There are lots of chances in front of us. Whether you can seize them or not depends on the choices you make. This reminds me of one choice I made during my childhood.
Two tickets. Only two tickets to the final basketball game.
Three pairs of eyes focused on the tickets in Dad’s out-stretched hand. Mike, the oldest, asked the question running through everyone’s mind, “Only one ticket for us three? But, Dad, which of us will go with you?” Avery, the youngest, repeated the question quietly. I asked Dad if there was any chance to get more tickets. I might be the middle sister, but I was just as eager as my basketball-crazy brothers for a night out with Dad. Dad said he’d got the tickets from a friend and there were only two available.
Seeing that none of us would give up the chance, Dad told us he would choose which of the three of us deserved to go by the following morning.
The next morning, we hurried into the kitchen and looked for Dad, only to find that he had gone out. We were told to get started on our Saturday cleanup as soon as we finished breakfast. Mike complained that he couldn’t concentrate on chores with the game a mere eleven hours away. He slurped the last of his milk, grabbed the basketball and headed towards the back door. Avery dashed after his brother. Before I realized it, the door snapped shut. I glanced out the window and saw Mike practicing his shot while Avery cheered him on.
Seeing the mess on the breakfast table—the leftovers on the sticky plates and dirty cups, I felt frustrated. I approached the window and knocked on it. When the boys looked at me, I held up a kitchen sponge and dishtowel. Mike casually nodded to me and held up five fingers. Sure, five more minutes! I didn’t believe they would return to do the cleanup in five minutes, especially in Dad’s absence. Apparently, they had made their choice.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 续写部分分两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
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Anyway, I chose to do the Saturday morning chores on my own.
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Dad was happy to know I found the ticket he had hidden in the cupboard.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As I sat on the bus waiting to arrive at school, the sun shining, I just sat there full of excitement ready to enjoy the first day of spring. At last, the bus stopped and I started my day.
The whole day I was waiting for one thing, noon break. As the day passed by, I heard the bell rang and everyone rushed out of the door. I hurried and ate lunch just to get outside.
As soon as I was out, my close friend, Riley called me over to play basketball. We all started playing and time flew by as we heard the timekeeper yell, “10 more minutes.” From that point on, the game sped up. Score after score, the competition process was more intense. I passed it to my teammate, Austin, and he dished it back as I pulled up a shot. I felt as if the world around me were barely moving, and all I concentrated on was the ball going to the hoop (篮筐). Not knowing I was pushed back hard, I hit the ground. A huge pain entered my left ankle. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t, hearing the people around me shout for help. I just lay there as Riley came over to pick me up and Austin fetched a wheelchair from the school clinic. Both of them helped me sit on the wheelchair. It seemed like the whole school circled around me as I was being pushed away.
The moment we entered the clinic where I always felt nervous, I didn’t think my ankle hurt as badly as it did just now, so I said, “I’m okay.” Then they had to send me back to class without any treatment. The rest of the day I felt my ankle swelling (肿) up and I thought of how stupid I was to say that my ankle didn’t hurt in the clinic. “I should have gone home.” I thought to myself as I was thrown through this terrible pain. After school, I worried how to go back home.
注意：
1．续写词数应为150 左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just then I found Riley come in with an ice pack in his hand.
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As we went out, we were surprised to find Austin holding some medicinal oil.
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3 . “ Humans and machine algorithms (算法) have complementary (互补的) strengths and weaknesses. Each uses different sources of information and strategies to make predictions and decisions, ” said Mark Steyvers, UCI professor of cognitive sciences. “ We show through experiments that humans can improve the predictions of AI even when human accuracy is below that of the AI, and vice versa (反之亦然). This accuracy is higher than combining predictions from two individuals or two AI algorithms. ”
To test the framework, researchers conducted an image classification experiment where human participants and computer algorithms worked separately to correctly identify disorderly pictures of animals and everyday items including chairs, bottles, bicycles and trucks. The human participants ranked their confidence in the accuracy of each image identification as low, medium or high, while the machine classifier generated a continuous score. The results showed large differences in confidence between humans and AI algorithms across images.
“ Human participants were confident that a particular picture contained a chair, for example, while the AI algorithm was confused about the image, ” said Padhraic Smyth, UCI Chancellor’s Professor of computer science. “ Similarly, the AI algorithm was able to confidently provide a label for the object shown, while human participants were unsure if the disorderly picture contained any recognizable object. ”
When predictions and confidence scores from both were combined using the researchers’ new Bayesian framework, the mixed model led to better performance than either human or machine predictions achieved alone.
