Zea Tongeman, a 14-year-old student, who is crazy about the Internet, applied technology to create an application that encourages people to recycle while having fun.
Zea was really inspired when she attended “Little Miss Geek Day”, an event that is aimed at making technology more accessible and appealing to young women and inspiring them to consider technology careers. Soon after, she entered “Apps for Good”, a competition that encourages students to create positive changes through technology. Teaming up with her friend, Jordan Stirbu, she laid the foundations for “Jazzy Recycling”.
The “Jazzy Recycling” application is designed to encourage young people to recycle more, which wins the favor of the youth and turns waste disposal (处理) into a game and helps you find places to recycle. Then you scan what you need to recycle, share it, and get rewards such as shopping vouchers (代金券) and games to be unlocked for what you have recycled.
Making use of the teen enthusiasm for sharing every little aspect of their daily life on social media like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, recycling efforts can be shared too as a fun game among friends, which makes more people take part in recycling activities.
Zea explains why she is addicted to the Internet and how technology has changed her, “used to think technology was just fixing computers and using smartphones; I have become very tired from just using what is available. I have discovered another side to it — I can make technology of my own.”
In fact, Zea Tongeman has taken the idea of recycling seriously and hopes all her fellow beings would give it a serious thought. This teen girl from the United Kingdom has made use of computer programming to create her own app that would encourage people to go recycling for a better world.
1. What is “Little Miss Geek Day” intended to do?| A．To introduce some young women. |
| B．To inspire people to go recycling |
| C．To encourage students to create more careers. |
| D．To get girls interested and involved in technology. |
| A．It combines recycling with fun. | B．It offers money to those who recycle. |
| C．It raises their awareness of waste disposal. | D．It provides varieties of convenient services. |
| A．modest | B．creative | C．generous | D．considerate. |
| A．Teenagers have a talent for creating apps. |
| B．Technology plays a significant role in education. |
| C．Competitions inspire teenagers to achieve success. |
| D．Youngsters can make a difference in their own ways. |
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【推荐1】In order to survive trips to Mars, humans need oxygen. Now, a team of scientists has designed a robot that could extract oxygen from water on the Red Planet.
The robot, which is called “AI chemist”, used a machine learning model to find a compound that could ignite an oxygen-producing chemical reaction on Mars. The compound, known as a catalyst (催化剂), is made entirely from elements found in Martian meteorites (陨石) — which means, if such a system could work reliably, space travelers would not need to bring oxygen or even the catalyst needed to produce it.
Mars’ atmosphere contains only trace amounts of oxygen. But scientists have detected evidence of liquid water beneath the planet’s southern ice cap. To create the breathable gas, researchers wanted to find a way to break down this water into its hydrogen and oxygen molecules using materials found on Mars.
Their robot analyzed five meteorites that either came from Mars or had a composition similar to that of the Martian surface. Using a laser, it identified significant amounts of iron, nickel, calcium, magnesium, aluminum and manganese in the samples. From these six elements, the robot’s algorithm (算法) deter-mined it could produce more than 3.7 million possible molecules to break down water and form oxygen on Mars. According to the researchers, finding the best one from this extensive list would take roughly 2,000 years of human labor, but for the AI chemist, it took only weeks.
“On the Earth, we don’t use these six elements,” Yi Luo, a co-author of the study says. “They are not the best choices for catalysts, but it’s only what you’ve got on Mars.”
With its chosen catalyst, the system could produce oxygen from the Martian materials at around - 37℃, demonstrating the chemical reaction could be possible on the cold Martian surface.
Notably, the robot was able to carry out the entire process — analyzing the rock samples, identifying the Jest possible catalyst and producing it without human intervention.
