1 . The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world. It was established by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor. Nobel was known for inventing dynamite. However, he was concerned about how his inventions could be used for destructive purposes in war. Thus, in his will, he stipulated that his fortune be used to establish prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. Since then, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to countless outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective fields. The Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry often recognizes revolutionary discoveries and advancements in science. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine honors breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of diseases. The Nobel Prize in Literature rewards outstanding literary works that have a profound impact on humanity. The Nobel Peace Prize is given to those who have worked tirelessly to promote peace and resolve conflicts.
Winning a Nobel Prize is not only a great honor but also brings attention to the important work being done in various fields. It inspires future generations of scientists, writers, and peacemakers to strive for excellence and make the world a better place.
1. Who established the Nobel Prize?| A．A Swedish physicist. | B．A Swedish chemist. |
| C．A Swedish engineer. | D．A Swedish inventor. |
| A．Gunpowder. | B．Dynamite. | C．Electricity. | D．The telephone. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．Discoveries in physics. | B．Breakthroughs in treating diseases. |
| C．Outstanding literary works. | D．Efforts to promote peace. |
1. What is the speaker doing?
| A．Teaching a class. |
| B．Reporting a study. |
| C．Chairing a meeting. |
| A．Reading. | B．Listening. | C．Writing. |
| A．It keeps information secret. |
| B．It leaves space for future use. |
| C．It makes key words noticeable. |
On a sunny Friday morning, Mr. Stone, the Grade 4 head teacher, walked into the classroom with a new student following him. She was a lively girl from Mexico, and her red mushroom hair cut immediately drew everyone’s eyes. With a welcoming smile, Mr. Stone gestured for her to sit beside Mike, a student known for teasing others.
During break time, Mike couldn’t help but laugh when he caught sight of his new deskmate. Sara’s distinctive hairstyle seemed like an open invitation for him to make fun of her. Leaning in towards Sara, he playfully suggested, “Hey, Sara. Ever thought about changing your name to Dora? You look just like Dora the Explorer!” His words caused laughter and cheers from the others in the classroom.
Sara’s eyes filled with tears, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. Feeling hurt and upset, she stood up suddenly, rushing to the teacher’s office to seek support from Mr. Stone. After hearing her story, Mr. Stone offered her gentle comfort, saying, “Sara, your hairstyle is truly pretty. Remember, everyone has their own sense of beauty.”
Mr. Stone then directed his attention to Mike, expressing his disappointment and urging Mike to apologize to Sara. “Mike,” he continued, “your actions were unkind. We must treat everyone with empathy(同情). Laughing at Sara’s hair has deeply hurt her.”
This conflict was temporarily settled, but Mr. Stone found himself lost in thought. Reflecting on his own childhood, Mr. Stone recalled how he had been teased for being overweight. The pain caused by hurtful words was like wrinkles on a crumpled(压皱的)ball of paper. Even if you smoothed them out, the wrinkles stayed.
He wanted to teach an important lesson to Mike, the troublemaker. Then, a unique strategy came to mind. He contacted Mike’s mother, explaining the situation and discussing a plan with her to develop empathy in her son. They agreed that over the weekend, Mike’s mother would arrange for Mike to have his hair cut extremely short.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
On Monday morning, Mike unwillingly approached the classroom.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that moment, Mr. Stone walked into the classroom with a ball of paper.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Laughter comes in many forms, from a polite chuckle to an infectious howl of amusement. Scientists are now developing an AI system that can copy various forms of laughter accurately. The team behind the laughing robot, Erica, say that the system could improve natural conversations between people and AI systems.
Dr. Koji Inoue, lead author of the research from Kyoto University, highlights empathy (共情) as a crucial aspect of conversational AI, suggesting laughter sharing as a means for robots to connect with users. To achieve this, Inoue and his team gathered data from over 80 speed-dating dialogues between male students and Erica, initially operated by amateur actors.
Dialogue data labeled for individual, social, and joyful laughter was used to train an AI system to identify and produce fitting laughter responses. Based on the audio files, the algorithm (算法) learned their subtle differences, aiming to imitate social laughs subtly and hearty laughs empathetically.
“Our biggest challenge in this work was identifying the actual cases of shared laughter,” explained Inoue, emphasizing the need for careful categorization. Erica’s “sense of humor” was tested with four dialogues, integrating the new shared-laughter algorithm. These were compared to cases where Erica didn’t laugh or emitted social laughs upon detecting laughter.
The clips were played to 130 volunteers who rated the shared-laughter algorithm highly for empathy and naturalness. The team believed laughter could imbue robots with unique character traits, including conversational behaviors like laughter, eye gaze, gestures, and speaking style. However, Inoue acknowledged it could take over 20 years to have a “casual chat with a robot like we would with a friend.”
Professor Sandra Wachter, of the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, said, “One of the things I’d keep in mind is that a robot or algorithm will never be able to understand you. It doesn’t understand the meaning of laughter. They fail to feel, but they might get very good at making you believe they understand what’s going on.”
