Jason Barnes is a young musician who lives in Georgia. Eight years ago, Jason lost his right arm just below his elbow in an accident. Jason got a prosthetic (假体的) arm. But this arm could only do a few things. Jason still wanted to play music. So he went to see Gil Weinberg, who makes musical robots. To play the piano, Jason needed five fingers that could move just the way he wanted. This was a big challenge.
Living arms move when muscles respond to commands from the brain. When you think “open fingers”, your brain sends electrical signals along nerves. Some prosthetic arms use sensors (传感器) to try to read these nerve signals. But they don’t work very well. Nerves are tiny, and their signals are faint. Sensors might be able to tell that you want to move a finger. But they aren’t very good at telling which finger you want to move.
Jason doesn’t have his hand anymore, but he still has the arm muscles that move his fingers. When Jason thinks about moving his fingers, those muscles still move. To read the muscles inside Jason’s arm, the team used ultrasound (超声波). The roboticists taught a computer to read the ultrasound sensor as Jason thought about moving his fingers. The computer learned which muscles moved when Jason wanted his fingers to move in a certain way. Thinking about moving his fingers makes the muscles in his upper arm move. The computer sees the moving muscles and tells the motors in Jason’s robotic fingers to move the right way.
The team hopes the “Skywalker hand”, their prosthesis, will someday work as well as a real hand. The sensors, motors, and computers inside the hand are not complex. But they need to get smaller and cheaper before lots of these hands can be made. Weinberg and his team are working on this right now. Soon, they hope that anyone who loses a hand will be able to get a new robotic one with five fingers that they can move just by thinking.
1. Why did Jason visit Weinberg?| A．To save his own life. | B．To learn to play music. | C．To study musical robots. | D．To replace his prosthetic arm. |
| A．Specific. | B．Weak. | C．Stable. | D．Predictable. |
| A．Moving muscles are simpler to spot than nerves. | B．Nerve searching techniques have developed fast. |
| C．Ultrasound sensors vary from finger to finger. | D．Motors are much quicker to operate. |
| A．It’ll be easy to make. | B．It’ll be customer-friendly. |
| C．It’ll be better than real hands. | D．It’ll be controlled by computers. |
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【推荐1】While it may sound like something crawling out of your horrible dreams, cyborg cockroaches (蟑螂机器人) have arrived as friends rather than enemies.
Scientists in Japan have designed a new remote-controlled insect, equipped with a battery “backpack” powered by solar panels. The cockroach, which is part insect and part machine, is intended to enter dangerous areas, monitor the environment or take on search and rescue missions without needing to be recharged.
Famously able to survive a nuclear war, cockroaches have been the inspiration for a number of technologies in recent years. Different teams of scientists have designed remote-controlled robo-bugs that can climb walls, carry objects and find humans during search-and-rescue missions.
The cockroaches are still alive, but wires attached to their two “cerci” (尾蚴) send electrical impulses that cause the insect to move right or left. A battery is necessary for the sending and receiving these electrical signals, which needs to be charged up. While it’s possible to build docking (对接) stations for recharging the battery, the need to return and recharge could disrupt time-tight missions.
The team wanted to create a more practical version that did not need to return to a docking station when it ran out of power. Therefore, they designed a solar cell that could constantly ensure that the cockroach stays charged while it works. However, cockroaches have a limited surface area available for all the components necessary to move its legs and keep it powered. The solution was to design a special “backpack” that could carry both the wireless leg-control module and rechargeable lithium polymer battery. This was attached to the top of the insect on its thorax (胸腹), and was 3D printed to fit perfectly to the curved surface of the Madagascar cockroach. It allowed for this electronic device to be stably installed on the insect for over a month.