1. What inspired the scientists to design the robot that could extract oxygen?| A．Surviving on the Earth. | B．Trips to Mars. |
| C．Traveling on the Moon. | D．Water shortage. |
| A．The existence of water and catalyst on Mars. | B．The oxygen that Mars’ atmosphere contains. |
| C．The scientists’ previous study on meteorites. | D．The low cost of “AI chemist”. |
| A．The finding of six elements. | B．The advantages of the robots. |
| C．The process of producing oxygen. | D．The formation of the meteorites. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. | C．Favorable. | D．Indifferent. |
【推荐2】Most able-bodied people take their ability to perform simple daily tasks for granted — when they reach for a warm cup of coffee, they can feel its weight and temperature and adjust their grasp accordingly so that no liquid is spilled. People with full sensory and motor control of their arms and hands can feel that they’ve made contact with an object the instant they touch or grasp it, allowing them to start moving or lifting it with confidence.
But those tasks become much more difficult when a person operates an artificial arm, let alone a mind-controlled one.
In a paper published in Science, a team of bio engineers from the University of Pittsburgh describe how adding brain stimulation that generates tactile (触觉的) sensations makes it easier for the operator to use a brain-controlled robotic arm. In the experiment, combining vision with artificial tactile feedback cut the time spent grasping and moving objects in half, from 20.9 to 10.2 seconds.
Study participant Nathan Copeland, who was left with limited use of his arms after a car crash, is the first person in the world who was implanted with tiny electrode arrays (电极阵列) in his brain. Arrays allow him to not only control the robotic arm with his mind, but also to receive tactile feedback.
In a series of tests, where Copeland was asked to pick up and move various objects from a table to a raised platform, providing tactile feedback through electrical stimulation allowed him to complete tasks twice as fast compared to tests without stimulation.
“Even though the sensation isn’t natural, that never bothers me,” said Copeland.
“When even limited and imperfect sensation is restored, the person’s performance improved in a pretty significant way. We still have a long way to go in terms of making the sensations more realistic and bringing this technology to people’s homes, but the closer we can get to recreating the normal inputs to the brain, the better off we will be,” said Robert Gaunt, co-senior author of the study.
1. What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 1?| A．The value of being healthy. | B．The importance of the sense of touch. |
| C．The simplicity of daily tasks. | D．The advantages of able-bodied people. |
| A．To allow him to feel the objects. | B．To improve his test performance. |
| C．To connect his senses of sight and touch. | D．To stimulate him to complete more tasks. |
| A．It’s unreliable. | B．It’s promising. |
| C．It’s perfect. | D．It’s theoretical. |
| A．Application of Biotechnology in Medical Care. |
| B．Restoration of Lost Sensations Proves Possible. |
| C．Development of Mind-Controlled Robotic Arms. |
| D．Sense of Touch Improves Control of a Robotic Arm. |
【推荐3】There are already computer vision systems and sensor-equipped gloves that can detect a person’s hand gestures. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have developed an alternative technology, however, that offers some key advantages.
Computer vision systems not only require the users to have their hand clearly visible at all times, but they also raise privacy concerns, particularly if the person's face is visible in the video. Electronic gloves, on the other hand may be clumsy to handle or use and not practical in all situations.
With these limitations in mind, a team of UC Berkeley researchers developed a computer chip-equipped thin-film armband that is wrapped around the user's forearm. That person starts out by performing a number of hand gestures, one at a time. As they do so, electrical sensors in the band detect nerve signals at 64 points within the arm. This data is used to train a custom artificial intelligence-based algorithm(算法) that learns which signal patterns accompany which gestures.
When the user makes one of those gestures later on-or even thinks about doing so-the system is able to determine which one it is, by matching its distinct nerve signal pattern up with one that it’s already learned. It is currently able to recognize 21 different gestures, including a fist, a thumbs-up, a flat hand, holding up individual fingers and counting off numbers.
Importantly, the algorithm automatically updates what it's been taught, so it can compensate for new variables such as sweat on the arm, or the arm being held in an unusual position. Additionally, all of the processing takes place within the chip, so no user data is sent to the cloud.
It is hoped that once developed further, the technology could be utilized in applications such as gesture control of electronic devices, virtual reality, or possibly even the operation of prosthetic(假体的)hands.
