Over a decade ago, the science fiction series Black Mirror showed a story about using artificial intelligence to bring back loved ones. Thanks to technological advancement, the latest AI technology brings hope of recreating loved ones through virtual form.
Recently, it was revealed that renowned musician Tino Bao had created a digital version of his daughter, who in 2021 passed away due to a rare disease at the age of 22. With the help of Xiaoice, Microsoft Asia’s AI branch based in China, Bao was able to recreate his daughter Bao Rong as an AI-powered virtual figure. Tino Bao, his family and the team went to great lengths to piece together pictures, audio-visual recordings, and narrated memories of Rong. After thousands of trials and errors, they presented the life-like digital human who speaks in both Mandarin and English. Bao has finally launched a company to bring the technological miracle to other families experiencing such loss.
However, this technological achievement has also been accompanied by many controversies. The idea of bringing back a loved one through AI may seem comforting. Still, researchers caution that constantly interacting with an AI version of a deceased loved one could potentially affect the natural grieving process, leaving individuals stuck in a state of denial. This could lead to prolonged grief and other mental health issues. Furthermore, there’s a risk that people may become overly dependent on the technology, prioritizing their interactions with the AI version over forming new, real-life relationships.
With the case of Bao Rong out in the open, AI resurrection (复活) has become a business. From simple “talking pictures” that sound nothing like the loved ones to deep fake videos of actors speaking with the faces of those who passed away, the lower end of the market is more “artificial” than “intelligent”. Therefore, it is crucial to establish proper regulations and ethical standards to ensure that the use of AI-resurrection technology is safe and responsible.
1. Why does the author mention Black Mirror?| A．To advertise Microsoft’s virtual products. |
| B．To lead to the discussion about AI resurrection. |
| C．To prove the predictive power of science fiction. |
| D．To highlight the advancement of artificial intelligence. |
| A．The popularity of AI-resurrection technology. |
| B．Reasons for making a digital version of Bao Rong. |
| C．Challenges of developing a life-like digital human. |
| D．The process of creating an AI-powered virtual figure. |
| A．It still has some technical limitations. |
| B．It helps people build new real-life relationships. |
| C．It can be a person’s obstacle to recovering from sadness. |
| D．It enables individuals to preserve good memories of loved ones. |
| A．Strengthen the management of the technology. |
| B．Apply the technology to making pictures and videos. |
| C．Put the technology into the market as soon as possible. |
| D．Educate the public about the potential risks of technology. |
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【推荐1】A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves – the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.
We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. But we really shouldn’t be, because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.
This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solves problems, and calm ourselves down. Beware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of
encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying, “Good job!”
Words possess power because of their lasting effects. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.
Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem (自尊) and motive others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.
1. The author argues in the first paragraph that ________.| A．words will never hurt us at all |
| B．words have lasting effects on us |
| C．positive effects last longer than negative effects |
| D．negative words last longer than positive effects |
| A．Almost everybody has the habit of talking to oneself. |
| B．It does harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone. |
| C．Talking to ourselves helps us to solve all the problems. |
| D．Talking to ourselves is believed to be good for our health. |
| A．blame ourselves | B．punish ourselves |
| C．praise ourselves | D．talk to ourselves |
| A．It is better to think twice before talking to others. |
| B．It is impossible for unkind words to be forgotten. |
| C．Words always possess long positive effects. |
| D．Kind words are sometimes not needed at all. |
【推荐2】For years and years people have been saying that railways are dead. “We can do without railways,” people say--as if motorcars and planes have made those railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow, lose money and are dying. But this is far from the truth. In these days of expensive oil, railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they’re cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What’s more, a railway takes you from the city centre into another centre. It doesn’t hold you up as a car does in endless traffic jams. And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do.
Far from being dead, railways are very much alive. Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey. Where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are travelling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, which are travelling at 250 miles an hour or more. So we will be wondering why we spend so much on motorcars we can't use and planes we can't fly in. After all, we have not enough money to buy the oil.
