1 . Fake news is “killing people’s minds,” Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has said. The technology entrepreneur said companies like Apple need to create tools that will help to stop the spread of lies, without limiting freedom of speech. Cook also said governments should lead information campaigns to stop fake news.     1     During these campaigns, supporters of each side used fake news to try to win the election.

“At the moment, unfortunately, some of the people that are winning are the people that try to get the most clicks, not tell the most truth,” said Cook. “It’s killing people’s minds.     2     We must try to do this without limiting freedom of speech and freedom of the press but we must also help the reader.”

    3     But many people believe Donald Trump’s campaign benefitted more from fake news reports. And the U. S. presidents’ team insisted that a huge crowd attended his inauguration(就职典礼), when the evidence showed only a small audience was there. Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, insisted that the event attracted “the largest audience ever to watch an inauguration” and Trump said he believed the crowd went “all the way back to the Washington Monument.”

Images from the inauguration showed the crowd was quite small and did not get close to the Washington Monument. Senior aide Kellyanne Conwa later described the Trump administration’s lies as “alternative facts.” Hillary Clinton claimed that there was “no evidence” her emails were hacked but the FBI director, James Comey, said it was likely they were hacked.

A study by economists at Stanford University and New York University published two months after November’s U. S. presidential election found that just before the election, fake anti-Clinton stories were shared 30 million times on Facebook and pro-Clinton stories were shared eight million times. It said: The average American saw and remembered 0.92 pro-Trump fake news stories and 0.23 pro-Clinton fake news stories.     4    

A．All the technology companies need to create some tools that help to reduce the amount of fake news.

B．Just over half of those who remembered seeing fake news stories believed them.

C．Cook still demanded action to decrease the influence of fake news.

D．Fake news in politics was particularly common during recent election campaigns.

E．There were fake news reports on both sides of the recent U. S. election battle.

F．But the study showed that fake news reports on social media were not very powerful in changing the result of the election.

2 . Devotees of Stump-town Coffee, a high-end roastery with fewer than 10 total locations in four select cities, pride themselves on avoiding mainstream coffee chains. What they are probably unaware of, however, as they sip their mochas and cold brews, is that their favorite spot of individuality may soon be just another chain in the Phoenix airport. What they might suspect even less is that they will have a different shopping experience in the coffee shop.

Stump-town, the iconic small-scale brand, was recently acquired by Peet’s, a chain with a couple hundred locations. Peet’s has been in the news for taking over Intelligentsia, another well-loved and self-consciously indie coffee brand. Stump-town’s sale to Peet’s exemplifies an economic phenomenon not limited to the world of craft coffee. Stump-town joins the ranks of a number of popular brands that went from independent to corporate - then Italian San Pellegrino, now owned by the Swiss giant Nestle (along with its main competitor Perrier), the originally Quaker-owned chocolate-bar maker, Cad-bury, acquired by the U. S. corporation formerly known as Kraft, and The Body Shop, the cosmetics brand synonymous with ethical sourcing, bought by the French behemoth L’Oreal, to name a few.

Stump-town’s story is typical of an innovative young venture becoming a victim of its own success. Founded in 1999 by Duane Sorenson in his native Oregon, it turned into a national phenomenon and was at the forefront of the small-scale retailers that positioned coffee - making, and coffee-drinking, as a kind of art form. Stump-town’s business model rested on providing an intensely personal experience. Coffee-drinkers were treated with top-notch beans and unique brews crafted in Stump-town’s “coffee labs,” But these personal touches don’t fit well in the assembly lines of large-scale operations.

The arithmetic of the “bigger is better” paradigm(范例), or what economist call “economies of scale,” is simple enough. The larger the machine, the more lattes it can spew out. Most of all, scale translates into standardization: the conversion of an unpredictable creative process into a precise and highly economical algorithm(算法)of production. All of this means more profits.

