1 . Traditionally, people have been forced to reduce complex choices to a small handful of options that don’t do justice to their true desires. For example, in a restaurant, the limitations of the kitchen, the way supplies have to be ordered and the realities of restaurant cooking make you get a menu of a few dozen standardized options, with the possibility of some modifications (修改) around the edges. We are so used to these bottlenecks that we don’t even notice them. And when we do, we tend to assume they are the unavoidable cost of scale (规模) and efficiency. And they are. Or, at least, they were.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to overcome this limitation. By storing rich representations of people’s preferences and histories on the demand side, along with equally rich representations of capabilities, costs and creative possibilities on the supply side, AI systems enable complex customization at large scale and low cost. Imagine walking into a restaurant and knowing that the kitchen has already started working on a meal optimized (优化) for your tastes, or being presented with a personalized list of choices.
There have been some early attempts at this. People have used ChatGPT to design meals based on dietary restrictions and what they have in the fridge. It’s still early days for these technologies, but once they get working, the possibilities are nearly endless.
Recommendation systems for digital media have reduced their reliance on traditional intermediaries. Radio stations are like menu items: Regardless of how nuanced (微妙) your taste in music is, you have to pick from a handful of options. Early digital platforms were only a little better: “This person likes jazz, so we’ll suggest more Jazz.” Today’s streaming platforms use listener histories and a broad set of characters describing each track to provide each user with personalized music recommendations.
A world without artificial bottlenecks comes with risks — loss of jobs in the bottlenecks, for example — but italso has the potential to free people from the straightjackets that have long limited large-scale human decision-’making. In some cases — restaurants, for example — the effect on most people might be minor. But in others, likepolitics and hiring, the effects could be great.
1. What does the underlined word “bottlenecks” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Facing too many choices. | B．Choosing from limited options. |
| C．Avoiding the cost of choosing. | D．Having too many desires to satisfy. |
| A．By meeting both ends of supply and demand. |
| B．By decreasing representations on the supply side. |
| C．By disconnecting the sides of supply and demand. |
| D．By reducing people’s preferences on the demand side. |
| A．They are a necessary part in people’s life. | B．They offer limited choices. |
| C．They depend on digital platforms. | D．They provide reasonable suggestions. |
| A．The variety of human’s choices. | B．Standardized optrarts in daily life. |
| C．AI settlements to the option bottlenecks. | D．Recommendation systems for digital media. |
2 . “The majority of decisions we make do not come from the conscious (有意识的) mind, but the subconscious mind,” Beni Gradwohl, the co-founder of Cognovi Labs, said. “Our decisions are based on emotions. People think they are very rational (理智的). But they are not. In fact, decisions in the subconscious mind are made in a second before the rational mind recognizes that.”
Gradwohl used to think that cold and hard data defined the world. But when he was exposed to behavioral economics, his world view changed. He said, “Emotional intelligence is more important than intelligence quotient (IQ). Most successful leaders in the world don’t have above-average IQ but above average emotional quotient (EQ).”
Gradwohl co-founded AI company, Cognovi Labs, to better understand how people make decisions, using data and science and technology to measure underlying emotions.
When asked how event organizers could benefit from using emotional AI, Gradwohl said, “The first thing is whether you really understand what’s driving your target audience to an event.” He added, “You can ask them, but what potential registrants tell you may be incorrect.”
According to Gradwohl, registering for an event is not an entirely rational decision, and it goes deeper. Understanding how your target audience makes decisions is important because you don’t want to sell them something they don’t care about. Cognovi Labs’ AI can uncover the underlying emotional drivers or blockers of your target audience’s decision-making.
Beyond using Cognovi Labs’ AI in the marketing leading up to an event, once the event is underway, Gradwohl thinks organizers can know how their participants are feeling via the AI. That involves using feedback (反馈) surveys. He said, “Have attendees talk to the event app and then transcribe that. We call that diagnostic (诊断的) interview because they may generate a strong emotional response. With those conversations about what they are experiencing throughout the program at different times of the day, we will see what the emotional blockers and drivers are. We can get a full picture of the emotional aspects of the attendees.”
