2 . This week, Google researchers published a paper describing results from an AI tool built to create music. The tool, called MusicLM, is not the first AI music tool to be launched. But the examples Google provided demonstrate musical creative ability based on a limited set of descriptive words.

Several different music examples produced by MusicLM were published online. Some of the generated music came from just one- or two-word descriptions, such as “jazz”, “rock” or “techno (高科技舞曲)”. The tool also created other examples from more detailed descriptions containing whole sentences.

In one example, Google researchers included these instructions to MusicLM, “It is a soundtrack of a game. It is fast-paced and upbeat, with a catchy electric guitar riff (反复乐节). The music is repetitive and easy to remember, but with unexpected sounds ...” In the resulting recording, the music seemed to keep very close to the description. The team said the more detailed the description was, the better the system could attempt to produce it.

The MusicLM model operates similarly to the machine-learning systems used by ChatGPT. ChatGPT and MusicLM both require powerful computers to operate complex machine-learning models. The San Francisco-based company OpenAI launched ChatGPT late last year. ChatGPT has recently received a lot of attention because of its ability to generate complex writings and other content from just a simple description in natural languages. Such tools can produce human-like results because they are trained on huge amounts of data. Many different materials are fed into the systems to permit them to learn complex skills to create realistic works.

However, the MusicLM researchers said there were some risks linked to the new tool. One of the biggest issues the researchers identified was biases (偏好) present in the training data. A bias might be including too much of one side and not enough of the other. The researchers said this raised a question about appropriateness for music generation for cultures underrepresented in the training data.

1. What can we learn about MusicLM?

A．It is the first AI music tool to be launched.

B．It requires detailed descriptions of full sentences.

C．It creates music based on simple descriptive words.

D．It generates complex writings from a simple description.

2. What is the similarity between ChatGPT and MusicLM?

A．They can take the place of musicians.	B．They have gained commercial success.
C．They don't have any practical use in life.	D．They are based on huge amounts of data.

3. Which of the following is an issue of the MusicLM model?

A．Creating music with strong biases.	B．Requiring too much training data.
C．Being difficult for some people to use.	D．Producing music works with no creativity.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．The future of humans with AI	B．A new AI tool to make music
C．Music created by some AI tools	D．AI and its function in culture development

3 . If you had boarded a passenger plane in 1950, you would have seen five people in the cockpit (驾驶舱): two pilots, a radio operator, a navigator and a flight engineer. Over the years, technical advances have gradually removed the need for the last three, leaving just two pilots. That has been the norm (标准) in commercial aviation for decades.

However, things could be simplified further — one of the two remaining pilots could soon go. Many military aircraft are already manned by a single pilot, and for commercial aviation this would mean stepping into a brave new world.

But how will airlines make this brave innovation come true? One way is to greatly increase automation in the cockpit, devoting more tasks to computers. Another is to shift the same tasks from the cockpit to the ground. “The latter approach seems to be more workable, at least in the short term, because much of what is required already exists,” says Patrick Smith, an airline pilot flying Boeing 767 aircraft. “A trained ground operator could observe a number of flights at once and even fully control the plane remotely if needed.”

It’s true that single-pilot operations could help airlines save money, but there is another reason which makes them quicken their pace for this crucial breakthrough. Boeing predicts a need for 600,000 new pilots in the next two decades, but by some estimates, there will be a deficit (赤字) of at least 34,000 pilots globally by 2025. Reducing the number of pilots on some crews or aircraft could lessen the impact of this.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to a single pilot will be selling the idea to passengers. In 2019, Don Hairis, a professor at Coventry University, conducted a survey on the prospect of flying on an airliner with just one pilot. Just a minority of participants said they’d be willing to take that flight, and the general idea was that removing a pilot increased the possibility of accidents. In the study, Harris concluded that the single-crew airliner would be still probably 20 years away.

1. What is the potential trend in commercial aviation according to the text?

A．It will make air travel eco-friendly.

B．It will switch to single-pilot operations.

C．It will tighten its flight control for safety concerns.

D．It will bring in many military aircraft to the industry.

2. What does Patrick Smith think is a quick way to realize airlines’ brave innovation?

A．Raising the standards in admitting new pilots.	B．Making pilots adaptable to different situations.
C．Using computers to automate the flight process.	D．Gaining piloting support from ground operators.

3. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The shortage of pilots.	B．The need for new airlines.
C．The airlines’ brave innovation.	D．The financial problem airlines face.

4. What can be inferred from Don Harris’ study?

A．The prospect of single-crew airliners is bright.

B．It's urgent that airlines reduce airplane accidents.

C．Passengers are willing to try new types of airplanes.

