1 . You’ve probably followed a few cute dogs and cats on social media. However, are you aware that Ai-generated pets are also gaining popularity nowadays? They are just as adorable as real dogs and cats but also exhibit human-like characteristics.
Chai Dada, 21, runs an AI-generated dog account called “Shizhuangzhuangya” on Xiaohongshu and has already got more than 10,000 followers. Her AI-generated pet Zhuangzhuang is a fluffy Shiba Inu with a big belly who likes to eat and work out. “Zhuangzhuang is actually a reflection of me,” Chai said. “Its life and mood basically reflect my own.”
To personify the character more, the young content maker places Zhuangzhuang in various daily life scenarios. For instance, responding to the recent increase of “hui nan tian”— the super humid (潮湿的) weather in southern China in spring — Chai posted images of Zhuangzhuangmopping a wet floor, with the caption. “It’s wet everywhere at home”; vividly capturing the mood. In the comments section, many have expressed sympathy (同情), for the poor dog.
“Many scenes may seem ordinary, but when a very lifelike and adorable human-like pet appears in these familiar scenes, it looks interesting,” Chai said. Since Zhuangzhuang closely resembles a human in a dog’s body, many followers have come to believe in its real existence. This has provided Chai with opportunities to monetize by partnering with brands for product advertisements. Aiming to expand her reach, Chai expressed a desire to dive deeper into AI to bring her AI pet to life not just in pictures but also in videos.
She also observed that more and more people like her are becoming AI pet bloggers, which has intensified competition in this industry. To attract more fans, bloggers are constantly learning more AI skills and brainstorming to create more interesting storylines. “I want to develop Zhuangzhuang into an intellectual property and create related cultural and creative products such as dolls and stickers,” said Chai.
1. What do we know about the AI pet Zhuangzhuang?| A．It is a digital recreation of Chai’s childhood pet. |
| B．It has gained over one million followers online. |
| C．It is a virtual representation of a real Shiba Inu. |
| D．It mirrors the life and personality of its creator. |
| A．To show the fun Zhuangzhuang brings Chai. |
| B．To illustrate how Chai humanizes Zhuangzhuang. |
| C．To describe Zhuangzhuang’s daily struggles. |
| D．To suggest Zhuangzhuang’s growing fan base. |
| A．Commercialize. | B．Promote. | C．Maximize. | D．Monitor. |
| A．Perfect Zhuangzhuang’s features. | B．Cooperate with other AI pet creators. |
| C．Create lifelike videos of Zhuangzhuang. | D．Write a book featuring Zhuangzhuang. |
2 . Small planetary (行星) bodies is the big focus of space exploration in 2023 and People are eager to solve many of the mysteries about these tiny worlds. In 2023, the launching of two spacecrafts aims to explore some of the solar system’s smaller bodies, in an effort to understand how worlds become suitable habitats for humans to live in.
The first task Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) was launched in April 2023 and is scheduled to land in 2031. This spacecraft from the European Space Agency (ESA) is designed to explore three of Jupiter’s major moons: Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. They are thought to have oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen shells.
“The thing we are most interested in is the liquid oceans and in particular with Ganymede –we don’t know the location, the depth ,the composition of these oceans,” says ESA’s Olivier Witasse, the project scientist. “While JUICE has many goals, the most exciting one is to hunt for life there as water is crucial to life ”.
Due to launch in October 2024 and arrive in 2030, the other spacecraft Psyche from NASA is named after the asteroid (小行星) it will land. Researchers believe Psyche to be an exposed iron core of a young planet. Studying planetary cores is nearly impossible on actual planets because they are so deep underground, so Psyche could present a unique opportunity.
“The core is always crucial. For the Earth, it creates magnetic field and gives off heat,” says one of the researchers of Psyche, “One of the ways to answer why Earth is habitable is to study how it was built, and Psyche is part of that story. We don’t know what we’re going to find, and if blessed, we’re going to be completely surprised because there was no previous data.”
Habitability (宜居性) in our solar system is still a huge mystery, but the two spacecrafts should bring us one step closer to understanding it.
