Smart transportation is leading to the birth of new apps for smart cities in China. In recent years, technology companies have worked hard to speed up the use of robotaxis and Baidu is one of the pioneers.
In June 2019, Baidu started to test its driverless robotaxis in certain areas in Changsha. In 2020, its Apollo Go robotaxis, also known as “Luobo Kuaipao” in Chinese, officially began its service in certain areas in Changsha, Cangzhou and Beijing, with a safety officer sitting in the driver seat who would monitor (监视) the drive and deal with accidents. In March 2022, Beijing allowed Baidu to test fully driverless robotaxis on certain roads, which meant a further step forward. In June 2023, Baidu carried out its driverless taxi service in Shenzhen across an area of 188 km2 from 7 am to 10 pm daily.
Booking a ride on Apollo Go is as simple as a few taps on your phone screen. Passengers just need to tell the app Apollo Go or Baidu Map where they are and where to go. Then, a car will appear. With sensors (传感器) and cameras all over the car, a computer takes full control of the drive. A screen on the back seat shows customers the information of the ride and how the robotaxi “looks” at the space around to see other cars, humans, and anything else that might get in its way.
“The robotaxi goes at about the same speed, providing a good riding experience,” a user posted online. By September 2023, the number of orders has reached four million. The user satisfaction rating for the Apollo Go app has reached 4. 9 out of 5 and 97.12% of the reviews are five-star ratings. So far, Apollo Go robotaxi service has covered 11 cities and by 2025, it plans to test its robotaxis in other 65 cities.
However, safety is the key in the development of driverless robotaxis. Didi and AutoX both had cases (事例) when the safety officer inside had to take over control of the drive. In the future, Apollo Go and the other companies should take more time to improve the system in order to provide comfortable and safe rides.
1. What is Baidu working on according to the passage?| A．Driverless taxis. | B．Robot taxi drivers. |
| C．Taxi Safety apps. | D．Maps for robotaxis. |
| A．The risk of Apollo Go. | B．The future of Apollo Go. |
| C．The advantages of Apollo Go. | D．The development of Apollo Go. |
| A．By telling a story. | B．By doing experiments. |
| C．By listing numbers. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．People in Shenzhen could take a ride even at midnight in June 2023. |
| B．Internet safety officers monitored the taxis instead of sitting in them in 2020. |
| C．Passengers sitting on the back seats can know about their rides from a screen. |
| D．It provides safer service than Didi and AutoX, and will be the most popular app. |
相似题推荐
Scientists have been trying to work out how to alter the genes of humans for many years now, and it looks like they’ve finally made it. But while this may seem like a great step forward in science, some also believe that it's one step back when it comes to ethics.
In August, a group of scientists from the US and South Korea worked together to successfully edit a human embryo and remove a genetic defect that would have led to heart disease, reported the Guardian. This was achieved with the help of CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that allows scientists to “cut and paste” human DNA.
Although this was the first example of an embryo’s genes being changed successfully, the benefits of gene editing have already been tested in living patients. In 2015, a five-month-old girl from the UK was saved after doctors used edited cells to fight off her cancer. As of today, she's alive and well. And in the US last year, scientists managed to remove HIV cells from several patients by editing the genes inside their bodies.
Some people hope that in the future, diseases or birth defects could simply be “edited out”. However, others believe this could lead to so-called designer babies, giving parents the chance to choose everything from eye color to intelligence.
“You could find wealthy parents buying the latest ‘upgrades' for their children, which is even more unfair.” Marcy Darnovsky, from the San Francisco Center for Genetics said.
Besides, experts say it's not possible to create the “perfect” human being. Despite the progress scientists have made, we don't understand human genes enough to give an unborn child great brainpower or amazing singing abilities.
“Right now, we know nothing about genetic improvement,” said Hank Greely, an expert of sciences at Stanford University, US. “We're never going to be able to say, honestly, ‘This embryo looks like it would score high on the two—part SAT.’”
So it looks like if we want good exam results, or to impress people with our piano skills, we'll have stick with the old fashioned method of hard work—at least for now.
1. According to this passage, scientists have edited genes successfully to .| A．improve intelligence | B．change appearances |
| C．deal with diseases | D．design babies |
| A．They think it may bring designer babies and unfairness. |
| B．They agree that it could lead to genetic changes. |
| C．They don't think it's effective to fight diseases. |
| D．They worry that it might increase birth defects. |
| A．record | B．change | C．remove | D．increase |
| A．It is still a long way to fully understand human genes. |
| B．All the gene defects could be edited and improved. |
| C．Gene editing is the perfect way to treat diseases. |
| D．The writer is strongly against gene editing. |
【推荐2】A Canadian man Clint Masse and his team worked six and a half days a week to build a snow maze （迷宫）. After three weeks of work, they did it: They broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest snow maze.
