1 . The Mona Lisa is the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting of a woman with a mysterious smile. This week, the painting gave up a secret.
Scientists using X-rays to examine the chemical structure of a small part of the painting discovered a technique Leonardo used in the work. An oil paint used for it was a special, new chemical mixture, which suggests that the Italian artist was in an experimental mood when he worked on the painting in the 16th century.
“He loved to experiment, and each of his paintings is completely different technically,”said Victor Gonzalez, a chemist who has studied the chemical element (成分) of several works by Leonardo and other artists. The researchers found a rare lead compound (铅化合物) — plumbonacrite, in Leonardo’s first layer of paint. The discovery proved that da Vinci most likely used lead oxide to thicken and help dry his paint. The paint in the study is about the thickness of a human hair, lying in the top right area of the painting.
The scientists looked into its atomic structure using X-rays, moving particles at the speed of light, permitting researchers to look deeper into the paint structure. “ Plumbonacrite is really a fingerprint of his recipe, as it’s the first time we can chemically confirm it,” Gonzalez said.
Dutch artist Rembrandt may have used a similar mixture when he was painting in the 17th century. Gonzalez and other researchers have found plumbonacrite in his work, too. Leonardo is thought to have put lead oxide powder, which has an orange color, in the oil to make it thicker and dry faster. “What you will get is an oil that has a very nice golden color,” Gonzalez said. “It flows more like honey.”
But the Mona Lisa — said by the Louvre to be a portrait (肖像) of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk businessman — and additional works by Leonardo still have other secrets to tell. “What we are saying is just a little brick in the knowledge,” Gonzalez said.
1. What’s the new discovery about the Mona Lisa?| A．A new explanation of the secret smile. |
| B．A new chemical element used in the painting. |
| C．The secret of the woman in the painting. |
| D．The structure of the paint da Vinci used. |
| A．Open secret. | B．Widespread use. | C．Hidden element. | D．Long-term dream. |
| A．It helps to make many things into paints. |
| B．It helps to make paints easy to deal with. |
| C．It helps to keep the paintings last long. |
| D．It helps to make paintings rich in color. |
| A．It has more secrets to tell the world. |
| B．It’s the portrait of a silk businessman. |
| C．It’s well kept in bricks in the Louvre. |
| D．It has a mixture of different art styles. |
2 . Phonetic (语音) information—the smallest sound elements of speech - is considered by researchers to be the basis of language. Babies are thought to learn these small sound elements and add them together to make words. But a new study suggests that phonetic information is learnt too late and slowly for this to be the case. Instead, rhythmic (有韵律的) speech helps babies learn language and is effective even in the first few months of life.
Researchers from the Trinity College Dublin investigated babies’ ability to process phonetic information during their first year. Their study, published in the journal Nature Communications. found that phonetic information wasn’t successfully encoded (编码) until seven months old, and did not occur very often at 11 months old when babies began to say their first words. From then individual speech sounds are still added in very slowly—too slowly to form the basis of language.
The researchers recorded patterns of brain activity in 50 babies at four, seven, and eleven months old as they watched a video of a primary school teacher singing 18 nursery rhymes (童谣) to a baby. They found that phonetic encoding in babies appeared inchmeal over the first year of life, beginning with labial sounds (e.g. “d” for “daddy”) and nasal sounds (e.g. “m” for “mummy”), with the “read out” progressively looking more like that of adults.
“The reason why we use nursery rhymes is because that is the best way for babies to discover and connect sounds with language, so we are teaching them how to speak,” said Giovanni Di Liberto, lead author of the study at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. “Parents should talk and sing to their babies as much as possible or use baby-directed speech because it will make a difference to language outcome,” she added.
1. What should babies learn in the first few months of life according to the new study?| A．Small sound elements | B．Rhythmic information. |
| C．Phonetic information. | D．Individual words. |
| A．The poor phonetic encoding in babies. | B．The advantages of phonetic information. |
| C．The babies’ great ability to learn language. | D．The babies’ growing process in the first year. |
| A．Gradually. | B．Suddenly. | C．Successfully. | D．Occasionally. |
| A．When Babies Are Able to Say Their First Words |
| B．How Phonetic Information Changes Over Time |
| C．Why Phonetic Is Better Than Rhythmic for Babies |
| D．Why Babies Need Nursery Rhymes for Language Mastery |
3 . Imagine you need milk, so you go to the grocery store to pick some up, only to find there are dozens of options. These days, you have to make a decision on not only the percentage of fat you want, but also what source you want your milk to be coming from: cows, soybeans... You have no idea what milk to pick. There are so many choices that you are confused.
