Technology: Taking the good without the bad?
Very soon, unimaginably powerful technologies will remake our lives．This could have dangerous consequences, especially because we may not even understand the basic science underlyi ng them．There’s a growing gap between our technological capability and our basic scientific understanding．We can do very clever things with the technology of the future without necessarily understanding some of the science underneath, and that is very dangerous．
The technologies that are particularly dangerous over the next hundred years are nanotechnology （纳米技术）, artificial intelligence and biotechnology．The benefits that they will bring are beyond doubt．But they are going to be very, very dangerous．I’m working in the field of artificial intelligence．I have a model design for something that might be 50,000 million times smarter than the human brain．Target date is 2010．The only thing that's not possible in the film Terminator（终结者） is that the people win．If you're fighting against technology w hich is 50,000 million times smarter than you, you probably will not win．
Nanotechnology．We've all heard of the grey glue problem, that self-replicating nanotech devices might keep on copying until the world has become sticky glue．And certainly in biotechnology, we've really got a big problem because it's converging with nanotechnology and IT．Once you start mixing nanotech with organisms and you start feeding nanotech-enabled bacteria, we can really go an awful lot further than the Borg in Star Trek（星际迷航）．And those superhuman organisms might not like us very much．
Eventually these technologies will become routine．That’s a threat to humanity．I don’t think it’s possible to slow it down．So what we need to do is accelerate the scientific research and try to get some extra tools．The problems facing us in the future are getting bigger and bigger．I think if we don’t get some proper science done, the future is hopeless indeed．From the text, we know that the author’s greatest concern is ．
| A．our lack of technological understanding of the process involved |
| B．our lack of technological capability |
| C．creating technology without really understanding the basic science |
| D．Our refusal to face the consequences of the technology we create |
It can be inferred from the text that the author ．
| A．thinks people overvalue the capabilities of technology |
| B．is not optimistic that artificial intelligence will always be used positively |
| C．thinks that we should take science fiction movies more seriously |
| D．believes artificial intelligence is the greatest threat we face technologically |
Why does the author say it is not possible in the film Terminator that the humans win?
| A．Because the power of the technology is exaggerated（夸大）． |
| B．Because the strength of the machines is much greater． |
| C．Because machines with that much intelligence can easily defeat humans． |
| D．Because human beings are not courageous enough to win the battle． |
| Glendale City Parks Ranger Club Welcome to the Glendale City Parks Ranger Club. We are happy you have decided to volunteer to help keep Glendale City’s five parks clean and attractive. With assistance from local youth, Glendale City can continue to keep its parks beautiful all year long.
Working as a Glendale City Parks Ranger |
The Glendale City Parks can be the following EXCEPT ____________.
| A．a picnic area for families to eat |
| B．a place for people to walk dogs |
| C．a place for teenagers to have classes |
| D．a playground for children to have fun |
In Sunnyside Park, the volunteer rangers’ duty is to ___________.
| A．plant flowers |
| B．water the grass |
| C．paint the benches |
| D．check the equipment |
The park benches need painting in ____________.
| A．Oak Hill Park and Valley Park |
| B．Valley Park and Blue Ridge Park |
| C．Sunnyside Park and Oak Hill Park |
| D．Mill Street Park and Sunnyside Park |
The purpose of the passage is to ________________.
| A．attract tourists |
| B．explain park rules |
| C．find volunteer rangers |
| D．introduce park activities |
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founderｓ of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
| A．She was born a slave |
| B．She was a slaveholder |
| C．She had a famous sister |
| D．She was born into a rich family |
Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?
| A．She found an employer |
| B．She wanted to be a lawyer |
| C．She was hit and got angry |
| D．She had to take care of her sister |
What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new constitution?
| A．She should always obey her owners’ orders |
| B．She should be as free and equal as whites |
| C．How to be a good servant |
| D．How to apply for a job |
What did Mumbet do after the trial?
| A．She chose to work for a lawyer |
| B．She foundｅｄ the NAACP |
| C．She continued to serve the Ashleys |
| D．She went to live with her grandchildren |
What is the test mainly about?
| A．A story of a famous writer and spokesperson |
| B．The friendship between a lawyer and a slave |
| C．The life of a brave African American woman |
| D．A trial that shocked the whole world |
It was one of those terribly hot days in Baltimore. Needless to say, it was too hot to do anything outside. But it was also scorching in our apartment. This was 1962, and I would not live in a place with an air conditioner for another ten years. So my brother and I decided to leave the apartment to find someplace indoors. He suggested we could see a movie. It was a brilliant plan.
Movie theaters were one of the few places you could sit all day and—most important —sit in air conditioning. In those days, you could buy one ticket and sit through two movies. Then, the theater would show the same two movies again. If you wanted to, you could sit through them twice. Most people did not do that, but the manager at our theater. Mr. Bellow did not mind if you did.
That particular day, my brother and I sat through both movies twice, trying to escape the heat. We bought three bags of popcorn and three sodas each. Then, we sat and watched The Music Man followed by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We’d already seen the second movie once before. It had been at the theater since January, because Mr. Bellow loved anything with John Wayne in it.
We left the theater around 8, just before the evening shows began. But we returned the next day and saw the same two movies again, twice more. And we did it the next day too. Finally, on the fourth day, the heat wave broke.