1. What is the disadvantage of the computer vision system?| A．It is difficult to operate. | B．It may let out users’ data. |
| C．It is not practical to use. | D．It may be expensive to have. |
| A．By analyzing nerve signals. | B．By counting off numbers. |
| C．By tracking users’ habit. | D．By reading arms’ position. |
| A．The system. | B．The nerve signal. |
| C．The computer. | D．The signal pattern. |
| A．Researchers have found some faults on sensor equipment. |
| B．High-tech armband has replaced traditional sensor systems. |
| C．High-tech armband detects users’ hand gestures in a better way. |
| D．Researchers have found more applications for armband sensors. |
【推荐1】Fatou Bah Bah, who graduated from Coventry University with a first class honors degree last year, was presented with her award at a ceremony in the Houses of Parliament.
Fatou was recognized by the Universal Peace Federation, an interfaith (跨信仰的) peace-building organization, not only for her academic accomplishments but also her commitment to global justice. In 2017, while still studying for her first degree, Fatou co-founded Ebou Mala Children's Charitable Foundation (EMCCF). EMCCF helps deprived children in underdeveloped countries like The Gambia by providing them with support to get a better education and access to better healthcare.
Commenting on receiving the Young Achievement Award, Fatou said: “Receiving the Young Achievement Award shows that hard work and determination pay off. I am grateful to staff at Coventry University who gave me support and resources I needed, especially with English not being my first language, and without that I would not have achieved what I have. Coventry University has made a big impact on what I am today. It has helped me grow in confidence, develop team work and leadership skills.”
Fatou plans to return to Coventry University to start the next stage of her academic career. Fatou will be in the first group of students on the new Global Social Development Management (with Professional Experience) MSC course. The course is designed to develop future managers for social development organizations such as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to promote and develop key management skills using technology fostered through experiential learning.
1. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to “deprived” in paragraph 2?| A．Sensitive. | B．Clumsy. | C．Delighted. | D．Disadvantaged. |
| A．Hard work and determination will doubtlessly pay off. |
| B．Fatou owes her achievements mainly to Coventry University. |
| C．Coventry University has made a limited impact on Fatou. |
| D．Fatou is awarded for her academice accomplishments. |
| A．Coventry University awards Fatou for her achievements. |
| B．Coventry graduate receives “Young Achievement Award”. |
| C．Fatou Bah Bah is awarded for devotion to social justice. |
| D．Fatou Bah Bah expresses appreciation to Coventry University. |
【推荐2】Many people who live on Norway’s far-northern island of Sommaroey are campaigning to go “time-free”. They note that between May and July, the sun does not set there for 69 days.
To enjoy the bright summer months, they would like to ignore traditional business hours. For example, stores would be open when people are there to work at them. Schools would operate when teachers and students are ready. Kjell Ove Hveding is one of the local leaders of the campaign. He said the 350 people who live on the island already go mostly time-free. He said that in the summer at 2 in the morning, you might see children playing soccer, people painting their houses or mowing their lawns, and teens going for a swim.
To show their feelings about time, many islanders take off their watches. They leave them on a bridge that connects the island to the mainland.
Earlier this month, Hveding met with a Norwegian lawmaker. Hveding presented a formal request signed by people who live on the island. The request asked the government to declare the area a “time-free zone”.
Hveding noted that he understands going completely time-free would be too complex in a world that operates on schedules. And，as an article in the Smithsonian magazine says，people’s health depends on keeping a usual rhythm of being asleep and being awake.
But Hveding argues that letting go of time limits can also be good for people. He said the time- free proposal would permit the islanders to get used to the daylight and feel calmer. The idea is also to chill out”he said，”I have seen people suffering from stress because they were pressed by time. “
1. Paragraph 2 is mainly about people’s ways to .| A．work during summer. | B．spend business hours. |
| C．enjoy time-free months. | D．entertain during summer. |
| A．It was put forward by a lawmaker. | B．It was approved by the islanders. |
| C．It was rejected by the government. | D．It was about a “trade-free zone”. |
| A．To prove going time-free would be beneficial to the islanders. |
| B．To show the article’s view in the magazine is wrong. |
| C．To introduce the lifestyle of the islanders. |
| D．To present peopled suffering from time pressure. |
| A．A news report. | B．A geography book. |
| C．A health magazine. | D．A travel brochure. |
“I have two kids in college, and I want to say ‘come home,’ but at the same time I want to provide them with a good education,” says Jacobs.
