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Elon Musk, perhaps the world’s most famous businessman, has a habit of making statements that stretch the bounds of believability.
On July 16th, 2019, he introduced a new type of brain-machine interface (BMI), starting from the design of a “neural lace (神经织网)”, a net of thin electrodes (电极) that capture the information from the brain. However, the electrodes must be flexible, so that they do not damage brain tissue and will last for a long time. And to make the implantation (植入) of so many electrodes safe, painless and effective, the process has to be automated.
Mr. Musk’s team does indeed seem to have made progress towards these goals. Its presentation included videos of a robot that is best described as a sewing machine. This robot grabs “threads”, and shoots them deep into the brain through a hole. The firm has also designed a chip that can handle signals from as many as 3,072 electrodes.
With all these technological breakthroughs, the firm now hopes to help people overcome such illnesses as blindness and paralysis. They designed a small device that would sit behind someone’s ear, picking up signals from the implanted chip and passing them on as appropriate. In a few years, using a brain implant to control your devices may be as prevalent as wearing wireless earphones today. Finally, Musk predicts neural lace will allow humans to be combined with AI systems, thus enabling the species to survive.
Though, as this announcement shows, Mr. Musk does have a habit of presenting himself as the hero of the human race, the idea that some machines at least will come under the direct control of human brains seems possible to be carried out. The biggest barrier to this happening will probably not be writing the software needed to interpret brainwaves, but rather persuading people that the necessary surgery, whether by sewing machine or otherwise, is actually a good idea.
1.We can learn from the first two paragraphs that _____.
A.electrodes should be flexible to extend life
B.Elon Musk constantly comes up with unexpected ideas
C.a neural lace is used to store information from the brain
D.electrodes are implanted by top surgeons for safety reasons
2.What does the underlined word “prevalent” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Useful. B.Common. C.Professional. D.Appropriate.
3.What is the hardest part of carrying out BMI?
A.Convincing people to accept the surgery.
B.Developing devices to perform the surgery.
C.Writing the software to interpret brainwaves.
D.Informing people of the success of the surgery.
4.What is the best title of this passage?
A.The Neural Lace, A New Type of BMI.
B.Elon Musk, the Hero of Human Beings.
C.Artificial Intelligence, the Way to Survive.
D.A Brain Implant, A Step to Control Machines.
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Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous portrait in the world, but now some suspect that the woman with the mysterious smile may not be a woman after all. They are suggesting that the Mona Lisa may be a self-portrait, da Vinci in drag (女装).
Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage (INCCH) is carrying out the research. They think the artist, who died in 1519, was buried at a French castle and they plan to dig up his body. Using CSI-style technology, they want to rebuild da Vinci’s face. Jason Rosenfeld, a member of INCCH, says, “ It shows the reason why we preserved Einstein’s brain or King Tut’s mummy (木乃伊), which throws light on the problem we are working on.”
“Now we want to get the body of Leonardo. We want to see what he died of, we want to see his DNA, we want to see the size of his head, and what his facial feature were like, so we can know whether this was a self-portrait.”
The Mona Lisa was painted around 500 years ago. Beyond that, we know almost nothing about the painting that is now on display at the Louvre in Paris.
But will the exhumation (发掘) discover the truth behind the Mona Lisa? Not likely, according to Rosenfeld. “If the French government really wants to help find out what this is about, what they should do is allow us to clean the Mona Lisa. We will learn much more from it and understand it better if we are allowed to clean the painting than by digging up a body.”
1.What can be learnt from the text?
A. The French government will be in charge of digging up da Vinci’s body.
B. The INCCH will learn more if allowed to clean the Mona Lisa painting.
C. The exhumation will help uncover the truth behind the Mona Lisa.
D. The French government wants to help find out the truth.
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the Mona Lisa?
A. It is now preserved in France.
B. It is a self-portrait of da Vinci in drag.
C. It has the same long history as King Tut’s mummy.
D. It was painted in 1519.
3.What’s the question that the INCCH is researching on?
