Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee.“I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder."
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. “We didn’t want to give the children rubbish,” says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of .”
The Richters spend about ＄400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”
1.What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?
A.His health problem. B.His love for teaching.
C.The influence of his wife. D.The news from the Web.
2.What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?
A.Give out brochures. B.Do something similar.
C.Write books for children D.Retire from being a teacher.
3.According to the text, Dollly Parton is .
A.a well-known surgeon B.a mother of a four-year-old
C.a singer born in Tennessee D.a computer programmer
4.Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?
A.To avoid signing up online.
B.To meet Dollywood board members.
C.To make sure the books were the newest.
D.To see if the books were of good quality.
5.What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph?
A.He needs more money to help the children.
B.He wonders why some people are so busy.
C.He tries to save those waiting to die.
D.He considers his efforts worthwhile.
One of the newest “smart” devices is an old favorite, a camera. And smart cameras are getting smarter all the time. Some are now built with machine learning tools to help them think for themselves. Machine learning involves patting large amount of data into a computer for processing.
Google Clips
One of the latest to launch is Google Clips. It is the first camera developed by the web search giant that is not built into a phone.
The small and light device is designed to be put somewhere in a room to take pictures by itself. It can also be stuck to an object or a person’s clothing.
Google says machine learning helps the camera choose the best times and situations for taking pictures and video clips. It can also recognize the faces of people or pets chosen by the user and take pictures of them in a more natural way.
The device is not yet being sold, but interested buyers can join a waiting list to be informed when it is available.
GoPro Hero
GoPro is another company developing machine learning technology. GoPro also uses machine learning to power its QuikStories feature. This tool takes existing photos and videos and automatically creates a finished video piece, complete with music and effects.
Snap Spectacles
Messaging app Snapchat sells a pair of sunglasses with a built-in camera that can record short video clips with the push of a button. Snap Inc. says the product, called Spectacles, is designed to “capture the moment, without taking you out of it.” Many smart phones already have facial recognition technology built into the devices.
Snap Inc. has started selling its Spectacles sunglasses online in the United States.
Apple iPhone X
Apple’s new iPhone X is being launched with its new Face ID system that it says will unlock the phone just by having the user look at it. This replaces the Touch ID on previous devices that used a fingerprint to unlock the phone.
Apple says the system works by projecting more than 30,000 dots on the face to create a kind of map. Apple claims its facial recognition is even secure enough to allow payments through its Apple Pay service.
1.What can machine learning tools help cameras do?
A.Get much smarter. B.Process more roughly.
C.Keep data for ever. D.Store more natural photos.
2.What can we know about Google Clips?
A.It can only be put in a room.
B.People can buy it online easily.
C.It can be built into a phone,
D.You can take photos automatically with it.
3.What is the special function of GoPro Hero?
A.It has to use power to work.
B.It can record videos vividly.
C.It provides music and effects for videos.
D.It uses technology of machine learning.
4.Which of the following can now be bought surely on the Internet?
A.Google Clips. B.GoPro Hero.
C.Spectacles sunglasses. D.Apple iPhone X.
5.How is Apple iPhone X unlocked?
A.By a fingerprint. B.By facial recognition.
C.By pushing a button. D.By making a map.
A Race Against Death
It was a cold January in 1925 in Nome, Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow.
On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch _______a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious(传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be _______if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick. _______, the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.
How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s _______was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the _______roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn’t exist yet.
_______January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were _______. Nome’s town officials came up with a(n)_______. They would have the medicine sent by _______from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled(狗拉雪橇) drivers — known as ＂mushers＂ — would __________it to Nome in a relay(接力).
The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. __________he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon’s face was black from the extreme cold.
On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to __________a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most __________part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would __________, and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.
A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his__________. He had to leave the trail(雪橇痕迹) to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to __________the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground, __________to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to __________. He had found the trail.
At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dogs __________in Nome. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.
Nome had been __________.
1.A.examined B.warned C.interviewed D.cured
2.A.harmless B.helpless C.fearless D.careless
3.A.Moreover B.Therefore C.Otherwise D.However
4.A.airport B.station C.harbor D.border
5.A.narrow B.snowy C.busy D.dirty
6.A.From B.On C.By D.After
7.A.tired B.upset C.pale D.sick
8.A.plan B.excuse C.message D.topic
9.A.air B.rail C.sea D.road
10.A.carry B.return C.mail D.give
11.A.Though B.Since C.When D.If
12.A.enter B.move C.visit D.cross
13.A.shameful B.boring C.dangerous D.foolish
14.A.escape B.bleed C.swim D.die
15.A.memory B.exit C.way D.destination
16.A.find B.fix C.pass D.change
17.A.pretending B.trying C.asking D.learning
18.A.run B.leave C.bite D.play
19.A.gathered B.stayed C.camped D.arrived
20.A.controlled B.saved C.founded D.developed
We choose this hotel because the price for a night here is down to $20, half of _______ it used to charge.
A.that B.which
C.what D.how
Lessons can be learned to face the future, ________ history cannot be changed.
A.though B.as C.since D.unless
（2018·江苏）It’s strange that he _______ have taken the books without the owner’s permission.
A.would B.should
C.could D.might
