In 1818 Mary Shelley published Frankenstein, the story of a scientist who tries to create a superior, being and instead creates a monster. In the last two centuries, this story
The Frankenstein myth confronts. Homo sapiens (智人) with the fact that the last days are fast approaching.
We seek comfort in the fantasy that Dr. Frankenstein can create only terrible monsters, whom we would have to destroy in order to save the world. We like to tell the story that way because it implies that we are
We would have a hard time
2 . The Google Brain team has been working on computing systems called “neural networks”—systems that were designed based on how neurons work in the human brain.
This time, they gave a mission to three of the neural networks, which they named Alice, Bob and Eve. Each of the networks had its own job—Alice sent messages to Bob, Eve tried to “eavesdrop”(偷听) and find out the messages, and Alice and Bob had to figure out a way to hide the messages from Eve. All the help that Alice and Bob got from the researchers before the mission began was made up of a set of numbers, which Eve didn’t have access to.
At first, Alice was not very good at sending secret messages. But slowly it worked on a way to encrypt(加密) them—putting information into a special code so that others could not understand it if they got the information—using he numbers given by researchers. And after practice, Bob also came to be able to decrypt(解密) Alice’s messages. Without the numbers or keys, Eve failed to understand Alice’s “speech” most of the time.
This test is considered a big step in the development of computers’ learning skills. “Computing with neural networks on this scale has only become possible in the last few years, so we truly are at the beginning of what’s possible, ” Joe Sturonas of US encryption company PKWARE told New Scientist magazine.
Unfortunately, the test happened only one week after UK physicist Stephen Hawking, While speaking at Cambridge University, warned how AI(artificial intelligence)could develop a will of its own. This could be “either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to human being”, he said.
But just as Sturonas pointed out, no matter what the possibilities of computers are in the future, they are just starting out. We still have plenty of time to work out a solution before they get anywhere near becoming a threat to humanity.
1. For what purpose was the test conducted?| A．To study how neurons work in the human brain. |
| B．To study how computing systems work and learn. |
| C．To find out a more effective way to keep secrets. |
| D．To find out a more powerful way to break the codes. |
| A．encrypting—messages—code—messages—decrypting |
| B．messages—encrypting—code—decrypting—messages |
| C．code—messages—encrypt—decrypting—messages |
| D．messages—code—decrypting—encrypting—messages |
| A．AI must be a blessing. | B．AI should be forbidden. |
| C．AI is sure to be a failure. | D．AI is a double-edged sword. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Puzzled. | D．Panicked. |
3 . "Changing the world" might seem like an unrealistic goal. When faced with huge problems such as air pollution or energy shortages, where do you start? Taoyuan-based Gogoro believes you start with a scooter.
Proof of concept In 2015, Gogoro broke onto the scene by releasing an electric scooter called the Smartscooter. Unlike most electric scooters, this one wouldn't need to be plugged in to recharge. Instead, users would stop by GoStations to exchange drained batteries for fully charged ones. Gogoro was taking a risk. If people were not happy with the system of changing batteries the whole project could fail. They didn't need to worry, though. Only one year later Gogoro sold their 10,000th Smartscooter! |
Setting the bar Fast forward to 2019 and the release of the Series 3 Smartscooter. Gogoro scooters are as popular and revolutionary as ever. Their bright colors are chosen by Beatrice Santiccioli, a famous color designer who helped shape major brands like Apple, Nike and Swatch. In addition to the scooters' bright colors, plenty of cool accessories (配件) are available so you can make your scooter your own. But most important of all, Gogoro continues to pave the way toward a future of responsible energy consumption. |
Looking forward Multiple cities and countries have committed to making their transportation all-electric in the coming years, and Gogoro is helping make that possible. Ordered a package? Companies like DHL and Taiwan Post now have fleets of Smartscooters to make deliveries. Need a ride? Unlock a Gogoro in Berlin, Paris or Madrid, thanks to scooter sharing services. The Smartscooter is definitely ingenious, but there's more "At Gogoro, I think the essential thing is that we want to change how people use energy. And the Smartscooter is only the beginning," says Horace Luke, Gogoro co-founder and CEO. This is where the GoStation comes in. |
Tomorrow's energy Gostations are Al-equipped. They track battery health to maximize each battery's life. They recharge batteries during off-peak hours to reduce strain on the city's power grid (输电网). But they also learn when users usually visit and prioritize supplying charged batteries at those times. The fact of the matter is, cities are only getting bigger. There are already dozens of megacities (特大城市) in the world, and there will only be more in the future. Gogoro's dream is the transformation of megacities into smart cities, where power is plentiful and responsible. They hope to be a big part of that transformation. |
