Star Wars fans would be familiar with the good relationship between humans and droids (机器人) in the movies. In the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story, Lando Calrissian risked his life to rescue his co-pilot, a female droid L3-37. In real life, a humanoid robot, Sophia, has recently been granted (给予) citizenship in Saudi Arabia. Increasingly, people are ready to see robots as resembling humans. Given this phenomenon, I believ it is necessary to consider giving robots certain rights humans enjoy.
Experts have argued that since robots have now acquired human-like qualities, it is appropriate to consider if they should have rights just as humans. Sophia has a human like face and utilizes artificial intelligence to respond to speech and express emotions. For such a lifelike being that is potentially capable of expressing emotions, does it not deserve the right to be loved and respected?
Robots should also be given legal and moral protection as harming a robot may be similar to harming humans. Since people tend to form attachments to social robots, it becomes possible for companies to control the hardware and software to exploit this emotional attachment. There is a danger that data that is stored in the robot could be uploaded to the cloud. There would then possibly be situations in which the government or private sector retrieves (检索数据) the information stored in a robotic toy or social robot. With these uncertainties, it is clear why robots should be protected, just as humans.
An even more irresistible reason to grant human rights to the robots is the protection of societal values. We should stop a young child from kicking or tearing a toy robot apart because it resembles a real life. Giving robots certain rights will ensure that societal standards are set.
Still, many have roundly argued that no matter how sophisticated (老练的) they may be, robots are still machines. It is therefore quite ridiculous to treat them as living beings and grant them rights. However, with the advancement in technology, it is a matter of time before robots are fully anthropomorphized (赋予人的特征), and we would have to consider granting them rights.
In conclusion, deciding whether robots deserve human rights is by no means an easy task, but now is the time to start the conversation on this and seriously consider the possibility.
1. Why does the author mention the two examples in the first paragraph?| A．To remind readers of the importance of robots. |
| B．To discuss the necessity of rescuing robots. |
| C．To set readers thinking about an issue about robots. |
| D．To describe the relationship between humans and robots. |
| A．Robots should be legally and morally protected. |
| B．There is possible information risk. |
| C．Humans are doing harm to robots. |
| D．Robots should be given more emotional attachment. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Negative. | D．Uncaring. |
(①=Para. 1 ②=Para. 2 ③=Para. 3 ④=Para. 4 ⑤=Para. 5 ⑥=Para. 6)
| A．①—②③④⑤—⑥ | B．①②—③④⑤—⑥ |
| C．①—②③—④⑤⑥ | D．①—②③④—⑤⑥ |
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【推荐1】A quick look at Instagram will show you thousands of girls sharing their clothing of the day. Many of these girls are sharing completely new clothes every day. And they’re feeling the pressure to never repeat clothes. This attitude of not being able to wear something again after sharing it on Instagram is far too common. It is a sad thing when some girls feel sorry for appearing in the same clothes more than once on Instagram.
Clothes businesses push new “must-haves” every week, which adds to the pressure to keep up. Clothes have been so cheap because of the competition between clothes businesses that it’s shockingly easy to buy new clothes every day. These clothes businesses have made it possible for a normal person to never be seen in the same clothes twice. Often the quality of these clothes is so low that they don’t even survive the wash so there is no chance of that second wear.
Consider everything that goes into making a single piece of clothing—for example: plenty of water, energy and petrochemicals, finishing and labor of each worker throughout making it. It’s shocking to think after all this, a piece of clothing might be worn once, maybe twice, and then thrown away so that they can follow fast fashion.
The fashion of throwing clothes away after use needs to change. Proudly post the same clothes you’ve worn before online. Get creative with mixing and matching, and borrow from friends for special times. The possibilities are endless so there’s no need to shop frequently.
1. What is a sad thing according to the first paragraph?| A．Some girls like showing off on the Internet. |
| B．Some girls spend too much time on social media. |
| C．Some girls care too little about their appearances. |
| D．Some girls think posting the same clothes online again wrong. |
| A．Online shopping. | B．Parents’ pressure. |
| C．Clothes businesses. | D．Laziness to wash clothes. |
| A．To tell us we should treasure clothes. |
| B．To show fast fashion’s great influence. |
| C．To show the development of the clothes industry. |
| D．To tell us we should have our own dressing styles. |
| A．Offer reasons. | B．Give suggestions. |
| C．Give encouragement. | D．Offer more information. |
【推荐2】More Americans say they are on a special diet compared with Americans about 10 years ago. That information comes from a report released this week by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The increased dieting comes at a time when obesity levels continue to rise. The CDC report found that 17 percent of Americans said they were on diets in 2017-2018 — up from 14 percent about 10 years earlier. Over the same period, obesity levels increased in the U. S. to 42 percent — up from 34 percent.
Dana Hunnes is a professor of public health and nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles. Hunnes said that the number of Americans who said that they are on a diet is lower than expected. This is because diet-related diseases are very common in the country. The report noted that about half of American adults have diet-related health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Generally speaking, more women reported being on a diet than men. The heavier and more educated people were, the more likely they were to report being on a special diet, the study found.
