1 . When people hear “artificial intelligence,” many envision “big data.” There’s a reason for that: some of the most important AI breakthroughs in the past decade have relied on enormous data sets. But AI is not only about large data sets, and research in “small data” approaches has grown extensively over the past decade—with so-called transfer learning as an especially promising example. Also known as “fine-tuning,” transfer learning is helpful in settings where you have little data on the task of interest but abundant data on a related problem. The way it works is that you first train a model using a big data set and then retrain slightly using a smaller data set related to your specific problem.
Research in transfer learning approaches has grown impressively over the past 10 years. In a new report for Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), we examined current and projected progress in scientific research across “small data” approaches. Our analysis found that transfer learning stands out as a category that has experienced the most consistent and highest research growth on average since 2010. This growth has even outpaced the larger and more established field of reinforcement learning, which in recent years has attracted widespread attention.
Small data approaches such as transfer learning offer numerous advantages over more data-intensive methods. By enabling the use of AI with less data, they can bolster progress in areas where little or no data exist, such as in forecasting natural disasters that occur relatively rarely or in predicting the risk of disease for a population set that does not have digital health records.
Another way of thinking about the value of transfer learning is in terms of generalization. A recurring challenge in the use of AI is that models need to “generalize” beyond their training data. Because transfer learning models work by transferring knowledge from one task to another, they are very helpful in improving generalization in the new task, even if only limited data were available.
Moreover, by using pretrained models, transfer learning can speed up training time and could also reduce the amount of computational resources needed to train algorithms (算法). This efficiency is significant, considering that the process of training one large neural (神经系统的) network requires considerable energy.
Despite the growth in research, transfer learning has received relatively little visibility. The existence of techniques such as transfer learning does not seem to have reached the awareness of the broader space of policy makers and business leaders in positions of making important decisions about AI funding and adoption. By acknowledging the success of small data techniques like transfer learning—and distributing resources to support their widespread use—we can help overcome some of the common misconceptions regarding the role of data in AI and facilitate innovation in new directions.
1. What does the underlined word “bolster” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．Promote. | B．Seek. |
| C．Track. | D．Monitor. |
| A．Predicting the frequency of floods in Amazon rainforest. |
| B．Designing a program that can read handwritten documents. |
| C．Forecasting the number of people infected with an unknown illness. |
| D．Predicting house prices based on basic features like area and location. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Critical. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Transfer Learning: Where Does It Best Fit? |
| B．Small Data Are Also Crucial for Advancing AI |
| C．Transfer Learning Powers Technological Advances |
| D．Big Data vs. Small Data: Which Is the Future of AI? |
I was an average student in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional F’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.
I didn’t write when I was supposed to write. I talked to others while the teacher was giving instructions. That I could recite what she had said to the class while I was talking was not helpful because I had a negative effect on my classmates’ learning. So I regularly brought home disappointing report cards.
My parents and my teachers didn’t know what to do with me. Punishments didn’t seem to work. Rewards didn’t seem to either. And, frankly, I don’t think I knew what I could do to “apply myself”. And I certainly didn’t know how to not enjoy talking with my classmates! What I knew was that I talked too much. Until grade 5.
That autumn, we had a sudden change in teachers as our elderly teacher took a medical leave. In his place, a young substitute (代课老师) arrived — Mrs Royal. She looked like she was freshly out of university and seemed too young to be cast in the role of being responsible for a class of tween, but there she was, charged with a lively group, and me.
I don’t remember many details of that year except the afternoon when I got my first report card from her. She handed out the report cards right after the afternoon break and invited us to look them over. Then she let us know that we could all talk quietly amongst ourselves while she called each student up one at a time, in alphabetical order (按字母顺序), to discuss our report cards with her.