1. What may Cognovi Labs mainly focus on?| A．Researching people’s potential emotions. | B．Helping people make rational decisions. |
| C．Training people to develop conscious minds. | D．Leading people to study science and technology. |
| A．Registering for an event is important. | B．Believing target audience is necessary. |
| C．Cognovi Labs’ AI helps event organizers. | D．Cognovi Labs’ AI benefits lots of drivers. |
| A．Cognovi Labs’ AI’s feedback surveys. | B．Cognovi Labs’ AI’s additional function. |
| C．The ways to organize a marketing event. | D．The attendees’ strong emotional response. |
| A．The Founder of an Emotional AI | B．The Future of Behavioral Economics |
| C．An AI Company Improves Intelligence | D．An Emotional AI Helps Make Decisions |
3 . March 12 was my last typical day in the classroom before COVID-19 changed everything. When my district closed the following day, I assumed, as many did, that this was a temporary move. However, the closure did not end as quickly as we expected. As the closure continued, while I was glad that none of my students was infected with the virus, I began to worry that the growth of reading ability my first-graders and I worked so hard for would gradually disappear.
It is reported that only one-third of students in the US achieved reading proficiency at grade level in 2019. As the years go by, the gaps become larger, and students who are reading below grade level seldom catch up with their peers. These students often encounter significant social and emotional challenges as they become increasingly aware of their differences from their classmates. And school closures caused by COVID-19 have made the situation even worse.
So when my district reopened in the fall, we were faced with difficult decisions about how to best deliver instruction. At our school, all students have to take a series of short screening tests to assess reading ability at the beginning of the school year. Considering that one size cannot fit all, I adjusted my teaching plans in time throughout the year. If a student received a low score in a particular area, I’d conduct a follow-up assessment to learn about the real cause of the difficulty.
I also conducted exercises to help students practice reading skills. Using other online platforms, I created interactive
lessons with other teachers, in which students practiced reading and writing specific words, reading full sentences and answering corresponding comprehension questions. The platforms enabled us to see all students’ screens at once and gauge which students were on target and needed additional support. They also provided information for planning subsequent lessons.
As a teacher, I know I cannot make all children reach proficiency in literacy (读写能力) myself, but I believe what I am doing can really make a difference to their lives, and I will go on with it.
1. What did the author worry about during the closure?| A．The health condition of her students. |
| B．The decline in her enthusiasm for work. |
| C．The uncertainty about the duration of the closure. |
| D．The influence of closure on students’ reading ability. |
| A．She motivated students to analyze their own problems. |
| B．She adapted teaching strategies to suit her students’ needs. |
| C．She used technology to make reading exercises more interesting. |
| D．She instructed students to take screening tests before each class. |
| A．Judge. | B．Explain. | C．Control. | D．Change. |
| A．Strict and wise. | B．Responsible and flexible. |
| C．Sensitive and optimistic. | D．Humorous and considerate. |
4 . Have you ever imagined being able to communicate with your pet at home and have it understand everything you say? It sounds too good to be true, but scientists have started using artificial intelligence (AI) to help communicate with animals.
Professor Karen Bakker—who is the author of a book called The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants—said that AI is already helping humans communicate with bats and honeybees and this could change what we know about nature and our non-human relationships.
Scientists have worked out how bats speak to each other to argue over food and how mother bats communicate with their young.
Professor Bakker explained how researcher Yossi Yovel had used recordings and AI to understand bats.
“Bats argue over food; they actually distinguish between genders when they communicate with one another; they have individual names, or ‘signature calls’,” she said.
“Mother bats speak to their babies in a kind of ‘motherese’.
Bats learn to ‘speak’ with signals from their mothers.
But while human mothers raise the pitch(音高) of their voices when talking to babies，mother bats lower the pitch.
She said it was a great example of how animal patterns could be revealed using sensors and microphones that would otherwise never be heard with the human ear.
AI makes this possible because a computer can be trained to listen like a bat.
With honeybees, the computer combines listening with vision of the bees’ body movements to understand what they are communicating. Researchers now know how be essay things such as “hush” or “stop”.
Researcher Tim Landgraf even created a robot honeybee that entered a hive(蜂房) and was able to communicate with other bees when it wanted them to stop doing something or fly.
1. What is the role of AI in communicating with animals?| A．Allowing humans to speak to animals. |
| B．Translating human language into animal language. |
| C．Transforming human thoughts into animal language. |
| D．Helping humans understand what animals are saying. |
| A．They use unique names given by human. |
| B．They live together like early human groups. |
| C．They share their food with each other without arguing. |
| D．They can distinguish between genders when communicating. |
| A．By using a kind of “motherese”. |
| B．By raising the pitch of their voices. |
| C．By using sensors and microphones. |
| D．By making body movements. |
| A．It can speak with other bats. |
| B．It can build a hive with bees. |
| C．It can communicate with other bees. |
| D．It can teach other bee show to fly and stop. |
5 . Maya Ackerman just wanted to write a song. She tried for years — song after song. In the end, she didn’t like any of the tunes (曲调) she wrote. she says, “All the melodies (旋律) that came into my mind were so boring that I couldn’t imagine wasting time performing them.” Maybe, she thought, a computer could help. Nowadays, computer programs are already useful for recording songs that people come up with. Ackerman now wondered if a computer could be more — a songwriting partner. It was a flash of inspiration. “I knew immediately that it would be possible for a machine to give me ideas,” she says. That inspiration led to the creation of ALYSIA, a songwriting program that uses algorithms (算法). When first-time songwriters type in lyrics, this computer program can produce new melodies, based on the lyrics.
