【推荐1】Robert Jarvik, born on May 11, 1946 in Michigan and raised in Stamford, is a medical scientist and researcher, who played an important role in the invention of the artificial heart. He was interested in medicine from a young age. He watched his father perform operations and gained a patent （专利权）for a machine applied in the medical operation before he graduated from high school.

Jarvik attended Syracuse University and considered a career in art. When his father developed heart disease suddenly, he decided then to work on a medical career. He applied to medical schools, but was not admitted to any schools in the US. Before long, he was admitted to the medical school in Italy and stayed there for two years. He returned to get a degree in medicine from New York University in 1971.

After working for a period of time; Jarvik got a job in the organ transplant（器官移植） program at the University of Utah in 1972. He worked with the director of the program, Willem Kolff, who invented the kidney dialysis（肾透析）machine.

By the time Jarvik came to the University of Utah, the organ program had already developed the primary artificial heart. He improved it by creating a diaphragm （横膈膜）， which solved many issues with the heart. Eventually, he created the first artificial heart in 1981, the Jarvik-7, to be placed in a human patient, which was considered one of the most important inventions in human history.

Barney Clark, a retired dentist suffering from serious heart disease, received the Jarvik-7 transplant on December 2, 1982. He lived for 112 days after the operation, but the transplant was considered a success. Though receiving criticism for the risk referred to transplant an artificial heart, the Jarvik-7 still became very important for patients who were waiting for a heart. In 1987, Jarvik moved to New York City and formed Jarvik Research Inc. He began developing a new heart——the Jarvik 2000. This smaller machine fits inside a patient's heart rather than replacing the entire organ.

1. How does the writer develop the passage?

A．By presenting some research results.

B．By following the natural time order.

C．By discussing research experiments.

D．By comparing opinions from different fields.

2. Why did he study medicine in Italy?

A．His family went to Italy.

B．Italian medicine was advanced.

C．No medical school admitted him.

D．He couldn't afford the high cost of studying medicine.

3. Which of the following incidents made Robert Jarvik determine his life-long career?

A．His father developed heart disease suddenly.

B．He received a patent for the medical operation.

C．He took part in the organ program at the University of Utah.

D．He was refused to be admitted to any medical school in the US.

4. What is the main idea of the last two paragraphs?

A．He invented the kidney dialysis machine.

B．His greatest achievement was the man-made artificial heart.

C．He created a diaphragm to fit inside a patient's heart.

D．He did the first heart transplant operation for a heart patient.

【推荐2】A business school in Paris will soon begin using artificial intelligence and facial analysis to determine whether students are paying attention in class. The software, called Nestor, is used in two online classes at the ESG business school beginning in September.

The idea, according to LCA founder Marcel Saucet, is to use the data that Nestor collects to improve the performance of both students and professors. The software uses students webcams（网络摄像机）to analyze eye movements and facial expressions and determine whether students are paying attention to a video lecture. It then formulates quizzes based on the content covered during moments of inattentiveness. Professors would also be able to identify moments when students’ attention declined, which could help to improve their teaching, Saucet says.

Advocates for AI in education say that the software is actually unable to teach a course, but the technology could be used as a digital tutor that would adapt to a student’s individual needs, and help develop more effective studying habits. Such software could also help teachers by providing feedback on the effectiveness of their teaching, advocates say.

Saucet says Nestor won’t store any of the video footage it gets and that his company has no plans to sell any other data the software collects. In addition to facial recognition and analysis, the software can integrate（合并）with students’ calendars to suggest possible study times, and track their online behavior to pick up on patterns.

Rose Luckin, a professor at the University College London Knowledge Lab, says AI could unlock the “black box of learning” by providing information on how and when learning happens. Luckin says a program like Nestor could be useful for students who take classes remotely, since “there isn’t a human there watching them.” And while some are concerned that AI may one day replace teachers, Luckin sees the technology more as an assistant, rather than a replacement. Saucet agrees. “Human contact is not going to go away,”   he says. “There will always be professors.”

1. How does Nestor work to find out when students aren’t paying attention?

A．By collecting the data of students’ performance in different classes.

B．By collecting the students’ grades in the quizzes.

