1 . If a pancake could dream, it might long for legs so it could jump off your breakfast plate in pursuit of a better, unchewed life. But legs aren’t necessary for something as flat as a pancake to jump around. A group of scientists have designed a pancake-shaped robot that can jump several times per second and higher than seven times its body height. The new robot named Hop, which swiftly jumps without feet, is an important contribution to the soft robotics.
Many ground robots move by rolling or walking. But it’s more efficient for robots to jump over obstacles (障碍物) than to go around them. Although jumping can offer some robots a competitive edge, engineering that ability has been a challenge for robotics researchers. Some soft robots that store energy can perform a single impressive jump very infrequently. Some lightweight soft robots that don’t store energy can jump frequently but can’t jump high or far enough to successfully cross an obstacle.
For inspiration, the researchers looked to gall midge larvae (瘿蚊幼虫) that miraculously throw themselves across distances 30 times as long as their loglike bodies. A gall midge larva bends its body and squeezes the liquid in its body to one end, making it rigid (僵硬的). The accumulation of liquid builds up pressure, and releasing the pressure sends it soaring (飙升). The robot’s body doesn’t resemble (像) that of a gall midge larva, but it jumps like one. Its body is made of two small plastic bags printed with electrodes; the front bag is filled with liquid and the back one is filled with the same volume of air. The robot uses electricity to drive the flow of liquid, which causes the body to bend and generate force with the ground, resulting in a jump. And the air bag imitates the function of an animal’s tail, helping the robot keep a stable position.
While the robot is currently restricted to Earth, it might be right at home exploring another planet. If this is true, the researchers robot might jump over dusty rocks and large holes on the moon or Mars, going where no pancake has gone before.
1. What does the author want to show by mentioning a pancake?| A．A pancake’s dream to have legs is unrealistic. |
| B．A robot is capable of serving a good pancake. |
| C．A pancake-shaped robot can jump without legs. |
| D．Research on pancakes advances our understanding of robots. |
| A．Hop’s avoiding an obstacle. | B．Hop’s moving around by rolling. |
| C．Hop’s performing one remarkable jump. | D．Hop’s jumping high and far continuously. |
| A．They are shaped like logs. |
| B．They have tails to change positions. |
| C．They bend their bodies and increase force. |
| D．They are filled with liquid and have rigid bodies. |
| A．Intolerant. | B．Positive. | C．Indifferent. | D．Ambiguous. |
2 . Running marathons is quite a challenge. Yet for Simon Wheatcroft, who
Simon’s unique
At first running was a challenge that required great
Despite risks of
But for Simon the real motivation for his training come from simply
| A．caught | B．kept | C．set | D．lost |
| A．competing | B．learning | C．running | D．working |
| A．volunteer | B．guide | C．competitor | D．top |
| A．difficulty | B．advantage | C．approach | D．concern |
| A．provided | B．recorded | C．analyzed | D．received |
| A．features | B．highlights | C．obstacles | D．landmarks |
| A．adventures | B．mistakes | C．trips | D．points |
| A．come across | B．figure out | C．walk into | D．map out |
| A．concentration | B．ability | C．memory | D．determination |
| A．recognized | B．adapted | C．described | D．developed |
| A．dangerous | B．physical | C．unexpected | D．mental |
| A．independence | B．motivation | C．happiness | D．strength |
| A．shown | B．developed | C．won | D．shaken |
| A．fierce | B．friendly | C．casual | D．equal |
| A．advantage | B．inspiration | C．opportunity | D．objective |
3 . Primary and secondary school learners, university students, and guests were invited on Wednesday and were treated to a colorful celebration at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, to mark the beginning of the year of the dragon which officially starts on Saturday. The place featured beautiful decorations with red and gold colors and lucky symbols.
Visitors got an opportunity to participate in cultural experiences including painting, papercutting and pot throwing as well as experiencing Chinese cuisines like spicy hotpot, steamed stuffed buns (包子) , Chinese hamburgers, dumplings and barbecue among others. They were also treated to heartwarming performances including face-changing, lion dance, dragon dance, drumming, Chinese opera, Chinese songs and a talent show featuring Chinese traditional clothes as well as a mixture of Chinese and Kenyan fashion.
Leah Muthoni, a student at the University of Nairobi lauded the Chinese cuisines served at the event, especially noodles and dumplings. She also appreciated the decorations, drawings, pictures and performances. Similar feelings were also shared by George Mwita, another student from the University of Nairobi who greatly enjoyed the pot throwing game.
In his welcoming speech, Professor Stephen Kiama, the vice headmaster of the University of Nairobi who doubles up as the Kenya director of the Confucius Institute, hoped this year will be a good year of development because the Chinese dragon horns represent power and strength, while the drums represent courage and energy.
Kiama said the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi has achieved a lot since its establishment in 2005, including winning the Confucius Institute of the Year Award seven times and pioneering the establishment of the Bachelor of Arts in the Chinese language in Kenya. “Last year, with the joint efforts of the various parties and stakeholders we established the first bachelor of education in Chinese in Kenya and we admitted the first group of students,” he said. Kiama hopes that this year the Confucius Institute will gain more force with the blessing of power, courage and vitality from the year of the Chinese dragon. He said the Confucius Institute offers a good platform for cultural exchange between China and Kenya through events like the Chinese Lunar Year celebrations. Kiama hoped that the relationship between China and Kenya would further be strengthened by the blessings of the year of the dragon.
In Chinese methodology (方法论) , the dragon has the power to control seasons, time and harvests, and it’s seen as a symbol of wealth. The Chinese consider dragons to be powerful. sympathetic, wise, kind and warm.
