1 . If your friend says she feels relaxed, but you see that she closes her hands into fists, you may doubt her words. Robots, however, might believe her. Body language says a lot, but robots have great difficulty in observing tiny body movements and can miss important social signals as a result.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a body-tracking system that might help solve this problem. The system called OpenPose can track body movement in real time. One important quality of the OpenPose system is that it can track not only a person's head, body, arms and legs but also his fingers. To do that, the researchers used a dome （圆顶状物）lined with 500 cameras, where they recorded body movements at different angles and then used those pictures to build a data set.
They then passed those pictures through a keypoint detector to identify and label specific body parts. The software also learns to connect the body parts with different people, so it knows, for example, that a particular person's hand will always be close to his or her upper arm. This makes it possible to track multiple people at once.
The pictures from the dome were recorded in 2D. But the researchers used 3D technology to help the system understand how each movement appears from different angles. With all of this data processed, the system can determine how the whole hand looks even if some fingers cannot be seen.
Now that the system has this data set to draw from, it can run with just one camera and one computer. It no longer requires the camera-lined dome to determine body poses, making the technology mobile and accessible.
The researchers say this technology could be used for interactions between humans and machines. It could play a huge role in VR （虚拟现实）experiences, allowing finer detection of the user's physical movement without any added hardware. It could also help with more natural interactions with a home robot. You could tell your robot to “pick that up"， and it could easily understand what you're pointing at. By interpreting your physical gestures, the robot may even learn to read emotions by tracking body language. So when you' re silently crying with your face in your hands because a robot has taken your job, it might offer you a tissue.
1. What does the underlined words “this problem" in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Humans are addicted to technology. |
| B．Human-robot relationship is poor. |
| C．Robots show too much trust in humans. |
| D．Robots fail to interpret physical gestures. |
| A．It tracks one person at a time. |
| B．It can track slight body movements. |
| C．It uses a dome to recognize people. |
| D．It can take 500 pictures in one second. |
| A．The data set. | B．3D technology. |
| C．A powerful computer. | D．A camera-lined dome. |
| A．What robots are expected to do in the future? |
| B．Why is body language so important? |
| C．Robots learn to read body language. |
| D．Robots can and will change our lives. |
2 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar(农历）divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气）．Start of Winter, the 19th solar term of the year,begins this year on Nov 7 and ends on Nov 21.
Start of Winter is the first solar term of winter,which means winter is coming and crops harvested in autumn should he stored up.
In ancient times, the Start of Winter was regarded as the beginning of winter, however,due to geographical factors, the actual winter time varies from place to place.
In fact,the Start of Winter is not the beginning of winter in terms of meteorology(气象学）。The weather every year is different, so the beginning of winter could be quite different.And as China is very large, it starts at different times in different areas.
The beginnings of the four seasons were important festivals in ancient times. Before the Start of Winter,the ancient emperor would take a shower and have no more meat.On that day,the emperor would lead his officials to the countryside and"welcome the winter".
People eat dumplings on the beginning of winter. Legend has it that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty,Zhang Zhongjing invented "Jiao Ear"(娇耳）to treat typhoid(伤寒） patients with ear frostbite(冻疮）.He cooked mutton,hot peppers and herbs to drive out the cold and warm up the body.He put these materials into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape.Since then,people have learned to make the food which became known as "dumpling" or jiaozi. Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day, or your ears will be frostbitten.”
1. Which of the following is right about Start of Winter?| A．It is one of the solar terns in Chinese calendar. |
| B．People begin to harvest crops on this day. |
| C．Winter begins on November 7 this year. |
| D．It begins in different months in different places. |
| A．the Start of Winter |
| B．the change of weather |
| C．the important festival |
| D．the beginning of winter |
| A．Importance of Start of Winter. |
| B．Customs of Start of Winter. |
| C．Origin(起源）of Start of Winter. |
| D．Food eaten on Start of Winter. |
| A．Because dumplings can drive away typhoid. |
| B．Because they wish for good luck for themselves. |
| C．Because eating dumplings can warm up their ears. |
| D．Because they want to prevent the coming of winter. |
3 . Many families take their children on vacation. They will usually travel for a few days or weeks during school breaks. But Julie and Tim Smith have planned a longer vacation with their two children. The Smith family is on a one-year trip around the world .They plan to visit 30 countries in all. Right now, the four travelers are about halfway through their trip.
