As the international demand for narrative(叙事的) film/TV content continues to increase with popular streaming services like Netflix and others the two questions then come: will the coming generations receive most of their entertainment through visual means rather than through the written word and will such an increase of narrative film/ TV reduce the importance of reading?
Growing examples of this trend include the diminishment(减少) of fiction in the common core (核心的)curriculum, the ever－rising culture of computer games, the wave of streaming services of wide international reach, and movies filled with special effects made for children and teenagers. Nor must we ignore the economic dangers that lie ahead for the written word. The narrative film industry is a moneymaker that dwarfs(使相形见绌) the publishing industry.
The other underlying question, of course, is “does it really matter if the written word bows to the world of film/TV?” From my point of view, any diminishment of fiction delivered by words is a loss for mankind.
There is no greater human feature than the imagination. It lies at the very soul of the human species. It is the brain’s most powerful engine. It is the essential muscle of life and like all muscles it must be exercised and strengthened.
Writing and reading are the principal tools that inspire, create and empower our imagination. Anything that diminishes that power is the enemy of mankind.
It should be known that I am not opposed to new media and technological advances. Instead, I have always felt it necessary to adapt to advancing technology. In fact, a number of my novels are in various stages of development for film, TV, and live stage productions. My hope is that the written word will only stand to be complemented(补充)by its visual counterparts(对应物), not pushed to the edge of extinction.
Of course, there are those who will present arguments for the superiority of the moving image over the written word. Each has its place. My argument is for finding the right balance between it and the moving image.
1.In what way does narrative film/TV embarrass the written word?
A.Economic benefits B.International reach
C.Cultural influence D.Educational importance
2.Why does the author value the role of the written word?
A.It strengthens our muscles. B.It helps sharpen imagination.
C.It distinguishes man from each other. D.It paves the way for narrative film/TV.
3.What is the author’s attitude towards technology?
A.Cautious B.Skeptical
C.Positive D.Critical
4.What’s the author concerned about?
A.The fate of reading. B.The extinction of fiction.
C.The impact of the written word. D.The future of the moving image.
For as long as there have been gifts, we naturally make choices based on the recipient (接受者). But what if we have been wrong all along and that we could turn things around, which not only made gift buying easier, but the recipient happier?
In 2015, psychologists Lauren Human and Lara Aknin conducted an online survey, which suggested that when people buy gifts, they prefer to choose something based on the recipient’s personality and tastes. Most people also said that they preferred receiving gifts bought with them in mind: gifts for them.
But Human and Aknin wondered if this approach to giving failed to take advantage of the way we connect as people. So they sent 78 volunteers into a shopping centre before Mother’s Day. Half were told to buy a card that “reveals(揭示) your knowledge of the recipient” while the others set out to buy a card that “reveals your true self”. After the purchase, the givers who had thought partly of themselves reported feeling emotionally closer to their mothers.
To find out how that approach goes down with recipients, the psychologists did another test, asking more than 100 students to choose a song on iTunes to give to a friend, partner or family member. Each half of the group received the same instructions as the card buyers. Results revealed that recipients of songs that revealed something of the givers felt closer to them than those who received gifts bought only with them in mind.
Human and Aknin suggest it might apply to all gifts. “If building stronger social connections is the underlying (潜在的)goal” of a gift and surely it should be — then we “may well be advised to offer more self-reflective gifts”. In short, for a present to be meaningful, you need to give away a bit of yourself, even if there is a risk that the gift might not so closely suit the recipient’s practical needs or tastes as one acquired purely with that in mind.
Moreover, giving something of oneself can be a safer act, the psychologists added. Because it reduces the risk of revealing poor knowledge of a recipient by attempting to buy something that fits their character — and failing.
But a note of caution here: what the research does not examine is the potential risk in repeated, unsympathetic giver-centered giving, which, according to Human and Aknin “could signal self-obsession” — and nobody wants to reveal that about themselves.
1.From the Mother’s Day card test, we can conclude that .
A.gifts chosen with the giver in mind work well on the giver
B.most people choose gifts with the recipient in mind
C.most people choose gifts based on their personal tastes
D.gifts chosen with the giver in mind work well on the recipient
2.What does the author think is the significance of gift giving?
A.Making the giver’s life happier.
B.Showing one’s knowledge of the recipient.
C.Establishing and strengthening social connections.
D.Meeting the recipient’s practical needs.
3.Which of the following is Human and Aknin’s advice on gift giving?
A.Choose gifts that reflect more of yourself.
B.Just focus on your own tastes when choosing gifts.
C.Buy something that fits the recipient’s character most.
D.Be careful not to signal your true personality.
4.Which is the best title of this passage?
