Ever called a movie theater to find out showtime? Or called a customer service center for help? Chances are you didn't speak to a human being. You probably gave commands to an Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) system. These types of systems are efficient money-saving tools that allow companies to address many customer concerns with minimum human intervention.
The technology for such a system has advanced greatly since its appearance in the 1950s. One significant recent achievement is the launching of virtual personal assistants (VPAs) on mobile phones. The most well-known of these is Apple’s iPhone VPA, Siri. If you tell Siri that you want to schedule lunch with a friend, “she” can set the appointment on your phone in seconds. The VPA can also hold a basic “conversation” with a sense of humor. However, it can only be set off when the human user speaks certain key phrases or words.
While the potential for communication between a human and a machine may seem exciting, this possibility concerns some people. Some experts worry about people’s attachment to these machines and fear that the art of successful human-to-human conversation will be undeveloped in younger generations. They worry that people won’t be able to display the right emotion or tone in conversations because they haven’t been practicing those skills. Others fear that machines will take over functions that were traditionally performed by humans, such as customer service.
Another concern often associated with the development of new technology is the invasion of privacy. When people use certain speech recognition applications, they leave behind an audio track of their speech. When you ask a VPA for directions, your speech is often sent and saved to a remote server for processing. This digital information may lead to data mining, or the collection of large quantities of personal data.
For now, however, the continuing evolution of ASR software is thrilling to behold. Asking for and acquiring information from an automated source has never been easier. Leading companies in the speech recognition world will make human communication with machines as seamless as possible - in other words, just like communicating with another human.
1.What can we say about Apple’s Siri?
A.It’s a helpful VPA. B.It first appeared in the 1950s.
C.It’s the most advanced ASR system. D.It has the same sense of humor as humans.
2.What are Paragraphs 3 and 4 mainly about?
A.The broad definition of ASR. B.Potential problems with ASR.
C.The fast development of ASR. D.Movements against using ASR.
3.What is the author's attitude towards the future of ASR?
A.Worried. B.Doubtful. C.Hopeful. D.Indifferent.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Talking to Technology B.The Application of Siri
C.The Art of Conversation D.VPAs on Mobile Phones
More than one billion people currently live in environments where water is in short supply, making water one of the most highly prized natural resources. Scientists are always searching for ways to increase access to this valuable resource. They may have found a solution in an unlikely area: one of the driest places on Earth.
The Namib desert in Africa is one of the world’s driest places, while Namib beetle is a unique organism that grows in this environment because of its amazing physical adaptation. The wings on the Namib beetle are filled with bumps and grooves(槽) that help it collect water from the air. The top of each bump is smooth like glass and attracts water. But the slopes of each bump and the grooves in between the bumps have waxy (带蜡的) surfaces that repel water . Each time the fog occurs, the beetle positions its body at a 45-degree angle to the wind. As the wind pushes the fog across the desert, each bump on the beetle’s back collects water. When enough moisture has been collected from the fog, a drop rolls off the bumps into the waxy grooves and then into the mouth of the beetle.
Scientists are using the Namib beetle’s wing design as a guide for creating their own water-collection surfaces. They have inserted dozens of glass globes into thin layers of wax. Similar to the bumps and grooves on the wings of the beetle, the smooth glass bubbles collect water, while the wax repels it. By placing the glass-andwax panels in environments with high-moisture air, the scientists think they will be able to collect water.
The Namib beetle’s wing design may also provide unexpected solutions to other problems. In areas where thick fog causes chaos, panels of these water-gathering surfaces may be able to remove the fog. This could potentially reduce travel delays at airports and prevent fog-related accidents on roadways. It seems that studying this little beetle may lead to a variety of benefits for humans.
1.What will the Namib beetle do when fog appears in the desert?
A.It will release a waxy substance to cover its back.
B.It will place its body in a particular way to collect water.
C.It will create bumps and grooves on its wings.
D.It will open its mouth to drink the water in the air.
2.The author focuses on a unique feature of the Namib beetle in order to highlight how the beetle ________________.
A.could serve as a source of water for desert travelers
B.struggles to survive in the dry part of the world
C.uses its wings to stay cool in a dry environment
D.is able to get access to water in the absence of rain
3.What’s the writing purpose of this passage?