Masse lives in Manitoba. It lies in northern Canada. The man has been building snow mazes for more than 20 years. However, he had never finished such a large one. The maze covered an area of 2, 790 square meters. It had walls that were two meters tall and 0.6 meters thick. There were statues （雕像） to surprise visitors and fire pits （火坑） to keep them warm. It took about 30 minutes to walk through the maze, depending on your luck.
The maze cost Masse 57, 000 Canadian dollars. The man and his team used a snow machine to make enough snow for the project. Man-made snow is stronger than a natural snow. “If you drive through the snow walls, you will break your car before you break the walls,” Masse said.
Masse felt excited when he knew he had broken the Guinness World Record. He said his family was not rich. Therefore, the record was very important. It helped him attract （吸引） thousands of visitors to his large maze and make lots of money.
1. How much time did Clint Masse and his team spend building the large snow maze?| A．30 minutes. | B．Six and a half days. | C．20 years. | D．Three weeks. |
| A．The maze had fire pits to keep visitors warm. |
| B．Masse made a larger snow maze 20 years ago. |
| C．The maze with two walls was 0.6 meters thick. |
| D．Masse began to build snow maze at the age of 20. |
| A．The natural snow is stronger than the snow walls. |
| B．The snow walls are much stronger than the car. |
| C．The driver must break the walls and then drive through. |
| D．The car driver need to be stronger to get through the walls. |
| A．Masse will be richer than ever. | B．Masse will build more larger mazes. |
| C．Masse will break more Guinness Records. | D．Masse spent much money winning the Record. |
【推荐3】Biking keeps you fit. It is a clean and green way to get to work it you live close enough. Also, it’s cheaper than driving a car.
Biking has so many advantages, but why aren’t there more bikers on city roads? According to a survey, the number one reason is the worry about road safety.
Sharing the road with cars can be dangerous. Omar Bakhshi experienced this when a car knocked him down, which had bad effects on his taste and smell for life. Bakhshi realized that what happened to him wasn’t unusual.
Because bikers often experience dangers with cars, Bakhshi set out to make roads safer to share. He started a company, Tether, to improve safety conditions for city bikers.
Tether’s invention is a smart sensor (传感器) that goes on a bike’s handlebars (把手). As the biker rides through the city, the invention makes a “safety zone (地带)” of lights onto the road. These lights will make cars pay attention to the rules of sharing the road. If cars get too close to the biker’s personal spaces, the lights will start flashing.
What makes Bakhshi’s invention different is its smart features (特点). Tether’s tool collects data (数据) from these biking accidents. The data is organized into a central database and can be used to choose which streets are safer for bikers.
Not only can bikers choose a better way to avoid heavy traffic by using the data, but Bakhshi plans to share the data with the government.
Walking, biking, driving and public transportation all have different advantages and disadvantages. When all road users can share the same level of safety knowledge, everyone can get where they need to go quickly and safely.
1. Why aren’t there more bikers on city roads according to the passage?| A．Because people can’t afford bikes. | B．Because people can’t ride bikes. |
| C．Because people like to drive cars more. | D．Because people worry about road safety. |
| A．He lost his new bike by accident. | B．He failed to invent a bike. |
| C．He had an accident when riding a bike. | D．He hurt a man when driving a car. |
| A．By making a “safety zone” of lights. | B．By making the bike stronger. |
| C．By making the bike much cheaper. | D．By making people drive cars less. |
| A．The life in green cheap style | B．An experience of driving a car |
| C．The worry about data life | D．New technology for biking safety |
【推荐1】Why do people smoke? One reason is that people become addicted (成瘾) to cigarettes. The addictive substance (物质) in cigarettes is nicotine (尼古丁). When people smoke, the nicotine goes right into the blood stream and makes people feel comfortable. A smoker’s body gets used to the nicotine, and if he stops smoking, he feels nervous. Many smokers try to stop smoking but because of the addiction (瘾) to nicotine, they feel so uncomfortable that they often find it too difficult to do so.
Another reason is that people simply enjoy smoking. Having a cigarette for many people means taking a break. For some people smoking becomes part of certain social rituals (仪式), such as the cigarette after dinner. Many people enjoy smoking because it gives them something to do with their hands. Reaching for a cigarette, lighting it and flicking (弹掉) the ashes are special comfort in a situation where they feel nervous.
