1 . Explore the science behind these amazing landscapes
Retracing Charles Darwin’s travels across North Wales
13 May 2024|6 days
Uncover the best of Wales as you explore the dramatic Welsh landscapes of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park and examine the region geology and how it has been transformed by volcanic and glacial activity over the years.Discover the story of Charles Darwin’s 1831 and 1842 tours of Wales,and retrace his travels on this small group journey to Shrewsbury and Snowdonia.
The Rockies and the Badlands:Geology and dinosaurs in Canada
17 June 2024|7 days
Explore the majestic Rocky Mountains west of Calgary and the otherworldly Badlands to the cast,witness the stunning scenery and geology of southerm Alberta.This tour includes two visits to UNESCO World Heritage sites,where you will see first-hand the rugged peaks and glacial features of the Banff portion of Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks and the bone-riddled badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park.
Short break:Dinosaurs and Hoodoos:Alberta
23 July 2024|3 days
Visit one of the world’s premier dinosaur museums,sail all the way around a World Heritage site with outstanding dinosaur fossils and explore the multi-hued canyons and wind-sculpted hoodoos (石林)of the Alberta Badlands.Throughout this tour you will be accompanied by palaeontologist (古生物学家)Jon Noad,who will share the stories of the rocks,including tales about past oceans,swamps,rivers and deserts,the rise and fall of the dinosaurs and,more recently,ice sheets that covered Alberta and carved out spectacular landscapes.
1. Which of the following might appeal to dinosaur enthusiast most?| A．The Eryri National Park. | B．The Welsh Glaciers. |
| C．The Rocky Mountains. | D．The Alberta Badlands. |
| A．Scientific facts. | B．Tales about the past. |
| C．Special companions. | D．Visits to World Heritage sites. |
| A．A research paper. | B．A science fiction. |
| C．A tourism report. | D．A travel brochure. |
| A．A time conflict. | B．A troublesome accountant. | C．An undecided marketing plan. |
1. Why did the man stop watching the program last night?
| A．It was aired too late. | B．It lasted too long. | C．It was full of ads. |
| A．Issuing cash cards. | B．Buying products. | C．Running a series of ads. |
| A．Striking. | B．Disturbing. | C．Astonishing. |
1. How many parts does the speaker’s diving training consist of?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. |
| A．Academic stuff. | B．Practical skills. | C．Classroom work. |
| A．She got her ears blocked up. |
| B．She enjoyed the freezing water. |
| C．She went under the water smoothly. |
| A．Proud. | B．Lucky. | C．Confident. |
1. What tour does the man decide to take today?
| A．A three-hour tour. | B．A half-day tour. | C．A one-day tour. |
| A．10:00 a. m. | B．10:30 a. m. | C．11:00 a. m. |
| A．Buckingham Palace. | B．Westminster Abbey. | C．Windsor Castle. |
| A．£15. | B．£ 90. | C．£105. |
6 . “Anxiety.” The very word invites discomfort. Its effects—shortness of breath, pounding heart, muscle tension—are outright upsetting. But, as a clinician, I find that we tend to miss out on many valuable opportunities presented by this human emotion. In and of itself, anxiety is not deadly, nor is it a disease. Quite the contrary: it is an indicator of brain and sensory health. Once we accept that it is a normal, though uncomfortable, part of life, we can use it to help us.
We all know working out at the gym is hard. By nature, a “good workout” is uncomfortable, since it involves pushing our physical strength past what we can easily do. The sweet spot of exercise is always a somewhat challenging experience. Similarly, if you want to be emotionally stronger, you need to face some tension. For example, one effective treatment for fear is exposure therapy (疗法), which involves gradually encountering things that make one anxious, reducing fear over time.
Humans are social creatures. When my patients learn to open up to their partners about their anxieties, they almost always report a greater sense of emotional closeness. Also, as international relationship expert Sue Johnson teaches, when we express our need for connection during challenging moments (e.g., “I’m having a hard time right now and could really use your support”), it creates greater connection and turns our anxiety into love.
