【推荐1】Some are concerned that AI tools are turning language learning into a weakening pursuit. More and more people are using simple, free tools, not only to decode text but also to speak. With these apps’ conversation mode, you talk into a phone and a spoken translation is heard moments later; the app can also listen for another language and produce a translation in yours.

Others are less worried. Most people do not move abroad or have the kind of on-going contact with a foreign culture that requires them to put in the work to become fluent. Nor do most people learn languages for the purpose of humanising themselves or training their brains. On their holiday, they just want a beer and the spaghetti without incident.

Douglas Hofstadter, an expert in many languages, has argued that something profound (深刻的) will disappear when people talk through machines. He describes giving a broken, difficult speech in Chinese, which required a lot of work but offered a sense of satisfaction at the end.

As AI translation becomes an even more popular labor-saving tool, people can be divided into two groups. There will be those who want to stretch their minds, expose themselves to other cultures or force their thinking into new pathways. This group will still take on language study, often aided by technology. Others will look at learning a new language with a mix of admiration and puzzlement, as they might with extreme endurance (耐力) sports: “Good for you, if that’s your thing, but a bit painful for my taste.”

But a focus on the learner alone misses the fundamentally social nature of language. It is a bit like analysing the benefits of close relationships to heart-health but overlooking the inherent (固有的) value of those bonds themselves. When you try to ask directions in broken Japanese or ruin a joke in broken German, you are making direct contact with someone. And when you speak a language well enough to tell a story with perfect timing or put delicate differences on an argument, that connection is more profound still. The best relationships do not require a medium.

1. What is the first two paragraphs mainly about?

A．Communicating through apps is simple.

B．Apps provide a one-way interactive process.

C．Using apps becomes more and more popular.

D．AI tools weaken the needs of language learning.

2. What is Douglas’ attitude to language learning?

A．Favorable.

B．Objective.

C．Doubtful.

D．Unclear

3. What do we know about the second group mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．They are keen on foreign culture.

B．They long to join in endurance sports.

C．They find Al tools too complex to operate.

D．They lack the motivation to learn language.

4. How does the author highlight his argument in the last paragraph?

A．By providing examples.	B．By explaining concepts.
C．By stating reasons.	D．By offering advice.

【推荐2】For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer. For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing.
Cold can affect other parts of the body. The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet. The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.
A cold fish is not a fish.It is a person.But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted. Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy.Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers.
Out in the cold means not getting something that everybody else got.A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise---he was left out in the cold.And it is not a pleasant place to be.
1. When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by “____”.

A．I think he is a cold fish

B．I give him the cold shoulder

C．I think he is a cold-blooded man

D．I’m likely to get cold feet

2. If Sue shows absolutely no reaction to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say _________.

A．she is a cold fish	B．she is out in the cold
C．she is a cold-blooded killer	D．she gets cold feet

3. We can use the expression “__________” to describe a man who abandons or hurts his lover without mercy.

A．cold feet	B．cold shoulder
C．cold-hearted	D．cold-blooded

4. The topic of this passage is about _________.

A．some expressions about friendship

B．how cold weather comes into being

C．some expressions connected with cold

D．the relationship between cold and our body

【推荐3】It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.
Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.
Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.” The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.
Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs, which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.
1. The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A．most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson

B．Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C．the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D．English conversations usually start with the weather

2. What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?

A．An emotional state

B．An unknown phenomenon.

C．A historical concept.

D．A social trend.

3. According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A．Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B．English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty

C．the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D．there is nothing special about the English weather

4. What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A．To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

B．To analyze misconceptions about the English weather.

C．To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D．To explain what English weather-speak is about.

【推荐1】“Our mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Now there are more people actively learning a language through DuoLingo than in the entire US public school system.” says Luis von Ahn, founder of the free language learning app. Since its coming out in 2012, more than 30 million people have downloaded the app, which was fun and attracted many language learners.

The growth of technology for educational use has changed the way in which people learn and receive education. This is particularly true for languages, an area in which the explosion of mobile apps and interactive software has provided choices to a range of people who were previously unable to receive foreign language education.

Von Ahn says that free use of languages was something he had a personal interest in addressing: he grew up in Guatemala, where he was surrounded by people all trying to learn English, half of whom were failing to do so and a lot of whom could not afford it.

One of the big changes caused by tech is the change in language learners. Languages have long been connected with the rich people, but now people from less rich backgrounds are finding affordable ways to learn.

Von Ahn says an unexpected result of DuoLingo being an app is that it’s attracting an unlikely type of user. DuoLingo was designed to be like a game, and what the company has found is that many users aren’t even necessarily die-hard language fans, they’re just looking for an educational way to kill some time.

“They’re still procrastinating from something else, but at least it’s somewhat useful.” says Von Ahn, “The truth of the matter is that learning a language takes months or years. We have to find a way to keep them interested and that’s where the gamification came in.”

1. What do we know about the app mentioned above after its coming out?

A．It is used by entire US schools.	B．It costs 30 dollars to download.
C．It changes the use of languages.	D．It makes education more enjoyable.

2. What is the purpose to mention Von Ahn in paragraph 3?

A．To explain why he founded the app.

B．To show he was poor in childhood.

C．To show how he designed the app.

D．To prove he was interested in the app.

3. What difference does DuoLingo make to language learners?

A．They can master a language faster.

B．They become language fans totally.