But, based on studies of human behavior in places ranging from blood banks to daycare centers, academics now recognize that the calculus is more complex: People act more responsibly in the context of personal relationships that are meaningful to them than in strictly commercial deals, Loyal customers don’t mind going that extra mile to get the perfect cup of coffee.

Smaller institutions have much to offer - not just sentimentally, but also in terms of pure economics. The idea goes back to the 20^th century British economist E. F. Schumacher’s declaration that “Small is beautiful,” a notion fashionable again in the era of institutions “too big to fail.” Since the logic of scale is more attuned to quantity than quality, workers (whose wages are usually driven down), consumers (who enjoy lower prices, but usually get a worse product) and the landscape of the economy (which shows signs of marked decreases in diversity) all suffer from growth that is too rapid. Size is the traditional measurement of a company’s success, but when stability is pursued as passionately as profit, less may truly be more.

1. Which of the following statements about Stump-town Coffee is NOT true?

A．The brand of Stump-town used to highlight individuality.

B．The loyal consumers of Stump-town are aware of its intention for business expansion.

C．It was Stump-town’s own success that drew the attention of a large-scale corporation.

D．Stump-town’s acquisition case reflects a worldwide trend of independent brands going corporate.

2. What does “economies of scale” in the fourth paragraph mean?

A．It means bigger companies ensure a better relationship between the brand and its consumers.

B．It means economic returns increase with the rise of the cost.

C．It means standardized scale is the working model for big companies.

D．It means the precisely calculated process of mass production is the profitable model.

3. What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?

A．Blood banks offered valid proof for the idea “The bigger, the better.”

B．Loyalty of the customers is the central issue in the success of smaller businesses.

C．Smaller businesses make people feel emotional attachment, but they will ultimately fail because of their size.

D．Smaller companies stand a chance to succeed if they can ensure stability.

4. Which of the following is the bet title for the passage?

A．How Badly Hurting Are Those Acquisition Cases?

B．Should Every Business Scale Up?

C．How Long Will Uniformity Go in Globalization?

D．Will Stump-town Coffee Regain Its Identity?

3 . Travel has existed since the beginning of time, when primitive man set out, often traversing great distances in search of game, which provided the food and clothing necessary for his survival. Throughout the course of history, people have travelled for purposes of trade, religious conviction, economic gain, war, migration and other equally compelling motivations. In the Roman era, wealthy aristocrats and high government officials also travelled for pleasure. Seaside resorts located at Pompeii and Herculaneum afforded citizens the opportunity to escape to their vacation villas in order to avoid the summer heat of Rome.     1    

Tourism in the mass form as we know it today is a distinctly twentieth-century phenomenon. Historians suggest that the advent of mass tourism began in England during the industrial revolution with the rise of the middle class and the availability of relatively inexpensive transportation. The creation of the commercial airline industry following the Second World War and the subsequent development of the jet aircraft in the 1950s signaled the rapid growth and expansion of international travel.     2    . In turn, international tourism became the concern of a number of world governments since it not only provided new employment opportunities but also produced a means of earning foreign exchange.

    3    . In most industrialized countries over the past few years the fastest growth has been seen in the area of services. One of the largest segments of the service industry, although largely unrecognized as an entity in some of these countries, is travel and tourism. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council（1992）, ‘Travel and tourism is the largest in the world on virtually any economic measure including value-added capital investment, employment and tax contributions’. In 1992, the industry’s gross output was estimated to be $3.5 trillion, over 12 percent of all consumer spending. The travel and tourism industry is the world's largest employer with almost 130 million jobs, or almost 7 percent of all employees. This industry is the world’s leading industrial contributor, producing over 6 percent of the world’s gross national product and accounting for capital investment in excess of $422 billion in direct, indirect and personal taxes each year. Thus, tourism has a profound impact both on the world economy and, because of the educative effect of travel and the effects on employment, on society itself.