As a computer scientist at Santa Clara University in California, Ackerman has a lot of experience using algorithms. These are step-by-step math ways to solve problems and make predictions (预测). Algorithms are useful in programming computers. They can also be useful for everyday tasks.
When a computer runs software, it’s completing tasks by following algorithms written as computer language. Computer scientists like Ackerman analyze (分析), study and write algorithms to solve a series of problems. Some of them use algorithms in the field of a new technology, AI, which teaches computers to carry out tasks or activities that the human brain usually deals with.
Ackerman isn’t the only one using AI for songwriting. Some programs produce music for many instruments. AI is also finding its way into other arts. Painters, dancers and photographers have found new ways to make use of Al algorithms. Ahmed Elgammal runs a computer-science lab that focuses on using AI to influence art. “AI is a creative tool that will be accepted as an art form,” he says. “It will influence the way art is made, and what art will be.”
1. What did Maya Ackerman think of the song she wrote?| A．Surprising. | B．Satisfactory. | C．Disappointing. | D．Wonderful. |
| A．By copying other songs. | B．By attracting partners online. |
| C．By giving songwriters inspiration. | D．By using algorithms according to the lyrics. |
| A．Making use of algorithms. | B．Making scientific predictions. |
| C．Recording her own songs. | D．Recommending new songs. |
| A．Making people write better algorithms. | B．Doing things that people often do. |
| C．Letting computers follow algorithms. | D．Inventing a variety of creative tools. |
| A．AI has been used mainly in singing. | B．AI can take the place of instruments. |
| C．Ahmed Elgammal is a famous artist. | D．Ahmed Elgammal thinks highly of AI. |
6 . Don’t ask astronomers to choose between the old Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope. “Comparing Hubble and Webb is like asking if you will love your second child as much as your first one,” said Susan Mullally, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. They are very different but equally loved.
Webb is expected to detect light from the universe’s first stars, beyond Hubble’s range. This light will show how the original stars looked 13.7 billion years ago. Hubble has stared as far back as 13.4 billion years, discovering the oldest and farthest object ever observed. Astronomers are eager to close the 300 million year gap with Webb and draw ever closer in time to the Big Bang, the moment the universe formed 13.8 billion years ago. “It’s like looking at the picture book of our kids and missing the first two years. We are trying to figure out where they come from,” explained NASA’s chief scientist Thomas Zurbuchen.
Hubble sees what we see, with a little ultraviolet and infrared thrown in. Webb has infrared vision. That’s why Webb needs to run at -240℃. To stay cold, Webb carries a five-layer shelter to keep it from sunlight. Between each layer of the shelter, whose size is as big as a tennis court, there is a gap so heat can escape out the sides.
To detect the universe’s first and darkening stars, Webb requires the largest mirror ever made for astronomy. The mirror spans more than 6.5 meters, yet is lighter than Hubble’s, which is 2.4 meters across. The mirror consists of 18 smaller pieces, each of which is the size of a coffee table and coated with very thin gold, an ideal reflector of infrared light.
Hubble circles 530 kilometers above the earth. Webb is 1.6 million kilometers away at what’s called the second Lagrange point (L2). This is where the gravitational forces of the earth and the sun balance, requiring minimal fuel for a spacecraft to stay there. Webb will constantly face the night side of Earth as the spacecraft and planet run around the sun in unison (同步).
1. What does Thomas Zurbuchen mean?| A．Webb will help scientists see the Big Bang. | B．He wants to find some of his kids’ pictures. |
| C．New space telescopes are better than old ones. | D．Webb might detect the light of the first stars. |
| A．The distance Webb can see. | B．The type of shelters Webb has. |
| C．The unique mirror Webb carries. | D．The position Webb is put in. |
| A．It is the coldest area in the universe. | B．It is the darkest position above the earth. |
| C．It is the farthest place any spaceship can reach. | D．It requires the least fuel for Webb to work normally. |
| A．Differences Between Hubble and Webb | B．Problems With Hubble Space Telescope |
| C．Advantages of Infrared Space Telescopes | D．Rapid Development of Space Telescopes |
7 . One of the three astronauts who made up the historic Apollo 11 crew, NASA veteran Michael Collins passed away today, April 28, 2021, at the age of 90.
