1 . Humans have little difficulty recognizing one another. And we know that no two faces are exactly alike. Even identical twins have slightly different faces. Each human face is truly unique, and now we've invented machines that are able to recognize faces for numerous purposes.
Governments, employers and security and police services are increasingly using facial recognition technology. This allows them to quickly confirm an individual's identity. Systems are becoming so advanced that a wanted criminal can instantly be picked out of a crowd of thousands of people. All that's required is an image in a database to compare with the image of any number of people in a crowd. Ordinary people, too, are using facial recognition to unlock their phones, their computers and other devices.
Personal facial recognition protection has several benefits. It is instantaneous, and it relieves us of the need to memorize passwords. However, a device will require a password in the rare event that it doesn't, for whatever reason, recognize the user's face.
There are numerous concerns about the use of facial recognition. Primarily, the concern is that it threatens privacy. The installation of more and more cameras in public and private places is now part of everyday life. This means people can be observed and recognized wherever they go. Cameras may make public spaces safer, but keeping law-abiding(守法的) citizens under constant watch is disturbing to many.
In the age of the coronavirus and the widespread wearing of masks, facial recognition systems are having some difficulty. A mask covers many of the facial data points used by recognition software to confirm a person's identity. In response, facial recognition systems are being trained to use less facial data. That could affect how dependable it is as a method of identity detection.
1. What's the author's purpose of writing Paragraph 2?| A．To further explain the importance of facial recognition. |
| B．To describe the powerful functions of facial recognition. |
| C．To list in detail various advantages of facial recognition. |
| D．To state the unique advanced features of facial recognition. |
| A．The cameras may be occasionally out of order. |
| B．Too many cameras disturb people's daily life. |
| C．People's personal life might be exposed to others. |
| D．The cameras make law-abiding citizens feel stressful. |
| A．Getting more accurate with less information. |
| B．Becoming faster with more facial data. |
| C．Protecting personal information if necessary. |
| D．Responding more quickly to unexpected events. |
| A．The wide popularity of facial recognition. |
| B．The rapid development of facial recognition. |
| C．The benefits of facial recognition. |
| D．The introduction to facial recognition. |
2 . Last year, 138,000 San Francisco residents used Airbnb, a popular app designed to connect home renters and travelers. It’s a striking number for a city with a population of about 850,000, and it was enough for Airbnb to win a major victory in local elections, as San Francisco voters struck down a debatable rule that would have placed time restrictions and other regulations on short-term rental services.
The company fiercely opposed the measure, Proposition F, with a nearly $10 million advertising campaign. It also contacted its San Franciscan users with messages urging them to vote against Proposition F.
Most people think of Airbnb as a kind of couch-surfing app. The service works for one-night stays on road trips and longer stays in cities, and it often has more competitive pricing than hotels. It’s a textbook example of the “sharing economy”, but not everyone is a fan.
The app has had unintended consequences in San Francisco. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported last year, a significant amount of renting on Airbnb is not in line with the company’s image: middle-class families putting up a spare room to help make ends meet. Some users have taken advantage of the service, using it to turn their multiple properties into vacation rentals or even full-time rentals. Backers of Proposition F argued that this trend takes spaces off the conventional, better-regulated housing market and contributes to rising costs.
“The fact is, widespread abuse of short-term rentals is taking much needed housing off the market and harming our neighborhoods,” said ShareBetter SF, a group that supported Proposition F. Hotel unions have protested the company’s practices in San Francisco and other cities, saying that it creates an illegal hotel system.
San Francisco is in the middle of a long-term, deeply rooted housing crisis that has seen the cost of living explode. Actually, explode is a generous term. The average monthly rent for an apartment is around $4, 000. Located on a narrow outcropping of land overlooking the bay, San Francisco simply doesn’t have enough space to accommodate the massive inflow of young, high-salaried tech employees flocking to Silicon Valley.