However, the major problems of the travel and tourism industry that have hidden, or obscured, its economic impact are the diversity and fragmentation of the industry itself. The travel industry includes: hotels, motels and other types of accommodation; restaurants and other food services; transportation services and facilities; amusements, attractions and other leisure facilities; gift shops and a large number of other enterprises. Since many of these businesses also serve local residents, the impact of spending by visitors can easily be overlooked or underestimated.     4    . In fact, in all nations this problem has made it difficult for the industry to develop any type of reliable or credible tourism information base in order to estimate the contribution it makes to reginal, national and global economies. However, the nature of this very diversity makes travel and tourism ideal vehicles for economic development in a wide variety of countries, regions or communities.

A．Tourism today has grown significantly in both economic and social importance.

B．Now travel and tourism have become an institutionalized way of life for most of the population in this world.

C．Travel has continued to grow and played a vital role in the development of civilizations and their economies.

D．Experts point out that the tourism industry involves concepts that have remained amorphous（难以界定的）to both analysts and decision makers.

E．Because of this growth,tourism industry has emerged as the number one ranked employer.

F．This growth led to the development of a major new industry: tourism.

4 . Why can’t we stop longing for the good old days

People in many countries are longing for the good old days. But when exactly were the good old days? Podcaster Jason Feifer devoted an episode of his program to this question. The most popular answer seemed to be the 1950s, so Mr. Feifer asked historians whether Americans in that decade thought it was particularly pleasant. Definitely not. In the 1950s, American sociologists worried that rampant individualism was tearing the family apart. There were serious racial and class tensions, and everyone lived under the nuclear threat.

In fact, many in the 1950s thought that the good old days were to be found a generation earlier, in the 1920s. But in the 1920s, child psychologist John Watson warned that because of increasing divorce races, the American family would soon cease to exist. Many people at the time idealized the Victor inn era, when families are strong and children respected their elders.

Why are human beings always so nostalgia for past eras that seemed difficult and dangerous to those who lived through them? One possibility is that we know we survived past dangers, so they seem smaller now. But we can never be certain we will solve the problems we are facing today. Radio didn't ruin the younger generation, but maybe the smart phone will.

Another reason is that historical nostalgia is often colored by personal nostalgia. When were the good old days? Was it, by chance, the incredibly short period when you happened to be young? A U.S. Poll found that people born in the 1930s and 1940s thought the 1950s was America’s best decade, while those born in the 1960s and 1970s preferred the 1980s.

This kind of nostalgia has neurological roots. Researchers have found that we encode more memories during adolescence and early adult hood than any other period of our lives, and when we think about the past, this is the period we most often return to. Moreover, as we grow more distant from past events, we tend to remember them more positively.

Obviously, some things readily were better in the past. But our instinctive nostalgia for the good old days can easily deceive us, with dangerous consequences. Longing for the past and fear of the future inhibit the experiments and innovations that drive progress.

Vaccination, steam engines, railroads and electricity all met with strong resistance when they were first introduced. The point isn’t to show how silly previous generations were. The same kinds of anxieties have been expressed in our own time about innovations like the internet, video games and stem-cell research.

And not all fears about the future are unbounded. New technologies do result in accidents, they disturb traditional cultures and habits, and they destroy old jobs while creating new ones. But the only way to learn how to make the best use of new technologies and reduce risks is by trial and error. The future won’t be perfect, but neither were the good old days.

1. The word “rampant” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________

A．limited

B．reasonable

C．uncontrolled

D．traditional

2. According to the passage, the 1950s was a period of time ________.

A．when American families still remained strong and children respected their elders

B．that was believed by Americans born in the 1930s and the 1940s to be the best decade

C．that saw a sharp increase in individualism and divorce rate in American society

D．when radical and class tensions became more serious but people no longer lived under the nuclear threat

3. The good old days were usually the time when people were young because ________
① people have a better memory of adolescence and early adulthood.
② More dangerous things happen during their youth and they learned how to survive them.
③ The dangers in youth were smaller and easier for people to deal with.
④ people remember events in their youth more positively as time goes by.

