The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during the day, making some urban areas across the United States up to 6 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at night. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as the city heat spreads downward, beneath the surface. And basements, subway tunnels and other underground infrastructure also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating hotspots. Now the underground heat is building up as the planet warms.
According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them expand and contract (收缩) enough to cause potential damage. “Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.
The findings, published in Communications Engineering, expose a “silent hazard (危险)” to civil infrastructure in cities with soft er ground — especially those near water — Rotta Loria says. “There might have been structural issues caused by this underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even realize,” he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts of a lesser-known component of climate change.
Similar to climate change above the surface, these underground changes occur over long periods of time. “These effects took decades, a century, to develop,” Rotta Loria says, adding that elevated underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to dissipate (逐渐消失) on their own.
But other researchers interviewed for this story all say this wasted energy could also be recycled, presenting an opportunity to both cool the subsurface and save on energy costs. Subway tunnels and basements could be updated with technologies to recapture the heat. For example, water pipes could be installed to run through underground hotspots and pick up some of the heat energy.
1．What can we learn about the “urban heat islands”?| A．They can develop underground structures. |
| B．They are impacted by global warming. |
| C．They can destroy the ground around. |
| D．They only exist in the United States. |
| A．To discuss structural issues. |
| B．To categorize climate change. |
| C．To explain underground heat. |
| D．To emphasize the neglected reality. |
| A．The future of tunnels and basements. |
| B．The reusing approaches of heat energy. |
| C．The cost of maintaining structures. |
| D．The evolution of underground environment. |
| A．Warming Underground, Weakening Surface |
| B．A Silver Lining of Global Warming |
| C．Urban Silent Islands in the Making |
| D．A Silent Crisis in Downtown Chicago |
When Jason Allen submitted his “Th éâtre D
Allen’s piece offers a clear example of how rapidly AI-generated art has advanced. Trained on billions of internet images, the systems have decisively pushed the boundaries of what computers can create.
But it has also sparked a massive debate over the meaning of art, with Allen facing accusations that he had been deceiving with something he asked a machine to create.
Text-to-image tools like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney have quickly increased in sophistication and have become one of the hottest topics in AI. They can generate not just fake people, objects and locations but mimic entire visual styles.
But AI-generated art has been criticized as automated plagiarism (剽窃), because it relies on millions of ingested art pieces that are then parroted (机械地重复) together. It has also fueled deeper fears: blurring the boundaries of reality or interfering with human art.
Allen said his art piece shows people need to “get past their denial and fear” of a technology that could give rise to new inventions and reshape our world. “The AI,” he said, “is a tool, just like the paintbrush is a tool. Without the person, there is no creative force.”
Jessica Hair, a 25-year-old receptionist at a doctor’s office who won third place in the competition, said she did not feel as if Allen had acted unfairly and had no hard feelings about his win.
Hair said her “Judge, Jury, Executioner”, which depicts a tuxedoed skeleton on a golden throne surrounded by skulls, took 15 hours to create with a stylus (触屏笔) on an iPad Pro. But Allen’s piece took time, effort and subjective judgment, too, and “how do we qualify what is and isn’t art?” she said.
1．Which of the following statements can be inferred from the text?| A．It is the first time in history that an AI-generated work has won an arts competition. |
| B．Advances made in computer art are not as rapid as the public believes them to be. |
| C．Computer-produced works have more success in some art forms than in others. |
| D．People’s acceptance of computer-produced art pieces can vary considerably. |
| A．Because it will ultimately overtake human art in the future. |
| B．Because it will lead to a sharp decrease in human creativity. |
| C．Because it purely uses existing art pieces as its subject matter. |
| D．Because the technical standard of its output is extremely low. |
| A．He fought back like a soldier. |
| B．He kept silent like a victim. |
| C．He persuaded like a promoter. |
| D．He lost heart like a failure. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. | C．Cautious. | D．Skeptical. |
Algebra (代数) was my last class of the day. After the class, Mrs. Sharpnack asked me to stay to discuss my midterm math exam, which I had failed. Although I did well in language and many other subjects, I wouldn’t be on the honor roll (光荣榜) that term if I couldn’t soon make big progress in math. In just a few weeks, the names of the honor roll students would be read during the class. I was so sad.
Seeing my sadness, Mrs. Sharpnack said, “Do you want me to spare some time to help with your math? I think you can make big and quick progress.” But I just wanted to go home and never think about algebra again. “No, thanks,” I said. And I explained, “Unlike other students in my class, I am just not good at this kind of math. And no amount of studying will change that.”
