Electronic heroes
As an internet influencer, there seems to be nothing special about Miquela Sousa. The 19-year-old lives in Los Angeles, US, posts pictures of herself sporting fashionable looks, and has just made her way into the March edition of Vogue magazine. But Miquela isn't real – she is a computer-generated character.
Her fans don't seem to mind – she has 855,000 followers on US social networking platform Instagram. And her first single Not Mine – yes, she ''sings'' too – also reached No. 8 on music streaming (流媒体) platform Spotify last August.
It's kind of curious that in a time when authenticity (真实性) and ''being real'' are valued more than ever, ''fake'' celebrities like Miquela are appreciated and seen as icons (偶像).
Perhaps the reason for Miquela's popularity lies behind the fame of a similar star, Hatsune Miku. This 16-year-old animated singer from Japan has held singing concerts not only in her home country but also in the US and China.
Even though Hatsune's no more than a 3-D figure projected (投射) onto the stage, her fans are more than willing to pay to actually see her ''in person'', because to them, she's better than human singers. ''She's rather more like a goddess: She has human parts, but she transcends (超越) human limitations. She's the great post-human pop star, '' wrote reporter James Verini on Wired magazine.
Critics may say that 3-D stars could never replace the authenticity of humans, but when it comes to being authentic, are humans really the best example of how to do it? Most of us edit our photos before posting them online, and we tend to create a fantasy that we're living a perfect life by letting people only see the brighter side of it.
''Miquela is no less real to me than any other internet stranger with whom I've interacted (互动), '' wrote reporter Leora Yashari on the website Nylon. “Her existence in itself represents a new breed (种类) of influencer – someone who is breaking the boundaries (界限) of what is real and what is fake. ''
1.Who is Miquela Sousa?
A.She's a life-like character with musical talents.
B.She's a new sports star with fashionable looks.
C.She's an experienced singer with thousands of fans.
D.She's an animated figure created by a Japanese company.
2.Why did the author mention Hatsune Miku?
A.To show the similarities 3-D stars share.
B.To make a comparison with Miquela Sousa.
C.To explain why 3-D stars are well received.
D.To stress how 3-D stars go beyond human limitations.
3.What can be concluded from the last two paragraphs?
A.3-D stars could match the authenticity of humans one day.
B.Animated celebrities are not as real as human celebrities.
C.Human celebrities have greater influence than animated ones.
D.3-D stars' public personalities may be just as authentic as humans'.
By the time I reached junior high, I was sure I wanted to be a nurse. If you didn’t study Latin, you couldn’t be a nurse, so I enrolled. Many Latin words were familiar to me. The hard part turned out to be the usage and creating sentences with the words that seemed so easy to pronounce. Several weeks into the course my teacher came to me, saying, “I think you should withdraw from this course. It seems to be too hard for you.”
That was the day I learned I wasn’t smart enough to become a nurse. With shame, I handed in my Latin textbook.
After high school, the years raced by. I married and had children. Then one day my husband John came home. “Carol, Max died this afternoon.” I looked at my husband with disbelief.
John was touched by this tragedy. Finally one evening he said, “Carol, Jackie has never worked and now she’s alone with four children. I've been thinking - if anything happens to me. I want you to be able to take care of yourself and the children. Why don’t you think about what you’d like to do and get the training you’ll need to do it?”
I signed up for the entrance exam for nursing programs. One day I received a letter from the schoo1. I wanted so badly to open it, but with my lack of confidence, I laid it on the kitchen counter saying, “I'm not in the mood for a rejection letter today.”
Finally I forced myself to open it. “Dear Carol,”I read. “We are pleased to inform you that you successfully passed the entrance exam.”
An insensitive teacher once stole my dream. If you have a dream, exhaust every effort to reach it. I’ve worked thirty years now as a nurse and I’ve never been more certain that this is what I was meant to be.
1.Why did John advise Carol to find a job?
A.To support the family B.To provide more money for her kids
C.To live a more colorful life D.To be able to live independently
2.From the text, we know what the teacher said____________.
A.destroyed Carol’s dream to be a nurse.
B.helped Carol find her true interest
C.saved Carol from wasting her time
D.encouraged Carol to be careful in learning
3.After receiving the letter from the schoo1, Caro1____________.
