Facebook will no longer use facial recognition to let users automatically identify their friends in photographs uploaded to its site after America’s consumer watchdog called the practice “deceptive” (欺 骗性的).Facebook had used technology called Deep Face to scan the millions of pictures uploaded to its site each day in search of faces it recognized. 1.
This, Facebook boasted, enabled it to hold the “largest facial dataset to date” - a trove of information built up as its 2. 4 billion users uploaded hundreds of pictures of people at different times in their lives, from different angles, in different clothes and hairstyles.
2. - unless they request it - and will give existing users the option to turn it off. The Federal Trade Commission, which protects consumer rights in America, described the technology as deceptive to tens of millions of users”. It said that Facebook must obtain “ affirmative express user content” before enabling it.
Facebook also used the facial recognition feature to alert a user if a picture of them had been uploaded on to the site. 3.
Srinivas Narayanan, the head of artificial intelligence applied research at Facebook, said: 4., but we won’t recommend you to be tagged (加标签)if you do not have face recognition turned on.”
“We don’t share your face recognition information with third parties. 5..” It also emerged this week that Facebook began experimenting with hiding the amount of “likes” a person gets for their posts. Some users can develop a fixation with getting as many likes as possible and feel inadequate if they gain fewer than their friends.
A.We also don’t sell our technology
B.People will still be able to manually tag friends
C.Scanning ability of Facebook is criticized by the public
D.We appeal to the users to use the technology in a secret way
E.However, the feature is now being switched off for all new users
F.It then offered users the ability to “tag” that person with their name
G.It allowed people to check if someone was trying to use their identity in a wrong way
Girls continue to outperform boys in all subjects by the end of primary school in England, according to the latest key stage 2 test results published by the Department for Education.
Across England, 65% of pupils in state schools achieved the government’s expected standards in the three subjects, a 1% improvement on 2018. The widening of the gender gap was caused mainly by a dip in the proportion of boys reaching the expected standard in reading, which fell from 72% in 2018 to 69%. In maths, boys and girls improved by 3% but girls remained slightly ahead at 79% to 78%.
The latest Sats results are the continuation of trends seen for many years. In Britain, girls consistently outperform boys, with the exception of advanced maths-based subjects. In the most recent GCSE results girls showed improved performances, despite the introduction of more difficult exams.
There were substantial regional variations in the results, with pupils in London generally doing better than in other parts of England. Only 53% of boys in Dudley, in the Midlands, reached the expected standards in the three key subjects, compared with 83% of girls in the wealthy borough of Richmond-upon-Thames.
Also, the gap in performance between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates remains stubbornly wide, suggesting efforts to close it have slowed or been ineffective.
About 51% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieved the expected standards in maths, reading and writing, the same as in 2018, while the proportion of non-disadvantaged pupils hitting the standard rose to 71%. That leaves the gap between the two groups little changed for the last three years, with the DfE’s statisticians warning that it might widen slightly when the final figures for 2019 are published.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said children from disadvantaged families were the victims of austerity (经济紧缩). “Successive governments have failed to invest in those who need it the most, and now we see the result - a sustained long-term gap over many years between disadvantaged pupils and pupils from more affluent families.” In 2019 30% of pupils at the end of key stage 2 were classed as being disadvantaged. Nick Gibb, the minister for school standards, said the gap had noticeably decreased over the last eight years and that government reforms since 2010 have helped “ level the playing field”.
1.What percentage of boys achieved the government’s standard in Math in 2018?
A.64%. B.72%. C.75%. D.78%.
2.What do we know about the gap in performance between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates?
A.Efforts to narrow it have paid off.
B.It is identified as a recent trend.
C.It has widened a lot in the past three years.
D.Tightened economy is held partly responsible for it.
3.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Education. B.Politics.
C.Culture. D.Finance.
4.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
A.Girls’ improved performance in all subjects.
B.Gaps in academic performance found in England.
C.Tests conducted by the Department for Education.
D.Continuing efforts to improve the UK，s education quality.
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how a new technology will affect your life. Nobody thought that 10 years after getting the internet in their homes, they’d be online everywhere and all the time with smart phones. Have a look and get prepared for what’s coming.
Hyperautomation (超级自动化)
Hyperautomation is the combination of machine learning software and automation tools to do work. What does hyperautomation look like? With hyperautomation, the coffeemaker is involved in every step of the process. It uses machine learning to know how much coffee you like to make, what time you like to make it, and how often. It orders more beans for you --your favorite brand - when the amount gets low. It also coordinates(协作)with your dishwasher to make sure your favorite cup is clean and ready. The social robot market is expected to be worth $19 billion by the end of 2025. By then, each home could have robots that rival the intelligence of science fiction’s most beloved droids (机器人),like Star Wars，C-3PO.
Practical Blockchain
Organizations should begin evaluating blockchain (区块链)，which has the potential to change industries . It can provide trust and value exchange throughout society.
Aside from its possible use as a currency, blockchain can also be used to track real-world items. For example, contaminated (被污染的)food - especially vegetables - can be traced back to its date and place of packaging.
There are also so-called “smart” contracts. These are simple programs written into the blockchain. With these, events can trigger actions. For example, if you order from Taobao, your payment is held until the delivery guy marks your shipment “completed”. Then payment is immediately received by the seller. Similarly, a student’s university allowance could be limited by a parent to only be spent on necessary things .
