in Mona Lisa effect. |
| D．Mona Lisa effect does not occur with Mona Lisa. |
| A．confirm Horstmann’s belief |
| B．create artificial-intelligence avatars |
| C．calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze |
| D．show how the Mona Lisa effect can be applied |
| A．Horstmann thinks it cool to coin the term “Mona Lisa effect”. |
| B．The Mona Lisa effect contributes to the creation of artificial intelligence. |
| C．Feeling being gazed at by Mona Lisa may be caused by the desire for attention. |
| D．The position of the ruler in the experiment will influence the viewers’ judgement. |
2 . A robot with a sense of touch may one day feel “pain”, both its own physical pain and sympathy for the pain of its human companions. Such touchy-feely robots are still far off, but advances in robotic touch-sensing are bringing that possibility closer to reality.
Sensors set in soft, artificial skin that can detect both a gentle touch and a painful strike have been hooked up to a robot that can then signal emotions, Asada reported February 15 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This artificial “pain nervous system,” as Asada calls it, may be a small building block for a machine that could ultimately experience pain. Such a feeling might also allow a robot to “sympathize” with a human companion’s suffering.
Asada, an engineer at Osaka University, and his colleagues have designed touch sensors that reliably pick up a range of touches. In a robot system named Affetto, a realistic looking child’s head, these touch and pain signals can be converted to emotional facial expressions.
A touch-sensitive, soft material, as opposed to a rigid metal surface, allows richer interactions between a machine and the world, says neuroscientist Kingson Man of the University of Southern California. Artificial skin “allows the possibility of engagement in truly intelligent ways”.
Such a system, Asada says, might ultimately lead to robots that can recognize the pain of others, a valuable skill for robots designed to help care for people in need, the elderly, for instance.
But there is an important distinction between a robot that responds in a predictable way to a painful strike and a robot that’s able to compute an internal feeling accurately, says Damasio, a neuroscientist also at the University of Southern California. A robot with sensors that can detect touch and pain is “along the lines of having a robot, for example, that smiles when you talk to it,” Damasio says. ‘It’s a device for communication of the machine to a human.” While that’s an interesting development, “it’s not the same thing” as a robot designed to compute some sort of internal experience, he says.
1. What do we know about the “pain nervous system”?| A．It is named Affetto by scientists. | B．It is a set of complicated sensors. |
| C．It is able to signal different emotions. | D．It combines sensors and artificial skin. |
| A．Delivered. | B．Translated. | C．Attached. | D．Adapted. |
| A．Robots can smile when talked to. |
| B．Robots can talk to human beings. |
| C．Robots can compute internal feelings |
| D．Robots can detect pains and respond accordingly. |
| A．Machines Become Emotional | B．Robots Inch to Feeling Pain |
| C．Human Feelings Can Be Felt | D．New Devices Touch Your Heart |
3 . In a study published in Nature Machine Intelligence, researchers at Ohio State University show how artificial intelligence（AI）can follow clinical trials to identify drugs for repurposing, a solution that can help advance innovative treatments.
Repurposing drugs is legal and not unusual. When doctors prescribe(开处方)drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA)for purposes different from what is printed on the labels, the drugs are being used “off-label” Just because a drug is FDA-approved for a specific type of disease does not prevent it from having possible benefits for other purposes.
For example, Metformin, a drug that is FDA-approved for treating type 2 diabetes, is also used to treat PCOS(a disease of women), and other diseases. Trazodone, an anti-depressant with FDA-approval to treat depression, is also prescribed by doctors to help treat patients with sleep issues.
The Ohio State University research team created an AI deep learning model for predicting treatment probability with patient data including the treatment, outcomes, and potential confounders(干扰因素).
Confounders are related to the exposure and outcome. For example, a connection is identified between music festivals and increases in skin rashes(红疹). Music festivals do not directly cause skin rashes. In this case, one possible confounding factor between the two may be outdoor heat, as music festivals tend to run outdoors when the temperature is high, and heat is a known cause for rashes. When working with real-world data, confounders could number in the thousands. AI deep learning is well-suited to find patterns in the complexity of potentially thousands of confounders.
