Quantum ( 量子 ) computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor.
For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.”
As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum.
After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum.
The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.”
Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson.
What does the underlined word “prone” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A.Open. | B.Cool. | C.Useful. | D.Resistant. |
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【推荐1】Everyone knows you must exercise regularly to keep good health. Indeed, staying physically fit is a big part of our culture. We consider (or rightly so) that healthy people are attractive people. Since most of us want to be attractive, there is no shortage of exercise clubs, training videos, magazines and books offering to help us stay physically fit.
Unfortunately, however, our culture doesn’t place the same emphasis on mental fitness. Although we tend to like men and women with strong, healthy-looking bodies, we don’t have the same degree of respect or attraction for smart, educated, mentally healthy people. This is a pity, because there are great rewards for people who have developed the ability to think well.
If your mind is well trained and flexible, you will be able to understand a great deal of what happens around you. And if you are also well educated-that is, if you understand basic science, mathematics, music, art, literature, history and so on—you will find it much easier to make good decisions throughout your life. Over the long run, this leads to a sense of control over your destiny (命运) and a much better life than otherwise (in another way).
People who are poorly educated or who don’t think well—that is, people who are not mentally fit—see things differently. Their world is controlled by mysterious, often malevolent (恶意的) forces. Such people live within a system they will never master, forced to follow rules they will never understand. Although it may not be obvious, most spend their lives being manipulated (控制) by others. They are told what to do, what to think, how to spend their money, and what they should and should not aspire (渴望) to in life.
In my opinion, if you want to live well, you must be able to use your mind well. For this reason, I want you to be able to concentrate, to solve problems, to understand complex ideas, and to think clearly and quickly. Such skills will make it easier for you to make informed decisions, understand current events, choose good friends, manage your money well, make wise long-term decisions and appreciate music, art and literature.
The key to developing such skills is to enjoy learning, and to have the ability and motivation to teach yourself.
The writer of this passage thinks those who are not mentally fit______.A.live a poor and mysterious life |
B.enjoy being fooled and ruled |
C.often do what others do |
D.can’t control over their life |
anxiety | embarrassed | pretend | plot | facial |
psychological | mood | energised | well-being | enhance |
There have been many studies which show the
Surprisingly, even the
So, remember to laugh and smile as much as possible in order to
【推荐3】They discovered that the upper and lower front teeth of ancient human adults were aligned (对齐), making it hard to produce labiodentals, which are formed by touching the lower lip to the upper teeth. Later, our jaws changed to an overbite structure (结构), making it easier to produce such sounds.
Why was it difficult for ancient human adults to produce labiodentals?A.They had fewer upper teeth than lower teeth. |
B.They could not open and close their lips easily. |
C.Their jaws were not conveniently structured. |
D.Their lower front teeth were not large enough. |
【推荐1】We may think we’re a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices (装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment — and our wallets — as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.
What does the author think of new devices?
A.They are environmentfriendly. |
B.They are no better than the old. |
C.They cost more to use at home. |
D.They go out of style quickly. |
【推荐2】New York-based Ecovative has been creating environmentally friendly packaging made from mushrooms and agricultural waste since 2009. Now, the company wants to bring their amazing material into homes and offices with a new line of compostable (可堆肥的) furnishings that are grown using just three materials: mycelium (the vegetative part of mushrooms), hemp (麻类植物), and salt.
While creating hard material from mushrooms might sound magical, the company’s CEO Eben Bayer says it is a relatively low-tech process and compares it to “making bread”. The company begins by adding a few mycelium cells to damp hemp or other agricultural waste.
The mycelium that grows like little hairs is allowed to twist with the waste until everything is “glued” together. The combination is then mixed again and placed into the desired mold (模具) where it continues to grow and harden. The resulting material is then baked in the oven. In addition to making it as strong as wood, the heat also kills the mycelium, thus giving the compostable material a similar shelf life to wood.
