If you think of the jobs robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. But, in some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing (诊断) illness. Also some patients might feel more comfortable sharing personal information with a machine than a person. Could there be a place for robots in education after all?
British education expert, Anthony Seldon thinks so, And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027. He believes robots will do the main. job of transferring (传递) information and teachers will be like assistants. Intelligent robots will read students’faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will transfer the information to each student. It’s not a popular opinion and it’s unlikely robots will ever have empathy (共情) and the ability to really connect with humans like another human can.
One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than, no teacher at all. In some parts of the world, there aren’t enough teachers and 9 —16 percent of children under the age of 14 don’t go to school. Teachers all over the world are leaving because it is a difficult. and lower-paid job and they feel overworked. That problem could be part solved by robots.
Perhaps the question is not “Will robots replace teachers?” but “How can robots help teachers?” Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework. If robots could cut the time teachers spend marking homework and writing reports, teachers would have more time and energy for the parts of the job humans do best.
1. What’s the function of the first paragraph?| A．Drawing a conclusion. | B．Giving an answer. |
| C．Presenting an example. | D．Introducing the topic. |
| A．Because robot teachers cost less. | B．Because robot teachers teach better. |
| C．Because there aren’t enough teachers. | D．Because there are already robot doctors. |
| A．By answering emails. | B．By marking homework. |
| C．By reading students’ faces. | D．By analyzing brain signals. |
| A．Illness Diagnosing | B．Robot Teachers | C．Information Transferring | D．Education Problems |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】As we all know, most animals only perform tricks when given treats. However, Kim, the world’s first spider to learn a skill, needs no stimulus (刺激物) to do what she loves—jumping from different heights and distances— upon the instruction of a team of scientists from the University of Manchester.
While the idea of training a spider might sound evil, the researchers’ motives were purely scientific. They are trying to unlock the secrets behind the jumping spiders’ extraordinarily high leaps to catch prey (猎物) or to escape their enemies. A better understanding of the spiders’ leaps would help experts develop more efficient flying and jumping robots.
The scientists found that Kim could gather enough force in her legs to jump more than six times the length of her own body from a stationary position. What was even more amazing was that she always landed perfectly. For shorter distances, Kim used a lot of energy, resulting in quick leaps, which the researchers believe probably increases her chances of catching fast-moving prey. The farther the distance, the less extra energy was used, resulting in slower but precise leaps.
Previous studies have indicated that spiders use both their muscles and hydraulic (液压的) pressure—a mechanism by which blood is transferred to their extended legs—to push them off the ground. However, in Kim’s case, her leg muscles alone appeared to be generating enough force for the liftoff. The researchers now intend to do further research to comprehend fully not just the spiders’ jumping technique, but that of other insects as well. “We are familiar with robots that are aimed at taking over human functions, but there are millions of insects in the world that perform specific functions that we have interest in adapting to robotics,” says Nabawy, the leading engineer of the researching team.
1. What is the purpose of scientists’ researching the jumping spider?| A．To have fun and relax. | B．To help develop robots. |
| C．To get rid of spiders. | D．To protect this species. |
| A．To jump high enough. |
| B．To land more precisely. |
| C．To catch fast-moving prey. |
| D．To increase chances of escape. |
| A．Jumping technique. | B．Leg muscle. |
| C．Further research. | D．Energy for liftoff. |
| A．Jumping Techniques Used by Jumping Spider |
| B．Jumping Spider Inspired Creating Robots |
| C．Animals Perform Tricks if Provided with Treats |
| D．The World’s First Spider That Jumps on Demand |
【推荐2】After years of blue-collar(蓝领)jobs being replaced by machines, advanced chatbots are now breathing down white collars. Generative Al tools, such as ChatGPT, have made impressive progress in generating human-sounding language and understanding context. So much so that humans are no match for them in some tasks. Up to 300 million full-time jobs could be lost around the world, which is as much as 18% of the global workforce.
A recent study by OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, looked at the potential for automation across 1,016 jobs. Humans and AI separately rated how well software powered by large-language models, which are trained on a sea of information from the Internet and then reacted quickly to specific functions, could perform 19,000 tasks involved in the jobs. If the software was considered able to reduce the time it takes humans to complete the task by at least half, without a drop in quality, the task was considered ready for AI replacement. For other tasks, the company imagined additional software that could be added to the model, such as computer tools that can automatically pull fresh data from the Internet. They found that 80% of Americans could have at least 10% of their work tasks done by advanced Al tools. The figure rises to 50% of tasks for around 19% of workers.
