1 . Studies have shown that higher temperatures mean larger problems with sea level rise and extreme weather, as well as large-scale changes in ocean circulation — which could in turn mean big changes on the ground. Atmospheric scientists John Fasullo and Kevin Trenberth studied global humidity (湿度) patterns to understand a difficult question: How much warmer will it become when atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels double? Estimates of this temperature increase are around 5°F by about 2100. But predictions vary more than twofold, from 3°F to 8°F.
To try to solve the mystery, Fasullo and Trenberth looked to the skies. Clouds are key in pinpointing the level of temperature rise expected, Fasullo said. They have a major influence on Earth’s energy budget. Since they’re white, clouds reflect sunlight, cooling Earth. Depending on how high they are in the atmosphere, they can also act like a blanket, holding in heat. Yet they change shape, size and brightness quickly, making modeling them difficult. Satellite observations of clouds are approximate, and contain errors.
To sidestep these problems, Fasullo and Trenberth decided to look instead at how clouds are made. They form from water vapor (水蒸气) in environments of high relative humidity. The researchers focused on areas in the atmosphere called dry zones, the part of the atmosphere where clouds can form. “The dry zones are like the iris (虹膜) of the climate system. With warming, the iris expands, decreasing cloud cover and allowing in more heat,” Fasullo explained. They compared the observed relative humidity in the dry zones to 16 different climate models and found that the three models that best matched the humidity observations were the same ones that predict the hottest future, with temperatures increasing 8°F before a century’s end.
Karen Shell, a climate scientist from Oregon State University, agreed that Fasullo and Trenberth’s choice made sense. “It’s a promising technique. It’s one study, but if this relationship holds up, it implies the climate sensitivity is on the higher end of the range.”
1. What did Fasullo and Trenberth do to understand global warming?| A．Measuring the amount of carbon. | B．Studying global humidity patterns. |
| C．Experimenting on computing models. | D．Analyzing modes of ocean circulation. |
| A．To stress the role that dry zones play. |
| B．To deepen the atmospheric problem. |
| C．To predict what the weather will be like. |
| D．To show the researchers’ idea about eyes. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Warmer Oceans Cause Huge Changes | B．Greenhouse Gases Still Keep Increasing |
| C．Clouds May Hold Climate-Change Key | D．Global Atmosphere Is Getting Warmer |
2 . I love making art and looking at artworks. I’ve found myself wondering how we gain pleasure from art. And now neuroaesthetics, a combination of neuroscience (神经科学) and aesthetics (美学), may provide an answer.
Neuroaesthetics is a relatively young field of research on what happens in the brain when we make aesthetic assessments. Researchers use brain imaging technique to see which brain areas light up when we view paintings that we consider beautiful. Similar research has been done to understand the “neuronal fireworks” that occur when we look at inspiring sculptures, attractive faces, impressive dance, etc.
But why do we find some art beautiful and other art ugly? According to research, it all comes down to the “aesthetic triad (三元组合)”.
The first part of the triad is sensory-motor. This involves perceiving things like colours, shapes and movements. Movement in art has an interesting role. If you see a painting of a movement, like of a man pulling his arm away after being bitten by a dog, you feel like going through a similar experience. The part of your brain that controls your own movements lights up in response.
Second is emotion-valuation. This is how a piece of art makes you feel, and whether or not you appreciate or enjoy that feeling. The part of the brain related to pleasure is activated in response to something we find beautiful. This system can be affected in fascinating ways, as found by research using transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) (经颅磁刺激). If TMS is applied to a specific part of your brain behind your forehead that is particularly important for decision-making, you suddenly like different kinds of art. Such stimulation produces significant changes in aesthetic appreciation of faces, bodies and artworks.
The third part is meaning-knowledge. This is to do with how we can connect with a piece of art and what meaning we can create in it. Art is deeply personal, because when two people see the same artwork, our perception can create vastly different experiences of meaning. If we find meaning, then we often find pleasure. We also get enjoyment from the knowledge of how something was made. For the images that an artist creates, viewers will probably get far more enjoyment once they know the process used to create them.
