1 . プロジェクトセカイカラフルステージ!feat. 初音ミク(Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku)is a rhythm game jointly developed by SEGA, Craft Egg, and Crypton Future Media, and produced by SEGA Games and Craft Egg’s subsidiary Colorful Palette. It is also known by the abbreviations “プロセカ” and “PJSK (Beer Barbecue)”.

About the Project SEKAI

The Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku primarily takes the real world area near Shibuya, Japan as its backdrop.    1     ,singing songs created by various creators as virtual singers. The other stage, “SEKAI”(“world”), originates from the realm of thought, where numerous songs are also created. One of the main characters, “Shino Ichigo”, serendipitously encounters Hatsune Miku here.

In addition to Shino Ichigo, the game features other characters with their own aspirations.Initially released, five distinct groups emerged, each with their own “aspirations”, “worlds”, and “musical styles”. The developers also mentioned the potential addition of new groups in the future. Furthermore, unlike previous rhythm games LoveLive and BanG Dream, which feature a predominantly male or female cast, PJSK includes both all-female and mixed-gender groups.

Game Features

Regarding the storyline, players will navigate between the ”real world“ and the ”world“. The storyline dialogue scenes feature Live2D technology, and players can unlock new clothing, songs, and other elements as they progress through the story. Additionally, characters featured in 3DMV can be freely customized, and clothing purchased in the real world will be showcased in 3DMV. Players can appreciate the vivid and beautiful 3DMV with their favorite characters or designs.

    2    

As for the gameplay, commands will appear in a top-down format, coordinating with rhythm and various commands to create combos. During gameplay, the background will showcase 3DMV animations produced by SEGA Games for players’ enjoyment. However, considering the impact of the songs themselves, some tracks will be presented in the 2DMV format.

The game features three types of notes: single tap (TAP), flick (FLICK), and hold (HOLD).    3    The difficulty of songs ranges from the easiest ”Easy“ to the most challenging ”Master,“ divided into five stages, allowing players to freely select a difficulty level that suits their play style.

The design style of the game’s musical score is highly reminiscent of SEGA’s arcade rhythm game CHUNITHM, featuring intertwined long-hold sliders and notes of varying widths.    4    The game features a “Virtual Live” mode that enables players to engage in real-time concert experiences within the game. During this mode, players can wave their support sticks by tapping the screen, freely adjust their viewpoint by sliding or tilting the device, and collaboratively support other players using a variety of methods, including changing the color of their support sticks or utilizing gifts, actions, and expressions.

Worldview

In the “Project SEKAI”, Shino Ichigo and others accidentally stumbled into the “world” and encountered six virtual singers.    5    . People gain entry to the world via untitled tracks. These songs, devoid of lyrics or melodies, coalesced simultaneously with the world. Only those imbued with profound yearnings will encounter “untitled” tracks. Upon the world’s possessor discovering their authentic aspirations, the Untitled transform into a song, known as the group’s “group song” (colloquially).

A．Notably, some songs in the game will be divided into ”original ver. “ (virtual singer ver. ) and ”world ver. “ sung by both virtual singers and original game characters.

B．Virtual singers manifest in distinct guises and inhabit distinct worlds, aiding individuals in discerning their authentic aspirations

C．When it comes to the 3DMV and songs, PJSK combines 3DMV with popular VOCALOID tracks, which widely attract various players.

D．Judgment criteria differ, such as the ability to simultaneously hold a unique-shaped long HOLDs with multiple fingers but not to swipe through dense single TAPs.

E．Virtual singers, such as Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin·Len, Megurine Luka, MEIKO, and KAITO,are portrayed as being the same as how we perceive them in the real world

F．In the tangible world, the virtual singer Hatsune Miku, along with Kagamine Rin·Len, Megurine Luka, MEIKO, and KAITO, is collectively referred to as “Hatsune Miku and her partners”

G．In terms of songs, PJSK has featured a wide selection of highly popular VOCALOID tracks and collaborates with renowned VOCALOID composers (VOCALOID P) to release original songs.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

China launched a three-member crew to its orbiting space station on Thursday as part of its     1     (ambition) program that aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.

