【推荐1】You’ve heard the predictions from some of the brightest minds about AI’s influence. Tesla and SpaceX’s chief Elon Musk worries that AI is far more dangerous than nuclear weapons. The late scientist Stephen Hawking warned that AI could serve as the “worst event in the history of our civilization” unless humanity is prepared for its possible risks.

But many experts, even those who are aware of such risks, have a more positive attitude, especially in health-care and possibly in education. That is one of the results from a new AI study released Monday by the Pew Research Centre.

Pew canvassed the opinions of 979 experts over the summer, a group that included famous technologists, developers, innovators, business and policy leaders. The interviewed experts, some of whom chose to remain anonymous, were asked to join in the discussion of a serious and important question: “By 2030, do you think it is most likely that advancing AI and related technology systems will improve human capacities and control them?”

Nearly two-thirds of experts predicted most of us will be mostly better off. But a third thought otherwise, and a majority of the experts expressed at least some concerns over the long-term impact of AI on the “essential elements of being human”. Among those concerns were data abuse, loss of jobs and loss of control brought by autonomous weapons and cybercrime. Above all, by taking data in and spitting answers out, those “black box” tools make decisions in digital systems. It is an erosion in our ability to think for ourselves.

1. Why is Stephen Hawking mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．To warn humans to give up AI as soon as possible.

B．To remind readers that a new AI age has come into view.

C．To prove great scientists care much about the future of AI.

D．To introduce the main idea of the text that AI benefits the future.

2. What is true of Pew’s study?

A．Most experts are certain that AI will be out of control.

B．Pew asked experts from different fields for opinions.

C．Pew concludes that humans will suffer from AI.

D．33% of experts think AI will have little impact on humans.

3. Why some experts concern about “black box” tools?

A．Because they make decisions in digital systems.

B．Because they can take data in and spit answers out.

C．Because they may weaken our ability to think independently.

D．Because they may decrease humans’ welfare in the long term.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Experts’ concern about AI.	B．Humans’ being controlled by AI.
C．Experts’ Expectation of AI.	D．AI’s influence on society.

【推荐2】When he was a kid, Alex Vardakostas began working in the grill (烧烤店) alongside adult employees. He estimates he has cooked 50,000 burgers (汉堡包).

Now, Vardakostas co-owns a burger joint called Creator, in San Francisco, California. But he doesn’t stand over a grill flipping burgers, and neither do his employees. At Creator, burgers are cooked and assembled entirely by machine. And because it costs less to maintain the machine than to pay a kitchen’s worth of employees, burgers cost less.

Creator is just one example of a growing phenomenon: Automation is taking over more and more jobs. That means work is done by machines or computers instead of people.

According to a report from McKinsey Global Institute, about 800 million people could be forced out of their jobs by 2030, McKinsey predicts that as technology improves, some tasks will be done more quickly or cheaply by machine, so businesses will install robots or computer programs to perform them.

Some jobs are more likely to be automated than others. Machines can do jobs that have three characteristics: They are routine, repetitive, and predictable. Some of these jobs pay low wages and require little education. But others pay well and demand an advanced college degree. Taxi drivers, cashiers, lawyers, and doctors all perform some tasks that can be done by machines.

So what jobs are safe from automation? Answers include coming up with new ideas or work that involves interacting with other people and building relationships, Jobs in engineering, science, the arts,therapy, and nursing are examples.

At Creator, Vardakostas hired people to do just that kind of work. Instead of repetitive burger prepping, workers interact with customers and advise them on flavor pairings, like mushroom sauce with pickles and onion jam. “In our world at Creator, all the work is creative and social,” Vardakostas says. “And I think that is what we’re going to see more of the future.”

1. What’s the difference between Creator and a traditional restaurant?

A．There is neither worker nor waiters at Creator at all.

B．The price of burgers at Creator is higher than that of a traditional one.

C．The number of owners of Creator is larger than that of a traditional one.

D．Some work is done by machines instead of humans at Creator.

2. What does the report from McKinsey Global Institute predict?

A．More working opportunities have to be created.

B．More cheap machines will be invented.

C．A lot of people will lose their jobs.