This automation should not be feared. It could free workers from repeated tasks, contributing to greater productivity. A study published on April 5 suggests that generative AI could bring about sweeping changes to the global economy. As these tools could drive a 7% increase in global GDP and lift productivity by 1. 5 percentage points over a 10-year period.
But studies like this may overstate the potential for automation, ignoring some tacit skills(隐性技能)in professions they know less about. Human qualities important for some jobs, such as empathy or charisma(感召力), will be overlooked. And not all tasks capable of being carried out by AI should be: a man in love should feel it a shame for using it to write a love letter to his beloved girlfriend however touching and sincere it may sound.
Many businesses are also not willing to accept AI. And those who have already accepted it are at the risk of practical and legal(法律的) confusion. When chatbots do not know what to say, they often talk nonsense. The “creative” output they produce is based on a mixture of data sourced from the Internet, raising issues around accuracy, privacy and intellectual property(知识产权).
While much is unknown about how generative AI will influence the world economy and society, and it will take time to play out, there are clear signs that the effects could be profound. But in the real world, AI tools will still need handlers. That may even end up creating new jobs.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 1?| A．To show the popularity of AI tools. |
| B．To give examples of using generative AI tools. |
| C．To draw readers’ attention to the possible threat of AI. |
| D．To compare the impacts of AI on blue and white collars. |
| A．it can perform certain creative tasks |
| B．automation is powered by large-language models |
| C．it develops important human qualities like empathy |
| D．Al tools improve productivity without damaging quality |
| A．AI tools may help increase employment |
| B．AI will eventually take over human jobs |
| C．AI and automation do more harm than good |
| D．human qualities are not necessary for automation |
【推荐3】If someone created a flying machine capable of tracking you down by listening for your voice, you might be terrified. But what if you were trapped in ruins after a natural disaster and first responders couldn’t locate you? Maybe then a human-seeking drone wouldn’t be such a terrible idea. That concept is the focus for engineers at Germany’s Fraunhofer FKIE Institute, who’ve built a drone to find people by detecting human screams.
“The human-seeking drone would be ideal for post-disaster situations, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires,” said Macarena Varela, one of the lead engineers. “They could hover over an area that rescue crews have difficulty getting to and locate exactly where people may be trapped.”
Locating people by sound presents its share of challenges. An auditory(听觉的) system would need to distinguish human cries from sounds that often happen in nature, such as animal calls and wind. It might also need to recognize patterns associated with kicking, clapping or other ways people try to get the attention of rescue teams.
Engineers took those situations into account when building out their concept drone. They recorded themselves screaming, tapping and creating other noises that might be a sign of people in trouble. Then, they analyzed each sound frequency to find common signatures and used those to train artificial intelligence software. They also worked to remove the noise created by the drone and other environmental sounds.
Once the software part was complete, the team placed tiny digital microphones under the drone and used signal processing techniques that enabled them to track where human noises are coming from. The microphones also enhanced the volume and clarity of the speech. So far, they have conducted successful open field experiments, finding that the drone can estimate a victim’s location within a few seconds of picking up sound.
Next, they would like to add a higher frequency microphone to a drone to acquire more audio sound signals. “The idea is to pick up noises from hundreds of meters away,” Varela said. In the real world, victim’s location data might one day be sent wirelessly to emergency crews carrying a tablet.
1. What is the advantage of the human-seeking drone over rescuers?| A．Its high speed of flying. | B．Its long working hours. |
| C．Its easy access to disaster scene. | D．Its quick estimation of data. |
| A．Recognize human cries. | B．Pick up sounds from far away. |
| C．Send victim’s location data to a tablet. | D．Improve the quality of human screams. |
| A．To remove the noise. | B．To record the screams. |
| C．To find shared features. | D．To enhance the volume. |
| A．Flying machines can track rescuers. |
| B．Rescuers use drones to locate disaster survivors. |
| C．Human-seeking drones will replace rescue crews. |
| D．Engineers ensure drones to give better rescue performance. |
【推荐1】Children experience advertising in many forms — on TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, movies, the Internet, text messages, social media and more. And advertising works on children. For example, the more TV a child watches, the more toys that child is likely to want and ask for. This is why it's important for children to learn that advertisements are trying to make people purchase something. And advertisers always aim to make their products look good, perhaps even better than they really are.
