1 . Preparing Cities for Robot Cars
The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist’s dream, years away from materializing in the real world. Well, the future is apparently now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads. The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars, and for companies to operate driverless taxi services. California, it should be noted, isn’t leading the way here. Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country. It’s hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads. But however long it takes, the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities, for better or for worse, depending on how the transformation is regulated.
While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars(and rightfully so), policymakers also should be talking about how self-driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams, cut emissions(排放) and offer more convenient, affordable mobility options. The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared.
Do we want to copy — or even worsen — the traffic of today with driverless cars? Imagine a future where most adults own individual self-driving vehicles. They tolerate long, slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because they can work, entertain themselves or sleep on the ride, which encourages urban spread. They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the empty vehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking. Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning, they send the self-driving minibus. The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport — an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride-hailing(叫车) services.
A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol-powered private cars worldwide with electric, self-driving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure(基础设施) and operations 40% by 2050. Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing. The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fielded by ride-hailing services, considering the cost of self-driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues(责任与维护问题). But driverless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology.
Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless vehicles doesn’t extend the worst aspects of the car-controlled transportation system we have today. The coming technological advancement presents a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people, and more affordably. The car of the future is coming. We just have to plan for it.
1. According to the author, attention should be paid to how driverless cars can __________.| A．help deal with transportation-related problems |
| B．provide better services to customers |
| C．cause damage to our environment |
| D．make some people lose jobs |
| A．Safety. | B．Side effects. |
| C．Affordability. | D．Management. |
| A．Employed. | B．Replaced. |
| C．Shared. | D．Reduced. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
Experts have started working on
Valkyrie is powered by a battery on its back, which can keep it
The machine can walk on two legs and perform basic
3 . What if the car waiting patiently behind a parked bus is a driverless or autonomous vehicle(AV)? Will this robot car be able to understand what you mean when you flash your lights or madly wave your hands? Its sensors could decides that it’s only safe to overtake when there’ no oncoming traffic at all. On a busy road at school home time, this may be never leading to increasingly angry passengers and increasingly angry driers queuing behind.
And how will a robot car driving out from a T-junction into oncoming traffic be able to make the necessary eye contact with a human driver? These safety-first robot cars could become victims of their own politeness and end up being bullied and ignored by aggressive, impatient humans. This, at any rate, is one of the conclusions to be drawn from research carried out by Dr Chris Tennant of the psychological and behavioral science department at the London School of Economics. His Europe-wide survey finds that nearly two-thirds of drivers think machines won’t have enough common sense to interact with human drivers. And more than two-fifths think a robot car would remain stuck behind our parked lorry for a long time.
“If you view the road as a social space, you will consciously negotiate your journey with other drivers. People who like that negotiation process appear to feel less comfortable engaging with AVs than with human drivers,” says Mr. Tennant in his report. Of course, humans are always skeptical about new technologies of which they have little experience. That skepticism usually decreases with usage, however. And even many skeptics accept that emotionless AVs could cause fewer accidents than we humans, with our tendency to road anger, tiredness and lack of concentration. A statistic often repeated is that human error is responsible for more than 90% of accidents. But 70% of the 12,000 people Mr. Tennant and his team interviewed agreed that: “ As a point of principle, humans should be in control of their vehicles.” An even greater proportion-80%-thought an autonomous vehicle should always have a steering wheel.
1. According to the text, an autonomous vehicle______.| A．is controlled by a robot | B．waits shorter than other cars |
| C．judges traffic by drivers online | D．recognizes angry human drivers |
| A．won’t interact with human drivers |
| B．avoid passing T-junctions ahead of time |
| C．drive in the same ways as a human driver |
| D．may suffer from impatient human drivers |
| A．Autonomous vehicles will be less social |
| B．Autonomous vehicles are safer than generally expected |
| C．Human drivers have been replaced by autonomous vehicles |
| D．Human drivers are willing to interact with autonomous vehicles |
| A．An autonomous car takes a test run |
| B．What is driverless technology like? |
| C．Say no to the coming driverless trend |
| D．Would you bully a driverless car or show it respect? |
4 . Traffic is a very important part in daily life.Nearly everyone complains about being stuck in traffic so much
To link up the
5 . Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? What about traveling into the future? There’s an easy way to do it.
One way you can make a time travel journey is by writing a letter to your future self to be opened in the future. To your future self, the letter will be a visit from the past. What can be gained by writing a letter to yourself? It depends on how good your letter is. You have the chance to say something to your future self. What would you want to communicate? You’ll be able to talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road. There may be instructions for your future self, or you may have goals that you will want to check up on.
There are a lot of things you could include in your letter or letters to yourself. The more you include, the better the letter will be to you. Here are some ideas of things to include in your letter:
Your thoughts and feelings about life, religion, politics, society, etc.
Your feelings for your family.
Your likes and dislikes.
Your dreams.
The type of person you want yourself to become.
…
Be creative with what you put in your letter. Include a picture of yourself or family to show the period from which the letter came.
You can store your letter in many different ways. You can give your letter to a friend or family member to keep and mail to you. If you can get others to take part, have them write letters to themselves as well and ask someone to be the letter holder until it’s time to send the letters. You can also use a service online to store your letter and e-mail it to you.
Make the most of your letter writing, and you will help your future self make the most of the present.
1. How can you travel into the future?| A．By traveling back in time. |
| B．By writing a letter to your future self. |
| C．By opening a letter from the past. |
| D．By paying a visit to the future. |
| A．have the chance to say something to your future self |
| B．talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road |
| C．write more about instructions for your future self |
| D．include as many things as possible in your letter |
| A．To check up on your goals. |
| B．To share your feelings with your family. |
| C．To show the time when the letter was written. |
| D．To find out your thoughts and feelings now. |
| A．How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self |
| B．What to Communicate with Your Future Self |
| C．What to Include in a Letter to Your Future Self |
| D．How to Make the Most of Your Letter |
6 . Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict.” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and a sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I am working harder than ever.” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code.” “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative(保守的)dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(心境，士气). Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because .| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear. |
| A．Company workers started to dress down about fifty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 90s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
