1 . Facing AI extinction
In a recent White House press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre couldn’t suppress her laughter at the question: Is it “crazy” to worry that “literally everyone on Earth will die” due to artificial intelligence?
While AI pioneer such as Alan Turing cautioned that we should expect “machines to take control”, many contemporary researchers
Before the deep-learning revolution in 2012, I didn’t think human-level AI would emerge in my lifetime. I was familiar with arguments that AI systems would insatiably seek power and resist shutdown — and obvious
Yet after 10 years in the field, I believe the main reasons are actually cultural and historical. By 2012, after several hype cycles that didn’t pan out, most AI researchers had stopped asking ‘what if we succeed at replicating human intelligence’,
When concerns resurfaced outside their community, researchers were to quick to dismiss outsiders as
One basic argument is by analogy: humans’
But wouldn’t it be humans wielding AIs as tools who end up in control? Not necessarily. Many people might choose to deploy a system with a 99 per cent chance of making them phenomenally rich and powerful, even if it had a 1 per cent chance of
Because no safe experiment can definitively tell us whether an AI system will actually kill everyone, such concerns are often dismissed as unscientific. But this isn’t an excuse for ignoring the risk. It just means society needs to reason about it in the same way as other complex social issues. Researchers also emphasize the difficulty of predicting when AI might
Attitudes are changing, but not quickly enough. AI x-risk is admittedly more
Big tech sponsors AI ethics research when it doesn’t hurt the bottom line. But it is also lobbying to exclude general-purpose AI from E. U. regulation. Concerned researchers recently called for a(n)
This brings us to the ugliest reason researchers may dismiss AI x-risk: funding. Essentially every researcher (myself included) has received funding from big tech. At some point, society may stop believing reassurances from people with such strong conflicts of
A.Comfortingly | B.Unfortunately | C.Accidentally | D.Luckily |
A.express | B.feel | C.downplay | D.highlight |
A.threat | B.boost | C.disgrace | D.contribution |
A.extinction | B.health | C.resource | D.exposure |
A.abandoning | B.cherishing | C.frustrating | D.narrowing |
A.arrogant | B.irresponsible | C.ignorant | D.biased |
A.cognitive | B.physical | C.linguistic | D.emotional |
A.deliberately | B.abstractly | C.frequently | D.fundamentally |
A.tightening | B.exercising | C.maintaining | D.escaping |
A.assist | B.surpass | C.collect | D.evaluate |
A.obvious | B.urgent | C.questionable | D.private |
A.legal | B.financial | C.professional | D.ethical |
A.investment | B.pause | C.research | D.initiative |
A.take place | B.grow up | C.sink in | D.go away |
A.interest | B.religion | C.taste | D.law |
2 . To prevent tsunami-caused disasters, several countries worked together to expand the use of a tsunami-detecting system that had been developed in the United States by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The system
By 2004 only six such detectors had been installed, all in the Pacific. There were
There are now 53 detector buoys operating in the world’s oceans, including 6 of a planned 27 in the Indian Ocean. So a (n)
In March, the system, which is run by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), did not work perfectly. JMA’s initial
A.approves | B.rids | C.expects | D.consists |
A.broadcasts | B.foresees | C.assigns | D.imposes |
A.some | B.a few | C.none | D.others |
A.qualified | B.alerted | C.substituted | D.fueled |
A.although | B.until | C.as | D.where |
A.difficult | B.thoughtful | C.easy | D.pressing |
A.alternative | B.perspective | C.repetition | D.resume |
A.surprise | B.mistake | C.accident | D.force |
A.reference | B.confirmation | C.suggestion | D.expectation |
A.undertake | B.multiply | C.deposit | D.blanket |
A.location | B.direction | C.territory | D.length |
A.note | B.catalogue | C.volume | D.estimate |
A.worse | B.larger | C.higher | D.wider |
A.schedule | B.scheme | C.monitor | D.response |
A.warning | B.security | C.setting | D.responsibility |
3 . It started with a bit of casual discomfort on the head, but after a week it had spread to the back of my neck, enough to lead me to my laptop. Annoying as it was, I was
As soon as I’d tapped in ‘online self-diagnosis’, the search engine provided me with over 11.5 million results. And during the time normally spent in the clinic’s waiting room reading the Women’s Weekly, I was able to find a site that would provide a free
