1 . As reporters and editors find themselves the victims of layoffs at digital publishers and traditional newspaper chains alike, journalism generated by machine is on the rise. Roughly a third of the content published by Bloomberg News uses some form of automated technology. The system used by the company, Cyborg, is able to assist reporters in creating thousands of articles on company earnings reports each quarter. The program can analyze a financial report the moment it appears and spit out an immediate news story that includes the most important facts and figures.
In addition to covering company earnings for Bloomberg,robot reporters have been productive producers of articles on Minor League Baseball for The Associated Press (AP),high school football for The Washington Post and earthquakes for Los Angeles Times. Last week, The Guardian's Australia edition published its first machine-assisted article. And Forbes recently announced that it was testing a tool called Bertie to provide reporters with rough drafts and story templates. The New York Times has experimented with using AI to personalize newsletters.
The AP was an early adopter when it struck a deal in 2014 with Automated Insights, a technology company specializing in language generation software that produces billions of machine-generated stories a year. In addition to leaning on the software to generate minor league and college game stories, The AP has also used it to strengthen its coverage of company earnings reports. It has gone from producing 300 articles on earnings reports per quarter to 3,700.
As the use of AI has become a part of the industry's toolbox,journalism executives say it is not a threat to humans. Rather, the idea is to allow journalists to spend more time on substantive work."The work of journalism is creative, it' s about curiosity, it' s about storytelling, iť' s about digging, it' s critical thinking, it's judgment - and that is where we want our journalists to spend their energy,"says Lisa Gibbs, the director of news partnerships for The AP.
“AI was once a new shiny technology used by high tech companies,but now it' s actually becoming a necessity," says Francesco Marconi,the head of research and development at The Journal. He likened the addition of AI in newsrooms to the introduction of the telephone. “It gives you more access, and you get more information quicker," he says. “I think a lot of the tools in journalism will soon be powered by AI.”
1. What do Bloomberg and The AP have in common?| A．Both are developing language generation software. |
| B．Both use AI to produce company earnings reports. |
| C．Both work with the same AI technology company. |
| D．Both have laid off a large number of their employees. |
| A．AI is being widely applied in journalism. |
| B．Robot reporters are likely to cause problems. |
| C．Reporters and editors are facing unemployment. |
| D．Traditional media resist machine-assisted articles. |
| A．It is a well-matched substitute for journalists. |
| B．It challenges reporters to think more critically. |
| C．It liberates journalists from time-consuming tasks. |
| D．It guarantees reporters focus more on important work. |
| A．To present the weakness of telephones. |
| B．To predict journalism' s bright future. |
| C．To discuss changes in AI technology. |
| D．To show how big a step forward AI is. |
2 . Book Reviews
Backward Science
Author: Clive Gifford
Publisher: QED Publishing
Price:£12
Immersed in our current surroundings, technology and way of life, it can be easy to take all this for granted. But what would.life be like without the comfort we are provided with through healthcare or the transport we depend on daily? From complex gadgets to simplistic items such as a toilet to use or paper to write on, all the technology in this book will leave you both thankful for a different aspect of your life and equipped with the historical stories of the people behind them.
Anatomicum Activity Book
Author:Jennifer Z Paxton
Publisher: Big Picture Press
Price:£10
The human body and its complicated composition can be hard to wrap your head around sometimes. However, this activity book combines the educational information of a textbook and the fun of a puzzle book. From labelling parts of the lungs to matching up internal systems, this book is a great way to bring fun into human biology. Filled with interesting facts about he human body and how it functions, this activity book is great for the whole family to enjoy.
Apollo 13 Owners' Workshop Manual
Author:David Baker
Publisher: Haynes
Price:£22
You couldn' t find a more qualified person to write this Haynes manual:author David Baker isn't just any old physicist or engineer; he was actually here in NASA's mission control room in 1970, working on getting the crew of Apollo 13 safely back to Earth. He’'s also an award-winning journalist who's written well over 100 books on all facets of space science and exploration.
