【推荐2】A wireless charging room has been developed by scientists. It can deliver power through the air to any laptop, tablet or phone without the need for plugs or cables.

The new technology involves generating magnetic fields (磁场) over longer distances without also producing electrical fields that would prove harmful to any people or animals within the room, according to the team from the University of Tokyo.

The system, which has been tested in a single room but is still in its initial stage, can deliver up to 50 watts of power without exceeding (超过) current guidelines for human exposure to magnetic fields, the study authors explained. It could be used to charge any device with a wire coil fitted inside, similar to the system used with wireless charging pads currently in use—but without the pad. As well as removing charging cables from desks, it could allow for more devices to be fully robotized without the need for ports, plugs or cables.

To demonstrate the new system, they installed the unique Wireless charging equipment in a purpose-built aluminum “test room”. They then used it to power lamps, fans and mobile phones that drew current from anywhere in the room, regardless of where furniture or people had been placed.

Researchers didn’t say what the technology might cost because it is still very early in development and “years away” from being made available to the public. “This really ups the power of computing world—you could put a computer anywhere without ever having to worry about charging or plugging in,” said study coauthor Alanson Sample from the University of Michigan.

There are also medical applications, according to Sample, who said heart implants (植入) currently require a wire from the pump to run through the body and into a socket. “This could remove that,” the author said, adding it would act to reduce the risk of infection and improve patients’ quality of life by removing the wire completely.

1. What’s the advantage of the new technology according to the text?

A．It has been widely used in many fields.

B．It’s environmentally friendly.

C．The cable is essential in the new technology.

D．It can only be used to charge some devices.

2. What does the underlined word in Para. 3 mean?

A．awkward.

B．flexible.

C．controllable.

D．automatic.

3. What can we infer from this text?

A．The technology takes a lot of investment.

B．People can benefit a lot from this technology.

C．Heart implants can be conducted with the new technology.

D．The technology ups the power of the computing world.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Wireless Technology: Benefit Humans for its Convenience

B．Wireless Charging: Deliver Electricity through the Air

C．A New System: Promote the Powerful Computing World

D．Ground-breaking Advance: Charge Devices in a Minute

【推荐3】Artificial intelligence, or AI, has slowly begun to influence higher education around the world. Now, one new AI tool could change the way university students evaluate their professor. The tool is called Hubert, a teacher evaluation tool that appears as an AI-powered chatbot. Instead of filling out a form, students use a chat window to give feedback(反馈) on the course and their professor. Afterwards, Hubert categorizes the students’ comments for the professor to review.

Hubert is free for educators to use. More than 600 teachers have used it already. The goal of the new Hubert program is to improve education by giving teachers detailed, organized feedback from students.

Viktor Nordmark, from Sweden, started the company in 2015, with several friends. Before creating Hubert, the founders asked teachers what would improve their teaching skills. The answer, Nordmark said, was qualitative(定性的) feedback from their students. In other words, teachers wanted students to write detailed answers to open-ended questions about their experiences in class.

Qualitative feedback is different from the survey responses, which students are often asked to provide at the end of a class. “This kind of data takes a lot of time for professors to collect and analyze,” Nordmark said. And for the students, it can also be “really boring to fill out.” So Nordmark and his friends designed Hubert as a compromise between a traditional survey and a personal interview. “You can reach a really large crowd, but you can also get really qualitative data back,” Nordmark said.

Now, when Hubert receives comments from students, it compares them with the information already in its system to organize the data. Nordmark says that Hubert will continue to get smarter as it receives more comments in the future. Nordmark says he and his co-founders have plans to make Hubert more flexible and accurate. They hope to give teachers the possibility of selecting their own evaluation questions.

1. What can be inferred about traditional teacher evaluation?

A．Its data is easy to collect.

B．Users are charged for using it.

C．Students needn’t fill out forms.

D．Students find it dull to take part in it.

2. According to the text, qualitative feedback ________.

A．can improve the students’ performance at school

B．is students’ answers to teachers’ questions in class

C．can be obtained by asking students to fill out forms

D．is detailed responses to questions not for fixed answers

3. What is one of the advantages of Hubert at present?

A．Being able to change itself to become smarter.

B．Saving much time when collecting survey forms.

C．Taking on the strengths of a survey and an interview.

D．Enabling teachers to select their own evaluation questions.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The characteristics of qualitative feedback.

B．A new AI-powered tool of teacher evaluation.

C．The changes in the way teachers are evaluated.

D．A potential revolution in the educational system.

