【推荐1】With the coming of big data age, data science is supposed to be starved for, of which the adaption can point a profound change in corporate competitiveness. Companies, both   born-in the digital era and traditional world are showing off their skills in data science. Therefore, it seems to have been creating a great demand for the experts of this type.

Mr Carlos Guestrin, machine learning professor from University of Washington argues that all software applications will need inbuilt intelligence within five years, making data scientists—people trained to analyze large bodies of information — key workers in this emerging “cognitive” technology economy. There are already critical applications that depend on machine learning, a subfield of data science, led by recommendation programs, fraud detection system, forecasting tools and applications for predicting customer behavior.

Many companies that are born digital—particularly internet companies that have a great number of real-time customer interactions to handle—are all-in when it comes to data science. Pinterest, for instance, maintains more than 100 machine learning models that could be applied to different classes of problems, and it constantly fields request from managers eager to use this resource to deal with their business problem.

The most important factor weighing on many traditional companies will be the high cost of launching a serious machine-learning operation. Netflix is estimated to spend ＄150m a year on a single application and the total bills is probably four times that once all its uses of the technology are taken into account.

Another problem for many non-technology companies is talent.Of the computer science experts who use Kaggle, only about 1000 have deep learning skills, compared to 100,000 who can apply other machine learning techniques, says Mr Goldbloom. He adds that even some big companies of this type are often reluctant to expend their pay scales to hire the top talent in this field.

A third barrier to adapting to the coming era of “smart” applications, however, is likely to be cultural. Some companies, such as General Electric, have been building their own Silicon Valley presence to attract and develop the digital skills they will need.

Despite the obstacles, some many master this difficult transition.But companies that were built, from the beginning, with data science at their center, are likely to represent serious competition.

1. What cannot be inferred from the passage about the machine learning ?

A．Machine learning operations are costly in Netflix.

B．Machine learning plays an important role in existent applications.

C．Machine learning experts are not highly paid in some non-technology companies.

D．Machine learning models are not sufficient to solve business problems in Pinterest.

2. The underlined word in the 3^rd paragraph “field” mostly probably means______________.

A．avcids

B．creates

C．solves

D．classifies

3. Which one is the biggest obstacle for many traditional companies to begin a machine-learning operation ?

A．High cost

B．Expert crisis

C．Technological problem

D．Customer interactions

【推荐2】The Amazon Echo, a voice-driven cylindrical computer that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa, can call up music tracks and radio stations, tell jokes, answer trivia questions and control smart appliances; even before Christmas it was already resident in about 4% of American households. Voice assistants are proliferating in smartphones, too: Apple’s Siri handles over 2bn commands a week, and 20% of Google searches on Android-powered handsets in America are input by voice. Dictating e-mails and text messages now works reliably enough to be useful. Why type when you can talk?

Simple though it may seem, voice has the power to transform computing, by providing a natural means of interaction. Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens, were welcomed as more intuitive ways to deal with computers than entering complex keyboard commands. But being able to talk to computers abolishes the need for the abstraction of a “user interface” at all. Just as mobile phones were more than existing phones without wires, and cars were more than carriages without horses, so computers without screens and keyboards have the potential to be more useful, powerful and ubiquitous than people can imagine today.

Voice will not wholly replace other forms of input and output. Sometimes it will remain more convenient to converse with a machine by typing rather than talking (Amazon is said to be working on an Echo device with a built-in screen). But voice is destined to account for a growing share of people’s interactions with the technology around them, from washing machines that tell you how much of the cycle they have left to virtual assistants in corporate call-centres. However, to reach its full potential, the technology requires further breakthroughs—and a resolution of the tricky questions it raises around the trade-off between convenience and privacy.

Computer-dictation systems have been around for years. But they were unreliable and required lengthy training to learn a specific user’s voice. Computers’ new ability to recognise almost anyone’s speech dependably without training is the latest manifestation of the power of “deep learning”, an artificial-intelligence technique in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, usually culled from the internet. Thanks to deep learning, machines now nearly equal humans in transcription accuracy, computerised translation systems are improving rapidly and text-to-speech systems are becoming less robotic and more natural-sounding. Computers are, in short, getting much better at handling natural language in all its forms

Although deep learning means that machines can recognise speech more reliably and talk in a less stilted manner, they still don’t understand the meaning of language. That is the most difficult aspect of the problem and, if voice-driven computing is truly to flourish, one that must be overcome. Computers must be able to understand context in order to maintain a coherent conversation about something, rather than just responding to simple, one-off voice commands, as they mostly do today (“Hey, Siri, set a timer for ten minutes”). Researchers in universities and at companies large and small are working on this very problem, building “bots” that can hold more elaborate conversations about more complex tasks, from retrieving information to advising on mortgages to making travel arrangements.