1. What are the functions of cyborg cockroaches?①Climbing walls. ②Entering unsafe areas. ③Foretelling risks.
④Rescuing humans. ⑤Generating Power. ⑥Monitoring the environment.
| A．①②③ | B．②③⑤ | C．③④⑥ | D．②④⑥ |
| A．Interrupt. | B．Extend. | C．Execute. | D．Shorten. |
| A．The size of a cockroach. | B．The leg-control module. |
| C．The lifespan of a cockroach. | D．The energy harvesting device. |
| A．Cockroaches are the inspiration of inventions. |
| B．The technology of solar panels is widely used. |
| C．Search-and-rescue can’t be emphasized too much. |
| D．Scientists have created a remote-controlled cyborg cockroach. |
【推荐2】Jailbreaking commonly refers to unlocking iOS for iPhones and iPads. Seventeen-year-old George Hotz, or geohot as he liked to be called, was the first person to jailbreak an iPhone. He accomplished his feat in 2007, and many others followed his lead.
Jailbreaking an iPhone offers some distinct benefits. With a jailbroken iPhone, you have numerous ways to change any setting to suit your needs. You can also alter the look and feel of the phone so that it matches your personality. Another advantage of jailbreaking for iPhone users is the ability to install apps not offered in Apple’s App Store. Cydia, an alternative app store for jailbroken iOS devices, offers a variety of apps, some of which cost more than others.
Before jailbreaking your iPhone, you should consider the consequences. Jailbreaking immediately voids (使无效) your iPhone’s warranty, which means that Apple is no longer required to fix your phone if something goes wrong. Jailbreaking also exposes you to the dangers associated with alternative apps. Poor quality apps from alternative app stores may cause your iPhone to crash more often or stop working altogether. After jailbreaking your iPhone, you must also be careful not to allow Apple to install new software on your phone.
Apple naturally discourages its customers from jailbreaking their iPhones. According to the company, jailbreaking doesn’t just affect the security and stability of an iPhone. It can also shorten the phone’s battery life. For many people, this is an important consideration.
1. Which aspects of jailbreaking does the article discuss?| A．The ways in which jailbreaking can save people time |
| B．The positives and negatives associated with jailbreaking |
| C．The clients who got into legal trouble for jailbreaking |
| D．The best and worst techniques for jailbreaking phones |
| A．He apologized for his actions. | B．He produced hardware designs. |
| C．He gave himself a nickname. | D．He was turned down for a job. |
| A．Their prices vary somewhat. | B．Their inventors are quite young. |
| C．They’re still manufactured abroad. | D．They take only a few moments to install. |
| A．It might need a new camera stand. | B．It might become harder to sell. |
| C．It might be easily damaged by water. | D．It might use up its battery faster. |
【推荐3】Baidu has uncovered plans for an electric self-driving car with a removable steering wheel (方向盘), marking another step forward in the fast-moving robotaxi race in China.
The Chinese tech giant, the country’s answer to Google, showed the Apollo RT6, its sixth-generation self-driving car, at its yearly flagship meeting on Thursday. Baidu’s ride-hailing (叫车) service, Apollo Go, currently operates in 10 Chinese cities. The new vehicle will be introduced through that program sometime next year. Once regulators give the green light, the Apollo RT6’s removable steering wheel will legally be able to come off, a company executive said Thursday.
Baidu is selling its new design as a way to free up space for things like “extra seating, vending machines, desktops, or gaming consoles”. The company said its new self-driving car has dramatically lowered the production costs from previous versions, by about half. Those cost savings will be passed on to passengers as the company prepares to introduce the cars to its existing robotaxis around the country, according to CEO Robin Li.
“We are moving towards a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today,” he said in a statement. “This massive cost reduction will make tens of thousands of self-driving cars available across China.”
Baidu made its name as a massive search engine provider, but it has also long spent money on self-driving technology in the world’s largest car market. In April, the company announced — along with another Chinese self-driving startup — that it would start letting people in certain areas book taxi rides without anyone behind the wheel. Other companies have showed off vehicles without steering wheels before, including GM and Honda, Google, and Mercedes-Benz.
In April, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told analysts that the automaker was aiming to start mass production of its own robotaxi without steering wheels or pedals in 2024. Baidu said Thursday that its new model was ready for production, but did not disclose a manufacturing partner.
