1 . London's Metropolitan Police has announced controversial plans to use Live Facial Recognition(LFR)technology to improve officers' ability to identify suspects and police the British capital.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement Friday the technology will be introduced to places where data indicates that people responsible for serious and violent crimes,such as gun and knife attacks,are most likely to be located(定位）。＂Clearly marked cameras will be focused on small,targeted areas to scan people's faces as they walk by,"it added.
＂As a modern police force,I believe that we have a duty to use new technologies to keep people safe in London,"assistant commissioner(专员）Nick Ephgrave said."We are using a tried-and-tested technology.Similar technology is already widely used across the UK,in private places,"he added.
The decision follows an October research into the technology by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office,which raised serious concerns over privacy and accuracy."Moving very quickly to employ technologies that can destroy people's lawful daily lives might damage trust not only in the technology,but in the fundamental model of policing,” Elizabeth Denham,the UK's Information Commissioner,said.
In the United States,some California cities have decided the risks of LFR outweigh the benefits and banned its use by city departments.India,on the other hand,has used the technology to find missing children and wants to build the world's largest facial recognition system.
Denham’s office called on the government to urgently introduce laws to govern LFR.
“We have been told that the Metropolitan Police is considering the consequences of this technology and is taking steps to reduce intrusion(受扰）and met the requirements of data protection rules,"Denham' s office said.
1. The Metropolitan Police introduces the LFR technology to| A．punish violent crimes |
| B．police the city of London |
| C．train police officers |
| D．promote law reform |
| A．Cautious. | B．Favorable. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Reserved. |
| A．Benefit from its use is widely recognized. |
| B．The risks it may bring are hardly known. |
| C．Laws are being made to support its application. |
| D．Improvement on it will be seen in the near future. |
2 . Have you heard a story about Oliver Wendell Holmes and got what he meant? He once attended a meeting in which he was the shortest man present. "Doctor Holmes," joked a friend. "I should think you would feel rather small among us big fellows." "I do," smiled Holmes. "I feel like a dime（一角硬币）among a lot of pennies."
I ever believed only such a person like Holmes could think that way. But I was proven wrong.
Yesterday I watched a huge flight of geese winging their way south through one of those beautiful sunsets that colored the entire sky for a few moments. I saw them as I rested against the lion statue in front of the Chicago Art Institute, where I was watching the Christmas shoppers hurry along Michigan Avenue.
When I looked sideways, I noticed that a bag lady, standing a few feet away, had also been watching the geese with great attention. Sensing someone was looking at her, she cast a sideways look. Our eyes met and we smiled silently acknowledging the fact that we had shared an amazing sight, a symbol of the secret of the struggle to survive. I overheard the lady talking to herself as she walked away. Her words, "Life treats me kindly", nearly made my jaw drop.
Was the lady, this homeless street beggar, being kidding or even mindless? No. I believed the sight of the geese had reminded her of, however briefly, the difficult and unpleasant reality of her own struggle. I realized later that moments such as this one provided her with great comfort and encouragement; it was the way she survived the hardness of the street. Her smile was real.
The sight of the geese was her Christmas present. It was proof that hard work mattered. It was all she needed. I envy her.
1. From the story in paragraph 1, we can know that Holmes was .| A．patient | B．rude | C．wise | D．awkward |
| A．The bag lady's remarks on her life. |
| B．The secret of the survival of the geese. |
| C．People's enthusiasm for Christmas gifts. |
| D．The beautiful sunset and the colorful sky. |
| A．Her unusual experiences as a street beggar. |
| B．Her great pride in what she worked hard at. |
| C．Her friendly ways of getting on with strangers. |
| D．Her positive attitude towards her own struggle. |
3 . One of the costs of being a lover of old trees is the all-too-frequent loss of a beautiful soul you've grown fond of.Last summer was harder than most for old trees and their human supporters.The spring's nonstop rains flooded soils and caused root systems of many large,old trees to rot in part.Then,when the summer came,trees could not tap deep sources of water that would normally have maintained(维持）them.Many valuable old trees died.
When I volunteered on the Mount Rainier Tree Commission,I heard from many people concerned about their trees.We had little to offer them.That's because public and private urban tree resources and programs were aimed almost entirely at planting trees and not at all maintaining trees.No state or province program that I could find provided any financial resources for maintaining tree health. Small and under resourced cities such as ours were on their own.
This is backward.Scientists are learning that large,old trees are the most valuable,especially in cities.They put on wood fastest and take the most carbon out of the air. They harbor the most wildlife.They can lower summer temperatures by 20 degrees or more.In a recent study,researchers found that Boston would get more benefit from keeping the trees it has alive than from planting new trees.There's reason to think this finding would apply in other cities,too.