The researcher team used confounders including population data and co-prescribed drugs. With this proof-of-concept, now clinicians have a powerful AI tool to rapidly discover new treatments by repurposing existing medications.
1. What do we know about a drug used off-label?| A．It is sold without a label. |
| B．It is available at a low price. |
| C．Its uses extend beyond the original ones. |
| D．Its clinical trials are rejected by doctors. |
| A．are used off-label |
| B．treat rare diseases |
| C．result in sleep issues |
| D．are medical breakthroughs |
| A．They are possible treatments. |
| B．They are environmental factors. |
| C．They can be easily recognized in real-world data. |
| D．They should be taken into serious consideration. |
| A．AI examines benefits of existing drugs. |
| B．AI identifies off-label uses for drugs. |
| C．AI finds new drugs for common diseases. |
| D．AI proves the power of drug research. |
4 . When you’re on a fishing boat, you may see flocks of birds following in your track, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists say they can use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.
Here’s how it works: Researchers attached data recorders to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in the Southern and Indian oceans. The devices weighed only an ounce and a half, but they included a GPS and were able to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals coming from boats. That information was then transmitted by satellite, so the researchers could track the location of the birds-and thus the radar-emitting boats-in real time.
The scientists then cross-checked that data against the known locations of boats, gathered from a system that boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And differences appeared frequently.
More than a third of the times the birds’ recorders detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, no such boat appeared in the official log (航海记录)—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their Automatic Identification Systems—something the researchers say probably happens in illegal fishing operations.
The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool—as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds. Fortunately, such a task would be difficult.
“Around fishing vessels, you can get hundreds of birds at any one time that are all flying around. So it’s not really possible to target a specific bird. And the birds with recorders on are not marked in any way. So it’s difficult for fishermen to pick out a specific bird," said study author Samantha Patrick, a marine biologist at the University of Liverpool.
Patrick’s bigger concern is that albatrosses often get hooked on fishing lines. And though regulations have been established to protect against that happening—with success—illegal boats don’t necessarily obey. So scientists might be underestimating the risk posed to albatross populations. But this system could mean that those illegal boats may have a tougher time flying under the radar.
1. What behavior of albatrosses can be used to track illegal fishing boats according to scientists?| A．Seeking snacks on a boat. |
| B．Following a boat to catch food. |
| C．Monitoring the location of the boats. |
| D．Keeping an eye open for illegal activities. |
| A．To carry a GPS. |
| B．To record the birds’ behavior. |
| C．To help satellite transmit information. |
| D．To detect radar signals from boats. |
| A．They are probably fishing illegally. |
| B．They needn’t declare themselves. |
| C．They don’t want to emit radar signals. |
| D．They want to avoid being followed by albatrosses. |
| A．Birds—Humans’ Friends |
| B．Data Recorders—A Helper to Albatrosses |
| C．AIS—A System to Declare Locations of Boats |
| D．Albatrosses—A Tool to Monitor Illegal Fishing Boats |
5 . After about two weeks of intense negotiations in Paris, delegates from around the world reached an international agreement on Dec. 12 to address climate change. For the first time in history, 195 countries have promised to reduce greenhouse gas（GHG）emissions and to increase these reductions over time.
The agreement goes beyond requiring developed countries like the US to take actions to cut down emissions. It's a universal agreement requiring some form of action from every country, rich or poor.
The agreement sets the date for an emissions peak "as soon as possible". It would also limit warming worldwide to less than 2℃ above the levels in the 1800s. According to scientific studies 2℃ is the point at which climate change will bring destructive consequences to the planet, including rising sea levels, severe droughts, increased flooding, destructive storms, and widespread food and water shortages.
The deal also urges wealthy countries to set a non- binding goal of providing more than $100 billion（650 billion yuan）per year in public and private financing by 2020 for poorer countries to help them invest in clean energy and combat the impact of climate change.
The Paris deal asks countries to make voluntary promises based on an analysis of each country's economy, politics and technology. However, the deal also includes a series of legally binding（有约束力的）requirements. It requires countries to reconvene every five years, starting in 2020, with updated plans that would cut their further emissions. Countries will also be legally required to reconvene every five years starting in 2023 to publicly report on their progress.
