1 . As data and identity theft becomes more and more common, the market is growing for biometric(生物测量) technologies—like fingerprint scans—to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present, these technologies are still expensive, though.
Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device(装置) that gets around this problem: a smart keyboard. This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence(节奏) with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key. The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user’s typing and the time between key presses. These patterns are unique to each person. Thus, the keyboard can determine people’s identities, and by extension, whether they should be given access to the computer it’s connected to—regardless of whether someone gets the password right.
It also doesn’t require a new type of technology that people aren’t already familiar with. Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently.
In a study describing the technology, the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word “touch” four times using the smart keyboard. Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed, with very low error rates. The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive, plastic-like parts. The team hopes to make it to market in the near future.
1. Why do the researchers develop the smart keyboard?A.To reduce pressure on keys. | B.To improve accuracy in typing. |
C.To replace the password system. | D.To cut the cost of e-space protection. |
A.Computers are much easier to operate. |
B.Fingerprint scanning techniques develop fast. |
C.Typing patterns vary from person to person. |
D.Data security measures are guaranteed. |
A.It’ll be environment-friendly. | B.It’ll reach consumers soon. |
C.It’ll be made of plastics. | D.It’ll help speed up typing. |
A.A diary. | B.A guidebook | C.A novel. | D.A magazine. |
2 . Every year about 40,000 people attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. They
Hearing these stories, I’m
However, I soon
The best of a Kilimanjaro
Does Kilimanjaro
A.keep | B.mix | C.connect | D.bring |
A.stories | B.buildings | C.crowds | D.reporters |
A.position | B.age | C.face | D.name |
A.silent | B.skeptical | C.serious | D.crazy |
A.discover | B.argue | C.decide | D.advocate |
A.equipment | B.grass | C.camps | D.stones |
A.remote | B.quiet | C.tall | D.clean |
A.new | B.special | C.significant | D.necessary |
A.paying off | B.spreading out | C.blowing up | D.fading away |
A.atmosphere | B.experience | C.experiment | D.sight |
A.studied | B.observed | C.explored | D.regarded |
A.view | B.quality | C.reason | D.purpose |
A.scientists | B.climbers | C.locals | D.officials |
A.holding on to | B.going back to | C.living up to | D.giving way to |
A.changes | B.clears | C.improves | D.permits |
A.match | B.imagine | C.count | D.add |
A.village | B.desert | C.road | D.lake |
A.Obviously | B.Easily | C.Consequently | D.Finally |
A.permanent | B.little | C.fresh | D.artificial |
A.enjoy | B.deserve | C.save | D.acquire |
3 . Need a Job This Summer?
The provincial government and its partners offer many programs to help students find summer jobs. The deadlines and what you need to apply depend on the program.
Not a student? Go to the government website to learn about programs and online tools available to help people under 30 build skills, find a job or start businesses all year round.
Jobs for YouthIf you are a teenager living in certain parts of the province, you could be eligible(符合条件) for this program, which provides eight weeks of paid employment along with training.
Who is eligible: Youth 15-18 years old in select communities(社区).
Summer CompanySummer Company provides students with hands-on business training and awards of up to $3,000 to start and run their own summer businesses.
Who is eligible: Students aged 15-29, returning to school in the fall.
Stewardship Youth Ranger ProgramYou could apply to be a Stewardship Youth Ranger and work on local natural resource management projects for eight weeks this summer.
Who is eligible: Students aged 16 or 17 at time of hire, but not turning 18 before December 31 this year.
Summer Employment Opportunities(机会)Through the Summer Employment Opportunities program, students are hired each year in a variety of summer positions across the Provincial Public Service, its related agencies and community groups.
Who is eligible: Students aged 15 or older. Some positions require students to be 15 to 24 or up to 29 for persons with a disability.
1. What is special about Summer Company?A.It requires no training before employment. |
B.It provides awards for running new businesses. |
C.It allows one to work in the natural environment. |
D.It offers more summer job opportunities. |
A.15-18. | B.15-24. | C.15-29. | D.16-17. |
A.Jobs for Youth. | B.Summer Company. |
C.Stewardship Youth Ranger Program. | D.Summer Employment Opportunities. |
ChatGPT is high-tech progress, not a revolution
ChatGPT is a powerful chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022.
From a scientific point of view, there is a need to closely watch the development of such
ChatGPT is an example of high-tech progress, not a revolution.
First, ChatGTP
Second, ChatGPT is still a product
Due to these limitations, investors should not
5 . We live in a town with three beaches. There are two parts less than 10 minutes’ walk from home where neighborhood children gather to play. However, what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen — any screen — and stare at it for hours. They are not alone. Today’s children spend an average of four and a half hours a day looking at screens, split between watching television and using the Internet.
In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend. A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children, then aged five and three, were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say “chocolate” into his three-year-old son’s ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself “marketing director from Nature”. He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to be marketed to young people. The result was Project Wild Thing, a film which charts the birth of the World Network, a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.
“Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference,” David Bond says. “There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven, then being outdoors will be on habit for life.” His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: “We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while.”
Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it. Let us get them out and let them play.
1. What is the problem with the author’s children?A.They often annoy their neighbours. | B.They are tired of doing their homework. |
C.They have no friends to play with | D.They stay in front of screens for too long. |
A.By making a documentary film. | B.By organizing outdoor activities. |
C.By advertising in London media. | D.By creating a network of friends. |
A.records | B.predicts | C.delays | D.confirms |
A.Let Children Have Fun | B.Young Children Need More Free Time |
C.Market Nature to Children | D.David Bond: A Role Model for Children |
6 . Journey Back in Time with Scholars
Classical Provence(13days)Journey through the beautiful countryside of Provence,France,with Prof. Ori Z. Soltes. We will visit some of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the world. Our tour also includes a chance to walk in the footsteps of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Fields of flowers, tile-roofed(瓦屋顶)villages and tasty meals enrich this wonderful experience.