【推荐1】The birth of Britain’s first cloned dog has been considered “a waste of money” and scientists said the process raised serious ethical (伦理的) concerns.

Sooam Biotech, a company in Seoul, said it had cloned the puppy, named Mini-Winnie, from a 12-year-old dog belonging to Rebecca Smith, who lives in the west London. She had won a contest run by the company which hoped to sell the service to pet owners for 60,000 pounds a time.

Mini-Winnie was born after scientists took skin cells from Mr Smith’s pet and dropped them into donor eggs to make embryos (胚胎). The puppy must remain in Korea for six months to satisfy British quarantine (检疫) laws.

But researchers warned that while a cloned dog might look similar to its biological parent, it would be a very different animal. “You would have many chances of replicating (复制) your favorite pet by choosing one from Battersea Dogs Home,” said Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. Dusko Ilic, a stem cell scientist at King’s College London, said, “It is extremely unlikely that a puppy cloned from a favorite pet will behave in the same way. As time passes by, the differences will be more and more pronounced, especially personality traits. It is an absolute waste of money.”

The cloning process is controversial (有争论的) because the animals are often born with diseases or die soon after birth.

I think, it’s unnecessary to try to clone pets for pet owners. First, it’s really costly. Second, the cloned pet is actually another dog. Third, there are many homeless dogs for people to adopt in shelters. So why not just adopt a dog instead?

1. What may be the reason for Sooam Biotech’s work on cloning pets?

A．To pay back to society.	B．To make money out of it.
C．To comfort sad pet owners.	D．To win an important contest.

2. Why doesn’t the cloned dog enter Britain now?

A．Because people in Britain are against it.

B．Because the company is afraid that it will die.

C．Because it needs to stay in Korea for research.

D．Because British quarantine laws don’t allow it.

3. What can we learn from what Dusko Ilic said in paragraph4?

A．Cloned pets are usually not lovely.

B．Cloned pet can be very disappointing.

C．It’s possible to replicate one’s favorite pet.

D．A pet dog looks similar to its biological parent.

4. According to Paragraph 5, why is the cloning process controversial?

A．It is costly.	B．It is too difficult.
C．It can spread diseases.	D．The result is unsatisfactory.

【推荐2】Think about a remote control. Something so simple in function is seemingly capable of invisible magic to most of us. Only few have any real idea of why a remote control works. The rest of us just assume it should. And the longer a given technology exits, the more we take it for granted.

Consider for a moment a screen showing modern remote control users versus the first remote control users： the original users would be carefully aiming the remote directly at the television, reading the names of the buttons, and intentionally pressing the button. The modern users would be leaning on a sofa, pointing the remote any which way, and instinctively feeling for the button they desired.

Humans are known for being handy with tools, so it is no surprise that we get so comfortable with our technology. However, as we become increasingly comfortable with how to use new technologies, rather than being humbled by is originality, we consumers often become unfairly demanding of what our technology should do for us Once wonderful new inventions （such as televisions） quickly became commonplace. The focus of consumer attitudes towards them changed from gratitude with respect to discriminating preference. Televisions needed to be bigger and have a higher resolution. Video games needed to be more realistic. Computers needed to be more powerful yet smaller in size.

For children of the last twenty years born into this modern life, these technological wonders seem like elements of the periodic （周期的） table： a given aspect that is simply part of the universe. Younger generations don't even try to imagine life without modern conveniences. They do not appreciate the unprecedented （史无前例的） technology that is in their possession； rather, they complain about the ways in which it fails to live up to ideal expectations. "My digital video recorder at home doesn't allow me to program it from my computer at work. "

If it sounds as though were never satisfied, we aren't. Of course our complaints do actually motivate engineers to continually refine their products. After all, the expectation is that someone, somewhere is working on how to make the existing product even better.

1. What can we infer from paragraph 2？

A．Modern remote controls have no button and instructions.

B．Consumers' behavior towards new technologies changes over time.

C．Remote controls have become far more effective over the years.

D．Modern remote controls are designed more user﹣friendly.

2. What best fit into consumers' "discriminating preference"？

A．Less realistic video games.

B．Wanting to make sacrifices.

C．Needing to understand technology.

D．More powerful smartphones.

3. What does the underlined statement in paragraph 4 mean？

A．The inspiration of modern technology comes from chemistry.

B．Younger generation loam technology while they learn chemistry.

C．Children naturally take modern technology for granted.

D．Children regard many technological inventions as remarkable.

