1 . The use of AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming more common in many branches of industry and online shopping. Traditional lines of work, such as goods transport and driving, are developing in a similar direction although mainly out of public view. Scientists at the University of Göttingen have now investigated how efficient (高效的) the use of AI can be in the commercial management of trucks.
“Digital applications—as well as machine leaning, a kind of AI—are increasingly applied to operations and courses in the transport area,” explains Professor Matthias Klumpp from the Faculty of Economics. “The question in the commercial area, however, is whether or not this contributes to achieving goals.”
To answer this question, the researchers compared the work efficiency of truck drivers with their main use of AI applications. Looking at trade delivery by truck, they studied three groups: the first drove completely following human decision-making models; the second used a combination of human and machine; and the third depended completely on fully automated decisions.
The researchers found that an intelligent combination of human work and decision-making abilities with AI applications promises the highest transport and driving efficiency. “On average, the second group achieved the most efficient transport trips, with the fewest interventions (干预) and off-course from the best path.” one researcher said, “Clearly, neither a completely human decision-making structure nor a fully automated driving system can promise to meet current goods transport requirements.” The scientists therefore summarized that despite the progress of AI in the field of transportation by truck, human experience and decision-making abilities will still be necessary in the longer term. However, the challenge is that a wide range of training and qualification (资格) needs will come along by working with Al applications, especially for simple goods transport activities.
1. What does Matthias Klumpp focus on?| A．The efficiency of AI. |
| B．The advantages of AI. |
| C．The problems caused by AI. |
| D．The wide applications of AI. |
| A．By providing examples. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By using different trucks. |
| D．By listing three experiments. |
| A．Al is better at making decisions. |
| B．A balance is needed between human and AI. |
| C．Human will soon be replaced by AI in driving. |
| D．Al applications meet the current requirements. |
| A．The future of transport. |
| B．Artificial intelligence as a co-driver. |
| C．Artificial intelligence-a better choice in driving. |
| D．The strengths of artificial intelligence in transport. |
2 . When Kristin Peck became CEO of Zoetis in January, the animal health company was growing rapidly, thanks in part to steady growth in spending on pets. Just a few weeks later, coronavirus lockdowns turned the global economy upside down. But they also got Americans to adopt pets in record numbers, enabling Zoetis and Peck to face their first big crisis with what you might call a tailwind.
Zoetis, which makes medicines and other products, was removed from Pfizer in 2013 and joined the Fortune 500 in 2019. (It' s now. No. 472.) It's the market-share leader in “companion” animal health, with 22% of the market, and in several livestock (家畜) categories too. With the coronavirus doing only minor damage so far to commercial livestock or pet spending, Zoetis's business has held up relatively well. The company' s stock is down roughly 5% this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen more than 9%.
The drug-maker has an “incredibly diversified business,” says James Tierney, chief investment officer of concentrated U.S. growth at AllianceBernstein. Its portfolio (产品组合） is split roughly 50/50 between companion and livestock, with about the same split between U.S. and international sales. And unlike many human drug companies, notes Tierney, it isn't dependent on blockbuster drugs (畅销药）. Zoetis' s best-selling product, dog itch medication Apoquel, generated less than 10% of its total sales of ＄6.3 billion in 2019. Another promising product is a new combination of flea, tick, and heartworm medicine for dogs, Simparica Trio - currently the only such combo (组合套餐) product available in the U.S.
Peck, who grew up around animals (“We had horses, four dogs, two cats, birds,” she recalls), was an executive at Pfizer before joining Zoetis. She's adjusting to the new reality in part by putting more effort into advertising for pet products and building veterinary telemedicine partnerships. Peck says the new pet owners of the coronavirus period “engage differently”： They're largely digital-first people, she says, and are more likely to heavily research products before buying.
Like pet spending itself, Zoetis isn't entirely recession-proof, and the company recently lowered its growth forecasts for the year. Its livestock business faċes short-term challenges, especially in beef and dairy, where supply-chain problems have caused hardships. But Peck says she doubts the coronavirus will affect the long-term trend toward eating more protein. And if difficult times lead consumers to focus on cheaper meats, Zoetis could benefit from products like Zoamix, an additive that takes the place of antibiotics (抗生素）in chicken feed - one more example of diversification feathering the company' s nest.