I answered all the questions until I eventually reached a description exactly matching my
I headed off to the doctor for what I thought would be a blood test but which turned out to be a valuable lesson in not
I learnt my lesson, but for some the worry caused by
Once upon a time, hypochondria required time and effort: you had to go to the library to research your diseases and
A.reluctant | B.surprised | C.able | D.sure |
A.knowledge | B.association | C.evidence | D.medication |
A.sample | B.assessment | C.subscription | D.upgrade |
A.standards | B.arguments | C.definitions | D.symptoms |
A.fortunate | B.touched | C.alarmed | D.different |
A.believing | B.explaining | C.questioning | D.covering |
A.keeping | B.losing | C.drying | D.washing |
A.taking off | B.putting on | C.breaking away | D.looking up |
A.dropped | B.differed | C.increased | D.helped |
A.safety | B.health | C.access | D.money |
A.available | B.accurate | C.misleading | D.complex |
A.occasionally | B.automatically | C.painstakingly | D.literally |
A.bringing to light | B.taking into consideration | C.putting into practice | D.setting on top |
A.rare | B.hard | C.large | D.simple |
A.state | B.change | C.freedom | D.peace |
4 . The Great PowerPoint Panic of 2003.
Sixteen minutes before touchdown on the morning of February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia (“哥伦比亚”号航天飞机)
The immediate
By the start of 2003, the phrase “death by PowerPoint” had well and truly entered the
Wired ran an excerpt (节选) from Tufte’s booklet in September 2003 under the headline “PowerPoint Is Evil.” A few months later, The New York Times Magazine included his assessment — summarized as “PowerPoint Makes You Dumb” — in its
Despite the backlash it inspired in the
On its face at least, the idea that PowerPoint makes us stupid looks like a textbook case of misguided technological doomsaying. Today’s concerns about social media somehow resemble the PowerPoint critique. Both boil down to a worry that new media technologies
A.disappeared | B.disintegrated | C.distributed | D.disappointed |
A.side | B.cause | C.feature | D.issue |
A.collected | B.unified | C.dropped | D.single |
A.discounted | B.viewed | C.accessed | D.founded |
A.muted | B.absorbed | C.buried | D.sunk |
A.technical | B.popular | C.negative | D.special |
A.possibly | B.reasonably | C.ordinarily | D.necessarily |
A.accommodated | B.combined | C.distinguished | D.enhanced |
A.abstract | B.repetition | C.review | D.brief |
A.press | B.publication | C.media | D.criticism |
A.opened | B.created | C.threw | D.jumped |
A.rules | B.harmonizes | C.impacts | D.roars |
A.feature | B.encourage | C.value | D.defend |
A.Therefore | B.However | C.Certainly | D.Surprisingly |
A.difference | B.truth | C.time | D.concern |
5 . At first, the grains of rice that Ingo Potrykus held in his fingers did not seem at all
For more than a decade Potrykus had
At that point, he tackled an even greater challenge. The golden grains
The debate began the moment genetically engineered crops (GM crops) were first sold in the 1990s, and it has
The hostility is
The benefits did seem small
Many people
A.typical | B.special | C.local | D.white |
A.dreamed of | B.come in handy | C.been reminded of | D.broken up |
A.attempt at | B.effort to | C.resistance to | D.majority of |
A.But | B.And | C.While | D.Since |
A.surprise | B.obstacle | C.norm | D.opposition |
A.achieved | B.stressed | C.overlooked | D.contained |
A.was caught in | B.was alive with | C.be conscious of | D.was honored by |
A.announced | B.maintained | C.escalated | D.applied |
A.brilliant | B.understandable | C.discharged | D.rewarding |
A.introduced | B.reminded | C.respected | D.overlooked |
A.toss and turn | B.give and take | C.produce and sell | D.demand and supply |
A.until | B.after | C.although | D.when |
A.feature | B.mark | C.build | D.benefit |
A.worried about | B.ashamed of | C.filled with | D.admired for |
A.terror | B.misery | C.starvation | D.crisis |
6 . Background noise—like the chatter in a coffee shop or the drone of passing traffic—might slow our reading speed, but according to a study of Russian readers, it doesn’t
“Overall, previous studies reported a harmful effect of both auditory and visual noise on reading fluency and
One of the language processing theories examined was the noisy channel model, which proposes that our brain deals with noise by looking at the meaning of