Also, though the table tops of the stylish Tafl and King’s tables released at the recently held Biofabricate 2016 conference in New York City resemble marble, they are far from it. The perfectly carved blocks are made of a material grown by a North Carolina-based company named bioMASON using grains of sands and bacteria.
As you have probably guessed, this waste-free furniture does not come cheap. Customers can expect to pay anywhere from $249 USD for the Tafl to $699 USD for the King’s table, both of which are only available in limited quantities. Those that cannot afford those prices can choose cheaper GIY (grow it yourself) ones made of various products ranging from Christmas tree decorations to lamp shades.
What is the best title for the text?
A.The Invention of New Kinds of Furniture |
B.The First Sale of Furniture Made of Mushrooms |
C.Scientists Found New Material to Make Furniture |
D.Future Furniture May Be Grown from Mushrooms |
【推荐3】Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its new flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle —named the Transition – has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. The Transition, which flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes last month, can reach around 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air. It flies using a 23-gallon tank of gas and burns 5 gallons per hour in the air. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon.
Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279,000.And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.
Inventors have been trying to make flying cars since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry expert. But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already permitted the company to use special materials to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The Transition is now going through crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.
Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft, which are lower than those for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a requirement pilots would find relatively easy to meet.
What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A.The basic data of the Transition. |
B.The advantages of flying cars. |
C.The potential market for flying cars. |
D.The designers of the Transition. |
【推荐1】Will skipping breakfast make me fat?
The good news for those who don’t have breakfast is that putting on weight isn’t inevitable —as long as you control those high-calorie desires and stay active.
Research shows that although avoiding breakfast will make you hungrier and you might make up for that with a bigger lunch, this won’t necessarily make you “fatter” — on average, those who skip breakfast don’t eat more across the whole day than if they didn’t skip it. Some researchers have found that you may even eat fewer calories overall, and end up using your body’s fat reserves for energy, which can actually help you lose weight.
However, weight isn’t the only consideration: studies show that breakfast-skippers are likely to exercise less. This may be because they have lower energy levels-after eight hours or so without food, the body will have used up most of its stores of easy-to-access energy during sleep. Morning fasters are also more likely to have unhealthy, but appetite-suppressing habits, such as smoking or drinking a lot of coffee.
If you want to ensure that you eat a regular, nutritious breakfast, try preparing it the night before don’t leave it until the morning, when your brain struggles to make good decisions.
If you do skip breakfast. . .
■Don’t make up for it with a huge lunch, otherwise you’ll suffer overeating.
■Make sure you eat something before you exercise, or you risk “hitting the wall”.
■Don’t make up for lack of energy with coffee-it can make you lose your appetite and make you anxious and nervous.
What does the underlined word “inevitable” mean in Paragraph 2?
A.Unbelievable. | B.Unavoidable. | C.Uncomfortable. | D.Unbearable. |
A. The main cause for animals and disappearing is often a disruption (扰乱) to die food chain due to hunting, habitat loss or even the introduction of invasive species.
B. With rising awareness of how we affect the natural environment, hopefully we can learn to protect these food chains and help them to thrive.
C. Nowadays, there are strict rules controlling the movement of animals and plants between countries but some parts of the world are still experiencing problems with invasive species introduced hundreds of years ago.
D. When people first explored the world, they took animal and plant species from their home countries to the places they settled in but they did not realize they were disrupting the natural food chains of the area they explored.
E. Many animals and plants are endangered in the world today, these endangered species are threatened with becoming extinct, meaning they will no longer exist on earth.
【推荐3】In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell taught English as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. He left after seven months, physically broken and having lost his mind. A few years later, still attracted to the country, he returned to Uzbekistan to write an article about the disappearance of the Aral Sea.
