1 . In looking through your social media, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed pictures accompanied by texts. The pictures are likely made possible by a text-to-image program called DALL-E. For example, Twitter user posted a tweet with the text, “To be or not to be, rabbi holding avocado, marble sculpture.” Then a matching picture appears below.

The AI models come from Google’s Imagen software as well as OpenAI. a start-up backed by Microsoft. On its website, OpenAI calls DALL-E “a new Al system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.” But most of what’s happening in this area is coming from a relatively small group of people sharing their pictures. That’s because Google and OpenAI have not made the technology broadly available to the public.

The text-to-picture services identify the most important parts of a user’s text and then guess the best way to picture those terms. There’s generally a text box, a button to start the generation process and an area below to display images. To indicate the source. Google and OpenAI add watermarks in the bottom right comer of images from DALL-E and Imagen.

Engineers trained the models on various collections of words and pictures from the web. OpenAI recognizes the potential for harm that could come from a model. To avoid the risk, employees removed violent content from training data, and there are filters（筛选）stopping DALL-E from producing images if users submit（提交）violent or illegal content.

Boris Dayma, a developer from Texas spelled out the problems in an explanation of their software. Despite the risks, Dhariwal, a research scientist at OpenAI, said it could open up creative opportunities for individuals and could help with commercial applications for dressing up websites. Results should continue to improve over time.

1. What is the function of the the AI system DALL-E?

A．Beautifying pictures at users’ request.

B．Producing pictures from human words.

C．Changing pictures into vivid descriptions.

D．Providing pictures for users to choose from.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about concerning DALL-E?

A．Its users’ rights.	B．Its operating conditions
C．Its working process.	D．Its company’s prospect.

3. How could DALL-E ensure the images it produces legal?

A．All images come from a unified model.

B．The training data is selected beforehand.

C．Improper requests can’t be submitted.

D．Filters remove the unhealthy description.

4. What is Dhariwal’s attitude to the future of DALL-E?

A．Positive.

B．Objective.

C．Uncertain.

D．Worried.

2 . Picture the scene: you’ve spent years working towards a very specific goal. You’ve put in countless hours of work and made many efforts along the way, but now that you’ve got there it doesn’t feel quite like you imagined. Instead of celebration, you feel emptiness, confusion and doubt.

Welcome to the anti-climax. The often-experienced but seldom-discussed downside of achieving life’s biggest milestones. Many of us work tirelessly towards our goals. We may spend our lives dreaming of the day we get married, publish our first hook or buy our first home. However, oftentimes, when we achieve these things it doesn’t feel quite as expected. In fact, the achievement of these goals feels a bit of a letdown.

So why do we often experience an anti-climax with big goals, even though we’re happy to achieve them? “An anti-climax can be an unexpected by-product of a milestone achievement. Usually, the more significant the milestone, the greater the anti-climax may be. The intensity（强度）of an anti-climax often relies on what we expect of this achievement.” says Rachel Vora. a psychotherapist（心理治疗师）.“The journey to achieving a milestone can he exciting and tiring in addition to giving us a sense of purpose and focus. Therefore, when this disappears overnight. we can often feel lost and confused, in spite of feeling proud of our achievement.

When this happens it can contribute to a mixture of emotions. We often falsely believe that we’ll feel completely different afterwards or that our feelings of low self-worth will disappear, but this is rarely the case. “Clients（客户）often present to me with an extremely great sense of ‘is this it?’ and ‘what now?’.” says Vora. “These feelings of confusion and disappointment, if let ignored, have the potential to cause clients to be in low spirits, or even worse.”

1. Why does the author mention the examples in paragraph 2?

A．To present a fact.	B．To prove a rule.
C．To explain a term.	D．To make a prediction.

2. What does Vora think is the leading cause of the anti-climax?

A．Low self-worth.	B．High expectations.
C．Sense of purpose.	D．Unexpected achievements.

