2 . Searching the OED

How to use the quick search

The quick search bar can be found on the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) homepage and at the top of every entry page, and finds main dictionary entries, such as alphabet, break, xylophone. It also finds phrases and compounds listed within main entries, such as to look up or alphabet book, and different forms of spellings such as dictionaries.

Wildcard searches

A wildcard is a symbol which stands for any character. The question mark? represents the occurrence of any one single character, and the asterisk* represents the occurrence of any number of characters (or no character at all). Wildeards are useful if you do not know how to spell a word, or if you want to find several terms beginning with the same root.

How to use the advanced search

An advanced search is a full search of the entire dictionary text which is for readers who have logged in or subscribed to the dictionary. Advanced search can be especially useful for very specific searches. You can use the search area functionality to search by each section of an entry. You can also use filters to narrow your search to match certain criteria.

Browsing by categories

Categories allow you to explore the dictionary through groupings of words in, for instance. a subject or from a particular origin. If you want to find all the Caribbean borrowings in English, or find the first word related to friend to enter the dictionary, this is the function for you.

Further explore your search by using the options that appear on the right-hand side of the results page.

1. What will you use if you want to look up some terms beginning with the same root?

A．The quick search.	B．The advanced search.
C．Wildcard searches.	D．Browsing by categories.

2. What’s the requirement of using the advanced search?

A．Matching certain criteria.	B．Registering for the dictionary.
C．Searching with specific words.	D．Searching with purpose.

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To promote a search engine.	B．To recommend a shopping website.
C．To tell learners how to surf the Internet.	D．To explain how to use an online dictionary.

6 . If you search the internet these days, you’ll likely run across some strange-looking, yet cheerful cartoon characters. These computer-generated people have small heads and exaggerated bodies.     1     The happy figures are often moving or doing something creative.

In 2017 Facebook paid a design team to develop a positive illustration system.     2     She worked to show human connection, motion, energy and joy in her drawings. She wanted to portray that sense of joy people feel when they’re sharing things together. The name which was given to the new art form when it was completed was very appropriate. They named it Alegria, which means joy in Spanish.

Why did Alegria art become popular so quickly? There are many reasons. As websites depended on illustrations to fill space, Alegria-type art became increasingly useful.     3     By comparison, more detailed art designs require extra time, skill and money to produce. Businesses also love the fact that Alegria’s characters celebrate diversity by featuring international cultural events. The illustrations convey good feelings. Those feelings help people believe they can trust the companies that feature them on their pages.

    4     These people think companies like Facebook have simply prepared over their problems with positive images. They’ve failed to address their real problems or make lasting changes.

For many, however, Alegria is a nice visual language that represents happiness. From children hugging to couples dancing, the images are all about positive energy.     5    

A．The style is flat, simple and easy to create.

B．For some consumers, though, that’s a problem.

C．One of the designers took that message to heart.

D．For the netizens, Alegria helps build trust on the big companies.

E．No wonder Alegria is now the most popular style of illustrations for books.

F．All in all, it seems that Alegria is the perfect name for this playful, fun art style.

G．They’re created in bold colors with arms and legs that resemble giant wet noodles.

7 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise in earthquake prediction, challenging the long-held belief that it is impossible. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, have developed an AI algorithm (算法) that correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance during a trial in China and provided accurate calculations for the predicted earthquakes.

The research team believes their method succeeded because they stuck with a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical (统计的) features based on the team’s knowledge of earthquake physics, and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the AI provided its prediction of earthquake by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings (隆隆声) in the Earth.

This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. “You don’t see earthquakes coming,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). “It’s a matter of milliseconds ( 毫秒), and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70% accuracy, that’s a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and has the potential to remarkably improve earthquake preparation worldwide.”

While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other places, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. So, their next step is to test artificial intelligence in different places in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNet has 300 earthquake stations there and over six years’ worth of continuous records, making it ideal for these purposes.

Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. “That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, taken together, are what moves science forward,” concludes Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.

1. How does the AI predict earthquakes?

A．By analyzing background sounds in the Earth.

B．By identifying data from remote sensing satellite.

C．By modeling data based on earthquake recordings.

D．By monitoring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.

2. What does Alexandros Savvaidis intend to show in paragraph 3?

A．The ways to reduce losses in earthquakes.

B．The accuracy of AI in earthquake prediction.

