1 . In 1835, William Talbot finally succeeded in producing a photograph of his country house. He declared that his was the first house ever known to have drawn its own picture. The drawing was formed “by the action of light upon sensitive paper. ” Photography offered nature a “pencil” to paint herself through optical (光学的) and chemical means alone.

By the mid-nineteenth century, people no longer needed to hire a draftsman to draw detailed images because the process could be completed instantly with a camera. Advocates for the technology stated that not only was it more precise than the human hand-it was faster and cheaper.

The removal of human fallibility in the creating process was one of photography’s biggest selling points, but this also started debates about the new medium’s implications for visual culture. Could images made largely by a machine be considered art? If so, where did human creativity fit in this process?

As the twenty-first century becomes increasingly automated (自动化的), more and more people attempt to identify where human agency exists in the technologically driven world. Images generated with artificial intelligence by companies like OpenAI are stimulating questions like those that emerged with the coming of the photograph. By typing a sentence, users can generate “new” images composed from images collected across the internet. The result has been a flood of AI-generated images in places that are previously unique to human authors. Painting competitions, commercial graphic design and the fashion of portraiture (肖像) have all since collided with the technology in troubling ways.

The fine arts were thought to be a final hold-out of human creativity, but the surprisingly high quality of AI-generated images is producing deeper questions about the nature of originality. If the history of photography tells us anything, it’s that the debate won’t be settled quickly, straightforwardly or by the institutions we typically associate with cultural gatekeeping.

1. Why did Talbot declare that his house had drawn its own picture?

A．To downplay human factors in the creation.	B．To investigate a supernatural phenomenon.
C．To show his advanced knowledge in science.	D．To demonstrate the beauty of his country house.

2. What does the word “it” underlined in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The photo of Talbot’s house.	B．The image by a draftsman.
C．The technology of a camera.	D．The paper sensitive to light.

3. What do OpenAI and cameras have in common?

A．They improve the taste of beauty.	B．They advocate fashion designs.
C．They challenge human agency.	D．They produce original images.

4. What did the author indicate by referring to the history of photography?

A．Cultural gatekeepers will solve the issue as they did.

B．AI-generated images will go through a similar debate.

C．The nature of originality will be held in human hands.

D．The fine arts will include photography and AI images.

2 . In order to meet growing food production and energy needs in low-and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation (灌溉) is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps (泵) have been set up in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.

Dustin Garrick, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, along with an international team, examined the trend toward solar pumps as a clear opportunity for boosting agricultural yields and reducing poverty, but the opportunity comes with risks.

While replacing electric or gas pumps with solar-powered irrigation holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions (排放), it is not guaranteed. Farmers who have access to these pumps may expand production of crops or diversify into other activities, which are not emissions neutral. Solar pumps will increase groundwater pumping efficiency, which may be desirable in regions that support such increases, but this could worsen groundwater lessening in regions that are already stressed. The cheap clean energy of solar pumps may lead to increased groundwater development, without necessarily decreasing overall emissions.

Despite these challenges, the clean-energy boost can serve as a stimulus for positive change in water and energy management but will require enhanced regulation and planning in both low-and high-income settings. Garrick and his team advocate for improved data collection initiatives, with a shift from separated to integrated approaches. They suggest using technology to measure water pumping and collecting remotely sensed data to monitor land use changes. As well, regulatory improvements are crucial, with mounting limits for carbon emissions and groundwater lessening established at various levels.

With groundwater management already a difficult challenge, we must act fast to understand the implications of the clean energy boost and poverty reduction acts to avoid these gains being won away by wells running dry. The rapid adoption of solar irrigation intensifies the urgency, demanding adaptation from governments and institutions to sail through these complexities.

1. According to paragraph 3, there is a conflict between ________.

A．poor farmers and solar-powered irrigation	B．human consumption and clean energy limits
C．crop diversity and crop production expansion	D．pumping efficiency and groundwater exhaustion

2. What did Garrick and his team suggest for a positive change?

A．Integrating data collection and regulation.	B．Improving carbon emission monitoring.
C．Separating data for land use changes.	D．Establishing groundwater levels.

3. What does the author propose the readers do?

A．Perform as the authorities suggest.	B．Act based on further understanding.
C．Quicken the adoption of solar irrigation.	D．Challenge the groundwater management.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Complexities of Adopting Solar Pumps

B．Solar-Powered Irrigation: Farmers’ New Future

C．The Promise and Risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation

D．Balancing Clean Energy Boost and Poverty Reduction

3 . The past few months have brought electrifying news that, for the first time, a gene treatment has provided some hearing to children born with deafness.