3. Which of the following is a case of the anti-climax?

A．Amy felt empty before giving a speech.

B．Jack felt lost after his first novel came out.

C．Mary felt proud when she joined a ballet club.

D．Tom felt doubtful about taking further education.

4. What will the author probably talk about in the following text?

A．How to hold back feelings.

B．How to improve self-worth.

C．Hon to identify the anti-climax.

D．How to deal with the anti-climax.

3 . How to Stop Spam Calls for Good

If you made a list of the little things that bothered you the most, phone call scams would no doubt be at the top. Telemarketers, or more often, automated robot-callers, have tricks for interrupting you at the worst possible moment.     1    

Fact is that robot-callers are never going to stop trying to reach you. Their schemes bring in hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars annually. And unfortunately, older people are more likely to fall prey to these scams.     2    

Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry

Your first move: Join the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry. You can get on the list by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register.     3     To date, the agency has taken 51 legal actions against companies and telemarketers, recovering $112 million.

Use spam-filtering apps and tech

    4     A spam-filtering app can give you a second layer of protection and is a good add-on to your overall smartphone security. The app’s makers maintain a large database of user-reported robocalls. When one of those numbers dials you, the app blocks the phone from ringing and informs you the call is spam. Genius!

    5    

You probably know that a caller who insists you owe money to the IRS or says you’ll be arrested if you don’t settle a debt is a scammer. But your 10-year-old kid and your older parents and grandparents may be tricked. And remember: Knowing how to stop spam calls is just one step toward avoiding scams; don’t forget to explain how to stop spam texts to your loved ones, too.

A．Warn family members

B．Report to the police at once

C．Follow these steps to pull the plug on them once and for all.

D．If you have multiple numbers to input, register them at DoNotCall. gov.

E．Spam calls can reach you anytime and anywhere when you use your smartphone.

F．They’re annoying, but that’s not the only reason you should know how to stop spam calls.

G．The National Do Not Call Registry will prevent a lot of unwanted calls, but it won’t stop all of them.

4 . A new technology project in southern Greece is helping visitors experience the ancient birthplace of the Olympic Games.

The project used Augmented Reality (AR) to recreate temples and competition areas in the ancient city of Olympia. It was recently launched in the city, one of the world’s major archaeological sites. Augmented Reality is a technology that can project computer-created imagery onto special eyeglasses. Through the eyeglasses, the images appear along with other physical objects in the environment.

The project is a partnership between American software maker Microsoft and Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sport. The ministry helped Microsoft map and build virtual representations of Olympia. The city was used for nearly a thousand years to host the games in ancient Greece that served as the model for the modern Olympics. The experience provides users the chance to virtually walk through the ruins of Olympia. At the Olympic Museum in Athens, people can also use Microsoft’s AR headsets for a similar experience.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined a group of schoolchildren who were using the app for the first time. “I’m absolutely thrilled that we’re able to present to the world a completely new cultural experience utilizing technology to recreate the ancient world of Olympia, ” Mitsotakis told the media.

Students from a local middle school looked at statues and structures that were brought to life on their phones. One of the children, Panagiotis Christopoulos, called the project “impressive”. “I think it can help with teaching in schools, ” the student said. They were able to virtually visit inside and outside settings to explore where ancient Olympians had competed in different sports.

The project began 18 months ago with a series of imaging flights to help map areas across Olympia. Microsoft is to build several data centers in and near Athens as part of a $ 1 billion investment agreement with the Greek government.

1. What can users do with the eyeglasses?

A．Move physical objects.

B．Take photos of the ruins of Olympia.

C．Take part in the virtual Olympic Games.

D．Be on a virtual visit to the ruins of Olympia.

2. What does the underlined word “utilizing” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Using.	B．Determining.
C．Replacing	D．Recycling

3. What will Microsoft do according to the last paragraph?

A．Develop advanced operating systems.

B．Help the Greek government plan the city.

C．Make an agreement with other companies.