A.To prove that water can be obtained from moist air.
B.To explain how the Namib beetle adapts to living in a hostile environment.
C.To show how people can apply designs from nature to create solutions to global problems.
D.To stress that water is a valuable resource in many areas on Earth.
Kieron Graham always knew he had an older brother. His adoption papers, signed and sealed when he was three months old, listed a sibling named Vincent but no last name. Though Kieron spent years thinking about Vincent, he could never track him down.
That changed in December 2017, when Kieron’s adoptive parents gave their four adopted children AncestryDNA tests as Christmas gifts. Kieron, now 21, sent his saliva sample in for analysis. When his results came back, he was stunned to find he had a slew of DNA matches for relatives who had also taken the test. Most were distant connections, but one match was so strong that it was labeled “close family”. His name was Vincent Ghant. Kieron looked for him on Facebook and soon made a possible connection. “This is going to sound so wild … but I think you’re my brother,” Kieron wrote on Facebook’s Messenger app.
“I was given up for adoption in 1997 and it says on my paperwork that my mother has a son with your name and your birth date. Her name is Shawn.”
“OMG do you know your real name?” wrote Vincent, now 30.
“I think it was Tyler.”
“OMG YES!!! You are my brother.”
“Wow,” wrote Kieron.
“This is crazy,” said Vincent.
The craziness was just beginning. As they talked, the brothers realized they lived about 20 minutes from each other, outside of Atlanta. More mind-blowing, they attended the same university and majored and minored in the same subjects: political science and legal studies.
“We were like, what are the odds we’re separated our entire lives and then end up at the same school with the same interests?” says Kieron.
Vincent was nine when Kieron was born and remembers caring for his baby brother. But times were tough, and Shawn, who worked 15-plus hours a day as a nurse, decided that placing Kieron for adoption would give him the best chance to succeed.
Now the brothers had the chance to make up for lost time. They decided to meet at a local tea shop that week. “I was really nervous,” says Kieron. “I was wondering what I should say, what I should do.” As he waited outside the shop, he heard someone call his name, and he suddenly found himself in a hug with the brother he’d thought about his entire life.
The men went inside and talked. “We connected,” says Vincent, “like we already knew each other.”
1.The underlined word “mind-blowing” is closest in meaning to “_______”.
A.desperate B.grateful C.ridiculous D.surprising
2.Which of the following statement is true about the two brothers?
A.Kieron was given up for adoption as soon as he was born.
B.They grew in different environment but had a similar educational background.
C.Kieron had met Vincent before as they lived quite close to each other.
D.It was rather difficult for Kieron to track down his own brother after the AncestryDNA test.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Adopted children usually show deeper affection for their birth family.
B.Vincent lives with his mother all the time.
C.Kieron’s mother was unwilling to give him up but she had no choice.
D.The four adopted children have found their birth family after the AncestryDNA tests.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What problem will the motorway bring to the village?
A.Children will find it hard to go to the Streeve Beach.
B.The well-known beauty spot will be destroyed.
C.Fewer villagers will live there.
2.What will be built on farmland?
A.A swimming pool. B.A steel factory. C.Houses.
3.Where will the high-tech park be built?
A.In the north of the village. B.In the south of the village. C.In the west of the village.
4.What is most villagers’ attitude towards the government plans?
A.Fully satisfied. B.Rather worried. C.Quite unexpected.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What are the speakers discussing?
A.How to form clouds.
B.How to present their research.
C.How to explain different types of clouds.
2.Why does the man suggest having small cards?
A.To make the presentation more interesting.
B.To remind him of what to say.
C.To organize all the research.
3.What will the man do?
A.Prepare the cards.
B.Make the presentation slides.
C.Look for pictures of clouds online.
4.What part will the woman do?
A.The low-level clouds part.
B.The medium-level clouds part.
C.The high-level clouds part.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why does the man want to get a summer job?
A.To save money for a course. B.To pay his brother back. C.To save for a trip.
2.How will the woman get money?
A.By borrowing from her brother.
B.By doing a part-time job.
C.By asking her parents.
3.What does the man decide to do in the end?
A.Study in Spain.
B.Get a job in Portugal.
C.Go to Latin America with the woman.