Eli Lilly announced this week, for example, that a profoundly deaf boy from Morocco given its treatment as part of a clinical trial in Philadelphia can now hear. And five children in China treated similarly at younger ages gained hearing with some able to verbally communicate without their cochlear implants (人工耳蜗). Their hearing recovery, first covered by the press in October 2023, is described in detail this week in The Lancet.

“It’s an enormous achievement,” says geneticist Karen Avraham of Tel Aviv University. Otolaryngologist (耳鼻喉科专家) and gene therapist Lawrence Lustig of Columbia University, whose lab was among the first to test the same approach in mice, agrees. “Other than cochlear implants, we haven’t really had any successful treatments to treat deafness,” he notes.

The various efforts from companies and academic centers each use a virus to insert the same gene, OTOF, into the children’s inner ear so the so-called hair cells there can sense sound and transmit it to the brain.

The new deafness treatments add to a string of recent successes for the gene treatment field, but also raise questions. The ear’s hair cells don’t divide, so the new copies of OTOF they contain should persist and continue to instruct the cells to make OTOF. Gene expression could drop off over time or the ear could mount an immune response that shuts it off.

But Lustig is optimistic that the various challenges will be overcome. “Now that we’ve got one success story, there’s going to be more money coming in to fund some of these other projects,” he says.

1. What do we know about the new treatment?

A．It is a totally mature practice.	B．It’s a China-only clinical trial.
C．It uses a virus to sense sound.	D．It aims to treat the deafness.

2. Which of the following best describes the impact of the treatment?

A．Breakthrough.

B．Regret.

C．Disappointment.

D．Adventure.

3. What is the problem of the gene treatment?

A．The brain refuses to receive it.

B．Gene stops to produce hair cells.

C．Gene expression might be weakened.

D．Companies really profit a lot from it.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Electrifying News Based on Some Clinical Trials

B．Gene Treatment That Brings Deaf Children Hope

C．Ways How Scientists Develop Cochlear Implants

D．Challenges About the New Deafness Treatment

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

It is a beautiful drone (无人机) shot,     1     popular kind of video you might see in a travel video. However, there is no drone     2     camera, and you needn’t travel in person because the video was generated by AI, which is from a new tool programmed by Open AI called Sora.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a large step up from what we’ve seen before. What most people don’t know is     3     Sora can do more than just create videos from scratch. It can combine separate videos into one scene. And its videos can be up     4     a minute long and in 1080p resolution.

    5     (compare) with Runway ML, the difference with Sora is that it’s coherent. Previous system have a     6     (character) morphing (图像渐变) quality as the video     7     (progress). With Sora, that’s vastly reduced or gone altogether. The     8     (object) remain stable even when covered by things in the foreground. We’ve seen something similar to this in research since 2019, but what is new is the ability     9     (combine) two videos together in one scene. It can also make up different camera angles of a single scene with just one prompt.

Sora, like digital audio workstation     10     (envelop) recording studios several years ago, must be a trend soon.

5 . When my son Reace celebrated his sixth birthday two years ago, he made a wish that I would get a transplant. Less than a week later, his wish came true when I received new _________.

Born with a breathing disease, I was able to manage my _________ without a hospital visit until I was 23. At 30, _________, it steadily worsened and I was _________ for a transplant. I started having check-ups once a year, then every six months, then every three months until I was _________ living at the hospital and reliant on oxygen to survive. Everyday _________ like having a shower or brushing my hair became _________.

After four months on the list, I _________ the call to say a pair of lungs was available. The transplant was successful and the _________ was noticeable. Before my transplant I had been so __________, I couldn’t even walk from the couch to the front door without __________ my breath—and it was only six paces. __________, I was so used to being breathless that I didn’t know any difference. I had __________ what it would be like to be a __________ person and now I know. I can do everything an ordinary mum would do: housework, workout, or taking Reace to basketball.

I am extremely grateful to my __________ and his family.

1.

A．medicines

B．gifts

C．lungs

D．hearts

2.

A．condition

B．weight

C．stress

D．emotion

3.

A．therefore

B．however

C．otherwise

D．besides

4.

A．scheduled

B．hospitalized

C．listed

D．selected

5.

A．barely

B．previously

C．temporarily

D．basically

6.

A．tasks

B．challenges

C．decisions

D．concerns

7.

A．necessary

B．fundamental

C．impossible

D．contradictory

8.

A．missed

B．received

C．returned

D．rejected

9.

A．symptom

B．damage

C．trouble

D．difference

10.

A．sick

B．nervous

C．sensitive

D．innocent

11.

A．catching

B．holding

C．losing

D．recovering

12.

A．Fortunately

B．Actually

C．Possibly

D．Eventually

13.

