1 . My teacher held up a piece of broken glass and asked, “Who broke this window?”
Thirty boys tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what the teacher might have found out. She seldom became angry, but she was this time.
“Oh,” I thought. I was the one who broke the window. It was caused by a naughty throw of a baseball. If I admitted guilt, I would be in a lot of trouble. How would I be able to pay for a big window like that? I didn’t even get an allowance. “My father is going to have a fit as a result of it,” I thought. I didn’t want to raise my hand, but some force much stronger than I was pulled it skyward (朝向天空). I told the truth, “I did it.” It was hard enough to say what I had done.
My teacher took down a book from one of our library shelves and I had never known my teacher to strike a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.
“I know how much you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. “Here is the field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours now. It’s time we got a new one for the school anyway. You will not be punished, but remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed (恶行), but I am rewarding you for your truthfulness.”
I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t being punished and I was getting my own bird field guide — the very one that I had been saving up money to buy.
The lesson my teacher taught me stays with me every day, and it will echo forever.
1. From the story, we can learn that the boy .A.didn’t break the window on purpose |
B.lacked the courage to admit his guilt |
C.tried to think about what he had done |
D.didn’t know what the teacher had found out |
A.be punished by the teacher |
B.make his father angry |
C.pay for the broken window |
D.get a bird field guide |
A.Afraid—Surprised—Thankful. |
B.Frightened—Amazed—Proud. |
C.Regretful—Guilty—Excited. |
D.Nervous—Afraid—Satisfied. |
A.Every coin has two sides. |
B.Honesty is always valued. |
C.Bad luck never comes alone. |
D.You can’t be too careful. |
2 . China is recognized as a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition systems. A Chinese company says it has created a new facial recognition system that can identify people even if they are wearing masks (口罩). Engineers at the Beijing-based company say their system is the first to be created to effectively identify people wearing face masks.
The company told a news agency that a team of 20 people built the system in about a month. The system is based on existing technologies developed over the past 10 years. The process involved adding a collection of about 6 million unmasked faces and a much smaller collection of masked faces, the company said.
The company is now selling two main kinds of products that use the new technology. One performs “single channel” recognition, which is designed to be used at the entrances to buildings. The other product is a “multi-channel” recognition system that uses groups of surveillance (监视) cameras. It can identify individuals in a crowd of up to 30 people within a second.
“When people are wearing a mask that covers the mouth and the nose, the recognition rate can reach about 95%, which can ensure that most people can be identified,” said Huang, vice president of the company. He added that the system’s success rate for people not wearing a mask is about 99.5%.
However, the new system struggles to identify people wearing both a mask and sunglasses. “In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is graunchy,” Huang said.
People react to the new technology differently. While some citizens have been against using such tools, the majority have accepted the technology as an effective way to reduce crime and catch criminals.
1. What did the company do to build the system?A.It gathered many face images. | B.It used the latest technology. |
C.It added a collection of masks. | D.It employed hundreds of people. |
A.Its success rate is affected by cameras. |
B.It recognizes groups of people in seconds. |
C.Its performance changes with the location. |
D.It does better in identifying unmasked faces. |
A.Tough. | B.Specific. | C.Normal. | D.Different. |
A.Uncaring. | B.Doubtful. | C.Objective. | D.Supportive. |
3 . On Mondays, two of my children get ready for school in an unusual way. Each packs plenty of food and water, a pair of rubber boots and sometimes a cup of hot chocolate. Then, I drop them off at a nearby park where they spend the entire day outside at a certified forest school.
When I first signed them up for forest school program, I loved the idea, but as a mum, I was concerned about a few things: Would they be comfortable outside for that long? Would they stay engaged for that many hours? Then I asked them if time ever seemed to move slowly, they stared at me in confusion. They didn’t understand my question, which fittingly removed it.
In this program, kids direct their own play, climbing tall trees or testing ice on the frozen lake. They are never told their play is too high or too sharp, but are rather trusted to self- adjust. Something else my sons appreciate about forest school is not being told to move on to the next activity, but being left to stay in a particular spot for as long as their curiosity allows. :
“What about all the things they’re missing in real school?” concerned parents have asked me. Neither of their classroom teachers thinks it’s a problem, but most significantly, my kids are learning new and different skills that a classroom cannot teach. They are learning to sit silently and observe nature up close-a skill that’s virtually impossible to develop in a noisy and overcrowded classroom setting. They are making social connections across a broader range of age groups. They cooperate together, using their different sizes and strengths to fulfill various roles within their games.