1. What is the aim of the two spacecraft launching tasks?| A．To study planetary bodies. | B．To solve mysteries about worlds. |
| C．To explore the solar system. | D．To understand how worlds become habitable. |
| A．Its most important goal is to hunt for life. |
| B．It is scheduled to travel about 8 years before it reaches its destination. |
| C．It has found there are liquid oceans under frozen shells of Jupiter. |
| D．It is designed by EAU to explore three of Jupiter’s major moons. |
| A．Psyche will be launched to explore Psyche. |
| B．There was a little previous data about the asteroid. |
| C．People have known how the earth is built through it. |
| D．Psyche’s core creates magnetic field and gives off heat. |
| A．Ganymede attracts particular attention of scientists of ESA. |
| B．Psyche is key to helping people solve mysteries about space. |
| C．JUICE is scheduled to explore three of Jupiter’s major moons. |
| D．The launching of two spacecrafts is to help understand habitability. |
3 . In the Pixar movie Up, a fun cartoon dog called Dug wears a magical collar which can detect and translate his barks and cries into fluent human speech. Humans have always been fascinated by the potential to communicate with the animals. This week, an article in the New York Times documented major efforts from a group of researchers using machine-learning algorithms (算法) to analyze the different calls of whales, chickens, bats, cats, and more.
There are several ways to train AI systems now. Typically, Al systems learn through training with labeled data of human language which can be well supplied by the Internet. But analyzing animal language is different. Scientists have to instruct software programs on what to look for, and how to organize the data. This process requires matching gained vocal (发声的) recordings with the visual social behaviors of animals. A group studying Egyptian fruit bats, for example, also used video cameras to record the bats themselves to provide context for the calls.
Many critics of this approach point out two weaknesses of current AI language models: being unable to truly understand the relationships between words and the objects in the real world, and scientists’ little understanding of animal societies. Al language models for humans rely on a computer mapping out the relationship between words and the contexts they could appear in. But these models have their own weak points, and can sometimes be a black box—researchers know what goes in and comes out, but don’t quite understand how the algorithm is arriving at the conclusion.
Another factor that researchers should take into account is that animal communications might not work at all like human communications. There might be unique elements to animal language due to physiological and behavioral differences.
Making a Translator for animals has been a popular project that’s been in the works for the last decade. Although some software has shown some success in identifying the basic vocabulary of certain animals, it’s still a far cry from understanding the complex animal languages.
1. Why do researchers use Al to analyze animals’ calls?| A．To tell the differences among animals. |
| B．To test Al’s ability of translating animal language. |
| C．To understand animal language better. |
| D．To explore the fun of communicating with animals. |
| A．The lack of labeled data for training Al systems. |
| B．The difficulty in relating human speech to real objects. |
| C．The need for sound recordings to provide context. |
| D．The matching of vocal recordings with their calls. |
| A．Al language models to study animal communication. |
| B．The researchers’ study on animal societies. |
| C．The relationship between words and context. |
| D．The method of Al algorithms to draw conclusions. |
| A．Al systems for animal language translation. |
| B．Limitations of current Al language models. |
| C．Unique aspects of detecting animal language. |
| D．Challenges in creating a translator for animals. |
4 . Could an app tell if a first date is just not that into you? Engineers at the University of Cincinnati say the technology might not be far off. They trained a computer—using data from reparable technology that measures respiration, heart rates and perspiration to identify the type of conversation two people were having based on their physiological responses alone.
Researchers studied a phenomenon in which people’s heart rates, respiration and other autonomic nervous system responses become synchronized (同步的) when they talk or collaborate. Known as physiological synchrony, this effect is stronger when two people engage deeply in a conversation or cooperate closely on a task. “Physiological synchrony shows up even when people are talking over Zoom, an online chat platform,” said study co-author Vesna Novak.
In experiments with human participants, the computer was able to differentiate four different conversations with as much as 75% accuracy. The study is one of the first of its kind to train artificial intelligence how to recognize aspects of a conversation based on the participants’ physiology alone.
“The computer could tell if you’re a bore,” lead author Chatterjee said. “A modified version of our system could measure the level of interest a person is taking in the conversation, how harmonious the two of you are and how engaged the other person is in the conversation.”
Studies have shown that physiological synchrony can predict how well two people will work together to accomplish a task. The degree of synchrony also correlates with how much empathy a patient perceives in a therapist or the level of engagement students feel with their teachers.
“You could probably use our system to determine which people in an organization work better together in a group and which are naturally opposed,” Chatterjee said.
This aspect of affective computing holds huge potential for providing real-time feedback for educators, therapists or even autistic people, Novak said, “There are a lot of potential applications in this space.”
1. What did the engineers train the computer to do in the study?| A．Record conversations. | B．Smooth conversations. |
| C．Judge conversations. | D．Provide conversation tips. |
| A．How we develop talking skills. | B．How physiological synchrony works. |
| C．Why chatting online gets popular. | D．Why physiological synchrony matters. |
| A．By offering them some teaching skills. |
| B．By helping them correcting homework. |
| C．By creating a relaxing studying atmosphere. |
| D．By providing them with students’ participation level. |
| A．Stay or pass? This computer can tell. | B．Good or bad? That is a big problem. |
| C．What can the computer do for patients? | D．How can we improve our people skills? |
5 . A study from 2010 said that raising prices by 1% without losing sales can increase profits by 8.7% on average. Getting the prices right can be difficult. Set them too high and you lose customers; set them too low and you leave money on the table.
