【推荐1】Beethoven remains one of the most admired and prolific composers throughout the history. He completed 722 musical works. Unluckily, the master died while still working on his 10th Symphony (交响曲). Now, a team of musicians and scientists have used artificial intelligence (AI) to complete the artist’s final composition.

Dr. Matthias first came up with the idea to complete the composition in 2019. He thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday in December 2020. He began by recruiting an international team of music experts to help him with the giant task. They included music composer Walter and Dr. Ahmed, the creator of an innovative AI technology for the art market.

Ahmed and his colleagues started the process by familiarizing the AI software initially with a broad range of classical music, and then, narrowed it to just Beethoven’s work. Meanwhile, Walter and his group tried to interpret the rough drafts and the handful of notes that detailed Beethoven’s plans for the 10th Symphony.

The team then began the slow and careful task of feeding the AI software musical notes from the unfinished composition. To stay true to Beethoven’s original composition, Ahmed’s team sent Walter hundreds of AI-generated musical note variations every evening. Walter would listen to them and then select the one that he thought was closest to what the artist would have written. The AI team would add the music and rerun the software to generate the next suggestions. And piece by piece, the team was able to complete Beethoven’s 10th Symphony!

The composition was firstly released on October 9, 2021. Not surprisingly, it caused some controversy (争议). Critics believe technology should not be used to replicate the human creative process. Ahmed and his team agree with their opinions and say their AI software is not out to replace humans—it is just a tool to help artists to express themselves in new ways.

1. What is the writer’s main purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To voice his greatest respect for Beethoven.

B．To compare traditional music with AI music.

C．To introduce an innovative method to create music.

D．To present the team of music experts’hard work.

2. Which word can best describe the team’s work?

A．Challenging.

B．Steady.

C．Simple.

D．Boring.

3. What does the underlined word “replicate” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Question.

B．Suspend.

C．Polish.

D．Copy.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Beethoven’s 10 Symphonies Is Eventually Staged

B．A Team of Experts Conduct a Mission Impossible

C．AI Helps Complete Beethoven’s Unfinished Symphony

D．A Controversial Way Successfully Interprets Beethoven’s Music

【推荐2】Technology has enabled people to connect fast and across vast distances.     1     Therefore, it is important to find ways to communicate better, while we are still keeping pace with the demands of the modern day.

Cut back on texting. Texting is a good way of keeping in touch and communicating with another person if calling him is not possible. Unless you can’t help it, give up the habit of texting — while walking, eating or driving — because texting is not real communication.     2     Calling is a great way of enhancing conversations because it’s more direct, with a greater chance of successful communication.

    3     We are more willing to spend time on Facebook than actually leave our desks and have a conversation with the person working right next to us. A good way of improving real-life communication is to log off or keep yourself away from social media.

Meet people face-to-face. The next time you want to open Facebook to chat with a friend, call him up and meet him instead.     4     Take time to meet the person who matters to you and you will get a kind of communication and relationship that staring at a screen just can’t provide.

Technology is a tool. It is worth remembering that technology is only a tool we have.     5    Use social networks to find people, to reconnect with friends, to support a cause and to contribute to the bigger picture in a more real manner.

A．Log out.

B．Listen more.

C．However, it has also created barriers around us.

D．Do you find yourself opening it more than necessary?

E．Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to cut back on texting and call people instead.

F．Something as casual as coffee or lunch can help you connect and communicate with him.

G．We can’t escape the virtual world and nor should we try, but we can choose to use technology more intelligently.

【推荐3】       Counterfeit (假冒的) goods, or false versions of products, may cost the government of Kenya as much as $1 billion each year. The fake goods also hurt business owners who find it hard to keep customers. But information technology is being used to try to stop the problem. Jemima Mwafigu is a 34-year-old businesswoman who sells products like perfume. But in the first year of running her business, she found it hard to keep customers because of counterfeit goods.
       Ms. Mwafigu says her business has improved since she began using a smart phone application called Barcode (条码) Scanner. The app is used to authenticate (验证) products. It checks to make sure the products are not counterfeit.
       “With this application I’m able to scan the bar codes of each perfume and instantly I get the production date, the expiration date and I’m able to know the safety,” she says. “That way, I have confidence in selling to my customers.”
       In 2010, Kenya created the Anti-Counterfeit Agency, or ACA, to fight against illegal trade. The ACA has successfully asked government officials for stronger punishments for counterfeiters.
       Agnes Karingu is the agency’s acting director for research and awareness. She says the ACA is trying to stay one step ahead of those making fake goods.
       “We are also looking into IT solutions where we can be able to use SMS programs, bar codes and information sharing,” she says. “The end users of the products will actually be able to get the authentication information, and this information comes back to ACA and intellectual property rights holders.”
       The agency is testing another program called Allvirtuous. The application is another way to find out if a product is real or not by scanning its barcode. The barcode information is sent to a database. Then a result is sent back to the app.
       The International Chamber of Commerce is a global business organization. It says the value of counterfeit goods produced around the world is expected to be more than $1.7 trillion (万亿) this year.
1. What’s the main purpose of this passage?

A．To tell us that Information Technology is developing fast.

B．To persuade us to resist counterfeit goods.

C．To advise us to use phone apps while going shopping.

D．To inform us that phone apps can help stop counterfeiters’ trade.

2. Why did Kenya create ACA?

A．To raise people’s awareness of counterfeit goods.

B．To ask the government to punish counterfeiters.

C．To deal with illegal trade.

D．To look into IT solutions.

3. The underlined phrase “expiration date” in Paragraph 3 means the time when __________.

A．the product is unable to be used

B．the product is packed

C．the product is first out of the factory

D．the product is made

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Measures should be taken immediately to prevent counterfeit goods.

B．The business of counterfeit goods is falling off.

C．The value of counterfeit goods is likely to be more than $1.7 trillion this year.

D．Counterfeit goods make a great contribution to the world economy.