Self-driving cars are just around the corner. Such vehicles will make getting from one place to another safer and less stressful. They also could cut down on traffic, reduce pollution and limit accidents. But how should driverless cars handle emergencies ? People disagree on the answer. And that might put the brakes on this technology, a new study concludes.
To understand the challenge, imagine a car that suddenly meets some pedestrians in the road. Even with braking, it’s too late to avoid a crash. So the car’s artificial intelligence must decide whether to take a sharp turn. To save the pedestrians, should the car swerve（突然转向）off the road or swerve into oncoming traffic? What if such options would likely kill the car’s passengers?
Researchers used online surveys to study people’s attitudes about such situations with driverless cars. Survey participants mostly agreed that driverless cars should be designed to protect the most people. That included swerving into walls (or otherwise sacrificing their passengers) to save a larger number of pedestrians. But there is a dilemma . Those same surveyed people want to ride in cars that protect passengers at all costs—even if the pedestrians would now end up dying. Jean Bonnefon is a psychologist at the Toulouse School of Economics in France. He and his colleagues reported their findings in Science.
“Autonomous cars can completely change transportation”, says study coauthor Iyad Rahwan. But, he adds, this new technology creates a moral dilemma that could slow its acceptance.
Makers of driverless cars are in a tough spot, Bonnefon’s group warns. Most buyers would want their car to be programmed to protect them in preference to other people. However, regulations might one day instruct that cars must act for the greater good. That would mean saving the most people. But the scientists think rules like this could drive away buyers. If so, all the potential benefits of driverless cars would be lost.
Compromises might be possible, Kurt Gray says. He is a psychologist at the University of North Carolina. He thinks that even if all driverless cars are programmed to protect their passengers in emergencies, traffic accidents will decrease. Those vehicles might be dangerous to pedestrians on rare occasions. But they “won’t speed, won’t drive drunk and won’t text while driving, which would be a win for society.”
1. The underlined word “challenge” in paragraph 2 refers to ________.| A．people’s negative attitudes towards self-driving cars |
| B．the technical problems that self-driving cars have |
| C．how self-driving cars cope with sudden dangerous events |
| D．how self-driving cars reduce traffic accidents |
| A．self-driving cars’ artificial intelligence needs improvement |
| B．the busy traffic may be a problem for self-driving cars |
| C．self-driving cars should be designed to protect drivers |
| D．people are in a moral dilemma about driverless cars |
| A．Regulations are in favour of drivers. |
| B．Self-driving car makers are in a difficult situation. |
| C．Most people dislike self-driving cars now. |
| D．The potential benefits of driverless cars are ignored. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Critical. | D．Disapproving. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Israeli researchers say they have created the world's first three-dimensional, or 3D-printed heart using a patient's own cells. They described the experiment as "a major medical breakthrough." Tal Dvir, the lead researcher on the project, said in a statement that it was the first time that human cells had been used with 3D printing technology to successfully create a whole heart. Dvir added that the "printed" heart contains blood vessels which are needed to pump blood. The development marks a step forward for 3D printing in the medical field.
The researchers took samples of fatty tissue from patients. This material was then used to develop “ink” for the 3D printing process. First, the researchers created patches of tissue from the patient’s own cells. Later, they used that same process to create a small version of a whole heart. Using the patient’s own cells is important to reduce the risk that the body’s system to fight infection will reject a transplanted organ.
The goal, the researchers said, is to treat heart disease. The World Health Organization reports that heart disease is by far the leading cause of death worldwide. For patients with severe heart disease, a heart transplant is currently the main treatment available. The researchers hope their invention can help ease the demand for heart transplant donors.
Dvir says that the newly-created heart represents great progress. However, more research and development is needed to produce a fully operating, transplantable organ. One of the biggest challenges for the engineering team will be finding a way to create a human-sized heart.
Dvir said his team planned to transplant heart models designed for animals, possibly within the next year. He added that, for human use, “simpler organs” will likely be produced before hearts. “Maybe, in ten years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world,” Dvir said. He hopes such methods will be used “routinely” to produce organs in the future.