The mission     2     (lead) by Ye Guangfu, a fighter pilot and astronaut who was     3     (previous) part of the Shenzhou-13 crew in 2021. He is joined by astronauts Li Cong and Li Guangsu,    4     are heading into space for the first time.

    5     three will spend about six months on the space station. They     6     (conduct) scientific tests, install space debris protection     7     (equip) on the station, carry out payload experiments, and popularize science education, among other things, according to Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA. Lin also said China was working toward eventually offering access     8     its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists.

The country is planning a mission     9     (bring) back samples from Mars around 2030 and three lunar probe missions over the next four years. It also wants to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003,    10     (become) the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U. S. to put a person into space using its own resources.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Wearing Hanfu and sitting in front of a Chinese zither (筝), Peng Jingxuan, a young Chinese student, moves her fingers gently along the strings on a street in Paris, France.

Peng has shared more than 200     1     (origin) videos online, with the most popular one featuring the theme song of the movie A Chinese Ghost Story viewed over 16.61 million times. “I love how she’s representing her culture in a     2     (set) where people are not familiar with it. You can tell she’s proud of her background and her music,” one of her fans commented.

Chinese zither (筝), or guzheng, is an ancient musical instrument with 21-26 strings and a length of 1.63 meters. Peng     3     (fall) in love with it when young and has been practicing it for years. Hardly finding Chinese instruments     4     (play) on the streets in Paris, she took along her guzheng     5     began her street performances to sharpen her skills. The more she performed, the more she felt a greater sense of responsibility     6     (spread) Chinese music and culture.

Considering her audience’s     7     (unfamiliar) with Chinese songs, Peng made adaptations, for     8     she received positive responses. She also performed Western pop songs that local people could relate     9    , entertaining them with beautiful melodies in a     10     (refresh) style.

4 . In 1972, Barbara Rieco penned a heartfelt children’s book that held her dream within its pages. Despite her best efforts, the manuscript (手稿) faced repeated rejection from publishers, leading her to eventually set aside her dream of becoming a published author.

Little did she know that, decades later, her grandson would turn the dream into reality. Chad Cooper, a production professional, decided to give his grandmother the ultimate Christmas gift — the publication of her treasured book. Visiting her in Baltimore for the holidays, he secretly took her original manuscript, along with the drawings for the book she had obtained from an artist years ago, and transformed them into a beautifully printed book.

On Christmas morning, as Barbara unwrapped the carefully crafted gift, she was overcome with emotion as she realized what the surprise was. The moment, captured and posted online by Chad, quickly resonated (产生共鸣) with viewers, and the video became a hit.

“This is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in my entire life,” Barbara said in the video, who also gave her grandson a big hug, with tears.

Chad’s thoughtful gesture didn’t just end with the surprise; he also included a link to the book on Amazon, making it available to the public. The response was nothing short of magic — within days, Barbara’s once-forgotten book skyrocketed to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list, earning the coveted spot as a best seller.

Chad filmed the reaction to that news and shared more updates. Barbara said she had been reading every single comment online and wanted to respond to them all but there were thousands of them.

“I’ve bought Barbara Rieco’s book even though I’m 21 and don’t even have kids. I’ve read it and I really like it,” said one viewer.

“My children enjoy reading the book and they recommend me to read it as well,” another viewer commented.

Barbara Rieco’s book, now accepted by a new generation of readers, continues to spread joy and inspiration.

1. What did Chad Cooper do for his grandmother?

A．He had her book published.	B．He drew for her new book.
C．He arranged an artist to meet her.	D．He helped finish her manuscript.

2. How did Barbara Rieco feel when receiving her grandson’s Christmas gift?

A．Calm and proud.	B．Lucky but regretful.
C．Delighted but worried.	D．Excited and grateful.

3. What does the underlined word “coveted” in paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Dangerous.

B．Desired.

C．Empty.

D．Forgotten.

4. Why are the two viewers mentioned in the text?

A．To reveal Barbara’s gift for writing books.

B．To show the popularity of Barbara’s book.

C．To tell the influence of reading on the young.

D．To highlight the value of Chad’s Christmas gift.

