1 . I dreamed of playing the piano as a kid and managed to get into the Royal Academy of Arts in my 30s, I visited Thailand where I met my wife. My wife works at a sanctuary(保护区) called Elephants World. On my 50th birthday, she persuaded the manager of Elephants World to allow us to bring a piano there to play for the rescued elephants. I wanted to make the effort to carry the heavy piano myself, knowing these animals have worked for humans all their life and that many are disabled from being treated badly. It was challenging. At last, we used a truck to transport my piano and placed it in a field.
Elephants are almost always hungry — if they get the opportunity, they’ll eat and won’t stop. But as soon as I started playing, one elephant, who was blind, stopped eating and listened. I realized that this elephant, trapped in a world of darkness, loved music. From that day, there was no more concern, and that was the beginning of the connection between me and these huge creatures.
I continue to play for these elephants that run freely, though I could be under threat of attack. But I have faith that music somehow makes them quiet and relaxed. Once, a particularly dangerous male elephant walked straight to me when I started playing, and curled (卷) his trunk. He looked like a baby and just stood by the piano, which was incredible.
I’d played pre-recorded music in the jungle, but they didn’t seem to react; the same with the electric piano. A traditional piano, the sounds of which spread across the woods, seems to communicate better with the animals. They can pick up sounds through their feet. I also think elephants understand the human expression, which shows music really is a universal language. And music has become an essential part of their life, illustrating the profound impact that music can have on these creatures.
I never would have thought I’d combine my love for the piano with an unexpected love for elephants.
1. What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Playing the piano for the elephants. | B．Getting the manager’s permission. |
| C．Getting the piano into the sanctuary. | D．Working for human beings for long. |
| A．His passion for music. | B．The response of an elephant. |
| C．The support from his wife. | D．His sympathy for the elephants. |
| A．The music has a calming influence. | B．Male elephants prefer music. |
| C．The author is highly skilled in piano. | D．People often misunderstand elephants. |
| A．They have special language. | B．They bond with him soon. |
| C．They are sensitive to sounds. | D．They can feel live music. |
2 . Chaudhary weaves (编织) together lengths of rope and grass collected from the nearby riverbank in her village, skillfully shaping the materials into a gift box while instructing a group of women to follow suit.
The ropes being used were once the lifeline for mountain climbers tackling Nepal’s mountains and were then cast away. Diverse measures to remove such discarded materials have rocketed since 2019, when the government launched Clean Mountain Campaign.Around 140,000 tons of waste were collected on Mt. Everest alone, which were handled accordingly, either securely buried or recycled.
Some waste is now finding fresh life, transformed by skilled hands like Chaudhary’s into items to sell, thanks to an initiative led by Acharya, an owner of a waste processing business and an advocate for sustainable waste management. She has been working with the cleaning campaign, aiming at mountains like Mt. Everest.
“Metal waste goes through the recycling process, but we weren’t capable of recycling these ropes and cooking gas cans,” Acharya says. It didn’t occur to her that the waste which couldn’t be recycled could be reused until she met Rai at an art exhibition and a solution emerged.
Rai, a businessman dealing in craftworks, helped connect Acharya with Chaudhary and her team of craftswomen in hopes of unlocking the economic value of the mountain waste. With flexible hours, the project gives the craftswomen an opportunity to earn money even as they maintain their household responsibilities.
“While this seems insignificant compared to waste in the mountains, it’s a start. We can’t supply sufficient raw material with waste sorting and cleaning processes taking plenty of time and money,” Acharya says, desperate to expand the program to involve more women and treat more waste. But progress has been slow. “We need investment to mechanize the cleaning and processing of waste in the initial phase to provide the crafting team with enough materials to meet their demand,” she adds.
1. What were the ropes mentioned in paragraph 2 initially intended as?| A．Tools for tying up weeds. | B．Villagers’ basic necessities of life. |
| C．Raw materials tor unique artworks. | D．Life-saving devices for mountaineers. |
| A．A journey to the rural area. | B．An encounter with a trader. |
| C．Information from a product launch. | D．Attendance at an academic conference. |
| A．Train more senior technicians. | B．Obtain a better reputation. |
| C．Drop waste washing procedures. | D．Bring in advanced equipment. |
| A．Chaudhary: An Eco-Minded Folk Artist |
| B．Nepali Women Are Turning Garbage into Crafts |
| C．Clean Mountain Campaign Has Already Taken Effect |
| D．A Headache: Mt. Everest Is Heavily Littered with Waste |
3 . Deepfake: synthetic (合成的) media, including images, videos, and audio, is generated by Al technology to show something that does not exist or events that have never occurred.