A. What da Vinci died of.
B. Whether da Vinci liked dressing in drag.
C. Whether the Mona Lisa was painted by da Vinci.
D. Whether the Mona Lisa is da Vinci’s self-portrait.
4.What the underlined phrase, “ throws light on”, in the second paragraph mean?
A. Pays attention to.
B. Makes people feel confident.
C. Makes it possible for people to know.
D. Draws people’s attention.
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Put technology in the hands of someone like Elon Musk and it can send people into space, make a future of clean and renewable energy a reality, or build electric cars. Put in your hands, and it can help you achieve all sorts of things, from learning to code to learning a language.
Educational apps are becoming increasingly popular as a supplement(补充), and sometimes as an alternative
(替代物), to traditional education. Why? Well, for starters, it’s extremely convenient to learn on a pocket-sized device that you already carry around with you at all times. The best apps are also highly interactive and adaptive, coaxing you in and getting you hooked on learning.
But apps, just like textbooks and language lessons, are a medium through which a language can be studied. The way you use them will affect how successful you are. If you flick through a textbook and don’t dare say a word in your language lessons, you’ll make slow progress. The keen reader who repeats each exercise in the textbook and engages the teacher in the conversation will move ahead. So how do you ensure you get the most out of your app, and what should you consider before you install(安装) one?
Before that, a very quick introduction: I developed the following five points from my experience as both a language teacher and learner, and from working in startups in the field of language. I spent six years teaching in Germany and Spain as well as developing a video learning startup. However, I first came to language learning late. I started learning Spanish at 22, and was able to use Spanish and German freely by about 28. I’ve been using language apps for the last few years, and participated in two successful one-week challenges to go from zero to hero in Italian and French. If you’re interested, you can see the French challenge here.
So, just before downloading an app, here’s what you should think about…
1.We infer that Elon Musk is most probably __________.
A. an app developer
B. a language teacher
C. a professor at college
D. an engineer and tech company owner
2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Causing you to get tired of learning.
B. Encouraging you to interact with others.
C. Making you keep learning the language.
D. Providing new leaning methods for you.
3.What does the author want to show by giving the example of how one uses a textbook?
A. Doing exercise is important.
B. Different people learn differently.
C. Textbooks have become out of date.
D. We should use a language learning app correctly.
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World-famous scientist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. He was often called the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Albert Einstein. But his amazing career actually started as a young man who struggled to get around to doing his homework at Oxford University where he studied physics. He then went on to Cambridge to research cosmology, the study of the origin of universe.
When he was 21, Hawking's life hit a big hurdle. He was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. The disease causes the brain to stop sending messages to a person's muscles. At the time, doctors said he would only live for around 2 years, but he proved them very, very wrong.
And with the help of a special wheelchair and speech computer, Hawking spent much of his time researching the beginning of the universe and black holes. His most famous discovery was probably when he demonstrated that black holes emit some radiation, which has since become known as Hawking Radiation. He also spent a lot of time thinking about what existed before the big bang.
Hawking wrote books that explained his big ideas in ways that could be understood by the average person. In 1988 he published A Brief History of Time. It became really popular and sold more than 10 million copies. However, he wasn't just known for his books. He also had a lot of fun becoming a regular on TV screens around the world. He even had a big Hollywood film made about his life.
Throughout his life Stephen Hawking inspired people to look beyond our planet and expand our knowledge of the universe. His family says that he'll be greatly missed and the legacy of his amazing ideas will live on.
1.Why does the author mention Albert Einstein in Paragraph 1?
A. To tell us Hawking was a great physicist.
B. To compare the two famous people.
C. To show he was Hawking's teacher.
D. To identify a special period further.
2.How did Hawking prove the doctor's wrong?
A. He did many experiments.
B. He made some comparisons.
C. He tried to send signals to his muscles.
D. He lived for long like other common people.
3.What was Hawking famous for most?
A. Big bang.
B. Black holes.
C. Radiation from the black holes.
D. A big Hollywood film about the universe.
4.What does Hawking's family think of him?