C．They can learn in a low-cost way.

D．They can now use it to kill some time.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Free and fun ways to Learn a Language

B．How to Learn a Language Online

C．The Development of a Language App

D．Learning a Language with DuoLingo

【推荐2】Knowing a second language can make you more employable and a better traveler. But hanging on to your high school or college Spanish—or French, or German, etc—is a challenge once you’re no longer enrolled in classes.     1    

●Go mobile.

They're not quite as addictive as Candy Crush, but language learning apps are a perfect, productive way to kill time.     2    You can try Duolingo, which takes an entertaining and comprehensive approach to learning a language; it teaches not only reading and writing but listening and speaking.

●    3    

Join a local group to connect and chat with fellow students of your desired language, Or, find a virtual partner on a site like Conversation Exchange; native speakers of other languages who want to practice their English will be happy to trade small talk with you over Skype.

●Read, watch, listen.

If you’re reasonably literate in your language of choice, consider picking up a favorite children's book (or audio book) in translation.     4    Or you can try to watch foreign films with English subtitles.

●Take the traditional approach.

Language classes are an investment in terms of both time and money, but they remain an effective way to learn.     5    They include ones with a fun focus on literature, film, or even food.

A．Find a conversation partner or several

B．Get in some regular conversational practice

C．Community colleges offer a variety of language classes.

D．Harry Potter, for example, is available in 68 different languages.

E．You may be able to link up with a center like the French Institute.

F．Fortunately, you can stay literate in your language of choice with a little effort.

G．You can shop around to find one that copes best with your preferred learning style.

【推荐3】This column is part of a series on websites that are useful for English language learning. Activities for ESL Students
Includes various types of tests, exercises and puzzles designed to help people studying English as a second language (ESL).The activities include grammar, vocabulary and idiom tests at easy, medium and difficult levels. The specially designed Chinese-English vocabulary tests can help Chinese memorize English words.
http://a4esl.org/
Interesting Things for ESL Students
Contains a comprehensive list of audio clips (听力剪辑) from the Special English programs of Voice of America (VOA). The list covers news of all kinds on VOA. The listening and vocabulary exercises and the word list designed with the clips will help English learners improve listening ability and increase vocabulary.
http://www.manythings.org/voa/
World-English
This site provides a list of radio or TV channels offering English news clips. It includes the BBC radio program clips from England, CNN and ABC news clips from the US, and other news clips from other English-speaking countries. Click on the links and you will be taken to channels where you can listen to clips. This is a good way to practice listening.
http://www.world-english.org/listening.html
Listen to English
Offers a large number of materials for English learners to practice listening. The materials include business English, English literature, history, movies, and politics. Students can improve their English while enjoying the beauty of the English of literature, songs, movies, and news in different countries.
http://eleaston.corn/listen, html
1. If you want to test how well you are learning English, which website can you enter?

A．http://a4esl.org/

B．http://www.manythings.org/voa/

C．http://www.world-english.org/listening.html

D．http://eleaston.com/listen.html

2. According to this passage, you had better listen to clips of _______ programs to learn more English words.

A．VOA

B．BBC

C．CNN

D．ABC

3. How many of the four websites can you use to improve your English as well as to learn about recent news?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【推荐2】Ants have the ability to sniff out (嗅出) cancerous cells in humans, a new study has discovered.

Researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) discovered that Formica fusca ants (丝光褐林蚁) were able to tell cancerous cells from healthy cells in humans, thanks to their well developed sense of smell. But more clinical tests must be carried out before they could be used in clinical settings like hospitals, the team said.

To conduct their research, the scientists performed tests with 36 ants, smelling cells under a laboratory setting. First, they exposed the ants to the smell of a sample of cancerous human cells. The ants were rewarded with a sugar solution when they sniffed out cancer cells. In a second step, the researchers exposed the ants to two different smells. One was a new smell and the second was the smell of the cancerous cells. Once this test was successful, the researchers exposed the ants to different cancerous cells. As such, the scientists found that ants tell the difference between cancerous and healthy cells and between two cancerous lines.

“This first study shows that ants have high potential, are capable of learning very quickly, at lower cost, and are efficient,” points out CNRS in a news release.

This isn’t the first time that scientists have used the animal sense of smell to locate cancerous cells. “Dogs’ noses are well suited for medical diagnosis and used for the detection of cancer-specific volatile organic compound (挥发性有机化合物). However, training them to do so requires several months to a year.” the researchers explained.

“Insects can be easily raised in controlled conditions. They have a very well-developed smell system and hundreds of individuals can be trained with very few trials. Ants therefore represent a fast, efficient and inexpensive tool for detection of cancer cell volatiles.” the researchers point out.

1. How many steps did scientists take to test ants’ ability to detect cancerous cells?

A．Two

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

2. What can be inferred from the research?

A．Training ants takes much time and money.

B．Ants could be used for cancer diagnosis in future.

C．Dogs have been replaced by ants in medical diagnosis.

D．Scientists have decided to raise ants for detection tasks.

3. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Dogs are well suited for medical diagnosis.

B．Ants are playing a vital role in clinical settings.

C．The animal sense of smell could be used to treat cancer.

D．Ants have the ability to detect cancerous cells in humans.

4. Where is the passage most probably taken from?

A．An advertisement.

B．A guide book.

C．A science journal.

D．A film review.