I read with interest a recent article on Galactocorp’s planned Shuttlejet flight later this year. I cannot imagine more stupid thing than this, so-called space tourism, and can’t help wondering what on earth humanity is coming to if this can be successful business.
Many may think that space travel is the highest human achievement, which may be the condition when scientific endeavor (努力) is the aim. However, when it comes to space tourism, think we may have found the top of human stupidity. Consider the high cost of getting into space, the billions of dollars wasted on building the Shuttlejet, and the many thousands spent by the passengers—and for what? So that forty fat cats can have a first-class meal along with six minutes of weightlessness, before returning to earth? Never before has so much money been spent for so little benefit (利益). I invite all space tourists to come around to my house. I can treat them to a big dinner and they can have jump on the trampoline (蹦床), and they’ll only need to pay me half the price of Galactocorp.
Further, the money can be used in a smarter way. Think of the many worthy causes that would benefit from the money that has been thrown away on this project already. There are many medical programs in those poor countries. A few hundred thousand dollars could make a big difference to the lives of thousands of people. The benefits would last far longer than six minutes.
Not only is the Shuttlejet a terrible waste of money, it’s also a terrible waste of resources (资源). Think about the materials required to build and the things required to drive the Shuttlejet. Do we really want to pollute the environment for such a pointless exercise and waste so much money for such a pointless exercise?
In a word, we all need to come back down to earth and forget this stupid dream of space tourism.
1.What’s the author’s purpose in writing this text?
A.To ask for advice. B.To stop project.
C.To share his idea. D.To express his interest.
2.What offer does the author make in Paragraph 2?
A.Helping the fat cats lose weight.
B.Asking people to have fun in his house.
C.Providing a trampoline for space tourists.
D.Preparing first-class-meal for the forty cats.
3.What is the author’s main idea against space tourism?
A.It costs space tourists a lot of money.
B.It is just a scientific aim.
C.It is bad for the environment.
D.It causes a lot of waste in money and resources.
4.What does the author mean by saying“come back down to earth”in the last paragraph?
A.The project is unrealistic. B.The project is unscientific.
C.The money should be spent on earth. D.Space is nothing compared with earth.
“Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” An old tale tells seemingly unbelievable story of a magic mirror, but now the magic is no longer unachievable.
In August 2018, news went viral (广为传播的) that the police had caught criminal suspects who attended Chinese singer Jacky Cheung’s concerts. How did the police pick out the suspects among thousands of screaming fans? The helping hand is Al facial recognition technology. The low-key yet powerful tool is no longer far-fetched, but entering the world of China’s top investors and companies.
Facial recognition is a technology able to identify a person from digital image or a frame from a video source. Tang Wenbin, CTO of Face++, an Al computer vision technology company in China, vividly explained the workflow. According to him, facial recognition is the identification of our appearance, including knowing the sex, age and identity of a person. You may think it is like a brain or a neural network. You use data to train it, and then, it learns the pattern.
Facial recognition technology has been traditionally allied with the security work but today there is active expansion into other industries including mobile phones, marketing and finance.
Chinese start-ups have seen the potential of AI facial recognition for simplifying and speeding up tasks in multiple industries. And the market is now crowded and competitive.
China is starting the Al revolution and has made breakthroughs in facial recognition. “If applying AI to different industries is a marathon, the companies there probably have just got off the blocks.” said Tian Feng, director of Alibaba Cloud Research Center. He also thinks that in the future, everybody will be able to use AI as it will soon become a basic tool for work and life.
1.Why does the author mention mirrors in Paragraph 1?
A.To imply that such magical mirror is achievable.
B.To lead to the topic that such magic has become reality.
C.To prove that old tales are based on true stories.
D.To describe the background of facial recognition.
2.Which of the following best explains“allied with”underlined in Paragraph 4?
A.Content with. B.Compared with. C.Burdened with. D.Associated with.
3.What is Tian Feng’s attitude towards the future of AI?
A.Favorable. B.Pessimistic. C.Indifferent. D.Objective.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Breakthroughs of Chinese Technology B.Effects of AI Technology
C.The Eye of AI in China D.Facial Recognition in Security
Marielle Bacason was 22 when she experienced the storm that would change her life. On November 8, 2013, she held onto whatever she could as the wind of up to 315 kilometers per hour destroyed everything in its path. When the wind finally died down and the storm became less violent, this is what she saw:
“You could not distinguish the roads and dead bodies of people and animals everywhere. We feared for our safety every day, especially during the night. We just wanted to leave Tacloban... I was traumatised,” she says.