To make more money, shopkeepers have been turning to price-optimization (优化) systems that predict how customers will respond to price changes. These systems are becoming cleverer thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). While older systems used historical sales data to estimate (估计) price sensitivity for individual goods, the latest AI-powered systems can find relationships between multiple goods. These AI-powered systems use big data to estimate price sensitivity — how much demand increases as the price falls or how much demand decreases as the price goes up-for thousands of products. Price-sensitive (价格敏感的) goods can then be discounted and price-insensitive ones marked up.
All this makes pricing systems “much more three-dimensional”, observes Chad Yoes, the pricing official at Walmart, a supermarket. In February, Starbucks, a chain of coffee shops, expressed pride in its use of AI to price products “on an ongoing basis”. US Foods, a food company, says its pricing system can promote sales and profits.
Price-optimization may make prices change more. “Shopkeepers are pricing faster today than they ever have before,” says Matt Pavich of Revionics, a pricing-software firm. That is especially true in the fast-moving world of e-commerce. But even Walmart changes the prices of many items in its stores 2-4 times a year, says Mr Yoes. up from once or twice a few years ago.
Sysco, a food company, says the AI-powered system allows it to lower prices on “key value items” and raise prices on other products. It can thus increase profits by expanding sales while maintaining profits. That keeps investors content and shoppers sweet.
1. What can be learned from the first paragraph?| A．It is sometimes difficult to set the right prices. |
| B．Getting the prices right can make you lose customers. |
| C．Raising prices by 1% always leads to an 8.7% increase in profits. |
| D．The study from 2010 suggests that you leave money on the table. |
| A．They are more price-sensitive. |
| B．They make prices change more. |
| C．They can predict price sensitivity for individual goods. |
| D．They are able to identify links between various products. |
| A．Starbucks coffee. | B．Price-insensitive goods. |
| C．Walmart’s online goods. | D．Sysco’s “key value items”. |
| A．Apply AI to Set Prices | B．Raise Prices to Increase Profits |
| C．Reduce Prices to Promote Sales | D．Use AI to Predict Customer Response |
6 . This was a major week in AI (Artificial Intelligence), with some of the largest companies announced its flagship and leading models: GPT-4 from OpenAI’s made its first show to the public, while Google put out its Med-PaLM 2, a new-and-improved medical model etc. Meanwhile, Company Anthropic introduced its ChatGPT competitor Claude API which is a lighter and cheaper. And in China, Tsinghua launched ChatGLM, a chat-based Chinese-English model, in somewhat as a reminder of ChatGPT. In this AI spring, much awaits for customers.
Designs are on the rise. November’s release ChatGPT turned AI a breaking news. Two months later, it amounted to 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Earlier this month, OpenAI came to market for the first time — the ChatGPT. Finally, both Google and Microsoft put out AI plans as well.
Funds are flooding. Recent attention turns to a large amount of investment on Microsoft’s $10 billion OpenAI. The past few months have witnessed a “gold rush” for new AI model startups. Some standouts: Adept raised $350 million, Google dropped another $300 million into Anthropic, Character AI raised $200 million from Andreesen Horowitz, Perplexity raised $25 million, and Salesforce Ventures launched a $250 million fund.
Demands for policy. As foundation models change rapidly, the demand for AI policy grows as well, which catches the attention of top policymakers across the world, attempting to ensure AI security. In the U.S., Congressman Ted Lieu presented a report calling for AI regulation that was written by ChatGPT, accompanied by a column (专栏) in the New York Times.
“AI is no longer a matter of science fiction, nor is it a technology confined or restricted to research labs. AI will drastically change our lives. Jobs like journalists, lawyers and doctors are facing challenges. AI is a technology that is already being highly concerned.”
1. What do you know about AI according to paragraph 1?| A．AI develops fast in these weeks. | B．GPT-4 is failed in the first show. |
| C．Tsinghua released a medical model. | D．AI reminds people of the spring. |
| A．Tsinghua developed one on medicine. | B．More competitors were beaten recently. |
| C．ChatGPT attracted 100 million users. | D．GPT-4 is a newly updated version. |
| A．It’s just in America that AI technology develops. |
| B．Better policy are demanded for AI security. |
| C．Google and Microsoft will make a better AI. |
| D．Funds are raised for new model startups. |
| A．Some professions are in face of challenge. | B．Models are lighter and cheaper. |
| C．Quite a few funds are invested lately. | D．It develops rapidly in the west. |
7 . Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a fashion word in recent years, and its impact on society is growing rapidly. AI refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making. This technology is transforming every industry, from healthcare to finance, and is expected to revolutionize the future.