Informed by neuroaesthetics, the next time I create my art I will value the process even more, enjoying the activation of the aesthetic triad in my brain as I admire the vivid images that I have created.
1. What does “neuronal fireworks” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．A beautiful painting or sculpture. |
| B．The lighting-up of specific brain areas. |
| C．An advanced brain imaging technology. |
| D．The aesthetic assessment of modern art. |
| A．Certain part of their brain is activated. |
| B．Their experience of pain is reduced. |
| C．Their aesthetic sense is sharpened. |
| D．Their body reactions are delayed. |
| A．raised memory capacity |
| B．enhanced painting skills |
| C．changed artistic taste |
| D．improved decision-making ability |
| A．Knowing how it is created. |
| B．Having a pleasant personality. |
| C．Learning how science develops. |
| D．Understanding the meaning of life. |
| A．To propose an abstract theory of art making. |
| B．To reveal the beauty of science in an artistic way. |
| C．To share some personal understanding of artworks. |
| D．To introduce a new research field for art appreciation. |
3 . A new study suggests that turning away from compassion (同情) in the name of safety may not protect us as we hope. Shutting off our compassionate response may threaten our mental health, the research team found. “This research shows the harmful effect of controlling our natural ability to connect with others,” says Leah Weiss, a founding member of Stanford University’s compassion cultivation training program.
To explore how attitudes toward compassion were affecting people’s well-being, University of Coimbra psychologist Marcela Matos and her team employed over 4000 people from 21 countries. All of the participants completed an online survey in spring 2022 that asked them to describe what they think of compassion, how their psychological state is and how strong their social connections are.
When the team analyzed the survey responses, they found that participants who expressed a fear of showing compassion for themselves or others were likely to feel more depressed, anxious, and stressed out. People with a fear of compassion also reported feeling less connected to others.
Marcela’s findings are consistent with earlier research showing the damaging effects of isolation and withdrawal on mental health. “Social isolation is associated with not just loneliness, anxiety, and depression, but also an increased risk of high blood pressure and cognitive decline,” says Australian psychologist Hugh Mackay, author of The Kindness Revolution.
On the other side, people who choose compassion during stressful situations seem to have a more durable sense of well-being. Training programs that promote people’s compassionate response appear to reduce their fear of compassion, based on results from another of Marcela’s studies.
Once people realize that compassion can benefit them in tough times as much as it benefits others, they’d be motivated to pull out of an isolation situation. “We have natural desire for social connection, community, kindness and compassion, because those are the pathways to social harmony and cooperation,” Mackay says. “If you can find the resources to address the needs of other people, your own anxieties tend to melt away.” Thus, it’s better to show sympathy.
1. What information were the participants required to provide?| A．The range of their social circle. | B．The levels of their compassion. |
| C．Their beliefs about compassion. | D．Their physical and mental states. |
| A．It damages social connections. | B．It can lead to physical disorders. |
| C．It reduces one’s life satisfaction. | D．It threatens one’s ability to recover. |
| A．To further support the new findings. |
| B．To provide background information. |
| C．To make comparisons between them. |
| D．To come up with different viewpoints. |
| A．Compare notes. | B．Make a promise. |
| C．Give an example. | D．Provide advice. |
4 . Generative A.I., the software engine behind ChatGPT, is seen as an exciting new wave of technology. But companies in every industry are mainly trying out the technology and thinking through the economics. Widespread use of it at many companies could be years away.
Generative A.I., according to forecasts, could sharply boost productivity and add trillions of dollars to the global economy. Yet the lesson of history, from steam power to the Internet, is that there is a long lag between the arrival of major new technology and its broad adoption — which is what transforms industries and helps fuel the economy.