Now,our public and private tree programs often ignore old trees until it is too late.As long as we abandon our old trees,planting more is merely to keep pace with growing losses. We want trees to help protect us,but we leave them unprotected.Consider this in the human world:Nobody would send a baby into the world and expect it to just make it. Children need caring for and it's why we have schools and child health-insurance programs.We could get so much more out of our trees if we just put a little more into them.
1. What does the underlined part in paragraph1 suggest?| A．Strong determination to plant trees. |
| B．Real regret at growing old trees. |
| C．Great concern about tree problems. |
| D．Deep love for valuable old trees. |
| A．The urban tree programs were faced with financial problems. |
| B．The author's knowledge of maintaining tree health was limited. |
| C．The focus of the tree resources and programs was on tree planting. |
| D．The organization the author volunteered on was short of tree experts. |
| A．comparing different cases |
| B．presenting research findings |
| C．referring to scientists' sayings |
| D．carrying out some experiments |
| A．To stress the importance of tree insurance programs. |
| B．To show the close connection between trees and babies. |
| C．To advocate protecting trees as humans care for babies. |
| D．To persuade human beings to pay more attention to babies. |
4 . Katie always wanted to be a performer. She, the youngest of, the three kids from Cleveland, was crazy about musicals and Disney movies from an early age and would often watch them singing with her mom, Karen. However, Katie’s happy childhood took a turn when her mother was diagnosed(诊断)with cancer. When the doctor informed the family that Karen’s disease was terminal, they decided to make a trip to Disney World.
The family spared no expense for their once-in-a-lifetime vacation and stayed at Disney’s hotel for eight nights. They spent their days in the parks, seeing the sights, greening characters, all the while pushing Karen in her wheelchair and watching her face light up with joy. They all shared in the merriment of experiencing the parks for the first time with Karen. The trip to Disney World at the height of Karen’s battle with cancer slowed them to escape into a world of magic and laughter. This was the day Katie decided she wanted to work for Disney.
Sadly, Karen lost the battle and died later, but the whole family remembered her every day and often thought of that Disney vacation Katie went on to go after her dream. After she received her degree in musical theater, she struggled for years, working as a waitress and trying to be a performer. Her hard work finally paid off when she was hired to work for Disney.
As a Disney performer, Katie is aware that many other families visit the parks and have similar stories to her own. She encourages everyone, especially children, who may be experiencing a hard time. “Every moment -is meant for you, even the painful ones.” she says. “It’s just like in your favorite Disney movie: There is always some kind of conflict or hardship or pressure. Remember to celebrate those moments, too, because they are taking you to whatever your version of a happy ending is.”
1. What made Katie decide to work for Disney?| A．The dream that she wanted to live a lire full magic. |
| B．The memory that she watched Disney movies as a kid. |
| C．The great joy the Disney vacation brought to her family. |
| D．The great courage her mother showed in fighting cancer. |
| A．Kind and curious. | B．Patient and helpful. |
| C．Strict and independent. | D．Tough and determined. |
| A．Sweet is pleasure after pain. | B．Experience must be bought. |
| C．Many drops make a shower. | D．Good medicine tastes bitter. |
5 . Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调).
One of the study's authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”.This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr. Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the researchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings:squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C.M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
1. When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.| A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time |
| B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time |
| C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
| A．created | B．spelled | C．seemed | D．pronounced |
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
6 . New Year’s resolutions(决心) have been around long enough that we all tend to stick to the same ones—hit the gym, lay off the candy, read more books, call your mother—regardless of whether we follow through with our intentions.
While January 1st seems like the perfect time to have a new start again, exactly when people developed that mindset(思维模式) isn’t common knowledge. It turns out that the modern belief of a New Year’s resolution isn’t as old as you thought. According to many historians, the ancient Babylonians were the first group of people to make New Year’s resolutions. However, instead of making a commitment to self improvement, they made a commitment to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.
An ancient Roman tradition from 46 B. C, bears even more likeness to modern resolutions. Emperor Julius Caesar declared January the month of Janus. Romans believed Janus looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future. In his honor, they made sacrifices to the god and promises of good behavior for the coming year.
But the modern New Year’s resolution didn’t fully form until centuries later. The practice was common enough by the early 1800s. An article in 1802 states, “Statesmen have sworn to have no other object in view than the good of their country. The physicians have determined to advise the use of medicine no more than is necessary, and to he very reasonable in their fees.”