The World's Most Amazing Dinosaurs
Author:Various
Publisher:Sona Books
Price:£18
Providing an insight into the varied species that inhabited our planet over 65 million years ago,every page brings these long-extinct characters back to life. The illustrations not only show you what they might have looked like,but are filled with interesting annotations to explain the purpose of the dinosaurs' every feature. Surprising details of their colour, texture, internal organs and skeletal structure are presented through cutaway graphics alongside educated opinions from expert palaeontologists.
1. Which book explores the inventions we encounter every day?| A．The World's Most Amazing Dinosaurs. |
| B．Apollo 13 Owners\' Workshop Manual. |
| C．Anatomicum Activity Book. |
| D．Backward Science. |
| A．are wondering what life was like in the past |
| B．are doing research on space science |
| C．are confused about the human body |
| D．are curious about animals |
| A．He was one of the crew of Apollo 13. |
| B．He knew the precise details of Apollo 13. |
| C．He designed NASA\'s mission control room. |
| D．He worked as an engineer until the year of 1970. |
3 . You can’t imagine how terrible I felt at that time. A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.
I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps (圆圈) and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later told me that I was “not athletic”.
The idea that I was “not athletic” stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!
The night before my marathon, I dreamed that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.
Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces (鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust (重新调整). Not the start I wanted!
At mile 3, I passed a sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”
By mile17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Although my ankle was very painful, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.
By mile 21, I was so hungry!
As I came to mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.
I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.
Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels (世俗标签), I can now call myself a “marathon winner”.
1. How did he author feel a month before the marathon?| A．Anxious. | B．Frightened. |
| C．Well prepared. | D．Confident. |
| A．To thank the support of his teacher. | B．To amuse the readers with a funny story. |
| C．To show he was not talented in sports. | D．To share a valuable memory. |
| A．He made it. | B．He quit halfway. |
| C．He got the first prize. | D．He walked to the end. |
| A．One is never too old to learn. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．A winner is one with a great effort of will. | D．A man owes his success to his family support. |
4 . If you are looking for a vacation to a beautiful beach town, each state on the East Coast has something new to offer. Here you can find the best cities along the East Coast based on a departure (离开) from Los Angeles.
Savannah, GeorgiaRound-trip fight cost:$ 415
Walking tours of the city’s attractions are led by local historians, and you can know more about the famous squares and see the bench where Forrest Gump sat. There is also a free tour to Forsyth Park, home to a 300-year-old Candler Oak tree. Visitors can also stay at the Forsyth Park, which includes a spa, restaurant and cooking school.
Charleston, South Carolina
Round-trip flight cost:$519
You don’t have to travel to Europe to visit one of the world’s best spots. Charleston made Travel and Leisure’s 2018 list of the top 15 international cities. It was also ranked the No. 1 U.S. city for the sixth year in a row in 2018. You can enjoy the sunshine for free at Folly Beach and watch the sunset from the pier (码头).
Block Island, Rhode Island
Round-trip flight cost:$358
There are no flights from Los Angeles directly to Block Island, but a round-trip flight to Providence, Rhode Island. There you can make your way to Block Island and visit 1661 Farms and Gardens, which is home to kangaroos, camels, ducks, goats and much more. Southeast Lighthouse here is praised for its beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Roanoke, Virginia
Round-trip fight cost:$517
Take advantage of the arts and crafts trips, hiking paths and waterfall stops all along the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you don’t want to stay outdoors, visit the Taubman Museum of Art for free. The museum has a collection of over 2,100 pieces from around the world and hosts special exhibits(展览会) throughout the year.
1. What do tours in Savannah allow visitors to do?| A．Learn about the history of the city. | B．Help plant trees in Forsyth Park |
| C．Attend a cooking school for free. | D．Watch an open-air movie. |
| A．are unwilling to travel by air |
| B．love to spend time with animals |
| C．want to appreciate works of art |
| D．prefer enjoying the mountain view |
| A．Savannah. | B．Charleston. | C．Block Island | D．Roanoke. |
5 . Astronauts hope they have a solution for getting a piece of equipment working so it can change urine( 尿) and sweat into drinkable water and allow the international space station to grow to six astronauts.