1. People say railways are unnecessary because they think ______.| A．trains cause traffic jams |
| B．trains carry goods only |
| C．trains go in a straight line |
| D．trains are slow and lose money |
| A．motorcars and planes are better than trains |
| B．trains go as fast as motorcars and planes |
| C．we still need railways in modern times |
| D．trains have nothing in common with motorcars |
| A．can take you from place to place |
| B．carry goods and people cheaply |
| C．don't hold you up on the way |
| D．can travel at 250 miles an hour |
| A．It is more expensive to travel by train than by plane. |
| B．No railway station is at the city centre. |
| C．It is comfortable travelling on a train. |
| D．Planes and motorcars have replaced trains. |
| A．Railways, Still Alive. |
| B．Planes Are Dead. |
| C．Trains, Motorcars or Planes? |
| D．Super-fast Trains. |
【推荐3】Ralph Emerson once said that the purpose of life is not to be happy, but to be useful, to be loving, to make some difference in he world. While we appreciate such words of wisdom, we rarely try to follow them in our lives.
Most people prefer to live a good life themselves, ignoring their responsibilities for the world. This narrow perception of a good life may provide short-term benefits, but is sure to lead to long-term harm and suffering. A good life based on comfort and luxury may eventually lead to more pain be-cause we spoil our health and even our character, principles, ideals, and relationships.
What then, is the secret of a good life? A good life is a process, not a state of being : a direction, not a destination. We have to earn a good life by first serving others without any expectation in return because their happiness is the very source of our own happiness. More importantly, we must know ourselves inside out. Only when we examine ourselves deeply can we discover our abilities and recognize our limitations, and then work accordingly to create a better world.
The first requirement for a good life is having a loving heart. When we do certain right things merely as a duty, we find our job so tiresome that we’ll soon burn out. However, when we do that same job out of love, we not only enjoy what we do, but also do it with an effortless feeling.
However, love alone is insufficient to lead a good life. Love sometimes blinds us to the reality. Consequently, our good intentions may not lead to good results. To achieve desired outcome, those who want to do good to others also need to equip themselves with accurate world knowledge. False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. If love is the engine of a car knowledge is the steering wheel(方向盘). If the engine lacks power, the car can’t move; if the driver loses control of the steering, a road accident probably occurs. Only with love in heart and the right knowledge in mind can we lead a good life.
With love and knowledge, we go all out to create a better world by doing good to others. When we see the impact of our good work on the world we give meaning to our life and earn lasting joy and happiness.
1. What effect does the narrow perception of a good life have on us?| A．Making us simple-minded | B．Making us short-sighted. |
| C．Leading us onto a busy road. | D．Keeping us from comfort and luxury. |
| A．Through maintaining good health. |
| B．By going through pain and suffering. |
| C．By recognizing one’s abilities and limitations. |
| D．Through offering help much needed by others. |
| A．less selfish | B．less annoying |
| C．more motivated | D．more responsible |
| A．When we have wrong knowledge of the world. |
| B．When our love for the world is insufficient. |
| C．When we are insensitive to dangers in life. |
| D．When we stay blind to the reality. |
| A．inspired by love and guided by knowledge |
| B．directed by love and pushed by knowledge |
| C．purified by love and enriched by knowledge |
| D．promoted by love and defined by knowledge |
【推荐1】In the digital age, we are becoming accustomed to technological innovations, and the fact that they can have a deep impact on our lives.
The number of the smartphone adult users has reached 85 percent in the UK population. Meanwhile streaming and 5G tech are changing the way we watch movies, TV shows and sports events. But Artificial Intelligence(AI) is probably the biggest game-changer of them all. The biggest impacts have nothing to do with robots or even digital assistants like Google Home. Here are two real-world applications of AI that are already changing our world for the better
One is better medical diagnose. If you had some illness, would you want to be diagnosed by a doctor or a machine? You’d probably say the former, but in reality, the question is not that simple. Today, human expertise and AI work side by side to make faster, better diagnoses. Think of it this way—a doctor can spend an hour reading six or seven cases while AI can do six or seven thousand in seconds and then present the doctor with a range of possible medical conditions along with their related probabilities.
The other is reducing fraud( 欺 诈 ) . Fraud against big businesses seems nothing to do with us. In fact, it often ends up affecting us all, especially when insurance companies, for example, are forced to increase the premium( 保 费 ) to cover losses. AI is being used more and more in insurtech, both to speed up the claim( 索 赔 ) process and to mark possibly fraudulent claims more reliably. It does this by analysing big data trends. Faster processing and reduced fraud are good news for everyone, and that can save money for us.