As the Los Angeles Times reported, some San Francisco residents supported the measure simply because it seemed like a way to check a big corporation. Opponents of Proposition F countered that the housing crisis runs much deeper, and that passing the rule would have discouraged a popular service while doing little to solve the city’s existing problems.
1. The intention of Proposition F is to ________.| A．place time limits in local election. | B．set limits on short-term rental. |
| C．strike down a controversial rule. | D．urge users to vote against Airbnb. |
| A．It shrinks the living space of middle-class families. |
| B．Users are taken advantage of by the service financially. |
| C．It makes the house market more competitive. |
| D．It indirectly leads to high house rental price. |
| A．explosion of the living cost | B．its geographic characteristics |
| C．generosity of local enterprises | D．inflow of migrant population |
| A．objective | B．supportive |
| C．negative | D．indifferent |
3 . While scientists have been modifying（修改)plant genes for years in biotechnology, they usually focus on a few specific genes in order to get a particular result. Plants have tens of thousands of genes. The genetically modified product (GMP) won’t be dramatically different from its natural one. It may have a few features that the natural version doesn’t have but otherwise will remain identical.
Some people worry that genetic modification, which introduces genes from one species into an entirely different species, could create new allergens(过敏原). In fact, it may turn out that the opposite is true. Depending on the food, scientists might be able to remove or prevent the proteins that act as allergens for some people. This isn’t true for every food, but genetic markers scientists use could lead to developing bacteria with a built-in resistance to antibiotics(抗生素). Scientists use antibiotic gene markers to link genes for the desired features. Also, by exposing modified plant’s cells to antibiotics, a scientist can confirm whether or not the genetic modification was successful.
But what if that resistance could be passed on the bacteria? It’s possible that bacteria in the soil around a plant with antibiotic resistance could pick up the DNA. The bacteria could, in theory, pass this feature to other types of bacteria harmful to humans. So far, however, scientists have been unable to transfer antibiotic resistance genes from plants to bacteria.
In the United States, farmers don’t have to label genetically modified foods or products. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have very strict regulations that products must pass before they can go to market.
It’s possible that the foods that come from biotechnology are not only safe to eat, but they’re actually safer than their natural counterparts. While the controversy around genetically modified food is far from resolved, it appears that you shouldn’t worry if the ear of corn you’re about to enjoy got its start in a laboratory.
1. How could scientists deal with a plant in biotechnology?| A．By changing some cells. | B．By adding some foreign genes. |
| C．By producing some natural proteins. | D．By removing some of its branches. |
| A．promote their resistance. | B．get their unexpected features. |
| C．see the effect of the modification. | D．improve the ability against bacteria. |
| A．It takes time for customers to accept bioengineered food. |
| B．The laws in America are far from strict in regulating the GMP. |
| C．American farmers only care about improving their food produce. |
| D．Scientists have developed certain food beneficial to human health. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Indifferent. |
4 . Sohrab's gaze bounced from the kite to me. Back to the sky.
I took off running, my sneakers splashing rainwater from puddles, the hand clutching the kite end of the string held high above my head. It had been so long, so many years since I'd done this, and I wondered if I'd make a spectacle of myself. I let the spool roll in my left hand as I ran, felt the string cut my right hand again as it fed through. The kite was lifting behind my shoulder now, lifting, wheeling, and I ran harder. The spool spun faster and the glass string tore another gash in my right palm. I hadn't flown a kite in a quarter of a century, but suddenly I was twelve again and all the old instincts came rushing back.
I felt a presence next to me and looked down. It was Sohrab. Hands dug deep in the pockets of his raincoat. He had followed me.My heart quickened as I spun the spool to gather the loose string.
Then I saw we had company. A green kite was closing in.
His gaze flitted between our kite and the green one. His face was a little flushed, his eyes suddenly alert. Awake. Alive. I wondered when I had forgotten that, despite everything, he was still just a child.The green kite drew closer yet, now rising a little above us, unaware of the trap I'd set for it. "Watch, Sohrab. I'm going to show you one of your father's favorite tricks, the old lift-and-dive.The park shimmered with snow so fresh, so dazzling white, it burned my eyes. It sprinkled soundlessly from the branches of white-clad trees.
