While it may be unlikely for a computer to write a best seller, a technology expert has created a computer program that writes its own fiction stories with minimal user input. The program, called MEXICA, is the first to generate original stories based on computerized representations of emotions and tensions between characters.
An Internet survey was carried out to see the popularity of the computer-generated stories, other computerized stories and stories written solely by a human. The result was that readers ranked MEXICA stories highest for flow and coherence, structure, content, suspense and overall quality. Rafael Pérezy Pérez, the creator of MEXICA, explained that a story might begin with something as basic as, “The enemy wounded the knight. The princess cured the knight. The knight killed the enemy. The knight rewarded the princess. The end.”
The program reads characters as variables (变量) and assigns a numerical value, between a continuum (连续体) from -3 to +3, to emotional connections that are defined as either amorous or non-amorous. The numerical value is equivalent to the degree of emotion, with -3 being intense hate and +3 being intense love. The program also understands story tension, such as linking the word “wounded” with tension. This too is assigned a numerical value.
Once these clusters of emotional links and tensions are established, the program begins what is called an “engagement reflection cycle”. Basically this involves searching a database of story actions and other happenings, which are called “atoms”, and determines the best match for the characters and contexts for that moment.
The process repeats itself again and again until the system can no longer make any matches. At this point, the computer analyzes the story for coherence and “interestingness”. The program views a story as interesting when tension levels increase and fall throughout the piece. If the program finds that the story is boring or incoherent in places, it will replace or insert atoms until a version is thought to be satisfactory.
1.What can we know about MEXICA from the passage?
A. It is a computer program that can write fiction stories on its own.
B. It is a computer program created by Rafael Pérezy Pérez.
C. It is blamed for low quality among many other descriptors.
D. The stories it has written is not very popular among readers.
2.What is basically needed for MEXICA to start to write a story?
A. The beginning and the end of the story should be provided.
B. The background of the story needs to be keyed in.
C. The human operator should come up with a simple storyline.
D. Emotions and tensions between characters should be determined.
3.How does the computer system describe the characters in its story?
A. Characters in the story are given different numerical values.
B. Characters are developed according to the tension preset.
C. Characters are designed by using the language MEXICA can understand.
D. Each character is valued for its value in the construction of the story.
4.What are “atoms” understood by the computer system?
A. The tensions preset for the story.
B. The characters designed for the story.
C. Episodes of action of the story.
D. Events becoming of the characters.
Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve’s new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn’t hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there’s no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I’m finished or fail to take your turn when I’m finished. That’s what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定势). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in — and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That’s why slight differences in conversational style — tiny little things like microseconds of pause — can have a great effect on one’s life. The result in this cause was a judgment of psychological problems — even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
1.What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?
A. Betty was talkative.
B. Betty was an interrupter.
C. Betty did not take her turn.
D. Betty paid no attention to Sara.
2.According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?
A. Americans. B. Israelis.
C. The British. D. The Finns.
3.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A. communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing
B. women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US
C. one’s inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes
D. one should receive training to build up one’s confidence
4.The underlined word “assertiveness” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A. being willing to speak one’s mind
B. being able to increase one’s power
C. being ready to make one’s own judgment
D. being quick to express one’s ideas confidently
We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes,’’ our teacher told us as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing, “The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster.”
We studied the board critically. Some of us looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard, rocking the sheets to the right or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten-dollar grand prize, each and every one of us. I’m going to spend mine on candies, one hopeful would announce, while another practiced looking serious, wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins, while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of us used big designs, and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one corner of our poster and let the space draw the viewer’s attention to it. Some of us would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the sort they seemed especially fond of, making all of us believe we had a fair chance, and then always — always — rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat, but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen, and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize, and then someone distracted me, and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk, thinking, What poster? when the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.
1.What was the teacher’s requirement for the poster?
A. It must appear in time.
B. It must be done in class.
C. It must be done on a construction sheet.
D. It must include the words on the blackboard.
2.The underlined phrase in paragraph 3 most probably means ________.
A. formed an idea for
B. made an outline for
C. made some space for
D. chose some colors for
3.After seeing the good students’ designs, some students ________.
A. loved their own designs more
B. thought they had a fair chance
C. put their own designs in a corner
D. thought they would not win the prize
4.We can infer from the passage that the author ________.
A. enjoyed grown-up tricks very much
B. loved poster competitions very much
C. felt surprised to win the competition
D. became wise and rich after the competition
The value-packed, all-inclusive sight-seeing package that combines the best of Sydney’s harbour, city, bay and beach highlights.
A SydneyPass gives you unlimited and flexible travel on the Explorer Buses: the ‘red’ Sydney Explorer shows you around our exciting city sights while the ‘blue’ Bondi Explorer visits Sydney Harbour bays and famous beaches. Take to the water on one of three magnificent daily harbour cruises (游船). You can also travel free on regular Sydney Buses, Sydney Ferries or CityRail services (limited area), so you can go to every corner of this beautiful city.
Imagine browsing at Darling Harbour, sampling the famous seafood at Watsons Bay or enjoying the city lights on an evening ferry cruise. The possibilities and plans are endless with a SydneyPass. Wherever you decide to go, remember that bookings are not required on any of our services so tickets are treated on a first in, first seated basis.
SydneyPasses are available for 3, 5 or 7 days for use over a 7-calendar-day period. With a 3 or 5-day pass you choose on which days out of the 7 you want to use it. All SydneyPasses include a free Airport Express inward trip before starting your 3, 5 or 7 days, and the return trip is valid (有效的) for 2 months from the first day your ticket was used.
SydneyPass Fares
| Adult | Child* | Family** |
3-day ticket | $90 | $45 | $225 |
5-day ticket | $120 | $60 | $300 |
7-day ticket | $140 | $70 | $350 |
*A child is defined as anyone from the ages of 4 years to under 16 years. Children under 4 years travel free.
**A family is defined as 2 adults and any number of children from 4 to under 16 years of age from the same family.
1.A SydneyPass doesn’t offer unlimited rides on ________.
A. the Explorer Buses B. the harbour cruises
C. regular Sydney Buses D. CityRail services
2.With a SydneyPass, a traveller can ________.
A. save fares from and to the airport
B. take the Sydney Explorer to beaches
C. enjoy the famous seafood for free
D. reserve seats easily in a restaurant
3.If 5-day tickets were to be recommended to a mother who travelled with her colleague and her children, aged 3, 6 and 10, what would the lowest cost be?
A. $225. B. $300. C. $360. D. $420.
The police are ________ the accident on dangerous driving.
A. dislocating B. cancelling
C. reflecting D. blaming
Listening to music at home is one thing, going to hear it ________ live is another.
A. being performed B. performed
C. performing D. having been performed