1. Why do scientists develop the AI system that can copy various forms of laughter?| A．To make robots sound more human-like. |
| B．To help robots understand human emotions better. |
| C．To enable robots to have a sense of humor like humans. |
| D．To enhance the emotional interaction between people and AI systems. |
| A．Creating an algorithm that can genuinely feel amusement. |
| B．Identifying the situations where laughter is truly understood. |
| C．Distinguishing between different types of laughter accurately. |
| D．Collecting sufficient data for training the machine learning system. |
| A．Equip. | B．Inspire. | C．Engage. | D．Influence. |
| A．They are not capable of capturing human laughter. |
| B．They can imitate laughter but lack thorough comprehension. |
| C．It is possible for them to play tricks on humans occasionally. |
| D．It will take long before humans have comfortable conversations with them. |
5 . The day I met Hani Irmawati, she stood alone in the parking lot of the International school, a shy seventeen-year-old in worn clothing. Despite the school’s policy against Indonesian students, she approached me, begging to improve her English. When I inquired about her motivation, expecting a local job search, she quietly expressed her dream of attending an American university.
Moved by her determination, I volunteered to help her after school. Each day, Hani woke at dawn, studying on the bus to her public high school, then joining me in the afternoon, exhausted but eager to learn. Despite her struggles with college-level English, her perseverance amazed me.
Hani’s family lived modestly, her parents working as a custodian and a maid. Their income couldn’t support her American university aspirations, dampening my initial optimism.
In December 1998, a scholarship opportunity arose, but upon reviewing the requirements, I despaired. Hani lacked the extracurricular experience and standardized test scores typical of applicants. Despite my discouragement, she remained resolute, asking me to submit her application. Unable to refuse, I completed the application, highlighting her courage and perseverance. I warned her of slim acceptance odds, but she remained steadfast.
In the following weeks, Hani intensified her English studies, and I arranged for her to take the Test of English Fluency. The computerized test posed a significant challenge for her. Just before departing for the test, she received a letter from the scholarship association. I began reading the letter with her, only to discover she’d been accepted.
Overjoyed, I celebrated while Hani stood quietly, perhaps bewildered by my shock. In that moment, I realized what Hani had known all along: success requires not just intelligence, but also the drive to persevere and the courage to believe in oneself.
1. What motivated Hani to improve her English?| A．Pressure from family members. | B．Curiosity about foreign languages. |
| C．Job prospects in the local community. | D．Ambition of entering an American university. |
| A．Hani’s parents were unsupportive of her dream. |
| B．Hani was uninterested in extracurricular activities. |
| C．Hani’s application form was not submitted on time. |
| D．Hani was not academically qualified for the scholarship. |
| A．Surprised and proud. | B．Relieved but envious. |
| C．Touched and honored. | D．Shocked but concerned. |
| A．From Shyness to Success | B．A Scholar’s Journey |
| C．The Power of Perseverance | D．Hani’s Unrealistic Dream |
Whenever I spread marmalade (橘子酱), I am reminded of my mother, a five-foot-tall angel who even befriended a skunk (臭鼬).
One day, while she was busy picking beans in the backyard, she came across a skunk no more than a meter away. The skunk’s embarrassment was evident as he had undoubtedly been rummaging (乱翻) through the garbage. He still had a marmalade jar stuck on his nose. Mom took pity on him. Instead of worrying the creature would spray something smelly all over her and the beans, she smiled compassionately at the little thing and extended a helping hand. Kneeling on the ground, she inched across the grass, reached out, and twisted the jar—very carefully.
The jar slipped off. The skunk nodded a thank-you before slipping away into the woods at the back of the garden. Obviously, there was no spraying incident, thanks to my remarkable mother. She repeated this tale numerous times, always calling the skunk Marmalade. However, that was not the end of the story. Three summers later, when I was about twelve, another encounter occurred.
It was a rainy morning, and both my mother and father had gone to work. My friend Rob came over to play, and we decided to run the electric train in my room. Suddenly, a scratching sound emerged from the attic (阁楼). Rob assumed that it might be some kind of animal. Curiosity got the better of us, and we ventured towards the source of the sound.
I cautiously opened the attic door in the hall. The noise ceased abruptly. I climbed up the stairs, Rob following my lead. There behind the toy box near the chimney stood the animal—black with a distinct white stripe down his back. Was he scared and trembling? I believe so, at least that’s what I remember. Instinctively, I retreated, fearing the potential spray or bites from the creature. “Hey, Rob,” I whispered urgently, “It’s a skunk. Let’s go to the kitchen and figure out a way to get him out of here.”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
In the cupboard, several paper cups and a jar of marmalade caught our sight.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Rob and I followed the skunk as he ate his way down the stairs.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. What’s the conversation mainly about?
| A．Fighting fire. | B．Detecting fire. | C．Preventing fire. |
| A．Australia lost 4% of its trees. |
| B．The system is used in America. |
| C．The system will use heat cameras. |
| A．The size of a car. | B．The size of a plane. | C．The size of a football field. |
| A．Protecting humans. | B．Purifying the air. | C．Saving animals. |
| A．Avoiding working at night. | B．Getting all the parts from Japan. | C．Buying a new washing machine. |
具体内容如下：1.介绍现状；2.纸媒的重要性；3.提出呼吁。
注意：1.词数80左右；2.可适当增加细节，使内容充实，行文连贯。
Embracing the Magic of Print Media
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In an age of rapidly growing urbanization, rooftop farming has emerged as a sustainable response
Rooftop farming, also
As urban populations continue to grow, rooftop farming fosters community engagement
