1 . Nowadays, we can read almost all "truths" on social media sites. But are they really reliable? Sites such as the micro-messaging service, the social networking site and the photo-sharing app Instagram might "misrepresent the real world", according to a study by computer scientists from McGill University and Carnegie Mellon University.
The scientists warn that gathering information about public views and trends from these sites is unwise. There are still large parts of the population who do not take part in social media activities. Also, there's a risk that many social media users are under-represented. Instagram, for example, appeals to younger adults in urban areas while Pinterest is used mainly by females aged 25 to 34. And only 5 percent of the micro-messaging service users are over 65 years old, according to the study. However, this is not the only issue, according to the scientific team. The design of a website can influence how people behave online, creating what the researchers call "Internet bias". For example, micro-blogging sites such as Weibo promote "popular" stories. It saves time for some but it also limits readers' choice of what they see. In the end, many people open those stories and make them more "popular". But it's not because they choose those stories. Rather, it is because the content is right in front of them.
Besides, it's possible that not everyone on your social networks is real. There might actually be a few fake accounts among them. Fake "bots" pretend to be humans and are often included when measuring or predicting human behaviors online.
The findings might be more important than you would think, since many social media studies are used to inform and justify decisions and investments among the public and in industry and government, according to Derek Ruths, an assistant professor of Computer Science at Mc Gill University.
If the team is right, you might have to think carefully next time you say, "It's true, you know; I read it on Weibo."
1. Why does the author mention the micro-messaging and Instagram?| A．Because they are the best social media sites today. |
| B．Because they are not in favor of the current study. |
| C．Because the public are sharing truths on these sites. |
| D．Because information on these sites may not be reliable. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By dividing into groups. | D．By analyzing causes. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Favorable. | C．Disagreeable. | D．Cautious. |
| A．To analyze why information gathered from social media sites may not be trustworthy. |
| B．To remind readers of things they should watch out for when using social media. |
| C．To point out the advantages and disadvantages of social media. |
| D．To recommend popular social networking sites for readers. |
2 . Futurologists(未来学家)predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields of activity，from entertainment to technology.First of all，it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050.Instead，people will choose a programme from a “menu”(菜单)and a computer will send the programme directly to the television.Today，we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometres away.By 2050，music，films，programmes，newspapers and books will come to us by computer.We will also be able to see，smell and touch the things that we see on television.
In transport，cars will run on new，clean “gas” and they will go very fast.Cars will have computers to control the speed of the car and there won't be any accidents.Today，many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are.By 2050，the computer will control the car and drive it to where you want to go.Space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.
In technology，robots will have replaced people in factories.Many factories already use robots.Big companies prefer robots — they do not ask for pay rises or go on strike，and they work 24 hours a day.By 2050，we will see robots everywhere — in factories，schools，offices，hospitals，shops and homes.
Last but not least，medicine technology will have conquered many diseases.By 2050，we will be able to help blind and deaf people see again and hear again.Scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look，how they behave and how much intelligence they have.
1. What is NOT true about television by 2050 according to this passage?| A．One will be able to smell the food on television. |
| B．One can have a try of the food he or she sees on television. |
| C．There will be no channels for us to choose programmes. |
| D．Televisions will be completely controlled by computers. |
| A．Cars will go at a very high speed on their own. |
| B．Space planes will fly all over the world in a short time. |
| C．There will be less pollution and no car accidents. |
| D．Computers will tell people where they are going. |
| A．people will live more healthily and longer |
| B．computers will control the speed of cars |
| C．people can read newspapers through a computer |
| D．there will be no people working in factories |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Sad. |
| C．Happy. | D．Worried. |
3 . When little kids line up for school picture day, there’s the typical nervousness and joking as they get ready to show off their brightest smiles. Maybe they’re wearing their best clothes or even sporting a new haircut.
But the children who sit in front of the camera as part of Project Picture Day are a special kind of subject. They’re kids in low-income communities who get to be the focus of attention for maybe the very first time.