The green kite hovered directly above us now. "He's going for it. Anytime now,?I said, my eyes flicking from Sohrab to our kite.The green kite hesitated. Held position. Then shot down. "Here he comes!?I said.
I did it perfectly. After all these years. The old lift-and-dive trap. I'd already slipped him Hassan's trick. I pulled hard and our kite plummeted. I could almost feel our string sawing his. Almost heard the snap.
Behind us, people cheered. Whistles and applause broke out. I was panting. The last time I had felt a rush like this was that day in the winter of 1975, just after I had cut the last kite, when I spotted Baba on our rooftop, clapping, beaming.
I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so.
A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there.
"Do you want me to run that kite for you??
His Adam's apple rose and fell as he swallowed. The wind lifted his hair. I thought I saw him nod.
"For you, a thousand times over,?I heard myself say.
Then I turned and ran.
It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight.
But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting.
I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But I didn't care. I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips.
I ran.
1. What can we infer from Para2 ?| A．The protagonist longed for freedom of getting rid of religious barriers |
| B．The protagonist couldn’t bear the physical or mental pain |
| C．What struck the protagonist was the attempts to pursue perfect |
| D．What was really cherished may be more than just flying kites |
| A．His personalities and being reminded the protagonist of something emotional |
| B．He approved to trick the green kite off after inner conflicts |
| C．His father used to fly kites with the company the protagonist’s Papa |
| D．He rejected the protagonist’s request due to inferiority |
| A．Sohrab’s innocent smile of appreciation and respect |
| B．People’s sincere praises and cheers |
| C．The re-finding process of his previous childhood |
| D．The promise of thousands of times made by Hassan |
| A．Putting off prejudices always serves as the healing medicine of heart |
| B．Collision between hearts can eliminate misunderstandings |
| C．The poem of love and salvation is as warm as the sunshine |
| D．Compassion from the harmonious world helps melt the snow |
5 . Earthworms don’t move fast. But humans can accelerate the worms’ spread. Fishermen often use invasive(蔓延性的) earthworms to catch fish. Many have introduced invasive earthworms to rivers, streams and lakes previously unexposed to these animals. Gardeners who use earthworms to make their soil rich may unknowingly introduce invasive ones. The worms even give rides in the mud on wheels, potted plants and road materials shipped around the nation.
But they’re not everywhere yet. In the Great Lakes region, “20 percent of the land is earthworm-free,” says Cindy Hale, a research biologist. Of the remaining 80 percent of land, half of the land has fewer than two earthworm species-meaning there isn’t yet too much impact on the ecosystem, she explains. For these regions, she says, now is the time to take action. According to Hale, educating the public, especially fishermen, is one approach to stopping the spread of invasive earthworms. Identifying which lands are currently earthworm-free is another.
Ryan Hueffmeier, a program coordinator for Great Lakes Worm Watch, has been working on a model that will help create large maps of areas with minimal(最小的) or no damage from earthworms. Ultimately, landowners can use it to identify earthworm activity on their property. once identified, lands with minimal or no earthworm damage should be protected.
But scientists suspect that once invasive earthworms arrive they can’t be removed. And even if all could be, affected forests might never return to the way they were. “It’s very much a story of learning to live with them,” concludes Lee Frelich of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology.
Forest ecologists have called earthworms “ecosystem engineers” because they can change or create habitats that otherwise would not be present. Whether this is a good thing depends on the situation.
“What the earthworms do and how we value it is what really matters.” said Hale. “In one place-farm fields or gardens-we really like European earthworms and what they do, so we consider them good. In native hardwood forests, we really don’t like what they do-so we consider them bad. You really have to understand how an organism(微生物) affects an ecosystem. Things aren’t black and white.”