A.The tradition of gift giving B.The purpose of gift giving
C.The effect of gift giving D.The psychology of gift giving
News anchors(主播) must have been reluctant to read out the following news: Xin Xiaomeng began working as the world’s first female artificial(人工的) intelligence news anchor at Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, three months after a male robot joined the profession.
Unlike previous news robots though, Xin does not read news like a cold machine; she reads it almost like a human being. The muscles on her face stretch and relax — and her reactions change as she continues reading. That’s why many news anchors were worried: Will AI replace us in the near future?
To find the answer, we have to analyze the technologies that support Xin at her job. Three key technologies are used to support Xin. First, samples of human voices are collected and synthesized (合成). This is followed by the collection and synthesis of human muscle movement samples. And third the voices and movements are married in a way that when the AI news anchor reads, the micro- electric motors behind her face move to make her expressions seem more human.
Yet we need a thorough knowledge of deep learning technology to make a robot imitate a person’s voice. The developer needs to collect tens of thousands of pieces of pronunciations, input them into the machine and match them with the text for the AI to learn and read. The process for imitating facial movements is similar. The developer has to analyze the movements of the 53 muscles in the human face, make a model set from the collected data for the AI news anchor to learn, and imitate the movements of facial muscles via programs
Both the technologies used to make Xin’s performance impressive are mature. The real difficulty lies in the third — the technology to match the pronunciations with facial movements so that Xin’s expressions vary according to the content of the news report. In fact, Xin’s expressions don’t always change according to the content. As a result, her expressions look anything but human. Actually, AI is still no match for human qualities.
1.What does the underlined word “reluctant” in the first paragraph mean?
A.Delighted B.Unwilling
C.Confused D.Optimistic
2.What can we infer about previous news robots?
A.They read news without expressions. B.They looked like a human being.
C.They could interview sports stars. D.They could interact with audience.
3.From the last paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that .
A.human news anchors should learn from AI anchors to save their jobs
B.Al anchors perform much better than human news anchors at present
C.Al news anchors won’t replace human news anchors in the near future
D.Xin Xiaomeng’s expressions vary so naturally that they are true to life
I teach at a university and recently had an interesting interaction with a student who approached my desk with an assignment. I watched as he _______ it from his pocket and held the crumpled (皱的) sheet out to me.
“What’s that?” I asked. His _______ : “My work.”
I was shocked. All I could do was staring at it long enough to _______ my voice.
Then I told him to redo the _______ and hand it back to me as a clean, _______ and spotless copy. As the student _______ , I picked up the merest anger.
In this case, if I have some _______ as a teacher, then this is it: quality. In the long _______ of my teaching career, I have given my students great creative freedom and _______ many extensions of deadlines. But my ________ of quality remains anchored in concrete. I have always felt that should I ________ on this one essential issue, then all is lost.
So what became of my ________ with the crumpled paper? He gave me the paper like a soldier presenting something to a king respectfully ________ a cat casually, which is why I ________ him. I called him back. We sat down together, and I ________ his draft, which was disorganized. I explained, ________ and clearly, that one’s first effort is exactly that: a start. And we took it from there, moving a paragraph, deleting the ________ words or sentences, and ________ grammar.
Once those basic things were ________ , my student asked, “Are we done?” “Not yet,” I smiled. “One last step.” I told him to read his work out loud and listen to his words. After he ________, he lowered the paper and looked at me, with his expression filled with hope.
1.A.ruined B.pulled C.blocked D.harvested
2.A.belief B.solution C.notice D.response
3.A.repair B.recover C.raise D.recognize
4.A.arrangement B.preparation C.adaptation D.assignment
5.A.obvious B.flat C.long D.sharp
6.A.panicked B.registered C.left D.remained
7.A.complaint B.celebration C.appreciation D.attraction
8.A.lesson B.distance C.course D.silence
9.A.excused B.prohibited C.required D.allowed
10.A.expectation B.assumption C.comprehension D.judgment
11.A.burst out B.cut down C.give in D.keep up
12.A.career B.teacher C.draft D.student
13.A.rather than B.or rather C.other than D.as well as
14.A.forgave B.scolded C.troubled D.influenced
15.A.torn B.introduced C.examined D.selected
16.A.hopefully B.specially C.strangely D.quietly
17.A.difficult B.unnecessary C.valuable D.unconditional
18.A.copying B.stressing C.correcting D.reviewing
19.A.handled B.listed C.enjoyed D.tested
20.A.demanded B.finished C.recorded D.settled
Armed with the information you have gathered, you can ______ to prepare your business plan.
A.made for B.set out C.took off D.turned up
The policeman put down the phone, ______ with a smile on his face.
A.satisfied B.satisfying C.to be satisfied D.having satisfied