A. He'll be forgotten soon.
B. His idea of the universe is valuable.
C. He won't be understood completely.
D. He won't be found by others any more.
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Perhaps the most famous theory, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed. In other words, we learn our looks—we are not born with them. A baby has generally informed face features. A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around-family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some areas of the United States look so much alike, new Englanders or Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遗传学). The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth, it is learned after. In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set. For many, this can be well into grown-ups. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look alike. We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country area where people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently. In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York State still less. Many southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Georgia. People in Atlanta, Georgia. People in largely populated areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns do.
1. Ray Birdwhistell believes that physical appearance ____.
| A．has little to do with culture | B．has much to do with culture |
| C．is ever changing | D．is different from place to place |
2.According to the passage, the final mouth shape is formed ___.
| A．before birth | B．as soon as one’s teeth are newly set |
| C．sometime after new teeth are set | D．around 15 years old |
3. Ray Birdwhistell can tell what area of the United States a person is from by ___.
| A．how much he or she laughs | B．how he or she raises his or her eyebrows |
| C．what he or she likes best | D．the way he or she talks |
4. This passage might have been taken out of a book dealing with ___.
| A．physics | B．chemistry | C．biology | D．none of the above |
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Entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk may have a little more time on his hands, as he’s leaving his position on the board of the Open AI, according to a blog post.
The departure is likely the result of Tesla’s moving into the field of Artificial Intelligence(AI)，which he said in 2017 would be the “best in the world” and would even be able to “predict your destination.” Musk will continue to “donate and advise the organization,” Open AI said in a blog post on Feb. 20, adding that “As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will avoid a potential future conflict for Elon.”
Musk and Y Combiner CEO Sam Altman co-founded the nonprofit enterprise in December 2015, its mission is to develop safe artificial general intelligence and ensure those developments are made public. Open AI researchers published a paper on the site ArXiv. Org, detailing the possible secure threats that come with “malicious” AI. In fact, Musk has heard of the “evil AI” alarm several times. On Aug. 11, 2017, he warned that artificial intelligence poses a bigger threat to humanity, and he told a gathering of state governors that the government needs to regulate AI before robots start “killing people. ”
Musk’s departure from the Open AI board could mean big things for Tesla. As Elon Goodbye, a financial reporter, noted on Futurism, the move “could signal that Tesla is more deeply committed to their own Al projects than we thought.” He added, “Those who have had their ears to any rumors that Tesla is ready to deliver vehicles capable of Level 5 autonomy could take this new Open Al development as a sign that the company is inching closer to that unapproachable goal. ”No company has reached that level of autonomy, which means that a driverless car could navigate any road under any conditions and that all the human “driver” would need to do is to input a destination.
1.Why does Elon Musk leave his position?
A. To create safer AI.
B. To build the powerful Internet.
C. To develop social communication.
D. To avoid a possible conflict with Tesla.
2.What is the Elon Musk’s attitude towards the AI?
A. Suspicious B. Negative.
C. Sympathetic. D. Supportive.
3.What can we infer from Elon Goodbye’s comments?
A. Level 5 autonomy is impossible.
B. The rumors about Tesla is meaningless.
C. He has no confidence in Open AI.
D. Level 5 autonomy could set human drivers free.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A. Elon Musk is planning to compete with AI.
B. Elon Musk is stepping down from AI safety group he co-founded.
C. Elon Musk: AI is humanity’s biggest existential threat.
D. Elon Musk: Open AI will take new measures to cooperate with Tesla.
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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One of the world’s most famous fossils (化石) – the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton (骨骼) unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 – will go on an exhibition tour abroad for the first time in the United States, officials said Tuesday.
Even the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice. The Lucy on exhibition at the Ethiopian National Museum in the capital, Addis Ababa, is a replica while the real remains are usually locked in a secret storeroom. A team from the Museum of National Science in Houston, Texas, spent four years discussing with the Ethiopians for the U.S. tour, which will start in Houston next September.
