2 . Gerardo Ixcoy is a 27-year-old teacher in Guatemala. He teaches in the area where having electricity is something of a luxury and students have no access to mobile apps or computers, which became a problem when Guatemalan government had to choose distance education for students at home because of COVID-19 in mid-March.

Gerardo Ixcoy felt that he had to teach those children living far from the digital world. After all, education is a universal right. But what was the solution?

Gerardo bought himself a secondhand tricycle with his savings. Once he had the tricycle, the next step was to change it into a classroom on wheels. He put a roof with a solar panel（太阳能电池板）on it, along with a screen to avoid the spread of COVID-19. He fixed a whiteboard on it so he could explain to the students the basics of primary education： math, the local language and the national language Spanish.

The purpose of the solar panel is to provide constant power for a small loudspeaker so he can teach from a distance. It's a matter of respecting the healthy distance required to be safe from the virus. He, the teacher, stays outside, and the student participates from his or her house.

He tries to visit his students at least twice a week, riding his classroom — cycle. The children he serves say that, although he visits them for only a few hours a week, they look forward to it. They appreciate his visit because they know he has limited time he can devote to them. They must take advantage of it to learn.

1. What happened to Gerardo Ixcoy's students because of COVID-19?

A．They chose to have classes in groups.

B．They had to stop all the classes.

C．They continued to have classes online.

D．They started to learn about computers.

2. Why does the teacher stay from a distance while teaching?

A．Because healthy distance is reqired.

B．Because he doesn't want to see his students.

C．Because he wants to show his authority.

D．Because the local custom reqiries him to.

3. Where did Gerardo Ixcoy teach his students?

A．In his own house.	B．In his student's house.
C．On the school playground.	D．Outside his student's house.

4. What can be the best title of the story?

A．Love breaks down barriers.	B．Hard work pays off.
C．Time is money.	D．Education is the key to success.

3 . Professor Ashok Goel of Georgia Tech developed an artificially intelligent teaching robot, Knowledge- Based Artificial Intelligence, to help handle the enormous number of student questions in the online class. This online course is a core requirement of Georgia Tech's online Master of Science in Computer Science program. Professor Goel already had eight teaching assistants, but that wasn't enough to deal with the overwhelming number of daily questions from students.

Many students drop out of online courses because of the lack of teaching support. When students feel isolated or confused and reach out with questions that go unanswered, their motivation to continue begins to taper off. Professor Goel decided to do something to remedy this situation and his solution was to create a virtual assistant named Jill Watson, which is based on the IBM Watson platform.

Goel and his team developed several versions of Jill Watson before releasing her to the online forums. At first, the virtual assistant wasn't too great. But Goel and his team sourced the online discussion forum to find all the 40, 000 questions that had ever been asked since the class was launched. Then they began to feed Jill with the questions and answers. After some adjustments and sufficient time, Jill was able to answer the students' questions correctly 97% of the time. The virtual assistant became so advanced and realistic that the students didn’t know she was a computer.

The students, who were studying artificial intelligence, were interacting with the virtual assistant and couldn't tell it apart from a real human being. Goel didn’t inform them about Jill's true identity until April 26. The students were actually very positive about the experience.

The goal of Professor Goel’s virtual assistant next year is to take over answering 40% of all the questions posed by students on the online forum. The name Jill Watson will, of course, change to something else next semester. Professor Goel has a much rosier outlook on the future of artificial intelligence than, say, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates or Steve Wozniak.

1. What do we learn about Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence?

A．It is a robot that can answer students’ questions.

B．It is a course designed for students to learn online.

C．It is a high-tech device that reforms teaching.

D．It is a computer program that aids student learning.

2. What does the underlined phrase “taper off” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Grow dramatically.

B．Increase sharply.

C．Decrease gradually.

D．Decline randomly.

3. How did the students feel about Jill Watson?

A．Incapable.

B．Useful.

C．Incredible.

D．Universal.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．A robot gives an online course.

B．Artificial Intelligence will replace humans in online classes.

C．Virtual assistant is getting popular on campus.

D．Professor Goel of Georgia Tech applies a virtual teaching assistant.

4 . About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings. Instead, they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers. The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools,” and that is twice as many as two years ago.

The money for students to attend cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.

Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.

Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.

Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.

Students at cyberschool usually do not know one another. But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.

1. What do we know from the text about the students of a cyberschool?

A．They have to take a long bus ride to school.

B．They study at home instead of in classrooms.

C．They receive money from traditional public schools.

D．They are all failures in traditional school programs.

2. What is a problem with cyberschools?

A．Their equipment costs a lot of money.

B．They get little support from the state government.

C．It is hard to know students’ progress in learning.

D．The students find it hard to get along with other students.

3. Cyberschools are getting popular because _____________.

A．they are less expensive for students	B．their students can work at their own speed
C．their graduates are more successful in society	D．they serve students in a wider age range

4. We can infer from the text that the author has a(n) ________ attitude toward cyberschools.

A．positive	B．negative
C．doubtful	D．disappointed