Flight controllers asked station commander Michael Fincke on Sunday to change how a centrifuge(离心机) is mounted in the $ 154 million water recycling system. The centrifuge is on mounts(底座) and Mission Control asked Fincke to remove them.
“Wonderful! That is something we can do," Fincke told Mission Control.
The astronauts have been working for the past three days to get the system running so that it can generate samples(样本) for testing back on Earth , but the urine centrifuge only operates for two hours at a time before shutting down.
The water recycling system , delivered a week ago by the space shuttle Endeavour ,is necessary for allowing more astronauts to live on the space station next year.
Lead fight director Ginger Kerrick said engineers hope the problem is fixed , but they were studying whether six astronauts would still be able to live on the space station with the urine processor only working for two hours at a time. The space station crew(工作人员) is planned to grow from three to six next year.
“If this is as good as it's going to get,we do need to be able to answer that question ,”Kerrick said. Flight controllers had hoped that the water samples brought back for testing had a mixture in which 70% came from condensation( 冷凝) and 30% came from urine. Astronauts won't be able to use it until several rounds of tests show that it is safe.
1. How many astronauts are now working on the space station?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Six. |
| A．It can only work on mounts. | B．It can work for 24 hours a day. |
| C．It shuts down every three hours. | D．It only works for two hours at a time. |
| A．To keep the space station clean. |
| B．To dry up the sweat from the astronauts in space. |
| C．To allow more astronauts to work on the space station. |
| D．To get water samples in space for testing back on Earth. |
| A．Drinkable water is a big problem for astronauts in space. |
| B．Astronauts in space don't have enough water to drink. |
| C．Astronauts in space can only get water from a centrifuge. |
| D．The space station can 't work without a centrifuge. |
6 . I’d flown across the country to attend a special ceremony at Fort Benning, Georgia, and for the weekend my son and I spent hours and days together in Columbus. Being a vegetarian, I’d prepared a list of cafes and restaurants that offered some selection of non-meat options. One cafe whose menu I wanted to try was behind, and many blocks away from the main street, but we eventually found it and entered.
Now I’m blue-eyed Irish-American but my son looks Asian. I noticed that, like Columbus itself, the room was filled with citizens and soldiers alike, and there were persons of many races, genders and age. The place was so cheerful. When we’d finished eating and I was waiting for the restroom to have a vacancy, an older Black customer, dressed in a Spring Green suit and hat came heading to the restrooms and I quietly said to her, “Oh, someone is still in there.” She looked at me with a cheerful, sweet smile and said, “Why, thank you!” Then she turned to my son dressed in his military uniform, chatting with him, and suddenly, cheerfully gave him a huge hug , telling him that he'd made a smart decision to choose a military career, and that she was thankful for his service! My son shyly thanked her, nodding, with “Thank you, Ma’am” many times.
But in this sudden short meeting, I was given the gift that I desperately needed... because up until that point I was so filled with worry and extreme loneliness, being the only person there that weekend to support my son about his choice.
Yet here was a beautiful black mother, a bundle of loving energy, wrapping my son in her arms and encouraging him, in front of a quiet white woman barely holding it all together.
1. Why could the writer meet her son in Columbus?| A．She flew to Columbus specially to meet him. | B．She did something somewhere near to her son. |
| C．Her son got a chance to return home to see her. | D．Her son is freed from the military services. |
| A．She gladly encouraged him. | B．She patiently comforted him. |
| C．She regretted his decision a bit. | D．She wanted him to change his mind. |
| A．Thankful and proud. | B．Worried and lonely. |
| C．Doubtful and concerned. | D．Anxious and embarrassed. |
| A．Choosing the right career is important. | B．It’s necessary to show your gratitude. |
| C．Thoughtfulness makes a difference. | D．Remember: every coin has two sides. |
7 . It was dinner time for the Rangers, a group of mostly Indigenous (本地的) Australians who had spent a long day cleaning up the polluted beaches of the continent’s northern coast. Soon they would be eating freshly caught fish and seafood cooked under the stars on an open fire, as their ancestors did.