1. Compared with other electric scooters, the Smartscooter ______.
| A．can recharge itself in Gostations in megacities |
| B．only needs to change batteries in Gostations |
| C．wouldn't need to be recharged at all in life |
| D．can be recharged by its users in Gostations |
| A．their colors are chosen by a famous color designer |
| B．their colors are different from those of others |
| C．it is a good way for people to consume energy |
| D．it can help us solve the problem of energy shortage |
| A．The more megacities there are, the more GoStations may appear. |
| B．GoStations will soon entirely take the place of traditional stations. |
| C．People need not go to GoStations especially during peak hours. |
| D．More megacities will appear throughout the world in the future. |
4 . People have speculated (思索) for centuries about a future without work. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by inequality: A few wealthy people will own all the capital, and the masses will struggle in a wasteland. A different prediction holds that without jobs to give their lives meaning, future people will simply become lazy and depressed.
But it doesn’t necessarily follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with dissatisfaction. Such visions are based on the downsides of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the absence of work, a society designed with other ends in mind could provide strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure.
These days, spare time is relatively rare for most workers. “When I come home from a hard day's work, I often feel tired,” says John Danaher, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland, adding, “In a world in which I don’t have to work, I might feel rather different — perhaps different enough to throw himself into a hobby with the enthusiasm usually reserved for professional matters.”
Daniel Everett, an anthropologist (人类学家) at Bentley University studied a group of hunter-gathers in the Amazon called the Piraha for years. According to Everett, while some might consider hunting and gathering work, hunter-gatherers don’t. “They think of it as fun,” he says. “They don’t have a concept of work the way we do.”
Everett described a typical clay for the Piraha: A man might get up, spend a few hours fishing, have a barbecue, and play until the evening. Does this relaxing life lead to the depression and purposelessness seen among so many of today’s unemployed? “I’ve never seen anything like depression there, except people who are physically ill,” Everett says. While many may consider work necessary for human life, work as it exists today is a relatively new invention in the course of human culture. “We think it’s bad to just sit around with nothing to do,” says Everett. “For the Piraha, it’s quite a desirable state.”
1. What might be some people’s attitude towards the work-free world?| A．Objective. | B．Negative. |
| C．Skeptical. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Risks. | B．Losses. |
| C．Challenges. | D．Disadvantages. |
| A．work plays an important role in our future life |
| B．people don’t know how to balance work and life |
| C．people’s work-free future life will be full of charm |
| D．higher unemployment makes life tougher for workers |
| A．To justify John Danaher’s opinion. | B．To show a future life without work. |
| C．To compare different views on work. | D．To introduce the Piraha in the Amazon. |
5 . What defines an eco-house? There are two features to take into consideration. Firstly, the energy efficiency and carbon emissions associated with running the house, and then the type of construction materials used, their associated emissions and the raw materials required.
At Baufritz, we have won awards relating to the sustainability of our houses. This is because as a company we had decided to put environmental stewardship at the core of our values way back in the 1960s. So how do we do it?
Heating is the biggest emissions factor for any house. It is really rather simple to solve this problem — make a house extremely energy efficient and this will no longer be a factor. Ultra low energy houses have become known as Passive houses, where a certain set of design characteristics help to improve efficiencies. You need a very high level of insulation in the walls and roof. Glass should be suitably positioned to optimize solar gaintucmrr (heat from the sun). The house needs to be very well engineered so no heat is lost through cracks or poorly fitted windows and doors. At Baufritz we manufacture Kit houses, and use Modern Manufacturing Methods in our factory to engineer our houses in such a way that leaks are minimized.