The investment craze is going on right now. In the first half of 2023, funding for generative A.I. start-ups reached $15.3 billion, nearly three times the total for last year. Company technology managers are sampling generative A.I. software from a host of suppliers and watching to see how the industry develops.
In November, when ChatGPT was made available to the public, it was a “Netscape moment” for generative A.I., said Rob Thomas, IBM’s chief commercial officer, referring to Netscape’s introduction of the browser in 1994. “That brought the Internet alive,” Mr. Thomas said. But it was just a beginning, opening a door to new business opportunities that it took years to create.
In a recent report, a timeline for the widespread adoption of generative A.I. application was presented. It assumed steady improvement in currently known technology, but not future break-throughs. Its forecast for main-stream adoption was neither short nor precise, a range of 8 to 27 years. The broad range is explained by plugging in different assumptions about economic cycles, government regulation, company cultures and management decisions. “We’re not modeling the laws of physics here; we’re modeling economics and societies, and people and companies,” said Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute. “What happens is largely the result of human choices.”
1. How are the companies reacting after the introduction of generative A.I.?| A．Adopting the new technology widely. | B．Making a high profit from the technology. |
| C．Staying cautious about the new technology. | D．Postponing generative A.I.’s wide adoption. |
| A．The arrival of major new technology. | B．The broad adoption of new technology. |
| C．The lag between the major technologies. | D．The invention of steam power in history. |
| A．To show the Internet came alive in the 1990s. |
| B．To mention A.I. has brought important benefits. |
| C．To explain the present situation is just a beginning. |
| D．To prove the new business opportunities are enormous. |
| A．It needs steady improvement instead of break-throughs. |
| B．It should model the laws of physics and economics. |
| C．It will be widely adopted in over 3 decades. |
| D．It is influenced mostly by human factors. |
5 . Over 7,000 species around the world are considered endangered. That number doesn’t even include the plants, animals, and other lifeforms that are listed by some scientists as vulnerable, critically endangered, or extinct in the wild.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) maintains the most-comprehensive list of endangered species around the world. The Red List of Threatened Species, as it’s called, judges each species on five different standards for an in-depth scientific approach. According to the IUCN, an endangered species is one that meets any one of the following criteria (标准): a 50%-70% population decrease over 10 years, a total geographic area less than 5,000 square kilometers, a population size less than 2,500 adults, a restricted population of 250 adults, or a statistical prediction that it will go extinct within the next 20 years.
Though the IUCN’s Red List covers a wide range of what qualifies as an endangered species, it doesn’t quite say how a species reaches those low points. Prepare to feel guilty: the most common factor when it comes to species decline is human intervention. Loss of habitat, the introduction of a foreign species into the environment, hunting, pollution, disease, and loss of genetic variation (基因变异) are all causes of species decline and most often are a result of human activities. Take the bald eagle for example: the rise in human population and urban development of North America limited the animal’s habitat; an increase in hunting the eagles for sport lowered their population size; and the use of the pesticide DDT on farms harmed the animal’s reproductive capabilities.
But even though humans are the number one cause of species decline, classifying species as endangered encourages action to reverse the effects of human intervention. Conservation efforts by the US Fish and Wildlife Service criminalized (使非法) the hunting of bald eagles and the use of the pesticide DDT in the mid- to late 20th century. The effect was positive, as bald eagles have been on the rise and were taken off the endangered species list in 1995.
