1 . I have frequently taught Research Methods and Design to college students at several institutions. I love teaching this course. One reason, of course, is that I enjoy thinking about research methodology (方法学) and sharing it with others. The other reason, however, is the obvious impact that it has on students. Every term, one (if not more) student tells me how taking this course has affected him/her: “I used to just read articles and believe what they said, but now I find myself asking ‘Is this true? How do they know? Is this a well designed study?” That is what I want the students to achieve in this course.
This brings to mind something written by Dorothy L. Sayers in 1948. One of her books, The Lost Tools of Learning speaks to Sayers’ thoughts on education. “By teaching our young men and women to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed words. By the invention of the film and the radio,we have made certain that no dislike for reading shall protect them from the constant battery of words, words, words. They do not know what the words mean: they are victims to words in their emotions instead of being the masters of them in their intelligence.”
We are well past the 1940s, but her observation is still relevant. Sayers’ point is well taken. In the world of 24-hour news and social media that often resembles (类似) the Wild West, the ability to carry out evaluations has never been more important. In order to resist the distortions with which we are constantly bombed in the media, as well as be able to present a persuasive argument, we must be able to reason well, and think and give a judgement carefully.
When my students begin the Research Methods and Design course, they are generally not content to read all those research article I give. However, by the end of the course, they are excited about their newly obtained abilities.
1. What is the author’s course goal for her students?| A．Thinking critically. | B．Reading deeply. |
| C．Designing studies well. | D．Questioning themselves. |
| A．It was boring. | B．It was worrying. |
| C．It was conventional. | D．It was useless. |
| A．Popular news. | B．Various evaluations. |
| C．Persuasive arguments. | D．Misleading information. |
| A．To review a book. | B．To introduce a writer. |
| C．To suggest a practical skill. | D．To criticize social media. |
2 . It was a cold evening and my daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn't notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora did. She wasn't even four, but she
I don't remember my reply. But I do remember a sudden
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and
The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed.
Professionals call such a(n)
| A．pulled | B．glanced | C．waved | D．armed |
| A．would | B．can | C．need | D．must |
| A．general | B．funny | C．heavy | D．curious |
| A．area | B．part | C．eyesight | D．world |
| A．insects | B．animals | C．plants | D．birds |
| A．coldness | B．illness | C．suffering | D．ignorance |
| A．delivered | B．returned | C．devoted | D．posted |
| A．held | B．hurried | C．signed | D．lined |
| A．casual | B．sorry | C．astonished | D．excited |
| A．creative | B．valuable | C．shocking | D．simple |
| A．warn | B．stop | C．allow | D．push |
| A．turn back | B．get away | C．show up | D．come out |
| A．Therefore | B．Obviously | C．Still | D．Also |
| A．called | B．promised | C．invited | D．helped |
| A．Although | B．Once | C．Because | D．As |
| A．stay | B．visit | C．adventure | D．challenge |
| A．fair | B．famous | C．difficult | D．enjoyable |
| A．collect | B．make | C．order | D．wear |
| A．let | B．made | C．watched | D．noticed |
| A．increased | B．benefited | C．tried | D．seized |
3 . To move visual technology into the future, sometimes it helps to make a little noise. Researchers have used sound waves to produce floating 3-D images, create a sense of touch and even supply a soundtrack.
Since the 1940s, scientists have toyed with the concept of acoustic levitation(声悬浮), the use of soundwave vibrations to trap tiny things in midair. The technology has gained greater capabilities in the past decade. Some researchers believe this improvement could lead to applications such as contributing to novel 3-D printing methods, or creating displays that would be visible from any angle without requiring a screen.
Other researchers have also worked on visual displays that use acoustic levitation. In addition to visuals, the system can also produce audible noise to give the display a soundtrack. And the ultrasound speakers can also concentrate vibrations in one spot so that a finger might feel a sense pushing back—a little like the object shown by the floating image is really there. Soundwaves create a 3-D display!
Display without a screen is remarkably useful. It means that everybody in the room can see the image—any angle, location—and that’s extremely helpful. As a communications system, such a display might one day allow users to chat with a 3-D projection(投影) of a person who can turn his or her head to follow as they move around a room.
The display will require a lot more work before you can install it in your living room, however. So far, this has been done in the research laboratory. We need to push it a little bit harder. We need to do more analysis to see if it would make sense to create a real display that people would have at home. The current system can only show simple graphics, such as a smiley face or figure eight, in real time.
Still, we are optimistic about the potential for this type of technology. If the system had only one speaker-covered surface instead of two, it could generate images that are bigger than the device itself. We can’t make a TV image that’s bigger than the TV—even a projector has to have a projection screen that’s bigger than the image itself. But with a volumetric(容积的) display, a small, portable device might produce a much larger picture. We can imagine, in the future, having volumetric displays in watches, for example, that create large images that just project out of your watch.
