IMAGINE if there was a device that could do everything for you – wake you up every morning, chat with you and type your e-mails.
The piece of technology in question would be smart, able to tell you about the weather and where the nearest restaurants are.
The good thing is you no longer need to wonder, because something like this already exists. And its name is Siri.
Siri is a voice recognition application designed for Apple products and the concept has been around for almost a year.
When Siri first came out it could only speak English, but now it has “learned” lots of new languages, including Chinese, Cantonese and Taiwanese, reported The Wall Street Journal. So, you can give it orders in your mother tongue.
But how could a cell phone or a computer “hear” what you are saying and understand it? This is all because of voice recognition technology.
When you speak, your voice creates vibrations (振动) in the air – a bit like waves in the water when you throw a rock into the lake. The microphone receives the vibrations and the computer changes them into digital data that is then divided into many parts. They are analyzed one by one to see what pronunciations each part stands for. The computer then puts these pronunciations together into possible words according to its built-in dictionary.
But figuring out the words is far from enough; building words into meaningful sentences is the most difficult part. The computer has to compare what it hears to a large library of known phrases and sentences to determine what the user is saying.
However, people don’t always talk in the most standard way and sometimes make grammatical mistakes. This is why traditional voice recognition software always requires you to remember keywords and to speak in a certain way.
Fortunately, Siri isn’t like that. It’s not just “voice recognition”; it’s “natural language understanding (NLU)”. You can ask it things like “Do I need an umbrella today?” and it will know that you are asking about the weather, according to ABC News.
“The key thing is NLU – understanding what you mean and what you want,” Neil Grant from Nuance, a software company in the US, told The Guardian. “Historically, you had to learn a huge long list of commands . As NLU progresses, you can say what you want in a way that’s natural to you.”
1.What is the function of the first two paragraphs?
A．To show that invention usually results from need.
B．To clear doubts about voice recognition technology.
C．To introduce something that offers these helpful services.
D．To show how the voice recognition works.
2.Which step is the most complicated in the process of voice recognition according to the article?
A．Changing the received vibrations into digital data.
B．Analyzing the digital data to see what pronunciations it represents.
C．Putting the pronunciations together into possible words.
D．Figuring out meaningful sentences based on the words.
3.How can you get Siri to respond according to the article?
A．You can speak in a natural way as you would to a person.
B．You can only speak English and Chinese.
C．You have to say things in a certain way.
D．You have to remember keywords and speak specific commands.
4.What can be concluded from the article?
A．Siri can record and save what you say frequently into a computer dictionary.
B．Siri will fail to understand what you say if you make grammatical mistakes.
C．The biggest advantage of Siri is that it’s NLU is rather than just voice recognition.
D．Since first applied to Apple products a year ago, Siri has made great improvements.
5.The text is mainly about ________.
A．the convenience of future life.
B．an introduction to the Apple products.
C．the working system of voice recognition
D．the introduction to Siri
Does being rich make you happy? Many studies on happiness give negative answers. Here are some points in being happy.
Basic Human Needs Must Be Met
People whose basic needs for shelter, clothing and food are not met will find it very difficult to feel happy. Of course, there are exceptions, but for most of us, we can only be happy once our basic needs are met.
The Joneses Cannot Be Escaped
People’s happiness is not determined by how much they have, but by how much people around them have. So, we tend to feel happy once our basic needs are met and we have more than the people surrounding us.
This means that while keeping up with the Joneses could be destructive if we let it go too far. It is also part of humana nature to want to feel at least on the same level, financially, as those surrounding us.
You Should Escape The Rat Race
We should know the importance of staying out of the rat race. So yes, you need to work hard, get the education you need to land a good job and work long enough and hard enough to get to a place where you can easily meet your basic needs. What are basic needs? For most middle or upper middle class Americans, basic needs are not very basic anymore.
For most of us, once our basic needs have been met, happiness is achieved when we engage in activities we like, spend time with friends and family and stay active. Making money for the sake of making money does not make people happy.
Ideally, these questions should be answered when you’re still young and just starting out. Don’t wait until your midlife crisis to realize that half your life has passed you by and you’re still unhappy.
1.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A．The research on happiness. B．Key points on being happy.
C．What makes people feel unhappy. D．Being rich makes people happy.
2.In the view of the author, we know that ______.
A．people need to have a place to live first of all
B．human basic needs are not necessary for being happy
C．human basic needs are fundamental for being happy
D．one will be happy if he has enough money
3.What does the underlined phrase”the Joneses” in Paragraph 4 probably stand for?
A．Expensive things. B．Neighbors.
C．Money. D．Richer people.
4.From the passage, what is the purpose of people probably to do in “the rat race”?
A．To enjoy their life with family.
B．To get high education for better jobs.
C．To work too hard for money only.
D．To work hard for basic needs.
5.What’s the attitude of the author towards the passage?
A．Money is a big problem, but money isn’t everything.
B．The love of money is the root of all evil.
C．Money doesn’t grow on trees.
D．Money is happiness.
Competition between international universities is heating up, as China grows as one of the largest exporters of students aiming to study abroad. “Lots of universities are becoming more and more aggressive to attract Chinese students. Every day I receive contacts from universities in the US expressing the desire to come to China to recruit students,” said Frank Joseph, a commercial officer from embassy of the United States.