1. How was Zoetis' s business going this January?| A．It was disappointing. |
| B．It was developing very fast. |
| C．It turned Zoetis upside down. |
| D．It enabled Zoetis to join the Fortune 500. |
| A．To stress it is a blockbuster. |
| B．To explain its contribution to Zoetis. |
| C．To uncover the reason for its unsatisfactory sales. |
| D．To reveal Zoetis' s profits are from various sources. |
| A．They enjoy shopping for best-selling products. |
| B．They prefer to raise horses rather than keep birds. |
| C．They usually choose digital pets instead of real ones. |
| D．They do a lot of research online before buying something. |
| A．To reduce the cost of meat. | B．To make chicken feed tasty. |
| C．To serve as better antibiotics. | D．To increase protein in meat. |
3 . When I met and married a Japanese man in New York, I thought he would learn a bit more English and we would continue to live our lives there. But in life’s twists and turns, we ended up living in Tokyo! I was the one who needed to learn Japanese and fast ! There is no experience quite as lonely as living in a foreign country without a grasp of the language. Especially to make friends and to break that loneliness, it is the first and foremost goal to attain… always an uphill climb, while totally awkward!
I was a trained English Language teacher, and while I lived abroad I did that work, and when we moved back to America I planned to continue it. The country’s financial difficulties at the time, however, saw deep cuts to the English as a Second Language positions in the schools and to refugee language programs. So I simply took a job in a department store, at its Child Playroom.
But this store was located near a major company that hired some of its workforce from many other countries. Often a preschooler in my playroom could not speak a word of English, and would look so lost and lonely !My heart flew to them! We interacted with each other a lot. We would play English language games and they would teach their language to me.
Years later, when a small girl who had come from South America could speak good English, she said to me, “Teacher, remember when I called you Maestra?” Another child whose language was only Russian originally —we built a robot from blocks and fed it block food and leaned English words that way—would come years afterwards and continue to play that same game! These moments became my life compass—due north is that place where when persons are different, Love Matters !
1. What was the author’s challenge after marriage?| A．She had to give up her job. | B．She lost all her best friends. |
| C．She needed to learn a new language. | D．She was forced to live overseas. |
| A．She set up her own company. | B．She lost interest in teaching. |
| C．Better teachers were needed. | D．Teaching jobs were greatly reduced. |
| A．They learned each other’s languages. | B．They took language tests. |
| C．They cared for each other. | D．They encouraged each other in learning. |
| A．Tiring. | B．Helpful. | C．Simple. | D．Humorous. |
4 . Paper-cut is a very special visual art of Chinese handicrafts. One saying is that it originated from the religious ceremonies or offering sacrifices (祭祀). The ancient people cut papers into animals or people. They either buried them with the dead or burned them on the funerals (葬礼), wishing things that paper stood for could be with the dead. Later, they were used during festivals to decorate gates and windows. After hundreds of years' progress, now they have become a very popular means of decoration among country folk, especially women.
It is easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper but very difficult to master it with perfection. Beginners need only a knife and paper. For craftsman, they need knives and gravers of various types to make complicated (复杂的) patterns. It can be one piece of paper or many pieces. Simple patterns can be cut with a knife. For complicated patterns, people first pasted(粘贴)the pattern on the paper and then used various kinds of knives to make it. No mistake can be made during the process otherwise the work would fail.
Paper cutting covers nearly all topics, from flowers, birds, animals, admirable people, figures in classic novels, to types of facial make-up in Peking opera. Paper cutting has various styles in different parts of China.
In the past, women living in the countryside gathered in their free time to make paper cutting, which is a way to judge their skillfulness. As society develops, fewer and fewer people learn this skill while there are some who still regard it as a profession. At present, there are factories and associations for paper cutting in China. Exhibitions and exchanges are held regularly and books of this kind are published. Paper cutting has changed from decoration to a kind of art. At the same time, paper cutting also appears in cartoons, on stage, in magazines or in TV series.