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。
I looked over my report card, expecting the usual result.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then it was my turn to talk with her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(1) 分析可能的原因；
(2) 给出你的观点；
(3) 期待回信。
注意：1. 写作词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . History’s first empire rose out of a hot, dry landscape, without rainfall for crops, without trees or stones for building. In spite of all this, its people built the world’s first cities, with monumental architecture and large populations — and they built them
Sumer
But Sumerians were the first to take the
The Sumerians created the first
But by the third millennium (千年) BCE, Sumer was no longer the
Afterward, Sumer disappeared back into the desert dirt, not to be
| A．permanently | B．quickly | C．patiently | D．entirely |
| A．occupied | B．destroyed | C．lost | D．attacked |
| A．separate | B．interrupt | C．redirect | D．freeze |
| A．dry | B．royal | C．awesome | D．rich |
| A．wearing down | B．springing up | C．rising up | D．breaking down |
| A．next | B．last | C．slow | D．same |
| A．equipment | B．basins | C．walls | D．bricks |
| A．emperors | B．universities | C．cities | D．palaces |
| A．law | B．school | C．construction | D．labour |
| A．society | B．childhood | C．community | D．parenthood |
| A．invented | B．dismissed | C．learned | D．preserved |
| A．only | B．safe | C．weak | D．reliable |
| A．region | B．center | C．river | D．farm |
| A．strengthened | B．saved | C．surrounded | D．overturned |
| A．rebuilt | B．relocated | C．rediscovered | D．reunited |
5 . The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Buds (小满), the 8th solar term of a year, begins on May 21 this year, and ends on June 5. It means that the seeds from the grain are becoming full but are not ripe. Let’s see what we can do during the “Grain Buds” period.
Eating herb of common sow thistle
Grain Buds is a season for eating the herb of the common sow thistle, which is one of the earliest edible potherbs in China. It tastes a little bitter, but also sweet. People in Ningxia Hui autonomous region like to eat it mixed with salt, vinegar, peppers or garlic. It tastes delicious and helps people feel refreshed. Some people boil the herb with water and then squeeze out the juice, which can be used to make soup.
Key period for flower management
This time is a good period of the quick growth of flowers. It is also a season when plant diseases and pests are at an all-time high, which makes caring for your garden even more critical. Flowers need a lot of water and extra care to stay healthy. Weeding should be done as they grow quickly and have to be extirpated in order to keep the soil loose and from competing with the flowers for nutrients.
Celebrating silkworm deity birthday
Silkworm rearing is a traditional byproduct for people in regions south of the Yangtze River. People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces regard this season as the birthday of the silkworm deity. Those who engage in the silk industry thank the deity by offering sacrifices and staging performances. They pray to the deity for blessings and a boom season for the silk business.
1. Which of the following is true about Grain Buds?| A．It is seen as the birthday of the flower deity. |
| B．It is an essential period to tend to the garden. |
| C．It means that the seeds from the grain are mature. |
| D．It begins on May 21 this year, and ends on July 5. |
| A．offer sacrifices to ancestors | B．pray for a close season |
| C．learn to count their blessings | D．give shows to thank the deity |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Economics. | C．Politics. | D．Culture. |
6 . Nguyen Thi Thu is one of the few remaining artists practicing and constantly enhancing the traditional Vietnamese art of sculpting realistic-looking flowers out of papaya (番木瓜树) fruits.
Thu became
Over the years, Thu has
Apart from
| A．confident | B．interested | C．expert | D．talented |
| A．missed | B．held | C．quit | D．took |
| A．traditional | B．modern | C．fashionable | D．contemporary |
| A．return | B．turn | C．move | D．adjust |
| A．appreciate | B．practice | C．change | D．adopt |
| A．access | B．reaction | C．solution | D．resistance |
| A．described | B．imagined | C．painted | D．tried |
| A．grew | B．offered | C．knew | D．bought |
| A．occasionally | B．immediately | C．randomly | D．definitely |
| A．expected | B．reminded | C．forced | D．taught |
| A．abstract | B．expensive | C．complicated | D．fundamental |
| A．depending on | B．accounting for | C．focusing on | D．calling for |
| A．plant | B．sculpt | C．feed | D．invent |
| A．exhibiting | B．judging | C．updating | D．transforming |
| A．replacing | B．celebrating | C．recovering | D．preserving |
7 . In 2018, when Hemesh Chadalavada was 12 years old, his grandmother forgot to turn off the gas after she made herself a cup of tea. This experience caused Hemesh to invent the “Alpha Monitor”, a device designed for dementia (痴呆) patients.