A.was uncertain about the result B.had no mood to read it then
C.didn’t take it seriously at all D.couldn’t wait to open it
4.What may be the best title for the text？
A.A dream too high to achieve. B.Too stupid to be a nurse?
C.Never too late to 1earn. D.A chance too important to miss
假定你是李华，是你校音乐节的组织者之一。请你用英语给美国笔友Mike写一封邮件，请他介绍一下他们学校的音乐活动，并对你校音乐的组织提出建议。
注意:1.词数100左右
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I’m delighted to know you showed a great interest in Chinese table manners. Now I would like to share you how to behave properly when we are invited to dinner.
To begin with, the host will reserve a special seat for the guest, which is highly honored on such an occasion but is expected to be the first to taste the food served. Beside, chopsticks and spoons are usually used when you are eating in China. Third, you are not supposed to making a noise while eating soup. Last but not least, remember to thank the host for the delicious food he has been offered, which will surely make him happily.
I hope my advices will be of help to you.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当单词的或括号内单词的正确形式。
Texting while crossing the street will soon1.(ban)in Honolulu, Hawaii. From October 242., you could be fined if you step into a Honolulu street while looking at your phone. Honolulu is the first major U. S. city that passed a law,3.says, “No pedestrian shall cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device.”
The law 4.(include )all electronic devices with screens: cell phones, tablets, gaming devices, digital cameras and laptop computers. The law does permit 5.exception. Pedestrians may use such devices in the street to call emergency services and rescue workers, such as firefighters and police 6.(officer).
7.(hope), it will lower the number of people hit and 8.(kill) by cars in the city. Pedestrian deaths in America have been increasing as the use of cell phones rises. Honolulu has 9.(many) pedestrians hit in crosswalks than almost any other city in America. The number of pedestrian deaths in 201710.(rise) to 6,000, 11% higher than in 2016.
Winters are always long and cold in North China. The winter of 2008 was especially tough in onesouthwestern city,_________it became extremely cold and itwas also a difficult time for me. What was worse, a(n)_________injury happened to me and it might keep me in bedfor several months, “Just in time for the Spring Festival, ” my mother said to me, sighing. But how could I feel the_________when the snow was so heavy and I had months of physical _______ahead?
One day I was doing my housework_______there wasa tap against the window from a branch of the troublesome fruit tree. On hearing this, with my eyes closed, slowly, I began to recall the fall of 1995 when somebody placed apipe from my pump next to the_______.The earth was so wet that it _______immediately with most its bare rootsupward. Seeing this, my mother_______to pull it out, but I refused．“How hard it’s trying!” I said,_________the direction of its strong holding of the earth. “It is __________of a chance to survive.”With tools, we ________dry soilaround the tree and put up some supports into the ground, making it__________ upright.
Several months had passed before Icould be ________of it. Surprisingly, when spring returned, my “ rescue________”had grown some leaves and many__________. In 2009 that little rescue stick had grown into a toweringtree. What an unbelievable miracle of life!
The day before the Spring Festival, the ________ at thewindow was continuing, the more fierce wind, the __________sound, as if to remind me to look up and appreciate its powerful life.
That night I slept peacefully having a(n)__________.In the dream some flowers were coming out__________. The next morning I stood against the window.________the window was the tree bursting with life. Anyway, I had awonderful Spring Festival that year.
1.A.where B.which C.when D.that
2.A.admirable B.terrible C.favorable D.slight
3.A.duty B.joy C.cold D.failure
4.A.treatment B.report C.exercise D.experiment
5.A.while B.as C.when D.that
6.A.window B.tree C.branch D.wall
7.A.stood up B.came out C.got out D.fell down
8.A.decided B.pretended C.failed D.continued
9.A.attaching to B.watching over C.looking into D.pointing to
10.A.confident B.proud C.worthy D.certain
11.A.threw B.turned C.needed D.placed
12.A.bend B.drop C.stand D.swing
13.A.aware B.tired C.worthwhile D.proud
14.A.tool B.stick C.pipe D.pump
15.A.roots B.nuts C.flowers D.stems
16.A.tapping B.striking C.attacking D.hitting
17.A.more B.most C.better D.best
18.A.idea B.walk C.rest D.dream
19.A.politely B.shyly C.passively D.wildly
20.A.On B.Outside C.Inside D.Besides