Jules Alonzo brainstormed with his professional photographer friend, Jen Campos, about a way they could combine a love for photography and working with children in poor areas around the world. They came up with a concept and, in 2015, they had a trial run in Africa, taking photos of kids at school.
“I had gone on a five-week volunteer project a few years back and still had connections there. We got in touch with a school director there who spoke English well and was happy to have us,” said Alonzo.“It turned out to be a huge success.” Since then, the non-profit organisation has reached 1,765 students in 14 schools in three countries.
The Project Picture Day team of four to six members goes into a school and sets up two stations with a camera, a tripod (三脚架), and so on. Campos decides where the best spots will be — whether inside or outside the classroom or school. Then the team spends two or three days photographing the students and editing and printing their photos. They also take a class photo and faculty pictures. On the final day,each student receives a 4×6 school portrait.
“The majority of the students laugh. It’s funny and maybe even embarrassing seeing a photo of yourself. They love to show their peers and everyone gets a good laugh,” said Alonzo.
“There’s a sense of pride.What we didn’t expect and love to see is,sometimes the students will exchange photos with their best friends. It’s actually really cute. Others run to their parents to show them. Honestly, the reactions are the best part of all of this.”
1. In what aspect are children lining up for Project Picture Day special?| A．They are too nervous. |
| B．They are smiling happily. |
| C．They are from poor areas. |
| D．They are informally-dressed. |
| A．A project to help poor kids complete their education. |
| B．A project to help children know the world more and better. |
| C．A project to help children dreaming of becoming film stars. |
| D．A project to help children who have few chances to take a photo. |
| A．It lasted five days. |
| B．The place was in Asia. |
| C．It was not very successful. |
| D．They chose a school whose director spoke English well. |
| A．What they do in a school. |
| B．Who are to be taken photos of. |
| C．Why the organization is not for profit. |
| D．How they are warmly received in schools. |
4 . The United States is a nation of car owners. Ninety-five percent of households own a car, and 85 percent of people get to work in one. This lifestyle contributes to congestion on our roads and damages the environment. As autonomous vehicles begin to hit the streets over the next decade or so, it's believed that all this will change.
Autonomous vehicles will most likely decrease the number and severity of crashes, allow cars to travel more closely together and improve cooperation between vehicles, all of which tend to reduce traffic jams and increase capacity.
However, this future is not assured. To realize the full potential benefits of driverless cars, we will have to act soon to encourage a culture in which transportation is shared. Many people in the automobile industry assume that driverless vehicles will automatically be shared, but there is little evidence that this is true. Most estimates suggest that driverless cars will eventually be only slightly more expensive than traditional cars, which means they'll be within reach of many consumers, so users are not willing to share rides.
If most people are going to buy-in to a shared-ride culture, they need to get a significant benefit. Saving a few dollars off the fare isn't likely to promote the movement dramatically. A better benefit would be knowing that you're going to reach your destination more quickly. The way to guarantee quick passage is to redesign our roads to give priority to ride-sharing autonomous vehicles like building priority lanes. The cost of travel will also be varied based on how efficiently a vehicle uses the roads. Autonomous vehicles carrying multiple people should get higher priority than those carrying one or none at all.
Decision-makers must push for incentives that encourage the most efficient use of our limited roadway infrastructure(基础设施). The autonomous future is rapidly approaching; it is critical that we act now, while the impacts of autonomous vehicles on traffic jams and emissions are still largely within our control.
1. What's the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To tell the severe traffic problem. |
| C．To prove the necessity of autonomous vehicles. |
| D．To show the damage of cars to the environment. |
| A．Autonomous vehicles worsen traffic jams on roads. |
| B．Autonomous vehicles are likely to reduce traffic jams. |
| C．Saving some fares contributes to shared-ride significantly. |
| D．Many people have ridden autonomous vehicles to avoid traffic jams. |
| A．To save a large amount of money. |
| B．To promote the development of science and technology. |
| C．To redesign roads to prioritize car-shared modes. |
| D．To allow you to reach your destination much more quickly. |
| A．Driverless Cars Will Make Our Traffic Problems Worse. |
| B．Autonomous Vehicles Will Make a Difference to Traffic. |
| C．Decision-makers Should Take Some Measures Quickly. |
| D．The Current Situation of Cars in the United States is Serious. |
5 . By the year 2050, a fifth of the world’s cities will experience unprecedented climate conditions and environments that currently don’t exist in any major cities, according to new research. A team of scientists at the Crowther Lab in Switzerland produced the report, which described the climate for 520 major cities 30 years in the future.