The Jacobs family did work out a solution: They asked and received more aid from the schools, and each son increased his borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan (贷款) program. They will each graduate with $20,000 of debt, but at least they will be able to finish school.
With unemployment rising, financial aid administrators(管理者) expect to hear more families like the Jacobs. More students are applying for aid, and more families expect to need student loans. College administrators are concerned that they will not have enough aid money to go around.
At the same time, tuition（学费）continues to rise. A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college tuition and fees increased 439% from 1982 to 2007, while average family income rose just 147%. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade,
“If we go on this way for another 25years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” says Patrick M. Callan, president of the center. “The middle class families have been financing it through debt. They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt.”
Financial aid administrators have been having a hard time as many companies decide that student loans are not profitable enough and have stopped making them. The good news, however, is that federal loans account for about three quarters of student borrowing, and the government says that money will flow uninterrupted.
1. How did the Jacobs manage to solve their problem?
| A．They asked their kids to come home. |
| B．They borrowed $20,000 from the school. |
| C．They encouraged their twin sons to do part-time jobs. |
| D．They got help from the school and the federal government. |
| A．more families will face the same problem as the Jacobs |
| B．the government will receive more letters of complaint |
| C．college tuition fees will double soon |
| D．America’s unemployment will fall |
| A．They blamed the government for the tuition increase. |
| B．Their income remained steady in the last decade. |
| C．They will try their best to send kids to college. |
| D．Their debts will be paid off within 25 years. |
| A．provide most students will scholarships |
| B．dismiss some financial aid administrators |
| C．stop the companies from making student loans |
| D．go on providing financial support for college students |
【推荐1】Eric Ashby’s fascination with nature began at an early age. His first article, Bird Photography: an Ideal Hobby for Boys, was published when he was just 16 and illustrated with photographs that he’d taken.
His interest in photography had been sparked four years earlier in 1930, when the wildlife photographer Cherry Kearton came to Southsea, Ashby’s home town, to present a show of his work. The 12-year-old Ashby saw the show and immediately started saving his pocket money to buy a camera for filming wildlife in the nearby New Forest. But Ashby’s films did not reach the public due to the World War II.
In 1953, he and his wife Eileen moved to Badger (獾) Cottage, in the heart of the New Forest. It was here that Ashby perfected the techniques that would make him famous through the new medium of television. His patience and technical knowledge allowed him to film badgers at their holes during daylight — the first time this behaviour had ever been captured on camera.
In 1961, at the age of 43, Ashby finally got his big break, when the BBC showed his 45-minute film The Unknown Forest. The film had taken four years to make and received a very positive response from viewers. The nature writer Richard Mabey was hugely impressed and remarked that the film “changed the standards for home-grown wildlife documentaries”.
After the film was shown, he was given the nickname “the silent watcher”. The nickname not only stuck, it became the title of his second film.
In 1963, Ashby made the first British wildlife film in colour, although it took four years before The Major appeared in its full glory, as the BBC did not broadcast (播放) in colour until 1967.
He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society’s Cherry Kearton Medal and Award in 1975 and in 1992 received an MBE. He died, aged 85, on 6 February 2003, but his legacy lives on.
1. What does the underlined word “sparked” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．Revived. | B．Inspired. | C．Assessed. | D．Increased. |
| A．Unique scenes and the new medium TV. | B．Animal knowledge and new standards. |
| C．The positive response from viewers. | D．The recommendation from a nature writer. |
| A．The Major took Ashby 4 years to make. | B．The Major was not broadcast on BBC. |
| C．The Major was another success for Ashby. | D．The Major was the first color film in the UK. |
| A．An Award Winner | B．A Silent Watcher | C．The Life of a Badger | D．The Story in a Forest |
【推荐2】In the digital age, opportunities are arising for everyone. However, only those putting plans into action can stay ahead. Alexandr Wang is one such example.
Los Alamos National Laboratory was where Alexandr spent his childhood. Both his parents were physicists there. Alexandr, from a young age, had a sharp mind. As a kid, he was regarded as a math wizard (奇才) and competed in national math and computer competitions. Finishing high school, Alexandr entered MIT where machine learning and AI amazed him. He saw the potential (潜力) of AI, and was excited about how it could change the world. But it wasn’t making a real impact. His ambition to set up a company in that field was seeded then.