This phenomenon is known as the paradox (悖论) of choice and it is becoming a concern in the modern world, where more and more options are becoming easily available to us. While we might believe that being presented with multiple options actually makes it easier to choose one that we are happy with, and thus increases consumer satisfaction, having too many options actually requires more effort to make a decision and can leave us feeling unsatisfied with our choice.
The idea was popularized by American psychologist Barry Schwartz when he published his book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Schwartz, who has long studied the ways in which economics and psychology intersect (交叉), became interested in seeing the way that choices were affecting the happiness of citizens in Western societies. He identified that the range of choices that we have available to us these days is far greater than that people had in the past; however, consumer satisfaction has not increased as much as traditional economics theories might expect.
Schwartz identified that the paradox of choice carries the most consequence for people that are maximizers. Maximizers, unlike satisficers, are concerned with making the best choice instead of simply making a choice that they are happy with. When there are many options available to maximizers, it becomes harder for them to determine which is the best, which can cause them to feel a great deal of regret after they have made a choice.
Instead of believing that freedom of choice is unlimited, Schwartz advocates that the role of psychology and behavioral economics should be to find the kind of limitations on freedom that can lead to the greatest level of happiness within society.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in mentioning buying milk in paragraph 1?| A．To lead in the topic. |
| B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To show that we have more choices when shopping. |
| D．To indicate that people pay greater attention to health when shopping. |
| A．More options mean less satisfaction. |
| B．Consumer satisfaction has greatly increased. |
| C．People are happy with more choices. |
| D．Modern people are happier than their ancestors. |
| A．They aim for the very best. | B．They tend to follow their feelings. |
| C．They often regret their decisions. | D．They have trouble making a decision. |
| A．Hold on to their beliefs. | B．Accept their own behavior. |
| C．Give up freedom. | D．Limit their own choices. |
4 . There are two kinds of garlic, a kind of vegetable—hardnecks and softnecks.
Plant hardneck varieties in northern areas six to eight weeks before a hard frost(霜). Their heads have a single row of large divisions, formed around an underground stem(茎). They are tastier than softnecks but do not last as long in storage.
Softneck varieties are better for growing in warmer climates. Their heads contain several rows of smaller cloves(蒜瓣) . Since they last longer after harvest, softnecks are usually the kind shoppers find in supermarkets.
Separate the head into individual cloves.
If your winter temperature falls below four degrees Celsius, add a thick cover of straw(稻草) to the garden bed. Water the straw to settle it into place.
It is fine for the garlic plants to send out green growth, during autumn and early winter, even in northern climates.
Remove the straw cover in spring, after the danger of frost has passed. Put a little fertilizer between each row 5 to 10 centimeters from the stems. Keep the bed free of weeds.
Your garlic will be ready for harvest in mid-to-late summer when at least 50 percent of the plant has turned yellow.
| A．Store garlic heads in a cool, dry spot. |
| B．Do not remove the outer part of thin skin. |
| C．Choose the better kind to plant for your climate. |
| D．Carefully dig the garlic out and move off the soil. |
| E．Do not plant the garlic you find in the supermarket. |
| F．Do not worry about possible damage to this growth in cold weather. |
| G．Plant only garlic seeds from the healthiest heads saved from last year's harvest. |
5 . Imagine this. You need an image of a balloon for a work presentation and turn to an AI text-to- image generator, like Midjourney or DALL-E, to create a suitable image. You enter the prompt (提示词) “red balloon against a blue sky” but the generator returns an image of an egg instead.
What’s going on? The generator you’re using may have been “poisoned”. What does this mean? Text-to-image generators work by being trained on large datasets that include millions or billions of images. Some of the generators have been trained by indiscriminately scraping online images, many of which may be under copyright. This has led to many copyright infringement (侵害) cases where artists have accused big tech companies of stealing and profiting from their work.
This is also where the idea of “poison” comes in. Researchers who want to empower individual artists have recently created a tool named “Nightshade” to fight back against unauthorised image scraping. The tool works by slightly altering an image’s pixels (像素) in a way that confuses the computer vision system but leaves the image unaltered to a human’s eyes. If an organization then scrapes one of these images to train a future AI model, its data pool becomes “poisoned”. This can result in mistaken learning, which makes the generator return unintended results. As in our earlier example, a balloon might become an egg.
