1 . Some cities and lawmakers are resisting crime-fighting tech owing to bias (偏见) and accuracy concerns. Police departments around the U.S. are asking citizens to trust them to use facial recognition software as a handy tool in their crime-fighting toolbox. But some lawmakers — and even some technology giants — are against it.

Take the western Massachusetts city of Springfield, where many residents are Latino or black. Springfield police say they have no plans to use facial recognition systems, but some City Council members are moving to block any future government use of the technology anyway.

At an October hearing on the subject, Springfield City Councilman, Orlando Ramos, defended the technology. “The facial recognition technology does not drop a net from the sky and put you to prison,” he said, noting that it could serve as a useful investigative tool. However, he doesn’t want to take any risks. “It would only lead to more racial discrimination.” he said, citing studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify women and people with darker skins.

Similar debates across the country are highlighting racial issues and concerns about the technology’s accuracy. Axon, which supplies body-worn cameras nationwide, had already formed an artificial intelligence ethics board (伦理委员会)that concluded facial recognition technology isn’t yet dependable enough to justify its use on police cameras. Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said, “Even if facial recognition software was perfectly accurate, the ability to track people raises privacy concerns. “Do we want everybody who walks near a police officer to get their face identified and logged in a database?” he said.

Nevertheless, Todd Pastorini, general manager at biometric forensics (生物取证) company DataWorks Plus, said it’s the “extremely effective” method of running images through photos to help identify a suspect. “Society and the public are going to get frustrated, if governments refuse to adopt a technology that keeps improving”, he said. In his eyes, facial recognition hits are just one part of an investigation.

1. What is Orlando Ramos’ attitude towards facial recognition?

A．Hopeful.

B．Cautious.

C．Ambiguous.

D．Tolerant.

2. What is one focus of the debates about facial recognition?

A．Gender discrimination.	B．Speed limit.
C．Accuracy rate.	D．Steadiness control.

3. What does Rick Smith think of facial recognition?

A．It appears to cause prejudice.	B．It brings about privacy concerns.
C．Its technology is reliable.	D．Its accuracy needs improving.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Facial recognition tool meets with resistance.

B．All the people disapprove of facial recognition.

C．Facial recognition is the only tool of investigation.

D．Governments should ban facial recognition.

2 . Do you know how children in other countries spend their schooldays and what kind of games they always play?

Children in Brazil

School	The school year runs from February to December. Children attend (上学) school for about four hours in the morning or the afternoon. About a quarter of children in Brazil do not attend school at all.
Play	Football is the most popular sport. Brazil’s beautiful beaches also make swimming and volleyball popular.
Family	Brazilian families are often large. Nearly a third of the population is under eighteen!

Children in France

School	The school day begins from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, with a two-hour lunch break. Schools close on Wednesday and Sunday, and are closed for a half day on Saturday.
Play	Football, bicycling and tennis are favorite sports in France. In some areas, pelote, a traditional ball game, is also very popular.
Family	Most French mothers work. The majority of preschool (幼儿园) children attend day care centres known as crèches. France has laws about naming children and all names have to be chosen from an official list.

Children in Japan

School	Schools in Japan are very competitive (竞争的). Even pre-schoolers may attend “cramming (填鸭式教学的) schools” to prepare for exams. There is a summer break about six weeks, but the children have homework during this time.
Play	Comic books have been popular in Japan since the 1700s. Comics now account for about 40% of all published materials in Japan. Kite flying is enjoyed by people of every age.
Family	Homes in Japan are small on average. The typical family of four lives in five small rooms. Most fathers in Japan work long hours. As a result, some children only see their fathers on weekends or holidays.

1. What kind of sport is very popular in France?
① Kite flying.       ② Bicycling.       ③ Football.       ④ Pelote.

A．②③④	B．①②③
C．①④	D．①②③④

2. What is a crèche in France?

A．Places with beautiful beaches.

B．The name of the place where French mothers work.

C．A day care centre for preschool children.

D．Cramming schools to improve children’s exam results.

3. In Japan, many children ________.

A．like to read comic books	B．write their names on an official list
C．only see their fathers on weekdays	D．do not attend school

3 . Smart Home Products for Living a Connected Life

What makes something a smart home product? Generally, it’s defined by its ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network, allowing users to interact（互动）with it from their smartphones.We’ve rounded up some cool, diverse offerings that you’ll love to have in your home.

Nest Cam IQ

walmart.com

$299.00

The Nest Cam IQ is a beautifully designed home security camera that can recognize faces. It can warn you if there’s a stranger in your home. The device also supports two-way communication via built-in microphones and a powerful speaker.

