1 . Imagine that one day when you frown a little bit more often than usual while working in front of your computer, it would sense your bad mood and a roll of cheering words would be seen in time right on the screen. An "emotionally aware" computer being developed by British and American scientists will be able to read an individual's thoughts by analyzing a combination of facial movements that represent feelings.
“The system we have developed allows a wide range of mental states to be identified just by pointing a video camera at someone." said Professor Peter Robinson of the University of Cambridge. He believes the mind-reading computer's applications could range from improving people's driving skills to helping companies tailor advertising to people's moods." For those proprietors, this must be a fantastic invention to help them pick target customers' right emotional moment to sell them something, a future where mobile phones, cars and web sites could read our mind and react to our moods," he added.
The researchers, who are developing the technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, also hope to get it to accept other inputs such as posture and gesture.
“Our research could enable websites to tailor advertising or products to your mood." said Robinson. For example, a Webcam linked with our software could process your image, encode the correct emotional state and send information to a website." It could also be useful in online teaching to show whether someone understands what is being explained and in improving road safety by determining if a driver is confused, bored or tired. “We are working with a car company, and they believe this will be employed in cars within five years," Robinson said, adding that a camera could be built into the dashboard(仪表板).
1. What does the computer system do?| A．Storing your thoughts in its memory for further analysis. |
| B．Identifying your mood through a video camera in your computer. |
| C．Thinking and responding to problems in exactly the same way as you do. |
| D．Improving your driving skills through the in-built camera in your dashboard. |
| A．Sellers. | B．Tailors. | C．Customers. | D．Psychologists. |
| A．Its history. | B．Its designer groups. | C．Its applications. | D．Its working process. |
| A．Mind Your Privacy in the Future |
| B．Don't Rely Too Much on Your Computer |
| C．A Bright Future for Online Shopping |
| D．A Future with Mind-reading Computers |
2 . Rats and other animals need to be highly tuned to social signals from others so that they can identify friends to cooperate with and enemies to avoid. To find out if this extends to non-living beings, Loleh Quinn at the University of California, San Diego, and her colleagues tested whether rats can detect social signals from robotic rats.
They housed eight adult rats with two types of robotic rat — one social and one asocial — for 5 days. The robots rats were quite minimalist, resembling a chunkier version of a computer mouse with wheels — to move around and colorful markings.
During the experiment, the social robot rat followed the living rats around, played with the same toys, and opened caged doors to let trapped rats escape. Meanwhile, the asocial robot simply moved forwards and backwards and side to side.
Next, the researchers trapped the robots in cages and gave the rats the opportunity to release them by pressing a lever.
Across 18 trials each, the living rats were 52 percent more likely on average to set the social robot free than the asocial one. This suggests that the rats perceived the social robot as a genuine social being. They may have bonded more with the social robot because it displayed behaviours like communal exploring and playing. This could lead to the rats better remembering having freed it earlier, and wanting the robot to return the favour when they get trapped, says Quinn.
The readiness of the rats to befriend the social robot was surprising given its minimal design. The robot was the same size as a regular rat but resembled a simple plastic box on wheels. "We'd assumed we'd have to give it a moving head and tail, facial features, and put a scene on it to make it smell like a real rat, but that wasn't necessary," says Janet Wiles at the University of Queensland in Australia, who helped with the research.
The finding shows how sensitive rats are to social cues, even when they come from basic robots. Similarly, children tend to treat robots as if they are fellow beings, even when they display only simple social signals. "We humans seem to be fascinated by robots, and it turns out other animals are too," says Wiles.
1. Quinn and her colleagues conducted a test to see if rats can ________.| A．send out warning messages to their fellow | B．distinguish a friendly rat from a hostile one |
| C．attain sociable traits through special training | D．pick up social signals from non-living rats |
| A．It followed the social robot. | B．It played with some toys. |
| C．It moved around alone. | D．It set the trapped rats free. |
| A．tried to practice a means of escape | B．expected it to do the same in return |
| C．wanted to display their intelligence | D．considered that an interesting game |
| A．rats are more sensitive to social cues than expected |
| B．rats are more socially active than other animals |
| C．rats behave differently from children in socializing |
| D．rats appear to be adaptable to new surroundings |
3 . Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station .We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car´s back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was friendly. So, I said, Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital! And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call The Law of the Garbage Truck.