The Paris deal alone won't solve global warming. Its effectiveness will depend on whether each country enacts（立法）their promise. But the deal "could be viewed as a signal to global financial and energy markets, triggering a fundamental shift away from investment in coal, oil and gas as primary energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear power", according to The New York Times.
1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?| A．The agreement requires only developed countries to take actions to cut down emissions. |
| B．The agreement would limit warming worldwide to 2℃ less than the levels in the 1800s. |
| C．The agreement requires some form of action from all the countries in the world |
| D．The constant global warming will do great harm to the planet. |
| A．do something to fight against the influence of climate change |
| B．invest more in coal, oil and gas as primary energy sources |
| C．provide more than $100 billion per year in public and private financing |
| D．report on their progress of reducing their emissions every 5 years in Paris |
| A．Meet | B．Report. | C．Promise | D．Return. |
| A．a science magazine | B．a newspaper |
| C．a school text | D．an economic lecture |
6 . What do you want to be when you are growing up? A doctor, an engineer — or maybe a footballer or actor? We all have big plans for our futures and believe there is a dream job waiting for us — one that will pay well and give great job satisfaction. But how realistic is that?
Today, in the UK at least, young people are being warned that some of their career hopes and dreams don’t match the types of jobs available. Research by the charity Education and Employers suggests five times as many 17 and 18 year-olds in the UK want to work in art, culture, entertainment and sport than there are jobs.
The excitement of working in these employment sectors (部门) is obviously an attraction. But those looking for these types of job will be disappointed. That’s what the report, Disconnected: Career ambitions and jobs in the UK, says. Writing about this for the BBC, Katherine Sellgren points out that although young people are keen to work in art, entertainment, culture and sport, the economy is unlikely to need them all. At the same time, there is a shortfall of young people wanting to work in careers such as catering and retail(零售).
Previous research about the career ambitions of young people by the Office for National Statistics also found a “reality gap” between their dreams and the sometimes disappointing truth by the time they reached their early to late-20s. Apart from those who aimed to go into teaching, fewer than one in 50 were in the jobs they had wanted — such as a doctor, vet, firefighter or actor. Most were working as sales assistants, careers or in sales and marketing.
Although it’s good to have ambitions, the aims of young people need to be realistic. This latest report suggests that children need to be made more aware of a wider variety of occupations at a younger age. It also calls for improved career advice in secondary schools. A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions told the BBC that “early careers advice can help young people set out on the right path to the job that channels their interests and unlocks their potential.”
1. Which employment sector in the UK needs more people to work in?| A．Sport. | B．Service industry. |
| C．Art & culture. | D．Entertainment. |
| A．ambition and reality | B．males and females |
| C．theory and practice | D．the past and the present |
| A．They ought to be offered better career advice in secondary schools. |
| B．They should know more kinds of jobs at an early age. |
| C．The government should create more jobs for the young. |
| D．Their employment ambition should be realistic. |
| A．Unemployment Problems in Britain |
| B．Young People’s Lifestyles in Britain |
| C．Tips for Finding Dream Jobs in Britain |
| D．Unrealistic Career Ambitions in Britain |
7 . If the world wants to control global warming, water shortage and pollution, then we all need to welcome “flexitarian” diets, say scientists.
This means eating mainly plant-based foods, and is a key step toward an environment friendly future for all in 2050, they say. Food waste will need to be halved ad farming practices will also have to improve, according to the study arid out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Without action, the influence of the food system could increase by up to 90%
The authors say that he present food industry has a number of considerable environmental effects including being a great driver of climate change, using up freshwater and causing pollution through heavy use of chemical fertilizer. The study says that thanks to the population and income growth expected between 2010 and 2050, these effects could grow between 50-90%. This could push our world beyond is planetary boundaries, which the authors say represent a “safe operating space for humanity and the international community”.
However, the study finds that no single solution will avoid the dangers, so a combined approach is needed. So when it comes to climate change, the authors looked at what they called a “flexitarian” diet.