The second theory is the good enough model; that’s when our brains aren’t analyzing every single detail of a text but instead only grabbing enough words for a ‘good enough’ understanding. By focusing less on the precise words, our brains can
To see how reading was affected by noise
“In both experiments, we observed that longer total reading time was
There’s a lot going on in this study, but overall it’s a bigger win for the good-enough language processing theory and an indication that auditory and visual noise doesn’t make us
With so many variables to measure in terms of what’s being read and what the
A.reinforce | B.estimate | C.affect | D.interpret |
A.First of all | B.For example | C.Above all | D.To start with |
A.context | B.efficiency | C.comprehension | D.device |
A.evaluated | B.identified | C.established | D.employed |
A.individual | B.different | C.new | D.unfamiliar |
A.confirm | B.imply | C.refer | D.infer |
A.exploit | B.spare | C.commit | D.consume |
A.on account of | B.regardless of | C.in regard to | D.in contrast to |
A.make up for | B.live up to | C.catch up with | D.put up with |
A.declined | B.shrank | C.expanded | D.increased |
A.embarrassing | B.depressing | C.puzzling | D.annoying |
A.associated | B.compared | C.replaced | D.mixed |
A.take | B.set | C.rely | D.base |
A.accompanying | B.strange | C.deafening | D.distant |
A.Therefore | B.However | C.Instead | D.Otherwise |
7 . When it came to moral reasoning, we like to think our views on right and wrong are rational. But ultimately they are grounded in emotion. Philosophers have argued over this claim for a quarter of a millennium without
Harvard psychologist Joshua Greene does brainscans of people as they study the so-called trolley problem. Suppose a trolley is rolling down the track toward five people who will die unless you pull a lever (杠杆) that pushes it onto another track where,
But suppose the only way to save the five people is to push someone else onto the track — a bystander whose body will bring the trolley to a stop before it hits the others. It’s still a one-for-five
Princeton philosopher Peter Singer argues that we should
A.comprehension | B.hesitation | C.resolution | D.permission |
A.reliable | B.invisible | C.impressive | D.decisive |
A.unfortunately | B.obviously | C.surprisingly | D.inevitably |
A.regretting | B.minimizing | C.justifying | D.estimating |
A.struggle | B.deal | C.loss | D.mistake |
A.Likewise | B.However | C.Therefore | D.Moreover |
A.memory | B.reason | C.emotion | D.sensory |
A.enduring | B.obvious | C.acceptable | D.intense |
A.compete for | B.come from | C.take over | D.engage in |
A.self-reflecting | B.decision-making | C.problem-solving | D.attention-calling |
A.innocents | B.hostages | C.relatives | D.soldiers |
A.trust | B.apply | C.examine | D.ignore |
A.superior | B.stubborn | C.caring | D.selfish |
A.willingly | B.collectively | C.deliberately | D.cheaply |
A.master | B.advocate | C.slave | D.protester |
8 . Scientific discovery is popularly believed to result from the sheer genius of such intellectual stars as naturalist Charles Darwin and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. Our view of such unique contributions to science often
Consider one
What are we to make of this story? We propose that science is constantly
Plenty of other stories show that fresh advances can arise from error, misadventure, and also pure serendipity — a happy
A.overlooks | B.enriches | C.questions | D.reflects |
A.Aiming at | B.Longing for | C.Holding back | D.Setting aside |
A.native | B.creative | C.subjective | D.sensitive |
A.stressed | B.unrecognized | C.celebrated | D.respected |
A.suspicious | B.concerned | C.wrong | D.guilty |
A.tested | B.rejected | C.accepted | D.proposed |
A.got rid of | B.made room for | C.jumped off from | D.put up with |
A.struggling | B.reversing | C.evolving | D.shrinking |
A.result from | B.contribute to | C.depart from | D.relate to |
A.priorities | B.trials | C.advances | D.obstacles |
A.If | B.Until | C.While | D.Unless |
A.Responsibility | B.Prejudice | C.Dislike | D.Support |
A.doubted | B.neglected | C.foreseen | D.exceeded |
A.motivation | B.modification | C.dedication | D.publication |
A.occasion | B.life | C.accident | D.ending |
9 . Now that we have briefly explored the history of the short story and heard from a few of its creators, let us consider the role of the reader. Readers are not empty vessels that wait,
My students always
A short story,
Now it is your turn. Form a partnership with your author. During your
During this adventure, I hope you will feel the same as the listeners that surround the neck of my Pueblo storyteller.
