1 . Over the last two million years, our species has experienced a significant increase in brain volume, contributing to our perceived intelligence and dominance. However, recent research led by Jeremy DeSilva from Dartmouth College reveals an unexpected turn: our brains diminished (缩减) in size after the last Ice Age, about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.
Contrary to the initial belief that brain size reduction matched the appearance of agriculture 10,000 years ago, DeSilva’s team points to a more recent period marked by the flourishing and advancement of ancient civilizations in North Africa, the Middle East, and South America. They suggest that the shrinkage may be linked to the development of cooperative societies and what researchers term “Collective intelligence,” where group problem-solving goes beyond individual capabilities.
Inspiration for this idea came from observations of “ultra-social” insects like ants, where smaller-brained individuals succeed in highly cooperative societies. The researchers suggest that as human societies became more organized over the past 3,000 years, the need for an individually large brain to store information about food, relationships, and the environment diminished. Instead, information could be collectively stored within social circles, towns, and groups.
The rise of external information storage, including books, personal devices, and the internet, further lessened the demand on individual brains, allowing them to operate more efficiently. While the average human brain volume remained around 1,450 cubic centimeters for the past 150,000 years, it decreased by approximately 10%, or up to 150 cubic centimeters, in the last few millennia. This reduction in brain size is not a direct consequence of shrinking bodies, as the relative size to body proportion also decreased.
Importantly, researchers advise against equating brain size with intelligence, suggesting that our mental circuitry (回路) may have evolved to be more efficient, similar to the advancements seen in the evolution of computer sizes from room-filling to pocket sized.
1. What does the recent research by Jeremy DeSilva reveal?| A．Agriculture appears 10,000 years ago. |
| B．“Ultra- social” insects become more organized. |
| C．The human brain size diminishes after the last Ice Age. |
| D．Group problem-solving goes beyond individual capabilities. |
| A．the advancement of ancient civilizations |
| B．the change of the environment |
| C．decreased external information storage |
| D．cooperative societies and “collective intelligence” |
| A．Decreased body proportion leads to smaller brains. |
| B．A larger brain guarantees higher intelligence. |
| C．People should prioritize brain size over mental circuitry. |
| D．Social factors have lessened the demand on individual brains. |
| A．Surprising Changes in Human Brain Volume. |
| B．Social Adaptation and Human Brain Shrinkage. |
| C．The History of Brain Size Reduction in Humans. |
| D．Exploring the Evolution of Human Cognitive Abilities. |
2 . How Can We Trust AI If We Don’t Know How It Works
Alien minds, in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, surround us in daily life, powering facial recognition, determining creditworthiness, and even creating poetry and code.
Many AI systems, particularly those based on deep learning neural networks, have trillions of parameters (参数), making their decision-making processes opaque (不透明的) — a phenomenon known as the AI explainability problem.
Unlike humans who can justify their decisions based on ethical principles, AI lacks the ability to explain its decision-making, failing the predictive requirement for trust. Consider situations like the “Trolley Problem,” where a self-driving car must make a difficult decision without the capacity to provide a human-like explanation.
Trust relies not only on explainability and predictability but also on ethical or moral motivations. Humans expect others to act not just as they assume they will, but also as they should.
The integration of AI into vital systems, such as electric grids and military operations, heightens the importance of trust.
In conclusion, AI lacks the predictability and ethical elements that would make it inherently trustworthy. Addressing the challenges of explainability and alignment is essential to ensure that AI systems earn and maintain human trust in critical applications. Further research in this area is needed to pave the way for trustworthy AI systems in the future.
| A．As a result, understanding why AI systems make specific decisions is challenging, raising concerns about their trustworthiness. |
| B．However, AI operates with a fixed way of thinking molded by training data. |
| C．Addressing and resolving the issue before it reaches a critical point becomes crucial. |
| D．These are contexts where undesirable behavior could lead to severe consequences. |
| E．To enhance trust, proposals have been made to involve humans in AI decision-making, either in the loop or on the loop. |
| F．Due to the lack of unpredictability, people find it impossible to interpret the specific factors influencing Al-driven decisions. |
| G．However, the trustworthiness of these AI systems faces significant challenges due to their limited explainability and unpredictability. |
3 . We Need to Think about Conservation on a Different Timescale
Time, perceived by humans in days, months, and years, contrasts with nature’s grander scales of centuries and millennia, referred to as “deep time.” While paleontologists (古生物学者) are trained to think in deep time, conservationists are realizing the challenges it poses. Shortsightedness about time limits modern conservation, with efforts often overlooking past healthy conditions of ecosystems in the context of climate and biodiversity crises.