1. Why should patients’ own cells be used to create a 3D heart?| A．To avoid being rejected. | B．To make it suitable to print. |
| C．To fight infection. | D．To build up immune system. |
| A．To adopt printing technology. | B．To create human organs. |
| C．To treat heart disease. | D．To develop organ printers. |
| A．They will be developed to create organs routinely. |
| B．They will be widely used to treat different diseases. |
| C．They will be used to transplant organs for animals. |
| D．They will be applied to various fields in the world. |
| A．An artificial heart. | B．A major medical breakthrough |
| C．A scientific project | D．A great research team. |
【推荐2】What if our city streets could act like forests and reduce pollution? Thanks to scientific innovation, roads treated with a new pavement technology can now literally eat smog and help keep cities cool. Since there is little room for forests in urban areas, where air pollution actually occurs, Pavement Technology Inc. (PTI), together with researchers from Louisiana State University, came up with an asphalt spray (沥青喷雾) called A. R. A. -1 Ti.
The spray's exact composition hasn't been revealed, but it is known to be based on titanium oxide (二氧化钛), a component contained in many sunscreens on the market. This chemical substance acts as a photocatalyst, so when ultraviolet rays (紫外线) from the sun activate its electrons, light and heat are absorbed and moved apart. Through a chemical process, titanium oxide also breaks down poisonous substances in the air. “In good conditions, we can achieve a 60% reduction”, said Michael Durante, PTI's vice president of finance and strategic planning. But the spray is not only meant to address overheating and to remove harmful gases produced by cars. It can also make aging asphalt stronger, preventing breaks generated by severe heat, the Ohio-based firm states, according to Gizmodo.
This impressive list of properties has encouraged several cities in the US to try out the product. The success stories keep adding up. At Orlando International Airport, taxiway pavements that had been sprayed with the titanium dioxide-based composition have already managed to reduce nitrogen oxide rates by half. And in Charleston, the pavement treatment is being used in low-income neighborhoods that have many asphalt-coated roads.
The company suggests that while heat shortens pavement life, their product's components can extend it from five to ten years, which translates the pavements into sustainable roads. And although green spaces are still necessary and cannot be fully replaced due to their multiple environmental and health benefits, innovations like A. R. A. -1 Ti are extremely promising. We may expect to see the major benefits it can bring to public health, positively impacting the lives of billions living in urban areas worldwide.
1. What is the function of the innovation?| A．To effectively protect forests. |
| B．To relieve traffic jams in city streets. |
| C．To reduce urban heat and air pollution. |
| D．To detect the weather and road conditions. |
| A．It extends life of roads. |
| B．It blocks out ultraviolet light. |
| C．It is produced by sunscreens' components. |
| D．It may absorb harmful substances in the air. |
| A．The importance of the invention. |
| B．The necessity of the road treatment. |
| C．The successful application of the spray. |
| D．The increasing popularity of the product. |
| A．A Major Reform in Urban Construction |
| B．Green Spaces: The Access to Public Health |
| C．The Bright Prospect of the Pavement Technology |
| D．A New Asphalt Spray: The Welfare to Urban Areas |
【推荐3】Some yogurt containers in your grocery store might be looking a little different soon. Pure Dairy yogurt will be sold in cups made mostly of paper. Pure Dairy is a food company which specializes in making yogurt which is often sold in plastic containers. But plastic, unlike paper, can take hundreds of years to break down, leading to long-lasting waste. Now, Pure Dairy’s first-ever paper cups will replace the plastic cups previously used to hold its yogurt products.
“People have been asking for a paper cup, and we welcome this challenge to start reducing our plastic use, and to spark a conversation about how we can drive change together. I think we all have a role to play in protecting our planet.” said Hamdi Ulukaya, Pure Dairy’s founder and chief executive officer.
Pure Dairy currently produces yogurt, creamers, coffee and plant-based drinks. Many of these products already come in paper-based, recyclable packaging. But its yogurt products had always been sold in plastic. That’s why the company has spent the past two years working to create a paper cup. They wanted it to hold yogurt just as well as the plastic cups do. The paper cup is expected to hit grocery shelves at the end of this year, which is 80 percent paperboard made from renewable materials.
The new paper cup still has a thin plastic lining to maintain the quality of the product and prevent the yogurt from seeping into the packaging. Although packaging with mixed materials is often not recyclable, Pure Dairy will continue working with partners to make it happen. This group works with businesses to make their products and packaging more sustainable, meaning they want to use resources so that they will continue to be available in the future. The yogurt company says it hopes to put more sustainable packaging on shelves all over the country which will use less plastic and more paper.
