While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this year was even more so for some primary school students in Auckland, New Zealand. They became the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital(数码的) teacher, Siri. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom, Siri is just an avatar(化身) that turns up on the students’ desktop, tablet, or smart phone screen when called.
Thanks to a web cam(网络摄像头) and microphone, the avatar not only answer the questions the kids may have, but also picks up non-verbal signals(无声信号). For example, if a student smiles at Siri, he will smile back. This two-way interaction not only helps draw the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their engagement(参与) and make changes if needed.
Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar believes that Siri-like avatars could be a new way to attract the attention of the next generation. He says, “Using a digital human is a very popular method to send new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a way to offer rich and educational experience in the futures.” Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer for Soul Machines, states that kids who have grown up in this digital time adapt(适应) to new technology quickly, and he hopes to develop the idea of digital humans in the area of education further.
The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success so far. However, no matter how popular it becomes, Siri is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. But more importantly, even the smartest digital avatars could never predict(预测) and react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis. However, it could come in handy as a “personal teacher”, providing kids with one-on-one help on certain subjects or even topics.
1. What is mentioned about Will in the first paragraph?| A．He is a human-like robot teacher. | B．He is the first robot teacher in the world. |
| C．He is a digital teacher teaching in the school. | D．He will walk across the classroom to you when called. |
| A．By taking part in discussion. | B．By changing teaching methods. |
| C．By communicating with students. | D．By monitoring students’ behavior. |
| A．It can smile back. | B．It can use microphone. |
| C．It can change if necessary. | D．It can talk any topic for free. |
| A．It has entered many homes as kids’ private teacher. |
| B．It will teach in class in place of human educators. |
| C．It’s good at dealing with unexpected situations. |
| D．It remains to be improved. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Have you ever left the house without a jacket on a warm day, only to regret overestimating your freezing weather tolerance? Instead of dashing back home for your coat, there may come time in the near future when you simply use an app to control your clothing’s level of insulation (隔热).
Created by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). FibeRobo is cheap, programmable, shape-changing smart fiber reliant on a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE). Among the uses, clothing filed with the new LCE fiber could adjust the structure to become more insulated in colder temperatures, and vice versa for warmer weather. With an additional ability to combine with electrically conductive threads, a wearer could directly control their FibeRobo clothing or medical wearables like compression clothing via wireless inputs from a controller or smart phone.
As detailed in a recent institute profile, LCEs are composed of molecules (分子) possessing liquid-like properties that can also arrange into periodic crystal formations once cool. Importantly, the team’s new LCE can be flexible between its phases at safe, comfortable temperature levels — an industry first.
The result is a fiber capable of contracting when exposed to heat, and self-reversing as temperatures drop without any external sensors or interwoven components. What’s more, FibeRobo is flexible and strong enough to use within traditional manufacturing methods like embroidery, weaving looms, and knitting machines.
“At the end of the day, you don’t want a top-class fiber.” Jack Forman, an MIT graduate student and paper lead author, said in a statement. “You want a fiber that, when you are working with it, falls into the gathering of materials — one that you can work with just like any other fiber material, but then it has a lot of exciting new capabilities.”
While many current smart textile (纺织品) projects are trying to reinvent how a person can interact with their clothing, these clothing enterprises perhaps may one day expand the number of clothes in your closet. Meanwhile, this newest version may actually downsize your wardrobe.
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 1?| A．Offer some examples to prove. |
| B．Lead the readers to the topic. |
| C．Provide background information |
| D．Summarize the main idea of the text. |
| A．It is shape-changing. |
| B．It contains liquid. |
| C．It is wearable. |
| D．It is cheap. |
| A．Unconcerned. |
| B．Doubtful |
| C．Opposed. |
| D．Hopeful. |
| A．FibeRobo: a Smart Fiber |
| B．LCEs: Unique Molecules |
| C．A Creative Application |
| D．A New-Style Enterprise |
【推荐2】Revolutionary Glasses Make It Safe to Drive at Night
Did you know that more than 40 percent of all deadly car accidents occur at night? A recent breakthrough eyeglass technology has made it safe to drive at night. It’s almost like having “X-ray” vision (视力) while driving.