Ms. Smith says they are trying to see as much of their world as they can. Mr. Smith says one of the most interesting experiences of the trip has been meeting new people. He says people have been extremely friendly, very welcoming and love their kids. Eleven-year-old Tyler says he has enjoyed learning about the people they have met. He says, “I learned in Africa that people have very different lifestyles than in America."His sister, 9.year-old Kara, discovers that she likes Thai food. Ms. Smith says that the trip teaches the children a lot.
It took the family a year to prepare for the trip. They had to sell their house and cars. Ms. Smith left her job and her husband is using unpaid leave. They carry small bags filled with lightweight clothing and whatever else they need. Ms. Smith says she enjoys being able to carry everything she needs on her back. .She says she does not miss the things she has back home. “What has become more important is making these memories as a family and taking ”those” with us instead.”
The Smiths will continue to head east for the next six months.
1. In what way is the Smith family’s trip different from many others’ according to Paragraph1?| A．They take their children on vacation. |
| B．They travel around the world for a year with children. |
| C．They travel during school breaks with children. |
| D．They travel for a few weeks with children. |
| A．Living in Africa. | B．learning different Lifestyles in America. |
| C．Having Thai food. | D．Learning about the people they have met. |
| A．They left their jobs. | B．It took the Smith family a year. |
| C．They sold their house and cars. | D．They put lightweight clothing in small bags. |
| A．The small bags they carry. | B．The memories of the family. |
| C．The things on her back. | D．The things back home. |
4 . This new packaging material looks like conventional plastic, but it's actually made from fish waste and algae(海藻)--and unlike plastic, if it escapes into the ocean, a fish could likely eat it safely. The material, called MarinaTex, is the winner of this year's James Dyson Award.
"It began with my desire to work with waste," says Lucy Hughes, a recent graduate from University of Sussex, who once visited a fish processing factory to see the massive quantity of waste generated by the industry and find new ways to use it. She focused on fish skins and scales (鳞片). "When I had it in my hands, I realized this has got potential, she says. "It's super strong and flexible." Hughes spent months experimenting with fish waste in her kitchen, running more than 100 experiments to find a binder and a process that could hold together the proteins in the fish skins and scales. "I had a lot of failed attempts—a lot of things either were too easily broken or too soft or easily went bad," she says. She finally landed on a type of algae that can be locally got.
The material can be used to replace oil-based plastic in packaging such as bags or the half transparent windows used to show products in boxes. As her research continues, Hughes says that she'll be studying how MarinaTex works and how long it could be used to store food.
Unlike some "compostable" plastics, which need to be processed in an industrial composting facility to break down, the new material can break down in four to six weeks in a backyard compost bin. ''All the ingredients are food-grade safe," Hughes says." So, this breaks down much like a piece of food would break down."
1. Why did Hughes develop MarinaTex?| A．She wanted to look for a new plastic. |
| B．She would like fish to eat it safely. |
| C．She wanted to win James Dyson Award. |
| D．She wanted to make use of fish skins and scales. |
| A．The fish processing factory. | B．The fish waste. |
| C．Fish scales. | D．Fish skins. |
| A．It is stronger and more flexible. |
| B．It can be used as plastic bags. |
| C．It has the nutritional value for fish. |
| D．It can break down very easily and fast. |
| A．Working with Waste | B．Developing New Ideas |
| C．Making Bags from Fish Waste | D．Getting Rid of Plastic Pollution |
5 . When I stepped out of Heathrow Airport, the British accents were music to my ears! The roads were so empty and traffic was so organized, with open spaces everywhere and so few people on the streets—what a difference from where 1 came—Mumbai. The difference was even more obvious after I had spent 21 years of my life living in that place. The streets were unfamiliar, and the faces were all foreign.
I boarded my bus for my university town. I felt like I had been in a fairytale book—the small houses, the quiet streets and the well-dressed people among other things. A small and beautiful three-storeyed building is quite a rarity back home and here, I have yet to see a building taller than that! Back home in India, the kind of rent I pay here could have afforded me a luxurious(豪华的） 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen apartment in a good location. But my accommodation here is the size of my bathroom back home! It’s just a fact... reality can be rude at times!
I really cherish the first day of my new university. I’ve met so many students from countries that I didn’t even know. But living alone in a new place, away from the protection of my family and friends, is a different experience altogether—a wonderful experience of further education!
It's been almost two months now. The novelty(新奇)is gradually disappearing, and the dust is settling down. It’s all just daily now but I feel fully settled. I really like this place. It feels like home!