1. Why will the company sell yogurt in paper containers?| A．To reduce waste. | B．To create a new packaging. |
| C．To recycle the plastic containers. | D．To specialize in making paper cups. |
| A．Share. | B．Continue. | C．Dominate. | D．Activate. |
| A．It can be recyclable. | B．It is made of plastic and paper. |
| C．It doesn’t satisfy the public’s demands. | D．It is not the joint effort of the companies. |
| A．Paper cups may replace the plastic cups. | B．A lot of paper products will be available. |
| C．A renewable material will replace yogurt. | D．The company hopes to produce more packaging. |
【推荐1】If you’ve been painting for a while, you would have heard about some of the age-old “rules” that regularly go the rounds.
Regardless, we tend to love art for what it is and thank goodness— because art would have died out long ago if its success depended on whether the artists followed all the rules in making it. To be fair, a lot of rules are tried-and-true-procedures, ways of doing things that have proved their worth over time. But rules regarding composition (构图), tone and color are all there to be broken if we dare.
Black paint was almost banned by the Impressionists, who preferred to get their darks from mixtures rather than use black in any way. However, John Singer Sargent certainly used black, as did Turner (who is widely regarded as the father of Impressionism), and Renoir is quoted as saying ‘‘I’ve been for 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors is black”.
Even today, many artists will not consider using black paint and this has become one of the “rules”. You’ll often hear that “black is a dead color”— I don’t know who first used that phrase but it is so well-worn that it has become gospel (真理).
Black is still in the palettes (调色板) of many portrait artists and, interestingly, the Swedish artist Anders Zorn famously often used a palette of just black, white, vermilion and yellow ochre, and his paintings are anything but dead! It is well worth the time to look at Zorn’s limited-palette work and marvel at what can be obtained from those four colors.
I tend to use black in my rainy cityscapes. My favorite colors to use with black are some amazing grays that are possible without too much complication. The rebellion is already underway and black paint is being squeezed out of tubes all over the world.
Are you coming over to the dark side?
1. What is the author’s attitude towards breaking rules in art?| A．Positive. | B．Carefree. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Unfavorable. |
| A．To highlight the value of old rules. |
| B．To provide useful instruction for readers. |
| C．To illustrate actual significance of black paint. |
| D．To recommend distinguished artists in impressionism. |
| A．Having large numbers of favorite palettes. |
| B．Preferring traditional styles to modern ones. |
| C．Using simple colors for expressive paintings. |
| D．Classifying interesting portraits as dead works. |
| A．The reflection on the trend of art. | B．The invitation of the use of black. |
| C．The guidance on painting cityscapes. | D．The consequence of following rules. |
【推荐2】It might have been Jimmy Kimmel, or any other sharp-tongued talk show hosts of late-night TV. In this instance, it was Samantha Bee, stating her opposition to childhood vaccinations humorously. “Who are you going to believe?” she asked. “Leading authorities on medical science, or 800 comments on your cousin’s Facebook page?”
Joking about science can have serious effects, according to studies by communication scholars. Accordingly, since 2013, Paul, a psychological professor, has conducted studies of how satire (讥讽) can influence people’s beliefs about science, which have shown that if you want to interest people in science and shape their views on hot-button science issues, satirical humor can work better.
Many Americans pay little attention to science. Even people who regularly watch TV news receive only scraps of science information in their media diet, because mainstream media outlets devote so little airtime to the subject. On top of that, some Americans may regard science as inaccessible.
Yet satirical humor can reach viewers who would never watch NOVA or read — well, National Geographic. Millions of people watch late-night television programs live, and videos of these shows get millions of views on streaming services. In 2016, a vote conducted by the University of Delaware Center indicated that nearly one in 10 said they learned about science from late-night television shows.
Late-night hosts may occasionally poke fun at scientists. More often, however, the hosts promote a positive image of science. By making science entertaining to audience with little knowledge of the topic, late-night television could spark science engagement. Furthermore, the researchers concluded that satirical shows had the biggest impact among the least educated viewers, thus helping to narrow a gap in attention to science. Though late-night satirical humor can boost science interest and awareness, it has its limits. Science is complex, and conveying that complexity in a few minutes while telling jokes can be a challenge.