1.A.hands | B.sails | C.flags | D.lids |
A.considerations | B.explorations | C.associations | D.interpretations |
A.imagination | B.eagerness | C.determination | D.affection |
A.begged | B.supported | C.encouraged | D.challenged |
A.dealt | B.struggled | C.fought | D.engaged |
A.external | B.artificial | C.classical | D.traditional |
A.ensured | B.analyzed | C.revealed | D.delivered |
A.however | B.furthermore | C.therefore | D.besides |
A.interpret | B.anticipate | C.predict | D.tell |
A.conclusion | B.evaluation | C.summary | D.appreciation |
A.craftsmanship | B.intentions | C.depth | D.character |
A.by itself | B.in vain | C.in question | D.as a whole |
A.observation | B.involvement | C.experiment | D.adventure |
A.journey | B.process | C.dialogue | D.contact |
A.recall | B.confirm | C.identify | D.cancel |
10 . If at first you don’t succeed, as the old saying goes, try, try again. Good advice, up to a point. But let me offer a
Consider the advice for job interviews in Talent, a new book by economist Tyler Cowen and venture capitalist Daniel Gross. They suggest asking a(n)
Indeed, one way to describe this tactic is that the interviewer is asking for answers in
While that approach is
A striking example of parallel design is the creation of the Windows 95 startup sound. Microsoft was looking for an opportunity to
Eno recalls receiving a brief, asking for music that was “inspirational, sexy, driving, provocative, nostalgic... there were about 150
Eno describes himself as being “completely bereft of ideas” at the time. He found the brief both hilarious and inspiring. In the end he
Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, in their delightful book Designing Your Life, suggest an exercise in which you sketch out a vision for the next five years of your life. What will you be doing? Where will you live and with whom? Are you hoping to run a marathon? Start a business? Write a novel?
This is often a straightforward act of
I’ve tried this myself and seen others try it. People squirm. They protest. Sometimes they cry. And then, sooner or later, the ideas start pouring out.
We all contain
A.suggestion | B.promotion | C.recommendation | D.modification |
A.routine | B.academic | C.personal | D.controversial |
A.presented | B.exhausted | C.challenged | D.accepted |
A.style | B.parallel | C.detail | D.privacy |
A.fundamental | B.flexible | C.unconventional | D.practical |
A.distinct | B.determined | C.deliberate | D.vain |
A.dismiss | B.restrict | C.explore | D.overlook |
A.inevitably | B.accidentally | C.theoretically | D.eventually |
A.scale up | B.figure out | C.experiment on | D.show off |
A.adjectives | B.statements | C.variables | D.copyrights |
A.purchased | B.composed | C.performed | D.appreciated |
A.exhibited | B.created | C.broke | D.underestimated |
A.aggressiveness | B.imagination | C.wisdom | D.will |
A.dart | B.score | C.drawing | D.notice |
A.emotions | B.ambitions | C.desires | D.multitudes |