1 . Chichen Itza, Mexico
Price from:£20 Age suitable:8+ When: All year around
The UNESCO world heritage- listed Maya city of Chichen Itza is one of Mexico’s most amazing attractions, where you can see stunning, monumental buildings built between AD 750 and 1200, including the Castillo pyramid and the Temple of a Thousand Warriors.
Getting there & doing itChichen Itza lies 80 miles from Tulum on the road to Merida. Hotels and tour operators organize tours here but it’s better to hire a car and go independently. Understanding a little about the pre-Columbian Maya really brings these site s to life. You could read Michael Coe’s The Maya, and/or Joyce Kelly’s An Archaeological Guide to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before you go.
The site can be explored comfortably in 2 hours. For refuelling after, head 40km east to Cancun for authentic Mayan organic foods.
While you’re thereAllow some time to drive on to Merida, the “White City ”, an old and very Mexican city with beautiful churches and great markets. Also stop by Cenote Ik-Kil for a swim with a difference.
When to do itThe site is open all year around, seven days a week. Gates open at 8 am and close at 5 pm. The rainy season from May through October sees the fewest visitors to Mayan Riviera. The dry season — November through April — gets busy: If you can, avoid peak season in December to January, when it gets very crowded, especially around Christmas and New Year.
1. What is recommended to do before visiting Chichen Itza?| A．Hire a local guide. | B．Take a guided tour. |
| C．Watch a documentary about Mexico. | D．Read specific books about the Maya civilization. |
| A．Driving 40km east for Mayan foods. | B．Attending a cultural show in Tulum. |
| C．Paying a visit to the Castillo pyramid. | D．Exploring the Temple of a Thousand Warriors. |
| A．December to January. | B．November through April. |
| C．May through October. | D．All year around. |
2 . Going into my Ph. D. program, I knew I loved to communicate science to the public as much as I liked doing science. But research soon consumed most of my time. Gradually, I felt I was losing touch with the bigger picture of why science matters.
To escape, I spent a weekend with some friends. They were excited to share stories about the latest books they’d consumed. But I couldn’t remember the last book I had read for fun. And I found myself mostly talking about my research. As I struggled to convey its broader relevance, I noticed the enthusiasm in my voice disappeared. “Is my Ph. D. killing my love of science?” I thought. I knew I had been living in a scientific bubble（泡泡）, but that bubble seemed to grow smaller and smaller as the weekend progressed.
When I returned home. I resolved to read more for pleasure. I was recommended a science fiction book, so I started with that. It was like nothing I had ever read before. I was really into it. I was blown away by the scientifically reasonable technologies and scenes. It was refreshing to think about science in a new way.
I kept reading science fiction in the years after I finished my Ph. D. But I still hadn’t gotten back to communicating science to the public. Then, one night I found myself in a conversation with my new colleagues about science fiction concepts. One invited me to speak at the pop culture lecture.
When the day came. I felt nervous until I saw the eager attendees. After I finished, I was surrounded with enthusiastic audience. It suddenly occurred to me that this was my path back to science communication. Since then, I’ve given more than 20 talks, exploring concepts like genetic engineering and brain-machine interfaces.
For young researchers. it’s easy to slide into a scientific bubble. I’m glad science fiction gave me a way to break out. It not only provided something fun to do in my spare time. It also helped me professionally, fueling my ability to communicate the wonders of science to the public.
1. What did the author realize at that weekend?| A．He couldn’t fit in a new environment. | B．His memory was declining with time. |
| C．He lost passion for science communication. | D．His knowledge was only a scientific bubble. |
| A．He wanted to find inspirations from it. | B．He wanted to put his knowledge to use. |
| C．It could explain many physical phenomena. | D．It offered him a new angle to look at science. |
| A．Successful. | B．Unique. | C．Classic. | D．Common. |
| A．To introduce science fiction. | B．To prove how important science is. |
| C．To emphasize the author’s love for science. | D．To show how science fiction helped the author. |
3 . ChatGPT and other language — based large language mobiles (LLMs) exhibit human-level performance on many natural- language tasks in English. The same is true of other widely used tongues. But Paiute is considered a “no-resource language”, meaning there are no publicly available Paiute sentences translated into English on which to train a machine learning model.
In a new paper, “LLM — Assisted Rule-Based Machine Translation for Low/ No- Resource Languages”, Colem an and his professor Krishnamachari propose a machine translation approach called LLM-RBMT (Rule-Based Machine Translation) to help people learn no-resource languages. Their approach consists of a more “old school” rule-based translator tools and a more advanced, natural language — based large language model.
In their method, the LLM does not translate into or from Paiute. Instead, it helps to guide the rule- based translators, which rely on grammatical and vocabulary rules to translate between languages. The translation tool simplifies complex sentences and uses placeholders (占位符) for unknown words. While this process loses some meaning, it still produces understandable and grammatically correct translations.
