1 . 请根据你对以下漫画的理解，以“The Effects of AI on Our Lives”为题，用英语写一篇150词左右的短文。

参考词汇：
AI（artificial intelligence 人工智能）efficiency （效率）
【写作内容】
1.       用约30个单词描述上述漫画的内容；
2.       结合实际谈谈人工智能对我们生活可能造成的影响（至少两点）；
3.       面对人工智能的发展，我们应该如何合理使用？（至少两点）
【写作要求】
1. 可参照图片适当发挥；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；

The Effects of AI on Our Lives

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2 . Summary Writing

Are Emails and Text Messages Destroying the language?

Technology has undoubtedly brought about a revolution in communication. Most people would agree that this has been a positive development. Recently, however, there has been concern over the negative effect that modern methods of communications are having on the English language.

On one hand, the increasing use of e-mails and text message is changing the way we use grammar. By this in mean that certain words are dropped in order to keep message short. In my view, this cannot be avoided. In a text message, for instance, there is neither the time nor the space to write complete sentences. The same applies to e-mails, which are supposed to be a shorter, more direst form of communications. In both cases, the need to be brief often means that the grammar is changed in some way.

On the other hand, it is fashionable nowadays to shorten the spelling of words, particularly in text message. One example of this is when people write ‘CU later’ instead of ‘see you later’. To purists or to it simply shows that the language is changing in much the same way as it has done for centuries.

In my opinion, writing English correctly is not so important as getting the message across. If, for example, you send someone an e-mail or a text message telling them to meet you in a specified place at a certain time, making yourself understood is much more important than your grammar and spelling. As far as I am concerned, we should allow a certain amount of flexibility. Not everyone has a perfect command of the language but that should not stop them from being able to communicate.

To sum up, the effect that e-mails and text messages are having on written English is a significant one. This may , in the future, result in major changes to the language. However, we should not let rules get in the way of communication. After all, isn’t that the reason language was developed in the first place--- so that we could communicate?

3 . It was raining. I went into a café and asked for a coffee. _______ I was waiting for my drink, I realized there were other people in the place, but I sensed _______. I saw their bodies, but I couldn't feel their souls _______ their souls belonged to the _______.

I stood up and walked between the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man _______ in front of it. "I'm Steve," he finally answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. “I can't talk with you. I'm _______”, he said. He was chatting online and, _______, he was playing a computer game ---- a war game. I was _______ . Why didn't Steve want to talk with me? I tried _______ to speak to that computer geek (怪人), ________ not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but no reaction (反应). I was ________. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, "________!"

I took a few steps back, wondering if all those people in the café were looking at me. I ________, and saw nobody showed any interest.

________, I realized that the people there were having a nice conversation with their machines, not with people. They were more ________ having a relationship with the ________, particularly Steve. I wouldn't want to ________ the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines ________ with people.

I was worried and lost in my thought. I didn't even ________ that the coffee was bad, ________ Steve didn't notice there was a person next to him.

1.

A．Before

B．Since

C．Although

D．While

2.

A．pain

B．loneliness

C．sadness

D．fear

3.

A．because

B．when

C．until

D．unless

4.

A．home

B．world

C．net

D．café

5.

A．sleeping

B．laughing

C．sitting

D．learning

6.

A．busy

B．thirsty

C．fired

D．sick

7.

A．first of all

B．just then

C．at the same time

D．by that time

8.

A．surprised

B．delighted

C．moved

D．frightened

9.

A．once

B．again

C．first

D．even

10.

A．but

B．so

C．if

D．or

11.

A．excited

B．respected

C．afraid

D．unhappy

12.

A．Shut up

B．Enjoy yourself

C．Leave me alone

D．Help me out

13.

A．walked about

B．walked out

C．raised my hand

D．raised my head

14.

A．From then on

B．At that moment

C．In all

D．Above all

15.

A．interested in

B．tired of

C．careful about

D．troubled by

16.

A．computer

B．soul

C．shop

D．geek

17.

A．tell

B．plan

C．imagine

D．design

18.

A．other than

B．instead of

C．except for

D．as well as

19.

A．pretend

B．understand

C．insist

D．realize

20.

A．as if

B．just as

C．just after

D．even though

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why do American students have part-time jobs?

A．To pay for high tuition.

B．To get working experience.

C．To save money for shopping.

2. Where will most students do part-time jobs?

A．In hotels.

B．In coffee shops.

C．On campus.

3. How much can a student earn by working 12 hours?

A．96 dollars.

B．80 dollars.

C．120 dollars.

5 . President Obama’s second Inaugural Address used soaring language to stress America’s commitment to the dream of equality of opportunity: ‘We are true to our belief that a little girl born into _______ knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American’.