The higher the number of “poisoned” images in the training data, the greater the impact. Because of how generative AI works, the damage from “poisoned” images also affects related prompt keywords. For example, if a “poisoned” image of a Picasso work is used in training data, prompt results for masterpieces from other artists can also be affected.
Possibly, tools like Nightshade can be abused by some users to intentionally upload “poisoned” images in order to confuse AI generators. But the Nightshade’s developer hopes the tool will make big tech companies more respectful of copyright. It does challenge a common belief among computer scientists that data found online can be used for any purpose they see fit.
Human rights activists, for example, have been concerned for some time about the indiscriminate use of machine vision in wider society. This concern is particularly serious concerning facial recognition. There is a clear connection between facial recognition cases and data poisoning, as both relate to larger questions around technological governance. It may be better to see data poisoning as an innovative solution to the denial of some fundamental human rights.
1. The underlined word “scraping” (para. 2) is closest in meaning to ____.| A．facilitating | B．collecting | C．damaging | D．polishing |
| A．increase the accuracy of returned information |
| B．cause users to forget the prompt key words |
| C．interfere with the training of generative AI |
| D．discriminate against great masterpieces |
| A．Data poisoning is somehow justified to direct attention to human rights. |
| B．Computer scientists has learned to respect the copyright of most artists. |
| C．Nightshade is being abused by human rights activists to recognize faces. |
| D．The issue of technological governance has aroused the lawyers’ interest. |
| A．Data Poisoning: Government Empowering Citizens to Protect Themselves |
| B．Data Poisoning: Addressing Facial Recognition Issues Among Artists |
| C．Data Poisoning: Risks and Rewards of Generative AI Data Training |
| D．Data Poisoning: Restricting Innovation or Empowering Artists |
6 . Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who together identified a slight chemical change to messenger RNA,were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year.
Dr. Karikó, the 13th woman to win the prize, had come to the United States from Hungary two decades earlier when her research program there ran out of money. She was preoccupied by mRNA, which provides instructions to cells to make proteins. Defying the decades old belief that mRNA was clinically unusable, she hold the view that it would stimulate medical innovations.
She and Dr. Weissman had their first chance meeting over a copy machine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. At the time, Dr. Weissman was desperate for new approaches to a vaccine (疫苗) against HLV, which bad long proved impossible to defend against. A physician who had tried and failed for years to develop a treatment for AIDS, he wondered if he and Dr. Karikó could team up to make an HIV. vaccine.
For years, they were at a loss. Mice vaccinated with mRNA became inactive. Countless experiments failed. They wandered down one dead end after another, But eventually, the scientists discovered that cells protect their own mRNA with a specific chemical modification (修饰). So they tried making the same change to mRNA manufactured in the lab before vaccinating it into cells It worked.
At first, other scientists were largely uninterested in taking up that new approach to vaccination. But two biotech companies soon took notice: Moderna, in the United States, and BioNTech, in Germany. Then the coronavirus emerged. Almost instantly, Drs. Karikó and Weissman’s work came together with several factors of different research to put vaccine makers ahead of the game in developing shot.
Brian Ferguson, an immunologist at the University of Cambridge, said. “The work of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman in the years prior to 2020 prevented tens of millions of deaths and helped the world recover from the worst pandemic in a century. They richly deserve this recognition.”
1. The underlined word “defying” (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to “ ”.| A．challenging | B．confirming | C．re-emphasizing | D．stating |
| A．They teamed up for the treatment for AIDS in Hungary. |
| B．They protected their mRNA with a chemical modification. |
| C．They persevered until they made a change to lab-made mRNA. |
| D．They manufactured mRNA in mice despite their countless failures. |
| A．they took no notice of others’ ignorance |
| B．they caught attention of two biotech companies |
| C．their work helped avoid the loss of countless lives |
| D．their work prevented the outbreak of the pandemic |
| A．Chemical Changes Identified in the Pandemic |
| B．Approaches Adopted to Defend Against HLV |
| C．Nobel Prize Awarded to Covid Vaccine Pioneers |
| D．mRNA Manufactured in a University Lab in USA |
7 . While most musicians work with other artists when creating their music, Holly Herndon, an American musician and sound artist who is now based in Berlin, takes a different way, working with the machine learning software called Spawn. The software uses artificial neural networks modeled after the structure of the human brain. These networks learn patterns from datasets during the training process. Based on the data, the networks create new material that includes Herndon’s own voice.
