1 . Teachers worried about students turning in essays written by a popular artificial intelligence chatbot now have a new tool of their own.
Edward Tian, a computer science major at Princeton University, has built an App called GPTZero to detect whether a text is written by Chat GPT, which is a popular chatbot that has caused fears over its possibility for immoral uses in American academic circles. His motivation to create the computer program was to fight what he sees as an increase in AI plagiarism (剽窃). Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, there have been reports of students using the language model to pass off AI-written assignments as their own. Many teachers have reached out to him after he released GPTZero, telling him about the positive results they’ve seen from testing it.
To determine whether an essay is written by a computer program, GPTZero uses two indicators: “confusion” and “burstiness (突发性)”. The first indicator measures the complexity of text; if GPTZero is confused by the text, then it has a high complexity and it’s more likely to be human-written. However, if the text is more familiar to GPTZero — because it’s been trained on such data — then it will have low complexity and therefore is more likely to be AI-generated. Besides, the second indicator compares the variations of sentences. Humans tend to write with greater burstiness, for example, with some longer or complex sentences alongside shorter ones. AI sentences tend to be more uniform.
In a demonstration video, Tian compared the App’s analysis of a story in The New Yorker and a Linked In post written by ChatGPT. It successfully distinguished writing between human and AI. However, GPTZero isn’t foolproof, as some users have reported when putting it to the test. He said he’s still working to improve the model’s accuracy.
Tian is not opposed to the use of AI tools like ChatGPT. GPTZero is “not meant to be a tool to stop these technologies from being used,” he said. “But with any new technologies, we need to be able to adopt it responsibly and we need to have protections.”
1. What have some students done since ChatGPT was released?| A．They have built language models from ChatGPT. |
| B．They have copied AI-written text from ChatGPT |
| C．They have accessed their assignments through ChatGPT. |
| D．They have passed their writing exams through ChatGPT. |
| A．The more uniform the text is, the more likely it is to be AI-generated. |
| B．The less complex the text is, the more likely it is to be human-written. |
| C．GPTZero sometimes confuses human-written texts with AI-generated texts. |
| D．GPTZero is more familiar with human-written texts than with AI-generated texts. |
| A．User-friendly. | B．Time-efficient. |
| C．Perfectly legal. | D．Completely reliable. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Disapproving. | C．Objective. | D．Ambiguous. |
2 . The feeling of envy (忌妒) strikes at many moments these days: When a friend buys a house, or when a neighbor shares good news about their successful side project while you’re caught by sky-high debts, and when a co-worker gets a new job while your career has no progress.
“It’s normal to feel envious. After all, envy is a universal emotion, and we don't have to feel ashamed by it,” psychologists (心理学家) say. In fact, psychologists suggest trying a powerful method and analyzing our envy to get clues about what we really want out of life. Doing so can help us figure out next steps in our careers and personal lives.
“Two distinct types of envy exist. Malicious (怀有恶意的) envy arrives with anger, annoyance and a sense of wanting to take an advantage away from another person,” says Jan Crusius, psychologist and professor of motivation and emotion at University of Greifswald in Germany. Benign (良性的) envy, on the other hand, is when you wish you were in someone else’s position but don’t feel like tearing them down. That envy can inspire self-reflection and the motivation to set new goals. Research from Crusius has shown that marathon runners who were to experience benign envy also set higher goals for themselves, and tended to run faster in their races.
Rather than bottle up envy when it occurs, start by asking who inspires a mix of admiration and envy in your life. If they’ve achieved a particular milestone, investigate why you’re drawn to that achievement. The answer may point you on a more fulfilling path. Changing your thoughts helps you view someone as a model to catch up rather than an opponent (对手) to defeat, and helps you focus on what you can control.
1. How did the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By showing a definition. | B．By telling a story. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By listing a series of findings. |
| A．Improvement. | B．Anger. | C．Happiness. | D．Gratitude. |
| A．Set a goal for ourselves. | B．Defeat our opponent. |
| C．Just let it be. | D．Bottle up our envy. |
| A．In a news report. | B．In a psychological magazine. |
| C．In a book review. | D．In a novel. |
3 . 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.
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.
However, AR and VR can be quite different in many ways.
AR, however, does not change the entire landscape of what users see. In fact, it adds to reality with digital images. 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.