Many people are like garbage (rubbish) trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy with what you did.
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, I’m not going to do anymore.
Successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? If you let more garbage trucks pass you by, you’ll be happier. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t.
1. What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?| A．The taxi almost hit another car. |
| B．The taxi driver was injured. |
| C．The author scolded the driver of the other car. |
| D．The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck. |
| A．He yelled back at the driver. |
| B．He sent the driver to the hospital. |
| C．He was friendly towards the driver. |
| D．He dumped some garbage in front of his car. |
| A．The author used to have a lot of garbage trucks. |
| B．The author used to complain a lot. |
| C．The author used to have a lot of money. |
| D．The author used to be a good manager |
| A．Ignore them and go on with our own work. |
| B．Try our best to persuade them not to do that again. |
| C．Tell them to dump the garbage in the right place. |
| D．Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else. |
4 . Obviously television has both advantages and disadvantages.
In the first place, television is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a comparatively cheap one. With a TV set in the family people don’t have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre, the cinema, or the opera .All they have to do is to push a button or turn a knob, and they can see plays, films, operas and shows of every kind. Some people, however, think that this is where the danger lies. The television viewers need do nothing. He does not even have to use his legs if the has a remote control. He makes no choice and exercises, no judgment. He is completely passive and has everything presented to him without any effort in his part.
Television, it is often said, keeps one informed about current events and the latest developments in science and politics. The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into one’s sitting room. It could be argued that the radio performs this service as well; but on television everything is much more living, much more real. Yet here again there is a danger. The television screen itself has a terrible, almost physical charm for us. We get so used to looking at the movements on it, so dependent on its pictures, that it begins to control our lives. People are often heard to say that their television sets have broken down and that they have suddenly found that they have far more time to do things and the they have actually begin to talk to each other again. It makes one think, doesn’t it?
There are many other arguments for and against television. We must realize that television itself is neither good nor bad. It is the uses that it is put to that determine its value to society.
1. Television, as a source of entertainment, is ______.| A．not very convenient | B．very expensive |
| C．quite dangerous | D．relatively cheap |
| A．Because TV programs are not interesting | B．Because TV viewers are totally passive |
| C．Because TV prices are very high. | D．Because TV has both advantages and disadvantages |
| A．it keeps us informed | B．it is very cheap |
| C．it enables us to have a rest | D．it controls our lives |
| A．its quality | B．people ’s attitude towards it |
| C．how we use it | D．when we use it |
5 . Removing gender bias
Tailors worked out long ago that men and women have different shapes. Yet this message has failed to enter many other areas of design. Car seat belts, for example, which date back to the 1880s, are often still more suitable for men, who tend to sit farther back than women when driving. And today the most forward-looking tech companies on Earth are still placing old-school bias (偏见；成见) into new products. Consider smart phones. Most are too big to fit comfortably into the average woman’s hand, as are many video-game controllers.
An obvious part of the explanation for their design problem is that men control most of its companies—male-run firms receive 82% of venture-capital (VC) funding. Male bosses may be unaware of the problems women face. They may not flag up obvious areas of concern, or ask the right questions when doing their research for a new product design. And once an idea gets the green light, it will then be handled by product-design and engineering teams, three-quarters of whose members are men. These teams often use data to make decisions, but mixing all users together means they may fail to spot trends based on sex differences. Dependence on historical data, and the lack of data on underrepresented groups, can also create bias in algorithms (算法).
Next comes testing. Naturally, designers test original models on their intended customers, but they may not get feedback from a broad enough group of people. There is also the risk of confirmation bias—designers may listen to what they want to hear, and ignore negative reactions from some groups of users.