Examples of deepfakes have been widely spread, including a video of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg giving a speech about his company’s plan, and a video of Elon Musk dancing and talking about the power of dreams, etc.
It’s easy for AI to produce such deepfakes using two different deep-learning algorithms (算法): one that creates the best possible clone based on a real image or video and another that detects whether the copy is fake (伪造的) and, if it is, reports on the differences between it and the original. The first algorithm produces a synthetic image and receives feedback on it from the second algorithm and then adjusts it to make it appear more real; the loop is repeated as many times as it takes until the second algorithm does not detect any false imagery.
Deepfakers often have evil motives, including creating misinformation and generating confusion. They tend to demean, terrify, and annoy, and have targeted not only celebrities but ordinary citizens as well.
Most of the academic research surrounding deepfakes focuses on the detection of huge amount of deepfake videos emerging online. One detection approach is to use algorithms to identify inconsistencies in deepfake videos. For example, an automatic system can examine videos for errors such as irregular blinking patterns of lighting. However, these approaches have been criticized because deepfake detection is characterized by a “moving goal post” where the production of deepfakes is changing and improving while detection tools are always on the way of catching them up.
However, education and medicine are two of the fields that may benefit from deepfake technology. In the classroom, historical speeches could be deepfaked to offer immersive and engaging lessons. In health care, it can improve the accuracy with which tumors (肿瘤) are spotted, making them easier to treat. Its use also permits using synthesized data instead of that from real patients to avoid privacy concerns.
1. How does AI create a deepfake video according to the passage?| A．By copying and combining the fake images. |
| B．By constantly teaching itself to perfect the output. |
| C．By acquiring feedback from multiple sources. |
| D．By repeatedly generating realistic images from scratch. |
| A．Ever-evolving deepfake techniques. | B．Insufficient academic basis on detection solutions. |
| C．A massive number of false videos online. | D．Limited availability of detection tools. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. | C．Objective. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Potential threats: AI’s new playground | B．Deepfake: Human’s another helping hand |
| C．Artificial Intelligence: A piece of fake | D．Detecting deepfake: An ongoing battle |
4 . French schools once prized the nutritional value of wine. So commonly was it served to children that in 1956 the government banned wine in school canteens—and even then, only for the under-14s. France was the world’s biggest wine producer last year. A bottle of wine has long been to the French meal what fast driving is to the German motorway: an ordinary habit, national right and personal pleasure.
No longer. In 2022 roughly 10% of French people drank wine every day, down from half in 1980. Back in 1960 the French drank an average of 116 liters of everyday wine per person. Between 2000 and 2018 that shrank from 28 liters to just 17. A glass of wine is an increasingly rare sight at the lunch table.
What is going on? It is not simply price. A bottle of Bordeaux can still be found in a French supermarket for under €3. Some village co-operatives sell local produce straight from the vat for €l.90 a liter—less than fresh orange juice. A better explanation is that a beer-drinking trend is challenging Mediterranean habits. The French now tell polls that they prefer beer to wine. Beer accounts for more than half of all alcohol bought in French supermarkets. Even in southern France, some cafes serve imported Belgian or German beer on tap.
Most important, a health-conscious younger generation is drinking less. A quarter of French 18- to 34-year-olds say they never drink alcohol. Fully 39% of under-35s say that they do not drink wine, next to only 27% of the over-50s. Le dry January has entered the national vocabulary. No- and low-alcohol drinks are spreading. A younger generation is rejecting old Mediterranean habits. In an attempt to “speak to Generation Z by adopting its codes”, Pernod Ricard, a drinks giant, runs a marketing campaign with the slogan “Drink more…water”.
Of course, consumption of high-quality wine remains strong. But the decline of cheaper stuff has wider consequences for France. Last summer the government allowed €200m to buy surplus low-end wine that producers could not sell. In some areas, farmers are tearing off lesser vines (葡萄藤) altogether. Less alcohol may improve health, but not necessarily the mood or landscapes of rural France.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Serving wine to French children has been banned. |
| B．Drinking wine is as dangerous a habit as fast driving. |
| C．Wine consumption has long been a practice in France. |
| D．Nutritional value of wine is widely recognized in France. |
| A．Health concern. | B．Challenge from beer. |
| C．Economic decline. | D．Shortage of wine supply. |
| A．A season of poor grape harvest. |
| B．A period when the weather is dry. |
| C．An organization advocating drinking water. |
| D．A campaign calling for less wine consumption. |
| A．Consumption of low-quality wine remains unchanged. |
| B．Production of high-end wine is lower than that of low-end wine. |
| C．Farmers who produce more wine are awarded by the government. |
| D．Not all French people benefit from the decline of wine consumption. |
5 . The innovation is part of research into brain-computer interfaces (接口) to help improve the lives of people with motor disabilities. The researchers included machine learning capabilities with their brain-computer interface, making it a one-size-fits-all solution.