VR and AR are both powerful technologies which are still relatively new to many consumers.
| A．VR can be interactive or non-interactive. |
| B．The main difference lies in the mode of delivery. |
| C．In short, at the heart of VR and AR are two very similar technologies. |
| D．However, they have already begun to shake things up in the gaming world. |
| E．They would see computer made images as an overlay to what they see in real life. |
| F．Moreover, since AR does not require the use of goggles or helmets, it is more accessible. |
| G．It is also getting increasingly difficult to keep up with the “R” s that have come into existence. |
4 . People may typically think of memory as the recollection of the past. Memory enables people to learn from past experiences and apply that knowledge in present circumstances. It is a vital part of our identity. So is culture, the way of life specific to a group of people.
Cultural memory is the constructed understanding of the past that is passed from one generation to the next through text, oral traditions, monuments and other symbols. Cultural memory is often amassed in objects, such as museums or historical monuments. To understand culture, humans access a mass of cultural symbols, such as books. Artifacts (历史文物) of the past provide insights into where we came from. Libraries and the Internet keep a seemingly boundless amount of data on what it means to be part of a culture. Cultural memory is the longest-lasting form of memory.
Like all forms of memory, cultural memory has important functions. For example, it makes the experiences a nation owns clear. It provides us with an understanding of the past and the values of the group to which we belong. Besides, it creates a form of shared identity and a means for communicating this identity to new members. The most powerful forms of cultural memory may involve memories of past disastrous experiences undergone by groups of victims. For example, in Russia, their role in World War Ⅱ — in which tens of millions of Russians were killed — is still an important part of modern Russian identity. Because all groups have cultural memory, it can bring about a spirit of resistance or survival among threatened groups.
The main function of cultural memory is not to recall the past, whether it is good or bad. Rather, it is to use knowledge of past experiences to avoid making the same mistakes again and again. Aleida Assmann, a professor who has worked on memory theory since the 1960s, calls this “remembering forward”. Cultural memory enables people to adapt to their culture; it enables cultures to adapt to new circumstances by keeping traces (痕迹) of what worked in the past.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．Reporting a discovery of cultural memory. |
| B．Leading to the concept of cultural memory. |
| C．Introducing the importance of memory in identity. |
| D．Making a connection between memory and culture. |
| A．Stored. | B．Overlooked. | C．Evaluated. | D．Created. |
| A．the features of cultural memory | B．the formation of cultural memory |
| C．the role of big events in Russian identity | D．the impact of cultural memory on identity |
| A．Pass previous wisdom down. | B．Keep traces of history. |
| C．Get people to know about the past. | D．Remind people of their identity. |
5 . How to Make Exercise a Habit
The new year is a time when it seems like everyone makes goals to work out and get fit. But by the third week of January, that all seems to go out the window. I’ve seen this happen almost every year: my workout classes are packed with fresh faces.
Focus on the routine and not the results
These days it feels like everyone is looking for a quick fix or fast results, particularly when it comes to health and fitness.
Everyone seems to want to set big goals of working out 4 times a week with 60-minute sessions. But realistically, if you’re not used to this, it will just be overwhelming and lead you to quit. Given this, doing workouts even as small as5-10 minutes is a good place to start.
Forget the “all or nothing” view
When it comes to exercise, the all or nothing approach does not serve you. Say you plan a workout for today, but say things get crazy at work and you miss your scheduled time. Well that doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
Find joy in your workouts
| A．Life happens sometimes. |
| B．Start with mini workouts |
| C．Build yourself workout time-zone |
| D．But in reality, it takes time for results to show. |
| E．Explore until you find a workout that feels like fun. |
| F．There is something magical that makes your plan work. |
| G．But after just a few weeks, they return to the regular number of people. |
6 . Binge-watching (刷剧) is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in a row. With developments in the speed and connectivity of the Internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows stream (流播) directly to their television at their convenience.
This behavior is nothing new. In fact, binge-watching has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available concurrently. Once the episode finishes, many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like” suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode.
However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back (一集接一集地), almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and 25% have neglected their household chores (家务活). Next we’ll be missing work!
Bingeing has other connections — binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said, “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist (抗拒) watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?