One area where AI is making significant strides is healthcare. AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of medical data and help doctors make more informed diagnoses and treatment decisions. This technology is particularly useful in fields such as radiology, where AI algorithms can analyze medical images to detect abnormalities that may be missed by human eyes.
In finance, AI is being used to analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and predict market trends. This technology can help traders make more informed decisions and reduce the risks of financial losses. Similarly, AI -powered chatbots are being used in customer service, helping to improve response times and provide personalized support.
As the use of AI grows, concerns about job displacement have also arisen. Some fear that AI-powered machines and robots will replace human workers, leading to mass unemployment. While this is a possibility, it is also important to note that AI will create new jobs in fields such as data analysis, software development, and robotics.
Another major concern about Al is the potential for bias and discrimination. AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on, and if that data contains biases, the algorithms will also be biased. This issue is particularly concerning in fields such as criminal justice, where AI-powered systems are being used to make decisions about sentencing. If these algorithms are biased, they could make existing inequalities continue in the criminal justice system.
Despite these concerns, the benefits of AI are numerous and undeniable. However, to ensure that these benefits are accessible to all and to address concerns about bias and discrimination, it is crucial to continue researching and developing moral AI.
1. Al outweighs humans in healthcare in that it .| A．stops financial risks. | B．ensures precise judgement. |
| C．recognizes market tendency. | D．offers personalized services. |
| A．New jobs will be unavailable. | B．Algorithms will be out of date. |
| C．Unfairness may arise in criminal justice system. | D．A large number of human workers will be laid off. |
| A．By stating facts and citing quotes. |
| B．By showing different ideas and giving reasons. |
| C．By presenting influences and listing examples. |
| D．By comparing research results and offering suggestions. |
| A．Artificial Intelligence: Becoming a Fashion Word |
| B．Artificial Intelligence: Revolutionizing the Future |
| C．Artificial Intelligence: Bettering Decision Making |
| D．Artificial Intelligence: Improving Human Abilities |
8 . My son, Toby, 17 months old, has just tested positive for COVID-19. He is the first in our household to test positive, and all the information provided for people in this situation is designed for adults who are(or should be) concerned about protecting their families. Toby, obviously, cannot comprehend such advice. He cannot keep a distance from everybody else, or eat and wash in a separate room. We called 911, and the medic we spoke to agreed that the official guidance didn’t really apply to our situation.
Indeed. Not much we can do. So, here we are, trapped within our four walls with a little baby infected with COVID-19, who continues to climb on us, spit in our faces, love us and hug us. It seems inevitable that we, and our elder son, are going to get COVID now. Not much we can do.
My first reaction, after absorbing his diagnosis, was to cook sausages. I didn’t even know that was my comfort food of choice. Perhaps an afternoon crisis would have caused a different cooking desire? Anyway, a full stomach helped me take stock. Yes, it may now be inevitable that we’re going to contract the very virus we’ve spent a year avoiding, but as long as we don’t contract it at the same time, then, hopefully, one other of us will be available to look after our kids (thus answering my five-year-old’s most pressing concern: “…but who will make the pudding?”).
So, to minimise transmission, we’ve opened all the windows. And we’ve decided to wear face coverings whenever we are with Toby. This decision has been insignificant to him—I imagine he literally cannot remember life before masks—but for me, it’s distressing. I’ve become accustomed to wearing masks in supermarkets and coffee shops, of course, but to actually walk around with half my face covered in my own house is quite another matter—it is telling me that my home has been infected, That it’s no longer a safe space.
And so it was, when I sat down to write this column, that I ended up writing about COVID, which is probably the last thing you wanted to read. Sorry about that. COVID has coloured my thoughts today, even though I know that my wife and children will be fine, and that really we should just be grateful we haven’t passed it on to my grandmother.
I predict there will be more sausages in the morning.
1. By repeating the sentence “Not much we can do” in paragraph 2, the writer implies that ________.| A．he feels inspired | B．he is really helpless |
| C．he wants professional support | D．he needs to keep a distance from Toby |
| A．Appetite. | B．Concern. | C．Relief. | D．Sadness. |
| A．It discourages him from writing about COVID. |
| B．It brings him back to the days before COVID-19 |
| C．It makes him feel at a loss for how to help his son. |
| D．It is a reminder of what is happening to his family. |
| A．The diagnosis leaves the writer’s family in a tough spot. |
| B．Being infected with COVID-19 leaves Toby in a bad mood. |
| C．The writer is sure that his other kids won’t contract the virus. |
| D．Sausages have long been considered by many to be comfort food |
9 . Live streaming (直播) is booming, with viewers watching nearly 4 billion hours of live stream, in the gaming sector alone, in 2020.