Between 2007 and 2008, and 2017 and 2018, diets described as “weight loss or low calorie” grew in popularity. Low-carbohydrate diets became more popular, while low-fat and low-cholesterol diets became less popular. The findings were part of an continuous national survey. People who took part in the survey were asked the following question: “Are you currently on any kind of diet, either to lose weight or for some other health-related reason?”
Becky Ramsing is a dietician and program officer at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Ramsing said that people make very different kinds of choices in hopes of losing weight. In some cases, she said people might not understand why the choices they make do not help them lose weight.
1. Why do more Americans start to go on a special diet at present?| A．Because of their health. | B．Because of their wealth. |
| C．Because of their disease. | D．Because of their age. |
| A．Losing weight. | B．Putting on weight. |
| C．Low-fat diets. | D．Diet-related diseases. |
| A．Some Americans aren’t t interested in losing weight. |
| B．Some Americans have had serious diseases in their life. |
| C．Some Americans don’t make good choices in their life. |
| D．Some Americans have doubted the importance of science. |
| A．Diseases on Diets for More Americans |
| B．More Women on Diets than men in America |
| C．Diseases Related to Health problems in America |
| D．More Americans on Special Diets for Health Reasons |
【推荐3】In the past decade, the use of social media has grown in a way that no one could have guessed. It has turned some teenagers into celebrities (名人) and turned the famous into the infamous, overnight.
A key feature of social media, however, is its volatility. Trends come and go, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared. So, what are the key social media trends of 2018?
Short video apps took the world by storm.
Why are these short videos — which are rarely longer than a few minutes — so popular? Jiang Yige, Singapore-based analyst at FengHe Fund Management, has a theory. Short videos are “just right to fill in the little gaps in our busy schedules,” he told CNBC.
These videos — apart from being very convenient — are important to teenagers because they allow them to express themselves, according to TeenVogue.
The sense of community that users of short video apps get is another appealing feature. Liza Koshy, a user of the US app Musically who has over 2 million followers, said that she was thrilled when anyone said that her video had “inspired” them. “It’s really cool ... because I think as social creators that’s what we all are,” she added.
Live streaming is another feature of our social media life that now seems as natural as sunrise. It’s a pretty neat idea: You can watch anyone, anywhere, live.
However, China has taken live streaming to a whole new level. In China, more than 100 million viewers monthly watch a live streaming video. Forbes thought that a number of factors had led to the popularity of live streams.Among them is viewers’ ability to interact while remaining anonymous.
However, the boom in social media may be having side effects too. Fake news is one serious problem it arguably causes. Material shared on these platforms is often not checked for accuracy. The most basic content can be false and can sway users one way or another. We use social media all the time; that doesn’t mean that we understand the influence it is having on us. We should be mindful of both the time we spend on it and its impact on our minds.
1. The underlined word “volatility” in Paragraph 2 possibly means “being ”.| A．changeable | B．steady |
| C．promising | D．violent |
| A．they are very convenient |
| B．they help people kill time |
| C．they provide a sense of community |
| D．they allow people to express themselves |
| A．The information from social media is highly reliable. |
| B．When it comes to social media, people know short videos best. |
| C．People can’t communicate with each other without social media. |
| D．There is still much room for social media to make improvement. |
【推荐1】“When I grow up, I want to be...” Almost all of us have thought about, or been asked to think about, our future careers. Our answers may differ greatly. Even now your aspirations(志向, 抱负)may have changed from when you were in primary school.
However, it seems career options aren’t only based on personal taste. In a survey carried out by Teens, doctors, lawyers, and bankers were some of most popular careers that people said they hoped to follow. This is in line with a similar survey carried out in the UK in May 2011 by job website--Co.UK, in which medicine was the top choice among UK teenagers aged between 13 and 17.
Medicine and law are two of the oldest and best known professions. Their prestige (威望) may come from the fact that doctors and lawyers are much-respected members of society, and they make good money. What’s more, these professions are often seen as a sign of upward social mobility.
It is equally unsurprising that banking is now one of the most common career choices. Youngsters worldwide think of banking and see the money rolling in. Wealth is increasingly becoming one of the most important indicators(标志) of a successful career. British young men list the UK tycoon(巨头,大亨) Alan Sugar, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg as their top role models “for their wealth”. Just as Chinese teenagers see being a banker as a good and fun way to “wealth”.