Spend money on your safety and peace of mind behind the wheel with a pair of these cutting-edge night driving glasses. The amount of car accidents that occur at night is mostly the result of poor visibility. Even with 60% less traffic on the road at night, accidents still happen due to blinding light and just overall bad driving visibility.
Imagine being able to clearly see what’s in front of you and what’s approaching, even if it’s very dark and foggy. Once you start wearing ClearView night glasses, you’ll feel much more confident and safe driving when it’s getting dark. With ClearView you will notice an instant reduction in strong light from oncoming traffic and bright street lights.
This is because the special yellow lens tint (镜片色彩) can block strong blue light, and increase contrast (对比). ClearView passes the global traffic light standard for safer sharper vision at night with flying colors.
You can start using ClearView immediately even if you wear glasses. Simply place ClearView on top of your glasses and be amazed by the difference this technology makes!
Is it worth it? Absolutely! Keep a pair in each of your cars to make sure you have your glasses at hand when night comes. If you care about your family’s safety then this is a no-brainer.
1. According to the text, the main cause of unsafe driving at night is________.| A．heavy traffic | B．low visibility | C．poor eyesight | D．bad driving |
| A．It cures night blindness. |
| B．It passes the national standard. |
| C．It provides “X-ray” vision for drivers. |
| D．It reduces the brightness of strong light. |
| A．To inform. | B．To explain. | C．To promote. | D．To entertain. |
【推荐3】The days of having to carry a phone charger everywhere could soon be over. Michigan researchers have revealed a major breakthrough in harvesting energy from human motion.
They say it could lead to smartphones powered for a week by the motion of a swipe (重击).
Michig an State Univ ersity’s low -cost devic e, known as a nanogenerator, has already been tested. Scientists success fully operated an LCD touch screen, a bank of 20 LED lights and a flexib le keyboard, all with a simple touching or pressing motion and without the aid of a battery. The groundbreaking findings, published in the journal Nano Energy, suggest “We’re on the path tow ard wearable devices powered by human motion,” said Nelson Sepulv eda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and lead researcher of the project.
“What I foresee, relatively soon, is the capability of not having to charge your cell phone for an entire week, for example, because that energy will be produced by your movement,” said Sepulveda, whose researchis funded by the National Science Foundation.
Electrical energy is created when the device is compressed by human motion. The completed device is as thin as a sheet of paper. The device used to power the LED lights was palm-sized, w hile the device used to power the touch screen was as small as a finger. Advantag es such as being lightweight, flexib le and low -cost could make it a promis ing and alternative method in the field of Mechanical-energy harvesting.
The device also becomes more powerful when folded. Sepulveda said, “You can start with a large device, but when you fold it once, and again, and again, it’s much smaller and has more energy. Now it may be small enough to put in a specially made heel of your shoe so it creates power each time your heel strikes the ground.”
Sepulveda and his team are also develop ing technology that w ould transmit the power generated by the heel strike to, say, a w irelessheadset.
1. The underlined word “device” in the second paragraph probably refers to .| A．a piece of equipment | B．a special kind of smartphone |
| C．a touch screen | D．a flexible keyboard |
| A．He works as a journalist writing for Nano Energy. |
| B．He plays a major role in the project of the nanogenerator. |
| C．He invented a type of battery-free smartphone. |
| D．He collects funds for the National Science Foundation. |
| A．becomes more powerful when kept flat |
| B．has already come into market in the USA |
| C．is lightweight and flexible though expensive |
| D．makes it possible to produce power by walking |
| A．persuade people to buy the device |
| B．bring in a new way to save energy |
| C．introduce a breakthrough in science |
| D．honor Nelson Sepulveda for his contributions |
【推荐1】The streets of London are infamously colorful, and even more so now that some local authorities have decided to dress up pedestrian crossings in colors or other equally bright designs. Some of these “colorful crossings” are created by councils around the UK with more than just aesthetics (美学) in mind, focusing instead on preventing pedestrian casualties (伤亡人员).
