The tea that
Traditional tea processing techniques and their associated social practices in China , including tea gardens, picking of tea leaves,the processing, drinking and sharing of tea,
In China,traditional tea processing techniques are
Over 2,000 tea
The ancient Silk Road and trade routes brought tea to the whole world.
2 . An artificial intelligence can decode (解码) words and sentences from brain activity with surprising—though still limited—accuracy. Using only a few seconds of brain activity data, the AI guesses what a person has heard. It lists the correct answer in its top 10 possibilities up to 73 percent of the time, researchers found in a study.
Developed at the parent company of Facebook, Meta, the AI could eventually be used to help thousands of people around the world unable to communicate through speech, typing or gestures, researchers report on August 25 at arXiv.org.
Most existing technologies to help such patients communicate require risky brain surgeries to implant electrodes. This new approach “could provide a practical path to help patients without the use of invasive methods,” says neuroscientist Jean-Rémi King, a Meta AI researcher in Paris.
King and his colleagues trained a computational tool to detect words and sentences on 56,000 hours of speech recordings from 53 languages. The tool, also known as a language model, learned how to recognize specific features of language. With the help of a computational method, the team tried to decode what participants had heard using just three seconds of brain activity data from each person. The team instructed the AI to match the speech sounds from the story recordings to patterns of brain activity that the AI computed as corresponding to what people were hearing. It then made predictions about what the person might have been hearing during that short time, given more than 1,000 possibilities. The correct answer was in the AI’s top 10 guesses up to 73 percent of the time, the researchers found.
The new study is “decoding of speech perception, not production,” King notes. Though speech production is the ultimate goal, for now, “we’re quite a long way away.”
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 1?| A．The principle of human brain activity. |
| B．The limitation of human brain activity. |
| C．The definition of the artificial intelligence. |
| D．The new function of the artificial intelligence. |
| A．People unable to hear. | B．People who can’t move around. |
| C．People who are unconscious. | D．People unable to communicate normally. |
| A．To analyze the features of the study. | B．To state the significance of the study. |
| C．To introduce the process of the study. | D．To present the achievement of the study. |
| A．It performs well in the speech production. |
| B．Its accuracy is far from the researchs’ satisfaction. |
| C．It will help patients avoid dangerous brain surgeries. |
| D．Its language learning ability is beyond expectation. |
I had never noticed her. She was not the kind of girl who could draw attention. She was not tall and just plain. In class, she liked sitting at the back, reading or taking notes. It was once I asked her to read aloud the text that I looked at her with new eyes when I heard her standard American pronunciation. Later on, the National College English Speech Contest would be held. I thought it over and filled in her name with a smile. I red-penciled her draft of speech, corrected her pronunciation, and even adjusted her body language.
However, I was always kind of worried because she was too introvert(内向的)and too quiet. Could she seize this rare opportunity?
On the night of the contest, I told her to take it easy. Blushed(脸红的), she looked at me and said nothing.
My heart sank. It seemed that she did tense up. I pated her and let her go to draw lots(抽签). As a result, what she drew was No. 9 while No. 8 was recognized English master-hand(高手).
Sure enough, the English master-hand was fairly successful in the speech with his humor and highly personal style. The whole audience would make a warm applause almost every 30 seconds until she appeared on the stage, still talking over his speech with excitement.
My palms began to sweat. I sat there, with no courage to look at her. It was the first time that she went up the stage, so I couldn't blame her for any slips. But at that moment, I found I was so scared of her failure.
The strong spotlight made her so small and so insignificant that nobody seemed to notice she had been on the stage, I said to myself, no hope.
But the moment that shocked me occurred. I clearly heard a voice, a very loud voice, “Now, please focus on me.” She said this sentence three times in all, louder and louder.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The whole audience fell silent.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After her speech ended for a long while, a thunderous applause sounded in the whole audience.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Stuck at home with nothing to watch? Curious about China, but don’t know where to begin? Well, we’ve got you covered with this brand-new video series exploring Chinese culture. All you have to do is press play.
● Dazu Rock Carvings
One of China’s UNESCO World Heritage sites is hidden among the mountains on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Chongqing. Here, tens of thousands of sculptures collectively make up the Dazu Rock Carvings — considered one of the finest examples of China’s cave art, exhibiting the most sophisticated craftsmanship of Dazu Rock Carvings. The delicate Dazu Rock Carvings tell ancient, mystical stories.
● Bamboo Carving
The art of bamboo carving originated at the Qing imperial court. Today, the art lives on, appreciated for its historical value and elegance.
Just 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, in the Xiong’an New Area, a group of skilled artists are keeping this art alive. Carving bamboo requires focus, precision and elbow grease (重活). Watch the video and feast your eyes on the bamboo masterpieces.