One key reason why more Chinese students are able to study abroad is the economy: With China’s boom within the past decade, more families have the financial wherewithal(资金) to send their children to international universities. There will be a total of 200,000 family-funded Chinese students studying overseas in 2009, up 20 percent from last year, said Wu Zaofeng, deputy secretary general of China Education Association for International Exchange.
International institutions, Joseph said, are also facing increasingly tough financial situation with a shortage of domestic students and a drop in government subsidies(补贴). Students, especially in the US are paying high tuition fees and living expenses. Chinese students with money to spend, according to experts, can fill up the gap. Students on average spend 150,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan every year studying in US, according to statistics from the US Institute of International Education. During 2007-2008, there were approximately 81,000 Chinese students studying in the US, up 19.8 percent from 2006.
Representatives from approximately 60 universities from the United States are planning to arrive in Beijing this weekend to attract more Chinese students at this year’s fair. Besides the US, many other countries are also vying(竞争) to enroll Chinese students.
Post-study work visa put out by British government allows all international students completing a UK degree qualification to apply for a visa to stay on and look for work in UK for up to 2 years. Being the third most popular destination for international students next to the US and the UK, France has set up two types of scholarships and has handed out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years.
1.The reason for heating up competition between international universities is ___.
A．that China has become one of the largest exporters of the students aiming to study abroad
B．that the students in China are becoming richer and richer
C．China’s boom, the students’ desire and foreign universities’ commercial motive
D．that the students in foreign countries do not want to go to universities
2.Why are more Chinese students able to study abroad?
A．Because they can’t go to the best universities at home.
B．Because their families have enough money to send them to international universities.
C．Because they want to win the scholarship of foreign universities
D．Because the Chinese students enjoy following others and they want to be independent.
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A．There are fewer family-funded Chinese students studying abroad in 2008 than in 2009.
B．Chinese students are able to study abroad for their relatives overseas.
C．In 2009 there will be 200,000 state-funded Chinese students studying overseas.
D．In 2009 there will be 200,000 Chinese students studying in the US.
4.From the passage we can learn that _____.
A．the number of foreign students is becoming smaller and smaller
B．there were approximately 81,000 foreign students studying in the US during 2007-2008
C．the international universities are short of money
D．the Chinese students are richer than the American students
5.What does the UK do to attract the international students?
A．Setting up two types of scholarships.
B．Handing out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years.
C．Allowing to look for work in their spare time in the UK for up to 2 years.
D．Permitting students to have a visa to stay on and look for work for 2 years after completing the degree.
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.
1.This passage is most likely to be found in _____.
A．a travel guide B．a newspaper
C．a textbook D．a novel
2.The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.
A．swimming in the river
B．standing on the river bank
C．watching the crocodile
D．fishing in the water
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ms Pethrick?
A．Her eyes were badly poked.
B．She had eight wounds altogether.
C．One of her fingers also got hurt.
D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg.
4.According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT ______.
A．brave B．diligent
C．quick D．humorous
5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A．The husband should save the wife
B．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws
C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine
D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes
Monty Roberts owns a horse ranch（牧马场） in San Ysidro. He told us his story. As a senior, he was asked to write a 36 about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
That night he wrote a seven-page paper 37 his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great 38 and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the 39 of all the buildings.
He put his heart into the 40 and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that 41 , ‘See me after class.’
The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I 42 an F?’
The teacher said, ‘This is an 43 dream for a young boy like you. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. There’s no 44 you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will 45 this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”
The boy went home and 46 it. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to 47 your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very 48 decision for you.’
Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the 49 paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my 50 .’
Monty now owned a 200-acre ranch. He had 51 his plan for a 4,000-square-foot house.
Two summers ago that same school teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on his ranch for a week. When leaving, he said 52 , ‘Look, Monty. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream 53 . During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. 54 , you had enough perseverance not to give up on yours.’”
Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. 55 your heart, no matter what.
1. A．paper B．composition C．passage D．notice
2. A．reaching B．achieving C．continuing D．describing
3. A．excitement B．detail C．demand D．spirit
4. A．relation B．advantage C．location D．meaning
5. A．project B．work C．house D．painting
6. A．informed B．read C．wrote D．reflected
7. A．recognize B．own C．receive D．admit
8. A．unbearable B．unbelievable C．unrealistic D．unusual
9. A．need B．way C．doubt D．time
10. A．see B．retell C．discuss D．rewrite
11. A．thought about B．cared about C．set about D．talked about
12. A．keep up B．show up C．sweep up D．make up
13. A．unique B．wrong C．wise D．important
14. A．same B．final C．correct D．suitable
15. A．promise B．grade C．dream D．word
16. A．put forward B．carried out C．taken up D．sped up
17. A．constantly B．strongly C．guiltily D．delightedly
18. A．catcher B．seeker C．dreamer D．stealer
19. A．Gradually B．Personally C．Strictly D．Fortunately
20. A．Follow B．Guide C．Arrange D．Concentrate
—Will you do me a favor and pick me up tonight?
—_________.
A．My pleasure. B．With pleasure.
C．Go ahead. D．Don't bother.