We have also developed “HOIZ” insulation. Manufactured from natural wood waste products, HOIZ is placed between the inside and outside layers of our timber framed houses to create the highest level of insulation. Our windows and doors use triple glazing to minimize heat loss. Overheating is one of the biggest challenges Passive houses face and our architects use some very clever ventilation systems to manage internal environmental conditions. All houses still have energy-consuming appliances, but with the addition of solar for both electricity generation and water heating, the carbon footprint of the homes we produce are further reduced.
Embedded carbon in building manufacturing materials such as concrete, as well as a historic tendency to send materials to landfills, results in a high carbon footprint and natural resource exploitation. Baufritz addresses this problem in a number of ways. Our primary manufacturing material is wood. We source from sustainable certified forests where felled trees are replanted. In fact, we believe all building materials should be as natural as possible. We say no to PU construction foams, chemical insulation materials, toxic adhesives and laminate flooring. A house constructed using only natural materials creates a healthy living environment for its residents. As all our houses are manufactured in our state-of-the-art factory, waste is kept to an absolute minimum. At the end of their life-cycle, our houses can also be recycled. Today, demolition（拆除）firms clearing the site for the new build are able to recycle nearly all of the building materials, therefore closing the manufacturing loop.
My house is old, so why is this relevant? There are still lots of things which can be done. Improve your insulation. When your appliances expire, replace based on efficiency. Consider heat pumps instead of gas boilers and explore solar to deliver electricity and water heating. By designing and building houses to ultra low energy standards, and by using natural sustainably sourced materials and recycling the waste products from our manufacturing processes, we are able to deliver Carbon Neutral Houses. This means that the total carbon footprint throughout the life-cycle of each house is zero, which is why we call ourselves eco-house pioneers. All houses are prefabricated at our state-of-the-art factory in Erkheim, Germany, and then assembled on site.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT associated with the sustainability of eco-houses?| A．The raw materials used. |
| B．Energy efficiency of the house. |
| C．Carbon emissions released by house designers. |
| D．Construction materials used and their emissions. |
| A．fail to optimize solar gain |
| B．need to be carefully engineered to trap heat |
| C．use more energy-consuming appliances than Kit houses |
| D．could have less comfortable environmental conditions inside them |
| A．House recycling is an additional service provided free by Baufritz. |
| B．Building materials are obtained from factories to ensure their quality. |
| C．Man-made materials are applied to reduce their impact on the environment. |
| D．The houses are all manufactured in their factory so as to reduce costs and waste. |
| A．argue for the necessity of eco-houses |
| B．advertise Baufritz, an eco-house builder |
| C．explain the underlying values of eco-houses |
| D．expand people’s knowledge of what eco-houses are |
6 . I never seen the night nor seen a star; I’ve seen neither spring nor fall nor winter. I was born at the end of the Reining Age(刹车时代), just as the Earth’s rotation(旋转) was coming to a final stop.
The Reining lasted for 42 years, three years longer than the Unity Government had planned. My mother once told me about the time our family witnessed the last sunset. The Sun had ever so slowly crept toward the horizon, almost as if it had stopped moving altogether. In the end, it took three days and three nights to finally set. Naturally, that was the end of all “days” and all “nights”. The Eastern Hemisphere(半球) was covered in weak light for a long time then, perhaps for a dozen years or so — with the Sun hiding just beyond the horizon — its rays reflected by half of the sky. It was during that long sunset that I was born.
Dusk did not mean darkness. The Northern Hemisphere was lit up by the Earth Engines. These giant engines had been raised all across Asia and North America; only the solid plates beneath those two continents could resist the great pushing forces they exerted. There were about 12,000 Earth Engines built and distributed across the Asian and American plains.
From my home I could see the bright plasma plumes(等离子气柱) of several hundred Earth Engines. Just imagine a titanic palace, one as large as the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Now imagine countless titanic pillars rising from that palace, reaching to the heavens, each releasing brilliant, bluish-white light like a titanic shining tube. And then there is you; you are a microbe on the palace’s floor. This only begins to paint the picture of the world we lived in.
This picture, however, is not yet complete. In order to survive the melting temperature of the expanding sun, we have to push the Earth away from it. First, the Earth must be stopped from rotating. Only the forces acting tangentially(正切地) to the Earth’s rotation could slow it, so the Earth Engines had to be built to a specific angle. Those gigantic pillars of light were leaning to that angle. Now imagine what that meant for our palace, with its pillars all leaning on the point of falling down! Many who came from the Southern Hemisphere went mad when suddenly seeing this awesome view.
