1 . A new APP uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tell you what your pet is thinking. It’s called Happy Pets and it analyses an animal’s facial features, tells you what breed(血统) it is and indicates which of the five most common animal emotions—happy, angry, neutral, sad and scared.
The Happy Pets app uses AI, or machine learning. It’s a technology that’s used for vision in robotics and self-driving cars and it works by taking in images and assigning importance to them. One common use for AI is in facial recognition technology. Many of us can unlock our mobile phones with an image of our face and it’s important part of security processes in, for instance, airports.
But this is the first time this kind of technology has been used for animals. It then had to learn to recognize facial features. This is sophisticated because photos can be taken in so many different ways: from the side, above, below, in bright light. And different animals can have such different facial features. Think about how different the noses of a border collie(边境牧羊犬) and bulldog are, for instance. Once the AI behind Happy Pets had learned all this, it then had to be able to detect emotions based on specific facial features that are associated with each emotion, which it has learned from thousands of examples. For instance, if a dog tightens its eyes and mouth while changing the position of its ears in a particular way, it’s a sign of being scared.
In an online article for Melbourne University’s Pursuit, the researchers write they’re happy with how the app performs. The researchers would love feedback about how they could develop the app further.
1. Which of the following may go beyond Happy Pets’ function?A.Learning the kinds of pets. |
B.Showing pets’ main feelings. |
C.Teaching pets’ facial recognition. |
D.Analyzing the pets’ facial features. |
A.The robot’s eye. | B.A security system. |
C.The vision of self driving. | D.A machine learning system. |
A.Typical. | B.Complex. | C.Scientific. | D.Traditional. |
A.Because faces can definitely show animals feelings. |
B.Because it wants to have emotions of humans. |
C.Because it enables Happy Pets to detect emotions based on specific facial features. |
D.Because the types of animals are based on the looks. |
2 . Becca was 6 when she was told she had cancer on Sept. 8, 2014. She clearly remembers the bad days of her 26 months of non -stop treatment. Luckily, Becca celebrated her final treatment on Nov. 13, 2016, and she has been cancer-free ever since. But she was thinking about what her life was like while experiencing the treatment.
“I was never able to do much, and that’s what the kids lying in their hospital beds right now experience, asking their mom and dad, ‘When are we leaving? When can I play with my friends?’ So I decided I have to help them.”
In February, 2017, Becca came up with the idea for Knots and Arrows, a company that makes bracelets (手镯) out of swimsuit materials (泳衣布料). Part of the money made from each bracelet goes to the organizations that help people with cancer.
Becca created the company with her father, Gerhard Salmins. Gerhard Salmins once had cancer and already recovered from it. “I would be in the hospital sitting there crying and then my dad would come in and he would play games with me,” she said. “It made me forget about what I was going through” Becca said the name of the organization shows the motto (座右铭) she stuck to through her personal cancer journey.
Her organization has already given thousands of dollars to research organizations and families in need. Becca said she hoped her bracelets would make people remember that great things can result from small changes. “No matter what age you are, what you look like, and how you act, you can make a difference!”she said.
1. What happened to Becca at the end of 2016?A.She recovered from cancer. | B.She created an organization. |
C.She raised a lot of money. | D.She was helped by a company. |
A.He showed Becca a famous motto. | B.He fought off cancer successfully. |
C.He advised Becca to forget her pain. | D.He named the company Knots and Arrows. |
A.Negative. | B.Creative. | C.Caring. | D.Clever. |
A.To tell us having a motto is important. |
B.To prove cancer can be got over successfully. |
C.To show there’s always someone who needs help. |
D.To make us realize everyone can make a difference. |
3 . On his way to the airport one afternoon, Phillip asked the driver to wait outside the bank while he collected some traveler ‘s checks.