In her hometown of Tacloban, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines, southeast from the capital of Manila, her home and everything she owned was damaged Super Typhoon Haiyan was the strongest storm to hit the country reportedly killing over 6,300 people, though the locals said the toll (伤亡人数) was much higher.
Recovering from an event like this is no easy task. Marielle and others asked: Why me? Why did this happen? Who is responsible? For the past five years, Marielle has been trying to find the answers. That’s why she along with other amazing women, are taking on some of the world’s largest coal, oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, bp, Chevron and Shell, for contributing to the human harm resulting from the impacts of climate change.
Caused by a petition (请愿书) filed in 2015 by representatives of communities and organizations across the Philippines, this investigation (调查) by the Commission on Human Rights (人权委员会) of the Philippines is the first of its kind to be launched by an independent constitutional office. The result, which won’t be known until early 2019, could be game changer for the fossil fuel industry.
Marielle, who is now working as research nurse in London, puts it simply:
“All I ask of these big companies is to allow our children, grandchildren, and the future generations to be able to enjoy an undamaged planet I just ask that they consider the long-term effects of their actions.”
1.How did Marielle feel after the storm?
A.Puzzled. B.Shocked. C.Embarrassed. D.Disappointed.
2.What’s Marielle’s’purpose of fighting against those companies?
A.To push them to help her hometown recover.
B.To completely drive them out of her country.
C.To get back all her possessions lost in the storm.
D.To ask them to be environmentally responsible.
3.What do we know about the investigation mentioned in Paragraph 5?
A.It might greatly influence the fossil fuel industry.
B.It’s being carried out by Marielle and her colleagues.
C.It’ll have long-term-effect on Tacloban’s economy.
D.It’ll measure the damage caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan.
4.Which of the following best describes Marielle?
A.She’s an easy-going woman. B.She cares little about climate change.
C.She holds strong social responsibility. D.She used to be a research nurse in London.
The USA Gap Year Fairs lists broad range of Gap Year programs.
The High Mountain Institute Gap
The High Mountain Institute Gap unites outdoor advantage and conservation to cultivate (培养) the next generation of civically-minded leaders. With programs traveling through Patagonia and the American West, students discover more about the world and themselves, become independent in their outdoor skills, develop intellectual maturity and effective leadership, and are more prepared to succeed in college and beyond.
Program location(s): USA, Argentina
Phone: 719-486-8200
National Outdoor Leadership School
For nearly 50 years, National Outdoor Leadership School has been the leader in wilderness education. More than 221, 000 students have learned in the world’s most spectacular and wild classrooms.
Program location(s): Alaska, Amazon Australia, East Africa, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Argentina
Phone: 800-710-6657
The International School or Earth Studies
It’s private, interdisciplinary (跨学科的) institution specializing in earth-based studies. The programs encourage students to explore the seeds of greatness, with a view to developing tomorrow’s environmentally sensitive spokespersons and leaders. The principle goal is to help students develop responsibility inspired through appreciation and love for natural places and the environment.
Program location(s): Newfoundland, Canada
Phone: 819-647-3226
The Experiment in International Living
It provides summer abroad programs for high school students who want to connect deeply and engage meaningfully with the richness and complexities of another country. Programs are designed to equip participants not only with essential cultural skills and, in many cases language skills, but also with a deeper awareness of and sensitivity to critical global issues shaping the diverse communities and regions we visit.
Program location(s): Europe, the Americas, Africa, south of the Sahara
Phone: 800-345-2929
1.What do the first two programs help participants do?
A.Learn diverse cultures. B.Find ways to protect the environment.
C.Develop outdoor skills and leadership. D.omplete wilderness education in college.
2.If you want to learn about program focusing on the environment,you can dial________.
A.819-647-3226 B.800-710-6657
C.800-345-2929 D.719-486-8200
3.Which of the following is ideal for participants who are interested in culture and language?
A.The High Mountain Institute Gap. B.National Outdoor Leadership School.
C.The Experiment in International Living. D.The International School for Earth Studies.
假定你是李华，计划在下个月与父母一起到伦敦旅游。请给你的英国笔友Martha写封邮件，内容包括：1. 旅游目的（体验不同文化，提高英语水平）；2. 请她介绍景点和风俗习惯等。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Martha,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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：把多余的词用斜线（＼）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。
We have a small piece of land to grow vegetables, that are growing better than ever. Today, my mother picked a lot of vegetables and asked me to send any to one of her colleagues, whom I call Auntie. She was very happily. She liked the fresh vegetables very much and said thank to me. She also sent his regards to my mother.
After supper, I was about to doing my homework when I heard a knock at the door. When I open the door, I saw Auntie standing outside with many gifts are in her hands. I knew immediately that she came thank us for the vegetables. What a thoughtful or kind woman!
