1 . Financial Education-Awareness Dilemma
When it comes to financial education, the majority of today's youth will regard it as a necessity for certain specific people who want to make their career in the financial world.
Suppose you have $100 in a saving account that pays simple interest at the rate of 2%per year. lf you leave the money in the account, how much will you have accumulated after 5 years: more than $102, exactly $102, or less than $102? The test might look simple, but only half of the people surveyed gave the correct answer.
On the contrary, people who have a lower degree of financial literacy tend to borrow more, accumulate less wealth, and pay more in fees related financial products. They are less likely to invest, more likely to experience difficulty with debt, and less likely to know the terms of their mortgages and other loans. Thus, the cost of this financial ignorance is very high.
What is the solution?
| A．Financial education must start early. |
| B．However, they miss an important point. |
| C．Why does each of us have to face a financial challenge? |
| D．Why does financial literacy matter so much in our society'? |
| E．Rich people are generally better educated on financial management. |
| F．Besides, these people have more than double the wealth of people who don’t. |
| G．For example, they frequently make late credit card payments, overspend their credit limit, etc. |
2 . Walmart will soon use 360 robot cleaners across a few hundred of its stores. Using maps input by human employees, the AI-powered cleaners will travel in the store with no difficulty, sweeping the floor--just as human employees used to do.
Perhaps the most striking thing about these robot workers is how not-striking they are. Sci-fi movies suggest a future full of human-like robots who appear with their horrible qualities. Now the future is coming into view, and it looks like a giant lie. It's easy to imagine walking past an Auto-C on a shopping trip without even noticing its presence.
AI has already started to become a part of our everyday life. In New Jersey this week, dozens of workers were hospitalized after a robot at an Amazon fulfillment centre accidentally broke a can and enveloped workers in eye-and-lung-damaging gas. Days earlier in California, an auto-piloted Tesla drove a drunk, sleeping driver down a highway, which no doubt did some potential risk to the other drivers on the road. Highway patrol officers figured out on the spot how to stop the AI car.
Of course, industrial accidents and drunk drivers existed well before AI. Tools with the power to release the burden of physical labor—horses, steam machines, self-driving cars—also come with the power to injure. And the presence of AI-powered machines just steps away from us is, for now, still a rare thing for most people.
But the nature of robots’ coming into our daily life lives will make it harder to recognize—or object to—the bigger changes they bring later. Walmart insists that the robot cleaners give employees more time for customer service and other tasks. Critics point out that they could just as easily become an excuse to reduce staff and wages.
1. What is the difference between sci-fi movies and the reality?| A．Now the human-like robots is hard to recognize. |
| B．Now people don’t go to see the sci-fi movies. |
| C．Now the human-like robots can tell lies. |
| D．Now it is easy to ignore the robots. |
| A．They damaged the robot first. |
| B．The robot caused an accident on purpose. |
| C．The robot made a mistake by chance. |
| D．The robot driving them on the highway had an accident. |
| A．Supportive | B．Objective | C．Doubtful | D．Indifferent |
| A．Artificial intelligence is bringing great effect to our daily life. |
| B．Walmart will soon use 360 robot cleaners across its stores. |
| C．We should say no to artificial intelligence. |
| D．Artificial intelligence is dangerous to our life. |
3 . In 2013 Tallinn(爱沙尼亚首都塔林) became the world’s first capital city to offer people free public transport. Last year Estonia(爱沙尼亚) set the aim to become the first country with free public transport nationwide. Buses are now free of charge in 11 of its 15 counties.
Tallinn’s city government came up with the idea of free transport in 2008. Even though the city paid more than 70% of public-transport costs, ticket prices were still too high for poorer people. Crowdedness had also become a problem. Since 1991, the number of people owning cars has doubled.
Opponents(反对者) thought the idea unaffordable and critics(批评者) predicted the transport system would become overcrowded and lack money.
Surprisingly, public transport has improved, despite a €12 million hit to the system’s finances from lost ticket sales. Tallinn’s population has grown, leading to an increase in local tax intake. Additional revenu(财政收入) comes from tourists, who still have to buy tickets. The use of public transport in Tallinn has gone up by 10%, while the number of cars in the city has gone down by 10%, meaning less congestion.