1. What is spoken of as one of the cultural experiences the visitors participated in?| A．Tasting Chinese cuisines. | B．Writing with brushes. |
| C．Reciting Chinese poems. | D．Guessing lantern riddles. |
| A．Mixed. | B．Praised. | C．Delivered. | D．Sold. |
| A．It has the biggest number of students in Africa. |
| B．George Mwita is one of the Chinese teachers there. |
| C．It has won the Confucius Institute of the Year Award seven times. |
| D．They set up the first bachelor of education in Chinese in Kenya in 2005. |
| A．Kiama considers dragons to be powerful and sympathetic |
| B．Confucius Institute offers good platform for cultural exchange |
| C．Kiama wishes year of dragon good for development of Confucius Institute |
| D．Confucius Institute at University of Nairobi marks year of dragon celebrations |
4 . When my school offered the opportunity to take part in a School Challenge, I didn’t hesitate to sign up for the initial meeting.
Of course, it was not a case of simply signing up and paying the money.
We had been warned that our trip would not be a holiday and that things would not always go to plan. We certainly experienced the difficulties during the trip.
My School Challenge trip influenced my life in so many ways. It gave me a taste for independence and adventure, and certainly made me want to travel more.
| A．This had to be raised by us to fund the trip. |
| B．Despite the obstacles, it was a truly amazing trip. |
| C．Above all though, it has made me realise how easy my life is. |
| D．It was much more challenging than I thought it would be at times. |
| E．This was where we met other team members and chose our destination. |
| F．However, we wouldn’t be spending any time there until the end of the trip. |
| G．For example, a few people became ill because we were so high up in the mountains. |
In Mr. Russo’s classroom, excitement filled the air as he announced, “We’re down to our final two spellers!” Jasmine couldn’t hide her joy, confident she was going to win. Finn, her competitor, reached out for a handshake, wishing her good luck. But Jasmine replied with a smile, “Luck has nothing to do with it,” leaving Finn embarrassed.
Then, it was Finn’s turn to spell his word. “Apology,” Finn took a deep breath and spelled, but he got it wrong. Jasmine watched closely, waiting for her turn. When she spelled “apology”, she stressed the letters Finn missed. After spelling the final word “Arrogant” (傲慢), Jasmine was announced the winner.
At lunch, Jasmine couldn’t stop herself from showing off as she walked by Finn and his friends. “How hard can it be to spell a few words?” she bragged (吹牛). Before they could answer, she walked away with pride.
The big day of the spelling bee showed Jasmine a different picture. Surrounded by older students, she started to doubt herself for the first time. She hadn’t thought about the tougher words she might face. A comment from Josh, a fourth grader, that “apology” was an “easy” word, made her worry. “Maybe I should have studied the list of words Mr. Russo gave the class,” Jasmine thought to herself.
As Principal Lopez introduced each of the spellers, cheers from each student’s classmates came from different areas of the hall. When Jasmine’s name was announced, most of Mr. Russo’s class clapped for her except Finn, who seemed to be looking at her angrily.
As the bee went on, Jasmine felt increasingly nervous with each word spelled right by others. Finally, it was her turn. Jasmine walked slowly to the front of the stage, her earlier confidence now mixed with caution. The audience watched, waiting. “Please spell ‘caterpillar’,” Principal Lopez asked.
Jasmine’s heart sank as she didn’t know the word.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the competition, Jasmine opened the classroom door.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________| A．at | B．in | C．on | D．with |
— It tells us to avoid judgments at first sight, because it is often ________ to find out later that first impressions are somehow inaccurate.
| A．beneficial | B．pleasant | C．profound | D．bothering |
8 . By the late 1960s, painter Harold Cohen had represented Britain at important festivals with his oil paintings and was seeking a new challenge. “Maybe there are more interesting things going on outside my studio than inside it,” he thought. Cohen turned from the canvas (画布) to the screen, using computers to find new ways of creating art. In the late 1960s, he created a program named Aaron. It was the first artificial intelligence software in the world of fine art, and Cohen first presented it in 1974 at the University of California, Berkeley.
Now, with AI filling the headlines, a new exhibition called “Harold Cohen: Aaron” at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art draws attention to Cohen’s pioneering work. The Whitney is offering something deeper than most previous Aaron exhibits: a real-time experience, in which visitors can watch the software produce art.
Cohen provided Aaron with all sorts of knowledge: about basic objects, physics, and fundamental techniques of drawing. Aaron uses the given knowledge to follow instructions, complete tasks, and make decisions like human beings- a very different approach from today’s generative AI art programs.
The Whitney is displaying two versions of Cohen’s software, along with the art that each of them produced before Cohen died. The 2001 version, Aaron KCAT, generates images of figures and plants and projects them onto a wall more than ten feet high, while the 2007 version produces jungle-like scenes. The software will also create art physically, on paper, for the first time since the 1990s. “It is absolutely thrilling,” said Christiane Paul, the museum’s director of digital art, “to have one of those remarkable treasures of digital art in the collection.”
1. What was Aaron born out of?| A．Harold’s curiosity. |
| B．Cohen’s imagination. |
| C．The museum’s donation. |
| D．The university’s support. |
| A．See the original version of Aaron. |
| B．Learn about the physical rules in art. |
| C．Observe Aaron creating art on the spot. |
| D．Generate images with the help of Aaron. |
| A．Its ability to assign tasks. |
| B．Its use of modern techniques. |
| C．Its capability to make choices. |
| D．Its dependence on existing database. |
| A．The masterpieces of digital art. |
| B．The latest technologies in the Whitney. |
| C．Harold Cohen’s impact on generative AI. |
| D．The first demonstration of AI in art world. |
— It is important to remember that success ________ a sum of small efforts made each day and often ________ years to achieve.
| A．is; takes | B．are; takes | C．are; take | D．is; take |
| A．bound to | B．hard to | C．easy to | D．eager to |