Many voice-driven devices are always listening, waiting to be activated. Some people are already concerned about the implications of internet-connected microphones listening in every room and from every smartphone. Not all audio is sent to the cloud—devices wait for a trigger phrase (“Alexa”, “OK, Google”, “Hey, Cortana”, or “Hey, Siri”) before they start relaying the user’s voice to the servers that actually handle the requests—but when it comes to storing audio, it is unclear who keeps what and when.

1. According to Paragraph I the American Echo ___

A．has been sold out before Christmas

B．has been used by most American families

C．came out the market later than Apple’s Siri

D．is more useful than smart phones in fictating e-mails

2. What can we infer about the technology of voice computing?

A．It is more effective and convenient than typing

B．It needs to be improved in some important aspects

C．It increases a person’s chances of communicating with others

D．It will replace other forms of input and output in the near future

3. What are some users of voice -driven devices concerned about?

A．The devices will be in charge of theit life

B．The devices need to be activeated before working

C．They are in the dark about their data’s ownership

D．Their voices can be recognized by every smart technology?

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards voice-driven technology?

A．Worried	B．Doubtful
C．Supportive	D．Objective

【推荐3】Amazon has announced that it has added features to its Alexa voice assistant that can help users determine their risk level for having got the COVID-19 coronavirus (新型冠状病毒). As of now all Alexa users in the United States can ask Alexa questions like, “Alexa, what do I do if I think I have COVID-19?” or “Alexa, what do I do if I think I have coronavirus?” upon which Alexa will begin triaging (检验分类) them.

Once one of the above questions is asked, Alexa will ask the user about their symptoms, travel history, and any possible exposure they may have had to someone infected with the disease. Depending upon the user’s response, Alexa will offer the user guidance that comes directly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about what they should do next.

Another cool feature added to Alexa is the ability to ask the personal assistant to sing a song for 20 seconds while you wash your hands. Twenty seconds is the minimum washing time with soap and water people need to perform on their hands in order to destroy traces of the virus they may have picked up.

Users can take advantage of Alexa’s new COVID-19 features on any device Alexa runs on, including smartphones, tablets, Kindles, and more. It should also be noted that Amazon isn’t the first to empower its voice assistant to offer CDC COVID-19 information. Earlier this week Apple pushed an update out to Siri that allows users to ask, “Hey Siri, do I have the coronavirus?” and get advice based on CDC information.

1. What is Alexa?

A．It is a robot.	B．It is a voice assistant.
C．It is a doctor.	D．It is a computer.

2. How does AlexA help people clean their hands thoroughly?

A．It sings a 20-second song while people wash their hands.

B．It can remind you of washing your hands frequently.

C．It can turn on the tap for you when you wash your hands.

D．It can answer questions about washing hands.

3. From the passage, which statement is right?

A．Amazon is the first to empower its voice assistant to offer CDC COVID-19 information.

B．Alexa can only be used at home.

C．Both Alexa and Siri can offer you CDC COVID-19 formation.

D．People like Alexa better than Siri.

4. What can we infer about Alexa according to the passage?

A．Alexa will offer the user treatments directly from their doctors.

B．Alexa makes the judgment by having a medical examination on the user.

C．Once the user uses Alexa, they will be told whether they are infected.

D．Not all the possible exposures to someone infected with the disease will bring the user the disease.

【推荐1】Bricks are one of the oldest known building materials, dating back thousands of years. But researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found a new use for bricks: as energy storage units. A team of engineers and chemists have found a way to transform an ordinary house brick into a “battery”—allowing it to conduct and store electricity. The bricks are powerful enough to light up an LED bulb, and cost only about 3 dollars to make.

“I love the idea of adding value to things that are inexpensive, things that are affordable, things that we kind of take for granted,” says Julio D'Arcy, who is an assistant professor of chemistry at Washington University and one of the researchers on this project.

The brick-battery relies on the reddish pigment known as iron oxide, or rust, which gives red bricks their color. The scientists pumped the bricks with several gases that react with iron oxide to produce a network of plastic fibers. These small fibers coat the empty spaces inside the bricks — and conduct electricity.

