2 . Newborns begin to develop language skills long before they begin speaking. And, compared to adults, they develop these skills more quickly. People have a hard time learning new languages as they grow older, but babies have the ability to learn any language easily.
For a long time, scientists have tried to explain how such young children can learn the complicated (复杂的) grammatical rules and sounds of a language. Now, researchers are getting a better idea of what’s happening in the brains of the tiniest language learners. This new information might help kids with learning problems as well as adults who want to learn new languages. It might even help scientists who are trying to design computers that can communicate like people do.
Most babies go “ma ma” by 6 months of age, and most children speak in full sentences by age 3. For many years, scientists have wondered how the brains of young children figure out how to communicate using language. With the help of new technologies, scientists are now finding that babies begin life with the ability to learn any language. They get into contact with other people, listen to what they say and watch their movements very closely. That is why they quickly master the languages they hear most often.
Studies show that, up to about 6 months of age, babies can recognize all the sounds that make up all the languages in the world. Starting at around 6 months old a baby’s brain focuses on the most common sounds it hears. Then, children begin responding only to the sound s of the language they hear the most.
In a similar way older babies start recognizing the patterns that make up the rules of their native language. For example, English children who are about 18 months old start to figure out that words ending in “-ing” or “-ed” are usually verbs, and that verbs are action words.
1. The new research in the second paragraph can be helpful in ______.| A．finding successful language learners | B．teaching kids with learning problems |
| C．designing human-shaped computers | D．improving babies’ language ability |
| A．repeating the words of other people | B．remembering the full sentences they hear |
| C．hearing and closely watching others behave | D．figuring out the meaning of different sounds |
| A．why babies pay more attention to sounds |
| B．how babies respond to what they hear most often |
| C．why verbs in a language attract the most attention of a baby |
| D．how babies master the grammatical rules of their native language |
| A．discuss | B．educate | C．inform | D．entertain |
1. 题材广泛，激发兴趣；
2. 图片丰富，设计科学；
3. 语言地道，原汁原味。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear sir,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours truly,
Li Ming
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
As a Chinese who is particular interested in Chinese Red Classic Stories, I would like to introduce the Victory over Japan Day on September 3.
September 3 is set as the memory day to celebrate the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and memorize the brave soldiers who lost their life in the war. Additionally, it was the struggle and sacrifices of that generation which saved China. So it was significant for the Chinese, especially for our teenagers. In my view, we should devote all our energies to study to prepare ourselves to build a good China. And only in this way China stand among the great powers of the world and make contributions to a world peace.
Chinese drinking vessels (器皿) have kept evolving throughout the dynasties of China,
In Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, ancient China established itself a complete ceremony system.
Drinking wine was
Jingdezhen ceramics in Jiangxi Province
6 . AI Can Bring Great Benefits to Human Beings
The explosion of progress in AI in recent months has surprised even the scientists and engineers who specialize in applying AI to real-life tasks. Several big companies started amazing new programs in a short time, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing and Google’s Bard. “A few years ago I never would have imagined we would advance this far this soon,” says Zhe Jiang, a University of Florida researcher who studies applications of AI. Here are some examples of AI applications.
In April, a study published in Nature showed that an AI program was as good as or better than human experts at spotting heart problems in patient ultrasound (超声波) images. That is to say, AI is able to match or go beyond human doctors at catching cancers and other disorders by scanning images and tissue samples.
Some drug companies are already relying heavily on AI to help find promising new drugs. For example, PsychoGenics, a company specializing in drugs for mental disorders, is improving on the inefficient, inexact and costly process of testing new mental drugs on mice, which typically takes five years. By using AI instead of lab staff to observe the effects of new drugs on mice, the company can test more drugs with greater accuracy at a tenth the cost and two years faster.
With 56 million Americans over 65, the high cost and short supply of eldercare workers, eldercare robots have already stepped in. Without using the recent Al advances, robots already watch over seniors with electronic eyes, fetch small items, answer questions. Some of them can already start conversations with seniors, help them recall what happened, and then report the results to family members. Soon, the power of such devices to interact with people will improve greatly. “Caregiving and companion robots equipped with the latest AI can provide ‘empathy’,” says Forrester’s Curran. “They can tell the difference between a senior who is searching through a drawer, and one who is struggling to open a drawer,” he explains.
1. What made scientists surprised according to paragraph 1?| A．AI is applied to real-life tasks. | B．AI has been developing so swiftly. |
| C．AI can solve some real-life problems. | D．AI has helped launch some famous programs. |
| A．AI can settle disorders by scanning images. |
| B．AI will replace human doctors sooner or later. |
| C．AI is better than human beings in some aspects. |
| D．AI can solve problems in patient ultrasound images. |
| A．To explain the difficulty in finding new drugs. |
| B．To show the significance of finding new drugs. |
| C．To draw a comparison between AI and lab staff. |
| D．To convey the importance of AI to drug companies. |
| A．Some negative effects caused by AI. | B．Different opinions about AI application. |
| C．Other aspects of AI application in real-life. | D．Some examples of AI helping spot cancer. |
7 . The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to three American scientists Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov “for the discovery and development of quantum (量子) dots”. They are so tiny that their size determines their properties. These smallest components of nano (纳米) technology now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove cancer tissue, among many other things.
Everyone who studies chemistry learns that an element’s properties are governed by how many electrons (电子) it has. However, when matter contracts to nano-dimensions quantum phenomena arise; these are governed by the size of the matter. The Nobel winners in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are generally known as quantum dots by scientists, are now of great importance in nanotechnology.