4. The tone of the passage can best be described as .

A．blessing

B．approving

C．satisfied

D．critical

【推荐3】Nature has its own way of balancing itself out, but when we humans get involved, we tend to throw things out of control. Forests and oceans are natural carbon sinks that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but since we’ve been pumping too much into the air, those sinks can’t keep up. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, led by biologist Tobias Erb, have figured out a way to supercharge plants to make them better at absorbing CO₂, which could be a key defense against climate change.

Erb and his team figured out a way to make plants more efficient at absorbing carbon, so that they consumed more carbon in a shorter amount of time. “If you think about plants, they are efficient CO₂-fixing filters, but they are not fast, ” Erb said. “I think there is a chance to improve existing biology with synthetic(人造的) biology.”

Erb’s team identified 17 enzymes(酶) from nine different organisms, re-engineering three of them, that had an enlarged carbon consumption. When those enzymes worked together as a team, they worked better at not only plants’ natural enzymes, but also themselves individually. Existing enzymes in plants consume about 5 to 10 molecules(摩尔) of CO₂ per second. The team of enzymes that Erb used consumed 80 molecules per second.

So far, these enzymes have only been tested in test tubes in the lab, but the next step is real world testing where the enzymes would be introduced into plants to see if the same result occurs. If those tests show that plants really can be supercharged, we could have a new tool in the fight against climate change where not only do we protect the amazing carbon-absorbing forests we have, but we also add these super plants or an artificial leaf technology using the enzymes into other mixed fields.

1. Why can’t forests and oceans balance nature?

A．Because oceans and forests are getting smaller.

B．Because a large number of forests are cut down.

C．Because we human beings give off too much CO2.

D．Because there are too many creatures in the world.

2. Which is the key defense against climate change according to Erb and his team?

A．To increase the plants’ ability and efficiency to absorb CO2.

B．To make oceans and forests to absorb more CO2 quickly.

C．To reduce the human’s activities giving off too much CO2.

D．To increase the number of plants in the world.

3. What can we get from the last paragraph?

A．The enzymes have proved useful in real world.

B．The technology has worked against climate change.

C．The enzymes have not been used in the lab.

D．The technology may have a bright future.

4. This passage is intended to ________.

A．call on people to pay more attention to the balance of nature

B．introduce a possible way to better plants’ ability of absorbing CO2

C．analyze the cause and result of climate change related to plants

D．explore the possibility of using plants to fight against climate change

【推荐1】In 1835, William Talbot finally succeeded in producing a photograph of his country house. He declared that his was the first house ever known to have drawn its own picture. The drawing was formed “by the action of light upon sensitive paper.” Photography offered nature a “pencil” to paint herself through optical (光学的) and chemical means alone.

By the mid-nineteenth century, people no longer needed to hire a draftsman to draw detailed images because the process could be completed instantly with a camera. Advocates for the technology stated that not only was it more precise than the human hand — it was faster and cheaper.

The removal of human fallibility in the creating process was one of photography’s biggest selling points, but this also started debates about the new medium’s implications for visual culture. Could images made largely by a machine be considered art? If so, where did human creativity fit in this process?

As the twenty-first century becomes increasingly automated, more and more people attempt to identify where human agency exists in the technologically driven world. Images generated with artificial intelligence by companies like OpenAI are stimulating questions like those that emerged with the coming of the photograph. By typing a sentence, users can generate “new” images composed from images collected across the Internet. The result has been a flood of Al-generated images in places that are previously unique to human authors. Painting competitions, commercial graphic design and the fashion of portraiture (肖像) have all since collided (碰撞) with the technology in troubling ways.

The fine arts were thought to be a final hold-out of human creativity, but the surprisingly high quality of AI-generated images is producing deeper questions about the nature of originality. If the history of photography tells us anything, it’s that the debate won’t be settled quickly, straightforwardly, or by the institutions we typically associate with cultural gate keeping.

1. Why did Talbot declare that his house had drawn its own picture?

A．To downplay human factors in the creation.

B．To investigate a supernatural phenomenon.

C．To show his advanced knowledge in science.

D．To demonstrate the beauty of his country house.

2. What does the underlined word “fallibility” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Expecting a high price.	B．Detailing the images.
C．Being likely to make errors.	D．Becoming sensitive to light.

3. What do Open AI and cameras have in common?

A．They improve the taste of beauty.	B．They advocate fashion designs.
C．They challenge human agency.	D．They produce original images.

4. What did the author indicate by referring to the history of photography?

A．Cultural gatekeepers will solve the issue as they did.

B．AI-generated images will go through a similar debate.