Collins was born on Oet. 31, 1930, in Rome, Italy. His father, a career officer in the US, Amy who’d go on to retire as a major general, was stationed there at the time. After his family returned stateside, Collins earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the US. Military Academy at West Point, graduating with the class of 1952. He then became an Air Force test pilot, which opened some interesting doors. In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn’s achievement was an inspiration for Collins. “I certainly had no childhood dream of flying to the moon or anywhere else, but the idea was extremely appealing.” Collins wrote in his autobiography Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys. He was selected to join NASA’s third class of astronauts the following year. His first extraterrestrial (地球外的) adventure came in 1966, when Collins set about on a three-day spaceflight with fellow astronaut John Young. Known as Gemini X, their mission was one for the record books; the two men reached the then-unprecedented (前所未有的) altitude of 475 miles (764kilometers ).
Of course, Michael Collins is best remembered for his role in Apollo 11. On July 16, 1969, at 8:32 AM ( Eastern Standard Time ), Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were launched out of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They were the three explorers NASA had chosen for the first mission that would ever put a man on the moon. Four days into their adventure, on July 20, Collins parted ways with his crewmates. Seated in the Eagle landing craft, Armstrong and Aldrin made their landing onto the lunar surface. An American flag was planted; photos were taken; Armstrong said the immortal words, “ One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. ”
Meanwhile, Collins stayed behind in the crew’s command module (舱), orbiting the moon as his colleagues explored it.
1. What motivated Collins to dream of flying to the moon?| A．His father’s encouragement. | B．John Glenn’s achievement. |
| C．His childhood experiences. | D．His favorite book. |
| A．He became the first American to orbit Earth. |
| B．He dreamed of flying to the moon in his childhood. |
| C．His first space exploration was accomplished by himself. |
| D．He once wrote an autobiography. |
| A．He was praised by Armstrong. | B．He became an Air Force test pilot. |
| C．He participated in the work of Apollo 11. | D．He reached the then-unprecedented altitude of 475 miles. |
| A．Ambitious. | B．Lucky. | C．Warmhearted. | D．Humorous. |
8 . Humans have been living and working on the space station for 20 years. Their meals are packaged, though sometimes astronauts receive fresh treats from resupply missions. The longer that packaged food is stored, the more it loses nutrients like vitamin C and vitamin K.
Astronauts have successfully grown 10 different crops on the space station since 2015 and had the chance to sample each one. The International Space Station hosted a party for astronauts on Friday as they celebrated the harvest of the first Chili (辣椒) grown in space. The crew finally had a chance to taste the peppers after initially kicking off the plant experiment on the space station in July.
Plant Habitat-04 is one of the most complex plant experiments on the orbiting laboratory to date because peppers take much longer to grow than the previous experiment plants. After growing for four months, the peppers were harvested on Friday.
Peppers provide a great source of vitamin C, as well as other key nutrients. Pepper plants self-pollinate, so they are easy to grow, and they are a pick-and-eat crop that doesn’t have to be cooked. They are also safe to eat raw.
A side effect of life in zero gravity is that astronauts often lose some of their taste and smell, so spicy or well-seasoned foods are a favorite. Adding fresh greens or peppers to the menu allows astronauts to liven up their regular meals. But growing and tending to the plants can also produce other benefits.
Astronauts have described the joy from seeing—as well as smelling and caring for—leafy green plants on the space station that remind them of Earth.
“Growing colorful vegetables in space can have long-term benefits for physical and psychological health,” said Matt Romeyn, principal investigator for the experiment.” We are discovering that growing plants and vegetables with colors and smells helps to improve astronauts’ well-being.”
1. What does underlined “kicking off” in the 2nd paragraph mean?| A．Launch. | B．Complete. | C．Quit. | D．Announce. |
| A．The technology. | B．Growing process. |
| C．The varieties of plants. | D．Growing time required. |
| A．They are delicious. | B．They restore their appetite. |
| C．They help kill diseases. | D．They improve their memory. |
| A．The Fun in the Space Life |
| B．The Common Goal in the Space Mission |
| C．The First Chili Peppers Grown in Space |
| D．A Research Finding from the Space Mission |
9 . In May 2020, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) solicited medal designs worldwide. Hang Hai and his team set about preparing designs to submit to the BOCOG.
Medals reflect the culture and creativity of the host country, and the team set two basic principles for their design: First, it should continue to adopt the jade (玉) culture incorporated into the design of the Beijing 2008 medals to highlight Beijing’s status as the world’s first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games; second, it should be innovative.