D．Spend lots of money establishing data centers.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Greece Will Open a New Olympic Museum

B．Digital Project Brings Olympics Birthplace to Life

C．The AR Glasses Helps You See More about the World

D．The Olympic Museum in Athens Will Create a Virtual Map

5 . There are always some persons in your life who touch your soft heart with kindness.

As a little girl, my favorite thing was _______. And when I thought about _______ I wanted to be when I grew up, I figured I’d be a librarian, just because the two librarians changed my life.

At that time, the town library limited the number of books a person borrowed _______ two once a week. I _______ the books in just three days. So to read more, I was _______ about what books to choose. The librarian, Mrs. Tonne, was a warm person. Every time I went into the library, she greeted me, _______. When learning about my trouble, she often _______ some better books. Thanks to her help, I _______ a lot from these books.

Gradually, I developed an interest in writing, _______ poems. When I was in fourth grade, our school librarian, Mrs. Ketelsen, encouraged me to write more. When my poem was not accepted, she ________ me with comfortable words. Once she helped ________ some poems I’d written about dinosaurs to Highlights magazine. It was my first published writing!

Later, at the University of Iowa, ________ I majored in journalism, my dream was different. I realized that I was shy about interviewing people, which made me ________. When I recalled Mrs. Tonne and Mrs. Ketelsen, I made a decision without ________ to be devoted to writing. And now I am an editor at Reader’s Digest.

Whenever I think of the help from them, how ________ I am. It is their kindness that makes me what I am.

1.

A．reading

B．painting

C．exploring

D．creating

2.

A．how

B．why

C．where

D．what

3.

A．of

B．to

C．from

D．between

4.

A．published

B．edited

C．presented

D．finished

5.

A．under the weather

B．in the air

C．at a loss

D．on the rocks

6.

A．shouting

B．smiling

C．crying

D．dancing

7.

A．exchanged

B．recommend

C．designed

D．adapted

8.

A．reflected

B．devoted

C．expected

D．benefited

9.

A．extremely

B．fortunately

C．especially

D．slightly

10.

A．inspired

B．challenged

C．contented

D．tricked

11.

A．admit

B．send

C．revise

D．settle

12.

A．although

B．because

C．when

D．since

13.

A．relaxed

B．satisfied

C．impressed

D．upset

14.

A．hesitation

B．tension

C．exception

D．argument

15.

A．concerned

B．relieved

C．grateful

D．regretful

6 . Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s latest project, GROW, involved installing (安装) thousands of blue, red and purple LED lights in a 2-hectare field of leek (韭菜) for both artistic and practical purposes. People driving by the town of Lelystad, in central Netherlands, at night, this time of year are treated to a fantastic sight—a 20,000 square meters field of leek glowing blue, red and purple. Thought up by Studio Roosegaarde, the unique artistic installation is designed both as an honor to Dutch farmers and as an inspiration for them to experiment with artificial light in outdoor farming. Daan Roosegaarde also wants GROW to send a hopeful light to people in these trying times, giving new meaning to the word “agriculture” as a living cultural artwork.

Nighttime ultraviolet (紫外线的) light has been used in glasshouse agriculture for a while now, especially in places where direct sunlight is scarce, but its use in outdoor fanning has so far been very limited. Ultraviolet light is known to help plants grow better, but Studio Roosegaarde is also testing a theory according to which certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light could reduce the need for pesticides by up to 50%.

“So we started to scan the plants with these wavelengths of light and then suddenly it started to dance, the light,” Daan Roosegaarde said. “You had these huge fields of fireflies, as if they were, and we were testing it and the magic started kicking in, so I think that’s when the worlds of science, art and design meet and enhance each other.” Solar-powered LEDs give ultraviolet light onto the leek plants, thus adding the effect of natural sunlight after sunset, and creating a wonderful sight at the same time.