Two cities in England that have just finished a pilot experiment are Liverpool and Hull. Before the experiment, the former had 99 adult pedestrian deaths or serious injuries per 100,000 people in 2019, making it the worst place in the UK that year, while in Hull 44 pedestrian casualties per 100,000 people were recorded.
“We call these colorful crossings a push because in an urban environment, pedestrians have a choice about where they cross the road,” says Dr. Holly Hope Smith, the consultant working on the two trials. “We’re trying to enhance a crossing that’s already there so that people are more likely to use it”
While Dr. Holy Hope Smith said that there had been little in terms of international research into colorful crossings, in 2004, research from Australian academics concluded that colored surfaces of crossings had a positive effect on pedestrian safety with regard to the number of crashes and the severity of injuries suffered by pedestrians. They recommended that they be applied in “busy” and “complex” pedestrian environments. More recently, a 2017 report by Better Bankside about artwork employed at crossings in London’s Southwark Street said, “Our work did make respondents use the crossing more, and 68% told us that the artwork made them experience more pleasure.”
Yet, bright colors aren’t for everyone. People suffering from autism (自闭症) have raised concerns over the nature of having several colors on a road, while guide dog owners have reported their assistance dogs being confused by the new road designs. “Colorful crossings can be really misleading for people with low vision and their guide dogs,” says Dr. Amy Kavanagh, a blind activist and campaigner. But Hope Smith doesn’t agree. “These crossings are placed to enhance existing pedestrian crossings. All the signals that are there for visually disadvantaged road users remain — the touch sensors, the audio signal for when the crossing is on — we haven’t touched them,” he says.
1. What do the figures in paragraph 2 show?| A．Liverpool and Hull should try to improve their traffic system. |
| B．The populations of Liverpool and Hull had a significant decline. |
| C．Pedestrians in Liverpool and Hull suffered from road accidents. |
| D．The experiment in Liverpool and Hull was limited by many factors. |
| A．To comfort people suffering from autism. |
| B．To offer pedestrians more traveling choices. |
| C．To arouse people’s traffic safety awareness. |
| D．To encourage people to use crossings more. |
| A．They have met with conflicting opinions. |
| B．They have been supported by dog owners. |
| C．They need to be improved further by designers. |
| D．They have effectively reduced pedestrian casualties. |
| A．Can colorful crossings give us more pleasure? |
| B．Will colorful crossings make our streets safer? |
| C．Why are colorful crossings used around the UK? |
| D．How can colorful crossings influence pedestrians? |
【推荐2】I've enjoyed countless gatherings of Thanksgiving, from traditional family gatherings to feasts with many new faces. Yet at age 65, I have never spent the holiday with a husband or children of my own.
If you feel pity for me, please don’t — I am proud of the decision I made decades ago to change from life’s conventional road map, and I have no regrets about it. I enjoy being alone.
I found my life deeply rewarding. At the same time, I was fascinated with the question of why my adult life as a single person was not as valued by the people around me or by society. When people learned I was single with no children, they assumed my life had a hole that needed filling.
I wondered: Was it just me, or were other single people viewed the same way? I teamed up with my colleague, Wendy Morris, and she and I began a series of studies investigating how people characterize single and married people. The research shows that single people typically have more friends than married people do. They also do more to help, support, and stay in touch with their parents, friends, and neighbors.
I’ve lived my life in cheerful, unapologetic refusal of the “get married, have kids” road map. But getting married is deeply ingrained in our society, and it can be difficult to break completely free of the marriage-plus-children ideal.
The research and the books, though, are not enough. We all need to think about life more open-mindedly. Instead of asking whether you do or don't want to marry or have kids, ask: What will make your life meaningful and fulfilling? When you think about it that way, the possibilities are limitless.
1. What do we know about the author?| A．She enjoys living in a lonely house. | B．She seldom stays with her husband. |
| C．She feels regretful about her life. | D．She prefers to live her life alone. |
| A．rewarding | B．empty |
| C．valuable | D．fascinating |
| A．Single people are more helpful. | B．Single people are not respected. |
| C．Married people have few friends. | D．Married people are careless in life. |
| A．influenced | B．disturbed |
| C．rooted | D．hurt |
【推荐3】In the UK, the best racecourses are in all comers of the country, which means that it is accessible for all fans of the sport to see the biggest stars. So, what are the four best racecourses in the UK?