Tech’s design bias needs fixing for moral, safety and business reasons. The ethical importance is obvious: it is wrong that women have to make do with a “one-size-fits-men” world, as Caroline Criado Perez, a writer, puts it. As for safety, regulators can tackle that by banning things that are dangerous to women—including seat belts—because they are no! designed properly.
But there is also a powerful business case for avoiding design bias, because huge opportunities are being missed. Women are 50% of the population, and make 70—80% of the world’s consumer-spending decisions.
Change is coming. The first voice-recognition systems struggled to understand female voices, but most now manage just fine. “Femtech” start-up companies, which focus on women’s health and well-being, may raise MYM 1 billion by the end of this year. VC funds and tech firms are hiring more women. Ensuring that products are designed for everyone would lead to happier and safer customers. For the companies that get it right, that means higher profits. What is holding them back?
1. The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means ________.| A．hits the market | B．gets approval |
| C．becomes successful | D．comes into being |
| A．Why tech’s design bias needs to be fixed. |
| B．How gender bias is affecting tech companies. |
| C．Where gender bias in product design is rooted. |
| D．Who is to blame for gender bias in tech companies. |
| A．tech companies are unwilling to change |
| B．design bias may result in missed opportunities |
| C．male workers benefit more in engineering teams |
| D．tech companies are poor at making user-friendly products |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
6 . One night in 1966, Michael Chapman rushed into a folk-music club in Cornwall, England to get out of the rain, and soon found himself onstage playing the guitar.
“They offered me a job to play for the rest of the summer. And I’ve been playing ever since,” Chapman says. “I’ve told that story so many times, but it’s absolutely true. If it hadn’t been raining that night, I wouldn’t be talking to you.”
The British guitar player has spent the 50 years since then on the road. He released some praised albums in the 1970s, but his health went downhill in the 80s and 90s. Like a lot of British artists in the 1960s, Chapman taught himself to play the guitar by listening to American jazz and blues records.
Chapman actually taught photography, but quit when he was 26 to play music full time. When he was starting out, he was often compared to other British acoustic guitar heroes of the time, like John Martyn and Bert Jansch.
“The fascinating thing about Michael Chapman is that he doesn’t fit in with those guys of his generation,” says Andrew Male, a music journalist. “He’s always been an outsider. He never moved to London. ”
And while he never became part of the London music scene, Chapman was noticed by those musicians. “The 70s caught up with him in the 80s,” Male says. “He had a huge heart attack at the end of the 80s that nearly finished him off. When he made his way back into the world in the early 90s, people had forgotten about him.” But not everyone. A younger generation of musicians in America, including Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and a younger singer and guitarist named Steve Gunn, recently rediscovered Chapman.
“We wanted to capture Michael’s voice and character where he is now. You know, it’s a little road-weary, but he still has it,” Gunn says. “For me, it was really important to get that right.” “He’s the right old musician for present times,” Male says. “I think the music he makes seems quite in tune with where we’re at.”
1. Which can best describe Michael Chapman’s first involvement in music?| A．Untrue. | B．Accidental. | C．Unfortunate. | D．Reasonable. |
| A．He has taught photography for 26 years. |
| B．He taught himself to play the guitar and did far better than John Martyn. |
| C．To some degree, he is not accepted by other people of his generation. |
| D．He is one of the best guitar players in the early 90s. |
| A．He lost his special voice. | B．He suffered from a severe heart attack. |
| C．He got tired of competing with others. | D．He was almost forgotten by everyone. |
| A．The Rise and Fall of Guitar Music | B．The Sad Story of a Guitar Musician |
| C．A New Generation Helps an Old Guitar Musician | D．A Brief Introduction to a Guitar Musician |
7 . Applying to Stellinga College
Why Stellinga?
Thank you for your interest in Stellinga International College. As an international student, we are sure you will find our college an exciting place to study, with like-minded and ambitious people.
Preparing and submitting your application
We have tried to make the application process as easy as possible for you, but there are a number of procedures you must follow.