1. What does Paul’s studies of joking about science indicate?| A．It may do serious damage to science. |
| B．It can effectively popularize science. |
| C．It totally changes people’s attitude to science. |
| D．It will shift people’s attention from entertainment to science. |
| A．Because they enjoy watching entertainments. |
| B．Because science is not easy to come up with. |
| C．Because they find no interest in science issues. |
| D．Because science is scarcely seen on mainstream media. |
| A．The hosts get used to playing tricks on scientists. |
| B．The hosts’ aim is to build a positive image of science. |
| C．Education gap can be bridged through late-night shows. |
| D．Science participation can be promoted among their viewers. |
| A．Critical. | B．Objective. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
【推荐3】“Mirror,mirror on the wall.Who's the prettiest of them all?”Everyone is. Including you.No matter what TikTok's beauty trends want you to believe.
The popular video-sharing platform needs no introduction. Anyone in the world can create anything and post it on the widespread platform. But what happens when more and more fault-finding contents - especially in regard to people's looks-are created?
“You're attractive if you have 8 to 10 teeth showing when you smile.”
“Apparently， this filter （滤镜） shows how good your eyebrows look.”
“Use this effect to adjust the size of your features.”
We are born with a tendency to follow the crowd to gain approval. As a result, we look at the huge number of views on these posts and think following these trends is the right thing to do. So we hurriedly download the filters or rush to the mirror to pretend to smile broadly and curiously count our teeth.
Media has been keeping western beauty standards for generations and has failed to consider that different cultures and countries have their own beauty standards. You might not believe it, but I find dark circles (the proof you worked hard until late at night) and scars (the proof that you've survived battles) beautiful. And I'm sure there are plenty of others who do, too.
TikTok beauty standards sort people into groups according to the sizes of their noses, foreheads, or lips. They judge a person by their looks. Actually, people are whole individuals with far more interesting qualities than their forehead size.
It's the way your eyes light up when talking about your favorite book or the way you take care of your sad friend that makes you beautiful. As we age and grow wrinkles, it's the things we did that we'll be remembered for, not what we looked like 20years ago. Trust me, no one's actually counting and committing to memory how many teeth are in your smile.
1. Why is the famous line from a story used at the beginning of the passage?| A．To remind readers of the magic mirror. |
| B．To make the beginning understandable. |
| C．To introduce the author's beauty attitude. |
| D．To display popular belief towards TikTok. |
| A．To get acceptance. | B．To satisfy curiosity. |
| C．To put on more posts. | D．To create a better self. |
| A．Scars from a bar fighting. | B．Dark circles from playing games. |
| C．Eyebrows shown through the filter. | D．A lame leg from saving a child in a fire. |
| A．Worrying Future for TikTok Followers. | B．Unique Beauty Standards on TikTok. |
| C．Harmful TikTok Beauty Trends. | D．Dangerous TikTok Platform. |
【推荐1】Besides being fun, well-managed festivals and events offer a host of economic and social benefits to communities.
Festivals attract visitors and boost the economy.
Festivals will teach visitors new things. Whatever a festival’s theme, it’s bound to be instructional and visitors are bound to learn from it. Of course, education is another social benefit of festivals.
| A．But hosting festivals also poses challenges. |
| B．Festivals may help to improve community pride. |
| C．Festivals play a significant role in developing relationships. |
| D．This is hands-on, experiential learning offered in the fun context of celebration. |
| E．They spend money, which boosts the local economy both on and off the festival site. |
| F．While a successful event raises a community’s fame, a less-than-successful effort does just the opposite. |
| G．This educational experience helped visitors connect to the area. |
【推荐2】
The American seafood staple of Maine lobster, or “lobsta” as they say in Maine, is becoming very popular on Asian dining tables. Maine lobsters were a featured course at last year’s state dinner when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the White House. Now, the creatures with claws are becoming a big export to Asia.
The lobster’s home is in the Atlantic Ocean, anywhere from Newfoundland in Canada to North Carolina in the United States. But nearly 90 percent of the fishery activity happens in the state of Maine.