1. What may be the origin of paper-cut according to the text?| A．Special visual art. | B．Ancient story. | C．Traditional customs. | D．Religious activities. |
| A．Becoming a paper cutting artist is very easy. |
| B．Making a perfect paper cutting needs great patience and skill. |
| C．Paper cutting is limited to some topics. |
| D．Paper cutting in different parts of China has similar styles. |
| A．More and more people regard paper cutting as a profession. |
| B．Paper cutting is in danger of disappearing in the future. |
| C．Paper cutting is a way to judge a woman's skill. |
| D．Paper cutting as an art form is still very popular today. |
| A．A special kind of art form in China. | B．Some ancient religious ceremonies. |
| C．Various things are made of paper. | D．Decoration of festivals in ancient China. |
5 . Most people would describe a dollar millionaire as rich, yet many millionaires would disagree. They do not compare themselves with teachers or shop assistants but with the other parents at their children's private schools. To count the number of rich people in the world, however, an arbitrary cut-off point is needed, and $1 million is as good as any. Capgemini defines anyone with investable property of $ l million or more as a “high-net-worth individual”. By this measure the planet has about 10 million millionaires. According to Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, a bank Credit Suisse, another bank, uses a less strict definition: a millionaire is anyone whose net assets exceed $1 million. That includes everything: a home, an art collection, even the value of an as-yet-inaccessible pension. The Credit Suisse "Global Wealth Report" estimates that there were 24.2 million such people in 2015, about 0.5% of the world's adult population. By this measure, there are more millionaires than there are Australians. They control $69.2 trillion in property, more than a third of the global total.
How did these people grow rich? Mostly through their own efforts. Only 16% inherited their stash. The most common way to get rich is to start a business: nearly half (47%) of the world's wealthy people are entrepreneurs.
You do not have to be a genius to build a million-dollar business, but it helps if you are intelligent and extremely hard-working. In their book “The Millionaire Next Door”, Thomas Stanley observed that a typical American millionaire is surprisingly ordinary. He does not live in the fanciest part of town — why waste money that you can invest? And his tastes are so plain that you can barely tell him apart from his neighbours. He buys $40 shoes, and his car of choice is a Ford.
Another 23% of the world's millionaires got rich through paid work, estimates Capgemini. A few vault easily over the million-dollar bar. Gregory Maffei, the boss of Liberty Media, earned $87,095.882 in 2010. The median pay for chief executives at the 456 largest publicly quoted firms in America was $7.23 million, according to the Hay Group, a consultancy. But the vast majority are skilled professionals or managers who have been careful with their money. An dentist in America makes about $200,000 a year. He may leave medical school heavily in debt, but after a lifetime of earning, saving and investing he can probably amass $1 million.
1. Those with a million dollars don't consider themselves rich because________.| A．they are too greedy for money to be satisfied | B．they know many who are more wealthy |
| C．they tend to compare themselves with richer people | D．they care more about their roles as parents |
| A．They like collecting works of art and investment |
| B．They account for one third of the total population |
| C．Many of them made great fortune overnight |
| D．Many of them became rich by trade |
| A．be wise in money matters | B．build up good relationship |
| C．learn from others | D．become skilled professionals |
| A．The Definition of Millionaire | B．What Makes a Millionaire |
| C．American Millionaire | D．Everyone Can Be a Millionaire |
6 . When their daughter Morey started kindergarten, the Belanger family were worried because their 6-year-old daughter is deaf. Rather than send her to a special school for deaf children, Morey's parents decided to give her a traditional school experience and send her to Dayton Consolidated School.
They worried if their daughter would be able to make friends. They also had concerns as how her classmates would treat her and whether her teachers would be able to help her learn effectively. But then the school had a response they never expected-teaching all students and staff sign language. That way, everyone could communicate with Morey on a personal level.
“I absolutely feel like it makes her feel welcomed.” said Morey's mom, “I think all the kids feel excited that they know another language and it's fun. It makes me happy to see her supported, loved and accepted. Morey is excited to go to school every day. She's made really good friends.”
Not only did they learn sign language, but they also put up sign language posters in the hall and equipped a special hearing system. Additionally, they provided extra training so that teachers could become more familiar with the language. “Morey, without even knowing it, has taught us so much” says headmaster Kimberly Sampietro. “She's brought a culture to our building that we didn't have before. Morey helps the whole class to learn the alphabet. The kids look up to her. They want her around, and they want to partner with her.”
Morey's hearing loss is a result of a condition that's so rare that it's never been named. However, thanks to the hard work and goodwill of her classmates and teachers, she can communicate with them on her terms.