All our courses are taught in English, so first of all you will probably need to submit evidence of your English language ability. We require an IELTS score of 6.5. You will also have to send us your secondary school diploma, so that we can evaluate it.
We will also require a personal statement. This is a text of up to 1,000 words in which you introduce yourself, explain your interest in our college, and why you want to study your chosen course.
If you are from outside the European Union (EU), it is important that you have an entrance visa before you come to study in the Netherlands, but we will apply for this for you.
We now only accept online applications, so please ensure that you have all your documents ready to upload before you begin. Any documents that are not in English originally will also need to be translated and the translation also uploaded.
You will need a passport photograph; a copy of your passport; copies of all your certificates and diplomas; your proof of language ability; and your personal statement in English.
What happens next?
Your application will then be considered. If your initial application is successful, you will be invited for an interview. This will be conducted in English via skype, over the phone or on site. You will talk to two or three members of staff for up to 30 minutes. We aim to inform you of our decision in writing, within 4 weeks. There are several possible outcomes: you may not have been successful; you may be offered a place on the waiting list. You will need to reply to any offers within two weeks, otherwise your place may be offered to somebody else.
Good luck with your application.
1. Which is unnecessary for people inside the EU when submitting applications?| A．A personal statement. | B．An entrance visa. |
| C．Evidence of English ability. | D．A secondary school diploma. |
| A．You will have an interview in English. | B．You will get the reply over the phone. |
| C．You should make a decision within 4 weeks. | D．You should reply to the offer the moment you get it. |
| A．In a science magazine. | B．In a tourist brochure. |
| C．In an English teaching book. | D．On a university’s website. |
8 . O'Plerou Grebet is a 22-year-old graphic design student in Côte d'Ivoire, Africa. Everywhere he looks, he sees signs of Western influence — from the glass skyscrapers and malls lining the streets in his home city to the way his fellows speak and dress. “We are living like we’re Western people,” he says. That even applies to the keyboard culture — when his friends text using the messaging apps, they especially love to use the “tears of joy” face emoji (表情符号). So he used his design skills to create digital stickers that show what he thinks is missing: symbols of history, life and culture in Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries.
In 2018, he released a free pack of over 360 stickers in a mobile app called "Zouzoukwa”, which means "image" in the local Bété language. Available on Android and iOS, it now has over 120,000 downloads. It's more impressive than other emoji apps, with the feature of connecting to the realities of Africans using it. “ It would make their jokes even livelier,” says Grebet. The stickers include traditional masks, African instruments like the djembe drum and people dressed in a variety of prints and clothing that can reflect local tradition.
Some of his favorite designs are a series of facial expressions commonly used in his area, but not available as standardized emojis. There’s a woman with lips pursed, giving some serious side-eye—a sign you can use when your friend keeps you waiting long for no reason. It's common in Côte d'Ivoire and also translates across cultures, Grebet says.
The next step, Grebet says, is to try and get some of his designs into the official emoji set, where they’d reach more than 2 billion people worldwide, as usable ones on smartphones everywhere. Grebet also plans to keep traveling and expanding his experiences and his sticker pack. His designs so far are drawn from his experience and research into a few African countries.
1. How does Grebet find their local culture according to paragraph 1?| A．It's very similar to Western culture. | B．It's absent in many aspects of their life. |
| C．It's full of inspirational ideas and symbols. | D．It's influential in local people's lifestyle. |
| A．It provides a better source of jokes. | B．It's designed based on daily items. |
| C．It's related more closely to the locals. | D．It applies to both Android and iOS. |
| A．Curiosity. | B．Sorrow. | C．Annoyance. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．Be on tour to advocate his designs. | B．Create an official emoji set. |
| C．Research into more African countries. | D．Standardize some of his emojis. |
9 . New streaming movies are coming to entertain you and your family during socially distanced times.