However, not every child has the makings of doctor, lawyer, or banker. They are those who see achievement and happiness in other areas, and many teenagers dare to ink more individuality into their career options. As the Teens’ survey discovered, a variety of unconventional jobs---coffee shop owner, gourmet(美食家), waiter at a fast food restaurant---are among teenagers’career choices. They can be equally interesting and rewarding jobs. With every choice comes responsibility and challenge, and all career paths require specific education and training, you have to learn to balance optimism(乐观主义)and confidence with being realistic about your particular talents and skills.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Teenagers in the UK like doctors. |
| B．Choosing a good job is very important. |
| C．Careers in teenagers’ mind. |
| D．The choice of career needs challenge. |
| A．Medicine | B．Law |
| C．Bank | D．Education |
| A．respect from others | B．the oldest profession |
| C．high pay | D．upward social mobility |
| A．Careers such as gourmets and waiters are not as rewarding as doctors and lawyers. |
| B．Specific education and training can help get a good job. |
| C．Responsibility is the most important when you choose a good job. |
| D．Optimism and confidence is more important than being realistic when you choose a good job. |
【推荐2】It’s been about six months since ChatGPT was released to the public, and people everywhere realized just how powerful artificial intelligence already is. Suddenly, we started using the AI chatbot to do all sorts of things, like writing songs, taking the bar exam, and identifying bugs in computer code.
All the wonder and excitement about ChatGPT and other Al platforms comes mixed with anxiety: Will AI take our jobs? Will it block democracy? Will it kill us all? Serious people are asking these questions. Just this week, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, testified before Congress and called for regulation (规定) of AI systems.
But there is a glimmer of hope—in the form of an economic study. The study looked at the customer service department of a big software company, and it found that ChatGPT made workers much more productive. More interesting, most of those gains came from less skilled workers, while the more skilled workers showed only slight improvement. Put in other words, Al narrowed the productivity gap between lower skilled workers and workers with more skills. This finding is very different from previous findings about the effect of technology on workers over the last four decades. A whole generation of economic research shows that computers have been a major force for increasing inequality. A force for a reduced middle class.
David Autor is a professor at MIT, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest labor economists in the world. He led a lot of that initial research about the computer age and the labor market. And he thinks this study, and another one like it, suggest that we could use Al to expand job opportunities, lower barriers to entry to a whole range of occupations, and reduce inequality.
Today on the show, the American middle class has been reducing for more than forty years. Could AI help change that trend (趋势)?
1. What can we say about ChatGPT?| A．It can do housework for us. | B．It makes people feel worried. |
| C．It satisfies the majority of people | D．It came out more than six mouths ago. |
| A．It causes inequality. | B．It lessens the middle class. |
| C．It is useless for skilled workers. | D．It improves workers’ productivity. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．People’s Concern About AI | B．Calls for Regulation of AI Systems |
| C．ChatGPT Can Make Workers More Productive | D．How AI Could Help Rebuild the Middle Class |
【推荐3】As a new age of genetic research draws near, soon, we may be able to choose the hair color, build the IQ of our offspring. Should we change embryos (胚胎) to improve intelligence or physical characteristics?
A beauty editor believes it will be difficult to stop the demand for “designer babies” once the technology is in place. “Once genetic scientists can change embryos to produce more beautiful children, there will be consumer demand,” she says. She acknowledges that fashion magazines may be partly responsible for fueling this discontent with a certain kind of appearance, but claims one cannot blame the media alone if people believe a bit of plastic surgery (整形手术) will transform their lives. “Like it or not,” she argues, “we know that the pretty applicant gets the job and the best-looking actor gets the part.”
Well-known plastic surgeons agree with this view. “People are looking for respect and self-confidence in a dog-eat-dog world that measures us by our appearance,” one specialist claims. “I understand their anxiety and offer a solution — cosmetic enhancement (整容美化). The next logical step, medically speaking, is genetic enhancement, which would endow (赋予) the unborn child with similar physical advantages.”
Some philosophers also approve of genetic intervention (介入). As one of them put it, “What parent doesn’t wish for a beautiful, healthy baby? Why is it morally unacceptable to use technology to grant that wish? Moreover, a child designed to have high intelligence or sporting ability would hardly have grounds for complaint.”
However, many people are deeply disturbed by the idea of embryo enhancement. Some fear it will lead to a reduction in genetic differences, resulting in a lack of tolerance for diversity and disability. “And who is to say that this future generation of Barbies will be content?” asks the beauty editor. In her experience, people who pursue physical perfection through plastic surgery aren’t necessarily satisfied. They may suffer unwanted side effects — insecurity and increasing dissatisfaction with their self-image. What if the subjects of genetic intervention, or their parents, were to feel similarly dissatisfied?
1. What does the underlined phrase “this view” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．People are often judged by their looks. |
| B．Cosmetic surgery reduces people’s lives. |
| C．The media make people worry about their looks. |
| D．People prefer genetic enhancement to plastic surgery. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Agreeable. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Those who receive it may not like the results. |
| B．It will make future generations look like Barbies. |
| C．The money it requires should be spent on general medical care. |
| D．It will raise the standards of physical beauty to unattainable levels. |
| A．The advantages of genetic enhancement. |
| B．The development of genetic enhancement. |
| C．The promising future of genetic enhancement. |
| D．People’s different perspectives on genetic enhancement. |