The results showed that 77 percent of the world’s cities will experience a surprising change in climate conditions by 2050, and 22 percent of the 520 cities will see conditions that are not currently experienced by any existing major cities.
In China in 2050, the climate of Xi’an, in Shanxi province, will be similar to that of current day Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in southern Africa, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month likely to increase by 4.59℃. Chongqing in southwest China will resemble the climate of Swaziland capital Mbabane, as the warmest temperature is predicted to rise by 5.1℃.
Scientists predict summers in Europe will get warmer by an average of 3.5℃ and European winters will see temperature rises of 4.7℃. London’s climate will be more similar lo Barcelona, and Madrid’s to Marrakech.
The Crowther Lab hopes the analysis will motivate decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent or address some of the climate effects due to the threat of climate change. The report also found that cities in tropical regions will experience smaller changes in average temperature but will be controlled by shifts in rainfall regimes. This may lead to a noticeable increase in unexpected events, and severe droughts.
“Across all scientific fields, the greatest challenge in climate science is no longer the precise measurement of climate change impacts, but inspiring people to picture is actual effects in order to motivate action,” said Tom Crowther, senior scientist und founder of the Crowther Lab.
1. According to the research, among the 520 cities by 2050, about ________ cities will experience the climate conditions that no major cities currently have experienced.| A．400 | B．114 | C．260 | D．104 |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By doing experiments. | D．By explaining theory. |
| A．To compare the climate change of the major cities of the world. |
| B．To inspire people to picture its actual effects in order to motivate action. |
| C．To inspire decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent some climate effects. |
| D．To show most word’s cities will experience a striking change in climate conditions. |
| A．World Temperature | B．Current Climate Change |
| C．Big Titles in the World | D．Future Climate Change in Most Big Cities |
6 . "Robots help people by making their lives easier, safer, and more fun," says engineer Omar Abdelwahed. Lately, engineers have been developing new kinds of humanoid robots. These high-tech machines are designed to lend a hand everywhere from hotels to disaster areas.
A robot named Petter has been on the job at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. When guests have questions or need directions, they can ask Petter. They can also use the robot's touch screen to find the information they need. Petter is able to talk with guests and entertain them with stories too. It can even tell what kind of mood they are in. "Petter provides our guests with information in an exciting and new way," says the hotel manager Donald Bowman.
For a kid, being in the hospital can be boring and even scary. But a small robot called NAO is helping to make hospital stays easier. It was designed to keep people company.
A Tennessee doctor named Phil Parker bought a NAO robot three years ago. He programmed it to talk to and play with young patients. He brought it to hospitals to help sick kids. When kids get medical tests, NAO explains what is going on. The robot also reads to kids and plays games with them like rock, paper, scissors. "The robot has got many kids to smile since they were in the hospital," Parker says.
Other robots are being developed to help in places where it's hard or risky for people to go. Engineers in Japan are building a robot called E2-DR to go into those dangerous areas, searching for and rescuing the people who are trapped or injured.
1. What is special in the way Petter helps guests?| A．It is easier and safer. |
| B．It is more friendly and considerate. |
| C．It is more relaxing and fun. |
| D．It is more exciting and newer. |
| A．It was programmed by its designer. |
| B．It was donated to the hospital. |
| C．It is popular with young patients. |
| D．It attracts more people to hospital. |
| A．In the hotels. |
| B．In the hospitals. |
| C．In disaster areas. |
| D．In the factories. |
| A．The part robots play in our life. |
| B．The development trend of robots. |
| C．The appearances of robots. |
| D．The future of robots. |
7 . Feeling hungry? Then what’s the easiest way to satisfy your hunger? Many of us will reach for a takeaway menu and order some delicious- but possibly unhealthy -food. And our increasingly busy and stressful lives add to our need to buy ready-made food on the go or delivered to home.