C．By shooting and analyzing students’ eye movements and facial expressions..

D．By identifying moments when students’ attention declined.

2. Which is the benefit of AI education?

A．It could be used exactly to replace a tutor.

B．It helps student to develop more effective studying habits.

C．The software is able to satisfy the requirement of a course.

D．It could help teachers to give feedback on students performance..

3. How does Nestor deal with the information collected from students?

A．Nestor will use it to suggest possible study time to students’ schedule.

B．It won’t store any video footage but facial expression.

C．The company hasn’t expected to make profits by selling the data to other corporations..

D．Nestor will use it to keep track online of students’ behavior and punish them.

4. What is Rose Luckin’s attitude towards the replacement of teachers with AI?

A．Objective.

B．Approving.

C．Indifferent.

D．Opposed.

【推荐1】Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe’s biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. “Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots,” said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.

The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate (确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification (通知) on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. “Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there’s your food,” said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.

The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs ￡1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the ￡3 to ￡6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.

An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. “The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction,” said Martinson.

Another significant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a pass code provided to the customer via a notification. “It’s much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot,” said Martinson.

1. According to the text, the Starship robot ________.

A．opens up upon hearing the code

B．travels 10 miles per hour at most

C．finds its way by means of GPS and cameras

D．sends a message to the customer upon arrival

2. The test of Starship robots shows that ________.

A．they are easy to operate

B．the robot delivery is appreciated in big cities

C．the robot delivery is cheaper than human delivery

D．they can travel for 10 hours continuously

3. Which of the following is one of the worries about Starship robots?

A．People’s indifference to the robots

B．Safety of the robot delivery

C．Accuracy of the robot delivery _

D．People’s concern about public traffic

4. The purpose of the text is mainly to ________.

A．describe the great improvement of Just Eat

B．tell about the global trend of Food Companies

C．show new robots are to move on the road

D．show delivery robots are to replace takeaway drivers

【推荐1】“Cool” is a word with many meanings. Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold. As the world has changed, the word has had many different meanings.

“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything. When you see a famous car in the street,maybe you will say, “It’s cool.” You may think, “He’s so cool,” when you see your favourite footballer.

We all maximize (扩大) the meaning of “cool”. You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”. Here’s an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used. A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall (瀑布) they had visited. On one student’s paper was just the one sentence, “It’s so cool.” Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt.

But the story also shows a scarcity (缺乏) of words. Without “cool”, some people have no words to show the same meaning. So it is quite important to keep some credibility (可信性). Can you think of many other words that make your life as colourful as the word “cool”? I can. And I think they are also very cool.

1. We know that the word “cool” has had ________.

A．only one meaning	B．no meanings
C．many different meanings	D．the same meaning

2. In the passage, the word “express” means “________”.

A．see

B．show

C．know

D．feel

3. If you are _______ something, you may say, “It’s cool.”

A．interested in	B．angry about
C．afraid of	D．unhappy with

4. The writer takes an example to show he is ________ the way the word is used.

A．pleased with	B．strange to
C．worried about	D．careful with

5. In the passage, the writer suggests (暗示) that the word “cool”________.

A．can be used instead of many words

B．usually means something interesting

C．can make your life colourful

D．may not be as cool as it seems

【推荐2】A tiny clue found in ancient deposits has unlocked big secrets about Greenland’s past and future climate. Just beyond the northwest edge of the vast Greenland Ice Sheet, researchers have discovered lake mud that have survived the last ice age. The mud, and remains of common flies in it, record two interglacial periods（间冰期）in northwest Greenland.

Although researchers have long known these two periods—the early Holocene and Last Interglacial—experienced warming in the Arctic, the mix of fly species shows that Greenland was even warmer than previously thought. “As far as we know, it has never been found in Greenland. We think this is the first time anyone has reported it in ancient deposits or modern lakes there,” Axford said. “We were really surprised to see how far north it migrated (迁徙).”

