Brooke wanted a dollhouse and some sugar cookies. So he asked Alexa to get them. It was a voice-activated home assistant powered by AI. A few days later, a $170 dollhouse and four pounds of cookies showed up.
Alexa isn't the only AI willing to serve you. Apple HomePod has Siri, and the upcoming Galaxy Home device will have Bixby. People who have these devices use them mainly for listening to music, checking the weather, and setting timers. According to a report from The Information, nowadays voice shopping is rare. But many scientists predict a boom in voice shopping in the near future.
Convenience is the main advantage of voice shopping. You can shout out an order as soon as you think of it. In addition, people with disabilities who are unable to use a keyboard or mouse can shop without any help.
But voice shopping has its disadvantages. Unwanted dollhouses aren't the biggest problem. It's usually very easy to cancel an order or return products. The thing that worries some people is that these assistants are always listening. They have to be able to respond when you want them. Some have worried about what happens to these recordings. The CIA found a way to hack smart TVs to turn them into spies that listen. Others could do the same with any smart device. What do you think? Are you ready to start voice shopping?
1.From the passage, we know that Alexa ________.
A.can look after the baby B.can cook delicious food
C.is a toy doll sold online D.is one kind of AI device
2.What does the underlined word "rare" mean in Chinese?
A.罕见的 B.昂贵的 C.有害的 D.不可能的
3.What's the main advantage of voice shopping?
A.Its speed. B.Its price. C.Its quality. D.Its convenience.
4.Which paragraph tells us that personal information might be hacked when people try voice shopping?
A.Paragraph 1. B.Paragraph 2. C.Paragraph 3. D.Paragraph 4.
5.What's the best title for the text?
A.The Advantages and Disadvantages of Voice Shopping
B.The Voice-activated Home Assistant—Alexa
C.The Convenience of AI
D.Brooke's Wishes
Every April, there is a special day in China.1. On that day, people remember and honor their ancestors. Qingming is a traditional Chinese festival. It has a long history.2. A famous poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu describes the day “Rain falls heavily as Qingming comes, and passersby with lowered spirits go.”
TombSweeping Day has been a public holiday on the Chinese mainland since 2008.3. They put food like cakes and fruit in front of the tombs.4.Why do Chinese people do this? That's because people think that visiting tombs is to show respect to their dead family members.
However, TombSweeping Day is not only about this. During that time, the weather is becoming warmer.5.Families often get together for outings or to fly kites at this time.
Word Bank
ancestor祖先mainland大陆outing远足
A.It began over 2,000 years ago.
B.People are able to garden and enjoy outdoor activities.
C.It is Qingming Festival, which is also called TombSweeping Day.
D.On this day, families bring flowers, food and wine to their ancestors' tombs.
E.After that, they sweep the dirt off the tombs and remember their dead family members.
繁忙而充实的一学期结束之后,寒假是每个同学都很期待的假期,你也一定有过很棒的寒假。请以“My wonderful winter holiday” 为题写一篇英语短文,讲述你美好的寒假。
要求：
1. 文中不得出现真实的姓名和学校名称；
2. 词数100左右。
My wonderful winter holiday
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Nowadays, as the world's climate changes, extreme weather is becoming more and more. For example, in Britain,1.are more than 50 tornadoes a year now. However, tornadoes are just one sign of the world's climate changes. In many countries, there are more floods. In some other places, it2. much hotter than before in summer. Why do these happen? Because the global temperatures are rising.
However, scientists still don't know enough 3. reasons. Some believe the climate changes naturally. But most scientists think the real reason is human activities, such as cutting down trees, driving cars too much and so on. If we can not stop the temperatures from increasing,4. ice will melt completely one day. As a result, sea levels will rise and many islands will disappear forever. So we 5. work together to save the earth, and to save ourselves. Let's take action now!
Word Bank
tornado龙卷风
Are you a happy person most of the time? Or do you easily get______ sometimes? Everyone has a different temperament. Usually, it ______ that both genes and environment may affect people's temperaments in different ______. But now scientists have found that the ______ of birth also plays a role.
Scientists from Budapest, Hungary, did a______ among 400 university students. In the survey, each student needed to ______ a questionnaire. The ______ of it was to find out which of four kinds of temperaments they had. From the questionnaire, scientists found that the students always answered something ______ “My mood often changes for no reason” and “I love to deal with new projects, even if it is risky”. These answers were then matched with ______ birthdays.
They discovered that people born in summer easily_______ between sad and happy moods compared with people born in winter. Those who always felt positive were _______ born in spring and summer.
The study also found that those who were born in autumn less probably had a mood of depression which may easily _______ them to cry.
Scientists said that this was probably_______ the seasons had an influence on certain chemicals in the human body. These chemicals are _______ and can control people's moods even in adult life. “It _______ that when you were born may increase or decrease your chance of developing certain mood disorders,” the lead scientist Xenia Gonda told The Telegraph.
Word Bank
temperament脾气 gene基因 positive积极乐观的
1.A.useless B.famous C.angry D.quiet
2.A.believe B.believed C.is believed D.was believed
3.A.lists B.hobbies C.habits D.ways
4.A.season B.year C.festival D.day
5.A.report B.plan C.survey D.project
6.A.catch B.finish C.copy D.test
7.A.secret B.service C.reason D.purpose
8.A.among B.without C.like D.at
9.A.their B.your C.our D.its
10.A.repeated B.changed C.discussed D.praised
11.A.possibly B.really C.deeply D.mostly
12.A.keep B.turn C.drive D.ask
13.A.because B.unless C.if D.though
14.A.comfortable B.important C.stupid D.satisfied
15.A.divides B.punishes C.reports D.seems
The streets are quiet, and the stores are closed. There's the smell of fresh bread from a bakery somewhere. It would be hard to say which time of the day in Paris I prefer, but this probably is. Soon the streets will be full of people and traffic, and the real Paris will appear as the city wakes up. Under the city are hundreds of miles of tunnels. There are old subways and wine cellars that have been made into galleries. During the 19th century, farmers grew mushrooms in them. During World War Ⅱ, the French fighters also used them. Since the 1970s, groups of young people have spent days and nights there. Parties, theater performances, art galleries—everything goes here!
Everywhere you go under Paris, there is history and stories. Writers often write about the tunnels in their books. Victor Hugo mentions them in his famous novel—Les Miserables. There is an underground pool there—with fish! Tourists can visit parts of the Paris underground.
However, it's not allowed to enter other parts of the underground. However, there are people who will take you to visit them. I have found two “unofficial” tour guides—Dominique and Yopie. They take me through many tunnels, and after a couple of hours we arrive at a room which isn't on any map.
It's comfortable and clean, with a table, chairs, and a bed. Yopie tells me there are many other places like this. “Many people come down here to have parties. They like the room.”
Word Bank
bakery面包店 tunnel隧道 cellar地窖 gallery画廊
1.Which of the following is not mentioned in the first paragraph?
A.The quiet streets. B.The closed stores.
C.The pool with fish. D.The smell of fresh bread.
2.When did French fighters use the tunnels?
A.During World War Ⅰ. B.During World War Ⅱ.
C.During the 19th century. D.During the 20th century.
3.What is Victor Hugo?
A.He is a farmer. B.He is a soldier. C.He is a writer. D.He is a guide.
4.How might the writer feel when he saw the room that Dominique and Yopie took him to?
A.Sad. B.Proud. C.Afraid. D.Satisfied.
5.What's the best title for the text?
A.A Tour Under Paris B.My Favorite Novel
C.An Introduction to Paris D.Two Surprising Guides