GROW is currently only visible near Lelystad, but Roosegaarde plans to take the visually-impressive installation on the road to over 40 countries. Each country will have its own local or national crop and its own unique light recipe. Over the years, Studio Roosegaarde has created a number of fascinating installations, like the glow-in-the-dark bicycle path powered directly by the sun.

1. What does GROW probably refer to?

A．A project creating artworks.	B．A project installing LED lights.
C．A project producing pesticides.	D．A project building glasshouses.

2. What does the underlined word “scarce” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Sufficient.	B．Enough.
C．Steady.	D．Lacking.

3. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．What artistic effects were caused by the project

B．Why the project GROW was conducted.

C．How Roosegaarde’s design idea came up.

D．How Roosegaarde’s theory was tested.

4. What does Roosegaarde think of the future of GROW?

A．It is promising.	B．It is pressing.
C．It is challenging.	D．It is demanding.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A giant panda-themed museum offering visitors a     1     (true) interactive experience opened to the public in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province on March 3rd, 2021.

    2     (surround) by huge touch screens and well-designed setting, the Chengdu Giant Panda Museum provides an immersive experience. Meanwhile, it     3     (present) various interesting facts about the precious species of giant pandas. Those include their history, habits, and the measures China has taken to protect     4     (they).

The museum covers     5     area of 7,179 square meters with seven exhibit sections.

It is several years since the museum     6     (build). Visitors can access various information about giant pandas by     7     (press) on the screen and being guided by an animated panda. Scenarios (情境) reproducing pre-historic environments explain the reasons     8     giant pandas first emerged in the place.

The museum aims to increase the general public’s understanding of giant pandas     9     other wild animals. Moreover, it raises public     10     (aware) of the ecological environmentanimal protection.

8 .

Still Alice In this film, we can catch a glimpse of a family’s relationships, fears, concerns and struggles. Alice, the film’s main character, copes bravely with Alzheimer’s disease: she’s the perfect example of an iron-willed woman. Julianne Moore’s amazing performance adds extra charm to this character. Not surprisingly, Julianne Moore won the 2015 Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Coco Before Chanel The movie is about a strong woman who was not afraid to defy(挑战)society and its conservative and old-fashioned morals. Some say it’s a dull and monotonous(老套的)movie, but it would be more accurate to say that it’s simply an unhurried one — a technique that makes it all the more fascinating. Audrey Tautou is graceful in the role of Chanel.

Mona Lisa Smile This movie teaches you about dignity, courage and persistence, and the central theme is learning to have a mind of your own. Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the famous all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated morals of society, Katherine inspires her traditional students including Betty and Joan to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

Elizabeth This is a wonderful film about Elizabeth I, who was faced with the difficult task of becoming a wise and strong monarch(君主). Cate Blanchett is amazing in the role of the queen—majestic, powerful, and strong-willed—who opens a “golden age” in the history of England. Suspense, passion, betrayal, adventure—all these things are combined in this thrilling and epic movie with perfect scenes, gorgeous costumes and shocking performances by the actors.

1. What do the main characters in the four films have in common?

A．They’re strong-willed and brave.

B．They’re great professional women.

C．They suffer from serious illnesses.

D．They are always challenging traditional virtues.

2. Mona Lisa Smile ________ .

A．is mainly set in Wellesley College

B．is especially popular with traditional students

C．is a film whose theme is learning to think independently

D．is a dull but unhurried movie

3. Which of the actresses acted the part of a politician in the film?

A．Julianne Moore	B．Audrey Tautou
C．Julia Roberts	D．Cate Blanchett

9 . 18-year-old Alison Sanger is an amazing student. Maybe too amazing— the book opens with Alison lying to her mother about having food poisoning so she can take a test on Shakespeare. More than getting good grades, her true motivation is to beat her opponent, Ethan Molloy.

Ethan has gone toe-to-toe with Alison on everything throughout school. They’re both honors students. They are co-vice presidents of the senior class. They both hope to get into Harvard. The fact that Ethan and Alison seem to always do everything at the same time turned into a competition a long time ago. Whoever does worse on an exam must do an unpleasant task of the winner’s choosing. If someone misses the exam, they forfeit.