1. From the first two paragraphs soundwave vibrations can be used to _________.| A．catch very small objects in midair |
| B．develop 3-D printer’s capabilities |
| C．replace a creative display screen |
| D．compose soundtracks by making no noise |
| A．It has resulted in visual technology. |
| B．It is possible to see the image from any direction. |
| C．It is already ripe to create a real one at home. |
| D．It has yet to be tested in the research laboratory. |
| A．Outlooks for the new technology. |
| B．Situations of the modern technology. |
| C．Praise for the cutting-edge technology. |
| D．Room for the technical improvement. |
| A．Hearing Is Seeing—Sound Waves Create a 3-D Display |
| B．Seeing is Believing—3-D Printing Methods Arrive |
| C．Advancing Sense of Touch—3-D Images Float in the Air |
| D．Promoting TV Technology—Chat with 3-D Projections |
4 . Examples of effective conservation of places matter to the world. They range from the 1960s Nubian campaign to safeguard Ancient Egyptian monuments from the waters of the Aswan Dam to the removal in 2018 of the Belize Barrier Reef from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Conservation is the core purpose of the World Heritage Convention and it may also be its biggest challenge.
The following example shows how successes at specific sites now serve as models for conservation and sustainable (可持续性) development. A year after Vienna was included on the World Heritage List in 2001, the World Heritage Committee (WHC) expressed concerns about the architectural solutions and height of four planned towers of the Wien-Mitte project. This development project, close to the Historic Centre of Vienna in the site’s buffer zone, the one that lies between two or more other areas, affected the urban scale (规模) and visual effects in and around the property (地产). As a result of the Committee’s concerns, Vienna changed its building codes and launched a new design competition for the Wien-Mitte project to work out architectural plans with reduced size in keeping with World Heritage protection.
The successful practice inspired the government of the city to invite over 600 experts and professionals from 55 countries to an international conference on World Heritage and contemporary architecture, held in Vienna in May 2005. The global discussion that followed, detailing an approach to managing conservation and development, was recorded in the UNESCO Recommendation in 2011.
The Recommendation put forwards an all-rounded and combined approach to balancing urban heritage (遗产) conservation and economic development, arguing that active protection and management of urban heritage supports the goal of sustainable development.
The Recommendation supports the harmonious combination of contemporary involvement into the historic urban framework while holding on to values linked to history, memory and the environment.
1. Why does the author mention the Belize Barrier Reef in Paragraph 1?| A．To explain the goal of the organization. |
| B．To encourage the public to protect the world. |
| C．To show the positive effect of conservation. |
| D．To remind people of the environmental problems. |
| A．It took up too much public land of the city. |
| B．It had a bad effect on the Historic Centre of Vienna. |
| C．Its original designs were not environmentally friendly. |
| D．Its architectural solutions couldn’t meet safety standards. |
| A．The ways to combine conservation and development. |
| B．The creation of the new UNESCO Recommendation. |
| C．The international urban management and development. |
| D．The styles of the contemporary architecture of Vienna. |
| A．To examine the challenges faced by global urban planners. |
| B．To introduce alternative ways of protecting the environment. |
| C．To stress the importance of the value of history and memory. |
| D．To promote active conservation and sustainable development. |
5 . In 2015, a man named Nigel Richards memorized 386, 000 words in the entire French Scrabble Dictionary in just nine weeks. However, he does not speak French. Richards’ impressive feat is a useful example to show how artificial intelligence works — real AI. Both of Richard and AI take in massive amounts of data to achieve goals with unlimited memory and superman accuracy in a certain field.
The potential applications for AI are extremely exciting. Because AI can outperform humans at routine tasks — provided the task is in one field with a lot of data — it is technically capable of replacing hundreds of millions of white and blue collar jobs in the next 15 years or so.
But not every job will be replaced by AI. In fact, four types of jobs are not at risk at all. First, there are creative jobs. AI needs to be given a goal to optimize. It cannot invent, like scientists, novelists and artists can. Second, the complex, strategic jobs — executives, diplomats, economists — go well beyond the AI limitation of single-field and Big Data. Then there are the as-yet-unknown jobs that will be created by AI.
Are you worried that these three types of jobs won’t employ as many people as AI will replace? Not to worry, as the fourth type is much larger: jobs where emotions are needed, such as teachers, nannies and doctors. These jobs require compassion, trust and sympathy — which AI does not have. And even if AI tried to fake it, nobody would want a robot telling them they have cancer, or a robot to babysit their children.
So there will still be jobs in the age of AI. The key then must be retraining the workforce so people can do them. This must be the responsibility not just of the government, which can provide funds, but also of corporations and those who benefit most.
1. What is the main purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To mention Nigel’s feat. |
| C．To stress the importance of good memory. |
| D．To suggest humans go beyond AI in memory. |
| A．Be superior to | B．Be equal to |
| C．Be similar to | D．Be related to |
| A．The writer. | B．The shop assistant. |
| C．The babysitter. | D．The psychologist. |
| A．Limit the application of AI to a certain degree. |
| B．Get more support from the government. |
| C．Apply for the donation from companies. |
| D．Upgrade themselves all the time. |