Now other countries are looking at Estonia’s experience. Tallinn officials say they have had interest from France, Sweden, Poland, Italy and Germany. Other places have already introduced free public transport for certain groups or at certain times. In England 1/3 of all bus trips are fare-free especially for pensioners(领养老金者); Wales runs free travel at weekends to improve tourism. But so far full fare-free travel is rare. The city of Hasselt in Belgium ran free public transport for 16 years before reintroducing fares because of increasing costs.
1. Which of the following places offers full fare-free public transport?| A．Hasselt | B．Estonia | C．Wales | D．Tallinn |
| A．The government wouldn’t have enough money to carry it out. |
| B．It wouldn’t help with the city’s over crowdedness. |
| C．It would lead to the heavy loss from ticket sales. |
| D．Years later the city would reintroduce fares from people. |
| A．pollution | B．population | C．crowdedness | D．income |
| A．It offers more job opportunities for people. |
| B．It helps to solve the traffic problem in cities. |
| C．It encourages people to stop driving. |
| D．It attracts more tourists to take buses. |
4 . It is now possible to watch live sport on television on any day of the week, and the present amount of reporting will undoubtedly increase further in years to come. This is certainly having an influence on the live sports events themselves, and there are both benefits and shortcomings to this.
What are the benefits of this televised sport?
However, there will be some disadvantages if so much sport is on television. Considering football again, many small clubs have suffered financial losses recently, as they cannot compete with the large ones.
In a word, watching live sport on television has both good and bad effects. Televised sport has created many chances and benefited certain people and clubs very much.
| A．Why has there been such growth in televised sport? |
| B．Why are there so many benefits of watching live sport on television? |
| C．Televised sport can be helpful in increasing people’s value of teamwork. |
| D．There has been a general falling in ticket sales, especially among smaller clubs. |
| E．Through televised sport, more people have become interested in actually playing sport. |
| F．One obvious advantage of televised sport is the money provided by television companies. |
| G．However, it has also been responsible for changing the nature of live sports events for ever. |
Scientists in London say they have found the best diet for both humans and the planet. If the world followed the so-called “planetary health” diet, the scientists told Reuters that each year more than 11 million early deaths could be prevented. Scientists say that the way we produce and eat food is very bad for the planet. For the health of the planet, they claim the same diet would reduce greenhouse gases and save more land, water and animals.
Tim Lang, a professor at Britain’s University of London, co-led the research. He told Reuters, “The food we eat and how we produce it determines the health of people and the planet, and we are currently getting this seriously wrong.” Lang added that the world’s population is expected to grow to 10 billion people by 2050. If we want to feed everyone, he explained, we all need to change what we eat and the way we eat by “improving food production and reducing food waste.”
Well, what do you eat on the planetary health diet? The scientists who created this diet say it is largely plant-based but still has small amounts of dairy, fish and meat. The diet calls for cutting red meat and sugar by 50 percent and doubling the amount of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes.
Food situations around the world are not equal. In certain areas, this would mean great changes. People in North America, for example, eat 6.5 times the recommended amount of red meat. On the other hand, people in South Asia eat only half the amount suggested by the new planetary health diet. Meeting the targets for vegetables would need big changes in other areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, people on average eat 7.5 times the suggested amount of vegetables like potatoes and cassava.
The scientists admit their goal will be difficult to achieve. But for them doing nothing is also not an option. Willet said, “If we can’t quite make it, it’s better to try and get as close as we can.”
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6 . The 65-year-old Steve Goodwin was found suffering from early Alzheimer’s(阿尔茨海默症). He was losing his memory.
A software engineer by profession, Steve was a keen lover of the piano, and the only musician in his family. Music was his true passion, though he had never performed outside the family.
Melissa, his daughter, felt it more than worthwhile to save his music, to which she fell asleep each night when she was young. She thought about hiring a professional pianist to work with her father.
Naomi, Melissa’s best friend and a talented pianist, got to know about this and showed willingness to help.
“Why do this?” Steve wondered.
“Because she cares.” Melissa said.
Steve nodded, tear in eye.
Naomi drove to the Goodwin home. She told Steve she’d love to hear him play. Steve moved to the piano and sat at the bench, hands trembling as he gently placed his fingers on the keys.
Naomi put a small recorder near the piano. Starts and stops and mistakes. Long pauses, heart sinking. But Steve pressed on, playing for the first time in his life for a stranger.
“It was beautiful.” Naomi said after listening to the recording. “The music was worth saving.”