The first time “New Year’s resolution” appeared as a phrase was in the January 1st issue of a Boston newspaper in 1813. “I believe there are a lot of people,” the article goes, “with a serious determination of beginning the New Year with new resolutions and new behavior, and with the full belief that they shall accept punishment for all their former faults and wipe them away.
So as you make (and possibly fail at) your New year’s resolutions, know that you’re in good company.
1. Whose New Years resolutions were most different from the present common practice?| A．Ancient Babylonians’. | B．Ancient Romans’. |
| C．Statesmen’s in the 1800s. | D．Boston people’s in 1813. |
| A．annual incomes | B．personal ambitions |
| C．professional honesty | D．academic improvement |
| A．To encourage people to make New year’s resolutions. |
| B．To give advice on how to make New Year’s resolutions. |
| C．To compare different New year’s resolutions in history. |
| D．To introduce the development of New Year’s resolutions. |
7 . The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphone, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic (怀旧的）skill. However，while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful---both in school and in life.
Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks---both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to know well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe(转换）“those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct then over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won't have knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”
1. What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?| A．The absence of blackboard in classroom. |
| B．The use of new technologies in teaching. |
| C．The lack of practice in handwriting. |
| D．The popular use of smartphones. |
| A．focused on the difference between writing by hand and on a computer. |
| B．indicated that students prefer to write with a pen and paper. |
| C．found that good essays are made up of long sentences. |
| D．discussed the importance of writing speed. |
| A．Spelling improves one’s memory of words. |
| B．Spelling ability is closely related to writing ability. |
| C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas. |
| D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas. |
| A．Window. | B．Soul |
| C．Picture. | D．Imagination. |
| A．Computers can help people with their choice of words. |
| B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching. |
| C．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms. |
| D．Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade. |
Listen
The number-one rule when making small talk is to listen. Make a conscious effort to remember what the other person is saying. Then you can use this information to generate more conversation.
Interest
While you’re talking to someone, focus exclusively on that person. And use your body language to show that you’re interested: face the person, use eye contact and nod your head at appropriate moments. Also, use conversational fillers such as “ah ha/ really? /amazing!” to show that you’re interested in what they’re saying…even if you aren’t.
Ego check
Try to avoid always turning the attention of the conversation back on yourself. For example, if someone mentions that they’ve just been to Italy, don’t respond with, “Oh, I’ve been there. We went there last year.” Instead, use this information as an opportunity to ask lots of questions about the other person’s trip: where did you go? Who did you go with? What was it like? What did you see?
Watch out!
Avoid saying anything that could be interpreted as criticism or judgment; and above all, keep away from potentially controversial topics such as religion and politics.
Write it down
Write down any interesting stories you hear, or details of funny things that have happened to you. Later, you can use these anecdotes to brighten up a dull conversation.
Think “situation”!
Think carefully about where you are. For example, if you’re at a wedding, think of all the relevant things you could ask: How do you know the bride? How long have you been friends with the groom? How did you get there? Where are you staying? Or, if you’re visiting a new company, you could ask the following: What’s it like working here? How easy is it to get into the city centre? Where’s a good place to get lunch round here? Etc.
Top topics
If you’re ever running out of conversation, use one of these fail-safe conversation topics:
the news, film, football, sport, music, the weather, fashion, literature, cars hobbies, the weekend, videogames, the theatre, family, local topics（shops, clubs, etc.）, TV, celebrities, entertainment, your home town, food, traditions, customs.
Small talk can be a lot of fun, but you need to prepare for it and practice. And remember, small talk can lead to big business!
1. The passage is mainly about_______.
| A．customs and social manners |
| B．casual conversation tricks |
| C．communication types |
| D．business strategies |
| A．asking some open questions |
| B．using some body languages |
| C．talking about something that can arouse conflict |
| D．asking some questions relevant to the situation |
| A．you can talk some topics about yourself all the time |
| B．you can pay attention to what others are saying and listen carefully |
| C．you can choose a topic that is suitable to everyone |
| D．you can say something funny that you have written down |
| A．How often do you get to play? |
| B．How old are you? |
| C．What are you doing this weekend? |
| D．How do you know the host, my friend David? |
9 . I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.
Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.
Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.
Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!
Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.
1. The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.| A．sad | B．confused |
| C．serious | D．humorous |
| A．people in England like pigs more than other animals |
| B．pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine |
| C．pigs are the first animals raised by man |
| D．more people don’t want to eat pigs now |
| A．What you have just said is impossible |
| B．Pigs are great animals |
| C．I don’t understand your words |
| D．I can’t agree with you more |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