C．The nature of originality will be held in human hands.

D．The fine arts will include photography and AI images.

【推荐2】Screens during meals rob kids of opportunities to improve language and communication skills （storytelling, making jokes, etc.）, as well as to develop patience and even imagination as they entertain themselves waiting for food to arrive.

Meals are an opportunity to connect, to learn more about and enjoy each other. They strengthen the bonds that will bring benefits to the rest of our lives. We squander that opportunity when we stick a screen in front of our kids during dinner.

Of course, we all want to have enjoyable family meals, which is why I love Bruce Feiller's book "The Secrets of Happy Families", in which he devotes an entire chapter to ways to make them fun and meaningful for everyone---such as "fill in the blank" sentences you make up. Sharing something good and something challenging makes for pleasant conversations, too. And I've had fun playing Uno with my daughters until the food arrives in a restaurant.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (小儿科）also offers guidelines to help families manage children's screen time. The academy recommends avoiding digital media for children under 2, except for video-chatting, and limiting screen time to just one hour a day of high-quality programming for children ages 2 to 5.

Fundamentally, we all benefit from more human connection, not less — and that's especially true for children. Schools, airplane trips, most jobs, games, even "social" interaction were all once done without screens but now are filled with them. And while we have gained some advantages, including new connections, we have lost something fundamental, as well.

Less is always more when it comes to screens, even if they are effective at keeping kids quiet. But soon after complaining that they are "bored, ” kids have a natural tendency to fill the screenless void （空虚）with creative games, art, exploration and conversation. There are no studies that warn against having too many hours of those activities.

Let's all work harder to keep family meals special by getting rid of the iPads and nourishing our personal connections as we nourish our bodies.

1. What's the author's attitude to the kids' staring at screens during meals?

A．Disapproving.	B．Favorable.
C．Cautious.	D．Unconcerned.

2. What does the underlined word "squander" in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Take.	B．Waste.
C．Expect.	D．Create.

3. What will kids do if they have no access to screens?

A．Keep quiet.

B．Refuse to eat.

C．Feel bored all the time.

D．Find ways to entertain themselves.

4. What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

A．To introduce the iPads to the children.

B．To stress the importance of family meals.

C．To appeal for family meals without screens.

D．To teach parents how to punish their children.

【推荐3】Ethiopia’s eastern lowlands bordering Somalia are suffering through a severe drought. The rainy season was late and not enough, causing great losses among local livestock herds. Coming on the heels of two previous dry years in Ethiopia, the drought of 2017 compounded already serious situation in the country. As a result, many families in the country’s Somali region are experiencing chronic (长期的) food insecurity and concerning rates of a lack of nutrition.

The United States, Ethiopia’s largest donor of emergency and development aid, continues to deliver a large-scale humanitarian response. In late August, USAID Administrator Mark Green announced that in order to help relieve the terrible humanitarian situation, the United States will deliver 91 million dollars in additional humanitarian assistance for those Ethiopians who are even now struggling with severe food insecurity and malnutrition (营养不良).

“This funding will provide additional emergency food assistance and vital medical care,” he said.

A day earlier, Mr. Green announced that Ethiopia had been chosen as one of a dozen countries that will participate in the second period of the Feed the Future Initiative. This 7-year old program aims to reduce global hunger, poverty, and under-nutrition by focusing on smallholder farmers, increasing investments in agriculture, and supporting country-owned plans for improving food security and nutrition while creating opportunities for economic growth and trade. In this way, the United States hopes to help strengthen Ethiopia’s resilience (恢复力) to climatic shocks.

I don’t view development in humanitarian assistance as a gift or a handout. I view it as a hand up. We want to help people stand on their own two feet and build their own brighter futures, and that’s what I hope our assistance can play a useful role in.” said USAID Administrator Green.

1. What does the underlined word “compounded” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Mixed.	B．Changed.
C．Formed.	D．Worsened.

2. What is the purpose of the Feed the Future Initiative?

A．To help build Ethiopian brighter futures.

B．To deliver humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia.

C．To reduce hunger, poverty mid under-nutrition worldwide.

D．To help strengthen global resilience to severe droughts.

3. What can be learned according to the text?

A．USAID is expected to help Ethiopians build brighter futures.

B．The United States will send 91 billion dollars to Ethiopia.

C．USAID is considered as a handout by Administrator Green.

D．Ethiopians are now suffering no nutrition.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Feed the Future Initiative Program

B．More US Humanitarian Aid for Ethiopia

C．Severe Droughts in Ethiopia

D．Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Ethiopia