The Rangers are of more than 100 Indigenous groups spread across Australia who have taken on the job of protecting the land of their forefathers. In Arnhem Land, they are the protectors of 3,300 square miles of land and sea. They comb the beaches by hand, picking up as much rubbish as possible. The task is very difficult as each day it delivers waves of new rubbish.
For the Rangers, cleaning the beaches is more than a vacation. For a people whose culture is strongly tied to the land, protecting the environment is equal to preserving their history.
However, colonization forcefully broke their connection to the land generations ago. Indigenous people were displaced and their cultural practices outlawed. Tens of thousands of years of traditional land management ended, and as a result many parts of the country now face serious disasters from invasive plant and animal species, bush fires and land mismanagement.
In recent years, the government has restored more than 20 percent of Australia’s land to Indigenous owners. Since 2007, the Indigenous Rangers Organizations have been at work protecting this land.
Luck, one of the few non-Indigenous employees working with the Rangers, said the combination of old and new techniques and an appreciation for the culture of Indigenous workers has been critical to the program’s success.
“You are working with staff who see the world different to you, so there is a much higher focus on the cultural aspects of work and life,” he said.
“Being a ranger is a source of confidence. You feel strong,” said Terence, a senior ranger. “Here we still live on the land. The culture is still alive.”
1. What did Indigenous Australians live on in the past?| A．Rubbish picked up by hand. | B．Catching the fish and seafood. |
| C．Protecting the land. | D．Invasive plants and animals. |
| A．The polluted land needs better management. |
| B．Their cultural practices were outlawed. |
| C．The people were too strong. |
| D．The land belongs to them. |
| A．It’s a job of their ancestors’. | B．It’s just a vacation. |
| C．It’s a difficult task. | D．It’s their culture. |
| A．Not many employees are the Indigenous Australians. |
| B．Culture is important to the Indigenous Australians. |
| C．Their new techniques are successful. |
| D．Both Luck and Terence are rangers. |
8 . James T.Green thought he was having a panic attack.
He took a break from work to walk around the block during a stressful day, and noticed he felt out of breath walking up a slight slope."This isn't normal,” Green thought.He had become a regular biker in recent months and wasn't exactly out of shape.He sat down at his desk, and looked at the Apple Watch on his wrist.His heart rate was through the roof, and the Heart Watch app he was using to check his pulse （脉搏）was flashing warnings.Maybe it was something more serious, he thought.
Although he had blood clots （血栓）in his lungs a few years back, he had been taking medication, and doctors said that it was an unusual condition for someone in their mid-20s.Still, the symptoms （症 状）this time were much less serious, and he was feeling stressed, so his mind didn't automatically jump to blood clots.Green's doctor told him it sounded like anxiety.But then he showed her his heart rate recorded by the Apple Watch.
"This is my normal heart rate,” Green told her, pointing to the graph in the app.“This is where my heart is now.There's something wrong."
The doctor ordered a CT scan.The blood clots in his left lung had returned.An ambulance rushed Green to the emergency room, where he was pumped full of blood thinners.He didn't need surgery this time, but doctors told him that if he had waited, a clot could have killed him.
Green isn't the only person who has discovered a serious health condition after seeing heart-rate data on a smartwatch.And he won't be the last.Presently, smartwatches from Apple to Fitbit and others can tell you your heart rate and track your workouts.But these companies want to go beyond the basics by developing ways to tell you when something is wrong.In fact, it's already happening.
1. What is not normal for Green this time?| A．He breathed with difficulty. | B．He worked out less often. |
| C．He had a heart attack. | D．He was out of shape. |
| A．He himself. | B．His doctor. | C．The CT scan. | D．The Apple Watch. |
| A．Tiredness. | B．Anxiety. | C．Work stress. | D．Blood clots. |
| A．Apple's new study on smartwatches. | B．The tips on how to buy a smartwatch. |
| C．Other cases where smartwatches save lives. | D．The application of smartwatches in health care. |
9 . One of our biggest problems many of us feel is having too much to do and not feeling like we have enough time to do it.