He started creating this device with whatever was at home, with the help of the internet. “The first model I built was a huge box. I learnt how to make a wearable device on the internet by learning which components to use and where I could source them in Hyderabad. I started with a hardware device, after which I learnt coding online and moved to machine learning and data science, to help me perfect my device,” he adds.
The Alpha Monitor has two parts, one, a wearable watch-like device, and the second, an alarm which connects to it. “You attach the device to the patient. In case the patient throws it away or doesn’t like wearing it, you can just put it in a bag and fix it in their pocket or sock or wherever you like. Once you plug in the alarm, you will be warned for every tiny change in movement. As soon as the patient gets up or wanders away, it will warn the family members with a huge alarm sound,” says Hemesh.
The wearable device monitors body temperature, pulse, and detects movement, falls and more. It works using a gyroscope sensor to detect even the slightest movement and health sensors for pulse and temperature. It works without Wi-Fi or bluetooth and has a range of 1-2k m, according to Hemesh. It can also be connected to an app for children staying far away to monitor their parents’ movements.
“The happiest I’ve ever been is seeing how the device actually works for patients with Alzheimer’s. It gives me incredible happiness to see the small impact I’ve managed to create in the lives of these families,” smiles the youngster.
1. What can we learn about Hemesh from the first two paragraphs?| A．He received little formal education. | B．He had a strong self-learning ability. |
| C．He invented the device to stop gas leaks. | D．He got support from a computer engineer. |
| A．By speaking into their phones. | B．By producing a loud noise. |
| C．By making an emergency call. | D．By announcing the time automatically. |
| A．It can analyze patients’ health data. | B．It can prevent patients from falling down. |
| C．It can track patients’ movements remotely. | D．It can make a difference to patients’ recovery. |
| A．Caring and creative. | B．Generous and talented. |
| C．Determined and honest. | D．Independent and brave. |
8 . Our recommended list of environmental books covers a broad range of topics. These must-read environmental books are sure to spark the interest of the greenest books.
Silent Spring
Written by Rachel Carson, Silent Spring highlights the effects of pesticides (杀虫剂) on the environment, especially DDT, which was a very popular insecticide until it was finally banned in 1972. The book eventually led to a change in the United States’ pesticide policy and contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.
This book collects 11 speeches made by climate activist Greta Thunberg, highlighting the issue of climate change and its impact on future generations. Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started the School Strike for Climate, also known as Fridays for Future. She inspired protests worldwide.
The Uninhabitable Earth
This book by David Wallace Wells examines the disasters that have already occurred and looks ahead to the year 2100 and what climate change will do if we continue on our current path. Its opening line is incredibly telling: “It is worse, much worse, than you think.”
The End of Nature
Published in 1989, the book describes the relationship between nature and humans. It expresses the idea that nature was previously independent of humans but has now been affected by them in every way. According to author Bill McKibben, the idea of wilderness is lost, and nature is no longer complete.
1. Which book brought the environment to the government’s attention?| A．Silent Spring. | B．The End of Nature. |
| C．The Uninhabitable Earth. | D．No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. |
| A．Curiosity. | B．Concern. | C．Annoyance. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．Nature will not exist any longer. | B．Wild animals are disappearing fast. |
| C．Human activities are destroying nature. | D．Climate change affects future generations. |
9 . People who experienced trauma (精神创伤) as a child or adolescent were found to be 48 percent more likely to have serious and repeated headaches as an adult than those who had not experienced trauma in their early years, according to research published in the journal Neurology. The finding came from the analysis of data from 28 studies, involving 154,739 people.
Overall, nearly one-third of the participants reported having experienced a traumatic event at least once before age 18, and 16 percent had been diagnosed as an adult with a primary headache disorder, which means that their headaches are the main problem, rather than a symptom (症状) of an underlying disease or condition.