Typically, these devices require extensive adjustment for each user- every brain is different, both for healthy and disabled users- and that has been a major hurdle to mainstream adoption. This new solution can quickly understand the needs of an individual subject and self-adjust through repetition. That means multiple patients could use the device without needing to tune it to the individual.
In a clinical setting, the subjects wear a cap packed with electrodes (电极) that is connected to a computer. The electrodes gather data by measuring electrical signals from the brain, and the decoder translates the brain signals into commands, which are used to control devices or applications. In this case, the decoded signals are translated into actions in a car racing game and a simpler task involving balancing a digital bar. Subjects were trained simultaneously for both the simpler bar game and the more complex car racing game, thus improving their brain function.
The researchers call this work foundational, in that it sets the stage for further brain-computer interface innovation. This project used 18 subjects with no motor disabilities. As they continue down this road, they will test this on people with motor disabilities to apply it to larger groups in clinical settings. “To achieve this, we need to improve our technology to make it easier to use,’ Millan. a professor in the University of Texas says.
On the side of translating the research, Millan and his team continue to work on a wheelchair that users can drive with the brain- computer interface. At the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals this month, the researchers showed off another potential use of the technology. controlling two rehabilitation (康复) robots for the hand and arm. This was not part of the new paper but a sign of where this technology could go in the future. “We’ll continue down this path wherever it takes us in the pursuit of helping people.” Millan says.
1. Who will benefit the most from the Brain-Computer Interface innovation?| A．People with physical disabilities. | B．Businessmen selling wheelchairs. |
| C．Students seeking academic improvement. | D．Athletes seeking performance enhancement. |
| A．Faster adjustment process. | B．Decreased need for tuning. |
| C．Improved mainstream adoption. | D．Quick understanding of commands. |
| A．Translating signals. | B．Measuring brain signals. |
| C．Controlling devices. | D．Enhancing brain function. |
| A．Exploring hand and arm rehabilitation. |
| B．Showcasing technology at conferences. |
| C．Translating and publishing research papers. |
| D．Enhancing brain- computer interface technology. |
6 . How long does it take you to make a cup of tea? Forty seconds, if you press the tea bag against the side of the mug. I’m not judging — that was me until recently, and we are not alone. Only 4% of people in the UK make their tea from leaves, and it seems the rest of us are missing out.
I’ve dipped in and out of tea over the years, and have never taken it quite as seriously as coffee, but this long holiday seems as good a time as any to up my game. Previously, I’d been put off by the complexity of the process, but it turns out that a proper cup of tea from leaves doesn’t have to require a whole lot of tools. The game-changer for me was tea-ière, which is a bit like a cafetiere (咖啡壶).
So, where to start our new adventure? The obvious answer, particularly this New Year weekend, is China, which is to tea what France is to wine. The country produces every imaginable style, from delicate green tea to refreshing jasmine tea. If you’re used to black tea, it’s probably best to begin with the rich oolong. And if you’re already into tea, prepare yourself for the mind-blowing puerh, which, according to my note, tastes of forest floor with a slight smell of shoe repair shop, and which, you’ll be relieved to hear, is a lot nicer than it sounds.
It’s worth taking the trouble to get the basics right: the amount of tea, the quantity and temperature of the water, the ideal infusion (浸泡) time and, above all, pouring every last drop of tea from the pot.
And if none of these will drag you away from tea bags, try loose tea leaves at least once infused for two to three minutes and see if you notice a difference. Watching those leaves magically spread out and thinking about what you are drinking is strangely comforting in a bitter winter.
1. What can we know about tea drinking in the UK?| A．British people take tea less seriously than coffee. |
| B．Most people prefer tea bags to loose tea leaves. |
| C．It takes 40 seconds to prepare a tea bag. |
| D．One might be judged if not using tea bags. |
| A．It takes more effort than drinking coffee. | B．It turns out to be tool-free. |
| C．It’s fun and entertaining. | D．It’s easier than anticipated. |
| A．By analyzing figures. | B．By presenting options. |
| C．By drawing conclusions. | D．By describing experiences. |
| A．Why Not Go For Chinese Tea? | B．How To Pick The Right Tea? |
| C．Loose Tea Leaves, Or Tea Bags? | D．Fancy A Better Way Of Drinking Tea? |
7 . An ordinary day in 2008, first grade teacher Alvin Irby stopped by a Bronx barbershop after school for a haircut. Before long, one of his students came in.