The shifting baseline syndrome (综合症), where standards in a place change gradually, makes conservation more complex. It involves evaluating ecosystems primarily on their recent past, often with negative consequences.
Recent shifts in California’s forest management practices, from stopping fires to embracing Indigenous knowledge of controlled burns, exemplify the importance of understanding historical ecosystem dynamics. To enhance conservation, adopting a deep-time approach is crucial.
Modern mathematical modeling, combined with long-term data, offers a pathway for preserving ecosystems. In California’s kelp (海带、海藻) forest, researchers identified an overlooked keystone species — the extinct Seller’s Sea Cow (大海牛). By examining past kelp forests, a deeper story impacting regeneration was revealed. The sea cow, a massive plant-cater, contributed to a diverse, vital undergrowth by trimming kelp and letting light reach the area.
The researchers put forward a novel approach to kelp forest restoration: selectively harvesting kelp, imitating the sea cow’s impact. This strategy, considering historical dynamics, challenges assumptions about recent ecosystems and offers new conservation methods.
Rather than only focusing on removing urchins (海胆) or reintroducing sea otters, the researchers suggest employing teams of humans to selectively harvest kelp, as the Steller’s sea cow once did, to encourage fresh growth. This sustainable harvest could benefit both the ecosystem and human consumption.
In short, assumptions based on the recent past may impede the understanding and protection of ecosystems. On the other hand, the application of controlled burns, similar modeling studies, and a deep-time perspective (视角) could significantly transform conservation efforts. Recognizing our role in an ongoing narrative spanning millions of years is essential, urging a comprehensive understanding of ecosystems through time. Embracing this role is crucial for shaping the future and establishing vital connections from the past to the future.
1. What is the “shifting baseline syndrome,” mentioned in the passage?| A．A syndrome that affects human beings’ perception of time. |
| B．A phenomenon where ecological standards shift in a place. |
| C．A psychological disorder common among conservationists. |
| D．A condition where ecosystems change gradually over time. |
| A．It promotes the prevention of wildfires. | B．It aids in mathematical modeling efforts. |
| C．It helps reveal historical ecosystem dynamics. | D．It enhances human consumption of ecosystems. |
| A．Reform. | B．Disrupt. | C．Quicken. | D．Deepen. |
| A．Shifting baseline syndrome has positive ecological changes. |
| B．Mathematical modeling with the latest data can be effective. |
| C．Deep-time perspective and historical dynamics are crucial. |
| D．Recent history is more preferred in ecosystem restoration. |
4 . Jennifer DeStefano answered a call from an unknown number only to hear a man threatening her 15-year-old daughter’s life and demanding money, as well as the sound of her daughter crying for help. But while she kept him on the phone, her friends managed to reach her daughter, discovering that she was, in fact, free and well on a skiing trip in Arizona. The voice used on the phone was cloned.
A brief sample (样本) of a voice can be used to train an AI model, which can then speak any given text sounding like that person. Now the dangers are starting to be talked aloud.
ElevenLabs, an AI start-up, offers users the chance to create their own clones in minutes and the results are disturbingly accurate. When generating a playback, the system allows users to choose between variability and stability (稳定性). Select “variability”, and the voice will have a lifelike intonation (语调), including pauses like “er...”. Choose “stability”, and it will come across more like a calm and unemotional newsreader. Taylor Jones, a linguist and consultant, took a careful look at the quality of ElevenLabs’s clone of his voice in a video. A low-tech test, a “conversation” with his own mother, fooled the woman who raised him.
For several years, customers have been able to identify themselves over the phone to their bank and other companies using their voice. This was a security upgrade, not a danger. Not even a gifted voice actor could fool the detection system. But now the banks are forced to change in order to prevent crime.