A．understood

B．experienced

C．recalled

D．wondered

14.

A．normal

B．distinguished

C．disabled

D．responsible

15.

A．doctor

B．nurse

C．child

D．donor

6 . Plogging is a great way to make your little area of the world a little cleaner, brighter, and safer while boosting your own health, fitness, and mood. This up and coming environmental activity began in Sweden in 2016.     1    . It is quite a common scene across other European countries, as well as the United States, Mexico, and other areas.

Definition of plogging

    2    . It is a term made by combining “jogging” with “plocka upp,” which is Swedish for “pick up.” Therefore, the plogging definition is an emerging fitness that involves picking up litter or trash while you run.

Benefits of plogging

Because plogging typically involves jogging or running, there are many health benefits to this eco-friendly fitness trend. However, the benefits extend beyond just improving heart health.     3    . First, it improves mood and makes you feel good about yourself. What’s more, it gives back to your community and connects you online and builds social connections with other ploggers.

How to get started

Before you start, you’ll need to outfit yourself with the right gear to get the job done. If you’re already running or jogging, you should have a good pair of running shoes and running apparel (装备).     4    . Otherwise, broken glass and sharp and dirty litter items you may pick up will hurt you. A trash bag of some sort for collecting what you pick up is a must as well.

    5    

Theoretically, you can go plogging almost anywhere you have permission to be. Depending on where you live, you may encounter trash along the side of the roads, parks, school playgrounds, trails, parking lots, town squares and bike paths.

A．How to do plogging

B．Where to go plogging

C．It has since spread around the world

D．Here are some of the top benefits of plogging

E．It’s important that you have the right footwear

F．Beyond that, you’ll need a good pair of gloves to protect your hands

G．Plogging is not, in fact, a compound word of “plodding” and “jogging”

7 . July was the world’s hottest month on record. Wildfires this summer destroyed a Hawaiian city and caused evacuations (疏散) in Canada, Greece, and Thailand. Floods devastated towns in Vermont in July and killed thousands of Libyans in September.

John Vaillant’s new book Fire Weather aims to shake us out of this with a tale of terror from a climate change frontline: the city of Fort McMurray, in northern Canada’s vast forest, where an uncontrollable wildfire during an exceptionally warm spring in 2016 flooded entire communities within days.

Vaillant tells his story at disaster-movie pace, starting with the glimpse of smoke on the horizon and assurances from the authorities that all will be fine. Mounting misfortune follows as the flames lick golf courses on the city’s edge. By the end, 90,00 people had been evacuated, 2,500 structures destroyed, another 500 damaged. The energy generated by the fire created its own weather system, with hurricane force winds and lightning strikes.

What attracts me most is the book’s central irony. The story takes place in Fort McMurrary, which is the industrial centre of northern Alberta’s tar sands, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel deposits. It is a city whose existence depends on the hydrocarbons whose burning caused climate change; but whose existence almost ended in a climate-caused burning.

Fire Weather isn’t a typical disaster book. Vaillant’s references to Nassim Taleb, Lucretius, Seamus Heaney, The Lord of the Rings, Xerxes, and Moby-Dick can grant. But Vaillant’s theme is also catching my eyes. Our industrial world is releasing carbon at a rate 10 times faster than scientists can find in the geological record for the past 250mn years, he writes. “Thanks to fire and our appetite for boundless energy, we have evolved into a geologic event that will be measurable a million years from now.”

1. What’s the purpose of mentioning the examples in paragraph 1?

A．To show the varieties of nature disasters.

B．To engage the readers in the same topic.

C．To indicate the difficulties of these areas.

D．To provide the background of the book.

2. What’s special about the book according to this passage?

A．Plot and viewpoint.	B．Character and conflict.
C．Setting and theme.	D．Tone and style.

3. What does the underlined word “grant” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Be presented.

B．Be refused.

C．Be preserved.

D．Be recorded.

4. Where as the text most probably taken from?

A．An essay on the climate change.

B．A guidebook to Fort McMurrary.

C．A review of world disasters.

D．An introduction to a book.

8 . Finland’s system for returning drink containers started in the 1950s, and today almost every bottle and can is recycled. Convenience is the cornerstone of the system’s success.

Nowadays there are almost 5,000 container-return machines across Finland. Most of them are located in the same shops that sell drinks, making returning them a convenient part of people’s routine. Hotels, restaurants, offices, schools and event organizers return containers through their drink providers.