“We can eat a range of healthy dies but what they all have in common, according to the latest scientific evidence, is that they are all relatively plant-based,” said Dr. Marco from the University of Oxford. “You can go from a diet that has small amounts of animal products (some might call it a Mediterranean-based diet; we call it a flexitarian diet) over to a vegetarian(素食的) diet—we tried to stay with the most traditional one of these which in our view is the flexitarian one, but even this has only one serving of red meat per week.”
If the world moved to this type of diet, the study found that greenhouse gas emissions(排放物) from farming would be reduced by more than half.
Dr. Marco says that all measures combined can result in keeping both the planet and people healthy.
1. What is the IPCCs study about?| A．The role of modern farming practices. |
| B．The differences between various diets. |
| C．The effects of food industry on the planet. |
| D．The harmful consequence of global warming. |
| A．It is far too wasteful. |
| B．It has raised farmers’ income. |
| C．It contributes to the development of farming. |
| D．It is a key step to an environment-friendly society. |
| A．Eating a variety of food. |
| B．Eating a lot of animal products. |
| C．Eating vegetables grown without fertilizer. |
| D．Eating mostly plant-based meals and some red meat. |
| A．The water pollution will be controlled in 2050. |
| B．Less greenhouse gas will be produced. |
| C．Food waste will be reduced by half. |
| D．Much more money will be saved. |
8 . It sounds like science fiction, but the world's first floating dairy farm(奶牛场 )the brainchild of Dutch company Beladon, will become a reality.
Though the project has been in the works for years, the farm only recently got the green light for construction. This summer, a 900-ton platform was pulled to its current position in Rotterdam's harbor. It will soon be a multi-level home to 40 cows.
According to Peter, owner of Beladon, animal welfare was important when they were designing the farm. The finished farm will feature a “cow garden"on the top floor, with artificial trees and bushes to offer shade. A team of robots will be hired，collecting about 800 liters of milk per day. The milk will then be processed on the floor below and sold locally. In their free time. however, cows can walk a ramp(斜坡) to reach the firm ground on the bank.Tasty waste from the city-cut grass, potato skins, etc.- will be their main food source And waste from the farm will be used as fertilizer throughout Rotterdam.
The building will attract many visitors, but the real focus is food security. Getting cows on the water is a great step towards creating healthier cities. The idea first came in 2012, while Peter was in New York. When Hurricane Sandy hit, he watched the city's transportation paralyzed (瘫痪的)as Manhattan's roads were filled with water. Trucks for food distribution couldn’t move anymore.After two days. there was no fresh food in the stores, Then Peter had a thought: To create a climate-adaptive method of producing fresh, local food, why not harvest right on the water?"You going up and down with the tide, and you don’t need the transport."
Though it's just one small farm the project can serve as a model for cities across the globe. A building on the water is transportable, so you can move it when necessary.
1. What do we know about the dairy farm?| A．It is meant to serve local citizens. |
| B．It is out of the question. |
| C．It is located in the deep sea. |
| D．It is owned by the government. |
| A．They feed on the plants grown on the farm. |
| B．They have access to the real land. |
| C．They can wander in the real garden |
| D．Their waste can be fully used aboard. |
| A．To improve the local environment. | B．To add a new scenic spot. |
| C．To help ensure food supply. | D．To reduce pressure on transport. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Worried. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Supportive. |
9 . Fabien Cousteau is the grandson of Jacques Cousteau, an ocean scientist who brought the wonders of the sea to the attention of people around the world. Jacques Cousteau helped invent the Aqua-Lung(水肺) , now used by divers everywhere. Fabien Cousteau has followed a similar path,exploring the sea as a scientist and working to protect the oceans.
Oceans cover more than 70% of our planet. NOAA says we have created maps of less than 20% of the world's oceans, and only 5% have been explored. Space seems to have gotten much more attention , even though it's farther away. The International Space Station( ISS) has been around for more than 20 years , and more people have gone to the moon than have gone to the deepest point in the ocean.
"The ocean is our life support system. It is the very reason why we exist in the first place,'Fabien says.