The countless number of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning, then it becomes a problem. So, what’s the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”
1. How did the writer develop the first paragraph?| A．By giving a definition. | B．By telling a story. |
| C．By listing some examples. | D．By analyzing the cause and effect. |
| A．For convenience. | B．At the same time. |
| C．In detail. | D．Free of charge. |
| A．people can’t control their feelings | B．people can’t resist the temptation of Bingeing |
| C．people have no patience to do work | D．people are addicted to waiting for a new episode |
| A．To keep online media from stopping functioning. |
| B．To enjoy entertainment as much as possible. |
| C．To learn life lessons from the episodes. |
| D．To watch episodes in a moderate way. |
7 . Scientists have long considered the question of whether and how plants communicate. For years, the topic sparked controversy. Books like 1973’s The Secret Life of Plants suggest that plants grow well if you sing or play classical music. Such statements were later debunked: Any evidence that music helps plants grow is not convincing at all. Still, researchers firmly believe there is some sort of communication going on between plants.
Plant communication is a complicated topic. What we do know is that plants have a wide range of mechanisms for communicating with each other and their surroundings. “It’s quite clear that plants are not just unresponsive victims, but that they are very aware of nearby things,” says Richard Karban, an entomologist at the University of California. “And they respond to reliable information.”
When a plant sends out chemicals in the air in response to a perceived threat, other sensitive leavcs on that same plant, as well as the leaves of their neighbors, perceive those signals and subsequently increase their own defenses. Karban’s research, for instance, shows that plants sound the alarm when they’re attacked by pests, so that other plants respond by growing faster and stronger. Even other species, like tobacco, can sense and react to the alarm.
In a study published in the journal Cell this March, Lilach Hadany, a professor at Tel Aviv University, put tomato and tobacco plants in an isolated box and then recorded ultrasonic (超声的) sounds. They experimented with, cutting stems or leaving them without water to simulate drought. The researchers found that the plants emitted (popping and clicking sounds at around 60 decibels in response, approximately as loud as human chatter. These sounds were at an ultrasonic frequency that humans can’t naturally hear, however. Hadany’s team even matched different sounds to the plants’ environment. And each type of stress could be matched with a specific, identifiable sound.
“We don’t know if they’re using the sound, or if the sounds are emitted in a completely passive way due to physiological changes,” Hadany says. “But we do know they are in the air, and they contain information.”
1. What does the underlined word “debunked” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Confirmed. | B．Ignored. | C．Disproved. | D．Promoted. |
| A．Plants can make no response to their attackers. |
| B．Chemicals are sent by plants to attack the perceived threat. |
| C．Plants rely little on their neighbors’ information to survive. |
| D．The alarm sounded by one plant travels beyond plants and species. |
| A．The sounds are loud enough to scare away pests. |
| B．The sounds are produced when plants are in danger. |
| C．The sounds can be heard by man without equipment. |
| D．The sounds can be matched to the human environment. |
| A．To inform readers. | B．To compare things. |
| C．To warn readers. | D．To advertise things. |
8 . A humanoid robot can relay video and touch sensations to a person wearing a haptic (触觉内) feedback suit and a virtual reality (VR) headset hundreds of kilometres away, offering away for people to attend events without travelling.
The iCub 3 robot is a 52-kilogram, 125-centimetre-tall robot with 54 joints across its body. Its head contains two cameras where a human’s eyes would be, and an Internet-connected computer where the brain would go. Along with the cameras, sensors covering its body send data to the robot’s “brain”. These sensations are then reproduced on a suit and VR headset worn by a remote human operator.
When the operators react to what they see and feel, the suit’s sensors pick up the movements and the robot matches them. “The key is to translate every signal and bit of digital data that can be sent through the network.” says Stefano Dafarra, who was part of the iCub3 team. There can be a small delay of up to 100 milliseconds to capture and transmit the visual shots, but the operator can case this by moving slightly slower than normal.
The team demonstrated the robot at the Venice Biennale, where it wandered through an exhibition while its operator stood 290 kilometres away in Genoa. Dafarra hopes people will use the iCub3 to attend events remotely, reducing the need to travel. “But at present, a fall could be hugely damaging to the robot, and it’s uncertain whether it could stand up again on its own," he says.