This method, said Coleman, mirrors how language learners naturally speak by mixing known and unknown words, making it a practical tool for real-world use and the tool is smart enough to be able to do a lot of the translation on its own.
Colem an also built some digital tools related to language revitalization (复兴), named Kubishi or “brain” in Paiute, including an online dictionary, and a sentence-builder and a translation system enabled by this research.
Overall, the paper found that LLM’s remarkable general-purpose language skills make them a promising tool in helping revitalize critically endangered languages like Paiute.
For his part, Colem an credits his tribe’s (部落) members, past and present, for paving the path. “A lot of people in my tribe have been working for a long time on different language revitalization efforts, including classes, dictionaries and recordings,” said Coleman. “So though I am excited, I know it is one piece of a much larger puzzle.”
Indeed, the paper points to many directions for future work, including adding more complex sentence structures to test the limits of the method outlined in his paper.
1. What can we learn about LLM-RBMT?| A．It is a traditional way to learn languages. | B．It can translate Paiute into any other language. |
| C．It is useful for learners of no- resource languages. | D．It can simplify the process of learning English. |
| A．The principle of the LLM. | B．The advantages of the LLM. |
| C．The grammar and vocabulary of Paiute. | D．The efficiency of the translation tool. |
| A．He popularized Paiute all over the world. | B．He helped to save endangered languages. |
| C．He recorded and preserved his tribe’s history. | D．He invented a smart language learning machine. |
| A．His tribe gave birth to many scientists. |
| B．He was very grateful to his tribe’s members. |
| C．He would publicize something more puzzling. |
| D．His tribe’s members got involved in his work directly. |
4 . Plants are known to respond to seasonal changes by budding (发芽), leafing, and flowering. As climate change stands to shift these so-called phenological (物候的) stages in the life cycle of plants, access to data about phenological changes — from many different locations and in different plants — can be used to draw conclusions about the actual consequences of climate change.
However, conducting such analyses require a large amount of data and data collection of this scale would be unthinkable without the help of citizen scientists.
“Mobile apps like Flora Incognita could help solve this issue. The app allows users to identify unknown wild plants within a matter of seconds. When I take a picture of a plant with the app, the observation is recorded with the exact location as well as a time stamp,” says the first author Karin Mora, research fellow at Leipzig University.
Although satellite data also records the phenology of entire ecosystems from above, they do not provide information about the processes taking place on the ground.
The researchers developed an algorithm (算法) that draws on almost 10 million observations of nearly 3,000 plants species identified in Germany by users of Flora Incognita. The data show that each individual plant has its own cycle as to when it begins a flowering or growth phase. Furthermore, the scientists were able to show that group behaviour arises from the behaviour of individuals. From this, they were able to conclude ecological patterns and investigate how these change with the seasons. For example, ecosystems by rivers differ from those in the mountains, where phenological events start later.
It is known that climate change is causing seasonal shifts — for example, spring is arriving earlier and earlier. How this affects the relationship between plants and pollinating insects and therefore potentially also food security is still being subject to further research. The new algorithm can now be used to better analyse the effects of these changes on the plant world.
1. What is the significance of data about phenological changes?| A．It can serve as the indicator of weather. | B．It can help people to select the best seeds. |
| C．It can show the actual effects of climate change. | D．It can be used to change the life cycle of plants. |
| A．Collecting data. | B．Sorting out species. |
| C．Identifying plants. | D．Checking climate change. |
| A．Spring is becoming longer and longer. | B．All plants have their own growth cycle. |
| C．Group behaviour affects individual behaviour. | D．Ecological patterns in different areas are similar. |
| A．How citizen scientists use mobile apps to collect data. |
| B．How climate change is affecting the growth of plants. |
| C．How a plant app helps identify the impact of climate change. |
| D．How Flora Incognita allows users to identify unknown wild plants. |
5 . Welcome
This brochure offers a short introduction to St John’s College as you follow the tourist route through the College. A full guide about the College, its buildings and its history, may also be purchased from the Porters’ Lodge. We welcome visitors, but please remember that the College is a place where researchers and students live and work. Please keep to the route marked on the attached map, follow instructions from our staff, and do not go anywhere marked “private”.
First Court
Much of the College is made up of quadrangles(四方院) or “courts”. There are three running west to east from the Great Gate to the river, known simply as First, Second and Third. First Court was built in 1511 to the south of the old hospital and contained living quarters, the original chapel(小教堂), library, hall and kitchens.
The Chapel
The 19th century chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, apart from the tower which was an afterthought made possible by a former member of St John’s College called Henry Hoare, who unfortunately died before he could pay for it all!