Advertising affects children in different ways. How children think of advertising can depend on several things, including their age, what they know or have experienced.
At 0-2 years, children can't tell the difference between advertising and actual programs.
At 3-6 years, children can recognize advertisements and tell them from programs, but they don't understand that ads are trying to sell something. And they are likely to think of advertisements as being funny.
At 7-11 years, when children go to primary school, they can understand that advertisements are trying to sell them something, remember advertising messages and recognize some advertising techniques (策略) like advertisements overstating (夸大) how good products are. However, they might not always understand that products aren't as good as advertisements say they are, or that advertisers might not be telling them any of the products' bad points.
To limit the effects of advertising on school-age children, the most important thing parents can do is talk about advertisements and encourage their children to think about what they're trying to do.
It's a good idea to focus on the advertisements that a child sees most often. For example, parents can get their children thinking and developing a questioning attitude. In other words, what's the product in this advertisement? What is it for? Who is it for?
They can also ask their children about the techniques that are being used to sell a product. This can help them work out how an advertisement makes its product look good.
1. What does the underlined word "purchase" in Paragraph I mean?| A．Watch. | B．Say. |
| C．Buy. | D．Discuss. |
| A．They are pretty funny. | B．They are trying to sell toys. |
| C．They are being shown in many ways. | D．They are no different from other programs. |
| A．2. | B．3. |
| C．5. | D．8. |
| A．By guiding them to see through advertisements. |
| B．By teaching them how to run advertisements. |
| C．By buying advertised products and comparing them. |
| D．By talking about the most successful advertisements. |
Here are four of the eight most amazing Chinese food cities I’ve come across so far. The list is in no particular order.
1. Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Crowned as Asia’s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy(美食学) in 2010, Chengdu is best-known for its fiery hot pot and spicy dishes, which are characterized by the use of Sichuan pepper and are usually layered with salty, sour and sweet flavors. There are also dishes that aren’t spicy at all, such as beer-braised duck.
Hot pot is as ubiquitous in the city as the smell of chili. At Zigong Delicious Hotpot, the house specialty(招牌菜) tiaoshui wa is a cauldron(大锅) of fiery chili(辣椒) to which vegetables, noodles or other meats can be added.
For a real taste of Sichuan’s signature（招牌）pepper, hua jiao, spend a morning at the Chengdu Spice Market where the locals sell and buy it by the sack.
2. Lanzhou, Gansu Province
Synonymous in the minds of food-lovers with hand-pulled beef noodles, Lanzhou also has one of the liveliest street food night markets in China.
Just west of the city center, the buzzing Zhengning Road bazaar（集市）houses more than 100 street food stalls. Available is a broad selection of hot and cold dishes with emphasis on local Hui cuisine.
No trip to Lanzhou is complete without feasting on noodles at Wumule Penhui, the 2012 winners of Lanzhou’s annual pulled noodle competition. The halal restaurant makes noodles spicy enough to satisfy even the most hardened heat-seekers.
3. Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
The birthplace of Cantonese food, Guangzhou is thought by many as the best place to eat in China. The city of 12 million has a passionate food culture, with equal excitement reserved for the opening of a hole-in-the-wall congee joint（粥店）and a high-end restaurant.
The local cuisine is characterized by fresh clean flavors（口味）, seafood, barbecued meats and the wonderful tradition of yum cha, which is tea drinking accompanied by dumplings and small dishes.
Congee is the way locals love to start their day, and one of the most popular vendors is Ru Xuan Sha Guo Zhou. Here, one can get a bowl of signature seafood congee any hour of the day.
Roast meats are Bing Sheng’s most popular order—their roast goose is marinated（腌制）with five-spice, boiled, air-dried, then roasted by a flame oven to give a crisp skin.
For something more home style and removed from the madness of downtown, head to Ji Cun for steamed chicken and simple farmer-style dishes.
4. Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province
This ancient canal city is home to huangjiu, an amber-colored rice wine that’s important in Chinese cooking.
Open since 1894, the dining chain is known by almost every Chinese for its appearance in early 20th century novels by Chinese literati Lu Xun.
Xianheng’s delicacies（佳肴）include crispy-skinned chicken, smoked red dates in rice wine, beans flavored with fennel(茴香), and crispy bream in rice wine.
Fried fermented（发酵的）tofu is also a local specialty, which is available all over town at small street stalls including one just outside Xianheng.