Southern Spain(15days)
Spain has lovely white towns and the scent(芳香)of oranges,but it is also a treasury of ancient remains including the cities left by the Greeks,Romans and Arabs. As we travel south from Madrid with Prof. Ronald Messier to historic Toledo,Roman Merida and into Andalucia, we explore historical monuments and architecture.
China’s Sacred Landscapes(21days)
Discover the China of “past ages,” its walled cities,temples and mountain scenery with Prof. Robert Thorp. Highlights(精彩之处)include China’s most sacred peaks at Mount Tai and Hangzbou’s rolling hills,waterways and peaceful temples. We will wander in traditional small towns and end our tour with an exceptional museum in Shanghai.
Tunisia(17days)
Join Prof. Pedar Foss on our in-depth Tunisian tour. Tour highlights include the Roman city of Dougga,the underground Numidian capital at Bulla Regia, Roman Sbeitla and the remote areas around Tataouine and Matmata,uique for underground cities. Our journey takes us to picturesque Berber villages and lovely beaches.
1. What can visitors see in both Classical Provence and Southern Spain?
A.Historical monuments. | B.Fields of flowers. |
C.Van Gogh’s paintings. | D.Greek buildings. |
A.France. | B.Spain. | C.China. | D.Tunisia. |
A.White towns. | B.Underground cities. | C.Tile-roofed villages. | D.Rolling hills. |
7 . Quantum ( 量子 ) computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor.
For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.”
As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum.
After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum.
The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.”
Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson.
1. Regarding Johnson’s concerns, the author feels ________.A.sympathetic | B.unconcerned | C.doubtful | D.excited |
A.His dominance in physics. | B.The competition in the field. |
C.His confidence in PyQuantum. | D.The investment of tech companies. |
A.Open. | B.Cool. | C.Useful. | D.Resistant. |
A.Is Johnson More Competent Than Taylor? |
B.Is Quantum Computing Redefining Technology? |
C.Will Quantum Computers Ever Come into Being? |
D.Will Quantum Computing Ever Live Up to Its Hype? |
8 . Emoji(表情符号) and Workplace Communication
In Asia, messaging platforms are growing rapidly, with users in the hundreds of millions, both at work and play.
Written communications can often read as cold and dull. Using emojis can add humor and feeling, keeping intention clear.
In any given office, employees can range from age 22 to 70 and beyond, and finding common ground in communication style can be a challenge.
There is also the matter of tone(语气). Who hasn’t received an email so annoying that it ruined an entire day?
A.Message with emojis feel more conversational |
B.Even a formal email can seem cold and unfriendly |
C.Sending smiling faces to colleagues may seem strange |
D.The popularity of these platforms is spreading globally |
E.Giving employees the tools enables them to communicate honestly |
F.Studies show that friendlier communication leads to a happier workplace |
G.An easy way to bring all work generations together is with a chat platform |
9 . My name is Alice. Early last year, I was troubled by an anxiety that crippled ( 削弱 ) my ability to do anything. I felt like a storm cloud hung over me. For almost a year I struggled on, constantly staring at this wall that faced me. My perfectionist tendencies were the main root of this: I wanted to be perfect at whatever I did, which obviously in life is not possible, but it consumed me.
One day, I attended a presentation by wildlife conservationist Grant Brown at my high school. His presentation not only awed and inspired me, but also helped emerge an inner desire to make a difference in the world. I joined a pre-presentation dinner with him and that smaller setting allowed me to slowly build up my courage to speak one-on-one with him—an idea that had seemed completely impossible. This first contact was where my story began.
A month later, Brown invited me to attend the World Youth Wildlife Conference. Looking back, I now see that this would be the first in a series of timely opportunities that my old self would have let pass, but that this new and more confident Alice enthusiastically seized. Shortly after I received his invitation, applications to join the Youth for Nature and the Youth for Planet groups were sent around through my high school. I decided to commit to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.
I am writing this just six months since my journey began and I’ve realised that my biggest obstacle ( 障碍 ) this whole time was myself. It was that voice in the back of my head telling me that one phrase that has stopped so many people from reaching their potential: I can’t. They say good things come to those who wait; I say: grab every opportunity with everything you have and be impatient. After all, nature does not require our patience, but our action.
1. What was the main cause for Alice’s anxiety?A.Her inability to act her age. | B.Her habit of consumption. |
C.Her desire to be perfect. | D.Her lack of inspiration. |
A.She decided to do something for nature. | B.She tasted the sweetness of friendship. |
C.She learned about the harm of desire. | D.She built up her courage to speak up. |
A.intelligent | B.confident | C.innovative | D.critical |
A.Practice makes perfect. | B.Patience is a cure of anxiety. |
C.Action is worry’s worst enemy. | D.Everything comes to those who wait. |
10 . Health and fitness help a person live a good and healthy life. Often due to various pressures, we tend to ignore our health.
It is important for everyone to devote some time to health and fitness.
Additionally, it is important to relax our body. We should have at least six to eight hours of sleep every day. It helps in improving our immune (免疫) system and protects us against diseases.
A.Fitness levels decide the quality of life. |
B.Health and fitness are interrelated to each other. |
C.It also helps in keeping us calm and relaxes our mind. |
D.For instance, we may have a tendency to catch a cold easily. |
E.If we keep our body fit, we can enjoy life in a better manner. |
F.There are some activities which everyone should do in our life. |
G.This makes our body suffer and we will catch other diseases. |