1. What does the underlined part “that place” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Heathrow Airport. | B．Britain. |
| C．Mumbai. | D．A university of India. |
| A．Dirty and noisy. | B．Different but poor. |
| C．Hopeful and inspiring. | D．Strange but beautiful. |
| A．An international student. | B．A tourist from India. |
| C．A British college teacher. | D．An unknown writer. |
| A．The author is less interested in everything because of dust. |
| B．The author still feels curious about everything around. |
| C．The author has been used to the new environment. |
| D．The author feels like going home after nearly two months. |
6 . It is a well accepted assumption that students come to colleges to get good grades and that they are usually too busy to do anything else.
But Connie Snyder Mick, an academic director of the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame, says it is just half of the truth. There are many volunteering centers like hers at the colleges and universities in the United States. Mick says these centers help students seek an experience that may not be directly related to a student’s academic progress, but that is still important.
Volunteering is not uncommon in higher education. Many college groups organize volunteer events for different causes. Officials in charge of student housing often organize such events to help build a sense of community. Participation in these kinds of activities is good for students, Mick says. For example, the busy nature of college life can create a lot of stress for students. Doing something completely unrelated to a student's studies can help calm them by putting their mind on other things.
For a more meaningful addition to their college experience. Mick urges students to visit centers like the one she heads. She says these centers exist to create volunteer opportunities that are more complex and meaningful than just a day spent cleaning a local park or raising money, for example.
Such volunteering centers often partner with local organizations that serve the people of the nearby communities. Even for students with little interest in building a connection with the local communities, there is still value in what volunteer centers have to offer, Mick says. She notes some opportunities can push students to use what they are learning in the classroom out in the real world and having that kind of experience can make a student appealing to employers in the years to come.
1. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Academic progress. |
| B．College education. |
| C．Volunteering experience. |
| D．Center for Social Concerns. |
| A．To give students good part-time jobs. |
| B．To raise money for different celebrations. |
| C．To help build a closer bond among the students. |
| D．To improve the living conditions for the students. |
| A．By helping them focus on their study. |
| B．By offering chances to test their knowledge. |
| C．By protecting them from the local communities. |
| D．By increasing their competitiveness in the job market. |
| A．Colorful College Life in the USA |
| B．Guidelines for Volunteering Center Selection |
| C．Volunteering: a Meaningful Addition to College Life |
| D．A Valuable Platform: Mick's Center for Social Concerns |
7 . Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play, catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, extra learning trials (尝试) increase the length of time we will remember it.
In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.
The multiplication tables (乘法口诀表) are an exception (例外) to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.
The law of overlearning explains why cramming (突击学习) for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one’s future development.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?| A．People remember well what they learned in childhood. |
| B．Children have a better memory than grown-ups. |
| C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words. |
| D．Stories for children are easy to remember. |
| A．presenting research findings |
| B．setting down general rules |
| C．making a comparison |
| D．using examples |
| A．Commonly accepted rules. |
| B．The multiplication tables. |
| C．Things easily forgotten. |
| D．School subjects. |
| A．It’s helpful only in a limited way. |
| B．It leads to failure in college exams. |
| C．It’s possible to result in poor memory. |
| D．It increases students’ learning interest. |
8 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate(保守的估计).”
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what was possible in the past. “There is a great effort so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”
1. By saying“we are knocking at the door of immortality”,Michael Zey means_________.| A．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| B．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| C．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| D．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| A．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| C．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| D．people can live from 120 to 180 |
| A．a great effort |
| B．the conservative estimate |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| D．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| A．No Limit for Human Life |
| B．Living Longer or not |
| C．Science,Technology and Long Living |
| D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living |
9 . Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,” Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,” says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”
1. Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?| A．To remember the birth of jazz. |
| B．To protect cultural diversity. |
| C．To encourage people to study music. |
| D．To recognize the value of jazz. |
| A．Jazz becoming more accessible. |
| B．The production of jazz growing faster. |
| C．Jazz being less popular with the young. |
| D．The jazz audience becoming larger. |
| A．It will disappear gradually. |
| B．It remains black and white. |
| C．It should keep up with the times. |
| D．It changes every 50 years. |
| A．Exploring the Future of Jazz. |
| B．The Rise and Fall of Jazz. |
| C．The Story of a Jazz Musician. |
| D．Celebrating the Jazz Day. |