1. What can we learn about Apollo RT6?| A．It needs a driver behind the wheel. |
| B．It is serving in 10 cities at present. |
| C．It will serve through a ride-hailing app. |
| D．It has no steering wheel when it is made. |
| A．Taking a robotaxi will cost people less money. |
| B．Baidu will give up designing things like extra seating. |
| C．Half of the production costs will be paid by passengers. |
| D．The company will introduce the cars in small numbers. |
| A．To warn Baidu of its competitors. |
| B．To prove that the robotaxi is the best. |
| C．To uncover Baidu’s possible partners. |
| D．To indicate the future trend of self-driving. |
| A．The Self-driving Car Frees up Space |
| B．The Cost of Robotaxi Has Been Reduced |
| C．Baidu Spends Money on Self-driving Technology |
| D．Baidu Introduces New Self-driving Taxi to China |
【推荐1】U. S. growers produced $2.2 billion in strawberries in 2020, mostly in California,according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture. But consumers discarded an estimated 35% of strawberries due to spoilage. To reduce consumer waste, the J.R. Sim-plot Company and Plant Sciences Inc. have teamed up to edit the DNA of strawberries and make these new-improved fruits available on the commercial market.
The new technology will improve the shelf life of strawberries and extend their growing season. What’s more, it may help . farmers achieve higher production on less land, with reduced water and labor needs. In this way, farmers can grow healthier strawberry plants more efficiently, and the fruits will stay fresh for longer.
The companies will use CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the strawberries’ genes. This technology works like the cut-and-paste command on a computer. It allows scientists to identify a gene in the strawberry and cut it out. Then, they can sew the two ends of the gene back together or replace the old gene with the one that codes for an improvement.
Using CRISPR-Cas9 technology is much faster and more efficient than the selective breeding of cross, which can take years. It consists of crossing plants with the most desirable qualities over and over again until the ideal plant is achieved. ButCRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to come straight to the point and avoid spending much time on plant breeding. Plants modified by CRISPR-Cas9 technology are nearly the same as plants bred using traditional methods.
“We are still working with everything that nature has provided. With traditional breeding, whatever features nature has kicked out of the DNA, that’s the hand you have been played,” Zachary Lippman, a plant biologist, told National Geographic. “With gene editing, now you are having an ace (王牌) up your sleeve.”The two companies are currently working on mapping out the genes of their strawberry varieties so they can identify which genes code for which features. If successful, they’ll launch the first commercially available gene-edited strawberries in the next years.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Threw away. | B．Mixed up. | C．Broke down. | D．Picked up. |
| A．Planting bigger strawberry plants. |
| B．Having higher output on less land. |
| C．Helping improve the taste of strawberries. |
| D．Shortening the growth cycle of strawberries. |
| A．How the technology works. |
| B．What makes up CRISPR-Cas9. |
| C．Why the technology is developed. |
| D．Where the technology can be applied. |
| A．By listing examples. |
| B．By explaining, a concept. |
| C．By making comparisons. |
| D．By proving research results. |
| A．He is good at traditional breeding methods. |
| B．He likes fruits with longer shelf lives. |
| C．He will help perfect the technology. |
| D．He is hopeful about the technology. |
【推荐2】When you take a closer look at the photos of the 36 contestants for CCTV 3’s talent show Bravo Youngsters , you may find something different.
Ling, one contestant on the show, is seemingly perfect. The 25-year-old Beijing woman is a social media influencer, whose realistic appearance is computer generated (生成).
Yet Ling behaves like an actual human social media star. She attends fashion events, promotes designer clothes and brands, and shares her life on Sina Weibo.
“I love traditional Chinese culture, especially Peking Opera, calligraphy and tai chi. I hope that I can interpret (阐释) these art forms in my own way on the stage,” Ling posted on her weibo account on Nov 22.
Actually, Ling herself is the best illustration of her love for Chinese traditional culture.