1. What concerned the Belangers when Morey started kindergarten?| A．That they would have to separate from her | B．That they could hardly afford her education |
| C．Whether she could lead a normal school life. | D．Whether she could receive special training. |
| A．To equip them with one more practical skill. | B．To develop closer student-teacher relationships. |
| C．Out of concern for their teaching effectiveness. | D．Out of concern for a student with special needs. |
| A．Inspiring and considerate | B．Dull but worthwhile |
| C．Useful but complex | D．Shocking and contradictory |
| A．Morey is good at teaching others. |
| B．Morey isn't the only one who benefits. |
| C．Morey has become a symbol of the kindergarten. |
| D．Morey hasn't brought any changes to the kindergarten. |
7 . At every turn in the Netherlands, the future of sustainable(可持续的) agriculture is taking shape—not in the meeting rooms of big companies but on thousands of modest family farms.
You can see it vividly on the farm run by Ted Duijvestijn and his brothers. At the Duijvestjns' 36-acre greenhouse near the old city of Delf, visitors wander among the deep green tomato plants, 20 feet tall. Rooted not in soil but in materials made from leaves and stalks, the plants are heavy with tomatoes—15 varieties in all—to suit the taste of the most demanding customers.
Since 2004, the Duijvestijns have declared resource independence on every front. The farm produces all of its own energy and fertilizer and even some of the packaging materials necessary for the crop's distribution and sale. The growing environment is kept at perfect temperatures year-round by geothermal heat(地热) that can be found under at least half of the Netherlands. Only rainwater is used for irrigation. Each kilogram of tomatoes from their plants requires less than 15 kilograms of water, compared with 61 kilograms for plants in open fields. Once each year the entire crop is regrown from seeds, and the old plants are processed to make packaging materials. The few pests that manage to enter the greenhouse are greeted by an army of fierce insects that shows no interest in tomatoes. The nutrition in the soil can be improved by growing plants that work with certain bacteria to produce their own fertilizer. In short. it's an entirely self-contained food system.
“Look at the island of Bali in Indonesia!” Ted explains. “For at least a thousand years, its farmers have raised ducks and fish within the same rice field. It's irrigated by the canal systems sculpted by human hands along mountains. They are our model.”
1. What can we learn about the Duijvestijns' tomatoes?| A．Their color is deep green. | B．There are 15 on each plant. |
| C．They are very tasty. | D．They grow in rich natural soil. |
| A．does not have insects | B．is heated by solar energy |
| C．produces its own chemical fertilizer | D．consumes much less water |
| A．Independent. | B．Reliable. |
| C．Satisfying | D．Separated. |
| A．He is attracted to its canal systems. | B．He will also raise ducks in his farm. |
| C．He wants to see the beautiful island. | D．He appreciates its farming methods. |
8 . If you're British or live in a Commonwealth nation, Christmas doesn't end on December 25.The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day, and the relaxing holiday is a chance to allow the celebration for one more restful day.
But its name has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, and unlike the popular idea, did not appear from a need to return unwanted gifts or clean up trash produced by Christmas gifting.
There are several theories as to how that charitable tradition became known as "boxing".Some historians link the use of the term to boxes of donations that were laid in churches during the pre-Christmas season of Advent in the early days of Christianity during the second and third centuries A.D.The day after Christmas, the boxes were opened and the money was given away to the poor.
Another possible story for Boxing Day has to do with a tradition that formed in 19th century Victorian England, where servants sacrificed（牺牲）time with their own families to cater to their employers on Christmas.On the day after Christmas, employers would give the servants a rare day off and send them home with leftovers from the family's Christmas feast for their service.
Though the reasons are lost to history, Boxing Day charity eventually fell out of tradition---and was replaced with physical and material pleasures.Today, the holiday is linked with sports, with major football rugby, and cricket matches and horse races taking place on December 26.
December 26 is also a big shopping day throughout the UK and the Commonwealth.The holiday kicks off what is known as " Boxing Week" , during which retailers（零售商）try to move old stock and shoppers compete for one last bargain of the year.In recent years, though, the American tradition of Black Friday---massive sales that take place the day after Thanksgiving each November---has become popular in the United Kingdom and has largely overshadowed Boxing Week.