I appreciate it that forest school is shaping my boys’ relationship with the outdoors. They’re learning how to spend extended periods of time in nature, what to do to pass the time, and developing knowledge that will get them much closer to nature in the coming decades.
1. What is special about the forest school program?A.Teachers engage in kids’ play. | B.Kids play and learn outdoors. |
C.It focuses on nature protection. | D.It offers various food and drinks. |
A.Awkward. | B.Concerned. | C.Relieved. | D.Proud. |
A.The concerns caused by the program. |
B.The benefits gained from role plays. |
C.The skills acquired by children. |
D.The games loved by teachers. |
A.Nature: a wonderland for the young |
B.Forest school program proves a hit |
C.Parks are replacing traditional schools |
D.Forest school: a fine place for my kids |
4 . The latest in cat research reveals that the lovely animal seems to have a basic grasp on both the laws of physics and the ins and outs of cause and effect.
According to a newly published study, cats seem to be able to predict the location of hiding prey (猎物) using both their ears and an inborn (天生的) understanding of how the physical world works.
In a recent experiment, Japanese researchers taped 30 domestic cats reacting to a container that a team member shook. Some containers rattled (发出响声); others did not. When the container was tipped over, sometimes an object fell out and sometimes it didn’t.
It turns out that the cats were remarkably smart about what would happen when a container was tipped over. When an object did not drop out of the bottom of a rattling container, they looked at it for a longer time than they did when the container behaved as expected.
“Cats use a causal-logical understanding of noise or sounds to predict the appearance of invisible objects,” lead researcher Saho Takagi says in a press release. The researchers conclude that cats’ hunting style may have developed based on their common-sense abilities to infer where prey is, using their hearing.
Scientists have explored this idea with other lovely creatures: babies. Like cats, babies appear to engage in what’s called “preferential looking”—looking longer at things that are interesting or unusual than things they perceive as normal.
When babies’ expectations are not met in experiments like the ones performed with the cats, they react much like their animal friends. Psychologists have shown that babies apparently expect their world to obey the laws of physics and cause and effect as early as two months of age.
Does the study mean that cats will soon grasp the ins and outs of cause and effect? Maybe, Okay, so cats may not be the next physics faculty members at America’s most important research universities. But by demonstrating their common sense, they’ve shown that the divide between cats and humans may not be that great after all.
1. What do we learn from a newly published study about cats?A.They can be trained to understand the physical world. |
B.They know what kind of prey might be easier to hunt. |
C.They have a natural ability to locate animals they hunt. |
D.They are capable of telling which way their prey flees. |
A.Their inborn sensitivity (敏感) to noise. | B.Their unusual sense of direction. |
C.Their special ability to perceive. | D.Their understanding of cause and effect. |
A.They focus on what appears strange. | B.They view the world as normal. |
C.They do what they prefer to do | D.They are curious about everything. |
A.They rely on their instincts (本能) to hunt. |
B.They interact with the physical world much like humans. |
C.They display extraordinarily high intelligence in hunting. |
D.They can aid physics professors in their research work. |
5 . Four places to hear live music outdoors
For those fond of live music, head outdoors where local restaurants and bars are providing fresh air entertainment. Here are 4 places on Long Island that are popular with everyone:
PORTSIDE BAR & GRILL
On Monday nights at Portside Bar & Grill join the “Portside Pirates Patio (露台) Party” where many artists perform 30-40 minutes each from 7-10 p.m.
“Playing outdoors you get more energy from the audience,” singer Maria Rose says. “They are fully engaged in the music.”
SPOTLIGHT
There may not be music at the Paramount in Huntington but the venue’s art bar Spotlight next door is delivering live music along with burgers (汉堡包) and craft cocktails at a dozen outdoor tables daily from 4-8 p.m.
“We restructured things when we heard outdoor dining is going to be big,” says manager James Visalli. Singer / Guitarist Brian Ripps was the first to kick off Spotlight’s grand re-opening by mixing cover songs with his originals.
KJ FARRELL’S
Live music is what KJ Farrell’s in Bellmore is known for and their backyard patio, which holds 40- 50 seats, has become a hotspot showcasing artists from Tuesday-Saturday from 7-10 p.m. (reservations are made in advance).
Wonderous Stories has just returned to its regular Wednesday night spot where the audience listened to classic rock covers.
GARDEN GRILL
The patio at Garden Grill has been retooled holding 100 people. Music is offered Wednesday through Saturday from 5:30-9:30 p.m. and Sunday 1-8 p.m. in the fresh air.
Singer / songwriter JD Leonard recently performed his own country tune, “Just Drive” and got a standing ovation (热烈鼓掌). “Everybody seemed so happy to be out here. I know I was.” he says.