Creative industries could face trouble. Voice actors’ skills, trained over a lifetime, can be copied in seconds. But some actors may, in fact, find cloning congenial. One actor, who has lost much of his voice to throat cancer, was delighted to have his voice restored for his new movie. Others may be spared the trouble of heading for the studio for retakes. Another industry that will have to deal with the rise of clones is journalism. Secret recordings have long been the contributor to the big news. Now who will trust a story based on an audio clip (音频片段)?
1. How does the author lead in the topic?| A．By telling a story. | B．By explaining a concept. |
| C．By making a guess. | D．By making a comparison. |
| A．To analyze the use of voice cloning. | B．To draw readers’ attention to AI. |
| C．To prove ElevenLabs’s achievements. | D．To show the danger of voice cloning. |
| A．Annoying. | B．Shocking. | C．Suitable. | D．Inventive. |
| A．AI Technology: Good or Bad? | B．AI-based Voice: A Potential Risk |
| C．Cloned Voice: Who to Blame? | D．Voice Cloning: A New Phenomenon |
5 . They say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. But when it comes to tackling a tricky task, researchers have found that getting angry can also be a powerful motivator.
The experiments suggest people who are angry perform better on a set of challenging tasks than those who are emotionally neutral.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, details how researchers at Texas A&M University conducted experiments involving more than 1,000 people, and analysed survey data from more than 1,400 people to explore the possible impact of anger on people in various circumstances.
In one experiment, students were shown images previously found to cause anger, desire, amusement, sadness or no particular emotion at all. Participants were subsequently asked to solve a series of anagrams (变形词).
The results reveal that for a challenging set of anagrams, those who were angry did better — although no difference was seen for easy anagrams.
The researchers say one explanation could be down to a link between anger and greater persistence, with the team finding those who were angry spent more time on the difficult set of anagrams.
In another experiment, participants who were angry did better at avoiding flags in a skiing video game than those who were neutral or sad, and were on a par with (同水平) those who felt amusement or desire.
“This pattern could indicate that general physical arousal (激起) had a benefit for game scores, as this would be greater in anger, amused, and desire conditions compared to the sad and neutral conditions,”the researchers write. However, no such differences in performance was found when it came to an easier video game.
“People often prefer to use positive emotions as tools more than negative and tend to see negative emotions as undesirable,” said Lench, the first author of the study. “Our research adds to the growing evidence that a mix of positive and negative emotions promotes well-being, and that using negative emotions as tools can be particularly effective in some situations.”
1. What tasks did the researchers set for the students?| A．Recognizing different emotion images. | B．Helping analyze a series of survey data. |
| C．Putting tasks into different categories. | D．Performing tasks in various emotional states. |
| A．It brings team spirit into full play. | B．It promotes a deep insight into the tasks. |
| C．It increases effort toward attaining a goal. | D．It changes challenging tasks into easy ones. |
| A．Research result consistent with previous findings. |
| B．Potential application of the research finding. |
| C．A further explanation of the research method. |
| D．A reasonable doubt about the research process. |
| A．To present more proofs. | B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To criticize old practices. |
6 . Different forests in the western United States have unique combinations of trees and birds. One type has broad-leaved trees like ash and cottonwood, along with kingbirds. Anoher type has evergreen trees like pine and white spruce, along with juncos. Ecologists in the early twentieth century once claimed these ecological communities were precisely balanced systems, where every species had a specific role to play in a complex machine. They believed that removing or adding any plant, bird, or insect, could disrupt this balance and harm the habitat. One of these pioneer ecologists was Frederick Clements, who believed that in a specific climate area, ecological communities gradually moved toward the most balanced and integrated group of species in that region.
Clements was challenged by another pioneer ecologist, Henry Gleason, who took the opposite view. Gleason viewed the community as largely a group of species with similar tolerances to the stresses given by climate and other factors typical of the region. Gleason thought chance played a big role in where species lived. His concept suggests that nature is not highly integrated. Each species is responding individually to its surroundings. Gleason thought things could change in different ways, depending upon local conditions.
Who was right? It now appears that Gleason was more accurate than Clements. The ecological community is mostly a random collection of species with similar responses to a particular climate. Ash trees are found in association with cottonwood trees because both can survive well on floodplains and the competition between them is not so strong that only one can survive.
This is not to say that precise harmonies are not present within communities. Most flowering plants rely on pollinators (传粉者). But if we see a precise balance of nature, it is largely a product of our perception, due to the false belief that nature, especially a complex system like a forest, seems so unchanging from one day to the next.