Her name, Ling, comes from the feathered headdress (头饰) worn in Peking Opera. Her voice in the talent show follows the school (流派) of the late Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang. And her face is even designed to look good while wearing Peking Opera makeup.
According to Chen Yan, founder of Beijing Next Generation Culture Media, the company behind Ling, they aimed to build the virtual idol (虚拟偶像) into a web influencer interested in guofeng (Chinese national style).
Chen Zhe from the company Frees Fund, believes that the rise of virtual influencers will bring opportunities.
“They have great advantages. Unlike human influencers who will get old, or may become involved in some sort of scandal (丑闻), digital influencers are young, flexible, manageable and controllable,” he said.
Chen Yan also pointed out that although influencers like Ling are virtual, their influence is real. Like it or not, they will bring big changes to the entertainment and fashion industries in the near future.
1. What sets Ling apart from the other contestants?| A．Her popularity on social media. | B．Her computer-generated existence. |
| C．Her seemingly perfect appearance. | D．Her love for designing clothes. |
| A．Ling performs Peking Opera on the show. |
| B．Ling dresses up like a Peking Opera singer. |
| C．She displays various Chinese cultural elements. |
| D．Ling likes promoting Chinese culture in the virtual world. |
| A．They are more attractive and talented. |
| B．They act flexibly in different situations. |
| C．They can be controlled and managed easily. |
| D．They can impact the entertainment and fashion industries. |
【推荐3】Virtual (虚拟) Teams
Virtual teams are a great way to enable teamwork in situations where people are not sitting in the same office at the same time.
Virtual teams are governed by the same basic principles as traditional teams.
Not everyone can perform well in a virtual team environment.
Managers of virtual teams need to pay much more attention to having clear goals, performance standards, and communication rules. People have various assumptions on what to expect from each other.
One of the biggest challenges of virtual teams is building trust between the team members. Trust is important for unblocking communication between members and increasing motivation of each person in the team. The issue of trust needs special attention at any stage of team existence.
| A．Yet, there is one significant difference. |
| B．Not every type of project is suitable for a virtual team. |
| C．A virtual team can choose whatever project they like to work on. |
| D．The members must be self-motivated and able to work independently. |
| E．Such teams are now widely used by companies and organizations to cut business costs. |
| F．Members of virtual teams communicate quite well although they never meet face-to-face. |
| G．To avoid misunderstanding, clear rules that everyone understands and agrees on are necessary. |
【推荐1】Yoga is an ancient physical and spiritual practice from India. The word “yoga” comes from Sanskrit (梵文) and means “to join” or “to unite”, symbolizing the union of body and mind. Today it is practised in various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity. Recognizing its universal appeal, the United Nations declared June 2l as the International Day of Yoga in 2014 to raise awareness worldwide of the benefits of practising yoga.
Yoga is an invaluable gift from an ancient tradition. It’s not just about exercise but a way to discover the sense of combining yourself with nature and the world. There is no written record of who invented yoga. Yoga practitioners (从业者) passed down the practising ways to their students. The earliest written record of yoga is generally believed to have been written by Patanjali, an Indian master who lived somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago.
Various yoga types give you many choices. Hatha yoga is the most widely practised type and is perfect for beginners. It is gentle with slow and smooth movements. Kundalini yoga includes a singing-part besides body and mental control. Bikram yoga is practised in a heated room. It is to relax muscles and to sweat to clean the body and remove disease and pain. Ashtanga yoga is taught as a difficult workout where you move quickly from one movement to another to build strength and patience.
In recent years, the World Health Organization has asked countries to help their citizens reduce physical inactivity, which is among the top ten leading causes of death worldwide, and a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases, such as cancer and diabetes (糖尿病). Yoga is a proper exercise. It is known for its ability to ease stress and anxiety. It may also help reduce several risk factors for heart diseases and improve a better sleep.