This new information could help researchers better measure Greenland’s sensitivity to warming, by testing and improving models of climate and ice sheet behaviour. Those models could then improve predictions of how Greenland’s ice sheet might respond to man-made global warming. After all, Greenland covers 80 per cent of the Arctic country and holds enough ice to equal 20 feet of global sea level. “Northwest Greenland might feel really remote, but what happens to that ice sheet is going to matter to everyone in every coastal city around the world,” said Yarrow Axford, an associate professor in the team. “One of the big uncertainties in climate science is how fast the Earth changes when it gets warmer. Geology gives us an opportunity to see what happened when the Earth was warmer than today,” said Axford.

People might be surprised to see how today’s Greenland looked during the last two interglacial periods. During the Last Interglacial, global sea levels increased by 15 to 30 feet, largely due to thinning of Greenland and Antarctica’s ice sheets. However, now researchers believe northern Greenland’s ice sheet experienced stronger warming than previously thought, which could mean that Greenland is more responsible for that sea-level rise.

Finding lake deposits older than about 10,000 years, however, has been historically very difficult in Greenland. To measure these ancient temperatures, researchers look to ice cores (冰核) and lake deposits. Since ice and lake deposits form by a gradual buildup on annual layers of snow or mud, these cores contain history of the past. By looking through the layers, researchers can obtain climate clues from centuries ago.

1. Why are the remains of flies mentioned in the first two paragraphs?

A．They serve as evidence that there is still life in the Northwest Greenland.

B．They were one of the many ancient lives that were left in the Greenland mud.

C．They are indicators that Greenland was much warmer than previously thought.

D．They help the researchers realize that there was once a warm period in the Arctic.

2. The new information about Greenland is important because______________.

A．researchers have no idea how to measure Greenland’s warming speed

B．it can help researchers better predict Greenland’s response to warming

C．people should be more sensitive to the changes in the ice in Greenland

D．it is uncertain how fast the Earth changes with man-made global warming

3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A．It is easier for today’s scientists to find ancient lake deposits.

B．People are surprised at the landscape feature of Greenland today.

C．Researchers measure the changing temperatures by directly examining mud.

D．Greenland holds enough ice that might one day threaten life in coastal cities.

4. Which do you think is the best title of the passage?

A．Greenland Used to Be Much Greener

B．Earth Once Experienced Warm Periods

C．Coastal Cities Warned of Coming Disasters

D．Northwest Greenland, A Perfect Destination

【推荐3】The Indian government may use 3D paintings as virtual speed breakers(减速带)on major highways and roads, in order to check speeding and careless driving, and finally make its deadly roads a little safer. "We are trying out 3D paintings used as virtual speed breakers to avoid unnecessary requirements of speed breakers," India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari wrote.

The optical illusions(视觉错觉) are supposed to encourage drivers to slow down automatically. Earlier, India had ordered the removal of all speed breakers from highways, which are considered to be a safety hazard for high-speed vehicles. India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, over 200,000 people are killed by road accidents.

The use of optical illusions as speed breakers was first pioneered in the American city of Philadelphia in 2008, as part of a campaign against speeding motorists. The technique has also been tried out in China to create floating 3D crossings. In India, cities such as Ahmedabad and Chennai have already experimented with 3D zebra crossings in the last one year. In Ahmedabad for instance, a mother and her daughter, both artists, have painted 3D crosswalks in the first few months of 2016. The artists say their motto is "to increase the attention of drivers", and that the concept has been successfully tested in accident-prone zones on a highway.

However, critics argue that once drivers know that these speed breakers are visual illusions, they may ignore them. Others also point out that India's decision does not consider the safety of a large number of pedestrians. In the end, the new policy may be just one step towards improving road safety.

1. Why are 3D paintings used on main highways and roads?

A．To attract the attention of tourists.

B．To show the advanced technology.

C．To reduce the rate of traffic accidents.

D．To make the surroundings more beautiful.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 3 and 4?

A．The idea tested in Ahmedabad recently has been a failure.

B．The new policy of 3D zebra crossings must be carried out smoothly.

C．The use of optical illusions as speed breakers is controversial in India.

D．Philadelphia, the U.S.A is the second place to use virtual speed breakers in the world.

3. What do we know about 3D zebra crossings from the passage?

A．They can vastly lower the death rate in India.

B．They are designed to increase drivers’ attention.

C．They are welcomed by both drivers and pedestrians.

D．They have been widely used in India so far.