Cheltenham
Nothing comes close to excitement levels when the Cheltenham Festival is approaching. It is the home of National Hunt racing, and every year millions of fans are glued to the horse racing on the track. It is the festival for the die-hard lovers of the sport, as the racing takes front and centre of the attention as the biggest prizes are handed out.
Aintree
The race that draws the viewers to the sport is the Grand National. The race is an essential part of British life, as everyone makes a habit of watching the race annually with friends and family. It is a perfect course for visitors too, as it is situated just a short distance outside of Liverpool. There is extra emphasis on fashion when attending Aintree.
Ascot
For lovers of flat racing, Ascot meetings are a must. The biggest of the season is Royal Ascot, which is one of the most unique of the season as Queen Elizabeth attends it herself. This is one of the most fashionable race days on the calendar, as all visitors entering certain zones must be wearing a top hat. However, there is no better reason to get dressed up.
Newmarket
Newmarket is a hotbed full of racing fans, and is a must-visit for all lovers of the sport. It is the headquarters of flat racing, as the whole town is devoted to the sport. There are two racecourses, the July Course and the Rowley Mile. The final race day of the season takes place in October. Regardless of when you visit in the season, you will feast your eyes!
1. What is the highlight of Cheltenham Festival?| A．It offers grand prizes. |
| B．It invites many celebrities. |
| C．It promotes the local tourism. |
| D．It attracts a maximum of fans. |
| A．They are team-centred. |
| B．They are for flat racing. |
| C．They are for royal family. |
| D．They are fashion-featured. |
| A．The final race is held in July. |
| B．The citizens are crazy about the race. |
| C．The visitors are welcome all year around. |
| D．The racing fans are extremely professional. |
【推荐1】Students should be able to show what they know. Many folks take this as an apparent truth. But I think it demands closer examination.
Possessing a skill or piece of knowledge is not the same thing as being able to show it. This is why many smart young people hate school. Understanding，figuring out，and getting a handle on a piece of knowledge is really exciting，but having to prove to somebody else that you understand is a pain in the neck.
Finding proof of student learning is a huge part of the teacher’s job，and whether it is done poorly or not makes all the difference in that teacher’s effectiveness. There is a huge difference between“how do I figure out if this student understands”and“how do I make this student prove to me he gets it”.The first is a valuable approach；the second is the first step on the road toward wasting everybody’s time.
And there’s the problem. If we start with the assumption that a student who knows must be able to show his knowledge to our satisfaction，we will be traveling down the wrong road. The more we demand that students prove to us that they know the stuff，the more we will design artificial tasks that demand a set of skills and knowledge entirely different from those we really want to measure.
As a classroom teacher，I have to remember that the burden(重担)is on me to find a way to see what my students know；the burden is not on them to put on whatever trained monkey show.
It may not be the worst thing ever to say，“Students should be able to show what they know.”But I think it’s far more useful to say，“Teachers should be able to discover what students know.”
1. What does the underlined phrase in the second paragraph mean？| A．Very dangerous. | B．Very annoying. |
| C．Very surprising. | D．Very frequent. |
| A．discover whether his students have understood |
| B．avoid wasting the precious time in class |
| C．apply various approaches while teaching |
| D．give students the chance to prove themselves |
| A．They should be limited in number. |
| B．They are a huge burden on teachers. |
| C．They should mainly focus on effectiveness. |
| D．They slide away from the original purpose. |
| A．Students should be able to show what they know. |
| B．There are many ways to find proof of student learning. |
| C．Teachers should be able to discover what students know. |
| D．There should be better understanding between teachers and students. |
【推荐2】“I wish I grew up back in your childhood,” my 14-year-old son said to me. He has an iPhone that is newer than mine. He has many kind friends. There are many forms of entertainment today and he can find nearly all of human knowledge through the Internet. However, he wishes he grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. “Why?” I asked. My son’s answer involves freedom, risk and over-involvement of adults in kids’ lives.