1. Why did the United Nations set the International Day of Yoga?| A．To make Indian culture known to the world. |
| B．To recognize the universal appeal of yoga. |
| C．To improve the practising forms of yoga |
| D．To make the benefits of yoga known. |
| A．An Indian master. | B．The United Nations. |
| C．The Indian government. | D．The World Health Organization. |
| A．Hatha yoga. | B．Kundalini yoga. |
| C．Bikram yoga. | D．Ashtanga yoga. |
| A．To introduce a sport. | B．To tell a history story. |
| C．To present a healthy lifestyle. | D．To encourage culture exchange. |
【推荐2】While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this year was even more so for some primary school students in Auckland, New Zealand. They became the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital(数码的) teacher, Siri. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom, Siri is just an avatar(化身) that turns up on the students’ desktop, tablet, or smart phone screen when called.
Thanks to a web cam(网络摄像头) and microphone, the avatar not only answer the questions the kids may have, but also picks up non-verbal signals(无声信号). For example, if a student smiles at Siri, he will smile back. This two-way interaction not only helps draw the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their engagement(参与) and make changes if needed.
Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar believes that Siri-like avatars could be a new way to attract the attention of the next generation. He says, “Using a digital human is a very popular method to send new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a way to offer rich and educational experience in the futures.” Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer for Soul Machines, states that kids who have grown up in this digital time adapt(适应) to new technology quickly, and he hopes to develop the idea of digital humans in the area of education further.
The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success so far. However, no matter how popular it becomes, Siri is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. But more importantly, even the smartest digital avatars could never predict(预测) and react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis. However, it could come in handy as a “personal teacher”, providing kids with one-on-one help on certain subjects or even topics.
1. What is mentioned about Will in the first paragraph?| A．He is a human-like robot teacher. | B．He is the first robot teacher in the world. |
| C．He is a digital teacher teaching in the school. | D．He will walk across the classroom to you when called. |
| A．By taking part in discussion. | B．By changing teaching methods. |
| C．By communicating with students. | D．By monitoring students’ behavior. |
| A．It can smile back. | B．It can use microphone. |
| C．It can change if necessary. | D．It can talk any topic for free. |
| A．It has entered many homes as kids’ private teacher. |
| B．It will teach in class in place of human educators. |
| C．It’s good at dealing with unexpected situations. |
| D．It remains to be improved. |
【推荐3】Learning a new language can be a big challenge at any age; however, it seems to be especially difficult to master a foreign tongue as we age.
When we are growing up, we are building a language system in our mind, which allows us to communicate freely. If we start a new language after youth, however, we are adding a new set of rules to our mind. That is why we find it difficult to learn a new language—we’re building a new speech system when we are not young any more. Why is it easier for kids to learn a new language? Children are relatively more active, open-minded and their language system is not fixed, meaning it is less work for them to pick up new things.
The good news is that learning a language isn’t really that hard if you’re opening your mind. But it does take hard work and motivation to achieve your goals.
It’s important to remember what you’re actually learning is how to communicate in a new way with other human beings. If you often share your daily experience with others in that language, what you’re learning is related to you. For example, if I’m learning Italian, I would never remember how to say “Dove e la biblioteca?” or “Where is the library?” but I will always remember how to say “Ti piace il caffe?” or “Do you like some coffee?”
In addition, TV shows, films and video games in foreign languages are all great forms of entertainment for learning a new language. Anything that relates you to the language and culture is great, so long as you find it enjoyable.
Adding a single new word to your vocabulary can be interesting and rewarding. The road to fluency can be hard, but the view along the way is really amazing, so it’s OK if you are driving slowly.
1. What affects language learning according to the first two paragraphs?| A．Money. | B．Age. | C．Mind. | D．Work. |
| A．Adults can pick up new things quickly. |
| B．Children have a fixed language system. |
| C．Adults find the new rules easy to remember. |
| D．Children outrun adults in language learning. |
| A．Using it in daily life. | B．Playing video games. |
| C．Going to the library. | D．Taking down its rules. |
| A．How to Build up Your Vocabulary? |
| B．Language Learning: Chance or Challenge? |
| C．Why do Children Learn Faster Than Adults? |
| D．Is It too Late to Master a Foreign Language? |
