Smart Cameras to Help You Take Better Photos

Google Clips

One of the latest to launch is Google Clips. It is designed to be put somewhere in a room to take pictures by itself. It can also be attached to an object or a person’s clothing.

Google says machine learning helps the camera choose the best times and situations for taking pictures and videos. Interested buyers can join a waiting list to be informed when it is on the market.

GoPro Hero

GoPro also uses machine learning to power its QuikStories characteristic. This tool takes existing photos and videos and automatically creates a finished video piece, complete with music and effects.

Snap Spectacles

Messaging app Snapchat sells a pair of sunglasses with a built-in camera that can record short videos with the push of a button. Snap Inc. says the product, called Spectacles, is designed to “catch the moment, without taking you out of it.”

The glasses can record short video clips that can be shared with Snapchat users. Snap Inc. has started selling its Spectacles sunglasses online in the United States.

Apple iPhone X

Apple’s new iPhone X is being launched with its new Face ID system that it says will unlock the phone just by having the user look at it. This replaces the Touch ID on previous ones that used a fingerprint to unlock the phone.

Apple says the system works by projecting more than 30,000 dots on the face to create a kind of map. Apple says its facial recognition is even secure enough to allow payments through its Apple Pay service.

1. What is the special function of Google Clips?

A．It can play videos by itself.	B．It can take pictures automatically.
C．It can change photos into videos.	D．It can provide music and effects.

2. Which of the following can now be bought on the Internet?

A．Google Clips	B．GoPro Hero
C．Snap Spectacles	D．Apple iPhone X

3. How is Apple iPhone X unlocked?

A．By a fingerprint.	B．By facial recognition.
C．By pushing a button.	D．By making a map.

Miles was born in Alton, a city on the Mississippi River in Illinois on May 26, 1926. Miles’s father was a dentist, while his mother was a music teacher. Miles had a good childhood, catching fish and riding horses with his older sister and younger brother. He was known as a naughty boy in school.

He recalls his story, “By the age of 12, music had become the most important thing in my life.” His mother, a violinist herself, dearly wanted her son to play the violin. But brass (铜管) was Miles’s calling, and he remembers arguments between their parents as his dad overruled her to fight his son’s corner. He received his first trumpet (喇叭) in 1935 and began weekly music lessons with his father’s friend Mr. Elwood, his life-long teacher.

Talking about his school days, Miles said that Mr. Buchanan was the biggest influence on his life. He was the person who took Miles all the way into music at that time. He wanted to be a musician that he had dreamed.

When he was 16, Miles met his girlfriend, Irene Birth. Although she was a beautiful young woman in many ways, it was her easy-going character that attracted Miles. At the weekends, Miles and Irene would take the bus over the Mississippi River to St Louis to watch movies and go dancing. Although Miles was too shy to really enjoy dancing, he always felt confident when he danced with Irene.

When he turned 17, she persuaded him to ask for a job in his band—Eddie Handle’s Blue Devils. It worked. Joining the band was a breakthrough for Miles, and marked the time when he first began to write and arrange music.

4. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．Miles had no schooling in his childhood.

B．Miles had a comfortable family.

C．Miles’s parents were strict with him.

D．Miles caught fish for meals.

5. What does the underlined phrase “fight his son’s comer” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Help mother to beat Miles.	B．Hit Miles in the comer.
C．Defend Miles’s choice.	D．Prevent Miles from choosing music.

6. Who influenced Miles most in music according to the text?

A．His Father.	B．His mother.
C．Mr. Elwood.	D．Mr. Buchanan.

7. Which of the following i$ the correct order of Miles’ life experience?
a. He fell in love with Irene.
b. He began to write and arrange music.
c. He caught fish and rode horses.
d. He had music lessons with Mr. Elwood.
e. He dreamed to be a musician.
f. He saw films and went dancing.

A．b-c-e-f-d-a	B．c-a-b-e-d-f
C．c-d-c-a-f-b	D．c-c-d-b-a-f

One of the most efficient ways to achieve peace and speed up economies (经济) is to provide girls with better education and more rights. Today, girls’ lack of access (进入) to basic education is getting more serious when it comes to the use of digital (数码的) technology, leaving them far behind boys. And because the world is even more digital, those who lack basic internet skills will find it increasingly more difficult to take part in the formal economy, to get a quality education, and to have their voices heard.

