1 . Like most people, I’ve long understood that I’ll be judged by my occupation, that my profession is used by people to see how talented I am. Recently, however, I was disappointed to see that it also decides how I’m treated as a person.
Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables. As someone paid to serve food to people, I had customers say and do things to me I suppose they’d never say or do to the people they know. One night a man talking on his cell phone waved me away, and then called me back with his finger a minute later, saying angrily that he was ready to order and asking where I’d been.
I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon (勤杂工) by plenty of people. But at 19 years old, I believed I deserved inferior treatment from professional adults. Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college. Customers would joke that one day I’d be sitting at their table, waiting to be served.
Once I graduated I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I heard a respectful tone from everyone who called me. I assumed this was the way the professional world worked—politely and formally.
I soon found out differently. I sat several feet away from a person in advertising department with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie. The mistake was immediately clear. Perhaps it was because of money, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me.
It’s no secret that there’s a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and fortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips. The service industry exists to meet others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant.
I’m now applying to graduate school, which means someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want. I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose job is to serve them.
1. What makes the author disappointed?
A.Professionals tend to look down upon workers. |
B.Talented people have to do the job waiting tables. |
C.One’s position is used to measure one’s intelligence. |
D.Occupation affects the way one is treated as a person. |
A.Waiting tables is a hard job. |
B.Some customers are difficult to deal with. |
C.The man making a phone call is absent-minded. |
D.Some customers show no respect to those who serve them. |
A.She felt it unfair to be treated as a servant. |
B.She found it natural for professionals to treat her as inferior. |
C.She was embarrassed each time her customers joked with her. |
D.She felt badly hurt when her customers regarded her as a peon. |
A.see what kind of person they are |
B.experience the feeling of being served |
C.share her working experience with her customers |
D.help them realize the difference between server and servant |
2 . We suppose it makes sense that, after humans, connected dogs are the next big thing. Link AKC, backed by the American Kennel Club (hence the AKC), has just announced a smart collar
The collar does a few different things, from tracking your dogs’ location to
Like any wearable worth its salt (名副其实), the collar also
One of the best features, we think, is the temperature sensor that will
Finally, the collar has a
A lot of
The collar will cost $199, however you’ll also need to
The collar will be shipping by December 28, the company says, however right now it can only be ordered to the US. You can
A.enabled | B.designed | C.faced | D.inspected |
A.monitoring | B.committing | C.concerning | D.avoiding |
A.reality | B.reach | C.location | D.experiment |
A.magic | B.virtual | C.realistic | D.powerful |
A.for sure | B.in case | C.so that | D.in spite of |
A.appears | B.distinguishes | C.manufactures | D.functions |
A.account | B.step | C.concern | D.thrill |
A.delight | B.criticize | C.alert | D.inspect |
A.thanks to | B.due to | C.owing to | D.despite |
A.effectively | B.harmlessly | C.potentially | D.currently |
A.performance | B.feature | C.condition | D.technology |
A.share | B.solve | C.create | D.measure |
A.emphasis | B.effect | C.foundation | D.consideration |
A.enter | B.add | C.sign | D.enroll |
A.preserve | B.conserve | C.maintain | D.reserve |
A. equipment;B. exposing;C. entertainment;D. interact;E. reality;F. eventually G. proved; H. dramatically;I. significant;J. applications;K. virtual |
Most people associate virtual reality with the world of gaming or
Virtual reality, or VR, is a computer-generated technology that creates a three-dimensional digital world that you can not only see and observe, but explore and
VR now has serious
In the world of work too, VR may change our lives
Some VR developers predict that the impact of VR could be as
Many drivers dream of the day
Google was one of the first
But the driverless car is only a “fair weather friend”, the Daily Mail
According to the MIT Technology Review, the current driverless cars can’t react like a human driver. They can’t drive in heavy rain or snow.
Chris Urmson, director of the Google car team, said that this is because the detection technology is not yet good enough to separate certain objects from weather conditions. In the cars’eyes, raindrops and snowflakes are the same
But even at that time, driverless cars won’t be truly “driverless”.
In the US, only
European countries, Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Russian follow the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic. The convention used to say: “Every driver
5 . Self-driving cars raise fears over "weaponisation"
Autonomous vehicles are in danger of being turned into "weapons", leading governments around the world to block cars operated by foreign companies, the head of Baidu's self-driving car programme has warned.