The researchers categorized traumatic events as either threat-based (such as physical or emotional abuse, witnessing or being threatened by violence, and serious family conflicts) or deprivation-based (including neglect, financial trouble, parents’ separation, divorce or death, and living in a household with mental illness, alcohol or substance abuse). Physical abuse and exposure to family violence were among the most commonly reported traumas.
Of those who had experienced at least one traumatic event as a youth, 26 percent subsequently were diagnosed with primary headaches, compared with 12 percent of those who had not experienced trauma.
As the number of traumatic events experienced by a child or adolescent increased, so did the odds of their having headaches later in life. For example, those who had experienced four or more traumatic events were more than twice as likely to have a head ache disorder. Also, certain traumas — physical abuse and neglect — were linked to greater risk for headaches than other types of trauma.
The study found an association between trauma as a youth and headache disorder as an adult, rather than direct proof that one led to the other. But the researchers wrote that traumas experienced as a child or adolescent “are important risk factors for primary headache disorders in adulthood,” which one of the researchers described in a statement released by the American Academy of Neurology as “a risk factor that we cannot ignore.”
1. What does the research focus on?| A．The different types of trauma experienced by children. |
| B．The reasons why headaches are so common among adults. |
| C．The influence that childhood experiences have on later life. |
| D．The link between childhood trauma and headaches as an adult. |
| A．Witnessing violence. | B．Physical abuse. |
| C．The loss of a parent. | D．Criticism from teachers. |
| A．Complexity. | B．Frequency. | C．Seriousness. | D．Chance. |
| A．It causes headaches. | B．It deserves attention. |
| C．It can be prevented. | D．It can be life-threatening. |
10 . The high intelligence levels of orangutans (红毛猩猩) have long been recognised, partly due to their practical skills such as using tools to crack nuts and search for insects. But new research suggests the primate (灵长动物) has another handy skill: applying medicinal herbs intentionally to an open wound.
A male Sumatran orangutan known as Rakus was observed by the research team with a fresh facial wound in June 2022. Three days later, Rakus was witnessed feeding on the stem and leaves of a plant. Thirteen minutes after Rakus had started feeding on it, he began chewing the leaves without swallowing them, then used his fingers to apply the resulting juice directly on to his facial wound. He repeated this behavior for seven minutes and at last fully covered the wound with the chewed leaves. He then continued feeding on the plant for 30 minutes. Over the following days, there were no signs of infection. The wound closed within five days and was healed, with only a faint scar remaining after one month.
It is not the first time wild primate species have been spotted self-medicating: among other examples, Bornean orangutans have been seen rubbing their arms and legs with chewed leaves from a plant used by humans to treat sore muscles, while chimpanzees have been recorded chewing plants known to treat worm infections and applying insects to wounds. However, the new discovery is the first time a wild animal has been observed treating open wounds with a substance known to have medicinal properties. “In the chimpanzee case they used insects and unfortunately it was never found out whether these insects really promote wound healing. Whereas in our case, the orangutan used the plant, and this plant has known medical properties,” said Dr Caroline Schuppli, senior author of the research.
Rakus’s goal-oriented behavior and the medicinal properties of his chosen treatment offer insight into the origins of human wound care-the treatment of which was first mentioned in a medical manuscript dating to 2200BC. “It definitely shows that these basic cognitive capacities that you need to come up with a behaviour like this were present at the time of our last common ancestor most likely,” said Schuppli.
It remains unclear whether Rakus figured the process out for himself or learned it from another orangutan, although it has not been seen in any other individual.
1. How did the team conduct their research?| A．By analyzing previous records. | B．By tracking the research object. |
| C．By quoting others’ findings. | D．By categorizing qualities of primates. |
| A．The primate’s awareness of herb selection. | B．The locations of the wild primates. |
| C．The sizes of the application range. | D．The outcome of the treatment. |
| A．Supporting evidence for the research results. |
| B．Potential significance of the research findings. |
| C．A further explanation of the research summary. |
| D．A reasonable doubt about the research process. |
| A．The origin of Rakus’ intentional self-medication. |
| B．Different medicinal plants used by wild primates. |
| C．Active wound treatment s shared by humans and primates |
| D．The possible influence from Rakus’ family. |