I almost cried when I talked about it. Mrs. Sharpnack comforted me, saying, “If we work together, I believe you can change it.” For a moment, I wondered if she would be right. “What time does your bus come?” she asked. I had 30 minutes left before my bus came, and I told her so. She asked if I would like to use that time to go over the math problems I had met. Encouraged by her, I answered. “I guess so.”
We started right then and made a plan to meet each day for two weeks, after which Mrs. Sharpnack would give me a test to check my progress. After Mrs. Sharpnack helped me go over a few problems that day, it was time for my bus to come. I waved her goodbye. In the following days, I continued staying with Mrs. Sharpnack after class. She went over each problem, carefully explaining the solutions.
Sometimes I still couldn’t understand what she had said. She stayed calm, though, and would think of a different way to explain the answer. The day to take the test came quickly.
| A．It’s well organized. | B．It is boring. | C．It is unsatisfactory. |
It was my sixth-grade year. I was overjoyed when the U. S. Navy band came to perform in our town. It was an event I’d never forget, and one instrument stood out above all others. That day, at 12 years old, I fell in love with the heavenly sound that came from the trumpets (小号), and a dream was born. Someday, I wanted to join a military band onstage as a guest performer.
My father took notice of my enthusiasm and bought me a used trumpet. I practiced every day, training my lips, mastering my breathing, until I felt at one with the instrument. I made first chair and played trumpet through high school. “Someday I’ll play along with a military band,” I told my friends. The details I left to God to figure out, while I pursued a more practical life course. Rather than declaring a performance major in college, I studied to be a music teacher.
Now I was blessed to be at this military band concert, a magic al after noon that had brought with it a trip down memory lane.
After the concert, I made my way to the stage to thank Colonel (上校) Carino, the conductor of the military band. When he learned I taught music in town and played trumpet, he invited me to play a trumpet solo (独奏) at their next concert in the park.
A solo? I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken my trumpet out of its case. I doubted I’d even be able to get a decent note out of it. “Sir, that’s impossible. I’m sorry, but there’s no way.”
“In the Army,” the colonel thundered, “you don’t say no!”
I felt scared and trapped. Yet, a lingering thought took root: “Is it possible that life is opening the door to my childhood dream?” I said yes to the invitation. I knew I had to do my part and practiced for hours every day. My lips swelled and then bled.
As time passed, Colonel Carino took an unexpected role in my preparation.
Girls are better at reading and writing than boys as early as fourth grade, according to a study, and the gap continues to widen until senior year.
Scientists generally agree that boys and girls are psychologically more alike than they are different. But reading seems to be a(n)
David Reilly, lead author of the study, said the study
Factors explaining the results could include learning
To investigate how
| A．distinction | B．exception | C．objection | D．limitation |
| A．pattern | B．standard | C．circumstance | D．feature |
| A．strategy | B．signal | C．sign | D．evidence |
| A．confirmed | B．represented | C．questioned | D．introduced |
| A．underestimated | B．overemphasized | C．underrepresented | D．justified |
| A．increasing | B．promoting | C．accepting | D．reducing |
| A．objectives | B．drills | C．difficulties | D．advantages |
| A．contributions | B．differences | C．communications | D．similarities |
| A．literacy | B．literary | C．academic | D．cognitive |
| A．pulled down | B．settled down | C．turned down | D．broke down |
| A．granted | B．measured | C．designed | D．engineered |
| A．Likewise | B．Overall | C．However | D．Besides |
| A．overtake | B．discourage | C．parallel | D．distinguish |
| A．psychological | B．emotional | C．behavioral | D．mental |
| A．in line with | B．at the mercy of | C．on account of | D．in favor of |
Bumble bees(大黄蜂)play, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London. It is the first time that object play behaviour has been shown in an insect, adding to evidence that bees may experience positive feelings.
The researchers set up numerous experiments to test this, which showed bumble bees went out of their way to roll wooden balls repeatedly despite there being no apparent motivation for doing so. The study also found that younger bees rolled more balls than older bees and that male bees rolled them for longer than their female ones.
The study followed 45 bumble bees. Individual bees rolled balls between 1 and, impressively, 117 times over the experiment. The repeated behaviour suggested that ball-rolling was rewarding. This was supported by a further experiment where another 42 bees were given access to two coloured rooms, one always containing movable balls and one without any object. When tested and given a choice between the two rooms, neither containing balls, bees showed a preference for the colour of the room previously associated with the wooden balls.