And the prices for fresh lobster have risen to a higher level. “Three years ago, the price was mediocre. We averaged around $2.50 to $3 per pound (or nearly half a kilogram) for the year,” said Chris Welch, a lobster boat captain. “This year, the price has been excellent. It’s better than I can remember in a lot of years.”
During one morning, a lobster order was being prepared for shipment to Hong Kong. The biggest challenge in shipping was logistics. Shippers have only 36 hours from the time lobsters are packed until arrival in China. Any lobster arriving after that time loses quality.
American shellfish (水生有壳动物) exports have grown rapidly in recent years. More than 23,000 kilograms of that type of seafood is exported to Asia every week via air. “We primarily export lobsters to Asia; probably about 80 percent to China and the other 20 percent to some other Asian countries,” said lobster dealer Stephanie Nadeau. “The countries of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and Japan are big lobster fans,” he said.
1. According to the text, we can know that most fishing of lobsters is done in ________.| A．Newfoundland | B．North Carolina | C．Maine | D．the Atlantic Ocean |
| A．China is the largest lobster import country in Asia. |
| B．American shellfish imports have grown sharply in recent years. |
| C．The lobsters can only stay high-quality within one and a half days while being shipped. |
| D．In a way, the popularity of lobsters in Asia has something to do with President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House. |
| A．Maine Lobsters Becoming Popular in China |
| B．President Xi’s Visit to the White House |
| C．The Price of Lobsters 5 Times Higher than Before |
| D．Sales of American Shellfish Growing Rapidly Worldwide |
| A．a research paper | B．a geography textbook |
| C．an advertisement | D．a newspaper report |
The first daigou, meaning those who make purchases on another's behalf, were Chinese students who studied abroad. Adding a commission (佣金) helped them pay their education fees. The spread of social-networking apps such as WeChat brought the business online. Daigou could then offer their services to friends of friends, and promote items they thought might appeal to their network. But though daigou in America and Europe purchase mainly luxury goods for their customers, in Australia they buy mainly vitamins, food and beauty products.
There are over 50, 000 daigou. The small fry alone post 60, 000 parcels to China every day while the biggest have grown into organized export businesses which funnel (传送) goods through China's free-trade zones. As a result, express delivery services to China have zoomed, and some 1, 500 stores in Australia cater mainly to daigou.
The customers are greatly attracted: the products daigou post are guaranteed to be real. After Chinese firms were found to have been selling poisonous milk powder in 2008, many anxious Chinese parents turned to foreign brands. But websites selling foreign goods are filled with counterfeits (仿制品), while Chinese shops charge a fortune for the real thing.
The strange sales channel works for companies, too. Daigou make it possible for young Australian firms to build their brands in China much more cheaply and easily than if they tried to market their products directly. A firm called the a2 Milk Company doubled its profit in the year to June thanks to increasing Chinese demand. Daigou account for more of those sales than Chinese retailer (零售商) or e-commerce sites, according to Peter Nathan, who heads its
Asia-Pacific unit. Businesses fall over themselves to win the favour of the most influential daigou, offering discounts and Chinese marketing materials. “It's like having a 50, 000-strong sales force,” says Andrew Cohen, chief executive of Bellamy's, a listed manufacturer of infant formula.
Bellamy has learned the hard way. It worried a lot about entrusting (委托) so important a market to daigou. Meanwhile, daigou had earned a bad press in Australia for creating shortages of certain goods and for failing to pay tax on their commissions. Worse, the Chinese government began talking last year about demanding import duties on personal packages, a move that the firm feared sales through daigou might decline.
So Bellamy's decided to funnel its goods to Chinese retailers and e-tailers, who in turn offered big discounts to customers, with prices below those of the daigou. This approach failed, though, as daigou abandoned Bellamy's products. Sales decreased sharply. The firm's share price broke down. Bellamy's recently cut back sales to retailers, restoring daigou to prime position once again.
An army of daigou affects the fate of Australian brands | |
| General information of daigou | ●To make up for the |
| ●The spread of social-networking apps such as Wechat has | |
| ● | |
| ●There are | |
| Reasons for the popularity of daigou | ●Daigou have great |
| ●The practice of daigou | |
| Ballamy's | ●For some reasons, Ballamy used to avoid the sales channel of daigou and trusted Chinese retailers and e-tailers instead. As a result, it suffered great |
| ●Bellamy is | |