“He is getting antsy; he’s kind of looking bored,” Irby recalled. “I’m looking at this student (thinking), ‘He should be practicing his reading.’ But I didn’t have a book.” That moment stayed with Irby, and five years later he started Barbershop Books. Since 2013, the nonprofit has brought more than 50,000 free children’s books to more than 200 barbershops in mainly Black neighborhoods across the country.
According to Irby, they are putting books in a male-centered space. “Less than 2% of teachers are Black males and many Black boys are raised by single moms. Black boys don’t see Black men reading.” So, Irby involves the barbers in his mission—training them to engage boys about reading.
“We want them to encourage kids to use the reading spaces,” he said. “Then they can talk to them about how they like reading, how funny a book was, or tell them about another book another kid was reading.” Irby believes that talking about books with a Black man can be powerful for the boys he serves. “Our goal is not to turn barbers into tutors,” he said. “This is an opportunity to provide boys with male role models.”
Denny Moe was the first barber to work with Irby. Moe had previously offered video games at his Harlem shop, to bring in extra income, but he was willing to forego that to help the community. “I decided to pay it forward by getting rid of the video games, putting books in here, just to get the kids’ minds going,” he said. “You want to make an impact.”
And that’s what keeps Irby motivated. “I’m just excited that we get to create a safe space for boys to do something that’s really life changing,” he said. “That’s what I really believe reading is. It unlocks potential.”
1. What inspired Irby to launch the project Barbershop Books?| A．His encounter with his student in the barber’s. |
| B．His childhood experience in his neighborhood. |
| C．His bad impression on Black men. |
| D．Barbers’ enthusiasm and generosity. |
| A．To collect books for Black boys. |
| B．To set a good example as a behaved citizen. |
| C．To help Black boys comprehend books. |
| D．To draw Black boys to reading. |
| A．Give up. | B．Build up. | C．Give away. | D．Open up. |
| A．Black boys’ increased interest in reading. |
| B．New policies concerning barbers’ shops. |
| C．Irby’s firm belief in the power of reading. |
| D．Effective cooperation between Irby and Denny Moe. |
8 . Artificial intelligence is a complex computer science concept. The following are several examples of artificial intelligence.
1. OllyAn artificial intelligence assistant named Olly, is more advanced and developed than Siri and Alexa. It is integrated with deep learning and natural language processing features. This technology is said to be quite helpful for people living alone or going through sadness. It can copy the reactions of a friend or companion.
2. PathaiPathai is a strong example of artificial intelligence that helps pathologists (病理学家) follow the test reports more conveniently. This can help save hundreds of lives by correctly diagnosing and determining the underlying diseases. This interference of AI in the healthcare department has proven to be fruitful for the patients and time-saving for the pathologists.
3. DroneYou must have heard the word drone, but AI-based drones are one step advanced from your typical drones. These aerial devices are used for many different reasons. The use of drones has proven to be very beneficial in the military and surveillance sector (监管部门) but it has also started to benefit the average consumer, saving time and relieving traffic jams.
4. GPSGPS is a necessity nowadays. It not only helps to reach far places and areas but also assists in the way. Its artificial intelligence predicts the estimated time of reaching a destination by analyzing traffic situations in real-time. GPS also gathers data from thousands of cars and predicts the best route for every car.
1. Which of the following benefits people feeling depressed the most?| A．Olly. | B．Pathai. | C．Drone. | D．GPS. |
| A．They are necessities in daily life. |
| B．They contribute to smooth traffic. |
| C．They rely on the responses of their owners. |
| D．They are mainly employed by governments. |
| A．All About Health. | B．Self-driving Adventures. |
| C．The Theories Explained. | D．Game-changing Innovations. |
9 . Over 2,000 years ago, Baiae was the most magnificent resort town in Italy. Wealthy statesmen including Cicero and Caesar were once drawn to its natural springs. But over the centuries, volcanic activity submerged this playground of the Roman nobility, leaving half of it beneath the Mediterranean.
Today, Baiae is one of the world’s few underwater archaeological parks open to visitors wanting to explore the remains of the ancient Roman city. A protected marine area, the site needs to be monitored for damage caused by divers and environmental factors. However, explains Davidde, Italy’s national supervisor for underwater cultural heritage, “Communication underwater is challenging.”