A．①②

B．①③

C．①④

D．②④

4. What can be inferred from the last three paragraphs?

A．The current generation is not as silly As the previous generations.

B．It is unwise to be simply opposed to any new inventions and technologies.

C．People are constantly deceived by their instinctive nostalgia for the good old days.

D．The internet, video games and stem-cell research pose great threats to humanity.

5 . The Internet, E-commerce and globalization are making a new economic era possible. In the future, capitalist markets will largely be replaced by a new kind of economic system based on networked relationships, contractual (契约的) arrangements and access rights.

Has the quality of our lives at work, at home and in our communities increased in direct proportion (比例) to all the new Internet and business-to-business Internet services being introduced into our lives? I have asked this question of hundreds of CEOs and corporate executives in Europe and the United States. Surprisingly, virtually everyone has said, “No, quite contrary.” The very people responsible for showing in what some have called a “technological renaissance” say they are working longer hours, feel more stressed, are more impatient, and are even less civil (礼貌的) in their dealings with colleagues and friends—not to mention strangers. And what’s more revealing, they place much of the blame on the very same technologies they are so aggressively championing (捍卫).

We are told that access would make life more convenient and give us more time. Instead, the very technological wonders that were supposed to liberate us have begun to enslave us in a web of connections from which there seems to be no easy escape.

If an earlier generation was concerned about the goal to enclose a vast geographic frontier, the generation to come, it seems, is more caught up in the colonization (殖民) of time. Every spare moment of our time is being filled with some form of commercial connection, making time itself the scarcest of all resources. Our e-mail, voice mail and cell phones, our 24-hour Interact news and entertainment all seize for our attention.

While we have created every kind of labor-and-time-saving device to serve our needs, we are beginning to feel like we have less time available to us than any other humans in history. That is because the wide spread of labor-and-time-saving services only increases the diversity, pace and flow of common day activity around us. For example, e-mail is a great convenience. However, we now find ourselves spending much of our day anxiously responding to each other’s electronic messages. The cell phone is a great time-saver, except now we are always likely to reach someone else who wants our attention.

Social conservatives talk about the decline in civility and blame it on the loss of a morality and religious values. Has anyone bothered to ask whether the fast speed culture is making all of us less patient and less willing to listen, consider and reflect?

Maybe we need to ask what kinds of connections really count and what types of access really matter in the e-economy era. If this new technology revolution is only about efficiency, then we risk losing something even more precious than time—our sense of what it means to be a caring human being.

1. According to the passage, a large number of CEOs think that________.

A．technology has a great impact on their lives

B．technology should be aggressively championed

C．technology renaissance should be pushed forward

D．technology actually results in a decline in their life quality

2. What is the most valuable resource for the coming generation?

A．Time available.	B．Time saving devices.
C．Access to information.	D．Technological wonders.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Cell phones can save time as they help us reach those who want our attention.

B．Social conservatives blame the loss of morality on the decline in civility.

C．High efficiency is even more precious than being a caring human being.

D．It is difficult for us to avoid the influence of technology wonders.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The New Internet Life	B．The Declining Quality of Life
C．The Disadvantages of Too Much Access	D．The Failure of Technological Renaissance

6 . There are times when murder is not committed because of cruelty. People may kill for other reasons such as anger, misunderstanding, and fear. Everyone has made mistakes because of such feeling. For society, it is a serious mistake to take the life of someone who has killed because it teaches everyone that forgiveness is unnecessary.

The government has the difficult job of deciding who is innocent and who is guilty, and this job can never be done perfectly. If capital punishment(死刑)is allowed, there always exists the possibility that an innocent person will be executed by mistake. When that happens, an even worse crime has been committed—the killing of an innocent person by the government. Then there is the fact that the poor and minorities get the death penalty more often than whites do. Furthermore, the idea that capital punishment stops criminals from committing murder is doubtful; studies have been unable to show that the fear of capital punishment stops someone from committing murder more than other punishments. And let us not forget that murdering the murderer is a violent act in itself; it is revenge(复仇).

