1 . What does it mean to be intelligent? If it’s defined by having the biggest brain, then sperm whales (抹香鲸) — whose brain is 20 pounds — would be the brightest creatures on Earth. But, more likely, it’s how a brain is wired. Viewed in this way, intelligence is what gives an organism the best chance to survive in an environment. Language may be one of the best ways to demonstrate that kind of smarts.
“Language allowing humans to be a more advanced species is a hypothesis that somebody came up with one day without really trying to prove it,” says Erich Jarvis, a professor who studies the neuro-biology of vocal learning. “The idea stuck around, but so have other common beliefs that are not really supported with evidence,” he points out.
To get a better grasp of vocal learning and cognition, the study authors turned to songbirds. The team performed seven cognitive experiments on 214 songbirds from 23 different species. Of these, 21 species were caught from the wild. The rest two studied are domesticated (家养的). The behavioral tests examined the birds’ problem solving, for instance, figuring out how to remove an object to access the food reward. The researchers also tested two other skills often associated with intelligence: learning by association, plus what’s called reversal (倒转的) learning, in which an animal adjusts its behavior to get a reward. They then looked at whether being vocal learners helped develop the three skills, comparing 21 bird species to two others which were non-vocal learners.
Jarvis’ new study provides some of the first evidence that vocal learning — one of the crucial components for a spoken language — is associated with problem solving. Vocal learning bird species could come up with innovative ideas, such as getting seeds, or catching a worm trapped under a cup by removing the obstacle or pulling it apart. All three abilities — problem solving, associative learning, and reversal learning — are typically considered “components of intelligence,” he says.
“One question left unanswered is why there’s such a strong relationship between problem-solving abilities and vocal learning. The brain areas in charge of vocal learning are not the same ones that get activated when we need to troubleshoot (分析解决) an issue,” says Michael Goldstein, a professor of psychology at Cornell University who studies vocal learning in songbirds and humans but was not involved in the study.
1. Which can probably define intelligence according to Paragraph 1?| A．Language. | B．Brain size. |
| C．Brain structure. | D．Environment. |
| A．Guarantee. | B．Assumption. |
| C．Category. | D．Distribution. |
| A．Habits of songbirds. |
| B．Methods of domesticating songbirds. |
| C．Outline of the study. |
| D．Three phases of displaying intelligence. |
| A．The mechanism that bridges all the brain regions. |
| B．The functions of the brain areas that can troubleshoot issues. |
| C．The reasons why songbirds’ intelligence can not develop further. |
| D．The reasons why vocal learning influence problem-solving abilities. |
China has nearly 5,000 years of
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, most of the furniture was hand-made using high-quality hardwood
Classical furniture is mostly made by hand. Modern machines cannot
The most delicate aspect of Chinese classical furniture is the structural part of the furniture—mortise-and-tenon (榫卯) work. Combining pieces of wood together,
Ancient Chinese
3 . You have an important exam in a few days and you’re not feeling prepared. With only a short time to go, you may try four strategies here.
Time-poor students should use a planner to identify the time available for study.
Have you ever tried to recall what you learned a week ago and found it’s as if it’s been wiped from your memory?
Research has found the rate you forget information is minimized if you interact with new information within 24 hours of first receiving it. A second, shorter repetition within 24 hours brings recall back up to 100%. A third repetition within a week for an even shorter time brings recall back to 100%.
Self-testingSelf-testing is a powerful way to study and learn. And flash cards are a great way to help you to self-test.
| A．Always take them along with you |
| B．Keep interacting with the content |
| C．Focus on one thing for an extended time |
| D．That’s where note-taking jumps in-as a hero |
| E．Then actually be disciplined and use that time to study |
| F．So you’d better mix up study sessions with various practices |
| G．They will improve your exam success and relieve your exam anxiety |
I drew in a breath, let it out against the backseat window, and scratched the word AWFUL on the fogged glass.
Dad glanced at me through the rearview (后视镜) mirror. “Alex, this will be a nice opportunity for you to see your grandparents.”
The car turned onto a familiar dirt road. We’re-getting farther from the city. Farther from Internet access. Farther from the computer camp.
“Cheer up, Alex! There will be another computer camp soon,” said Mom. “Probably even this summer.”
All my programming friends would be coding at the computer camp this week while I was stuck on the farm. I didn’t say a word. Finally, the car pulled into Granny and Granddad’s driveway. A thin line of trees came into sight.
I liked visiting the farm on’ spring breaks before I started doing coding camps…and before I knew how badly I could mess things up.
The car engine wasn’t off when Granny bounded (跳跃着跑) toward us. I watched from the backseat as Dad and Mom hugged Granny. I slowly dragged myself out of the car. Gravity seemed abnormally strong.