The gap between ideal and reality could hardly be _______ . Today, the United States has less equality of opportunity than almost any other advanced industrial country. Study after study has _______ the myth that America is a land of opportunity. A way of looking at equality of opportunity is to as to what extent the life chances of a child are _______ the education and income of his parents. Is it just as likely that a child of poor or poorly educated parents gets a good education and rises to the middle class as someone born to middle-class parents with college degrees? Even in a more democratic society. the answer would be no.

How do we explain this? Some of it has to do with discrimination （歧视）. Latinos and African-Americans still get paid less than whites, and women still get paid less than men, _______ they recently surpassed （超越）men in the number of advanced degrees they obtain. Discrimination, however, is only a small part of the _______. Probably the most important reason for _______ of equality of opportunity is education. After World WarⅡ, we made a major effort to _______ higher education to Americans across the country. But then we changed, in several ways. While racial segregation（种族隔离）decreased, economic segregation increased. After 1980, the poor grew poorer, the middle stagnated（停滞不前）, and the top did better and better. A result was a widening gap in educational performance – the _______ gap between rich and poor kids born in 2001 was 30 to 40 percent larger than it was for those born 25 years earlier, a Stanford sociologist found. Of course, there are other forces ______ . Children in rich families get more exposure to reading. Their families can afford enriching experiences like music lessons and summer camp. They get better nutrition and health care, which enhance their learning, directly and indirectly.

Now Americans are coming to realize that without extensive policy changes, their long cherished belief is only a myth. It is unreasonable that a rich country like the United States has made _______ to higher education so difficult for those at the bottom and middle. There are many _______ ways of providing chances for more to receive higher education, from Australia’s income-contingent loan program to the near-free system of universities in Europe. A more educated population produces greater innovation, and a booming economy. Those benefits are why we’ve long been ______ to free public education through 12^th grade. But while a 12^th-grade education might have been enough a century ago, it isn’t today. Yet we haven’t _______ our system to contemporary realities.

The steps I’ve outlined are not just affordable but necessary. Even more important, though, is that we cannot afford to let our country drift farther from _______ that the vast majority of Americans share. We will never fully succeed in achieving Mr. Obama’s vision of a poor girl’s having exactly the same opportunities as a wealthy girl. But we could do much, much better, and must not rest until we do.

1.

A．prejudice

B．inferior

C．poverty

D．minority

2.

A．narrower

B．wider

C．severer

D．closer

3.

A．conducted

B．concluded

C．excluded

D．exposed

4.

A．distinct from

B．feasible by

C．superior to

D．dependent on

5.

A．even though

B．as though

C．only if

D．as if

6.

A．photograph

B．picture

C．atmosphere

D．condition

7.

A．lack

B．leak

C．explosion

D．extinction

8.

A．exhibit

B．explore

C．extend

D．exploit

9.

A．contribution

B．satisfaction

C．achievement

D．ambition

10.

A．at play

B．under control

C．in use

D．on show

11.

A．devotion

B．familiarity

C．application

D．access

12.

A．imaginative

B．alternative

C．sensitive

D．productive

13.

A．admitted

B．permitted

C．devoted

D．limited

14.

A．abandoned

B．adjusted

C．altered

D．applied

15.

A．memories

B．glory

C．reality

D．ideals

6 . Nowadays, I acknowledge that a revolution has occurred. That much has been ___ by having hand-held iPads or smart phones that allow us not only to communicate while on the _____ but also to reserve parking spaces, get weather reports, and _____ tell us where, at any given moment, we are standing on the planet Earth.

But I must acknowledge a _____. Conversation used to be surprisingly _____ to start. When I took a seat next to someone on a train, bus, or plane, the first thing I would do was _____ the person. Once the ice had been broken, the following chat _____ erupt naturally.

Time has changed, and the change has been _____. Recently, while I was _____ a long distance bus, I couldn't help but notice everyone was staring at their ______, clicking. I found an empty seat next to a middle-aged man and said "Morning" to him. He threw me a ______ and said "Morning". Then he returned to his ______. So I left him in his world.

I miss the ______ conversations with fellow travelers. One never knows what will be ______, and in fact, sometimes how ______ it will be. I was once on a ______ traveling from Iceland to Denmark. I noticed an old man looking out over the North Sea. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said. He turned to me,______, and we were soon chatting away. _____ I told him that I didn't know how I was going to get from the port in Denmark to my destination city. He ______,"Of course you know. I have a car and I'm going to ______ you there. "

1.

A．abandoned

B．delivered

C．gained

D．released

2.

A．spot

B．scene

C．run

D．road

3.

A．basically

B．precisely

C．briefly

D．randomly

4.

A．discovery

B．pleasure

C．failure

D．loss

5.

