1 . A couple of years ago, Ashok Goel was overwhelmed by the number of questions his students were asking in his course on artificial intelligence. Goel teaches computer science at Georgia Tech, sometimes to large classes, where students can ask thousands of questions online in a discussion forum. Professor Goel already had eight teaching assistants, but that wasn’t enough to deal with the increasing number of daily questions from students.
When students feel confused and reach out with questions that go unanswered, their motivation to continue begins to fade. Professor Goel decided to do something to improve 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 enough 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 presented by students on the online forum. The name Jill Watson will, of course, change to something else next semester. Professor Goel has a rosy outlook on the future of artificial intelligence, believing it will be widely applied.
1. What did Professor Goel find in the online course?| A．The course was too difficult for students. | B．Most students dropped out of his course. |
| C．Students’ questions were too many to handle. | D．Assistants’ capacity made students unsatisfied. |
| A．She was easily identified as an AI. | B．She turned out to be a great success. |
| C．She was released online as the first version. | D．She could answer all the questions correctly. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Sensitive. | C．Adventurous. | D．Cautious. |
| A．An online computer course benefits students. | B．An Al team develops online discussion forums. |
| C．A knowledgeable AI assists in online education. | D．A new outlook promises online AI development. |
2 . Smart Kids is a collection of one hundred events scheduled in October. This year, it is experimenting with Pay What You Decide (PWYD). That is, you can decide to pay what you want to or can afford, after you have attended an event. You can pre-book events without paying for a ticket in advance. Here are some of the director’s picks.
Walk on the Wild Side
Not ticketed, Free
Join storyteller Sarah Law to hear science stories about animals. Along the way you’ll meet all sorts of beautiful creatures and discover life cycles and food chains. Best suited to children aged 5-9. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.
Introduction to Waves
Pre-book, PWYD
Subjects range from sound waves to gravity waves, and from waves of light to crashing waves on the ocean. Mike Goldsmith explores the fundamental features shared by all waves in the natural world.
Science in the Field
Not ticketed, Free
This storytelling night features a scientist sharing his favourite memories of gathering first-hand data on various field trips. Come along for inspiring and informative stories straight from the scientist’s mouth. Join Mark Samuels to find out more in this fun-filled workshop.
Festival Dinner
Pre-book, £25 per person
Whether you want to explore more about food, or just fancy a talk over a meal, join us to mark the first science festival in London. Which foods should you eat to trick your brain into thinking that you are full? Find out more from Tom Crawford.
1. In which event can you decide the payment?| A．Introduction to Waves. | B．Walk on the Wild Side. |
| C．Science in the Field. | D．Festival Dinner. |
| A．Mike Goldsmith. | B．Sarah Law. |
| C．Mark Samuels. | D．Tom Crawford. |
| A．Family-based. | B．Science-related. |
| C．Picked by children. | D．Filled with adventures. |
3 . It's time for people to pick up their boom boxes and dust off their sneakers. Breaking, or competitive break dancing, is going for the gold.
On Dec 7, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that breaking would be an Olympic sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. It will be the latest modern sport to be added to the Games. IOC President Thomas Bach said that the new addition of breaking could help the Olympics event be “more youthful”. “We had a clear priority, and this was to introduce sports particularly popular among the younger generation,” Bach said. “And also to take into consideration the urbanization of sport.”
Breaking was originally part of early hip-hop culture in New York in the 1970s. In the decades since, it has spread globally, enjoying huge popularity beyond the US and particularly across Europe and Asia. Though breaking is often categorized as a style of street dance, it more easily lends itself to the field of sports than other styles for the competitive nature.
“Back in the Bronx in New York, when it first started, it was always neighborhoods of kids just battling each other,” 26-year-old break-dancer Victor Montalvo told USA Today. “That's how they did it back in the day.”
“Breaking competitions typically consist of one-on-one battles in which one competitor challenges his or her rival with different moves and the other responds. It's a sport/art just as physically demanding as high-intensity dancing and acrobatics”, Montalvo added.
But as an art, breaking also features coordination and creativity. Some combinations of moves can be practiced, but much of a round is improvised. Combining vitality and creativity, breaking is accepted by young dancers across the world who are motivated by the prospect of representing their countries at the world’s biggest sporting event.
1. What does the underlined words “the gold” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The coins made of gold. | B．The gold medal. |
| C．Great wealth. | D．The deep yellow color. |
| A．It has a short history. | B．It reflects the urbanization of sport. |
| C．It is a new addition to the Olympics. | D．It is popular with the younger generation. |
| A．Creativity. | B．High intensity. |
| C．Physical coordination. | D．Dancing techniques. |
| A．To stress the importance of breaking. | B．To introduce a new Olympic event- breaking. |
| C．To throw light on the rules of breaking. | D．To make a brief historical overview of breaking. |
4 . By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare time though he goes on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova — not as a musician but as her page turner. “I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance.”
Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group’s official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn’t have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.
“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.” Mr Titterton explained.
Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of “nodding” to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.