1. Which of the following species can be considered endangered?| A．One that will go extinct within the next 50 years. |
| B．One whose population size is less than 5,000 adults. |
| C．One whose habitat is less than 2,500 square kilometers. |
| D．One whose population decreases 20% over twenty years. |
| A．The causes of species decline. |
| B．The disadvantages of the pesticide. |
| C．A list of worldwide endangered species. |
| D．Common features of endangered species. |
| A．To show its rareness. |
| B．To blame humans for its decline. |
| C．To stress its importance in nature. |
| D．To show the meaning of ranking it endangered. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Science. | D．Education. |
6 . Ada Palmer is a professor of European history at the University of Chicago. Her science-fiction series, Terra Ignota, was inspired by 18th-century philosophers such as Voltaire and Diderot. “I wanted to write a story that Voltaire might have written if Voltaire had be enable to read the last 70 years’ worth of science fiction and have all of those tools available (可获得的) for his use,” Palmer says in a radio program called Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Palmer says that Voltaire could actually be considered the first sci-fic writer, thanks to a place he wrote in 1752. “Voltaire has a short story called Micromégas, in which an alien from Saturn and an alien from a star near Sirius come to Earth. They are extremely big in size. They explore Earth and have trouble finding life forms because to them a whale is the size of a flea (跳蚤)”, she says. They eventually realize that the tiny little spot of wood on the ground is a ship, and it’s full of living things, including humans, and they make contact. So it’s a first-contact story.
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein is often considered the first sci-fi novel. Voltaire was writing much earlier than Shelley, so should he have the title instead? It depends on your definition (定义) of science fiction. “Micromégas doesn’t involve technology,” Palmer says, “so if you define science fiction as depending upon technology—and being about, in the Frankenstein sense. Is man’s knowledge giving us access to powers beyond what we’ve had before? What does that mean?’—it isn’t asking that. But ‘aliens and first contact’ is a very significant science fictional element.”
So there’s no obvious answer to the question of who should be considered the first sci-fi writer. Palmer says it’s more important to ask the question than to arrive at any particular answer. “I don’t want to argue, ‘Yes, definitely, everybody’s histories of science fiction should start with Voltaire,” she says. “But I do want to argue that everybody’s histories of science fiction will be richer by discussing whether Voltaire is the beginning of science fiction, or whether it’s earlier or whether it’s later. Because that gets at the question of what science fiction is.”
1. What do we know about Micromégas according to the text?| A．It is widely accepted as a science-fiction story. |
| B．It has a big influence on today’s science fiction. |
| C．Its main characters have trouble finding humans. |
| D．Its content is about humans’ exploration of space. |
| A．One of his stories focuses on technology. | B．His story involves aliens from other planets. |
| C．He described human-alien contact in a story. | D．Her science fiction was inspired by his writing. |
| A．Its true origin. | B．What it can cover. |
| C．Its colourful expressions. | D．Why it is interesting. |
| A．Ada Palmer and science fiction. | B．Was Voltaire the first sci-fi author? |
| C．Technology’s role in science fiction. | D．What is science fiction really about? |
7 . After Alexander Pushkin was shot in a duel (决斗) in 1837, crowds of mourners formed in Saint Petersburg. When the wagon carrying the much loved poet’s body reached Pskov province, where he was to be buried, admirers tried to pull the vehicle themselves.
Today’s celebrity funerals tend to involve the public largely digitally rather than in person. But people are passionate all the same. In the past few months, grief has coursed around the Internet for Milan Kundera, and most recently, Michael Gambon. If you stop to think about it, such expressions of strong feelings for writers and actors are odd, even irrational.
Unlike other kinds of grief, this one is not rooted in personal intimacy (亲密关系). If you ever interacted with a cherished author, it was probably during a book tour when she signed your copy of her novel. Maybe you once locked eyes with a musician during a live concert and he smiled at you, but actually he did not even know you.
Objectively, sorrow makes sense when a star dies young or violently. Had she not died at 27, who knows what music Amy Winehouse would have added to her already impressive collections of work? The death of a long-lived and fulfilled artist, however, is far from the saddest item in an average day’s headlines. And while most ordinary people sink into oblivion, these celebrities live on in their output. Why, then, are these losses felt so widely and keenly?
One interpretation is that departed celebrities are merely the messengers. Part of your past —the years in which the musician was the soundtrack, the writer your ally (盟友) — can seem to fade away with them. The grief can be seen as a form of gratitude for the harmony and joy they supplied.