Of course, having “not enough time” is just a feeling. The fact is that we all have the same amount of time, but we often fill up the container (容器) of our days with too many things..
The problem is having too many things to fit into a small container (24 hours). If we look at task and time management simply as a container organization problem, it becomes simpler.
How do we fit all of the things we have to do into our small container? We do that by simplifying what we have to do.
Pay attention to all the things you should do today and tomorrow, and try to notice all the things you're fitting into the container of your day. What games are you playing on your phone? What are you reading? What work are you busy doing? How much time are you spending on Facebook of Twitter? How much TV are you watching? How much time do you spend cleaning, taking care of other people?
What you might realize is that you're fitting a lot of junk into the container. Throw some of that out. Prevent yourself from using certain sites or apps until you've done a few really important tasks.
Now ask yourself this: Which task would you do if you could only do one task today? That should be what you put your focus on next. So just focus on one important task. By picking your tasks carefully, you're taking care of the container of your time. You can pick important tasks or joyful ones, but you're being conscious (意识到的 ) about the choices. You're treating it like the gift of great value, for it is limited, valuable, to be filled with the best things, but not overstuffed.
1. How can we deal with the big problem mentioned at the beginning of the text?| A．By filling up our days with too many things. |
| B．By simplifying everything we have to do. |
| C．By having a bigger container of our days. |
| D．By improving our skills of doing tasks. |
| A．To prove that many people are enjoying playing games. |
| B．To help us learn the importance of balancing work and life. |
| C．To show there are many things which are not worth doing. |
| D．To tell us that there are no really important tasks to do. |
| A．Learn what the container of our days is. |
| B．Prevent ourselves from feeling time is not enough. |
| C．Try our best to do as many things as we can. |
| D．Focus on something that is really important. |
| A．First things first. |
| B．Easier said than done. |
| C．Practice makes perfect. |
| D．Don’t put all your eggs into one basket. |
10 . The great 18th-century author Montesquieu once put it, “I have never known any stress that an hour’s reading does not reduce." And now many argue for a return to this view of literature as therapy, even using the word “bibliotherapy"（阅读疗法）to describe it.
So what does literature provide, beyond entertainment? It can act as a guide.Those who show great respect for Shakespeare, Milton or Proust should keep in mind that even the most famous author was still a human being.In other words, great writers have been through the same things as you.Like you, they found themselves in this strange world and they tried to make sense of it.And this is what most literature consists of: people trying to make sense of the world.
No matter what your fears or concerns may be, chances are some great writer has written about them.Before seeking （寻求）suggestions, cither from a professional or a well-read friend, be clear about what is troubling you.For example, let's say you were raised in a religious （信仰宗教的）family but now, in later life, have lost your faith （信仰）.This is painful to you and you feel empty and alone.Countless writers have gone down this path before you and have found a way out — the German poet and novelist Hermann Hesse, for example, wrote the wonderful little novel Siddartha about this search for spiritual peace.
It would also help to consider your particular life stage.Someone from a poor background about to set off for a great college will want a different set of reading from a retired woman whose husband has died.To take another example, let's imagine you had a childhood of abuse （虐待）.For years you have suffered from depression.In that case, you could try Edward St Aubyn's The Patrick Melrose Novels.St Aubyn's father abused him, while his mother escaped into drink, but Aubyn wrote a series of splendid novels based on his life, charting a man's journey through the hard situation of abuse and out the other end.
1. Why does the author quote Montesquieu?| A．To stress the effect of bibliotherapy. | B．To explain what bibliotherapy means. |
| C．To tell us when bibliotherapy came into being. | D．To argue for the use of literature as therapy. |
| A．Find out which writer has written about your problem. |
| B．Know what authors have gone through. |
| C．Find out how to seek spiritual peace. |
| D．Know what your trouble is. |
| A．Aubyn's novels suit people who have retired. |
| B．Aubyn's novels are mainly read by young readers. |
| C．People should choose novels according to their interest. |
| D．People of different ages need different works of literature. |
| A．What novels best suit you. | B．A form of therapy: literature. |
| C．The great influence of literature. | D．The experiences of great writers. |