5 . The number of universities has grown very fast in recent decades. Higher-education institutions across the world now employ 15 million researchers, up from 4 million in 1980. Governments are also happy to spend on higher education because it is supposed to produce scientific breakthroughs that can be available to all. In theory, therefore, universities should be an excellent source of productivity growth.

In practice, however, the productivity has slowed down during the last decades. In the 1950s and 1960s, workers’ output per hour across the rich world rose by 4% a year. But in the last decade, 1% a year was the norm. Even with the wave of innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), productivity growth remains weak — less than 1% a year, which is bad news for economic growth.

A new paper by Ashish Arora and his team suggests that universities’ rapid growth and the rich world’s slowdown productivity could be two sides of the same coin. The paper suggests that scientific breakthroughs from public institutions “caused little or no response from businesses” over a number of years. A scientist in a university lab might publish brilliant paper after brilliant paper. Often, however, this has no impact on corporations’ own patents, with life sciences being the exception. And this, in turn, points to a small impact on the overall productivity.

Why do companies struggle to use ideas produced by universities?

The paper says that, free from the demands of the market, researchers in university labs focus more on satisfying their curiosity than finding breakthroughs that will change the world or make money. “To some degree, such kind of research is not a bad thing; some breakthrough technologies, such as penicillin, were discovered almost by accident,” it writes, “But if everyone is doing that, the economy suffers.”

Perhaps, with time, universities and the business world will work together more tightly. Tougher competition could force businesses to beef up their internal research. In fact, researchers in companies’ labs, rather than universities, are driving the current AI innovations. At some point, governments will need to ask themselves hard questions. In a world of weak economic growth, huge spending on universities may come to seem an unjustifiable luxury.

1. What are the statistics in paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The weak economy around the globe.	B．Universities’ contribution to employment.
C．Governments’ spending on higher education.	D．The slow productivity growth in the rich world.

2. Which of the following is benefiting from university labs’ breakthroughs?

A．The investors.

B．The workers.

C．Life sciences.

D．Al industries.

3. What does the new paper imply about the researchers in university labs?

A．They are very eager to make more money.	B．They are less concerned about applications.
C．They usually find breakthroughs by accident.	D．They should be left alone to do their research.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Study Suggests Universities Fail to Increase Productivity

B．Universities and the Business World May Work Together Soon

C．It Is Important for Companies’ Labs to Lead the AI Innovation

D．It Is a Big Waste to Spend So Much Money on Higher Education

6 . Learning often requires taking different risks, whether it’s the willingness to try something new or keep trying after a failed attempt. For children, it’s this process of learning how to take risks and becoming comfortable with failure that can help them grow and develop.     1     As research is showing, children’s willingness to take risks in learning can depend on their relationship with their parents.

According to the research, children who viewed their parents as being supportive and reliable were more willing to take risks while learning. “     2     When their parents support them and are trustworthy, the children get a sense of how things work,” said Seth Pollak, the lead researcher of the study.

Here is what you, as parents, should remember.

Creating a supportive learning environment for your children often includes identifying what they struggle with and what they need.     3     Your children can’t necessarily tell you what they need, but they are often showing you. For example, if your children are consistently having a meltdown (崩溃) after school, that could be a sign that they are overstimulated from the school day, and need some extra time to relieve pressure before starting their homework. Other behaviors could include refusing to do something, such as writing with a pencil or doing their math homework.

One way to create reliability is to develop routines with your children.     4     For example, it could be making the effort to give them 10 minutes of undivided attention when they come home from school, making it a habit to play LEGOs with them every Friday evening, or a predictable bedtime routine.     5    

A．That is what they expect from their children.

B．Those routines should be developed by children themselves.

C．That consistent and positive attention can make a big difference.

D．Children from more stable backgrounds perform better in learning.

E．One way to do that is to track certain behaviors over time, looking for patterns.

F．The routines are less about how big or time-consuming, and more about their predictability.

G．However, encouraging children to take these risks can be an extremely difficult task for parents.

7 . The Debate on Drinking Coffee on an Empty Stomach

There’s a popular belief that drinking coffee on an empty stomach can damage the stomach lining (胃粘膜). This article investigates the validity of these claims and explores the broader influences for gut (肠道) health.