Her responsibility, her privilege, would be to rescue it. The music was still in Steve Goodwin. It was hidden in rooms with doors about to be locked.
Naomi and Steve met every other week and spent hours together. He’d move his fingers clumsily on the piano, and then she’d take his place. He struggled to explain what he heard in his head. He stood by the piano, eyes closed, listening for the first time to his own work being played by someone else.
Steve and Naomi spoke in musical code lines, beats, intervals, moving from the root to end a song in a new key. Steve heard it. All of it. He just couldn’t play it.
Working with Naomi did wonders for Steve. It had excited within him the belief he could write one last song. One day, Naomi received an email. Attached was a recording, a recording of loss and love, of the fight. Steve called it “Melancholy Flower”.
Naomi heard multiple stops and starts, Steve struggling, searching while his wife Joni called him “honey” and encouraged him. The task was so hard, and Steve, angry and upset, said he was quitting. Joni praised him, telling her husband this could be his signature piece.
Naomi managed to figure out 16 of Steve’s favorite, and most personal, songs. With Naomi’s help, the Goodwin family found a sound engineer to record Naomi playing Steve’s songs. Joni thought that would be the end. But it wasn’t.
In the months leading up to the 2016 Oregon Repertory Singers Christmas concert, Naomi told the director she had a special one in mind: “Melancholy Flower. ”
She told the director about her project with Steve. The director agreed to add it to the playing list. But Naomi would have to ask Steve’s permission. He considered it an honor.
After the concert, Naomi told the family that Steve’s music was beautiful and professional. It needed to be shared in public.
The family rented a former church in downtown Portland and scheduled a concert. By the day of the show, more than 300 people had said they would attend.
By then, Steve was having a hard time remembering the names of some of his friends. He knew the path his life was now taking. He told his family he was at peace.
Steve arrived and sat in the front row, surrounded by his family. The house lights faded. Naomi took the stage. Her fingers. His heart.
1. Why did Melissa want to save her father’s music?| A．His music could stop his disease from worsening. |
| B．She wanted to please her dying old father. |
| C．His music deserved to be preserved in the family. |
| D．She wanted to make her father a professional. |
| A．refused to make a comment on it |
| B．was deeply impressed by his music |
| C．decided to free Steve from suffering |
| D．regretted offering help to her friend |
| A．It was slow but productive. |
| B．It was beneficial to his health. |
| C．It was tiresome for Naomi. |
| D．It was vital for Naomi’s career. |
| A．thought the music talent of Steve was exhausted |
| B．didn’t expect the damage the disease brought about |
| C．didn’t fully realize the value of her husband’s music |
| D．brought her husband’s music career to perfection |
| A．He felt concerned about his illness. |
| B．He sensed a responsibility for music. |
| C．He regained his faith in music. |
| D．He got into a state of quiet. |
| A．The Kindness of Friends |
| B．The Power of Music |
| C．The Making of a Musician |
| D．The Value of Determination |
7 . During the rosy years of elementary school(小学), I enjoyed sharing my dolls and jokes, which allowed me to keep my high social status. I was the queen of the playground. Then came my tweens and teens, and mean girls and cool kids. They rose in the ranks not by being friendly but by smoking cigarettes, breaking rules and playing jokes on others, among whom I soon found myself.
Popularity is a well-explored subject in social psychology. Mitch Prinstein, a professor of clinical psychology sorts the popular into two categories: the likable and the status seekers. The likables’ plays-well-with-others qualities strengthen schoolyard friendships, jump-start interpersonal skills and, when tapped early, are employed ever after in life and work. Then there’s the kind of popularity that appears in adolescence: status born of power and even dishonorable behavior.
Enviable as the cool kids may have seemed, Dr. Prinstein’s studies show unpleasant consequences. Those who were highest in status in high school, as well as those least liked in elementary school, are “most likely to engage(从事) in dangerous and risky behavior.”
In one study, Dr. Prinstein examined the two types of popularity in 235 adolescents, scoring the least liked, the most liked and the highest in status based on student surveys(调查研究). “We found that the least well-liked teens had become more aggressive over time toward their classmates. But so had those who were high in status. It clearly showed that while likability can lead to healthy adjustment, high status has just the opposite effect on us.”
Dr. Prinstein has also found that the qualities that made the neighbors want you on a play date—sharing, kindness, openness—carry over to later years and make you better able to relate and connect with others.
