1 . Puffins are adorable birds with big, colorful beaks (喙) that live in grassy cliffs in the Far North. One summer day, my husband and I boarded the boat to Flatey Island, eager to catch a glimpse of these charming creatures.
As soon as the boat left the harbor, the rain started pouring. The wind picked up, and the boat began to jump. I was beginning to feel seasick.
By the time we reached the island, my fingers were blue. The boat wouldn’t go back for four hours. We huddled under the shelter of a warehouse, wondering what to do. Then a woman wearing mittens (手套) came close to us. “You look cold,” she said. “Would you like to come to our house for lunch?”
It was a small yellow house at the edge of the village. It was full of people, young and old. They made room for us at the table. We ate and drank a lot, and they told us all about the puffins and the other birds on the island.
It was almost time for the boat to leave, our new friend Sigrid walked in the rain with us to the puffins’ cliffs. We sat still on the wet rocks, watching the birds fly right toward us, cocking their heads as if wondering what we were doing on their island. They made us laugh.
When the boat whistle blew, Sigrid took my hand to say good-bye. “Your hands are so cold!” Slipping her mittens off, she handed them to me. “You need to have mittens for the boat ride,” she said.
It’s been seventeen years, and I still have Sigrid’s mittens. They’re not fancy and bright like the puffin’s beak. But as much as I liked those funny little birds, it’s the mittens I think of when I remembered the island. I’ve spent years trying to be as kind to someone else as Sigrid was to me that day.
1. What was unexpected for the couple at first?| A．Remote living place of the puffins. | B．The peaceful boat ride. |
| C．Delay in getting on board. | D．The cold rainy weather. |
| A．Walked. | B．Crowded. | C．Chatted. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Struggling. | C．Exciting. | D．Heart-warming. |
| A．Puffins and Mittens | B．A Close Puffin Watching |
| C．A Magical Trip to Flatey Island | D．Surviving a Day with Sigrid |
2 . In central Afghanistan’s Bamyan Valley stands the famous Buddhas of Bamyan (巴米扬大佛). Hemmat was selling tickets for the cultural heritage inside a cool ticket office instead of in the
“In the past, we worked in the sun, snow and rain,” Hemmat said. Things have been
These ticket offices are built with the
Due to years of war and economic hardships,
In addition, the Chinese scholars started a
China’s great efforts in cultural heritage protection have been widely
| A．burning | B．rising | C．warm | D．golden |
| A．truth | B．standard | C．case | D．tradition |
| A．unexpected | B．worsened | C．affected | D．improved |
| A．regarded | B．used | C．described | D．identified |
| A．assistance | B．belief | C．encouragement | D．creativity |
| A．guards | B．locals | C．construction | D．shelter |
| A．offices | B．caves | C．facilities | D．buildings |
| A．explored | B．discovered | C．remembered | D．numbered |
| A．ideas | B．problems | C．warnings | D．puzzles |
| A．development | B．challenges | C．protection | D．damage |
| A．support | B．management | C．planning | D．report |
| A．officially | B．intentionally | C．carelessly | D．easily |
| A．business | B．program | C．career | D．study |
| A．food | B．money | C．information | D．training |
| A．enjoyed | B．recognized | C．discussed | D．ignored |
Many people hold at least one memory of a kite from their childhoods. It could be a sunny spring day in
Kites’ origins can date back to the late Spring and Autumn Period (770——476 BC). Historical accounts showed that philosopher Mozi spent three years crafting a wooden hawk,
Kites are considered one of the
4 . Exploring the wonders of Yuanmingyuan is now easier than ever! By featuring over 190 beautiful paintings, models of buildings, and other artworks connected to this amazing garden-palace from the Qing dynasty, this special exhibition helps us learn about the lives of the emperors who lived there, the festivals they celebrated, and how they were related to each other. When you visit, you’ll get to see how this garden-palace was designed, hear stories about the people who lived there, and learn all about the Qing dynasty’s history.
Full Access Ticket and Special Exhibition Ticket
With a Full Access ticket, you can visit all the galleries. With a Special Exhibition ticket, you will have access to the thematic exhibitions (Gallery 1 to Gallery 7).
Adults | Discount | |
| Full Access Ticket (Gallery 1-9) | HK$220 | HK$110 |
| Special Exhibition Ticket (Gallery 1—7) | HK$150 | HK$75 |
Discounts include children (age 7 to 11), full-time students, seniors (age 60 and above), persons with disabilities (with one companion).
Entry is free for children age 6 and under (online booking and a valid Full Access ticket required).