The plane was to
What could he do? It was now five past four and there would be too little
A.check in | B.lead off | C.take off | D.go up |
A.long | B.short | C.pleasant | D.rough |
A.as | B.so | C.but | D.because |
A.buying | B.taking | C.putting | D.checking |
A.plane | B.trip | C.company | D.flight |
A.realized | B.promised | C.recognized | D.suggested |
A.at home | B.at the bank | C.at the office | D.in the taxi |
A.time | B.chance | C.possibility | D.use |
A.golden | B.last | C.only | D.first |
A.in | B.to | C.at | D.with |
A.sad | B.unable | C.nervous | D.difficult |
A.stopped | B.ran | C.went | D.opened |
A.off | B.back | C.out | D.away |
A.started | B.caught | C.noticed | D.left |
A.speech | B.signal | C.call | D.voice |
A.apologize | B.announce | C.worry | D.regret |
A.advised | B.forced | C.allowed | D.persuaded |
A.ideas | B.plans | C.information | D.time |
A.person | B.situation | C.place | D.airport |
A.return | B.show | C.recover | D.change |
4 . Since smartphones were invented, more and more people have been addicted to them. The addiction to phones has spread to running. They’re perfectly used during a run outside. Smart phones can provide music for you and track your route. But experts warn that it’s not a good idea to hold your phone in your hand while you go out for a run because it could cause hip (臀部) and shoulder injuries.
Professional UK Athletics running coach, Alexa, asks runners to carry phones in a fanny pack (腰包) instead.“When you hold something in your hands, there are slightly indirect influences on your pace. It influences the balance of muscles (肌肉), affects the weight of some body parts, and makes you run less fast,” she tells Cosmopolitan UK.“This could be happening every time you train, week after week, month after month.” And as mobile phones get bigger and heavier, the more injuries are likely to happen.
People like to always hold their phones in the same hand. It’s a force of habit. With one arm heavier, your body will try to compensate for the imbalance, by working certain muscles harder than others.
The other risk of running with phones in hand, of course, is damaging the screen of your phones if you fall. It’s very expensive to change a screen. Some of the latest phones can close to $300.
1. Why do experts think it is unsuitable to run with a smartphone?A.It affects people’s hearing. |
B.It makes people lose eyesight. |
C.It does harm to parts of people’s bodies. |
D.It causes people to fall down and get lost. |
A.Carry smartphones in a bag. |
B.Avoid touching smartphones with your hands. |
C.Watch smartphones when running. |
D.Carry smartphones in a fanny pack. |
A.Meet up with. | B.Make up for. |
C.Face up to. | D.Come up with. |
A.changing a phone number | B.changing a screen |
C.changing shoes | D.changing direction |
A.muscles | B.weight |
C.feet | D.brain |
5 . It can be difficult to encourage ourselves to go for a run during winter, particularly when it’s wet and windy outside. But new research has found that even a super-quick run could have great health benefits. In fact, it seems that just a 10-minute run will not only make us feel better, but could actually improve brain health, too. Now, we all know that exercise can improve mental and physical health in many ways.
But when it comes to mental well-being, there’s been relatively little research done on the specific benefits of running, compared with other physical activities, such as cycling. So this was something put to the test during a recent study. Researchers from University of Tsukuba in Japan asked participants (参加者) to run on a treadmill (跑步机) for just 10 minutes. They then had to take a Stroop Color and Word Test which is used to measure reaction time in brain processing. Results showed there was a highest point in self-reported pleasure and an increase in degree of activity of the brain.
In other words, runners were found to have an increase in blood flow in the part of the brain that’s associated with dealing with functions and controlling mood (情绪). Researchers then compared these results to a similar study on cycling, which also showed improved cognition (认知), but no mood improvement. Therefore, it seems various types of exercise can make us feel differently.
The authors noted, “Given exercise is medicine, the effects of drugs differ depending on the type of drug, and different types of exercise such as running and cycling should be observed to have different effects on mental health and brain functions as well.”
So pushing ourselves to get outside for a run really will make us feel better, probably more than other fitness activities. And these findings show that we don’t necessarily need to do a lot of exercise to feel the benefit of it.
1. What did the new research find?A.Running fast benefits all of us. | B.Running is the best exercise. |
C.A short time run can be beneficial. | D.A healthy mind encourages us to run. |
A.By using different drugs on participants. | B.By interviewing some sportsmen. |
C.By collecting information on the Internet. | D.By doing experiments and comparisons. |
A.Cycling. | B.Medicine. | C.Blood flow. | D.Colors. |
A.We should go for a run in winter. |
B.Running really benefits us mentally. |
C.We don’t need a lot of exercise. |
D.Running on a treadmill is better than running outside. |
A.no | B.great | C.less | D.more |
6 . The earliest newspapers started in ancient Rome. They were handwritten news sheets. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, which were printed from carved wooden blocks. Modern papers first appeared in Venice, Italy in the middle of the 14th century. The newspapers of today, with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and comments, were started in Britain in the mid-18th century.