“ While the past research has demonstrated the benefits of combining machine predictions or combining human predictions, this work shows a new direction in demonstrating the potential of combining human and machine predictions, pointing to new and improved approaches to human-AI cooperation, ” Smyth said.
“ The blend of cognitive science focusing on understanding how humans think and behave and computer science in which technologies are produced will provide further insight into how humans and machines can cooperate to build more accurate artificially intelligent systems, ” the researchers said.
1. Which of the following may the research’s findings agree with?| A．Humans have poor performance in making predictions. |
| B．Humans and machine algorithms should work together. |
| C．Machine algorithms have low accuracy in calculation. |
| D．Machine algorithms failed in the classification experiment. |
| A．Comparison. | B．Assumption. | C．Giving examples. | D．Analysing reasons. |
| A．Difference. | B．Combination. | C．Contradiction. | D．Advantage. |
| A．Humans are confident of their predictions |
| B．Humans can improve the predictions of AI |
| C．Develop mixed human- machine model for smarter AI |
| D．Identify the strengths of humans and machine algorithms |
4 . We’ve dug deep to find 4 of the most exciting documentary films coming to a screen near you in 2022.
Last Exit: Space
Last Exit: Space, narrated by Werner Herzog, explores the human potential for settling in space and sending people where they’ve never been before. Since planet Earth is possibly going to hell (地狱) in a handbasket, the film promises to ask the question: where else might we call home? Directed by his son Rudolph Herzog, Last Exit: Space will be available from March 10 on Discovery.
Gorbachev. Heaven
As leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev was once one of the most powerful people on the planet who governed a landmass so big that it covered 11 time zones. Gorbachev’s legacy is a complex one — he oversaw the end of the Cold War but many Russians blame him for the Soviet Union’s collapse. The BBC says this potentially fascinating look at one of the most significant figures from inside his own home will be airing in the very near future.
We Met In Virtual Reality
This film from director Joe Hunting beats fresh ground in that it is filmed entirely in virtual reality. Less about the technology itself, it is more an exploration of human connections and how these can develop in the 3D virtual world. Early reviews have been positive following its showing at Sundance. Expect a streaming release in late May this year.
2nd Chance
Hold your popcorn tightly when watching this. If the trailer (预告片) is anything to go by, there are going to be lots of near-death moments. 2nd Chance from Oscar-nominated director Ramin Bahrani tells the story of Richard Davis, the wild and odd inventor of the modern bullet-proof vest. “All will be revealed as soon as a release date is confirmed.” Ramin Bahrani promised on April 5th.
1. What is probably the major concern in Last Exit: Space?| A．Space travel is difficult for people. |
| B．Human beings may go to hell after death. |
| C．Human beings can’t find their way back from space. |
| D．The earth will become unfit for human habitation. |
| A．Last Exit: Space. | B．Gorbachev. Heaven. |
| C．We Met In Virtual Reality. | D．2nd Chance. |
| A．Science & Technology. | B．Fashion & Beauty. |
| C．Culture & Entertainment. | D．Travel & Adventure. |
It was Hoppy’s first day at his new school. He didn’t know anyone yet, but he had seen some cool kids at the beach during the summer.
Billy, one of the cool kids, sat down next to Hoppy at break and started to have a talk. They discovered they shared the same interest, surfing, but Hobby went to the beach with his dad, instead of hanging out there with friends, which was laughed at by Billy. He invited Hoppy to the beach with his friends. Hoppy nodded, happy to have a new friend.
After school Hoppy met Billy and his three friends at the school gate, one of whom tried to punch Hoppy’s stomach as a way of “greetings”. While walking on the street, they met a boy, having trouble with his bike. Billy and his friends started to tease the boy. The boy looked up uneasily about this interest in him and his flat-tyre.
Billy nudged the boy so that he fell on the kerb (侧石) and broke his glasses. Billy and his friends ran off down the street, laughing. However, Hoppy just stood there.
The boy, Gerald, sat on the kerb, crying now. He looked up at Hoppy and begged him not to hit him. Hoppy smiled and said, “I’ve never beaten anyone up. Only bullies (霸凌) and cowards do that. Really strong people keep their fists in their pockets. That’s what my dad says.” Gerald seemed relieved. They walked to Gerald’s house, talking about going to the beach together. Their friendship grew.
One Sunday, Hoppy went to the beach with his father. Billy and his friends were there. Billy called out to Hoppy, complaining about helping Gerald. He spoke in an unpleasant tone, saying his dad was his babysitter. Hoppy smiled and ignored him.