”You two deserve a vacation,” Granny was saying. “Alex will be fine — he loves being on the farm.” She meant loved. Alex loved being on the farm.
During lunch Granny asked, “Why so sad, Alex?” I kept silent. Why? They’re really acting as if nothing had happened during my last visit. For a second, my eyes caught Granny’s. Could I ask her if her goats had destroyed all her next-door neighbor, Mr. Jackson’s flowers because I lifted the latch (门闩) and let out the goats? Was Mr. Jackson still angry with me for having brought him such a great loss?
“I’m fine,” I mumbled (咕哝). “Just missing the coding camp this week. Coding’s just something I’m good at.”
Mummy nodded. “Ahhh. That sounds disappointing, but the farm will bring you something different.”
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。
After lunch, I was on my own when, out of nowhere, there’s Mr. Jackson.
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Instead, Mr. Jackson yelled, “Great to see you here, Alex! I need your help with a lamb’s birth.”
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5 . If you’re aiming to cut back on meat and you want to build muscle strength, you’re not alone. Now, a new study finds that swapping red and processed meat for plant protein a few times a week leads to better health and lowers carbon emission.
“We found that there was an increase in life expectancy of approximately nine months linked to 50% reduction of red meat consumption,” says Olivia Auclair. “When it comes to diet changes to improve health and climate, we don’t need to go to major extremes or completely wipe out foods from our diet.”
But sudden changes can be jarring. For a long time Kyle Backlund had been in the habit of eating meat at many meals, and when he cut back, he felt a drop in his energy level and experienced some tiredness and weakness. When he realized he needed to increase his protein intake, his wife Stephany Marreel — who does most of the cooking and also eats a plant-based diet — found a solution by adding tofu, vegetables, and grains. Kyle says he is now feeling good on his plant-focused diet.
People can get all the protein and nutrients they need from a plant-based diet as long as they do a little planning, says Dr. Christopher Gardner, a food scientist. “If someone is consuming a reasonable variety, meeting protein needs from plant sources is no problem,” Gardner says.
There’s an environmental argument for shifting diet as well, Gardner says. Livestock (家畜) require lots of land and water. Beef production requires 20 times more land and produces 20 times more greenhouse gas emissions, per gram of protein, compared to beans. If people in the U.S. swapped beef for beans, this one switch alone could get the U.S. about halfway to its greenhouse gas reduction goals.
1. What should you do to improve health and climate according to Olivia Auclair?| A．Change your meat-based diet a little. | B．Give up red meat in your meals. |
| C．Become a devoted plant-protein lover. | D．Take up proper ways of cooking. |
| A．Admirable. | B．Upsetting. | C．Meaningful. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．By exercising more. | B．By consuming less red meat. |
| C．By eating various foods. | D．By having whole grain. |
| A．Cattle are the main source of greenhouse gases. |
| B．Americans are reducing greenhouse gas emission. |
| C．Shifting diet can be beneficial to the planet. |
| D．Bean production requires lots of land and water. |
Mind reading is hard. But not impossible. Modern technology can reach inside someone’s head and pull out their
Decoding (破解) thought usually requires placing sensors directly on or in someone’s brain. Using brain implants, researchers so far
In a recent study, scientists decoded full stories from people’s brains
Devices that might let someone secretly read your mind from across the room
7 . Cities, often seen as ecological wastelands, actually have the potential to produce exceptional biologists. While traditional biologists typically come from rural backgrounds, urban residents possess diverse skill sets that make them better ones.
Take myself as an example. Growing up in Philadelphia provided me with a unique angle to look at urban ecology. The city’s distinct seasons, plentiful squirrels, row homes, and festivals served as my first ecological classroom. It was there that I witnessed wild cats eating birds and rats, people driving bats from their homes, and snakes being killed by lawn mowers (割草机). This was ecology in action, as real as any observation in fields and forests.
The unique environment of urban areas encourages wildlife there to develop distinct feature s and behaviors that set them apart from their rural counterparts: they may be larger in size, be active at different times of the day, move differently, and even display different personalities. Some biologists argue they are even “smarter” because they balance more risks, such as exposure to roads, poisonous chemicals and diseases from domestic animals — with rewards, of course, like inhabitable parks and human-provided food.
As human residents of cities, we too adapt to the risks and challenges of urban living. This adaptation sharpens our intuition (直觉) — we learn which streets to avoid and lock our doors for safety. Our ability to assess threats and our awareness regarding safety influence our behaviors and choices, much as they do for urban wildlife. Shared experiences such as these enable us to better understand and appreciate urban wildlife.