To stream or not to stream—that is the question with over 50 million American online creators. With over seven-in-ten people in the US using social media such as YouNow, Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitch, sharing a moment, routine, or an exciting experience with others has never been easier for US streamers.
For some, the motivation to live stream is for the fun of it, while others are seeking to become the next celebrity (名人).
Back in 2016, researchers studied live streams originating from the US, Japan and Germany on the platforms YouNow, Periscope and UStream. They found a wide variety of motivations driving each streamer, with a large majority using live streaming services for their own entertainment.
The main motive of US streamers was to reach a specific target group, for example, by performing music. Their goal was to improve their personal image and to cultivate their fan base. On the other hand, socializing was the main motivation for Japanese streamers. The need to communicate with their audience was especially strong. Finally, German streamers’ primary motivations were to relieve their boredom. And they’re not alone. Boredom was also a strong motivator found in both American and Japanese streamers back in 2016. Simply put, many people turned to live streaming to help pass the time and to relieve their boredom.
And then there’s a new type of live streaming where streamers don’t perform for, interact or even communicate with their viewers. Instead, the live stream broadcasts uninterrupted everyday activities such as sleeping and studying. Streamers position their cameras on their beds and go to sleep. In February 2020, Chinese streamer YuanSan broadcast his 2-day “sleep-stream” which, to his surprise, attracted 18 million viewers. In an interview, YuanSan claimed that his motivation was to relieve his boredom. “I was so bored that I decided to live stream myself sleeping. What I discovered was that viewers on the internet were even more bored than I was.”
1. What is the probable reason for the rise of live streaming in the US?| A．The fast network connections. | B．Streamers’ desire to share. |
| C．People’s need for entertainment. | D．The huge number of online viewers. |
| A．To enjoy themselves. | B．To make money. |
| C．To make friends. | D．To be famous. |
| A．Various ways of streaming. | B．Positive infuences of streaming. |
| C．Great achievements of streamers. | D．Different motivations of streamers. |
| A．It is boring to stream online. | B．Streaming can improve his sleep. |
| C．Streaming can help relieve boredom. | D．It is important to communicate with viewers. |
10 . It is hard to imagine that plants or animals could ever exist on Mars. But scientists continue to look for evidence. NASA, America’s space agency, has found evidence that, a long time ago, there was surface water on the Mars. Scientists believe water is necessary for life as we know it. So since that discovery, they have been looking for chemicals that would be present if there once was or still is life on the planet.
At a December 13 meeting in California, NASA scientists reported an important discovery on Mars. They said for the first time that they had found very small amounts of boron(硼). Boron is important because it could help build RNA molecules(分子). And RNA molecules are important because they are one of the basic building parts for life.
One of the next steps in the scientists’ search for life on Mars comes soon. The next spacecraft is planned to launch. It will bring rocks from Mars back to Earth. Scientists in Britain are getting ready for those Mars rocks now. Before this, using a powerful microscope(显微镜), they have already examined 200-million-year-old volcanic rocks found deep in the Pacific Ocean. The microscope showed holes on the rocks caused by tiny living things called microbes(微生物). Microbes are the oldest form of life on Earth.
Next, the scientists in Britain will examine rocks which contain ancient material from Mars. The material comes from a time when Mars would have been more likely to support life. The scientists hope to get the same findings in the rocks from Mars as the ones they saw in the ocean rocks. If they do, they predict that the rocks coming directly from Mars will also show signs of life. That, in turn, could finally prove that we are not alone in the universe.
1. What caused scientists to look for evidence of life on Mars?| A．The discovery of plants. | B．The discovery of chemicals. |
| C．The discovery of surface water. | D．The discovery of RNA molecules. |
| A．It is hardly seen on the earth. | B．It might prove the existence of life. |
| C．It might cause the holes on the rocks. | D．It is the most necessary part of life. |
| A．Tiny living things. | B．Ancient material from Mars. |
| C．Volcanic rocks. | D．Holes caused by microbes. |
| A．Scientists Try To Look For Life On Mars |
| B．Does Surface Water Really Exist On Mars? |
| C．A Discovery Of Life In The Pacific Ocean |
| D．Boron-An Important Chemical Supporting Life |