Gerald arrived to see Hoppy. When he saw the boys, his heart sank. Billy and his gang surrounded him. “Hoppy’s tricked me,” thought Gerald, and he started to walk away. Billy ran after Gerald and tripped him. Gerald fell onto the sand, but picked himself up and asked them to leave him alone. However, Billy didn’t stop and tripped Gerald again.
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This time Gerald managed a brave smile as he got up and faced the boys.
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Hoppy and his dad came up beside Gerald, but Gerald said to them, “Why don’t you go with your friends?”
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I had been in Cancun, Mexico for a week when I lost my bag in a shopping centre. My friend and I were occupied with taking photos in front of a mural (壁画) and forgot that one of my bags was dropped in a corner. When I realized, we had walked away for at least 10 minutes. We quickly retraced our steps to the place where it had been left. By then, it was nowhere to be found. “It can’t be gone. ” I told myself. We called the phone. It didn’t get through. We started asking people around the plaza, including the security guard. After hearing my story, they only shook their heads and looked at me with pity. “Oh no, no. This is Mexico. It’s already taken and you won't get it back. I’m sorry for you,” a man who spoke English said to me. My friend Marcela helped me turn on “Find My iPhone” from her phone. My hope was once again dashed when the results returned “this device is offline”. We sent a message to the phone and left a contact number, begging the person to give back my things. Nothing. At this point, we concluded that the person must have switched off my device. They did not have good intentions. Everything was truly gone.
We walked back to our hotel and the rest of the day passed gloomily. I felt guilty, sad and a mess. That bag contained not only my phone, but also new camera gear I had bought and most of my cash. I had two weeks left in Cancun as I was on a volunteering trip. Thankfully, I had a place to stay with the rest of my volunteer family who are the sweetest people. They comforted me and helped me look on the bright side. By then I had totally given up the idea of being able to get back my things.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右：
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Three days later, we suddenly received an unexpected call from a stranger.
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I checked my bag and found all of my things were untouched.
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As a nurse at the cancer care center where I’ve worked for seven years, I’ll do almost anything to make a patient feel better. But when I met Patty at the center, in 2011, she didn’t want my help.
She was a tiny 44-year-old single mom battling an aggressive head and neck cancer. Unlike many of our other patients, Patty was alone during her treatment, but no matter what I did. I couldn't get her to open up. She just buried herself in book or pulled a blanket over her head to fend off conversation.
Eventually I hit on a reliable way to make Patty smile: mentioning her nine-year-old son, Stephen. She'd tell me how well he did in school, how he'd been selected to read a poem he wrote at a local bookstore. She desperately wanted to live for him. With three kids myself, I totally understood how she felt.
After a year and a half of treatment, in August 2012, Patty was told her cancer had spread, and I learned she wouldn't live much longer. My first thought was, “What's going to happen to Stephen?”
Nurses at the center shared stories at their meetings about how bright and unusual the boy was. but no one seemed to know how to resolve the issue of what would happen to him when his mom died. My husband, Michael, who too works at the center, started hearing about Patty and Stephen.
One morning in October, Patty quietly slipped away. Michael and I picked Stephen up after school, drove him to a nearby park, and sat on a bench by a pond. I finally managed to say, “Stephen, we're sorry to have to tell you this, but your mom came to an end this morning.” The sound that came out of his mouth was like nothing I'd ever heard before. This skinny little guy sat between the two of us and just wailed (哀号) and wailed. It was as if his whole world was just destroyed.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Something inside me was telling me what to do.
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Finally, we took him home with us.
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After 20 years as a full-time wife and mother, I decided to be a school bus driver for I loved kids. When I think about my years of bus driving, many things crowd in, but mostly, I remember Charlie.
Charlie, eight years old, with blond hair and crystalline gray eyes, began riding my bus in September of my fourth year driving. They all had stories to tell me about their summers. Charlie, though, ignored me. He didn’t even answer when I asked his name.
From that day on, Charlie was a trial. If a fight broke out, I didn’t have to turn my head to know who had started it. If a girl was crying, chances were Charlie had pulled her hair. No matter how I spoke to him, gently or firmly, he wouldn’t say a word. He’d just stare at me with those big gray eyes of his.
I later found out Charlie’s father was dead and he didn’t live with his mother. He deserves my patience, I thought. To my cheery “Good Morning”, he was silent. When I wished him a happy Halloween, he sneered (冷笑). Still I was sure that this child needed to feel some warmth from me. So, when he’d pass by, I’d pat him on the arm or sometimes gave him a hug.