When producing her album, PROTO, Holly trained datasets to write new music. The process requires the input data of music written by people or by artificial intelligence (AI). The neural networks then produce variations of that music. “Computers surprise you in a way that an instrument doesn’t,” Holly said. So what does music sound like when composed by what is essentially a robot? It sounds like music from the future!
But Holly Herndon isn’t the only one exploring AI in composition. Machines have played an increasingly important role in music over the last century. The godfather of computer science, Alan Turing, developed the first computer generated music in 1951. Then in 1980. David Cope from the University of California, Santa Cruz developed EMI — Experiments in Musical Intelligence, a system that analyzes existing music and produces new pieces based on it.
AI might not take over the job of the “pop star” anytime soon, or will it? Miquela Sousa is a computer-generated artist with over one million followers on Instagram. “I’m a model and singer. And I’m a robot,” Miquela said. This then raises the question: Can we reproduce creativity using a computer?
Though those questions are not easy to answer, I believe the next frontier of music lies somewhere in between. I can see the path forward with a new dawn of creativity that combines human inventiveness with AI. And the next chapter of music will certainly become wonderful as music and AI become even more closely connected.
1. What plays an important role in producing PROTO?| A．Holly’s special voice. | B．The input of existing music. |
| C．Holly’s rich knowledge. | D．The use of an instrument. |
| A．To promote deep thinking on AI musicians. |
| B．To show the popularity of smart robots. |
| C．To explain the tasks of computer-generated artists. |
| D．To make comparisons between human and robotic artists. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Surprised. | C．Confused. | D．Confident. |
| A．The increasing diversity of AI music. | B．The development of musical composition. |
| C．The history of computer-generated music. | D．The combination of AI and musical composition. |
8 . One of the oldest metaphors (隐喻) for human interaction with technology is the relationship of master and slave. Aristotle imagined that technology could replace slavery if machine became automated. Marx and Engels saw things differently. “Masses of laborers are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine,” they wrote in the Communist Manifesto.
Today, computers often play both roles. Nicholas Carr, in his new book The Glass Cage: Automation and Us, takes a stand on whether such technology imprisons or liberates its users. We are increasingly engaged, he argues, but the invisibility of our high-tech traps gives us the ‘image of freedom’. He describes doctors who rely so much on decision-assistance software that they overlook signals that are not obvious from patients.
All of this has obvious implications for the use of technology in classrooms: When do technologies free students to think about more interesting and complex questions, and when do they destroy the very cognitive (认知) capacities that they are meant to improve? The effect of spell check and AutoCorrect software is an example. Psychologists have found the act of forming a word in your mind strengthens your capacity to remember it. When a computer automatically corrects a spelling mistake, we’re no longer forced to form the correct spelling in our minds.
This might not seem very important. The process of word formation is not just supplementing spelling skills, it’s also destroying students. When students find themselves without automated spelling assistance, they don’t face the prospect of freezing to death, as the Inuits did when their GPS malfunctioned, but they’re more likely to make errors. This creates a vicious cycle: The more we use the technology, the more we need to use it in all circumstances. Suddenly, our position as masters of technology starts to seem more insecure.
1. What did Marx and Engels think of the machine?| A．It did the boring daily work for people. |
| B．It failed to free people from being enslaved. |
| C．It gave people more time to enjoy themselves. |
| D．It was the result of the development of technology. |
| A．Technology is a guarantee of freedom. |
| B．Doctors should stay away from technology. |
| C．Too much involvement with technology may be risky. |
| D．Some decision-assistance software needs improving. |
| A．Students being unable to spell words correctly. |
| B．Spell check helping students remember more words. |
| C．Students depending too much on spelling software. |
| D．Spellcheck destroying students’ cognitive capacities. |
| A．Is technology making people stupid or not? |
| B．Which areas are most affected by technology? |
| C．Are people satisfied with the advancement of technology? |
| D．Why shouldn’t technology be employed in the classroom? |
9 . Lying in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the fishing village Huatulco is home to nine bays, 36 beaches and thousands of baby turtles that apparently needed me. I had three open days on my calendar, and a desire to save some turtles. And so, away I went to Huatulco with Wildcoast, a group of champions-for-change who were protecting coastal and marine ecosystem in the U. S. and Mexico.