From time to time, we find ourselves at the end of our rope. Our responsibilities pile up, our resources break down, and we feel uncomfortably anxious—what we’re experiencing is called stress. Simply put, the demands placed upon us outweigh our available resources, just like a set of scales (天平) going out of balance. Focusing on work and pretending everything is OK only leads to disastrous results. Medical treatment for stress may function for a while, but it tends to make things worse in the long run. The only solution to deal with stress is to do the mathematics to balance the scales.
1. What does the author say about anxiety?| A．It is an invitation to diseases. |
| B．It indicates stable mental health. |
| C．It costs us many valuable chances. |
| D．It is a natural emotional expression. |
| A．To prove how exercise influences emotions. |
| B．To suggest an effective way to challenge limits. |
| C．To explain how anxiety builds emotional strength. |
| D．To show a positive connection between mind and body. |
| A．The key to closeness is partners’ support. |
| B．Sharing anxieties improves relationships. |
| C．Humans are defined by their social nature. |
| D．Expressing feelings keeps us off anxieties. |
| A．Devote more energy to our work. |
| B．Increase resources available to us. |
| C．Seek professional medical treatment. |
| D．Master advanced mathematical skills. |
1. What tour does the man decide to take today?
| A．A three-hour tour. | B．A half-day tour. | C．A one-day tour. |
| A．10:00 a. m. | B．10:30 a. m. | C．11:00 a. m. |
| A．Buckingham Palace. | B．Westminster Abbey. | C．Windsor Castle. |
| A．£15. | B．£90. | C．£105. |
8 . Kelli Boehle says her son Nik was an amazing and caring person. Nik was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer in 2008 when he was 17. He passed away in 2012. But Nik’s kindness and generosity have lived on long after his death.
After he was diagnosed and started treatment, Nik was granted (给予) a wish experience from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “For just this period of time, we didn’t think about cancer, ”Kelli Boehle said. “All we thought about was enjoying our time together. ”
In 2009, Nik met another young man Nate, who was also going through cancer treatment. He’d been diagnosed a month after turning 18, and Nik learned he was too old to qualify for a wish. The night before Nik passed away, he asked his mother to help ensure that young adults fighting cancer could have their wishes come true too.
“It was like a seed he planted that just wouldn’t stop coming into my mind, ” she said. In 2012, Kelli Boehle started Nik’s Wish. The nonprofit grants wishes to young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 who are battling cancer. Nate was the organization’s first wish recipient. “It’s meant to bring them joy and know that they’re loved and that we’re fighting for them, too, ”Kelli Boehle said.
Recently, 19-year-old Jordan Morrow received her wish to attend a Taylor Swift concert as part of a trip to Los Angeles. For Morrow, who has spent the last year battling brain cancer, going to the concert has done more than lift her spirits. “I think it’s something to get me through whatever comes my way, ”she said. “And I’m thankful for Nik’s Wish for that. ”
In the 11 years since Nik passed away, the organization has granted more than 300 wishes across more than 30 states. In the beginning, Kelli Boehle says she wasn’t sure she could be a wish maker and work closely with the young adults. But now, it’s her favorite thing to do.
1. What is the goal of Nik’s Wish?| A．To make commercial profits. | B．To cure the youth of their cancer. |
| C．To ease young patients of pains. | D．To support young adults fighting cancer. |
| A．Intelligent. | B．Selfless. | C．Straightforward. | D．Ambitious. |
| A．She survived the deadly disease. | B．She was granted more than one wish. |
| C．She was motivated by the organization. | D．She lifted people’s spirits by performing. |
| A．Pay-It-Forward: A Mother’s Last Wish |
| B．Cancer Battles: Stories of Hope and Perseverance |
| C．Nik’s Wish: Fulfilling Wishes for Young Cancer Fighters |
| D．Make-A-Wish Foundation: Granting Dreams to Young Adults |
9 . Our species’ incredible capacity to quickly acquire words from 300 by age 2 to over 1, 000 by age 4 isn’t fully understood. Some cognitive scientists and linguists have theorized that people are born with built-in expectations and logical constraints (约束) that make this possible. Now, however, machine-learning research is showing that preprogrammed assumptions aren’t necessary to swiftly pick up word meanings from minimal data.