Toward the end of that year, the kids on my bus gave me a small trophy inscribed (刻) “To the Best Bus Driver Ever”. I propped it up on the dashboard (仪表盘). On top I hung a small tin heart that a little girl had given me. In red paint she had written, “I love Polly and Polly loves me.”
The next day, I was delayed a few minutes talking to the principal. When I got on the bus I realized that the tin heart was gone. “Does anyone know what happened to the little heart that was up here?” I asked. For once with 39 children, there was silence.
One boy piped up, “Charlie was the first one on the bus. I bet he took it.” Other children joined the chorus, “Yeah! Charlie did it! Search him!”
I asked Charlie to come forward, stuck my hand into his pocket and immediately I felt it—the small tin heart. Charlie stared at me and seemed to be waiting for what he’d come to expect from the world. I was about to pull out the tin heart when I stopped myself. Let him keep it, a voice seemed to whisper.
“It must have fallen off before I got here,” I said to the kids. “I’ll probably find it back at the depot.” Without a word, Charlie returned to his seat. When he got off at his stop, he didn’t glance at me as usual.
That summer Charlie moved away.
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
3. 请按如下格式作答。
Paragraph 1:
A dozen years after my retirement I was in a department store, when someone said, “Polly?”
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Paragraph 2：
That night I thought over his words.
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Lesley bought a computer for the whole family to use a year ago, never thinking that it would lead to her sixteen-year-olds on becoming addicted to playing games.
Glen was playing computer games for increasing amounts of time and gradually he hardly left his seat. Lesley tried to restrict his game time, but this only seemed to fuel his addiction further.
Among his games there was one he especially liked. In it he would design his own world as he wanted it to be.
Although desperate, Lesley never gave upon finding a way to help the teen struggling with this gaming addiction. She decided to take Glen on a trip to his grandfather’s, who owned a big farm. Glen was unwilling to leave his game, but he knew it was not a good idea to go against his parents this time. They reached the airport in the late afternoon. Grandparents drove them up to their farm. They were all packed in the car, with adults chatting and laughing, but Glen felt lonely. Looking out of the window, he was attracted by the amazing scenery. The water was blue and sunlight glittered on its clear surface and the meadow flowed like a sea of green. He couldn’t help thinking of the world he would have designed in his computer game.
After settling down, Glen shut himself in his room. Except dinners, he refused to come out of his room and remained there all day. Sometimes, he stood by the window, staring at the peaceful garden his Grandparents made. However, one night, drops of water from the ceiling, dripping on his face, made him wakeup. Seeing the room was dark, he sensed something terrible. He dashed to the window. Shocked at what he saw, he realized a big rainstorm had just ended. He stood with his nose pressed against the glass, spotting his family struggling to clear the mess in the dim light. Thinking of the efforts his grandparents had made in the garden, their own world, Glen knew what he must do and went out of his room immediately.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右。
2.续写部分分两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
He came over to them.
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Paragraph 2:
At that moment, he realized there was something more meaningful in life.
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Once there was a girl named Vivian who was the only child of her father. Her father was a big and successful businessman who owned seven star restaurants. He did everything only for his daughter.
Vivian was sent to the best university abroad. Although she had everything, the only thing she never owned was respect of other people.
When Vivian came back after her graduation and her father asked her to join his company as an accountant, she was naturally not happy with that. She wanted to work in a higher post but her father wanted her to start as an ordinary girl.
“Dad, I studied in the most outstanding university abroad and got a better education than any of the employees who work under you. Still, you want me to work under them?" said Vivian unhappily.
Vivian's father looked at her with a smile on his face. Vivian was annoyed by her father's reaction but she agreed to work as an accountant in the end.
After some months, there was an emergency situation in the company.One of the restaurants was short of employees because of a sudden resignation (辞职），so they were short on people to do other chores around the place and cook food fast. Vivian's father asked her to help that restaurant with him and the other employees.
When she entered the restaurant, she was hit by the air of tension around the employees. Everybody was busy doing something or other and there was a mess around the restaurant. When she went in the back of the kitchen, she saw a tower of unwashed dishes.
Her father neared her in a hurry and asked her, “Vivian, thank goodness, you are here. Darling, will you please help us and do the dishes?" He patted her on her shoulder and left her to do the dishes.
She looked at the dirty plates and spoons that were piled up before her.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右。
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“I didn't study my whole life and come first in everything to do this!”Vivian thought.
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Vivian's father picked up the gloves, put them on and started doing the dishes himself.
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