The U.S. government once followed the example of Germany, Britain, France, and other nations that no longer execute their citizens-however, since 1977, our society has been allowing capital punishment again, at a high cost. We cannot imagine the pain of family members who have been waiting for years for the government’s decision to execute or not execute their loved ones. It also costs the taxpayer millions of dollars more to execute a criminal than to imprison that criminal for life. Prison is a better form of punishment because it protects society and punishes criminals by taking away their freedom.

People can change, even people who have made terrible mistakes. Life in prison gives people the chance to change. Caryl Chessman is an example of someone who became a better person in prison. He taught other prisoners how to read, and he wrote several books. Before his execution, he wrote that he had finally learned not to hate.

Chessman learned this important lesson in prison. But a dead man learns nothing, and an executed person will never change. When a government kills, it is murdering hope.

1. According to the passage, all the followings are the results of the capital punishment EXCEPT that________.

A．capital punishment doesn’t necessarily put an end to crimes

B．execution may cause an innocent person to die

C．the blacks get executed more often than the whites do

D．capital punishment may arouse a desire for revenge

2. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A．Execution will cause the pain of the criminal’s family members.

B．Life imprisonment is more expensive than execution.

C．Some murders are mistakes, caused by anger or fear.

D．America used to be among the nations which abandoned execution.

3. The writer uses the example of Caryl Chessman to prove that________.

A．everyone can become a better person in prison

B．everyone can make terrible mistakes

C．execution robs people of the chance to change

D．It is always a good thing to learn not to hate

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Not all people who kill are cruel.	B．Capital punishment is revenge.
C．Prison can sometimes improve a person.	D．Execution is not a better form of punishment.

7 . Beware of Phone/Online Scams(诈骗)

Have you been the victim of a phone/online seam? If you ever think that there’s really no reason to worry, just remember the following statistics.

—315,000 cases broken in 2015-2017 in China.

—More than billions of money involved.

—Victims of 19 years old top the list in terms of age.

—Victims of 18-25 years old account for 52.4% of the whole.

—……

And here in below we are sharing 4 typical types of Phone/Online scams and how to deal with them.

	Hello, this is XX police station, you're involved in a case of money laundering(洗钱)(or some other financial crime). We need your cooperation with the investigation……Please transfer your money into the national security account. Tip 1: If you are really involved in financial crime, police will visit your home at the first opportunity and take you for investigation. Police are not so dumb as to inform you via telephone. And there is no such thing as national security account.	Hey: Wang(he may know your name). Drop by my office tomorrow morning. BTW, I will be treating some VIP clients soon. I need you to transfer some money into this account. It will refund your money tomorrow. Tip 2: Think about it. How could any boss in the world ask you for money? Meeting VIP clients without a cent in his pocket? And why doesn't he ask you to give the money to him in person? He is nobody but a scam!
	You've got a package which contains illegal drugs or goods. You are now requested to call this number to contact the Public Security Bureau. (Then it all follows scenario预设). Tip 3: Public Security Bureau WILL NOT deal with cases via phone calls. NEITHER WILL they send out notification via message.	(In some cases the number is disguised as authentic bank number through software). We are sorry to inform you that you have a bank overdraft. Please contact this customer service representative. His number is XXXXXXXXXX. Tip 4: DO NOT panic. REMEMBER to dial the official contact number of the back to double check.

When receiving phone calls/emails from unidentified resources, please pay special attention if the conversation involves any of the following:

●bank cards

●lucky draw

●Transferred to government authorities, including but not limited to police, court/judge, etc.

●secured account

●refund related to online shopping

None of the above business will be carried out on phones or via emails/unofficial website links. So you may just treat them as spams.

Moreover, how to safeguard yourself?

●Never transfer money without face-to-face confirmation.

●Only do business online with those you know and trust or on the official website of the online retailer.

●Protect your personal information, including photo-ID numbers and copies, bank account and passwords.

●Don't trust website links in emails or text messages without verified sources.