Chapel Court
The style of Chapel Court in the south range is Tudor, the west range Victorian and the remainder built by Sir Edward Maufe in 1938-40. Part of the west range was transformed into a new College library in 1994. The arms above the archway in the centre of the north range are those of John Fisher, carved by the famous sculptor, Eric Gill, who favors Catholic methods.
1. When touring in the St John’s College, what should visitors remember?| A．Private places are not accessible to tourists. |
| B．Tourists can choose specific routes randomly. |
| C．A full guide of the College is provided for free. |
| D．Researchers and students can be tourists’ guides. |
| A．It is primarily a modern structure. |
| B．It integrates the artistic elements from the east. |
| C．It features a mix of different architectural styles. |
| D．It is a single-style building with minor alterations. |
| A．A history book. | B．A visitor guide. |
| C．An academic paper. | D．An architecture magazine. |
Go is the oldest surviving board game, which has a history nearly as complex as the game
Whatever its origins, Go had gained widespread
The game,
It is from Japan that the game spread to the rest of the world. Despite its long history in East Asia, Go didn’t catch on in the west until German engineer Oscar Korschelt published a
My brother and I set off shortly after sunrise. The air was cool, but I knew that wouldn’t last long. I’d chosen this hike for a hot day like today so that we’d climb down into a redrock canyon (峡谷) , where we would swim in a pool and camp by a picturesque waterfall. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy hike, though. I’d researched and planned for weeks, knowing climbing down into the canyon is challenging.
About a mile in, the trail started to dip down to the river and the footing became steep (陡峭的) . After repeated slips on the loose ground, my brother decided to turn back to the car. Unwilling to give up on my plan so soon and remembering there was another car where we parked, I believed there was someone else going to the canyon. So I chose to continue alone. He gave me the bag which contained food and water. Then we decided to meet up at the car the next day.
After another mile or so, the river came into view below me, but the trail became less obvious. I chose to go down along a bush-covered slope (斜坡) . As soon as I began hiking down, though, I realized the ground was much looser than I’d thought. I decided to climb back up and find another way.
I tried to pull myself up, but, unfortunately, the rock I was standing on broke beneath me. My face struck earth first. I was rolling with my bag, dirt and red sandstone flying beneath me as I picked up speed. I was going to die, I thought.
Then I fell flat on my back, my head hitting on a baseball-size stone. To my surprise, I was alive, but everything hurt. After lying in confusion for a few moments, I tried to look around. One of my eyes was already swollen shut, and through the other, the world spun around me. I could hardly move my left hand, and my right ankle hurt terribly.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
Fighting my unsteady vision, I pulled out my phone, only to find there was no service.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It had been about 2 hours since my fall when I heard the sound of several people.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 活动的时间和地点；
2. 活动现场的情况；
3. 你的感想。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . Law enforcement (执法) is a challenging career. However, it is a calling for those who
In 2021, Alexandra secretly accepted a
When it came time for Alexandra's pinning, the department
His reaction and the resulting hug were worth the
| A．declare | B．share | C．choose | D．establish |
| A．classes | B．families | C．groups | D．departments |
| A．protects | B．identifies | C．hires | D．investigates |
| A．unusual | B．difficult | C．intentional | D．contradictory |
| A．position | B．lecture | C．change | D．mission |
| A．worked | B．longed | C．applied | D．searched |
| A．permission | B．assistance | C．presence | D．knowledge |
| A．brave | B．senior | C．strict | D．disciplined |
| A．training | B．document | C．exhibition | D．ceremony |
| A．awarded | B．employed | C．assigned | D．congratulated |
| A．delighted | B．willing | C．shocked | D．desperate |
| A．looked out | B．slipped in | C．walked away | D．stepped forward |
| A．exited | B．drove | C．checked | D．fueled |
| A．barely | B．peacefully | C．obviously | D．eventually |
| A．price | B．wait | C．risk | D．trouble |
10 . I’m an Indonesian student and finished my Master’s degree in Sweden.
I understand my home country better. Being a local in my home country for almost a lifetime got me thinking that the grass was always greener in other countries.
I get much deeper understanding of other cultures’ perspectives. Studying abroad has changed my perspective and made me shift my beliefs. I’ve learned the issue of privacy. I used to see that the internet is the place where we should talk about our activities and share many parts of ourselves to the world. I used to take everyone’s pictures and share them online.
I see travelling in a new way. What is travelling all about? Why do we need travelling?
| A．I learn to accept people’s differences. |
| B．What should you take while you are travelling? |
| C．Learning in a foreign country taught me lots of things. |
| D．I like to make friends from different culture backgrounds. |
| E．Yet being abroad has given me the chance to see that no country is perfect. |
| F．By trying answering these questions, I started to understand travelling differently. |
| G．Now I secure my data, respect people’s privacy, and even remind others to do so. |
