1 . Artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly good at fooling people. A series of photos showing former US president Donald Trump being aggressively arrested by police have caught people’s attention. They were fake but very convincing.

Created by the AI program Midjourney, the photos were highly realistic, from the characters’ movements to the surroundings. However, many details can give away the fact that they are made by AI. The Washington Post’s technology writer Shira Ovide shared her tips. The main idea is to spot the problems-anything that would look strange in a photo.

AI software has a history of generating human hands incorrectly. It sometimes can create hands with more than five fingers. This is because AI isn’t sure what a “hand” exactly is, according to Popular Science. The data AI uses to learn often show hands and fingers in various gestures, which can be very confusing for AI.

AI-generated images also usually contain details that are against reality. To spot this, focus on items like accessories. For example, people in an image may be missing earrings or one part of their sunglasses. If there’s text in an image, such as a newspaper or poster, it’s usually garbled (篡改), even though the text may look realistic from a distance.

Another thing AI is terrible at handling is the background. If there’s a crowd in the image, people’s faces in the background are usually blurry — or they don’t have faces at all!

The development of AI-generated art also raises alarm bells about how these fake images could be used to spread misinformation. “I think misinformation is going to hit an all-time high,” Jamie Cohen, a digital culture and AI expert in the US, told New York Post. Generating an AI artwork is to “create reality”, Cohen argued, adding that, being able to tell whether the work is real or not requires high media literacy (素养) skills. “The world may not be ready for how realistic the images have become,” Shane Kittelson, a US researcher, told The Washington Post.

1. Why are Donald Trump’s photos mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．To draw more people’s attention.

B．To make people convinced of the news.

C．To show the AI-generated images were fake.

D．To prove that it’s easy for AI to cheat people.

2. Why does AI generate human hands incorrectly according to the text?

A．It is unable to recognize human hands.

B．The data it uses to learn contain errors.

C．It doesn’t fully understand human hands.

D．It has insufficient data about human hands.

3. Which of the following will Jamie Cohen agree with?

A．AI artworks may not be reflective of true creativity.

B．It’s high time to address the risks posed by AI works.

C．AI artworks will replace traditional art forms in the future.

D．Detecting real art demands strong media literacy competence.

4. What is mainly talked about in the text?

A．AI is tricking people with highly realistic photos.

B．AI-generated art make people worried about fake images.

C．AI is terrible at handling the background.

D．The world may not be ready for AI.

4 . A Dutch city will become the first in the world to ban meat adverts from public spaces in an effort to reduce consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (排放). Haarlem, which lies to the west of Amsterdam and has a population of 160,000, will pass the prohibition from 2024 after meat was added to a list of products thought to contribute to the climate crisis.

Adverts will not be allowed on Haarlem’s buses, shelters and screens in public spaces, causing complaints from the meat sector that the city government is “going too far in telling people what’s best for them”.

Recent studies suggest global food production is responsible for one-third of all planet-heating emissions, with the use of animals for meat accounting for twice the pollution of producing plant-based foods. Forests that absorb carbon dioxide are cut down for the grazing (放牧) of animals while fertilizers used for growing their feed are rich in nitrogen (氮), which can contribute to air and water pollution and climate change. Livestock also produces large quantities of methane (甲烷), a powerful greenhouse gas.

Ziggy Klazes, a councilor from the GroenLinks party, who drafted (起草) the law banning meat advertising, said she had not known the city would be the world’s first to enforce (执行) such a policy when she proposed it. She told the Haarlem 105 radio channel, “We are not about what people are baking and roasting in their own kitchen; if people wanted to continue eating meat, fine… Of course, there are a lot of people who find the decision unacceptable, but there are also a lot of people who think it’s fine.”

The ban also covers holiday flights, fossil fuels and cars that run on fossil fuels. The ban is delayed until 2024 due to existing contracts with companies that sell the products.

Research suggests that to meet the EU target of net zero emissions by 2050, meat consumption must be reduced to 24kg per person per year, compared with the current average of 82kg or 75.8kg in the Netherlands, which is the EU’s biggest meat exporter.

1. What does the underlined word prohibition in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Ban

B．city

C．climate

D．population

2. What’s the attitude of people from meat sectors to the new law?

A．Acceptable

B．Dissatisfied

C．Uncared

D．Supportive

3. What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

A．The seriousness of air pollution.

B．The benefits of eating plant-based foods.

C．The reasons for banning meat adverts in public.

D．The importance of protecting the environment.

4. What’s the maximum meat consumption for Dutch people annually to meet the EU 2050 target of net zero emissions?

A．24kg per person	B．82kg per person
C．75.8 per person	D．105kg per person

6 . 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。

Environmentalists are getting more     1     (worry) about the effects of fast fashion on the environment. Fast fashion is the mass     2     (produce) of clothes at a low cost. They are put in shops and online quickly     3     (create) a high demand. Factories make 100 billion items of clothing every year. The fast fashion business model is having     4     bad effect on the environment. Many of the clothes end up in landfills and are not recycled. Another bad effect on the environment     5     (cause) by the chemicals used to make the clothes. These cause health problems for people     6     (work) in clothes factories. The way people buy clothes is adding to the problem of clothing waste. Many years ago, people went to stores and tried clothes     7    . People took more time and thought more     8     (careful) before they bought clothes. They also wore them for longer. Today, people order cheap clothes on the Internet and if they don’t like     9     (they), they throw them away. Every year in Europe, four million tons of clothing ends up in the trash, less than one percent of     10     is recycled.