1. At which time will you most probably watch Maria Rose’s performance?A.Saturday 10 p.m. | B.Tuesday 6 p.m. |
C.Monday 8 p.m. | D.Wednesday 9:30 p.m. |
A.performed at weekends | B.country music |
C.classic rock music | D.held in the open air |
A.It hosts the “Portside Pirates Patio Party”. | B.It should be booked in advance. |
C.It can hold an audience of 100. | D.It serves craft cocktails. |
6 . Given how valuable intelligence and automation are, we will continue to improve our technology if we are at all able to. At a certain point, we will build machines that are smarter than we are. Once we have machines that are smarter than we are, they will begin to improve themselves. The concern is really that we will build machines that are much more competent than we are. And the slightest divergence (分歧) between their goals and our own could destroy us.
Just think about how we relate to ants. We don’t hate them. We don’t go out of our way to harm them. In fact, sometimes we take pains not to harm them. We step over them on the sidewalk. But whenever their presence seriously conflicts with one of our goals, we will kill them without hesitation. The concern is that we will one day build machines that, whether they’re conscious or not, could treat us with similar disregard.
The bare fact is that we will continue to improve our intelligent machines. We have problems that we desperately need to solve. So we will do this, if we can. The train is already out of the station, and there’s no brake to pull. If we build machines that are more intelligent than we are, they will very likely develop in ways that we can’t imagine, and transcend us in ways that we can’t imagine.
So imagine we hit upon a design of super intelligent AI that has no safety concerns. This machine would be the perfect labor-saving device. It can design the machine that can build the machine which can do any physical work, powered by sunlight, more or less for the cost of raw materials. So we’re talking bout the end of human labour. We’re also talking about the end of most intellectual work. So what would apes like ourselves do in these circumstances?
But the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, we have to admit that we are in the process of building some sort of god. Now would be a good time to make sure it’s a god we can live with.
1. Why does the author mention ants in Paragraph 2?A.To compare intelligent machines to ants. |
B.To show improved machines will get away from us. |
C.To stress the presence of machines does conflict with our goals. |
D.To explain future intelligent machines could treat us without mercy |
A.Disable. | B.Inspire. | C.Disappoint. | D.Outpace. |
A.By making comparisons. |
B.By giving assumptions. |
C.By showing valid evidence. |
D.By analyzing statistics |
A.Human beings will no doubt be destroyed by AI in the future |
B.Super intelligent AI will put an end to human labour eventually. |
C.We should keep the development of AI within humans’ control. |
D.Human beings should stop the development of super intelligent AL. |
7 . Daniel Brush, an astonishing worker in gold, jewels and steel died on November 2022, aged 75. Students from a jewellery school once came to Brush’s studio, a loft in mid-Manhattan, awed to be meeting a figure who, to them, was a worker of miracles.
For 45 years in that loft, he had pursued his calling. His wife Olivia was the only company. He produced hundreds of objects of all sorts, most of them exquisite and many astonishingly small. Rather than use electricity, he laboured alone in a forest of antique machines and when tools frustrated him he made his own, displaying them in cupboards as art in themselves.
Above all else, he worked in gold. His obsession took fire when at 13 he saw an Etruscan gold bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The ancient technique of applying gold beads as fine as sand-grains to a curved gold surface without solder (焊接), was stunning, but so was the lightness of spirit.
He resolved then that he would make such a bowl, and gold became the study of his life. Simply to watch it melt, turn to red-hot and white-hot, then glow purple, was magical. To hold pure gold grain and let it move slowly through his fingers restored his calm of spirit. His chief motivation, he said, was to understand the material and, through that, himself. He wondered why his heart had beaten so fast in the museum that day. Gold in particular had a message for him. His contact with this glorious metal might focus all his attention and help him to hear it.
He developed delicate craftsmanship, with each object virtually a museum piece. For Daniel Brush, he loved the idea that one might take a piece made by Brush out of a pocket, let its beauty pass from mind to mind, and smile. That too was what its maker was after.
1. What can we learn about Daniel Brush?A.Students visited him regularly. |
B.He began to live in his loft in 1975. |
C.He tended to use ancient crafts to produce objects. |
D.Most objects he produced were of a surprisingly small size. |
A.He wanted to learn more about both gold and himself. |
B.He wondered why his heart had beat fast in the museum. |
C.His calm was restored when gold grain moved through fingers. |
D.Gold had a particular message for him and he was eager to hear it. |
A.Stubborn. | B.Wealthy. | C.Dedicated. | D.Lonely. |
A.Brush’s valuable works. | B.The admirers Brush expected. |
C.Brush’s desire for fame. | D.The artistic ideal Brush pursued. |
8 . Explorers Camp
•Full day camp for kids aged 5-13.•Monday-Friday, July 8-26, 9am-4pm.
