1 . The United Kingdom is hosting the AI Safety Summit, bringing politicians, computer scientists and big AI company leaders to a site chosen for its symbolism: Bletchley Park, the birthplace of computing and code-breaking (密码破译).
During World War II, a group of mathematicians, chess masters and other experts gathered at the Victorian country house 72 kilometers northwest of London to start a secret war against Nazi Germany. Their goal was to break a set of constantly changing codes produced by Nazi Germany’s Enigma machine. To do it, Bletchley Park’s wartime scientists — building on work done by Polish code-breakers — developed Colossus, the first programmable digital computer. Some historians say cracking the code helped shorten the war by up to two years.
“It has oversimplified its true contribution by describing Bletchley Park as a playground for Turing and other scientists.” said historian Chris Smith, author of The Hidden History of Bletchley Park. “Although it fits into the romantic idea that a group of smart men with a bit of wool and some yards of wire can win the war. In fact, almost 10,000 people worked at Bletchley Park during the war. Three quarters of them were women. It’s basically a factory... Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When peace came, the code-breakers returned to civilian life and promised to keep secret about their wartime work. It was not until the 1970s that the work at Bletchley Park became widely known in Britain.”
In 1994, the site opened as a museum, after local historians banded together to prevent it from being pulled down to build a supermarket. It was restored to its 1940s appearance, complete with old typewriters, phones and cups—including the one tied to a heater in Hut 8, where Turing led the Enigma team.
1. What can we learn about Colossus?| A．It was invented by Nazi Germany. |
| B．It was designed to send secret messages. |
| C．Polish code-breakers also made a contribution to it. |
| D．The project’s goal was to produce the first computer. |
| A．Women’s hard work was overlooked. | B．The secret should not be kept for so long. |
| C．The computer ought to be more powerful. | D．It is silly to say the machine shortened the war. |
| A．To highlight the government’s support. | B．To show the perfect restoration of the site. |
| C．To stress Turing’s important role in the project. | D．To tell the difficulty in collecting the lost items. |
| A．To advocate women’s equal rights with men. |
| B．To advertise a newly restored computer museum. |
| C．To show the significance of an important meeting. |
| D．To add some background to the AI safety meeting. |
2 . The Silk Road is in fact a
In the nineteenth century, a new type of travelers stepped onto the Silk Road: archaeologists and geographers, enthusiastic explorers who were eager
Today, many historic
3 . A century ago in the United States, when an individual brought suit against a company, public opinion tended to protect that company. But perhaps this phenomenon was most striking in the case of the railroads. Nearly half of all negligence cases decided through 1896 involved railroads. And the railroads usually won.
Most of the cases were decided in sate courts, when the railroads had the climate of the times on their sides. Government supported the railroad industry; the progress railroads represented was not to be slowed down by requiring them often to pay damages to those unlucky enough to be hurt working for them.
Court decisions always went against railroad workers. A Mr. Farwell, an engineer, lost his right hand when a switchman’s negligence ran his engine off the track. The court reasoned that since Farwell had taken the job of an engineer voluntarily at good pay, he had accepted the risk. Therefore the accident, though avoidable had the switchmen acted carefully, was a “pure accident”. In effect a railroad could never be held responsible for injury to one employee caused by the mistake of another.
In one case where a Pennsylvania Railroad worker had started a fire at a warehouse and the fire had spread several blocks, causing widespread damage, a jury found the company responsible for all the damage. But the court overturned the jury’s decision because it argued that the railroad’s negligence was the immediate cause of damage only to the nearest buildings. Beyond them the connection was too remote to consider.
As the century wore on, public sentiment began to turn against the railroads—against their economic and political power and high fares as well as against their callousness toward individuals.
1. Which of the following is NOT true in Farwell’s case?| A．Farwell was injured because he negligently ran his engine off the track. |
| B．Farwell would not have been injured if the switchman had been more careful. |
| C．The court argued that the victim had accepted the risk since he had willingly taken his job. |
| D．The court decided that the railroad should not be held responsible. |
| A．The railroad compensated for the damage to the immediate buildings. |
| B．The railroad compensated for all the damage by the fire. |
| C．The railroad paid nothing for the damaged building. |
| D．The railroad worker paid for the property damage himself. |
| A．political power | B．high fares | C．economic loss | D．indifference |
| A．Railroad oppressing individuals in the US. |
| B．History of the US railroads. |
| C．Railroad workers’ working rights. |
| D．Law cases concerning the railroads. |