●Never believe in Pie in the sky. If something is too good, it won't be true.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the survey of Phone/Online seams?

A．Statistics imply it's unnecessary to worry about the situation.

B．The number of those who are cheated is on the rise.

C．Nearly one third of a million cases remain to be solved.

D．Comparatively speaking, young adults are harder-hit age groups.

2. You should be alert (警惕的) to the following cases EXCEPT________.

A．The police call to request your cooperation for a financial crime.

B．The boss asks you to transfer money to a VIP client via phone.

C．An unverified message informs you to collect a ¥500,000 prize.

D．The official website of an online retailer advertises for a business partner.

3. Where does this article most probably come from?

A．An email for college students.

B．A document for government authorities.

C．A law journal for E-business practitioners.

D．A security brochure for the public.

8 . Aaron Carter isn’t like other 12-year-olds. He doesn’t go to school, and he’s already got a job. He is a big pop star. A few years ago he started his singing with Crazy Little Party Girl, which became a hit at once. Now he goes around the world and his songs are in the tops.

Because he’s traveling around all the time Aaron doesn’t have to go to school, but don’t envy him too much — he still has to do lessons and homework. And he is good at learning.

“I have to fit my schoolwork around my singing,” he explains. “But I’m lucky because I have a private tutor who travels with me. I sometimes have to have lessons on a plane. That’s really interesting!”

Aaron’s favorite subject is math but he hates history. He knows clearly that having a good singing career doesn’t mean he can go without schoolwork.

“It would be easy to think that I don’t need to do well in exams, but that would be crazy,” he says. “It’s important to get my qualifications (资格) so that I have something to fall back on. Besides, it’s interesting to learn about other people and cultures.”

Aaron’s favorite type of music is rock ‘n’ roll. “The best thing about being a singer” he says, “is that you get to travel all around the world. But the worst thing is that you’re away from home so much that you don’t get to see your friends or family.”

1. According to the passage, we learn that Aaron Carter is________.

A．a composer

B．a successful singer

C．a history lover

D．a young businessman

2. Which of the following statements is True?

A．Aaron Carter doesn’t go to school because he likes singing better.

B．Aaron Carter has his own teacher.

C．Aaron likes math as well as history.

D．Aaron Carter likes traveling all around the world and dislikes seeing friends and family.

3. The underlined phrase “fall back on” in the fifth paragraph has the similar meaning as________.

A．check in

B．return to

C．depend on

D．decide on

9 . Yu Pengnian is an 88-year-old real estate Chinese businessman. He amassed a fortune of $1.3 billion dollars during his career but instead of keeping the money and living like an emperor, he decided to give it all away. All of his fortune will be spent on helping poor Chinese students get a better education.

And Yu isn’t the only super-rich person in China who has this spirit of giving. Chen Guangbiao, a Jiangsu recycling tycoon, has given millions of dollars to charity and promises to give all of his money to charity when he dies.

Yu and Chen are among the many businessmen who have become prosperous during China’s economic rise. An American business magazine, Forbes, estimates that there are 117 billionaires in China and hundreds of thousands of millionaires. What sets Yu and Chen apart from the rest, though, is their tremendous generosity when it comes to donating money to charity.

Last week Bill Gates and Warren Buffett came to Beijing. Gates and Buffett, two of the world’s richest men, are also the world’s biggest philanthropists. They invited fifty of China’s richest people to have dinner with them and talk about the spirit of giving. At first, only a few people accepted their invitation. It seemed some of the invited guests were afraid that Buffett and Gates were going to pressure them into giving their wealth to charity.

