1 . 阅读表达
BEIJING-With trains rumbling down new tracks, the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia has just been unlocked, poised to transform itself into a hub connecting the fast-growing region to markets as far away as in Europe.
Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Laos Railway has been completed and put into operation, and the Lao people have finally realized their railway dream, said Thongloun Sisoulith, Laos’ president.
The importance of transportation cannot be overemphasized. It is the artery of a nation, and of the globalized world. As a popular Chinese saying goes, “Roads lead to riches.”
The World Bank has estimated that the China-Laos Railway could significantly reduce land transport prices by 40 to 50 percent between Vientiane and Kunming, and by 32 percent between Kunming and the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand. As the railway connects Laos to the vast BRI network, including the China-Europe Railway Express, aggregate (总计的) income in the country could be increased by up to 21 percent over the long term.
Across the world, China’s development and cooperation with other countries have changed the life trajectory (发展轨迹) of numerous people. In Africa, China helped Kenya build the country’s first railway since its independence, which links its two largest cities-Nairobi and Mombasa-and allows people to work in satellite cities and towns and join their families within hours.
Mohammad Nauman, a young Pakistani man, made a career decision seven years ago when China and Pakistan decided to build Pakistan’s first metro system. He became a technician at the metro company. In 2020, the line was opened to traffic.
“It was very amazing for me that this whole connectivity was coming to my country,” Nauman said.
1. Why is the China-Laos railway important to the Lao people?A.It helps realize their dream. |
B.It helps reduce land transport cost. |
C.It helps connect Laos and other countries. |
D.It helps increase Lao yearly income. |
A.Laos | B.Thailand | C.Kenya | D.Eurasia |
A.Pakistani lives have been changed by metro systems built by China. |
B.China helped Pakistanis realize the dream of being connected across the country. |
C.Nauman wanted to thank China for offering him a job as a technician. |
D.Nauman decided on his career with the first metro system to be built in his country. |
“What shall I do when the whole connectivity becomes a reality?” Nauman thought.
2 . China launched a Long March 2F carrier rocket on December 14,2023 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gobi Desert, sending a reusable experimental spacecraft into orbit. The test vehicle is scheduled to stay in orbit for a certain period of time and then return to its preset landing site in China. During the orbital flight, it has been tasked with verifying (核实) reusable technologies and space science experiments, which will both be used as technical support for the peaceful use of space.
It did not reveal the details of the mission and the spacecraft, such as launch time and specific plans, or publish pictures of the rocket’s liftoff or scenes inside the ground control hall. The mission is the third that China has made public related to reusable experimental spacecraft.
The country’s first orbital test of a trial vehicle took place in September 2020, and the craft was in orbit for just under two days. The second test started in August 2022 and the spaceplane stayed in the Earth’s orbit for 276 days before landing in May 2023.The second test’s success marked a major breakthrough in China’s reusable spacecraft technology, which is aimed at providing a convenient and affordable way to travel between Earth and outer space, the Jiuquan center said after the experimental spaceplane’s landing.
In recent years, advances in science and technology have reignited (重新激起) the space industry’s enthusiasm for reusable spaceships, especially robotic spaceplanes such as the Boeing X-37B that are smaller, cheaper, and less complex in their design, production and operation.
According to experts, reusable spacecraft will have a wide range of applications, including space tours for civilians, transporting astronauts, resupplying space stations, and placing satellites into orbit at a lower cost than through traditional methods.
1. What is revealed about the third test spacecraft?A.The tasks it performed. | B.The details of its mission. |
C.The pictures taken of its launch. | D.The scenes in the ground control hall. |
A.To make outer space travel more available. |
B.To mark a major breakthrough in flight speed. |
C.To have the spaceplane stay in the orbit for 276 days. |
D.To get the spacecraft to return to its preset landing site. |
A.The reusable products. | B.The potential applications. |
C.The experimental spacecraft cost. | D.The individual estimate. |
A.Great Progress in Space Exploration |
B.Details of the Third Spaceplane Mission |
C.A Wide Range of Applications of Reusable Spacecraft |
D.Reusable Spacecraft Launched to Orbit on Experimental Mission |
3 . Hibernation (冬眠) is a classic topic of science fiction. In movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, or Passengers, crew members are put into a state of sleep to take year-long journeys to space. Now a new study from Washington University has shown that human hibernation may soon become a reality.
The research team carried out tests on rats — animals that do not naturally hibernate. They first identified a group of neurons (神经元) in a deep brain region, which were found to be involved in controlling body temperature during hibernation. They showed that, in mice, these neurons could be stimulated using ultrasound (超声波), which was delivered through a helmet without causing an injury.
When receiving the ultrasound, the mice showed a drop in body temperature of about3°C, and their heart rates fell by about 47%. When the ultrasound system was switched off, they woke up again. The result was “surprising and fascinating”, said Hong Chen, a professor who led the work.