Logitech Harmony Elite

amazon.com

$249.99

The Logitech Harmony Elite is one of the best universal remote controls available on the market. It can control just about every piece of electronics you own（it supports over 270，000 devices！）in every room of your house or apartment, including TVs，streaming devices, and sound systems.

Apple HomePod

bhphotovideo.com

$349.00

The Apple HomePod has better audio quality than any other smart speaker available today. Available in white or space gray, the Siri-powered device also allows you to control a number of devices with your voice.

August Smart Lock Pro

amazon.com

$279.99

The August Smart Lock Pro is compatible（兼容的）with most locks. A mobile app allows you to manage access to the lock, check its usage history, and get informed when someone opens the door. You can control it and check on the state of your door with voice commands.

1. What can the Nest Cam IQ help you do？

A．Properly use your smartphone camera

B．Control electronics with your voice.

C．Check the locks of your house.

D．Keep your home safe.

2. Which device can help you operate almost all your electronic equipment remotely？

A．Nest Cam IQ.

B．Apple HomePod.

C．August Smart Lock Pro.

D．Logitech Harmony Elite.

3. Which column of a website is the text most probably taken from？

A．Technology.

B．News.

C．Society.

D．Education.

4 . What’s On?

Electric Underground

7.30pm－1.00am     Free at the Cyclops Theatre

Do you know who’s playing in your area? We’re bringing you an exciting evening of live rock and pop music from the best local bands. Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract(合同)? If so, come early to the talk at 7:30pm by Jules Skye, a successful record producer. He’s going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce you music.

Gee Whizz

8.30pm-10.30pm     Comedy at Kaleidoscope

Come and see Gee Whizz perform. He’s the funniest stand-up comedian on the comedy scene. This joyful show will please everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7.00pm with drinks and snacks.

Simon’s Workshop

5.00pm-7.30pm       Wednesdays at Victoria Stage

This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy. The workshop looks at every kind of comedy, and practices many different ways of making people laugh. Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years’ experience of teaching comedy. His workshops are exciting and fun. An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny.

Charlotte Stone

8.00pm-11.00pm        Pizza World

Fine food with beautiful jazz music; this is a great evening out. Charlotte Stone will perform songs from her new best-selling CD, with James Pickering on the piano. The menu is Italian, with excellent meat and fresh fish, pizzas and pasta(面食). Book early to get a table. Our bar is open all day, and serves cocktails, coffee, beer, and white wine.

1. Who can help you if you want to have your music produced?

A．Jules Skye.	B．Gee Whizz.
C．Charlotte Stone.	D．James Pickering.

2. At which place can people of different ages enjoy a good laugh?

A．The Cyclops Theatre.	B．Victoria Stage.
C．Kaleidoscope.	D．Pizza World.

3. What do we know about Simon’s Workshop?

A．It teaches comedy writing.	B．It lasts three hours each time.
C．It is run by a comedy club.	D．It is held every Wednesday.

5 . Mary Anning was an English fossil collector, dealer and paleontologist(古生物学家). Her fossil-hunting helped change the way people thought about the world.

Mary was born into a poor family in England on May 21, 1799. She lived in the seaside town of Lyme Regis, in Dorset. The family had nine children. Only Mary and her brother Joseph grew up. Mary’s father took his children along the beach. They picked up shells and stones to sell to visitors. Mary did not go to school much. Her family was too poor. And schools did not teach children about fossils. Mary could read and write. She taught herself. She learned about rocks and how bodies are made.

In 1811 when Mary and Joseph were fossil hunting, Joseph saw a bone sticking out of the rock. Mary had a hammer to chip away at the rock. Very carefully she uncovered it. She found the first complete fossil of the ichthyosaur(鱼龙).

Since then, Mary became crazy about fossil hunting. She liked to hunt on the beach after a storm. The wind, rain and waves made the rocks crumble It was easy to spot fossils. Most days Mary went fossil hunting with her dog, Tray.

Rich friends helped Mary by selling fossils for her. They sent her money. Scientists wrote letters and came to see her. One good friend was William Buckland, a professor at Oxford University. Mary also opened a shop to sell fossils, stones and shells. She chatted with visitors.

Mary Anning died inl847. How evolution(进化)works was explained by Charles Darwin not long after Mary died. Her fossils had helped scientists understand how things began.

1. Why did Mary’s father take his children along the beach?

A．To enjoy life.	B．To make a living.
C．To look for fossils.	D．To teach them about fossils.

2. What can we learn about Mary?

A．Her father was a paleontologist.	B．Her father educated her at home.
C．She had nine brothers and sisters in all.	D．She might be popular at that time.

