3 . A fully automated process, including a brand-new artificial intelligence(Al)tool, has successfully detected, identified(确认)and categorized its first supernova(超新星). Developed by an international organization led by Northwestern University, the new system automates the entire search for new supernovae across the night sky—effectively removing humans from the process. Not only does this rapidly speed up the process of analyzing and categorizing new supernova candidates(候选), but it also bypasses human errors.

The team reported to the astronomical community the launch and success of the new tool．called the Bright Transient Survey Bot(BTSbot), this week. In the past six years, humans have spent an estimated total of 2,200 hours checking and categorizing supernova candidates. With the new tool now officially online, researchers can redirect this precious time toward other responsibilities in order to speed up the discovery.

To detect and analyze supernovae, humans currently work hand in hand with robotic systems. First, robotic telescopes repeatedly image the same sections of the night sky, searching for new sources that were not present in previous images. Then, when these telescopes detect something new, humans take over. The researchers developed the BTSbot to cut out these human middlemen.

To test the BTSbot, the researchers looked to a newly discovered supernova candidate called SN2023tyk. The ZTF, a robotic observatory that images the night sky in a search for supernovae, first detected the source on Oct. 3. Examining ZTF’s data in real time, BTSbot found SN2023tyk on Oct.5. After determining that the candidate was a Type la supernova, the automated system publicly shared the discovery with the astronomical community on Oet.7.       

In the first days of running BTSbot, Northwestern’s Nabeel Rehemtulla, who co-led the technology development, felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. “The beauty of it is that, once everything is turned on and working properly, we don’t actually do anything. We go to sleep at night, and, in the morning, we see that BTSbot and these other AIs firmly do their jobs,” he said.

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I grew up in southeastern Michigan. I was a fan of Detroit Tigers, a famous baseball team, as a young boy.

My childhood dream was to be like my hero, Al Kaline, and someday play for the Tigers. My Dad would take me to Tiger Stadium several times a year and my hero Al Kaline would never let me down. We never attended a game that he didn’t get at least one hit.

I was crazy about baseball. If there was a game in my high school, I was never absent. I kept practising so that I could achieve my dream of playing for the Tigers, and I was doing well at each level of play. Later, I got a chance to sign up for a strong American Legion baseball program. There I met our coach, Bob Ohm, who knew a lot of baseball and taught each of us the basics as well as more advanced baseball skills. With Bob Ohm’s help and my hard work, I had set new records in many baseball championships.

My dream to be like my hero seemed to draw near. One summer, I went up to play the final season in Marinette. There were scouts who came to find the best players. This was it! My big chance!

Well, as the game progressed I hit the ball very well getting five hits in the game. Unfortunately, I also made four mistakes. The final mistake actually drew laughter from the crowd.

注意：

1. 续写词数应为150个左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

After the game, I knew my dream of playing professional baseball was lost.

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Today, I teach baseball in a high school.

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5 . Yue-Sai Kan was born in China. In 1972, she moved to New York. When Kan was a child, she was told by her father that she should always aim to (力争) be the first because no one remembered the second. What her father said has been a driving inspiration over the years for her to become a bestselling author and a successful businesswoman.

Her new book Be a Pioneer, which is the tenth she has written and her first Chinese-language autobiography (自传), was produced after three years, inspired by her father’s words.

When writing an autobiography, the biggest challenge is not how to present one’s life, but to remember it. To help with reconstructing her story, Kan asked many friends and colleagues she made over the years to write down their memories of her from earlier times. So besides featuring Kan’s own words, the new book is also filled with those of her friends’s, which gives Kan a new understanding of herself — a woman who works hard, studies hard. and the most important thing is that she is a woman filled with a sense of responsibility.

“My helper Stephanie mentioned that I was worried because we were running out of money for the company. My housekeeper reminded me that before the start of one of my events she found that I had fainted (晕倒) in the bathroom. I was so tired that I was getting sick. They know more about me than myself,” Kan says.

“Writing a book is a good business to be in, not so much to make money but to grow the brain. I believe what I do will benefit the world. All the things I have done in Be a Pioneer — my successes and my failures — can be a good example to young people in particular. That’s the main reason why I wrote the book,” adds Kan.

7 . When I was a child, I always wanted to be a superhero. I wanted to save the world and make everyone happy. But I knew that I’d need superpowers to make my dreams come true. So I used to embark on these imaginary journeys to find intergalactic (星系之间的) objects from planet Krypton, but didn’t yield much result. When I grew up and realized that science fiction was not a good source for superpowers, I decided instead to embark on a journey of real science, to find a more useful truth.

I started my journey in California, with a UC Berkeley 30-year longitudinal study that examined the photos of students in an old yearbook, and tried to measure their success and well-being throughout their life.By measuring the students’ smiles, researchers were able to predict how fulfilling and long-lasting a subject’s marriage would be, how well they would score on standardized tests of well-being, and how inspiring they would be to others.

