To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence ? The answer to this question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet .
If you ran into Smarter Child online , you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory .It can recite many facts . For example , Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season .
He
knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US. However , if you ask Smarter Child other questions , you get stranger answers . A question about Smarter Child’s age returns . “One year , 11 days , 16 hours , 7 minutes , and 47 seconds!” Asking where he lives gets , “In a clean room in a high-tech building in California.”
Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World W
ide Web as his memory bank . To answer questions about spelling , for instance , Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online . For the weather , he visits www.intellicast.com.
Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet , an artificial being with the combined knowledge of , say , Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born. However if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A. I. , Artificial Intelligence , he must overcome two problems .
The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways . That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather . It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself .
Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process (处理) information more exactly and faster than any human , he lacks common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child .From the text we can infer that www.intellicast.com is a website .
| A.which is specially designed to help Smarter Child . |
| B.where we people can find Smarter Child |
| C.where weather forecasts are made |
| D.which is about artificial intelligence |
It is probably most difficult for Smarter Child to .
| A.tell us how to spell a difficult word |
| B.tell us show the American government is run |
| C.provide us with a famous poem by Shakespeare |
| D.learn the ability to tell right behaviors from wrong ones . |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text ?
A.Smart Child has his own memory bank big enough for all kinds of information .
B.A.I. Artificial Intelligence is probably the name of a film about a boy-computer .
C.Smart Child can recognize different files and find information needed on his own .
D.We have similar product now which ahs the knowledge of Einstein , Nixon and Spears.Which of the following is the bet title for the passage ?
| A.A New Web Child | B.Smarter Child |
| C.The Future of Internet | D.Intelligence Development |
Gloria is a famous hostess of a TV station. When she was 15, she happened to walk into a bookstore in her hometown and began looking at the books on the shelves. The man behind the counter, John Smith, asked if she'd like a job. She needed to start saving for college, so she said yes.
Gloria worked after school and during summer vacations, and the job helped pay for her first year of college. During college she would do many other jobs: she served coffee in the student union, was a hotel cleaner and even made maps for the Forest Service. But selling books was one of the most satisfying jobs.
One day a woman came into the bookstore and asked Gloria for books on cancer. The woman seemed anxious. Gloria showed her practically everything they had and found other books they could order. The woman left the store less worried, and Gloria has always remembered the pride she felt in having helped her customer.
Years later, as a television hostess, Gloria heard about a child who was born with problems with his fingers and hand. His family could not afford an operation, and the boy lived in shame, hiding his hand in his pocket all the time.
Gloria persuaded her boss to agree to let her do the story. After the story was broadcast, some doctors called, offering to perform the operation for free.
Gloria visited the boy in the hospital after the operation. The first thing he did was to hold up his repaired hand and say, "Thank you. " What a sweet sense of satisfaction Gloria felt!
At Smith's bookstore, Gloria always realized she was working for the customers, not the store. Today it's the same. The TV station pays her, but she feels that she should work for the people who watch the programmes, helping them understand the world better.
56. When did Gloria get her first job?
A. A few years before college. B. Several years after college.
C When she was studying at college. D. When she was working in the TV station.
57. In which part-time job did Gloria feel the happiest?
A. Cleaning in the hotel. B. Selling books in the bookstore.
C. Serving coffee in the student union. D. Making maps for the Forest Service.
58. How did Gloria help the child get the operation he needed?
A. Her boss agreed to raise money. B. She paid for the operation herself.
C She allowed the boy to show on TV. D. Her news report affected some doctors.
59. What particularly gives her the feeling of pride?
A. Helping people through her work. B. Reporting interesting stories.
C Being able to do different jobs well. D. Paying for her college education herself.
One would have to be a fool to overlook the importance of using positive thinking for you rather than allowing negative thinking to work against you. In recent years, research in psychopharmacology (精神药理学) has proved what many people have known over the centuries: a positive attitude is good for you, good for your health, good for your wealth, good for everything. Researchers found that a positive attitude produces a specific chemical reaction which makes people feel better, while negative thinking results in a decline of hormone (荷尔蒙) and shuts down the immune (免疫的) system. This leads to illness and depression. Positive thoughts will make you feel better. Even if you must begin by literally forcing yourself to be positive (faking it, so to speak), it will become contagious (会传播的) and the positive thoughts will generate nice little w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*mchemicals and good feelings which will reinforce the positive thoughts.
For example, if you force yourself to smile or laugh, even when you don't feel like smiling or laughing, if you keep at it for a few minutes, you will soon feel like it. Feelings can generate thoughts, but thoughts can also generate feelings. Control your thoughts and you can control your feelings. Positive thinking is important in all aspects of our lives. There is probably no single factor more important in determining your success in achieving your career objectives than your own attitude.
It's often been said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And in the office of militant (好战) negativism, the positive workers shine like gold. You cannot control external events, but you can learn to control your reaction to those events and thereby have a positive attitude and be happy. This vital key to success is totally within your control. Use it.