Week 1 | July 8-12
Week 2 | July 15-19
Week 3 | July 22-26
•Register for a single week or multiple weeks.
•Fees: $365 per week.
•The last day to cancel registration and receive a full refund (退款) is June 15.
Camp Structure
The day is divided into two thematic sessions per age group. Campers have a three-hour morning class engaging with a morning theme (9am to 12 noon) and a one-hour lunch break, followed by another three-hour class engaging with an afternoon theme (1pm to 4pm). Snack periods are held throughout the day. All campers should bring their own bagged lunch and snacks.
Camp ContentExplorers Camp organizes engaging arts, history and science-related activities in every class, and focuses on a range of topics that emphasize active learning, exploration and, most of all, fun! All camp sessions are created with age-appropriate activities that are tailored to the multiple ways that kids learn.
Camp StaffCampers enjoy a staff-to-child ratio ranging from 1:4 to 1:7 depending on the age group. Instructors are passionate educators who are experts in their fields and have undergone training and a background check.
1. On which of the following dates can you cancel your registration with a full refund?A.June 12. | B.June 22. | C.July 19. | D.July 26. |
A.By gender. | B.By nationality. | C.By interest. | D.By age. |
A.15. | B.21. | C.30. | D.42. |
9 . It won’t sound like a big surprise when I tell you that kindness plays an important role in a person’s wellbeing. It can lead to changes like higher self-esteem(自尊心) and lower blood pressure. Even just witnessing acts of kindness can make us happier.
Many of us don’t have a real sense of our value. It’s been estimated that as many as 85 percent of people struggle with low self-esteem.
Unlike a conscience(良心), this inner critic doesn’t motivate positive behavior.
One wonderful way to fight against our critical inner voice is through acts of being kind to others.
A.However, the work doesn’t stop there. |
B.People may lower the value of their own kind comments. |
C.We all carry around a “critical inner voice” that tends to put us down. |
D.Instead of seeing what we have to offer, we may think of ourselves as a burden. |
E.This misunderstanding suggests that people devalue their own actions in relation to others. |
F.Instead, it turns us against ourselves, making us underestimate our beneficial effect on others. |
G.Yet, people may not truly know the impact that even the smallest of kind acts can have on another person. |
10 . Humans evolved from apes. This is what we learned in biology class. But what came before apes? Chinese scientists have discovered fossils that could enrich the evolutionary story of how humans evolved from fish.
According to four articles published in the journal Nature in late September, Chinese researchers found fish fossils that provide the “missing link” about the origin of the jaw, a key feature that 99.8 percent of vertebrate (脊椎动物) species have.
Zhu Min, a lead researcher of the studies from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the findings drew a large amount of interest in the science world due to the importance of jaws in animal evolution.
However, the rise of the jaw had been a mystery due to a lack of sufficient fossil evidence to support that jawed vertebrates lived 450 million years ago.
The latest findings made by Zhu’s team presented a set of five surprisingly well-preserved fish fossils that included three whole-bodied fish, helping scientists paint a more accurate evolutionary picture of the origin of the jaw. The fish fossils were discovered at two sites in Chongqing and Guizhou, whose strata (岩层) date back to the Silurian Period that began around 440 million years ago.
These fossils show that jawed fish were already thriving (繁荣) in the world’s ancient oceans at that time. Later on, more diverse and larger jawed fish evolved and began to spread around the world, paving the way for some fish to eventually go on land and evolve into other animals — including humans.
“These fossils provide an unprecedented (前所未有的) opportunity to peek into the ‘dawn of fish’ and help scientists trace many human body structures back to these ancient fish thus filling some key gaps in the evolutionary history of how fish evolved into humans,” Zhu said.
1. In which column of a magazine will you most probably read the passage?A.Your Voice. | B.Animals. |
C.Science Study. | D.History. |
A.Because jaws are a key trait of all vertebrate species. |
B.Because jaws are significant in animal evolution. |
C.Because the rise of the jaw had been a mystery. |
D.Because there is a lack of sufficient evidence. |
A.Around 440 million years ago. |
B.Around 450 million years ago. |
C.When jawed fish began to spread around the world. |
D.When fish evolved into humans. |
A.Who Are Our Ancestors? | B.What Came Before Apes? |
C.The Origin of the Jaw | D.Key Gaps in Evolution |