A．difficult

B．easy

C．comfortable

D．important

6.

A．praise

B．greet

C．watch

D．respect

7.

A．aimed to

B．happened to

C．tended to

D．required to

8.

A．striking

B．challenging

C．touching

D．puzzling

9.

A．leaving

B．visiting

C．expecting

D．boarding

10.

A．seats

B．baggage

C．hands

D．windows

11.

A．cigarette

B．smile

C．glance

D．gesture

12.

A．book

B．newspaper

C．music

D．cellphone

13.

A．polite

B．casual

C．frequent

D．cautious

14.

A．exposed

B．chosen

C．doubted

D．preserved

15.

A．helpful

B．typical

C．suitable

D．convenient

16.

A．ship

B．train

C．plane

D．bus

17.

A．replied

B．rejected

C．hesitated

D．nodded

18.

A．Eventually

B．Immediately

C．Purposely

D．Secretly

19.

A．responded

B．recognized

C．explained

D．suggested

20.

A．meet

B．visit

C．drive

D．drop

7 . For the second time in two years, an American has won one of the most respected global awards in literature. At a ceremony in London on Tuesday night, George Saunders accepted the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Lincoln in the Bardo, his first novel.

The book is an impressive and experimental ghost story set in 1862. It explores the death of Willie Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln’s 11-year-old son, who died of fever during the second year of the Civil War. Saunders, a Tibetan Buddhist, imagines Willie’s experiences in the “bardo,” a Buddhist state between the worlds of the living and the dead where Willie communicates with other dead souls, and where he watches his father visit his entombed body.

Writing in The Guardian earlier this year, Saunders described the process of creating the novel: “There is something wonderful in watching a figure appear from the stone, feeling the presence of something within you ... and also beyond you — something consistent, willful, kind and generous, that seems to have a plan, which seems to be: to lead you to your own higher ground.”

Saunders was the bookmakers’ favorite to win the award, but the victory by an American writer immediately after Paul Beatty claimed the prize for his novel The Sellout is controversial. Before 2014, the Man Booker was qualified only to writers from the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. The decision to allow American writers to enter has disappointed authors including A.S. Byatt and Julian Barnes, who argue that the award’s main purpose was giving exposure to writers who were little-known in the broader American literary market. “The Americans have got enough prizes of their own,” Barnes told the Radio Times last year. Ron Charles, the book critic for The Washington Post, has also argued against the inclusion of Americans. “For any serious reader of fiction in this country,” Charles wrote in September, “the Americanization of the Booker Prize is a lost opportunity to learn about great books that haven’t already been publicly announced.”

Baroness Young, The Telegraph reported, stated that the judging panel was concerned only with the worth of the books on the shortlist (入围名单), which also included Mohsin Hamid’s refugee parable Exit West, Paul Auster’s complex epic 4321, Emily Fridlund’s coming-of-age tale The History of Wolves, and Fiona Mozley’s rural fable Elmet. “We’re only concerned with the book and what that book is telling us,” Young said. “Nationality is just not an issue.”

For Saunders, the prize is an extraordinary recognition of his first attempt into full-length novels. The 58-year-old writer was previously best-known for his short stories, which have won him four National Magazine Awards for fiction and a MacArthur Fellowship. He came to writing relatively late in life after studying geophysical engineering and working as a technical writer until 1996. The idea for Lincoln in the Bardo came to him, he wrote in The Guardian, during a visit to Washington, D.C., when his wife told him the story of a grief-stricken President Lincoln visiting Willie’s tomb to hold his son’s body. Saunders has often noted that the experience of writing for him feels like a way to transform pain and division into something positive. The author Zadie Smith, speaking with Saunders for Interview, noted that “what sets him apart is his willingness not only to go into the heart of darkness but to suggest possible routes out.”

1. Ron Charles’ words intended to tell us that ________.

A．Saunders’ novel Lincoln in the Bardo was not serious

B．the Man Booker shouldn’t include works written by American

C．the Man Booker lost the opportunity to learn about great works from America

D．the judging panel was concerned only with the worth of books

2. Which of the following writers is probably from the UK?

A．Mohsin Hamid.	B．Paul Beatty.
C．Julian Barnes.	D．Emily Fridlund.

3. Baroness Young gave some examples of the shortlist to show _______.

A．the prize was awarded based more on content than on nationality

B．people should pay more attention to the nationality of the writers

C．the Telegraph supports Baroness Young’s opinion on the books on the shortlist

D．4321, The History of Wolves and Elmet were of the same significance as Exit West

4. What gave Saunders the inspiration (灵感) to write the novel Lincoln in the Bardo?

A．The experience of travelling in Washington D.C.

B．To lead himself to his own higher ground.