Researchers are also trying to determine how to harness the power of hibernation to help humans. They believe that it could be key to addressing health conditions like heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, hibernation’s ability to slow aging, which was observed in bats, could benefit space exploration, enabling longer missions with less food requirements. Research in animals also suggests that bodies of hibernating astronauts might lose less bone and muscle, making them fit and ready to start challenging exploration soon after they wake up.
By unlocking the secrets of this remarkable process, researchers may uncover ways to improve human health, as well as gain new insights into the natural world. Therefore, the exploration of hibernation is an exciting area that is sure to yield numerous benefits in the years to come.
The scientists now plan to look at how lowered body temperature might affect the cognitive abilities of humans. “Our next experiments will test working memory in monkeys. This is important because while astronauts physically hibernate as they fly into deep space, their brain still needs to be working,” said Chen.
1. How did researchers put rats into hibernation?A.By lowering their body temperature. |
B.By activating specific brain neurons. |
C.By putting a regular helmet on them. |
D.By using ultrasound through an operation. |
A.Employ. | B.Challenge. | C.Overlook. | D.Discover. |
A.It improves people’s mental health. |
B.It predicts a variety of heart diseases. |
C.It helps astronauts keep physically fit. |
D.It enables astronauts to build up muscle. |
A.To point out the significance of the study. |
B.To bring out the focus of follow-up studies. |
C.To discuss other factors affecting hibernation. |
D.To explain practical applications of the finding. |
4 . Anyone eager to view from high the cityscapes of Guangdong, a province in southern China, may soon be able to do so from the cabin of a flying taxi. On October 13th the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)awarded a “type certificate”, a crucial piece of aviation paperwork, to the world’s first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) taxi. And in case that does not sound futuristic enough, the small two-seater, called the EH216-s, was also cleared to fly without a pilot on board.
The EH216-S is made by EHang, a company based in Guangdong. It looks like a scaled-up consumer drone (无人机) with a passenger bubble mounted on top. Propulsion (动力) is provided by 16 small rotors (转子), mounted on the tips of eight arms that fold away when the vehicle is not in use, allowing it to park in small spaces.
The CAAC gave its approval after EHang had conducted more than 40,000 test flights, including with volunteer passengers in 18 cities across China. It also subjected the EH216-S to structural analysis and crash tests, and checked its ability to keep flying if one of its rotors fails. Regulators also inspected the wireless network which EHang uses to link its flying taxis to a control centre on the ground. That allows backup pilots to land an aircraft by remote control if there is a problem.
EHang says its pilotless eVTOLs will be quieter than helicopters, their closest cousins, and much cheaper to operate, thanks in part to the ability to swap (交换) out an expensive pilot, for a second paying passenger. Performance, though, will be limited, at least at first. The EH216-S has a range of about 30 km, and a speed of up to 130 kph. The firm thinks that doing away with pilots will make things safer too. A computer’s attention never wavers (动摇). And flying is, in many ways, much easier to automate than driving, for there are fewer obstacles and unexpected situations to navigate.
EHang has ambitions beyond China, too. The firm’s closest competitors are Volocopter, a German company, and a pair of Californian firms, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. All three are conducting test flights of piloted eVTOLs of various designs.
1. What does the underlined word “cleared” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?A.Produced. | B.Approved. | C.Removed. | D.Tested. |
A.What features EH216-S possesses. |
B.How strict the standard of EHang is. |
C.What benefits pilotless eVTOLs have. |
D.How EH216-S gets its approval. |
A.EVTOLs will definitely bring in a huge profit. |
B.EVTOLs are popular worldwide. |
C.EHang may face challenges in expanding future market. |
D.EHang will improve its design to defeat competitors. |
A.An ad in a magazine. | B.A review of a bestseller. |
C.A column in a newspaper. | D.A chapter of a science book. |
5 . In France, a bookstore chain has put a special camera in its shops. The system feeds a video stream to software which
The bookseller wants to keep its name
Simple video produces a lot of insights, but there are far more complicated ways of learning about shoppers’
All of this could be a(n)
One obvious
A.receives | B.analyzes | C.deigns | D.delivers |
A.return | B.nod | C.yell | D.sit |
A.to | B.at | C.for | D.by |
A.present | B.different | C.quiet | D.famous |
A.testing | B.improving | C.leading | D.leaving |
A.ideas | B.preferences | C.choices | D.emotions |
A.must | B.need | C.can | D.should |
A.services | B.prices | C.qualities | D.packages |
A.product | B.value | C.discount | D.activity |
A.challenge | B.chance | C.alternative | D.routine |
A.on | B.off | C.up | D.in |
A.mature | B.popular | C.attractive | D.expensive |
A.impressions | B.suggestions | C.results | D.promotions |
A.change | B.imitation | C.example | D.signal |
A.satisfied | B.affected | C.confused | D.depressed |
6 . New York University (NYU) surgeons have performed the world’s first transplant of an entire human eye, an extraordinary addition to a face transplant, although it’s far too soon to know if the man will ever see through his new left eye.