The return machines are easy to use. You place a bottle or can on a set of mini conveyor belts at the front of the machine. They carry it past a scanner and out of sight. The machine sorts the bottles and crushes the cans. When you’re done, you press a button and the machine gives you a receipt. Plastic bottles are worth 20 to 40 cents, depending on their size, while glass bottles are worth 10 to 40 cents and aluminium (铝) cans are 15 cents. The returned containers are recycled or the materials are reused. Across Finland, on average, every Finn returns 373 items in a year: 251 aluminium cans, 98 plastic bottles and 24 glass bottles.

The government has entrusted this function to the private agency. “Palpa is completely nonprofit and receives no government funding,” says Tommi Vihavainen, Palpa’s director of producer services, ICT and communication.

Russia, the UK and other countries have shown interest in the Finnish system. “Most visitors want to see how the return system works in Finland,” says Vihavainen. “We don’t act as consultants, but we’re proud to present our system.”

1. What do we know about Finland’s system for returning drink containers?

A．It still has a long way to develop.	B．It gains popularity for its convenience.
C．It used to be fashionable but now out-dated.	D．It’s supported financially by the government.

2. Why does the writer use the figures in paragraph 3?

A．To show Finns consume various drinks.	B．To help make the story more interesting.
C．To make the impact of the system convincing.	D．To guarantee the proper logic of the passage.

3. What’s Vihavainen’s attitude towards the return system?

A．Indifferent.

B．Positive.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Dismissive.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Finland’s recycling programme keeps bottles off streets.

B．The return machines in the world are popular and easy.

C．Palpa—a complete nonprofit to recycle the bottles.

D．Finland—a country free of waste such as bottles.

9 . Experience the ultimate wellness retreat for your mind, body, and soul amidst the breathtaking landscapes of Iceland. Across the country are world-class spa s that tap into Iceland’s abundant, sustainable and mineral-rich waters from geothermal (地热的) sources. Iceland is a true destination, attracting tired travelers from across the globe.

Secret Lagoon

Secret Lagoon natural hot springs are located in the small village called Fludir. In the whole area there are several geothermal spots and a little Geysir which erupts every 5 minutes, showing off for the guests relaxing in the hot spring. During winter, the northern lights are often giving a great lightshow above Secret Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon is a health and geothermal spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula. For ten consecutive years Blue Lagoon has been awarded the Blue Flag environmental recognition granted to natural beaches and hot springs. The lagoon holds nine million liters of geothermal seawater.

Laugarvatn Fontana

Laugarvatn Fontana is the place for relaxation and an authentic Icelandic experience. Soak in the warm geothermal pools and get energized in the natural steam rooms, with the hot spring bubbling right below you. Be sure not to miss a visit to taste the delicious rye bread that grandmothers of the area have been baking in the hot spring s of Laugarvatn for decades.

Mývatn Nature Baths

Located in the heart of north-east Iceland about 105 kilometres (65 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, Lake Mývatn and its surroundings are one of Europe’s greatest natural treasures. Containing a unique blend of minerals, silicates and micro-organisms, the warm soothing water of Myvatn Nature Bath benefits both skin and spirit alike.

1. What do Secret Lagoon and The Blue Lagoon have in common?

A．They own natural hot springs.	B．They hold geothermal seawater.
C．They features quite long histories.	D．They have lightshows for visitors.

2. Where can travelers experience the local elder-making food?

A．Secret Lagoon.	B．The Blue Lagoon.
C．Laugarvatn Fontana.	D．Mývatn Nature Baths.

3. What is a feature of Mývatn Nature Baths?

A．It offers travelers geothermal spa services.

B．It sees a Geysir that erupts every 5 minutes.

C．It contains Europe’s greatest natural and cultural resources.

D．It enjoys a mixture of minerals, silicates and micro-organisms.

10 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

As a distinctive visual art symbol of China, Chinese paper cutting, has been around for centuries. With     1     (simple) a piece of paper and a pair of scissors, diverse patterns ranging from portraits to animal zodiacs     2     (create) with delicate designs.

Due to their     3     (culture) value and low cost, Chinese paper cut-outs are popular ornaments used to decorate windows and mirrors. When light shines through the negative spaces of the cut-outs,     4     elegant pattern is formed indoors.     5     (refer) to as ‘window flowers’, the pretty cut-outs decorating windows are significant in Chinese traditional culture.

The oldest     6     (survive) paper cut-out is a symmetrical (对称的) circle from the 6th century found in Xinjiang, China. The art of Chinese paper cutting is believed     7     (originate) in China even before the invention of paper by Cai Lun in 105 CE. There have been documentaries     8     record the Chinese using other thin materials such as leaves, silk, and leather to carve hollowed patterns. It was found that during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), people had already cut tree leaves into various art forms     9     given them out as presents. They created paper-cuts to depict beautiful things, worship, and express good     10     (wish) .