D．Humans will have difficulty in running business.

3. Why does the author mention Creator?

A．To introduce the topic of the text.

B．To increase the plot of the story.

C．To introduce a modern restaurant.

D．To make an advertisement for Vardakostas.

【推荐2】For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead.“We can do without railways.” people say, as if motorcars and planes have made the railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow ,that they lose money and that they’re dying. But this is far from the truth. In these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive(变得很有竞争力)with motorcars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they’re cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another. It doesn’t leave you as plane does, miles and miles from the city center. It doesn’t hold you up as a car does in endless traffic jams. And a single train can carry goods which a plane or motorcar could never do.

Far from being dead, the railways are much alive, Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey, where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at high speed at the same time ? And we are only at the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super fast trains, trains traveling at 150 miles an hour and more .Soon we will be wondering why we have spent so much on motorcars or planes.

1. Some people think the railways are unnecessary for many reasons except that_____

A．planes and motorcars have taken the place of trains

B．oil is expensive today

C．trains are slow

D．railways lose money

2. The writer’s idea seems to be that ________

A．we can do without railways

B．trains have much in common with motorcars and planes

C．motorcars and planes are not as good as trains

D．trains are as good as motorcars and planes

3. According to the writer, which of the following is NOT true?

A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane.

B．The railway station is usually at the center of a city .

C．When you get off the plane, you’ll find yourself right in the city center.

D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as trains does.

4. The writer thinks that the railway, far from being dead, are much alive because ________.

A．we can have a smooth and untroubled journey	B．we’ll travel cheaply
C．we start to travel in super fast trains	D．all of the above

5. The best title for this passage may be “________”.

A．Not the End but the Beginning

B．Which is the Best: Train, Motorcar or Plane

C．Trains are More Competitive than Motorcars or Planes

D．Oh, Super-fast Train

【推荐3】Learn to cure cancer

A vaccine for cancer is in the works.

Lauren Landry and Chloe Tomblin are the scientists. They look in freezers(冰柜) for bacteria to use in the research. This research has its limitations—mostly because their lab is in a high school.

But Lauren, 16, and Chloe,17 both students are Western Reserve Academy in the US, aren’t put off by the difficulties they face in their cancer immunology(免疫学) class.

“I hope we get to the point where we can get to a vaccine and write a paper,” Lauren said.

Both conduct research into how to engage the immune system in stopping cancer from forming.

Though the lab is in a high school, they don’t use textbooks. The aim is to conduct real cancer research, either by testing the effects of substances on cancer cells or developing vaccines to target the growth of those harmful cells.

The idea for the class came from Robert Aguilar, who has taught at the private school for many years. Students spend the first year learning research techniques. In the second year, students swap(调换) their blue lab coats for white ones. By this stage they are well into their research projects.

“If first-years need any help, they can feel free to ask second-year students,” Aguilar said.

Students form groups to conduct their research. One pair of students has researched the effect of capsaicin(辣椒素) on killing cancer cells. Another has tested the effect of caffeine(咖啡因) on the growth rate of breast cancer(乳腺癌) cells.

But few students get to the point in their research of experimentation with mice, Aguilar said. Lauren and Chloe hope that they can make decent progress in their work.

“We know they’re going to be used for good,” Lauren said. “If it does or doesn’t work, it still has a huge impact.”

Aguilar teaches the students that even research that doesn’t work still contributes to science in some way. He tells students that “the best part of research is failing a lot”.

1. What do Laudry and Tomblin do in their research?

A．They use capsaicin to kill harmful cancer cells.

B．They try to develop vaccines that can fight cancer cells.

C．They study the effects of caffeine on breast cancer cells.

D．They tested the effects of male mice eating cells.

2. What do we know about the cancer immunology class?

A．Only talented students can take it.

B．Students do not do their own research projects in this class.

C．It equips students with knowledge and practical research skills.

D．It asks students to start research with experiments on mice.

3. What does Aguilar mean in the last paragraph?

A．Research that doesn’t work is still useful.

B．The students’ projects will often fail.

C．Most students can’t accept failure in their research.

D．Teamwork is the key to successful projects.