3. Who was the first one to catch sight of the rock containing the first complete ichthyosaur fossil?

A．Charles Darwin.

B．Mary’s dog.

C．Mary.

D．Joseph.

4. What does the underlined word "crumble" in the fourth paragraph means ?

A．break

B．shake

C．float

D．dive

6 . It’s 27 years since my last conversation with my mother, who didn’t finish school like many of her contemporary girls. She often told me, “I never got my ________ but one day you will.”

Pointing to a tree or cow, she asked me to ________ their English names after her. Feeling ________, I asked, “Mama, why do I have to learn these ________ phrases?” She held her pen right before my eyes. “Hold it firmly,” she ________ me, “for this pen and the new foreign language will be your compass to ________ around the world.” Sadly, my mother died of breast cancer when I was six.

Turning seven, I traveled 30 miles to live closer to my school. But “closer” is a ________ term in Uganda, which ________ I had to get up as the ________ sun rose and then ran 8. 8 miles barefoot to school. Also, I needed to carry a stick in ________ of snakes and dogs. During the ________ season, the path to school was ________ daily and I’d swim with one hand, using the other hand to ________ the book bag on my head.

Research shows 70 percent of poor children don’t ________ primary school in Uganda. Reasons for this ________ dropout rate includes the long ________ some children must ________ among many other reasons.

Fortunately, I’ve made it. Whenever I see the sun rise, I am ________ of the wisdom of my mother, who ________ me to dream big and to use the ________ of the pen to make my dream come true.

1.

A．degree

B．scholarship

C．recommendation

D．admission

2.

A．recite

B．use

C．repeat

D．guess

3.

A．anxious

B．curious

C．disappointed

D．annoyed

4.

A．tough

B．new

C．foreign

D．old

5.

A．encouraged

B．consulted

C．blamed

D．frightened

6.

A．fly

B．turn

C．walk

D．sail

7.

A．relative

B．real

C．simple

D．technical

8.

A．shows

B．means

C．proves

D．states

9.

A．warm

B．early

C．bright

D．hot

10.

A．search

B．possession

C．spite

D．case

11.

A．summer

B．cold

C．rainy

D．dry

12.

A．damaged

B．repaired

C．blocked

D．flooded

13.

A．drag

B．hold

C．put

D．seize

14.

A．attend

B．enter

C．complete

D．continue

15.

A．constant

B．steady

C．low

D．high

16.

A．distances

B．periods

C．lists

D．stories

17.

A．cover

B．consider

C．judge

D．measure

18.

A．informed

B．warned

C．reminded

D．told

19.

A．enabled

B．inspired

C．expected

D．intended

20.

A．value

B．power

C．symbol

D．length

7 . I ran into quite a few language problems while travelling with my family last summer. The most embarrassing(尴尬的) was when my Mom apologized(道歉) to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers, not trousers as it does back home.

Katie-From America

I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.

David-From Britain

When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet!

Tom-From America

Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle (汽车) and there turned out to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.

Mary-From Britain

1. Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in surprise because____.

A．Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans

B．Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty

C．they didn’t know English

D．they mistook “pants” in American for underpants

2. David went out to find a phone box to_____.

A．phone the police for help.	B．phone his friend for help.
C．tell his friend he couldn’t go to visit her.	D．apologize for his being late.

3. When Tom asked for the “restroom”, the people around him thought_______.

A．he wanted to go to a department store	B．he wanted the toilet
C．he wanted to have a rest	D．he wanted a chair

4. The underlined word “garage” is probably______.

A．a place to repair cars	B．a place to sell cars
C．a gas station	D．a parking place

8 . 第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
A
　　After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack, my world crashed around me. My six children were all under 10, and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living, and caring for the children. I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone.
　　One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German Shepherd（牧羊犬）on our doorstep. This dog seemed to intend to enter the house. The children liked“German”immediately and begged me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
　　The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results.
　On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. No way was he going to be left behind.
Monday morning I let him out for a run. He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed. We were convinced that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening, German was back on our doorstep. Again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived.
This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German. We took comfort in his strong, warm presence, and we felt safe with him near us. As German became part of the family, he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed.
　　Each week, between German’s visits, I grew a little stronger, a little braver and more able to handle; every weekend we were no longer alone and enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted him on the head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. We never saw German again.
1. The dog first came to the family when _______________.