But though the ocean is all around us , studying it is a challenge. Divers are limited in how far down they can go and how long they can stay below. Returning to the surface can be dangerous. Fabien has announced a plan to build a large research station under the ocean named Proteus,which is designed to deal with many of those problems. The power for the station is expected to come from solar energy and the movement of the ocean. Fabien says that the research base won't just be used to study and help protect the sea, but also to research new ways of creating energy , and perhaps even searching for new medicines. Proteus is also expected to have the first under water greenhouse in the world , so that the lab will be able to grow some of its own food.
Like the ISS , Proteus is designed so that it can grow in the future , as scientists decide to add new sections or equipment to the station. Fabien hopes to have the lab completed and ready to use by 2023.
1. What do we know about Fabien Cousteau?| A．He's doing what Jacques once did. |
| B．He took part in the work in the ISS. |
| C．He built an undersea laboratory. |
| D．He helped invent the Aqua-Lung. |
| A．To show the world's oceans are vast. |
| B．To prove oceans and space are vital. |
| C．To advise people to protect oceans. |
| D．To tell why oceans need exploring. |
| A．Environment-friendly. | B．Water-saving. |
| C．Expensive. | D．Risky. |
| A．Fabien's Ocean Research Achievements |
| B．Proteus: Research Lab Growing Gradually |
| C．Proteus : Plan for Underwater Version of ISS |
| D．Fabien's Dream about Promoting his Station |
10 . During those barren winter months, with windows overlooking long-dead gardens, leafless trees, and lawns that seem to have an ashy look about them, nothing calms the uneasy nerves more than the vibrant green of plants surrounding the living spaces of one’s home. People browse through garden stores just to get a smell of chlorophyll (叶绿素) and to choose a plant or two to bring spring back into their winter-gray lives.
Now there is even more of a need for “the green,” in light of recent articles warning us of the dangers of chemicals that we, ourselves, introduce into our homes. Each time we bring clothes home from the cleaners, we release those chemicals into the closed-in air of our homes. Every cleanser releases its own kind of fumes.
Some of the chemicals are formaldehyde (甲醛), chlorine, benzene, styrene, etc. Read the labels on many home products, the ingredients aren’t even listed! During the winter, when those same windows are shut tight, we breathe in these chemicals—causing symptoms much like allergies (过敏). In fact, most people probably dismiss the effects of these chemicals simply as some allergy or other. The truth is that we are experiencing a syndrome that is called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Now, what has this got to do with green plants? Everything healthy! Research has been conducted with two types of plants that have actually removed much of these harmful chemicals from the air.
The two plants that seem to be the best bet for ridding one’s home of such chemicals are ferns (蕨类植物) and palms. These plants release moisture as part of photosynthesis and, as they do, pull chemicals from the air into their leaves. Even NASA has conducted some greenhouse experiments for long-term space exploration. Within hours, their plants [palms] had removed almost all traces of formaldehyde in the room. Both species of plants are ancient, dating back more than a hundred million years. Another trait they share is that they both live long lives, 100 years or more. This we expect from trees, but ferns and palms are plants; plants that can grow to 65 feet in the proper setting! Even their individual leaves live for one to two years [ferns] and one to nine years [palms]. Perhaps it is their primary qualities that have contributed to their ability to purify their environment.
1. Why does the author think we are in greater need of “the green” in our homes?| A．To bring our long-dead gardens back to life. |
| B．To get rid of harmful chemicals trapped there. |
| C．To make us feel calmer and less worried. |
| D．To serve as decorations as well as refresh us. |
| A．The source of these chemicals released in our homes hasn’t been identified. |
| B．The chemicals can be removed immediately the two plants are put into use. |
| C．People tend to underestimate the effects of the chemical in the closed-in places. |
| D．People usually buy household products without referring to the ingredients on them. |
| A．the ability to absorb chemicals and live long |
| B．their adaptability to indoor environment |
| C．the fast growth and attractiveness of their leaves |
| D．the release of their moisture and fumes |
| A．Research in the New Millennium |
| B．Common Houseplants May Purify Your Home |
| C．Hidden Dangers in Your Home |
| D．NASA Experiment Finds the Cure |