Eating options are endless, and new technology means we can feed our desires at the push of a button. Takeaway delivery apps make ordering food quick and convenient, and during the recent coronavirus（冠状病毒）crisis, it provided a lifeline to those stuck at home with nothing to cook or who lacked the skills to prepare a meal for themselves. It’s estimated that in the UK alone, people eat three million takeaway meals a day, and the three biggest delivery apps together offer a choice of 100 dishes from 60, 000 restaurants.
It’s no wonder we are tempted to skip the grocery shopping, bypass the kitchen, and enjoy something that someone else has prepared. But ordering a pizza, a spicy curry or a box of noodles, can come at a price both financially and to our health. Eating too much processed and unhealthy fast food has some effect on obesity and the risk of developing certain diseases. A few years ago, The BBC Good Food Nation Survey found that most people ate fast food on average two days per week. But, in the 16 to 20-year-old category, one in six ate fast food at least twice a day.
Of course, reducing salt, sugar and fat is one way to make takeaway food healthier, as well as offering smaller portion sizes. But the best advice is to find a cooking book and try making your own healthy meal. And if you haven’t got time, try ordering a healthier alternative from the menu.
1. What has made ordering and delivering takeaway food easy?| A．The fast-pace lifestyle. | B．Takeaway delivery apps. |
| C．The coronavirus crisis. | D．Lack of cooking skills. |
| A．Processed food is usually sold at a low price. |
| B．It’s unbelievable for people to enjoy fast food. |
| C．Fast food does less harm to the health of adults. |
| D．The youth consume fast food more frequently. |
| A．Preparing meals yourself. | B．Eating in large restaurants. |
| C．Eating takeaway occasionally | D．Adding vegetables and fruit. |
| A．The popularity of takeaway. | B．The necessity of cooking at home. |
| C．The harm caused by takeaway. | D．The dilemma takeaway faces. |
8 . You are just waking up in the spring of 2030. Your Internet of Things bedroom opens solar powered e-windows and plays gentle music while your smart lighting displays a montage (剪辑的)of beachfront sunrises from your recent vacation.
Your shower uses very little water or soap. It recycles your grey water and puts the extra heat back into your home's operating system. While you dress, your artificial intelligence (Al) assistant shares your schedule for the day and plays your favorite tunes.
You still start your day with a coffee but it comes from your lot refrigerator which is capable of providing a coffeehouse experience in your home. A hot breakfast tailored to your specific nutritional needs (based on chemical analysis from your trips to the “smart toilet” is waiting for you in the kitchen.
When it's time to leave, an on-demand transport system has three cars waiting for you, your wife (or husband) and your kids. On the road, driverless cars and trucks move with mathematical accuracy, without traffic jams, routine maintenance or road rage. Accident rates are near zero.
On the way, you call your R&D team, who are enveloping a day's work in Shanghai. Your life-sized image is projected (投射)into the China Innovation Centre and your colleagues see you as if you were sitting in the room. It’s a bit surreal for them to see you in the morning light given that it's dark on the Bund, Shanghai's waterfront, though the novelty disappears after a few uses.
You review the day's cloud-based data from your Shenzhen manufacturing center, your pilot project in San Diego, and your QA team in Melbourne. The large amounts of datasets were collected in real-time from every piece of equipment and have been beautifully summarized by your company's AL All these facilities are closely maintained and operated through a advanced predictive analytics platform.
Pleased with the team's progress, you end the call and ease into a good book.
This is the future and it will be here sooner than you think.
1. How can we describe the life in the future?| A．Artificial | B．Accurate | C．Remarkable | D．Intelligent |
| A．We can have a bath without using water. |
| B．We can drive to work without concerning any accidents. |
| C．We can enjoy the coffeehouse experience without going there. |
| D．We can deal with all our work at home without turning to others for help. |
| A．In time order. | B．In logical order. |
| C．By comparing. | D．By offering examples. |
| A．To attract us to use the Al system. |
| B．To introduce the life in the future. |
| C．To teach us how to use the Al system. |
| D．To encourage us to study hard for the future. |
9 . What will the future school look like is difficult to make clear, but most experts agree that the school will be electronic in the future .