1. Early 20th century ecologists commonly claimed that___________.| A．each species plays a specific role in the community |
| B．new species need to be added as communities develop |
| C．maintaining precise balance in community is challenging |
| D．it is important to protect communities by removing certain species |
| A．How individualistic the species is. | B．Their ability to tolerate the stresses there. |
| C．The number of similar species present. | D．Their ways to integrate with other species. |
| A．To show greater species variety in floodplains. |
| B．To provide evidence to support Clements’ theory. |
| C．To give an example of species that prefer to live on floodplains. |
| D．To support the current view on how ecological communities develop. |
| A．culture | B．environment | C．understanding | D．education |
7 . Curiosity — the desire to know, to discover, to learn. Inspired by curiosity, humans are found everywhere on our planet, and beyond it in space. Yet according to human behaviourist and author of Curious, Ian Leslie, although we are all born curious, not all of us bring this into adulthood, and we can lose out as a result.
As Leslie explains, curiosity shapes us from the start. By trying new things, we build knowledge, and want to know more. “We are born aware that we don’t know stuff — we want to experience and discover.” However, the contrast between childhood and adulthood is clear. “We ask 40,000 questions a year between the ages of two and five,” says Leslie — around 110 each day; adults, in comparison, ask just 20.
As we get older, we may feel hesitant about asking questions, believing this reveals gaps in our knowledge. We can become scared to share unconventional ideas for fear of criticism or misunderstanding. We can also be a victim of our success, as Leslie explains. “Once you’ve worked out how to do your job, then you don’t feel curious anymore. The need to learn goes away — in a way, curiosity has done its job. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cultivate it.”
Leslie’s tips for cultivating curiosity begin with spending time with the experts — children. “Talk to your kids, and try to answer those weird, difficult questions they have — like ‘What is air?’ This makes you think about things you’ve taken for granted — it reawakens your curiosity in what’s around us and how we perceive the world.”
So does finding what Leslie calls an ‘informal mentor’, through work or other circles, who is happy to share their expertise, from a skill, technology, to a field of learning. “Try to think of people the way children think of adults — as sources of secret knowledge, a great store of learning you can tap into,” says Leslie.
Leslie also suggests creating a ‘spark file’ — a digital or physical notebook in which you collect interesting thoughts. “Fill it with facts you’ve come across, sentences you like, insights that strike you. Let it be random. And let it build. Over time you’ll build up a rich source of inspiration, and you’ll think, ‘Oh that’s interesting, that relates to this…’ And suddenly your mind starts firing away with new ideas and ways of thinking.”
1. According to Leslie, what happens as we get older?| A．We gradually lose our natural curiosity. |
| B．We are less aware of our knowledge gaps. |
| C．We are unwilling to let others benefit from our ideas. |
| D．We may think asking questions makes people foolish. |
| A．A day’s planning is best done at daybreak. |
| B．In the eyes of a lover, Xi Shi will appear. |
| C．A master can lead you to the door, but the rest is up to you. |
| D．When three people walk together, one can surely be my teacher. |
| A．It is carefully organized. | B．It can help people connect ideas. |
| C．It only contains complete sentences. | D．It can help people improve their memory. |
| A．To prove Ian Leslie’s arguments. | B．To summarise Ian Leslie’s viewpoint. |
| C．To question Ian Leslie’s conclusions. | D．To introduce Ian Leslie’s achievements. |
8 . He is a Chinese superstar, a piano genius who has sold millions of albums worldwide. Lang Lang has also used his fame and fortune to help state schools around the world that lack music, warning at a 2019 awards ceremony in London that such lessons had become “a real challenge” for children in the most disadvantaged communities.
Now he is bringing music to British state schools in an ambitious project that will set up modern “piano labs” in needy schools across the nation. Each lab will have 20 to 30 keyboards. The plan is inspired by his programmes in the US and China, in which he has invested tens of millions of pounds.
In the US, he has set up piano labs in 86 schools, giving 70,000 kids access to keyboards. In China, he has installed them in 104 schools, enabling 110,000 children to make music. This is primarily for pupils aged seven to 12.