Another aha moment came from a 2010 Wayne State University span research project that looked into pre-1950s baseball cards of Major League players. The researchers found that the span of a player’s smile could actually assist to predict the span of his life. Players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years, while players with beaming smiles lived an average of almost 80 years.

British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate. Wait — The same study found that smiling is as stimulating as receiving up to £16,000 in cash. That’s like $25,000 a smile. It’s not bad. And think about it this way: 25,000 times 400 — children smile as many as 400 times per day — quite a few kids out there feel like Mark Zuckerberg every day.

So whenever you want to tap into a superpower that will help you and everyone around you live a longer, healthier, happier life, smile.

8 . Must-See Destinations in 2024

Are you ready to explore the world in 2024? Whether you dream of sailing down famous European rivers or exploring unique places, our list of must-see destinations is here to inspire your travels.

Throw yourself into the rich culture and history of Spain. From the sunny beaches of Tenerife to the Moorish architecture (建筑物) of Andalucía, there’s so much to explore in this lively country. Discover the UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) city of La Laguna and become amazed at the beauty of Cordoba, Seville, and La Alhambra, or relax on a beach holiday to Majorca or Tenerife.

Despite its size, Montenegro has beautiful beaches, rich history, and a breathtaking channel. Experience the beauty of the Montenegrin coast — Dalmatia’s jewel (宝石) is the UNESCO World Heritage listed oasis of Dubrovnik, famously praised by Lord Bryon as The Pearl of the Adriatic.

Discover the beauty that is Dubrovnik. Explore the 16th-century city’s defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Sail along Croatia’s Adriatic Coast, where attractive villages and beautiful towns like Pula, Rovinj, and Poreč are just waiting to be explored...

Explore the wonders of South Africa, from the Garden Route’s nature reserves to the thrill of a Safari drive in the Kariega Game Reserve. Discover the different plants and animals while searching for the “Big Five” on an unforgettable South Africa holiday.

With over 25 years of experience creating holidays for the curious, Travel Department ensures that your journey is in good hands. Plus as a trusted Reader’s Digest Travel partner, you can get special deals when you travel with them across lots of different 2024 holidays. If you want to know more information, please click here.

9 . In a world where technology is king, hardly does a day go by without the launch of some “world-changing” product in the field of alternate reality.     1     . These include VR, AR, MR, XR and the list goes on.

Many people confuse augmented reality (AR) with virtual reality (VR) and understandably so. Both AR and VR offer alternate or altered reality experiences and as a result, it is easy for users to be attracted and wonder what is real and what is not.     2    . Both aim to provide an enhanced or enriched experience to users, most commonly used in the gaming scene, but also increasingly used in other areas.

However, AR and VR can be quite different in many ways. The main difference lies in the mode of delivery. Simply put, VR “transports” the user to another world, by “replacing” the real world with a virtual substitute most commonly done through helmets or goggles to completely immerse the gamer in a different reality.     3    

AR, however, does not change the entire landscape of what users see.     4    . While AR may be less immersive than VR, the success of games which use AR is proof that it can be just as or even more entertaining than VR games. Moreover, since AR does not require the use of goggles or helmets, it is more accessible.

VR and AR are both powerful technologies which are still relatively new to many consumers.     5    . They can completely change how we use our electronic devices in the future, but whether one will edge out the other is anyone’s guess.

10 . It is a practice favored by Lena Dunham, Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga to improve their focus and bring about calmness in an often busy, distracted world. Now researchers have found evidence that frequent meditation (冥想) over several years, may help change human gut (肠道), boost the body’s immune (免疫的) system and reduce the risk of anxiety, depression and heart disease. The findings are published by the British Medical Journal.

Meditation is increasingly used to help treat drug abuse, overwhelming stress, eating disorders and long-lasting pain. But until now it has not been clear whether it could also be able to change the composition of the gut microbiome (微生物组). In an effort to find out, researchers led by the Shanghai Mental Health Centre at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University analyzed the stool (粪便) and blood samples of 37 Tibetan Buddhist monks from three temples and 19 residents in the neighboring areas. The Tibetan meditation from the ancient Indian medical system, is a form of psychological training. The monks in the study had practiced it for at least 2 hours a day for 3-30 years. Both groups were matched for age, blood pressure, heart rate and diet. Stool sample analysis revealed significant differences in the diversity and volume of microbes between the monks and their neighbors. “Bacteria enriched in the meditation group had a positive effect on human physical and mental health,” the researchers wrote. “This changed gut microbiome composition could improve immune function in the body.” Blood sample analysis also revealed the levels of markers associated with risk of heart disease were significantly lower in the monks.

The researchers emphasized that the study was observational and the number joining was small, all male and living at high altitude, making it difficult to draw any firm or general conclusions. However, based on their findings, the researchers said the role of meditation in helping to prevent or treat mental and physical illness deserved further research.