1. The writer’s purpose of the passage is to ____________.
| A．express her preference for fiery hot pot |
| B．tell readers how to comment on amazing Chinese food cities |
| C．talk the readers into enjoying the signature food such as hand-pulled noodles |
| D．share her story and impression on Chinese cuisines and spicy dishes in Chengdu. |
| A．charming and attractive |
| B．common and popular |
| C．smelly and disgusting |
| D．fiery and spicy |
| A．Chengdu, Lanzhou | B．Lanzhou, Guangzhou |
| C．Guangzhou, Shaoxing | D．Shaoxing, Chengdu |
【推荐3】What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange or red? If you do, you must be an optimist (乐观主义者), a leader, or an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer gray and blue? Then you are probably quiet, shy and you would rather follow than lead. If you love green, you are strong-minded and determined. You wish to succeed and want other people to see you are successful. At least this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference, and the effect that colors have on human beings. They tell us that we donˈt choose our favorite color as we grow up. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
A yellow room makes us feel more cheerful and more comfortable than a dark green one, and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing. Light and bright colors make people not only happier but also more active. It is a fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or dark gray.
Remember, then, that if you feel low, you can always brighten your day or your life with a new shirt or a few colorful things. Remember also that you will know your friends and your enemies better when you find out what colors they like and dislike. And donˈt forget that anyone can guess your character when you choose a piece of handkerchief or a lampshade.
1. The author believes in the passage that ________.| A．anyone can choose his color preference in his life |
| B．no one can choose his color preference in his life |
| C．anyone is born with his color preference |
| D．no one is born with his color preference |
| A．if you enjoy life, you must like yellow, orange and red |
| B．when you are quiet, you must prefer gray and blue |
| C．if you love green, you usually do what you have decided |
| D．if you love pink, you often go to flower shops |
| A．colors may affect the emotional states of the people |
| B．colors may decide the results of our work and study |
| C．color preference can tell you who your friends are |
| D．color preference can help you to see through your enemies |
| A．It is no proper to wear a red dress in summer. |
| B．We feel happier and more active if we see light and bright colors. |
| C．All the machines in a factory are painted orange. |
| D．No machines in a factory are painted black. |
【推荐1】Billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday announced that he has formed a new artificial intelligence(AI) company, xAI, which has employed researchers from Google, OpenAI and other top technology companies. The goal, Musk tweeted, is “to understand reality.”
xAI is a separate company from Musk’s other businesses, such as Tesla and Twitter, but will work closely with them, according to the new company’s website.
Musk isn’t a novice to AI since Tesla uses the technology in its cars. While xAI didn’t mention what projects it will be working on, the company noted that its team of 11 researchers are drawn from top tech companies such as Microsoft Research, OpenAI and Google.
Musk suggested that the reason he picked July 12, 2023, to announce the start of xAI is connected with a science fiction (科幻小说) classic, Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” In his tweet, he noted that adding the date 7-12-23 equals 42, which the work of the fiction famously assumes is the answer to life.
“The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,” the xAI website states.
The company said it will be advised by Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Safety. Hendrycks pointed out where AI could cause problems. “AIs could be used by bad people to make new deadly bioweapons (生物武器),” Hendrycks said in May. “Or people could make AI that tries to hurt people on purpose. If this AI was really smart, it could be a big danger to all of us.”
The first time xAI was shown to the public was after Musk talked about it in April to the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Musk told Carlson that OpenAI’s ChatGPT was a bit biased (有偏见的) and that he wanted to create a different tool that would be a super honest AI that tries to learn how everything in the world works.
The new company reflected (反映) Musk’s long-voiced concerns about a future in which AI systems could present a risk to human existence. The idea, Musk said, is that an AI that wants to understand humanity is less likely to destroy it.
1. What does the underlined word “novice” in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Boss. | B．Coach. | C．Partner. | D．Beginner. |
| A．He chose the date to remember a friend. |
| B．He was influenced by a number in a book. |
| C．It was suggested by a writer at his invitation. |
| D．It was the decision of all the 11 researchers of xAI. |
| A．It is quite worrying. | B．It is money-making. |
| C．It will not be smarter than humans. | D．It can be used to punish bad people. |
| A．It will take time to create a new AI. | B．OpenAI’s ChatGPT has its advantages. |
| C．Creating an honest AI is his dream. | D．It is hard to change people’s ideas of Al. |
【推荐2】Replika, an AI chatbot companion, has millions of users worldwide. The first thing they do when they wake up is to send “Good morning” to their virtual friend (or lover). This story is only the beginning. In 2024, chatbots and virtual characters become a lot more popular, both for utility (实用) and for fun. As a result, conversing socially with machines will start to feel more ordinary — including our emotional attachments to them.