1.What do we know about hyperautomation?
A.It is by nature a computer program. B.It is mainly used in the kitchen.
C.It makes robots in science fiction a reality. D.It has huge commercial potential.
2.How does the author illustrate blockchain?
A.By making comparisons. B.By giving examples.
C.By explaining the process. D.By stating arguments.
3.What benefit can blockchain bring us?
A.Computer programs can be made simpler.
B.The money you pay can directly go to the seller.
C.A revolution in industries may take place.
D.Polluted vegetables will no longer exist.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Modem Technology Released B.Automation Evolved
C.World Changed D.Living Standards Improved
Once I had a student called Jamal. He would squirm (扭来扭去)in his chair during independent work, and he would never stay still for more than three or four minutes. Students like Jamal can confuse brand new teachers because they’re not quite sure how to support young people like him. I took a direct approach. I negotiated with Jamal. If he could give me focused work, then he could do it from anywhere in the classroom: from our classroom rug, from behind my desk, or from inside his classroom locker, which turned out to be his favorite place.
Jamal’s least favorite subject was writing, and he never wanted to read what he had written out loud in class, but we were still making progress. One day, I decided to host a mock (模拟的)2008 presidential election in my classroom. My third graders had to research and write a speech for their chosen candidate: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain. The favorite candidates were obvious, but one student chose John McCain. It was Jamal. Jamal finally decided to read something that he had written out loud in class, and sure enough, Jamal stunned all of us with his brilliance. Just like Jamal’s dad, John McCain was a veteran, and just like Jamal’s dad protected him, Jamal believed that John McCain would protect the entire country. He wasn’t my candidate of choice, but it didn’t matter, because the entire class erupted into applause for our brave friend Jamal who finally showed up as his most confident self for the first time that year.
A lack of confidence pulls us down from the bottom and weighs us down from the top, crushing us between a flurry of can’ts and won’ts. Without confidence, we get stuck, and when we get stuck, we can’t even get started. Instead of getting mired in what can get in our way, confidence invites us to perform with certainty.
1.Which of the following best describes Jamal?
A.Naughty and stubborn B.Determined but shy
C.Smart but unfocused D.Confident and generous
2.Why did Jamal choose John McCain in the mock 2008 presidential election?
A.Because John was the least popular among the three choices.
B.Because John had written something about him before.
C.Because John shared some similarities with Jamal’s father.
D.Because John was a soldier who could protect the country.
3.What does the underlined word “stun” mean?
A.Amaze. B.Cheer. C.Awake. D.Entertain.
4.What is the main purpose of the text?
A.To introduce the change of the authors student.
B.To show how to deal with problem students.
C.To stress the importance of encouragement.
D.To encourage us to be confident.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES OF 2020
Welcome to the year when your patience finally pays off. The movies 2020 is offering have us almost hyperventilating - mostly because it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for many of them to land in theaters.
The Grudge
Directed by: Nicolas Pesce
Opening on: January 3,2020
A remake of the American remake of the Japanese horror favorite, Grudge once again focuses on a vengeful ghost with a long memory. Critical darling Andrea Riseborough stars, and director Nicolas Pesce has some form: critics called his The Eyes of My Mother a haunting slasher.
Weathering with You
Directed by: Makoto Shinkai
Opening on: January 17,2020
The latest animated adventure from Makoto Shinkai, the acclaimed director of Your Name, centers on a pair of teens, one of whom can control the weather, who meet and form a bond with each other, before one of them reveals a secret that will change both of them forever.
The Gentlemen
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Opening on: January 24,2020
After a bit of a departure with 2019’s live-action Aladdin remake, Guy Ritchie returns to his roots with this British gangster tale about an American expat ( Matthew McConaughey) with a weed empire in London whose imminent retirement from the business spawns a criminal free-for-all for his territory. Fans of Ritchie’s early work are excited to see him at the helm of another crime caper, and it’s hard to beat the sight of a slimy-looking Hugh Grant playing against type’
The Rhythm Section
Directed by: Reed Morano
Opening on: January 31,2020
Blake Lively stars in the latest troubled female assassin movie, based on the eponymous novel by Mark Burnell. She plays Stephanie Patrick, a plane crash survivor who wants to get to the bottom of the disaster that killed her family and discovers it was no accident, which sets her on a path of revenge.
1.Who is a horror movie director?
A.Nicolas Pesce. B.Makoto Shinkai.
C.Guy Ritchie. D.Reed Morano.
2.Which movie is adapted from a novel?
A.The Grudge. B.Weathering with You.
C.The Gentlemen. D.The Rhythm Section.
3.What can we infer from the text?
A.The Grudge is the first remake of a Japanese movie.
B.Weathering with You may appeal to children.
C.The Gentlemen is based on a real story.
D.Blake Lively’s parents were murdered.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What kind of clothes does the speakers sister like?
A.Designer clothes.
B.T-shirts and jeans.
C.Old-fashioned clothes.
2.What do the twin sisters have in common?
A.They both like loud music.
B.They both enjoy friendship.
C.They both want to have children.
3.Why doesn’t the speaker like sharing a room with her sister?
A.Her sister often brings friends home.
B.They can’t agree on the color of the room.
C.She likes to keep things neat while her sister doesn’t
4.When does the speaker go to bed?
A.At 8: 30. B.At 9: 30. C.At 10: 30.