What the researchers are trying to do is to make specialized plastics that are only used on the nanoscale where they use very little of the plastic and they can actually fix that plastic firmly inside construction materials.

In the future, D'Arcy says, a brick wall could potentially serve a dual purpose: providing structural support and storing electricity generated from renewable energy sources, such as solar panels.

The technology is still at least a few years away from being ready for the commercial market. And right now, the energy storage capacity of the bricks is still pretty low—about 1 percent of a lithium ion battery. But the team is now testing ways to improve brick performance. hoping to make a breakthrough and practical application to better the seemingly ordinary construction materials as soon as possible.

1. What new function has been found in house bricks?

A．They can serve as a power plant.	B．They can take the place of plastics.
C．They can save a lot of energy.	D．They can reserve electricity.

2. What can we infer about the plastic fibers?

A．They are pumped into bricks.	B．They must be tiny in size.
C．They cover the surface of bricks.	D．They react with iron oxide.

3. Brick batteries are still in the experimental stage because           .

A．their capacity is still low	B．their cost is very high
C．they make no profits	D．they are not safe enough

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Construction Turns Smart	B．High Tech Develops Fast
C．Old Bricks Play New Tricks	D．Buildings Become Greener

【推荐2】Though Kyle Tianshi is only a 15-year-old high school student, he has published five sci-fi novels. His fifth book Eventide was made available in July. However, this may not be his most impressive achievement as Kyle just received the “Hero Award”, a $20.000 grand prize, in November. It is the top honor in the California Youth Sustainability Awards. The competition aims to encourage and support young community leaders who are making at difference for environmental protection in their communities (社区) by taking action for the planet, according to its website.

Kyle, a grade two student from the Cambridge School in the US, received the honor for his portable invention called NEREID. The name refers to a daughter of the ancient sea god, Nereus, from Greek mythology. The device (装置) can discover microscopic particles (微观粒子) in water by using a laser and microscope. These particles can be harmful to people and the environment, NBC reported.

Kyle came up with the idea for the invention based on his experience growing up in San Diego, California, US. People had no access to unpolluted drinking water and his parents asked him not to drink tap water. Kyle spent about $60 buying the tools needed to analyze the tap water: a laser, a microscope and a micro-computer. Then he used their family’s garage as his laboratory doing research on the pollution of drinking water caused by micro-plastics.

Kyle hopes to bring to market a low-cost alternative tool for testing micro-plastic pollution levels in drinking water. In this way, he can offer help to people who don’t have access to water filtration (过滤) systems. He has applied for a patent.

Kyle said his sister Emily Tianshi, a freshman at Stanford University, inspired his interest in environmental research. She was recognized nationally for developing a water collection device.

“I’m just focused on two things: environmental advocacy and making a difference,” Kyle told San Diego Union-Tribune.

“I was really impressed by Kyle’s commitment to improve the health of his community and the environment.” Charles Calvat, Crystal Geyser’s Director of Social Responsibility, told NBC.

1. What may be Kyle’s most outstanding achievement according to the text?

A．Publishing his fifth book.	B．Winning a big prize in a competition.
C．Developing a drinking water collection device.	D．Realizing his dream of being a community leader.

2. What does the text tell us about Kyle?

A．He received the Hero Award for his novels.

B．He published a novel about daughters of the ancient sea god.

C．He invented a device to discover microscopic particles in water.

D．He found a way to remove microscopic particles in the environment.

3. What did Kyle do to invent NEREID?

A．He asked his sisters for advice.

B．He did some research with his parents.

C．He bought some useful tools to analyze the tap water.

D．He compared different water filtration systems on the market.

4. What word can best describe Kyle?

A．Ambitious

B．Stubborn

C．Outspoken

D．Independent

【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(无人机) 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(探测) 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?

A．Its high speed of flying.	B．Its long working hours.
C．Its quick response to screams.	D．Its easy access to disaster scene.

2. What can the auditory system do?

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.

3. What does the underlined word “signatures” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Effects.

B．Features.

C．Symbols.

D．Situations.

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

A．AI Enables Drones to Give Better Performance.

B．Human-seeking Drones Replace Rescue Crews.

C．Rescuers Use Drones to Locate Disaster Survivors.

D．Engineers Teach Drones to Hunt Human Screams.

【推荐1】Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in Southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu Kingdom Civilization shared similarities with the Maya.