“The medals of both the Beijing 2008 and 2022 Games are to honor the athletes and the Olympic spirit with traditional jade culture,” said Hang. Jade was chosen because it has been treasured in China and symbolizes good virtue. “The difference is that the 2008 medals used the jade as a material, while the 2022 medals represent the spirit of China’s jade culture,” he added.
In the process of designing the medals, one team member, Lin Fan, conducted extensive research into China’s ancient bi. Lin finally chose a five-ring one associated with Fu Hao — a Shang Dynasty queen—as the prototype (原型) for the medals. In the final design, the opposite side of the medals has the Olympic rings engraved in the center, surrounded by five big concentric (同心的) rings. Auspicious cloud patterns, as well as snowflakes and ice patterns are engraved between the circles. The cloud patterns are intended to maintain a cultural connection with the 2008 Games, while the snowflakes and ice patterns speak to the characteristics of the Winter Olympics.
The cases holding the medals are made of bamboo. “The International Olympic Committee inquired about the growth and processing of the bamboo to ensure it meets the requirements of a green Olympics and follows the concept of sustainable (可持续的) development,” Hang said.
The medals passed the quality test and were accepted by the Games’ organizing committee on January 7, 2022. The medals are officially named Tongxin and they are the result of many people’s efforts. However, the smile on the athletes’ faces as they wear them makes it all worthwhile.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The history of the Olympic medals. |
| B．The inspiration for the 2008 medal patterns. |
| C．The significance of the 2022 Winter Olympics. |
| D．The essential requirements of the 2022 medal designs. |
| A．2022 medals use the jade as a material. |
| B．2022 medals reflect the spirit of China’s jade culture. |
| C．2022 medals mark an innovation in the medal designs. |
| D．2022 medals follow the concept of environmental protection. |
| A．To strengthen the bond with the 2008 Games. |
| B．To show the charm of Chinese traditional culture. |
| C．To stand for harmony between human and nature. |
| D．To match with the features of the Winter Olympics. |
| A．They took a lot of time to process. |
| B．They are decorated with a smiling pattern. |
| C．Their materials were finally chosen by BOCOG. |
| D．Their production spreads the idea of green Olympics. |
10 . China successfully launched three astronauts into space on June 17, bringing the country one step closer to completing its new space station. The Shenzhou-12 mission is the first crewed mission and the third launch of a total of 11 launches for China’s space station construction. This is also China’s first manned mission in nearly five years.
The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft (宇宙飞船) was launched on a Long March-2F carrier rocket Thursday morning, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert. The mission sent the crew to the core module of the planned space station, called Tiangong, which is still under construction in a low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft docked with the core module about six-and-a-half hours after launch, according to state media CGTN. The crew will stay in orbit for three months, during which the life support system and maintenance will be tested. And two astronauts will conduct two long-duration spacewalks.
The mission is led by Nie Haisheng, the oldest member of the team and a former fighter pilot with the People’s Liberation Army. Liu Boming, the second oldest team member, joined China’s 2008 space mission. He is expected to play a crucial role during outside cabin operations in this mission. The crew’s youngest member, Tang Hongbo, is the only one of the three yet to travel to space, despite training for 11 years.
Huang Weifen, one of the chief designers on the manned space program said that during the mission the crew will be using new spacewalk suits as well as a new spacecraft. “The possibility of various problems is quite high. So for the astronauts, emergency decision-making and troubleshooting capabilities are also very high requirements,” said Huang.
China’s space program has expanded rapidly in the past decade — in the last seven months alone, the country’s scientists have successfully landed exploratory rovers on the moon in December and on Mars in May.
In April, China successfully launched the first module of the space station. The station will need to be assembled (组装) from several modules launching at different times. If successfully completed, the station is expected to operate for 10 years.
1. What does the successful launch of Shenzhou-12 symbolize?| A．The completion of Chinese space station. |
| B．China’s leading position in the space industry. |
| C．Further development of China’s space program. |
| D．The great success of China’s first manned program. |
| A．To introduce the mission of Shenzhou-12. |
| B．To prove the importance of Shenzhou-12. |
| C．To explain the technology used by the spaceship. |
| D．To show the difficulties of long-duration spacewalks. |
| A．Astronauts need a long period of training. |
| B．A brand new spacecraft is hard to operate. |
| C．The three astronauts are highly experienced. |
| D．Astronauts face huge challenges in their missions. |
| A．Astronauts’ life in space. |
| B．Public attitudes towards Shenzhou-12. |
| C．The mission of Shenzhou-12 and China’s space exploration. |
| D．The construction and significance of the Chinese space station. |