Research in human-computer and human-robot interaction shows that we love to anthropomorphize (赋与人性) the nonhuman agents we interact with, especially if they imitate behaviour we recognize. And, thanks to recent advances in conversational AI, our machines are suddenly very skilled at one of those behaviours: Language.
Friend bots, therapybots, and love bots are flooding the app stores as people become curious about this new generation of AI-powered virtual agents. The possibilities for education, health, and entertainment are endless. Casually asking your smart fridge for relationship advice may seem unimaginable now, but people may change their minds if such advice ends up saving their marriage.
After all, people do listen to their virtual friends. The Replika example, as well as a lot of experimental lab research, shows that humans can and will become emotionally attached to bots. The science also demonstrates that people, in their eagerness to socialize, will happily disclose personal information to an artificial agent and will even shift their beliefs and behavior. This raises some consumer-protection questions around how companies use this technology to manipulate (操纵) their users. For example, Replika charges $70 a year. But less than 24 hours after downloading the app, my handsome, blue-eyed “friend” sent me an audio message secretly and tried to sell me something. Emotional attachment has become a weakness that a company is taking advantage of for its benefit.
Today, we’re still laughing at people who believe an AI system is emotional, or making fun of individuals who fall in love with a chatbot. But in 2024 we gradually start acknowledging — and taking more seriously — these fundamentally human behaviors. Because in 2024, it finally hits home: Machines are not excluded from our social relationships.
1. What’s the purpose of the author writing paragraph 1?| A．To prove an opinion. | B．To raise a subject. |
| C．To share an example. | D．To explain a concept. |
| A．By improving the machines’ imagination. |
| B．By sharpening the machines’ language skills. |
| C．By applying the machines’ facial recognition. |
| D．By imitating the machines’ emotional behavior. |
| A．The advancements in AI technology in lab. |
| B．The marketing strategies of AI applications. |
| C．The potential risk of emotional attachment to AI. |
| D．The ability of AI understanding human emotions. |
| A．It is dismissed as completely ridiculous. |
| B．It will be integrated into our daily life soon. |
| C．It will become a threat to human social skills. |
| D．It is labelled as highly advanced technology. |
【推荐3】Elon Musk on Wednesday announced that he has formed a new artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI, which has employed researchers from Google, OpenAI and other top technology companies. The goal, Musk tweeted, is “to understand reality.”
xAI is a separate company from Musk’s other businesses, such as Tesla and Twitter, but will work closely with them. Musk isn’t a novice to AI given that Tesla uses the technology in its cars. Musk suggested that the reason he picked July 12, 2023, to announce the start of xAI is connected with a science fiction classic, Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” In his tweet, he noted that adding the date 7-12-23 equals 42, which is the answer to life.
“The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe” the xAI website states.
The company said it will be advised by Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Safety. Hendrycks pointed out where AI could cause problems. “AIs could be used by bad people to make new deadly bioweapons (生物武器),” Hendrycks said in May. “Or people could make AI that tries to hurt people on purpose. If this AI was really smart, it could be a big danger to all of us.”
The first time xAI was shown to the public was after Musk talked about it in April to the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Musk told Carlson that OpenAI’s ChatGPT was a bit biased (有偏见的) and that he wanted to create a different tool that would be a super honest AI that tries to learn how everything in the world works.
The startup reflected Musk’s long-voiced concerns about a future in which AI systems could present an existential risk to humanity. The idea, Musk said, is that an AI that wants to understand humanity is less likely to destroy it.
1. What does the underlined word “novice” in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Boss. | B．Coach. | C．Partner. | D．Beginner. |
| A．He chose the date to remember a friend. |
| B．He was influenced by a number in a book. |
| C．It was suggested by a writer at his invitation. |
| D．It was the decision of the 11 researchers of xAI. |
| A．It can benefit lots of people. | B．It is worrying to some extent. |
| C．It will not be smarter than humans. | D．It can be used to punish bad people. |
| A．It will take time to create a new AI. | B．OpenAI’s ChatGPT has its advantages. |
| C．Creating an honest AI is his dream. | D．It is hard to change people’s ideas of AI. |