The Sanxingdui ruins belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years, while the Mayan civilization built its city-states around 200 AD.

The bronze-made remains of trees unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth and the underworld in the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarties,” says Marco Santos, a Mexican archaeologist stressing that “the representations of tress in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar.”

The findings at the Sanxingdui ruins, considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, also show a new aspect of Bronze Age culture, indicating the ancient civilization already had technologies that were thought to have been developed much later.

While the time span between the Shu kingdom and the Mayan culture is great, the findings highlight the closeness between the two civilizations. They developed in areas with comparable climates and reflected their worldview through related symbols. “In the end, man is still man, independent of time and space. What we have is that, at this latitude (纬度), both the Shu people and the Mayans looked at the same sky and had the same stars on the horizon,” the expert says.

One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the cross-subject work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists, which allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful excavation methods would not have been able to register.

Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Mayan world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of ruins.

“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental.” says Santos.

1. What is a similarity between the Shu Kingdom and Mayan civilization?

A．Their starting time.	B．Their cultural symbols.
C．Their historical origins.	D．Their ceremony traditions.

2. What does the underlined word “excavation” in Paragraph 6 mean?

A．Digging.

B．Sympathy.

C．Platform.

D．Boundary.

3. What is a common challenge for the conservation of both ruins?

A．Language barriers.	B．Positioning of ruins.
C．High latitude.	D．Damp weather.

4. What is the focus of Santos quote in the last paragraph?

A．The future of the China-Mexico cooperation.

B．The benefits of speaking a different language.

C．The importance of the exchange of cultural knowledge.

D．The increasing sisterhood in culture between China and Mexico.

【推荐2】Homes are usually warmed with radiators (暖气片). Some homes are warmed by floor heating. Now, a new way of heating is being developed by using the “wallpaper” on your walls. This wallpaper is not decorative. It actually goes under and not over the wall — electrically heats a room. And this type of heating technology heats objects, even people, instead of the air and this helps you feel warmer.

The electric heating panels which are hidden in the wall are connected to the main electrical panels of your home. Each room can be used independently through an app so you do not have to heat unused rooms. It takes around 20 minutes to heat a room.

With rising prices for home heating, the panels seemed like the right way to go. “It makes me happy that I don’t rely on gas.” Kris Bilski, an early user, said. An estimated 23 million homes in the UK are connected to the gas grid (网) but the government wants to phase out gas-fired boilers by 2035. Home heating is responsible for 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions so removing fossil fuel-based heating will help the environment.

The new electric heating systems are available for private homes and the company is currently testing the new technology in public housing in some cities. The versions being tested can be installed (安装) while people are still living in the apartment so it makes installation a lot easier.

Heating your home with this type of technology does not heat your water so an additional heating system is required but an energy efficient heater can be used.

While the wallpaper is greener, electricity in the UK is very costly so it is not an economic way to heat homes unless there is a renewable energy source like solar panels used. Still, reducing the dependance on fossil fuels will go a long way to green the UK and help the country meet its climate targets.

1. What is special about the wallpaper compared with radiators?

A．It is decorative.	B．It is traditional.
C．It is unseen.	D．It is more efficient.

2. What does the underlined phrase “phase out” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Stop using.	B．Improve greatly.
C．Restore gradually.	D．Finish developing.

3. What is one of the advantages of wallpaper heating system?

A．It looks beautiful.	B．It’s easy to be fitted.
C．It heats up instantly.	D．It fits all buildings.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the use of this wallpaper heating system in the UK?

A．Skeptical.	B．Optimistic.
C．Enthusiastic.	D．Disapproving.

【推荐3】All over the world people enjoy sports, Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.

Many people like to watch others play games. They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. They often get very excited when "their" player or team wins.

Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for(参加) them. Football, for example, has spread(展开)around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy! And think of people in cold countries. Think how many love to skate or ski (滑雪) in Japan, Norway or Canada.

Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends. Sports help to train(培养,训练) a person’s character(性格,品格). One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace(胜不骄，败不馁).

1. Why do people all over the world enjoy sports?

A．Because sports keep them healthy.

B．Because sports keep them happy.

C．Because they want to live longer.

D．All the above.

2. Why do some people get excited when they watch a game? Because_______.

A．their favorite team wins	B．they win the game
C．they get the good news	D．they can’t help themselves

3. Which of the sports has a long history?

A．Water-skiing.

B．Basketball.

C．Volleyball.

D．Jumping.