C．The limitation of AI algorithms in earthquake prediction.

D．The significance of developing AI-driven earthquake prediction.

3. What does the follow-up research focus on?

A．Conducting tests in different locations.

B．Building more earthquake stations in Texas.

C．Improving the quality of earthquake tracking networks.

D．Applying AI approach to other fields besides earthquake.

4. Which words can best describe the earthquake-predicting technology?

A．Precise but outdated.	B．Effective but costly.
C．Advanced and promising.	D．Potential and economical.

9 . Our brain is a remarkably powerful tool. It is able to provide yon with much more thinking abilities if you learn how to develop it in the most efficient way.     1    

● Try to give your habits a fresh start from time to time.

For instance, stand on another foot when getting out of bed. You can also switch to holding a tooth brush with a hand you’ve never used for this purpose before.     2     All of those simple (yet amusing) tasks will help you to increase your brain’s activity.

● Learn how to get proper rest in order to work efficiently.

Deep healthy sleep increases brain power and contributes to attention focusing. A lack of sleep or its derangement (紊乱) may affect mental activities and remarkably decrease its functional level.     3    

● Do outdoor exercise.

It is scientifically proven that a reasonable outdoor exercise forces your brain to produce new cells. There’s no need to become an athlete, but a bit of jogging around the building will definitely do you no harm.

●     4    

Walnuts (核桃) are the best snack for a brain—they even share a similar shape. Five walnuts a day provide enough lecithin (卵磷脂) for improving brain activity and memory. Don’t drink too much alcohol, for it isn’t good brain food.     5     It is a part of a brain responsible for memory and spatial orientation. And well, a drunk man simply looks pitiful and foolish.

A．Eat food with limitation.

B．Choose the best brain food.

C．Alcohol does harm to health.

D．Alcohol destroys hippocampus.

E．Here are some simple ways to increase brain activity.

F．Scientists recommend a period of 6 to 8 hours of daily sleep.

G．Give it a go and experiment with the way you’re not used to walking.

10 . The number of fish caught just outside an expanded Marine (海洋) Protected Area (MPA) in Hawaii has risen. It is a sign that quadrupling (使成四倍) the size of the reserve (保护区) in 2014 may have increased fish populations in the region.

When the Marine Protected Area around Hawaii was enlarged to 1,600,000 square kilometers, marine protectionists around the world were delighted. As opposed to those who advocate marine conservation, fishers may have felt differently at first, as fishing inside the area is not allowed. Yet by creating a space for the ever reducing tuna (金枪鱼) populations to recover, supporters argued, the reserve would benefit fisheries (捕鱼业) as well. As populations inside the reserve boundaries steadily increased, they predicted, the fish would spill (溢出) over into the surrounding areas, increasing the amount of tuna available to catch.

Proving that is tricky, however, as tunas can’t be counted directly. Their numbers may rise or fall for a variety of reasons other than the expansion of a reserve. But the new study, published in Science this week, strongly suggests the number of fish caught just outside the MPA is higher now than it used to be.

Alan Fried, chief scientist for the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas project, calls the study a “very careful and strict test of spillover from Marine Protected Area.”

Importantly, says John Lynn, an environmental economist at the University of Hawaii and one of the study’s authors, tuna catches near the reserve increased when looking at the average numbers caught by particular fishers. This shows the effect is not due to more effective crew now fishing local waters, he explains.

Lynn and colleagues found the catch per hook increased over the 10 years of the study. Fishers were catching on average six more yellow-fin tunas and five more big-eye tunas per year after the expansion than before.

1. What can we infer about the Marine Protected Area?

A．It would not benefit fisheries in the long run.

B．It was lacking in space for tunas to hunt for food.

C．It used to be about 400,000 square kilometers before 2014.

D．It is accessible to local fishers for fishing after its expansion.

2. What might be the fishers’ attitude to the expansion of the reserve at first?

A．Unhappy.

B．Cautious.

C．Joyful.

D．Excited.

3. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Tunas will benefit the local fisheries.

B．Tunas available to catch outside MPA will increase.

C．The number of local tunas can’t be counted directly.

D．The expansion of Marine Protected Area is necessary.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Tuna Habitats Facing a Big Threat

B．Fishers Protesting for Proper Rights

C．Marine Areas Demanding Protection

D．Expanded Reserve Benefiting Fisheries