An accident had destroyed most of Aaron James’ face and one eye. His right eye still works. But the surgeons hoped replacing the missing one would produce better cosmetic (整容的) results for his new face. The NYU team is doing just that. James is recovering well from the dual (双重的) transplant last May and the donated eye looks remarkably healthy.
Today, transplants of the cornea (眼角膜) are common to treat certain types of vision loss. But transplanting the whole eye—the eyeball, its blood supply, and the critical optic nerve (视神经) that must connect it to the brain—is considered a moonshot in the search to cure blindness.
Whatever will happen next, James’ surgery offers scientists a window into how the human eye tries to heal. “We’re not claiming that we are going to restore sight,” said Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the transplant. “But there’s no doubt that we are one step closer.”
Some specialists had feared the eye would quickly become dry and wrinkled. However, when Rodriguez opened James’ left eyelid, the donated eye was fat and full of liquid. Doctors see good blood flow and no sign of rejection.
Now researchers have begun analyzing scans of James’ brain that detected some puzzling signals from that all-important but injured optic nerve. Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, who has long studied how to make eye transplants a reality, called the surgery exciting. “It’s an amazing confirmation of animal experiments that have kept transplanted eyes alive,” he said. “The difficulty now is how to regrow the optic nerve, although animal studies are making progress.” He praised the NYU team’s “boldness” in even aiming for optic nerve repair and hopes the transplant will promote more research.
1. What can be learnt from the first two paragraphs?A.James is fully content with the surgery result. |
B.The surgery to replace James’ missing eye is underway. |
C.James can see through his transplanted eye pretty soon. |
D.The surgeons have transplanted the face and an eye to James. |
A.A task impossible to complete. |
B.A fantasy existing in the virtual world. |
C.A project extremely tough to accomplish. |
D.A mission probable to be complete without effort. |
A.How to obtain better cosmetic results. |
B.How to make further progress in animal studies. |
C.How to stop the transplanted eye from being infected. |
D.How to grow the optic nerve of the transplanted eye again. |
A.James Received Transplanted Eye Perfectly |
B.NYU Doctors Perform World’s First Eye Transplant |
C.Various Methods to Treat Different Types of Vision Loss |
D.Advances Made in Eye Transplant and Optic Nerve Repair |
7 . 听下面一段较长对话,回答以下小题。
1. What does the woman expect to do?A.Get a self-driving car. | B.Learn to drive with the man. | C.Take a self-driving tour. |
A.Within a decade. | B.Within 15 years. | C.Within 20 years. |
A.Teaching. | B.Rescuing. | C.Acting. |
A.It has no side effect at all. |
B.It should be strictly forbidden. |
C.It may cause trouble for humans. |
A.Disapproving. | B.Objective. | C.Supportive. |
10 . Active noise control technology is used by noise-canceling headphones to minimize or completely block out outside noise. However, despite the many advancements in technology, people still don't have much control over which sounds their headphones block out and which they let pass.
Now, deep learning algorithms (算法) have been developed by a group of academics at the University of Washington that enable users to select which noises to filter (过滤) through their headphones in real-time. The system has been named “semantic hearing” by its creators.
The AI-powered headphones remove all background noise by streaming recorded audio (音频) to a smartphone that is linked to the devices. Through this process, the headphone users can choose to strengthen or cancel out 20 types of sounds, using voice commands or a smartphone app. The headphones will then only let through the sounds that have been chosen by the wearer.
“The challenge is that the sounds headphone wearers hear need to syne (同步) with their visual senses. This means the neural (神经的) algorithms must process sounds in under a hundredth of a second.” said senior author Shyam Gollakota, a UW professor.
Due to this time constraint, the semantic hearing system chooses a process that relies on noises communicated on a device like a linked smartphone. Furthermore, in order for humans to continue to effectively experience sounds in their environment, the system needs to maintain these delays because sounds coming from different directions enter people's ears at different times.
Trials were undertaken by the researchers in a variety of settings. The semantic hearing system was able to isolate target sounds, while at the same time removing background noise. In terms of the system's audio output for the desired sounds. 22 participants gave it an average rating higher than they assigned to the original noise recordings.
There were, however, a few disadvantages: the Al-powered system occasionally had trouble recognizing sounds that were too similar. The researchers said that the system could produce better results if its machine learning models were trained on more real world data.
1. What can deep learning algorithms do?A.Improve users listening ability. |
B.Help users remove unwanted noise. |
C.Stop people from entering noisy areas. |
D.Create communication between users. |
A.Select headphone users. |
B.Process data without noticeable delay. |
C.Follow the way people speak. |
D.Improve the quality of smartphones. |
A.It has improvement in sound quality. |
B.It helps them recognize participants' voices. |
C.It has more disadvantages than advantages. |
D.It's suitable to strengthen background noise. |
A.The semantic hearing system still has some drawbacks |
B.The semantic hearing system can recognize human speech |
C.AI noise-canceling headphones let you choose what you hear |
D.AI noise-canceling headphones now have a commercial version |