“Quantum dots have many fascinating and unusual properties. Importantly, they have different colours depending on their size,” says Johan Åqvist, Chai r of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
Physicists had long known that in theory size-dependent quantum effects could arise in nanoparticles, but at that time it was almost impossible to sculpture in nanodimensions. Therefore, few people believed that this knowledge would be put to practical use.
However, in the early 1980s, Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum effects in coloured glass. The colour came from nanoparticles of copper chloride (氯化铜) and Ekimov demonstrated that the particle size affected the colour of the glass via quantum effects. A few years later, Louis Brus was the first scientist in the world to prove size-dependent quantum effects in particles floating freely in a liquid. In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionised the chemical production of quantum dots, resulting in almost perfect particles. This high quality was necessary for them to be used in applications.
Quantum dots are thus bringing the greatest benefit to humankind. Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and quantum communication — so we have just started exploring the potential of these tiny particles.
1. Why was the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 awarded to 3 American scientists?| A．They discovered quantum size. | B．They discovered nanotechnology. |
| C．They discovered quantum effects. | D．They discovered and improved quantum dots. |
| A．Quantum dots. | B．Spots. | C．Atoms. | D．Grains. |
| A．Moungi Bawendi. | B．Louis Brus. | C．Alexei Ekimov. | D．Johan Åqvist. |
| A．Innovation is the most important thing. |
| B．Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. |
| C．The development of science and technology is endless. |
| D．Technology from quantum dots is constantly improving. |
8 . As a teenager in the 1990s, Melissa Blake was interested in fashion. Unfortunately, fashion wasn’t much interested in her. Born disabled, Blake couldn’t find jeans or dresses in her size. Paging through fashion magazines, she didn’t see a single person who looked like her, and it hurt. “When you’re a teenager—disabled or not—you’re troubled by self-worth.”
Blake, 39, has spent her adult life trying to make up for that. She is a disability-rights activist and a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times. But she gained national attention in 2019 after clapping back at people, who said she should be banned from posting photos of herself because she’s too ugly. Over the next year, Blake posted a new selfie (自拍照) every day. “I feel like every time I post my selfie or share something about my life as a disabled woman, I’m fighting against this ableism (残障歧视),” Blake said.
Her fans went wild, calling Blake a goddess and a powerful woman. Among her fans is Mindy Scheier, the founder and CEO of Runway of Dreams. The company shows fashion for people with disabilities. Last fall, Scheier asked Blake to be a model in the biggest fashion event of the year.
Scheier said, “Putting Melissa in the event made people realize how important it is to expand who consumers are in the fashion industry, or who should be on stage, or what we’re really standing for in the word model.”
“Often, when we think of access for people with disabilities, we think of buildings and employment,” Blake says. “But it’s also important to have access to what’s fun and enjoyable. When disabled people are included, it sends a message that we deserve a seat at the table in all aspects of life.”
1. What can we know about Blake from paragraph 1?| A．She didn’t have a good taste in fashion. | B．She couldn’t follow fashion for her disability. |
| C．She couldn’t find fashion items in magazines. | D．She didn’t see other disabled people in her life. |
| A．To defend her equal rights. | B．To attract public attention. |
| C．To share her life experience. | D．To expose unkind comments. |
| A．To show her admiration for her. | B．To increase fashion consumers. |
| C．To present the world of models. | D．To include the disabled in fashion. |
| A．From Role Model to Fashion Model. | B．From Teenager Model to Adult Model. |
| C．From Fashion Sufferer to Fashion Fighter. | D．From Fashion Follower to Fashion Leader. |
9 . Google Flights reveals new feature to help travelers save money
Regular users of Google Flights might notice a new feature the next time they go to the site to check out airline schedules and compare flight prices.
The new feature officially announced on Monday morning in a news release is Google guidance on the cheapest time to book a flight, which adds price tracking alerts and a price guarantee option already in place.
Cheapest time to book: Google Flights said starting this week, searches that have reliable trend data will let users see in what time frame prices have typically been lowest. Users can then better decide whether to book now or later, Google said in the release.
Take flights from New York to Miami, for example, the cheapest time to book is usually from Sep 13 to Dec 7. Prices during this time are $59 cheaper on average.
Price tracking: Users who want to wait for lower fares before booking can use a price tracking feature that “can do most of the heavy lifting for you,” Google said.
Price guarantee: On some flight results, users might notice a price guarantee badge (标志) pop up (this won’t happen on every use). If you book one of these flights, Google said it will monitor the price every day before takeoff.
“If the price does go down, we’ll pay you back the difference via Google Pay. These price guarantees are part of a pilot program available for select Book on Google itineraries (行程) departing from the U. S.,” Google said in the release.
1. Which is the cheapest time to book a flight from New York to Miami?| A．August 19. | B．September 20. | C．December 8. | D．January 11. |
| A．Get your money back. | B．Pay back the difference. |
| C．Monitor the price before flights take off. | D．Make sure you can get the cheapest flight. |
| A．Science. | B．Entertainment. | C．Travel. | D．Education. |
1. What does Socrates’ educational theory ask people to do?
| A．Improve personal rules. |
| B．Awake the souls of people. |
| C．Respect their families and ancestors. |
| A．Government should be moral. |
| B．Elderly people should care for children. |
| C．People should memorize rules of behavior. |
| A．Through arguments. | B．Through reasoning. | C．Through personal examples. |
| A．He has influenced western cultures. |
| B．He used to be even more important. |
| C．He has little effect on people today. |