● Peach-stone Carving
In the small town of Siyang in Jiangsu Province in eastern China, craftsmen create art on the tiny cores of the peaches.
While most people think nothing of peach stones and just throw them away, they are a source of inspiration for these artists. The artist goes to great length to find the perfect core to fit his concept. Using tiny tools, they chip away at the cores to create intricate designs，extremely detailed and delicate. These peach stone carvings are often worn as jewelry symbolizing fortune in China.
1. What do Dazu Rock Carvings feature?| A．Mysterious tales. | B．Mountain shapes. |
| C．Design inspirations. | D．Painting exhibitions. |
| A．Materials. | B．Origin. | C．Craftsmanship. | D．Symbols. |
| A．To show wealth. | B．To bring good luck. |
| C．To symbolize status. | D．To appreciate design. |
5 . Scientists have proved the idea wrong that women are underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries because of biological differences which affect their math skills. Girls and boys have similar brains and are equally able when it comes to understanding math, according to the study.
The research involved 104 children aged between 3 to 10 years old, 55 of whom were girls. The kids watched an educational video featuring math concepts such as counting and addition, while the scientists recorded their brain activity using an MRI scanner. The team then compared all the scan results. According to the data, there was no difference between the children’s brain functions or development. And the boys and girls appeared to be equally tuned into the videos. The team also looked at the results of a math ability test taken by 97 children aged between 3 and 8 years old, 50 of whom were girls. Both genders performed equally well, regardless of age.
Between 2015 and 2016, women made up only 35.5 percent of STEM students in the US, 32.6 percent of masters courses, and 33.7 percent at PhD level. Jessica Cantlon, professor of developmental neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University and senior author of the paper, commented in a statement: “Science doesn’t align with folk beliefs. We see that children’s brains function similarly regardless of their gender so hopefully we can redefine expectations of what children can achieve in mathematics.”
Cantlon said: “Typical socialization can enlarge small differences between boys and girls that can snowball into how we treat them in science and math. We need to be aware of these origins to ensure we aren’t the ones causing the gender unfairness.”
Alyssa Kersey, postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago and first author on the paper, said in a statement: “I’s not just that boys and girls are using the math network in the same ways but that similarities are evident across the entire brain. This is an important reminder that humans are more similar to each other than we are different.”
1. How did the researchers know of the children’s brain functions?| A．By using an MRI scanner. | B．By asking them questions. |
| C．By testing their experiment abilities. | D．By recording an educational video. |
| A．Vary with. | B．Deal with. | C．Fight with. | D．Agree with. |
| A．The different interests. | B．The gender unfairness. |
| C．The gender imbalance. | D．The biological differences. |
| A．Controversial. | B．Significant. | C．Unexpected. | D．Absurd. |
The demand for Chinese as a foreign language is growing fast, both in English-speaking countries like USA
There
A third reason is
7 . Since pre-industrial times, the world’s oceans have warmed by an average of 1 degree Celsius. Now researchers report that those rising temperatures have led to widespread changes in the population size of marine（海洋的）species.
A new study from the University of Bristol,UK, aims to find out how climate change is impacting the distribution,population and seasonality of marine species.
The study’s senior author,Martin Genner, an evolutionary ecologist, said: “We found the same trend across all groups of marine life we looked at， from plankton（浮游生物）to marine invertebrates（无脊椎动物），and from fish to seabirds. ”
Based on these findings,researchers reasoned that marine species should be doing well at the leading edge of their ranges but poorly at their trailing side.
The study found that 304 widely distributed marine species over the last century were indeed more abundant（大量的）at the poleward ends of their sample range. This suggests that marine species haven’t managed to adapt to warmer conditions. They may continue to move poleward as sea temperatures increase further,impactiing the livelihood of equatorward coastal towns.
“This matters because it means that climate change is not only leading to abundance changes,but affects the performance of species locally,” Genner said. “While some marine life may benefit as the ocean warms,we will also see continued loss of marine in the near future. ”
The researchers said that more work is needed to understand how climate change has affected marine life in all regions of the world in greater detail. Genner questioned, “Is this mainly related to the physiological（生理的）limits of the species, or instead due to changes in the species with which they interact?”
1. What does the new study from the University of Bristol try to discover?| A．How many marine species the climate change influences. |
| B．Directions in which marine species move in different seasons. |
| C．How the climate change affects the population of marine species. |
| D．Similarities between certain species affected by the climate change. |
| A．There are new marine species in the poles. |
| B．At least 304 marine species were less widely distributed. |
| C．There is a sharp decline in the number of marine species. |
| D．The abundance of many marine species increased on poleward sides. |
| A．Climate change can make the coast inhabitable. |
| B．Marine species haven’t adjusted to warmer temperatures. |
| C．Marine species may continue to move toward the equator. |
| D．Ocean warming improves the environment for marine species. |
| A．The interaction among marine species. |
| B．The physiological limits of marine species. |
| C．The other possible factors behind this trend. |
| D．The changes in the performance of local species. |
8 . When kids melt down in the middle of a crowded store or at a holiday dinner with extended family, it can be extremely frustrating. But parents can help kids learn self-control and teach them how to respond without just acting on impulse (冲动).