A lot of people are angry at the billionaires who are not willing to give away their fortunes. They criticize them for being miserly and not caring about the poor and the less fortunate. But I think this criticism is wrong. A gift, any gift, should come from the heart. Instead of criticism, these reluctant billionaires should be encouraged to follow the examples of Yu Pengnian and Chen Guangbiao. Encouragement is always a better strategy than criticism. As we say in English, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

1. He amassed a fortune of $1.3 billion dollars during his career… The word “amassed” means________.

A．stimulated

B．contemplated

C．immigrated

D．accumulated

2. Yu Pengnian will spend all of his fortune in ________

A．helping poor Chinese students get a better education

B．helping the students in earthquake-stricken area

C．helping his off-springs lead a rich life in the future

D．achieve his aim of living like an emperor

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Yu Pengnian is the only super-rich person in China who has the spirit of giving.

B．Chen Guangbiao is a real estate Chinese businessman.

C．Yu and Chen become wealthy during the rise of China’s economy.

D．When Bill Gates and Warren Buffett invited fifty of China’s richest people to have dinner with them, they all felt honored and accepted their invitation at once.

4. What sets Yu and Chen apart from other rich people in China?

A．When it comes to charity work, they are very generous.

B．They had dinner with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, talking about the spirit of giving.

C．They are pressured into giving their fortune to charity.

D．They are both businessmen.

5. According to passage, why does the author end the passage with the English saying “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”?

A．The author wants to tell us that flies prefer honey to vinegar.

B．The author wants to prove that encouragement is always a better strategy than criticism when it comes to charity.

C．The English saying expresses the main theme of the passage.

D．The author wants to criticize those billionaires who are not willing to give away their fortunes for being miserly and not caring about the poor and the less fortunate.

10 . In “minority report”, a policeman played by Tom Cruise, gathers information from three psychics (通灵者) and arrests future criminals before they break the law. In the real world, prediction is more difficult. But it may no longer be science fiction, thanks to the growing predictive power of computers. That prospect scares some, but it could be a force for good-if it is done right.

Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, can lead to remarkably accurate predictions. It works by chewing vast quantities of data in search of patterns. Take, for example, restaurant hygiene (卫生). The system learns which combinations of sometimes vague factors are most suggestive of a problem. Once trained, it can assess the risk that a restaurant is dirty. The Boston mayor’s office is testing just such an approach, using data from online reviews.This has led to a 25% rise in the number of spot inspections that uncover offences.

Governments are taking notice, A London district is developing an algorithm (运算法则) to predict who might become homeless. In India Microsoft is helping schools predict which students are at risk of dropping out. Machine-learning predictions can mean government services arrive earlier and are better targeted. Researchers behind an algorithm designed to help judges make bail (保释) decisions claim it can predict likelihood of committing crimes again so effectively that the same number of people could be bailed as are at present by judges, but with 20% less crime.To get a similar reduction in crime across America, they say, would require an extra 20,000 police officers at a cost of $2.6 billion.

But computer-based predictions are sometimes debatable. ProPublica, an investigative-journalism outfit, claims that a risk assessment in Bmoward County, Florida, wrongly labelled black people as future criminals nearly twice as often as it wrongly labelled whites. Citizens complain that decisions which affect them are taken on incomprehensible grounds.

These problems are real, but they should not spell the end for machine learning as a policy tool. Instead, the priority should be to establish some ground rules and to win public confidence.The first step is to focus machine learning on applications where people stand to gain extra help at school, say, rather than extra time in jail.

1. The example of restaurants is used in paragraph 2 in order to _________.

A．illustrate how accurate the predictions are

B．urge that the government should take action

C．stress that vague factors can make a difference

D．show how machine learning changes people’s lifestyle

2. What can be inferred about the bail decisions based on the algorithm?

A．More money would be spent to uncover offences.

B．More policemen would be required to reduce crime.

C．Less crime has been reported since the algorithm was applied.

D．Fewer people that are likely to commit crimes would be bailed.

3. What conclusion does the writer draw from the risk assessment in Broward County?

A．In which area machine learning is applied matters.

B．Machine learning as a policy tool is coming to a dead end.

C．Public confidence in computer-based predictions is increasing.

D．The government should not rely on computer-based predictions.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A．Clever computers	B．The power of learning
C．The government that depends on AI	D．Decisions that contribute to better algorithm