His visit, however, ended up involving a lot more than that. Hence this book, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia, which talks about a road trip from Tashkent to Karakalpakstan, where millions of lives have been destroyed by the slow drying up of the sea. It is the story of an American travelling to a strange land, and of the people he meets on his way: Rustam, his translator, a lovely 24-year-old who picked up his colorful English in California, Oleg and Natasha, his hosts in Tashkent, and a string of foreign aid workers.
This is a quick look at life in Uzbekistan, made of friendliness and warmth, but also its darker side of society. In Samarkand, Mr Bissell admires the architectural wonders, while on his way to Bukhara he gets a taste of police methods when suspected of drug dealing. In Ferghana, he attends a mountain funeral (葬礼) followed by a strange drinking party. And in Karakalpakstan, he is saddened by the dust storms, diseases and fishing boats stuck miles from the sea.
Mr Bissell skillfully organizes historical insights and cultural references, making his tale a well-rounded picture of Uzbekistan, seen from Western eyes. His judgment and references are decidedly American, as well as his delicate stomach. As the author explains, this is neither a travel nor a history book, or even a piece of reportage. Whatever it is, the result is a fine and vivid description of the purest of Central Asian traditions.
What is the purpose of this text?
A.To introduce a book. | B.To explain a cultural phenomenon. |
C.To remember a writer. | D.To recommend a travel destination. |
【推荐1】When I was 9, we packed up our home in Los Angeles and arrived at Heathrow, London on a gray January morning. Everyone in the family settled quickly into the city except me. Without my beloved beaches and endless blue—sky days, I felt at a loss and out of place. Until I made a discovery.
Southbank, at an eastern bend in the Thames, is the center of British skateboarding, where the continuous crashing of skateboards left your head ringing .I loved it. I soon made friends with the local skaters. We spoke our own language. And my favorite: Safe. Safe meant cool. It meant hello. It meant don’t worry about it. Once, when trying a certain trick on the beam(横杆), I fell onto the stones, damaging a nerve in my hand, and Toby came over, helping me up: Safe, man. Safe. A few minutes later, when I landed the trick, my friends beat their boards loud, shouting: “ Safe! Safe! Safe!” And that’s what mattered—landing tricks, being a good skater.
When I was 15, my family moved to Washington. I tried skateboarding there, but the locals were far less welcoming. Within a couple of years, I’d given it up.
When I returned to London in 2004, I found myself wandering down to Southbank, spending hours there. I’ve traveled back several times since, most recently this past spring. The day was cold but clear: tourists and Londoners stopped to watch the skaters. Weaving(穿梭)among the kids who rushed by on their boards, I found my way to the beam. Then a rail—thin teenager, in a baggy white T—shirt, skidded(滑)up to the beam. He sat next to me. He seemed not to notice the man next to him. But soon I caught a few of his glances. “I was a local here 20 years ago,” I told him. Then, slowly, he began to nod his head. “Safe, man. Safe.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Safe.”
What do the underlined words “Safe! Safe! Safe!” probably mean?
A.Be careful! | B.Well done! | C.No way! | D.Don’t worry! |
【推荐2】As Ginni Bazlinton reached Antarctica, she found herself greeted by a group of little Gentoo penguins (企鹅) longing to say hello. These gentle, lovely gatekeepers welcomed her and kick-started what was to be a trip Ginni would never forget.
Ever since her childhood, Ginni, now 71, has had a deep love for travel. Throughout her career (职业) as a professional dancer, she toured in the UK, but always longed to explore further. When she retired from dancing and her sons eventually flew the nest, she decided it was time to take the plunge.
Which of the following best explains “take the plunge” underlined in paragraph 2?
A.Try challenging things. | B.Take a degree. |
C.Bring back lost memories. | D.Stick to a promise. |
【推荐3】…“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville. As I got onto Highway 40, blue lights and sirens(警笛) going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway. The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me. He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder.”
The meaning of “panicked” in Paragraph 2 is related to ___________ .
A.shame | B.hate |
C.anger | D.fear |