Teaching self-control is one of the most important things that parents can do for their kids because these skills are some of the most important for success later in life. By learning self-control, kids can make appropriate decisions and respond to stressful situations in ways that can yield positive outcomes. For example, if you say that you’re not serving ice cream until after dinner, your child may cry, plead, or even scream in the hopes that you will give in. But with self-control, your child can understand that a temper tantrum (发脾气) means you’ll take away the ice cream for good and that it’s wiser to wait patiently.
Difficult as it may be, resist the urge to yell when you’re disciplining your kids. Instead, be persistent and matter of fact. During a child’s meltdown, stay calm and explain that yelling, throwing a tantrum, and slamming doors are unacceptable behaviors that have consequences. Your actions will show that tantrums won’t get kids the upper hand. For example, if your child gets, upset in the grocery store after you’ve explained why you won’t buy candy, don’t give in – thus demonstrating that the tantrum was both unacceptable and ineffective. Also, consider speaking to your child’s teachers about classroom settings and appropriate behavior expectations. Ask if problem-solving is taught or demonstrated in school.
And model good self-control yourself. If you’re in an annoyed situation in front of your kids, tell them why you’re frustrated and then discuss potential solutions to the problem. For example, if you’ve misplaced your keys, instead of getting upset, tell your kids the keys are missing and then search for them together. If they don’t turn up, take the next constructive step. Show that good emotional control and problem solving are the ways to deal with a difficult situation.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．Impulsive responses lead to frustration. |
| B．Kids’ melting down is a common phenomenon. |
| C．Parents should help kids make decisions appropriately. |
| D．Teaching kids self-control is a must for their future success. |
| A．Firm and factual. |
| B．Calm and tolerant. |
| C．Cautious and objective. |
| D．Annoyed and disapproving. |
| A．Emotional outburst is unexpected behaviors. |
| B．Kids shouldn’t be responsible for their behaviors alone. |
| C．Temper loss won’t give the kids a position of advantage. |
| D．Tantrums are ineffective in interpersonal communications. |
| A．Slow and steady wins the race. |
| B．Good example is the best sermon. |
| C．Experience is the mother of wisdom. |
| D．Success comes from thorough self-control. |
Tianzhou 2, a cargo spacecraft launched on May 29, 2021, docked (对接) with Tianhe — the core module of the country’s permanent space station — early on the morning of May 30.
A Long March-7 rocket,
Tianzhou 2 successfully docked with Tianhe’s back hatch at 5:01 am. Next, it was programmed to conduct autonomous refueling operations and perform some equipment
When astronauts from the Shenzhou XII spacecraft board Tianhe in the near future, they will
Tianhe
Before docking with Tianzhou 2, Tianhe carried out
My name is Manan, and I am in the sixth grade. Of all the festivals, Diwal is a Hindu festival that is celebrated in autumn, is my favorite because I can set off fireworks and eat delicious foods during the festival.
One day, I went shopping for fireworks with my grandfather. I was looking at the brightly colored fireworks when suddenly I bumped into a little boy. All my fireworks scattered out of the bag.
I quickly bent down to pick them up. Then I noticed the boy’s face was full of wonder and amazement as he stared at my fireworks. It appeared as though he had never seen any this closely. When he bent down to pick them up, I snatched them from him and quickly put them back in my bag. As I stood there looking at him, I realized there was something different about this boy. His clothes were old and torn; he looked as though he had not eaten for a few days.
On reaching home, I finished my dinner quickly and ran out to set off the fireworks. I was fascinated by the variety of colors that burst open from the fireworks and lit up the sky, but my wonder was short-lived. I noticed that my grandfather had gone inside the house coughing. Wondering why, I looked around and noticed all the smoke that may have been irritating his throat. Feeling bad for only a second, I continued lighting the fireworks one after another. But, inside me, it felt different—I felt guilty about taking pleasure from bursting the fireworks.
I could feel my conscience pricking me, “Manan! How can you do this? It just takes a few minutes for all the money to disappear in smoke, but the boy you met today looked like he did not even have the basic necessities of life. The children in orphanages also need love and help. Didn’t you see how your fireworks have affected Grandpa too? Can you still ignore these things and indulge in this kind of fun?” Realizing the worthlessness of this temporary pleasure, I really wanted to use the money in a more rewarding way. I started thinking about my own way to celebrate Diwali.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
I went up to my grandfather and told him about my plan.
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Soon enough, the orphanage was filled with laughter joy and celebration.
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