Group Tickets
Travel agents ticket bookings (with 20 tickets or above) are now available for the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Please book your tickets through the online application form below at least two weeks before your visit. Our staff will be in touch within seven working days after receiving your application.
Public Guided Tour
Free guided tours of specific exhibitions are available for individual visitors. Please check the tour time and sign up at the G/F Information Counter. Limited quota (限额) is available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
1. What does Yuanmingyuan exhibition mainly show?| A．The daily life of the emperors. |
| B．The feature of Chinese paintings. |
| C．The formation of the garden-palace. |
| D．The building style of the Qing dynasty. |
| A．HK $220. | B．HK $225. | C．HK $330. | D．HK $440. |
| A．Book online before the visit. | B．Visit with a group of 20 people. |
| C．Register any time they arrive. | D．Arrive early within opening hours. |
5 . Imagine living in a cool, green city filled with parks and threaded with footpaths, bike lanes and buses which transport people to shops, schools and service centers in a matter of minutes. This fancy dream is behind the idea of the 15-minute city, where all basic needs and services are within a quarter of an hour’s reach, improving public health and reducing pollution.
Artificial intelligence could help city planners realize that vision faster, with a new study from researchers at Tsinghua University in China demonstrating how machine learning can produce more efficient spatial designs than humans can.
Automation (自动化) scientist Zheng Yu and his colleagues wanted to find new solutions to our crowded cities. They developed an AI system to deal with the tough tasks of city planning and found it can produce city plans that outperform human designs by about 50 percent on three aspects: access to services, green spaces and traffic levels.
Starting small, Zheng’s team tasked their model with designing the city area only a few square kilometers in size(about 3x3 blocks). After two days of training, the AI system searched for the ideal road layouts and land use to fit with the concept of the 15-minute city.
While the AI model can increase its use for planning larger city areas, designing an entire city would be much more complex. Drafting a neighborhood consisting of 4x4 blocks contains twice as many planning decisions as designing 3x3 blocks. But automating even a few steps in the planning process can save huge amounts of time: the AI model can compute in seconds certain tasks that take human planners between 50 to 100 minutes to work through.
Automating certain tasks of city planning would free up human planners to focus on more challenging or human-centric tasks, such as public engagement and aesthetics.
Rather than AI replacing people, Zheng thinks their AI system can work as an “assistant” to city planners, who could produce concept designs that are improved by the system, and reviewed, adjusted by human experts based on community feedback.
1. What does “that vision” refer to in paragraph 2?| A．Building up a convenient and green city. |
| B．Improving work efficiency in city design. |
| C．Using AI widely to improve life in the city. |
| D．Creating more needs and services in the city. |
| A．By comparing the perfomances of AI and humans. |
| B．By asking AI to complete a design of an entire city. |
| C．By training human designers for more challenging jobs. |
| D．By holding a design competition between AI and humans. |
| A．Traffic level. | B．Green spaces. |
| C．Access to services. | D．Public engagement. |
| A．The use of AI will lead to less friendly cities. |
| B．Humans should deal with minor tasks in city design. |
| C．AI can work with humans to create more livable cities. |
| D．AI will take the place of human experts in the future. |
6 . Sending astronauts to Mars is a big challenge. It’s a long, dangerous journey. And astronauts will have to take EVERYTHING they need.
Launching things into space is expensive. “To get to Mars, we already have the technology,” says Michael Flynn. “The problem is, it’s costly.”
Making oxygen and taking away carbon dioxide——the waste gas you breathe out—is one problem in space. Water Walls will remove carbon dioxide the same way it’s done here on Earth—with living plants. Living plants take in carbon dioxide to make their food, and give off oxygen. But plants are hard to grow in a spacecraft.
Algae are tiny plants that live in water. The algae will live in bags in the walls too, fed by poop and sunlight, eating up carbon dioxide and making oxygen for the astronauts to breathe.
Alas, the human body needs a lot of help to survive in space. If only we were more like the tardigrade! Tardigrades are very tiny insect-like creatures that live in soil. When they find themselves in danger, they roll themselves up into a ball and dry out. In this state they can survive without food or water for 100 years.
| A．Algae can be a good choice. |
| B．Nothing is wasted in the spacecraft. |
| C．But Flynn thinks he has a solution. |
| D．So a trip to Mars is full of packing challenge. |
| E．If only we could train them to fly a spaceship. |
| F．This onboard recycling system has many advantages. |
| G．The more you take, the more rockets you must launch, and the more it costs. |
7 . A study published by the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science found that musicians who work in the two fields show significantly different brain activity, even when they’re playing the same music.