A．it was needed most

B．the writer became strong enough

C．the writer was away on a business trip

D．the writer was busy on the weekday

2. The family planned to go on a picnic without the German Shepherd because ____________.

A．it was too wild to control

B．it was too young to walk so far

C．the owner might come by to pick it up

D．it might spoil the trip

3. The writer was ____________ the German Shepherd.

A．afraid of	B．grateful to
C．cruel to	D．annoyed with

4. Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog？

A．Loyal	B．Beautiful
C．Lovely	D．Wild

9 . A couple of weeks back, my friend had a yard sale (庭院拍卖会). She ___ to sell some of our stuff for us. I thought it would be a good chance to ___ my 7-year-old son’s room and sell some toys that he no longer ___. We agreed that whatever we sold in toys would be his ___ .

The night before the sale, we loaded up the ___ with toys and a little bike that he was now ___ tall for. He had taken the bike for a final spin (高速旋转) ___ we left home but ___ put it on the truck for the sale. This little bike had had at least two ___ owner that we knew of. It was not in the best ____ and it certainly was not shiny new but it was still a bike, and the tires were still good.

We put a price of $ 10 on it but it didn’t ____. So, after the sale was ____, my friend put it on the sidewalk with a sign that ____ “FREE BIKE”. Within five minutes her doorbell rang. A little boy was standing there. His English was not very good but he asked if the bike was really ____. She said yes and told him that he could have it for nothing. He smiled, jumped on the bike and ____ away.

Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had ____ at the yard sale, he was very excited. The next day we were going to take the money to the bank. He asked about a few of his things, ____ if they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that he made a big ____ because he got the bike for free. The smiles on my son’s face were truly ____, much more than when I told him how much he had made. He was so excited to hear that someone else would get good ____ out of that little bike.

1.

A．helped

B．offered

C．decided

D．happened

2.

A．repair

B．paint

C．make

D．clean

3.

A．liked

B．used

C．owned

D．designed

4.

A．money

B．work

C．success

D．way

5.

A．room

B．truck

C．yard

D．sidewalk

6.

A．fairly

B．quite

C．too

D．enough

7.

A．before

B．unless

C．once

D．after

8.

A．sadly

B．happily

C．strangely

D．angrily

9.

A．previous

B．similar

C．perfect

D．private

10.

A．color

B．shape

C．size

D．age

11.

A．buy

B．matter

C．sell

D．like

12.

A．on

B．up

C．away

D．over

13.

A．read

B．wrote

C．painted

D．described

14.

A．cheap

B．expensive

C．old

D．free

15.

A．rode

B．drove

C．walked

D．ran

16.

A．bought

B．made

C．borrowed

D．lent

17.

A．saying

B．wondering

C．worrying

D．trying

18.

A．change

B．smile

C．cry

D．face

19.

A．worthless

B．useless

C．priceless

D．meaningless

20.

A．use

B．luck

C．results

D．chances

10 . I remember the day when I first learned to ride a bike. It was a frightening, yet fun experience. My granddad was the one who taught me and he helped me when I got hurt. The first time I got on a bike, I had no idea what I was doing, and just about everything went wrong. My granddad told me to just put my feet on the pedals and start pedaling (骑自行车). He also told me he would hold onto the back of the bike the whole time, yet he didn’t.

As soon as I started trying to balance myself, he let go. I happened to look back just then. I was scared, to death that I was going to fall and hurt myself. When I was scared, my mind went blank from pedaling, and I just wanted off. I forgot how to use the brakes (车闸) and fell right off the bike. My granddad kept encouraging me to get up and try again, and after about 15 minutes, 1 finally stopped crying, got up and tried again.

As soon as I started pedaling again, my pants got caught in the chain, and I fell flat on my face and hit my nose. Since that happened t my granddad decided to call it a day and try again the next morning. The next morning I woke up bright and early, and was very eager to try to ride my bike. My nose felt better, so I wasn’t that afraid of falling anymore.

Though I knew there were a lot of difficulties on the way to mastering the skills in riding a bike, I believed I could do well with my granddad’s help. After all, riding a bike was what I wanted to do eagerly.

1. How was the author when he was on the bike first?

A．He didn’t know where he would be going.

B．He thought balancing himself was easy.

C．He was nervous and didn’t know what to do next.

D．He put his feet on the pedals and started pedaling.

2. What does the underlined part in the passage mean?

A．Remember what happened this day.

B．Make the author feel happy.

C．Stop practicing bicycling.

D．Go on to ride a bike.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards his granddad?

A．Supportive.	B．Grateful.
C．Indifferent.	D．Negative.

4. Which of the following could be the title for the passage?

A．The Experience of My First Riding a Bike

B．The Difficulty I Met with My Granddad

C．The First Time I Got My Own Bike

D．The Great Moment When I Stayed with My Granddad