At 17, he got the role of tech lead at Quora and dropped out of MIT. “I told my parents it was just going to be a thing I did for the summer. Obviously, it wasn’t,” Alexandr said. Surely, his parents were disappointed. They all knew he made that change filled with unexpected risks. But Alexandr said, “If you aren’t willing to take a risk now, then when?” Alexandr met Lucy Guo at Quora, with whom Alexandr founded Scale AI, which turned out to be a considerable success.
In fact, at that time, there were various opportunities in the tech world. It was hard to decide which road they should go down. Then he and his team decided to take a different approach—instead of following diverse paths, they agreed to focus on one. They went with “imagery, computer vision and other kinds of sensor data”. And that is what made the company’s profits rise quickly. Scale AI has a net worth of about $7.3 billion at present, with Alexandr being the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
When asked lessons he’d like to share with founders, Alexandr stated there are a number of things. “The top one is always doing things that go with your values and how you want to build a company at the beginning. When you talk to investors (投资者) they’ll contribute advice that may go against your goal. Figure out your focus and what gets you started.”
1. What inspired Alexandr to build Scale Al?| A．The work at Quora. | B．His experiences at university. |
| C．The influence of his parents. | D．His talent for math and computer. |
| A．The key to the success of Scale AI. | B．Challenges of Alexandr’s career. |
| C．Alexandr’s great achievements. | D．The process of founding Scale Al |
| A．Stick to one particular direction. | B．Keep an open mind on suggestions. |
| C．Remain true to the original aim. | D．Find a friend to start a company. |
| A．Clever and generous. | B．Bravery and outgoing. |
| C．Ambitious and sociable. | D．Adventurous and determined. |
【推荐3】Mary Engle Pennington was the greatest authority on refrigeration in the early twentieth century. Over the course of a 40-year career, Pennington changed the way Americans transported and stored food.
Pennington was born on October 8, 1872. At age 12, her interest in science began when she read a library book on medical chemistry. In 1890, she enrolled in (登记入学) Towne Scientific School. In two years, she completed the requirements for a bachelor’s degree. Pennington received her PhD in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1895. Then she spent two more years at the University of Pennsylvania studying chemical botany.
In 1901, she founded the Philadelphia Clinical Laboratory, where she conducted bacteriological and chemical research. In 1904, Pennington headed the lab for the Philadelphia Department of Health and Charities. She examined all phases (阶段) of milk production.
Because of public demand for safer products, the US government passed the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. Harvey W. Wiley, chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), sought to fill the new position of first chief of USDA’s new Food Research Laboratory. Wiley knew who he wanted for the job. He persuaded Pennington to take a civil service exam. After receiving the highest score, Pennington was hired.
While working at the lab as a bacteriological chemist, Pennington developed standards for inspecting milk and preserving dairy products. She invented new methods for transporting eggs. The Food Research Laboratory set standards for federal laws in the cold-storage industry.
In 1917, the United States entered World War I. The War Food Administration transported food to troops by railroad cars and needed help keeping the food fresh. They asked Pennington for help. She measured temperatures and investigated the construction of the crude (简陋的) refrigeration methods on hundreds of train cars. After crossing the United States over 500 times, Pennington was able to improve the design and efficiency of refrigerated railway boxcar. For her service during the war, Pennington received a Notable Service Medal in 1919.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?| A．Pennington’s educational background. | B．Pennington’s pioneering research. |
| C．Pennington’s working conditions. | D．Pennington’s happy childhood. |
| A．She was the best chemist. | B．She was a good cooperator. |
| C．She was good at taking exams. | D．She was qualified as the head of a lab. |
| A．She drew up an important act. |
| B．She designed the first refrigerated boxcar. |
| C．She examined all phases of milk production. |
| D．She set standards for the food storage industry. |
| A．Her contribution during the war. | B．Her discovery of rare bacteria. |
| C．Her invention of refrigerators. | D．Her donation to charities. |