Cabled systems are the most reliable, but they are difficult to maintain and cover a limited operational area. And wireless internet doesn’t work well in water, because of the way water interacts with electromagnetic waves.
So Davidde teamed up with a group of engineers led by Chiara Petrioli, a professor at Sapienza University. Petrioli’s team has developed a network of underwater wireless sensors capable of gathering environmental data and transmitting it to land in real time. The system relies on AI algorithms (算法) to constantly change the network protocol (网络协议). As the sea conditions change, the algorithms adjust the information path, allowing the signal to travel up to two kilometers and data to be sent between transmitters one kilometer apart.
At Baiae, underwater internet allows remote, continuous monitoring of environmental conditions. Besides, it allows divers to communicate with one another and with colleagues above the surface, who can also use the technology to locate them with a high degree of accuracy.
Davidde anticipates that the network will be available to tourists visiting the archaeological site in the coming months. As they swim over the ruins, visitors will use waterproof smart tablets to communicate and to view 3D reconstructions of the ruins.
“Underwater internet has made monitoring of the archaeological site simpler and more efficient,” says Davidde, “At the same time, we can offer the public a new, interactive way to explore the underwater park.”
1. What do we know about Baiae?| A．It was noted for natural springs. | B．It is a playground for sports lovers. |
| C．It was destroyed by human activity. | D．It is not open to adventurous visitors. |
| A．Applications of underwater internet. |
| B．Different types of underwater network. |
| C．Difficulties of underwater communication. |
| D．Conditions of the underwater environment. |
| A．Reconstructing the ruins of the underwater park. |
| B．Making it easier to monitor archaeological sites. |
| C．Bringing more visitors to submerged Roman city. |
| D．Only allowing divers to communicate underwater. |
| A．To explain underwater communication. |
| B．To analyze the effect of climate change. |
| C．To introduce a new underwater network. |
| D．To attract more visitors to explore Baiae. |
10 . In the hands of a skilled stylist, your hair can help you boost your self-confidence, express your unique personality, and maybe even attract a romantic partner. In the hands of Matter of Trust, however, your hair might be able to do something even more meaningful: help save the environment.
For more than 20 years, Matter of Trust has been collecting hair and fur from hair salons, and farmers around the world for the purpose of making “hair mats” that can assist with oil spill cleanups.
Typically, oil spills on land are cleaned up using polypropylene (聚丙烯) mats that are effective but might cause environmental problems. After all, polypropylene is a non-biodegradable (不可生物降解的) plastic that’s made from fossil fuels; using it to clean up oil therefore requires drilling for even more oil. Hair and fur, on the other hand, are of no poison, biodegradable, sustainable, and can absorb more oil.
To date, Matter of Trust has produced more than 40,000 hair mats and more than 300,000 booms, reports CNN. Matter of Trust’s products have been used to clean up not only oil spills, but also non-emergencies like oil leaks from vehicles and machines. In both cases, oil can flow into soil and water, which can harm people, plants, and wildlife, according to Matter of Trust.
Although it’s an elegant solution, it isn’t perfect. Hair mats can only be used once, for instance, and can only be dealt with through incineration (焚化) or composting (堆肥). And in the case of composting, the resulting compost isn’t suitable for growing food.
Still, hair mats are a surprisingly effective tool in the fight for a cleaner planet. And because Matter of Trust hasn’t patented its designs, all that’s needed to produce them are hair cuttings—of which there are plenty, according to Gautier, who says there are about 900,000 qualified hair salons in the U.S. alone, each of which can easily cut at least a pound of hair per week.
“Anyone can make a hair mat,” she told CNN. “It creates green jobs, it cleans water, it reduces waste, and it’s promoting sustainable resources.”
1. Which of the following is NOT the function of your hair based on this text?| A．It can help you keep healthy. | B．It can promote your social contact. |
| C．It represents your personal image. | D．It can help protecting environment. |
| A．Polypropylene mats are poisonous. |
| B．Hair mats are cheaper than polypropylene mats. |
| C．Hair mats are sustainable and environmentally friendly. |
| D．The raw materials for polypropylene mats are hard to find. |
| A．It’s impractical. | B．It’s of short-term effects. |
| C．It’s worthy to be applied. | D．It increases global employment. |
| A．Gautier will apply for a patent for Matter of Trust. |
| B．More and more hair salons will be opened in America. |
| C．Everyone will take action to make hair mats to clean the earth. |
| D．Hair mats have good prospects for development. |
