1 . In order to survive trips to Mars, humans need oxygen. Now, a team of scientists has designed a robot that could extract oxygen from water on the Red Planet.
The robot, which is called “AI chemist”, used a machine learning model to find a compound that could ignite an oxygen-producing chemical reaction on Mars. The compound, known as a catalyst (催化剂), is made entirely from elements found in Martian meteorites (陨石) — which means, if such a system could work reliably, space travelers would not need to bring oxygen or even the catalyst needed to produce it.
Mars’ atmosphere contains only trace amounts of oxygen. But scientists have detected evidence of liquid water beneath the planet’s southern ice cap. To create the breathable gas, researchers wanted to find a way to break down this water into its hydrogen and oxygen molecules using materials found on Mars.
Their robot analyzed five meteorites that either came from Mars or had a composition similar to that of the Martian surface. Using a laser, it identified significant amounts of iron, nickel, calcium, magnesium, aluminum and manganese in the samples. From these six elements, the robot’s algorithm (算法) deter-mined it could produce more than 3.7 million possible molecules to break down water and form oxygen on Mars. According to the researchers, finding the best one from this extensive list would take roughly 2,000 years of human labor, but for the AI chemist, it took only weeks.
“On the Earth, we don’t use these six elements,” Yi Luo, a co-author of the study says. “They are not the best choices for catalysts, but it’s only what you’ve got on Mars.”
With its chosen catalyst, the system could produce oxygen from the Martian materials at around - 37℃, demonstrating the chemical reaction could be possible on the cold Martian surface.
Notably, the robot was able to carry out the entire process — analyzing the rock samples, identifying the Jest possible catalyst and producing it without human intervention.
1. What inspired the scientists to design the robot that could extract oxygen?| A．Surviving on the Earth. | B．Trips to Mars. |
| C．Traveling on the Moon. | D．Water shortage. |
| A．The existence of water and catalyst on Mars. | B．The oxygen that Mars’ atmosphere contains. |
| C．The scientists’ previous study on meteorites. | D．The low cost of “AI chemist”. |
| A．The finding of six elements. | B．The advantages of the robots. |
| C．The process of producing oxygen. | D．The formation of the meteorites. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. | C．Favorable. | D．Indifferent. |
1. 景点介绍；
2. 喜欢的原因。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My Favourite Scenic Spot
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The “Reminiscing Jiangnan (忆江南) — Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Arts Exhibition” kicked off at the Sydney Opera House
The exhibition,
Themed “Reminiscing Jiangnan”, the exhibition expresses
In particular, the City Walk Shanghai series albums were displayed at the opening ceremony,
4 . Today I am working with Sim on for starting a mobile repairing shop. His
My memory stretches back very
Simon has a
He made us
Needless to say, he was selected for the training program and also
| A．motive | B．sorrow | C．enthusiasm | D．league |
| A．monthly | B．easily | C．bravely | D．unluckily |
| A．conducted | B．canceled | C．conveyed | D．rewarded |
| A．advertise | B．polish | C．read | D．walk |
| A．manned | B．serious | C．precise | D．dynamic |
| A．turn down | B．decide on | C．test out | D．rely on |
| A．started | B．regretted | C．forgot | D．abandoned |
| A．melt | B．laugh | C．tease | D．compose |
| A．labour | B．mixture | C．power | D．struggle |
| A．success | B．violence | C．determination | D．absence |
| A．interviewed | B．sponsored | C．warned | D．abused |
| A．completed | B．crushed | C．designed | D．purchased |
| A．players | B．astronauts | C．participants | D．leaders |
| A．guaranteed | B．held | C．framed | D．cued |
| A．reputation | B．kindness | C．mistake | D．attitude |
5 . Historical accounts often described the now-extinct California grizzly bears as huge beasts ready to attack humans and livestock at any time. But according to a new paper, scientists say the truth might have been less dramatic: The bears ate a mostly vegetarian diet and were smaller than previously described. California grizzly bears once roamed in the Golden State. But European settlers often hunted, poisoned and trapped the creatures. Over time, because of these human activities, the California grizzly population declined. The last reliable sighting of a California grizzly bear occurred 100 years ago in 1924, and the animals disappeared completely sometime after that.
Researchers wanted to get a better understanding of the factors that accelerated the bears’ extinction. They also hoped to gain more insight into the creatures’ behavior, size and diet. To do so, they turned to documents and California grizzly specimens in natural history collections. They measured the animals’ skulls and teeth and analyzed their bones and pelts. The researchers found that California grizzly bears were much smaller than the 2,000 pounds often reported at the time. Historical accounts might not necessarily have been wrong, but they might have only included the largest bears. In addition, analyses of the animals’ bones and skins suggest the bears were primarily eating plants, which stands in contrast to their fear some hyper carnivorous (超级食肉的) reputation. “The bears likely increased meat consumption due to landscape changes coupled with the arrival of livestock,” says study co-author Alexis Mychajliw. However, researchers found the animals still ate a majority vegetarian diet and killed far less livestock than historical accounts suggested.
By digging beyond the bears’ reputation, the researchers gained a more accurate understanding of the California grizzly’s biology and natural history. And since scientists and land managers often rely on historical accounts when reintroducing animals to their former habitats, the study serves as a reminder that those old newspapers and journals do not tell the whole story.