Still, to this day I can sing half the songs in The Music Man and recite half of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart’s dialogue from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! Those memories are some of the few I have of the heat wave of 1962. They’re really memories of the screen, not memories of my life.In which year did the author first live in a place with an air conditioner?
| A．1952 | B．1962 | C．1972 | D．1982 |
What does the underlined word“It” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．The heat | B．The theater. |
| C．The Music Man | D．The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance |
What do we know about Mr. Bellow?
| A．He loved children very much. |
| B．He was a fan of John Wayne. |
| C．He sold air conditioners. |
| D．He was a movie star. |
Why did the author and his/her brother see the same movies several times?
| A．The two movies were really wonderful. |
| B．They wanted to avoid the heat outside. |
| C．The manager of the theater was friendly. |
| D．They liked the popcorn and the soda at the theater. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The author turned out to be a great singer. |
| B．The author enjoyed the heat wave of 1962. |
| C．The author’s life has been changed by the two movies. |
| D．The author considers the experience at the theater unforgettable. |
One morning, Ann’s neighbor Tracy found a lost dog wandering around the local elementary school. She asked Ann if she could keep an eye on the dog. Ann said that she could watch it only for the day.
Tracy took photos of the dog and printed off 400 FOUND fliers(传单), and put them in mailboxes. Meanwhile, Ann went to the dollar store and bought some pet supplies, warning her two sons not to fall in love with the dog. At the time, Ann’s son Thomas was 10 years old, and Jack, who was recovering from a heart operation, was 21 years old.
Four days later Ann was still looking after the dog, whom they had started to call Riley. When she arrived home from work, the dog threw itself against the screen door and barked madly at her. As soon as she opened the door, Riley dashed into the boys’ room where Ann found Jack suffering from a heart attack. Riley ran over to Jack, but as soon as Ann bent over to help him the dog went silent.
“If it hadn’t come to get me, the doctor said Jack would have died,” Ann reported to a local newspaper. At this point, no one had called to claim the dog, so Ann decided to keep it.
The next morning Tracy got a call. A man named Peter recognized his lost dog and called the number on the flier. Tracy started crying, and told him, “That dog saved my friend’s son.”
Peter drove to Ann’s house to pick up his dog, and saw Thomas and Jack crying in the window. After a few moments Peter said, “Maybe Odie was supposed to find you, maybe you should keep it.”What did Tracy do after finding the dog?
| A．She looked for its owner |
| B．She gave it to Ann as a gift. |
| C．She sold it to the dollar store. |
| D．She bought some food for it. |
How did the dog help save Jack?
| A．By breaking the door for Ann. |
| B．By leading Ann to Jack’s room. |
| C．By dragging Jack out of the room. |
| D．By attending Jack when Ann was out. |
What was Ann’s attitude to the dog according to Paragraph 4?
| A．Sympathetic | B．Doubtful |
| C．Tolerant | D．Grateful |
For what purpose did Peter call Tracy?
| A．To help her friend’s son. |
| B．To interview Tracy |
| C．To take back his dog. |
| D．To return the flier to her. |
What can we infer about the dog from the last paragraph?
| A．It would be given to Odie. |
| B．It would be kept by Ann’ family. |
| C．It would be returned to Peter. |
| D．It would be taken away by Tracy. |
Do you sleep well? Some people get off to sleep as soon as the head hits the pillow, but many others are not so lucky．In fact，the lack of quality sleep has become a public health issue around the world．According to the World Association of Sleep Medicine，45 percent of the world’s population suffer from sleep problems．One in eight people don’t sleep well and are easily woken．7．6 percent sleep less than 3 hours each night．Some even can not fall asleep for several days in a row．
As a basic bodily and mental need，sleep is essential for our survival．It helps us to fight diseases，strengthen our memory, perform better in work and school and improve our quality of life．Lack of sleep is known to have a significant negative influence on health，both in the short and long term．Poor sleep has been associated with obesity, weakened immune systems and even some cancers，as well as depression and anxiety．
The World Sleep Day, held on the third Friday of March，is an annual celebration of sleep to lighten the burden of sleep problems through better prevention and management of sleep disorders．
Unhealthy lifestyle may be the first to blame for sleeplessness．More and more people use cellphones and computers in bed，with many staying up until midnight．Modern technology does make our life convenient，but abuse of it ruins our health．Environmental conditions，such as temperature，noise，light，bed comfort also play an important role in one’s ability to get proper sleep．Besides，improper evening diet，like a full or an empty stomach，coffee and alcohol all contribute to sleep problems．Of course，when it comes to causing poor sleep stress from finances，family or work should never be ignored．
However, those who suffer from sleep disorders don’t necessarily have to continue to do so—most sleep problems can be solved．What can be inferred from Paragraph 1 ？
| A．Nobody can stay awake for several days． |
| B．All people are going through sleep problems． |
| C．Sleep problems have become a worldwide concern． |
| D．The majority of the world’s population can’t sleep well． |
What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?
| A．The influences of lack of sleep． |
| B．The possible causes of poor sleep． |
| C．Poor sleep is associated with illness． |
| D．Good sleep helps us to perform better． |
What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．The harm of sleep problems． |
| B．Activities on the World Sleep Day． |
| C．Interviews of poor sleep sufferers． |
| D．Measures against sleep problems． |