But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. “I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand,” Mr Titterton said, “Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back.”
Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage.
“My husband is the worst page turner,” she laughed. “He’s interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’ Robert is the best page turner I’ve had in my entire life.”
1. What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?| A．Read music. | B．Play the piano. |
| C．Sing songs. | D．Fix the instruments. |
| A．Boring. | B．Well-paid. |
| C．Demanding. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．Counting the pages. | B．Recognizing the “nodding”. |
| C．Catching falling objects. | D．Performing in his own style. |
| A．He has very poor eyesight. | B．He ignores the audience. |
| C．He has no interest in music. | D．He forgets to do his job. |
5 . School is still out for the summer, but at Eastern Senior High School in Washington, D.C., students are hard at work outdoors. In a garden filled with flowers and beds bursting with vegetables and herbs, nearly a dozen teenagers are harvesting vegetables for the weekend’s farmers market.
Roshawn Little is going into her junior year at Eastern, and has been working in this garden for three years now. During the summer, Little gets paid to work Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a. m. until 2 p.m. with City Blossoms, a nonprofit that brings community gardens to schools in urban areas. She believes that working in the garden has taught her to try all sorts of new things, like eating different kinds of vegetables more often. And she’s taken those healthy behaviors home with her and her eating habits have encouraged her family to buy more fruits and vegetables.
City Blossoms is one of many groups across the country teaming up with local communities to build school gardens, like the one at Eastern. It works with schools to create learning gardens and trains teachers on how to use them to get students engaged and boost academics. These gardens are really outdoor classrooms. For example, the gardens can be used for math lessons, like calculating the area of a plant bed or learning the science of how plants grow.
For the students, the experience can be a nutritional eye-opener, which has totally changed their perceptions of where food comes from, and what it takes to produce food. Partner schools have also seen a 12 to 15 percent increase in the number of students passing standardized tests and 94 percent of teachers reported seeing increased engagement from their students, according to an independent evaluation conducted by PEER Associates.
1. What does Roshawn Little think of the summer outdoor activity?| A．It is a good way to earn pocket money. |
| B．It has improved her family relationship. |
| C．It contributes to her healthy eating habit. |
| D．It is helpful to her academic performance. |
| A．To provide a creative way of learning. |
| B．To-promote teachers1 teaching skills. |
| C．To get students interested in science. |
| D．To invite students to care for plants. |
| A．Its strategies. | B．Its outcomes. | C．Its operations. | D．Its participants. |
| A．City Blossoms: Team up with Local Community Teachers |
| B．Happy Holiday, Sweet memory: How Kids Enjoy the Harvest |
| C．Outdoor Classrooms: Get out for the Weekend’s Farmers Market |
| D．Healthy Eaters, Strong Minds: What School Gardens Teach Kids |
6 . The only thing better than receiving a book is getting one delivered by a horse. Caitlin Gooch，the founder of Saddle Up and Read(SUAR)，literally saddles(跨上马鞍)up onto one of her family's horses and visits primary schools, libraries and youth groups to encourage students to read. The nonprofit in Wendell，North Carolina，also organizes book drives and school-wide reading competitions.
Along-with her five brothers and sisters, Gooch grew up on a family farm owned by her father. Although he worked as a used car salesman，he built a race track on their 87-acrefarm, where he hosted races. Gooch said she grew up around 80 horses and felt blessed to have grown up with them.
In 2017, Gooch，who had been working at daycare centers and youth groups，noticed that some of the younger children struggled to read. She decided to work with a local library. Any student who checked out more than three books would be entered into a prize draw. Five names would be selected out of the draw and each received a trip to visit the horses on the Gooch family farm.
It was a hit. Gooch expanded her services by creating her nonprofit，SUAR. When Gooch shared her organization's story on Twitter, it reached over 70,000 likes in a week. She even got a shout out from Oprah Winfrey，a famous talk show hostess. She's raised over $ 20,000 from supporters across the world. “Now that it's sort of, all eyes on me，there's definitely an opportunity to do something more,” Gooch said.
Gooch isn't just encouraging children to read more. She's also showing them that horseback riders can look like her. Online，she's often referred to as the “Black Cowgirl”. “It feels amazing to be that kind of representation,” Gooch said.
1. Why does Gooch deliver books on horseback?| A．To deliver books quickly. |
| B．To promote family business. |
| C．To get students into reading. |
| D．To advertise her organization. |
| A．Hold reading competitions. |
| B．Work with the youth groups. |
| C．Donate books to a local library. |
| D．Organize visits to the family farm. |
| A．It is well received. |
| B．It has made a big profit. |
| C．It needs further expansion. |
| D．It was criticized by Oprah. |
| A．Honest. | B．Inspiring. | C．Brave. | D．Patient |
7 . Like most couples, my husband and I dreamed of becoming homeowners. Sure, apartment living comes with its own set of advantages—less housework, shared comfort, less to clean up and care for, and usually cheaper rent. As a result, we decided to downgrade from our neat five-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot house on the water to a three-bedroom, 1,369-square-foot apartment, with two kids.