More importantly, the passing of an artist is an occasion for exchanges of ideas. In an atomized age, in which the default (默认) tone is critical, a beloved figure’s death is a chance to share positive feelings and memories with fellow admirers. These sad occasions are the parting gifts of these artists.
1. Why does the author mention Milan Kundera and Michael Gambon in paragraph 2?| A．To prove that celebrities’ funerals tend to attract wider public attention. |
| B．To illustrate why people express their sadness at the loss of those celebrities. |
| C．To demonstrate that people’s mourning for celebrities seems strange and unreasonable. |
| D．To show that people’s grief over celebrities’ death is ridiculous and impractical. |
| A．are upset | B．are desperate | C．are helpless | D．are forgotten |
| A．People won’t mourn for celebrities unless they have intimate relationships with celebrities. |
| B．It’s natural that people mourn for celebrities dying young but not for those long-lived ones. |
| C．People feel sad for the passing of celebrities because of the mental nourishment received. |
| D．People attend celebrities’ funerals, either in person or on the Internet, to express their loyalty. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Skeptical. | D．Concerned. |
8 . The year 2023 marks the 102th anniversary of Noether’s ring theory, a branch of theoretical mathematics that is still fascinating and challenging numerous mathematicians today.
Neother was born in 1882 in Germany, whose father was a math professor, but it must have seemed unlikely to a young Neother that she would follow in his footsteps because women were banned from academia and few took classes at universities. After Neother graduated from a high school for girls, Erlangen University started to let women enroll. She signed up and earned her doctorate in mathematics, which should have been the end of her mathematical journey. Teaching at a university for women was still out of the question. But Neother stuck with mathematics anyway, staying in Erlangen and unofficially guiding doctoral students without pay.
In 1915, she applied for a position at the University of Gottingen. Bill Nicholl, the dean at the university, also a mathematician, was in favor of hiring Neother, although his argument was far from feminist (女权主义). “The female brain is unsuitable for mathematical production,” he wrote, “but Neother stood out as one of the rare exceptions.”
Unfortunately for Neother,the Ministry of Education would not give the university permission to have a woman as their teacher. Neother stayed in Gottingen and taught courses listed under the name of a male faculty teacher. During those years, she kept doing research and made important contributions to theoretical physics and Einstein’s theory of relativity. The university finally granted her lecturer status. Two years later, Neother published revolutionary discoveries in ring theory, which is the study of mathematical objects called rings. Neotherian rings show up all the time in modern mathematics. Mathematicians still use Neother’s map today,not just in ring theory,but in other area such as number theory and algebraic geometry.
1. What do we learn about Neother from paragraph 2?| A．She taught at university as a teacher. | B．She earned a degree in mathematics. |
| C．She was taught by her father at home | D．She quit her mathematical journey early. |
| A．He was struggling for feminist. | B．Females’brains differed from males’. |
| C．Neother was a giant in mathematics. | D．Women mathematicians were superb. |
| A．It is still used by mathematicians today. |
| B．It opens up a new field in modern physics. |
| C．It is based on Einstein’s theory of relativity. |
| D．It lays the foundation for modern mathematics. |
| A．Gifted and generous. | B．Sensitive and determined. |
| C．Committed and creative. | D．Hardworking and honest. |
9 . The Netherlands is the only country in the world with more bicycles than residents. By 2022, the Netherlands has had a total of about 23 million bicycles, with an ownership rate of 1.35 bikes per person. One study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that in the Netherlands cycling prevents about 6,500 early deaths each year, and that Dutch people have 1.5 years longer life expectancy (预期寿命) due to cycling.
“The time spent cycling was about 74 minutes per week for Dutch adults aged 20 to 90 years old. The time was fairly stable over adulthood and reached its apex in the early days of retirement, in one’s 60s. The death rate reduction, which was a direct result of the average time spent cycling for a certain age group, was therefore also the highest among the seniors who just retired,” said Jeremy Smith, an expert from NIH.