1. Why are fishermen and gardeners mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．To attract more people to fishing and gardening. |
| B．To introduce different uses of invasive earthworms. |
| C．To stress the importance of invasive earthworms to humans. |
| D．To show humans’ effect on the spread of invasive earthworms. |
| A．Finding out areas free of earthworms. |
| B．Extending a ban on the fishing industry. |
| C．Making maps of areas with most earthworms. |
| D．Informing the public of different earthworm species. |
| A．Objective. | B．Positive. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．A biology textbook. | B．An official report. |
| C．A science magazine. | D．A research paper. |
6 . Allan T. Demaree, a retired executive editor of Fortune magazine, gladly makes donations to Princeton University, his alma mater. His son, who also went to Princeton, points to its endowment (捐赠基金) of $15.8 billion, and will not give it a penny.
“Why give money to an institution that can seemingly live off its interest when other very deserving entities need money to function tomorrow?” asked the son, Heath Demaree, a professor at Case Western Reserve University who instead donates to Virginia Tech, where he was a graduate student. His question captures how the wealth collected by elite universities like Princeton through soaring endowments over the past decade has widened the divide between a small group of dramaticly wealthy universities and all others.
The result is that America’s already stratified (形成阶层的) system of higher education is becoming ever more so, and the gap is creating all sorts of tensions as the less wealthy colleges try to compete. Even state universities are going into fund-raising overdrive and trying to increase endowments to catch up.
The wealthiest colleges can tap their endowments to give considerable financial aid to families earning $180,000 or more. They can tempt star professors with high salaries and hard-to-get apartments. They are starting advanced new research laboratories, expanding their campuses and putting up architecturally notable buildings.
Higher education has always been stratified, but the differences were never as large as today. The last decade brought a sea change, as skilled money managers hired by the universities moved their portfolios (投资组合) into high-performing investments, and endowments skyrocketed.
Until recently, top public research universities could rely on enough public subsidy (补贴) to hold their own, when the taxpayer money was combined with tuition and fund-raising. But that world is changing.
The University of California, Berkeley has a $3 billion endowment, but it is stretched across 34,000 students. And with state budget cuts approaching, Robert Birgeneau, its president, fears he will no longer be able to attract the best professors and students.
“It will cost less for a student from a family with an income of $180,000 to go to Harvard than for a student with a family income of $90,000 to go to Berkeley,” he said, taking into account Harvard’s recent decision to give more financial aid to families earning up to $180,000 annually.
1. What do we learn about Heath Demaree?| A．He donated to Virginia Tech. |
| B．He donated as much as his father. |
| C．He donated to Princeton University. |
| D．He donated to Case Western Reserve University. |
| A．They are expanding their campuses. |
| B．They are raising funds to increase endowments. |
| C．They manage to attract elite professors and students. |
| D．They are starting sophisticated new research laboratories. |
| A．They can not hold their own just with state support. |
| B．The taxpayer money is combined with tuition and fund-raising. |
| C．Despite possible state budget cut, they do not need more endowment. |
| D．They can depend on enough public subsidy to lure professors and students. |
7 . On Monday, a scientist and doctor Robert Winston is to formally ask a question in congress about what assessments the government has made “for requiring adults riding bicycles in city centres to heave a licence and third-party insurance”. The letter below is the entirely imagined response I would like the government to make to him.
Dear Robert,
You ask what assessments we’ve made for your proposal about obliging cyclists to have licences and insurance. The brief answer is: none. Nor do we have any plans to do so.
Why? Again, the short answer is this: it’s a silly and pointless thing to suggest, as evidenced by the fact that practically no countries or territories anywhere in the world require cyclists to be licensed, or to have compulsory insurance.
I suppose it’s only fair if I explain why I think it is such a non-issue. It’s pretty simple: such a plan would achieve pretty much nothing, while causing significant problems. More widely, any sensible governments will do everything in their power to get more people cycling, not to put pointless obstacles in their way.