1. What has affected the way of our lives most?| A．Reading books. | B．Digital assistants. |
| C．Smart robots. | D．Artificial Intelligence. |
| A．Professional knowledge | B．Interesting hobbies |
| C．Medical conditions | D．Scientific research |
| A．AI can benefit us a lot. |
| B．AI can help us earn money. |
| C．AI makes the claim process slow. |
| D．AI makes us increase the premium. |
| A．How AI Is Reducing Fraud in Our Live. |
| B．How AI Is Touching All Our Lives for the Better. |
| C．What Advantages AI Is Bringing to Medical Diagnose. |
| D．In What Aspects AI Is Changing the Way of Entertainment. |
【推荐2】Trash-Eating Robots
It has become common knowledge that our oceans are filled with garbage. Broken objects, used plastic bottles and so on fill our beaches and cover the ocean floor, doing immense damage to ocean creatures. Many individuals and organizations are working to remove this garbage and recent technological developments have given them a new tool to do so: trash-eating robots.
Robots of various shapes have been designed to collect garbage that they find floating in the ocean. For example, the French company IADYS has developed what it calls the jellyfishbot.
Most of the garbage in the oceans comes down rivers.
The Interceptor is completely solar-powered and operates on its own, which minimizes the need for human involvement. Robots are able to clean up large amounts of garbage without humans struggling with beach cleanup by hand.
| A．It isn’t just about removing the garbage from the ocean’s surface. |
| B．Hopefully, they can be a big part of the solution to ocean pollution. |
| C．This small robot gathers up everything it encounters, including gasoline and oil. |
| D．For larger, more open areas, a much larger robot called the Interceptor has a similar function. |
| E．If all goes well, they’re hoping to expand the number of robots and take the technology to other waterways in need of cleanup. |
| F．Cleaning up trash that litters the ocean is good, but to keep the oceans clean, new garbage must be stopped from getting there. |
【推荐3】Tencent Cloud, the cloud computing branch of Internet giant Tencent, is stepping up its artificial intelligence (AI) focus with an eye on the profit opportunities for the sector in China.
The cloud computing service provider on Wednesday launched a series of new AI products that seek to lower the skill barriers for enterprise customers.
“The blossoming AI, big data and other digital technologies over recent years strongly point toward an inevitable trend of intelligent upgrade of industries,” said Wang Long, vice-president of Tencent Cloud. “Companies are eager for more advanced AI applications to generate new power for industrial development." Wang added that companies need to offer comprehensive AI solutions that can truly generate value and help clients embrace digital transformation.
The cloud service provider also announced on Wednesday that it has upgraded all its AI and big data products, as part of the larger efforts to strengthen its leading position in the market.
With the booming new technologies and supportive government policies, China is fast becoming a fertile (肥沃的) market for the development of AI technologies and the applications, powered by leading tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu.
By the end of 2018, China had 3,341 AI companies and was ranking second behind the United States, said an AI development report released last year by the Ministry of Science and Technology. It also showed that the US, China and the United Kingdom are at the forefront of AI. From 2013 to 2018, global scientists published more than 300,000 papers in AI research, with China leading in the number of published papers at 74,408, followed by the US at 51,766.
According to a national plan released in 2017, China is set to become the world leader in AI by 2030. By 2021, China’s AI industry is expected to be worth 150 billion yuan (US $21 billion).
“Both AI adoption and spending are picking up fast,” Andrea Minonne, a senior research analyst with International Data Corp, said in a recent report. “AI is the game changer in a highly competitive environment, especially across customer-facing industries such as retail and finance, where AI has the power to push customer experiences to the next level with virtual assistants, product recommendations, or visual searches.”
1. According to Wang Long, ________ is the way to help customers embrace digital transformation.| A．upgrading AI and big data applications |
| B．providing full-scale AI solutions |
| C．designing more brand-new AI products |
| D．outselling all opponent companies |
| A．Tencent Cloud launched a series of new AI products to make more profits. |
| B．The value of China’s AI industry is expected to be higher than that of the US by 2021. |
| C．Tencent Cloud has improved its AI products to enhance its position in the market. |
| D．China was only second to the US in the number of AI research papers published from 2013 to 2018. |
| A．By giving explanations. | B．By following natural time order. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．AI plays a vital role only in retail and finance. |
| B．AI helps a lot in improving customer experiences. |
| C．The use of AI will gradually decrease in the future. |
| D．AI provides customers with virtual assistants, not practical suggestions. |