C．To go into the hearts of darkness and to suggest possible routes out.

D．His wife’s description of Lincoln holding his son’s body.

8 . Directions: Write an English composition in 100-120 words according to the instruction given below.
如今越来越多的人从电子媒体获取信息，那么传统的大众媒体如报纸、杂志会被取代吗？请简述你的观点，并说明理由。
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

In 1986, the drug company Johnson & Johnson was faced with a crisis. Several people had died after taking Tylenol（泰诺）, a Johnson & Johnson product. The deaths were not the ________ of the company, but the work of a criminal who had put poison in some of the Tylenol capsules（胶囊）. The criminal was later caught and punished, but ________ the deaths, people stopped buying Tylenol. The management of Johnson & Johnson realized that they had to act _______and quickly to prevent serious consequences for the company. Within days, in fact, they ________ every Tylenol capsule in the United States to check for ________. Soon afterword they also introduced “tamperproof” bottles to prevent future problems. Sales of Tylenol ________ again, and in the end, people felt that Johnson & Johnson had acted well.

Not all companies respond to crisis as well as Johnson & Johnson. Some failed to realized the importance of acting responsibly and suffered a dramatic ________ in sales. Consumers no longer trusted the companies.

The key to managing a crisis lies in the company’s ________ reaction. If they recognize a problem immediately and take measures to deal with it, they are less likely to suffer long-term consequences. One example of a quick reaction was that of the Pepsi Company in 1992, when hypodermic syringes （皮下注射器）were found in several soda cans. In a short time, the company was able to prove that the syringes had nothing to do with the production process, and they also found the criminals who had put the syringes in the cans. ________, they lost few customers. On the other hand, Wendy’s fast-food company ________ millions of dollars in 2004 because it tried to deny bad news and did not act quickly enough.

1.

A．feature

B．decision

C．fault

D．solution

2.

A．in favor of

B．in response to

C．in return for

D．in honor of

3.

A．decisively

B．happily

C．fortunately

D．readily

4.

A．avoided

B．involved

C．recalled

D．practiced

5.

A．changing

B．poisoning

C．abandoning

D．cheating

6.

A．picked up

B．settled down

C．came out

D．hung out

7.

A．effect

B．mistake

C．objection

D．drop

8.

A．temporary

B．reverse

C．initial

D．conditional

9.

A．In addition

B．As a result

C．For example

D．By contrast

10.

A．lost

B．gathered

C．maintained

D．invested

10 . Millions of Americans sit behind a computer screen, chained to their desk all day because the vast majority of stable, high-paying professions(职业) are “office jobs”. However, having a successful career does not require you to sit behind a desk and plug away at a computer all day.

In fact, there are a large number of non-desk jobs in a variety of industries that are growing and offering workers a direct path to the middle class, according to a new analysis of labor market information from CareerBuilder. While most of the highest-paying non-desk jobs are medical professions that require a doctoral or professional degree, there are 170 non-desk professions that pay $15 per hour or more, do not require a bachelor’s degree(学士学位) for a typical entry-level position, and have seen at least 6 percent job growth over the last four years.

“The US workforce has gradually changed to office-based work because of the rise of the professional service economy and productivity gains associated with information technology,” Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources Officer at CareerBuilder, said in a statement. “But some of the healthiest areas of job growth year after year are in middle-skill professions that don’t require workers to sit in front of computer monitors and phones for 40 hours a week.”

Here are the top-paying jobs that don’t require you to work at a desk in various kinds — none of which require a four-year college degree — and their hourly salary(工资) and growth rate since 2010: professional assistants(助理) : $26.57, 14 percent; elevator repairers: $37.81, 6 percent; mechanical engineering technicians: $25.19, 10 percent; and electromechanical(电动机械的) technicians: $24.68, 8 percent.

While they tend to pay less than traditional office jobs, non-desk professions provide a variety of benefits. Haefner points to a 2014 CareerBuilder survey that discovered workers who don’t work at a desk all day are less likely to complain about their work environment and less likely to report being overweight.

1. What does the underlined phrase “plug away” in the first paragraph probably mean?

A．Turn off a switch.	B．Look for a job.
C．Keep on working	D．Give up working

2. What conclusion can we draw from the second paragraph?

A．A non-desk job may provide you with a middle-class life.

B．The last four years has seen an increase in desk jobs.

C．The college degree is the ticket to a position.

D．A non-desk job cannot offer you a secure life.

3. What is the key reason for the US workforce to change to office-based work?

A．High salary.	B．Medicine.
C．Information technology.	D．Service industries.

4. Which job has grown the fastest since 2010?

A．Elevator repairers.	B．Professional assistants.
C．Electromechanical technicians.	D．Mechanical engineering technicians.