I was taken to La Escobilla to experience Wildcoast in action. Just one hour north of Huatulco, this protected beach is where mass turtle nesting happens. This natural phenomenon lasts just four days during rainy season, hundreds of thousands of female sea turtles swinging their way ashore to lay their eggs.
Between threats of dogs, crabs, development and oil spills, the little creatures have the whole world against them. As recently as 2002, turtles hunting was not only a common practice, but an important part of the culture and diet in the Oaxaca communities. Luckily, Wildcoast rescues turtle eggs and recreates habitats by monitoring temperatures and humidity. Thanks to their efforts, the sea turtles have made a major comeback, with now over 72 million turtles being born on the beaches that Wildcoast protects.
I got to hold 50 of the tiny creatures in a bowl. Despite an average laying of 100 eggs, just one in 1, 000 baby turtles will make it to adulthood. Gazing into the bowl, I so badly wanted them to taste the sea and find shelter somewhere deep in the ocean. Finally, it was time to liberate those little creatures. Out spilled the creatures, some moving full steam ahead while others barely paddled in place. Literally, hundreds of them began to spread out across the beach.
With each set of waves, we witnessed the survival of the fittest, some pushing past the whitewash while others crashed back to shore. Their fight for life made my eyes wet. A flock of birds were ready to dive into the sea for their moving targets. “One in 1, 000.” Nature was cruel and compassionate at the same time. After 30 long minutes, the last creature made his way to the sea.
1. The baby turtles are threatened by various factors except ________.| A．the cruel hunters | B．the rapid development |
| C．the extreme weather | D．the oil-polluted ocean |
| A．With slow pace and fear. | B．With all energy and enthusiasm. |
| C．With full caution and curiosity. | D．With great satisfaction and responsibility. |
| A．One baby turtle in 1,000 can make his way to the sea. |
| B．Thousands of baby turtles were crashed back to shore. |
| C．The struggle of baby turtles for life touched the author. |
| D．Baby turtles can hardly survive the harsh living conditions. |
| A．Think twice before you leap. | B．God helps those who help themselves. |
| C．Cease to struggle and you cease to live. | D．When the buying stops, the killing can too. |
10 . Gutiérrez’s life changed after finding a copy of Anna Karenina in the trash (垃圾) 20 years ago. It happened one night when he saw discarded books while driving his garbage truck through wealthier neighborhoods. It ignited his desire to start rescuing books from the trash. He took home about 50 books every morning after his night shift. Eventually, he turned his book collection into a community library for children from low-income families.
Bogota, Colombia’s capital, has 19 public libraries. However, they are far away from where rural and poorer communities live. The option of buying new books is out of reach for families struggling to make ends meet. Gutiérrez’s community library is a true representation of how one man’s trash can be another’s treasure. “I don’t think I’m doing something so great. The library is simply a bridge between people who throw books and those who have no access to books,” he said about his remarkable efforts.
Today, his library, called “the Strength of Words”, contains over 20,000 books and occupies most of his home. Everything from school textbooks to storybooks can be found in his collection. The library is open every weekend, when neighborhood children pour in. “The whole value of the library lies in helping kids start reading. This is important for kids in Bogota where many young people kill time in the streets and fall victim to vices such as taking drugs,” said Gutiérrez.
Gutiérrez grew up poor, and his family couldn’t afford to educate him beyond primary school. Nevertheless, he never lets a lack of formal education stop him from reading. “Books are the greatest invention of human beings. There’s nothing more beautiful than having a book handy,” Guiérrez said. His journey to giving back to his local community is an amazing example of how every one of us can improve the lives of those around us by identifying needs, investing time and finding a simple solution.
1. What does the underlined word “ignited” mean in the first paragraph?| A．Indicated. | B．Satisfied. | C．Limited. | D．Stimulated. |
| A．Caring and humble. | B．Smart and independent. |
| C．Traditional and self-disciplined. | D．Ambitious and easy-going. |
| A．Bogota’s main social problems. |
| B．The library’s rich variety of books. |
| C．The bad habits of Bogota’s young people. |
| D．The library’s significance for the neighborhood. |
| A．Education is the key to success. |
| B．All things are difficult before they are easy. |
| C．Small acts of kindness make a big difference. |
| D．Books are the food for the hungry of great mind. |