Since 2013 the global gender gap (性别差异) in male and female access to the Internet has actually increased from 11 to 12 percent. Worse yet, women and girls living in the poorest countries are 31 percent less likely than men and boys to have access to the Internet. In developing countries, some 200 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone, the most common means of internet access there. This digital divide is increasing, and should it continue at the present pace, it is projected that over 75 percent of women and girls will lack internet access and digital skills.

There are many causes of the digital gender gap. They include girls’ exclusion (排斥) from basic education, from specific technology education and high costs of mobile phones and internet access.

Indeed, one of the so-called reasons why girls may be discouraged from learning how to access and use digital technology is also a groundless one: that girls are simply not good at using technology.

Without the help of the government, most of the benefits of technological change will be enjoyed only by men, exacerbating gender inequality.

8. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Women suffer a lot from the poor economy.

B．Digital technology is greatly beneficial to men.

C．The digital gender gap needs to be closed.

D．Girls are lacking in basic education.

9. How is Paragraph 2 organized?

A．By giving reasons.	B．By giving numbers.
C．By following time order.	D．By giving examples.

10. What is the writer’s attitude to the idea that girls are simply not good at using technology?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Acceptable.	D．Unconcerned.

11. What does the underlined word “exacerbating” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．worsening	B．causing
C．reducing	D．improving

It might be something that you miss unless it’s pointed out to you. Next time you go to a public bathroom, take a look before you sit down on the toilet seat. You won’t see a circle shape, but something designed not connected in the front part: a U.

This is an open-front toilet seat, and thanks to the American Standard National Plumbing (水管装置) Technology, it’s the go-to for most public restrooms. This technology was created in 1955 and further developed by the Uniform Plumbing Technology in 1973, according to Mental Floss.

As to the plumbing rules which fit water seats, the first two requirements are as follows:

• Toilet seats shall be of smooth, non-absorbed material.

• All Toilet seats, except those within apartment units, shall be either of the open front type or have an automatic seat cover.

This part of the rules also clears up why you won’t meet fur toilet seats in truck stop bathrooms. The reason for both of these rules comes down to health. With an open front, there’s less surface area that can make incidental touch with your private regions. But what about the toilet seat covers you can use? Unfortunately, those don’t offer as much protection against bacteria as you think they do.

They were also designed with women in mind, according to Lynne Simick, the senior vice president of technology development at IAPMO. The open front of the seat is fairly good for women.

Now that you know why the public toilet seat is shaped the way it is, learn which one is the cleanest you can use.

12. What do we know about the toilet seat from the first paragraph?

A．It’s round.	B．It’s expensive.
C．It’s complex.	D．It’s specialized.

13. What is the advantage to use the toilet seat with an open front?

A．It has an automatic seat cover.

B．It is made from non-absorbed material.

C．It is very comfortable to sit on.

D．It can protect you from bacteria.

14. Which of the following is the best choice according to the text?

A．	B．
C．	D．

15. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．How U-shaped toilet seats came into being.

B．Why public toilet seats are shaped like a U.

C．What materials are used in public toilet seats.

D．Where U-shaped toilet seats are used.

Over time, habits of negative thinking about ourselves can lower self-esteem (自尊). So if you want to feel better about yourself, try some of these things:

    16     Are you so used to focusing on your problems that they’re all you see? Next time you find yourself trapped in problems or disappointment with yourself or your day, find something positive to deal with it. Each day, write down three good things about yourself, or three things that went smoothly that day because of your action or effort.

Aim for effort rather than perfection. Some people get held back by their own pressure to be perfect. They lose out because they don’t try. Usually, you may think, “I won’t audition (试镜) for the play because I probably won’t get the lead.”     17    

Remind yourself that everyone is good at different things.     18     Thinking more like this: “She’s a great basketball player — but the truth is, I’m a better musician than athlete. Still, I’ll keep playing because I enjoy it.” It helps you accept yourself and make the best of the situation.

    19     Don’t be afraid to voice them. If someone disagrees, it’s not a judgment on your worth or your intelligence. That person just sees things differently from you.

Set goals.     20     Then make a plan for how to do it. Stick with your plan, and keep track of your progress.

A．Focus on what goes well for you.

B．Take pride in your opinions and ideas.

C．Think about what you’d like to achieve.

D．It’s certain that the role will go to someone else.

E．Recognize what you can change and what you can’t.

F．Train your inner voice to remind you of what you are accomplishing.

G．Cheer on others for their success and keep in mind what you do well.