Let’s just take one example. As I’m sure you know as a doctor, one of the problems facing our nation is that the National Health System is likely to collapse under the caring for an increasingly overweight population. Inactive living is central to this. Even a fairly brief daily bike trip can have miraculous benefits for people’s health.
Next, how would such rules even work? Would the licensing and insurance be just for adults, or also children? How would the system even be enforced-would it also require all bikes to be registered with number plates?
Finally, what would you hope to achieve by this? If you believe licensing transport users stops wrongdoing, can I point to you the data showing how a third of drivers admit to using handheld phones while driving, despite the law forbidding it.
So, to summarize：your plan would be to introduce a hugely new administrative scheme that would most likely have limited effect on the behaviour of averagely law-abiding (守法的) transport users who rarely harm others, while putting people off from this beneficial type of transport.
I’m afraid I just don’t get it.
1. What does Robert most probably want to know by asking the question?| A．whether the government has made efforts regarding his proposal. |
| B．whether each bike rider has applied for a third-party insurance. |
| C．whether the congress has sympathy towards the cyclists. |
| D．whether doctors can receive the government’s support. |
| A．It may raise people’s insurance awareness. |
| B．It can motivate people to obey the law. |
| C．It imitates what other countries are doing. |
| D．It is difficult to implement and enforce. |
| A．to draw people’s attention to overweight problems |
| B．to prove that cycling can cause problems |
| C．to explain why governments advocate cycling |
| D．to illustrate how broken the NHS is |
| A．holds prejudices against Robert Winston |
| B．is a pleasant and good-tempered person |
| C．has the right to speak for the government |
| D．is skilled in argumentative techniques |
I fell in love with a “flying Dutchman”…literally. In the summer of 2011, I moved to the Netherlands not knowing anyone except my husband, not knowing how to speak the language, and leaving behind my friends, family, and everything I knew that represented me. But as they say, “Love is blind. ”
In the beginning, I spent many months “alone in my head.” My mother-in-law didn't speak English（or Italian）. This, however, didn't stop her from trying to communicate with me. At first, sounds of vague meanings coupled with hand gestures was our way of having a conversation.
It wasn’t until I discovered she was a choral（合唱的）director for a women's group in the community that we then began communicating on a whole different level. From my early days in school, I was always part of a school choir for over a decade.
We shared a love of music! Dien（my mother-in-law’s name）taught me many beautiful Dutch songs. I sang in her choir throughout the years that followed. And then by chance, I came across a TED-Talk featuring you, Mr. Whitacre discussing your music and the virtual（虚拟合唱团）choir. Within minutes, I researched when the next project would start and to my surprise, it was Virtual Choir4“Fly To Paradise. ” I couldn't wait to tell my mother-in-law!
The next 2 weeks we spent practicing our parts and perfecting our video submissions. It was pure joy for us. Something we shared a love for, encouraging each other, spending hours together, and making a permanent bond as a mother and daughter-in-law.
Music has always been a part of my life. Its significance is greater than anything most people are aware of. Our participation in your virtual choir is one I will never forget. And it goes without saying, I am grateful for you, your music, and its ability to connect us all.
1. Which of the following best describes the author’s mother-in-law?| A．Talkative and humorous. | B．Active and caring. |
| C．Strict and determined. | D．Quiet and considerate. |
| A．She felt regretful about her marriage at the beginning. |
| B．She tried to avoid speaking to Dien due to language barrier. |
| C．She decided to join the virtual choir with Dien’s suggestions. |
| D．She developed a closer family bond by joining the virtual choir. |
| A．To give encouragement. | B．To offer help. |
| C．To express thanks. | D．To introduce a choir. |
9 . For hundreds of years, Africans have preserved their history through storytelling. But some Africans worry that oral traditions will be lost to the Internet connections and social media.
This has led a Nigerian woman named Elizabeth Kperrun to create a mobile phone application as a way to preserve African folk stories. She calls her mobile app AfroTalez, which tells children’s stories that teach moral lessons.