" Present-day schools will no longer exist in the next century," says a report in The Age. "At that time, future schools will become community-style centers, which run seven days a week,24 hours a day. ” At the same time, computers will surely become a central part of the school in the future.
According to The Age, the distant learning will be popular and students will listen to teachers on computers. Going into classrooms on their computers, students will study at any time, which is very easy for them. However, it is necessary for students to go to the actual school in order to develop some social skills.
The Seashore Primary School is an imaginary school in the future created by the Education Department of Australia. At this school, all the teachers and students have laptop computers . Teachers check messages and call students back on a special telephone system and students use telephones to search for information or speak to their experts who teach their lessons. Besides, all the lessons are related to all sorts of subjects and all the students have their own learning plans created by teachers .
As one headmaster says, a laptop computer is students5 library, data storage （数据存储）as well as the bridge to a wider world. Technology has changed the emphasis of future learning. Thus, well pay more attention to the learning of kids rather than the teaching.
1. According to the report in The Age, students in future schools will _______.| A．have no teachers | B．study at a set time |
| C．mainly study online | D．never go to actual school |
| A．telephones are important in Australia |
| B．how future schools will work |
| C．every student needs a learning plan |
| D．students enjoy getting in touch with teachers |
| A．The Schools in the Future |
| B．Great Changes in Technology |
| C．The Seashore Primary School |
| D．Actual Schools to Be Replaced |
10 . Americans wear black for mourning. Chinese wear white. Westerners think of dragons as monsters. Chinese honor them as symbols of God. Chinese civilization has often shown such polarities(极性）with the West,as though each stands at extreme ends of a global string. Now in the University of California,Berkeley,a psychologist has discovered deeper polarities between Chinese and American cultures-polarities that go to the heart of how we reason and discover truth.
His findings go far toward explaining why American cultures seem so contentious and Chinese cultures so passive, when compared to each other. More importantly, the research opens the way for the peoples of the East and the West to learn from each other in fundamental ways. The Chinese could learn much from Western methods for determining scientific truth,said Peng Kaiping,a former Beijing scholar, who is now a UC Berkeley assistant professor of psychology. And Americans could profit enormously from the Chinese tolerance for accepting contradictions(矛盾） in social and personal life,he said.
“Americans have a terrible need to find out who is right in an argument,"said Peng."The problem is that at the interpersonal level, you really don't need to find the truth,or maybe there isn't any.” Chinese people,said Peng,are far more content to think that both sides have flaws(缺陷）and virtues, because they have a holistic awareness that life is full of contradictions. They do far less blaming of the individual than Americans do, he added.
In studies of interpersonal argument,for example,when subjects were asked to deal with contradictory information stemming from conflict between a mother and a daughter or a student and a school,Peng found that Americans were "uncompromising, blaming one side-usually the mother-for the causes of the problems, demanding changes from one side to attain a solution and offering no compromise” in dealing with the conflict. Compared to this angry,blaming American stance,the Chinese were paragons(模范）of compromise,finding fault on both sides and looking for solutions that moved both sides to the middle.
1. In Paragraph 1, the author offers examples in order to_______| A．expose the contradiction between Chinese and Americans |
| B．show the differences between Chinese culture and American culture |
| C．find the reason for the differences |
| D．generalize the main idea of the passage |
| A．conservative |
| B．aggressive |
| C．objective |
| D．subjective |
| A．likely to find the truth in life |
| B．reluctant to admit their failure |
| C．reluctant to have a general idea of things |
| D．likely to know advantages and disadvantages of things |
| A．Culture Differences Between America and China |
| B．Different Ways for Mourning Between America and China |
| C．Different Ways for Treating the Aged Between America and China |
| D．The Study about American and Chinese |