A team of scientists has successfully trained a basic artificial intelligence model to match images to words using just 61 hours of naturalistic footage (镜头) and sound-previously collected from a child named Sam in 2013 and 2014. Although it’s a small slice of a child’s life, it was apparently enough to prompt the AI to figure out what certain words mean.
The findings suggest that language acquisition could be simpler than previously thought. Maybe children “don’t need a custom-built, high-class language-specific mechanism” to efficiently grasp word meanings, says Jessica Sullivan, an associate professor of psychology at Skidmore College. “This is a really beautiful study, ” she says, because it offers evidence that simple information from a child’s worldview is rich enough to kick-start pattern recognition and word comprehension.
The new study also demonstrates that it’s possible for machines to learn similarly to the way that humans do. Large language models are trained on enormous amounts of data that can include billions and sometimes trillions of word combinations. Humans get by on orders of magnitude less information, says the paper’s lead author Wai Keen Vong. With the right type of data, that gap between machine and human learning could narrow dramatically.
Yet additional study is necessary in certain aspects of the new research. For one, the scientists acknowledge that their findings don’t prove how children acquire words. Moreover, the study only focused on recognizing the words for physical objects.
Still, it’s a step toward a deeper understanding of our own mind, which can ultimately help us improve human education, says Eva Portelance, a computational linguistics researcher. She notes that AI research can also bring clarity to long-unanswered questions about ourselves. “We can use these models in a good way, to benefit science and society, ” Portelance adds.
1. What is a significant finding of machine-learning research?| A．Vocabulary increases gradually with age. |
| B．Vocabulary can be acquired from minimal data. |
| C．Language acquisition is tied to built-in expectations. |
| D．Language acquisition is as complex as formerly assumed. |
| A．Facilitate. | B．Persuade. | C．Advise. | D．Expect. |
| A．Its limitations. | B．Its strengths. | C．Its uniqueness. | D．Its process. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Cautious. | C．Dismissive. | D．Positive. |
10 . Los Angeles is home to a popular cycling culture. The following bike shops will help you see the city in a whole new light.
Los Angeles Bike Academy
Los Angeles Bike Academy is a bike shop with a critical mission: Provide resources and community for local underserved youth. Its initiative is its Earn-a-Bike program, where students spend time in the shop learning the basics of bike maintenance and running a store, and they graduate with their own bike. LABA also forms competitive cycling teams that race all around the country.
The Cub House
It’s a bike shop, a plant store and a nice place to wander through. It has something for everyone. Here you can play a game of ping-pong on the outdoor table, head into the mini greenhouse for a delicate plant, or just admire the vintage (老式的) cycling clothes hung on the walls. Finally, make sure to swing by the Cub House for the L. A. Invitational, a weekend party featuring multiple bike rides and a vintage car and bike show outside the store.
Frank’s
Some of the wildest bikes in L. A. are rolling out of Frank’s. The house specialty here is BMX, specifically luxury models with large 29-inch wheels. These bikes are as much fun to look at as they are to ride. Since 1992, Frank’s has found a business opportunity for itself as a destination for BMX builds and hard-to-find parts. The display counter has enough attractions to match a jewelry store.
The Bicycle Stand
This spacious store features classic vintage bikes. It’s worth making a trip to this store just to see their amazing collection. The store also specializes in vintage bike repainting and restorations. Besides, the Bicycle Stand team works on all kinds of rides, and the shop has a variety of refurbished (翻新的), ready-to-ride bikes for sale.
1. What is special about Los Angeles Bike Academy?| A．It aims at repairing local bikes. |
| B．It holds national cycling competitions. |
| C．It serves as a community for disabled youth. |
| D．It offers a program for students to earn a bike. |
| A．Los Angeles Bike Academy. | B．The Cub House. |
| C．Frank’s. | D．The Bicycle Stand. |
| A．To discuss benefits of riding. | B．To explain how bike shops work. |
| C．To promote bike shops in L. A. | D．To introduce a riding organization. |