D．Airlines have a long way to go before the innovation occurs.

4 . I try to be a good father. Cook my kids good dishes, and take them to photo shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, in marathons.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled (缠住)by the umbilical cord（脐带）during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs (四肢). “He’ll be a vegetable（植物人）the rest of his life,” doctors told Dick and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. “Put him in an institution.” But the Hoyts weren’t buying it. They noticed the way Rick’s eyes followed them around the room.

When Rick was 11, they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University. Equipped with a computer, Rick was finally able to communicate. After a high school classmate was paralyzed（使瘫痪）in an accident, and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick said, “Dad, I want to do that.” How was Dick, a man who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,” he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!”

That sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. They even decided to try marathons. “No way,” Dick was told by a race official. They weren’t quite a single runner, and they weren’t quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years, Dick and Rick joined the massive field and ran anyway. In 1983, they ran another marathon so fast that they made the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon the following year.

Now they’ve done 212 triathlons and 85 marathons. “ My dad is the Father of the Century,” Rick typed.

1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 2 mean?

A．The Hoyts didn’t believe it was true.	B．The Hoyts couldn’t afford any institution.
C．The Hoyts couldn’t deal with the situation.	D．The Hoyts had no money for their son’s treatment.

2. What’s discussed in the third paragraph?

A．Why Rick became paralyzed.	B．How Rick started running.
C．Why running changed Rick’s life	D．How Rick communicated with others.

3. They got the chance to join the 1984 Boston Marathon because __________.

A．they ran a marathon very fast	B．they got support from a charity
C．they met a sympathetic race official	D．they had become very famous in the process

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．A boy with a rare disease	B．The greatest dad in the world
C．A tough road to world champion	D．Parents' influence on children's future

7 . Myspace launched in September 2003. Friendster gave inspiration to the founders of Myspace, and the social network officially went live on the web in January 2004. After its first month online, over one million people signed up. By November 2004, that number grew to 5 million. By 2006, Myspace was visited more times than Google Search and Yahoo, becoming the most visited website in the United States. In June of that year, Myspace was reportedly responsible for nearly 80 percent of all social media traffic.

As explosive as Myspace was, it paled in comparison to how quickly Facebook grew into the internet giant it is today. In April 2008, both Facebook and Myspace attracted 115 million unique global visitors per month, with Myspace still winning in the U. S. alone. In December 2008, Myspace experienced peak (顶峰) U. S. traffic with 75. 9 million unique visitors. As Facebook grew, Myspace sustain a series of downsizing and redesigns as it tried to redefine itself as a social entertainment network. It was estimated (估价) in March 2011 that the site had dropped from attracting 95 million to 63 million unique visitors within the past year.

Although several factors triggered Myspace’s fall, one argument held that the company never figured out how to innovate well enough to keep up with the competition. Officially, however, Myspace is far from dead. If you go to myspace.com, you’ll see that it is very much still alive, though it has mostly transitioned away from social networking to become a site for planning music and entertainment. As of 2019, the site boasted over 7 million monthly visits. On Myspace’s front page, you’ll find a variety of entertainment news stories not just about music, but also movies, sports, food, and other cultural topics. Profiles are still a central feature of the social network, but users are encouraged to share their own music, videos, photos, and even concert events.

1. How long has it taken Myspace to become the most visited website in America since its establishment?

A．About 2 years.	B．About 3 years.
C．About 5 years.	D．About 8 years.

2. What does the underlined word “sustain” mean in the second paragraph?

A．adapted

B．acquired

C．challenged

D．experienced

3. What is one of the main reasons for Myspace’ failure?

A．Lack of improvement.	B．Too much competition.
C．Unclear business positioning.	D．Cutting down too many workers.

4. What does Myspace mainly feature right now?

A．Profiles.	B．Social networking.
C．Entertainment news.	D．Music and entertainment.

8 . How Did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die?

On November 20th, 1791, Mozart suddenly came down with fever and was wracked with pain. His arms and legs were severely swollen. In the following days his health significantly deteriorated. He died on December 5 after lapsing into a coma. The death certificate states he died of “severe miliary fever”. Exactly which disease led to Mozart’s death has been a mystery for the last 200 years.

Speculations

Many myths —some more plausible than others — entwine (缠绕) Mozart’s early demise. One of the most popular myths — that Mozart was poisoned by his rival Antonio Salieri — rose to prominence due to the popularity of the film Amadeus. This theory is supported by the fact that Mozart had been living through a phase of depression before his death, suffering from paranoia and existential fear. Mozart himself suspected that the cause of his deteriorating health was being poisoned over a long time. However, it is highly likely that this was just his subjective view of reality.