    1     But some worry this habit could harm their stomachs. Claims on social media suggest that such a practice could lead to various illnesses. However, Kim Barrett, a physiology professor, assures that the stomach is strong, equipped with protective mechanisms like a thick liquid layer that protects it from potential irritants such as coffee.

While substances like alcohol are known to alter the stomach’s defenses, research, a 2013 study of over 8,000 participants living in Japan, shows no substantial link between coffee consumption and the development of ulcers (溃疡).     2    

The idea that coffee induces stomach acid production is well-established, which could theoretically lead to heartburn, especially if consumed on an empty stomach.     3     A 2014 review found no connection between coffee and heartburn, whereas a 2020 study indicated a possible increase in heartburn symptoms among habitual coffee drinkers.

If you experience discomfort after drinking coffee, consider cutting down the consumption.     4     That means you drink less coffee in a way. For those who tolerate it well, there’s no need to alter your routine.

While the debate on the impact of drinking coffee on an empty stomach continues, the evidence leans more towards its safety rather than harm. Monitoring personal symptoms and making small adjustments can help individuals enjoy coffee without discomfort.     5     And what works for one person might not for another.

A．Adding some milk can also help.

B．However, studies offer mixed results.

C．Remember, individual responses can vary.

D．Nonetheless, coffee does have an effect on the gut.

E．There’s more evidence for coffee’s benefits than harms.

F．Many people start their day with a cup before eating anything.

G．It suggests that coffee doesn’t harm the stomach lining directly.

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

It was 40 years ago. One day, Emma came back to their apartment from work and realized that her husband, David, was extremely ill. He was throwing up and slurring (发音不清) his words. Immediately, Emma grabbed her purse and took him by taxi to the nearest hospital, on the Lower East Side of New York City. The minutes slowly passed as they waited to see a doctor.

They sat there for a couple of hours, and it was pretty clear that nobody was going to pay attention to David. So they rushed to a second hospital, where they were also ignored. Emma knew something was very wrong with David, so they went to a third hospital. As she told the receptionist what was happening, Emma sensed the person wasn’t going to treat their case with urgency.

Emma was on the edge of a breakdown. After three failed attempts to get help, she had reached her limit. She started to shout in the lobby (大厅). That’s when her unsung hero appeared.

That person was a young man with dark hair and a white physician’s coat. He came to Emma and said, “How can I help you? What’s going on here?” Emma explained what was happening to David, and that she was afraid it was serious.

The young man said, “You know, I just got done with my neurological residency (神经系统的实习期) up at Lenox Hill Hospital. I’ll take him in the back and look.” Within two or three minutes, the young man came out and said, “You are absolutely right. Something is very seriously wrong with your husband.”

The man told Emma to take her husband to Lenox Hill Hospital, and that he had called the doctor with whom he had done his residency.

“He’ll be waiting for you,” said the young man.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

But Emma began to cry, realizing she had no way of getting there, because she didn’t have any more cash for a taxi.

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Soon Emma and her husband arrived at the hospital.

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9 . Researchers are training robots to perform an ever-growing number of tasks through trial-and-error reinforcement (强化) learning, which is often laborious and time-consuming. To help out, humans are now employing large language model (LLM) AI. A team at NVIDIA Research directed an AI protocol (协议) powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 to teach a simulation (模拟) of a robotic hand nearly 30 complex tasks, including throwing a ball, pushing blocks, pressing switches, and some other seriously impressive abilities.

NVIDIA’s new “AI agent” Eureka uses GPT-4 by asking the large language model to write its own reward-based reinforcement learning software code. According to the company, Eureka doesn’t need complicated reminders or even pre-written patterns; instead, it simply begins experimenting with a program, and then follows any external human feedback.

In the company’s announcement, Linxi “Jim” Fan, a senior research scientist at NVIDIA, described Eureka as a unique combination of LLMs and simulation programming. “We believe that Eureka will enable robots to control items flexibly and provide a new way to produce physically realistic animations for artists,” Fan added. After testing its training protocol within an advanced simulation program, Eureka then analyzes its collected data and directs the LLM to further improve upon its design. The result is a protocol capable of successfully numbering a variety of robotic hand designs to operate scissors, turn pens and open cupboards within a physics-accurate simulated environment.