“We can’t teach kids something by telling them, ‘Don’t do this’. I think kids need context to understand. In a story somebody stole something and then something bad happened to them. Alternatively, somebody else did something good and they ended up happy or rich.”
“Hello children. My name is Liz and I’d like to tell you a story about tortoises, elephants, and ...” The voice of “Aunt Liz” narrates the story, while a full-screen animation appears. An arrow signals when it’s time to move on. There are also quizzes on object recognition and counting throughout.
Kperrun asks her older relatives to help her collect stories for the application. The stories come from an ethnic group living in southeast Nigeria and northwest Cameroon. “I want to keep it centered on folk stories, not the ones that Walt Disney has made really popular... It’s fair and respectful to keep certain cultures alive because folk stories are part of the tapestry that keeps cultures together.” Kperrun once said.
Kperrun writes and reads the stories. Her business partner and husband Idamiebi Ilamina-Eremie does the animation (动画).
AfroTalez is available for Android users and can be downloaded for free. So far, AfroTalez has more than 50,000 users. Funding for the app has been a major challenge. Kperrun hopes to use a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the next version of AfroTalez to be released soon.
Kperrun believes technology doesn’t have to destroy or replace traditions. Her goal is to combine them to keep African culture alive. She says “Africa is our home, but we are so eager to become Western that we are forgetting things that are really important and should be passed on of who we are, and I don’t think that’s right.”
1. What caused Elizabeth Kperrun to create the mobile app AfroTalez?| A．Desiring to make money through the Internet. |
| B．Planning to keep technology replacing traditions. |
| C．Dreaming of launching a crowdfunding campaign. |
| D．Worrying about the disappearance of African oral traditions. |
| A．are narrated by Kperrun’s husband |
| B．are familiar to today’s African children |
| C．are as popular as those of Walt Disney’s |
| D．are means to teach children moral lessons |
| A．will destroy African traditions |
| B．is free for Android users |
| C．has released two versions |
| D．faces no financial problems |
| A．Mobile App seeks to preserve African folktales |
| B．African people pass on traditions by storytelling |
| C．It is unwise for a nation to learn from western countries blindly |
| D．Social media lead to the disappearance of African Oral traditions |
10 . He lived his whole life as a poor man.His art and talent were recognized by almost no one.He suffered from a mental illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later.But after his death, he achieved world fame.Today, Dutch artist Van Gogh is recognized as one of the leading artists of all time.
Now,150 years after his birth on March 30,1853, Zundert, the town of his birth，has made 2003 “The Van Gogh Year” in his honor.And the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam，home to the biggest collection of his masterpieces, is marking the anniversary with exhibitions throughout the year.The museum draws around 1．3 million visitors every year.Some people enjoy the art and then learn about his life.Others are interested in his life, which then helps them understand his art.
Van Gogh was the son of a pastor.He left school when he was just 15．By the age of 27, he had already tried many jobs including an art gallery salesman and a French teacher.Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.
Van Gogh is famed for his ability to put his own emotions into his paintings and show his feelings about a scene.His style is marked by short, broad brush strokes (绘画笔法).“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly，” he wrote in a letter to his brother in 1888．
Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life.He relied heavily on support from his brother, an art dealer who lived in Paris.But now his works are sold for millions of dollars.His portrait of Dr.Gacher sold for $89．5 million in 1990．It is the highest price ever paid for a painting.“I think his paintings are powerful and the brilliant color in them are attractive to people，” said a Van Gogh’s fan.
1. All through his life Van Gogh ________.| A．depended on his brother |
| B．worked hard on art studies |
| C．was not recognized by people |
| D．expressed himself in paintings |
| A．the likeness between his paintings and the reality |
| B．the short time for him to complete a painting |
| C．the various styles mixed together |
| D．the special strokes he made |
| A．his powerful art came from his poor life |
| B．his fellow townsmen regret treating him unfairly |
| C．all his paintings were drawn in the last 10 years of his life |
| D．most of his paintings are kept in the museum of his hometown |