Worse than the view was the burning heat released by the Earth Engines. Outdoors the temperature was stuck at around 160 to 180 degrees, forcing us to wear special suits just to leave the house. The extremely high temperatures often brought pouring rains. It was always a terrifying scene when the beam of an Earth Engine cut through dark clouds. The clouds scattered the brilliant, bluish-white light of the beam, erupting it into endless rainbow light that covered the entire sky like white-hot magma(岩浆).
To my generation, born in the Northern Hemisphere, all of this was perfectly normal and natural, just like the Sun, stars and Moon had been to generations before the Reining Age. We called the entire history of the human race that had come before us the Pre-Solar Age; what a fascinating and golden era that had truly been!
The Reining Age left the earth with a horrifying result. The sea tides, quickened by the Earth Engines, had swallowed two out of every three cities in the Northern Hemisphere; then the global increase in temperatures melted the polar icecap, resulting in floods that spread to the Southern Hemisphere. Thirty years earlier my grandfather had witnessed giant 300-foot waves that had engulfed Shanghai. Even now, he could never tell us about it without his gaze slipping into a thousand-mile stare.
Our planet had already changed beyond recognition before it even set out on its journey. Who knew what hardships were waiting for us on our long travels through outer space?
1. What happened when the author was born?| A．The earth had stopped turning for forty-two years. |
| B．The sun was making its last fall towards the horizon. |
| C．All the Earth Engines had not been finished. |
| D．His family were suffering from the summer hotness. |
| A．They were built in Asia and North America due to their huge number and weight. |
| B．Their light and heat provided necessary energy for people to survive. |
| C．They were all built to point straight upward to the sky to stop the earth rotating. |
| D．Their existence brought both opportunities and inconvenience to people on the earth. |
| A．People born in the Southern Hemisphere could enjoy four different seasons. |
| B．The author missed his Pre-Solar Age lifestyle very much. |
| C．Grandfather would never forget the scene of Shanghai being swallowed. |
| D．The author was discouraged but optimistic about the future of the earth. |
| A．describing mental activities | B．visualizing vivid scenes |
| C．doing experimental analysis | D．expressing personal belief |
| A．a documentary novel | B．an academic essay |
| C．a scientific research report | D．a science fiction |
| A．The Last Sunset | B．The Earth Engines | C．The Reining Age | D．The Post-Solar Life |
The journey to the moon has been the first step toward future exploration(探险) in space. The distance between the moon and the earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between the earth and the other planets. Mars, one of the nearest planets to the earth, is millions of miles away. Travelling to the planets will be mans next aim. Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous.
Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings 1 and 2 landed on Mars trying to discover whether there is any life on the planet. So far the signs of life on Mars has neither confirmed nor ruled out.(排除)
Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus（金星）is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there. Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on the earth, but man should realize the earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care about it.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is rushing into business. Firms of all types are using AI to forecast demand, hire workers and deal with customers. The McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank within a consultancy, forecasts that just applying AI to marketing, sales and supply chains could create economic value of $2.7trn over the next 20 years.
Such grand forecasts fuel anxiety as well as hope. Less familiar, but just as important, is how AI will transform the workplace.
Start with the benefits.AI ought to improve productivity. Humanyze, a people analytics software provider, combines data from its badges（工牌）with employees’ calendars and e-mails to work out, say, whether office layouts favour teamwork .Slack, a workplace messaging app, helps managers assess how quickly employees accomplish tasks. Companies will see when workers are not just dozing off but also misbehaving.
Employees will gain, too. Thanks to advance in computer vision, AI can check that workers are wearing safety equipment and that no one has been harmed on the factory floor. Some will appreciate more feedback on their work and welcome a sense of how to do better.
Machines can help ensure that pay rises and promotions go to those who deserve them. That starts with hiring. People often have biases but algorithms（算法）, if designed correctly, can be more unprejudiced. Software can flag patterns that people might miss.