Many other speculations circulate. Syphilis and trichinellosis are frequently mentioned. In 1905, a French physician assumed uric acid poisoning due to a never fully healed nephritis. In 1961, lead poisoning was suggested as a possible cause of death.

Scientific attempts to explain Mozart’s death

In 2000, a group of American scientists proposed rheumatic fever caused by a strep infection after conducting meticulous detective work. The symptoms stated in literature and the reports of Mozart’s contemporaries yielded the clues. Without antibiotics, such an infection would inevitably lead to death. Rheumatic fever causes a weakening of the heart, which could explain Mozart’s swollen limbs.

In 2009, the Dutch scientist Richard Zegers extensively studied surviving documents and concluded that Mozart had been suffering from pharyngitis, a throat infection with symptoms including cramps, fever, rashes and a swollen neck. Mozart’s sister-in-law Sophie Haibel had described these symptoms. The death registry of Vienna for winter 1791 lists several deaths caused by this disease.

Whatever the cause of Mozart’s death, it came far too early. Let us thank him for his manic urge to create art and remember him on December 5th!

1. Which of the following is similar in meaning to the underlined word “deteriorate” (Paragraph 1)?

A．To become worse.	B．To change greatly.
C．To recover quickly.	D．To be harmed rapidly.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It is generally believed that Mozart was poisoned by his friend.

B．Mozart’s depression paranoia and existential fear led to his death.

C．Mozart had been poisoned sustainably for a long time before he died.

D．Mozart once got a nephritis and it was never healed.

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A．Mozart’s disease was recorded in contemporary literature and reports.

B．Antibiotics were not discovered at that time.

C．Rheumatic fever can only be caused by strep infection.

D．Mozart’s illness cannot be cured even today.

4. What is the author’s purpose mentioning Mozart’s sister-in-law’s words?

A．To back up the Dutchman’s study.

B．To prove they were common symptoms causing death in 1791.

C．To prove Mozart did have such symptoms before his death.

D．To emphasize her special identify as a witness to Mozart’s death.

10 . In the office of remote sensing scientist Liu Shaochuang, there is a huge photograph of a camel he snapped a decade ago in Xinjiang. He crouched for hours by a pool of water in the Gobi Desert to capture the image.

Since 2012, he has led a team in tracking and studying wild camels using satellite remote sensing technology.

Unlike zoologists who focus on species, Liu has studied the interrelationship between endangered animals and their environment, which he believes will help develop better protection strategies in the face of climate change.

His interest in wild camels began when his team tested a prototype(雏形)design of the lunar rover Yutu in the desert. Living in the harsh deserts in northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia, camels are listed as critically endangered animals. Experts estimate that the population of this species is currently less than 1, 000, of which around 650 are in China.

“Ten years ago, the research relied solely on human observation, which was very primitive, ”Liu says. Because camels are fully migratory and can travel over long distances, scientists used to learn their habits by studying hoof prints and droppings. It was hard to find one camel in the desert, let alone track it. But Liu thought his expertise in satellite navigation(导航)and remote sensing might come in useful in the study of wild camels.

It was not easy at first. Liu learned zoology from scratch. His team had to spend several weeks each year braving dust and sandstorms in the vastness of the Gobi Desert seeking out camels. A scar on his right eyebrow is the result of a rollover accident on a rugged mountain road in Xinjiang.

“The most exciting moment was attaching a satellite positioning collar to a wild camel. ”The tracking collar, equipped with special receivers, weighs only a few hundred grams. It can detach automatically and will not have a negative impact on the daily lives of the animals. The locations of the tracked animals are transmitted via satellite every day. Based on the data, scientists can get to know their migratory paths, living environments and possible threats they may meet with.

For Liu, it is worth the significant sci-tech effort to study such a rare species. He adds wildlife protection and research will become more precise and efficient with the help of technology.

1. What was it that made tracking wild camels difficult?

A．The number of camels experienced a sharp decline.

B．Massive migration made camels cover huge distances.

C．Primitive tools were used in human observation.

D．Hoof prints and droppings were never to be seen.

2. What can be inferred from the scar on his right eyebrow?

A．His carelessness in carrying out his research.

B．His inexperience at the very beginning of his work.

C．The rough conditions under which he worked.

D．The stress he met with in his work.

3. What does paragraph 7 mainly focus on?

A．The formation of the tracking collar.

B．The definition of the tracking collar.

C．The importance of the tracking collar.

D．The function of the tracking collar.

4. Which of the following can best describe Liu Shaochuang?

A．Generous and ambitious.	B．Confident and grateful.
C．Creative and determined.	D．Optimistic and modest.