Qi Lu, chief operating officer at the Chinese internet group, said security concerns could become a problem for global car-makers and technology companies, including the US and China.
"It has nothing to do with any particular government -- has to do with the very nature of autonomy," he said on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show last week. "You have an object that is capable of moving by itself. By definition, it is a weapon."
Increasingly, self-driving technology is seen as advancing faster than regulators can keep up with. Regional and national governments are struggling with the issue of when to allow autonomous cars on to their roads and under what conditions.
Multinational companies will have a "high bar" to meet local policy requirements for autonomous driving," Mr. Lu said. "The days of building a vehicle in one place and it runs everywhere are over. Because a vehicle that can more by itself by definition it is a weapon."
Baidu is investing heavily in Apollo, its open-source autonomous car software, as it looks to shift away from its core business of internet advertising into artificial intelligence. At CES, it unveiled Apollo 2.0, which offers improved security, alongside a new $200m fund to invest in south-east Asian efforts to improve autonomous driving.
Mr. Lu, who joined Baidu from Microsoft a year ago, said autonomous vehicles should reduce fatalities on the road, whether caused accidentally or intentionally as an act of terrorism. Pointing to incidents in London and Charlottesville where cars were used intentionally to run down pedestrians, he said: "In the future, these cars won't move if they see a human in front of them -- it doesn't matter who controls the car."
Despite the "overwhelming benefits" of autonomous driving. Mr. Lu said it would not happen without a "log of dialogue" between companies, regulators and politicians. "How we ensure safety, in my view, is going to be journey," he said.
Mr. Lu also said the open nature of Apollo, to which any company can contribute new software coding, would help Baidu navigate regulatory challenges.
"Apollo is created by Baidu but not owned by Baidu," he said. "We fundamentally believe that an open system that cultivates an environment where the best of breed can participate is better than one single company that does it alone."
1. Which of the following is banned by governments all over the world?A.Self-driving cars used as offensive weapons. |
B.Vehicles that are capable of moving by itself. |
C.Undocumented self-driving car programme. |
D.Autonomous cars owned by foreign companies. |
A.self-driving cars can be seen as weapons because they are autonomous |
B.some government have strong hostility towards self-driving technology. |
C.autonomous technology is advancing faster than regulators can understand. |
D.customers can only buy and drive self-driving cars from domestic brands. |
A.Baidu's artificial intelligence project |
B.Baidu's electric self-driving car. |
C.Baidu's autonomous car software. |
D.Baidu's core business of the future. |
A.They can change direction in accordance with the operator |
B.They can avoid any obstacle ahead of them. |
C.They can give priority to cars rather than pedestrians. |
D.They can stop automatically when detecting a living creature. |
6 . The first daigou, meaning someone who makes purchases on another’s behalf, were Chinese students studying abroad, who carried
There are perhaps 50,000 daigou,
The
The odd sales channel works for companies, too. Daigou allow young Australian firms to build their brands in China much more cheaply and easily than if they tried to
A.desirable | B.enjoyable | C.reasonable | D.imaginable |
A.impact | B.contact | C.spread | D.exchange |
A.discover | B.promote | C.remind | D.contribute |
A.reject | B.embrace | C.cooperate | D.employ |
A.wandering | B.glancing | C.pasting | D.purchasing |
A.amazed | B.modified | C.skilled | D.organized |
A.disappeared | B.emerged | C.boomed | D.provided |
A.restless | B.gracious | C.persistent | D.efficient |
A.appeal | B.caution | C.stress | D.manual |
A.errors | B.fakes | C.virtues | D.values |
A.market | B.deliver | C.subscribe | D.develop |
A.price | B.demand | C.supply | D.trade |
A.cut down | B.make out | C.take on | D.account for |
A.Moreover | B.Therefore | C.Nevertheless | D.Likewise |
A.competitors | B.customers | C.representatives | D.sponsors |
A. range B. novel C. interest D. unlikely E. benefit F. experiencing G. available H. necessarily I. initiative J. generated K. partnership |
Google gives $1M grant to Press Association to develop robot journalists
New consumers of the future could be reading stories pieced together by advanced data-analyzing robots rather than human journalists, if Google has its way.