1. What kind of festival was Boxing Day probably in the beginning?| A．A charitable festival. | B．A religious festival. |
| C．A sports festival. | D．A business festival. |
| A．Take care of. | B．Depend on. |
| C．Put up with. | D．Pick up. |
| A．It has become an online shopping day. |
| B．It has been replaced by Black Friday. |
| C．It only covers popular sports events. |
| D．It has become less important than before. |
| A．When Did Boxing Day Come into Being? | B．Why Did People Celebrate Boxing Day? |
| C．How Is Black Friday Celebrated in the UK? | D．Why Is Black Friday Popular in the UK? |
9 . Looking at the star ratings（星级评分）on Amazon products can help consumers make wise decisions about what they add to their shopping carts. But shopping smart isn't always as easy as selecting goods with a four- or five-star rating: Factors like the length, quality, and number of reviews also make a difference. And with so many cheating third-party sellers working through the website, it's not always clear which reviews are trustworthy. For people who feel lost every time they look through Amazon, Lifehacker recently shared its tips for spotting untrue reviews.
If every review gives the same boring praise for the product without mentioning anything negative, think twice before heading to the checkout page. Some sellers pay people to leave dishonest five-star reviews on their products in order to increase their ratings. No longer than a few words are another sign of such reviews.
Looking for checked purchases can help you find the fakes （假货），but you can't make sure that a review is true because fake customers sometimes receive the products they've been paid to make comments. The best way to decide if the review you're reading is real is to look for personal details and imperfections in the story. Sometimes a three- or four-star review is a better sign of what you're getting than a too — good — to — be — true five-star review.
If all this seems too troublesome, you can also use AI to help analyze Amazon reviews. The website Fakespot can make an analysis of all the reviews on a particular Amazon listing in just a few seconds. It then tells you how many of the available reviews are likely to be true.
And if you're really committed to doing the best shopping, you can always take your research off Amazon. A product that has a similar rating on a less popular website like Groupon to what it has on Amazon might be reviewed honestly.
1. What is the problem with shopping on Amazon?| A．The website's service is bad. |
| B．The products on it are of poor quality. |
| C．Fake reviews may confuse shoppers. |
| D．Consumers often leave bad comments. |
| A．Amazon | B．Groupon | C．Lifehacker | D．Fakespot |
| A．There is nothing negative about the product. |
| B．It has the same five-star ratings in all reviews. |
| C．Positive and negative comments are included. |
| D．No information can be found on less popular websites. |
| A．To advertise products for more sales. |
| B．To share some tips on smart shopping. |
| C．To introduce more websites to readers. |
| D．To give advice on leaving positive comments. |
10 . When you're struggling to finish a term paper, preparing a big presentation or studying for final exams, sleep might be the first thing you sacrifice so you have time to get all the work done. To make up for it , you might start drinking coffee to help you study late into the night. But there's bad news if you're trying to keep that kind of schedule for more than a couple of days.
"We were particularly surprised that the performance advantage invested by two daily 200-milligram doses (剂量)of caffeine was lost after lack of sleep for three nights, " lead author Tracy Jill Doty said in a statement. "These results are important, because caffeine is widely used to deal with performance decline following periods of lack of sleep. The data from this study suggests that the same effective daily dose of caffeine is unable to prevent performance decline over many days of lack of sleep. "
The sample size was very small (48 people), so we can't think everyone will respond the same way. Those 48 people slept five hours per night for five nights straight. They got a caffeine dose equal to a large cup of coffee around 8 am and another around 12 pm each day. For the first two days, the people who got caffeine were performing better on attention and reaction tests. But by the third day, the caffeine was no longer helping them perform any better than the people who didn't get any caffeine.
Increasing the caffeine dose may have changed that. "But the more caffeine you consume, the more negative side affects you feel," Doty said. "This work goes along with lots of other work showing that the negative effects of lacking sleep are difficult to overcome. This is true even with a heavy daily dose of caffeine.
1. Who will be the intended reader of the text?| A．Educators. | B．Students. |
| C．Adults. | D．Officials. |
| A．By listing examples. |
| B．By reasoning. |
| C．By analyzing results |
| D．By arguing |
| A．Caffeine fails to perform better over an extended time. |
| B．Increasing caffeine can promote one's performance. |
| C．Drinking too much coffee might lead to sleep loss. |
| D．Caffeine doesn't prevent performance decline at all. |
| A．Coffee: Sleep Loss. |
| B．Coffee: Performance Increase. |
| C．Enough Sleep Makes Coffee Work. |
| D．The More Coffee, the Worse Effects. |