The first UK school to benefit is the Winns primary school in Waltham Forest, London’s 12th poorest area. It will receive 30 keyboards within the next few weeks. Every lab is accompanied by a curriculum created by the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and Lang Lang, with ongoing teacher-training, financial support, and headphones, allowing group piano classes.
Asked what inspired him to support UK schools, Lang told the reporter: “We were able to identify many similarities between state schools in the UK and public schools in the US in terms of the way access to music and arts can be extremely limited when budgets are cut…I was so surprised by how music classes are never guaranteed. The schools and teachers are incredible, and are so dedicated to providing their students with everything they can. But it shocked me how access to music education can be so limited.”
His charity quotes the Greek philosopher Aristotle: “Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.”
Lang Lang said: “When I visit our partner schools and see the joy on the students’ faces or hear from our teachers about the progress students are making, I’m reminded of why we created this programme—to give children an opportunity to discover what they’re capable of achieving and to find their voices through music.”
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To offer background information. | B．To introduce an argument. |
| C．To discuss Lang Lang’s plans. | D．To highlight Lang Lang’s reputation. |
| A．Private schools. | B．Ambitious schools. |
| C．Remote schools. | D．Disadvantaged schools. |
| A．The teachers are doing a good job. |
| B．Music classes aren’t always available. |
| C．The budgets are always being cut. |
| D．The schools are dedicated to helping students. |
| A．Lang Lang—a kind and caring pianist |
| B．Lang Lang teaches the world to play piano |
| C．Chinese superstar brings music to British kids |
| D．Chinese piano genius looks for future piano stars |
9 . We’re growing more used to chatting to our computers, phones and smart speakers through voice assistants. Out of these assistants, Siri is the most well-known spoken web. Blind people have been using text-to-speech assistant for decades.
Some think voice could soon take over from clicking as the main way to interact online. They believe online interaction would soon depend mainly on voice.
Building the spoken web—web-to-voice and voice-to-web—is by no means an easy task. For software to answer simple questions about the weather and play music for us is easy.
Using voice interaction feels far closer than surfing the net the old-fashioned way.
| A．Spoken web requires more personality to become popular. |
| B．But what are the challenges of moving to ”the spoken web“? |
| C．It is also possible to search for different information you need. |
| D．The benefits of using voice obviously depend on the context. |
| E．The informal tone of the assistant helps create an emotional attachment. |
| F．But to have a conversation with users on diverse topics is a long way off. |
| G．People who can’t read can also obtain information using the spoken web. |
10 . Anne Frank Walking Tour—360 Amsterdam Tours
Description
As one of the most tolerant cities in Europe, Amsterdam became the “safe place” of the Jewish community during the 16th and 17th centuries. In this 2-hour tour, our expert guide from 360 Amsterdam will relate the past of a city that suffered the horrors of World War II, through the perspective of Anne Frank. Discover the story of Anne’s diary and how it was published. Find out how the Dutch treated the Jews of Amsterdam, as in the case of Anne Frank.
The tour shows the old Jewish Quarter to the Anne Frank House. Our professional guides will bring history to life and narrate how things unfolded during these times of terror.
Recommended: For people interested in European history.
What’s included?
•Local guide in English(Spanish, German, Italian, French, Portuguese and Dutch).
•A walking tour about Anne Frank and W. W. II throughout the historical sites of Amsterdam.
What’s not included?
•Entrance ticket to the Anne Frank House
•Food and Beverages
•Transportation
•Tips to the guide
•Entrance ticket to the Jewish Museum and the Portuguese Synagogue
Additional information
Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before the departure of the tour and buy your tickets online in advance.
Tickets to the Anne Frank House must be purchased in advance and online as there are assigned time slots to enter the museum.
Meeting point
Tour Starts: Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1— in front of the Jewish Museum.
Look for the orange umbrellas from 360 Amsterdam Tours.
1. What is the main focus of the tour?| A．Bringing history to life. | B．Showcasing Dutch traditions. |
| C．Exploring modern architecture. | D．Discovering famous Dutch writers. |
| A．Tips to the expert guide. | B．A guided walking tour. |
| C．Free food and beverages. | D．Free admission to the museum. |
| A．Holding an orange umbrella. | B．Buying tickets at the entrance. |
| C．Booking tickets ahead of time. | D．Entering the museum 15 minutes earlier. |