Most of the world’s population now accesses green and blue spaces, as well as wildlife, within urban neighborhoods. Nature is no longer only untouched wilderness; it includes sounds of human laughter, trash trucks and fire alarms. We urban residents are resourceful and imaginative. We need more capacity, more participation, more energy and more innovation in science to create solutions to fight environmental degradation and reduce biodiversity loss. Identifying this talent across cities presents a practical approach.
1. What did growing up in Philadelphia teach the author?| A．Philadelphia is uniquely rich in wildlife. |
| B．Studying biology at school helps greatly. |
| C．Urban wild creatures need protection too. |
| D．Cities are far from ecological wastelands. |
| A．Similar species. | B．Potential enemies. |
| C．Natural resources. | D．Qualified biologists. |
| A．Eco-friendly habits. | B．Risk-aware behaviors. |
| C．Ill-informed choices. | D．Fast-paced urban life. |
| A．Cities Build Better Biologists | B．What Makes Smarter Residents? |
| C．Urban Areas Encourage Wildlife | D．Who Saves Ecological Wastelands? |
8 . In Las Vegas, one parent’s determination to help his daughter catch up on her reading has led to the creation of a groundbreaking approach in educational technology. Meet Dave Vinzant, father to 8-year-old Aubrie, who
“It was about halfway through the first grade that we realized she couldn’t
Determined to find a solution, Vinzant took matters into his own hands. Although
WordStumble isn’t
For Vinzant, the success of WordStumble isn’t just
| A．dealt with | B．ran into | C．got through | D．brought about |
| A．smile | B．read | C．respond | D．jog |
| A．scientific | B．alternative | C．creative | D．traditional |
| A．surprise | B．regret | C．frustration | D．pleasure |
| A．crying | B．joking | C．dancing | D．singing |
| A．providing | B．ensuring | C．lacking | D．requiring |
| A．persuade | B．assist | C．amuse | D．rescue |
| A．brochure | B．textbook | C．advertisement | D．application |
| A．still | B．also | C．even | D．simply |
| A．familiar | B．magical | C．reasonable | D．strange |
| A．returns | B．remembers | C．spreads | D．recalls |
| A．initial | B．popular | C．personal | D．convenient |
| A．courage | B．determination | C．hope | D．imagination |
| A．improve | B．survive | C．transform | D．perform |
| A．instruction | B．task | C．memory | D．difference |
9 . Alba Renai, an attractive digital influencer (网红) powered by artificial intelligence, has recently announced that she will be hosting a special section on Spain’s popular reality show “Survivor”.
Created in the fall of last year by Be a Lion, Alba Renai quickly became a superstar online, attracting over 10,000 fans. She is a beautiful young woman, but she is not actually real.
Most people started speaking highly of Alba about her looks, wishing her luck in her new position, and most likely not even realizing she was an AI-powered avatar (化身), and some expressed their concern about such digital avatars occupying human jobs. In Asia, for example, several countries have been experimenting with Al newscasters.
Be a Lion, the company that created and trained: Alba Renai, recently claimed that their avatar didn’t steal any human jobs. On the contrary, it actually created more jobs. A team of 32 people works directly on the Alba project, including Al experts, engineers, producers, filmmakers, and community managers. “Alba is a collaborative (协作的) work between humans and machines,” Luis Movilla, a director at Be a Lion, said. “Now humans must have certain skills to be able to operate technological advances. We have had to redevelop the educational plan of our own employees and in the labor market.”
Alba Renai is one of several virtual influencers to attract international attention in the last few months, alongside Aitana Lopez and Lexi Love, to name just a couple of the most popular ones, but there is an entire wave of AI-powered avatars being developed as a way to cut costs. They may not be mainstream yet, but with technology evolving at such a rapid pace, who knows where we’ll be in a couple of years?
1. What can we know about Alba Renai?| A．She is a popular Spanish woman. |
| B．She has a great influence on young people. |
| C．She was designed and made by Be a Lion. |
| D．She is the chief hostess of the show “Survivor”. |
| A．They are costly to develop and maintain. |
| B．They may take away jobs from people. |
| C．They distract fans’ attention from work. |
| D．They are not as natural as real newscasters. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Critical. | C．Concerned. | D．Objective. |
| A．Alba is currently the most popular virtual influencer. |
| B．AI-powered avatars will never take the place of humans: |
| C．There are likely to be more AI-powered avatars in the future. |
| D．Technology shouldn’t have been evolving at such a rapid pace, |
1. What is the purpose of the museum?
| A．To show more computers. |
| B．To help school children. |
| C．To develop the industry. |
| A．Parents. | B．Students. | C．Teachers. |
| A．To get some advice. |
| B．To sell them computers. |
| C．To introduce the company. |
| A．In half an hour. | B．In an hour. | C．In more than an hour. |