8 . When I teach yoga (瑜伽), I usually announce “Phones off and at the back of the room” at the beginning of class. Recently, I forgot and had to whisper to a student texting during class to turn off her phone. She looked displeased but did so. But two days later, in another class, I was met with resistance from a young woman who completely refused.

“But I’m on call. I might have to jump up and run out of class.”

“Then maybe this isn’t the best place for you to be tonight.”

That response got me an angry and unfriendly look. But when she came back the next week, there was no phone and she was much more present.

Present is what I’m asking my students to be. Present to themselves and their yoga experience. You cannot be present to yoga if you are texting or emailing or anxiously awaiting a call. And neither can anyone around you. Definitely, if one phone is out, many pairs of eyes are drawn to it. And then other phones start to appear. Forget the fact that you’re missing the class you paid for; you’re at risk of losing your balance and hurting yourself or someone else due to inattention, or disturbing someone else’s moment of peace and stillness with the clicking of your keys.

So please, do yourself and everyone around you, this teacher included, a favor and turn your phone off and put it away before you unroll your yoga mat. If you truly are on call, think hard before you come to class.

Be present for yourself, wherever you need to be.

1. How does the author introduce her topic?

A．By giving examples.

B．By making comparison.

C．By presenting the process.

D．By analyzing cause and effect.

2. Why was the young woman angry with the author?

A．Because she thought she was reasonable.

B．Because she was brave enough to say no.

C．Because she didn’t like the yoga class at all.

D．Because the author was rude to her.

3. Which is Not the probable result of using phones in yoga class?

A．Hurting yourself.	B．Missing the class.
C．Disturbing others.	D．Getting others’ admiration.

4. What’s the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

A．To describe the situation of her yoga class.

B．To explain her relationship with students.

C．To show her opinion about using mobile phones.

D．To stress the importance of being attentive in yoga class.

9 . Nowadays, we’re now eating twice as much fish as we were 50 years ago. While this growing demand for seafood is good for our health, it’s harming life in the oceans. Almost 60 percent of global fish are fully exploited (开发) and 30 percent are actually disappearing.

By 2050, with a predicted human population of around 10 billion and climate change decreasing fish populations at a rate of 20 to 30 percent for every 1°C rise in sea temperature, we may be seeking novel fish sources.

But fear not. A solution could be in sight, say researchers who have figured out the area of ocean suitable for aquaculture (水产养殖). The study, led by Rebecca Gentry of the University of California, Santa Barbara, identified areas up to 200 metres deep that are right for farming fish and shellfish, but currently unexploited.

We would only need to farm a tiny part of the space identified — no larger than Lake Michigan — to match current production from wild-caught fisheries (渔业), the team says. Better still, if we used all ocean space suitable for aquaculture, we could produce as much as 15 billion tons of fish annually. That’s 100 times more than we currently eat each year.

All of this suggests we could farm our way out of the fisheries crisis and possibly global food security problems. People want to eat more seafood, and we seem to have plentiful space to farm it. It sounds so simple – except that it’s not.

For starters, not all suitable areas will become fish farms for many reasons, such as worries about habitat damage or local disagreement. Then there’s the bigger problem of unintended effects. Rather than save wild fisheries, aquaculture can denigrate them further by spreading disease and pollution, not to mention the senseless practice of using small wild fish as feed for larger farmed fish.

Knowing that we have enough space we need to grow aquaculture offers some comfort. But there are also plenty of warnings. And if we continue consuming large amounts of wild-caught fish, we may soon have to accept that our diet will change in ways we haven’t expected.

1. What is the main reason for farming fish in the ocean?

A．Ocean exploitation.	B．Environmental protection.
C．Growing need for fish.	D．The diversity of fish.

2. What is the advantage of fish farms in the ocean?

A．We can produce adequate amounts of fish in tiny space.

B．We can solve the global food security problems.

C．It is simple and practical to raise fish in the ocean.

D．All suitable ocean areas can become fish farms.

3. What does the underlined word “denigrate” in paragraph 6 refer to?

A．Harming.	B．Benefiting.
C．Polluting.	D．Promoting.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards ocean fish farms?

A．Positive.	B．Objective.
C．Negative.	D．Indifferent.

10 . Experts praise the virtues of social connectivity. It’s linked to better resistance to stress and even longer life.     1     Research suggests that loneliness increases the risk of heart disease, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure and even early death.     2     Doing things by yourself allows you to enjoy activities you love at your own pace and in your own way. Through solitary (独处) pursuits, you learn more about yourself and reflect on your experiences.

    3     It is an important part of self-development. It allows you to get to know yourself. When you are surrounded by other, you might set your own ideas and passions aside in order to meet the wants and needs of your friends and family. Taking time on your own gives you a critical opportunity to make creative choices and focus your attention without worrying about what other people are thinking.

    4     But research has found that people are often better at solving difficult problems when they work on their own. Where group efforts are often about achieving consensus (一致的意见) and fitting in with the crowd, solo work encourages creativity without added social pressure.

Relationships are often strongest when each person takes time to take care of themselves. Even when it comes to friendships, the old saying may be true. A little absence might really make the heart grow fonder. Having friendships and a strong social support system is important for your mental health and well-being.     5    

A．Being alone is harmful if it feels like a punishment.

B．Being alone gives you time to focus on your interests.

C．Being alone, on the other hand, is often associated with loneliness.

D．Research has shown that many people actually prefer being on their own.

E．However, research is increasingly showing that doing things alone does pay off.

F．Brainstorming together is often seen as one of the best ways to generate new ideas.

G．But being alone occasionally may make you appreciate those connections even more.