The main function of newspapers is to report news. Many newspapers also provide special information to readers, such as weather reports and television timetables. They also provide comments on politics, economics, arts and culture. Almost all newspapers depend on advertising to make money. Nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day. Seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. Readers search newspapers for detailed background information and analysis. This is what television and radio news reports seldom offer. Newspapers tell readers what happened, and they also help readers understand what caused an event and how it will affect the world around them.
The workers at large newspaper companies work under a lot of stress to bring news to readers as soon as possible. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors collect articles in just a few hours. Page designers select articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines to make the pages, and then rush their work to the printer. Printing workers may work overnight around printing presses to churn out more than 60,000 copies per hour.
1. Modern newspapers were first made in ________.A.China | B.Ancient Rome | C.Italy | D.Britain |
A.Jobs related to newspapers. | B.Contents in each page of a newspaper. |
C.The production levels of newspaper. | D.The fast speed of newspaper production. |
A.few newspapers have no advertising |
B.many adults in America read newspapers every day |
C.people can read about different issues in newspapers |
D.newspapers will become less popular as TV develops |
A.press | B.produce | C.publish | D.sell |
A.Rome | B.China | C.Italy | D.Britain |
When Beethoven was only four, his father decided to make him a musician. Beethoven was made to practice
However, this didn’t stop Beethoven. During his life, he composed about 30 pieces of music. It is
8 . Painting
The art of creating pictures using colors, shapes and lines is called painting. Museums and galleries show the paintings of professional artists. But painting is also a popular form of entertainment and creative expression.
Painters can use their art to express devotion to a religion, to tell a story, to express feelings and ideas, or simply to present a pleasing picture. Religious paintings often show a god or a scene from a sacred text. Other common subjects have been famous legends and events in history, as well as scenes from daily life. Artists also paint portraits (肖像), or pictures of people.
Some kinds of paintings do not focus on people. In landscape (风景) paintings, the focus is on scenes from nature. Artists also paint still objects such as fruit and vegetables.
A.These works are called still lives. |
B.These works can communicate a special feeling. |
C.Humans have been making paintings for thousands of years. |
D.People of all ages create pictures using a variety of materials. |
E.Cave paintings generally show animals that early humans hunted. |
F.The design of a painting is the plan of its lines, shapes and colors. |
G.Sometimes artists make portraits of themselves, which are called self-portraits. |
9 . Confidence in Maths, Confidence for Life.
Changing Lives Through Maths!
Mathnasium of North Oxford, your neighbourhood maths-only learning centre!
We help children aged 13 — 18 understand maths in a special way. Our way of teaching children maths, the Mathnasium Method, has changed the way students learn maths for over a decade across 800 + centres worldwide:
• We know how to teach your child maths.
Our specially trained maths teachers will teach your child how to understand maths in a special setting—our unique approach enables us to effectively explain maths concepts well and lend a helping hand to every student. Our teachers create a caring, encouraging environment that helps your child "catch up, keep up and get ahead" in their maths learning.
• We find exactly your child' s learning needs, meet them where they are and take them where they need to go.
At Mathnasium we use our unique assessment process to determine exactly what each child knows and what they need to learn. Next, we design an individual learning plan for each student. It doesn’t stop there—our teachers continually check progress along the way to make sure students truly understand the concepts we've taught. Students learn maths at their own speed and according to their own level. They will see obvious changes in attitude, confidence and school progress.
About Our Centre
Since its opening on 8 September this year, Mathnasium of North Oxford has been offering maths instruction and homework help to students in the community. You can find us at 18 South Parade, Summertown, North Oxford 0X2 7JL.
Call at 01865 855968 or e-mail to mathnasium.co.uk.
Hours of Instruction
Weekdays: 3:30 p.m.—7:30 p.m.
Weekends: 9:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.
Click here to find out if Mathnasium is right for your child.
1. Whom does Mathnasium of North Oxford teach maths?A.Teenagers. | B.Adults. | C.Babies. | D.Graduates. |
A.Its large-sized classes. | B.Its location. |
C.Its individual teaching. | D.Its school environment. |
A.In the newspaper. | B.On the poster. | C.On the Internet. | D.Over the radio. |
参考词汇:citizen 市民 civilized 文明的
注意:1. 词数100左右;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Good morning, boys and girls,
It’s a great honor for me to stand here and
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That’s all. Thank you!