In analyzing his and other research, Dr. Prinstein came to another conclusion: Not only is likability related to positive life outcomes, but it is also responsible for those outcomes, too. “Being liked creates opportunities for learning and for new kinds of life experiences that help somebody gain an advantage, ” he said.
1. What sort of girl was the author in her early years of elementary school?| A．Unkind. | B．Lonely. | C．Generous. | D．Cool. |
| A．The classification of the popular. |
| B．The characteristics of adolescents. |
| C．The importance of interpersonal skills. |
| D．The causes of dishonorable behavior. |
| A．They appeared to be aggressive. |
| B．They tended to be more adaptable. |
| C．They enjoyed the highest status. |
| D．They performed well academically. |
| A．Be Nice—You Won’t Finish Last |
| B．The Higher the Status, the Better |
| C．Be the Best—You Can Make It |
| D．More Self-Control, Less Aggressiveness |
8 . Are you trying to find ways to be more efficient at your job? If so, please follow these habits of naturally productive people.
They take breaks.
They have a full night’s sleep. In school, you may have found that too many students stay up late to finish a paper or study for an exam, but, despite your best efforts, research shows this is not the way to do business.
| A．They value fitness. |
| B．Pressing pause Is Important. |
| C．They prefer to do more every day. |
| D．However, research shows the opposite. |
| E．They don’t try to do everything at once. |
| F．Enough sleep makes great contribution to efficient work. |
| G．Poor sleep or lack of sleep carries some pretty negative rewards. |
9 . Why people collect art
Many people through history have gone to great lengths to collect art. But what motivates these collectors?
One popular explanation for collecting is that they can have financial gain. Some resell works, earning enormous profit.
Collectors are not only interested in creating social links; they are also motivated by the messages they can send once these social networks are created. We all know art is a powerful way for the artist to express thoughts and feelings.
People collect art for various reasons.
| A．Some gain art works in an illegal way |
| B．But most collectors think little of profit |
| C．Artworks preserve the qualities of their makers |
| D．No doubt art collection is a hard addiction to overcome |
| E．Some get large tax reductions for donating art to museums |
| F．It also serves as an effective way to express collectors |
| G．Other art collectors see their collections as having a broader power |
10 . A new study has shown how computers and robots powered by artificial intelligence can read human eye movements to “read” human personalities.
The eyes, they say, are the windows to the soul. And if that is true, computers and robots powered by sophisticated(复杂的) artificial intelligence algorithms(算法) may soon have the ability to peer into your soul. That is the result of a new study on the connection between eye movements and personality, conducted by neuroscience researchers based at the University of South Australia and Published in the scientific Journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.
“Eye movements during an everyday task predict aspects of our personality,” wrote the researchers, led by University of South Australia neuroscientist Tobias Loetscher, whose team follows 42 study subjects around the university campus recording their eye movements, then determines their personality traits(特点) with “well-established questionnaires” for determining personality type, according to a summary of the study published by the site Science Daily.
The researchers fed the data into their AI algorithms and found that computers running the algorithms were able to record human eye movements and immediately determine a person’s major personality traits, such as “neuroticism, extraversion(外向), agreeableness, conscientiousness, as well as perceptual(感知的) curiosity”, the scientists wrote.
“The new findings could improve the way human beings interact with their computers and other high-tech devices, even robots, allowing for more natural and realistic social interactions with machines,” Loetscher said.
“People are always looking for improved, personalized services. Today’s robots and computers are not socially aware so they cannot adapt to non-verbal information,” Loetscher said in a statement quoted by Indian Express. “This research provides opportunities to develop robots and computers so that they can become more natural, and better at interpreting human social signals.”
The study revealed previously undiscovered relations between specific personality characteristics and specific eye movement tendencies, according to a summary in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.
1. What do the underlined words “peer into” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．understand | B．stare at |
| C．search for | D．concern about |
| A．It was carried out in a lab. |
| B．42 subjects’ eye movements were recorded. |
| C．The students’ daily movements were tracked. |
| D．Its subjects’ personalities were determined by computer. |
| A．Robots and computers are socially conscious. |
| B．People care less about improved, personalized services. |
| C．Today’s robots and computers can accustom to non-verbal information. |
| D．The discovery will improve the interaction between human beings and machines. |
| A．Human Personality Traits |
| B．What Human Eye Movements Are |
| C．Tell Personalities by Eye Movements |
| D．How Humans and Machines Interact |