Many people also like the taste of tar (焦油) in cigarettes. However, it is the tar that causes cancer. When governments and health experts have tried to get people to give up smoking completely, cigarette manufacturers have tried to keep selling them by producing cigarettes with less tar. Many people in Western countries have welcomed these cigarettes since they found it hard to stop smoking and wanted to reduce the danger to their health.
1. According to the passage, what gets people into the habit of smoking?| A．Cigarettes. | B．Nicotine. | C．Tar. | D．Blood. |
| A．They refer to “to stop smoking”. |
| B．They refer to “to make people feel comfortable”. |
| C．They refer to “to get used to the nicotine”. |
| D．They refer to “to become addicted to cigarettes”. |
| A．Because they taste better. |
| B．Because they are cheaper. |
| C．Because they are less harmful. |
| D．Because they’re easy to be made. |
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
| A．Smokers continue smoking because it is very interesting. |
| B．Tar in cigarettes causes cancer. |
| C．In order to look cool, many people enjoy smoking. |
| D．Many people in Western countries welcome the cigarettes with more tar. |
【推荐2】Starting from 2019, French parents will no longer be able to choose not to send their kids to kindergarten (幼儿园). It will be a must, as kindergarten will become part of the country’s Compulsory (义务的) education.
On March 27, French President Emmanuel Macron announced (宣布) that children in France will start school at 3 instead of the starting age of 6.
This change means that France will have one of the lowest compulsory school starting ages in Europe, along with Hungry.
Maeron said this move aims to fight inequality in education. Parents in poorer areas of France are less likely to send children to kindergarten. With the change, they will not have to worry about the money for schooling, because all French kids will go to kindergarten for free.
The change will also help stop terrorism (恐怖主义) in the future. The earlier children start school, the higher their chances of success and fitting into society. Macron pointed out that by building schools full of kindness and happiness, France will teach young kids not to be in terrorism.
However, not everyone welcome the move. There are a lot of different ideas across the country about when children should begin their education.
For example, there is a study that found children who start school later are more likely to focus on learning. On the other hand, some parents think starting school even earlier, for example, at 2 years old would be better.
1. What will be the starting age for compulsory education in France in 2019?| A．2 | B．3 | C．5 | D．6 |
| A．公平 | B．权利 | C．不公平 | D．责任 |
| A．Parents need to pay more for their kids’ schooling. |
| B．Parents can still decide when to send kids to kindergarten. |
| C．Everyone agree that children should start their education early. |
| D．France starts the move in order to help kids get equal education. |
| A．the situation of compulsory education |
| B．different ways to stop terrorism in France |
| C．the early start for school in France |
| D．the discussion about when to start school |
【推荐3】When you are shopping for the week’s food, you may get a large box or two of bottled water. On your way to a soccer game, it’s easy to take a cold one out of the fridge, right?
But all those plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels (矿物燃料). In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other country in the world, about 29 billion water bottles a year. In order to make all these bottles, 17 million, barrels (桶) of crude oil are used. That’s enough oil to keep a million cars going for twelve months.
People love the convenience (便利) of bottled water. But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a steel container instead of a plastic bottle.
Plastic bottles pollute the environment but recycling can help-instead of going out with the-rubbish, plastic bottles can be turned into useful items. Sadly, for every six water bottles we use, only one makes it to the recycling bin. The rest are sent to landfills. Or, even worse, they end up as rubbish on the land and in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bottles take many hundreds of years to disintegrate under the ground.
Betty Melaughlin, who runs an organization called the Container Recycling Institute, says we should try using fewer bottles, “If you take one to school for your lunch, don’t throw it away-bring it home and refill it from the tap for the next day. Refill a bottle as many times as you can before you recycle it.”
Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt (瓦) light bulb for six hours.
1. Which one is the reason why Americans like bottled water according to the passage?| A．Because it is cleaner. | B．Because it is cheaper. |
| C．Because it is healthier. | D．Because it is easier to take with. |
| A．By giving numbers. | B．By telling reasons. |
| C．By expressing opinions. | D．By discussing problems. |
| A．turn into rubbish | B．become useful | C．break into pieces | D．mix with water |
| A．Americans buy the most bottled water in the world. |
| B．Bottled water is much better than that out of the tap. |
| C．Only one of the six bottles is put into the recycling bin. |
| D．17 million barrels of oil are used to make bottles a year. |
| A．To tell us to give up bottled water. | B．To tell us to save natural resources. |
| C．To tell us to protect the environment. | D．To tell us to reuse and recycle plastic bottles. |