The research could help explain why musicians seem to stand out in one or other style, and not usually in both.
The study outlines two steps in playing the piano: what the pianist is going to play — meaning the keys they press — and how they are going to play — which fingers they should use. Classical pianists tend to focus on the second step — the “how”. This means their focus is on technique and the personal expression they add to the piece. Jazz pianists on the other hand focus on the “what”, meaning they are always prepared to improvise (即兴创作) and adapt the notes they’re playing.
The study included 30 professional pianists, half of whom were jazz players and half of whom were classical. Both groups were shown a hand playing a sequence of chords (和音) on a screen. The sequence was arranged irregularly with mistakes in harmonies and fingering. The pianists had to reproduce the hand movements and react to the irregularities, while their brain signals were recorded with sensors on their head.
The study found that different processes occurred in the brains of the jazz and classical pianists. In particular, the jazz pianists’ brains began re-planning sooner than the classical pianists’ brains.
The study found the classical pianists concentrated on the fingering and technique of their playing, while the jazz pianists were more prepared to change the notes they played. “In the jazz pianists we found evidence from the brain signals for this flexibility in planning harmonies when playing the piano,” says researcher Roberta Bianco. “When we asked them to play a harmonically unexpected chord, their brains started to re-plan he actions faster than classical pianists. Accordingly, they were better able to react and continue their performances.”
1. What’s the purpose of the text?| A．To explain “what” and “how” in playing the piano. |
| B．To introduce a study on playing styles of musicians. |
| C．To compare the skill levels of jazz and classical pianists. |
| D．To argue who are smarter between musicians of two fields. |
| A．The fingers they use. | B．The patterns they perform. |
| C．The notes they play. | D．The atmosphere they create. |
| A．Major findings of the research. |
| B．Explanation of research methods. |
| C．Supporting evidence for the research results. |
| D．Future application of the research findings. |
| A．They care more about playing technique. |
| B．They are better at correcting musical mistakes. |
| C．They are more ready for the change while playing. |
| D．They are likely to add personal expression to the music. |
Hutongs, also known as alleys, are a key feature of Beijing’s traditional architecture and culture. Originally built during the Yuan Dynasty, hutongs
Today,
Hutongs have always welcomed modernity as the time has changed. They are not just places for traditional elderly residents but also for the
My brother Cody and I were in the back seat playing the guessing game I Spy when the rainstorm started. Fat drops of rain, like a million tiny water balloons, landed on our car, making it hard to keep the view clear.
“I spy something wet,” I said.
“Not fair,” said Cody, “Everything looks wet.”
He was right. In the hour since we’d left Grandma's house to return to our house, the weather had gotten worse. The highway was slippery.
“I meant Mom’s raincoat,” I told Cody. We continued our game. Cody's turn came. “I spy something green,” Cody said. In the meantime, Dad expressed his concerns about the worsening visibility to Mom. The forecast had mentioned rain showers, but this seemed more severe. On either side of the highway, deep ditches (沟渠) were filing with water. As the car slipped on the wet pools, I noticed Dad’s hands were tight on the steering wheel, his knuckles raised like bony mountains.
“Guess,” Cody insisted. “The green highway sign?” I guessed, although it was hard to read it. Wet rain blocked most of the letters. I looked around. “The green hat on the girl in the car behind us?” “Yes!” Cody laughed. “Your turn.”
At that moment, our car swerved (打滑) toward a ditch. Dad managed to straighten the wheel and stay on the road. My heart pounded like I was in a race. Other cars had also swerved toward the ditch. If we went down, how would we ever get out?
Nobody talked. Cody and I stopped playing I Spy. Dad said we needed to get off and wait out this storm. Mom added, “Maybe we can find a place to have a rest.” But we can hardly see the road, let alone an exit.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Suddenly, I saw a red, flashing light in the distance.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Over there!” I shouted when we finally reached the restaurant.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . “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 (模仿) 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 slight difference into the mix. AI doesn’t do the same—it can only copy.
The increasing use of AI will also lead to a devaluing 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．Concerned. |
| C．Unsatisfying. | D．Shocking. |
| A．The final art work. | B．External expressions in art. |
| C．The opposite of reality. | D．The journey to creation. |
| A．The ethical concerns in AI art imitation. |
| B．Human artists’ influence on AI generators. |
| C．The superiority of human artworks. |
| D．The over-reliance of human on technology. |
| 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. |
