New crime prediction software should reduce not only the murder rate, but the rate of other crimes. Developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software has already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation(缓刑) or parole(假释) are most likely to murder and to be murdered.
“When a person goes on probation or parole he is supervised(监督) by an officer. The question is ‘what level of supervision is appropriate?’” said Berk. It used to be that parole officers used the person’s criminal record, and their judgment to make decisions.
“This research replaces those seat-of-the –pants calculations,” he said.
Technology helps determine level of supervision. On average there is one murder for every 100,000 people. Even among high-risk groups the murder rate is one in 100. Predicting such a rare event is very difficult, but advances in computer technology works.
Years ago, the researchers made a dataset of more than 60,000 various crimes. Using the software they developed, they found some much more likely to commit murder when paroled or probated. They could identify eight future murderers out of 100.
Berk’s software examines roughly two dozen variables(可变因素), from criminal record to geographic location. The type of crimes, and more importantly, the age at which that crime was committed, were two of the most predictive variables.
“People assume that if someone murdered then they will murder in the future,” said Berk. “What really matters is what that person did as a young individual. Predicting future crimes sounds well. But we aren’t anywhere near being able to do that.”
“Berk’s scientific answer leaves policymakers with difficult questions. By labeling one group of people as high risk, and supervise them closely, there should be fewer murders, which the potential victims should be happy about. It also means that those high-risk individuals will be supervised more aggressively. For human rights advocates, that means punishing people who, most likely, will not commit a crime in the future,” said Bushway. “It comes down to a question of whether you would rather make these errors or those errors.”
1.The underlined words in Para.3 probably mean___.
A. calculations based on subjective opinions
B. calculations based on widespread voting
C. calculations made by advanced technology
D. calculations based on serious considering
2.From Para 7, we can infer that______.
A. the technology developed by Richard Berk will soon be widely used in the US
B. the technology would not be widely accepted in the short term
C. whether a person murders or not largely decided by his upbringing while young
D. if a person murdered when he was fifty, he is sure to murder again while on probation
3.Bushway’s attitude to the technology put forward by Richard Berk is ____.
A. positive B. negative
C. objective D. Indifferent
Greenspace facilities (设施) are contributing to an important degree to the quality of the city environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present it is generally accepted, although more as a self-proved statement than on the base of a closely reasoned scientific proof. Recognizing the importance of greenspaces in the city environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that enough details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which people are using these spaces. As to this subject I shall within the scope (范围) of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities.
The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation (娱乐) which for many years has been used in town and country planning, has in my opinion resulted in more attention for forms of recreation far from home, while there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighborhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street door of the house. The city environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more required activities can also have recreative aspect.
The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street door of your house is closed after you.
1.The importance of greenspaces in the city environment _____.
A. is still unknown
B. is paid little attention to
C. is accepted on the base of scientific proof
D. has been recognized
2.For many years town and country planning has _____.
A. brought living areas and places of entertainment close together
B. separated recreation facilities far from home
C. improved recreative possibilities in the neighborhood
D. enabled people to reach the best standard of living
3.According to the author, greenspaces should be designed _____.
A. to reduce the number of recreative activities
B. to attract more and more people
C. for people to use more conveniently
D. for people to do recreative activities at the street door of the house
4.The main idea of this passage is that _____.
A. attention must be paid to the improvement of recreation
B. greenspace facilities should be used better to improve the quality of life
C. the city environment is providing more recreative activities
D. we should try our best to raise our living standard
Change is everything in the case of mobile phones. Recent research indicates that the mobile phone is changing not only our culture, but our very bodies as well.
First, let’s talk about culture. The difference between the mobile phone and the fixed-line phone, is that a mobile number corresponds to a person, while a fixed-line phone goes to a place. If you call my mobile, you get me. If you call my fixed-line phone, you get whoever answers it.
This has several implications（含义）. The most common one, however, and perhaps the thing that has changed our culture forever, is the “meeting” influence. People no longer need to make firm plans about when and where to meet. Twenty years ago, a Friday night would need to be arranged in advance. You needed enough time to allow everyone to get from their place of work to the first meeting place. Now, however, a night out can be arranged on the run. It is no longer “see you there at 8”, but “text me around 8 and we’ll see where we all are.”
Texting changes people as well. In their paper, “Insights into the Social and Psychological Effects of SMS (Short Message Service) Text Messaging”, two British researchers distinguished between two types of mobile phone users: the “talkers” and the “texters”－those who prefer voice to text messages and those who prefer text to voice.