“Ethiopia’s rich culture of both the past and today, is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Joel Bartsch, director of the Houston museum.
The six-year tour will also go to Washington, New York, Denver and Chicago. Officials said six other U.S. cities may be on the tour. But they said plans had not been worked out.
Travelling with Lucy will be 190 other fossils.
Lucy, her name taken from a Beatles song that played in a camp the night of her discovery, is part of the skeleton of what was once a 3.5-foot-tall ape-man (猿人).
1.The author writes this text mainly to .
A. introduce a few U.S. museums B. report a coming event
C. discuss the value of an ape-man D. describe some research work
2.What does the words “a replica” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. A copy of the skeleton. B. A photograph of Lucy
C. A painting of the skeleton. D. A written record of Lucy.
3.How many cities has Lucy’s U.S. tour plan already included?
A. Eleven. B. Six. C. Five. D. Four.
4.What was the skeleton named after?
A. An ape-man. B. A camp. C. A singer. D. A song.
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Our world natural park is one of the most famous parks in the world. Millions of visitors from different countries visit this park every year. In order to protect it，please do as follows：
◆Protect the natural and cultural heritage. Don’t damage or deface any buildings，displays and other facilities. Take care of all plants. Put rubbish in the bins provided.
◆Take care when you are going up and down steps or stairs and when you are walking nearby the waters.
◆Please buy tickets before entering the scenic spot. One ticket is only for one person. Adult：＄60 per ticket. Children over 6 and under 18，half price. People over 60 and children under 6 are free.
◆If you are going into the wooded and hilly lands，for your own safety，please go with three people at least and don't take any tinder(易燃物）along with you. The hill is steep so please take care of yourself.
◆This scenic spot is the reserve of water source: No fishing，swimming，washing and any behaviors that are harmful to the water source. Meanwhile，please follow the management rules of the scenic spot conscientiously.
◆Opening time：From Monday to Friday，8：00 a. m.～18：00 p.m.；From Saturday to Sunday，6：00 a. m:一24：00 p. m.
◆Small animals such as rabbits，peacocks，squirrels，frogs must be taken care of: None of them shall be killed.
If you have any trouble in visiting our world natural park，please call 477一866一7044．Our staff will do our best to help you.
1.How much will be paid for a 65-year-old man with his 8-year-old grandson?
A. Free. B. ＄30.
C. ＄60. D. ＄120.
2.From the passage，we can infer that the water in this park is＿．
A. clean B. polluted
C. dangerous D. colorful
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A. Tourists can hike alone in the hilly lands.
B. Small animals are under protection in the park.
C. Children can play with small animals.
D. Tourists can have a swim in the water.
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The Abbey Road pedestrian crossing in Northern London is one of the world's most famous 1. it is on the cover of Beatles album. Now, the British government 2.(put) it on the list of national heritage sites.
3. (normal), only buildings and other architectural sites get the award. It is the first time 4. a section of street became part of 5. (Britain) National Heritage. The crossing is near the Abbey Road studios 6.the Beatles made most of their records. Today it can 7.(see) around the world on a special webcam(网络摄像头). The studio building 8.(it)became listed by British Heritage last February. The photographer of the picture said he only had 10 minutes 9.(take) it. It became one of the most famous album covers of all times. The Abbey Road album was 10.last one the Beatles completed before they broke up.
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Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite.”Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and white anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same.” says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party. “just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music.” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization.”
In music, where does the emotion lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight (感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”
1.What is the purpose of UNESCO to set April 30 as International Jazz Day?
A. To emphasize the significance of jazz.
B. To protect musical diversity.
C. To remember the birth of jazz.
D. To encourage people to study music.
2.What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. The production of jazz growing faster.
B. Jazz losing its appeal for the young.
C. The jazz audience becoming larger.
D. Jazz becoming more accessible.
3.What does Moran’s opinion on jazz imply?
A. It remains black and white.
B. It will disappear gradually.
C. It changes every 50 years.
D. It should keep up with the times.