1 . Do you know that it only takes an algorithm (算法) to turn you into a Pablo Picasso? All you need to do is follow three simple steps: choose, provide and create. To be more specific, choose an AI Art Generator, provide the generator with your preferred requirement and hit the “create” button. Even ordinary people without any painting skills can do it well.
Chinese netizens have been amazed and amused by the results created by AI art generators. Some platforms providing AI painting services gained more than 600,000 users in a single day in November, with people aged 25 and under accounting for more than 60% of new users.
Jia Yunfan, a 26-year-old digital artist, has been embracing the novel AI movement. He said, “I was trained as an oil painter ever since I was young. But canvas (油画布) and the realistic style are just too classic and I used to be only defined as a painter. Newly emerged art forms like AI paintings can help artists reach global audiences and broaden their artistic field.” An illustrator Huang Ge from Shanghai said illustrators need time to create and they are expensive to hire, but with AI tools, hundreds of pictures can be generated every day.
However, the trend has again caused some panic about whether AI is gradually replacing human beings. “Art’s values lie not only in representation but also the artist’s mind and emotional contributions. Yet this is lacking in AI art. The warmth and inspiration in human’s creations are irreplaceable,” Ding Daoshi, an analyst said.
A more urgent issue is that there is no consensus of the ownership of AI art. Some users have openly sold some AI paintings and have earned money, but it is still a gray area about whether these artworks belong to users, the digital tool developers or even the AI itself.
Ding noted that the various sides should get together to debate the issue and come up with some accepted regulations as soon as possible because AI is already sticking deeply into every aspect of the lives of human beings.
(以下是A种题型)
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
| A．The development of AI paintings. |
| B．The classification of AI artworks. |
| C．The popularity of digital paintings. |
| D．The procedure in creating AI artworks. |
| A．It promotes his art career. | B．It reduces his cost in creation. |
| C．It maintains his painting style. | D．It improves his work efficiency. |
| A．Complaint. | B．Result. | C．Agreement. | D．Discussion. |
| A．Who owns the copyright of AI art. |
| B．What to do to ensure the quality of AI artworks. |
| C．How to tell human’s creations from AI paintings. |
| D．Whether AI paintings can replace traditional paintings. |
(以下是B种题型)
5. How do people create AI artworks?
6. Who are the major new users of the AI painting services?
7. What can’t be replaced by AI art according to Ding Daoshi?
8. What does paragraph 5 mainly talk about?
Wildfires are a natural occurrence in forest ecosystem. To some extent, small wildfires can help the forest ecosystem work better by burning unwanted natural fuel, like fallen leaves and branches. Because if natural fuel piles up in forests, it will spark hot, intense and fast-moving fires, which brings more risks of the outbreak of disastrous natural fires.
As researchers study the perfect balance between allowing natural fires to burn and preventing them from threatening human life, some believe sheep offer a better way to retard the fast spread of a wildfire. Cuyama Lamb, an agriculture company, pulls its weight, currently running about 700 sheep that graze(放牧) on the grass. Working with the company, the fire department directs the sheep to the area in most need of natural fuel clearance. Their job is one thing: eat. The space the sheep clear can create a “burn break” that stops a wildfire in its track. The sheep are more efficient and cost-effective than using machines to do the same task, and they can get to places that technology can’t.
Schneider, the founder of the company, hopes the sheep allow Californians to “have a healthy relationship with fires” in the future. “We aren’t going to save the world by grazing a few sheep up on the hillsides, but we can work with others and do something for the world. Doing this, I believe we will have a sustainable future,” she said.
(以下是A种题型)
1. How can wildfires benefit the forest ecosystem?
| A．They provide more natural fuel. |
| B．They contribute to the diversity of plants. |
| C．They keep a balance between human and nature. |
| D．They avoid disastrous fires caused by natural fuel. |
| A．Stimulate. | B．Prevent. | C．Predict. | D．Distinguish. |
| A．To create a firebreak. | B．To replace the fire fighters. |
| C．To improve the local farming. | D．To bring down tree-planting cost. |
| A．How to Protect the Ecosystem | B．How to Fight Against Wildfires |
| C．A Biological Way in Firefighting | D．A Successful Company in Agriculture |
(以下是B种题型)
5. What can cause disastrous natural fires according to paragraph 1?
6. Where are sheep the most useful according to the text?
7. What advantages do sheep have in firefighting?
8. What does “this” refer to in the last paragraph?
3 . Kate Wilson, a 16-year-old girl from England, holds up a book and smiles. “This is Day One of my reading The Little Prince,” she says. Then the video jumps forward. “And now”, she sighs deeply, her face covered with tears, “I end up crying so much that I have to change my shirt”.
This is BookTok, a collection of TikTok book-related videos on the short video platform. It has been an official reading community since April 2020. Bookworms gather on the platform to share their reading experiences by editing a video carefully at the length of less than 3 minutes. They “play”, “read” and “recommend” their favorite books, or recommend treasure writers who have never been discovered. It may sound like a simplified way to talk about books, but the most appealing point is that they can visually record videos to share the feelings of reading moment, and arouse a strong emotion, which written reviews cannot express instantly. So BookTok offers book lovers special reading experiences.
It has also driven a wave of old book sales in the market. A list of bestsellers from 20 years ago has been dug out, which most readers have never heard of. In fact, many of the books like It Ends With Us should not have been forgotten. On Amazon, BookTok is so influential that it has been added into the titles of books themselves. For instance, the novel It Ends With Us: BookTok made me buy it! is now riding high in the top 100. Under its influence, old titles were returning to the bestseller charts. Therefore, BookTok is devoted to bringing these classic books back.
Eventually, a great book finds its faithful readers. Thanks to BookTok, not only can more original works be appreciated, but the authors can attach more importance to literary creation. It is BookTok that offers such books “a second lease of life”.
(以下是A种题型)
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?
| A．The importance of reading. | B．The influence of great books. |
| C．An example of using BookTok. | D．A story of a teenager booklover. |
| A．Users can apply editing skills. |
| B．Bookworms can gather regularly. |
| C．It can give instant book reviews visually. |
| D．Users can share reading experiences freely. |
| A．BookTok is added into their titles. |
| B．Book publishers find a new market. |
| C．They' re recommended by the treasure writers. |
| D．BookTok brings them back to people’s attention. |
| A．Classics Back to Life | B．Young People 's Favorites |
| C．A New Market for BookTok | D．A Platform for Visual Reading |
(以下是B种题型)
5. Where does Kate share her feeling of reading The Little Prince?
6. How do the bookworms share their reading experiences on BookTok?
7. What benefit does BookTok bring to the novel It Ends With Us?
8. Why do we say BookTok offers books “a second lease of life”?