What is it that makes cycling so beneficial? Obviously, cycling is a form of exercise. It is a great form of cardio (有氧的) exercise, which gets your heart pumping and helps strengthen the heart muscles. Doing cardio exercise may also help lower your blood pressure.
Furthermore, solid evidence proves the link between cycling and better thinking skills. Even younger adults claim that a bike ride helps shift their thinking to a higher level — and research backs them up. In one small study, young men are required to cycle for 30 minutes every day for 3 weeks. They also completed a series of cognitive (认知的) tests before and afterward. After cycling, they scored higher on memory, reasoning and planning, and they were able to finish the tests more rapidly than before.
Besides all the benefits mentioned above, cycling, as many Dutch put it, is a way of life. In their simplest form, bikes are tools for travelling. But they’re so much more. They are cognitive improvement, environmental protection, satisfaction and an expression of freedom. They bring people of the same passion together and connect them to a greater journey of life.
1. Why does the author list figures in paragraph 1?| A．To compare the number of residents and bikes. |
| B．To illustrate the link between health and cycling. |
| C．To indicate the urgency for green transportation. |
| D．To emphasize the accuracy of the study by NIH. |
| A．Target. | B．Peak. | C．Destination. | D．Potential. |
| A．It justifies the mental benefits of cycling. |
| B．It teaches practical skills about cycling. |
| C．It improves the critical thinking of young men. |
| D．It compares cognitive levels among different people. |
| A．Netherlands: A Country With Better Health |
| B．Netherlands: The Bicycle Capital of the World |
| C．Cycling: An Activity Bringing People Together |
| D．Cycling: An Activity Improving Your Health and More |
10 . When Kurt Benirschke started collecting skin samples from endangered animals in 1972, he didn’t have a firm plan on what to do with them. As a researcher at the University of California San Diego, he believed that one day these samples would be used to save these animals. A few years later, he moved his collection to the San Diego Zoo, and called it the Frozen Zoo.
For a long time, it was the only project of its kind; however, in recent years, similar conservation efforts have spread globally, and tools that Benirschke didn’t yet have are now available. Today, the Frozen Zoo is the world’s largest animal cryobank(生物冷冻库), holding samples from over 10,500 individual animals from 1,220 species, in the hope that one day science can bring them back as a species.
The Frozen Zoo’s advanced technology is the key to its success in saving species from extinction. By using cryopreservation techniques, the zoo can store cells and tissues from endangered animals. The stored genetic material can be used for research, breeding(繁殖) programs, and potentially even cloning or genetic engineering to restore endangered species.
By protecting the genetic heritage of endangered animals, the Frozen Zoo provides hope for the survival of species that would otherwise be at risk of dying out, and the preservation of Earth’s precious biodiversity. It has inspired the establishment of similar cryobanks worldwide, expanding efforts to conserve endangered species. These cryobanks contribute to the global network of genetic resources, improving cooperation and knowledge exchange. By demonstrating the potential of technology in the preservation of biodiversity, the frozen zoo serves as a powerful tool in raising awareness and driving change.
The Frozen Zoo is like a time capsule, preserving the genetic heritage of endangered species for future generations. It reminds us about the importance of conservation and offers a window into a world that could otherwise be lost forever.
1. What do we know about the Frozen Zoo?| A．It is the world’s oldest and largest animal cryobank. |
| B．It started with a detailed plan led by Kurt Benirschke. |
| C．It is a project to explore the evolution of animal species. |
| D．It was established to protect animals in the San Diego Zoo. |
| A．By expanding their natural habitats. |
| B．By raising their survival rate with genetic technology. |
| C．By preserving their genetic material for further research. |
| D．By innovating breeding techniques to increase their population. |
| A．To stress the importance of the Frozen Zoo. |
| B．To explain the urgency of saving endangered species. |
| C．To prove the potential value of preserving biodiversity. |
| D．To show the necessity of cooperative conservation efforts. |
| A．Costly and controversial. | B．Profitable and instructive. |
| C．Conservative and effective. | D．Pioneering and significant. |