67. We can infer from the passage that .
A. positive thinking can cure you of your diseases
B. positive thinking can easily be generated by anyone
C. a decline of hormone may cause you to be depressed
D. a specific chemical reaction is the cause of negative thinking
68. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. Feeling and thoughts can generate each other.
B. It's easier to control thoughts than to control feelings.
C. Your success depends wholly on your attitude.
D. Keeping smiling will surely make you successful.
69. Just like a one-eyed man in the land of the blind, you should .
A. take positive attitude in the office of militant negativism
B. be king in your office
C. pay no attention to what is going on around you
D. control your feeling to what is happening to you
70. The best title to the passage is .
A. the Bad Effect of Negative Thinking B. Why Should People Think
C. Positive Thinking Benefits People D. Thinking: The Vital Way
The hole in the Earth's ozone layer (臭氧层) has until now protected Antarctica from the worst effects of global warming. But scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3℃on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 metres.
In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctica, making much of the continent surface colder than usual.
But now that the gasses that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third.
The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctica ice sheets, said, "The ice sheets in Antarctica are hundreds of metres thick. But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly. "Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western Antarctica has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.
Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late. "Everything is connected - Antarctica may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth's system," said Johnson. "It contains 90% of the world's ice, 70% of the world's fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 metres."
Even in a worse-case situation scientists don't expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 metres higher by the end of the century.
63. The underlined word "paradoxically" (in Paragraph 2) most probably means "__".
A. rapidly B. approximately C. contradictorily D. apparently
64. What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctica?
A. It is causing the ice to melt faster.
B. It is making much of the continent colder.
C. It is making the effects of global warming in the region worse.
D. It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctica.
65. What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctica?
A. Rising sea levels. B. Warming sea water temperature.
C. Water pollution. D. Growing ice sheets.
66. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Antarctica is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming.
B. The average temperature has increased by 3℃ in recent decades.
C. Antarctica contains most of the world's fresh water.
D. Ten percent of Antarctica's ice has already been lost.
|
60. Which one of the following activities requires the longest time to complete?
A. Fun in MandarinB. Fairytale Holiday Chinese Camp
C. Magic Moments English Speech and Drama Camp
D. Magic Moments Mandarin Speech anti Drama Camp
61. After attending the Building Confidence course, the children will ______. .
A. become magicians B. overcome stage fright
C. grow cells in the lady D. tend to patients in the hospital
62. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Participators need not bring any materials for the activities.
B. All activities are targeted at primary school children only.
C. All participants will receive a free gift upon registration.
D. All activities are organized throughout the year.
The sun shone in through the dining room window,lighting up the hardwood floor. We had been talking there for nearly two hours.The phone of the“Nightline”rang yet again and Morrie asked his helper.Connie,to get it .She had been taking down the callers’names in Morrie’s small black appointment book .It was clear 1 was not the only one interested in visiting my old professor—the“Nightline”appearance had made him something of a big figure—but I was impressed with.perhaps even a bit envious of,all the friends that Morrie seemed to have
“You know.Mitch,now that I'm dying,I've become much more interesting to people.I’m on the last great journey here——and people want me to tell them what to pack.”
The phone rang again.
“Morrie,can you talk?”Connie asked .
“I’m visiting with my old friend now,”he announced.“Let them call back.”
I cannot tell you why he received me so warmly.I was hardly the promising student who had left him sixteen years earlier.Had it not been for“Nightline,”Morrie might have died without ever seeing me again.
What happened to me?
The eighties happened .The nineties happened.Death and sickness and getting fat and going bald happened.I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck,and I never even realized I was doing it .Yet here was Morrie talking with the wonder of our college years,as if I'd simply been on a long vacation
“Have you found someone to share your heart with?” he asked .
“Are you at peace with yourself?”
“Are you trying to be as human as you can be?”
I felt ashamed,wanting to show I had been trying hard to work out such questions.What
happened to me? I once promised myself I would never work for money,that I would join the
Peace Corps,and that 1 would w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*mlive in beautiful,inspirational places.
Instead, I had been in Detroit for ten years,at the same workplace,using the same bank,visiting the same barber .I was thirty-seven,more mature than in college,tied to computers and modems and cell phones.I was no longer young,nor did I walk around in gray sweatshirts with unlit cigarettes in my mouth.I did not have long discussions over egg salad sandwiches about the meaning of life.
My days were full,yet I remained,much of the time,unsatisfied .
What happened to me?
56.When did the author graduate from Morrie’s college?
A.In the eighties. B.In the nineties.
C.When he was sixteen D.When he was twenty-one.
57.What do we know about the“Nightline”?
A.Morrie started it by himselfB.It helped Morrie earn a fame.
C.The author helped Morrie start it. D.It was only operated at night.
58.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Both the author and Morrie liked travelling.
B.Morrie liked helping people pack things for their journeys.
C.The author envied Morrie’s friends the help they got from him.
D.The author earned a lot of money at the cost of his dreams.
59.What’s the author’s feeling when he writes this passage?
A.Regretful. B.Enthusiastic. C.Sympathetic. D.Humorous.