Eureka’s alternatives to human-written trial-and-error learning programs aren’t just effective—in most cases, they’re actually better than those authored by humans. In the team’s open-source research paper findings, Eureka-designed reward programs outperformed humans’ code in over 80 percent of the tasks—amounting to an average performance improvement of over 50 percent in the robotic simulations.

“Reinforcement learning has contributed to impressive wins over the last decade, yet many challenges still exist, such as reward design, which remains a trial-and-error process,” said Anima Anandkumar, an AI researcher. “Eureka is the first step toward developing new algorithms (算法) that integrate generative and reinforcement learning methods to solve hard tasks.”

1. Why is AI used for the training?

A．To simplify robots’ tasks.	B．To advertise OpenAI’s GPT-4.
C．To speed up the training process.	D．To recognize artists’ role in art creation.

2. What does Eureka need to do in the training?

A．Design reward programs.	B．Copy pre-written patterns.
C．Get complicated reminders.	D．Avoid human intervention.

3. How does Anima Anandkumar find Eureka?

A．It is still poor at the reward design.	B．It should learn from hard tasks.
C．It has few challenges to solve.	D．It is of pioneering significance.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Trial-and-error learning programs are promising.

B．Robots can finish complex tasks through learning.

C．Reinforcement learning improves robotic simulations.

D．AI can better teach a simulated robotic hand to perform tasks.

10 . Getting third-party computer producers to add an AI button to laptops is the latest move by Microsoft to take most advantage of its close partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and make itself a gateway for applications of generative AI technology.

Although most people now connect to the Internet — and many AI applications — by phone rather than computer, it’s a symbolic kickoff to what’s expected to be a competitive year as tech companies race to outdo each other in AI applications even as they haven’t yet settled all the moral and legal consequences. The New York Times last month charged both OpenAI and Microsoft that tools like ChatGPT and Copilot — formerly known as Bing Chat — are infringing (侵犯) on copyrighted news articles.

The keyboard redesign will be Microsoft’s biggest change to PC keyboards since it introduced a special Windows key in the 1990s. Microsoft’s four-squared logo design on it has evolved, but the key has been a fixture on Windows-oriented keyboards for about three decades.

The newest AI button is marked by the ribbon-like Copilot logo and is located near the space bar. On some computers it will replace the fight “CTRL” key, while on others it will replace a menu key.

Microsoft is not the only company with customized (订制的) keys. Apple pioneered the concept in the 1980s with its “Command” key marked by a looped square design(it also sported an Apple logo for a time). Google has a search button on its Chromebooks and was first to experiment with an AI-specific key to launch its voice assistant on its now-discontinued Pixelbook.

But Microsoft has a much stronger hold on the broader PC market through its licensing agreements with third-party producers like Lenovo, Dell and HP. About 82% of all desktop computers, laptops and workstations run Windows, compared to 9%for Apple’s in-house operating system and just over 6% for Google’s.

Microsoft hasn’t yet said which computer-makers are installing the Copilot button beyond Microsoft’s own in-house line of high-end Surface equipment. It said some of the companies are expected to unveil (公布) their new models at next week’s CES gadget show in Las Vegas.

1. Why does Microsoft add an AI button to laptops?

A．To improve the partnership with OpenAI.

B．To help third-party computer producers.

C．To establish its favorable position in AI applications.

D．To change people’s habit to connect to the Internet.

2. What can we infer about AI from Paragraph 2?

A．People will connect to AI applications by PC.

B．The appearance of AI button leads to competition.

C．Competition in AI areas is fierce and unregulated.

D．The New York Times violated copyrighted news articles.

3. What kept changing in Microsoft keyboards over the past 30 years?

A．The space bar.	B．The Windows key.
C．The “Command” key.	D．The “CTRL” key.

4. What is Microsoft’s advantage in changing keyboard keys?

A．It can influence many more computer producers.

B．It is further ahead in AI application technology.

C．It has the patent for customized keyboard keys.

D．It controls the IT world with the CES gadget show.