“iCub3 is an interesting robot and offers clear advantages from the previous versions.” says Jonathan Aitken, whose laboratory owns a prior version of the robot. However, he is disappointed that the team wasn’t clear in its research about the data transmission requirements of the new version of the robot. “It would be good to know just how much data was required, and what the upper and lower bounds were.” he says.
1. What’s the principle behind the humanoid robot?| A．It conveys sensations to the wearer and acts accordingly. |
| B．It receives commands from an operator through the Internet. |
| C．The cameras take pictures and then interact with the sensors. |
| D．The computer in the robot processes the data and gives orders. |
| A．Medical consultation. | B．Sports events. |
| C．Outdoor workouts. | D．Virtual tourism. |
| A．It fails to appeal to potential investors. |
| B．Its performance hasn’t been evaluated clearly. |
| C．Its present version still requires to be updated. |
| D．Its transmission of data came across technical problems. |
| A．Humanoid robots with sense of touch catch on |
| B．iCub 3 robot combines with VR to benefit more people |
| C．Humanoid robots let people see and feel things remotely |
| D．New advances in technology enable people to travel at work |
9 . Students’ Journey to Empower Rural Heritage
From Aug 18 to 22 a team of 15 Tsinghua University students, representing diverse backgrounds from China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, set foot on an overseas research exploration focusing on rural revitalization (振兴) in Indonesian villages, particularly within Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB).
With the diverse cultural heritage, Indonesia is home to over 83,000 villages, each radiating its own charm and character.
The research mission took the students to Sukarara and Sade villages, two of NTB’s tourist destinations.
| A．In Sukarara, a local tradition requires girls master weaving skills before marriage |
| B．They decided to be a bridge between tradition and progress, united for their growth |
| C．Both were selected for revitalization efforts led by the Village Revitalization Team |
| D．While these villages possess undeniable fascination, many remain underdeveloped |
| E．It’s about preserving the cultural heritage and ensuring traditions being passed down |
| F．As the journey came to an end, all the students regarded it as a rewarding experience |
| G．This effort includes the knowledge exchange between the students and local villagers |
10 . Nowadays, the world is slowly becoming a high-tech society and we are now surrounded by technology. Facebook and Twitter are innovative tools; text messaging is still a somewhat existing phenomenon and even e-mail is only a flashing spot on the screen when compared with our long history of snail mail. Now we adopt these tools to the point of essentialness, and only rarely consider how we are more fundamentally affected by them.
Social media, texting and e-mail all make it much easier to communicate, gather and pass information. But they also present some dangers. By removing any real human engagement, they enable us to develop our abnormal self-love without the risk of disapproval or criticism theatrical metaphor (隐喻), these new forms of communication provide a stage on which we create our own characters, hidden behind a fourth wall of tweets, status updates and texts. This unreal state of unconcern can become addictive as we separate ourselves a safe distance from the cruelty of our fleshly lives, where we are imperfect, powerless and insignificant. In essence, we have been provided not only the means to be more free, but also to become new, to create and protect a more perfect self to the world. As we become more reliant on these tools, they become more a part of our daily routine and so we become more restricted in this fantasy.
So it is that we live in a cold era, where names and faces represent two different levels of closeness, where working relationships occur only through the magic of email and where love can start or end by text message. An environment such as this reduces interpersonal relationships to mere digital exchanges.
Would a celebrity have been so daring to do something dishonorable if he had had to do it in person? Doubtful. It seems he might have been lost in a fantasy world that ultimately convinced himself into believing the digital self could obey different rules and regulations, as if he could continually push the limits of what’s acceptable without facing the consequences of “real life.”
1. The author compares e-mail with snail mail to show ________.| A．the influence of high-tech on our life | B．the history of different types of mails |
| C．the value of traditional communications | D．the rapid development of social media |
| A．Destroying our life totally. | B．Posing more dangers than good. |
| C．Helping us to hide our faults. | D．Replacing traditional letters. |
| A．Sheltering us from virtual life. | B．Removing face-to-face interaction. |
| C．Leading to false mental perception. | D．Making us rely more on hi-tech media. |
| A．Technologies have changed our relationships. |
| B．The digital world is a recipe for pushing limits. |
| C．Love can be better conveyed by text message. |
| D．The digital self need not take responsibility. |