This unfriendly competition is so famous that everyone at Fairview knows about it, students and staff. They’re even more annoyed by it than Alison. The principal takes matters in hand by asking the two to co-plan a previous class’s ten-year reunion after someone else dropped the ball. As you might imagine, tensions arise and passion is aroused. In a certain way, What’s Not to Love is a little like The Hunger Games. Like Katniss with Peeta, Alison is constantly evaluating her own emotions against Ethan’s supposed strategy.

While reading this book, I was forced to wonder exactly how healthy this relationship was. I assumed everyone’s intentions in the book were honorable—the authors themselves turned out all right in the end, and I’m incredibly glad for that. Wibbroka fans will not be disappointed—What’s Not to Love is story of soulmates and passion; its short chapters and tight pacing carry the reader along all the way to the satisfying conclusion. Despite its faults—which the text itself calls to attention—fans of enemies-to-lovers stories like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days will feel right at home here.

1. Why does Alison lie to her mother?

A．To treat her food poisoning.

B．To prove that she’s also amazing.

C．To be able to be tested on schedule.

D．To please her friend with good grades.

2. What does “forfeit” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Compete.	B．Withdraw.
C．Cooperate.	D．Succeed.

3. How does the principal’s attempt to help the two girls end?

A．They prove their abilities separately.

B．They get the final result of their competition.

C．They set up a better relationship between them.

D．They use it as another chance to continue the competition.

4. What does the author think of the book?

A．Worth reading.	B．Useless.
C．Unreasonable.	D．Perfect.

10 . Rising global meat consumption is likely to have a destructive environmental effect, increasing carbon emissions(排放)and reducing biodiversitiy (生物多样性), scientists have warned.

A new analysis suggests that meat consumption is set to climb sharply as the world population increases along with average individual incomes.

“What's happening is a big concern.” said Tim Key from the University of Oxford. “On a broad level you can say it is bad for the environment.”

The review,published in the journal Science, found that high levels of meat consumption also have negative health consequences, leading to an increased risk of cancer and other diseases.

The average amount of meat consumed per person globally has nearly doubled in the past 50 years, which means total meat production has been growing much faster than the rate of population growth, having increased four-or five-fold(五倍)since 1961.

There are recent indications that some countries,including the U.K.,may have reached "peak meat". The U.K's 2017 National Food Survey found meat consumption have fallen by 4.2% and that of meat products by nearly 7% since 2012. However, middle-income countries, particularly China and others in East Asia, are still seeing a rise. A recent review by the UN outlines how meat production-particularly livestock(家畜)-is linked to far higher carbon emissions than vegetables, fruit and grain.

Livestock farming is also a major contribution to biodiversity loss, as forests and wild land are given over to agricultural land to grow animal feed.

Processed meat has been ranked by the WHO alongside alcohol and tobacco as cancer causes. According to research of cancer, if no one ate processed or red meat in Britain, there would be 8,800 fewer cases of cancer a year.

1. What's the environmental effect of eating meat?

A．Raising livestock may destroy grasslands and forests.

B．Eating meat leads to the increase of human population.

C．Meat production adds to the amount of carbon emissions on Earth.

D．Keeping too much livestock destroys the balance of nature.

2. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Eating huge amounts of meat.

B．Increasing carbon emissions in the air.

C．Reducing diversity of plants.

D．Risking developing cancer.

3. How does livestock lead to biodiversity loss?

A．People farm forests and wild land to grow food for livestock.

B．Plants and animals die from carbon released by livestock.

C．Many plants and animals have become food for livestock.

D．Farm animals have consumed what humans use for food.

4. How does the WHO value processed meat?

A．It's a necessary part of human diet.

B．It's like cigarettes and alcohol which can cause cancer.

C．It can reduce carbon release.

D．It contributes to the fall of meat consumption.