They found that the mobile phone’s individuality and privacy gave texters the ability to express a whole new outer personality. Texters were likely to report that their family would be surprised if they were to read their texts. This suggests that texting allowed texters to present a self-image that differed from the one familiar to those who knew them well.
Another scientist wrote of the changes that mobiles have brought to body language. There are two kinds that people use while speaking on the phone. There is the “speakeasy”: the head is held high, in a self-confident way, chatting away. And there is the “spacemaker”: these people focus on themselves and keep out other people.
Who can blame them? Phone meetings get cancelled or reformed and camera-phones intrude（侵入）on people’s privacy. So, it is understandable if your mobile makes you nervous. But perhaps you needn’t worry so much. After all, it is good to talk.
1.The “meeting” influence of a mobile phone refers to the fact that ________.
A. people are able to meet someone at any place and any time
B. people have to make a firm plan about when and where to meet
C. people can arrange their meeting place and time more flexibly
D. people have to attend more phone meetings than ever before
2.We can infer from Paragraph 5 that the texts sent by texters probably are ________.
A. showing popular images to others
B. showing new images to others
C. showing the same images to others
D. showing familiar images to others
3.According to the passage, who is afraid of being heard while talking on the mobile?
A. talkers B. the “spacemaker”
C. the “speakeasy” D. texters
4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. The Influence of Short Message Service B. Changes in the Use of the Mobile
C. Changes Caused by Mobile Phone Use D. Body Language and the Mobile Phone
Of the several films Hirokazu has made about childhood and children, this one is the most modest, but no less pleasing for its delicate style and small setting. I Wish was originally called Miracle, and the change is for the better. The two-word title makes you want to know who’s wishing for what, while the single word sounds plain and self-praising. This wise and funny film works small miracles in describing such a moment when kids turn from the wishfulness of childhood into shaping the world for themselves.
The sweetly reflective hero, a sixth-grader named Koichi, starts out by wishing for a volcano to erupt. Not just any volcano, but the one that towers above his town, smoking heavily and giving off ash. An eruption would lead to a withdrawing, which would lead, at least in his mind, to a reunion with his father and kid brother, who’ve been living in Hakata while Koichi lives with his mother and retired grandparents in Kagoshima. The volcano, knowing nothing of this, refuses to erupt, but Koichi hears of another approach to realizing the desired miracle.
One of the pleasures of I Wish is watching how kids behave — how Koichi attacks his dinner, for example. Another pleasure is rediscovering how kids think. These kids can be logical and ever so tricky. But children’s thought processes can also be fancy. A boy wishes he could play baseball like one of baseball stars, who eats curry for breakfast; so he, too, starts eating curry for breakfast, instead of practicing on the field. Another boy tries to wish his dead dog, Marble, back to life. And what does Koichi finally wish for? I wish you’d see this delightful film to find out.
1.Why has the name of the film been changed from Miracle to I Wish?
A. The former is controversial and self-praising.
B. The former isn’t related to the content of the film.
C. The latter is easy for audience to remember.
D. The latter is easier to arouse audience’s interest.
2.Koichi wishes the volcano to erupt so that he can ________.
A. enjoy the wonderful scene of a volcano
B. help those who suffer from the eruption
C. get together with his family members
D. work miracles during the disaster
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. I Wish is a film set in a volcano eruption.
B. I Wish shows a lively and thoughtful world of children.
C. I Wish shows audience some dull and ridiculous behaviors.
D. I Wish is a serious science fiction movie.
4.What does the writer intend to do in this text?
A. To share pleasures of watching a film.
B. To make a review on a film.
C. To discuss kids’ behavior and thoughts.
D. To recommend a film.
书面表达
假定你是高二年级的李明,从网上得知一个国际中学生组织将在英语兴办夏令营,欢迎各国学生参加.请写一封电子邮件申请参加.内容主要包括:
1.自我介绍(包括英语能力);
2.参加意图(介绍中国,了解其他国家);
3.希望获准.
注意:1.词数100左右;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3. 邮件开头已给出,不计入总词数.
夏令营 the Summer Camp
Dear Sir or Madam,
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
短文改错
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 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。
During this summer vacation, Li Lei went to teach in a small but poor village with others volunteers. When he arrived, he found the people here lived a hard life and all the children crowded in a small room. He was glad that the children are lovely and friendly. Though he only had something simply to eat, he was used to the hard life soon. During breaks, he often played games with his students. At a night, he was busy preparing lesson and checking his students’ homework. Realize the importance of education, he has made up his mind to becoming a teacher after he graduates from the university