Once we arrived in our new apartment, we were surprised to find that things flowed relatively smoothly. There was so much less to keep up with—fewer floors to mop, fewer windows to clean, fewer walls to wipe, etc. Now I think of our home as our little playhouse, since it's much smaller and everything is closer together. That also makes it so much easier for me to keep up with as a mom. I collect laundry all on one floor comparing with having to climb stairs to the house's second floor!
In our new home, we use lots of shoe organizers inside of every closet door for more than just shoes—baby items, office items, and medicines. We also have a functional room that serves as an office and gym. Since both my husband and I work from home, we require at least one room to share as an office with fitness equipment fitted into a corner.
While many people choose to downsize for financial reasons, that actually wasn't a factor in our decision. We wanted to be in a lively area with like-minded young families. That was our first priority. Though we may still buy another house in this area at some point down the line, for now, we're thrilled with the concept of renting an apartment. Let me put it this way: We’re not really the “handy” types, so being able to call maintenance(维修)for any repairs is worth every rent coin!
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Our old house was upgraded. | B．Living in a house has advantages. |
| C．Our new apartment was downsized. | D．Smaller size means more housework. |
| A．Confused. | B．Amazed. | C．Tired. | D．Challenged. |
| A．To build up their body. | B．To create a home office. |
| C．To enlarge all the rooms. | D．To make full use of space. |
| A．Transportation. | B．Neighbourhood. |
| C．Repair work. | D．Money. |
8 . If your family or group of friends loves to bike, then a bike trip makes a perfect vacation.
An easy way to travel is to camp along the way. You can book campsites ahead of time at campgrounds along the way, and ride into camp as late as you like.
If you’re going to be traveling on trails (小径), you’ll want to ride a mountain bike during your trip. On the other hand, if your route is wholly along roads, you can ride a lighter-weight street bike. Or, you can put heavier-weight tires on a street bike.
If you have a lot of time, you can cover quite a bit of distance. Over the course of a long trip, you’ll get stronger and you’ll be able to go further in one day.
| A．Biking is becoming more and more popular. |
| B．Avoiding hurt is another thing you should concern. |
| C．Keep in mind that some camping equipment is heavy. |
| D．Check in with your local bike shop for suggestions on tire weight. |
| E．However, remember that early in the trip you’ll start every day feeling tired. |
| F．Seeing the world from the seat of a bike is a wonderful way to experience new places. |
| G．As you plan your trip, the biggest decision to make is how far you’d like to travel each day. |
9 . “There's no place like home.” This English saying has much truth in it: the best place to be is surrounded by our treasured possessions and our loved ones and with a roof over our head. And for many young adults, it's the only affordable place to stay; somewhere where they can receive first-class service from mum and dad. But this comes at a price!
In some countries, it's quite traditional for people in their late teens and early 20s to live at home with their parents, but in other places, flying the nest to start their own independent life is very desirable. But there's been a growing trend, in the UK at least, for young people to return home to live—or not to leave home at all.
A survey by a price comparison website found that 18% of adult children in the UK said they were moving back home because of debt, compared with 8% last year. More young people had lost their jobs, and others couldn't afford their rent compared with the previous year. So, it's easy to see why they're increasingly becoming home birds.
Emma Craig from Money supermarket says “parents are trying to look after their children more. If your child comes home and you see them struggling to pay their bills, you feel more awkward asking them for rent or to contribute. It tugs (猛拉) on your heartstrings more.”
With parents buying new furniture and upgrading their Wi-Fi for the benefit of their children, it's easy for the returning children to put their feet up and make themselves at home. That's before they learn a home truth—that one day it might be their own kids who'll be checking into the hotel of mum and dad!
1. Which proverb might show the young British's living conditions?| A．A lazy youth, an awful age. | B．East or west, home is best. |
| C．Two heads are better than one. | D．Nothing comes wrong to a hungry man. |
| A．The popularity of living independently. | B．Looking after their old parents. |
| C．The economic problem they face. | D．Their parents' offer to help them out. |
| A．Understandable. | B．Worried. | C．Doubtful. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Flying the net is becoming popular at present. |
| B．Returning to live with parents comes at a price. |
| C．It's easy for parents to receive their returning children. |
| D．Home birds think it quite natural to live with their parents. |
10 . Nowadays, more and more people enjoy traveling at home and abroad. When we start traveling, we can gain plenty of things from exploring different places.
First, traveling can broaden our horizons during exploring new places.
Planning travelling carefully may help us better enjoy the benefits, especially for those taking medications for a disease. Carry pills along, and it can help avoid unnecessary discomfort.
Remember, we only live once, so start traveling to different places and get some life-changing experiences.
| A．Plan tours in advance. |
| B．It helps us master languages. |
| C．This time let's talk about its benefits. |
| D．We have to step out of our comfort zone. |
| E．We could make many new friends on the road. |
| F．Plan a tour to a new city with an open schedule. |
| G．Travelling abroad connects us from different cultures. |