The experiments removed any idea that the bees were moving the balls for any greater purpose other than play. Rolling balls did not contribute to survival strategies and was done under stress-free conditions.
The research was based on previous experiments, which showed that bumble bees could be taught to score a goal by rolling a ball to a target in exchange for a sugary food reward. The new research showed the bees rolling balls repeatedly without being trained and without receiving any food for doing so -it was spontaneous.
Professor Lars Chittka said, “Play is thought to contribute to the healthy development and maintenance of an animal’s cognitive(认知)and motor abilities, which may make for their searching for food and is considered an important aspect of animal welfare. The finding shows insect minds are far more complex than we expect. We need to do all we can to protect insects.”
1．What do we know about female bumble bees compared with male ones?| A．They rolled far more balls. |
| B．They spent less time playing rolls. |
| C．They had bigger motivation to roll balls. |
| D．They preferred to play in the colorful rooms. |
| A．Rolling balls is what bumble bees are expert in. |
| B．Rolling balls helps reduce bumble bees’ pressure. |
| C．Rolling balls develops bumble bees’ survival skills. |
| D．Rolling balls is done without any purpose for bumble bees. |
| A．Voluntary. | B．Rewarding. | C．Forced. | D．Conscious |
| A．Play makes a difference to animals’ life. | B．Humans find it hard to figure out insect minds. |
| C．Many insects are faced with dying out. | D．Play can ensure insects to find food successfully. |
Escaping predators (食肉动物), digestion and other animal activities—including those of humans—require oxygen. But that essential ingredient is no longer so easy for marine life to obtain, several new studies reveal.
In the past decade ocean oxygen levels have taken a dive—an alarming trend that is linked to climate change, says Andreas Oschlies, an oceanographer at the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Germany, whose team tracks ocean oxygen levels worldwide. “We were surprised by the intensity of the changes we saw, how rapidly oxygen is going down in the ocean and how large the effects on marine ecosystems are,” he says. It is no surprise to scientists that warming oceans are losing oxygen, but the scale of the drop calls for urgent attention. Oxygen levels in some tropical (热带的) regions have dropped by an astonishing 40 percent in the last 50 years, some recent studies reveal. Levels have dropped less significantly elsewhere, with an average loss of 2 percent globally.
A warming ocean loses oxygen for two reasons: First, the warmer a liquid becomes, the less gas it can hold. That is why carbonated drinks go flat faster when left in the sun. Second, as polar sea ice melts, it forms a layer of water above colder, more salty sea waters. This process creates a sort of lid that can keep currents from mixing surface water down to deeper depths. And because all oxygen enters the surface, less mixing means less of it at depth.
Ocean animals large and small, however, respond to even slight changes in oxygen by seeking refuge in higher oxygen zones or by adjusting behavior, Oschlies and others in his field have found. These adjustments can expose animals to new predators or force them into food-scarce regions. Climate change already poses serious problems for marine life, such as ocean acidification, but deoxygenation is the most pressing issue facing sea animals today, Oschlies says. After all, he says, “they all have to breathe.”
Aside from food web problems, animals face various other physiological challenges as their bodies adjust to lower oxygen levels. Chinese shrimp (虾) move their tails less vigorously to preserve energy in lower oxygen environments. Some creatures, such as jellyfishes, are more tolerant of low oxygen than others are. But all animals will feel the impact of deoxygenation because they all have evolved their oxygen capacity for a reason, says Oschlies. “Any drop in oxygen is going to damage survivability and performance,” he says.
1．According to the first two paragraphs, what worries scientists the most?| A．The worsening deoxygenation in the warming ocean. |
| B．The survival of predators and various marine animals. |
| C．The alarmingly changeable oxygen levels in the ocean. |
| D．The lack of attention to the warming of tropical oceans. |
| A．Polar ice melting consumes much oxygen in the ocean. |
| B．Global warming reduces the amount of oxygen in the air. |
| C．The surface polar ice water prevents oxygen going down. |
| D．Salty water holds less gas in the increasingly warmer ocean. |
| A．Ocean deoxygenation changes some animals’ natural territories. |
| B．Ocean acidification is more serious a problem than deoxygenation. |
| C．Not all ocean animals are bothered by the decreasing oxygen levels. |
| D．Some animals reduce their movements in order to absorb more oxygen. |
| A．The Oxygen Levels of Marine Life | B．Ocean Warming Affects Food Web |
| C．The Survivability of Ocean Animals | D．The Ocean Is Running Out of Breath |
| A．in which | B．that | C．the place where | D．where |
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