If you'd rather stick closer to home, here's a rundown of new movies hitting streaming and on-demand platforms, for every cinematic taste ：
Mulan
It's pretty easy to yell " Cash grab!" every time the Mouse House remakes one of its beloved animated films (动画片).But this version of “Mulan" actually improves a great deal on the fantasy fable of a young Chinese woman (Yifei Liu) who takes the place of her sick father (Tzi Ma) in the Imperial Army. Mulan is a warrior extraordinaire worth the emotional investment.
Where to watch： Disney+ (as a $30 premium add-on)
Love, Guaranteed
The film stars Rachael Leigh Cook as Susan, a glamorous lawyer. She's hired by a charming bachelor ( Damon Wayans Jr.) who wants to sue (起诉)a dating app for its “guarantee“ of love after 1,000 dates. But as the case heats up, so do Susan and Nick's feelings for each other.
Where to watch ： Netflix, Vudu
The 2nd
The thriller casts Phillippe as a Secret Service agent picking up his son (Jack Griffo) from college for holiday break when a hostage (人质)situation breaks out and a mysterious opponent ( Casper Van Dien) aims to catch the daughter ( Lexi Simonsen) of a Supreme Court Justice about to weigh in on an important gun-rights case.
Where to watch ： FandangoNOW, Google Play
The Mole Agent
While officially a documentary, the movie is ultimately a feel-good detective story. An 83-year-old named Sergio is hired to go undercover at a Chilean nursing home and look into claims of elder abuse. Instead, he becomes the life of the party as he befriends fellow oldsters and becomes an essential part of their community.
Where to watch： Apple TV, Vudu, FandangoNOW
1. Which film will you go to if you are interested in a romantic story?| A．Mulan. | B．The Mole Agent. |
| C．Love, Guaranteed. | D．The 2nd. |
| A．It's a beloved animated film. | B．It's about suing a dating app. |
| C．It's a heartbreaking spy story. | D．It's set in a nursing home. |
| A．Culture. | B．Entertainment. |
| C．Sports. | D．Science. |
10 . This may sound like a joke about a lazy person’s dream job. Earn big money by staying in bed and watching TV. But this is really happening, and it’s a project of NASA and two European space agencies the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the Cologne-based German Aerospace Center and the European Space Agency. I’s called Artificial Gravity Bed Rest Study, aimed at studying how the body adapts to weightlessness in space.
Scientists are seeking 12 women to spend two full months in bed in the fall at a German lab,plus an additional month there for preparation and recovery, The first 12 test subjects, all men, already have started the study.
Participants spend two entire months in bed and remain lying down even to do everyday things like eating, drinking and exercising. They also answer nature’s call and shower, but it’s unclear from the NASA website how those tasks are accomplished in bed.
“Daily routine showering, getting dressed, eating, exercising takes much time when you cannot stand up to do them,” says the website, adding that there is “continuous data collection”, including blood pressure, heart rate, nutrient absorption and also the participants’ feelings. Study subjects will spend the 60 days with their heads tiled down six degrees, which imitates conditions in space.
Participants are encouraged to pass the time by watching TV, taking online courses, reading and any other activities they can perform while lying down alone in bed to relieve what could be boredom. Family and friends are allowed to visit.
The high $ 18,500 payment for two months of lazing about is probably a major motivation for people willing to go through something this extreme. However, if you’re an American who really needs the money, you probably can’t afford it. Candidates need to travel to Cologne four times at their own expense for the employment process between April and July. Plus, they need strong German-speaking skills Also participants need to be nonsmokers between ages 24 and 55, in good health, with normal body weight.
1. What are participants expected to do during the study?| A．Report their feelings regularly. | B．Complete their daily routines in bed. |
| C．Keep their bodies tilted down six degrees. | D．Record their physical responses every day. |
| A．The changes in their weight. | B．Their behaviors to weightlessness. |
| C．The ways they do their daily things | D．Their physical and mental reactions |
| A．The language skills they need. | B．The difficulty meeting family. |
| C．The possibility that they feel dull. | D．The slow discovery of their health. |
| A．challenging for Americans | B．tailored to thin persons |
| C．easy for the youth to satisfy | D．suitable for most people |