1. What does the underlined word “roamed” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Disappeared. | B．Declined. | C．Fought. | D．Wandered. |
| A．They mainly fed on livestock. |
| B．Their diet consisted mostly of plants. |
| C．They ate a balanced diet of plants and meat. |
| D．The absence of livestock changed their dietary habit. |
| A．They are unique. | B．They are one-sided. |
| C．They are accurate. | D．They are comprehensive. |
| A．The natural habitats of California grizzly bears. |
| B．The extinction process of California grizzly bears. |
| C．The reveal of the truth of California grizzly bears. |
| D．The significance of the arrival of California grizzly bears. |
Cholera, as
There were two theories that
In 1854, another outbreak of cholera hit London. Snow decided to have an
Cheering, dancing and singing, local people and tourists gathered around the fire during the Torch Festival of the Yi People in Bijie, Guizhou, on Aug 12. The festival
There are different stories about how the festival started. But
Since then it
8 . Choose what you want to do, and don’t stop until getting there. You can
My goal for myself last year was to
I completed my first 10 km last April. Feeling happy, I
My attitude finally changed. I made up my mind to participate in the match with some friends, and with all of them
| A．hesitate | B．stress | C．succeed | D．admire |
| A．run | B．organize | C．research | D．host |
| A．compare | B．dislike | C．match | D．complete |
| A．disappointment | B．excitement | C．regret | D．pain |
| A．refused | B．agreed | C．decided | D．begged |
| A．nervous | B．bored | C．confident | D．delighted |
| A．meeting | B．match | C．exam | D．training |
| A．Still | B．Meanwhile | C．Otherwise | D．Though |
| A．time | B．chance | C．excuse | D．place |
| A．important | B．awkward | C．proud | D．puzzled |
| A．jump up | B．give up | C．take part | D．stand out |
| A．separated | B．protected | C．borrowed | D．removed |
| A．against | B．beside | C．between | D．before |
| A．carried | B．made | C．threw | D．failed |
| A．farthest | B．shortest | C．worst | D．easiest |
9 . Medha Gupta sometimes felt worried making the 20-minute walk from the corner where the school bus dropped her off to her home in Herndon, Virginia—especially during the colder months in winter.
Her mother, Divya Gupta had a suggestion: write an app. She was half-kidding, but Medha took the challenge seriously. So she went to work.
The result was Safe Travel, an app designed by Medha to help walkers feel more secure when travelling alone. Using the iPhone, a person can programme it to send a warning to someone he or she trusts if he or she fails to arrive at a destination within a certain time.
It was the first IOS app that Medha had created. While she didn’t think much would come from the project, her effort caught the eye of judges for the annual Congressional App Challenge, who selected her as the winner for Virginia’s 10th District.
The App Challenge is designed to encourage students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths by experimenting with coding and computer science. Winning students are invited to attend a reception on Capitol Hill in April and also received $ 250 in Amazon Web Service credits.
Medha said it took her about 40 hours to design, programme and test the app. As for her next app, Medha’s not certain. She temporarily has her app-development tasks on hold because she’s busy teaching herself AI to help deal with improper words on Facebook. Yes, she knows that there are teams of engineers possibly doing the same thing. But she figures it can’t hurt her own part, too.
“If we see something wrong with the world, we should do something about it,” she said. “After all, the only one stopping us from doing something is ourselves.”
1. What did Medha Gupta’s mother advise her to do?| A．Develop an app. | B．Take a bus. |
| C．Travel with others. | D．Walk to school. |
| A．By attending the lecture about science and technology. |
| B．By searching the online information. |
| C．By experimenting with coding and computer science. |
| D．By consulting the professional teachers. |
| A．warning | B．safe | C．trusty | D．dangerous |
| A．Never too old to learn. | B．AI leads to a better future. |
| C．Always be creative in life. | D．Practice makes perfect. |
10 . Last weekend, my husband and I drove a dog to her new home. Typically, when we have a new dog in the backseat, it’s a young dog. But this passenger was a much different story. Magdalen is a 13-year-old dog. Her owner gave her up temporarily when he was sick, but when he fully recovered several months later, he said he didn’t want her back. He had had the dog since she was young but now had no place for her.
The family who had given her a temporary home had children and other dogs and was unable to give her a forever home. When Speak St. Louis, the rescue team I worked with, was contacted about the dog, they offered to take her in. She went to a vet (兽医) for a basic health check. But the vet didn’t have great news. Her mouth was swollen with all sorts of problems. Two teeth fell out during cleaning and eleven more had to be pulled out.
Luckily, a good friend of mine, a dog trainer with a soft heart for seniors, had agreed to adopt Magdalen. On the trip to the trainer’s home, the sweet senior looked so relaxed in our backseat. I felt a great sense of relief and pleasure.
It’s understandable that her owner needed some temporary help when he was sick. But I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t have wanted her back now. I think of my own dog and dogs we lost to old age in the past. We’re family and we stay that way forever. She’d be able to live a good life, I hoped, in her new home!
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The former owner of the dog. | B．Where the dog was treated. |
| C．Why the dog’s mouth was swollen. | D．The problems the dog met with. |
| A．Training old dogs. | B．Looking for homes for dogs. |
| C．Treating sick dogs. | D．Searching for lost dogs’ owners. |
| A．Hopeful and proud. | B．Relieved and happy. |
| C．Nervous and grateful. | D．Surprised and curious. |
| A．She was certain he would regret. | B．She believed it was painful for him. |
| C．She didn’t understand his behaviour. | D．She thought he made a wise decision. |