On Thursday, the Press Association, the U.K.’s national news agency, announced that it received €706,000 from the tech giant for its Reporters and Data an Robots (RADAR)
A collaboration between the Press Association and data-driven news start-up Urbs Media, RADAR aims to set up an artificial intelligene-fueled, news service that will generate tens of thousands of news stories a month using publicly
Everyone from big-name news organizations to hyper-local outlets and bloggers could
According to the Press Association, RADAR won’t
The envisioned work-flow would begin with human journalists identifying open data sets and “creating detailed story templates across a(n)
Content automation isn’t a totally
Shockingly, not all journalists are sold on the AI infiltration. A study found that journalists from leading news organizations had several reservations when shown an automatically
Nevertheless, it looks like AI in journalism is here to stay. At a time when many media outlets are
Yang Nan, who was a KTV operation manager, has recently gained a new identity. He has become a temporary workers at a local Hema Fresh, Alibaba’s Retail grocery chain in
China’s e-commerce platforms are seeing booming sales
While job-sharing has helped fill the labor gap for online retailers, jobs requiring experience still lack people. In a statement on February 12, Hema said surging orders made the demand for couriers (快递员) especially urgent even
The participation of employees from car rental companies has partially addressed the problem. Car rental and car-hailing companies such as Shanghai-based Dazhong Chuxing
The labor gap during this special period has made flexible employment a rising star. Among the over 5,000 domestic enterprises investigated, nearly 70 percent were planning to adopt the model. Couriers and salespeople are
Flexible employment will bring a major change in China’s human resources supply. Through digital economic platforms, domestic enterprises
A. enjoyable B. thinking C. however D. pay E. working experience F. survey G. start H. complete I. online J. Traditionally |
In many parts of the world, university students work in summer. They need the money, and they can get some
These days,
There are other advantages besides the pay. Students see dotcom jobs as a good
Dotcoms are new and need new ways of
10 . Leaving a tip in a restaurant has become a custom in most countries. The word “tip” came from the Latin word “Gratis”, meaning free. Tips are defined as small gifts of money for service in addition to the payment due.
Believe it or not, the practice of tipping has a little interesting history. The custom can be traced back to the Roman era. The Romans were the first civilization to use coins. It is possible the word “tip” came from the word stipend. Tips in Latin means gift. A more common belief is tips were first given in 18th century England. A popular coffee house equipped each table with a coin box. The label of each box read “To insure promptness.” Dropping a coin into the box would result in quick service. Also, the first letter of each word is T.I.P.—tip.
In America and Europe it is customary to tip anywhere from 10% to 20%. Taxi drivers, waiters in restaurants, waitresses in lounges, hotel bellboys, doormen, and disco coat check girls, all expect a little something. People working at these jobs usually receive a low basic salary. Tips are quite necessary to supplement their income. Today most people decide the size of tip according to the quality of the service. If the service and food are not satisfactory, a small tip or possibly no tip will be left. For excellent food and service most people are quite happy to leave a tip.
Christmas is special and expensive for tipping. If one lives in an apartment house where there are doormen, one should give each one of them a gift of $5 or more at Christmastime. The amount will vary depending on how long one has been living there, the size of one’s family, and how many other tips one has given throughout the year. At Christmas also the superintendent of one’s apartment house should be given a gift of $15 or more. Christmas tips are normally given also to the laundryman, newspaper boy, milkman, parking lot attendant, postman, hairdresser or barber. There is some leeway depending on how often they have done the service, how friendly they are, and one’s own economic level.
The world is full of big spenders and people who act like big spenders. Surprisingly, rich people are not “big tippers” unless entertaining guests. It is no use showing off if nobody is there to watch, right? Many throw money around like water to impress a group of friends out for an evening “on the town”. People who usually cannot afford it are the biggest tippers in front of their friends. It is all part of the show to prove a certain level of social success. Nobody wants to look cheap, stingy, or poor in front of their friends. Over-tipping also gives some satisfaction just to see the waiter’s reaction.
For whatever reason, tipping will continue to be practiced in most countries. Tipping does have its place in our modern society. It will also remain a somewhat personal expression of gratitude.
1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?A.Tip-giving in a restaurant is customary in all countries in the world. |
B.The purpose of tip-giving is to show success and your kindness to others. |
C.The receivers of tips are usually well-paid. |
D.The writer thinks the practice of giving tips originated in Ancient Rome. |
A.important | B.immediate |
C.insure | D.impossible |
A.Tipping does help those who receive a low basic salary. |
B.Tipping is reasonable and beneficial. |
C.Tipping strengthens the relationship between friends. |
D.Tipping implies a way of thanks. |
A.How to Get Tips | B.Tip Story |
C.Who Can Get tips | D.Christmas Tips |