My son has heard his dad tell stories of summer days at the river with his friends. They would jump off the wooden bridge into the water below. My son lives just a few blocks from the same river and the same bridge. The town hasn’t changed, but times have changed. My son knows that if he and his friends try to jump off the bridge and swim as his dad did many times, the most likely outcome (结果) is that some kind adults will call the police.
At 14, an age at which, in generations past, most boys were contributing to the well-being of their families by working, and my son is ready, able and willing to put his skills and strength to the test in the real world. However, he, like so many other American boys and girls, is prevented by a culture that seems to have raised safety to the highest regard, without considering how a lack of risk might negatively affect kids’ development.
Let kids try some risky things — cutting the lawn; using tools and sharp knives; starting a fire; cooking — under the supervision (监管) of an adult who tells them safety rules. Allow your kids to gradually take more responsibility. A kid who helps prepare and cook meals will be better prepared to cook independently.
Above all, encourage and praise your kids’ determination. Their desire to deal with challenges and take risks will serve them well in the years to come.
1. Why does the author mention her son?| A．To praise her son for his creativity. |
| B．To encourage kids to live a simple life. |
| C．To introduce the topic of kids’ lacking chances to risk. |
| D．To show kids’ love for their parents’ childhood life. |
| A．warned of danger | B．stopped by the police |
| C．praised for his courage | D．punished seriously by his parents |
| A．Try risky things before their kids. |
| B．Help their kids complete risky things. |
| C．Let their kids know the safety rules first. |
| D．Supervise their kids when they are doing risky things. |
| A．Let Your Kids Take a Risk! |
| B．Improve Your Kids’ Determination! |
| C．Don’t Be Afraid When Facing Challenges! |
| D．Share Your Childhood Life with Your Kids! |
【推荐3】For the last ten years, we’ve worked one-on-one with kids from elementary school through graduate school. No matter their age, no matter the material, when you ask what they’re struggling with, kids almost universally name a subject: math, English or, in some instances, school. Doubting that all of school is the issue, we then ask to see their last test. After some complaints, the student digs down, deep into the dark of his or her backpack, and pulls out a piece of dirty paper that, once smoothed out, turns out to be the latest exam.
To a teacher, this should be incredibly frustrating. You spend a huge part of your life grading tests, commenting on essays, and providing thoughtful feedback on homework assignments, only to have them compressed and ignored. Yes, kids look at their tests, but you shouldn’t harbor any illusion that they look at anything but the red letter grade. Before writing kids off for being ungrateful or lazy, you need to understand why what they’re doing makes perfect sense.
Telling kids they need to take advantage of the feedback they get isn’t just good advice — it’s established science. In the last few decades, researchers have discovered a lot about how people become experts. The main idea, made popular by everyone, is the 10,000-hour rule. Ten thousand is the number of hours it takes to become an expert in almost any field.
So why don’t kinds view their mistakes as a valuable asset(财富)? Well, kids don’t think about their mistakes rationally(理性地) — they think about them emotionally. Mistakes make kids feel stupid. “Stupid” is just that: a feeling. Specifically, it’s the feeling of shame, and our natural response is to avoid its source. If we get a bad grade, we hide the test away. Unsurprisingly, that’s the worst move to make if you ever want to get better. Academic success does not come from how smart or motivated kids are. It comes from how they feel about their mistakes.
1. The passage suggests that learning to face mistakes and take advantage of them is ________.| A．a great difficult thing to both kids and adults |
| B．of great importance to the growth of kids |
| C．a common practice that scientists always neglect in their work |
| D．the best way for language experts to be excellent in their fields |
| A．doing whatever they like to do without taking their mistakes seriously |
| B．ignoring their mistakes and holding on their own opinions |
| C．seeking advice and feedback from teachers, experts and scientists |
| D．being brave to their mistakes without considering them as a shame |
| A．Learn from their mistakes. | B．Listen to the teachers’ advice. |
| C．Regard themselves as stupid. | D．Think about their mistakes rationally. |
| A．point out kids’ mistake whenever found |
| B．help kids overcome the feelings about making mistakes |
| C．give kids more book knowledge |
| D．always correct kids’ mistake |