Yet AI’s benefits will come with many potential drawbacks. Algorithms may not be free of the biases of their programmers, which can have unintended consequences. The length of a travel may predict whether an employee will quit a job, but this focus may harm poorer applicants. Older staff might work more slowly than younger ones and could risk losing their positions if all AI looks for is productivity. And surveillance（监控）may feel Orwellian—a sensitive matter now that people have begun to question how much Facebook and other tech giants know about their private lives.
As regulators and employers weigh the pros and cons of AI in the workplace, three principles ought to guide its spread. First, data should be anonymized where possible. Microsoft, for example, has a product that shows individuals how they manage their time in the office, but gives managers information only in aggregated（整合）form. Second, the use of AI ought to be transparent. Employees should be told what technologies are being used in their workplaces and which data are being gathered. As a matter of routine, algorithms used by firms to hire, fire and promote should be tested for bias and unintended consequences. Last, countries should let individuals request their own data, whether they are ex-workers wishing to contest a dismissal or jobseekers hoping to demonstrate their ability to prospective employers.
The march of Al into the workplace calls for trade-offs between privacy and performance. A fairer, more productive workforce is a prize worth having, but not if it chains employees. Striking a balance will require thought, a willingness for both employers and employees to adapt and a strong dose of humanity.
AI Spy | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Introduction | While its future in business is full of |
Advantages of AI | ·AI makes business more productive by analyzing the office layout, assessing the employees’ working efficiency and ·AI can ·AI helps businesses hire more suitable employees and develop a better |
Potential drawbacks of AI | ·Undesirable results may arise due to the biases of the programmers. ·Poorer applicants and older staff are at a ·Employees’ privacy is |
Principles | ·Keep the data anonymous when they are gathered and used. · |
Summary | Only when employees and employers are |
9 . I expect the travel of the future to become less physical, more mental. Through the use of technology, you’ll be able to let your brain experience the sensations of a new place without actual going there. Robots and computer simulation（模仿）will enable you to visit remote exotic places without ever leaving home---the wreckage of the Titanic, the Galapagos Island, even the moon.
As an oceanographer, I’ve spent decades developing robots to explore the depths, and now we’re putting that technology to use in our JASON Project, a cooperative effort between industry, science, and educators that’s designed to be a world classroom for children. In auditoriums throughout the country, we bring kids together and transmit back to them on large screens our live explorations of far-flung areas of the globe. Not only are the kids observers, but they truly participate. They have the sensation of really being at the site with us---through the “eyes”, “ears”, and motions of the robot.
This year we’re taking the project to the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos are an exceedingly fragile environment, so fragile that only 60,000 people are allowed to visit them each year. But with JASON we will be able to let some 300,000 children experience those unique islands.
I believe advances in robot technology will one day be the key to an entirely new kind of travel. In the next 10 or 15 years I foresee people having rooms in their houses that will be able to simulate other environments. I like to call these rooms “home domes”---miniature theatres with wrap-around screens and sophisticated equipment that can reproduce the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of a desert, or a forest, or a meadow in high mountains.
Today, much of the world’s population never travels more than 50 or 60 miles from home. And even a person with abundant wealth and time can see only a fraction of the earth’s sights. But this new era of travel will cost so much less in both time and money that many more people will be exposed to a lot more of the globe. And simulated travel will help protect our planet. You can’t take large groups of tourists trooping up to look at Dian Fossey’s gorillas. But a small robot can get very close to a silverback and send the sights, sounds, and smells back to a million people.
I like to use this analogy（类比）to compare traditional travel with future travel: riding a horse is wonderful, but I don’t need to ride one to work anymore. That’s how I feel about traditional travel. Sometimes I still might want to hop on a plane and see a place firsthand, but sometimes I may simply want to walk into my home dome and take the trip from there.
1. Which statement best expresses the main idea of this article?| A．Protecting fragile environments like the Galapagos Islands. |
| B．Building home domes to meet people’s desire of travelling |
| C．Traveling globally without even leaving home in the future. |
| D．Owning rooms called “home domes” to be put into reality. |
| A．is a piece of equipment made for traveling |
| B．provides virtual access to actual traveling |
| C．has a negative effect on future environment |
| D．will be available in around fifty years’ time |
| A．Why is the “home dome” designed and produced? |
| B．When might a “home dome” be available to us? |
| C．What will be like in a “home dome” in future? |
| D．How much does a “home dome” probably cost? |
